Wednesday–What is VPN, and What is it used for?

So on Monday, I covered the difference between Intranets (there are many thousands) and the Internet (of which there is only one – no Highlander jokes). And, if you read that topic, you’d know I ended it with a parting note about VPN, and how it can connect one from outside to inside.

“Wait, JR. Does that mean you’re about to show me how I can in two places at once…digitally speaking?”

Yes. That’s exactly what I’m going to talk to you about today.

NOTE: Today’s discussion uses the word “company” a lot, even though intranets and VPN connectivity is not solely the purview of businesses. This topic can apply to any private network, be it a charity, or even your home network (which is almost always a type of intranet, whether you meant to or not). The use of the term “company” is to represent all these circumstances for today’s discussion.

VPN – Virtual Private Network

So last Monday’s post alluded to a certain type of privacy – network privacy. People on the outside could not connect, or even SEE the intranet on the inside of a company. So that means an intranet is a network that private for that company or organization. It’s not meant to be accessible to anybody who types in a URL into a web browser.

But what if you can’t be at work? Perhaps you’re snowed in. Perhaps you’re on a working holiday. Perhaps you’re on a business trip to some conference and you have your laptop. Whatever the reason, you need to connect to your company’s intranet while not actually being at your company. How might one connect when you can’t even get to the network you need?

The answer: VPN, or Virtual Private Network

VPN is used to create a virtual (as opposed to actual) private connection. In other words, it simulates actually being connected to your company’s network, even though you aren’t.

Does this mean you’re suddenly transported, a la Star Trek, to your company? No, of course, not. We’re not at that level of technology, yet (dammit). But your computer thinks that you have.

So, you’re now at your home, or your hotel, or poolside at some swanky beach resort….AND you’re connected to your company’s network back in the 7th Circle of Hell (or Cloud 9, if you have a kick-ass job). Thus, you are virtually in two places at once. Neat, huh?

JR, How does this work?

Well, there are several methods with which this is accomplished. I won’t go into all of the overly technical details on it, but the basic concept comes down to one word: tunneling.

What all these methods do is create a sort of tunnel, created by encryption. It’s a two-end tunnel – one end at your laptop, the other end at your company. The “walls” of the tunnel are built and fortified with very strong encryption.

So, Why Couldn't I Just Create A VPN to Anything?

Because, even though it’s virtual, a tunnel still needs to be built – just like any physical structure. And like any structure, one needs tools to build it properly. Otherwise, it will all just fall down – if it ever gets upright in the first place. And, as any carpenter will tell you, there are almost always multiple versions of a tool, with some working better than others, and some are specialized for a specific job.

So we need tools to build our tunnel, and there are many to pick from; from the built-in functionality of Windows (which requires a specific configuration of Windows Server on the company side), to Palo Alto’s Net Connect to Cisco’s VPN Client software (both of which also require complementing server configurations).

We also need encryption keys, usually four: two to encrypt and two to decrypt. Once everything is set up, each side (your laptop and the company’s server) each has a pair. One key encrypts the traffic, and the other decrypts it for use. These keys are created and handled by the software I was mentioning in the previous paragraph. The whole package, then, is the tool bag that creates the tunnel.

So that’s why I can’t see my company’s intranet from home? Because I don’t have the right tool bag?

In essence, yes. Without the right tools, the correct tunnel cannot be built, and you’re out of luck for now. If you’re interested in getting the right tools, see your company’s network administrator or helpdesk – they will know how to set it up for you (though, be warned that you may be restricted to using company laptops only, or have to be granted specific access to use it).

So that’s all I need? A laptop, and the software my company’s IT gave to me?

Uh…not quite. There is one more tool that’s the required: The Internet.
“Wait, what? Didn’t you say that my Intranet and the Internet were two different things?” Yes, but to create a tunnel, you have to have something in which to create it. There is still a signal that needs to be carried; encrypted or not. The Internet carries that signal from your swanky beach resort pool to your company’s server.
Why do I mention this? Only because MANY a helpdesk analyst has been called by somebody who’s home internet is down, but won’t understand why they can’t get access to their intranet from home.
The Internet carries ALL computer signals (and most TV and phone signals) beyond your house; and TO your house. So if there’s no signals coming from or going to your house, then even encrypted/tunneled signals aren’t going, either.

So who do I thank for all this complexity?

Thank your network engineer at your company. Most of you will never meet or even talk to him or her. It’s their job to make sure it works, and it’s there job to make setting all this up on your end as painless as possible.
NOTE: I am not a network engineer. Those guys are paid VERY well, and for good reason. I just know enough of the “basic” concepts to pass it along to end users, like most of you reading this blog. Trust me when I say that network engineers earn every penny they make, to make your job easier (and in some cases, to make it possible).

