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LangaList 2005-10-13 Please visit our sponsors and help keep the LangaList S.E. free!
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1) Where does Registry Bloat Come From?Our new tests of 10 different "Registry Cleaners" ( http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=171203805 ) begs the question: Where do those junk entries come from? Using the broadest possible definition, a Registry "error" is when some setting in the Registry points to software or hardware that's no longer there, or is not in the same place or condition as the setting says it is; or is otherwise problematic. Some bogus Registry entries are due to simple errors in programming: An "uninstall" tool, for example, may not correctly target every single Registry entry that a program made when it was installed. You end up with an orphan entry that no longer relates to any installed software: a Registry error. Some of the entries are due to deliberate caution: If some software or hardware setting isn't needed now, but *might,* conceivably, be useful in the future, a programmer may choose to leave the setting in place. That programmer considers the setting OK, but someone else could look at the same entry and say it's an error because it's not doing anything useful right now. Similarly, some Registry settings act as a kind of cache or history list, so that running software knows where it's been and what it was working on. When these settings are no longer completely current, they can be considered a kind of error--- albeit a very minor one. Some of it is the software equivalent of marking territory: A way for software to tell if it's ever previously been installed on a given machine, even if it was later uninstalled. The software leaves behind little digital droppings as a way of saying "I was here, once!" <g> And so on. But not all "errors" cause problems; and not all are equally severe. In normal operation, let's say your Registry contains the information that the file extension ".foo" is associated with the program "Bar.exe." If you click on a file with the foo extension, Windows checks the Registry, loads and runs Bar.exe, and tells Bar.exe to work on the specific foo file that you clicked. But what if you have no files on your PC with the foo extension, even though your Registry holds the information about it? This could be construed as a minor error in the Registry because there's no real need to carry around a permanent record of nonstandard file associations that are not in use. If or when you ever encounter a "foo" file, Windows can create the appropriate Registry entry then. It's more serious if you have many "foo" files, but something has happened to your copy of Bar.exe: in this case, the Registry is pointing to an executable file that no longer exists; or perhaps that has been renamed or moved. At the very least, you'll get an error message when you click on a "foo" file: Windows will stop and offer to search for the missing file required to handle the file type you clicked on. It's even more serious if the Bar.exe file is corrupted, or is the wrong file: Then, at the very least, your "foo" file won't open properly; and the Bar.exe program may crash. In older versions of Windows, depending on what was going on at the time of the crash, the entire operating system may become unstable. So you see, Registry problems extend up and down in complexity: They're not all created equal. This is one of the reasons why one Registry cleaning tool may report fewer errors than another--- it may be focused only on the more serious stuff, and thus still may be useful, even if it seems not quite as thorough as others. On the other hand, some cleaners really *are* better than others, so some variance in the error counts is real and meaningful. If you really want your Registry as clean as possible, then you want a tool that will accurately identify and root out all major and most minor errors; but cautiously, without trashing less-common but still necessary settings that may pertain. It's not an easy thing to do, which is why I decided to try
a series of controlled tests on one of my own real-life, normal-use PCs here,
letting 10 different Registry-cleaning tools take their best shot. Some of the
tools were free, others commercial. The results: Some tools found as few as 39
Registry errors, while others, looking at *exactly the same setup*, found 800!
What's more, some "cleaning" tools actually *added* errors to the Registry---
the more I ran the tool, the more errors it introduced! That's nuts! Click to email this item to a
friend --- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList S.E. Free! ) --- "Fred - The Plus! Edition has
been the best value I have EVER received. --------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 2) Wireless Freeloaders?
