Some excellent RSS alternatives to Google Reader

Making yourself at home with Windows 8

For some people, new operating systems promise stormy weather — and a rocky ride as users navigate through new ways to work with their PCs. For savvy old computing salts, the trick might be finding as much familiar ground as possible in the new OS — even as they exploit new OS virtues. Preston Gralla’s Windows 8 Hacks: Tips & Tools for Unlocking the Power of Tablets and Desktops is for users who want to make Windows 8 work their way. Windows 8 is “eminently hackable,” says the book — which offers more than 100 ways to enhance security and hardware functions; speed up networking, browsing, and file synching; and generally improve other important computer services. This month, all Windows Secrets subscribers can download an excerpt: Chapter 2, “Hacking the Start Screen, the Windows 8 Interface, and Apps,” and Chapter 3, “Hacking the Desktop.” If you want to download this free excerpt, simply visit your preferences page and save any changes; a download link will appear. Info on the printed book: United States

Some excellent RSS alternatives to Google Reader

On July 1, Google will kill off (or retire, as the company puts it) Google Reader — officially because of declining usage, but also perhaps for privacy issues, according to various reports.

Whatever the reason, there are plenty of RSS-reader alternatives that make it easier to read the content you care about.

A quick refresher course on RSS feeds

For many PC users, RSS is an essential tool for consolidating daily news stories. For many others, it’s something they’ve heard about but don’t really understand. There’s even some confusion about the name.

RSS is short for Rich Site Summary, though it’s often also referred to as Really Simple Syndication (Wikipedia info). It’s essentially a format for feeding new digital content — typically, frequently updated content such as blogs and breaking news — to subscribers. Most RSS feeds are updated automatically by a provider’s publishing system and automatically aggregated by a subscriber’s RSS-reader application. Manually edited RSS feeds do exist; they’re typically updated in tandem with content releases.

Once set up, RSS gives subscribers access to their favorite blogs, news sites, podcasts, video feeds, and virtually any other constantly updated Web presence — all with minimal effort required by the user. RSS aggregation apps such as Feedly, NewsBlur, and Pulse pull these feeds into one page where users can quickly sort and scan the most recent updates. Imagine browsing the latest CNN stories, The Wall Street Journal articles, and your favorite blogs — all on the same page.

RSS lets publishers distribute as little or as much content as they’d like. Typically, they format feeds to keep readers informed of what’s new on the publishers’ primary sites. One publisher might send just a paragraph of information along with a link to the full article posted on the Web; another might opt to feed its entire content through RSS. Readers need do nothing more than subscribe to the feed to view all content locally.

Using RSS has both upsides and downsides for publishers. Distributing RSS feeds typically uses less bandwidth than downloading website pages. On the other hand, many RSS aggregators strip ads from feeds, making it harder for publishers to monetize the content.

RSS is the platform on which podcasting was born. iTunes and many other podcasting platforms are basically RSS readers equipped specifically to manage feeds linked directly to audio and video content. The user’s multimedia “reader” automatically receives audio/video content, making it immediately available to the subscriber — just grab your morning coffee and start listening to today’s podcast. The content is stored locally, so you can take it on the road and listen when there’s no Internet connection.

Three popular alternatives to Google Reader

The end of Google Reader was announced in the March 13 Google Official Blog post, “A second spring of cleaning.” (That same post listed numerous other Google apps the company deemed obsolete.) In a related post, Google software engineer Alan Green cited two reasons for ending Reader: “[U]sage of Google Reader has declined, and as a company we’re pouring all of our energy into fewer products.” Reader users have been moving to alternatives that promise a richer visual experience.

Pulse (site) is one example of these enhanced RSS readers. It lets you manage news feeds in a way that’s as visually stunning as it is simple. A Web-based aggregator, it displays feeds as tiled images (see Figure 1). Windows 8 fans might find Pulse one of the easiest transitions they can make.

Figure 1. Pulse's Win8-like, tile-based interface

Using complex algorithms, Pulse tries to determine which stories in your feeds will be most interesting to you. It acts somewhat like a personalized news page, complete with the stunning visuals you expect from a modern news site. Pulse is available as an app for iOS and Android. No Windows Phone app has yet been announced, but Pulse is being heavily promoted with Windows 8 and Internet Explorer 10.

Pulse is free for both publishers and subscribers. The site is partially ad-supported and also has premium content offered through paid subscriptions.

