Ken Burton, Consulting
Ken's emailed computer (and business) tips:
Today's tech tip (02/17/05): Ignore my previous comments, and BEWARE of Ebay!
Today's tech tip (10/12/04): Dear, sweet Florida, you lightning up my life
The ultimate job security...computer consulting (if you can maintain your sanity).
Faster and faster computers; slower and slower Internet. Why?
Buying a "Home" Computer or a "Business" Computer: What's the diff?
Why PC's won't be "personal" until they're little and they talk...
The newsletter is back, and why it was gone for so long... and the differences between Windows...
Today's tech tip (02/17/05): Ignore my previous comments, and BEWARE of Ebay!
If you have browsed my web
site or read my articles in years past you will have noted me sounding the
praises of Ebay as a poster child of electronic commerce. And for a fair percentage of Ebay users, the experience may still
be pleasant, or at least tolerable.
Somehow
they must think that lying to customers if you are Ebay is somehow better
than lying to investors if you're Worldcom or Tyco?
Another problem with Ebay and many other vendors is the layers of interaction required to receive refunds. If you sell something on Ebay but the buyer doesn't pay, you have to go through a series of very time sensitive steps to get your Ebay fees returned. Unless you mark your calendar carefully, you'll miss the windows for submitting these requests and Ebay keeps its percentage of the item you sold but for which you never received payment.
Is
this the beginning of the end for Ebay? Is it in the “make hay on the Street
and blow off operating as a real business” mode that has ravaged the corporate
world so broadly?
Today's tech tip (10/12/04): Dear, sweet Florida, you lightning up my life
An issue which is relevant nationwide but very important here in Florida is surge suppression. It’s not a matter to take lightning…er, lightly. The center of Florida is the center of lightning strikes for the whole nation. To quote from NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), “Over the entire year, the highest frequency of cloud-to-ground lightning is in Florida [emphasis mine] between Tampa and Orlando. This is due to the presence, on many days during the year, of a large moisture content in the atmosphere at low levels (below 5,000 feet), as well as high surface temperatures that produce strong sea breezes along the Florida coasts.” The rest of Florida isn’t much less susceptible to lightning strikes and the accompanying electrical surges; we’ve had our socks scared off by multiple strikes within a few feet of our house.
Why
does this lightning really target Florida? Lightning follows money, and money
tends to reside in electronic components. Many Floridians have a significant
investment – not only, or primarily, in computers – but in home
entertainment systems, which are often expensive and therefore targeted by
lightning (and other-source) caused surges.
A surge suppressor is a mandatory device for protecting these units.
Even
when present, a surge suppressor is often the most misused part of the system it
protects. Both computers and
dial-on-demand cable/satellite systems use either cable or phone connections
that are highly susceptible to surges and are rarely routed through a surge
suppressor, even when the receptacles are available on the device. Every
piece of wire connected to your computer, modem or printer should first go
through a surge suppressor. The majority of surge-related repairs I’ve had to do have been
transferred through the phone connection. Replacing a modem is simple, however,
compared to replacing the integrated tuner on a plasma or LCD TV.
Another
devastating event to computers is the repeated loss of power, akin to someone
flipping a light switch on and off repeatedly.
It’s not good for lights, but it’s death on computers and whatever
data files are open at the time, and a surge suppressor rarely helps in that
scenario. Battery backups, which
incorporate a surge suppressor and a battery that will run your computer for a few minutes save your data in
these cases, as well as protect against “brownouts” (low voltage
situations). Battery backups will not run high amperage devices like laser
printers and copiers, however. Most
provide a surge outlet without battery backup. If your battery backup doesn’t
have a cable modem coax connection (few do) you can always chain another surge
suppressor with coax protection off the battery backup.
Major manufacturers of these devices are Belkin, APC, and Tripplite,. All these companies have been around for years and provide insurance protection for properly connected devices, even if hit directly by lightning. If you have a severe storm that prompts you to shut down your systems, even when protected by battery or surge suppressors, do not unplug the surge suppressor from the wall unless you also unplug the phone lines and/or coaxial lines. Do use the power switch on the surge suppressor in addition to the switches on your devices (that don’t really ever switch off the power).
Inventory the vulnerable devices you may have. You can install a whole-house surge protector in your breaker panel to protect the large appliances; any sensitive electronics, however, need their own dedicated suppressors. You may have an expensive telephone system that would call for protection (you’ll need suppression on each line that enters your site).
Have you ever noticed the smell in the office close to where someone is running multiple copies on a laser printer or copier? That distinctive smell is ozone, which is generated by high electrical voltages as they build and discharge. If you ever smell that inside (and you’re not making copies), get away from windows, and outside, seek a low spot away from trees quickly. You’re probably a few seconds away from a lightning strike. (If golfing, you can hold up a one-iron high over your head; it’s said that not even God can hit a one-iron.) An interesting diagram of the anatomy of a thunderstorm can be found at http://www.nytimes.com/library/national/science/071800sci-lightning.1.GIF.html.
Lastly, remember that if you’re a Florida resident, it’s not a matter of it, but when, you will be impacted by lighting (it’s sort of like hurricanes).
Today's tech tip (3/25/02): Let's get wired! Wiring your home/business for the future!
The time to prepare your home for the electronic age is when you’re building or remodeling. While there’s nothing quite as fun as routing wires after you’ve got all your sheetrock in place, you can save a lot of time and money by wiring your communications at the start.
Why do you want to network your computers? There are a few very good reasons. You can connect your computers to share Internet access (this works especially well with DSL or a cable modem connection). You can backup important files from one computer to another. You can share printers; one computer may have a lower cost-per-page laser printer and another may have a color inkjet, and then you can set up different applications to print to different printers.
There are three types of non-electrical wiring are typically used in homes: Telephone, computer networking, and alarm system wiring. It’s typical to use same type of computer wiring for both telephone and networking; you’ll be best served by contacting your alarm service provider for the placement and type of wire your alarm system will need. (They will plan out your locations for sensors, which will usually be different than your phone and computer connections.)
The type of wire used for computer networking consists of four pairs of twisted pair wiring, making eight wires. This wire (Cat 5e) is usually solid and somewhat stiff, and is relatively inexpensive. Each individual cable is capable of supporting one computer network connection or two phone lines (4 in a pinch).
Since it is so much more cost-effective and easier to wire at building time, I recommend at least one phone line and one data line to every room in the house, with two phone lines to the living room and any other room that will have TV, and at least three phone lines and three data lines to any office or school room. A good rule of thumb? Figure what you’ll need and double it. Why two phone lines in TV rooms? Don’t forget about the dial-on-demand features of satellites and cable systems that allow pay-per-view.
Why two data lines in an office that will only have one computer? Many printers have built-in networking features, and work best plugged directly into a network instead of going through a computer. I usually plan for two data lines more than the maximum number of computers I anticipate in an office.
Your phone connectors are called RJ11; your data connectors are RJ45 (not that you really need to know that). It easy to put these in a box just like your electrical outlets (no more ugly baseboard boxes) and you can combine both data and phone on the same color-coordinated faceplate.
If at all possible, dedicate a small area for a wiring closet, where your phone service will come into your building. Your phones will be much easier to manage this way, and all your computers will connect to this room. All the wiring can be mounted on a wall-mounted piece of plywood. You should allow some shelving room for DSL/Cable modems and a hub (technically a “switch”). To save money initially you can manually patch your computers together here, but it’s best to wire a patch panel in the closet (it’s just a panel with a bunch of jacks for computer connections).
