|
|||
|
0. EDITORIAL: Free Virtualization Software Get the Nod 0.0 EDITORIALLast month's editorial on safe surfing drew a big response from subscribers. In particular, folks just raved about Sandboxie, the free utility that allows you to safely surf the net in a virtual layer on your PC. Colin Drew's email was typical: "Gizmo, it's just like you said. This Sandboxie thing has changed my whole attitude to surfing. I'm no longer afraid where I go on the web or paranoid about downloading and trying out new stuff." For those who missed last month's issue, Sandboxie is a freeware utility for users of Windows 2000 and later that creates a special contained "sandbox" environment on your PC. While browsing within the virtual sandbox provided by Sandboxie you are totally corralled off from other parts of your PC. Any files you download are isolated to the sandbox. Similarly, any programs that are executed only do so within the sandbox and have no access to your normal files, the Windows operating system or any other part of your PC. A number of products offer similar capabilities to Sandboxie but the feature that distinguishes it from most of these is that it can be launched right from your desktop with no re-booting. That's a really big plus. Usage is remarkably simple. To start a sandboxed browsing session you just click the Sandboxie icon in from the Quick Launch tray and this will launch your default browser in the sandbox. You can then use it in the normal way to browse to sites or download files. If you run a downloaded file it will install normally but again will be corralled off from your real PC. Any files it writes to your hard drive, any changes to the Windows Registry or changes to the Windows startup will be held in a separate area within the sandbox. Similarly, any new processes running in your computer memory will be sandboxed. After you have finished browsing you can right click the Sandboxie icon and delete all sandboxed files and processes and your PC will be returned to the exact same state it was in before the browsing session. The advantage is clear: any spyware, trojans, keyloggers or other malware products that infected your PC while browsing will be eliminated. It's an attractive idea and I can see why so many subscribers have been so enthusiastic about Sandboxie. Now, with all you folks putting such faith in the product I feel I need to say a little more about Sandboxie and to answer a few questions. First, how safe is Sandboxie? I've done some more testing with Sandboxie to see how well it isolates your "real" PC from infection. These were tough tests involving visits to drive-by download sites that utilized Windows flaws to install up to 50MB of particularly nasty malware. Additionally, I installed a number of rootkit-disguised spyware programs, two keyloggers and a RAT trojan as well. I'm happy to say Sandboxie provided full protection. Once I stopped all sandboxed processes and erased all sandboxed files, there were no active malware products left on my PC. I'm not saying that Sandboxie provides 100% total protection; no single security product can provide that. What I can say from my testing is that Sandboxie provides a level of protection so high that you can use it with full confidence. Even if you use Sandboxie for all your browsing you still need other security software installed on your PC: an antivirus scanner, an anti spyware scanner, a firewall and more. As I said, no security product is perfect, Sandboxie included. That's why you need several layers of defense just in case Sandboxie fails. A second question I need to clarify about Sandboxie is its privacy. Because Sandboxie erases all traces of a browsing session, it's clearly a good way of enhancing your privacy. Any record of the sites you visited and any files you downloaded will be erased. Well, not quite. While all sandboxed files may have been deleted they could be undeleted by a skilled operator in the same way any deleted file on your PC may be recovered. This may not be likely but it's quite possible. If you want to truly erase deleted Sandboxie material then you should clean your hard drive "unused" space after browsing using a forensic level file deleter such as the open source program "Eraser." But even that won't guarantee complete privacy. There may be records of your browsing session at your ISP, your company's server and at the sites you visited. This privacy risk is very small but can be reduced by using a free anonymizing service like Tor or Jap while browsing with Sandboxie. Reduced yes, but eliminated, no. Nothing you do on the Internet should ever be considered absolutely 100% private and confidential. Yes, the risk of disclosure is minute, but never engage in any internet activity based on the assumption that they can never be found out by a law enforcement authority or other agency with privileged access. See you next month. Sandboxie:
Free for non-commercial use, Windows 2000 and later,
310KB.
