Tinys World of Technology BS

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.

Right now I’m sitting in front of my desktop computer writing this article for the newsletter.  At the same time, I’m using my machine to watch a full screen movie.  I’m also playing a Texas Hold ‘Em poker tournament.  I’m also copying some files to  one of my portable machines.  Using more than one monitor makes it a lot easier to do.

One of the bad things about using more than one monitor is also one of my general Windows annoyances.  Sometimes when you temporarily change screen resolution or crash your system, you lose your carefully arranged icon layout on your desktop.  It’s especially aggravating when you get used to clicking on an icon that is always in the same place.  If your screen layout changes after a computer crash, it becomes real easy to accidentally launch the wrong program.

A program that comes to the rescue is DesktopOK, a basic, compact program that lets you save and restore the positions of your desktop icons.  It’s nothing fancy, but if you frequently end up with a desktop full of scrambled icons, this program will be a lifesaver.  This freeware program lets you save and restore icon layouts.  Simply set your icons the way you like them and save the layout.  Just restore it later when they become jumbled.

You’re not limited to one layout.  You can save as many as you want, which is handy if you have more than one user.  There are several save options.  You can enable auto saving at various intervals or when Windows is shut down.

DesktopOK does not have to be installed and can be executed easily from the desktop, a flash drive or any other memory device.  Give it a try. I think you’ll like it.  You can find more information or download the program from the authors website.

If you like the program, just tell everyone that you’ve got a SWLAPCUG extra, bonus perk; a little lagniappe.

Some Lagniappe for You
By Tiny Ruisch

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

There is a really efficient utility program that I’ve been using for several years now.  FileMenu Tools lets you customize the right click menu of Windows Explorer.  The program adds utilities to perform operations on files and folders and adds customized commands that let you run external applications, copy or move to a specific folder or delete specific file types.

With the built in commands you can:
Run With Parameters – Runs a program with parameters that you input in a dialog box.
Command Line From Here – Opens a command line window.
Copy/Move – No need to cut and paste. You can also use filters in your file selection.
Duplicate Files – Make a copy in the same folder.
Pack to Folder – Moves all the selected elements to new subfolder in the current folder.
Copy Path/Name/Content – Copies the selected item(s) to the clipboard.
Attributes – You can view and change them without opening a properties dialog box.
Find and Replace – Lets you find or replace a text for all the files in a selected folder.
Advanced Rename – With lots of options.
Change Icon – Quickly and easily change folder options.
Advanced Delete – lets you delete specific file types in a folder.
Synchronize Two Folders – Lets you synchronize two folders quickly and easily.
Shred Files – Overwrites several times so it is impossible to recover the file in the future.
Send to Mail Recipient – Lets you send an e-mail with selected elements as attachments.

These are about half of the FileMenu commands you can select from.  In the configuration menu, a simple check box will turn off the commands you don’t want to appear when you right click.  If you can’t find the FileMenu function you need, you can add a customized command to run external applications, copy/move to a specific folder or delete specific file types.

FileMenu Tools lets you configure the “Send to” sub-menu.  You can add new items, change the properties of the existing items or delete them.  You also can disable existing “Send to” items in order to hide them from the menu.

FileMenu Tools will also let you enable/disable the commands which are added to the context menu of the Windows Explorer by other programs.  This is the only function that is not one hundred percent reliable.  When it works, it works well, but it doesn‘t catch all of the programs that add to your right click.

Download FileMenu Tools from the developers website.  Give this program a test.  I’m pretty sure that you’ll like it.  FileMenu Tools is a 7.6 MB download and runs on all Windows platforms.  Did I mention the price?  This program is freeware and costs nothing.  While you’re on the Lopesoft website, you can also download and try LopeEdit Lite.  If you do, you’ll probably never use Windows Notepad again.

If you like the program, just tell everyone that you’ve got a SWLAPCUG extra, bonus perk; a little lagniappe.

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.

I have written about passwords several times, but I thought I’d take a few minutes and tell you about the Password Program that I use every day when I’m computing.  I did a Google Search for “password manager“ and got 5,260,000 results.  I‘ve carefully researched all of them except for the last four million or so.

I use a lot of passwords in my daily computing.  As of this writing, I’ve got 63 e-mail addresses.  I have eighteen passwords that I use to manage them.  I frequent 7 different forums, each with separate password.  Then there are my gaming site passwords.  Five right now.  Did forget to mention my military and medical passwords?  Eight of them.  Then there is on line shopping passwords and the most important one of all – the one that logs me into the SWLACUG web site.  I’ve got more than 50 passwords that I use fairly frequently.

The first week of every month, I change the passwords for websites that keep important data.  It seems that some company or government office is always being compromised and losing important data.  For most web sites, I use hard to break passwords.  Want to see one of my sample passwords? qyF+,CMqaF;+@x!,SdqyF+,CMqaF;+@x!,Sd is a password that used to open my web site for editing.

