TThheeCCuurrssoorr Monthly Newsletterofthe WashingtonArea ComputerUserGroup Meeting Location: Next Meeting: OLLI, 4210 Roberts Road March 17, 2012 Fairfax, VA Presidential Bits by GeofGoodrum President WACUG, president(at)wacug.org The February meeting, one of our best attended ever, featured excellent presentations about Digital Photography by Dan Feighery and TrueCrypt disk encryption software by Lorrin Garson. Dan characterized his session as plowing the digital photo field “a mile wide and an inch deep.” Dan covered the characteristics of Paul Howard (left) introduces digital cameras from inexpensive “point & shoot” models to high-end Dan Feighery (right) Digital Single-Lens Reflex (DSLR) models. Even the basic cameras have extensive manuals describing available features, displays, and controls of the camera, and Dan encouraged everyone who buys a Table of Contents camera to spend some time with the manual to understand the camera’s capabilities. One particular function is the histogram, which Useful Bits & Pieces.............2 can help you optimize your pictures. Dan also discussed color Linux News........................... 4 management, a somewhat involved end-to-end process that includes Sandboxie............................. 7 adjustment of video monitor, camera, and printer to ensure that the Using PowerPoint................9 colors captured by the camera are reproduced as accurately as Micro Center Clinics..........10 possible on screen and in print. Dan’s briefing slides are on the WAC Recent Meetings web page (http://www.wacug.org/recmtgs.html) as a 21 MB PDF file, and serves as an invaluable reference to the general Only in the Download concepts of digital photography. Edition: Lorrin Garson returned to talk about “Protecting Private Information with TrueCrypt” software, available as a free download for Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux, and Apple Macintosh OS X systems. TrueCrypt ICE Your Cell Phone.......... 13 creates password-encrypted space on your disk for your sensitive Windows Live SkyDrive....13 financial, medical, and other personal data. Lorrin pointed out that Stellarium........................... 15 TrueCrypt “containers” (virtual disks that appear as files on your Invisible Shield...................16 hard drive) can be copied to portable media (e.g. flash drives) and even exchanged by e-mail securely as long as only the recipient has the password. Lorrin also noted that a secure file deletion utility (e.g. file shredder) should be used to delete sensitive files that are not kept in an encrypted container, as normal deletion utilities leave data on the drive that can be recovered and viewed. Although there are Continued on page 4 Useful Bits & Pieces by Lorrin R. Garson Washington Area Computer User Group NCTCUG Microsoft Warns About Ransomware Ransomware is malicious software inadvertently installed on Visit our “sister” user group. The your computer that extortionists use in an attempt to National Capital Technology and shakedown money. Recently Microsoft has issued a warning that Computer User’s Group meets the first about 25,000+ computers have been infected in Germany in and fourth Wednesday of the month. which crooks posing as the German Federal Police demanding They meet in Carlin Hall in Arlington payment of a fine because illicit material has been detected and at 5711 South 4th Street. Visit their your disk drive will be erased unless prompt payment is made to web site for more information, a map PaySafeCard or Ukash. This particular scheme has so far been and directions: limited to Europe, but its only a matter of time until it spreads. See http://blogs.technet.com/b/mmpc/archive/2011/12/19/disorde http://www.nctcug.org/ rly-conduct-localized-malware-impersonates-the-police.aspx for details. Also see http://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/ for general security warnings from Microsoft. Meetings start at 7:00 PM 12 Atoms to Store a Bit In storing information on todays disk drives, about one million atoms are used to store a single bit of information. Scientists at IBM have recently published an article in which one bit of information is stored using only 12 atoms. This remarkable bit of nanotechnology (sorry) does not mean we will see magnetic storage with 83,000 times the capacity of todays devices, but it is estimated this technology could lead to magnetic storage devices holding 100 times the information density we see today. Dont Washington Area User bother to place an order with Amazon.com quite yet. It will be Group Partners sometime before this comes to the marketplace. • See http://www- Working Together for 03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/36473.wss for a press Our Members release from IBM describing this research finding. • See https://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9223396/IBM_s mashes_Moore_s_Law_cuts_bit_size_to_12_atoms for a summary in Computerworld. NCTCUG • The original research was published by Sebastian Loth, Susanne Baumann, Christopher