Ask the Geek

Nixie Tubes Are Beautiful

2008-07-06T10:49:00.001-04:00

Thanks to the latest issue of Popular Mechanics, we Geeks who remember these things can get our hands on some beautiful, handmade digital clocks (kit versions are also available). Nixie tubes have a warm glow that produces an aesthetic that today's digital displays don't even approach. Check out Peter Jensen's site, tubeclock.com and browse around. You'll learn that,

The 1950s saw the advent of the Modern design aesthetic; clean lines, utilitarian forms, and the motto: "Less is More" (Mies van der Rohe). The Nixie tube made its debut in 1954, and provided some of the first digital displays for the latest scientific equipment of the time. Once utilized primarily in research and military equipment, Nixies are now prized for their modern aesthetic.

Nixies went out of production in the early 1990's, but there is some new, old-stock surplus available. Do a Google search on "nixie tubes" and you'll see. By the way, if you want to own the clock shown above, it'll set you back $495. Look at it as the work of art that it is.

Cheers!

The Geek

Technorati tags: Nostalgic, Older Technology, Historical, Electronics, Fun Stuff, Collecting

WiFi Security–The Only Way is WPA

2008-06-19T22:06:00.001-04:00

One of these days, I'm going to catch up with this site and get links posted to all the new content I've been generating over at Security Corner. For now, I thought you'd like to read the latest article in the How to Secure Your Computer series. I'm up to 13 now. The next post here will be a list of all of them. Here you go:

http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/security-corner/wifi-security-the-only-way-is-wpa/

Cheers!

The Geek

PC Security Top Five

2008-04-16T22:23:00.001-04:00

Everyone seems to be doing top five and top ten lists these days, so I figured it's about time I presented one of my own. Here's my PC Security Top Five for home computers and home computer users:

1. AVG antivirus. This is a best-of-breed antivirus program that is free for personal use. I've been using it for years.

2. Spybot Search & Destroy. Freeware. Anti-spyware/privacy protection. This is my main tool in the battle against spyware, and as of March 19, 2008, the program includes RootAlyzer anti-rootkit technology.

3. SpywareBlaster. Freeware. Blocks malware (see site for details). You need to update it periodically, but it's transparent otherwise.

4. Mvps.org HOSTS file. The HOSTS file can be used to block unwanted sites and mvps.org provides a constantly-updated list of sites to block. Complete details can be found by following the link. I've used it for more than five years and have never gotten infected by a bad site.

5. Security Now! podcast. Every week, Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte discuss security. If you're not listening, you're missing out on some of the best security advice out there. Tell 'em The Geek sent you!

Cheers!
The Geek

Geeks as cyber warriors?

2008-03-09T11:53:00.001-04:00

Check out this article in my new IT Knowledge Exchange blog (a paying gig for a change!). Seems the Air Force (which I'm a veteran of) has set up a new Cyber Command division. I'm sure it'll be the geekiest place in the military.

Cheers!
The Geek

How to Write Down Your Passwords and Not Worry About Someone Stealing Them

2008-02-17T11:11:00.001-05:00

I sometimes enjoy playing with codes and ciphers. In fact, a long time ago (eighth grade, 1966), I got my introduction to cryptography from a book aptly named Codes and Ciphers written by Alexander d'Agapeyeff. My friends and I had some good laughs getting caught passing encoded notes in class; the nun couldn't decipher them. Being an Edgar Allen Poe fan, I was fascinated by his story "The Gold Bug," which centers on the solution to a cipher that turns out to be a map to hidden pirate treasure. And then there's that bit with Ralphie, the hero in the classic holiday hit movie, A Christmas Story, where he anxiously awaits the arrival of his "Little Orphan Annie Secret Decoder Ring."

But I digress.

I know this isn't a new concept by any means, but the application of simple cryptographic principles can allow you to generate passwords using patterns that you can safely write down. One of the key elements of authentication is "something only you know" and you can use this to generate secure passwords with simple substitution and transposition ciphers. (WARNING: playing around with this stuff can be habit-forming!)

