Terry's Computer Tips - Newsletter
February 17, 2008
Terry's Computer Tips Newsletter
http://www.terryscomputertips.com
A computer tips newsletter for users of PC's.
Volume 3, Number 36 — Sunday, February 17, 2008
IN THIS WEEK'S ON-LINE ISSUE:
1. Computer Backup — How to Back Up Your Computer System
2. Updates Last Week
3. My Computer Security Software Recommendations
4. Recommend my Terry's Computer Tips Newsletter to Your Friends
Welcome to the on-line edition of my Terry's Computer Tips newsletter.
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1. Computer Backup — How to Back Up Your Computer System
Subscriber and friend Don wrote to ask about image backup software. In this case, "image" does not mean photos and pictures; it means that the hard drive is backed up as a single image that can be restored. In effect, we have the ability to create our own Recovery DVD's with all of our installed programs and our data already included!
Don wrote:
Terry….As you may recall a few weeks ago I had a major meltdown on my computer with the hard drive crashing. Not being an astute computer/files manager I did not have an adequate backup plan to prevent the pain of getting back to my normal operation.
Friends at work are recommending an external hard drive and ghost software to automatic keep up with updates as time goes on. In the event of a crash…the thought is to merely fix your computer and reload with the external hard drive contents.
Does this work? reasonable in pricing? Where do you get this? Do you have a recommendation for any such combination?
Yes. That's what I do, using Acronis True Image
Acronis True Image will enable you to back up your entire hard drive, back up specific partitions (if you have it split into multiple partitions), and even create image backups that include only the files that have been changed.
Of course, an image backup utility is only an emergency tool, if it forces you to rewrite the entire hard drive if you need to restore something. Fortunately, True Image lets us restore individual files from the backup images without having to restore anything else.
Acronis True Image comes with a boot-cd-creator that you can use to make a bootable CD. With it, you can boot the computer and then restore from the backup.
My usual image backups, including both full backups and incremental of the files that have changed, are done across my home network. I almost always have multiple partitions on my hard drives, so I usually back up individual partitions.
Tech Tip
There's one important thing to know if you choose to back up individual partitions and not the entire hard drive. If you're reinstalling the image to the same physical hard drive, that's no problem. But, say your hard drive failed and you're trying to installl to a brand new hard drive...
If you did not back up the entire hard drive, the imaging software that you used did not back up the boot sectors of the hard drive! You will have to re-create them.
That's easy with Windows XP — boot your Windows XP CD, select "Repair" which will drop you to a command line interface. Use the command: "fixboot /mbr" (without the quotes) to fix the Windows Master Boot Record. The computer should be bootable now.
Related articles:
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 did included Patch Tuesday and Microsoft had a bunch of patches for us. These are the ones I saw with my Windows XP computers:
Microsoft Windows XP
Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP (KB944533)
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.
Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 6 for Windows XP (KB944533)
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 Windows XP (KB946026)
A security issue has been identified in the mrxdav.sys driver that could allow an attacker to compromise your Windows-based system and gain 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.
Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool - February 2008 (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 Windows XP (KB943055)
A security issue has been identified that could allow an attacker to remotely compromise your Windows-based system using Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) Automation and gain 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.
Microsoft Office 2003
Security Update for Office 2003 (KB945185)
A security vulnerability exists in Office 2003 programs that could allow arbitrary code to run when you open a maliciously modified file. This update resolves that vulnerability.
Security Update for Microsoft Office Publisher 2003 (KB946254)
A security vulnerability exists in Publisher 2003 that could allow arbitrary code to run when you open a maliciously modified file. This update resolves that vulnerability.
Update for Outlook Junk Email Filter 2003 (KB944941)
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.
Security Update for Microsoft Works Suite 2005 (KB943973)
A security vulnerability exists in Microsoft Works Suite 2005 that could allow arbitrary code to run when opening a malicious document. This update addresses that vulnerability.
Security Update for Microsoft Office Word 2003 (KB943983)
A security vulnerability exists in Microsoft Word 2003 that could allow arbitrary code to run when a maliciously modified file is opened. This update resolves that vulnerability.
Microsoft Office 2002/XP
Security Update for Office XP (KB944423)
A security vulnerability exists in Office XP programs that could allow arbitrary code to run when you open a maliciously modified file. This update resolves that vulnerability.
Security Update for Microsoft Office Publisher 2002 (KB946216)
A security vulnerability exists in Publisher 2002 that could allow arbitrary code to run when you open a maliciously modified file. This update resolves that vulnerability.
Security Update for Word 2002 (KB943957)
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.
Firefox (web browser, http://www.mozilla.com, free):
New version. Version 2.0.0.12 was released on Thursday, February 7th. This release fixes a number of security and stability issues discovered in Firefox 2.0.0.11.
Opera (web browser, http://www.opera.com, free):
No new version this week. Version 9.25 was released on December 19th. This release is a recommended security upgrade.
Opera 9.50 beta 1 became available on October 25th. Based on the changelog, there are a lot of changes coming to Opera. But, beware, if you're using OperaMail, this is a one-way upgrade as it will change your mail storage system.
