Run your PC from afar — securely and easily

Windows Secrets Newsletter • Issue 240 • 2010-04-15 • Circulation: over 400,000

Table of contents

Introduction: New admins and mods join us in revealing secrets
Top Story: Run your PC from afar — securely and easily
Lounge Life: Formatting in Word results in major headaches
Wacky Web Week: Bandleader plays more than symphonic music
LangaList Plus: Run multiple antivirus applications on one PC
In the Wild: Living without Adobe Flash Reader or Sun’s Java
Patch Watch: Microsoft releases a taxing week of patches

New admins and mods join us in revealing secrets

By Brian Livingston

We’ve added some valuable members lately to our work group as well as the WS Lounge, and I want you to know who they are.

I know that staffing up will lead to changes that are hard to predict, but I’m confident that the differences will be for the better.

Joe kwon

Joseph Kwon (right), known to one and all as Joe, is Windows Secrets’ new technology manager. In this capacity, he’s now responsible for the motley collection of hardware and software we use to bring you our weekly articles and the constantly updated threads in the Lounge. Good luck, Joe!

He moved to Seattle from Los Angeles last month to join our crew up north. Joe worked in southern California for three client-based agencies, DNA Studio, Team One Advertising and Siegel+Gale. At those firms, he helped strategize Web sites for the likes of The College Board, Lexus, Sony Playstation, and Qatar Telecom (a leading telco in the Persian Gulf).

Joe joins our existing development team, which includes Tony Johnston and Damian Wadley. Tony recently completed a major project: developing sitemaps that succeeded in getting more than 60,000 Lounge pages into the Google search engine. Google — as we learned the hard way — is a bit touchy about adding 125,000 new pages to its index all at once (as I wrote in my April 1 column).

Since that article appeared, I’ve seen page counts in the 70,000 range. Great work. Damian is currently finishing his senior year at Washington State University but is expected to rejoin us full-time by the end of May.

In our discussion board, we’ve added Bob Primak as a new Lounge Moderator. He’s been an avid Windows user for many years. In the Lounge, he’ll be learning the ropes by moderating the Windows XP forum, with the addition soon of other forums that match his interests.

Bob joins two other new Mods that we promoted in January: Gerald Shepard and Andrew Walker. Gerald is a long-time newsletter subscriber who is presently covering seven forums in the Lounge. Andrew has been a Lounger for a decade, has submitted hundreds of posts, and is associated with four forums.

How do you become a Lounge Moderator? It’s tough. You can’t ask to be promoted. Instead, we find you by the quality of posts you make in the Lounge. Simply register for free (using our quick online form) and find ways to help other Loungers by submitting useful responses to comments and questions.

We’ll announce more new Mods as we find great commenters in the Lounge. Thanks for your support!

Brian Livingston is editorial director of WindowsSecrets.com and co-author of 11 books in the Windows Secrets series (Wiley Publishing).

Top Story

Run your PC from afar — securely and easily

By Susan Bradley

Your office PC is miles away, when suddenly you realize you forgot that all-important file — what to do?

Luckily, there are free tools (including one possibly residing in Windows) that give you remote access — or even full-scale remote control — of your PC, as if you were sitting right in front of it.

By day, I work as a server admin for my clients; by night, I become a support tech for my sister and dad. But when problems arise at some inconvenient hour, the last thing I want to do is hop into the car and drive to the troubled PC (or server). Instead, I pull out one of my many remote-connectivity software tools and access the ailing PC from afar.

With remote-access software running, I see their screens on my monitor. I control their cursors with my mouse. I use my keyboard to enter commands and text into their systems. It’s as if I were sitting at their PCs without ever having left my house.

That’s pretty cool, but there are many good reasons for using remote access/remote control software beyond family tech support. You can also use it to access your personal or office PC when you’re away — pull down that file you left behind, synchronize data between your notebook and desktop computers or your home and office PCs, or run applications you have on one machine but not on another.

