No More Bounces

I talked before about the problem with bounce messages (the technical term is Non-Delivery Reports or NDRs) filling people's inbox.

The good news is that we've set things up so that these will now be caught by the spam filters.

The bad news is that any legitimate NDRs will also be caught by the spam filters.  If you send a message and get the address wrong you will not get a direct notification.

You can check by logging on to Postini and checking your quarantined messages for those you tried to send. The messages will also be listed in your daily span quarantine report.

I wish there was a way to differentiate between spam NDRs and legitimate ones, but the computer had no way to accurately determine what is good and what is bad. Since the problem with NDR spam is a major one, that's what we fixed, even though it has its downside.

Security and convenience are always a balancing act:  how to provide security without sacrificing convenience is something we wrestle with all the time.

Interrelated

People wonder why we stress computer security so much. Some of it is inconvenient, and what problems could one or two insecure computers cause?

Plenty.  That was demonstrated a few days ago. We discovered that e-mail wasn't being delivered to outside addresses. After some research, we found the cause: our spam filtering service (Postini) noticed spam activity coming from Siena addresses and blocked us as a spammer.

And what caused this?  One user.

The person involved downloaded a virus, and suddenly our system was sending out thousands of spam messages.  Because of the user, everyone else on the system could not send e-mail to anything other than Siena addresses until we fixed the problem.

Obviously, the person involved did not know there was a problem. But, by failing to secure their computer, it inconvenienced the entire campus community.

Computing is interconnected more than ever these days, and it's important that people protect their computers, not just because of what problems it will cause them, but also because of the problems it causes others.

Computers need vacations, too.

We've been getting a few very strange problems here at I&TS, all derived from a common cause. The issue often seems to be that people do not restart or shut down their computers for long periods of time.

While I&TS requests people leave their computers on Thursday nights for upgrades, some people never shut down their computers. This isn't bad in the short term, but if left on for weeks on end, there are sometimes issues with connecting with the network. You may not be able to find files you want, or have a slow login time as files are synchronized.

It also uses extra energy, of course. Most computers go into sleep mode, so only use a little power, but it's more than if the computer is turned off.

It's good practice to turn off the computer every once in awhile. For instance, on Friday you can shut it down for the weekend.

Also, if you suddenly can't find files (and you know you haven't deleted them), try restarting the computer and synchronizing. It may fix things.

Download Paper!

You can now download paper on your computer.

Well, not exactly paper. Things like graph paper, lined paper, ledgers, music notatation, and other standard types of paper you usually find in stationery stores.  Just go to Printablepaper.net.

The idea is both simple and brilliant.  They have created a bunch of PDF files for downloading. Just pick one, save it to your computer, and print.

Ahead of the Curve

People don't know how to use PowerPoint.

Oh, they can create presentations, but they don't know how to use it. So you end up with "Death by PowerPoint," with the presenter reading off the screen (The classic joke about this is "The Gettysburg Address in PowerPoint").

In addition, the setup of PowerPoint lends itself to the bullet point model.  When you click on a new slide, that's what you get. And while bullets can be useful, if all the slides are nothing but bullets, your presentations quite often become sleep aids.

About a year ago, I went to a conference where one of the presenter showed a new, more effective way of using PowerPoint.  Instead of using bullets, you follow a few general principles:

• A full sentence as the title.
• An illustration that demonstrates what the title is talking about.
• Lots of white space.

I started using this last year and discovered it made the presentations much better. Instead of them being the presentation notes for what you're saying, they become the illustrations for the words. People listen to you, but have a concrete image to help them remember.

Well, now Microsoft is taking notice. In their Office Hours blog, they recently did an article called "PowerPoint without Bullets."  And the result was much like I saw in that presentation last year.

A full sentence?  Check.  An illustration? Yup.  Lots of white space? Yessiree. It's a good feeling to be ahead of the curve.

Lost without Translation (Zamzar)

There are so many different different file formats that few people can read them all.  So what do you do if you want something in a particular format and don't want to buy the software to read it?  Go to Zamzar.

It works pretty easily.  Upload a file you want converted, select the type of file you want to be converted to, and give an e-mail address to receive the message. The converted file will be e-mailed to you.

