In This Issue...

Newbies Nook - Information, Tips, and Instruction for Computer Users

Forum Favorites - Popular Questions and Threads from the Forum

Security Corner - Are Your Passwords Strong Enough?

Carol's Corner Office - Microsoft Office and OpenOffice How-To's and Tips

Dave's Recommended Software - Our Picks of the Best Software Available

Broadband Internet Part Deux - More Info on Broadband Happenings

Freeware Focus - A Spotlight on Freeware programs.

Useful Websites - Useful Websites Found on the Net and Recommended by Readers

The Lighter Side - Funny, Interesting, and Thought Provoking Items Found During Our Travels Across the Internet

Adding XP Computers to the Vista Network Map

What is a Network Map?

Having multiple computers in the same home, or small office, is common. It's becoming a rule, rather than an exception. Moms, Dads, and children all want to be online simultaneously as they work and play. As the number of computers increase so does the complexity of the network. Vista introduced a useful feature called Network Map. Network Map is a graphical map of the network showing locations, connections, and other basic network information.

Sounds great, doesn't it? Well you just knew it couldn't be that simple! Since Network Map was introduced in Vista it isn't compatible with XP by default. This means only computers running the Vista and later operating systems show in the map. The screenshot below is of the Network Map. In the map you can see HP-DV9500 is connected wirelessly (dotted line) to the router, which has a wired connection to my ISP. Also notice that computers using operating systems other than Vista do not show in the map, but are listed below as "can not be placed in map". The ZD7020 is running XP and the Server is running Windows Home Server, neither of which can be mapped by Vista.

Vista uses a function called Link Layer Topology Discovery (who names these things), or LLTD, to communicate with other devices and gather information to create the Network Map. Operating Systems prior to Vista do not have this function, so they can't respond to Vista's query for information. Microsoft released software for XP called Link Layer Topology Discovery Responder. The problem is most users don't know about it, and those who have installed Service Pack 3 can't use it. If this is the first you've heard of LLTD it may seem too late. No need to fear! We're here to show you how to install the LLTD responder on any XP computer!

Installing the LLTD responder on your XP computer

Follow the simple steps below and your XP computers will show in the Vista Network Map.

1. From each XP computer - download the LLTD responder from Microsoft and save it to C:\ (this is the root of your hard drive)
2. Rename the file to LLTD.exe (you'll see why in a minute)
3. Open the Start Menu and click Run

4. In the Run dialog box that opens type cmd.exe and click OK

5. A command prompt will open. Type "cd c:\" (cd_space_c:\) at the flashing cursor. This will change the working directory to the root of your hard drive (where you saved the file)

6. You will now have a flashing cursor after the c:\ prompt. Type the following command at the flashing cursor - "c:\lltd.exe -x:c:\lltd" (c:\lltd.exe_space_-x:c:\lltd).

This command will create a folder named lltd on the c: drive and extract the contents of the lltd.exe file (you renamed earlier) into that folder.

7. You will receive the following message telling you the operation was a success. Click the OK button and the message will disappear.

8. You can now close the cmd.exe window. Open My Computer and double click on the C drive. As if by magic you will now have a folder named "lltd".

9. Double click the newly created lltd folder and you will find the following. Even though there are three folders and two files inside we are only concerned about the folder named SP2GDR. Double click on the folder named SP2GDR.

10. Inside the SP2GDR folder are two additional folders and two files. Copy/Paste or drag and drop the rspnder.sys file to your desktop.

11. Double click the folder named IC. Inside you will find the file named rspnder.inf. Copy/Paste or drag and drop this file to your desktop.

12. If you are going to perform this modification on another computer now is a good time to copy rspnder.inf and rspnder.sys from your desktop to a USB flash drive.
13. Navigate to the C:\Windows\System32 folder and Copy/Paste or drag and drop the rspnder.inf file there.

No need to give me a hard time about the colors - I'm performing this on my wife's computer :)

14. While you are in the System32 folder you will notice a folder named Drivers. Double click on the Drivers folder to open it.
15. Copy/Paste or drag and drop the file named rspnder.sys into the Drivers folder (C:\Windows\System32\Drivers).

That's the hard part. Go get yourself a tasty beverage and relax for a moment. When you're ready come back and we'll finish the rest of the installation!

