Triona's Tech Tips

As an update to my post about problems with Norton AntiVirus, I’d like to note that a serious conflict has been discovered between several Symantec products (Norton Antivirus 2008, Norton Internet Security 2008, and Norton SystemWorks 2008) and the new Service Pack 3 for Windows XP.

Why should you care? Because SP3 is being installed automatically on consumer computers via Microsoft’s Automatic Updates. If you have AU enabled and you are running a Norton product, your antivirus may become corrupted and unusable.

The fix is to uninstall the Norton product before installing SP3, then reinstall after. Reports indicate you may need to do this for Windows Vista SP1 as well. Or, set your AU to “notify but not install” and bypass the service pack installation until Microsoft and Symantec resolve the conflict.

In my opinion, neither Windows XP SP3 nor Vista SP1 are quite ready for consumers yet. Stay tuned to Triona’s Tech Tips for the latest computer news.

[This article was originally published in the August 2007 issue of Triona's Tech Tips. I'm reprinting it because I am continuing to see problems with the Norton suites slowing down Windows computers, and generally misbehaving. I've been recommending Trend Micro's Internet Security suite, which is less expensive and less of a memory hog.]

Antivirus? Norton. For many consumers, those words go hand in hand. But us computer folks have sensed a changing tide for a while, and as a result we’ve been drifting from Symantec’s shores. Now the situation has become dire enough that I’ve decided to send up the red flag. Folks, you need to stop using the consumer Norton products until the problems with them are fixed.

Note that I’m talking specifically about the Norton programs intended for home use. Symantec’s corporate products are a cut above their consumer cousins, and I’m still recommending (and using) those. But concerns about the home versions are mounting.

Last year I mentioned some serious conflicts between the new Norton AntiVirus 2007 and Internet Explorer 7. Given that most consumers end up with IE7 via Microsoft’s Automatic Updates, this seems like a crime, or at least a grave oversight. Besides this notable issue, NAV 2007 is also a resource pig, taking up so much memory that all but the newest and fastest machines bog down.

Therefore, a lot of users have decided to skip the upgrade to 2007, in favor of renewing their subscriptions to the 2006 editions. Unfortunately, this isn’t a solid solution, because the spectres of perpetual upgrade work against us. Internet threats get trickier, and the only way to combat them is better protection software. To make matters worse, there are known bugs in Norton 2006 that can leave you open to threats. As we’ve seen, winding up with a zombied computer is no one’s idea of fun. And I have yet to see anything to convince me that 2008 will be a better year.

What are your antivirus alternatives? McAfee is Pepsi to Norton’s Coke, but I don’t always recommend it either because it’s had its own share of problems. (On the other hand, McAfee’s enterprise-level software is stellar.) I prefer Trend Micro Internet Security, ZoneAlarm Internet Security, or the free and paid versions of AVG. Given that Norton has become more trouble than it’s worth, I heartily encourage you to explore these alternatives.

Not to leave out the Mac folks; there are some good non-Norton options for you as well. Try Intego VirusBarrier or MacScan. If you run Windows on your Intel Mac, Intego VirusBarrier DualProtection will give you antivirus on both sides.

As for Norton, Symantec seems to be resting on its laurels. I’ll let you know if the situation improves.

On the heels of last month’s discussion of data encryption, let’s talk about ways you can protect your data from the unthinkable.

Corporations often use disaster recovery services, but how can low-budget users provide disaster recovery? It’s not enough to copy your files to a disk that sits right next to your computer – what if, heaven forbid, the whole place goes? Redundant backups are those written to more than one medium, like archiving to CD as well as an external hard drive. And you’ll want to keep at least one of those copies at an offsite location (such as a safety-deposit box or a friend or relative’s house).

Let’s say the unthinkable happens, and you’re standing there holding your backup with no computer to put it on. This is why it’s important for your backups to be easy to move to another computer. External hard drives and USB (aka thumb or flash) drives are great because they work almost anywhere. Same for burning to CD-R disks, but be aware not all CD drives can read CD-RW disks. If you use backup software, keep a copy of the install disk, serial number, manual and tech support phone number with your offsite backup. Also include a full list of your computer components: model and serial numbers, version of Windows or Mac OS, types of printers or other equipment. A list of your vital software programs with versions and serial numbers is good, too, and may also help your insurer.

How do you plan for disaster recovery? Post a comment and let me know.

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Do you play when you’re supposed to be working? Here at Guidry Consulting, a day rarely goes by when I don’t manage a round of 1980s arcade games. But there are dangers in mixing work and play on your computer. Some of the things we do for fun pose risks to the security of our business data.

File sharing is of particular concern. If you use LimeWire or KaZaa to download music and video, you may be exposing files to the Internet. A terrifying InformationWeek study found everything from confidential meeting notes to internal audits and financial results available via common file-sharing networks. This is because such programs often share the entire My Documents directory by default.

How can you safely mix work and play? Ideally, use separate computers, physical or virtual. When that isn’t possible, be utterly sure your security measures are updated and effective. Share only a separate directory that is different from where you store your regular files. And stay tuned to Triona’s Tech Tips for the latest in computer news.

How do you have fun with your computer? Post a comment and let me know.

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This is why I started Triona’s Tech Tips – because there are murky things going on in the computer world that consumers have no way of detecting. Today it’s your Internet service providers, who are once again doing things without telling their subscribers.

In starting this blog, I naturally added its address to my email signature:

www.guidryconsulting.com/techtips

In the course of checking my Monday morning mail, I sent a reply to a client with whom I’ve worked for years. Imagine my surprise at the following bounce message:

PERM_FAILURE: Rejected by the recipient domain. The error that the other server returned was:
554 554-: (HVU:B1)http://postmaster.info.aol.com/errors/554hvub1.html
554 TRANSACTION FAILED.

I recognized the error because it’s an unusual one, and because I’d just seen it over the weekend when sending a non-work-related email. I immediately recognized the commonalities: both emails were addressed to AOL users, and happened to have links to Blogspot blogs.

A little web sleuthing came up with this:
http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/2008/05/aol-vs-blogspot.html

It appears AOL has decided, without telling its users, that it’s no longer going to accept email messages that happen to contain Blogspot links. And Blogspot happens to be owned by Google.

This is a horrible precident, one that echoes the arguments in favor of net neutrality. If it’s okay for an Internet provider to decide which links it will allow in email, what’s to stop them from, say, refusing all emails from non-affiliated providers? Imagine if your cell phone company decided you couldn’t receive calls from another company’s customers!

This isn’t going to provide computer security for AOL users, as the error message implies. It’s going to send those users – who are already plenty ticked about their degrading service, especially dial-up – straight into the arms of some other provider.

If you’re an AOL user and suddenly not receiving some emails, this may be part of your answer. And if you are emailing AOL users, you’ll have to break up the “blogspot” address, like this:

b l o g s p o t . c o m

Otherwise your message may never reach your recipient, and you may never know why.

Welcome to the new, improved Triona’s Tech Tips!

This blog supplements the Tech Tips mailing list, a FREE monthly newsletter for consumer and small business computer users. Subscribers will continue to receive the email newsletter midmonth. If you’re not already a subscriber, you’re welcome to join:

http://www.guidryconsulting.com/mailman/listinfo/techtips

The articles will also appear on the Tech Tips blog so you can comment and ask questions of your friendly neighborhood tech guru – me!

Let me know if there are questions you’d like answered in future articles. In the meantime, read, share, and enjoy!