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7501

General Software Discussion / Re: WinThesaurus

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 17, 2005, 07:04 PM »

Whilst I agree (partly) he doesn't charge a lot for upgrades, and version 3 was release 18 months ago (with 2 free updates during that period). Version 2 was two years before that. There is a free version too ...

Crossword Complier seems to get free update at least once a month (often more) - usually with new bits added, not just bug fixes.

7502

UrlSnooper / Re: Any clues ...

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 17, 2005, 06:56 PM »

Thanks - I have got that working now. Any idea how to specify an output file name to GetASFStream ??

Cheers

7503

Living Room / Re: OK - lets het to know each other a bit ... where do we all come from ...

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 17, 2005, 06:20 PM »

Wow - great photos (if that isn't too sick a response).

Just goes to show that the US doesn't get all the weather.

Do you remember the storms from last January in the UK. I was trapped in my village - all the roads out were either flooded or covered in fallen trees (mostly both). Luckily there didn't seem to be too much damage to the local properties (but given that they are all traditional limestone builds with walls about 2 feet thick I suppose it isn't too surprising) but a number of people were flooded out - which was no mean feat given at we are well above the nearest river.

I was especially annoyed as I had bought tickets to go and see Cirque du Soleil when they visited Manchester and that was the day of the show! Kindly they offered my replacement tickets two weeks later.

I know it isn't in the least related but I used to live near Oxford and your damaged roofs brought to mind the "Headington/Oxford Shark" which I vividly remember appearing ... if you have never seen it here it is in all its glory. You can read about it at: http://www.headingto...story/misc/shark.htm

7504

General Software Discussion / Re: WinThesaurus ... what about WordWeb too ?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 17, 2005, 06:00 PM »

Hey I like Visual Thesaurus (can't quite see me spending $30 on it though)

Another good similar app is WordWeb. There is a free version (http://wordweb.info/free/) and also the Pro version (which costs $19).

It is nice because it links in to all applications for spell and replace (just highlight a word and hit Ctrl/Alt+W and it pops up), plus there is a great anagram solving section etc.

The other program I really like from the same author (Anthony Lewis) is Crossword Compiler (see http://www.crossword-compiler.com/). This not only helps you to generate Crosswords in all sorts of styles and layouts but also produces interactive Webpages to solve them ...

Anthony is excellent too at constantly updating the programs with lots of ideas (Crossword Compiler has just been extended to generate Sudoku puzzles), and responds to emails very quickly.

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UrlSnooper / Re: Any clues ...

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 17, 2005, 06:22 AM »

Thanks - that has solved it.

GetASFStream is not exactly a user friendly app though is it ?

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General Software Discussion / Re: Perfect Menu - customise any right click menu in any app ...

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 17, 2005, 02:53 AM »

Interesting PerfectMenu and MMM+ work fine together - an interesting combo ...

7507

General Software Discussion / Perfect Menu - customise any right click menu in any app ...

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 16, 2005, 12:56 PM »

Having just started to use MMM+ I was intrigued to find PerfectMenu (http://www.pitrinec.com/pmeindex.htm).

I haven't tried it yet but at $19.95 it looks promising as an idea - unless Mouser can come up with a DonationCoder alternative

A couple of years ago I purchased the MacroWorks from this website and it is really very good - but I can't honestly say I have exploited it fully by any means. The Advanced Scripting Edition looks well designed too (VBA compatible scripting).

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UrlSnooper / Re: Any clues ...

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 16, 2005, 09:01 AM »

Thanks I'll head off over there then

7509

UrlSnooper / Any clues ...

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 16, 2005, 03:47 AM »

How to catch video URLs at http://uk.music.yahoo.com/musicvideos/

The only URLs that seem to be caught don't produce a file to download. Am I missing something?

