Bits from Bill

How Apple Failed the Macintosh

2009-11-04T14:47:00.006-05:00

Yea, I know may get slammed with hate mail for this one but I am open to alternate opinions. The market has been ripe for Apple to pick up a sizable portion of the computer share but it has failed. According to market researchers IDC and Gartner, Macintosh sales are up but their share is still way below 10%. That compares to PC sales by Acer and Toshiba. Why doesn’t the Mac have a larger market share?

Apple Inc has a polished image, high customer satisfaction and its brand identity couldn't be much better. People who chose Macs have been very happy with their purchase. The only portable music play anyone wants is an iPod. The iPhone has set the bar so high for cell phones that companies are struggling to keep up. The stock value of AAPL is double what it was a year ago and is still climbing.

So, why are people still forking over their hard earned money for Windows 7 machines and not Macs? It doesn't make sense. Did Apple drop the ball while Steve Jobs was on sick leave? In their efforts to target the cool people did they missed an opportunity to attract the main stream market disappointed with Windows Vista?

In the early days, Apple ruled the education market. When families were deciding on a home computer purchase it was easy. If the kids are learning on an Apple, then we should have an Apple at home. Now, the education market doesn't hold the same impact. The business community now has computers on every desk and the same logic holds true. If I'm using a Windows PC at work, I'm probably going to want a Windows laptop or PC at home.

Lately, the advertisements for Mac have been spending a lot of time telling you what's wrong with Windows. This appeals to current Mac fans but doesn’t give us a reason to switch. They need to spend more time telling people what is right with the Mac.

Current Mac vs Windows 7 Ad

When Apple does talk about how much fun you'll have on a Mac they forget something important. Sure we all want to create musical slideshows and videos but many of still have to do word processing and spreadsheets. Maybe you can't make my database more fun but I'd listen if Apple told me how I could be more productive on their Mac. Doesn’t Apple want to see a Mac in the office environment? Check out this ad from 1990 when they did it right.

This ad from 1990 is timeless

While most of my cool friends are using a Mac nothing has compelled me to switch. I’m not suggesting the Mac is a bad machine and I’m not trying to compare Snow Leopard to Windows 7. I just think Apple failed the Macintosh and lost a chance to establish a 15-20% of the market share. I am a fan of Apple Computer Inc. and I use my iTouch daily. In the late 80's they published their "Human Interface Guidelines" which opened my mind to better understanding the computer user experience. If you'd like to open my mind to other ideas just click on the Comments link and share your thoughts. Are Mac users happy to be a elite group or would they benefit from more attention from software and hardware developers?

Win a Copy of Windows 7 Ultimate

2009-11-03T19:19:00.001-05:00

I'm pleased this month I have a special prize I can hopefully give away to one of my readers. While attending the Windows 7 NYC Launch Party I received a copy of Windows 7 Ultimate with Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer’s signature. I already have Windows 7 so I wanted to share this version with someone special. Since this month WinPatrol will be 12 years old I thought it was be a great time to celebrate WinPatrol's Anniversary by giving away some valuable prizes.

My friend Brian Peek, co-author of Coding4fun and Steve at the Win7 Launch

Scotty's 12th Birthday Celebration

Tell your friends about WinPatrol and win!

The first version of WinPatrol was released on November 19th, 1997 so this month Scotty will be celebrating his 12th birthday. To show his appreciation to all the PLUS members who have spread the word Scotty wants to share some of his favorite toys. If you have helped a friend or family member by having them adopt Scotty you can register to win. If not, you have until November 19th tell your friends to get on board and become a WinPatrol supporter.

The grand prize: Windows 7 Ultimate Signature Edition

GRAND PRIZE

FIVE 2ND PRIZES
1 GB USB Wristbands with WinPatrolToGo

Your chance to win is 1 in 10. For every 10 entries in the contest, a 1 GB WinPatrolToGo USB Wristband will be added to the prizes! A minimum of five wristbands will be awarded. The partner of whoever wins the Grand Prize will also receive a 1 GB WinPatrolToGo wristband.

Click here to Enter

Should I Upgrade to Windows 7

2009-10-24T16:38:00.001-04:00

Are you wondering if you should upgrade to Microsoft Windows 7? Yesterday on Facebook I heard from an old friend who asked a question I expect I’ll hear a lot this year.

As a Microsoft MVP award winner I’m under no obligation to promote Microsoft products. If you’ve read my blog before you know I haven’t been a fan of Windows Vista. Contrary to advice from Microsoft, I also recommend waiting 7-10 days before installing Windows updates. My answer to Rhonda may sound like a paid advertisement from Microsoft but I believe strongly in the benefits of Windows 7.

I typically tell folks to wait and let others test new software. Windows 7 may have been just released to the general public, but it’s been widely deployed for months. Some of us have been using a stable version of Windows 7 since last November.

Vista Users:
Many readers have told me they’re going to wait for the first service pack before the upgrade to Windows 7. If you’re currently using Vista think of Windows 7 as the ultimate service pack. Don’t wait.

My Pick: Windows 7 Ultimate Upgrade $219

Best Value: Windows 7 Family Pack $149

Happy with Windows XP?
If you’re happy with Windows XP I’m not as enthusiastic about upgrading. If you can afford it, you have time to reinstall your favorite software, and you aren’t dependant on really old hardware or software then go for it. I really wish I could upgrade and have all my machines running Windows 7. Unfortunately, I still depend on some older hardware on my main desktop so I won’t be upgrading immediately. At least, as a developer I need to keep a machine running XP so I can test and verify all new versions of WinPatrol. I even have an old Gateway Astro running Windows 98 just for testing.

If you are ready to upgrade to Windows 7 plan ahead. Create a pile of CD’s with all your favorite software and make sure you have your license numbers and codes. Download any software online and get your registration keys. Backup your Email and any documents, music and photos so you can do a clean install.