PS This month I'm giving away six free copies of the the top rated Anti virus NOD32 plus lots of Google GMail invites. For details, see below. Support Alert relies on paid subscriptions to survive. If you feel that you've benefited from reading this newsletter perhaps you would like to consider donating by subscribing to the premium "Supporters' Edition" of this newsletter. The Premium SE Edition contains almost twice the number of great tech sites, free utilities, tips and other content as the free edition. It's also ad-free. You'll also get immediate access to the archive of all past issues of the Premium Supporters' Edition of the newsletter where you can catch up on the hundreds of great utilities you missed in the free edition. The SE Edition is a great deal and at $10 per year it's a bargain. This month I'm giving away to new subscribers, six free copies of the the top rated Anti virus NOD32. NOD32 is a brilliant program for protecting your PC yet it only consumes a modest amount of your computing resources. That's why I use it on my key work computers. At $39 it's good value but it's even better value when you can get it for free. The six copies I'm giving away will be allocated at random but your chances of scoring one are actually quite good. So if you have been thinking of subscribing, now's the time. I'm also giving away invites to Google Gmail to new SE subscribers. Last month everyone who wanted one got one and I expect the same to happen this month. Just email me at editor@techsupportalert.com after subscribing to the Premium SE Edition and I'll send your invitation. Even if you don't win anything you'll still get my special report "Gizmo's Desert Island Utilities" which outlines the software I use myself, including many free product HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE PREMIUM SE EDITION 12 months subscription to the Supporters' Edition costs $10 which can be made by check or credit card using either ClickBank or PayPal or simply send cash. Use
the link below to subscribe now: 1.0 TOP TECH SITES AND RESOURCES1.1 New Name for This NewsletterMany thanks to the 2000+ subscribers who wrote in with suggestions for a new name. There were so many clever suggestions that I was yet again reminded of the enormous collective intelligence of my subscribers. Folks, I feel humbled in your presence. Thanks. Of the thousands of suggestions, there was near unanimous agreement that the new name must mention "Gizmo." Bearing that in mind, I've selected a list of finalists and registered the domain names. Unfortunately, some of the best names had to be excluded as their domain names were taken. Now may I ask a favor? Could you please vote for the name you prefer most? You can vote just by clicking the lname you like best. As a thank-you, everyone who votes will get access to a great freebie that I've just discovered and didn't have time to include in this issue. GizmoGold 1.2 Google Launches Calendar, Acquires WritelyGoogle
has officially launched Google Calendar [1], a free Ajax-
powered web calendar application. It's a fast, searchable, multi-
calendar with reminder capabilities that allows users to store
and share appointments. It's tightly integrated with GMail and
can import data from Yahoo Calendar and Microsoft Outlook. One
of the most interesting features is the smart text recognition
that allows automatic event classification based on your text
descriptions. For example, if you typed in, "have lunch with
Gizmo at 12.30 at Cafe Roma," it would be automatically
classified in the event database without the need for manual
selection. Your calendars can be optionally shared with
nominated users via RSS and reminders can be sent via SMS.
During the month, Google also announced that it had acquired the
outstanding Ajax-based web word processor called Writely [2].
Between this, the web Calendar, GMail and Google Chat it's clear
the much speculated-on Google free web-based application suite
is starting to take shape. 1.3 Promising Anonymizing NetworkI2P
[1] is an initiative to provide a fully distributed and self
organizing anonymous P2P network. "I2P is designed to allow
peers using I2P to communicate with each other anonymously —
both sender and recipient are unidentifiable to each other as
well as to third parties." It allows for anonymous web hosting
within I2P and anonymous proxy access to sites outside I2P. It
also supports BitTorrent file sharing. This is a complex product
so I suggest you start with the noob's guide [2]. Also of
interest is the web page [3] comparing various anonymizing
systems such as Tor and Jap. 1.4 FireFox TipsLots
of useful hints including information I've not seen
elsewhere. 1.5 Advanced GoogleGoogle
can do much more than search. For example to convert 150
Euros to US dollars just type in "150 Euros in USD." To see
some of Google's other amazing capabilities check out this cheat
sheet. 1.6 Video How-To SiteSubscriber
'Hopper' writes: "Gizmo, here's another great site
for just about anything to do with video. This is a very
extensive site with sections on guides, tools, hardware, media
and more. It's one of the first sites I check when trying to
find a guide or special tool for a specific job." Nice find,
Hopper. This site is just packed with useful information.
1.7 Good List of Portable ApplicationsWikiPedia
has an excellent categorized list of programs that
don't require installing and thus can be used on your USB Flash
drive. 1.8 Lots of Clever Free UtilitiesThe
Donation Coder site is offering hundreds of free utilities
all full-featured with no nag screens. They use a novel
licensing system: you have to register to get a free license key
which allows you to download any number of programs on the site.
