• Software Tip
  The Super Duper Problem Fixer
  
  
• Website of Interest
  Your Tax Dollar Hard at Work
  
  
• Computer Parts
  CPU
  
  
• Tech Tip
  Downloading 101
  
  
• eScams
  Phishing, Carding, and Spoofing
  
  
• Reader's Emails
  
  
• Reader's Tips
  
  
• A Personal Note from Ray

Software Tip - The Super Duper Problem Fixer

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        One of our customers pointed out a new program to me and wanted me to check it out. This program called itself a bug fixer. It was a sharp looking program and claimed to fix bugs on the user's computer that he didn't even know existed.
        It sounded like a super duper problem solver until I downloaded it and took a closer look. Being a programmer I quickly saw behind its smoke and mirrors. It actually only performed six of the over 1000 cleaning processes which our A1Click Ultra PC Cleaner and RegVac Registry Cleaner do.
        Even though it did little compared to our programs, it found 504 problems. How can that be? My computer was clean. The program did not show any details about the results but wanted $30 before it would clean them. I'll never know for sure about those results, but I suspect that they were fabricated and that the true number of problems was 0.
        There are many shady developers out there that just want to make a quick buck. I doubt this bug fixer program will even be around in a year.
        This provides a good lesson to anyone. Be sure to purchase software from a trusted developer and don't buy a program just because it looks nice.
        We have been in the software business since 1996 and are continually improving our programs. You will not hear hype and lies from us. Our programs may not look that good on the surface, but under the hood they are super. When you purchase our programs, all future updates are free.
        If you haven't tried RegVac Registry Cleaner and A1Click Ultra PC Cleaner, try them today.


Website of Interest - Your Tax Dollar Hard at Work

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        One thing that our US tax dollar buys is websites on all types of topics. These websites are not always the best looking, but if you just start clicking on links, it is no telling what you will find. Here are some websites courtesy of Uncle Sam:

• FirstGov.gov = www.firstgov.gov - This is where the government wants you to come to get to them. There is a lot of neat things here.
• FedWorld - www.fedworld.gov - a collection of some of the more popular government sites, such as, Job Search, IRS Forms, Supreme Court Decisions, etc.
• Government Printing Office - www.gpoaccess.gov - free government publications on all kinds of topics
• Library of Congress - www.loc.gov - comprehensive card catalog and other features, like webcasts.
• FBI's FOIA - foia.fbi.gov - FOIA stands for Freedom of Information Act. Here you will find records that were kept on famous people and organizations. These are simply copies in PDF files of the actual reports.
• U.S. Department of State's FOIA - foia.state.gov - same as above but from a different agency.
• U.S. Historical Documents Archive - www.ushda.org - a collection of U.S. historical documents.
• CIA - www.cia.gov - there are a few interesting items here, like the World Factbook.

Computer Parts - CPU

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        In the previous issue we talked about the motherboard. On the motherboard is a square chip. This is the CPU (Central Processing Unit) also known as the microprocessor.
        The CPU does all of the calculating or thinking of the computer. If there is any figuring or deciding that has to be done on your computer, it goes through the CPU. Because of this, the CPU is often a bottleneck for the speed of your computer and the trend has been to make CPUs bigger and faster.
        The first microprocessor, the Intel 4004 was introduced in 1971. It could not work with any numbers bigger than 15. The first popular microprocessor was the 8088, from there it went to 80286 (commonly called a 286), then to 80386 (commonly called a 386), then to 80486 (commonly called a 486), then to Pentium (which was an 80586), then to Pentium II, then to Pentium III, and then to Pentium 4. These were all made by Intel. Microprocessors made by different companies have different names, but they are usually compared to the Intel CPUs.
        To show you how far CPUs have come, the Pentium 4 can process numbers bigger than 4 billion and works 5,000 times faster than the 8088.
        Though the CPU has grown, the physical size has not increased proportionately. This is because as the CPU gets bigger the wires and transistors inside the CPU shrink to microscopic sizes. While the microscopic sizes helps the speed, the complexity of the chip creates another problem: heat. To combat heat CPUs today usually have cooling fins (called a Heat Sink) and a fan to keep them from overheating.
        A computer is usually identified by the CPU in it. So a computer with a Pentium 4 CPU in it is called a Pentium 4 computer.
        CPUs are also identified by their speed. The clock speed of a CPU is measured in millions of cycles per second (megahertz - MHz) or billions of cycles per second (gigahertz - GHz) and defines how fast data is processed by the CPU. Just because two CPUs are of the same type does not mean that they have the same speed. That is why the speed is also shown. So a Pentium 4 3.6 GHz is more than twice as fast as a Pentium 4 1.5 GHz.
        Some electronic devices also have microprocessors.


