JACKIE BURRELL Contra Costa Times
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. -- It sounds like a script for a Hollywood movie
or some new reality show -- a granite vault stacked with precious books
and more than a million rolls of microfilm, and 20 teams racing around
the world to capture critical ancestral documents before it's too late.
Welcome to the new world of genealogy.
It was only a few decades ago that anyone searching for his roots had
to travel to his ancestors' homeland, or make the trek to Salt Lake City,
where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints maintains the world's
largest repository of ancestral records.
Now, many of those records are online. Ancestry.com just finished uploading
the complete U.S. Census records for 1790-1930. You can search Ellis Island
immigration lists from home. And more records are added every day.
But it's a race, says Linda Bailey, who manages the Danville (Calif.)
Family History Center, one of the Mormon church's 4,000 branch genealogy
libraries. Every time there's a war, records are lost.
"Russia opened (its doors) 10 years ago," Bailey says, "and we're filming
as fast as we can. China, too. Europe is pretty well microfilmed."
Web sites such as the free FamilySearch.org and subscription-based Ancestry.com,
which allow access to those digitized records, have taken off. Genealogy
buffs use computer software to build their family trees, link them to
Ancestry.com data, and personalize the resulting family histories with
news accounts, vintage photographs and music from the period.
And people who are truly, deeply into this, carry their 400 years of
ancestral data around with them on a flash drive, dangling from a lanyard.
The pinkie-size gizmo can be plugged into a computer USB port when they
visit any one of the Family History Centers. Access to the subscription-based
Ancestry.com is free at the centers, and knowledgeable docents can offer
search tips. That's good, because there's a steep learning curve for the
beginning genealogist, even a tech-savvy one.
Like digitized time capsules, documents pop up on the computer screen,
evoking a sense of the past. The 1840 Maine census is headlined "Free
White Persons." A 1930 Massachusetts census, covered in tiny spidery handwriting,
asks if the head of household has a radio.
Buried in those census documents are other clues: occupation, age, the
year your ancestors immigrated. That information and the port of arrival
coaxes the immigration databases to unlock their treasures. And what began
with a few dates is suddenly the irresistible image of, for example, a
24-year-old grandmother boarding a Cunard liner on New Year's Eve 1925.
Bailey searches for the ship, the Franconia, using Google Images, and
suddenly the majestic lines of the "world's preeminent world-cruising
ship" materialize on screen. The ship landed in Boston in early 1925,
and in a matter of days, headed back out to sea, bound for the French
Riviera, Cairo "at the heart of its social season," and on to Ceylon and
Java.
That's what makes genealogy so entrancing, Bailey says. It's not dates
and names, it's the glimpse into the past. It's the stories.
Which Genealogy Software Program is Best?
From Kimberly Powell, About.com
Choosing Genealogy Software
If you are researching your family history and own a computer then you
will eventually want to buy a genealogy software program and use it for
storing the genealogy information that you find. Genealogy software can
make it incredibly easy to enter all of your information and chart it
in a variety of formats. It also makes sharing info a breeze - you can
print out a new family group sheet or create a GEDCOM file and have it
on its way to another researcher in a matter of minutes.
With dozens of genealogy software programs available to choose from,
selecting the best genealogy software for you can be a daunting task.
Genealogy software programs offer a wide variety of options including
the way they format data, the types of charts they produce, their ability
to help you organize your research and opportunities for storing extra
information such as photographs and scanned documents.
Entire books have been written about how to select the right genealogy
program, but it basically boils down to what is right for you (bet you
were hoping I wouldn't say that). Almost all genealogy software programs
do a good job of letting you enter your family data and view it in a variety
of formats. Prices range from free to upwards of $100 U.S. Options are
a bit more limited for people who use Macintosh computers or want a program
for their handheld. The best way to choose the right genealogy program,
whether it is your first time or you are looking for a replacement for
your existing genealogy software, is to make a list of your requirements
and then try out the programs which seem to meet those requirements. Most
genealogy software vendors have free trial or demo versions available
just for that purpose. Most of the ones that don't offer a money-back
guarantee.