Let's take a simple example of a substitution cipher based on a date. This one uses two levels of secret "keys": 1. a clue or mnemonic for the date; 2. an abstraction of the encoding algorithm. We'll use Abe Lincoln's birthday in numeric form--02/12/1809--for our plaintext, leaving out the slashes, i.e., 02121809, which will result in a strong, eight character password. Now, for the first key, we can use "BDAbe." This immediately reveals the plaintext, but means little or nothing to anyone else. (NEVER use your own birthday, for obvious reasons.)

Next, we decide to use alternating shifted characters, beginning with the first character. So, for key two, we make an abstraction of that: %x#, for example. It doesn't matter what characters you use, only that they clearly represent shifted and lower-case characters; you could just as easily use AyT or !2@. The pattern of shift-lowercase-shift on the keyboard is what matters to you; the characters mean nothing else. Put the two keys together and you have this: BDAbe%x#. That's your cipher pattern, the "something only you know," with an added level of complexity: it's something only you know (the plaintext) and only you know what it means (the encoding pattern). Anyone who sees BDAbe%x# will have your keys, but it's likely they won't have a clue as to what to do with them. Write it down. Post it all over the place. Buy an ad in the newspaper. Tell everyone you know. Who cares? It isn't your password and only you know what it means; but, it looks like a password and serves as an effective deception.

Finally, we generate the actual password using our cipher pattern of alternating shifted and lowercase characters, so 02121809 becomes our ciphertext of )2!2!8)9: eight characters, each having one of 96 possible choices. In a brute force attack, a modern PC, capable of guessing 10 million passwords per second, would take 23 years to go through all possible combinations of an eight-character password with a 96 character selection space. Not too shabby, eh?

For website logins where high security isn't a concern, you can drop the "www." and use the rest of the URL as your plaintext. In this case, you only need to write down the password length and encoding pattern. Let's say I have a login on the site www.nytimes.com. I don't care if someone reads the news using my password, so tight security isn't a concern. I decide on a pattern of lowercase-shift-shift and decide to use a six-character password. The encoding pattern is x%^, so I can write that down as nytimes.com/x%^. Who's going to know what that means? The password would be nYTiME. At only six characters and despite being based on the URL itself, that password is still relatively secure: it would take a hacker 33 minutes to crack your password; he'd be able to set up his own account in less than 2 minutes. And why would anyone want to crack your password? NYTimes.com doesn't ask for any personal information other than your birth year and zip code, nothing that's worth anything to a criminal hacker.

I encourage you to come up with your own method of applying this to your passwords, and of course, I welcome your comments and questions.

Cheers!
The Geek

Have a question? It can be about anything from cooking to science, whatever you're interested in: Click here to Ask the Geek! Kenny "The Geek" Harthun has been playing with geeky stuff since 1965. He's a former research scientist, currently works as a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer at Connective Computing, Inc. and loves to learn about anything and everything.

Update 2008: How to make a bootable thumb drive virus scanner for NTFS

2008-02-12T20:05:00.001-05:00

The original article and subsequent updates requires a change of procedure. Avira, who acquired NTFS4DOS, apparently changed the installation procedure and included a new program to create a bootable floppy disk. If you use the program floppywz.exe to install NTFS4DOS to your thumb drive, you end up with a 1.44 MB thumb drive and cannot install F-prot.

DO NOT run floppywz.exe, but navigate to the installation directory: by default, C:\Program Files\Avira\NTFS4DOS and simply copy the NTFS4DOS to your thumb drive. Copy F-prot and then boot to your thumb drive. You'll no longer see a startup menu, but just a DOS prompt. At the prompt, type "ntfs4dos" without the quotes and hit enter. Then, you can run F-prot.

