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ClifNotesNewsletter041128
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 November 28, 2004 |
Reviews
 Windows XP Video Decoder
Checkup Utility - why isn't my DVD
playing? |
I've seen more than one person come into
the computer help club and ask why Windows Media Player isn't
playing their DVD's. This utility could come in handy when you need
to know if you have a valid decoder.
Website
- Quote from the website
The Windows XP Video Decoder Checkup Utility helps you determine if
an MPEG-2 video decoder (also called a DVD decoder) is installed on
your Windows XP computer and whether or not the decoder is
compatible with Windows Media Player 10 and Windows XP Media Center
Edition. |
 MountVD -
virtual drives for MyComputer |
|
Virtual drives can be many things. In
this case it can be explained as a "shortcut" to a folder on your
hard drive. I could choose MyDocuments folder and assign it a drive
letter of "M" if I wanted to. This software makes that a simple
right click operation once you install it.
MountVD is a virtual drive mounter. Once installed - using
Windows Explorer (or such like browser) right-click on any folder
and select 'Mount Virtual Drive'. Choose a drive letter and the
folder will then be mounted as a drive. To unmount right-click on
the drive letter and select 'Unmount Virtual Drive'.
A list of previous mounts will be displayed, clear the list or
remount with right mouse click.
If the drive still exists after unmounting it, either it is not
a mounted drive or a file/app is holding it open.
Mount from Win startup: Set a list of folders to mount, along
with their drive letters - and the next time windows boots they will
be automatically mounted. ** NEW FEATURE
** |
 Sandboxie - surf
the net, don't worry about being hijacked |
I really like the looks of this
program. I can't use it because I don't have WinXP yet. I emailed Brandon Watts and he
says he'll definitely take a look at it, so he may end up reviewing
it for Lockergnome's Windows Fanatic newsletter.
Website - Windows XP
and Windows 2000 - Quote from the website
Sandboxie lets you browse the
web without leaving traces on your computer.
How Sandboxie Benefits You
When you browse the web, changes occur
to your computer system. Most of the time these changes are
harmless, like recording the addresses of web sites you have visited
(and when), so Internet Explorer can help you complete a web address
that you type in. Whether these changes are harmless or harmful,
they do in fact happen to your computer system.
When you use Sandboxie to protect your
browsing session, it catches all these changes just as Internet
Explorer is about to apply them into your computer system. Sandboxie
does record these changes on behalf of Internet Explorer, but it
records them in a special isolated folder, called the sandbox.
The benefit of having a sandbox is that
it ensures your ability to get rid of all changes done by Internet
Explorer, simply by deleting the sandbox
folder. |
Sleipnir -
tabbed web browsing from Japan |
|
I tried out this new tabbed web browser
called Sleipnir. It's a Japanese/English browser that looks very
much like Avant, SlimBrowser, and Maxathon (MyIE2) browsers. I like
all the features it has but I didn't really find anything new. I
wouldn't expect too much luck with finding any help on it unless
your can read Japanese. It looks as though the author has made this
browser highly customizable which is a big plus. I give it a five
star rating because it works well and I had no problems at all using
it, even if I can't read Japanese.
Feature of tab browser Sleipnir
Many functions and high speed
operation
Actualizing GUI which it is easy to use in
anyone
Powerful customization of Office wind
As
for key bind all modification possibilities
Customization
possible
The extensions with plug ins
The
extensions by the abundant scripts
Modification function of
the substantial outline by the skin
The tab management
which is due to window summary and is superior
The security
management which is superior
Automation of the search flow
with IntelliSearch
Supporting Bookmarklet
The
favorite editor is easy to
use |
TrueWallet -
remembers website logins and credit card info |
I wanted to try out this program
because I've found that a good internet integrated password manager
is priceless when you surf the web as much as I do. I normally use
AI Roboform but I have chosen to use an older freeware
version since the newer versions of AI Roboform are no longer
freeware and are crippleware instead. TrueWallet matches every
feature that AI Roboform has and it's newest version is free. I did
have a small concern when I read the EULA because it said that the
TrueSuite tools may record some anonymous information on their
servers. Another concern I had was that the TrueAssistant suite
manager pops into the system tray. I've got enough system tray icons
already. The TrueWallet toolbar is added to Internet Explorer for
easy access, just like AI Roboforms toolbar. TrueWallet's toolbar
does have a nice added search entry form for using the most popular
search engines. Except for those concerns, I think TrueWallet
is a real winner. Is it better than AI Roboform? I'll call it a
tie for now.