Some things to keep in mind as you make your list of requirements:
* What do you want to do with your genealogy information? Some genealogists
want to create beautiful wall-sized trees, some want to include photos,
audio and video, some want to use the software to create a family Web
page for them and some are just looking for a basic program that can store
names, dates and events.
* Do you plan to share your research online with other family historians?
The major genealogy programs offer you the ability to upload your family
tree data online in a variety of formats right from your computer program.
Some also offer simple Web-page creation capabilities.
* Will you want to write a book with the information that you enter?
Some software programs offer more features for printing family history
books than others.
* Do you prefer to use keystrokes to enter data or do you prefer to
click from box to box with the mouse?
* What kind of charts and reports would you like your software to be
able to print?
* Do you want to be able to easily read in genealogy files created in
other software programs without any loss of data?
* Are you tracing your family’s history for eventual submission
to the LDS church? If so, you will want to use software that supports
the special fields needed to document rites of the church.
How willing are you to take the time to learn all of the features of
the program? If you are easily frustrated and hate to read instruction
manuals, you may want to forgo the fancy software program with all of
the whiz-bang features for a somewhat simpler program which you can become
comfortable with quickly.
Since you are most likely new to genealogy software, you may find yourself
having a hard time even answering some of these questions right now. If
that is the case you may want to consider downloading one of the free
genealogy software programs or one of the ones with a free demo program
and playing around with it for a while until it is comfortable for you
to use. Then try out several more programs in the same manner. You will
quickly learn which programs offer the features you need and are the most
intuitive for the way in which you work.
Reviews & Ratings of Popular Genealogy Software Titles
Whether you're choosing your first genealogy software program or looking
to upgrade, there is probably an option available to meet your needs.
Get the scoop on all the latest versions of favorite family tree software
programs in this 2006 genealogy software roundup.
The selection of the best genealogy software is really a matter of personal
choice, so the rankings here are subjective. They are also independent
rankings, as I'm not affiliated with any of the companies, do not belong
to their affiliate programs, and only deal with the editorial content
on this site - not the advertising.
That being said, my favorite for best all-around program based on features,
price and ease of use is RootsMagic 3.0, which slightly edges out The
Master Genealogist 6.0 and Legacy 6.0 for its user-friendly navigation
and interface and for having integrated wall charts without the need for
a separate add-on program.
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TMG 6.0 is still the most powerful and customizable of the bunch, however,
and Legacy 6.0 offers a very nice set of features and reports. To be honest,
there really isn't a bad program in the entire bunch. These genealogy
software titles all offer either a free trial demo or a money-back guarantee,
so select a few and try them out for yourself. The best genealogy software
program is the one that you find intuitive and which meets most of your
individual requirements.
Editor's Choice Genealogy Software
1. RootsMagic 3.0 (4 1/2 stars) - If you're looking for genealogy software
that's easy enough to use without the manual, yet full-featured enough
to satisy a professional genealogist, then you should definitely check
out RootsMagic. From beautiful charts and flexible book publishing, to
easy data entry and advanced sourcing, RootsMagic offers something for
everyone.
2. The Master Genealogist 6.0 (4 1/2 stars) - A choice of many genealogy
professionals, The Master Genealogist (TMG) stands out for its ability
to record every last detail of your family tree and its features for fully
documenting and evaluating genealogical evidence. It has a bit of a steep
learning curve, but if you live for details, like to customize, and don't
mind spending a little more, you'll love TMG.
3. Legacy Family Tree 6.0 (4 1/2 stars) - An intutive interface, powerful
collaboration features, and multiple views make Legacy Family Tree one
of the best genealogy software programs on the market, not even considering
the fact that it's free. The best features are only available in the $29.95
Deluxe Version, however, and fancy charts require an extra add-on program.
Other Good Genealogy Software Options
Genbox Family History 3.63 (4 stars) - Extensive data entry fields and
customizable sources mean that Genbox will meet the needs of almost any
genealogist. Helpful project management tools and a wealth of beautiful
reports and charts round out this surprisingly complete package.
