Thursday, August 26, 2004

SP2 - has arrived

Service Pack 2 (SP2) came out after midnight and you know who has it downloaded and saved to the hard drive. I will burn it to CD later this morning for back up. I started the download at 2:00 and just my luck there was a thunderstorm moving through. Yep the power just blinked off for a second but it was enough to foil the download. I started again at 2:10 and at 2:30 I had the 266 Meg SP2 on the drive. You must be a little bit of a geek to download it, as Bill wants you to install it online for some whacked out reason.

Believe it or not the install took longer than the download, about a 30-minute process. After the install and restart you are presented with a set-up splash page that offers to turn on a firewall. It told me I was using Norton AV and advised me to keep it updated. There was a button to set the security level also.

I see no ill effects from the upgrade. This comes as a surprise because all the big guru boys were saying, “don’t do it, wait”. The only change I can see so far was the Windows Media Player 9 had to be re-configured, not a big deal.

If any quirks pop up I’ll let you know but so far it looks good. I am not going to install it on my other computers till I trust it fully. This will be a few days down the road.

If you are on a dial-up ISP please remember it is 266 Meg. I dought that you would want to try the upgrade on line. Order the CD or get someone that has broadband to download it, then burn it to CD for you.


Wednesday, August 25, 2004

I have arived or Its lonely at the top

I am now the proud owner of a G-Mail address. This privilege is bestowed on one by invitation only; I just can’t understand them not giving me one sooner. This is a Google sponsored mailbox and it is about like Hot Mail or Yahoo mailboxes. The big selling point with G-Mail is it offers 1 Gig of storage along with some other stuff I haven’t tried as of yet. My Wife said, “that’s what you need ….. another email address”. “why do you need another one”? I told her it is like Everest, “because its there”. Wow, I just thought, I’m not going to get any mail till you send me some. Here is my new G-Mail address:

Wb9otx@gmail.com

Don’t fret because you don’t have G-Mail, It is in bata testing now but soon to be open to all. So just remember, “good things come to those who wait”
But Its lonely at the top…….. Everest

Every Six Months

My computer starts running slow about every six months. This is because I install and un-inslall programs all the time. I also get a ton of spyware, much more than the average Web surffer. So I clean house with a clean install of XP.

When I reinstall “my” operating system, I have a list of applications that I install, and a few system tweaks that I perform. I do all of this before doing anything else with my XP OS installation. In this Blog entry, I’m going to give you a complete rundown of it all. This was written for XP users.

Before installing any applications, the first thing I do is tweak the operating system a bit. In this period, I suggest that you unplug/disable your Internet connection if you have broadband.
Tweaking: Click Start>Run. Type “services.msc”, and click OK. To disable services, double click on the service name, and change the drop down box to Disabled. I always disable the following system services, that consume system resources: -Alerter -Error Reporting Service -Help and Support -IPSEC Services -Messenger -Network Location Awareness (NLA) -Remote Registry -Task Scheduler -TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper -Telephony -Windows Time. Make sure that you always disable Messenger, as this will stop thoses pop ups that we all hate.

Before disabling these services, ensure that you check that you will not need them. Those are services that I disable, because I never need them, and they tend to waste system resources. If you deside you need one that was disabled, just turn it back on, nothing harmed.
Right click My Computer, and click Properties. Click the Advanced tab. Click the first Settings button. Uncheck all of those boxes. If you uncheck the last one as well, you will change to the classic Windows theme. Click OK. Click on Error Reporting. Ensure that Disable error reporting is selected, and the checkbox is unchecked. Click OK, and then OK again.

Important applications: Plug in/enable your Intrnet connection. If you are one of the lucky ones to have DSL or Cable, (if not forget this) go to Windows Update, and install all of the Critical Updates that are available. I do not install any driver updates that Windows Update’s finds. I always go directly to the website of the hardware manufacturer.

