AntiVirus Software

For a while now, a big topic in the tech industry is antivirus software.  With so many viruses, trojans, and malware out there, you need to do something to keep your computer (and it's data) safe on the Internet.  The general consensus is you need a good antivirus program.  But I'd like that challenge that assumption.  I got my first computer in 1994 and I've been on the Internet since day 1.  In the past almost 20 years I have never had a virus attack my computer.  But this wasn't because of really good antivirus software running on my computer - the truth is I have never installed AV software onto my computer.  I've managed to stay virus-free strictly through safe computer practices and commonsense.

Before I talk about how I stay safe, I wanted to briefly talk about the history of computer viruses and antivirus software.  In the 80s and 90s, computer viruses were spread from computer to computer via floppy disks (as the Internet didn't really exist).  At the time pretty much all viruses would destroy your data or make your computer useless until you reinstalled the operating system.  Starting in the late 90s, virus writers learned that there is monetary value to the data they were destroying.  The data might contain credit card numbers, bank accounts, a list of email addresses that can be sold to others, etc.  They could even "hijack" a computer and use it to attack others.  So the goal of virus writers had pretty much changed 180 degrees during.

As for antivirus software, in the 80s and 90s your choices were very limited, and few of them were free.  But as long as you were careful about what floppy disks you stuck into your computer you were pretty much safe.  Soon the now heavyweights of the industry (Norton, Symantec, McAfee, etc.) released good AV software.  But once your software was out of date, you might as well be unprotected.  Moving into the 2000s and they offered online subscriptions that kept itself up to date (so long as you kept giving them money).  Fortunately nowadays there are a ton of good free options out there including Microsoft Security Essentials, Avast, AVG, Ad-Aware, MalwareBytes, and Avira just to name a few.

But I personally can't recommend any antivirus program regardless of cost.  Why you ask?  Simple, all antivirus software suffers from the same problem - loss of system performance.  In order for antivirus software to function properly it needs to be fully integrated into the operating systems.  It's not enough to scan files, it must "watch" what every program is doing on the system at all times and be ready in an instant to stop a program it deems to be suspicious.  This level of integration means everything on your computer runs slower.  I wish I had benchmark numbers, but installing any AV program significantly slows down your computer!  In fact, I've often said that having AV software installed on your computer is only slightly better than having a virus on your computer.

Despite this system impact, AV software is just a necessary evil, right?  Well, there have been a number of articles released in the past year or two (from technical places like Toms Hardware) that question the effectiveness of AV software.  They found most AV software does not fully protect the user but in fact only gives the user a false sense of security (in addition to slowing down everything they are doing).  So why not ditch AV software altogether and replace it with good practices and commonsense?  That's exactly what I've done for almost 20 years.

So what exactly am I doing (or not doing)?  For starters, be careful what you download and run.  I'll only download and run software from trusted sites (Microsoft, Adobe, Google, etc.).  If there is a file I wish to download and run but I don't know the site, I will first download and install the file inside a Virtual Machine.  That way if the file ends up being a virus it cannot infect my machine.

Secondly, protect your browser/email program against infection, since most viruses will enter your machine via web page and/or email.  For the love of God don't use IE or Outlook.  These are the most targeted and insecure pieces of software.  I recommend Firefox and/or Chrome for a browsers and Thunderbird as the email client.

Next, it's important to keep your computer and all it's software up to date.  On a regular basis run Windows Update as well as updates for other software (such as your web browser, email, Flash, etc.).  There's nothing worse than getting a virus simply because you were running an older version of a program.

The last step is to protect your computer against forced attacks.  Other than keeping your computer up to date, the most important thing is to run a firewall.  If your router has a built-in firewall, enable it (and make sure your router firmware is up to date while you're at it).  Chances are, that's all you need to do.  You can run a firewall on your computer itself - it's just redundant.  I disable firewalls when I'm in my home network (as I trust all my computers), but I enable firewalls when on strange or foreign networks.  Unless you do a lot of home networking, just enable the firewall on your computer and be done with it.

