C C C C N E W S L E T T E R
CENTRAL COAST COMPUTER CLUB
Santa Maria, California
VOLUME XIX: NUMBER 9 SEPTEMBER, 2004
Meetings are held on the third Tuesday of every month at the Knollwood
Village Clubhouse 4012 S. Bradley Dr., Santa Maria.
General meeting at 7:00 PM. Special Interest Groups sessions are at
5:45pm and 6:00pm. Guests are welcome.
Check out our web site: http//member.apcug.org/fourseas for the latest
program schedule information.
Membership is $15 for twelve months for individuals, $20 for families.
For this you receive: Monthly newsletters, EXTRA4C E-mail Messages,
Access to the clubs software library, Disk of the month (usually for $1),
Help-line support, Monthly presentations, Valuable door prizes, Question
and answer sessions.
NEXT MEETING: September 21, 2004 KNOLLWOOD VILLAGE 4012 S. BRADLEY
PRESENTATION: The September presentation will be an open Question and
Answer session.
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| CONTENTS |
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(1) OFFICERS, HELPLINES, S.I.G.S
(2) PRESIDENT'S CORNER Spence Stimler
(3) EDITOR'S COMMENTS Dick Trissel
(4) WEB WANDERINGS Gil Smith
(5) SYSTEMS S.I.G. Dick Trissel
(6) MANAGING JUNO Dick Trissel
(7) DOCTOR DATA IS IN - VIRUSES Steve Burgess
(8) START / RUN Dick Trissel
(9) MSWORD KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS Dick Trissel
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OFFICERS HELPLINES
President Juno
Spence Stimler 938-0217 Gilbert Smith 925-3743
spence@pronet.net colgil1@juno.com
Vice President Windows 95/98/ME/XP & VoiceControl
Bill Corning 934-0775 Amy Malicki 925-5780
foster95@juno.com savvyforseniors@juno.com
Secretary and Book Librarian Hardware and 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
gandamiller@verizon.net
Disk Librarian Visual Basic and Genealogy
Sharon Allen 928-2209 Gerald Miller 934-1396
sallen4060@aol.com gandamiller@verizon.net
Publicity Help With Any Problem
Bill Corning 934-0775 Fred Adams 934-1128
foster95@juno.com fredeadams@verizon.net
Newsletter Editor Digital Imaging
Dick Trissel 937-7572 Charles Barney 937-1240
rtrissel@juno.com Cbarney@lightspeed.net
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS (S.I.G.s)
Digital Imaging (*) Systems (5:45pm) Word & Windows (6:00pm)
Charles Barney Dick Trissel Amy Malicki
Cbarney@lightspeed.net rtrissel@juno.com savvyforseniors@juno.com
* Cancelled for September
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CCCC Page 2 September 2004
PRESIDENT'S CORNER by Spence Stimler
The attendance at our August meeting was predictably low. Slightly less
than 50 put in an appearance. It seemed to take forever to find somebody
present to claim the door prizes, but we managed to get the job done and
Laudell Ludwig, Robert Dixon, Francis Maciel, John McCurdy, Chas. Dorsten,
Dick Jones, and Gil Smith came away winners. The losers (not in attendance
when name was drawn) are too numerous to mention here.
Four new members joined. They are Bob Halliburton, John Portune, and Fred
and Loretta Thomas. We will have new name tags for you so be sure to check
the member board when you come in.
Dick Trissel has opted to move his System Special Interest Group (SIG) back
to the poolroom where he feels more in touch with the people and is less
distracting. Amy Malicki will host a Word and Windows SIG in the main
room. Both will have complete audio/visual equipment including laptops,
projector and screen (or-wall). It would be most helpful to both of them
if you would come prepared to discuss any problems you are experiencing
and/or questions that are bugging you. The questions would of course be
apropos for the Systems or Word and Windows SIGs.
Our program for the evening will be a Q&A session hosted by Dick Trissel.
For a session of this type to be successful, it is especially necessary to
come prepared with your questions. In this session, any computer topic
will be discussed. Writing them out and giving them to Dick or me before
the session will enable one of us to read the question so that everybody
will be able to know what is being asked and discussed. So please get your
thinking caps on and let's make this a productive session for everybody.
We are looking forward to seeing all the members at the September meeting.