This key lasts six months after which you must return to the
site to download another free license key. After a year you are
given a permanent license. Alternatively, you can make a once-up
donation of any size and get a permanent key straight away. It's
a clever and ethical way to encourage users to recognize the
work done by freeware authors and I support it fully. The
quality of the utility programs offered is very high and a
number are unique in what they do. Highly recommended.
** Additional Items in the Premium SE Edition ** 1.9
Hot Prices for Computer Cabling
1.10
The Final Solution to Computer Cooling Problems
1.11
The Dangers of Public Proxy Servers
1.12 Useful Windows Run Command Cheat SheetGot
some great tech sites to suggest? Send them to:
editor@techsupportalert.com 2.0 TOP FREEWARE AND SHAREWARE UTILITIES2.1 The Best Free Notes OrganizerEvernote
is designed to help you organize all those random bits
of information hanging around your PC: bookmarks, articles, bits
of text, interesting web links, shopping lists, to-do lists,
recipes, tips, etc. It's a common problem but a difficult one to
solve as the information is so disparate. Some folks have tried
to solve the problem by using free form databases while others
use beefed up text editors or multi-media snippet managers.
Evernote approaches the problem by allowing you to store your
notes on an endless "roll" of virtual paper. You can create
notes on the roll, drag and drop them or cut and paste them.
Images can be stored as well as text. You can access the stored
information several different ways: by searching for keywords,
by using a category classification such as "recipes", by the
date it was created or any combination of these. Toolbars for
Internet Explorer and Firefox allow web site information to be
highlighted and moved directly to Evernote together with a
hyperlink back to the web site. A similar capability is provided
for Outlook email. Sure, all this sounds nice but does it work?
I evaluated Evernote for a month by using it to collect
information for this newsletter. In this demanding task, I
found it effective in doing the job and to work just about as
well as anything else I've tried including Microsoft's OneNote.
It's got a few annoying weaknesses though. If you move an email
message to another folder after you have posted the information
to Evernote, it loses the link. This is a fatal flaw for me as I
only have two mail folders - my inbox for unread mail and the
deleted folder for everything else - so everything gets moved
after I've read it. Additionally, the category system is weak.
What is needed is the ability to assign tags not categories and
to be able to search using those tags in the same manner as you
can at del.icio.us and similar sites. That said, Evernote is an
outstanding free product and will provide many folks with an
excellent solution to note, snippet and general information
management problems. Tablet computer users may want to check out
the $34.95 "Plus" version that also handles hand-written notes.
Freeware, Windows 2000 and later, 8.4MB 2.2 The Best Free Virtual Desktop ManagerThis
review was prepared by regular contributor A.K. "I looked
at a whole batch of free VDMs including VirtuaWin [1], Microdesk
[2], Dexpot [3] and Virtual Desktop Toolbox [4]. VirtuaWin is a
competent but basic product that depends on third-party modules
for extra features but unfortunately there aren't many around.
Microdesk comes with more standard features such as 99 desktops,
configurability of each desktop (name, password, wallpaper and
icons), an attractive interface and a configurable transparent
menu above the tray bar to navigate between desktops. However,
there is no detailed FAQ and no forum. Dexpot allows even more
configurability for each of its 20 possible desktops with its
well-organized interface and enables easy switching between
desktops and quick movement of windows. However, the online
documentation is very incomplete and the most active section of
the online forum is in German. Virtual Desktop Toolbox is loaded
with features which the other three lack. The negative is that
it takes a little longer to learn. However, the pain is eased by
the very thorough user's guide and tips and tricks folder
included in the installation and also available online [5], [6].
Note that to unlock some time and feature restrictions to
Virtual Desktop Toolbox's evaluation version you need to take
out a free registration. The four VDMs I reviewed are all very
capable products but I recommend Virtual Desktop Toolbox because
of its outstanding features list and excellent support. Once you
have learned how to use it you will improve your organization
and productivity, perhaps drastically so." 2.3 Display Outlook Calendar and Folder Tasks on DesktopDesktask
is a free utility that extracts your calendar and to-do
information from Outlook and displays it on your desktop where
it's easy to see. The partly transparent display is very
attractively done and covers information for the coming week.
