Posts Tagged: ‘Software’

Clueful for Android – Originally Published June 2013

July 26, 2014 Posted by Tiny

From the Dark Side
by Tiny Ruisch

I’ve written before about one of the real pains of using the Android operating system on your pocket computer.  When you install or update an application, it is important that you check the permissions to make sure the application doesn’t do anything that might be nasty.

I’ve found a 1.6 mg application that will help you monitor the software installed on your device.  The Clueful Privacy Advisor is a free program from Bitdefender.  It monitors all of your installed applications and gives you detailed information about what they do in the background.  Other apps of this type that I looked at usually just check and give you a list of permissions for your installed software.

Clueful goes a step further and reports on what your applications are actually doing.  It does this by keeping a database of apps on a remote server and examining the apps on your device.  It then calculates a precise and personal overview of how vulnerable you are.  You can evaluate and take appropriate actions for each installed app.

Whenever you download a new application from the Play Store, you get your normal notification that it was successfully installed.  You also get a notification from Clueful letting you know of any risks in using your new application.

On an interesting side note, the iOS App Store has removed Clueful Privacy Advisor.  Many tech bloggers have speculated that this was done because the program was too good at identifying applications with privacy problems.  I’ll not give my opinion.  Instead I’ll just suggest you do an internet search and decide for yourself.

Here is one interesting (at least I thought it was) user comment I copied from the Google Play Store User Reviews Section:

Reviewer – It reports their own anti-virus tool in the “slightly dodgy” section 🙂
Bitdefender replied on May 22, 2013
We consider it’s only fair to our users to give clues about all installed apps with no exception!  Some apps have legitimate reasons to access your data in order to run properly.  It’s up to you to decide if a certain app represents a privacy threat for you.

You can download the Clueful Privacy Advisor from the Google Play Store. Give it a try. The price is free.

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Categories: Darkside

Google Currents – Originally Published May 2013

July 26, 2014 Posted by Tiny

From the Dark Side
by Tiny Ruisch

Way back in 2003, I bought my first iPAQ pocket computer.  It was a Windows Mobile device and I loved it and every other one I purchased over the years.  When I finally decided to get a pocket pc with telephone capabilities, it had a Windows operating system.  When Microsoft decided not to keep up with the electronic world, I went to the dark side and started using Android.  Since then, Android mobile has had three major upgrades.  Windows has had one.  I’ve found out that the applications make a big difference.

I remember when I was about 12 or 13 years old, I was the talk of the small town that I lived in.  Everyone thought it was pretty amusing when I was walking home from school while reading a book.  I accidentally walked into a tree.  I couldn’t help it.  I’ve always been an avid reader.  I’ve always liked magazines, books and newspapers.

It’s a high tech age now.  I still visit the library every two weeks, but most of my checkouts are audio books.  I only get two actual magazines delivered by the mail person.  The rest are electronic versions I read on my tablet.  The books I read are either on my tablet or pocket PC.  In fact, the only paper book I read any more is the one by my bed stand.  I tend to fall asleep while reading and drop it on the floor.  Paper books don’t break as easily as electronic devices.

I quit buying the daily newspaper about four months ago.  It is so much easier to read the news on my mobile devices wherever I happen to be.  A pocket PC or a tablet is just more convenient than an over sized printed sheet of paper.  There are several newsreader applications in the Google Play Store.  Many are very good and some have a nice graphical interface.  They all claim to aggregate the best news sites.

My newsreader of choice is Google Currents.  The main screen shows the news categories that are available.  They are News, Business, Science & Tech, Sports and Entertainment.  Tapping on a category opens the sub-menu.  The first time you open a category, you get the option to read breaking stories or customize the category.  In each section there are several newspapers, magazines and blogs that you can add to your news feed.  There are also many international publications you can subscribe to.  Google translate can be used to translate them into 44 languages.

