·:[ E-Musings On Web Stuff ]:·
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A couple of weeks ago I downloaded and installed a free disk defragmentation utility. I learned about Auslogics DiskDefrag courtesy the LangaList Plus edition. The interface is very simple. Select the drive to defragment. The i9nterface refresh with drive data: file system (my drives are all NTFS for better space usage and lower fragmentation). Total disk space, user space (in red) and free space (in green).

You click the Next button to begin the defragmentation. The resulting drive map interface is quite basic. And overall quite similar to the ChkDsk GUI that debuted in Windows 95. DiskDefrag defragments files. Without moving around system files like the Page (pagefile.sys) or hibernate (hiber.sys) files. Unlike the scaled down DiskKeeper Lite version integrated into Windows XP/Server 2003. But then again using DiskDefrag doesn’t slow down computer operations. Once the defragmentation is complete, you can see the view the summary. Or choose to display a full report in your browser. You can then close the app or go back to defragment another drive.

Now comes my eating crow time. A while ago I rather offhandedly dismissed Maxthon 2. Citing that IE7 supported most features that one earlier needed browser wrappers like Maxthon for. Well, I downloaded and installed the non-subscription version of Maxthon (Preview ) 2.0.1 Build 460. And was pleasantly surprised by the lack of bugs. And how usable the applications was. Especially when mated with the improved IE7 rendering engine.

What I liked about this build was its ability to import my Maxthon 1.x settings (Favorites, Feeds, Groups, Plugins, Proxies, Ad Hunter, Simple Collector, External Tools0. As well as URL Alias/Key configurations. New to this build is an advanced automatic proxy function that allows different proxies to be configured for different web sites. You can also choose if new tabs are opened in the same or a new thread (be careful if you computer has less than 512 MB of RAM available). The build has been recoded so that only selected features a loaded so as to streamline resource use. The skin function has been enhanced. And the improved filtering doesn’t just block ads. It’s also prevents unpatched IE and windows vulnerabilities from harming your computer.

Maxthon 2 Preview scores over IE7 with mouse gestures, and ability to paste and go quite like Opera. And you can also define the number of open Tabs before the QuickTabs button is displayed. But unlike IE7 none of the thumbnails are hyperlinked to the actual tab! Oddly this preview is also missing a link to the browsing History. I had to open IE7 to access the feature because according to the Maxthon 2 Preview forum thread this function has still not been added! So if you can’t make up your mind about upgrading from Maxthon 1.5.x to the new Preview 2, do visit the developers feature comparison.

Microsoft has released the final Windows Defender. New in this release is support for Windows XP & Windows Windows Server 2003 32- & 64-Bit versions. As well as an improved scanning engine and a more streamlined interface. However I couldn’t really see any differences between the Beta and final releases! I’m also not absolutely sure that Defender is silently defending my computer against spyware. Because a routine Trend Micro PC-Cillin 2007 spyware scan turned up 3 suspicious objects: all cookies. In hindsight perhaps I shouldn’t have bothered installing Defender, because when I attempted on first-run to update its signatures, I got an error! Best to trust in SpyBot Search & Destroy.

Courtesy Digg I learned about Royale Noir, a hidden fork of the Windows Media Center Royale theme. OK, lets back up a bit first. You need to first install the Royale theme on Windows XP. So if you don’t (already) have Royale installed, mosey over to SoftPedia’s download link for Windows XP Royale Theme. The Microsoft New Zealand web site also offers several wonderful desktop backgrounds that compliment the Royale Theme. Once Royale’s installed, download the Royale Noir update. Once downloaded extract the RAR’s contents to c:\%windows\resources\themes\Royale Noir. Then click luna.msstyles to apply the theme update. Now right-click the Desktop and select Properties > Appearance > Color Scheme and select Royale Noir.

A couple of years ago I’d looked at the ultimate networking tool for road warriors: Net Profiles. This free, and easy to configure network connection settings utility lets you set the IP address and subnet mask, along with the default gateway and DNS Servers. You can also set the WINS Server address (if needed). Along with custom mapped drives and the default (network) printer to use with each profile. Within the NetProfiles configuration screen you can also define the Internet Explorer proxy settings and even change the default home page. I extensively use this at work where I have a choice of 4 separate Internet connections. And at home to change between two cable providers. Get a copy for yourself. It’s an act you won’t regret.

