Terry's Computer Tips - Newsletter
May 3, 2009

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

Volume 4, Number 47 — Sunday, May 3, 2009

IN THIS ON-LINE ISSUE:

   1.   Word 2007 Grabs File Types — How to Fix It
   2.   The Lighter Side of Technology
   3.   Dell Mini-10 Questions and Answers
   4.   Hard Drive Questions
   5.   My Computer Security Software Recommendations
   6.   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.  Word 2007 Grabs File Types — How to Fix It

 

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When I installed Microsoft Word 2007, I recall that it asked it I wanted it to be the default editor for Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. Perhaps I was mistaken, or perhaps Microsoft uses a much broader definition of the term.

I found the hard way that Microsoft Word 2007 was now my default editor for HTML files. That's not my choice, because I like to have a lot more control over the HTML code than Word allows. Also, Word likes to do things that are Microsoft-centric, don't lend themselves to easy editing, and don't always play nicely with web browsers other than Internet Explorer.

Fixing the default program for an individual file type is easy to do in Windows XP.

The first step is to open Windows Explorer, the file manager program. Just right-click on the Start Button and then click on Explore. You'll get a window that looks something like this:

(click on the image for a larger version)

When you left-click on the Tools menu bar item, the pull-down menu has an item Folder Options...

Click on it. This will open the Folder Options dialog box seen below.

Now, click on the File Types tab to switch to it.

(click on the image for a larger version)

On the File Types tab, you can type the first letter to jump to the file types starrting with that letter. However, this is not a smart find, just the first letter. If you type the second letter, it will jump elsewhere, e.g. typing the T of HTML will jump to file types starting with T.

Alteratively, you can use the down arrow or the scroll bar to move to the file type you want to change.

If I wanted to change the program that is the default program to open if I double-click on a file or icon of that type, I would click the Change... button.

To change which program is used as the default editor, click the Advanced button.

(click on the image for a larger version)

That opens the Edit File Type dialog box. In this case, the first choice is Edit. The underscore indicates that you can use Alt-E to open that selection and don't have to click the Edit button. This seems to be a particularly useless selection to me.

With the Editing action for type dialog box open, we can see tat one of the Microsoft Office 2007 programs is the default editor.

We can change that by either directly typing the path to our program choice into the text box, or we can click the Browse... button

In the following image, we see the Open With dialog box opened use the standard Windows Open With dialog box to find and pick the program we want — in this case the text-based programmer's editor EditPad Pro from Just Great Software Co. Ltd. They also offer a freeware version called EditPad Lite.

(click on the image for a larger version)

In the final image, we see that EditPad Pro is now the selected editor.

I need to click OK to close this window, and then another OK or two to close the other dialog boxes that were needed to get to this point.

2.  The Lighter Side of Technology

This week's technology cartoon at Terry's Computer Tips!

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3.  Dell Mini-10 Questions and Answers

Long-time subscriber Tom Linton wrote with comments and questions after my Dell Mini-10 article in my email newsletter last week:

Terry,

You have me a little confused. How can you classify a Dell Mini-10 netbook as a "desktop replacement" device? I too am looking for a new laptop. The one I have been using for the past two years has to go back. (It belongs to my camera club and I will no longer be the digital competitions director.).

So I have been looking for a "desktop replacement" laptop that I can do all my regular computing (email, web browsing, documents, digital file dump when traveling, and some minor digital editing, etc.) and dedicate my desktop to doing image manipulation and management.

From the specifications on all the netbooks I looked at, none would come close to giving me the screen size - resolution combination to easily read what is displayed. (I am getting weak eyed in my old age.) Also, the processing power would be a very noticeable hit. (I have become impatient now that I have been spoiled by faster PC's) My current desktop is almost 3 years old, but it still runs circles around any netbook I have tried.

As far as OpenOffice, I have been weaned off MS Office for two years now and have never regretted it. OpenOffice wil NOT yet handle .docx and .xlsx files. A few club members have sent submissions using these formats. I had to have them resubmit using .doc or .xls. There was no change in information content.

Personally, I think the change in formats was just a ploy to keep other programs from being combatable.

Any way, if you weren't taken by this Dell Mini-10 netbook, what other "notebooks" were you considering?

I wrote back to Tom to say that I wasn't classifying the Dell Mini-10 netbook as a desktop replacement device. It's obviously not. It's smaller, slower, less memory (1GB maximum), and not expandable at all.