What about special networking cards and hubs that work through your phone lines? They’re slow compared to dedicated lines and standardized 10/100 networking connections (10/100 million bits per second). They’re OK in a pinch, where you don’t have the wiring in place, but don’t skip wiring at the start anticipating that the phone line type of networking will be sufficient. Wireless is likewise slow, can be somewhat unreliable, and have limited range, despite the specifications listed.
What if you want to add wiring to your existing building? You can use “existing work” boxes for your jacks, or use surface mount jacks. Wiring can be run though crawl spaces or attic space. Surface mounted channels are available for basement and brick walls.
Who can you trust to do your data wiring for you? Many electricians are now doing this type of wiring; your local telephone company often will provide these services; some computer consulting companies (like Ken Burton Consulting/ PC Gizmos) will do both new and existing structure network wiring. When we do network wiring, we’ll often put the new telephone wiring in place. It’s then a simple job to have the telephone company “terminate” the wire to their specifications. Feel free to give us a call with any questions.
Today's tech tip (02/20/02): What's my Domain worth?
How should I pick a domain for my business? If you look at the address above, you'll note that my email address and domain name have changed. In the past you reached my web page at http://www.WeDoConsulting.com. If you go there now, you'll find yourself in Portugal.
A few months ago someone from the firm We Do Consulting (located in Portugal and Brazil) approached me about buying my domain. I was reluctant, because changing a domain is a little like changing a physical address. You have to change all your correspondence, your mail delivery, etc. They really wanted the domain, however, so I sold it to them.
In my book, there are three main points in selecting a domain name. First, you want to have a name that people can remember. Then, you want it to be as short as possible and and easy to type without error. You want it to be relevant to your business so as to increase search engine hits (some search engines weigh heavily towards words in the domain name). So, after a few months, you should be able to type "I HATE my COMPUTER" into a search engine and find my page www.computerhate.com.
I spent a good bit of time at Network Solutions (www.netsol.com) looking up names. You can see which ones are available fairly easily there... Please note my new email address.
Yes, you too can earn hundreds of dollars a month, thanks to Microsoft, Virus and Worm Writers, Cheap and Dirty software writers, and others! Become a Computer Consultant!
I write this as I perform the third virus scan of the night on my main computer (and the sixth for all the computers that I have networked here). Around nine o’clock (five hours ago) I received an email from someone I’d never heard of. When I checked the email with my virus software, nothing flagged. Well, I knew full well that the structure of the email was one I’d seen before, so I double checked my software and rescanned the attachment. That nasty old SirCam virus was there, and sometime in the past in one of my virus software updates the “scan all files” setting had been changed to only scan program files, and missed this “lnk” file. That’s something everyone should check, by the way… There’s probably a good chance that this one is a new version of the SirCam virus (one of 60,000 viruses out there).
So, I yanked my network connection and went about the business of cleaning up a virus infection… (By the way, if you got an email from me that said, “I send you this file in order to have your advice,” it wasn’t really from me, it was from the Taliban…)
I’m probably more vulnerable than most to receiving the latest in viruses, since I have a fairly popular web page and a newsletter that goes to hundreds of people. Having to deal with these things every day really Sucks Big Time, however. And that’s where we get to the Joys of Computer Consulting. Or, Why You Can Expect To Spend Money Constantly On Computer Headaches.
Or, Read Here To Save On Computer Consulting. Or, Annoying Things My Customers Do To Keep Me Busy.
So here are the things you can do to keep me busy…
· DON’T WORRY ABOUT OR EDUCATE YOURSELF ON VIRUSES
Sure, I (and many others) tell you that you need to have current AntiVirus software on your computer and update it daily, but hey, What A Bother. Have the attitude that It Won’t Happen To Me. Better yet, if you find out you have a virus, just ignore it for a few days – maybe it’ll go away (of course, so might your data). But, if you do want to read up on viruses, visit my web page.
· DON’T LEARN ABOUT THE BASICS OF COMPUTER OPERATION AND SOFTWARE
Have the attitude that, “Someone else can learn about the computer’s basics. I just want to do a few things with this thing but I don’t really want to learn anything about it.” Now, I really don’t have a problem about this attitude. As I’ve told my customers, many who are professionals in their fields of study, “I can’t do brain surgery; you don’t have to expect to be a computer technician.” You will have to expect, however, that you’ll have to budget more than one visit a decade from your friendly computer consultant.
· DOWNLOAD A BUNCH OF CUTE UTILITIES TO YOUR COMPUTER
After all, every piece of software you download or add probably doubles your likelihood of having computer conflicts. So, if you download that Cool Screensaver, that weather program, that password saving program, every sort of chat program there is out there, a couple of different flag waving programs and the latest Shoot Bin Laden game, you’ll surely be seeing me or one of my competitors soon. You especially want to load “beta” software, which in my lexicon stands for Better Expect Trouble Always. I really love companies like Napster that never develop a fully tested version of software, but always have a new “beta” release. (Beta software is by definition still in the testing phases, and you’re doing the testing, sucker!)
· LET THE KIDS PLAY COMPUTER GAMES ON YOUR BUSINESS MACHINE
Those games programmers have one goal: Make Our Game Software Run The Fastest And Look The Best, no matter what it does to the operating system, or other software loaded on the computer. Next to the virus writers noted above, game programmers are the rogues of the computer industry.
· DON’T WORRY ABOUT BACKUPS
Self explanatory. Your computer will die. All data will be lost. All it takes is a good, hard knock on the table or desk the computer is on at just the right moment, and all your data will be g
While I’ve been called a miracle worker in recovering data on failed computer systems, there are truly “no win” situations where the only salvation is a reliable backup…
· HAVE YOUR NEIGHBOR’S SISTER-IN-LAW’S NEPHEW WHO USED TO WORK AT MICROSOFT WORK ON YOUR COMPUTER. FOR FREE.
Heck, I used to work at a research hospital. Five years. I saw pictures of surgery. Got a sharp knife? We’ll fix you right up. Now which side is that thing on? And are you running Version 3 or Version 3.7 kidneys here? What do you mean, it’s not that easy to reboot? Hand me those paddles!
· THERE’S OTHER THINGS YOU CAN DO, BUT I’M TIRED AND…
Well, my third virus scan is done…and it’s come up clean…I haven’t had any emails bounce back to me with virus warnings. I’m going to bed.
From a personal note: I’ll be out of the office tomorrow. My Beautiful Bride and me, her Homely Husband are celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary (Dec. 7th: a day that will live on in infamy). If you’re a burglar, don’t think you can stop make and make a clean getaway. One of the eight of our ten children remaining at home will be at watch with the Big Gun. Remember, all you have to do to gain another birthday is have a pulse; getting to another anniversary takes some real love, work and concern…
Today's tech tip (12/4/01): VIRUS ALERT! And some things that don't work...
I just checked with both Mcafee and Norton, who are aware of the new "Goner" virus but DO NOT have updates generated to catch this virus yet (as of this writing). "Goner" is spreading like wildfire. This mass mailing worm attempts to send itself using Microsoft Outlook to all entries found in the Outlook Address book. It uses ICQ and other chat clients to spread as well. It arrives in an email message containing the following information:
Subject: Hi
Body:
How are you ?
When I saw this screen saver, I immediately thought about you
I am in a harry, I promise you will love it!
DO NOT OPEN ANY SIMILAR ATTACHMENTS UNTIL TOMORROW, AFTER YOU UPDATE YOUR VIRUS SOFTWARE!