Buying a New Computer?
No question, you’ll want Windows 7.
“Do I want a Multi-Touch screen?”
If you can afford it and like to show off, sure, but most people don’t “need” a multi-touch screen. It’s cool but I’m still waiting for a real multi-touch killer app. Personally, my next purchase will probably have multi-touch screen.
“Do I want Windows 64 bit?”
If you have to ask the question probably not. There are some advantages to using a 64 bit system but at this time there are still too many potential disadvantages. Intel hasn’t scaled back their research in making faster, cooler 32 bit processors. My next purchase will probably be a 32 bit machine.

Think Twice Before that Netbook Purchase

2009-10-21T15:16:00.004-04:00

Have you noticed that your fingers feel numb when you wake up? Do your fingers fall asleep when typing, holding the steering wheel or fork? If you recognize these symptoms you may have the first signs of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

The concept of Ergonomics is not new to computer users and repetitive movement injuries like Carpal Tunnel Syndrome have been discussed before. Unfortunately, I predict the incidence of these injuries is going to rise along with the increase of small laptop and netbooks. Long hours on a regular keyboard can be bad enough but think about how cramped up your hands are updating your Facebook status on your new netbook.

I often write about things I experience and today’s blog is no different. This morning my doctor prescribed special wrist splints to treat the pain I now have shooting up my wrists. Luckily, CTS(Carpal Tunnel Syndrome) is very treatable when found in its early stage. Unfortunately, I love my Thinkpad and may have a hard time changing my keyboard habits.

There are many other repetitive movement injuries often diagnosed as CTS. True Carpal Tunnel is specific to pressure on the “median nerve” which travels through a small crowded area of the wrist. It can be diagnosed very easily by your doctor. When caught early it can be treated with rest and anti-inflammatory drugs.

I know you’re all thinking, “What about Blackberry’s and other cell phone use?” I don’t think it’s far fetched to to believe CTS is in the future of many of you using hand held devices to text your friends of update Twitter. I can’t say for sure but I can make the claim using a small laptop keyboard contributed to my latest medical condition.

Faster Startup with Windows Prefetch

2009-10-12T10:39:00.003-04:00

Earlier this month I had a huge reaction to my post about cleaning up the Windows “Temporary Internet Folder”. Comments from readers provided many other great tips but there was some confusion over one of my major points. Even if you don’t use the stand alone Internet Explorer browser, other components of Windows use this folder so if you missed this post check it out.

See: Free #1 Tweak to Improve Windows Performance

A few people also mentioned the Windows Prefetch folder. Prefetch is a pretty cool feature that started with Windows XP, was improved in Vista and even more optimized in Windows 7. There are two primary functions provided by the Prefetch system both designed to speed up your boot and recover time.

The first methodology used by Prefetch is to tell Widows which programs or code segments are commonly used at startup by multiple programs or processes. Instead of the having Windows load the same code segment multiple times, it’s loaded once and available for all the programs who use it.

The second focus of Prefetch is to help the disk layout of programs which are commonly loaded at startup. Window keeps track of commonly loaded programs and will check how these programs are stored on your hard drive or other storage device. If needed, the disk will be de-fragmented and organized during idle time so that the programs are easily accessible at boot time. This information is stored in a text file layout.ini found in the prefetch folder.

Other memory optimization information is stored here and used by Windows to decide which code segment should be in active memory and what can be cached. Under Windows XP, many background programs like virus scanners which aren’t common startup programs may get more attention than they deserve. While it’s been fixed starting with Vista, it can still be a problem under Windows XP. If this becomes a problem the solution is a simple reboot. There has always been the controversy over keeping your computer on over night or to reboot each day. I now recommend occasional rebooting which will also help refresh the Prefetch information.

The Prefetch folder is another good reason to keep your list of auto startup programs to a minimum. Using programs like WinPatrol can clean up which programs are auto started and thus stored in Prefetch. Adding WinPatrol PLUS will help you decide which programs are really required.

Delete Prefetch Files?
A lot of tipsters advocate going into the Prefetch folder and deleting the files so it can start with new information. I’ve been playing with this and while I haven’t seen any difference, I don’t see this causing any harm. The next few times you reboot it might take a little longer but that’s expected. I have determined that Windows does do some garbage collection on its own and limits the number of .pf files in this folder to 128 or less.

Microsoft will pay you to forward this Email.
If you believe this one I have another myth for you. An online tip I’ve seen recommends modifying the registry value used by the prefetch mechanism.
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters

There are four values used here by Windows.
0 – Disable Prefetch
1 – Use Application Launch Prefetch only
2 – Default Boot Prefetch
3 – Maximum Prefetch

If you read that you can use a value higher than 3 don’t believe it. I’ve heard from people who swear they see faster performance but there’s no technology to back up the claims.

I’ll be doing some more research on how prefetch, SuperFetch and other memory optimization is done in Windows 7 but for now I recommend just letting Windows do its thing.

Super Optimized WinPatrol 2010 Coming Monday

2009-10-09T17:05:00.001-04:00

Thanks to continued support and encouragement I’ve been hard at work at making my WinPatrol program the best it can be. For almost 12 years, WinPatrol has consistently been one of the least intrusive programs out there but I thought it was about time to optimize Scotty even more. Even though WinPatrol is written in the programming language “C” I’ve found some monitoring functions were even quicker when written directly in machine code or what we call Assembly language.

The new super optimized version will be available to the public on Monday, October 12th. To show my appreciation to everyone who has supported WinPatrol I've made the new version available early but just to PLUS members. Just go to http://www.winpatrol.com/upgrade.html. You’ll need your name and plus code which are available on the PLUS tab in the WinPatrol software. Fans of our free version will have access on Monday.

What's New

Additional Support for Firefox 3 and Google Chrome
Since Firefox 3 changed from cookie.txt to SQLite database format Scotty hasn't been hungry for Firefox cookies. Support for Firefox 3 has been the single most requested features. Turns out I was able to include support for the SQLite format without increasing the size of WinPatrol.exe. While I was at it I also included support for Google Chrome which also uses SQLite to store their cookies.
Reduced Memory Footprint
The monitor component of WinPatrol has been optimized and shrunk so WinPatrol.exe is now only 314 KB instead of its previous 336 KB size. I’m confident you won't find a smaller Windows system monitor as powerful as WinPatrol.
Up to 30% Faster Performance (Sorry PLUS Only)
Real-time scanning uses 30% less CPU than the polling provided by the free version. The real-time component has been optimized using more direct machine language then its original C coding.
Conflict reduction with other security applications.
Contrary to the warnings by AV suites, Scotty has always worked and play well with others. WinPatrol.exe has been optimized to handle the results of any Windows hooks in its own code space reducing any conflicts created by other security programs.

