In this
issue of Horse Sense:
-
-Tips
-
-Are You
Misusing Your Security?
-
-Better,
Faster, Cheaper Memory
-
-Extend
Your Warranty for Free!
-
-Keep it
Cool!
-
-The
Computers You Forgot About Are a
Threat
Tips
Worried that an older program might not
work under Windows XP or Vista or with
fancy graphics? Right click the
program's icon, click properties, go to
the compatibility tab and make your
application think it is working under an
earlier form of Windows or is working
with fewer colors or at a lower
resolution.
If an application is
running too slowly under Windows, you
can prioritize it at the expense of
other programs by bringing up Task
Manager by right clicking a blank space
on the tool bar or hitting the
control-alt-del key combination. Select
the processes tab in Task Manager, right
click a relevant process, and select the
priority you desire. A single program
may be a collection of processes and the
names of those processes may be somewhat
cryptic. A search on
www.processlibrary.com will tell you
what the process does. You can also
deprioritize processes. Don't change
too many priorities as you can severely
and negatively affect the performance of
your machine.
Use Windows Task
Manager to see what processes are
running on your machine for all users.
I often view the processes and look up
unknown ones to see if I can shut down
processes that are just taking up memory
and slowing my performance. Quick start
and automatic update processes are
common. You can shut them down
temporarily by ending the process. To
keep them from loading in the future,
you can stop the program from loading in
the Startup folders, deselect the
program in Startup Programs in
MSCONFIG.EXE, or disable the service or
set it to manual in SERVICES.MSC. Task
Manager is also a good way to see if you
have processes running that you didn't
intend, like an old program you forgot
to remove or a malware program that has
taken up residence in your PC. I haven't
gone into great detail on what to do
here because I recommend that you only
make changes like this after talking to
a professional.
Turn your
computer into a timer by going
to e.ggtimer.com and plug in the
countdown time.
Want better
wallpaper? Google
imagesize:widthxheight and your keyword
to find what you want, like
"imagesize:1024x768 dog".
To organize
icons on a crowded desktop,
download the free Fences program from
Stardock at
www.stardock.com/products/fences.
You can group your icons into fenced in
areas of your choosing, allowing you to
organize them as you like.
Tree Style Tab
will rearrange your tabs in Firefox so
they go down rather than across your
screen.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/5890
You will be able to see the full title
of your link and wide screen users will
likely be able to see the whole page and
tab without compromise as most web sites
are designed for standard monitor
widths.
Turn any photo
into a screen saver in Windows
by right clicking a blank spot on your
Windows XP or Vista desktop, select
properties, and the screensaver tab.
Click the drop down menu and choose My
Pictures Slideshow under XP or Photos
under Vista and give it the folder with
the pictures you want to show off.
Want to explain
something technical to your
parents (or yourself)?
www.commoncraft.com uses short
videos to explain computer and other
concepts.
Are You Misusing Your Security?
How old is your
firewall? How about your antivirus?
When was the last time you updated
them? Most people think that their
antivirus program updates itself every
day. It doesn't. Typical antivirus
programs update their pattern matching
databases regularly, but the software
engine that protects your machine isn't
updated this way. You need to manually
update it. If you have a maintenance
and support agreement, you should be
allowed to download the newest version
for free. Why should you do so? (1)
Newer versions are designed to combat
more, different, and newer threats.
Older software can be beaten by clever
crackers (bad hackers) who work hard to
find a way around defenses. (2) Bugs
get fixed. (3) Performance improves.
(4) Features get added. Firewalls,
routers, switches, printers, and other
devices can be targets as well and the
benefits to loading new software
versions (not always possible) or buying
a replacement are the same as that noted
for antivirus software. Many of the
attacks and infections I see are because
victims don't update their protection
while the victimizers have updated their
attacks.
I often hear an
antivirus product isn't working well.
In most of the cases, the problem is
with the implementation, not the
product. I've said it before, but most
project failures aren't due to technical
factors, but to "soft" factors. (See my
article on Return on Grief at
http://www.ih-online.com/hs64.html
for more on soft factors.) For example,
I hear complaints about how Symantec's
antiviral products take too much memory
and slow down a machine too much. In
almost all of those cases, I find that
the configuration is incorrect and it is
also likely that the software is out of
date. Correcting these deficiencies can
result in startling performance
improvements. Properly configured,
Symantec antiviral products have been
tested to be higher performing than most
of their competitors. So, what is the
problem? Symantec, Microsoft, and the
rest of the computing industry have a
common shortcoming. They would have you
believe that the products they produce
can be slapped onto your network and
they will magically make it all better
with little effort. Unfortunately, this
isn't true. Without training, and
likely without looking at the
instructions, you wouldn't expect to
install a new turbocharger for your car
correctly, but many people expect to do
just that with their computer hardware
and software. They are often
disappointed. Even professional network
management and support people need help
when dealing with something new.
