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INTRODUCTION — news about your newsletter Brian's Buzz is renamed the Windows Secrets Newsletter By Brian Livingston Brian's Buzz on Windows, my twice-monthly e-mail newsletter on the tricks you need to run Microsoft Windows, has changed its name to the Windows Secrets Newsletter. The old Brian's Buzz logo, shown at right in a smaller-than-usual size, will soon disappear entirely. Many improvements, some of which I've been developing for more than 12 months, led me to feel a different name would better reflect the new services you're going to receive. Here's why: A gaggle of Windows authors Some of the biggest names in Windows writing have agreed to work together with me to bring you a better and stronger newsletter. 
First, I'll be joined in writing and editing the Windows Secrets newsletter by
Paul Thurrott (on the right in the photo at left). Paul runs the
SuperSite for Windows
and is the editor of the weekly
Windows & .NET Magazine Update,
one of the world's largest independent e-mail newsletters on Windows
with more than 250,000 subscribers.Paul's new title with the Windows Secrets Newsletter will be Associate Editor. I remain as Editor, and he and I will each write material in both the free and paid versions of every issue. Woody's Windows Watch is merging with the Windows Secrets Newsletter 
Woody Leonhard (photo, left) is the author of
Windows XP Timesaving Techniques for Dummies and many other
books. He and publisher Peter Deegan have agreed to merge their Windows e-mail
newsletter, Woody's Windows Watch, with our efforts. Readers of both
newsletters will automatically receive a single publication entitled the
Windows Secrets Newsletter.Woody, Peter, and other Windows Watch writers will periodically contribute articles and tips to the merged publication. The first combined issue, which will more than double the circulation of the existing Windows Secrets Newsletter, will appear soon on my regular "alternating Thursdays" publication schedule. If you currently get both newsletters at different e-mail addresses, use the following link to unsubscribe your address from Woody's Windows Watch. If you do so by July 21, you won't receive duplicate newsletters. (The link will only unsubscribe you from Windows Watch, it won't unsubscribe you from the Windows Secrets Newsletter.) If you get both newsletters at the same address, I'll make sure you aren't sent Windows Secrets twice. |
 ISSUE 33 — 2004.07.08 NEWSLETTER CONTROL PANEL CIRCULATION: over 51,000 |
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"Windows 2006 Secrets" is coming, thanks to Wiley Many of the above changes were inspired by the author relationships we each have with Wiley Publishing Inc. Wiley is the current publisher of the Windows Secrets and For Dummies series of books — assets it gained when it acquired IDG Books Worldwide. Paul Thurrott and I recently signed a contract with Wiley to co-author a completely new 1,000-page book: Windows 2006 Secrets. This opus, my first book-length work in six years, will come out when Microsoft's new beta operating system, code-named Longhorn, is released. (The book will be renamed to match whatever the Microsoft software product is called when it ships.) I'm exhausted just thinking about it. WindowsSecrets.com is our new home on the Web To bring together all of these publishing efforts, I've acquired the domain name WindowsSecrets.com from its previous owner (an ad-supported search engine that was operated by Ultimate Search). All of our new content, as well as all past issues of Brian's Buzz and Woody's Windows Watch, will be hosted on the new domain name, which is now live.