Upgrading to Apple QuickTime Pro

2009-10-03T12:57:00.001-04:00

I have plenty of respect and admiration of the Apple Corp but like many, I’ve been critical of some of their auto upgrade tricks. A common complaint is they don’t make it easy to remove their auto upgrade programs from your list of Startup programs. The last complaint I wrote about was their efforts to force people to download the Safari browser when you download any other Apple product.

See: “Dear Apple, We don’t want Safari” and “Do I Really Need Apple Mobile Device Service”

I don’t have a new complaint today but I did want to share something I found pretty funny. Today, I upgraded to the newest QuickTime. This is usually a good habit considering all the past security vulnerabilities. What I found interesting was Apple’s method to encourage users to upgrade to the paid or Pro version of QuickTime

Free QuickTime Menu with Pro features disabled.

As someone who publishes a free program, I’m always looking at ways to encourage folks to upgrade to WinPatrol PLUS. I’ve really tried not to be annoying or obnoxious. Most people tell me I’ve made the free version too powerful so there’s no reason to upgrade. Apple on the other hand has plenty of features only available on the PRO QuickTime. I have no problem with Apple’s technique. I just think it looks a little desperate.

Microsoft “Most Valuable Professional” Program

2009-10-01T11:06:00.002-04:00

I’ve often followed the advice of Groucho Marx when he said, “I’d never be a member of club who would have me as a member”. One exception to this rule is a group of highly specialized technical experts known as Microsoft® Most Valuable Professionals. Last year I was honored to receive MVP recognition for my work in the field of computer security.

I’m proud to announce that today I received notification of my newest Microsoft® MVP Award. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and knowing other MVP’s from around the world. I can tell you it’s a great feeling to be considered one of their peers.

Microsoft describes MVP’s on their website

"We seek to recognize the best and brightest from technology communities around the world with the Microsoft® Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Award.

These exceptional community leaders come from a wide range of backgrounds. They are teachers, artists, doctors, engineers, as well as technologists, who actively share their high-quality, real-world technical expertise with the community and with Microsoft.

With the MVP Award, we thank these inspiring individuals for representing the voice of thousands in the community through the powerful and independent feedback they give us, and for helping our customers maximize the potential of their software."

I’m sure I’m not alone today in getting my notification so I’d also like to congratulate all the other hard working, caring MVP’s who received their award. Good Job!

Free #1 Tweak to Improve Windows Performance

2009-09-28T14:27:00.004-04:00

Every year billions of dollars are spent by folks just trying to improve the performance of their computers. Over the last couple years there’s been a big market for “Registry Cleaners” even though there has been little evidence having a “tidy”, smaller registry makes any difference. Truth is, a few simple, free tweaks can be done which can drastically improve the speed of their computers.

Providing support for my WinPatrol program I run into a wide range of symptoms reported by our users. Some problems don’t always make sense yet a surprising number are resolved by just cleaning up the Windows Temporary Internet Folder. I haven’t read much from Microsoft about cluttered Temp Folders but my years of experience tell me if this file gets too large all kind of seemingly unrated problems can result. You might be saying “I don’t use Internet Explorer so why do I care about it’s Temp Internet Folder” option. Trust me, if you’re using Windows XP, Vista or even Windows 7, you care.

The original purpose of the Temp Internet Folder was to save time accessing web pages by storing images and other objects that don’t change on your system. Just like the HOSTs file this was a good idea when we were all on slow dial-up connections but today many dial-up connections are fast enough these features are no longer relevant. Anecdotal evidence shows the Temp Internet Folder is used for more than just browsing the Internet.

Go ahead and open Internet Explorer if it’s not already open. Click on the “Tools” menu and select “Internet Options”. Don’t worry about clicking on the Delete button on the first screen. Nothing will be deleted until the 2nd screen. Note: This is how it looks using Internet Explorer 8 which provides more options on which items you’ll want to remove.

Click on the Settings button and you can tell Windows how much space to allocate for Temporary files. I recommend selecting the lowest amount recommended.

If you’re looking for even more performance there are some standard changes you can make that all the experts agree on.
Adding memory will always be a big improvement. It may not be free but memory prices are pretty low these days. If you’re getting a new computer and need to choose between a faster processor and more memory, go for the more memory.

The other tweak where you can’t go wrong is by cleaning up the list of programs which are loaded at startup. I’m obviously biased but you can accomplish this by downloading WinPatrol for free. If you’re not sure a program can be removed, upgrade to WinPatrol PLUS.

As I said earlier and have written before some folks will recommend a Registry Cleaner. I’m not a big fan and worry because I think there is always a small risk of removing something that may really be important.

The other tweak which many recommend is to defrag your hard drive. Some experts swear this should be part of your regular system maintenance but I’m not a big fan. It’s a personal thing and may be due to problems I’ve experienced following a disk defrag.

I will stand by my recommendation to clean up your Temporary Internet Folder and welcome comments from others who have had positive or negative results. Check it out and let me know what you think.

SQLite C Code to Read Cookies

2009-09-25T10:13:00.001-04:00

While most of the technology leaking from my brain is for a wide audience, today’s post is very technical in nature. I expected the information below to be available online but since it wasn’t I felt obligated to share my discovery with others.

One of the features of my WinPatrol program is to help manage and remove unwanted internet cookies. Starting with Firefox3 I wasn’t able to read cookies because of the change from a cookies.txt to a SQLite database format. Luckily, the code to access to access SQLite files is public domain and freely accessible. I was hesitant to include the code to access SQLite files fearing it would increase the small size of WinPatrol.exe. Since SQLite is completely public domain I was able to strip it down to include only those functions I needed.

