Reach for the Cloud

If you’re familiar with the Mobile Me service offered by Apple, one of its features is the ability to store files on Apple-run servers directly from the Mac, making them accessible from anywhere at any time.  Few people know this, but Microsoft also provides similar a similar capability with to anyone with a Windows Live account with its free SkyDrive service, providing 25 GB of storage.  Mac users get the privilege of paying $99/year for this capability, but with 5GB less storage space. Suckers.

It takes a few steps to get it setup, but they really aren’t that hard with a little instruction.  Windows 7 may be required, but it might work on Windows Vista, I haven’t tried it.  (I’m not running Vista on any of my computers any longer, so I can’t test it.)  I know it doesn’t work on XP.

1. First you need to sign up for the free SkyDrive service.  Go to http://skydrive.live.com and sign up.  If you already have a Windows Live account (such as Hotmail email), you just need to confirm that you want to activate the SkyDrive service.
   
   
2. Next, go to this site and download the SkyDrive Simple Viewer software.  It’s totally free, and you only need to run it once to get some information about your Windows Live account.
   
   
3. Extract SkyDrive Simple Viewer .zip file into a temporary folder.  For the sake of this discussion, extract it to C:\Temp\SDViewer.
   
   
4. Click Start, type cmd, and press Enter.
   
   
5. Type:
   
   CD /D C:\Temp\SDViewer
   dumpurls (Windows Live email address) (space) (Windows Live password) >links.txt
   
   Example: dumpurls myaddress@hotmail.com mypassword >links.txt
   
   
6. This will create a file called links.txt in the C:\Temp\SDViewer folder containing the “secret” links to make the connection.  Copy this file somewhere and keep it.  Once you have this file, you can delete the C:\Temp\SDViewer folder. 
   
   
7. Open your links.txt file.  Its contents will look something like this:
   
   https://abcdef.docs.live.net/abcdefg12345678/Pictures
   https://def123.docs.live.net/abcdefg12345678/Documents
   https://ace456.docs.live.net/abcdefg12345678/Music
   https://789fab.docs.live.net/abcdefg12345678/Videos
   https://cba321.docs.live.net/abcdefg12345678/Public
   
   These same links work on any computer; so feel free to copy this file and it them elsewhere.  Just don’t share them with anyone or they’ll have access to your files.
   
   
8. Click the Start button, right-click “Computer” on the menu, and select “Map Network Drive...”
   
   
9. Select the local drive letter you’d like to use, and copy one of the links from step 7 into the “Folder” field (select the appropriate link based on what type of files you are going to be saving).  Click Finish.

Voila!  The drive will open within a few seconds.  If you turn on the “Reconnect at Logon” option in step 9 it will automatically reconnect each time you logon to Windows.  Pretty cool stuff.

You now have a link in Windows Explorer to your SkyDrive “cloud” storage that can be used with any Windows program, and even shared between multiple computers.  And all for free, and without installing a single piece of software!

I even use it with the software I wrote and sell, FileBack PC, to backup important files automatically.  Slick.

Original idea came from Paul Thurrott on his blog.

Viruses are NOT a Technology Problem

There is a myth that has been going around for YEARS that if you run Windows on a computer that it is automatically going to become infested with viruses. It is perpetuated by many, particularly in the “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” ads, but also by the companies that create anti-virus software in hopes that you’ll buy their product to protect yourselves from the inevitable technological intrusion into your virtual computer space. And most of us buy into it. The truth is, that it is NOT true that running Windows will guarantee that you’ll become infested with viruses. (I’ll prove it later in this post.) Windows in and of itself is not the problem. The problem isn’t even technological at all. It’s social.

The term used to describe the techniques used by viruses writers to get their software onto your computer is actually called “social engineering.” Basically it means they trick you into installing the viruses on your computer. They’ll do things like disguise their software as something else that you’re likely to want or want to see. They use methods to make you believe that these things are coming from trusted sources, like friends or family. Combined, those are pretty effective methods. (And truthfully, these same methods work on ANY operating system; they aren’t specific to Windows.)

This might be a blow to the ego of some, but if your computer has become infested with a virus, it is because you let it install itself. You opened a file you shouldn’t have. You installed some software you shouldn’t have. You are the one to blame that it is there. Please don’t blame your computer. Don’t blame your operating system. You did something that let the bad stuff in. The wolf knocked at your door, and instead of replying with a “not by the hair of my chinny-chin chin” you said “come on in.”