Reading your subscriptions is really easy.  Tap on the publisher you want to read and you get a screen where you scroll through all of the headlines and when they were posted.  Tapping the headline will open the article.  From the article window you can share the story via social networks, email, messaging, etc.  You can also save the article to Dropbox, Evernote, or other note keeping applications you have installed on your device.  You can even save the article to your Currents for later off line reading.

I haven’t tried it yet, but the latest update is supposed to create a play list for audio files.  The application is free.  It takes 5.2 mb of space.  If you’ve got an Android device, you can download it from the Google Play Store.  Give it a try, you might like it.

Excuse me, but I’m off to read the New York Times, or maybe Maximum PC, or maybe one of those British or Australian publications.

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Categories: Darkside

Voice Shortcuts Launcher – Originally Published February 2103

July 25, 2014 Posted by Tiny

From the Dark Side
by Tiny Ruisch

Google Voice has really come of age in the Jelly Bean operating system.  It is so nice to just push a button on my pocket computer and say “Google, find me a place to eat.”  Almost immediately, a list of all the places to chew in the immediate area are listed.  I then go to the nearest McDonald’s and think about how my pocket PC is starting to remind me of a 24th century Library Computer Access/Retrieval System.  I just hope it doesn’t become HAL 2000.

Voice Shortcuts Launcher is a utility program that utilizes Google Voice to allow you to create customized voice commands.  You can open another app, a website or a file on your device.  You can also open your contacts and initiate phone calls by voice.

I’ve installed and tested several other voice assistants, but the Voice Shortcuts Launcher is by far the easiest to use.  Another thing I like is the interface doesn’t talk back to you.  I really don’t need my computer to tell me that it is working.

The application is easy to use.  After installing, all you have to do is open the app, specify the type of shortcut you want to create, and speak in your voice command.  Try to speak as clearly as you can.  You may use any word combination or phrase to launch whatever aspect of your Android you wish to.

Voice Shortcuts Launcher is a free app but it is supported by advertising.  The ads appear at the bottom of the screen but are far away from the command buttons.  There is no free ads-free version of the app, but if ads bother you, you can purchase GVS Pro for $2.33.

GVS Pro combines Voice Shortcuts Launcher and Gesture Shortcuts Launcher, a similar application from the same company.  I was so impressed with the voice program that I purchased the licensed version within fifteen minutes of installing it.

If you’re interested in an easy launcher, give it a try. I’m sure you’ll like it.

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Categories: Darkside

Finding Free Software – Originally Published November 2011

July 23, 2014 Posted by Tiny

A Pain in the Whatchamacallit
By Tiny Ruisch

I’ve been thinking about buying a program for my computer.  Wait!  Don’t call the medics!  I haven’t lost my mind yet.  My money is still in my pocket.  I’m not in a hurry to decide if I really need it.

People who know me can tell you that I don’t normally spend my dollars for stuff I can get for free.  I guess it’s my Dutch heritage.  With three exceptions, all of the software on my computers is freeware.  Part of the purchase price of a computer is used to pay for the operating system.  I’m fairly certain that if that wasn’t so, I would be an avid Linux user today.  After all, that penguin is kind of cute.

My most recent software purchase was about a year and a half ago.  I had used Outlook for several years but replaced it instead of paying that huge upgrade fee.  Then one day, I was visiting Fort Polk and I found a copy of Microsoft Outlook 2007 for $50.  It was marked down to make room for Outlook 2010.  In a moment of weakness, I parted with some cash.  It isn’t likely that I’ll ever be upgrading the program.

My final program that I paid for was originally a shareware that I purchased for ten dollars if I remember correctly.  VuePrint is an image viewer that can also do minor editing.  I originally purchased it because I liked how fast you could view and print images.  About three years ago, the author quit updating the software and released it as freeware.  It’s still my default image viewer.  If you want to try it, you can download it here: VuePrint – Free Image Viewer

I’m getting to be a little older and kind of turning into a curmudgeon.  I don’t often look for new software, but when I do, the first place I look is Gizmo’s Freeware.  On this site you can search by software categories, do a search for a topic or you can read various lists such as all of the free software from Microsoft.  Another great feature of this web site is the Security Wizard.  By answering a few questions, you get a recommendation of which free anti-virus and other protection software is best for your computer.