There you go, those simple steps should allow you to be safe on the Internet without the issues associated with AV software.  Oh, if you're wondering "how do you KNOW you've never had a virus if you don't run AV software?"  Easy - there are simple ways I am willing to double-check my computers for viruses without suffering the problems of AV software.  Those methods are:

1. On average every 2 years I reinstall the operating system on my computer.  Before reinstall the operating system but after backing up my data, I install one or more AV software programs to my computer.  This allows me to scan my system and verify I'm still virus free, and since right afterwards I reinstall the operating system the AV software is completely blown away.
2. I can boot my computer into read-only mode using what's called Windows PE.  From WinPE I can scan my files to ensure there are no viruses.  And since this is read-only mode, when I boot my computer normally the AV software is gone.
3. About once a quarter I backup my data onto an external drive.  I can then plug that drive into a test computer (or Virtual Machine) with AV software installed and again scan my data.

I hope I've challenged the conventional thinking about AV software.  You can be perfectly safe without an AV program installed.  If however you absolutely must install AV software, might I suggest a program that allows you to disable real-time protection and only perform a scan at your request.  Microsoft Security Essentials has such a feature, but I'm sure others do as well.  This is a good compromise as you get some protection but without all of the system impact of real-time monitoring.

Sci-Fi Review - Star Trek: Deep Space 9

Last time I talked about ST:TNG, so the next show in succession would be Star Trek: Deep Space 9 (herein referred to as just "DS9").  DS9 is definitely a show I've had mixed opinions about.  When it first aired in 1993 I watched the first season or two before I lost interest.  I think what turned me off was how radically different DS9 is from TNG.  Whereas TNG takes place on a Federation starship exploring the galaxy, DS9 takes place on an alien space station.  Very little technology is Federation, and many of the characters aren't Starfleet.  To me these changes were just too much and I stopped watching the show after the first few seasons.

Years later I went back and rewatched DS9 and it was then that I realized these differences were actually the shows strengths.  I believe the best aspects of DS9 are the character developments as well as the story writing.  Because the location and character differences between DS9 and TNG it allowed for stories that would never have worked in TNG.  TNG is set inside the Federation which depicts this perfect human future where crime, poverty, and disease are pretty much gone.  Compare that to DS9 which is set in an alien space station with many non-human races which allowed for "darker" plots and characters developments such as cheating, stealing, murder, betrayal, war, etc.

As for the cast, you have the leader in the form of Benjamin Sisko.  Sisko is a big departure from Picard (and not just because he's black).  Sisko is a widower and a father.  We also discover quickly that he is a religious icon to the Bajorans.  I think Sisko's character took a few years to get going.  But in later seasons you see the depth of his character and the acting ability of Avery Brooks.  There are even episodes where Sisko makes very un-Federation decisions such as lying, cheating, and even being a party to murder.

Kira Nerys is second in command and a Bajoran.  She grew up a terrorist fighting for her freedom.  She has some violent tendencies just like Worf (which is a trait I didn't care for), but unlike Worf they don't bother me in her character.  I think it's because Kira is trying to change her ways and forget her past.  On DS9 Kira kind of represents the "religious" aspect, which is another departure from TNG.  TNG was all about cold hard technology, a future where religion is seemingly gone.  But with Kira and the Bajorans they bring an religious element to the show which is nice to see.

Jadzia Dax is the science officer on DS9.  Dax is kind of the voice of reason, knowledge, and experience.  She is a non-human species and has the memories of multiple previous lifetimes.  This is used to write good episodes, but unfortunately sometimes they wrote so rather bland episodes based around this.  As a result, my feelings about her character are definitely mixed.  I never did understand why she left the show with one season left.  Did she choose to leave or was she written out?

Julian Bashir is the young and very eager doctor on the show.  He is one of my more favorite characters, especially in later seasons when it's revealed he was genetically altered as a child (which is illegal in the Federation).  So Bashir's whole character is a contradiction in the "perfect" TNG Federation.  But his "super-human" abilities make for some great story lines.

Miles O'Brien is a supporting character they brought over from TNG.  I was so glad they did this as his character is so likable.  He represents the "everyday man."  He's married with a family.  Another big distinction is he's not an enlisted officer in Starfleet.  They did a lot of great stories around O'Brien, many of which seemed to be to his detriment - such as being accused of a crime he didn't commit, forced to endure prison time for a different crime, and being hunted down and attempted to be killed for no good reason.  The characters of O'Brien and Bashir had a great onscreen rapport.

