In all reality the chance of the average user becoming infected is extremely remote but the official line by security experts is that until Microsoft have issued a patch that users should either up their security settings from within Internet Explorer or switch to an alternative browser such as Firefox or Opera.

Most people that read my column know that they should either run a half decent browser such as Firefox or if they insist on using Internet Explorer that they should keep Windows updated at all times. Whilst there is no fix for this particular bug, by keeping your Browser and Operating System up to date you are limiting your chances of running in to problems.

Something that is often overlooked by so many, however, is ensuring that all other applications on your computer are kept up to date as it isn’t just browsers that are affected by security issues. Making a list of all the software on your computer and then individually checking the manufacturer’s website for updates would be quite a laborious and time consuming process which is where my recommendation for this week comes in. Secunia PSI is a piece of software which has just come out of Beta testing that is designed to alleviate such problems by checking the majority of the applications currently installed on your computer for known security vulnerabilities.

There are two versions of this application available, one that runs online and one that you download and install; both are available from http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/. Personally I would recommend downloading the application rather than the online test as the 500kb file will scan a greater number of programs than the online version.

Once the scans have completed, Secunia will list any out of date affected software and give you a vulnerability rating along with a link to obtain the latest version of the application if there is one available. You can view details about each individual threat and to be honest the results can be quite startling; although my laptop managed an initial security score of 92% there were several potentially serious problems that it discovered. One rather obscure bug in my PDF reader (Foxit PDF) could have potentially given a hacker full access to my computer.

I think there is a stage where paranoia can kick in and users can be over cautious but a certain level of precaution should always be taken. Even if you are not worried about the potential security implications of running out of date software, Secunia offers a quick and easy way to ensure that you are running the most up to date and hopefully feature rich versions of all your favourite programs.

Such an obvious slip-up is easily understood; Windows XP, an application capable of DVD playback and CD writing must support DVD burning, surely? After all the application has been through three service packs and is still the most widely used distribution of Windows in the world. The sad truth is that support for DVD writing wasn’t considered important when XP was released seven years ago and since then Microsoft bizarrely haven’t seen fit to supply an update. Whilst Vista does support DVD writing it can’t handle HD standards such as HD-DVD or Blu-Ray so even Vista users may find the following software that I’m about to recommend of interest.

In the past I have very briefly touched on Deepburner (www.deepburner.com) which whilst an incredibly capable program hasn’t been updated sufficiently over the last couple of years for me to feel I can continue to recommend it; HD media support for example is still completely absent. Those still using Windows 98 may still wish to keep it in mind however as Deepburner is still compatible with this antiquated Operating System.

The alternative is an application called CDBurnerXP (www.cdburnerxp.se) which would appear to be a much more rounded piece of software due to the sheer number of features that you get compared to other free products on the market. You can, for example, burn to practically any disc including CD-R/CD-RW/DVD+R/DVD-R/DVD+RW/DVD-RW/DVD-RAM/BD(Blu-Ray)/HD-DVD and any dual layer variants. In terms of supported formats the range is equally impressive; if you choose to burn a CD for instance then you can import your songs in mp3, wav, ogg, flac and wma formats as well as importing playlists in M3U or WPL standards and track layouts by way of CUE sheets.

The software supports burning images so that you can create a virtual CD image; this is especially useful if you want to create an EXACT copy of the disc on another form of media such as a Hard Drive. Of course the software can handle burning the image back to disc along with converting and manipulating any images you may receive off others; over the Internet for example.

Amazingly the application is a tiny 2.8mb download however it does have the drawback of requiring Windows 2000 or above along with relying on the Microsoft .Net Framework. The .Net software is designed to allow programmers to develop Windows applications faster and more easily and whilst some users complain of speed issues it is becoming a lot more commonplace.

Downloading .Net isn’t an issue as it is available free of charge off the Microsoft website and in all probability you have most likely had it installed unbeknown to you at some point in the past when you installed a dependent application or performed a Windows Update. My advice would be to try installing CDBurnerXP and if .Net isn’t detected the application will give you instructions on how to proceed.

