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Windows Secrets Newsletter • Issue 153 • 2008-05-15 • Circulation: over 275,000

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Table of contents
 INTRODUCTION: Steal our links — no, really, we mean it
TOP STORY: Keep XP fresh until Windows 7 arrives
WACKY WEB WEEK: Windows rocks! The OS plays a Who classic
BEST SOFTWARE: One online notetaker outshines the competition
PC TUNE-UP: More vulnerabilities found in Internet Explorer
PATCH WATCH: XP Service Pack 3 crashes HP's AMD-based PCs
PERMALINKS: Send these links to your friends and co-workers
YOUR SUBSCRIPTION: How to change your address or unsubscribe

    
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INTRODUCTION

Steal our links — no, really, we mean it

Brian Livingston By Brian Livingston

This week, we've made it easier for you to send your friends and associates links to all the topics we publish.

You can even send your buddies — who aren't Windows Secrets subscribers at all — links to some of our paid content.

The last section of our e-mail newsletter is now called Permalinks. Every link in this section opens a browser window focused on a different article. If you select a subtopic of an article, the browser scrolls down to that subtopic. (A copy of this week's e-mail is posted on its own May 15, 2008, page.)

The Permalinks section was previously known as the Index. Links in the old Index section merely scrolled to the appropriate location within that week's newsletter.

Our permalinks no longer scroll in that way. More of our readers wanted an easy way to link to the permanent location of an article or subtopic on the Web. To scroll down to an article, use the links in the Contents section of the e-mail newsletter.

Back on Mar. 20, 2008, we began allowing subscribers with free subscriptions — and Web surfers with no subscription at all — to see summaries of our paid content. That means you can copy a paid-article link and send it to whomever you like. If they're not a paying subscriber, and the summary doesn't provide enough info for them, they can see the paid content immediately by signing up right on the page.

The Permalink icons at the end of each major article in the e-mail newsletter do the same thing as the links in our Permalinks section.

The Permalinks section isn't a gigantic change, but just one attempt to make linking a bit simpler for you. My thanks to program director Brent Scheffler and our new program manager, Tony Johnston, for automating this feature.

Welcome a writer who's read all over

Our newest contributing editor, Scott Spanbauer, begins a regular column of paid content today. He'll be submitting columns two or three times each month, filling the space formerly occupied by editor-at-large Fred Langa, who retired on May 1. (Fred has big shoes to fill, but I believe Scott's up to the task.)

Scott Spanbauer As a freelance writer, Scott (photo, left) frequently contributes to Business 2.0, CIO, Forbes ASAP, and Fortune Small Business. He's contributed chapters to PC Bible, 2nd Edition and That's Entertainment, A Parent's Guide to Educational Software (both 1995) and was technical editor of Jim Aspinwall's PC Hacks (2005). He's also written one tome himself, The No B.S. Guide to Windows 95 (1996), a book effort that he recently told me was "more than enough."

Scott has also been involved with PC World in one capacity or another since 1987: assistant editor, editor, senior associate editor, and currently contributing editor. He began writing the magazine's monthly Bugs & Fixes column in 1994 and then switched to writing its Internet Tips column in January 2000.

Scott's column, Best Software, will concentrate on reviews of freeware, shareware, trialware, and commercial programs. I hope you like the new material.

 Brian Livingston is editorial director of WindowsSecrets.com and the co-author of Windows Vista Secrets and 10 other books.

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TOP STORY

Keep XP fresh until Windows 7 arrives

Scott Dunn By Scott Dunn

When Windows XP was released, wireless routers were rare, few cell phones supported e-mail, and YouTube was just a gleam in some PayPal employees' eyes.

But like a fabled perpetual motion machine, XP keeps on going and going — and if you follow some simple guidelines, the OS will keep running in top condition until Vista's successor is ready in 2010.

XP is an operating system with serious legs

Microsoft may not have planned it this way, but XP could end up rivaling NT and 2000 as the version of Windows with the longest lifespan. According to recent news reports, Dell, Lenovo, and other computer manufacturers will continue to sell new PCs running Windows XP well past Microsoft's June 30 cutoff date.

PC vendors will do so by invoking a downgrade plan that lets them ship a system with Windows XP installed as long as the customer is also paying for an upgrade to Vista Business or Ultimate editions, either of which is included in each box.

Of course, computer manufacturers aren't the only ones looking for ways to extend XP's usefulness. One pundit has predicted that Microsoft itself is going to fast-track Windows 7 to get customers to leapfrog over the unpopular Vista and go directly from XP to the next version. In fact, according to the technology site Ars Technica, one major American corporation, General Motors, is considering doing just that.

Eight simple rules for keeping XP rejuvenated

If you're one of the many people who plan to stick with XP as long as possible, you need to take a few relatively painless steps to keep that aging OS perky. Here are my eight rules for extending XP's usefulness to 2010 and beyond.

Rule 1: The latest ain't always the greatest. As a rule, older operating systems were designed to work with older software. Unless you need some utterly indispensible feature found only in the latest Adobe Creative Suite or Microsoft Office 2007, stick to the preceding releases. Not only will the senior apps run faster, most of the kinks and bugs have already been worked out of them.

