Tech News Blog
6.17.05
Are Torrent File Sharers Risking Security?
According to CNET, those PC users that are sharing files through BitTorrent may now find that spammers are sharing their server space. The tool that can allow for legitimate uses, like sharing large files for DNA research, is fast becoming a favorite asset for crackers seeking to spread their spam.

AOL Number 1 in Unwanted Installation CDs and Zombies
Not only are we all privileged to be bombarded through snail mail by AOL’s constant inundation of install CDs from the former Internet giant, it now appears that the company may be responsible for a large proportion of the zombie computers that are responsible for spewing out the ever increasing volume of spam. PC World has the report and the bad news is that AOL still has enough market share to make all our email boxes overflow. Thanks AOL, hope you get some mail!

Slow Safari Connection After Update
MacFixIt continues to carry reports of Mac-heads experiencing slow downs or worse when surfing with Safari post-update installation. Most of those battling this issue report that persistence is the key, however others are resorting to alternative browsers. Apple will most likely take corrective action if the level of conflicts continues to prompt responses similar to the aforementioned.

Firefox Alpha 2 Released
If you want to contribute to the learning curve or just try out the latest offering from the Firefox/ Mozilla community, the Firebird 2.0 public Alpha release is available. Remember that you don’t want to use an alpha or beta release of a browser to accomplish mission critical tasks like banking, test taking, or any other activity that you are depending on.

Multiple Platforms Sharing Enhanced
Lava Software has just given Multiple Platforms users a huge boost and a great tool with the release of PC-Mac-Net FileShare v4.5 a tool that will let you swap files among your various platforms. I have tried it on my LAN and it the free version worked flawlessly although there is a file size limitation imposed on the non-commercial application. I will give the software an Internet trial this weekend, time allowing and report the results next week. If you have already established a network connection between your PC and Mac or Linux you more than likely can move files faster utilizing those pathways, but if you have a networking phobia, this may be the prescription you have been searching for. You can go to VersionTracker or Lava Software to download the tool.

Open Source Updates
Secunia released the following updates for the open source world: Red Hat (1, 2, 3) and Fedora (1, 2).

Tip of the Day from Multiple Platforms.com: Router 101
I accidentally disconnected the Ethernet cable between my broadband modem and my router last weekend and at the time at had no idea it would be the basis for a tip for this week. However, the confusion I temporarily experienced after reconnecting the cable set the wheels in motion for the final tip for this week. When you interrupt the connection between your modem and router, you need to power everything down first or you will not be able to establish Internet connectivity. After turning off the modem, router, and your computer you should first restart the modem, then restore the power to the router. Make sure your router LED begins to blink signaling that communication with the Internet is occurring. Now start up your computer and you should be able to surf away again. Dig out the manual for your router for the specific directions.
Bonus Tip: While you have the manual for the router handy, make sure you are not using the default password or the protection you gain from the router (NAT see below for definition) could be compromised by a sly cracker that uses the default password to take over your computer.

What is NAT?
This has been a word of the day frequently in this forum, but the NAT protection a router provides is worth repeating and Answers.com provides this explanation: “(Network Address Translation) An IETF standard that allows an organization to present itself to the Internet with far fewer IP addresses than there are nodes on its internal network. The NAT technology, which is implemented in a router, firewall or PC, converts private IP addresses (such as in the 192.168.0.0 range) of the machine on the internal private network to one or more public IP addresses for the Internet. It changes the packet headers to the new address and keeps track of them via internal tables that it builds. When packets come back from the Internet, NAT uses the tables to perform the reverse conversion to the IP address of the client machine. NAT is also provided with Windows Internet Connection Sharing (see ICS).
One disadvantage of NAT is that it defeats "Internet transparency," which means that packets remain intact from end to end (see RSIP).
NAT Adds Security
NAT not only conserves public IP addresses, but it also enhances security by keeping internal addresses hidden from the outside world. NAT prevents several kinds of first-level attacks, but not all, and must be used in conjunction with a personal firewall in a home network and more robust firewalls in a company (see firewall).”

Tech News Blog
6.16.05
Crackers Attack United Kingdom
CNET is reporting that attacks by crackers on business and government in the United Kingdom are on the rise and approaching a critical stage. According to the article, these attacks appear to be originating from East Asia. The article notes that Microsoft’s software is the most vulnerable to the assault and that Trojan horse attacks are the preferred method of infiltration. The report originates from a government watchdog agency, National Infrastructure Security Co-ordination Centre.

More on the Apple Switch
The debate continues on the switch to Intel by Apple and the company has provided the best fodder for tech writers during a slow news period. eWeek has a nice feature on how the switch might eventually lead to a less expensive computer from Apple and speculates on whether the Apple platform will run on any PC processor without modification. Meanwhile, CNET is reporting that Apple want to trademark ‘Mactel’ and MacFixIt has a link to a story in Fortune that claims Dell is interested in Apple’s OS X platform.

