Eric's Profile

Member since August 7, 2006

  • Name

    Eric S.

  • Location:

    United States of America

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Recent Posts

  1. Review - Skype for Windows

    3.0.0.198 (Dec 27, 2006)

    This response is for horsecharles. There exists a little package that allows you to run Skype from your flashdrive. I've been using it for several months now.

    Note: This was created by a third party, not by the makers of Skype. It is distributed without the application itself to avoid EULA violation.

    You must install it to a local drive, copy the .exe to the portable folder, then uninstall. You now have a fully portable copy of Skype!

    Click the following link, then click on "PortableSkype.zip - Mirror #2" to download the package: http://portableapps.com/node/751

    I give this a 4, because you can avoid the annual PC-Phone/Phone-PC fees by combining AIM Phoneline and AdCalls. Otherwise, a long-lived success.

  2. Review - Comodo Firewall Pro

    2.4.6.113 Beta (Dec 17, 2006)

    Ever since people started scoffing at the close of the millennium, the primary function of an Internet PC's first line of defense has been grossly distorted. They said there was no way for a hacker to break in from the outside unless allowed in by a prospective victim, and that infected downloads were a bigger issue. While the second part of this statement is true, the first part is far from it. Machines can indeed be invaded from the outside, especially when professional hackers started to embrace the concept of harnessing a worm's self-propogating ability to distribute Trojans for them.

    Comodo is just another example of today's misdirected firewall solution prototype: all IDS and little or no anti-hacker. Leaktester websites applaud this firewall's ability to block most Trojans from phoning home, while completely overlooking the fact that it is powerless to prevent them from slipping by in the first place. I installed this firewall on a clean, fully patched machine prior to reconnecting the cable. Within minutes, the machine was overrun by the currently circulating SQL Slammer and Stack Bot, and the piggybacking Trojans had shut down System Restore and simply gained too much control for me to waste my time with attempted disinfection. I restored from Acronis and moved on.

    I'm happy to say there is one effective freeware firewall called NetVeda Safety.Net that offers full-featured stateful inspection, the key element in ISS BlackICE. While this familiar name may be dismissed by some due its unattractive scores on leaktests, its bulletproof protection against external attacks is the one reason why the hackers themselves use it!!! And who better to consult about PC vulnerabilities than the very people who exploit them?

    Bottom line: don't be mislead by leaktester propaganda. If you want effective IDS protection, use a dedicated IDS program alongside your firewall. Most vendors out there either focus on detection or prevention. And your first line of defense should be prevention. That's what firewalls were originally designed for!

    Note: Jetico also uses stateful inspection, and also does real well in the leaktests, but its unintuitive interface, forgetfulness with regard to permissions, intrusiveness, and compatibility issues can be a real turnoff.

  3. Review - Alcohol 52% Free Edition

    1.9.5.4327 (Sep 23, 2006)

    Hey DudeBoyz, BlindWrite can't make a perfect 1:1 copy of a disc that uses SafeDisc 3 (i.e. Doom 3). The burned disc doesn't spin up, and the system knows it's fake. But with Alcohol, you can get past that by mounting the image; SD3 can't stop the platters from spinning!

  4. Review - Download Express

    1.9.337 (Aug 7, 2006)

    Some of the negative reviews posted here are quite puzzling to me. I have never had a single problem with this software. Smooth integration with Firefox and IE, simple AV scan configuration, and of course it automatically knows to back off for MS updates and similar download-install jobs.

    I am not familiar with the uninstall problem (Why would you want to uninstall it anyway?), nor with the problem of not being able to download anything. If anyone is unable to download with this manager, they might look into the possibility of compatibility issues, though it's more likely they just don't know how to keep their system and registry clean.

    As far as performance gripes go, perhaps you have not paid any attention to the speed measurements nor kept track of the time. This download manager will literally enhance download speeds by a factor of eight, as in boosting 3 mbps to 3 MBps, thanks to the concept of utilizing multiple ports. I think GetRight should either rebuild their software or change its license to freeware. The performance of this freeware is vastly superior. And they've finally added support for Opera. YES!!

  5. Comment - Intel: Harpertown Xeon Performance Will Beat QC Opteron

    1.9.337 (Sep 20, 2007 - 12:39 AM)

    On the subject of "premium tax," does your electric bill not count? AMD chips suck up more juice than equivalent Intel chips do, and they do less with it. Why do you think AMD is trying to sue Intel for antitrust laws they haven't even broken? And why are they filing the case in Europe, rather than here at home? Because it's baseless; Intel is hurting them, and they're desperate. And American courts are too by-the-book to hear their "case."

    In a time and place where natural resources are quickly being depleted (hopefully you realize the reason American troops have spent the last six years in a country that never attacked us is oil), and industries are still balking at solar power despite impressive advances, driving energy costs ever higher...that means something. If you keep your computer for more than just a year or two, and use it enough to justify its initial purchase, an Intel processor will return to you every penny of the difference, and then some.

  6. Comment - Is AMD Returning to Profitability?

    1.9.337 (Aug 1, 2007 - 12:41 AM)

    Hey SGD,

    You're right. Some people do look at price as well as performance. But AMD's chips also consume more energy than Intel's equivalents, which can cost you more in the long run. :o

    You're right on another note as well. AMD also has ATI. In fact, both of my computers have ATI chips. Of course the processors are Intel, and the WiFi chip in my laptop is also Intel. :D Cheers!

  7. Comment - Acer: PC Industry Disappointed with Vista

    1.9.337 (Jul 25, 2007 - 2:57 AM)

    Vista is quite heavy, especially the upper versions with the aeroglass visuals. Vista can take up to 768 MB of RAM just to sit idly, while a naked copy of XP only takes 192.

    Also, I'm a bit concerned about Vista's "content protection." According to Peter Gutmann, it's possible that Vista may never support Blu-Ray or HD DVD. And if you intend to build a high-end machine, I'm sure you'd like it to support HD video, yes? Stick with XP and a sturdy suite of security software.

    I know this is off-topic, but AOL offers a free version of McAfee SecurityCenter that should be enough. It has IDS, script scanning, and much more: http://safety.aol.com/isc/index.adp? Use this, and keep Windows XP up to date, and you shouldn't need anything else. Salute!

  8. Comment - Is AMD Returning to Profitability?

    1.9.337 (Jul 24, 2007 - 8:41 PM)

    Sho nuff. Here's the stats: http://techreport.com/re...07q1/cpus/index.x?pg=13

    What few AMD users realize is, while they think they're saving money by purchasing a cheaper chip, they'll be paying more in the long run. :S Intel is the all-win deal.

  9. Comment - Is AMD Returning to Profitability?

    1.9.337 (Jul 23, 2007 - 10:02 PM)

    For me, an Intel loyalist, this is really a good thing. Not that I want anything to do with AMD's processors, of course; they're just toooooo sloooooow.

    The last Turion I had my hands on was a loaner from Best Buy, while I waited for a Gateway I so foolishly bought to be repaired for the last time before being replaced with a Toshiba under the CA Lemon Law (voltage problem - hard drives going out, and a USB port acting up). I couldn't have been happier to have even my defective Gateway back; the other machine was pathetically slow. Yet the processor was rated higher!

    Intel's processors have faster cache, while consuming less energy than equivalent AMD chips, and still leaving them miles behind in the dust. Of course AMD wants Intel to play fair, but this is the business world. Why should Intel cut their own throat and stoop to AMD's level, honestly? It doesn't work that way.

    I see good news in the fact that AMD is making deals to stay in the market. This means Intel won't be monopolizing any time soon, which would eventually spell much higher prices for those of us who know better. In addition, it means that Intel will have to continue putting out better processors to stay on top. These past few months have been Utopian for us: low prices, and vastly superior performance...the best of both worlds!