advanced web tricks

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PPoowweerr GGuuiiddee ttooAdvanced Web Tricks

>>SPECIAL BONUS COLLECTION VOL. 6<<

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right out of the box , your PC isalmost entirely unprotected from thehuge array of Internet-borne attacks. Ifyou connect to the Internet and simplyhope for the best, not only are you suscep-tible to data loss, identity theft, and fraud,but your machine could become a launch-ing pad for attacks against other comput-ers. Securing your system is no longeroptional—it’s a matter of survival.

Protecting your PC from Internet at-tacks requires a multilayered approach:

Keep Windows and all other softwareupdated, use a safe browser, and makesure your antivirus software is properlyconfigured, regularly updated, and certi-fied effective. You also need a bidirection-al firewall program (and a hardware-based firewall, if possible), as well as atleast one anti-spyware program. Fortu-nately, all of these tools are available forfree (except the hardware firewall, whichis now included with most routers).Here’s our 2005 security checklist.

UPDATE YOUR SOFTWARE

because it’s easy to forget to updateyour software, many programs include anautomatic-update mechanism. Lots of PCusers report conflicts and other problemsafter installing Windows patches and ser-vice packs, but the protection these fixesprovide from known exploits (like theinfamous Blaster virus that struck in thesummer of 2003) is worth the risk. Toenable automatic updates in Windows XPwith Service Pack 2, right-click My Com-

puter, click Properties•Automatic Updates,select Automatic (recommended), set atime for the updates (or accept the de-fault), and click OK.

Windows isn’t the only place whereautomatic updates can save your bacon.Most antivirus programs also updateautomatically—all you have to do is pro-vide an Internet connection and keepautomatic updates enabled in the pro-gram. Firewalls, too, occasionally sufferfrom flaws and exploits that require regu-lar patching. Zone Labs’ free ZoneAlarmfirewall software usually notifies userswhen such an update is available. And atleast one browser—the Mozilla Founda-tion’s Firefox—notifies you of availableupdates. Other programs require that youcheck for updates manually via a menucommand, or by checking the vendor’sWeb site for a patch or a new version.

ANTIVIRUS: NOW MANDATORY

for years i used PCs without antivirussoftware installed. I was smart enough tospot a dangerous attachment, right?Unfortunately, flaws in Internet Explorer,Outlook, Java, and other technologies thatdovetail with your e-mail program meanthat a properly crafted e-mail mes-

E D I T E D B Y R E B E C C A F R E E D , A O I F E M c E V OY, A N D D E N N I S O ’ R E I L LY

Expert advice on hardware, software, and the Web

HERE’S HERE’S HOWHOWHERE’S HOW

It’s Time to Update YourInternet Security Arsenal

S C O T T S PA N B A U E R

INTERNET INTERNET TIPS TIPS INTERNET TIPS

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3P O W E R G U I D E W W W . P C W O R L D . C O M

sage could install and execute a virus on yourPC without much action on your part—allyou’d have to do is read the message.

A virus (a malicious program file youdownload to your PC), worm (a programthat sneaks onto your PC without a filedownload), or Trojan horse (a maliciousprogram that piggybacks onto or mas-querades as a legitimate program) canenter your PC in several different ways,but e-mail is the most common means ofinfection. You can pay dearly for a sub-scription to commercial antivirus pro-grams: Last year, PC World picked TrendMicro’s $50 PC-cillin Internet Securitysuite as our Best Buy. However, I haveused two freebies—Grisoft’s AVG FreeEdition (see FIGURE 1) and Alwil’s Avast 4Home Edition—for several years, withgreat results. The programs are unobtru-sive, and they automatically receive fre-quent virus-database updates. Both alsoreceived a thumbs-up from antivirus test-ing outfits ICSA Labs and Virus Bulletin.