7510

Best Archive Tool / Re: Review comments from the ALTools Evangelist :)

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 15, 2005, 07:45 AM »

It has been established that current versions of ALzip etc. do not connect to the internet to serve ads, but the principle of connecting to the internt (in other apps) exercises me too.

Usually I just tell my firewall to block communication - if the the app were to cease to function then it would be uninstalled. The problem becomes more acute when the app MUST have access to the internet. Personally I am not really prepared to make the effort to monitor which ports an application is using and build complex rules to keep control. Consequently any ad supported software that downloads ads is not going to get used on my system if it is a web enabled app (eg. an FTP client etc.).

The problem then arises in software that 'appears' to fall into this camp - the widespread growth of dangerous software out there is beginning to make savvy users paranoid about what they are prepared to download, install and give access to the internet - and rightly so.

Here is what I do if I go to a site like "www.lots of freestuff.com" and want to download a utility.

• Read user reviews - if there aren't any I am already suspicious
• Do a google search on the app name + Review
• Do a google search on app name + Spyware/AdWare/Malware etc.
• Download the software and virus scan
• Unpack the archive/installer and virus scan again
• Use SpySweeper to check the unpacked folder contents
• Set a system restore point
• Install app but don't run it
• Run virus & spyware check on installation folder, memory and registry

Only if it is still clean do I run the app.

If it unexpectedly asks to connect to the internet I check to see if there as automatic update and switch it off. If it still wants to connect to the internet for no good reason than I block it. Anything odd starts to happen it is uninstalled and the system restore point applied.

Am I paranoid? Probably - but it takes a hell of a lot of hours to sort out a screwed up system ....

7511

Best Archive Tool / Re: Review comments from the ALTools Evangelist :)

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 14, 2005, 07:47 PM »

Thanks Ryan,

I know how you feel - I spend far too much on software too ... as my credit card statements testify 

7512

Best Archive Tool / Re: Review comments from the ALTools Evangelist :)

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 14, 2005, 04:07 AM »

You've just illustrated why I'm so eager to distance ALTools from adware: "nothing nefarious is going on...". There's a legitimate problem with users not being able to trust software vendors. There are far too many dishonest ones out there. Hiding things deep inside an EULA is hardly being honest.

To try to put people's minds at rest, let me briefly outline a couple things about ALTools and ESTsoft.

ESTsoft is a profitable company. We do not need to resort to underhanded tactics to make money. Just for 1 example, ALZip is used in government, fortune 500 companies, defence (military), by IT consultants, SMEs, etc. They pay for ongoing development, and home users get to reap the benefits. We also have other product lines that are profitable. We really don't need to resort to ads to pay for things.

That's about all that I can do to reassure you that there's nothing sinister happening. Of course you can get Ethereal and a debugger like SoftIce to look into it and verify what I've said, but that's a lot of work.

Thanks - I wasn't actually suggesting that there is anything going on, but you can understand that with a program like ALFTP where internet access is inherently required it can be difficult to judge what is going on for the average user.

I note that phone home ads have been dispensed with (thatnks that's good) - I was waiting for the firewall to pop up - but can I reiterate that I find the animated banner very distracting. As suggested above could you either relegate this to the help menu or incorporate a static image instead. I am not against a company promoting its own products in free to use software at (enough vendors do it in commercial software after all) but whilst any promption has to be visible to satisfy your needs it must be non-distracting to the end user if it isn't going to drive them potty!

I don't know about other people's views on this but I find desktops get overly distracting at times with pop-ups appearing here and there (email / automatic virus updates / IM clients). They can all be helpful, but too often they just distract from the task in hand. It is a bit like a telephone - very hard to ignore.

Can I ask a simple question - what purpose does the animated ad serve? You say commercial customers don't see it - so it won't generate sales, home users have found you and if they like your software they will return to your site for updates etc. anyway.