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Questions, comments or feedback?  Comment below or email me at jackrockblc+blog@gmail.com

del.icio.us Tags: IT,Internet,Intranet,VPN,Privacy,Encryption,Cisco,Palo Alto,Tunneling

Monday’s Beginners–Intranet vs. Internet

So there are two buzzwords that people like to throw around. Intranet and Internet. Surprisingly, very few users actually know the difference.

The Internet

So, a little while back, we covered the difference between the Internet and the browser. The first part of that discussion applies here. If you would like a refresher, you can read that article here.

In short, the Internet is a GLOBAL Network of networks. It spans the entire world, and exists in one form or another in pretty much every country in the world. It consists of millions of computers and networks, which can (and probably does) include your company’s network, or at least a part of it.

The Intranet

So this is a part that screws up a lot of people. And to be fair, the difference is rarely explained properly to them. The simplest, most direct (and correct) answer I was able to come up with is this: Intra = within || Inter = between

This means the Internet is a net(work) between networks. This also means an Intranet is a net(work) within the network.

“Wait, JR. What are you talking about?” Good question. Let me explain how it works in terms as it applies to our discussion here today.

See, the Internet is what we use to connect to computers all over the world – an INTRAnet is used specifically within the organization to which you belong (usually your company). It is also only accessible inside your company (as in, you must be in your company’s building, connected to the network, or LAN, to access it). You would not be able to access an intranet if you were, for example, at home – since your home network is not part of your company’s network (even though you work for said company), it’s not going to work out.

Yes, yes. I can hear a lot of people who have a little more tech knowledge say “What about VPN?'”. And they would be right to ask such a question. VPN allows somebody on an outside connection (say, from home) to connect to an intranet. But it’s beyond the scope of this discussion today. For now, we’re discussion just the differences between INTRAnet and INTERnet. Maybe I’ll cover VPN on Wednesday’s topic.

 

Comments?  Questions? Feedback?  Leave a comment below, or email me at jackrockblc+blog@gmail.com.

 

del.icio.us Tags: Internet,Networking,PC Terminology,Intranet

Monday’s Beginners: Address vs. Search bars

So I figured I’d run with a particular bone in many analysts’ shoes: the address bar, and what it really is (and is NOT).  As a helpdesk agent, and as a PC technician, I’ve fielded calls from users who didn’t know the difference between the Address Bar, and the Search Bar.

You see, when we ask somebody to type an address into the Address Bar, and you type it into the Search Bar, it causes different reactions on your computer.  This is especially problematic when typing such things into a company-owned computer instead of your home PC (the reason for that is the subject of next week’s post).

Here’s a screenshot showing the difference on Google’s page.

And MSN’s home page (the default home page of Internet Explorer):

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In the Address Bar, one can type the search terms you want (i.e., what you want to search for), OR, you can type in the URL or web address.  A URL starts with “http”, and has dots and frequently slashes in it.  A good example is “http://www.google.com”.  Later browsers sometimes leave out the “http://” portion, but it is assumed.  It’s there, but the browser doesn’t show you, for simplicity’s sake.

In the Search Bar, you should only type in terms you want to search for.  You can phrase it like an actual question:

“What is the omnibar in Google Chrome?”

or, you can simply type in a few key words.  Remember here that the more you type, the more specific your results will be, but the more likely that a page you need will not show up in the listings.  So more is not better, here.

However, if you type only one word, you may have too many results, making it difficult to find a good page.

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Here’s the main tip to take away from this: Don’t type the web address (URL) into the search bar.  Yes, it may get you eventually to where your going, but it takes a lot longer, and sometimes counterproductive (which we’ll cover next week).

Remember that a URL is an address.  Just like the address on your house.  So typing a URL into the Search Bar is like writing down the address on a piece of paper, driving over to the local post office, and asking them what address this address is at.  See what you did there?  You asked what address that address is at….kinda redundant, isn’t it?  And once you bring intranets into the picture, that may turn up a negative result.

So URLs (web addresses) into the Address bar, and search terms into either the Address Bar or the Search Bar.

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Questions, comments or feedback?  Comment below or email me at jackrockblc+blog@gmail.com

del.icio.us Tags: Browsers,Internet Explorer,Firefox,Mozilla,Chrome,Google,MSN,Bing,Address Bar,Search Bar,URL

Wednesday’s Windows Tips - Texter

So a friend I used to work with (we’ll call him “Kenneth”) first turned me on to Texter.  You see, at the time, I was working as a phone-based helpdesk analyst, and our ticketing system was fairly complex.  Because of its complexity, a call was 3 minutes, minimum.  That meant even if we could solve the problem in 20 seconds, it took 3 minutes to fill out all the details in the ticket.

Then it got worse (or better, depending on who you asked) when our management decided to standardize our note detail formatting (for the record, believe it or not, I’m actually in the “better” category).  So all notes had to look the same format, to ensure proper documentation.  Later posts will show why I’m such a documentation whore, especially when it comes to computers.