BEEF UP THE BROWSER

until recently, one browser was thesame as the next. PC users are waking upfrom their complacency about Microsoft’s

Internet Explorer browser,however. IE’s ActiveX tech-nology permits Web sites(including Web-based e-mailmessages crafted in HTML)to install and run programson your machine—exactlywhat the virus, Trojan horse,worm, and browser hijackerwriters are trying to do. Notsurprisingly, many threats toPC security rely on ActiveX.

Microsoft has tightenedActiveX’s security, especially

in Windows XP’s SP2, but new holes con-tinue to crop up, often after malwareexploiting them appears online. Microsoftdoesn’t provide all of these IE securityupdates for earlier versions of Windows,however, leaving users of Windows 2000,Me, and 98 vulnerable to ActiveX exploits.

To avoid ActiveX dangers, install an IEalternative—it won’t be vulnerable to

ActiveX attacks—and set it as your defaultbrowser. (See February’s “The New WebChallengers” at find.pcworld.com/46244for a comparison of Firefox, Mozilla, IE,Netscape, and Opera.) Or simply disableIE’s support for ActiveX: Open IE andchoose Tools•Internet Options•Security•

Custom Level, scroll to ‘Run ActiveX con-trols and plug-ins’, select Disable, andclick OK•Yes•OK (see FIGURE 2).

Disabling ActiveX prevents you fromviewing Web sites that rely on it, such asMicrosoft’s own Windows Update site. Toget these sites to work, add them to IE’sTrusted Sites list: Click Tools•Internet

Options•Security, choose Trusted Sites, clickSites, and enter the URLs one at a time.Uncheck Require server verification (https:)

for all sites in this zone, and click OK.

DOUBLE UP YOUR FIREWALLS

firewalls keep the bad guys out ofyour computer by shutting the thousands

of doorways the machine opensthrough your Internet connec-tion. Depending on how your sys-tem is configured, these doorscould be invisible (no responsegiven when the remote systemcomes knocking), closed but stillvisible to the remote systems(thereby confirming the presenceof a PC at your Internet address),or wide open (the remote systemcan come right in). A good fire-wall protects you from these in-bound attacks, while also moni-toring the applications runningon your PC when they make out-bound connections to remote sys-tems. (Trojan horse programs,spyware, and other malware thatsneaks onto your PC often

FIGURE 1: BEAT THE HIGH COST of virus protection by

downloading Grisoft’s capable, free AVG antivirus utility.

FIGURE 2: HEAL IE’S Achilles’ heel by stopping the

browser from loading ActiveX controls and plug-ins.

HERE’S HOW

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46716 for more on spyware fighters.Aside from swearing off Grokster,

Kazaa, IMesh, and other spyware-ladensoftware, you can avoid adware and spy-ware by using a reputable anti-spywareutility. I say reputable, because many freespyware removers can do more harmthan good. For more on evil anti-spywaretools, visit find.pcworld.com/46194 toread “Poor Defenders” from last Decem-ber’s issue, and find.pcworld.com/46196for last August’s Internet Tips column.

I recommend Lavasoft’s Ad-Aware SE(formerly called simply Ad-Aware) andSafer Networking’s Spybot Search &Destroy, both of which are free. Each ofthese programs scans your hard disk andthe Windows Registry for traces of knownspyware and adware, and then removes

the offending files and Registrytrees. Spybot Search & Destroyalso has a memory-resident toolthat traps attempts to change theRegistry (a typical spyware oradware activity) and asks if youwant to allow the changes. Java-cool Software makes two other

free memory-residentutilities that preventmany kinds of spyware

from loading into memory in the firstplace: SpywareBlaster blocks knownActiveX spyware from installing, and Spy-wareGuard scans downloaded files forknown spyware payloads.

