The blog

Who can you trust?

You’d think that a government agency that specializes in data security could keep its own house clean. But not in Norway, where Yahoo News reports that everyone who subscribed to a new government-sponsored security newsletter received the FunLove virus as a special welcome. For more details, see Norway’s Data Agency E-Mails Out Virus.

Of course, that could never happen here. Right?

Heard any good new music?

I heard a track from Peter Gabriel’s
Up on Radio IO tonight. I have to confess, I saw Gabriel performing a song on the Today show a few weeks back, and was more captivated by the changes in his appearance (round, bald, old) than the music.

Anyway, the song was absolutely riveting, spare and crisp and practically hypnotic. It’s the first music in a long time that’s made me go straight to Amazon.com, buy the CD, and then sit by the mailbox waiting for it to get here.

While I was at Amazon, I picked up
Satellite Rides by the Old 97’s, also based on having heard a track on RadioIO.

If you haven’t tried RadioIO, give it a listen. The music is refreshingly eclectic and invariably turns me on to tunes I would never have heard anywhere else. No commercials, and a cool little pop-up window that lists the last 10 songs played, so you can answer the question, “Who was THAT?”

Check it out.

Norton AntiVirus for five bucks?

Got an old copy of Norton AntiVirus? Looking for an upgrade to
Norton AntiVirus 2003 Professional? How does $4.99 sound? True, you’ll have to shell out $65 to order this package, but you can then get a $30 rebate from Symantec for upgrading, plus another $30 upgrade from Amazon.com. (If you don’t currently own a qualifying copy of NAV, you’ll end up paying $35.) Shipping is free.

The Professional version includes licenses that allow you to install NAV on two computers, with free virus signature updates for a year.

I think this is a fabulous deal.

Another spam fighter gets swallowed up

If you’re keeping an eye on the market for spam-fighting software, you’re probably as distressed as I am to find that Network Associates has acquired Deersoft, makers of SpamAssassin Pro . This is a follow-up to their purchase last year of SpamKiller. Unfortunately, Network Associates has a less-than-stellar track record with products like McAfee AntiVirus, and people I know who used to love SpamKiller say it was never the same after it was swallowed up by the Network Associates marketing machine.

If you’ve found a spam-fighting solution that really works, drop me a line, will you?

Save a buck or two on Windows

According to The E-List News – A Windows Support E-Letter, Microsoft has dropped the price of extra licenses for Windows XP. If you already own a copy of Windows XP, you can buy up to three additional licenses directly from Microsoft for a 15% discount. That cuts the price of your second and subsequent copy of Windows XP Home Edition upgrade, for instance, from $99 to $84, and knocks the $299 retail price of a full version of Windows XP Professional down to about $254.

Some caveats: These discounts don’t apply to OEM copies of Windows XP, such as those that come with a new computer or other hardware. They also have to match your existing version exactly. So if you own an upgrade edition, your second license will also be for an upgrade edition. If you need a full edition, you won’t save any money.

Of course, if you’re comfortable installing Windows from scratch, you can get the best deal on Windows by buying the software with a new hard drive or other hardware. At Newegg.com, for instance, you can purchase a full OEM version of Windows for less than the price of a retail upgrade: $93 for Home Edition, $143 for Professional. If you’ve been looking for an excuse to buy a new hard drive, this is it.

Don’t be a virus victim

In the last month, I’ve cleaned the damn Klez virus off of three computers in my neighborhood. In each case, the person with the infected computer didn’t even know they had been hit. Of course, they had antivirus software that hadn’t been updated in more than a year, and they had never installed any updates for Windows. That’s a perfect recipe for acute viral infection. Klez and Bugbear are rampant these days. Both are particularly nasty because they can infect a computer without requiring that you open an attachment. In fact, both viruses can bypass your email program completely and jump over a network share to infect other computers — unless you’ve installed the proper Windows security patch, that is. (And this patch was released in March of 2001, for heaven’s sake, so there’s really no excuse for not having installed it!)

Now would be a good time to check your computer and see if Windows and your AV program are up to date. You can get the latest Windows patches from Windows Update. If you need antivirus software, I recommend Norton Antivirus 2003.

Looking for information about a virus? Start with the Symantec Security Response page, where you can search for viruses (old and new) and get quick information about those threats that are most prevalent right now. Click on the Klez page to download an easy-to-use utility that can help you get rid of the virus if you’ve been infected.

All about About.com

A number of people have asked recently why I no longer work for About.com. Maybe this link will help explain: Class Action Lawsuit Against Primedia Inc., About.com and Scott Kurnit – Levinson et al v Primedia et al.

In a nutshell, the past and present management of About.com and its parent corporation lied, cheated, and defrauded those of us who worked hard to make the service successful. I hope this lawsuit will help bring them to justice.

Which Windows XP book?

So, you got a new PC for Christmas, with Windows XP installed on it. You know that you’ll probably need a little help to get the most out of that new computer. Because you’re no fool, you know that those books written for dummies are probably a waste of time and money. (See? You’re smarter already…) You know that I’ve written two books on Windows XP. So, which book is right for you?

Choose Faster Smarter Windows XP if you’re looking for a thorough introduction to Windows XP that won’t bury you in jargon and technobabble. I focus on the issues that really matter to smart people (like you) who want to get the most out of their computer. In it, I answer questions like:

  • How do I keep my e-mail Inbox from being flooded with spam?
  • What are Windows viruses, and how do I prevent my computer from becoming infected with one?
  • Can browser cookies transfer information about me over the Internet? What’s the best way to protect my privacy?
  • How do I get photographs out of my digital camera and onto my computer? How do I use e-mail to send pictures to my friends?

If, on the other hand, you’re already an experienced Windows user, you probably want Windows XP Inside Out, which contains more than 1200 pages of detailed information about Windows, including some very technical stuff. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to understand it, but you should be prepared to dig deep into the innards of Windows.

Updating the Windows Tips collection (finally)!

I’ve been updating and rearranging my Windows Tips collection lately. These originally appeared on my About.com site in 2000 and 2001, and much of the information was outdated. They were also unnecessarily difficult to navigate, with each tip on its own page. I’m still updating the content, but hopefully the navigation will be a little bit easier now. If you see a mistake in any of the tips, please post a comment here and I’ll try to get it fixed asap.