That’s it for another week. Stay Safe & Secure. And we’ll meet again soon.

I’d like you to forgive me the formatting and spelling errors dotted over last week’s post. I wrote the post using Notepad and the lack of on-demand code formatting. As well as a spell checker resulted in the crap formatting. I won’t let it happen again. Now, on with the software reviews.

The new Opera 9.03 Beta Build 8629 introduces a Phishing detector that detect and alerts the user in real-time if a web site is genuine or fraudulent. I tested using “http://0xd2.0×695fd6/https:/signin.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll/SignIn.htm” extracted from Google’s list of known fraudulent sites. I find the level of alerts much better than those available when using IE7 with the Phishing detector enabled.

Opera 9.03 also corrects several bugs while upgrades other browser features. However there seem to be inevitable regressions. This build experiences high CPU use (thrashing) when accessing Google Maps. And fails to restart after applying an in-browser upgrade. I’m not sure if this isn’t a feature. Because since the beginning of the Opera 9 Beta process I have never gotten the browser to detect if a new build was available! A complete changelog is available. Opera 9.03 is available in separate versions for Windows (Classic & Windows MSI Installer), Mac and Linux/Unix.

Over the past few months I have been testing out PC-Cillin 2007 on a second computer (my primary one still runs the older PC-Cillin 2006). PC-Cillin 2007 combines an on-access file scanner with a firewall, phishing detector and anti-spyware. Overall I find it an extremely effective software suite. And even without my usual anti-spyware tools like Spyware Blaster and Spybot Search & Destroy, I was able to successfully detect and remove spyware and tracking cookies. The anti-spyware screen displays the trapped element and its location on your computer. But what I still dislike about the software is inability to block these elements before they are saved. Why did it assume I wanted such content on my computer?

Still PC-Cillin 2007’s spyware scanner offered proof that the now free FlashGet (formerly JetCar) download manager still includes several phone home components! I advise you to bear with slower downloads and plain get rid of this software. Opt instead for WinGet 1.8; the last free version is still available at Brothersoft.com.

Even better, why not try out the seemingly-amazing GigaGet. This free download manager can locate and link to multiple download locations for a single file. A 775 kB Windows XP update took just under 90 seconds to download! GigaGet developers’ claim to use NetGrid technology to enhance download speeds. I will definitely feature a more detailed review in a forthcoming post.

The PC-Cillin 2007 firewall has been considerably simplified over previous version. And offers WiFi intrusion protector along with the ability to manage other computers on your home network. The firewall separates application software from Windows protocols. And when set to Medium doesn’t list applications with their specific access permissions. But if you want to know what apps are accessing the Internet and when, set the Security Level to Maximum. The firewall now maps profiles to specific network interfaces; complete with LAN card MAC address. And its auto-profile switching feature actually works without a prompt. PC-Cillin 2007 also includes file-system level access permissions. Which can be an intrusive annoyance; especially when installing new software. But better safe than sorry. Eh? Overall, this is truly an excellent product.

Say, do you love dogs? And even if you don’t on account of their smell, hair balls or the responsibility that comes of having a pooch around, you will certainly love WinPatrol’s Scotty icon. It truly personifies this system manager. Even the system tray icon info balloon says Scotty’s on patrol.Available in free and paid versions, the core WinPatrol utility features are available in the Free version. The paid Plus version adds a searchable online knowledgebase, ability to intelligently detect infiltrations and exam hidden Windows Registry startup keys all for an extra US$30.

The WinPatrol window affords direct access to startup programs, IE Helpers (BHOs), scheduled tasks, services, active tasks, cookies, file types and hidden files. You can also customize WinPatrol options. WinPatrol tracks programs installed. And prompts you if they attempt to modify Windows settings. Including adding a startup icon to the system tray. Or adding a BHO (browser helper object) to Internet Explorer. The software also helps block some applications like the Sun JRE’s annoying habit of checking for new versions at startup. It also blocks attempts by newly installed software to modify default file type mappings.

In conclusion PC-Cillin 2007 with WinPatrol installed is a very secure setup. Post last time’s format fiasco I’m now testing out two blog editors. More about them in a future post. We’ll meet again soon. Stay safe.