…in which a problem with a new Dell system is addressed

So last week I got a call from a dear and respected senior family friend needing PC help.

His laptop had died and the local PC-repair shack in town told him his system board had fried.

He had then ordered and received a new laptop from Dell and he was immediately lost in the Windows 8 world.

I scheduled an appointment to come over this past weekend to help him set it up, give him some lessons in Windows 8 usage, and restore the data they had recovered from his (still good) old laptop’s hard-drive off the DVD’s the repair shop gave him.

So since I was in a “rolling lean” mood, I didn’t bring my personal laptop, or my IODD drive, or any of my USB sticks. It was a basic “new-user” setup of a factory-fresh Dell system, some software re-installs and a (hopefully) copy-back of a recovered user-profile folder data set. And he had DSL. Easy-peasy.

Mistake.

We started off good. He had done an initial setup of the laptop in the excitement of receipt and unboxing.

So we booted it and I asked him to put in the password he created during the initial Windows 8 setup process he went through on his own.

Unfortunately, after almost 30 minutes of trying, he couldn’t remember the password he used, despite also having set up a password hint that only served to tease us.

Bother.

Now what?

If I had brought any of my digital tools I probably could have off-line booted the system, blanked the password and rolled on. But I didn’t and I really didn’t feel like hitting “pause” and going home to retrieve them.

Since it was a brand new system, with no user data, and a Dell, I knew it contained a system-restore-to-factory-image. He didn’t have any physical restore disks so I had to do it off the system itself.

After fussing hopeless (like others before me) to catch the BIOS/Win8 boot process mid-stream F8/shift-F8to boot to the options menu I gave it up as a futile effort.

Some Googling work on his desktop system provided the solution:

1. Once at the user’s locked login screen I held down “Shift” while selecting the “restart” power option.
2. A reboot got me swiftly to the advanced options pre-boot menu of Windows 8.
3. I selected the “Troubleshoot” option.
4. I selected the “Dell Backup and Recovery” option.
5. I told the additional options that followed that I didn’t want to bother saving any user data…and followed through with a factory image restore.

Eventually (30-40 min later?) it was done and I went though an otherwise fairly uneventful Windows 8 system setup and user-data restoration.

Lessons learned in no significant order:

1. With Windows 8 <shift>/restart is your new best-buddy.
2. There is something to be said about not nuking that Dell restore partition to reclaim the relatively insignificant additional GB of data it holds. You might need that factory image sometime when you least expect it.
3. If you own a laptop, use it with a laptop accessory that has a solid surface between the underside of the laptop and what you set it on. Otherwise you risk blocking the ventilation holes and experiencing overheating and failure if not careful.
4. Bring your laptop/USB-drives/flash drive tools with you when visiting friends and family to help them with tech. Period. No job will be as easy as you are led to believe. Semper Paratus!
5. Copying user-data off 4 full DVD disks sucks. Bring your SATA-USB adapter bridge and copy directly off the hard drive even if you have optical media disks. It looks cooler, it works faster, and you can make sure you are getting everything you need for the user.
6. When done, make the user a password-recovery file and System Recovery disk under WIndows 8.
7. DSL sucks…barely better than dial-up in today’s world. If you are getting cable…pony up for cable-broadband. DSL really sucks when you are sucking down a ton of Windows and program updates to a newly issued system. Despite recent complaints here at GSD, I would “die” without our cable broadband service. Like totally!

Additional resources:

• Using <F8> to Boot into Advanced Boot Options (e.g., Recover Factory Image) does not work on new Dell Inspiron 15R 5520 - Windows 8 - Software & Operating Systems - Dell Community
• How To Access Advanced Startup Options in Windows 8 - About.com
• Three ways to access Windows 8 boot options menu, plus all you need to know - Pureinfotech
• Alienware mx14 r2 - Laptop General Hardware Forum - Laptop - Dell Community
• Windows 8 Dell Backup and Recovery - Windows 8 - Software & Operating Systems - Dell Community

Cheers.

--Claus V.

Too Many Bits, Bytes and Tech?

At the risk of the GSD blog losing its focus from being a scratch-pad/notebook for my interactions with technology and shifting to a curmudgeon's front yard, I have lately been re-considering the role technology plays in my life.

My “pay me” job is to manage technology at work both for our customers and our organization. Truth-be-told I don’t “create” technology, I just manage the consequences (good and bad) that it offers and brings. Usually that is pretty fun and rewarding when we succeed.