Opera Users Should Update
Secunia is recommending that surfers using Opera as their browser of choice update to version 8.0.1 to avoid a javascript flaw that could allow a cracker to gain control of your computer.

Open Source Updates
Secunia has released the following bulletins for open source systems: Mandriva (1, 2), SuSE, Sun Solaris, and my favorite Ubuntu.

Tip of the Day from Multiple Platforms.com: Twice Isn’t Always Nice
Having two of some things can be good or bad depending on the object. If you have duplicates of the same song in your iTunes library, this can be a bad thing if you’re fighting the battle of the bulge (in hard drive space). To locate any duplications open iTunes and click on Edit from the toolbar, then select ‘Show Duplicate Songs’. Your browser will display the music with more than one copy. To learn more about the individual file, highlight the item then click on the Apple key and ‘I’ or the Control key and ‘I’ for Windows users. In my case, the songs with multiple copies were a result of my converting them to mp3 files in order to play them on our iRiver music player.

What is a Critical Update?
Wikipedia has this definition for a critical update, “A critical update is a broadly released fix for a specific problem that addresses a critical, non-security-related bug.
Microsoft is well known for their massive amount of critical updates for their operating systems, but they never seem to solved much as new security holes appear all the time.”

Tech News Blog
6.15.05
Internet Explorer Holes Plugged by Patch
As noted yesterday, the patches released by Microsoft are important and the crackers will be pouncing on the newly identified entry points these updates address. PC World has more on the updates and emphasizes the severity of the holes left open if you do not patch your PC in a timely manner. I applied the patches last night to my XP Pro system without incident, the same cannot be said for my installation of the latest patch from Apple (see below).

Highly Critical Java Flaw Has Fix
According to CNET, Sun Microsystems released an update that repairs a flaw that earned an ‘extremely critical’ rating from Secunia. Those affected by the problem include users of Windows, Linux, and Solaris.

Update Adobe 7.0 to Avoid Problems
Secunia also advises users to update Adobe 7.0 to version 7.0.2 to avoid a flaw in that program.

Problems With Apple Security Update
After installing the latest update from Apple on my iMac, the computer froze while booting. I can’t really blame it on the security update because of a number of other possible factors might have contributed to this issue. I broke one of my cardinal rules: only apply one update at a time. As I mentioned on Monday, good usually won’t satisfy the perfectionist in me and in my never ending zeal to have a smooth running computer I updated a variety of programs and firmware after running a check via VersionTracker. After installing a batch of patches, I elected to install the updates from Apple manually through the Software update feature. Before this, I repaired disk permissions, powered down and disconnected my external firewire hard drive, my usual routine to avoid problems. When I attempted to restart, the iMac never got to the spinning wheel; after re-booting with the Tiger disk, I repaired the disk (that contained errors according to the dialogue box), but the computer still hung-up in the same spot. I then re-installed Tiger using the Archive option and the computer returned to its normal functionality. The moral of the story is that you should only patch one program or application at a time. Then if a problem occurs, the roll back will not be so time consuming and you will be able to positively identify the source of your woes.
Meanwhile, MacFixIt reports that some Mac-heads are having Safari slowdowns after installing the latest patch from Apple. The fix involves trashing a QuickTime plist file and you can visit MacFixIt if this problem is plaguing you.

New Fedora Release
Stentz is the name of the latest Fedora distribution and it is now available according to a report in eWeek. Those using 64-bit processors will welcome this latest release using the 2.6.11 Linux kernel and provides support for the Xen virtualization program. There is also a version for PowerPC users.

Open Source Updates
Secunia published these bulletins for the open source world: Mandriva (1, 2), and Red Hat (1, 2).

Tip of the Day from Multiple Platforms.com: Transfer your music from iPod
My friends John and Molly want to transfer the music from her iPod mini onto their new notebook. Before exercising my best option and searching first Google and then iPodlounge.com I managed to crash my PC and momentarily confuse my iPod Shuffle, but the latter is the subject of another tip of the day. Today we offer you the result of that previously mentioned search, a link to ipodcopy.com/. According to their web site you can: “Copy songs or playlists from your iPod to your PC. Songs are saved under artist/album folders. Large copy operations can be canceled while in progress. Copy all your music in a couple of mouse clicks.”
Would you like a better recommendation? How about this one from John, “We bought that iTunes copy (ipodcopy) and it rocks. Molly moved 1000 songs from the desktop to the iPod to the laptop in minutes, and it has the same type of controls as iTunes so everything is easy to do.”
The cost of the program is twelve dollars.

What is a Navigational File Manager?
Wikipedia supplies this definition for our topic today: “In computing, a navigational file manager is a file manager that uses a "navigational" metaphor to represent filesystem locations. It is the dominant style of file manager for Desktop computers, being used, for example, in most recent Microsoft Windows products. For Mac OS X, Macintosh Explorer is an example of a navigational file manager.”