WinFind is my specialized search engine that brings you Windows tips from 15 high-tech authorities that I've found to be accurate, reliable, and safe (unlike many "tips" you see on the Internet). My original search engine — what I call WinFind 1.0 — was good enough to win BriansBuzz.com recognition as one of the 101 sites with the "Best Free Stuff on the Web" and one of "132 Search Secrets" in recent PC World cover stories. The new search engine — WinFind 2.0 — now shows you hyperlinks to the most relevant article from each of the 15 textbases it indexes. You can easily expand your search results to show additional, related links from any of the sources with a single click. The new index is powered by Atomz.com, an award-winning provider of customized search technologies. Most of the programming of WinFind was done by my research director, Vickie Stevens. WinFind 1.0 sometimes displayed a results page on which several of the links pointed to articles on the same site. This was due to the difficulties of mechanically ranking the variously formatted contents of the 15 expert sites. WinFind 2.0 will never exhibit this quirk. Try out the advanced (but easy-to-use) version of WinFind 2.0 at WindowsSecrets.com/WinFind. The simple-search version (with just an input box) sits atop the WindowsSecrets.com home page. Your support made all this happen There's more, but I'll stop here. These improvements have been made possible by the generous contributions from the 7,290 readers who are currently our paid subscribers. (They comprise over 14% of all subscribers.) I give you my thanks, and I promise you that my co-authors and I won't rest until we've created for you the undisputed best resource for Windows information and advice. Please give us feedback using our Contact Page if you find any problems that we might have missed in the new site or the redesigned newsletter. Send me a personal e-mail message, and attach a screen shot of the problem (if possible). I apologize for any inconvenience you may experience, and I invite you to check back in a few days to see if any difficulty you found has been corrected. All new software has bugs, but they'll be fixed as soon as we hear about them. Cheers! TOP STORY — info you need to make Windows work SPECIAL REPORT: SP2's Windows Firewall won't be enough In the June 17 issue of Brian's Buzz on Windows, we discussed the promise of Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) and why you need to evaluate this release before Microsoft finalizes the product sometime later this summer. Though it's not billed as such, XP SP2 is the biggest Windows upgrade in years, and is arguably a more disruptive release than 2000's Windows Millennium Edition (Me). That's because Microsoft has infused SP2 with a grab-bag of deep-seated security technologies, many of which will break your favorite applications and Web sites. Microsoft shipped Release Candidate 2 (RC2) of SP2 to beta testers in June, and expects to offer the "gold" version of the service pack later this year. In this week's issue, we'll discuss the most visible security component in SP2 — and explain why it won't be enough to shield you from electronic attack. Out with the old, in with the new Windows XP SP2 includes a new version of XP's little-used Internet Connection Firewall (ICF). This app has been renamed "Windows Firewall" in a bid to alert users that this product is a more integrated part of Windows. Unlike its predecessor, Windows Firewall is on by default. The service is designed to protect your system against inbound network traffic even during the period before you logon. This can, in fact, prevent certain types of attacks. Windows Firewall is also far more configurable than ICF. This is due to a more full-featured Control Panel applet that lets you determine the firewall's state. (The firewall may be on, off, or "on with exceptions." The latter state lets you shut down network traffic — even to applications that you normally trust). You can also use the Control Panel to modify your list of trusted programs and services, configure which ports you will allow to be opened, and perform other related tasks. If you're familiar with third-party firewalls such as the excellent Zone Labs ZoneAlarm products, you've probably experienced the pitfalls of today's firewall solutions: They need to display annoying dialog boxes every time an unfamiliar Internet service attempts to contact a local application on your hard drive, and vice versa. If you're not technically savvy, these dialogs can be hard to decipher. Over time, of course, the number of dialogs you need to deal with drops dramatically. But the sheer number of authorization requests you get after first installing a firewall can be overbearing, regardless of your technical skill level. Windows Firewall also suffers from the same problem, of course, but does offer plain-English explanations of each application request. This relative clarity often makes these dialogs easier to understand than those generated by other firewalls. Sadly, that's where the good news ends. The bad and the ugly The basic problem with Windows Firewall is that it's only half a solution. Unlike most third party firewalls — and unlike Microsoft's