You're limited to 100 Megs (though you can subscribe if you need more), but it's useful for that .wps file you just can't read.

Ouch!

The SANS Institute is a organization of computer security professionals that provides training courses. But they also provide services to the general public, and their Ouch! newsletter is a great resource.

Ouch! covers current security threats -- spyware, viruses, phishing, bots, and other ways that hackers try to get personal data from your computer.  There are also security tips.

Ouch! comes out once a month. You can get an e-mail version by signing up at their web page.  It's a good way to keep up on potential threats.

Essential Freeware: At Last! (Taskbar Shuffle)

For a dozen years, there's been one functionality I wished that Windows would include:  the ability to move taskbar buttons. For instance, I like to keep my Outlook inbox as the first button on the taskbar, so I always know where it is. But if for some reason I have to close Outlook, then the button is in the wrong place and the only way to to move it where I want it is to shut down things.*

I kept waiting for Microsoft to add this functionality -- it seems simple enough -- or for someone to create software to do it.

And, finally, I found it: Taskbar Shuffle. It's probably been around for a bit (this is version 2.5), but I finally heard about it. The program runs in the background and lets you move your buttons around as much as you like. 

You can also group them on the taskbar. I don't like Microsoft's grouping function, since if you have several windows open, it's sometimes hard to keep them straight.  This will group several buttons so they're right next to each other -- and do it automatically.

It also lets you move system tray icons around and shut down buttons with a click.

All in all, an excellent addition to your Windows utilities.

*You can do it with RocketDock -- it has the option to minimize windows to the Dock.  I don't find that particularly useful, except for this. Turn it on, minimize the windows (except for the one you want to move), then turn it off.

Mozy for the Mac

I've written before about Mozy, an automatic backup utility.  It's a nice way to backup your files in another location so that if something happens to your computer, you can get them back.

Mozy has just announced a version for the Mac. You can download the software and automatically back up your data.

The main drawback is that, unlike Mozy for the PC, the Mac version is not free.  You will need to buy a subscription for $4.95 a month. Still, it may be worth it to keep your data safe, both from a computer crash, and when you get a new computer and want to transfer files.

I make the rules

All mail programs let you set up filters to manage what gets into your inbox.  I find that people don't use these nearly enough. Not every message needs immediate attention; some can be moved to different locations. In addition, creating filters means you don't have to move messages into folders manually.

For instance, I get messages from a writing group I'm taking part in. In my Eudora mail client at home, those messages are put into their own folder so I don't have to have them clogging my inbox.

Here at Siena, we use Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Web Access. Microsoft, as is all-too-often their wont, has given the filters a different name than what everyone else uses:  they call them rules.  I never could understand that thinking.  When there is a standard term for something, shouldn't everyone be using it? (Though I will give Microsoft a pass for not using the term "MAC address.")

In any case, you create these in Outlook by using the rules wizard.  In Outlook Web Access, there is a rules creation form (discussed as a part of forwarding e-mail, but the same instructions apply to other rules).

Using rules is especially useful when you subscribe to a mailing list. Some lists have hundreds of messages a day, so by creating a rule, you can keep them out of your inbox. It's also easier to manage them:  if you want to get rid of them, just highlight and delete.

With a judicious application of rules, you can save your inbox for messages that you really want to be notified about, while still keeping the others to read when you have the chance.

*The worst example was when Lotus Notes used "database" to designate what were essentially discussion boards.

The Office 2007

No, not this one:

 

This one:

Siena will be deploying Office 2007 over the summer. It's a big change from Office 2003, and the biggest change in Office software in about 15 years. For the first time since then, things look different.  It's not hard to figure it out, but the first time you'll probably be confused. 

The first thing you need to know is one simple fact.  This:

is a button, not a design element. It's called the Office Button (sometimes, to add confusion, people call it "the pearl") and it works like the "File" menu in previous versions of Office.  I expect that most of our helpdesk calls from new Office users will be about issues that can be solved by clicking the Office Button.

Information about the roll out, plus some ways to get help, are on our Office 2007 page. It's still being built, but already has some tips and suggestions on how to use it.