Look to Windows first for a remote connection

Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) is found in most versions of XP, Vista, and Windows 7, and it’s relatively easy to use. (See list below.)

RDC, like most applications of its kind, has two main components: a host (or server) app and a client app. Communication between the host and client is one-way — a client PC controls the host, but not the other way around.

To establish a remote connection, you launch the host RDC app on the remote PC and the client app on the local system (the one you’re sitting at).

Starting with XP, all versions of Windows have the RDC client software and thus can connect to an RDC host.

However, only certain versions of Windows include the host side of RDC. Even though RDC has a myriad of home and non-business uses, Microsoft sees its remote-control utility as primarily a business-oriented tool. So only the business-oriented and higher-end editions of Windows have the RDC host software built in.

Here’s how it breaks down:

XP: XP Home contains only client software; XP Professional contains both client and host software. See the MS article, “Get started using Remote Desktop with Windows XP Professional.”
Vista: The Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate editions all have client software; the Business and Ultimate editions also have host software. See MS’s Vista RDC FAQ and article.
Windows 7: Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate have client software; Professional and Ultimate also have host software. See the Win7-specific article, “Connect to another computer using Remote Desktop Connection.”

In all Windows versions, you can click Start/Help (or its equivalent in your edition of Windows) and search the Help system for the phrase Remote Desktop. The local Help system will show you authoritatively what your copy of RDC can do — and even more important, how to configure and use it.

Non-RDC alternatives offer more flexibility

RDC is good — I use it all the time — but it’s not the only game in town. Many third-party alternatives bring host capability to the Windows editions lacking RDC host-mode support.

For example, LogMeIn’s software, available in free and paid versions, lets any current Windows version act either as a LogMeIn host or client. LogMeIn also offers a Mac version, opening up interesting options for cross-OS remote sharing and control. (See more on Mac connections below.)

Similar solutions include RealVNC, Copilot, GoToMyPC, CrossLoop, and many more.

Microsoft also may end up competing against itself with a new cloud-based sync/share service called Live Mesh (site).

(If you know of other tools or have had experience with any of the ones I’ve mentioned, please visit this story’s thread in the Windows Secret Lounge and share your thumbs-up or -down recommendation!)

Making connections across the Internet

In general, setting up and using these tools is fairly straightforward. Start by configuring the host system to receive inbound connections, and leave it turned on when you’re away. When you need remote access, connect your local computer to the Internet and launch the client app. The exact method varies from product to product.

For example, with Microsoft’s RDC, the client software asks at startup what you want to connect to. You enter the network address of the target host PC. (On a LAN or intranet connection, you can alternatively use the machine’s local network name.) RDC negotiates an encrypted connection and then takes you to the familiar sign-in page on the host system. Enter the username and password you usually use on the host PC, and you’re in — just like that. (See Figure 1.)

There’s one caveat for this to work reliably: the host computer must have a static IP address (one that does not change). Most businesses have static IPs, but most homes do not. So connecting to your work PC should not be a problem.

If your company requires a virtual private networking (VPN) connection to the office computers and servers, you must first establish the VPN link and then launch your remote-control software.

Remote destop connection sign in screen

Figure 1. To connect to a remote PC with Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Connection, simply enter the system’s IP address.

I use still another option at my workplace: Remote Web Workplace (RWW), which is built into Windows Small Business Server. RWW provides secure remote access for the office staff without using VPN.

For home-to-home connections, use one of the alternatives to RDC, such as LogMeIn — which uses an intermediary computer to manage connections.

With LogMeIn, you set up the host software on the remote machine and then connect it to a password-protected, LogMeIn central server. When you launch the client app on your local PC, you do not connect directly to the remote system but rather to that same LogMeIn server.

Once the LogMeIn server has checked both host and client PCs’ credentials, it establishes a connection between the two. Windows’ own security still comes into play — the client operator must enter a valid username and password for the host system. It’s not as hard as it sounds — usually, setting up a connection takes only a few minutes, and the better remote-access tools have good FAQs and help files.

