Ask Leo!: 2010 Newsletters

Leo's Answers #222 - March 16, 2010

leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:00:00 -08:00

A Weekly Newsletter From
Ask Leo!
Leo Notenboom

Hello!

Do you have a question for me? Don't hit reply! Head instead for the Ask Leo! home page and search the site first - seriously, around half the questions people ask are already answered there. You can also browse the archives, past newsletters and more. (The "ask a question" form is temporarily disabled while I'm on vacation. More on that below.)

Newsletter questions? Check the newsletter administration page. You can also unsubscribe using the link at the bottom of this email.

*** New Articles

What's the difference between a "quick" and a "full" scan, and which do I want?

Should I be running a 'Full Scan' or a 'Quick Scan' on my various anti-spyware, anti-malware, anti-virus software? The options, and their differences aren't always clear to me - when would one be more suitable than the other, and what might be the dangers of running the wrong one?

Naturally the answer changes slightly depending on which program we're talking about, but ultimately the software giving you a pretty basic choice:

Do you want the scan to be quick, and pretty good? Or would you rather it take much longer but also be much more thorough?

Of course it all depends on what I mean by "pretty good" and "much more thorough".

I'll outline what they usually mean, and then which I suggest using and when.

Continue reading: What's the difference between a "quick" and a "full" scan, and which do I want?
http://ask-leo.com/C4218

* * *

How do I make something run automatically when I log in to Windows 7?

Running Windows 7, I'd like Internet Explorer to start automatically when I log in. How do I do that?

As is evidenced by all the malware that does it, making something start when Windows starts or when you login is actually pretty easy.

I'll show you one of the simplest approaches.

Continue reading: How do I make something run automatically when I log in to Windows 7?
http://ask-leo.com/C4216

* * *

Why are emailed attachments larger than the original file?

Why are email attachments in general much larger than the actual attachment sent? Is something added to them by the email client?

I wouldn't say that anything is "added" to the attachment other than perhaps some administrative data like its name - the attachment is still just the attachment.

However, something is done to the attachment that will most definitely make it larger.

And it all has to do with the fact that the technology behind email is, basically, older than dirt. (In internet terms, of course.)

Continue reading: Why are emailed attachments larger than the original file?
http://ask-leo.com/C4215

* * *

How do I get rid of all this spam?!?!

If it seems like the amount of spam you're seeing has been getting worse that's only because it has. Spam in all its variants has only been increasing, and attempts to legislate a solution appear to have had little if any impact.

So what's a poor user to do?

Continue reading: How do I get rid of all this spam?!?!
http://ask-leo.com/C1880

* * *

What are (and how do I get rid of) "Antivirus 2010" and "Vista Spyware 2010"?

We're seeing a rash of Internet Antivirus 2010 and Security Center malware installations in customer computers. Do you have any information concerning where these infections are most likely coming from (email, web browsing, etc) and what are the best recommendations for catching infection attempts before they wreak havoc?

Hi Leo, Can you please tell me what is this "Vista Spyware 2010". It seems like an unwanted program and shows me messages every now and then claiming my system is infected and I should subscribe their software.

What they are is pretty easy: malware.

As these two questioners point out, there's been a rash of infections related to both of these two. In fact, it's looking like an annual event, since we seem to have seen an "antivirus 20xx" every year for the last few years.

The good news is that they're fairly easy to prevent with a little diligence on your part, and several reputable anti-malware tools will also remove them.

Continue reading: What are (and how do I get rid of) "Antivirus 2010" and "Vista Spyware 2010"?
http://ask-leo.com/C4209

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*** Comments

A sampling of some of the comments that have been posted recently on Ask Leo!

* * *

Do I need a firewall, and if so, what kind?

Brian writes:

If you don't have file sharing turned on, and you know the things to avoid on internet such as popups, then I fail to see the justification for a firewall. This seems to me to be one of those forms of brainwashing that's occurred in the computer world where due to typical user stupidity, people are absolutely convinced that this is therefore their "internet condom". Can you provide any more plausible/logical reason on *why* this is even helpful if you know your way around a pc backwards-and-forwards?

There have been vulnerabilities - both as bugs and as configuration choices - in network-facing protocols other than file sharing that have allowed malware to infect a system not protected by a firewall - even for systems owned by people who claim to know their way around a computer backwards and forwards.

-Leo

How do I know what to believe on the internet?

Mark writes:

Here's my unsolicited testimony. Try the WOT (web of trust) plug in for Firefox and IE. It's a user rated service that warns about untrustworthy websites. It's not perfect but it's a good tool in avoiding scams. BTW they give Ask Leo an excellent rating. :)

The concern I have with sites like WOT is that you still don't know who's writing the opinions - they could, in fact, be fake, or have a hidden agenda. I'm not saying that they are. But if I piss someone off with a review or opinion they disagree with, one way they could "get back at me" would be to go fabricate a negative review of my site. Or consider a site that plans to cause trouble in the future - all they need do is seed sites like WOT with (fake) glowing reviews to give people a false sense of safety. WOT and sites like it are a fine resource, but sadly they, too, must be taken with a grain of salt.

-Leo

I have a massive malware infection, should I just get a new machine?