Here's the last update prior to this one: http://askthegeek.kennyhart.com/2007/03/update-how-to-make-bootable-thumb-drive_20.html

Cheers!
The Geek

Technorati tags: antivirus, ntfs4dos, ask the geek, thumb drive, f-prot

The Zonbu Laptop - Hassle-free, Affordable, Secure

2007-12-26T20:34:00.001-05:00

Having recently had the pleasure of interviewing Zonbu's CEO, Mr. Gregoire Gentil, and also having had the pleasure of testing the laptop, I have to say I'm impressed by both the business model and the product. But my being impressed is just one opinion; what are others saying about Zonbu? Rather than my writing my own review, I present a random sampling of quotes from email and other reviews along with my comments.

Mr. Zonbu says: "The company has consistently delivered new releases, fixing bugs, enhancing the system and updating the key software packages. None of the updates have broken anything on my system and Zonbu has listened to the public feedback and made changes and adjustments to continue to improve and refine the overall experience for the end-user. I was skeptical about their ability to keep up the pace and handle things smoothly, but so far they have exceeded my high expectations...If you don’t want the hassle, let Zonbu take care of it for you."

Yep, it's completely hassle-free and mostly automatic for even the most novice user.

John Biggs of crunchgear.com says: "The Zonbu notebook costs $279 with a 2-year $14.95/month subscription to Zonbu’s update and storage service. This, clearly, is Zonbu’s real MO. They offer unlimited support and upgrades along with 50GB of Amazon S3-based storage. If you opt out of all of the support, you pay $479 for a fairly basic laptop.

"Here’s the rub, kids. With the service pack you’re paying $637.80 for a Linux laptop."

The key words here are "unlimited support and upgrades along with 50GB of Amazon S3-based storage." Most people don't have a clue how to back up and secure their PCs, much less do upgrades. Geek Squad will give you "Basic Security" for $229. With Zonbu, you plug it in, it works, it's secure and you never have to worry about it. As long as you're under the subscription plan, if the unit breaks, they ship you a brand-new one. That says "affordable" to me.

Arsgeek.com says: "On turning it on, you’ll see the typical Zonbu startup screen where various icons light up to show you what phase of the boot process it’s in. After about a minute or so I was on the desktop. Zonbu, no matter what else they may have going for them certainly have great wallpapers. The desktop is crisp and clean, with a few icons in the upper left and a few items in the taskbar on the bottom.
"I was immediately greeted with a network connection wizard which walked me through getting online using my home wireless connection. It was painless and in a minute I was happily online. I logged in with my email and password and I was ready to play!"

I had the same experience on first boot. Even a novice could get on line quickly, in my opinion.

Security? I can compromise your PC in just a few minutes at some of the sites I know of. I have been unable to compromise either the Zonbu desktop unit or the laptop.

The Zonbu laptop isn't necessarily for Geeks to use, but it will certainly lower the amount of free tech support you have to give to your friends, neighbors, mom and girlfriend who all own Windows PCs.

Cheers!
The Geek

Technorati tags: Zonbu, laptop, linux, secure computing, hassle-free computing, affordable

Interview with Zonbu CEO Gregoire Gentil

2007-11-30T18:09:00.001-05:00

Zonbu is poised to become the de facto standard for hassle-free, environmentally-friendy, secure computing. I've been using the Zonbu desktop unit since August and I've fallen in love with it. I recommend it to everyone I know who's looking for a home PC or one for their children.

With Zonbu's announcement of their new notebook, manufactured by Everex (which I will be testing shortly), I asked Zonbu's CEO, Mr. Gregoire Genil, a few questions.

ATG: Mr. Gentil, The Zonbu concept is like every good idea in computing rolled into one. Who first originated the idea?
Gentil: I don't think that anyone is the owner of the idea. It's more a trend that customers don't want anymore to bear the hassle of managing their PCs, especially as US households have more and more PCs. Fixing your PC could be fun because you may like to do it, but doing [it] for your wife, girl-friend, kids or the second PC in the kitchen or in the living room becomes a real pain. And I'm not sure that customers want to buy fat PCs with an OS that is, in itself, more expensive than our full-featured zero-maintenance product. We want to be to the PC what Japanese cars have become to the automotive industry: reliable, simple and affordable products.