P. Lutz, D.M. Eigler, and WACUG Andreas J. Heinrich, Bistability in Atomic-Scale Antiferromagnets, Science, 13 January 2012, 335 (6065), pp. 196-199). You can see an abstract at http://www.sciencemag.org/content/335/6065/196. OPCUG Abstract and supplemental technical information is freely available available at Continued on page 3 The Cursor— Page 2 — March 17, 2012 Continued from page 2 • See http://www.windows8news.com/ for news http://www.sciencemag.org/content/335/6065 and tips about Windows 8. /196/suppl/DC1. Oh No! The Blue Screen of Death • See http://www.zdnet.com/blog/microsoft/micros Yes, it happens to everyone eventually. Getting oft-previews-windows-8-app-store-launching- information from the blue screen that accompanies with-the-beta-in-late-february/11340 for a crash can be challenging. Help is available in the information about Windows 8 and Microsoft's form of BlueScreenView from NirSoft. See coming app store. http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/blue_screen_view.ht Acronis True Image 2012 ml for a description and to download the program. This application scans minidump files that are This application has been quite popular for a created during crashes and displays information in a number of years for backing up home computers. table. This information includes modules and The 2012 version is now available from Acronis (see drivers that may be responsible for the sad event. http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/product Learning to make sense of the data provided takes s/trueimage/) for $39.99 for one PC or $69.99 for some effort, but if you have persistent crashes, this three PCs. You can get a better deal from Gene tool may be of considerable help. Barlow at http://www.ugr.com/index.html. Not Enough Space on Your Tablet or • See Smartphone? http://www.infopackets.com/news/software/r eviews/2011/20111216_acronis_true_image_201 These devices are quite limited in storage space, but 2_review.htm#details for a description of this you can add an additional 16 GB or 32 GB of storage product and its new features. to your iPhone or iPad using Kingston’s wireless • See USB flashdrive, the Wi-Drive. Currently http://www.softpedia.com/reviews/windows/A Amazon.com is selling Wi-Drives for $59.99 (16 GB) cronis-True-Image-Home-2012-Review- and $89.99 (32 GB). See 232888.shtml for a review from Softpedia. http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/09/kingston- wi-drive-wireless-storage-for-ios-review/ for a • See http://windows.microsoft.com/en- review of the Wi-Drive and other devices for solving US/windows7/products/features/backup-and- this capacity problem. restore for information about a viable, free Windows 8 is Coming! competitor to Acronis True Image, which comes with Windows 7. So you’ve been thinking about upgrading to Windows 7. You may possibly want to wait for Windows 8 which will probably be released the latter half of 2012. The beta version is scheduled to be released in late February. Windows 7 has been very well accepted in the marketplace. Windows 8 seems to be trying hard to compete with Apples outstanding user interface. Will Windows 8 be a success? Time will tell. Undoubtedly much will be written about this new operating system in the coming months. • See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p92QfWOw 88I for a video from Microsoft on Windows 8. The Cursor— Page 3 — March 17, 2012 several commercial products that have similar Privoxy is a non-caching web proxy with advanced capabilities (and Lorrin provides links to several of filtering capabilities for enhancing privacy, modifying them), Lorrin noted that TrueCrypt is all most web page data and HTTP headers, controlling access, people will need. Lorrin’s presentation, which and removing ads and other obnoxious Internet junk. includes step-by-step screen instructions for Privoxy has a flexible configuration and can be installing TrueCrypt, is also available as a 2 MB PDF file on the WAC Recent Meetings web page. customized to suit individual needs and tastes. It has application for both stand-alone systems and multi- At the March meeting, Abby Stokes, author of “Is user networks. This Thing On? A Computer Handbook for Late Bloomers, Technophobes, and the Kicking & As proxy server software that runs within the PC, Screaming,” will join us in person to talk about Privoxy intercepts and filters web-based Social Networking, participate in an interview, a communications after they get to the computer but book signing (her book will be available for before they get passed to the web-browser, and purchase), and a Questions & Answers session. therefore serves as a more general and consistent Check out Abby’s web site at solution regardless of the browser. Note that http://abbyandme.com/, and plan to see her in Privoxy is not designed to block malware attacks th person at the WAC meeting on March 17 . and is not a firewall, so your system still needs As last month, I am grateful for Lorrin Garson’s “Bits software for these functions.