Virtual PC 2007: Core programs #4

We've taken a look at Sandboxie and as lightweight solution it pans out. What if we wanted something more full-featured? For that we have virtual machines.

A virtual machine, as opposed to a physical one, is a platform that allows a guest OS run under an existing host. This means that the you can have more than one OS running simultaneously under your existing hardware. This allows a fantastic array of possibilities ranging from testing to security.

I'll center the discussion to Microsoft's Virtual PC 2007 which is the one I know best. There are many other choices to pick from, some with more or less features.

Virtual PC 2007 is a free Windows program  from Microsoft than can run both in 32 and 64 bits. It installs in your physical Windows machine (the host) from Xp on, and can run from Windows 98 SE to Vista plus many unsupported OSes such as Linux and Win95 & Win7. You must have the installation discs or ISO files for the guest OSes you wish to run as these are not provided. According to Microsoft's TOS installing the same OS as a guest in a virtual machine counts as if it were installed in a physical machine.

Once installed, the guest is totally unaware that it is running inside a virtual environment and behaves as you would expect it to on physical hardware. I see no impact on performance for everyday tasks. Only video playback can get jittery, but a better video card might solve this.

There are some limitations to Vpc2007, but the main ones are that there is no USB support, the virtual machine can only see one core and that the resolution is capped. Ram is the biggest requirement as you have to assign a portion of your physical memory to each virtual machine.

So what are some good uses for a VM? As I noted in the Sandboxie review, it is for keeping your physical machine clean and safe. Each time something unwanted happens inside the VM, you can delete the session and start afresh. Here are some examples from my own use:

If within the VM:

I visit a dubious site, I kill the VM

Open an unwanted attachment, I kill the VM

Try out a program and then decide I don't want it, I kill the VM

Need to run a program from the net only once, I kill the VM

Lend my computer to someone, I kill the VM

Get an unwanted update, I kill the VM

Download a file and it turns out to be malware, I kill the VM

Toolbars and other crapware get installed, I kill the VM

And if I'm done for the the day, I kill the VM

Each time I restart from a known pristine state. In fact the only occasions when I save the changes is when there are security updates.

Theoretically my physical hardware stays fresh. In all the years from using VMs this has been the case and I've never had an infection or cause for complaint.

Virtual machines are also a great way to run legacy software.

By the looks of it this program won't be likely ever to be updated again, so in some years down the road I'll migrate to Vmware or similar.

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=4580

Sandboxie: Core programs #3

Remember those boxes of crayons that were all shiny and the crayons themselves so neatly ordered by color rainbowlike? Back in the day, I think I coveted those. Unfortunately, I was not so neat myself and after some use, the crayons would turn ugly and unsightly, each smudged with pieces of its neighbors. Some people were more careful, mostly girls, and could keep them tidy even after prolonged use.

Something similar happens with computers. When you first get them running, they are all fast and zippy and the program menus and desktop uncluttered. But then, as you install programs and stuff, things begin to slow down, viruses to creep in and experience to go down. Sure, you could keep your computer in a pristine condition by not installing anything or connecting it to the net, but that's a no go. Could one, so to speak, have her cake and eat it too? Sandboxie could be your easiest solution.

Sandboxie is a program that places your web browser inside the virtual sandbox. The theory is that anything that happens inside the sandbox is stopped from making permanent changes to your computer, and still run as normal. What happens in the sandbox, stays in the sandbox. After each use, or every time she wishes to, the user can just wipe or delete the contents of the sandbox and start afresh. The capability of running the web browser inside the sandbox is not limited to that program only. Once installed, the user can run many , not all, programs within the sandbox. This lets her try new programs, and if she doesn't like them, remove them completely. No traces left behind.

The main focus of the program is security. If something harmful were to happen, the damage is contained inside the sandbox, so surfing is rendered safer. Theoretically, it is not 100% malware proof, but it is of great help nonetheless. Mixing sensitive sites, such as online banking, and regular surfing is still not recommended inside the same sandbox.

In my experience, some complex programs and others that require restarting the computer for installation cannot run correctly, so the user has to try another idea from her toolbox such as a virtual machine which I'll review next.

It is available for free at:

www.sandboxie.com

If you wish more about its security aspects there is a Security Now! podcast episode (#172) on:

http://www.grc.com/securitynow.htm

Quick Macros Review: Core Programs 1

For us, computer users, there is a group of four or five core programs that are so useful that figuratively we cannot live without. Each of us has different preferences and needs which  reflect in what we use. The rise of mobile devices and applications has shifted the focus towards smartphones and tablets, but there are still some persons, like me, that prefer the larger screens and more computing power; that is why my core programs are still run on a PC. I thought to review them for anyone out there who is listening, because these might prove useful to them too. I'll start in this post with my macro program.

I'm a man of routine. No, I don't mean that I'm boring, but that I lean towards a more ordered life. Part of that is trying to eliminate wasted time. Doing the same things over and over again can take big chunks of your life. Now, that's boring. Even with computers, most people still have to fire up the machine, open the browser, open the several favorite webpages one reads daily, navigate within those, write several mails with perhaps identical headings if the job requires it, and once in a while process a large number of items, such as files or filenames, cell contents in Excel, or the like. Wouldn't it be wonderful if one could achieve this and more with just the press of a button and more efficiently to boot? Well, this is what a macro program can do for you.

My favorite macro program from the start, bar none, is Quick Macros. Quick Macros is developed by Gintaras Didzgalvis and as of this writing is in version 2.3.3.7. I first began to use it back in version 1. It is lightweight yet powerful. For my purposes I only use a sliver of its potential, yet, I doubt that anyone who gets deep into it will be disappointed. It is accessible, requiring from you just some basic programming concepts.

Writing a macro script is fast. You can write something useful within a minute or something more elaborate if the task requires it. The language is clear and intuitive. The code itself is color-coded for easy navigation. For those less inclined to programming, there is a handy integrated recorder that lets you record the precise mouse movements and keystrokes you wish to replicate in the future. With  just that you are good to go. There are several triggers for launching a macro. You can trigger one with a keystroke, mouse click or movement, window event, and even by time. The macro runs until it finishes, gets stuck, or if you decide to end it prematurely by pressing the pause key.

If the need arises, you can export/import the macro files or even make a .exe file to run on another computer that doesn't have quick macros.

The documentation is a bit abstruse, but by looking at the examples one can figure out what each function does most of the time. There is a forum at its homepage with active participation of Gintaras. Answers to most questions can be found there, which sometimes take the form of "how can I…?".

Probably the biggest caveat is that you cannot run two macros simultaneously. Yet, most of the time one can think of a workaround. Also, do not assume that the macros work instantaneously. They do take their time following the script you give them, which can take a while for longer ones. This is normal and still a much better deal than doing the tasks by hand. If I remember rightly, it takes a 10th of a second to pass from instruction to instruction; what takes a longer while is waiting for events to happen, such as waiting for a window to be created.

So far I have used it to launch Internet radio at a certain time, install media players and other programs quickly, resize several windows to a preferred layout, automate futures order entry, play chess with just my voice (more on that on a future post), fill in databases easier, kill pop-up windows, and even edit other macro codes within the same QM screen.

The most obvious alternative is Autohotkey which is free. I tried it a couple of times, but I found the learning curve much much too steep and the flow of writing and launching more difficult. Nonetheless, it also has great capabilities. AHK once could pull off something that I just couldn't  get QM to perform.



Screenshot



This is paid software ($40), but you can try it out free for 30 days. If you're in need of something of this sort, it is well worth it.

www.quickmacros.com/