enterprise-ready solution, Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server — Windows Firewall only protects against inbound network traffic. That means it does nothing to prevent adware or spyware that's gotten into your system from "phoning home" or initiating communications with remote Internet services and Web sites. You might think this isn't a problem. Think again: Even though Windows Firewall can prevent many types of network-based attacks, it can't protect you against that most basic of security problems, the human being sitting in front of the PC. Because e-mail addresses and Web site addresses can easily be spoofed using readily-available exploits, hackers can fool you into believing you're interacting with a trusted friend, relative, or company. And if you install a malicious application on your system — knowingly or otherwise — Windows Firewall can't prevent that application from sending your private information out onto the Internet. To date, millions of people have succumbed to virus-laden e-mail attachments or "phishing" scams, simply because the e-mail invitations that launched these attacks appeared to come from trusted sources. Third-party firewalls like ZoneAlarm don't suffer from this weakness. They protect both inbound and outbound network traffic. We recently spoke to Zone Labs' Vice President of Marketing, Frederick Felman, who fears that SP2's half-witted firewall will ultimately betray users with its false sense of security. "Where Microsoft is missing out most profoundly with SP2 is with its illusion of security," he said. "It's more damaging than having no security at all, because users take risks that they might not otherwise take. That's where SP2 fails. That's where Microsoft fails." That's not the only problem with Windows Firewall. While it was engineering SP2, Microsoft changed the way the system interacts with network resources. Unlike Zone Alarm, Microsoft has engineered Windows Firewall to be the final arbitrator of trust on your system, removing that responsibility from the user. "You think you're protected because it blocks your system from accepting things from the Internet at large," Felman said. "But it [Windows Firewall] trusts the local network by default. If you connect to a semi-private or public network, you're screwed. You don't trust strangers. Why would you trust a network you don't know?" The problems with Windows Firewall's limitations were recently brought home when one of Paul's systems was infected with a nefarious Trojan horse. The intruder proceeded to install malicious adware applications and an Internet Explorer toolbar on the PC. A month later, the system is still infected, though Microsoft has offered to help solve the problem. But this episode taught us an important lesson. First, once malicious software is installed on a system, SP2 offers no way to detect it, remove it, or even disable it. And second, the inbound-only limitation of Windows Firewall means that such an application is free to do its work uninhibited. What you can do Whether you're running a beta copy of SP2 on Windows XP, an older version of XP, or some other relatively recent flavor of Windows, there are some basic steps you can take now. You can proactively defend your system against network-based attacks, and then ensure that your system is protected against any malicious software that does somehow make it through — even if it's due to human error on your part. • Get a two-way firewall. So far, we've tested two products that handily beat Windows Firewall. The first is the aforementioned Zone Labs ZoneAlarm, which is available in free and Pro ($39.95) versions. Both versions offer two-way firewalling, a suspicious-mail quarantine, outgoing spam-infected mail protection, and other basic security features. The Pro version provides a number of additional improvements. These include pop-up ad blocking, adware cookie detection and deletion, and hacker-reporting capabilities. (Zone Alarm also sells a version that includes antivirus tools and a security suite). Another excellent solution is Tiny Software's Personal Firewall 5.0 ($49), which is admittedly more technical but also more full-featured than Zone Labs' solution. The Tiny Personal Firewall offers pervasive intrusion detection functionality, spyware and virus blocking, and other advanced features. However, it only runs on Windows 2000, XP, and 2003. Whichever third-party firewall you choose, you should disable Windows Firewall on SP2, or ICF on previous versions of XP. • Get antivirus protection. Microsoft isn't bundling antivirus software in XP SP2, which is a shame. But virtually all of the major players — Panda, Symantec, and McAfee, to name just a few — offer good solutions that include file system and mail protection as well as real-time monitoring. • Run spyware detectors regularly. There are a number of spyware detection/removal solutions available today. Because SP2 won't include such a tool, you'll need to find one you're comfortable with. We recommend two products in this area as well. The first is Lavasoft Ad-Aware (http://www.lavasoftusa.com/), which ships in free, Plus ($26.95), and Professional ($39.95), versions. You should definitely grab the free version, but