The next step was figure out the format used by Firefox and find some sample code for accessing SQLite in C/C++. This wasn’t as easy as I had expected but by piecing together little bits of knowledge here and there I was eventually successful. Apparently, not many programmers are still using C/C++ but if you do here’s an example of how to read cookie information stored locally by both Firefox 3.x and Google’s Chrome browsers.

The following is pretty much the identical code used by the soon to be released, WinPatrol 17 to read cookie data used by Firefox3 and Chrome. My actual code includes a little more error checking and validation. If you’re using a different programming language you’ll still want to note the column or field names used in the SQLite table.

There are two based functions that you’ll need.

     //  Firefox3 uses the table name of "moz_cookies"         
//  Chrome uses table name of just "cookies"         
//  This routine opens up the cookies table and passes a callback routine         
//  send requested cookies, one row at a time.         
// IN: the fullpath to the cookie file name         
// IN: the defined type of if it’s a Chrome or Firefox3 type         
int    GetSQLiteCookies( LPSTR szCookieFile, int iType )         
{         
    char       *zErrMsg = 0;         
    int         rc;         
    sqlite3    *dbCookie;   // defined in sqlite.h         
    TCHAR      szSQLiteExec[MAX_SQLITEEXE];  
          rc = sqlite3_open(szCookieFile, &dbCookie);         
    if( rc )         
    {         
        sqlite3_close(dbCookie);         
        return 0;         
    } 
          // Create SQL statement depending on the browser  
    if(iType == COOKIE_FIREFOX)         
          StringCbCopy(szSQLite ,MAX_SQLEXEC, TEXT( "SELECT * FROM moz_cookies") );         
    else    // then it much be Chrome         
          StringCbCopy(szSQLite ,MAX_SQLEXEC, TEXT( "SELECT * FROM cookies") );        
         
    rc = sqlite3_exec(dbCookie, szSqLiteExec, CookieCallback, 0, &zErrMsg);  
    if( rc!=SQLITE_OK )  
    {         
        sqlite3_free(zErrMsg);  
    }         
    sqlite3_close(dbCookie); 
          return 1;        
}

The next routine is a “Callback” routine. The result of calling the sqlite3_exe is above is that SQLite will call our Callback routine for every cookie or “row” in the database. Each call will contain information about each cookie in a array.

     // IN iCount = number of columns in this row        
// IN szColValue = The data in the column         
// IN szColName = Name of column         
static int CookieCallback(void *NotUsed, int iCount, char **szColValue, char **szColName)         
{         
    int    i;         
    char    *zErrMsg = 0;  
    COOKIEINFO   ciCookie;  // WinPatrol specific cookie structure         
    SYSTEMTIME        myTime;         
    memset(&ciCookie, 0, sizeof(COOKIEINFO)); 
      // I’m going to go through each column and check to see        
// see if the name matches one of the cookie fields and if         
// it matches we grab the value and store it in our cookie         
// structure. The actual code is a little more optimize but I’ve broken        
// out each test to make it a little clearer.        
// Some column names are different firefox vs chrome
        for(i=0; i<iCount; i++)        
  {         
      if(!lstrcmpi(TEXT("name"), szColName[i] ))         
          StringCbCopy(ciCookie.szName,MAX_COOKIE_NAME, szColValue[i] ); 
            if(!lstrcmpi(TEXT("value"), szColName[i] ))         
          StringCbCopy(ciCookie.szValue,MAX_COOKIE_VALUE, szColValue[i] ); 
            if(!lstrcmpi(TEXT("path"), szColName[i] ))         
          StringCbCopy(ciCookie.szPath,MAX_PATH, szColValue[i] );         
        
            if(!lstrcmpi(TEXT("host"), szColName[i] ))  // firefox3         
          StringCbCopy(ciCookie.szDomain, MAX_COOKIE_NAME, szColValue[i] );         
      if(!lstrcmpi(TEXT("host_key"), szColName[i] ))   // chrome         
          StringCbCopy(ciCookie.szDomain, MAX_COOKIE_NAME, szColValue[i] );         
        
            // firefox3 uses expiry, chrome uses expires_utc        
      if ( (!lstrcmpi(TEXT("expiry"), szColName[i] )) || (!lstrcmpi(TEXT("expires_utc"), szColName[i] )))         
      {         
            long lUnixTime;         
            lUnixTime = atol( szColValue[i] );         
            UnixTimeToSystemTime((time_t)lUnixTime, &myTime);         
            GetLocalTimeString(&myTime, ciCookie.szDate);         
      } 
            if(!lstrcmpi(TEXT("isSecure"), szColName[i] ))    //firefox 3 field name.         
                ciCookie.bSecure = (BOOL)szColValue[i];         
      if(!lstrcmpi(TEXT("secure"), szColName[i] ))        // chrome field name         
                ciCookie.bSecure = (BOOL)szColValue[i]; 
        } 
      // Here's where I call another routine which adds my cookie structure        
// to a list of cookies so I can display them in WinPatrol.        
// your method of storing each cookie will vary. 
        return 0;        
}

I’m now a big fan so if you’re interested in using SQLite you can find everything you need to get started at http://www.sqlite.org/. I didn’t have time to get a book but for more C/C++ code I recommend The Definitive Guide to SQLite

Four Secret Reasons Why Win7 is Ten Times Better

2009-09-10T21:50:00.002-04:00

It’s no secret that I’ve never been a fan of Windows Vista. I really wanted to love it but even as a designated Microsoft MVP I couldn’t drink the kool-aid(1) nor did I promote Vista to family and friends.

So, what makes Windows 7 so much better that I’ve changed my tune? I’m still happy with Windows XP but I am encouraging folks to invest their money and time to upgrade to Win7. I’ve put together four reasons that may not be secret but you may not hear a lot about due to their technical nature.

