IE8 and Ask! Toolbar

An unusual problem has recently surfaced for which IE8 has taken (incorrectly) the blame.

The symptoms are that a system will run quite happily until the next reboot. Or rather the next non-reboot. The problem is that boot.ini file has been deleted. It turns out that a combination of the Ask! toolbar and IE8 can cause this file to be deleted.

So a user boots normally and installs the toolbar (perhaps inadvertently - it is included with the installation of many programs nowadays with the default setting being opt-in). System running fine. Then the Ask! updater kicks in and removes the file. Next reboot, no boot.ini, so no HAL.dll (invoked by boot.ini) and you are stuffed.

The solution is to boot from a Windows installation disk to the Recovery Console, run the command bootcfg /rebuild to rebuild boot.ini. Then boot up normally. At this point boot.ini will have been deleted again. Remove IE8 from Add/Remove Programs and uninstall the Ask! toolbar. Boot from the CD and run that command again to rebuild boot.ini, then re-install IE8.

From then on your system should boot normally every time.

And never install that toolbar again!

Macrium Reflect

I was looking round for a decent disk imaging program and, on the recomendation of a fellow Microsoft MVP, I took a look at Macrium Reflect.

Then I downloaded the free edition. What an eye opener! It has a very clear user interface, is simple to use and I imaged a 35GB partition in 22 minutes. Any imaging or backup operations can be saved to a .xml file so it becomes a one-click operation to repeat the backup.

There is also the option to create a Linux-basd recovery disk should my system fail to boot, whereby I can restore the whole partition and quickly get back to work. Brilliant!

I will be upgrading soon to the full paid-for version as this allows incremental backups - the way I prefer to work. And at £19.99 this has got to be a bargain.

Download it, use it, back your data up. Remember that time when you really wished you had a recent backup? No excuses now!

Canon CanoScan LiDE 200 Scanner

I just upgraded my scanner. The old one, A Microtek Scanmaker 4600, was about the size of four house bricks and made a noise like the gears were formed out of the aforementioned bricks. It was born around the time of Windows 98. But it produced very good results.

However, time to upgrade, I thought. I love doing photo restoration work and the Epson Perfection range of scanners are highly recommended for this sort of thing. However, the decent ones were way above my budget at the time and so I investigated the Canon LiDE range, eventually deciding on the 200 model.

So off to my favourite online store, ebuyer to find it going for just over £60. Now, if you've never used ebuyer.com then I really do recommend you give them a try, not just for their prices but also for their service. While I was placing my order at around 6.00 pm on 12th August I noticed a little box telling me there was only something like 1 hour 32 minutes to order for delivery on 13th August. "Oh yeah" I thought, and ignored it. Sure enough the next day at 9.30 am my scanner arrived, Unbelievable!

Anyway, the Canon is a totally different beast from the Microtek. For a start it is barely 1.5" high, hardly bigger than an A4 sheet and doesn't need a power supply as it takes it's power requirements from the USB port. So it was driver disk in, reboot when done, connect USB cable. And that was it. No fuss. No errors. Done.

I haven't fully tested it out yet but initial impressions are smooth, quiet, fast and the results for 300 dpi colour scans are truly excellent. And that's without playing with the advanced options such as Descreening, Dust & Scratch Reduction, Sharpening, different Colour Profiles and so on.

I really thought I was happy with the old Microtek, but I've got to admit the Canon is in another league.

BEWARE! Fake 'Microsoft Update'

The past couple of days I have been receiving email purporting to be from Microsoft regarding a critical update for Outlook and Outlook Express - KB910721. THIS IS A SCAM.

KB910721 is actually a genuine Windows update to fix a problem with Outlook, but remember that Microsoft will NEVER alert users to updates via email. If you follow the link in the mesage you will download the trojan Troj/Spy-CU onto your system which will compromise your system security and can steal your private data.

If you are ever unsure then go to the genuine Microsoft Update site (using Internet Explorer) and get your system scanned for relevant updates.