This is why Texter became such a boon to us at the helpdesk.  It shortened our typing by A LOT.

Installation

So installation was super easy.  I downloaded the executable installer from Lifehacker’s site, and ran the EXE.  The entire installation is two or three windows, tops – depending on your UAC settings (If you do not know what UAC is, then assume it’s ON, and you will have three windows).

So my first window (not pictured) was the UAC window, and I clicked “Allow”.  Then, my second window simply asked where I wanted to install the program:

I’m not a fan of changing default install locations, as that tends to cause problems later on, so I clicked “Install”.  That presented me with the final window:

Yup, that’s it.  The entire process took about 12 seconds, from start to finish.  We’ll actually spend more time configuring the program, but that’s an ongoing process, as you’ll soon find out.

 

Configuration

So the program is minimized to the System Tray (or, if you prefer, the Notification Area) as a standard.  So I pull up the hidden icons, and find the Texter icon:

Notice it uses the LifeHacker icon.  That’s because this program was released for LifeHacker’s distribution by Adam Pash.  But what we’re concerned with is creating “hotstrings”, or short typing bits that turn into longer bits.

Wait…what?  Don’t worry, I’ll explain.

Once I’ve right-clicked on the icon in the System Tray, I’m presented with some options.  For now, I’ll start with Creating a new Hotstring:

So, let’s create my standard closing for this blog, shall we?  I want to be able to type in “/close”, and tap the Enter key, and my entire closing should show up.  So, to do that, I configure the window thusly:

Now, all I have to do is type “/close” and hit the Enter key, and the entire thing shows up.

There’s a LOT more you can do with this, including creating scripts and the like.  You can also use certain symbol combinations to simulate keys like Enter, CTRL, Shift, Tab, etc.  The most common are:

Special Character	Keyboard Equivalent
#	Windows Key
!	Alt Key
^	Control Key (CTRL)
+	Shift Key

Note that these keys only work in the “Script” mode when creating a hotstring.  You will need to change the drop-down menu from “Text” to “Script” for these substitutions to work.

And combinations work with these special characters.  So, in Lifehacker’s example, ^c would be the same as pressing CTRL-C on your keyboard (the copy command).

 

Some More Kinda Cool Parts

Texter is also available via a Portable App.  That’s right, you can run it from a USB stick without ever installing the software on to the PC you’re working on.  This is good for technicians on a user’s PC, who need to do a lot of repetitive typing, or who want to run a script on-the-fly.

 

The Not-So-Great

I’ve noticed a few quirks with Texter.  On my work PC, a few certain cases would cause unexpected behavior to occur.  These are very rare, and seem to happen on with specific key sequences.  I haven’t run into it in a while, but when I do next time, I’ll be sure to post the specifics here as an update to this post.

Supposedly, there are some compatibility issues (which may or may not the be the cause of the above statement), but per Lifehacker’s latest updates, these should be resolved for Windows 7 users.  I’ll have to try out some more testing to let you know, as I haven’t had it installed on my Win7 machine for very long.

When entering dates, there is some dynamic functionality, so one can enter a code to enter the current date.  But I haven’t found a way to enter cardinal notation (i.e., “3rd” instead of “3”). 

 

 

Final Conclusion

I’m very happy with this program, quirks notwithstanding.  It’s saved me a LOT of typing, and that helps with repetitive stress injuries and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.  With some playing with the scripting features, one can even figure how to automate entire screens of ticketing systems.

 

 

Comments?  Questions?  Feedback?  Please leave a comment in the fields below, or send an email directly to jackrockblc+blog@gmail.com. 

And, as always, feel free to spread the word about this blog, and/or share its material on your own site (please post a link back here, if you would be so kind).

 

 

del.icio.us Tags: Windows,Windows 7,Useful Tips,Useful Software,Helpdesk,Utilities

Troubleshooting Tuesday–Recovering Files or Older Versions

Have you ever deleted a file and realized you shouldn’t have? Or how about made a few changes to that huge spreadsheet, and accidentally clicked “Save”?

The longer you wait and more you do, after that fateful action, the harder it is to recover your file. So it’s important that every single action, every click you make on the mouse be directed towards recovery of the file.

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First note: DO NOT REBOOT unless absolutely necessary (like when installing some recovery software programs).

del.icio.us Tags: Windows,Windows 7,Windows Server,Backup,Security

This makes it harder to recover.

Option 1: Previous Versions

This is actually correctly termed as “Volume Shadow Copies”, and comes standard with Windows Vista and later. It also comes standard on Windows Server versions 2008 and later. It can be added to Windows XP and Server 2003 via add-ons, available for free download.