Odo is the stations shape-shifting security officer.  I think he was mainly written into the show to showcase the recently created CGI ability to morph characters and shapes.  At the time this was groundbreaking and had only been seen in big-budget films such as T2.  I liked Odo's character as one who likes order and is puzzled by social interactions.  I guess you could say he's a fastidious introvert - something I can totally understand.

Being added to the show halfway through, Worf is the second character to be brought to the show from TNG.  I didn't care for Worf in TNG, but his character is a little more likable in DS9.  I think it's less that his character is likable, and more than the introduction of his character made possible additional stores such as the war with the Klingons.

Quark is the station's Ferengi bartender.  Quark epitomizes everything the Federation is not; lying, cheating, stealing, gambling, drinking, sex, manipulation, extortion, etc.  But his character is so much fun on the show.  The constant cat and mouse game between him and Odo is fun and even serves to lighten the mood of the show.  Odd that is takes such a "dark" character to lighten the mood and bring humor to an otherwise dark show.

Jake is Sisko's son and one of those characters that didn't get as much screen time as he deserved.  He did have the ongoing friendship with Nog (a Ferengi) which served to show that even in this less than ideal location people could overcome their differences and befriend others.  I liked that the writers took Jake in a different direction - it was expected the son of a Starfleet captain would himself join Starfleet, but he didn't.

Ezri Dax was written in to take the place of Jadzia after she left the show.  Even though she was only on the show for 1 season, it felt like a large number of the last season's episodes revolved around her.  This included love affairs with both Bashir and Worf.  Ezri was not a favorite of mine.  I found her character to be a little whiny at times.

The last character I want to talk about is Elim Garak.  I guess you could say I literally saved the best for last as Garak is easily my favorite character in DS9. Technically Garak is not a main cast member but a supporting cast member - although he's probably in at least half of all DS9 episodes.  Garak is the ultimate mysterious character.  He's a ex-spy which means by nature he doesn't want to discuss his past.  So you learn bits and pieces about his character over the 7 years of the show.  He has some of the best lines such as "lying is a skill like any other - and if you want to maintain a level of excellence you have to practice constantly."

Of course, no analysis of DS9 would be complete without mentioning the war with the Dominion.  The Dominion was introduced at the end of season 2 and became the single largest ongoing plot in the show.  The Dominion is one of the most well-crafted foes in any show.  The main antagonist is actually 3 different species of aliens.  The Dominion is portrayed as technically superior to the Federation which puts the Federation is a uphill battle to the very end.  These episodes are griping and powerful and one of DS9's best attributes.

Another big change with DS9 was the introduction of large plot lines spanning multiple episodes.  In TNG no plot line spanned more than 2 consecutive episodes.  But with DS9 they wrote plots that spanned 10 or more episodes - making the war with the Dominion possible.  Yes this is more common nowadays (e.g. Lost, 24, and Prison Break), but back in the 90s few TV shows did this.  Broadcasters were afraid that by having such long plot lines that unless people started watching at the very beginning they wouldn't choose to start watching a series in the middle for fear of being lost and confused.

With everything I loved about DS9, there were a few things I didn't care for.  Later on they introduced the character "Vic Fontaine."  He's a holographic singer/performer set in the 1950s/60s.  Ugh, these episodes are so boring.  And any of the episodes where they visit the parallel universe are bland.  But other than those two exceptions, DS9 has really good writing.

My favorites DS9 episodes are "Paradise," "The Wire," "Civil Defense," "Improbable Cause" / "The Die is Cast," "The Visitor," "Statistical Probabilities," and all of the Dominion story arc episodes.

So that's my rundown of DS9.  Easily one of my favorite shows, just a hair below TNG on my all-time favorite shows list.  If you're a Star Trek fan and you've never seen DS9, or if you didn't care for it and stopped watching, I encourage you to give it another try.

Project Dreamcast - Repair part 3

Continuing the repair from last time, I'm still working on the GD-ROM drive.  I received the surface mount radial capacitors and I need to remove the old ones and solder in the new ones.  I have a lot of experience working with through-hole components, but very little experience working with surface mount components.  There are several possible ways of removing surface mount capacitors.  One common technique is to use a heat gun.  I've even see videos of people literally pulling them off (no heat) - but this could damage the board.