Another great place to find no cost software is the Freeware Genius.  The motto of this website is “Someday all software will be free”.  Besides the free software, this site also features a list of free magazines.  Most of them are technical, but the list is extensive.  Check it out.  You might find something useful.

You can find, create and publish open source software for free at SourceForge.  Sometimes I go to this site just to check the statistics at the top of the home page.  As I write this article, SourceForge has 317,952 projects listed.  That is a lot of programs.  (I wonder if they make a hard drive big enough to hold them all?)  I’ve found that the real computer geeks hang out on this site.

A few other places to find freeware are Donation Coder, the Freeware Geeks and NirSoft.  Nirsoft is unique because it has more than a hundred programs, all written by one person.  Many of them are small utilities that are really useful.

Free software is really nice but you should remember that free lunches are pretty good too.  Neither is really free.  They just require a different kind of payment.  Some programs are scaled down versions that entice you to buy the full program.  Some require personal information.  Many of these programs are written with the hope that users will like them so much they will make a payment to the author.  I’ve done just that for some of the indispensable software I use.

If you start downloading and installing free software, be extra careful.  I recommend doing a Google search with the software name and the word “problems” or “reviews”.  If there are a lot of hits, be suspicious.  There is a lot of free stuff that comes with a free Virus or Trojan.  Download only from a trusted page.  Before you install, scan with your anti-virus program.

One last link that you can check to find some good free software links is our Club Website.  Log in and check the posts.  You can also review the older club newsletters.  A lot of freeware has been reviewed in the past.

If you’ve got a favorite free program, why not take a few minutes and let the rest of the club members know about it?  Write a short review and post it on the club’s website or send it to the Newsletter Editor.  Remember our club motto?  It is “Users Helping Users”.

Thanks for reading.

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Categories: Whatchamacallit

Android App Permissions – Originally Published August 2011

July 22, 2014 Posted by Tiny

A Pain in the Whatchamacallit
By Tiny Ruisch

I’ve had my Archos Android tablet for six months now and I’ve formed an opinion of android applications.  There are a lot of them.  I’ve got three different app stores on my device, so I can usually find a usable program for whatever I want to do.  The only thing that is easier is finding applications for things that I don’t want to do.

The Google Marketplace is the iTunes store of the android world.  The selection of programs grows larger every day.  I can’t really say much about iTunes because Apple is one of the companies whose software I avoid installing on my machines.  Probably the biggest difference between the two is the fact that Apple has real live people preview all software before it goes on the market.  In theory, this will stop any malicious applications from ever being downloaded.  The only problematic iTunes programs I’ve read about involve misusing their customers private data.

The Apps Library is the Archos Android store.  It doesn’t have as many programs as the Marketplace, but they almost always work on my device.  I’ve noticed that many of the tablet manufacturers have their own application libraries (stores).  I imagine that is so they can get a cut of the sales.

The Amazon Android Store has been in operation for about a month now.  Every day, they feature a free app of the day.  Some of them have been useful to me.  Most of the daily offerings have been games.  Amazon says that all applications are previewed by employees.

Many applications can be downloaded directly from the developers website.  If you download directly, I recommend that you do some research and make certain that it is a safe application.

My biggest concern with downloading Android applications is that it is extremely easy to install programs that might not be in your best interests.  For example, at the June meeting when we had our first door prize drawing, I downloaded and installed a random generator app.  Later on, when I more closely checked it out, I found that I had given the app permission to modify storage, check GPS location, monitor phone calls and full internet access.  Does this simple program really need those functions?  Maybe so, but not from me.  I’ve deleted the program.

