123 Technology News, Views, and Reviews

It was hard to pick the #1 best, must-have utility, since all on this list are so good. But when we thought about which one has the most impact on our daily (or hourly) experience with Windows, Copernic Desktop Search came out on top.

Copernic has a lot of competition: X1, Google Desktop, and Windows Desktop Search. We’ll briefly discuss each of the competitors and why they weren’t selected:

X1 – There had been a shootout between Copernic Desktop Search (”CDS”) and X1. In fact, we prefer X1’s interface over Copernic’s. But two things lead to its dismissal:

1. Stability – We’ve had off and on problems with stability of the program. Crashes. Slowness. Not acceptable when the point is to find things fast!
2. X1 standalone does NOT allow you to search mapped network drives. Big problem. We’ve got lots of stuff on our server, and we need to be able to index that material from our desks. You would have to buy their enterprise solution, which includes a server-side component, to get this functionality

Google Desktop Search – Well, what works great on the Internet isn’t necessarily the best solution for the desktop. We find that it’s a bit of a memory hog. But the biggest problem is that it produces simple Google results – a hyperlinked list based on keywords you’ve entered. There’s no ability to refine you search to pinpoint what you’re looking for. You simply need to slog through the list of results, or try to come up with better keywords. Again, we love Google for its simplicity in web searches. But that doesn’t play the best on the desktop

Windows Desktop Search – Unfortunately it suffers the same issues as Google Desktop Search. It is very limited in its ability to refine searches. Also, as with most Microsoft products, Windows Desktop Search tends to inject itself into many different aspects of the OS, and into Outlook. Generally, we prefer an indexer that is looking from the outside in. It’s faster.

So, with those three contenders dismissed, we’re back to Copernic.

Copernic Installation

Go to www.copernic.com, and click on the Free Download button at the top. Next screen you’ll need to click Free Download again. Select Copernic Desktop Search 2.1, their just-released upgrade, which works well with Vista and Office 2007. Download it to your desktop, and then double-click to run it. Then:

• Accept the License Terms and click Next
• Select the installation folder and click Next.
• Select the type of configuration – choose Typical
• Once it’s done, click Finish, and the interface will open up:

(click to Enlarge)

Default Settings

By default, Copernic will:

1. Index any Outlook or Outlook Express email boxes you have on your machine
2. Index your Desktop, you’re My Documents, My Music, My Pictures, and My Videos folders, and will index everything on the C: drive except your Program Files folder and the main Windows folder.
3. Index your Outlook and your Outlook Express contacts
4. Index browser Favorites and History for your default browser
5. Suspend indexing while your computer is in use (keyboard or mouse activity)
6. Index new and modified files, and received and sent Outlook emails “on the fly”

There are a lot of changes you can make to the default settings. Click on Tools > Options to see them all. Read the documentation to tweak the settings to your liking. The one thing we will mention is, this is where you can add your mapped network drives for inclusion in indexing.

To see a list of all the types of files it indexes:

Tools > Options > choose Advanced on the left side. On the right side at the top, you see a list of all the file types it indexes. Need a special file type indexed that’s not on the list? Click the Add button.

Initial Indexing

The initial indexing will take an hour or more. We suggest you set it up at night and let it run overnight. In the morning, you’ll come back to a fully populated CDS.

Conducting a Search

You start your search much like you do in any search engine: by entering keywords, but then you can refine your search in multiple ways. The best way to explain is by example.

[Hint: Understanding the syntax of a keyword search will still help you tremendously. For example, if you wanted to find a document that contained either the word “meeting” or the word “appointment, you would type: “meeting OR appointment”

See the whole page of syntax for the Copernic keyword field on this page:

http://help.copernic.com/topic/desktopsearch21en/CDS2.htm#]

EXAMPLE #1: I’m looking for a document that I wrote this week. It was written using Word, and it contained the phrase “IP Address”

Here’s how I think about searching for this:

1. I first enter the phrase “IP Address” iin the Search box. I get 1,425 hits. This might be where Google or Windows Search stops. But we can refine our query with the additional information we have:
2. At the top of the search window, I pick the File Category, since I know I’m searching for a file – 866 hits
3. On the left side, I enter the file type Word Document, since I know I wrote it in Word – 118 hits
4. On the left side, I enter the Date This Week, since I know I edited it this week – 6 matches

(click to Enlarge)

And there, I have my short list! Now I can preview the document, double-click it to open it and work on it, open the folder it’s contained in, and more.

EXAMPLE 2: I want to look up contact information for Joe Anthony. Instead of opening Outlook, or Outlook Express, or any other program that might contain contact information for Joe Anthony, I just use Copernic:

1. Select the Contacts category
2. Enter “Joe Anthony” in the search field

I see this (click to Enlarge)

And I can Send Joe a Message right from here – Copernic calls my default E-mail client for me.

Summary

I don’t go a day without using Copernic to “find stuff.” Let’s pray for the day when we can banish hierarchical folders as our main way to organize and find information, in favor of flexible, comprehensive, easy searches that let us find what we need, wherever it may be!

Enjoy!