Unlike with antivirus programs, whichtend to conflict with each other, it’s a goodidea to use several spyware removers. Buteven if you use all of these excellent tools,you may not be able to detect and removeevery bit of spyware bogging down yourPC. To get every last parasite, scan yoursystem using Merijn Bellekom’s Hijack-This utility. HijackThis isn’t for novices—it produces a log of browser add-ons andrelated Registry settings you must thensort through to choose which ones to dis-able (see FIGURE 3). But the log does notdifferentiate between malware and non-malware, and disabling the wrong thingcould cripple your system. Fortunately, agrowing cadre of dedicated anti-spywarevolunteers that you’ll find at several Webforums will scan your HijackThis logs for


employ your Internet link to connect clandestinely to remote servers.)

Windows XP’s firewall monitors onlyinbound connections, offering no protec-tion from malware already on your PC.The latest versions of my favorite free fire-walls—Kerio Personal Firewall, OutpostFirewall Free, Sygate Personal Firewall, orZoneAlarm—are all effective, so if oneconflicts with your system, try another.

If you have a broadband Internet con-nection, use a hardware-based firewall inaddition to a software version. Many cableand DSL modems and routers—wirelessrouters included—have a firewall that youcan configure from your PC. Becausethese hardware firewalls are external toyour system, they can’t monitor whichapps are opening outbound connections,

so they can’t replace a software firewallrunning on the PC. However, they dokeep incoming attacks off your local net-work, and they can shield your machine’sIP address from the outside world, fur-ther protecting you from external attacks.

ANTI-SPYWARE, TOO

SPYWARE is a generic term for a rangeof programs that monitor your Web activ-ity and then inundate you with targetedpop-up ads (adware), or that look for per-sonal information, log-in names, andpasswords that the program then for-wards to a server or e-mail account (spy-ware). Adware may or may not provide auseful service—search toolbars are a com-mon variation—and the programs areoften bundled with other free downloads,such as file-sharing utilities. See April’s“Spyware Stoppers” at find.pcworld.com/

you, and tell you what to kill and what tokeep. Browse to find.pcworld.com/46238to view Bellekom’s own list of forums forlog-entry interpreters.

Send your questions and tips to nettips@

spanbauer.com. We pay $50 for published

items. Go to find.pcworld.com/31523 for more

Internet Tips. Scott Spanbauer is a con-

tributing editor for PC World.

HERE’S HOW

D OW N LOA D O F T H E M O N T H

Free Security ToolboxKEEP YOUR SYSTEM and data safe by

using our favorite no-cost tools for secur-

ing your PC against Internet evils.

FIREWALLS

Kerio Personal Firewall 4: The 30-day

trial reverts to a free version (for home

use only), but without advanced features

enabled. 7.3MB; find.pcworld.com/46212

Outpost Firewall Free: Agnitum’s no-

frills app. 2.7MB; find.pcworld.com/46216

Sygate Personal Firewall 5.6: Bidirec-

tional. 8.8MB; find.pcworld.com/46220

ZoneAlarm 5.5: The free version also

scans e-mail for dangerous .vbs scripts.

6.3MB; find.pcworld.com/46222

ANTIVIRUS

Avast 4 Home Edition: Alwil’s free app

for home and noncommercial users.


AVG Antivirus Free Edition: Grisoft’s

program for noncommercial home users.


ANTI-SPYWARE

Ad-Aware SE Personal Edition: Lava-

soft’s pioneering free (for noncommercial

use) spyware hunter is still one of the

best. 2.5MB; find.pcworld.com/46229

HijackThis 1.98: Merijn Bellekom’s not-

for-novices adware/spyware detector/

remover. 183KB; find.pcworld.com/46238

Spybot Search & Destroy 1.3: Patrick M.

Kolla (of Safer Networking) is waging a

one-man war against spyware. 4.2MB;


SpywareBlaster 3.2: Javacool Soft-

ware’s memory-resident spyware block-

er. 2.1MB; find.pcworld.com/46234

FIGURE 3: USE HIJACKTHIS to find spyware

that even Ad-Aware and Spybot can’t nail.

















