The Mobile Threat Tracker app consolidates the most recent two weeks’ worth of Lookout’s security data into a kind of mobile heat map. The user sees dots flying around the globe as a real-time visualization of where threats are happening.

When users scroll over the globe, a timeline appears, showing how much of the threat is malware and how much is spyware; the top three threats are listed along with plain-English descriptions, and why Lookout has identified them as malicious.

Kevin Mahaffey, Lookout’s co-founder and CTO, said the app isn’t necessarily about offering immediate solutions, but more about making people aware of when they might be particularly vulnerable on mobile. “People shouldn’t have to be security experts to stay safe. We want to remind them to download apps from reputable app stores, to not go to shady download sites; to look at the developer name behind an app, and make sure it’s legitimate.”

The Mobile Threat Tracker is only available on devices running an Android OS to start, and Mahaffey says it’s unclear whether there will be a version for iOS devices. “Right now, it makes less sense, because there isn’t any real malware on the iPhone,” Mahaffey said, “though at some point there might be a need for it.”

Lookout Mobile Security launched in 2007, and now claims more than 15 million users worldwide. The company says it takes an educational approach to informing people about products for malware and spyware, rather than using fear-mongering in its marketing; it offers most of its apps for free, with additional features available at a premium.

While threats on mobile devices still aren’t as high-scale as malware and spyware on PCs, Lookout’s internal research shows that the amount of malware on mobile has increased.

Lookout said the likelihood of an Android user encountering malware increased from 1 percent to 4 percent over the course of 2011. The company has identified more than a thousand instances of infected applications, double the number it saw in July 2011.

The Lookout report notes that Web-based threats like phishing can carry over easily from PCs, making the likelihood of clicking on a bad link higher than that of acquiring malware through mobile apps. The global yearly likelihood of an Android user clicking on an unsafe link is 36 percent — up 6 percent from just six months ago — while in the U.S., the likelihood is higher than the global average, at 40 percent.

(Photo courtesy of TheTechBlock/Flickr)

In an 18-minute video clip posted to YouTube, Eckhart demonstrates Carrier IQ’s software as it records virtually all keystrokes made on an HTC Evo 3D. Worse still, it’s shown logging encrypted Web searches, text messages and, well, you name it. In other words, it’s entirely possible that the wireless carriers who install Carrier IQ’s software on cellphones are able to watch what their subscribers are doing on their phones as they do it. Says Eckhart, “So, instead of seeing dropped calls in California, they now know ‘Joe Anyone’s’ location at any given time, what he is running on his device, keys being pressed, applications being used.”

Disconcerting to say the least. More so since Carrier IQ claims its “Mobile Intelligence platform” is currently deployed on more than 150 million devices worldwide, generally installed by the carrier. Eckhart says he’s found it on Android and BlackBerry devices, and others have found evidence of it on iOS, though it does appear to be disabled by default (if it is enabled, it can be turned off pretty simply).

As privacy violations go, this one seems particularly outrageous, though Carrier IQ would likely describe that characterization as an overreaction. It claims it doesn’t track keystrokes, nor does it sell information to third parties.

“While we look at many aspects of a device’s performance, we are counting and summarizing performance, not recording keystrokes or providing tracking tools,” the company said in a statement. “The metrics and tools we derive are not designed to deliver such information, nor do we have any intention of developing such tools.”

That’s great, but it doesn’t really explain what we see in the video above, in which the application is very clearly logging keystrokes.

If Carrier IQ isn’t recording keystrokes, why is it logging them?

That’s a question U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) would like answered. In a letter to Carrier IQ President and CEO Larry Lenhart today, Franken called on the exec to explain exactly what information the software records, whether that information is transmitted to Carrier IQ or to other companies, and whether that information is shared with anyone else.

“… It appears that Carrier IQ’s software captures a broad swath of extremely sensitive information from users that would appear to have nothing to do with diagnostics—including who they are calling, the contents of the texts they are receiving, the contents of their searches, and the websites they visit,” Franken wrote. “These actions may violate federal privacy laws, including the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. This is potentially a very serious matter.”

Related Posts on Carrier IQ:

• Exclusive Interview: Carrier IQ Gets Transparent About Its Mobile Monitoring
• Carrier IQ: How to Hack Back Your Phone
  
• Carrier IQ Speaks: Our Software Monitors Service Messages, Ignores Other Data
• Apple: We Stopped Supporting Carrier IQ With iOS 5
• RIM, HTC, Google on Carrier IQ: Blame the Carriers
• Carrier IQ Improves My Wireless Service by Logging My Keystrokes? Please Explain.

Full Carrier IQ Coverage »

Lookout’s analysis of data collected from more than 700,000 apps and 10 million devices worldwide reveals a significant increase in mobile malware since January, and while some of it was geared toward devices running Apple’s iOS, much was intended for Android. There were 80 Android apps infected with malware in January. By June, there were 400.

“Currently, malware and spyware have primarily targeted Android devices, though there are commercial spyware applications available for jailbroken iOS devices,” Lookout explains in its report. “According to our data, in June of 2011 Android users were two and a half times more likely to encounter malware than just six months ago.”

The reasons for this are well known. iOS apps are curated by Apple via a manual review process that hews closely to some very strict security guidelines. Apps in Google’s Android Market do not undergo the same rigorous review process. And while that might allow Android developers to update their apps more quickly, it also makes it easier for miscreants to distribute malware, or to update or repackage legitimate apps with malicious successors. Earlier this year, for example, a piece of malware dubbed DroidDreamLight infiltrated some 34 apps in the Android Market.

But if iPhone users are largely unaffected by malware, they’re not entirely immune to it — particularly if they’ve jailbroken their devices to run apps not sanctioned by Apple. Lookout charted a troubling spike in Web-based threats in the first half of 2011. These are cross-platform and thus of concern to Android and iOS users alike.

“In the past year, iOS has seen multiple web-based exploits in the wild that allow an attacker to run code as root if a user simply visits a web page,” Lookout said in its report. “These exploits first take advantage of a browser vulnerability to run code as the browser process, then take advantage of a local privilege escalation vulnerability to run code as root. Thankfully, we haven’t seen evidence of these exploits being used maliciously: they were primarily used to allow users to jailbreak their devices.”

I have had a little disagreement with my IT guy. He says that when taking my laptop out in public, I should never type anything with passwords or confidential information. He says that someone can pick up my information. I say that I can’t believe that everyone in public is totally exposed. There must be some way to protect yourself while on a public network. Who is right?

A:

There’s no single correct answer. It’s true that thieves in public places can and do steal passwords and other sensitive information transferred over public Wi-Fi hotspots. But it’s also true that methods like Virtual Private Networks can mitigate this problem, and that most public hotspots are, just by the odds, unlikely to harbor these thieves at any one time. However, my advice is to avoid doing any sensitive tasks, like banking or stock trading, while using public hotspots. And, if you’re doing anything confidential on your company or home network remotely, use a VPN, which is like a secure tunnel through the internet.

Q:

I recently purchased a new iMac and am considering installing anti-virus/spyware/malware programs on it. Reader forums in MacWorld magazine say it’s not needed. A local newspaper computer columnist says he’s had Macs since the early ’80s and has never run an AV program and has had no problems. Other online computer advisers say Macs are always vulnerable and advise to run AV programs. Any recommendations here?

A:

No computer is inherently invulnerable to malicious software, and that includes the Macintosh. However, nearly every malicious program known is meant to run on Windows and simply won’t operate on the Mac operating system. The handful of Mac viruses and other malware that have been discovered are either proofs of concept, or have spread to very few users and done little or no damage. Most Mac users I’ve known don’t run third-party security software and haven’t had malware problems. So I don’t routinely recommend Mac security software.

There are two caveats, however. If you are running Windows on your Mac, you should install Windows security software, to run while Windows is in use. Also, Mac users are just as vulnerable as Windows users are to online scams, or to insecure public networks. So, even though you may never get a virus, you still have to be careful about doing sensitive Internet tasks via public hotspots or careless behavior like clicking on links sent you by unknown email senders.

Q:

My car has an audio jack that integrates any input into the sound system. I know that Kindle has a text-to-speech feature. Would I be able to use that feature via the audio jack in the car?

A:

Without having tested your car’s input jack, I assume the answer is yes. The Kindle has a standard headphone jack.

However, note that the text-to-speech feature works only on certain books, not all of them. Publishers have the right to allow or disallow it for any book.

Also, even if it’s enabled, it isn’t the same as an audio book, which is usually read by a trained narrator or by the author. Instead, it’s a computer doing the reading.

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox and my other columns at the All Things Digital website, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

How do I convert songs in iTunes to plain MP3 files? I want to use them in another program that doesn’t recognize the AAC song format that iTunes prefers.