If you use Android software, I recommend that you closely check the permissions that programs request before you install them.  This is especially true for new software on the market.  Some of the permissions that could cost you money are:
a) Make Phone Calls.  This could allow an application to call a 1-900 number and charge you money.
b) Send SMS or MMS.  This could let an application send a text message on your behalf, and much like the phone call feature above, it could cost you money.

Other permissions could allow a rogue program to steal your personal data or make changes on your device that you don’t want to happen. Examples are:
a) Modify/Delete SD Card Contents will allow the application to read, write, and delete anything stored on your device’s SD card.
b) Read Contact Data is extra scary for me.  Unless an app explicitly states a specific feature that it would use your contact list for, there isn’t much of a reason tor you to allow it.
c) Full Internet Access could be the most important permission you will want to pay attention to.  For any malware to truly be effective it needs a means by which to transfer data off of your machine.  This is one of the settings it would definitely have to ask for.

Some other Android permissions that are mostly benign are:
a) Read Calendar Data.
b) Write Calendar Data.
c) Read Phone State and Identity gives an application access to three unique numbers that can identify your phone.  The numbers are the International Mobile Equipment Identity, International Mobile Subscriber Identity and a 64 bit unique ID that Google provides for the phone.
d) Fine (GPS) Location will allow an application to track where you are.
e) Modify Global System Settings allows a program to change anything you find under Android’s main ‘settings’ window.
f) Automatically Start At Boot will allow an application to tell Android to run the application every time you start your phone.  g) Retrieve Running Applications will allow an application to find out what other applications are running on your system.  Am I paranoid about the Android application security?  I don’t think so, but I’m definitely concerned enough to write an article about it for the Club Newsletter.  Like many other things on the internet, free isn’t free.  We pay for programs and services by giving the developers access to our personal data.  This information can be used for useful things like showing ads that you could use.  It could also be used for lousy things like mining every e-mail, phone number, address, etc. in your contact list.

Right now, my only Android device is my tablet.  It doesn’t have a phone or GPS.  This eliminates a lot of my concerns.  Will my next phone be Android?  I don’t know.  If Microsoft doesn’t get their mobile stuff together, I might have to make a change.

Thanks for reading.

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Categories: Whatchamacallit

Finding Free Software – Originally Published December 2012

July 18, 2014 Posted by Tiny

Some Lagniappe for You
By Tiny Ruisch

la·gniappe (lnyp, ln-yp)
n. Chiefly Southern Louisiana & Mississippi
1. A small gift presented by a store owner to a customer with the customer’s purchase.
2. An extra or unexpected gift or benefit. Also called regionally boot.

Merry Christmas!  This month, instead of reviewing a free program, I thought I’d tell you of a few web sites where you can find reviews and links for useful, free software.

Before you start downloading, don’t forget the old adage: “There is no such thing as a free lunch.”  The same thing does for free software.  The cost isn’t cash out of your pocket, but is usually information of one sort or another.  Carefully read the licensing agreement before you hit the install button.  Often, free software comes with other downloads that you may or may not want to install.  Once again, make sure you read every installer screen and make sure what your getting is what you want.
Enough warnings.  On to the sites.

One of my favorite software review sites is Gizmo’s Freeware.  This site is staffed by volunteers that review different categories of freeware.  On the main page are links to “Best Freeware Lists” and “Freeware Categories”.  Both links take you to lists of what the editors consider the best free software.  On the right side of the page are links to recently reviewed or updated software articles.  There are also many other areas on the site that you can explore for more information.

The Freeware Genius is another site that reviews free software.  It’s maintained by one person and isn’t updated as often as Gizmo’s.  After several years, there has been a lot of programs reviewed.  The sites motto says it all: Someday all software will be free.

Freeware Geeks is a free software directory site.  As I write this article, there are 2204 programs listed in twelve categories.  Clicking on a program title, will give you a short synopsis of the program and a link to the download site.