Tech News Blog
6.14.05
Adobe Releases Security Advisory
Adobe Systems has announced that a serious flaw exists that can affect PC users that use Photoshop CS, Creative Suite 1.0, and Premiere Adobe according to CNET. A patch for this problem is available from Adobe.

Potential, or Potential Pitfall
I have been focusing on the positive of the upcoming change of processors in Apple computers, but others knowledgeable prognosticators are suggesting a serious downside to the processor switch. In an article for PC Magazine, John C. Dvorak astutely predicts that there will be an increase in security attacks post-processor change and furthermore, the uniqueness of the platform will be forever lost if the inevitable occurs and Apple begins to compete directly against Microsoft through somewhat indirect methods. Mr. Dvorak correctly predicted the processor switch by Mac boss Steve Jobs several years ago extending more creditability to this prediction.

Open Source Updates
Secunia released the following update bulletins for open source users: Red Hat (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7), Gentoo, Slackware, and Trustix.

Tip of the Day from Multiple Platforms.com: Back Up Your iTunes Library
Apple encourages iTunes users to backup their library and there are a number of methods available to accomplish this task. You can backup the library to an external hard drive, burn them to a CD or DVD, or store them online. To copy your music to an external hard drive or burn them, visit the Apple web site for detailed directions for Macs and PCs. For online storage the July issue of PCWorld has a link Streamload.com where you can store up to 10GB of files free, although you are limited to 100MB of downloads per month according to the article.

What is a File Manager?
Yesterday we defined a web browser and alluded to the fact that we use other browser too and the subject of today is the browser type that allows us to view programs that populate our computers. Wikipedia has this definition, “A file manager is a computer program that provides a user interface to work with file systems. The most common operations on files are create, open, edit, view, print, play, rename, move, copy, delete, attributes, properties, search/find, and permissions.
Typically files are displayed in a hierarchy. File managers may contain features inherited from web browsers, including forward and back navigational buttons.
Some browsers may also provide network connectivity, e.g. via FTP, NFS or Samba.”

Tech News Blog
6.13.05
ZoneAlarm Update Causes Crashes
CNET is reporting that an update from ZoneAlarm for their firewall program is causing conflicts that sometimes result in the PC crashing. The ZoneAlarm Pro and the ZoneAlarm Security Suite were the two products affected according to the report and the company corrected the problem late Thursday. Those PC protected by the free ZoneAlarm firewall were not affected by this flaw. I have stopped using ZoneAlarm in favor of Windows Firewall combined with my router. I’m not actually recommending you do this at this time, let me test the waters first and remember I use my Mac for email and 99.9 percent of my surfing. Leo Laporte, The Tech Guy on KFI does recommend this method for those PC owners still connecting to the Internet with dial-up.

Microsoft Update Tomorrow
The release of updates from Microsoft tomorrow (Tuesday) will include some critical patches; in fact, none of the fixes are categorized as ‘non-security/high priority’. I usually recommend that Apple users wait several days before installing security updates, but those using the Windows platform should update their PCs immediately. I receive an email notification of the upcoming security patches from Microsoft and the crackers can also gain access to this information and quickly find new points of entry to attack your computer and this makes updating your PC time critical.

MacFixIt Update on Apple Patch
MacFixIt has received some reports of Macs freezing after the installation of the latest patch from Apple Security Update 2005-006, however this particular problem seems to be affecting only those on the Panther platform. MacFixIt reminds you to disconnect firewire devices before installing the update.

Open Source and Loving It Times Two
Good enough is just barely for me and I really wasn’t satisfied with a machine that is only capable of dual booting. Can you say triple-boot box three times, fast? I installed Ubuntu in an empty partition and I’m now running XP Pro, SuSE Linux, and Ubuntu on the same machine. The Ubuntu install was even easier than SuSE and the operating system includes some great applications just like SuSE. The included web browser (see definition below) is from Firefox and I feel right at home working on this, one of my many Multiple Platforms. Check out the Live CD for your machine, or download the Install ISO from Ubuntu.

Open Source Updates
Secunia released the following update bulletins for open source users: Conectiva (1, 2). Gentoo (1, 2, 3, 4, 5), SuSE, and FreeBSD.

Tip of the Day from Multiple Platforms.com: Browse Your iTunes Library
When you install Apple’s iTunes you can view your music library in a number of different modes. My favorite method to search through the tunes is using the browser feature that allows you to view all the genres, artists, and albums that your library contains. You can display this view by pressing on the Apple key and the B key with iTunes open. Windows users can select Command and B to open this view. Keep this tip handy as the tip for tomorrow relies on this view of iTunes. If you haven’t installed iTunes yet, click on the logo on the left side of this page to download the latest version of this music player from Apple.

What is a Browser?
There are several different browsers types we use while running our computers and the one most often discussed in this forum is a web browser; Wikipedia tells us: “A web browser is a software application that enables a user to display and interact with HTML documents hosted by web servers or held in a file system. Popular browsers available for personal computers include Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, and Safari. A browser is the most commonly used kind of user agent. The largest networked collection of linked documents is known as the World Wide Web.”