A look at one of the category listings from the Yahoo Video widget for Yahoo TV Widgets.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Yahoo may not have the same stranglehold on online video as YouTube does, but it sure has tried. Yahoo does, however, boast a simple channel system and a large …

When doing business via email there are often times when you will want your data encrypted. Whether it is sending crucial client information, exchanging databases, or any other sensitive issue, you will want to know your email is being exchanged safely. The best way to do this is with encryption. With the Windows operating system there are numerous ways to enable encryption. One of my favorite is via GNU Privacy Guard (GnuPG). GnuPG is open source, reliable, free, and it works well with the Thunderbird extension Engimail.

Enigmail is an extension that should be added by anyone needing security in their email exchanges. It takes the less-than-user-friendly task of encryption and makes it simple enough for anyone to use.

With Windows you will have to install encryption software before you install Enigmail. As I stated earlier, my favorite is GnuPG. Once GnuPG is installed, you can go on with the installation of Enigmail.

This blog post is also available in the PDF format in a free TechRepublic Download.

Installing GnuPG

There is very little to say about the installation of GnuPG. Download the Windows binary version of GnuPG and save it on your hard drive. Once the file is downloaded, double click the file to begin the installation process. As with most Windows applications, the GnuPG installation process is as simple as a few clicks. You will have to select your language and the location you want the application installed. Outside of that, just keep clicking next.

When GnuPG is installed you have to do nothing with that application because it can all be handled by Enigmail. And for new users, this is the best way to handle the task.

Installing Enigmail

If you have ever installed an extension on Thunderbird you will know the routine. First download the extension file by right clicking the Enigmail download link and selecting “Save Link As…”. Once the file is downloaded, open up Thunderbird, and then click on the Tools menu and select Add Ons.

When the Add Ons window opens click on the Install button, locate the Enigmail extension file you downloaded earlier, and click Open. When the installer countdown finishes, the Install button will be available to you and you can then proceed to install Enigmail. The final installation step is to restart Thunderbird so the add-on will be available (You will notice a new menu entry in Thunderbird called OpenPGP).

Generate your key pair

The first step in setting up Enigmail is generating your key pair. Click on the OpenPGP menu and select Key Management. This will open up a new window (Figure A) where you can generate your key pair.

Figure A

This is where you add and manage all of your keys.

Click on the Generate menu and select New Key Pair. This will open up a new window where you will enter all of the information you need for your new key (Figure B). There isn’t much information to enter in this window.

Figure B

If you know you’ll want to keep this key pair, click the “Key does not expire” checkbox.

After you enter all the information click the Generate key button. The key generation can take some time, so don’t worry if it seems to be going slowly. Once the key is generated you are asked if you want to create a revocation key. I would suggest doing this because it will allow you to revoke your key should your secret key get lost or finds its way into the wrong hands. For the revocation key you will be asked to save an .asc file on your hard drive. Do this and save it in a safe place. You will also have to enter the pass phrase you created at the beginning of the key generation.

Now that your key pair is saved you will see it listed in the key management window. (Figure C)

Figure C

You can upload your key to a server by right clicking your key and selecting Upload Public Keys to Server.

Now that your key pair is generated you are almost ready to start sending encrypted email. But before you can, any recipients of encrypted email must have your public key, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to decrypt the messages.

Getting your public keys

You can easily send your public key by email. From the key manager window select the key you want to use and right click that key. A new menu will appear and in that menu you will see an entry titled “Send Public Keys By Email”. Click it and a Thunderbird compose window will open with your public key already attached. Send that email to anyone who will receive one of your encrypted emails. Now you’re ready.

Sending an encrypted message

Sending an encrypted email is simple. Click on the New button to open the composer window. Write your email as you would any email, but don’t send it yet. Before you send this email click on the OpenPGP menu and select Encrypt (or press Ctrl-Shift-P) and the message will be sent encrypted. When you press send you will be asked which key you want to use. Select the key and click OK. The email is encrypted and sent off to the recipient.

You can set Enigmail to always encrypt and/or sign messages. Click the New button to open up the email composition window. Click on the OpenPGP menu and then click on the Default Composition Options. From this new window (Figure D) make sure “Encrypt messages by default” is selected if you always want to encrypt your email or not selected if you do not.

Figure D

If you have more than one email account on Thunderbird you can enable or disable Enigmail on a per-account basis in this window.

Decrypting an email

First and foremost you must have a user’s public key saved before you can decrypt their message. If the user sends you their key via email, and you save it to your hard drive, you can import it into the Key Management tool by clicking the File menu and then click Import Keys from File. Once you have their key in your manager you are set.

