E-Musings Mon Immorata

Whose Word Will Prevail? Sharing Word documents may reveal more than is good for you Microsoft's slip is showing. Again. When a Polish programmer, Michal Zalewski, while reviewing Word documents posted on the company's site, found that 500 files had tracking enabled, but hadn't had modifications and suggestions that failed to make it to the final version deleted. Talk about a dumb and clumsy approach. You too can read more about the documents found and their contents in Strike that out, Sam. Collaboration is a keyword for almost all Microsoft Office products. A feature that in the past too has been a source of "leaks". I remember when Office 97 (I think) included a feature that offered up full disclosure of a file's contents as well as user and system information store by Windows! Of course once Openoffice.org (now available in v1.1.1) appeared with its revolutionary XML compressed file format (in comparison to Microsoft' s stodgy partially unsafe DOC version), I have switched over completely to using the former. And don't miss the ability to multi-option on edits. Its a lot simpler if everyone commenting a document added their name and suggestion (i.e. Yourname: Your text) in a unique color (optional). That's how I used to, and still do, add comments to plain text email drafts and documents. Or you could use these Microsoft-specific product options. In my book tracking or enabling an application's ability to save a document's history (changes, revisions, reverses) just adds a whole lotta overhead. My informal tests show that tracking-enabled Word .DOC file clocks in at about 34+ kB. While a non-tracked file maxes out at 21 kB. A sharing-enabled Excel file (4 work sheets, no complex calculations, no custom macros) clocks in at 101 kB. The same file without collaboration is a mere 44 kB.Of course, Openoffice.org's SXW format would trip file sizes to around 6-8 kB! Of course that's not all the information that Microsoft choose to hind from its users. In a separate, but possibly-related article I turned up while browsing RSS feeds, IE and Outlook Express data is never really deleted from your hard disk. It's just moved to another, less-accessible internal location (if at all). I found that my Outlook Express Deleted folder had been renamed to the same folder with all deleted files still available! The full details of this security vulnerability and how to remove data are available here. Yes, its true. Google GMail reall does exist. It's not an elaborate April Fool's Day hoax. But for now the Beta circle seems very incestuous. I have posted a request to be included but I doubt this column makes a large enough dent in the daily Web techno-babble. You can view real screen shots of what the Gmail interface looks like (now) at Kevin Fox's (a Google UI designer) Blog. I also found a related posting within Google while registering for the Beta. But these images are f-a-k-e-s. Of course despite the freebies like permanent online storage and up to 1 GB of space, I'm a bit worried about the privacy of my messages. If Google is going to spider messages for keywords to sever relevant ads, how easy will it be for the less altruistic to penetrate the system (ever has at least one weak link) and misuse the information for their own ends. Earlier in this column, we learn that Microsoft Word documents if left un-sanitized can be a privacy risk. Worm action-wise remain alert for yet another Netsky variant. Netsky.Q is exploits a known IE vulnerability that permits email attachments to be automatically executed when the message is being previewed or read. The worm affects all Windows versions, and infected computers will continuously beep if the system time is equal to or greater than 5:11 AM. on March 30, 2004. The worm also use infected system to launch a DoS (Denial of Service) attack on five specific Web sites between April 8-11, 2004. AIDA32: the premier free personal, network, and enterprise system information utility is de-a-a-d. The download links still work (for now), but support and development has been terminated. The site also suggests you use an alternate product. I really haven't checked out much software this week. But I did find two Google interfaces. Soople is a Google concentrator that offers multiple options on a single page. And you can search across the Web or just concentrate on a single country. The interface too can be customized to become your home page complete with a country-specific Google (including India). Also available is an advanced online calculator, translation, phone number lookup, and super search. Each feature has a self-contained explanation. A rival, FagenFinder, offer a more rudimentary interface. This service also offers a Translation Wizard, Page Info Viewer, Speed Browse and separate sub-pages for All About RSS and Blog Search Engines. As for the rest of my time I decided to reflect on the goodness of the Internet. And just read the various free RSS feeds available. But I also checked out what's happening in warez land and found that if you dig hard enough (patience and the right keywords spell success) you can still download complete software. So until next week Stay Safe! And Happy Warez Hunting! Click Here to Email Me