The Naked PC - http://www.TheNakedPC.com
What You Need to Know about All Things PC
Publisher:           Lee Hudspeth and T.J. Lee
Editor in Chief:     Dan Butler
Contributing Editor: Al Gordon
This issue is for Thursday, April 27, 2000 - Vol. 3 No. 09
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Table of Contents

** 01. Letter from the Publisher
** 02. Digital Subscriber Line: Protect Yourself (by Lee
       Hudspeth)
** 03. Palm Pilots and Serial Problems (by Al Gordon)
** 04. More Free Long Distance (by T.J. Lee)
** 05. The New Post Office? - Stamps.com (by Dan Butler)
** 06. Featured Web Site - Home Radar
** 07. Featured Product - Password Revealer
** 08. Featured Windows Tip - Reassign Windows Default Folders
** 09. Newsworthy - a potpourri of current events and
       interesting stuff
** 10. We Get Mail


** 01. Letter from the Publisher

Welcome to all our new subscribers. Sometime just after the last
issue went out the number of TNPC readers (those who directly
receive TNPC in their email inbox) topped the 50,000 mark. Not
bad in only 22 months of publication.

That said, we'd like to start a major subscription push and ask
that each and every one of you recommend this newsletter to at
least one person you know who is not already a subscriber. We
feel TNPC has much offer and hope you feel the same way. Pass a
copy of this newsletter on to a friend (but please do not spam
anyone) and suggest they subscribe to TNPC. All of us here who
crank out TNPC would be very grateful.

We are pleased to congratulate Sue B. on winning a copy of "The
Unofficial Guide to PCs." Sue filled in our survey from last
month and won the random drawing. Congratulations Sue!

Al has some news on the problems he's experienced with Palm
Pilots and thinks he's found their Achilles heel. From his digs
in Central California, Jim checks in this issue with more on
saving on your long distance phone bills. Lee continues his
series on DSL with an article on personal firewalls. Even if you
don't have cable modem or DSL you should read what Lee has to say
and consider getting the freebie firewall he recommends; the
Internet is changing and protection is a good thing.

Dan must have been cleaning out his garage because he just
informed us that he's actively seeking a new home for a 50,000
watt UHF television transmitter tuned to channel 47 (no kidding).
If you or anyone you know someone who might be interested in such
a gizmo drop Dan a note: mailto:dbutler@TheNakedPC.com

As always, reader support is what keeps TNPC free, so please help
us with our subscription drive and pass a copy of TNPC on to co-
workers and friends (no spam please!) and remember to always say
"I saw it in TNPC!"

So now you know.


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** 02. Digital Subscriber Line: Protect Yourself (by Lee
       Hudspeth)

No matter what kind of Internet connection you have (dial-up or
high speed), you need to make sure your PC is inaccessible to
prying Internet eyes (or even folks on your local network). You
can do this by tweaking some network protocol settings, and we
also strongly recommend you take the extra step of installing a
personal firewall. We explain how in this article.

Get started by testing for and, if necessary, closing any access
the outside world has to your PC's shared devices (hard disks and
printers), also called "shares." Visit Steve Gibson's Shields UP!
Web page, and click the "Test My Shields!" button. When that test
is finished, click the "Probe My Ports!" button. You may be
shocked to see how wide open your PC's kimono is.
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/309/tr.cgi?secure1

If the tests find any open security holes, the accompanying
commentary on Steve's page recommends what to do. We strongly
encourage you to read Steve's quintessential guide to proper
network component configuration. There's also a page for Windows
NT users. Steve's thorough, friendly advice on proper network
component settings can't be beat:

Network Bondage:
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/309/tr.cgi?secure2

Network Discipline for Windows 9x:
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/309/tr.cgi?secure3

Your next step is to download and install a firewall. We
recommend Zone Labs' ZoneAlarm. (I'd like to personally thank our
compadre Mike Craven for his enthusiasm about ZoneAlarm and his
assistance in testing its features.) It's free for personal or
non-profit use; if you're a business user we urge you to pay the
reasonable $19.95 to register. You can download it at:
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/309/tr.cgi?secure4

Upon installation, ZoneAlarm immediately goes to work protecting
your system. It blocks all attempts by outside forces to access
your PC. It blocks all attempts by programs running on your own
PC to communicate--without your knowledge--over the Internet or
your local network.

When it detects suspicious traffic, ZoneAlarm pops up a message
box that reveals the originating application's filename, what
resource it's trying to access, and gives you some options. Click
the Yes button to accept this stream of traffic. Click No to stop
it. ZoneAlarm will handle the event for this particular program
every time it occurs subsequently if you check the "Remember the
answer each time I use this program" check box. This check box is
not turned on by default, otherwise you might unintentionally
turn off notification of other suspicious traffic from this same
program.

