May 2002 Volume 12 • Number 5 

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Windows Watcher

An experiment for you ... by Tom S. Bair, Jr.

Let's do an experiment. Rob is a contributor to the popular Usenet newsgroup, misc.writing. He posted a message claiming success on a test of a theory he held. In his words, "It turns out that when you 'click this button to send this page to a friend,' you are adding your friend to the cosmopolitan spam roster of the Internet."

To test his theory, Rob created a brand new email address. Then he went surfing on the Web to locate one of the "send page to friend" banners. Finding one, he clicked on it, and entered his brand new "special" email address. Then he waited.

After several weeks, Rob checked his email and discovered a mass of spam. Remember, Rob never sent any messages out via this address and only gave it out through one banner click. So he is certain the single banner click is responsible for all that spam.

Rob also was careful not to use a Hotmail-type account in his test because"I suspect Hotmail and the others make available their email addresses to whomever will pay."

So here is the experiment I want you to do. If you have an extra, unused email address available, do what Rob did and establish a fresh email account. Now surf the Web and hunt down a "send this page to a friend" banner and click on it. Enter in your new email address as the "friend" to send the page to. Next, write down the URL address of the page you sent to yourself.

Once a week for a full month, check for email to this special address. Count (if any) the number of spam messages addressed to the account and write that number down. Then delete all email in the account so that it is empty and ready for the next week's check.

Send me an email at pcwriter@mindspring.com with "spam test" in the subject header. In the body of the message, give me:

  1. The URL address of the page or banner you used.
  2. The full email address of your special account (ex. 'spamtest@myisp.com').
  3. Which week you are reporting (1, 2, 3, or 4).
  4. The number of spam messages you received in the special account.
  5. Any comments you wish to add. Is most of the spam porno related? Are you often being informed you are a winner of something or other?

I will keep track and chart the results, which I will report in a future issue. Maybe we will discover first-hand that we don't want to be giving out other's email addresses to the banner owners?

To provide you with a bit of comfort, I'll tell you what Sal Towse, our Surfing The Internet columnist, suggests. She tells me you can use Netscape and just click on the "send page" option and enter an email address. The page will then be transferred by Netscape instead of the website.

MSN Messenger Update

[XP] Last month I gave instructions on removing MSN Messenger from Windows XP. I tested the process on my two computers that were running both the Home and Pro editions of XP. The process worked smoothly for me, yet I received a rash of email from readers reporting that they still could not remove Messenger. So I needed to hash out a new process which would work with all computers.

My wife and I spent hours poring over the Microsoft KnowledgeBase for clues. We finally discovered a fix developed by Doug Knox, a Microsoft MVP. I've tried to simplify the instructions below so that an inexperienced user may attempt this fix. However, if you feel uncomfortable with performing these instructions on your computer, Doug has offered an option.

You can download an automated method of doing this from Doug's website, in the form of a small Visual Basic Script file. Just surf on over to www.dougknox.com, select the "Win XP Fixes" section on the left side of the Web page and follow the link for "Windows Messenger-Remove."

  1. Click the 'Start' button.
  2. Click 'Run.'
  3. Type in the following line, and triple-check that you have entered it correctly: RunDLL32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSection %windir%\inf\msmsgs.inf,BLC.Remove
  4. There are only two spaces in the above command, one space after RunDLL32 and one space after LaunchINFSection.
  5. Click the 'OK' button.
  6. Reboot your PC.

Additionally, if you use the Contacts pane in Outlook Express, you will need to make a change to your system Registry. This is to prevent a long delay in opening Outlook Express if you use Contacts to address outgoing email.

  1. Click the 'Start' button.
  2. Click 'Run.'
  3. Type in REGEDIT
  4. Hit the 'Enter' key.
  5. In the left pane window, click on the plus box to the left of 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.'
  6. Click on the plus box next to 'SOFTWARE.'
  7. Click on the plus box next to 'Microsoft.'
  8. Click on the folder next to 'Outlook Express.'
  9. Right-click on an empty spot in the right pane.
  10. A pop-up menu will appear with the word 'New' in it. Highlight the word with your mouse cursor and additional options will appear to the right of 'New.'
  11. Highlight and left-click on 'DWORD Value.'
  12. An entry will appear with the words "New Value #1" highlighted. Using your keyboard, type Hide Messenger and press 'Enter.'
  13. Double-click this new entry and a "Edit DWORD Value" menu will appear.
  14. Type in the number 2 and press the 'Enter' key.
  15. Click on 'File' in the Menu Toolbar near the top of the window.
  16. Click on 'Exit.'
  17. Reboot your computer.