My “don’t pay me” job is to help friends and family understand and cope with the never-ending upward thrust of technology in their lives. What used to be calls of “can I get that family recipe for grandma’s dinner rolls” has become “hey, a new update for Java/Flash/Windows was released, we need to update your PC. By the way, made chili lately?”

When those who know me engage in “hobby talk” I share about a few books I am reading, a few movies/TV shows I follow, volunteer work doings at the church-house, and mostly about relaxing by keeping my eye out for new utilities, applications, and for/sec trends and news.  They usually just nod politely at the last one.

So recently when I read each of these these posts, the experience gave me pause.

• Confessions Of A Digital Hoarder - ReadWrite - Taylor Hatmaker
• Why I'm glad my iPhone broke - Simon Hørup Eskildsen
• Complicating Our Lives - Echo Hub - Jonathan Malm

I don’t do Netflix. I do buy DVD/BluRay movies and TV series I really, really like.  We do buy digital entertainment media - song/album downloads -- online. I still prefer to buy CD hardcopies but the writing is on the wall as even in the BigBox stores the CD section is shrinking. And that bookcase unit full of VHS tapes (mostly Disney movies) from 20 years ago stands as an accusatory judgment about investment in a technological media-delivery standard.  Sure I “own” all those wonderful movies and the delivery cassettes they come encased in, but cold-comfort when our HiQ-VCR finally dies. Should I (can I legally?) convert them to a digital file? Why bother. The quality will be sub-analog in the HD-standard world. And my time is much more valuable now than the hundreds of hours it would take to do so.

Bin them? EBay them? I don’t know.

How long until those DVD/BluRay’s will be the next VHS tapes in our house? Probably sooner that I care to admit.

Then there is that drawer of audio cassette tapes. Alvis found them a while back and used some of the “blank” cassettes (I hope) for an art-project.

Really?

I have a cassette player in my car but it only is used for the cassette adapter for me to play my iPod/iPhone/Shuffle through. That’s it.  Lavie and Alvis’s cars don’t even have one in them; just radio/CD units.

I guess an art-installation is as good as any solution I can come up with for them…probably better.

My personal digital hoarding issue seems to be centered around collecting of Windows utilities; portable ones.

I have a folder I keep these in -- as well as on my USB flash drives -- and currently it is just under 10 GB. Seriously!

Do I really need (or even use) all of them?  Not at all, but then I might need one of them; a specialized digital tool for a specialized task. So I add to the collection, watch for updated versions, etc.

A digital version of the Boy Scout’s mantra of “always prepared” gone amok perhaps.

And now that I have a wonderful, super, life-enhancing iPhone (5) with 64 GB of storage, I find it calling me to dig deep into the App Store looking for additional productivity apps, tools, and what-not to fill it with.

So over the next year I have resolved to:

• Carefully review that 10 GB collection of utilities to honestly see if I can pare it down to a core set of tools and utilities that will allow me to accomplish what I need to do and support without all the overhead. A journey in coming to trust my skills and knowledge rather than the tools in-of-themselves to provide the solution perhaps?
• Negotiate the clear-out of VHS tape-based media in the home…if nothing else to get the DVD/BluRay disks off the pile on the floor.
• Get the hard-copy books I have out of storage and begin to interact with them again; to supplement the Kindles/Nooks in the house….and to make it a point to re-read them with relish. Shakespeare and Homer still are alive and relevant today for good reason. Let’s not forget that.
• See if I can live with (and thrive) on a few choice quality cable/broadcast/radio media sources rather surf aimlessly through the hundreds I have on hand at my disposal right now.

Technology is part of our lives and a major part of the culture and experience that makes us “human,” but it should never, ever, be a balm and substitute for human “being.”

Lest we forget where having too many bits and bytes and capability can take us:

• U.K. spy agencies plan to install Web snooping 'black boxes' - ZDNet
• The Logic of Surveillance - Ian Welsh
• bullying in New York State - Popehat
• Nineteen Eighty-Four - Wikipedia

Moving on…

Claus V.

…you’re getting warmer!

“Escape” on flickr. CC 2.0 attribution: Photo © 2010 J. Ronald Lee.

In a new development that warms my heart -- much like my last post of realizing the additional rental charge for the cable broadband modem -- we have now found Comcast/Xfinity is charging us $1.99 (+tax) for each of the previously “free” basic digital adapter boxes they gave us. We have 2 units in other rooms that supplement the primary HD/DVR unit in our living room which we rent.