Charles Tilley writes:

In the first place, prevention is always less expensive than cure. You don't have to pay big bucks for prevention, in fact, I've never spent a cent in my entire computing life towards it. For a long time, I used Avast, along with SuperAnti Spyware for a second scan. I do these twice weekly. There's also Windows Live Safety Scanner, they have XP & below and a Vista / Windows 7 versions. Then(if you're a legit Windows user), you get a free tool from Microsoft every month, their Malicious Software Removal Tool. This runs automatically, but you can run it manually. In Vista / Windows 7 click Start, type "mrt" w/o the quotes, you can run the scanner how you want. Since I've moved to Windows 7, I've made only one change, I switched to Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE), as my main anti-virus. You have every tool here to keep your system clean, if only you will USE them along with smart computing practices. No Pirate Bay, P2P sites and so forth. We can talk cure all we want, prevention is the key. And whatever browser you choose (that's your preference), keep it updated to the latest version. By doing these things, you shouldn't need to worry about a malware infected PC, and enjoy your cyber life.

*** Leo Recommends

RoboForm
Password Manager and more

I think that I have about 80 - 100 passwords that I use on a regular or somewhat regular basis. I always remember my network and computer logon passwords, but beyond that I often have to check my a) Outlook notes on my PC at work, or b) when at home on my Mac, my little black notebook stuffed in the bottom of drawer.

Is storing my passwords on Outlook notes safe for my bank and tax filing accounts? Are online password managers or 'safes' secure? Do you have any suggestions for how best to manage the proliferation of passwords for online accounts?

•

I don't really have a good cross-platform solution for you, though I do have a couple of odd ideas.

However, I have developed a very strong recommendation over the past couple of months for a product called RoboForm - which happily includes a free version!

Let me touch on your first two questions first...

RoboForm Password Manager and more
http://ask-leo.com/C2827

Each week I recommend a specific product or resource that I've found valuable and that I think you may as well. What does my recommendation mean?

*** Popular Articles

People share computers all the time without realize that anyone with access to that computer has access to everything on it. Yes, unless you take explicit steps, everything. If it's not physically secure, it's not secure.

How do I keep my information on a shared computer private?

I share a computer and I want to know how to keep my information private.

•

Ultimately ... you can't. At least not easily, and even then it depends on the data that you're attempting to keep private, and the technical savvy of the individuals that you're attempting to keep it private from.

There's nothing like your own computer. But if you have to share, there are a couple of things that might help. A little.

Continue reading...
How do I keep my information on a shared computer private?
http://ask-leo.com/C2959

*** Thoughts and Comments

Wow! Thanks for all the great ideas for "swag" that you gave me out on my Facebook Fan Page. It was incredibly helpful.

I'm picking John Fitch's sticky note suggestion as my "winner", and have contacted him to arrange getting him that 500GB external drive. And yes, I've got a test run of sticky notes already in production!

Here's the problem, though ... there were so many great ideas, I couldn't stop at just one. So I've got a couple of others also in progress. These require a little "testing" before I commit to them, so I'm not going to announce what they are just yet. If things pan out, I'll announce here in a few weeks, and the folks that suggested them will get one of the items that they suggested as a thank you.

And thank you again to everyone who participated!

I need your help again, though this time in a slightly more serious endeavor.

Earlier this year, I announced that I'll make grants totaling $10,000 (USD) to as many as four non-profit organizations involved in computer and/or English literacy.

I also mentioned that I'd be asking for your help suggesting whom those recipients might be.

That time has come. I've written up the basic criteria, and created a form where you can submit your suggestions for which organization supporting computer and/or English literacy I should consider.

The nomination period runs through June 1, 2010, and I'll remind you here again as the deadline gets closer.

Read the criteria, and submit your recommendation if you have one at http://go.ask-leo.com/survey3.

Thanks!

'till next week...

Leo A. Notenboom

*** Administration

Need more help with or have questions about the newsletter? Check out the newsletter administration page.

Newsletter contents Copyright © 2010,
Leo A. Notenboom & Puget Sound Software, LLC.

Leo's Answers #221 - March 9, 2010

leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:00:00 -08:00

A Weekly Newsletter From
Ask Leo!
Leo Notenboom

Hello!

Newsletter questions? Check the newsletter administration page. You can also unsubscribe using the link at the bottom of this email.

*** New Articles

How do I know when it's safe to allow programs that cause the User Account Control (UAC) notification to occur?

With Vista and now Windows 7, I get prompted to allow or dis-allow programs looking to access my computer - to give my permission for that or to deny. I have no idea how to know what is legit, illegitimate, or grey area (like manufacturer of my laptop collecting info on my computer use to try to sell me more stuff). Any ideas?

What you're seeing, of course, is Windows "User Account Control" or UAC - a feature not unlike that present in both Linux and the Mac operating systems. The basic premise is that before software does anything that would (or could) potentially install software or otherwise harm your computer, the system simply asks first.

The knee-jerk reaction is "if you're not sure, say no". However, there are some things you can keep in mind that will let you be a little more sure a little more often, and as a result allow you to make a more informed decision.

Continue reading: How do I know when it's safe to allow programs that cause the User Account Control (UAC) notification to occur?
http://ask-leo.com/C4207

* * *

When do I actually need to run a virus scan?

Do you have more than one anti-virus program running at any one time, to stop newly arriving viruses, or do you just have them ready to run when you've got a virus and want to clean it out?

Virus scanners are best used to prevent viruses from ever reaching your machine, but you raise a very good issue that most folks don't realize.

There are two types of scans, and each has a place and a purpose.

