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Issue 370 - November 16, 2005

ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2005
==== 2076 Subscribers in 59 Countries ====

Welcome to the 370th 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.

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CONTENTS

Opening Thoughts

I've finished the review of Paragon Partition Manager 7. Read the Tips and Other Stuff section below for more info. I'll have the ActiveEarth review done for next week, and the week after Chris will have a review completed for Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.

The weather is getting colder. It has been very wet and windy, so most of the leaves are off the trees. There is even talk that we will get some snow. It won't stay though, as it doesn't usually stay cold enough for snow until around Christmas. Of course I'd love to have a white Christmas, and Niagara Falls has a beautiful Festival of Lights that always looks better with snow!

Graham editor@pcin.net and Chris chris@pcin.net

The NEWS

Users suffering password overload

The average corporate IT user is being asked to remember an increasing number of passwords and is resorting to insecure ways to remember them, thus opening the IT infrastructure to risk and placing a heavy burden on help desks, according to a recent survey.
Conducted for Bedford, Mass.-based authentication and encryption company RSA Security by research group Current Analysis, the survey of 1,700 enterprise technology end users in the U.S. showed 30 per cent of users are required to remember six to 12 passwords at work, and 23 per cent need to remember 15 or more. And to remember them, 25 per cent store a master list on their computer, 22 per cent on a PDA or handheld, and 15 per cent keep a paper list by their desk.

Read the IT World Canada article...
Leave a comment...

Murder Suspect's Google Searches Spotlighted In Trial

Prosecutors claim a Mac specialist on trial in connection with the killing of his wife did a Google search for the words: "neck snap break" and "hold" before she was killed.
Robert Petrick, who is defending himself in Durham, N.C., cross examined a computer forensics expert this week. The expert testified about digital footprints he said the state discovered on several hard drives in Petrick's home.

Read the CRN article...
Leave a comment...

Microsoft eyes making desktop apps free

Even as Microsoft readies a host of new ad-supported online services to battle rivals, the software maker has been mulling a plan to offer free, ad-supported versions of some of its desktop products, CNET News.com has learned.
Although no specific plans have been made, executives within Microsoft are examining whether it makes sense to release ad-supported versions of products such as Works, Money, or even the Windows operating system itself, according to internal documents seen by CNET News.com.

Read the TechRepublic article...
Leave a comment...

Sony rootkit prompts office clampdown on CD use

Sony's decision to include rootkit-like copy restrictions on some of its music CDs is prompting some companies to review whether they allow their staff to use personal CDs at work.
Last week, Trojan horses emerged that avoid detection by using the digital rights management, or DRM, software used by Sony BMG Music Entertainment on some of its audio CDs. This software uses the same techniques used by rootkit malicious software to hide itself from the operating system, which makes it particularly difficult to detect.
Andrew Yeomans, vice president of global information security at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, said that he is already assessing whether the Europe-based investment bank needs to tighten up its controls.

Read the CNet News article...
Leave a comment...

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PCIN.net UPDATE

Check out these new or updated pages on the PCIN.net site:

Paragon Partition Manager 7 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/ppm7.php

DiFolders Software BlogJet 1.5 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/blogjet15.php

VMware Inc. VMware Workstation 4.5 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/vmware45.php

PCIN.net Update Blog
http://PCIN.net/update/

Sunbelt Software iHateSpam 4.0 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/ihatespam4.php

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Digital Photography Tip of the Week

External Flash

Last week I discussed two of the more advanced camera modes available on some camera's. This week, I will discuss the advantages to using an off camera flash.

Flash photography is made relatively easy by today's cameras, but there are several reasons for using an off camera (external) flash. There are now several digital point and shoot cameras on the market that will allow you to use and external flash when shooting, as will most prosumer and digital SLR's. Even if yours is not meant to be used with one, if you have a manual mode, you may still be able to.

Using an off camera flash can:

Not all cameras can use external flashes automatically though. You will likely need to use a manual setting and find the correct combination of settings using trial and error (which is very easy to do with a digital camera). If you camera does not have a direct connection for a flash, one may be added using a device called a slave unit. This unit connects to the flash and when it sees another flash (your on camera flash) go off, it fires as well. They can be purchased fairly inexpensively with prices starting around $20. Some include a built in slave unit as well and are manufactured specifically for digital point and shoot cameras.

Next week I will talk about some of the exciting projects you can use your photographs for this Christmas

Comment on this week's Digital Photography Tip of the Week at http://www.pcin.net/update/index.php/2005/11/16/digital_photography_tip_of_the_week_exte

The digital photography tip of the week is written by the PCIN Assistant Editor, Chris Empey. Chris is a long time photographer and is currently the vice-president of the Niagara Falls Camera Club. You can see more of his photography at his Photo of the Day website.
If you have a tip to send Chris, or a question about digital photography he can address in the newsletter, send it to chris@pcin.net.

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THE TIPS and OTHER STUFF

Paragon Partition Manager 7 Software Review

I recently completed a review of Paragon Partition Manager 7:

As Windows as evolved over the years, Microsoft has added new features/utilities to help manage the software and hardware on a computer. One are where it is still lacking is with partition management. Windows XP (and other NT-based systems) has a built-in Disk Management console where you can delete and create partitions, along with some more advanced features if the disks have been "upgraded" to be dynamic disks. But if you want to move, resize, or copy partitions, you need a third-party utility. And you certainly need a third-party utility to read partitions from other operating systems. Paragon Software Group over the years has filled this void nicely (see previous review) with their Partition Manager product. I recently had an chance to look at the latest release, Partition Manager 7 Personal Edition.

Read the full review...
Leave a comment...

RootkitRevealer

There has been a lot of discussion across the Internet over the last several days about the Sony DRM software that installs itself as a rootkit. One of the tools available to see if you have anything like a rootkit installed is Sysinternals RootkitRevealer.
I downloaded it and ran it on my system. It only found two possible problems, and they both were related to the USB driver for my Motorola iDEN i90c cell phone (lets the phone act as a modem). Nothing to worry about for me right now.
RootkitRevealer is probably worth downloaded and running on your system to see what's going on. Note that the RootkitRevealer web page also has links to several good resources to help you understand what Rootkits are.

Leave a comment...

Cool DHTML site

DHTML "refers to web pages that use a combination of HTML, JavaScript, and CSS to create features such as letting the user drag items around on the web page, some simple kinds of animation, and many more." DHTML is very cool. The site http://dhteumeuleu.com/ by Gerard Ferrandez is a great example of what can be done.

The creation of visual effects using dynamic html animation only, is a passion I have developed through the last few years, since 1999. It is a creative, spare time hobby, one I can share; This is the purpose of showing the demos you will find in my website. Enjoy!

Check it out at http://dhteumeuleu.com/

Leave a comment...

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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:

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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.

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Graham Wing can be reached at editor@pcin.net
Chris Empey can be reached at chris@pcin.net

Copyright 1998-2005, Graham Wing. All rights reserved.

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