<![CDATA[WTC Communications]]> <![CDATA[How to Run a SpeedTest ]]> Often when troubleshooting slow connection speeds, you'll be asked to perform a speed test.

Please keep in mind that wired connections to a router or modem will be faster than wireless speeds.

Using a computer with a wired connection will give you the more accurate result.  

To do this, you'll need to open your default web browser and navigate to the website www.speedtest.net.

Once this page loads, you should be able to see a map of the world, a green button labeled as "Begin Test" and a green triangle. You'll want to move your cursor over the triangle and select the Kingston, ON, Hosted by: WTC Communications box and left click.

This will take roughly a minute to complete. When finished, you will be presented with three numbers, Ping, Download Speed and Upload speed.

Connection speeds are measured in megabits per second (Mbps).

 Ping, the smaller the number, the faster a response you're seeing from our servers.

Download Speed will give you an idea of "Mbps" or megabits per second, this should be relatively close to the plan that your account is based on, and these speeds can be anywhere up to your advertised speed.

Upload Speed will also be in "Mbps" and should be anywhere up to your advertised speed for your existing plan.

Packet Loss this is exactly what it sounds like - the number of packets travelling across a computer network that fail to reach their destination. Packet loss can cause jitter with streaming technologies, resulting in inconsistent performance.


Run this test three times and record each result to give your WTC(Internet service provider) an accurate representation of your current speeds.

Interpreting Speed Test Results


Ok, so now you have some numbers and assessments from the Speed Test application. Here are the basics of how your internet connection speed was tested and what the download/upload numbers mean.

What speed should I have?


If the Speedtest shows your connection is working to what you are paying for then great, but if you're still not happy with your computer's performance, you have a number of options:

Check your home network to make sure it is operating properly.

Your computer may need a little TLC. Ensure your antivirus and other software are up to date and you should run a full scan to determine any problems that could cause speed issues.

<![CDATA[Brief Intro to VB Scripting]]> Tired of taking lip from your computer?
..'Bad command or file name' ..'illegal operation' etc etc
Ever wanted to turn the tables and order your computer around for a change?
It may not be as difficult as you think.
Some clarification before we get started
If you want a career in computer programming this is not for you.
We are not going to work at the level of Zeros and Ones here,
But if you just wish to experiment a bit with writing a script for your computer to follow, read on.

Required Tool.
You need a plain text editor. That is some software that will allow you to create and save a file without any fancy formatting. No special fonts, bold or italics. Just plain vanilla A-Z, a-z and 0 - 9. Any word processor can do this but the best way is to use one that can't do anything else.

Don't worry I'm sure that you already have one.
Have a look under 'Programs' - 'Accessories' for something called 'Notepad'.
If you can't find it try this..
Click 'Run' and type in the word 'notepad'
When note pad opens type in the following.
msgbox("Testing 1..2..3..")

Save the file as test.vbs. Put it somewhere you can find it easily.
Be carefull to set the 'Save as type' to 'all files' or notepad may save it as test.vbs.txt

Now to test your creation
This will also be a test of your antivirus protection.
Locate your file and double click it.
If you have good security software it should spring into action and question whether this script is to be trusted. This is because scripts can be written to do almost anything on your computer and many a virus has been written as a script.
Ask your security software to allow this script to run.
You should see the following Message Box appear on your screen.

OK..so thats not very exciting Lets move on
You have used a Message Box, now lets introduce an Input Box.
Open test.vbs in Notepad and replace the contents with the following 3 lines.

Dim Input
Input = InputBox("Enter your name")
MsgBox ("You entered: " & Input)

OK, go ahead and test it
OK, now what does it all mean?
The first line reserves a chunk of memory for storing your stuff.
This is similar to using the memory key on a calculator but since you may wish to use more than one storage area it needs to be given a name.
The 'Dim' statement dimensions this and gives it a name. We called it 'Input' but you could have called it XYZ or anything you wanted.
Well, almost anything. Some words are 'Reserved' because they are scripting commands and would confuse your computer. Not hard to do as you probably know icon_sad.gif .
The second line takes your memory chunk and stores the result of an input box in it. Now you can use 'input' in your message box and it will display its memory contents. Please note that there are no quotation marks around 'input' when it is used in this way.
Why? Well try it and see.....

