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426

Living Room / Re: The Password Encryption Education Thread

« Last post by steeladept on June 17, 2010, 09:48 AM »

Also don't forget they are talking of AES-128 whereas in most places, when they speak of AES, they are talking about AES-256.  AES-256 is, as explained in the article, 128 times larger key.  That coupled with some other technical efficiencies MAY make AES-256 stronger despite the higher CPU demand.

I say MAY because I am no expert here and do not wish to imply otherwise.

427

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009 Release: WishList Maker

« Last post by steeladept on June 17, 2010, 09:31 AM »

Here is the file I have that is the one with the corrected tooltips.

428

General Software Discussion / Re: Recommend disk imaging software?

« Last post by steeladept on June 17, 2010, 09:26 AM »

I must say both have never let me down! But especially with Acronis I stay away from the "fancy" features like recovery zone or time capsule (whatever they name it) and just do the basic imaging. I wish they would have an Acronis light product with emphasis on the essentials because those 100MB installation packages take a lot of disk space.

-brahman (June 17, 2010, 08:09 AM)

I would say I *occasionally* have issues with corrupted .tib files, and that is the only issue I have had with Acronis.  That is why I ALWAYS do a restore to a spare drive to verify (I have something like 8 of them laying around, so it isn't much of an issue other than the pain of disconnecting the original).

As for an Acronis Light - well, in sajman99's own words -

What type of HD do you have? Both Seagate and Western Digital have free (stripped down) versions of Acronis which allow full image backups.

Those manufacturer versions may not have all the bells and whistles of the latest Acronis version, but they provide a free solution which works well enough for me.

-sajman99 (June 11, 2010, 04:06 PM)

429

N.A.N.Y. 2009 / Re: NANY 2009 Release: WishList Maker

« Last post by steeladept on June 16, 2010, 02:44 PM »

Let me look when I get home.  I may have the one with the tooltip corrected if this is still needed.  Is this perhaps another issue from the server move that affected TinyWatcher?

430

General Software Discussion / Re: Software for Business Process Modeling?

« Last post by steeladept on June 16, 2010, 12:18 PM »

I am pretty sure I have some Process documents as well if you want them.  They are more a template of an outcome - the results of what you are trying to do - rather than something that will help you get there, but if you are interested, let me know.

431

Living Room / Re: Looking for a Decent Contacts Manager

« Last post by steeladept on June 16, 2010, 12:12 PM »

I never liked Outlook much for email; it always managed to be limited in areas I wanted the most. IMAP for example, was always difficult to use freely in Outlook. (I am referring to versions up to and including Office 2003's Outlook build). Contacts were always Outlook's strongest point IMO however as my PST grew in size I would experience more and more corruption sneaking in. And it felt like when I really needed to get some important piece of information that was exactly when Outlook wouldn’t open and needed to be "fixed". Drove me even crazier than I already am!)

-J-Mac (June 16, 2010, 11:51 AM)

Alas, here I must agree whole-heartedly.  I do use Outlook as a PIM and just forgo the email components (very heavy PIM, but effective).  I don't bother even setting up email accounts, so these issues don't affect me anymore.  I use Outlook for contact and calendar management because it offers all the functionality I want (and a lot more that I don't!), sync's with just about everything, and has not previously been bested by anything else.

Do you intend to use this request with calendaring as well?  If not, why not a simple Access contact list application?  I believe Microsoft built one eons ago as a trainer for Access that was basically a quite capable phonebook.  With this database, you could expand your fields as needed and create reports formatted any way you like.  Of course this assumes you know or are willing to learn Access....

432

Living Room / Re: IP address on public network

« Last post by steeladept on June 16, 2010, 10:22 AM »

True, they can be spoofed, but how often does anyone actually change them?  Other than to set a router to match a machine or to make one machine match another for some specific reason, I would venture to say NEVER.

As for tracking someone, I agree.  That might be one individual way used in concert with other ways.  It was more an example lending to the OP's question.  That being can they be tracked.  My answer is yes, but it is unlikely.