A:

Assuming you are using the latest version of iTunes, for either Windows or Mac, first go into the General section of preferences, select “Import Settings” and then change to “Import Using MP3 Encoder.” Next, choose the AAC song you want to convert, go to the Advanced menu, and select “Create MP3 Version.”

Note that this works with songs you have imported into the AAC format from your CDs, or purchased from the iTunes store in unprotected AAC form. It won’t work with songs you bought in the days when iTunes song purchases were sold in a special copy-protected form of AAC. You can tell which type of song you have—purchased, but unrestricted; or copy-protected—by turning on the “Kind” column in your iTunes song listings. You do this from the View menu under “View options…”.

Q:

For years I have run a Norton Antivirus product and a Webroot antispyware product on my computers. For the 2011 version of the Norton product, installation requires uninstalling the Webroot program. This concerns me. Should I be nervous?

A:

I haven’t tested Norton 2011, so I don’t know for sure. But I do know that standalone antispyware products are less and less needed because security programs that once focused mainly on viruses, and ignored spyware, now are designed to protect against both. Even Webroot now sells a combined product.

Write to Walter S. Mossberg at walt.mossberg@wsj.com

Thanks for your review of programs for running Windows on a Mac. But, if I use them, won’t I expose my Mac’s files to Windows viruses and spyware?

A:

Yes, potentially, because both of the programs I reviewed, Parallels and Fusion, can access Mac folders and files—which means any malicious software that infects Windows can do so as well. That’s why both programs come with security software. You can choose to install the security products they provide, or obtain and install your own. But I strongly recommend you use security software on any computer running Windows, even if it’s a virtual PC operating inside a Mac.

Another protective step you can take is to set an option in these programs that prevents them from accessing your Mac’s files and folders. You’ll still need security software to protect your Windows installation, but, your Mac files and folders should be isolated.

Q:

I’m trying to replace my aging Palm PDA, but all I can find are smart phones with lots of bells and whistles and monthly fees. All I want is something that can hold appointments, contacts and notes, and sync with my PC. Is there anything like that out there?

A:

The old-fashioned PDA is indeed fading fast. But there are still a few around. For instance, Hewlett-Packard still sells a $300 model called the iPAQ 111, which does have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, but isn’t a phone and thus doesn’t require a monthly cellphone contract.

Q:

Are any of the e-readers on the market compatible with the free e-books available at public libraries?

A:

This depends on the format your library uses. Sony explicitly says its e-readers can handle public library e-books, and others may as well. I suggest asking at your library. One tipoff might be if the e-reader you’re considering can handle the EPUB format, which more libraries stock. In addition to the Sony devices, the Barnes & Noble Nook also handles this format.

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online for free at the All Things Digital web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

“We actually did an evil scale and decided not to serve at all was worse evil.”

– Google CEO Eric Schmidt on the company’s decision to offer a censored version of its search services in China, Jan. 30, 2006

Evidently Google is taking its informal “don’t be evil motto” a bit more seriously these days. The search sovereign threatened late Tuesday to pull out of its operations in China after detecting a “highly sophisticated and targeted attack on [its] corporate infrastructure originating from China.” Targeted in the assault: The Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists.

“These attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered–combined with the attempts over the past year to further limit free speech on the web–have led us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our business operations in China,” Google’s chief legal officer, David Drummond, wrote in a post to the company blog.

“We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all,” Drummond added. “We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China.”

Shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China? Hmm. What’s the Chinese word for “Bing”?

Drummond didn’t directly accuse the Chinese government of orchestrating the incursion, but he certainly seems to be implying there’s a link. And you’d think one would have to exist for Google (GOOG) to threaten pull out of a country that has more Internet users than the total population of the U.S.–even if its efforts to gain market share there haven’t met with the same success as in the rest of the world.

It’s tough to stake your claim in a country where the government favors the local rival and blocks your traffic if you fail to censor. Baidu’s share of the Chinese search market in the third quarter was 77 percent, up from 75.6 percent. Google’s share for the same period? Just 17 percent, down from 19 percent.

So, to some extent, Google can probably threaten to leave China because the country accounts for such a small portion of its revenue. On the other hand, China leads the world in Internet users and presents a hell of a market opportunity–large enough that Google willingly provided a censored version of its services as a prerequisite for doing business there. Or, rather, it used to.

At $395.50 Baidu shares are up more than two percent after hours on the news. Google shares are down 1.6 percent at $581.01.

Drummond’s post in full, below, as well as another on the safety of data on Google by Dave Girouard, President of Google Enterprise:

A new approach to China

Like many other well-known organizations, we face cyber attacks of varying degrees on a regular basis. In mid-December, we detected a highly sophisticated and targeted attack on our corporate infrastructure originating from China that resulted in the theft of intellectual property from Google. However, it soon became clear that what at first appeared to be solely a security incident–albeit a significant one–was something quite different.

First, this attack was not just on Google. As part of our investigation we have discovered that at least twenty other large companies from a wide range of businesses–including the Internet, finance, technology, media and chemical sectors–have been similarly targeted. We are currently in the process of notifying those companies, and we are also working with the relevant U.S. authorities.

Second, we have evidence to suggest that a primary goal of the attackers was accessing the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists. Based on our investigation to date we believe their attack did not achieve that objective. Only two Gmail accounts appear to have been accessed, and that activity was limited to account information (such as the date the account was created) and subject line, rather than the content of emails themselves.

Third, as part of this investigation but independent of the attack on Google, we have discovered that the accounts of dozens of U.S.-, China- and Europe-based Gmail users who are advocates of human rights in China appear to have been routinely accessed by third parties. These accounts have not been accessed through any security breach at Google, but most likely via phishing scams or malware placed on the users’ computers.

We have already used information gained from this attack to make infrastructure and architectural improvements that enhance security for Google and for our users. In terms of individual users, we would advise people to deploy reputable anti-virus and anti-spyware programs on their computers, to install patches for their operating systems and to update their web browsers. Always be cautious when clicking on links appearing in instant messages and emails, or when asked to share personal information like passwords online. You can read more here about our cyber-security recommendations.

We have taken the unusual step of sharing information about these attacks with a broad audience not just because of the security and human rights implications of what we have unearthed, but also because this information goes to the heart of a much bigger global debate about freedom of speech. In the last two decades, China’s economic reform programs and its citizens’ entrepreneurial flair have lifted hundreds of millions of Chinese people out of poverty. Indeed, this great nation is at the heart of much economic progress and development in the world today.

We launched Google.cn in January 2006 in the belief that the benefits of increased access to information for people in China and a more open Internet outweighed our discomfort in agreeing to censor some results. At the time we made clear that “we will carefully monitor conditions in China, including new laws and other restrictions on our services. If we determine that we are unable to achieve the objectives outlined we will not hesitate to reconsider our approach to China.”

These attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered–combined with the attempts over the past year to further limit free speech on the web–have led us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our business operations in China. We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China.

The decision to review our business operations in China has been incredibly hard, and we know that it will have potentially far-reaching consequences. We want to make clear that this move was driven by our executives in the United States, without the knowledge or involvement of our employees in China who have worked incredibly hard to make Google.cn the success it is today. We are committed to working responsibly to resolve the very difficult issues raised.

Keeping your data safe

Many corporations and consumers regularly come under cyber attack, and Google is no exception. We recently detected a cyber attack targeting our infrastructure and that of at least 20 other publicly listed companies. This incident was particularly notable for its high degree of sophistication. We believe Google Apps and related customer data were not affected by this incident. Please read more about our public response on the Official Google Blog.

This attack may understandably raise some questions, so we wanted to take this opportunity to share some additional information and assure you that Google is introducing additional security measures to help ensure the safety of your data.

This was not an assault on cloud computing. It was an attack on the technology infrastructure of major corporations in sectors as diverse as finance, technology, media, and chemical. The route the attackers used was malicious software used to infect personal computers. Any computer connected to the Internet can fall victim to such attacks. While some intellectual property on our corporate network was compromised, we believe our customer cloud-based data remains secure.

While any company can be subject to such an attack, those who use our cloud services benefit from our data security capabilities. At Google, we invest massive amounts of time and money in security. Nothing is more important to us. Our response to this attack shows that we are dedicated to protecting the businesses and users who have entrusted us with their sensitive email and document information. We are telling you this because we are committed to transparency, accountability, and maintaining your trust.

This guide stresses laptops, which have become the prevalent choice, but most of its specs also apply to desktops. As always, it is aimed at average consumers doing typical tasks, such as Web surfing, email, social networking, word processing, photos, video and music. It doesn’t apply to businesses, hard-core gamers or serious media producers—groups that need specialized or heftier hardware.

Consumers shopping for new computers this fall have a wide variety of choices with the new operating systems pre-installed, making the machines faster and better. Windows PCs are no longer burdened with the disliked Vista OS.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that the Windows hardware makers and retailers generally are trying to nudge you to spend more. They are anxious to guide consumers away from the popular, but low-profit, stripped-down netbooks to somewhat larger Windows 7 laptops from which they can make more money. This larger-size category goes by a variety of names, which can be confusing.