16. Open the Control Panel (Start>Control Panel), then open Network Connections.

17. When Network Connections opens choose the connection you are using (this computer is using a wireless connection). Right click on your connection and select properties.

Once you click properties from the right click menu of the connection you are using you will see the following dialog box open.

18. Click Install on the General tab, which will open the dialog box below.

19. Select Protocol and click Add. This will open the Select Protocol dialog box seen below.

20. Click the Have Disk button, with will open the box below.

21. Click the Browse button, which will allow you to tell Windows where the installation file is.

22. Navigate to c:\Windows\System32 (remember where you copied the rspnder.inf file). Highlight the rspnder.inf file and click Open.

Windows will read the file and recognize that it is the Link Layer Topology Discovery Responder and present you with the following dialog box.

23. Highlight Link Layer Topology Discovery Responder and click OK.

Windows will think, buzz, and whirl while it magically completes the installation. OK, actually it takes about 15 seconds and is pretty uneventful.

Once the installation is complete you can close any windows you have open and delete the lltd.exe file and lltd folder from the C drive.

24. This is the easiest step... Reboot the computer.

Once the computer is finished rebooting you can navigate back to the Network Properties for your network connection. You will see that Link Layer Topology Discovery Responder now appears on the General tab.

You will now be able to see your XP computers appear in your Vista Network Map.

What's next?

I've worked through several attempts to add this functionality to Windows Home Server, but I haven't had much luck. If you've accomplished this, or have suggestions, I would be interesting in hearing them! If I find a working method for Windows Home Server I'll include it in a future article!

The Daves Computer Tips Forum needs your help (OK I need your help)! The forum has 179 members and almost 900 total posts. We desperately need your participation for the forum to thrive! The forum is great place to get to know others from all over the world, but a place to get and give advice!

Get Serif Software's PhotoPlus for FREE - visit this thread!!

Football or Soccer? - Lancastrian introduced himself to the forum and it has become quite the discussion regarding the merits of football and soccer!

Browser Statistics - Interested in which browser other are using? Ever wonder how popular your browser is?

A new FireFox add-in - Jim posts about a new Firefox add-in that maximizes those tiny flash games we all play online!

What happens when Windows doesn't remember your automatic update settings? - Help Crazewolf figure it out.

Computer freezes - What is causing GunWarrior's computer to freeze?

Webpages don't open fullscreen - Richard's webpages open in a small windows. Can you help? Are you interested in knowing why? Join the discussion!

Are Your Passwords Strong Enough?

Do a search on “strong password” and you'll get a couple of million hits, everything from definitions to tools and websites with password generators. You'll even see some sponsored ads for people trying to sell password strength-related services.

It's a hot topic and opinions vary widely. You're told time and again that your password should be a long string of random characters, the longer the better. My articles on how to create unguessable passwords serve as a good example of current thinking on the subject. Maybe, like me, you tend to create strong passwords for everything (truth is, I sometimes use weak passwords--more about that later). Is it really necessary to have passwords that would take a few quadrillion years to crack and use those for everything, or can you get away with weaker ones for some things? And what about those sites—even some credit card and banking sites—that force you to use only upper and lower case letters and numbers? Are those passwords strong enough? The answers may surprise you.

First of all, it's not necessary to have passwords that require half an eternity to crack, no matter what the experts say. If your password is complex enough that it's unlikely it can be cracked before you change it, chances are that's strong enough. Let's say the password for your on-line banking site is MyPass21; a brute force attack against your account would take around 253 days--call this the password recovery window (PRW) - if an attacker was using a fast, dual processor PC (see charts - the complete set of them is available on the Password Recovery Speeds website). If you change your password every six months, it's highly unlikely that anyone would be able to compromise your account using brute force.

What about on-line magazine sites, photo sharing sites, and the like? These often require “registration,” mainly so they can legally send you email solicitations. They ask for your first name, maybe an email address, and want you to create a password. There's no danger that any personal identity or financial information is going to be revealed if someone hacks your account, so who cares? In this case, a weak password is strong enough. I call these things “nuisance passwords” and I always use the simplest, most easy-to-remember password I can get away with, usually the same as my login name. For example, my login for one site is ken and my password is kenh.