Continue reading: When do I actually need to run a virus scan?
http://ask-leo.com/C2250

* * *

What are the pros and cons of web-based email over desktop email?

My wife and I once used Eudora where email was downloaded, but right now seem to be happy with the huge amount of space we have available for our web-based email on the ISP's servers. We do lots of housekeeping, retaining only what we need for as long as we need it. What other things should we consider? What does a traditional email program like Thunderbird provide that we might consider?

Web-based and PC-based or downloaded email are two fairly radically different ways to approach email. As you can imagine, there are arguments in favor of or against each, and which might be most appropriate for you depends on many things, not the least of which is what "feels" right to you.

I'll look at both, identifying what I think are the important issues, and also outline the approach I take.

Continue reading: What are the pros and cons of web-based email over desktop email?
http://ask-leo.com/C4203

* * *

Why did you tell people you weren't going to be home?

In your past few newsletters you mentioned that you were on a trip to down under. I wonder whether this is good practice. Lately there has been some rumor here about an internet site that mentions who is at home and who is not, based on public information they gather from the internet. They do this just to show how volatile people make themselves for burglary, just by tweeting around where they hang out. And although this site does it just to show and warn people (or at least they say so), others do the same thing for less altruistic reasons. And you helped them a great deal: shouting aloud "I'm not home!" Wouldn't it be worth to spend an article about this?

I've actually had a couple of people ask me this since I returned from my three week trip to Australia and New Zealand.

It is something I considered before I left, so it was indeed a decision I made rather than an accident.

I'll share some of my thoughts.

Continue reading: Why did you tell people you weren't going to be home?
http://ask-leo.com/C4199

* * *

Why is email between Hotmail accounts lost?

I used to exchange email with my husband using Hotmail. For the last year I can only send but can't receive from him anymore? What do you think happened? Would putting my email address as an alternative email in his account help? How can we resolve this problem?

To be completely honest, I'm not sure you can resolve it.

I've been getting more and more reports of email being lost - simply not being received - by Hotmail accounts.

And while I haven't seen any patterns, I'll speculate some on possible causes.

Continue reading: Why is email between Hotmail accounts lost?
http://ask-leo.com/C4196

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*** Comments

A sampling of some of the comments that have been posted recently on Ask Leo!

* * *

Do I need a firewall, and if so, what kind?

Brian writes:

-Leo

How do I know what to believe on the internet?

Mark writes:

-Leo

I have a massive malware infection, should I just get a new machine?

Charles Tilley writes:

How do you ask a question when you don't even know the right words to use?

Allen Woodside writes:

Dear Leo, I'm so glad your archive includes the topic: "How do you ask a question when you don't even know the right words to use?" I've had several computers and operating systems since the mid eighties and I'm still learning something new every day and especially with every up graded system. Sometimes I'm asked for help by friends or family. As eager as I am to lend some help, I'm often hampered by the person's lack of understanding of fundamental computer related terms necessary to either describe the problem or ask a question. (Whatchamacallit, dojigger, thingamjig, etc., just doesn't cut it!) I'm sending everyone I know a link to this article that is so well written. I'm also going to mention an important lesson I learned both professionally and as a computer owner. It's quite simple... Next best to knowing the answer to a question, is knowing where to get the answer! - As side from reading the manual or using the help option, "Ask Leo!" is at the top of my suggested list.

Thanks much and best regards, Woody (Retired PI)

*** Leo Recommends

Fujitsu ScanSnap - A Fast, Sheet-fed Document Scanner

This might appeal to only a small portion of my audience, but I've fallen in love with this device, and wanted to share it with those who'd find it as useful as I do.

I'm all about computers; I think you get that. But that also means that I'm all about using them - particularly when it comes to documents and document management. I find digital documents easier to store, backup and search than their paper counterparts. In general, I'd much prefer someone send me an email or give me an electronic copy of whatever document they're wanting to share - no need to waste paper for me.

On the other hand, between home ownership, running a couple of businesses and more, people are sending me paper every day. Paper that, in all honesty, I should keep - at least for a while. And yet, I'd really rather not.

You might guess that my ideal would be to scan all those documents into digital form, and then discard or shred the physical paper in favor of storing and backing up the documents on my computer. The problem is that traditional flatbed scanners are slow and cumbersome for any volume of scanning. And slow. Did I mention slow? And cumbersome?

The Fujitsu ScanSnap solves those issues.

Fujitsu ScanSnap - A Fast, Sheet-fed Document Scanner
http://ask-leo.com/C3552

Each week I recommend a specific product or resource that I've found valuable and that I think you may as well. What does my recommendation mean?

*** Popular Articles

This is actually one of my pet peeves. It's something I warn against, and in fact something I explicitly disallow in Ask Leo! comments - and yet...

Posting on the bathroom wall.

Would post your phone number on a bathroom wall? Then why do so many people do the internet equivalent?

I'll start by apologizing.

I'm sorry if I sound annoyed. In reality, bemused or somewhat disappointed would be more accurate.

Let me ask you this: would you write your phone number on the wall of a bathroom? Or maybe your email address? Well, of course you wouldn't. In fact, these days you probably want to be careful about putting your contact information out on anything viewable by the general public - anything from a newspaper want ad to a lost pet poster.

Why?

Because there are people out there who will abuse that information.