Windows vs. Mac: The arrival of Windows 7 makes PCs from Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Dell (DELL) and others much better choices than their Vista-equipped predecessors were. Microsoft (MSFT) has closed most of the gap with Apple’s (AAPL) Mac OS X operating system. Also, Windows PCs are often priced hundreds of dollars lower than Macs, and offer many more choices.

But Apple’s hardware is stylish and sturdy, and, in my tests, Macs usually boot faster than Windows machines. Plus, Apple’s chain of retail stores offers a better buying experience and strong post-purchase support. Also, in my view, Apple’s built-in software still has the edge. Snow Leopard is fast and reliable. And it comes with a full suite of excellent built-in programs, including email, photo and video software. Microsoft has stripped Windows 7 of such programs. Some PC makers have restored some or all of these in certain models, although I consider Apple’s counterparts better. Another huge plus: The Mac isn’t susceptible to the vast majority of viruses and spyware.

Cost: Prices on Windows PCs are creeping upward. You can buy a Windows PC for under $500, but many stores are pushing costlier models. And those $250 netbooks are much scarcer. Now, they typically run between $300 and $450. Apple has mostly stuck with its same, higher, prices, though it has boosted the specs on many models. The cheapest Mac desktop, the minimalist Mac mini, is $599. The cheapest Mac laptop, the new MacBook, is $999. The heart of Apple’s line starts at $1,199.

New category: Windows PC makers this season are pushing a category of laptop that is meant to fit between a netbook and a full-size laptop. It goes by a variety of confusing names, such as “ultrathin” or “thin and light,” though these models are often no thinner or lighter than some laptops of the past. They typically cost between $500 and $800, and often have 13-inch screens.

Memory: All Macs come with at least two gigabytes of memory, which is plenty for running Snow Leopard well. Mainstream Windows PCs have at least three gigabytes. But the cheapest Windows machines sometimes come with less. I recommend at least two gigabytes.

64-bit: PCs have long been based on something called a 32-bit architecture, but many models now use a 64-bit architecture, allowing properly written software to use more memory and run faster. If possible, buy a 64-bit computer, which is likely to dominate eventually, even though some software and add-on hardware may be incompatible at first.

Graphics: The new operating systems allow software makers to speed up some tasks by offloading them from the main processor onto the graphics chip. So, if possible, get a “discrete” graphics processor, which has its own memory. Otherwise, find a potent “integrated” graphics chip, which shares your main memory.

Processor: Mainstream Windows PCs sport fast, dual-core processors from Intel (INTC) or its rival, AMD (AMD). These pack the equivalent of two brains onto one chip. But many lower-price Windows PCs have slower processors, such as the Intel Atom, which are best suited for light duty. Apple models all use Intel’s dual-core processors, except for the highest-priced desktops, which come with quad-core chips.

Hard disks: A 250-gigabyte hard disk should be the minimum on most PCs. On a netbook, look for at least a 160-gigabyte disk. Solid-state disks are faster and use less battery power, but often add hundreds of dollars to the price tag.

Touch: Windows 7 lets you control the computer by touching the screen with your fingers, and some PC makers add their own touch-screen features. But this only works fully with newer types of touch screens, adding cost. Make sure any touch-screen model you buy has a full multitouch screen that supports all Windows 7 gestures. Apple uses the laptop touch pad, or its new mouse, as the multitouch, finger-gesture mechanism, instead of the screen.

As always, don’t buy more machine than you need.

Find all of Walt Mossberg’s columns and videos online, free, at the All Things Digital Web site, walt.allthingsd.com. Email him at mossberg@wsj.com.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20091028/operating-systems-offer-new-choices-in-pc-shopping/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20090513/upgrading-to-windows-7-from-vista/ http://allthingsd.com/20090513/upgrading-to-windows-7-from-vista/#comments Wed, 13 May 2009 22:56:02 +0000 Walter S. Mossberg http://mailbox.allthingsd.com/20090513/upgrading-to-windows-7-from-vista/ There’s no other major item most of us own that is as confusing, unpredictable and unreliable as our personal computers. Everybody has questions about them, and we aim to help.

Here are a few questions about computers I’ve received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability.

---

I have a PC with Windows XP, which I bought because my computer guru said to stay away from Vista. I read your column saying upgrading from XP to the new Windows 7 will be much more cumbersome than doing so from Windows Vista. So, what should I do now? Upgrade to Vista for a while so I can then move more smoothly to 7? Or wait, buy a separate Windows 7 computer in the fall, and just transfer my files and applications from the XP computer?

Putting budget considerations aside, I think the latter course would make more sense. The new machine with Windows 7 preloaded will probably give you smoother performance than one you upgraded twice to new operating systems in a matter of months. But, bear in mind that you will have to reinstall all your applications on the new Windows 7 computer, and that, depending on the terms of the applications’ licenses, you might even have to buy new copies. On the other hand, if you do the chain of upgrades, and don’t buy a new machine, you may be able to avoid this application problem, or at least much of it.

I appreciated your review of the Clickfree automatic backup drive. Does the backup it creates include the various folders and subfolders for data such as photos, or does it just create a huge single list?

The Clickfree software is primarily designed to back up, display and restore your files by their types — photos, music, text, email, spreadsheets, etc. Once it has performed a backup it lets you view and restore your files by these types. However, it will display the tree of all your folders and allow you to specify where it should search for these files. It also allows you to back up and restore entire folders, such as your My Documents folder, regardless of their contents. Detailed information, including a downloadable user manual, is available in the Support section of clickfree.com.

I am planning to buy one of the products you recently reviewed — a Western Digital My Book — and attach it directly to a port on my Internet router. Can I install antispyware and antivirus programs on the drive? If not, how will the data on this drive be protected?

Nothing is perfectly secure. The bad guys are clever, and you never say never. However, since this product isn’t an actual PC running Windows, viruses and spyware programs can’t likely run directly on it. Still, if one of your computers contains malicious software, and it can see the contents of the network drive, then the data on the drive could be endangered. I know of no way to install or run security programs on the drive. But the security software on your PC may protect the drive, if it is able to handle external drives across a network. Also, the firewall built into your network router will help. The product has some security measures built in, such as encrypting files when you use the optional feature that allows you to access the drive’s contents across the Internet.

• You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online free of charge at the new All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20090513/upgrading-to-windows-7-from-vista/feed/ 1 http://allthingsd.com/20090415/displaying-contacts-without-a-code/ http://allthingsd.com/20090415/displaying-contacts-without-a-code/#comments Wed, 15 Apr 2009 22:30:02 +0000 Walter S. Mossberg http://mailbox.allthingsd.com/20090415/displaying-contacts-without-a-code/ Here are a few questions I’ve received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability.

---

I saw your recent review of ICE, the emergency medical information app for the iPhone. But my iPhone is set up to require a passcode to get to the home screen and run apps. Is there any way to display emergency contacts before a person enters the passcode?

There are some apps that allow you to customize the wallpaper of your iPhone or iPod Touch by adding a few lines of text that can be seen before it’s unlocked. One, called Close Call, displays a red cross and, next to it, an emergency phone number, and one brief line about, say, a key allergy or medical condition. The app is free, and is from a company called Polka, at polka.com.

I installed VMware Fusion on my Mac so I can run a virtual Windows XP computer on the Mac. When in the virtual Windows environment, I use security software. If I have the Fusion program shut down completely when I am not using it, will my computer be vulnerable to Windows security threats?

The vast majority of viruses, spyware and other malicious software is designed to run on Windows and cannot run natively on the Mac’s built-in operating system. So, while you are wise to use security software in your virtual Windows PC, any malware it misses won’t be able to run when Fusion is shut down. While even a virtual PC can get real viruses, this faux PC just disappears when Fusion is shut down, and so does all its software, including viruses.

But simply because Windows-based malware can’t run on the Mac’s OS, that doesn’t mean you don’t have to be careful. You can still be tricked by false email and Web sites into giving up personal information.

• You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online free of charge at the new All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20090415/displaying-contacts-without-a-code/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20081007/welcome-to-jellycloud-now-clean-out-your-desk/ http://allthingsd.com/20081007/welcome-to-jellycloud-now-clean-out-your-desk/#comments Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:51:13 +0000 John Paczkowski http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/?p=6333

At last estimate there were some 200 ad networks in the online display advertising space. Today, there are 199. Jellycloud, the “highly differentiated behavioral ad network,” has finally undergone the ultimate differentiation: It’s shut down. The company–which in past lives was known as Gator and Claria, two names synonymous with spyware–did indeed close last weekend, returning to investors the $11.5 million in venture capital it raised in April, sacking its 36 employees and calling in the asset liquidators.