It's up to you to evaluate the importance of the information you're protecting with your passwords, so I won't presume to tell you the ideas I present here are absolute. However, I can say with absolute certainty that a 20-character password using mixed upper and lower case alphabet plus numbers and common symbols (96 characters), subjected to a class D attack (10,000,000 guesses per second) could take up to 14,015,805,234,633,679,975,229,169 years to crack. I'd say that's strong enough.

The first person to post the correct translation (in words) of that number in the comments section gets an “attaboy” (or girl) and just might get a free Dave's Computer Tips T-shirt.

Ken Harthun is the Security Editor for Daves Computer Tips. He also writes about security issues for IT Knowledge Exchange and blogs on general Geek things at Ask the Geek. You can read more about Ken here.

Hi everyone,

Well I hope you all had a great turkey day and that you are now fortified to gear up for the Christmas holidays. It seems like it starts earlier and earlier every year. I saw Santa in a shopping center before Thanksgiving this year!

My family and I always adopt a needy family for Christmas. I hope that you and yours can do something a little extra for someone this year too.

Ok, on with the article now.

Adding a Work Menu in MS Word

The Work menu is one of the oldest and most obscure features supported by MS Word. The Work menu is basically a Word specific list of your favorite or most often used documents, that remains hidden in the Customize dialog box until you drag it out of there and place it on your toolbar. The Work list will hold as many as nine document shortcuts. It is a handy place to store those documents that require regular access.

Follow the steps below to put the Work menu in its place on your toolbar:

1. Click on View | Toolbars | Customize.
2. Select the Commands tab.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the Categories list box.
4. Select Built-in Menus.
5. Drag the Work item to a convenient spot on a toolbar or onto the menu bar and drop it.
6. Click Close.

Once the Work menu is in place and you pull down the menu, you will see one item, which is Add To Work Menu. To place the current document on the list, simply select this command and MS Word will add the document below any others listed. Because there is limited room, if you add a tenth item, MS Word will oust the first document you added off the bottom of the menu.

The documents must remain in their original location and with the same name. Changing either will break the shortcut.

I will tell you how to remove an item or items from the Work menu but with a word of extreme caution, as if you do not pay attention, you could also remove any command from any menu, so you need to be careful.

Having said that, follow the steps below to remove items from the Work menu:

• Click CTRL + ALT + hyphen. The pointer will change to a minus sign and you can use it to pull down the menu and select any item you would like to remove. Remember to be careful not to use it on anything but the item you would like to remove. The document will be removed from the Work menu but it will still reside on your hard drive. Remember, that the document on your your Work menu is just a shortcut to the document on your hard drive.

Be careful and enjoy!

Where you might ask is the Work Menu in MS Word 2007?

The work menu has now been incorporated into the Most Recently Used Files list in MS Word 2007. That list allows you to "pin" documents so they do not become scrolled off the list. In theory, the list can now hold fifty documents, but because the list does not scroll, the total number you can have on your list really dependent upon your screen resolution.

Until next time, take care of YOU!

Carol Bratt is the Office Applications Editor at Daves Computer Tips. She has authored several informative Microsoft Office books and writes the monthly Word Bytes Newsletter with more tips and tricks in each issue. Visit Carol's website for more great Microsoft Office tips and tricks! Click here to see her latest books! You can read more about Carol here.

Anti-spyware and Anti-malware

Webroot SpySweeper - Daves Computer Tips Seal of Approval Winner! See the test results HERE. Spysweeper provides the best protection of the seven anti-spyware programs tested! Great detection and removal rates with a small real-time protection memory footprint. This is the one you want! SpySweeper includes the ASK toolbar. Be sure to uncheck this option during installation. Free 14 day trial.

CounterSpy - Runner-up in my Anti-Spyware test. Not only does CounterSpy scan and remove spyware, it also uses real time protection. Real-time protection prevents spyware infection. Free 15 day trial. Winner of Computer Shopper Magazine's Best Buy Award!

Antivirus and Firewall

ESET Smart Security - New from the maker's of NOD32. Antivirus, Antispyware, Antispam, and Firewall all wrapped into one effective, swift, and low resource package. It is what I use to protect each of my computers!