DeskTask doesn't require Outlook to be running. Highly
recommended. While at the site check out another of their free
products called Find Favorites, a neat little favorites search
engine. Freeware, Outlook 2000 and later, 446KB 2.4 The Best Free Duplicate File DetectorI
must confess that I'm not a great fan of the practice of
routinely deleting duplicate files from PCs. Sure it can free up
some disk space but it can also get inexperienced users into a
great deal of trouble. There are quite a few duplicate file
detection utilities around but CloneSpy is the one that
impresses me the most. It's certainly not the fastest program in
its class but it's definitely the smartest. First, you can
specifically select what is to be scanned and this can include
multiple drives, multiple folders or just individual folders.
Second, it has the ability to detect duplicates by CRC, by file
name, by CRC and file name and by file name and size. Third, it
will also detect zero length files. Fourth, the program does not
need to be installed but can be run from the executable so it's
a good candidate for your USB Flash drive toolkit. Finally, it
throws up duplicates to the user in a way that at least makes
you think about what you are deleting. Click-happy users may
find this latter feature an annoyance; to me it's a safety
feature. Safety feature or not, please read the help file and
use with care. In particular do NOT include your Windows folder
in your scan unless you are a knowledgeable technical user.
Freeware, Windows 98 and later, 608KB. 2.5 Gizmo Stands CorrectedIn
the March issue I incorrectly stated that the free MozBackup
extension was no longer being developed. This is not the case;
in fact, a new version is currently being prepared. I could
claim this error was due to over-work, not enough sleep or even
extra-terrestrials planting strange thoughts in my mind. The
reality is I simply goofed. ** Additional Items in the Premium SE Edition ** 2.6
Best Free Outlook Express Backup Utility
2.7 Slick Reminder Program Impresses
2.8 The Best Free Audio Editing UtilityGot
some top utilities to suggest? Send them to 3.0 SECURITY PATCHES, SERVICE RELEASES AND UPDATES3.1 Microsoft Security NewsPatch Tuesday yielded five new security updates from Microsoft including three rated as critical. MS also released an update to a previously issued patch, MS06-005. This too was rated as "critical." The new critical patches all cover very serious, widespread flaws that could allow a user's computer to be taken over by an attacker. They include a massive update to Internet Explorer for Win2K SP4 and later that fixes 10 separate vulnerabilities including the infamous Internet Explorer HTML createTextRange() flaw - see next item. Also included in this IE update is a patch in the way IE interacts with certain ActiveX controls embedded in some web pages. Such web pages will no longer work normally once the IE patch has been applied. For example, a QuickTime or Flash animation may no longer start automatically but require manual interaction. This change has been foreshadowed by MS since late last year but it's very likely that some webmasters haven't yet updated their sites. In other words, expect to experience some surfing problems. If these changes impact you seriously it is possible to turn them off until June 2006 using a "compatibility patch" that was released along with the IE update. According to MS the compatibility patch will "temporarily return Internet Explorer to the previous functionality for handling ActiveX controls." The two other critical updates cover a serious flaw in the Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) function that affects Windows PCs from Win98 onwards, and a problem with Windows Explorer in Win2K and later related to the way it handles COM objects. All
updates will be automatically distributed by Microsoft
Update Service. Users who do not have automatic updates enabled
should visit the Update Service [2] now. 3.2 More Security Woes for Internet ExplorerDuring
the month, a serious new flaw was discovered in Internet
Explorer and within days of the announcement hostile sites were
using the exploit to infect visitor's PCs. The flaw related to
the way Internet Explorer handled Web pages that contain non-
standard calls to HTML objects using the createTextRange()
method. According to MS [1], "System memory may be corrupted in
such a way that an attacker could execute arbitrary code."
Somewhat unusually, MS quickly acknowledged the flaw but still
got users offside by stating that a fix would not be released
until the next patch cycle due out on the 11th of April. In the
interim they suggested all IE users turn off active scripting or
switch to the IE7 beta which was not affected. Thankfully, a
couple unofficial patches [2] were released by third parties.
Following the incident numerous reports have been received of
Firefox and Opera users admitted to hospital suffering from the
effects of excessive laughter while some unconfirmed sources
indicate possible fatalities in the Mac community from the same
complaint. ;>) 3.3 New Version of Firefox AvailableFirefox
users shouldn't really be laughing too loudly as a new
version of Firefox V1.5.02 has just been released packed with
security fixes. Firefox supporters could, however, quite
properly observe that these are pro-active fixes to cover
possible future exploits as opposed to the recent IE fixes which
simply patched exploits that were already in wide circulation.
Whatever the politics, you should update your Firefox version
now. Existing V1.5 users should have had the update delivered
automatically, while other users can do so from the Firefox site.
