pcalvert

I don't know about a dayplanner, but this e-mail client is really good: Courier I think you'll be pleased at how snappy the program is. I've found that many modern email client programs are bloated and a bit sluggish (especially on older hardware). Fortunately, Courier is not one of them. Phil

This is the firewall I would use: NetVeda Safety.Net Phil

You don't really need the Pro version of 98lite. If you do a clean install of Win98SE using the free version of 98lite you'll end up with a pretty good Win98 system, especially if you select the "sleek" configuration and also get rid of IE and OE. That should be fine for older programs that are compatible with Win95, but some newer programs use functions that are not found in the Win95 shell, and those will not work without some additional hacking. For better compatibility, the "chubby" configuration is a better option, and I recommend it if you want to keep your future 98lite-related hassles to a minimum. Phil

A friend told me that his sister's computer got really messed up after she opened an email containing a bunch of cute pictures. His sister's computer has Windows ME on it, and she is using Pegasus Mail and Firefox. Based on emails I have exchanged with her in the past, I doubt that her OS or software were updated regularly. I even contacted her about six months ago to warn her about a vulnerability that was found in Pegasus Mail, but she didn't seem too concerned and indicated that she wasn't sure whether she would bother to upgrade to the latest version. Anyway, my friend claims that the malware renamed the System32 folder to System3r and then created a new System32 folder and was populating it with various legitimate-looking drivers. Of course, my friend is guessing about what happened. But if he's right, then the files in the new System32 folder have most likely been "trojanized" in some way. Here's what I am wondering: Are there any legitimate processes or mechanisms within Windows ME that could be responsible for the System32 folder being renamed to "System3r"? Although my friend's speculation about what happened may be correct, I'd prefer not to jump to any conclusions. Phil

Actually, I remember now that I wasn't using Windows Update. I was following links from a post in this forum. The Microsoft web site seemed to be trying to install an ActiveX control of some kind, although I might be wrong about that. That's what failed unless I was logged in as Admininstrator. When it failed initially, it said something about using an alternate method, and mentioned genuinecheck.exe (?). I was redirected to another page so I could download the program, but then I got an error message. It was something like, "This is an old program which is no longer supported." Oh great, nothing like a screwed up web site to waste one's time. Whatever happened to simple, efficient downloads? As in connect to the download site with an ftp client, select multiple files for download, and then click a button to fetch all of the files. Phil

I have Win2K, and had to install WGA (aka "Windows Genuine Annoyance") recently. Windows Update wouldn't let me have most security updates unless I did. I was rather ticked off about that. For security reasons, I prefer to download updates using Firefox or Opera, preferably running on Linux. But no, I couldn't do that. And to top it off, the dang thing would not install unless I connected to Windows Update while logged in as Administrator. Now how the hell is that a good idea? I guess that this must be part of a new Microsoft customer disservice initiative: Annoy and inconvenience your customers, and promote unsafe computing practices at the same time. Phil

Actually, I have thought about this lately, and I think that Linux could be an excellent choice for many newbies. Why? Because for many, all they really care about is being able to send and receive email, and to be able to surf the Web. They couldn't care less what OS their email client and web browser are running on. This little story is a good example of what I am talking about: "The only distro to pass the 'my wife the Realtor' test." (BTW, that's somebody else's story, not mine.)

This sounds like another good reason to support the efforts of the people working on ReactOS. ReactOS home page

It seems that I omitted some details because I was unaware of them, so my posting of just an excerpt of my friend's comments was a bit misleading. The latest comments from my friend should clarify things a bit more. Here they are: That being the case, I see no reason at all to use IE 3.02 since the same types of security-enhancing tweaks can be applied to later versions of IE as well. In addition, if one is going to disable ActiveX, Java, and Javascript, etc., there are web browsers available that completely lack those capabilities; one of them might be a better choice. Phil

A friend of mine uses IE 3.02 on Win95b for web surfing. He likes it, believe it or not. He also uses IE 6.0 on WinME for web sites that aren't viewable using IE 3.02. Here are some comments he sent me yesterday: I know, nothing earth-shaking there, but I thought his comments were kind of interesting from a security standpoint, so I thought I'd pass them along. It's also interesting that he sees problems with IE 3.02 that are still present in IE 6. Phil