Feedly (site) is another Web- and mobile app–based RSS reader that boasts the same visually rich user experience as Pulse. It’s grown in popularity since the announcement of Google Reader’s end.

Feedly is a bit more customizable than Pulse. Users can display articles in various views such as Titles, Magazine, Mosaic, and Cards, plus a straightforward view of full articles that resembles the look of a traditional newspaper (see Figure 2). It also gives you a robust directory of available RSS sites to fit a variety of tastes and interests.

Figure 2. Feedly's default view resembles a newspaper.

NewsBlur (site) is another popular solution. In addition to simple news aggregation and a straightforward user interface (see Figure 3), it has a training feature: it can learn what stories its users prefer to see — or not see — in their feeds from various sites. That can be a powerful, time-saving tool, especially if you find yourself spending more time searching for interesting stories than reading them.

Figure 3. NewsBlur's traditional RSS reader interface

Adding RSS feeds from within your browser

Internet Explorer has included built-in support for RSS feeds since IE 7. It offers automatic detection and subscription to feeds via a small RSS icon in the toolbar (near the Home button; the icon turns from gray to orange when a site has an RSS feed available). You can also manually manage feeds via the IE Tools menu. A Windows 7 Support page gives some information about setting up feeds in IE 9.

RSS feeds can be added to Firefox and Chrome via add-ons or plugins.

Whether you’re a casual user hoping to cut down on time spent hopping from site to site in search of the stories you care about, or you’re an avid newshound looking for the latest stories from sources you trust, RSS feeds can make successful searching considerably easier. You get immediate access to your favorite sites through a single, unified user interface. It puts you in control of your Web-browsing experience.

Automate your online communications with IFTTT

Whereas RSS is a push information-distribution service, IFTTT is like a point-to-point distribution service. It acts as a virtual switchboard, connecting your various online services together.

IFTTT (site) is short for if this (a trigger) then that (an action). You use IFTTT to automate a number of different processes online. From backing up your Instagram photos to synching Evernote to tweeting your latest blog post, IFTTT is sort of a one-stop-shop for getting things from Point A to Point B — without your having to do it manually.

Used by individuals and businesses, IFTTT automates routine processes such as spreading the word about a new blog post via Twitter and Facebook or moving files from one online service to another. The service offers recipes (site) to make setting up these tasks faster.

For example, using a custom recipe (page), avid sports fans can pull from ESPN the final scores of each game played by their favorite team(s) and have them saved in a Google Drive spreadsheet. The setup is surprisingly simple.

Keep in mind that IFTTT is a cause-and-effect–driven service. When creating a recipe, you link a trigger to an action; whenever a trigger’s conditions are met, IFTTT carrys out the related action. You should consider all possible causes and effects when creating recipes.

IFTTT’s recipes aren’t restricted to online services. You can have the service send you an SMS each time a specific event occurs. Events can include anything from a new post on your favorite blog to an alert letting you know when rain is predicted in the local forecast (see Figure 4).

Figure 4. Use an IFTTT recipe to automatically send the local weather forecast.

Why IFTTT might not be for you: Automating certain processes within your personal or organizational realm can be a timesaver. But IFTTT is far from perfect. If you’re planning to use IFTTT for social-media posting, you might find that social networks such as Facebook have a tendency to lump third-party application posts together and bury them under posts made by means of the native client.

It’s also difficult to personalize your postings. You can, for example, add a custom line of text to describe a link to your content — but you can’t write a teaser for the content to put it into context.

IFTTT also keeps some control of tasks out of your hands. You can sign in and suspend and/or remove any running recipe. But you have very little control over what precisely triggers a task. This limitation could result in a rogue RSS feed or hacked Twitter account feeding your other services something you’d rather not have shared. In other words, it’s difficult to be selective about what posts on your behalf.

A few useful IFTTT recipes: IFTTT links to more than 60 services and channels such as Craigslist, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, LinkedIn, Tumblr, SMS, RSS, and Google Calendar.

Here are some useful recipes you might want to try:

• Star a Gmail; send it to Evernote (page)
• If I upload a photo to Facebook, upload a copy to Google Drive (page)
• When Facebook profile picture changes, update Twitter profile picture (page)
• Every time you are tagged in a photo on Facebook, it will be sent to Dropbox (page)
• When a new book is added to Kindle Top 100 Free eBooks, send me an email (page)
• Text me the weather every morning (page)
• New #Netflix streaming (email new Netflix streaming titles; page)

The possibilities are virtually endless. You can turn your email inbox into a personalized news aggregator and receive daily updates that matter to you; you can have your Instagram photos saved automatically to Dropbox. Think of IFTTT as a personal assistant, working 24/7 to make your life a little easier.