If you simply need to revert an existing file to an older version, this is a very good tool to use. However, with some creative use, it can restore deleted files, as well.

NOTE: This feature is NOT advisable to use as a primary backup system. Backups are a topic for a later post.

1. Start by right-clicking on the file in question, and then click on “Properties”. A new window will pop up.
2. In the tabs along the top, click on “Previous Versions”
3. One or more versions of the file will show up – how many will depend on various factors – Each will have a date/time stamp to show you when that version was created.
4. Click on the one you want, and click the “Restore” button at the bottom.  This will undo all changes made to the file since that date and time.
5. Alternately, you can choose “Open” or “Copy”, with those features functioning like they do anywhere else.  If you open a Previous Version, it does NOT overwrite any changes since that version was created.  It simply opens as a separate file.  You can then save with a new name, save in a new location, whatever you’d like to do.

Volume Shadow Copies is a very flexible, and very powerful tool in undoing unwanted, but saved, changes.  But how does it restore deleted files?  Simply by restoring a previous version of the containing folder.

Follow all the same steps as above, but instead of navigating to (and right-clicking on) the file, you will click on the folder in which the file used to be located.  One thing to note, however: If you restore a folder to a previous version, ALL the files in it will be reverted, not just the one that was missing.  It may be safer to use the “Open” or “Copy” commands for folders.

How long Previous Versions are saved, and how frequently they are created, depends on several factors: How frequently the file(s) is edited, how much space is earmarked for Volume Shadow Copies by Windows (this can be changed by users), and if you turn your PC off very often.

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Option 2: Recuva, Disk Digger and other software

So I’ve written before about CCleaner, the maintenance tool from Piriform. And those who know me know I prefer to stick with streamlined solutions; if a company offers solutions for more than one of my issues, I’ll tend to stick with them. In this fashion, a company has to perform well all-around, though not necessarily the best in a single area. It’s why I use Google for many of my home solutions.

So Recuva is Piriform’s file recovery software, and comes with some pretty rave reviews on various sites.  And it appears to have a higher-than-average success rate when other software applications had failed.  But it’s not perfect, and other applications have been shown to recover files when Recuva failed (and vice versa).

However, if you used CCleaner’s free space wiper function as part of its maintenance routine, even Recuva (or any other program) may be unable to find your deleted file(s).

I’ve no direct experience with Disk Digger and other programs, but they do have some very positive experiences, when even Recuva failed.  I urge you to try them out. 

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Option 3: Restoring From a True Backup

This is the most likely to succeed, but requires forethought.  If a backup isn’t generated, then there is nothing to restore.

Companies set up a backup scheme on server and network shares, but few do on users’ individual PCs.
Most home users rarely set this up, but they should. 

To set up a backup properly, one needs another hard drive, USB stick, compact disc, or something NOT on the same physical device on which the file exists.  Yes, this means that if you save a “backup” on the same disk that the original is on…it’s…well…NOT a backup.

The good news is that you don’t need a server to perform a backup.  All you need is an external hard drive.  You can pick up a small portable one for less than $75 from Newegg or Amazon.  Hook it up to your PC, set up Windows Backup to run once a week or once a month (or however much you want to protect), and let it run.  Now, if you need, you can restore files from your backup.

If you only want to backup a small amount of files (say, Word documents and Excel spreadsheets, for example), then copy them to a USB thumb drive periodically.

The best news: if your PC’s hard drive fails, you can still get your important files back, and have very little work to catch back up.  This is why a true backup must be on a separate physical device.

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Option 4: Online/Cloud Backups

This option is becoming more and more prevalent in today’s networked computing.  We’ll cover these options in a later posting.

 

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Comments?  Questions? Feedback?  Leave a comment below, or email me at jackrockblc+blog@gmail.com.

Monday Beginners: What is a Browser?

Many people confuse “internet” and “browser”.  In fact, many business users of computers seem to not know the term, “browser”.  As a helpdesk analyst, I would frequently ask users to open their browser, and they’d have no idea what I was talking about.  Once I finally explained it to them, they almost invariably respond with “Oh, you mean open the ‘Internet’!”.

No.  I said browser, and I meant browser.  Today’s post is dedicated to answering that distinction.

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The Internet

The Internet is a collective term for all things online, across the world.  Wikipedia defines it as follows:

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite <snip> It is a network of networks that consists of millions of private, public, academic, business, and government networks, of local to global scope <snip>. The Internet carries an extensive range of information resources and services, such as the inter-linked hypertext documents of the World Wide Web (WWW) and the infrastructure to support email.

(I’ve snipped a couple of points because those parts don’t contribute to this discussion)

So, let’s take the above cited paragraph, and make a few key notes:

• It is a global system, meaning it’s not just your home network, and it’s not your company’s network.
• It uses the Internet Protocol (or, IP) suite – this is the system it uses as a sort of “address” for computers and networks.  It’s like a street address for your computer and/or network.
• It is an extensive range of information resources and services – it is NOT just email, or just Google, or just a place to download illegal music and movies.  It is NOT the World Wide Web.  It is ALL of these, and much, much more.

