Apple is a good company, and for years it has stood by itself, flaunting its technology at the Windows world, not trying to beat it... or join it, for that matter. It said, we are here and we are good and we offer products that are unique and can't be beat. Besides their high quality computers, they have been wildly successful with such unique products as the iPod and the soon-to-be released iPhone. They were smart in that they made sure their unique products integrated with Windows computers, but they didn't try to take out Microsoft.
With that in mind, it does make one wonder why, all of a sudden, they would release a version of their MAC-only browser for Windows. In case you are not familiar with MAC computers, the most popular browser in that world is a product called Safari. I have heard it is a good browser, although not great and can be a little buggy at times. But it belonged only to the MAC world, which for MAC users, makes it special. It was something that Windows users couldn't have which made it even more special.
But this week, it was released in beta form for us Windows users. And of course, within 48 hours, hard core Windows users and tech reviewers got their hands on it to see how good or bad it is. And what did they find?
In the first 24 hours, a security expert found a serious security flaw. OK, it is still a beta product so we will give it a break. I am sure that will be fixed. Then, the folks at Wired magazine ran speed test pitting Safari against IE7 and Firefox. And guess what? Safari came in dead last against those two popular browsers. It is much slower, according to Wired. But that is not what Steve Jobs promised when he announced the release of Windows Safari. Here are his words at an Apple conference only last week:
“So what we’ve got is the most innovative browser in the world. but we’ve also got the fastest browser on Windows. It’s twice as fast as IE, 1.6 times faster than Firefox 2, and features built-in Google and Yahoo search."
Sorry, Steve, but the first test results say you are wrong. But, again, it is a beta version, so we will cut you some slack.
The most interesting part of this move by Apple, at least to me, is why do it at all? From what I read, some MAC users won't use Safari, so why port it over to Windows, especially when this market is so dominated by Microsoft's Internet Explorer, and to a lesser extent, by Firefox. And don't forget about Opera, a really terrific and fast browser. And to add to that, the re-emergence of our old friend, the latest incarnation of the Netscape browser that was released only last week. There is no reason for Sarfari to try and break into this market, especially since the first few days of its release has given Apple a black eye.
But, what do I know?
Friday, June 15, 2007
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Free Anti-Rootkit Software
The three biggest threats to our computers right now (if you use the Web) are viruses (include worms in this category also), spyware (some of which is VERY dangerous) and rootkits. Rootkits are very dangerous as they can be installed without your knowledge at the very heart of your computer and can be difficult to detect as the computer thinks they are part of its makeup.
The good news for us is that AVG, makers of some very fine anti-viral software, including a great free version that is rated very highly by most testers, has now released a free anti-rootkit software that searches out your system for any little devils that may have been installed without your knowledge. You can get it for free on their Web site. Highly recommended!
I have come to the conclusion that anyone who doesn't have a quality anti-virus and anti-spyware software installed on their computer is nuts. Lately viruses don't seem to be much of an issue, at least for me, as I don't open suspicious e-mail's and my computer makes an awfully loud noise when the anti-virus software detects an incoming threat.
Today, the biggest threats seem to come from spyware, which can be picked up just by visiting a Web site. Case-in-point, my 4 year old laptop has finally failed to the point where it is not worth fixing. 48 hours ago, I received via UPS, a new terrific laptop from Gateway with 2 Gb of memory, a dual core processor and a big hard drive at a very good price. I am very pleased with it. I have spent much of the last two days loading software on to it and very little time surfing the web.
In the first 24 hours, my Spyware Doctor software picked up 7 spyware products, all of which were very low-level threats, mostly advertising trackers. Then, just a short time ago today, I ran another check on the system and found 52 spyware products on my new computer, some of which were listed as very dangerous. Good, God, I have only owned the computer for two days and it was already loaded with spyware! That is scary.
And as a side note, I ran a deep spyware scan on my home desktop computer this morning and found a very dangerous tracking spyware that can be used to pick off personal information when I, for instance, access my bank accounts. I don't know how it got on my computer as Spyware Doctor is supposed to prevent this. All I can think of is that it was a new one that got on my system before the software was updated with the newest threats.
Since I wrote about Spyware Doctor vs Counterspy a few months ago, I have done a little additional testing and found Spyware Doctor still able to find some spyware that Counterspy misses, so I am sticking with it.
With so many people trying to steal my personal information and track how I live my life, it is tempting to give up using the Internet altogether. But, of course, that is not possible in this day and age, especially if one is in business. A person just needs to take all the proper precautions. I hope some laws can be passed in the near future that can slow down this terrible growth of spyware.
The good news for us is that AVG, makers of some very fine anti-viral software, including a great free version that is rated very highly by most testers, has now released a free anti-rootkit software that searches out your system for any little devils that may have been installed without your knowledge. You can get it for free on their Web site. Highly recommended!
I have come to the conclusion that anyone who doesn't have a quality anti-virus and anti-spyware software installed on their computer is nuts. Lately viruses don't seem to be much of an issue, at least for me, as I don't open suspicious e-mail's and my computer makes an awfully loud noise when the anti-virus software detects an incoming threat.
