Transferring Files To a New PC; AIM's WildTangent (TechNews.com)

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Transferring Files To a New PC; AIM's WildTangent

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Sunday, May 23, 2004; Page F07

My old Gateway will need to be replaced someday. How can I transfer my files if the new machine has no floppy drive and I can't burn a CD with the old one?

If the old machine has an Ethernet port, connect the two machines with a crossover Ethernet cable. Set up both to join the same work group (use the Network control panel in Win 98, System in Win XP), then share your data folders on the old computer (right-click on each and select "Sharing . . ."). Reboot, then drag your files from old to new PC.

If that's not an option, use a removable drive to make the move. Small, cheap USB keychain devices usually hold up to 512 megabytes of data. For larger transfers, consider an external USB hard drive that can double as a backup device once you're moved into the new PC. Sizes and costs vary widely: LaCie's ultra-compact, 40-gigabyte Databank costs $349, while Seagate's hefty External FireWire/USB 2.0 drive stores 160 GB for $249.

You will have to wait to transfer all your files from the old computer in this way; the old computer's USB 1.1 port can only send data at a fraction of the speed possible with the drives' USB 2.0 connections.

I downloaded AOL Instant Messenger and ran AdAware 6.0, which identified a component of AIM, WildTangent, as a problem. But is it really spyware?

AOL bundled WildTangent's game software with its new AIM 5.5 program to entice IM users to do more than just chat. But this bundling isn't obvious; many users learn of it only when their anti-spyware utility detects the WildTangent software looking online for video driver updates (as any game would do).

That can resemble the actions of spyware. But AdAware developer LavaSoft took a second look at this situation and now classifies AIM's WildTangent component as non-threatening in AdAware 6.1.

-- John Gilroy

John Gilroy of Item Inc. is heard on WAMU's "The Computer Guys" at noon on the first Tuesday of the month. Send your questions to him in care of The Washington Post, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071 or via e-mail to jgilroy@iteminc.com.

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