During a regular day you probably use all the programs that need
Internet access, so by the end of the first day of your use
ZoneAlarm will be configured for ongoing use. (Or like us you can
prod every conceivable program on your PC into action in the span
of a few minutes.) We predict you'll be surprised at how many of
your tools access the Internet! Any other applications you use
less often can be granted or denied access on a case-by-case
basis.

ZoneAlarm versions prior to 2.1.7 did not support alert logging;
version 2.1.7 and beyond does. As of this writing ZA is up to
2.1.10. ZoneAlarm doesn't turn on intruder logging by default,
but you should: click the Alerts button then check the "Log
alerts to a text file" check box.

When you first configure ZoneAlarm, don't ask it to remember the
settings for a specific program. Instead, let it alert you to
every infraction so you can observe all of your programs'
patterns. After a few days you'll have enough information to
judge whether it's okay to permanently set an application to
connect to the Internet without alerting you every time.

To open up the hood and configure ZoneAlarm directly, double-
click its icon in the system tray. We leave it to you to explore
the myriad settings. "Programs" is the most important feature to
be aware of, since this is where you can review and change the
settings you implement in response to ZoneAlarm's alert messages.
All other settings are appropriate for use without modification,
although of course we encourage you to use your own discretion.

We unhesitatingly recommend ZoneAlarm as a personal firewall, but
there are competitors in the field. If you're curious, check
these out.

BlackICE Defender:
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/309/tr.cgi?secure5

Norton Internet Security 2000:
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/309/tr.cgi?secure6

(We mentioned ZoneAlarm and Shields UP! in TNPC #3.03 as part of
our regular Featured Product column. Note that a prior TNPC-
recommended product, AtGuard, was purchased by Symantec and is
now bundled with the Norton Internet Security 2000 product. --
Ed)
http://www.thenakedpc.com/backissues/v3i03.html

You can reach Lee Hudspeth at:
mailto:leehudspeth@TheNakedPC.com


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** 03. Palm Pilots and Serial Problems (by Al Gordon)

One more visit to the fried Palms controversy: I arranged to
speak with a senior technology expert at Palm Inc. about my
problems with blown-out serial ports.

The story from their side is this--yes, there have been reported
problems, but no, they do not think they are Palm problems.
Rather, the issue is the design of serial ports themselves.
Basically, you have a metal port connecting to a metal terminal
on a metal wire cable, connected at the other end to more metal
contacts for the Palm and its cradle, or any other device. In the
absence of heavy-duty grounding, when you bring a static electric
charge into contact with any of that metal, it's likely to cook
something--and that something most likely is the interface
between the serial port and the motherboard.

While I agree with Palm's explanation that this can happen with
almost any serial device, I would note that most serial devices--
external modems, for instance--are designed to be connected once
and usually just left connected. Palm organizers, however, are
designed to be repeatedly pulled in and out of the cradle to be
synchronized or recharged. So perhaps the company could have done
a little bit more in the grounding department.

In any case, there is a relatively simple solution. Don't use the
serial port.

Palm makes a USB converter, which will work in Windows 98 (and
they promise drivers eventually for Windows 2000). Or--my
solution--Belkin (among others) makes USB hubs that include
serial ports. My Belkin hub is Windows 2000 capable (download the
Windows 2000 drivers from Belkin's web site; don't use the
Windows 98 drivers shipped with the hub). In use, the Belkin
device's ports are indistinguishable from a system serial port,
which allows any serial device to work in Windows 2000.
Check out all of Belkin's solutions here:
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/309/tr.cgi?palm1

The Belkin F5U012 USB Express BUS Plus Multi Port Hub at Amazon:
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/309/tr.cgi?palm2

USB is designed for hot-swapping and heavier current loads than
serial connections. Besides, my theory is that the next errant
static electric discharge will have to cook the USB hub before it
can get to my motherboard.

Or so I hope.

You can reach Al Gordon at:
mailto:algordon@TheNakedPC.com


** 04. More Free Long Distance (by T.J. Lee)

It seems that I am not alone in wanting to cut the old phone bill
down to less than three figures. The response to last issue's
article on how to get free phone service was substantial.

Many TNPCers are already using DialPad to great effect. Another
popular service is MyFreeLD, which works the same way. You sign
up for the service, filling out a reasonably short questionnaire
(remember when asked to give up personal information that
creativity counts ). Then you dial your long distance calls
through their Web page but your call is routed to an actual
telephone on the receiving end.

Again, you must have a sound card installed on your computer and
connect a microphone and speakers (or better yet a headset with a
mike which you can get at Radio Shack or any big computer store
for less than $20).

