Terry's Computer Tips - Newsletter
May 13, 2007

Terry's Computer Tips Newsletter
http://www.terryscomputertips.com
A computer tips newsletter for users of PC's.

Volume 2, Number 48 — Sunday, May 13, 2007

Part 1  | Part 2  | Part 3 | Part 4

IN THIS WEEK'S ON-LINE ISSUE:
   1.   Electric Problems - Low Voltage
   2.   Updates Last Week
   3.   Speeding Up Windows XP - Reducing the Number of Active Applications and Services
   4.   Speeding Up Windows XP - Fine-Tuning Visual Effects
   5.   Speeding Up Windows XP - More Memory
   6.   My Computer Security Software Recommendations
   7.   Speeding Up Windows XP - Removing and Preventing Adware
   8.   Recommend my Terry's Computer Tips Newsletter to Your Friends

Welcome to the on-line edition of my Terry's Computer Tips newsletter.

My emailed newsletter is sent weekly to individuals who have subscribed to the newsletter. Click here to subscribe. It's free!

1.  Electric Problems - Low Voltage

Subscriber Sam Boggs wrote recently to tell me about some strange electrical issues he was having — and solved:

Terry:
This is a fwiw:

I think I recall in past newsletters that you mentioned some voltage problems. At my house, I have been having large voltage swings for several months which sporadically triggered my desktop battery backup UPS. Actually it was throughout the house, such as seeing the room lights becoming dim, but it was most worrisome with electronics. Thought you might be interested in the solution.

Diagnosis: I put a voltmeter at my computer, and noticed that a large 120v load such as microwave or toaster oven would drop the voltage from about 120 to around 109. Then found that a 240v load (oven; air cond) would BOOST the voltage to around 130 - Kinda odd! I dreaded several hundred dollars of electrical work.

Solution: A good neighbor suggested calling 1-800-ENTERGY. A truck came the next morning, diagnosed that the problem was on their side of the meter, and fixed it. No cost, and voltage is now rock-solid. There was a problem with the grounding on one side of the 240v in the underground wiring network. Found out that another neighbor, on the same circuit, had been having the same problem.
Sam

Thanks for writing, Sam. I'm glad to hear that your electrical problems were resolved so easily. Hopefully your story will help another reader, too.

Every time I see the lights flicker (which isn't very often), I immediately look at my computer. Fortunately, I run all my desktop computers through Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS's), so they keep running without any troubles. I remember my early days, though. Every power blip caused the computer to reboot.

 

2.  Updates Last Week

Microsoft (operating systems, email, web browser, office suites):
Microsoft releases almost all updates once per month, on the second Tuesday. Last week, these were the patches I saw on my Windows XP computers (I'm not moving to Vista yet):

Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP (KB931768)
Security issues have been identified that could allow an attacker to compromise a system running Internet Explorer and gain control over it. You can help protect your system by installing this update from Microsoft. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.

Security Update for CAPICOM (KB931906)
A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Cryptographic API Component Object Model (CAPICOM) that allows an attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability to take complete control of an affected system. CAPICOM can be used as a component of a 3rd party webpage, script or application. You can protect your computer by installing this update from Microsoft.

Security Update for Excel 2003 (KB933666)
A security vulnerability exists in Microsoft Office Excel 2003 that could allow remote code execution. This update resolves that vulnerability. This update also includes changes that enable blocking of specific file formats in Excel 2003.

Security Update for Office 2003 (KB934180)
A security vulnerability exists in Microsoft Office 2003 that could allow remote code execution. This update resolves that vulnerability.

Security Update for Word 2003 (KB934181)
A security vulnerability exists in Microsoft Office Word 2003 that could allow remote code execution. This update resolves that vulnerability. This update also includes changes that enable blocking of specific file formats in Word 2003.

Update for Outlook 2003 Junk Email Filter (KB934708)
This update provides the Junk E-mail Filter in Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 with a more current definition of which e-mail messages should be considered junk e-mail. This update was released in May 2007.

