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**** NewsBytes **** NewsBytes **** NewsBytes ****
New improved Cloudmark Server 2
A raft of new features including scanning of public folders appear in Cloudmark Server Edition (CSE) 2.0, the collaborative defence tool against spam attacks. A simple drag-and drop now allows end-users to contribute directly to the Cloudmark Collaborative Security Network as part of automatic feedback and support for mobile messaging blocks spam and phishing attacks from reaching handheld devices along with improved virus filtering and comprehensive stats reporting on the number of messages blocked. As if that weren't enough, the whole download is a free upgrade for existing CSE purchasers. Contact us to get this implemented under an FM programme.
Critical updates for MS Office suites
Microsoft has released updates that address critical vulnerabilities in its Office and Works suites as well as Excel. Unlike Windows Updates, those for Microsoft Office are not totally automated so a visit to the link below is necessary. The process will detect your version of Office and install all the current critical updates. Systems affected are Office and Excel for Windows and Mac OS X and Works Suite for Windows and vulnerabilities could allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service on a vulnerable system.
http://office.microsoft.com/officeupdate/
Trial 2.5Mbps broadband upload beats SDSL
ISP and pioneer of high-speed broadband Be is trialling its ADSL2+ service that will push the envelope of broadband speed to its maximum of 2.5Mbps, more than 8 times than basic rate ADSL as well as faster and cheaper than symmetric DSL (SDSL). If its ’Annex M’ trials are successful, Be will upgrade its £75 per month business customers for free.
More at BeThere
Faster broadband: making the jump
Saving the planet with a PC?
A near-meltdown of BBC servers was triggered by their re-showing of the climate change programme on 14 March on BBC2 as thousands of new participants joined the BBC Climate Change Experiment to fetch downloads. The ambitious distributed computing project, developed by climateprediction.net, to model the earth's climate change until 2080, has sparked controversy on the site's message boards as many beginners realised that their chunk or work unit would take years rather than months to complete, as they had been led to believe. Both projects have around a 1-year deadline (though sys admins say this is flexible) to receive results back from participants, but only those with the fastest PCs are likely to meet it. And what of the global warming cost of keeping all those computers on? Project organisers calculate that one day's distributed computing energy consumption is equivalent to the water boiled for 5.4 million cups of tea, or just one twenty-third of the 126 million cups downed every day in the UK alone.
Infosecurity 2006
Infosecurity 2006, "Europe's most comprehensive convergence of information security professionals", is back again in its 11th year and takes place on the 25th–27th April at Olympia. Register free before 21st April at http://www.infosec.co.uk/
How many Vistas can you see? Answer: "It's too far away"
Windows users could be in for a busy year in 2007, and that's just deciding which options to purchase. An explosion of versions of Vista are slated for release with up to 8 possibilities.
Counting them up ... Windows Starter 2007, mirrors the current Windows XP Starter Edition stripped down to run on less-powerful processors; Windows Vista Business, a Tablet PC edition, includes much vaunted search facilities and a new Aero interface; Vista Enterprise, available only to Software Assurance customers, features hardware-level encryption for increased data security, easier deployment techniques for larger organisations as the name suggests, PC 'virtualisation' to run older versions of Windows and even - shock horror - the ability to run Unix applications; Vista Home Basic is the frill-free family-orientated Windows, but with better search and security than previous versions plus parental controls; Vista Home Premium is for the entertainment junkie adds to the latter the Aero interface and bundles Tablet PC, Media Centre and DVD-authoring; to all of this is added business-level integration and networking wrapped up in the Windows Vista Ultimate. Two additional releases have been customized for the European Union that won't bundle Windows Media Player, as ordered by European antitrust regulators, namely Vista Home Basic N and Vista Business N. As if that weren't enough choice, all versions will be available in both 32-bit and 64-bit flavours!
Like so many MS launches however, business Vistas have been postponed now until November with home users having to wait until January 2007, meaning that the loss of lucrative Christmas sales.
www.microsoft.com/windowsvista
Co-Op goes Gold
Everybody knows that "points mean prizes". Co-Op's Barry Antwi dutifully raked around the successful IT jobs and projects undertaken recently and lumped them all together with engineer qualifications and technology experience gained to discover that Co-Operative Systems had been hiding its light under a bushel and was eligible for Microsoft Gold Certified Microsoft Partner status. To find out more about what "elite Microsoft Business Partners who have earned the highest customer endorsement" means (their words not ours), visit Microsoft Certified Partners.