If your client computer is a Mac, Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Client for Mac (download page) works almost identically to the Windows version. It gives my MacBook Pro remote access to my Windows workstations and servers — both at work and at home. (My home-based HP MediaSmart Servers included remote desktop software.)

You can also work the other direction — I use ReaLVNC to control a Mac from my Windows PC and LogMeIn to sign in remotely. (Many third-party remote-control apps have Mac versions.)

Support for Apple products extends beyond the Mac. For example, while sipping coffee at Starbucks, I can still connect to my remote PCs and servers — through my iPhone! Yes, you read that right. There are remote desktop clients such as LogMeIn for smart phones. And yes, it works: the relatively tiny screen of a smartphone makes it a bit cumbersome to scroll around your full-sized Windows desktop, but it’s doable.

On that Apple’s iPad is out, Wyse has announced a version of its PocketCloud app (info page) for the iPad. As a user of the iPhone version, I can attest that PocketCloud is a nice remote desktop client for checking servers and responding to emergencies.

Windows Mobile also supports a version of Remote Desktop Connection called “Remote Desktop Mobile.” It’s built into some Windows Mobile phones and can be downloaded into most others. MakeUseOf.com’s article, “How To Control Your PC from Windows Mobile Cell Phone,” provides a good overview. The Microsoft Windows Phone forum’s thread, “Remote Desktop Mobile,” includes additional information and a link to download the Remote Desktop Mobile software.

So you can see there are many, many options. The next time you need access to a system miles away, look around — chances are good one of your local PCs, Macs, or smartphones can make the connection!

Have more info on this subject? Post your tip in the WS Columns forum.

Susan Bradley recently received an MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award from Microsoft for her knowledge in the areas of Small Business Server and network security. She’s also a partner in a California CPA firm and writes the Windows Secrets Patch Watch column.

Lounge Life

Formatting in Word results in major headaches

By Tracey Capen

We’ve all been there — everything looks great in Word Print Preview, but when the final document comes out, it’s wasted paper.

When you’re ready to chuck Microsoft’s ubiquitous document app for something else, the many Word jockeys on the Windows Secrets Lounge are an excellent resource.

Word 2007 shifts text into header when printing

Lounger Francis Nadosy spent hours working on a document that would not print correctly. Fortunately, PamCaswell and other Loungers delivered a wealth of helpful advice. More»
System Restore shortcut needed

Sometimes, seemingly simple questions generate many threads. Duchess843′s query about a shortcut for System Restore in Win7 generated over 20 replies. More»
Looking for a basic Photoshop tutorial

There are hundreds of reference sites and books on Photoshop. But RSpring wanted something really simple — a refresher on basic Photoshop use. THBergdorf and Doc Watson provided links to free tutorials. More»

Interesting questions raised on the Lounge

Lounge member The Real is trying work out a puzzling DVD drive problem on a client’s PC. Windows Explorer lists the PC’s two identical optical drives, but cannot read any files on discs.

If you’re not already a Lounge member, use the quick registration form to sign up for free. The ability to post comments and take advantage of other Lounge features is available only to registered members.

If you’re already registered, you can jump right in to today’s discussions in the Lounge.

The Lounge Life column is a digest of the best of the WS Lounge discussion board. Tracey Capen is technical editor of WindowsSecrets.com.

Wacky Web Week

Bandleader plays more than symphonic music

By Stephanie Small

Anger can elicit all sorts of different reactions — tears, a tantrum, or walking away — all fairly harmless ways to let it out.

But break things? Watch this frustrated orchestra teacher, who just wishes his students would stop talking. This flip-out, however, has a surprise ending. Play the video

LangaList Plus

Run multiple antivirus applications on one PC

By Fred Langa

Conventional wisdom says antivirus tools don’t work well together — so a PC should have just one tool installed at any time.

In most cases, that wisdom is still correct — but if you pick the right kind of software, there are ways to clean a PC with multiple AV tools.

Is it OK to piggyback AV applications?