Perhaps, depending on where the intrusion is taking place. And in any case, you can pretty much close the door to unauthorized connections, whether you can see them or not. If you suspect the freeloaders are connecting directly through your WAP (wireless access point; which may be built into a router or other device), see if the WAP setup or control software has a function that lets you see who's using it, or at least how many users are connected. (Many have such reporting ability.) But no matter what you find, it's not hard to secure the access point so that it only allows connections from known PCs (eg yours). You usually can do this by telling the WAP software the unique "media access control" (aka "MAC") number associated with each network card that will be allowed to connect. You also can use a non-default name for the access point; and change the default master password for the WAP so outsiders can't change your configuration on you. Enabling encryption can help somewhat, too, although that's primarily intended to keep people from "listening in" to your connection, rather than making their own connection. Still, it's better to run wireless with encryption than without. Lots more detail: See "Wireless Poachers, Wireless Guests" http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20021031S0004 If you think the connection may be hacked on your side of the WAP, you can see who, (if anyone) is logged into an XP box by hitting Ctrl-Alt-Del to bring up Task Manager, and then selecting the "Users" tab. And most connection-sharing software also gives you some means to see who's connecting through it. But with most wireless setups, external, um, "visitors" connect right at the WAP. The techniques referenced above in "Wireless Poachers, Wireless Guests" will make it much harder for them to connect to your setup--- hard enough, one hopes, that they'll move on to easier targets. Click to email this item to a
friend 3) WiFi, Bye-Bye
Yes, it's possible for external interference to mess things up. A very powerful signal, or a less-powerful one that's nearby, can simply overwhelm a weaker one, even if they're not on the same frequency. (You've probably experienced a related form of this in your car when you drive by the transmitter for a radio or TV station: The nearby transmitter may temporarily overwhelm the signals from any other station you're tuned to, even though the stations are on different frequencies.) Even weak external signals can be a problem if they're a "harmonic" (multiple or divisor) of the in-use frequency. Trouble is, transient interference can be very hard to find. You might look to see if portable phones or two-way radios, microwave ovens, garage door openers, etc., are in use when the dropouts happen. I even once had a wireless home weather station that would occasionally and erratically interfere with WiFi use! Separately, the speed-boosting and range-extending variants of WiFi are often not entirely standard, and can be more fragile than slower-speed, normal-range connections. One way to test for this would be to drop back to standard 11Mbps WiFi for a couple nights, and see if the problem still happens. If it doesn't, then it's the speed-boosting or range-extending elements that are causing the problem. You'd also want to see if the dropouts happen on all your wireless laptops at the same time (suggesting a centralized problem) or whether the laptops drop off individually (suggesting a problem at the laptop, or with the signal path to the laptop). If you want to get *really* serious about seeing what's going on, you might consider getting a handheld, stand-alone WiFi "sniffer" that can tell you signal strength and network availability as you prowl your spaces. You can also keep it near the laptop to see if the network link is really going away, or if it's just that the laptop thinks so. There are a number of WiFi detectors available ( http://www.google.com/search?q=wifi+detector) ; the one I know about in particular is from CyberGuys (full disclosure: they're a LangaList advertiser). You can use this link if you wish http://tinyurl.com/9pb4d to show your visit as coming from this newsletter, or go to cyberguys.com on your own, and search for item "120 5612." Finally, if most of your laptop use is in one spot, you might consider connecting via your home wiring instead of WiFi. Although it's limited to standard WiFi-like speeds (around 11Mbps) it's more reliable and less hackable than WiFi: It's what I use most of the time when I'm laptopping at home. See "Powerline Networking Comes Of Age" http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20030108S0003 . Click to email this item to a
friend 4) Tough Times On Planet EarthTwo disastrous hurricanes in the US, another in Central America, an earthquake in Pakistan.... Even here in New Hampshire, parts of my state got over a foot (30cm) of rain in just a few hours from the remnants of tropical storm Tammy. Channeled by some wrinkled topography, the waters tore up local towns, roads, and lives. ( http://snipurl.com/idwt ) If you've been reading the LangaList for a while, you know that one of its themes is "giving back." After all, those of us with computers and Internet access are vastly better off than most of the world's population. In this vein, a portion of the Plus! Edition's subscription fees is donated to registered/legitimate charities helping the underprivileged and unfortunate around the world. The contribution does not increase the cost of a Plus! subscription in any way; the donation is taken "off the top" of any profits. (This is described in the pages at http://langa.com/plus.htm ) So, in light of all the disasters occurring, we've made recent contributions to assist the victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. This week, we made two more: one to help in Central America with the flooding caused by Hurricane Stan; and another to help the victims of the devastating Pakistani earthquake. (On my own, I've also contributed to the local relief efforts here in New Hampshire.) Collectively, LangaList contributions also are providing ongoing support--- week in, week out--- for 13 kids around the world, and we've also given special, extra donations in the past to help with various other disasters, both natural and man-made. (To see all the donations so far, click to http://langa.com/plus2.htm#kids ) Together, through the LangaList Plus!, we can help to "give back" a little to
those less fortunate that we. Thanks to all who have subscribed, and made these
donations possible! Click to email this item to a
friend 5) Free Software, But Still Not Worth It
Well, it sounds great, but it's actually less than meets the eye: It's just a front end to other programs that you either already have, or can get for free. There's no need for the added complexity and hassle of downloading and installing the "computer-rx computer maintenance package," as it doesn't add anything meaningful on its own. For example, the package's "remove spyware" function simply hands you off to the Spybot S&D web site; similarly the "registry cleaner," and "protect my pc" functions simply bump you to other third party tools that you can get on your own (and we've covered better ones, IMHO, in this newsletter). The package's "cleanup disk," "defrag" and "backup" merely run Window's own, built-in tools, which you already have and can use without the need for third-party intervention. Why on earth the "computer-rx computer maintenance package" needs an 11MB download and 22MB to run when all it's doing is handing you off to other tools is, um, puzzling. I'm a big fan of free tools, but only if they do something useful, or add features and benefits you otherwise wouldn't have. This one just adds complexity and bloat. IMHO, skip it. Click to email this item to a
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--------------( the above is an advertisement )------------- 6) Three More Winners!"Ian," "S_ganish," and "Donjave" each won a FREE full one-year subscription to the LangaList Plus!