Gates scorns $100 laptop
Microsoft chairman Bill Gates's recently criticised the $100 laptop as a machine that had text too small to read. The panning should perhaps come as no surprise since MIT's One Laptop Per Child project (being without a hard drive or mains power) aims to be everything that a Microsoft PC isn't, particularly the new Microsoft Ultra Mobile PC, the launch of which spawned his disparaging critique. Gates's ire have been further drawn by the fact that looming rival Google is backing the MIT-sponsored educational project. Comparisons will have been inevitable, as the Ultra Mobile PC sports a 7-inch touch screen, but is likely to retail at $599 upwards.
End of HCI
The March 2006 budget saw the removal of the tax exemption for employees who are loaned a computer and/or mobile phone for private use by their employer, effectively ending the home computing initiative (HCI). The Chancellor's announcement takes effect from the 5th April 2006.
An extract from the ZD Net UK site
'The government is withdrawing financial subsidies that have encouraged the take-up of home computers by UK employees.
More at HM Customs and Revenue and ukhomecomputing.
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1. Faster broadband: making the jump
How far away is ADSL2 from reality? | |||||||||||||||
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We have seen plenty of splash in the press and supporting adverts promoting ever faster ADSL speeds. While many rural communities are only just being hooked up to their first 512K broadband connections, metropolitan areas are steaming full ahead with 8Mbps and more. In the last fortnight, BT (still the UK's main broadband provider) announced plans to quadruple current broadband speeds as of March 31st. upgrading more than three quarters of current 2Mbps subscribers to 4Mbps. Further up the range, over 42% are to get 6Mbps and those closest to their exchange will be able to receive 8Mbps broadband access. The changes have come about as trials of ADSL2 and ADSL2+ make their way hesitantly into actual marketed broadband services, with some offerings pitched as low as £14 per month. There's no denying the fact that lightning-fast Internet is still a draw for the huge majority of surfers, and looking back at our (by now ancient) predictor table of Internet access speeds shows we are bang on target to reach 10Mbits per second around the middle of this year. Such a data rate was once the maximum at which we could communicate with colleagues in-house and was considered 'the biz' on internal networks - identified by network cards that bore the label "10Mbps (10BaseT)" - and is now available through the Internet and from web and email servers around the world. Or is it? ADSL abounds?Firstly, not every UK post code is connected up for 8Mbps broadband or even 2Mbps in areas outside cities. Don't forget that the large majority of offices and homes connect to the Internet via their phones and that still comes down to a couple of ageing copper wires in the street to the nearest phone exchange. It's a credit to telecoms engineers that they have managed to squeeze digital data at ever faster rates through this communications equivalent of bean tins and string without dissing the everyday analogue phone conversations that run alongside. 
The jumping-off pointIt is simply a matter of distance and physics: the further you try to project high frequency signals through old bits of wire, the more attenuated the signal becomes. At some point down the line, the signal just 'peters out' unless it is is boosted somehow. So for these new high speed services, ADSL will only keep up its end for 2.5 Km or so before tailing off, as Internode's excellent page and graph demonstrates. For ADSL2/ADSL2+, the drop-off comes even sooner when your phone socket is only 800 metres to 1.3 Km from the exchange. 
Lowered sightsThe problem is worse than it looks on paper, since we are talking about the length of the cable in the street, which may have to turn a few corners, rather than as-the-crow-flies. Get your expectations into perspective and find out the location of your local exchange and far away it is using the locality feature of the Broadband Availability Checker below. Who provides what?With the long-standing anti-monopoly measures now coming into effect, British Telecom have been forced to give up sole control of their phone exchanges and wires (referred to as the Local Loop). This effect, known as Local Loop Unbundling (LLU), allow competing telecoms companies to install their own (hopefully modern) equipment in order to offer local consumers better services. Thus we see companies like BT Wholesale, Bulldog, Easynet, HomeChoice and Be UnLimited (BeThere) and offering up services such as ADSL and (symmetric) SDSL plus TV over the wire.
Happily, it's easy to check your area to find out what's new and up for grabs - or alternatively dash your hopes - with various Broadband Availability Checkers, a good one being www.samknows.com/broadband/checker2.php. This is an example using our own post code. Up one level you can also discover a veritable DSL-junkie's bonanza of information like coverage maps for any given provider, exchange and phone number searches, areas just related to cable league or LLU or SDSL and tables showing when ADSL exchanges were enabled. It's a useful exercise to compare just how densely the UK is covered with copper wire ADSL exchanges versus the relative paucity of ADSL optical fibre (perversely called 'cable') even though the latter has a much higher potential for fast data. Leap into the unknownDoes a given ADSL2 service do what it says on the tin? A few providers have certainly leapt into this market with some promising up to 24Mbps download and 1.3Mbps upload. It's definitely a good idea to search out some blogs and bulletin boards about the subject, or on a particular provider before diving in. Trawling through just a sample of ADSL2 early adopters quickly reveals opinions ranging from "it's fantastically fast, just what I expected" to "this is slower and more unreliable than my old 2Mbps service, support never answers the phone and now I'm stuck in a long contract". Like review sites on just about any subject you care to name from broadband to bars, there's a hidden caveat to be borne in mind: when people are really enthused or riled, they will flock to sites to give praise or vent spleen, but rarely do we see the vast majority of punters whose experience was, well, "just OK". ADSL2 is no different and it's worth spending a little time (before money) judging the services as well as the characters of their consumers, sifting the hate-mailers from the haughty missionaries. Speed up browsing in a few clicks The simplest trick to faster web pages is not to download images. Navigate to the desired part of a site with the displayed text, then just download the images you want with a right-click. MS Internet Explorer let's you do this under:
In Mozilla's Firefox, it's under: You will also need to check the equipment on your end of the line: that plain old ADSL router or ADSL modem that chunters away happily at 512Kbps may not work with ADSL2. Scan the FAQs to see if one is supplied or ring your prospective provider before diving in. The bigger pictureLooking at the far end of the connection, let's also remember that not all change happens uniformly around the globe, with many developing countries still having no Internet access at all. Just as important to consider, however, is the information source. Whatever Internet service you are using, whether that's a web site, an email provider or a music stream, the information ultimately comes from a physical computer sitting somewhere, perhaps in another country. So when hunting down a podcast of a Korean pop video, the stream might well be a fast one since that country is well advanced in its take up of high speed broadband, while at the other end of the spectrum, even a relatively simple web site run from an Internet cafe in Bangladesh will see its visitors waiting a long time for pages to download if the web server connects to the world via a mobile phone [LINK]. Likewise even fast broadband connections won't make the recipients' experience a speedy one if, say, a popular blog server running on an ancient Pentium II computer is slugged by the demand for too many page views, or an email server suddenly gets clobbered by spam. Weigh up the pros and cons carefully. Broadband prices are continuing to fall and the drift toward 8Mbps speeds and above is spreading slowly but surely. At the end of the day though, you are are simply paying for faster data transfer between you and the phone exchange box a mile or so down the road. Contacts
-IB-
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2. Thanks for the memory (upgrade)
Ah, fading memories .... | ||
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Wholesale make-overs for PCs are not always a good idea.
