Stealth Surfing?
In these days of privacy invasions and shared computing has the time come for us to take our Internet browsing with us?
The “Stealth Surfer II” is a tiny USB device that aims to do just that. You plug it in to any Windows-based computer, log in to it using your password and launch its specially configured version of Mozilla’s Firefox browser.
From then on you are browsing the Web anonymously and, this is the key, when you get up from the keyboard you are taking your browsing habits with you. (As some of you know, after you are done browsing the Web, you leave behind cookies, pictures, ads, Web files and other traces of where you’ve been on the Web on the hard drive of the computer you were using.) The previous solution was to use a utility, such as the excellent, free Crap Cleaner (www.ccleaner.com) religiously to keep your hard drive clean.
On the tiny Stealth Surfer USB key comes not only Firefox, but Thunderbird (an e-mail application) and RoboForm (for password management.). There’s also Anonymizer, which helps mask your IP address and other information about you as you browse.
I found the software and hardware very easy to use and install. Basically you plug it in, log in to the device and doubleclick the one you want to use. When you are done, you yank out the device (remembering to stop it in the Windows taskbar if your system is set up to require it.)
There are a couple of issues that I see. One is price; this is not a cheap device so be sure it’s for you. Secondly, it needs a key chain hole. It comes with a pocket clip, which is not the way to go. Third is size…it is almost too small and without a proper hole, it may get misplaced easily.
The benefits outweigh these somewhat petty annoyances if you need the tools that are onboard. I found the device simple to use and the word on the street is the support is excellent when needed.
You can see the item in action and even get a free trial if you wish. The 128MB version I tested costs $99; other versions go up to 1GB of storage.
For road warriors, corporate surfers and others, it’s a great idea.
For info head to www.stealthsurfer.biz
WEEKLY WEB WONDER: By the time you read this, Microsoft should have launched its new search tool with a mapping function built in as well. See it (traffic may be high at first) at http://virtualearth.msn.com.
James Derk is co-owner of CyberDads, a computer repair firm, and computer columnist for Scripps Howard News Service. His email address is jim@cyberdads.com
Cleaning scratched CDs, Yahell
One impact having 7 young children in my house has had, aside from the grocery bill, is the number of CDs and DVDs piled up around every player and PC in the house.
Kids are notorious for not putting anything away. I remember growing up my dad would tell me to take better care of my records and 45s (see how old I am?). I had to buy dozens of “DiscWashers” in my life to assure my vinyl sounded great on my turntable.
Of course, if you scratch the bottom of a DVD or CD, you’re toast unless you can buff out the offending scratch.
That’s where the SkipDR Automax system comes in. This gizmo is an excellent, all in one solution to resurface scratched CDs, CD-ROMS and DVDs. Using a three-step process, you disc is recovered in about a minute.
Assuming you can get the package open (a 5-minute exercise) and get the 6 AA batteries installed (an AC adapter is optional and a good idea) you’re set to recover. You spray the data side with the included resurfacing spray and slide it into the unit. The unit, which is pretty noisy, spins to life and a wheel resurfaces the disc. After it stops automatically, you take the included buffing cloth and dry it all off. That’s it.
I tried on a dozen of my kids’ worst catastrophes and it brought back 11 of the 12 from the dead. It will not recover discs that are gouged or have other impacts through the Lexan into the data layer.
The unit, which also is marketed under the name “GameDR Automax”, costs $39.99. It will resurface 50 discs, so the company claims, without replacing the components. A replacement kit costs $12.99.
One plus of this unit is that all of the components, the solution and the rag, fit within it so there’s nothing to lose or misplace.
You can get information about the units at www.digitalinnovations.com
---In other news, if you use Yahoo to maintain a “group,” a discussion area on various topics, my email is full of complaints about Yahoo deleting groups and email accounts at a seemingly random fashion. If you’re a moderator, you may want to export your member list and keep it handy in case your group disappears. That way you can recreate it at Google Groups, MSN Communities or some other source. If you have critical mail stored at Yahoo, you should create another account and forward all of those mails someplace else.
---Several important patches for Windows XP have been released in recent weeks, including a couple that can help prevent hackers from compromising your system. Make sure you head to the Windows Update site every few weeks to assure you have not only downloaded the patches but installed them as well. You can go to www.windowsupdate.com and run all of the critical patches.
WEEKLY WEB WONDER: The Firefox browser remains a great download for Windows users. I use it for every site that will let me. Get it at www.mozilla.org
James Derk is co-owner of CyberDads, a computer repair firm, and computer columnist for Scripps Howard News Service. His e-mail is jim@cyberdads.com
Viewer mail
Letters from the front fill my box this week. Let’s get right to the business at hand.
Q. I downloaded the Abe Vigoda Firefox extension and now it does not work. It used to work. What happened to it?
A. The whimsical extension, which shows the status of Abe Vigoda in a small box in the lower right corner of the browser, has been overwhelmed by popularity. The site that feeds the extension has been powdered by the demand. The developer of the extension says he is working on a fix.
Q. I heard Microsoft’s Anti-Spyware tool now is letting some adware and spyware through. I have been using the tool for a couple of months and have not noticed many problems. Should I quit using it?
A. No. But keep in mind that Microsoft has changed how it has classified some adware programs, most notably Claria, the former Gator.
When you run the Microsoft product, it decides the best course of action in how to deal with what it finds. Spyware and adware are either to be “removed”, “quarantined” or “ignored.” The Claria products were changed from “quarantine” (basically removing them) to “ignore” (leaving them alone) a few weeks ago. Cynics claimed it was because Microsoft was rumored to be in talks to buy Claria, the former Gator.
Why Microsoft would be interested in buying a company whose claim to fame is annoying pop-up ads is well beyond me. But anyway, when you run the spyware tool, just change everything it finds to “remove” and ignore its recommendations. It still finds Claria products.
Q. Is the Firefox browser compatible with every Web site? Is it much better than Internet Explorer?
A. No and yes. It is compatible with most sites I use daily but even so it does not have to replace IE. Just install it, use it and when a site won’t work with Firefox, fire up Internet Explorer when you have to. You can get Firefox free at www.mozilla.org
Q. You mentioned the removal tool for Aurora popups. I have them and can’t get rid of them for anything. I do not have a “nail.exe” file on my PC but I am getting the popups. Should I run the tool?
A. You don’t have much to lose and there are other executable file names. I would go to www.mypctuneup.com and download the removal tool. Keep in mind you need to be online when you run the tool.
Q. You said you were downloading your television programs from your Tivo to your PC. How are you doing that?
A. The latest software download to your Tivo gave you the software upgrade that lets you move files from your Tivo to your PC via your network. From there you can burn them to DVD, move them to a laptop or whatever. You need to download some software from the Tivo Web site (www.tivo.com) for the PC that is receiving the programming and you need the code from your Tivo unit.
WEEKLY WEB WONDER: If you’re a real IT nerd, you may want to keep an eye on the Slashdot site (www.slashdot.org). It often breaks news before anyone else does.
James Derk is co-owner of CyberDads, a computer repair firm, and computer columnist for Scripps Howard News Service. His email address is jim@cyberdads.com
How to remove Aurora popups
There are so many scumbags on the Internet when it comes to marketing it is hard to pick an overall winner, but the Aurora pop-up people have to be pretty close to the top.
If you don’t have the Aurora pop-ups you likely don’t know what I am talking about but if you do, you are nodding your head right now if not slamming your head against the keyboard.
Some background: you know you have the Aurora pop-ups if every minute while browsing you get a pop-up Window with the word Aurora in the very top blue bar of Internet Explorer. (You also may see them called “Ceres”) These pop-ups are from a special type of adware called “transponders” that are designed to send information from your PC to computer servers all over the world.
The really important issue is these transponders are not easily removed. Normal adware removal tools give it a shot but every time you reboot your PC or restart your browser, these things replicate themselves, change file names and reinstall.
One of the worst offenders in this space is a company called Direct Revenue (www.direct-revenue.com) which is responsible for Aurora, Ceres and a couple of more. (They hilariously banner some of these as “A Better Internet”). If you have Aurora or other pop-ups do note I am NOT suggesting you visit this Web page, check out the “contact us” link and phoning this company and urging them not to continue in this practice.
Because that would be just so wrong.
The company claims everyone who installed their software, which comes with free solitaire, mahjongg and other applications on the Web, did so knowingly by accepting the licensing agreement. There’s no way for me to verify that but I wonder why there’s no option in ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS to get rid of it?
Several people who have written about this company now have received nice “cease and desist” letters from their attorney, to boot.
There are lots of transponders and it’s hard to list them all but if you visit this excellent info site at www.webhelper4u.com you will get more info on the topic than you probably want.
So how to remove it? Open My Computer and open the C drive. Go to Tools, then Folder Options. Go to View, then check “Show hidden files and folders”. Then open the Windows folder (usually C:\WINDOWS or C:\WINNT) and see if you have a file called “nail.exe”. If you do, join the infected club.
The manual way of removing it is quite complex (if you Google “nail.exe and Aurora” you will find a couple of methods and I will post one in my blog) but there is one tool out there that removes it.
The Direct-Revenue people have set up a Web site with a removal tool at www.mypctuneup.com. (The funny part of calling this a “tuneup” is your PC wouldn’t be sluggish in the first place if they hadn’t infected it.)
I have tested this tool on three infected PCs and it removed the Aurora transponder if you allow it to connect to the Internet during the uninstall process. The folks at Web Helper (above) in an article dated May 25 on their home page also investigated what the mypctuneup.com application actually did and found this latest version not harmful.
I find it amazingly distasteful that companies exist with the entire purpose of annoying people, don’t you?
WEEKLY WEB WONDER: After many requests a repeat: my column archive and blog is located at www.cyberdads.com/blog.html
James Derk is co-owner of CyberDads.com, a computer repair firm and computer columnist for Scripps Howard News Service. His email address is jim@cyberdads.com
