February 2 2007 COOLSITES newsletter by Mark Donaldson

I have published the February 2 2007 COOLSITES newsletter by Mark Donaldson.

The following is an excerpt from this weeks newsletter. To see the full newsletter with all of the COOLSITES links please go to my website at: http://luem42.com/coolsites.aspx Thank you. Mark.


February 2 2007 COOLSITES by Mark Donaldson

This is the 98th newsletter

Wherever you go if you see the user name LUEM42 that's me

COOLSITES is a list of fun, useful, informative and just plain cool websites and programs that are FREE, FREE and FREE. All of the programs and websites I list are free. If I list anything that is so good but isn't free I will list the price with it.

Security News

BufferZone Free. BufferZone´s revolutionary virtualization technology creates an isolated zone on your PC, which separates your operating system and confidential data from unknown files and programs: http://www.trustware.com/virtualization/free.html

Craigsnumber-- Auto expiring. FREE anonymous phone numbers for online safety.: http://craigsnumber.com/

Don't fall victim to the 'Free Wi-Fi' scam: http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasi...mp;arti

Facing foreclosure- Beware of 'rescue firms' offering to help you- South Florida Sun-Sentinel: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-sbforeclose25jan25,...409937.

McAfee Threat Center. Stinger is a stand-alone utility used to detect and remove specific viruses: http://vil.nai.com/vil/stinger/

New. Safend Personal Protector prevents unauthorized access to your data via all physical communications ports (USB, FireWire, PCMCIA), blocking any unrecognized device: http://www.safend.com/425-en/Safend.aspx

Online scanner. SpywareGuide.com Free Scanner - Spyware, Greynets, Privacy, Botnets, Rootkits, Security Resource: http://www.spywareguide.com/onlinescan.php

PC Review - Startup File Database contains a list of almost every possible application that could load itself when your computer first boots up: http://www.pcreview.co.uk/startup/

PC World - Top 10 Internet Scandals of All Time: http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,128554/article.html?tk=nl_cxanws

PC World Downloads - IceSword. Makers of rootkits--malware that can be particularly well hidden--consider IceSword the toughest rootkit scanner: http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fid,64212/description.html?tk=nl_hsxdwn

Read This Before Saying -Yes- to a Free Credit Report. Getting your free credit report can be frustrating, costly, and downright harmful - find out how to avoid being ripped off: http://www.scambusters.org/creditreport.html

Talk Your Way Out of a Ticket (Deal of the Day- Personal Finance) - SmartMoney.com: http://www.smartmoney.com/dealoftheday/index.cfm?story=20060728&na...bs&

Update. Arovax Shield 2.1.82 Beta Detects and Notifies you about all the Major online threats tried to penetrate your System, Isolates & Removes them.: http://www.arovaxshield.com/

Update. CCleaner 1.37.456: http://www.ccleaner.com/

Update. Cryptainer LE Free Encryption Software 7.0.3.0 Beta- Borderless Strong Encryption Software: http://www.cypherix.co.uk/

Update. Enigma CS v0.3.3 Beta (Build 475) (Coding Software): http://sourceforge.net/projects/enigmacs

Update. Jetico Personal Firewall 2.0.0.22 Beta All security products from Jetico- BestCrypt, BCWipe, Jetico Personal Firewall, BCArchive. Download it now.: http://www.jetico.com/

Update. WinCleaner AntiSpyware 5.58 WinCleaner AntiSpyware Website - Home: http://www.wincleaneras.com/

Vista. Vista's Malicious Software Removal Tool: http://www.lockergnome.com/nexus/windows/2007/02/01/vistas-malicious-s...ware-re



To Vista or not to Vista

That is an easy question if you consider Microsoft's track record with new operating systems.

DOS was stable and functional but not very versatile until DOS 6.2.

Windows 1 and 2 hardly anyone has heard about but Windows 3.1 was a stable operating system that didn't need to be shut down before turning off the computer so when it crashed it didn't cause many problems.

Windows 95 was unstable and needed to be shut down before turning off the computer. This caused major headaches when it crashed.

Windows 98 is Windows 95 with some core changes which protected the core from crashing when a program did something wrong. Instead of crashing you got popups of "page faults", "illegal functions" and other error messages. This solved a lot of problems but it would still mysteriously "hang" which meant you had to reset with all of the attendant problems. Windows 98 SE was better but after dozens of updates it is still not perfected.

Windows ME. No need to say anything about that turkey.

Windows NT, 2000. The beginning of the NT core which was a whole lot more stable but still had it's problems.

Windows XP. The NT core which was so botched up that it needed two service packs (SP1 and SP2) and dozens of updates and it still runs just slightly better than Windows 98 SE.

To Vista or not to Vista. That is an easy question. I recommend that unless you buy a new computer that is already running Vista you should avoid Vista until it's proven to be worth it.