Dog and human entertained by machine

Here’s a happy alignment of aims: an engineer’s desire to take a new approach to a common task and a dog’s irrepressible need to chase a ball. As this video shows, both engineer and dog find the solution elegant: a machine that’s well built and functional; a ball thrower that never says, “No more! Enough!” Play the video

Software updates: For more than new tricks

When capehartjd downloaded some videos using iTunes, he thought he should be able to view them using iTunes, too. But they were unwatchable.

Lounge members confirmed that his iTunes needed updating — for security reasons as well as for basic functioning of software. As they say in the Graphics/Multimedia forum, keep that software current!

The following links are this week’s most interesting Lounge threads, including several new questions for which you might have answers:

Office Applications
General Productivity	Verifying Microsoft account
Word Processing	Converting .doc to .docx?
Spreadsheets	Conditional formatting with five-icon set
Databases	Access DB opens in read-only mode
Visual Basic for Apps	Conditional move of row from sheet to sheet
Microsoft Outlook	Hotmail-to-Outlook question
Non-Outlook E-mail	WLM losing messages in Inbox
Other MS Apps	How to get OneNote or Evernote to work on Win8 phone?
Windows
General Windows	Why you don’t want to depend on the cloud
Windows 8	Mail, Calendar, and People apps are getting better!
Windows 7	Windows 7, Dell Optiplex 320, and Wake-on-LAN problem
	Disable some hotkeys in Win7 Home Premium?
	CD won’t write
Windows Vista	Is RAM a secret with Vista?
Windows XP	Random shutdown
Internet/Connectivity
Internet Explorer	IE 9 error messages
Third-Party Browsers	Bookmark Toolbar keyboard is shortcut to open bookmark from toolbar
Networking	Need rec for wireless router
Social Media	Preventing Google from tracking searches
Other Technologies
Non-Microsoft OSes	How to move .jpg files from MS to Apple-formatted external device?
Security & Scams	Rip-off attempt
Maintenance	Do I need reserved ‘H’ partition?
Hardware	Crucial firmware warning
Graphics/Multimedia	Choppy video playback using iTunes/QuickTime on MP4/H.264 videos
Other Applications	I can’t burn to CD anymore

starred posts: particularly useful

If you’re not already a Lounge member, use the quick registration form to sign up for free. The ability to post comments and take advantage of other Lounge features is available only to registered members.

If you’re already registered, you can jump right in to today’s discussions in the Lounge.

Safely, easily move partitions with these tools

Two partition managers — one free and easy to use, the other a commercial product with additional professional-level features — offer more options than Windows’ Disk Management.

Plus: Windows 8’s almost-buried (but excellent!) backup and imaging tools; a way to make XP easily restorable, even after support ends; and CVE bugs.

Seeks good way to resize, move partitions

Reader Alvaro Mera needs a better tool to alter his hard-drive partitions.

• “I have a Windows 7 laptop with a 500GB hard disk. I also have about 3TB in external hard-drive storage.

  “I originally partitioned my drives in a way I thought would work, but now I need to resize some partitions and move others around in order to use my disk space most efficiently.

  “I tried Win7’s Disk Management console. It let me resize partitions, but I didn’t find a good way to move partitions without a lot of manual backing-up and restoring. I also looked at some free, third-party tools, but didn’t see anything I liked. What do you recommend? “

There are many good tools available. But for routine partition work, I use EaseUS Partition Master Home Edition (free for home use, more info; commercial version also available). Its Resize/Move option is available under its Partitions menu (see Fig. 1).

Figure 1. EaseUS Partition Master Home Edition (free) is an excellent tool for general disk management, including moving partitions.

If you’re new to some of the concepts and practices of partition work, EaseUS offers a handy help page with instructions on “How to resize/move partitions.”

For heavy-duty partition work, I use BootIt Bare Metal (U.S. $40; site), a multipurpose tool that can create, destroy, move, and resize partitions in a variety of formats. It’s also a boot manager, letting you choose which partition and/or installed operating system to boot from on the same drive. And to create precise backups of any drive or partition, BootIt Bare Metal includes a low-level disk imager that runs on its own mini-operating system — completely independently of Windows.

