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technofile Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983 Latest AOL Hell: Is AOL software actually a virus?Nov. 17, 2000 By Al Fasoldt Copyright ©2000, Al Fasoldt Letter received Nov. 15, 2000 I've been looking for some time for a way to easily and quickly convert AOL Favorites into a format IE5 would be able to import. I finally found a good freeware program that does just that and does it well. You (or your doppelganger Gizmo) may already know of this program, but I don't recall seeing it mentioned in your column, which I read regularly. It's called FavoRipper, and it can be downloaded at www. download.com. It installs easily and works quickly. The freeware version is capped at 25 conversions, but the $20 reg fee opens it up to an unlimited number. I had about 400 AOL Favorites, so I opted for the $20 version. Exporting my Favorites is the first step toward total freedom from AOL enslavement. Here, just FYI, is a response from the techs at Mindspring. I asked them how I could get Mindspring to work on the same computer with AOL 5.0. It ASTONISHED me to see how insidiously AOL infiltrates your system. It's a veritable virus! It reminds me of certain trees which strangle the roots of potential competitors or of killer sperm cells which zap their competitors! After seeing what AOL does to privatize the system, I realized the only thing to do is wipe the hard drive clean and reinstall Windows and NEVER put AOL on my desk, let alone on my drive! Anyway, here's what the guy at Mindspring wrote: Below is a list of known conflicts and problems caused by the AOL 5 software. AOL is aware of most of these conflicts (which effect ANY Dial-Up Internet connections, not just MindSpring) and has not moved to correct them as of yet. Solution: DETAILS Proxy Settings NOTE: The AOL Uninstallation utility also causes each of the listed proxy server setting problems. AOL 5.0 Install will remove the server and port proxy settings from all Internet applications. AOL 5.0 Install will leave 'Use Proxy Server' checked in the Internet Properties control panel. AOL 5.0 Install will forcibly check 'Use Proxy Server' in each of the individual connectoid settings in the Internet Properties control panel. This will cause IP connectivity issues, and affects WWW and other IP connectivity even when connected and browsing via AOL. After all proxy server settings are corrected, full IP connectivity is restored, both through DUN and AOL. AOL Adapter and AOL Dial-up Adapter In the Network control panel, AOL Adapter and AOL Dial-up Adapter are installed, and TCP/IP is bound to each. AOL acknowledges that the installation program can corrupt the previous or even newly installed AOL Adapter and AOL Dial-up Adapter. If all other IP connectivity trouble-shooting steps have failed, AOL acknowledges that you can safely remove the AOL Adapter and the AOL Dial-up Adapter from the Network control panel. The next time the customer runs AOL, it will create new, supposedly viable copies of each. Notable Registry Modifications HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\FTP\Use Web Based FTP is forced to a value of 'Yes', forcing all attempts to use FTP to run through the default web browser. Change the value to 'No' to fix this. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\Window Title is changed to 'Microsoft Internet Explorer - Provided by America Online'. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\BigBitmap is changed to an AOL logo. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\SmallBitmap is changed to an AOL logo. MAPI Issues If either the AOL Installation utility or the user set AOL as the default client for MAPI services such as web browsing and email, AOL will be activated upon all calls for said MAPI service. Simply change the application to be used for each specific service in the MindSpring software. Evil Connectoid This is a serious bug that prevents users from accessing the Internet was well known to the AOL prior to the release of version 5. AOL disregarded the warnings and rushed the new software out anyway. The bug effects AOL users who also have LAN connection or accounts with other Internet Service Providers (ISP'S). Installing AOL 5 can reset or misconfigure TCP/IP settings, rendering Internet connections unusable and generating "server not found" messages whenever they try to connect to Web sites. The only solution that MindSpring is aware of is to follow these steps: Configure the AOL 5 software to use a "LAN" connection rather than a dial- up. Remove AOL Adapter and AOL Dial-Up Adapter. Configure the Internet Control Panel to use the MindSpring DUN connection. Take care of the proxy settings listed above. The customer should connect through MindSpring and then open AOL from now on. Allowing the AOL software to dial a connection again will place the AOL Adapter and AOL Dial-Up Adapter back into Network. This will put the customer right back at square one. Thanks for all the good tips your column provides, Al. Keep up the good work! Joseph E. Roesch |