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By Brian Livingston The Windows Secrets Newsletter and the online periodical it merged with in 2006, the LangaList, have published thousands of tips over the years. Now we've made it more convenient for you to browse through our brainstorms and find exactly the article that you've been needing.

Surf our articles just the way you like

Some people like to use a site's search box to find the info they seek. Others prefer to cruise navigational links until they run into just the right page.

As for me, I find myself thinking, "I saw that in Windows Secrets about four weeks ago — how do I get back to that article, now that I really need it?"

I'm pleased to announce that we've made it easier for you to find all the dirt we've ever published on Microsoft Windows. Just visit our new Windows Secrets Library, where quick summaries of every article are available at the click of a mouse.

As shown in Figure 1, our library page starts out by displaying a compact listing of every top story for an entire year. An icon to the left of each story — and to the left of the "Summaries" heading — allows you to expand one date or all dates in a 12-month period.


Figure 1. Our library initially appears in a collapsed view showing the titles of all the top stories we published in a particular year. (Click the image to visit the page.)

One click on the "Summaries" plus sign and a short summary of every column we posted that year will expand before your eyes, as shown in Figure 2. It's a fast way to skim the page and jog your memory about the tip you're trying to dig up.


Figure 2. Click the plus sign to the left of the word "Summaries" to get the expanded view: a capsule description of every article we published on each date.

File-management dialog boxes in Windows have used plus-and-minus signs this way for years. I'm glad we've been able to convert our content to use this kind of intuitive interface.

A lot of credit for the library should go to Brent Scheffler (left), the program director of WindowsSecrets.com. Months ago, he was able to parse out all of the articles from each of the e-mail newsletters we've published over the years, posting each article on a separate page.

These days, every paragraph by one of millions of bloggers gets its own page immediately. But dissecting the long e-mails that we've used for years to transmit the Windows Secrets Newsletter to you was a daunting task. The result has made it easier for you to search our library of material and hone in on the individual article you want.

The actual code base of our expand-and-collapse interface was developed by Vickie Stevens (left), our research director. It's not as easy as it looks to perfect a system that instantly displays just the right set of articles when you click a link. Vickie has succeeded in making most of our content easily findable, year by year, in our new library.

That goes for our LangaList content, too. We've partially finished breaking down the many years of newsletters that were written by our editor-at-large, Fred Langa, into bite-size pages. We also plan to add a new interface to the newsletter that Woody Leonhard published as Woody's Windows Watch before it merged with Windows Secrets in 2004.

Our library page will probably be a bit slow when 275,000 of you start clicking the links at the same time on Mar. 20. If so, I apologize in advance. Try out the library now, and then visit it again next week after the wave has receded.

To access our library, enter WindowsSecrets.com/library into your browser, or simply use the following link to be transported there:

Surf the Windows Secrets Library

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By Scott Dunn Running applications from a USB flash drive on a public computer is convenient but exposes you to malware and other limitations of the host PC. By installing a Windows-like version of Linux on a flash drive, you can take a complete operating system wherever you go and work in a safe, secure environment, even in an Internet café.

Assessing your portable alternatives

Several months ago, in the Oct. 18, 2007, issue, I explained how to run free, portable applications from a USB flash drive (also known as a thumb drive, pen drive, memory stick) to simulate having a computer you can carry in your pocket.

Although keeping your favorite free applications and documents on a flash drive is handy, any use of a public computer (such as those found in a hotel business center or Internet café) exposes you and your data to risks from malware, which can threaten your security and privacy.

But what if your "pocket PC" included not just applications and data but an entire operating system, too? It would be even more like having a genuine computer in your pocket.

After my Oct. 18 article on flash-drive computing, some readers suggested using MojoPac as a way of carrying around Windows XP on a USB device. Unfortunately, MojoPac does not really give you an entire operating system.

Although MojoPac lets you take your own custom XP desktop with you — and helps keep your data and applications separate from the host PC — it's not a full installation of XP. MojoPac only works on a computer that's running Windows XP and then only if you have administrator access to that PC.

Some tools, such as BartPE (Bart's Preinstalled Environment) let you create a stripped-down version of XP that boots from either a CD or a USB device. However, these tools are usually designed to give you a way of booting a particular computer to troubleshoot it. They typically don't create a full version of XP that will run all your favorite applications on any PC.

A much simpler and more powerful solution is to install one of the many versions of Linux that are specifically designed to run from a bootable flash drive or CD.

Consider the advantages of carrying a portable Linux system in your pocket:

• Reduced risk from infected host systems. Booting a computer from a flash drive means you have no interaction whatsoever with the host computer's operating system. For that reason, your removable media is far less likely to be infected by any virus or other malware that may be running on an Internet café's. (This is true even if the host computer itself is running Linux.) Naturally, you can still inadvertently download malware via an e-mail attachment or a browser exploit, but you face that risk any time.

• Greater security. In part because there are fewer people trying to writing malware for it, Linux is considered a more secure operating system than Windows. Consequently, your removable drive is unlikely to face the same kinds of threats that you face when using a public machine running Windows.

• Document privacy. Running a system off your own flash drive usually means you don't need to write to or read from the host system's hard drives. You won't have to extract encrypted files onto the system's desktop or shred them afterwards.

• Computing your way. By running your own customize copy of an operating system, you don't have to put up with a different system configuration every time you use a different computer. All your customizations and settings go with you wherever you go.

Naturally, if you're traveling, you won't always be able to find a computer that can boot from a USB drive. If you find that you like running Linux on the road, it's easy to find versions of the OS that boot and run from a CD. However, reading programs and data from a CD is slower than it is from a flash drive.

Finally, if you're concerned about a flash drive catching a virus, install a free antivirus program that runs under Linux, such as Avast Linux Home Edition or AVG Anti-Virus. For further protection, you should consider buying a flash drive that has a read-only switch.