Kaspersky Antivirus - Kaspersky is my second choice for antivirus software. A good program that is very close in performance to NOD32. Free trial.

Online Armor Firewall - You shouldn't be on the internet without a software firewall that offers inbound and outbound protection. Online Armor is the Best of the Best for those needing a firewall. Online Armor's easy to navigate interface and the protection level can't be beat!

Audio and Video

Acoustica Audio Converter Pro - This program converts audio formats and bitrates. Perfect for those with portable audio players or large music collections. 30 day trial.

Adobe Premier Elements 8 - Elements is the home version of Adobe Premiere, the best professional video editing suite today. Premier Elements costs 1/6th the price of the professional version, but is very capable of making videos that will impress everyone.

DVDFab is my favorite DVD software. I tried over 30 different programs before settling on DVDFab. It offers every function of the other programs and more! Copy, burn, shrink, convert for mobile devices, or convert for streaming. Almost all of the other programs I've tried did not function as advertised, were extremely slow, or did not have features that worked as advertised. DVDFab works, and works as advertised! It's easy to use, has a pleasant user interface, and it updated often.

Computer Hardware

Crucial Memory - Memory (RAM) is the upgrade that gives any computer the best bang for the buck. If you want to speed things up with more memory, why not purchase it from the leading source of quality RAM memory. Great selection, good prices, excellent support, and a lifetime warranty! A real winner!

CyberGuys - The place to get those hard to find cables and accessories for your computer!

HP Computers - My current pick for new laptops and desktops. In the current market I don't think you can beat HP's combination of price and performance. Their laptop line is very cost effective and the design is absolutely beautiful!

Newegg - Newegg.com is known for great service and awesome pricing on computers, upgrades, and electronics. If you're looking for computers, computer parts, or electronics you owe it to yourself to start here! Great Products. Great Prices. Great Customer Service!

Computer Maintenance

Diskeeper 2010 - My current favorite defrag program. As files are written and erased from the hard drive they begin to leave "spaces" behind. When the drive is written to again files are broken up to fill in these spaces. This causes the drive to go to several different locations to read an entire file, which slows performance greatly. Diskeeper has several advanced features such as; automatic defrag, scheduled defrag, and the ability to defrag the MFT (Master File Table) and paging file. 30 day trial.

Registry Mechanic - A very thorough and efficient registry cleaner and defragmenter. A definite must to maintain peak performance and stabile operation. 30 day trial.

Computer Utility

Acronis True Image 2010 - Do you value the data on your computer? Do you value your time? How much time will you spend recovering data and returning your computer to its original state after a hardware failure or software glitch? True Image is my #1 choice in backup tools. Whether you choose file or image based backups (you should use both!) True Image will perform better than any other application I've used. Disk images created with True Image are generally 10-20% smaller than those from comparable programs. If your time and files are as important to you as mine are to me this is a must have.

Acronis Disk Director - My favorite tool to partition, format, and resize hard drives.

Roboform - This program is the next best thing since sliced bread in my book! This program integrates into Internet Explorer and firefox. It generates very secure passwords at the click of a button. How do I remember these complex passwords? Roboform allows you to save passwords and personal data in an encrypted format. A master password (yes only one password to remember!) allows access. Roboform in IE and FireFox works like a super powered bookmark. You click the site you want to go to and Roboform opens the site, enters your username and password for the site (if required) and as if by magic clicks the submit button. If you shop online Roboform can enter your personal information and credit card information, which is also stored in a secure encrypted file, in one click. A real time saver with great security thrown in to boot! 30 day trial.

WinRar - What is commonly called a zip utility, similar to the more widely known WinZip. WinRar is faster and works with more formats for about 1/2 the price of WinZip. 30 day trial.

Desktop Utility

LogonStudio - Change the screen that appears when you log into Windows (where you enter your password). Hundreds of skins available online. It's free.

CursorFX Plus - Change the cursors on your computer, add interesting effects. Hundreds of cursor packs are available online for free.

IconPackager 5 - Icon Packager puts you in control to change every icon with the click of a button. Tired of the plain icons built into Windows? There are hundreds of Icon Packs available online for free, which will add a truly personal feel to your computer.