Continue reading...
Posting on the bathroom wall.
http://ask-leo.com/C2959

*** Thoughts and Comments

I'm still accepting ideas for "swag" out on the Facebook fan page - click here to go directly to the discussion. I'll draw this to a close and declare a winner on 3/12.

As most of you hopefully realize, Ask Leo! is advertiser supported, and the ads you see on the site - unless they explicitly say I "recommend" something - don't imply any endorsement or even any experience with the products being advertised. I regularly see ads on my own site for products I've never heard of. As with all advertising where ever it might be, it's your responsibility to beware of claims, promises and policies. There are many, many fine products being advertised here, and a few less-than-fine.

I can't check them all out. However I do listen to your experiences. I can't react to every negative experience - every product or service has some negative experiences and unhappy customers. However when I do hear of a particularly troublesome scenario, or repeated stories of bad experiences then I'll take action - typically blocking them.

There's at least one advertiser that disappeared from the site this week.

Speaking of announcing where I'm traveling, I'll be in Albuquerque on Sunday April 11th and will be having some kind of meet-up (perhaps with a special surprise guest ) that afternoon or evening. I'll announce more details here, but if you're in the area it'd be great if you could stop by. (And for those that read the article Why did you tell people you weren't going to be home? above: once again the house won't be empty and it will have 6 noisy dogs in it :-).

Leo A. Notenboom

*** Administration

Need more help with or have questions about the newsletter? Check out the newsletter administration page.

Newsletter contents Copyright © 2010,
Leo A. Notenboom & Puget Sound Software, LLC.

Leo's Answers #220 - March 2, 2010

leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 08:00:00 -08:00

A Weekly Newsletter From
Ask Leo!
Leo Notenboom

Hello!

Newsletter questions? Check the newsletter administration page. You can also unsubscribe using the link at the bottom of this email.

*** New Articles

How do I remove Windows Media Player from being the default media player?

How do you delete a program as default? I wish to take Windows Media Player off as default. It does not handle half the extensions as some other players.

By "default" I'm going to assume that you mean the default for playing a media file when you double click on it.

It is possible to remove the associations, but honestly, I don't think that's what you really want. Removing the association leaves you with no program to be the default.

Instead, you want to replace the default program with the one of your choosing. Doing that by hand can be difficult, but many programs have a shortcut that makes it pretty easy.

Continue reading: How do I remove Windows Media Player from being the default media player?
http://ask-leo.com/C4191

* * *

Does my ISP really connect to the internet through only a single router?

Last week my ISP had a state wide outage. Is it really true that ALL of this ISP's internet in my state goes through ONE and only one router. Shouldn't there be redundant routers in case one fails?

Naturally, the actual question mentioned a specific ISP, but I reworded to protect the innocent.

And yes, innocent, I do believe they were. It's certainly possible, I'd truly be shocked if any major ISP - and even a few not-so-major ISPs - were silly enough to put that large a customer base behind a single point of failure. Heck, I'd be shocked if there were a router powerful enough to single-handedly handle all the ISPs traffic for a single U.S. state.

However, there are other single points of failure that are much more common, even though they shouldn't be, and much more vulnerable than you might think.

I'll put it this way: never underestimate the power of a backhoe.

Continue reading: Does my ISP really connect to the internet through only a single router?
http://ask-leo.com/C4190

* * *

Is it worth upgrading to Windows 7?

Is it worth up grading from Vista to windows 7? If so what cost and can I do it without causing problems? how do I do it?

My recommendation for how to do it is simple - reformat and reinstall - and I'll explain why I always recommend that.

Whether you should upgrade isn't quite so simple, and falls into the "it depends" bucket.

Overall I'm pretty happy with Windows 7, and based on the rate of questions and problems I'm hearing about, it's doing fairly well for other people as well.

Continue reading: Is it worth upgrading to Windows 7?
http://ask-leo.com/C4189

* * *

Can just opening an email download both viruses and spyware?

I have read various articles that state that viruses can be downloaded just by opening an email, without having to click on an attachment. I'm wondering if spyware is the same. Does it require me to physically click on an attachment for the spyware program to run or can the spyware be activated simply by opening an email to view it? And can the spyware be launched a second time on a different computer if I click on it again?

This whole "can I get a virus just by reading email" question has been around a very long time. These days it's not really much of a risk at all, but once upon a time there was a very real danger.

And, of course, you can still face that risk with a misconfigured email program.

Part of the question being asked here also is would spyware be any different?

Continue reading: Can just opening an email download both viruses and spyware?
http://ask-leo.com/C4188

* * *

What good is an image backup if I just want to backup and restore my data?

Having read your answer about what backup to use, I still don't get one thing - if I am backing up a hard drive using a drive image backup program, but then switch computers (and upgrade to windows 7), and THEN want to restore my data to the new computer, an image won't work, correct? What program works on backing up just my data, so I can have it available on my new computer?

Not necessarily correct.

An image created by most backup programs will work just fine for the scenario you outline. In fact, I often rely on it myself.

Let me explain how that works.

Continue reading: What good is an image backup if I just want to backup and restore my data?
http://ask-leo.com/C4182

*** Our Sponsor

Advertisement. Ask Leo about advertising here.

*** Comments

A sampling of some of the comments that have been posted recently on Ask Leo!

* * *

Where does Outlook Express put my mail folders?

Mitts writes:

Leo, now that you have told us where to find the messages stored by Outlook Express, my question is, obviously there is a lot of old "stuff" stored in that folder. Can these be cleaned right out? For simplicity's sake, like emptying out the Recycle Bin?