The application can be accessed from the Accessories folder from the programs section of the Start Menu and the version you will be using is dependent on your version of Windows. Those who have Windows XP with the latest service pack installed (this will have most likely been done automatically) will be using version 2.1 however if you own Windows Vista then you will be using version 6. This skip in version numbers is due to the fact that 3, 4 and 5 were skipped to bring the program version number in line with that of the Operating System (Vista is the release name for what is essentially Windows 6.0).

Windows Movie Maker is ideal for those that want a program which will allow them to edit their home movies both simply and effectively. It is geared more towards the home user than the professional so whilst features present in more advanced software applications may be missing, this will be compensated for in both speed and ease of use.

The layout consists of a simple storyboard which you then drop in your existing video clips with the ability to split up longer files as you see fit. This view can then be changed to a timeline so that you have full control as to how long any particular clip is present on screen, the choice and timing of the background music as well as being able to select any appropriate titles which will overlay at any particular moment.

When shifting between scenes, rather than just flipping from one section of film to another, you can select transitions so that sections can blend seamlessly together. You are also able to instantly apply a number of effects to individual clips including simple tools such as brightness increase and picture rotation as well as more advanced effects such as pixilation, focus shift and picture warping. You can make sections of your film appear older by adding a sepia tone or selecting individual scenes to appear as though they are being played on an old projector.

Whilst most popular formats are supported, there are a few widely used formats such as MOV, MP4 and 3GP which have been left in the cold. If your digital camera or camera phone uses one of these formats then you will have to obtain a converter first off to make it in to something more suitable such as an MPEG or AVI format. There are plenty of free of charge applications which will be able to easily achieve this available from a site such as Freeware Files (www.freewarefiles.com).

One impressive feature is the ‘Auto Movie’ function which allows you to import an entire movie file which Windows Movie Maker will then edit for you based on a predefined style – it will analyse the movie, split it down in to multiple scenes then automatically apply effects, transitions and background music along with titles. This function isn’t infallible as it relies on a certain degree of calculated guesswork but nevertheless this is an impressive way to quickly and easily create an edited product.

Once finished, your movie can be saved to a file which can then be stored, distributed or uploaded to the Internet or alternatively it can be burnt to a DVD. The results you get won’t be studio quality but will certainly stand apart from the long, unedited and wholly unprofessional movies that are often produced at the end of a summer holiday.

OS/2

Originally a joint venture between IBM and Microsoft in 1987, things in the first few years looked optimistic with Microsoft publically insisting that OS/2 was the future. This was until the release of Windows 3.0 which sold extremely well due to the Operating System being bundled with many PC’s – OS/2 on the other hand was considered an expensive alternative.

As you’d imagine, their marriage hit the rocks and IBM went alone. In 1992, they released OS/2 2.0 which they touted as being “a better DOS than DOS and a better Windows than Windows” before rebranding the following version 3 as OS/2 Warp in an attempt to highlight the new performance benefits. OS/2 Warp 4.0 was released around the same time as Windows 95 and included several impressive technologies such as speech recognition. It was however the last widely distributed version of OS/2 before IBM admitted defeat and stopped marketing the OS to individual users.

The reasons for its demise are multiple; most prominently was that Windows was bundled with most computer systems, many users didn’t see the need to replace it or even realised that they had a choice in the matter. A comparatively small user base raised issues such as poor driver support for non-IBM hardware; a problem for those interested in adopting the OS.

Failed Dot-Coms

What a fantastic time the 90’s must have been for entrepreneurs. Quite simply, you think up a half-baked idea involving the Internet, don’t even worry about the part of the business plan that talks about how you’re going to make a profit, and someone, somewhere is likely spend millions taking a punt on you.