By default Enigmail will automatically decrypt email that matches a saved public key. You can disable this by clicking on the OpenPGP menu and de-selecting the “Automatically Decrypt/Verify Messages” entry.

Final thoughts

If you are looking for a solid, easy to use, encryption tool for Thunderbird email, look no further than the Enigmail add on. You will not find a solution that is as easy for new users, but that is also as feature-rich for users already familiar with encryption.

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When you install any version of the Windows operating system, a part of the installation procedure prompts you to enter the user’s name and the name of the user’s company. This registration information is stored in the registry and can be changed by carefully editing the data with the Registry Editor. However, not everyone is comfortable with firing up the Registry Editor and delving into its data. Even if you’re familiar with editing the registry, it’s a time-consuming job. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just pop open a dialog box and enter the new registration information? Well, now you can.

Note: This tool was originally published in October 2002, and is designed for Windows XP and earlier versions of Windows — not for Windows Vista or Windows 7.

I’ve developed the Registration Changer, a tool that makes quick work of this tedious task. To create the inner workings of the Registration Changer, I combined features made available by Windows Script Host and VBScript to create a script. Then, to give the utility a neat user interface, I packaged the script in an HTML Application (HTA). In this Daily Drill Down, I’ll introduce you to my Registration Changer utility, which is available as a free download, and explain how it works.

A closer look at the registration information

Registration information, which consists of the owner’s name and a company name (if specified), is stored in the registry as simple text strings. The owner’s name is stored in the RegisteredOwner key, while the company name is stored in the RegisteredOrganization key. Registration information is displayed on the General tab of the System Properties dialog box under the Registered To heading, as shown in Figure A.

Figure A

The user’s name and the name of the user’s company appear on the General tab of the System Properties dialog box under the Registered To heading.

This is fine as long as the user sticks with that system, but you’ll want to change the entries when they pass along the system to someone else in the company.

Back up!

Always use caution when working with the registry. Unintentional changes made to the registry can cause the system to crash. Always back up your system before opening the registry.

As you may know, the underlying structure of the registry in each of the Microsoft operating systems is very similar. However, there are slight differences. In the Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Me operating systems, the RegisteredOwner and RegisteredOrganization keys are stored in the key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion

In Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Windows XP, the keys are stored in the key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion

Blank keys

Keep in mind that either or both of the RegisteredOwner and RegisteredOrganization keys can be blank. In other words, the keys exist in the registry, but they contain an empty string.

Automating registry changes

As I mentioned, manually editing the registration information stored in the registry via the Registry Editor can be a tricky and time-consuming operation. Fortunately, the Windows Script Host provides programming methods that allow you to quickly and easily automate the process of editing the registry. The two methods that I use in this script are the RegRead and RegWrite methods.

As its name implies, the RegRead method allows you to access a key in the registry and read the value stored in that particular key. Likewise, the RegWrite method allows you to change the value of any particular key in the registry.

The Windows Script Host actually provides you with one more method for making modifications to the registry, the RegDelete method. However, since the Registration Changer utility doesn’t really need to explicitly delete anything from the registry, and because the RegWrite method can actually overwrite an existing value, I didn’t need to use the RegDelete method in the script. Nevertheless, it’s good to know that RegDelete is available.

In order to use the RegRead and RegWrite methods, you need to know the exact name of the key in the registry that you want to edit, as well as its exact path. You also need to know what type of data the key holds. Without getting into too much detail on this last point, there are actually four different data types that the registry contains: strings, 32-bit unsigned values, binary data, and expandable macro strings.

Installing the Registration Changer utility

Once you’ve downloaded the Registration Changer utility installation package, simply double-click the RegChange Installation.exe file. When you do, the installation program will prompt you to choose a folder in which to install the application. If the folder doesn’t exist, the installation program will create it for you.

After you install the Registration Changer utility, you’ll see the following two files in your chosen folder:

RegChange.hta

RegChange.ico

Of course, the RegChange.hta file is the HTA file that you’ll use to launch the application. The RegChange.ico file contains the icon that the HTA uses for the control menu and the taskbar.

Using the Registration Changer utility

Using the Registration Changer utility is easy. After you install the utility, just double-click the HTA file to launch it. If you prefer, you can create a shortcut to the HTA file and place it on your Start menu. Once you launch the Registration Changer utility, you’ll see the main screen, as shown in Figure B.

Figure B

The Registration Changer utility makes it easy to change registration information.

To begin, you need to select the operating system you’re using. As you can see, the operating systems are grouped according to the location in the registry in which the RegisteredOwner and RegisteredOrganization keys are stored. If you fail to select an operating system and click either the Display or OK buttons, you’ll see the error message shown in Figure C. When you click OK, you’ll be returned to the main screen and can start again.

