Neat Net Tricks Issue #82
July 15, 2000
http://www.NeatNetTricks.com
Reply-To: NNT@silver.lyris.net

IN THIS ISSUE:

01.  A quick translation
02.  In Cahoots
03.  Making history
04.  FlashGet
05.  Quack
06.  Converting HTML to ASCII
07.  Napster
08.  Back up at least these
09.  An easy scroll
10.  Dipstick
11.  Yodlee
12.  Search options
13.  Indepth look: spyware
14.  Readers write

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01.    A QUICK TRANSLATION.  There are a number of translation devices
on the Net, but none are any easier than the one at 
http://www.freetranslation.com/ .  Simply enter or paste the desired
text and select one of the languages provided (English, French, German,
Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, or Spanish).  Click to translate but
watch out for the typical idioms and dialects that often, as with any
such program, produce laughable or disastrous results.

02.  IN CAHOOTS.  Chat software at http://www.cahoots.com enables you to
chat, either text or voice, public or private, with someone else who
has the same software.  This sounds much like other messaging software,
but the Cahoots folks offer some examples for uses: meet people visiting
the same Website as you and join a group text or voice conference there;
send and receive instant messages; find and contact people with similar
interests or expertise; read and post notes in Site Info Centers; hold 
Web tours; assist customers in real time; and so on.  May be worth a 
try and the price is right (free).

03.  MAKING HISTORY.  One of the biggest disadvantages of bookmarks and
favorites is the lack of sort capability.  The history window can be
easily sorted by name, location, visit date, recency, and frequency.
Get there with CTRL + H in either Netscape or Internet Explorer, or 
Apple + H with the Mac.

04.  FLASHGET.  A free utility at http://www.amazesoft.com professes to
speed up downloads by 500%.  It achieves this feat by splitting files
and allowing several jobs to download simultaneously.  It also manages 
files after download.

05.  QUACK.  Two ways to go with this one, either on the Web site at 
http://quack.com or just dial up at 1-800-737-8225.  Then ask for
advice on weather, traffic reports, latest movies, restaurants, your
favorite stocks, etc.  Admittedly the information is limited, but the
computerized voice on Quack's end is very patient, even apologetic,
when it doesn't understand what is wanted.

06.  CONVERTING HTML TO ASCII.  Html files (that stuff of which Web
pages are made) doesn't print easily.  Since bookmarks are html, a
utility is needed to convert the html to ASCII for printing.  One
such utility is "htmlasc" and it can be downloaded at 
http://www.comp.it.brighton.ac.uk/w3lessonware/toolset1/thrdprty/htmlasci.htm

It processes html files into two other files, a .url file containing a
list of any url found on the processed Web site, and a .asc file that
contains the text version of the site.

07.  NAPSTER.  This application at http://www.napster.com is an audio 
player and allows users to chat and share files with each other in 
forums based on music genre. The utility allows users to search other 
users' hard drives and download massive amounts of audio files.  Now 
before it sounds like I am recommending this massive user of bandwidth,
I must add that there are issues of possible copyright infringement and 
pending litigation brought on by the recording industry.

08.  BACK UP AT LEAST THESE.  If you don't perform a systematic backup 
of your hard drive, you can still avert a major catastrophe by 
regularly copying some important files to a second hard drive or zip 
drive. Some of these files may be too large for a floppy disk, and not 
all files may be on a system.  Find and copy these files often: 
AUTOEXEC.BAT, AUTOEXEC.DOS, CONFIG.SYS, CONFIG.DOS, MSDOS.SYS, CONTROL.
INI, SYSTEM.INI, WIN.INI, SYSTEM.DA1 and USER.DAT Registry files. 

09.  AN EASY SCROLL. Sometimes we forget the easiest tips for great 
maneuverability. A classic example is that scroll bar to the right of 
the screen when a document page covers more than one window of text. 
You can, of course, move the text by clicking on the up-arrow or down-
arrow, or by sliding the button in either direction. But if you want 
one page at a time, clicking under or over the sliding button advances 
one page in that direction. This is a universal tip, working on just 
about any browser or word processor. 

