Getting  Along With Your Computer Column Archive

Safety First
By Cate Eales
Appeared November 8, 2007 on castanet.net

In a non-Patch Tuesday week, we have a big whack of non-Windows updates. Get your patch list here. And as a bonus, I have links to two utilities you can use for backing up your email.


Firefox Upgrade
Mozilla released an important upgrade to Firefox, bringing us now to version 2.0.0.9. This version fixes some problems that were apparently not fixed in the upgrade to 2.0.0.8. That upgrade fixed some 300 problems.

If you already have Firefox version 2.x installed, you should automatically receive an upgrade notification. If you are still using Firefox 1.x, Mozilla recommends that you upgrade to version 2.x as soon as you can. They stopped supporting 1.x versions in May of this year.

If you don't currently useFirefox and would like to give it a try, you can download it here. I like it much better than Internet Explorer. It's often faster, it's highly customizable, and it does not natively employ ActiveX technology, which is one of the exploitable aspects of IE7.




RealPlayer Update
What, again? Yes. RealPlayer needs another upgrade. If you have version 10.0 or 10.5, you can click on Tools | Check for update to find the download, or point your browser here for the latest version of 10.5. RealPlayer version 11 Beta is available from the home page, here. Bear in mind this is a Beta version rather than one that is allegedly stable.


QuickTime Player Update
Apple released an update to QuickTime that addresses security concerns. These problem affect Windows, Mac and Linux users. Windows users can get the newest version, 7.3.0.70, here.

Both RealPlayer and QuickTime wanted to change my settings and play every possible kind of file. I encourage you to look at the media settings in both programs and make sure everything is set the way you want. Also, both programs tried to modify settings so that they would start when Windows starts. There's no reason for those programs to be running until I'm ready to use them. I have Startup Monitor and Startup Inspector working together to alert me when bullies like QuickTime and RealPlayer try to change my settings.


Backup your Email
If you've been looking for a reasonably easy way to back up your email and you use Outlook, Outlook Express, Incredimail, Eudora, or any of five other formats, then you might want to check out Amic Email Backup, available here. Amic Email Backup includes a Wizard and a regular mode, and you can schedule your backups so you don't have to sit there and watch! As with any backup utility, you should test the backup capability, and you should make sure you know how to restore now, before it turns out to be important!

Users of Thunderbird email can simply copy their profiles to another folder for backup (Remember to close Thunderbird first!) or use the popular MozBackup utility, available here. MozBackup will back up and restore other Mozilla products, including Firefox and Sea Monkey.


Thank you to everyone who wrote with suggestions, comments, and questions. I appreciate the time it takes you to write. Please keep them coming to cate@rlis.com. You can browse the column archives at any here. If you'd like to subscribe to this column by email, please visit this link.  It's easy, and free. If you'd prefer the RSS Feed, click here.

Enjoy that extra hour of sleep this weekend, and I'll see you next week.


Links
Firefox Web Browser http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/?from=getfirefox
RealPlayer version 10.5 http://service.real.com/realplayer/downloads/
RealPlayer version 11 Beta http://www.real.com/
QuickTime Player http://service.real.com/realplayer/downloads/
Amic Email Backup http://www.amictools.com/v-amic_email_backup.html
MozBackup http://mozbackup.jasnapaka.com/
Startup Monitor http://www.windowsstartup.com/startupmonitor.php
Startup Inspector http://www.windowsstartup.com/startupinspector.php
Getting Along With Your Computer Column Archives http://rlis.com/column.htm
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Cate Eales has been helping people make online computing safe, accessible and fun for over 20 years. She lives in Kelowna with her husband, Eric, and her dog, Sandy. Cate is a partner in Real Life Internet Solutions, helping individuals and small businesses with virus, spyware and malware eradication; personal computer training and management; digital image management; music transfer; and website design, hosting and management. Email Cate at cate@rlis.com with your comments, suggestions, or questions. To browse the column archives, visit the Real Life Internet Solutions website at www.rlis.com.