See why?.... It gave you the actual text of the name of your memory space instead of the contents.

Here is a simple game script for you
Copy and paste the text between the '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' lines.


' This script is a simple guess-the-number game that will introduce you to some more scripting concepts.
' Please Note: Any line that starts with a single quote ['] is ignored by the script processor
' so we can add comments to our script without any risk of confusing the computer.

'first we will dimension the memory spaces (officially called "variables")
dim upperbound, lowerbound, chosen_num, best_guess, still_guessing, guess_number

' now we give the variables their initial values

' the aim here is to have the computer pick a number between 1 and 100
' The next command ensures that it will not always pick the same number.
' we store the chosen number in a memoryspace (variable) called chosen_num
chosen_num = Int((upperbound - lowerbound + 1) * Rnd + lowerbound)

'to cheat just remove the single quote from the line below.
' msgbox("The number is " & chosen_num & ". CHEATER!!!")

' the 'while' statement below causes the script to repeat all statements between the 'while' and the 'wend'
'until still_guessing is found to be false.

while still_guessing
' gather input from player using an input box
' Note the inputbox is wrapped in another statement "int()" this ensures that
' best_guess ends up with an integer. a whole number with no fractions or decimals.
best_guess = int(InputBox("Enter your guess"))

' Add one to the number of guesses each time this part of the script is repeated.
guess_number = guess_number + 1

' this "if" compares the players guess with the number the computer chose.
if best_guess=chosen_num then ' the guess was correct

' this "if" inside of an "if" is optional. Its only purpose it to make the message
' grammatically correct in the unlikely event of the first guess being right.
if guess_number = 1 then
msgbox("You got it in " & guess_number & " guess! the number is " & chosen_num)
msgbox("You got it in " & guess_number & " guesses! the number is " & chosen_num)
end if
still_guessing = false
elseif best_guess > chosen_num then ' the guess was too high
elseif best_guess < chosen_num then ' the guess was too low
End if
' don't forget to tell the script where your "if" ends
' or you may have unexpected results.

' the "wend" statement marks the end of the "while" loop


So, thats it.. there is your introduction to scripting.
You were using a language called Visual Basic, Scripting edition and your scripts were run in Microsoft Windows. The part of Windows that makes the script commands work is called 'Windows Script Host'.

For more information on creating scripts visit Microsofts Web site:

To download the scripting manual:
<![CDATA[Disk Maintenance: Defrag]]> Disk Storage.
Your computer stores information on a disk drive using magnetic impulses similar to that used on a video tape except that with a disk it is much easier to find a particular bit of data quickly. No rewinding or fast forward required.
When you delete files it leaves unused spaces on your disk. The next time you create a file it will store as much of it as possible in the first vacant lot. If it does not all fit then it will store the remainder in the next available spot, and so on.
This careful use of your free space allows you to store a lot of data but over time your files will end up being stored in little bits all over the drive. Your data can now be described as fragmented.

Now we mentioned that a Disk is great for finding things quickly, however it does take more time to assemble a file from several parts, not to mention all the extra work of moving the read/write heads all over the surface of the disks.

Solution: run your defrag utility program and re-arrange the whole mess so every file is stored in a single chunk. icon_smile.gif
<![CDATA[Disk Maintenance: Scandisk]]> Why does my computer always want to run scandisk after a it was powered off without going through the normal shutdown procedure?

