Tracking Your Internet Usage

You may have heard that one of the nation's largest ISP's, ComCast will begin limiting their customers Internet usage to 250GB per month, including both uploads and downloads. And when I say downloads, that includes everything from just viewing pages to listening to music, getting software, etc.

Personally, I find this abhorrent since bandwidth has become cheaper and cheaper. And while 250GB per month is a lot, I don't like being restricted at all, even though I am probably well under the limit, most of the time. What I am worried about is that other ISP's may start doing the same thing. In fact, I would bet on it.

If this happens to you, you will probably want a program that monitor's your Internet usage so you know how much you are using. In fact, you might just want to see how much you use, just for future reference.

There is a very good program out there for us PC users that does just that...its called "Bitmeter II," from Codebox Software...and it it free. It runs in the background and will provide you all the data you might ever want to know. What is really cool is that you can program in the amount of data limitations from your ISP and it will tell you when you are getting close.

Frankly, I hope this move by Comcast blows up in their face and we never have to deal with it again. If I ever move to an area that is served by Comcast, you can bet I won't use them. Oh, and by the way, if a Comcast customer does go over the limit, they are terminated as a customer, even if they have Comcast cable TV and Comcast IP phone service. Add another greedy corporate bastard to your list.

Re-Evaluating Microsoft OneNote

Back in April, I wrote a blog about EverNote (free) vs Microsoft's OneNote (Not Free). If you forgot, these programs are a new type of software that can best be described as notebooks...where you collect data from everywhere and put them all in one place. At the time, I really liked the possibilities of OneNote, but had problems with the way it imported or copied Web pages.

Recently, I had pause to re-evaluate because of a book I read titled, "Take Back Your Life...Using Microsoft Outlook to Get Organized and Stay Organized," by Sally McGhee. I got a lot out of this book as it approaches organization in a whole new way. I adopted a large portion of her principles in my daily life now and it is working quite well.

The book title is a bit misleading as it really is more about organizational concepts rather than Outlook, although Outlook plays an important part of her plan. However, the book also mentions using OneNote...and being somewhat familiar with OneNote, I decided the program might better fit my needs (and the book's organizational plan), more so than Outlook. I like Outlook, but its inability to share data across computers makes it impractical for me (there is a way to do it, but it costs $10 a month.).

So, I decided to stick to my Thunderbird e-mail software, continue using my current Lotus Organizer...and try out OneNote for augmentation. I downloaded a 60 day trial copy from Microsoft and began using it and learning more about it.

Without getting into too many details, I found OneNote to be just what I needed to better organize my life and keep it all in one place. In less than 30 days, I decided to go ahead and purchase the program (about $58 for the Home and Student Version).

OneNote is organized like a Notebook, even on your screen. First you have a notebook with a title...and using my examples, I have two notebooks...one for my personal life and one for my professional life. Inside each notebook is a subsection (shown by tabs at the top of the screen). I have a subsection for photography, weddings, portraits, Web site, plus others for projects I am currently working on.

Inside each subsection are individual pages on subjects relating to each subsection (shown as tabs on the right of the screen). For instance, under Weddings, I have individual pages on each wedding I am doing it with my notes and e-mail's from each client. I also created a to-do list at the top of each page to remind me what has to be done for each one.

Creating new pages is simple and the program offers many templates for this purpose. I created a couple of templates for my own use...but there are many templates included for college students, businesses, meetings, to-do lists and many decorative blank pages. Creating notes on new pages couldn't be easier as they can be inserted anywhere on a page.

I have created many to-do lists for both personal and business projects that I use everyday and can check off those items after they are completed.

Now back in April, I did write that bringing Web pages into OneNote is a bit disconcerting as it doesn't put in the paragraph spacing that is present in the original page. I still have to work around that, but this nuisance is more than offset by OneNote's other assets.

I could write a great deal more, but if what I have written here sounds like it might be helpful for you, I suggest you give it a try, by downloading the 60 day trial version from Microsoft. There is an excellent tutorial that comes with the download to help get you started.

I also suggest you might want to read Sally McGhee's book. I purchased an almost new copy from an online used bookstore for about $2.50. It has been extremely helpful.

Free Movies from IMDB

For almost as long as I have been on the Net, I've been a frequent user of IMDB.com, the best movie and TV show database anywhere. If a movie or TV show was ever made anywhere in the world, IMBD (Internet Movie Data Base) has all the info about it. I don't know how many times I've watched a movie and wanted to know where I might have seen an actor or actress before. With IMDB I can enter the movie, scan the character's name, see the actor's name who is playing the part, then click on the name to see what other films they have been in.

IMBD has amazing cross-referenced names and many other features that allow you explore in depth. And it is interactive as you can review films and even submit errors and omissions you may find.

