C C C C N E W S L E T T E R
CENTRAL COAST COMPUTER CLUB
Santa Maria, California
VOLUME XVIII: NUMBER 8 AUGUST, 2003
NEXT MEETING: August 19, 2003 6:00PM KNOLLWOOD VILLAGE 4012 S. BRADLEY
PRESENTATION: Steven Burgess will speak on
"Computer Forensics and Data Recovery".
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| CONTENTS |
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(1) Officers, Helplines, S.I.G.s
(2) President's Corner Charles Barney
(3) Hardware S.I.G. Ray Isenson
(4) Systems S.I.G. Dick Trissel
(5) Editor's Comments Dick Trissel
(6) Web Wanderings Gil Smith
(7) Novice S.I.G. Amy Malicki
(8) System File Checker (SFC) Dick Trissel
(9) CD Burning Part 5 Dick Trissel
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OFFICERS HELPLINES
President Juno
Charles Barney 937-1240 Gilbert Smith 925-3743
cbarney@lightspeed.net colgil1@aol.com
Vice President Windows 95/98/ME/XP & VoiceControl
Richard Holmes 938-0622 Amy Malicki 925-5780
holmesr1@juno.com amymal@juno.com
Secretary and Book Librarian Hardware & Windows XP
Barbara Godwin 934-9885 Ray Isenson 937-6938
yung.bag@verizon.net risenson@juno.com
Treasurer AOL
Gerry Miller 934-1396 Frank Maciel 922-2318
2741 Banyan Way frm8198@aol.com
Santa Maria CA 93455
Gmiller@pronet.net
Disk Librarian Visual Basic
Sharon Allen 928-2209 Gerald Miller 934-1396
sallen4060@aol.com Gmiller@pronet.net
Publicity Help With Any Problem
Bill Corning 934-0775 Fred Adams 934-1128
foster95@juno.com wd64acj@netzero.net
Newsletter Editor
Dick Trissel 937-7572
rtrissel@juno.com
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS (S.I.G.s)
Novice (6:00pm) Hardware (6:00pm) Systems (5:45pm)
Amy Malicki Ray Isenson Dick Trissel
amymal@juno.com risenson@juno.com rtrissel@juno.com
CCCC Membership is $15 for twelve months ($20 family). For this you
receive:
Monthly newsletter
EXTRA4C E-mail Messages
Access to the clubs software library
Disk of the month (usually for $1)
Helpline support
Monthly presentation
Valuable door prizes
Question and answer sessions
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CCCC Page 2 August 2003
PRESIDENT'S CORNER
by Charles Barney
Once again, there were about 60 folks who turned out for our meeting on
July 15th. This seems to pretty much be the average attendance lately and
is just about right to comfortably occupy the Knollwood facility. Hey, I'm
not against a large turnout by any means, but there is something to be said
for elbow room!
I'd like to extend a big 4Cs welcome to those joining us for the first
time, new members Duane Peterson and Ben Benjamin. An especially heart-felt
welcome goes out to Alexina Tyo, widow of the late long-time member Jack
Tyo. Alexina came to the meeting and informed us that she was making use of
the remainder of her husband's annual membership. She had inherited a
computer as well, and wants to learn more about it. We welcome you all to
our user group and hope that you will feel right at home here.
Our guest speaker for the evening was Nab D. Crooks (not his real name) who
is an FBI agent specializing in cyber-crime and works out of a Bureau
satellite office here in Santa Maria. Nab told us that since the inception
of the Internet in 1969, computer technology and the number of people using
this worldwide network have seen staggering growth.
Along with this growth, the number of baddies out there have also increased
proportionately; those who would steal, corrupt, defame or otherwise cause
harm to what belongs to others. These unscrupulous people tend to fall into
categories: Company insiders (think disgruntled employees), digital workers
who have ready access to temptation, hobbyists in it just for the fun and
challenge, and foreign countries bent on causing harm to U.S. interests.