the Plus version, which adds real-time monitoring functionality, is a worthwhile upgrade. Also good is SpyBot Search & Destroy, one of the best antispyware applications we've seen. SpyBot S&D is completely free, and it works on every version of Windows from 95 on up. It's possible and even desirable to use the two applications together on the same PC. • Don't Use IE. Despite some interesting security updates in SP2, Internet Explorer is still the most obvious attack point in your Windows system. Our advice? Don't use IE if you can avoid it. Excellent alternatives like Mozilla Firefox and Opera 7.51 aren't just more secure, they also feature better adherence to Web standards and features, like tabbed browsing, that Microsoft doesn't support in IE. Firefox is free, but Opera will set you back $39 unless you don't mind looking at ads. CNET on July 6 reviewed browsers that outdo IE, including Firefox and Opera as well as the older Mozilla 1.7 and Netscape 7.1. Writer Robert Vamos raved about Firefox 0.9.1, but held back on an outright recommendation because the "gold" release of the product won't officially ship until this September or so. Failing the availability of Firefox 1.0, Vamos wrote: "Mozilla is the best free alternative to Microsoft IE." More info • Evaluate SP2. While we don't recommend that you install the current release of SP2 — Release Candidate 2 (RC2) — on production machines, you really should take a hard look at this product immediately if you're considering rolling it out on a large scale. You can download the SP2 RC2 release from the Microsoft Web site. We'll be examining other features of SP2 in future issues of the Windows Secrets Newsletter. We also discussed other ways to lock attackers out of your PC in the June 3 issue of Brian's Buzz. If you'd like to share some information about XP SP2, or you can send us a tip on any other subject, visit our Contact Page. You'll receive a gift certificate for a book, CD, or DVD of your choice if you're the first to send us a comment that we print. RECOMMENDED READING — our book reviews of tech topics 
Secure Messaging with Microsoft Exchange Server 2003There are a lot of books on Exchange Server 2003, but author Paul Robichaux says this is the only one that explains — thoroughly — all the security aspects of Microsoft's enterprise-level e-mail system. (Full disclosure: Robichaux developed the install routine for the CD included with Brian's "Windows 2000 Secrets" book.) In Robichaux's view, security doesn't just mean protecting yourself against malicious hacker abuse, although there's plenty of valuable information here about that. It also means protecting yourself against your employer in case it's hit with a lawsuit over its e-mail retention policies and you're an easy scapegoat. You might want to check this out. More info: United States / Canada / Elsewhere 
Photoshop for Right-Brainers: The Art of Photo ManipulationThis is a book that creative people who take pictures (or even just look at pictures) will love. Author Al Ward is the proprietor of the ActionFX Web site and writes columns on Photoshop for Graphics.com. That'll give you a taste of what you'll find in Photoshop for Right-Brainers. It always amazes me what people can do to make a photo look anything like it did in reality. After you see how it's done in Ward's guide, it may amaze you still more. More info: United States / Canada / Elsewhere 
The iTunes for Windows BookApple fanatics were ecstatic that they had the chance to access iTunes for months before a version was available for Windows users. That oversight was corrected some time ago, and now books have emerged to help you get the most out of the pay-to-play site. Some of the material here is basic, but you'll find numerous gems such as having iTunes automatically generate a playlist of just your most-liked songs and how to kill off mind-numbing intros. Groove on, baby. More info: United States / Canada / Elsewhere FORWARDING INSTRUCTIONS — news gains value when it's shared Please share this information with your friends You're encouraged to refer your friends and colleagues to this free newsletter. Because most e-mail programs don't correctly display a formatted message that's been forwarded, simply call people's attention to the permanent Web address of this issue: WindowsSecrets.com/040708. HERE'S A TIP — you'll get a better newsletter if you choose the paid version You're reading the free version of the Windows Secrets Newsletter Subscribers to the paid version receive additional information in each issue. Some of the extras this week are:
You'll not only get the next 12 months of the paid version of the Windows Secrets Newsletter. Make a contribution to support our research into Windows and you'll immediately be able to read and search through scores of valuable, paid-only Brian's Buzz and Windows Secrets articles. In addition, paid subscribers are entitled to download valuable content that we license for your enjoyment at least once every calendar quarter. To upgrade, simply make a contribution of any amount that you choose If you do this by July 21, 2004, you'll instantly be sent the full, paid version of today's newsletter. To upgrade to the paid version of the Windows Secrets Newsletter, please visit WindowsSecrets.com/upgrade. Thanks in advance. ELECTRONIC BOOKSHELF — new e-books from the editors 