ATG: Did the problems inherent in Microsoft operating systems influence the Zonbu concept in any way?
Gentil: Definitely. Microsoft has done an amazing job in the 80s-90s but much like the gas guzzlers of the 70s, the traditional PCs pursuit of performance at all cost is having a negative impact on the environment and is becoming a huge burn for customers. Our product holds on 700MB with all the applications your need when Vista is already 30GB and you don't have everything you need.

ATG: Zonbu supports a wide range of hardware but only two MP3 players. Are there plans to add more supported players?
Gentil: Actually, we support a lot of MP3 players, including all iPod, NJB players and all players that store the music like a USB key chain. Beyond this support, we intend to add more and more support for USB accessories. We are constantly adding new drivers to increase the support of our 1500 printers and 800 cameras. We have also just added support for webcam.

ATG: Will Zonbu ever be available in retail stores or are you going with a web-based sales model?
Gentil: For the moment, we are web-based sales only. We would like indeed to extend to retail next year.

ATG: What is the one best reason to buy you could give to a potential Zonbu customer?
Gentil: One simple word: hassle-free. Aren't you fed up to manage your computer, finding the right plugin to watch such or such video, taking care of your backup, fighting a malware? Fire yourself as IT administrator of your home.

ATG: And go get a Zonbu and start enjoying computing again! Thank you very much, Gregoire, both for your excellent answers and the prompt response.
Gentil: No problem!

Cheers!
The Geek

Technorati tags: Zonbu, Gregoire Gentil, green computing, hassle-free computing, secure computing, Ask the Geek

New Zonbu Laptop: Affordable, Green, Hassle-Free Computing

2007-11-29T11:52:00.001-05:00

I just found out that Zonbu is announcing a new Zonbu Notebook (see photo), so Zonbu fans can be green and hassle-free on the go. Like the Zonbu Mini Desktop, the Zonbu Notebook is based on the same principles of hassle-free, environmentally friendly, and affordable computing.

Let's take a look at what Zonbu has to say on these three points:

Hassle-free: The Zonbu Notebook works right out of the box. It includes 20 best-of-breed software applications, free automatic software upgrades, generous online storage, remote file access and sharing, automatic data back-up, unlimited online tech support, and free hardware replacement in case of damage. Best of all it eliminates the need to spend any time on managing the PC, or spending money on anti-virus packages, back-up storage or firewalls.
Environmentally Friendly: The Zonbu Notebook uses less energy, reduced use of hazardous materials like cadmium and mercury, offers free recycling/take back programs and responsible packaging, meeting the EU’s strict RoHS standards and earning the Zonbu Notebook a Silver EPEAT rating.
Affordable: The Zonbu Notebook starts at $279 with a $14.95 monthly subscription fee with the same acclaimed hassle-free plan as the Zonbu Mini Desktop.

Having reviewed the Zonbu Mini Desktop, I have to agree it's definitely hassle-free. In fact, it's so easy, a seven-year-old can use it right out of the box (See my article at Ask the Geek, Too). I fell in love with it.

Now, we'll see about the Zonbu Notebook--they're sending me a review unit today. So, stay tuned and I'll tell you all about it. (Chances are, I'll fall in love with the notebook, too.)

Cheers!
The Geek

Technorati tags: Zonbu, notebook, hassle-free, secure, affordable

Dave's Computer Tips has a new writer - me!