If your hardware and software work fine as is, don't bother upgrading any drivers, either. At the same time, driver upgrades often smooth out minor problems that you've just grown used to.

One way to check for out-of-date device drivers is to use the online scanner from Driver Updates. (Note that using this service requires running an ActiveX component in Internet Explorer.)

Should you discover that one of your drivers is out of date, go to the manufacturer's site to find and download the latest version available (but skip any beta releases). Remember to back up your system before installing the new driver in case it causes problems.

Rule 2: Make an exception for security. Set Rule 1 aside when it comes to your security software and services. Update your virus and spyware definitions frequently. Get the latest security updates for your browser and for QuickTime, Flash, and other media players as well. Some of the dangers of unpatched software are explained in the April 17 Top Story.

Rule 3: Stay young and beautiful. The last exception to Rule 1 is to make a cautious investment in a handful of utilities that improve and modernize XP. You'll find a number of free and low-cost programs that approximate or even duplicate Vista's best new features without having to invest in a whole new operating system.

For a guide to applications that give XP handy features of Vista's Business edition, see my July 12, 2007, column. To read about ways to add features from Vista Enterprise or Ultimate editions to XP, check out my July 19, 2007, column.

Rule 4: Shop carefully for new hardware. If your XP system needs a processor, memory, or other hardware upgrade to keep it from bogging down on your applications, there is no reason why you can't swap out an aging component or add some RAM.

However, since some new components are designed with Vista in mind, make sure the products you buy work as advertised under XP. Check the manufacturers' site for XP driver downloads before you make your purchase, and look for online reviews that mention the products' XP compatibility.

Rule 5: Don't let startup stuff slow you down. It seems like every program you install these days wants to start along with Windows. These auto-start apps are usually represented by an icon in your system tray (the area near your clock). Even if your system has oodles of memory, these little doodads can slow you down without offering any real value.

An excellent tool for finding what gizmos are starting up each time you log into Windows is Autoruns, available from Microsoft (originally from Sysinternals). Simply uncheck the item to disable it from starting, or select an entry and delete it to effect a more permanent removal.

If you can't figure out what a particular startup app does, right-click its entry in the Autoruns window and choose Search Online. This performs a Google search (rather than a Live search, which you might expect). Scour the results to find out whether the program has a legitimate reason for needing to run all the time.

If the Web search isn't helpful in rooting out a program's purpose, check the list of common startup applications maintained by Paul Collins to figure out what's getting started with Windows.

Finally, the free version of WinPatrol can warn you whenever a program attempts to add an item to your startup list.

Clear the clutter from XP's many cubbyholes

Rule 6: Save on disk space. A problem that plagues nearly all aging systems is the pack-rat syndrome. Just using a PC day to day causes an ever-increasing amount of data to be stored in ever-shrinking disk space. These tips will help you recover some of that precious drive capacity.
  • Eliminate hibernation files. XP's hibernation feature stores everything currently in RAM onto your hard disk, which allows you to return to your session more quickly after a period of inactivity. Unfortunately, hibernation needs about the same amount of disk space as your current amount of RAM (for example, 1GB of disk space if you have 1GB of RAM).

    If you don't use XP's hibernate feature very often, you can save the space occupied by the hiberfil.sys file: choose Start, Run; type powercfg.cpl; click the Hibernate tab; uncheck Enable hibernation; and click OK.

  • Don't let iTunes make you hear double. If you use Windows Media Player to rip CDs to your computer in the Windows Media Audio (.wma) format and then decide to give iTunes a try, beware! iTunes will convert those songs into its Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) format, resulting in duplicate files for every song iTunes manages. To avoid that, use a single music format (such as .mp3) that all media players can handle.

  • Store stuff online. Another way to save on disk space is to transfer files to an online storage service. You may already store your e-mail and photos online. Yahoo's Flickr service lets you store as many photos as you like, but unless you upgrade to a paid account, you'll never be able to see more than the last 100.

    Google's Picasa Web albums provide 1GB of free storage. And if you're willing to pay, you can get a whole lot more storage space than that.

    Of course, you don't need to limit yourself to mail and photos. A number of sites offer free or low-cost online storage. For example, Mozy gives you 2GB of free storage through its MozyHome service. MozyPro accounts start at U.S. $4.50 per gigabyte per month.

    Many sites, including ElephantDrive, Omnidrive, and Box, provide only 1GB of free storage. Each service offers larger storage options at varying prices.

    Finally, IBackup has economy plans that charge only $1 per gigabyte per month (and less for annual rates). By comparison, the popular Data Deposit Box charges $2 monthly for each gigabyte you use.

  • Offload files to a new drive. Even if you've purchased a new hard drive to expand your storage space, you may still be running out of room on your Windows drive. Fortunately, you can move your virtual memory paging file, Internet Explorer cache files, My Documents, and other system files to another drive or partition. For step-by-step information, see my column from the Feb. 28 issue.
Rule 7: Keep it clean. It makes no sense to hang onto useless junk files that Windows uses for its own purposes. Fortunately, Windows' own Disk Cleanup tool can clear out this system clutter. For details on how to customize Disk Cleanup for maximum efficiency, see Fred Langa's Mar. 13 column in the paid portion of the newsletter.