Making the rounds is this email regarding virus prevention:
"I learned a computer trick today that's really ingenious in its simplicity. As you may know, when/if a worm virus gets into your computer it heads straight for your email address book and sends itself to everyone in there, thus infecting all your friends and associates. This trick won't keep the virus from getting into your computer, but it will stop it from using your address book to spread further, and it will alert you to the fact that the worm has gotten into your system.
"Here's what you do: first, open your address book and click on 'new contact' just as you would do if you were adding a new friend to your list of email addresses. In the window where you would type your friend's first name, type in !000 (that's an exclamation mark followed by 3 zeros). In the window below where it prompts you to enter the new email address, type in WormAlert.
"Then complete everything by clicking add, enter, ok, etc. "Now, here's what you've done and why it works: the 'name' !000 will be placed at the top of your address book as entry #1. This will be where the worm will start in an effort to send itself to all your friends. But when it tries to send itself to !000, it will be \par undeliverable because of the phony email address you entered (WormAlert). If the first attempt fails (which it will because of the phony address), the worm goes no further and your friends will not be infected."Here's the second great advantage of this method: if an email cannot be delivered, you will be notified of this in your InBox almost immediately. Hence, if you ever get an email telling you that an email addressed to WormAlert could not be delivered, you know right away that you have the worm virus in your system. You can then take steps to get rid of it! Pretty slick huh?"
PROBLEMS WITH THIS METHOD:
I'm not sure (not having looked at the virus code) which email addresses those types of viruses look at. I do know, however, that placing !000 at the beginning of an address doesn't change the order the addresses have in the file. Databases (which address files are) are in sequential order -- the order they were entered in. They are just sorted per your preferences. You can order your address book by "alias" or by email address; that's just an "after-the-fact" ordering of the address book. However you name your new "wormalert" address, it's going to be one of the last you've entered.
Even if the virus does find the "first," "wormalert" address, only a VERY few Internet service providers (ISPs) will stop email transmission if there's a bad address in one of a batch of transmitted emails (I don't actually know of any that do). I wind up with bad email addresses every time I send out a "tips" newsletter, but it doesn't stop the rest from getting where they're sent.
And on top of all that, the latest virus to have widespread effects -- BadTrans -- doesn't even use the address book. It replies to emails in your mail program that may not even have been answered yet. And even worse, the one I received yesterday didn't even show an attachment, and it opened without being double-clicked on, despite having all the preview pain -- excuse me, pain -- vulnerability patches supplied by Microsoft installed. Fortunately, my (updated) McAfee software caught the virus before I was infected.
In addition: who wants to deal with viruses AFTER they've infected your computer? I have to all the time... but I don't really want to, and you don't want me to have to...
Interestingly enough, this virus came from a user located with an ISP (compuplus.net) that makes a significant issue about having AntiVirus software on their mail server so "this can't happen." Actually, many ISPs have AV software on their mail server systems, but don't advertise it because of the likelihood (and liability) of viruses "in the wild" (new and "unfingerprinted").
A highly ironic note: The badtrans virus replied to an email I had sent to this person. Apparently the unread email was the last virus warning newsletter I had sent...
One way to avoid these email worms is to use a obscure (non-Microsoft or Netscape) email program that isn't targeted by virus writers. One of my customers is using Incredimail (http://www.incredimail.com/). You still have to disable the Internet settings for your other email programs, however.
Please remember to keep your Antivirus software up to date. With the flukiness of dialup, I rarely find updated virus software on my clients' computers. AV software using my DSL connection seems to update flawlessly, however, if not as often as I prefer.
Nothing is foolproof (fools can be rather ingenious, actually).
Today's tech tip (11/7/01): Faster and faster computers; slower and slower Internet. Why?
So you just bought a new, superfast 1600mhz computer with a huge hard drive, megabytes upon megabytes of memory, and it doesn’t go much faster than the antique you just replaced – at least, on one of the main things you use it for – the Internet. Here’s why.
Often one of the slowest things you can do on a computer (other than maybe type) is browse the Internet. Why is the Internet so slow (WWW: the World Wide Wait)?
Reason #1: Your modem. Phone lines were never designed to handle anything but voice, and at poor qualities at that. Like many computer technologies, dialup modems were a “force fit;” we should be surprised they work at all, much less at high speeds. Dialup modems started at 300bps, and now top off at 53000bps (we’ll talk about cable and DSL modems later). These types of modems have reached their architectural capacity at the 56K, or V.90 modem level (V.92 modems offer a slight, usually unnoticeable increase in “upstream” speed). Even when a V.90 modems connects to your Internet service, it tests and is constrained by your phone line’s quality. NOTE: some modems report speeds erroneously back to the computer; you will never have a dialup connection over 53000bps, even though your computer says you’re connected at 115,000bps.
Reason #2: Your phone line. Many phone companies failed to anticipate the numbers of phones that would be utilized in certain areas, and ran short of wires in place to service these phones (and faxes, and computers, and alarm systems). While party lines are pretty much a thing of the past, there is often more than one conversation stacked on one pair of wires using some technological tricks. While the quality degrades when this happens, it’s nearly imperceptible to the ear; computers and modems are much more sensitive. Your 56K modem may never get over a 26000 connection on a poor quality phone line.
Reason #3: Your ISP (Internet Service Provider). Visualize the Internet like a highway system. To get on that fast piece of Interstate highway you first have to drive down your driveway. The quality of your driveway dictates the speed you’ll travel. Your ISP takes you to the high speed highway – hopefully. When you connect to the Internet via your ISP, your modem dials into a bank of modems, which connect to the Internet via a digital connection purchased by your ISP. If your ISP has too few lines leased to the Internet, or they’re too slow, it can impact your browsing speed. The most obvious indicator of “overload” is the busy signal, which means your ISP hasn’t even allocated enough phone lines and modems at his site.
Reason #4: You’re greedy. You’re the kind of person who wants to get the very most out of the most advanced sites on the Internet. You want audio and video; you want to play games over the Internet; you may use the Internet in your business and need to look up pricing at a decent speed while a customer is on the phone. Dialup internet connections just won’t do it for you, and you need to go to either DSL (provided by or at least through your telephone company) or a “Cable” modem (another high speed device using your cable TV connection. You need to pay the extra bucks and get an “always on” high-speed connection (DSL is typically 6-12 times faster than dialup).
THE TECHNICAL SIDE
The first dialup modems devised ran about 300bps, and the first PC processors used in computers ran at 4.8mhz. The current dialup modems speed is 53000bps (limited by the FCC below the 56K capacity). Computers are then over 400 times faster than they were; modems are less than 200 times faster. Bps stands for Bits Per Second, which replaced the roughly equivalent “baud rate” used to measure older modems. A typed character is (again roughly) 8 “bits,” so 300bps translated to typed characters is 37 characters a second. The early computers using 300 baud modems to transfer regular typed data could fill a screen in 90 seconds (now THAT’s a “wait”).
Dialup modems are at the end of their development cycle. Cable modems and DSL modems are “always on,” run through a network, and are fast and (fairly) reliable. I’ve had two different DSL connections, one ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line OR Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Loop OR Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Loop, depending on who you ask) and one SDSL (replace Async with Sync), and both have been down very little (and this is Montana!). One of the reasons for the slow proliferation of DSL modems is the corner the phone companies have had on high speed WAN (Wide-area network) connections. Phone companies fear that DSL will supplant their high-speed and very high cost T1 (1500bps) connections. That’s one of the chief reasons ADSL usually runs at different speeds “upstream” and “downstream.” A WAN usually needs high speeds both ways, and so ADSL won’t work very well… My first high-speed connection was SDSL (runs fast both ways) but that phone company won’t setup SDSL any longer…
Today's tech tip (10/12/01): Buying a "Home" Computer or a "Business" Computer: What's the diff?
