Windows Vista: Restoring the Recycle Bin Icon on the Desktop

Have you deleted the Recycle Bin icon off your desktop in Windows Vista (on accident or purpose)? There is a way to put the icon back on your desktop, just follow the steps below:

• Right-click an empty area on the desktop and select Personalize.
• In the left pane of the Personalization window, click 'Change desktop icons'.
• In the dialog box that display, check 'Recycle Bin' icon checkbox.
• Press the OK button.
  

Maintenance: Cleaning Your Computer (Video)

With Spring coming, its that time of the year where you have to clean things up. Most people know how to clean their house's, but do you know who to clean the different parts of your computer?

In fact modern computers can be adversely effected by the dust that can build up in them. Dust can prevent fans from working properly, block air vents or air flow. The dirtier the environment where the computer is located, the more important it is to clean it on a regular basis.

Yesterday I posted a video on how to clean your keyboard from all the crude that can build up in it. Today I am posting a video on how to clean your computer.

Maintenance: How to Clean Your Keyboard

Over the last few years I have read a few articles that talked about how keyboard have become so dirty that they're just breeding grounds for germs. After reading a few of these articles you may wonder how to clean your keyboard and the keys. This video demonstrates the basic techniques required to take apart your keyboard and clean it.

Note/Warning: The techniques demonstrated in this video only provide a general reference, the actual methods to take your keyboard apart will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. Use this information at your own risk.

Windows Vista: Understanding the Windows Experience Index

When I first install Windows Vista on a computer one of the first things that I like to check is the 'Windows Experience Index' (WEI) score. This feature gives me a good idea of how well the computer will perform with the new operating system.

To understand the WEI score, you may want to read the following article from Microsoft. Here is an excerpt: "When presenting at a user group meeting last week, someone asked me if a low Windows Experience Index (WEI) score of 1 or 2 means that he should not use Windows Vista on that computer. The answer is 'not at all.'

One of my favorite capabilities of Windows Vista is that it scales itself to fit your computer to help give you the best possible performance. For example, if your computer doesn't have the graphics capability to effectively display the new Windows Aero visual effects, Windows Vista won't enable those effects on your computer."

Internet Explorer 7: Change the Default Email Program

Do you want to change the default e-mail program that Internet Explorer launches when you click on a email link or send a web page to someone. To change the default e-mail program follow the instructions below:

• Open Internet Explorer
• From the Tools menu select 'Internet Options'.
• Click the Programs tab.
• In the E-mail drop-down menu to select the program you want Internet Explorer to use.
• Press the OK button.

Article: Security Super Guide

PC Magazine reports: "Let's face the facts here, people, the world has become a pretty scary place. In the salad days of your youth, all you had to worry about was the health and well-being of your family and locking your doors at night. Not anymore. Today, you need to worry about security in a whole different arena: your PC. Spyware, adware, viruses and Trojans are lurking online, waiting to infest your computer. All could easily cripple your PC if you're not careful. Worse yet, hackers could steal important personal information. If that's not enough to send you hiding under the covers, you also have to find a way to keeps your kids safe online. Scary? You bet. Unmanageable? Not at all. Pull the covers off you head and listen to us. Our super security guide will help you wise up and stay safe."

Its a good article and worth reading especially if you don't stay up-to-date on computer security and the associated risks.

Article: What's in your Windows Vista?

Several people have expressed concern about not knowing which version of Windows Vista to buy. Personally I run Windows Vista Ultimate edition, because I wanted to be able to use everything that the new OS had to offer (whether I use these features or not).

So if you want to know which features are included (or not included) with the different versions of Vista, check out this table on the CNET web site.

Windows XP: Make Folders Private

If you're on a computer that is shared among a few people, you may want to make your 'My Document' folder private so that others can't view its contents.

To protect your private files, follow the instructions below:

• Right-click your 'My Documents' folder and then select Properties.
• Click the Sharing tab
• Check the 'Do not share this folder' checkbox, and then press OK button.

You can also apply these permissions to individual folders if you don't want to protect your whole 'My Documents' folder. Just follow the same steps above, but select the folder that you want to protect.

Notes: In order for this to work everyone on the computer must have their own password protected accounts including yourself. Although, any user with administrator access on your computer can override this protection.

Software: Corel WordPerfect Lightning (Beta)

There recently was a lot of hype about Corel 'WordPerfect Lightning' that is currently in beta. The program is a type of hybrid word processing application that you download and install on your local computer with online features that includes collaboration.

The program includes: word processing features, document viewer, and file organizer. It also includes a free online account with 200 MB storage for documents, and other information. For more information, check out this slideshow.

Note: The download is 20MB in size and requires user registration.

Software: UDPixel (Fix Dead Pixels)

Do you have dead pixels on your LCD monitor, well they may really only be stuck. Download and run UDPixel to un-stick them.

This program has two main components. The first component that helps you to reveal the bad pixels by changing the color of the screen. The second components tries to fix the pixels by energizing them over and over again. (Hint: drag the flashing squares under the dead pixels)

Does this program really fix dead pixel? I can't say for sure. All my monitors are new, so I couldn't find any dead pixels to fix. Although, I did find lots of dust. You might notice what I am talking about after you run the program.

Article: Intuit Makes TurboTax Available for Free

PC Magazine reports: "Intuit has made a version of its TurboTax tax-preparation software free to use online for a limited time. ... In 2006, the company charged users to file their federal taxes electronically; this year, the company has also removed that fee, allowing users to file a 1040EZ federal tax return with no fees whatsoever using the TurboTax Free Edition."

There are some catches, there is a fee for filing your state return, including e-filing. It also see limited to people who can file the 1040EZ form.

Software: WinRAR (the new compression standard?)

The ZIP file format has been the unchallenged defacto standard for what seems like more then a decade. It was so popular that Microsoft put support for it in to Windows XP operating system.

Now there is a relatively new format called RAR, that is challenging the old guard. What makes RAR more popular is that it has 8 to 15% better compression then the older ZIP format. It also has multi-platform support (i.e.: Windows, Linux, Mac OS, BSD, and DOS).

WinRAR is a Windows program used for managing your RAR and other archive file types. WinRAR is a commercial program that cost $29 for a single license. Although unRAR is a free program that can be use to decompress RAR files.

Below is a list of some of WinRAR features:

• Beside the RAR archives file, it can unpack: CAB, ARJ, LZH, TAR, GZ, ACE, UUE, BZ2, JAR, ISO, 7Z, Z.
• Offers a graphical and command line interface.
• Supports 128-bits AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) encryption.
• Support files and archives up to 8,589 billion gigabytes in size.
• Supports self-extracting and multi-volume archives.
• Plus more.
  

Article: New Firefox Updates Eliminate Major Security Flaw

eEeek reports: "Mozilla on Feb. 23 released updated versions of the Firefox browser, v1.5.0.10 and v2.0.0.2, for Windows, Mac and Linux, which include the fix for a major security flaw. ... The 'location.hostname' vulnerability potentially allowed hackers to tamper with authentication cookies for third-party sites, manipulating how Web sites are displayed and how they operate, Mozilla said."

If you have not upgraded your version of the Firefox browser, I would strongly suggest that you do it now.

Windows Vista: Small Icons in the Start Menu

Depending on the size of your monitor and the your own personal preference, you may want to change the size of the icons displayed in Windows Vista's Start menu. If the icons in this menu are too large for you, you can switch to the smaller icons by following the steps listed below:

• Right click the Taskbar and click Properties.
• Click the Start Menu tab.
• Press the Customize button.
• Uncheck the 'Use large icons' checkbox.
• Press OK.

Software: Microsoft Virtual PC 2007

Do you need a test environment to try out new (or older) operating systems, and applications. Maybe you need to run an older version of the Windows OS to support a legacy application.

