Here’s a list of extensions that another user has found useful… See the site at Everything Else
Archive for July, 2006
Outpost Firewall is the one I have been using for a couple of years now. If you also use Outpost then it is important to make sure you have the configuration that suits your needs whilst also providing as much security as possible. There is a great guide on the Outpost forum covering all the key areas of concern. If you’re an Outpost user wishing to configure Outpost with excellence check this forum message out…
A Guide to Producing a Secure Configuration for Outpost - Outpost Firewall User’s Support Forum
There is a useful tool for troubleshooting applications that are playing up called Dependency Walker. I imagine only an advanced user would find it of value though, along with developers.
Dependency Walker (depends.exe) Home Page
Dependency Walker is a free utility that scans any 32-bit or 64-bit Windows module (exe, dll, ocx, sys, etc.) and builds a hierarchical tree diagram of all dependent modules. For each module found, it lists all the functions that are exported by that module, and which of those functions are actually being called by other modules. Another view displays the minimum set of required files, along with detailed information about each file including a full path to the file, base address, version numbers, machine type, debug information, and more.Dependency Walker is also very useful for troubleshooting system errors related to loading and executing modules. Dependency Walker detects many common application problems such as missing modules, invalid modules, import/export mismatches, circular dependency errors, mismatched machine types of modules, and module initialization failures.
Dependency Walker runs on Windows 95, 98, Me, NT, 2000, XP, 2003, and Vista. It can process any 32-bit or 64-bit Windows module, including ones designed for Windows CE. It can be run as graphical application or as a console application. Dependency Walker handles all types of module dependencies, including implicit, explicit (dynamic / runtime), forwarded, delay-loaded, and injected. A detailed help is included.
For those who don’t wish to take part in Microsoft’s Windows Genuine Advantage program (for whatever reason), the following page(s) provide useful information. If you are not familiar with what the WGA program is you can read about it here: http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/
Sites with tools, tips, and information of circumventing Microsoft WGA:
The following site provides a lot of useful information, tips, and tools regarding PC security. If you wish to learn more about how to secure your PC from malware and intrusion over the Internet I suggest you check it out.
It’s over at: http://www.firewallleaktester.com/index.html
Over the last few months Microsoft have been rolling out their Genuine Advantage validation tools. In essence, (if you allow it) Windows will install an update which is a tool that validates whether your copy of MS Windows is “genuine” or “pirated”. If it is determined that your system is not running a genuine licensed copy of Windows you will be prevented from installing updates, security patches, and the like. Apparently recent versions of the WGA Notification tool call home to MS servers every time the computer is started (every time Windows XP is started). Like many other Windows users, this seems unnecessary to me. I have a genuine copy of Windows that came preinstalled on my Acer laptop. I have not, however, allowed the WGA Notification tool to be installed. If you have, you might wish to remove it.
Visit the following site to learn how: http://www.firewallleaktester.com/removewga.htm
I quote the following from that site…
RemoveWGA enables you to remove the Microsoft “Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications” tool, which is calling home and connect to Microsoft servers every time you boot. Futures updates of this notification tool will (officialy) setup the connection rate to once every two weeks.
Once the WGA Notification tool has checked your OS and has confirmed you had a legit copy, there is no decent point or reason to check it again and again every boot. Moreover, connecting to Microsoft brings security issue for corporate networks, and privacy issues for everyone. It is also unclear which information are transmitted (Microsoft published an official answer, but an individual study brought some questions). All of that, along the fact that Microsoft used deceptive ways to make you install this tool (it was told you it was an urgent security update, whereas it is a new installation giving you no extra security) makes me calling this tool a spyware.
I am not sure how Microsoft manage to do it. It’s just one of those ongoing mysteries in this world of ours…
Microsoft is one of the largest companies in the world, with more money and technical resource than any other software developer in Earthly existence, and yet they consistently fail to turn out software that does what one would expect it to do (and without doing all sorts of crap one would not expect nor want it to do). Microsoft are preparing to launch their first attempt at a full firewall product called OneCare. It one seem that OneCare is more than one step away from caring enough to be worth using as a firewall system. I refer to the following media release from Agnitum, the highly respected makers of Outpost Firewall (a product I’ve been using for a few years now).
Concern expressed over low level of customer protection provided
28 JUNE 2006, ST.PETERSBURG, RUSSIA - SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA. The firewall security experts at Agnitum, developers of the widely-acclaimed Outpost Firewall product family, have conducted an in-depth analysis of Microsoft’s new OneCare Firewall, part of Microsoft’s “Live” security initiative. The results are so far below industry standards that the company felt obliged to share the results of its analysis with the public.
Highlights of the report include the following:
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The OneCare firewall failed all but the simplest leak tests and does not offer even the most basic intrusion detection capability, leaving users’ PCs wide open to being hijacked into a botnet
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The OneCare firewall database of pre-approved applications is very small, and adding each new application requires several user interactions and a reboot
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Application access rules are limited to ‘allowed’ and ‘not allowed’ - users cannot configure different rules for different types or times of usage, such as allowing IE to connect with some but not all websites
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Similar limitations apply to network file access and remote desktop operations
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The Windows Defender anti-spyware component of OneCare imposes significant delays on program execution, and is updated on a separate schedule than other OneCare components
Agnitum engineers also found compatibility issues with OneCare - but not the ones they had expected. Before installing the software, they already had a firewall running, as would most people. OneCare did not request the de-installation of any existing firewall, so Outpost Firewall Pro was left in place. OneCare worked smoothly alongside Outpost Firewall Pro - so smoothly that Outpost was the first to monitor the system, ask questions and protect the user, not OneCare.
The full analysis can be found on the Agnitum website at http://www.agnitum.com/r/firewall/onecare/
“Microsoft has tried to create software for novice users, making it very limited in settings and customization. The problem is, they’ve gone too far. OneCare is too simple. Yes, it’s easy to use. But unfortunately, it doesn’t provide much protection,” says Alexey Belkin, Chief Software Architect at Agnitum. “This ‘one product for everyone’ attempt is likely to end up being ‘one product for no one.’ The product itself looks like it was designed as a mandatory part of the operating system, and that is simply shortchanging users who haven’t yet decided what security solution to invest in.”
The business community worldwide, as well as the firewall security vendor community, has reacted swiftly to the appearance of this new player, not only from a technology perspective but also from the point of view of Microsoft’s business practices. Reactions concerning “predatory pricing” (first discussed by Sunbelt president Alex Eckelberry in his blog http://sunbeltblog.blogspot.com/2006/06/microsoft-practices-predatory-pricing.html) are arising, primarily that Microsoft is setting artificially low prices. But “cheap” doesn’t equal “good value,” as can be seen in the Agnitum analysis of the OneCare firewall.
“No one is underestimating the potential impact of Microsoft entering the Internet Security market, but at Agnitum we are seeing this development having more positive than negative effects,” says Mikhail Penkovsky, Global VP of Sales & Marketing at Agnitum. “The updating of the Windows Firewall in Vista makes a clear statement that the personal firewall is a must-have; Outpost and other third-party firewalls will still be there for customers when they realize - as many will - that the protection provided by OneCare is extremely limited. Our key distributors and resellers are in full agreement that OneCare is nice to look at but that’s pretty much all there is to it.”
About Agnitum ltd.
Founded in 1999, Agnitum (www.agnitum.com) is committed to delivering and supporting high quality security software products. The company’s headline products are Outpost Firewall Pro, securing personal and family computers, and Outpost Network Security, ensuring reliable endpoint protection and performance for small business networks. Agnitum firewall technology is licensed by Novell, Sophos, and Lavasoft.
This particular post is being written in a free WYSIWYG blog editor called Zoundry. So far it looks pretty good—in fact I would say it is the best offline blog editor I have tested. Here’s some of the key things I think it has going for it:
- It has a good range of dictionaries for spell checking, such as the UK English that is missing from w.Blogger. The languages options built into it are English UK, US, CA; Dutch; French; Swiss French; German; Swiss German; Italian, Norwegian; Russian; Spanish; Swedish. It will automatically download the dictionary data file for which ever language your choose.
- Very feature rich. The only feature I like to have on hand which is not here is the ability to manually define the Wordpress post slug. I’ve not found an offline editor that allows me to do this as of yet.
- Nice interface, with great support for multiple blogs, blog accounts, blogging systems, etc.
- Great storage system for existing and unpublished entries.
- A built in code (XHTML) validation tool. It’s a little slow but does the trick for those that want to know their XHTML status.
- A nice preview system that allows you to import or download your template
- It has a localisation function in it, which I’ve not tested as the default is English but I assume non-English users can download localisation files in their language.
- You are able to specify a “media repository” where Zoundry will upload your media files to for linking to from within your blog entries.
Zoundry also provide an affiliate sales system. Essentially Zoundry is an intermediary for a range of affiliate providers. The current options are Amazon.com, Buy.com, and Cooking.com. I understand they will be adding more in the future. The Zoundry editor is set up to allow the easy insertion of items from any of these affiliate stores. You then get a percentage of the affiliate commission and Zoundry keep some for themselves. It ranges from 70% - 80% for you and 20% - 30% for them. Might come in handy for those that want an easy solution to reviewing items on the net and generating affiliate sales.
For now Zoundry is my preferred offline blog editor. The others I have tried are w.Blogger (nice features but no UK English spell checking), and Blogjet (UK English but bare minimum of formating features).
UPDATE: 14 Nov 2006
Zoundry continues to be my prefered desktop blog editor.
If you would like a way to easily post blog entries via Zoundry from your browser check out the various browser extensions here.
I’ve found this site useful for tips on good extensions for Firefox. Check it out…
Here’s a great tool for those working with HTML and web development. It is free, although there is an option to register it and get additional features and advantages over the free version—so it’s not strictly “freeware” per say, but much cheaper than something like Dreamweaver (my personal favourite web editor)
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