3.4 New Version of CCleaner ReleasedThe
latest V1.27 release of this top rated file cleaning program
adds Windows Hotfix uninstaller deletion along with cleaning for
AVG, TUGZip and AntiVir and the Google Toolbar. Also new is a
secure file deletion option. CCleaner is now my first choice for
removing unwanted files and from my hard drive but I do have
some reservations. First, I still think its default settings are
a little too aggressive, so check them before you use it for the
first time. Second, I wouldn't use this program to clean up your
registry; this is too critical a task to leave to a general
purpose cleaner. Instead, use a dedicated registry cleaner like
EasyCleaner or JV16. Third, the latest version will install the
Yahoo Toolbar by default so remember to uncheck it during the
install process. Finally, CCleaner still isn't as good at
finding temp files as Empty Temp Folders so I suggest you use
both programs. Why not, they are both free. 3.5 Free Virtualization Software for ServersRegular
readers know I'm a great fan of VMWare's $169
workstation virtualization software. The good news is that you
can now get the latest beta of the server version [1] for free.
As the press release says, "With the new beta release of VMWare
Server, VMWare takes hosted server virtualization to the next
level with advanced features such as two-way Virtual SMP and
support for Intel VT and 64-bit operating systems. Use VMWare
Server to instantly provision a wide variety of free plug-and-
play virtual appliances." Microsoft has responded by also making
its $199 Virtual Server R2 [2] free! 3.6 Top Keyboard and Mouse Sharing Utility UpdatedI've
never understood why folks spend good money on expensive
KVM boxes in order to switch their keyboard between computers
when they can achieve much the same result using the free open
source package called Synergy. It uses your network to switch
between multiple PCs by sensing the cursor position on your
monitor screen. In my case I just use my mouse to push the
cursor to the top of my laptop screen and the cursor
mysteriously appears on the screen of my desktop PC monitor
which sits above my laptop. When the cursor is showing on the
desktop monitor my laptop keyboard is connected to desktop PC.
To return to my laptop I just slide the cursor down to the
bottom of the desktop monitor and it re-appears on my laptop
screen and re-connects the laptop keyboard to my laptop. It's
all so seamless that it verges on the miraculous. It's really
boosts my personal productivity by allowing me to work on two
PCs simultaneously without ever worrying about switching
keyboards. Synergy is cross platform and handles multiple
machines so you could, if you wish, connect several Linux, Mac
and Windows machines together using different screen edges. A
new version of Synergy V1.3.1 has just been released and is now
available from the web site. Free, Open Source, Windows 95 and
later, Mac OS X 10.2+, Unix, 924KB. 3.7 Trojan Hunter V4.5 Now AvailableA
new version of the top rated anti-trojan program Trojan Hunter
[1] is now available for download. The upgrade is free though
existing registered users will need to apply for a new license
file [2]. The main new feature of V4.5 is the provision of
incremental updates for the signature file which means that
users no longer have to download the full file every time. There
have also been some additional enhancements that make the
product more attractive to trial users. First, trial users can
now run Live Update to update their rules file. Second, you can
start a new trial using the current version even if your 30-day
trial period with an old version has expired. I suggest all
users download a trial version of V4.5 and scan their PC. It
won't cost you a cent and you never know what you may find. If
you are not familiar with Trojan Hunter you can check out my
review here [3].
The
Best Windows Backup Software The
Best SpyWare Detector If
you use Ad-aware or SpyBot you will be surprised just how
more effectively SpySweeper detects and protects your PC from
Adware, Spyware, Trojans and other malicious products. That's
why it won the prized "Editor's Choice" award in PC Magazine's
massive January 2005 survey of anti-Spyware products. Try the
free evaluation copy of the new Version 4 and see for yourself.
