Terry's Computer Tips - Newsletter
December 28, 2008
Terry's Computer Tips Newsletter
http://www.terryscomputertips.com
A computer tips newsletter for users of PC's.
Volume 4, Number 29 — Sunday, December 28, 2008
IN THIS ON-LINE ISSUE:
1. Clearing the Address Bar History in Firefox 3
2. Using Two Monitors Simultaneously for More Screen Space
3. My Computer Security Software Recommendations
4. A First Look at Acronis True Image Home 2009
5. Recommend my Terry's Computer Tips Newsletter to Your Friends
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Welcome to the on-line edition of my Terry's Computer Tips newsletter. Its articles are not in the email issue — and the email articles aren't in the online issue — subscribe to my email newsletter so you can read both.
1. Clearing the Address Bar History in Firefox 3
Reader Carol wrote several weeks ago about a problem she was having with Firefox 3:
Is there anyway I can get rid of the irritating history memory (of favorites/bookmarks) at the right hand side of the address bar in the new firefox 3.0. I know I can do it via getting rid of temp files etc. but it is long winded and , I just don't want to have a list keep popping up at the side, even if they are MY favorites in MY favorites/bookmarks....I would like to have the choice of whether I want to see them all the time or not.
I wrote back to Carol with instructions tellingn her how to hide the bookmarks list and the history list in Firefox 3. However, I also asked what she meant about "popping up" Carol replied:
Dear Terry ,
Thank you for your reply., but I have already tried what you suggest — it seems to be A NEW feature of Firefox that you cannot get rid of the history at the side of the address bar. Just to refresh you, in the address bar there is the address ( of course)then at the right side a star which is the new easy to bookmark the page facility and then to the right of the star ,the downward pointing arrow, which lists the history — it is this history which I cannot get rid of — I just wondered if you could confirm that Firefox has in fact stopped people from getting rid of this history list — ( I think it is mainly history that is already bookmarked — Firefox seems to think that if it is in your favourites , why should you not want to list it — the problem is when other people use the computer . they too can see the list).
Just wondereing if you know any more about this or a way of getting rid of it.
yours Carol
The problem, or challenge (if you want the positive term) is that Firefox 3 has a new predictive tool for guessing at addresses that you type into the address bar.
The data that it uses to guess are the URLs that you have visited by typing them into into the address bar, the URLs that you have visited by clicking on web page links, and all the bookmarks you have (IE users - that's what Firefox calls Favorites).
You can easily tell the visited links (typed and clicked) from the bookmarks — the bookmarks have gold starts near the right end.
This use of the bookmarks for matching is causing the most confusion — Firefox 3 actually does provide the mechanism for deleting the manually typed entries and those entries created by clickingon links.
My normal Firefox 3 privacy settings for the Clear Private Data dialog box ( Tools > Clear Private Data...) are shown in the image below:
The important one, for this purpose, is the Browsing History checkmark.
If all you want to clear is the Browsing History, without changing other items like Cookies, just uncheck the items you want to keep and check the ones you want to delete. Press the Clear Private Data Now button to clear your data.
At that point, the only URLs you will find in the address bar are those belonging to your Bookmarks.
The antispyware program I use VIPRE also has a powerful tool for cleaning your private data, including your Firefox 3 history. It will clean the manually-typed and clicked URLs from the address bar. This History Cleaner tool is available on the Tools tab in VIPRE and can clear a lot more private data, too.
2. Using Two Monitors Simultaneously for More Screen Space
Subscriber Nena wrote to ask about using two monitors at the same time to give her more screen "real estate:"
I purchased a 2nd monitor thinking I could load a web site on one and my genealogy program on the other. I have been printing or hand-writing the info in order to get it on my program. I can now transfer from one monitor to the other, but only one shows at a time. Am I missing something? Can I see both monitors at the same time or did I waste my money on the second monitor? Thanks, Nena
There are several steps in getting this to work.
From your comment that you can transfer from one monitor to the other, I assume you mean that both monitors are connected at the same time and that both show the same thing at the same time.
If only one monitor displays ANYTHING at any given time, that's a different problem. I don't have more than one monitor per computer at home, so I've never had to set that up.
I have two LCD monitors at work to go with my Dell Lattitude and its docking station. The docking station supports one analog monitor and one digital monitor at the same time. That is, both are working, but by default, they show exactly the same thing.
That's where a nice add-on program somes into play. I use a program at work called UltraMon, which lets me have one huge desktop that spans across my two monitors.
Sometimes, I'm reading one document on one monitor and making notes and comments about using the other monitor. Other times, I have something entirely unrelated on the second monitor. When I work with some Excel spreadsheets (one of my current ones is about 20,000 lines and 40 MB in size), UltraMon lets me stretch the spreadsheet across both monitors. I can see much more of the spreadsheet at one time that way.
Purchase price for one license is $39.95 according to the publisher's web site http://www.realtimesoft.com/ultramon/. There's a trial version of UltraMon, which is limited to 30 days.
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.
My choice of software that I am willing to recommend is driven by my search for software for me to use. I only recommend programs that I like and that I use. I will sometimes suggest alternatives to my recommendations, but I clearly note if I no longer use them.
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..."
For the last five years, until very recently, my personal choice has been ESET's small, fast NOD32 anti-virus program, which offers a FREE 30-day evaluation license. I consider NOD32 one of the best in anti-virus protection. Unlike some of its competitors, ESET offers multiple-year licenses also, and includes program updates in the multiple-year license.
