PCUGR Shareware SIG - August,
2002
Rawls Frazier,
Facilitator
rfrazier
Instead of the end of the
month, we held the August Shareware SIG a week later on September 7. Before
we got started on with the SIG items, we spent some time with Patty
installing some new software on her laptop. Once she was setup (!), we moved
into the our topics for the month: urban legends on the web - true or false;
some utilities, security software and tests and finally, some fun things.
Snopes.com
The title for this site is "Urban Legends Reference Page".
Alligators in NY sewers? That warning you received in your email about a new
virus? These items and a LOT more is covered at snopes.com.
These folks do the research to find out where the legend comes from -
sometimes they are true! But most of the time, these wild allegations on the
web (and sometimes in print or other media) are just plain false. The site
is informative and entertaining. To get started try their "Current"
or "Additions"
links. (For example, find the "Really Bad Day" entry in the
Additions area and click on the link "photos" - this will lead you
to some other cool sites in addition to debunking the legend.)
Recommended!
Wotsit's Format?
This site is both a resource for file formats and also served as a segue for
the group regarding dead web sites. The original site of interest was www.filespecs.com,
however this site appears to no longer be operational (you can try the link
if you want, but...) What to do? Google,
of course! Here we could find the original page via the Google archives and,
even better, click on the link for sites similar to the one we were looking
for. Voila, we find Wotsit's
Format site, with basically all the same information about file formats.
And once there we checked out some of the information - in particular, info
about the JPEG format: how it works and specific information about editing
and saving JPEGs and the consequences to image degradation.
We next looked at a few
tools to check you PC's security.
Port
Detective
Port detective
is an application to test whether or not you haveIP ports. You run it
on your PC and it connects to a server on the Internet which then probes the
ports. Not only does this scanner find port status on your computer, it can
also tell you what your ISP is blocking (or not!).
BOPing
BOPing
is a simple application to check for just one thing: if the Black Orifice
trojan horse is on your system or network. Basically this will scan any IP
address for the presence of the trojan. (But be careful! Don't arbitrarily
scan some IP address on the internet or your may get into hot water!).
SuperScan
SuperScan
is a general purpose port scanner and DNS expander. It will scan just one pc
or a network of them. The output is organized into an outline similar to the
folder listings in Windows explorer. Expanding the outline for a particular
computer list details of the ports detected and their status. One can set up
custom port lists or use the sets provided (e.g., there is a set of
"hacker" ports). Again, this is not a tool to probe any old
computer out on the net - at least not if you don't want someone coming
after you! Use it only for your own internal network security needs.
Gibson
Research Corportation
Gibson
Research Corporation is well known to old time PC users for their hard disk
diagnostic and repair tool, SpinRite. What everyone who uses the Internet
should also know is that they also provide some good tools to probe your
system for hacker vulnerabilities. We dropped by the ShieldsUp
location to check out our system also showing the special IP_Agent software
that allows the checks to bypass routers that may "hide" your true
IP address and prevent an accurate assessment of any "holes" in
your system.
LAN
Guard Network Scanner
GFI LANguard Network Security
Scanner scans your entire network, IP by IP, and provides information
such as service pack level of the machine,shares,ports,
services/applications active on the computer, key registry entries, weak
passwords, users and groups, and more. The results can be saved as an HTML
report. A scan is set up by selecting a computer to scan or a range of IP
addresses. The scan then produces an explorer-like tree of items (shares,ports, NIC MAC addresses, current user, etc.) As with the other
scanning tools looked at here, care is needed with regard to what's being
scanned.
dir2html
dir2html is a simple utility that reads a folder's contents (optionally
including the subfolders) and writes the result to an html page. The entries
in the page are active links to the files and folders. Free from pc-tools.net.
Ultimate
Financial Calculator
This is a
fancy Excel template sampler (not all functions work) of financial
calculations. The registered program ($60) has 40 worksheets to determine
things like the value of a bond, establish book and liquidity values,
compute the annual rate of return needed to meet a financial goal, calculate
monthly payments and final payment for a balloon mortgage, and etc. From KTMSoftware.
Findexe
Findexe scans all files in the specified paths including subfolders which do
not have executable file extensions, but are, in fact, executable. The
purpose of such a scan is to uncover potentially dangerous files (viruses or
trojan horses) masquerading as more innocuous files. Any suspicious file
uncovered should be scanned by a virus checker. Freeware from pc-tools.net.
Autoinsult
Switching gears a little, we
moved to some lighter fare. Autoinsult is a gag program that generates
insults in either an Arabian or an old English style. Freeware from Jon
Roch-Berry.
GPFSS
Continuing in the humorous
vein, gpfSS is a simple screen saver that puts up a bogus General Protection
Fault box when it kicks in. Free from bpsoft.
IZE
If you happen to like the feeling of being watched, this application is for
you. A pair of realistic eyes watches from your desktop and follows the
mouse cursor. You can choose eye color and opt for the bloodshot look, and
you can control the eyes' winks and blinks. This is listed as $5 shareware,
however, the author cannot be located. Found at PCWorld
downloads.
Screen
Mates
Mars
Flyer
Captain
Sniper
Sheep
Screen Mates are small programs that wander around your screen while you try
to work. The Mars Flyer is a clever little applet that lets you simulate
flying over Mars with your mouse as the control. Click and drag the Captain
away, and he will fuss and fume. The sniper pops up from behind windows and
gives you a shot. Sheep puts cute little sheep on your screen - they fall
off windows and wander around. These and more at http://www.hawaiian.net/~sparrow/kiai/screenmates.html
Spiral
Run the
program, stare at the screen it displays for 30 seconds and then look at
your hand resting on the mouse. Whoa! Find it at Possibilities,
Insights and strategies for your intelligences.
Wobble
Screen Saver
When this screen saver starts up, your screen will melt down like a bowl of
quivering, warm jello. Found at: http://www.pspdepot.com/ss1/Wobble/
Thanks to everyone who
joined our meeting and to those who also chipped into the kitty for the
goodies. Thanks, as always, to Bernie Stepan, too, for the meeting room, Internet connection and coffee supplies
at RE/MAX Marina, Petaluma. Click on the RE/MAX balloon icon below for
more information about the real estate services available from RE/MAX Marina
in Petaluma!
RE/MAX Marina
775 Baywood Dr. #100
Petaluma, CA
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