For several years, they have carried movie clips and trailer, but now they have finally taken the final evolutionary step...they now have over 6,000 films and TV shows that you can watch for free. For instance, as I write these words I am watching "Master and Commander," the action film with Russell Crowe. It is a little dark, but I could adjust my screen if I so desired.

The good news is that it works on Firefox. The Netflix movie machine only works on Internet Explorer. There was a short commercial for Honda at the beginning of the film, but that is OK.

I'd still rather watch a movie on my large screen TV with 5.1 surround, but still it is a step in the right direction, especially for IMDB. Check it out.

XP SP3...The Curse Continues

Maybe you have run into the same situation as me: Microsoft is insisting (via the Automatic Update program) that I install Windows XP Service Pack 3 on all my computers and keeps reminding me that I need to do it. I've stated here in the recent past that it is a risky proposition and isn't really necessary.

Microsoft claims that all the issues with XP3 are fixed. Not true. I must admit that I recently decided to try it on one of my computers. Guess what...it didn't work. Fortunately, it stopped the installation in mid-stream and nothing bad happened. Whew!

But the question remains...should you do it? Very recently, the Windows Secret newsletter published an interesting article by Scott Dunn on this very topic. I am republishing it here as I think it is very relevant.

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Don't let XP Service Pack 3 hose your system

by Scott Dunn

From the moment Microsoft released it, Service Pack 3 for Windows XP has been the subject of almost daily reports of bugs, incompatibilities, and general headaches.

You can install SP3 with confidence — providing you take certain precautions — or, if you prefer, use Windows' Automatic Update settings to keep the service pack off your system.

Multiple problems plague SP3 adopters

Windows Secrets has been reporting problems with Windows XP's Service Pack 3 almost from the instant the patch collection was first distributed. In fact, so many readers have contacted us with questions or complaints about SP3 — the last major update to Windows XP — that we've synthesized everything you need to know about this update in a single column.
Here are the most glaring SP3-related problems:
• Internet connectivity fails when using black hole routers, which drop packets (see Susan Bradley's May 1 column in our paid content and Microsoft's Knowledge Base article 314825).
• False positives are generated by Norton Internet Security and other security applications (see my May 2 Top Story).
• Device Manager settings go missing, especially in connection with using Norton Antivirus (see Susan Bradley's column in the May 29 newsletter as well as KB 953791).
• Repeated rebooting occurs on machines using an AMD processor (see Susan Bradley's May 22 column and KB 953356).
• You can't install any new updates (see KB 943144).
• Third-party visual styles encounter problems (see the Support Alert Newsletter of June 19).

Making an upgrade decision that works for you

In light of these and other problems, you may wonder whether you ever want SP3 at all, especially given that many of its enhancements focus on networking and IT-level administration. Here's the case for SP3:
Think security: In addition to new features, SP3 — like most service packs — includes numerous security updates that were available individually in the past.
Consider support: If you think you might require Microsoft's assistance to install SP3, you need to add the service pack before April 2009, when the company will end such support. And because overall support for SP2 expires in early 2010, you'll need to have SP3 installed by that date if you want general support for XP.
Be prepared: Before you install SP3, take a few precautions. First and foremost, perform a full system backup. Microsoft has digested all recommended pre-install steps in KB 950717, which also includes troubleshooting information if all does not go well.

How to remove SP3 from your Automatic Updates

If you decide you don't want SP3, Microsoft offers a tool for suppressing the automatic installation of the service pack. The Service Pack Blocker Tool Kit won't prevent you from downloading SP3 manually from the company's site, nor will it stop you from installing the patches from a CD or DVD. All it does is stop the service pack from being installed via Windows' Automatic Updates.
In addition, the Service Pack Blocker postpones the installation for only a year from SP3's release date last April.
Surf over to Microsoft's Service Pack Blocker download page and click the Download button for SPBlockerTools.exe. Click Yes to accept the license agreement and type in the path to the folder where the files will be stored (click the Browse button and navigate to the folder if you want to avoid typing).
Now open the folder containing the extracted files and double-click SPBlockingTool.exe. A command prompt window appears for a few moments and displays the statement "Action successfully completed." Unfortunately, that doesn't tell you very much. The action the message refers to is the addition of a Registry entry instructing Windows Update not to send you SP3. (The same setting on Vista blocks SP1.)
If you want to see the code that is added, do the following:
Step 1. Choose Start, Run. Type regedit and press Enter.
Step 2. In the Registry Editor, navigate in the left pane to this entry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Policies \ Microsoft \ Windows \ WindowsUpdate
Step 3. With the WindowsUpdate icon selected in the left pane, look in the right pane for a key named DoNotAllowSP.
If you later decide you want Automatic Updates to offer you Service Pack 3, simply select the DoNotAllowSP key and press Delete (or click Edit, Delete).
If you're concerned about editing the Registry (which involves risks of its own), the Service Pack Blocker can also undo the block:
Step 1. Choose Start, Run. Type cmd and press Enter.
Step 2. At the command prompt, either type the path to the SPBlockingTool.exe file, or drag the file into the command prompt window and let Windows do the typing for you.
Step 3. At the end of this command, type a space followed by /U and press Enter.
Once again, you'll see the "Action successfully completed" message and Windows Automatic Update will no longer be blocked from installing the service pack on your system.
The other tool included with the download, SPreg.cmd, is a batch file useful for administrators who want to block the service pack on remote computers; this utility requires that the machine name be specified in the command line.
Even though most of SP3's problems should now be in the past, these precautions can help ensure that you aren't one of the service pack's installation victims.