Many feel that the kitchen, or living room, or the master bedroom should be the focal point of a home. How silly. Of course, the computer room/area is the natural focus of a home. After all, the richest man in the world built one of the biggest homes in the world on that premise.
Just kidding. No, a computer is not central, or even necessary in your home. But a "home computer" can be a valuable addition to your family. Here's some tips on picking a home computer and the uses it can have.
First, how does a "home computer" differ from a business computer? A computer is made up of two essential parts: "hardware" and "software." There really isn't any significant difference in the hardware between business and home computers anymore, until you get into the extra-high quality business computers. The difference lies in the software. Many "home computers" will have buttons on the front to control answering machine functions, volume, and even television on-screen, and some will have remote controls, but all these buttons on the hardware do is control the software.
A thought about some of the "features" provided on home computers: watching TV on your computer seems reminiscent of bus stations with TVs on the seats; who wants to be sitting 18" away from a TV screen? And the answering machine functions of home computers don't seem very valuable either, unless you really want "voice mailboxes" for you, your spouse, Buffy, Skippy, and who else is a member of the household. Do we love voice mail so much we want to put it in our homes, too? I prefer the good old answering machine.
So outside of the extra buttons, the software is what makes a computer "home-friendly." With most home packages, the value of the software "bundled" with the computer is a portion of the total cost, and would be much more expensive if the software was purchased separately. Here's a sample of software provided with a home computer: Windows ME, Microsoft Works, (includes word processing, spreadsheet w/charting, drawing) Creative Workshop for Kids (learning tools and games, drawing), Compton's Reference Collection (includes dictionary, thesaurus, desk references), Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia, Compton's Interactive Cookbook, Bodyworks (educational, exploring the human body), American Heritage Talking Dictionary, PFS Resume (a resume building program) Amazon Trail (educational game), Final Four (NCAA Basketball), and Money (a home finances program). In most instances, while the software provided is of good quality, it is bundled because the software manufacturers are trying to gain market share (usually against the competing Microsoft product), or it's an obsolete version.. Different brands of computers have different bundles of software; it is justifiable to give some of weight of your purchase decision based on the bundled software and how your family can use it. Keep in mind, however, that many of these applications may just take up space on your computer.
Many "business" computers come with the Microsoft Office suite (which is fairly expensive sold apart from a computer), or just with the operating system. Even in a home environment that can be more than adequate. And often the "business" machine runs much faster and better not laden down with "features."
Now on to the hardware. Compaq, IBM, Gateway, Toshiba, Dell, and Hewlett Packard all make good home computer systems. As you may have noted above, I have a dislike for all the extra buttons they include, and one other attribute of these systems: many of the components that normally would be inexpensive to replace, such as floppy and CD drives, are "shaped" to the streamlined cabinets. If after the warranty expires, one of these normally inexpensive components fails, you have to buy the "brand name" replacement at two-three times the cost. This is becoming less true in the business lines of these computers.
There are also many lesser-known brands sold by local dealers. Again, if the hardware is equal, take a close look at the software bundles available. For a printer, almost any of the sub-$200 inkjet printers are fine for home use (albeit, limited use). Inkjet cost-per-page is high compared to other types of printers, often close to five cents/page; if you need to do lots of printing, forgo the color and get a laser printer.
THE TECHNICAL SIDE:
There is a third class of computer, the "workstation." This is typically a more sophisticated system, with the fastest processor (or multiple processors) available, the Windows 2000 or Unix operating system, a large, fast hard drive and an advanced graphics card and large monitor. These are used where computing power is most precious: in the areas of professional graphics design, computer aided drafting and engineering, and other rocket-science-like professions. Rarely will these systems come with anything but an operating system, and often the cost of the software used will be more than the system (Adobe Photoshop alone is $700).
A fourth system is a "server." This type of machine "serves" up files to client machines, and so puts an emphasis on IO (input/output). Video quality is of little concern, but these machines will have the highest quality storage with SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) drives in a RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks). Also included will be a tape backup device of some sort. These systems rarely include an operating system; they expect to be loaded with Windows 2000 Server Edition, or Netware, or Unix (sounds like Linux).
Today's tech tip (10/8/01): Why PC's won't be "personal" until they're little and they talk...
In the lexicon of acronyms, "PC" stands for "personal computer." But, as some wise person somewhere said above, they're not really "personal" yet.
They are getting pretty small, however.
I’ve avoided any sort of “portable” PC for all the years I’ve been working with computers. I never could justify the expense (usually, for a notebook, about 175% of what your desktop cost). I don’t travel much; I don’t have a stock portfolio I need to monitor everywhere I go; and since most of my time is consumed fixing problems with PC’s, I don’t want one following me around…
I have utilized my Timex Datalink watch for a number of years, however. It reads information broadcast in bar codes on my computer screen, so I can have a reminder calendar, a phone book, and a task list on my arm. Even that, however, is a pain to keep updated. My tried, trusty, and true friend for over a decade has been my Daytimer.
Finally, however, one of my customers acquired a Compaq Ipaq Pocket PC, and I had the task of figuring out how to use it. Since I didn’t have his Ipaq readily available, I thought I’d better join the (wannabe) wireless revolution, and bought a Compaq Ipaq 3150. My Daytimer refills were to run out October 1, and so I used the month of September to “parallel” my organizer usage (paper vs. electron). The Ipaq is about the size of a small paperback, and runs for 8-14 hours.
I have friends who have Palms, and they tell me the Compaq and the other Pocket PCs such as HP’s Jornada are much more sophisticated than the Palm. Indeed, the Ipaq is functionally a notebook PC with the same applications as you would use on your desktop. A version of Microsoft Word and Excel are included, as is Microsoft's Outlook for the PC (which is closely tied to the applications on the Ipaq). Included with that functionality is a tiny little screen and no way to type, however. To be fair to the Palm series, I have never used one of them.
And you can't talk to the thing (actually you can, but it just functions as a sound file recorder -- no transcription). The device does include a fair-to-good set of handwriting recognition applications. One that is not included in the device -- you have to download it off the CD -- is called Microsoft Transcriber. It will read printing, italic, and cursive handwriting fairly well. I was fairly critical of its abilities, however. Then I remembered how many times I've tried to puzzle out what I had written in my Daytimer.
Because the Pocket PC operating system is a Microsoft product, my Ipaq integrates well with my desktop PC. It uses either a USB or serial connection to “synchronize” with Microsoft Outlook’s Calendar, Task List, and Contact list. The ActiveSync application also makes it easy to transfer Word and Excel documents (in basic form) back and forth. It uses the desktop Microsoft Media Player to manage MP3 files (yes, it’s a MP3 player too). Like any Windows device, it occasionally locks up, but that’s life.
In the space of about 10 minutes, I exported my customer list from QuickBooks, imported it into Outlook (which comes with the Ipaq), and transferred it to my Ipaq. (I did take me a bit longer to clean up the data, merger phone and email addresses, and so on.)
In a region that has wireless service, the Ipaq has the capability to use wireless to access email and the Internet real-time, with an additional wireless card. And the Ipaq has a modem available to access those services also. Otherwise, the email you write and the web pages you browse are transferred when you hook up to your desktop.
Some recommended accessories (some bundles come with some of these):
· An expansion pack (let’s you add a CF memory card or modem)
· A cradle (drop it in to charge and sync}
· A memory card (for backup and MP3s)
· Screen overlays (to save your screen from scratching
You can take a look at these on my web page by clicking on the Compaq link; they’re also available readily on Ebay.