But there's one upgrade that is relatively inexpensive, provides instant benefits, no side effects and doesn't take long to accomplish. And if you've forgotten what it is, that's because human memory only ever shrinks with age while computer memory can be added to! Assuming that the PC in question has spare memory slots, often 2 or 3, it's a simple matter to plug-in a few more modules, reboot, and - hey presto! - an instantly faster machine capable of juggling more applications at the same time. Go to Start, Control Panel, System and in the General tab, look up how many MB or GB of RAM it states. If it says 256MB at present, an upgrade to 512MB or even 1GB will really get things moving. The trick is to get the right type (EDO, SDRAM, DDR, RAMBUS, etc) and match the existing memory with the chips already inside so that they are all pulling together. In some cases, typically where one chip is being upgraded to four, it's cheaper to pull out the one and replace it with four identical new bits of RAM. There's more good news too: where several identical machines are undergoing RAM upgrades, the 'left-over chips' that have been pulled out can be pooled to upgrade one of more PCs, so nothing goes in the bin. Computer memory has had a chequered history in terms of expense, with scarcity of resource and clean rooms hampering supply and even massive factory fires in Asia wiping out production, resulting in keeping market prices high. Now however, a good few years have passed with uninterrupted stable production and modules like a 512MB DDR PC3200 can be found for around £30. This level of upgrade is likely to see a productivity payback within a few weeks, saving time on switching data between applications and have more applications 'on the go' in the average desktop. Don't forget that under Windows XP you can push the memory all the way to 4GB and with XP's end of life approaching next year, it's worth getting the most out if the operating system you invested in. ContactsAsk us to check out your low-end PC for a RAM upgrade as part of an FM programme. Learn more about RAM and memory from InfoBulletin. -IB-
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3. What does your PC say about you?
With all the information they secretly record, computers have a long way to go to gain our trust. | ||
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Almost weekly, news stories break with details of code leaks and confidential information loss, but the software on all our PCs routinely send information back to their 'masters'. We're not just talking about relatively minor scandals like the latest Google Desktop 3 - which logs its user's search activities for up to 30 days on Google's database, but also sends the results in clear text across the Internet. Granted, this is no worse than sending ordinary unencrypted emails, but unlike email it's a facet of the program that was only made public recently. Crash test dummiesYet many other programs require these remote communications for their own purposes, such as product activation or built-in debugging tools (like the "Send error report" in MS Windows and Mozilla Firefox's Talkback") that send crash data back to the programmers to help them design better programs in future. While computer owners are effectively the guinea pigs, they have to take it on trust that the only data being returned is related only to the application in question, and not personal or confidential in nature. Klingons in the systemA recent Windows PC clean up, for the purposes of passing the machine on, demonstrated admirably just how reluctant program writers are to let go of your operating system. Even after removing an application, - either via Control Panel or, if they were kind enough to provide one, via the program's own uninstaller - the containing folders will still remain, perhaps masked by the manufacturer's name. For instance, Mavis Beacon's stalwart typing tutor used to be installed in a folder called "Mindscape" when it was owned by that company; logical from one standpoint but confusing for the user. All too infrequently the uninstall routine will tell you "Some elements of the program could not be removed" and will throw up a Details button highlighting, for instance, that personal data which exists in the original application directory has - considerately - not been wiped. Sadly, such intelligent design is still uncommon. At a simple level, the intention behind the 'left-over folders' syndrome from the software manufacturers' point of view is that "if we leave the folders and registry entries for our removed products, subsequent re-installations and new software installations bought from us will be faster." The point overlooked is that installs are usually a one-off process, so the time gains for the user are minimal and anyone removing an application has a good reason for doing so and will probably not be going back! Even after the stray folders have been dealt with, there are still remnants of the programs to be found clinging on in there, possibly years later. With a bit of detective work one can weed out those fragments, but it's not for the faint-hearted; can you tell whether "Wzcbdl" and "Woi" are genuine program entries, spyware, operating system elements, hidden feedback communicators? A good registry cleaner will reveal that they are bona-fide, being related to D-Link and Kodak Imaging respectively, but even cleaning software comes with so many caveat-emptor pop-ups that only professional engineers dare use them. Share and share alikeAnd then look at all those software trials you have touched. Ever wondered how most shareware applications know that your 30 days is up? Old ones used to be fooled simply by savvy users resetting the system date, though by the time the software had been cheated out of a further two trials, it was a might tedious to be living 3 months in the virtual past, with friends wondering why emails take so long to arrive, and even most penny-pinchers give up and buy the darned application. The results of all this interference - and yes, it does effectively change the nature and performance of your machine - are a swollen registry (which takes time to load and impacts machine start-up) and reduced disc capacity. Like a leaseholder in a block of flats, a PC user may be forgiven for thinking that outside forces have more control over their machine they they do. When the central heating boiler is shut down for service, a burst water main is being fixed and a blown fuse plunges one floor into darkness, the average flat-dweller (by now freezing and starving) is left feeling that their 'ownership' of the property is somewhat minimal. The occupier might also be wondering just how much personal information the service people know about them. So it is with data on your computer. A Google spokesperson on Radio 4 recently compared digital information to water in that 'it goes everywhere' (probably not what we want to here from them right now), but the essence of the sentiment is valid. A computer holds the details of your credit cards (some blockers do this as a protective measure), your passwords (saved in browsers if you choose to), how often you visit the online bank (browser history), the login details for same, which software you have installed (registry), when certain applications failed (crash reporters) and how often you fetch security updates (control panel hot fixes). What is worse, is that even many computer experts would be hard-pushed to say where all these info nuggets are stored and how to ensure they remain firmly on your side of the Internet connection. The solutions are surprisingly simple: But realistically, like the applications we use daily, most of us are 'hooked in' and the cost of PC and Internet dependence is a better understanding plus a renewed vigilance over the consequences of new software we install. -IB-
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4. Player security updates
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What with Windows Updates and most anti-virus software updates being entirely automated now, it's easy to think your PC is totally covered from the angle of viruses, Trojans and hacking. Many new programs, like Skype to name but one, often build in an updater just so that customers can get the latest version. However there are still programs than don't self-check or where updates are turned off, so it's worth having a quick eyeball through the Programs menu or Control Panel's Add/remove Programs section, to see what might not be covered. Recent alerts have included buffer overflows and other vulnerabilities, affecting older versions of players like WinAmp, QuickTime and Adobe Macromedia Flash, whose vulnerabilities could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the machine using techniques maliciously crafted play list files - these guys will stop at nothing. In such cases, it may be necessary to fetch the bug-fixed version via a manual download and install - it ain't gonna come to you on its own! 
Fortunately, update life is gradually being made easier by the appearance of utilities like InstallShield's Update Manager which takes certain programs under its wing and checks each automatically for its updates every day, week, month as you choose. -IB-
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5. Clock screensaver
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If you've got this far down InfoBulletin and read the whole lot, then it's clear you have time on your hands, so here's an aesthetic device to help you while away some more. This Clock Screensaver is a free 472KB download and bundles together a set of innovatively designed faces to a change from the defaults and shows passers-by how many idle minutes they've spent! Find the AJScreensaver freeware at: Samples include a handwritten digital clock, timeline, Dutch railway clock, Mickey Mouse, Time Dimension and many more.
-IB-
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6. Q&A: How can I get the file delete prompt back?
Question 
Hi Mark, Someone has altered my computer so that when I delete files I don't get the Yes/No prompt anymore. How do I get it back? On the other hand, a colleague of mine wants to get rid of the Recycle Bin prompt to save him time. | ||
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This is a simple one to set up and it all happens in the Properties of the Recycle Bin itself. Just right-click on the Recycle Bin and select Properties. In the first tab called Global, the tick box called "Display delete confirmation dialogue" is the one that does it. 
It's worth just perusing the other settings here, since you want to make temporary changes now and again, like "removing files immediately instead of moving them to Recycle Bin" - handy when you are dumping confidential documents, though be aware this wouldn't be a deterrent to a determined hacker. Also under the Global tab, we see a button to configure drives separately for the percentage of disc space they dedicate to a Recycle Bin. This is good for allocating drives local to the PC and the Documents area. Increasing or decreasing this percentage will make the system flag up sooner/later when the Bin is full, assuming you're a hoarder and never empty it! The prompt setting should also work on networked drives under Windows and with attached peripherals like memory sticks, but you won't be able to configure the space parameters for these unless they are directly under your administrative control. Another thing to bear in mind, irrespective of whether you have 'plumped for the prompt' or not, is that deleting a file in error is easily restored by the Edit |Undo menu feature. This has a handy shortcut key of Ctrl+Z, so that you and your colleagues can share computers in harmony! -IB-
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Clicks of the Trade - grouping items on the taskbar
--- Quick tips for happier clicks! --- | |||
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-IB-
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By default, Windows XP attempts to salvage this situation - like becoming lost in the digital equivalent of a really messy pile of papers - by stacking similar piles of papers (or apps) on top of each other.
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