Why is networking so hard?

Networking has been around for more than 50 years, so why doesn't it work? Why is it so hard? Shouldn't it just do what it is supposed to? I can't see why this is so difficult.

I just wanted to transfer a file from my Mac running OS X Lion to my Windows 7 PC. Both were on the same network, but I couldn't see the Windows computer from my Mac even though the Windows PC was set up to share its Public folder. I tried Go, Network in Finder and there was nothing.

I thought I'd try Go, Connect to server and then use smb://192.168.1.64 or whatever the IP address is. The trouble is I didn't know what the IP address of the Windows PC was. My Mac was downstairs so I had to run up the stairs and go to my Windows computer, click through three or four dialogs to find its IP address, run back downstairs to my Mac and type them in. The Mac then connected to the PC and I could transfer the file.

Why on earth did I have to do all that running up and down stairs just to connect one computer to another on the same network? Why did I have to look up IP addresses? I know this simple task of connecting one computer to another to transfer a file would have defeated some people because not everyone knows how to find out the IP address of their computer, just as some people can drive a car, but haven't a clue how the engine works.

I can understand (but not agree) with Windows PCs and Macs not talking to each other. There is probably little incentive for the companies to support each other's computers, but I also have two PCs running Windows that can't talk to each other. One is running XP and the other is running 7. Why can't one PC connect to another PC's shared folder? I'm fairly knowledgable and part of my job is tech support solving people's computer problems and I can't solve this one. What chance has an ordinary user got?

Why oh why is networking so hard?

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Do you have Flashback on your Mac?

Flashback is an unusual and rare program, but one that you should definitely get to know. It's a Mac Trojan. Thankfully Mac malware is rare and it is unusual to catch malware infections using OS X, but even so, there is some out there in the wild and this one can infect OS X through the Safari web browser if you have Java. Java is a programming language that enables stand-alone programs and components within web pages to be created. It used to be quite common on the web, but it isn't used as much as it once was.

Flashback is a Trojan and Trojans aren't installed without your knowledge. If you remember your Greek mythology the Trojan horse was a gift, but hidden inside were troops and it was a trick. Flashback also pretends to be something else and in this case it is a Flash installer. You may visit a website and be prompted to update Flash and be presented with a Flash installer. It is a trick though and inside the app is malware, which gets installed on your Mac.

To see whether you might have the Flashback Trojan or whether your Mac is at risk, go to Safari, Preferences, Security and see if the Enable Java tick box is ticked. If it is, then your Mac is at risk, but if it isn't ticked then you can't be infected with Flashback. You might want to clear that tick box and browse the web without Java. Whether you need Java depends on which websites you visit and you might not miss it. If you come across a website that isn't working, you can always enable Java temporarily and reload the web page.

If Java is enabled in Safari you might have Flashback and you should check whether you have this Trojan on your computer. Open a Terminal window and type these two commands:

defaults read /Applications/%browser%.app/Contents/Info LSEnvironment

defaults read ~/.MacOSX/environment DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES

In both cases you should get a message that says 'does not exist' at the end of the line. Anything else means that you probably have Flashback.

If you think you have Flashback and want to know how to remove it, go to the F-Secure blog here or go to the F-Secure threat description here.

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Problems with Apple's new iPad 3

Apple could be facing yet another problem with one of its devices. I was going to say PR disaster, but people seem to buy Apple kit despite there being problems and bad press doesn't appear to affect sales much, if at all.

Remember the iPhone's death grip antenna problem? It didn't stop people buying it and millions have been sold in spite of this problem.

This time there are three causes for worry, at least if you read the reports and blogs around the web. The first is the heat problem. The iPad 3 gets hotter than the iPad 2 and temperatures of up to 115 degrees Fahrenheit have been recorded when playing graphics and CPU intensive games. To put this in perspective, I have several desktop computers and I've seen temperatures of 150F or 65C. One PC had a broken fan and ran at 65-70C all the time. It ran for years like this. Chips can run very hot and I've seen reports that they can cope with temperatures of up to 90C or 194F before they risk failure.

From a reliability point of view, the iPad 3's temperature is not a problem, but this is a hand held device and comfort is an issue. Is it comfortable to hold when it is being used? I've not heard anyone say that it isn't, so I guess it is OK, but it's worth bearing in mind. Laptops can burn your lap they get so hot, but I've not heard of the iPad 3 getting this hot.

The second iPad 3 problem I read about recently was that someone watched two hours of basketball and then found it had used up nearly all of his total monthly bandwidth allowance. Sorry, but this is a user problem and not an iPad fault. Never watch streaming video over a 3G/4G connection because it just eats up the bandwidth. Only lightweight applications should be used and even then you need to keep an eye on the data usage. Streaming video and even music, which uses less bandwidth, should only be used on a WiFi connection. Never ever watch anything when you are abroad. The data charges are eye-watering!

