Terry's Computer Tips - Newsletter
March 19, 2006

---

Volume 1, Number 40 — Sunday, March 19, 2006

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

---

4.  Reader Comments

Subscriber Kevin Quartermaine wrote from Australia to say:

Dear Terry,

I have been a subscriber for quite a while now and would like to thank you for an interesting and up todate newsletter.

I find your letter to be more in touch with the everyday person and computer problems than a lot of other letters.

Keep up the good work and thanks again!!

Kevin Quartermaine,
Taree,N.S.W. Australia

Subscriber Karen Morton wrote to say:

From your I.E. music issue article:

"Finally, as a web site design issue: never design for automatic playing of sounds or music. Allow the visitor to click on a button to activate the sound. Otherwise, the website quickly becomes obnoxious to repeat visitors.

Music Once = cute. Music Twice = ANNOYANCE!"

VERY WELL SAID! I couldn't agree more. I did put music on some pages on the old S&M Engineers Website once, but I quickly found them to be tiresome. Since then, I have become anti-automatic sounds on ANY Website. This includes sound effects from embedded ads.

Karen

Karen D. Morton, P.E.
Senior Control Systems Engineer

---

5.  QuickTime without iTunes

It looks like a lot of IE, Opera and Firefox users should have read one of my newsletter articles about Firefox and Midi files.

There was a hidden jewel at the end.

I had two people tell me last weekend that they had iTunes on their computer but that they didn't use it and didn't have an iPod. They had iTunes because "you have to get it when you download QuickTime."

Well, that's not quite true. Sure, Apple makes it seem that way — the only option on the QuckTime page is the QuickTime+iTunes combo package.

But, Apple also lets you download QuickTime without iTunes, if you look hard enough.

But, you don't have to look for it — the link to the standalone copy of QuickTime is at the end of my Firefox and MIDI Music Files article.

---

6.  My Computer Security Software Recommendations

Anti-Virus

For your anti-virus needs (and, yes, you do have anti-virus needs!) I recommend anti-virus software from Trend Micro, Panda Software, Kaspersky or ESET.

Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security 2006 offers anti-virus, anti-spam, and firewall for your PC and PDA. TrendMicro provides an easy-to-use product that is from one of the big names in the anti-virus world. SAVE $9.95 when you purchase Trend Micro Anti-Spyware and PC-cillin Internet Security 2006

Panda Software's Platinum 2006 Internet Security offers anti-virus, anti-spam, firewall and more.

The Kaspersky Personal Security Suite is a program package specifically developed to provide comprehensive protection from all types of malicious programs for personal computers running under the Windows operating system (Win98, WinMe, 2000, XP). This solution prevents the infiltration of viruses, worms, spyware, adware and other malicious programs via potential penetration paths, provides protection against unauthorized access attempts, and includes anti-spam components. Kaspersky claims the industry leading virus detection rates and the fastest virus updates. Kaspersky offers a 30-day free trial on its products.

Each of the above companies also offers a stand-alone anti-virus program.

I'm often asked about several large, popular anti-virus or anti-virus combination packages. Yes, I realize that they are not in my recommendation list, although I could easily use referral links for them, too.

My personal choice is the ESET's small, fast NOD32 anti-virus program, which offers a FREE 30-day evaluation license. I consider NOD32 to be the cream of the crop in anti-virus protection. Unlike some of the others, ESET offers multiple-year licenses also, including updatees to the program as well as anti-virus signatures.

Read more about anti-virus programs on my web site.

Firewall Software

If you get either the PC-cillin Internet Security or the Panda Software Internet Security package above, you are covered from a firewall point of view.

While the Windows XP firewall is much better than no firewall, don't count on the Windows XP firewall to provide your needs. You need a much better firewall than that.

The Windows XP firewall does not control outbound communications from your computer -- and you should want to have control if adware/trojans/spyware or even commercial products want to talk to the Internet (Do you want Windows Media Player to call home every time you play something? It does! Many other programs call home when you run them, too.)