We got these last year when Comcast switched from carrying analog signals for many of their channels to digital-only; their “Digital Migration” project. Want to get all those cable channels that aren’t “over-the-air” broadcasts?  Too bad. You need to use our digital adapter box.  But don’t be sad. We will give it to you for free! See? No pain!

Well that was a bait-and-switch.  Comcast is now charging for those previously-issued “free” digital adapter boxes.

And the frustration is sweeping users and communities across the Comcast service area.

comcast digital adapters - Google Search

From some articles I have read, Comcast “might” be rolling out better models of these first-generation digital adapters…some with HD signal support. Bet they come with an even higher price-tag. Not sure of the accuracy of the reports as you can already rent HD set-top receivers and HD/DVR units from Comcast.

I don’t know.  I brought up the topic of just ditching all our cable services except the broadband internet (which would go up more if we stopped bundling it with other services), but was immediately out-voted by the other family members who wouldn’t be able to get all their favorite TV/movies, even over the Internet.

What is so frustrating is not so much that we need to pay for equipment usage -- that’s fair and the American Way ™ -- what doesn’t feel right is getting something for nothing (which was fair because the service delivery method was a forced change on the customers) but then having to pay for it after the rollout. What would have been more fair and probably generated customer good-will (and enthusiasm) would have been to say:

• So sorry, we have to convert our analog signal delivery to digital to increase capacity for your benefit and to enhance signal security and delivery control for us.
• We are giving you up to two basic digital adapter boxes for free; bear with us though the transition process. We know you have some other choices and we want you to be proud to be our customer.
• Thanks for sticking with us through the transition to digital signal delivery! Hurray! We made it!
• Now that we are on the other side we have some exciting options for you.
• You can keep on using the free basic digital adapter boxes -- still no charge for our loyal existing customers! You are “grandfathered” in.
• Or, if you would like, you can swap them out for a new next-gen basic digital adapter box that will allow you to also get HD channels for your subscription tier -- at only $4.99/ea. a month!
• Want even more features? Check out our full lineup of HD set-top cable boxes.

That would have been brilliant!  Sign me up!  Here’s my checkbook!  More money for you and more happiness for me!

So I guess Comcast has me exactly where they want me.

Simmering in their pot paying for the privilege of keeping two “free” digital adapter boxes for with two unhappy house-mates who aren’t pleased with quality of the new digital-only signal and clamoring for HD receiver set-top boxes now. Seems like the one HD/DVR in the family room may not be enough any longer.

All hail the great Digital Revolution and the power it brings to the consumer.

Claus V.

PS:

About that image/frog; per the photographer, no frogs were harmed in the photo-shoot.

See also: Boiling frog - Wikipedia.

Time to own a Broadband Modem of my own?

Being a cable-broadband user has it’s perks and drawbacks.

We have (what I think is) a pretty standard hi-speed cable-broadband network access package.

Download speeds are decent and I don’t worry too much about upload speeds. We don’t do NetFlix/streaming, but YouTube, hulu, and VimeoHD streams all play very well with stuttering very rare.

What I have been aggravated about is the seemingly small-but-incremental service charge increases for our cable/internet service.

Thursday as I was driving between sites I happened to catch Susan Crawford discussing her book “Captive Audience” on the Diane Rehm show on our local NPR channel. Show link: Susan Crawford: "Captive Audience."  It was both educating and frustrating, particularly as both a consumer and network support guy. I really know better than to listen to “talk radio” programs while dealing with big-city traffic. It creates a vicious feedback cycle.

That later got me thinking -- again -- about the monthly $7.00 cable-modem rental fee we pay each month.  The charge started showing up on our bill again after some broadband service issues we were having. Comcast decided the issue was partially related to a bad/failing Comcast broadband router we had been provided when we signed up for the service. Turns out that when they replaced the router, they also began tacking on the rental fee that hadn’t been there before, apparently since it was the latest model. Nice.  I understand they sometimes remove the fee when a modem model goes out of support and they “give/donate” the modem to the subscriber.

Anyway, I looked into it and depending on the model of broadband router you get, you can probably recoup the cost in just over a year or so.

So here are some links I found that I want to keep for quick reference.

I haven’t made a final decision, but since we don’t have a “triple-play” deal, nor use their VOIP service, it looks like a pretty smart decision.