2007-11-10T09:19:00.001-05:00

I'm proud to announce that Dave Hartsock of Dave's Computer Tips has graciously invited me to write the Security Focus section of his excellent newsletter. Dave has done a great job of putting together a wealth of content. Check out this lineup from the November 1, 2007 issue:

#1 - Newbies Nook - Information for those who are new to computers and computing.
#2 - Problems in Paradise - Answers to reader problems and questions.
#3 - Security Focus - Computer Security by Kenny Hart.
#4 - Getting Starting with Linux - David Kopp points the way.
#5 - Creating Nested Tables - Carol tells us how to do it in Word and OpenOffice Writer.
#6 - My Recommended Software - Need software? Check this list first!
#7 - Useful Freeware - Useful programs that you may find useful. Did I mention they're free!
#8 - Useful web sites - Websites I've visited lately that you may find useful.
#9 - The Lighter Side - Some humor to lighten your load!
#10 - Odds and Ends - A little bit of this and a little bit of that!

Recently, I had a long conversation with Dave and I can tell you that besides just being an all-around nice guy, he definitely has your interests in mind. He's committed to providing the best information he can on a regular schedule.

It would be great if all of you wonderful Ask the Geek fans would hop on over to his site and subscribe to his newsletter.

And while you're at it, take a moment to sign up to get my latest posts via email. That way, if you forget to check the site, you won't miss out on the latest info.

Cheers!
The Geek

Technorati tags: Dave's Computer Tips, newsletter, computers, Ask the geek, security, freeware

Noisy PC? Acousticpc.com will help you quiet it down

2007-11-07T09:36:00.001-05:00

I recently had the pleasure of having a conversation with Eric Sivilla,
Acoustic PC Specialist and owner of Acousticpc.com - the leader in quiet PC cooling solutions. Eric knows his stuff when it comes to quieting down a noisy PC and he's also quite a nice fellow, so you can be confident in doing business with him.

I never paid much attention to the noise coming from my PC, I just figured that's the way it is and put it out of my mind. But when I decided to record some of the songs I've written, I was dismayed to discover that I could hear the PC noise in my recordings.

Where does all that noise come from? A lot of it comes from the cooling fans on your CPU and power supply. Some high-performance PCs also have a cooling fan on the video card and there may be another fan in the front or back of the case that draws outside air in. Your hard drive is also a noisy beast and difficult to silence, until now.

Check it out, will you? Eric has solutions for the most demanding quiet cooling applications including hard drive silencers, silent cases, acoustic case insulation, you name it. Here's that link again:

http://www.acousticpc.com

Tell him The Geek sent you.

Cheers!
The Geek

Technorati tags: fan, CPU cooler, quiet PC, PC cooling

Stay Tuned for Big Changes Here

2007-09-22T08:51:00.001-04:00

Thanks to all of you fine folks who are regular visitors and the new traffic that keeps coming in from all over, Ask the Geek is growing. I'll be adding new features to make this site easier to navigate, new downloadable content, improved feedback form and a completely new site design powered by WordPress. Because I'm a busy Geek, I won't be able to do everything at once, but I'll plug away and get it done over the next few weeks.

So, stay tuned.

Cheers!
The Geek

Kool Tool to Boost Your Computer's Security

2007-09-06T14:39:00.001-04:00

The good folks over at Secunia have a nice, free, web-based tool to scan your computer for certain common vulnerabilities. I'm surprised I didn't pick up on this before, as I get the Secunia alert newsletter.

Secunia Software Inspector
6 December, 2006 - Secunia is proud to announce the availability of the Secunia Software Inspector. Detect and update insecure software.

They've also released a Beta version of Secunia Personal Software Inspector, also free, that you can install on your PC, as well as a paid version for corporate networks, Secunia Network Software Inspector.

Read the rest of this article here.

Cheers!
The Geek

Technorati tags: security, beta, secunia, software updates

Free Download: How to Make a Custom Shutdown Button for XP/2003

2007-08-31T17:49:00.001-04:00

As promised, I wrote a step-by-step article illustrating how to create your own custom shutdown button that will work with XP and Windows 2003 Server. Even if you don't have shutdown problems, this handy little button makes shutting down your computer a one-click proposition.