Easily fill out forms with your personal and credit card
information. Also helps you manage your website logins.
Have you ever forgotten your online passwords? Are you tired of
entering your personal information or username and password for
every website you visit? If so, TrueWallet is your answer to these
problems! |
 Windows Worms Door Cleaner - How
to survive the next big worm attack (updated 25 Nov
04) |
|
Some of you may recently
have been attacked by the Sasser worm or other such as the Blaster
worm. What did you have in common with the millions of others out
there on the net? Well, you were probably running Windows XP and for
whatever reason, you didn't have a firewall up and running. One guy
I talked to had just bought a new pc and was updating at Microsoft
when he got nailed. I helped him get patched and told him how to put
up the XP firewall till he got a better one installed. Before the
new pc he had Win98 and he didn't understand why he needed a
firewall right away, so I also gave him a quick lecture on the
importance of firewalls for XP. He wondered "Why did
Microsoft leave all these "doors" open for any hacker or bug to
walk in on?"
I ran across an
article in a newsletter and it sounded like you can prevent some of
these types of invasions by using "wwdc" to turn off some of
the Windows services. It's a very small utility, it's free, it
doesn't run continuously and you can undo your changes. A home
user really doesn't need all the services listed below running
so I tried disabling all of them. I found I needed the
third one in order to use my file sharing on our network. No
problem, a couple clicks enabled it again.
Quote from website: Most of the worms, in
particular the most famous, use known vulnerabilities in Windows
services which are enabled by default and that often can't be
disabled via the OS's configuration.
Even with these services
patched with Microsoft security fixes, they are still exposed to the
Internet at large ready to be exploited by the next
exploit.
These ports/services on client side are :
* DCOM RPC (listen on port 135) MS03-026
* RPC Locator
(port 445) MS03-001, MS04-011
* NetBIOS (ports 137/138/139)
MS03-049
* UPNP (port 5000) MS01-059
* Messenger service (uses
RPC/NetBIOS ports)
MS03-043 |
 WinXPatch
v0.1 - tweak XP till you're blue in the
face |
Here is a great little tool for
you serious tweakers out there. I haven't tried this one but it
looks really cool. The author took all the XP tweaks in the "Windows
Registry Guide 2003" and put them in this easy to use tool. If
you really want to be safe you should download the Guide along with
this program so that you know exactly what you are fooling around
with. The WinXPatch download is a compressed "rar" file, so if you
are not familiar with rar's (they are just like zips) then download
an archiving tool that can uncompress rar files. I recommend 7-zip for jobs like that.
Website - ScreenShot
- Quote from the website
This version has more than 100 registry and services configurations!
This is Windows XP Professional and Home patch, it can patch any
thing in registry and services. This is the WinXPatch v3.0
(programmed by me in 2002), I reprogrammed and released under new
fresh version 0.1 It's easy to use, check and uncheck buttons. It
has all the 'Windows Registry Guide 2003' configurations for Windows
XP. But instead duing it manually every single setting, this patch
will do it for you. 1st select (check) what you want to patch. 2nd
click patch. | |
Tips
Hacked Web Sites Used To
Install Parasites - Spyware Weekly
Newsletter |
|
Here's a great article about how
hackers are using a new method to make Internet Explorer give you a
big spyware headache. Follow the good advice in this article and you
won't need any internet aspirin.
... The pages which are loaded in the
IFrame causes the browser to load several additional pages, each of
which tries a different method of installing parasitic software.
Once the browser encounters an exploit for which it is not patched,
the browser will download and execute a variety of parasite
installers. Any of the following parasitic software may be installed
on the victim's computer:
180solutions
BlazeFind
BookedSpace
BullsEye
Networks
CashBack (Bargain
Buddy)
ClickSpring
CoolWebSearch
DyFuca
Hoost
IBIS
Toolbar
Internet Optimizer
ISTbar
Power
Scan
SideFind
TIB Browser
WebRebates (TopMoxie)
WhenU
(VVSN)
Window
AdControl
WindUpdates
YourSiteBar |
Sun Java sandbox
vulnerability - you need to update now! |
|
Tuesday November 23rd, 2004, the
details of a vulnerability in Sun Java were announced. It was
discovered in June and the fix has been out for a month now. The
problem is that this is not something that an update from Microsoft
can fix. You are more than likely using Sun Java and that means
you are vulnerable to this attack unless you update now. I've
provided a link here for you to do that.