---------- The Tech side
Why don’t we have voice recognition readily available? How long until we can say, “Computer, give me the coordinates of…” like in Star Trek?
With both voice and handwriting recognition, all a computer can do is match patterns to transcribe what you’re writing or saying. With handwriting recognition, it’s much like having to use a Spanish-English dictionary to translate an article written in Spanish. With voice recognition, it’s more like a Chinese-English translation. That’s why nearly all voice recognition programs require you to “train” the software by reading text on the screen (the program builds a database of sounds matched with words, in your inflections and accent).
Handwriting recognition is much easier than voice recognition. My Ipaq has a 200mhz processor and can keep up with me if I write slowly (with just a few errors). For voice recognition you need at least a 1 Ghz machine, a fast hard drive, and top-quality sound hardware.
If you think about it, us human beans are pretty wonderfully designed. The slowest models of us can recognize the spoken word (if spoken clearly) as fast as any radio DJ can speak.
Today's tech tip (9/22/01): Viruses, myths, and security updates
The next computer tip newsletter was supposed to be about those cute little
devices called "PDAs," or "Pocket PCs." Unfortunately, the
events of this month have precluded writing about cute little computers, and the
events of the last week (namely, the NIMBA virus) have consumed my time and
concerns, and are in dire need of addressing.
You can see my previous comments on viruses below.
The NIMBA virus (admin spelled backward) is a hybrid worm/virus that can
infect servers or home users. It combines many of the traits of previous virus,
all in one (sort of a Swiss Army Knife of viruses).
Here are some myths about viruses/worms:
"I'm safe because I only open messages from people I know."
MANY of the current crop of viruses infect your computer and send out emails
in your name, with documents from your computer (infected) attached. One local
virus was written with the name of a local Internet Service Provider as the
signature. The Nimba virus can infect your computer even if you don't open the
email, and can also infect your computer just by browsing a web page on an
infected server. It can also infect a server without any email program or
Internet browser even being open.
"My computer came with Antivirus software."
Anti virus ("AV") software uses "fingerprints" present in
the virus code to detect viruses. Just as a law enforcement agency is powerless
to catch criminals if they have no picture or information to identify them, AV
software must be constantly updated to catch the newer viruses. With the current
rash of infections, you should update your virus definitions DAILY. Even then
you stand a small chance of catching a brand-new virus before the software
companies have a new set of definitions out (sometimes they have them out
several times A DAY, like the last couple of days with Nimba).
"Someone I emailed told me I've got a virus, but it isn't affecting my
computer any."
A virus is yet another software program, but unlike most programs it hasn't
been tested for compatibility with other software. Much of the havoc raised by
viruses is just because of these incompatibilities. Some viruses, however,
randomly transpose numbers in files. Some carry a date-sensitive
"payload" that deletes files and/or disables your computer on a
certain date or day of the week. Some use your computer to attack other
computers over the Internet.
"I have a Macintosh and they don't get viruses."
Macs aren't targeted as PCs because they have a MUCH smaller share of the
computing market. However, Macs, and even PDAs such as the Palm and Ipaq are
susceptible to virus attack, and viruses are out there that infect them.
"I don't use email (or use only Hotmail or Yahoo Mail)."
As mentioned before, some of the newer viruses can infect just from a web
page. If you have an "always-on" Internet connection, you have further
worries. See the tech section below.
"When I get a virus, I'll get AV software."
Many viruses are "stealth" viruses. If they've already infected
your computer they can hide from AV software. Some viruses such as SirCam32 (a
recent one) even block your browser from even going to an AV vendor's web site.
You'll also pay much more to get rid of the virus if you have to call a
professional than if you installed the software to prevent it. Typically, it
takes me 1/2 to an hour to install AV software ($25-50 plus the cost of the
software and mileage). I've had it take anywhere from 1-5 hours to get certain
strains of viruses off infected computers (you do the math).
"I update my virus software daily, so I'll be just fine."
While not as important, the software patches Microsoft provides via its
Windows Update page (http://windowsupdate.com, or Windows Update on your start
menu in Windows98/ME/2000) are what they say they are -- "critical
updates" -- and should be installed at least monthly.
-------------------------------------------------------
I recommend McAfee for your anti-virus software; just click:
http://www.computerhate.com/mcafee.htm
-------------------------------------------------------
------ The tech side:
How do AV companies program the definitions for the viruses and how do they
find out about them? AV software basically just scans for an identifying string
of characters, much like investigators checking phone conversations for key
phrases. The AV companies have agreements with agencies and corporations so that
when a virus is discovered (mostly by the effects of it), the discoverers
forward the infected files to these companies, government agencies and CERT (the
Computer Emergency Response Team at Carnegie-Mellon). They analyze the worm or
virus and incorporate its signatures into their AV updates. CERT has a series of
articles at http://www.cert.org/ that give more information.
Another area of vulnerability is in "always-on" Internet
connections via T1, ADSL, SDSL, Cable Modems, and other devices as they become
more popular. These types of connections are more vulnerable to attack since
they have a consistent Internet address like web servers do (for instance,
www.cert.org is located at IP 192.88.209.6; sort of like a nine digit zip code).
Since the significant increase in "worms" and similar attacks I now
suggest installation of a firewall in these instances. A hardware firewall such
as a Linksys Cable/DSL router or the SMC "Barricade" are the easiest
to maintain after installation. A good software firewall (free to home users) is
Zone Alarm (http://www.zonealarm.com). Both Mcafee and Norton have firewall
software products also.
These are issues that definitely need to be discussed with a qualified
information professional.
The very nature of the Internet increases its vulnerability. Just one highly
trained, proficient programmer could, with some little effort, single-handedly
bring the Internet down. For more information and to test your security, go to
Gibson Research Corporation at http://grc.com.
If your computer is too old, these software products will place a serious
restriction on the speed of your computer. Check out the affordable new Compaq
business systems at our website: http://www.computerhate.com.
Next: PDAs?
Today's tech tip (9/2/01): The newsletter is back, and why it was gone for so long... and the differences between Windows...
If you were a previous recipient of this tech newsletter, you may have wondered why I discontinued it. Well...
It had been a source of pride for me that I had NEVER had to reload an operating system on my computer. I had also used it as a point of reference regarding advising customers to take care about loading unnecessary software.
I use and recommend Windows 2000 (please don't mix this up with the despised Windows ME) as my operating system of choice. I had run 2000 for (literally) months at a time, and Windows NT 4.0 before it, without ANY system faults, blue screens of death, etc.
My cheapo scanner died, so I decided to put a USB UMAX scanner on my system. The driver disk SAID it supported Win 2000, so I installed it. The driver wouldn't load, and gave an error on startup EVERY time I rebooted. After much, much unproductive troubleshooting, I decided to RELOAD Windows 2000 (and go with a different scanner).
All my data came in from my backups fine, EXCEPT for my "groups" in my address book/contact list. I still had all the email addresses, but they were no longer segregated into a record of those people who WANTED this newsletter.
SO, if you wrote me a HOT COMPLAINT when you received my newsletter last year, I haven't arbitrarily put you back on it. Please email if you want to be removed...
Here's the real tech tip for this week:
And now, to clarify the Windows version differences (and the upcoming XP); Microsoft has made its software releases VERY confusing to its customer base, but I'll clarify what's what here with a timeline:
Windows 3.0, 3.1, Windows for Workgroups 3.11 were the first significant Windows software
Windows NT 3.51 was another software product that LOOKED like Windows 3.1, but had a totally different base of code for use by businesses as network servers.