433

General Software Discussion / Re: lose your mind dot com

« Last post by steeladept on June 16, 2010, 10:18 AM »

Wow, looks pretty good.  Have you talked to the developer yet?  Maybe he would be interested in DC - perhaps even extending the discount to DC Members beyond his current limited time offer?  Just a thought.

434

General Software Discussion / Re: Software for Business Process Modeling?

« Last post by steeladept on June 16, 2010, 10:11 AM »

I found the best way is by living through them.  

Sorry it isn't easier than that.  That said, I do have an MBA (which may also prove useful to you).  The best bit of advise I can say about this is to look at the process at hand.  See what works well and what doesn't work so well.  Then, this is key, ask the people implementing the process what works well and not so well.  You may be surprised to find they are very different things.  Learn how they would improve the process, learn what the caveat's are, and listen to them.  Where I work, they did all but the last, then said everything is good as far as they could tell.  Then they spent something like $40 million for Accenture to come in and tell them the same things many employees were saying but fell upon deaf ears.

Lastly, when it comes time to impliment any changes, to get the best buy-in you want to think about the job from the lowest to the highest position.  Start at the lowest position and use those employee's ideas where possible.  They know best what is going on in their area.  Also, keep them in the loop on your own process and how it is coming. One downfall I constantly see is a suggestion is taken and it goes into a black hole.  People want closure - if you ask for their thoughts, let them know if it was accepted, implemented, replaced, whatever.  Give feedback to the line worker on where the project is - if you want to utilize their ideas and they know this but they also know it won't get implimented until the project kicks off 3 years from now, at least they know why it is taking so long to impliment.  This isn't platitudes, this is (un)common courtesy and it makes acceptance MUCH easier.

BPM and more importantly Process Improvement is a huge job that is nearly impossible to accomplish single-handedly.  It takes total buy-in from the top and a LOT of time and effort for each process (of which most companies, even small ones, have 100's if not 1000's).  Moreover, if done correctly, it is a process itself - a continuous process if you will, not a project that has a definite start and end time.  The "project" is to get the buy-in and to kick it off.  Once that is done, the project is done, but the process MUST be continued to be useful.

435

Living Room / Re: Microsoft lashes out at Googler for making Windows vulnerability public

« Last post by steeladept on June 16, 2010, 09:42 AM »

And considering he did so knowing there was no available fix to prevent it, I'm not 100% sure there aren't legal consequences as well. 

-40hz (June 16, 2010, 09:26 AM)

That is something I would like to see actually occur, independent of the outcome (guilty or innocent).  Maybe that would finally be a wake-up call to some.

436

Living Room / Re: Microsoft lashes out at Googler for making Windows vulnerability public

« Last post by steeladept on June 16, 2010, 09:40 AM »

But the release of demo exploit code is far from unprecedented...

-JavaJones (June 16, 2010, 02:17 AM)

Yes, but it is then considered "hackers" or others that exploit it, rather than "white-hatters" who release the demo AFTER it has been patched or the company has been given months to respond with no response.

"If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about the answers."

-Paul Keith (June 14, 2010, 02:06 PM)

Paul, I have read this entire thread several times, and what I get out of this is, "Ignore what the guy did, ignore Google, and focus on why Microsoft isn't fixing the problem!"  Am I right here?  Under the assumption that I am, I am going to ask you:  How can they fix it if they only recently learned of it?  If they don't respond, everyone and their brother will assume they knew about it for months and are just the same old "we will fix it when it becomes an issue" instead of being proactive.  Yes, this is an issue, but I agree with most others here that the "Hacker" who released it is the bigger problem and issue in this case.  Microsoft, I am sure, has people working feverishly on this, but there are others that MUST respond to this so all know that they were working in good faith (even if the extent of that is debatable) and the Google employee, with or without Google condoning his act, acted at best irresponsibly and at worst, maliciously.