I think overall most people will like using the new programs.  The menus, though different, are more logically designed. The new ribbon bar shows more options, and there are some great features built in. There are also new Office programs like OneNote (which I find a great tool) to make things easier.

I'll be talking about some of the new options from time to time here on the blog.  If you have specific questions, contact the call center.

Best Game Ever

I've enjoyed several of the "missions" of Improv Everywhere, which sets up surprise -- well, I guess you'd call them performances -- in public places. The latest, though, is just wonderful.

Bounce

We've been getting some complaints about e-mail messages flooding people's inboxes. It's evidently an issue with spoofed e-mail address.  As I said previously, Don't Panic.

I wish there were a solution to the problem, but spam is here to stay, and spammers don't care how many people they inconvenience.  If you're using Outlook, you can set up rules to keep these from being delivered to your inbox.  However, with bounce messages, it may be difficult to find a common phrase.

For faculty and staff, I'd suggest you create a folder in Outlook. Right click on your name in the list of folders and create a new folder. Then click on "Rules" under "Tools," and follow the prompts to move mail to the folder.  You can then check the folder to make sure that nothing important was accidentally sent there.

Students can also set up folders (using the same directions as in the previous paragraph) and rules in Outlook Web Access (there is a button for rules at the bottom left of the screen, but there are fewer options than with Outlook on the desktop).

These mailstorms pass. After a few days, the spammer will chose another e-mail address at random and you will stop getting the messages.  It's a pain, but there's just no way to stop someone from spoofing your e-mail address.

Bungle in the Jungle

Back in July, I reviewed the major web browsers, including Safari. My conclusion then was that, for any practical use, Safari was by far the worst web browser of those I tried.

Well, it's been some time, and Safari has come up with a new and improved version (the one I reviewed was a beta version, too). So I decided to revisit.

The good news is that Safari is no longer #5 of the five I've tested; the bad news is that the reason for this is that Netscape is no longer being made.

At the time, I said the following about Safari:

The first problem is that Safari just doesn't get tabbed browsing. The default is to always open a new window for any links that require one; in order to use a tab, you have to hold down CTRL while clicking.

No change.  You still need to hold down the CTRL key to open a new tab.  Why is Safari the only browser that requires this?

There's also the built-in search. Where other browsers give you many choices of search engines for the bar (and MSIE and Opera allow you to add any site's search engine to the search), Safari gives you two: Google and Yahoo.

No change. Again, why is Safari the only browser that doesn't offer this?

The way Safari handles bookmarks is different without being better. Other browsers have a dropdown list of bookmarks, along with a way of creating a toolbar of your favorites. Safari has no dropdown list, just the toolbar.

No change.  And I didn't mention that managing bookmarks is fairly complicated (MSIE leads in that category).

The handling of RSS feeds is crude to say the least.

This has been improved slightly -- the feeds do notify you of changes.  But adding a feed is much more complicated than for other browsers:  it takes an extra step in Safari and is complicated to manage on the bookmark bar. 

In addition, there are no add-ins available, so what you get is what you get.

No change.

On the plus side, it does seem to be fast.  On the minus side, the text has a very blurred look, due to Safari's refusal to use Microsoft's text smoothing in preference to their own.

So, ultimately, the latest Safari is still just lost in the jungle again.

Look Ma. No Cable.

Whenever I'm at a loss for something to write here, I can always count on Kim Kommando to come up with an interesting web page to talk about.  Today it's Beam-it-up-Scotty.com.

If you have a cell phone or PDA, it's sometimes inconvenient to have to synch to your PC in order to transfer files from your PC to your PDA.  There are also problems if you're not in the office. You may want to move a file to your PDA while you're at a conference, but, without your cable, you're out of luck.

So, what the solution?  Obviously, it's Beam-it-up-Scotty, or I wouldn't be asking the question.

It's simple to use.  Go to the site and upload the file. Then enter your phone number.  In a few moments, you'll get a text message with a link to download the file onto your phone.

The first time you try it, you'll be sent an e-mail to confirm.  Once you've done that, the text message will display, and you won't need to confirm again.

I wouldn't expect to use it often, but it's certainly a nice alternative if you left your cable at home.

Just for fun: Hulu

If you need to kill some time watching movies or TV for free, you might want to check out Hulu.com.

