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Vista, XP And Internet Explorer 8
By Ray Wilson, For The Bulletin
Note: Neither the Philadelphia Bulletin, nor I, are beholden to any of the companies whose products are reviewed in this column. All have been, or are, in use by the writer and judged to be as advertised. I walk before I talk! As always, the decision is yours.
Microsoft dove into deep water with Vista, sending many users to their lifeboat, Windows XP. People have been using XP for seven years now, and regardless of Windows 7, many will still stay afloat in their lifeboat. I have used Windows 7 Beta and now RC1 thoughts and comments of it are positive and I feel it has a bright future. There are many of you who are going to stay with XP.
Microsoft got that message and extended XP support, this time, to April 8, 2014. Yes, they have discontinued mainstream support for XP, but for the most part, it matters not. They will continue to provide security patches and per-incident phone and Web support for XP for years to come; at least 41/2 more.
Are all of the features and applications an opsys has to offer irrelevant? You may care less about Aero, the Improved Taskbar, Jump Lists, Snaps, Gadgets, Libraries, Ribbons, and Home Groups. If your computer experience consists of Hulu, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, or primarily game playing, you may not care that much about what opsys you have as long as it runs and fulfills your needs.
IE8, Windows Defender, and Windows Security Essentials (currently in beta) are applications that help make Windows 7 secure and these apps are freely available for XP making it more secure than ever. Microsoft was short-sighted when it omitted a direct path for XP users to upgrade to Windows 7. Your computer is a finely tuned machine with all your apps and settings just the way you like it. Why disrupt your set-up only to have to install and configure everything from scratch.
Eventually you will be thinking about a new machine and you can use the money you saved on W7 toward that purchase. However, W7 or another of the MS offerings will be on the new machine and who knows if XP will still be around. The day will come when you will, due to technological improvements, switch off XP or have it switched off by MS, but until then, it is exactly all you need.
Beware! Do not try to install XP on a Vista machine. I did and ran into a lot of driver problems…still unsolved, even with help from the computer manufacturer. [At least that is my experience on the Gateway laptop]. If you purchase a new machine and exercise the option of using XP make sure the machine, equipped with W7, is XP compatible.
Wide World of Browsers: In this corner, we have the big daddy of browsers Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, whose version 8 has just scored another gold star for security, and in this, much larger corner Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, and Safari all vying to send IE8 to the showers. Of course, they will not succeed, but they will garner a bit of the browser market. What is this coming down the aisle, can it be? Yes it is, a former champion of browsers well endowed with experience and know how, none other than Netscape. It has somehow escaped from AOL and has a new manager/owner Rockmelt. Together, they are warming up and promise to take on all comers, regardless. This will prove to be a very interesting confrontation.
The latest maneuver was Google using its Chrome Frame to speed up IE8. In doing so, MS has fired back claiming this action had reduced the security of IE8. Then there are those who say nay, nay, MS never does well with security. No! Check this out! Along comes NSS Laboratories to do an unbiased security test of all browsers of note. This test is done by throwing a mess of live material at each browser to see how much they can repel, and it went like this: IE8 - 81 percent; Firefox — 27 percent, Opera — 21 percent; Chrome — 7 percent; Safari - 1 percent. Chrome claims they speeded up IE8 by 9.6 percent reduced to seconds that’s about the length of one good sneeze. Forget it gang! Still the world champion of browsers, Internet Explorer 8 but with a formidable opponent in the wings.
Scareware… is this a new word in your computer word banks? It is a first cousin of ‘Mysteryware’ and together they are a real pain. They are both rotten ways the hucksters are trying to separate us from our money. Both are viruses, but it operates in a different way. They do not enter as an infection but as a lure to get its mark to cooperate. Due to their lucrative nature, Scareware and Mysteryware ads are popping up everywhere with a go, go attitude.
A typical offering appears to be a Windows utility running a security scan. Following the scan, you are warned about a critical security problem, sound familiar so far? If you fall for this premise you are directed to a Web site where you can buy a product that will correct it. Not just any product but theirs the only one that can correct this particular problem and prevent a crash, shutdown, or whatever. These crooks even used Patrick Swayze’s death as a come on to their traps.
If a victim buys in then the scammer delivers useless coding or malicious software. And paying with a credit card puts the victim in double jeopardy. They find their victims through their surfing and search habits. Then they introduce a bunch of links to their internet pages where the dastardly deed commences. They use whatever means they feel will best lure a victim to their Web pages. There are legitimate operations that will provide a free download and scan, on the other hand there are these creeps. Take care, lest you become the victim. Incidentally, this is not a personal venture as thousands are probed 27/7.
What is that windows key doing on your keyboard? Sometime when you want back to the desktop in a hurry, hold it and push “D.” Instant desktop. Windows key plus “E” takes you to computer. If writing in MS Works, F7 checks spelling - shift F7 gives you a thesaurus. These are just a couple of the keyboard shortcuts. There are pages full of them. Check shortcuts through your search engine.
Free software: Is it worth the risk? In keeping with what is happening and going down in today’s economy and the upheaval in Technology yes there is a risk, not only in freeware but also in everything you install. Any time you are on the Internet, you are at risk. Before you take the plunge and hit the download key, take a couple of minutes to allow the logic and common sense processes to survey what will be happening. Are you familiar with the company making the offer? Have you seen this offer before? Do you want it or need it? It is free; you get a free download & scan [when was the last time you paid for a download and scan]? On the brighter side, if you install the McAfee Site Advisor you will have a utility that has scanned the site for legitimacy.
Received a question about AVG8 a free security program. With no immediate knowledge, and to keep my promise, I downloaded said program. The first clue was the amount of time it took to download. After the installation I clicked on the shortcut icon on the desktop and nothing happened. Then the wheels began to turn and I opened the bag of tricks and tried this and that and still nothing. In case it did not install properly, I decided on a Revo uninstall and a reinstall. Prior to that, I tried to open another program on the desktop but none of them responded. I then started the uninstall. When all was said and done AVG8 had over 600 items on the registry and upon checking for unused programs came up with 300 followed by 11 more I found in the registry. This is only what happened to me on my equipment, your results could be totally different.
Bloated software: I know you have seen this exclamation since it has been bantered about whenever someone wants to defame a product. The “bloat” is referred to when there is more software and coding necessary to run the program. This, at times, is not a true picture and it all depends on how many features a program has running.
Question: What happens on Vista to make me lose things I am working on when I leave my machine? Answer: No question in my mind. It’s not just Vista, but all MS systems. You have, no doubt, opted for Automatic Updates right? No problem there! The problem is in the actual updating. If you are allowing Microsoft to update and install, after the installation MS restarts your machine and anything you were doing is now in never, never, land. So, go to start, type, Windows Update, enter. Click the “change Settings option” and click let me choose, whether or when, to install them!
Question: I was in the library and I could not get online but I did get a lot of curious error messages. Can you help? Answer: When you start your Laptop some startup programs want immediate Internet access. When it is not there is when you get a bunch of error stuff. This is not actually a problem. Just relocate your position in the library and try again. This can also happen In an Airport or other public places with wireless availability. Once you find the Wi-Fi hotspot you will be fine. This will not happen at home since the Internet connection is always available.
Ray Wilson was raised in Upper Darby and has lived in Chester County since 1973. He has over 48 years experience in computing and he has been testing virus and Spyware programs for eight years. He can be reached at RJWhelpful4u@aol.com.
Microsoft dove into deep water with Vista, sending many users to their lifeboat, Windows XP. People have been using XP for seven years now, and regardless of Windows 7, many will still stay afloat in their lifeboat. I have used Windows 7 Beta and now RC1 thoughts and comments of it are positive and I feel it has a bright future. There are many of you who are going to stay with XP.
Microsoft got that message and extended XP support, this time, to April 8, 2014. Yes, they have discontinued mainstream support for XP, but for the most part, it matters not. They will continue to provide security patches and per-incident phone and Web support for XP for years to come; at least 41/2 more.
Are all of the features and applications an opsys has to offer irrelevant? You may care less about Aero, the Improved Taskbar, Jump Lists, Snaps, Gadgets, Libraries, Ribbons, and Home Groups. If your computer experience consists of Hulu, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, or primarily game playing, you may not care that much about what opsys you have as long as it runs and fulfills your needs.
IE8, Windows Defender, and Windows Security Essentials (currently in beta) are applications that help make Windows 7 secure and these apps are freely available for XP making it more secure than ever. Microsoft was short-sighted when it omitted a direct path for XP users to upgrade to Windows 7. Your computer is a finely tuned machine with all your apps and settings just the way you like it. Why disrupt your set-up only to have to install and configure everything from scratch.
Eventually you will be thinking about a new machine and you can use the money you saved on W7 toward that purchase. However, W7 or another of the MS offerings will be on the new machine and who knows if XP will still be around. The day will come when you will, due to technological improvements, switch off XP or have it switched off by MS, but until then, it is exactly all you need.
Beware! Do not try to install XP on a Vista machine. I did and ran into a lot of driver problems…still unsolved, even with help from the computer manufacturer. [At least that is my experience on the Gateway laptop]. If you purchase a new machine and exercise the option of using XP make sure the machine, equipped with W7, is XP compatible.
Wide World of Browsers: In this corner, we have the big daddy of browsers Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, whose version 8 has just scored another gold star for security, and in this, much larger corner Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, and Safari all vying to send IE8 to the showers. Of course, they will not succeed, but they will garner a bit of the browser market. What is this coming down the aisle, can it be? Yes it is, a former champion of browsers well endowed with experience and know how, none other than Netscape. It has somehow escaped from AOL and has a new manager/owner Rockmelt. Together, they are warming up and promise to take on all comers, regardless. This will prove to be a very interesting confrontation.
The latest maneuver was Google using its Chrome Frame to speed up IE8. In doing so, MS has fired back claiming this action had reduced the security of IE8. Then there are those who say nay, nay, MS never does well with security. No! Check this out! Along comes NSS Laboratories to do an unbiased security test of all browsers of note. This test is done by throwing a mess of live material at each browser to see how much they can repel, and it went like this: IE8 - 81 percent; Firefox — 27 percent, Opera — 21 percent; Chrome — 7 percent; Safari - 1 percent. Chrome claims they speeded up IE8 by 9.6 percent reduced to seconds that’s about the length of one good sneeze. Forget it gang! Still the world champion of browsers, Internet Explorer 8 but with a formidable opponent in the wings.
Scareware… is this a new word in your computer word banks? It is a first cousin of ‘Mysteryware’ and together they are a real pain. They are both rotten ways the hucksters are trying to separate us from our money. Both are viruses, but it operates in a different way. They do not enter as an infection but as a lure to get its mark to cooperate. Due to their lucrative nature, Scareware and Mysteryware ads are popping up everywhere with a go, go attitude.
A typical offering appears to be a Windows utility running a security scan. Following the scan, you are warned about a critical security problem, sound familiar so far? If you fall for this premise you are directed to a Web site where you can buy a product that will correct it. Not just any product but theirs the only one that can correct this particular problem and prevent a crash, shutdown, or whatever. These crooks even used Patrick Swayze’s death as a come on to their traps.
If a victim buys in then the scammer delivers useless coding or malicious software. And paying with a credit card puts the victim in double jeopardy. They find their victims through their surfing and search habits. Then they introduce a bunch of links to their internet pages where the dastardly deed commences. They use whatever means they feel will best lure a victim to their Web pages. There are legitimate operations that will provide a free download and scan, on the other hand there are these creeps. Take care, lest you become the victim. Incidentally, this is not a personal venture as thousands are probed 27/7.
What is that windows key doing on your keyboard? Sometime when you want back to the desktop in a hurry, hold it and push “D.” Instant desktop. Windows key plus “E” takes you to computer. If writing in MS Works, F7 checks spelling - shift F7 gives you a thesaurus. These are just a couple of the keyboard shortcuts. There are pages full of them. Check shortcuts through your search engine.
Free software: Is it worth the risk? In keeping with what is happening and going down in today’s economy and the upheaval in Technology yes there is a risk, not only in freeware but also in everything you install. Any time you are on the Internet, you are at risk. Before you take the plunge and hit the download key, take a couple of minutes to allow the logic and common sense processes to survey what will be happening. Are you familiar with the company making the offer? Have you seen this offer before? Do you want it or need it? It is free; you get a free download & scan [when was the last time you paid for a download and scan]? On the brighter side, if you install the McAfee Site Advisor you will have a utility that has scanned the site for legitimacy.
Received a question about AVG8 a free security program. With no immediate knowledge, and to keep my promise, I downloaded said program. The first clue was the amount of time it took to download. After the installation I clicked on the shortcut icon on the desktop and nothing happened. Then the wheels began to turn and I opened the bag of tricks and tried this and that and still nothing. In case it did not install properly, I decided on a Revo uninstall and a reinstall. Prior to that, I tried to open another program on the desktop but none of them responded. I then started the uninstall. When all was said and done AVG8 had over 600 items on the registry and upon checking for unused programs came up with 300 followed by 11 more I found in the registry. This is only what happened to me on my equipment, your results could be totally different.
Bloated software: I know you have seen this exclamation since it has been bantered about whenever someone wants to defame a product. The “bloat” is referred to when there is more software and coding necessary to run the program. This, at times, is not a true picture and it all depends on how many features a program has running.
Question: What happens on Vista to make me lose things I am working on when I leave my machine? Answer: No question in my mind. It’s not just Vista, but all MS systems. You have, no doubt, opted for Automatic Updates right? No problem there! The problem is in the actual updating. If you are allowing Microsoft to update and install, after the installation MS restarts your machine and anything you were doing is now in never, never, land. So, go to start, type, Windows Update, enter. Click the “change Settings option” and click let me choose, whether or when, to install them!
Question: I was in the library and I could not get online but I did get a lot of curious error messages. Can you help? Answer: When you start your Laptop some startup programs want immediate Internet access. When it is not there is when you get a bunch of error stuff. This is not actually a problem. Just relocate your position in the library and try again. This can also happen In an Airport or other public places with wireless availability. Once you find the Wi-Fi hotspot you will be fine. This will not happen at home since the Internet connection is always available.
Ray Wilson was raised in Upper Darby and has lived in Chester County since 1973. He has over 48 years experience in computing and he has been testing virus and Spyware programs for eight years. He can be reached at RJWhelpful4u@aol.com.
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