This is not your father's Linux

If the word Linux makes you cringe in fear at trying something new, relax. Despite its geeky reputation, today's versions of Linux sport a graphical user interface that's just as intuitive as the Windows you're used to. (See Figure 1.) In many cases, Linux can be customized to look even more like Windows.

Figure 1. The look and feel of Linux distributions such as Knoppix (shown here at reduced size) will seem familar to every Windows users.
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In most Linux builds, you'll find the equivalent of a Start menu, Task Bar, Control Panel, desktop icons, and more. You'll still have long filenames and move your files from folder to folder. You'll still be able to work with all the same spreadsheet, document, and graphics files as you do on your Windows machine.

If you already have a USB drive that you can spare, it won't cost you anything to try out this technique.

Here's what you need to get started:

1. A 1GB or larger USB flash drive. If you're going to be buying a new one, check out my advice in the Oct. 11, 2007, newsletter.

2. A computer capable of booting from a USB device or CD. Most computers built in recent years have this capability. If you find an Internet café PC that won't boot from external media, you can often press a key combination when the PC is booting that allows you to change the machine's BIOS options. A list of the key combinations used by more than 20 different manufacturers, and a short tutorial on changing the boot sequence, is provided at Andy Walker at his Cyberwalker site.

Next, you need to download and install a version of Linux suited for flash-drive computing. I installed and ran the latest builds of Knoppix, Slax, Puppy Linux, Pendrivelinux 2008, MCNLive Toronto, and gOS. Most of these distributions of the portable OS are available from the Pendrivelinux site.

My pick: Pendrivelinux 2008. From a user perspective, Pendrivelinux 2008 and MCNLive Toronto are nearly identical in look and feel. Both are very easy to install and, like many Linux variants, come with a considerable amount of software built in. Both include the KOffice suite of applications.

One difference in these two builds is that MCNLive includes the Opera browser, whereas Pendrivelinux includes Firefox and Thunderbird. The bundling of Firefox makes Pendrivelinux 2008 my Linux variant of choice (for now).

The best option for OpenOffice aficionados. If you're already using OpenOffice and want to stick with it, the Knoppix flavor of Linux includes that suite.

A word for Mac lovers. If you happen to be a Mac enthusiast, gOS provides an elegant imitation of the OS X interface.

The best way to set up your flash-drive OS

The Pendrivelinux Web site provides download and installation instructions for Knoppix, Pendrivelinux 2008, MCNLive Toronto, and gOS. Warning: Be sure to follow the steps carefully, as executing one of the batch files in the wrong way could damage your ability to boot from your PC's hard disk.

Once you have your flash drive set to boot up Linux, turn off your PC, insert the flash drive, and turn the power back on.

Many computers will display a boot menu when you press a function key such as F8, F9, or F12. To figure out which key triggers this menu on your PC, you may need to watch the startup screen carefully for information. On some systems, you may have to press Tab to clear your system's splash screen and get a list of keys for startup options.

The first time you boot from your flash drive, there may be some additional steps to take, as explained in the OS's installation instructions. These steps will ensure that your session settings are saved. You'll probably want to give the system a test run and verify that your configuration works before you take your drive traveling with you.

With all the software that comes with these installations, chances are you won't need to install any additional Linux applications at this point. This is especially true if you're accustomed to using online applications, such as Google Docs or Zoho.

One downside to using Linux on a remote computer is that you may have to boot from your flash drive on your main computer when you get home to transfer files. That's because Windows can't see the folders on your Linux desktop or its file structure.

Linux, on the other hand, will have no problem mounting your computer's hard drives. This enables you to copy files from your flash drive to a hard disk. Naturally, this quirk is not a problem if you're storing your documents online.

Although running a flash version of Linux is a safer, more secure way to do portable computing, you still need to exercise caution. Hardware keyloggers and network sniffers can capture passwords and other sensitive information you type using a public computer, regardless of your chosen operating system.

In addition, the small size of flash drives makes them easy to lose. Consequently, it's common sense to make a backup copy of your flash drive on a regular basis.

If you've been spending your computing life in the Windows world up until now, versions of Linux that run on removable media offer a great chance to explore some new possibilities. You may be surprised how convenient and simple it can be.

Readers receive a gift certificate for a book, CD, or DVD of their choice for sending tips we print. Send us your tips via the Windows Secrets contact page.

Contents  Index

• "Your story about the XP sales deadline does not consider that 'white box' sellers, such as my company, can sell until January 2009. I verified with my supplier (Nor-Tech) that we will be selling new computers with all versions of Windows XP until that date."
  

• "You're probably missing still the absolute biggest and best resource to getting XP systems: small businesses. Any small business out there that does custom-build systems can easily put together any computer of any specification with XP Home or Pro edition.
  
  "As long as the copies of XP are on the shelf, or available through OEM from suppliers, any small-business computer shop can do it. And there are a million of them out there. I don't think you can go anywhere in any city down any block without passing at least one small computer shop.
  
  "I'd also note that, out of the box, custom-built computers tend to perform better than retail, since none of that bloated manufacturer software is sitting there running in the background and eating all your resources.
  
  "Another option is to build a computer yourself."
  

• "You forgot Step #0 — if it is turned on, shut it off immediately and remove the battery."
  

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It's Thursday. You've made it through the week so far without spilling coffee on yourself, calling a co-worker by the wrong name, or sending a scorching e-mail to the whole office by mistake. You're on top of your mental game. But it's Thursday and you're human. You're getting tired. It's almost Friday and your co-worker's name is really hard to pronounce. Luckily, a one-minute British video for road-safety awareness provides a little mental sharpening that can help get you across the finish line. Can you follow the bouncing ball? Play the video

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