Family Tree Legends 5.0 (4 stars) - Family Tree Legends offers most of
the features you would expect in a well-rounded genealogy software program,
but where it really shines is in its tight Internet integration, making
it easy to backup your database, look for and download matches from other
family trees, and publish your family tree online with just a few clicks.
Family Tree Maker 2006 (4 stars) - Overall, Family Tree Maker is a good
choice for amateur genealogists and arguably the best choice for genealogists
looking to easily share their family information in print. However, it
lacks some of the customizable sourcing and project management tools required
by many serious researchers, doesn't output to HTML, and will not allow
you to export multimedia links into GEDCOM files.
Ancestral Quest 11 (4 stars) - If you're a PAF user looking for extra
features or someone who wants to be able to easily collaborate with other
researchers online, then Ancestral Quest may just be the software for
you. For everyone else, however, there are other family tree programs
who do it slightly better or cost a little less.
PAF 5.2 (3 1/2 stars) - One of the oldest and most popular genealogy
software programs available, this family tree software from the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is available for free download. Powerful
and full-featured, it is also very user-friendly, making it perfect for
novice computer users and genealogists. Not updated very frequently, however.
Genealogy Software for Macintosh
I'm not a Mac user, so I haven't personally reviewed any Macintosh genealogy
software programs. There is one program, however, applauded over and over
by other reviewers - Reunion 8. Another excellent option for Mac users
mentioned highly by many reviewers is Heredis Mac X.2.
Macintosh Genealogy Software
Kimberly Powell, About.com's Genealogy Guide since 2000, is a professional
genealogist and the author of "Everything Family Tree, 2nd Edition."
Click here
for more information on Kimberly Powell. The orignal article can be found
here.
Stay safe online
Best software tools & strategies
From Consumer Reports
Every time you go online, you step into the middle of a heated arms race.
On one side, there’s an invisible force of virus writers, spyware
perpetrators, spammers, and con artists. On your side, an arsenal of software
to detect and kill the viruses, spyware, and spam created by those cyber-rogues.
It isn’t enough for those programs to merely eliminate familiar
viruses and spyware. To provide superior protection, a program must be
able to defend against threats it has never seen before.
In addition, Swiss-Army-knife-style suites attempt to protect you from
a range of threats at once. (Some, including Microsoft’s new Live
OneCare, add more than security features; see Protection services available
to subscribers.)
This report provides a seven-step guide to online safety. It includes
tests of software: suites, antispyware, antispam, and antivirus. For the
last we employed innovative consumer tests in which viruses we created
were unleashed under high security on antivirus programs (see How we test
antivirus software available to subscribers).
7 steps to security
1. Enable existing protection. Be sure you’re fully utilizing the
protection available from your operating system and Internet provider.
Start by activating a firewall, which is software or hardware that blocks
unauthorized communications between your computer and the Internet. It’s
especially important to do this if you have high-speed service. Windows
XP and Mac OS X have a built-in firewall, although both block only incoming
communications. For greater protection, you can also use a firewall that
blocks outgoing communications; several antivirus programs listed in the
Ratings (available to subscribers) have one.
Consider other free protection. Microsoft Outlook 2003 and Apple Mail
(bundled with new Macs) include spam blockers, as do most large ISPs,
such as MSN and EarthLink. Some automatically enable it; others require
you to turn it on. AOL, EarthLink, MSN, and Yahoo also offer phishing
filters and virus scanning for e-mail at no additional charge. Use them
as one layer of a multilayer defense. Even the free e-mail services Hotmail
and Gmail provide their own spam protection.
2. Use antivirus software. It actually works and you need it, regardless
of other protections you have. As our Ratings (available to subscribers)
indicate, most packages were at least competent at detecting viruses overall,
while some were exceptionally effective.
3. Use two antispyware programs. If your computer takes more and more
time to start up, generally runs slowly, or you’re experiencing unexplained
pop-ups, there’s a good chance you’ve got a spyware infection.