My netbook is my interim backup until I get my Windows 7 desktop replacement laptop (my wife has already given her okay!). I've written in in my email newsletter that I've become concerned with my Inspiron 8600.

I didn't want to get a Vista machine this late in Vista's life, so the XP Home netbook becomes a useful choice at a reasonable price. The Mini-10 gives me a viable alternative in case the I-8600 dies before I get a new Windows 7-based notebook — my real Desktop Replacement. There's no question that any recent desktop will run circles around the netbooks onn the market. I've sold my Asus Eee PC, which was one of the first commercially available netbooks.

I agree with Tom that OpenOffice is a great alternative to Microsoft Office. I haven't been able to drop MS Office, though, because I'm stuck with Office at the office. We've been using v2003, but are now migrating to Office 2007, so I have to be able to handle docx and xlsx and every function that MS Office 2007 uses.

Finally, since I'v had my Asus Eee PC 701 since November 2008, I really wasn't seriously looking at the netbooks on the market — until I saw the Mini-10. My Eee PC 701 had such a tight keyboard that I couldn't type with both of my big hands. The Mini-10 fits them much better.

After seeing the Mini-10, I started looking at other netbooks. I also looked at HP's, which was all I could find locally. I also was thinking about the Acer netbook, but didn't find one locally. (I found out later that Office Depot carries them).

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4.   Hard Drive Questions

Subscriber DJ wrote to ask about hard drive brands and recommendations:

Terry, I'd like to know what brand drives you are recommending at this time, and what sizes. I haven't bought one in several years. I've had good luck with Western Digital and Seagate for the past 8 years or so, but Seagate has recently had some problems with their large drives. I have not been hearing good things about Hitachi. I'll be looking for a pretty large drive next time and appreciate any input.

Also, you said in your newsletter that you wanted to wait for Windows 7. Do you think it will be worth the wait over Vista? I want to rebuild my desktop, but don't want Vista. I do have Vista on my laptop.

Thanks! : )

dj

I wrote back to DJ to tell her that I have used Hitachi and Seagate after swearing off of Western Digital about 5 years ago. At the time, the only drives that had ever died on me were WD's. Now, I've see that with Hitachi and Seagate, so I tried WD again.

What size hard drive should you get? Whatever you need at the price you're willing to pay. If you're not doing video, then you might not need one of the terabyte drives, but they're getting cheaper all the time. I needed a large replacement PATA (parallel ATA) drive recently. I think I got Hitachi 500 GB model.. I also bought a couple 1TB Seagates SATA II drives that I caught on sale for $99 at BestBuy.

The only drive I've considered about which I've read problems was the Seagate 1.5TB drive. Apparently these were firmware problems. Seagate subsequently released an update for the firmware.

Regarding Windows 7, I haven't used it yet, but everytinng I've read says it will be a lot more friendly than Vista — more power, less hangups, fewer user aggravations. I'm looking forward to the official release, but I probably will not try the beta or Release Candidate versions.

I've got major upgrades of 2 desktops and 1 home theater pc waiting for Windows 7. And, a desktop replacement notebook to buy... I hope Microsoft doesn't disappoint us.

5.  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, I don' think that this type of package is 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..."

From 2003 through mid-2008, my personal choice was 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 — and it continues to get recognition andn awards. Unlike some of its competitors, ESET offers multiple-year licenses also, and includes program updates in the multiple-year license.

However, 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.
Tip: Be sure to read my review of SPF for the settings I recommend.

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:

• The Internet Versus You
• Do I Need a Firewall Program?
• My Sunbelt Personal Firewall Review

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 — and there's an even newer version about to be released. Nicely, Sunbelt 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:

• Fighting Against Spyware & Malware
• My CounterSpy Review
• My VIPRE Antivirus + Antispyware Review

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 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:

• Spam Filtering
• Keeping spam out of your Inbox
• Getting Control of Your Inbox
• How Can I Prevent spam?

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, which I also use. Either way, based on my experience, I recommend Linksys routers for price, reliability and Linksys' habit of releasing updated firmware for their products..

See these related articles:

• Wireless Security
• Wi-Fi Hotspots and Computer Security
• Wireless Networking Problems & Wireless Networking Security

6.  Recommend my Terry's Computer Tips Newsletter to Your Friends

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