The
Best Remote Access Software The
Best Anti-trojan Scanner ------------- end of sponsored links -------------------------- 4.0 OTHER USEFUL STUFF4.1 Free 512MB Flash DriveThe
day when you get free USB flash drives with your box of
cornflakes is fast approaching. Buy.com is currently offering a
512MB USB drive for $30 with a $30 rebate and is throwing in a
$10 Mother's Day gift voucher from ProFlowers as well. There is
a catch; you have to take out a one month free trial for a
product called PrivacyGuard but that looks manageable. Note:
these special offers come and go. If it's gone by the time you
read this newsletter there is no point writing to me - I can't do
anything about it ;>) 4.2 How to Reset Your BIOS PasswordSome
good tips here, though reading the centered text used on
this site could lead to insanity. 4.3 Threat to Your Internet PrivacyMost
folks have the Macromedia Flash Player installed in their
PC but are unaware that it can be a real risk their privacy. For
example, Flash's Shared Object technology may allow your
browsing to be tracked without cookies. This risk is greatest
with older Flash versions but even the latest version is not
watertight. I suggest all users make sure they have the latest
upgrade [1] and change their Flash security settings to ensure
that Flash at least asks for permission before storing
information. Full instructions can be found at the Macromedia
site [2]. 4.4 Free Education Programs for ChildrenI
recently had an email from Marianne Wartoft about a site she
has created featuring educational freeware for children. I
checked it out and it looks terrific. As for the quality
programs featured, I can't say but they certainly look engaging.
4.5 Useless Waste of Time DepartmentFritter
away your boss's money with these 57 Optical illusions
[1]. They are all intriguing but this one at this site [2] is
quite special. At this third illusion site [3] you'll find a
good explanation why the room you just painted doesn't look
quite the way you expected. ** Additional Items in the Premium SE Edition ** 4.6
Free Computer Games Galore
4.7 How to Improve Your Intellect and How to Zap It
4.8 More Ways to Speed Up Your BitTorrent Downloads5.1 An Easier Way to Run Programs with Reduced RightsMost Windows users operate as a user with full administrator rights. It's the default Windows setup option so it's what most people use whether they are aware of it or not. Having full administrator rights gives the user the highest level of privilege possible. It means that Windows will allow a user to pretty well do anything they want on their PC. That includes installing any program they choose, even programs that change the way the operating system works. This is convenient for the user but is the source of many of Windows security problems. Many malware programs including rootkits require administrator privileges to install. If users operated with reduced rights such programs couldn't as easily infect their PCs. On other operating systems such as Linux and Mac OS X, users normally run with reduced rights. It's one of the reasons why such systems have a better security record. The more recent versions of Windows do in fact allow users to be assigned to different user groups with different privileges. In order of reducing privilege these are: "administrator", "power user" group, "user" group and "guest". However, most folks, me included, find that operating as anything other than an administrator is a pain in the butt. Many programs, for example, won't install correctly. Others install but don't function properly. You can work your way around this by having two user accounts on your PC: one with full administrator rights and the other with reduced rights. You sign on as the reduced rights user for normal PC use and then logout and use the administrator rights user account for program installation, registry editing and other demanding tasks. It sounds fine but I can assure you that constantly switching users or logging in and out of these accounts is a pain in the butt as well. Another approach is to always operate as a reduced privilege user and use the special Windows "run as" function from the command window or context menu when you needed to run a program that requires administrator privileges. It's a slightly more workable solution but not exactly convenient as you need to enter your admin account password every time. It's also unsuited to non-technical users. Recently, subscriber Erik Wasberg wrote in to tell me about a third option. It too is for experienced users but it's more convenient than using Run As. It involves the use of an Open Source utility called RunAsAdmin Explorer Shim. Let's call it RES. RES is a Windows XP program that allows you to sign-in as an administrator but work within a Windows shell with reduced rights. It works by placing an icon in the system notification area of your tray. Clicking this icon brings up a menu that allows you to run programs with several different level of trust from "administrator" through to "user." This means that you can do your normal day-to-day work in a restricted rights shell but easily run any program that requires elevated privileges without the need to logoff or enter your admin password. You have the advantage of safety and convenience at the same time. It's a neat idea, so neat that you wonder why it wasn't built into Windows XP. There's not a lot of documentation for RES, barely enough to work out how to install the program and use it. There are also two versions available: a stable V1 release and a V2 beta. I installed the latter and it's working fine though I it took a few setting changes and reboots to get everything working perfectly. It's definitely not a task for the faint hearted or technically challenged but neither is using "run as." To un-install RES start up a command window with admin rights and enter the command c:\Windows\Shim\Explorer.exe /r Logoff as the current user and when you re-login, you'll have the usual rights for that user account. You can then delete the c:\Windows\Shim\Explorer.exe folder. Non technical users will have to wait for the arrival of Windows Vista to get a satisfactory solution to the user rights problem. Vista promises to have a much more sophisticated system for managing user privileges than XP. If it delivers, we can all look forward to safer computing. Then again Windows XP was supposed to be the "safest Windows ever." ;>) Resources: Running