Virtual Reality

The principal of virtual reality has always excited me; the idea is that through the use of hardware such as some special goggles and gloves, you can instantly be transported to an immersive 3D world. I’d imagine nothing substantial has ever developed is a combination of concerns over the cost of the equipment, coupled with the fact that nothing marketed so far has been substantial enough to justify investment by the home user.

Whether virtual reality has a future of not is unclear; to me it seems odd that we still play computer games on the same flat screens as we did decades ago but at the moment there doesn’t seem to be a killer alternative on the horizon.

eBooks

I have mentioned them before in the past and whilst the idea is fantastic and indeed environmentally friendly it doesn’t seem like the world is ready for them just yet. A lack of high quality, affordable readers and the fact that most prefer the reassuring feel of paper has meant their adoption in the marketplace has been very slow indeed.

Speech Recognition

This technology suffers from a combination of technical difficulties and the fact that, quite simply you look like an idiot when you use it. Whilst those with disabilities may find the technology helpful, the rest of us should just learn to use a keyboard; it’s faster, you won’t have to worry about background noise and most importantly the entire room won’t necessarily need to hear the abusive letter you’re writing to your bank manager.

That having been said, I do certainly see the need for applications that can provide an element of automated system repair and preventive maintenance and one such application I recently discovered called Advanced WindowsCare fits that bill nicely.

The version of the software that I will be reviewing today is the free personal edition; however there is also a $29.95 professional version. Compatible with Windows 2000, XP and Vista, both versions can be obtained from www.iobit.com, and with the personal edition weighing in at only 6mb it shouldn’t take two minutes to download. Once installed the level of automation is quite scary; simply click the scan button and the application will look inside your computer and will categorise your problems in to the following areas:

Spyware – Provides details of any Spyware or Adware installed on your computer; whilst there are a million and one applications providing this facility, another one certainly won’t hurt.

Security Defence – Identifies areas of your system that can be ‘immunised’ to prevent possible security compromising software from being installed on your machine.

Registry Fix – The Windows registry is a huge file that contains thousands of Windows settings and parameters. This section will highlight any entries that are invalid or incorrect.

System Optimisation – Any areas of your system Operating System identified as being inefficient by the software will be listed in this category.

Startup Manager – I have in the past explained the importance of minimising the amount of unnecessary software which launches on system startup and this application makes removing it extremely simple.

Privacy Sweep – This category will list all activity history and traces on your computer. Removing them will potentially increase your computers security, or avoid potential embarrassment if you’ve been doing something you shouldn’t have been.

Junk Files Clean – Windows stores a surprisingly large amount of rubbish that can quickly and easily identified and removed with no ill effects.

You will be given a chance to review any changes that the application plans to make although doing so would be extremely labour intensive as on my three month old laptop 40,000 issues were raised; the majority of them being 33,000 odd possible system immunisations. Giving WindowsCare the benefit of the doubt I simply clicked on repair and so far I have had no cause for concern however it is worthwhile bearing in mind that the application does allow you to back up your system settings before any changes are made, then restore them if you suffer any problems.

I don’t think there’s really a huge amount left to say about this application. It installed easily, it worked efficiently and it removed countless potential problems from my system in a matter of minutes. I would certainly recommend downloading and installing this fantastic piece of free software – if you are currently having problems with your system it could solve them, and if you’re not then it could prevent them.

It can’t be denied that by all major benchmarks the Mac has improved a great deal in the past few years, and certainly for this point Apple should be congratulated. That having been said, I can’t help but think that I’m missing something when it comes to the argument of why I should abandon the PC and switch over.

Those who have read this article for a while will know that I am a firm supporter of the underdog and so on this account I should certainly be using the much smaller Apple platform but it’s not quite that simple. My problem stems from the fact that I’m very much against the way that all Macs have to be made by Apple, and that the majority of the software that you will use on the machine will also be developed by them.

I enjoy the fact that PC’s are manufactured by hundreds of different companies and that you can even buy all the parts yourself and make a PC based computer from scratch – when was the last time you heard of someone building their own Apple Mac?

From a software standpoint you are given no option as to the Operating System you use and a large majority of the software that you use will be forced on you from the outset. Approximately half of the fifteen reasons for switching over to a Mac from the Apple website centre around the argument that there is a large amount of software built in to the Operating System out of the box. You could argue that this is convenient for the end user but remember that Microsoft have been sued for countless millions for shipping Internet Explorer with Windows. No one has even questioned the fact that Apple ship their own photo, video, music, chat and the heavily iPod biased iTunes software with their machines.

Stability makes up another couple of points on their list, however these are highly debatable. Yes, Macs suffer from far fewer viruses and security attacks but this isn’t down to the ‘rock solid’ Operating System as Apple claims; it’s simply that with such an insignificant market share, no bugger can be bothered writing viruses for their machines. Windows based machines do have a large amount of viruses and security scares but that’s primarily due to their popularity rather than the fact that the idea of a PC is inherently flawed. Do remember that unlike Mac users, those that run PC’s have the choice of alternative Operating Systems such as Linux which again very few people tend to target for attacks.

The remainder of these fifteen official arguments focus on compatibility which again I don’t quite understand; the fact an Apple Mac can run Windows Vista or utilises an Intel chip isn’t a reason to make a switch. Granted, if these obstacles did exist then it would be a reason to stick with using a PC but the fact that they don’t exist doesn’t constitute a legitimate reason to spend half a grand switching over.

Don’t get me wrong, I actually have nothing against the Apple Mac as a machine but it’s just that I’ve been used to living in a world where if I want a new PC I pick who makes it and what software I put on it. If I want to upgrade it I take the side of the case off and stick a new graphics card, hard disk, processor or even motherboard inside and these can be made by a manufacturer of my choosing.

I don’t like the idea that to make the switch over from the PC I will only have the choice of giving my money to one company, and then when I want to upgrade a few years down the line they would have a complete monopoly over my business for a second time around. For me, at least, subscribing to such a system wouldn’t feel like supporting the underdog but rather more like selling my soul.

My first observation would be that I am completely unable to ascertain why such a development took so long – Microsoft started production on their new OS way back in 2001 and it seems bizarre to me that it took their best programmers until 2007 to come up with the finished product. As much as I liked Windows XP there is no escaping the fact that an update was well overdue and now we’re left asking ourselves whether was it worth the wait?

So that I can get them out the way I want to make my criticisms known from the start. First off Windows Vista eats low powered machines for breakfast; I had a relatively new AMD Sempron 2800+ with 512mb of RAM and a 64mb graphics card which Vista just annihilated. A couple of hardware upgrades later (1Gb of additional RAM, 256mb graphics card) and the new OS is running perfectly – for some this hardware upgrade cycle isn’t a problem but those with low powered machines on a limited budget should beware.

I also don’t like the fact Microsoft have given a choice of five different versions to choose from as this can only serve to confuse the end and additionally we in the UK we are paying such a disproportion amount extra when compared with our US cousins.

Despite having said the above, yes, I do like Vista and no, given the choice I wouldn’t go back to Windows XP.

When you first install Vista the only real differences you notice is the shiny new graphical interface which in many ways is more gimmicky than genuinely useful. For example there is an alternative to <ALT + TAB> for cycling through the opened programs that displays all the opened applications you have stacked one at a time in 3D. Additionally items such as the tops of windows, the start menu and so forth are semi opaque and features such as these don’t really offer me any real advantages other than to look pleasing to the eye. I suppose if you spend your days, like I do, looking at a computer screen then such features will make serve as an improvement as if you’re to spend your time using an Operating System it might as well be pleasing to look at.

Most the real improvements won’t even be noticed by the end user but that doesn’t mean to say that they’re not important. Microsoft was hit hard in Windows XP with viruses such as the Blaster Worm which crippled PC’s all over the world and served as a nice little revenue stream for computer repair people everywhere. When it came to creating Vista Microsoft actually gave early versions of the Operating System to software hackers and simply told them to ‘break it’ so that hopefully any major security issues would be discovered before the software was finalised.

Two features I do particularly like are as follows. When using a flash memory drive you can allow Vista to use it to cache commonly used programs and data. This reduces the need for Windows to use relatively slow ‘virtual memory’ on your hard disk so your system speed should be increased as a result. Additionally the search functionality is so, so much better than under Windows XP – I found it infuriating how long it took to search for an item under XP but in Vista when I look for something it searches my hard disk and outlook messages in a matter of seconds rather than minutes.

There have been many improvements to the applications present within Windows which I’d like to cover but unfortunately as I have already overrun my space for this week you’ll have to wait until next Friday for the second part of this Vista roundup.

Windows 1.0 was initially announced to the world back in November 1983 with a shipping date of early 1984 with minimum system specs of a floppy drive and 192kb of RAM. Even back then Microsoft were hopeless at keeping to deadlines and technical requirements so over a year later Windows was shipped to the world with minimum of 256kb of RAM with Microsoft suggesting that you should really have double that amount of RAM and a hard drive. Windows 1.0 included a number of applications that would be familiar to modern day Windows users such as Calculator, Clock, Write, Paint and Calendar.

Windows 2.0 was released in December 1987 which introduced overlapping Windows and Icons to the public whereas previous versions of Windows were largely text based and multiple open windows couldn’t be overlapped but rather tiled across the screen. A later version designed for the new 386 processor was also released which included improved multi-tasking abilities.

Windows 3.0 introduced a number of new features such as program manager and file manager along with the ability for programs to use memory beyond 640kb which had previously been a fairly substantial stumbling block of earlier versions. Windows 3.0 was one of the first versions of the program that truly clicked and soon a number of home users, business users and developers began adopting the software. One of the most popular incarnations of the software, Windows 3.1 was released in April 1992 which focused on improving the stability of Windows 3.0 as well as introducing a few new features.

Windows 95 was released back in August 2005 accompanied by a huge advertising campaign and the Operating System became a great success due a number of factors. One such factor was simply timing; the home market was booming and the Internet was starting to make its way into homes. The tools provided by the Operating System to developers made it easy to create applications that could connect to the Internet and hence fantastic new programs such as Netscape Navigator started to appear on the market. Windows 95 was technically superior to previous incarnations being designed for 32-bit applications and in most cases removing the necessity for users to often switch back to the old MS-DOS Operating System that was previously so frequently required.

Windows 98 was another popular Operating System that was later superseded by both Windows 98 SE and then Windows ME but to be honest they were only slightly different to the original.

Although many home users wouldn’t have been aware of it, the majority of the Microsoft product team were at this time working on developing the Windows NT Operating System which had always been the version of Windows that business users relied on due primarily to the superior stability and networking performance of this OS offered. Windows NT 4.0 had shipped in August 2006 and then Windows NT 5.0 which was later renamed Windows 2000 appeared in February 2000.

Windows XP was the next major product that Microsoft released and remains the Operating System that the majority of us use to the current day. It released in October 2001 as a combination of the core of Windows 2000 and the user interface and compatibility of Windows 98 (note that I’m ignoring the lame duck Windows ME Operating System) and has been a fantastic success. Although it is undeniable that the software has experienced a number of problems with early compatibility and ongoing security concerns it is certainly the best that Microsoft has to offer at present.

Looking forward, Microsoft plan to release Windows Vista in the second half of 2006 as a replacement for Windows XP and I will be previewing this new version of Windows in a future Click Article.

One of the key factors to the success of Windows has undoubtedly been creating a standard platform so that all software looks and acts in a similar fashion. If you take someone who has been using Windows 95 for the last 10 years and give them Windows XP they will have absolutely no problems using it as it looks and behaves in a almost identical fashion. Perhaps this has been the biggest stumbling block for programs such as Linux which rely on the user changing the way that they use their machine from what they have been accustomed.

Happy birthday Windows!