And a reminder--the cookie volunteers for the balance of this year are as
follows:
September: Ray Isenson
October: Laudell Ludwig
November: Dick Jones
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CCCC Page 3 September 2004
EDITOR'S COMMENTS by Dick Trissel
The August CCCC presentation on the management of hard drives was from a CD
made by Gene Barlow, owner of the mail order company User Group Relations
(UGR) which provides software at a 40% discount from retail for member user
groups. In the presentation he referenced several programs for HD
management. Two of the programs were PowerQuest's PartitionMagic and
DriveImage.
Since that presentation CD was made, there have been several company
changes. Symantec took over PowerQuest and no longer support user group
discount pricing for UGR. So, UGR is handling a different line of software
that can be discount priced. Barlow claims this software is as good or
better than the PowerQuest software. CCCC has requested a review copy of
the program ACRONIS DISK DIRECTOR SUITE 9.0 (the equivalent to
PartitionMagic). The results of the review will be reported as soon as
possible.
The following list of hard drive and computer management programs is
available from www.usergroupstore.com at user group discount prices using
the code UGEM0804 or UGNL0804. The price shown on each item is with the
discount price. For price comparison, the retail price is shown in
parenthesis. Go to the Web site for more detailed information on each
item.
ACRONIS DISK DIRECTOR SUITE 9.0: Partitioning, Multi-booting, Disk editing,
and Partition recovery, and more. $34 ($63)
ACRONIS TRUE IMAGE 8.0: Disk imaging, system backup. $34 ($63)
SPEARIT MOVE ME 2.4: Move your old programs and data to the new computer.
$29 ($50)
WHITECANYON WIPING BUNDLE: (WhiteCanyon SecureClean v4 and WhiteCanyon
WipeDrive v3): Permanently remove files from your hard drive. $39 ($60)
WHITECANYON SECURECLEAN V4: Isolates and removes this unneeded information,
making it impossible for cyber criminals to steal your data. $24 ($40)
WHITECANYON WIPEDRIVE V3 (WipeDrive for Windows): Safely and securely erase
data on partitions, memory cards, hard drives, zip disks, and more. $24
($40)
WHITECANYON MYIDVAULT: Protects your personal information and passwords.
$14 ($20)
ACRONIS PRIVACY EXPERT SUITE 7.0 (Internet Clean-up, Pop-up Blocker, System
Clean-up, File Shredder, Drive Cleanser): Protect your privacy from
unwanted people seeing your personal information. $29 ($53)
SPEARIT ASSOCIATE THIS 1.2: Control program associations. $19 ($30)
DISCOVERING YOUR HARD DRIVE: A training CD that focuses on setting up and
organizing your hard drive. $14
BACKING UP YOUR HARD DRIVE: A training CD that focuses on backing up and
protecting your hard drive. $14
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CCCC Page 4 September 2004
WEB WANDERINGS By Gil Smith
INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION
When a business commits fraud, you can always turn to the Better
Business Bureau and other governmental organizations for help. That's
great for companies located in the United States.
If the company is in another country, to whom do you turn?
About 30 countries have banded together and created an organization
to provide consumer protection. Go here to find out which countries
participate and how to file a complaint.
http://www.econsumer.gov/english/index.html
WHAT AM I TAKING?
Just in time for flu and cold season, a site about medicine. Find out
the best over-the-counter medicines when you have a sore throat, runny
or stuffed-up nose, or cough.
If you have an infection or something more serious, your doctor may
have prescribed something stronger. You can search for the drug's name
in the database for a list of side effects, possible instructions and
other important information.
http://www.familydoctor.org/druginfo.xml
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 CLICKS
As you may know, A lot of us are newshounds. I like to get my news from
various sources to get the full picture of what's going on in the world.
The World Radio Network provides access to radio broadcasts of news and
information shows from around the world.
I listened to Radio Australia's newscast. It's interesting to hear
their 'top stories' compared to our national news. There are many foreign
language radio broadcasts, as well. If you speak a foreign language
you might enjoy brushing up on your German or Russian.
http://www.wrn.org/listeners/stations/index.php?CurrentLetter-1
WRITE AWAY
Here's a great example of how one person (actually two) can change
people's lives. A brother and sister teamed up and created a community
outreach program to senior citizens. This site helps establish pen pals
between senior citizens and anyone who wishes to reach out to them.
There are listings for seniors from all over the world! It doesn't
matter if you're young or old. You can sign up to be someone's pen
pal today!
http://www.writeseniors.com/
A JIG A DAY
Jigsaw puzzles can be a lot of fun. They're a great way to share time
with your family. The puzzles also keep your mind sharp.