Randy Garland, 123 Technology

Virtualization is hot these days in IT circles. Any engineer anywhere near a data center wants to be able to virtualize OS instances to maximize hardware utilization.

But something that has been generally overlooked is a specific category in virtualization: Desktop Software Virtualization. And the tool we recommend for the task is Altiris’ SVS (Software Virtualization Solution).

You install SVS on your desktop (or server) computer as if it were any other application. What it does is create an encapsulated (or isolated) environment that in turn encapsulates and software installations that you install within it. When you install software under SVS, everything written to disk, including Registry entries, is actually captured by SVS and maintained in SVS’ virtual mapping to the actual OS. Later, when you use the software you installed, it appears to the user that it’s a completely normal install: installation files are located where you would think they would go (for example, C:\Program Files), and you can create and save to any location on your hard drive.

But that is all virtualized. That is, the data doesn’t really reside where you see it. It remains encapsulated within SVS.

So Why Is This So Interesting?

It’s interesting on many levels, including:

1. Registry and system file clashes between programs are generally eliminated, since registry and system files in SVS are actually separated from the core OS
2. You can run different versions of the same product at the same time on the same machine (for example, you can run MS Office 2007 under SVS, and still run Office 2003 normally, with access to both).
3. For software that you want to try before you buy, using SVS is ideal! Your registry stays clean, and you can remove the entire application with one swipe.
4. Applications that are installed under SVS can be packaged and run on another machine with SVS installed. Vastly simplifies multiple installs, and allows the initiator to set all settings and configurations once, and roll the package out to other desktops. Altiris calls this desktop provisioning.

How Do I Use It?

Once you’ve downloaded it from

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1941342,00.asp

and installed it, you’ll see a new icon on your desktop:

Double-click the icon to show the main program interface:

To install an application under SVS

Click File > Create New Layer > Install Application, and give the Layer a Name

Then, under Program Name, browse to the installation file , click Open, and then back on the Install Virtual Software dialog box, click Next.

Click Finish. The application will install. Once it’s installed, it will appear in the application list in the SVS interface (see above). If the name is bolded, that means its active.

Activate and Deactivate Layers

To activate a specific application, or “layer”, right click on the application in the list, and choose Activate Layer.

To deactivate a specific application, right click on the application in the list, and choose Deactivate Layer.

Many More Details

There’s a lot more to know about Altiris’ SVS. We strongly suggest reading the documentation (look for the Software Virtualization Solution section, down the list).

Cheers!

RG 123 Technology

OK, this isn’t so much a product as it is a class of products. Actually, a class of services.

Let us explain:

Going back to the beginning of computer time, engineers realized the importance of BACKUPS. “You can never be too safe with critical data!” was the battle cry of many a computer warrior.

Backups began life as critical information copied to large reels of magnetic tape, and then manually carried off-site by THE KEEPER OF THE BACKUP. If an Act of God were to happen upon and smite both the inhabitants and the computers at the live location, the backup was safely removed off-site and data was (hopefully) recoverable.

And thus it was in the 1960’s. And the 70’s. And into the 80’s.

Then, an incredible breakthrough!!!! They made the tapes smaller. Well, a lot smaller… But the concept was exactly the same: Back up to tape, and physically take the tape off-site.

That was the 80’s and the 90’s.

The 21st Century arrived, and things still carried on as they were. But a few years into it, someone had a truly bright idea: how about making a complete “image” copy of the original hard drive (definition: “image copy” is a byte-for-byte duplicate of the hard drive. An exact, well, image). Instead of just saving critical data, we could now save the data and ALL SYSTEM SETTINGS, so that, in the event of, yes, an Act of God, you could recover not just your critical data but also your entire system, without having to reinstall Operating Systems and Applications and reconfiguring everything! Praise be thee, Lord! And pass the Manischevitz!

And it was good. But not as good as good could possibly be.

Problems still remained. There were still a few gaping holes:

1. Data was usually backed up once a day. What would happen if there were a critical failure 23 hours after the last backup?

2. Data was stored off-site only. In the event of a computer problem, major or minor, time to recover from an off-site location was measured in hours, not minutes;

3. There was widespread lack of testing of the integrity of backups. A recent report by a very well respected journal (trust us) has indicated that as many as 70% of all recovery attempts made from backups failed due to one or more reasons, including, most commonly, human error with properly establishing correct backup procedures to begin with.

Alas, it was not so good. Not nearly as good as the goodness originally appeared to be.

But, lo and behold, came the year of two thousand and seven, the same year that the Holy War in the ancient land of Iraq went into it’s fifth year, one year longer than World War II, with no end in sight (pardon the digression).

Two thousand and seven, also known as 2007, saw the introduction of what we at 123 Technology are now considering the Holy Grail of Backup and Recovery.

Picture this:

You are on a Windows server network. Your server is the essential hub of activity. In fact, you are running Windows 2003 Server for Small Business Server (aka, thankfully, “SBS”), which acts as your Active Directory root domain controller, file sharing server, printing server, Microsoft Exchange E-Mail Server, and the collaborative neighborhood called Sharepoint, full of things called ‘blogs’ and ‘wikis’ and ‘process-driven document repositories’ and other scary stuff.