Install Spybot Search & Destroy, and ensure that you have the most recent updates, and you used the Immunize feature. Spybot protects/searches for spyware that can get on your computer from the internet. Next, download and install SpywareBlaster, and install any updates that may be available. SpywareBlaster protects your computer from ever allowing spyware to be installed. With the combination of Spybot and SpwareBlaster, Ad-Aware SE is another very good choice.

your computer is now pretty safe from spyware, but not 100% I’m sorry to tell you. The hackers are always working to bypass these programs. And they are very good at what they do.

These days having antivirus software is a must. If you do not have one that you purchased, you can download one. I recommend AVG Antivirus. I use Norton’s on my machine but that is just my choice, there are many to choose from. The main thing is keep it up-dated.
You may want to install a different browser. Mozilla Firefox is a real good choice. A Spam filter is almost a must have. I use G-Lock SpamCombat, but it is very heavy duty, but you see I get over 300 a day. I also install the Google tool bar, not only for searching but it has a nice free pop up blocker.

Lastly, if you are an advanced user (geek) try this one; HiJackThis is a great program. Browser hijacking can be a serious problem. This is when a hijacker changes your homepage, and adds hidden files on your computer that cause popups, and computer slowdown. Ensure that you use the update utility in HiJackThis, to maintain the most current protection.

After doing all of the above, you can now click on your browser icon and have fun looking at RipleyCounty Dot Net.

Jack


Monday, August 23, 2004

"Network, I dont need no stinking network"

You see I seem to be way ahead of the curve or about two inches on the outside of the box. I have several friends that I stay in very close contact with via Ham Radio (not CB). I seem to be the one that they talk about having the “latest and greatest”. The words I hear most from them are, “ Why would you need that” or “I would never need that”. I just gloat when about two years have passed and one will ask, “Do you know anything about blank-eddy blank? I’m thinking about getting one”. I always reply, been there – done that, but it has been so long I have forgotten how it works.

I had the first computer.
I had the first logging software for Field Day (a Ham radio contest)
I was one of the first to use packet & PSK31 (a digital modes for Ham radio)
I was first to use slow scan TV
I had the first digital camera
I had the first ink jet printer
I had the first laser printer
I used fire wire first
I had the first finger drive
I had the first CD read / write drive
I had the first DVD read / write drive
I had the first DVD set-top recorder
I had the first home theater unit

The list could go on and on.

One thing I left out of the list was networking your computers. You ask, when I only have one computer, why would I ever need a network? The answer, you don’t need it now, but soon you will. How many TVs do you have? How many did you have in the year 1960. In 1960 one was enough, now you have them everywhere in the house. I had to think a minute just how many I have, I came up with five but I had forgotten the three inch LCD in the desk drawer that I use for testing satellite systems, total six. In the 60’s if you had told me I would own six TVs I would have said, “your nuts”.

Lap Tops and PDAs are getting smaller and lighter by the day. It seems only natural to be able to access the Internet while walking around the house. Yep, you’ll need a network to do this. Lots of people have laptops that are not used to their fullest potential. If your home or business was on a Wi-Fi network you could throw away those floppies or Finger drives that you use to sync with.

As I write this I am using a laptop. I’m setting in my e-z chair in the living room. It is connected to the Internet and all of the other computers in and out of my house through a Wi-Fi network, “Look Mom no wires”. When I’m done writing this I will upload it to my Blog on the Internet, then save it to another computer’s ‘D:’ drive for a backup. I can do this all over a wireless network without ever getting out of my chair.

My home network consists of a mess of old and new technology. I have half wired and half wireless. It started out very simple just linking two desktops, but as time went on I added more and more components to the system to expand its capability. My network is now about the same as a small business would have, much more than most homes would ever need or use.

I have a cable modem, from it connects a router, from there connects a switch, from there connects a wireless access point. I have a home business so I need a few more computers than most homeowners would require.

When the time comes (in about two years) that you think you want / need a home network think wireless as it is so much easier to set up than a wired system for the home.
There is no drilling through walls or floors, no mess of Cat 5 wire rolled up behind your desk either. XP and I’m sure what ever OS comes after it will make Wi-Fi a breeze to set up.
Think back in about two years from now and remember; “I told you so”.