VIRUS AND OTHER STINKY STUFF TECHNICALLY SPEAKING INTERESTING SITES
VIRUS AND OTHER STINKY STUFF Bagle keeps on toasting PCs By Robert Lemos, Staff Writer, CNET News July 19, 2004 A new version of the Bagle computer virus started spreading on Monday among PCs connected to the Internet, and antivirus companies warned that more variants are sure to come. The latest virus, called Bagle.AI by some antivirus companies and Beagle.AG by others, spreads through e-mail as an attached file, which infects a user's PC when opened. The virus is extremely similar to previous versions of the program but uses a different form of compression as a way to dodge virus defenses. "It really looks likes someone took the source code and changed a small number of things and then re-released it," said Oliver Friedrichs, senior manager for antivirus company Symantec's security response team. Symantec rated the virus as a three on its five-point scale, and rival McAfee called Bagle.AI a medium threat. The latest Bagle virus is the fourth variation found by antivirus companies in a week. Earlier this month, the program's writer released a version of the virus that contained the source code, the computer commands that can be compiled to make the virus. Antivirus companies believe the move will lead virus writers to create a greater number of variants. "When the source code is available, it opens up the door to anyone making changes and releasing a new variant," Symantec's Friedrichs said. "It lowers the bar quite dramatically." Another program with publicly available source code, Agobot, has more than 900 variations. Bagle.AI arrives in e-mail as an attached file and infects computers running the Windows operating system if the user opens the file. The program harvests e-mail addresses from the infected machine and sends out messages to every address, with itself attached. The "from" field in the e-mail is forged to confuse the source of the message. Like a previous version, the program also attempts to stop more than 250 security applications from running on the computer and contacts one of nearly 150 German Web sites to let the attackers know of their latest conquest. The virus also copies itself to any directory that bears a name containing the word "shar," a means of targeting users of peer-to-peer software and to spread across network shares. Computers compromised by the virus will likely be open to exploitation by spammers.
Thursday, July 15--Thursday, July 22 According to Sophos, a leader in Anti Virus Software development, 20 new/improved viruses which required Anti Virus upgrades were released into cyberspace via email. This is one less than last week. & KCnet's antivirus program caught and "defanged" 3229 email viruses in addition to refusing 30,098 spam messages. The spam and viruses are still coming in by the big buckets.
IF YOU SUSPECT THAT YOU HAVE A VIRUS OR IF YOU HAVE NOT SUCCESSFULLY SCANNED YOUR DRIVES FOR VIRUSES LATELY... THIS NEXT SITE IS FOR YOU. Free Virus scans. Trend Micro, more commonly referred to as Housecall, offers free virus scans and in most cases can fix damage down by a virus or worm that your computer may have contacted. The program works well. The first time one uses the free program it is necessary to download a small program. Trend Micro walks you through the process. Then the virus scans are quite simple for each return. You should disable any anti virus program that you have running. If you do not have a virus program I recommend that you use this program first and then download one of the free programs listed above of install any anti virus program you have purchased. Go to http://housecall.antivirus.com/ then choose the link "Scan without registering". Follow the directions.
Computer Associates, another reputable and reliable anti virus developer introduced a new free program which allows anyone to do a virus scan without downloading any software or registering for an anti virus program. You must use Internet Explorer for access to Computer Associates and to perform the scan. This is a good one and very simple to operate The address is http://www3.ca.com/securityadvisor/virusinfo/scan.aspx
Free Virus programs to download Quite a few KCnet members use these programs and like them. Be careful if you download a virus program and you already have one installed on your computer. You need to at least disable the program already installed. http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_dwnl_free.php Another good free program to take a look at is: http://www.free-av.com/
This list from Trend Micro represents the top 10 reported threats July 09, 2004 to July 15, 2004) 1. PE_ZAFI.B 2. WORM_NETSKY.P 3. HTML_NETSKY.P 4. HTML_IFRMEXP.GEN 5. WORM_LOVGATE.F 6. WORM_NETSKY.D 7. WORM_RBOT.ZG 8. TROJ_AGENT.AE 9. PE_FUNLOVE.4099 10. WORM_NETSKY.B
True Viruses and Warning Letters of Impending Doom. Believe it or not, the amount of harm done by sending false computer virus alarms and letters of impending doom to your thousand closest friends can be just as damaging as the alleged virus (if it even exists!); if you remember the story of the boy who cried wolf, you understand why. If you think you've got the scoop on the latest new devastating virus or latest doom warning, check it out at the Web sites below before taking it on yourself to alert the world. If the virus is as terrible as you think it is, odds are the virus fighters already know about it and -- good news here! -- your antivirus software provider probably knows about it too and already has an update for it. Sophos supplies this current information about actual hoaxes. Look at them. Read about them. If you are sent one of them, delete it.
