Up until now I have been espousing the software Zone Alarm as the firewall of choice for everyone. As a result of a lecture from Hank Skawinski, I must modify that a bit for broadband users with the insertion of (among others), a SpeedStream Broadband Internet Gateway Model 2601 ($29.99) or equivalent, a hardware firewall.
Zone Alarm has been my firewall of choice for all connections; some sort of firewall is required in today's virulent environment wherein lots of bandwidth is consumed by crackers trying to get into your computer. Zone Alarm is still required for dialup users, but the installation of the SpeedStream means that the software firewall Zone Alarm can be removed.
Zone Alarm has been quite benign for me. Once it gets primed with the proper information and the subsequent little tweaks as new software is introduced, Zone Alarm was totally unseen. What was not so great was the fact that Zone Alarm needed to be either disabled or removed in order to permit some software to be added. The negative symptom was installs going awry without any notice of problems, and I would forget that Zone Alarm was probably causing the problems. I won't miss Zone Alarm but will keep a copy on the computer in case I need to revert the computer to a plain dialup modem wherein I will need to reinstate some sort of firewall.
So the final position is: go with a hardware firewall for DSL and Cable as the non-hassle is worth it.
Epson has been hit with a series of lawsuits in Europe for Epson turning off the cartridges of their printers with about a third of the capacity still remaining. Epson users are not getting their money's worth unless the owner buys the $30 device that resets the cartridges. What is especially disgusting is the Epson assertion that if the cartridge is run dry the printer may be damaged.
The best SPAUG speakers come from SPAUG member suggestions. You are requested to merely make the initial contact with a proposed speaker willing to come, then we can take it from there.
One additional observation on the spam/anti-virus front: I attended a seminar at Microsoft two months ago and heard that the spam/anti-virus correction was about two years away - which did not make much sense to me at the time.
In Maximum PC magazine August 2003 page 14 is an article about the new Windows Longhorn project due out in a couple of years. Turns out that Intel and Microsoft are building a hardware/software combination (Longhorn/LaGrange) that might be able to shut down the whole virus/spam business as the combination will be able to deny unauthorized code the ability to modify or delete code or send e-mail. Slated for release late 2005.
And one last item: How would you like to have warning whether your Windows 98 was about to crash for lack of resources? Try putting RSRCMTR into your START/RUN menu and observing the little resource meter that comes up in your taskbar. As soon as the meter says shows only a third, plan on a reboot to restore resources. Double clicking on the icon will show a more detailed view.
The July meeting was a tour of the Computer History Museum at its new location at 1401 N. Shoreline Blvd. in Mountain View. Their website is worth a visit, too.