By Cliff Millward, Editor cliffm@xmission.com

Microsoft Again . . .

I really don't like writing so much about Microsoft, but several recent happenings have piqued my interest — not only about Microsoft, but about everything in general. I do not claim to be the first to observe this disturbing phenomenon, but here it is anyway.

If you are rich, famous, recognized for having done something outstanding, or are part of an elite section of our society, you are seemingly exempt from our national, and sometimes, local laws!

I don't know when this started, perhaps its always been with us, but it is becoming more prevalent every day. Recently, it seemed to rear its ugly head during the O. J. Simpson trial. Some people had difficulty believing that a sports hero of his magnitude could commit such a crime. Lawyers tell us that some trials are purposefully located in districts where juries are notoriously noted for their "sympathetic" verdicts.

The most recent famous example is our ex-president, Bill Clinton. I am not trying to get political, but infidelity is not a respectable attribute. Yet, many people excused his behavior because of his position. A person of lessor power, say a principal of a high school, would be treated much more harshly.

All the aforementioned leads us up to the recent findings about Microsoft. They were found guilty of unscrupulous monopolistic practices, but many people believe they should not be punished because they have "done so much good for the advancement of computers." I remember their old saying of many years ago, "DOS isn't done `till Lotus won't run." Also, never mind that they used their dominance to force acceptance of their products. Never mind that they "backstab" when companies work and assist them in the development of their software.

The most recent example of this fact is their dealings with Kodak. I partially quote a recent news article:

"Shortly after Thanksgiving last year, Philip Gerskovich, who was deep into the design of a new digital camera for Eastman Kodak, discovered his company was headed for a collision with Microsoft.

His team was developing new software to manipulate digital photos and needed to make sure it was compatible with Microsoft's latest version of Windows, the basic software that runs most new computers. An early version of Microsoft's newest software, code named Whistler, had just arrived at Kodak's software labs. When Mr. Gerskovich and his team loaded it onto their computers, they were shocked by what they saw.

When Kodak cameras were plugged into a PC loaded with Kodak software, it was Microsoft's own photo software that popped up--not Kodak's. Camera customers would have to go through a cumbersome process to get Kodak's software to pop up every time, and most would probably just use Microsoft's.

More troubling, the Kodak team found that the new program steered orders for picture prints to companies that would have to pay to be listed in Windows, and these companies also would be asked to pay Microsoft a fee on every photo sent through Windows.

The Kodak team felt double-crossed. They had worked with Microsoft and the camera industry for a year on a new photo transfer standard that allowed Windows to recognize when a camera was plugged in. Now, Kodak felt, the standard was being used against Kodak and other digital camera makers, because it favored Microsoft's competing camera software, embedded in the planned new version of Windows.

Kodak's story offers a snapshot of a now familiar tale in the software business. Despite the government's antitrust case against Microsoft, which was partly upheld and partly reversed by a U.S. Court of Appeals last week, the software giant continues to use its monopoly operating system software as a lever to pry its way into new businesses."

So where do we go from here? Will Microsoft receive a real punishment on just a "slap on the wrist?" How do you handle a punishment that might affect the whole economy?

I have some ideas (as though they will listen to me) that I will talk about in my column next month. Stay tuned!

When I first joined the Blue Chips user group, we were the source of information for most problems. I can remember people would stand up at the first of the meeting and have questions about how to upgrade the BIOS of their computer. Or how could you get the printer to print correctly in Word Perfect.

I especially remember how new everything was. How almost every meeting there was some new program out that had a new way to do things.

Now it seems the only new things we get are "The New Improved Version 5.3 of this or that, for an upgrade price of ****. Sometimes I wonder if the people producing this stuff are as disappointed as we are. I mean, how can you be proud, let alone excited about Version 6 of a program concocted five years ago when all that was added were some mouse routines? These routines were there in the command line before, but now, many times, without a patch installed, your keyboard will lock up when you use them. The only really new things out now are Hi Tech stuff. The order of the day is CDRs and ultra hi speed hard drive interfaces.