437

General Software Discussion / Re: Recommend disk imaging software?

« Last post by steeladept on June 16, 2010, 08:20 AM »

The only 100% reliable solution I have come across - at least as much as there is one - is Symantec Ghost v. 8 (haven't tried newer ones).  It is, unfortunately for many, an offline solution - meaning you must run it from a different computer on the one you want to image - but I haven't seen any others as reliable. I have used True Image, which works reasonably well, but doesn't always restore gracefully, Drive Image - way back during the heyday of Ghost, and a few others that just didn't work.

That said, I never tried Macrium or Paragon's solutions, as I didn't have a need for them.  Now that I am trialing Windows 7, however, I can either try to find an offline imager or start working with these as my version of True Image doesn't work with 7.  Drive Snapshot looks good too, though.  I think I will start with that one - thanks brahman...

438

Living Room / Re: IP address on public network

« Last post by steeladept on June 16, 2010, 07:21 AM »

Am I wrong here or is everyone missing the one point that can't be worked around.  While the download may not be determined due to encryption, and the source may not be trackable due to anonymizers, to make the connection in the first place, the router assigns (albit temporarily in the case of DHCP) the IP address to a MAC address.  This guarantees that the routing goes to the right place (assuming the IP address doesn't point to more than one address, but that is another issue that shows immediately to at least one person with that address).  Therefore, with even the most basic logging, all sources, even wireless, has access to the MAC address of that interface.

THEORETICAL DISCUSSION POINT HERE - MAY OR MAY NOT BE FEASIBLE IN REALITY!

Once you have the MAC address, you can then follow MAC address connections and if you use wireless in your house regularly, you can determine where that MAC address connects most of the time.  Even if not, you can narrow it to a specific location and frequent any location that seems to show a regular connection to the hotspot.  Once you see that connection made, you found the person.

/THEORY

Is this time consuming - absolutely.  Will it happen?  Probably not.  Is it possible in reality?  This I do not know, as you would essentially have to gain access to each hotspot and search the history to track the MAC Address.  This would require a HUGE amount of resources and probably a ton of cooperation that may or may not be available.  Would someone attempt this for an illegal torrent, doubt it.  For National Security, Weapons trafficking, or espionage?  Not so doubtful.  The real question here is can it happen vs. how likely is it to happen.

439

Living Room / Re: Looking for a Decent Contacts Manager

« Last post by steeladept on June 16, 2010, 07:04 AM »

Kinda irrelevant now from the sounds of it, but I was still talking about Essential PIM.  I never heard of Efficient PIM.  Please keep us informed on what you go through for this (a mini-review maybe?).  I know I am ALWAYS looking for a good PIM, none really have fulfilled my needs to my full satisfaction.  I have always stuck with Outlook just because it was the only one that filled my needs, but it is so big, cumbersome, and most of all overkill that I am always looking for something better.

I want to avoid a threadjack, but for those interested in my wants/needs in this kind of software -

Spoiler

My needs center first and foremost on synchronization with mobile devices.  What I think many miss in posts such as SB's where he points out most people just use whatever is on there phone is:

1) I need my contacts when I am away from home.  At home, I can just look them up in the family phonebook (which, yes, I did port to Outlook for ease of maintenance, safekeeping, etc., etc.).  If it doesn't synch with the most popular phones and devices, it really misses the mark for me.

2) I want something that has a huge list of fields available, but allows me to customize it to just use the fields I want/need.  Moreover, ideally I want these mapped to match those in my mobile device (probably easier and more lucrative to provide a mobile version of the app to sync to).

2a) If a separate app is deemed the correct route to go, make sure it integrates fully and can dial/message/whatever just like the native app can so you can ignore it completely (delete it if possible).

These have always proved to be way to much for any PIM I have found in the past other than Outlook.  Even then, Outlook doesn't satisfy all these requirements (specifically the ability to remove unwanted fields), but at least it doesn't miss any information.