To keep track of where all the various files and parts of files are the computer keeps records in a notebook called a File Allocation Table. Just for safety it keeps a backup copy of the FAT and sometimes has to use both to sort out mixups.
If your computer was working with files when the lights went out then it is possible that the actual location of your files and the address info stored in the FATs may not aggree.
How may this affect me?
You may try to open your email program and it attemps to get a list of your messages only to find that the 'Inbox' is totally scrambled. It tries to make sense of the mess then throws up its little binary hands and quits leaving you with some strange error message, and lost mail.
Note:This could also happen if your inbox received a message containing some weird characters.
Will I be able to recover lost files?
Sometimes scandisk might be able to get it all back...
Unfortunately this is not always possible.
Scanning disk for errors
When you run scandisk it will attempt to sort out your files and if there is data left over that no file claims it will give you the opportunity of saving it as a file or discarding.

Surface Scan
Scandisk can also check your disk to see if it has any problems storing data. If it finds any locations on your drive that are not suitable for storage it will make a note of them so that nothing will be ever be saved on that part of the magnetic disk surface. If you notice that it finds lots of 'bad sectors' or locates new ones on every scan it may be time to back up your data and replace the drive.]]>
<![CDATA[DOS is Not Quite Dead Yet]]>
Windows 95, 98 and Millennium handled the file name problem by creating a second truncated version of any long file names, that follows the DOS rules of only eight characters (no spaces) and a 3-character extension. For instance if you name a file MY REPORT ON TRAILER PARKS.DOC it will truncate this to MYREPO~1.DOC. A file in the same directory named MY REPORT ON ROCKET SCIENCE would become MYREPO~2.DOC to distinguish its truncated name from the first one. If you run a DIR command you will see both the long and short versions of each name.

However, Windows 2000 and Windows XP have completely eliminated all traces of DOS from the OS kernel, and when you run a DIR command from the XP or 2000 command prompt you will see only the longer file names listed. The default command prompt in those operating systems is only a simulation of DOS but it still won't accept long file names, and therein lies the problem.

Fortunately, it turns out that Microsoft actually created two versions of the command prompt, both of which are included in the program. The default version that won't accept long file names simulates the old COMMAND.EXE. To open the alternate version, go to Start\Run and type in CMD.EXE. Hit Enter and you will see a new DOS Prompt window that does understand long file names.

There is also a shortcut you can use without changing the default command prompt. If your file name has too many characters (or includes spaces), just enclose the name in quotation marks. For example, we can run CD "MY DOCUMENTS" with the default command prompt, no problem.

If the path or file name is very long, rather than typing it all in you can locate it in Windows Explorer. Then right-click and select Copy from the context menu. Next, click on the command line in the DOS window, type in your DOS command followed by a space, and then right-click the mouse. The entire path and file name will be pasted into the command line, and you are good to go.]]>
<![CDATA[Downloading / Uploading / Installing - What's The Difference?]]> This week's tech tip concerns something we've all heard of. However, there still seems to be some confusion amongst the masses on the three operations I will be explaining. I'm referring to Downloading, Uploading, and Installing. It's true that there are various similarites between them, but I can assure you they are not the same. Generally, everyone who has used a computer has done at least one of these processes, and probably thought nothing of it. For the most part, this is where the confusion lies. That's why this tech tip is for those who had have heard the terms, but still are unaware of what the difference between them actually is.

Here's the scoop:

Downloading, often confused with installing, is the process of moving a file that's on the Internet, or a network, onto your Computer. Generally associated with the internet or filesharing, download speed is based solely on usable bandwidth or connection speed. For most computer users, downloading is simply a matter of clicking a download link on a website, and saving the file to the hard-drive.

Uploading is the opposite of downloading. Uploading is the process of taking a file from your computer, and sending it to a computer on the internet, or computer/server on a network. Typically, this is done with an FTP client. Some websites you will find allow you to upload files to them with your web browser. For those of you with a web based email addresses, like Gmail or hotmail, have probably uploaded at least one file. When sending an email with an attachment, you are required to upload the file to the email before it can be attached to the email. Upload speed is also based on the capability, or speed of your internet connection.