I decided to try the two soldering iron method.  Using two irons, you heat up both pins at the same time and then pull the part off using the irons.  I borrowed a soldering station from a friend to use as the second iron.  This method worked pretty good.  I got all the caps removed with no issues.

Before installing the new caps, I tested their ESR.  The 100uf/16V and 100uf/6.3V tested at .3 and the 47uf/6.3V tested at .7.  These numbers are lower than the expected maximum in the chart from last time, and significantly lower than the previous values for the old caps.

Soldering in the new caps was more difficult that I had expected.  It took longer to get the caps soldered into place.  And with some of the caps placed close together, it was hard to get my soldering iron down on the pad.  But I eventually got then all soldered into place.

I reassembled the GD-ROM drive and tested the system.  Here's where I got the bad news.  It will spin the disc, and the laser lens will move up and down trying to focus, but it will not move the laser assembly up and down the track.  This tells me something is wrong with the GD-ROM drive, it's not even seeing the disc so it won't try and read the tracks.  This is a loss of functionality.  Before replacing the caps it would move the lens and could at least ready music CDs.  But now it won't ready any disc.

So I must have messed something up.  Perhaps I created a short when soldering on the news caps.  I need to remove the circuit board and have a look under magnification.  It could be something as simple as the ribbon cable not seated properly.  And if all else fails, I may remove these new caps and replace them with through-hole capacitors which are easier to solder.

All that said, this Dreamcast is actually on the back-burner for right now.  I managed to get my hands on a second Dreamcast.  This one also came from eBay for $5.  It's the rare black USA Dreamcast including the controller.  It was listed as "broken" because it made a loud noise when you turn it on.  I've already found and fixed the problem.  The lens assembly moves back and forth on two metal rails.  These metal rails are held in place by screws.  One of the two rails popped out of place.  I put it back, secured the screw, and now the system works perfectly.  It read game discs, music CDs, as well as burned CDs such as DreamShell.

This new Dreamcast is going to be the system I mod going forward.  At some point in time I'll come back to this white Dreamcast and attempt to finish the repair.

Sci-Fi Review - Star Trek: The Next Generation

Continuing my Star Trek review, this time I wanted to talk about Star Trek: The Next Generation (herein referred to as just "TNG").  I would have to say that TNG is my favorite TV show of all time!  This show ran from 1987 - 1994, the golden years of my childhood if you will.  I was an impressionable 12 when TNG started.  I'll admit, I first started watching the show because it was set in space and had great special effects.  It was only after I grew up that I realized this show had everything from a well rounded cast, great acting, and superb writing.

Speaking of the cast, I'd like to briefly talk about each of the characters.  Starting at the top you have Captain Picard.  Let's face it, Picard is great because of the incredible acting of Patrick Stewart.  He played this role so perfectly.  Picard is confident and strong, and yet knows his weaknesses.  He is the perfect person to lead the show.  Second in command is William Riker - and here I have mixed feelings.  My problem isn't with Jonathan Frakes acting ability - more the character bio.  Riker is portrayed as a "ladies man."  Just as I didn't care for this attribute in Kirk, I don't like it in Riker.

Next you have Commander Data who was by far my favorite character period!  I loved the fact he was an android, no emotion and all logic.  Yet with a poor grasp of humor and social interactions.  Who knows, maybe this character resonated with me because of traits I see in myself.  Anyway, Brent Spiner played this character perfectly.  Some of my favorite episodes are Data-centered.  After Data you've got Geordi La Forge.  I always liked Geordi and his ability to diagnose and fix problems.  I think one reason I liked Geordi was because later in life I would get a Bachelors of Science in Engineering, although at the time TNG was running I had no idea I would become an engineer.  So inside I had the tendencies of an engineer but I didn't realize it yet.

The character of Worf never really spoke to me.  Obviously as a Klingon he's portrayed as more of the "don't think just smash it" mentality which is definitely not me.  I think Michael Dorn did a great job playing the role, and he has a commanding voice.  Even though his character was far from my favorite, he did provide some great comic relief.  The part where Q asks Worf if he's "eating any good books lately?" for example.