Windows 95 was the much prettier successor to Windows 3.1
Windows NT 4.0 LOOKED just like Windows 95, but again, was for businesses, was much more stable, and continued the different code base. Windows NT came in Server (for running networks) and Workstation
Windows 95 (B)& (C) supported USB and large hard drives
Windows 98 was really just Windows 95C with Internet Explorer 5.0 and a few new (but helpful) troubleshooting tools
Windows 98 2nd Edition added little, but did add the ability to share an internet connection over a network
Windows 2000 LOOKED just like Windows 98, but again, was for businesses, was much more stable, and continued the different code base. Windows 2000 came in Server (for running networks) and Professional
Windows ME, yet another successor to the Windows 95/98 family, ran slower than Windows 98 but had fewer tech tools (not recommended)
I've often had people who were confused about Windows ME (Millennium Edition) and Windows 2000, but they are as different as cats and dogs (even though they LOOK nearly identical -- sort of like Shih Tzu and a Himalayan).
Windows XP is the successor to Windows 2000 AND Windows ME, but is really just Windows 2000 (and eliminates the more buggy Win 95/98 code base). XP comes in a couple of server versions (as did NT and 2000) and the professional version (for single users).
WHAT REALLY CONFUSES many people is that Microsoft ALSO uses the same names with the addition of the word "Office," for their suites of application software (Word, Excel, etc.) Office 2000 is often confused with Windows 2000, and "Office XP" has been out for a couple of months (Windows XP will be coming out in September/October). In addition, there's an OFFICE "Professional," which is Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, etc. (which came with Microsoft Publisher in the 2000 edition, but does not in the XP edition, UNLESS you get the OEM version of XP Professional bundled with your new computer, which then includes Publisher).
So is it now just as clear as mud?
Next time: What is a pocket PC?
Today’s tech tip (12/6/00): Don't back down, BACK UP!
One of the most traumatic questions I have to ask many of my customers when I get a call for a computer not booting is, "How old is your most recent backup?"
"Well, uh, it might be a couple of weeks [read months] old."
"Well, uh, I tried to figure out how to backup but I [a: ran out of disks; b: couldn't figure it out; c: wound up with a blank disk(s).]"
Uh Oh.
For some people (very few) backing up is really not necessary. Even an email address book can be more valuable than you think, however. You can hope that all your friends send you an email so you can recover their addresses.
There's really three things certain in life: Death, Taxes, and Your Hard Drive Will Fail. It may be sooner or later, but your drive will fail. Sometimes it's obvious and quick (the "click of death"); sometimes its a lingering, pathetic death. Sometimes the data can be recovered in part or full, but sometimes it can be an expensive process.
One customer was moving a hard drive from one computer to another. He slipped, and the drive dropped three feet to the cement floor. The (now non-working) drive contained crucial accounting data. I had the customer send the drive to a company named OnTrack. They disassembled the drive in their "clean room" facility and were able to copy about 95% of the data to a CD ROM.
Very few people have paid as much for a CD ROM as that customer did.
The first line of defense for hard drive failures is a good backup. It is nearly impossible to do a system backup on today's systems with their gigabyte-sized operating systems and applications without a large-capacity tape drive (which uses a cigarette-pack-sized tape cartridge). However, most accounting programs have a built in routine for backup to floppy disk, as do most tax calculation programs. Backup methods differ for different programs, but be sure to check your directions.
If you keep all your word processing and other applications in a central folder, you can copy that folder to floppies or other removable disks. It is somewhat more difficult to save email addresses and messages. Often you have to use the "export" function on the "file" menu to save this information.
A WORD OF CAUTION REGARDING "ZIP" DISKS: There have been many reports of zip disks failing without any warning. One of my customers thought his backups were working fine -- the zip disk gave no indication of errors -- but when an important data file was corrupted he found that all his disks were toast as well. If you do use zip disks for backups, make sure you're using a backup program that allows you to verify (or compare) after backup (more on that below).
Have three sets of backup disks or tapes (at least):
Set A; B, And C.
Alternate between two of the three on a regular basis (daily or weekly).
After a set period (say monthly) take one of the disks out of the set and
rotate in the third disk. Always take your recent backup off-site.
Next month rotate out the other disk.
So weekly, say you're using a & b; on the first of the month set aside "a"
and use b & c for the next month.
Then use the a & c for the next month.
That way, if you've made a mistake or a file has been corrupted without your knowledge and didn't catch it for a couple of weeks, you can at least go back to your monthly backup.
THE TECHNICAL SIDE:
For my business customers I have these bits of advice:
As I noted above, you ALWAYS want to have your verify or compare turned on for your tape backups. One study showed that nearly 40% of corporate tape backups were useless, to failed or failing tapes.
ALWAYS keep a set of backups off-site. Fire, theft, flood, or other catastrophes can take out your computers AND all your backups.
DON'T expect "fireproof" safes to save your backup. Paper flashes to flame at 400+ Fahrenheit. All those little on and off bits on magnetic media line up neatly (and end their recording ability) at a far lesser temperature.
If your scheduled backup takes too long to do on a daily basis, back up daily across the network. Set up a folder on another network workstation where you can copy your crucial files.
Most good third-party backup programs allow you to schedule your backup after business hours. Make sure you rotate your tapes if you use this functionality.
INVEST in a computer professional to evaluate your backup schemes and suggest better or different ways to save your data.
If you have a high-bandwidth connection to the Internet, you can use a on-line backup service, where you backup to their remote server. I've tried a couple a year or so ago, but wasn't impressed. I recently found out that "@Backup.com" now has 24-hour technical support, which they and most others were lacking until recently.
Today’s tech tip (11/15/00): The terror, the terror, of OS sequels.
It does far more damage than all the viruses out there combined, with more down time; it consumes more technician hours than all the power surges that ever occurred; it's the dreaded "OS6+ Bug!"
Robert X. Cringely, columnist for InfoWorld magazine, put it something like this:
“If the development cycle of the automobile had followed that of the computer, a Mercedes today would cost $400, get 200 miles to the gallon, and blow up once a year, killing everybody.“
All the newest features in computers are great: I wouldn't want to give up networking, the Internet, 3D games, large hard drives, fast processors and the like, but the thing does "blow up" more often.
This is what I call the "OS6+ Bug." Any computer operating system (OS) with a version number greater than six has become too complex to maintain, and will eventually "blow up." The last numbered version for PCs was DOS 6.22; Windows 95/98 runs on top of the hidden DOS 7. And despite info to the contrary, Windows ME still carries the DOS baggage with it. The Macintosh is also into the "eights;" that's why Mac users have to put up with "extensions" filling the screen on start up. It's also why the current crop of PCs and Macs don't boot (start up) any faster than their "grandfathers" did. The software has increased in size and complexity to use up all those increases in system speed. The Mac and PC "six" versions took less than ten megabytes of disk space; the current versions can take over 100. And a "burp" in your AC power or a two-year-old tapping on your keyboard can make your life … more interesting.
Corporations call it TCO: Total Cost of Ownership. That's the ever-increasing cost of maintaining fleets of PCs with the latest software. It's also why a surprisingly large percentage of corporations are running older versions of Windows (yes, even back to Windows 3.1). An example: Windows 3.1 had its settings saved in files that, at worst, totaled in size the equivalent of a "People" magazine. Windows 98 uses a file called the "registry," which is about the size of a volume of the Encyclopedia Britannica. One corrupted entry in your Windows 98 registry can bring your system to its knees. Finding and correcting that entry can be next to impossible. Some call it "leading edge" technology; I call it "bleeding edge ..."