Oddly, the Jellycloud Web site still sports a “We’re hiring!” message. Perhaps the company’s leadership is already hard at work on its next incarnation. …

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20081007/welcome-to-jellycloud-now-clean-out-your-desk/feed/ 2 http://allthingsd.com/20081001/navigating-microsoft-office/ http://allthingsd.com/20081001/navigating-microsoft-office/#comments Thu, 02 Oct 2008 01:45:04 +0000 Walter S. Mossberg http://mailbox.allthingsd.com/20081001/navigating-microsoft-office/ Here are a few questions I’ve received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability.

---

In the new version of Microsoft Office, I cannot find a “favorites” capability in the Open dialog box. In my older version, when I began to open a document, I had a box on the left called “Favorites” that I could invoke to find common file locations. Did they really kill this very useful feature?

No, but they changed the way you make it visible in Office 2007. You can get back your “Favorites” category by right-clicking the bar at the left-hand side of the Open dialog. From the menu that appears, click on “Add Favorites,” and your Favorites category should appear in the left-hand bar, and stay there.

If I have McAfee security software, do I need an antispyware program as well?

Everyone running a Windows computer, even a virtual Windows computer on a Mac, should have antispyware software. In some ways, spyware is a worse security problem than viruses, and can lead to identity theft.

McAfee has made many types and versions of security software over the years. Some, especially recent versions of the company’s comprehensive products, include antispyware protection. Check your version to make sure it includes this capability. If it doesn’t, you will either need to upgrade to a more comprehensive suite, or obtain a separate anti-spyware product.

When my friend put a Spike Jones CD of mine into his Mac to import it using iTunes, the CD was misidentified with an embarrassing title. What would cause such a thing to happen? Does iTunes go out to the Web looking for album names, instead of going by what’s on a disk?

Yes. Music programs like iTunes, and all its major competitors, can’t identify a disk directly. So they rely on online databases to identify CDs. Each CD contains a hidden code that the database providers quickly match up with their huge catalogs of CDs to provide the album title, artist, date, track list and other information. But, sometimes, especially when the CD is relatively obscure, the databases are wrong and yield erroneous information. When that happens, you have to type in the information by hand.

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online free of charge at the new All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20081001/navigating-microsoft-office/feed/ 2 http://allthingsd.com/20080917/symantec-rewrites-its-security-suite-to-curb-nuisances/ http://allthingsd.com/20080917/symantec-rewrites-its-security-suite-to-curb-nuisances/#comments Thu, 18 Sep 2008 01:08:02 +0000 Walter S. Mossberg http://ptech.allthingsd.com/20080917/symantec-rewrites-its-security-suite-to-curb-nuisances/ It can be awful to have your Windows computer infected with malicious software, but it is almost as bad suffering the daily burdens imposed by the security software designed to protect you.

Too often, security programs significantly slow down the computer, causing lags in booting up the machine, launching programs and receiving email. Not only that, they can be incredibly annoying, popping up frequent messages or asking questions in techie lingo.

The main screen of the 2009 version of Norton Internet Security is streamlined and even includes a gauge to show much drain the security program is placing on the computer.

Now, Symantec (SYMC) has decided to radically rewrite its main security suite for Windows to directly address these problems. And in my tests, this new product, Norton Internet Security 2009, largely succeeded. It isn’t perfect, but it is the fastest, simplest and least obtrusive security suite I have ever used.

Being quick and quiet is great, but, of course, a security product also has to be effective against the vast number of viruses, spyware programs and other malicious attacks aimed at Windows. I don’t have a security lab in which to test such effectiveness. But PC Magazine does, and the magazine called the new Norton suite’s spyware and virus protection “extremely effective.” The magazine’s tests are described at http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2330024,00.asp.

However, I wasn’t impressed with Norton’s optional antispam feature, which caused the only significant problem I ran into in my testing.

The new suite costs $70, and can be purchased at symantec.com and elsewhere. For that price, you get to install it on three PCs and you get a one-year subscription to its updates, which cost $60 thereafter.

Symantec is now including free support, even over the phone, though in my tests this support proved lousy. Norton Internet Security 2009 works only on Windows XP and Windows Vista.

I tested the new security suite on a Dell (DELL) desktop running Vista and on a Macintosh laptop running Windows XP as a “virtual machine,” meaning Windows and Windows programs ran simultaneously with the Mac operating system. Symantec assured me the program would run properly in this latter setup, and I had run the previous version of Norton successfully in the same environment.

The first thing you notice about NIS 2009 is the fast and simple installation. The process took under two minutes on each of my test machines.

File scanning is also much faster, partly because the new suite has a feature called Insight that allows it to skip the scanning and rescanning of many of your files. Insight gathers information about your installed programs and compares them against a list of programs Symantec knows are “trusted,” through either its own research or through scanning results voluntarily submitted by other users. These trusted programs are then exempted from future scans, saving a ton of time.

The new Norton suite has a feature called Insight which calculates how many of your programs it knows are trusted, and therefore needn’t be scanned repeatedly, saving time.

For instance, on my Dell running Vista, an immediate complete scan done before Insight analyzed the computer took more than an hour. But after Insight determined that over 70% of my programs were trusted, complete scans took 10 minutes or less. Of course, your data files, like Word documents and emails, still must be scanned, because they are typically unique.

To minimize the impact on users, the new Norton does scanning and other tasks only when it detects that the computer has been idle for at least 10 minutes. And new virus definitions trickle into your computer invisibly, in the background, rather than all at once in a major process.

Symantec is so certain that its product has a low impact on PC performance that it built a gauge into its new streamlined main screen that shows its drain on the main processor, or CPU.

NIS 2009 is also far less annoying than other suites I’ve used. In normal operation, it notifies you only when it has completed a background task or if there’s a threat or a repair that requires a user action, such as a reboot. And there’s an even quieter optional “silent mode” that can turn off nearly every nonurgent activity of Norton for up to six hours. Silent Mode is automatically activated during full-screen activities, such as playing games or watching movies.

The new suite has a bunch of other features, including a browser toolbar for Internet Explorer and Firefox that warns against fake and malicious Web pages, and that can securely enter your passwords and other information on Web sites. It also has an antispam feature for Microsoft (MSFT) Outlook and Outlook Express.

This antispam feature, which is off by default, was rated as weak by PC Magazine and, in my tests, it caused both Norton and Outlook Express to crash repeatedly in Windows XP running on my Mac. Symantec suspects this is a problem particular to running Windows the way I was on the Mac. After I reinstalled Norton and turned off the feature, all was well again.

But Symantec’s free tech-support service was not only unable to diagnose the problem, it didn’t even know the difference between Outlook and Outlook Express.

Despite this one glitch, I can recommend Norton Internet Security 2009 as a good way to protect your Windows computer with minimal impact on your time and attention.

Find all of Walt Mossberg’s columns and videos online, free, at the All Things Digital Web site, walt.allthingsd.com. Email him at mossberg@wsj.com.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20080917/symantec-rewrites-its-security-suite-to-curb-nuisances/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20080515/defragmenting-a-mac-hard-disk/ http://allthingsd.com/20080515/defragmenting-a-mac-hard-disk/#comments Thu, 15 May 2008 00:01:00 +0000 Walter S. Mossberg http://mailbox.allthingsd.com/20080515/defragmenting-a-mac-hard-disk/ Here are a few questions I’ve received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability.

---

I have moved from a PC to the iMac. In the Windows environment, I felt a need to run utilities to clean out the registry and defragment the hard disk frequently. Is this also needed on the iMac? If so, what programs are recommended?

The Mac operating system, called OS X Leopard, doesn’t include a registry, which is a feature of Windows that holds information that programs need to operate properly. So there’s no need to clean or maintain any registry on a Mac.

Mac hard disks, like those on Microsoft (MSFT) Windows computers, can get fragmented — a condition in which parts of files are so scattered around on the disk that the disk runs slowly. However, the operating system has some under-the-covers features that generally obviate the need to run a defragmentation utility. In fact, Apple (AAPL), which calls defragmenting a disk “optimizing” it, flatly claims that “You probably won’t need to optimize at all if you use Mac OS X.” There are some Mac defragmentation utilities, but I don’t believe you will need them unless you have large numbers of extremely large files and almost no free disk space.

My son’s computer frequently gets infected with adware, pop-ups. Recently it was hit with a continuing pop-up ad called VirusHeat that touted itself as a solution to the computer’s problems. When I paid for VirusHeat, the problems went away. Is it legitimate?

According to numerous reports on the Web, including some from security companies, VirusHeat is a form of malicious or misleading software. It falls into a category that attempts to scare people into thinking their computers are badly infected, or exaggerates any problems you may have. This is a common tactic now used by creators of malware.

Some of these fake or misleading “security programs” may be designed merely to make you pay. Others may even be designed to install the very kinds of viruses, spyware or adware that they claim to fight.