And it’s all pretty scary, and only but a precious few power geeks actually know how the whole thing stays together and works, but everyone knows that daily business life almost completely depends on that server being UP and AVAILABLE to the corporate masses, and that all of the data placed, stored, and retrieved thereupon, therein and therefrom must be kept whole and preserved, and available 99.999% of the time, and that none of said data could ever be irretrievably lost lest the company suffer extermination with the loss of its secret sauce.

Fear not! We now have a solution. From the people-who-love-to-call-everything-by-an-acryonym, and-then-fight-over-what-the-heck-the-acronym-really-means (pwltcebaaatfowthtarm) department comes Continuous Data Protection, or “CDP”.

Ah, this is very good! Very very good, indeed! ! In fact, perhaps most excellent! !! But what the heck does it really mean?

Well wouldn’t you know that of all things, the devil is in the details. And, too, we are hereupon the celebration of the country’s birthday and must go forth into the night and celebrate, so alas, the details will need to be saved for another time, soon to come.

But trust us: it’s really cool.

RG, 123T on this, the one hundred and eight forth day in the year two thousand and seven of the Lord.

Do you have visions of VPN connection hell dancing around in your head? Has your IT department not been able to successfully link your remote notebook via VPN to your company’s internal network, but they’re “working on it”?

VPN connections are notoriously difficult to set up and quite finicky. In addition, if you’re setting up a VPN through your router, you’ll typically need to buy software from the router vendor, and configure both the router and each remote user for VPN access.

For small companies, this can be a real problem.

A little-known company (they seem to always have the best stuff!) created version 1.0 of a product called Hamachi and quickly got snapped up by LogMeIn, who now owns the technology.

“Virtual” VPN

Normal VPN connections make a link into your network using existing IP addresses, including NAT (Network Address Translation) addresses. Hamachi has created what we consider a new segment of the market, and what we call Virtual VPN. You need to set up an account with Hamachi. Then, you install Hamachi on each machine inside and outside your network that you want to be on this new virtual network, and they each get assigned a static IP address from Hamachi’s pool of owned addresses. You’ll have your own, encrypted virtual network up and running quickly.

Here’s a walk-through on how to get it set up:

Create a Hamachi Account and Download the Software

Go to the following web site, and create a new Hamachi account:

https://secure.logmein.com/products/hamachi/vpn.asp

Click the Download Now button. You’ll need to register, including providing a valid email address. On the next page, click the appropriate Download button (there are versions for Windows, Linux, and the Mac OS X).

Installation

Once the software is on your system, double-click the icon and walk through the setup. You’ll note that there are two versions of Hamachi: Basic (which is free) and Premium (which is not free. You can read online about the advantages of the Premium version).

During the installation Hamachi will set up a new ‘Hamachi Network’ network connection.

First Launch

when you first launch Hamachi, you’ll see a Welcome screen, and also Hamachi’s main interface, which will be blank to start:

Hamachi will give you a Quick Guide walk-through of how to use the controls. When you’re ready to launch Hamachi and establish your network, click the Power button.

You’ll be asked to assign your Account a nickname - this is the name of the computer that others will see when they join the network.

Here’s what the Hamachi interface should look like once it’s setup and connected:

and you’ll see a new icon in the Windows taskbar:

Now, you have a ‘node’, but you have not yet created a network. That’s our next step.

Create A Network

Click the Network button, and choose ‘Create a new network‘. You need to create a Network Name; this will be your virtual network name that you’ll use for each station you will add. Give it a Network Password - you’ll need this for each new account setup as well.

When you’ve been successful, you’ll see your network name listed in the box:

Set Up Another Machine to Join the Network

Put the Hamachi installer on a USB key, or even on a floppy disk, and go to another machine that you want to add to your virtual network.

Install as before, but instead of creating a new network, you want to join an existing network, which you can select under network button. You’ll need to enter the Network Name and Network Password.

Repeat for each node you want on your virtual network.

Communicating with other computers on the v-net

To communicate with others on your virtual network, right-click on the computer name. You’ll be able to browse files and folders, share printers, and you’ll even be able to chat IM-style right from within Hamachi!

One Key Rule

The machine from which you first established your new network is considered the ‘master network’ computer. It must be on and must be connected to your virtual network in order for any of the nodes to communicate with any others.

As always, there are more details, which you can explore on your own…

Pretty cool.

- Randy Garland 123 Technology

Microsoft has a definition of what it considers a ’strong’ password, and encourages server administrators to enforce the strong password rules. Here they are:

1. The password must be at least seven (7) characters long

2. The password needs to contain one character from three of the following four categories:

1. UPPERCASE letters
2. lowercase letters
3. numbers
4. characters (such as @, #, &, or *)

Some examples:

Good:      Rac7plq (seven long, one cap, one lowercase, one number)

Bad:        Raadbied (eight long, one cap, one lowercase; missing either a number or a character)

Remember: the password needs to be strong, but you need to be able to remember it!

- Randy Garland  123 Technology