Vista Upgrade Invalidates Previous OS: http://www.infopackets.com/channels/en/windows/gazette/2007/20070202_v...a_upgra

Vista. Download details- Windows Easy Transfer for Windows XP and Windows 2000: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=2b6f1631-973a...c7-a4ec

Vista. Full review of Windows Vista: http://ct.cnet-ssa.cnet.com/clicks?t=27346038-be56918137808c8d29d61779...633af-b

Vista. Microsoft already Hard at Work on Vista Service Pack 1: http://www.infopackets.com/channels/en/windows/bills_links_and_more/20...2007012

Vista. Microsoft Windows Vista- Windows Vista Download, Windows Vista Upgrade and Windows Vista Review - CNET.com: http://www.cnet.com/4520-13111_1-6687520-1.html?tag=nl.e404

Vista. That $200 Windows XP service pack called Vista: http://ct.cnet-ssa.cnet.com/clicks?t=27691780-be56918137808c8d29d61779...633af-b

Vista. The trouble with Vista: http://ct.cnet-ssa.cnet.com/clicks?t=28312661-be56918137808c8d29d61779...633af-b

Vista. Vista's Malicious Software Removal Tool: http://www.lockergnome.com/nexus/windows/2007/02/01/vistas-malicious-s...ware-re



Windows Vista Interview
by Chris Pirillo on January 29, 2007 at 7:54 pm
http://www.lockergnome.com/nexus/windows/2007/01/29/windows-vista-interview/

My impression of Windows Vista is generally lukewarm, given that many aspects of the OS and its apps seem unfinished, halfhearted. There are still quite a bit of software / hardware compatibility issues at play - too many. That said, I'm overly impressed with the way Vista handles drivers; in the time I've been working inside "gold" code, I've had a few problems rectified through the new Windows Update process. Windows Vista is (off-the-shelf) overpriced, and I would encourage most users to wait until at least SP1 has been released before considering migrating an existing Windows install from XP to Vista.


Windows Vista DRM- Suicidal: http://www.infopackets.com/channels/en/windows/bills_links_and_more/20...2007013

How a new kind of technology is built into Windows Vista that will take high-definition DVDs, blu-ray DVDs, and audio discs, and degrade the play back quality drastically because of the content protection mechanism built into Vista, as well as the Microsoft requirements for drivers. At one point, he refers to the new content protection scheme as "suicidal."


More Chris Pirillo

"Chris Pirillo, of Lockergnome fame, has started "Pirillo's Picks". A daily text newsletter of sites he has found to be of interest. I urge all of my subscribers to sign up by sending an email to (I do not want to put an unecrypted email address here for spambots to harvest so please click this link to find it http://luem42.com/Documents/feb0206.html ) . Please mention that I recommended you to subscribe. Mark.

Here is an excerpt:


eGreetings!

Windows Vista is officially here, receiving mixed reviews from pundits and newbies alike. Me? I both love and hate Microsoft's latest OS. The only thing Ponzi's noticed about Vista is that it looks slightly better than XP does (and still not half as clean as OS X, according to her). The more I use it, however, the more I think the world should likely wait for SP1 to be released - which is set to hit the digital streets by year's end, according to reports.

But life isn't just about operating system upgrades, is it? I was hoping to send you a set of links over the weekend, but I wound up taking care of a few outstanding "new house" chores. We've got an electrician coming out this week, followed shortly thereafter by a plumber, who will arrive at the same time as an HVAC specialist, but only after we've had a handyman help us with a few outstanding home inspection issues. The contractor I can't wait to meet is the one who'll help us connect our pre-wired home with speakers! Sounds good.


[GROUP] Global Network of Technology Evangelists
http://feeds.pirillo.com/~r/Picks/~3/83902300/

[MOBILE] Flip yourself info by SMS
http://feeds.pirillo.com/~r/Picks/~3/83902301/

[PURPLE] Turn your desktop into a file host
http://feeds.pirillo.com/~r/Picks/~3/83902302/

[SKILL] 5 easy ways to make money online with Photoshop
http://feeds.pirillo.com/~r/Picks/~3/83902303/

[RESOURCE] World Statistics, Country Comparisons
http://feeds.pirillo.com/~r/Picks/~3/83902304/

[RUMOR] Google - Virtual World Coming Soon?
http://feeds.pirillo.com/~r/Picks/~3/83902305/

[JAM] Remixing for the Masses
http://feeds.pirillo.com/~r/Picks/~3/83902306/

[TWEAK] USBDeview - Troubleshoot USB Devices
http://feeds.pirillo.com/~r/Picks/~3/83902307/

[LOVE] 10 Things Your Florist Won't Tell You
http://feeds.pirillo.com/~r/Picks/~3/83902308/

[NERDS] A Musical Software Satire
http://feeds.pirillo.com/~r/Picks/~3/83902309/

[MONEY] How Much is That Domain Name Worth?
http://feeds.pirillo.com/~r/Picks/~3/83895319/

[POWERTOY] Feeds Plus for IE7
http://feeds.pirillo.com/~r/Picks/~3/83895332/

[ASAP] The essential add-in for Excel users
http://feeds.pirillo.com/~r/Picks/~3/83895345/

[FREEWARE] Download Your Videos from YouTube
http://feeds.pirillo.com/~r/Picks/~3/83895356/

[HELP] How to Clean Anything
http://feeds.pirillo.com/~r/Picks/~3/83895370/

[TOOL] Microsoft USB Flash Drive Manager
http://feeds.pirillo.com/~r/Picks/~3/83895386/

[VOIP] Make Free Phone Calls (from the USA)
http://feeds.pirillo.com/~r/Picks/~3/83895402/

[TALK] Windows Vista Interview
http://feeds.pirillo.com/~r/Picks/~3/83895423/

Your friends can email to join this list.
Go to http://chris.pirillo.com/category/picks for the archives.
Check http://feeds.pirillo.com/Picks if you'd like a live feed.

Windows Secrets Newsletter • Issue 94 • 2007-02-01 http://WindowsSecrets.com/comp/070201

The following topics appear in the free version

TOP STORY
Get Vista upgrade, never pay full price
Save by avoiding the "full" version
Use Vista's "upgrade" version to clean-install
Why does Vista's secret setup exist?

LANGALIST TIPS
When your antimalware tools disagree
How to deal with dueling malware-removers
Speed up Opera 9 by disabling filtering
Reader-written freeware accesses XP applets
An automated fix for a missing NTLDR


COOLSITES 111 cool links