According to Nab, the FBI sets priorities for concentrating its protection
efforts. First is the infrastructure of the country such as government,
utilities and other critical functions. The next priority is industry and
commerce, followed by small business and individuals.
Also of concern to the Bureau is prosecuting the purveyors of child
pornography and going after illegal distribution of intellectual property
such as software, music and Direct TV codes.
Nab says that the success rate of actually catching and prosecuting cyber-
criminals has been pretty good. The establishment of new laws against such
crimes, along with the increased cooperation of foreign governments has
helped greatly in this area. We thank Mr. Crooks and those like him who
work daily to help keep us safe in cyberspace!
Cookies (not the web browser kind) served up by our dedicated kitchen crew
during the meeting refreshment breaks are an integral part of the club
activities enjoyed by all. Traditionally, the tasty snacks have been
brought by a relatively small number of volunteers (compared to the size of
the membership). As a consequence, it has become necessary to ask, beg, and
even chide you all into taking a turn at this duty. This is certainly not a
task that I relish and I feel that a change in procedure is called for. At
the last meeting, a vote was taken and passed among the attending members
to establish a Cookie Committee to purchase cookies each month and get
reimbursed from Club funds. You all seem to contribute enough to the coffee
kitty each meeting to more than cover the costs. Thank-you's to Joseph
Gatwis and Ken Stiffler who volunteered to be on the Committee. We could
use a few more!
The jubilant door prize winners included Carol Rich - Topics Entertainment
Instant Stitch, Ken Stiffler - 25 Pack Color Slim CD Jewel Cases, Bernie
Penninger - 60 Pack Glossy Photo Paper, Carl Geisler - Kensiko Email Mouse,
Mike Reineke - The Print Shop CD Label Creator, Gil Smith - ClickArt Fonts
2, and Amy Malicki - Blockbuster $5 Gift Certificate. Bill Corning turned
down the gift certificate when picked for it again after having won it the
previous month and returned it to the prize pool (go figure!). Those
unfortunate souls missing out on the free merchandise were no-shows Maurice
Ross, Miles Dennis, Eugene Johnson, Gary Aston, Christian Heck, William
Rich, Willa Willey, Seymour Schwartz, and John Pfister.
We have another interesting speaker scheduled for the upcoming August 19th
meeting. Steven Burgess is a world-renowned expert in computer forensics
and difficult data recovery cases. His locally run business has served
individuals, private industry, and provided expert witness testimonials in
court trials. Steve told me that he will have some tips for home computer
users as well to protect their valuable data. Don't miss out on this one if
you can make it. I'll see you at the clubhouse - Charles
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CCCC Page 3 August 2003
Hardware S.I.G.
by Ray Isenson
We'll meet at 6PM in the library. The topic will be "Inside the Box"
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CCCC Page 4 August 2003
SYSTEMS S.I.G.
by Dick Trissel
We did a little better this month handling computer problems. But first we
had an animated graphics demo. Then a suggestion to go to Google and
search for "weapons of mass destruction" by clicking on the "I feel lucky"
button. It looks like a bad Web site, but read it carefully.
Then we had a demonstration of the program Rambooster V1.6. It's a small
program that will run from a floppy disk if you want. It's purpose is to
allow you to free up memory that has been used by an application, but not
returned to the system (known as a memory leak). This problem can cause a
noticeable slowdown in computer performance. Rambooster can be found by
going to Google and typing in the name.
Speaking of Google, I downloaded the Google toolbar (after Barbara told me
how to find it). Since it installs directly, and I would have to download
it separately for all my computers, I downloaded to just one to try it.
It's got some neat features, like searching a Web site for a character
string. But, I'm going to wait and see how much I use it before I install
it in any other computer. It's a 432KB .dll file with 28 entries in the
registry because it rides on Internet Explorer. Oh yeh, you have to have
IE5 or later.