More reading on this scam: http://www.sophos.com/blogs/sophoslabs/v/post/4889

Europe to get a Browser with Windows 7

Computer Shopper has just announced that Windows 7 will actually feature a browser when released to the European market on 22nd October. The idea is to include IE8 which, on first use, will take the user to a 'Browser Ballot' screen allowing the installation of the browser of choice from a range of popular products (IE, Firefox, Opera and so on).

Personally, I would use a setup like I have on my current systems - Firefox as the main browser with IE8 for backups and, of course, hassle-free Windows updates. While I would expect the user's browser choice to be fully installed using the ballot screen, I would install IE8 as a first browser then head off to download the latest version of Firefox myself. Then make FF the default browser.

This would be a surefire way of ensuring both IE and FF worked in the way I want them to without the added kerfuffle of going through a separate website.

I applaud Microsoft for finally pushing the point that a browserless operating system makes no sense in the modern world. The decision will save thousands of hours for those selfless guys and gals who man the help forums. And that can't be a bad thing!

Have You Pre-Ordered Windows 7 Yet?

Microsoft have allowed Windows 7 to be pre-ordered at a sizeable discount. Mayhem immediately ensued.

Customers were allowed to make advance payment for a copy of Windows 7 Home Premium (around £44.99) of Professional (around £88.99) prior to the official launch on 22nd October. Those prices are approximate as some suppliers have discounted below that. Almost immediately the websites concerned (Microsoft included) were swamped to the point of being unable to cope with demand. That's heartening as it means there are many folk out there who believe (as I do) that this latest version of Windows is well worth migrating to.

Many suppliers have sold their pre-order quota by now. I waited for my favourite supplier, ebuyer to offer the deal and promptly discovered it had sold up before I even got there. I eventually ordered from Currys online, not out of choice (they are really hard to deal with in the High Street) but out of necessity - the Professional version will retail at around £212.00 after 22nd October, a price I would be grieved to pay.

I see that Comet still have the offer on their site, but as I write the Home Premium offer has been withdrawn.

I think this is fantastic. Win 7 is certainly the best Microsoft operating system to date. Obviously many others share my opinion. And it is being rolled out early after a thorough Beta testing period so it should be stable. The only downside I can see is that a clean install is required (just did that for the Release Candidate), though that should not be too much of a hassle using my backup drive and the program disks I keep to hand.

At least the junk and clutter will have gone.

Oh, one last thought. Make sure you download Internet Explorer 8 before you reformat and install - European customers will find themselves browserless otherwise. You can use it to download Firefox ;-)

Locked Files

One utility that I found invaluable when running Windows XP was WhoLockMe. It is a small utility with one simple purpose - to unlock a file in order to perform an operation on it, usually a file delete.

Normally, Windows protects a file from deletion when it is being used by another process (and quite rightly so). There are times, however, when it is necessary to delete a file that is in use - when dealing with malware, for example, or when a process stubbornly refuses to quit or release the handle on a file. WhoLockMe always came to the rescue. This utility installs as a Windows Explorer extension, so a right click on the file to be removed allowed the file to be unlocked and then deleted.

I recently found out that it didn't install under Windows 7. It appeared to install but there was no option to unlock in the right click context menu.

Enter Unlocker from Cedrick 'Nitch' Collomb. This is also a small utility - the install file is 255KB - and it performs the same task. And it works perfectly with Windows 7.

I'm not recommending unlocking and deleting files as a regular practice, but when you need to, this is the tool you wish you had.

Windows 7 - The Show So Far

So, I've had s couple of months living with Windows 7 RC as my main operating system, and I can happily say the good points far outweight the bad.

Actually, 'bad' is not the word as I have found no features I can't live with. Boot times are a vast improvement on XP. Similarly shutdown time is speedier. And I love being able to click the Shutdown button without having to confirm I really do want to shut down.

I recently upgraded my Adobe Photoshop CS to CS4 with no problems. In fact CS4 seems to run quicker than CS did.

So, what are my remaining problems in Windows 7?

Well, my accounts program still occasionally fails to display a button or two, though these reappear when I mouse over them. I admit I still use Quicken 98 so it's not surprising to find the odd glitch. Other than that, here's my list of outstanding problems:

- Winpatrol occasionally stops working (with a warning that Scottie is no longer on patrol). Not a biggie as it I can restart immediately, but something I must look up in the forums.

