Just a quick update. Thanks to the folks at the Broadband Reports Security forum, I’ve fixed a minor bug with the Cookies IE2FF script. You can download the new version here: http://www.jasons-toolbox.com/programs.asp?Program=Cookies%20IE2FF

Thanks to everyone for responding to my survey. Moving into our new house has delayed me quite a bit, so I’m still going over the results. Hopefully, I’ll be able to make some decisions soon.



Meanwhile, I’ve got a new script. While testing Mozilla FireFox, I decided to write a script to copy my cookie settings (which sites are allowed to save cookies and which aren’t) from Internet Explorer to FireFox. I realized that other people might find this useful, so I figured that I’d release it to the general public. You can download it from here: http://www.jasons-toolbox.com/programs.asp?Program=Cookies%20IE2FF

Just a quick update. I’ve found and fixed some bugs in Trust Setter’s installer and uninstaller (with the help of a bunch of great folks over at PCQandA and Broadband Reports’ Security Forum). If you haven’t had a problem installing or uninstalling Trust Setter, you don’t need to upgrade. Otherwise, go to the Programs page to download the new version.

It has been quite awhile since I’ve posted an update, so there’s a lot to catch up on. First of all, when I last posted my wife and I were expecting our first child. I’m proud to (belatedly) announce that on August 17th, Noah Harrison Levine was born. He came into this world weighing 7lbs 10oz and measuring about 20 inches. Now, at five months old, he’s much heavier and is a very happy baby boy. (Well, except when his teething is bothering him. Or when he’s overtired. Or hungry. ) Here’s a photo of him. As you might guess, having a baby has left me with very little free time.



The other big news is that Jason’s Toolbox has had a facelift. Along with the new look are some new features, such as an RSS newsfeed for updates. For those of you who don’t know what RSS feeds are, they are a means of subscribing to get content from a website without any worries about spam. The content is downloaded by a program called an Aggregator. Since control of the subscription is entirely in your hands, you will never see any content that you didn’t actually choose to see. You can also choose to stop getting the content at any time. Click on RSS Feed for more information.



There is one last item to report. After quite a lot of work, I’m pleased to introduce Trust Setter 2.0. One of the major changes to Trust Setter is that it is now a HTA application. Just like with HTABackup, Trust Setter can now support advanced functionality by using a HTML-based interface. See the new Trust Setter page (located under Programs) for more information on the changes.

Just a quick, small update. I recently learned that ports listening on the IP address 127.0.0.1 are listening internally only. (I guess you learn something new every day.) They wouldn’t show up in an external scan of a computer, so there is no reason for my Open Ports script to display them. In fact, showing them might lead someone to think that their computer was less secure than it actually was. Therefore, I’ve updated the Open Ports HTA script. You can run it by clicking on the following link: Run Open Ports

I’ve just released another new script. This one, called OpenPorts, can let you know just which ports are open on your system. If that port is connected to another computer, it will let you know what the computer’s name and/or IP address is. It also will give you more information about the port that is open, thanks to DSLReports. You can download it at OpenPorts.



I also have another happy announcement to make. My wife and I recently learned that we’ll be expecting our first child this August/September. Unfortunately, this means that I’ll probably have less free time to run Jason’s Toolbox. While I won’t be shutting down the Toolbox, there probably will be less updates. I’ll also be researching ways to automate support requests more. I’ll make another announcement about this once I have more information.

Just wanted to post a quick notice to let everyone know that I’ve posted my HTABackup application. It’s a HTA program (which means that it’s half-local web page and half Windows script) that can be used to back up your data files. Simply tell the application what folders to backup and where to back them up to. You can append a datestamp to the folder that your data will be backed up to and can generate an automation batch file for use with Windows Task Scheduler.



You can download it at the Script Repository.

It’s been quite awhile since I’ve sent out a Toolbox update. I’ve been quite busy with personal matters the last few months. I have managed to release a few updates and new scripts though.



First up is a script inspired by PC911’s own Daterminehtor. Called the Copy/Move To Extensions, it installs additions to Windows’ right-click context menus to, what else, copy or move the selected file or folder. It even comes with an uninstaller in case you decide you want to be rid of it. (And clocking in at a little over 1KB for the download, it really is worth a try.) You can download it from the Script Repository.



Next is an update to Trust Setter. Actually, a couple of updates. First, Scotterpops asked if it would be possible to add a site to the Trusted/Restricted zones based by right-clicking on a link you were about to click. This way you could restrict sites before you visited them. I thought this would be a very useful improvement for Trust Setter and so enacted it. Then came a few minor releases to clear up some bugs that cropped up when I added the new feature. As with the Copy/Move To Extensions, you can download the new version of Trust Setter from the Script Repository.



Finally, I’d like to give some sneak peaks into a few things I’m working on. Thanks to the Jewish holidays coming up, I don’t know when any of these will be completed, but you’ll be alerted when they are. First is a set of Browser Security tests that will help you maximize the security settings on your browser. (If you’re a part of the DSLR Security forum you might have tried a beta of these tests.) Next, is my first HTA application tentatively titled HTABackup. It is a Hypertext Application (half-local web page, half-script) that will let you copy all of your data folders to a backup folder for easy archiving to CD-R (or tape or any other backup medium). Finally, I’ve got a few software reviews either in the works or on my drawing board. Again, there’s no guarantee when any of these will be released, but I’ll alert all of you when they are completed and ready for use.

A few bugs seem to have popped up with Script Sentry and some international versions of Windows. I had added better error handling and Error Reporter integration into a beta version of Script Sentry to help debug the issue. While I haven’t squashed the bug, I figured that I’d release a new version of Script Sentry with the added error handling/reporting features. This should help me locate and fix bugs faster in the future. You can download the new version from the Script Sentry page.



As far as the bug with the international versions of Windows goes, this might be a hard one to debug. Whereas in the past I was able to duplicate the error on my system, I don’t have access to an international version of Windows. To faciliate debugging, I’m opening a topic on the Toolbox forums. If you’re using an international version of Windows and have a problem with Script Sentry, please reply to the post with the error details.

Just a quick update today. I’ve added “minimize” and “maximize” buttons to Cookie Jar, as per Paul D’s request. You can now download the new Cookie Jar 1.0.1.