Calibrate your monitor!

Most people can benefit from adjusting their monitor in order to view online photos better. Here are two web pages that help you do this:

• Step wedge adjustment - a simple adjustment that can improve the photo looks a lot. You should be able to see each of the shades of gray.
• Monitor Calibration - Stanley Rowin Photography. This page includes a step wedge with even more intermediate shades of gray, making finer adjustment possible.

Also note that Stanley Rowin's page mentions that the gamma adjustment part of his page doesn't work for most flat panel monitors.

Feed Reader reviews

You don't really have to come to this web page to read the latest posts. All you have to do is set up to receive the "feed" from this page.

OK, OK, so now you're starting to get glassy-eyed and wondering about "feed". Well, a "feed" is the information about a posting here -- the title, date/time, and text of the post. You can access those via a "Feed Reader". Most are free.

Once you "subscribe" to a feed, your NewsReader automatically checks for new posts when you open it. Of course, you can still just check back here now and then.

cnet has reviews of several feed readers. An executive summary... if you use Internet Explorer, it looks like Pluck is a good one to try. [ Download Pluck ]

If you'd like to read blog feeds via a separate web page that collects "feeds" from different blogs for you, try the Google Reader or NewsGator.

If you are a FireFox user, you can "drag" a web address for a blog to your bookmark bar and it adds an orange "feed" icon. Clicking on that icon lets you see all current posts for that blog. Internet Explorer 7 is reported to also add this feature.

Free PowerTools, PowerToys

Karen Kenworthy has some great, and free, PowerTools (utilities) including Cookie Viewer, Directory Printer, and Registry Pruner.

Microsoft developers created the free (but unsupported -- go figure) PowerToys for Windows XP.

I personally also use an older PowerToy (for Windows 98) called "SendTo X" in XP Pro a lot, myself. Caution: SendTo breaks the "Desktop (shortcut)" in the SendTo context menu, but I rarely Send a file to Desktop anyway, and if I wanted to I could SendTo any folder and choose desktop.

WiFi for Dummies

The average user has no idea of the risks associated with public WiFi hotspots. They don't even know what common related terms are -- 802.whatever!, WEP, WPA, SSL, https, POP3, IMAP, SMTP. Tons of people surf the web with ease and can even send emails with attachments (gee, isn't my baby cute!). But they have little knowledge about the computer system itself, let alone what the security vulnerabilities are or how to protect themselves.

Scott Granneman, columnist for Security Focus, has some very simple tips to keep your WiFi network access secure.

Protect your PC from malware

The amount of malicious software on the Web has increased greatly recently. Here are some guidelines to help protect yourself:

• Practice Safe Browsing.
• Avoid unfamiliar or untrusted Web sites, especially Web sites that advertise "too good to be true" deals.
• Don't install unfamiliar third-party toolbars. WindowsIT Pro magazine recommends you use only the MSN toolbar or the Googletoolbar.

A few other tips from Windows IT Pro...

• Configure your email program to read messages in "Plain text", not HTML or Rich Text.
  This avoids possibly activating malicious software
• Use your browser or a browser add-in such as the Google Toolbar to block pop-ups.
  Only allow pop-ups from pages where you really need them.
• Only install updates from trusted sites.
  Some people have been burned by installing an "update" that arrived by email. Don't.
• Do keep your system and programs updated.
  Many software programs need security-related updates too.
• Use caution with IM -- bad guys abound. Don't automatically click on a link you receive, even if it seems to be form someone you know.
• Always run virus protection.

You may want to subscribe to the "Windows Tips & Tricks UPDATE" or one of the other email newsletter from Windows IT Pro .

Clean your registry

The Windows registry over time accumulates entries that are no longer needed. They just make the registry larger and slower. So cleaning out those entries is a good idea. Unfortunately, doing that by hand is tearfully tedious, let alone risky.

That's where Registry cleaner utilities come in. Fred Langa's article in Information Week contains comments and evaluations of 10 Registry cleaners. Fred recommends JV16 Power Tools for a commercial product or EasyCleaner if you need a free one.

Read the whole article

Security: Upgrade Firefox to 1.5.0.1

Details on how to exploit a Firefox web browser vulnerability has been posted on the Internet. Firefox has upgraded the severity of the flaw to critical. Firefox 1.5.0.1 fixes that flaw.

ACTION: If you use Firefox, download and install version 1.5.0.1
http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/

Read the articles:
News.com (CNET News)
Information Week
ComputerWorld

Tech News Junkie highs

• ALPHA (CNET blog)
• Information Week
• CNET News.com
• ZDNet Blogs
• TECH_SPACE Blog (USA Today)
• TechNewsWorld
• Slashdot -- "News for Nerds. Stuff that matters."
• Wired News
• Sci/Tech News (Google)

Defender stays free

Windows Defender will be the new name for what has been called Microsoft AntiSpyware. Microsoft has promised that it will remain free. If you want the full "OneCare" security package, though, it will probably be a subscription fee.