The site had dozens of movies and TV shows available to watch on your computer.  Think of it as the pro version of Youtube.

Some of the TV shows are currently in production, and others are old favorites.  I could find gems like the entire run of Arrested Development (a favorite of mine.  I didn't have to buy the DVDs) and the first two seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

The movies also include some nice surprises, from horror to Oscar-winning films.

The movies are free -- sort of.  You do have to watch ads in order to see them, but that's no worse than broadcast or cable, and you can watch whatever you want whenever you want to.

Blogging made easy

Microsoft is trying to googlize itself by competing with the various Google apps (Just as Google is doing the same with Microsoft applications). They've rolled out their Windows Live service with a bunch of features.

I haven't been able to try them all, but the most impressive one is Windows Live Writer.

I've been using Googles Blogger/Blogspot for my blogs.  It's good, but I've had problems with formatting.  When start a new paragraph, I want a new paragraph, and Blogger seems to mash them together when you add a graphic.  I also don't care for the fact that when you add a graphic, it's always at the top of the post and wrecks havoc with the paragraphing.

Microsoft's Live Writer is desktop blog writing software. It works like a word processor, but takes into account how blogs work. You write your entry and then publish it to your blog, and yes, it works with Blogger/Blogspot.

There are also other features.  I haven't tested them out yet, though the mail looks interesting.  But you may want to check out Live Writer at the Windows Live website.

It only takes two.

One of the nicest features of the Opera web browser is its speed dial feature. Speed dial displays your most commonly used web pages on a single page with thumbnails. Click on the picture, and you go to the page. Very convenient.

As is often the case with Opera (which has consistently been the most innovative web browser when it comes to new features), others are following suit. Firefox now had an add-in that gives this functionality, but you don't need Firefox to use it. That's where Only2Clicks.com comes in.

You go to the website and create a free account. Then, you can put your favorites links on a single page. There are also tabs to allow you to keep links that you want, but which you don't need to use every day.

Some of this can be done on del.icio.us, but the drawback is that del.icio.us doesn't let you easily sort your links. By default, the most recent one is the first one, so a link you use often can get lost (there are ways, but it's not as easy as Only2clicks).

Once you create your account, you then make Only2clicks your home page. Then you can get to your favorite web pages in only two clicks (I wonder if that has anything to do with the name). In addition, you can add a button to your bookmarks so you can add websites on the fly.

It also allows for more pages than the nine that Opera does.

All in all, something worth considering for your web page.

Printing by the numbers

We've calculated just how much paper we've been using in the computing labs this year. The numbers are a bit incomplete, but they are definitely large.

In the Hines Hall 116 lab, students have printed 174,912 sheets of paper since we started collecting data in November. That's just short of 35 cases. Assuming we pay $27 a case, it means the cost was $945. And that is just for paper -- toner, electricity, and printer repair will triple that at least.

In the Library 24-hour lab, students have printed 178,330. That sounds pretty comparable to the Hines Lab except for one thing: we started collecting data in January. Over the same period, the Hines Lab only used 99,820 sheets. The Library lab used 91,290 sheets in January alone. The total cost (including toner, etc.) is also around $3000, for three months rather than five -- and the Library lab printed a bunch of things in the time when we weren't counting it.

Finally, there are the other library labs -- the reference cluster, the clusters in the basement and third floor. They added another 47,407 sheets in the three months we were counting.

The total costs for printing in the labs is well over $10,000 a year. If cut just 20%, that's over $2000 that can be used elsewhere on campus.

It's not just a good idea from a green point of view to cut back on printing, but it also would let the college provide more services to students. Wouldn't you prefer that to paper that is just going to be recycled anyway?

Spam Proof

Here's a neat little website I learned about from Kim Kommando (her Cool Site of the Day mailing list is one of the best around -- I usually add at least one site a week to my bookmarks).

It's the Spam Proof E-mail Generator. If you put your e-mail on the web, spambots will find it, harvest it, and flood you with spam. This neat little website lets you create a graphic of your e-mail address. Spambots won't be able to read it and probably won't even recognize it. But humans can, and you can put the address on the web.

This is what the address would look like:

Easy enough for others to read, but, for spammers, it's only a picture.