Now you can solve jigsaw puzzles on the web. Today's site has a new
jigsaw puzzle every day. Change the difficulty of each puzzle by
choosing the number of pieces you have to work with. You can save a
puzzle and come back to it later. Best of all, you don't have to worry
about losing the pieces.
http://www.shockwave.com/sw/content/jigsawpuzzles
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CCCC Page 5 September 2004
SYSTEMS S.I.G. by Dick Trissel
Talk about a captive audience! With the August Systems S.I.G. starting at
5:45pm in the main room, everybody walking in was automatically an
attendee, like it or not. Well, it will be back to the poolroom in
September. Amy Malicki is going to have her Word and Windows S.I.G. in the
main room.
A poll of the nearly 50 members present for the number of Comcast broadband
subscribers revealed two so far. The introduction price of $29 is
appealing, but the ultimate cost of $49 is a bit much. But then, it is
faster than DSL. That led to the question of how many have any broadband.
There were seven. That fits with my estimate that of the 90 member
households, there are about 14. It was reported recently that a survey
showed 55% of computer users in the U.S. were using broadband Internet
connections.
It may not be obvious, but you don't have to use Verizon as an ISP
(Internet Service Provider) to have a DSL (Digital Subscriber Line). It's
just that the ISP you choose must have DSL connection capability. You
still will be using the Verizon DSL lines, because that's all there is
here.
I mentioned that I only recently became aware that many users of e-mail
have only Web mail capability. This means they can only get their e-mail
into their computer by reading it first and then downloading it. With POP3
e-mail, the messages are downloaded directly into your computer (usually
using Outlook, Outlook Express or Eudora), where you can read them without
being online. Pay Juno subscribers have the option of getting their e-mail
without going on the Internet at all (direct dial). Most of the free Juno
and all of the Netzero users have only Web mail. A few old subscribers to
free Juno still have the direct dial capability (the club's EXTRA4C account
is one).
One member using free Juno over did his time for one 24 hour period. He
received a message from Juno advising him to connect after 11:00pm (2:00am
on the East coast). Another Juno user said he was having trouble getting a
connection. Again, my advice was to not expect an immediate connection in
the afternoon on the West coast. You may have to just keep trying.
Because so many ISPs are blocking e-mail attachments that may have
executable code in them (.exe, .htm, .swf, .jpg, etc.), I advise using this
trick. Rename the file you are going to put in the attachment by changing
the extension to .txt. That way it looks like a harmless text file. Put
instructions in the message body advising the recepient to copy the
attached file and rename the file with the correct extension that you
provide.
I announced that ComputerWorks in Santa Maria has new free CDs available in
the store at 207 W. Main. They are packed with good software. One big
item on it is the Windows XP SP2 update (272MB). No, I haven't tried it.
Along that line, there have been many warnings from the computer tech
writers about the good and the bad of SP2. I would suggest going to
Microsoft or Google and search on SP2.
I mentioned but didn't demonstrate the utility that comes with the
Microsoft DirectX plugins that are in most Windows computers. Go to Start
/ Run and type dxdiag. That stands for DirectX Diagnostics. It's not only
informative, it's entertaining.
One member has computer problems that prompted the suggestion to try the
Windows Safe mode startup. There usually are three ways to get to Safe
mode. During Windows bootup, hold down the CTRL key; or tap the F5 or F8
key. This will either put you in the Safe mode or present you with a list
of possible boot options. Don't despair if it doesn't work the first few
times. It's tricky. Just keep trying--changing the point at which you do
the key presses. The Safe mode starts Windows with no special drivers or
startup programs. This lets you start a balky Windows so you can
investigate the causes.
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CCCC Page 6 September 2004
MANAGING JUNO by Dick Trissel
This is for the current and future subscribers to the Juno Internet service
provider. The discussion applies to Juno versions 4 and 5. As many of you
know, I don't recommend versions 6 or 7.
I'm going to cover three areas of managing Juno to make life a little
easier and they are fun to play with. To do all the tricks, you will have
to know how to use Windows Explorer and a text editor. I'm going to assume
you have Juno installed in C:\Program Files\Juno. However, I've seen it
installed it in some pretty peculiar locations.
The first item is how to get rid of the pop-up advertisements when you
start Juno. The ad files are in folders in C:\Program Files\JUNO\ads. The
ads are in folders with the names starting with 0002, like 0002xxxx, where
xxxx can be any number. Just delete these 0002xxxx folders. I have a
shortcut on my desktop that points to "C:\Program Files\JUNO\ads". Double
clicking it brings up the ads folder where I can select and shift-delete to
permanently delete them.
The next item involves managing the personal spell check "dictionary" they
call the Custom dictionary. It's not really a dictionary. It's an
"ignore" list. The main dictionary is not editable, but the custom
dictionary is.
Some features of the custom dictionary can be managed from within Juno in
the Options / Spell Check Options window. But to really edit the
dictionary, you have to invoke the spell checker with an unrecognized word,
like xxxx. This brings up the window that allows you to do all kinds of
neat things including editing the dictionary by pressing the Dictionary
button. From there you can add a word, delete a word, and see the content
of the dictionary. You can type in any word you want and add it. Or,
select a word from the dictionary and delete it. Words deleted will NOT be
ignored, and so, will show as misspelled in a text--as it should.
There's another way to manage the custom dictionary. The custom dictionary
is actually a file at C:\Program Files\JUNO\USER0000\Uignore.tlx (Uignore--
get it--User ignore). The USER0000 may have a different number if you have
more than one active account (I have USER0000, USER0001, and USER0002).
Anyway, this file can be effectively edited in a text editor. Save the
original first if you already have a custom dictionary--just in case.
Actually, you can delete the Uignore.tlx file and Juno will start another
the next time you start Juno.
If you edit the Uignore.tlx file, notice the first line (#LID 1033 1 0)
without the parenthesis. The last number is the number of words in the
dictionary. You can add or remove words, just keep the number accurate.
Also know, the dictionary is case sensitive--Name is not the same as name.
The last item is the Auto-correct feature. This fixes certain misspelled
words automatically for you when you do a spell check. The pairs of words
(badword:goodword) are in the file C:\Program Files\JUNO\lib\AUTOCORR.TLX.
Again, notice the first line (#LID 1033 0 569) without the parenthesis.
The last number is the number of word pairs. Using a text editor, you can
add or delete pairs of words, just keep the pair counter accurate. The
pairs don't have to be in alphabetical order, but it makes it easier to
edit if they are. Be sure to save the original file before you start
editing. Juno won't rebuild this one. Here's an example of the first few
lines in AUTOCORR.TLX:
#LID 1033 0 569
absense:absence
acceptible:acceptable
accessable:accessible
accidently:accidentally
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CCCC Page 7 September 2004
DOCTOR DATA: THE DOCTOR IS IN - VIRUSES
by Steve Burgess
What are computer viruses, Trojans and zombies?
Sounds like a horror movie, doesn't it?
Computer viruses are bits of computer code (1's and 0's) that, just like
people viruses, use the host (computer) to multiply and infect other hosts.
Trojans are bits of code that take some control of your computer without
your permission, and make it do something you don't tell it to do. Your
computer is a zombie when it has an uninvited bit of code on it that
"listens" for a command from a remote computer to do its bidding. Viruses
and Trojans are types of "malware," or malicious software.
Computers do not grow any of this malware by themselves. It has to come in
on something. That something is generally an email attachment, an infected
floppy diskette, CD, or other shared removable media.
How do I keep from getting them?
Never open an email that has an attachment unless you know whom it's from,
and then only as long as you are sure they don't have a virus themselves.
Don't put a floppy diskette or other removable media into your computer
unless you're sure it is virus-free.
Get an antivirus program, install it, and keep it updated. You can buy
Norton Antivirus (which also comes as a part of Norton Internet Security
and Norton System Works), McAfee Antivirus (which also comes as a part of
McAfee Internet Security Suite), and VCom VirusScannerTM Pro (as a part of
VCom System Suite) at local stores that sell software. Antivirus software
can also be purchased and downloaded online at www.v-com.com,
www.mcafee.com, www.symantec.com, www.f-prot.com. There are more.
Whichever antivirus program you get, be sure to subscribe to the update
service. There are thousands of viruses out there (although far fewer
attack the Macintosh) and dozens more being written every month. The update
service keeps you protected, as long as you update weekly.
Your computer has the ability to update its operating system to make it
more secure. Schedule your computer to receive Windows Updates every week,
or Software Update for Mac OS 9 and Security Updates for Mac OS X.
I don't want to be a zombie!