Although BootIt has many capabilities, it’s not especially easy to use; it’s professional-level software that requires some prior knowledge of drives and partitioning. If you’re relatively familiar with Windows’ inner workings, BootIt is a fine addition to your toolbox.

Alvaro, depending on your comfort level and experience, I bet one of those tools can get the job done for you. But please note these three important cautions:

• Before you begin, make a complete, just-in-case backup of everything on the drive you’ll be working on, to another drive. That includes all partitions.
• Verify that your drives are error-free before altering any partitions. You can use Windows’ built-in CHKDSK tool for this. For information, see the Jan. 10 Top Story, “Let your PC start the new year right,” and skip down to the “Check the hard drive’s physical/logical health” section.
• After you’ve altered your drives or partitions, verify that everything’s still OK. Use CHKDSK again to check the drive’s/partition’s logical integrity. Also check the alignment of any spinning-platter drives or partitions you’ve worked on. For complete information on alignment, see the Oct. 4, 2012, LangaList Plus, “Drive alignment and solid-state drives.”

With careful use of good software and the precautions listed above, you should be able to restructure your partitions in just about any way you like!

Win8’s built-in, hidden, image/backup tool

Tom Pruitt would like to make conventional system images and backups in Win8 but hit a snag.

• “For years I’ve used Norton’s Ghost to create a disk image of my main system drive for backup. I do it every Friday.

  “So far, Ghost doesn’t support Win8. Can you please suggest products that will do the same thing?”

Ghost is all but gone. Norton is reportedly discontinuing sales of Ghost as of April 30, 2013.

Fortunately, you don’t need any third-party tools for imaging and backups in Win8 — it still contains Windows 7’s excellent, comprehensive backup and imaging utilities. They are, however, renamed and somewhat hard to find.

Microsoft made this change because it wants you to use Win8’s new File History for backups. With File History, the operating system makes a constant series of mini-backups at 10-minute intervals, saving the backed-up files to SkyDrive or to some other location that’s outside the Win8 system. (Microsoft File History info.)

But you still can use the proven, reliable Win7 tools included in Win8, if you know where to find them. Here’s how:

On the Win8 Start screen, blind-type the word Recovery — the Search screen will pop up. Select Settings (if it isn’t already selected) and look in the results list for Windows 7 File Recovery (see Figure 2).

Figure 2. Renamed in Windows 8, Windows 7's complete imaging and backup tools are found under Windows 7 File Recovery.

Click Windows 7 File Recovery, and the familiar Win7 backup and imaging applet will open.

You can also get to the Win7 imaging/backup tools via a link in the lower-left corner of Win8’s File History dialog box, as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3. A link (highlighted in yellow) in File History also takes you to the classic Win7 backup tools.

The Win8 versions of Win7’s imaging, backup, and restore tools work just as they do in Windows 7. For step-by-step instructions on using them, see the May 12, 2011, Top Story, “Build a complete Windows 7 safety net.”

Keep XP systems going after support ends?

Gerald Cross will have to maintain some XP systems, even after the last vestiges of Microsoft support for the OS end next year.

• “I work for an international organization that relies heavily on Windows XP Pro. We’re slowly moving to Windows 7 Pro, but the migration is severely hampered by a fairly old, custom software package we’ll have to continue using into the foreseeable future.

  “I’m continually rebuilding XP machines, starting with a reinstall of the OS and all updates, which can take some time. I’ve slipstreamed updates in the past. But I’m wondering what’s the fastest/easiest slipstreaming process you’re aware of. Thanks!”

Assuming you mean restoring XP systems, I have an answer for you, Gerald — but it’s not slipstreaming.

Here’s why: With slipstreaming, you create a new, custom setup CD that combines the files on your original XP setup CD with the most recent XP Service Pack. This new, hybrid CD lets you install the operating system and the latest Service Pack in one step. (For more information on slipstreaming, see the Nov. 22, 2004, article, “Slipstream + shrink in one step?,” or a related InformationWeek article.)

Slipstreaming XP will get you only as far as the latest Service Pack — SP3 — which came out five years ago. To complete the XP installation, you still have to manually install the five years’ worth of patches and updates that came out after SP3. That’s not what you want.

Drive imaging is a much better choice because it includes everything — not only the operating system but all installed patches, updates, and customizations — plus all installed software, user files, and configuration data.

