TOTW #12: Free Protection; Zoom, Zoom, Zoom!

Computer Tip: Free Protection

Looking for a free solution for anti-virus and anti-spyware software? You're in luck; there are options available.

Free Anti-Virus #1: AntiVir

AntiVir is very highly rated, and they offer a free version for personal use on a single computer. Personally I like this one better than other free solutions; it feels more polished.

Free Anti-Virus #2: AVG

This is the one that it seems like everyone knows about. It does fairly well at detecting viruses, but it seems to struggle with removing even some of the more common ones. Nevertheless, it is still a decent solution. Also for personal use.

Free Anti-Spyware #1: Microsoft Windows Defender

This is first because you may already have it. It is include with Windows Vista, and is available as a free download for anyone running Windows XP. It isn't the best solution available; it tends to miss some spyware detected by other solutions, but as basic protection it is fine.

Free Anti-Spyware #2: Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

Technically it isn't free; there is a $24.95 registration fee to unlock real-time protection. However, the trial version is fully functional as far as scanning and removal is concerned. it features better detection than many other solutions. Download here.

Noticeably missing

I've see copies of Ad Aware and SpyBot running on a lot of computers as free solutions to spyware problems. I have omitted both here because, while once effective, they both have slipped in their ability to detect a wide variety of spyware infections. If you are running one of these products, it would be best to supplement it with one of the products listed above. You can install multiple anti-spyware solutions (just make sure that no more than one is set to scan in real-time), but I don't recommend installing multiple anti-virus products.

Recommended Commercial Solution

I have been recommending Webroot's Antivirus with AntiSpyware for a while now, and it is holding up quite well. It's Anti-spyware feature is top rated, as is the anti-virus feature. But I especially like it because they offer 3 and 5-computer subscriptions for just a few dollars more than the price of the single computer offering, and if you renew before your subscription expires they give a discount.

Best Solution

The absolute best way to prevent viruses and spyware is to use caution when on the Internet. When visiting a web site you can't fully trust, don't allow it to install anything on your computer. If it pops up a request to install anything, just say no. One of the more common ploys in use today is the request to install a "codec" to install a video. Just don't fall for it.

Along with that, making sure your computer stays up-to-date by checking for and installing Windows updates frequently and automatically. This can go a long way toward avoiding infections in the first place. If you aren't updating as often as you should, it's a good time to start.

Checking for and installing updates also applies to Macs too. Despite what you may hear, there are exploits for problems with OS X in the wild. Macs that are not kept up-to-date can be hacked into faster than Windows Vista, for example.

Personal Experience

Ironic as it might be, I actually don't run my computers with anti-virus and anti-spyware scanners turned on. There hasn't been a need because I just haven't ever had a virus. Spyware, on the other hand, does manage to work its way on to my computers, so I set them to scan once a week. But most of the time all they find are cookies, which actually aren't harmful.

Multimedia Tip: Zoom, Zoom, Zoom!

The most common reason people use the zoom feature of the camera is to attempt to get closer to the subject they are shooting. While zooming does make small objects bigger, it has other effects on an image that aren't immediately obvious. Allow me to explain.

Standing back from an object and zooming in on it produces a very small field of view. If you were to draw a line from the camera to one of the objects at the left edge of the frame, and another line from the camera to the an object at the right side of the frame, this angle would be very small. Objects in this field of view may be large, but they lose any sense of size and depth. The ratio of the size of your subject vs. the size of the background is small. In effect, zooming in compresses space and distance, making objects close to and far away from the camera seem to be at the same distance. As a result, images appear flat, lacking the details that give our eyes a feeling of distance, texture, and reality, and are less exciting visually than those taken with a wide angle lens. (To compensate, make sure your primary light source isn't coming from behind or above you; side lighting helps to re-establish the feeling of depth.)

Stepping forward and zooming out has a different effect altogether. Again, draw an imaginary line from the camera to an object at the left edge of the frame, and another from the camera to an object on the right edge. The angle between the lines is much wider. Objects in the field of view tend to appear smaller than they would if you zoom in, but the sense of distance and space is larger. Zooming out exaggerates space and distance; objects closer the camera feel closer than they really are, and objects farther away feel a lot farther away than they are in reality. If you have ever seen a building, venue or room on TV then seen it later in real life, it usually appears much larger on TV because of the use of wide angle lenses.