The Source Forge is dedicated to making open source projects successful.  This site is more technically oriented.  Much of the software is still being developed.  All of the programs are open source, which means anyone can download the code.

NirSoft is a one man website.  All of the programs were written by Nir Sofer.  They are mostly utility software.  All of the programs are freeware.

There are a lot of other sources for free software besides the four I’ve listed.  Many of them are very good and can be trusted.  Others are not.  Do some research before you download.

If you like any of these web sites, just tell everyone that you’ve got a SWLAPCUG extra, a bonus perk, a small gift, a present from the club: a little lagniappe.

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Categories: Lagniappe

VuePrint – Originally Published November 2012

July 18, 2014 Posted by Tiny

Some Lagniappe for You
By Tiny Ruisch

la·gniappe (lnyp, ln-yp)
n. Chiefly Southern Louisiana & Mississippi
1. A small gift presented by a store owner to a customer with the customer’s purchase.
2. An extra or unexpected gift or benefit. Also called regionally boot.

Everyone has their favorite image viewer program.  Let me tell you a little bit about mine.  I’ve been using VuePrint as my default viewer for about fifteen years now.  When I first started using the program, it was shareware that sold for ten dollars.  About five years ago, the author quit updating VuePrint and released the program as freeware.  It hasn’t been updated since 2007.

You may wonder why I keep using such an old, outdated program.  The answer is simple.  It is very fast and it still works better that most other image viewers.  It doesn’t have a lot of features, but you can crop images, convert image formats and reduce the size of images for e‑mailing.

The program does one thing very well.  If you’ve got a lot of images, you can browse through them extremely fast.  Just press the space bar for the next image or the backspace key for the previous image.  Press the “t” key to view thumbnails.  It’s easy and fast.

Other minor functions are the typical ones found with most image viewers.  You can flip, rotate, mirror, adjust contrast and brightness, etc.  You can also use the program as a movie viewer, but it’s not the best.

Did I mention that this program is fast?  If you’ve got a lot of pictures on your hard drive, why not download it and give it a try?  I think you might use it regularly.  You can download VuePrint here.

If you like this program, just tell everyone that you’ve got a SWLAPCUG extra, a bonus perk, a small gift, a present from the club: a little lagniappe.

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Format Factory – Originally Published October 2012

July 18, 2014 Posted by Tiny

Some Lagniappe for You
By Tiny Ruisch

la·gniappe (lnyp, ln-yp)
n. Chiefly Southern Louisiana & Mississippi
1. A small gift presented by a store owner to a customer with the customer’s purchase.
2. An extra or unexpected gift or benefit. Also called regionally boot.

When you click on a link or a file, do you often get an error message telling you that Windows can’t open it?  Then it goes on to tell you that Windows will be happy to connect to the internet and download a program to open the file?

Often that isn’t the best solution.  You might end up with a program you don’t really want on your computer.  Instead of installing Quick Time, Adobe, or some other program, why not just change the file to something that you can open?

Format Factory is a program that converts video, audio and picture files into different formats.  As I write this, it currently converts video files into thirteen different formats.  There are eleven output formats for audio files.  Picture files can be converted into eight formats.  Additionally, you can convert DVDs and CDs into video, audio and ISO/CSO files.

With Format Factory, you can often repair damaged video and audio files and reduce their sizes.  Although I haven’t personally tested it, the program also includes a video and an audio joiner.

The software is extremely easy to use.  In the left hand pane, select the type of program you want to convert.  A sub-menu will open, allowing you to check which file format you want to convert to.  Next, you have to select the file or files to convert, set any options such as sound levels, subtitle fonts, etc.  There are too many options to list in this article.

Format Factory is free of charge for both commercial and personal use.  It is only available for the Windows Operating System (all versions).  Donations are accepted.  There is an extensive help file that rarely needs to be checked.  The program is very intuitive and easy to use.  Give it a try. I think you’ll like it.  You can find more information and download the program from the website.

