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IN THIS FREE EDITION: 0. EDITORIAL: The Best Strategy for Dealing with Malware 0.0 EDITORIALAfter spending the last seven months testing security products I've learned an important lesson. Don't get infected by malware. In other words, put maximum effort into preventing infection rather than detecting and removing infection. This statement may seem bland and unremarkable but there's more to it than you think. To start with I've come to realize that it's almost impossible to defend yourself against the latest generation of malware products once they get the opportunity to run on your PC. These things are just too clever and the holes in the Windows operating system too wide for you to be able to effectively defend yourself. Additionally, it's become clear to me that it IS possible to prevent most infections. Not with 100% effectiveness of course, but close to it. So how do you prevent infection? The basics you know: First, ensure you keep Windows and MS Office completely up-to-date by applying the latest fixes from the Microsoft Update Service. Second, make sure your other software products are also fully updated, particularly popular products like Firefox, Opera, the Adobe Reader, Sun Java, Flash plug-ins and media players. Third, never open email attachments from untrusted sources however tempting and attractive such attachments may seem. Similarly, never click on links in email from unknown correspondents. Fourth, never install programs unless you are fully confident they are clean. In particular, only download files from trusted sources and never install programs that friends give you on removable media unless you have verified that are clean. Fifth, install a robust firewall to ensure worms can't secretly enter your PC via the internet. My current favorite is the free Comodo firewall but there are several other excellent choices including Kerio, Jetico, Netveda and ZoneAlarm Pro to name but a few. These basic measures are surprisingly effective in keeping your PC free from infection. Indeed, I've known users who follow these rules and don't use any additional security products yet have never had a malware infection. However, sticking to these rules is not easy; it requires a level of discipline most users don't have. Who hasn't been tempted to open a funny PowerPoint email attachment or install a free game? And it's not only a question of discipline. These days you can get infected simply by surfing to a hostile web site or opening a "loaded" MS Office document. You need more protection that the basic security rules can provide. After seven months of testing security products I'm now convinced the best way to get that additional protection is to use a sandboxing solution. I've covered the subject extensively in recent issues and won't repeat it. If you don't know what sandboxing is then check out this article: http://www.techsupportalert.com/issues/al_current.htm#Section_1.1 Instead of explaining sandboxing I'd like to talk about how it can be used to prevent your PC from getting infected. To start with, do all your surfing in a sandbox. Using a product like SandBoxie or DefenseWall to surf is easy, convenient and provides near perfect protection from even the most hostile websites. Additionally, use the sandbox to install any downloaded files. That way you can check them out without risking infection. If you are happy the program is kosher then you can move it outside the sandbox and install it on your real PC. Finally you can use the sandbox to view any email attachment you want to view but don't fully trust. Just save the attachment from your email client and then run the saved file in the sandbox. That way you can view that joke PowerPoint attachment without threatening your PC. Not only is sandboxing convenient and practical it also uses very few of your computer resources. Indeed, many users will notice no difference in performance when using a sandbox product. So, if you follow the basic security rules listed above and use sandboxing as indicated, how safe is your PC? Well, a lot safer than if you don't. That doesn't mean you don't need anti-virus and anti-spyware products on your PC. Next month I'll show you how these can be best employed in concert with the active protection measures I've outlined in this editorial. One thing for sure though: For me the days of running half a dozen AV, anti-spyware and anti-trojan products are over. I'm now following my grandmother's advice: "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Short List of Recommended Sandboxing Products: SandBoxie:
Donationware, Windows 2000 and later, 242KB
DefenseWall:
Shareware, $29, 30 day trial, Windows 2000 and later, 1.02MB
GreenBorder:
Shareware, $29.95, 30 day trial, Windows 2000 and later, 7.93MB
Note that I do not sell or carry advertising for any of these products. See you next month. Gizmo Ian Richards PS This month I'm giving away six free copies of the the top rated Anti virus NOD32 plus lots of Google GMail invites. For details, see below: Support Alert is not produced by a giant publishing empire, it's the work of one man, working alone, namely me. Support Alert relies on paid subscriptions to survive. If you feel that you've benefited from reading this newsletter perhaps you would like to consider subscribing to the Premium Paid Edition of this newsletter. The Premium Edition contains almost twice the number of great tech sites, free utilities, tips and other content as the free edition. It's also ad-free. You'll also get immediate access to the archive of all past issues of the Premium Edition where you can catch up on the hundreds of great utilities you missed in the free edition. The Premium Edition is a great deal and at $10 per year it's a bargain. This month I'm giving away to new premium subscribers, six free copies of the the top rated anti-virus NOD32. NOD32 is a brilliant program for protecting your PC yet it only consumes a modest amount of your computing resources. That's why I use it on my key work computers. At $39 it's good value but it's even better value when you can get it for free. The six copies I'm giving away will be allocated at random but your chances of scoring one are actually quite good. So if you have been thinking of subscribing, now's the time. I'm also giving away invites to Google Gmail to new premium subscribers. Last month everyone who wanted one got one and I expect the same to happen this month. Just email me at editor@techsupportalert.com after subscribing to the Premium Edition and I'll send your invitation. Even if you don't win anything you'll still get my special report "Gizmo's Desert Island Utilities" which outlines the software I use myself, including many free products. HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE PREMIUM EDITION 12 months subscription to the Premium Edition costs $10 which can be made by credit card, PayPal or eCheck. Use this link to subscribe now: http://www.techsupportalert.com/se-edition.htm 1.0 TOP TECH SITES AND RESOURCES
1.1 Free Tech Support SitesSubscriber
Dana Kasper recently wrote to tell me of the Tech Guys support site [1]. I've covered it a
couple of times in previous issues but it's worth mentioning again. It's a very active
forum site that covers more than 25 different support areas. Anyone can post a question
for free providing they register. The number and quality of responses to posts are quite
variable but it's definitely worth trying next time you have a tech problem. A new free
service quite different to the other two is Qunu [2]. It connects users (with problems) to
volunteer "experts" (with answers) using any Jabber based Instant Messaging client. I
tried it and it works great but, as ever, the quality of the answers you get will depend
on the quality of the "expert" assigned to you. Thanks to subscriber Urcun Bolkan for this
one.
1.2 Firefox V2.0 TweaksLots
of nice tips here for customizing FF2. My favorite was the one that showed you how to
reduce memory usage.
1.3 Free PIMS GalorThis
site is dedicated to free PIMS and last time I checked there were 229 listed!
Unfortunately the site doesn't offer much guidance but if you are looking for a new PIM
it's a good starting point. Thanks to Steve Halvorsen for the link.
1.4 Free Adobe BrushesTony
Bennett writes, "Gizmo, this site's collection of free Adobe brushes [1] is both wonderful
and different." Tony also sent a link to another site [2] that offers a brush viewer that
allows you to check out brushes separately from Photoshop.
1.5 The Best Wiki for You"Find
the Wikis that match your personal needs: Just answer a few questions in the Wiki Choice
Wizard or create a customized Search. Compare the Wikis of your choice in a comfortable
side-by-side table. Use the forum to talk to other Wiki users, ask questions and discuss
everything Wiki." Thanks to regular contributor Andreas Büsing for this item.
1.6 Vista May be Bad Move for Media UsersThe
Content Protection specification in Vista is quite frightening. I suggest all media users
read this article before committing to upgrade to Vista. It's a long read but well worth
the effort. Thanks to Lex Davidson for the link.
