PC - Magazine 21.february.2006

New Ways to Solve
the Security Problem

GEEK CHIC
6 SLEEK NEW
PHONES
ULTRATHIN
CANON CAMERA
FIRST LOOKS
iROBOT MOP
WE TEST THE
NEW SCOOBA
www.pcmag.com February 21, 2006
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Tools
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We redid our living room
with a PC.
Intel Corporation 2006. Intel, the Intel logo, Intel Viiv, Intel. Leap ahead., and the Intel. Leap ahead. logo are trademarks
or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. All rights reserved.
Now with Intel
Viiv
technology, theres a whole new kind of PC.

An entertainment PC that brings all of your digital content together where
it belongs on the big screen, in your living room.
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To nd out how this leap
in home entertainment can change your world, go to www.intel.com/viiv
Movi es Musi c Gami ng Photos
*Remote may be sold separately.
www.pcmag.com FEBRUARY 21, 2006 PC MAGAZINE 7
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Spyware, hackers, phishingits a jungle out
there! Many of us venture online lacking the
tools and smarts necessary to walk through it
unscathed. Brace yourselves: Well shine a light
on where software vendors, PC sellers, the me-
dia, and even you have been going very wrong.
FEBRUARY 21 , 2006 VOL. 25 NO. 3
CONTENTS www.pcmag.com
Our Top Products
45 Cameras
52 Displays
COVER STORY
78
THE
SORRY STATE
OF SECURITY
24 Cars
Inniti G35x sedan K
Monster iCruze
Bill Howard
First Looks
28 Mobile Phones
Motorola RAZR V3c
Nokia N90
Sony Ericsson
W600i Walkman
31 Notebook PCs
Acer TravelMate
8204WLMi K
HP Pavilion dv1000t
HP Compaq nc6140
Sony VAIO VGN-BX540
34 Digital Cameras
Canon PowerShot S80
Fuji FinePix S5200
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-N1
Sanyo Xacti VPC-E6U
46 Mobile Devices
iriver U10
Samsung YP-U1X
48 Gadgets
iRobot Scooba Floor
Washing Robot K
Alive! Chimpanzee
50 Displays
Gateway FPD2185W
ViewSonic VX924
53 Desktop PCs
Velocity Micro
Raptor 64 DualX
Cisnet NASCAR PC K
54 Software
StarOfce 8.0
Skype 2.0 (beta)
CNN Pipeline
ACT! by Sage
Premium for
Workgroups 2006
GoldMine 7.0 Corporate Edition
Abbyy FineReader 8.0
Professional Edition
Alpha Five Version 7

ON THE COVER
Geek Chic: Phones
page 28
Ultrathin Canon Camera
page 34
iRobot Mop
page 48
Stamp Out
Spyware
& Viruses
Once and for All
page 78
Online
www.pcmag.com
PC MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 21, 2006 www.pcmag.com 8
Pipeline
21 Digital camerasminus the
power issues.
21 Hands-free car calling expands.
21 The next step in online
encyclopedias.
21 The online gaming explosion.
COVER STORY
85 Security Suites
No one tool will protect against all kinds of threats. We
suggest a security suite with strong antivirus, rewall,
antispam, parental controls, and antispyware. We tested
many such suites and have picked our favorites.
Opinions
13 Jim Louderback
17 Michael J. Miller:
Forward Thinking
73 John C. Dvorak
75 John C. Dvoraks Inside Track
76 Bill Machrone
Solutions
108 More Cool Digital Camera Projects:
Make a pinhole camera, take un-
dersea photos, try macro photog-
raphy, and shoot in infrared.
111 Security Watch: If Microsoft
hasnt patched a aw, should you
consider a third partys patch?
113 SMB Boot Camp: How do you
decide which broadband service
is right for your business?
114 DIY Hardware: Why buy an exter-
nal hard drive? Its easy to build
the one you want, for less.
115 Ask Loyd: The merits of high-
end 3D graphics cards for
nongamers, and more.
117 Ask Neil: How to purge per sonal
information from Word wizards,
and more.
After Hours
128 Software for Kids: We found
a surprisingly satisfying range
of new titles for your kids to
learn from and enjoy.
130 Gear + Games: New webcams
from Creative, Logitech, and
others; musical luggage; the
X-OOM MP3 Radio Recorder.
Also in This Issue
69 Feedback
132 Backspace
Future Watch
22 Spider bots crawl in space.
22 Intels spin on extending
Moores Law.
103 Protect Your Business
It often takes a disaster for a small business to give
computer and network security the attention it de-
servesbut dont wait until its too late. We offer a
plan to secure the vulnerable parts of your system.
97 Antispyware
Antispyware is the weak link in many security suites, so
we advise running an additional antispyware appor
twoalongside your security suite. Heres what we found
when we put several such tools through their paces.
Printing Digital Photos You can
print digital pics to a wide variety of
printable media, including CD labels,
T-shirts, and more. This chapter de-
scribes ways you can enhance your
photos with special paper, focusing
on two developments in inkjet print-
ing: high-quality photo iron-ons and
photo-printed CD/DVD labels.
(go.pcmag.com/
photoprintingexcerpt)
BOOK EXCERPT
New reviews every
week! Coming soon:
Creative Zen Sleek
eTrust Internet
Security Suite
Logitech Z-5450
digital 5.1 stereo
system
Motorola SLVR L6 K
(go.pcmag.com/rstlooks)
FI RST LOOKS
Discussions: Log on and participate!
(discuss.pcmag.com/pcmag)
Downloads: Check out our indexed
list of utilities from A to Z.
(go.pcmag.com/utilities)
TOOLS YOU CAN USE
DVORAK ONLINE
K Each Monday,
John C. Dvorak
gives you his take on
whats happening in
high tech today. Visit
go.pcmag.com/dvorak.
EXCLUSI VE COLUMNS
ULANOFF ONLINE
K And each Wednesday,
Lance Ulanoff puts his
own unique spin on
technology. Visit
go.pcmag.com/ulanoff.
Coming up:
ATIs CrossFire on the bench
Is the Pentium 955 Extreme
Edition too hot to handle?
Ten failed tech trends for 2005
(www.extremetech.com)
RAZRWIRE
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used by Motorola, Inc. under license. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners. Motorola, Inc. 2005.
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www.pcmag.com
J I M LOUDE RBACK
I SAT IN THE DARK THE OTHER
night, pondering the difference between
broadband and electricity. Although both
are purportedly always-on utilities, theres
a world of difference between them.
Except for rare, scattered outages
(such as the storm-based one I was expe-
riencing), electricity works just ne. Its
constant, predictable, and reliable.
Broadband Internet, by contrast, is
anything but. Even if your IP service itself is reliable, a hun-
dred other things can go wrong and leave you high and dry
for days or weeks. I havent a clue how the transformer down
the street works, but Im all too familiar with the inner work-
ings of my home router, wireless hub, and DSL modem.
Its the army of online bad guys, however, that really
makes broadband so unlike electricity. Spyware, viruses,
phishing, and their ilk cause countless service slowdowns
and outages every day. If our power grid were as vulnerable
to positronic boojums and gremlins, something would soon
be done, but we suffer the slings and arrows of our digital
demons mostly alone.
As we found during testing for this issues cover story, we
cant rely on someone else to x this problem. Theres no
magic software bullet, and the long arm of U.S. law doesnt
reach Belarus or Ukraine.
Although the bad guys are ultimately to blame, each of
us, individually and collectively, holds the power to wipe
them out. Sure, the software can get better: Im amazed at
how poorly most of it did. But even some protection helps.
It starts with having an up-to-date security suite on each of
our systems; our lab says Zone Labs ZoneAlarm is best. But
dont stop there; add a standalone antispyware program on
topSpy Sweeper or Spyware Doctor if you can afford it, or
at the least Tenebrils free tool.
Mac and Linux users arent immune; phishing and other
attacks target you as well. Read this issues features for de-
tails, but it will take all of ususers, programmers, and law
enforcementworking together to make broadband as reli-
able as turning on a light switch.
Changes: Youll notice more changes in this issue. In sur-
veys and letters, youve told us that our annual Future Tech
issue is one of your favorites. Now you dont have to wait.
Were launching Future Watch in every issue; see page 22.
Im also happy to announce that columnist Bill Howard is
taking on an exciting challenge: covering car technology for
PC Magazine. And columnist Bill Machrone is back in every
issue with his unique take on technology. Theres more to
come, too. Drop me an e-mail or stop by PCMag.com and
tell us what you think in our Discussion forums (which are
brand-new too, by the way).
MORE ON THE WEB: You can contact Jim Louderback at
Jim_Louderback@ziffdavis.com. For more of his columns, go to
go.pcmag.com/louderback.
Toward a More
Reliable Broadband
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jim Louderback
EDITOR, REVIEWS Lance Ulanoff
EDITOR, TECHNOLOGY Ben Z. Gottesman
EXECUTIVE EDITORS Stephanie Chang, Carol L. Gonsher,
Vicki B. Jacobson (Online), Jeremy A. Kaplan
ART DIRECTOR Richard J. Demler
MANAGING EDITOR Paul B. Ross
REVIEWS
SENIOR EDITORS Dan Costa (Consumer Electronics), Jennifer DeFeo (Hardware),
Carol Mangis (Cars), Sebastian Rupley (West Coast, Pipeline), Sharon Terdeman
(Software/Web/Security)
LEAD ANALYSTS Cisco Cheng, Robert Heron, Davis D. Janowski, Oliver Kaven, Mike Kobrin,
Neil J. Rubenking, Joel Santo Domingo, Sascha Segan, M. David Stone, Terry Sullivan
REVIEWS EDITORS Kyle Monson (Software/Web/Security), Laarni Almendrala Ragaza
(Consumer Electronics), Eric Rhey (Hardware)
WEB PRODUCER Molly K. McLaughlin
PRODUCT DATABASE MANAGER Gina Suk COMMERCE PRODUCER Arielle Rochette
INVENTORY CONTROL COORDINATOR Nicole Graham
FEATURES
FEATURES EDITORS Sean Carroll, Dan Evans, Sarah Pike
SENIOR WRITER Cade Metz STAFF EDITOR Tony Hoffman
ART
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ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR Aaron Able GRAPHICS DIRECTOR David Foster
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Scott Schedivy
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ONLINE
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WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS....
Check out highlights of PC Magazine's
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enter to win your own Last Gadget!"
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FIT EVERYTHING IN.

K
This years International Consumer Electron-
ics Show in Las Vegas was the usual spectacle
of excess, with thousands of exhibitors, more
exhibit halls than ever, and some 150,000 at-
tendees. The latest gadgets dominated the oor,
with everything from audio and video equip-
ment to cameras and phones to consumer PCs.
But the shows theme was content: the informa-
tion that makes these gadgets worthwhile.
Microsofts Bill Gates kicked off CES by
talking about making computers simpler and
having more content available. He unveiled
MTV Networks new music service, called
Urge, and showed off Windows Vistas photo-
editing and image search features. He also pushed
Windows Lives online content and this years
Windows XP Media Center Edition, while promot-
ing the Xbox 360 and its new HD DVD option.
Even Intel is getting into the content game, with
CEO Paul Otellini promoting deals with more than
60 companies for delivering contentincluding
moviesfor the companys new Viiv platform,
based on the new Core Duo processor family.
In other big news, Sonys Howard Stringer talked
of marrying the companys
content and technolo-
gy, with a new Reader
electronic book and
the upcoming PlaySta-
tion 3. Even Google got
into the act, with a new
service to sell videos
from CBS and the
NBA over the Inter-
net for $1.99 each.
Much of the content at CES was designed for high-
denition screens and storage, with both HD DVD
and Blu-ray camps showing players and movies. It
looks as if HD DVD will arrive rst, with Toshibas
$500 player and a new Qosmio notebook that will
include a HD DVD drive expected in March. Micro-
soft announced an HD DVD option for the Xbox 360
and said it would build support for the format into
Windows Vista. Several movie studios announced
the release of about 50 HD DVD movies.
Meanwhile, Dell, HP, and Sony have staked their
claim with Blu-ray, which will arrive a few months
after HD DVD. Blu-ray may then get the advan-
tage, especially if Sony includes one in PlayStation
3. Over 20 companies showed Blu-ray products, in-
cluding lots of movies.
Between the format wars and all the services
poised to sell you video and audio over the Inter-
net, it looks as if the competition to sell content
will dene the consumer electronics business for
the next several years.
CES is still mostly about the gadgets, so here are
some of my favorites.
Desktops: Intel was pushing its Core Duo chips
and its Viiv platform, while AMD continued to
push its X2 chip and AMD Live platform. In both
cases, the key message was that more processor
cores do a better job with multimedia. Dell took
the concept to the next level, showing off its Ren-
egade gaming desktop, which has a cool paint job
and more important, four nVidia 7800 graphics
processing units. Yes, thats rightfour GPUs.
Call of Duty 2 looked even more lifelike, especially
on Dells 30-inch display.
Notebooks: Dual-core set the agenda in note-
books, too, with almost every vendor showing off
machines based on Intels Centrino Duo. Acer,
Even Intel is
getting into the
content game,
with deals with
more than 60
companies for
delivering content.
Content Reigns at CES
Forward Thinking
MI CHAE L J . MI L L E R
GOOGLE VIDEO
CES Gadgets: Dual-Core Chips and Massive Displays
18 PC MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 21, 2006 www.pcmag.com
MORE ON THE WEB: Join us online and make your
voice heard. Talk back to Michael J. Miller in our
opinions section, go.pcmag.com/miller.
In preparation for watching the Winter
Olympics in Turin, Italy, this month, I met
with Enrico Frascari, managing director
for technology for the Torino Organizing
Committee, who explained some of the
challenges the IT team faces. The technol-
ogy that goes into hosting an Olympics and
then distributing the results is fascinating.
The information has to be delivered to
TV networks from each countrywith a
projected total audience of 3.5 billion peo-
pleas well as to a Web site that will go
from zero to over 1 million users per day
for 15 days. It must be collected from three
Olympic villages. And the whole show is
trilingualItalian, French, and English.
The IT team must not only get news
about the games out to the world; it will
run the Games Management Systems,
which cover security, protocol, arrivals
and departures, and health care for over 90,000
athetes, staff, and journalists. The team itself in-
cludes 1,200 people from 16 different countries,
among them 400 volunteers.
Much of the technology is being reused from the
Salt Lake City winter games of four years ago, with
additional insight from the Athens 2004 summer
games. The IT team started training four years
ago to build a system that mixes proprietary Unix,
Windows, and open-source software. Lenovo is
providing much of the equipment, including 5,000
desktops, 1,000 notebooks, and 350 servers. Other
partners include systems integrator Atos Origin,
Telecom Italia, and Omega.
Frascari has spent most of the last year testing
the complex system, but admits the rst few days
of the Olympics will be critical. His team has put
together contingency and disaster-recovery plans,
but he hopes these wont be necessary. We are con-
dent and crossing our ngers that it will work.
Technology at the Winter Olympics
Dell, HP, Lenovo, Sony, and Toshiba introduced
new notebooks that are thinner and lighter than
their predecessors. And if two cores arent enough
for you, theres Portal Players new
Personal Media Display, which
is designed to work with Vista to
display information on an exter-
nal screen so you can see your
appointments or play your music
on your laptop screen even when
your main computer is off.
Cameras: The dual concept
also made an appearance in the
two-lens Kodak EasyShare V570.
One lens is similar to that on a
typical compact camera; the oth-
er is a fixed-focus 23mm lens for
wide-angle shots. This is a good
example of a camera that differentiates itself with
features other than more megapixels. Kodak CEO
Antonio Perez told me it was part of the companys
strategy to think differently about digital photog-
raphy, breaking out of the trend of copying analog
camera features.
Phones: Every phone maker had new products to
show, though in most cases, these were variations
on existing phones. I was intrigued by the Palm
Treo 700w, which combines many of the conve-
niences of the Palm software with the Windows
Mobile platform. You can display photos of your
most frequent contacts on your home screen and
use lots of new keyboard shortcuts rather than the
stylus. Motorola showed a new ROKR phone/mu-
sic player. iTunes is gone, but so are most of the
limitations (on things such as number of songs)
that plagued the earlier unit.
Displays: The proliferation of large displays con-
tinues. LG and Panasonic showed off high-defi-
nition plasma displays of more than 100 inches.
Samsung and a number of other companies showed
60- or 70-inch LCD displays, and TI showed DLP
displays on screens large enough for a movie the-
ater. These screens are way more than we need for
our homes, but theyre certainly impressive.
Forward Thinking
MI CHAE L J . MI LLE R
KODAK EASYSHARE V570
Athletic
Venues
Main
Media
Centers
GAMES RESULTS
SYSTEM
COMMENTATOR
INFORMATION
SYSTEM
INFO 2006
GAMES
MANAGEMENT
SYSTEMS
PCs
Servers
APPLICATIONS:
HARDWARE:
Timing and
scoring
On-venue
results
Print
server
Central
Repository
World
News Press
Agencies
WWW
server
KEEPING SCORE: Lenovo hardware supports four applications at the
2006 Olympics in Turin, Italythe Games Results, Commentator Info, Info
2006, and Games Management systems.
2006 Fujitsu Computer Systems Corporation. All rights reserved. Fujitsu, the Fujitsu logo and LifeBook are registered trademarks of Fujitsu Limited. BayLock is a trademark of Fujitsu Computer Systems Corporation. Intel, Intel logo, Intel Inside, Intel Inside
logo, Intel Centrino, and Intel Centrino logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
Why limit yourself to an ordinary tablet or notebook? The Fujitsu LifeBook T4000 Tablet PC with Intel
Centrino

Mobile
Technology instantly changes from one to the other with just a twist and flip of its brilliant, 12.1" screen. From the field to the
back office, this no-compromise solution is the only mobile computing platform you need. With its built-in modular bay, you
have the flexibility to burn CDs and DVDs, work up to 8.5 hours between charges, or trim down to a nimble 4.3 lbs. It also
features the exclusive Fujitsu BayLock
utility, which keeps the media drive and its contents safe should you accidentally hit the
release button while in Tablet PC mode.To find out why the LifeBook T4000 Tablet PC gives mobile
professionals the best of both worlds, visit www.shopfujitsu.com/LifeBookT4000
or call 1.800.FUJITSU.
Configurable to only 4.3 lbs.
A versatile, built-in modular bay
Up to 8.5 hours maximum battery life
XGA wide-view display with optional indoor/outdoor XGA
wide-view and standard SXGA+ high-resolution displays
Its a notebook that converts into a tablet.
ITS A NOTEBOOK.
ITS A TABLET.
ITS THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS.
Fujitsu recommends
Microsoft
Windows
XP Tablet PC Edition LifeBook
T4000 Tablet PC
Now tax time is relax time.
Get money back and enjoy the freedom to relax.
*Purchase Norton Internet Security 2006 for Windows and any version of TurboTax from Intuit or TaxCut from H&R Block between 11/12/05-4/15/2006, and receive $40 USD via mail-in
rebate. Mail-in rebate must be postmarked within 30 days of Symantec software purchase. Limit one rebate per customer. See www.symantec.com/taxtime for other terms and conditions. Valid
only in the US and void where prohibited. 2006 Symantec Corporation. All rights reserved. Symantec and the Symantec Logo are registered trademarks of Symantec Corporation.
With relentless computer protection, youre free to be yourself.
www.symantec.com/taxtime
Get $40 back when you buy Norton Internet Security
with your tax software*.
That feeling youre experiencing? Its called relaxation. You get it knowing your taxes
are done right and your personal information is secure with Norton Internet Security
2006 from Symantec. The company that protects over 370 million computers or email
accounts worldwide.
IF YOUVE SPENT ANY TIME with digital
still and video cameras, you know how much
power they draw. But what if power consump-
tion werent an issue? What if cameras were
ubiquitous, wirelessly sending images to a se-
curity company when a home alarm goes off,
letting mapping soft-
ware zoom into real-
time images at any
location, and mak-
ing cell-phone video
calls workable?
Armed with a pair
of newly patented
technol ogi es, re-
searchers at the Uni-
versity of Rochester
are working on ways
to let power-hungry
imaging chips use
a tiny fraction of the energy they currently
drawwhile producing better images. The
outcome is that cameras may shrink to the
size of a shirt button and run for years with-
out a battery change.
These technologies can already greatly re-
duce the energy cost of capturing a digital im-
age, says Mark Bocko, professor of electrical
and computer engineering at the university.
Bockos team has a prototype chip that can di-
rectly digitize each pixel location in a CMOS
sensor, using only three transistors per pixel
to keep the sensor small. That translates into
just 0.88 nanowatts per pixel at 30 frames per
second of videoone-ftieth of what todays
sensors require.
The prototype also
reportedly outper-
forms current CMOS
sensors in dynamic
rangethe differ-
ence between the
dimmest and bright-
est light recorded.
Existing CMOS sen-
sors can record light
1,000 times brighter
than their dimmest
l evel , a dynami c
range of 1:1,000; the Rochester technology
achieves an amazing 1:100,000.
Bockos team knows that cell-phone video
and consumer digital cameras will be big
proving grounds for the chips, but as an ex-
ploratory first step theyll show up in wire-
less security cameras, possibly in 2006. If you
think cameras are all around you now, think
again.Sebastian Rupley
Peer Review
THE COLLABORATIVE ONLINE encyclo-
pedia Wikipedia has millions of entries
in hundreds of languages. But Wikipedia
has its critics, who often lament the lack
of any review process for publicly sub-
mitted postings. In early 2006 a roughly
similar, expert-moderated effort called
the Digital Universe (www.digitaluniverse.net) will launch.
The nonprot service is dubbed the PBS of the Web, and it will
include many portals run by stewardstopic experts who will
post material and review public posts. An Earth portal, a Cosmos
portal, an Arctic portal, and a Health portal are all on the way.SR
Look, Ma, no hands
was one of the cell-phone
themes at Januarys Con-
sumer Electronics Show,
and Finnish company Iqua
showed several innovative
designs that can free callers
from gripping handsets. The
$299 Iqua Snake (shown)
is one: It exes to attach to
the headrest of any car seat.
The Snake features a built-in
microphone and speaker,
includes a status LED, and
connects to phones wire-
lessly via Bluetooth. Its
available now.
Headed up by several
ex-Nokia executives, Iqua
is betting on Bluetooth
and offbeat designs with
several other gizmos. The
companys $120 Smart
Badge looks like an ID card,
but is a fully functional
Bluetooth-enabled cell
phone. Find out more at
www.iqua.com.SR
No Hands
Needed
Lights, CamerasEverywhere
Astounding battery life could lead to the cameras next frontiers.
Projected Source: Parks Associates, December 2005
*
2005 $ 1.1
2009 $3.S
U.5. Forecast of 0nline
0aming 5ervice kevenue
{in billions)
kevenues from on||ne gam|ng |n
the U.5. w||| more than doub|e by 2009,
accord|ng to a new study. Jhe report
pred|cts an espec|a||y br|ght future
for mu|t|p|ayer on||ne games.
0nline 0aming
0oing 0angbusters
*
PI PELI NE
T E C H N O L O G Y T R E N D S & N E WS A N A LY S I S
WATCH ME Microsoft has applied for a patent titled: System and meth-
ods for constructing personalized context-sensitive portal pages or views
by analyzing patterns of users information-access activities. In English, it
suggests that past Web-browsing patterns can predict future ones.
go.pcmag.com/pipeline
Minding Moores Law
MORE SPEED AND LESS POWER draw are the main mantras in the
semiconductor business, and Intel, in partnership with QinetiQ,
has developed new transistors to advance both goals. Still under
development in the labs, enhancement-mode transistors use a
chemical called indium antimonide to conduct electrical current.
The new transistors, much tinier than current ones, could pro-
vide big performance boosts while reducing power consumption
by roughly ten times, claims Intel director Ken David. He foresees
them allowing Intel to continue to follow Moores Law beyond
2015. Thats become a lofty goal as transistor counts have bal-
looned, but reaching it would represent real progress.SR
SPIDERMAN IS A PRETTY COOL web crawler, but hes got
nothing on these things. Robotic spiders that crawl huge nets
of fabric and build large structures are the next wave in space
applications, according to the European Space Agency (ESA).
The one in this photo uses custom wheels to grip its net and can
be controlled wirelessly. It was designed at the Vienna University
of Technology.
In late January, the space spiders get their rst workout: a mis-
sion conducted by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency.
Spider Bots in Space
Once in space, a mother satellite will deploy three daughters. These
will pull a woven net into a triangle with the mother satellite at the
center. Two spider critters will then crawl into preset positions.
Among structures the spider bots may eventually build in space
are huge solar panels that could channel energy down to Earth.
But a solar power satellite would need very large structures for its
solar panels and antenna, says the ESAs Leopold Summerer. For
now, the spider bots will start small. Then again, it took Peter Parker
a while to develop too.Sebastian Rupley
FUTURE WATCH
go.pcmag.com/futurewatch
221-hp V6* Up to 32 hwy mpg** Class-exclusive 6-speed automatic transmission
More innovation from Ford

*Optional on SE and SEL. **EPA estimated 24 city/32 hwy mpg (I4/automatic transmission).
Class is midsize sedan.

Of the dozen entry-level luxury/sport sedans that are
just about as good as a BMW, the Inniti G35x may
come closest toor even surpassthe legendary
3 Series. This rock-solid, four-person sedan provides
a great navigation system, loads of standard
features, a wide range of audio options (includ-
ing CD, MP3, and WMA audio sup-
port), and terric back-seat room
for a small sport sedan. And the
G35x yields enough performance
to suck the donuts out of
any highway patrol
car with open
windows.
Cleaner NYC Air
A eet of 825 hybrid Orion VII buses,
by DaimlerChrysler Commercial Buses,
is headed for use on New York City
streets by 2007. Each has a battery-fed
electric motor that boosts the small
gas engine when accelerating. Theyll
provide the same clean-air benets
as would the same number of hybrid
passenger cars and will improve fuel
economy by 1 mile per gallon.
CARS
Monster iCruze
This slick iPod-to-car connection lets you control your
iPod with your car radio. The main module typically
mounts under the dash and connects to the car radio.
The iCruze recharges the iPods's battery, and displays
track information on the car radio's screen or on an
optional LCD ($100 list). Just make sure that the music
you want to hear is on a playlist, as you have no easy way
to select a specic artist or song.
$149 list. Monster Cable Products Inc., www
.monstercable.com. lllhm
Hybrid vehicles are partly about doing
something for the environment. Theyre
also about celebrating your conscience;
if you drive a Prius, your colleagues know
youre a good person. But even for the
apolitical motorist, the mostly overlap-
ping categories of hybrids, high-mpg
vehicles, and alternative-fuel vehicles are
starting to make sense.
It is not cast in stone (or tacked to
an old-growth redwood) that a smaller
car with a downsized gasoline engine,
a rack of batteries under the back seat,
and an electric motor is the only true
solution for low emissions. But it is the
most typical solution. And the likes of
the Toyota Prius and Honda
Ci vi c Hybri d are appeal -
ing, especially if you drive
mostly in urban areas, dont
need a big vehicle, and tend
to go lightly on the throttle
pedal. Even compact SUVs
can be hybrids: The Ford
Escape / Mercury Mariner
twins weigh in at just under
2 tons each, yet each has city fuel econ-
omy of around 30 mpg. The hybrid price
premium is several thousand dollars, but
thats improving: The new Civic Hybrid
is only about $1,000 more than its gas
engine sibling.
The Japanese have been ahead of the
world with hybrids. American automak-
ers are slowly moving to hybrids at the
same time as they're pushing alterna-
tive-fuel vehicles. Passenger-vehicle
diesels havent played well in the U.S.,
except for big pickup trucks and a loyal
Mercedes-Benz passenger car contin-
gent. But diesel deserves another look.
Inside the car, there is no diesel engine
clatter or harshness. Outside, the sound
and diesel exhaust smell are muted.
BMW has a twin-turbo diesel capable
of zero- to 60-mph runs in under 6 sec-
onds. In 2006, the U.S. mandate for the
low-sulfur diesel fuel long available in
Europe means that diesel engine pollu-
tion will be vastly reduced, although its
still touch-and-go how closely well meet
the so-called Tier 2 emissions standards
for the 2007 model year (2009 for light
trucks) for reduced soot (particulate)
and nitrogen oxides.
Diesel vehicles excel on highway fuel
economy, the reverse of gas/electric
hybrids. Make a hybrid out of the diesel
car and youd likely cut emissions fur-
ther. Heres why: Diesels are cleanest
and most efficient within a narrower
rpm range than gasoline engines, and if
thats too much power for deceleration
or low-speed driving, the excess can be
dumped to the batteries. What a turbo-
charger does now for a diesel, an electric
could later, driven either by a battery
array oreventuallyan array of capac-
itors that would never wear out.
Alternative fuels, such
as ethanol and biodiesel,
are also options. They look
better when government
subsidies help pay for them.
Some research indicates
that the conversion of corn
to ethanol fuel is energy-
negative, meaning it takes
more energy to create a gal-
lon of ethanol that you get back burning
it. Still, corns a renewable resource, and
you dont have to go to the Middle East
or Kazakhstan for the harvest.
If youre concerned about pollution
and energy use, think big picture, not
just about your own car. For example, the
dirtiest tenth of the nations cars account
for about half the vehicle pollution, and
those vehicles are disproportionately
in the hands of people who are low on
the economic ladder. Through the end
of 2005, the U.S. government offered a
$2,000 rebate for hybrid cars (this pol-
icy continues, in lesser form, in 2006). I
have to wonder: Would the money have
been better spent motivating people
who drive junkers to buy cleaner, more
efcient vehicles?
Bill Howard
Why Buy a Hybrid?
INFINITI G35x SPORTS SEDAN
$33,70 TO $39,400
PROS: First-rate nav system. CD, MP3,
WMA audio. Bluetooth available. Outrageous
horsepower.
CONS: No line-in or iPod jack. $3,500 upgrade
package required for must-have options: Blue-
tooth, MP3/WMA CD changer, satellite radio.
BOTTOM LINE: All-around great performer
among entry luxury sports sedans ($30,000
and up), especially the navigation system and
audio. Loads of standard features.
Nissan Motor Co., www.inniti.com.
llllm
www.technoride.com
Make a hybrid
out of the
diesel car
and youd likely
cut emissions
further.
>
MORE ON THE WEB
Want the full story on these
reviews, and lots more? Visit
www.technoride.com,
the car site for tech fans.
1. Toshiba EasyGuard technology comprises a number of features some of which may or may not be available on a particular Toshiba notebook depending on the model selected. See
www.easyguard.toshiba.com for detailed information. 2. Weight may vary. See Weight Legal Footnote at www.info.toshiba.com. libretto, Portg, Satellite and Tecra are registered
trademarks and EasyGuard and Qosmio are trademarks of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. and/or Toshiba Corporation. Intel, the Intel logo, Intel Inside, the Intel Inside logo,
Celeron, Intel Centrino, the Intel Centrino logo and Pentium are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. Microsoft
Toshiba recommends Windows XP Professional.
Tecra A5 Notebook PC
The Tecra A5 is a wide-screen notebook
with todays most popular business features
priced to fit your budget.
Intel Centrino Mobile Technology
Genuine Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Toshiba EasyGuard enhancements
1
for increased
mobile security, system integrity, network
connectivity and overall ease of use
Starting at $999
Satellite
Smart notebooks for every budget.
Starting at $949
libretto
Power of a desktop in the palm of your hand.
Starting at $1,899
Qosmio
4-in-1 personal entertainment center.