• Time Warner’s new $4 monthly modem rental fee incites class action suit - Ars Technica
• Open Security Research: Comcast and DOCSIS 3.0 - Worth the upgrade? - Open Security Research - This is the post that got me started researching the possibility of buying my own broadband modem. Excellent material from Tony Lee.
• 3 Ways to Get Rid of your Comcast Modem Rental Fee - 20SomethingFinance post by G.E.Miller
• How to Replace a Comcast Modem with your Own - 20SomethingFinance follow-up post by G.E.Miller
• DOCSIS Devices - list of currently supported and approved cable modems for Comcast/Xfinity networks.
• My New Modem by XFINITY - Models (and off-site links) for recommended devices for Xfinity customers looking to buy their own.
• Motorola SurfBoard SB6141 DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem - Amazon.com - I’m leaning to this device right now. I already have a rock-solid WiFi router downstream so I don’t really need/want an all-in-one device.
• Motorola SB6121 SURFboard DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem - Amazon.com - This was the model recommended by Tony Lee. It is was replaced by the SB6141 model but is still available at about $25 less than that model.
• Motorola SURFboard Gateway SBG6580 DOCSIS 3.0 Wireless Cable Modem - Amazon.com - Also highly recommended, but as I said, I really don’t need the built-in Wi-Fi features.

Thoughts?

--Claus Valca

Saturday Linkfest - Cold Pizza Edition

The other night on my way home from work, I was tired and exhausted. I didn’t feel like going grocery shopping for dinner so I punted.

I stopped by the pizza parlor, grabbed three large pies. We ate one for dinner, then have been snacking on cold-pizza leftovers for the past two days.

I’m almost out of slices so I guess it will be to the grocery store tomorrow for some real food again.

USB-based Windows System Install Options

The other day at work, a co-worker asked me for some feedback on a particular problem they had at home.

Seems that he had decided to upgrade (actually a fresh install) a laptop from Windows XP to Windows 7. Only problem was the CDROM drive was in pretty bad shape, and all he had was optical install disks. So how could he get the upgrade on.

Although I supposed he could find an external USB-based CD/DVD-ROM drive to use, that seemed like an unnecessary purchase. He did have a working Windows desktop system, however, so the solution seemed quite simple: create a bootable USB drive with the installation media present. Boot the laptop from the USB drive and install away!

So here are three methods to accomplish that task; full-hands on, Windows tool, and automated utilities.

If you are game and want to learn a bit of the structure of creating such a tool, then this TechRepublic post is perfect: How do I ... create an installation flash drive for Windows 7? I noticed it doesn’t have instructions to make the partition/device bootable via bootsect. BOOTSECT /NT60 <usb drive letter>    (Where <usb drive letter> equals your USB device).

Microsoft has a nice and simple tool to assist you with the process: Windows 7 USB/DVD download tool.  This guide How To Create Bootable Windows 7 USB To Install Windows 7 From USB Flash Drive (Using Windows 7 DVD/USB Tool) from Into Windows provides a nice walkthrough of the process.

Finally, there are some specialized utilities that give you a bit more control over the creation process. I particularly like these two:

• WinToFlash - Install Windows from usb - Home page
• Rufus - Create bootable USB drives

Piece of cake.

ForSec Bits

• EMET 3.5: The Value of Looking Through an Attacker's Eyes - ISC Diary - This was a fascinating post about the Microsoft Enhanced Mitigation Experience 3.5 toolkit and how it can leverage additional anti-malware protection on systems. I’m not sure a site-wide deployment would make a lot of sense, but for workbench systems and testing it might be a smart move to consider.
• Hunting Down and Killing Ransomware - Mark's Blog. Mark Russinovich provides an excellent technical review on dealing with scareware/ransomware infections on a system.
• A picture worth a 1000 barcodes? - ISC Diary - be careful what you post!
• Adobe Security Bulletins Posted - Adobe Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT) Blog
• Microsoft and Adobe close almost 40 holes - The H Security: News and Features. Time to patch Windows and Adobe holes again!
• Carving Station – RAR Files - M-unition. Mary Singh has a highly in-depth post coving file-carving from unallocated disk space. Not exactly light reading, Mary provides some excellent coverage on this topic.
• Freeware Release: Redline 1.7 - M-unition. New version released. download page
• TeamViewer 8 - Forensic Artifacts - Useful information on system artifacts left by TeamViewer 8 usage.
• You down with LNK? - SpiderLabs Anterior

Installing Stuff

• How to install Ubuntu on Acer’s $199 C7 Chromebook - Ars Technica
• Installing Windows XP to SSD - TinyApps.org
• Repurpose PCs with Windows ThinPC - Anything about IT (via tip from TinyApps bloggist).  See also AnandTech - Windows Thin PC: Windows, Slimmed Down