MultiCore Processing
When Microsoft designed Vista they saw a future in 64 bit machines. It was a reasonable assumption but they were a little ahead of the times. While x64 CPU’s are gaining in popularity the technology of cheap multiple core processors still dominates the market. MultiCore processors give you the power of multiple CPU’s within a single chip. Windows 7 doubles the number of your CPU’s.

In any modern OS there is a system that schedules which programs or processes run when and at what priority. It’s like a traffic cop inside your computer. Vista was optimized to easily handle 64 bit operations. Its traffic cop was trained to expect a lot of big Cadillac's and SUV’s to be using the data road.

The Windows 7 traffic cop understands that multiple core CPUs are still popular so it’s still ready for the SUV’s but knows in between there will be a lot of Sport cars, Smart Cars and even Motorcycles on the data roads.

If you have a dual-core, quad-core CPU you will be thrilled with the increased performance. Using Hyper Threading technology from Intel, a virtual core is created for each physical core adding yet more multiprocessing computing power.

Solid State Drives
I’ve been preaching the future of Solid State Drives over many years. While the prices may still be out of the reach of many, they’re continuing to come down. SSD’s are so much quicker than traditional drives which have moving parts. They’re also so much more dependable. Windows 7 understands how data is stored on Solid State Drives and is optimized to handle their unique operation.

General Purpose Graphics Processing Unit
You may have noticed over the years the video cards inside your computer have grown in both size and power. As gaming and video popularity has grown computer manufactures have greatly increased graphical power. Modern video cards now have their own processors(GPU’s) and plenty of memory. Windows 7 can now take advantage of some of this processing power when it’s not being used for rendering graphics. If you have a powerful video card from NVidia or AMD(ATI) you’ll most likely benefit from this technical addition in Windows 7.

Network Startup Time
Quick startup may not be a secret but most folks don’t realize that Microsoft has put a priority on WiFi network discovery on startup. At least 2-3 times a week my wife Cindi would ask me if the network was down when she went to read the morning paper online. The problem was, Windows appeared to be all ready for use but it wasn’t. The cursor reverted from an hourglass to the arrow but Windows was still doing many background tasks including trying to find the default network. So while everything appeared to be ready for action, the internet was still a few minutes away from use. In most cases, you’ll notice Windows 7 will have you connected as quickly as you can load your browser.

References:
Engineering Windows 7: Support and Q&A for Solid State Drives

Toms Hardware: Win7 Desktop Graphics Loves Multi-core CPUs

CNet: Intel, Microsoft Highlight Windows 7 Improvements

MVP Global Summit 2009

(1) Note: While I did make reference to the common expression about drinking the kool-aid it really bugs me when I hear this. Most people relate this expression to the Jonestown mass suicide when in fact the followers of Jim Jones drank grape cyanide-laced Flavor-Aid.

WinPatrol PLUS “Back to School” Special

2009-09-06T20:01:00.001-04:00

It’s that time of year again when the kids at heading back to school. Every year it seems like there is something new we need to protect our kids against. This year it’s the N1H1 virus but many past dangers still exist.

Hopefully, everyone heading back to school will be protected against computer slow downs, malware and potential viruses. Naturally, one of the best recommendations I have is to install our free WinPatrol. For more complete protection I encourage folks to upgrade to WinPatrol PLUS.

I know not everyone has $29.95 to spare especially with the increasing cost of tuition and books. To help out this year, I’m offering a $10 off “studyhard” coupon as a special “Back to School” discount. Students will still receive all the same PLUS benefits, good for multiple computers and all future versions of WinPatrol. This coupon is valid until October 1, 2009

Just click here to order and use the coupon “studyhard”.

Click to upgrade to WinPatrol PLUS

Even if you’re not a student this month you can take advantage of this offer. Our PLUS database was created to help anyone learn more about what’s going on inside their computer.

Facebook May Not Be For Everyone

2009-08-23T12:16:00.002-04:00

A few years ago I joined Facebook to write about privacy issues with their Beacon advertising system. I was quickly sucked in by the fun, convenience and easy ability to keep in touch with family and friends. I really enjoy the ability to share photos and even love to see vacation photos and cute babies from people I don’t really know in real life. While I am continuing to use Facebook, it may not be for everyone.

One of the aspects of Facebook I’ve never advocated are “applications”. While I appreciate the thought, don’t be hurt if I don’t accept your hugs, glitz, jewels, pets, drinks or farm animals. While this may be fun for millions it’s not why I use Facebook.

What most people don’t realize is that “Applications” aren’t part of Facebook. They’re created by 3rd party companies. When you agree to downloads an application, you share your info with a company which may have a completely different security and privacy terms as Facebook.

Everyone should keep in mind you don’t have to accept every request on Facebook. Of course, I’m against Domestic Violence, Child Abuse and Cancer but I also won’t join a cause on Facebook which has access to my personal info. It’s ok to click on Ignore.

If you’re new to Facebook, the first place you need to visit even before uploading your face is the Privacy Settings menu. “Facebook takes your privacy seriously but you need to do your part.”

Here’s an example of your options on who you want having access to your personal info.

Some time ago I created a “Fans of WinPatrol” page and promoted it as a way to share WinPatrol news. I’m pleased to say that Fans of WinPatrol has hit 1000 today. I will continue to promote Fans of WinPatrol to those already using Facebook but I have stopped promoting it on WinPatrol.com and other related websites. “As a security vendor there are too many dangers on Facebook to advocate its use”.

Facebook isn’t by its nature a danger. The problem is anytime something is popular it becomes a target for the bad guys. Malware authors and privacy thieves have found fertile ground on Facebook for new tricks and methods to infect computers. It’s not uncommon for friends to have their password compromised and suddenly they become an unwitting accomplice in spreading malware. It can happen to very computer savvy users like Helen who quickly had to let her 2,866 friends know someone had her password.

The most important lesson here is even if one of your friends sends you a link to something “cool” you should always be skeptical.

Keep Personal Info to a Minimum
If you think only your friends will have access to your profile information think again. This week it was revealed in a simple video how easy it is to steal personal info.

