C C C C N E W S L E T T E R
CENTRAL COAST COMPUTER CLUB
Santa Maria, California
VOLUME XX: NUMBER 8 SEPTEMBER, 2005
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,
Help-line support, Monthly presentations, Valuable door prizes, Question
and answer sessions.
NEXT MEETING: SEPTEMBER 20, 2005 KNOLLWOOD VILLAGE 4012 S. BRADLEY
PRESENTATION: The September presentation will be Gil Vela on Home Wi-Fi
Security.
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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: SURVEY REVIEW Dick Trissel
(4) WEB WANDERINGS
(5) SYSTEMS S.I.G. Dick Trissel
(6) A COMPUTER EXPERIENCE Jerry Miller
(7) WIRELESS NETWORK SECURITY
(8) SCREEN SAVER ON DEMAND Kim Komando
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OFFICERS HELPLINES
President Juno
Spence Stimler 938-0217 Dick Trissel 937-7572
SPENCE923@msn.com rtrissel@juno.com
Vice President Windows 95/98/ME/XP & VoiceControl
Bill Corning 934-0775 Amy Malicki 925-5780
foster95@juno.com savvyforseniors@juno.com
Acting Secretary 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
Dick Trissel 937-7572
rtrissel@juno.com
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS (S.I.G.s)
Systems (5:45pm) Application Problems & Solutions (6:00pm)
Dick Trissel Creating a Spreadsheet
rtrissel@juno.com Amy Malicki
savvyforseniors@juno.com
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CCCC Page 2 September 2005
PRESIDENT'S CORNER by Spence Stimler
Our attendance for the August meeting was about 42. For those of you who
missed it, you missed one of our more informative presentations. Will
Gordon and Eric Sylvia of ABRO gave a brief rundown of the evolution of
computers and a look into the future. This along with their repair and
computer building capabilities certainly gave us confidence in our local
expertise.
Our September meeting will be another joint session with Gil Vela and Dick
Trissel covering WiFi and emphasizing home security. A more detailed
description of the presentation will be found elsewhere in this newsletter.
There has been some comment on the value of the door prizes. We are going
to try something new this month. Rather than go out and try to buy prizes
we are going to have five $10 gift certificates from a local store. Donated
gifts from members are still welcome and will be included as they are
received.
Door Prize winners for August were:
1. Norton System Works 2000 Paul Highfill
2. Norton System Works 2004 John McCurdy
3. Mouse Pad Dick Jones
4. 5 PK DVD Storage Cases Win Campbell
5. 128MB Flash Drive Charles Currey
6. Print Perfect CD Robert Dixon
7. Card Games CD Lud Ludwig
50/50 winners were: Win Campbell $8; Ed Sage $9; and Ben Middleton $9.
We are nearing the end of another year. This will be my last as president.
I have agreed to act as a liaison between the club and Knollwood Village
where we hold our meetings. It is essential that a resident of Knollwood be
present and have responsibility for the keys to the various doors and
lockers.
That means that we need to look to the membership to fill officers'
stations. The easiest way would be to have volunteers come forward, if not
to take an office, to at least serve on a nominating committee. I'm not
naive enough to expect this to happen but would like to have you give it
some serious thought. We lean very heavily on just a very few of our
members to keep the club going.
You don't have to be computer wise or be able to run off at the mouth. I'm
not, well, at least, computer wise. So please give some thought to either
filling an office or being on the nominating committee. It may be that you
know of someone who would be and excellent candidate and with just a little
nudging could be enticed to take on a function. Remember, it's your club
and if you have nobody to lead it, you won't have it for long.
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CCCC Page 3 September 2005
EDITOR'S COMMENTS by Dick Trissel
JULY MEMBER SURVEY REVIEW
The following is a synopsis of some of the items asked for in the CCCC
member e-mail survey sent out by Ami Malicki last July. The data are as she
reported. The comments about the responses in [ ] are mine, and in no way
reflect the opinions of any of the club's staff or officers. Sometimes an
item total is not 36 because not all the questions were answered by all.
Of the 96 members in CCCC at that time (including spouse members), there
were 36 e-mail responses. There would have been a few more, but they didn't
know how to respond. [Why didn't the rest of you respond? I'll assume it
was because you are satisfied with things the way they are.]
The responses to operating systems used were:
Most (30) use Windows XP; some (16) use (or also use) Windows 98.