Given the prevalence of this threat (see State of the Net), we recommend
that you install and run antispyware software even if your computer is
running fine.
Not all of the dozen products we tested detect the same types of spyware
behavior, so it makes sense to run two programs at once--a free one and
one for which you paid. See the Ratings (available to subscribers) for
the best performers among those we tested.
4. Add extra spam protection as needed. If spam remains excessive even
with your ISP’s blocker enabled, consider antispam software. It needn’t
cost much; the best performer we tested was a free stand-alone program.
5. If simplicity is paramount, consider a suite. While one-stop shopping
for online protection has appeal, most of the 10 suites of protection
software we tested weren’t effective against all threats. But our
Quick Picks do identify a suite from Zone Labs that was very good or better
against viruses, spyware, and spam. Another, from Trend Micro, provided
very good protection against viruses and spam. For antispyware protection,
you need to use one of the free programs from the Ratings (available to
subscribers).
Our Ratings of stand-alone software include some programs that were also
included in suites; see the Features column of each Ratings table.
6. Activate all software for automatic updating. Not all programs have
auto updates turned on as a default. Check the settings to verify that
the feature is enabled, and make sure your intervention isn’t required
at other times.
7. Be smart online. Download only from trusted sources. Be wary of ad-sponsored
or "free" screen savers, games, utilities, videos, toolbars,
and music or movie file-sharing programs. Those frequently include spyware
that may slow down your PC. Shut off the computer or disconnect the modem
when you don’t need to use it for an extended period.
Use e-mail cautiously. Never open an attachment that you weren’t
expecting, even from someone you know. Never respond to e-mailed requests
for personal information. Don’t reply to spam or click on its "unsubscribe"
link; that tells spammers that your e-mail address is valid.
When doing business online, look for secure Web sites. Check your browser’s
window (not within the Web page itself) for an icon of an unbroken key
or a lock that’s closed, golden, or glowing. Double-click on it to
display the site’s certificate. Make sure that it matches the company
you think you’re connected to, and that the site address begins with
"https.
From ConsumerReports.ORG -
Full article here
Weeding Out Spies
From PCMag.com
The term spyware covers a wide range of threats: nearly mainstream services
that display ads, programs that co-opt search results, keyloggers that
steal your passwords, even Trojan horses that open your system to hacking.
But in two ways spyware is all the same - you didn't knowingly ask for
it, and it uses your system's resources. Antispyware programs attempt
to remove it or prevent it from installing in the first place. And spyware
writers keep devising new tricks to avoid removal. Who's winning?
We'd have to give the edge to the bad guys. None of the antispyware programs
is up to the 100 percent detection and removal standards of most antivirus
programs, for example. But you're still much better off if you're protecting
yourself with a good antispyware app (or two).
We evaluated ten products with fairly recent revisions and found that
they have a lot in common. They all can be configured to scan on schedule
and download updated spyware definitions automatically. They all have
the option to recover suspected spyware from quarantine, or to mark specific
programs as trusted so they'll be immune to future scans. In addition
to scanning the system and removing spyware, they all at least attempt
to prevent it from installing in the first place. Many will alert you
when a program makes a suspicious system change like hijacking your home
page or configuring itself to launch at startup. And some include additional
security features, such as scanning for vulnerabilities or wiping out
cookies, browser history, and other surfing traces.
Quantifying spyware removal is tough, because the vendors don't use a
standard set of names and don't even agree on which file and Registry
traces represent which threat. Some even report the same traces as three
or four distinct threats! Rather than relying on each product's count
of removed spyware or traces, we installed a number of particularly nasty
threats and tested the products against these specific items.
Effective spyware protection is just one element of a safe computing
experience, and we'd very much like to see excellent antispyware as part
of an excellent security suite. But for now, none of the suites has an
antispyware module that protects well enough. So our recommendation is
unchanged: Get a security suite, get a separate antispyware app, and keep
them running and up to date.
Read the full article from PCMag.com
here