Bottom Line
Be smart with your password and don’t click on links that appear suspicious. I will continue to use Facebook. For me it’s too late anyway. I’ve been online for over 25 years and folks online know more about me than my family. “If you’re someone who worries about things like tracking cookies you probably don’t want to use Facebook.“

Live Writer on Windows 7

2009-08-21T22:54:00.002-04:00

I have a few topics to write about this weekend but due in part to an error in my normal blog program I’m a little behind. I use a nice little program called BlogJet by Dmitry Chestnykh to format and post to Bits from Bill.

Since my latest install of Windows 7 RTM I haven’t been able to re-install and configure BlogJet. I thought it was a Win7 issue but after a little research I found it’s just a coincidence. Dmitry has always been responsive to problems in the past but he’s taken on a big challenge trying to keep up with changes on so many different blog platforms.

Tonight, I loaded up my copy of “Windows Live Writer” which is available as a free download with Windows 7. This post isn’t meant to be a review of Windows Live Writer. It’s really a test to find out if I’m comfortable changing my Blog authoring tool. I’m an old fart and change doesn’t come easy for me.

Live Writer has a number of available add-ons which I might help sell me.

Here’s an example of the “Cool Emotion” add-on . This isn’t an add-on I will use because the images are hosted by someone else. The folks hosting these images now have access to user stats and I can’t guarantee these images won’t be compromised in some way in the future.

This is another test to see what my Picture options are by showing you a screen shot of the Live Writer menu.

I am impressed with the photo options. Various size and frames like the following Polaroid border style are available.

Lady and my ‘95Z

It’s actually called “Instant Photo” frame because I’m sure they’d need trademark permission from the folks who currently own Polaroid. Yes, that is Lady the model for my Task Catcher program.

Below is a “Map” add-on that will show you BillP Studios according to Bing. I don’t know if I’d ever really use this in a blog post but who knows.

BillP Studios

So, unless this all looks really stupid after I post it, I guess I’ll be using Windows Live Writer as my new Bits from Bill tool.

And the results…

Oh well, it looks like Blogjet may not be the only one having problems uploading to Blogger.com.

Update: The File Upload Failure was a user error. ;)

Cell Phone Security Part 1

2009-08-14T03:24:00.000-04:00

Last summer I spoke at a conference of trainers for the National Network to End Domestic Violence. One of topics of interest was cell phone security. After reading so many news stories lately about cell phone hacking I thought it was important to renew this topic. Most of the tips still apply today.

One important thing to remember is your cell phone or Blackberry is a computer. It stores your personal data and is designed to communicate easily with the world. Proper use includes keeping your data backed up regularly and keeping it secure. One of the common ways your cell phone or smart phone communicate is using technology called Bluetooth. Just like your computer, you should know about the following.

· Discovery Mode
This is a special mode that allows you to sync or pair up two devices that provide Bluetooth communications. In discovery mode information about your cell phone is readily available to Bluetooth scanners. In most new phones, when you turn on Discovery mode it will only be available for a short time frame. While this sometimes makes it a pain to pair up devices it’s a great safety feature. Your phone should never remain in Discovery Mode.

· Keep your Phone to yourself
Don’t let others mess around with your phone. Every phone has a physical Bluetooth network address which can’t be changed. Someone checking out your phone can find this numeric address and use it to communicate with your phone even when it’s not in discovery mode. This unique number can not be changed and will look something like 11:1A:D9:EB:11:C7

· Passwords
Just like on your computer your password should not be 1234 or your birthday. It should not be your address, pets name or the same as your ATM pin.

· Unsoliticated Connection Requests
Don’t be shocked if you receive a request to connect for an update or what looks like a news story or free ringtone. It’s very possible this could be an illegitimate attempt at a pairing. If you do get an unsolicited request reply No. If it appears to come from your phone company, you can always call them directly to confirm.

· Update your firmware
Again, just like on your computer, you should regularly connect to your phone vendor and see if any “firmware” updates are available. It’s possible that some kind of security hole was found in your phone’s software and a firmware update could be needed to repair it.

· Encryption
When syncing up your address book or or other data with your computer check to see if encryption is available. This may require you to remember another password but it’s a good idea. While Bluetooth data is designed to only be available in short distances there are long range antenna’s out there which have the ability to read Bluetooth data from a distance.

In part two I’ll review some of the most recent hacker techniques and what products are available that might be able to protect you.

Firefox Ready to be the #1 Browser

2009-08-03T14:53:00.002-04:00

Are you a Firefox user? Apparently, if you are you’re not alone. Sometime this year when I wasn’t paying attention Firefox rocketed to a new high. For over three years I watched as Firefox hovered between a 30–34% browser share. This month I was surprised to see that Firefox consistently exceeds 40% and is preparing to take over IE as the most popular browser.

Bits From Bill – August 2, 2009

A lot has changed in the past three years.

In June 2008 the release of Firefox 3.0 was a huge event. Mozilla set the Guinness world record for the most downloads in a single day. Over 8 million users downloaded Firefox 3 on Junes 17th, 2008. While it increased the credibility of Firefox the browser world was still dominated by Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.

The release of Firefox 3.5 didn’t break records but it was successful in attracting new users. Most folks are happy with the increased performance of Firefox but the availability of Firefox add-ons has really helped push this open source browser over the top. When I asked my friends on Twitter for their reason for the switch to Firefox, add-ons was a consistent reply.

The stats above only reflect recent users to Bits From Bill. Some site will still show higher IE stats. Currently, WinPatrol.com shows IE users as 48% and Firefox as 35%. According to Harry McCracken, Firefox is also popular on sites which have a large number of Mac users.

“52 percent of Technologizer's visitors use Firefox. It's still growing in popularity all over the Web, but its usage is particularly high at sites with more experienced, sophisticated visitors. And it's especially likely to be popular at sites that cater to both Windows and Mac users, since Mac fans almost by definition are using a browser other than IE.”

Steve Bass: Ten More Super-Duper Firefox Add-Ons

Security Vulnerabilities near Apocalyptic Proportions

2009-07-31T18:00:00.003-04:00

We’ve had a heck of a week in the security world. I really don’t know where to begin. Most people think of the Apocalypse as the end of the world but the origin of the term is the “disclosure to certain privileged persons of something hidden from the majority of humankind”. That’s what happen this week. Those who were paying attention were informed about a number of security flaws that hopefully have been corrected. If you haven’t taken advantage of these updates you should.