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HASSLE-FREEHASSLE-FREE PCPCHASSLE-FREE PC

cause unknown: My fast broadbandconnection at home slowed to a crawl. Ittook days of futzing (and multiple beers)to identify what was wrong. And duringthat time, I experienced the agony of—cover your ears—slow Internet access.But I learned from my suffering. And as aresult, I’ve developed a list of effective tac-tics for coping with and preventing Webperformance problems.

FASTER CONNECTIONS

The Annoyance: My superfast broadbandconnection sometimes stumbles, sad-dling me with poky downloads and ane-mic Web access. And when I’m stuck ondial-up, I could just scream.The Fix: Milk every last drop of speed outof your cable, DSL, or dial-up connection.•Goose Your Settings: One problem is

that Windows Internet settings aren’toptimized to establish the fastest connec-tion possible—especially on dial-up. Formore details, check out March’s “SecretTweaks” (find.pcworld.com/46914). Twoproducts to try: CableNut, the one I use,is a free, geeky, not-so-easy-to-use tool

that tweaks dozens of settings. Asimpler program is ISpeed. Thetrial version is free, but you’llhave to shell out $11 to keep it.Tip: In ISpeed, go to Settings, se-lect your connection type, and letthe program automatically modi-fy the settings. Get both productsat find.pcworld.com/46704.•This Old Wire: When I had a

DSL line installed in my homeoffice, the installer initially usedthe existing wiring (DSL usesordinary copper telephone wire).Big mistake. The old wire wasexactly that—old—which meant

that it was brittle and had small breaks,translating into bandwidth loss. By in-sisting on new wiring, I shaved slightlyover a minute off the download time of a20MB file. It’s the same story for cableconnections: New coaxial wire can makea significant difference in speed.

If you’re on dial-up, buy a new cable forthe stretch from the wall jack to your mo-dem. Use the shortest cable possible—you lose bandwidth with long wires. Thenmake sure the wires within all wall jacksin your home are solidly connected, byunscrewing each faceplate and examiningthe wires. Just one loose connection canaffect the others—and your dial-upmodem’s connection. And make sure youuse the same trick mentioned earlier forbroadband users: Ask the phone compa-ny for new copper wiring that goes fromthe street to your house. Finally, if thingsare still slow, check with your ISP for dif-ferent access phone numbers.•Split the Signal: If you use your cable

connection to access the Internet and watchTV, be careful how you set up and use thesignal splitter. Each split decreases signal

Contributing Editor Steve Bass is the author

of PC Annoyances, published by O’Reilly.

Contact him at [email protected].

power, so make sure that your first con-nection is to the cable modem; then splitthe signal to the TVs elsewhere in yourhome. Best bet? Have the cable companytechnician do the splitting for you.

SUPERSMART DOWNLOADS

The Annoyance: No matter how I connectto the Internet, downloading more thanone file slows down my Web browsing.Worse, if I lose my dial-up connection, Ihave to start the download again.The Fix: If you grab files even occasionally,you just have to use a free download man-ager. Even if your browser has one builtin, consider auditioning a stand-alone ver-sion. The advantages are many: If thedownload is interrupted—due to networkproblems, a lost connection, or a browsercrash—the download manager resumeswhere you left off. Whether on broadbandor dial-up, you can watch a partially down-loaded video to see if it’s nearly as funnyas you thought it would be. Most down-load managers let you quickly drag anddrop download links onto a floating icon.You can start downloading the files whenyour workday is over and have the pro-gram shut down your system (or simplyhang up the line if you’re on dial-up)when it’s finished. I use WellGet—it con-tains no adware or spyware, and it’s free.Obtain it at find.pcworld.com/46644.

Not interested in a download manager?Bypass Internet Explorer’s silly rule thatlimits you to three simultaneous down-loads. Bump the number to ten with thistweak from Kelly’s Korner (find.pcworld.com/46642; on line 55, on the right).

Add Zip to Your Internet ConnectionSave time with no-brainer tweaks, cheap fixes, and smart download tools.



