June - 2003

Fourth of July is next month (already)

If you have not been to the Annandale for the Fourth of July Celebration, you are missing out on some great small town hospitality.  

The Fourth of July agenda is available here. 

We did a little testing...

Email-Spam test results

Spyware/UselessWare

Yes, we're still hounding you on this subject...  We are (still) seeing way too many computers bogged down due to these (and other) Internet add-ons.  The following Internet downloads install spyware and auto-dialer applications and sometimes without your knowledge!  Note: These are not identified by any anti-virus application as dangerous applications!  

This partial list was complied from information found at www.SpywareInfo.com and http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_pages/startup_full.htm:  iMesh, KaZaA, Net2Phone, Limewire, Cydoor, Grokster, KaZaa, iWon, Gator, Calender (Gator), eWallet (Gator), DownloadWare, Medialoads, Comet Cursor, NewDotNet, OfferCompanion, Precision Date, Precision Time, and many more.  So before downloading or allowing a web site to install anything on your computer, do a little research at www.Spyware.com, www.grc.com, www.suttondesigns.com/EnigmaBrowser/Spyware.html, www.spywareonline.org or search Google for the particular download file name!

But now what?

As discussed in January; if you are concerned about spyware, the following  downloads do a good job of searching and removing spyware from your computer but be aware, they also identify harmless cookies.  Adware, Ad-aware, SpyStopper, Spy Sweeper and many others available by searching the web for "spyware".  Extra - see our Special Edition "I-Junk".

Not spyware but...

As mentioned in February (and many other newsletters), your computer may have dozens of applications that look for an Internet connection and once a connection is made, access the Internet for whatever purpose.  Some of these applications will even try and dial out if you are not connected!

Along with the spyware list (above), and those mentioned in the January and February newletters, here are more "neat" applications that access the Internet automatically and may attempt to dial out when you are not connected:  most weather tools, most "skins", Webshots,  some boosters (accelerators), and most Toolbar add-ons like Hotbar and search bars.

Do you have a Firewall?

A firewall monitors your computer for "network activity".  Not only do they protect your computer  from outsiders getting in, they also protect against Trojans and other applications sending your personal information out. 

There are many firewalls available, both hardware and software.  Windows XP comes with a (weak) firewall but are any of them doing their job?  Here are a couple of free downloads to test your firewall.  LeakTest and SheildsUp   Be sure to read the "how-to" and other information. 

Teaching the firewall

If you have a software firewall such as ZoneAlarm, you must teach it what applications may or may not access the Internet.  Note: Firewalls will also watch for local network activities!  So for example, if you have a shared printer and send a print job to that printer, the Windows "spooler" will create network activity and may be questioned by the firewall.

Most firewalls come with a preset list of allowable applications such as your email, Internet browser and anti-virus programs, but the list is far short for the typical computer.  Some safe applications that will create network activities that may not be in the preset list include: 

• Svchost.exe Generic Host Process.  This is a Widows application that could be hijacked by a Trojan but unfortunately, disallowing Internet access under Windows XP causes problems.
• Msmsgs.exe: Microsoft's Messenger
• Navapw32.exe: Norton Antivirus
• Wuauclt.exe: Windows Update manager
• Mobsync.exe: Windows Synchronize.  Used with an Active Desktop
• Dwwin.exe: Windows XP Error Reporting
• Here are a few more.

Don't haphazardly allow Internet access to any application.  Do some research on the requesting file name!  

Here an application named "elfbowl.exe" is attempting to access the Internet.  If we did not know what this application is, we would click NO then search the Internet for that name.   Whether or not you want it to access the Internet, you can click the "Remember this answer..." option to never see the warning again. More information on firewalls in our database.

Note: While the above listed applications are (originally) safe, a virus could easily replace a "safe" application with a spyware or theftware application.  Keep your Antivirus up-to-date!