Here are a few sites of many that can help you determine if an email is a hoax or real. http://www.quatloos.com/ http://www.snopes.com/ http://www.urbanlegends.com/ulz/ http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/HBHoaxIndex.html http://vil.nai.com/VIL/hoaxes.asp http://kumite.com/myths/ http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html http://www.scambusters.org/VirusHoaxes.html http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/hoaxes/ http://www.truthorfiction.com/
TECHNICALLY SPEAKING: Latest Scam: Thanks to Gary n' Patti
Now more pressing matters... If you thought "Outsourcing" and the "Offshore" deals were bad before, just chew on this one for a bit folks! I suppose I'm reading more into this story than is intended, but... Let's see!!! Most electronic components and parts are made in other countries. Most of the service and assistance is outsourced to other countries. And now the assembly and manufacture will be just across a border. I find it interesting that the Mexicali Project does not want to compete with Asian labor costs, just American. But remember your machines and other electronic gizmos will stay cheap or get cheaper. On the upside, it is getting closer to home. (Mike) Later: You might want to reread Mike's Commentary of a couple of weeks ago. http://www.seniorcenter.net/netlearnernews/archives04/srspg2_07_114.html
Mexico revs high-tech ambitions By Michael Kanellos, Staff Writer, CNET News July 14, 2004 Mexico in conjunction with a U.S. corporation is trying to woo high-tech companies south of the border with a new industrial park, fairly easy transportation and a massive tax break. Silicon Border and federal and state officials from Mexico outlined on Wednesday plans to build a high-tech industrial park in Mexicali, a Baja California city close to San Diego. Ideally, construction will begin early next year and products from the park will start shipping to the United States by 2006. Although labor costs in Mexico are only about one-fifth of those in the United States or Japan, the country has seen several plants and jobs go to Asia, particularly China, where costs are even lower. In the past three years, around 200,000 electronics manufacturing jobs have been lost, although some have been recently recovered, according to Mexican Secretary of the Economy Fernando Canales Clariond. As a result, the park will try to recruit companies specializing in semiconductor manufacturing and assembly and other industries where labor is one, but not necessarily an overriding, factor. "Most of the Asian countries have cheaper labor costs than Mexico. We do not want to compete against any country on the cost of labor," Canales said. "But labor is only one of many ingredients of the cost structure of a product. From Asia to the U.S. by sea takes three weeks plus seaport costs. From Mexico, it is only hours." One of the chief incentives is a 10-year tax holiday for qualifying companies that operate facilities in the park, said D.J. Hill, chairman of Silicon Border. Comparatively, that's long. In China, qualifying foreign manufacturers don't have to pay income taxes for two years and only 50 percent of taxes ostensibly due for three years after that. China and Taiwan also offer tax breaks on capital gains and to employees who cash in stock options. Tax breaks and government incentives are typically one of the most important considerations for chipmakers and one of the reasons Germany, Ireland and even New Mexico can compete directly for new factories against giants like developing nations. "They (chipmakers) all locate in a place where they can save about a billion" dollars in taxes over 10 years, said Hill, who added that the bill authorizing the tax breaks passed in April. "We are going to copy the good ideas of the parks in Southeast Asia." Mexicali also offers other advantages, Hill pointed out. Semiconductor fabs, or fabrication plants, need lots of water to operate, and the Colorado River rolls through the area. U.S. companies have built power plants in the region, and the state is investing in more. Silicon Border is largely staffed by executives who've built fabs for other semiconductor makers. Engineers will come from the eight universities, including two federally funded ones, located in the region. Overall in Mexico about 18 percent of local citizens under the age of 40 have an opportunity to get a university degree, said Canales. Of all the degrees awarded by Mexican universities, about half are in engineering and about 20 percent of those are in electrical engineering. Additionally, U.S. companies won't have to relocate managers and employees overseas. Towns