10.  DIPSTICK.  This little program lets you drag and drop any URL to
see which site is the fastest to download from.  You'll find it at
http://www.klever.net/kin/dipstick.html . 

11.  YODLEE.  At http://www.yodlee.com , sign up for a free service.
With it, you can secure, protect, and encrypt all your personal
information in one site and access all accounts at one central place.

12.  SEARCH OPTIONS.  Discovered quite by accident with Netscape
Communicator, I find if you click Search in the tool bar, you can select
from one of 9 search engines, then check "keep the desired search
engine" for future searches.  I can't seem to find a comparable feature
in Internet Explorer, but I'm sure someone will point it out to me.

13.  INDEPTH LOOK: SPYWARE.  The term "spyware" loosely refers to
anything planted in our computers to clandestinely gather information
and then relay that information to advertisers or others. Because of 
the many protests that I would even suggest the use of Go!Zilla last 
issue, I contacted a representative of that firm.  He confirmed that
the free software does, in fact, use Radiate (formerly Aureate Media)
and does deliver ads to users' computers, receiving information about
the ads clicked on, and reporting this information to advertisers.
That's no secret, and you can read more about it at
http://www.radiate.com/privacy/falserumors.html or even download a
utility to remove the software from your computer if this alarms you.
The free version is paid for by advertisements, so if you remove this
software, then the free Go!Zilla ceases to function.  There is a 
registered (paid) version that does not rely on advertising and, 
therefore, is reportedly not a part of the Radiate system.

As for claims that Aureate (Radiate) wreaks havoc with Trojan software,
Network Associates has labelled this claim as a hoax (see full details 
at http://vil.nai.com/villib/dispVirus.asp?virus_k=98516 .)  Network
Associates, by the way, has some impressive credentials as the world's 
largest independent network security and management software company.

Many of you mentioned Steve Gibson's report and the opt-out software he
makes available at http://grc.com/optout.htm and, to provide a balanced
perspective, I'm again mentioning his research.  Another good summary
outlining steps you can take in dealing with spyware can be found at
http://www.zdnet.com/zdhelp/stories/main/0,5594,2586415-5,00.html .

Readers have also alleged that RealPlayer and RealJukebox similarly 
contain spyware.  I understand from RealNetworks that last year an 
article in The New York Times asserted that RealJukebox was capable of 
monitoring user's listening habits.  A thorough audit established that 
this was not exactly true.  There was a unique ID built into the 
software that would determine what percentage of users were requesting 
updated software.  This was necessary, RealNetworks maintains, to 
determine what server capacity is needed to respond to this demand.  
Data was gathered anonymously and analyzed in aggregate only.  
Nonetheless, a patch was provided to remove this identifier, and newer 
versions have no such tracking mechanism.

I'm not taking sides in this issue, but I would call for some serious 
research before screaming that the sky is falling.  If software doesn't 
work on your system or produces undesired results, uninstall it.  If 
you fear spyware, cookies, surveys, spam, and implants that report your
buying habits, come to grips with the fact that those advertisers most
often are the ones paying the freight. That's a fact, in real-time as
well as in cyberspace.  The Internet was never free and is seldom  
private.  Granted, if your shopping habits are to be reported to others
you should be fully informed so you can decide to use the software or 
refrain from placing it on your system.  Perhaps Go!Zilla, real.com,
and others did not make it clear, early on, just what use would be made 
of the collected data.  Hundreds of Web pages now provide extensive 
discussion of the subject so you can make an informed decision, to use 
or avoid.

14.  READERS WRITE.  I can't tell you how many requests I receive to 
look up something NNT has featured months ago.  Often writers comment
that they don't need the ArchivesExpress, just the issue or part of an 
issue having a certain tip or tips.  Hey, folks, I looked it up once, 
when the item was included in NNT.  The second "look-up" is the reader's
responsibility.  Realistically, time just doesn't permit individual 
research of over 1,000 items and that's exactly why the ArchivesExpress 
was developed.  It's kept updated and search is simplified; and, it's 
sent to you at just about cost.  Details are at the Web site, 
http://www.NeatNetTricks.com (click on ArchivesExpress when there).

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