Starting at $1,799
Tecra
The reliability business demands.
Starting at $999
Portg
Thin, light and powerful.
Starting at $1,599
ToshibaByDesign.com/A5
1.800.TOSHIBA
Innovation by design.
and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. While Toshiba
has made every effort at the time of publication to ensure the accuracy of the information provided herein, product specifications, configurations, prices, system/component/options availability
are all subject to change without notice. Toshiba is not liable for pricing, typographical or photography errors. Prices listed are based on products listed at ToshibaDirect.com at time of
publication printing. Reseller/Retailer pricing may vary. 2006 Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Where can innovation take you?
ToshibaByDesign.com/A5
Wide screen usually means big price. Unless youre talking about
Toshiba. The Tecra A5 is an affordably priced, feature-rich notebook
in an ultra-mobile chassis, complete with a 14" diagonal wide-screen
display. So you can see 25% more information without having to
spend a lot more money. Thats innovation 360. Thats Toshiba.
Affordability
now comes with a view.
One-Touch Docking
Advanced Port Replicator allows fast
one-touch docking so you can move
seamlessly to and from the desktop.
Light and Thin
Starts at less than five pounds
2
and is only
1.2 inches thin for effortless portability.
Toshiba EasyGuard Software Utilities
1
Exclusive technologies that greatly improve mobile
computing with easy connectivity and ease of use.
14" Diagonal
Wide-Screen Display
With 25% more viewable information,
its easier to create, compare and
share documents and presentations.
Practical Design
The base of the notebook is 1" shorter
than standard 14.1" systems.
HAN DS - ON T E S T I NG OF N E W P R OD UC T S go.pcmag.com/first looks
Motorola RAZR V3c
Veri zon users have
been wait i ng for a
RAZR for more than
a year now. The na-
tions most popular phone
redened cool with its sharp,
silver lines. The new ver-
sion improves on some of
the originals features while
keeping the excellent design,
reception, and sound quality.
The V3c also might bring
unrestricted Bluetooth to
Verizon customers. For years,
the carrier has crippled its
phones Bluetooth capabili-
ties, preventing you from
transferring pictures from
your camera phone to your
PC. Both of our test phones
allowed Bluetooth le trans-
fers, and we were even able
to assign our own Bluetooth-
sent MP3s as ringtones.
This goes strongly against
Verizons past policies, so
we asked both the carrier
and Motorola about it. Nei-
ther one got back to us with
a definitive answer by press
time. We suspect that the
less-restrictive Bluetooth is
an unintentional but widely
available feature.
The RAZR V3c is a hair
thicker (0. 6 inches) and a
wee bit heavier (3.5 ounces)
than the original, which is 3.4
ounces and 0.5 inches thick,
but the weight difference is
unnoticeable, as is the size
disparity unless you lay the
phones side by side. The mod-
els also differ in color, with
the V3c a sober gun metal
gray rather than the V3s
silver, black, blue, and red.
Otherwise, the two phones
appear very similar: They
both have dull external color
screens with 96- by 64-dpi
resolution and brighter 176-
by 220-dpi color internal
displays, ashless camer-
as on the outside near the
top, and big etched-metal
keys with rubber inlays.
The differences are inside.
The GSM radio in the V3 has
been replaced by a Verizon-
compatible CDMA model.
Reception and sound quality
are both excellent. The V3c
connected more calls than
our baseline LG VX8000 in
low-signal areas, and voices,
both transmitted and re-
ceived, were very, very sharp.
The speakerphone is loud
enough for indoor, car, or lim-
ited outdoor use, and voice
transmission and reception
when using it are also sharp.
We were especially pleased
by the in-ear feedback you
get while talking, which pre-
vents cell phone yell.
The V3c uses VoiceSig-
nals speaker-independent
voice dialing system, which
is excellent. But it lacks the
VoiceMode speech-to-text
function for text messaging
and it uses iTap predictive
text rather than the more
common T9 system. We con-
nected Logitech and Jabra
Bluetooth headsets easily and
activated voice dialing from
our headsets.
In our testing, talk time
was just under 4 hours
acceptable but not great.
Wed prefer the 4.5 hours that
phones like the Motorola E815
deliver, but the RAZRs slim
shape means it has to use a
lighter battery that has just
740 mAh, as opposed to the
E815s 1,030-mAh capacity.
The V3c VGA camera,
which now has a 1. 3-mega-
pixel sensor, isnt the greatest,
but itll do. Our photos came
out darker than those taken
with the Motorola E815. The
camera also takes the usual
jaggy 15-second, 176-by-144,
15-frames-per-second video.
The V3c al so supports
Veri zons V Cast EV-DO
A cell phone is no longer just a cell phone. Its a camera, a
music and video player, and storage space for your most
important data. Three new entries offer a range of cool fea-
tures: the long-awaited, well-designed,
Motorola RAZR V3c, the Nokia N90
camera phone, and the W600i Walkman, a gaming
phone from Sony Ericsson.
THE MAGAZINE
WORLDS LARGEST
COMPUTER-TESTING
FACILITY
Beyond the Call
32 Acer TravelMate 8204WLMi
33 HP Pavilion dv1000t
34 HP Compaq nc6140
34 Sony VAIO VGN-BX540
35 Canon PowerShot S80
35 Fuji FinePix S5200
36 Sony Cyber-shot DSC N1
36 Sanyo Xacti VPC-E6U
45 Our Top Digital Cameras
46 iriver U10
46 Samsung YP-U1X
48 iRobot Scooba Floor
Washing Robot
48 Alive! Chimpanzee
50 Gateway FPD2185W
BY SASCHA SEGAN
THE LONG-AWAITED
RAZR V3c truly lives up it its
reputation with its excellent
design and added features.
F I R S T
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WHAT THE RATINGS MEAN: LLLLL EXCELLENT l LLLLM VERY GOOD l LLLMM GOOD l LLMMM FAIR l LMMMM POOR
N90 is the size of the A940,
but with something the size
of a C-cell battery tacked onto
the top. It weighs 6 ounces
and doesnt really fit into a
pocket. Open it up and you
broadband service. V Cast
videos on t he phone are
choppy, but then, we dont
recommend signing on for V
Casts weak range of content
anyway. The phone would
make a sleek broadband
modem for your laptop
paired with Verizons
BroadbandConnect
service, but as with
the Bluetooth features
mentioned earlier, we
couldnt conrm with
Verizon that the capa-
bility will be widely
available.
The V3c i sn t the
most feature-packed
phone for Verizon. But
the RAZR V3c combines
unparal leled design with
excellent voice quality and
a good-enough feature set.
That puts it in a tie with the
E815 as our Editors Choice
for Verizon phonesand if it
turns out that the Bluetooth
file transfers are for real,
well bump this rating up
even higher.
Motorola RAZR V3c
$419.99; $199.99 and up with con-
tract. Motorola Inc., Verizon Wireless,
www.verizon.com. llllm
Nokia N90
When is a phone just too big
to handle? The Nokia N90 is
loaded with features, includ-
ing a 2-megapixel camera
with a Carl Zeiss lens and an
amazingly high-resolution
screen, but its just too big and
heavy to rock the camera-
phone world.
We used to think phones
like the Samsung SCH-A940
were big. At 4.4 by 2 by 0.9
inches and 6. 1 ounces, the
Sound quality was accept-
able, with a lot of treble and
some volume f luctuations;
reception was only so-so.
The speakerphone was also
somewhat fuzzy but had ac-
ceptable volume
indoors. Speaker-
independent voice
di al i ng worked
ne. We got 6 hours 43 min-
utes of talk time, which isnt
great for a GSM phone.
To the phones credit, pic-
tures and video shot through
the gigantic camera look
lovely. You can swivel the
phone into camcorder for-
mat to use the big screen as a
viewnder, or just swivel the
camera module while keep-
ing the phone closed to use
the external 128- by 128-pixel
display.
The 1,600- by 1,200-pixel
images are well balanced and
saturated, without the noise
and color effects weve come
to expect from phone camer-
as. The 0.4-second shutter
lag and 3.7- second shot-
to-shot time would be
acceptable for a stand-
alone camera. The ash
is unusually brightit
can even i l lumi nate
a di m scene. Pictures
werent particularly high-
resolution, though; we got
only about 500 to 550 lines of
resolution on our test sheet,
below what wed expect from
any 2-megapixel camera.
Vi deo cl i ps record to
MPEG-4 format as a smooth
352 by 288 pixels at 15 frames
per second, putting the N90
on a par with the best video-
phones weve seen.
The Opera browser and
Class 10 EDGE modem make
for a rewarding Web experi-
ence. We achieved through-
put between 76 Kbps and 130
Kbps in our EDGE download
tests, which showed us that
the N90 was making the most
of Cingulars network.
MP3 and unprotected AAC
music les played on the N90
sound terric through head-
phones but tinny through the
single mono speaker, and the
high-resolution screen can
play sharp videos.
Nokias argument for the
N90s size is that its almost
more a camera than a phone.
Were not convinced, how-
50 ViewSonic VX924
52 Our Top Displays
53 Velocity Micro Raptor 64 DualX
53 Cisnet NASCAR PC
54 StarOfce 8.0
56 Skype 2.0 (beta)
56 CNN Pipeline
65 ACT! by Sage Premium for
Workgroups 2006
65 GoldMine 7.0 Corporate Edition
66 Abbyy FineReader 8.0
66 Alpha Five Version 7
RED denotes Editors Choice.
get a decent-size at keypad,
a beautiful 352- by 416-pixel
color screen, and what looks
like a lot of wasted space. You
swivel the screen or the cam-
era module (the C-battery
looking thing) to activate
the camera/camcorder; you
can use the spectacular main
screen as a viewnder.
The N90 is a Symbian Se-
ries 60 smartphone, able to
run thousands of download-
able programs you can get
from the Web and put onto
the phone using the included
USB cable or Bluetooth. The
phone also comes with a de-
cent e-mail program, the ex-
cellent Opera Web browser,
and muvee, an automatic
video-editing program.
We had trouble enjoying
the N90 as a phone, though.
Agai n, its comparatively
huge. Holding it when its ex-
panded is not really comfort-
able, and it doesnt pop open
neatly like many ip phones.
THE N90 IS impressive, but
too big for an everyday phone.
L O O K S
F I R S T L O O K S
Mobile Phones
ever; a 2MP camera with no
optical zoom and an oddball
memory card format is fine
on a phone, but it just doesnt
hold up in the world of dedi-
cated digicams.
The N90 is an impressive
feat of engineering, but were
going to wait until we see the
same features in something
thats maybe two-thirds as
big before we buy it.
Nokia N90
$799.99; as low as $399.99
with contract. Nokia, T-Mobile,
www.nokia.com. lllmm
Sony Ericsson
W600i Walkman
The cute, bright Sony Erics-
son W600i Walkman is one
of the best gaming phones
we ve ever seen, and its
superb for listening to pod-
casts. Because of this were
still willing to recommend
it, despite its average perfor-
mance on phone calls.
The W600i comes in an
attractive, 3. 7- by 1. 8- by
0.9-inch (HWD), 4.2-ounce,
black, orange, and silver case.
Its a swivel-style phone with
a loop antenna at the top that
forms a handle. Swiveling the
screen away reveals a keypad
with slightly domed and re-
cessed plastic keys.
With its loop antenna,
the quad-band W600i has
very impressive reception in
weak-signal areas, but call
quality wasnt as good as with
its big brother, the W800i.
We heard some volume uc-
tuations in the earpiece, and
the microphone picked up a
lot of background noise on
busy streets.
Transmissions were much
clearer indoors. The earpiece
was plenty loud, and the
speakerphone was good for
both indoor and car use. Bat-
tery life was excellent, allow-
ing for more than 12 hours of
continuous calling time.
The Bluetooth implemen-
tation is unusual ly good,
supporting not only headsets
and le transfers but also the
use of the W600i as a remote
control for your PC. Wed
really like to start seeing ste-
reo Bluetooth audio, though,
especially in phones targeted
at music lovers.
Because most of us strong-
ly associate the Walkman
The W600i sounded like a
decent dedicated ash-based
player. The bass was a little
weak, rolling off gently be-
low about 160 Hz, and we got
some harmonic distortion in
the vocal range at top volume.
But the W600i had a largely
f lat frequency response up
to 19 KHz, and the sound was
generally pleasing.
We must add that the mass-
storage mode, which lets the
phone show up on your Mac,
PC, or Linux desktop as a
hard drive, makes the W600i
perfect for podcastsjust
pick one up and drop it onto
the phone. We transferred
a 56.5MB podcast in about 3
and a half minutes.
The W600i is a terrif ic
gaming phone, and it comes
with the best built-in amuse-
ments we ve seen on any
phone so far, including the
arcade game Gauntlet.
Outdoor shots taken with
the W600is 1. 3-megapixel
camera were plagued by color
noise, and our simulated-
daylight test shots were a bit
bluish and less saturated
than the ones taken on the
Sony Ericsson W800i and
S710a. The video mode gets
about 11 frames per second
of 176- by 144-pixel video.
Duri ng testi ng of the
W600i in its potential role
as a Class 10 EDGE modem
linking a laptop to the Inter-
net, we achieved very re-
spectable speeds of 85 to 130
Kbps on Cingulars network.
Though we dont prefer it
to the W800i, the W600i is
still darned cute, the battery
life is terric, and at $199.99,
the price is pretty good. Call-
quality issues aside, we think
that a lot of people will nd
the podcasts and games en-
joyable enough to justify a
purchase.
Sony Ericsson W600i
Walkman
$399.99 direct (from $199.99 with
contract). Sony Ericsson Mobile
Communications, Cingular,
www.sonyericsson.com. lllhm
name with music players,
wed expect a phone carry-
ing that name to be a real
tune master, and the W600i
doesnt disappoint. Sound
through the provided ear-
buds is high quality, and an
included adapter lets you
use any pair of audio-player
headphones.
An FM radio is built in;
theres a dedicated play/
pause button for musican-
other nice touch; and songs
automatically pause and re-
sume when you make or pick
up a call.
For an in-depth look at these products,
go to go.pcmag.com/guides.
Samsung
SGH-D307
Pros: QWERTY
keyboard in
phone form.
Good voice
recognition.
Yahoo! and AOL
e-mail clients.
Cons: Nearly incomprehensible
keypad and user interface. No
POP3 e-mail client. Cant use
the keyboard in the address
book or a WAP browser.
Bottom line: Yahoo!, AOL,
and Hotmail addicts will like
this phone, provided they
can get past the difcult user
interface.
$349.99; from $199.99 with contract.
Samsung, Cingular, www.cingular
.com. lllmm
Samsung
MM-A900
Pros: Slender. Excellent
screens. Strong recep-
tion. Works as EV-DO
modem for laptops.
Cons: Short battery life.
No expandable memory.
Small bugs.
Bottom line: Sprint
subscribers nally get a
RAZR competitor in the
Samsung MM-A900, a slim
if slightly quirky handset
thats packed with features
missing from the nations
number-one phone.
$349.99; as low as $199.99 with con-
tract. Samsung, Sprint, www.sprint
.com. llllm
BlackBerry 7130e
Pros: EV-DO high-
speed data. Bright
color screen.
Cons: No voice dialing.
Mediocre battery life.
Bottom Line: The 7130e
offers a bright and
speedy way to check
e-mail, surf the Web,
and, best of all, hook up
your laptop to Verizons
EV-DO network.
$449.99; from $299.99 with a two-
year contract. Research In Motion Ltd.,
Verizon Wireless, www.blackberry
.net . llllm
I N S H O R T
THE W600I is a fun phone for
gaming and podcasts.
F I R S T L O O K S
Notebook PCs
BY CISCO CHENG
T
he HP Compaq nc6140
may not look differ-
ent from other models
in the "nc" family, but this
laptop has a built-in adapter
for the Verizon EV-DO cel-
lular data network; even if
you wander from your Wi-Fi
hotspot, you can still surf the
Web. And because the anten-
na is embedded in the top of
the screen, you wont have a
wire sticking out.
Were big fans of the HP
Compaq business laptop de-
sign. The notebooks lid and
base are tough magnesium
alloy. The keyboard is com-
fortable, and the laminated
palm rests resist scratches
and keep your palms burn-
free. Though it doesnt have
dual pointing devices (just
a touchpad), the rubberized
mouse buttons result in si-
lent, clickless navigation.
The system also i ncludes
four USB 2.0 ports, a memory
card reader, and 802. 11a/g
and Bluetooth connectivity.
The 1 5-i nch (1, 400-by-
1,500 max resolution) display
gives you plenty to look at
and minimizes scrolling (you
can see all of a Web page or a
Microsoft Word doc)a real
bonus. On the other hand,
the screen is a bit big for
airline travel. And
at 5.9 pounds,
t h e s y s t e m
weight is almost
half a pound more than
that of the IBM ThinkPad T43
with its 14.1-inch display.
For EV-DO access, Veri-
zons Access Manager is pre-
installed on the system. The
utility took less than a minute
to recognize and connect to
Verizons network when we
tried. Throughput testing in
our Manhattan offices gave
an average download speed
of 571 Kbpsslightly slower
than that of the ThinkPad
Z60ts 622 Kbps (the antenna
placement might explain the
difference) though still faster
than Cingulars EDGE net-
work. But the subscription
isnt cheap ($59.99 monthly
with a voice plan, $79.99
without).
As the SYSmark 2004
SE tests show, the 2.0-
GHz Pentium M 760 pro-
cessor and 60GB hard
drive give you plenty of
power to multi task. But
the systems battery life
result on the MobileMark
2005 tests (3 hours 5 min-
utes), while ne for every-
day commuting, wont get
you from coast to coast.
Although its hefty form
factor and somewhat short
battery life are drawbacks
for frequent business trav-
elers, the nc6140 makes it
possible to stay connected
everywhere, and adds great
features and performance.
HP Compaq nc6140
With 2.0-GHz Pentium M 760, 1GB
DDR2 SDRAM, 60GB hard drive,
dual-layer DVD+R drive, 128MB Intel
Graphics Media Accelerator 900 GM,
15-inch display, Intel Pro Wireless 2915
802.11a/g, Windows XP Professional,
$1,949 direct. Hewlett-Packard Devel-
opment Co., www.hp.com. llllm
HP Notebook Keeps You Connected Anywhere
Sony Goes Corporate
BY CISCO CHENG
S
ony didnt ofcially have
a line of corporate note-
booksuntil the BX line
came along. The Sony VAIO
VGN-BX540 focuses on mo-
bility, security, and, best
of all, connectivity. The
BX540 has the abi lity
to connect to Cingular's
EDGE 3G high-speed cel-
lular data network, but the
data plan is pricey at $79
per month, and is not as
fast as EV-DO.
The BX540 carries over
many qualities from the
VAIO consumer line, includ-
ing the brilliant, low-glare
14.1-inch XBrite screen. The
weight (5. 3 pounds) is ideal
for traveling, and for the rst
time, Sony gives you dual
pointing devices. Our test
unit included the 1.73-GHz
Pentium M 740. You can
upgrade to the 2.26-GHz Pen-
tium M 780, or you can down-
grade to the 1.5-GHz Celeron
M 370 and save your company
some money.
Battery life is below aver-
age at 2 hours 3 minutes, and
wont be acceptable to many
business travelers. We rec-
ommend getting a travel bat-
tery for an additional $100.
The BX540 gives business
professionals plenty of flex-
ibility, such as three USB 2.0
ports, a FireWire port, and
another rst for Sony: an SD
memory card slot. You can
also add universal adapters
and docking solutions across
the BX line.
In the past, Sony laptops
lacked security standards,
which kept them behind lap-
tops from corporate vendors
such as Dell, HP, and
IBM. The BX540,
however, comes
wi t h bui l t- i n
TPM and a fin-
gerprint reader. But
the BX540 still doesnt offer
the extensive management
software that other vendors
dofor example, Lenovo with
its ThinkVantage Suite.
Sony also offers consulta-
tion services for business
managers planning to buy in
bulk. It will work with you
on developing a software im-
age across your notebooks.
It will also do asset tagging,
in case your IT department
requires that systems have
service tags, serial numbers,
or phone numbers.
Sony isnt going after large
enterprises but is instead tar-
geting small businesses and
mobile professionals who
want style and performance
on the roadand the Sony
VAIO VGN-BX540 has both.
Sony VAIO VGN-BX540
With 1.73-GHz Pentium M 740, 512MB
DDR2 SDRAM, 80GB hard drive,
128MB Intel Graphics Media Accelera-
tor 900 GM, 14.1-inch display, DVD+R
drive, Intel Pro Wireless 2200 802.11g,
Microsoft Windows XP Professional,
$1,699 direct. Sony Electronics Inc.,
www.sonystyle.com. lllhm
THE NC6140 CAN CONNECT to
the Internet via Wi-Fi or EV-DO.
THIS SONY VAIO is suited to
tackle most boardroom tasks.
F I R S T L O O K S
Notebooks PCs
Dual-Core for Your Mobile Lifestyle
S-Video-out, and a DVI-D-out
port (to display content from
your notebook on a high-end
display). Rounding out the
package is a 120GB SATA
hard drive, a 5-in-1 memory
card reader, and a dual-layer
DVD-R optical drive.
The bi ggest enhance-
ment on this TravelMate is
denitely on the inside. The
system comes with the Intel
Core Duo T2500 (2.0 GHz)
dual-core processor, a mas-
sive amount of RAM (2GB),
and ATIs newest graphics
board, the Mobility Radeon
X1600. Its SYSmark 2004 SE
scores reached an all-time
high for a mobile processor,
at 175 for Ofce Productivity
and 291 for Internet Content
Creation. It completed our
Adobe Photoshop scripts
in 71.4 seconds, a whopping
52 percent faster than the
Gateway NX850XL, a re-
cently tested single-core
system. It f inished our
Wi ndows Media Encoder
tests in 7 minutes 37 sec-
onds, a very impressive feat,
and even edged out its dual-
core sibling, the HP Pavilion
dv1000t.
Running intensive appli-
cations like Uleads Studio 9
while simultaneously encod-
ing a video file using Win-
dows Media Encoder 9 and
rendering a photo using Pho-
toshop CS2 did not slow the
system down. And battery
life was respectable, though
not mind-blowing, at 3 hours
47 minutes.
The TravelMates graphics
card is also worthy of praise.
The ATI Mobility Radeon
X1600 is an excellent graph-
ics chipset that features the
new Avivo technology. Avi-
vo improves video quality,
enhancing high-definition
content, and provides hard-
ware support for H.264 play-
back (iPod video clips) more
than it improves 3D gaming.
BY CISCO CHENG
I
ntels desktop dual-core
processors made a signif-
icant impact on desktop
computing in 2005. Initially
implemented on high-cost,
high-end content creation
systems, they quickly made
their way into home
PCs, expanding ac-
cess to the benefits
of dual-core com-
puting. Now, dual-
core processors are
going mobile, thanks
to Intels update to its
ubiquitous Centrino
platform, dubbed the
Centrino Duo Mobile
Technology.
Dual-core proces-
sors let your system
mul t i t ask more ef-
ficiently, without the
hang t i me experi -
enced doing processor-
intensive tasks on single-
core systems. For example,
dual-core systems prom-
ise smooth operation when
working in Microsoft Excel
with an antivirus program
running in the background
or archiving photos when
your TV tuner kicks in to re-
cord a show.
The Centrino Duo Mobile
Technology is made up of
three partsthe dual-core
processor, code-named Yo-
nah and officially called
the Intel Core Duo Proces-
sor; the Intel Graphics Media
Accelerator 945 chipset; and
the Intel 3945AG wireless
adapter. The linchpin of this
technology is no doubt the
dual-core processor, which
can boost performance by as
much as 40 percent, as shown
on our benchmark tests. (For
more details, see our chart
Dual-Core vs. Single-Core
on page 33.)
A key feature of the pro-
cessor is Smart Cache, which
is a cache shared between the
cores. It allows for one core
to be working while the other
shuts down, thus reducing
power consumption. The
new processor also has a fast-
er front-side bus (667 MHz).
And a signicant boon of the
new Centrino platform is that
the components are smaller,
enabling notebooks less than
half their current size.
The updated Intel 3945AG
wireless adapter does a better
job of finding weaker wire-
less signals and, reportedly,
latching onto them.
We tested two of the first
systems with the Centrino
platform: the Acer Travel-
Mate 8204WLMi and the HP
Pavilion dv1000t. In both sys-
tems, our test results showed
a significant performance
improvement. We also saw
that the 945 chipset provided
some gaming-performance
increases, but its still a long
way from competing with the
discrete graphics subsystems
gamers adore. And in the
battery-life department, we
didnt see the power savings
we expected.
Acer TravelMate 8204WLMi
Styl i sh, ful l-fea-
tured, and cutting-
edge are just a few
of the phrases that
come to mind when looking
over the Acer TravelMate
8204WLMi. Thanks to a fan-
tastic carbon-f iber
chassis, an Intel dual-
core processor, new
ATI graphics, and
an awesome web-
camall in a system
weighing less than 7
poundsit well de-
serves our Editors
Choice.
Opening the lid
on the TravelMates
st urdy carbon-
fiber case re-
veals a 15.4-inch widescreen.
The screen is mattenot the
trendier transreective type
found in systems like the HP
Pavilion dv1000t, which is
more appealing for movies
and high-contrast image ed-
iting. A matte screen, how-
ever, is better for ofce apps
because of decreased glare.
You can still watch the occa-
sional DVD, but you probably
wont want this as your pri-
mary multimedia machine.
The smile-shaped keyboard
is supposedly more ergo-
nomic than a typical laptop
keyboard, but we found it un-
comfortable at rst, and it did
not signicantly improve our
typing experience.
The Travel Mate 8204-
WLMi is equipped with four
USB ports, one FireWire port,
THE ACER
TravelMate has style,
features, and the latest processor.
F I R S T L O O K S
Notebooks PCs
In terms of video playback,
there are just a few things
that a GPU does better than
a CPU. Still, the TravelMate
8204WLMi is formidable for
3D gaming.
A silver bar that we mis-
took for a latch is actually a
1.3-megapixel webcam. Its by
far the best-designed webcam
weve seen, and you can adjust
it by moving it up and down.
Thanks to the latest Intel
components, cool features,
and great design, the Travel-
Mate 8204WLMi performs
like a true champ.
With Intel Core Duo Processor T2500
(2.0 GHz); 2GB DDR2 SDRAM; 120GB
hard drive; 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon
X1600; 15.4-inch display; Intel Pro
Wireless 3945AG; DVD+R DL; 4 USB
ports, 1 FireWire port; 87-Wh, 7.8-Ah
lithium ion battery; Microsoft Win-
dows XP Professional, $2,499 list. Acer
Inc., www.acer.com. llllh
HP Pavilion dv1000t
The HP Pavilion dv1000t is
an affordable, multimedia-
friendly mainstream laptop
with Intels latest dual-core
mobile technology.
The unit retains the same
basic design as previous
dv1000 models, but we would
like to see something a bit
more daring, like the variety
of colors offered on the Sony
VAIO VGN-FJ180. The unit
weighs 5. 5 pounds with the
six-cell battery. Part of this
weight is due to the 14.1-inch
BrightView widescreen
among the best laptop dis-
plays weve seen. Its bright
under all lighting conditions
and showed excellent contrast
on all our images and videos.
HP has several lit multi-
media keys above the key-
board. Two especially useful
multimedia keys are tied into
QuickPlay 2.0, HPs instant-
launch application,
which lets you play
back your medi a
files from any drive
at t ached to your
laptop without boot-
ing into Microsoft
Windows. Another
noticeable addition
to the dv1000t is
the integrated web-
cam on top of the
LCD screen. With
video chat cli-
ents such as
mark tests. The dv1000t also
uses Intels new integrated
graphics, the Intel Graphics
Media Accelerator 950 chip-
set. When we played Doom
3, the dv1000t performed
noticeably better than previ-
ous systems, but its not quite
ready for hardcore gamers.
We also tested the dv1000t
by runni ng some video-
editing tasks with muvee
autoProducer 4. 5 SE, trans-
coding a video le using Win-
dows Media Encoder 9, and
surfing the Web. All tasks
ran ne. We also tried other
scenarioslike converting
a Microsoft PowerPoint file
to an Adobe PDF
file, running mu-
vee autoProducer,
and playing a DVD
movie in the fore-
groundand saw
little to no lag. Our
tests showed over
and over that dual-
core processing lets
you run multiple
applications without
a noticeable hit on
the system.
The only portion
of our tests where
t he dv1000t didn t
quite impress was bat-
tery life. Despite Intels
cl ai m t hat dual - core
processors operate at 1
watt less than the previous-
generation Centrino, we saw
no improvement. On Mobile-
Mark 2005, the system scored
only 3 hours 37 minutes us-
ing the six-cell battery. The
same system got a 3:45 with
the previous Centrino. If bat-
tery life is important to you,
we suggest upgrading to the
heavier 12-cell battery, which
can be bundled for an addi-
tional $25.
Since dual-core was an-
nounced on desktops, weve
been waiting anxiously to
have it in notebooks. For great
performance, good multi-
media features, and an afford-
able price, you cant go wrong
with the HP Pavilion dv1000t.
HP Pavilion dv1000t
With Intel Core Duo Processor
T2500 (2.0 GHz), 1GB DDR2 SDRAM,
100GB hard drive, 128MB Intel Graph-
ics Media Accelerator 950, 14.1-inch
display, Intel Pro Wireless 3945AG,
dual-layer DVDR LightScribe optical
drive, Microsoft Windows XP Profes-
sional, $1,922.99 direct.
Hewlett-Packard Development Co.,
www.hp.com. llllm
Skype taking off, an integrat-
ed camera is preferable to one
thats connected via USB.
The Serial ATA hard drive
is 100GB, sizable enough for
you to feel free to ll it up with
photos, videos, and music. HP
bundles a dual-layer DVD-R
drive with LightScribe tech-
nology, which lets you burn
up to 8.5GB of data and etch
your favorite art or title de-
scriptions directly onto the
CD or DVD.
Using the Intel Core Duo
Processor T2500 (2.0 GHz)
and 1GB of RAM, the dv1000t
performed extremely well on
our SYSmark 2004 SE bench-
Dual-Core vs. Single-Core
SYSMARK 2004 SE
High scores are best. Ofce Productivity
Percent
Improvement Internet Content Creation
Percent
Improvement
Acer TravelMate 8204WLMi 175 31% 291 37%
HP Pavilion dv1000t 162 25% 269 32%
Gateway NX850XL* 121 184
MULTIMEDIA TESTS
Low scores are best.
Windows Media Encoder
(min:sec)
Percent
Improvement
Photoshop CS2 Action Set
(sec)
Percent
Improvement
Acer TravelMate 8204WLMi 7:37 44% 71.4 52%
HP Pavilion dv100t 7:55 42% 111.3 26%
Gateway NX850XL* 13:35 150.4
* The Gateway NX850XL uses a single-core Pentium M 770.
THE HP dv1000t is
a portable, media-friendly
laptop with dual-core technology.
F I R S T L O O K S
Digital Cameras
BY TERRY SULLIVAN
The sturdy 8-mega-
pixel Canon Power-
Shot S80 i s t he
update to the Power-
Shot S70, last years
Editors Choice. It is pricey
($549.95 list), but most of its
features are improvements
over the S70s, and only a cou-
ple have been dropped. The
S80 becomes our new Edi-
tors Choice for full-featured,
compact digital cameras.
The camera weighs just
7.9 ounces but comes loaded
with features. The 3.6X opti-
cal, 5. 8mm to 20mm zoom
l ens (35mm equi val ent :
28mm to 100mm) has maxi-
mum f-stop settings of from
f/2.8 to f/5.3 across the zoom
range. The 28mm wide-angle
view is great for capturing
large slices of an interior or
outdoor landscape.
The S80 improves over the
S70 in several ways. It boosts
t he sensor t o 8. 0
megapixels from
7. 1 , whi l e al so
improving video
features consider-
ably. You can shoot
at 30 f rames per
second instead of 10
and save until you
ll the memory card,
gi vi ng you much
smoother, longer clips.
And where the S70 has only
a 1.8-inch LCD, the S80 has a
beautiful 2.5-inch screen.
On our daylight test shots,
the image was sharp with
very little noise. Color satu-
ration seemed right on target.
We found just a bit of subtle
purple fringing. Overall, ex-
posure was superb and the
dynamic range excellent.
On our f lash test shot,
we got a very nice, solid ex-
posure with good dynamic
range. Flash coverage was
very goodstrong enough
to provide even illumination
without overpowering the
scene. Overall, the image was
a touch underexposed, and
that threw off color satura-
tion and delity a little.
Resolution averaged 1,800
lines, which is excellent for an
8MP point-and-shoot camera.
There was no noticeable pin-
cushion distortion at the tele-
photo end of the zoom range
and just a bit of barrel distor-
tion at the wide-angle end.
The S80s video qual-
i t y was smoot h and
clear, with decent color
saturation and delity.
The audio was sur-
prisi ngly good for
a compact camera.
The camera lets you
zoom for video, but its
only digital zoom, which
tends to sacrice quality.
The S80 was quick to boot,
taki ng just 2. 6 seconds
nearly twice as fast as the
S70but its 3.4-second recy-
cle time was nearly a second
slower than the S70s. We no-
ticed almost no shutter lag.
The Canon PowerShot S80
is a solid compact camera
that takes excellent photos.
It may be a bit expensive, but
as versatile compact digital
cameras go, youll be hard-
pressed to nd better.
Canon PowerShot S80
$549.95 list. Canon U.S.A. Inc.,
www.cusa.canon.com. llllm
Canons New and Improved PowerShot
A Solid Superzoom
BY TERRY SULLIVAN
T
he Fuji FinePix S5200
is a light and portable
di gi t al superzoom
camera that takes very good
photos and video clips. It
compares well with similar
products on the market, but
its smallish LCD and subpar
optical zoom keep it from
being truly outstanding.
The 5. 1-megapi xel
camera has a 10X opti-
cal, 6. 3mm-to- 63mm
zoom (38mm to 380mm
i n 35mm equivalent)
and correspondei ng
maxi mum f-stops of
f/3. 2 to f/3. 5. As with
many Fuji FinePix cam-
eras, the S5200 uses a
Super CCD HR sensor.
On our tests, though, the
alternative sensor type didnt
make the camera stand out.
Your $399.95 (list) buys lots
of features, including the abil-
ity to save in RAW format.
Fujis Real Photo technology
gives you a better abil-
it y to capt ure
indoor shots
without the
ash.
The S5200 lets you shoot
video as motion JPEG and
save it as AVI les at 640-by-
480 and 30 frames per sec-
ond. Color, sound, and image
quality of the clips are good.
Clips can be any length up to
the memory cards capacity.
Our daylight shots showed
little noise. Images exhibited
very nice exposure, excellent
color matching, and just the
right amount of color satu-
ration. We noticed areas
of strong purple fringing
in images of tree branch-
es against a blue sky.
Flash coverage
was quite good,
and the image
had very good
dynamic range
t h r o u g h o ut
a nd equa l l y
g o o d e x p o -
sure. Highlights
were blown out in
parts, but we liked the
strength of the flash. There
was some fringing in the im-
age, although less prominent-
ly than in the daylight shot.
Resolution averaged 1,425
lines, which is excellent for
a low-cost superzoom. There
was no pincushion distor-
tion at the telephoto end of
the zoom and just a tiny bit of
barrel distortion at the wide-
angle extreme.
We experienced virtually
no shutter lag, and booting
up took just 2.5 seconds. But
the 3.4-second recycle time
was among the slowest for
the category.
The S5200 plays in a com-
petitive eld of cheap super-
zooms. If you dont mind a
smallish 1. 8-inch LCD and
can live without a 12X opti-
cal zoom, the S5200 is worth
checking out.
Fuji FinePix S5200
$399.95 list. Fuji Photo Film U.S.A. Inc.,
www.fujilm.com. lllhm
UP CLOSE: The S80
has a 28mm wide-angle view.
THE S5200 offers
control over your images.
imagine color at the speed of black & white.
2005 Samsung Electronics America, Inc. Samsung is a registered trademark of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
All product and brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Output simulated.
Imagine last minute color reports printed in a snap, with time for tweaks. A laser
printer that prints color as fast as black & white: 21ppm color / 21ppm black & white.
Wi th the Samsung CLP-600N, i ts not that hard to i magi ne. To l ear n more,
vi si t www.samsung.com/colorprinter Samsung printers. Samsung. Inside and out.
F I R S T L O O K S
Digital Cameras
BY TERRY SULLIVAN
W
ith its signature
slick design and 3-
inch touch screen,
Sonys latest Cyber-shot DSC-
N1 looks very cool, but it has a
lot more than good looks go-
ing for it. This 8.1-megapixel
ultracompact doesnt unseat
the current ultracompact Edi-
tors Choice, the Canon Power-
Shot SD500 Digital Elph, but it
has a lot of great features that
make it appealing to style-
and performance-conscious
shutterbugs.
The DSC-N1 features a 7.9
to 23.7mm (38mm to 114mm
in 35mm equivalent), 3X op-
tical zoom lens, with corre-
sponding maximum f-stops
of f/2.8 to f/5.4. It also offers
a live histogram and 11 shoot-
ing modes.
What truly sets the DSC-
N1 apart from other cameras
is its album mode. Each time
you take a picture, the cam-
era automatical ly
stores a VGA-size
photo in the 26MB
onboard album.
You can then play
back the images
in a slide-show
pr e s e nt a t i o n
with music.
L i k e t h e
DSC- H1 , t he
DSC-N1 stores
video clips us-
ing MPEG-1 video
format instead of MPEG-4.
(MPEG-1 files take up much
more space.) Still, the video
footage, in its highest fine
mode, looked fairly smooth
and had minimal aberrations.
Because the camera has no
i mage stabi l i zation, you
might notice a jumpy quality
to the footage.
In our still-life test shots,
the DSC-N1s images were
fairly sharp, showed very
little noise, and had excellent
color saturation and accu-
racy. There was some strong
f ri ngi ng i n pl aces, more
prominently than on the test
images of the SD500. Over-
all, we found a very good ex-
posure, but the DSC-N1 blew
out the highlights somewhat.
In our flash-test shot, we
found the f lash coverage
to be a little weak,
leaving the image
underexposed.
The f lash shots
displayed very
little noise. Color
was excel l ent ,
and there was al-
most no fringing
in the image. The
f l ash i mage had
pretty good overall
exposure, although
it displayed a bit too
much contrast.
The DSC-N1s reso-
lution averaged 1,750 lines,
which is on the low end of the
range for an 8.1MP camera.
The DSC-N1 is very good
camera, but at $500, it is a lit-
tle pricey. It cant quite match
the SD500 Digital Elph, but
there are not many ultracom-
pacts that can.
Sony Cyber-shot DSC N1
$499.95 list. Sony Electronics Inc.,
www.sonystyle.com. llllm
Sonys DSC-N1 is Very Good, and Very Pricey
Sanyos Quirky Xacti VPC-E6U
BY TERRY SULLIVAN
T
he Sanyo Xacti VPC-
E6U ($399.99 list) has
a 6-megapixel sensor
and a 3X optical zoom with
a 6. 3mm-to-18.9mm range
(a 35mm equivalent of 38mm
to 114mm) and correspond-
ing maximum f-stops of f/3.3
to f/4.0.
It does have a sleek exte-
rior and sweet 3-inch LCD
screen, but heres the feature
that distinguishes the camera
from all others weve seen
to date: It talks. The pleas-
ant female voice, along with
other odd features, gives it a
quirky vibe. Unfortunately, it
just doesnt perform as well
as its main rivals, the Kodak
EasyShare-One and the Sony
Cyber-shot DSC-N1.
You can record video as
Motion JPEGs at 30 frames
per second and 640-by-480
until the memory card lls.
Compared with the Edi-
tors Choice Canon Power-
Shot SD500 Digital Elph,
the VPC-E6s images in our
daylight tests had a slight
reddish color cast. Color sat-
uration and accuracy were
fairly decent, but we saw
some strong purple fringing
in areas of high contrast.
On our ash-test shot, cov-
erage was actually a little
better in places than with
the SD500. We were quite
pleased with its overall expo-
sure and saw ver y good
dynamic range. Averaging
the tested horizontal and
vertical resolutions, we got
1,525 linesabove the mean
for a 6MP camera.
Boot-up, at just 2. 3 sec-
onds, was fairly speedy, and
the 2. 3-second recycle time
was decent. We did detect a
bit of shutter lag, however.
We saw the usual amount of
barrel distortion, and there
was also some pincushion
distortion.
Some users may find the
VPC-E6s quirky qualities
and low price attractive.
However, the EasyShare-
One and t he Cyber- shot
DSC-N1 offer better features
and performance.
Sanyo Xacti VPC-E6U
$399.99 list. Sanyo North America
Corp., www.sanyo.com. llhmm
THE DSC-N1 is about
more than just good looks.
THE XACTI HAS oddball
features you wont nd anywhere else.
J UMP TO NEXT PAGE >>
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Acer TravelMate 4062WLCi
$849
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.
February/
March 2006
Acer
TravelMate
4060
Enjoy the Freedom of Mobility
The Acer TravelMate 4060 strikes just the right balance
between performance and affordability. Along with
Intel
Centrino
Mobile Technology, you get a panoramic

15.4 wide-screen display for side-by-side document viewing
plus integrated wireless with Acers exclusive SignalUp
technology for enhanced antenna efficiency. An excellent
choice for office or home computing, this notebook lets you
enjoy the freedom of mobility to work faster and smarter
without sacrificing features.
INTEL
PENTIUM
M PROCESSOR 740
(2MB L2 CACHE, 1.73GHZ, 533MHZ FSB)
GENUINE WINDOWS
XP PROFESSIONAL
(LX.TAK06.075)
$50 PRICE CUT!
Intel
Centrino
Mobile Technology
- Intel
Pentium
MProcessor
- Mobile Intel
915GM Express chipset

- Intel
PRO/Wireless 2200BG
network connection
Genuine Windows
XP Professional
512MB DDR2 533 SDRAM
80GB
1
hard drive
For the name of a reseller near you or further
information, please call Acer or visit our Web site:
800-571-2237
www.acer.com/us
Acer recommends Windows
XP Professional.
Integrated CD-RW/DVD-ROM
combo drive
15.4" WXGA (1280 x 800) TFT display
Intel
Graphics Media Accelerator 900

802.11b/g WLAN, 10/100 LAN,
V.92 modem
One-year limited warranty
2
Acer AL2416Wd
Prices shown are estimated street prices and do not include tax or shipping. Retailer or reseller prices may vary.
24" wide-screen
TFT LCD
1920 x 1200
native resolution
1000:1 contrast ratio
178 horizontal
viewing angle
178 vertical
viewing angle
VGA, DVI-D signal
connectors
500 cd/m
2
brightness
6ms gray-to-gray
response time
Internal power
adapter
Silver color
Acer AL2416Wd
$919
(ET.L6102.018)
24" WIDE-SCREEN
Acer
TravelMate
2410
Maximum Mobility, Affordable Price
The Acer TravelMate 2410 is designed to deliver high performance in a
portable package that's both appealing and affordable. This all-in-one notebook
with integrated wireless connectivity and 15.0" viewing area has the
comprehensive feature set and flexibility needed for a busy lifestyle like yours.
Intel
Celeron
MProcessor
Genuine Windows
XP Professional
60GB
1
hard drive
Integrated CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive
15.0 XGA (1024 x 768) TFT display
Mobile Intel
910GML Express chipset

with integrated graphics
802.11b/g WLAN, 10/100 LAN, V.92 modem
2
Acer TravelMate 2413LCi
$799
INTEL
CELERON
M PROCESSOR 370
GENUINE WINDOWS
XP PROFESSIONAL
(LX.TAC06.022)
WORK & PLAY UNWIRED
20" wide-screen TFT LCD,
Acer CrystalBrite
Technology
1680 x 1050
native resolution
176 horizontal
viewing angle
176 vertical
viewing angle
Ferrari F-20
Acer
Flat Panels: Displaying Quality & Value

Two 5.0W
integrated speakers
VGA, DVI-D
signal connectors
300 cd/m
2
brightness
8ms gray-to-gray
response time
External power
adapter
Gloss black/red color
XP Professional.
Ferrari F-20
$599
(ET.L380B.063)
Acer AL2032W A
20 wide-screen TFT LCD
1680 x 1050
native resolution
176 horizontal
viewing angle
176 vertical
viewing angle
Two 5.0W integrated
speakers
VGA, DVI-D signal
connectors
300 cd/m
2
brightness
8ms gray-to-gray
response time
External power adapter
Gloss-black color
Acer AL2032WA
$539
20" WIDE-SCREEN
(ET.L380B.065)
$999
Acer
TravelMate
4060
Your Essential Business Tool
Count on the Acer TravelMate 4060 for growing your business.
Powered by Intel
Centrino
Mobile Technology, this stylish notebook boasts

high-end features at a price that wont break your budget. The wide-screen
15.4 display is perfect for viewing documents side by side. The integrated
optical drive offers flexibility and convenience, and the wireless LAN will keep
you connected and productive wherever your work takes you.
Intel
Centrino
Mobile Technology
- Intel
Pentium
MProcessor
- Mobile Intel

- Intel
PRO/Wireless 2200BG network connection

Genuine Windows
XP Professional
100GB
1
hard drive
Integrated DVD-Dual drive (DVD+/-RW)
15.4" WXGA (1280 x 800) TFT display
Intel

802.11b/g WLAN, 10/100 LAN, V.92 modem
2
INTEL
PENTIUM
M PROCESSOR 740
GENUINE WINDOWS
XP PROFESSIONAL
(LX.TAK06.079)
HI-TECH PASSION
15.4" WIDE-SCREEN
Compare LCD Prices/Features & You'll Choose Acer
19" TFT LCD,
Acer CrystalBrite Technology
1280 x 1024 native resolution
150 horizontal viewing angle
135 vertical viewing angle
Two 1.5W integrated speakers
Acer AL1717 Bbmd Acer AL1951C
17" TFT LCD
1280 x 1024
native resolution
150 horizontal
viewing angle
VGA, DVI-D signal
connectors
300 cd/m
2
brightness
8ms response time
Internal power adapter
Black color
VGA, DVI-D signal
connectors
400 cd/m
2
brightness
4ms gray-to-gray
response time
External power adapter
Silver/black color
Acer AL1951C
$359
(ET.L4108.068)
4MS RESPONSE TIME
Whether you're working in the office, at home or on the go, productivity
won't falter if you're equipped with the Acer TravelMate 4650. Enjoy all
the benefits of Intel
Centrino
Mobile Technology. Connect to

workplace peripherals in one easy step with the optional ezDock Docking
Station. On the road, expect up to five hours of battery life (depending
on configuration and usage) from this 6.2-pound notebook. And should
you want to cut the weight, the modular optical drive is easily removed.
Acer
TravelMate
4650
Productivity Powerhouse
Acer
ezDock
The one-plug Acer ezDock manages and organizes peripheral
connections with ease, allowing you to add or remove devices
instantly, without turning off your notebook computer. This
compact docking solution features 21 interface ports and two card
slots for desktop-like expansion possibilities, as well as PCI Express
technology and a Kensington
lock slot.
Acer ezDock Docking Station
$299
COMPATIBLE WITH THE TRAVELMATE 8100, 4650, 4400
3000, C310, C200; FERRARI 4000
(LC.D0103.004)
Acer TravelMate 4654LMi
$1,299
INTEL
PENTIUM
M PROCESSOR 760 (2MB L2 CACHE, 2GHZ, 533MHZ FSB)

GENUINE WINDOWS
XP PROFESSIONAL
(LX.T7506.046)
DVD-DUAL DRIVE
Intel
Centrino
Mobile Technology
- Intel
Pentium
MProcessor
- Mobile Intel

- Intel

Genuine Windows
XP Professional
1GB DDR2 533 SDRAM
100GB
1
hard drive
Modular DVD-Dual drive (DVD+/-RW)
6-in-1 card reader for optional SmartMedia
card,
MultiMediaCard
, Secure Digital card,

Memory Stick
, Memory Stick PRO
or xD-Picture Card
15.0" XGA (1024 x 768) TFT display

Intel

802.11b/g WLAN, gigabit LAN, V.92 modem
2
XP Professional.
Acer
TravelMate
C310
Tablet & Full-Featured Notebook in One
The Acer TravelMate C310 is the convertible tablet that you'll want to use as
your primary computer. With a big 14.1" XGA display, full-size keyboard,
modular optical drive and optional ezDock Docking Station, it's similar to a
standard notebook but offers much more. The screen becomes a writing
surface when you rotate it and fold it back over the keyboard, perfect for
taking notes, annotating documents and completing online forms.
Intel
Centrino
Mobile Technology
- Intel
Pentium
MProcessor
- Mobile Intel
915PM Express chipset

- Intel

Genuine Windows
XP Tablet PC Edition
4-in-1 card reader for optional
MultiMediaCard

Memory Stick
or Memory Stick PRO
14.1" XGA (1024 x 768) TFT display

NVIDIA GeForce
Go 6200 graphics
802.11b/g WLAN, Bluetooth
,
gigabit LAN, V.92 modem
Full-size EMR pen with eraser
2
Acer AL1717 Bbmd
$249
(ET.1717B.MD8)
700:1 CONTRAST RATIO
Acer AL1717 Abm
17" TFT LCD
1280 x 1024 native resolution
150 horizontal viewing angle
VGA signal connector
300 cd/m
2
brightness
8ms response time
Internal power
adapter
Black color
Acer AL1717 Abm
$239
(ET.1717B.M08)
8MS RESPONSE TIME
Acer TravelMate C312XCi
$1,699
INTEL
PENTIUM
M PROCESSOR 740
GENUINE WINDOWS
XP TABLET PC EDITION
512MB DDR2 533 SDRAM, 80GB
1
HARD DRIVE
AND MODULAR CD-RW/DVD-ROM COMBO DRIVE
(LX.T270E.029)
Acer TravelMate C314XMi
$1,999
INTEL
PENTIUM
M PROCESSOR 760
(2MB L2 CACHE, 2GHZ, 533MHZ FSB)
GENUINE WINDOWS
XP TABLET PC EDITION
1GB DDR2 533 SDRAM, 100GB
1
HARD DRIVE
AND MODULAR DVD-DUAL DRIVE (DVD+/-RW)
(LX.T870E.032)
CONVERTS HANDWRITING TO TEXT
Acer
AcerPower
FG
Affordable Yet Feature-Rich
The AcerPower FG boasts an impressive feature set in a stylish chassis at a
price that won't break your budget. Ample power means you can efficiently
perform everyday tasks. Multiple expansion slots make the system easy to
upgrade, while the eight USB 2.0 ports (four front, four back) give you the
ability to connect to the latest peripherals.
Acer
Projectors with DLP
Technology
Intel
Celeron
D Processor
Genuine Windows
XP Professional
256MB DDR SDRAM
80GB
1
hard drive
CD-ROM drive
Integrated SiS Mirage
TM
graphics
10/100 LAN
2
AcerPower S260
$399
INTEL
CELERON
D PROCESSOR 335
(256KB L2 CACHE, 2.80GHZ, 533MHZ FSB)
GENUINE WINDOWS
XP PROFESSIONAL
(APS260-U-3500)
INTEL
PENTIUM
4 PROCESSOR 516
GENUINE WINDOWS
XP PROFESSIONAL
256MB DDR2 533 SDRAM AND CD-ROM DRIVE
(APFG-U-P5160)
AcerPower FG
$499
INTEL
PENTIUM
4 PROCESSOR 519
GENUINE WINDOWS
XP PROFESSIONAL
512MB DDR2 533 SDRAM AND DVD-DUAL DRIVE (DVD+/-RW)
(APFG-U-P5190)
AcerPower FG
$599
Intel
Pentium
4 Processor
Genuine Windows
XP Professional
80GB
1
SATA hard drive
Integrated Intel

PCI Express
TM
x16 expansion slot
Gigabit LAN
2
Digital Light Processing
from Texas Instruments is an all-digital display technology for projectors and other
products that delivers the best picture in terms of clarity, brilliance and color.
GREAT VALUE
2000 ANSI lumens
XGA (1024 x 768) native resolution
16.7 million displayable colors
PC and Mac compatible
Acer PD120D
2000 ANSI lumens
SVGA (800 x 600) native resolution
16.7 million displayable colors
PC and Mac compatible
Acer PD100
Acer PD100
$669
(EY.J2101.006)
Acer PD120D
$999
(EY.J2201.012)
PCI EXPRESS
TM
X16
Card reader and floppy drive
shown are not included on
featured models.
Acer
AcerPower
S260
All-Around Budget Performer
Proven technology, high-level reliability and expansion options help to make the
AcerPower S260 minitower a sound investment for home, school or office needs.
NEW MODEL
XP Professional.
Stability, ease-of-deployment and comprehensive management tools are the
hallmarks of Veriton, Acer's premier business desktop series. Each of these
features has been enhanced in the Acer Veriton 6800, with an improved tool-less
chassis design, fortified security tools, more powerful Intel
processors and
Acer eManager software.
Acer
Veriton
6800
Optimized for Business
Replacement
Lamp for PD525,
PD116
$299
(EC.J1001.001)
Keep a Replacement Lamp on
hand for the Acer PD525,
PD120D, PD116P or PD100
projector. Expected life in
hours is 2,000 standard mode,
3,000 economy mode.
Intel
Pentium
D Processor or
Intel
Pentium
4 Processor with HT Technology