Update for PowerPoint 2003 (KB933669)
Microsoft has released an update for Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003. This update enables a network administrator to restrict the presentation types that can be opened or saved in PowerPoint 2003.

Update for Windows XP (KB930916)
This is a reliability update. Install this update to resolve an issue where a third-party driver installed on a computer that is running Windows XP may prevent you from opening files successfully on a NTFS file system volume. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.

Windows Maliciious Software Removal Tool - May 2007 (KB890830)
After the download, this tool runs once to check your computer for infection by specific, prevalent malicious software (including Blaster, Sasser, and Mydoom) and helps to remove any infection found. If an infection is found, the tool will display a status report the next time you start your computer. A new version of the tool will be offered every month. If you want to manually run the tool on your computer, you can download a copy from the Microsoft Download Center or run an online version from microsoft.com. This tool is not a replacement for an anti-virus product. To help protect your computer, you should use an anti-virus product.

Security Update for Excel 2002 (KB934453)
A security vulnerability exists in Microsoft Excel 2002 that could allow remote code execution. This update resolves that vulnerability.

Security Update for Word 2002 (KB934394)
A security vulnerability exists in Microsoft Word 2002 that could allow arbitrary code to run when a maliciously modified file is opened. This update resolves that vulnerability.

Security Update for Office XP (KB934705)
A security vulnerability exists in Microsoft Office XP that could allow remote code execution. This update resolves that vulnerability.

Firefox (web browser, http://www.mozilla.com, free):
Versions 2.0.0.3 and 1.5.0.11 were released on March 20, 2007. Their support for v1.5.x was expected to end in late April. However, the Mozilla Foundation relented just a little bit and will continue supporting Firefox 1.5.x until mid-May, 2007. That's this month! Now's the time to upgrade to Firefox v2. Firefox is free.

Opera (web browser, http://www.opera.com, free):
Version 9.20 was released on April 11th. This release of a recommended security upgrade, in addition to having several new features.

Netscape (web browser, http://browser.netscape.com, free):
Version 8.1.3 was released during he week of April 1. Quoting the web site:
  What's new in this version? Security fixes

SeaMonkey (web browser, email, HTML editor, newsreader; http://www.mozilla.org/projects/seamonkey; free): Version 1.1.1 and version 1.0.8 were released on February 28, 2007. These are security update and stability releases.

Eudora (email, http://www.eudora.com):
No update last week. Version 7.1.0.9 was released October 11, 2006. Eudora is now free, with no ads and no "paid mode" option.

If you were running "Sponsored Mode" in a version before 7.1.0.9, it's probably too late now for an easy update. Sponsored mode in the earlier versions expired on March 31st — and reverted to the less-functional "Lite" mode. Fortunately, Eudora is very nicely designed. You can install a new version in a new directory and then copy the data files from the old version to the new.

Mozilla Thunderbird (email, http://www.mozilla.com/thunderbird, free):
New Version!Thunderbird version 2.0.0.0 was released during the week of April 15th. Quoting the web site: "Mozilla’s Thunderbird 2 email application is more powerful than ever. It’s now even easier to organize, secure and customize your mail."

OpenOffice (office suite — spreadsheet, word processor, presentations, graphics, web design; http://www.openoffice.org; free):
Version 2.2 was released on March 29th.

From the OpenOffice.org web site:

OpenOffice.org 2.2 is an important new release and all should download it, as it resolves security issues and includes significant enhancements. These are both general and specific. A full list of the new features and fixes is given in our release notes, but among them:

• Enhanced text display throughout
• Better support for Pivot Tables in Calc
• Several key improvements in Base
• A more robust Mac version for X11
• ... And many more

Part 1  | Part 2  | Part 3 | Part 4

Volume 2, Number 48 — Sunday, May 13, 2007

Copyright © 2007 Terry A. Stockdale.  All rights reserved.