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Dan Gookin answers some tricky questions.
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Weekly Wambooli Salad
Vol 4. Issue 44
Week of 20 June 2005
=======================

Web version: http://www.wambooli.com/wws444.html

ANOTHER Q&A ISSUE

It's been a while since I've done one of these. Every so often, I
clean out my old Wambooli Questions e-mail folder. Therein I save
various questions I've answered, stuff that I think most folks would
be interested in, and definitely some questions I wouldn't think of
asking myself. Here they are!

THIS WEEK
=========

-> Q&A #1: Two firewalls?
-> Q&A #2: Removing Windows Update files
-> Q&A #3: Killing Windows XP resources
-> Q&A #4: Forwarding an attached image
-> Q&A #5: Backing up to a DVD-R
-> Q&A #6: Confirming a backup
-> Q&A #7: Electrical storm procedures

Q&A #1
======

Q: Is it okay to run two firewalls?

A: No. If you have one firewall that does the job, running two is
just a waste of time.

The firewall's job is to close or monitor the ports open to the
Internet. Think of a port as a specific hole through which
information can be accessed. For example, port 80 is used to get
information for the Web. Port 23 may be used on the same computer for
telnet. There are thousands of such ports, and anyone can probe them
via the IP address you're assigned when you access the Internet.

The firewall works by either closing the ports altogether or by
restricting access to the ports. You might think that it's dumb to
have the ports open in the first place, but remember that the
Internet was not defensively designed. Only when the Internet got
popular did the Unix geeks behind it start to fix their mess. The
problem was worse on Windows because Microsoft should have known NOT
to keep the ports open. But I can rant about that at a later time.

When you have one good firewall, you don't need a second one. If the
first one is doing its job, the second one has nothing to do. Now, I
do not recommend the Microsoft Windows XP firewall, even the SP 2
edition. Instead, get something free and robust like Zone Alarm from
http://www.zonelabs.com/.

Note that if you have a hardware firewall built into a router, you
probably don't need a software firewall as well. Again, it's just
redundant and wastes computer time.

Also, you really don't need a firewall when you use a dial-up
connection. The Bad Guys lust for that high-speed, on-all-the-time
broadband connection. Even so, I recommend getting and using a
firewall.

Q&A #2
======

Q: I've noticed a host of Windows Update files littering my hard
drive. Is it safe to get rid of them?

A: The best thing to do to rid yourself of Windows Update files, as
well as other files you don't need, is to run the Disk Cleanup
utility.

From the Start menu, choose All Programs, Accessories, System Tools,
Disk Cleanup. Choose the drive to clean and then click the OK button.
After the Disk Cleanup program makes its calculations, you'll see a
screen listing potential things you can delete. Pick and choose what
you want to keep and what can go. Honestly, it can all go. Then click
OK. That should clean them up.

If it doesn't, just leave those upgrade files alone. Honestly, only
if disk space is really tight should you worry about them at all.

Q&A #3
======

Q: I'm trying to speed up my computer system by removing some of the
useless Windows XP resources. If I want to get rid of everything I
don't really need, where do I start?

A: You need to know what you remove and what to keep, so a good
reference helps. I recommend this web site:

http://startup.iamnotageek.com/

Or this one:

http://www.answersthatwork.com/Tas [...] sklist.htm

That web page lists startup processes in Windows XP and tells you
whether they're needed -- or even if they are nasty programs like
viruses or spyware.

Most of the system resource hogs, however, are things called System
Services, which are tiny programs Windows starts and runs whenever
you start the computer. Here is how to view the list of System
Services:

1. Open the Control Panel.
2. Open the Administrative Tools icon.
3. Open the Services icon.

The Services window, or "console" as they call it, appears. The
System Services appear in a list just like files in a folder. But
what you see instead of files are individual programs, or PROCESSES,
running in Windows. If you choose View>Detail from the menu, you can
easily see descriptions and status information on each process.

For example, there is a service called Cryptographic Services. When I
click on that service, a detailed description of what it does appears
-- but not really any information that I would call useful.
Double-clicking the icon opens its Properties dialog box. There you
can see the name of the program that's responsible for the
Cryptographic Services: SVCHOST.EXE. (That's a very common program
used for many things in Windows XP.)

If you look up SVCHOST.EXE on the Answers That Work web site, you see
that it's an integral part of Windows and that there is no point in
disabling that service. (You can also see that many viruses
masquerade as SVCHOST.EXE.)

It's my opinion that Windows XP Services are a weak spot in Windows,
available for exploitation by nasty programs. Hopefully, this is
something they will fix in the future, not only to help Windows
become a secure operating system, but also to allow people to easily
disable services that they don't want or need.

Q&A #4
======

Q: I'd like to send off an image I received in an e-mail message. But
when I go to forward the message, the image disappears. Any
suggestions?

A: Forwarding e-mail is an interesting thing. It's honestly the cause
of all those >>>>>> things you see when you read a joke or one of
those hoaxes about sending a copy of the message to everyone in your
e-mail address book. Ah, forwarding.

The best way to forward an image attachment is to first save that
attachment to disk. After all, if it's worth forwarding, it's most
likely worth saving as well. I have a special folder called /funnies
that lives inside the My Pictures folder. It's where I save all the
funny pictures people send me via e-mail. (It even has subfolders,
one for computer humor, one for adult humor, and so on.)