7513

General Software Discussion / Re: Useful Windows 'inventory' tool

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 13, 2005, 06:25 PM »

SAFARP ... Neat find ... installed for good

7514

General Software Discussion / Re: Counterspy any good?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 13, 2005, 05:53 PM »

Good look - as I say be careful what ever you choose - and don't use automatic cleaning without thoroughly checking first !

7515

General Software Discussion / Re: Counterspy any good?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 13, 2005, 12:51 PM »

I messed up a system real bad the first time I ran a 'registry-fixing' program, so I'm extremely careful now.  I really wish that I had checked the details of the CoolWebSearch alert I got from Counterspy, but I was a bit jumpy I think, because I know that's a nasty one - so I deleted it, whereas I quarantined the other things.  I'll check on those later, and see if they really were problems...

-m_s (September 13, 2005, 12:18 PM)

My system currently has 1400 (or so) 'errors'.

Of course these include all the links to MS's missing help file features, encrypted links to applications (again an MS favourite trick in MS Office), dummy links to allow hooks to external tools in quite a few apps.

OK there are a lot of 'orphan' entried, but apart from making my registry larger they don't actually DO anything bad to my system.

Personally I feel life is too short to work through 1400 cryptic errors and a range of potential soutions. So maybe I should use the automatic fix options (usually just delete all and sundry) .... not on your life.

By all means fix errors that cause specific problems (if you have the expertise, and not many of us do - certainly not me) but you are probably best leaving well alone and asking for advice when a problem needs to be solved. The Micrsoft news groups are excellent for this with some very knowledgeable people who give freely of their time and energy.

The only thing I do these days is periodically I compact and defrag my registry, mainly because I am always installing and uninstalling stuff so the registry can get a bit inflated and scattered all over the hard disc with consequent system crawling ....

There are lots of utilities that will do that for you, an alternative method is to get a decent defrag program (such as Raxco's Perfect Disc) and then after a full defrag (including system files) backup and restore your registry using the MS backup tool in Windows XP or 2000. Chances are you will end woth a defragged registry.

7516

General Software Discussion / Re: Counterspy any good?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 13, 2005, 12:40 PM »

The big problem with a lot of Spyware removal programs is the method they use for detection.

CounterSpy is particulalry bad at this.

The way most work is to build a fingerprint for each pest and then look to see if that fingerprint is present on your system. A reasonable method you might think but a lot of these programs take only one item from the fingerprint to start ringing warning bells. This is where CounterSpy falls down really badly.

Their thinking is "File x appears in pest y's fingerprint, file x is present therefore you have pest y". The trouble is file x may be used by any number of useful pieces of software (esp. if it is a DLL file). This method of detecting pests marks down any software containing file x as spyware.

The other big grumble I have is that all of these products (and some AV software) idenitifies certain types of application (such as any form of password retrieval or key logging software) as dangerous. OK we know that password retreival applications have the potential to be used in naughty ways, but to delete them without any warning (as NOD32 does with NirSofts mailpass application) is pretty unforgivable.

My other pet hate is the way a lot of programs overinflate the threat to get users really worried about things. Everything is labelled "serious threat" or "severe" even when they are at most a minor threat. Tracking cookies are a good example of this. It doesn't do any harm to delete them but ultimatelythey don't do anything especially harmful. I have seen security websites recommend turning off cookies altogether - a great solution that has the added advantage that it will break most of your favourite websites (or at least seriously compromise their useability) and make browsing a tedious and irritating experience. This is a good example of where the so-called cure is worse than any potential problem you are trying to get rid of!

The net result is the 'boy who cried wolf' syndrome. When you get a really nasty threat you have become so relaxed about responding to dire warnings that it is likely to be allowed to slip through!

7517

Best Archive Tool / Re: Review comments from the ALTools Evangelist :)

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 13, 2005, 12:03 PM »

I'm affraid I agree with jibZ, the ad banner is extremely irritating (irrespective of internet connections) - it makes you think there is something that needs attention all the time. Can you not just include a link in the Help menu to other products?