like Calexico are close enough so that U.S. employees can live in the states and work over the border. Canales pointed out that the Mexican economy is more stable than it was several years ago under President Vicente Fox. Inflation now runs around 3 percent to 4 percent. "After the three-digit inflation we had 10 years ago, you can imagine the efforts to reach that level of very, very low inflation," he said. NAFTA and free trade agreements with Europe, South America and, soon, Japan also facilitate trade, Canales added. "Mexico is a democracy. Mexico does respect human rights. You know what happened in some Asian countries with regard to human life," interjected Baja California Governor Eugenio Elorduy Walther. Still, significant challenges remain. Canales and other officials acknowledged that security and crime, the biggest domestic issue in Mexico, are problems. The speed of getting goods across the border also needs to be improved and remains a complaint of multinationals, Canales said. Although it's trying to catch up to Asia, Mexico has been involved in electronics for decades. Tijuana was actually the first city where U.S. manufacturers built overseas factories back in the early days of the industry before concentrating on Asia. Several North American car, television and phone manufacturers have plants in the country.
Longhorn update: No promises ZDNet July 14, 2004 Speaking at the company's annual partner conference in Toronto on Tuesday, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer argued that promising a delivery date for Longhorn that the company couldn't actually hit would be unfair for customers and partners and would make the whole Windows upgrade cycle even more painful. "We are going to be as transparent as we can be, but we are not promising a final ship date today," he said. Microsoft has been persistently vague on when the various server and desktop versions of Longhorn will ship, with the year 2007 the most precise estimate so far. Speaking at the conference earlier this week, Paul Flessner, senior vice president of Microsoft's Server Platform Division, also refused to be drawn on an exact release date. Read More: http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104_2-5268969.html
Microsoft finds more 'critical' flaws in Windows By Ed Frauenheim and Ina Fried CNET News.com July 13, 2004 Microsoft on Tuesday announced seven new security updates for Windows, including two that address "critical" vulnerabilities. Separately, Microsoft has made available a tool to clean systems affected by the Download.Ject exploit. The company had previously released a configuration change designed to help prevent infection, but has yet to release a patch. Security company Symantec said the new product vulnerabilities include "high risk" threats. "These newly announced vulnerabilities may be exploited remotely, which could allow denial-of-service attacks, and could result in the loss of confidential data," Symantec said in a statement. "Symantec strongly advises users to apply security patches for these vulnerabilities immediately." Read More: http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104_2-5268295.html
When I get e-mail with pictures and I forward it, the recipient only gets a little "X" in a box. How can I forward this type of e-mail? When there is a picture in the body of the email itself, the graphic file might be located on a server (like our newsletter) or attached to the email. If your computer is not online while reading the mail (or your computer thinks it is not online) the pictures will not load from their location in cyberspace. Sometimes this happens if the server receives a lot of traffic or if it is down. Try logging off the net, rebooting, reconnecting, or waiting for the server to come back online. If the picture is an email attachment and you try to forward using Outlook Express, make sure that the picture is attached and that you have the "Send Pictures with Message" option selected. To make sure that the picture is attached after you click Forward look in the "Attach" box for your file name. If is is an embedded image, it should appear in the message window. Here's how you turn on the "Send Pictures with Message" option in OE: On the Tools menu, click Options. Go to the Send tab and click HTML under "Mail Sending Format". If you want to send pictures as attachments with every message, click Settings then check the box marked "Send Pictures With Messages", then OK. If you follow these steps and your recipients still do not get your attachments, they may be considered "unsafe attachments" by OE (see yesterday's tip) or their ISP has filtered it out.