Download the instructions (PDF)

Cheers!
The Geek

Technorati tags: shutdown problems, shutdown button, XP, tips, how to

Computer Won't Shut Down? Try This

2007-08-30T14:35:00.001-04:00

I get a lot of "Ask the Geek" emails from people whose computers won't shut down properly, either hanging up or rebooting endlessly. (Sometimes, nothing at all happens and you have to press and hold the power button.) Rather than trying to answer each question, I figure it's time I made this tip available to everyone and posted it here. You see, trying to diagnose what may be causing shutdown problems is difficult without my being at the machine. There's a Microsoft article, "Resources to help troubleshoot shutdown problems in Windows XP," that describes the process. Not simple.

But, there is a simple way to force your computer to shut down that often works like magic. It's a command built into Windows XP called, appropriately, "shutdown.exe." Just click Start-->Run and type "shutdown -f -s -t 0" (without the quotes - the last character is a zero) and hit Enter. Your PC will shutdown immediately.

I am working on a step-by-step article, complete with screen shots, that explains how to make a custom shutdown button using the shutdown.exe command. I also plan to record a short video with commentary. I'll let you know when these are done and how you can get them.

Cheers!
The Geek

Technorati tags: shutdown problems, tips, how to, video

Turn Your Geek Party Into an Event With "Anti-helium"

2007-07-25T21:49:00.001-04:00

Every Geek worth the moniker has inhaled helium from a toy balloon and proceeded to amuse everyone with the cartoon-like high pitch of his voice. I've been doing it almost forever and especially now that I have grandchildren (six and one in the oven).

Now, there's a new Geek inhalation toy: "anti-helium," better known as sulfur hexaflouride. Jay Leno tried it and it's a hoot. Check out this video. Very cool.

Now, I just need to find a source for sulfur hexaflouride so I can turn my geek party into an event.

Cheers!
The Geek

Technorati tags: anti-helium, sulfur hexaflouride, helium, Jay Leno, party, fun

Will an improper shutdown harm my computer?

2007-07-09T14:20:00.001-04:00

I get this question often enough that it's time for a detailed post. Today, I'm answering Valania's question:

When you improperly shut down your computer does it harm your computer hardware, or anything else in your computer?

Valania, by "improperly shut down," I assume you mean pressing the power button instead of clicking Start->Shut Down from Windows. This won't harm any of your hardware. After all, Windows powers off the PC, too, when you do a "normal" shutdown. Think of it this way: Your computer is made from components similar to those in any other electronic device--like a stereo or TV--and you turn them on and off all the time without any bad effects. However, the data on your hard drive can be damaged by an improper shutdown.

This was a big problem back in the days of Windows 95 and 98. When you restarted after an improper shutdown, the operating system would come up asking you to run scandisk to correct hard disk errors. It's not as big a problem with Windows XP, but it does happen. If you remove power from the system while data is being written to your hard disk, the data will be incomplete and appear corrupt. Usually, though, a system hang severe enough to warrant pushing the power button is the result of a problem reading or loading a file and your PC won't suffer any ill effects if you power it down.

Cheers!
The Geek

Technorati tags: shutdown, system hang, data loss

How to Handle a Trojan Horse on Your PC

2007-06-29T14:54:00.001-04:00

I was checking my web site logs last night and was pleasantly surprised to find lots of traffic coming from download.com. One of their writers, Jessica Delacourt, included a link to my bootable thumb drive virus scanner in her article "Beat back that Trojan Horse."

Ms. Delacourt presents several ways of dealing with the damage caused by a Trojan infection. The article is excellent and I highly recommend it.

And, Ms. Delacourt, thanks for link!

Cheers!
The Geek

Technorati tags: Trojan horse, security, download.com, Jessica Delacourt, virus scanner, thumb drive, Ken Harthun

Would You Free Fall From 60 Miles in Space?...for Sport?

2007-06-27T16:25:00.001-04:00

Wow! Talk about extreme. I can't think of anything more extreme than falling from 60 miles up at 2500 miles per hour (unless it's falling out of orbit from 150 miles up at close to 18,000 miles per hour). This article in Popular Science describes work being done to develop a spacesuit that would allow a person to survive such a fall.