** These items appear only in the Premium Edition ** 1.7 Huge Free Software List1.8 Good Labeling Resource1.9 Compile a C Program Online1.10 Free Windows Vista on a USB StickGot some great tech sites to suggest? Send them to: editor@techsupportalert.com --------- sponsored link -------------- Recommended Free Computer Performance Scan! Is your PC getting slow? Run our free Optimize scan to find out how to fine-tune your Internet and System settings. Identify PC registry cobwebs and get rid of hard drive clutter. Over time, everyday use of your PC will slow down performance. Optimize is an exciting software program that will automatically diagnose your PC and gives you a custom report detailing every issue that is hurting your PC's performance. Now with twice the performance tweaks, a more robust Internet tuner and eliminates unnecessary background processes. Speed up your computer: Scan Now! http://pcpitstop.com/tinylink.asp?id=244295
2.0 TOP FREEWARE AND SHAREWARE UTILITIES
2.1 New Virtualization Product Offers Convenient & Safe SurfingVirtualization products like VMWare and Virtual PC offer safe surfing but are inconvenient to use as they can take several minutes to start up. MojoPac is new virtualization solution that starts up really quickly. In fact, on my PC I could start MojoPac and have a virtualized copy of Firefox running in about 10 seconds. MojoPac works by creating a virtual PC environment on an external USB 2 drive. This can be a Flash drive, a hard disk drive or even your iPod. When installed on the external drive, MojoPac creates what appears to be a clean version of Windows XP running on the external drive. It's only an illusion as it actually utilizes the Windows files on the PC to which the external drive is attached. MojoPac itself doesn't take up much space however programs installed on the virtual PC reside on the external USB drive. This means that if you intend to install large applications like MS Office you will need enough space on the external drive to accommodate the application and its work area. MojoPac allows you to move some application data directly to the external PC. For example, I was able to move in a few seconds my whole Firefox profile including all installed extensions. Your Outlook PST file can be moved similarly. Now for the really clever feature of MojoPac. Once you've installed it and your applications onto an external drive, you can plug the external drive into any Windows XP computer and bring up the same virtual PC complete with all your data and applications. That means you can take your computing environment with you wherever you go, like a poor man's laptop. Plug your USB drive into a friend's computer, an internet cafe machine, a hotel PC and you are away. Some folks will find this feature alone sufficiently compelling to fork out $30 for MojoPac. However, to me there's another reason that's just as compelling. I've been running MojoPac on a fast 7200RPM USB drive attached to my desktop PC. If I leave MojoPac running, I can switch between the MojoPac and my normal desktop environment in seconds. While in the MojoPac environment my real PC is almost fully isolated. That means any infections in the MojoPac PC can be contained and isolated. This gives me freedom to surf anywhere on the net with near perfect safety yet at the same time not suffer a time penalty in switching from one environment to the other. Of course you can achieve a similar result by using a sandboxing product and if you don't need the portability provided by MojoPac, sandboxing may indeed be a more secure option. Using a fast external drive I found MojoPac's performance to be excellent. Sure it was slower than my normal PC environment but not so slow as to be annoying. This may change if you use a low performance drive. Some Flash drives are actually very slow so using one of these could be a real problem. I guess the ideal solution would be to use an external 7200RPM 2.5 inch laptop drive in an external USB 2 enclosure. This would offer high performance yet be small enough to slip into your shirt pocket. Whatever drive you use, make sure you follow the instructions on the MojoPac website to optimize USB drive performance; it makes a huge difference. In short, a terrific product that will meet the needs of many computer users. Many thanks to Keith C. for the suggestion. http://www.mojopac.com/ Shareware, $29.95, 30 day trial, Windows XP or MCE, 9.25MB 2.2 HIPS Program Gets Editor's ChoiceIn the last few weeks I've been swamped by subscribers asking me what I thought of a HIPS program called Primary Response. Apparently it has just scored an Editor's Choice rating from PC Magazine and created quite a stir. SafeConnect is behavior based HIPS designed to be used as a complementary tool to a virus scanner. In fact, there is a version designed to work specifically with Norton Antivirus though I chose to test the generic version that works with all AV products. Behavior-based detection is nothing new; it's used by a number of HIPS products and is also increasingly common as a secondary line of defense in AV scanners. The great strength of this technique is that it doesn't rely on malware signatures for detection but uses malware behavior instead. That makes it very useful for protecting against new threats (0-day threats) that haven't been added to AV scanner signature databases. The weakness of this technique is that by using behavior alone it is often difficult to discriminate between malware and your normal programs. This gives rise to false positives where your real programs may be classified as threats or false negatives and where malware may be classified as legitimate programs. The developers of SafeConnect tried to minimize these