This technically challenged senior would like to know.

Thanks

In all honesty - I wouldn't. My experience with the questions I get is that Outlook Express's database is very fragile. Cleaning attempts often result in lost email and corrupt databases. Unless you have a specific problem you're trying to solve, I'd leave well enough alone.

-Leo

How do I contact Windows Live Hotmail customer service?

Robin Gartee writes:

I keep getting emails from Windows Microsoft Center asking for my ID, password, date of birth, country, occupation and alternate email. Says if I don't provide this info I will lose my account permanently. I know this is not windows live hotmail sending this but I know of no way to turn them in which could save some people a lot of problems should they provide this info.

They already know about it and are doing what they can (which is very little). Simply ignore the emails.

-Leo

How do I contact Windows Live Hotmail customer service?

Anthony Dempsey writes:

Hi, I received an email lately supposedly from a friend entitled Hi so I opened it and it was an advertising email telling me that my friend had purchased a phone and that I should do the same. The email to my recollection came with no attachment but a link to this product which I did not click. I deleted the email and the next day I started receiving emails from friends of mine who had received the same email from me. This thing had hacked my address book and then deleted all my contacts. Is there any way I can get them back. My account was not stolen I have no problem logging in, I have changed my password, is my account now ok? Thanks.

Quite possibly not - read this article: Is changing my password enough?

-Leo

*** Leo Recommends

Seagate FreeAgent Go - Portable USB External Harddrive

I currently own five of these.

If that isn't a recommendation I don't know what is.

One of the problems with recommending a specific disk drive is that drives change, capacities increase and what I might tell you about today may not even be available next year. The external drive I recommended some years ago is no longer even being made.

With that having been said, today the FreeAgent Go is an incredibly handy and valuable device.

The version I use has a capacity of 500 Gigabytes, all in a package that's smaller than a paperback book.

Seagate FreeAgent Go - Portable USB External Harddrive
http://ask-leo.com/C3834

Each week I recommend a specific product or resource that I've found valuable and that I think you may as well. What does my recommendation mean?

*** Popular Articles

BCC - Blind Carbon Copy - is one of those topics that keeps coming up again and again and again. While many people want to see who else was BCC'd on an email they've received (you cannot), it's often useful to be able to see who you BCC'd on an email you sent. That might work.

How do I find the list of BCC'd recipients in outgoing email?

How do we find out who we listed in the "BCC" section in our outgoing email? In other words, how do we display the BCC addresses after having sent the message to the recipients? I know it is virtually impossible to do this for incoming emails with Outlook 2003. With the Mac Environment it is extremely simple since all one has to do is view the raw source and code information for the outgoing message(s).

This isn't as much about the environment (Mac or PC) as it is about the email program that you're using. Some make it easy, some make hard, and others make it impossible.

Continue reading...
How do I find the list of BCC'ed recipients in outgoing email?
http://ask-leo.com/C2948

*** Thoughts and Comments

I'm still accepting ideas for "swag" out on the Facebook fan page - click here to go directly to the discussion. I'll be giving away at least one of those Seagate FreeAgent drives (this week's recommendation, above) to the best idea.

And a reminder that you'll find updates, some occasional additional commentary and notes - as well as an open discussion group - out on that Facebook fan page. Come join the fun.

Only the fan page last week: How do you select the articles you write about?

Leo A. Notenboom

*** Administration

Need more help with or have questions about the newsletter? Check out the newsletter administration page.

Newsletter contents Copyright © 2010,
Leo A. Notenboom & Puget Sound Software, LLC.

Leo's Answers #219 - February 23, 2010

leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 08:00:00 -08:00

A Weekly Newsletter From
Ask Leo!
Leo Notenboom

Hello!

Newsletter questions? Check the newsletter administration page. You can also unsubscribe using the link at the bottom of this email.

*** New Articles

So do I need the Windows Firewall or not?

I'm really confused. With the new Windows XP SP2 Security Alert System, do we still need a firewall to stop outbound traffic? If we get a router, (LINKSYS), does that take care of everything, which means we need to disable Windows Firewall to avoid false alarms?

There's a lot of misunderstanding about firewalls, routers, and other security software. When Windows XP service pack two was released it definitely put security and particularly the firewall, "in your face". Subsequent releases of Windows now also include the firewall and turn it on by default.

It's a great opportunity to find out what you need ... and what you don't.

Continue reading: So do I need the Windows Firewall or not?
http://ask-leo.com/C2186

* * *

Where do Facebook friend suggestions come from?

I have occasionally received 'invitations' from people most of whom I know only vaguely, to join them on Facebook. I've no wish to join Facebook, so just ignore these. Yesterday, however, I received yet another invitation, from someone who runs art classes I once enquired about. Underneath, Facebook lists three other people who have invited me in the past. And, below that, there is a list of nine other people 'whom you may know' - none of whom have ever invited me, and three of whom I have had only very basic contact with - eg a single enquiry made to an archivist.

This really worries me - how do Facebook know that I have ever had any contact with these people? Can Facebook access their emails, see where they are all going to, and cross-reference them with people who have received an invitation from elsewhere? Or can they, having once been given my email address, somehow gain access to my sent messages, see where they are being sent to, and cross-reference them against their existing Facebook membership??