Twenty-two regularly attend meetings. Seven attend occasionally. Two are
unable to attend due to illness.
[Our monthly attendance is around 40 to 50. We hoped to find out from this
survey why the other half of the membership doesn't attend. Read on for
possible answers.]
Are you satisfied with the meetings? Eighteen said yes. One said no.
Three--no comment. Here are the comments:
Moderately; Mostly; Some; Depends on presenter; Usually glean something
No, Just broken record; Pretty satisfied.
[With only half the membership attending, there must be reasons. The next
set of questions pretty well gives the reasons.]
How could we make the meeting better? Three are satisfied. Eleven had no
comment. Here are the comments:
More Member input; Better Sigs (not so disorganized); Special time for E-
mail questions; Less questions at Sigs; More disks of the month like Sharon
had; Hard to say, new member; More social time to get to know each other-
like BBQ's; better coffee; Softer chairs-kidding; Clarify computer error
messages; Not that I know of; Will give it some thought; It's excellent now.
[Notice the range from "more member input" to "Less questions at Sigs". The
assumption has been that members could help each other with specific
problems. It appears we need more technical expertise at the SIGs. I like
the suggestion of more party time "...like BBQ's".]
What kind of Programs would you like to see? Twelve had no comment.
Here are the comments:
Local tech speakers; Nine comments for scanning and photo or digital help
and digital cameras; More like last month's (June was The digital Guy);
Wifi; I get lost in home networking; Web Page building; Quicken;
Maintenance; Q & A; Excel & Access; Discuss Mac; Buying/Selling E-Bay; It's
Fine Now.
[Programs are a problem--especially good ones. We get spoiled by the
occasional excellent presenter, but I think we are going to have to be
satisfied with the amateurs. Let's face it--we don't pay very well.]
Do you have a Computer subject you could talk about? Fifteen had no
comment. Eleven said no. Here are the comments:
Me; Yes, w/help; Lost in LALA Land; Windows Explorer; Personal Financial
Records; Backup with Acronis to external drive; PC Assembly with help;
Technical Word Proc & Math Programs.
[I think some got confused with the question and responded with what they
wanted, not what they could offer. Those that responded positively, PLEASE
step forward two paces! I sure would like to here the "Me" talk.]
Can you suggest a good speaker? Seventeen were no comment. Five were no.
Here are the comments;
You know all the people I do; Circuit City re: new monitors;
College Instructors; Best Buy, Office Depot, Staples re: new technology;
Local Techs; Ken Albertson, Identity Theft; Abro - How we can fix our own
problems; Not at this time; Will think about it.
[As it turns out we were already negotiating with ABRO at the time of the
survey. Someone should contact the BestBuy Geek Squad for a presentation.
Don't be bashful. If you can line up a speaker, let one of the club
officers know so we can schedule him/her.]
Would you like to participate in the club? Eight said they are currently
helping or have helped. Fifteen had no comment. Two said no.
[Now we are getting to the crux of the problems. This club is no different
than every other social organization I know. Many of the members pay their
money and wait to be entertained. Except, this is fundamentally NOT a
social club, or am I wrong. I look at as a technical group. It is
unfortunate it is named Central Coast Computer "Club", instead of "Users
Group".
But, we can't be too far off--we've maintained an average membership of 80
to 90 members for the past several years.]
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CCCC Page 4 September 2005
WEB WANDERINGS
GET GOOGLE'S GMAIL
Google launched Gmail about a year ago. But until now, only the elite who
received an invitation could join.
Gmail is Google's free e-mail service. It's so impressive that Hotmail and
Yahoo! were forced to upgrade their free offerings.
Why is Gmail so great? Well, you get a whopping two gigabytes (and counting)
of storage space. That means you don't need to delete messages -- simply
archive them. And features such as threaded views help you manage your e-
mail.
You can get Gmail on the Google home page. If you know people who have
accounts, they can send you an invitation. Or you can visit the Google home
page and click "refresh" in your Web browser until the offer to join comes
up.
The link below will take you directly to the account setup page.
www.google.com/accounts/NewAccount
G IS FOR GOOGLE
When you need to find something on the Internet, you probably refer to
Google.com. Most people do.
What you may not know is that Google offers ways to help you find whatever
you may be seeking. The site has set up specific pages to help you find
local listings, convert currencies, get stock quotes, check the weather and
find the status of a flight or package.
This site is a specific page at Google that lists them all. Look at the list
of different ways to use Google and you’re bound to find one to save you
time.
www.google.com/help/features.html
HOW SAFE IS YOUR CAR?
When you're shopping for a new car, it's easy to focus on price and
features. And it is just as easy to overlook the most important thing –
safety.
So before you spend a dime on your next vehicle, do some research. The
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration makes it easy. It's your one-
stop spot for information on vehicle safety.
You can view ratings and compare models. Some even have crash test photos.
They're sure to make you think twice about safety.
And if you're not buying a new car, there's still valuable information for
you. Find out how to prevent accidents. Or check for safety recalls. You can
even file a complaint.
www.safercars.gov
TRACK SATELLITES AND SPACE STATIONS
Ever since I was a little girl growing up in New Jersey, I've loved to
scan the night sky. I was always hoping to spy a falling star, a meteor
or a distant planet. If you're like me and can't get enough of outer
space, check out this site.
"Where is the International Space Station?" is a NASA site devoted to
the tracking and sighting of spacecraft. Zoom in and out to pinpoint
one of over 500 satellites. Objects like space stations, shuttles and
satellites are especially riveting when viewed over 3-D maps.
You can also investigate all things space under Latest Science News.
Find out what solar flares would do to astronauts caught scampering
over the moon's surface!
http://science.nasa.gov/temp/StationLoc.html
BLASTS FROM THE PAST
Next time you get mad trying to learn the latest cell phone, get a load
of this.
Internet Archive features a surreal 1927 training film "for users of
the new dial telephones." Golly, you mean if I drag my pinkie, I'll get
a wrong number?
Learn helpful tips like 'Pull the dial around until finger touches dial
stop." Or, "If the called party does not answer in a reasonable amount
of time, hang up."
Of course, this site features hundreds of other films in the public
domain. Flicks like the post-World War II "Are You Popular?" can be
a real hoot to view now!
http://snipurl.com/civh
TIME WARP
The Web is constantly updated with new content. This makes it the ultimate
resource for research and news.
But there's one problem. If you need to find something you read in the past,
it could disappear. I can't tell you how many times it's happened to me.
Well, the Internet Archive is taking on the task of archiving the Internet.
Enter an address, and you can see archived copies of the page. You may find
the story you're looking for. Or, it's just a fun way to see how the
Internet has changed.
I like it so much that I installed the nifty toolbar button. I just dragged
it to my browser's toolbar. Now, when I'm visiting a page, I just click it
to get an archived version.
www.archive.org/web/web.php
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CCCC Page 5 September 2005
SYSTEMS S.I.G. by Dick Trissel
One item that was briefly mentioned in the August Systems SIG was the
proposed daylight savings time. Many devices are programmed to
automatically make the daylight savings time change--your computer is one of
them. So, if this change is implemented, you have two choices.
1. Make four changes each year--two to correct the erroneous automatic
change, and two to set the correct time when the daylight savings change
really occurs.
2. Make two changes each year--turn off the automatic change option. Then
you will have to set the correct time at each daylight savings change, just
like you do your regular clocks.
To turn off the automatic change in your computer, double click the time
display in the systray (right corner of the taskbar), click the Time Zone
tab, uncheck the box for Automatically Adjust for Daylight Savings, click
Apply, and exit.
There is always the question of "Can I put Windows98SE in my XP computer?"
Of course, the answer is not simple--most computer answers aren't simple.
My experience is that you will probably have hardware driver problems.
Usually it is the Audio or Video adapters that are the problem. These
problems might be corrected with an update download from the hardware
manufacturer.
Then there is the question of "Should I put XP in my old 98 computer?" I've
had 100% success doing that--XP has a bucket full of drivers. However, if
you are going to spend $200 for the XP operating system, you would be much
better off buying a new inexpensive computer for $300 (after rebate, of
course). It will most likely be a better all around performing computer
than your old one.
I mentioned a new program that builds a "bootable" CD with an abbreviated XP
operating system on it. It boots directly regardless of whether you have a
hard drive installed, a non-operating OS, or a good OS. I'm still playing
with it, but it looks like it has merit as an emergency tool.
Actually there are several of these programs. Microsoft made one years ago
called WinPE (the PE is for Preinstalled Environment). Then it was improved
by a man named Bart and released as BARTPE. The CD is made from a free
program called PE-Builder (3MB--go to Google and type BARTPE). Now there is
another free program that adds more features to BARTPE called REATOGO. I
haven't tried it at the time of this writing.
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CCCC Page 6 September 2005
A COMPUTER EXPERIENCE by Jerry Miller
Something is wrong! My computer won't boot! It gets to various points in
the boot routine and switches to the "blue screen of death". Starting in
the safe mode doesn't help, switching to the "last known good point" doesn't
help, nothing that I know to do will make XP start the computer. The
operating system XP was always switching to the blue screen saying "I am
saving memory configuration" (why would anyone want saved junk) then
restarting. I have to think that I have a virus. It seems like the more I
try, the worse it gets.
I remembered that the last time I got a virus it cost me $75 to have Kevin
find it and exorcize it (them). Well whatever it is it can only affect the
hard drive and I can get a new one for $40. So I implemented a plan to
simply replace the hard drive and reinstall Windows XP and my programs.
This plan was a success at getting back to an operating system. Of course I
remembered to install Service Packs 1 and 2 with Windows. I had to call
Verizon because I hadn't recorded their mail addresses (incoming.mail and
outgoing.mail) but I was back online.
Now of course I still did not have any of my pictures (not too big of a
problem, I had just made a CD with the bulk of them) or any of my documents.
There were several things that were on the old hard drive that I wanted. I
could have installed the old drive as a slave drive and had easy access to
any data that I wanted but what if it really was a virus. I could infect
the new system with it. Here is where that old computer sitting in the
garage came in, I could install the old drive in it and retrieve whatever
files I wanted. I installed the drive but the garage computer's Windows 98
would not recognize it. Sooo I spent an afternoon installing Windows XP,
SP1 and SP2 on the old system. Now after running AVG anti-virus on it
(finding no virus) I can copy files to my thumb drive and install them on
the new system. It is amazing how many files that I was saving that I
decided I didn't need on the new system. I can transfer up to 128 MB with
my little thumb drive which is plenty for any of my data.
The last thing I did before I started having trouble was to install from a
CD a driver for my PCI USB hub. I will not install this again but I have
ordered a new USB2 hub PCI card, I just hope that XP will recognize it
because I am not installing another driver for it.
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CCCC Page 7 September 2005
WIRELESS NETWORK SECURITY
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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Police have charged a Florida man with a third-degree
felony charge, after he was arrested for accessing a St. Petersburg
resident's wireless Internet network without permission.
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My name is Kirk. I am writing this column from my downtown San Diego condo.
I can clearly detect signals from four wireless networks other than my own.
All of these networks are unprotected and open to attack. Two are Linksys-
brand devices, and I can use the widely known, factory-supplied, default IP
address and my browser to gain access to these routers. At the very least, I
could cancel my own broadband service, and surf through cyberspace on my
neighbor’s nickel. If I were really nasty, I could use their router as a
gateway to the information stored on their machines.
Settings on all home wireless routers can be configured to guard against all
manner of intrusions, including the dreaded pesky neighbor break-in.
for this discussion we will use settings taken from a Linksys Wireless G
Broadband Router, one of the most popular home devices around, and serves as
a combination network router, switch, and wireless access point.
Network Mode—-This setting is used to match the wireless protocol used by
the router with the protocol used by connecting devices, such as laptops.
The evolution of the 802.11x standard has left us with three commonly used
flavors of wireless standards: 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g.
For the Network Mode setting, you probably have only these choices:
Disabled, Mixed, B-Only, or G-Only. Mixed mode allows both 802.11g and
802.11b devices to connect. If you want to grant access only to G-devices
(your laptop, for example), set Network Mode to G-Only. If there are long
periods in which you want to disallow any wireless connection altogether,
set Network Mode to Disabled (a friend of mine always sets Network Mode to
Disabled while she is at work).
SSID Broadcast—-Short for Service Set Identifier, the SSID differentiates
one wireless network from another. On most routers, including the Linksys
model, you can assign an easily recognizable name to the SSID—CondoNet, for
example. The SSID was designed to help a roaming user locate and connect to
the strongest signal.
Most wireless routers continually broadcast SSID for roaming users and
(unfortunately) the rest of the world to see. Chances are, the typical home
wireless network will have only one SSID. If this is the case, the broadcast
of the SSID should be disabled. This prevents inquisitive condo neighbors
equipped with wireless-sniffing software from detecting the presence of your
network.
Security Method—-With early implementations of wireless networking,
information was transmitted openly. The most common method of encryption is
called WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy), and is used in all home routers
today. Most home routers come out of the box with WEP turned off! This means
all of your wireless transmissions are open for the world to see.
In setting up WEP, you’ll have to make some choices. WEP supports two
encryption key lengths: 64 bit and 128 bit. When it comes to encryption,
“more bits” equals “harder to hack.” Unfortunately, decryption takes a tad
longer with 128 bit. Once the key is generated by the router, you’ll need to
enter this key in the wireless card setup of each device that will be part
of your network.
When configuring your security method, you will probably see other choices,
too: Radius, PKS Radius, WPA Radius, or Pre-Shared Key (PSK), for example.
Radius is most often used by corporate networks. This method is considered
much more secure than WEP. PSK is based on WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access)
standards, and is a successor to WEP. Before using PSK, make sure this
standard is supported by all wireless devices that will connect to your
network.
Wireless MAC Filter—-Every 802.11x network device has a MAC (Media Access
Control) address. With filtering, you have two choices: Prevent certain
devices from accessing your network, or allow only certain MAC addresses
access.
For Windows users, here’s how to find your MAC address. Click on Start/Run.
Enter CMD, and then click OK. You’ll get an ugly-looking DOS command prompt
window. Enter ipconfig / all. You should see information about your Windows
IP configuration and Ethernet adapter. The line labeled Physical Address is
your MAC address.
Don’t be intimidated by the wireless security gobbledygook on your router.
Take the time to set up a secure network at home. You won’t be sorry, and
your pesky neighbor won’t be riding your broadband for free.
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CCCC Page 8 September 2005
SCREEN SAVER ON DEMAND by Kim Komando
Q. You recently told a caller to your show how to put together a screen
saver using the best pictures. I did that and my wife just loves it. I was
wondering, is there a special key that I could press that would start the
screen saver immediately?
A. You can easily put a shortcut to start the screen saver on your desktop.
When you want it to run, simply double-click the shortcut icon. You stop the
screen saver by moving the mouse, so that could make double-clicking
problematic. You have to move fast. Practice getting your hand off the mouse
before the screen saver starts. Otherwise, you'll start and stop it nearly
simultaneously.
But, if you're working in a window, you would have to close it before you
could double-click the shortcut. That would slow things down. There are two
ways around that: Put the shortcut in the Quick Launch area, which you can
keep visible at all times. Or use a keyboard shortcut.
The latter would be my choice. But I'll tell you how to do both. Then you
can decide.
First, let's make the desktop shortcut. Right-click an empty area on your
desktop. Click Properties. Click Screen Saver. Under Screen Saver, pick one
you like. When you click them, they are shown on the monitor representation.
In Windows XP, the screen saver files are located in C:\Windows\System32.
They begin with the letters "ss," which makes them easy to find in the
alphabetized listing. The file names are similar to the names in the screen
saver list, but you may have to experiment to find the correct one. In case
you need it, here are the screen saver file locations in earlier Windows
versions:
98 and ME -- C:\Windows\System
2000 -- C:\WINNT\System32
To make the shortcut, right-click an empty area on the desktop. Click
New>>Shortcut. Click Browse and surf to the System32 folder. Scroll to the S
listings and click the screen saver file. It will end in the extension .SCR.
Click OK>>Next. Enter a name for the shortcut and click Finish.
That puts the shortcut icon on your desktop. The Quick Launch area is next
to the Start button. If you don't see it, right-click the taskbar. Click
Properties. Click Show Quick Launch. Also, enable "Keep the taskbar on top
of other windows." Click Apply>>OK.
Drag the shortcut icon to the Quick Launch area. Move the Quick Launch
border to the right to enlarge the area, if necessary. To launch the screen
saver, click it once. Remember to remove your hand from the mouse quickly.
To create a keyboard shortcut, right-click the shortcut on your desktop. On
the Shortcut tab, find Shortcut Key. The word None will be in the box.
Position the cursor after the word None and press Ctrl+Alt+S (or another
letter). That will create the keyboard shortcut.
To start the screen saver, depress the three keys simultaneously. The screen
saver will start immediately.
Copyright 2005 WestStar TalkRadio Network. Reprinted with permission. No
further republication or redistribution is permitted without the written
consent of WestStar TalkRadio Network. Visit Kim Komando and sign up for her
free e-mail newsletters at: www.komando.com
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