- WhoLockMe, a file utility I sometimes need for troubleshooting, should install to the right click context menu, but doesn't. Again, I need to browse the forums for a solution.

And that's it.

I was a keen XP fan before I installed Windows 7. Now, when I'm at work using XP I find myself wishing for Win 7 - it makes life easier in ways I don't notice until I swap over. Given the history of late and flawed offerings from Microsoft, I was skeptical (to say the least) of this one. It really is good. It makes life easy when I don't want to fiddle about yet it can be tweaked and altered when desired. Most drivers work, most programs work and I've never seen a BSOD (or even a recovery screen).

FOOTNOTE:
All these posts I make about Windows 7 must seem a little suspicious to the reader. Let me assure you I am not associated with Microsoft (apart from being re-awarded as a MVP this month). But if I thought it was crap then I would say so. I don't. It isn't. It will be overpriced over here compared with the US market, and it will ship without Internet Explorer in Europe. But I will be among the first to pay up when it goes on sale.

Windows 7 and IE8

Windows 7 Beta shipped with a version of Internet Explorer 8, The final release of Windows 7 will ship in Europe without Internet Explorer in order to satisfy EU competition rules. Read more here

The reasoning goes that Microsoft gains unfair advantage by integrating its own browser with the operating system. Fair point, you might think. Until you think some more.

Imagine the ordinary Joe (or Jill) who installs Win7 and tries to access the internet. No browser. No problem, he (or she) can download Firefox, Opera, K-Meleon or any one of a number of independent browsers.

Except it is a little difficult to download a browser when you have no browser to access the internet ...

Windows 7 Beta and Windows 7 RC both shipped without an email client. No problem there, I had the choice of installing Outlook (from the Office 2007 suite) or an independent program. I chose Mozilla Thunderbird. That was easy because I had a web browser (IE8) installed.

The inclusion of IE8 (which isn't a bad browser by any means) would allow people who use a computer in the same way as a DVD player or a TV set to surf the net. Anyone with a little knowledge will realise they can install a different browser (or indeed any number of browsers) should they so choose.

And here is a little secret many IE bashers seem to forget. There is no need to jump through hoops trying to uninstall Internet Explorer. You just don't use it. Simple as that. It takes up no resources apart from a bit of disk space but it's still there should you ever need it.

As I said above, I set up Thunderbird for my email, but I know many people who wouldn't know where to start searching for a program, downloading it, installing it, configuring it and then teaching themselves how to use it. They just want a simple, familiar solution.

Though I sincerely believe Windows 7 is by far the best version of Windows yet, I can't help thinking it will lack something in the usability stakes for the non-technical user.

Windows 7 Release Date

22 October 2009

That is the date put out by Microsoft's Steve Guggenheimer. Upgrading from Vista will be an option but, to be perfectly honest, I would recommend a fresh install (after a full data backup, of course).

Microsoft have a track record of pushing operating system release dates back as the time approaches, but I feel they will hit this one - the product is good, there has been an unprecedented beta testing phase and (in my experience) the only problems may come with old hardware that perhaps should be replaced anyway. System requirements are reasonable so most systems running Vista at present should cope with Win7.

Read more:
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2009/Jun09/06-02SteveGuggenheimer.mspx

Living with Windows 7

So I finally took the plunge and installed Windows 7 RC as the operating system on my main computer. The verdict? Fantastic! Obviously there are a lot of things to get used to, but overall it is very good.

I imaged my drives and reformatted the C: drive, did a clean install and then set about re-installing drivers and software. Not too painful on the whole and it was the perfect opportunity to clear out the junk I never used.

Good Points
*Taskbar previews of running programs
*Aero snap-to when using 2 windows (brilliant!)
*Ultra quick startup and shutdown
*One click shutdown

Bad Points
*ATI Radeon graphics card only went to 1024 x 768 resolution. Swapped to a cheap NVidia model and immediately got 1280 x 1024
*A couple of programs (Terrapin FTP and Quicken accounts) play up under Windows 7 - Terrapin just won't work, Quicken doean't always behave. Not really surprising as they were both written around the time of Win 98. Alternatives are easy to come by so not a big deal
*Ctrl + Alt + Del brings up a menu to start Task Manager. There is probably a way to cause that key combination to start Task Manager immediately, I just haven't found it yet.
*Firefox uses too many resources (up to 90% CPU and 100,000MB+ memory. This is my only big niggle but I'm working on it.