This really worries me - it just seems such an invasion of my privacy, and concerns me that they may be able to access all sorts of personal information and conversations.

Can you explain how this can be happening, and suggest any way to block it, please??

I'm not privy to all the details of how Facebook actually works. That being said, I can hazard a guess as to how Facebook (or any social network with similar capabilities) might be making these recommendations.

No, Facebook's not looking at anyone's email, outside of whatever messages might be getting sent on Facebook itself.

They're making what I'd best characterize as "an educated guess".

Continue reading: Where to Facebook friend suggestions come from?
http://ask-leo.com/C4168

* * *

Is my ISP calling me to clear up my problems with Windows?

Perhaps you might be interested in this little anecdote.

Yesterday about noon, the telephone rang.

It was an Indian woman - the conversation is as I recall it ...

What follows is one of the most brazen scam attempts I've seen in a while. Fortunately the person reporting it had the right instincts and was able to avoid getting taken.

Let's look at the transcript provided, and I'll identify all of the warning signs with [notes] as we go.

Continue reading: Is my ISP calling me to clear up my problems with Windows?
http://ask-leo.com/C4164

* * *

What does "Notification of Limited Account Access" mean?

The phrase "Limited Account Access" is something we all see pretty regularly - unless our spam filter is really, really good. Spoofing a "Limited Account Access" notification is an extremely common approach used by scammers to trick you into giving them access to your PayPal account, or perhaps information that could be used for purposes of identity theft.

So, naturally, when I received that message for the hundredth time, I gave it very little notice.

Until, that is, I logged into my PayPal account.

Continue reading: What does "Notification of Limited Account Access" mean?
http://ask-leo.com/C4151

* * *

How do I know what to believe on the internet?

A very good friend - a mentor and inspiration for Ask Leo!, in fact - has fallen victim to a particularly nasty form of fraud. It turns into an important lesson for all of us in understanding what we can, and cannot believe on the internet.

Here's the scenario...

There's a web site that, for lack of a better term, promotes a "get rich quick" scheme. I'm not going to name names, because I don't want to give them any press or links or page views. In fact, the specifics aren't important here - the situation, however, is.

On this web site, near the bottom is a glowing testimonial. From my friend.

A testimonial that he never provided.

Continue reading: How do I know what to believe on the internet?
http://ask-leo.com/C4150

* * *

How did you backup while on your trip?

My wife and I recently returned (or rather are returning - I'm writing this at 31,000 feet somewhere over the Pacific Ocean) from a 3 week trip to Australia and New Zealand. Being who I am, and doing what I do, both for fun and for business, you can imagine that some technology accompanied me: my laptop and my digital camera.

Prior to leaving I put some serious thought into exactly how best to ensure that I was prepared for various misfortunes that can happen while on the road. Given how often I cajole, preach and harp on "backup, backup, backup!" I also needed to set a good example as well - nothing would be more embarrassing in my position than suffering catastrophic data loss that could have been prevented by some form of backup.

Understanding what I needed began with a simple assessment of what data I would have, what might go wrong, and understanding the relative priorities of it all.

Continue reading: How did you backup while on your trip?
http://ask-leo.com/C4139

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*** Comments

A sampling of some of the comments that have been posted recently on Ask Leo!

* * *

Can my ISP monitor my internet usage?

Jack S. writes:

Hi Leo: I noticed you mentioned that with services like Anonymizer and Tor, your ISP will know (or can know, if they look) that you are using those services but will not know where you are surfing. A few questions for the fully paranoid:

1) What would that look like to the ISP while you are surfing? Would some specific data that says "Anonymizer" or "Tor" show up as the site you are currently visiting?
2) If so, would the very fact that they now know you are using such a service cause suspicion? "Hmmm. This guy's using Tor. He must be up to something. Let's look a little closer."
3) Is it possible that some ISPs prohibit the use of such services, and could therefore cancel your service for violation of terms? I have read my ISPs terms of service, and it says nothing about it that I can find. My colleagues have done the same and found nothing in their agreements either.

Thank you for this great site! I just found it today and as a student studying cyber laws I am very interested in these topics.

1) Exactly - they'll be able to see that you've connected to an anonymization service.
2) No idea. Most people aren't interesting enough to even be looking at, so they may never notice. Most folks have an over-developed sense of paranoia, I've found. Not that *some* people aren't being watched, but most people are not.
3) Depends entirely on the ISP, the agreements and who knows what else. Is it possible? Sure. Will they? Unlikely, I would think.

-Leo

How do I fix this problem uninstalling Microsoft Office 2010 (Beta)?

Bob writes:

Some of the software I have used (and updated) for some years now, is still "Beta".

By keeping their software as a Beta release, companies avoid having to be responsible for their own code screw-ups - this effectively removes ANY rights you may think you have regarding damage caused to your PC, and even if their software is fit for purpose.

It is a legal loop-hole that companies have exploited for far too long.

I'm sure that's true for many companies. Microsoft appears to do it right, though, by ending and putting time limits on Beta versions of their software. I think the appeal is that Beta software like this is often distributed without monetary cost - the only cost is in the carnage it can create on your machine.

-Leo

How do I remove the sender's address before forwarding an email?

Richard writes:

I usually remove the entire Header block when forwarding an e-mail for bulk distribution, rather than just deleting the "From" field.