The first came from Microsoft with what’s called an “out of band” security update. If you think it sounds serious, you’re correct. If you don’t have automatic updates on your Windows machine, it’s time to run the Windows update program.

Microsoft Security Advisory 973882
Microsoft Security Bulletins MS09-034 and MS09-035

Also on Tuesday the folks at Mozilla admitted there’s a vulnerability in Firefox where “The URL in the address bar can be spoofed when a new window or tab is opened by a malicious web page.” This could result in a phishing attack and not necessarily a huge issue. Mozilla has found and fixed this issue which will be rolled out in the next release.

On Thursday Adobe announced “Security updates available for Adobe Flash Player.“ This vulnerability could allow an attacker to take control of your machine if you’re running Windows, Mac OS and even Linux. More info at http://www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb09-10.html. Adobe also recognizes that their Shockwave Player is affected by the recent Microsoft advisory so they recommend upgrading to the newest Shockwave Player at http://www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb09-11.html

The fun really began at the BlackHat Security conference when three researchers acknowledged they provided Apple with details on how they could hack into and take control of someone's iPhone. They gave Apple two weeks to fix the problem before making the information public. Apple announced today they will be updating users the next time they plug their iPhones into their computers. Unfortunately, one of the vulnerabilities discovered affects more than just the iPhone. A large number of phones which accept SMS messaging may be at risk.

Before you want to go running for the hills I’ll share one last bit of news. Remember all the talk earlier this year about the Conficker virus? Well, stay-tuned this month to hear about the financial trojan called Clampi. This one may also get more attention then you think it deserves but there’s no doubt what the purpose of Clampi is. It’s all about the money.

“Clampi banking trojan misdirects business wire transfers.”

Have a great weekend!

Bill's Bit Readers Club Recommendation

2009-07-27T17:58:00.006-04:00

Just about to be released, a couple of fun books that I’ve been looking forward to. They’re now available for pre-order on Amazon.

"The World According to Twitter" is by emmy-nominated David Pogue. "Windows 7 Secrets" comes from Paul Thurrott and Rafael Rivera. I've had the honor of following each of the authors as they worked hard on their latest compilation and shared their experience with other friends on Twitter.

Pre-Order now and Save!

Full Disclosure: While I certainly support the authors, my affiliation with Amazon gets like 10–15 cents if you order either book via the links above.

Network Solutions Hackers Monitored Credit Cards

2009-07-26T11:14:00.003-04:00

Washington Post author Brian Kreb reported Friday that “Network Solutions Hack Compromises 573,000 Credit, Debit Accounts”.

“Hackers have broken into Web servers owned by domain registrar and hosting provider Network Solutions, planting rogue code that resulted in the compromise of more than 573,000 debit and credit card accounts over the past three months…
The payment data stolen was captured from transactions made between March 12, 2009 and June 8, 2009.”

I was surprised that within 3 minutes of mentioning the Post article on Twitter I was contacted by someone from Network Solutions. Their comments still didn’t really make me feel warm and fuzzy.

“At this point, we have no reports or other reasons to believe that any credit card account information has been misused. Under established practice, credit card issuing companies generally will not hold our merchants’ customers liable for any fraudulent purchases made using their credit card account numbers that are reported in a timely manner to the issuer.”

So, this means as long as you notice the invalid charge you won’t have to pay it. Contrary to popular belief, the credit card company doesn’t eat the charge, the merchant does. If someone purchases WinPatrol PLUS with an illegal credit card, I have to refund the money, not the credit card company.

Network Solutions has made a deal to provide one-year free monitoring of your credit card with TransUnion. Unfortunately, if you visit ConsumerAffairs.com you’ll see TransUnion doesn’t have one of the best reputations. Last year TransUnion settled in Pennslyvania in response to allegations TransUnion sold customer information.

What I find really scary is that this could happen to a company like Network Solutions. This is a company who has been an integral part of the internet backbone since 1985. Network Solutions hosts websites, controls domain names and originated the @ symbol to be used in Email addresses. If their eCommerce servers could be hacked what else could have been comprised?

Would you believe Scotty has a cold?

2009-07-23T22:17:00.001-04:00

Yesterday’s release of WinPatrol 16.1.2009 was a big success for Vista and Windows 7 users. It was also welcomed by Windows XP users although many discovered one small problem. It seems adding one of the new Vista/Windows 7 features called “Sound Sentry” I broke Scotty’s bark for the majority of users who still use Windows XP.

Over the years I’ve tried to make sure WinPatrol is “accessible” to all users. One way is to continue using standard window controls instead of some kind of slick more graphical interface. This may also be one of the reasons I’ve been able to keep the size of WinPatrol tiny. Sound Sentry is a feature which is available via the Windows accessibility interface. Visually challenged users can also take advantage of the Windows “Sounds” control panel applet to customize individual sounds for each kind of WinPatrol event.

Adding Sound Sentry was simple but I made a stupid mistake by not properly testing the effect of Sound Sentry on all versions of Windows. The solution was also simple so I’ve already made the correction and it has been tested.

Instead of immediately uploading a fix I thought it might make more sense to wait a few days just to see if any other problems show up. If you’re missing Scotty’s bark he’ll be all better by the end of next week.

New WinPatrol Even More Windows 7 Friendly

2009-07-22T13:07:00.003-04:00

Are you using Windows 7 or Vista? If so, you’ll probably want to take advantage of the newest release, WinPatrol 16.1.2009. Microsoft announced today that they have released Windows 7 to manufacturing (RTM) so I'm pleased WinPatrol is now set to work with the final set of Windows 7 features.

What’s New?

16.1.2009.0

Detects if other programs are monitoring HOSTs and some other system files to prevent conflicts.
Fixed rare bug where Scotty barked a few times for no reason.
Support for Accessibility Sound Sentry in Vista or greater.
Scotty icon used in new Windows 7 Taskbar.