If code gets loaded on your computer through some malware, it can be
controlled remotely to fire off attacks on other computers. These zombie
sessions are not generally harmful to your computer, but they are intended
to be harmful to somebody else's, like Yahoo! They use your Internet
connection, they make your computer do something you didn't tell it to do,
and that's just a little distasteful, don't you think? Some of the programs
mentioned above will protect you from this unauthorized use.
Who makes these things, and why?
The conventional wisdom is that it's bored young men with too much time on
their hands. Still, some of these attacks are sophisticated and brilliant.
People do this to "make their mark," to "get" somebody they don't like, or
to look talented in the eyes of others in the hacker community through the
notoriety of having written the most powerful virus or Trojan. Some do it
just to make havoc. The best thing to do is to take some precautions to
deny them some of the damage they wish to cause.
Doctor Data will answer your questions about hardware and software on
Windows and Macintosh. Doctor Data as Steve Burgess is the proprietor of
Burgess Consulting in Santa Maria. Burgess Consulting does data recovery,
data transfer and conversion, and computer forensics. Send your questions
to DoctorData@aol.com.
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CCCC Page 8 September 2004
START / RUN by Dick Trissel
There are two popular third-party utilities for Windows operating systems
that will tell you a lot about your computer configuration. They are
AIDA32 and Belarc Advisor. They are good, but they don't tell you
quite everything. And, you may not have them installed in your computer.
However, there are many handy utilities included with your Windows
operating system. They are available in Windows 98, ME and XP.
The first step to get to the utilities is to go to Start and select Run.
The following utilities are available in Windows 98, ME and XP except as
noted. The utility window titles are from Windows 98, and may be slightly
different in ME or XP.
dxdiag (DirectX Diagnostic Tool)
DirectX files, Display, Sound, Music, Input, Network, More Help
for troubleshooting
msinfo32 (Microsoft System Information)
System Summary, Hardware, Software, Components,
Internet Settings (XP only)
msconfig (System Configuration Utility)
System.ini, Win.ini, Services, Startup, Boot.ini (XP only)
regedit (Registry Editor)
Edit the Registry
sysedit (System Configuration Editor)
System.ini, Win.ini, Config.sys, Autoexit.bat, Msmail.ini
(XP, 98 only)
winipcfg (IP configuration) (98, ME only)
ipconfig /all (IP configuration)
(XP Start / Run / cmd), (ME Start /Run / command)
hwinfo /ui (Hardware Info Utility for Windows) (98, ME only)
Also, there is a command in Run that allows the running of many more
commands than are covered here. It is the command in Start / Run called
command. In ME and XP there is also the command cmd. These Run commands
are the somewhat equivalent to the MS-DOS prompt.
Windows XP has many other utilities available under the Management section.
They are too extensive to cover here. They are described in an excellent
book in our club library called Windows XP Inside/Out. The book has a CD
in the back with a file on it that is the entire book with an excellent
index for the file. It is a 35MB file titled WINXPIO.CHM. It can be run
standalone by double clicking it. I have the file on all my XP systems for
easy reference. The book can be checked out by contacting the club's
librarian.
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CCCC Page 9 September 2004
MSWORD KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS by Dick Trissel
Most of us use the mouse to control the program MSWord. But, sometimes it
is more convenient to use the keyboard, especially since your hands are
already on the keyboard typing characters. To find out what all the
available keyboard shortcut commands there are available to you, bring up
MSWord and follow this sequence.
Select Tools / Macro / Macros
From the "Macros in" dialog box, select "Word Commands", then scroll down
to "ListCommands" and double-click it. Select "Current menu and keyboard
settings", and click OK. MSWord will create a document listing all the
keyboard commands and then some.
There are seven pages if you want to print them out. You probably won't
use a fraction of the commands, but with practice, the few that you do need
will become a habit.
If you really want to get overwhelmed, under "Listcommands" select "All
Word commands". There are 19 pages listed there.
While you are in the "Word Commands", look at all the neat things you can
play with.
There's another source of keyboard shortcuts listed in the Word Help Index
under Keys / Shortcut Keys / Shortcuts.
And, here are some foreign language shortcuts you can use even if you don't
have languages installed:
Acute accents--press CTRL-' (apostrophe, on the quote key), and then the
letter you want accented.
Left single quote--press CTRL-` (under the tilde key upper left corner of
the keyboard).
Tilde--press CTRL and the tilde key (upper left key).
Circumflex--press CTRL-SHIFT-^ (over the 6 key).
Umlaut--press CTRL-SHIFT-: (colon).
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