One of the most useful things now being used by the home user is networking. Although it's not new or high tech, it's become the thing you want to do at home today.

"Just take these cards home, put them in your computers, run the wires and software, and you are networking!" I smiled when I heard a salesman at Comp USA tell a poor unsuspecting customer this the other day.

"If you have a problem you can call the number on the box and they will step you through it. It's practically a no-brainer."

Networking has been around since before the beginning of the computer revolution. Big corporations had a computer, in its own room, with its own staff. These people would run wires all over the building and hook up terminals where they thought they would do the most good. Then someone could sit in that room, at that terminal and with the right codes, access the main computer to gather information to better do their job.

If anyone remembers a movie (can't think of the name) with Spencer Tracy and Kathryn Hepburn where they put a computer in an office building, you can compare the advancements in networking along with the advancements in film making. You will see "We've come a long way baby."

I don't claim to be "mister computer," but in my recent education, the most important thing I learned was "It's never as simple as the box says!!" There's a little more to networking than that

If you decide to create a home network, you should look into the different types. There are roughly three types of networks. Peer-to-Peer, Client Server, and Terminal services.

Peer-to-Peer is the most common for home networks. With Peer-to-Peer networking all the computers see each other. It's very convenient and simple to use. The drawback with Peer-to Peer is, it's not secure. If you share your computer with others, anyone can copy what you have or even worse, plant a virus on your system. I'm pretty sure your spouse doesn't want to plant a virus on your computer, so you're probably save at home, but would you want that in a business?

Client-Server has several versions, created by different software companies. Novell, IBM, even Microsoft has a version of Client-Server. With Client-Server the information is stored on dedicated (Server) computers. These servers are sometimes responsible for the Internet connection, the product database, or other hosting duties. The administrator creates an account on the server for other computers (workstations) along with the account information. He sets up a place for you to store your data and the permissions you can use while you're logged on. That way, you really have to be careful about only one computer, the server. If someone plants a virus on the server, they can be traced by their login. Also, using this method, it's easy to keep one computer (the server) updated with the latest virus protection over every computer in the building.

Terminal services is a method of having a dumb terminal attached to the server. The dumb terminal is just that, dumb. It gets its data from the server along with the program to manipulate it. It's like adding a monitor, keyboard, and mouse to the server with long cords. You can sit in the kitchen and run your computer in the bedroom. It's not used much anymore.

There are drawbacks in all things and networking is no exception. "Murphy" lives in this environment. A lot of patience is required by an administrator. The weakest link is in the log in of a workstation to the server. In a business environment you shouldn't have your login password stuck on the monitor with a sticky note, but guess what? it's done all the time.

Don't let me put you off about networking your home computers. It's probably the most rewarding thing you can do. After you've yelled at your keyboard, monitor, and the family dog twice, you'll usually sit down with the instructions and make it work. Ask everyone you know all the questions you can think of before you start. And a little trick that helps is to draw a schematic of what you want and how you plan to hook them up. I've found that helps quite a bit. Plan, plan, plan. Backup, backup, backup.

That's all for now

Dave

TM
CYPHERUS Version 2.0

Reviewed by Don Nendell

Manufacturer:
Cypherus, Inc.
776 East Green Street
Pasadena, CA 91101
Web Site: http://www.cypherus.com
E-mail: info@cypherus.com
Phone: (626) 405-1951
FAX: (626) 405-2308

Price: $49.95 (Order from their web site)

F. Lee Bailey, who has been using encryption since World War II, introduced Cypherus (v1.5) at COMDEX Fall 2000. The product has since been greatly improved in a recently released upgrade to version 2.0. And, knowing me as you do - where my motto is: "Happiness is a working computer!" - it gives me great pleasure to report that the program installed easily, flawlessly, and works like a charm. So, get it yourself, rest easy and enjoy the great security it provides. End of review. Not!

