Computer Care - Past Articles

Will Vista fill the void left by Windows XP?

The Windows XP era ends June 30 and soon hardware vendors will be shipping you all Vista all the time (in most cases). The save XP effort failed. The whining should cease. And now it’s time for Vista to sink or swim.

Ina Fried has a good overview of where Windows XP will stand with PC manufacturers. And Matt Asay highlights a report from Evans Data noting that 92 percent of developers are ignoring Vista. Coupling these two items together and you come to one conclusion: Folks are skeptical about Vista, but a lot of that skepticism is because XP is still lingering.

If you’re a Vista complainer you have two options from here:

• Move away from Windows completely (users try a new OS and developers jump ship).

• Or shut up and go with Vista. My hunch is most folks will do that latter.

I’d love to believe that Microsoft’s Vista miscues would result in a mass exodus, but I doubt that will happen. I also wonder why people live in New Jersey and pay those ridiculous property taxes, but shockingly enough people stay. Based on my Libertarian leanings I’d reckon there would be four people left in Jersey by now.

But I digress. Once consumers no longer have the XP option they’ll fall in line with Vista. Sure some percentage will go Mac, but if you didn’t jump yet–after a gazillion brilliant Apple ads knocking Vista–you probably won’t. And the developer worries: Developers will fall in line too. Evans Data notes:

Only eight percent of North American software developers are currently writing applications to run on Microsoft’s Vista operating system, while half are still writing programs for XP, according to Evans Data’s Spring 2008, North American Development Survey. These same developers forecast a fragmented Windows market in 2009 with only 24 percent expecting to target Vista and 29% expecting to continue with XP.

“Developers have taken a wait and see approach to Vista”, said John Andrews, Evans Data’s President and CEO. “The new operating system has had more than its share of problems and the desire to move from XP on the Windows platform is still lagging - that coupled with interest in alternative operating systems is suppressing development activity and that in turn will further erode Vista’s acceptance.”

Should Vista supporters be worried? Probably not. Developers have clearly hedged their bets, but that’s because XP was still being distributed. Once that distribution ends developers will have to step up their efforts on Vista. Corporations will complain but still roll out Vista. There’s a reason Microsoft cuts off previous versions of Windows–it works. And it’ll probably work this time too.

TechRepublic June 18th, 2008 Author: Larry Dignan

Response:

“Microsoft says it will continue to make XP discs available to computer makers to enable downgrade rights through at least January 31, 2009.”

“Dell: Unlike the other three, Dell plans to stop selling standard XP machines via its Web site on Wednesday. "Dell systems with XP as the only OS will no longer be available after June 18 on Dell.com," the company said. It will offer a downgrade program for a number of its machines, including all OptiPlex desktops, all Latitude laptops, all Precision workstations and most of its Vostro systems for mid-size businesses. Two consumer gaming systems--the XPS 630 and the XPS M1730--are already eligible for the program with a third, the XPS 730, to be added soon.

The downgraded machines will ship with XP installed, plus an XP restore disc with drivers as well as a copy of Vista and its Vista drivers. It said it will keep shipping XP media until the Microsoft mandated end date of January 31, 2009. ”

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-9968449-56.html

And it’s still available at Dell: http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=04&kc=6W300&l=en&oc=blcwk3h&s=bsd (Example of a downgraded offering)

At Your Service!

Ron (Computer Care)

10 ways you might be breaking the law with your computer

For many years, the Internet was the "final frontier," operating largely unregulated—in part because of the jurisdictional nightmare involved in trying to enforce laws when communications crossed not just state lines but also national boundaries. That was then; this is now, and legislation that affects the use of Internet-connected computers is springing up everywhere at the local, state, and federal levels. You might be violating one of them without even knowing it.

In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the existing laws and some of the pending legislation that may affect how we use our computers and the Internet. Nothing in this article should be construed as legal advice; this is merely an overview of some of the legislation that’s out there, how it has been interpreted by the courts (if applicable), and possible implications for computer users.

1. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)

Most computer users have heard of this law, which was signed in 1998 by President Clinton, implementing two World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) treaties. The DMCA makes it a criminal offense to circumvent any kind of technological copy protection -- even if you don’t violate anyone’s copyright in doing so. In other words, simply disabling the copy protection is a federal crime.