Tech Tip
Many antivirus programs will offer you an anti-virus signature subscription renewal when your subscription renews. I strongly recommend against this option — buy the full program or make sure you get program updates with the subscription renewal.
Vendors routinely improve the capabilities and speed of the programs, too. If you update only the signatures, you miss any program improvements.
Now, I've changed from my long-time programs NOD32 (antivirus) and CounterSpy (antispyware) to Sunbelt's new VIPRE Antivirus + Antispyware.
I've found that VIPRE puts even less load on my computer than the speedy combination of NOD32 and CounterSpy. I've also been impressed with the way its "deep scan" has found and eliminated risks that were stored in zip files, which is one of the latest malware email tricks.
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
- VIPRE Antivirus + Antispyware Review
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!. Microsoft woke up and supplied a two-way firewall with Windows Vista.
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. Whether they are calling home or spewing spam, you want to be able to control your computer.
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 Personal Firewall flags that to me, and I can stop it or allow it to happen. Many other programs try to call home when you run them, too.
I recommend my choice for a firewall program, which 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 regularly $19.95 (with discounts for multiple computers and/or multiple years!) 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 has been my personal choice for my PC's and my family's PC's.
Sunbelt's CounterSpy v2.5, both improved CounterSpy's performance against malware and reduced its impact on system resources and responsiveness when its scanning.
Sunbelt continues to release updated program versions — the current version is v3.1. Nicely, they do NOT install the updated programs automatically. You have to use the Update process in the program, which means that you'll know that something significant has changed.
Now, I've changed from my long-time programs NOD32 (antivirus) and CounterSpy (antispyware) to Sunbelt's new VIPRE Antivirus + Antispyware.
I've found that VIPRE puts even less load on my computer than the speedy combination of NOD32 and CounterSpy. My computer seems to have much more pep and power than it had previously. I've also been impressed with the way its "deep scan" has found and eliminated risks that were stored in zip files, which is one of the latest malware email tricks.
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 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 would be 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. Note: I found that PopFile generally meets my needs and stopped using Mailwasher Pro, even though PopFile works AFTER the emails have been downloaded. If I used a dialup connection, I would be more interested in Mailwasher Pro.
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.
Related articles:
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
If you don't want wireless, I recommend the Linksys BEFSR41
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:
4. A First Look at Acronis True Image Home 2009
I've been using Acronis True Image Home for a long time, as readers of my newsletter know. I started with ATIH 7, then ATIH 9, ATIH 11 and now I use ATIH 2009.
Each of the versions included improvements over earlier versions — but when I saw the features of Acronis True Image Home 2009, I didn't hesitate long!
I love the new interface — it's a lot easier to understand than the ATIH 11 version (which was similar to older versions). It simply looks good. It also has many of the options settable via the options menu (Tools > Options) instead of forcing us to walk through all the options every time we wanted to create or schedule a backup.
Tech Tip
Let me repeat that — there are a lot of options, including ones you really want to use, such as Validate backup archive when it is created that are in the Options menu. (This option lets you make sure that the backup you just made is good. I ran into that problem years ago with Drive Image — I deleted the partition to restore it from Drive Image, and then Drive Image decided that the backup was bad, and refused to restore it. Not a good thing...
On the left below, we see the main menu screen (Home) in ATIH 2009. From here, you can easily do each task.
The image on the right is the first Backup and Restore screen. Think of these as individual wizards to walk you through each step.
 (click on the image for a larger version) |
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The next screen on the left is the Tasks and Log screen, where we contrrol the scheduled and unscheduled backup tasks. As you can see from the calendar, I have True Image Home 2009 run a scheduled backup every three days. Although you can't see the details from this display, I run a full backup on or about the first of the month and scheduled incremental backups after that. Occasionally, I run an unscheduled incremental backup, too. The color coding makes it easy to see the status of the backups.
The next screen is the first Utilitites screen, which provides two hard drive management tools. Notice in the top left, there are two entries: Disk Management and Cleanup Utilities.
From this hard drive management menu, we can clone a disk (for example, if we wanted to replace the disk with a larger one, or we can add a new disk to the computer. This latter function lets us configure the initially blank hard drive so that we can use it to store data and programs. Of course, Windows also has tools to do this, but they're hidden and it's not as obvious how to use them.
 (click on the image for a larger version) |
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The last image shows the Cleanup Utilities provided in True Image Home 2009: the Drive Cleaner (to securely wipe a hard drive, which takes hours and hours), the File Shredder (to securely wipe individual files) and the System Clean-up utility Interestingly, the System Clean-up utility says it "cleans all your Windows activity traces" (what about traces from common programs like Firefox and Opera?).
Even more interestingly, it says that it "securely wipes hard drive free space." That's a nice feature which is hard to find — many programs will do individual files or files and folders. More will wipe the whole hard drive. But, I've found few over the years that are designed to wipe free space.
The final image is the Cleanup Utility, with one level of its findings shown. You'll have to click on the small triangles to show the details under each item — and you may think the program has frozen as it creates the list (my list had 3,651 items!).
 (click on the image for a larger version) |
 (click on the image for a larger version) |
I was able to get special pricing on Acronis True Image Home 2009, which I can pass along to you if you use the following links:
First, if you do not have a previous version of Acronis True Image Home to upgrade, or if you want to buy an additional license, the regular price of Acronis True Image Home 2009 is $49.99. Get Acronis True Image Home 2009.
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Volume 4, Number 29 — Sunday, December 28, 2008
Copyright © 2008 Terry A. Stockdale. All rights reserved.
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