problems by using a "training" period when the product is first installed to allow the program to learn what's normal on your PC. By default this is for seven days but can be set longer. Another trick they use is to employ a certain amount of signature-based detection. That may sound odd but it is not unusual in so called "behavioral" HIPS. It really cuts down on number of false positives and false negatives. I tested SafeConnect two ways. First, I ran it on one of my normal work PCs so I could train it and get a feel for usage in a real life situation. Secondly, I ran it through the same series of technical tests that I used to evaluate six other HIPS products in issue #139. The results of the technical tests were on the whole disappointing. It failed to protect key registry areas, failed to detect even basic trojans, failed to detect process injection, failed to prevent malware-induced system crashes and flunked other tests as well. It even failed to protect itself against termination by hostile agents. When tested against real malware products it did quite well on some tests. It passed the DFK blended threat simulation with flying colors and provided total protection against drive-by download sites. With keyloggers it was more of a mixed bag. Similarly, it's protection against loaded downloads was at best moderate. On closer inspection of the results, SafeConnect performed best when it positively identified malware using its inbuilt signature database. When working as a straight HIPS it was less impressive; quite a few malware actions were missed and even those detected often involved the issuing of a generic warning messages that provided little guidance to the user. On balance I'd say SafeConnect is a competent HIPS that will definitely provide additional protection for your PC. However, based on my tests, other HIP products such as CyberHawk and Prevx1 provide better protection while sandboxing solutions such as DefenseWall and SandBoxie provide better protection still. For more details check out my lab notes [2] and past reviews of HIPS products [3]. [1] http://www.sanasecurity.com/products/sc/index.php Shareware, $24.95, 15 day trial, Windows 2000 and later, 12.6MB 2.3 Free Utility Protects Data on Stolen LaptopsRegular contributor JW has let me know about an interesting piece of software called LaptopLock that can protect your data in the event someone steals your laptop. It works like this: you install the software on your PC and register your PC at the LaptopLock website. If someone steals your PC you log into the LaptopLock site and flag the PC as stolen. When the thief turns on your PC the software checks with the LaptopLock site, notes that it is stolen and then either deletes your private data or encrypts it depending on how what you instructed during registration. Connection details are also logged at the LaptopLock site to assist in recovery of your laptop. If the thief doesn't connect to the internet, the PC is locked up after a period of time and can only be unlocked using a password. It's a neat solution that addresses an increasingly common problem. I wouldn't rely on this
product for military grade protection but it should be adequate for most normal uses.
Freeware, Windows 2000 and XP, 520KB 2.4 Free Browser Add-on Protects Login CredentialsKeyScrambler is an add-on for Internet Explorer and Firefox that encrypts your user name and password when signing on to secure websites. KeyScrambler works at the driver level; it captures your keystrokes from the keyboard and encrypts them deep within Windows before they become visible to other applications. It then decrypts them immediately before they are displayed in your browser. In plain English this means that you won't even notice KeyScrambler is working yet keyloggers will only see incomprehensible encrypted data. When you visit a secure website with KeyScrambler installed, a little pop-up appears momentarily in your browser to let you know KeyScrambler is working. That aside, you wouldn't know KeyScrambler was there. It's a nice idea and I confirmed that it works as advertised by using a commercial keylogger. With KeyScrambler installed, all the keylogger captured when I logged into a test account was harmless garbage. Is it foolproof? Of course not, no security measure is. First, it's useless against a hardware keylogger that sits between the keyboard and the PC. Such devices are relatively uncommon however and are usually physically obvious. Second, it may be possible to write a keylogger that hooks into the keyboard before KeyScrambler. I don't know of any such product but there's no reason why it couldn't be created. That
said, KeyScrambler is an excellent addition to your security arsenal. It's free, operates transparently, doesn't affect your PC's performance and is available for both IE and Firefox. An enhanced Professional version is available that protects your credit card and other financial data in addition to your login credentials. Many thanks to subscriber Worth Banner for the suggestion. Freeware, Windows 2000, XP, IE6, IE7, Firefox 1.5 or later, approx 600KB.
2.5 Microsoft Patch Fixes Slow Running IE7I'm
still getting letters from subscribers complaining that Microsoft's new Internet Explorer
7 runs very slowly when visiting some web sites. The problem is due to the phishing filter
in IE7 using excessive CPU resources when evaluating individual sites with multiple frames
or surfing quickly between frame-based sites. The problem has been known for months and
Microsoft issued a patch back on the 12th of December 2006. If you find the problem
persists after applying the patch then try disabling the phishing filter from within IE7
using Tools / Internet Options / Advanced.
