Terry's Computer Tips - Newsletter
July 15, 2007

I've written about WinPatrol and WinPatrol Plus a lot of times in the past because I believe that it's a great tool for anyone who wants to make their computer run better and more safely.

The WinPatrol Plus option (the paid license) gets you easy-to-access information about the programs — so you can make intelligent decisions on whether to allow them to automatically start or not. I didn't make anything for recommending WinPatrol Plus — I recommended it because I believe in it.

Let's take a look at a few of the WinPatrol features:

The images below are the standard WinPatrol/WinPatrol Plus interface. The one on the left is WinPatrol. The one on the right is WinPatrol Plus and looks the same, except that I added a checkmark to activate the new extra feature added to WinPatrol Plus to display hidden startup locations, too. As you can see, the added items are mostly Microsoft's own additional programs.

WinPatrol — Hidden Startup Locations unavailable (click on the image for a larger version)

WinPatrol Plus — Hidden Startup Locations checked (click on the image for a larger version)

The next set of images shows one of the major incremental values of WinPatrol Plus — the information that is available about the programs will find running.

First, we have the same "Startup Programs" tab selected. Then, we select the program about which we are curious (or maybe suspicious).

(click on the image for a larger version)

Then, click on the Info button to see what WinPatrol was able to find out about the program, based on the information in the program and in the Windows registry.

(click on the image for a larger version)

In this particular case, one thing that it tells me that Eset needs to update their Copyright statement in the NOD32 nod32kui.exe file. NOD32 is the anti-virus program that I use and recommend.

If you've got a WinPatrol Plus license (which is good for all your household's PC's!), you can click on the PLUS Info... button for details from BillP Studios' programs database.

(click on the image for a larger version)

The Delayed Start tab is a great, new addition to WinPatrol and WinPatrol Plus. As you can see, I've taken four of the programs that would normally start as I'm booting, and have changed them to start in the background after I've finished booting.

(click on the image for a larger version)

The Replicator entry shows that I can change the delay time, too. I use Replicator to back up my data across my home network every night. I need to make sure it's running, but I don't really need it as booting. I could just as easily change it to start up to 60 minutes after I booted.

Some of the other features I have found very helpful are:

• IE Helpers, which lets me control the add-ons that have been installed into Internet Explorer,
• Services, which shows me the various Windows XP Services. There's even a checkbox so that I can have WinPatrol show only the non-Microsoft services, making it easier to spot a problem. WinPatrol's Services tab is one of the few places where you can find out about all those copies of svchost.exe that are running on your computer.
• Monitoring my Windows Hosts file,
• Monitoring File Types for changes to which program is their default (ever installed a new program, only to find that it had grabbed the file types for your pictures or your music files?).
• Identifying, and optionally killing, active programs.
• Identifying, and optionally removing, scheduled tasks.

Finally, I really like WinPatrol Plus' family-friendly license. The web site says " NO Additional Licenses required
You become the PLUS member, not your computer. You're welcome and encouraged to install WinPatrol and activate PLUS on any machine you or your immediate family use."

2.  Updates Last Week

Microsoft (operating systems, email, web browser, office suites):
Microsoft releases almost all updates once per month, on the second Tuesday. This week included Patch Tuesday. The updates that I saw on my Windows XP computers were:

Microsoft Windows XP

Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool - July 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 Microsoft .NET Framework, Version 2.0 (KB928365)
A security issue has been identified that could allow an attacker to compromise your Windows-based system running the Microsoft .NET Framework and gain complete control over it. You can help protect your computer by installing this update from Microsoft. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.

Update for Windows XP (KB936357)
This is a reliability update. Install this microcode update to improve the reliability of systems with Intel processors. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.

Microsoft Office 2003

Security Update for Excel 2003 (KB936507)
A security vulnerability exists in Microsoft Office Excel 2003 that could allow remote code execution. This update resolves that vulnerability.

Update for Outlook 2003 Junk Email Filter (KB936557)
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 July 2007.

Firefox (web browser, http://www.mozilla.com, free):
Versions 2.0.0.4 was released on May 30, 2007. The changes includes security fixes and more enhancements and fixes for Windows Vista support.

Firefox is free!

Opera (web browser, http://www.opera.com, free):
Version 9.21 was released on May 21st. This release of a recommended security upgrade, in addition to having several other bug fixes.

Netscape (web browser, http://browser.netscape.com, free):
Version 9.0b2 (beta version) was released this week.