Installing, commonly confused with downloading, is different altogether. Installing is the term associated with placing, or putting programs on your computer. Usually the installation process is done through a setup program or a wizard (not the kind with the funny hat) to make installation easy. This operation relys on certain hardware for speed. Usually, CD/DVD drive speed, as well as the amount of RAM the computer has, determines the speed of program installation. Once you're finished the programs' installation, it can be run from the Start Menu\Programs area, or from a desktop shortcut. One or the other, and sometimes both, are created by the Setup Wizard.

So there you have it. A brief lesson on the difference between three terms often confused with one another. Hopefully this clarifies things for you folks out there.]]>
<![CDATA[File transfer: Need to send a huge file?]]>
There IS a much better way, and it does not involve downloading any software, or learning to use anything complicated. It's a website called You Send It, and it allows you to transfer files of up to one GIGABYTE. You upload a file to their servers, and it will be available for download for seven days, or for 25 downloads.

You can enter the recipient's email address and they will receive notification that a file is waiting - or you can do what I do: enter a nonsense email address and when the file is uploaded, you will be provided with a link. Copy this link, and email it to the recipient yourself.

You may check out the site here: http://www.yousendit.com]]>
<![CDATA[Keeping Your Computer Clean]]> When most people think of computers, all they tend to think about is the stuff we see on the screen, or the software. Most tend to forget about the computer itself.

Have you ever thought to yourself, what can I do with my computer to make it last longer? Just like the title states, Keep it Clean.

The amount of computers I've opened that were clogged with dust would make you cough just thinking about it. I haven't actually seen it happen, but have heard of computers failing or having immediate problems due to excessive dust buildup inside the CPU. On top of that, dust can cause the computer to run hotter than normal, as a result, shortening its life.

So now you're wondering, what can you do?

Well if you're up to the challenge, you can open your computer's case about once every six or so months, making sure to unplug it first) and clean it out with a can of compressed air. You can pick that up at any office supply store for a few dollars. Be careful not to disconnect or damage anything! Also, make sure you also blow out the Power supply fan on the back of the computer, as well as the fan on the processor. Don't open it! Simply just blow it out from outside the unit. Since this can be a messy process, you may want to take it outside.

If you are brave, you can open your computer's case (unplug it first) about once every 6 months or so and blow it out with that canned air stuff (you can get it at any office supply store). Of course, be careful not to disconnect or damage anything. Make sure you blow out the power supply (DO NOT open up the power supply unit) and the CPU fan too. Since all this dusting can make a mess, you may want to do it outside.

Here's a picture of the inside of a computer case. I've place arrows to show fans you should blow off with the can of compressed air.

Another option besides compressed air would be a mini-vacuum, or a "dust-buster." In fact, some people say vacuums are better because compressed air can force the dust deeper into the nooks and cracks of your computer.

That being said, I still like compressed air for a few reasons.

1. I've yet to come across a little vacuum that did a good job. They all seem to leave a little dirt behind. What good is a cleaning if you can't get all the dirt?

2. There are a lot of places that even small attachments just can't get to. Like I just said, what’s the point if you can't finish the job?

3. I've been cleaning my own computer, as well as others in my home, and have yet to have a problem with compressed air (other than the dust exiting my computer, and on to my shirt). Compressed air just eliminates the most dust. So I'll stick with the little cans, but a vacuum WILL suffice.

On a final note, keep this in mind while you're cleaning. No matter how tempting it is, washing your computer with the help of a garden hose is always a bad idea.