** These items appear only in the Premium SE Edition ** 2.6 Best Free Video Converter2.7 Free Utility Keeps Track of Project Time2.8 Best Free Screen Session RecorderGot
some top utilities to suggest? Send them to 3.0 SECURITY PATCHES, SERVICE RELEASES AND UPDATES
3.1 Microsoft Security NewsThe recent pattern of criminals focusing security attacks on Microsoft Office products rather than Windows continues. Three new zero day flaws in Word were revealed during the month with active exploits in circulation. This is in addition to the Outlook, Excel and PowerPoint flaws previously reported. As at the time of publication, no patch has been issued by Microsoft for any of the three Word flaws. From a user's perspective all Office files including Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents should now be treated with the same caution as executable files. Certainly never open any of these documents attached to an email from an untrusted source. On Patch Tuesday, January 9, Microsoft released four new bulletins, three of which covered flaws rated as "Critical." Two of the three critical level patches covered extremely serious Outlook and Excel flaws, exploits for which have been in active and widespread circulation for some time. The other critical level patch covered the Vector Markup Language used in Windows 2000 and later Windows versions. Full details of the January updates can be found here [1]. All the updates are distributed automatically via the Microsoft Update Service. Dial-up users in particular need to be aware that these updates are large files and will need a considerable period of time online for them to download successfully. If you have any doubts whether you have received the updates then visit the Microsoft Update Service [2] now. [1] http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms07-jan.mspx 3.2 Firefox Updated to V2.0.0.1In
late December Mozilla issued its first security update for V2 of Firefox and corresponding
updates to Thunderbird V1.5 and the older Firefox V1.5. The update covers eight potential
flaws as well as some improvements to product stability. To my knowledge there are no
current exploits in circulation that utilize any of these flaws. However, it is essential
that you update as the malware developers routinely reverse engineer security updates to
identify flaws to exploit in unpatched machines. Users with automatic updates enabled
should have had the new version automatically delivered and installed. You can check by
selecting Help / About from within Firefox. If your version number is less than V2.0.0.1
(or 1.5.0.8 for V1.5 users) then update manually from here:
3.3 Flaws in Adobe PDF Reader and Acrobat FixedAdobe
has released a patch [1] for a serious cross site scripting flaw that affects all versions
of the free Adobe Reader and paid Acrobat products prior to V7.09. A hostile site could
use a specially constructed PDF to effectively take control of any PC that viewed the
file. Version 8 has also been recently patched [2] to prevent related exploits but is not
in itself vulnerable to the same exploit affecting V7.08 and earlier. The patches will be
downloaded to all Acrobat users with automatic updates enabled. All other users of Adobe
Reader and the full Acrobat suite should update their products manually immediately to
(preferably) V8 or V7.09.
3.4 Free Scanner Identifies USB Devices Attached to NetworkSecurity
firm Securewave is offering corporate users a free software tool called Device Scanner
that identifies "the history of all portable storage devices that have ever connected to
the scanned corporate endpoints." Sounds like a nice tool but the catch is that you have
to contact a Securewave reseller to get it. That means a sales pitch. Still, USB devices
are such a threat to corporate information that it may be worth it.
3.5 Free Online Malware ScanSubscriber
Jean-Marc Schroot recently wrote to let me know that Ewido (AKA AVG Anti-Spyware) offers a
free online scan of your computer. Ewido is an excellent all round anti-spyware and
anti-malware scanner and this online service is highly recommended for those who don't
have Ewido installed on their PC. You may be surprised what it finds. Better still, if it
does find any infections it will attempt to remove them. It's ActiveX-based so you'll need
to visit the site using Internet Explorer.
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4.1 More Ways to Buy Books Online CheaplyIn
issue #139 I recommended you check out book prices at Fetchbook [1]. This prompted
subscriber Joe Luttrell to write, "Gizmo, here are a couple of other sites [2,3] that are
as good or better; try them out and see what you think." I did, Joe, and they are
excellent.
4.2 Two Additional "Official" Windows XP ThemesSubscriber
Joe Souza writes, "I recently tried a hack that allowed the use of non Microsoft themes.
However, I was really disappointed in the third party themes that I tried and was looking
for a new one when I found this unreleased official theme [1] from Microsoft called
Royale. I had seen this theme before on computers running Media Center Edition and I
really like it. Since then I've also located a black version [2]." Thanks for that, Joe.
