Antispyware for Macs; Blog Search Engines
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 programs for Apple Macintoshes, blog search engines and the definition of "HD ready."
If you have a question, send it to me at
mossberg@wsj.com, and I may select it to be answered here in Mossberg's Mailbox.
Q: You recently recommended antispyware programs for Windows users. Do Apple Macintosh users need such software, and, if so, what products clean up spyware on the Mac?
A: There's little or no reported spyware for Apple's Mac OS X operating system. So the spyware problem isn't much of a headache for Mac users, and consequently, there isn't much of a market for Mac antispyware software.
Most spyware and adware consists of malicious programs, and, like regular programs, these harmful applications have to be written to run on a particular operating system. All the spyware programs I have seen, or heard about, are written to run on Windows, which is on the vast majority of the world's PCs, and is also easier for spyware programs to penetrate than the Mac operating system is. Because they are Windows programs, they simply won't run on the Mac, even if Mac users accidentally download them.
One type of spyware, called tracking cookies, doesn't take the form of an actual program, and can be used on Macs. There are a few antispyware and cookie-control utilities for the Mac that may be effective against these tracking cookies, such as Internet Cleanup from Allume Software (
www.allume.com). But, unlike their Windows counterparts, I haven't tested any of them, and can't say how well they work.
Mac users who run Apple's built-in Safari Web browser can stop most tracking cookies by going to the Security portion of the Preferences panel and selecting the option to accept only cookies placed by the site they are using, which eliminates cookies placed by third-party advertising companies. A similar option is available in the Firefox Web browser, on both Mac and Windows. On the Mac, it's in Firefox's Preferences panel, under Privacy.
Q: I'm at a loss as to where to find blogs on the Web. Are there blog search engines that help compile and categorize blogs for public perusal?
A: Yes. You can search or browse Web logs, or blogs, at several sites such as Feedster (feedster.com), Bloglines (bloglines.com) and Technorati (technorati.com).
You can also install special programs that let you find, and subscribe free of charge, to numerous blogs and other frequently updated Web sites. These include FeedDemon for Windows (feeddemon.com) and NetNewsWire on the Mac (ranchero.com/net newswire/).
With these programs, called news readers, you don't usually see the blog in its original form, you receive "feeds" from them -- constantly updated headlines and summaries of new entries. You can then read the entire item by just clicking on the headline.
Q: I've been shopping for a TV that can receive broadcast high-definition signals, and notice many described as "HD-ready." What does that mean?
A: To receive and display high-definition programming, a TV set needs two basic features. One is a display capable of rendering the high-definition picture. The other is a tuner, or receiver, capable of receiving the high-definition signal, either over the air, or from a cable or satellite service.
When a TV set is described as "HD-ready," it usually means the set can display high-definition pictures, but lacks the special tuner needed to receive them. It may have no tuner at all built in, or it may have just a standard tuner. With this type of TV, you must buy a separate high-definition over-the-air tuner, or obtain a high-definition cable or satellite receiver, to get high-definition programming.
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Because of the volume of e-mail I receive, I can't routinely answer individual questions by e-mail, or consult on individual problems or purchasing decisions. I read all questions I receive and select three each week to answer in the column.
Mac电脑反间谍软件
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Mac电脑反间谍软件、网络日志搜索引擎和高清晰电视的问题。
问：你最近向Windows用户推荐了反间谍程序。苹果电脑(Apple)的Macintosh用户需要此类软件吗？如果是的话，什么样的产品能够清理Mac电脑上的间谍软件呢？
答：苹果电脑的Mac OS X操作系统几乎没有或者没有报告过间谍软件的问题。因此，对于Mac用户来说，间谍软件并不是一个大麻烦，也正因为如此，Mac反间谍软件就没有多少市场了。
多数间谍软件和垃圾广告软件都包含恶意程序，与普通程序一样，这些有害的应用程序必须依赖于某个特定的操作系统而写。我见过的、或者听说的所有间谍软件都是依赖于Windows运行的，而全球绝大部分的个人电脑采用的都是Windows操作系统，比起Mac操作系统而言，它也就更容易受到间谍软件的入侵。由于间谍软件是Windows程序，它们就不会在Mac电脑上运行，即便Mac用户不小心下载了它们。
有一种被称为tracking cookie的间谍软件不以实际程序的形式出现，可以作用于Mac电脑。有几种反间谍软件和cookie控制工具可以帮助Mac有效防御这些tracking cookie，如Allume Software的Internet Cleanup (
www.allume.com)。不过，与Windows下的同类产品有所不同，我没有对它们进行过测试，也就无法说明它们的功效如何。
那些运行苹果电脑内置网络浏览器的Mac用户可以通过Preferences控制面板中的Security栏，选择选项，只接受他们正在使用的网站设置的cookie，消除第三方广告公司设置的cookie，就能够阻止大多数tracking cookie了。Firefox网络浏览器也有一个相似的选项，适用于Mac和Windows。在Mac电脑上，这个选项就在Firefox的Preferences控制面板里，在Privacy项下。
问：我对如何在互联网上找到网络日志毫无头绪。有什么网络日志搜索引擎能够帮助编制或者整理日志以供大家阅读吗？
答：有的。你可以在Feedster (feedster.com)、Bloglines (bloglines.com)和Technorati (technorati.com)等几个网站上搜索或者浏览网络日志。
你也可以安装特殊程序，通过它们找到并免费订阅大量的网络日志和其他经常更新的网站。这些包括Windows下的FeedDemon(feeddemon.com)和Mac上的NetNewsWire(ranchero.com/net newswire/)。
这些程序被称为新闻阅读器，通过它们看到的网络日志通常不以原来的形式出现，你收到的是日志的“提示”──时时更新的日志的标题和内容提要。只要点击标题，你就可以阅读整篇日志的内容了。
问：我一直想购买一台可以接收无线高清晰讯号的电视，并注意到许多产品上贴有“HD ready”标志。这是是什么意思？
答：一台电视要接收并显示高清晰度节目，它必须具备两个基本特点。首先是能够显示高清晰画面的显示器，其次就是能够接收高清晰信号的调谐器，或者叫接收器，无论是通过无线，还是有线或者卫星服务。
当一台电视被贴上“HD ready”标志，它通常意味著这台电视可以显示高清晰图像，但缺乏接收这些图像所需的特殊调谐器。或者是它根本就没有内置调谐器，或者它可能只有一个标准的调谐器。对于这种电视，你必须另外购买一个高清晰无线调谐器，或者具有一个有线或卫星接收器，才能收看到高清晰节目。