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figure than routers, so if you have a broad-band connection, it’s safest to use both.)

Most routers close, rather than camou-flage, port 113. Why do they do this? Onceupon a time, some FTP, IRC, and SMTPservers used port 113 to verify where in-formation was coming from. The portdidn’t have to be open, but it had to be vis-ible to make the connection. If routersconcealed that port, they’d block the net-work’s access to a few outdated servers.

It’s unlikely that a masked port 113 willever cause you problems. On the otherhand, a closed port 113 on a server is nota major security flaw…yet. Someday, ahacker may discover a flaw in port 113 ina popular router, and that could meantrouble. In the long run, you’ll be better

off hiding this portthan closing it andleaving it visible.

Unfortunately,this port is not al-ways easy to hide.

The job requiresthat you recon-figure the routerso that it will for-

ward port 113 to anonexistent IP ad-dress, such as “192.168.0.250.” Howyou do this differsfrom one router to

another, and the process isn’t always obvi-ous. On my D-Link router, for instance,the setting for forwarding ports is called“Virtual Server”—which is technically ac-curate but not really very helpful (see FIG-URE 1). Check your router documentationand the vendor’s online help for details.

I ran Gibson Research’s free Shields-

Up test (find.pcworld.com/46558)

for PC security. The test found some

open ports on my PC. How do I close them?

Fu Weikai, Singapore

steve gibson’s ShieldsUp service doesan excellent job of testing your PC’s secu-rity. Your computer uses the ports thatthe Gibson Research test probed to com-municate over the Internet, but unscru-pulous hackers can use the same ports tobreak into your computer.

Hackers use open ports—and some-times even closed ones—to do mischief toyour PC. But the scanners they rely oncan’t detect hidden (or “stealthed”) ports.

A router with a built-in hardware fire-wall conceals ports: The router’s ports,

not your PC’s, are visible on the Internet.Hardware firewalls cloak almost all oftheir ports by default, opening them onlywhen necessary. (Software firewalls hideports, too, but a router’s firewall does aninherently better job. Of course, softwarefirewalls are easier to update and recon-

‘NEW’ MESSAGE GETS OLD

When I install a new program and

click the Start button, Windows XP

tells me that I have new programs

installed, and the programs are highlighted

for a time. How can I turn this feature off?

Andrew Steinberg, via the Internet

i’ve never needed this reminder,though I know people who like the high-lighting because it makes new programseasier to find on a crowded Start menu.To remove it, right-click the Start buttonand select Properties•Start Menu•Custom-

ize•Advanced. Uncheck Highlight newly in-

stalled programs, and click OK twice.

PRINT FONTS AND SAVE PAPER

How can I save some trees by print-

ing multiple font samples on one

page in Windows?

Jeff Luckett, Bartlett, Tennessee

use the font thing, a free programcreated by Sue Fisher (find.pcworld.com/46560). To print multiple samples, <Ctrl>-click fonts in the left panel, and then clickthe Print icon. Fonts need not be installedfor you to examine and print them.

Send your questions to answer@pcworld.

com. Answer Line pays $50 for published

items. See find.pcworld.com/31577 for more

Answer Line columns. You’ll find Contribut-

ing Editor Lincoln Spector’s humorous and

other writings at www.thelinkinspector.com.

FIGURE 1: HIDING PORTS ON YOUR hardware firewall isn’t always

intuitive: This D-Link router calls port forwarding “Virtual Server.”

HAVE YOU EVER hesitated to open an e-

mail because you were afraid something

nasty might be lurking inside? Reader

John Ehrenborg found a way to read an

Outlook Express message before open-

ing it. Right-click the message, select

Properties, and click Details to read the

message’s header, which may give a clue

as to its origin. If the header is too cryp-

tic, click Message Source to read the

message itself in an inert, nonrunning

mode (you’ll see HTML code, but scroll

down to view the message’s text). In Out-

look, to examine the headers, right-click

the message and choose Options; you

can’t view the source or text, however.