An image restore puts everything back just as it was when the image was made — including all installed updates.

Here’s what I suggest: Just before XP support runs out, fully update your systems via Windows Update. Next, follow the step-by-step instructions in the Aug. 12, 2010, Top Story, “Preparing Windows XP for the long haul.” That article shows how to clean up, tune up, defrag, and otherwise get your XP setups running as well as possible.

That same article also tells you how to preserve the fully updated, fully tuned systems with a disk-imaging tool.

Later, when or if you need to rebuild an XP system, you can simply restore its image. It’s a huge timesaver! For more tips on perfecting and preserving XP, see the Nov. 11, 2010, Top Story, “Windows XP: Looking back, looking forward.”

“CVE” malware: What is CVE-2012-1889?

Al Kave found some ominous-looking files on his PC.

• I have five entries of something called CVE-2012-1889 on my Windows 7 x64 PC. My research on this problem has left me confused. According to Microsoft, this is a virus that’s fixed by an update. If so, I don’t understand why I still have these entries; I always keep Windows updated. Can you tell me what I need to do?”

You may not have to do anything!

CVE stands for Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures. It’s the name of a master database of computer bugs and security issues that’s funded by the National Cyber Security Division of the Department of Homeland Security. (See the Wikipedia article for more info.)

CVE-2012-1889 documents a specific bug in Microsoft’s XML Core Services that could allow a hacker to launch malicious software on your system (also known as remote code execution). This particular bug was corrected in a Windows update released in July 2012.

Assuming that your copy of Windows Update is operating properly, you probably already have this patch. If so, the files you’re seeing on your system are probably just log files or other references to this patch.

Here’s how to make sure: Look for the specific patch numbers (up to three) for your specific configuration in MS12-043 (e.g., KB 2719985, KB 2721691, and KB 2719985). Open Windows Update and click the View update history link in the left column. Scroll down to the updates installed around July and August 2012 and search for appropriate update numbers.

In the event Windows Update doesn’t work, TechNet Support article 2722479 gives automated MS fixits and a manual workaround.

I also suggest downloading, installing, and running Secunia’s free Personal Software Inspector (site; commercial version also available). It double-checks Windows and many other programs to make sure you’re running the latest correctly patched and updated versions.

Once you’re sure your PC has that particular update installed correctly, you can rest easy about CVE-2012-1889!

More ways to ditch unsightly network cables

A trio of new home-networking devices adds new flexibility when streaming media or moving files.

Plus, a rugged USB flash drive provides serious security when you have to take your data on the road.

Streaming anywhere with Seagate Wireless Plus

As tablet, phone, and — yes — even some PC vendors push us toward cloud-based storage services, they’re saddling us with either limited storage capacity or monthly storage fees and, occasionally, no access to our online storage at all. (There have been several high-profile cloud-service outages in the past year or so.) The cloud has its uses, but most of us still feel more comfortable storing our data locally.

For the newest external hard drives, it’s not enough to simply hold your movies, music, documents, etc. The battery-powered Seagate Wireless Plus (info), for example, offers a 1TB capacity in a nine-ounce, pocket-size case. But the Wireless Plus can also set up its own Wi-Fi network, connecting simultaneously to as many as eight devices: tablets, smartphones, and PCs.

Seagate rates the Wireless Plus’s Wi-Fi range at 150 feet. In my informal tests, the maximum distance the device fluidly streamed video to my iPad was about 100 feet. Beyond that, video playback had occasional stutters. (Range will depend on the structure and other variables of a particular location.)

Figure 1. Seagate's Wireless Plus combines external storage with its own streaming Wi-Fi network.

The Wireless Plus works nicely with traditional PCs, but it’s designed foremost as local storage for tablets and smartphones. To that end, Seagate provides downloadable apps for Android, Apple iOS, Kindle, OS X, and Windows. Seagate has even preloaded a cornucopia of sample videos, music, and photos — along with some more useful management utilities.

You can move content from your PC to the Wireless Plus via a Wi-Fi connection or use the included USB 3.0 cable (it works with USB 2.0 ports as well).

With 20GB of movies and music loaded on the drive, it easily streamed a movie to my iPad while also streaming music to a friend’s Dell laptop. The Wireless Plus can stream media to HDTVs, Blu-ray players, and other DLNA (more info) devices. After downloading Seagate’s iPad app, I could also offload to the drive recent photos taking up precious space on the 16GB tablet.