Brian Livingston, noted author and Windows "guru," confessed his struggles with Windows 95 in print a couple of years ago. He was inundated with mail from sympathetic system professionals that had the same ongoing battles. I felt immediately better, having just spent six hours on the phone with Microsoft technicians trying to resolve a network problem on my own system (to no avail; I eventually fixed it myself).
(Note: some wet-behind-the-ears network technician is reading this and jeering me; give me 30 seconds with your Windows Registry, buddy. Heh, heh. Or your system folder, if you're a Mac user.)
What's the answer? No, suing Microsoft or Apple won't help. After years of troubleshooting computer problems (over 15, you wet-behind-the-ears network technicians), I've arrived at a somewhat annoying, but nearly foolproof solution. Plan to reload your system software to a clean hard drive every few months. It's best to have a system backup from early on, when your system was actually running halfway decently. Many tape backup programs have such a backup setting, and even help you create a new startup disk. And remember to do your backups of your data files! Rotate no less than three backup sets as a matter of routine. After you restore your system software, those backups will save your … credibility.
And when you get that new computer, it's a good idea to include in your budget ongoing maintenance of your system by a professional (shameless plug for computer consultants like me).
THE TECHNICAL SIDE:
Just one aspect of this “OS6+” bug that applies to Windows users is the “multiple-version DLL problem.” A “DLL” is a Dynamic Link Library; a chunk of programming code that Windows (and other application software) uses to run programs. The original idea from the Windows programmers was to share programming code between applications in DLL’s, thus simplifying the complex programming tasks.
The problem arises when different programs load different DLL’s with the same name. You can wind up with different DLL’s (but named the same) in many different places on your hard drive. One program loads one version; another program tries using that version instead of the one it prefers, and you have a system crash.
Another problem arises with operating system upgrades. Applications may have been written using a DLL Microsoft included in Windows 95, which Microsoft changed in its later versions. Older applications may not run with the newer version.
Windows 2000 monitors the DLL’s added by application programs on their installation, and will replace the DLL’s with the Microsoft version that came with Win 2000. Time will tell whether this will increase operating system stability.
Today’s tech tip (11/13/00): Electronic commerce for the common man.
You’ve heard of many incredible success stories about “e-commerce,” about small companies that have made their fortune on the world-wide-wait…uh, web. Sadly, for every web-based success story, there are 10,000 that didn’t make a dime. First, I’ll tell you about the 10,000. Then I’ll tell you one way YOU may be able to market your business successfully on the web.
“If you build it, they will come” is the hope of every web site author, every businessperson trying to expand to the web. Sorry; it won’t happen. Sure, if you type “Ken Burton Consulting” in the MSN web search (that conveniently comes as the default with Internet Explorer) or Google, or Yahoo Web Search, one of my web pages will come up as NUMBER ONE! Wow!
Actually, SO WHAT!
Now, if someone typed “get expert advice on computers,” or “whom should I give my money to,” and my web page came up first, I’d be overjoyed! But that’s not going to happen. Why? Because there’s thousands of other sites that have “expert” advice on computers; there’s thousands of other sites that want you to send money. And my site is lost in the “haystack” of the rest. (Just look at the counter at the bottom of my web page.) Now I could tell you that I’ll place your site “in the top ten of the top ten search engines,” and probably do it. It wouldn’t do you any good for marketing your goods and services, however, any more than it does me any good.
If you do have a web site, make sure you reference it in every other type of marketing medium. Put it on your letterhead, in all your print ads, on your invoices, everywhere your phone number is listed. That’s the primary way in which the big boys, the Fortune 500 bunch, get all the traffic to their sites.
There are other ways to get people to your web site; occasionally, you’ll hit on the right keywords and wind up at the top of the search engines (see http://www.shabria.com for a local vendor — Jody Schauss -- that sells camcorder batteries on the web, and got a great start from search engines). Even then, the search engine programmers are constantly changing and refining the methods used to index search hits, and a web page that gets in the top ten one week may “drop off the charts” the next.
So how can you market your goods successfully on the Internet? Without even having a web site? One very simple way to market your goods, whether it’s just a few items or thousands, is to use the on-line auction Ebay. Ebay acts as a sort of a forum for buyers and sellers to get together. The seller has a bit of an advantage, since payment is given before the product is received, but a ratings system (called feedback) acts as a sort of protection from miscreants.
A seller lists their item on Ebay (they can include a picture) and sets a starting bid price for it. The auction length is chosen by the seller and can be 3, 5, 7, or 10 days. To see as an example an auction I’m running right now for a local customer, click http://www.ebay.com and search in the search field for “Antique Back Bar Brunswick.” Potential buyers search for items by the words in the title.
Since there are millions of users searching Ebay for items everyday, those “worthless” oddball things that you have lying around may be highly valuable to someone else. We’ve sold nearly $8,000 in personal items ourselves in the last year. And if you resell or manufacture a unique item, Ebay may be just the place to sell it.
Another advantage to Ebay is that you can use your auction items to point people to your web site or your phone/address to order items from you direct.
We’d love to have you sign up for Ebay if you haven’t already. It doesn’t cost anything and you’ll be ready to browse through the world’s largest auction.
Just click on http://www.computerhate.com/ebay.htm and then click on “register” in the oval at the upper right-hand corner.
THE TECHNICAL SIDE:
First, regarding search engines: Different search
engines use different criteria for indexing importance of pages. Some search for
all the instances of a certain word in the “top” page and sort on that
basis. Some weigh in the page title as an important factor. Some use an
invisible Meta tag you can program into the web page with keywords. Some search
only the “top” page; some search 3-4 levels down within the site. The
programmers that design the engines are very wary of the different tricks people
try to get their pages at the top of the lists, and try to circumvent them.
Most people don’t realize that businesses can and
do buy favorable placement on search engines (for amounts of money few of us can
afford).
Secondly, regarding Ebay: It is indeed a “buyer
beware” realm. I’ve gotten burned for $50+ dollars before, on a seller that
had relatively high (and positive) feedback scores. On the other hand, I’ve
picked up items for less than half of what I could have paid anyplace else. We
(at PC Gizmos) will set up businesses with an Ebay “template” that they can
use to market their goods on this e-commerce site.
Or go to the site yourself and study the means by which others market products similar to yours.
Today’s tech tip (10/29/00): E-mail constipation; is it plugging you up?
See my Brain Cloud Email page (on my home page) for the brain cloud email.
Are
you tired of getting emails every day just like the one above (see my Brain
Cloud email) ? Or ones that can help you can make $50,000 a month at
home with your computer? Or ones that help you avoid the IRS?
The
first class of junk email is the stuff like the one above (although that one is
serious; I made $2 off this scam the last time I sent it out). It’s the
“make money because of someone’s email tracking scheme,” or the free beer
from Bud, or whatever is in vogue that day.
Before
you forward that “free M&Ms” offer, or anything like it, remember the
old axiom: “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” If it sounds too good
to be true, it is.
The
second class of junk mail is the FUD kind, the kind that capitalizes on Fear,
Uncertainty and Doubt. That’s the “It take guts to say Jesus” email virus
warning, or the “Rapist in your car at the mall” type of email. Virtually
all of that type of email has been hoaxes. (Although I’ve had my kidneys
stolen in Las Vegas hotel rooms seven times now.)
The
last one, and easily the most annoying one, is the Spam emails where they’re
trying to sell you something: sex, free telephone service, sex,
make-money-by-spamming plans, sex, etc. They’ve somehow gotten your email
address and now you’re inundated with these.