Millions at risk from Java Virtual Machine flaw
Security
experts predict imminent exploit
Robert Jaques, vnunet.com 24 Nov
2004
ADVERTISEMENT
Security experts have warned that millions of computer desktops
are at risk from a newly discovered vulnerability in Sun
Microsystems' Java Virtual Machine (JVM).
IT security firm CyberGuard claimed that the Java flaw, which
is present in the JVM on most desktop computers, "poses a
significant security threat because it will not be closed by the
usual Microsoft update
process". |
 XP SP2
e-book - download a helpful guide to WinXP's Service Pack
2 |
|
I've seen quite a few problems with the
newest update to Windows XP. Many people have even recommended you
delay downloading and updating with it. This e-book may give
you the information you need to help with any problems. All XP users
will have to update to SP2 if they want to fix the security holes in
XP.
XP SP2 is more of an update to the OS (Operating System) than
just a normal SP (Service Pack). There are many changes to the OS,
as well as Internet Explorer and Outlook Express. We have found it
to be similar to when Win 98 was updated to Win 98SE.
Because of the nature of the new security settings for both
Internet Explorer and Outlook Express, an e-book has been written
with many screen shots included. Myself (Robbie), with a couple of
my friends, have written this e-book. This update isn't the end all
of end alls for XP SP2, but a starting point for ones that want to
upgrade to XP SP2. The guide isn't written in stone and can be
changed to suit your current needs. Most of it is suggestions taken
from our experiences of testing this through the many betas over 6
months. We hope that you will find this guide to be useful and
timesaving. | |
Cool
Websites
 FBI's new internet tracking
software |
Have you ever had the feeling someone is
watching you?
Website
- Quote from the website
The FBI has a new way of tracking terrorists. They are now able to
see every click they make on the internet. Privacy advocates say
this is bad, but the FBI says you will never even notice, and it
won't affect the common man at all.
Happy
Surfing! |
Google Local - look
for businesses close to home |
I found this search feature by accident.
I was looking for autoparts in my area using google and the first
link was google's local search. This search feature is in beta
testing now. It works great as far as I can tell. It showed me maps
to all the places I wanted to go.
Website - Quote from the
website
Sometimes the information you're looking for is
related to a particular place – like the all-night doughnut shop
that's nearest to your house. Google Local locates neighborhood
stores and services by searching billions of pages across the Web,
then cross-checking those results with Yellow Pages data to pinpoint
the local resources you want to find. This innovative approach gives
you access to the most – and most relevant – results for your
search.
To use Google Local, just include a zip code or the name of a
town or city with your regular search terms at www.google.com. Your local results
will appear at the top of the results page.
You can also go directly to the Google Local home page to view
only local results, see results on an area map, or limit your
results to listings within a set distance from your starting
point. |
Google's Advanced
Search - seek out and find what no man has
found before |
|
Sometimes it really pays to use the
advanced search features in a search engine. Almost all the top
engines have a similar feature. Google has a very nice tutorial on
how to use it.
When you don't find what you're seeking, consider specifying
more precisely what you want by using Google's Advanced Search
feature. Don't be frightened by the name "Advanced Search"; it's
easy to use, and it allows you to select or exclude pages with more
precision than Google's standard search box. Click on the Advanced
Search link, which is located to the right of Google's search
box. |
Google's file type
search - with funny results |
|
I received an email from my good friend
in India, V. Subhash. I just had to share it with you because it not
only highlights a great feature in Google, it makes webmasters aware
of a security issue and also gives us a good laugh.
Hi Clif,
Most people use
Google's filetype search to look for Word files (DOC), Acrobat (PDF), Powerpoint (PPT) files. I
found that Google indexes a lot of other file types. Several months
ago, I did a search for filetype:log and saw ftp log files for
thousands of several sites. Today, I had a brainwave and did a
filetype:eml search. EML is the extension for email files that you
save to in Outlook Express.
When webmasters allow directory
listing on their sites all files in their server become indexed. The
attached file is one such example.
V. Subhash.
<attached
email here I had to post it at my website because I
couldn't find it at
google> | |
Get my newsletter by RSS Feed  Right Click
the RSS button and copy shortcut. What is
RSS? |
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