I have updated to a new PC. My data are on a floppy disc. There is no floppy disc drive on this new computer. How can I transfer my data?

For around $25, you can buy an external floppy disk drive that plugs into a new PC using its standard USB port. If you do so, and connect it to the new PC, you should be able to copy your data to the new computer’s hard disk.

• You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online for free at the new All Things Digital web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20080515/defragmenting-a-mac-hard-disk/feed/ 6 http://allthingsd.com/20080501/how-to-avoid-cons-that-can-lead-to-identity-theft/ http://allthingsd.com/20080501/how-to-avoid-cons-that-can-lead-to-identity-theft/#comments Thu, 01 May 2008 00:01:00 +0000 Walter S. Mossberg http://ptech.allthingsd.com/20080501/how-to-avoid-cons-that-can-lead-to-identity-theft/ When most people think about Internet security problems, they focus on viruses and spyware — technological attacks that can usually be mitigated by technological defenses. But the most insidious Internet security problems today rely on human gullibility, not tricky software. While technological defenses can help you fend off these newer types of attacks, your best weapons against them are common sense, alertness, and careful email and Web-surfing practices.

These types of attacks are called “social engineering,” and they are used by criminals to steal your money and identity, and to plant on your computer malicious software that can be used to keep ripping you off. Social engineering is the online equivalent of an old-fashioned con game, in which a crook frightens people with false warnings, or tempts them with false promises, and then robs them.

While viruses and spyware overwhelmingly afflict Microsoft’s (MSFT) Windows users and spare users of Apple’s (AAPL) Macintosh computers, social-engineering schemes can ensnare Mac users as well. There’s nothing inherent in Macs that makes their owners more resistant to falling for social-engineering scams.

The most common form of social engineering is called phishing, a one-two punch using both email and Web browsing to trick people into typing confidential information into Web sites that look like the sites of real companies, especially financial institutions. But these phishing sites are actually skillfully designed fakes that transmit your sensitive data to criminals, often in distant countries. Once these creeps have your passwords and account numbers, they can loot your funds and steal your identity.

Here are some tips to help you avoid being the victim of social engineering, updated from a similar column I wrote in 2006. It includes information on some antiphishing software that wasn’t available back then. But remember: Security software alone can’t save you from scams.

1. Never, ever click on a link embedded in an email that appears to come from a financial institution, even if it’s your own bank or brokerage and even if it looks official right down to the logo. The same goes for payment or auction services, like PayPal or eBay (EBAY). Don’t do this even if the email asserts that your account has a problem, or that the bank has to verify your information. And certainly don’t enter any passwords, Social Security numbers or account numbers directly in an email.

These types of emails are almost always fakes, and the links they contain almost always lead to phony Web sites run by criminals. The only exception might be a confirmation email from a brokerage firm concerning a trade you know you made minutes before. Even legitimate-looking addresses in emails or in the address bar of Web browsers can be fakes that hide the crooks’ true Web addresses. The lock icon on a Web site can also be falsified.

If you are truly worried about your account, call the bank or company, or go to its Web site by manually typing in its address or by using a well-established bookmark in your browser that you created yourself.

2. Don’t click on links to offers for free software or goods that you receive in an email, especially from a sender or company you’ve never heard of.

3. Never download software from unfamiliar Web sites unless you are absolutely sure you need it and it’s legitimate. Even if it claims to be a useful program, it may very well be a malicious application like a “key logger,” which can report back to crooks everything you type into your computer. If you really want the program, do a Web search on it first, to see if others have reported it as a malicious fake.

4. If a Web site tells you that you need to download special viewing software to see its videos, don’t do it. Even if it claims to be giving you legitimate viewing software, like Microsoft’s Silverlight, Adobe’s (ADBE) Flash or Apple’s QuickTime, don’t download it there. Go to the official Microsoft, Adobe or Apple Web sites to get these viewers.

5. Use a Web browser, like Internet Explorer 7 on Windows, or Firefox 2.0 on Windows or Mac, that includes built-in features to warn you about, or block access to, known phishing sites. The next versions of these two browsers will have even stronger features that will detect sites that are not only fake, but which are known to distribute malicious software.

Unfortunately, the third major browser, Apple’s otherwise excellent Safari for Mac and Windows, lacks any such antiphishing detection, though I expect Apple to add the feature in a future version. So, for now, Mac users worried about phishing should rely on Firefox.

6. Consider security software that tries to detect and block phishing sites. McAfee’s (MFE) free Site Advisor and paid Site Advisor Plus products do a good job. Symantec (SYMC) has similar features built into its large security suites, Norton 360 2.0 and Norton Internet Security 2008.

7. Educate yourself by reading about social engineering and phishing and how to avoid being a victim. Microsoft has a very good guide at: microsoft.com/protect/yourself/phishing/identify.mspx and Symantec has one at: symantec.com/norton/clubsymantec/library/article.jsp?aid=cs_phishing.

Follow these tips and you’ll be a happier — and safer — surfer.

Find all of Walt Mossberg’s columns and videos online, free, at the new All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

• Email him at mossberg@wsj.com.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20080501/how-to-avoid-cons-that-can-lead-to-identity-theft/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20080417/mossbergs-mailbox-3/ http://allthingsd.com/20080417/mossbergs-mailbox-3/#comments Thu, 17 Apr 2008 00:01:00 +0000 Walt Mossberg http://mailbox.allthingsd.com/20080417/mossbergs-mailbox-3/ Here are a few questions I’ve received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability.

---

We are connected to Comcast (CMCSA) cable and use no antennas. Will we need one of the government-subsidized converter boxes next February?

Not if you are using a cable set-top box, like the vast majority of cable customers. If you are one of the minority of cable households whose TVs use an internal cable tuner, you may need a converter box. To be sure, contact your cable company or TV manufacturer.

In your laptop buying guide last week, you recommended buying a machine equipped for the “n” type Wi-Fi of wireless router. I was under the impression that this has not yet been standardized. Is that wrong?

The engineering committee that has been debating the standard for years has not yet completed its work, but the market has simply moved ahead on its own. This new, faster version of Wi-Fi is being built into routers, computers and other devices by nearly every major manufacturer. In my limited tests, I have found no compatibility problems, and it is backwards compatible with the older “g” and “b” standards.

Is the Mac immune to viruses? If not, do you have a recommendation of the type of antivirus software one should procure and load onto a Mac?

No personal computer or personal computer operating system of which I am aware is “immune” to viruses, spyware or other malicious software. That includes Apple’s (AAPL) Macintosh and its operating system, Mac OS X Leopard. Hackers have demonstrated the ability to invade the Mac. However, there are only a handful of viruses or other malicious programs for the Macintosh that have successfully spread beyond the lab. And these have harmed only a small number of actual users.

Of the well over 100,000 known viruses, spyware programs and other malicious software applications that are about in public, all but this handful are written to run on Microsoft (MSFT) Windows, and cannot operate on the Macintosh OS. For that reason, I don’t believe Macintosh owners need security software, unless they install and run Windows on their computers. If they do run Windows, Mac owners are well advised to purchase and install Windows security software to protect the Windows portion of the machine.

Having said that, I do not mean that Mac owners should be blind to security threats that don’t involve viruses or spyware. Just like Windows users, Mac users can succumb to what is called “social engineering” — scams and schemes that operate via email and Web sites that are often authored by crooks but made to look official. So, like Windows users, they must be on their guard.

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online free at the All Things Digital web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20080417/mossbergs-mailbox-3/feed/ 1 http://allthingsd.com/20080221/price-may-be-steep-but-thin-thinkpad-has-abundant-features/ http://allthingsd.com/20080221/price-may-be-steep-but-thin-thinkpad-has-abundant-features/#comments Thu, 21 Feb 2008 00:01:00 +0000 Walter S. Mossberg http://ptech.allthingsd.com/20080221/price-may-be-steep-but-thin-thinkpad-has-abundant-features/ I am writing these words on a new laptop computer that packs a full-size screen and keyboard into a body that’s quite thin and light. And it has a solid-state drive with no moving parts instead of a hard disk.

But this isn’t the much-touted Apple MacBook Air, introduced last month with all those qualities. Instead, it’s a new ThinkPad from Lenovo, the X300. While the two machines are both impressive products, they are different in key respects.

[ See post to watch video ]

I’ve been testing the ThinkPad X300 and I have found it to be a solid, innovative laptop that will be perfect for many mobile PC users. It isn’t as sexy or inexpensive as the MacBook Air, but it has numerous features the Apple lacks, especially a wide array of ports and connectivity options, a built-in DVD drive and a removable battery.

I can recommend the X300 for road warriors without hesitation, provided they can live with its two biggest downsides: a relatively paltry file-storage capacity and a hefty price tag. This ThinkPad starts at $2,476 for a stripped-down model and at $2,799 for a preconfigured retail version with a half-size battery. The configuration I expect to be the most popular, with a full-size battery and DVD drive, is about $3,000.