After pressing Forward, I Select and Copy just the part of the body that I want recipients to actually get (leaving out the header block and (for example) the Incredimail rubbish at the bottom) then Select All, Delete (to delete the entire body of the e-mail) and Paste back (into the now blank e-mail) just the useful part of the original e-mail.

A very useful approach - I'm sure that those receiving your emails appreciate it.

-Leo

*** Leo Recommends

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Mozilla's Thunderbird is my choice for email. I use it all day every day, and I can heartily recommend it as an often more powerful and capable replacement for mail programs like Outlook Express, Windows Live Mail and many other desktop email applications.

The feature list is long, but I want to call out some of my favorite features and some of the things that personally draw me to Thunderbird and cause me to make it my recommendation for almost anyone using a desktop email program.

Thunderbird - A Free, Open Source, and Powerful Email Client
http://ask-leo.com/C3451

Each week I recommend a specific product or resource that I've found valuable and that I think you may as well. What does my recommendation mean?

*** Popular Articles

This is actually a podcast from three years ago (there's a transcript), but even as I was preparing my newsletter there was a report of a new botnet targeted at specifically what this podcast was all about.

Change Your Password - No, not that one...

You probably need to change a password, but not the one you think.

News reports surfaced this week telling of a newly discovered vulnerability. Well, it's certainly not a new vulnerability, and whether or not it's really been "newly discovered" is arguable too. But it's definitely making the news.

As well it should.

Continue reading...
Change Your Password - No, not that one...
http://ask-leo.com/C2937

*** Thoughts and Comments

Heee's Baaack!

My wife Kathy and I had a wonderful time in Australia and New Zealand. As you might expect there were a few minor hiccups, but the emphasis is on the minor (if you can call a cyclone "minor", that is ). 6 hotels, 10 airplanes and ~2,300 pictures later, though, it's great to be home.

TravelsWithLeo.com includes updates I posted while on the trip along with comments from a few folks who kept tabs on us while we were traveling. In addition Kathy's been writing up more a detailed travelogue there in installments as well.

My thanks also to readers Bruce, Bruce, Lynn and Dean who met with me in Sydney, and John, Dave and Jerry who met with me in Auckland. The meetups were fun, and I'll probably do more of them on my less exotic trips.

I'd like your help.

Ask Leo! has a fan page on Facebook. I encourage you to head out there and become a fan for a couple of reasons: it's one-stop-shopping for new articles as they're posted, my Twitter postings and the occasional posting that's Facebook-only. I'm planning to use that fan page to post some things that don't quite fit into the normal "Q&A" format, or things that just don't quite make sense as articles on Ask Leo!, but are things I want to talk about anyway. For example, I recently made a post there on Tech-related security issues during my recent travels.

There's also a discussion board out there where I'll be asking for your opinions from time to time.

In fact, I've already started.

On the discussion board you'll find my first request for your thoughts: I Need Your Ideas. And as some incentive, you'll find that I'm giving away at least one, perhaps more, Seagate FreeAgent Go 500GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Disks for the best ideas.

So, go be my fan on Facebook, enter the discussion and share your ideas.

They'll be very much appreciated.

Leo A. Notenboom

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Leo's Answers #218 - February 16, 2010

leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 08:00:00 -08:00

A Weekly Newsletter From
Ask Leo!
Leo Notenboom

Hello!

Do you have a question for me? Don't hit reply! Head instead for the Ask Leo! home page and search the site first - seriously, around half the questions people ask are already answered there. You can also browse the archives, past newsletters and more. If you still can't find the answer you're looking for then by all means ask your question here (it's the fastest way).

Newsletter questions? Check the newsletter administration page. You can also unsubscribe using the link at the bottom of this email.

*** New Articles

Back From Down Under Version!

No new articles this week - I'm recovering from my vacation! See the Thoughts and Comments section, below, for more.

*** Comments

A sampling of some of the comments that have been posted on Ask Leo!

* * *

How can I know that emails I sent were received and opened?

Janet writes:

Most of these comments are re-statements of what Leo has said. The various commercial services which offer "delivery confirmation" are embedding a small-- typically one-pixel and marked transparent-- image that must be fetched from their servers. If the receiver's e-mail program requests that picture, then you know that the e-mail program is trying to display the e-mail. But as Leo said, if the receiver's e-mail program is set to not display pictures, then you won't know that your message has been opened. And, some e-mail programs display a pre-view of the message, which will make it look like the e-mail was read, when in reality is was just partially displayed on the screen. The human recipient might not even be physically present at the terminal when that happens, if he/she left the e-mail client up over night.

Zaher's comment explains how to request a receipt. As Leo said, however, most e-mail servers will ignore the request without notifying anyone. Some companies do enable this feature, but typically for *internal* e-mails only; so this might have some applicability for you.

Russ's comment about the "click the link" e-mails is a version of what Leo said about private messaging. If you look at the details of the link by right clicking on it, you'll probably see a long string of apparent gibberish after the site name. That's a "serial number" if you will, which identifies you as a recipient of a previous e-mail to the server when you click on the link. The server then gives you a custom response-- reset your password, view the important message, whatever. This requires your recipient to click on a link, however-- and we all know that you should not do that unless you're VERY sure that you know what you're doing.