If you like this program, just tell everyone that you’ve got a SWLAPCUG extra, a bonus perk, a small gift, a present from the club: a little lagniappe.

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Malware Bytes Anti-Malware – Originally Published September 2012

July 16, 2014 Posted by Tiny

Some Lagniappe for You
By Tiny Ruisch

la·gniappe (lnyp, ln-yp)
n. Chiefly Southern Louisiana & Mississippi
1. A small gift presented by a store owner to a customer with the customer’s purchase.
2. An extra or unexpected gift or benefit. Also called regionally boot.

If you’ve read any of my past articles, you know that I’m a big fan of preventive maintenance on my computers.  I can honestly say that since I bought my first computer in the last century, my security was only breached one time.  One of the programs I use to keep my computers clean is Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free.

On their website, they brag that “Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free utilizes Malwarebytes powerful technology to detect and remove all traces of malware including worms, trojans, rootkits, rogues, dialers, spyware and more.”  The proof of that statement resides in the fact that they have been in business since 2004, a long time in computer years.  I have never read a bad review of the product on any of the many technical sites that I frequent.

The program is easy to use.  After installation, you will see a simple, tabbed interface.  The first thing to do is check for updates.  This will make sure that the latest anti-malware definitions have been loaded.  In the scanner section, you can select either quick scan or full system scan.  The quick scan usually takes about ten minutes.  The full system scan may take up to several hours, depending on your computer speed, memory, etc.

One of the features I like is the option to create a right click context menu.  If you enable this setting, right clicking on any file will scan it.  This usually takes about ten seconds.

Anti-Malware Bytes Free is the exact same program as the paid version, Anti-Malware Bytes Professional, which retails for $29.95.  The features added in the Professional program are automatic updates and real time scanning.  You can often find it on sale at a considerable discount.

This is one of the programs that I’ve given serious consideration to purchasing.  Give it a try. I think you’ll like it.  Malwarebytes can be downloaded here.

If you like this program, just tell everyone that you’ve got a SWLAPCUG extra, a bonus perk, a small gift, a present from the club: a little lagniappe.

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Kaspersky TDSS Killer – Originally Published June 2012

July 15, 2014 Posted by Tiny

Some Lagniappe for You
By Tiny Ruisch

la·gniappe (lnyp, ln-yp)
n. Chiefly Southern Louisiana & Mississippi
1. A small gift presented by a store owner to a customer with the customer’s purchase.
2. An extra or unexpected gift or benefit. Also called regionally boot.

A TDSS Rootkit is designed to work together with malware on your computer.  Once this rootkit manages to get inside the system, it downloads and executes other threats, interrupts its victims with annoying ads and disables them from using security and other programs.  It is known under several names and is one of the most advanced and aggressive rootkits today.  The reason rootkits are so dangerous is because malicious programs can use them to hide any file, process, folder, or registry keys from detection by an anti-malware program.  This makes it almost impossible for a security scanner to repair the damage once a system has been infected.  Sophisticated rootkits even install invisible services and drivers that can transmit personal data to hackers or hijack the computer for botnet attacks, phishing and spam distribution purposes.

The Kaspersky TDSSKiller is a utility that does one thing: detect and remove known rootkits.  The download is a zipped folder with two files.  The first is the End User License Agreement which consists of six short paragraphs.  The other file is an .exe that scans your computer.  It is a stand alone utility and does not install anything in your registry.  When you run the program, it first checks for updates.  The scan takes about ten seconds on my computers.  After scanning, you might have to reboot your computer.

To download the utility, click here.  For more information and complete instructions, check this Kaspersky FAQ.

If you like this program, just tell everyone that you’ve got a SWLAPCUG extra, a bonus perk, a small gift, a present from the club: a little lagniappe.

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