So overall I'm really pleased with it - Microsoft certainly have a winner here!

Windows 7 RC is Coming!

Windows 7 RC (Release Candidate) is due out 5th May, according to Brandon LeBlanc on his blog. This is earlier than I expected (September would have been my guess) and is most welcome news.

I have been testing Windows 7 on a spare machine and have been very impressed. Enough to have decided to take the plunge and install it when it is released, replacing Windows XP. The massive Beta testing program has been hugely successful. At the busiest time, Microsoft were recieving a feedback report every 15 seconds - that's over 40,000 reports in that one week!

Looks like I'm going to be busy sooner than I thought.

Just Phill in the Phorm

Phorm seems to be stirring up a right controversy. Phorm is a way of serving up relevant advertisements to surfers. Not a bad thing, you may think. But consider how it does this.

How much privacy intrusion is needed to serve an advert tailored to someone? Certainly a history of surfing habits would be the minimum. And perhaps records of online purchases. And why not get the IP as well. Then store all that data for when it's needed.

I put this on a level with cold callers. If I want to buy stocks and shares, windows, conservatories, electricity and so on then I will research the subject myself. I would never buy from a stranger on the phone offering these sevices. The same with online purchases - I research the subject and decide where I want to buy from.

Recently, Amazon requested Phorm stay away from their sites. Now Wikipedia has done the same. Three thumbs up to these guys - it is not necessary and is probably against EU law anyway.

If the default option is to opt-in if it is wanted then it might just be bearable (and ignoreable). If we are all in by default then it is a gross intrusion of privacy and should be resisted.

The Conficker Awakes

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/security/0,1000000189,39640215,00.htm

It seems conficker is starting to reveal its true purpose - making money. One method is to display a fake warning that a system is infected and can be cleaned using Spyware Protect 2009. Needless to say, this is a scam. You pay up, your credit card details are logged and you end up paying a damn sight more than the £35 asking price

Check for signs of conficker infection here or here.

And practice safe surfing!

April 1st 2009

It is widely thought that the pain-in-the-arse Conficker worm will start doing it's stuff on April 1st. No one really knows what that stuff may be - anything from data theft to recruiting machines to a zombie farm. It may even be just a scam for publicity (though I doubt it).

Every machine that is infected represents a threat to eveyone else connected to the internet. Please make sure you run Windows Update this week.

Better safe than sorry!

IE8 Arrives

Internet Explorer 8 has finally been released. As expected, this latest version builds on previous versions and exhibits some useful features. And it is a more secure browser than IE7, though remember that no browser is completely secure.

New features include:

• Colour-coded tabs
• Option to reopen closed tabs (a la Firefox)
• Isolated tabs - if one tab crashes, the rest are not affected
• InPrivate browsing, where private data is dumped on exiting the session
• Protection against clickjacking (where a mouse click acts on an invisible layer above the intended target, intended to redirect the user to a malicious site)
• Compatibility mode to render IE7-optimised sites correctly (this feature should really be automatic)

Sadly, those using Windows 7 Beta will not be able to upgrade to the full version of IE8 as the IE8 Beta included with the Windows 7 download is optimised for that operating system. Still, if you run IE7 under Win 2K, XP or Vista then upgrading to IE8 is the only sensible choice.

Internet Explorer 8 is currently only available as a separate download. Let's hope it is soon included in Windows Update.

Download IE8 from here
Read more here

Windows 7 Marches On

I must say I'm liking Windows 7. I must also say that I don't use it on my main system and so don't give it the workout it should be getting. But I like it enough to have decided to migrate from XP when the final release comes out.

Microsoft have got far better press with Windows 7 than it did with Vista. Now MS are showing they react responsibly to beta tester's comments by publishing a whole string of suggestions that are to be incorporated in the final release.