Today, the biggest threats seem to come from spyware, which can be picked up just by visiting a Web site. Case-in-point, my 4 year old laptop has finally failed to the point where it is not worth fixing. 48 hours ago, I received via UPS, a new terrific laptop from Gateway with 2 Gb of memory, a dual core processor and a big hard drive at a very good price. I am very pleased with it. I have spent much of the last two days loading software on to it and very little time surfing the web.
In the first 24 hours, my Spyware Doctor software picked up 7 spyware products, all of which were very low-level threats, mostly advertising trackers. Then, just a short time ago today, I ran another check on the system and found 52 spyware products on my new computer, some of which were listed as very dangerous. Good, God, I have only owned the computer for two days and it was already loaded with spyware! That is scary.
And as a side note, I ran a deep spyware scan on my home desktop computer this morning and found a very dangerous tracking spyware that can be used to pick off personal information when I, for instance, access my bank accounts. I don't know how it got on my computer as Spyware Doctor is supposed to prevent this. All I can think of is that it was a new one that got on my system before the software was updated with the newest threats.
Since I wrote about Spyware Doctor vs Counterspy a few months ago, I have done a little additional testing and found Spyware Doctor still able to find some spyware that Counterspy misses, so I am sticking with it.
With so many people trying to steal my personal information and track how I live my life, it is tempting to give up using the Internet altogether. But, of course, that is not possible in this day and age, especially if one is in business. A person just needs to take all the proper precautions. I hope some laws can be passed in the near future that can slow down this terrible growth of spyware.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Freeing Up Additional Memory
Hello again from beautiful downtown Ephrata. Am keeping very busy these days with portraits, weddings, and, of course art shows. And speaking of the latter, I hope you can stop by the Sage 'n Sun Festival here in Ephrata this weekend as I will be there with some of my art and photographs. I will have my tent up on the courthouse lawn, so please come by for a visit.
As a photographer and artist, I use several graphic software programs like Photoshop, which like gaming software, uses a huge portion of my computers resources. So, I am very aware of my memory usage (no jokes here please). My computers have from 1.5 to 2 GB of memory each, and sometimes, even that doesn't seem like enough.
Sometimes, computer memory gets stuffed with data that doesn't go away when you close out the program. When that happens, your computer slows down noticeably and the only way out is to reboot your computer. That can be annoying to say the least. So, wouldn't it be nice if there were a memory manager program that can monitor memory usage and continually optimize your memory at all times.
Well there is one...and it is free. It is called FreeRam XP Pro. Here is a description of the product by the manufacturer:
"FreeRAM XP Pro includes automatic memory monitoring and optimization; advanced tray support; fast, threaded freeing with a stop option; multiple system-metric monitors; a simple and attractive GUI; memory reporting and diagnostic logging; and real-time memory information. FreeRAM XP Pro's AutoFree feature intelligently scales how much RAM is freed with your current system status, thus optimizing RAM without slowing down your computer. Additionally, FreeRAM XP Pro's unique Global Memory Compression technology frees memory instantly in a way that is completely unlike other memory managers. FreeRAM XP Pro has been designed to be easy to use yet highly customizable by computer novices and experts alike."
I installed it and it works quite well. I freed up quite a bit of additional memory when I pushed the optimization button for the first time. When running in the background, the program puts a small icon in the system tray that tells you how much memory is available to you at that moment.
Although it has only been running a short time in my computer, it has been doing a very good job. You might want to give it a try to see if it helps you. It can be downloaded at the ZD Net Web site.
As a photographer and artist, I use several graphic software programs like Photoshop, which like gaming software, uses a huge portion of my computers resources. So, I am very aware of my memory usage (no jokes here please). My computers have from 1.5 to 2 GB of memory each, and sometimes, even that doesn't seem like enough.
Sometimes, computer memory gets stuffed with data that doesn't go away when you close out the program. When that happens, your computer slows down noticeably and the only way out is to reboot your computer. That can be annoying to say the least. So, wouldn't it be nice if there were a memory manager program that can monitor memory usage and continually optimize your memory at all times.
Well there is one...and it is free. It is called FreeRam XP Pro. Here is a description of the product by the manufacturer:
"FreeRAM XP Pro includes automatic memory monitoring and optimization; advanced tray support; fast, threaded freeing with a stop option; multiple system-metric monitors; a simple and attractive GUI; memory reporting and diagnostic logging; and real-time memory information. FreeRAM XP Pro's AutoFree feature intelligently scales how much RAM is freed with your current system status, thus optimizing RAM without slowing down your computer. Additionally, FreeRAM XP Pro's unique Global Memory Compression technology frees memory instantly in a way that is completely unlike other memory managers. FreeRAM XP Pro has been designed to be easy to use yet highly customizable by computer novices and experts alike."
I installed it and it works quite well. I freed up quite a bit of additional memory when I pushed the optimization button for the first time. When running in the background, the program puts a small icon in the system tray that tells you how much memory is available to you at that moment.
Although it has only been running a short time in my computer, it has been doing a very good job. You might want to give it a try to see if it helps you. It can be downloaded at the ZD Net Web site.
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