Ostensibly, the suit's purpose would be to allow astronauts and space travelers to bail out of a doomed ship and survive. But it could also spawn space diving as an extreme sport.

"Forget skydiving. Two entrepreneurs want to sell you space diving. You'll feel the rush of a 60-mile free fall—and become a guinea pig for the next emergency space suit."

Of course, there are big obstacles to overcome, like dealing with extreme heat and G-forces. From 60 miles up, your suit will have to withstand 464 degrees Fahrenheit and you'll endure a sustained 4.4 Gs, meaning that if you weigh 150 pounds, you will weigh 660 pounds as you decelerate. From 150 miles up, your suit alone won't withstand the 3000 degrees reentry heat--you'll need a heat shield--and you'll endure G-forces on the order of 8.2.

Then there's this little problem:

The least-understood danger comes from transonic speeds—what happens when you cross the sound barrier. Are there shock waves at such speeds that can injure a person, or send him into an unstoppable spin? No one knows because no one has ever gone that fast outside a vehicle.

Do I have any volunteers?

Cheers!
The Geek

Technorati tags: space, space diving, space suit, extreme sports

Will You Be Used As a Weapon Against Your Own Country?

2007-06-22T15:00:00.001-04:00

It's 2010, maybe sooner. A rogue nation has just declared war on your country. No one will be killed in this war, at least not directly. But people will die from starvation, disease, and in the general chaos caused by disruption in vital communications lines. The rogue nation's primary weapon? Botnets capable of taking down huge segments of the Internet and telephone networks. [Read the full article at Ask the Geek, Too]

Technorati tags: warfare, cyber warfare, botnet, security, security maxims, ask the Geek, ken Harthun

Who Wants to Go Green?

2007-06-16T17:26:00.001-04:00

Twenty-nine years ago (according to the date on my drawing), I designed a roofing system that could be retrofit to any home and which would provide up to one-half of winter heating needs on sunny days. At the same time, I designed a geothermal heating/cooling system that would provide a constant stream of air into the home at a temperature of 55 degrees year-round; cooling in summer, heating in winter. At the time, these designs coupled with homes that were three-quarters underground would have been the ultimate in *green*.

These days, with all of the focus on global warming, *going green* means much more than just having an energy-efficient home--it means doing everything you can to reduce your contribution to the greenhouse gases that are responsible.

So, I figured I'd tell you about a few things this Geek is doing to reduce his *carbon footprint*:

Crank-power radios and flashlights. One of my radios uses no batteries at all; one of them is recharged by cranking. Same with the flashlights.
I turn my PCs off when I'm not using them.
Most of the time, I use my laptop instead of my desktop PC; a little over 50 watts energy usage instead of 250 watts.
I use those spiral florescent lights instead of conventional bulbs (yes, LEDs would be better, but they're still too expensive).
I recycle what I can.
I cook with the microwave whenever possible (less energy used to cook a meal than with my electric stove).
I cool only the bedroom to comfort level and keep the rest of the house bearable.

I wish I could do more, but certain job constraints prevent my limiting my gasoline usage. When I get my own house again, I'll do much more. Stay tuned.

Cheers!
The Geek

Technorati tags: go green, greenhouse gases, global warming, carbon footprint, save energy, ask the Geek, kenny Hart

Does Anyone Really Know What a Geek Is? (Does Anyone Really Care?)

2007-06-11T15:47:00.001-04:00

When I started this blog a couple of years ago, I had no idea of the changes it would make in my life and the lives of many of my readers who have "asked the Geek." Not a week goes by without my receiving comments or emails like these:

Yes, yes, Kenny Hart,

It works pretty good. And computer shuts down properly as it should, now !

You ARE THE Genius !
Andrew

---------

Thanks for the help, it did the trick ! ! ! !
Awesome Geek - your new name lol
Doris

I'm always glad to see these of course, but I realized that since 99% of the questions I receive are about computer problems, most people associate Geeks with computers.