Space does not allow me to climb up on my pulpit and evangelize the current and extreme danger(s) "Pounding Down" the door to the 4^th amendment to our U.S. Constitution, e.g., regarding our individual privacy rights. Thomas Gray once said, "Where ignorance is bliss, `Tis folly to be wise." [And, I maintain that it is exactly the opposite in Internet security, to wit: "Tis folly to be naive."] Peter Tippett, in his monthly Executive View Column (Information Security, June 2001, pp. 42-3) states, "Stronger Passwords Aren't: In the real world, an eight-character mixed alphanumeric password is no more secure than a simple four-character password, . . . a password cracker will still win." So, I say, "Get a bigger hammer! One that uses 448-bit (Blowfish) encryption/decryption and hides the key (which simply is - a sophisticated Password)." A fanfare maestro please? Ta! Da.! Enter Cypherus.

About four (4) years ago I got up on my soapbox and reviewed carrick™, a $100/per copy, 448-bit Blowfish (symmetrical encryption) product from Azalea Software in Seattle, Washington. All it did was encrypt and decrypt, store and/or attach to e-mail "those things," only it did it better and more securely than its competitors did. Still, I have been waiting all this time for someone to fill in all the gaps beyond that simple and beautiful program. Cypherus is just such a product. With Cypherus, you don't have to have Digital Certificates and PKI programs just to exchange your precious "Stuff." The receiving party doesn't even have to have a copy of the program either. It's sent in a 128-bit secure, self-extracting "~.exe" file. All the recipient needs to know is that the encrypted file is on the way and - gulp! - the Password (unprotected "key") protecting it. Note: If an ".exe" attached e-mail file bothers you, rename it to ".xyz," or some such just to send it, and then rename it back to an ".exe" file after receiving it and when you're ready to decrypt it. Simple, and it's even more secure that way. But, I'm getting ahead of myself.

So, "What's it all about Alfie?"

As I reported in my last security product review, at this critical time in the history of the Internet, "With countless billions of E-mails flowing across the Internet daily, like `open-faced sandwiches over a Deli counter,' something has to be done to protect the privacy of individuals." Once again, one just might get the idea that this security thing is near and dear to yours truly, and it most definitely is. Was it John Paul Jones who said, "I have just begun to fight?" "Moi oci," Admiral. Note. If this is starting to go over your head, there's help for you. I increased my tutorial(s) on "Encryption Methodologies 101" a couple of months ago (now posted on our web site) in my review of Armadillo's "Virtual Gate" (a Smart Card protected e-mail program that uses Asymmetric Encryption (AE)). At that time I noted that, "There are two fundamental types of encryption systems in use today: Symmetric (which is `Secret' Key based) and Asymmetric (the so-called PKI `Public' Key method)." The Symmetric Encryption (SE) system, which is very fast and efficient, requires that both the sender and receiver of the E-mail have the "Same Key" to encrypt and decrypt data files passed between them. This is the known actual weakness of any SE system, e.g., the open transfer of the key. Cypherus, however, has put a new wrinkle in the equation and "One-Upped" everyone with their self-extracting file (the key still must be passed somehow) and you can now choose between SE and AE, your choice.

So, How Does It Do That?

There are a number of favorable reviews on Cypherus' web site of the product, so why not peruse them while you're downloading the free (9.8+ Meg) evaluation copy of Cypherus? It's good for 30 days and you can still decrypt files with it, even after it's expired. So, "What's to lose?" Personally, I think you'll purchase it in any case - it's that good, easy to use, and it is, after all, "mind-blowingly" powerful. Here's a thumbnail of a whole host of Cypherus' Features and Benefits. See what you can do with this wonderful program:

Encrypt Files and Folders (encrypting files and email is just a button click away)

• Create Cypherus Archives to store any file type(s) or groups of folders safely and securely using three (3) different types of Keys: 1) Randomly generated, 2) User defined, or 3) One chosen from the Key Manager