The Internet uses a variety of methods, but in short, it is  what was noted above; a network of networks.  Your computer and router and/or modem at home is a network, connected to the Internet.  Your company’s system is probably a network.  All of these are part of the Internet.  The Internet is everything “online” that goes beyond the building in which you’re sitting/working.

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The Browser

So, then, what is a browser?

A browser is a program, a tool that users and technicians alike use to view the World Wide Web (www) and Intranets alike (more on the difference between intranets and the Internet in a later post).  The browser itself is not the Internet, but it is how a person views the Internet.

If a person were to look at a web page in its raw form, it would be mostly unintelligible to all except the geekiest of geeks:

1:     
2:  <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">  
3:  <html lang="en" dir="ltr" class="client-nojs" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">  
4:  <head>  
5:  <title>Internet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</title>  
6:  <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />  
7:  <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" />  
8:  <meta name="generator" content="MediaWiki 1.20wmf10" />  
9:  <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="//en.wikipedia.org/apple-touch-icon.png" /> 
10:  <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/favicon.ico" /> 
11:  <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/w/opensearch_desc.php" title="Wikipedia (en)" /> 
12:  <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" href="//en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=rsd" /> 
13:  <link rel="copyright" href="//creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/" /> 
14:  <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="Wikipedia Atom feed" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&amp;feed=atom" />

All that code, and NONE of that actually shows anything on the screen yet (that’s only about 5% of the Wikipedia page I quoted above).  But it is code for your browser to process and do different things with it.  Some of that code allows it to show up better when searching for the page.  Some changes how the page looks on the screen.  Some simply point to other parts that process portions of the website.

What to take away from this, however, when a technician or analyst asks you to open the browser, they don’t necessarily mean “the Internet”.  They mean the browser.  The reasons for the distinction vary, but it is important for an end user to understand and apply the difference.

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Types of Browsers In Use Today

Internet Explorer

This is by far the most common browser used today.  Why?  Because it come standard on all forms of Windows since 1995.  And most people don’t change their browser if they’ve already got one that works.

Internet Explorer’s (IE) icon looks like this: 

Safari

This is the most common browser in use by Mac users.  Like Internet Explorer in use for Windows computers, Safari comes standard with Macs.

Safari’s icon looks like this:

Mozilla Firefox

Also just referred to as “Firefox”, this is probably the 2nd-most used browser in the world today.  It is highly customizable, very effective, and free.  It is also included in many distributions of Linux operating systems. 

Firefox’s icon looks like this:

Opera

A growing browser, this is another free alternative to Internet Explorer and is also available on Linux and Mac computers, as well as Windows.

Opera’s icon looks like this:

 

Google Chrome

My current choice in browsers.  Available for most all major operating systems (Windows, Mac, Linux, and even some mobile platforms).  It is fast, customizable, and like all the others – Free.

Chrome’s icon looks like this:

 

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There are hundreds of other browser options in the world today, each can be downloaded from the Internet.  Feel to try them.  So far, no browser worth using has ever cost money to download, so feel free to download, install and try them out!  The only one you can’t uninstall is Internet Explorer (And even that can mostly be removed, but I won’t show you how…yet).

 

If you have any comments or questions, comment on this page, or email me at jakcrockblc+blog@gmail.com.

del.icio.us Tags: PC Basics,Browsers,Browser,Chrome,IE,Internet Explorer,Opera,Firefox,Mozilla

A Bit of Education

Yes, I know it's Saturday and I normally wouldn't have published a blog post today.  But I found this and had to share.

Okay, it’s well known in developer circles, but this is something that, for some reason, escapes a HUGE chunk of the populous in general.

So there are three main factors that go into any IT project.  In fact, it’s generally the same three factors that go into nearly ANY project:

• Time
• Money
• Quality

You see, you can pick two, but you cannot pick all three.  If you want it good and fast, it will cost a lot of money (because they generally need more people working on it).  If you want it good and cheap, you’re going to have to wait a long time (because they can only afford so many people working on it).  If you want it fast and cheap, the product is going to be crappy, and clearly done in a rush (because they could not take their time to fix any mistakes or give exacting detail).

And, for some odd reason, people seem to think there is a fourth option: Free.  Sadly, graphics designers, project managers, programmers, web designers, network specialists, contractors, home builders…..we’ve all had to deal with a client/customer who thought free was an option.

And so, I present a Venn Diagram that I found online.  The original artist is Colin Harman, who appears to have a strong grasp on what this entails.  Though, his image is titled for Graphic Design, the same diagram can apply to nearly any project.