Reader Steve Mutchler wants to use a custom suite of antivirus apps to thoroughly scrub a PC free of malware. But he’s not sure how to do it.

“I do a lot of virus cleaning for home users. For the most part, I slave a user’s hard drive to my computer and run my various AV tools on it.

“I would like to have two or maybe three AV engines installed on my PC at the same time so I can run all three of them one at a time, because I think we all agree that no AV engine is 100%.

“But AV tools don’t play nice together. For example, running Sophos and Webroot together, or Norton with most anything else, locks the computer up tight. Any thoughts on this subject?”

Full-time AV apps don’t work well together because each one integrates tightly with the Windows operation system. Having multiple AV tools simultaneously hooked into the OS — intercepting calls to disk drives, networking subsystems, and other system components — can cause major problems. In some cases, as Steve says, it’ll lock Windows up.

Disabling an AV tool’s top-level, user-controllable elements is not enough. Its low-level components remain in place — in some cases, still active and still able to interfere with other AV software you might install.

The solution, Steve, is to use AV tools that are not meant for full-time use. When you need additional cleaning, I suggest you try one or more of the free online scanners — tools specifically designed to search and clean systems that may be infected. More or less standalone, they don’t need to hook deeply into your OS.

I use these AV scanners:

Microsoft’s OneCare Safety scanner (info page)
Eset’s Online Scanner (info page)
TrendMicro’s HouseCall Free Online Virus Scan (info page)

I’d be remiss if I stopped here, Steve. I think you need more protection than AV tools alone provide — you’re plugging a known-infected disk into your system!

At a minimum, minimize any interaction between your PC and the infected disk. For example, disable any apps on your system that automatically maintain a disk index — search tools (Windows Search, Google Desktop, etc.), photo album tools (Picasa, etc.), and so on. If you leave them running, they may discover the new drive and access its files to index what’s there. That may be enough to infect your host PC.

And I’d go one step further. Set up a virtual PC (VPC) with networking disabled and no shared drives. Do all the disinfecting from this isolated, virtual system. If any malware gets loose, it’ll remain trapped inside the VPC.

For more on virtual PCs, see my Dec. 17, 2009, item, “New virtual-PC software outshines Microsoft’s.”

This is a long answer to your question, Steve, but you’re doing something potentially hazardous to your PC, so it’s important to play it safe.

It’s also important to reiterate that, in most cases, running two or more full-time AV tools is bad idea.

But there are exceptions to every rule. The standalone scanners listed above work fine alongside standard AV tools.

Organizing Win7′s Start menu is quick and easy

Don Lachot is having trouble getting his Start menu to work the way he wants it to.

“Windows 7 doesn’t seem to allow me to organize programs by right-clicking on the start button and selecting, as I was able to do before. How do I, for example, cut Adobe Reader from the main start menu and place it into the accessories menu?”

Drag and drop! It’s as simple as that. Using your example, click Start (within an administrator-level account), All Programs, then Accessories. This will open the Accessories folder tree in the left pane.

Now scroll upward until you see the Adobe Reader icon. Click and drag the icon to an empty spot between the items in the Accessories folder. (See Figure 1.)

click-drag items where you want them

Figure 1. To customize your Start Menu in Win7 and Vista (in an Admin-level account) simply click and drag items to a new spot.

Release the mouse button, and the Reader icon should drop into the location you selected. (See Figure 2.)

rearranging is easy

Figure 2. It takes only a few seconds to rearrange items as you wish.

You can also return an item to its original location with the same technique.

My new computer has too much RAM?

In all the years I’ve covered personal computers, I’ve never, ever, had a letter like this one from Donald Friend:

“I recently purchased a new computer with a 64-bit processor and 12GB of memory. The problem is that the computer never uses more than 2GB. A memory monitor never goes above 20%. Could you do an article on configuring Windows 7 to maximize the use of all available memory?”

Twelve gigs of RAM? Wow!