Figure C

If you fail to select an operating system before you proceed, you’ll see an error message.

Be sure to select the right operating system

It’s imperative that you select the correct operating system for this operation to be successful. If the operating system is incorrect, the Registration Changer will apply the changes to the wrong location in the registry. When that happens, the registration information you wanted to change will remain unchanged, and unnecessary garbage will be added to the registry. If you happen to apply the changes to the wrong operating system, you can easily remove the unnecessary garbage by running the utility again and leaving the text boxes blank.

After you select an operating system, you may want to see the current registration information for the system. Just click the Display button. When you do, you’ll see the current registration information displayed in the dialog box shown in Figure D.

Figure D

The Registration Changer utility can display the current registration information before you make any changes.

If you want to change the registration information, just enter the text in the appropriate dialog boxes and click OK. When you do, you’ll be prompted to confirm the operation before you proceed, as shown in Figure E.

Figure E

Before the Registration Changer makes any changes to the registry, it gives you a chance to abort the operation.

If you select No, you’ll be returned to the main screen and can start over. If you click Yes, the Registration Changer will apply the changes to the registry. You can then instantly check the results by clicking the Display button. When you’re done, just click Cancel, or click Close and the main Registration window will close.

Blanking out registration information

If you prefer to simply blank out the registration information rather than enter new names, just leave the text boxes blank and click OK.

That’s all there is to it. The Registration Changer makes it easy to edit the registry without fear. As I stated earlier, be sure to back your system up before you go poking around in the registry. It’s not something you should do lightly.

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Shortly after last week’s Windows Vista and Windows 7 Report blog was published, Microsoft did it — they announced the Release To Manufacturing (RTM) version of Windows 7. According to Brandon LeBlanc, in the July 22nd issue of the Windows 7 Blog:

“…RTM officially happens only after sign-off occurs. What happens is a build gets designated as a RTM contender after going through significant testing and meeting our quality bar for RTM. Then, it goes though all the validation checks required for RTM including having all languages of that build completed. If all the validation checks have passed – sign-off for RTM can occur. Today after all the validation checks were met, we signed off and declared build 7600 as RTM.”

In the same blog, LeBlanc goes on to specify:

“The RTM code will be delivered to our partners within the next few days who will then start preparing to deliver some amazing new products timed to hit at General Availability (GA) of Windows 7 on October 22nd.”

The actual RTM event was even documented in a promotional video of the final signing ceremony that was shot inside the Microsoft campus and released on YouTube. In a more formal announcement at MGX (Microsoft Global Exchange), Microsoft’s annual sales kick-off event in Atlanta, Steven Sinofsky and Steve Ballmer announced the RTM of Windows 7, as well as the RTM of Windows Server 2008 R2, and Ballmer signed the gold RTM DVDs.

Wow, this is great news and I would suggest that we all put aside our gripes about Microsoft for a moment and offer them our warm congratulations on reaching this milestone in a timely manner. After a moment or two, feel free to resume complaining.

This blog post is also available in the PDF format in a free TechRepublic Download.

Windows 7 Family Pack

In my recent blog, Microsoft Windows 7 pricing deals spark interest and controversy, I commented on rumors about the availability and pricing for a Windows 7 Family Pack. Well, we now have partial confirmation. In the July 21 issue of the Windows 7 Blog, LeBlanc writes:

“I know there have been some rumors going around about a “family pack” for Windows 7. We have heard a lot of feedback from beta testers and enthusiasts over the last 3 years that we need a better solution for homes with multiple PCs. I’m happy to confirm that we will indeed be offering a family pack of Windows 7 Home Premium (in select markets) which will allow installation on up to 3 PCs. As I’ve said before, stay tuned to our blog for more information on this and any other potential offers.”

While this too is good news for consumers, actual pricing information would have been nice. Still, the rumored $150 MSRP price tag sounds reasonable. However, keep in mind that chances are that this is not a total cost.

As you may remember, in the Windows Vista Family Discount program, you had to first purchase a retail version of Ultimate (Full or Upgrade) in order to take advantage of the discount. You could then go to a special Microsoft site and purchase two Home Premium upgrade licenses for $49.99 a piece.

Just to refresh your memory, here is how the pricing for the Windows Vista Family Discount program played out. (My example Vista prices came from actual prices offered at Amazon.com during the early Vista availability time period.)