And so, without further ado:

(The original can be found here.)

And here’s my re-work of the same design, but more broadly titled:

del.icio.us Tags: IT,Networking,Projects,Programming,Development

Thursday’s Advanced Stuff–Device Doctor

Okay, so this isn’t really “advanced” as I’d like.  But this is focused a tad more on the advanced users – support technicians and those who do regular maintenance on their computers.

You see, when updating drivers, we can all go down to the hardware manufacturer’s website, or use Windows Update to do the process for us.  And that’s fine.  But we want a way to check ALL of our hardware, don’t we? Of course we do.  Stop arguing with me.

So enter Device Doctor.  It’s one of many solutions to this particular quandary, and one of many I’ll be sure to cover as time goes by.

One thing to note: When downloading Disk Doctor, it asks for your name and email address.  On a hunch, I unchecked the box asking if I want to receive their newsletter, and it let me proceed to the next step without entering in my personal information.  This is good for some privacy buffs (which should be the vast majority of us).

To note, I signed up my browser with the Web of Trust (WOT), and the site shows full green as of 9/3/2012.

 

Installation

So after double-clicking on the install file (downloaded as an .exe file), and going through all the UAC prompts, I’m greeted with a familiar, but odious, acquaintance: the screen asking if I want to install a toolbar.  I hate these.  As you can see, I’ve already click on “Skip this component”, which was NOT checked by default.

The rest of the installation appeared pretty standard.  Do you want a desktop icon?  Which folder do you want to install in?  Click Finish.  You know…the usual.

Scanning

Whoa.  Device Doctor started a scan as soon as I clicked Finish.  Not bad, especially since it took longer to type this sentence than the scan took to complete:

I guess I got some updating to do, huh?  But we need to do two things before we update ANYTHING:  First, we create a system restore point.  Be back in a minute, after I do that…Done.

Second, we need to verify that the drivers we’d receive are correct for my system (I’m running Windows 7 Home Premium x64).  Unfortunately, you’ll have to check each one of these separately.

Updating Driver(s)

Okay, I’ve decided to upgrade my Wireless-N adapter.  That’s strange – it only allows me to pick one of the 38 needed updates.  A little research tells me that this appears to be a limitation of the free version.  How annoying.

So I click “Download Driver”, and I’m not given the new driver – I’m brought back to Device Doctor’s website, albeit directly to the driver I need:

Yup.  They spent more space on an attempt to get you to buy their Device Doctor Pro and/or donate via Paypal than the driver you need.  And it’s still a separated download.  But after that, it’s simple to install, right?

Well, yes…and no.  It brings you to another page that will eventually start your download, but again asks you to buy the Pro version.  BUT, they do present some good advice for device drivers.

It’s getting a little thick, here.

Wait…There’s More?

Out of curiosity, I clicked the “download Device Doctor Pro” link in the above screen.  Whaddya know?  It let me download it without any further screens, prompts, or payment information!  This can’t be right, can it?

It appears it is!

Notice how I can now use checkboxes instead of radio buttons!  Let’s see about updating some drivers.  I decided to Uncheck all and only update my keyboard, mouse, and sound card.

Ah, crap!  I knew it had to be too good to be true.

Clicking “No” closes this message and brings you back to the program.  Clicking “Yes” brings you to a window to enter your license key. I don’t have a key, so I click to get one (to see how much it costs):

del.icio.us Tags: Maintenance,Windows,Windows 7,Drivers,Devices,Updates

Maybe you guys can see it.  I can’t.  How much does this thing cost?  I’m being asked to enter my name, email and personal postal code…but still don’t know if it’s within my price range!

So that means a trip to mywot.com (Web of Trust) – what do I find?  Quite a few people who have similar issues with this problem.  Also, problems with accessing their download directly – one must go through the hoops and ads to download even their free product.

Conclusion

Okay, I have NO PROBLEM with vendors trying to advertise their free product.  But this one was over the top.  Just to get to a download point of the Pro version, I was hit with no less than four ads, all on the same site, to download the Pro version.  And when I get there, they still haven’t said what cost it is.

Thanks, but I’ll pass.  And since the Free version is a one-at-a-time download, its only benefit is the scanner, which isn’t worth keeping on my hard drive, to me.

On the WOT site, 10 users had left comments.  All but two rated it in the grey or red categories, making this an UNCOOL site.

Final Recommendation: Find another solution.

Wednesday’s Windows Tips–CCleaner

We’ll start the Wednesday cycle with one of my favorite tools ever: CCleaner.

You see, I’m a maintenance junkie.  I try to keep my system as clean as possible, to avoid unwanted slowdowns and junk files.  So last year I was on a hunt that would do the job effectively, mostly quiet, and hopefully free.  I found CCleaner based off a recommendation of a colleague of mine, and haven’t looked back.