The third iPad problem is with the WiFi. Some people, but not everyone, has experienced very poor WiFi connections with their tablet. Connections are fine with the Mac and iPhone, but the iPad 3 either has a very low signal strength or can't connect. The thread on the Apple Support Community runs to 19 pages, maybe more by the time you read this. It sounds a lot, but with three million units sold, it isn't actually a large number so the problem isn't widespread.

It does appear to be a real fault with some iPads, compared to the heat and bandwidth non-issues. It's not clear whether this is a hardware fault or whether a software update can fix it. We'll have to wait and see what response we get from Apple. The company is sometimes very slow to even acknowledge problems, never mind fix them, so don't expect a response any time soon.

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Safari shows low resolution images on iPad 3

I was trawling the web for the latest news and came across a review of the iPad 3 by Tom's Hardware. This is a great website, although the content may be a bit technical for casual computer users. I like it though.

It has a review of the iPad 3, well mainly the display, and on this page it reveals that Safari will not display any image that is more than 1024 pixels high. In order to display web pages quickly it resamples large images and shrinks them down until they are below 1024 pixels.

This means that you can't view high resolution images online at photo sharing websites even though although the iPad 3 has a screen resolution of 2048 x 1536. It automatically reduces the resolution and you can't change this behaviour. That's irritating when you've just rushed out to buy a new iPad with a hi res screen.

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New VirtualBox adds Windows 8 support

VirtualBox is one of the most used programs on my PC. It enables you to run other operating systems in a Window on the desktop. It runs on Windows, Mac and Linux and you can run Windows XP in 7, Vista in Linux, Linux and Windows on the Mac and so on. A wide range of combinations are possible.

The program is updated quite often and you may be tempted to skip them occasionally, but the updates really are worth having and it is easy to replace the old program with a newer one. You don't even need to uninstall  it because the new version uninstalls the old one automatically and then installs itself keeping all your virtual machines and settings.

The version number has only increased by 0.0.2, but VirtualBox 4.1.10 has a lot of bug fixes and some new features. Among the new features are 'some Windows 8 adaptions'. It is not clear exactly what these are or what this means, but if you are running Windows 8 beta in a virtual machine then it's probably worth downloading and installing this update.

I've been running Windows 8 in VirtualBox for a while now and it works fine. The only issue I've had is with a webcam and a Cyberlink webcam app I got from the Windows 8 App Store. I've noticed that the app has gone, so I guess it was buggy and was withdrawn. After all, everything is beta in Windows 8 and the store. Apart from that, it works fine.

Whether you have Windows, Mac or Linux, go and get VirtualBox. It's not just for Windows 8, you can run anything in it. It's great for testing software before letting it loose on your main PC.

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Should you queue up for the new iPad?

Should you queue up to get a new iPad when Apple launches it? Maybe you're already in the queue at your local store or you have pre-ordered it online and are waiting for it to arrive. Thousands of people do.

I must admit I don't feel compelled to stand in line and get a new iPad on launch day. I can wait. It's not that the new iPad isn't worth the money, it is the best tablet on the market right now. The reason is that there are few apps designed to take advantage of the new iPad.

If you go to the app store in iTunes and select the iPad, there is a link to show all the apps designed for the new iPad. The complete list amounts to 31. Of course, the number will grow, but why queue up to get an iPad that has so few apps? Take your time, go down to the store in a couple of weeks when the queues have gone, there is plenty of stock, and there are lots of new apps to try. You won't miss anything.

Another reason why I'm not queuing up is because I have an iPad 2 and although the new iPad is better, the advantages are much less than between the iPad 1 and the iPad 2. The iPad 2 brought new capabilities and the most obvious were the cameras front and back, which meant I could do things I couldn't do before, like take photos and videos, Facetime, Skype and more.

I can't think of anything that I can do with the new iPad that I can't do on the iPad 2. Of course, I could shoot higher resolution photos and videos, but I have an iPhone in my pocket with a high resolution camera and with iCloud syncing everything ends up on the iPad anyway.

I like the new iPad and would recommend it to anyone that wants a tablet. However, I think I'll wait for the iPad 4 before upgrading. That should be a bigger step up in capabilities than from an iPad 2 to 3.

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Speed up Safari on the Mac

There is a new update for Safari on the Mac and now version 5.1.4 is available for download. To get this browser update, go to the Apple menu and select Software Update. After it has scanned your Mac it will list the updates available and Safari 5.1.4 will be among them if you haven't already updated it.