If you don't get either of the above multi-function packages, I recommend my choice for a firewall program is Sunbelt Kerio Personal Firewall. You can try the full-featured "paid version" of Sunbelt Kerio Personal Firewall free for 30 days -- after that, you can register it or it loses the special functions of the paid version. SKPF's "paid version" has an introductory price of $14.95 through March 31. The regular price is $19.95.

You may like ZoneAlarm Pro or the ZoneAlarm free firewall as alternatives.

Read more about the need for firewalls in The Internet Versus You articles.

Anti-Spyware / Anti-Adware Software

CounterSpy, from Sunbelt Software, has received many kudos from the computer press for its always-running and periodic full system scans. I use CounterSpy on my notebook (my main computer!), my wife's computer and my son's computer. I highly recommend this program.

Panda Software's Platinum 2006 Internet Security also includes anti-spyware. Anti-spyware is one situation where more than one scanner actually is better. Only let one program provide the real-time, always-running protection, but doing periodic scans with two different programs are a better solution to adware & spyware than only one scanner. No one anti-spyware program catches everything. Also, different companies differ in their criteria for classifying programs as adware and/or spyware.

Anti-spam Software

In today's Internet world, the question is not "if" you will get spam, but when and how much. I recommend Mailwasher Pro, or the free version of Mailwasher (www.mailwasher.net) to handle spam before it ever gets into your computer's Inbox. Mailwasher Pro uses on-line Realtime Black Lists mail servers sending spam recently, "training" by you of what you think is spam, and your own "friends" and "blacklist" lists. Mailwasher Pro can even bounce spam messages, as if your email address was not valid, although the usefulness and appropriateness of this is questionable. While "Mailwasher" can do many of the same things, it puts a line of sponsoring ads in the Mailwasher window.

Mailwasher also has less functions than Mailwasher Pro. "Mailwasher Pro" also has "learning filters," can handle multiple email accounts, can access the Realtime Black Lists (Internet sites that maintain lists of which email servers are sending spam now, has technical support, accesses the "FirstAlert! global spam database," and can access IMAP, Hotmail, MSN and AOL email accounts.

PopFile (www.popfile.org) uses a different approach to spam — it does nothing to reduce spam but does a good job, after training, of identifying and segregating spam. PopFile, in my opinion, is not a good choice unless you are an advanced PC user.

Cable/DSL Router

If you have a cable modem or a DSL modem, you need to have another layer of inexpensive protection between you and the Internet. A cable/DSL router isolates your computer from direct connection to the Internet. Your computer can easily request your email, web pages, etc. through the router. The responses come back to the router and are smoothly routed to your computer. But, someone on the Internet side of the router can not initiate a connection to your computer — they can only respond to your request.

Even if you only have one computer to connect to your cable or DSL modem, I recommend that you purchase and use a cable/DSL router because of the protection it can give you against attempts to attack through some flaws in Windows itself.

A router isolates your local network, whether it is only one computer or several, from the Internet by actually making it a separate network. The router gets the "public" IP address and handles all your outbound communications and the responses to them. But, it blocks computers on the Internet side from being able to initiate communications with your computer! This will prevent you from falling prey to many worms that try to attack security holes in Windows itself.

My pick is the Linksys WRT54G 802.11g wireless router. If you don't want wireless now, or at any time, the function is easily turned off in the router's menu. You may be able to find a wired (that is, non-wireless) Linksys router on sale. Either way, based on my experience, I recommend Linksys routers. Read more on my Wireless Security web page.

Note: Many of the above links are affiliate links. If you choose to buy these products, please buy them via my affiliate links to help support my Terry's Computer Tips newsletter and web site.

---

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Volume 1, Number 40 — Sunday, March 19, 2006
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Copyright © 2006 Terry A. Stockdale.  All rights reserved.