WRT internet connections home, this is quite disconcerting - as users we only have your word that nothing nefarious is going on ...

7518

Finished Programs / Re: DONE 07/18/05 - IDEA: Dim rest of desktop/windows, except for focused window

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 13, 2005, 11:34 AM »

brotherS that has been my experience too.

Do other people have large CPU usage hikes when using these AHK scripts?

7519

General Software Discussion / Re: Counterspy any good?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 13, 2005, 11:32 AM »

My experience with CounterSpy was rubbish.

If I had followed the software advice (which told me I had over 100 things wrong with my computer) it would have completely hosed my system.

I spent ages checking every single warning (all of which were rated 'serious', 'severe', 'leave this and die a horrible death' ... OK maybe not the last one) only to find that not one single entry was even an issue. OK there were a handful of cookies (but all spyware apps use them to make them look as though they are doing something) but the rest were totally legitimate pieces of software (or related DLL files).

I emailed Sunbelt and was told they 'do get the odd false positive' - but over 100 on a clean system !!

Personally I no longer touch Sunbelt software as they seem to me to becoming all marketing and not much useful substance.

By the way the passing resemblence to MS AS is no coincidence they are both based on the same code base.

For the record other products I use (without the Senbelt haslles) are:

Webroot Spy Sweeper
Microsoft AntiSpyware
Spybot Search & Destroy
Lavasoft AdAware SE Pro
Pest Patrol

The last two are (IMHO) pretty defunct these days as they seem to lack any teeth, and Pest Patrol is a real shame since they sold out to Computer Associates.

Just my 2p, what do other people think?

7520

Living Room / Re: Mouser will be out of down until Sept. 15

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 11, 2005, 01:49 PM »

Off somewhere nice? Have a good time

7521

Living Room / Re: 50% DISCOUNT CODE FOR OUTPOST FIREWALL NOW POSTED IN MEMBERS ONLY SECTION

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 11, 2005, 04:54 AM »

Thanks, Mouser (just want to say I really do love this site, btw).  I can probably hang out for 6 months; I hear rumours that NOD are planning to include a firewall in version 3, so that might get to me before outpost...

-m_s (September 10, 2005, 02:08 PM)

Oh dear,

I sincerely hope not!

What is it with AV companies that they have to keep integrating firewalls and spyware stuff?

My experience (and I'd guess a lot of people's) is that as the apps get bigger and bigger and more complicated they get less good at doing what they do.

For me NOD32 is one of the best AV apps because it does one job well, and has minimal system impact.

If ESET want to produce a friewall that's fine, but personally I would much rather have two products.

I for one will probably look for a new AV app. if they go down the Symantec/MacAfee/Trend/ZoneAlarm routes.

7522

Living Room / Re: Curiouser and curiouser ...

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 10, 2005, 03:31 PM »

Thanks, that seems to have cured it

7523

Living Room / Re: Curiouser and curiouser ...

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 10, 2005, 07:59 AM »

I don't want to disable them ... or are you suggesting disable them all and then re-enable them?

The problem is that the Task Bar is on top of tray menus and balloon tips. Consequently some info and menu items are hidden from view.

I have tried setting the task bar not to be always on top (and that is a pain - and didn't make any difference anyway), I have also tried Autohide, but I don't really like that.

7524

Screenshot Captor / Re: v2.00.09 up

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 10, 2005, 04:39 AM »

No.

I just find it strange that some thumbnails ar correct and others aren't ???

The other odd thing is that when the thumbnails are being drawn (ie. during the thumbnail refresh process) they are all drawn correctly, but at the end of the refresh some of them flip to incorrect thumbs.

7525

Screenshot Captor / Re: v2.00.09 up

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 09, 2005, 03:52 PM »

Here is an example. All the captures are PNG format. Note that two of the thumbnails (including the one selected) show the Windows Explorer thumbnail of the parent folder !!!