Doesn't it make sense to have things
checked out now and again (or better
yet, have someone constantly monitoring
for problems)?
One of our mantras
here is that it is a good thing to give
up, give up early, and call for help.
Having more experienced, or just
different, eyes on a problem can yield
excellent results. Don't be afraid to
call us. Even our dogs don't bite.
Better, Faster, Cheaper Memory
Intel cut its prices
on solid state drives almost in half.
If you want a notebook that boots
quickly, lasts a long time, and can
withstand shocks, you now have a less
expensive option. If you want to make
your database queries fly, you can now
afford to do so.
Micron Technologies
and Nanya Technologies have announced
new low power DDR2 memory for the mobile
computing market. This 1.2 volt memory
will improve performance while lowering
power consumption in handsets, smart
phones, and other devices.
Extend Your Warranty for Free!
Did you know that
many credit cards will extend your
warranty for free? Check the terms on
your card. It isn't unusual for credit
card companies to offer to double your
warranty on a purchased item.
Keep it Cool!
How can you keep your
equipment cool? First, buy equipment
that is energy efficient. Energy Star
rated devices and devices with EPEAT
ratings will save you power and money
over time. They do this by using more
energy efficient power supplies and less
power hungry internal components.
Because they use energy more
efficiently, they generate less heat.
That requires less cooling, which also
saves energy and money. Power efficient
equipment needs less air flow to cool
it. Less cooling means slower fans or
no fans resulting in little to no noise.
Most electronics
require vents and/or fans to cool hot
components. Without adequate airflow,
electronics can literally cook
themselves and fail. So, make sure your
vents and fans have room to pull in cool
air and exhaust hot air. Do not push
your computer or printer vent or fan
port flush against a wall or the back of
your desk. Don't put a lot of
electronics gear in a closet. Many
devices have vents on multiple sides.
Make sure all of those sides have free
air flow. Make sure the fans spin,
don't make noise or stop making the
noise they normally make, and that vents
and fans aren't clogged by dirt. Newer
machines with variable speed fans will
start working harder and making more
noise if they can't pull enough cooler
air through their innards. If this
happens, see if you can reposition them
or do something else to improve the
airflow. Consider vacuuming out your
electronics every once in a while to
improve air flow. Don't leave bays or
slots open in your computer. Make sure
cabling is neat and doesn't block air
flow. If you have holes in the case or
obstructions inside, then the air flow
won't be right, hot spots will develop,
and electronics will burn out
prematurely. Follow your manufacturer's
recommendations. If they don't say
anything, consider spacing out the
drives you put into a desktop to allow
the air to flow around them and so they
don't heat each other. Laptops are very
vulnerable to heat issues due to their
cramped designs. Use them on hard
surfaces so the air can flow. Using
them in your lap for an extended period,
on top of a blanket, or on a carpet
isn't a good idea. If your laptop tends
to get very warm to the touch, consider
a laptop cooler that uses metal and
large cooling fans under the laptop to
exhaust heat. If you have equipment in
a rack, you are generating a lot of heat
in a very small amount of space. If you
can, space out your equipment. Blanking
panels help you maintain the right
airflow (front to back) in your rack and
help eliminate hot spots. If you have a
lot of equipment in an area and it gets
warm there, see if you can adjust the
air movement to cool things down. Often
a small, energy efficient fan can make
your electronics a lot more comfortable.
The Computers You Forgot About Are a
Threat
Network connected
printers, scanners, and multifunction
devices are very powerful computers
specialized for a particular task.
They, too, are subject to security
breaches. For example, HP just issued
the following warning about some of its
most popular printers and scanners: "A
potential security vulnerability has
been identified with certain HP LaserJet
printers, HP Color LaserJet printers and
HP Digital Senders. The vulnerability
could be exploited remotely to gain
unauthorized access to files." The
problem isn't on your computer, it is on
the HP device itself and you need to
update its firmware, which for many is a
non-trivial task.
Any device on your
network is a potential security and
reliability issue. For example, network
switches have software running on them.
If the software is insecure or
improperly secured, someone could tap
into those switches and watch, stop, or
redirect your traffic. A visitor with a
Wi-Fi enabled phone could access your
wireless access point and connect to
your network behind your firewall. So,
when securing your network, you need to
think about all the devices that are
actually on it. If you have questions
as to how you might monitor and protect
these devices, please give us a call.