Personally I don’t run anti-virus software. I never have. I do install it, because that’s what you’re “supposed” to do, but I don’t let it run scanning and watching my computer all of the time. After I install it the very first thing I do is disable it. I don’t like the slowdown that comes with having everything I do be monitored by bloated software that isn’t going to find anything anyway. And despite the fact that I do not run antivirus software, I have NEVER had a single virus on ANY of my computers. Ever! I’ve been running Windows for nearly 15 years and I haven’t had a virus yet. I’ll run anti-virus scans every once a while just to make sure that I’m still clean, but NONE of those scans have EVER found even a single virus.

If susceptibility to viruses was a technological problem with Windows, my computers would be massive infestations of virus muck. They wouldn’t be usable. And they’d be out there trying to find ways to infect others. How have I been able to remain clean? Just by being careful about what I install and keeping my computer up to date with security patches. That’s it. No more. No magical hardware firewall watching my Internet activity. No magic fairy that shows up in the middle of the night to clean off anything that may have arrived that day.

But the situation gets even worse for the theory that Windows inherently becomes infested with viruses when I tell you that I also don’t run any firewalls. Yep, I turn those off too. And here’s another kicker… I break the cardinal rule of data security: three of my computers have public IP addresses (meaning they are totally exposed to, accessible from, and visible to the Internet). Gasp! That’s an absolute security no-no! Nobody should EVER run Windows with a public IP address, right? Well, I wouldn’t recommend it for most people, but the truth is that Windows, despite its many flaws, is not the primary cause of viruses becoming installed on our computers, so I really don’t worry about it. Viruses are installed by people, not their operating system. It’s people tricking other people into installing their ill-intended garbage that gets computers infected.

I’m not the only one that doesn’t run anti-virus software. In a recent episode of the Security Now podcast, noted security expert Steve Gibson also admitted that he doesn’t run it either. If a security expert doesn’t run it, then the computer he’s using isn’t the main cause of the problem, is it!?

So why do Windows PCs so often have viruses? Mostly because they’re so popular. If you’re someone conjuring up evil plans to take over the world by creating virus software, who are you going to target? The 90% of computers running Windows? Or the 7% running a Mac, or 1% running Linux? Which offers a better return on your time investment?

Windows XP also made an easy target because it makes it so easy to install software. No password or validation required to do an installation; installers can just run and do whatever they please whenever someone starts them. (That has changed with Vista; passwords and validation are required there, just like OS X and Linux.) Not requiring a password to install has never been a good idea, but it isn’t the cause of viruses on computers. It just made it easier for the bad guys. Big difference. And viruses are software; they just have a different intent than something like Firefox.

With all of this said, I will not recommend that most people run without anti-virus software or a firewall. Most people should take those steps to protect their machines. But these tools are just extras layer of protection; they should not be the only form of protection used. Neither will ever be able to make up for all of the shortcomings of someone using a computer. Even with both installed, it’s still up to you to avoid the bad stuff. And that, my friends, is a social problem, not a problem with technology.

Tip: Show File Extensions

There is one very easy thing to do in Windows to make it easier to determine if a file on your computer (or coming in via email) can be potentially harmful.  And that change is to make file extensions visible.

Windows, for some inexplicable reason, hides the extensions of files by default.  Is “document” really a document?  You can’t really tell by looking at a file whether it is a picture, a text file, a song, or a potentially evil program.  With file extensions turned off there just isn’t any way to be sure.  Fortunately this is a very easy thing to fix.

In Windows Vista:

1. Click Start, type the word Folder and wait for the search results to come up.  Click on Folder Options.

2. Click the View tab, scroll down to “Hide extensions for known file types” and UNCHECK it.

3. Click OK to save the change.

In Windows XP:

1. Click Start, Control Panel, Folder Options.

2. Click the View tab, scroll down to “Hide extensions for known file types” and UNCHECK it.

3. Click OK to save the change.

With file extensions turned on and visible you will know just by glancing at an icon what type of file it really is.  And if you see something ending in .EXE, .COM, .PIF, .SCR, you will know that it is actually a program.  If one of these file types is coming to you via email, just delete it.  If you find one of these files somewhere that a program shouldn’t be (like on a USB flash drive, or your Documents folder), don’t open it.  Programs should always be stored in C:\Program Files, so if you see one somewhere else, leave it alone. 

That same folder with file extensions turned on is shown below.  We can now see that “Document” is actually an executable, not a text file!

The last extension on a file is the one that actually counts.  So if you see Cool New Song.mp3.exe, it isn’t an MP3 file; it is actually a program.  Just delete it.  Likewise with Free Gasoline.txt.exe.  You get the idea.