Until next time!]]>
<![CDATA[Navigate Windows Without Your Mouse]]>
A lot of applications have their own programmable hotkeys. For instance, I do a lot of audio recording. When I am tracking, I use the "normalise" function quite frequently. If I were to use the mouse, it would involve highlighting the WAV file, dragging the mouse to the top of the screen, clicking on the Edit menu, clicking on Audio, then clicking on Normalise. This is not a huge chore, but it takes a few seconds. The way I have it set up now makes it a lot easier. I will finish recording my track and then just hit CTRL-N. I programmed this key combo within my recording application to normalise a WAV file when this combination of keys is pressed.

Since every application can have their own custom hotkeys, I will just go over the basic ones. You can discover ones created for your specific application by going through its help files, or even by exploring the menus at the top. Most of the time, the corresponding hotkey is printed right next to the function that you would be clicking on.

Here is a list of very common Windows hotkeys. There are more, but these ones get the most usage. Memorizing these can speed up your productivity greatly!

CTRL and A - Selects all the items in the active window.
CTRL and C - Copies the item or items to the Clipboard (paste using CTRL and V.)
CTRL and F - Displays the Find all files dialog box.
CTRL and G - Displays the Go to folder dialog box.
CTRL and N - Displays the New dialog box.
CTRL and O - Displays the Open dialog box.
CTRL and P - Displays the Print dialog box.
CTRL and S - Displays the Save dialog box.
CTRL and V - Pastes the copied item or items from the Clipboard.
CTRL and X - Cuts the item or items selected to the Clipboard.
CTRL and Z - Undoes the last action.
CTRL and F4 - Closes the active document window.
CTRL while dragging an item - Copy the selected item
CTRL+SHIFT with arrow keys - Highlight a block of text
CTRL+F4 - Close the active document
CTRL+ESC - Display the Start menu
CTRL and F6 - Opens the next document window in the active application.

ALT+ENTER - View the properties for the selected item
ALT+F4 - Close the active item, or quit the active program
ALT+SPACEBAR - Open the shortcut menu for the active window
ALT+TAB - Switch between the open items
ALT+ESC - Cycle through items in the order that they had been opened

F1 key - Gives help on the active window or selected item.
F2 key - Rename the selected item
F3 key - Search for a file or a folder
F4 key - Display the Address bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer
F5 key - Update the active window
F6 key - Cycle through the screen elements in a window or on the desktop
F10 key - Activate the menu bar in the active program

Windows Logo - Display or hide the Start menu
Windows Logo+BREAK - Display the System Properties dialog box
Windows Logo+D - Display the desktop
Windows Logo+M - Minimize all of the windows
Windows Logo+SHIFT+M - Restore the minimized windows
Windows Logo+E - Open My Computer
Windows Logo+F - Search for a file or a folder
CTRL+Windows Logo+F - Search for computers
Windows Logo+F1 - Display Windows Help
Windows Logo+ L - Lock the keyboard
Windows Logo+R - Open the Run dialog box
Windows Logo+U - Open Utility Manager

Here are some hotkeys for navigating dialogue boxes:

TAB Move forward through the options
SHIFT+TAB - Move backward through the options
CTRL+TAB - Move forward through the tabs
CTRL+SHIFT+TAB - Move backward through the tabs
ENTER - Perform the command for the active option or button
SPACEBAR - Select or clear the check box if the active option is a check box
F1 key - Display Help
F4 key - Display the items in the active list
Arrow keys - Select a button if the active option is a group of option buttons
BACKSPACE - Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save As or Open dialog box.

And finally, some hotkeys for Windows Explorer (the list of files and folders that you see when browsing for a file):

END - Display the bottom of the active window
HOME - Display the top of the active window
NUM LOCK+Asterisk sign (*) - Display all of the subfolders that are under the selected folder
NUM LOCK+Plus sign (+) - Display the contents of the selected folder
NUM LOCK+Minus sign (-) - Collapse the selected folder
LEFT ARROW - Collapse the current selection if it is expanded, or select the parent folder
RIGHT ARROW - Display the current selection if it is collapsed, or select the first subfolder

Now you have the power to avoice the mouse and speed up your work!