The good news is that calls placed through MyFreeLD are free.
What's more the MyFreeLD service, unlike DialPad, has the ability
to place calls to non-continental US locations like Costa Rica
and Puerto Rico as well as France and the United Kingdom. If you
regularly call someone long distance and rack up the charges,
this is huge winner.

There are drawbacks as well. DialPad works with a small Java
applet and does not require you to have any special software
loaded on your computer. MyFreeLD requires you to have Microsoft
NetMeeting 3.0 or higher installed on the computer you'll be
making calls from. MyFreeLD is indeed very Microsoft-centric
since it only works with Internet Explorer, leaving Navigator
users out in the cold. And while we've never run into this, a
number of TNPCers using MyFreeLD have reported problems getting
through to their Web page at all and have been plagued with poor
sound quality.

I've not noticed any appreciable difference in sound quality
between either service. It's a bit hollow sounding and there is a
slight lag of a few seconds at the beginning of a call. And
talking over the other person in a conversation is a problem, you
have to wait for the pauses but after a few minutes this is very
easy to adjust to.

While I wouldn't recommend a free over-the-Internet phone service
for placing client calls, it simply cannot be beat for personal
or in-company conversations. Free is just too irresistible.

As a reminder; we have spoken in past issues about uReach where
anyone who signs up gets 30 free minutes a month to use with any
of their phone services. They've added a service where you can
call your own uReach-provided 800 number, then dial out making a
long distance call for free (the time charged against your 30
minute monthly allotment). This gives you free, albeit limited,
long distance when you're away from your computer. All you need
is a phone.

http://www.myfreeld.com
http://www.dialpad.com
http://www.ureach.com

You can reach T.J. Lee at:
mailto:tj_lee@TheNakedPC.com


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** 05. The New Post Office? - Stamps.com (by Dan Butler)

Based on the recommendation of several TNPC readers I decided to
check out Stamps.com, an Internet site that lets you print United
States Postage directly from your laser or ink jet printer. The
concept appealed to me since I often work late at night and don't
have easy access to a Post Office. I thought that a service like
this could really help me be more productive in those late night
hours.

When you sign up with Stamps.com you are really applying for a
Postage Meter License from the United States Post Office. Until
this application is approved you aren't able to print postage. In
my case this took a couple of days. So don't expect to be up and
running immediately.

After installing the software I tried printing some postage. The
process is simple enough. Just enter the destination address, the
weight and type of letter or package you are sending, and the
software does the rest including formatting the address to postal
standards. The software will import addresses from comma
separated value (CSV) files and comes with instructions on
generating a CSV from Microsoft Word, Act, Corel Address Book,
Windows Address Book, Lotus Organizer, Microsoft Outlook, and the
Palm Desktop 3. Unfortunately it won't use the native data in
your existing address book, forcing you to convert it to a CSV.
This is tremendously inconvenient.

I keep contact information in two places, InfoSelect and
QuickBooks Pro. InfoSelect is easy enough to get the information
out of without having to go the CSV route, I just cut and paste.
Not so simple from QuickBooks Pro. You can copy an address but
only one line at a time. Yuck! I understand that QuickBooks Pro
2000 has a feature similar to Stamps.com called eStamp but it
isn't worth it to me to pay the steep upgrade fee to get the QB
2000 version.

You must be connected to the Internet to print postage from
Stamps.com. This can be a problem if you have a flaky Internet
connection.

My biggest problem so far? There is no quick and easy way to
collect on misprinted postage. Recently I forgot to reset my
printer before printing some postage. The envelope came out
wrong. No problem I thought, just get a refund for that postage.

To do this I would have to fill out a special form then mail the
form and the misprinted postage to Stamps.com. They will then
credit my account minus the 10% that the Post Office collects. If
I mess up one stamp I'll spend 33 cents to mail in the form and
get a refund of 29 cents back. Then I misprinted a label for a
priority mail package ($3.20) you can bet I took the time to mail
that that mistake in.

Aside from those small problems the service has worked well for
me and I am more productive in those late night hours. If you
have a need to print postage the Stamps.com service is well worth
a look. In a future issue I'll be looking at other Postage
printing sites and comparing the features.

Stamps.com is currently offering up to $50 in free postage and a
$50 digital postage meter just for signing up. The meter connects
to your computer and interfaces directly with the Stamps.com
software.

http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/309/tr.cgi?stamps1

You can reach Dan Butler at:
mailto:danbutler@TheNakedPC.com


** 06. Featured Web Site - Home Radar

It's spring! The time of year when homeowners everywhere start
wondering about their home. Is it time to sell? Maybe do some
home improvements to increase its value and your comfort? Should
you fix up that unsightly porch or maybe add a pool before the
really hot weather hits? If you did, will you get your money out
of the improvement when you sell? If only you knew what your
neighbor got for their house when they sold it. Ah, but you can,
and right on your computer. The Home Radar site lets you enter
your street address and will then give you every final sale price
on every house sold within so many months within so many miles.
You get to specify the time period and the distance in quarter
miles.

A man's home is his castle and if you're a homeowner you won't be
able to resist this site and the information it provides on your
castle's worth.
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/309/tr.cgi?fsite


** 07. Featured Product - Password Revealer

Don't get the wrong idea, we don't condone hacking, cracking, or
password breaking when it comes to any computer system. Unless
it's our own system and it's us doing the hacking. Passwords can
drive you dippy and we mean your own passwords. You key them in
(and they only appear as asterisks in the little dialog box),
check the box that tells the computer to remember the password
for you and then promptly forget the password completely, right?
And what's to worry because the computer knows what it is and
dutifully enters it for you when you need it. Ah, but if you need
to set up access on another computer nothing can be more
frustrating than seeing those little asterisks staring you in the
eye and not having a clue as to what the password is. Password
Revealer to the rescue. This is a freeware Windows 95/98/NT
utility that you run while the dialog box with the password is on
screen. Move your mouse over the asterisks and the password is
magically revealed! A very handy utility.
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/309/tr.cgi?fprod


** 08. Featured Windows Tip - Reassign Windows Default Folders

If you install a program under Windows 98 it'll default to the
C:\Programs Files\ folder. And data always tries to go into the
C:\My Documents folder. But many of us like to create a separate
partition or use a separate physical drive for applications or
data. M. David Stone discusses how to change these default drives
and folders under Windows 98. A simple Registry tweak and you can
default programs and data to whatever drive and folder you like.
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/309/tr.cgi?ftip


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** 09. Newsworthy - a potpourri of current events and
       interesting stuff

*-* In a strange twist on He Said/She Said it seems that
Microsoft said a lot about Linux during the DOJ trial as well as
saying a lot about Linux in the popular press. What's odd is that
Microsoft can't seem to agree with itself. Mark Bolzern documents
the differences in what Microsoft has told the court about
competition from Linux and what it tells the public.
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/309/tr.cgi?news1

*-* To combat all the bad press, Microsoft has "innovated" a
television commercial ad campaign that will portray the company
as a warm and fuzzy teddy bear (as opposed to a monopolistic
velociraptor that would eat its own young to increase market
share). The commercials started rolling out last Monday.
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/309/tr.cgi?news2

*-* The Department of Justice may push to have Microsoft Office
spun off as a separate company in a forced divestiture as part of
the remedy of the current litigation.
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/309/tr.cgi?news3

*-* The most current shot fired in the browser wars is the
release of Netscape 6 Preview Release 1. But before you start
downloading be aware that this is an early beta. You might want
to hold off before testing it yourself as there are always
glitches in early software releases.
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/309/tr.cgi?news4

*-* WinZip has just release version 8.0, which is a free upgrade
to registered users. This is maybe the handiest utility on the
planet.
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/309/tr.cgi?news5

Have you come across something newsworthy? Drop us a line at:
mailto:hottips@TheNakedPC.com


** 10. We Get Mail

*-* TNPCer Scott T. let us know of yet another Area Code site.
Enter an area code and get the city or vice versa. Still have not
found a site that lets you enter your time zone as well as an
area code then returns the current time relative to yours. That
would be sweet.
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/309/tr.cgi?mail1

Be sure to stop by the Letters to the Editor page for more:
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/letters/index.html


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                     Looking for 88 Keys
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DISCLAIMER
Personal computers are individual machines with performance that
can vary with components, software, and operator ability. The
Naked PC is not responsible for the manner in which the
information presented is used or interpreted. Also, although we
work hard to provide you with accurate Internet links in The
Naked PC, we are not responsible for Internet links herein that
represent sites owned and operated by third parties. We are not
responsible for the content, accuracy, performance, or
availability of any such third-party sites. Warranty does not
extend to drive train, transmission, or the tuna sandwich you
left in the glove box.

REDISTRIBUTION POLICY
We encourage you to forward this newsletter to your friends,
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However, please do so only by sending it in full, thereby keeping
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This helps TNPC grow and prosper, thereby funding its continued
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Also, if you wish to post this newsletter to a newsgroup or
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Copyright (c) 2000, PRIME Consulting Group, Inc. and Dan Butler.
All Rights Reserved. The Naked PC is a trademark of PRIME
Consulting Group, Inc.
ISSN: 1522-4422

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