And here is the yesterday mentioned just above. Ever since I got my new computer, I can't seem to get any attachments in my email. Outlook Express says that it removed "unsafe attachments" from my email. How can I get these attachments back? Constant bombardment from spammers and hackers makes me wonder if WWW actually stands for "Wild, Wild West"! We yearn for safe browsing. We long to send and receive email without being harassed. That's why we install anti-virus software. That's why browsers and email programs have security settings. But sometimes, too much security can cause other problems. Anyone who has upgraded to Outlook Express 6 recently may be experiencing an error message like this: "Outlook Express removed access to the following unsafe attachments in your mail..." Why is this happening? When faced with mysterious problems, blame it on Microsoft! By default, the "Do not allow attachments to be saved or opened that could potentially be a virus" option (hereafter called DNAATBSOOTCPBAV) is enabled in OE 6. When this virus-protection feature is on, OE uses Explorer's unsafe file list to determine if a file is safe. Any e-mail attachment with a file type that is considered "unsafe" is not downloaded, and access to the attachment is removed. The unsafe file list includes any file types that may have script or code associated with them. Thus, you may find that you can't receive the pictures from your cousin's wedding, or the mp3 of your grandson's first words. All is not lost...you can avoid this problem by turning off the DNAATBSOOTCPBAV option. Start Outlook Express. On the Tools menu, click Options. Click the "Security" tab, click to clear the DNAATBSOOTCPBAV check box under "Virus Protection", and then click OK. You should, of course, be scanning all attachments with anti-virus software anyway, which makes the extra OE6 security unnecessary. Netscape Mail 7 does not have any similar security features that could cause a problem like this. Most web-based email (such as Yahoo or Hotmail) allow you to scan for viruses before you download attachments.
Another Microsoft tip and a good one it is. Thanks to Worldstart again. We often tell you ways to configure Internet Explorer or Outlook Express for maximum efficiency or how to stop annoying default features. Many times you end up in the "Options" menu where you are faced with a long list of features. What does each one do? Guess what, there is a very easy way to find out what different features do in Microsoft products. Just right-click the item and a little box comes up that says "What's This?". Click that box and you get a little description. Try it. If you are using Internet Explorer, go to Tools / Internet Options and click the "Advanced" tab. Go to any item in the list (I chose "Enable Page Transitions"), put your arrow over it and right-click. See the "What's This?" box? Click it and your description should appear. This also works with the Option menus in Outlook Express and MS Word. Give it a try with other program option lists. It's a great way to find out what you're getting into before you click or unclick a feature.
How to Upgrade to the Latest Version of Spybot Search & Destroy shows you how to upgrade Spybot for free and protect your computer from the latest spyware and malware. How to Use MSCONFIG shows you, step-by-step, how to use the free Microsoft System Configuration Utility in Windows 98, 98SE, ME, and XP to help your computer boot faster and crash less. How to Disable the Windows Messenger Service and protect Windows XP, 2000, or 2003 shows you how to disable a hidden Windows service that can be used by spammers and hackers to attack your computer The Weekly Fab Five shows you the five things you should do each week to keep your PC or Mac running in tip-top shape. How to Restore SULFNBK.EXE and JDBGMGR.EXE as well as how to Update your Java and patch Internet Explorer's URL Spoofing Vulnerability
INTERESTING SITE: The Adventures of Herman Amanda recommended this one. This is a site about worms—hose helpful little critters that are in our soil. Now you can learn all about them with the Adventures of Herman the Worm. This site is divided into sections, can be read in Spanish, and there is even a Teacher's Bin. My History — Learn where worms came from and how they got to North America. My Family Tree — Learn all about the phylum Annelid family and the Kingdom they live in. My Anatomy — Learn about the body of the worm. Did you know they have five hearts? Come Live with Me — Learn how to make a worm bin, care for it, and use the worm castings. Worm Deli — What do worms eat? Can't Live Without Me — Learn about the earth worm's job as a soil scientist and why we can't live with out them! Worm Facts — The place where you get the dish on worms. Here are a few: There are approximately 2,700 different kinds of earthworms; Worms live where there is food, moisture, oxygen and a favorable temperature; In one acre of land, there can be more than a million earthworms. My Fun Place — The activity section of the site where you can read jokes, color, and play games. Wasn't that a wormy adventure? Check out this really cool site today and share it with a friend. http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/worms/
Remember the Seinfield Shows? This site has hilarious and memorable lines culled from 138 episodes of the classic TV show Seinfeld. The Top 300 Best Lines ever uttered on Seinfeld. Jerry, Kramer, Elaine, & George some of us miss you more than ever. http://www.pkmeco.com/seinfeld/
Journey through Tikal Amanda does it again. This will be the Photo journey for this week - great pics here in addition to the story. This site is so interesting. It's a journey through Mayan ruins that you can see in real photographic detail with QuickTime. If you don't have Quick Time you can download it. Choose the free Quicktime Player... http://www.apple.com/quicktime/products/qt/ "Many of the remnants of Tikal reveal the culture of this ancient city in Guatemala. The great temples are just the beginning. The Mayans excelled in many different fields, and testaments of their achievements are found throughout Central America." You don't have to go to Guatemala to visit the temples, learn about the culture, and the treasures here. With a panoramic view in the Quick Time clips you can view the land and the temples as though you were really there. You can view art work and items from the Mayan culture. The images are crystal clear and you can move the image 360° and up and down. To use this on the home page you need to scroll to the bottom and click on the blue spheres on the map, each one is a different Quick Time applet. Some of the views from the pinnacles of the temples are breath-taking. And the quality of the images amazed me. This is one site that you could explore for hours and not miss the time spent doing it. http://www.destination360.com/tikal/guide.htm
U.S. Citizenship Test I'll bet you miss some. (Mike) The VoteBook Citizenship Test is based on an actual test administered by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, which is now known as the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a bureau of the Homeland Security Department. Federal regulations say that persons applying for citizenship must "be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals of U.S. history and principles of government." The questions appear here just as they do on the official list of 100 questions approved by the INS. The correct answers here also come directly from the official answer key. The main difference between the VoteBook Citizenship Test and the real test is that this is a multiple choice exam, so we have made up the incorrect answers. Also, in the real test, the examiner gets to pick the 10 questions that will be asked, so they aren't really random. In the VoteBook test, the computer randomly selects the 10 questions. There is no national standard for a passing grade. According to the INS, most regional offices require a score of 7 or 8 out of 10 to pass. A score of 8 out of 10 is needed to pass the VoteBook test. http://www.herald-sun.com/votebook/citizenship/citstart.html
THE BEST TERROR NEWS UPDATES on the WEB They say it's where the chatter is at! Check every day. Now don't go thinking that this is the United States Government official Homeland Security site- it isn't. It is interesting. You can for a fee register and get a extremely detailed daily report. The free stuff I read was interesting enough to make me want to do a bit more research and recheck the site every once in awhile. http://www.homelandsecurityus.com/ By the way the official USA Homeland Security Web Presence is: http://www.whitehouse.gov/homeland/ In addition to a ton of "Boiler Plate" info some of the meaty topic features included: July 15, 2004 TSA Begins Third Phase of Rail Security Experiment July 6, 2004 Secretary Ridge Announces Homeland Security National Center for Food Protection and Defense June 21, 2004 Ridge Announces New Nationwide Port Security Improvements May 25, 2004 A Better Prepared America: A Year in Review May 17, 2004 Secretary Ridge Statement on European Commission Decision April 28, 2004 Biodefense for the 21st Century Take a look at this: http://www.homelandsecurity.org/ And this: http://www.homelandsecurity.org/bulletin/current_bulletin.cfm
This is a good health site. It is factual, eye-opening, straight forward and accurate (I think). Welcome to Your Disease Risk, the source on prevention. If you were looking for Your Cancer Risk, don’t worry. You’re in the right place. We’ve simply expanded. Now, in addition to cancer, you can find out your risk of four other important diseases and, as always, get personalized tips for preventing them. Your Disease Risk has self-evaluations to help determine your risk of the following diseases--cancer, diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis and stroke. These tests can't take the place of a doctor but it may alert you to see one. In addition to the self-evaluations, there are risk factors and data sheets with more information. http://www.yourdiseaserisk.harvard.edu/