In short, it will clear your computer of junk files that may be slowing it down, erase most tracks of your activity on the computer, and even rid your registry of unused entries (more on registry repair tools in another post).

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When you head over to Piriform’s site, you will soon find there are several versions of CCleaner available: Free, Pro, Business, Network and Network Professional.  Dig deep enough, and you’ll also find Technician version.  Since this blog is focused on end users, not enterprise administrators or techs who visit users’ homes, let’s talk about the first two.

The free version will suffice for almost every person out there.  It’s the one I use on my PCs, and I’ve helped a few clients to install it, as well.  However, it comes with no support from Piriform (i.e., you’re on your own), does not update automatically (you have to download and manually install the updates yourself, though it does tell you if a new version is available).

The Pro version will do automatic updates and comes with a support account, so you can get help from Piriform, if needed.  While it’s not free, it only costs a one-time fee of about $25, which is not bad at all.

And yes!  They have a Mac version as well!

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After you’ve downloaded, installed and ran it, you’ll notice a clean but somewhat complex interface:

1. Cleaner – this clears off unwanted file from your Windows systems and applications. You can uncheck any item(s) you like, thus leaving that part of your system alone.  For example, I unchecked recent documents, because that’s how I get to projects I’m working on.  If I left that checked, I’d have to open the documents by navigating to the folder in which they’re stored.

1a. You’ll notice that in the Cleaner section, there are two tabs: Windows and Applications.  Be sure to check both out.

2.  Registry – here’s where you want to be careful.  Not because of anything the program might do, but because you should ALWAYS back up your registry when many any changes to it.  Good News: CCleaner gives you a way to do just that with part of this process.

By default, everything is checked, and this is the way I keep it.  Now, there will ALWAYS be something that CCleaner finds to clean off.  No Windows system will ever remain free of registry “errors”.  The trick is to not let them build up for too long.

A few items are nothing to worry about.  For example, I just now did this scan, and found nine items. My last scan and clean was yesterday:

I click on “Fix Selected Issues”, and I’m presented with the aforementioned option to backup my registry:

Again I’ll re-iterate: The answer should ALWAYS BE “YES”!  It will ask you to save a file somewhere (I put it in “My Documents”), and then it will begin the cleaning.

If something goes wrong and your system suddenly stops working after the registry cleaning, simply double-click the file you saved, answer yes to any prompts, and your registry will be fully restored!

For the record: I’ve never had to restore my registry as a result of CCleaner’s actions.

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For those, like me, who do work on other computers, there’s a portable version on Piriform’s Build Page.  You can run the program from a USB stick, and it has full functionality of the regular program, and doesn’t need to be fully “installed” on the host computer.

But try it out and poke around.  I’ve barely scratched the surface of what it can do, and that’s just with the FREE version!!

del.icio.us Tags: Windows,Security,Privacy,Maintenance,Mac

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Questions?  Comments?  Feedback?  Leave a comment in the section below, or email me at jackrockblc+blog@gmail.com.

Troubleshooting Tuesday–Rebooting

Let’s start this lesson with a picture I found along my journeys:

This image is a screen capture of one of my favorite shows, The IT Crowd.  While the concept of turning a machine off and on again is very exaggerated in the show, it’s not without a STRONG basis in reality.

Here’s another image to illustrate the point:

This graph is pretty accurate.  Turning off your computer and turning it back on again solves probably a good 90% of the issues out there.  Why?  Because it resets the memory (RAM, if you want to be specific)

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Funny thing: helpdesk analyst and desktop technicians all FREQUENTLY field calls where we ask the user if they have rebooted.  And the answer is very commonly “yes”, or “of course”.  But something you say later on gives us pause for thought.  Maybe it’s the tone in your voice.  Maybe it’s something you said.  Or maybe we just like to verify.

So a lot of people just say they rebooted because they think that’s what we want to hear.  While, yes, we want to hear that – it’s because we want you to have actually tried that.  And guess what?  It’s ridiculously easy to tell if you have or not:

See that part I circled?  I used a single command to find that detail.  In this example, I haven’t rebooted since 8/20/2012, at 19:10 (that’s 7:10pm).  I haven’t rebooted in over two weeks.  Maybe it’s time I should, eh?

So if you told us you rebooted, and we find out you haven’t, we now have to distrust everything else you say to us from then on out. We’re also prone to asking you questions that you’d already answered, just to verify the answers.

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So PLEASE reboot your PC if you’re having trouble BEFORE calling Tech Support.  Even Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, agrees:

del.icio.us Tags: Troubleshooting,PC Maintenance,PC Basics

(originally posted at www.dilbert.com)

I can think of only one case where you should NOT reboot to resolve – when you changed or deleted a file and need to get it changed back.  In that case, if you are unsure of what to do – FULL STOP.  Don’t reboot, don’t save anything, don’t close anything.  Call Tech Support, and we’ll guide you through recovery procedures or restoration procedures. 