Free Software Takes You Around the Universe

It isn't often that you get something free from Microsoft (with a few very notable exceptions), but if you have even the faintest interest in astronomy, solar system, our galaxy, or our universe, Microsoft has released a wonderful free product that brings it all to life.

World Wide Telescope - Microsoft's free software for exploring the universe uses images from the Hubble Space Telescope, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, and other prestigious space and ground-based telescopes to offer unparalleled views of the planets and stars. You can even take guided tours from real astrophysicists.

I've been using the software for only a very short time...and let me tell you, it is pretty amazing. There is so much to it that it is impossible to describe it all. One of the most impressive things is that you can enter your location, date, and time, and the program will show you your sky exactly as it is now. Then, let us say, you click on the planet Mars, it shows you the exact location of Mars at this moment in time in your sky, then brings up an image of the planet. You can zoom in and out.

One of the first things I noticed, especially when looking at "local" planets like Venus and Mars, is that they are moving on your screen. The more you zoom in, the faster they move. Of course they do in real time because the earth is rotating.

In another mode, you can bring up planets like Mars and use your mouse to zoom in and out and rotate the planet any way you desire as well as get more info on the planet.

The program has hundreds, if not thousands of images, from a variety of land-based and orbiting telescopes. For instance, you can request images of the Crab Nebula and see images of it taken with different telescopes (plus also see where it is in your sky).

As it is a free program, it deserves a look-see. And it is a lot of fun and will keep you interested for hours.

More on DNS Poisoning

In July I wrote a couple of blogs about the giant security flaw found in DNS servers. As a reminder, DNS is the Directory of Named Services...the very first place your computer goes when on the Internet to pull up the page you wish to see. It's like a phone book for Web sites. That makes it a crucial part of your Internet service.

Since my first blogs, I've learned a bit more about how this DNS security flaw works. While I won't go into excruciatingly boring details, I will give you the gist of it...a DNS server can be hacked so that when you request a certain site, you are taken to a phony site pretending to be the one you want. It is called DNS poisoning.

A hacker, in around 15 seconds, can attack a particular unpatched DNS server and change a Web site's pointer so it goes to a phony web site. Now, the vast majority of Web addresses on this one server's site are not affected...only one or a few sites are changed, which is why it is referred to as poisoning. And, of course, these sites always have something to do with money or identity theft.

Let's say a hacker attacks the the DNS server of your local ISP. In less than a minute, he changes the pointer for, lets say your bank, to point to a fake Web site that he has already created. You type in your bank's Web address and you are taken to this fake site and you put in your name and password. You have just had your identity and bank account hijacked without your knowledge.

Your ISP has no idea this is going on because the hacking method looks like nothing more than a normal request for a Web site id. Only the most sophisticated tracking methodology can be used to alert the ISP that a hack has taken place.

The good news is that there is a fix for this DNS poisoning flaw. That bad news is that the majority of folks running DNS servers (including some of the biggest ISP's like Comcast) have not applied the patch.

If you want to check if your ISP has fixed their DNS server, check out this Web site (DNS Operations, Analysis, and Research Center) recommended by CNet...or...go to the DoxPara Web site. If your test comes up bad, immediately to the OpenDNS Web site and follow their easy instructions on how to change your DNS server from your ISP's to OpenDNS. It is worth it.

I know I am repeating myself here from my previous posts on the DNS security flaw, but I cannot stress how important it is to follow these recommendations.

Two Browsers Making Headlines

There are two new browsers, both in beta, that are now the talk of the tech world...and surprise, Firefox is not one of them.

The first is Chrome, a brand new browser from the folks at Google. Yes, Google will now have their own browser. Chrome was a deep, dark secret for quite awhile, but news leaked out last week and Google decided to release a beta version to the general public. Just go to the main Google Web page and you will see a link to it.