There are some exemptions, such as circumventing copy protection of programs that are in an obsolete format for the purpose of archiving or preservation. But in most cases, using any sort of anti-DRM program is illegal. This applies to all sorts of copy-protected files, including music, movies, and software. You can read a summary of the DMCA at http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf.

If you’re a techie who likes the challenge of trying to "crack"DRM," be aware that doing so—even if you don’t make or distribute illegal copies of the copyrighted material -- is against the law.

2. No Electronic Theft (NET) Act

This is another U.S. federal law that was passed during the Clinton administration. Prior to this act, copyright violations were generally treated as civil matters and could not be prosecuted criminally unless it was done for commercial purposes. The NET Act made copyright infringement itself a federal criminal offense, regardless of whether you circumvent copy-protection technology or whether you derive any commercial benefit or monetary gain. Thus, just making a copy of a copyrighted work for a friend now makes you subject to up to five years in prison and/or up to $250,000 in fines. This is the law referred to in the familiar "FBI Warning" that appears at the beginning of most DVD movies. You can read more about the NET Act at http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/iclp/hr2265.html.

Many people who consider themselves upstanding citizens and who would never post music and movies to a P2P site think nothing of burning a copy of a song or TV show for a friend. Unfortunately, by the letter of the law, the latter is just as illegal as the former.

3. Court rulings regarding border searches

Most Americans are aware of the protections afforded by the U.S. Constitution’s fourth amendment against unreasonable searches and seizures. In general, this means that the government cannot search your person, home, vehicle, or computer without probable cause to believe that you’ve engaged in some criminal act.

What many don’t know is that there are quite a few circumstances that the Courts, over the years, have deemed to be exempt from this requirement. One of those occurs when you enter the United States at the border. In April of this year, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the right of Customs officers to search laptops and other digital devices at the border (the definition of which extends to any international airport when you are coming into the country) without probable cause or even the lesser standard of reasonable suspicion. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and other groups strongly disagree with the ruling. You can read more on the EFF Web site (http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/04/no-cause-needed-search-laptops-border).

Meanwhile, be aware that even though you’ve done nothing illegal and are not even suspected of such, the entire contents of your portable computer, PDA, or smart phone can be accessed by government agents when you enter the United States. So if you have anything on your hard drive that might be embarrassing, you might want to delete it before crossing the border.

4. State laws regarding access to networks

Many states have criminal laws that prohibit accessing any computer or network without the owner’s permission. For example, in Texas, the statute is Penal Code section 33.02, Breach of Computer Security. It says, "A person commits an offense if the person knowingly accesses a computer, computer network or computer system without the effective consent of the owner." The penalty grade ranges from misdemeanor to first degree felony (which is the same grade as murder), depending on whether the person obtains benefit, harms or defrauds someone, or alters, damages, or deletes files.

The wording of most such laws encompasses connecting to a wireless network without explicit permission, even if the wi-fi network is unsecured. The inclusion of the culpable mental state of "knowing" as an element of the offense means that if your computer automatically connects to your neighbor’s wireless network instead of your own and you aren’t aware of it, you haven’t committed a crime -- but if you decide to hop onto the nearest unencrypted wi-fi network to surf the Internet, knowing full well that it doesn’t belong to you and no one has given you permission, you could be prosecuted under these laws.

A Michigan man was arrested (http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070522-michigan-man-arrested-for-using-cafes-free-wifi-from-his-car.html) for using a café’s wi-fi network (which was reserved for customers) from his car in 2007. Similar arrests have been made in Florida, Illinois, Washington, and Alaska. See

5. "Tools of a crime" laws

Some states have laws that make it a crime to possess a "criminal instrument" or the "tool of a crime." Depending on the wording of the law, this can be construed to mean any device that is designed or adapted for use in the commission of an offense. This means you could be arrested and prosecuted, for example, for constructing a high gain wireless antenna for the purpose of tapping into someone else’s wi-fi network, even if you never did in fact access a network. Several years ago, a California sheriff’s deputy made the news when he declared "Pringles can antennas" illegal (http://www.engadget.com/2005/07/25/wifi-cantennas-now-illegal/) under such a statute.