READ SUSPECT MAIL SAFELY


Hide Your Internet PortsFrom Snooping Hackers

L I N C O L N S P E C T O R

ANSWER LINEANSWER LINEANSWER LINE





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ring...ring. hello? It’s me—and I’mmaking a crystal-clear Internet call usingSkype’s slick software. It’s not going toreplace your regular phone, but it’s greatfor cheap calls to your buddy overseas.

HELLO, WATSON

The Hassle: I want a simple way to makean occasional phone call over the Internet.I don’t want to replace my landline andlose access to 911. Nor do I want to spendtime sifting through complex offeringsfrom myriad Internet phone companies.The Fix: With all the talk about Internetcalling services like Vonage and AT&T’sCallVantage, you might have overlookedmy favorite option, Skype, which has beenaround for a couple of years. Using Skypeis much like using instant messaging. (Infact, IM features are built in.) Click a namein your contact list, and your PC rings yourcontact’s phone. Once that person picksup, start blabbing. It’s free to call anybody,anywhere, who has Skype installed. Youand your friend will need a broadband con-nection for Skype to work well. Downloadit at find.pcworld.com/47724.

Skype has lots more going for it, too:The program is incredibly easy to set up

and use, the sound quality isgreat, and unlike with Von-age there are no monthlyfees. In fact, in the UnitedStates, you avoid all taxes andpesky regulatory fees. Andfor a small charge, you canobtain various landline-likefeatures from Skype. For ex-ample, SkypeOut allows youto call any landline or cellphone. You pay only about 2.5cents a minute for SkypeOutcalls. I spent 12 cents usingSkypeOut to arrange for ahotel reservation in BuenosAires. SkypeOut’s rates are on a par withthose of other VoIP and landline services.

HASSLE-FREE SKYPE

here are a few handy Skype tricks to try.•Tired of endless bandwidth-wasting

calls from strangers? Open the program,click Tools•Options•Privacy, and select only

people from my Contact lists can call.•Link up to five folks in a conference

call. (Click Tools•Create a Conference.) Toadd more, have participants invite people.•Use a $10 PC Headset Speaker Switch

Cheap and Easy Internet Phone CallsWhy sign up for a complex service when you can just test the online waters?

from Plantronics to swap the sound out-put from your speakers to your headset.

For more tips, see Michael Gough’sSkype page (find.pcworld.com/47672).

HARDWARE HOOK-UPS

The Hassle: I’m ready to make calls, but Idon’t like headsets, and I want the wholerig to act like a normal phone instead oflike some high-school science project.The Fix: Having the right hardware makesSkype even easier to use. Connect any reg-ular or cordless phone to the $45 Action-tec Internet Phone Wizard, and makecalls with Skype or any other VoIP ser-vice. The Actiontec distinguishes betweenincoming VoIP and landline calls; it alsolets you make outgoing calls using eithertype of service. If you can’t take a call, thedevice sends Skype messages to yourexisting answering machine. Get detailsat find.pcworld.com/47682.


of PC Annoyances, published by O’Reilly (see

find.pcworld.com/43818). Contact him at

[email protected].

TO O L O F T H E M O N T H

Exterminate Stubborn FilesHAVE YOU EVER TRIED to delete a file or

folder, only to get a Windows error mes-

sage saying no can do? Maybe you’re hav-

ing a bad hair day, but more likely some

program is using the file. Try downloading

ForceDel, a utility that works with all Win-

dows versions to force-delete the stub-

born file. Still stuck? If you’re using Win-

dows 2000 or XP, download and install

WhoLockMe. This tool shows which Win-

dows process is locking the file. One click

kills the process—a virus, a Trojan horse,

spyware, or (as in my case) a dialog box

enhancer—after which you can delete the

tenacious hanger-on. Download both files

at find.pcworld.com/47728.