The key factor in both of these downsides is the solid-state drive, or SSD, which replaces the hard disk. The SSD is fast and rugged, but today it can hold only a cramped 64 gigabytes of files and is very costly. Apple offers a MacBook Air version with the same solid-state drive for a similar high price. But Apple also has a much more affordable $1,799 model with an 80-gigabyte standard hard disk. Lenovo doesn’t.

Lenovo’s ThinkPad X300

The X300, due to go on sale next week at lenovo.com and at a few retailers, isn’t as thin as the MacBook Air. In fact, at its thinnest point it is almost as thick as the Apple is at its thickest point. And when the new ThinkPad is ordered in what are likely to be its most common configurations, it is heavier than the three-pound Apple and, in fact, fails to make the three-pound cutoff that typically denotes a “subnotebook.” Only one configuration breaks that barrier, at 2.93 pounds, and it is the stripped-down model with just a half-size battery and no DVD drive.

But the X300, which will come with either Windows Vista or Windows XP, is still very thin and light. It’s under an inch thick and even at its heaviest is only 3.5 pounds. Yet, like the Apple, it packs in a widescreen 13.3-inch display and a full-width keyboard.

Plus, Lenovo has used that extra thickness to good advantage. While the MacBook Air’s extreme thinness makes it gorgeous, it left no room for an Ethernet jack, a removable battery, a built-in DVD drive or a cellphone modem. The X300 has all these things, either standard or as options, plus three USB ports, compared with just one for the Apple. The Lenovo even offers GPS location-finding, the ability to connect to new wireless USB devices and future support for a forthcoming wireless network standard called WiMax.

The ThinkPad has another advantage: Even though its screen is the same size as the Apple’s, it is higher resolution, so more material can be seen without scrolling. Some people find that higher-resolution screens make text too small to read easily, but I didn’t experience any such problem on the X300.

In my tests, the X300 performed very well, even though it has a relatively slow processor, slower than the MacBook’s.

But the ThinkPad’s battery life was only fair, and was inferior to the Apple’s. In my tough test, where I turn off all power-saving features, set the screen to maximum brightness, turn on Wi-Fi and run a repeating play list of music, the X300 lasted three hours and five minutes. That was 24 minutes less than the comparable MacBook Air. And this was on the $3,000 configuration with a full-size battery and a DVD drive. The more basic models, with a half-size battery, would last only half as long, according to Lenovo.

MacBook Air

In more normal use, the model I tested would likely last under four hours on a charge, and the base models maybe two, compared with about 4.5 hours for the Mac.

I also tested another version of the ThinkPad, which substitutes a second, half-size battery for the DVD drive. It got five hours and 15 minutes, which means you could likely get 6.5 to seven hours in normal usage. That model costs around $2,850.

There are two more factors worth mentioning. I believe that both the Mac operating system and the software that comes with it are superior to the Windows operating system and built-in software offered on the ThinkPad. And the Mac isn’t susceptible to the vast majority of viruses and spyware, and doesn’t require third-party security software.

Also, the ThinkPad’s screen, when opened, stands significantly higher than the Mac’s, so it is less usable in a coach seat on an airplane when the person in front of you reclines.

If you’re happy with Windows, can afford the price tag, and value the many ports and connectivity options Lenovo has packed in, the thin and rugged X300 is a great choice. It’s a notable engineering accomplishment.

Email me at mossberg@wsj.com. Find all my columns and videos online, free, at the new All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20080221/price-may-be-steep-but-thin-thinkpad-has-abundant-features/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20080207/sherman/ http://allthingsd.com/20080207/sherman/#comments Thu, 07 Feb 2008 19:25:34 +0000 John Paczkowski http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/20080207/sherman/ If you lack the moral compass with which to determine ownership of digital music, Recording Industry Association of America president Cary “tough love” Sherman would like to provide you with one. Speaking at the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee’s State of the Net Conference in late January, Sherman suggested that rather than filtering the Internet globally for copyright infringements, as some have proposed, it might be better to filter it locally. At the end-user level–with spyware built into ISP-provided modems, routers and perhaps anti-malware and media software as well. “Filters can be put in the applications for example,” Sherman said. “You know, one could have a filter on the end user’s computer.”

Why would anyone agree to such a thing? For their personal enrichment, of course. “I don’t think you can estimate the educational benefit of these things. … A lot of this is basically letting people know that what they’re doing is not OK,” Sherman reasoned. “And for a lot of people that makes a difference in their behavior.”

A bit of stretch, even for Sherman, as Ars Technica aptly notes: “Filtering as a concept is ultimately doomed by encryption unless the ‘filters’ simply block entire protocols altogether, and talking about the consumer benefits of installing RIAA-approved filtering software is just another sign of how ludicrous the entire debate has become.”

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20080207/sherman/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20080207/sherman-2/ http://allthingsd.com/20080207/sherman-2/#comments Thu, 07 Feb 2008 19:25:34 +0000 John Paczkowski http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/20080207/sherman/ If you lack the moral compass with which to determine ownership of digital music, Recording Industry Association of America president Cary “tough love” Sherman would like to provide you with one. Speaking at the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee’s State of the Net Conference in late January, Sherman suggested that rather than filtering the Internet globally for copyright infringements, as some have proposed, it might be better to filter it locally. At the end-user level–with spyware built into ISP-provided modems, routers and perhaps anti-malware and media software as well. “Filters can be put in the applications for example,” Sherman said. “You know, one could have a filter on the end user’s computer.”

Why would anyone agree to such a thing? For their personal enrichment, of course. “I don’t think you can estimate the educational benefit of these things. … A lot of this is basically letting people know that what they’re doing is not OK,” Sherman reasoned. “And for a lot of people that makes a difference in their behavior.”

A bit of stretch, even for Sherman, as Ars Technica aptly notes: “Filtering as a concept is ultimately doomed by encryption unless the ‘filters’ simply block entire protocols altogether, and talking about the consumer benefits of installing RIAA-approved filtering software is just another sign of how ludicrous the entire debate has become.”

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20080207/sherman-2/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20071108/running-antispyware-software-on-a-mac/ http://allthingsd.com/20071108/running-antispyware-software-on-a-mac/#comments Thu, 08 Nov 2007 00:01:00 +0000 Walter S. Mossberg http://mailbox.allthingsd.com/20071108/running-antispyware-software-on-a-mac/ Here are a few questions I’ve received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability. This week my mailbox contained questions about running antispyware software on a Mac, where to download free security software for Windows, and viewing PowerPoint files with a free program from Microsoft.

---

Do I need antivirus or antispyware software on a Macintosh running the Leopard operating system?

The Macintosh isn’t inherently invulnerable to malicious software. In fact, last week it was reported that there is a new scam on the Web that can plant a malicious “Trojan horse” program on the Mac. However, this is a rare event. There have been practically no viruses, spyware or other malicious programs written for the Macintosh that have actually spread outside the laboratory.

For that reason, most Mac users don’t run security software, and security software companies don’t make much of an effort to sell it for Macs. I don’t believe it is necessary, so far, for all except the most paranoid (and those who run Windows on their Macs). In fact, freedom from the burdens of running and updating security software has been one of the Mac’s big advantages.

Even the new Trojan Horse apparently relies on tricking the user, rather than on sneaking through holes in the Mac operating system. According to reports, to get infected you must go to a pornography site, and agree to download a program allegedly needed to view the porn. Next, the Mac will require that you type in your administrator ID and password to complete the installation, thus agreeing to install the program a second time. If you do all that, you get a program that supposedly redirects your Web browser to bogus Web sites. My advice: even if you frequent porn sites, don’t agree to download any programs from them (that goes for Windows users as well).

Some interpret the appearance of this new Trojan Horse as a sign that the Mac’s increasing market share will begin to attract a flood of viruses and spyware, and that Mac users will soon have to start running security software. If it happens, and the threats are more insidious than the latest one, I will be ready to change my recommendation. But not yet.

In reply to a question last week, you mentioned that there are free security programs available for Windows. Could you please suggest where to download such alternatives?

There are a number of them, but ones that I like are free, basic antivirus and antispyware programs called AVG from a company called Grisoft, which also makes more elaborate security software. You can download these programs at free.grisoft.com/doc/5390/us/frt/0.

I don’t have Microsoft PowerPoint but I occasionally get PowerPoint files as email attachments. Somewhere I read that one can download a free PowerPoint program so you can read these files. Can you help me with this, please?

I don’t know of any free versions of PowerPoint, but Microsoft does offer a free program that will let you view, but not create or edit, PowerPoint files. You can download it here.