WindowBlinds 7 - WindowBlinds changes the look and feel of Windows. By changing the appearance of the task bar, start menu, and any other window or program you open. It adds transparency, shadows, alpha blending, and animations. Hundreds of themes are available online for free.

Internet and Email

1&1 hosting - If you want to start your own website, blog, photo gallery, or have a personalized email address then 1&1 is for you. 1&1 can not be beat for reliability, features, support, and price. 90 day guarantee.

Google Gmail - The best internet based email (webmail) available. Each mailbox has a 6.5GB limit. The interface is superb, and the spam filter is top notch. You will never need to delete an email again! It has a great search function and a feature called thread view, which makes finding emails easy. A webmail account offers several advantages including not being required to change your email address if you change service providers. Gmail requires an invitation from a current member. If you are interested shoot me an email and I'll send you an invite.

Microsoft Outlook 2007 - Outlook is the current email client of choice for corporate America. I get well over 200 emails a day. Outlook has a few features I really need such as a plug in for automatic backups, office sounds which offers me some audible feedback, and the ability to change headers. I've used Mozilla Thunderbird and liked it a lot. With the amount of mail I go through I really need the features of Outlook. If you aren't a heavy user, or don't need the features I do then Thunderbird is a great alternative.

Firefox 3 - An amazing, free, web browser. If you aren't using it you should be! Highly customizable through addins called extensions. There are thousands of extensions which can allow FireFox to do just about anything you can imagine. More importantly, Firefox is not subject to ActiveX, which is a large part of Internet Explorer, AOL, and MSN. No ActiveX means much less chance of getting spyware! Firefox also conforms to web standards more closely than Internet Explorer, which means you will see what the authors intended, not Microsoft.

Mozilla Thunderbird - A great free email client, from the same folks that brought us FireFox. Easy to use and highly customizable through extensions.

Photo and Picture

Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 - Photoshop Elements is the home version of Adobe Photoshop. If you are serious about digital photos you will find Photoshop Elements a great program to have at your disposal. Elements provides all the functionality most will need at 1/6th the price of the full Photoshop version.

Picasa - A great (FREE) way to organize, edit, and share your digital photos.

If you missed The State of Broadband Internet article in the October 1st newsletter now is a good time to catch up on the topic of broadband internet.

If you've been following broadband, or are a broadband customer in the US, you may have heard that several large providers have begun programs to limit (cap) the amount you can download under the guise of better service. Of those who are instituting this program Comcast seems to have the highest cap of 250GB per month with most of the pack settling in the 50GB to 75GB per month range. Those going over the limit set by their provider will face a variety of punishments ranging from termination to a hefty fee for each gigabyte over the limit. They (Comcast, Time Warner, Cox, AT&T, and others) have made claims indicating their cost of providing internet access is rising due to the amount downloaded by customers and/or customers who download large amounts of data are degrading the performance of other users.

Well. This just isn't acceptable and wrong on many levels!

1. For years providers have sold us unlimited internet.
2. Under the promise of more access to the internet they have sold higher speed to users, basically inviting users to download more.
3. The providers have taken no consideration for the future. Every single day more broadband offerings appear and more applications require broadband.
4. Any affect high traffic rates have on users is a result of poor design or poor planning on the providers part.

We all know the internet isn't free. Someone has to pay for servers, routers, fiber, employees, etc. Just as you and I pay our provider for internet access, so does your ISP, though on a wholesale level called IP Transit. What the providers don't want you to know is their access costs have dropped steadily over the last few years, while they keep finding ways to raise yours. The graph at the right (courtesy of GIGAOM) clearly shows IP Transit prices dropping an average of 30%. When was the last time your bill dropped 30%? I'm guessing never!

50GB may seem like a lot of data, but consider a family of four. Mom watching television shows on the internet, Dad working on a project for work, kid 1 watching a movie online, and the second child playing video games online. That's a lot of bandwidth, and repeated daily will surely near or exceed the 50GB limit. If not now, in the very near future. It surely puts these limits into perspective!

I recently changed providers from Comcast to AT&T mainly due to Comcast's recent decision to limit traffic. I researched several companies looking for speed, truly unlimited access, reliability, and other factors. AT&T seemed like my best option and won my business for both television and internet access based on speed, usage policies, and unlimited access. In fact, I actually captured a screenshot of the AT&T page describing their policy regarding download limits.