Some improvements will be handy, some will not be applicable. Many come under the category of "Why didn't I think of that?"

Read the full list on Steven Sinofsky's blog

A Merger of Giants

Big news from Emsi Software and Tall Emu !

Emsi Software, makers of the a-squared anti-malware product have joined forces with Tall Emu, makers of the Online-Armor firewall and are offering a package deal for the two applications at a 30% discount. I have been impressed with a-squared for some years, ever since using the a² Free anti-trojan (as it was known then) application marketed by Emsisoft. Online-Armor has an excellent reputation and was declared the best firewall of 2008 by Scot Finnie in his blog.

With these companies joining forces, users can be assured they are getting two effective applications that will play nicely together at a reasonable price. I wish them all the best.

As long as they don't include the Ask toolbar ...

Free Security Software

Confused about buying security software? Don't know whether to go for an integrated suite or separate firewall, antivirus, antispyware? Check out the new Free Security Software list at SpywareHammer.

OK, it's free so what's the catch?

Simply put, there isn't one. Many of the applications listed are designed to encourage the user to upgrade to the paid-for version. Having said that, everything in the list works well and often outperforms a commercial equivalent - I personally have the free versions of Antivir, Comodo and AVG (amongst others) on my systems. If I didn't trust them, I wouldn't use them.

One word of warning - some of these apps try to install the Ask! toolbar, Yahoo! toolbar or similar. (The ones concerned are highlighted in the list). Please remember to uncheck the option when asked during the installation process - you don't need them.

This list has been compiled by 1972vet - many thanks!

So, what are you waiting for? There's no excuse for running an unprotected system!

A Worrying Trend

Today I installed a free firewall on my Windows 7 Beta test machine. I have used Zone Alarm (both free and paid-for) for some years, but this didn't want to play with Win7. So I looked for another offering to kill two birds with one stone - test Win7 and test a new (to me) firewall. I settled on Comodo to supply my needs. Installation went smoothly and quickly. No, I didn't want the Internet Security features installing. Yes, I wanted the firewall. A few seconds later the installation was complete. Great!

But hold on, what's this? Do I want to install the Comodo Safe Search Toolbar, powered by Ask? No I don't. If I wanted a toolbar I would download one of my own choosing. So why is Comodo including this in their otherwise excellent piece of software? More to the point, why is the option to install the toolbar checked by default?

Obviously it all comes down to money. Install the toolbar and Ask will pay Comodo. Then Ask will get revenue from the sponsored links program. A win-win situation? Not at all, it's a win-win-lose situation, the loser being the user who inadvertently (or through inexperience) accepts the toolbar during installation. Whether the toolbar is good or bad is not the point, it's the principle of foisting anything unrelated to the software package on the user. If this sort of 'addon' is to be included in the package then at least have the decency to leave the default setting to 'opt out'.

It has come to my notice that other packages have adopted this ploy of including a toolbar in a package that should be dedicated to one purpose only, whether that be antivirus, firewall protection, cleaning or whatever. Others who include the Ask! toolbar include Symantec, AVG Free and Zone Alarm Free, while CCleaner includes the Yahoo! toolbar. This saddens me, not least because the free offerings from these companies are meant to provide a trusted service to users whilst encouraging them to upgrade to the paid version. Including a toolbar would only serve to encourage me not to upgrade.

Bill Pytlovany of WinPatrol fame has restored my faith in this respect by his blog on this subject when asked to include other 'features' in his own software:
"This may not be the best business decision I’ve ever made but I can live with myself."

As you say, Bill, it may not be the best business decision financially but your supporters and users respect you for it. Kudos, my friend!

Symantec and Ask.com

Symantec, publishers of the Norton range of computer security products, have teamed up with Ask.com. The installation of Norton products now pressurises the user to install the Ask toolbar.

My view is that whether or not the toolbar is a good thing, anything additional to the core functioning of a software package should be on a strictly 'opt-in' basis. I run Mozilla Firefox with the McAfee Site Advisor extension. I have chosen to do this. Pre-empting a user's choice through implementing an 'acceptance by default' policy (or worse, forcing the issue by providing no choice) is an infringement on that user's rights.

