Practical Technology

for practical people.

June 17, 2010
by sjvn01
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Why are you still running Windows XP SP2!?

OK, I get why many Windows users haven’t moved from XP to Windows 7. For one thing, while you can upgrade some XP PCs to Windows 7, chances are you really need to buy a new PC. And, whether you’re just buying a new PC for yourself or a few thousand for your company, cash is tight these days. But, why the heck is anyone still running XP SP2!?

I was shocked to see that, according to security risk and compliance management provider Qualys, that half of its corporate customers were still using Windows XP SP2. Again, I get why people don’t do major upgrades. “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it,” right?

But, I really didn’t see why people are sticking with XP SP2 this long. Windows XP SP3 was and is still, as far as I’m concerned, the best Windows desktop ever. Yes, that’s me, Mr. Linux saying nice things about Windows. Get over it. I’m not so much in favor of Linux per se as I am in favor of what works well, even if it does come from Microsoft.

I found XP SP3 to be faster, more stable, and to work better with my peripherals and Windows software than any other version of Windows. I recommended that all Windows users — including the poor devils running Vista — upgrade to XP SP3 as soon as possible.

Now, whether people paid attention to me or not, I still assumed that by 2010, two-years after Windows XP SP3 had arrived, that 90% of XP users, and 99% of XP business users, would have upgraded to XP SP3. I mean, it was better in every way and it was free to boot? What was there not to like?

Inertia is a powerful force, though, and so here we are with 50% of all business users still stuck on XP SP2. It looks like unless XP SP2 users get a kick in the rump, they’re not going to upgrade. Well, too bad for them, because Microsoft is about to give them that kick.

On July 13, Microsoft is going to stop issuing patches for XP SP2. This isn’t just the minor fixes; this includes the big security patches you’re used to installing every Patch Tuesday. After July 13th, if you want to try to keep Windows XP SP2 secure, you’re out of luck. You won’t be able to do it.

It’s not just the base XP SP2 operating system by the way. Microsoft also isn’t going to release patches for IE (Internet Explorer) 6, IE7 or IE8 patches after July 13. I think it’s a perfectly safe prediction to say that if you’re still running XP SP2 in August, your systems are almost certainly going to be infested with botnets, rootkits, and other malware.

In short, it’s time to get off the pot and download and install Windows XP SP3. It’s not that hard. If you don’t, well, don’t blame me if you sit down some morning soon and find your computer spilling your credit card numbers to J. Random Hacker or cheerfully sending Viagra spam to all your friends.

A version of Why are you still running Windows XP SP2!? first appeared in ComputerWorld.

June 16, 2010
by sjvn01
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HP: The Linux distributor?

Hardware companies don’t tend to have their own Linux distributions. IBM uses Linux everywhere, but they don’t have their own Linux. Dell will be happy to sell you notebooks and netbooks with Ubuntu or a workstation or server with RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux). But, no major OEM (original equipment manufacturer) has had a house-brand Linux… until now. HP has recently bought not one, but two Linux distributions.

Surely HP is not getting into the Linux distribution business? Are they!?

HP first acquired its own Linux distribution bough Palm to get its hand on webOS. For some reason, a lot of people seemed to think that Palm was still using its old proprietary operating system, Palm OS. Nope. WebOS has proprietary extensions but this mobile device OS with its Linux kernel heart has more in common with Android and MeeGo than it does with its proprietary fore-bearers.

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June 16, 2010
by sjvn01
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Patching the Patch: Trouble with the new Mac OS X Snow Leopard update

I was very pleased to see Apple’s new Mac OS X Snow Leopard patch this morning. It fixed numerous minor, but annoying problems with my Mac Mini and my wife’s MacBook Pro. It also cleaned up numerous security problems. That’s the good news. The bad news is it also introduced a serious security bug by including an old, and vulnerable, copy of Adobe Flash.