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online for free at the new All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

Write to Walter S. Mossberg at mossberg@wsj.com

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20071108/running-antispyware-software-on-a-mac/feed/ 8 http://allthingsd.com/20071018/running-windows-on-a-macintosh/ http://allthingsd.com/20071018/running-windows-on-a-macintosh/#comments Thu, 18 Oct 2007 00:01:00 +0000 Walter S. Mossberg http://mailbox.allthingsd.com/20071018/running-windows-on-a-macintosh/ Would you discourage someone from buying an Apple Macintosh with the intention of running Windows as the sole or primary operating system? In your opinion, would running Windows as your primary operating system present more significant issues than simply the lack of a right-click button, keyboard differences and other minor issues?

Apple makes beautiful hardware, and, in my experience, it runs Windows quite well. In fact, the mouse and keyboard problems you cite are easily overcome, since you can plug almost any USB keyboard and mouse made for Windows into a Mac and they will work fine, right-mouse button and all.

However, what makes a Mac a Mac is primarily Apple’s OS X operating system, and the software Apple bundles with it, the iLife suite. If you don’t intend to use that, I don’t see much point in buying an Apple computer. You won’t get the advantage of the Mac’s lack of viruses and spyware, which stem from the operating system, not the hardware. And you can buy a Windows computer for less than the least expensive Mac.

In my view, the main value of the Mac’s ability to run Windows is that it allows Apple owners to use the few Windows programs they require or prefer that lack Mac equivalents, while primarily running the Mac operating system and programs designed for it.

How can one send an email to a group of people without all of their individual email addresses showing?

The most common method is to put your own email address in the “To” field and the names of all the recipients in the “Bcc” field, which is designed to be invisible. There’s always a danger someone quickly scanning just headers will decide not to read the email, since it isn’t addressed to her, but most email veterans understand the technique.

Is there a way to regain the traditional drop-down menus and other interface items in the new, redesigned Microsoft Office 2007?

There is at least one third-party add-in program designed to do this, but I haven’t tested it. It’s called Classic Menu for Office 2007, and can be found at www.addintools.com.

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online for free at the new All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

Write to Walter S. Mossberg at mossberg@wsj.com

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20071018/running-windows-on-a-macintosh/feed/ 5 http://allthingsd.com/20071018/some-basic-features-you-should-demand-when-buying-a-pc/ http://allthingsd.com/20071018/some-basic-features-you-should-demand-when-buying-a-pc/#comments Thu, 18 Oct 2007 00:01:00 +0000 Walter S. Mossberg http://ptech.allthingsd.com/20071018/some-basic-features-you-should-demand-when-buying-a-pc/ It’s time for my annual fall PC buyer’s guide and, surprisingly, 10 months after Microsoft’s Vista operating system emerged, Vista is still the biggest puzzle in consumers’ computer-buying decisions.

Back in January, when I reviewed the massive new operating system, which took more than five years to develop, I called it “unexciting” because many of the breakthrough features Microsoft had planned for it had been jettisoned, and most of the rest were already present in the rival Apple Macintosh operating system, OS X.

But I also said it was “worthy,” and better than prior versions of Windows, because it has a stronger security system under the hood and better integrated searching.

Over the ensuing months, however, Vista has proved to be a disappointment, even though Microsoft says it’s selling like hotcakes. Based on my own experience and on reports from readers, it’s clear that many Vista PCs start up more slowly than new PCs running its predecessor, Windows XP, or than even well-worn Macs. And there is still a significant compatibility problem: Too many software and hardware products still don’t run, or don’t run properly, with Vista.

So, if you’re shopping for a new Windows computer, one of your first decisions is whether you want to get Vista, which comes on almost all new models, or to stick with Windows XP. PC makers are still offering XP on a few new consumer PCs. For instance, Dell offers four consumer laptops and two consumer desktops that can be ordered with XP.

Buying XP will likely result in fewer frustrations in the short run. But buying Vista may be the better choice for the long run. Over time, more and more products will be released that are tailored to the new system.

Your other option is to shun the Windows dilemma and buy a Macintosh. I regard the Mac operating system as superior to Windows, and Apple embeds it in beautifully designed machines. Macs have been spared the plague of viruses and spyware that afflicts Windows, and have better built-in multimedia software.

But, if you’re thinking of buying a Mac, it makes sense to wait a few weeks or months to gauge the early reviews and user reactions to Apple’s own new version of its operating system, called Leopard, due out Oct. 26. After that date, Apple won’t build in the current version of OS X, called Tiger, on new machines.

Here are some tips if you’re shopping for a new Windows PC this fall. They apply to desktop PCs and to most mainstream laptops, though there are additional considerations, such as size and weight and battery life, for smaller laptops meant primarily for travel. As always, these recommendations are intended for average consumers doing average tasks, not for heavy gamers, video professionals, or corporate buyers.

Operating system: If you opt for Vista, the best choice for average consumers is a version called Home Premium, which includes all of the new graphics and multimedia features. Many low-end PCs have only a stripped-down version called Home Basic. Some people may need Vista Business, a version that can link to some kinds of corporate networks that the two Home varieties can’t. If your budget allows, you can get an expensive version called Ultimate that includes the features of both the Home and Business versions.

Junk software: Most Windows consumer models are stuffed with “craplets” — crippled trial versions of programs. They take up space and can slow down the machine. One way to avoid these is to buy a so-called business PC, like one of Dell’s new Vostro models. Dell also allows you to opt out of trial software, especially when ordering its pricier XPS models. Many other manufacturers make this hard or impossible, especially if you buy a PC at a retail store. But the stores may clean up a new PC for a fee.

Memory: Buy at least one gigabyte of memory for Home Basic and at least two gigabytes for all other Vista versions.

Video: Vista’s flashy graphical interface works best with a separate, or “discrete,” graphics card that has its own memory. Some “integrated” graphics systems work fine, too, but they claim some of your main memory via an approach called shared memory.

Processor: Any “dual-core” processor from Intel or AMD should be fine for Vista. Don’t worry about processor speed. Buying added memory does more for performance.

Hard drive: Don’t scrimp on storage space, unless you are absolutely certain you won’t be saving many photos, songs or videos. Even an average PC should come with 300 gigabytes of hard-disk space for a reasonable price.

Performance: If you’re shopping in a retail store, try to check the performance rating Microsoft builds into Vista. It’s available by clicking “Show more details” in Vista’s “Welcome Center” screen. If this rating is below 3.0 on a Home Premium model, avoid the computer. For best results, shoot for 3.5 or higher.

Price: You can get a bargain-basement computer for under $400. But, for a versatile Vista PC with Home Premium, two gigabytes of memory, discrete video, a large hard disk and a dual-core processor, you should expect to spend $800 or more.

Email me at mossberg@wsj.com. Find all my columns and videos online free at the new All Things Digital web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20071018/some-basic-features-you-should-demand-when-buying-a-pc/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20070913/linuxs-free-system-is-now-easier-to-use-but-not-for-everyone/ http://allthingsd.com/20070913/linuxs-free-system-is-now-easier-to-use-but-not-for-everyone/#comments Thu, 13 Sep 2007 00:01:00 +0000 Walter S. Mossberg http://ptech.allthingsd.com/20070913/linuxs-free-system-is-now-easier-to-use-but-not-for-everyone/ This column is written for mainstream, nontechie users of digital technology. These folks aren’t necessarily novices, and they aren’t afraid of computers. They also aren’t stupid. They simply want their digital products to operate as promised, with as little maintenance and hassle as possible.

So, I have steered away from recommending Linux, the free computer operating system that is the darling of many techies and IT managers, and a challenger to Microsoft’s dominant Windows and Apple’s resurgent Macintosh operating system, OS X. Linux, which runs on the same hardware as Windows, has always required much more technical expertise and a yen for tinkering than average users possess.

Lately, however, I’ve received a steady stream of emails from readers urging me to take a look at a variant of Linux called Ubuntu, which, these folks claimed, is finally polished enough for a mainstream user to handle. My interest increased when Dell began to sell a few computer models preloaded with Ubuntu instead of Windows.

I’ve been testing one of those Dell Ubuntu computers, a laptop called the Inspiron 1420N. I evaluated it strictly from the point of view of an average user, someone who wouldn’t want to enter text commands, hunt the Web for drivers and enabling software, or learn a whole new user interface. I focused on Ubuntu and the software programs that come bundled with it, not on the hardware, which is a pretty typical Dell laptop.

My verdict: Even in the relatively slick Ubuntu variation, Linux is still too rough around the edges for the vast majority of computer users. While Ubuntu looks a lot like Windows or Mac OS X, it is full of little complications and hassles that will quickly frustrate most people who just want to use their computers, not maintain or tweak them.

Before every passionate Linux fan attacks that conclusion, let me note that even the folks who make and sell Ubuntu agree with it. Mark Shuttleworth, the South African-born founder of the Ubuntu project, told me this week that “it would be reasonable to say that this is not ready for the mass market.” And Dell’s Web site for its Ubuntu computers warns that these machines are for “for advanced users and tech enthusiasts.”