Microsoft is giving away Virtual PC 2007, that allows you to run multiple PC-based operating systems simultaneously on one workstation. This software runs on: Windows XP Professional or Tablet PC editions, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Vista Business/Enterprise/Ultimate editions.

Software: Microsoft Home Server (Beta)

Microsoft first announced its Home Server product at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this January. This software is based on Windows 2003 server, and is scheduled to ship this July.

So far, Hewlett-Packard will be the first hardware vendor to ship a computer with the software pre-installed on the. The new HP MediaSmart Server will be powered by a 1.8GHz AMD Sempron 64-bit CPU, and will include four hard drive bays and four USB ports.

To participate in this beta you must fill out a survey on the site, and then wait to be invited to be able to download the software.

Windows XP: Enabling Print Job Notifications

If you have a shared printer on your home or office network, and that device is in another location. You can enable Windows print job notification to alert you when your print job completes. To enable this feature follow the steps below:

• From the Start menu and click 'Printers and Faxes'.
• From the File menu, and select 'Server Properties'.
• Click the Advanced tab.
• Check the 'Show informational notifications for network printers' checkbox.
• Press the OK button when done.

Article: Secure Digital (SD) and SDHC Memory Card Performance Roundup and Review

ExtremeTech reports: "When shooting digital photographs, memory card performance can be critical, particularly if you're using the continuous shooting mode many cameras support. That's the mode where the camera keeps shooting frames as long as you have the button pressed down. Typical speeds for continuous mode range from 2 frames per second in some point-and-shoot cameras to 5 fps for higher-end digital SLRs. These are settings representing high quality or raw modes. After the internal memory buffer in the camera fills up, the camera then writes out the photos to the flash memory card."

There are several different types of removable media cards (i.e.: SD, Memory Stick, MMC, etc.) that are now available that you can use in cameras, cellphones, PDAs, and other devices. The most popular of these formats is SD.

Modern SD cards are going through a technology transformation that could make the newer higher speed higher capacity cards incompatible with your older devices. If you have a high speed digital camera that can take advantage of these new advances then you might want to learn about the technology. Read the article for more information.

Article: New Vista firewall fails on outbound security

ComputerWorld reports: "Microsoft Corp. has touted Windows Vista as providing significant security improvements over Windows XP, and it offers the Windows Firewall, with its new two-way filtering feature, as one example of that better security. ... But as shipped, the Windows Firewall offers little outbound protection, and it's not clear how outbound protection can be configured to protect against spyware, Trojan horses and bots."

The Windows Vista firewall is improved over Windows XP firewall, but comes up short when compared to other commercial firewalls. Although, the firewall that comes as part of OneCare is actually better then the one that comes with Vista.

Windows XP: Vista Transformation Pack

Want to make Windows XP look like Windows Vista, then you should check out the 'Vista Transformation Pack'. Below is a list of some of the Vista Transformation Pack includes:

• Boot screen
• Welcome Screen
• Logon Screen
• New visual styles
• New desktop and file icons
• And more...

Windows Vista: Memory Diagnostic Utility

Windows Vista includes several new and updated diagnostic utilities. Vista now includes a built-in a memory diagnostic utility, in previous versions of the OS you had to download this utility separately and create a boot disk or CD.

If Vista detects a problem with your computer's RAM, it will automatically display a notification asking if you want Vista to try to detect if there is a problem. You can also manually run this utility anytime by running "MDSCHED.EXE" (which is located in the %SystemRoot%\System32\ directory) from the command prompt, or from the Search bar under the Start menu.

Note: You will have to reboot your computer to utilize this utility.

Windows Vista: Problem Reports and Solutions Control Panel

When a problem is found with your hardware or software, Windows Vista automatically collects information about it. This information can then be sent to Microsoft anonymously to be analyzed to find out if there's an available solution that can fix the problem.

The 'Problem Reports and Solutions' control panel displays details about the problems that your computer had and possible solutions to correct the problem. To access this utility, open the 'Control Panel' from the Start menu, select 'System and Maintenance', and click 'Problem Reports and Solutions'.

From the Task pane on the right you can:

• Check for new solutions
• See problems you had
• View your problem history
• Change applications setting
• Clean the solutions and problem history.

Security: Microsoft Patch Tuesday (Feburary)

It's the second Tuesday of the month again, which means that Microsoft just published another round of security fixes for Windows and it's applications. This date is meant to be a predictable date so that companies only have to patch their computers and servers once a month. This month there are three patches that are marked critical, and four patches that are marked important.

For the average user, if you have Automatic Updates enabled your computer will download these updates for you in the background. Then when you shutdown these patches will be applied to your system. If you leave your computer on overnight they will automatically be installed and your system rebooted if necessary.

Warning: Before you leave your computer at night make sure you save all your work or it will be lost if your system has to be rebooted.

Enabling Automatic Update
If you don't have 'Automatic Updates' turned enable I would suggest that you turn it on as soon as possible. If you don't want to enable Automatic Updates, you can always update your computer by visiting the Windows Update site and downloading and installing the patches manually.

To enable Automatic Updates:

• From the Start menu, select the Control Panel folder.
• Double-click the System applet in the control panel folder.
• Click the 'Automatic Updates' tab.
• Check the 'Automatic (recommended)' option. (optional: if you don't like this feature, you can set it to: 'download but not install the update', 'just notify you', or 'disable this feature altogether' [not recommended])
• Press the OK button when done.

Note: For the latest Microsoft Security Bulletins, check out this site.

Article: The Best Free Software

PC Magazine reports: "Most software is expensive and bloated. Yet free software typically does one task and does it with precision and elegance. Among the thousands of free apps available on the Web, how do you find the best, most reliable ones for your needs? ...
To produce this story, we asked PC Magazine staffers to share their best-loved free software and were inundated with responses. Our recommendations are the apps that real people use everyday, at work and at home, for all kinds of tasks—photo editing and DVD burning, database work and intrusion detection, VoIP calling and stargazing. They're tried and tested, the best tools you can get—and they're all free."

Are you looking for free software for your computer? This article has a lot of good suggestions, although some of them are better then others. Check it out and see if you find anything you like.

Software: Foxit Reader (an Acrobat Alternative)

The Adobe Acrobat PDF reader seems to be growing a few megabytes in size in each version that is released. If you don't use most of Acrobat's features, then you might want to look to one of the most popular alternatives. This program is called Foxit Reader, and its more then 10x smaller then the Acrobat reader.

Version 2.0 of Foxit was just released with several new features:

• Interactive form filler
• Multi-language UI support
• On-demand download of add-on
• Self upgrade
• Javascript support
• Improved printing speed
• Streamlined UI and much more.

Software: VideoLAN Media Player

Looking for an free alternative multimedia player, to play your audio and video collection? The VideoLAN client (VLC) supports several audio formats (such as: MP3, Vorbis, FLAC, MACE, etc.), video formats (such as: MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX), and various streaming network protocols. VLC can even play DVDs and VCDs.

If you want to know more, here is a complete list of all the features. If you want to see what the program looks like before you download it here are some screenshots.

Software: Best Free Personal Computer Firewall

Windows XP SP2 comes with a free firewall that will protect you against most attacks from the Internet. Although, most fee-based commercial personal firewalls, generally offer more advanced security features that can protect your data from being leaked out of your computer by malicious software.

So for the security conscious person, they will want to install something better then what comes with the OS. In the past, I have recommended the free version of ZoneAlarm. Although, now I have found something better. It's called the 'Comodo Firewall', and best of all its free.

Below is a list of some of the features of this firewall:

• Application Component Authentication: validates all the components of an application before allowing it internet access.
• Application Behavior Analysis: analyzes each application's behavior and detects any suspicious activity before allowing internet access.
• Defense against Trojan Protocols: advanced protocol driver level protection
• Smart Alerts: Every alert includes a Security Consideration section with advice to users.
• And several more. Check out the web site for the complete list of features.
  