SeaMonkey (web browser, email, HTML editor, newsreader; http://www.mozilla.org/projects/seamonkey; free): No new version this week. Version 1.1.7 was released on February 7, 2008. This update includes security and stability fixes.
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.
The second public beta version of v8 (v8.0.0.b2) was released and is now available from http://wiki.mozilla.org/Eudora_Releases .
Mozilla Thunderbird (email, http://www.mozilla.com/thunderbird, free):
No new version this week. Thunderbird version 2.0.0.9 was released on November 14, 2007. This is primarily a security update.
OpenOffice (office suite — spreadsheet, word processor, presentations, graphics, web design; http://www.openoffice.org; free): New Version! Version 2.3.1 was released during the week ending December 8th. According to the Release Notes, this version does not include any new features. It is a security bug fix.
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3. My Computer Security Software Recommendations
I review my security software recommendations and update them, for each weekly newsletter issue, if I think they need to change.
My Philosophy: Many people want to pick their most economical solution and prefer an all-in-one anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewall solution. In concept, that's a great idea. In actual practice, this type of package is not likely to be the best in all the protection categories you need.
Other people want to pick the best of each type program. I'm one of the these folks. Read about my security software choices.
Anti-Virus
I'm often asked about several other popular anti-virus or anti-virus combination packages. Yes, I realize that they are not in my recommendation list. "Enough said..."
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 updates to the program in the multiple-year license.
Many antivirus programs will offer you an anti-virus signature subscription renewal when your subscription renews. I strongly recommend against this option. Vendors routinely improve the capabilities and speed fo the programs also.
If you update only the signatures, you miss any program improvements. Fortunately, NOD32's subscriptions include both program updates and signature updates.
Read more about anti-virus programs on my web site.
Related articles:
- Anti-Virus Programs and Online Scanners
- Free Online Antivirus Scan
- NOD32 Anti-Virus Review - A Look at NOD32
Firewall Software
While the Windows XP firewall is much better than no firewall at all, don't count on the Windows XP firewall to meet your needs. You need a two-way firewall, which the Windows XP firewall is not!.
The Windows XP firewall does not control outbound communications originating 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! Do you use the Search function in Windows Explorer to find things on your hard drive? Did you know that every time you search, Windows Explorer talks to Microsoft — I didn't know that when I ran ZoneAlarm, but the Sunbelt Kerio Personal Firewall flags that for me, and I can stop or allow it to happen.
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 Personal Firewall.
You can try the full-featured "paid version" of Sunbelt Personal Firewall free for 30 days — after that, you can register it or, if you're using it on a home non-business computer, you can let it revert to the free, lesser-function license. Sunbelt Personal Firewall is $19.95 (with discounts for multiple computers!) for a non-expiring license for the program and includes one year of their updates subscription.
Related 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. It is also my personal choice for my PC's and my family's PC's.
Sunbelt released their CounterSpy v2 in early February and I promptly updated my computers to it. Version 2 greatly improved CounterSpy's performance and reduced its load on the computer when it was scanning.
Recently (late July, 2007), Sunbelt released v2.5 of CounterSpy, which again both improved CounterSpy's performance against malware and reduced its impact on system resources and responsiveness when its scanning.
Related articles:
Anti-spam Software
In today's Internet world, the question is not "if" you will get spam, but "how much will you get?"
I use and now I recommend POPFile as my first choice for handling spam. POPFile sits on your computer, between your email program and your ISP mailbox, and handles emial as it downloads.
POPFile uses a different approach to handle spam than some other programs do — it does nothing to reduce spam. It is designed as an email classification tool — you train it to recognize spam and any other type of email that you want to classify. These classifications can help you sort your emails into appropriate folders in your email program.
Sunbelt Software, who makes the anti-spyware program CounterSpy (which I use and recommend) and the firewall that I use and recommend (Sunbelt Kerio Personal Firewall) also has a well-regarded, award-winning anti-spam program called iHateSpam for Outlook and Outlook Express. Since I don't use Outlook or Outlook Express for email, I haven't tried iHateSpam.
Mailwasher Pro is my first choice 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. There is a free version called "Mailwasher," but it omits the functions that I consider critical for this purpose -- such as safely previewing the emails safely before they ever get to your email inbox.
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.
For a wireless router, I recommend the Linksys WRT54G wireless router. I'm using the relatively new version 6 of this router.
If you don't want wireless, I recommend the Linksys BEFSR41 wired router. Either way, based on my experience, I recommend Linksys routers for price, reliability and Linksys' habit of releasing updated firmware for their products..
Tech Tip
By the way, if you get tempted by the new "802.11n" routers, please pay close attention. So far, the 802.11n specification has not been approved and finalized.
If you buy one, you may be locked into a specific vendor's implementation of a draft of a standard that never got approved. I recommend choosing 802.11g for now.
See these related articles:
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Volume 3, Number 36 — Sunday, February 17, 2008
Copyright © 2008 Terry A. Stockdale. All rights reserved.
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