Genuine Windows
XP Professional
Intel

Gigabit LAN
Three-year limited warranty
2
Acer Veriton 6800
$999
INTEL
PENTIUM
D PROCESSOR 830
(2X1MB L2 CACHE, 3GHZ, 800MHZ FSB)
GENUINE WINDOWS
XP PROFESSIONAL
1GB DDR2 533 SDRAM; 160GB
1
SATA HARD DRIVE, 7200RPM;
AND DVD-DUAL DRIVE (DVD+/-RW)
(VT6800-U-S8301)
For permanent placement
of an Acer PD525, PD120D,
PD116P or PD100 projector in a
conference room or classroom,
youll want an easy-to-install
Ceiling Mount.
Ceiling Mount
$79
(EZ.PCM03.007)
Replacement Lamp
for PD120D, PD100
$199
(EC.J2101.001)
Intel
Pentium
4 Processor with
HT Technology
Genuine Windows
XP Professional
80GB
1
hard drive, 7200RPM
CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive
Intel

Gigabit LAN
Three-year limited warranty
2
Acer Veriton 2800
$689
INTEL
PENTIUM
4 PROCESSOR 521 WITH HT TECHNOLOGY

GENUINE WINDOWS
XP PROFESSIONAL
(VT2800-U-P5210)
Acer Veriton 6800
$799
INTEL
PENTIUM
4 PROCESSOR 640 WITH HT TECHNOLOGY

GENUINE WINDOWS
XP PROFESSIONAL
512MB DDR2 533 SDRAM; 80GB
1
SATA HARD DRIVE, 7200RPM;
AND CD-RW/DVD-ROM COMBO DRIVE
(VT6800-U-P6400)
Display sold separately.
Even if youre short on space, you dont need to sacrifice
performance. The compact Acer Veriton 2800 business desktop
gives you an Intel
Pentium
4 Processor with HT Technology,

dual-channel memory and eight USB ports for connecting to a
printer and other office peripherals.
Acer
Veriton
2800
Powerful but Compact
Acer Notebook/Tablet Service Upgrades Protect Your Valuable Investment
1
When referring to storage capacity, GB stands for one billion bytes and MB stands for one million bytes. Some utilities may indicate varying storage capacities. Total user-accessible capacity
may vary depending on operating environments.
2
For a free copy of the standard limited warranty end-users should see a reseller where Acer products are sold or write to Acer America Corporation, Warranty Department, P.O. Box 6137,
Temple, TX 76503.
2006 Acer America Corporation. Information and prices are subject to change without notice. Pricing is effective from January 8, 2006 through
February 15, 2006. Product images are representations of some of the models available and may vary from the model you
purchase. Acer, TravelMate and Veriton are registered trademarks and AcerPower a trademark of Acer Inc. Aspire is a trademark of Acer
America Corporation. Celeron, Celeron Inside, Centrino, Core Inside, Intel, Intel Core, Intel Inside, Intel SpeedStep, Intel Viiv, Intel Xeon, Itanium,
Itanium Inside, Pentium, Pentium Inside, the Centrino logo, the Intel logo and the Intel Inside logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of
Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
Microsoft and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
Quality is built into every notebook and tablet PC Acer makes, and each comes with a
one-year standard limited warranty.
2
It includes hardware technical support via toll-free phoneplus
a concurrent International Travelers Warranty for travel outside the U.S. and Canada. Extra
protection is available with one of these upgrades:
2-Year Extension of Limited Warranty (146.AB820.EX2)
$99
Prepays freight to and from Acer repair depot.
Excludes extension of International Traveler's Warranty.
Its a tough world out there, and accidents do happensticky spills, dangerous drops, nasty
knockswhich is why you should consider the Total Protection Upgrade. It runs concurrently with
the limited warranty
2
and limited warranty extension and covers the cost of a replacement unit
if your covered notebook cannot be repaired.
2-Year Extension of Limited Warranty + 3-Year Total Protection Upgrade (146.AD077.002)
$199
Prepays freight to and from Acer repair depot.
Excludes extension of International Traveler's Warranty.
For the name of a reseller near you or further
information, please call Acer or visit our Web site:
800-571-2237
www.acer.com/us
XP Professional.
Everything about the feature-packed Acer TravelMate 8100 is designed to
impress. From the power of the Intel
Pentium
M Processor to the
convenience of the optional ezDock Docking Station. From the versatility of the
integrated 5-in-1 card reader to the flexibility of the modular Super-Multi drive.
This is the notebook for users who demand the best.
Intel
Centrino
Mobile Technology
- Intel
Pentium
MProcessor
- Mobile Intel
915PM Express chipset

- Intel
PRO/Wireless 2200BG
network connection
Genuine Windows
XP Professional
1GB DDR2 533 SDRAM
100GB
1
hard drive
Modular Super-Multi drive
(DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD-RAM)
5-in-1 card reader for optional
MultiMediaCard

Memory Stick
, Memory Stick PRO
or xD-Picture Card
15.4" WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050) TFT display

ATI
MOBILITY
RADEON
X700 graphics,
128MB DDR, PCI Express
TM
x16 support
802.11a/b/g WLAN, Bluetooth
,
gigabit LAN, V.92 modem
2
Acer TravelMate 8104AWLMi
$1,699
INTEL
PENTIUM
M PROCESSOR 760 (2MB L2 CACHE, 2GHZ, 533MHZ FSB)

GENUINE WINDOWS
XP PROFESSIONAL
(LX.TAL06.096)
DESKTOP CALIBER
Acer
TravelMate
8100
The Ultimate in Portability
ULTRACOMPACT PROS CONS BOTTOM LINE SPECS/PERFORMANCE
Canon PowerShot SD500
Digital Elph
$460 street
llllm
Quick performer. Excellent image
quality. Unique My Color feature.
Good ergonomics. Sleek and
attractive.
Macro mode did not produce good
results. Flash had some problems in
backlit situations.
The SD500 is a versatile, accurate,
and fun compact that performed
very well on our tests and will
appeal to a wide range of shooters.
7.1MP, 2-inch LCD, 3X optical
zoom (37mm to 111mm), SD slot.
Resolution: 1,625 lines. Boot: 2.7
sec. Recycle: 2.3 sec.
NEW
Kodak EasyShare
V530
$300 street
llllh
Exceptional performance and no
shutter lag. Produces very good
images. Stylish design.
No optical viewnder. Relatively
small LCD. Purple fringing in some
shots.
The V530 is inexpensive, versatile,
and easy to use. The excellent
menus, blistering speed, and handy
extras make it a winner.
5MP, 2-inch LCD, 3X optical zoom
(36mm to 108mm), SD slot.
COMPACT
Canon
PowerShot S70
$470 street
llllm
Takes excellent photos. Very solidly
built. Zoom lens starts at a true
wide angle so you can get it all in.
Can shoot in RAW format.
Mediocre video capabilities. Zoom
isnt always precise.
If youre looking for a camera that
takes excellent photos but dont
want the heft or expense of a larger
model, the S70 is a worthy choice.
7.1MP, 1.8-inch LCD, 4X optical
zoom (28mm to 100mm), CF slot.
Casio Exilim
EX-P600
$550 street
llllm
Large, bright LCD and 4X zoom.
Simple menus and on-screen help
for beginners, higher-end features
for more advanced shooters.
Slow recycle times. Some dark
exposures.
The EX-P600 is a good choice,
whether youre a pro or a beginner
who wants a camera to grow with.
Fujilm
FinePix E550
$350 street
llllm
Fast at everything it does, at least
when the ash is off. Takes very
good pictures. Decent zoom range
includes true wide angle.
Underpowered ash can slow
camera down. Uses more expensive
xD memory.
You wont miss shots with the E550,
and youll be very satised with the
photos you create.
zoom (32.5mm to 130mm), xD slot.
ENTHUSIAST AND SUPERZOOM
Canon
PowerShot G6
$600 street
llllm
Excellent picture quality. Easy-to-
navigate menus for beginners, plus
features advanced users will like.
30-second maximum for movie
recording at just 10 fps. Doesnt use
USB 2.0 for le transfers.
Sleek, ergonomic shape, a powerful
optical zoom, and a multitude of
pro-level features make the G6 a
winner.
Panasonic Lumix
DMC-FZ15
$550 street
llllm
Leica 12X zoom lens with image
stabilization. Very comfortable,
SLR-like feel.
Large and heavy. Poor video mode. The FZ15 takes very good pictures,
and its long zoom lens and short
recycle times make this the best
superzoom for shooting action.
4MP, 2-inch LCD, 12X optical
Panasonic Lumix
DMC-FZ30
$699 list
llllm
Compact D-SLR look and feel, with
8MP resolution and 12X zoom. Fast
boot and recycle times.
LCD and EVF are slow to react in
action shooting. Some noise in
images.
If we could have only one camera
for all our needs, the FZ30 would be
it. Its remarkably capable and has
a wealth of features.
lens (35mm to 430mm), SD slot.
DIGITAL SLRS AND HYBRIDS
Canon EOS 20D
$1,500 street
lllll

Incredibly clear, detailed images.
Excellent color, exposure, and
tonality. Intuitive controls.
Extensive features.
Deserves a kit lens option more
betting the cameras quality and
capabilities.
Excellent design, fast performance,
and ne image quality make the
EOS 20D a top choice.
8.2MP, 1.8-inch LCD, 2.5X optical
Casio Exilim Pro
EX-P505
$500 street
lllhm
Carry one device for stills and
video. Options for capturing action
that happened shortly before and
after capture button was pressed.
Test shots are a bit dark. No quick-
review button to view photos. No
optical viewnder.
The EX-P505 shoots good 5MP
snapshots and 640-by-480 MPEG-4
videos. It performs both jobs well.
Nikon D50
$850 street
lllll

Excellent picture quality and
performance. User-friendly
features. Great price.
1.5X magnication factor. For photographers yearning to get
their hands on an entry-level D-
SLR, the D50 is the best choice. Its
simply a delightful camera to use.
6.1MP, 2.0-inch LCD, 2.5X optical
F I R S T L O O K S
Top Products
Our Top Digital Cameras
Visit go.pcmag.com/cameras for the full reviews of these and scores of other top-rated cameras.
ANALYST'S TIP
TERRY SULLIVAN, Lead Analyst
A manual settings mode on your digital camera can give your digital images new expressive possibilities.
This mode lets you set either the aperture setting, the shutter speed setting, or both. With a slow shutter
speed you can, for instance, make running water look silky. Or, if you use a wide aperture setting, your
portraits will have a sharp-focused subject against a soft, blurred background.
F I R S T L O O K S
Mobile Devices
Flash-Based Music Players with Flair
array of le formats, produces
good audio, and has a mostly
intuitive interface. It doesnt
have many extras, but at just
$84.99 its very affordable.
The U1X measures 3. 3 by
0.9 by 0.5 inches, weighs only
1.1 ounces, and is shaped like
a pack of gum with a rounded
bottom. The solidly crafted
plastic casing is elegant and
has a ip-out USB plug.
The four-line monochrome
LCD is backlit in blue and
presents a lot of information
in a small space. Controls are
simple and clearly labeled.
The only extra feature is
voice recording. Were happy
to report that you can play
back music stored in OGG
and ASF (audio) les in addi-
tion to MP3, WMA, and WAV
tunes. The player is also
compatible with Microsoft
Windows Media DRM 10.
In testing, audio quality
with the included earbuds was
good, with decent clarity and
detail for a player of this price
and size. When we listened to
some organ music with deep
bass we found the earbuds
lacking, but after swapping
them out for our Sennheiser
PX-100 headphones ($40) we
found that the bass was no-
ticeably clearer and that highs
had more presence.
The U1Xs broad le- format
support and good sound
quality for the price make it
a solid choice among small
ash-based audio players. If
you need more features, check
out the older Samsung YP-T7.
Samsung yepp YP-U1X
$129.99 (1GB); $84.99 list (512MB).
Samsung Electronics America Inc.,
www.samsung.com. lllhm
BY MICHAEL KOBRIN
L
ooki ng for a f l ashy
new f lash-based MP3
player? Here are two
new offerings from iriver and
Samsung: the higher end U10
with video playback and the
more basic and affordable
YP-U1X. And both are
smaller than the iPod
Nano.
iriver U10
The iriver U10 represents
a big leap forward in de-
signor at least a good
attempt at one. Its a flash-
based audio player that can
also play video on its 2.2-inch
LCD screen, albeit with some
format restrictions. The real
innovation is in the controls:
The company cut out the
clutter by making the face-
plate itself a four-way button
that does pretty much all you
need. You do pay a premium
for all this, however: The
512MB version is $199.99
l i st, and the 1GB
version wi l l run
you $249.99.
At 2.7 by 1.8 by 0.6
inches and 2.5 ounc-
es, the U10 is bulky,
but it still ts nicely
in your pocket.
The U10s feat ures
make it versatile enough for
lots of different types of us-
ers. In addition to having
video, photo, text, and audio
playback, it has an FM tuner,
does FM and voice record-
ing, and has a built-in alarm
clock. You can also play Mac-
romedia Flashbased games
on it, and iriver regularly
adds new games to its Web
site for free.
Audio format support in-
cludes WMA, MP3, and Ogg
Vorbis, as well as protected
WMA les from online sub-
scription services. We found
that the included earbuds
are actually pretty decent at
(iriverter.sourceforge.net) to
convert videos for playback.
The quality of the voice
and FM recordings we made
was acceptable; because the
device is f lash-based, you
don t get any hard-drive
whine. The photos we load-
ed on the U10 looked sharp
and bright on the 2. 2-inch
screen.
As an audio player, voice
recorder, and photo viewer,
the iriver U10 is very solid.
If youre really hot on the
design and dont really need
video playback, this is a good
choice. If youre looking for
good video playback, remem-
ber that you can get a 30GB
video-capable iPod for just
$50 more.
iriver U10
$249.99 list (1GB); $199.99 (512MB).
iriver America, www.iriveramerica
.com. lllmm
Samsung YP-U1X
The Samsung YP-U1X is a
well-designed 512MB f lash
player that supports a wide
ANALYST'S TIP
Michael Kobrin, Lead Analyst
Many digital music enthusiasts are now on their second or third MP3 player. So why not put that old hard
drive-based player into hard disk mode (even iPods have this feature) and dump your music collection on it
to free up some space on your PC? Simply leave it plugged into your PC and congure your music manage-
ment software to use the external drive as your main music folder.
reproducing bass and highs.
On our audio battery-run-
down test the U10 turned
in an impressive 27 hours 9
minutes.
The U10 can play back
MPEG-4 Simple Prole only
at a paltryand jumpy15
frames per second. The com-
pany recommends using a
free utility called iriverter
THE YP-U1X (bottom)
offers broad le support and the iriver
u10 has an new design and a 2.2-inch screen. Both are
smaller than the iPod Nano, shown above for comparison.
F I R S T L O O K S
Gadgets
Scooba Mops and Almost Shines
and the Scooba. Cleaning the
Roomba after use is mini-
mal. There are three or four
removable Scooba parts to
clean after each mopping cy-
cle, which takes time.
At $399.99 list, the Scooba
isnt as obvious a purchase as
the Roomba vacuum
BY LANCE ULANOFF
T
he Scooba Floor Wash-
i ng Robot, i Robot s
follow-up to the hugely
successful Roomba home vac-
uum, neatly avoids the sopho-
more slumpnot by a great
distance, but by enough for
you to consider it your new
oor-mopping companion.
From t he out si de, t he
Scooba looks like the Room-
bas big, blue brother. Its
still round, but the Scooba is
heavier (it weighs 10 pounds),
taller, and wider than the
Roomba vacuum. The Scoo-
ba sweeps, scrubs, mops,
and even dries the f loor. It
does all this with very little
interaction from you: The
Scoobas robot brain lets it
map out your room, navigate
obstacles, and know when it
has cleaned the entire room.
Inside t he Scooba i s a
Rube Goldbergesque design
for picking up dirt, apply-
ing a cleaning solution, and
collecting dirty water and
debris. One of the key mop-
ping innovations here is that
the Scooba applies only clean
water and its Clorox brand
cleaning solution to floors,
rather than reusing increas-
ingly dirty water.
Prepari ng t he Scooba
to clean is easy; it actually
takes longer to prepare your
room for cleaning. As with
normal mopping, you should
remove furniture, chairs,
and other oor-bound items.
You should also pick up large
debris that will not t under
the Scooba or could jam up
the robots inner workings.
The Scooba ships with one
virtual wall, a device that
emits an infrared beam that
the Scooba will not cross.
The Scooba comes with
one 8-ounce bottle of Clo-
rox cleani ng solution.
i Robot says t hat t he
solution will clean a
200-square-foot room
before it needs replac-
ing. I relled the tank
twice during a clean-
i ng marathon of 1
hour and 45 minutes.
When youve lled
the clean-water tank,
you place it back on
the Scooba, close the
unit up, and hit Clean. It
doesnt matter where you
put the Scooba, it will im-
mediately begin using iRo-
bots proprietary algorithm
to start mappi ng out and
cleaning the room. The Scoo-
bas 80-dB whirring is louder
than the slosh of a mop, but
not annoying.
One of the Scoobas prob-
lems is that it takes longer to
mop a oor than you would if
you did it yourself. Although
the Scooba squeegees the
oor nearly dry as it cleans, it
was sometimes underfoot as
we tried to move about.
NI CE WORK
After I refilled the clean-
water tank and rinsed out
the dirty-water tank in the
middle of the
cleaning job, the Scooba went
on to finish the whole floor.
Though it completely missed
a yard-square area by my
stairwell, the rest of the room
was very clean and soon dry.
In fact, I noticed that the
grout looked cleaner than it
had in quite a while.
A look in the Scoobas tank,
roller, lter, and vacuum port
is enough to tell you its doing
its job. In my tests, the water
was very dirty, the catcher
ful l of debri s I normal ly
would have swept up first,
and the roller was wound
up with my daughters long
blonde hairscleaning that
out was fun.
This is the other big dif-
ference between the Roomba
cleaner. The 8-ounce Clorox
solution lasts for a few clean-
ings and then you have to buy
more, at $17.99 for a three-
bottle package. You cant
use anything else, because
it could damage the Scooba
and void the warranty. Will
anyone be wi l l i ng to pay
$400 plus consumable costs
for this device?
iRobot has something here.
This is a smart, powerful, ef-
fective solution for cleaning
tile oors, but selling it to the
American public could be a
more uphill battle than iRo-
bot faced with the Roomba.
iRobot Scooba Floor Washing
Robot
$399.99 direct. iRobot Corp.,
www.irobot.com. lllhm
THE SCOOBA WILL HANDLE your wet-work, for a price.
Chimp Chat
Product Name: Alive! Chimpanzee
Company: WowWee Ltd.
Company Web address:
www.wowwee.com.
Price: $149.95 direct.
Not rated.
Pros: Shockingly realistic. Fine
controls via remote. A price most can handle.
Cons: Small delays in responding to remote-control commands.
Bottom line: Inspired by special-effects animatronics devel-
oped in movies, this robot chimp head hits the mark at a nearly
unbelievable price.
See it in action: go.pcmag.com/alivechimpanzee
Bring Dead Spots
Back to Life!
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30
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1969
o
u
td
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r te
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Feet
MIMO Solution
High Power Solution (Turbo G)
Standard 802.11g
Learn more www.buffalotech.com/pcmag1
Tired of hitting "dead spots" in your wireless network? Buffalo Technologys
Turbo G High Power Wireless Solutions bring those dead spots back to life!
Now you can go places you never could with standard 802.11g devices. With an
effective outdoor range of up to 2000ft., connecting in the bedroom or office
down the hall should be no problem.*
2
Whether youre upgrading your wireless LAN
or just getting started, the Turbo G High Power Wireless Solutions provide the perfect
answer for those who need Speed, Performance and Value. Bring dead
spots to life while enjoying faster connections and extended range.
Further & faster than Standard 802.11g. Further than MIMO Solutions.*
1
WHR-HP-G54
Wireless Smart Router
WLI-CB-G54HP
Wireless Notebook Adapter
WLI-TX4-G54HP
Wireless Ethernet Converter
2005 Buffalo Technology (USA), Inc. Buffalo Technology, Buffalo Technology logo and AOSS logo are registered trademarks of Buffalo Technology (USA), Inc. The names and logos of other companies mentioned
herein belong to their respective owners. Products tested: High Power solution (WHR-HP-G54, WLI-CB-G54HP), MIMO Solution (WZR-G108, WLI-CB-G108), Standard 802.11g (WBR2-G54, WLI-CB-G54S).
*1 Based on Buffalo Technology internal testing results. Products tested: High Power solution (WHR-HP-G54, WLI-CB-G54HP), MIMO Solution (WZR-G108, WLI-CB-G108), Standard 802.11g (WBR2-G54, WLI-CB-G54S).
*2 Wireless networking speed and distance will vary depending on environment.
Wireless
Great for Wireless
Online Gaming!
*
2
F I R S T L O O K S
Displays
BY JOHN R. DELANEY
At the high end of
Gateways new line
of at-panel displays
si t s t he Gateway
FPD2185W ($599.99
direct), an affordable 21-inch
widescreen LCD monitor.
It has a 1,680- by 1,050-pixel
resolution, multiple inputs, a
16:10 aspect ratio, and enough
features to satisfy a demand-
ing home or ofce user.
The matte-black monitor
is sleek and uncluttered, with
ve function buttons mounted
on the right edge of the panel,
which can be difficult to use
without swiveling the screen.
A sturdy black oval base pro-
vides 35 degrees of tilt and
left/right swivel, 4.1 inches of
height, and a 90-degree pivot.
The FPD2185W is equipped
with many video inputs to
connect a variety of devices.
There are also composite vid-
eo (RGB), component video
(RCA), and S-Video
ports. One upstream
and two downstream
USB ports, as well as
a power jack for the
optional speaker bar
($40), attached to the
bot tom. Two more
downstream USB ports
are located below the
function buttons.
The f unction but-
tons include hot keys
and OSD (on-screen display)
navigation control s. The
Menu button takes you into
the main OSD page, where
you can select submenus to
adjust color settings, image
size, and picture attributes
such as brightness, con-
trast, and gamma levels. An
Auto Video Enhance menu
lets you activate DCDi by
Faroudja, which reduces jag-
ged-edge artifacts when you
are using an S-Video or com-
posite video signal.
Although our motion tests
revealed smearing along the
edges of moving images, the
FPD2185W did a fine job of
displaying fast-action games
and DVDs, thanks to its 8-ms
gray-to-gray pixel-response
rating. Doom 3 looked great,
and The Matrix DVD
showed minimal arti-
facts and no notice-
able ghosting.
The panel also per-
formed well on our
DisplayMate (www
. di spl aymate. com)
tests. Text was legible
at 5.3 points, and color
scales were uniform
from the light to dark
ends of the spectrum. Gray-
scale performance was excel-
lent in digital mode. We were
impressed with the bottom
angle, which is notoriously
weak on many LCDs. Our
biggest complaint: Gateways
warranty coverage is only one
year (most offer three).
For an affordable 21-inch
LCD to handle all your multi-
media needs, look no further
than the FPD2185W.
Gateway FPD2185W
$599.99 direct. Gateway Inc.,
www.gateway.com. lllhm
Gateways Affordable Big Display
A No-Frills Display for Gamers
BY JOHN R. DELANEY
T
he ViewSonic VX924
($469 direct) is a bright
19-inch LCD with a
super-fast 3-ms gray-to-gray
pixel-response rating and
good image quality. We wish
the monitor had USB ports
and more adjustment options,
but gamers and video enthusi-
asts will appreciate its ability
to handle moving images.
The VX924 is housed in an
attractive black case, with a
narrow bezel and thin silver
trim. The display rests atop a
rectangular base that lets you
tilt the screen forward and
backward, but it lacks swivel,
pivot, and height adjustments.
The Manual Image Adjust
screen lets you tweak hori-
zontal and vertical position
settings and ne-tune text and
graphics characters. Whereas
most LCD monitors offer an
Auto Adjust button with one-
touch sizing and fine-tuning
capabilities, youll have to
enter the OnView system. But
two of the function buttons
are hot keys to adjust contrast
settings without entering the
setup screens.
The rear of the VX924 is
orderly, thanks to a snap-on
panel that hides the DVI (digi-
tal) and RGB (analog) inputs,
the power cord jack, and a
cable clip.
We tested the VX924 in
analog and digital modes
using images from Dis-
playMates software (www
.displaymate.com). Color
quality was quite good in
both modes and the screen
appeared uniformly lit, al-
though there was a hint of
backlight bleeding along the
top of the panel.
ViewSonic claims a 160-
degree viewing angle (hori-
zontal and vertical), and the
panel lives up to that speci-
cation. But beyond that point
colors lost their intensity,
and the overall picture qual-
ity was dull. Arial fonts were
readable at 6. 8 points, but
smaller sizes were illegible.
The VX924 is well suited
for gaming and displaying
full-motion video. We played
a few rounds of Doom 3 and
were i mpressed with the
monitors ability to handle
fast-action sequences. Game
play was smooth and fluid,
and the VX924s motion per-
formance was the best weve
seen from an LCD so far. The
darkly lit movie The Matrix
also looked fantastic, with
no noticeable image ghosting
and only slight artifacts.
If you dont mind its rigid
stand and average text per-
formance, the VX924 is a
good bet for gamers and
video enthusiasts.
ViewSonic VX924
$469 direct. ViewSonic Corp.,
www.viewsonic.com. lllhm
THE GATEWAY FPD2185W has
lots of connectivity options.
THE VX924
shows superb motion ability.
I ntel , I ntel l ogo, I ntel Centri no, I ntel Centri no l ogo, I ntel I nsi de, I ntel I nsi de l ogo and Penti um are trademarks or regi stered trademarks of I ntel Corporati on or i ts subsi di ari es i n the
Uni t ed St at es and ot her count ri es. Toughbook not ebook PCs are covered by a 3-year l i mi t ed warrant y, part s and l abor. To vi ew t he f ul l t ext of t he warrant y, l og on t o
www.panasoni c.com/busi ness/toughbook/professi onal _servi ces.asp. Pl ease consul t your Panasoni c representati ve pri or to purchase. 2006 Panasoni c Corporati on of North Ameri ca.
All rights reserved. Executive_Sweet_H_FY05-2
executive sweet
Durable, ultra-lightweight Toughbooks from Panasonic.
More features. More powerful. Sweet.
Theyre light and theyre loaded. The Toughbook
T4 and Toughbook W4
with Intel
Centrino
Mobile Technology offer the freedom and

flexibility to be productive anywhere and a long battery life to keep
up with your business. Theres even a mini port replicator so you dont
spend time re-connecting your peripherals. With magnesium alloy
cases and shock-mounted hard drives, theyre compact computing
at its toughest. Get upwardly mobile today with new thin and light
Toughbooksonly from Panasonic.
Panasonic recommends Microsoft
Windows
XP Professional for Business

TOUGHBOOK T4:
Intel
Centrino
Mobile Technology
Intel
Pentium
M Processor ULV 753

(2MB L2 cache, Processor speed 1.2GHz,
400MHz FSB)
Microsoft
Windows
XP
Professional SP2
Intel
PRO/Wireless 2915ABG
network connection 802.11a/b/g
3.4 lbs. ultra-thin design
with hand strap
Touchscreen LCD
Long-lasting 9.5-hour battery life
TOUGHBOOK W4:
Intel
Centrino
Mobile Technology
Intel
Pentium
M Processor ULV 753

(2MB L2 cache, Processor speed 1.2GHz,
400MHz FSB)
Microsoft
Windows
XP
Professional SP2
Intel
PRO/Wireless 2915ABG
network connection 802.11a/b/g
2.8 lbs. ultra-lightweight design
Integrated combo drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
6-hour battery life
800-662-3537
panasonic.com/toughbook
MONITORS PROS CONS BOTTOM LINE SPECS
Samsung SyncMaster
204T
$599 direct
llllh
Excellent digital image quality.
Fully adjustable stand. Wide
viewing angles.
Average analog performance. With a Brillian 20-inch LCD panel,
sleek lines, and a exible stand,
the 204T delivers excellent digital
performance at an affordable price.
20-inch LCD (1,600-by-1,200), 4:3
aspect ratio, 16-ms claimed pixel
response rate.
NEW
Gateway
FPD2185W
$599.99 direct
llllh
Excellent image quality. Lots
of video connections. Highly
adjustable.
Chintzy warranty. DVI cable not
included.
The Gateway FPD2185W is a stylish,
bargain-priced 21-inch widescreen
LCD that delivers above-average
performance and features.
21-inch LCD (1,680-by-1,050), 16:10
aspect ratio, portrait mode.
PC MONITOR/TV HYBRIDS
Samsung SyncMaster
930mp
$700 street
llllm
Excellent viewing angle. Good
image quality. Built-in TV and FM
radio tuners.
Stand lacks height adjustment and
does not swivel. Does not include
DVI cable.
Featuring built-in TV and FM radio
tuners and a wide array of connec-
tion options, this multipurpose
display is worth every penny.
19-inch LCD (1,280-by-1,024), 4:3
aspect ratio, 25-ms claimed pixel
response rate. Contrast ratio:
1,000:1.
Sony MFM-HT75W
$600 street
llllm

Great image quality. Well-designed
remote control. Incorporates
analog audio/video inputs and an
integrated NTSC TV tuner.
Screen technology is best suited for
light-controlled environments.
Delivering excellent image quality
and a useful selection of A/V
features, the MFM-HT75W handled
everything we threw at it with ease.
17-inch LCD (1,280-by-768),
NTSC tuner, 16:10 aspect ratio,
16-ms claimed pixel response rate.
Contrast ratio: 800:1.
BUSINESS PROJECTORS
Dell 1100MP
$799 direct
llllh

Lots of premium features at an
extremely low price. Generally
good image quality. Rugged
carrying case.
Focus is soft in upper corners.
No mouse function on remote.
Standard warranty covers only
one year.
Dell has created a winning projector
by paying attention to detail. The
1100MP delivers much more than its
stripped-down competitors.
SVGA (800-by-600) DLP engine,
1,400 claimed lumens (1,429
tested), 4.9 pounds.
Canon Realis SX50
$5,000 street
llllm

LCoS technology sidesteps common
problems of both DLP and LCD
projectors. Bright image. Excellent
color and image quality.
Your system may not support the
SXGA+ (1,400-by-1,050) resolution.
Volume on the built-in speakers is
barely loud enough to ll a closet.
The Realis SX50 is the lightest LCoS
projector on the market so far, and
it goes a long way toward fullling
the promise of LCoS.
SXGA+ (1,400-by-1,050) LCOS
engine, 2,421 claimed lumens
(1,428 tested), 8.6 pounds.
ViewSonic PJ256D
$1,500 street
llllm