• Safely secure, transfer and store from prying eyes sensitive information - it then acts as a "virtual safe" for all of your digital information

• Provide drag and drop functionality which: 1) Allows easy encryption and decryption of data not typically offered in other security applications, and 2) Is transparent to your working environment

• Compress your encrypted files to save valuable disk space

Strongest Encryption Solution

• Cypherus uses industry standard and time-proven algorithms, including Blowfish and Diffie-Hellman

• A minimum key length of 128-bit can be increased to 448-bit for the strongest security available

Encrypt and Send Secure Private E-mail

• Use email to safely deliver sensitive information

• Send email with confidence that the data you send will remain private and secure

• Easily secure electronic data without manually transmitting or distributing Passwords using Public Key Technology (PKI)

• Seamless one-click encryption and decryption integration with popular email programs, including Outlook 2000, Outlook Express 5.5 and 6.0, Netscape Communicator 4.7x and Qualcomm Eudora 3.05, 4.0 and 5.0

Cypherus File Shredder

• Completely remove unwanted information and data from your computer hard drive to levels that exceed US Department of Defense standards

• Permanently overwrite unwanted data and files from your computer [If Monica or Ollie had only had this?]

Cypherus Key Manager (A secure database for storing personal Passwords, contact information, encrypted messages and file encryption keys)

• Runs transparently in the background, making encryption and decryption seamless

• Securely stores your distinct Private Keys and creates your Public Key [Who needs a Certifying Authority (CA) anyway?]

• Maintains a secure address book, keeping your personal PINs and Passwords private

• Provides tracking for all of your secure information and email

Text Encryptaur

• Encrypt text quickly and easily using Public Key Technology (PKI), or a manual Password

• Quickly create encrypted text or email messages with a Windows Notepad style interface

Cypherus Public Key Server

• Makes your distinct Public Key available allowing Cypherus Users to send you information securely

• Only uses your email address to identify your Public Key - your identity is never revealed

Self-Decrypting Archives (Using Web Decryptaur (WD))

• Enables you to send secure files to people who do not yet have Cypherus

• WD is a free service provided by Cypherus over 128-bit SSL to allow people not currently using the Cypherus program to receive secure and private e-mail from Cypherus Users

• All information sent between your Internet browser and the Cypherus web site server is encrypted exactly like the same method web sites and financial institutions use for securing credit card transactions (small padlock on lower left hand Netscape Communicator tray bar is closed, for example)

• Recipients simply follow the directions on the Cypherus web site to quickly and securely read their private message: 1) Double-click the file open, 2) Type in the Password provided, 3) The file decrypts itself, and 4) Read the "secret" message sent by the Cypherus sender

• The message being decrypted at the Cypherus server is never stored - nor viewed at any time while it is on the server

Caveat. Always check with the sender to make sure you have the correct Password, or it simply won't work.

Autoencryptaur

• Secures designated groups of files or folders together with a single mouse click

• Manages file security with easy one-click encryption and decryption

Skins Technology (like MP-3)

• Five (5) types of Cypherus Windows GUI Interfaces (called Skins) are available to choose from (the default standard is Cyphra Blue)

• Attempts to make encryption technology feel more comfortable, familiar, recognizable and accessible with easier User adaption

• You can also individually customize (e.g., completely redesign) the look of the Cypherus Windows GUI Interface with Skins Technology (Note: Consider sending your design(s) to Cypherus, they would like to share your work with other Cypherus Users)

Easy to Use Benefits

• User-friendly interfaces provide drag and drop file and folder encryption

• Secure email is just one click away in many popular email programs

• Complete, easy to read "How-to" Users Guide (with Help file) walks you through the Cypherus application and utilities (the Wizard is exactly that - a Wizard)

• Yours truly was informed that the printed Manual should be available by the time you read this review

Caveat: Play with Cypherus in some Temporary files first before committing to the hard-core encryption stuff. But, if you do get in trouble, Cypherus is there to bail you out with a Free web (Tech) Support desk (See below).