Tips for Techs

• No sound from Google Chrome: Adobe Flash issue and workaround - MarkWilson.it
• Easily Fix Or Delete Broken Desktop & Start Menu Shortcuts - AddictiveTips. Uses NirSoft tool ShortcutsMan for housecleaning.
• Free e-books for Windows administrators (updated) - 4sysops
• 150 Best Windows Apps Of Year 2012 - AddictiveTips
• Standalone Sysadmin - blog.  TinyApps bloggist pointed me to Matt Simmon’s great website a while ago. In addition to the great posts, Matt also provides a super-handy List of Subscribed Feeds covering all kinds of tech/sysadmin/forsec goodness. If you are new to RSS feeds and need a great “seed list” to get started with, look no further. Matt also provides a more current OPML file for use. Whew!

Network Monitoring

• PCAP Files Are Great Arn't They?? - SpiderLabs Anterior - fantastic examples of tshark-fu and other tricks for extracting great data-points out of PCAP files.
• Filtering with Message Analyzer - MessageAnalyzer Blog. It’s been a while since we have seen much chatter regarding the replacement for Network Monitor. Paul E Long has some great tips for filtering in the new tool; especially useful for those used to filter use patterns in Network Monitor. More posts promised soon.
• Installing Wireshark 1.8.4 and WinPcap 4.1.2 on a Windows 8 System - Moon Support Weblog

Tools, Utilities, and Updates

• Updates: Autoruns v11.4, ProcDump v5.12, SDelete v1.61 - Sysinternals Site Discussion
• GMER 2.0 arrives - BetaNews review. Rootkit detection tool now adds support added for Windows 8 and x64 systems. GMER download pager
• JavaRa Definitions Updated - SingularLabs - Use these with JavaRa to help install/update/remove Java Runtime Environment installations on your systems.
• Dev Eject - version 1.0.26 beta - this is a fantastically clever tool that can not only help you eject removable devices from Windows, but it also can tell you specifically what is causing (locking) the device from ejection.
• Oracle VM VirtualBox - Now at version 4.2.6. Overview of significant changes: VirtualBox 4.2.6 delivers many fixes - BetaNews.
• TightVNC: What's New in TightVNC - Now at version 2.6.4. Download TightVNC
• DMDE (DM Disk Editor and Data Recovery Software) - free/$ versions - Interesting advanced file recovery tool. The free version is pretty limited but is a good place to start and play around with. Portable so no installation required. DMDE is a handy free data recovery tool for Windows experts - BetaNews review.

Firefox News

• Mozilla to Continue 64-Bit Windows Firefox Builds - Firefox Extension Guru's Blog
• Private windows coming to Firefox - Mozilla Links

Cheers!

--Claus Valca

Thoughts on Chrome(ium) Privacy Attainment

It is no secret to GSD blog fans that I’m a heavy supporter/user of Firefox browser. It remains my primary workhorse for web surfing. Updates come pretty steadily and performance and stability issues haven’t been an issue for me. Plus the specialized add-ons I use make it super-handy.

That said, the Google Chrome -- specifically Chromium Dev build -- is the browser I launch when I want to do mindless web surfing, or leave a full-screen web-page up while I am monitoring something specific.

When I help a friend/family-member set up a new system, I always install and give a walkthrough of Chrome. More times than not they quickly come to prefer it over Internet Explorer.

In fact, one of the only reasons I don’t use Chrome(ium) more is the continued (and probably “forever”) lack of a bookmark-sidebar option that Firefox has.  With my personal bookmarking/blogging habits, that feature is a “must-have.” Lacking that, hard-core regular usage of Chrome remains an exercise in frustration.  More on my attempts to overcome this in a follow-up post.

On my system I have kept two (portable) build versions of Chrome; Chromium (Dev) and SRWare Iron.

I use and prefer Chromium builds because they are updated quite frequently. I have been a long user of SRWare Iron because the developer has offered out a list of specific privacy feature enhancements under the hood that you don’t get with Chrome versions.

Additionally, there is Comodo Dragon Web Browser also based on Chrome and providing some additional security/privacy features. However I don’t use this version.

Chrome Flavors - Full Install versions

These versions will install a “full” version directly onto your Windows system

• Chrome Browser - Download current Chrome browser release version
• Chromium - The Chromium Projects (overview)
• Download Chromium - Download current Chromium browser release version
• SRWare Iron - Download a “privacy-enhanced” version build of Chromium
• Dragon Internet Browser - Download a “privacy-enhanced” version build of Chromium; includes “Domain Validation” feature from Comodo, cookie/web-tracking & browser download tracking for privacy.