Spam-Proof Your E-Mail AddressThis 27-page e-book in PDF format gives you step-by-step instructions that can eliminate 97% of the spam that would otherwise clog your e-mail account. You could call it "Brian Livingston's Spam Secrets." The book is the result of months of experiments and tests we conducted, and we now receive little or no spam to the addresses we used as guinea pigs. These tests show that you can actually reduce your volume of spam to practically nothing, not just battle an unstoppable and ever-growing flood. The methods we describe work with Windows, Apple, and Linux and don't require any filters or block lists — but you can use those in addition to the book's techniques, if you wish. More info WACKY WEB WEEK — playing for you the Internet's greatest bits 
Now that's a horse of a different colorIn a new, 15-second TV commercial that's running in Japan, a young woman shopping in a convenience store is so overcome when she sees the low price of a program similar to Microsoft Office that she faints and gives birth — to a horse. The ad, which features Japanese actress Norika Fujiwara (photo, left), is the brainchild of software publisher SourceNext. It's selling StarSuite, a version of Sun's OpenOffice, for about $18. More info The video is hilarious, whether or not you'd ever consider an Office-suite alternative. The WMP-format mini-movie plays an audio track — so turn down your speakers, you cubicle dwellers — but the clip is otherwise work-safe for viewing. Our thanks to reader Kristi Heim for her research on this topic. Play the video USEFUL LINKS — articles we've published elsewhere Don't get killed by "spam trap poisoning" Spam traps are e-mail addresses that antispam groups post on the Web but don't use for sending e-mail. If a spam trap receives any e-mail, antispam groups assume the message must be spam and automatically put the IP address on a "blocklist." Unfortunately, spam traps are starting to bite legitimate businesses. (Brian Livingston, Datamation) More info Longhorn and the future of Windows Paul Thurrott spoke about Longhorn on July 2 at the sixth anniversary meeting of the Huntsville Windows User Group. See photos and all of the slides from that talk and get the opportunity to download a complete PowerPoint presentation, free. (Paul Thurrott, SuperSite for Windows) More info Banks say, "phishing season is over" A little-known organization of 55 of the world's largest financial institutions proposes that online banks use so-called digital certificates to identify themselves and their customers on the Internet. But will this by itself be enough to stop "phishing" con games? (Brian Livingston, Datamation) More info Microsoft takes its time with backup patch We all know that Microsoft releases Windows patches practically every week. What you probably don't know is the inside story of a patch Microsoft completed months ago but hadn't released any information about until just last week. (Brian Livingston, Datamation) More info ABOUT YOUR SUBSCRIPTION — we're here to serve you THE WINDOWS SECRETS NEWSLETTER (formerly Brian's Buzz on Windows) is published twice a month on alternating Thursdays, except for breaks in August and December. PUBLISHER: WindowsSecrets.com LLC, 300 Queen Anne Ave. N. #456, Seattle, WA 98109 USA. Vendors, please send no unsolicited packages to this address (readers' letters are fine). Copyright © 2004 by WindowsSecrets.com LLC. All rights reserved. EDITORIAL STAFF: Brian Livingston, the newsletter's editor, is the co-author of Windows 2000 Secrets, Windows Me Secrets, and eight other books. Paul Thurrott, the newsletter's associate editor, is the author of Windows XP Home Networking, Great Digital Media with Windows XP, and is the author or co-author of many other books. Vickie Stevens is our research director. Ben Livingston (no relation to Brian) is our program consultant. Donna Day of BigCheesePhoto is the photographer who shot our new logo and Livingston/Thurrott head shots. Sarah Reker of Varium Media designed the logo images that are appearing for the first time this week at the top of this issue and the new WindowsSecrets.com Web site. TRADEMARKS: "Windows" is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. The "Windows Secrets" series of books is published by Wiley Publishing Inc. "The Windows Secrets Newsletter," "WindowsSecrets.com," "WinFind," and "Wacky Web Week" are trademarks and service marks of WindowsSecrets.com LLC. All other marks are the trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. HOW TO SUBSCRIBE: Anyone may subscribe to this newsletter by visiting WindowsSecrets.com/signup. HOW TO CHANGE YOUR DELIVERY ADDRESS: Use this Change Address link or log in at WindowsSecrets.com/prefs/. HOW TO CHANGE YOUR OTHER PREFERENCES: Use this Change Preferences link or log in at WindowsSecrets.com/prefs. HOW TO GET SUBSCRIPTION HELP BY E-MAIL (fastest method): Visit WindowsSecrets.com/contact. Subscription help by facsimile: 206-282-6312 (fax). Emergency subscription help by phone: 206-282-2536 (24 hours).
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