Click image for a larger view

I see this as the companies setting themselves up for future profits on two fronts:

1. Knowing data consumption rates will increase they are setting up a pricing structure to guarantee mega profits as consumption grows.
2. Knowing that more and more entertainment content is delivered over the web the companies are protecting their own entertainment channels (television) by pricing web content extrememly high.

Either way they are creating a win-win situation for themselves and a lose-lose situation for consumers! All the while stifling the growth of the internet!

What can you do?

• Remind yourself how much the internet has grown since unlimited access became the norm in the late 1990's.
• Please monitor your providers policies for unfair change.
• Notify any government agency in your area who has oversight of cable and/or internet access that you do not believe this is a fair practice.
• Notify any Federal governing body (the FCC in the Us) that you do not believe this is a fair practice.
• Notify your provider directly that you do not believe this is a fair practice.
• Vote with your wallet. If your provider decides to follow this path investigate your alternatives, move to a different provider, and let them know why you are giving your business to another company.

The companies who are implementing these policies and pricing structures are the tip of the iceberg. If we don't act now, and act fast, this could change the future of the internet and stifle growth on multiple levels! If this isn't stopped it will affect you and your family!

To find out more about this dangerous trend you may find the following helpful:
Comcast caps internet at 250GB
Frontier to enforce 5GB cap
Cable users prepare for overage fees
Rogers Cable starts billing for overages in July

Threatfire - HIPS Based Protection

Some background information

Once upon a time, in Computerland, there was a nasty villain named ‘Virus’ who delighted in inflicting damage and generally being a nuisance, so Computerland introduced ‘Anti Virus’ to aid in warding off the attacks. After a while Virus realized that merely creating havoc wasn’t really all that rewarding so he brought other kin into the fray, ‘Spyware’ and ‘Adware’. This was more like it, now the villains could spy on the population and force them to view unsolicited advertising too. Computerland retaliated by throwing ‘Anti Spyware’ and ‘Anti Adware’ back at them... I would like to be able to conclude the story on a happy note but, alas, the battle rages on.

These days we need to protect our computers and precious data against; viruses, spyware, adware, worms, trojan horses, crimeware and rootkits. These are collectively known as malware….a portmanteau of the words malicious and software.

What is HIPS?

A Host Intrusion Prevention System (HIPS) protects by constantly analyzing a computer’s behavior and monitoring for any key changes. Whenever malware attempts to make those changes the HIPS will block it and notify the user. Sometimes legitimate software will also need to access key areas and on those occasions, provided you recognize and trust the source, you can choose to ‘allow’ the change.

Definition based products (those with which we are most familiar) rely on their definition data bases to identify threats. The data bases are frequently updated to keep up with any new threats (also known as zero day threats). Because of the lag time involved between identifying new threats and applying updated definitions, HIPS is generally regarded as better at protecting against zero day attacks. This from the Threatfire site:

ThreatFire is dramatically different to traditional antivirus software. Normal antivirus products usually need to have first identified and seen a threat before they can provide adequate protection against it. The protection is then provided via a signature or fingerprint update, which must first be written by an antivirus researcher. This creates a large window of time where threats are undetected and can therefore infect your PC even when you have antivirus software installed.

Another great advantage of installing a HIPS based product is that it generally plays nice (does not create conflicts) with definition based software... So, it is a terrific adjunct to any existing definition based protection.

This from Wikipedia:

HIPS compliments traditional finger-print-based and heuristic antivirus detection methods, since it does not need continuous updates to stay ahead of new malware. As ill-intended code needs to modify the system or other software residing on the machine to achieve its evil aims, a HIPS system will notice some of the resulting changes and prevent the action by default or notify the user for permission.

You’ve probably heard it over and over; do not install more than one anti virus or anti spyware….well, with HIPS based Threatfire you can!