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this month, learn how to concealyourself while instant-messaging,play uncooperative videos, and sliphuge files past corporate servers.

CLOAK OF INVISIBILITY

The Hassle: I love instant messaging, but

I hate it when strangers interrupt me.

Plus, my boss can tell when I’m away

from the PC. Even the alerts when bud-

dies come and go are getting annoying.

The Fix: Become invisible. In AOL’sfull version of AIM, click Setup at thebottom of the window, choose Prefer-

ences•Privacy, and select Allow only users

in my Buddy List. Don’t want anyone toknow you’re goofing off? Uncheck how long

I’ve been idle. To squelch the alerts, chooseNotifications in the Category list, uncheckShow pop-up notifications, and click OK.

In MSN Messenger, choose Tools•Op-

tions•Privacy, highlight All others in the‘Allow list’ pane, and click Block. Next, re-turn to the options list, pick Personal, andunder My Status, uncheck Show me as

“Away”. Then go back to options; and forAlerts and Sounds, uncheck all the boxes.

In Yahoo Messenger, choose Messenger•

Privacy Options•Ignore List and then select

Ignore anyone who is not on my Messenger

List. Next, select Privacy and check Do not

show anyone how long I’ve been idle. Finally,choose Alerts & Sounds, uncheck Enable

alert sounds, and click OK. To cloak your-self from specific buddies: Right-click oneof them, choose Stealth settings, and thenselect Permanently Offline.

SNEAK FILES PAST IT-TYPES

The Hassle: I sent a funny video to a friend,

but the e-mail came flying back with the

admonition: “Our mail system does not accept

video files.” I tried reducing the size by zipping

Stop Instant Messaging InterruptionsSick of videos that won’t play or attachments that bounce back? Here’s relief.

the file before attaching it to a message. It

still didn’t go through. Now what?

The Fix: Try renaming the file exten-sion to .zi (with a letter space at theend)—or .duh, for that matter. I’vefooled corporate servers because theyoften ignore the file contents and lookstrictly at file names. Use the sametrick with other files that IT-types liketo block, such as .jpg and .gif files. If itdoesn’t work, upload your large file toDropload (find.pcworld.com/47946)for your pal to pick up. The maximumfile size there is a whopping 1GB. TheIT folks won’t be any the wiser.

CODEC CONUNDRUM

The Hassle: Coworkers and friends send me

critical “business” (ha!) videos, many of

which won’t play. I’ve upgraded Windows

Media Player, tried using WinAmp, and

even downloaded a few codecs [ file decoders

needed to play videos], without success.

The Fix: You need K-Lite Codec Pack(find.pcworld.com/47948). This set of co-decs includes Media Player Classic, asmall player that plays all types of videos.On the installation routine’s Select Com-ponents dialog box, uncheck Player in thefirst dialog box if you want to continueusing your current video player. You needto be aware of one potential hassle, how-ever: K-Lite may change some of your ex-isting video file associations. If that hap-pens, fix them from Windows Explorer byselecting Tools•Folder Options•File Types

and changing the file association to theapp it was originally assigned to.


of PC Annoyances, published by O’Reilly (see

find.pcworld.com/43818). Contact him at

[email protected].

TO O L O F T H E M O N T H

Shipshape Start MenuI DON’T KNOW ABOUT the one in yours,

but the stack of programs in my Start

menu sometimes gets out of control. A

nifty program and a quick tweak can help

organize the clutter. Use the freeware ver-

sion of Tidy Start Menu (find.pcworld.com/

47953). The tool lets you move programs

and folders into one of nine new folders,

such as ‘Office’ or ‘Utilities’; you can back

up the Start menu beforehand in case you

don’t like the results. The tweak? Change

your Start menu from cascading to scroll-

ing: Right-click the Start button, select

Properties•Customize•Advanced, scroll

down the ‘Start menu items’ list, and se-

lect Scroll Programs.






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