Some related sites:

• OneCare (PC Magazine review)
• Windows Onecare Live beta (Microsoft)
• Windows Live Safety Center (free)

Suite security!

Isn't it disgusting what lengths we have to go to nowadays to just protect ourselves online:

• Anti-Virus software that even checks your email (outgoing as well as incoming)
• Cookie blockers
• Anti-Spam software
• Anti-Phishing software
• Anti-Spyware software
• Firewall software

I personally use ZoneAlarm Security Suite for AntiVirus (from Computer Associates, really), Anti-Spam, and Firewall, though the new version of the firewall checks so much in depth that I still get a bunch of pop-ups to authorize a program to do its thing.

Fred Langa has always recommeded a multi-pronged approach that even uses more than one AntiSpyware program. My current favorite is Microsoft's AntiSpyware (Beta). It has seemed to do the most thorough job of both detecting and cleaning our spyware. But I use Ad-Aware SE Personal and SpyBot as a backup. If I detect spyware with Microsoft's AntiSpyware, I then use Ad-Aware and SpyBot to do a second and third "sweep" of the computer. No single product catches everything.

I control third-party "cookies" and prevent the display of many third-party pop-up ads via MSIE 6 settings. I even check over cookies with the IE Cookies View. Nearly all cookies are "OK" ... there's some undeserved paranoia about cookies. Some cookies are, in fact, good for you (yum!). These type cookies can save your preferences for a particular site so that you don't have to choose them everyh time you visit that site. The few bad cookies that might harm your 'puter's digestion ruin it for the vast majority of "good cookies".

Internet Explorer 7 is supposed to add some Anti-Phishing capabilities. We'll see. Meanwhile, I try to stay very cautious about what messages I even open. And if I didn't ask for an attachment, I usually won't open it without checking with the alleged sender first.

Step right up and get your security suite for free:

• AVG Antivirus Free edition
• Zonealarm basic
• All the Anti-Spyware mentioned above is free

Decrease browser cache

Here's another tip from Fred Langa's LangaList, 11/17/2005 ...

Avoid a large browser cache (10MB or so is all you need for a high-speed line). A large cache and a bazillion files in the Temp file areas can slow down your system. "The browser cache in particular may make your browser and OS work harder than they have to, with the side effect of making the connection seem slow," Fred says.

Add another reason: the cache could be retaining some nasties. Less cache, less chance bad stuff is in it. So change your browser preferences (IE calls them Internet Options) to lower the cache and to delete temporary internet files (clear the cache) when you exit the browser. That's added security. [Musing: Is flushing the cache a Johnny Cache?]

Dude's away; icons play!

Here's a fun Macromedia Flash movie about mischevious Windows desktop icons from "The Worst Site" (and they have a sense of humor).

Malicious software entices

Security awareness includes knowing that just because an email or web site says it has great software you can use for free, "it ain't necessarily so". Below is one recent example (excerpted from a recent "Security UPDATE" email newsletter from WindowsIT Pro):

Last week, a Trojan horse program that alleged to be a copy of a leaked MSN Messenger beta began to spread. The "leaked beta" supposedly boasts many new features, all of which are designed to entice people into downloading it. But no such beta exists. People who downloaded and installed the file infected their systems with a Trojan horse, which then sent IM [instant message] messages to other MSN Messenger users trying to coax them into installing the program. The Trojan horse program includes a proxy and remote command shell capabilities, can perform Denial of Service (DoS) attacks, connects the system to a botnet, and more. In short, it's a disaster on any computer."

Also, some recent attacks have tried to trick users into just visiting a web site, which then attacks their PC.

"Many of these [vulnerability exploits] try to coax users into visiting malicious Web sites, which can infect their systems even if they don't download any files. Other exploits might arrive via email, IM clients, or other inroads. A number of exploits related to this and other vulnerabilities rely on social engineering -- which is a nice way of saying that they rely on the ignorance of computer users."

It's OK to be a bit paranoid when the bad guys really are out to get you!

The Security UPDATE emailed newsletter is free, as is the online version.

Crucial computer security

Everyone is getting more concerned, out of self defense, about security your computer against infection and information theft. Fred Langa, author of the Langa Letter (also known as the Langa List) newsletter, recently wrote about "5 Essential Steps to PC Security." The "executive summary:"

• Close the holes
• Block the intruders
• Stop infections
• Prevent subversion
• Lock it down
• Test the security
• Get defensive tools and information

The Langa Letter is a fine weekly publication. You can get it emailed (or online) free (with ads) or you can subscribe to the "Plus" edition (even more tips) for a measly sawbuck or so per year. Myself, after a few years of the free edition, I switched to the Plus edition and never looked back. (Renewal payment is coming soon, Fred!)