edition by using the "Recommend To A Friend" form at
http://langa.com/recommend.htm
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friend 7) "Zeroing Out" A Large File
That's not a lot to go on, Rob, so I'm not sure of the context for your question, but the simplest thing would be to delete the original file and create a new, empty file with the same name, in the same location, etc. Let's say you have a file called: c:\folder1\anotherfolder\yetanotherfolder\gigantic.log and you want it "zeroed out." Navigate to c:\folder1\anotherfolder\yetanotherfolder\ , delete the "gigantic.log" file. Open Notepad and then immediately save the empty text file, giving it any name you wish--- even the default "New Text Document.txt" Then rename the empty txt file to "gigantic.log" (or whatever) and that's that: You now have a totally empty file named "gigantic.log" (or whatever). If the file attributes don't match, the ATTRIB command will let you modify them as needed: http://www.google.com/search?q=attrib You can even play with the timestamp, if it's necessary that things be *exactly* the same, and not merely close: http://www.google.com/search?q=set+file+date You can automate the above with a simple script or batch file, of course. I actually do that with one of my spam tools: It keeps a Bayesian database of spam examples, and because I get so much email, the database gets ridiculously huge. Once I got the spam tool working well enough, with enough examples in its database for accurate spam-detection, I copied the database and gave it a separate name. From time to time, I run a batch file that deletes the ever-growing real database, and copies the manageably-sized copy back to the original location with the original name. Works fine! <g> Click to email this item to a
friend 8) More Reader Sites!Do you have a home page or website? (It doesn't matter
what size.) Please click over to
http://langa.com/code.htm , and maybe you can join the hundreds and hundreds
of LangaList readers who have "Loaded the Code!" (If you've already "Loaded The
Code" and are wondering if your site will appear here or on the Langa.Com web
site, please see http://langa.com/link.txt
) Manually Browse All Posted-to-Date Sites Starting At Software downloads, support forums and News Real Linux Geek Online store Dreams of Infinity Ask Leo Epilogos Tivo Upgrades Prepaid Cellphone blog Karl's PC Device Driver Site Size Me (utility) Click to email this item to a
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--------------( the above is an advertisement )------------- 9) Your Firewall Opinion Wanted!
Well, the free version of ZoneAlarm (ironically enough) doesn't enable the features that are causing trouble with the Pro version. For example, the "OS-level firewall" that annoyingly and hyper-sensitively flags "DANGEROUS ACTIVITY" at every turn is entirely absent from the free version. So, ZA Free is still a viable option. But let's cast this question to the wider group: Together, we're smarter and more experienced than any one of us can be. What's you're current favorite firewall, and why? Please send your replies to and put the word FIREWALL in the subject line so I can find and sort your emails. I'll collect your answers, and present them at a later date! Click to email this item to a
friend 10) Just For Grins
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--------------( the above is an advertisement )------------- 11) Plus! Edition Highlights:Today's LangaList Plus! Edition contains all ten items above, plus about 40% more content including:
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with a MONEY BACK Click to email this item to a
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the LangaList Plus edition! The LangaList is published about 72 times a year, or about 6 times a month. See you next issue, 2005-10-20! Best, An easier-to read formatted HTML version is available in the "Current Issue" section of http://langa.com. (The HTML version of each issue normally is available by 9AM EST [UT-5] of the issue date.) All past LangaList issues are also available at the Langa.Com site. UNSUBSCRIBE (instant removal!):
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