The program I use to manage all of those passwords is KeePass Password Safe.  It is a really easy to use utility that helps you to keep track of all your passwords while keeping them safe.  It lets you store all of your passwords in a lightweight, simple to use database that is encrypted so that only you can access it.

KeePass Password Safe stores all of your passwords in groups.  That makes it extremely easy to quickly find the one you want.  The program does more than just store the passwords; it also lets you easily copy them onto a Web page or an application.  You can drag and drop them, copy them to the clipboard, or copy them using a hot key.

One of the best features of KeePass is the random password generator which creates passwords with characteristics that you specify.  That way you can tailor your passwords as needed.  For example, some websites won’t let you create a password with underlines while others might require a specific password length.  KeePass makes it easy to create any password.

The program also includes support for TAN (Transactional Access Numbers) passwords and allows you to create TAN lists which automatically expire a password once it has been used.  Other features include auto-lock, database search, import/export.  There are many more features.

Of Course, KeePass also fits in with one of my most demanding prerequisites.  The cost is Zero!  KeePass is open source, which means that there have been a lot of plug-ins developed.  You can read more about the program on the KeePass Password Safe Home Page.  Give it a try. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

If you like the program, just tell everyone that you’ve got a SWLAPCUG extra, bonus perk; a little lagniappe.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Some Lagniappe for You
By Tiny Ruisch

la·gniappe (lnyp, ln-yp)The pr
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.

My left pinky finger is a real klutz when I’m typing on my keyboard.  I’m a touch typist and seldom look at the keyboard when I’m writing.  Many times, I hit the caps lock key instead of the shift key.  Then, a few minutes later, I’ve found that I’ve typed a paragraph or two in all capital letters.  There are many utilities that will convert letters case, but I’ve found an easy way to avoid them in the first place.

KeyTweak is a simple utility that allows you to redefine your keyboard input signals.  The goal of the program is to make remapping keys easy and manageable.  It’s easy to use.  The installer is only a 0.3 MB download, and runs on Windows 2000 and above.  When you run it, you’ll see a map of the keyboard.  With a few clicks you can change one or more key assignments.

Other features of the program are:

A simple interface;
Ability to Teach remapping by pressing the keys to be remapped;
Easy to read lists of all current and pending re-mappings;
Remove all re-mappings with a single button; and
Enable/disable annoying keys.

If you decide to try this program and later remove it from your computer, you must remember to restore your keyboard to its original values.  To download the program, just go to your favorite download site (CNET, Major Geeks, Tucows, Softpedia, etc.) and search for “keytweak”.

Like all of the programs featured in my Lagniappe articles, the price of the program is zero.  If you like it, just tell everyone that you’ve got a SWLAPCUG extra, a bonus perk, a small gift, a present from the club: a little lagniappe.

Some Lagniappe for You
By Tiny Ruisch

la·gniappe (lnyp, ln-yp)The pr
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 haven’t heard about Piriform’s CCleaner, I would guess you’ve either missed a few club meetings or dozed off during them.  CCleaner is a utility that should be in everyone’s computing tool box.  It is a optimization, privacy and cleaning tool.  It removes unused files from your system which helps it to run faster.  It cleans traces of your internet activities from all of the major browsers.  Additionally, it has a registry editor, start up manager and uninstall utility.  The program includes a drive wiper that effectively overwrites your drive data and completely erases it.

CCleaner is easy to use (see figure 1).  After you start the program, Click on “Cleaner” in the left column.  Check the items in the left pane that you want to clean (hint: the defaults are probably all you need).  After you’ve made your selections, click the “analyze” button on the bottom of your screen.  After a short time, the program will show a list of files that will be deleted and an estimate of how much disk space will be recovered.  Clicking “Run Cleaner” in the bottom right will remove the files from your hard drive.

Figure 1

There are two schools of thought about using registry cleaners.  Many say (including some Microsoft employees) that registry junk is a fact of life that doesn’t hurt anything.  They say, “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.  Others (myself included) contend that regular registry cleaning will help keep your computer from getting broke.  There are hundreds of registry cleaners on the market, so there is obviously a demand for them.

Using the CCleaner Registry Cleaner is as simple to use as the file cleaner (see figure 2).  Click the “Registry” icon on the left.  Check the items you want to clean and then select the “Scan for Issues” button at the bottom of the window.  After the scan is completed, click the “fix selected issues” button on the bottom right.  I recommend that you backup the registry when the option is offered.

Clicking the “Tools” icon lets you select the CCleaner utilities.  The included tools are a program uninstaller (similar to REVO uninstaller), a start-up menu controller (similar to msconfig), a system restore function and the drive wiper.  All of these should be used with caution.

CCleaner is a contraction of the original program name.  It was originally called “Crap Cleaner” because it really cleans that stuff off of your computer.  I’ve yet to read a bad review of this program.  You can download it at www.piriform.com.

If you like the 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.