SeaMonkey (web browser, email, HTML editor, newsreader; http://www.mozilla.org/projects/seamonkey; free): Version 1.1.2 was released on May 30, 2007. This was primarily a security update and the SeaMonkey team urges users to update promptly.

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.

Sponsored mode in the earlier versions expired on March 31st — and reverted to the less-functional "Lite" mode. Fortunately, Eudora is very nicely designed. Just upgrade to v7.1.0.9 to get back to Sponsored mode.

Mozilla Thunderbird (email, http://www.mozilla.com/thunderbird, free):
Thunderbird version 2.0.0.4 was released on June 14, 2007. Version 2.0.0.4 is primarily a security update.

OpenOffice (office suite — spreadsheet, word processor, presentations, graphics, web design; http://www.openoffice.org; free): Version 2.2.1 was released during the week ending June 16th. This is a security fix and bug fix release, with no new features.

3.  Cool Web Sites

This week, I've been surfing the web a bit and found a few unusual sites:

The Polar Clock

This web site features a circular clock with a twist -- as the clock concentric circles of the clock go around, they change colors. The innermost circle is seconds, then minutes, hours, day of the month, month and, finally, the outer circle is the day of the week.
The Polar Clock

Breaking the Sound Barrier

Under the right environmental conditions, when a plane breaks the sound barrier, it creates an unusual condensation cloud. This site, which is focused around the Chamorro language of Guam and the Chamorro Bible, has some really neat pictures. Be sure to click on the pictures shown -- they're links to collections, where those images link to larger versions.
Prandtl-Glauert Condensation Clouds

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

Fans of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams are hopefully aware that the BBC has a great collection of information about it. In the past, they created and broadcast the radio drama. Then, they created the TV mini-series, and finally, a movie of the Guide. The BBC site has a great deal of background on the show and also has two game versions you can play. The games apparently use the old InfoCom text game version from the late 1980's, but now have added some graphics so you can see with your eyes as well as with your mind.
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy games

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4.  LCD Monitors and Fuzzy Pictures

Reader, subscriber and fellow Cajun Clickers Computer Club member Don Hammons wrote me to say:

Hey Terry,

Enjoyed the radio show today. I was especially interested in the question about the LCD monitor since my son-in-law was having trouble with one that needed the same resolution 1440 x 900. Since his video card was about the same age as the person calling he could only get 1280 x 1024 and the screen looked very fuzzy, I called him today to see how he resolved the issue. He was about the take the monitor back to BestBuy. However, he did a little research and found a new driver for the video card that would provide the 1440 and when he upgraded the card the monitor cleared up and performed well. It was a Samsung monitor and when checking at NewEgg I found that each Samsung monitor has a different native resolution.

I suspect a lot of people are buying the new LCD monitors for old systems and don't realize they could get a better picture if the native resolution of the monitor was used. This might be a short article for your Newsletter about how to buy a monitor that has a resolution that their video card also has.

don

Don's right about this. There are some major differences between the old CRT monitors and LCD monitors. The obvious ones are size, weight and picture quality. There's a more basic issue that can give you a lousy picture on a brand new LCD.

CRT monitors, the cathode ray tube-based monitors that resemble older televisions, can handle a number of different resolutions. More importantly, they can display each of them cleanly and crisply.

LCD monitors, on the other hand, can display a number of different resolutions. LCD monitors have one resolution that is called their "native resolution." This is the one where the display is clean and crisp. The other resolutions have varying degrees of blurriness.

On the other end of the monitor cable is the video card. The video card generates the signals that tell the monitor to display a certain color on a certain pixel, so they also have to be able to drive the appropriate resolution for the monitor.

Many, if not all, LCD monitors come with a "driver CD". This is very important to install on your computer. It contains the .inf information file that tells Windows about the capabilities of your monitor — what resolutions it can run and which is its native resolution.

Similarly, video cards include driver CD's. These actually have programs (drivers) that will be installed on your computer. Windows will use these drivers to tell the video card what to do.

If you buy a new monitor, you probably need to look for a new driver for your video card. You'll get the sharpest picture on your LCD monitor at the monitor's native resolution. If your video card came with your computer, or if it is built into the motherboard, check your manufacturer's web site for an updated driver. If you bought the card as an add-on, check the card manufacturer's site for an update.

If you can update your video card's driver to match the native resolution of your LCD monitor, you'll have a low-cost (or zero cost) way to get a great picture. If your video card is several years old, or if the manufacturer doesn't believe in supporting its older products with driver updates, you may need to get a new video card.

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Part 1  | Part 2

Volume 3, Number 5 — Sunday, July 15, 2007

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

 

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