Table A

Table B

Now, I don’t know if this is the same way that the Windows 7 family pack will be priced and packaged, but if it were, we could expect to see something along these lines:

Table C

Table D

Keep in mind that I am using the full Windows 7 MSRP prices here as that is all I have to go on at this point in time, so you really can’t draw any direct comparisons. Again, I’m just speculating here based on what we saw with Vista. Microsoft may come up with a whole new pricing structure with the Windows 7 family pack.

Windows XP upgrades

I’ve recently been receiving questions from people running Windows XP wondering whether there will be Windows 7 upgrades and the answer is yes and no.

Yes, Windows XP users will be eligible for the upgrade price. No, you will not be able to use the Windows 7 Upgrade DVD to perform an in-place upgrade on a system running Windows XP. In other words, you will not be able to insert the Windows 7 DVD into the drive on your XP system and perform the upgrade while leaving all of your applications and device drivers in place.

XP users will most likely rely on Windows Easy Transfer, which is a utility designed to copy files and settings from one Windows installation to another Windows installation on the same computer as well as from one computer to another computer.

However, Windows XP users will be able to perform one of two custom Windows 7 upgrade installations, which both essentially amount to a clean install.

The first type will install Windows 7 on a new partition in a dual-boot configuration, while the second type will install Windows 7 on the existing partition — the one containing Windows XP. This will result in the Windows XP system files and the contents of the My Documents folder being saved in a folder titled Windows.old. Either way, you will have to reinstall all of your applications and drivers.

Even though the second type of custom installation will save your data files, you will still definitely want to make and have on hand backup copies of all your data, just in case.

I’ll cover Windows XP to Windows 7 Upgrades in more detail once I get my hands on a real Windows 7 Upgrade DVD and can experiment with it.

What’s your take?

Are you happy to hear that Windows 7 is on target for the October 22nd release date? Are you likely to take advantage of the Windows 7 Family Pack? Are you planning on upgrading from Windows XP to Windows 7? As always, if you have comments or information to share about these topics, please take a moment to drop by the TechRepublic Community Forums and let us hear from you.

TechRepublic’s Windows Vista and Windows 7 Report newsletter, delivered every Friday, offers tips, news, and scuttlebutt on Vista and Windows 7, including a look at new features in the latest version of the Windows OS. Automatically sign up today!

A Swedish couple looking for the isle of Capri end up in Carpi, an industrial town in northern Italy, after making an error with their car’s GPS.

Users of mobile broadband are often not aware of download limits or the penalties for breaching them, a survey finds.

In mid-July, Verizon began automatically pushing Slacker Radio to BlackBerry Storm phones. Starting Tuesday, Verizon’s partnership with Slacker Radio begins extending to BlackBerry Tour devices in its U.S. network as well.

As part of the agreement, Slacker Radio will hook into Verizon’s V Cast store (which itself …

Originally posted at The Download Blog

HTC Touch Pro2

(Credit: T-Mobile)

On Tuesday,T-Mobile answered the prayers of many smartphone fanatics and officially announced the upcoming release of the HTC Touch Pro2 smartphone. The Touch Pro2 will be available starting August 12 and will come in a mocha finish, but pricing was not revealed at press …

343 Industries rep definitively says the Borderlands developer is not working on a new entry in the popular sci-fi shooter series.

For months, rumors have surrounded Gearbox Software and its involvement with the Halo franchise.
They erupted last summer, when unconfirmed reports claimed that the suburban Dallas-based developer–currently polishing Borderlands–was developing Halo 4 for the Xbox 360’s successor.

Gearbox is no stranger to the sci-fi series, having ported the original Halo: Combat Evolved to the PC in 2003. However, the studio’s CEO and president Randy Pitchford has dodged questions about whether the “big” project he teased in February 2008 might be the studio’s second Halo project. Just this week in an interview with Eurogamer, Pitchford refused to answer repeated yes-or-no questions about the Halo 4 rumor, appearing to even cut the interview short.

Typically, Microsoft would adopt similar evasive maneuvers. However, in a rare turn of events, the company has shot down the rumor outright. This afternoon, 343 Industries, the new internal Microsoft Halo label unveiled at Comic-Con last week, used its Halo Waypoint Twitter feed to declare, “For the record, Gearbox is NOT working on a Halo title for Microsoft.”

When queried, Microsoft was all too happy to confirm the post. “Halo Waypoint is an official 343 Industries Twitter account,” said a rep. “For the record, we can confirm that Gearbox is not working on a Halo project. We are focusing our efforts on Halo 3: ODST, Halo Legends, and Halo: Reach, as well as our new Xbox Live destination called Halo Waypoint.”

For more about Gearbox’s next 100-percent confirmed project, check out GameSpot’s own interview with Randy Pitchford below:

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot