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1751

Skrommel's Software / Re: Used Fonts - enhancement?

« Last post by Target on February 11, 2008, 05:18 PM »

see related post in Coding snacks for Skrommels solution 

1752

Post New Requests Here / Re: 'Used fonts' tool

« Last post by Target on February 11, 2008, 05:09 PM »

Cool!!  I had pretty much given this up as an impossibility, but I should have known better

I shall try this out on my wifes PC tonight (?) and it's going straight into my toolkit 

Many thanks Skrommel!! 

1753

General Software Discussion / Re: The definition of "bloat" - RE: Software

« Last post by Target on February 07, 2008, 08:45 PM »

yup, and it's portable too but I was thinking of the bit about writing audio CD's...

Target

1754

General Software Discussion / Re: The definition of "bloat" - RE: Software

« Last post by Target on February 07, 2008, 08:28 PM »

So, is Nero itself a bloated application or is the nero SUITE bloated? I would like to see a burner only option too, but I dont consider nero ON ITS OWN to be bloated. Quite the contrary. Yes, I have to download ~200mb of data, but I only install about 20-30.

-Josh (February 07, 2008, 07:15 PM)

this is bloat, ie Nero install 20-30M, ImgBurn 1M (burnaware Free ed - 3m, Burn At Once (an old fave) - 6M, small CD writer - 330K!!).  Granted ImgBurn only writes images, but there are plenty of alternatives

I suspect that with a bit of hunting around you could get pretty much all the functionality from several apps that you get in the Nero suite with a total install size comparable with the burner (20-30M)

Any why would anyone (regardless of their available bandwidth) want to D/L a 200M installer to get a 30M app??

Target
(not a Nero fan...)

1755

General Software Discussion / Re: The definition of "bloat" - RE: Software

« Last post by Target on February 07, 2008, 07:02 PM »

for me there are a couple of instances where an app could (would) be classed as bloatware -

• an app is significantly larger (both download and/or install size) than a comparable app and either
  
  • doesn't provide any significant performance benefits, or
  • doesn't provide any extra features or functions, or provides lots, most of which are of little value (to me)
• provides heaps of features and functionality, but little in the way of value add when compared to compared to similar tools

Target

1756

General Software Discussion / Re: Best free firewall for Windows?

« Last post by Target on February 05, 2008, 07:05 PM »

Generally because the installer wants to connect to the net, accept connections, etc, (Microsoft Installer will).  But at least you don't end up with 50+ uninstall/install/setup items in the Apps list like ZA, (mine has none).  All the firewalls I've tried do this, (except purely rule-based), and personally I'd consider it a failing if they didn't, (open a requester when net access is happening during program install/uninstall).

This is one reason why the majority of programs I use are portable.

Now I know this is a 'good thing', but it's irritating in the extreme.  Clicking on the 'remember this' option shortcuts some of this, but creates a useless rule.  Uninstalling was an equally frustrating exercise (why would I want to create a rule to uninstall something???).

Because, again, the uninstaller is trying to connect to the net, accept connections, memory injection, etc.

fair enough, but this is exactly the reason why i don't install/uninstall software while I'm connected, so, apart from the memory injection part, in my case it's kind of redundant.

can't comment on the software conflict, though this is a brand new build so I haven't really got much installed at the moment (I had, I think, not much more than Avast and the firewall at the time...)

Likewise, my preference is for small no install type apps (I even try unpacking installers with UniExtract <http://legroom.net/software/uniextract> to get around this), though this isn't always possible/practical

Target

1757

General Software Discussion / Re: windows security - what's really necessary?

« Last post by Target on February 04, 2008, 09:01 PM »

Armando

you've clearly outlined the crux of my dilemma - clearly no 2 individuals have the same setups, expectations, knowledge, philosophies or fears regarding the potential for a 'security breach' (define that... ), or the ability to identify and/or deal with any such breach

it was never my intention to get a definitive solution (I pretty much think we've established that this is a myth), simply to try and establish what the consensus was for a baseline of what's really necessary, ie what is considered the minimum requirements for a reasonably secure internet connection.  Forget local networks, they're not really relevant for the sake of the discussion.  

Given this, precise definitions were unnecessary, and subjective opinions were (almost) as valuable as objective ones. It's up to the individual to make up their own mind about what fits their own (personal, specific) requirements.

you also raised the issue of system maintenance which hasn't really been discussed, however based on balance of this thread I am wondering how necessary this is as well, ie is (XP) SP2 sufficient, or do we <i>need</i> all the subsequent patches and fixes.

Given that there doesn't seem to be any real consensus regarding the actual threat, or the potential for a breach, it seems that we could lump that subject in with the whole 'minimum requirement' as well

thoughts??

Target  


  

1758

Living Room / Re: Me & my crazy optical mouse

« Last post by Target on February 04, 2008, 07:12 PM »

you're most welcome 

sure would like to know what the 'real' fix was though

Target

1759

Living Room / Re: Me & my crazy optical mouse

« Last post by Target on February 04, 2008, 06:29 PM »

but however i miss my drag-click function. how do i enable it?

-lanux128 (February 04, 2008, 12:46 AM)

Lanux

the following duplicates the click and drag functionality, albeit awkwardly

[Select]

#persistent
lbutton::
sleep, 100
click
return

+lbutton::click,left,down
^lbutton::click, left,up

added 2 hotkeys - SHIFT+LBUTTON sends the left mouse button down command.  Dragging the mouse will highlight...whatever.  CONTROL+LBUTTON sends the left mouse button up command

Like I said, there are probably more elegant ways to do this (I'm no expert, for sure), but this might get you through...

Target

1760

General Software Discussion / Re: windows security - what's really necessary?

« Last post by Target on February 04, 2008, 06:21 PM »

hmmm, so the upshot here is... nothing!!

it appears you can use what you like, or not, based pretty much on your comfort level personal (software) preferences...

Target

1761

General Software Discussion / Re: windows security - what's really necessary?

« Last post by Target on February 03, 2008, 06:18 PM »

another thought (insert collective groan here...)

what about proxies (ie Proxomitrom, proximodo, privoxy, etc)??

I haven't seen any reference to them anywhere here so far.  Are they a useful security app, or just a handy filtering tool??

Target

1762

General Software Discussion / Re: Best free firewall for Windows?

« Last post by Target on February 03, 2008, 06:07 PM »

thanks for the, err...'passionate' responses regarding the NForce firewalls, they echo what I'd been seeing in a lot of places...

FWIW I gave PC Tools a whirl and have to say I was mightily disappointed. 

first problem (for me) - it blocked the internal network for some reason (and I'm not even on a network!!!), wouldn't let me play CounterStrike (single player).  Tried tweaking the rules to no avail (probably my lack of expertise didn't help here...)

second problem - inability to connect to the net.  It may be a good firewall, but I never found out 'cos it either blocked my connection, or dropped it after a very short time.  I spent well over an hour trying to establish a reliable connection, and in the end simply disabled the firewall (problem solved!!).  Maybe I'm a slow learner, but I can't for the life of understand why an app that is apparently as well considered as this one appears to be shouldn't work straight out of the box...

On top of that it was so intrusive (I'm still installing stuff after a rebuild) - every install required a response (some several).

Now I know this is a 'good thing', but it's irritating in the extreme.  Clicking on the 'remember this' option shortcuts some of this, but creates a useless rule.  Uninstalling was an equally frustrating exercise (why would I want to create a rule to uninstall something???).

all in all a very unproductive session (well, apart from the fact that now I know not to use PC Tools firewall)

Target

1763

General Software Discussion / Re: Best free firewall for Windows?

« Last post by Target on February 01, 2008, 12:18 AM »

I've just been browsing over at wilders and been reminded about the the NVidia NForce firewall that came with my motherboard

I used this for a while but switched (for no good reason that I can remember), now i'm wondering if it might be worth going back to...

anyone else got any feedback or experience of this app?

Target 

update - hmmm, after a little googling it doesn't seem like this is a particularly good option (though personally I don't recall it ever being a problem)

1764

Living Room / Re: Me & my crazy optical mouse

« Last post by Target on January 31, 2008, 05:18 PM »

Lanux

shouldn't be any problem installing the MS drivers - if they don't work you could also try alternatives from the other (major) manufacturers (Logitec, etc??)

re the AHK scripting, it's difficult to say cos i can't replicate your problem (happily  ) but you could try the following -

Code: AutoIt [Select]

1. #persistent
2. ;this is a basic hotkey - all it does is take a single left button click and transmit a single left mouse button click
3. ;I can't say whether or not it might fire twice in your case so you'll need to test it
4. lbutton::click

if it does fire twice you're not achieving anything cos AHK is only duplicating the behaviour you're already experiencing.  The only thing I can think of here would be to put in a small delay before sending the click action

Code: AutoIt [Select]

1. #persistent
2.  
3. lbutton::
4. sleep, 100
5. click
6. return

you'll need to play with this a bit to see if it's going to do what you need.  You'll also need something that performs the doubleclick function when you do need it (it would be the same code, but with a modifier on the hotkey, eg ^LButton (CONTROL+LBUTTON))

if this doesn't work, I'm not altogether sure where to go (try the forums??)

let us know what happens

Target

1765

Living Room / Re: Me & my crazy optical mouse

« Last post by Target on January 31, 2008, 12:11 AM »

hmmm, now you're putting me on the spot...

i was thinking about a hotkey, but now I'll have to go and do some research...

Target

1766

Living Room / Re: Me & my crazy optical mouse

« Last post by Target on January 30, 2008, 11:25 PM »

Lanux

another possibility occurs to me -have you investigated the possibility of using AHK to 'reassign' your mouse keys?

I'm no expert, but I think you could use it to intercept the mouse clicks and perform an action, eg setup a hotkey to intercept those pesky double clicks and transmit them as a single click (you would also need to setup an alternative for intentional double clicks)

Target

1767

General Software Discussion / Re: windows security - what's really necessary?

« Last post by Target on January 30, 2008, 09:51 PM »

BTW, something that I'll install soon: DropMyRights. Now this thing is useful, and it does consume zero resources.

-Lashiec (January 30, 2008, 07:09 PM)

Why stop there?  

I usually set my privileges to user (OK, <i>power</i>-user...) - this should stop (some?) nasties from installing/running, and
I can log in as the administrator if I need to...

Target

1768

General Software Discussion / Re: windows security - what's really necessary?

« Last post by Target on January 30, 2008, 07:13 PM »

not suggesting we ignore the threat, just wondering how much we really need to do to guard against it

the original query related to what do we <i>really</i> need in the way of security, ie is it sufficient (for those with hardware firewall) to use an AV tool, or do we need a firewall, and an AV, and an ad blocker, and a spyware removal tool, and a trojan hunter, and and and

and at what point does the law of diminishing returns kick in?

there's no doubt that we need to use something, but what? (like you, I've read most of the other threads but couldn't draw any firm conclusions from them...)

it seems that we can all get cought up in the hype about which product we like better (for whatever reason), but I have to wonder whether the danger is as significant as we might have been led to believe

there's no silver bullet here, I was just wondering what others thought was <i>really</i> necessary .

Target

1769

Living Room / Re: Me & my crazy optical mouse

« Last post by Target on January 30, 2008, 12:48 AM »

did it come with any software??

if so, try uninstalling/reinstalling

if that doesn't work, many of the drivers are interoperable, so try some alternatives (the intellimouse software used to be freely available - but there are no doubt others...)

Target

1770

General Software Discussion / Re: windows security - what's really necessary?

« Last post by Target on January 30, 2008, 12:11 AM »

there's no getting around the user, but it's probably safe () to assume that most here are reasonably savvy about the dangers

I have heard several opinions expressed regarding the relative value of outbound firewalling, but can't help but consider it essential

I'm on dialup so a router isn't an option, and like Nosh, I hoard my bandwidth and really <i>really</i> don't like the idea of anything calling out (regardless of it's intent) without my knowledge. 

Basically I see it as just another tool, a means of identifying a potential infection/compromise, and given that most infections these days are likely to come from inside your firewall (see StoicJokers input above regarding PEBKAC* problems) it would seem prudent to implement this feature.

it's also hard to take a recommendation from <i>any</i> of the discussions I've seen so far.  For every person who has a good experience of firewall X, there is at least one with bad...

Not much said about the other options (AV, antispy/malware) so far - as Lashiec said, there are heaps of choices out there, but what to choose??

Do we <i>really</i> need spyware detection?  Do we <i>really</i> need ad blocking? Do we <i>really</i> need a trojan hunter? Do we <i>really</i> need <insert you're choice here>?

and if we do, how do we measure it's effectiveness/value?

Personally I've used both Spybot and AdAware (and probably others) at various times and found little benefit from either - maybe I've been lucky, who knows, but the upkeep certainly wasn't worth the returns.

Another thought occurs to me - just what is the real danger here? 

others have referred to this obliquely, but are we so caught up in the general hype surrounding the latest crop of super wonder mega fireproof antimalware pro apps that we've lost sight of what it is we're actually trying to guard against?  Is the threat <i>really</i> as serious as industry and the media would have us believe?

I've seen references that these days virii don't seem to be destructive (ie they don't trash you're data/hardware).  If this is the case, and I suspect it is, then what are they doing, sending spam emails?  if this is the worst of it then it doesn't seem like a serious issue (apart from the potential liability issues ).  What about fraud/identity theft?  is this a common problem that could be minimised using the available tools?  (this isn't a problem for me - I have a simple rule about this stuff, if I don't want anyone to know, or I can't afford to lose it, I don't keep it on my PC.  I know this isn't practical/possible for everyone, but the sentiment stands)     

Target

* PEBKAC - <b>P</b>roblem <b>E</b>xists <b>B</b>etween <b>K</b>eyboard <b>A</b>nd <b>C</b>hair

1771

General Software Discussion / Re: Best free firewall for Windows?

« Last post by Target on January 29, 2008, 01:07 AM »

there are several threads already about firewall & security. here are a few..

• Seeking opinions about combination antivirus/firewall products
• How necessary is a software firewall?
• Free Windows firewalls found better than commercial ones
• Firewalls - please, i can't be bothered.
• The Great Firewall Hunt ... frustrating ...

i think you get the idea..

-lanux128 (January 28, 2008, 10:09 PM)

granted (I should have realised that this is one of those eternal chestnuts...), but after grinding through all of the quoted threads I'm none the wiser - seems someone had an issue with every one of the firewalls quoted and there didn't seem to be any consensus on whats acceptable

On top of that, there are other components to the security issue, and I guess the same caveats apply.  AVG and Avast! appear to be the defacto free offerings, athough I note many here use $ware offerings, and some use nothing but their own vigilance...

still others pile yet more applciations on top of their respective AV apps (add aware, spybot, etc, etc).  I see no problem with this, but wonder at the value of it all (I can see f0dder nodding here...), how much is enough, or not enough, as the case may be...

what i was proposing was tackling this from another angle - instead of looking at that shiny new super wonder firewall (master pro edition), lets look at whats really needed when choosing a security solution, be that a firewall (it should be stable, lite on resources, reasonably simple/intuitive, provide both inbound and outbound blocking, export/import of rulesets, etc, etc), or AV/antimalware tools

think of it as an exercise in building an 'ideal' solution if you like

Target

1772

General Software Discussion / Re: Best free firewall for Windows?

« Last post by Target on January 28, 2008, 09:00 PM »

Is it me or are lots of people really paranoid? It strikes me that some of the multiple solutions hinted at above would leave systems running at such a snail pace that it might be simpler to simply unplug from the internet and still have a faster surfing experience! 

-Carol Haynes (January 28, 2008, 08:01 PM)

time for a spin-off thread??

https://www.donation...47.msg98999#msg98999

Target

1773

General Software Discussion / windows security - what's really necessary?

« Last post by Target on January 28, 2008, 08:56 PM »

there is an ongoing thread at https://www.donation...dex.php?topic=6059.0 about the best free windows firewall

that thread got me thinking about what it is that is really necessary to make the virtual world a safe place to visit.

a lot of people have espoused various firewalls, while others have been given a big thumbs down - some even eschew any sort of software firewalling

on top of a firewall most use a range of AV and antimalware utilities. 

Some users install and maintain a sometimes bewildering array of these tools and swear by the results

I'm no expert, but I can't help but wonder whether this in an effective strategy - OK, let's assume it's 'effective', but at what cost?.  does the extra overhead justify the results

I guess the question I'm actually asking here is what is it we really need, ie

• firewalls - which features or functionality should we consider mandatory, which are nice to have, and which ones are useless fluff/bloat.
• AV - as above
• Anti-Malware - I've separated this as I consider things like ad-aware etc perform a different function to 'normal' AV applications

and just how can we, as end users, determine the effectiveness of any or all of these tools, individually or in concert, in meeting our particular needs?

Target

1774

Developer's Corner / Re: AHK Capability

« Last post by Target on January 28, 2008, 06:39 PM »

HA! that's funny

I was just about to post a link to this thread in your thread about window spy tools...

Target

1775

General Software Discussion / Re: Spam filtering

« Last post by Target on January 28, 2008, 06:17 PM »

I used to use K9, but switched to Magic Mail Monitor some time ago

it's small, it's free, and no install

works at the server level, ie it reads and deletes messages before you download (a musthave for those of us on dialup)

no self learning, but the user defined rules can use regex's

target