Seagate’s Media app made it easy to browse content with either a thumbnail or list view. A drop-down menu let me switch between the drive and my mobile device. Unsupported files are noted with an alert icon. Tap the icon, and you can download the file to your mobile device, where you can open it with a different player app such as VideoLAN.org’s VLC media player (site).

To connect to the Wireless Plus, I had to use its network SSID, which I thought would break my connection to the Web. But no: the drive’s versatile app acted as a pass-through point for the connection to my home Wi-Fi network.

As one might expect, these features — the built-in wireless service, multiple platform support, and the drive’s 10-hour battery life — add to its overall cost. But its U.S. $200 price tag is not excessively more than the less versatile 1TB external drives. I think it’s a worthy tradeoff.

Small powerline adapters; big net connections

Windows Secrets has recommended powerline (aka HomePlug) adapters for home-networking applications where Wi-Fi is tenuous and cabling impractical. Simply put, Powerline adapters use a home’s existing AC wiring to extend Ethernet connectivity.

In her April 14, 2011, Top Story, “Get wired performance from your Wi-Fi network,” Becky Waring explained how combining wireless routers and powerline-based adapters can give network access to devices located in areas with poor Wi-Fi reception. And in his Jan. 24 Best Practices column, “When a HomePlug network suddenly stops working,” Lincoln Spector gave an account of how powerline adapters can seem to go bad.

Fortunately, powerline technology continues to improve. I tried two of the latest models, transforming a wireless black hole in my back-of-the-house bedroom into a veritable Net central. Both Amped Wireless’s PLA2 Powerline Nano AV500 Network Adapter Kit (U.S. $100; more info) and TP-Link’s TL-PA4010 AV500 Nano Powerline Adapter kit ($70; info) were pleasantly easy to set up and use — and their small size made them relatively unobtrusive.

Figure 2. Amped Wireless Powerline Nano AV500 1-Port
Network Adapter Kit

Figure 3. TP-Link's TL-PA4010 AV500 Nano Powerline Adapter Kit

The kits include two adapters and are set up like all of their kind. First, plug one adapter into an AC outlet near your router and connect the two with the included Ethernet cable. Next, plug the second adapter into an outlet in another room and attach its Ethernet cable to a PC or media device such as a smart TV, Blu-ray player, or gaming console. That’s it!

In just a few minutes, I had a solid Internet connection in a room that’d had little or none before. Netflix now played on the bedroom’s Blu-ray player, and moving the Ethernet cable to my Toshiba laptop gave it connection speeds I typically see with my office PC, connected directly to my router.

Although each starter kit comes with a pair of adapters, you can add additional units as needed. Both kits are compatible with the HomePlug networking standard. So in theory, they should work with any powerline adapter that is also HomePlug-compatible. But as Lincoln Spector’s story notes, it’s best to stick to the same brand of adapters.

These new models add the ability to set up private groups, a process that enhances data security by preventing other powerline adapters on the same electrical system from connecting to your network — a potential problem in apartment buildings and offices.

Both kits made setting up a private group quick and easy. You simply press a button in a specific sequence on each adapter. Even if you don’t use this feature, both kits include built-in, 128-AES encryption to protect your network connections from outside intruders.

For best performance, all powerline adapters must be plugged directly into an AC wall outlet — not into surge protectors, electrical extension boxes, or extension cords. Unfortunately, the typical powerline adapter is about the size of the power bricks found on many laptops and peripherals, which means they take up an entire two-socket outlet and might not fit easily behind a desk or cabinet.

TP-Link’s adapters are relatively small; they take up only one AC outlet socket and fit nicely into tight spaces. The Amped Wireless adapters also take up just one socket but also have an AC pass-through, so you still have two open sockets at each outlet.

One other difference between the two adapter kits: TP-Link includes a CD with a well fleshed-out manual and a configuration utility that, among other enhancements, has the ability to handle firmware updates — something missing from the Amped Wireless kit.

As Lincoln Spector pointed out in his aforementioned article, if connectivity issues arise, it’s likely not a problem with the adapter; more likely it’s a problem with your home wiring or interference from various appliances. Newer powerline adapters have overcome many of these complications that hobbled earlier HomePlug devices.

Keeping data portable — and safe — on the road

There are millions of USB flash drives in use. Many of those have onboard password-protection apps to protect your files should you misplace or lose the tiny devices. Kingston takes data security a few steps farther with its paranoid’s dream drive, the DataTraveler Vault — Privacy Edition (info).