Royale has been circulating for a couple of years now and to my eyes is quite similar to
the standard XP Luna theme but other folks think it's a big improvement. I didn't know
about the black version of Royale and this may appeal to those who want a dark theme but
don't want to use a third party product.
4.3 How to Charge AA Batteries from a USB PortSubscriber
Joel Williams recently wrote to tell me this fabulous idea. These cells look like a normal
rechargeable AA battery but when you flip down the top of the cell there is a standard USB
plug so that you recharge the cell from your PC. Joel covers the subject fully in an entry
in his blog [1] or you can get more details from the manufacturer's site [2].
4.4 Watch TV, Webcams or Listen to Radio on Your PCSites
that allow you to listen to live radio have been around for ages but more recently they
have added live TV feeds as well. This site suggested by subscriber "Janus" offers radio,
TV and a huge array of webcams from around the world.
4.5 Your 64-Bit Software Questions AnsweredSubscriber
George Finizio has been researching running software on a 64-bit version of Windows.
George writes, "Gizmo, in a nutshell, not ALL 32-bit software can run on a 64-bit OS like
XP Pro x64. You have to have 64-bit drivers in most if not all instances. Additionally,
some programs including most security programs such as internet suites, firewalls, AV and
anti-spyware programs have to be written in 64-bit code. There are some good 64-bit
programs available but don't necessarily expect to find the ones you really want. I
couldn't and that's why I've decided that it's currently premature to go to 64-bit. The
situation may, however, change after the release of Vista. If you're interested in
monitoring some of the developments in the 64-bit realm check out this excellent web
site:"
4.6 Useless Waste of Time DepartmentSubscriber
Callie Jordan has contributed some excellent suggestions to this item but on this occasion
she has excelled herself: "Gizmo, this game has been labeled as the most addicting Flash
game on the Internet and I'm inclined to agree." Thanks Callie.
** These items appear only in the Premium SE Edition ** 4.7
How to get Commercial Software for Free
4.8
Have Web Pages Read to You
4.9
More Vista Features for XP Users
5.0 TIP OF THE MONTH
5.1 How to Use Mouse ShortcutsNow this is a subject area I hadn't even considered until I got an email from South African subscriber Cobus Jacobs. Cobus had just read my article on keyboard shortcuts in #139 and wrote in to suggest three tips for use on any mouse with a scrolling wheel. Here's what he had to say: "1. In addition to the usual up-and-down scrolling, you can hold shift while scrolling to scroll side-ways (very handy in big spreadsheets or Windows Explorer in the details/list view). 2. In most applications that have a zoom feature such as MS Office Suite, Acrobat Reader and IrfanView, holding down Ctrl while scrolling will zoom in and out. Sure it's just as easy as clicking the zoom-icon, but it becomes especially useful when throwing a spreadsheet/pdf in full-screen mode during a presentation. Suddenly your toolbar is gone, no worries, just ctrl-scroll away! 3. Clicking your wheel-button usually results in your mouse cursor changing shape; typically a round circle with arrows in it. Now you can scroll in any direction using mouse movement instead of rolling the wheel. Clicking the wheel again returns your mouse to its trusty cursor." Cobus goes on to correctly point out these features are dependent on your mouse driver however they will work with most including the default settings for just about all Logitech drivers. Of course, many drivers allow the customization of the function of mouse buttons but most users have never delved into the options available in their mouse software. Check out the Mouse applet in Windows Control Panel; you may be surprised what you find. To me the most effective mouse shortcuts of all are mouse gestures, that is the use of specific movements of the mouse to perform a command. They take a little time to get used to but once you do you'll wonder how you worked without them, particularly for web navigation. My favorite utility for implementing gestures is StrokeIt. It's easy to use, easy to train and comes with over 80 pre-programmed gestures that work with many popular applications. It's also free for personal use and works with all Windows versions from Windows 98 onwards. Be warned, though; if you try it you may well find yourself addicted. :>) http://www.tcbmi.com/strokeit/ 6.0 FREEBIE OF THE MONTH
6.1 The Fastest BitTorrent Client YetBitTyrant V1.1 is a hot-rodded version of the popular Open Source BitTorrent client Azureus V2.5. The modification is fiendishly clever. While most clients only consider the number of peers available for downloading, BitTyrant also considers the capacity of each peer and the data rate required to ensure reciprocation. It then utilizes this information using a dynamic algorithm to send only to the highest capacity peers data at the minimum rate for them to reciprocate. In plain English this translates to your downloads running faster, much faster; around 65% on my tests. Now, the standard Azureus client may be one of the most full featured clients available but it's certainly not the fastest kid on the block. With the BitTyrant mods, though, it's a speed demon. In fact, it's the fastest client I've tried. Here's the downside: First, this kind of mod breaks down some of the fairness characteristics of the BitTorrent protocol. If you are not comfortable with that then don't use BitTyrant. Second, the standard Azureus client is updated regularly but there is no guarantee that BitTyrant will be kept up-to-date with the latest version. The authors of Azureus may even knobble the product to prevent the mod. That said, the current V1.1 version of BitTyrant based on Azureus V2.5 is the fastest BitTorrent client yet. Freeware,
all Windows versions plus other operating systems, 8.11MB.