Better handling of events that are blocked by User Account Control.

http://www.winpatrol.com/upgrade.html

Microsoft continues to take security seriously with their new operating system and WinPatrol complements their efforts well. While some functionally is redunant I still pride myself in filling in the gaps that I personally think are important. One example is WinPatrol’s monitoring of your AutoUpdate settings. While it may be the least of your worries, WinPatrol wants you to know about system configuration changes just as much as changes to your startup program list.

New web design

Friends of Scotty will also notice a big change in the WinPatrol website. I’m not a professional web designer, nor can I afford one but I’ve spend a great deal of time in making sure folks get what they want with the least number of clicks. Expect more changes as I receive more feedback and review out web stats.

A special thanks to all my supporters who have helped with suggestions, moral support and especially for sharing their views of WinPatrol with others. When I travel I still run into folks who have never heard of WinPatrol so feel free to continue spreading the news.

We Have Your Password, and We Own You!

2009-07-20T12:47:00.003-04:00

Every few months I like to write about passwords and backups just to remind everyone how important these issues can be. While I’d like to remind you again to review your backup policies, I really want to stress some common sense password protection.

I’m sure you all know enough not to use your kids or pets names for passwords but do you use different passwords for every different site you visit online? If not, you could be in real danger and you’re putting everyone else in danger too. STOP IT!

Last week an employee of Twitter had their account compromised and internal business documents were stolen. The documents were actually offered for sale on the internet. The Twitter server wasn’t “hacked”, it was accessed using the employees name and password. Seems the employee used the same password on another online site.

Someone Call Security

“First, it's important to note how these documents were stolen. In this case, a Twitter employee used the same non-unique password on multiple services. A hacker gained access to our business documents because this common password was retrievable on an unrelated system. If you've ever used the same password on more than one service, you've made the same mistake that lead to this theft”

Any time you sign up and provide a password, that information may be easily available to the owners and employees of that site. If you use the same password for an online forum as you do with PayPal you’re in danger. If you use the same password for multiple social networks you leave yourself open to a different kind of identity theft. Some one can impersonate you and spread malware to your friends and family.

Giving Away Your Password

There’s also the danger of freely giving away your Email and password that plenty are falling for. A number of sites offer to get you new followers on Twitter. The only conditio is they now own your account and can use it to broadcast advertisements. Unfortunately, too many people don’t read the conditions which typically look like the following…

Obviously a lot of folks slip pass this notice and are surprised when advertisements appear in front of their name. You might also notice they don’t say anything about not selling your Email address to the spam companies.

I’m not sure how many followers make up a ton.

If you’ve fallen for these scams you’re not alone. You will want to create a brand new password. While you’re at it, create some more new passwords for other sites as well.

Firefox 3.5.1 Fix for Vulnerability

2009-07-17T15:42:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I wrote about a vulnerability recently discovered in the month old Firefox 3.5. The folks at Mozilla were quick to find a solution and have published a new build which is safe to use.

If you’re a Firefox users go to the following site to update your browser.

http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/firefox.html

If you followed the instructions to disable the JIT(Just-in-Time) compiler you’ll want to enable it again once you’ve installed version 3.5.1.

Enter about:config in the browser’s location bar.
Type jit in the Filter box at the top of the config editor.
Double-click the line containing javascript.options.jit.contentsetting the value to true.

Firefox 3.5 Finally Gets Attention

2009-07-15T13:12:00.003-04:00

Last month the Mozilla folks were celebrating the release of Firefox 3.5 but for some reason nobody noticed. Last summer the release of Firefox 3 set a Guinness World Record for the most downloaded software in a 24 hour period.

Even with over a weeks notice, downloads and enthusiasm for Firefox 3.5 just wasn’t the same. Maybe everyone was still tweeting about the election in Iran because the new release of Firefox certainly didn’t get the attention it deserved.

Yesterday Firefox 3.5 finally made it into the news and into the top tweets. Unfortunately, the news was a vulnerability was found in Firefox’s super fast JIT (Just-in-Time) JavaScript compiler

While some have recommend disabiling JavaScipt completely there is a solution that will temporarily disabled the JIT feature until Mozilla provides a patch.

According to the Mozilla Security Blog you just need to do the following…

Enter about:config in the browser’s location bar.
Type jit in the Filter box at the top of the config editor.
Double-click the line containing javascript.options.jit.content setting the value to false.

You can watch for updates and check the Mozilla Blog at http://blog.mozilla.com to see when a fix is published. Once you receive the update, you’ll want to go back to the instructions above and set javascript.options.jit.content to True. That way you’ll still get the benefits of the faster JavaScript engine.

Update: A new version is now available to resolve this vulnerability. http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/firefox.html

Microsoft Says you are Vulnerable to Attack

2009-07-13T15:29:00.002-04:00

Another week, another security vulnerability found and exploited. I can’t stress enough how important it is to use a behavior based monitoring program like WinPatrol. These zero-day vulnerabilities can attack your computer without you doing anything you might consider dangerous. It can happen to anyone, and you can’t just blame it on your kids.

Todays’s Microsoft Security Advisory (973472) relates to components found in Microsoft Office and could allow remote code execution on your machine.

Microsoft is investigating a privately reported vulnerability in Microsoft Office Web Components. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the local user. When using Internet Explorer, code execution is remote and may not require any user intervention.
We are aware of attacks attempting to exploit the vulnerability.

Brian Krebs at the Washington Post was quick to point out that in last weeks msvidctl.dll vulnerability Microsoft used the words “limited attacks”.

Our good friends at Microsoft have published a quick fix for this problem. If you’re using any of the applications below I recommend taking advantage of the Fix It link below and follow their instructions. If you do experience problems Microsoft does provide a “Disable Fit it” link

Click above to go to Microsoft Fix it page

Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting 2006
Microsoft Office 2003 Web Components for the 2007 Microsoft Office system
Microsoft Office 2003 Service Pack 3
Microsoft Office 2003 Web Components
Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2004 Standard Edition