Free Technical Support

• Available via their web support desk at http://www.cypherus.com/support/

• Responses are (usually) within one business day

I think you can really have a lot of fun playing with Cypherus. And yet, privacy really is a deadly serious matter/business to some - like those being watched by a Big Brother somewhere; especially some, such as those who are being watched by our very own Carnivore (FBI), or the very real Echelon (NSA), or Special Collection Services (CIA), et al., just for starters? If you have any doubts about any of this, I strongly recommend checking out a very special video at your local video store, "Enemy of State" with Gene Hackman. In doing so: 1) Enjoy a great, shocking and fearful movie, and 2) Get a "real" wake-up call in the process. It can happen to you. This movie alone should help to convince you to get your copy of Cypherus immediately. Note. If you're a reading buff, I recommend getting a copy of Body of Secrets by author James Bamford - then hang onto your hat! Be prepared to be shocked about our very own NSA. Lazy? Start searching the web with a keyword, "Privacy."

If that doesn't do it, then maybe this up-to-the-minute latest "news brief" should do the trick very nicely. I just recently returned from DEFCON 9 held in Las Vegas, Nevada. The instructors at this yearly national extravaganza were exhorting the "Hackers" to rejoin the real world because - now hear this - "They own the world." This on top of the Black Hat Briefings 2000 heavy warnings, again at Las Vegas, where the theme was, "Get Insurance (against Hacking)."

Do Get Cypherus. You'll be glad you did. I most certainly am.

Ciao!

Submitted by Stuart Gygi

Minutes of the Utah Computer Society Monthly Meeting for July 11, 2001

The meeting was convened by President Dave Otterstrom.

Open Access raised three questions.

1. How do you convert a .pcx file to a ..jpg file. Most presentation programs (Corel WordPerfect, Microsoft PowerPoint will all save a .pcx in several formats. Print Shop will also.

2. How do you handle DIXL formats (movies?). This is an obsolete Kodak format. Someone suggested searching Kodak's web site for divx. Also, look at DIVIX on geir.com.

3. It was announced that Donna Nendell will establish a national website for PaintShop Pro. Look for a future announcement.

Because of the Olympics in Salt Lake City in February 2002, there will not be a Blue Chips general meeting that month.

UCS members are encouraged to attend the APCUG meetings in Las Vegas just before COMDEX in November. The APCUG meetings are November 10 and 11 and provide a lot of information about organizing and running a user group. They also provide food and other goodies. The registration fee through July 31 is $60. After that is goes up. You can register on-line at www.apcug.org. COMDEX itself starts November 12.

The main presentation featured Blue Chips own James Alexander, past president and contributor to the group in so many ways probably no one knows just how many. James has been evaluating some products by TechSmith and demonstrated SnagIt, Camtasia, Dubit. You all know the enthusiasm James can exhibit. Well, he is very keen on these products. The demonstration generated much excitement in the audience.

SnagIt, the coolest of all according to James, is a screen capture tool. Forget about ALT PRINT SCREEN and PAINT. This program captures your screen directly to anywhere you want (well almost), including a graphic file, the printer, the web as part of an email message, and a catalog folder. Capture images from anything you can see on your screen, from scanners, or a digital camera. Capture text from any application; even those that don't allow Cut and Paste. You can get the code from a web page that generates a button. Capture on-screen motion and create an instructional video or capture an error message to provide debug information to a vendor. You can even capture a specific object in a screen such as an icon.

SnagIt has several options to define what is to be captured so you only get what you want. You can capture the entire screen, a single widow, a region defined by a box, an ellipse, or a polygon drawn by the user, and even better, streaming video.

Once the data is captured, an editor with useful but somewhat limited capabilities is entered to allow the user to make any modification desired before saving the data to any of several formats including the major ones. The editor can also capture date and time. The SnagIt studio provides a more robust editor, including extensive annotation features. You can add text, graphics, arrows, text bubbles (who said that?), and much more.