Digital cameras (continued from April)

More settings

Other settings you may have available on your digital camera:

• Image Size (resolution): this one you will need to experiment with.  We have found that the 1024x768 (pixels) gives us a fairly good image at a reasonable image (file) size.  If we have a setting of 1600x1200 (or larger), the image is better but simply consumes too much of the CF and disk space once transferred to our computer.  On the other hand, 640x480 images are reasonably small, hence we could get a lot of picture on the CF but the images do not have enough detail.
• ISO:  On a film camera this relates to the film speed, i.e., how fast the film captures the image.  An ISO of 100 is a slow speed whereas actions shots would be blurry but 100 gives great detail.  On the other end, 1,000 is great for action shots (freezes the action) but tend to be "grainy".  From our film days, 400 did about the best job for either action or still images.  We are unsure if this holds true for digitals but we continue to experiment.
• Aperture (Ae): This is how far the shutter opens.  Generally the automatic mode is just fine but the better cameras allows for manual settings.  Higher values tend to bring everything in to focus whereas lower values focus more on the subject.  For example, a road sign with a mountain in the background; a lower setting will focus on the sign but blur the mountain, higher puts both in focus.
• Shutter Speed (Tv):  As stated, this is how fast the shutter opens and closes.  Generally the automatic mode is just fine but the better cameras allows for manual settings.  Manually setting the shutter speed to a faster shutter will tend to freeze motion shots whereas slower settings will tend to blur motion.  Aperture and Shutter Speed go hand-in-hand!  For more information on the above settings, visit: http://www.photographytips.com, http://www.betterphoto.com/home.asp or search the web for photography. 

Processing

Depending on your camera settings, you will need to process and adjust the images before you can do much with them.  If you shoot in the RAW format vs. JPG, you will have to convert those images before emailing them or using them on a web site.  If you shoot in the JPG format, you may be able to directly email or use them however they may be impractically large.  In either event, you will likely need to use the software that came with your camera.

Processing your images is a function of the software that came with the camera.  The most popular third party software is probably Adobe's PhotoShop.  While the full retail version is a (very) higher end software (about $500), it can do almost anything you want.  Many cameras come with the Photoshop LE.  While not as powerful as the full version, it has enough capabilities for the average user.  

Windows XP has a built in photo wizard which makes handling the images quick and easy (without the need of PhotoShop.)  We reviewed XP's wizard in April.  For the most part, we use XP's wizard to process our pictures and from there, we use another software package (sometimes just a freeware package) to resize and resave the image.  

Thinking of an on-line processing service?  Check out the review by TechTv on Ophoto.com and Shutterfly.com 

Emailing that photo?

After shooting (or scanning) but before Emailing a photo, be sure the file size is small enough for anyone on a dialup service! Image files of around 150 Kilobytes (or less) are acceptable to email.  Anything larger will take some time to download on a dialup service.  Forty seconds or so isn't really a long time but like waiting at a red light, it can be very frustrating.

If you are sending multiple images, total the size of all files.  Four 150 Kb images in one email equals 600 Kb which is about 120 seconds for a dialup recipient.  Also remember, sending four individual email messages that are 150 Kb in size is still a 120 second wait!  If your are sending a lot of images you may want to forewarn the recipient or spread them out over a few days. 

The best way to see what the actual file size is to find the proposed file using the Windows Explorer: right click then Properties gives you the exact file size.  Hint:  Instead of right clicking, set the Explorer to always show the "details".  Click for info.

When resizing, most applications use pixel settings but may also show the "printed size" and the final file size.  Click here for three examples of image sizes (see note below).  

Note: The images examples total approximately 420 Kilobytes, the approximate size of a high resolution, unadjusted photo.  This is a 90 second download on dialup, so it may be a good test to see if you really want to send a large images.  

Printing photos?  

It's as much the paper as the printer!

Photo printing does not necessarily require a "photo printer'.  

Here is an interesting ZDNet article on this subject