As a reminder that the CCCC newsletters are archived on the CCCC Web site
(http://member.apcug.org/fourseas), I described the different ways to
download a newsletter to your hard drive. They are:
1. While viewing a newsletter, do a right click and click on Select All,
right click and select copy. This puts it in the clipboard to be pasted in
a text editor, or whatever.
2. Click on the File tool and choose Save As to put it in a file.
3. Click on the View tool and choose Source. This will put the HTML
version into Notepad so you can see and save the raw HTML.
One member mentioned a problem copying a commercial music CD. The copy
wouldn't play. He finally revealed he had successfully copied another
commercial music CD, so we knew his procedure was not in error. The
conclusion was that the commercial CD was probably copy protected.
However, during the discussion it was suggested that the target CD might
not have been "closed" after the copy was done. There is no option to
close a CD copy (at least with Easy CD Creator's CD copier program), as the
CD is made as a DOA (disk at once).
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CCCC Page 5 August 2003
EDITOR'S COMMENTS
by Dick Trissel
As most of you know, the CCCC has an e-mail bulletin called EXTRA4C that
gets published a couple of times a week-whenever something interesting pops
up (sorry about that term). However, for that e-mailing, and occasionally
a few other e-mailings, there are a few members that do not have their e-
mail address on record with me. Therefore they are not receiving these
bulletins, etc. Know that your e-mail address will not be available to
anyone except the club officers and myself. The e-mailings are done under
a blind CC so that recipients see only their addresses.
The following members do not have their e-mail address on record. If you
want to have your address on record with CCCC, send an e-mail to me at:
rtrissel@juno.com.
Harry Clark
Peter Dettelis
Joseph/Lena Roberts
Maurice Ross
Edward Sage
Speaking of membership, we now have 106 members counting member spouses.
And, the attendance has been good, considering this is vacation time. At
this time last year we had 108 members.
Those members that have been attending the meetings and hear the financial
report are aware that we are in good financial condition.
All in all, the club continues to be a successful medium for support to
computer users.
Properly speaking the "club" is really a "users group". In fact, we belong
to a national organization named Association of Personal Computer Users
Groups" (APCUG). They provide us with a Web page site and other
privileges. My understanding is that our "club" originally was named a
"group". Usually a club is a social activity. Whereas, a computer users
group is considered more technically oriented. On second thought, maybe it
is properly named .
Have you noticed some of us feel we are no more computer literate now than
we were 10 to 15 years ago? That's probably because just about the time
you get comfortable with your computer, you get an "upgrade" which is
enough more complicated that you feel you are right back to square one.
Fifteen years ago you didn't have to know how to "burn" CDs. You didn't
have to know how to get on the Internet and do e-mail, use a browser, fight
spam and viruses, etc. We didn't have fancy printers, scanners, Web cams,
digital camera memory transfers, and DSL modems.
It's no wonder computer users don't have the time or inclination to learn
the fundamentals of using a computer. They are too busy using their
computers!
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CCCC Page 6 August 2003
WEB WANDERINGS
By Gil Smith
CASTLE OF SPIRITS
Do you like a good ghost story? Would you like to see photos of
paranormal, ghostly activity? Well if so, you might enjoy this site. Are
you ready to visit the Castle of Spirits?
This site has tons of pictures, and pictures that have proved to be hoaxes.
So for you sleuths out there that should appeal. Interesting photos and
true ghost stories could keep you occupied for hours on end. I know it had
my attention. Enjoy this haunting site!
http://www.castleofspirits.com/ghostphotos.html
THE COMIC BOOK PERIODIC TABLE OF THE ELEMENTS
That title is definitely a mouth full. For those of you who like comic
books you should like this interesting way of cataloging them.
Click on an element of the periodic table and you'll get a list of the
comic book pages involving that element, or for technical information you
can follow the link to Mark Winter's Web Elements.