How is it? I have not tried it yet, but early reports say that it shows a lot of promise. It's fast (almost as fast as Firefox) but does take up quite a bit more memory than Firefox. The bad news is that they have already found security flaws in it that can lead to a Denial-of-Service attack. I am sure that will be fixed soon. Remember, it is only in beta.

To learn more about it and even download it, head over to Google and watch their videos. You can also read an in-depth hands-on report on the PC Magazine Web site. The one thing you should know is that Google has the ability to track your keystrokes for everything you type in the address bar. The good news is that you can change the privacy settings and stop that from happening.

The other "new" browser making news is Microsoft's Internet Explorer, V.8, which is now in its second beta version, and is also available for download. Everything I read about says that it is not worth knowing about right now...its is horrendously slower than Firefox and is a memory hog. One Windows experts says that it does not render many Web pages correctly yet, including G-Mail.

If you would like some unbiased info about it, check out Ed Bott's in-depth report, on the ZDNet Web site.

After all my reading and research, I am sticking with Firefox.

Vista Verdict - 18 Months Later

Is Vista a good operating system or not? A year and a half after its release, the opinions about Microsoft's current operating system are as varied as they could possibly be. Now, before I go any further, I must tell you that I have never used Vista, so I can't give you my opinion. But that is not my point here. I only want to talk about perception and reality...perception being what the majority of people think, and the reality being what might really be the truth.

First...perception. In general, Vista has the perception of being too slow, too buggy and not much of an upgrade over Windows XP . So who's fault is that? I blame Microsoft. They sat back for well over a year and let critics and Apple hammer them without really fighting back. For many early adopters of Vista, it was buggy, slow and not user friendly. To this day, many new computer buyers who are forced to use Vista, still purchase and downstep to Windows XP to get back what they are used to...and they get the majority of the publicity. Let's face it, we live in a time when negativity gets far more ink than any positive stories.

And, of course, Apple has been running ads featuring Mac vs PC, strongly implying that Mac is better. While these ads are cute, they are, in fact, hit pieces against Microsoft. Combine that with the strongly implied perception that Vista is not very good, the majority of us come away with the opinion that Vista is not a good upgrade....and Microsoft has done almost nothing to change our minds.

Mostly, Microsoft's reaction has been nothing but standard public relations output saying how great it is and how many millions of product they have sold. Tech reporters and, indeed most of the public, can spot standard PR statements and take them with a grain of salt.

Now, finally Microsoft is starting to fight back. They have budgeted $300 million for an ad and PR campaign to promote the values of Vista and reclaim their reputation in the world of operating systems. They have even hired comedian Jerry Seinfeld to be their spokesman (who, by the way, formerly did some ads for Apple and used a MAC on his long-running TV show). Look for these new ads coming soon to your TV soon.

So the bottom line for perception is that Vista has too many problems to be considered a good choice for an operating system. And, as well all know, perception today is reality.

But, now, let's look at the real reality (if there is such a thing). Many, many people in the tech media, whose opinion I trust, say that Vista is a good operating system...and some of these folks are avid Mac users. They also report that while Vista looks the same as XP, what is under the hood is so much better, especially in the area of security. Their change of opinion came after the release of Service Pack 1, which fixed a lot of Vista's negative issues. But SP1 took a year to get to market...far too long. And many software manufacturers took a long time to upgrade their products to run on Vista...as did many hardware manufacturers who needed to write new drivers for Vista. So again, Vista took a perception hit.

But all tech journalists (including me) agree on one point: do not upgrade your current computer running XP to Vista. For me, his has been the rule of thumb for quite some time...upgrading do a new operating system will not only cause you problems, you will notice a slowdown of you computing performance.

But, if I ordered a new computer today, I would not be afraid if it came with Vista...as long as my new system came with a dual core processor and about 3Gb of RAM. The sad thing is that I probably would not see a much of a performance improvement over my current dual core computer. I have always said that Intel and AMD are always inventing faster processors and Microsoft always finds a way to slow them down. That is reality.

The bottom line may be that Vista is a good product today, as long as its running on a new high speed computer with lots of memory. But, I honestly believe that Microsoft will never get its reputation back until possibly the release of Windows 7, their new operating system scheduled for next year. If Microsoft puts in a super-human effort to make it good, they will again reclaim their reputation...because most of us really want them to. After all, most of us are running PC's and we want better.

The other thing they should, but won't, is come out with two very different versions of Windows, one for consumers and one for business. They claim to do that with Vista, but the differences between the two are extremely minimal. There is so much stuff they could take out for business users to make it a slimmer (and perhaps a faster) operating system.