Keep in mind though that all running programs use valuable memory resources (RAM). If you install too many or your computer’s RAM is inadequate you may experience a general slowing down. (of your computer that is, not you personally).
Some HIPS based programs can also be quite intrusive, engendering numerous popups requiring user input. I’m happy to report that Threatfire is not among them, it quietly goes about its business requiring virtually zero interaction.
Threatfire is published by the reputable PC Tools who are responsible for numerous security applications including the highly regarded Spyware Doctor.
Threatfire also has a paid version which includes free priority telephone support and can be used for commercial purposes; both versions offer the identical level of protection. This list of features and comparisons from the Threatfire site:

Threatfire - the program

Threatfire’s (version 4.0.0.8) initial execute/setup file is a 22.6mb download, installed program size (on my Vista machine) is 34.7mb. Installation is quick and easy with no hidden ‘extras’ or traps and all options are pre-selected to recommended settings…so Threatfire is all ready to go.

Threatfire protects against viruses, worms, trojans, rootkits, some spyware and includes a rootkit/threat scanner, which is a handy addition.

Let's take a look

This is Threatfire’s main screen and interface. From here we can access all of its features.

Okay, now let’s view the screen for each section when selected down the left hand side of the main interface.

START SCAN: From here we can select scan options and run a scan.

THREAT CONTROL:
Allowed/Denied: Displays all historical data relevant to threats reported, listed under the appropriate tab.
Quarantined: Allows for managing quarantined items. From here, items may be restored or permanently deleted.
Protection Log: Displays a log of all actions taken by Threatfire and all processes monitored or examined for signs of suspicious behavior.

ADVANCED TOOLS: The warning here is quite clear; do not mess with this section unless you are a very experienced user.
Advanced Rule Settings: The expert user can apply custom rules.

SETTINGS: Turn features on and off, set sensitivity level and access additional options.
Sensitivity Level: Can be set from one to five. Be aware that the highest level (level 5) will also display the most alerts. The default/recommended level (level 3) represents the perfect compromise (see next screen).
Quarantine: Option to enable automatic creation of system restore point prior to performing any quarantine actions.
Scan: Option to set scheduled scanning; daily, weekly or monthly.

Security sensitivity level.

You will notice the ‘Help’ icon displayed in the top right hand corner of each screen, although Threatfire is very easy to set up and use.

I like Threatfire a lot, it’s long been an integral part of my security setup and really increases the level of protection when used in conjunction with traditional security programs... Highly recommended! You can read more and download from here: http://www.threatfire.com/about/.

New and Updated Freeware

Updated Freeware Programs

HandBrake - New version 0.9.3 has been released which incorporates many enhancements and major improvements. There are some important notes concerning the new version on the HandBrake web site, we strongly suggest all those upgrading should visit their site and read through them, including the detailed list of new features.

Foxit Reader – New version 3.0 has been released. New features include; full support for multimedia content - embed video and audio into a PDF and play them back from within Foxit. Plug-in called the OnDemand Content Management - lets you organize, share, and edit content from within Foxit with other Foxit users. View details of all new features here.

Secunia PSI - The long awaited final version of Secunia PSI (Personal Software Inspector) has just been released, beta versions of Secunia’s installable scanner have been around for some time now and, at last, the final version has arrived.

Secunia PSI is a little application which scans the host computer for outdated and possibly vulnerable software. Most software updates are released to patch detected vulnerabilities, so keeping applications up to date is integral to maintaining a secure and safe computing environment. The publishers of some commonly installed applications do not notify users of patches and updates…take Adobe Flash Player for example. Whenever Adobe discovers any vulnerability in their Flash Player they simply release a whole new version; no patch, no update, no notification. This is where PSI comes in; it scans the computer and compares installed versions to the latest versions recorded in its huge data base. At scans end all outdated and potentially insecure applications are listed with links to the latest versions and or updates.

Note the ‘Solution’ column which supplies links to the latest version on each product’s home page. The forum links take you to threads dedicated to questions and answers related to that product. Secunia PSI should be a vital part of everyone’s security setup.

Advanced System Care Free V3 - Formerly Advanced Windows Care (Personal). With a new name and, according to Iobot, more than 10,000 improvements. It certainly has a different look, a brand new GUI (interface) and many additional options and new tools. The interface can be either black or white... Obviously I chose black.

Details of the various tasks can be viewed and customized through the extensive ‘Options’ menu as well as by clicking on the ‘Settings’ tab in the ‘Maintain Windows’ and ‘Diagnose System’ windows. Also included; schedule scans, select which modules to back-up to the ‘restore center’, automatically set restore points and an ‘Ignore List’ for permanent exceptions.