So how do you use this when composing a picture? First of all, when taking portraits, stepping in too close and zooming out to compensate will cause distorted features on your subject. Any body part close to the camera will be perceived to be larger than it really is, and conversely any body parts farther away will appear to be smaller than they do in real life. So if making someone's nose or forehead look too big is your goal, step in an zoom out. Otherwise, step back and zoom in. But not too much; we don't want noses to disappear because they have no depth, or ears to appear too close to the face. For SLR cameras, a good guideline is 85mm divided by your camera's focal length multiplier (1.5 on Nikon, resulting in 57mm; or 1.6 on most Canon bodies, for 53mm).

Sometimes we want to convey a message that whatever we are taking a picture of is large, or to make the space between two objects look bigger than it really is. That's when we step forward and zoom out. For the widest views, a wide angle lens is required, however, so you might be limited in just how wide you can go.

Ultimately, however, the Zoom on a camera should be use more like a cropping tool than an attempt to get physically closer to our subject. The vast majority of the time you'll get a more realistic picture if you just step closer and zoom out.

TOTW #1: Easier Web Navigation; Better Portraits

So I think I want to start doing a 'tip of the week' posting on my blog. But each one will really be two tips... one computer-related, one for photography, audio, or video. And these aren't going to be targeted at people who already have expertise in these areas; these are for normal people. It has taken me years to figure out all of the little tricks that I use all of time time; and it will be nice to pass on some of that knowledge.

Computer Tip: Open web sites more quickly and easily.

Part 1: Most people type out www.google.com in their browser's address bar to get to Google's web site. A quicker way to do the same thing is to type "google" and press [Control+Enter] on your keyboard. Your browser will automatically add the "www." and ".com" for you. This tip works for any .com web site, in Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Opera, as well as Safari on Windows. Unfortunately Safari on the Mac doesn't support this feature.

Part 2: Instead of grabbing your mouse to click on the address bar in your browser, press [Alt+D] in any Windows browser (or [Command+L] on the Mac). The whole web site address bar entry should then be automatically highlighted, so you can just start typing a new site address. Then use the Control+Enter trick to get to web sites more quickly. So to quickly get to Google's home page, type: [Alt+D] google [Control+Enter]. Much faster than the "normal" way of doing things.

Multimedia Tip: Better Portrait Photos

Since I'm currently involved in a photo directory project, it seems appropriate to give a tip to get better portrait photos. This one is a little longer than I'll be making future tips, but it's full of really good information.

Getting good portraits doesn't require fancy equipment. It's all about the right lighting and getting people to relax and be themselves. Even inexpensive point-and-shoot cameras can capture good portraits.

Start with lighting... the best portraits use soft lighting coming mostly from one side of the subject. Harsh lighting such as the afternoon sun isn't flattering, and on-camera flashes produce a very flat image which hides the features that make people distinctive and interesting. The easiest way to get soft lighting is to use indirect light coming from a window or doorway, or to set your subject near a white object being lit by the sun. If you must take pictures in the sun, have the subject turn so it is at their backs, but not shining directly into your camera lens.

Have your subjects turn their bodies slightly toward the most prominent light source, but keep their head facing the camera. In addition to better lighting, the diagonal line created by their shoulders is far more interesting than the straight line created when someone is standing with their body aimed straight ahead, and it gives more of a feeling of depth to the photograph. I've found that somewhere between 25 and 45 degrees of turn is ideal, but it depends on your subject and lighting conditions. Just avoid right angles in the picture by using diagonal shoulders.

Getting people to relax is trickier; you can only do so much and the rest is up to them. Making a joke usually helps, as does adding distance between the camera and subject. People don't like having cameras right in their faces, so step back and zoom in. In addition, the extra distance helps facial features to be recorded more accurately; the wide lens angle required when too close to you subject leads to noses, foreheads, and chins that are too big, especially when compared to the smaller ears that also result. (Wide angles exaggerate distance and size differences.)

These same techniques can be applied to candid snapshots too.

That's it for this week!

There you go! Two quick tips... things that took me a while to figure out, and now I'm passing that on to you. Good luck!