The good news is that it fixed several issues that I’ve had trouble with myself. In particular, I was glad to see that my Macs now work much better at copying, renaming, and deleting files on SMB (Simple Message Block) file servers, aka Windows, Linux, and most NAS (Network Attached Storage) servers. Since I keep my music and video libraries on servers this was a real plus. Also in the networking line, it fixed a problem with maintaining VPN (virtual private networking) connections.

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June 15, 2010
by sjvn01
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Office 2010 is in the stores. Yawn.

Am I the only who finds Forrester analyst JP Gowdner’s blog proclamation that “Office 2010, Microsoft’s latest release, will continue to succeed with consumers” and “In terms of usage and penetration, Google Docs remains a failure” on the eve of Office 2010’s arrival to retails stores be a little… suspicious? Could it have anything to do with Microsoft’s just launched $80 million Office 2010 ad campaign?

Gowdner, who covers the consumer market and not the business market, maintains that Microsoft Office 2010 is going to stay on top because:”The browser-based experience remains limited;” “Consumers have a deep, longstanding relationship with Office; and “Local computing power is plentiful and cheap.”

To which I say, so what? Those aren’t reasons for Office to do well. They’re reasons to stick with what you already have. I expect Office 2010 to stagnate on the market. Gowdner, and Microsoft, who he quotes, sees Office 2010’s point as being “To sell packaged client software and offer Web-based services to augment the experience.”

To that I say, excuse me? Sell boxed software in 2010? What planet are you from?

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June 15, 2010
by sjvn01
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New Mac Mini: Cheap Mac desktop or SOHO server

I’ve always liked Apple’s Mac Mini. It was easily the most affordable desktop Mac around. Now, in its latest models, the new Mac Mini comes as both a desktop and Apple TV replacement and as a SOHO (small office/home office) server, I still see a lot to like.

While, it’s not as cheap as it used to be, the desktop model comes in at $699, it’s still not expensive considering the combination of Mac’s ease of use and what you get in the box. The server will cost a cool $999 with Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server. Underneath the Mac OS X pretty exterior, you have, for all intents and purposes, a 64-bit Unix server with all the usual Unix server goodies.

Both models are smaller than ever at 1.4 inches by 7 inches by 7 inches HWD (Height, Width, Depth). Each also comes with 4GBs of memory, which can be upgraded to 8GBs. They also come with Nvidia GeForce 320M integrated graphics. This new graphics package makes it much faster than before. While no serious gamer will ever mistake the new Mac Mini for a kick-rump and take names gaming PC, it does make it more than fast and powerful enough to easily output 1080p HDTV.

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June 14, 2010
by sjvn01
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Rootkits: Hiding in Windows shadows

Most malware are like leeches on your computer’s software. But, a rootkit can turn your computer’s very operating system against you.

If you’re a smart Windows user, you probably already know about the basics of protecting your computer from malware. That is to say, you know you need to update your computer with regular patches and to install and keep updated an anti-virus program. That still isn’t enough since Windows is inherently unsafe but it’s reasonably secure. Isn’t it? Well no, you see there’s one kind of malware, rootkits that turns your operating system into a zombie and turns off any patches or updates that might threaten it.

Rootkits didn’t start with Windows. As the name indicates, they actually date back to Unix. There, the top-level operating system administrator has the user name of ‘root.’ As root, or super-user, the administrator has far more power over its computer than any ordinary user. As the saying goes in Unix and Linux circles, “To err is human, to really foul up requires the root password.”
While rootkit problems still exist in Unix and Linux, they’re far more common in Windows. That’s in part because the Unix operating family has many built in system monitoring and logging tools. In other words, while Unix and Linux can be attacked this way, it’s a lot harder to pull off without leaving tracks.

Windows, especially desktop Windows, like XP and 7, are far easier to infect with a rootkit. And, once infected, your system no longer really belongs to you. It belongs to your attacker.
That’s because a rootkit isn’t about cracking your security and breaking into your PC. No, rootkits are placed in your computer after it’s already been compromised in some other way. Once there, unless you go looking for them, you may never find them. And, even if you look for them they can be hard to see.

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