440

General Software Discussion / Excel Printing Help

« Last post by steeladept on June 15, 2010, 08:33 AM »

Okay folks, my Google-foo has failed me again and so I turn once again to you, the very knowledgeable DC community.  I have been trying for over a year now to print a monthly Excel report in duplex.  It is set up where each location is on a different worksheet, and I need to print the entire workbook.

Problem - When I print it out, even though I set it up as Entire Workbook and choose the duplex option, Excel sends each worksheet as a separate job.  If each worksheet is longer than 1 page, it duplexes it, but it will not duplex worksheets.

Current workaround is cumbersome, but does work. That is that I print to PDF, combine the worksheets into a single PDF, then print the PDF.  There has got to be a better way and I am looking to you to help me find it.  Anyone know it?

441

General Software Discussion / Re: How safe is it to run portable apps on public computers?

« Last post by steeladept on June 14, 2010, 03:37 PM »

Nice, I do a similar thing.  As for Keypass, what protection it provides from keyloggers is that the keylogger can only log actual typed keys.  Therefore, if you type in your master password, then they will have that, but if it is different from ALL other passwords, it won't do them much good unless they somehow get your keypass files as well.  As for screenwatchers, they can only see what is on the screen, but keypass hides that by default (as does most applications and even web pages for the password field).  That is why keypass is so effective at defeating these.

442

Living Room / Re: Looking for a Decent Contacts Manager

« Last post by steeladept on June 14, 2010, 03:32 PM »

Just rereading about EPIM and an added bonus is it will work with your existing GMail account information (as well as Palm, Windows Mobile, and Outlook).

443

Living Room / Re: Looking for a Decent Contacts Manager

« Last post by steeladept on June 14, 2010, 03:27 PM »

Never heard of either of them, sorry.  I have heard good things of PIM though.  I never used that either, but I did look at it when I was looking for a good electronic organizer.  I don't recall the exact issues I had that prevented me from using it - probably something to do with integration with whatever PDA I was using at the time.

Another thought is Thunderbird.  It is primarily an Email app, like Outlook et. al., but perhaps it will fit the bill?  Never used it either, BTW.  Outlook has always fit the bill better than the alternatives for me.

*EDIT* I guess the reason I couldn't find it was I was forgetting the full name.  PIM was referring to EssentialPIM and the link points to a comparison between the free version and the paid version for those interested in seeing what it offers.

444

General Software Discussion / Re: How safe is it to run portable apps on public computers?

« Last post by steeladept on June 14, 2010, 03:20 PM »

So, I assume that if I use a write-protected usb drive, I should be safe from viruses and malware attacking the usb. 

Then I would be susceptible to keyloggers and screen watchers.  However, if I use an on-screen virtual keyboard, and software that blocks screen watching, would I still be vulnerable?

-jdd (June 14, 2010, 03:05 PM)

I think that would pretty much take care of it - at least as long as workarounds didn't get found for that software.  If you implemented the on-screen keyboard, screen-watching blocker, VPN, and Keypass; I would think any exposure you have left would be about as high as it is at work or even at home.  Probably less.

445

General Software Discussion / Re: How safe is it to run portable apps on public computers?

« Last post by steeladept on June 14, 2010, 03:17 PM »

If one were to use an encrypted disk, e.g. Rohos Mini Drive, or one of the hardware-encrypted ones like the expensive IronKey, which are intended to prevent snooping, would that also reduce the chances of the USB getting infected?

-rjbull (June 14, 2010, 03:00 PM)

I would think not, it would just encrypt the virus in my mind.  Somewhere along the line it has to get encrypted/decrypted which would occur when it gets onto/off of the stick.  It would only protect the hacker that is trying to get the file without the decryption key.

I would think that Firefox would work in a read-only format though.  It would all take place in the computer memory like everything else (generally speaking - I know there are a lot more variables than that though).  Another option might be to use a read only USB and copy down the portable version to the PC being used, then wipe out the software, but that leaves more traces, not less.