I’m really not sure why Microsoft insists on hiding file extensions by default.  Even the upcoming Windows 7 has this same behavior.  As poor as this decision is, at least we can change the behavior easily.

TOTW #15: What’s that file again?

Again, another combined computer and multimedia tip.

What’s that file?

The names we have on your computer files often aren’t descriptive enough for us to know what they actually contain.  And sometimes it isn’t appropriate to rename a file (say, for example, if you want to keep the ordered sequence of files intact) so we need another way to tag our files to help us keep track of their contents.

Windows XP and Mac OS X all make this not only possible, but relatively easy.  (The capability to do this has been removed from Vista, the reasons for which are long, detailed, and boring.)  Each of these operating systems have the ability to store a comment, completely separate from the filename and the contents of the file.

To make these comments visible, open the folder containing the files you wish to view.  You must then tell your computer that you want to view your files in a detailed list format, and enable the Comments column of that view:

Windows XP:
1. Select the View menu, then select Details.
2. Select the View menu, then Choose Details, turn on Comments, click OK.

Mac OS X:
1. Select the View menu, then select As List.
2. Select the View menu, then Show View Options.  Turn on Comments.

Adding or editing comments for a file is pretty straightforward from there:

Windows XP:
1. Right-click a file, select Properties.
2. Select the Summary page.
3. Locate the Comments entry, click it, and enter your comments.

Mac OS X:
1. Select the file, then File / Get Info.
2. Enter the comments in the Spotlight Comments box.

This is a great way to tag photographs, music, etc. with data that you can’t or don’t want to store as part of the filename.

TOTW #7: What's My File? / Better Video

Computer Tip: What's My File?

One of the things that drives me nuts about Windows is that it makes it difficult for people to distinguish between legitimate files and malware (such as a virus). In its default configuration you can't tell for sure just by looking at a file whether it is a document, or an executable program. If you end up double-clicking on a file with a virus, thinking it's a picture or a letter from Aunt Margaret, your computer is suddenly infected and it might take hours to remove the infection.

The easiest way to prevent this is to make sure that Windows tells you what type of file you are actually looking at. So instead of it showing "Picture at IHOP" you'll see "Picture at IHOP.jpg" telling you that it really is a JPEG-formatted picture, or "Picture at IHOP.exe" letting you know that the file is an executable that will probably do bad things to your computer. Fortunately setting Windows to display file types in the form of file extensions is an easy thing to change.

Under Windows XP, click Start, Control Panel, and choose Folder Options. In Vista, click the Start button, start to type "Folder Options" and it should appear in the list of search results at the top of the Start Menu.

From there, go to the View tab, find the option named "Hide extensions for known file types" and turn it off. Then click OK to save the change.

From that time on, you can tell what type of file you are looking at by it's extension. A few (but not all) types to avoid are: .exe, .com, .bat, .pif, and .vbs. If you receive an unexpected file from someone with one of those extensions, delete the file immediately!

The setting of this option carries over into Outlook and Outlook Express, so it will be much easier to tell what type of file you received in your email as well.

Multimedia Tip: Better Video

Here are a few really quick tips for much better quality video.

1. Use multiple short shots instead of one long one. We've all been bored to death by somebody's vacation or school performance video. Why are they boring? Because there is too much video. A better video would be one that only shows the most important parts of an event, leaving out everything else that isn't absolutely essential. So when shooting, only record the parts that really need to be there, and ignore the rest. But don't forget to leave a second or two before and after to make the video flow more naturally.

2. Use my "one move per shot" rule. In this context, a move would be considered a pan (movement left or right), tilt (movement up or down), or zoom. Few things scream "amateur video" more than constant zooming in or out, or multiple pans back and forth. So with each shot (remember that shorter is better here), only perform one move. One zoom in, one pan left, one tilt up, etc. If you need to make another move to tell the story of what is going on, pause the camera, reposition, and restart the recording.

3. Keep your moves slow. So every pan, tilt, or zoom, should be slow. Give your audience time to take in the scene rather than giving them motion sickness.

4. Change your position. Each time you pause the camera to change your shot, change something about the positioning of your shot, whether it be your physical position, or the zoom position of your lens. This will avoid what are called "jump shots" where two shots next to one another are too similar, creating a jarring transition that is awkward to view.

5. Use a tripod. Nobody can hold a camera perfectly still, not even the professionals. And getting to the point where you can hold it "relatively still" is an art that takes years to perfect. So take the time to get out a tripod. Or invest in motion sickness pills for the people you intend to whom you show your video. And if you don't own a tripod, use my 50 Cent Tripod Substitute tip from a couple weeks ago until you get one.