The ships doctor, Beverly Crusher, was a strong but caring female role.  I liked her character and I felt like she deserved more screen time and plots centered around her.  On the flip side you have Deanna Troi.  Whine, whine, whine.  Easily my least favorite character and the one I could do without.  And frequently when you have a Deanna episode you have her mother Lwaxana Troi - easily my least favorite reoccurring character.  There's just something about these two characters that make them so annoying to me.

Beyond the characters, TNG had some incredible visual effects.  They still look good today, which is saying a lot when you consider this show is 20 years old not to mention this was a weekly TV show with a limited budget.  I believe this is largely due to the fact that all space scenes were shot using models (this was before CGI took over).  For the longest time CGI space ships looked very fake.  They've since advanced to the point where it looks as good (or better than) models.  But back in the last 80s and into the 90s, shows could either use primitive CGI or real models.  Models were more expensive to make and shoot, but provided a more realistic show.  To go with the visuals you have the audio.  TNG (and all Star Trek series for that matter) is one of the few shows that uses a full orchestral audio recording.  Which is funny because when you think about "orchestral music in a TV show" you think that's not for me.  But it was perfectly executed and when you watch an episode you don't even realize it's there, but if it were missing you wouldn't enjoy it as much.

The writing staff on TNG was one of the best having produced many well-written episodes.  My favorites were "The Inner Light," "Data's Day," "Starship Mine," and "Times Arrow."

I could literally go on for days about TNG.  Such a great show with a lasting legacy.  I own all seasons on DVD and watch them end to end every couple of years.

Project Dreamcast - Repair part 2

Last time I talked about the repair efforts on the Dreamcast GD-ROM drive.  The new laser will read CDs, but will not read game discs.  As I said, I don't know if the trimmer needs adjusting or not.  But before I go that route, I wanted to check the rest of the GD-ROM drive.

Removing the entire GD-ROM drive assembly reveals the circuit board for the GD-ROM drive.  The GD-ROM circuit board has a total of 10 surface mount electrolytic capacitors on it.

Capacitors are frequently the cause of old electronics going bad.  Is it possible these old caps are preventing the GD-ROM drive from reading discs?  I just so happen to have an ESR meter which is the best way to test a capacitor to see if it's good or bad.

When testing ESR values, lower is better.  A high ESR value means the cap is going bad.  Here is a table of the capacitors, their rating, the current ESR, and the expected ESR value.

As you can see, every single capacitor has a higher than expected ESR value.  So before I try adjusting the trimmer on the laser, I want to replace these capacitors with new ones and see if that helps.  Unfortunately I don't have any surface mount capacitors in my parts box, so I'll need to order new caps.  I'll continue repair efforts in my next post once the replacement parts arrive.

The last thing I'll mention is the manufacture of the GD-ROM drive.  The initial manufacture of the GD-ROM drives was Yamaha, but later on Sega switched to Samsung.  From what I've heard, the Yamaha drives are much more reliable.  From other repair work I've done, I've run into a lot of bad capacitors on Samsung products, so I won't be surprised in the least if the capacitors are the problem with this drive.

Sci-Fi Review - Star Trek

As a self-proclaimed "nerd" I realize there is one thing missing from my blog - my personal views and opinions on classic Science-Fiction.  In this first installment in a series of posts I'll talk about Star Trek... the original Star Trek from the 1960s.

I'll start off by saying I LOVE Star Trek!  Star Trek is easily my favorite Sci-Fi program, beating out other heavy-weights such as Star Wars and Stargate.  As a kid I loved the space scenes, the futuristic nature of the show, the special effects, etc.  But as I've grown up with Star Trek, I've come to realize what makes Star Trek truly great isn't this "technical" aspect of the show but it's the character development and Gene Roddenberry's depiction of the future.  I guess you could call Gene the ultimate optimist.  His view of humanity's future was extremely positive.  In Star Trek he depicts a future with very little crime, disease, or pollution - one in which all mankind has learned to get along with everyone else, and in which the "goal" that drives people forward isn't the acquisition of wealth, power, or money but the driving force is betterment of mankind as a whole and increased knowledge and understanding.  That in and of itself is very radical thinking.  It creates this positive world in which you, the viewer, find yourself wanting to be a part of.  To see a future where you don't have to worry about food, money, or illness and can instead focus on learning and helping others is very captivating.  That's kind of the background of Star Trek in general.  But let's talk specifically about the Star Trek from the 1960s.