Among the benefits are a promised 11% speed increase for JavaScript. It is easy to make claims like this, but is it really any faster? Will you notice the speed boost? I thought I would run a few tests to find out if Apple's claims really are true.

There are lots of speed tests for web browsers on the internet and the question is which one should you use? I selected Dromaeo, which runs not just one test, but dozens of them and they analyse every aspect of the web browser. I specifically selected the JavaScript tests rather than the complete browser test suite because I wanted to see how much faster JavaScript was on my Mac.

Before using Software Update I ran the tests and it produced an overall score of 344 runs/s. After installing Safari 5.1.4, and only this, I rebooted and ran the same test again. This time it managed 381 runs/s, which is an 11% speed improvement rounded up to the nearest whole number. So Apple is right and it is always great to have more speed for free, so go and download Safari 5.1.4.

(Note that the number of runs/s depends on the processor speed, so you can't compare your Mac to mine, but you can compare Safari before and after updating it on the same Mac.)

In addition to boosting the speed, there are some bug fixes in the browser, such as web pages flashing white when switching Safari windows, screen dimming while watching HTML5 video, and a security issue that left information behind when you used the Remove all Website Data button in Preferences/Privacy. You thought you were covering your tracks by clearing website data? It seems not!

Go and get the new Safari and browse the web faster.

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New iOS update and new iPhoto

Apple released a whole bundle of updates this week and following the launch of the iPad 3, there is a new version of iOS (5.1), new versions of iMovie, Pages and Numbers apps for the iPad and iPhone, and a brand new app to add to your collection, iPhoto. Plus, iTunes has been updated too.

If you want the new apps and download the updates or buy them new, you might get this error message on the screen in iTunes:

It says that the apps are not compatible with my iPhone 4S (or iPad 2). This is nonsense. Don't believe it. This is a bad and misleading error message. Why couldn't it simply say what was wrong? What it should say is "Please update iOS to version 5.1 first." Do that and the apps install just fine.

You should see a message prompting you to download and install iOS 5.1 automatically, but if you don't, just select the iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch in the left panel and then click the button to manually check for updates.

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Anti virus software for Android tested

Anyone with a Windows PC will be well aware of the security problems caused by various types of malware - viruses, Trojans, spyware and so on. Security probably isn't foremost in your mind when you use a mobile phone or tablet though.

This may be because in the past, mobile phones simply couldn't be infected with malware. At one time they couldn't even install any extra apps, but times have changed and modern phones and tablets are becoming more like mini computers in your pocket. As smartphones become smarter they also become more vulnerable to security threats.

Apple has a tight grip on the software that gets installed onto iPhones and iPads, so it is unlikely that you will ever get a virus on one. iOS apps have been known to access information they shouldn't and spy on your activities, but there isn't any malware.

Android is different and there is looser control on what apps are available and what can be installed on a phone or tablet. It is possible for malware to infect an Android phone or tablet and security is something you should be aware of. There are anti virus and other security products available for Android and traditional security software companies see it as a growth market. Many companies are getting into mobile security and are producing apps to ensure that your Android device is safe and secure. The question is, are they any good?

AV-Test, the security testing company, has just released a report on tests it carried out on Android security software. The company looked at 41 different virus scanners for Android and measured their ability to detect malware. They had 618 malware samples and they found that nearly two thirds of the scanners identified less than 65%. They concluded that a lot of malware scanners just aren't good enough.

So which security software should you use on your Android phone or tablet? AV-Test found that Avast, Dr Web, Kaspersky, Ikarus, Zoner, and Lookout detected more than 90% of malware and are well worth having. Products that performed poorly were Bullguard, Comodo, McAfee, NetQin, and Total Defense, but even these weren't the worst. They detected 40-65%. There was a group of security products that detected less than 40% of malware, which is shocking. Android Defender and Android Antivirus scored 0%. In other words, they detected no malware!

You can read/download the PDF report here. It is essential reading if you use an Android device.

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Watch out for YouTube scams

There is a lot of dodgy stuff on the internet and you have to be aware of all the scams that can take place. Billions of emails are sent around the world every day and a large percentage of them are spam. These junk emails either directly or indirectly try to sell you stuff you don't need or that is useless or fake, or they try to infect your computer with spyware, viruses or other malicious software.

Spam filters mostly block these unwanted email messages, but they are never 100% effective and sometimes a few messages get through. Here is one that got through my spam filters:

This email claims to be from YouTube and it says that my video has been approved. There is a link to click and everything looks OK, but don't be deceived. Clicking any of the links could take you to a site that installs malware or rips you off and empties you bank balance.