Adding yourself to the "To:" line will tell you if your message was sent to the outbound queue, but it doesn't tell you that any of the other recipients received it. Usually, you can get the same result by looking in your outbox or sent items folder as well. Beyond telling you that your LAN and the backside of your own e-mail server is up, it doesn't tell you much. Although I should say, I use this technique myself fairly frequently, because I like filing copies of my outbound mail in the same folder as inbound mail from each client or project. But that doesn't mean it is a solid proxy for receipt.

Lastly, most e-mail programs have a display setting to inform you whether you have read an e-mail or not-- an open letter symbol, boldfacing, etc. This is a display setting only-- no notification is sent to the sender, and the user can change a message status from "read" to "unread" and back any number of times, with or without actually reading it. I have a BlackBerry and a laptop, and e-mails opened on one will still appear as "unread" on the other device, for example. So that wouldn't help the sender track who has or has not read a message.

In short-- ditto what Leo said. E-mail is just not feasible for highly time-sensitive or legally-binding communications-- for many, many reasons; the lack of delivery confirmation is just one of them.

Someone's sending email that looks like it's from me to my contacts, what can I do?

Joao writes:

Leo,

I think the email account does not need to be compromised for this to happen... but correct me if I am wrong:

1st, many people still keep sending emails to loads of people in CC rather than using BCC. That makes those emails easy picking and ripe for the harvest by bots... and they will be added, alongside yours, to spam lists, etc.

2nd, spammers these days have ways (a simple script can do this I think you mention it and it's called spoofing) to have any email inserted in the sent from... and sent to anyone they want, including all those found in not only spammers' lists but also those harvested from your CC fields. The familiar, recognizable email address on the sent from will make your friends trust the email... and get their machines compromised.

I have received emails from myself ~:\ with spam...

My email accounts have not been hacked into. It's a gamble... if your email has been around long enough, chances are, it will fall in the hands of spammers, even if you take all precautions, because many of your friends may not and will still expose your email on that CC field...

Maybe the best option (and I do not use it because still could not find something I like) is one of those automatic replies, that requires a one time confirmation --- proof that a human, not a bot, is on the other side of the line...

Know of any free PHO or CGI script that does this Leo?

What can also be done is create a "key" that tells your friends the email really is from you, for example, inserting in the subject line, before anything else, a signature of sorts... ex., {JaySafe2read}

Thanks for your time and all the wonderful work you do here.

Joao

The focus of this article is specifically when people can see that it's recipients in their address book that are being spammed. That's happening a lot. Yes, it's trivial for spammers to spoof a From: address, but those emails are typically random and not a blast to your entire address book at once. That's this article, by the way: Someone's sending from my email address! How do I stop them?!

I understand the appeal of challenge/response systems as they're known, but I hate them. They make the sender of an email pay the price in time and inconvenience. Most of the time if I get such a challenge, I ignore it, as I'm sure many people do. You won't get spam, but you also won't get a lot of emails you want. Imagine having a newsletter of 100,000 subscribers and getting challenge response floods every time you send a newsletter. And that's this article: What's this confirmation request I got when I emailed someone?

And for completeness, here's my article on using BCC to reduce spam: How does using BCC help reduce spam?

-Leo

*** Leo Recommends

ImgBurn
Free CD/DVD Burning Tool

There are many CD burning tools out there, including several popular free ones as well as several commercial ones. In fact, there's a good chance you might have a trial version of on of the commercial products on your machine right now - they're often included in the pre-installed software.

I use ImgBurn: it's free, it's lightweight, it does more than I'd ever need, and it's relatively easy to use.

I say that it's "relatively" easy to use, because its interface can be just a tad intimidating to the first time user. To overcome that, let me show you how to do a few common operations using ImgBurn.

ImgBurn - Free CD/DVD Burning Tool
http://ask-leo.com/C3612

Each week I recommend a specific product or resource that I've found valuable and that I think you may as well. What does my recommendation mean?

*** Popular Articles

An extremely simple security setting that's important, and easy to overlook.

Change Your Password - No, not that one...

You probably need to change a password, but not the one you think.

As well it should.

Continue reading...
Change Your Password - No, not that one...
http://ask-leo.com/C2937

To be honest, this frustrates the heck out of me every time I hear it:

I have a massive malware infection, should I just get a new machine?

I have downloaded much of my music from the piratebay and torrentspy using bittorrent. I recently bought a new computer because my old computer had too many viruses to be repaired and now I want to transfer the music to the new computer. I was wondering if because my old computer was extremely infected with viruses and because my music has come from an untrustworthy source is it safe to put that music on the new computer so that the new computer will not be infected with viruses?

•

Clearly downloading files from untrustworthy sources is bad. Transferring those files to another computer doesn't magically make them safe.

But that's not why I'm addressing this question.

You should never have to buy a new computer because of virus infections.

Never.

I hear this often enough that I want to address it and clear up the confusion.

Continue reading...
I have a massive malware infection, should I just get a new machine?
http://ask-leo.com/C3654

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*** Thoughts and Comments

OK, I'm home. Or, rather, if all went as planned, I'm home.

But, to be honest, between travel and jet-lag and time zones and what will no doubt be a huge pile of mail (both electronic and otherwise) that's accumulated while I've been away, I've extended these vacation newsletters for an additional week - just so I can have some time to catch up. If I'm on the ball, the "ask a question" form has been turned back on, though.

You should start seeing new answers trickle out in the mailbag, new articles appear on Ask Leo! this week, and a brand new newsletter a week from now.

I predict that I'm tired and probably happy to be back in my own bed.

Leo A. Notenboom

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