All data on this USB 2.0 flash drive are protected with enterprise level, hardware-based, 256-bit, AES encryption in Cipher Block Chaining — a technique which makes decrypting nearly impossible. In other words, what secrets you have on this drive will remain secret.

Figure 4. Kingston's DataTraveler Vault Privacy Edition. It's a USB flash drive that's secure, durable — and waterproof.

During the drive’s initial setup, you must establish a password — but one that follows a strict set of rules: at least one capital letter, a number, and a nonalphanumeric character (see Figure 5). Surprisingly, the password can be only six characters long. The password system also includes establishing a hint, in case you have password amnesia.

Figure 5. The DataTraveler's security requires the use of a strong password.

After 10 failed password-entry attempts, the drive locks up and reformats itself. Yeah, Kingston’s data police don’t mess around.

The DataTraveler Vault — Privacy also comes with ESET antivirus software, which monitors what is written to the drive before it gets saved and helps prevent accidentally importing malware to your office or home PC. There’s also a read-only mode that lets you access your files but keep malware at bay. Kingston also claims that the drive is waterproof — in case you accidentally drop it in your martini, I suppose.

DataTraveler drive capacities range from 4GB to 64GB — significantly higher than the drives at the checkout bin at the local office-supplies store. The 4GB model will set you back about $28. But hey — that’s a relatively small price to pay for keeping your confidential data confidential.

Microsoft/Google decisions zing Calendar users

Windows 8 gets its first major round of application-security updates — including an update that seems to pit Microsoft against Google.

Plus: More problems with Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7 keep this update on the wait list.

MS drops EAS support, ends Google Cal synching

It seems like Google and Microsoft usually duke out their differences in a courtroom. But in this case, they’re fighting over Windows 8’s Modern Mail application. (Apparently, Microsoft now uses “Modern” in place of “Metro.”) As reported in a March 25 The Verge blog, the Mail (actually, Mail/Calendar/People) update removes support for synching with Google Calendar. Microsoft eliminated support for Google’s implementation of Exchange ActiveSync (EAS).

Google stopped supporting the protocol in January but allowed consumers already using Google Sync to continue doing so. (Google Sync is still supported for paid business, education, and government accounts.) As of Jan. 30, Google Calendar/MS Calendar synching was no longer an option for individuals setting up new Gmail accounts — and now for anyone who updates Win8 Mail.

Using the IMAP protocol, Windows 8 users should still be able to synch their contacts, as detailed in a Windows Support article.

One point of possible confusion: Updates for Win8 apps come through the Windows Store — not through Windows Update. Click the Store tile, then click the Updates link in the upper-right corner of the Store home page. That takes you to the App updates window. Among other updates, you’ll see a single update for Mail, Calendar, People, and Me (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. Mail, Calendar, People, and Me are effectively one application.

Bottom line: Users of Win8 Calendar and Google Calendar are caught in a classic Catch-22: Sticking with the older version of Modern Mail to maintain Google Calendar synchronization could leave you open to spoofing attacks, as noted in MS support article 2832006. On the other hand, update Mail, and you’re stuck with one calendar app (or manually maintaining two calendar apps — at least for now).

What to do: You’ll have to decide whether keeping the two Calendars synched is critical to your day-to-day work. If not, install this update as soon as you can.

2670838

Continuing problems with IE 10 for Win7

Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7 systems has been lurking in Windows Update for a few weeks now. It was originally set for automatic installation but was later changed to an optional update — on some systems — following reports of video-driver incompatibilities.

Based on posts in various support sites, some Win7 users have been severely impacted by IE 10. If you ignored my advice to hold off on installing IE 10 and ran into problems with the update, you should be able to simply uninstall the new browser — as noted in an IE TechNet post. However, that doesn’t always work. Some Win7 users have had to resort to nondestructive, Win7 reinstalls to return full use of their machines. (For more on nondestructive repairs, see the July 14, 2011, Top Story, “Win7’s no-reformat, nondestructive reinstall.”)

If you don’t have a recent Win7 installation disk with Service Pack 1 included, I suggest downloading the ISO file distributed by Digital River. A My Digital Life page has a comprehensive list of download links.

What to do: The safe choice is stick with IE 9 for now. If you decide to try IE 10 on your Win7 system, read MS Support article 2670838 first.