I’ve always liked Advanced Windows Care and, even though I haven’t yet had time to fully explore all the new features, I have to agree with Iobit, Advanced System Care is a major improvement.

New Freeware Programs

I recently came across this set of free CD/DVD tools from MiniDVDSoft, it is not a suite so anyone seeking an all-in-one solution should look elsewhere. Each is a separate download and dedicated to just one task including; DVD Creator, Burn data to DVD/CD, DVD ISO Maker, DVD ISO Burner, CD Ripper and MP3 to CD Burner. I quite like the freedom afforded by that system, download all or just those needed to perform a specific task or augment existing CD/DVD software. The Free DVD Creator is of special interest with the promise to burn video files in popular formats to DVD. The site contains information about each product including user guides and, of course, download links. (2000/XP/Vista)

EASEUS Partition Manager Home Edition is free comprehensive hard disk partition management software which includes the following functions; Resize partitions without losing data. Move partitions without losing data. Create and delete partitions with simple steps. Hide and Unhide partitions. Format partitions. Works perfectly with hardware RAID. This product looks to include a much more comprehensive set of features than most free partition managers. Reviews, by both ‘experts’ and users, around the net are very favorable. (2000/Win7/Vista/XP)

Partition Manager 9.0 Express is a freeware offering from the highly respected ‘Paragon’. Key features include: Redistribute Unused Disk Space - Gain additional space in existing partitions by easily resizing and moving partitions through the smart resize wizard. Organize and optimize hard drive - Add partitions with the intuitive ‘Create Partition Wizard’. Leave a core partition to host Windows and automatically create a new partition for work and data files in a logical, intuitive place. This is a severely cut down version of the shareware ‘Personal’ and ‘Pro’ versions but will suffice for basic partitioning needs. (XP/Vista)

Everything – Is a free search utility which renders results in super fast time. Unlike other search tools, Everything does not create massive indexes, instead it creates very small indexes which leverage off those already existing as part of the NTFS file system. This means that the indexing task takes seconds rather than hours. It also means the hard drive needs to be formatted in the NTFS format but as that includes the vast majority of XP and Vista users it is hardly a consideration. Everything can; scan multiple drives, find search terms embedded within file names, be accessed from a desktop shortcut, the start menu or from the right click context menu and weighs in at an ultra light 292KB. NOTE: Everything does not search content. (XP/Vista)

Jim Hillier is the Freeware Editor at Daves Computer Tips. A computer user with over 25 years of experience, his love of freeware is expressed through his Freeware Focus column in each issue of the Daves Computer Tips Newsletter. You can join Jim at the Daves Computer Tips Forum for other discussions on Freeware. You can read more about Jim here.

Invision.tv - A neat guide to videos on the web. While still in beta this shows promise. Have a look for yourself!

ShippingSideKick.com - As this is the season where many ship packages across country or around the world this site is timely. ShippingSideKick allows you to easily compare rates for your package among the major shipping companies.

Webon.com - Looking for a free and easy way to stake out your corner of the web? Webon allows you to easily create a simple website without learning difficult code. Share with family and friends. Free and no ads show on your pages!

Lively.com - Create your own personal online world and personality. You can then invite friends, meet people, chat, add to Facebook, MySpace, blogs, and websites. It's a neat idea.

Live Mesh - Microsoft's sync service allows you to sync files between computers over the internet. Never be without that important file! It's also a great way to make backups of important files that are safe from disasters that may affect your personal computer (think fire, flood, storm).

OK, you're flying along minding your own business when one of the wings of your plane falls off (hey, there are only two to begin with). What do you do? Watch this video to see how this pilot handles it! Amazing! [Thanks Larry]

This simple game will drive you nuts! If you can click the ball with your mouse it will change colors! [Thanks Jim}

Do you think your creative skills are above reproach? Check out this 1/6th scale Chevy V8 engine. Machined from scratch. [Thanks Larry]

Pixel Students - This game will drive you nuts for hours! [Thanks Melissa]

Say Thanks - Send a free Thank You card to your troops overseas. A free service provided by Xerox. [Thanks Jim]