So, what do I mean when I say Ubuntu is too rough around the edges for average users? Here are some examples.

There is no control panel for adjusting the way the touch pad works, and I found it so sensitive that I was constantly launching programs and opening windows accidentally by touching the thing. Every time the computer awoke from sleep, the volume control software crashed and had to be reloaded.

When I tried to play common audio and video files, such as MP3 songs, I was told I had to first download special files called codecs that are built into Windows and Mac computers. I was warned that some of these codecs might be “bad” or “ugly.”

To get the computer to recognize my Kodak camera and Apple iPod, I had to reboot it several times. When it did find the iPod, it wasn’t able to synchronize with it. Playing videos was a bad experience, with lots of flickering and freezing. Oh, and there’s no built-in software for playing commercial DVDs.

The Ubuntu-equipped Inspiron 1420N starts at $744, but the configuration that Dell lent me for testing sells for $1,415. The same unit equipped with Windows Vista costs $1,524. The Ubuntu version includes OpenOffice, the free office suite that competes with Microsoft Office. Dell charges an added $149 for Microsoft Office.

Ubuntu and other versions of Linux have several advantages. Unlike Windows and OS X, they’re free. Unlike Mac OS X, they can be run on the least-expensive popular hardware configurations. Unlike Windows, but like the Mac, they are essentially free of viruses and spyware. And unlike Windows and Mac OS X, they are built and constantly improved by a world-wide network of developers, professional and amateur — the so-called open-source concept that produced the excellent Firefox Web browser.

It makes sense that all the best software brains can’t be located in just two places: Redmond, Wash., where Microsoft is based, and Cupertino, Calif., Apple’s base. And plenty of people reading this have had lots of frustrations with the two better-known operating systems, especially Windows, whose latest iteration, Vista, is disappointing in many ways.

But open source is a two-edged sword. While it draws on smart developers from many places, nobody is ultimately responsible for the quality of the product, and open-source developers often have an imperfect feel for how average people use software. A European company called Canonical is the “commercial sponsor” of Ubuntu and provides support. But it’s largely focused on corporate and techie users. Average Ubuntu users are likely to have to wade through online forums, often written in technical language, to get help.

Dell and Canonical tell me there are complex workarounds for some of the problems I encountered, and that built-in improvements are planned for others. But for now, I still advise mainstream, nontechnical users to avoid Linux.

Email me at mossberg@wsj.com. Find all my columns and videos online free at the new All Things Digital web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20070913/linuxs-free-system-is-now-easier-to-use-but-not-for-everyone/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20070809/a-99-desktop-comes-with-software-backup-and-too-many-catches/ http://allthingsd.com/20070809/a-99-desktop-comes-with-software-backup-and-too-many-catches/#comments Thu, 09 Aug 2007 00:01:00 +0000 Walter S. Mossberg http://ptech.allthingsd.com/20070809/a-99-desktop-comes-with-software-backup-and-too-many-catches/ For just $99, you can now buy a desktop computer that’s preloaded with full versions of 20 popular types of software. This computer comes with free, automatic, online backup of your files, and a design that cuts energy use way below that of a standard computer.

It gets better. This new PC, called Zonbu, from a new company of the same name, automatically receives free updates of its software when new versions come out. It doesn’t require antivirus or other security programs because it runs on the Linux operating system, which has attracted very few viruses or spyware programs. And it takes up almost no room — it’s a tiny little box.

Zonbu’s overall goal is to vastly simplify the process of buying and using a computer. The idea is to make it not only more affordable, but also much less of a hassle and much more energy efficient.

I’ve been testing the Zonbu, and it does work. Its software is still in beta, or test, mode until next month. But you can buy it right now at Zonbu.com with free software updates into the future. However, there’s a catch — several catches, in fact. Some have to do with the machine’s design and pricing, and others with its performance. Taken together, they prevent me from recommending this computer, despite its intriguing price and concept.

The biggest catch is that the Zonbu computer doesn’t include a hard disk for storing files (that’s one reason it uses so little energy). Instead, all of your files are stored online on the company’s servers. That offers several advantages, such as the fact that the files are automatically backed up.

But you have to pay for that online storage. In fact, to get the $99 price for the Zonbu computer, you have to commit to a two-year contract at prices ranging from $12.95 a month for a relatively small 25 gigabytes of storage to $19.95 a month for 100 gigabytes. If you opt to pay month to month instead of two years in advance, the Zonbu will cost you $249.

To get the Zonbu for $99 with 100 gig-abytes of storage, it will cost you $517.95 up-front after the discount of three free months that the company is currently offering. And the Zonbu doesn’t come with a monitor, keyboard, mouse, Wi-Fi adapter, speakers or DVD drive.

By comparison, you can get a Dell Inspiron 531s for just $529, after rebate. It has twice the memory, a DVD drive and a much better processor than the Zonbu. And it comes with a screen, keyboard, speakers and mouse — oh, and a 160-gigabyte hard disk that requires no monthly fee.

To be fair, the Dell doesn’t come with a full-fledged office productivity suite, while the Zonbu has OpenOffice, a competitor to Microsoft Office, preloaded. To get OpenOffice on the Dell, you must download and install it.

Also, the Zonbu monthly service fee is offset by some savings. The $99 machine uses so much less energy than a typical PC that the company claims you could save noticeably on your electric bill. And you might also save the cost of subscribing to security software updates.

Zonbu

Because the Zonbu stores your files on a remote server, you can also use them remotely, at no extra cost, from another Zonbu or from any Windows PC.

To speed things up — and guard against an Internet service outage — the built-in programs are stored locally on the computer, and Zonbu includes a small 4 gigabyte memory card in the machine to cache your documents. In my tests, this allowed me to keep using the Zonbu even when I unplugged it from the Internet.

In addition to OpenOffice, the Zonbu comes with the Firefox Web browser, an Outlook clone called Evolution, an iTunes clone called Banshee, the Skype Internet phone software, and a bunch of other programs for organizing photos, playing video and more. There are also some casual games.

To Zonbu’s credit, the machine is capable of recognizing lots of printers and digital cameras, out of the box. It worked well with my Kodak camera and Hewlett-Packard printer.

But there are three other big problems with the Zonbu, problems that belie its goal of eliminating hassles. First, you aren’t allowed to install any added software. You’re stuck with what the company provides. And that means, for instance, no video-editing software, for now at least.

Second, a lot of this Linux software is rough, below the polished level of Windows or Mac programs. In my tests, various programs crashed or froze frequently. While the Banshee program is supposed to work with iPods, it failed to work properly with both of the iPods I tested.

Finally, I found that the Zonbu crawled much of the time. Folders took forever to open, email took way too long to appear, and so forth. And I was testing it on a very fast Internet connection. This may be because of the very wimpy processor Zonbu uses to save money and energy.

I strongly support Zonbu’s goals of making computing simpler, cheaper and more energy efficient. But this product has too many compromises.

• Email me at mossberg@wsj.com. Find all my columns and videos online free at the new All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20070809/a-99-desktop-comes-with-software-backup-and-too-many-catches/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20070719/cipav/ http://allthingsd.com/20070719/cipav/#comments Thu, 19 Jul 2007 07:01:44 +0000 John Paczkowski http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/20070719/cipav/

The email was sent over a newly made Gmail account, from overseas in a foreign country. Seeing as you’re too stupid to trace the email back lets [sic] get serious,” he taunted in another. “Maybe you should hire Bill Gates to tell you that it is coming from Italy. HAHAHA. Oh wait. I already told you that it’s coming from Italy.”

–Bomb hoaxer Josh Glazebrook

Now that the FBI has made “significant progress in decreasing the rate of loss for … laptops,” it can get on with the much more important business of using them to nab bad guys. Bad guys like former Timberline High School student Josh Glazebrook of Lacey, Wash., who pleaded guilty to emailing bomb threats and other charges after the bureau tracked him down with a piece of spyware called a Computer and Internet Protocol Address Verifier, or CIPAV. A remotely installed application, CIPAV logs a computer’s Internet protocol address, its open TCP and UDP ports, the type and serial number of the operating system it’s running, the registered user of that operating system, and that user’s login name, and then it sends them all along to the government.

Just how the FBI managed to install CIPAV on Glazebrook’s computer is anyone’s guess. Perhaps the bureau convinced security software makers to white-list the application so it could operate undetected. Or perhaps it exploited an unknown vulnerability in Windows. Of those two explanations, it’s the latter that seems most plausible. “It’s quite possible the FBI knows about vulnerabilities that have not been disclosed to the rest of the world,” Roger Thompson, CTO of security vendor Exploit Prevention Labs, told Wired. “If they had discovered one, they would not have disclosed it, and that would be a great way to get stuff on people’s computer. Then I guess they can bug whoever they want.”

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20070719/cipav/feed/ 1