Note that the more you do after the file was changed/deleted, the more likely it is that the file is gone forever.

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Questions?  Comments?  Feedback?  Please comment below or email me at jackrockblc+blog@gmail.com. 

Monday’s Beginners–Basic Terminology

So a good first post to start with, methinks. 

Many times, I’ve fielded calls and requests from people who use the wrong terminology.  Sometimes, it’s genuine lack of knowledge.  But, all too often, it’s somebody who not only doesn’t know what he/she is saying, but they are using these terms to sound smarter.  This is detrimental in so many ways.

You see, using the wrong terminology puts us on the wrong path to solving your problem.  If you say the problem is with your hard drive, but the problem is actually on your telephone….well…we might spend a LOT of time making no headway.  That’s expensive in the “time is money” thought, and wastes not just my time, but YOUR time, as well.

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So let’s start with the basic components of a desktop PC:

1. Tower – The actual computer itself; the brain.  This part is what does all the actual “computing”. 
Frequently used (but incorrect) terms: CPU, Hard Drive, Modem (though, the tower can, and usually does, contain these items)

2. Monitor – This is just for display.  It doesn’t do any actual “work”, it just shows you the results of the Tower’s work.  NOTE: Turning off the monitor does not turn off the actual computer at all.

3. Speakers – these are for hearing the sounds from your PC.  Most modern PCs do not contain speakers inside the tower, so these usually need to be purchased and installed separately.

4. Keyboard – For typing

5. Mouse – For moving the pointer around the desktop

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Now, let’s focus on what you see on the display:
 
1. Desktop – This is the screen that shows up after you finish logging into Windows.  It includes the background picture, (this example is the default, but most people change it), any icons, the taskbar, and any widgets you may have activated.
Frequently used, but incorrect, terms: Home Page, “My Main Screen”
2. Start Button – the round button in the lower left of the display (though, it CAN be in other corners, but this is usually not done)
NOTE: The Windows 7 Start Button looks quite different from Windows Vista and prior versions of Windows – Older versions actually said the word “Start” on them.  Windows 7 no longer does.
3. Task Bar – Technically, this is the entire bar from the Start Button all the way to the Notification Area, and everything in between.
4. Notification Area – Though frequently called the “System Tray”, this is technically incorrect.  However, all helpdesk analysts and technicians will know what you mean.  Most of us use the term “System Tray”, anyway.
5. Home Folder – This is new in Windows 7, but functions as a collective of the My Documents, My Pictures, My Videos and other folders. 
NOTE: This is user-specific, meaning the Home Folder for John has different files than the one for Debbie.  But to see your Home Folder, you must log in with your username; if somebody else logs into Windows, their Home Folder will appear instead.
6. Shortcuts – The little arrow in the left corner of an icon means it is a shortcut.  It’s not the file itself, just a shortcut to get to the actual file or program.  You can delete a shortcut, and not affect the file/program at all.  It will just make it harder to get to next time (though, this is easily fixed).

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And the last thing to know for today’s post is the Start Menu:
 
Your start menu can, and WILL look different than mine.  In fact, I work on one of four separate computers at any one point in time, and they all have different-looking Start Menus.  But the layout is the same, in general, as long as you’re comparing the same version of Windows.
As time goes on, and you use your PC more often, the Programs that show up here will change.  It’s based on usage, meaning the more frequently you use a program, the higher up on the list it will appear (on the left side only; the right half of the Start Menu is pretty static, but later lessons will show you how to change this to some degree)
The layout shown above is for Windows 7 (Starter Edition was used for the example).  The layouts for Windows Vista and Windows XP will differ considerably.  But a user gets to the Start Menu in the same way in all three versions – click the Start Button.

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That’s all for today.  It’s a very basic overview of terminology, but we all start somewhere. If you have any suggestions, feel free to comment on this page, or email me at jackrockblc+blog@gmail.com. 

It’s About To Start!

Okay, so tomorrow starts Day 1 of the new focus of the blog – YOU.  That’s right.  All of you.

This blog will have stuff for the ultra beginner to the seasoned IT pro.  It’ll have stories of people who should have known better, and tips/suggestions on how to make your computing experience easier, safer and more powerful.

But I can’t do it alone.  I know a moderate amount about a lot.  But I’m no expert in in any one area.  So we’ll turn

del.icio.us Tags: Windows,Linux,Security,Privacy,XP

to the focus of this blog; you.  That’s right, I would like you to submit suggestions, tips, recommendations on software…anything.  Hell, it can even be questions or requests for help – questions make great blog topics.

Email me any suggestions/questions at jackrockblc+blog@gmail.com.

 

And yes, I’ve got some starting stuff already.  See you tomorrow!