While
this type of Spam is technically illegal in many cases, it’s nearly impossible
to enforce the laws regarding its transmission. So what can you do?
First
of all, don’t forward that virus alert, or chain letter (except for mine) or
get-rich-quick scheme. You can check the veracity of these emails at one of the
most interesting sites on the web, the Urban Myth site at About.com (click here
to visit):
http://www.computerhate.com/about.htm
Before
your forward anything, check it out there. And the folks at about.com also have
all the info on the “warnings” that are sent out constantly via email. And
it’s a great place to find lots of interesting reading about non-Internet
urban myths. (Be careful, however; some of it’s “R” rated.)
Regarding
the others: first, don’t respond to them with the “unsubscribe” method
most of them provide. This just verifies your email address for them, which
makes their database more valuable.
It’s
also nearly useless to block the sender’s email address. Most of the spammers
use a fake email address that changes every time they send another email out.
If
you use Microsoft Outlook, or the mail programs provided with the latest
Microsoft or Netscape browsers, you can set up a “junk mail” folder. This
will use criteria you define or already predefined to route junk mail into a
selected folder, or delete it entirely. The problem I’ve had with that is that
it sometimes routes or deletes wanted mail because some work or phrase met its
criteria. So I wind up checking out the junk mail folder anyway.
These
email-sorting programs sometimes have a subscription service you can purchase
that will update the settings to filter junk mail more thoroughly.
The
most practical solution is probably just to live with it. Learn to skim the
email and/or read fast. Changing your email address can solve the problem short
term, but the evil mail smiths will probably get that one too. And don’t
forward anything yourself except the most necessary things.
Drop
your congressman a letter every few months asking them to stiffen penalties for
spamming. Warn your friends to never participate in such activities. Send them
helpful information like this spam I’ve provided here ... uh, I mean,
informative email.
THE
TECHNICAL SIDE:
How
do they get your email address? There’s LOTS of ways.
If
you watch the news you know that Microsoft got “hacked” just recently. What
would be more valuable to hackers? Microsoft’s source code for “Windows
3000,” or the database of email addresses for Microsoft customers? And you can
bet Microsoft isn’t the only software vendor to get their databases broken
into (many companies would fold before publicizing that – or soon after).
Do
you have a web page? Many spammers use software programs that search the
Internet and pull any text with an “@” in the middle, assuming that’s a
valid email address. I know that’s how so many got my email address.
(Spammers, you can get my email address at
Some
software companies sell email lists, just like companies (your phone company
included) sell postal mail lists.
All
that being said, now I’m going to plug my spam . . . uh, newsletter. If you
like this, or better yet, love it, forward it to someone you know will find this
info valuable (this is stuff I’m giving away FREE that normally you would pay
hundreds of pennies for.) And please visit the links I provide here.
Despite
all the junk I get, the email newsletters I’ve subscribed to have been of
great value to me. Some I ALWAYS read; some I pick and choose. Remember: don’t
throw the baby out with the bathwater (there’s a criminal ring doing that
right now in Mexico; I read about it in an email . . .)
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Have you had your flu shots? October 26, 2000
It wasn’t many years ago when I didn’t even need to bother to address virus protection with my customers using computers in their home or small business. A few simple precautions usually served to protect from infection: No opening email attachments if you didn’t recognize the sender; only installing shrink-wrapped software in your computer; not sharing games on floppy disks. That was in the days where most virus infections came on a floppy disk.
With Internet use becoming as typical as computer use, the opportunities for virus-writers and hackers exploded. Changes in the email programs provided with computers, and the increase in features in the browsers allowed “holes” for destructive programs (viruses, Trojan horses, and worms) to operate. Now the use of an anti-virus program is unavoidable. I’m going to call all these above-mentioned programs viruses for the next few comments.
A computer virus is simply a program that installs itself into your computer without your permission. The program is often benign; a relatively small percentage of these programs do perform destructive actions, however. Most virus problems are similar to the effects suffered by the use of poorly written software. The virus, just by its presence in memory or in programs, tends to foul up the complex operating systems (namely Windows 9x) in use today. All sorts of odd and annoying things can be caused by a virus infection (no wheezing or sneezing, however).
Many of the current virus programs spread themselves by the use of your email program. Just because you receive an email from a trusted friend doesn’t mean they sent it. A virus infecting their computer could have pulled your email address out of their address book and sent itself to you. And, because of certain programming errors present in some email programs, a virus can be “caught” without you even having opened the specific email.
It’s well to keep in mind that most viruses don’t let on at all that you’ve been infected. Many people don’t find out until a friend emails them back telling that they received a virus from you (with a BIG thank you).
Who writes these viruses? Mutants from the nth dimension? Communist holdovers from the old Soviet Union? No, I think it’s the same kind of characters that break out windows and beat up mailboxes, only just slightly brighter. Most of them don’t even originate the code they write; they pull it off web sites dedicated to the spread of viruses and customize it to their uses.
So, what can you do to prevent this? First of all, go to Microsoft’s web site for free updates to your operating system and Internet software. The link is http://www.windowsupdate.com. Click on program updates and make sure you download any “critical updates” to your Windows software (ignore the rest, if you can). Some versions of Windows have the Windows Update icon in the menu that appears when you click “start.” This should fix any “security holes” in your operating software. Sure.
Then I recommend you go to the McAfee web site using the link below, and subscribe to their “McAfee Clinic.” The cost (around $30/year) is insignificant compared to the hours of time your and your computer technician may spend trying to clean up the mess made of your computer. One of my customers had THREE different viruses on his computer (five hours to clean up that one. Blood everywhere.) The main tool of the clinic you want to download is called “Activeshield.” It takes about 10-15 minutes (don’t believe their download times) to download and install. You will have to give a credit card to pay for your purchase. And yes, in the interest of full disclosure, I get a commission (a big 10%) if you go to their web site using the link I provide (or if you click through from my web site – http://www.computerhate.com).
I’ve worked with both Norton AntiVirus and McAfee, and I prefer and recommend McAfee. (And it isn’t just because I dislike that smug look Peter Norton has.)
Always make sure you keep your virus software updated (McAfee is almost automatic about this). New viruses come out every few days, and your software can’t protect against the new ones unless it’s updated.
If you can’t click on the link below, copy it to your browser address line and hit enter (highlight the link, click edit>copy here, then highlight the address line in your browser and hit edit>paste. Make sure no spaces exist in the link. If that doesn’t work, go to http://www.computerhate.com (my web page) and click on the McAfee banner.
Here’s the link:
http://www.computerhate.com/mcafee.htm
THE TECHNICAL SIDE:
As I mentioned above, a virus is just a computer program. An anti-virus program looks for unique strings of characters in files that are unique to the program code. That’s what the virus definitions you download really are, just an index to enable a text search of the contents of files.
When I tried to send the visual basic code for the “love bug” virus as a text file (totally harmless in that form) to a friend, my email server rejected my message because by then, 6 hours after the bug had struck, the ISP had programmed the email server to search for that text string and refuse to transfer any messages containing the string.
The code in a virus infiltrates invisibly into your software, just like a human virus takes over your cells. A “Trojan Horse” is a program that looks like something usable and seems to perform some function, but does things to your computer unbeknownst to you. Technically a Trojan Horse only does the damage when you run the program. A worm is a program that may, like a Trojan horse, seem to have a function, but will not only infect your software like a virus, but attempt to propagate itself through whatever means exist.
Just having these things lurk around in memory tends to foul stuff up. Many of them change the Windows registry, which is the “Mirkwood” of your operating system (go there and die).
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