Issue 290 - May 5, 2004
ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2004
==== 1929 Subscribers in 58 Countries ====
Welcome to the 290th issue of the PC Improvement News. PCIN consists mainly
of news and tips. There is something for everyone, and if this is your first
issue, I'm sure there will be something for you. If you give me two or three
issues, I know that you will come back for more!
You can reach me at editor@pcin.net with
any suggestions or comments.
Recommend PCIN at http://PCIN.net/recommend.php
Support PCIN at http://PCIN.net/donate.php
CONTENTS
Opening Thoughts
Thanks for all who wrote in to comfort me and affirm that I'm
not lame. Tracey emailed
me and conceded that I'm not lame, but cute :-) Phew!
Speaking of cute... Lisa keeps getting bigger. We have less than 8 weeks to
go until baby #2 comes along. Andrew is keeping us busy, but we can't wait
for another! The doctor has told us that it is a boy, but you never know. If
you've been a subscriber long enough, you know that I ran a Guessing Game when
Andrew was born where you could guess gender, size and date of arrival. I've
set this up for Baby #2 (to be named Matthew Joseph James Wing if it's a boy,
or Christine Lisa Wing if it's a girl) and you can start guessing at http://wingfamily.ca/lisagraham/baby2/
Happy Cinco de
Mayo!
Graham editor@pcin.net and
Chris chris@pcin.net
The NEWS
Net more important than morning coffee?
Given the choice at work between personal use of the Net or a morning cup
of coffee, employees say the coffee can go, according to a survey released
Wednesday by Websense, which makes software designed to let companies control
employee Net access.
The study also looked at security issues such as workers accessing online
hacking tools, surfing Web sites that contain spyware and using instant-messaging
tools that aren't sanctioned by their company. These issues are becoming
more of a problem, as companies fold the Net into the fabric of their operations.
For more info:
http://news.com.com/2100-7355_3-5201726.html
Internet2: File Swapping Haven?
"Students may not find Internet2 to be as hospitable to unauthorized
swapping as it appears. According to Internet2's Greg Wood, the network infrastructure
of many universities would allow them to apply restrictions at a campus level
to Internet2 as well as the commercial Internet.
Confounding efforts to combat campus file swapping, university students have
begun trading copyrighted files using Internet2 , the ultra-fast network
developed by tech companies and universities.
College campuses are the front lines of the recording industry's anti-peer-to-peer
(P2P) crusade, and many schools have placed technical restrictions on student
downloading. However, 'students often find a workaround,' Chris Hoofnagle,
deputy counsel for the Electronic Privacy Information Center, told NewsFactor.
And Internet2, known as i2hub, may prove to be that work around."
For more info:
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=23903
PayPal, The Fifth Credit Card?
"With its popularity growing among online shoppers, online payment
play PayPal is positioning itself as the "fifth credit card" for
online transactions as it rolls out its latest beta.
The e-commerce transaction company has released three application program
interfaces (define) that developers can use in order to plug PayPal into
e-commerce sites, and help sites deploy Web services.
As a result of the latest beta releases, online customers paying for online
purchases by Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover credit cards
might in the future be paying for their purchases using the San Jose, Calif.,
company's service -- even though it's not a bank."
For more info:
http://www.internetnews.com/dev-news/article.php/3348451
POLL of the WEEK
Last Week's Poll
Which chat client software do you use?
AOL |
|
7.44 % (9) |
Yahoo Messenger |
|
12.40 % (15) |
MSN Messenger |
|
9.92 % (12) |
ICQ |
|
7.44 % (9) |
Trillian |
|
3.31 % (4) |
Other |
|
4.96 % (6) |
I don't chat |
|
54.55 % (66) |
Total votes: 121 |
This Week's Poll
You can also vote online at http://PCIN.net/polls/
PCIN.net UPDATE
Check out these new or updated pages on the PCIN.net site:
Updated Windows Registry Tips and Tweaks Article
http://PCIN.net/help/articles/registry_tips.php
MySlideShow 2.3 by Anix Software Software Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/myslideshow.php
Anyplace Control by Anyplace Control Software Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/anyplacecontrol.php
Inboxer 1.1 by Audiotrieve, LLC Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/inboxer.php
Microsoft Outlook Add-Ins by MAPILab Ltd. Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/mapilab.php
THE TIPS and OTHER
STUFF
Free Antivirus Software continued...
Last week I shared a couple of links to free AntiVirus software. I said
one of the free titles was from McAfee and subscriber Lar pointed out this
to be false. The second link was actually for Computer Associates' eTrust.
Also, subscriber Leeor reminded me of AVG Anti-Virus, which has been free
for years. So here is a revised list:
AVG Anti-Virus
http://www.grisoft.com/
Panda Platinum 7 Antivirus
http://www.pandasecurity.com/survey/
Computer Associates eTrust (antivirus and firewall)
http://www.my-etrust.com/microsoft/index.cfm
Symantec Security Check
http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/
McAfee FreeScan
http://us.mcafee.com/root/mfs/
TrendMicro HouseCall
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/
Search for yourself for either free
online antivirus scan or free
antivirus software
Free CD and DVD Burning software
I saw this in the 2004-05-03 issue
of LanagaList:
http://www.deepburner.com/
"DeepBurner - Powerful CD and DVD Burning Package Absolutely for FREE
DeepBurner is a powerful CD and DVD burning package that utilizes power and
efficiency. It takes away the hassle of making CDs, DVDs, autoruns, creating
and printing labels and booklets. The program supports a very wide range
of internal and external (USB 2.0 and FireWire) CD and DVD writers. Burn
audio, data and ISO CDs and DVDs with just one FREE program called DeepBurner."
Monitor the Event Logs
Windows 9x-based operating systems didn't have a very good way to log system
events. These sorts of events range from hardware problems, to services loaded
and unloaded; from security events to system uptime. Windows NT, 2000, and
XP all have several different logs, and can be used by starting the Event
Viewer. In Windows 2000 and XP this tool can be found at Start - Settings
- Control Panel - Administrative Tools - Event Viewer. Here are some helpful
sites that explain what the Event Viewer is and what some of the information
means:
Diagnose System Problems with Event Viewer in Microsoft Windows 2000
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=302542
EventID.net
http://www.eventid.net/
Accessing the the Windows Event Viewer Application Log
http://www.rsinc.com/services/techtip.asp?ttid=3469
PCIN.net AFFILIATED
SITES
Both of us have other sites other than PCIN.net. These are all sites that
we are actively involved in (they aren't client sites). Don't forget to check
them out from time to time for updates:
DISCLAIMER
and OTHER STUFF
PCIN is brought to you by Graham Wing. The opinions expressed are those of
the Editor, Graham Wing and the Assistant Editor, Chris Empey. Graham Wing
and Chris Empey accept no responsibility for the results obtained from trying
the tips in this newsletter.
- If any of the links are too long to fit on one line, you may have to cut
and paste.
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follow the appropriate links.
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be entered in a monthly draw.
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Graham Wing can be reached at editor@pcin.net
Chris Empey can be reached at chris@pcin.net
Copyright 1998-2004, Graham Wing. All rights reserved.
This publication may be reproduced in whole, or in part, as long as the author
is notified and the newsletter is presented as is.
Support PCIN by visiting http://PCIN.net/donate.php
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