When I tried Foxit reader, it was much better for reading PDF files on-screen, something I hated to do with Acrobat Reader. Unfortunately, when I tried to print a PDF file with the Foxit reader the output produced was less than satisfactory. So I would use Foxit to view PDFs, and Acrobat Reader to print them. Phil

No need to have support for IE in the unofficial SP at all, IMHO. It would be better to support IE via a separate SP. Now that support for Win98SE is going away, many people may choose to completely remove IE as a way to improve security. Many people keep IE around, even though they don't use it, because of Windows Update's dependence on it. Soon, that will no longer be a factor, so that's one less reason for keeping IE around. Phil

That is why I am strongly leaning toward uninstalling IE completely. No need to worry about security holes in an application that's not installed. Many people have been keeping IE installed because of Windows Update. Well, it won't be much longer until that's no longer a factor. Phil

Keep in mind that this might just be more FUD. Have a look at this page: M.I.C.E. - Metafile Image Code Execution It's about a different vulnerability. Since it's a long page, I'll re-post the excerpts I want to make sure that you don't miss. So maybe this latest "vulnerability" is more of the same. Or maybe not. Phil

It seems that an alternative to updating DirectX is to just remove it completely. Although I'm sure gamers wouldn't want to do that, removing DirectX probably wouldn't pose any problems for many people. I just checked www.litepc.com, and the pro versions of XPlite and 2000lite (and 98lite) can remove DirectX. And, of course, there's also the free nLite. Phil

Thanks for quick reply. Is DirectX mainly just used for games? I never play games on my computer, so it seems like I probably don't need to bother updating DirectX. I just discovered that I have DirectX 9b on a CD I got from Microsoft about two years ago. Does anyone know if there's a small patch available to update DirectX 9b to DirectX 9c? I'd rather not download the full DirectX 9c if I don't have to (it's about 49 MB) since I am on a slow dialup connection. Phil

Hi, I looked around the web for info on DirectX and couldn't find a clear explanation of what it is and what it's used for. All I got was a general sense that it's video-related. I noticed lots of people recommending that people upgrade to the latest version, but without giving a reason why. If I am using Windows 2000 and apply all security patches and critical updates, why should I bother updating DirectX to 9.0c (or whatever the latest version is)? What would I gain by updating? Phil

For what you want to do, I would not use fdv's files. Instead, slipstream in IE6 with HFSLIP. Then use nLite to remove what you want removed. If you remove IE, but leave "IE core," I believe that will give you want you want. I haven't tested that, though, so I am not certain. I will probably be trying it very soon, though. Phil

Hi, How are you trying to access Windows Update, through a menu item or shortcut? I'm guessing that you are, because I recall having some kind of problem when I tried doing it that way. Try using the direct approach: Open IE and go to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ Phil P.S. If this suggestion doesn't solve your problem, maybe it will help somebody else.

Hi camrock, Don't forget to check for personal messages. Some people may have sent you tips that way, too. Phil

Try bblean. Very minimal shell, but quite functional. No eye candy.

Not really true. K-Meleon uses Gecko, just like Firefox. Therefore, it has some (but not all) of the same security holes as other browsers that use Gecko, like Firefox. In addition, K-Meleon is not updated by the developer very often. Sure, there are unofficial security updates available for K-Meleon. But do you really feel comfortable patching your browser with security updates that come from some semi-anonymous "Joe Schmoe"? Something to think about... Phil

Not necessary. It's actually more work to use that. The link I posted above explains how to do it in a simpler, cleaner, more complete way. One could try using that if one wanted to have the option of booting into a very minimal Windows 98. But for DOS only, it's overkill. Phil

Personally, I would install Vector Linux. It was designed to work well on older hardware. If you already have another computer with Windows on it, why not put something different on the laptop? Or you could set it up as a dual-boot system containing nLited Win2K and Vector Linux. BTW, just today I came across this (fairly) recent review of VectorLinux: A distro enlightened: VectorLinux 5.1 Deluxe Phil

You could also try QEMU. These are the main QEMU sites I've found: QEMU http://fabrice.bellard.free.fr/qemu/ FreeOsZoo http://free.oszoo.org/ Phil