Read more here

Windows 7 Beta - Part 2

So I've been struggling with networking Win7 since mid January. Either the network adaptor was not recognised or else a valid IP or DNS server was not available. I altered every setting I could find, tried automatic settings, even swore at it. No go. And each time I altered something Windows asked me if I wanted to submit a report. Well, yes - I'd love to but ...

This morning, on a whim, I bought a cheap NIC. Fitted it this afternoon, disabled the onboard LAN (an old Asrock mobo), booted up and got straight onto the net and instant access to my home network. Unbelievable!

What's in the Box?

OK, so you need to start afresh with a reformat and reinstall. Maybe you got a stubborn rootkit, your hard drive failed, you want to install a new version of Windows. Whatever the reason, you've got all your data backed up and you're ready to roll.

Or are you? You know all your passwords? Got all the hardware drivers? If you are a computer 'tinkerer', do you know the model of that NIC you picked up at the computer fair last year? Sure you can get the tools out, open the case and check (for the hardware, at least) but why not make things easy with a little preparation?

One of my favourite applications is Belarc Advisor - run this one now and save (or print out) the report. You get details of hardware, attached peripherals, memory configuration, Windows updates, software keys - in fact nearly everything you wish you had checked before you reformatted.

In say nearly everything because there are some software keys Belarc does not, for some reason, pick up. So I recently found another utilility - SIW (System Info for Windows) - that may extract a few more keys. It also provides more technical information on your hardware, peripherals and network. Again, I recommend you save or print the reports from this application before the 'I wish ...' stage.

Both these utilities are free. Both will prove their worth the next time you have a major problem.

So what are you waiting for?!!

Invaluable Windows Utility - ERUNT

ERUNT registry backup (Free utility)

ERUNT - Emergency Recovery Utility NT - is one of those indispensable tools you wish you had used just after your computer crashes. It is basically a Windows registry backup and restore tool, easy to use and quick to do the job. The backups are stored as hives, so it is easy to restore just a single hive if desired.

Run ERUNT to back up the registry, run ERDNT to restore a backup (from the Recovery Console if need be). ERUNT can also be configured to run automatically on boot to make sure that vital registry copy is always available.

Windows Security Update (Critical)

This update is labelled Critical by Microsoft.

Conficker (or Win32/Conficker.B, also known as Downadup) can take over your system with Administrator rights, lock you out or bypass your passwords.

Security patch download:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=0D5F9B6E-9265-44B9-A376-2067B73D6A03&displaylang=en

Further reading:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/Entry.aspx?Name=Worm:Win32/Conficker.B

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7832652.stm

Windows 7 Beta

So I finally succumbed to The Beta version of the new Windows 7 operating system. I delayed because I thought my spare computer was not up to running this software, but on further checking it seemed to be (roughly) OK.

The Windows 7 Beta download is s....l....o....w. The file is large (2.43 GB) and the download site wasn't speedy. Even so, I started downloading at around 7.00 pm local time. At 9.15 pm I checked progress, only to find I had another 4 hours to go. Definitely an overnight job.

The .iso file was then burned to CD, a partition created on the spare machine and Windows 7 installed so I could dual boot between it and XP. If you found any of that incomprehensible then I would advise you not to try it for yourself - it's a fairly easy process but you do really need to know what you are doing when presented with the various options. And certainly when you eventually discover the first download was corrupted and you need to go through it all again ...

First impressions? Nice, and awful.

Nice - It looks good, it's very different to XP (probably similar to Vista but I wouldn't know from experience), it's fast (although I have no startup programs yet) and some things are made really easy using Wizards and suchlike.

Awful - Everything's in a different place, some things are not in the place I would logically expect them to be, there's no email client included (use Thunderbird) and the standard 3-fingered salute (Ctrl + Alt + Del) brings up a menu allowing Task Manager to be started rather than starting it automatically.

But most important at the moment, I can't get my Network Interface Card to work. It's installed in Device Manager but I just can't get it to talk to my main system (XP). Hence I have no broadband connection under Windows 7. I spent so much time on this problem I haven't really explored much else.

I'll post an update when I actually get something useful done.