September 11, 2004
Security Software Good-to-Go
My experiences with getting Trend Micro Internet Security 2005 Beta working. Plus a neat technical writer aid in Word2Help and a new Maxthon 1.0.250 Beta that's worth getting
Last week I'd mentioned how eager I was to test out my new Trend Micro Internet Security 2005 Beta (TIS). But was still struggling to understand why the software installed then refused to initialize. Technical support wasn't much help as they didn't respond until Saturday, September 4, 2004! But after several frustrating false starts I finally 'cracked the code' and got Internet Security 2005 Beta working.
According to the support response I received, the problem could lie with the Beta version I was attempting to install. It seems Build 1189 has been replaced with Build 1229. Of course instead of re-installing everything I just TIS 2005 update itself. So if you too want to be a best tester, and avoid what I went through, here's a simple checklist of what to do before you install.
If you had a previously failed installation, open Regedit (Windows Registry Editor - Start|Run|Regedit & press Enter to initialized) and search for the string 'Trend Micro', including any Windows Legacy settings. Then delete every instance you find until the Registry has been cleaned out. Next Then run Windows Update from the icon or open MSIE and navigate to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/. The site requests permission to download and install ActiveX control to detect your operating system and scan your system for required updates.
Once done, a list of updates classified into Critical, OS-specific and Drive (if available) will be displayed. The Critical updates are the most important. The only ones in this group which I removed were Windows Media Player 9 as I use JetAudio. And Microsoft Java Virtual Machine (MSJVM) upgrade as I prefer Sun's Java Runtime Engine whose Ver 5 is the latest available as its installs for all my browsers: MSIE, Mozilla, Opera.
Once the list of downloads are done and installed, you'll probably need to restart your computer. On the next updated boot, begin installing Internet Security 2005 Beta (TIS). Don't attempt to multi-task while the installation is in progress. Let it complete and restart your computer.
On first run post-install, Windows will take some time to start. That's because Trend installs 4 separate services (Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 only): Central Controller, Personal Firewall, Real-Time (antivirus) scanner. And Proxy (scans email, detects Trojans and spyware, check email for spam).
I like the new Control Center which brings everything together. You can review if your Internet Security is at the recommended (green) level. Red indicates something essential isn't enabled. At first-start, URL Filter, Private Data Protection and Anti-Spam were disabled. The AntiVirus too needs to be in the green. And if your's in the red something is wrong. Do make sure you are all in the green before connecting to the Internet to register your copy and update its components.
The Firewall is still not in the same class as ZoneAlarm. And IDS (intrusion detection system) only seems to kick-in if you set the Firewall to High Security. Then every program seeking Internet access needs your explicit permission which can be annoying. But unlike ZoneAlarm, TIS also prompts with the Port number enabling you to decide if a program legitimately needs such access.
If your computer is a shared one (work or home), you can protect your settings using a password. And the URL Filter can block access to all URLs except those so-specified (exception). Or allow all URLs except those in specific categories like Adult, Sex, Gambling, etc. Unfortunately there's no way to review which sites are in the blocked categories. Or how to modify the list.
The Privacy Data Protector attempts to reduce incidence of 'phishing' in web pages, IM conversations and email. There's also a must read Phishing Guide. As also a Home Control Network (requires Password enabled) to control multiple computers that have TIS installed. The Network Security controls network access and can be configured to halt Internet activity if a network worm is detected.
The first time you have TIS started, run the Spyware and Security scans. The first will detect any of the more prominent spyware. The second will review your computer for installed Windows updates. Unfortunately, the spyware detector isn't as accurate as AD-Aware Personal SE or Spybot Search & Destroy that detected over 10 spyware footprints on my computer!
And finally end the installation (post registration and update) to run a complete system-wide virus scan. Meanwhile Trend Micro is also becoming aggressive about user opinions (Testimonials?). And if you use of of their products, they'd like you to share your experiences with the community.
There's also a new Maxthon 1.0.250 Beta release that adds WinXP SP2 support. As well as multiple network interfaces (e.g. between modem and company network) by right-clicking the network address on the status bar. Ad Hunter too is more streamlined. There's also a new multimedia (Flash, images, media files) toolbar that appears when you visit a website with such content!
Why Maxthon? Well, for those who came in late, your get tabbed browsing, mouse gestures, privacy protection, Google bar support, and external utility bar and skinning. And if you're afraid to install a Gecko-powered browser like Mozilla, Firefox or Camino (Apple Mac) yet want to view how they render web pages, download and install the separate ActiveX-powered Gecko engine. Do note this has rendering issues with Microsoft JScript so you may need to debug it.
I also chanced across Word2Help, an interesting Word to HTML converter that takes formatted .DOC and .RTF content. And converts them to web pages and (compressed) HTML Help files. If you're a technical writer with the ability to transcribe carefully formatted manuals into an HTML Help-ready content this free software will give you a head start on meeting deadlines. However as Word2Help is under development some format conversion issues remain. In tables each paragraph breaks into separate table row. And there's no support for italics either.