It's interesting to see what the elements were used for in the comic books
and which characters fell into the different categories for each element.
Check it out!
http://www.uky.edu/Projects/Chemcomics/index.html
PARK NET - THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
This is a really nice site, whether you want to visit a national park in
the great US of A, or if you need to do a report or some research. You can
even visit the national parks online and get great info on why you might
want to visit one. There is even a page to check out volunteer
opportunities in different parks around the country
I highly recommend the learn NPS section. It is chock-full of information
for both teachers and students and has some very interesting ways to learn
about America. Their feature one month was Thomas Edison (whose birthday
was February 11th). This site is fabulous. I hope you check it out.
http://www.nps.gov/
THE URBAN LEGENDS REFERENCE PAGE
This is the place you should go to check if a chain letter e-mail is true
or not, but that's just one of the many uses for this site.
Because Urban Legends cover so many different categories, they have nicely
divided it into sections for your easy viewing. I particularly enjoyed the
Disney and Critter Country sections of this site. Hey check it out!
http://snopes2.com
CHEESE
This website is totally dedicated to cheese. You can search the database
of 652 cheeses. Impress your friends with amazing cheese facts. Read
about cheese in the news. Maybe you're looking for a great cheese recipe
or a vegetarian cheese. It's all here in all its cheesiness!
http://cheese.com
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CCCC Page 7 August 2003
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP (S.I.G.) FOR NOVICES
By Amy L. Malicki
This six o'clock session meets in the main clubroom with the overhead
projector. This session is intended to provide answers to new user
questions and/or problems.
We discussed Directories and Sub directories (folders). We searched for
files by name by name, symbols and dates using a word processor. We also
saved files to floppies and other directories. This month we will search
for LOST files "Microsoft Explorer" - the "Windows File Manager" from both
the START Menu and My Computer.
An Agenda will be available, which can be used for making notes. However,
since we try to solve individual problems as well - we don't always
complete the Agenda. A Glossary of basic computer terms will be available
for those who need one.
Future sessions will cover Editing a Document and adding Headers & Footers.
Bring your questions, and I will try to answer them -- even if you are not
a novice, but want to learn more about the computer, and what it can do for
you.
=========================================================================
AMY'S BOOK: "Computer SAVVY for Seniors" or
"What to do AFTER you turn the computer on"
$7.50
Available at COMSTAR COMPUTERS - 2530 S. Broadway near the Mobile Station.
=========================================================================
__________________________________________________________________________
HOW TO BATHE THE CAT
====================
1. Thoroughly clean toilet.
2. Lift both lids and add shampoo.
3. Find and soothe cat as you carry him to bathroom.
4. In one swift move, place cat in toilet, close both lids,
and stand on top ... so cat cannot escape.
5. The cat will self agitate and produce ample suds.
(Ignore ruckus from inside toilet, cat is enjoying this).
6. Flush toilet 3 or 4 times. This provides power rinse,
which is quite effective. Cat is too big to go anywhere.
7. Have someone open outside door, stand as far from
toilet as possible, and quickly lift both lids.
8. Clean cat will rocket out of the toilet and outdoors,
where he will air dry. Cat will return when hungry.
Sincerely,
The Dog
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CCCC Page 8 August 2003
SYSTEM FILE CHECKER
by Dick Trissel
There's a little known utility in Windows that can be a life saver (well,
at least a program saver) when you get that dreaded message about a system
file not found. It goes by the initials SFC for System File Saver. The
purpose of SFC is to fix or reinstall a Windows operating system file or
driver. So, its source of files is either the original Windows CD, or the
system files that were put on your hard drive from the original operating
system installation. The hard drive files are sometimes in the folder
C:\Windows\Options\Cabs.
There are two ways to run SFC. You can go to Start / Run and type SFC.
Or, you can go to C:\Windows\System and double click the program SFC.EXE.