Also handy for navigating Windows if your mouse is broken, dirty, missing, being eaten by the cat, etc.]]>
<![CDATA[System tray full of IM programs?]]>
There are several programs out there which take the place of all your chat clients. This saves on system resources, and it also allows you to have contacts from different IM programs all in one list! You will only need to run one program to talk to your friends on ICQ, Yahoo, AIM, IRC, MSN, and some of the lesser-known chat programs.

Personally, I prefer Trillian. It's free, and very customizable.

Here is a link: http://www.ceruleanstudios.com/

Other free clients include:

GAIM: http://gaim.sourceforge.net/
Miranda: http://www.miranda-im.org/
Ayttm: http://ayttm.sourceforge.net/

Happy chatting!]]>
<![CDATA[The Aches and Pains of Computing]]>
This tip isn't really about Technology. It's more about keeping the time in front of the computer as comfortable as possible, so you don't feel the pain when you're elsewhere.

Aching wrists can be caused from resting the heel of your palm on a hard surface while using your mouse for an extended period of time. A mouse pad with a gel wrist support has worked very well for many people I know, resulting in long term computing sessions much more enjoyable. The gel pad keeps your hand in a more upright position while redirecting the pressure points within the soft gel. There are also keyboard wrist supports available for the heavy duty typist like myself.

Headaches & eye strain may be caused from staring at your monitor for a long period of time. Iâ€™m no doctor, but these are mere suggestions which I've gathered from the internet, as well as what I've been told in the past.

- Lower the contrast and brightness settings of your monitor to reduce the bright glare effect of white screens.

- Increase the size of the text you are reading, or reduce your screen to a lower resolution. Also, if you've got some extra coin, you may want to consider the purchase a larger monitor.

- Purchase anti-glare/anti-radiation screens that you place over your monitor that help to protect you from radiation and glare.

- Occasionally take a break away from your computer to get up, stretch, or walk around. If you're at home, then it the perfect time to do those agonizing little chores that no-one likes... like taking the garbage out. If you're in the office, try to work away from your computer if possible.

When it comes to being in front of the computer, on a scale of importance, most folksâ€™ chairs would be listed on the bottom (no pun intended). Your computer chair is your throne and it's the very "foundation" of computing. An inexpensive, uncomfortable, and hard as a rock chair will leave you scolding yourself for being so cheap. A beautiful expensive computer without a good chair is like a sleek sports car with a bench for a seat.

So there you have it. A quick guide to making computing easy on all your bones and joints. Remember, donâ€™t forget to wear your helmet! (just kidding!)]]>
<![CDATA[What about your Wi-Fi ?]]> Sometimes, your home network is to blame. So if you’re ready to point fingers at your wireless network, it’s often the biggest culprit behind a persistently slow network. This is why it’s best to try to plug directly into your modem for a speed test, because then you can see if your problem goes away with a direct link to the network.

When it comes to Wi-Fi, the easiest problem to solve is one of older gear. (This is after you reboot your router and modem of course!) Like phones or computers, Wi-Fi routers (the machines that convert the signals from your modem into a Wi-Fi signal) grow obsolete after a few years. Current Wi-Fi routers are using a radio standard called 802.11a/c, which can handle gigabit network speeds. You may not need these speeds, but if your router is operating at anything other than 802.11a/c or the previous generation’s 802.11n, which can handle network speeds of 300 Mbps, then you might want to consider an upgrade.

It’s not just the radio standard that matters. Newer beam-forming technology inside modern routers mean that multiple devices can share limited capacity more efficiently from a single router. Additionally, your router should offer the ability to seamlessly switch between the 2.4GHz and 5GHz channels inside your home. These are the two frequency bands that are used for Wi-Fi devices, and for the most part, the 2.4 GHz band is pretty crowded with devices talking to one another.