And GMail has made several usability changes that show how close the service is to public release. And more importantly that the original utopian vision of 1 GB of space per account could become a problem. Today my GMail Beta account flashed warnings that Trashed and Spam Messages over 30 days old would be deleted!
Next week I'll focus on some nifty GMail hacks a friend sent me. But until then, Stay Safe.
Click Here to Email Me
According to the support response I received, the problem could lie with the Beta version I was attempting to install. It seems Build 1189 has been replaced with Build 1229. Of course instead of re-installing everything I just TIS 2005 update itself. So if you too want to be a best tester, and avoid what I went through, here's a simple checklist of what to do before you install.
If you had a previously failed installation, open Regedit (Windows Registry Editor - Start|Run|Regedit & press Enter to initialized) and search for the string 'Trend Micro', including any Windows Legacy settings. Then delete every instance you find until the Registry has been cleaned out. Next Then run Windows Update from the icon or open MSIE and navigate to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/. The site requests permission to download and install ActiveX control to detect your operating system and scan your system for required updates.
Once done, a list of updates classified into Critical, OS-specific and Drive (if available) will be displayed. The Critical updates are the most important. The only ones in this group which I removed were Windows Media Player 9 as I use JetAudio. And Microsoft Java Virtual Machine (MSJVM) upgrade as I prefer Sun's Java Runtime Engine whose Ver 5 is the latest available as its installs for all my browsers: MSIE, Mozilla, Opera.
Once the list of downloads are done and installed, you'll probably need to restart your computer. On the next updated boot, begin installing Internet Security 2005 Beta (TIS). Don't attempt to multi-task while the installation is in progress. Let it complete and restart your computer.
On first run post-install, Windows will take some time to start. That's because Trend installs 4 separate services (Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 only): Central Controller, Personal Firewall, Real-Time (antivirus) scanner. And Proxy (scans email, detects Trojans and spyware, check email for spam).
I like the new Control Center which brings everything together. You can review if your Internet Security is at the recommended (green) level. Red indicates something essential isn't enabled. At first-start, URL Filter, Private Data Protection and Anti-Spam were disabled. The AntiVirus too needs to be in the green. And if your's in the red something is wrong. Do make sure you are all in the green before connecting to the Internet to register your copy and update its components.
The Firewall is still not in the same class as ZoneAlarm. And IDS (intrusion detection system) only seems to kick-in if you set the Firewall to High Security. Then every program seeking Internet access needs your explicit permission which can be annoying. But unlike ZoneAlarm, TIS also prompts with the Port number enabling you to decide if a program legitimately needs such access.
If your computer is a shared one (work or home), you can protect your settings using a password. And the URL Filter can block access to all URLs except those so-specified (exception). Or allow all URLs except those in specific categories like Adult, Sex, Gambling, etc. Unfortunately there's no way to review which sites are in the blocked categories. Or how to modify the list.
The Privacy Data Protector attempts to reduce incidence of 'phishing' in web pages, IM conversations and email. There's also a must read Phishing Guide. As also a Home Control Network (requires Password enabled) to control multiple computers that have TIS installed. The Network Security controls network access and can be configured to halt Internet activity if a network worm is detected.
The first time you have TIS started, run the Spyware and Security scans. The first will detect any of the more prominent spyware. The second will review your computer for installed Windows updates. Unfortunately, the spyware detector isn't as accurate as AD-Aware Personal SE or Spybot Search & Destroy that detected over 10 spyware footprints on my computer!
And finally end the installation (post registration and update) to run a complete system-wide virus scan. Meanwhile Trend Micro is also becoming aggressive about user opinions (Testimonials?). And if you use of of their products, they'd like you to share your experiences with the community.
There's also a new Maxthon 1.0.250 Beta release that adds WinXP SP2 support. As well as multiple network interfaces (e.g. between modem and company network) by right-clicking the network address on the status bar. Ad Hunter too is more streamlined. There's also a new multimedia (Flash, images, media files) toolbar that appears when you visit a website with such content!
Why Maxthon? Well, for those who came in late, your get tabbed browsing, mouse gestures, privacy protection, Google bar support, and external utility bar and skinning. And if you're afraid to install a Gecko-powered browser like Mozilla, Firefox or Camino (Apple Mac) yet want to view how they render web pages, download and install the separate ActiveX-powered Gecko engine. Do note this has rendering issues with Microsoft JScript so you may need to debug it.
I also chanced across Word2Help, an interesting Word to HTML converter that takes formatted .DOC and .RTF content. And converts them to web pages and (compressed) HTML Help files. If you're a technical writer with the ability to transcribe carefully formatted manuals into an HTML Help-ready content this free software will give you a head start on meeting deadlines. However as Word2Help is under development some format conversion issues remain. In tables each paragraph breaks into separate table row. And there's no support for italics either.
And GMail has made several usability changes that show how close the service is to public release. And more importantly that the original utopian vision of 1 GB of space per account could become a problem. Today my GMail Beta account flashed warnings that Trashed and Spam Messages over 30 days old would be deleted!
Next week I'll focus on some nifty GMail hacks a friend sent me. But until then, Stay Safe.
Click Here to Email Me
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