MS13-027 (2807986)

Microsoft throttles recent kernel update

Some Windows users will notice that the March kernel-mode driver update — KB 2807986 (MS13-027) — was not among the most recent Patch Tuesday security updates. That’s because Microsoft has throttled its release.

Throttling is a term you probably won’t see in official Microsoft support documents — except indirectly in an obscure Support article: 910340. That article has a cryptic reference to “Update is not allowed to download due to regulation.” In other words, Microsoft is “regulating” the number of times the update is downloaded over time. Throttling lets the MS engineers monitor the impact on systems as the update is downloaded and installed.

Why KB 2807986’s release was throttled is up for speculation. However, most Windows users should see it this week.

What to do: I’ve not found any issues with KB 2807986 (MS13-027) in my tests. Consequently, I’m changing its status to Install.

Win8 and Office 2013 updates get green light

In the previous Patch Watch, I recommended holding off on installing the numerous nonsecurity Windows 8 and Office 2013 updates offered in March’s Patch Tuesday release. Since then, I’ve not run across any problems with the updates — either in my testing or from online reports. It’s time to get these updates off our plates.

They include the following:

• Lync 2013: KB 2760556
• Office 2013: KBs 2727105, 2752094, 2768016, 2768333, 2768349, and 2738355
• OneNote: KB 2768011
• Outlook 2013: KB 2727079
• PowerPoint 2013: KB 2727013
• SkyDrive Pro: KB 2768356
• Visio 2013: KB 2752090
• Windows 8: KBs 2781197, 2790907, 2811660, and 2812822

What to do: Install any of these updates offered.

2775511

A special update for PCs that use domain sign-in

For Windows users who are connected to domain networks — typically business systems — I recommend installing an update that won’t be offered on Microsoft/Windows Update or even on Microsoft’s server patching platform, WSUS.

As described in an Ask Premier Field Engineering Platforms blog, KB 2775511 is a special rollup of over 90 updates that speed up the process of signing in to a network. If you connect only to a small workgroup or a peer-to-peer network (typically used in a home environment), you won’t see any real benefit from this update. It’s helpful only if you sign in to a server-based domain network such as Small Business Server 2008 or 2011 or to Windows Server 2012 Essentials.

In my tests, I needed to update my NVIDIA video-card driver immediately after installing the update. (I received a BSoD that pointed to the video system.)

With an updated NVIDIA driver installed, I had no other problems with the update — and much faster domain sign-ins.

Obtaining the update is a bit out of the usual; it’s available only on a Microsoft Update Catalog page (clicking the link might initiate a Windows install process). The Update Catalog is one more way that Microsoft publishes updates. A KW Support blog details how to download KB 2775511. If you use Microsoft’s Windows Server Update Services, you can import the update into WSUS, as shown in a Third Tier post.

In the future, I might give this update a thumbs-up for home networks. I’d like to see whether there are more reports of video-driver incompatibilities and whether the update provides any benefit.

What to do: If you connect to a domain-based network environment, consider installing this rollup update to your systems.

Windows 7 Service Pack 1 update gets WU’d

Last week, Microsoft announced on its Blogging Windows site that it would automatically push out Windows 7 SP1 via Windows Update. (Yes, you’re correct: Win7 SP1 was originally released in February 2011. But at some point, Microsoft effectively forces you to upgrade.)

Note that to install Win7 SP1, you’ll have to accept a Microsoft end-user license agreement (EULA). I’d prefer that Microsoft produce and release a Service Pack 2, which is seriously overdue.

However, it looks as if Microsoft’s attention is on the next version of Windows, currently called “Blue.” We’re still trying to get our heads around Windows 8, but there are already leaks and blogs (such as a ZDNet story) about the newest Blue build in the works.

Those of us still using Windows XP systems are more concerned with another deadline — April 14, 2014, when Microsoft will stop releasing security updates for XP.

What to do: If you don’t already have Windows 7 SP1, you’ll need to install it now.

Regularly updated problem-patch chart

This table provides the status of recent Windows and Microsoft application updates. Patches listed below as safe to install will typically be removed from the table about a month after they appear. For Microsoft’s list of recently released patches, go to the MS Safety & Security Center PC Security page.

Status recommendations: Skip — patch not needed; Hold — do not install until its problems are resolved; Wait — hold off temporarily while the patch is tested; Optional — not critical, use if wanted; Install — OK to apply.