When you run SFC, it will ask you where to go to find the . If it can't
find a source, it will ask you for the source.
SFC has two major functions--Scan For Altered Files, and Extract One File
From The Installation Disk. However, before using either option, click on
the Settings button and get thoroughly confused (just kidding). Just read
the pages carefully and choose the options you want. I suggest the
following:
Prompt for backup, Append to existing log (C:\Windows\SFCLOG.TXT), Check
for changed files, and Check for deleted files. The Search Criteria
folders and files types are up to your discretion. Just read the Advanced
information.
When the Scan For Altered Files operation finds a file that doesn't match
the scan criteria, you are given three (sometimes four) options:
Update user verification file--if you know the file is good.
Restore file--you will be asked--Restore from: (either the CD or the hard
drive folder).
Save file in: (usually in place of the bad file).
You may be told to restart your computer to make the changes effective.
If you want more control (that is, you know what you need to do to fix the
problem), you can "extract" a file from a source using the Extract One File
From The Installation Disk option. Again, the source may be the CD or the
hard drive C:\Windows\Options\Cabs folder. You will be asked the same
Restore from: and Save file in: questions as the Scan option. If
successful, you will get the message: The file has been successfully
extracted. Just remember where you told it to extract to. Also, know it
will overwrite an existing file of the same name in the Save file folder
you chose.
There's a help file, C:\Windows\Help\SFC.HLP. All it says is "Type a file
name or an extension (such as *.exe) that you want to add to the list".
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CCCC Page 9 August 2003
CD BURNING PART 5
by Dick Trissel
In the first four parts (CCCC newsletters February-May '03) we described
the hardware required, the types of CDs, the software available, and how to
burn your first CDs. If you want to review these articles and don't have
the hard copies, the newsletters are available on the Web at
www.member.apcug.org/fourseas.
To review a bit, there are basically three types of CD burning--CD copying,
packet writing, and multi-session (which includes audio, mixed mode, CD
Extra, photo, and video). This is also the order of complexity. As
before, this discussion will assume you are using Adaptec/Roxio Easy CD
Creator (ECDC). With a few exceptions, the procedures will be the same for
other CD burning programs. And, I'm going to assume that at this point you
are familiar with the program menu and options.
CD COPIER
It seems the most used function of CD burning is copying music and program
CDs. I won't get into the legalities involved. Most of my copying is of
old operating systems that are unobtainable any other way, and programs
like JUNO, NETZERO and Internet Explorer that are free. The music CDs I
copy are usually of an unknown source (a copy of a copy, etc.).
To copy a CD, whether it be program, data, or music, the procedure is the
same. For program CDs or Music CDs you can probably use a CD-R disc
without too much risk of losing a CD. If you are making backup copies of
data, you may want to consider using a CD-RW so you can recycle the CD as
the data becomes obsolete.
The procedure is pretty straightforward. After choosing the CD Copier from
the Data menu, verify the source and target devices, then check the
options. There won't be too many options because it's going to be a Disc-
At-Once (DOA)--there are no "closing" choices. I would recommend choosing
the option to go to the hard drive first as part of the copy procedure. Of
course, that's mandatory if you only have one CD device. Even with a CD-
ROM player, this eliminates any problem with the CD-ROM speed. It will
take a little longer.
You may want to use a slow burn speed for two reasons--prevent under-run,
and some music CD players don't like discs burned at high speed. Again, it
may take longer, but 4X is a safe speed.
The first time you use the program it will test your source devices (CD-ROM
and hard drive) and establish a safe burn speed. Of course, you can choose
the "Test" or "Test and Copy" mode if you suspect a problem. The "Disk At
Once" option doesn't seem to be effective. According to the Help section,
DAO is used by default.
As many of you know, I recommend practicing with a CD-RW. You can use the
2 minute "Quick Erase" option to recover the disc.
In the next article I'll go to the next most useful procedure--packet
writing (drag and drop like a floppy).
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