I hope this doesn’t disappoint you, Donald. I think your system is operating fine — you simply have way more RAM than you currently require.

The amount of RAM you need at any given moment is determined by the software you’re running. You say your memory monitor typically shows around 2GB of RAM in use. That sounds about right for a normal mix of consumer software.

For comparison, I’m writing this column on a 32-bit Win7 notebook with 4GB of RAM. It’s a normal workday, and I’m currently running 12 apps (including two browsers with a total of 9 tabs open) and 37 major processes. I’m using 1.4GB of RAM, roughly the same ballpark as you. (Remember that 64-bit code itself takes somewhat more memory space than 32-bit; that alone could account for much of the variance in our respective systems’ memory use.)

In both our systems, unused RAM is available on an as-needed basis, to be employed only when we run software requiring more memory. If your system needs only around 2GB of RAM to accomplish your normal tasks, there’s no easy way — or particular benefit — to try to make those same tasks use more RAM than they really need.

But you can use the “extra” RAM for new tasks. For example, you could set aside about 6GB of RAM for a RAM drive. This won’t do much for routine operations, but disk-based operations run much faster on a RAM drive than they do on spinning platters.

For example, while writing to CDs or DVDs, most burning apps use a buffer to cache the data. Putting the buffer on a RAM drive should speed up the copy portion of the operation.

SevenForums.com has a good article, “How to make a RAM drive in Win7 64.” It may spark ideas on how to use your fallow RAM. Just remember that a RAM drive goes away when the PC is shut down — it’s not for longer-term storage.

Beyond that, there’s not much you can do to modify the amount of RAM your setup actively requires. Use 64-bit apps where you can, and they’ll automatically use as much of your abundant RAM as they need. (For more on 32- vs. 64-bit computing, see “Choosing between 32- or 64-bit Windows,” in my March 18 column.)

By the way: Someone might tell you to set your pagefile (or swapfile) to the smallest-possible size, forcing Windows to use more RAM to run itself and your apps. However, with Vista and Win7, doing so could lead to instabilities and crashes, according to some online reports. (If you try this, back up your system!)

It will probably be many years before most of us will need 12GB of RAM for normal PC tasks. So think of it this way, Donald: you’re way ahead of the curve!

Freeware alternative to BCDedit

Vista and Win7 ship with BCDedit, one of the system utilities I discussed in my April 1 item, “Tools for managing Win7 and Vista system bootup.”

Thomas Rose found a nice alternative to BCDedit:

“I’ve found this tool to be useful: EasyBCD is NeoSmart Technologies’ 100%-free, Vista bootloader modification tool.”

Like Microsoft’s app, Softpedia’s EasyBCD (download page) is free. Unlike the Microsoft tool, EasyBCD has a pleasing graphical front end — and it can edit the boot records of other operating systems besides Windows.

Thank you, Thomas. Choice is good — and even better when it’s free!

Have more info on this subject? Post your tip in the WS Columns forum.

Reader Thomas Rose will receive a gift certificate for a book, CD, or DVD of his choice for sending the tip we printed. Send us your tips via the Windows Secrets contact page.

Fred Langa is a senior editor of the Windows Secrets Newsletter. He was formerly editor of Byte Magazine (1987–91), editorial director of CMP Media (1991–97), and editor of the LangaList e-mail newsletter from its origin in 1997 until its merger with Windows Secrets in November 2006.

In the Wild

Living without Adobe Flash Reader or Sun’s Java

By Robert Vamosi

Recent problems with Adobe Flash and Sun’s Java are leading some users to dispense with either while surfing the Internet.

This week I’ll discuss some of the latest Flash and Java problems and show you how to either disable these plug-ins or install anti-Flash/anti-Java apps.

A time of transition for Adobe Flash Reader

Recently, Adobe made available for download (page) its Flash Player 10.1 release candidate. Typically, a release candidate is the final stop for a product before its official launch — and Version 10.1′s release may finally put to rest a bit of unpleasantness in Flash Player’s development.

Earlier this year, Flash Player product manager Emmy Huang uttered a public mea culpa in a Feb. 6 Flash bug report, acknowledging that Adobe knew of a critical flaw in Flash Player as far back as 2008 but neglected to send out a timely patch. By the time Adobe fixed the null pointer flaw last February, Adobe’s image had taken a beating.

It did not improve with news that Adobe was releasing silent updates for Adobe Reader through its new automatic update program, Acrobat Refresh Manager. Many personal computer users were rightly annoyed that Adobe was downloading patches without users’ knowledge. Perhaps that’s why the company currently has decided not to launch a similar automatic update feature for Flash Player, according to an Infosecurity.com story.

But in some respects, that decision couldn’t be worse — because Flash needs to be kept updated. As reported in several Windows Secrets articles such as contributing editor Susan Bradley’s March 25 item, “Flash endangers Facebook and other social sites,” Flash is a vehicle for malware. Criminals are looking beyond the Windows operating system to compromise applications available on virtually any desktop — applications such as the Adobe Flash Player.

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Patch Watch

Microsoft releases a taxing week of patches

By Susan Bradley

Digitally signed software is a system designed to build trust in the applications you install on a PC.

Most of us don’t think twice about installing digitally-signed software, but we should — now that malware has made this system less trustworthy.

MS10-019 (978601, 979309)
Signed software may install more than advertised

In my first Patch Watch item, I’m showcasing a trust exploit, not a browser exploit. PC users regularly install digitally-signed software, trusting that it’s clean, safe, and what the vendor intended to provide. Microsoft security bulletin MS10-019 includes two updates to fix problems in Windows Authenticode and Windows Cabinet File Viewer. Without these two patches, it’s possible for you to unwittingly install infected software that bears a seemingly genuine digital signature.

While that sounds extremely scary, I’ll remind you that all too often we merrily install unsigned apps. We’ve all seen the warning shown in Figure 1. I myself recently added an unsigned Microsoft hotfix to my Windows 7 machine. The truth is, Microsoft tech support regularly sends fixes by e-mail and includes patch installers with no digital signatures. Almost without fail, I simply go ahead and install the hotfix.

Unsigned software warning box
Figure 1. An example of unsigned files from Microsoft.

The affected systems that are patched by MS10-019 are those running:

Windows XP SP2 and SP3
XP Pro x64 Edition SP2
Vista, Vista SP1 and SP2, 32- and 64-bit versions
Windows 7, 32- and 64-bit versions
Windows Server 2008 and Server 2008 R2

► What to do: Don’t panic — just install the two patches in security bulletin MS10-019, as you do other critical updates from Microsoft. Do be aware that hackers have found ways to spoof signed files. Don’t immediately trust downloads from unfamiliar sites just because they have a digital signature.

MS10-026 (977816) and MS10-027 (979402)
Patch now to protect against drive-by downloads

I’m discussing security bulletins MS10-026 and MS10-027 together in this item. Although the two bulletins patch different flaws, they address similar attacks on Microsoft MPEG codecs and Media Player — the now-familiar remote-code execution problem.

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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. Windows Secrets is a continuation of four merged publications: Brian's Buzz on Windows and Woody's Windows Watch in 2004, the LangaList in 2006, and the Support Alert Newsletter in 2008.

Publisher: WindowsSecrets.com, 1218 Third Ave., Suite 1515, Seattle, WA 98101 USA. Vendors, please send no unsolicited packages to this address (readers' letters are fine).

Editor in chief: Tracey Capen. Senior editors: Fred Langa, Woody Leonhard. Copyeditor: Roberta Scholz. Program director: Tony Johnston. Contributing editors: Yardena Arar, Susan Bradley, Scott Dunn, Michael Lasky, Scott Mace, Ryan Russell, Lincoln Spector, Robert Vamosi, Becky Waring. Product manager: Andy Boyd. Advertising director: Eric Gilley.

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, Support Alert, 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. All other marks are the trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.

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