The Catalog Browser is a very nice feature that allows you to organize your captured data into collections of pictures that can be displayed in different sizes. James took photos at the meeting with a digital camera and later input them to the Catalog Browser and showed them to the group.

James ran SnagIt on PCs with speeds from 133 MHz to 500 MHz with good results. The more memory, the better.

Dubit is a simple program that allows you to add audio to an image file capture by SnagIt or from any other source.

Camtasia is a more robust product for capturing and producing video presentations. However, it runs much better on Windows 2000 than on 98. Windows 98 places limits on the number of colors and the area of the screen in order to record at a reasonable frame rate; it's a trade-off. There is something in the OS that imposes these limitations. It's not a function of the video card.

The Producer (studio editor) provides extensive features for composing the presentation. The Player can be packaged with the presentation so that it can be sent to another machine for playback.

TechSmith provided CDs to the members, containing dated versions of the products. They can also be downloaded from their website. These dated versions can be converted to licensed versions on-line. More important, a certificate that gives you SnagIt for $28 (regularly $39.95) and Camtasia for $120 (regularly $149.95) was given out at the meeting. You can get a bundle including SnagIt, Camtasia, and Dubit for $128 (regularly $169.95). This is a better price than you can get from downloading from the Web site or from the CD and the offer is good for 30 days from the date of the meeting. See Dave Otterstrom for the certificate or the CD.

As an information technology company tries to decide whether to pursue a patent, or how to respond to an invitation to license a patent, it must somehow determine the value of the patent. This may be hard to do. A patent's value may be described in relative terms, such as "this patent is stronger and broader than other database patents." Or the value may be stated as an absolute: "this patent is worth $700,000." Moreover, different approaches generally lead to different values for a patent, regardless of whether the value is stated as a dollar figure or relative to other patents.

A simple approach treats the patent as worth whatever income it has brought in by being licensed or sold. This reflects the past influence of the patent in the marketplace. However, it does not take the patent's possible future influence into account.

A better approach uses the money already brought in by the patent as a basis for predicting the future income, and adds the present value of that future income to the patent's value. However, the previous income may not be a good prediction of the future income if the patent has never been seriously inspected during a licensing dispute or challenged during litigation.

The best approach therefore considers the breadth and strength of the patent as well as the likely income based on previous income. We do not have room here to discuss the factors that might influence a patent's breadth, but we can mention some of the factors that influence patent strength.

A few of the important factors are easy to assess. For instance, if the patent expired by reaching the end of its normal life span then the patent has no strength as a license bargaining chip or as a tool to stop what would otherwise be infringement. If the patent expired earlier than normal because maintenance fees went unpaid, then the patent is still very weak, but in rare cases such a patent may be revived and enforced.

Other important factors that influence patent strength are relatively easy to obtain information about but difficult to assess. For instance, the prior art considered by the patent examiner, any amendments made to overcome that art so the patent would issue, and the apparent relationship between issued patent claims and possibly infringing devices or methods each require careful analysis. Nonetheless, preliminary conclusions about the impact of these factors can often be reached without alerting the patent holder and without spending tens of thousands of dollars.

Some important factors may be just as hard to assess, and much harder to learn about. Was the patented device or method used commercially or disclosed publicly before the patent application was filed, and if so, does that use or disclosure make the patent invalid? Does the patent describe the best implementation of the claimed invention known to the inventors? Did the inventors try to hide any prior art or other important information from the patent examiner? How hard will the other side push to enforce the patent (if they're the owners), or to avoid the patent (if they are not), and what resources can they rally to support that effort?

In short, any conclusion about the value of a patent is not worth much unless the facts, assumptions, and reasoning that led to the conclusion are also known and considered. In that way, a conclusion about the value of a patent is no different than a conclusion about the reliability of a piece of software or the future prospects of a business: more information and experience is generally better.