Chrome Flavors - Portable versions

These “no-install” versions allow you to take your Chrome-browser with you on a USB stick…or if you just want to run it locally without installing onto your Windows system.

• Google Chrome Portable - PortableApps.com.  The main version level is right there at the top. This is the “mainstream” Chrome version. Scroll down a bit on the page and you will find  additional download links for portable versions of Chromium (Dev) and Beta release versions. This is the source of the Portable Chromium (Dev) package I use/update.
• Chromium Portable - This is another portable Chromium (Dev) package another group maintains.
• Iron Portable - Download the PortableApps.com version of SRWare Iron
• SRWare Iron - Look carefully and there is portable version (zip) offered on the developer’s download page.
• Comodo Dragon Portable - Basically this forum tip says to just download the regular version and pay attention to choose the “portable” version install option while doing so.
• Sandcat Browser - Syhunt. This is a specialized portable penetration-testing oriented web-browser based on the Chromium browser. Supports live HTTP Headers, request editor, fuzzer, JavaScript Executor, Lua executor, PageInfo extension, HTTP brute-force, CGI scanner scripts, and much more

Updating Challenges

I also have a bit of an OCD app updating problem. If there is a newer version out -- particularly important with browsers and browser-plugins for security reasons -- I download and apply.

This is a challenge for both my portable Chromium and portable SRWare Iron builds as they don’t have/support in-app updating. So I have to watch the webs/feeds for signals a new version is released then manually update them.

As of this post date, Chromium Dev is at 25.0.1364.29. SRWare Iron is at 23.0.1300.0.

So to remedy the issue I keep an eye open of the Chrome Release blog (via my RSS feed reader). Then I pop over and check the direct download page for the source of the particular portable version I use and snag it when it appears..usually just a few days later.

• Chrome Releases - Chrome release notice blog
• Google Chrome PortableApps / Additional Versions - SourceForge.net file repository downloads
• Chromium Portable - SourceForge.net file repository downloads
• SRWare.net • View forum - SRWare Iron Support (English) - New version releases noted at the top.

Rolling your own Privacy Build of Chrome - Overview

So, what I want to have is all the privacy enhancements of SRWare Iron but in the “current” level of Chromium (Dev) and on a regular basis. Could I manually tweak-out a Chromium installation to achieve the same (or similar) privacy gains? 

One of the nice things of SRWare Iron is that the developer does all this work for you under the hood. But if like me you are comfortable making lots of browser configuration changes manually, and don’t mind doing some research, maybe you can get to the point of having an up-to-date Chrome-based browser with most/all of the features the SRWare Iron version has.

Aside: This isn’t really meant to be a discussion on creating an “ultra-secure/private” web-browsing experience in Chrome. I’m not seeking a completely “stealth” web-browsing experience. I’m not interested in setting up proxy/TOR sessions to try to bypass network/ISP tracking, nor is it to discuss the merits of “in private” mode browsing and all that. Who really knows what/how-much deep-packet inspection and logging at ISP’s may be going on. Rather, this attempt is to reasonably minimize the number of tracking features normally encountered in standard web browsing sessions. Yes, those “features” can be used by ISP/web-sites/content-providers to “enhance” your browsing experience in serving customized web-content, advertisements, and search-results specific to your browsing habits. That may be a good thing or not depending on you perspective. I personally to prefer to pour my coffee black and then add cream/sugar/etc depending on my mood. Same with my browser.

I started looking at the list of primary feature comparisons provided by SRWare; Chrome vs Iron.

Once I was familiar with these items, I started hitting Google to see how I could make each change manually. I soon found what I was looking for.

My plan was to post a link to explain how to achieve each setting.

But then as I dug just a bit deeper, I started finding some interesting discussions about recommended security and policy settings for Chrome builds; as well as some updated comments on the relevancy of the items targeted in SRWare Iron.

So instead, I’m posting links to those as I think this approach will allow someone to better (and more easily) create a customized privacy/browsing configuration for their own Chrome usage needs.

