When AOL Doesn't Play Well With Others
By John Gilroy
Thursday, November 30, 2000; Page E04
Q. I have an Internet service provider installed on my Dell computer. I decided to sign up for AOL, and now my copy of Netscape is messed up.
A. I am the first to rant and rave when vendors start peddling invasive code. But to be fair, let's not blame AOL until we understand some of the basics.
When you install AOL, it asks you if you want to make AOL your default Internet service provider. The recommended answer in this dialogue box is "no," but it appears that our reader clicked the "yes" button to choose AOL as the default. Since the Windows operating system allows for a single default dialer, this move can cause problems for other ISP setups.
Specifically, our reader now finds the AOL program launching every time Netscape is run. To stop AOL from doing this: Close AOL. Go to the Start menu and select Settings, Control Panel, Internet Options. In that Internet control panel, click on the Connections tab. Under the dial-up heading, choose the non-AOL dial software you would like to use.
Then check the "Dial whenever a network connection is not present" button and click on the "Set Default" button. Click OK. Your system will then restart with the new settings.
AOL has an explanation of this for its users under the keyword "default provider." I am certainly not the president of the Steve Case Fan Club, but let's try to cut the guy some slack when it is due.
There were reports over the summer about a flaw in Netscape that could be exploited for nefarious purposes. Is it safe to use Netscape?
Yes--again.
Should I date this question summer 2000, 1999 or perhaps 2001? Every time a Web browser is released, users examine it under a microscope. Some attempt what is called a "Samaritan hack," a well-intentioned search for weaknesses, followed by notification of the vendor.
The world's best programmers can't come up with perfect code. As long as there are new iterations of browsers, there will be security concerns. The most recent security news, for instance, is that someone has found a new way to exploit a security hole in older Internet Explorer versions (4.x through 5.01) that allows someone to take information from your cookie file.
The garden-variety computer user who reads this column should prioritize security concerns: Make backups every day, have current anti-virus software running, don't randomly open attachments and don't allow ActiveX code to run on your machine. Updating browsers is a concern, but not the highest. It is reasonable to have the latest patches to browsers, but this is like putting locks on your windows and leaving the front door open. Well intentioned, but misdirected.
How does Bonzi Software speed up AOL?
Bonzi Software is completely separate from AOL. It has a product called InternetBoost '99 that advertises that it increases speed on the Internet.
It does this by adjusting how Windows runs Internet protocols, the standard way computers exchange information over the Net. In this case, we're talking about transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP), which in Windows is normally set up to optimize transmission rates over local area networks, not dial-up modem access.
Products such as Bonzi's Internet Boost (http://www.bonzi.com/netboost/netboost99.asp, $30) alter the Windows TCP/IP stack so it maximizes throughput for your dial-up connection to the Internet, not a local network. It competes with products such as CBS Software's SpeedConnect Internet Accelerator (http://www.cbs-soft.com, $39).
Vendors have claimed speed boosts in the range of 200 percent for some of these products. My disbelief, however, has not been suspended. I view third-party software that modifies Windows' inner workings with a great deal of trepidation; any increase in speed could result in an unstable system.
John Gilroy of Item Inc. is heard on WAMU-FM radio's "The Computer Guys" at 1 p.m. on the first Tuesday of the month. Send your questions to him in care of The Washington Post, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071 or via e-mail at jgilroy@iteminc.com. |