I knew this was a scam because I've not posted any videos on YouTube recently (among other things), but to show you what happens I clicked the link. This would be a stupid thing to do in Windows, but I booted up a Linux distro in VirtualBox and clicked it in there. That's about as safe as you can get. Firstly, 99.9999% of malware doesn't work in Linux and secondly, I'm not sure it could get out of the virtual machine even if it did infect it. Here's what happened:

Instead of going to YouTube it took me to a site selling viagra and other drugs. I declined to buy any of the products on offer. An online store that gets you to visit by tricking you into clicking a link in a fake YouTube email isn't exactly reputable. Who know what would happen if I gave it my credit card details.

Clicking links in email messages like this can just as easily install malware if you are using Windows, so watch out for scams. Never click links in emails, even from reputable companies, unless you are absolutely sure they are OK. In this case the recommended action would be to type www.youtube.com into the browser's address box and log in to YouTube and see what the status of the videos were. You don't need to click links.

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Download Windows 8

Microsoft Windows 8 is here at last, well in beta form anyway. It isn't due to go on sale until the summer. In the meantime you can download and run the beta for free. Go here and click the Get it Now button. This takes you to the download page and there's a large Download Windows 8 Consumer Preview button. Don't click it! Instead, click the link below labelled ISO format, which takes you to a page where you can download a DVD image of Windows 8.

A .iso image is basically the contents of a DVD (CD images are possible too), saved as a file. There are several advantages to downloading the .iso file and one is that you can burn it to a DVD with free DVD/CD burning software and install it on multiple PCs without having to download it each time. If you ever need to reinstall Windows 8 on your PC because it has gone wrong or you have messed it up, it is easier to do this from the DVD rather than download it all over again.

The 32-bit version of Windows 8 is significantly smaller than the 64-bit version, 2.5Gb vs 3.3Gb. It also needs less disk space and memory, so if you want a lightweight version of the OS because of limited hardware then go for the 32-bit version. If you have a new-ish PC with lots of disk space, RAM and processing power then the 64-bit version is the one to go for.

I grabbed the .iso file because I wanted to run Windows 8 in a virtual machine. Using VirtualBox you can install and run Windows 8 in a window on the desktop of your normal Windows installation. You don't need to back up your PC, reformat the disk or change anything on your PC, you just run VirtualBox, choose the option to create a new virtual machine, select Windows 8 from the menu and so on. You don't even need to burn the .iso file to a DVD because you can tell VirtualBox to boot Windows 8 directly from the .iso file.

After creating the Windows 8 virtual machine, but before you start it, select it and go to settings. Go to Storage, and click the disk icon on the right. Select Choose a virtual CD/DVD file, select the .iso file you downloaded and that's it. VirtualBox will boot up from the .iso file and you can install Windows 8 into the virtual machine.

Is Windows 8 any good? It is interesting to look at previous Windows releases...

• Windows 98 - good
• Windows ME - poor
• Windows XP - good
• Windows Vista - poor
• Windows 7 - good
• Windows 8 - ????

Can you see a pattern here? If Windows 8 follows the pattern of previous releases then it will be poorly received and we'll have to wait for Windows 9 to see the next great operating system from Microsoft.

The problem with Windows 8 is the interface and partly it is just too different from previous versions of Windows, but worse is that it is non-intuitive. Give people any previous version of Windows and they will be able to find their way around, run programs, and so on. Give them Windows 8 and they will be lost.

The new Start screen with its metro interface that is reminiscent of a Windows phone is hard to use until you learn all the tricks and techniques required. The problem is that it just isn't obvious how to use it and you need someone to tell you what to do. I've been using Windows since 1990 - that's 22 years - and I'm lost in Windows 8. I'm scratching my head wondering how to do simple things, things I do without thinking in previous versions of Windows.

I'll quickly figure it out because I'm a geek and I'm used to learning new software, sometimes with strange interfaces, but not everyone is like me. Some people will just take one look at Windows 8 and ask to be put back to Windows 7, or they'll stick with XP. (Like a lot of people, I'm still running XP on one of my PCs and will continue to do so until the hardware dies.)

I can't see companies upgrading all their PCs to Windows 8 because employees will not be able to use their PC without spending hours or days on a training course. It would be chaos if everyone turned up to work to find Windows 8 on their PC.

Of course, we'll all get used to Windows 8's way of working, but I suspect that it we won't love it until Windows 9 is released, which will fix all the faults like Windows 7 fixed Vista. Windows 7 is Vista with just a few tweaks and underneath it is pretty much the same. Windows 9 will be Windows 8 with a few tweaks, but they will make all the difference. I can't wait.

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