Even though I LOVE Star Trek, I just cannot watch the original Star Trek.  The problem has always been the low production value, I have a hard time getting past things like blocks of foam painted to look like rocks.  Having been born in the mid 70s, I grew up in a world post Star Wars.  This set a new standard for special effects in Sci-Fi.  So when I try and watch the original Star Trek, I have a hard time.  As such I've only seen a few episodes end to end.  And yes, it's hard to judge an entire show based upon one or two episodes.  I really should go back and sit down and watch the episodes.

Even though I haven't seen much of the original Star Trek, I have seen enough to know what I like and don't like.  Starting at the top, I never cared for Kirk.  He's portrayed as a "ladies man" which to me isn't what Sci-Fi is about.  I don't watch Sci-Fi to watch someone "hit" on every sexy alien they find.  Spock on the other hand, I always liked his cold hard logical aspect.  Beyond the big two - I liked Scotty the engineer, although I felt his accent was a bit thick.  Many of the other characters had less of an impression on me.  I liked that Gene included different nationalities, races, and sexes in his future.  Although the true impact of this is probably lost on me having grown up after the race and general equality movements of the 60s and 70s.

As for the technology of the show - some of the futuristic ideas have already become reality.  If you compare the Star Trek communicator to a modern cell phone (in size, design, and function) you'll find they are nearly identical.  We obviously don't have large star ships and faster than light space travel, but I would argue modern super computers probably exceed what is depicted in the show.

I guess to sum up, although the original Star Trek series isn't for me, it did lay the necessary groundwork for the future Star Trek series.

Project Dreamcast - Repair

As I said in my previous post, the Dreamcast I bought on eBay was listed as "broken."  When I got the unit I plugged it in and turned it on.  The system powers on and the welcome screen comes up.  The controllers work as does the VMU.  But the system will not read any discs; neither Dreamcast games nor music CDs.  This is actually a very common problem with the Dreamcast - in fact it's probably the single biggest problem that happens to Dreamcasts.  The lasers they used in the system tend to wear out quicker than other CD players and games systems.

Step one is always clean the laser lens.  Very carefully use a Q-tip and rubbing alcohol to wipe the lens.  You can also use compressed air as there is a second lens further down that you can't reach.  Neither of these worked for me, so I moved onto the common "fix" found on the Internet.  Every CD/DVD laser assembly has a trimmer that adjusts the power of the laser lens.  Note, a lot of people call this a potentiometer, but the technical name is a trimmer, or sometimes a trimmer potentiometer, or even a trimpot.  Here is a picture of the Dreamcast laser trimmer.

If you turn this trimmer clockwise you increase the power to the laser, counterclockwise to decrease the power.  The idea is to increase the power to the laser just to the point where it reads discs.  Increased power reduces the life of the laser, so this is at best a short-term fix.  Some people report that counterclockwise worked for them, but this doesn't make any sense.  Either way, you SLOWLY turn the trimmer clockwise and retest.  This is a long slow process of increasing the trimmer, testing, increasing again, etc.

Following this process I got it to read music CDs every time.  But game discs are another matter.  I got it to periodically read game discs, but most of the time it failed.  After several hours trying different settings, I decided to punt and try installing a new laser.  I purchased a JVC SPU-3200 laser assembly.  This is a functional replacement part for the Dreamcast.  Here's a picture of the new laser.

Replacing the laser was surprisingly easy.  There is one important task to remember when installing a new laser.  To protect the laser against static electricity, there should be a solder ball on the bottom of the laser.  You need to use a soldering iron to remove this solder ball.  After doing this you can reassemble the Dreamcast and test your new laser.

With the new laser installed, I tried a music CD.  It read the disc perfectly - this is good, I know the new lens is working.  However, it still won't read game discs.  At this point I'm not panicked.  I honestly don't know if new laser assemblies ship calibrated or not, so all I might need to do is calibrate the laser.  However, before I touch the trimmer on this new laser, I want to look at the rest of the GD-ROM drive circuitry.  What if there is another problem that is preventing it from reading game discs?  Next time I'll cover the continued effort to repair the Dreamcast.