6. "Cyberstalking" laws

Stalking is a serious crime and certainly all of us are in favor of laws that punish stalkers. As Internet connectivity has become ubiquitous, legislatures have recognized that it’s possible to stalk someone from afar using modern technology. Some of the "cyberstalking" laws enacted by the states, however, contain some pretty broad language.

The Arkansas law (http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/NXT/gateway.dll?f=templates&fn=default.htm&vid=blr:code), for example, contains a section titled "Unlawful computerized communications" that makes it a crime to send a message via e-mail or other computerized communication system (Instant Messenger, Web chat, IRC, etc.) that uses obscene, lewd, or profane language, with the intent to frighten, intimidate, threaten, abuse, or harass another person. Some of the lively discussions on mailing lists and Web boards that deteriorate into flame wars could easily fall under that definition. Or how about the furious e-mail letter you sent to the company that refused to refund your money for the shoddy product you bought?

Closely related are the laws against "cyber bullying" (http://www.cio-today.com/news/Teen-Suicide-Spurs-Cyberbullying-Law/story.xhtml?story_id=12000B111K60) that have recently been passed by some states and local governments.

The best policy is to watch your language when sending any type of electronic communications. Not only can a loss of temper when you’re online come back to embarrass you, it could possibly get you thrown in jail.

7. Internet gambling laws

Like to play poker online or bet on the horse races from the comfort of your home? The federal Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 criminalizes acceptance of funds from bett0ors -- but what about the bettors themselves? Are they committing a crime?

Under this federal law (http://www.gambling-law-us.com/Federal-Laws/internet-gambling-ban.htm), the answer is no, but some state laws do apply to the person placing the bet. For example, a Washington law passed in 2006 (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004418390_gambling16m.html) makes gambling on the Internet a felony. The King County Superior Court just recently upheld that law, although challengers have vowed to take it to the Supreme Court.

Be sure to check out the state and local laws before you make that friendly online bet.

8. Security Breach Disclosure laws

A California law passed in 2003 (http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/appndxa/civil/civ1798_82.htm) requires that any company that does business in California must notify their California customers if they discover or suspect that nonencrypted data has been accessed without authorization. This applies even if the business is not located in California, as long as you have customers there, and no exception is made for small businesses.

9. Community Broadband Act of 2007

This is a piece of pending federal legislation that was introduced in July of 2007 as U.S. Senate Bill 1853. In April 2008, it was placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders and is still winding its way through the legislative process. This federal law would prohibit state and local governments (municipalities and counties) from passing laws that prohibit public telecommunications providers from offering Internet services.

This is in response to laws passed in a few states, as a result of lobbying from the telecom industry, that prohibit cities from installing and operating public broadband networks, such as public wi-fi networks. The big telecom companies have a vested interest in preventing cities from establishing networks that could compete with their own services by providing free or low cost Internet services because the public services are partially or wholly taxpayer-subsidized.

If this law passes, it could make it easier to find free or low cost ISP services in cities that choose to build public networks. On the other hand, it could (depending on how it’s funded) cause tax increases for those who live in those municipalities, including those who don’t use the public networks.

10. Pro IP Act

Back on the copyright front, the House of Representative recently approved by an overwhelming majority HR 4279, which imposes stricter penalties for copyright infringement. It creates a new position of "copyright enforcement czar" in the federal bureaucracy and gives law enforcement agents the right to seize property from copyright infringers.

This may all sound fine in theory, but when you look at the way other seizure and forfeiture laws have been applied (for instance, the ability of drug enforcement officers to seize houses, computers, cars, cash, and just about everything else that belongs to someone tagged as a suspected drug dealer --, and in some cases not returning the property even when the person is acquitted or not prosecuted), it makes many people wary. Read more about the bill at http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080508-house-overwhelmingly-passes-controversial-pro-ip-act.html.

Some local jurisdictions have already established seizure authority for piracy. See http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080509-piracy-now-public-nuisance-in-los-angeles-county.html for more information. (https://winqual.microsoft.com/member/softwarelogo/workswithlist.aspx)

TechRepublic May 2008

By Debra Littlejohn Shinder, MCSE, MVP

A computer bug for the rest of us

If you are smart, you have up to date anti-virus and a firewall and probably some spam protection and maybe a spyware blocker on your computer. And you likely feel pretty safe with those tools and you probably keep them up to date and run recommended scans.

