Blocking Spyware Before It's Installed
There's no other major item most of us own that is as confusing, unpredictable and unreliable as our personal computers. Everybody has questions about them, and we aim to help.
Here are a few questions about computers I've received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability. This week my mailbox contained questions about antispyware software, Powerline adapters and the Mac mouse button.
Q: I set my parents up with a new Dell PC, and included antispyware software that I run periodically to clean up the computer. I recently discovered they had more than 200 instances of spyware on the machine. This may be because my 81-year-old father surfs porn sites ALL the time (this isn't a joke). Is there any way to keep his computer bulletproof and safe?
A: Assuming you can't dissuade him from the porn sites, which are common sources of spyware and adware, your best option is to switch to a type of antispyware program that blocks the installation and operation of spyware and adware programs as it is happening, rather than waiting until they are installed to clear them out. The best program I have tested of this type is Spy Sweeper from Webroot, but there are others. These types of programs usually aren't free, but their prices are modest and they would allow your dad to spend his golden years as he sees fit.
Q: Last week, you recommended Powerline adapters that can route an Internet connection over the regular electrical wires in your house. I have two questions about these products. If a home has two different circuit-breaker boxes, can adapters plugged into outlets connected to the different boxes communicate? And, could a neighbor who shares an outside electrical line potentially spy on my Internet usage?
A: I am not an expert on electrical systems, and neither of these circumstances applied to my tests. So I asked Netgear, the manufacturer of the XE104 adapters I reviewed last week.
The company says that if the two adapters are plugged into outlets that are on totally independent electrical "loops," they won't be able to communicate, because the electrical current itself wouldn't pass between the loops. However, Netgear claims it is "extremely rare" for a home built after 1950 to have two wholly independent loops, even if they have two different circuit-breaker boxes. The company says that, at least in newer homes, separate circuit boxes are often linked.
However, I would add that electrical layouts vary so much that there is no guarantee that any two electrical outlets will have a connection that will work with Powerline adapters. I believe it will work in the vast majority of cases, but not all. In my home, which is 36 years old, the adapters did work between rooms with different circuit-breaker boxes.
On the security issue, the company says it is theoretically possible, but very unlikely, for a neighbor on your same outside electrical line to spy on a network running over your interior electrical wires. To do so, Netgear says, the neighbor's house and yours would have to lack a filter between them, and those are commonly present. Even then, a nosy neighbor would have to know that you have a Powerline network -- and buy a compatible adapter -- in order to access your network.
This is likelier, but still not very probable, in an apartment building, because circuits in such buildings are often shared. The company does include optional encryption software for such situations, so that even if a neighbor can snoop on you, he wouldn't be able to decipher your network traffic.
Q: I am thinking of buying an Apple MacBook, but I notice it only has one button below the touch pad, and no obvious scrolling control. Without buying and using a mouse, how can you right-click and scroll on a Mac laptop?
A: The Mac operating system and Apple software do in fact support right-clicking, displaying the same sort of pop-up menus that Windows does. However, on a Mac laptop with the single button, the traditional method for right-clicking has been a clumsy one: holding the Control key while clicking the button.
Now, the latest Mac laptops have a much easier and cleverer method for right-clicking: you just place two fingers on the track pad and click the button. It's fast and easy, though still not as good as if Apple abandoned its odd mouse dogma and simply built dual buttons into its laptops.
Also, the new Mac laptops have a method for scrolling that I find superior to the methods common on Windows laptops: you just place two fingers on the touch pad and drag them up or down together. It quickly becomes second nature.
如何完成MacBook的右键及卷动操作
在我们大多数人拥有的大件电器中，再没有什么比个人电脑更令人费解、更变幻莫测的了。每个人或许都有些关于电脑的问题，而《莫博士信箱》将为您提供帮助。
本周我将回答读者有关反间谍软件、电线适配器以及在苹果笔记本电脑上如何进行右键以及卷动操作等问题。
问：我给父母新买了一台戴尔电脑(Dell)，并安装了反间谍软件以便定期清理电脑。最近我发现他们的电脑上有200多个间谍软件。这或许是我81岁的父亲总是浏览色情网站造成的（这不是开玩笑）。有没有什么办法能让他的电脑“刀枪不入”，保持安全？
答：色情网站是间谍软件以及广告软件的常见来源。假设你无法说服他不再浏览此类网站，那么最好的选择就是改用那些能够实时堵截间谍软件安装或运行的软件程序，而不是那种等到间谍软件安装后才清除它的程序。在我试用过的此类软件中，最好的当属Webroot的Spy Sweeper，当然还有其他选择。此类软件一般都不是免费的，不过它们的价格适中，而且能够让你的爸爸继续度过他激情燃烧的黄金年华。
问：上周你推荐了能够通过普通电线接入互联网的电线适配器(Powerline adapter)。我对这种产品有两个疑问。如果家里有两个断路器，适配器插入不同断路器网络的插座之后能否相互连接？另外，和我家共用外部电线的邻居是否能够暗中监视我的互联网使用情况？
答：我不是电路系统专家，而且你的这两个问题也不在我的测试范围之内。因此，我请教了XE104适配器的生产商Netgear。我在两周前曾对这个产品进行了点评。
该公司说，如果两个适配器插在两个独立电路的插座上，它们不会彼此相连，因为电流本身没有在两个电路之间流动。不过，Netgear称，1950年以后修建的房屋中有两个完全独立的“回路”的可能性微乎其微，即使它们有两个不同的断路器。该公司还说，至少在较新的房屋中独立安装的多个电路箱通常都是相连的。
不过，我想补充的是电路布线千差万别，无法保证任何两个电插座都会相连，电线适配器能够派上用场。我认为在大多数情况下都可以使用电线适配器，但也有例外。我的房子是36年前修建的，适配器在装有不同断电器的房间之间能够相连。
关于安全问题，该公司说，和你共用外部电线的邻居窥探在你家内部电路中运行的网络，这种情况在理论上是可能的，但是可能性极小。Netgear称，如果你们的房子之间没有电路过滤器，你的邻居或许能窥探你的网络。但是过滤器现在很普遍。即使没有过滤器，你这位好管闲事的邻居还得知道你通过电线建立了网络，要进入你的网络他还需要买一个兼容的适配器。
由于公寓楼内的电路通常都是共享的，因此这种情况在公寓楼发生的可能性更大一些，但是几率仍然较小。Netgear公司为这些地方的客户提供加密软件选项。选择加密软件功能后，即使邻居能够窥探你的网络，但是他也无法解密你的网络流量。
问：我想买一台苹果(Apple) MacBook，但是我发现MacBook的触控板下方只有一个按键，且没有明显的卷动控制键。如果不买或不用鼠标，在苹果笔记本电脑中如何进行右键及卷动操作呢？
答：事实上，Mac操作系统以及苹果软件都支持右键操作，它能够显示和Windows一样的右键弹出菜单。不过，在只有单一按键的苹果笔记本上，传统的右键操作变得很不舒服：要在按下唯一按键的同时按住Control键。
现在，最新的苹果笔记本有了更加简便、巧妙的方式进行右键操作：将两个手指放在触控板上再按下那个按键。这个方法快速、易行，不过如果苹果能够摒弃其怪异的鼠标原则，在笔记本中安装两个按键，就再好不过了。
另外，我发现新的苹果电脑的卷动操作要比使用Windows操作系统的普通笔记本电脑好用：你只要把两个手指放在触控板上，向上或向下拖动即可。你很快就会娴熟地进行这个操作。
Walter S. Mossberg
