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Windows Secrets Newsletter • Issue 116 • 2007-07-19 • Circulation: over 270,000 |
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Contents TOP STORY: Add Premium/Enterprise features to XP or Vista KNOWN ISSUES: Get a great backup program for free WACKY WEB WEEK: It's 2 a.m. — know where your icons are? PC TUNE-UP: How to power-search the Web easily OVER THE HORIZON: Another user-trapping flaw found in IE PATCH WATCH: The fallout intensifies over .NET patches YOUR SUBSCRIPTION: How to change your address or unsubscribe |
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For links to every topic in this issue, scroll down to the
Index |
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ADS
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TOP STORY Add Premium/Enterprise features to XP or Vista
Mix and match the features you need If you're satisfied with XP, or you just don't want to pay the high price of Vista Ultimate, adding third-party equivalents of Vista's special features to your OS can be a smart way to go. This is especially true if you only need a couple of features — and those features can be found in free or inexpensive products. As with the previous part of my two-part series, I haven't extensively tested the following products but am relying on highly positive reviews from reputable test labs and publications. Get the advanced security of Vista Enterprise Vista Ultimate and Enterprise have a few features not found in any other version of Vista. But, as with many Vista features, third-party solutions can be be as good or better without costing you very much. Whole drive encryption. Vista Ultimate comes with BitLocker Drive Encryption to protect your data if your computer is hacked or stolen. At $99 for a perpetual license, PGP Desktop Home is a less-expensive encryption solution than buying Vista Ultimate. PGP that protects e-mail, lets you create encrypted .zip files, and automtically expands virtual disks to hold your sensitive data. (The more expensive Pro version of PGP has garnered excellent reviews from sites such as PC Magazine). For a totally free product that's comparable to PGP's, check out TrueCrypt. This encryption software garnered the highest rating from SnapFiles, an independent software download site. Like PGP Desktop Home, TrueCrypt lets you create an encrypted virtual disk. Behind the scenes, this "disk" is actually a single file that looks and acts in Windows Explorer (and other file-management utilities) like a disk drive. TrueCrypt also has a "hidden volumes" feature, which lets you create an invisible drive letter within an encrypted volume for even more security. Note that TrueCrypt cannot encrypt the folder that contains Windows. Virtual computing. Vista Enterprise and Ultimate include Virtual PC, which lets you run multiple PC-based operating systems within Windows. This can give you backward compatibility with older software, a second environment in which to surf the Web more safely, and more. XP users can download this feature for free directly from Microsoft. Users of other Vista editions other than Enterprise and Ultimate may want to try out the free VMware Player, which contributing editor Mark Edwards discusses at length in the paid version of the June 14 newsletter. Add Premium-style multimedia and parental controls Vista Ultimate and Home Premium have some features that aren't found in Vista Business, Vista Enterprise, and other Windows versions. The most notable omission is multimedia playback, as is found in Windows Media Center. Vista Ultimate and Home Premium also have unique child-access and monitoring tools. Multimedia features. If your computer has a TV tuner card, you can record programs to your hard disc using SageTV Media Center. PC World gave the previous version a score of 86, or Very Good. You can download a 15-day free trial version from the SageTV Web site. Vista Home Premium also offers Movie Maker and DVD Maker utilities for video editing and production. If you can afford it, however, you'll be better off (in any Windows version) spending $100 on Adobe Premiere Elements, which PC World recently named as one of the 100 best products of 2007. Aimed at inexperienced users, Premiere Elements helps you capture, edit, and output digital video on DVDs, the Internet, and elsewhere. Parental controls. Vista Home Premium and Ultimate come with built-in tools for controlling what Web sites your children can visit, what applications they can launch, and when they can use the computer. Microsoft's tools also provides monitoring, so you can get an activity report showing what your child has been doing with the computer. Fortunately, you don't have to have Home Premium or Ultimate to get these features on your computer. Advanced Parental Control provides the same tools and garnered 5 out of 5 stars and cows, respectively, from CNET and Tucows. Another favorite, rated highly by PC Pro reviewers is CyberPatrol, whose features include Web site blocking and Internet activity monitoring. The product can restrict instant messaging, the amount of time spent online, the downloading of programs, access to applications, and more. Both products cost US $40, but have trial versions that you can install and use for free. If even $40 is too much money, consider your options if you have an Internet security suite. ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite and Norton Internet Security 2007 have some parental filtering features built in. (Note: The Norton product may require a free parental-control add-on pack). If you're forced to use a free product, your best bet may be the older (and therefore free) version 3.06 of iProtectYou. This program garnered 4 out of 5 stars ("very good") from SnapFiles. It lets you restrict Web sites, chat sessions, e-mails, and instant messaging as well as scheduling when children can use the Internet. Give XP the Vista look and feel Finally, XP owners who want more of the slick Aero appearance — and other desktop features that are part of every Vista version — free and cheap substitutes abound. For example: • You can give XP a more modern look and feel by using "skinning" programs, such as StyleXP from TGTSoft or Stardock's WindowBlinds (US $20 each). • You can add transparency to Windows elements with the free products Transbar, PowerMenu, and TransApps. • To get Vista's "thumbnail preview" of a window when you hold your mouse pointer over a Taskbar button, check out the freeware product Visual Task Tips. • Last, but not least, for something approaching the Vista Sidebar in functonality, try Desktop Sidebar or Yahoo's desktop widgets. As I pointed out last week, you can't completely duplicate Vista Ultimate with just a few downloads. And depending on how many new features you want, you could actually end up spending more licensing third-party products than you would purchasing Vista Ultimate itself. But a few judicious add-ons can decidedly enhance your XP or Vista experience. If you don't see what you need here, keep on surfing — someone's bound to invent even more. Scott Dunn is associate editor of the Windows Secrets Newsletter. He is also a contributing editor of PC World Magazine, where he has written a monthly column since 1992, and co-author of 101 Windows Tips & Tricks (Peachpit) with Jesse Berst and Charles Bermant. |
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KNOWN ISSUES Get a great backup program for free By Scott Dunn My lead story in the July 12 newsletter explained how you can get Vista Ultimate features in Windows XP or versions of Vista that aren't as expensive as Ultimate. Several readers have written in with even more ways to save money and get useful add-on programs that are free or inexpensive. Acronis True Image free for Maxtor, Seagate users Reader John Willoughby writes in with news that'll interest many disk-drive buyers:
The important thing to note, however, is that both utilities are based on an OEM version of Acronis's well-regarded True Image backup application. According to the Inquirer's report, both free utilities support the creation of disk images, partitions, the cloning and formatting of disks, and more. Thanks for the tip, John! XP can fax, DriveImage now Vista compatible In my July 12 story, I recommended a couple of faxing applications, one of which didn't support Vista. Reader Loren Barrett writes in to remind me that Windows XP doesn't need third-party faxing software, because a fax capability is built in. It's Vista Home Premium that lacks faxing ability. For those who don't know about XP's fax services, Loren provides some helpful instructions on his Web site. Thanks, Loren! While we're on the subject, I also stated that DriveImage XML (a free, disk-imaging backup program) was not Vista compatible. This is not correct; version 1.21 does indeed support Vista and can be downloaded from the Runtime Software Web site. Version of FileHamster runs on Flash drives For those who don't mind installing a freeware product, my July 12 story also mentioned a file backup and versioning product called FileHamster. A reader named Charlie points out that a "non-install" version of FileHamster is available at the Mogware Web site. This version is useful for those who want to keep the utility on a portable Flash drive without having to install it on each computer you use. Simply unzip the download file to your Flash drive, placing it in the directory from which you want to use it. Then double-click the .exe file to launch it. Thanks, Charlie! DeskJet driver saves ink on other HP printers In the Known Issues column on July 12, I pointed out the cost-saving measure of setting your printer driver to "Monochrome" if your printer uses colored ink even when printing black-and-white documents. (You can look at a printout with a magnifying glass to check this.) If you own a Hewlett-Packard printer, however, changing this setting may not be possible. Fortunately, reader Scott Lewis of San Antonio, Texas, has a solution for you:
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EDITOR'S BOOKSHELF
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WACKY WEB WEEK It's 2 a.m. — know where your icons are?
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YOUR SUBSCRIPTION The Windows Secrets Newsletter is published weekly on the 1st through 4th Thursdays of each month, plus occasional news updates. We skip an issue on any 5th Thursday that occurs, plus Thanksgiving Week and the last two weeks of August and December. Publisher: WindowsSecrets.com LLC, Attn: #120 Editor, 1700 7th Ave., Suite 116, Seattle, WA 98101-1323 USA. Vendors, please send no unsolicited packages to this address (readers' letters are fine). Editorial Director: Brian Livingston. Editor-at-Large: Fred Langa. Associate Editor: Scott Dunn. Contributing Editors: Susan Bradley, Mark Edwards, Woody Leonhard, Chris Mosby, Ryan Russell. Research Director: Vickie Stevens. Program Director: Brent Scheffler. Trademarks: Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. The Windows Secrets series of books is published by Wiley Publishing Inc. The Windows Secrets Newsletter, WindowsSecrets.com, LangaList, LangaList Plus, WinFind, Security Baseline, Patch Watch, Perimeter Scan, Wacky Web Week, the Logo Design (W, S or road, and Star), and the slogan Everything Microsoft Forgot to Mention all 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 our free signup page. WE GUARANTEE YOUR PRIVACY: 1. We will never sell, rent, or give away your address to any outside party, ever. 2. We will never send you any unrequested e-mail, besides newsletter updates. 3. All unsubscribe requests are honored immediately, period. Privacy policy HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE: To unsubscribe from the Windows Secrets Newsletter,
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