Your security products keep you safe and this is good. But they have limitations. They can’t, for instance, keep you safe from buggy software.

Or buggy hardware.

If you provide computer support in Houston, or any of the Texas Gulf Coast cities, you may need to add a new tool to your bag. The name and number of a good exterminator.

A new breed of ant is in town and for some reason, they want to eat your computer. It isn’t personal. They would eat mine too- but I live in the wrong climate for them.

The ants, dubbed the Crazy Rasberry ants after Tom Rasberry , owner of Budget Pest Control in Pearland, Texas, will swarm in huge numbers looking for one thing. Food. And they will attack your computer to find it.

From ComputerWorld:

Rasberry told Computerworld that the ants have caused a lot of trouble for one Texas chemical company in particular. Not wanting to name the company, he said the ants shorted out three different computers that were running a pipeline that brought chemicals into the plant. The ants took down two computers last year and one in 2006, affecting flow in the pipeline each time.

“I think they go into everything and they don’t follow any kind of structured line,” said Rasberry. “If you open a computer, you would find a cluster of ants on the motherboard and all over. You’d get 3,000 or 4,000 ants inside and they create arcs. They’ll wipe out any computer.”
The Johnson Space Center called in Rasberry a month or two ago in an attempt to keep the ants out of their facilities. Too late. Raspberry said
he’s found three colonies at the NASA site, but all have been small enough to control.

“With the computer systems they have in there, it could devastate the facility,” said Rasberry. “If these ants got into the facility in the numbers they have in other locations, well, it would be awful. I’ve been in this business for 32 years and this is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Anything. When you bring in entomologists from all over the United States and they’re in shock and awe, that shows you what it’s like.”

Seems like you could just grab a can of RaidTM and be done with the problem, right? Well, no. Rasberry uses products containing the chemicals fipronil and chlorfenapyr (professional exterminators can purchase these, but you can’t) but finds that he can’t put down enough of the chemicals to make a difference. The staggering proliferation of the ants is too great and there are environmental restrictions on the chemicals themselves.

It is thought that the ants arrived in the US via a cargo ship in about 2002. Since then, the prolific ant has grown in numbers so great that they are considered to be a hazard.

From the New York Times:

Jason Meyers, a doctoral student in urban entomology at Texas A&M who is writing his dissertation on the ants, described them as enigmatic and confirmed that they were discovered by Mr. Rasberry. They belong to the genus Paratrechina, like others seen in Colombia, the Caribbean and Florida, Mr. Meyers said, but are different enough for entomologists to only guess at their species, listing them for now as “near” pubens.
“It’s a very fecund species, with multiple queens,” Mr. Meyers said.

The ants often eat fire ants, with which they are sometimes compared, and they “outcompete” fire ants for the food supply and reproduce far faster, Mr. Meyers said.

If you are an IT support person in a Gulf Coast state, my heart goes out to you. I can fix most things that go wrong with a computer. I can take them apart and put them back together. But I draw the line at pest control. Surely, that is someone else’s job.

- TechRepublic 5/16/08

Prevent identity theft by avoiding these seven common mistakes

Identity theft is on the rise. Is your organization part of the solution or part of the problem? Personally identifiable information (PII) is pouring through the security floodgates and ending up in the wrong hands at an alarming rate. To protect your organization’s employees and clients, you need to evaluate how well your company protects its PII. Here are seven common mistakes to avoid.

Keep users in the dark
Users will always be the weakest link in any enterprise network — and all of the gadgets and controls in the world won’t change that. If your users don’t know how to identify and handle PII, it’s only a matter of time before one of them discloses this data to the wrong source. The solution is simple: Educate your users on your company’s policies and mechanisms to process PII. And don’t forget to include regularly scheduled refresher courses.

Partner with the wrong businesses
You’ve made sure your security is rock solid, and you’ve trained your users. But can your business partners say the same? Do you collect or share information with businesses that have little or no security? If your company collects and shares PII with insecure partners, who do you think will end up in the paper and explaining to law enforcement about how a breach occurred? Your company will. The solution is just as simple as the last dilemma: Educate and train your business partners on how to protect this sensitive information. Charge them for your expertise if you want, but get the job done.

Keep data around past its prime
What do you do with data once it’s served its purpose? If you aren’t destroying PII when it’s no longer required, then you’re not doing your job. That doesn’t mean throwing it away either — that means destroying it. Dumpster divers make a living off of old bank statements and credit card receipts. That’s why you need to wipe out PII when it’s no longer necessary. If your organization doesn’t have a shredder, you need to get one today.
Don’t worry about physical security
It’s imperative that you implement physical access controls to prevent unauthorized people — including employees — from gaining access to PII. Get a door lock and a badge reader, and start controlling access.

Don’t lock up your records
If you don’t have specific storage areas on your network (as well as file cabinets) for PII, then how can your properly protect it? Take inventory of your network — and your paper copies — and develop a plan to protect that data. This would be a good time to research encrypting data-at-rest and locking some file cabinets.

Ignore activity on your network
I’ve said this before in columns, but it’s worth repeating: If you’re not going to actively monitor your network for suspicious activity or incidents, then stop collecting the data. Develop a method that’s within your capabilities and budget to monitor your network for suspicious activity or incidents. And while you’re at it, develop a response and mitigation strategy for security incidents.

Audits? Who needs audits?
A lot of businesses either don’t know what security events to audit or don’t read their security logs — or both. If you’re not sure which events to audit, find out. Set up security auditing, and start reviewing your logs today.

Final thoughts
Identity theft may be on the rise, but you don’t have to make it easy for thieves. You can help prevent identity theft both at home and at the office — you just need to take a few extra steps.

-TechRepublic 04/21/08

ANN’S IDENTITY THEFT - FOR REAL

It seemed as if the universe was against me in January and February of this year. First were the auto accident and then the Identity Theft. What had I done wrong? As I found out, I didn’t do anything, it was done to me.

I check my online bank accounts every day. This problem did not have to do with having accounts online. Here is a link to an article that shows paying bills online is actually safer than we think. http://www.technewsworld.com/story/security/32622.html.

One night I saw a memo debit charge for $1,435 on my account. I called my bank first thing the next morning and the assistant looked it up and remarked it was Ethiopia. I said that wasn’t my charge and she was very helpful in removing the charge and all fees and penalties associated with it. In fact, the money was back in my account the very next day. Someone was using my debit card to purchase an Ethiopian Air ticket from Togo, Africa! Ron asked the bank assistant if they contacted people when a suspicious charge was made. She said yes they have a list, but this one must have slipped through the crack. Well, I have come to realize that it was the Hannaford breach that was most likely the cause. Ron thinks this breach most likely came from someone inside Hannaford sending a joke to someone else in Hannaford and that joke had malware attached to it and it spread like wildfire. One needs to practice safe computing (see another article about that – here on our website).

I didn’t do anything as I thought this was an isolated incident. A week later a company from Georgia called me about an electronic wire transfer. I immediately called them back and found out that someone was using a fictitious credit card number, my name, address and social security number to purchase a $500 prepaid credit card to send to the Philippines. I, of course, said it wasn’t my charge and that took care of it. This company called because the Philippines are a suspicious area for money transfers.

What I Did To Protect Myself

I put a Fraud Alert on my credit report. Once you report to one credit reporting agency, this alert will be put on all and they contact you to make sure this is what you want done. A Fraud Alert is that there is suspicious activity on your credit account and you are contacted to make sure it is actually you wanting the credit.

You can also, put a credit freeze on your credit file – this differs in that no one – not even you can have access to your credit report. I later talked with my insurance company about freezes (I found out I had insurance coverage for identity theft).If you want to get credit yourself, you have to write the credit reporting agency and wait for them to get the letter and remove the freeze – this could take up to 3 weeks – so one had better be sure they don’t want any credit for awhile.

You need to have a police report to put a credit freeze on. I did call my local police and they said I had to file the report in the town in which the fraud happened. Well, I couldn’t do it in Georgia, but I did report it here. I needed to inform the police officer that I needed a copy of this report to put a freeze on my credit, as well as to get any information from companies that had been contacted fraudulently with my information. The police officer said, and I realized, nothing much could be done.