But, wait! Geeks are into everything, remember?

GEEK - (1) The name given to scientifically savvy folk; (2) A person who is interested in learning and becomes deeply involved in their interests.

Doesn't say computers are the only thing Geek, does it? You have bowling Geeks, cooking Geeks, science Geeks, almost any kind of Geek you can think of if the person is really interested in something. I realize that the perception about this blog is my fault; most of what I write about here is computer related.

I'm going to change that. After all, my own interests extend far beyond computers and so do yours.

So, be prepared to see me embark upon finding out such things as what is the best curry powder blend, evaluating micro-fiber rags, how to build a tesla coil, anything and everything if it interests me--or you.

And I hope that we all learn something in the process; that's what it's about, after all.

Cheers!
The Geek

Technorati tags: geek, learning, interests, ask the Geek, Ken Harthun, Kenny Hart

If You Don't Download Foxmarks Now, You'll Hate Yourself Later.

2007-06-10T21:25:00.001-04:00

Forgive my cliche headline, but it's true; if you're using Firefox on more than one computer, you have to have Foxmarks. It will keep all of your PCs' Firefox bookmarks synchronized.

The Foxmarks Bookmark Synchronizer automatically synchronizes your bookmarks between two or more computers running Firefox. It also lets you access your bookmarks from any computer anytime via my.foxmarks.com. An easy-to-use wizard guides you through the quick startup process. Then Foxmarks works silently in the background to keep your bookmarks up-to-date on all your computers.

It's very cool and it works just like they say.

Cheers!
The Geek

Technorati tags: Firefox, bookmarks, useful

Who Else Wants to Lose Their Computers to Lightning This Year?

2007-06-08T15:32:00.001-04:00

Last week, my friend Allison's home was hit by lightning taking out her satellite TV dish, her TV, microwave, stereo, and both of her computers. She never thought it would happen to her. After all, her two PCs had been running fine and never had any problems. She would turn them off if storms approached, a good practice.

But, like most people, she had all her stuff plugged into those cheap power strips you can buy anywhere. Bad idea! Most of them have no protection against power surges and the ones that do wear out after a couple of years and should be replaced.

Based on the damage, it was easy to see that the satellite dish took the direct hit and the rest of the damage was caused by a surge in the power lines, so a proper surge suppressor might have saved her PCs.

Don't let Mother Nature and the local utilities rob you of your computers; put proper surge protection in place. American Power Conversion makes some of the best surge and battery backup equipment going. I recommend them highly.

Cheers!
The Geek

Technorati tags: lightning, surge protection, battery backup

How to Secure Your Computer: Maxim #5

2007-06-06T15:42:00.001-04:00

To say nothing of Microsoft Windows, there are few, if any, application software packages that are free of security vulnerabilities. The SANS Institute publishes its Top- 20 Internet Security Attack Targets on a regular basis and Secunia currently lists 14,043 pieces of software and operating systems with vulnerabilities. That's the bad news.

The good news is that most reputable software companies, when informed of a vulnerability by security researchers, promptly issue a software patch to fix it. These are widely available to the public for free download or through update features built into the software packages. Windows allows you to turn on Automatic Updates (which you should do). Check the Help menu in other software packages for the update feature.

There's more bad news, however. Most people don't keep up with patches on their systems except for Windows updates. Which brings us to computer security Maxim #5:

A vital part of PC security is keeping up with software patches for ALL of the software on your system, not just the operating system. Where it is available, use the software's automatic updates feature.

Cheers!
The Geek

Technorati tags: Security, software updates, how to, ask the Geek, ken Harthun, security maxim

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If You Don't Download Foxmarks Now, You'll Hate Yourself Later.

Who Else Wants to Lose Their Computers to Lightning This Year?

How to Secure Your Computer: Maxim #5

Does Anyone Really Know What a Geek Is? (Does Anyone Really Care?)