Disable Balloon Tips

[XP] Bob Chrisman asked how he can turn off the annoying balloon notes that appear in his task tray, informing him that he is now connected online via modem. Seems he already knows he is connected to his ISP, and is tired of clicking on the X to close the note.

  1. Click the 'Start' button.
  2. Click 'Run.'
  3. Type in REGEDIT.
  4. Hit the 'Enter' key.
  5. In the left pane window, click on the plus box to the left of 'HKEY_CURRENT_USER.'
  6. Click on the plus box next to 'SOFTWARE.'
  7. Click on the plus box next to 'Microsoft.'
  8. Click on the plus box next to 'Windows.'
  9. Click on the plus box next to 'CurrentVersion.'
  10. Click on the plus box next to 'Explorer.'
  11. Click on the plus box next to 'Advanced.'
  12. Right-click on an empty spot in the right pane.
  13. A pop-up menu will appear with the word 'New' in it. Highlight the word with your mouse cursor and additional options will appear to the right of 'New.'
  14. Highlight and left-click on 'DWORD Value.'
  15. An entry will appear with the words "New Value #1" highlighted. Using your keyboard, type EnableBalloonTips and press 'Enter.'
  16. Double-click this new entry, and give it a hexadecimal value of 0.
  17. Click on 'File' in the Menu Toolbar near the top of the window.
  18. Click on 'Exit.'
  19. Reboot your computer.

Renaming Digital Image Files

[XP] If you are like me, you've shot dozens of pictures of a family event or vacation with your digital camera. Yet, after transferring these images to your hard drive, every picture has some sort of non-descriptive, numbered file name. My camera generates file names such as "DSCF0343.jpg" and "DSCF0344.jpg." My webcam uses "Picture 01.jpg," "Picture 02.jpg." You get the idea.

Want to rename a group of pictures in sequence with a familiar file name? Try this:

  1. Click on the 'Start' button.
  2. Click on the 'My Pictures' (or whichever folder contains your digital photos).
  3. Click on the 'Views' button in the menu toolbar near the top of the window.
  4. Click on 'Thumbnails.'
  5. Hold your mouse cursor over the first picture of a series you wish to rename.
  6. While holding down the 'Ctrl' key, highlight each picture you wish to include in this set.
  7. Left-click on the last picture of the set.
  8. Release the 'Ctrl' key.
  9. Click on 'Rename' in the pop-up window.
  10. Type in a name for the group of photos. (For example, 'Beach.')
  11. Press the 'Enter' key.

Looking at the group of pictures: you will notice they have been renamed in sequence, such as 'Beach.jpg,' 'Beach (1).jpg,' 'Beach (2).jpg,' and so forth.

Avoid Running Virus Code

[SE,ME,2K,XP] Creeps are taking advantage of a Windows default to spread viruses.

By default, Windows will hide the file extensions for known file types. Knowing this, these creeps will file attach virus code to you named something like 'Lake.jpg.vbs' or 'Mypic.jpg.vbs.' The email will tempt you to open the attachment to view the picture. Because you don't see the file extension of the attachment, you are actually duped into running the virus code. You only see 'Lake.jpg,' or 'Mypic.jpg' as the filename.

Here's how to change the default in Windows so that you see the complete filename of an attachment:

  1. Click on the 'Start' button.
  2. Click on 'My Computer.'
  3. Click on 'Tools' in the menu toolbar near the top of the window.
  4. Click on 'Folder Options...'.
  5. Click on the 'View' tab.
  6. Uncheck the box next to "Hide extensions for known file types."
  7. Click the 'Apply' button.
  8. Click the 'OK' button.
  9. Close the 'My Computer' window.

HP Printer Cable Recall

I've just received a safety recall notice from Hewlett Packard concerning the recall of the Longwell "LS-7C" gray, two-prong power cords. If you have a DeskJet 800 series, 900 series, PhotoSmart 1000 series, 1100 series, 1200 series, or 1300 series and your cord is gray, do the following:

  1. Unplug the power cord from the wall outlet or power source.
  2. Check between the prongs of the plug and verify if the name "Longwell" is molded or printed on the plug.
  3. If "Longwell" is printed on the plug, your cord is affected by this recall. You need to stop using it immediately and contact HP for a free replacement power cord.
  4. Contact HP via their website at http://www.hp.com/go/CPSC or call 1-877-917-4378, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

    About the Author

    Tom continues to make us nervous with his Laptop Anti-theft Nuclear Device' (LAND) research, so we've attempted to distract him with the latest Redhat Linux release. He can be contacted via email at pcwriter@mindspring.com .

    Please feel free to email the author with your comments about this article: Tom S. Bair, Jr.

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