Getting back to the original question, assuming there are no key-loggers, once the VPN connection is established, you *should* be safe as most decent VPN implementations break all other connections for security purposes.  Verify with your work VPN administrator to be certain.  Key-loggers can be defeated by using an onscreen keyboard, but then you also have to ensure there is no page snapshots being taken or you are using a constantly changing keyboard so the snapshots must be taken exactly before you click on the key (essentially you would need it to be video recorded).  Even better, use Keypass, though you should make sure your master password is completely different from EVERYTHING else, and use an onscreen keyboard to enter that password.  All these can be portable and, in fact, found on portableapps.com

446

General Software Discussion / Re: How safe is it to run portable apps on public computers?

« Last post by steeladept on June 14, 2010, 01:03 PM »

Or you could make it read-only.  Though in all fairness I don't remember how to do that...

447

General Software Discussion / Re: Help me with MS Word styles

« Last post by steeladept on June 14, 2010, 12:50 PM »

I'm definitely going to learn Indesign soon.  not for work, but for personal stuff.  I am anticipating doing several projects that involve either books, articles, or pamphlets.  And i want tight control on how everything is presented graphically.  So I'm going to use Indesign for that.

-superboyac (June 14, 2010, 12:38 PM)

I would suggest it for Pamphlets, but not books from what I know (again that isn't much yet though - I am fighting learning it as it is difficult and time consuming.  A bad mix when you are the only person in the department).  Articles, well it would depend on the size and complexity there.  I can say that it is a very common requirement if you are sending it to a publishing house, but for personal use, eh.

Maybe I will actually be allowed to take a class sometime and then I may change my mind.  But for now, it is a tool I know very little about and have a difficult time using.

448

General Software Discussion / Re: Help me with MS Word styles

« Last post by steeladept on June 14, 2010, 12:27 PM »

Been a while since I read this I see....

I just have 2 things to say since the mid-May comments.  1) I agree that Word is way more powerful than most people give it credit for and that the biggest problem is few people truly know how to use it properly.  I use it extensively (along with Excel) working in a Printshop and find it incredibly capable, yet while reading this and following links (Primarily from kfitting) I find I still have a lot to learn!  Thank you for bringing this up.

2) In reference to the InDesign software - I do not know a lot about it, even though I use it a fair amount.  What I can tell you about the differences is this:  Word is for creating documents, whereas InDesign is for Formatting documents.  Sure you can do both jobs in both programs, but the focus is not the same.  In Word, you create a document and then format it with several common formatting features.  With InDesign, you more often will import a document then format what you import (though you can compose it and format on the fly).  To compare the two is like comparing Word to Publisher - they do different things differently but properly used should produce something generally similar.  InDesign is Adobe's full fledged DTP software, not unlike Microsoft's Publisher or QuarkXpress (though most professionals I know would agree that InDesign is much more powerful and useful than Publisher and more difficult to use than Quark).  Personally, I suggest sticking with Word unless/until you absolutely MUST learn InDesign.

449

Official Announcements / Re: June 2010 Discount and Giveaway: XYplorer

« Last post by steeladept on June 11, 2010, 03:02 PM »

I just trialed the newest version and found it had all the features I am looking for now (Since version 8 in fact, but I hadn't tried it in a few years).  I will definitely be getting a license after payday, and if I win one, well I guess I will just have to give my wife that copy 

450

General Software Discussion / Re: Do you know a free HTML editor with real time preview in adjacent pane?

« Last post by steeladept on June 11, 2010, 12:43 PM »

Sorry I did not respond sooner.  I am really surprised no one mentioned Microsoft Visual Web Developer.  It allows for everything you mention and the Express version is free (and does have the same requested features).

It is simple as using the Split view (which can be made default by going to Tools>Options and going into the HTML Designer.  Choose the appropriate options and you are on your way). 

[attachthumb=#1][/attachthumb]

In my usage, there is a very slight delay as it updates in the other screen, but I would guess that would occur on any program like this.