First choose File>Save Attachment As to save the attachment to your
hard drive, -- hopefully, in an appropriate pictures folder. Then
start up a new message to The Gang and simply attach the image to
that e-mail, just as you would any old e-mail.

BONUS TIP
=========

The best way to forward a message without all those >>>> things in it
is not to forward the message at all! Instead, select the message
text, press Ctrl+C to copy it. Then start a new message and press
Ctrl+V to paste the message text into the new e-mail. Presto! You
have a clean message to forward.

Another tip: Be sure to put The Gang's e-mail addresses in the BCC
field so that you don't get a TO or CC field that's eight screens
high. In Outlook Express, choose View>All Headers to see the BCC
field.

Q&A #5
======

Q: I want to perform regular backups of my files, as you've suggested
in your books and in the Salad. My problem is that Windows tells me I
have 20GB of data on the hard drive, but the DVD-R I have can hold on
4GB of stuff. Should I use 5 DVD-R discs to back up the whole thing?
Or how would you do it?

A: Every week, or daily if I'm doing a lot of work, I backup my main
work folder. I use a Zip disk for this, though I could easily use a
DVD-R. I just drag the entire folder -- it's named "Work" -- to the
disk and, voila, I've backed up my stuff.

Every quarter, or four times a year, I back up the entire hard drive.
Like you, I have about 20GB of stuff on the hard drive. But that
stuff includes EVERYTHING: the operating system, plus all my program
files, plus even temporary Internet files, cookies, and things that
don't really need to be backed up.

The core of what I really need to back up is my own stuff -- just the
things I've created or collected. That total is about 1GB in size,
and it easily fits on a single DVD-R. In fact, I can put three
consecutive quarters worth of stuff on a single DVD-R, which is
economical. The secret, of course, is knowing what to back up.

The simple way to back up is to insert and prepare the DVD-R for
data. Then open the My Computer icon on the desktop. Open drive C.
Drag the Documents and Settings folder from drive C to the DVD-R.
That's the primitive way to do things.

The Documents and Settings folder is where all your personal
information is stored in Windows XP. So you get to back up not only
all your files, but also your Internet Favorites, Address Book, and
other data files you'd need for a System Restore.

If you have a backup program, you can be picky about which folders to
back up. For example, I generally back up only my own stuff, not
other users in the Documents and Settings folder. Plus, I separate
out my music files and do a separate backup on them. (Do not forget
to back up your music!)

You do not need to back up Windows. If the computer dies, you merely
reinstall Windows. Any personal settings you have will be restored
when you copy back over the Documents and Settings folders. Ditto for
your program files: The programs can simply be reinstalled. Even
downloaded programs can be reinstalled after you restore the
Documents and Settings folders, should the time come.

Q&A #6
======

Q: How can I be sure that my data has been backed up?

A: The best way to confirm that a backup was completed properly and
the data saved is to look at the backup file. How large is it? What
is the date?

For example, if you back up all your files to a CD-R or DVD-R merely
by dragging over the folder, open the CD-R or DVD-R icon after
copying the files: Open the My Computer icon on the desktop, and
then, in the My Computer window, open the backup disc's icon. Check
that folder to see whether the backup file is there.

If you're using a traditional backup program, locate the backup file
itself. For example, if I use the Windows Backup program to create a
backup file on my external hard drive, I would then look on the
external hard drive for that backup file.

Right-click on the backup file and choose Properties from the pop-up
shortcut menu. Check the file's size. Is it appropriate for the
material that¹s backed up? Remember that some backup programs
compress data, so the file size may not match exactly what was backed
up -- but it will be substantial. Once I thought I had backed up my
entire hard drive, but the file was only 4K in size. What? (Turns out
I improperly set the date, so nothing was actually backed up.)

Check the file date as well. You don't want to confuse yesterday's
backup with today's. The file you backed up today will have today's
date on it (unless the computer's clock is screwy).

Q&A #7
======

Q: We live in "Thunderstorm Alley" and just had a boomer rumble
through last night. A neighbor says that I should unplug the computer
during an electrical storm. Should I?

A: A lightning strike near your home, office, or even on the power
lines near you can be lethal to both you and the PC. That sudden
surge of power, known in the industry as a SPIKE, can immediately fry
all the circuits not only in your computer, but also in the cable TV
box, stereo, game console, microwave, and even those new HE washing
machines. Fortunately, such a thing is rare.

The best protection you can get is a UPS, or Uninterruptible Power
Supply. Ensure that it has spike protection. High-end power strips
(without UPS) also may have spike protection. Plug your precious
high-tech gear into such a device and you're as safe as science can
make you.

Also remember to plug the phone line and network cable into the UPS
or spike-protected power strip. I had a friend in Montana who
dutifully unplugged his PC during an electrical storm, but he forgot
to unplug the modem. The spike sizzled down the phone line, fried his
modem, and then went into the computer through the phone cable and
fried the motherboard.

Now, if you don't have a UPS or spike protection, definitely do
unplug the PC and the modem and the network from the computer during
an electrical storm, especially if lightning is striking the ground
near you. Fortunately, such storms are brief, so you can reconnect
and get back to computing when the thing is over.

ONE LAST BYTE
=============

Expect your regularly scheduled and formatted newsletter back next week!

Dan Gookin
June 20, 2005

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