user accounts with reduced privileges Using
the RunAs Command RunAsAdmin
Explorer Shim 6.0 FREEBIE OF THE MONTH6.1 Novel Program Launcher Delivers the GoodsLook at any user's desktop and there's a good chance you will see it littered with shortcuts to commonly used programs. That's fine but if you have too many it can take quite a while to find what you want. Many folks address this problem by using an application launcher. Commonly these employ a dockable toolbar containing shortcuts to various programs on the PC. The toolbar can usually be hidden so it doesn't take up desktop space. I've never been keen on these things as often they achieve little more than what's available from the Windows Start menu. However, I've found an application launcher that actually really works. It's called Find&Run Robot. It doesn't use a launch bar approach but rather allows you to locate an application by simply typing its name into a query box. You rarely even have to type the full name; mostly all you need do is just type a couple of letters. Find&Run Robot instantly displays any program that contains the letters you typed in. Its power lies in the fact that it's lightning fast. It works on a find-as-you-type basis. Let's say I'm looking for Excel. When I type the letter "E" I instantly see all programs whose name contains the letter E. There are quite a few as you can imagine. If I then type in the second letter "X" the list shortens immediately to only those programs that contain "EX". By the time I type in the "C" the list is down to one program, Excel itself. Double clicking then executes the program. The whole thing takes less than 2 seconds. I've seen a few programs that work like this but Find&Run Robot works the best of any I've tried. To start with, you can bring up the search box instantly using either a hotkey or by clicking the tray icon. Second, the program search area is totally configurable. Even the scoring system that determines the list order is configurable. Third, it's only visible when you need it and that's the way it ought to be. Users of Microsoft Desktop Search don't need Find&Run Robot as they already have the same capabilities direct from the search box. Find&Run is free but only available under a rather strange license system, see item 1.8 above for full details. Freeware,
all Windows versions, 1.57MB ** Bonus Freebie in the Premium SE Edition ** 6.2 Get Top Rated $99 Web Information Organizer for FreeAs Editor of this newsletter I'm a prodigious web surfer, blog reader and a heavy user of RSS feeds. I've looked at dozens of products to help me organize all the information but found only one that does exactly what I need. I've used that product for almost a year to collect and organize the information for this newsletter. It's one of those rare products that delivers. Every day it saves me time, every day I sing its praises. At $99 it was excellent value but now you can get it for free as the product has been acquired by another vendor and they are making it available to all. If it's good enough to meet my demanding needs then I suspect you'll find it meets your needs as well. Go grab it while you can. ... full details in the Premium SE Edition of this newsletter.
Stop missing out on all this extra information! Subscribe now to the premium "SE" Edition of this newsletter and immediately receive the current issue containing nearly double the information contained in this free edition. Get twice as many great web sites, get twice as many top utilities and great freebies. It's also ad-free. You'll also get immediate access to the archive of all past issues of the Premium Supporters' Edition of the newsletter where you can catch up on the hundreds of great utilities you missed in the free edition. The SE Edition is a great deal and at $10 per year it's a bargain. Use
this link to subscribe online now: This month I'm giving away to new subscribers, six free copies of the the top rated Anti virus NOD32. NOD32 is a brilliant program for protecting your PC yet it only consumes a modest amount of your computing resources. That's why I use it on my key work computers. At $39 it's good value but it's even better value when you can get it for free. The six copies I'm giving away will be allocated at random but your chances of scoring one are actually quite good. So if you have been thinking of subscribing, now's the time. I'm also giving away invites to Google Gmail to new SE subscribers. Last month everyone who wanted one got one and I expect the same to happen this month. Just email me at editor@techsupportalert.com after subscribing to the Premium SE Edition and I'll send your invitation. Even if you don't win anything you'll still get my special report "Gizmo's Desert Island Utilities" which outlines the software I use myself, including many free product Use
the link below to subscribe now: 7.0 MANAGE YOUR SUBSCRIPTIONSupport Alert is a free newsletter. If you liked this issue why not email it to a friend. Anyone can subscribe by signing up online at Back Issues If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter just go to To change your delivery email address go to For lots more free IT newsletters see Thanks to subscriber A. Belile for proofreading this issue. You can contact this newsletter by snail mail at: Support Alert is a registered online serial publication ISSN 1448-7020. Content of this newsletter is (c) Copyright TechSupportAlert.com, 2006 See you next issue Gizmo |