Impressively small and light (2.2
pounds). Surprisingly bright image
for its size (1,581 lumens).
No on-board audio. Needs up to 2
minutes to cool down before you
can pack it up.
Weighing just 2.2 pounds, the
PJ256D is light enough to bring
along all the time, and it delivers
a bright, high-quality image.
XGA (1,024-by-768) DLP engine,
1,500 claimed lumens (1,581
tested), 2.2 pounds.
HDTVs
Brillian
6501mPB
$5,999 list
llllh
Natural image quality (with
good video sources). Illuminated
universal remote. Best-in-class
contrast ratio.
Lacks an integrated HD tuner.
Needs professional installation.
Mediocre composite video quality.
The 6501mPB ranks as the best
RPTV we have seen to date. But
achieving optimal image quality is
best left to an installation pro.
65-inch LCoS RPTV, 1,280-by-720,
ATSC, CableCard, NTSC tuners.
Viewing angle: 170 degrees (horiz.).
Contrast ratio: 2,000:1.
Dell W4200
HD Plasma TV
$2,799 direct
llllm
Solid image quality. Good on-screen
display controls. Dual built-in
tuners (NTSC and ATSC). Good
price.
Needs some color/brightness/
contrast adjustments out of the box
because the default settings look a
bit washed out.
Its tough to beat this deal. The
42-inch Dell W4200 HD Plasma TV
delivers very good image quality at
a very competitive price.
42-inch plasma, 1,024-by-768,
NTSC and ATSC tuners. Viewing
angles: 170 degrees (horiz. and
vert.). Contrast ratio: 2,300:1.
Optoma
MovieTime DV10
$1,499.99 list
llllm
Good image quality. Quiet
operation. Portable. Advanced
image controls.
Recessed S-Video input
incompatible with some premium
A/V cables.
The MovieTime provides good
image quality and quiet operation,
delivering a complete portable
cinema package at a fair price.
DLP front projector, 854-by-480,
DVD player. Maximum image size:
99 inches. Contrast ratio: 4,000:1.
Brightness: 1,000 lumens.
Sharp Aquos
LC-45GX6U
$7,499.99 list
llllm
Detailed imagery. Responsive
universal remote control.
Comprehensive and quick menu
system. Analog and digital tuners.
Lacks support for 1080p input via
DVI/HDMI. Minor grayscale/color
tracking problems.
The LC-45GX6U offers impressive
clarity with high-quality HDTV. Its
the best of the big 1080p LCD TVs
available today.
45-inch LCD, 1,920-by-1,080, ATSC,
CableCARD, NTSC tuners. Viewing
angles: 170 degrees (horiz. and
vert.). Contrast ratio: 800:1.
F I R S T L O O K S
Top Products
Our Top Displays
Visit go.pcmag.com/displays for the full reviews of these and scores of other top-rated monitors, projectors, and HDTVs.
ANALYST'S TIP
JOHN R. DELANEY, Lead Analyst
When choosing your next LCD, make sure it comes with a good warranty. The current industry standard is
three years of coverage for parts, labor, and backlighting, but some vendors have cut back to one year and
will charge extra for a three-year extended warranty. Also, look for a vendor that offers a quick exchange
program for damaged panels, which typically guarantees a replacement within two business days.
F I R S T L O O K S
Desktop PCs
BY JOEL SANTO DOMINGO
The Vel oci t y Mi -
cro Raptor 64 DualX
($5,429 direct; with-
out monitor, $4,999)
is one bird that can
really fly. The first gaming
system weve seen with the
new AMD Athlon 64 FX-60
processor, the Raptor 64 has
soared to the head of the ock
in gaming performance. And
though the price tag is not for
the weak of heart or slender
of wallet, it is less than that of
many gaming systems weve
seen in roundups past (with
lower-end components).
The Raptor 64 comes in
the familiar Velocity Micro
Signature case (although this
model is silver), with a win-
dow to show all the hardware.
The liquid cooling system is
clearly visible, as is the larger
heat exchanger over the CPU.
The Raptor 64s FX- 60
dual-core processor is over-
clocked to 2.9 GHz from 2.6.
This makes it more
than a match for
FX-57 systems,
whi ch have a
single core and
a 2.8-GHz stock
conf iguration
speed. This sys-
tem includes not
just a dual-core
processor but
also dual 500GB
hard drives, dual
5 1 2MB eVGA
nVidia GeForce
7800 GTX graph-
ics cards, and dual DVDRW
drives (probably overkill).
Such strong components
led the Raptor 64 to the best
gaming scores weve seen yet.
All of the Raptor 64s Doom 3
and Splinter Cell scores were
well above 100 fps, ensuring
a smooth gaming experience.
The Raptor 64s 3DMark05
scores were also the highest
weve seen: 10,455 at 1,600-
by-1, 200 resolution. And it
had the highest scores weve
seen on SYSmark 2004 SE
Internet Content Creation
(385) and CineBench (770).
On our Windows Media en-
coding test, the Raptor 64
turned in a blaz-
ing 5:35 (a value
PC we recently
tested took 14
minutes to do the
same encode.)
Yes, its anoth-
er high-end gam-
ing system from
Velocity Micro.
But bei ng f i rst
out of the gate
i s a plus, si nce
t he Raptor 64
Dual X crushes
the competition
we saw just a couple
of months ago.
Velocity Micro Raptor 64
DualX
With 2.9-GHz AMD Athlon 64 FX-60
processor, 1GB DDR SDRAM, two
500GB SATA hard drives (RAID 0), two
nVidia GeForce 7800 GTX graphics
cards, two dual-layer DVDRW drives,
19-inch LCD monitor, Microsoft Win-
dows XP Professional, $5,429 direct;
without monitor, $4,999. Velocity
Micro Inc., www.velocitymicro.com.
llllm
Dig Your Talons into a True Gaming PC
Grab the Pole Position with the NASCAR PC
BY JOEL SANTO DOMINGO
G
entlemen (and ladies),
start your engi nes!
The Cisnet NASCAR PC
($888 list, $599 without moni-
tor) is an entry-level desktop
with the best theme
design weve seen yet.
It's a great rst PC for
hard-core NASCAR
fans age 7 to 70.
The theme design
goes far beyond
the basic brand-
ing weve seen on
kid-friendly desk-
tops, such as the
Di sney, Barbi e,
and Hot Wheels
PCs. Windows XP
is tweaked with
touches such as the Gen-
tlemen, start your engines!
announcement on start-up,
the car-related icons for My
Computer and the Recycle
Bin, the NASCAR theme on
the windows in Internet Ex-
plorer, and a custom Windows
Media Player skin. Other de-
tails include an Engine Start
power button, checkered-ag
LCD and speakers, and water-
screened graphics (not vinyl
decals) on the side panels.
You can follow your favor-
ite drivers using built-in links
t o NASCAR
.com and a 30-
day trial to the
NASCAR Mem-
bers Club. You
also get a 30-day
t ri al to Nextel
TrackPass, which
l et s you r i de
along by listening
to a drivers helmet
mic or to live NASCAR
radio. We wish both of
these subscriptions were
longer, however.
The systems specs are
above average for a bud-
get system: AMD Athlon
64 3200+ processor, 512MB
of RAM, a 160GB hard drive,
dual-layer DVD writer, and
ATI integrated Radeon Xpress
200 graphics. It is available in
only one conguration.
To experience racing from
a virtual cockpit we were able
to play the included demo ver-
sion of EA Sports NASCAR
SimRacing (set to 800-by-600
and low-detail default set-
tings) at a decent frame rate.
Overall, the NASCAR PC
is a good value. There's surely
someone you know who will
adore this PC.
Cisnet NASCAR PC
With 2.0-GHz AMD Athlon 64 3200+
processor, 512MB DDR SDRAM,
160GB hard drive, integrated ATI
Radeon Xpress 200 graphics, dual-layer
DVDRW drive; 17-inch LCD, Logitech
NASCAR PC stereo speakers, Microsoft
Windows XP Home, $888 list; without
monitor, $599. ZT Group International,
www.cisnetpc.com. lllhm
THE NEW RAPTOR 64 is one
screaming eagle for gamers.
THE NASCAR PC is souped up
and tricked out for racing fans.
F I R S T L O O K S
Software
The Best Ofce Alternative
Words over-helpful auto-
mation, youll be infuriated by
Writers efforts to complete
the words you type, both be-
cause its visually distract-
ing and because Writer tends
to suggest the wrong word.
For example, when you type
the word for, Writer offers
to complete it as formatting.
Luckily, you can turn off this
feature from the Tools | Auto-
Correct menu. Writer also
pops up a little lightbulb icon
whenever it inserts smart
quotes or other features; you
may need to search its dialogs
before you gure out that you
can turn off the bulb from
Tools | Options | StarOffice
| General, where the bulb is
called a Help Agent.
StarOffice also lacks re-
nements such as the ability
to hide white space at the top
and bottom of its page view.
But if youre serious about
breaking the Microsoft Of-
fice habit, StarOffice makes
it possible to quit and never
look back.
StarOfce 8.0
$69.95 download; $99.95 boxed. Sun
Microsystems Inc., www.sun.com.
llllm
BY EDWARD MENDELSON
W
hen youre ready
to begi n t he 1 2-
step program to
free yourself or your busi-
ness from your addiction to
Microsoft Ofce, start by in-
stalling Suns StarOfce 8.0,
the commercial sibling of the
free OpenOfce.org 2.0 suite.
StarOffice comes with the
Writer word processor, Calc
spreadsheet, and Impress
presentations program, all
able to open and save les in
Ofce formats or in the new
open-source OpenDocument
1.0 XML format.
The suite also includes a
separate Draw graphics pro-
gram and the Base database
program, which imports and
exports to most standard for-
mats but requires Microsofts
ADO interface for accessing
Microsoft Access les. Com-
pared with OpenOffice.org,
StarOfce has a better spell-
checker, fonts that match
Micro softs more closely, and
a richer set of import lters.
STREAMLINED INTERFACE
StarOffice matches all the
core features in Microsoft
Off ice whi le providi ng a
more logical and streamlined
inter face than Microsofts
labyrinthine menus. As a
drop-in replacement for Of-
ce, it is better than anything
else at opening Ofce docu-
ments with all formatting
and features intact, and it
improves on Microsoft with
built-in PDF output features.
The Writer program failed
only to translate some of
Words arcane drawing fea-
tures, such as upside-down
callout balloons with right-
side-up text. All the Excel
functions we tried translated
perfectly, including pivot
tables, although converted
charts tended to lose some
data from the original chart.
Presentations and transition
effects also translated well.
As you can see i n t he
screenshot at left, StarOfce
Writer, like the rest of the
suite, uses a small inspec-
tor panel for quick selec-
tions of styles and formats,
and for quick access to exten-
sive formatting options.
StarOfce ignores Micro-
soft Office macrosbusi-
nesses may regard this as
a bonus because it blocks
many security risksbut has
its own macro language, and
the Enterprise Edition in-
cludes a converter that trans-
lates simple Office macros.
(Enterprise Edition pricing
starts at $35 per seat for busi-
nesses, free for academic and
research institutions.)
UNHELPFUL HELP
Along with its simpler menu
system, StarOffice has some
annoyances. If youre some-
times bothered by Micro soft
STAROFFICE WRITER COMES WITH easy-to-set mail-merge
features, and supports e-mail merges (which arent supported
in StarOfces free competitor, OpenOfce.org).
STAROFFICE IMPRESS
includes conveniences like
an EyeDropper that instantly
changes all uses of an exist-
ing color in a presentation.
F I R S T L O O K S
Software
BY DAVIS D. JANOWSKI
W
ere still not sure
why eBay acquired
Skype, the popu-
lar PC-based Voice over IP
(VoIP) telephony service. And
we werent sure what it meant
for the continued develop-
ment of the Skype software.
But the recent release of the
Skype 2.0 (beta) shows that
the app continues to evolve.
The free instant-message
and voice Web application
service now provides free
video calling to other Skype
2.0 users. AIM, MSN Mes-
senger, and Yahoo! Messen-
ger also allow free PC-to-PC
video conversations, but their
implementations feel a bit like
an afterthought. Skypes use
of video, by contrast, is very
well integrated into the basic
phone service.
We found the audio and vid-
eo quality to be about as good
as that of the enterprise-grade
VoIP hardware and
service providers
of a few years back,
which means youll
encounter some jit-
ter and latency. But
Skypes engineers
have signi f icant-
l y i mproved t he
streaming capabili-
ties with proprie-
tary codecs, and, in
any case, glitches
are a lot easier to
stomach when you
dont have to pay.
Skype is a great
way to experiment
with video calling. All you
need are a broadband con-
nection, a decent webcam,
and a pai r of headphones
with a microphone. To run
the service, just download
the client and install it to
your PC. Youll nd a stream-
lined interface that makes
many features, such as con-
ferencing, available with a
single click.
Presence feat ures l i ke
find-me/follow-mewhich
lets calls find you wherever
you are, ri ngi ng multiple
phones (such as your cell
phone, home phone, and
work phone) all at onceare
significant improvements.
You can also import
contacts from your
Microsoft Outlook
address book and
i ni t i ate cal l s to
non-Skype contacts
(once youve signed
up for the SkypeOut
fee-based service)
with regular phone
lines with one click.
Four premi um
s e r v i c e s move
Skype much closer
to a complete phone
service (though you
cant get emergency
911 service). These
include SkypeOut, SkypeIn
(currently available in ten
major markets in the U.S.),
Skype Voice Mail, and Skype
Groups. The company ex-
pects Skype 2.0 to go nal in
the rst quarter of 2006.
Skype 2.0 (beta)
Skype Technologies S.A., www.skype.
com. lllhm
Skype Delivers in Voice, and Now in Video
The Webs First News Channel
BY CADE METZ
Y
ouve never seen Inter-
net television quite
like CNN Pipeline, a
24-hour, commercial-free
online station broadcasting
from its own Atlanta control
room with its own news an-
chors. This breathtaking new
service streams
not one, but four
l ive video feeds
to your desktop.
If you get bored
watching a White
House press con-
ference, you can
switch to a l ive
report from Iraq
or footage of hur-
ricane recovery in
New Orleans. And
you can choose
f rom dozens of
on-demand news
reports, spanning everything
from politics and business
to sports and entertainment.
Many of CNN Pipelines sto-
ries are exclusive to Pipeline.
There are two ways to use
the service. You can either
point your browser to www.
cnn.com/pipeline or install a
downloadable application.
Either way, CNN serves up
a video image that covers
about a quarter of a 1,024-
by-768 display, and you can
switch from one live feed to
another simply by selecting
one of four previews.
The difference between
the two ways of
using the service
is minimal, but we
recommend t he
downloadable app.
Both ways display
text feeds offering
brief summaries
of breaking news
and provide ac-
cess to all sorts of
on-demand video.
If youve installed
the downloadable
app, you can also
use it to watch free
video available at both CNN
.com and Money.com.
In testing, we were amazed
by the clarity of the video and
sound, though performance
dipped on occasion. The ser-
vice is new, so there arent
many users yet. To see how
video quality holds up, well
check back in a while when
more people are using it.
And t heres one more
catch: Users have to pay for
the service. CNN charges
99 cents for a one-day pass,
$2.95 per month, and $24.95
per year. But the amount
of news is remarkable, and
although we ran into a few
performance hiccups during
peak business hours, the vid-
eo quality is as good as, if not
better than, anything weve
experienced on the Web.
CNN Pipeline
99 cents a day, $2.95 a month, or
$24.95 a year. CNN, www.cnn.com.
lllhm
GET FREE VIDEO CALLING, a streamlined interface,
and more with Skypes new beta.
CNN PIPELINE TAKES fresh news content and pipes it
to your PC, no TV required.
J UMP TO NEXT PAGE >>
During the past few years, small and midsize businesses have worked
overtime to implement a spectrum of technologies designed to enhance
their competitive proles and bolster their bottom lines. Now, at a time
when many of these companies are trying to focus on optimizing the value
of technology acquisitions, theyre also faced with a malevolent and ever-
changing array of threats to their businesses in the form of viruses, spam,
spyware and other security exposures.
H P S M A R T B U S I N E S S . Z I F F D A V I S . C O M
SP ECI AL ADVERT I SI NG SECT I ON
SPECI AL ADVERT I SI NG SECT I ON
[1a]
The ever-increasing frequency and severity of security threats such
as viruses, worms and spyware can present a challenge for even the
largest businesses with the biggest IT budgets. HP security solutions
for small and midsize businesses can help take the complexity out of
safeguarding your company.
SAFEGUARDING
YOUR BUSINESS
EASY ACCESS FOR YOU.
1. Instant savings and free shipping good on purchases made through 3/31/06. Free shipping available only within the United States. 2. Wireless access point required and is not included. Wireless
Internet use requires separately purchased Internet service contract. Availability of public wireless access points limited. All offers available from HP Direct and participating resellers. Prices shown
are HP Direct prices, are subject to change and do not include applicable state and local sales tax or shipping to recipients destination. Reseller prices may vary. Other fees and restrictions may
apply. All images simulated. Intel, Intel Inside, the Intel Inside Logo, the Intel Centrino Logo and Intel Centrino are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the
United States and other countries. Microsoft and Windows are U.S. registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. 2005 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
I NT R OD U C I NG T H E H P COMPAQ n x 6 1 1 0 B US I NE S S NOT E B OOK.
HP COMPAQ nx6110SPECIAL PRICE $999
1
WITH INSTANT SAVINGS AND FREE SHIPPING
CALL 888
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291
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7965 CLICK hp.com/go/secure3 CONTACT an HP reseller
You arent always thinking about protecting your company information. But HP is. Our HP Compaq nx6110 business notebook
with Intel
Centrino
TM
Mobile Technology
2
features exclusive HP ProtectTools, built-in security software and hardware that works
together to keep your data safe. Combine that with the HP Mobile Data Protection System, which helps protect your hard drive
from shocks and bumps, and you have data security every road warrior will love. All at a price you cant resist, just $999.
1
A DEAD END FOR ANYONE ELSE.
Smart Advice > Smart Technology > Smart Services
Indeed, weve all had to contend with
spam at one time or another both at work
and at home. In the past, it simply meant
putting productivity concerns aside while
you cleaned out your inbox. Today, its not
uncommon for spam to bring viruses and
other pesty payloads along for the ride.
Remember the MyDoom and SoBig threats?
Together, these worms and their variants
both of which used spam technology to
spread virusescaused billions of dollars
worth of damage around the world. Spy-
ware also threatens businesses on more
than one levelcapturing condential data
like passwords and customer information
while degrading system performance at the
same time.
The good news is that help is readily avail-
able. The bad news is that there are so many
providers and options to evaluate, even the
largest businesses with the biggest IT staffs
have difculty keeping up with them all. And
identifying and plugging the holes is only
half the battle. Often, the resources needed
to keep security up-to-date far exceed the ini-
tial purchase price of the security solution.
The reality of the situation is that, regard-
less of the threats, many small and midsize
businesses simply do not have the time
or the resources to spend on security. Un-
derstandably, they want to keep all hands
focused on the core business. But as the
sheer number of threats continues to grow,
and those threats become more complex
and increasingly damaging, many of these
businesses are nding that they have no
choice but to nd solutions to address their
vulnerabilities.
BLUEPRINT FOR
PROTECTION
To help these small and midsize businesses
get back to work on their core businesses,
HP has joined with its channel partners to
take the complexity out of selecting and
purchasing security solutions. As part of its
Smart Ofce initiative, HP has developed a
layers of security approach to help busi-
nesses begin thinking about security proac-
tively. This approach makes it much easier to
understand how to defend your business
its data, applications and networksand to
and keep that protection up-to-date.
There are six key security layers:
1. The physical security layer is the most
basic. It protects IT gear from being stolen
with tools like chassis and cable locks.
2. The data security layer restricts access to
condential information.
3. The application security layer protects
against application-destined viruses,
worms and threats that can result in cor-
ruption or application inaccessibility.
4. The network layer uses tools such as appli-
cation-level rewalls to block unauthorized
network access. Today, most viruses are con-
tracted via e-mail, so an application-level
rewall is a critical tool for those businesses
with only network-level rewall protection.
5. The security management layer assesses
the vulnerability of the business environ-
ment and manages patches and updates.
6. The security services layer represents
the services HP and its channel partners
are providing to help small and midsize
companies select the solutions that best
protect their businesses.
HP SECURITY SOLUTIONS
HP offers products and services throughout
the six layers of security to help small and
midsize businesses stay safe. HP is increas-
ingly building security features into and
across all of its product families, making it
easier for businesses to approach security
in a holistic, rather than piecemeal, fashion.
The company has also introduced a number
of new solutions throughout the layers of
security (outlined below) specically geared
toward small and midsize businesses.
DATA SECURITY LAYER
The HP ProtectTools Embedded Security
Chip is a special security chip installed on
the motherboards of select HP desktop and
notebook PCs. Based on the Trusted Com-
puting Groups Trusted Platform Module
(TPM), this security chip encrypts sensitive
credential information such as IDs, pass-
words, encryption keys and digital cer-
ticates using a root key stored directly in
[4a]
One of the largest IT management
consulting rms in New England, Boston,
Mass.-based CBE Technologies has more
than 225 staff members in nine ofces.
Its 145 IT engineers and technicians
provide small and midsize businesses,
educational institutions, and state and
local government agencies with plan-
ning and design services, procurement,
systems integration, remote systems
management, and onsite support.
Years of growth and acquisitions left
CBE with a plethora of widely dispersed
systems, applications and hardware, with
no consistent level of security, little stra-
tegic integration, no central mechanism
to connect ofces, and a tremendous
support burden.
Security was an important concern,
explains company CIO Randy Becker. We
are responsible for protecting our clients
data as well as our own. It was time to
nd a way to rein in data center manage-
ment complexity and cost and guarantee
better system uptime and security.
The solution was to consolidate ap-
plications, data and server infrastructure
into a single data center based on HP
ProLiant BL20p server blades, an HP
StorageWorks Enterprise Virtual Array
3000 storage area network (SAN), and an
HP StorageWorks MSL6000 Tape Library
with redundant connections to CBEs
wide area network and the Internet.
Our HP BladeSystem is extremely
reliable and efcient, says Becker. It
provides a highly exible and scalable
environment that enables us to embrace
change while reducing total cost of
ownership. All our data is automatically
backed up [to the MSL 6000 Tape Library]
in a systematic manner that will make it
easy to retrieve if the need arises.
Data center management is provided
largely by HP Altiris Rapid Deployment,
HP Systems Insight Manager (SIM), and
HP Integrated Lights-Out (iLO) software.
HP iLO lets us leave the data center
unmanned, says Becker.
Were now able to provide an incred-
ible level of uptime for our clients, and
they have better access to their business
data and to our staff members, says
Becker. The data center is also much
easier to secure and less expensive to
operate and support.
CBE ENHANCES UPTIME AND SECURITY
[5a]
silicon, so its almost impossible to hack. It
provides airtight security for secure network
logons, digitally signed email, and Web site
access and can also encrypt local les and
folders using secure keys created from the
root key.
The HP Credential Manager for Protect-
Tools enables a single sign-on capability,
so users can employ one password for all of
the different applications and Web sites that
they useno more easily hackable pass-
words or lists of passwords on sticky notes
afxed to monitors. Credential Manager
stores all passwords in a password vault
and associates a single password or smart
card to the vault. The vault is protected by
the embedded security chip, so its virtually
impossible to hack. This is especially attrac-
tive to small and midsize businesses who
are increasingly at risk when it comes to lost
or stolen notebooks.
HP ProtectTools for iPAQ Pocket PC is
available on the HP iPAQ hx2000, one of
the only handheld PCs available today
thats secure right out of the box; as well
as the HP iPAQ hw6515 Mobile Messenger,
HPs new global communications device.
This solution, powered by CREDANT Tech-
nologies, encrypts all data and requires
users to key in a PIN, simple password or
strong password.
HP Client Foundation Suite helps users
recover lost or corrupted data quickly and
easily. It includes Altiris Local Recovery Pro,
which takes periodic system image snap-
shots and stores them in a hidden place
on a local or external drive. If the system is
corrupted by a virus, or the user acciden-
tally deletes a le, he or she can easily re-
store the system to a previous state and re-
cover whatever was lost without help from
IT. It even snapshots open les so that un-
saved data can be recovered. Local Recov-
ery Pro is a great solution for mobile users,
whose systems are particularly vulnerable
and who often dont have the time or re-
sources to perform backups on the road.
HP Client Foundation Suite provides man-
agement features that help administra-
tors detect hardware problems remotely,
before they compromise the system. The
suite can also generate an inventory of all
desktops and notebooks to help prevent
theft or installation of compromised or un-
authorized software.
APPLICATION SECURITY LAYER
HP notebook and desktop PCs ship with a
complete version of Symantec Norton Anti-
virus preinstalled. At the end of 60 days, busi-
nesses can extend the Norton license by pay-
ing $24.95* for the following year, a savings of
$45.05 over the normal yearly price of $70.
NETWORK SECURITY LAYER
The HP Firewall Check Point Edition is a
network security solution based on HPs
ProLiant servers, and features Check Points
SmartDefense technology. It actively pro-
tects businesses from known and unknown
network and application attacks, classifying
the attacks by type and immediately detect-
ing and preventing them. This Linux-based
solution is effectively a security appliance
built on a redeployable ProLiant server.
Also available is the HP ProLiant DL320
Firewall/VPN/Cache Server, an advanced
rewall, virtual private networking (VPN)
and Web caching solution in an affordable,
precongured, easy-to-install appliance
package. Based on Microsofts robust Inter-
net Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server
2004, it provides a great solution for pro-
tecting branch ofces or for internal use to
A comprehensive security strategy will keep your business safe and running in the face
of ever-more-numerous and virulent security threats. However, security must also work
hand-in-hand with effective data protection to ensure that the business is protected
when the inevitable security breach, natural disaster or human error causes data loss
or corruption.
Small and midsize businesses often dont have the nancial resources, expertise
or staff to implement the industrial-strength data-protection strategies undertaken by
large enterprises. However, with the help of HP data protection solutions and services,
your organization can protect its data effectively without a huge investment.
HP StorageWorks Data Protector Express is affordable, easy-to-install and easy-to-
manage data backup software geared specically to the needs of small and midsize busi-
nesses with limited time and resources. Data Protector Express is an excellent solution
for backing up data to tape, or for using a combination of disk, tape and optical media.
While it is simple to use, Data Protector Express offers SMBs enterprise-class features
and performance, including role-based security so that backup can be delegated to dif-
ferent departments; and agents to protect networked le servers, application servers
and desktops. Other features include the ability to back up open les; disk-to-disk-to-
any backup; and bare-metal disaster recovery to restore an entire system, including op-
erating system, after a disaster. Its graphic user interface runs locally or remotely with a
common look across Windows, Linux and NetWare environments. And you get one year
of free support and upgrades.
One of the easiest and most cost-effective ways for SMBs to implement enterprise-
class data protection is to take advantage of the automation, efciency and expertise
offered by a data protection service. Developed with extensive input from small and
midsize businesses, HP Smart Desktop Management Service (SMDS) can provide your
organization with a broad range of very affordable data protection, security and support
services that are easy to access and use.
For example, SMDS can automatically back up business data from your organizations
desktop, notebook and workstation clients and store it safely away from your physi-
cal location in a password-protected, highly secure data center. From its easy-to-use
graphic interface, employees can retrieve their stored data at any time. SMDS also of-
fers antivirus and rewall protection, desktop support, automated Microsoft
operating
system patch updates, and real-time assistance, all starting at less than $20 per desk-
top system. Qualied channel partners have been trained to co-deliver this service in
conjunction with HP to keep support close to the customer.
With either of these data-protection solutions, you can focus resources on your busi-
ness, knowing that your data will be protected in the event of a virus attack, system
crash, or natural disaster.
SIMPLE, AFFORDABLE DATA PROTECTION
P R E S E N T I N G T H E H P C O M P A Q d c 76 0 0 U L T R A - S L I M D E S K T O P.
An open cubicle. An unwatched desktop. Sound like a security risk? Not if its an HP Compaq dc7600 Business Desktop, powered
by an Intel
Pentium
4 Processor with HT Technology. Your data is vigilantly guarded by our exclusive HP ProtectTools. Security
features are built into the desktop infrastructure, providing enhanced protection. Access is tightly controlled. Crucial passwords
are stored in a secure file. And you can remotely control users preferences and security settings. Having award-winning HP
support available 24/7 further adds to your sense of security. Secure desktops, competitively priced.
CALL 888-860-9412 CLICK hp.com/go/securepc3 CONTACT an HP reseller
HP COMPAQ dc7600 ULTRA-SLIM DESKTOP$899
1
WITH INSTANT SAVINGS
1. Instant savings good on purchases made through 2/28/06. Monitor sold separately. All offers available from HP Direct and participating resellers. Prices shown are
HP Direct prices, are subject to change and do not include applicable state and local sales tax or shipping to recipients destination. Reseller prices may vary. Other fees and
restrictions may apply. All images simulated. Intel, Intel Inside, the Intel Inside Logo and Pentium are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries
in the United States and other countries. Microsoft and Windows are U.S. registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. 2005 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
Smart Advice > Smart Technology > Smart Services
IT MAY LOOK LIKE A TARGET.
IN FACT, IT
S MORE LIKE A VAULT.

protect and enhance the performance of
applications such as Microsoft
Exchange
or Microsoft
SharePoint Portal Server. It

also includes content ltering to protect in-
appropriate employee use of the network,
intrusion detection, and virus throttling,
which detects virus-like behavior and con-
strict its spread across the network. The
built-in VPN encrypts and secures remote
connections from mobile, branch and home
ofce users.
The ProCurve Networking by HP Access
Control Security Solutionwhich ghts
against unauthorized wireline and wireless
network accessis targeted at medium
businesses that require employees to be au-
thorized for multiple applications.
HP also provides Virus Throttle fea-
tured in its HP ProLiant Essentials Intelli-
gent Networking Pack (INP) and ProCurve
Switch 5300x, both of which can monitor
the network for abnormal, virus-like behav-
ior. INP can delay connection requests to
new machines from infected servers, while
the ProCurve Switch 5300xl slows down the
spread of malicious code across its routed
interfaces, giving IT staff the time needed
to address the issue directly. Virus Throttle
works with traditional virus signature-based
solutions, lling the gap that in the past has
allowed unknown threats to do damage be-
fore patches can be deployed.
SECURITY MANAGEMENT LAYER
The HP ProLiant Essentials Vulnerability
and Patch Management Pack, integrated
into HP Systems Insight Manager (SIM), dif-
ferentiates itself from most other solutions
by integrating vulnerability assessment and
patch management into a single seamless
tool. It identies and xes security vulner-
abilities caused not only by missing patches
but also as a result of mis-congured op-
erating systems. It automates the acquisi-
tion of vulnerability updates and patches,
schedules scans to identify problem areas,
schedules deployment of patches and xes,
and provides assurance that patches remain
installed on an ongoing basis. Companies
that use Systems Insight Manager can now
oversee devices and track security vulner-
ability assessment and patch management
from the same console.
SECURITY SERVICE LAYER
The HP Security Vulnerability Assessment
Service for SMBs was designed from the
ground up for small and midsize businesses.
It provides customers with the tools that they
need to build a cost-effective and comprehen-
sive security plan for their business, including
a security architecture and policy review, pen-
etration testing of perimeter systems, and a
discovery and recommendations report.
VALUE: HP
The ever-growing HP portfolio of secure
products and solutions allows small and
midsize businesses to defend themselves
against a wide variety of attacks that not
only may cripple their IT infrastructures, but
also might put them out of business. Simply
stated, HP solutions are smarter, simpler
and safer.
They are smarter because they address
the key layers of security protection, en-
abling businesses to concentrate on their
core competencies, rather than expend-
ing precious resources on security issues.
They are simpler because they better en-
able businesses to control and manage
their information infrastructures with
minimal intervention. As a result, IT or-
ganizations save time and money while
gaining the peace of mind that
comes from knowing their se-
curity systems are always up-
to-date.
They are safer because they
defend against threats, re-
duce vulnerabilities and help
minimize the risk of business disruption
powerful capabilities that greatly enhance
operating environments.
Services and support are integral to HP se-
curity solutions, and this emphasis is clearly
illustrated not only by the new HP Security
Vulnerability Assessment Service for SMBs,
but also the HP Care Pack Smart Online
Backup & Recovery for Intel
-based servers
running Microsoft
Windows NT
, 2000 and
Server 2003. This service offers continuous
online backup and offsite data protection.
Finally, as a reection of its focus on small
and midsize businesses, HP offers the SMB
Security Solution Center, a user-friendly
Web site that provides a wealth of informa-
tion about security threats and tools for eval-
uating the security needs of your companys
notebooks, desktops and workstations. The
site is accessible as customers congure cli-
ents online and provides one-stop shopping
for best-in-class security solutions, either
directly or working with a chosen channel
partner.
With HP as their security solutions part-
ner, small and midsize companies can
spend less time worrying about potentially
fatal attacks against their IT infrastructures
and more time concentrating on business.
[8a]
Copyright
2005 Hewlett-Pack-
ard Development Company, L.P.
Microsoft, Windows, Windows NT
and Windows XP are U.S. registered trademarks
of Microsoft Corporation. Intel is a trademark or
registered trademark of Intel Corporation or its
subsidiaries in the United States and other coun-
tries. Linux is a U.S. registered trademark of Linus
Torvalds. *Prices subject to change without notice.
To download a
white paper on this
topic, visit http://
hpsmartbusiness.
ziffdavis.com
F I R S T L O O K S
Software
Traditional Contact Management Still Works
ing contact management with
tabs for tracking supporting
detail, links to calendar and
task management, e-mai l
integration, reporting, and
more. If you have a modem,
GoldMine lets you dial con-
tacts phone numbers direct-
ly. It also includes SoftPhone
VoIP calling capabilities.
Both GoldMi nes i nter-
face and its behavior are
highly conf igurable, but
that f lexibility sometimes
leads to complexity. For ex-
ample, GoldMine includes a
merge/purge wizard to help
identify and resolve dupli-
cate contacts, but divining
appropriate settings is best
left to technically savvy ad-
ministrators. On the upside,
features such as GM+Views
let administrators tie records
to Web pages and embed
controls that can access data
from legacy systems, creating
a kind of built-in portal. Gold-
Mine also offers the ability to
create macros and build ex-
tensive automated processes
for capabilities like enforcing
document workow.
For companies willing to
invest in customizing it to
their needs, GoldMine 7.0 of-
fers an extensive, if not always
simple, set of CRM tools.
GoldMine 7.0 Corporate
Edition
$595 direct. FrontRange Solutions USA
Inc., www.frontrange.com. lllmm
BY JOHN CLYMAN
O
n-demand customer-
relationship manage-
ment systems l i ke
Salesforce.com may be gain-
ing attention, but that doesnt
mean the end for traditional
workgroup-oriented contact
and CRM products. The lat-
est versions of ACT! by Sage
Premium for Workgroups
(from Sage Software) and
GoldMine Corporate Edition
7.0 (from FrontRange Solu-
tions) continue to provide
versatile tools for tracking
sales leads, contacts, calen-
dars, campaigns, and more.
ACT! by Sage Premium for
Workgroups 2006
ACT! strikes a favorable bal-
ance between capability and
usability, providing a straight-
forward contact-management
i nterface that also offers
sales-oriented tools such as
opportunity tracking and mail
merge. Importing existing
data directly from Microsoft
Outlook or from data sources
like CSV (comma-separated
value) files proved painless,
though ACT! didnt transfer
existing notes on our Outlook
contact records.
Incremental (type-ahead)
search, search by example,
and advanced search made
it easy to find desired re-
cords. ACT! lets you orga-
nize contacts into groups
or companies, which can in
turn contain subgroups and
departments, either by select-
ing individual contacts or by
defining dynamic criteria.
You can use these groups and
companies (or ad hoc search
results) to schedule tasks and
to create individual e-mails or
mail-merged bulk mailings.
Each contact record dis-
plays tabs that let you link
to a variety of information,
including notes, history, ac-
tivities, documents, and op-
portunities. You can track
opportunities as they pass
through stages in ACT!s de-
fault built-in sales pipeline,
or you can easily construct
your own alternate pipelines.
ACT! lets you build tabular
or graphical reports from
the opportunity data, though
we wish it offered a bit more
control over the process.
ACT! includes tools to cus-
tomize or add elds, tabs, and
pick lists in your contacts
and opportunities. It also in-
cludes WYSIWYG editors
that let you easily change
form and report layouts. As of
ACT! 2005, though, the prod-
uct no longer offers macro
recording or playback capa-
bilities, so users or adminis-
trators who want to automate
the product directly should
consider GoldMine.
Sage offers a Web-based
interface called ACT! for Web
that Sage says will fully sup-
port ACT! 2006 in early 2006.
Small workgroups (less than
ten users sharing the same
data) and individuals can also
save some money with the ba-
sic ACT! by Sage 2006 prod-
uct, which sells for $229.99.
Whichever edition you
choose, youre likely to find
its capabilities make it easy to
manage your sales data and
processes more efciently.
ACT! by Sage Premium for
Workgroups 2006
$399.99 direct. Sage Software Inc.,
www.sagesoftware.com. llllm
GoldMine 7.0 Corporate
Edition
GoldMine 7.0 offers substan-
tial capabilities, although
relatively few features have
been significantly enhanced
from the previous version.
Some of the biggest changes
are under the hood: dBASE
has been supplanted by the
open-source Firebird data-
base, and support for BDE
(Borland Database Engine)
has been replaced by ADO
(ActiveX Data Objects). One
major benefit: The former
2GB database size limit has
been removed. GoldMi ne
also works with Microsoft
SQL Server as a data store.
After a relatively simple in-
stallation, GoldMine success-
fully imported our Outlook
data. But it was completely
unable to import a CSV le.
GoldMine offers the CRM
features youd expect, includ-
ACT! OFFERS A VERSATILE
yet easy-to-use collection of
tools for managing contacts
and opportunities.
GOLDMINES SIMPLE PROJECT MANAGEMENT interface lets
you monitor project progress at a glance.
F I R S T L O O K S
Software
BY M. DAVID STONE
G
iven that the previous
generation of optical
character recognition
(OCR) programs all offered
better than 99 percent ac-
curacy, the question today is
what else they can do. Abbyy
FineReader 8.0 Professional
Edition ($399.99 direct) an-
swers that question with
tools to improve recognition
on a wider range of originals,
notably digital photos, books,
and PDF les.
A welcome new feature is
the ability to dene common
OCR tasks to run with a sin-
gle command. For example,
one predefined procedure
asks you to pick an image
file, then opens the file, rec-
ognizes the text, and sends
the result to Word. A wizard
makes it easy to define your
own procedures.
In a new twist for PDFs,
FineReader checks to see if
they have embed-
ded text and, if so,
compares a small
sample of recog-
nized text with the
embedded text. If
the embedded text
seems accurate
as it will if the le
wa s gener at ed
from, say, a Word
documentFine-
Reader will read
the text and speed
up the process. If
the embedded test
is inaccurateas
it may be if generated from an
image lethen FineReader
will take the time to recog-
nize the text instead.
FineReader also extends
the practical range for OCR.
In particular, recognizing
book pages is a challenge be-
cause the three-dimensional
curve in open book pages
translates to curved text lines
in scanned pages. FineReader
8.0 lets you split the image
between left and right facing
pages and then straightens
the text before recognizing it,
to improve accuracy.
More intriguing is the abil-
ity to import photos directly
from a camera to recognize
text. It can sometimes be
handy to take a photo of a
magazine or book
page while youre
on t he go. But
photos aren t as
hi gh- qual i t y as
scanned images.
Abbyy says i t s
new adaptive tech-
nology improves
recogni t i on for
text in photos by
40 percent. On our
tests, it did a good
enough job for the
result to be useful,
even without tak-
ing pains to shoot
the best possible photo.
With its new automation
and wider range of originals
that can be recognized, Fine-
Reader maintains its position
as one of the best OCR pro-
grams available.
Abbyy FineReader 8.0
$399.99 direct. Abbyy Software
House, www.abbyy.com. llllm
Making OCR More Useful
No Coding Required
BY RICHARD V. DRAGAN
D
esigned to let non-
technical users create
sophisticated Web or
standalone database applica-
tions, Alpha Softwares Alpha
Five Version 7 ($349 direct)
offers signicant ease-of-use
enhancements for any depart-
ment or organization seeking
to build and share data with-
out having to call in IT.
Bundled in is a developer
version of Alpha Fives Web
Application Server ($699)
that offers a robust set of
mini-wizards, called genies,
for wal ki ng you through
every conceivable database
task. Theres increased sup-
port for connect i ng and
importing data from enter-
prise databases like MySQL
and Oracle via ODBC/ADO.
Using this tool, we success-
fully built a custom set of
database tables, and we also
imported existing databases
for an order-tracking e-com-
merce application. We liked
that you can design tables on
the f ly using several short-
cuts, such as text-based row
denitions.
The report designer has
been greatly improved, with
support for generating reports
in HTML and PDF as well
as in print. New support for
Active X controls and chart-
ing extends what the tradi-
tional Alpha Five application
can handle.
The new release offers a
well-thought-out set of Web
components and deployment
options. Highlights include a
robust grid control with tabs
that let us show master-detail
records for invoices (some-
thing that usually takes a
good deal of coding).
After options are set in a
builder dialog box, the tool
generates the underlying Web
component for you, a slick
feature. A navigation compo-
nent offers expert control of
ow between Web pages and
lets you create toolbars with
drop-down or yover menus.
A standout here is the control
of Web styles (akin to CSS),
which let us change the look
and feel of our Web pages.
Finally, you get a greatly
improved console for pub-
lishing and then administer-
ing Web applications.
Overall, Alpha Five largely
succeeds at letting business
users build surprisingly so-
phisticated Web interfaces
without programming.
Alpha Five Version 7
$349 direct; server license, $699.
Alpha Software Inc.,
www.alphasoftware.com. llllm
ABBYY FINEREADER 8.0 improves text recognition
from books, PDF les, and digital photos.
ALPHA FIVE VERSION 7 makes it easy for even nontechnical
users to build database applications for the desktop or the Web.
92%
of com
panies report virus disasters.
C
hances are, you knew
that.
Now its tim
e for Insight.
Access to certified security experts
Rigorous security assessm
ents
Leading technology
products and services
I
T

A
L
E
R
T
:
www.INSIGHT.com/itsecurity
Real Insight. Real Solutions. Real Affordable.
800.927.3135
Source Code: AD029
Insight and the Insight logo are registered trademarks of Insight Direct USA, Inc. IT For The Way You Work is a trademark of Insight Direct USA, Inc. All other
trademarks, registered trademarks, photos, logos and illustrations are property of their respective owners. 2005 Insight Direct USA, Inc. All rights reserved.
Cyber Security: A Crisis of Prioritization, February 2005.

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69 www.pcmag.com FEBRUARY 21, 2006 PC MAGAZINE
KI LL THE MESSENGERI F YOU CAN
Please take a look at the screenshot Ive provided. Microsoft
AntiSpyware gleefully informs me that it has added MSN
Messenger to the Startup Registry.
I specically removed MSN Messenger from that Registry
to speed up my start-up. It took me three attempts to remove.
Not only did it reinstate itself, but AntiSpyware has allowed it,
acting as if I had made the change myself.
Wi t h a l l t he Wi ndows -
com pati ble programs and games
Ive purchased, I really cant af-
ford to switch to Apple. Believe
me, I would if I could.
Talha bin Hamid
When someone takes you to dinner,
do you complain about the restau-
rant she picks? Last time I checked,
Microsofts AntiSpyware package
was still free. If youre unhappy,
perhaps you should purchase a pro-
gram that more closely meets your
needsor pick up our favorite free
product, Tenebrils SpyCatcher Ex-
press. This months issue is chock-
full of security tips and reviews; Im
sure you will find something ad-
equate.Jim Louderback
TESTI NG MUSI C FAI RLY
I saw that in Bill Machrones review of the Toshiba gigabeat
and a few others (go.pcmag.com/gigabeat) there was some com-
plaining about music quality on the players. I just wanted to
ask what music quality he and you guys use when reviewing a
product. I know Apple has sound enhancers that inate the hor-
rid quality of songs that are of low music quality (128 Kbps). All
of the CDs I rip are 320 Kbps. The popping and distant sound of
music with a low bit rate annoys me personally.
If you guys are running low-quality music on an MP3 player,
you should at least state it, or just not blame the low sound
quality on the player. I just want to see more justice shown for
non-iPod MP3 players because the good ones need the adver-
tisement to break the colossal iPod industry.
I enjoy the reviews on your site as valid advice on whether
to buy a product or not.
Our current lab test les (test signals and music clips) are en-
coded at 320 Kbps. For our subjective listening tests, we use a
mix of les encoded at from 192 to 320 Kbps. We dont much like
listening to heavily compressed
music, either.Mike Kobrin, Lead
Analyst, Audio
EXPANDI NG SOLUTI ONS
COVERAGE
I have been a subscriber for over
20 years and it is about time that
I let you know how much your
Solutions section helps meand
many others. It is the rst section
I turn to.
I started in the business almost
50 years ago, and I rmly believe
that the little guy should not be
lost in the shufe as technology
zooms ahead. So much personal
time is spent tweaking, correct-
ing, and repairing program and
OS issues that productivity suf-
fers immeasurably.
Keep up the good work. More
tips are always welcome! I bet Solutions could be a magazine
unto itself.
Joe Witt
Thanks! This is an ideal time to discuss some changes to Solu-
tions. Please welcome Loyd Case, who is joining Neil Rubenking
to answer your tough hardware and software questionsyou
can find Ask Loyd next to Ask Neil in every issue. Were also
adding hands-on projects, and more specific sections to help
broaden the Solutions mandate. And dont forget our Discus-
sions area online at PCMag.com, where you can get lots of your
tech problems answered, too.JL
COPYRI GHTS AND WRONGS
The essence of Bill Machrones column (If I Told You, Id
Have to . . . , December 27) is revealed not in the chill he felt
settling upon his keyboard with the passage of the Digital Mil-
lennium Copyright Act but in his sentence If you want to
How to Contact Us
We welcome your comments and suggestions.
When sending e-mail to Feedback, please state in the subject line of your
message which article or column prompted your response.
E-MAIL pcmag@ziffdavis.com
All letters become the property of PC Magazine and are subject to editing. We
regret that we cannot answer letters individually.
MICROSOFT ANTISPYWARE will allow MSN Messenger
to be added to the Startup Registry despite your efforts
to remove it.
I really cant afford to switch to Apple, but
believe me, I would if I could.
FEEDBACK
go.pcmag.com/feedback
store some movies on your laptops hard disc for that intermi-
nable ight and leave the DVDs at home where they wont get
lost or damaged, youre out of luck.
I suspect Ziff-Davis pays Machrone the same monthly salary
whether PC Magazines sales go up or down that month. Folks
who live off their own copyrights have no such certainty.
Damn it, if you leave your DVD at home, you should be out of
luck. If Machrone gets to the airport and realizes that the print-
ed and bound copy of the Scott Turow novel hed intended to
read on the plane is still on the kitchen counter, does he expect
to walk into the airport Barnes & Noble and tell the cashier to
call up the record of his purchase of the book at the mall and
give him another? Does he expect Sears to replace the cordless
drill he dropped into the spa?
The main justication of the as-many-copies-as-it-takes por-
tability absolutists is, when parsed, that digital media is so easy
to copy and, hey, look, were even providing our own media.
Jeff Millar
Bills a freelancer, so he does work in the world you describe. I
do like the idea of paying him on a sliding scale! Seriously, this
would be an ideal time to mention that Bill will be writing for ev-
ery issue going forward. And when it comes to books, I feel no re-
morse copying an e-book Ive purchased from my PC to my Treo,
my e-book reader, and even my printer. And if Ive purchased
the book, why shouldnt I get a digital version free? Apparently
Amazon feels the same way, because it is planning to bundle e-
books with some paper books in the near future.JL
JUST WHAT DOES I T EXCEL AT?
I was (sadly) amused at A Fresh Face for Microsoft Ofce
(Forward Thinking, November 22), especially the note that
the new version will offer submenus that change depending
on what youre doing.
You know what would really make me spend money on
a new version? Fixes to problems that have been around for
years. Take Excel. Open up 2004\Finances.xls for review.
Now try to compare it with 2005\Finances.xls. Excel will
tell you that you cannot open two les with the same name,
even if they are in different directories. Huh? Or how about
read-only les? Rather than simply stopping you from making
changes to the le, as most newer programs will do, Excel will
let you make changes, but then refuse to save themeven if
you go to Explorer and unprotect the le.
Instead of ever-changing submenus, how about fixing
things that contribute to a daily slowdown in my work? My
credit card is ready!
Tom Ricket
We agree, Tom. Frankly, from where we sit Lotus 1-2-3 version
1A was the last really good spreadsheet. Everything else is just a
disappointment.JL
PLAN 9 FROM REDMOND, WA
I have known for some time that the principal culprit for the
slow deterioration of my Windows OS has been the Registry.
I was dismayed to read in Feedback (January 2006) that it is
also a primary reason the OS is the target of malicious at-
tacks. Not only that, the Registry is the main villain in the
system upgrade nightmare that befalls me every 18 months or
so. Whoever at Microsoft is responsible for the existence of
the Windows Registry has done to desktop computing what
Ed Wood, Jr., did to lmmaking!
Russ Carroll
Bring Back Win.INI!JL
I MPROVI NG WI KI PEDI A
Overall, Lance Ulanoffs PCMag.com column, How Danger-
ous Is Wikipedia? (go.pcmag.com/wikipedia) was a measured
commentary on the project, and I largely agree that we have a
way to go in establishing better review mechanisms. These are
being debated as we speak, with Jimbo Wales soon to estab-
lish a stable versions system. (Details are a bit hazy, but it looks
as though it will allow readers to rate revisions.) There is anoth-
er independent project in the works, which requires a change to
the MediaWiki software that Wikipedia uses. This can be found
at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Stable_versions.
I would like to take issue with one comment, however.
You write, Aside from the way this encyclopedia is built,
the other big difference between it and your more traditional
desk-bound volumes is that Wikipedia can include anything.
This is inaccurate. Although Wikipedia has many oddball
articles (for instance, we have one on exploding whales) not
everything can be included. We routinely delete articles about
people who are deemed to be non-notable (admittedly, this is a
fairly low standardwe have an article on David Ossman). We
also have a policy that stops articles that are original research
from appearing in the encyclopedia.
Chris Sherlock
Good point, Chris. It might be more accurate to say Wikipedia
can include virtually anything or almost anything. Still, as
you say, the bar is set pretty low.Lance Ulanoff
I just read Lance Ulanoffs item on Wikipedia. A Nature study
(www.nature.com/nature/journal/v438/n7070/full/438900a
.html) recently compared scientic articles in Wikipedia and
Encyclopaedia Britannica. The articles were rated by review-
ers who were blind to the source. Nature reports: The ex-
ercise revealed numerous errors in both encyclopaedias but
among 42 entries tested, the difference in accuracy was not
particularly great: the average science entry in Wikipedia
contained around four inaccuracies; Britannica, about three.
Paul Dybala
Although Wikipedia has many oddball articles,
not everything can be included.
FEEDBACK
go.pcmag.com/feedback
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B
randing is an art, not a science, and there
arent many artists in the semiconductor
business. So it was no surprise to me when
Intel announced its plans to kill the Pen-
tium brand name and replace it with new
monikers including Core, using terms such as Core
Solo and Core Dual for single- and dual-core chips.
When I first learned of this, I wondered why
Intel would develop such a widely known brand
name over a decade and then dump it on a whim.
Can you imagine changing the name of Tide de-
tergent or Crest toothpaste just for the sake of
change? Tide will now change its name to X7! It
wont happen, because household product compa-
nies know the value of branding.
Perhaps this new name, Core, is some sort of gag.
It can be used with the new Apple computers, where
it would be called an Apple Core. More interesting
is the notion that Intel will get mindshare from the
whole multicore trend in microprocessor design.
Thus every time AMD talks about its dual-core
chips, people will think of Intel and its Core brand
name. But this could easily go the other way. Since
AMD has been harping on the dual-core design, the
Core brand might make people reect on AMD.
The other problem I have with the new brand
name is that its stupid. Like really dumb. Its al-
most as if its designed to be part of an Abbott and
Costello routine.
What kind of processor are you running?
Core.
Yes, inside the machine.
Core.
What chip?
Thats the name of the chip.
Whats the name of the chip?
Whats on second.
Intel has always hired naming consultants who
like associative names. Names that vaguely sound
as if they mean something and are associated with
good things. An example is Centrino. It might
make you think of something centralized, as well
as sounding like a speedy neutrino or whatever.
With Core, the concept of center comes into play,
as well as core competency. Core is also only two
letters away from corpse. It has a military ring to it,
as a homonym with corps. Core rhymes with door
and more, both words with a positive twist. But it
also rhymes with whore, bore, and snore, all nega-
tive words. These rhyming words are important to
branding, as headline writers will glom onto a rhym-
ing headline whenever they can. Rhymes, puns, and
alliteration are the three holy grails of headline
writing. Rhyming is the easiest when a brand name
like Core appears. A story titled New Core Lore a
Snore is already being prepared by someone, some-
place, just so they can use the headline.
Luckily, Intel can throw billions of dollars at
this new brand name and then dump it in favor of
something else such as Chip for the generation of
processors that will appear a decade from now.
On the other extreme of naming, Intel has be-
gun to promote the Viiv brand for some sort of ill-
defined multimedia thingamajig-gizmo- system
specication. Viiv rhymes with ve. At least I hope
thats how it is pronounced, as opposed to viv,
rhyming with liv, as in Liv Ullmann. The joke I like
to use with this new term is that after it fails in the
market, they can bring it back as re-viiv.
Viivs implied characteristics are vivacious and
perhaps vibrant. Viiv is apparently Intels entry into
the Media PC game, with some hardware lash-up
that it has yet to explain adequately. What especially
needs to be explained is why Intel is doing it.
In conjunction with these new brand names
is Intels weirder choice of a new catch phrase,
Leap Ahead. Its part of the new Intel logo. The
company has decided to drop Intel Inside and re-
place it with advice, if you can call it that. This has
to be worse than the bland What are you going to
do today? nonsense Microsoft once used.
Leap ahead of what? The faster AMD chips?
How about changing it to Pretend to Leap Ahead!
Once Intel catches up with AMD, then it might
think about such a catch phrase.
Curiously, while the punning use of Core could
brighten Intels relationship with Apple, Leap
Ahead does the opposite. It reminds people of the
lemmings ad for the Apple Mac from the 1985 Su-
per Bowl, in which bonehead businessmen blindly
leaped off a cliff to their demise. Leap Ahead.
The connotations are not good. There is still
time, Intel. Swallow your pride and change it to
something else!
John C. Dvorak
Intel and the Art of Branding
A story titled New
Core Lore a Snore
is already being pre-
pared by someone,
someplace, just so
they can use the
headline.
MORE ON THE WEB: Read John C. Dvoraks column
every Monday at go.pcmag.com/dvorak. You can
reach him directly at pcmag@dvorak.org.
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Inside Track
G
oogle Watch. The most recent buzz over
Google has centered around various ru-
mors that the company will make dumb
terminals, its own operating system, or a
wireless mesh network, light up dark ber all over
the country, and (get this) nance the space eleva-
tor. You have to wonder how much of this is simply
Google jerking the chain of the computer industry
simply because it can.
Im convinced that many of these rumors are
a smokescreen for the one important idea on the
laundry list: lighting up the dark ber that perme-
ates the United States. Hear me out on this one.
If youve followed the implementation and
laying of fiber optics, you know that most of it
lies in the ground unused. This is the result of
an invention called WDM or wave-division multi-
plexing. When ber-optic transmission was rst
developed, most people pretty much used the light
beam along a ber to send data. Then it was dis-
covered that the one light beam on one ber could
be multiplexed, based on the color spectrum. The
capacity of the system was immediately increased
by 16X. This invention came relatively late in the
game, after a lot of ber was already trenched out
and buried. That fiber immediately became re-
dundant, and it sits in the ground today as dark
berunused.
Most of the dark ber is owned by local and state
utilities and various holding companies. It would
make sense for Google to begin to buy it up and be-
come a major backbone company itself.
The Google executives can see that in the Unit-
ed States there is a slow consolidation of telecom-
munications services, as the once-shattered AT&T
monopoly is slowly re-forming, much like the un-
stoppable liquid-metal robot-assassin in Termina-
tor 2. Eventually the telcos, along with Comcast,
will own all access to the Net, and theyve already
made their intentions clear: no free rides for any-
one doing business online. If you are going to use
the Internet (which these folks now think they
own) to make money, then you are going to have
to pay more than you are already paying. Can you
spell gouging?
The telcos are particularly annoyed by various
free VoIP systems that are letting people make free
phone calls. They want to charge a lot of money
for the connection, but they also want to control
how you use the connection. Eventually, the old
monopolist mentality will sneak in and these folks,
like mobsters, will want a piece of any action done
over their network. Youll hear them testify
before Congress about how they strung all these
wires and how they need to be paid for all their
hard work.
Of course, never mentioned in the testimony
will be the most common by-product of monopoly:
neglect. We see that theme over and over, dont we?
As monopoly ensues, you get an increase in spotty
service and downtime. So what if the network is
down for days? What are you going to do about it?
Not much is my guess. Suffer.
Google sits in Silicon Valley and has the Valley-
boy mindset, which includes an innate and deep-
seated belief that if you rely on a single supplier,
you are at its mercy. Its just a bad practice. The
supplier may as well own you! This deep-rooted
attitude stems from actual cases of abuse in situ-
ations where only one supplier was available to
a company. Its particularly brutal when you are
dealing with the semiconductor folks, who have no
qualms about lording it over customers.
Consolidation of connectivity puts Google at
grave bottom-line risk. What to do? Bypass, plain
and simple.
Bypass is the most dreaded word in the telcos
book of jargon. And telcos have fought bypass for
decades, always successfully. Their efforts have
turned the United States into a second-rate power
when it comes to Internet connectivity. You can
get 30 Mbps in Sweden, for example, for less than
you pay for sub-megabit service here.
This lockdown by the fearful telcos has stalled
IPTV and other technologies, which are already
beginning to ourish in places such as Korea and
China. IPTV can provide infinite programming
in real time over the Internet if you have serious
bandwidth. Here weve got nothing, and the telcos
intend to keep it that way. And you can be certain
that the cable companies are not about to let IPTV
rain on their parade, either. According to a straw
poll on the ipTV-Daily Web site, theyre the ones
who are the most at risk from IPTV.
What Google brings to the bypass party is size
and momentum. The general public likes Google
and trusts the company. Furthermore, Google has
shown no signs of abusive practices or neglect.
Above all, Google has a potload of money to spend
on the build-out of a new network. How many of
my readers, if given the choice between AT&T DSL,
Comcast cable modem, or GoogleNet Ethernet to
the homeeach for about the same pricewould
not jump at the Google service? Everyone would!
Meanwhile, the entire country is criss-crossed
with a network of dark ber. It sits there and waits
for a knight on a white horse. Google. Light em up,
boys! Were with you on this one, for sure.
Above all,
Google has
a potload of
money to
spend on
the build-out
of a new
network.
E
verybodys learning how to Turkor they
soon will. When I first heard the term, I
thought Turking was some kind of ethnic
slur, but its just a way for people to earn
money from home with their computers.
Turking takes big tasks and breaks them down into
small components that can be done at your com-
puter, typically through a browser interface. You
get paid each time you complete a task.
Turking gets its name from the Turk, an 18th-
century mechanical chess-playing machine that
had a life-size wooden mannequin in Turkish garb
seated at a chess board. Below the board was a myr-
iad of gears and levers, ostensibly the rst articial
intelligence. The Turk defeated nearly all challeng-
ers and was hailed as an engineering breakthrough.
But it actually housed a chess-savvy human within
and thus was an articial articial intelligence.
Amazon picked up on this latter idea: That for
some tasks, there is no substitute for human intel-
ligence. It created a Web services application that
recruits and screens Turkers, lists tasks from re-
questers, presents the tasks to Turkers, collects
their work, and accumulates their earnings. The
tasks themselves, called HITs, for Human Intelli-
gence Tasks, include identifying numeric strings
in text documents, photo recognition/analysis,
programming/coding tasks, and knowledge base/
opinion entries. Check it out at www.mturk.com.
As I write this, the list of HIT requests is very lim-
ited. Most entail tasks such as naming the three best
pizza parlors in Philadelphia or the three best sushi
salons in Silicon Valley. For performing each of
these challenging feats of human intelligence, youll
receive the municent sum of one cent. A penny
for your thoughts takes on new signicance.
I dont mean to denigrate the idea behind Turk-
ing. Transcribing podcasts and assigning key-
words to photos are probably best done by humans.
I know for sure that my computer has no opinion
on sushi, and if it did, I wouldnt be interested. I
can even accept the idea of code snippets and mod-
ules being written by an army of programmers, al-
though I cant put the image of a million monkeys
and a million typewriters out of my mind.
Turking may create new opportunities for self-
employed and homebound workers, but it also po-
tentially creates a vast, unregulated workforce, well
under the minimum-wage radar, with no hope of
benets, job security, or even a new request in the
queue. Is your computer desk the sweatshop of the
21st century? Pure economics should dictate partic-
ipation: If the price is too low, people will ignore the
HIT. If the price is high enough, they will compete
for the task. If the supply of Turkers is higher than
the number of tasks, qualified Turkers will seek
other forms of income. If a task requires unique
abilities, the price will be concomitantly higher.
At a penny per restaurant pick, even the most
widely traveled gourmand wont cover the cost of
the cheapest appetizer. But things were better for
Turkers a few months back. A number of bloggers
said that they were making over $300 a month by
working an hour or so per night. I wonder how
theyre dealing with the current drought of tasks.
Some of the drought is apparently caused by botters,
people who use software robots to scan the Amazon
site for new tasks and sign up for them. Enough bot-
ters, however, cancel one another out, ruining the
idea for themselves as well as everyone else.
Paying Web-linked people for their anonymous
efforts on your behalf isnt new. Survey sites such
as Zoomerang pay survey participants points that
are redeemable for stuff like coffee mugs and small
appliances. Experts answer your questions on sites
such as Google Answers and AdviceTrader.com for
a fee, but the asker usually determines the fee.
People were talking about microtransactions
more than a decade ago, and the ability to track and
bill these dollar-and-under transactions is the life-
blood of the music download sites, used-book bro-
kerages, and similar services. Microtransactions
have already changed the nature of the Web. Will
Turking alter another fundamentalthe free ex-
change of information? Why should you give away
your views on your new digital camera on Epinions
or Amazon.com when another site may offer you
money for your opinion? If the quality of the infor-
mation goes up, it could be a good thing. But if peo-
ple too clever for their own good pack such sites with
multiple reviews, fake identities, and computer-
reworded opinions, everyone will suffer.
I like the freshness of the Turking concept. Pre-
pare to be surprised by the ways it gets used.
Lets Go Turking Now
MORE ON THE WEB: You can contact Bill Machrone at
Bill_Machrone@ziffdavis.com. For more of his col-
umns, go to go.pcmag.com/machrone.
Turking potentially
creates a vast, un-
regulated workforce,
well under the mini-
mum-wage radar,
with no hope of ben-
ets or job security.
Bill Machrone
VISIT www.mpccorp.com/pcmag604
CALL 1-877- 269-1571
2005 MPC Computers, LLC. All rights reserved. MPC Computers, LLC is not responsible for omissions or errors in typography or photography. All purchases are subject to availability. Prices and specifications may be changed without
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Computers, LLC. A diagnostic determination for on-site service must be made by a MPC service technician prior to the provision of on-site service. On-site service is provided by a third-party service provider under a separate service con-
tract between you and the service provider. Intel, Intel Inside, Intel Inside logo, Intel Centrino, Intel Centrino logo, Celeron, Intel Xeon, Intel Speedstep, Itanium, Pentium and Pentium III Xeon are trademarks or registered trademarks of
Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Product names of MPC products are trademarks or registered trademarks of MPC
Computers, LLC. Other product names used in this publication are for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective companies. Note: Advertised configurations may differ from award-winning configurations.
MPC recommends Microsoft
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1999
ONE RECENT SUNDAY AFTERNOON, a woman phoned Ed Finn from her apartment in northern Virginia,
complaining that pornographic icons were popping up across her computer screen. As the owner
of a Washington, D.C.area Rescuecom franchise, Finn spends his days servicing home PCs, and
this woman needed his help urgently. The Click-Here-For-Sexy-Bod icons were soon joined by In-
ternet gambling links and countless browser pop-ups, each less wholesome than the last, popping
up faster than she could close them.
When Finn arrived, he discovered more than 80 pieces of malicious code on the womans PC,
and it wasnt hard to see why. She hadnt installed a rewall or an antispyware program; although
her PC came with antivirus software, she hadnt bothered to activate it, assuming she was pro-
tected since it was included. Her machine was about as well protected as General Custer at Little
Bighorn, completely exposed to every virus, worm, Trojan horse, and foul strand of spyware lurk-
ing on the Internet.
The nasties were entrenched to the point where Finn had no choice but to back up the womans
data and reformat her hard drive. He was almost nished when her roommate came running
down the stairs in a panic. Pornographic icons were popping up across his computer screen, too.
Cast an eye over the current state of Internet security, and theres a certain sense of dj vu.
Were living the same bad dream over and over.
No matter how many times we suffer the consequences of online attackssystem slowdowns,
instability, loss of connectivity, even costly identity theftwe always get burned again. Expert
advice, warnings, and even new security programs ultimately do no good. After more than ten
years of this recurring nightmare, weve come to the conclusion that theres only one possible
explanation: Stupidity.
T
I
M
E

T
O

F
A
C
E

F
A
C
T
S
:

W
H
E
N
IT COMES TO OUR ONLINE SAFETY WOES, EVERYBO
D
Y

I
S
T
O
B
L
A
M
E
.
BY CADE METZ ILLUSTRATION BY HEADS OF STATE

Whose stupidity? Yours, for a start. Thats right: You. Joe
Computer User. A decade of working and playing on the In-
ternet and you still surf without proper protection. You know
what? When Ed Finn went upstairs to check on the roommates
machine, he found that it too lacked protection. Most of the
machines I see either dont have security software installed or
use versions that are way out of date, says Finn, who sees over
a thousand home machines each year.
But the end user is only part of the problem. Though many
have worked to improve the situation, the worlds hardware
and software vendors bear just as much of the blame. After
all, users wouldnt have to worry about security software if
PC manufacturers and ISPs made it an integral part of every
machine. And malware wouldnt be nearly as prevalentor
as destructiveif developers werent so cavalier about the
gaping security holes weakening their operating systems and
applications. Even security vendors are stupid
when it comes to security. One of the latest hacker
and virus trends is attacking antivirus software,
which is often no more secure than any other desk-
top app. And it doesnt help that the media whip the
latest threats into frenzied stories, getting users
good and panicked but generally not providing sub-
stantive solutions. Were all stupid. And its time we
smartened up.
YOURE STUPID
Every month, security tools provider Sophos com-
piles a list of the Nets ten most successful viruses. In
December 2004, a particularly nasty worm known
as Zafi-D topped the list, accounting for nearly 40
percent of all virus attacks worldwide. Within hours
of the rst sighting, all the major antivirus vendors re-
leased signatures capable of identifying and stopping the
worm. But nearly a year later, when Sophos unveiled its No-
vember 2005 list, Za-D was still in the top ten.
That tells you people either dont have antivirus software
installed or theyre not keeping it updated, says Gregg Mas-
toras, a senior security analyst at Sophos. At the very least,
theyre not loading new signatures for months at a time. In-
deed, a recent study by America Online and the National Cy-
ber Security Alliance (www.staysafeonline.info) showed that
more than half of all Internet users leave their machines ex-
posed to the latest viruses, either by not updating their AV or
not having any AV at all.
Nowadays, all the major PC manufacturers include at least
one antivirus application on every new machine that goes out
the door. And when you sign up for Internet service, most ISPs
offer still more antivirus software, often free. Yet youthe
end userstill manage to go online without protection from
viruses like Za-D.
You say you do run AV and do keep it updated? Chances
are youre still doing something dumb. Antivirus programs
are hardly the be-all, end-all of Internet security. Not all AV
tools protect against spyware, a slightly different breed of
malicious code that surreptitiously tracks your behavior
and pilfers your important data. Software patches, antispy-
ware, and software and hardware firewalls are key as well,
as is encrypting trafc on your local wireless network, which
sees every packet sent between you and the Internet.
Many companies, most notably Symantec, have done a
great deal to inform the average consumer that they need an
antivirus product, says Alex Walker, author of The Absolute
Beginners Guide to Security, Spam, Spyware and Viruses. But
this has created a false sense of security. The average con-
sumer assumes that antivirus gives them all the protection
they need.
According to the America Online survey, about 80 percent of
you are exposed to common Internet threatsnot just viruses,
but spyware, drive-by downloads, hackers, and more. If youre
not protected, your chances of avoiding infection are slim to
none. If you attach a PC to the Internet and leave it there un-
protected, theres a 90 percent chance it will be infected within
the hour, says Sophoss Mastoras, who spends his days track-
ing the latest threats.
The saddest part is that, even if youre among the 20
percent of users with all the proper security precautions
in place, many of you will foul things up anyway. All the
security software in the world wont do a bit of good if
you fall for one of those heavy-handed phishing e-mails
that purport to come from your bank or Web sites such as
eBay or PayPal but are really efforts to pilfer your credit
card information. Or if you download les that offer ben-
efits too good to be true. Or especially if you decide to
troll the Web in search of free porn. Particularly if you let
your children, unmonitored and uneducated, onto your
PC. Theyll make all those mistakes and more.
The truth is, most of you bring attacks on yourselves. If
you dont stay away from the seedier side of the Web, well,
youre being stupid.
TECH VENDORS? JUST AS STUPID
Dont take it personally. Youre not the only one whos stupid.
In fact, many experts believe that the real problem lies with
the companies selling PCs, software, and Internet access.
Many security problems can be traced back to uninformed
end users, but you cant put the blame on the end user, says
Dr. Clifford Newman, director of the Center for Computer
System Security at the University of Southern California.
What we need to do is develop systems that better protect
end users. You cant expect the average consumer to behave
like a security administrator.
The PC industry has certainly taken a few steps forward
in recent years, but many serious issues still need correcting.
For a start, PC manufacturers and ISPs cant just bundle AV
software and wash their hands of the matter. Theyre the ones
selling you the product, and its their responsibility to make
More on
the Web
ONE OF THE LATEST HAC
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For more security tips, news, and reviews,
visit us online at go.pcmag.com/
security.
sure the product is well protected. Full security protection
antivirus, antispyware, rewall, ongoing OS updatesshould
always be part of the initial purchase and should always load
automatically. Knowing how stupid end users can be, vendors
are doubly stupid to expect that theyll always purchase, in-
stall, and activate all that software on their own.
SECURITY SOFTWARE: INEXCUSABLY STUPID
At the same time, security vendors need to realize their prod-
ucts are woefully decient. They put a palpable strain on the av-
erage PC, often slowing performance to a crawl. Theyre far too
difcult to use. And some dont even provide proper security.
Antispyware tools are the least mature of the lot. They
should stop all in-the-wild spyware that they encounter
anything less is unacceptablebut, at PC Magazine Labs,
weve yet to nd one that does. Unlike on the AV side, theres
no independent certification program that works to ensure
antispyware apps are up to snuff. And they require far too
much user intervention. With some, the onus is actually on the
user to start a system scan or update signatures.
Thats nothing compared to the hassle of using a rewall.
Todays rewalls present too many pop-up warnings that re-
quire users to make choices about apps and processes trying
to perform various functions. At the very least, these are an-
noying. And for most people, theyre at-out confusing.
Theres no excuse for any rewall not to contain signatures
for the tens of thousands of known software applications.
That would let the firewalls intelligently ignore their per-
missible behaviors without popping up those annoying and
confusing warnings.
one can get software to execute on your machine in the
rst place, they might as well install their own rootkit.
By the end of November, however, someone had
indeed written a virus that exploited Sonys gaffe.
A variant of a known Trojan horse called Brepli-
bot was dropping in behind the rootkit so it couldnt
be seen or removed without specialized tools.
The Trojan arrives in an e-mail attachment piggy-
backed on a message purporting to come from a British
magazine called Total Business Monthly. If nothing else,
Sony had created an obvious target. And we all know that
virus writers have a penchant for sticking it to corporate
giants like Sonynot to mention that computer users
can be tricked into downloading just about anything.
Sony didnt write the DRM package itself. It hired a
U.K. developer called First 4 Internet to do thatSony
itself may not have even known about the rootkit. At the
very least, it didnt realize the trouble it would cause.
Security is often the last thing on peoples minds,
even those who should know better. Thats got to
change if we really want to stamp out malware. All
of us are going to have to switch gears and put secu-
rity rsteven music companies.Cade Metz
As if we didnt have enough security problems to deal
with. This fall, developer Mark Russinovich discovered
that Sony BMG, one of the worlds largest record labels,
was distributing music CDs that actually introduced a
security hole when inserted into a Microsoft Windows PC.
Yes, they created an opening that wasnt there before.
When inserted into a PCthats right: just popped in the
drive, not played and not rippedthese CDs install digital
rights management software designed to prevent listen-
ers from redistributing copyrighted songs. This happens
automatically, even if you decline the end-user license agree-
ment. Then, in an apparent attempt to hide the software
and prevent its removal, they also load something called a
rootkit. The trouble is that rootkits are also commonly used
by hackers to inltrate PCs and run malicious code on the sly.
Its a pretty ridiculous situation,
says Brian Chess, chief scientist at
Fortify, a rm dedicated to nding and
removing software vulnerabilities.
Part of the blame falls on Windows,
because it enables this sort of thing,
but Sony clearly misunderstood what
it was doing. (Rootkits were not
invented specically for Windows. For
years, they targeted Unix systems.)
When the press got hold of the story,
the extent of the problem was some-
what exaggerated. Russinovich points
out that Sonys rootkit doesnt exactly
provide hackers with an on-ramp to your
PC. Sonys rootkit is only exploitable
if the user can be lured into download-
ing something or tricked into installing
some sort of malware that would take
advantage of it, he explains. If some-
EVEN COOL MUSIC
COMPANIES ARE STUPID
SECURITY
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+
+
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+
+
Directory A
File 1
File 2
DRM directory
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+
+
+ Directory B
Directory C
File 1
File 2
$sys$malware
DRM file 1
DRM file 2
+
+
+
+
Directory A
File 1
File 2
+
+
+ Directory B
Directory C
File 1
File 2
The rootkit and its associated software install when a user inserts a Sony copy-protected music CD into the
disc drive. When an application uses standard commands (as almost all applications do) to query Windows
about files, directories, Registry keys, or processes, the rootkit intercepts the request and hides any whose
name begins with $sys$. Malware can take advantage of this cloaking technique to evade detection.
Sonys Invisibility Cloak
What the rootkit reports
back to the app
Actual hard drive
contents
Rootkit-patched
system call table
Case Study
When they detect unknown network trafc and theres no
obvious right or wrong, rewalls should give the user crystal-
clear instructions about how to proceed. Some rewalls, in-
cluding Norton Personal Firewall and ZoneAlarm, do use
large signature databases, but these still arent adequate, and
this isnt the norm.
With the release of Windows XP, Microsoft nally added a
rewall to Windows, and thanks to improvements made with
Service Pack 2, its unobtrusive and easy to use. But it provides
only a portion of the protection youd get from standalone re-
walls, which carefully monitor every packet owing both to
and from your PC.
Even antivirus tools need improving. Yes, once the AV ven-
dors provide a signature, theyre good at stopping the latest
threat, but it often takes too long for a new signature to reach
your machine, and AV tools still arent very good
at stopping unknown threats. As we mentioned in
our recent feature The Zero-Day Attack (Novem-
ber 22, 2005, page 109; go.pcmag.com/zerodayattack),
many attacks are hitting machines before the proper
signatures are in place. According to AV-Test (www
.av-test.org), a computer security research group at
Germanys Otto-von-Guericke-University Magde-
burg, some vendors take days to get signatures out.
Thousands of supposedly protected machines can be
infected in hours.
Some vendors have started to integrate heuristic
tools capable of identifying unknown viruses, but,
again, theyre hardly as widespreador as effec-
tiveas they need to be. Even if AV products arent
as stupid as antispyware products, theyre not as
smart as the people attacking your machines are.
According to IronPort, a company that lters e-mail and
Web trafc for eight of the worlds top ten ISPs, most of todays
attacks are about money. Its all becoming much more orga-
nized than it was before, says Ambika Gadre, IronPorts senior
director for product management, and profit is the primary
motive. Attackers have far more incentive than in the past.
Security software should not only offer a completely intui-
tive interface and protect users from unknown threats, how-
ever. Its also got to protect users from themselves.
Its much too easy for users to disable their own protec-
tion accidentally or fall for the sort of online condence trick
thats become all too prevalent. Microsofts new browser, In-
ternet Explorer 7, will go a long way toward curbing our e-mail
phishing problem, as it compares embedded URLs against an
online database of known phishing sites and looks for common
characteristics that typically show up in these nefarious pages.
(Similar tools are available for browsers today, but they havent
been widely adopted.) Now we need added protection on IM cli-
ents like AOLs AIM, Yahoo! Messenger, and Microsofts MSN
Messenger, which carry many of the latest threats. Just as with
fraudulent e-mails, people need to know if an instant message
didnt originate with the person it claims to be coming from.
You could even argue that the industry should sidestep the
user entirely, by setting up security protection on each PC and
preventing anyone from tampering with it. Users invite ma-
licious attacks even when theyre actually trying to improve
security. They click on pop-ups that read Download Spyware
Remover. Respond to e-mails that offer improved protec-
tion for their PayPal accounts. Automatically click on Allow
whenever their rewalls pop up asking whether an executable
le really needs access. In the end, trying to teach end users
better security practices may be futile. The industry may be
better off handling the problem on its own.
SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS:
THE STUPIDEST OF THEM ALL
Of course, many PC users are loath to relinquish control of
their computers. And you could argue that such draconian
measures are less than ethical. Ultimately, users own
their own machines and they should be able to do what
they what they want to do, says USCs Newman. But
theres little debate when it comes to the countless vul-
nerabilities that continue to pop up in the most popular
applications and operating systems. Its time developers
changed the way they write software code.
After the virus debacle of 2003 when the Blaster and
Sasser attacks wreaked havoc on Windows PCs, Microsoft
signicantly improved its efforts to weed out security holes
in its operating system and other desktop applications.
Microsoft engineers have really taken it to heart that secu-
rity is important, says Brian Chess, chief scientist at For-
tify, a rm that removes vulnerabilities and mitigates risk
in computer software. In terms of knowledge and uniformity
of interest, theyre way ahead of the game. But Windows is still
littered with security holeswitness the aw in the Windows
Metale Format that came to light in December (see page 111)
and as Microsoft improves its security, hackers are beginning to
focus their attentions on all sorts of other software.
You cant make this up: Antivirus applications are some of the
most vulnerable software on todays PCs. Not only are hackers
intent on attacking the companies trying to bring them down,
antivirus tools have just as many security holes as any other
application. Guys who write security software arent thinking
about their own security, explains Chess. Theyre thinking
about protecting other parts of a computer. If security compa-
nies arent focused on writing secure code, were all in trouble.
According to the SANS Institute, an independent watchdog
organization, multiple buffer overflow vulnerabilities have
been found in AV apps from most popular vendors, including
Symantec, F-Secure, Trend Micro, McAfee, Computer Asso-
ciates, ClamAV, and Sophos. These could give attackers com-
EVEN IF YOURE AMONG
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PRECAUTIONS IN PLACE,
M
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THINGS UP ANYWAY.
Cade Metz is senior writer of PC Magazine. Oliver Kaven and Neil J. Rubenking are PC Magazine Labs lead analysts. Features editors
Sean Carroll and Sarah Pike were in charge of this security package.
plete control of a system with little or no user intervention.
Your stupid behavior can be forgiven. Maybe. Up to a point.
But this is a different matter, and Chess even argues that the
problem of insecure code is much deeper than we think. Its
not just that developers dont know how to write secure code.
Its not just that they dont care about writing secure code.
Theyre actually taught to write insecure code.
Chess likes to play a game. He walks into a bookstore, grabs
a programming book off the shelf, and thumbs through pages
until he nds a piece of sample code, a program meant to edu-
cate the worlds programmers. Inevitably, the code contains a
major security awusually more than one. In December, he
opened Foundations of Ajax by Ryan Asleson and Nathaniel T.
Schutta, a book that teaches the Webs language of the moment.
The rst sample was only 1,100 lines longyet it contained 40
security vulnerabilities. One particularly egregious problem:
cross-site scripting, an easily exploitable way of delivering
executable code to a browser. Hackers use this technique to
deliver their own code that pilfers end-user data. Its one of the
most obvious of online vulnerabilities, yet there it was.
WERE STUPID TOO
Sound as if weve climbed atop our high horse and are just spew-
ing criticism on everyone else? Well, truth be told, were not ex-
actly free from blame. The media are just as stupid as everyone
else. Fearful of missing the big one, the media talk about even
the smallest online threat as if its the coming of the apocalypse,
and build up the latest security software as a sure way to stop it.
Perhaps weve failed to show how very awed security soft-
ware can be. Perhaps weve failed to explain that youre a big
part of the problem, that running a security suite is only half a
solution, that you have to change your behavior as well.
We admit it: Were stupid too. And were trying to make
amends. We urge you to open your eyes to the threat of online
malware, and we implore the industry to provide far more pro-
tection than it does today. Yes, the industry talks a good game,
and several improvements are already on the way, including
many integrated with Microsofts upcoming operating system,
Windows Vista. But much more needs to be done. Perhaps in
the coming months, all of us will come to our senses. We sure
hope so. Otherwise, itll be dj vu all over again. E
tracking cookies, which we wouldnt count, but, It was
quite an interesting removal process, Matos says. It
took him 20 minutes just to boot the machine, and he
needed another 5 hours to clean it up. The machine was
tied in so many knots that he couldnt even run an anti-
virus app. He had to remove each virus manually.
Matthew Dworkins record holder was a machine
whose Registry was so infested that it had swelled
to over 300 megabytes. The norm is about 50MB,
and it took Dworkin about 25 minutes to back it up
before even starting to quarantine viruses.
Joe Computer User is also falling for the countless phish-
ing scams that ood into our inboxes, according to Dworkin.
The New Yorkbased agent recently helped a man who lost
over $3,000 when an e-mail fooled him into entering per-
sonal info into a site that looked a lot like PayPals. I love
the irony, says Dworkin. He goes to the site thinking hes
improving the security on his PayPal
account, and they end up taking his money.
And, yes, viruses wreak just as much
havoc via IM clients as they do over e-
mail. Kristin Demoranville just helped a
family whose network was brought
down when their 15-year-old clicked
on an embedded URL inside an
IM message he thought was from
a friend. The result: a spyware
infestation that disabled
the networked machines
Internet settings. Rec-
ognize yourself, your
kids, your friends,
your neighbors in
these stories?
You are not
alone.Cade
Metz
Case Study
JUST HOW STUPID ARE YOU?
GEEK SQUAD WAR STORIES
Since its inception in 1994, Best Buys 24 Hour Computer
Support Task Force has serviced over 5 million home PCs
across over 700 locations nationwide. We gured that
the squads crack team of double agents could tell us
whether users today practice safe surng techniques or still
blunder about unprotected and unaware of the dangers.
We talked to three agents in three locations. All said
that at least half the problems theyre called in to solve are
caused by viruses, spyware, or some other form of malicious
code. Even worse, theyve found that most computer users
dont even do the basics. About 90 percent of the time, peo-
ple dont update their virus signatures at all, says Kristin
Demoranville, an agent based in Maryland. They just
dont understand how important it is. Antispy-
ware and rewalls? Forget about it. They dont
even know the word spyware. They dont get
that you need both antispyware and antivirus.
Ismael Matos, a New Jersey agent, recently
serviced a machine infected by 20,000 pieces
of malware, according to the anti-
spyware apps he used, which
included Trend Micros
PC-cillin, Webroots
Spy Sweeper, and
Lavasofts Ad-
Aware. You
read right:
20,000. Granted,
that includes
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ITS A SAD DAY WHEN WE HAVE TO REPORT that the main strength of this years security suites is their anti-
virus protection. They had that sewn up years ago! We dont even test standard antivirus; we review
only AVs that have received certication from the major antivirus testing labs.
No, the biggest threat to computer users these days is spyware, but antispyware modules in most
security suites are lame. Some companies, such as McAfee and Panda, are building decent spyware
protection into their antivirus, but in general, youll do better adding a standalone antispyware app
(see Antispyware, page 97). At this point, though, its is still mainly up to you, the user, to be safe and
responsible in your online habits.
Firewalls, the locks on your computers virtual doors, are still too opaque for the average user. And dont
get us started on antispam. Once a mere nuisance, spam is now a true security risk, using sometimes sophis-
ticated social-engineering tricks to persuade recipients to give up critical nancial information like credit
card numbers and bank account passwords. In too many suites, spam protection is an afterthought.
Unfortunately, the necessity of protection makes it difcult to vote with your dollars. Security com-
ponents cost more when purchased separately and may not play well together on your system, so we
recommend using a security suite. These days, if you dont use up-to-date security software, youre not
just leaving your door unlocked; youre staking yourself, covered with honey, atop an anthill.
S
E
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RI
T
Y
S
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S
BY SARAH PIKE ILLUSTRATION BY HEADS OF STATE
You absolutely need one of these suites,
but even the best wont keep you totally safe.
Outlook Express, it adds a handy toolbar
that lets you mark misfiled messages,
whitelist or blacklist senders, or access
spam-ltering settings. BitDefender in-
serts [spam] or [phishing] into spam
subject lines, adds analysis to message
headers, and (in Outlook or Outlook Ex-
press) moves suspect messages into a
Spam subfolder of Deleted Items. Users
can choose ve levels of tolerance: More
aggressive settings catch more spam but
also misidentify more valid mail. We
trained BitDefenders Bayesian lter, set
its tolerance to the default level, and dis-
abled the whitelist and blacklist, forcing
it to lter on message content. We then
processed e-mail from two real accounts
for ten days. The results were disappoint-
ing: BitDefender let in about 40 percent
of spam and, worse, flagged about one
BitDefender 9 Internet Security
$64.95 direct. SoftWin, www.bitdefender.com.
OVERALL RATING llhmm
Antivirus llllh Antispam llmmm
Antispyware llmmm Firewall llhmm
Privacy/parental control llmmm
BitDefender 9 Internet Security offers
strong virus protection, but its other
components are too weak for us to rec-
ommend purchasing the full suite.
BitDefenders antivirus scans all or
part of a system (including network
drives) and can run multiple scheduled
scans. Real-time scanning eliminates
most viruses, and by default BitDefender
scans accessed les, all e-mail, and P2P or
other transfer les. Its HiVE ( Heuris tics
in Virtual Environment) feature identi-
es threats too new for virus signatures
to have addressed. By default BitDe-
fender quarantines viruses if disinfection
fails. Suspicious les are quarantined and
sent to BitDefender Labs for analysis. The
user can congure actions for viruses and
suspicious les separately.
An antispyware module scans les, as
well as cookies, running processes, and
Registry entries. Our rst scan of a clean
system took almost 25 minutes (com-
pared with the faster products, which ran
4 to 5 minutes). We tested the products
ability to remove specific spyware and
to prevent installation on a clean sys-
tem. In several tests, our infested system
crashed during a full scan; we simply re-
booted and restarted the scan. Of fteen
threats, it missed seven, removed one,
and detected without completely remov-
ing seven. It did better on a clean system,
preventing installation of seven pieces
of malware, detecting four, and missing
four. It removed only one of six keylog-
gers and blocked installation of one.
BitDefenders rewall can now stealth
computer ports, hiding them from hack-
ers. During install it can authorize
browser and e-mail clients for Internet
access; for other programs you must
answer awkward conrmation pop-ups
that offer no information beyond the
programs filenames. Worse, they sug-
gest a bewildering array of options
sometimes with inappropriate default
choices, i ncludi ng blocki ng vsserv
.exepart of the BitDefender suite! This
firewall doesnt even attempt to block
malware-style leak test techniques,
though the antivirus blocked two of the
dozen we tried.
BitDefenders antispam lters incom-
ing POP3 e-mail accounts for any e-
mail client; for Microsoft Outlook and
in six valid messages as spam. Outlooks
built-in Junk E-Mail lter does better.
The parental control system blocks ac-
cess to blacklisted sites, optionally using
wildcards, but only if the administrator
compiles the blacklist. Its also effective
at blocking applications and limiting
Internet access to specic times. Unfor-
tunately, they cant apply different re-
strictions to each user.
eTrust Internet Security Suite
$69.99 direct. Computer Associates International
Inc., www.ca.com. llllm
Antivirus llllm Antispam llllh
Antispyware lllmm Firewall llllh
Privacy/parental control llhmm
Computer Associates eTrust Internet
Security Suite presents antivirus, anti-
spyware, antispam, and personal fire-
wall protection (which is a licensed,
relabeled ZoneAlarm Pro 5. 5) in one
friendly security center.
CAs antivirus technology, the same
one ZoneAlarm Security Suite 6 uses,
automatically checks for updates, cleans
infected les on access, and scans e-mail
for viruses.
CA acquired the well-known Pest-
Patrol antispyware in August 2004, and
PestPatrols current incarnation, now
called eTrust PestPatrol Anti-Spyware,
forms the suites spyware protection. In
addition to on-demand scanning, it in-
cludes real-time protection against spy-
wareoddly, its turned off initially. In
our standard testing, PestPatrol detected
all but one of fifteen installed spyware
products and successfully removed ten
of them. Impressively, most of these re-
BITDEFENDERS rewall alerts present
too many choices but not much info.
ETRUSTS SECURITY CENTER organizes status and options in an accessible interface.
ALL REVIEWS BY
NEIL J. RUBENKING

ride the block to allow a site or category
temporarily or permanently, or turn off
K9 temporarily. K9s settings are global
theres no per-user conguration nor any
option to limit Internet access time.
F-Secure Internet Security 2006
$59.95 direct. F-Secure Corp., www.f-secure.com.
lllhm
Antivirus llllm Antispam llmmm
Antispyware llhmm Firewall llllm
F-Secure Internet Security 2006 provides
the foundation for securing a PC, with a
top-notch personal rewall and very good
virus protection. Its low-maintenance,
with a clear interface that makes congu-
ration simple, but it underperformed on
spam prevention and antispyware.
In tests, F-Secures firewall com-
petently stealthed all ports, making
the system invisible to outsiders. Its
application-control feature preconfig-
ures permission for your browser and
e-mail client during install. The utility
movals were accomplished by the quick
scan, which takes just a few seconds. Of
the six commercial keyloggers in our test
set, PestPatrol removed two and detected
a third without successful removal.
When we tested its ability to block
spyware from installing on a clean sys-
tem, the antispyware got a little help
from other modules in the suite. Anti-
virus eliminated three of the spyware
installers, and the Blue Coat K9 Web
Protection (installed and activated sepa-
rately) blocked two ActiveX controls and
derailed the installation of four others
by denying them access to their home
site. Even with this help, though, the
product allowed a third of the spyware
threats to install. It blocked just one of
the commercial keyloggers, and its par-
tial blocking of another put the system
into an endless blue-screen loop.
The eTrust Personal Firewall is based
on a slightly outdated version of Zone-
Alarm. It lacks the OS Firewall and other
high-end features added in ZA6, but its
still quite effective. For known good or
bad programs, the AlertAdvisor can auto-
matically allow or deny accessit will
ask the user whether to allow or deny un-
knowns. At the highest level, its program
control can detect malware-type tech-
niques like injecting code into another
process to gain network access. We failed
to disable the rewall using techniques
that malicious software might apply.
In July, CA acquired Qurb antispam,
which was PC Magazines Editors
Choice for whitelist-based spam protec-
tion. Now part of the suite, the anti spam
module integrates specifically with
Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express
and protects any POP3 or Exchange
e-mail account. To supplement its strong
core whitelist/blacklist approach, the
antispam module also learns from the
messages you approve and assigns each
e-mail a spam score. Optional settings
let it automatically approve any mail
with a low enough score or block any
mail with a high enough score.
In testing with a trained account, it
kept every single spam message out of the
inbox, and put an eighth of the valid mail
in the quarantine folder. When we rolled
a second account into the mix without
training, it let only about 4 percent of
the spam into the inbox, but it did keep a
quarter of the good mail in quarantine.
K9 blocks access to porn and other in-
appropriate Web sites as well as to sites
that host or support spyware. With an
administrator password you can over-
asks what to do about other programs
the rst time they attempt network ac-
cess. It can warn when one program
tries to launch or manipulate anothera
common malware technique.
We were unable to disable the rewall
by attacking it directly. The rewall spe-
cifically blocks intrusion attempts by
scanning incoming network traffic for
suspicious patterns, and can also pre-
vent misuse of dial-up connections.
You can set F-Secures AV to scan on
le accesses, on demand, on a schedule,
or while the computer is idle. F-Secure
can scan for viruses, spyware, and root-
kits separately or perform full system
checks. A spyware-only scan took about
2 minutes on a clean system. This quick
scan wasnt effective at cleaning infes-
tations, however. Successful spyware
removal required the full system check,
which took 40 to 60 minutes.
When we tested F-Secures ability to
remove fifteen spyware threats, it de-
tected fourteen but removed only five.
On a clean system, it blocked nine, noted
two, and missed four. With keyloggers,
F-Secure missed four of six and removed
none on an infected system. It didnt
block a single keyloggers installation.
Threat removal took surprisingly
longmore than 10 minutes in one case.
Also, during several scans, the real-
time scanner popped up to quarantine
a threat, and then requested a reboot
(which would have derailed the scan).
The antispam handles only POP3
e-mail accounts, filtering for any cli-
ent but integrating only with Microsoft
Outlook. In addition to ltering spam by
content, you can whitelist or blacklist ad-
dresses and domains. Outlook users can
import contacts to the whitelist and click
F-SECURES FIREWALL has helpful
alerts that clearly illustrate the warning.
With its best-of-breed rewall and antispam, and ne antivirus protection,
ZoneAlarm Security Suite 6.0 remains our Editors Choice. Despite anti-
spyware and parental controls that do need some workhardly a unique
case in this eldZA Suite is still the best software protection you can
add to your connected PC.
We cant really kvell over any of the current security suites, but ZA Suite really
does ace the competition, even if it cant yet save you from yourself every time.
Right now, antispyware is a very important piece of the security puzzle, both
because spyware is rampant and because it is a phenomenon that takes outra-
geous advantage of users ignorance. None of the suites has an antispyware mod-
ule thatll let you rest easy. ZAs antispyware has performed unevenly over several
test cycles and didnt rate particularly well this time around. Whichever suite you
choose, youll want to supplement it with a standalone antispyware app from
Antispyware, page 97.
ZoneAlarm Security Suite 6.0
SECURITY
a clean system. However, it missed four
of six keyloggers on our infected system
and failed to block all but one keylogger
from installing. VirusScan checks files
on access, on command, or on schedule,
and it scans e-mail in both directions and
les received by IM. WormStopper and
ScriptStopper block suspicious behavior
in e-mail and scripts, respectively.
Although SpamKiller filters POP3
accounts for any e-mail client, Micro-
soft Outlook and Outlook Express us-
ers get a convenient toolbar. In Outlook,
SpamKiller lters Exchange and IMAP
accounts, and it filters MSN/Hotmail
accounts directly. Users can choose to
quarantine spam or mark its subject with
[SPAM] and pass it to the client.
In testing, SpamKiller let through
about one-sixth of spam and misiden-
tified one-twelfth of valid mail, an im-
provement over the previous version. On
installation it can whitelist the addresses
in your address book. You can add ad-
dresses, domains, or mailing lists. Theres
no Enemies list, but you can make l-
ters to block domains or addresses.
The firewall prevents unauthorized
programs from accessing the network
or Internet and can handle inbound and
outbound connections separately. An
internal database lists known good pro-
gramsmore than 4,000 of them now
which will be allowed access without
conrmation. The new gaming-suspend
mode suspends confirmation pop-ups
during full-screen gaming. The rewall
blocked all signicant port attacks, trac-
ing attacks and identifying the source
using available Whois data. We couldnt
kill it with the Task Manager or disable
it with Registry tweaks. But when we
turned off its essential service (as mal-
ware might do), it remained disabled un-
a toolbar button to allow or block the cur-
rent sender; others must manage lists
manually. We tested the antispam on two
real mail accounts. Two percent of valid
mail was misidentified, which is fairly
good. But half the spam got through. Out-
looks built-in junk mail lter does better.
The limited parental controls can
block unwanted Web pages in seven
categories. You can also allow all access
and log undesirable site visits, but not by
user. If desired, the administrator can
create white and black site lists. Time
Lock defines a single time range when
Internet access is permitted, but theres
no per-user tuning.
McAfee Internet Security Suite 2006
$69.99 direct. McAfee Inc., www.mcafee.com.
lllhm
Antivirus llllh Antispam lllmm
Antispyware llllm Firewalllllmm
Privacy/parental control lllhm
McAfee Internet Security Suite includes
SpamKiller, VirusScan, Privacy Service,
and Personal Firewall Plus. Its Security
Center integrates and tracks the status
of these modules and most retail AV
products. In Microsoft Windows XP, it
veries Windows Update status, making
it a full replacement for the Windows
XP SP2 Security Center. VirusScan did
particularly well in our tests at stopping
spyware in addition to viruses, and the
other components are all solid, making
this a good choice to protect your PCs.
Rather than building in a separate anti-
spyware component, the suite relies on
VirusScan to fight these threats, which
McAfee calls PUPs (Potentially Unwant-
ed Programs). The results were impres-
sive: VirusScan detected fourteen out of
fteen extant spyware samples, though it
was unable to remove three of those, and
it prevented installation of fourteen on
til we responded to a warning message.
This firewall doesnt specifically
attempt to block the malware-style
machinations of leak test programs. But
VirusScan identied four of the twelve
tests we used as PUPs and thus pre vented
them from loading. The rewall can set
networks trust levels separatelyhandy
for travel or on public networks. Unfor-
tunately, it doesnt actively recognize
unfamiliar networks and request con-
guration settings; the user must add a
rewall rule for the network.
Privacy Service lets you store private
data such as credit card numbers in a
categorized, encrypted database, and
prevents this data from going out via
e-mail, IM, or Web form. Only adminis-
trators can choose to send the data.
Per-user content ltering is available.
You select an age group for each user, and
built-in filters limit usage to appropri-
ate sites. An antiphishing plug-in blocks
known fraudulent sites. The adminis-
trator can add global lists of blocked or
allowed sites and congure global poli-
cies such as blocking banners and pop-
ups. Each users Internet access can be
scheduled. Accounts arent tied to Win-
dows user accounts, so users must log
on and off from the privacy system sepa-
rately. Privacy Service adds a shredder
for secure deletion of sensitive les.
Norton Internet Security 2006
$69.99 direct. Symantec Corp., www.symantec.com.
lllhm
Antivirus llllh Antispam llhmm
Antispyware lllmm Firewall llllh
Privacy/parental control lllhm
Norton Internet Security 2006 incor-
porates Symantecs rewall, antivirus,
antispyware, and antispam along with
parental control and personal-data pro-
tection. Many of the tools are very effec-
tive, but the suites girth can make it, or
your PC, somewhat plodding.
Norton AntiVirus now attempts to de-
tect and quarantine high-risk spyware
automatically in scans. Also, on receiv-
ing new malware denitions, NIS runs
a background quick scan. The products
Bloodhound heuristic protection at-
tempts to block as yet undened threats.
Auto-Protect, enabled by default, scans
all les on access, watching for activity
that suggests the presence of malware.
The AV scans incoming and outgoing
e-mail as well as les received via IM.
Installing NIS is slow, and slower on
spyware-infected systems. In antispy-
ware testing, NIS did comparatively well
THE MCAFEE SECURITY CENTER displays the status of your security coverage.
As antispyware remains the single biggest chal-
lenge for security suites, we ran them all through
our antispyware test bed. For an explanation of
the antispyware testing chart, see page 100.
-10 0 10 -10 -20 -20 0 10
DETECTED BLOCKED
PC-cillin Internet Security 2006
Panda Platinum 2006 Internet Security
Norton Internet Security 2006
McAfee Internet Security Suite 2006
F-Secure Internet Security 2006
eTrust Internet Security Suite
BitDefender 9 Internet Security
MISSED
REMOVING BLOCKING SECURITY SUITES
SPYWARE:
KEYLOGGERS:
DETECTED REMOVED MISSED
SPYWARE:
KEYLOGGERS:
Performance Tests
SECURITY
learning mode shuts off. After this point,
a program that attempts rst-time access
to the network or Internet may trigger
a pop-up unless it matches one of the
50,000 programs precongured by Auto-
matic Program Control.
The rewall correctly stealthed signif-
icant ports, rendering the protected sys-
tem invisible to hackers. We tried directly
attacking the rewall, but were unable to
halt its service, kill its process, or other-
wise disable it. In addition to general port
protection, the firewall blocks specific
known hacks, and can prevent all access
by an attacking system for up to two
days. The rewall offers four protection
zones: Default, Home, Ofce, and Away,
with appropriate security settings. And
you can use Security Check to find and
x vulnerabilities such as weak browser
settings and passwords, and unnecessary
Microsoft Windows services.
Parental controls are an optional in-
stall. We like Nortons ability to associ-
ate restrictions with existing Windows
cleaning infected systems, de-
tecting fourteen of fteen pieces
of spyware and removing all but
two of those. It also removed two
of six commercial keyloggers.
But when we attempted to install
spyware on a clean system, NIS
blocked only three pieces, detect-
ing ve and missing seven com-
pletely. It failed to block even one
of our six keylogger installations.
NIS offers three choices when it
detects a threat: run a quick scan,
ignore this threat in future scans,
or ignore it for 30 minutes.
You can no longer buy Norton
Anti Spam (NAS) separately from NIS.
With its middling effectiveness, you
wouldnt want to anyway. NAS employs
a whitelist, can block mail in any of about
150 languages, and will automatically
block messages containing invisible
text, HTML forms, and phishing-style
obscured URLs. It filters POP3 e-mail
accounts. You can use any e-mail cli-
ent, but NAS integrates with Microsoft
Outlook, Outlook Express, and Eudora.
To improve accuracy, a Bayesian filter
analyzes outgoing e-mails and messages
whose categorization you correct. In
testing, NASs results were worse than
the prior versions: One in ten valid e-
mails was miscategorized and one in six
spam messages made it through.
No user enjoys the plethora of conr-
mation pop-ups when a new rewall is
installed. Accordingly, Nortons rewall
starts in learning mode. It watches all
programs that access the network and
creates rules to allow access. After a sig-
nicant time without any new programs,
accounts or to create accounts
specific to the Parental Control
system. Be warned: We managed
to create a situation in which no
account had sufficient privileges
to congure or uninstall Parental
Control. We had to restore a drive
image backup and start over. Pa-
rental Control blocks 31 categories
of Web sites. Supervisors can de-
ne exceptions, add global blocked
sites, or block all access to sites
not on a user-created whitelist.
Likewise, supervisors can block
or allow access to program types,
including browsers, e-mail apps,
IM utilities, and file-sharing software.
Notably absent: an option for scheduling
Internet access.
Privacy Control prevents specied in-
formation from leaving your computer.
You enter categorized private informa-
tion such as credit card numbers or bank
accounts. You can configure whether
each datum will be blocked in e-mail,
IM, and Web forms and specify excep-
tions for Web-form limitations.
Panda Platinum 2006 Internet Security
$79.95 direct. Panda Software,
www.pandasoftware.com. lllhm
Antivirus llllh Antispam llmmm
Antispyware llllm Firewall lllmm
An uneven suite with strong anti-
malware protection but middling rewall
and disappointing antispam, Panda is just
not the complete package. The main win-
dow is simple, showing security status
and links for updating, scanning, chang-
ing settings, and getting details. Initially
NORTONS ANTISPYWARE quarantines the worst spy-
ware threats it catches; for the rest, you can choose.
2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Antigen, and Windows Server are either
registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
Find tools and guidance to defend your network at microsoft.com/security/IT
Antivirus for Exchange: Download a free trial of Antigen
for
Exchange and arm your e-mail server with powerful multi-engine
protection from viruses, worms, and inappropriate content.
Learning Paths for Security: Take advantage of in-depth
online training tools and security expert webcasts organized
around your specic needs. Then test your security solutions
in virtual labs, all available on TechNet.
Free Tools and Updates: Streamline patch management
with automated tools like Windows Server
TM
Update Services.
And verify that your systems are congured for maximized
security with Microsoft
Baseline Security Analyzer.

Microsoft Security Assessment Tool: Complete this
free, online self-assessment to evaluate your organizations
security practices and identify areas for improvement.
accounts, then analyzed its performance.
Panda let more than half the spam
through, but marked about 3 percent of
valid mail as spam. With that much spam
missed, wed expect no false positives.
Web content ltering isnt installed by
default, probably because it requires an
extra log-on step. For each user, you can
select one of four predened lters or de-
vise your own to block sites matching 15
major categories or over 50 subcategories.
You can also white- or blacklist sites.
Although Web content user accounts
arent tied to Windows log-on accounts,
you must log off Windows to switch
accounts. A privacy protection module
lets you register specic condential in-
formation in a number of categories such
as passwords and credit card numbers.
If processes attempt to transmit private
data, you get a warning, but unlike simi-
lar products, Panda doesnt prevent you
from entering the data in a Web form or
IMing it. It does, however, warn you if
the data goes out via e-mail.
PC-cillin Internet Security 2006
$49.95 direct. Trend Micro Inc., www.trendmicro
.com. llhmm
Antivirus llllh Antispam lllmm
Antispyware llmmm Firewall llmmm
Privacy/parental control lllmm
Trend Micro includes antivirus, antispy-
ware, antispam, a personal rewall, pri-
vate data protection, and Web- content
filtering. The modules quality varies
widely in both protective power and
ease of use. With substandard firewall
and antispyware and so-so antispam,
this suite needs work before we can con-
sider it a complete solution.
By default, PC-cillin scans incom-
ing (POP3) and outgoing (SMTP) e-mail
and attachments, even looking inside Zip
the program overwhelms with tons of up-
date, status, and bulletin pop-ups; fortu-
nately you can turn them off.
Panda uses signature-based scanning
as well as TruPrevent genetic heuris-
tic technology to seek threats too new
for signatures. TruPrevent also moni-
tors running processes for malicious
activity. In recent tests (go.pcmag.com/
zerodayattack), TruPrevent effectively
blocked zero-day threats.
The AV scans files for viruses and
spyware on access, demand, and sched-
ule. You can schedule multiple scans
with different settings at in-
tervals from hours to years.
A full scan on a clean system
took about 14 minutes. On
finding a threat, the utility
can warn via pop-up, e-mail,
or network message. Known
viruses are deleted and in-
fected files disinfected by
default. Suspicious files are
quarantined; you can restore
or delete them, or submit
them to Panda.
We tested the products
ability to remove spyware and
to prevent its installation. It
detected fourteen of fifteen
threats, successfully removed
all but three, and prevented twelve from
installing. But it completely failed to re-
move or block four of six keyloggers in
tests.
The rewall reported Web-based port
scan tests as port scan attacks. We ex-
pected to see all signicant ports steal-
thed, but one test showed port 445 (used
in File and Printer Sharing) open. The
rewall automatically congures about
a hundred known programs for Inter-
net accessothers trigger conrmation
pop-ups on their rst access attempt.
Attempts to disable the firewall by
direct attack failed either to turn off its
essential services or to terminate its
processes using the Task Manager. The
rewall can create a new security prole
on detecting a new network connection
and can report Wi-Fi intrusions.
The antispam module filters POP3
e-mail for any client but integrates with
Micro soft Outlook. Mail from the trust-
ed senders list always gets through, but
theres no list of blocked senders. The
content filter learns by analyzing out-
going mail, and Outlook users can train
it by correcting misfiled items via the
toolbar.
We trained the lter on two real-world
les, and can optionally scan Web-based
e-mail. It scans on file access and auto-
matically schedules monthly and weekly
scansyou can schedule additional scans
with different settings. New slotted up-
date technology eliminates possible vul-
nerability during denition updates.
Trend Micro acquired InterMute last
year, gaining both SpySubtract and CW-
Shredder, but hasnt integrated them
into the suite yetand it shows. Of f-
teen sample spyware threats, PC-cillin
detected eight but successfully removed
only one. Of six commercial keyloggers,
it removed two and detected
two others. It successfully
blocked installation of eight
of fifteen spyware threats, in
many cases disabling them be-
fore installation could even be-
gin; it tried but failed to block
four others. It prevented the
installation of one keylogger,
completely missing the other
ve.
The antispyware module has
other problems. Its real-time
scanner warns of malware
activity using an oversized,
always-on-top window. We
found no way to turn it off with-
out disabling real-time protec-
tion. Though the scanner eliminates
some threats immediately, all it does
with others is report them, providing no
severity rating or local information. De-
leting each item is a multistep process.
The product keeps no log of le-system
and Registry traces removed. Nor does it
protect against home-page hijacking or
similar behaviors.
The spam lter processes POP3 mail,
prefixing spam: or phishing: to the
subject of suspect messages. A sepa-
rately installed toolbar integrates with
Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express;
you must dene message rules in other
clients. The lter kept 80 percent of the
spam out of our test inbox and labeled
over 4 percent of valid mail as spam.
PC-cillins personal rewall stumbles
in two critical areas. It preconfigures
access rules for a handful of common
programs but still quizzes the user about
the essential Svchost.exeand in asking,
gives users no option to allow or deny an
app this time only. To correct a mis-
take you must find the program in the
full, unsorted list of rewall exceptions.
And it doesnt block leak test techniques
(used to evade normal program control),
though the antivirus did disable two of
PANDA TRUPREVENT attempts to catch brand-new threats.
SECURITY
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new antispyware is somewhat uneven,
ZASuites ever-improving best-of-breed
rewall, superb antispam, and very good
antivirus keep this suite at the top of the
heap. It remains our Editors Choice.
ZASuites antivirus engine, licensed
from Computer Associates, adds a full
quarantine system and the ability to
pause and resume antivirus scanning.
The licensed AV engine and homegrown
antispyware engine arent 100 percent
integrated (they run sequentially rather
than simultaneously).
ZASuites firewall passed all Web-
based port-scanning tests. It resisted all
our attempts to disable the rewall in the
ways a malicious program might employ.
In addition to blocking outside attacks
and keeping unauthorized programs
from using an Internet connection, this
version adds a new, third layer of defense
for the operating system. This new layer,
the OSFirewall, is particularly evident
in the rewalls protection against leak
tests. This version blocked ten leak tests
with Program Control at its default level;
before, it had to be set higher. In most
cases, it clearly reported the specic be-
havior attempted by the leak test.
ZASuites antispyware performance
has slipped since our last tests. It blocked
only six of fteen spyware threats from
installing. It also blocked three of the six
keyloggers in our test set and detected
two others, preventing them from logging
keystrokes but not from other behaviors,
such as tracking Web sites visited. (We
like the check box in the dangerous-
behavior pop-up that automatically
blocks all further dangerous behavior by
the same program.) ZASuite did better
at spyware removal than blocking this
time, detecting twelve pieces, removing
ten of those, and missing three.
A full antispyware scan on a clean
system took about 4 minutes, in line
with the faster products. Though theres
our twelve leak tests. The rewall also
proved vulnerable to simple attacks that
a malware program could perform.
The Privacy Protection and Web Site
Filter features impressed us, though.
Both apply to all users; an administra-
tor can make exceptions by entering the
password. You choose to block each pri-
vate item from transmission via instant
message, e-mail, or a Web form, option-
ally exempting specic sites. The content
lter blocks spyware/adware and phish-
ing sites by default; you can check off
20-odd other categories. It also protects
against HOSTS le exploits and spoofed
domain names. An Antifraud Toolbar
for Internet Explorer shows the current
sites credibility rating and Web filter
category, with a button to manage excep-
tions. Other features include a sched-
uled vulnerability check for Windows
and Microsoft Ofce and on-demand or
scheduled checks for Wi-Fi intruders.
$69.95 direct. Zone Labs LLC, www.zonelabs.com.
llllh
Antivirus llllm Antispam llllh
Antispyware lllmm Firewall lllll
Privacy/parental control lllmm
Version 6.0 of ZoneAlarm Se-
curity Suite adds an integrated
anti spyware module to its exist-
ing antivirus, personal firewall,
and antispam offerings. Although the
no indication on the main scan page, the
product defaults to a less thorough (and
faster) quick scan. We had to dig into
Advanced Options to select a full scan.
By default, ZASuite automatically deals
with the worst spyware immediately
rather than waiting for conrmation, a
nice touch. If removing a particular ad-
ware module disables a related program,
you can restore it from quarantine and
mark it to be left alone in the future. The
local threat descriptions are too brief,
with little more information available
online. And we do wish the product
would provide a detailed log listing the
spyware traces (les and Registry items)
it has removed.
Zone Labs worked around the prob-
lem of excessive firewall pop-ups by
developing SmartDefense Advisor, a
database of over 18,000 known good
programs and 52,000 known malicious
programs. The product automatically
allows access to good programs and de-
nies it to bad ones, without hassling the
user. This new version renes the per-
mission process with three distinct trust
levels. Restricted programs are blocked
from behaviors deemed suspicious or
dangerous. Trusted programs are al-
lowed actions that would otherwise be
considered suspicious. And those with
Super permission (typically Microsoft
Windows components) arent limited at
all. Another new trust level is Kill: When
a process with this trust level launches,
ZASuite kills it.
The antispam module, licensed from
MailFrontier, can now scan existing
folders on demand but otherwise hasnt
changed signicantly. In testing, it marked
under 1 percent of valid mail as spam and
let just 4 percent of spam into the inbox,
separately identifying a number of phish-
ing e-mails as fraudulent. Its whitelist/
blacklist and challenge/response features
would improve accuracy. E
ZONEALARMS ANTISPYWARE could use more localand onlineinformation.
TREND MICRO warned us that Trend
Micro was trying to access the Internet.
SECURITY
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contact: Your local reseller
YOU WOUDNT USE AN antivirus app that failed
to block or remove every virus it might rea-
sonably encounter, yet anti spyware apps that
stop only about a third of the threats are often
deemed acceptable, and ones that capture three
out of four are praised as excellent. (We admit that
weve been so desperate for some protection that
weve been guilty of the latter ourselves at times.)
Its almost enough to make us throw up our hands in
defeatalmost, but not quite. Unfortunately, even this
subpar protection is better than noneand better than
what youll nd included with most security suites.
We evaluated nine antispyware apps that were updated
fairly recently. Their results, on the whole, were an improve-
ment over past versionsan encouraging sign. We tested the
products on their ability to block spyware and keyloggers from
installing on a clean system, as well as their success at removing
the malware on an already-infected system. To avoid conicts,
you should use only one antispyware tool to block incoming at-
tacks, but we strongly recommend that you use two or more to scan
your system regularly, in the hope that each will cover the gaps in the
others protection. And, of course, youll still need to keep your wits
about you to lessen your chances of getting screwed by spyware.
Spyware is a crafty
and insidious threat,
so you need good tools
to combat it. Some
anti-spyware programs
can stop most attacks,
but none stop enough.
BY SARAH PIKE ILLUSTRATION BY HEADS OF STATE
A
N
T
I
S
P
Y
W
A
R
E

traces found. Even this information is
dropped once a threat is moved to quar-
antine, and theres no link to additional
data online. Aluria Anti-Spywares log
le is cryptic and uninformative.
Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware
(beta)
Free public beta. Microsoft Corp.,
www.microsoft.com. llhmm
Microsofts currently free
anti spyware product i n-
cludes dozens of Security
Agents that monitor the sys-
tem to detect and prevent
suspicious activity. Although
you can adjust which agents
are active, we recommend
you leave the default congu-
ration alone.
Despite the efforts of the
Security Agents, Microsoft
Windows AntiSpyware pre-
vented none of our test key-
loggers from installing; its removal scan
missed all but one keylogger and
left most features of that one in-
tact. It did block more than half
the spyware samples from install-
ing, and it detected nearly all of the
spyware samples on our infested
system, removing more than half
of them. In nearly every case, Win-
dows AntiSpyware had to reboot
the system to nish its spyware re-
moval; it also had to reboot to n-
ish cleanup after blocking several
spyware installations.
Navigating the single- windows
interface can be confusing, but
the program does a great job of
ALL REVIEWS BY
NEIL J. RUBENKING
Aluria Anti-Spyware 4.0
$29.99 direct. Aluria Software,
www.aluriasoftware.com. llmmm
Aluria Anti-Spyware 4.0 in-
tegrates with Aluria Software
Security Center, along with
optional antivirus, antispam,
and rewall elements. Its ADS
(Active Defense Shield) is de-
signed to keep spyware out of
your systema noble ambi-
tion. You can opt in to the Spy-
ware Retrieval System, which
will occasionally send suspect
les to Alurias labs. This op-
tional service sends only sus-
pect les, not any personal information.
That is one of the few conguration set-
tings youll need to make, as the product
is very easy to use.
In testing, Aluria Anti-Spyware wasnt
effective at removing or blocking key-
loggers, though it did detect two of the
six. When installed on our infested sys-
tems, it found two-thirds of the sample
spyware but succeeded in removing less
than half of those. The ADS did react to
over half of the attempted spyware in-
stallations and successfully prevented
every one that it detected. There were
some rough spotsone infested sys-
tem crashed every time during spyware
removal, and another lost its Internet
connection after removal.
Aluria Anti- Spyware offers quite a
bit of information about the spyware it
finds, but reviewing all this data isnt
easy. Double-clicking on an item brings
up a separate detail window, and you
must then click links within this win-
dow to see a description of the threat, its
actions, and a list of the local spyware
showing what it found on your system. A
detail panel displays the selected items
description with a link for more info on-
line; a list of the traces that make up the
item is also available. And the programs
logs clearly show the disposition of all
threats. You can opt to share suspicious
files with Microsofts antispyware re-
searchers. It encrypts the sent data,
which contain no personal informa-
tion. Bonus features include an option
to erase system and Internet traces, pro-
tection of numerous Microsoft Internet
Explorer settings, and a System Explor-
er that pulls together numerous critical
security settings.
NOD32 Antivirus System 2.5
$39 direct. Eset Software, www.eset.com. Antispy-
ware protection: llhmm
NOD32 is an effective antivirus system
with a number of distinct modules to
handle file scanning, e-mail scanning,
real-time protection, and more. A Con-
trol Center introduced in Version 2.0
pulls the various modules together. Al-
though the products innumerable con-
guration options may be confusing for
the novice user, we gave it a four-star
rating overall for its virus protection.
Version 2. 5 extends this protection to
cover spyware and related threats, and
it also adds a new generic signatures
feature designed to protect against fast-
mutating threats. It can optionally send
an e-mail notification when it blocks a
threat. We put it through the same test-
ing as the dedicated antispyware prod-
ucts, and it held its own.
Eset doesnt include most commercial
keyloggers in its list of threats, and in-
deed NOD32 completely ignored these
in our tests. But it was fairly successful
at preventing installation of spyware,
blocking over three-quarters of our test
THE SPYWARE SCAN PAGE in Microsoft AntiSpy-
ware reports on the most recent scan and offers
quick access to immediate or scheduled scanning.
ALURIA ANTI-SPYWARE reports the name and
type of spyware threats that it has quarantined,
but no further details.
THE NOD32 CONTROL CENTER integrates the prod-
ucts multiple antivirus and antispyware modules.
element prevented sus-
picious activity by the
installer, effectively
halting the installation.
Many of the successful
removal operations re-
quired a reboot.
Out post was si g-
ni f icant ly better at
det ect i ng spyware
than at either remov-
i ng it or preventi ng
its initial installation.
Future versions may
improve the programs
performance; unt i l
they do, youd be bet-
ter off with a best-of-breed standalone
antispyware product.
SpyCatcher 2006
$29.95 direct. Tenebril Inc., www.tenebril.com.
lllhm
SpyCatcher 2006 i s attractive and
easy to use. When it detects a suspi-
cious file, a handy wizard helps you
decide what to do. The wizard displays
any available vendor information and
asks whether it looks familiar; it asks
whether you just installed new trusted
software; and it checks the Tenebril
Web site for related reports. Since our
initial review, SpyCatchers behavior
detection seems to have become more
rened; in our testing, we didnt notice
any legitimate files f lagged as suspi-
cious. And it performed almost as well
as our Editors Choice selections.
SpyCatcher blocked two-thirds of the
keyloggers from installing and removed
installations. In many cases NOD32
wiped out the spyware installer as soon
as it was copied to disk, or as soon as
it launched. When loaded on already-
infested systems, NOD32 detected over
three-quarters of the spyware but man-
aged to remove only half of those.
NOD32s spyware protection, though
not yet on a par with its antivirus ca-
pability, is still impressive. Its a good
choice if you want one tool to provide
your antivirus and primary antispyware
protection.
Outpost Firewall Pro 3.0
$39.95 direct. Agnitum Ltd., www.agnitum.com.
Antispyware protection: llmmm
Agnit ums Out post
Firewall Pro is a fire-
wal l by nature, but
Ver si on 3 . 0 t a kes
adva nt a ge of t he
products plug-in ar-
chitecture to add full-
scale spyware removal
and prevention. Other
plug-i ns handle ad
blocki ng, e-mai l at-
tachment quarantine,
content ltering (based
on user-defined lists
of unwanted URLs or
keywords), and more.
We tested its abilities
against our standard
antispyware regimen.
Outpost detected all
but one commercial
keylogger and removed three, but didnt
successfully block installation of any of
them. Although it detected two-thirds of
our sample spyware in both tests, it suc-
ceeded in blocking or removing less than
half of those. In a few cases the rewall
half of them from infested systems. It
noticed and tried to block all but one of
the test spyware installations and was
successful in all but two cases. Similarly,
it removed about three-quarters of the
entrenched spyware, failing to remove
what it detected in only two cases.
Installing the program was unusually
fast and easy; scans were speedy too.
Where many products force a reboot to
finish removals, SpyCatcher managed
the same task just by restarting Win-
dows Explorer. A glitch in the tested ver-
sion caused the list of found spyware to
disappear temporarily after this restart,
but Tenebril quickly released a x.
SpyCatcher doesnt offer local data
about the threats it nds, nor a full log
of removed spyware traces, but you can
link to Tenebrils online spyware data-
base. Of course, since spyware often
makes online access difcult, local in-
formation would be greatly appreciated,
and in some cases it could be considered
necessary.
Bonus features include phishing-site
warnings; a System Explorer that will
list (and optionally quarantine) in-
stalled plug-ins, ActiveX components,
start-up items, and more; and a module
that analyzes the HOSTS le looking for
entries that represent malware exploits.
You can get started with SpyCatcher by
trying Tenebrils free Express version,
which offers almost all of the full ver-
sions features.
Spy Sweeper 4.5
$29.95 per year direct. Webroot Software Inc.,
www.webroot.com. llllm
Spy Sweepers Comprehensive
Removal Technology attempts
to remove spyware completely
in a single pass, and its behavior-
based Active Shields block suspicious
behaviors and prevent installation of
new threats. Rootkit techniques can
hide malware from the le system; Spy
Sweeper works below the file system
level to disable rootkit exploits even
when theyre not associated with known
threats. If necessary, it can run in Safe
Mode or under a Limited user account.
Spy Sweeper successfully blocked
two-thi rds of our sample spyware
from installing, and it removed over
three-quarters of the already installed
spyware. In every case, however, this
thorough removal required a reboot. Spy
Sweeper attempted to remove all of the
commercial keyloggers and succeeded
with all but one; it also prevented two-
OUTPOST FIREWALL PRO offers spyware protection
through its exible plug-in architecture.
FROM SPYCATCHERS My Spyware list, you can delete or
restore quarantined spyware or click for more info online.
SECURITY
a few times to navigate
to the site hosting a spy-
ware sample.
For found threats, Spy
Sweeper shows threat
level, description, and a
list of local traceseven
after the threat has been
quarant i ned. Conve-
niently, it can remove
threats for all user accounts, not just
the logged-on user. And the programs
Early File Remover runs before Win-
dows boots, to clean out difficult files.
Although Spyware Doctor did slightly
better in testing, we consider both prod-
ucts worthy of an Editors Choice.
thirds of the keyloggers from installing.
In most cases, its Spy Installation Shield
immediately halted an attempt to install
malware.
The Spy Communication Shield
blocks access to known spyware sites.
We actually had to override this shield
Spyware Doctor 3.2
$29.95 per year direct. PC Tools, www.pctools.com.
llllm
PC Tools continuously refines
Spyware Doctor, even between
point release updates. Since our
last look at Version 3.2, important
functions have moved into a Windows
Service, making the program fully func-
tional even under a Limited user ac-
count.
Spyware Doctor blocked almost every
spyware sample from installing, com-
pletely missing just one and detecting but
failing to block one other. In almost all
cases, one of its OnGuard modules killed
the spywares installation at launch, and it
warned us away from several dangerous
Web sites. Its on-demand scanner suc-
cessfully removed every spyware sample
it detectedover three-quarters of them.
Its scan detected all of the keyloggers and
removed all but one; it also blocked two-
thirds of them from installing.
ON-DEMAND PROTECTION
To test spyware removal, we installed a number of
spyware-type threats and commercial keyloggers
in virtual machines. We saved a snapshot of each
virtual machine after it was infested with up to three threats.
(Three may not sound like a lot, but each threat often invites
along many friends, as we saw in our testingand more
important, even three can push the limits of system stability.)
For each antispyware product, we restored the infested
snapshot, installed the product, downloaded all updates,
and ran the most comprehensive scan available. We
rebooted if the product requested it, and ran a second
scan if the product asked for it. Removed means that the
product removed enough of the threat to render it nonfunc-
tional. Detected means the product detected the threat
but was unable to remove it. And missed means that the
product didnt detect the threat at all. For keyloggers, if
the product blocked logging of keystrokes but didnt pre-
vent logging other activities, we marked it detected.
INSTALLATION BLOCKING
We also installed each antispyware product in its own
clean virtual machine, updated its denitions, and saved a
snapshot. Then, for each threat, we restored the clean snap-
shot and attempted to install the attack. Blocked means
the product deleted the install program, prevented it from
running, or prevented it from installing a functional copy
of the malware. Detected means the product detected
the attempted installation but could not prevent it. And
missed means that the product didnt detect the installa-
tionwe did not count detection of program activity such
as launching at start-up unless it specically identied the
program as malware. We gave no credit for real-time detec-
tion of malware after installation; that would be covered
under removal.Analysis written by Neil J. Rubenking
ZeroSpyware 2005
Trend Micro Anti-Spyware 3.0
Spyware Doctor 3.2
Spy Sweeper 4.5
SpyCatcher 2006
Outpost Firewall 3.0
NOD32 antivirus system 2.5
Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware (Beta)
Aluria Anti-Spyware 4.0
-10 0 10 -10 -20 -20 0 10
DETECTED BLOCKED MISSED
REMOVING BLOCKING
SPYWARE:
KEYLOGGERS:
DETECTED REMOVED MISSED
SPYWARE:
KEYLOGGERS:
ANTISPYWARE
RED denotes Editors Choice.
Performance Tests
SPY SWEEPERS LIST
of quarantined threats
retains precise details
about the le and Reg-
istry traces that make
up each threat.
installation of all but
one. Trend Micro Anti-
Spyware is better at de-
tection than it is at actual
removalit succeeded
in removing or block-
ing less than two-thirds
of the spyware. It didnt
block any of the com-
mercial keyloggers from
installing; the spyware
scan detected half of
them, and succeeded in
removing only one.
The Spy Sleuth module
uses clues such as match-
i ng date/ti me stamps
and programs installed at the same time
to sniff out the program responsible for
installing a given spyware threat. And
the History Cleaner can securely delete
browser and system traces, as well as
MRU lists, for a variety of applications.
Still, Trend Micros antispyware tool
lacks some features wed expect it to
Other OnGuard modules block pop-
ups, prevent weakening of network
settings, crumble malicious cookies,
and monitor programs that try to start
automatically. The new Exploit Guard,
automatically installed via live update,
protects against attacks that exploit the
much-reported WMF vulnerability.
Spyware Doctor remains one of the
fastest antispyware scanners. When it
needs to restart Windows to complete
removal, it insists on doing so as soon as
youre ready and performs its cleanup be-
fore Windows starts. Its found-spyware
list shows each items threat level and can
display all traces; detailed descriptions
are available locally and online. Spyware
Doctors impressive performance gains it
our Editors Choice designation, shared
with Spy Sweeper.
Trend Micro Anti-Spyware 3.0
$29.95. Trend Micro Inc., www.trendmicro.com.
llhmm
Trend Micro Anti-Spyware is built
on I nterMute s SpySubt ract and
CWShredder technolo-
gy, which were acquired
by Trend Micro l ast
year. This is a different
appl ication from the
antispyware component
found in Trend Micros
security suite (PC-cillin
Internet Security 2006,
reviewed in the previ-
ous story), and it does a
noticeably better job.
A full spyware scan
detected all but one of
our spyware samples,
and the Venus Spy Trap
behavior-blocking mod-
ule attempted to block
havefor example, you cant schedule a
full scan or view and restore individual
threats from quarantine. It doesnt sup-
ply useful detailed information about
found threats, nor does it offer a link to
more information online.
ZeroSpyware 2005
$29.95 direct. FBM Software, www.zerospyware.
com. llhmm
ZeroSpyware suc ceeded i n remov-
ing just over half our sample spyware,
and it also blocked installation of just
over half. But its style of blocking isnt
much like that of the more successful
products. Rather than swiftly inter-
vening to stop the installation process,
ZeroSpyware performs a tedious full
scan-and-reboot cycle to remove the
newly installed malware. It managed
to remove a third of the
keyloggers and detect
another third, but it suc-
cessfully blocked only
one from installing.
On the other hand, the
free 24/7 support via live
chat may well help elimi-
nate any remaining trou-
bles you might have. This
support includes auto-
matic diagnostic modules
that can report important
data to the support tech
without placing the bur-
den of explanation on a
less tech-savvy user. As
well, those with more
skill can take advantage
of such tools as a start-up manager and
browser plug-in manager.
ZeroSpyware includes several oth-
er features to help ease the trauma of
removing spyware. A vulnerability
scanner nds outdated security patch-
es and provides links to any necessary
updates. The Processes list identifies
every running process as bad, trust-
ed, or unknown, and it offers detailed
information about both bad and trusted
processes. You can send any unknowns
to FBM for analysis. Information about
found threats is unusually detaileda
very welcome departure from the
packand it remains available when
threats are quarantined.
We like that ZeroSpyware gives users
personalized help as needed. But it has
to get a lot better at stopping threats
which should also cut down on the need
for that hand-holding. E
VENUS SPY TRAP, TREND MICRO ANTI-SPYWARES real-
time protection module, monitors the system and blocks
suspicious activity.
SPYWARE DOCTORS MAIN PAGE displays program
statistics and links to the Quarantine and Ignore lists.
FOR ADDED PROTECTION, ZEROSPYWARE can schedule
regular vulnerability scans. It also includes a number of
intrusion-detection features.
SECURITY
Using a wireless network?
Make sure youre not sharing information
with hackers or neighbors.
Over 60% of wireless networks arent protected with encryption.* Without it, you may be
inadvertently sharing e-mails, passwords, financial data, and more with your neighbors.
Even worse, a hacker can access your network from miles awaystealing personal info,
launching viruses, sending spam, or using your ID for illegal downloads.
Along with anti-virus and firewall security, safeguard your Wi-Fi
network today with

McAfees new Wireless Home Network Security. Its the one-click way to keep prying
eyes out of your business.
Available at your local software retailer and at www.mcafee.com/wifi
$
9
99
Special Introductory Offer
after mail-in rebate (regular price $49.99)
*Source: www.worldwidewardrive.org
EARLY LAST YEAR Bank of America announced that
it had lost a few data tapes during a routine ship-
ment to a backup center. Losing any data is bad
enough, but these tapes contained credit card and
other nancial customer information. That April,
online broker Ameritrade announced that account
information of up to 200,000 customers might have
been compromised. Misplaced backup tapes were
to blame here as well.
While security breaches can hurt a big company,
both Bank of America and Ameritrade managed
to survive. For a small business, with fewer clients
and often razor-thin margins, even the smallest
security breach can be devastating. A single di-
sasterwhether its compromised customer data,
a few days downtime due to a virus, or corrupted
les and inadequate backupscan destroy a busi-
nesss credibility, customer base, and sales.
Theres no shortage of threats. Besides the obvi-
ous ones, like viruses, Trojan horses, and spyware,
there are many others that are easy to overlook.
Todays wireless connectivity, for example, opens
the door to otherwise very secure networks. And
identity theft can give a criminal complete access
to your network, along with whatever sales and -
nancial data you keep on it.
PROTECT
YOUR
BUSINESS
BY OLIVER KAVEN ILLUSTRATION BY HEADS OF STATE
Many small-business owners are overwhelmed
by the number of threats and dont know how to
prioritize their efforts. Businesses relying entirely
on outside consultants often treat security as an af-
terthought.
It usually takes a minor disaster for a small busi-
ness to react to a security threat, but it doesnt have
to be that way for you. A little bit of preemptive ac-
tion can go a long way to securing your network.
In this article, we give you the outline of a plan
for securing the core vulnerabilities: your gateway,
wireless network, desktops and servers, and back-
up systems. Dont wait for disaster to strike before
you start thinking about security.
Small businesses
have less to protect,
but that doesnt mean
less to lose:
A single attack can
cost them everything.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
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19
20
21
22
Cateway security
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Prctect Ycur Netwcrk
GATEWAY SECURITY
Youd lock your front door in a risky neighborhood. Why
wouldnt you do the same with your gateway? Its your net-
works front doorthe point at which your business makes
contact with Internet. Yet in our experience many small busi-
nesses neglect perimeter defense altogether: Their gateway is
simply a router. According to the October 2005 ABA Journal,
only 66 percent of law rms networks include a gateway that
provides security. Although these numbers are up 25 percent
from the previous year, theyre still frighteningly low.
Why? Most small businesses dont know what to do. They
cant afford costly and complex enterprise-class security solu-
tions. So many rely solely on desktop software for protection.
There are, however, good small-business solutions that can
handle over 90 percent of the threats attacking a network gate-
way. First, if you dont have an in-house IT person, outsource
as much of your network security work as you can to an out-
side consultant. Dont leave perimeter security to the adminis-
trative assistant who claims to be network savvy.
If you do manage your own IT, implement an integrated
gateway security solution rather than separate point solutions.
Buying separate best-of-breed antivirus, antispam, and re-
wall devices may work well for enterprises, but few SMBs will
want to spend the time that managing them will take.
Two good bets are the UTM (unied threat management)
appliances from Astaro and ServGate. Both offer a host of tools
and services, screening Web and e-mail trafc and blocking
viruses, spam, worms, and spyware.
How do they work? These devices compare every bit of
information going to and from the Internet with a series of
signatureslike fingerprintsof known viruses, spyware,
and other threats. When deploying these devices, set the AV
and spam engines to update automatically every hour or so,
to avoid missing critical patches. In addition, monitor spam
blocking carefully. Filtering out spam is important, but not at
the expense of blocking legitimate e-mails.
Many gateway appliances offer remote-access features such
as IPsec VPNs. Maintaining VPNs is challenging, since they
usually increase technical support requests signicantly. Also,
malicious content from outside PCs can travel over the VPN
and bypass your rewall, posing additional threats. If off-site
employees need access only to e-mail, consider a safer Web-
based e-mail client.
Many gateway security appliances give daily reports and
log les, which contain information on a wide variety of sys-
tem parameters. Log les are an extremely effective and often
overlooked tool for spotting attacks and identifying suspicious
activities. To investigate possible attacks, we recommend that
you try an analyzer, such as Network Instruments Observer
11 ($995 direct), which pinpoints problems with real-time met-
rics, packet capture, trending, and statistics.
Astaro Security Gateway 120
$1,195. Astaro Corp., www.astaro.com. lllhm
The Astaro Security Gateway 120 is an impressive
offering that stands out thanks to its ease of use and
well-designed interface. It runs Astaro Security Gate-
way software with rewall, intrusion detection, and AV
(from Kaspersky and ClamAV). Other features include
antispam, antispyware, proxy lters, and VPN.
ServGate EdgeForce M100
$2,995. ServGate Technologies Inc., www.
servgate.com. llllm
The ServGate EdgeForce
M100 UTM device offers
McAfee and Computer Associates
AV, McAfee antispam, and SurfControl Web
content ltering. This means high-quality protec-
tion with speedy updates in one solid, well-managed
product. In transparent mode, you can drop the unit into exist-
ing networks without changing routing or IP congurations.
Gateway Produc ts
104 104 PC MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 21, 2006 www.pcmag.com
Desktcp and
server security
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SECURITY
Wireless Produc ts
On appliances with IDS/IPS (intrusion detection/intrusion
prevention systems), disable attack proles that dont apply to
your network. For example, if you dont have an Oracle data-
base, you dont need protection from Oracle database threats.
Disabling unneeded proles speeds up effective throughput.
If your appliance supports a DMZ (demilitarized zone),
place your e-mail and Web servers in this zone, isolating them
from the rest of your internal network. If theyre compromised,
hackers still cant access other resources.
Finally, when you congure rewall rules, dont forget out-
bound traffic. SMTP mail should originate from your mail
server, not your receptionists desktop, for example. Control-
ling outbound communications can prevent malicious applica-
tions already on your network from phoning home.
WIRELESS SECURITY
Whats the point of guarding your perimeter if you allow any-
one with the right antenna to intercept communications and
access your data? Luckily, securing your wireless network is
easier than you might think.
So how do you keep a wireless network safe? First, decide
whether you can afford a centrally managed solution. These
systems deploy a centralized switch and podlike access points
around the ofce. All updates, security settings, and access
rules are congured on the switch. The pods either receive the
conguration for local processing or merely pass any requests
back to the switch for processing. A good entry-level system is
the Symbol WS2000 wireless switch, from Symbol Technolo-
gies ($999 list; AP 200 access port (802.11a/b), $489).
If your budget is tighter, be sure to select gear that lets you
set up security easily. Wi-Fi Protected AccessPre-Shared
Key (WPA-PSK) should be your minimum level of security, as
its far more secure than the previous standard, WEP. Certain
wireless routers from Linksys include a utility called Secure
Easy Setup (SES). This feature simplies setting up WPA-PSK.
Buffalo Technology offers a similar solution called AOSS.
Youll need to buy cards for your notebooks from the same
manufacturer in both cases, however.
When visitors work in your ofce and connect their mobile
devices, they may introduce Trojan horses, viruses, or other
malware to the network. The ideal (but often impractical) so-
lution is to scan computers before they access your network.
The next best thing is to provide a separate, public wireless
network for guests. Some wireless access points and routers
have two radios built in and let you create a guest network iso-
lated from your corporate LAN. Otherwise, create a separate
wireless LAN connected only to your Internet connection and
restrict your corporate LAN to employees. For more, see Lock
Down Your Network (go.pcmag.com/lockdown).
During initial deployment, scan the air for adjoining wire-
less networks so that you can congure your access point on
nonoverlapping channels. During this scan you may also nd
Buffalo WZR-RS-G54
$199.99. Buffalo Technology (USA) Inc.,
www.buffalotech.com. llllm
The Buffalo Technologys WZR-RS-G54 is a
wireless 802.11g router that lets remote users
tunnel securely into their companys private net-
work via VPN. It also has AOSS (AirStation One-Touch
Secure System), which gives users who have little or no
security savvy a quick and effective way to deploy a secure
wireless connection. With a few mouse clicks, Buffalos util-
ity sets up a WPA-secured connection with a unique SSID.
Linksys WRT54GS
$129. Linksys, www.linksys.com. llllh
The Linksys Wireless-G Broadband Router with Speed-
Booster WRT54GS offers impressive performance and a
utility called Secure Easy Setup (SES). SES simplies setting
up WPA-PSK security, a far more secure solution than WEP.
105 105 www.pcmag.com FEBRUARY 21, 2006 PC MAGAZINE
Desktop & Server Produc ts
rogue wireless devices on your network. Remember to check
all wireless channels, including 802.11a, b, and g, even if
you use only one avor; you never know whats out there. Em-
ployees have been known to connect their own $30 wireless
routers to the corporate network themselves, creating a secu-
rity hole beyond the IT administrators control.
DESKTOP & SERVER SECURITY
Desktop protection is a bigger problem in small businesses
than in large enterprises, because small outts are less likely
to have restrictive Web ltering or to be current on their anti-
virus (AV) and Windows updates.
To protect yourself from over 90 per-
cent of existing threats, we recommend
upgrading all Windows machines to XP
with Service Pack 2 (SP2). This xes vul-
nerabilities, adds an inbound firewall,
and eliminates most of the drive-by spy-
ware installations that take advantage of
Windows and IE vulnerabilities.
In addition to AV and spam protection
at the gateway, we also strongly recom-
mend AV on all desktops and servers. De-
pending on the software manufacturer,
you sometimes need a server version of
the security software to protect servers.
However, you can often use the same products that consumers
use to protect their home systems. See our reviews of consumer
applications in Security Suites, page 85.
Local AV software not only catches threats that your gate-
way device may miss, it also takes care of locally introduced
viruses that employees bring into the ofce via oppy disk or
CD/DVD media.
Its critically important to keep your software updated. Se-
curity software companies update their products frequently,
and these updates, known as patches, must be deployed, or in-
stalled, on every machine running the software.
The most reliable approach to desktop and server security
is to centralize management of both patch deployment and
local desktop firewalls. If you own late-model desktops or
servers, their software bundles probably include a manage-
ment suite. Dell OpenManage, IBM Director, or the platform-
agnostic LANDesk, from LANDesk Software, are good tools
that provide asset management and inventory, migration, and
monitoring and alerting, as well as resource management. If
correctly configured, these tools give you complete control
over all desktops and servers, letting you easily push Win-
dows, Ofce, and Outlook updates and patches to all the com-
puters on your network.
If you lack the resources and technical expertise to manage
your endpoints centrally, at least set Windows Update to ap-
ply updates automatically. Having the latest critical security
updates from Microsoft will protect you from many threats.
You can also buy good and inexpensive programs that check
your network nodes for missing security patches and service
packs. GFiLANguard, $495 from GFI Software, is one of the
applications we tested and liked.
Also work out a policy and strategy to lock down applica-
tions that are likely targets for hackers. You can congure the
security settings in IE and Outlook, for example, to deny script
execution and avoid displaying certain content that can run
malicious code. A more draconian approach mandates the use
of alternative software, such as the Firefox browser, instead
of the far more commonand more often targetedInternet
Explorer.
Another good way to minimize risk is to switch your em-
ployees to Limited Mode user accounts in Windows. This helps
prevent unwanted software installation and many changes to
global security settings.
If you dont want to limit your employees freedom with out-
bound Web-ltering software, train them to be good network
citizens. Creating secure passwords, not using the corporate
e-mail account to sign up for Internet deals, and refraining
from P2P file sharing all help reduce problems on your net-
work without any capital investment.
DATA SECURITY
Too many small businesses neglect data backup. Yes, backing
up data is inconvenient, and it costs money, with no apparent
return on investment. But when disaster strikes, backup sys-
tems prove their worth. Youve got plenty of options. Which
you choose depends on how much data you have and how long
you can freeze your data owyour backup window.
If you have moderate backup needs and dont run a database
Safend Protector
$32 per seat (volume discounts). Safend Inc. , www.safend.com. llllm
To deny unauthorized access via USB, FireWire, PCMCIA,
Bluetooth, or IrDA, consider Safend Protector, which
offers a wide variety of central management options.
Admins can monitor port and device usage on endpoint
systems, dening policies controlling these connections.
QUICKTIPS
Manage software
patch deployment centrally to
prevent users from skipping
critical fixes. Corporate
desktops usually ship with
a management client. Use it!
106 PC MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 21, 2006 www.pcmag.com 106
Data Security Produc ts
SECURITY
or e-mail server, consider DVD for back-
up. Double/dual-layer technologies can
hold 8.5GB of data per diskplenty for
Word and Excel les. DVDs are portable,
so you can take copies off-site for secu-
rity. Most DVD burners ship with basic
backup software.
Anot her option i s backi ng up to
network-attached storage (NAS) ap-
pliances. These devices include single
or multiple hard drives controlled by a
dedicated OS and attached to your net-
work. Administrators can create file
shares on these drives and then back up
server or desktop data onto them. While this is the fastest,
most convenient backup method, it doesnt let you bring data
off-site easily.
We recommend occasionally copying your data to CD/DVD
or even tape in case of a re or other major disaster. The new
Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM)
integrates just such a disk-to-disc-to-tape strategy.
Tape backup is the slowest, most complex, yet most popular
way to back up. If you can get along using CD or DVD, avoid
tape. Doing so will save you money and headaches. For compa-
nies with more than a few tapes worth of data, however, auto-
mated tape libraries are convenient.
Tape backup formats vary in price and capacity. We recom-
mend VXA-3 for its innovative packet-based technology and
affordability and LTO for its extremely high capacity.
Whatever strategy you choose, there are a few rules to ob-
serve. First, test the restore operations regularly. Restore a few
les weekly to make sure that backup DVDs are initializing
properly, for example. Its not uncommon to nd bugs in your
backup system at the recovery stagea heartbreaking prob-
lem thats easily avoided.
Second, choose simple-to-operate backup software. Backup
applications designed for large enterprises are often too com-
plex for small-business IT resources.
Third, if you run databases or e-mail servers like Microsoft
Exchange, look for a backup application that natively supports
them. This lets you back up without shutting down your data-
base or e-mail server rst and restore data with less hassle.
Additionally, youll want data recovery software on hand to
restore data from hard drives in a catastrophic failure or from
devices not protected by your backup strategy. Ontrack (www
.ontrack.com) offers excellent tools for recovering data from
badly wrecked drives. If these dont work, the company also of-
fers professional recovery services. Last year Ontrack processed
a drive belonging to PC Magazine executive editor Jeremy Ka-
plan (go.pcmag.com/harddrivehealers).
Bottom line: Sometimes its impossible to avert disasters.
But being prepared can make them less disastrous. E
QUICKTIPS
Buffalo TeraStation
$899.99. Buffalo Technology (USA) Inc., www.buffalotech.com. llllm
The Buffalo TeraStation provides a terabyte of affordable,
secure storage, fast backups, and redundancy. Its the only
sub-$1,000 NAS device offering RAID, via two groupings
of drives (RAID 1 or RAID 5). It can act as an FTP server,
letting you deposit critical les directly to the device.
EMC Dantz Retrospect 7 Single Server Edition
$699. EMC Corp., www.emc.com. llllm
Retrospect is simple, business-class backup software.
It can back up to disk, NAS, single-tape drives, and CD/
DVD devices locally and on the network. Automated
basic recovery for Windows clients and point-in-time
restores with rollback for individual les, directories,
or entire le systems enhance Retrospects appeal.
Exabyte VXA-320 Packet Tape Drive
$1,960. Exabyte Corp., www.exabyte.com. llllh
The affordable Exabyte VXA-320 Packet
Tape Drive delivers voluminous stor-
age at a high data rate. Unlike other
tape technologies, the VXA-3 reads and writes data by the
packet rather than as large blocks of data. VXA drives can
adjust tape speed to match transfer rate, avoiding back-
hitching operations that force the tape to stop, rewind,
and restart, decreasing performance and tape life.
Microsoft System Center Data
Protection Manager
$1,000 and up. Microsoft Corp., www.microsoft.com. llllh
DPM is a comprehensive and integrated disk-to-disc-to-tape
backup solution that can eliminate your backup window
entirely. Using agent-based technology, DPM performs
frequent backups of le changes only and can
delegate data recovery tasks to the user.
Sony DRX-810UL
$159.99. Sony Corp. of America, www.sony.com. llllh
The Sony DRX-810UL, a dual/double-layer,
dual-format 16X burner, can handle com-
mon 4.7GB DVR discs, 8.5GB
DVD+R, and DVD-R dual-layer
media at 8X speed. The unit has
USB 2.0 and i.LINK interfaces
and a Nero software bundle.
Scan your network for
vulnerabilities with a software
network assessment tool.
Even shareware scanners can
alert you to gaping holes
in your setup.
107 www.pcmag.com FEBRUARY 21, 2006 PC MAGAZINE 107
MAK I NG T E C H NOL OGY WOR K F OR YOU
More Cool Digital
Camera Projects
Make a pinhole camera, and discover the secrets of under-
water, macro, and infrared photography. BY DAVID CARDINAL
T
he stampede from film to
digital photography has
rekindled the photo bug
in many of us. Last year,
we showed you how to use
your camera in ways you may never have
imagined: taking aerial photos by attach-
ing the camera to a kite, making a mini
studio to take great eBay product shots,
trying super-telephoto photography
(digiscoping), taking pictures of the night
sky (astrophotography), and making pan-
oramas. Here are four more projects.
DIGITAL PINHOLE CAMERA
For many of us, our first photo experi-
ence was building a pinhole camera out
of cardboard. It
seemed a miracle
that a hole i n a
pi ece of paper
could create a real-
istic image of the
world. And it s
hard not to love the
ethereal look and
near-innite depth
of field of pinhole
photographs.
Its just as easy to build a digital pinhole
camera. For digital point-and-shoot own-
ers, the rst step is to build a light box
the same way you would have for lma
cardboard cube about 1 foot on each side
and painted black on the insideexcept
that instead of placing film on the back
wall of the box, you make it a white sur-
face (either use white cardboard or paint
it white). Youll also need to add a win-
dow to the boxs front where you can
attach your camera and take a photo of
the image on the back wall. And you need
to create the pin-
hole in the middle
of the front of the
box, above where
you will place the camera. Poking a hole
in cardboard isnt accurate; its better to
make a small opening you can cover with
aluminum tape and poke a hole in that
with a needle. At www.mrpinhole.com
youll nd some online calculators to help
you decide the exact size of your camera
and gure the size of its pinhole.
To use your pinhole camera, aim the
pinhole side of the light box at a brightly
lit scene. Then wedge your digicam into
the window you made for it. Some type
of rubber seal may help keep stray light
out. Make sure the flash is off and set
the focus to Macro, or be sure that the
camera is focused close enough to get
the back wall of the box in focus. Then
take your photo. Because of the long
shutter speed required, brace your cam-
era well so it stays still while the image
is captured. (With most point-and-shoot
cameras, exposure times are automatic,
based on the level of light, and with a
pinhole camera they can be many sec-
onds long.) Swivel-body cameras, such
as the Nikon Coolpix 990, are particu-
larly good for this, since you can aim
the lens toward the middle of the back of
the box while keeping the camera rmly
planted on the ground. With a normal-
body camera, you may want to make the
window in the box a tiny bit higher than
the level of the lens, so that the lens tilts
slightly upwards and points toward the
center of the back wall of the box.
Turning a digital SLR into a pinhole
camera is as simple as making a small
but precise hole in a spare body cap
(the cover that ts over the lens mount
to protect the camera when a lens is not
in place). First, drill a fairly large hole,
about 0.5 inch, in the cap. Then use alu-
Pinhole
Digital camera
(hole in front
panel to fit lens)
Projected image is
upside-down and
reversed
Lightbox (painted
black inside, except for
white back panel)
A DIGITAL PINHOLE PHOTO by Brian Pawlowski, a 2.5-second
exposure taken with a digital SLR (a Canon EOS-1Ds), with the
pinhole in a sheet of metal foil that covers a larger hole drilled in
the cameras body cap.
SOLUTIONS
111 SECURITY WATCH
Beating Microsoft
to the patch
1113 SMB BOOTCAMP
Choosing
broadband for
your business
114 DIY HARDWARE
Build an external
hard drive
115 ASK LOYD
Loyd Case
answers your
hardware questions
117 ASK NEIL
Neil J. Rubenking
answers your
software questions
minum foilor better, aluminum tape
for the precise hole. Poke a tiny hole in
the foil with a needle and fasten it over
the larger hole while keeping the small
hole centered. If you have trouble mak-
ing a small enough hole, use your pin to
create a small bump and then use a piece
of ne sandpaper to remove just the top
of the bump, leaving a tiny hole.
You can even build a telephoto pin-
hole camera by using a cardboard tube
to extend the body cap out from your
camera. For best results, anchor the tube
to another body cap with a large hole cut
in it. The longer focal length will need
a slightly larger pinholeuse Mr. Pin-
holes calculator to gure out the size.
DIGITAL UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY
Underwater film photography has al-
ways been a tricky and expensive hobby,
requiring special waterproof cameras
and costly flash units. You were
limited to one roll of film for
each dive, since you cant
change f i l m under-
water. With digital
cameras, all this has
changed. You can
take the same digital
poi nt-and-shoot or
SLR that you use for
the rest of your vaca-
tion photos, put it in an
underwater housing,
and take it snorkeling or scuba diving
with you. You can shoot until your card
is full and review your images instantly.
About the only complicated part to
getting started is pairing up your cam-
era with a housing. If you are consider-
ing buying a camera, getting a model
with an optional housing from the cam-
era manufacturer is the best and usually
the cheapest way to go. Point-and-shoot
housings from Canon, Nikon, and Pen-
tax, for example, run about $200 street.
If you just want to take a couple of snaps
of kids in a pool, one of the new water-
proof cameras such as the Pentax Optio
WP might work, but these cameras are
not meant for prolonged submersion.
When underwater, lighting is critical.
The deeper you go, the less light gets
through and the bluer the light is. One
solution is brighter ash units, but they
are expensive and require more costly
housings. Instead, you can use your cam-
era and digital imaging software to help
restore the scenes natural color. If your
camera can shoot in RAW, for example,
the resulting RAW le will give you the
most options for changing the white bal-
ance when you edit it on your computer.
Youll need to do some color correction
on the computer to
adjust for the underwater light. A simple
method is to photograph something with
a known color (your dive buddys wetsuit,
for example), note what color corrections
are needed to bring it back to its correct
color, and apply similar corrections to
your shots of underwater life taken under
the same conditions. If you use Adobe
Photoshop, try the Curves command
as a quick way to change the color bal-
ance. You can click on bright, midtone,
or shadow areas of your image while in
the Curves dialog to have Photoshop help
make them a neutral tone and correct the
rest of the colors.
Canon has an extensive tutorial on
digital underwater photography at www
.canon.co.jp/Imaging/uwphoto/index-e
.html, and the leading site for staying up
with the latest is wetpixel.com.
MACRO
Macro photography is the art of taking
closeup photos of small objects, often
resulting in images that are as large as,
if not larger than, the original subject.
Macro photos can give us a glimpse
into the hidden worlds of insects, ow-
ers, reptiles, or small objects. With lm
cameras, special macro (or micro)
lenses were needed to focus closely on
small objects, but many digital point-
and-shoots can focus on objects as close
as an inch or two from the camera.
There are some rules to remember
when shooting macros with a point-and-
shoot digicam. First, your viewfinder
wont show exactly what youll be shoot-
ing, since it is offset from your lens (ex-
cept with a D-SLRthen the viewnder
will show you what youll get). Use your
LCD to frame your image. Second, your
ash wont help and may hurt your im-
age, since it is set off to the side and is
also not well diffused. Look for a well-lit
subject and turn your ash off. Finally,
youll want to use the smallest aperture
(the largest f-stop number) you can set to
help ensure that the whole subject is in
focus. That will almost always mean us-
ing a tripod to hold the camera still dur-
ing the resulting long exposure. If you
WATERPROOF HOUSINGS provide a safe enclosure for your
digital camera when you are lming underwater.
go.pcmag.com/solutions
follow these rules and practice a little,
youll be able to shoot macro like a pro.
Swivel-body cameras such as the
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30 (our Edi-
tors Choice superzoom) and the Canon
PowerShot S2 IS and G6 let you hold the
camera under a flower or other small
scene while shooting upwards, maxi-
mizing your exibility.
INFRARED (IR) PHOTOGRAPHY
Capturing a scenes infrared (IR) light
(energy of longer wavelength than the
visible spectrum) instead of its visible
light can provide a unique and dramatic
perspective. With lm cameras, the pro-
cess was fairly simple, requiring only
that you use infrared-sensitive lm.
On the one hand, digital cameras make
infrared photography easier because you
can preview (usually) and review your
results on the spot. On the other hand,
most digital cameras have a filter
normally attached in front of the sen-
sorthat is designed to cut the amount
of IR light the sensor receives. This helps
maximize color accuracy, but makes it
harder to do IR photography.
If your camera has an IR filter that
blocks most IR light, youre going to
need very long exposures to get enough
light to the sensor. So a tripod is a must.
Also, some digicam meters are fooled
by the IR lter. Their meter sees the
full lighting on the scene, but the sensor
records only the IR light, or the meter
isnt designed to read IR light at all. If
your camera is fooled, youll need either
to dial in + exposure compensation un-
til the image looks right in your LCD, or
to use manual metering and experiment
until you get the right shutter speed.
Cameras vary in their ability to let IR
through. You can aim any IR remote
(such as a TV remote) into the lens and
look at the previewing LCD to see how
visible the beam is; this will give you an
idea of how sensitive your camera is to
IR. In some cases you can disassemble
the camera to remove the IR-blocking l-
ter, but that can be trickyand will void
your warranty. Several discontinued digi-
cams such as the Konica Minolta Dimage
7, the Olympus C-2020Z, the Nikon Cool-
pix 950, and the Nikon D1 SLR are partic-
ularly infrared-sensitive, and thus sell at
a premium on the used-camera market. A
few D-SLRs modied for astrophotogra-
phy have reduced IR blocking, or the l-
ter is removed altogether.
To get started with infrared photog-
raphy, youll need a lter that blocks out
visible light. (Dont confuse this with
the IR filter we just mentioned.) Most
common are the Wratten 89B, which is
easiest to use since it also lets in some
visible light, and the Wratten 87, which
is a more accurate IR lter but may block
out so much light that your camera has
trouble functioning.
You can buy an IR fil-
ter either as a glass lter
that screws into a lens
or as a exible gelatin
version designed for a
lter holder. Check with
photo distributors such
as B&H (www.bhphoto.
com). If your camera
uses screw-in filters,
purchase the correct
size or buy step-up rings
as needed. If your cam-
era doesnt have screw-
in capability, you can
hold the lter against the
front of the lens. Make
sure it is firmly placed
and doesnt let extra light through.
Once you get the image, note that its an
RGB version of what is mostly a mono-
chrome image made of light from one
part of the spectrum. To create a tradi-
tional-looking IR image, youll need to
convert the photo to grayscale in your
photo editor. Feel free to experiment with
color manipulations; color infrared can
make for exotic images. A good general
digital IR site is dpfwiw
.com/ir.htm.
You can also make
infrared-like photos
from existing images
with Fred Mi randas
Digital Infrared plug-in
for Photoshop ($8. 50;
www.fredmiranda.com).
It mimics some of infra-
reds characteristics.
YOUR TICKET TO
ADVENTURE
You can both have fun
and expand your photo-
graphic horizons with
these projects. Roll up
your sleeves, call forth your spirit of
adventure, and experience the time-
honored technology of pinhole photog-
raphy, explore the undersea world and
the realm of the very small, and capture
the ghostly effects of infrared.
David Cardinal is a professional
photographer and software author. He
publishes the Web site nikondigital
.org (an information resource for digital
photographers), teaches digital photog-
raphy through Cardinal Photo (www
.cardinalphoto.com), and publishes
DigitalPro image management software,
available at www.proshooters.com.
BY USING YOUR CAMERAS Macro mode, you can capture
a wealth of detail in close-up shots.
INFRARED PHOTOGRAPHY CAN produce beautiful and somewhat eerie images, as in Steven I. Rosen-
baums Avalon and Love Temple (Old Westbury Gardens), shown here.
110
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Security Watch newsletter and get
up-to-date info on the latest threats
delivered to your inbox automatically:
go.pcmag.com/securitywatchletter.
Beating Microsoft
to the Patch
Community-led efforts sometimes deliver security xes
before developers. Should you trust these solutions, or will
they make your systems less secure? BY ROBERT LEMOS
mise computers by convincing users to
install the programostensibly for their
own protection. Such scams, known as
social engineering, work only because
users are too willing to install software,
updates, and patches. Windows XP, es-
pecially since Service Pack 2, has gotten
better about warning users when they
might be installing untrusted programs
or running untrusted ActiveX controls,
but its not foolproof. A good question
to ask is whether the source of a patch is
identiable. Spyware makers generally
attempt to hide their identities.
You can trust software patches only
as much as you can trust their source
and the skills of that source. Even Guil-
fanovs patch, which security research-
ers audited, caused some problems with
network printing.
Still, in exceptional cases, commu-
nity responses give security-conscious
users options that might otherwise be
unavailable. For two weeks, Microsofts
lack of an adequate workaround left us-
ers unprotected. The creation of a patch,
its distribution (with source code), and
auditing by other experts in the com-
munity gave users a temporary x while
Microsoft labored on its ofcial patch.
Havi ng to rel y on communit y-
provided patches isnt ideal. But when
theres no ofcial solution for a critical
security vulnerability, a temporary x is
better than no x at all.
A
s 2005 wound down, security
professionals were worried. A
major Microsoft Windows vul-
nerability had come to light that com-
promised computers if users did as little
as visit a malicious Web site or view
images with malicious code embedded.
Attacks exploiting the awa vulner-
ability in the handling of the Windows
Meta File (WMF) formathad begun
appearing by New Years Day.
Compared with the speed of events,
Microsoft responded slowly. It present-
ed a workaround that worked only in
some cases and advised worried users to
update their antivirus programs. Micro-
softs patch wasnt available until it was
fully tested, on January 6.
Robert Lemos is a freelance technology
journalist and the editor-at-large for
SecurityFocus.
The episode was the most signicant
zero-day attack to date. So called be-
cause security professionals have no
window (zero days) to respond to a vul-
nerability before an attack arrives, zero-
day attacks have become a significant
threat in the last few years. Though its
understandable that Microsoft would
release only a well-tested
patch, this was cold com-
fort to security-conscious
users wondering if the
next image they viewed
would be the one to com-
promise their systems.
Help for some came
from a world away from
Redmond. I l fak Gui l -
fanov, a Russian software
programmer, created a
patch and posted it, along
with its source code, to his
Web site, Hexblog (www
.hexblog.com). In an un-
precedented move, secu-
rity experts checked and
approved Gui l fanovs
code. Wi t hi n a day,
demand for t he patch
swamped his servers, so others in the
community hosted the patch. Within
a week, tens of thousands had down-
loaded the informal x.
Can you trust patches that come, not
from the softwares maker, but from
other sources, even security experts?
The easiest, and perhaps safest, answer
is no. You shouldnt install any pro-
grams or patches from untrusted users.
You should be very suspicious of any
patch not created by an application or
OSs developer.
Why? Because the majority of viruses
and Trojan-horse programs compro-
COMMUNITY SITES may not look like much, but they
sometimes beat Microsoft to the punch.
1) In all but extreme cases,
accept patches only from the
software maker.
2) Be stingy with your trust.
3) Make sure that the program-
mer provides source code.
4) Test the patch rst on a non-
critical machine.
5) Make sure that the patch is
easy to uninstall.
TRUSTED COMPUTING:
FIXING FLAWS IN A
ZERO-DAY WORLD
SECURITY WATCH
111
go.pcmag.com/securitywatch S OL UT I ON S
www.pcmag.com FEBRUARY 21, 2006 PC MAGAZINE
Business Broadband
Confused by all the high-speed Internet services vying
for your business? Heres what you need to know .
BY MATTHEW D. SARREL
for broadband access. Theres business
cable, business DSL, leased lines such
as a T1 or fractional T1, and wired or
wireless metropolitan area networks
(MANs) that are something like LANs
on a citywide scale. Business DSL is the
cheapest and most widely available op-
tion, available for as little as $15 a month,
and comes in a variety of bandwidths,
from 144 Kbps to 6 Mbps. Business cable
is cheaper per unit of data transferred on
average, but the minimum throughput
is much higher, and youll pay a corre-
spondingly high price. The most reliable
options, but also the most expensive, are
leased T1 lines (which are widely avail-
able) and MANs (which arent).
If youre a small business with 25
or fewer employees and need mostly
e-mail, Web access, and occasional
streaming media, business DSL is a good
choice, due to its price and almost ubiq-
uitous availability. On the other hand,
business cable provides more download
bandwidth and less upload bandwidth;
if most of your traffic is downloading,
business cable is a reasonable choice.
If you often upload large files or are
likely to have ten or more concurrent re-
mote access sessions, you need at least
a 1. 5-Mbps uplink, which eliminates
both business cable and DSL. If reliabil-
ity and availability are paramount con-
cerns, then T1 is the way to go, but this is
a costly option (see the table).
If youre a bigger SMB (up to around
100 employees) or just need more
throughput (at, say, a graphic design
rm), a single business DSL circuit might
not meet your needs. If so, get multiple
DSL circuits and load-balance them. If
you need even more throughput (at a ra-
diologists ofce, for example), wired or
wireless MAN connections are fast and
cost-effective but not available in every
city. Even if MAN service is available in
your city, it may not reach your building.
Youll certainly want to be sure that you
need the throughput before signing up
for a MAN or multiple DSL circuits, and
wed recommend checking with a good
consultant before committing to either
sort of connection.

USE PROTECTION
Whichever broadband service you pick,
you need a router/firewall to separate
your LAN from the Internet. Dont
muck around with security; hire a con-
sultant if youre not sure what youre
doing. Dont just hire some high-school
kid either. Ask your ISP to recommend
someone, or advertise on craigslist.
Look for security certications such as
GIAC and CISSP. Fees vary widely, but
expect to pay between $50 and $150 per
hour for a high-quality network secu-
rity consultant; try to negotiate a free
vulnerability assessment.
Its critical that rewalls be congured
properly. In addition, anti virus software
is essential. Many rewalls function as
unied threat management (UTM) ap-
pliances, which have built-in antivirus,
antispyware, and anti-malware ltering.
Fi nally, i f you expose your LAN
through VPN connections, youll need
end-point security so employees com-
puters cant be hacked. For advice, see
Protect Your Business, on page 103.
Now ditch dial-up and get broadband,
or Ill have you peeling potatoes until
you cry for your momma. And shell tell
you to shut up and get broadband, too.
N
o small business should be without a broadband Internet connection. Its
the only way to go because its always on, delivers unrivaled speed, lets
remote workers connect to the ofce network via a virtual private network
(VPN), and gives you the option of using Voice over IP (VoIP) to save money on long-
distance phone calls. Broadband can also save you money over a dial-up connection.
If you dont have broadband, drop and give me 20. When you get up, read the rest of
this article and go get it. The good (and bad) news is that youve got many options
Broadband by the Numbers
Business
cable
Business
DSL
Fractional
T1
Wired
MAN
Wireless
MAN
Speed (down-
load/upload)
25 Mbps/
384768 Kbps
144 Kbps6
Mbps/144Kbps
1.5 Mbps
384 Kbps
1.5 Mbps
symmetrical
10 Mbps1 Gbps
symmetrical
256 Kbps
100 Mbps
symmetrical
Monthly cost $45$65 $14.95$129.95 $250$550 $700$6,000 $275$3,500
Average cost
per Mbps*
$16 $22 $364 $7 $38
Pros Inexpensive Inexpensive Reliable
Fast,
cost-effective
No cabling,
instant
installation
Cons
Shared media,
limited
bandwidth
Limited
bandwidth
Expensive
Limited
availability
Limited
availability
* Average cost per Mbps calculated using the average value for downstream bandwidth divided by the average cost for the category
and rounded to the nearest dollar.
Matthew D. Sarrel is a consultant and
former PC Magazine Labs technical
director.
Getting your small business on the right tech track takes knowledge and discipline.
Here at SMB Boot Camp, your personal drill sergeant is ready to help you whip your
business into shape.
go.pcmag.com/smbbootcamp S OL UT I ON S
SMB BOOT CAMP
Build an External
Hard Drive
Try a homegrown solution to your storage needs
at a bargain price. BY WARREN ERNST
A
n external USB hard drive is a
great way to back up your sys-
tem, boost its storage capacity,
move data between locations, and save
the time it takes to move huge files be-
tween machines on a slow LAN. Build-
ing your own external hard drive lets you
pick the features you wantat a lower
price than a preassembled model. All you
need is an internal drive and a case.
Some cases are thin and portable; oth-
ers are large and may have cooling fans.
Some lie flat while others stand. Some
offer a FireWire connection in addition
to USB 2.0. Be sure the case size match-
es the drive size (2.5-inch for notebook
drives, 3.5-inch for desktops). Most cases
are built for Parallel ATA (PATA) drives,
so dont get a Serial ATA (SATA) drive
unless you have a SATA-based case.
If you dont care who the drive manu-
facturer is, you should shop around for
the best price. Drives and cases are often
discounted or eligible for rebates.
Assembling your external drive is
simple (see our example below). If you
run Microsoft Windows XP, it is easy to
connect to your system once assembled.
Plug in the drive, turn it on, and connect
it to your PC via its USB or FireWire ca-
ble. Windows XP should automatically
detect it and install drivers. (Most enclo-
sures are also plug-and-play with Win-
dows 2000 and recent Mac versions, with
drivers often available for other OSs.)
Next youll need to partition and for-
mat it. Right-click My Computer and
choose Manage. The Initialize and Con-
vert Disk wizard should be visible; keep
clicking Next and follow the prompts
to initialize the drive. When thats n-
ished, the Computer Management win-
dow appears. Click Disk Management on
the left pane, then scroll down the lower
right pane until the new drive appears,
and right-click it. Choose New Partition,
then choose Primary Partition from the
next screen, and follow the prompts to
format the drive. Use the NTFS le sys-
tem rather than FAT32, unless you plan
to use the drive with an old version of
Windows (Windows 95/98/Me).
Warren Ernst is a professional computer
consultant. Check out his blog at
warrenernst.com.
2
Set the drive in the casing,
attach the power supply cable
(right), and press in the at-ribbon
cable.
1
Remove the jumper to match the
conguration for single or master
as shown on the label, per the external
drive cases instructions.
4
Close the
casing, then
plug in the power and
USB/FireWire cables. 5
The completed external hard drive, now
ready for partitioning and formatting.
3
Next, attach
the hard drive
to the casing.
ADS USB 2.0
SimpleTouch HDKit,
which can be found
for less than $50.
Western Digital Caviar SE 300GB drive,
which we bought for $69 after rebates.
DIY: HARDWARE
S OL UT I ON S go.pcmag.com/diyhardware
115
ExtremeTech.coms editor Loyd Case
tackles your toughest hardware problems
each issue. Send him yours at
askloyd@ziffdavis.com.
High-End Video Cards
Im not a gamer. Do I really need one of
those expensive high-end graphics cards?
Probably not today, but you might
sooner than you think.
Today, few applications outside of PC
games really take advantage of a high-
end video card, so all that 3D horsepower
will likely go unused. Some programs can
make use of the GPU, though. For example,
some video-editing apps accelerate 3D
transitions when 3D-accelerator hardware
is present. A midrange graphics card is
often good enough. CAD and 3D
modeling apps can also make use
of the GPU, but those often are
best served by workstation-level
hardware that costs even more
than gamer cards.
Still, tomorrow you may want
that 3D horsepower. The reason is
Windows Vista. The full Vista expe-
rience can take advantage of all the
memory and 3D-rendering power
that modern graphics hardware
can deliver. The combination of the
new Windows compositing engine
with the fact that every window will
be a fully independent 3D surface
means that 3D graphics accelera-
tion will be highly desirable.
Spontaneous Reboots
Ive had my latest PC for nearly a year
now, and its been almost completely
trouble-free. But its suddenly started
rebooting spontaneously, mostly during
intensive applications such as PC gaming
or video rendering. How can I x this?
Your rst inclination may be to blame
Microsoft Windows, but frequent reboots
during intensive operations are more likely
caused by hardware problems. There are
several possible causes. First, your PC may
be overheating owing to dust accumula-
tion. Over time, dust can gather inside a PC
chassis, layering over heat sink surfaces,
memory modules, and circuit boards.
You can blow the dust out with canned
air. Open the case and check to see where
dust has accumulated. Be sure to use short
bursts, and get inside the surface of cooling
fans mounted on CPU or GPU heat sinks.
(Turn the system off before doing this.)
Another possible cause is power-supply
problems. For example, if youve recently
added a high-performance graphics
card, you may have exceeded the power
supplys capacity to deliver adequate
power. Or it may simply be that the power
supply is going south and failing.
Another common culprit is memory
thats going bad. You can easily test for
this by downloading a free copy of Mem-
test86+ (www.memtest.org). Run Mem-
test from a bootable oppy disk or CD. It
will run a series of tests on your system
memory to see if its failing.
Power-Supply Connections
I just got a spiffy new power supply,
and discovered that it has a 24-pin
connector. But my motherboard has
only 20 pins for the main power con-
nector. Have I wasted my money?
No. You can plug that 24-pin connector
into the 20-pin socket on your mother-
board. It will go in only one way, and four
pins (and one power rail) will go unused.
In addition to the wider power supply
connector, all motherboards now have a
4-pin (or, in some cases, 8-pin) secondary
power connector that dedicates power
for the CPU. Dont forget to plug that one
in as well.
Power-supply technology continues to
evolve. The 20-pin connector common
with ATX 2.0 power supplies has been sup-
planted by the 24-pin connector. You can
actually plug a 20-pin, ATX 2.0 power sup-
ply into a 24-pin motherboard socket, but
its not recommended. The greater power
draw of modern CPUs can mean instability
if insufcient power is delivered. Intel even
recommends an 8-pin secondary connec-
tor in lieu of the 4-pin 12-volt rail common
today, with even more power dedicated to
the processor itself.
Serial ATA Incompatibilities?
I hear that Serial ATA 3-Gbps hard drives
may be incompatible with some older
SATA motherboards. Wasnt the standard
supposed to be backward-compatible?
The standard is supposed to be
backward-compatible, but that
didnt prevent a few ghosts in the
machine from cropping up. Some
motherboards using early versions
of Vias K8T880 chipset didnt play
well with some Serial ATA (SATA)
3-Gbps drives. Newer spins of the
chipsets solved the problems.
The standard formerly known
as Serial ATA II has evolved, and
is now more correctly referred to
as SATA-IO. It is really an umbrella
specication that supports mul-
tiple data rates (1.5 and 3.0 gigabits
per second), and different options,
such as NCQ (native command
queuing), hot plug, and staggered
spin-up. A particular hard drive
doesnt have to support all those options to
be SATA-IOcompliant.
Because of some of the early incompat-
ibilities, some SATA 3-Gbps drives are
actually shipped in 1.5-Gpbs mode. You
may need a utility available from the man-
ufacturers Web site to let you set the drive
to the fastest mode. For example, Hitachi
Global Storage Technologies, manufac-
turer of the Deskstar line of SATA drives,
offers the Feature Tool on the companys
download site (www.hitachigst.com/hdd/
support/download.htm). Its available in
three forms, all of which create bootable
media, since the utility works only as a
standalone app. Back up your drive before
using any utility that may modify hard
drive settings.
WHY A HIGH-END video card? To enable cool Flip 3D views
in Windows Vista, for one. Each window (videos, for ex-
ample) plays in real time, and is scaled and in perspective.
go.pcmag.com/askloyd S OL UT I ON S
ASK LOYD
S OL UT I ON S go.pcmag.com/solutions
117
Desktop.ini Files Open
at Start-Up
As of a few days ago, whenever I boot up
my computer I get two Notepad text les
that open on the desktop. Both les are
identical and have the lename desktop.
ini. The content of the les is:
[.shellClassInfo]
LocalizedResourceName=@%systemRoot%\
system32\shell32.dll, -21787
I just close the two Notepad windows
and nothing else seems amiss. Can you
explain what is happening and how I can
prevent the two Notepad windows from
opening? Im not at all sure what I did
that caused these windows to open at
start-up.
DON PLORDE
Desktop.ini les are used by the system
in order to identify special folders.
Youll nd one in My Documents, for
example, and another in the Favorites
folder. Entries in the desktop.ini le can
dene a special icon, a tooltip, or a special
name, among other things. In particular,
a desktop.ini le identies the folder that
corresponds to the Startup menu. Every-
thing that is in that foldernot just the
shortcutswill get executed at start-up
unless it has the Hidden attribute. Desktop.
ini les are normally hidden; yours must
have gotten unhidden somehow. You
may wonder why there are two of these
lesits because theres a Startup menu
for you individually and another
for All Users.
Fortunately, theres an easy
way for you to x the problem.
Click the Start button, click All
Programs, and right-click the
Startup submenu. From the
context menu that appears,
select Explore. This will bring
up a Windows Explorer window
showing the shortcuts that
make up the menu items, as
well as desktop.ini. Right-click
desktop.ini, choose Proper-
ties from the menu, check the
Hidden box, and click OK. Close
the Windows Explorer window.
Now repeat the process, but
upon right-clicking Startup
choose Explore All Users instead. Fixed!
Halves, Quarters, Eighths,
Sixteenths in Excel
I work for a company that manufactures
in millimeters, but our customers de-
mand measurements in inches. I have
used formulas to determine the inches,
but when I format the cell for fractions,
it will not give me the least common
denominator. I measure to 1/16 inch, but
half an inch looks like 8/16 in my spread-
sheet. Is there any way for Excel to do the
translation for me?
SCOT MOTZNY
Microsoft Excels number formatting in-
cludes many options within the category
Fraction. You have chosen As sixteenths.
Excel takes that literally, which means
that every fraction is rounded to the near-
est sixteenth and displayed in sixteenths.
If you instead chose Up to two digits,
you would see 1/2 rather than 8/16, but
youd also get fractions that are rounded
to any denominator of up to two digits.
You dont want to see 42/73 in your
spreadsheet.
The solution is to round the values
explicitly to the nearest 1/16 for display.
You may want to create a new column just
for this purpose. Supposing the base value
is in cell A2, the function =MROUND(A2/2.54,
0.0625) would yield that same value
rounded to sixteenths. Now format that
cell using the Up to two digits numeric
format and you will have exactly what you
were looking for.
Cull Specic Temporary
Internet Files
When my temporary Internet les
get too large, I like to delete many
of the sites that I have visited, but
not all of them. Is there a way to do
this selectively, rather than deleting
everything in the le?
A. NIEDZIELSKI
Yes, you can denitely pick and choose
which les to delete, if thats what you
need. In Internet Explorer, choose Tools
| Internet Options from the menu. On the
General tab of the Internet Options dialog,
you will see a rectangular panel in the
go.pcmag.com/askneil S OL UT I ON S
ASK NEI L
YOU CAN EASILY hide unwanted (and normally
hidden) desktop.ini les, should they appear on
start-up.
YOU CAN SET Excel to round fractions
to the nearest sixteenth (or eighth, or
quarter, or half).
FROM INTERNET EXPLORER, you can view
your cache of temporary Internet les and
choose the ones you want to delete.
center titled Temporary Internet Files;
click the Settings button within this panel.
In the resulting Settings dialog, click the
View Files button. You can now see all the
cached temporary Internet les and can
go ahead and and delete all but the ones
you wanted to save.
Purging Personal Data
from Word Wizards
The information that is entered in a
Microsoft Word 2003 wizard such as
the Resume Wizard is stored in the
Registry. The next time you call
up the wizard, the previous informa-
tion entered is still there. What
would be a way to purge this infor-
mation every time you come out of
Wordor at least each time the com-
puter is restarted? We have patron
computers at our library and do
not want such information to stay
on the computers from session to
session.
DONALD L. GALLION
Its true that the information last entered
in Words various wizards is retained in
the Registry. The thinking behind the
programs being set up this way is that for
an individual its handy to have that data
pre-entered for next time. But yes, on a
multiuser system it becomes a privacy
issue. The data is stored in subkeys of the
Registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Soft-
ware\Microsoft\Of ce\11.0\Word\Wiz-
ards. For example, the subkey named
Resume Wizard specically holds that
wizards data.
Heres how you can clear all the wizard
information each time the computer starts.
Launch Notepad and enter these two lines:
REGEDIT4
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Micro
soft\Of ce\11.0\Word\Wizards]
Save this le in your My Documents
folder using the name muggle.reg
include the double quotes to ensure that
Notepad doesnt helpfully change the
Each issue, PC Magazines software
expert Neil J. Rubenking answers your
toughest software and Internet problems.
Send yours to askneil@ziffdavis.com.
name to muggle.reg.txt.
Click Start, click All Programs, and nd
the Startup menu in the list.
Right-click it and choose Open All
Users. This will open Windows Explorer,
displaying the shortcuts that dene the
menu items under Startup. Right-click in
the empty area and choose New | Shortcut.
Where it says Type the location of the item,
enter this line:
REGEDIT -S C:\Documents and Settings\
username\My Documents\muggle.reg
Youll replace username with your own
username, of course. Click Next, and give
the item the name Erase wizard data.
From now on, each time the computer
starts, it will erase all the stored data for
Words wizards.
If you purchased or acquired in the United States for your own use or the use of your organization/company a new Toshiba Satellite Pro 6100 notebook computer, a proposed nationwide
class action settlement (Settlement) could affect your legal rights. You may be entitled to file a claim for monetary recovery.
The Lawsuit
The Settlement resolves several class action lawsuits related to certain alleged power-supply, display, and hard drive failures of Toshiba Satellite Pro 6100 notebook computers and has been
preliminarily approved in Kan, et al. v. Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Case No. BC327273, and LandDesign, et al. v. Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Case No. BC327684, by
the Superior Court of California in and for the County of Los Angeles. This Notice is only a summary. You can obtain a full class notice, which explains the Settlement and your rights under it, by
calling toll-free (800) 916-4895 or visiting www.SP6100settlement.com.
The Settlement
A proposed settlement has been reached in the lawsuit. If the Court approves the settlement, owners of Toshiba Satellite Pro 6100 notebook computers (Satellite Pro 6100s) who had Qualifying
Repairs related to certain power-supply, display, and hard drive failures prior to December 8, 2005, may be entitled to the following benefits:
1. Either a cash payment and/or Credit Voucher for use on www.toshibadirect.com.
Class members with proof of 4 or more Qualifying Repairs or 4 or more hard drive replacements who return their computers to Toshiba will receive $1,000 cash OR a $1,500 Credit Voucher
for use on www.toshibadirect.com.
Class members with proof of 3 Qualifying Repairs may keep their computers and will receive a $650 cash payment OR an $800 Credit Voucher for use on www.toshibadirect.com.
Class members with proof of 2 Qualifying Repairs may keep their computers and will receive a $250 cash payment OR a $325 Credit Voucher for use on www.toshibadirect.com.
Class members with proof of 1 Qualifying Repair may keep their computers and will receive a $50 cash payment AND a $75 Credit Voucher for use on www.toshibadirect.com.
2. A cash refund. All Class members who paid to have Toshiba or a Toshiba authorized service provider perform Reimbursable Repairs related to certain power-supply, display, and hard drive failures
after their warranties expired will receive a cash refund for those expenses. The amount of the refund will be capped at the amount that Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. (Toshiba America)
itself charged for the particular Reimbursable Repair. A full description of Qualifying Repairs, Reimbursable Repairs, hard drive replacements, and instructions for determining your eligibility and
how to file a claim is contained in the full class notice on the settlement website at www.SP6100settlement.com, or at the toll-free number (800) 916-4895.
3. Warranty extension. All Class members will also receive at no charge a 12-month extension of their Toshiba Standard Limited Warranty for repairs on their Satellite Pro 6100s, followed by an
additional 6-month limited warranty to cover certain power-supply and display-related problems. The 12-month warranty extension for repairs will be effective beginning January 1, 2006, and the
6-month limited warranty will be effective beginning January 1, 2007.
How to Claim Benefits
If you are a Class member and wish to participate in the Settlement, you must file a valid Claim Form no later than June 6, 2006. Claim Forms can be filed online or downloaded at
www.SP6100settlement.com, or can be requested by calling (800) 916-4895.
Notice of Court Hearing
The Honorable Emilie H. Elias of the Superior Court of California for the County of Los Angeles will hold a hearing on March 17, 2006, at 10:30 oclock a.m., at the Central Civil West Courthouse,
Courtroom 308, 600 South Commonwealth Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90005, to consider whether to grant final approval to the proposed Settlement and Class Counsels request for attorneys
fees and costs in an amount not to exceed $4.45 million. You have a right to appear at the hearing, although you do not have to.
Your Rights
You may comment on, or object to, the terms of the proposed Settlement by March 7, 2006. The full notice describes how to submit comments or objections. You also have the right to
intervene in the action by March 7, 2006. If you do not wish to participate in or be bound by the proposed Settlement, you must exclude yourself as described in the full notice by March 7, 2006,
or you will be barred from prosecuting any legal action against Toshiba related to the settled claims. If you exclude yourself, you may NOT file a claim and you will not receive compensation
under the Settlement. To receive a full notice or to request a Claim Form, call toll free (800) 916-4895 or visit the website at www.SP6100settlement.com. You may also write to Satellite Pro 6100
Claims, P.O. Box 91044, Seattle, WA 98111-9144.
Key dates: Opt-out Date: March 7, 2006
Objection Date: March 7, 2006
Hearing Date: March 17, 2006
Please do not contact the Court.
Dated: December 19, 2005 The Honorable Emilie H. Elias
Judge of the Superior Court
ATTENTION TOSHIBA SATELLITE
PRO 6100 SERIES NOTEBOOK COMPUTER OWNERS