** Bonus Freebie in the Premium SE Edition ** 6.2 The Best Free Spam FilterIf you're sick of spam email cluttering up your Outlook (or Outlook Express) in-box then you are oing to love this utility. It's a network based spam filtering system that uses the opinions of over two million users worldwide to help classify spam and what's not. Like all network based spam filters it requires no training: it's ready to go the minute you install it. Each email is checked after it is received. If the email has been classified as spam by a lot of other users on the network then it deleted from your in-box and placed in a spam mail folder. Watching the spam disappear from your in-box is singularly gratifying; the more so given no user intervention is required. The user only needs to get involved if any spam is left in the in-box. The user should then select the spam mail items and press the special "Spam" button in the Outlook Toolbar. This will flag to the network that this email is spam and at the same time move the message to the spam mail folder. It's very similar in fact to my favorite spam filter, Cloudmark Desktop. It works similarly, has a similar ability to detect genuine spam and shares Cloudmark's characteristic of virtually never classifying your real mail as spam. But there's an important difference; Cloudmark costs $39.95 per year while this product is free for personal use. Full details in the Premium SE Edition ... HOW TO GET THE PREMIUM EDITION NOW Stop missing out on all this extra information! Subscribe now to the Premium Edition of this newsletter and immediately receive the current premium issue containing nearly double the information contained in this free edition. Get twice as many great web sites, get twice as many top utilities and great freebies. It's also ad-free. You'll also get immediate access to the archive of all past issues of the Premium Edition of the newsletter where you can catch up on the hundreds of great utilities you missed in the free edition. The Premium Edition is a great deal and at $10 per year it's a bargain. Use this link to subscribe online now: http://www.techsupportalert.com/se-edition.htm This month I'm giving away to new premium subscribers, six free copies of the the top rated anti virus NOD32. NOD32 is a brilliant program for protecting your PC yet it only consumes a modest amount of your computing resources. That's why I use it on my key work computers. At $39 it's good value but it's even better value when you can get it for free. The six copies I'm giving away will be allocated at random but your chances of scoring one are actually quite good. So if you have been thinking of subscribing, now's the time. I'm also giving away invites to Google Gmail to new premium subscribers. Last month everyone who wanted one got one and I expect the same to happen this month. Just email me at editor@techsupportalert.com after subscribing to the Premium Edition and I'll send your invitation. Even if you don't win anything you'll still get my special report "Gizmo's Desert Island Utilities" which outlines the software I use myself, including many free products. 12 months subscription to the Premium Edition costs $10 which can be made by credit card, PayPal or eCheck. Use
this link to subscribe now: http://www.techsupportalert.com/se-edition.htm 7.0 MANAGE YOUR SUBSCRIPTIONSupport Alert is a free newsletter. If you liked this issue why not email it to a friend. Anyone can subscribe by signing up online at Back Issues:
A searchable library of back issues is available at: If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter just go to To change your delivery email address go to The 46 Best-ever Freeware Utilities For lots more free IT newsletters see Thanks to subscriber A. Belile for proofreading this issue. You can contact this newsletter by snail mail at: Support Alert is a registered online serial publication ISSN 1448-7020. Content of this newsletter is (c) Copyright TechSupportAlert.com, 2007 See you next issue, out on the 22nd of February, 2007. Gizmo
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