• Google Chrome Privacy Whitepaper - Provided by Chrome, this excellent web-page outlines just about all the most critical features in Chrome/Dev that interface with Google and/or third-party services and sites including,
  • “Ominibox” predictions - how to enable/disable
  • “Chrome Instant” - search results and in-line prediction serving/logging
  • Google search locale
  • Phishing/malware protections - how to enable/disable
  • Navigation error tips - enable/disable
  • Google Update - (and those component ID tags)
  • Installation tokens, Promotional tags/tokens
  • Usage stats and crash reports - enable/disable
    
• SRWare Iron Browser - A Private Alternative To Chrome? - InsanityBit - I found this post to be very helpful in understanding the benefits that I was seeking to have in SRWare Iron. It is pretty clear the writer takes a position against SRWare Iron’s advertised benefits over stock Chrome/Chromium builds. After reading you can do additional research and come to your own conclusions. I found it very helpful and it led me to personally drop using SRWare Iron and just stick with my own tweaked-out version of Chromium.
  
• Chrome vs Iron (Privacy Comparison) with Poll for Chrome users - MalwareTips forum - This discussion thread contains discussion (and content) based on the previous link. It also touches on the Dragon build version, and has some screen shots of privacy features options in Dragon.
  
• Google Chrome Security Settings and Configuration Guide for Enterprise - Root777 - Ajit Gaddam has a really super post that outlines recommendations for a more secure enterprise deployment of Chrome. Even if you aren’t deploying it in an organization, I found the discussion and points super-helpful. Lots of background information. Some changes are made in Group Policy Editor, but there are tips that can be followed for manual configurations.
  
• Policy List - The Chromium Projects - List of policies that Chrome refers to and uses. Note that Chrome and Chromium policy settings will have different locations in the Registry depending on build.

Rolling your own Privacy Build of Chrome - Assistive Tools and Tips

If you don’t like the idea of making a lot of manual setting and configuration changes, then there are a number of excellent utilities and Chrome extensions that can assist you with the process.

In fact, these may be the only tools and tips most average privacy tweakers of Chrome need.

• How to remove Google Chrome installation ID for anonymous surfing? - TechTrickz - These are two older tools that remove the unique “client_id” for your chrome browser. I can’t find a direct link to Abelssoft’s UnChrome tool any longer but some download sites still have it. Chrome Privacy Protector from Aquila is still around Chrome Privacy Protector. I don’t know if these will work with “portable” versions of Chrome or not.  In fact, according to this post Chrome to ditch unique ID, sort of via The Download Blog back in 2010, this feature should now be ditched.
  
• Privacy manager - Chrome Web Store - I really like this Chrome add on. It provides awesome granular control over primary privacy settings, cookie handling, and some network behavior. I can’t believe I haven’t been using this tool from the very beginning! For a deeper review, see this AddictiveTips blog post: Privacy Manager: Chrome Security Settings & Junk Data Cleaning.
  
• Privacyfix by Privacychoice - Chrome Web Store - this Chrome add-on allows you to make specialized privacy setting tweaks to your Chrome browser. It is really easy to follow and does a great job explaining the options and makes it easy to change/restore the settings depending on what you need to accomplish.
  
• Adblock Plus - Chrome Web Store - Block most ads in Chrome and the tacking stuff that comes with them.
  
• FlashBlock - Chrome Web Store - Block Flash media from auto-launching without your permission.
  
• Google Analytics Opt-out Add-on (by Google) - Chrome Web Store - Use to instruct Google Analytics JavaScript to not sent any info about the website you are on to Google Analytics. More tips and background on this particular privacy subject here: Keep Google From Tracking Your Every Move Online - How-To Geek
  
• How to Optimize Google Chrome for Maximum Privacy - How-To Geek - Additional tips and info on tweaking Chrome for privacy.
  
• How to Set your Google Chrome for Maximum Privacy|Set google for privacy - Hack How - Additional tips and info on tweaking Chrome for privacy.

Cheers

--Claus V.

Claus’s iPhone App List

As promised, here is a listing, semi-categorized, of iOS iPhone apps I’m using on my iPhone 5.

All links will be to the iTunes App Store page unless otherwise noted. I’ve added a permanent link on the sidebar under “Claus’s Toolbox”.

I’m only listing Apps that I use (or plan to purchase relatively soon for use). There very well may be “better” apps of a similar function, but the point is these are the ones I am using. If you want to drop a comment on a recommendation of your own, that’s fine and if it is on-topic and something I would actually consider using, I might just approve it. If the comment seems like comment spam or is for an App that I’m not at all interested in for whatever reason, it probably won’t be added. This post isn’t to create a marketplace; it’s for me to self-reference and primarily be a way to recommend/share Apps with the few family and friends who have iPhone discussions with me.

A mini price-range key:

• free = free. May or may not be ad-supported. That said, if it is ad-supported or pop-up in-app notifications to upgrade to a paid-version are too annoying or obtrusive, the app is deleted.
• $ = $.99 to $2.99 range.
• $$ = $3 to $7.99 range.
• $$$ = $8 to $9.99 range
• $$$$ = over $9.99

Note that when posted, some apps may be on a special pricing discount for holiday or promotions. I’ll try to keep an eye on things but it’s only a rough guide.

I’m not sure I have my categorizations really dialed in quite the way I want yet. Those may change.
I’ll eventually get around to adding very-short app descriptions.

“Default” apps that come installed/bundled with the iOS don’t get listed.

I have a few great Apps I won’t list for privacy reasons; banking/insurance/shipping/specific shopping/vendors, etc. Just because you don’t see those listed, doesn’t mean I don’t use them.

Finally, just because all these apps fit on and run on my iPhone 5 (64 GB), currently iOS 6.0.2, doesn’t mean they will all fit on your own iPhone.

Here’s the list.

Core Apps

• Byline - $
• Chrome - free
• Gmail - free
• Google Maps - free
• MiniKeePass - free
• Wave Alarm - free (note I sprung for the in-app $ paid version)
• Wave Timer - free (note I sprung for the in-app $ paid version)

Productivity/Organization Apps

• Agenda Calendar - $
• Clear - $
• Due - $$
• Easy Note + To Do - $
• Grocery List - Buy Me a Pie! - $

Weather Apps

• NOAA Hi-Def Radar - $
• The Weather Channel® Max - $$
• WeatherMap+ - $

Text/Reading Apps

• Adobe Reader for iPhone - free
• Byword - $
• Kindle - free

Networking/IT/SysAdmin Apps

• Deep Whois - free
• Emerald Time - free
• Fing - Network Scanner - free
• Mocha iSys - free
• Mocha VNC for iPhone - $$
• IPv4 Subnet Calculator - $
• Network Ping Lite - free
• Networking Toolkit - free
• Nice Trace - traceroute - $
• Speedtest.net Mobile Speed Test - free
• TeamViewer HD for Remote Control - free - (note seems to work best on the remote system with an installed version of TeamViewer rather than TeamViewer Portable…maybe that was just me…)

Media Apps

• ABC Player - free
• ESPN ScoreCenter - free
• KUHF News/Classical 91.7 - free
• Naturespace - free/in-app $
• NBC - free
• NPR Music - free
• NPR News - free
• PBS - free
• PRI - free
• Science Friday - free
• SomaFM Radio Player - $$
• TED - free
• TV.com - free
• Vimeo - free
• YouTube - free

Specialized Utilities

• Converter Plus - free
• Decibel 10th - free
• Find My iPhone - free
• iHandy Carpenter - $
• Spyglass -$$
• Survival Guide - free

Photography

• Adobe Photoshop Express - free/in-app $ upgrade

Health/Fitness/Education/Fun

• iHikeGPS - $$
• Learn German: Babbel - free

Hardware Support
These are the primary “hardware” items I use (or will be using) with my iPhone. Note: Price rating system suspended here. Do the research if you are curious.

• Jawbone JAMBOX Wireless Speaker - Christmas present from Lavie.
• Jawbone (version 2) - (obtained back in 2008) - still running strong, though highly battered.
• Jawbone ERA - I don’t have this unit yet but will almost certainly be purchasing it in the next few weeks. Since my original Jawbone unit is almost six years old, has survived numerous traumas and still works great, I’m pretty much sold on the quality and performance of this manufacturer rather than others out there. I’m mostly just upgrading to the ERA model since it can support Bluetooth syncing with two devices concurrently. That is a must -- having multiple phones on my person. I considered the ICON model as well but I’ve come accustomed to the version 2 size so there you go.

Previously Used Apps (free) Upgraded to Purchased Versions or Alternatives
These are apps that I previously had on my iPhone but later upgraded to purchased versions and/or removed to make way for another/different version of the same app function. They are still highly recommended.

• Commander Compass Lite - free
• iHandy Level Free - free
• Mocha VNC Lite - free
• MapQuest - free
• MyRadar Weather Radar - free

Still pending purchase/installation - (sooner or later)

• Hurricane Tracker - $
• Hurricane - $
• iFileExpress - free
• Documents To Go - $$$
• Photo Manager Pro - $

Hope you find this helpful.

--Claus V.