Windows Vista: Business Test Drive

Want to learn more about Windows Vista without having to install it? Microsoft is offering a Vista 'test-drive' program that allows you to use the new features of the OS before loading it on to your system. The site includes videos on how to perform certain tasks in the new OS, and it also has a terminal server version of Vista that you can actually play with.

The test-drive program runs in the Internet Explorer browser, and does require that you install an ActiveX control to use the site. If you're really interested in seeing and playing with Vista before you install it on your computer this is not a bad place to start.

Windows Vista: Windows PowerShell 1.0 (Released)

Microsoft has release a more powerful command line for its operating systems called Windows PowerShell. This feature is now available for Windows XP, Server 2003, and Vista.

The Windows XP version was released before the Vista version, so the released Vista version is harder to find. Here are the download locations for the Vista versions of Windows PowerShell 1.0.

• Windows PowerShell 1.0 (X86 Edition)
• Windows PowerShell 1.0 (X64 Edition)

For more details on PowerShell, check out the web sites below:

• Windows PowerShell Web Site
  
• Knowledge Base Article
  
• Windows PowerShell Newsgroup

Software: Microsoft Photo Info

Microsoft recently released a new add-on to the Windows Vista and XP Explorer that allows you to edit the picture's metadata. Metadata is embedded text data that is included with every picture to you take with a digital camera, it stores information about the camera, lens settings, etc.

Below is a excerpt from the site: "Microsoft Photo Info is a new software add-in for Microsoft Windows that allows photographers to add, change and delete common 'metadata' properties for digital photographs from inside Windows Explorer. It also provides enhanced 'hover tips' and additional sort properties for digital photographs in Explorer (in Details view)."

To use the utility after you install it, from the Windows Explorer right-click a picture and select 'Photo Info'.

Windows Vista: Upgrading to Vista

If you decided its time to upgrade your old computer to Windows Vista, then I am going to tell you the best way to complete this install. Although, I have to warn you that is not the easiest method to accomplish this upgrade, but in the long run you should have fewer problems and your system should even run faster (initially).

Pre-Installation Checklist:

• Make sure your system can handle the hardware requirements of Windows Vista.
• Download and run the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor, this might identify known problems with your hardware or software.
• Make sure that you have Vista compatible versions of your applications and their associated license keys (if required). You also want to make sure that you have a Vista compatible version of your anti-virus software.
  
• Windows Vista comes pack full of drivers for older peripherals. If you have system with newer hardware visit the manufacturer's web site and download the latest drivers for your hardware that is Vista compatible.
• Visit your motherboard and graphics card manufacturer's web site and search for firmware update for this hardware.
  
• Backup all your data, and anything else that you know you will need. Also be aware applications like Firefox and Outlook don't store their data files in the 'My Document' subdirectory.
• Microsoft has created the 'Windows Easy Transfer' wizard that can all your files and settings to an extra hard drive (or other storage device). Then after you finish installing Windows Vista, you run the 'Windows Easy Transfer' wizard again to reload your files and settings on the upgraded PC. Go here to download versions of this software for Windows XP and 2000.
  

Installing Windows Vista

• Before you start you make sure that you have the Windows Vista installation media and product key for the version of Vista that you're going to install.
  
• The best type of installation you can do of any operating system is to perform what is called a 'clean install'. This type of install requires you to format your computer's hard drive, and then put a fresh copy of the OS on it.
• Warning: Formating your computer hard drive will destroy all your data to make sure that you have a good backup of your data before performing this operation.
  
• After you finish the install make sure that you run the 'Window Update' application and download all the latest updates and drivers for your computer.
• Open the System control panel from the Control Panel folder, then click the link for the Device Manager in the upper left corner. Check if the Device Manager is having problems identifying any of your hardware.
  
• Install your applications, and copy your data back to the computer and organize it as appropriate. There are certain advantages to putting your pictures in the Picture folder, video into the Video folder, etc.
• The first thing that you will notice is that these folders have new locations under your User directory, and not under the 'My Documents' folder like they were in Windows XP.
  

Windows XP: New Daylight Saving Time (DST) Rules

Did you know that Daylight Saving Time (DST) is being extended this year by approximately three weeks. This extension is part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and effects the United States and Canada. DST will start at 2:00 A.M. on the second Sunday in March, and will end at 2:00 A.M. on the first Sunday in November.

Computer operating systems, applications, and electronics that are DST aware need to be updated to compensate for this new change. Although, older computer operating systems, applications, and electronics that are no longer being updated by the manufacture are going to be negatively effected by this change.

Microsoft is producing updates for its current generation OSes and applications that are effected by the change. For the most complete and update details, check out the following web site. Microsoft should being make this patch available as part of the next release cycle for the current OSes (Windows 2000, XP and 2003). Windows Vista is not effected by this change.

Windows Vista is Now Offically Available...

Microsoft has now made Windows Vista available for the General public to purchase. This is their most secure, stable, and best looking operating system that they have ever created. It includes several new and improved features, which seem too numerous to mention them all. Although, I will be writing several articles on them in the future.

Several of the enhancements are very visible like the Aero interface with Glass effects. Others are under the hood that are not visible like the new security features, such as the new firewall. For example, the first enhancements that you will notice right away after you log in to it for the first time is are the new Start menu, and the greatly improved Windows Explorer.

Demystifying The Versions of Vista
There are five editions of Windows Vista to choose from. Each edition is designed to meet the needs of specific markets.

Two of the editions are for home users (i.e.: Premium and Basic), two of them are for business users (i.e.: Business and Enterprise), and then there is Ultimate edition contains all the features of every edition.

There are also two versions of each edition of Windows Vista, the full and upgrade versions. The full version is intended for new computers that don't have an operating system. The upgrade version requires that you have an older version of Windows that qualifies for an upgrade.

Note: The Full version of Vista is more expensive then the Upgrade version because your computer didn't have a previous version of Windows that qualified for an upgrade installed.

• Windows Vista Home Editions
  
• Home Premium: Contains more features then the Basic edition. (Check the latest prices: Full and Upgrade [Qualifying versions of Windows that can be upgraded are: Windows 2000, Vista Home Basic, and XP])
  
• Home Basic: Designed for homes users with basic computing needs such as: e-mail, browsing the Internet, and viewing photos. (Check the latest prices: Full and Upgrade [Qualifying versions of Windows that can be upgraded are: Windows 2000, and XP])
• Windows Vista Business Editions
  
• Business: Designed to meet the needs of a small businesses. (Check the latest prices: Full and Upgrade [Qualifying versions of Windows that can be upgraded are: Windows 2000, Vista Home Basic, Vista Home Premium, and XP])
• Enterprise: Designed enterprise business customers, has several features for managing and deploying this OS to large, global organizations. (This version of Windows is not available in the retail channel, you must have special enterprise licensing contract from Microsoft to acquire it.)
• Windows Vista Ultimate: Provides the best features of the editions. (Check the latest prices: Full and Upgrade [Qualifying versions of Windows that can be upgrade are: Windows 2000, Vista Business, Vista Home Basic, Vista Home Premium, and XP])

For a comparison chart of all the different versions of Vista and features they include check out the following web page.

If you have multiple PCs in your home or office that that you want to upgrade, there are also Additional License Packs that you can purchase for a discount. These packs include additional OS licenses that you can used for installing Vista on other computers.

Microsoft is also making it easier for you to upgrade from one version of Vista to another using the Anytime Upgrade licenses. For example, you can upgrade from the Home Basic edition to either the Premium or Ultimate edition. Or if you have the Business edition, you can upgrade it to the Ultimate edition.

Check out the Windows Vista web site for the latest information.

Software: Tax Time Cometh - Electronic Tax Filing

Once you're over the age of 18 and you have an income no matter how big or small, we all face the fact that April 15th is on its way here. This is generally a time for dread or cheer depending on whether you get a refund or owe the tax man.

About 15 to 20 years ago, the only option for filing your taxes was filling out the paper forms, or having an accountant or tax preparer do it for you. Then came the first tax software, which was little more then an electronic version of the paper tax forms. It wasn't too much help, but at least you didn't have to fill-out the forms by hand.

Today, you can still have someone do your taxes, but the tax software is superior then it use to be. The software now has an 'interview' feature that steps you through the whole process, and makes sure that you get the maximum deductions. We also have e-File which is a godsend for the IRS because they don't have to manually input all that data from the paper forms, and it also reduces human error.

Below is a list of the most popular tax preparation software available:

• TurboTax
• TaxCut

The latest generation of this software is also available online as a web application The advantage of this is that you don't have download or install any software, everything is done from within your browser.

• TurboTax online
• TaxCut Online (or Software)

Selecting the Right Software
If you don't know which one of these packages that you want to use, below are my suggestions for selecting the best one that will meet your needs.

• Read software reviews from sites such as CNET, or PC Magazine.
• If you use Quicken for managing your finances, then you might want to consider using TurboTax because the programs will work well together.
• If you did your taxes last year with one of these programs, then you should consider using the same brand again if you want to import your old data so you don't have to re-enter it.

If you have questions about your taxes both of these programs offer help for an additional fee. If you're willing to look the information up yourself, you can use the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) web site for free. This site has all the official information and forms that you will need.

The Free File Program
If your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) was $52,000 or less in 2006, then you can file your federal tax returns for free (note: this doesn't include your state taxes). See the following web page for more information.

Below is an excerpt from the IRS site about the program, "The Free File program is a free federal tax preparation and electronic filing program for eligible taxpayers developed through a partnership between the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Free File Alliance LLC, a group of private sector tax software companies."

Software: Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor

Do you want to find out if your current computer is able to run Microsoft's next generation version of Windows known as Windows Vista? The 'Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor' scans your computer, then helps you determine which version of Vista you should run on your it.

This program requires Windows XP Service Pack 2, with the .NET Framework 1.1 and MSXML 4.0.

Software: Image Resizing Program

Do you need to resize several photographs from your multi-megapixel camera, so that they're smaller and more manageable for posting on the web or emailing? PIXresizer is a free easy to use batch image resizing program, that can process a group of photos and reduce their size.

The program supports the following image formats, JPEG, GIF, BMP, PNG and TIFF. The program also leaves the original images unaltered, so you don't have to worry about losing them.

Performance: Make Windows XP Faster (Advanced)

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Warning: This is an advance tip, this article covers how to change critical system configurations areas of your computer and its OS that can prevent it from booting properly if modified incorrectly. Follow this advice in this article at your own risk, all liability for any problems that occur are the responsibility of the reader performing the actions. As always its recommended that you have a complete backup of all your data before proceeding.

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When you do a fresh install of Windows XP it starts relatively fast (in 30-50 seconds) compared to how long it might take to boot today (maybe over a minute). Generally, there are three main causes of slow booting, bad configuration, useless software, and hardware issues.

To fix these problems there are two things that you can do. One, optimize your existing Windows configuration. Two, add new and faster hardware.

Before I ever recommend adding hardware to your computer, the first thing I would suggest you do is try to optimize your systems configuration. Then if the current performance levels don't satisfy you, then you should add new hardware.

One thing that you will notice in the instructions below, is that in order to reduce your boot time you will have to make certain compromises with features you may or may not need. I try to document as many of the issues that you might encounter by enabling or disabling these features that I am aware of.

Note: Its next to impossible for me to provide the exact steps for all the possible configurations that are available for all systems. The steps below are only general guidelines you can follow to help optimize your system.

Optimizing Your Windows Configuration:

• Optimizing your BIOS: There are features in your computer's BIOS that can make the boot-up process take longer. By enabling or disabling certain features you can shave a few seconds off the boot time. To enter your systems BIOS you will need to press a key like the Delete or F1 when you see the computer's boot screen when its first starting (consult your computer's manual to find the proper key to press):
• Enable the quick POST (Power on Self-Test) if your BIOS supports this feature. If not you can disable the POST feature all together.
  
• Note: By disabling this feature you prevent your computer from running its hardware diagnostics at boot time, which will prevent you from being notified about problems that could have been detected.
• Make sure your hard drive is selected as your first boot device. Most of the time the floppy or CD-ROM drive are selected as the first boot device.
• Note: By making your hard drive the first boot device, you will not be able to directly boot from a floppy or CD. If you need this functionality at a later date, you will need to change the boot order in the BIOS again.
  
• Most modern system don't include a floppy drive, so if your BIOS has an option to search the floppy drive you might want to disable it.
• Modifying the BOOT.INI: Set the TIMEOUT feature in your BOOT.INI file to (zero). This feature causes the Windows boot manager to wait a certain number of seconds before its starts. Generally you only need this feature if you have multiple copies of Windows installed on your system or you need to access the recovery options (if isntalled). Note: If you do have multiple options in the Boot Manager, by changing the TIMEOUT to zero option you you will only be able to boot to your default selection.
  
• To modify the BOOT.INI file you can use the MSCONFIG tool.
• From the Run... command type "MSCONFIG.EXE"
  
• Click the BOOT.INI tab
• Set the Timeout field to '0' (zero) seconds
• Press the OK button
• Note: You can also prevent the Windows XP bootscreen from loading by selecting the default boot path, and checking the NOGUIBOOT checkbox option.
• Use a static IP address: By assigning a static IP address to your computer for your local network, you prevent the delay it takes to get a new IP address from the DHCP server every time your computer boots. Note: If this is a notebook computer by disabling this feature you prevent it from automatically picking up a new IP address when you visit a foreign network.
  
• Open the Control Panel folder, and then open the 'Network Connections' folder.
• Right-click the network adapter card and click Properties.
• On the General tab, select 'Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)' in the list of services
• Press the Properties button. From here you can assign a static IP address.
• Press the OK button when done.
  
• Disable Remote Assistance/Desktop: If you're not using the Remote Desktop or Remote Assistance feature, you should disable them. Note: By disabling this feature you will be unable to remotely administrate your system over the network from another computer.
  
• From the Start menu, right-click 'My Computer' and select Properties.
• Click the Remote Tab.
• Uncheck the Remote Assistance and/or Remote Desktop checkboxes.
• Press the OK button
• Disable Unused System Resources: Services, device drivers, and startup applications all stay in memory when your computer is running, and all of them are consuming CPU resources whether you're using them or not.

Warning: You have to be extremely careful when removing drivers, stopping/disabling services, and disabling startup applications. By disabling the wrong resources you can prevent Windows from booting. If you don't know what you're doing, skip this step.

• Device Drivers: Open the Device Manager, from the View menu select 'Show Hidden Devices' and uninstall any drivers that you're no longer using.
  
• System Services: From the 'Administrative Tools' folder, open the Services console. Review the services and stop and disable any services that you may not be using. Disable things like the 'Index Service' or 'Fast User Switching' if you're not using them.
  
• Startup Applications: Download Sysinternals Autoruns, and disable any startup applications that don't need to be loaded. Check the WinTasks Process Library to find out what these applications are for. This site also contains references to malware executables and what they do.
• Update Your Device Drivers: Microsoft and other device manufactures update their device drivers from time to time. By making sure you have the latest driver, you might fix a problem that could be making your computer take a long time to load.
• To upgrade your device driver visit WindowsUpdate or the device manufacturer's web site and download the latest software for your hardware.
  
• Remove Unneeded Fonts: If you have more then 500 fonts installed on your system, this can increase your computer's boot time. The reason for this is that the more fonts you have, the longer it takes for the system to process them.
• See the following article for instructions on how to remove system fonts.
  
• Remove Unused Applications: Some applications can install services that are constantly running in the background whether you're using them or not. By uninstalling unused applications that you're not using, you can prevent these services from being loaded and run.
• From the Control Panel folder, open the 'Add/Remove Programs' applet. From here you can remove most programs that you installed on your computer.
  
• From this control panel, you can also press the 'Add/Remove Windows Components' button, to remove such applications as MSN Messenger, Indexing service, and more.
• Checking the Hard Drive: Running a scan disk on your system on a regular basis can help keep Windows running at its peak performance. If you're having problems (such as bad disk sectors) with your hard drives media, then files can get corrupted.
• Open My Computer under the Start menu
• Right-click on the C: (or whatever hard drive you want to check) drive icon, select Properties.
• Select the Tools tab
  
• Press the 'Check Now...' button, in the 'Error-checking' section.
  
• Check the 'Automatically fix file system errors' and/or 'Scan for and attempt to recovery of bad sectors' checkboxes.
• Note: The bad sector checking process can take several hours to complete depending on the size of your hard drive. Don't plan on using your computer during this time.
• Press the Start button when you're ready to begin.
  
• Make sure your hard drive is using the NTFS file system, its faster and more robust then the older FAT16 and FAT32 file systems.
• To check the status of your drive's file system, open up the Windows Explorer and right-click the drive and select Properties. If you discover that your hard drive is not using NTFS, and want to convert the file system to it, read the following article.
• Note: The NTFS conversion process can take several hours to complete depending on the size of your hard drive. Don't plan on using your computer during this time. Also, this process can't be undone once it has been started.
  
• Running Drive Cleanup: Use the Disk Cleanup utility to remove excess files off your computer that you don't need anymore. This helps make sure that your hard drive will have enough space for they OS and its applications to be able write its files to the disk.
  
• Read the following article on how to use this utility.
• Scanning For Malware: Any type of Malware (i.e.: viruses, spyware, etc.) can and will consume system resources that will slow down your computer. It's a good idea to run regular scans of your hard drive.
• Make sure that your system is running an anti-virus and anti-malware scanner, and make sure you keep these applications updated. Read the following article to find a list of free anti-virus/anti-spyware utilities.
• Update Your OS and Applications: Its important to make sure that your running all the latest patches for your OS and applications.
• Use WindowsUpdate to make sure your OS and Microsoft applications have the latest updates installed into them. Press the Custom button on the WindowsUpdate site to access all the non-critical updates.
• For non-Microsoft applications, some program's include built-in version checking features to let you know if you're running the latest version of their software.
• Enable/Disable System Animation: For the best system performance, turn off any or all unnecessary Windows XP animations, and disable Active Desktop. Windows XP also comes with several different predefined settings options that you can choose from
  
• Open the Control Panel from under the Start menu.
  
• Double-click the System icon.
  
• Click on the Advanced tab
• Press the Settings... button located under Performance section.
• From here you can tell Windows to manage the animation, you can adjust it for best performance or appearance, and you can also customize which animations you want to enable or disable.
• Press the OK buttons when done.
• Optimize Your Swap File: Almost every version of Windows uses Virtual Memory, which means that you have a swap file on your computer. The swap file is used to holds the contents of your RAM to give your system more usable memory. There are a few simple tricks that you can do to optimize your swap file to allow your system to work more efficiently. Below are some articles that I have written on this subject.
  
• Windows XP: Swap File (Virtual Memory) - Part 1
  
• Windows XP: Swap File (Virtual Memory) - Part 2
  
• Defragment Your Hard Drive: To help keep your hard drive in top shape, you should periodically defragment it to help provide the quickest possible access to your files. When you run a hard disk defragmenter, it rearranges the files on it so that their in a linear pattern so that they can be loaded quicker.
• Here is an article on how to defragment your hard drive.
  
• Enabling IDE DMA Access: There is a small chance the DMA (Direct Memory Access) option for your IDE ATA/ATAPI controller could be disabled in Windows. The DMA mode transfers provide the quickest possible method of moving data to and from your ATA device (such as your hard drive and CD/DVD drives). For more information about option, check out the following article from Microsoft.
  
• Open the Device Manager on your computer.
  
• Double-click the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers to display the available ATA devices.
• Right-click on the Primary or Secondary IDE Channel and select Properties.
• Click the 'Advanced Settings' tab.
• Then in the Device 0 or Device 1 sections, in the 'Transfer Mode' drop-down menu, select 'DMA if available' only if the current setting is 'PIO Only.'
• Press the OK buttons when done.
  
• Checking Your Hardware: It's a good idea ever six months or so to perform some basic checks of your computer's hardware to make sure it running properly and to perform some basic maintenance.
  
• It doesn't happen too often, but your computer's RAM can fail occasionally. If your computer randomly displays BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) while you're using it, or failing to start at all. This is a good indication your computer's RAM is bad.
  
• There are two free popular utilities that you can use for checking your computer's RAM. There is Microsoft's 'Windows Memory Diagnostic' utility, or MemTest86. Both of these programs create a boot CD or Floppy that you can use to check your computer's RAM.
  
• To make sure your hard drive is running in its peak condition, check the S.M.A.R.T. counters of your hard drive. If you don't know what S.M.A.R.T. is, they are performance and diagnostic counter that track the status of your drive. These counters track, temperature, errors, etc. To access the S.M.A.R.T. data on your hard drive, you can use a utility like HDTune.
  
• Its a good idea to open your computer's case and blow out all the dust and debris that builds up. If you work in a dirty or dusty environment you should do it more often. You should also check all the fans they're working properly. Too much heat will kill a computer, or cause it to become unstable.
  
• Sometimes it's possible that there are loose connectors in your system, it doesn't hurt to make sure that all the connectors are firmly seated in all your devices (such as the hard drive, optical drives, motherboard, etc.) Also make sure that expansion cards are firmly seated in their slots.
• If your computer gets moved around a lot, your external connectors to the different devices attached to your computer can become loose. Make sure they're properly seated in the port that they're connected to.
  
• Be aware of cheap capacitors that leak. All types of computer peripherals (including the motherboard and power supply) can fail prematurely do to capacitors that are leaking. If you can find evidence of this problem contact the manufacture and see if they will replace product even if its out of warranty. For more information on this subject, see the following article.
  
• Check the manufacturer's web site to find out if there are any firmware update for your motherboard or other computer peripherals (such as your video card, sound card, etc.). These updates generally contain fix known bugs, and add new features and functionality.
• Here is a series of articles that I wrote on 'General Windows Maintenance Tips' (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4)
• Buying Faster Hardware: Tweaking your system will give you small boasts in your system's performance. Although for greater increases in your system's speed you're going to need to upgrade your hardware. Here is an article to get you started.
  

Windows XP: Basic Networking Utilities

Below is a list of some command line network utilities that come with Windows that you can use for troubleshooting some basic network problems. The problem with these utilities is that they're not very intuitive until you learn to understand what you're looking at.

The primary use of them is to find out if different parts of your computer's network subsystems are working properly. For example if you're able to PING a remote computer, then you know that your computer is able to talk to it and that it's able to talk back to you. The IPCONFIG command is handy for finding out information about your computer's TCP/IP information, such as your IP address.

In order to access these utilities you must use the MS-DOS command prompt. To access the command prompt, from the Run... command under the Start menu, type CMD and press Enter. To exit the command prompt, close the window or type EXIT and press enter.

PING [hostname]

Example : ping example.com
Preforms a basic network test to see if you can communicate with a remote computer. This is generally the first utility that you should run if you're having a network problems. Type "PING /?" for more information on this command.

TRACERT [hostname]

Example: traceroute example.com
Shows the path and the number of routers (aka hops) that the data pass through to arrive to the destination, if a connection is broken, you can see where its happening at. Type "TRACERT /?" for more information on this command.

IPCONFIG

Example : ifconfig
Shows the basic TCP/IP network information for your computer, such as the IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway. Type "IPCONFIG /?" for more information on this command.

NSLOOKUP [hostname]

Example: nslookup example.com
Displays the remote IP address of a domain name based on the DNS information. This is a good test to make sure that your DNS connection is working properly. Type "NSLOOKUP /?" for more information on this command.

Below is an example of the output:

Non-authoritative answer:
Name: example.com
Address: 192.0.34.166

NETSTAT [options]

Example: netstat -nt
Displays the current TCP/IP based connections established on your computer. This is handy to see the remote TCP/IP connections your system is using. Type "NETSTAT /?" for more information on this command.

TELNET [hostname] [port]

Example: telnet example.com 80
Allows you to set up a simple terminal session with a another computer to perform different tasks, such as remote computer administration or running text based applications. This utility can also be used for doing basic troubleshooting on HTTP, SMTP, and other text based computer services.

Web Site: Zamzar - Free Online File Conversion

Do you have a file that you can't read (such as a postscript file) because you don't have an application that knows how read it? Sometimes your only solution is to convert it to another file format (such as a Adobe Acrobat document).

Zamzar is a free web site that supports conversion of files between a wide variety of different formats (i.e.: document, image, music, and video). The site is adding support for new formats whenever they can.

How to Sync Google Calendar with Outlook and Smartphones Automatically

I use several of Google's services, and one thing that has prevented me from using Google Calendar services was not having the ability to sync it with my Outlook calendar. I went looking for a solution to this problem, and I found a great article that discusses how to do it.

There is a free program called RemoteCalendars that allows you to perform the syncing operation between Google Calendar and Outlook. Read the article for the complete instructions on how to do this.

Article: Security Flaws Haunt PDF, OpenOffice Users

eWeek reports: "Serious security vulnerabilities in two desktop applications could allow malicious hackers to plant malicious code on millions of computers, according to warnings from the U.S. government's computer emergency response team. ... The more serious of the two is a cross-site scripting bug in Adobe's ever-present Acrobat Plug-In, which fails to properly validate user-supplied data. "

The flaw as been patched in Adobe Reader 8, and Open Office v2.1. If you are not running these versions of this software, you should upgrade soon. For more information about the vulnerabilities read the article.

Windows XP: Installing .NET v3.0

Sometime in the near future you may need to install the Microsoft .NET v3.0 Framework in order to run a particular program. The Microsoft .NET Framework is a set of predefined functions that applications can call that are able to preform advanced operations. If you're a programmer the .NET Framework can help you produce your applications quicker, and even help make them more robust.

If you download a program that requires you to install the Microsoft .NET v3.0 Framework, then it will not run until you install this software on your computer.

Here is the latest version of the .NET Framework that you can download. If you want more information on this software then check out this site.

Windows XP: Remote Desktop Connection Client (v6.0)

Microsoft recently release an updated version of their Remote Desktop Connection Client for Windows XP that supports the new Windows Vista features. The Remote Desktop Connection Client is used for connecting to a remote Windows computer running Remote Desktop or Windows Terminal Services. It is also used for remotely administering a Windows server that has this feature enabled.

The software includes new security features, such as it now prompts you to enter your username and password before logging on to a remote system. It then passes the credentials to the remote computer when it connects.

To download this software, check out Microsoft's KB article: 925876. This page includes links to download all versions of this application (including Windows 2003 Server, and the x86 and x64 versions).

Starting the Remote Desktop Connection Client
To launch this application from the Start menu, click 'All Programs', click Accessories, and then click 'Remote Desktop Connection'.

Interet Explorer 7: Deleting Remember Passwords

Internet Explorer has a very useful feature that allows the application to remember your usernames and passwords to all the different sites that you use. This feature prevents you from having remember or enter this information when you visit a web site that requires you to authenticate yourself.

If you're worried about your privacy you may not like this information being stored in your browser. I only recommend using this feature on sites that don't contain personal, private or financial information. All the sites that contain this private data should have the login information stored into an application that will encrypt it just in case your computer becomes compromised. (I will address this subject in a future article)

To delete the remembered passwords, follow the instructions below:

• Launch Internet Explorer.
• From the Tools menu, and select 'Internet Options...'
• In the 'Internet Options' dialog box, on the General tab press the Delete... button in the 'Browsing History' section.
• Press the 'Delete Passwords...' button, then press the Yes button to confirm this action.
• When done, press the Close button, then the OK button.
  

Software: Installing DirectX

If you play games or watch videos on your computer, you may want to make sure that you download and install the latest version of Microsoft DirectX software. DirectX is a group of technologies designed to give you best performance from your graphics and sound hardware. Its also a standard among developers of multimedia applications.

To find out what version of DirectX your system is using, from the Run... command type "dxdiag" and press Enter. This will run the DirectX Diagnostic Tool, and display information about your computer's hardware and the version of the OS and software that its running.

To obtained the latest version of DirectX visit the Microsoft DirectX site.

Internet Radio Sites

When you're working on the computer, do you like to listen to music but are tired of the stuff on your CDs, MP3, or DRM'd music (such as iTunes, and others) collections. There are several Internet Radio sites that you can listen to for free:

• AOL Radio (featuring XM Radio content)
  
• Live365.com
  
• Pandora.com
• Yahoo! Music

Internet Explorer: Automatically Clearing the Cache

Internet Explorer (IE) automatically keeps a local copy of all the web pages, images, and other objects that you view in your browser. The reason for doing this is to speed up the browsing experience by keeping local copies of the content that has not changed when you revisit a web page.

There are two reasons some people don't like these file stored on their hard drive. First and foremost for privacy reasons, and second because it can consume a lot of space.

You can manually clear the cache from the Tools menu, by selecting Internet Options. Then on the General tab, pressing the Delete Files button. You can also configure IE to automatically clear the browser cache when you exit the program.

• From the Internet Options dialog, select the Advanced tab.
• In the Setting listbox, under the Security section, check 'Empty Temporary Internet Files folder when browser is closed'.
• Press the OK button.

Free (and low cost) Privacy Toolkit (Updated)

In my previous article I talked about some basic tools and services that you can use to protect your privacy when you're online and in the real world. Now I am going to explain how to protect the data on your local computer, and your privacy when you surf the web.

File/Disk Encryption
What privacy toolkit would be complete if I didn't talk about encryption. There are several tools available that allows you to encrypt your data. One of the best tools for encrypting your data is GnuPG, it uses strong encryption to protect your data. (Note: This tool is difficult to use so make sure that you download one of the the GUI interfaces for it.)

If you own Windows XP Professional, it includes a built-in file encryption function called EFS that is part of the OS. EFS will automatically encrypt and decrypt your files for you.

If file encryption is not enough, and you want to encrypt the contents of your whole hard drive use a program called TrueCrypt. TrueCrypt works by creating a virtual encrypted disk within a file and then allows you to mount it like a real hard drive.

Other privacy tools and resources:

• SDelete: Completely erases a file on the hard drive by writing data over it several times.
• DBAN: Completely erases a whole hard drive by writing data over it several times.
• CCLeaner: Windows privacy and optimization utility, read this page for a list of features.
• Firefox: Clearing The Cache: Explains how to clear the private information from the Firefox browser.
• Internet Explorer: Clearing The Cache: Explains how to clear the private information from the Internet Explorer browser.

Find Out What Web Sites Know About You
Check out the following sites if you want to see the data someone can learn about you, just by querying your IP address or your browser's information.

• GeoBytes: Once someone has your IP address, then they can use it isolate where your ISP is located. So if you live in a close proximity to your ISP then someone can roughly narrow down where you live.
  
• CGI Environment Variable Viewer: The information shown on this page, displays what just about any web server can learn about you based on HTTP header information your browser sends every time you visit a web site. Things to notice are the REFERRER and USER AGENT information. The referrer can display the web site you were previously at before visiting the site. The user agent shows the site the type of browser you're using.
• HTTP Header Viewer: See the HTTP headers supplied by your browser to every web site that you visit.
• BrowserSpy: This web site will show you just about everything that a web site can query about your browser.

Surfing the Semi-Anonymously
If you would like to browse the web semi-anonymously, check out EFF's Tor tool. This tool protects your privacy by, using a technology called 'Onion-Routing' which basically means that it adds several 'layers' of extra network routing to obfuscate the origin of the traffic.

If Tor is too complicated to use a good alternative to browse anonymously is a service called Anonymizer (Note: this is a fee-based service). This service works by performing your HTTP requests for you, then sending you back the results. The only thing that the visiting web site sees is the Anonymizer servers.

If you want to test if these services are really working, go to a site called WhatsMyIPAddress.com before turning on the service. Then visit the web site again after you enable the service. Your IP address should be different, if not then the service is not working for you.

Other privacy tools and services:

• HushMail: Secure e-mail service (free/fee services).
  
• Hush Messenger: Secure instant messaging.
• SSLCheck: Checks the strength of the encryption supported by your browser.
• Zfone Project: Secure VoIP phone software.
• Free S/MIME Certificate: Allows you to send secure email or digitally sign your e-mail messages.

Privacy Tools for Firefox

• TrackMeNot: Help protects against data profiling popular search-engines by issuing randomized queries with fake data.
  
• PrivacyBar: Provides a set of privacy and security tools for Firefox.

Other articles and resources on Privacy:

• Free eBook: Defending Yourself in the Information Age
• Internet Privacy is an Oxymoron
• Welcome to the Internet, Now Go Home
• ACLU Pizza (this video is very disturbing and funny at the same time)
  

"Ultimately, as technology increases, privacy decreases." -- Jason Savitt

Web Site: StopBadware.org

Here is a web site that I recently came across that called StopBadware.org. It's dedicated to warning people about 'bad software ' that contains malicious code (aka malware), such as: viruses, spyware, etc.

Currently there are 412+ reports of 'bad software' on the site. I hope to see more added soon, this could be a valuable resource if people contribute to it.

Below is an excerpt from the site: "StopBadware.org is a "Neighborhood Watch" campaign aimed at fighting badware. We will seek to provide reliable, objective information about downloadable applications in order to help consumers to make better choices about what they download on to their computers. We aim to become a central clearinghouse for research on badware and the bad actors who spread it, and to become a focal point for developing collaborative, community-minded approaches to stopping badware." Read more.

Free (and low cost) Privacy Toolkit

Sometimes you might feel that you're forced to give out your personal information (such as your phone number, home address, e-mail address, etc.) in order for someone to contact you. For example if you sell things online, in newspapers, etc.

Then there are the web sites that force you to register your personal information in order to access content on it. If you're not a regular visitor of that site, or it's a site that you don't trust then you might be leery of giving out this information to them.

What if I told you there was a way to protect your privacy, while still allowing people the ability to contact you when they want to. There are several web sites on the Internet that offer free or low-cost services that can help protect your privacy.

Disclaimer: Use the tools and services listed below at your own risk. I do not recommend or endorse any of the companies, services, or software listed below. The information on this site is provided for general reference purposes only.

Creating a Public E-mail Address
The first thing that you need in your privacy toolkit is a public email address, one that you don't mind giving out to people, companies, web sites, or publishing on the Internet. This address is basically going to be your first line of contact for people whom you don't know and web sites that you don't trust.

Several companies such as Google's Gmail, Yahoo's Yahoo Mail, Microsoft's Windows Live Mail, etc. offer free email addresses with SPAM filtering, file attachment virus scanning, etc. The main issue about having this extra account is that you're going to have to check it on a regular basis in order to maintain it.

Avoiding Web Site Registration
If you hate registering at web sites that you almost know that you will never visit again or visit infrequently there are two tools that I would suggest. The first is called BugMeNot, this site has generic user names and passwords for popular web sites that you can use so you don't have to register.

The second web site I want to suggest is one called 10-Minute Mail. This site gives you a disposable e-mail address that only lives for 10 minutes. After the time expires the email address and messages are automatically deleted.

Real World Privacy
What about those times when you need to receive or make a phone call, or fax. There are a few sites that can offer you a solution.

The first site is called PrivatePhone, which offers to give you a free local phone number that people can leave you messages. The voice mails that you receive through this service will be mail to your email account.

If you need to receive faxes there is a service called jConnect, that gives you a phone number for people to send faxes to. The faxes that you receive through this service will be mail to your email account.

If you need to make calls to other people, check out Skype's SkypeOut service. If you need a public phone number to receives calls use the SkypeIn feature. Note: there is a cost associated with sending and receiving calls using this service.

Firefox: Critcal Patch Released Today...

Mozilla released a set of 'critical' security updates for its Firefox Web browser (v1.5.x & 2.0.x), Thunderbird (e-mail client), and SeaMonkey (chat client and web development tools).

This update fixes flaws with the RSS feeds, and problems JavaScript in e-mail. Also as part of the Firefox update several bugs have been fixed to improve the stability of the software.

Note: Mozilla recommends that users disable JavaScript in Thunderbird to prevent unauthorized code from affecting their systems.

Windows XP: Swap File (Virtual Memory) - Part 2

Last week I started a series on the Windows Virtual Memory feature, in the first part of the article I explained the swap (or paging) file. In this part of the article I am going to talk about how to optimize it.

Optimizing the Swap File
The default Windows VM settings will work fine for most people. Although, there are still a few ways to optimize the swap file, but in reality they will only offer small amounts of extra performance. So for most people the time required to make these changes might not be worth the effort.

For the real system performance fanatics, I will show you some ways to make your system work more efficiently.

• Note: None of these changes should cause irreversible damage to your system, but I aways recommend that you have a good back up of your data before proceeding with system changes. Also as always proceed at your own risk.

To configure the Virtual Memory settings:

• From the Start Menu, right-click on My Computer and select Properties
• Click the Advanced tab, and press the Settings button in the Performance section.
• Click on the Advanced tab again, then press the Change button.

Trick 1: The swap file can shrink or grow automatically, consider turning off this feature by setting the 'Initial size' and 'Maximum size' to an equal value in the VM dialog. This should prevent the system from wasting time by trying to manage the size of the swap file.

Note: The general rule of thumb for setting the size of the swap file is about 1.5-2 times the size of your physical RAM.

Trick 2: After turning off the automatic growth feature (in Trick 1), defragment swap file. This can be done using the Windows Defragment tool. This will make the file contiguous and prevent your computer from having to seek all over the hard drive to get the data it needs.

Trick 3: If you have multiple hard drives (and I don't mean multiple partitions on the same drive) installed on your computer. Consider moving the swap file to the non-system drive. This way the computer can access multiple drives at the same time.

Trick 4: If you have enough physical RAM installed on your computer (generally 2GB or more), you might want to consider turning off the VM feature. This will help your computer's performance because it doesn't have to manage the swap file. In the VM dialog, select the 'No paging file' radio button, and press the OK button.

Windows XP: Swap File (Virtual Memory) - Part 1

Do you know about the swap (or paging) file, and what it's used for? Every version of Windows since version 3.1 has included the Virtual Memory (VM) feature. VM is a pseudo-type memory that computer can use when it runs out of physical RAM.