The information last entered in Words various
wizards is retained in the Registry.
S OL UT I ON S go.pcmag.com/askneil
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Hours: Mon-Thurs: 9am-9pm Fri: 9am-4pm Sun: 9am-7pm Sat: CLOSED
Visit our website at: www.broadwayphoto.com
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SCANNERS
SONY DCR-PC1000
2.8 MegaPixels
2.7 LCD Screen
$
819
99
DCR-PC55...................$429.99
GVD-800......................$659.99
GVD-1000....................$949.99
DIGITAL VIDEO
NIKON D50
6.1 MegaPixels
2.0 LCD Screen
$
499
99
D50 Kit (18-55 Lens) .............$579.99
D50 Kit (55-200 Lens) ...........$759.99
SONY DSC-P200
7.2 MegaPixels
3x Optical Zoom
$
279
99
DSC-W5...$224.99 DSC-W7 ...$264.99
DSC-W17.....CALL DSC-V3 ....$374.99
Policy: Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express, Diners Club, Money Orders, Certified Check, (Personal Checks up to 14,000.00 with name and address imprinted on check). C.O.D. orders are also accepted. Orders by mail please
print name address and phone number clearly. Shipping methods - in the Continental U.S.A. will be via Fedex, U.P.S. or Air Mail. Over size items via truck. Shipping and Handling are additional. 21 days for return or exchange (video & dig-
ital 7 days) with prior authorization only. (Call customer service for authorization number). Shipping and Handling are not refundable. All returns are subject to a minimum restocking fee of 5%. Prices may reflect mail-rebate. All returned
merchandise must be in new condition and must include all packaging and printed material in original, unaltered condition. Broadway Photo is not responsible for typographical errors. All items are covered by USA, International or Broadway
Photo and Video Warranty. Prices subject to change. Please check our website for current prices. All our merchandise is brand new and factory fresh. Quantities are limited. Thank you and enjoy your order. PCM11206
NIKON LS50
HIgh Quality
CCD Sensor
4000 DPI Optical
Resolution
$
479
99
LS-9000 .....................$1799.99
NIKON Super Coolscan LS-5000
4,000 dpi Optical Res.
2x-linear CCD
Multiple film format
$
839
99
PRINTERS
EPSON Stylus 2200P
USB/Serial Port
PC or Mac
6 Color Small
Archival Links
$
539
99
EPSON Stylus 1280
Smudge Free Inks
PC or Mac
$
399
99
Stylus 3000 ................$1179.99
NEW!
NEW!
We specialize
in Overnight Delivery.
Place Your Order by 7:00 PM EST
and Receive Your Order by
the Next Business Day!
For an Additional
$29.95
SONY DCR-DVD403
3.3 MegaPixels
10x Optical Zoom
2.7 LCD
$
669
99
DCR-DVD7 ..................$409.99
DCR-DVD92 ................$444.99
Special! DCR-DVD203 $519.99
OLYMPUS Evolt E-500
8.0 Million Pixels
2.5 LCD Screen
$
559
99
C-7000.....$369.99 C-8080 ...$499.99
D-630Z.....$224.99 E-300 .....$449.99
E-1 ...........$649.99 ST 500 ...$224.99
ST 600.....$229.99 ST 800 ...$309.99
MINOLTA Dimage Z6
6.0 MegaPixels
12x Optical Zoom
$
299
99
Z5 .........$294.99 Z10.........$134.99
Max 7D $849.99 Max 5D...$519.99
NIKON D70-S
6.1 MegaPixels
2.0 LCD Screen
$
639
99
D70-S Kit ...............................$889.99
D200..........................................CALL
FUJI FinePix S3
12.3 Mega Pixels
2.0 LCD
$
1399
99
FP E500 ...$159.99 FP E510 ..$184.99
FP E550 ...$229.99 FP E900 ..$344.99
FP F10......$249.99 FP F11.....$284.99
FP F460....$209.99 FP S20 ....$429.99
NEW!
SONY HDR-HC1
2.8 MegaPixels
10x Optical Zoom
2.7 LCD Screen
$
1199
99
DCR-TRV280...............$259.99
DCR-TRV480...............$299.99
NEW! HDR-FX1.........$2519.99
NEW! HVR-A1 ...........$1729.99
NEW! HVR-Z1 ...........$3899.99
NEW!
CANON PowerShot SD550
7.1 MegaPixels
3x Optical Zoom
$
329
99
SD30......$309.99 SD400.......$249.99
SD430........CALL SD450.......$279.99
SD500....$309.99 S70 ...........$384.99
S80 ........$399.99 Pro 1.........$539.99
MINOLTA Dimage A200
8.0 MegaPixels
7x Optical Zoom
$
494
99
G5W.........CALL X1...........$269.99
X60.......$199.99
SONY Mavica CD-500
4.0 MegaPixels
2.5 LCD Screen
$
449
99
CANON DIGITAL REBEL XT KIT
6.8.03 Megapixel CCD
1.8 LCD Screen
$
709
99
Rebel Digital XT.....................$649.99
CANON EOS 20D
8.2 MegaPixels
1.8 LCD Screen
$
1099
99
EOS5D....$2579.99 EOS20Dkit.$1169.99
EOS1DSII$6349.99 EOS1DIIN...$3199.99
KODAK Easyshare P880
8.0 MegaPixels
12x Digital Zoom
$
419
99
EShare 1. $469.99 ESP850......$344.99
ES Z700. $154.99 ESZ740......$219.99
ESZ730 . $204.99 ESZ760......$239.99
ESV530. . $214.99 ESV550......$239.99
ESDX7590 $249.99 ESZ7590....$249.99
PENTAX Optio WPi
6.0 MegaPixel
2.0 LCD Screen
$
224
99
60...........$169.99 750Z......$319.99
S5Z ........$209.99 SVi.............CALL
S55 ........$199.99 S6..........$229.99
S60 ........$179.99
FUJI Finepix S9000
9.0 MegaPixels
10.7x Optical Zoom
$
499
99
FP S5200...............................$279.99
FP Z1 .....................................$234.99
FP Z2 .....................................$269.99
NEW!
NEW!
NEW!
JVC GZ-MC500
1.33 MegaPixels
2.5 Color LCD
$
999
99
GR-D250......................$244.99
Special! GR-D270.......$259.99
GR-D295 .....................$264.99
GR-DF450 ..................$319.99
NEW! GR-DF470.............CALL
NEW! GR-DF550.........$339.99
NEW! GR-DZ7.................CALL
NEW! GR-PD1.................CALL
NEW! GR-X5 ...............$829.99
NEW!
NEW!
CASIO EX-Z750
5.25 MegaPixels
3x Optical Zoom
$
294
99
EX-S500.$269.99 EX-S600..$299.99
EX-Z10.......CALL EX-Z110..$199.99
EX-Z120.$234.99 EX-Z57....$239.99
EX-Z500.$254.99
NEW!
VIDEO PROJECTORS
OPTOMA EZPRO 739
2200 Max Ansi Lumenss
DLP
$
1049
99
EZPRO 758 ...............$1629.99
EZPRO 759 ...............$2049.99
H77 ............................$2409.99
CANON GL-2
20x Optical Zoom
100x Digital Zoom
2.5 LCD Screen
$
1699
99
NEW! XL-H1 ..............$7399.99
XL-2 ...........................$3079.99
ZR-100.........................$249.99
ZR-200........................ $254.99
ZR-300.........................$319.99
Special! ZR-400..........$364.99
TELEVISIONS
PANASONIC TH-50PX500U
50
HDTV
$
3799
99
TC-32LX50 ................$1599.99
TH-42PX50U .............$2349.99
TH-42PD50U .............$1699.99
NEW!
NEW!
NEW!
CANON PowerShot S2-IS
5.0 MegaPixels
1.8 LCD Screen
$
389
99
A410........$124.99 A510...$144.99
A520........$164.99 A610...$234.99
A620........$299.99 G6.......$469.99
NEW!
NIKON Coolpix 7600
7.1 MegaPixels
3x Optical Zoom
$
199
99
CP 4600.$159.99 CP 4800 ..$254.99
CP 5600.$189.99 CP 7900 ..$259.99
CP 8400.$399.99 CP 8800 ..$699.99
OLYMPUS P440
Dye-Sublimation
1.8 LCD
USB
$
379
99
SONY DCR-HC90
3.3 MegaPixels
120x Digital Zoom
2.5 LCD
$
669
99
DCR-HC21...................$319.99
DCR-HC32...................$379.99
DCR-HC42...................$419.99
NIKON D2X
12.4 MegaPixels
2.5 LCD Screen
$
3249
99
D2HS...................................$2299.99
SONY DSC-T7
5.1 MegaPixels
2.5 LCD Screen
$
334
99
DSC-T3.$249.99 DSC-T5. $274.99
DSC-T9..$404.99 DSC-T33$249.99
PENTAX *IST-DL
6.1 MegaPixels CCD
2.5 LCD Screen
$
489
99
NEW! *ist-DS2 .....................$659.99
JVC GZ-MG70
200x Digital Zoom
10x Optical Zoom
2.5 LCD Screen
$
649
99
GZ-MG20.....................$504.99
GZ-MG30.....................$549.99
GZ-MG40.....................$549.99
GZ-MG50.....................$599.99
NEW! GZ-MG60 ..............CALL
GY-DV5000................$3849.99
NEW! GY-DV5100 .....$3899.99
GY-HD100U...............$4049.99
JY-HD10U..................$2199.99
NIKON Coolpix S4
6.0 MegaPixels
10 Opt/4x Dig Zoom
$
279
99
CP 8700.$449.99
CP L1.....$219.99 CP P1......$339.99
CP P2.....$269.99 CP S1......$224.99
CP S2.....$279.99 CP S3......$249.99
OLYMPUS Stylus SP-700
6.0 MegaPixels
10x Digital Zoom
$
299
99
ST-P310 ..$279.99 ST-P350...$309.99
ST-P500 ..$284.99 FE-100.....$129.99
FE-110.....$169.99 FE-120.....$189.99
i:robe 300$279.99 i:robe 500.$159.99
SONY DSC-R1
10.3 MegaPixels
5x Optical Zoom
$
779
99
DSC-S40..$149.99 DSC-S60 $169.99
DSC-S90..$189.99 DSC-H1 . $369.99
DSC-M1....$339.99 DSC-M2 . $409.99
DSC-N1....$409.99 DSC-R1 . $879.99
SONY DCR-VX2100
48x Digital Zoom
12x Optical Zoom
2.5 LCD Screen
$
1949
99
Special! DSR-PDX10$1599.99
Special! DSR-PD170$2449.99
PANASONIC PV-GS250
3.1 MegaPixels
2.5 LCD Screen
$
649
99
AG-DV2500 ...............$1369.99
AG-DVC200...............$3199.99
PV-GS19......................$264.99
PV-GS31......................$299.99
PV-GS35......................$369.99
PV-GS150....................$469.99
PV-GS400....................$919.99
CANON DC20
2.2 MegaPixels
10x Optical Zoom
200x Digital Zoom
$
529
99
NEW! DC10 .................$469.99
Elura 80 .......................$329.99
Elura 85 .......................$389.99
NEW! Elura 90.............$479.99
CANON FS4000
5888 x 4000 pixels
4000 DPI Optical
Resolution
USB
$
469
99
DIGITAL CAMERAS
PANASONIC DMC-FZ30 (K/S)
8.32 MegaPixels
12x Optical Zoom
$
479
99
DMC-FX8 ....$269.99 DMC-FX9..$299.99
DMC-FZ4.....$239.99 DMC-FZ5..$329.99
DMC-FZ20 ..$394.99 DMC-LX1..$414.99
DMC-LZ1.....$189.99 DMC-LZ2..$209.99
PANASONIC AG-DVX100B
3-CCD Imaging
FLIPOUT 2.5 LCD Screen
$
2499
99
AG-DVC7.....................$869.99
AG-DVC30 .................$1169.99
AG-DVC60.................$1619.99
AG-DVX100A.............$2299.99
NEW! AG-HVX200.....$5499.99
NEW! AJ-HDX100 ...........CALL
NEW! SDR-S100 .........$809.99
VDR-M53.....................$419.99
VDR-M75.....................$479.99
Special! VDR-M95 .......$639.99
BENQ PB8120
DLP
$
699
99
PB 6110 .......................$699.99
PB 7230.....................$1499.99
PB 8240.....................$1549.99
SHARP LC-32D7U
32
Aquos Liquid
TFT Active Matrix
$
1999
99
LC-20B9US..................$679.99
LC-37D70 ..................$2699.99
LC-45GX6U...............$4149.99
IN FOCUS LP600
DLP
$
1249
99
X2 ................................$699.99
LP-640 .......................$1249.99
LP-820 .......................$2099.99
SONY KDE-37XS955
37
HDTV
$
2499
99
KDE-42XS955 ...........$3399.99
KDE-50XBR950.........$5699.99
KLV-32M1 ..................$2049.99
NEW!
NEW!
NEW!
NEW!
NEW!
CANON OPTURA 600
200x Digital Zoom
10x Optical Zoom
2.5 LCD Screen
$
719
99
Optura 50.....................$509.99
Optura 60.....................$579.99
Optura 400...................$419.99
Optura 500...................$519.99
NEW! Optura S1..........$549.99
NEW!
T E C HNOL OGY ON YOUR T I ME
Cinderella Dollhouse 2
Little girls who dream of princes and
castles will enjoy Cinderella Dollhouse
2, which lets them decorate for a Charm-
ing wedding celebration. With the help
of Cinderellas fairy godmother, play-
ers select f lowers, invitations, fire-
works displays, and more, then watch
as Cinderella and the prince enjoy their
fairytale evening.
Disney doesnt give an age range for
this game, but wed recommend it for
only the youngest princesses, since the
actions are simple and limited. Players
choose from only six items for any selec-
tion. We like the colorful Disney anima-
tion and the gentle slow pace, though,
Backyard Foot-
ball, Backyard
Skateboarding
Want a surere
way to see a
kid smile? We
r e c o mme n d
one of these Backyard
titles, ne additions to
a consistently excel-
lent series. Football
lets you play with kid
versions of real NFL
pros or create your
own players, then un-
leash power moves
l i ke Monster Ti me
and Cooties. In Skate-
boarding, youre a member of a neigh-
borhood team competing to get the
skate park of your dreams. Power-ups
let you skate like lightning or hang in
the air to do extra tricks.
With their blend of real and fantasy
sports and their fairly
si mple control s, both
t hese Backyard tit les
should give many hours
of fun to sports-loving
kids ages 7 and up. Both
are easy to learn and in-
troduce new moves for players to master
as the game unfolds.
$19.95 list. Atari Inc., www.atari.com/atarikids.
lllll
and we also like that players can unlock
new items as the game unfolds and that
it teaches etiquette lessons along the
way. Pretty charming in itself.
$19.99 list. Disney Interactive,
www.disneyinteractive.com. lllhm
Comic Book Creator
Budding comics artists and comics lov-
ers of any age will ip for Comic Book
Creator, a simple layout program that
makes it a snap to turn your digital pho-
tos or video-game screenshots into at-
tractive comic-style layouts. The left
side of the screen shows your selection
options (such as photos and speech
balloons) and the right side shows ne-
tuning controls. Your panel layoutand
there are many to choose fromsits in
the center. Simply drag and drop to cre-
ate your page. When youve finished,
you can print it out or save it as a PDF or
bitmap le.
Using the program is a blast, and its
auto-t controls make creating a good-
looking layout easy. Wed like to see more
ne-tuning controls in future versions,
such as being able to rotate objects.
Free trial; $19.99 direct. Planetwide Games Inc.,
www.planetwidegames.com. llllm
Creatures: Village;
Creatures: Exodus
If your children enjoy playing caregiver
but you dont think theyre ready for a
puppy yet, consider one of these Crea-
tures titles. In both, your child raises
gentle gremlin-like characters called
Norns, guiding them through the world
and teaching them right from wrong.
Creatures: Village is the more colorful
of the two, taking place in a bustling vil-
Software for Kids
BY TROY DREIER
A
fter months of the winter blahs, were betting your kids would
love to kick back and dig into a new game. We have good news for
time-pressed parents: The kids game category is healthy, and its
growing in more than one direction. Industry powerhouse Disney
Interactive is releasing several titles a yearhere we review Cinderella Doll-
house 2, for little princessesand Humongous continues the standout Back-
yard Sports series. The Canadian company Kutoka Interactive, which has been
doing terric things with educational software, contributes a few colorful new
releases. Three of our reviewed titlesKubi, My Reward Board, and Professor
Fizzwizzleare available only online but are well worth the download.
AFTER HOURS
lllll EXCELLENT
llllm VERY GOOD
lllmm GOOD
llmmm FAIR
lmmmm POOR
WHAT THE RATINGS MEAN
Backyard Skateboarding
Kubi
ll in colors from an outline. Two others
slice pictures horizontally or vertically,
then ask kids to move the slices into the
right positions. The fth simply lets kids
draw freehand.
Maneuvering the mouse to color the
right tiles might be a challenge for the
youngest users, but we think theyll enjoy
the bright colors and gentle creative play
that this electronic coloring book offers.
Free trial, $19.95 direct. Brave Kid Games,
www.bravekidgames.com. llhmm
Math Blaster: Master the Basics
Math Blaster, the space man with a
mathematical mission, debuted in 1987.
Now hes back with a new lookman-
ga crossed with an eighties hair metal
bandand a Matrix-inspired storyline.
Earth has been taken over by cruel ro-
bots who have enslaved humans and
made them forget how to do math. Its
up to Math Blaster to save the planet.
Math Blasters updated graphics give
real energy and excitement to math
drills, as players guide the hero to the
right answers while avoiding perils.
As the title states, this is purely drills
on math basics for 6- to 12-year olds,
so dont buy it for your own numbers
prodigy. Still, its various challenges will
make learning fun for those who need a
little extra help.
$23.99 direct. Knowledge Adventure Inc.,
www.knowledgeadventure.com. llllm
My Reward Board
Its not quite a game, true; but if you
have trouble motivating your kids to do
their chores (that is, if you have kids),
consider My Reward Board, a virtual
bulletin board that kids can use to check
off chores and earn rewards. Besides
a task chart, it features a goal monitor,
an allowance piggybank, a demerit dart
board, and a few jokes and puzzles.
lage setting; its right for kids 5 and up.
Exodus is for kids 8 and up, and it puts
the Norns in space.
Both of these titles are quite slow, and
figuring out what you should be doing
with your Norns can take a while. Its
interesting to watch the Norns interact
with their worlds, but its not all that
much fun. Curious and patient children
will enjoy these games, but we suspect
most kids will lose interest.
Each, $23.96 direct. Kutoka Interactive,
www.kutoka.com. llmmm
Didi and Ditto: First Grade
The wolves have spoiled everything.
Theyve taken over the forest occupied
by the beavers and their friends, enslav-
ing all the happy woodland creatures.
Now its up to colorful pals Didi and
Ditto to outwit the wolves by beating
them in a series of games. If they win,
the wolves will leave forever.
Didi and Ditto should keep any 5- to
7-year-old happy with its vivid, car-
toony 3D landscape and its variety of
activities, which include making music,
spelling, sorting objects, and more. We
like the generous amount of clickable
hotspots, which produce funny actions
on the screen, and that the games are
replayable. Our only complaints are
that the screen froze a few times during
testing and that the games often provide
drills without rst teaching the subject.
Each, $23.96 direct. Kutoka Interactive,
www.kutoka.com. llllm
Kubi
In a world of action-lled video games,
the peacefulness of Kubi is striking. Its
a drawing activity center that should be
well received by very young children.
This download-only program contains
ve activities, all based on creating pic-
tures by coloring in mosaic-style tiles.
In one, children see a nished picture,
then duplicate it by choosing colors and
lling in the right tiles. Another has kids
Although the interface looks home-
made, My Reward Board does a good
job of laying out a chore system and
keeping it simple. It demands almost
as much from parents as from kids, so
use it only if youre willing to take part
in entering and approving information.
Meant for 5- to 12-year-
olds, the program lets
them earn special rewards
like CDs and meals out,
but that should be a small
trade-off for getting them
to make their beds with-
out being asked.
Free trial; $39.95 direct. My Reward
Board, www.myrewardboard.com.
lllhm
Professor Fizzwizzle
With friends like these,
poor Professor Fizzwizzle
doesn t need enemies.
The professor built a crew
of Friend-Bots to help
him around his lab, but he accidentally
changed their personality settings. Now
theyve turned into Rage-Bots and are
determined to capture him. To make
the robots benign again, players must
guide the professor through a series of
problem-solving puzzles so that he can
reach his lab.
We ipped for Professor Fizzwizzles
adorable graphics, and we like that
there are no time limits and that the
game auto-saves. This download-only
game comes with two easy levels for
children and two harder ones for older
kids and adults, for a total of over 230
challenges. The puzzles have no replay
value, but theyre terric brain-teasing
fun for players of any age.
Free trial; $19.95 direct. Grubby Games,
www.grubbygames.com. llllm
MORE ON THE WEB
www.gearlog.com
Love gadgets? Jump online for decidedly
opinionated news and reviews.
go.pcmag.com/afterhours
Didi and Ditto: First Grade
My Reward Board
Professor Fizzwizzle
Cambridge
SoundWorks
with Porta Pack
T
he Porta Pack is a
backpack designed
to carry the origi-
nal three-piece Cambridge
SoundWorks speaker system.
Mesh panels are positioned
over each cone, and a ap
provides access to connectors
and controls.
The Porta Pack does make the SoundWorks transportable, although it lacks room
for anything else. But the deal breaker is that far more portable alternatives exist at
the price, and the once-revolutionary SoundWorks dont sound signicantly better
than travel speakers from companies such as Altec, Bose, and JBL.Don Labriola
$150 street. Cambridge SoundWorks Inc., www.cambridgesoundworks.com. llhmm
Boom Bag Carry-On Ofce-On-Wheels
T
his is a high-quality piece of rolling carry-on luggage outtted with a removable AC-powered
three-piece speaker system. It provides tone controls and mixable mic and line inputs, and a
special output jack lets you boost output by daisy-chaining multiple bags.
The Boom Bags 18-watt amp and 4-inch woofer lack the brawn to ll a large room, but they produce a
healthy 101 dB at 12 inches, rivaling some desktop megasystems. The bag also boasts a wealth of pockets
and compartments, enough room for a projector or printer, and a separate nylon attach large enough
to hold a 17-inch notebook. The Boom Bag isnt for everybody, but itll certainly simplify your life if you
frequently make off-site presentations in moderate-size rooms.DL
$330 list. Boom Bags, www.boombags.com. lllhm

Techwiz Musak Note-
book Carrying Case
T
his padded shoulder bag con-
tains a pair of sewn-in satellite
speakers, a removable battery-
powered amplier, and a handy ip-up
iPod holder that lets you access a mini
or full-size iPods controls without re-
moving the bag from your shoulder.
The construction quality of the case is
just average, but the bag is large enough
to hold a 15-inch notebook. Its petite
sound system produces decent output
quality at modest volumes and can run
for several hours on a set of heavy-duty
alkaline batteries. But the bag lacks
external controls, forcing you to dig
the amplier module from its cramped
pocket every time you turn it on or off.
Despite a few caveats, we found the
2-pound Musak to be attractive, com-
fortable, and reasonably priced. Its not
perfect, but it does the job.DL
$70 street. Techwiz Innovations Inc.,
www.mymusak.com. lllmm
Felicidade Groove
Bag Plus Tote
T
he Groove Bag is a 1.7-
pound speaker-equipped
faux-leather womans
handbag. Its sound system is
efcient enough to produce night-
stand volumes without batteries, and adding four
double-A alkalines boosts the output.
The Groove Bag works best with an Apple iPod or iPod mini, which ts neatly behind
a exible plastic window. An additional compartment and several
small pockets are provided for traditional handbag items. The
Groove Bag works as a portable sound system; only you can
decide if it succeeds as a fashion accessory.DL
$199 direct. Dr. Bott LLC, www.drbott.com. lllhm

GEAR + GAMES
Creative WebCam
Live! Motion
Thi s doubl e- dut y
webcam can rest on
your desk or clamp
onto an LCD moni-
tor. A 200-degree pan
and 105-degree tilt
with face track-
ing means you
dont have to sit
motionlessthe
camera moves as you do. The Live! Mo-
tion camera body swivels smoothly and
silently, and it glows phosphorescent
blue in low-light areas. You can also
capture digital photos with this soft-
ware-enhanced 1. 3-megapixel device.
Some of the extra programs, such as
the Orb Web-streaming client, might
be superuous for those who just want
to video chat. But techies can monitor
their homes while vacationing in San
Pablo, although guring out the cryptic
Web cong was a chore.
$150 list. Creative Technology Ltd.,
www.creative.com. llllm
Logitech QuickCam Fusion
Logitech dominates the web-
cam market so much that when
the company releases a new one,
other vendors run and hide. Enter
the QuickCam Fusion: Unlike Creatives
Live! Motion, which uses digital tricks
to improve images, it uses a true 1.3MP
sensor. (Si mi lar QuickCam Fusion
enhancements let you take 4MP snap-
shots.) A colorful 640-by-480 video feed
looked perfect during our Yahoo! Mes-
senger chat.
Logitech RightLight
t echnol og y hel ped
brighten videos and
solved the webcam
curse of whitewashed
images that are due
to poor lighting.
A powerful built-
i n microphone
on the camera
base meant we
could chat with-
out wearing an awkward headset. You
can add video effects, but the distortion
effects are something only a teenager
could love. USB 2.0 support, face track-
ing, and the inclusion of IM clients make
this webcam an excellent buy.
$100 list. Logitech, www.logitech.com.
llllh
Ezonics iContact Pro
The oddly designed Ezonics iContact
Pro attaches snugly to your laptop or
thin LCD using a spring-loaded clip, but
it hangs in front of the screen, obscur-
ing your view. Also, the camera base
is not heavy enough to sit to the side of
your laptop and, for that reason, wont
work at all with a CRT. Ezonics includes
a nifty earpiece microphone that works
adequately for voice chatting but doesnt
compare with noise-reducing standalone
headsets from Plantronics and Logitech.
Video-compression techniques were
subpar compared with the high-quality
Creative and Logitech webcams, so the
video stream looked muddy at times.
$60 street. Ezonics Corp., www.ezonics.com.
llmmm
Digi/Inside Out Networks
Watchport/V2
This expensive but powerful CCD web-
cam works more like a camcorder than
most USB devices. You can swap lens
covers for a wide-angle, close-up, or
telephoto view. The Watchport/V2s de-
tachable base lets you mount the camera
on a wall or even a tripod. Its meant for
industrial use (think banks and hotels),
but you can nd the webcam online for
$140 and use it for home surveillance.
The included intuitive AnywhereUSB
program lets you watch the video feed
remotely. You can even buy security sen-
sors that attach to the camera and warn
you via e-mail about heat build-ups or
water in the room. The CCD lens provid-
ed smooth and colorful video. And since
its a 4.5-ounce USB device, you can just
as easily use the Watchport/V2 as a note-
book webcam with MSN Messenger.
$140 street. Digi International, www.digi.com.
llllh
Wondrous Webcams
BY JOHN BRANDON
That instant-messaging client you use every day can double as a video chat
program. Using one of the USB webcams below, you can select a menu option in
MSN Messengeror just about any recent IM clientto see a smooth VGA and
audio feed. This can be useful in online meetings or help you reconnect visually
with friends and family.
Chuzzle
A new, addictive puzzle game from Pop-
Cap is reason enough to make casual
gamers cheer, and Chuzzle wont disap-
point. Drag the rows of fuzzy Chuzzles up
and down, left and right, to match colors,
and theyll pop and return to their test-tube
home. Choose from four play modes and
two difculty levels; we like Zen mode, in
which you can serenely explode Chuzzles
for hypnotized hours.Carol A. Mangis
Online play, free; Deluxe version, $19.95 download.
PopCap Games Inc., www.popcap.com. llllm
StreetIQ.com (beta)
A new nancial podcasting site,
StreetIQ.com helps investors nd pod-
casts relating to their
favorite companies.
Search by ticker
symbol, then down-
load the selections or
listen to them through
the browser. The site
currently links to over
4,000 nancial podcasts. We like the
idea, but the site has some growing to
do: You cant search on company names,
and the My StreetIQ service, which keeps
track of favorite podcasts, doesnt work
as yet.Troy Dreier
Free. StreetIQ.com, www.streetiq.com. llhmm
X-OOM MP3 Radio Recorder
for iPod
This nifty little Internet radio player/
recorder can download a current listing
of 6,000 stations in seconds. It offers a
exible station-search facility and, with
a broadband connection, can record six
stations to your hard drive simultane-
ously, naming each captured MP3 le
with its song title. Setup can take a little
work, but once everythings congured,
the program is a pleasure to use. Throw
in luxuries like a Favorites list as well as
audio-editing, CD-ripping, and burning
tools, and you have a terric way to stay
supplied with music.Don Labriola
$29.99 direct. X-OOM, www.x-oom.us. llllh
QUICK CLIPS
AF T E R HOUR S go.pcmag.com/pipeline go.pcmag.com/afterhours A F T E R HOU R S
PC LABS HDTV TESTING REVEALS: EVA LONGORIA HAS AT LEAST ONE WRINKLE
Edited by Don Willmott
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<<
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BACKSPACE
DSC-N1 Cyber-shot Digital
Still Camera
$
499
95
Protect your
investment with a
2-year service plan with
accidental damage from handling protection
for only $49.99.
7
DSC-R1 Cyber-shot Digital
Still Camera
$
999
95
Protect your investment
with a 2-year service plan
with accidental damage from
handling protection for only $79.99.
7
DCR-DVD203 DVD Handycam
Camcorder
$
799
99
Protect your
investment with a
2-year service plan with
for only $79.99.
7
Your Sony VAIO PC is designed to get the very best performance out of Sony
Cyber-shot
digital still cameras and Handycam
camcorders.
NEW VAIO TX Series
Notebook PC with Intel
Centrino
Mobile Technology
Taking wireless access further than ever before. Features integrated
wireless Wide Area Network (WAN) technology that, along with a Data
Connect plan, lets you access the Cingular
national EDGE network

4
to extend your wireless coverage beyond LAN access networks and
hotspots. It also boasts an 11.1" widescreen display
6
featuring XBRITE
technology and instant entertainment features, plus innovative
SmartWi
technology that integrates wide and local area networks

and Bluetooth
connectivity.
1
Amazingly,
all this weighs less than 3 pounds.
5
models starting at
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1,899
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Add a 3-year onsite service plan with
for only $315.99.
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NEW VAIO
AX Series
Notebook PC
The ultimate in mobile multimedia
performance with an exceptional
17" WXGA+ widescreen display
6
and Sonys original XBRITE
LCD technology. Powerful

desktop performance with the
convenience of a notebook.
starting at
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2,299
99
Add a 3-year onsite service plan with accidental
damage from handling protection for only $315.99.
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VAIO FS Series
Notebook PC
Slim and lightweight
with an impressive 15.4"
widescreen display,
6
powerful performance,
and the full suite
of Sonys original
multimedia software.
customize your own starting at
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949
99
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VAIO S Series
Notebook PC
Ultramobile design with a
stunning 13.3" widescreen
display.
6
Only 4.3 pounds
(with std. battery) but
packed with power
for productivity
and multimedia
entertainment
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customize your own starting at
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999
99
after Sony $100 mail-in rebate.
11
7
Available in black and silver.
NEW VAIO FJ Series
Notebook PC
Sleek, mobile
companion with
a slim, lightweight
design and a
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display
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featuring
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Available in raspberry red, sky blue, jade green, pearl
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New NWE507 Network
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KLV-S23A10 23" LCD Flat
Panel HDTV
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Simplicity is a beautiful thing. Sony VAIO computers are engineered to work
with other Sony productsmaking it easy to enjoy music, photos, and movies.
NEW VAIO
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The VAIO FE Notebook
combines cutting-edge
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with a stunning 15.4"
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LCD technology.
starting at
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1,349
99
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VAIO RB Series
Desktop PC
Easily create, manage,
share, and enjoy your
digital photos, home
videos, movies, and
music. Ready for
your digital lifestyle.
starting at
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1,099
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Add a 3-year onsite service plan for only $229.99.
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NEW VAIO RC Series
Desktop PC
The ultimate in multimedia computing,
it delivers screaming-fast performance
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Add a 3-year onsite service
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With the dynamic sophistication of a Sony
VAIO
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Processors, the power to

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imagination to work: configure the perfect PC.
NEW VAIO XL 1
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D Processor
A new standard in digital
content management.
Your photos and high-
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$50 card credit after your first purchase
3
:
Apply for the Sony Card
SM
today and start earning valuable
reward points toward all the things you want from Sony.
Plus, get a $50 card credit after your first purchase. Offer
expires March 31, 2006. Visit sonystyle.com to get started.
Sony Style Gift Card: Share the joy of Sony. Give
that someone special a gift card from Sony Style.
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Sony recommends
Windows
XP.
Click www.sony.com/pc33
Call 866-692-SONY (7669)
Visit A Sony Style
Retail Store
Music, Movies,
and Games
More than 200,000 music,
movie, and television titles
on CD and DVD. Plus,
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games, music
samples, and movie trailers.
Let Sony entertain you.
Click to DVD
Software
The easy-to-use interface lets
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Select, personalize, and enjoy hundreds of thousands of products,
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2006 Sony Electronics Inc. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. All rights reserved. Sony, VAIO, like.no.other, Digital Living System, Sony Style, ImageStation, Handycam, Cyber-shot, XBRITE, Click to DVD,
PictureGearStudio, DVDirect, SmartWi, Network Walkman, and their respective logos are trademarks of Sony. PlayStation is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Intel, Intel Inside, the Intel Inside logo, Intel Centrino, the Intel Centrino
logo, Pentium, and Celeron are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Cingular Wireless is a registered
trademark of Cingular Wireless LLC 2005. All other trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners. Features, prices, specifications, availability, and promotions are valid only in the U.S. and are subject to change without notice. Prices and promotions
apply to purchases from sonystyle.com and do not include applicable sales tax or shipping and handling. Retailer prices and offers may vary. Purchases from sonystyle.com are subject to the Terms and Conditions of sonystyle.com, shipping options,
return policies, and other sonystyle.com policies. You can review these by clicking on the appropriate links in the Info Center section of the shopping cart section of sonystyle.com. For product warranty information, click on the Product Warranty link
contained on the applicable product page of sonystyle.com. Sony is not responsible for typographical or other errors in this ad. Screen images simulated. 1. Requires 802.11b or 802.11g compatible wireless access point. Some features may require
Internet service, which may require a fee. For products with Bluetooth
capability, use of a Bluetooth
-enabled device may vary, as not all Bluetooth
devices are compatible. Sony cannot guarantee the security of wireless communications. 2. DVD
media/formats are not universally compatible. 3. Offer subject to credit approval. $50 credit offer expires on March 31, 2006, and may not be combined with any other Sony Card offer. First purchase must be made by September 30, 2006. $50 credit
offer is valid after the first Sony Card purchase and is subject to credit approval. Credit will be applied to your Sony Card account within 1012 weeks after first purchase. 4. 30-Day FREE Trial: When you sign up for the one- or two-year Cingular
Wireless Data Connect $79.99 unlimited plan, a credit equal to the amount of the monthly service charge will be applied to your account. Credit approval required. Service not available for purchase or use in all areas. Taxes and other charges apply. Early
Termination Fee: None if canceled in first 30 days; thereafter, in FL, GA, SC, NC, KY, TN, MS, LA, AL, NY, and applicable parts of IN and NJ, $240 prorated over term; elsewhere, $150 flat rate. Limited-time offer. See sonystyle.com/cingular for complete
offer details, price plans, service terms and conditions, and coverage map. Call 1-888-739-VAIO (8246) for service activation. 5. Nonmetric weights and measures are approximate. 6. Screen size represents viewable area measured diagonally. 7. All Sony
Extended Service Plans are offered, administered, and fulfilled by Service Net Solutions of Florida, LLC. See Terms and Conditions at sonystyle.com/esp for complete details. 8. Visit ImageStation.com for details. Charges apply for certain products and
services. PC and ISP required. 9. Separate HD tuner required. 10. See sony.com/giftcard or call 1-866-671-7669 for details. 11. Rebate offer expires April 30, 2006. See sonystyle.com for coupon and complete terms and conditions.
Click www.sony.com/pc33
Call 866-692-SONY (7669)
Visit A Sony Style
Retail Store
$50 card credit after your first
purchase
3
: Apply for the Sony Card
SM
today and start earning valuable reward
points toward all the things you want from
Sony. Plus, get a $50 card credit after your
first purchase. Offer expires March 31, 2006.
Visit sonystyle.com to get started.
Sony Style Gift Card: Share the joy of
Sony. Give that someone special a gift card
from Sony Style.
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Visit a Sony Style retail store near
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Opening soon: Menlo Park Mall,
The Fashion Mall at Keystone, University
Village, Washington Square

PC - Magazine 21.february.2006

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PC - Magazine 21.february.2006

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New Ways to Solve

the Security Problem

technology, theres a whole new kind of PC.

headset that leaves your hands free for more

FIT EVERYTHING IN.

XP Tablet PC Edition LifeBook

More innovation from Ford

Class is midsize sedan.

4-in-1 personal entertainment center.

Mobile Technology, you get a panoramic

915GM Express chipset

Graphics Media Accelerator 900

910GML Express chipset

Flat Panels: Displaying Quality & Value

Mobile Technology, this stylish notebook boasts

915GM Express chipset

PRO/Wireless 2200BG network connection

Graphics Media Accelerator 900

Mobile Technology. Connect to

technology and a Kensington

M PROCESSOR 760 (2MB L2 CACHE, 2GHZ, 533MHZ FSB)

915GM Express chipset

PRO/Wireless 2200BG network connection

, Secure Digital card,

, Memory Stick PRO

15.0" XGA (1024 x 768) TFT display

Graphics Media Accelerator 900

915PM Express chipset

PRO/Wireless 2200BG network connection

, Secure Digital card,

or Memory Stick PRO

14.1" XGA (1024 x 768) TFT display

Projectors with DLP

Graphics Media Accelerator 900

4 Processor with HT Technology

Graphics Media Accelerator 950

Graphics Media Accelerator 950

4 PROCESSOR 521 WITH HT TECHNOLOGY

4 PROCESSOR 640 WITH HT TECHNOLOGY

4 Processor with HT Technology,

915PM Express chipset

, Secure Digital card,

, Memory Stick PRO

15.4" WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050) TFT display

M PROCESSOR 760 (2MB L2 CACHE, 2GHZ, 533MHZ FSB)

Mobile Technology offer the freedom and

XP Professional for Business

M Processor ULV 753

M Processor ULV 753

S MORE LIKE A VAULT.

SharePoint Portal Server. It

Cyber Security: A Crisis of Prioritization, February 2005.

Open License Program

IT Pro, The Impact of Disk Fragmentation white paper

May 24, 2005

fits your computing needs.

All-in-One system, youll see that

4 Processor. Reliable. Affordable. Expandable. The future may be hard to

Baseline Security Analyzer.

network color printer

network today with

PRO 6100 SERIES NOTEBOOK COMPUTER OWNERS