Tech Tip - Downloading 101

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        Downloading is the process of copying a file from a larger computer to a smaller computer. When you copy files, programs, and games from the internet to your computer, that is downloading. Copying files from one place to another on your computer is copying, not downloading.
        Downloading a file is simple, but here are some tips that will help you download.
        To download a file, find a download link on a website (usually it will say something like, "Click here to download") and click on it.
        You may be asked if you want to Save the file or Run (sometimes the word, Open, is used instead of Run) it. I prefer to Save the file and not to Run it, but Running it is easier if it works.
        If you Save it, the file will be put on your hard drive for you to use later. After you choose Save, an Open dialog box will appear asking you where to put the file. Remember where you choose to put it. You will need to know this later. I usually put all of my download files in the same place so that they will be easier to find. A progress bar will pop up and show you the progress of the download. When it is finished, a screen may remain that says, Download Complete. This screen has a Run button on it. If the Run button is there, click on it; otherwise, you will have to find the file on your hard drive using Windows Explorer and double click on it to run it.
        If when asked to Save or Run a file, you Run it, the file will be downloaded to a Temporary location on your hard drive and then it will run automatically. There are two disadvantages to downloading this way. Number one is that it doesn't always work. And number two is that if you want to use the downloaded file again, you will have to download it every time that you want to use it.
        Your computer may not ask you whether to Save or Run it. In this case, it will just do what it wants to. To force a download saving the file to your hard drive, right click on the link and choose "Save Target As...".
        There is a bug in Windows where clicking on the download link will sometimes give you a quick progress bar and then say the file is downloaded. When you run the file, it gives you an error saying that it is corrupted. To get around this, right click on the download link and choose "Save Target As..." from the popup menu.
        The working part of a zip or exe file is at the end. If after downloading the file, it runs, you can be sure that you received the entire file (I don't know of downloaded files missing sections in the middle). But if it does not run, it is because the download for some reason or another did not complete and you did not get the entire file. In these cases, you will usually get an error message saying that the file is corrupt and to download it again. If redownloading doesn't work, try the right click trick (mentioned above).
        One last point - if you are having Windows run the file, you will probably get a security warning message saying, "The publisher could not be verified..." Most files will be this way. That does not mean that they are bad.


eScams - Phishing, Carding, and Spoofing

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        Phishing, carding, and spoofing refers to the same thing. There are also other terms that are used for similar deceptions. Phishing is when someone attempts to fraudulently get sensitive information from you, such as passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy person or business in a seemingly official email message.
        This is how it happens. You get an email from eBay saying that your account will be suspended if you do not update your account information or you get an email from SouthTrust Bank saying that they are carrying out a planned software upgrade and they earnestly ask you to visit a link to start the procedure of confirming your data. These are two of the more popular phishing scams.
        The first thing you need to realize is that these emails are not really from eBay, SouthTrust Bank, or whoever they say they are from. They may have official logos and valid email addresses in the From field, but they are still not from these places.
        What these emails want you to do is click on the link in them. The link will take you either to a fake website or to the actual website and then relay the information to a third party. Either way what they are after is your personal information, like login, password, or credit card information.
        This scam changes over time, so it is not possible to explain all of the details of phishing, but there is one simple precaution you can take to keep from being taken by this scam. If you don't get anything else out of this article, get this, DO NOT USE THE LINKS IN THESE EMAILS. If you think that the email is valid and eBay really wants to update your account, go to eBay not using the link in the email and check it out.
        If you want to know more about phishing, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phishing.


Reader's Emails

Mike Wilson - Concerning your article on the EZ File Transplanter and how Windows makes links, I'd like to have seem more detailed remarks on version-related differences: is this mainly a WinXP hazard, or does it equally affect W2K? Even W'98?

Ray - As far as Windows making links, it applies to all versions of Windows (maybe not 95) but it seems the newer Windows, the more links are made. Programs also make links to themselves, so it is not just a Windows thing. This is all done in an effort to make life easier for you, but it all falls apart when you move files (unless you use EZ File Transplanter).

Bill - Thanks for your new venture. You presume we know how to close down windows... I don't. Can you address that in your next letter?

Ray - The proper way to close down Windows is to click on the Start button in the lower left corner of the screen, and then click on Turn Off Computer. A Turn Off Computer window will popup with three buttons. Click on the Turn Off button. Then be sure to wait until either your computer turns off or it says that you can turn it off. That is how it is in Windows XP. Other Windows may be slightly different.

Mark - Regarding "eScams - This message contains...", I find the best way to handle this is with e-mail previewing software which is not html, script or active-x capable. I've used www.mailwasher.net with complete satisfaction for this purpose. I can use Mail Washer to delete these worms right on the server, so they never have a chance of getting on my computer.

Ray - Yes, I use MailWasher too for the same purpose. I forgot to mention that. Thanks.

Vernon Schultz - Can you address these "data miners" like VX2 in a future issue?

Ray - OK, I will do that in a future issue.


Reader's Tips

Thomas Elias Weatherly - When I do online banking, or some other sensitive site, I do not type my pin, password, or any other number; I copy and paste the numbers into the form, so if on my computer or theirs there is a keylogger installed that there are no keystrokes to record. I do not even keep the numbers on my hard drive; I copy and paste from a I gig thumbdrive (keyring drive) where I keep sensitive numbers and codes. When this small usb drive is not being used, I lock it in a safe. I erase the free space on my hard drive regularly just to make sure there are no tracks.

Bruwer - To get away from backups I have installed another hard drive and all my important files/programs are copied to it on a regular basis. WinRescue 98 is a very useful program, it has saved me many hours when things went wrong, up and running in minutes instead of days.


A Personal Note from Ray

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        Thank you for all of the emails of appreciation for this newsletter. If you have any tips or category suggestions, please feel free to let me know.
        If you do not want to be subscribed to this list, please use the unsubscribe link.

Thanks for reading,
Ray Geide