The way the VM feature works is by moving non-critical chunks of data out of the computer's RAM, and on to the hard drive thus free up memory for other things. This process known as 'swapping' or 'paging'.

The benefit of VM is that it gives you more memory to run your applications if you don't have enough physical RAM. The problem is that in order to get the extra memory, VM has to store the data from the faster RAM on to the slower local hard drive.

All hard drives are much slower then real physical RAM. So when the system requests a chunk of memory from VM, the computer has wait for data to come from the hard drive. This will make your seem much slower then it actually is.

When the VM data is written to disk, its stored in a file called C:\PAGEFILE.SYS. This file is generally x1.25 to x1.5 the size of your RAM. So if you have 1GB of RAM, the swap file will consume about 1.25 to 1.5GB of hard drive.

Over the next few days we will discuss options for managing and optimizing virtual memory.

Article: Skype Replaces Free SkypeOut Calls With Flat Rate

I have been a user of Skype for a few years, and I have been playing with VoIP (Voice Over IP) since it first showed in the late 1990. Back then they were unable and unreliable, well at least the ones that I used.

Skype as has always been a pretty good deal, but it has just gotten better when I read this article. PC Magazine reports: "On Wednesday, Skype announced it will be offering U.S. and Canadian customers a new unlimited calling plan at a flat rate of $29.95 per year, or, for those who decide to subscribe before January 31, 2007, $14.95. ... The Skype Unlimited Calling plan will let users make 12 months of unlimited SkypeOut calls to any phone in Canada or the U.S. and, according to the company, is the first time that Skype is making an annual calling plan available anywhere in the world."

So, if you frequently call people within the United States or Canada (even if you live in other parts of the world), you can call any phone in that region, for an unlimited amount of time, as many times as you want for $14.95 for the first year (if you sign up before January 31, 2007). The catch is that you have use your computer to make the calls.

I expect that this could cause a price war with the other major VoIP carriers such as Vonage, AT&T, etc.

Security: Microsoft Patch Tuesday (December)

It's the second Tuesday of the month again, which means that Microsoft just published another round of security fixes for Windows and it's applications. This date is meant to be a predictable date so that companies only have to patch their computers and servers once a month. This month there are three patches that are marked critical, and four patches that are marked important.

For the average user, if you have Automatic Updates enabled your computer will download these updates for you in the background. Then when you shutdown these patches will be applied to your system. If you leave your computer on overnight they will automatically be installed and your system rebooted if necessary.

Warning: Before you leave your computer at night make sure you save all your work or it will be lost if your system has to be rebooted.

Enabling Automatic Update
If you don't have 'Automatic Updates' turned enable I would suggest that you turn it on as soon as possible. If you don't want to enable Automatic Updates, you can always update your computer by visiting the Windows Update site and downloading and installing the patches manually.

To enable Automatic Updates:

• From the Start menu, select the Control Panel folder.
• Double-click the System applet in the control panel folder.
• Click the 'Automatic Updates' tab.
• Check the 'Automatic (recommended)' option. (optional: if you don't like this feature, you can set it to: 'download but not install the update', 'just notify you', or 'disable this feature altogether' [not recommended])
• Press the OK button when done.

Note: For the latest Microsoft Security Bulletins, check out this site.

Software: NASA World Wind (3D Interactive World Viewer)

World Wind is an open source 3D interactive world viewer that was originally released in mid-2004, and created by NASA's Learning Technologies project. It's still be being updated and enhanced by NASA staff and the open source development community.

NASA World Wind 1.4 Promo Video
This video only uses graphics from within World Wind no post processing has been done, except for joining video clips together and adding audio.



Note: NASA World Wind 1.4 is not yet available, currently 1.3.5 is available for download.

Software: FreeBASIC compiler

In 1995 Microsoft released QuickBASIC for MS-DOS. Now there's a free, open-source project called FreeBASIC. They have created an MS-QuickBASIC compatible compiler for Windows and other platforms.

For more information check out the web site, or click the following link to see a list of features.

Happy programming...

Software: AudioShell

Do you need to access the metadata in your audio files, for example the ID3 tag information in your MP3s? AudioShell is a free Microsoft Windows Explorer shell extension that allows you to view and modify music files tags directly. AudioShell supports MP3 (all ID3v2 tag versions), WMA, ASF, WMV, Apple iTunes AAC (M4A and M4P), MP4, OGG, FLAC (vorbis comment tags), MPC, MP+, monkey's audio, WAV pack, optim frog (APE and APEv2 tags).

If you want more information about audio file tags (such as: ID3), check out the following site. Below is a excerpt from the site: "Digital audio files can contain, in addition to the audio track, related text and/or graphical information. The information you're probably familiar with take the form of Song title, Artist name, Album name, Year and Genre. This is the information displayed when you playback a digital audio file on your computer or portable device."

Article: Hands-on with Belkin's Cable-Free USB Hub

Engadget reports: "So we snagged our lucky selves a Belkin Cable-Free USB Hub, one of the first ever wireless USB devices, as well as one of the first consumer Ultrawideband products. Luckily for us there wasn't a lot to test, but we can tell you this: the hub is small, the dongle is massive, and the speed and range aren't quite what they're cracked up to be. Click on for the usual unboxing, a load of high res product shots, shots and details on setup and performance."

I generally don't cover hardware in this blog, but this is one of those new technologies that I have been waiting to come out. I never thought I would like using a cordless mouse or keyboard until I started using one at work. I like not having deal with those wires.

At home I am primarily a laptop user, so if I have to hook any wires up to the computer on a regular basis its a pain. Although if I break down an get a docking station it would solve a lot of problems.

Now the point, this technologies may one day help reduce the rat nest of wires that most computers have hanging down behind them. If would be nice if everything was just wireless. Although this could create a lot of security issues that I don't even want to get into.

Security: NSA Windows XP Security Configuration Guides

Are you concern about how secure your computer's configuration is? The NSA developed and distributes security configuration guides and templates to help government agencies, companies, and individuals to lockdown their computers. All the files (.PDF and .INF files [security templates]) are available for free from the nsa.gov web site.

Windows XP: Disable or Enabling Windows Shares

Windows Shares provide network access to the files on your local computer from a remote system. This is a handy feature if you need to move files from one computer to another, or if you need to make files available to other users on your network.

The problem with network share if you don't manage the security permissions on them properly, you can accidentally expose files to others you may not intended to. In this article I talk about how to disable this feature for those who don't want to use it. Or by using almost the same procedure you can enable this option if it has been disabled.

To enable or disable Windows shares:.

• From the Start menu, open the Control Panel folder.
• Open the 'Network Connections' folder.
• Right-click the active network connection (i.e.: 'Local Area Connection') and select Properties.
• To disable this feature uncheck (or to enable it check) the 'File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networking' checkbox.
• Press the OK button when done.

Article: Recycling E-Waste

PC Magazine reports: "The waste that results from disposing of electronics such as computers and mobile phones, called e-waste, can be highly toxic. The United Nations Environmental Program estimates that, each year, 20 million to 50 million tons of e-waste is dumped into landfills around the world. That works out to about 4,000 tons per hour. ... Almost every component is built with some kind of toxin. Computer circuit boards hold lead and cadmium. Monitors' cathode-ray tubes have lead, cadmium, phosphorus, and barium. In fact, a large CRT may contain as much as 4 to 8 pounds of lead. Even cables are bad for the environment, as they are sprayed with brominated flame retardants. Such chemicals can leach into the soil and groundwater."

I have been wanting to write an article about this subject for a long time but have not gotten around to it. The author of this article did a great job of emphasizing the problem.

The problem is that our society has such a deposible mentality, that we don't think about the consequences of throwning that piece of old electronics in the garbage. We need to change our views on this issue, out of site and mind doesn't mean its not our problem.