Disk Cleanup also removes the outdated restore points created by System Restore that you no longer need. In the Disk Cleanup window, click the More Options tab. Under System Restore, click Clean up and confirm that you want to delete all but the current restore point.

Unfortunately, Disk Cleanup misses certain temp files. To make a little batch file that clears these folders, open Notepad and type the following:

del /s /q "C:\Documents and Settings\yourname\Local Settings\Temp\*.*"

Replace yourname with the name of the account you've logged into and adjust the drive letter or path as needed. Save the file with a .cmd or .bat extension (for example, killtemp.bat) and put the file or a shortcut to it in your Startup group (Start, All Programs, Startup). This way, it will run each time you log in to your Windows account.

Rule 8. Do your chores. Joan Rivers described my attitude to PC maintenance when she said, "I hate housework! You make the beds, you do the dishes, and six months later you have to start all over again."

Odious as PC housekeeping can be, get into the disk-maintenance habit: make backups, defrag your hard disks, and check them for errors. Fortunately, you can use XP's Scheduled Tasks utility (Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Scheduled Tasks) to automate or partially automate these chores by setting the program to give you a gentle reminder.

Did I leave something out? Let me know your favorite "rejuvenation rules" for XP — or Vista, for that matter — using the Windows Secrets contact page.

 Scott Dunn is associate editor of the Windows Secrets Newsletter. He has been a contributing editor of PC World since 1992 and currently writes for the Here's How section of that magazine.

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EDITOR'S BOOKSHELF

Windows Vista Secrets Get the tips you need about Windows Vista
The all-new Windows Vista Secrets helps novices and experts alike understand Microsoft's latest operating system. "To really appreciate what is in Vista, you almost need to read through the leading book on the product, Windows Vista Secrets, by Brian Livingston and Paul Thurrott," writes Rob Enderle, principal analyst of the Enderle Group, in TechNewsWorld. "It's 595 pages of things you can do with this product — most of which you probably wouldn't have discovered for some time, let alone right at first." Check the book out now for tips you can use.
More information: United States (B&N) / Canada / Elsewhere

Spam-Proof Your E-Mail Address, 2nd Ed. Spam-Proof Your E-Mail Address, 2nd Ed.
This 32-page e-book by Brian Livingston gives you step-by-step instructions that can prevent 97% of the spam that would otherwise clog an e-mail account. You could call it "Livingston's Spam Secrets." The PDF e-book is the result of months of experiments and tests we conducted. We now receive little or no spam to the addresses we used as guinea pigs. These tests show that you can make your e-mail addresses invisible to spammers, not just battle an 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

    
   

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WACKY WEB WEEK

 Windows rocks! The OS plays a Who classic

the Who  The next time someone tells you Windows is no fun, point them to this video of the OS's version of a classic by one of the greatest rock bands of all times.

The Who's "Baba O'Riley" (also known as "Teenage Wasteland") never sounded so... mechanical. This compilation is — you guessed it — made entirely with Windows sounds and effects. Let's hope Pete Townshend isn't a Mac user! Play the video

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PERMALINKS

The following topics appear in our free content

INTRODUCTION   Steal our links — no, really, we mean it
  Welcome a writer who's read all over
   
TOP STORY   Keep XP fresh until Windows 7 arrives
  XP is an operating system with serious legs
  Eight simple rules for keeping XP rejuvenated
  Clear the clutter from XP's many cubbyholes
   
WACKY WEB WEEK   Windows rocks! The OS plays a Who classic
   
You get all of the following in our paid content

BEST SOFTWARE   One online notetaker outshines the competition
  When a sticky note just won't cut it
  Record your thoughts in graphs and charts
  Simple text notes, but images need not apply
  Selectric flashback: take notes like it's 1979
   
PC TUNE-UP   More vulnerabilities found in Internet Explorer
  Internet Explorer might cache sensitive data
  Link-printing vulnerability found in IE 7 and 8
  Windows LocalSystem bug endangers servers
  Secunia enhances software updater for networks
  Readers respond to top-antivirus ratings
   
PATCH WATCH   XP Service Pack 3 crashes HP's AMD-based PCs
  Prevent XP from rebooting after a failure
  Microsoft's support line for XP SP3 headaches
  More prudent to wait before installing XP SP3
  XP Service Pack 3 locks in Internet Explorer 7
  Vista and XP service packs affect databases
  Patches available for Microsoft Office bugs
  Important update for Microsoft antivirus apps
   
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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 the 5th Thursday of any month, the week of Thanksgiving, and the last two weeks of August and December.

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Editorial Director: Brian Livingston. Associate Editor: Scott Dunn. Technical Editor: Dennis O'Reilly. Contributing Editors: Susan Bradley, Mark Joseph Edwards, Woody Leonhard, Ryan Russell, Scott Spanbauer. Research Director: Vickie Stevens. Program Director: Brent Scheffler. Program Manager: Tony Johnston. Editorial Assistant: Raef Harrison. Copyeditor: Roberta Scholz.

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