So in many homes, the 5GHz band is still relatively uncluttered, which makes it a good channel for many high bandwidth applications where losing packets results in a noticeable degradation in quality. Things like streaming video, video calls, and even gaming are good candidates for the 5GHz channel, although as more devices come on the market that can switch between the frequencies, this band will likely see more clutter.

Finally on the Wi-Fi front, even if you have a modern router with all the bells and whistles, you may be placing it in a terrible location, which means that while the closet where you keep your router has a speedy connection, the rest of your home does not. To solve that problem, you may have to move your router or invest in access points

Or you may need to upgrade your current Internet service plan. To know what to expect by connection speed, see our below.


Download Speeds


1-4 Mbps
Generally, this is the lowest level of service available in most areas. Email and most web site will load fine and most music streaming services will work without interruption. Internet phone services (VOIP) should have no trouble. But Standard Definition (SD) videos will buffer on occasion.


4-6 Mbps
Users at this speed should not have any trouble with streaming audio or video. Service at this speed will allow some file sharing and should work fine for streaming Internet TV (IPTV).


6-10 Mbps
For online gamers and heavy video-on-demand, this is the preferred speed. This speed delivers uninterrupted online gaming and smooth on-demand video as long as only one device is using a high bandwidth service.


10-15 Mbps
Users at this speed say they do notice the increase in speed. Web sites drop right into the browser and your interaction with web-based applications and cloud services will be much quicker. Will help you interact with more complex online applications like remote education services, telemedicine and high definition Internet TV.


15-50 Mbps
If you have a number of devices connected to your network and want to use them at the same time without delays, this may be the speed for you. With the explosion of electronic products that can be connected to the Internet, keeping them all working at peak performance is going to be an increasing challenge. Multiple simultaneous connections will require this level of service.


50+ Mbps
Speed like this is now seen feeding home networks. The main reasons for such blazing download speed are video conferencing, real-time data collection and intense remote computing. But again, with the explosion of web-enabled devices in homes, speed like this are becoming the new normal. Remember, we used to access the Internet with dial-up modems.

<![CDATA[Windows XP: Service Pack 2]]> Microsoft XP Service Pack - Almost a New Operating System.

Microsoft has finally released the long awaited SP2 (Service Pack 2) for Windows XP. It has been available as an administrative download for over a week now (the time of this writing being Aug. 17, 2004).
Users with automatic updates enabled will start receiving SP2 on Wed, Aug 18, 2004.
This will be a large download, between 60 and 80 MB, depending on your version (Home or Pro) and whether you have installed updates recently. This may take days on a dial up connection. icon_evil.gif This update will be available on CD later this summer (have we had a summer?) according to Microsoft


Some of the new features will be:

- Managing Internet Explorer add-ons
- Stopping malicious scripting in Internet Explorer
- Blocking pop-up ads
- More secure Outlook Express email
- A vastly improved firewall
- New Security Center feature
- Modified Automatic Updates configuration
- Disabled Windows Messenger Service
- Restrict ability of network services to propagate threats

Now a couple of problems, other than the huge download:

1. Outlook Express will block attachments by default.
To remedy this annoying default setting, see the following WTC Communications Tech Tip


2. The new XP firewall is enabled by default. Although this may be a good thing in certain instances, it also disables the functionality of a growing list of applications.


If you are using a router, you should not require the XP firewall. This can be disabled in this manner:
Click â€œStartâ€
Click â€œControl Panelâ€
Double-click the new â€œSecurity Centerâ€
Click on â€œWindows Firewallâ€
Select the â€œOff (not recommended)â€ button.
Click â€œOKâ€
Exit the control panel.

Your Windows firewall is now disabled. This will allow a large number of programs to function again.

There will be more tips to come on XP SP2 as the problems and their solutions are dicovered.

And remember folks "When the world's out to get you, paranoid is just smart thinking" ]]>
<![CDATA[WTC Communications DNS server addresses]]> DNS server addresses for dedicated WTC Communications internet connections:


Primary DNS server:

Secondary DNS server: