VIRUS AND OTHER STINKY STUFF TECHNICALLY SPEAKING INTERESTING SITES
VIRUS AND OTHER STINKY STUFF
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/sp2/cdorder/en_us/default.mspx
Click here for a pic of the actual CD Picture site provided by Ken Dale, KCnet Tech.
Hold Off Downloading From the Tourbus Newsletter. As promised, Microsoft started pushing Windows XP Service Pack 2 ["XP SP2"] to Windows XP Home users through Automatic Updates last Wednesday. XP Professional users can expect XP SP2 to be available through Automatic Updates sometime after this Wednesday, August 25th [weather and squirrels permitting.] Last week I mentioned that if you want to make sure that you get XP SP2 as soon as it is available for your computer, Microsoft recommends that you let them download and install it for you. First, make a System Restore point: http://tinyurl.com/253en Then, just enable Automatic Updates in Windows XP: http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/default.aspx That's it. XP SP2 will be pushed to your computer sometime in the next couple of weeks. I DO *NOT* RECOMMEND THAT YOU DO THIS, THOUGH! In fact, I *STRONGLY* recommend that you wait at least a couple weeks until you upgrade your computer to Windows XP SP2. Why? Well, there are bound to be problems with XP SP2 that no one expects--like, for example, 40 different programs that "seem" to stop working once you install XP SP2 [see http://tinyurl.com/4uvng]--and I would MUCH rather these problems happen to someone else's computer instead of yours. By waiting a few weeks [or even months], you give Microsoft and the other software vendors time to fix these unforeseen problems. You need XP SP2. Just not until later this Fall. And I'm not the only one who's recommending a wait and see approach to XP SP2. For Fred Langa's take on this, check out http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2004/2004-08-16.htm#1 --------------------------------------- Delaying the Automatic Update of XP SP2 --------------------------------------- How can you temporarily delay Microsoft from automatically installing XP SP2 onto your home computer? Well, you have to options: 1. Download and install Microsoft's free XP SP2 Blocker Tools; or 2. Disable Automatic Updates in Windows XP. Choose one or the other, but PLEASE don't do both. ---------------------------------------------------------- Download and install Microsoft's free XP SP2 Blocker Tools ---------------------------------------------------------- To download and install Microsoft's free XP SP2 Blocker Tools, just hop on over to http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=33517 and download Microsoft's free "XP SP2 Blocker Tools." These free tools will temporarily keep Windows Update from installing XP SP2 onto your computer for 120 days.
The XP SP2 Blocker Tools installation process seems a little intimidating at first, but it's really quite simple. If you have Windows XP and want to delay the automatic installation of XP SP2, 1. Click on the Download button on the right side of http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=33517 2. When asked if you would like to open or save [XPSP2BlockerTools.EXE] to your computer click on the Open button. 3. Click on the Yes button to agree to the [five page, two thousand word] end user license agreement. 4. When asked to type the location where you want to place the extracted files, click on the Browse button. 5. Scroll to the top of the list, choose your Desktop, and click on the OK button. 6. Click on the OK button again to extract the files. 7. Close your web browser and any other open program. 8. On your desktop you will see five new icons. Double-click on XPSP2Blocker. A window will open telling you that the Action [was] successfully completed, and the window will automatically close after 5 seconds. 9. Feel free to delete those five new icons from your desktop. You won't need them again. That's it. Windows Update won't try to install XP SP2 onto your computer until mid-November. ----------------------------------------------------- Temporarily disable XP's built-in auto-update feature ----------------------------------------------------- If you would rather not download and install Microsoft's free XP SP2 Blocker Tools, your other option is to temporarily disable XP's built-in auto-update feature until you are ready to upgrade: 1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel. 2. Click Performance and Maintenance. [If the Performance and Maintenance category is not visible, click Switch to Category View.] 3. Click System. 4. Click Automatic Updates and uncheck Keep my computer up to date.
Sophos reveals latest 'Dirty Dozen' spam producing countries Anti-spam specialist reveals the biggest exporters of junk email. Sophos, a world leader in protecting businesses against spam and viruses, has published its latest report into the countries from which most spam messages originate. Researchers scanned all spam messages received at its global network of honeypots in the last month and have revealed the top twelve spam producing countries. The United States remains by far the worst offender, exporting 42.53% of all spam. The top twelve spam producing countries are as follows:
Thursday, August 12 -- Thursday, August 19 According to Sophos, a leader in Anti Virus Software development, 24 new/improved viruses which required Anti Virus upgrades were released into cyberspace via email. This is the highest number of releases in many months. & KCnet's antivirus program caught and "defanged" 11,550 email viruses in addition to refusing 187,789 spam messages. This was an extra heavy week for virus 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/
Top 5 Viruses for August 13 to August 19 from Trend Micro 1 WORM_SASSER.B 2 PE_ZAFI.B 3 WORM_NETSKY.P 4 HTML_NETSKY.P 5 WORM_NETSKY.D
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: From the Tourbus Newsletter. As promised, Microsoft started pushing Windows XP Service Pack 2 ["XP SP2"] to Windows XP Home users through Automatic Updates last Wednesday. XP Professional users can expect XP SP2 to be available through Automatic Updates sometime after this Wednesday, August 25th [weather and squirrels permitting.] Last week I mentioned that if you want to make sure that you get XP SP2 as soon as it is available for your computer, Microsoft recommends that you let them download and install it for you. First, make a System Restore point: http://tinyurl.com/253en Then, just enable Automatic Updates in Windows XP: http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/default.aspx That's it. XP SP2 will be pushed to your computer sometime in the next couple of weeks. I DO *NOT* RECOMMEND THAT YOU DO THIS, THOUGH! In fact, I *STRONGLY* recommend that you wait at least a couple weeks until you upgrade your computer to Windows XP SP2. Why? Well, there are bound to be problems with XP SP2 that no one expects--like, for example, 40 different programs that "seem" to stop working once you install XP SP2 [see http://tinyurl.com/4uvng]--and I would MUCH rather these problems happen to someone else's computer instead of yours. By waiting a few weeks [or even months], you give Microsoft and the other software vendors time to fix these unforeseen problems. You need XP SP2. Just not until later this Fall. And I'm not the only one who's recommending a wait and see approach to XP SP2. For Fred Langa's take on this, check out http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2004/2004-08-16.htm#1 --------------------------------------- Delaying the Automatic Update of XP SP2 --------------------------------------- How can you temporarily delay Microsoft from automatically installing XP SP2 onto your home computer? Well, you have to options: 1. Download and install Microsoft's free XP SP2 Blocker Tools; or 2. Disable Automatic Updates in Windows XP. Choose one or the other, but PLEASE don't do both. ---------------------------------------------------------- Download and install Microsoft's free XP SP2 Blocker Tools ---------------------------------------------------------- To download and install Microsoft's free XP SP2 Blocker Tools, just hop on over to http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=33517 and download Microsoft's free "XP SP2 Blocker Tools." These free tools will temporarily keep Windows Update from installing XP SP2 onto your computer for 120 days.
WHITE PAPER: THE SPAM ECONOMY Spammers, virus writers and hackers were once distinct communities with distinct motivations. However, the success of spam has united them in an underground economy driven to making money from unsolicited email. This free white paper details the level of protection needed to combat these converging threats and demonstrates how Sophos can help keep organizations free of spam and viruses. http://www.sophos.com/spaminfo/whitepapers/Sophos_spam-economy_wpus.pdf
Is your webcam watching you? Sophos reports on worm that spies on innocent computer users The W32/Rbot-GR worm can spy on users via their webcams. Sophos has warned computer users about a worm that has the capability to use webcams to spy on them in their home or workplace. The W32/Rbot-GR worm spreads via network shares, exploiting a number of Microsoft security vulnerabilities, installing a backdoor Trojan horse as it travels. Once installed on an infected computer remote hackers can easily gain access to the information on the PC's hard drive and steal passwords, as well as spy on innocent users via their webcam and microphone. "More and more hackers are interested in spying on the people they manage to infect with their worms and Trojan horses. In the workplace, this worm opens up the possibilities of industrial espionage. At home it is equivalent to a Peeping Tom who invades your privacy by peering through your curtains," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "If your computer is infected and you have a webcam plugged in, then everything you do in front of the computer can be seen, and everything you say can be recorded." Sophos believes that the W32/Rbot-GR worm is evidence of a growing trend of more and more malware spying on innocent home computer owners and poorly-protected businesses. "With many home users keeping poorly-defended PCs in their bedroom, there is considerable potential for abuse. The message is simple - keep your PC protected against the latest threats with anti-virus software and firewalls, and if in any doubt unplug your webcam when you're not using it," continued Cluley.
Sree's Thoughts on Software Scams Sree is the computer guru for (New York -WABC) — There was a time when I thought the most irritating spam messages were for body-part enlargements or mortgage reductions. Not anymore. Now the most frustrating junk messages are for so-called cheap software. Your Hourly Forecast Tech Talk- Leave a Question, Get Answers on our Message Board Here's a message I got today: Andrew Miller Get access to all the software you need for wholesale prices! We sell software 2-6 times cheaper than retail price. A few examples: $80 Windows XP Professional $60 Norton Antivirus 2004 Professional $90 Adobe Photoshop 7.0 $150 Adobe Acrobat 6.0 Professional Categories: Security, Business, Antivirus, Internet, etc. And many more... Visit us at: .... These prices are often dozens or hundreds of dollars less than the list prices. But, as I always say, if something sounds too good to be true or too bad to be true online, it probably is. That's especially true when it comes to software "deals." Many of these are scams that you should just delete from your inbox. On the rare occasion that they do go take you to a real website, the product there does not come in their original retail packing and do not include the manual. When it comes to buying software, always look for a BBB (Better Business Bureau) seal and lookup the site at BBB.org http://www.bbb.org Other Sites worth checking out: Download.com http://www.download.com/ Tucows.com http://www.tucows.com/ CNET.com http://google-cnet.com.com/Software/2001-3513_9-0.html?tag=shfd.dir VioSoftware.com http://store.viosoftware.biz/
Here is a Printer tip from Worldstart. When my printer prints, I get black streaks across the words. What's causing this? Sounds like your printer's ink jet heads need cleaning. Now the procedure for this varies from printer to printer. Some printers (HP) have the ink jet nozzles built into the ink cartridge. Remove the cartridges and wipe their little bottoms with a soft, lint-free cloth. Make sure you clean both the color and black cartridges - sometimes a black streak can be caused by something sitting on a color cartridge. If you can't remove the ink jet nozzle / head, you'll need to try to wipe them off using a lint free cloth. Getting to them can be difficult, so if they are unreachable or you're not comfortable messing around with your printer you may want to take to a repair shop for cleaning. Finally, check with your printer manufacturer and see if they offer some kind of a cleaning kit. HP had one that came free with an ink cartridge, so I know they're out there. In addition, your printer help file may give some advice for recommended cleaning procedures.
Printing System Properties Ever need a print out of your system info? It could be handy to keep in case you ever have questions on your system settings - especially if the system is down for one reason or another. Here's how to do it. 1. Right-click My Computer and select Properties. 2. The System Properties box will be displayed. Select the Device Manager tab. (XP / 2000 users will need to click the Hardware tab, then click the Device Manager button.) 3. For Win 95 / ME, right click the Computer icon and select Print. For XP, click the computer icon at the very top, then the Actions menu, Print. For 2000, click the computer icon at the very top, then the View menu, Print. Nothing like consistency from version to version, huh? You'll be given a screen that lets you select what you would like printed. You can also print out individual info on any of the components listed.
Here is one for our Peer to Peer Users. This one also from Worldstart. Peer to Peer Problems You probably aren't the only one who uses your PC. Your spouse, sister, brother, son, daughter, or others might use it too. Or, if you have more than one PC in your house and are sharing an Internet connection then you'll want to listen to this too. Does anyone who shares your network or PC visit any Peer-to-Peer sites? If you're not familiar with the term or what it is exactly, here's a quick description: Peer-to-peer file sharing is the method used to share illegally copied movies and music over the Internet…it's really popular with teens and college students, but also "grown ups" looking for that obscure eighties song from their new wave days. Basically what you do is go out and download and install a program from one of these sites. Once it's installed you basically do a search for whatever type of file you want and the software goes through all the users and comes back with a list of others that have also installed the software and have the file you want. You can choose the most desirable version of the file, usually based on where the fastest connection is, then the program tries to connect and download the file. Sounds pretty high-tech but it's not. It's basically FTP dressed up, and it creates a lot of bad security holes in your PC and network. First and foremost, these programs are riddled with Spyware and if you run any reputable spyware removal on your PC the program will be rendered crippled. This sounds great, but more than likely whoever is using the peer-to-peer file sharing may simply install it again so that they can get some more free stuff. Another nasty thing that these sites do is rob you of bandwidth. You think your nephew or daughter is getting all of these downloads for free? Oh no no no. It's not called peer-to-peer file sharing for nothing—in order to download files from others your PC also gets set up to share files by default. So even if you're not actively sharing files, but let's say surfing the Internet, your PC could be allowing people from across the web to download files from your hard drive. This can become a serious issue not only for your bandwidth, but it's not exactly the best security strategy you could put in place. This is bad and we haven't even talked about viruses yet, whenever you're downloading files from sites like these you're playing Russian roulette with your PC. Especially if your antivirus subscription has run out, or you get caught with it disabled after a software install. So what do you do to keep these programs off your computer? Well there are a couple of "Good Practices" that you can follow. First you should create a limited account for your secondary users. This will stop them from being able to perform certain functions like installing software. You can do this through Control Panel/Users Accounts with almost all versions of Windows, but keep in mind that this stops very little in some operating systems such as Windows 98 and ME. In Windows 98-XP you can create accounts, name them, and password protect them (that doesn't mean much in 98/ME). This configuration stops unauthorized users (Limited Users) from installing software. There are a couple of other things you can do to hinder P2P file sharing. It's hard to block P2P file sharing with a firewall because a lot (not all) of these programs don't use a website to transfer files, and a lot of the new versions jump ports so it's hard to block the port. You can turn you security up, but then no one will be able to get online. What you can do with a firewall (depends on brand) is password protect access to the settings, and disable the Internet connectivity. This way you'll have to log into your firewall with a password to be able to surf the web. Also some P2P do use a common website that the client programs will connect to in order to search other users' files. If you can get the address of this site you can explicitly deny all access to it in the firewall settings thus stopping any connection to that site. If you do find that someone has installed a file-sharing program on your PC go through your programs list and uninstall it. After this is done run a spyware removal program (such as Zero Spyware—see today's special), reboot, and then run the spyware removal again to see if anything is there. After that I would also do a virus scan. You should be good to go after that.
TENT ROW AT GRANGE FAIR (2003)
INTERESTING SITES: Centre County's Grange Fair at Centre Hall--Now, August 27 through September 2, 2004. KCnet has a ton of members that are also fair campers, that is County Fair Campers. One of the biggest and oldest camper fairs in the nation is just one county away and open as you read this. Take a look at the Live Web Cam on the home page, you might see your neighbor there. The Grange Fair began 130 years ago when Leonard Rhone urged his Progress Grange to join their sister subordinate Granges in having a pic-nik to which they would invite their neighbors and introduce the Grange Organization and the benefits of membership in such a faternity. Since then, it's grown into a real family tradition with some campers going back generation after generation. Tent sites are passed down to family members as prized possessions. Even the size of the Fair has grown to include 950 tents, 1300 RV's, hundreds of concessions, over 7,000 exhibit items, amusement rides, livestock, tractor pulling and much more! Come to Centre Hall, PA and find out why so many folks wrap up every summer at Grange Park with the Centre County Grange Encampment and Fair. http://www.grangefair.net/
Sree's Thoughts on Software Scams Sree is the computer guru for (New York -WABC) This is the second listing for those that did not read the Tech Tips above. (Mike) — There was a time when I thought the most irritating spam messages were for body-part enlargements or mortgage reductions. Not anymore. Now the most frustrating junk messages are for so-called cheap software. Your Hourly Forecast Tech Talk- Leave a Question, Get Answers on our Message Board Here's a message I got today: Andrew Miller Get access to all the software you need for wholesale prices! We sell software 2-6 times cheaper than retail price. A few examples: $80 Windows XP Professional $60 Norton Antivirus 2004 Professional $90 Adobe Photoshop 7.0 $150 Adobe Acrobat 6.0 Professional Categories: Security, Business, Antivirus, Internet, etc. And many more... Visit us at: .... These prices are often dozens or hundreds of dollars less than the list prices. But, as I always say, if something sounds too good to be true or too bad to be true online, it probably is. That's especially true when it comes to software "deals." Many of these are scams that you should just delete from your inbox. On the rare occasion that they do go take you to a real website, the product there does not come in their original retail packing and do not include the manual. When it comes to buying software, always look for a BBB (Better Business Bureau) seal and lookup the site at BBB.org http://www.bbb.org Other Sites worth checking out: Download.com http://www.download.com/ Tucows.com http://www.tucows.com/ CNET.com http://google-cnet.com.com/Software/2001-3513_9-0.html?tag=shfd.dir VioSoftware.com http://store.viosoftware.biz/
This is a fun site. There are hundreds here. Interesting High-speed Video Clips The video clips below were filmed with a special high-speed camera. The super slow-motion playback lets you visualize effects that cannot be seen with the naked eye or with a standard video camera. NOTE: The video clips are Windows Media files. http://www.engr.colostate.edu/~dga/high_speed_video/
MOVIE MISTAKES to watch for http://www.moviemistakes.com/best.php which is not at all like hidden DVD features... http://www.eeggs.com/
The Wonderful World of Baroque Music This one from Amanda This site is a wonderful place to spend a morning. You can learn all about Baroque music, see portraits of baroque composers, and rare baroque instruments. This site is full of the history of baroque music. What is baroque music like? Well you can answer that question by visiting the Baroque Music Sampler section of the site. You can listen to well over two hours of Baroque samples. Learn about the composers, and the way baroque music is put together by visiting several sections of this site from the "Baroque Music Defined" to "Baroque Composers & Musicians" to "Composer Portraits". Next I would recommend checking out the instruments that were used to make this beautiful music. The long forgotten Lute-Harpsichord and the German Violin Bow. There is in-depth information on both of these instruments. Other instruments are mentioned as well. For any music lover this site is a must see, must hear, must experience. http://www.baroquemusic.org/
Games We Play Amanda for this one too. If you guessed that this site was all about games you would be right. This site is about game play throughout history and the present day. How games impact our lives, and what they teach us. "Far from being frivolous, games have always had distinct cultural purposes. Games have been an important pastime for adults and children alike, providing intellectual challenges and entertaining practice in analysis and strategy. Children have been encouraged to indulge in games and other forms of play as a means of improving their general education." Learn about the origins of games like chess, crossword puzzles, and many more. Learn how they developed over time and how much they may have changed since their creation. Some games had political aspirations, meaning that they were designed to be played by the general public and convey political agenda. Some games were also designed to teach principles and morals. Who knew there was so much to the games we play? There are also fabulous historical pictures on the opposite side of the screen as the navigation, click on them to reveal more of the picture and more interesting information. http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/games/
This one for Railroad Buffs. Viewing Album: Wellsboro From the Collection of: Pat Huemmer http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/archiveThumbs.aspx?id=440
Pennsylvania's MOST SCENIC Excursion Railroad. We read in the "Express" that there is a special excursion rate offer for Clinton County residents on this scenic railroad. One needed picture ID and some proof of Clinton County residence, like a drivers license. Reservations are strongly recommended for seating on Tioga Central dinner trains at least one week in advance. If you don't make a reservation and we have room, we will try to accommodate you, but seating is limited on these trains. To avoid frustration, it's best to request a reservation. To request a reservations e-mail us at: Tioga Central Railroad or call (570) 724-0990. You might ask about the Clinton County Special Dates. September 11, 12, 18 and 19 - Tioga County Appreciation Days October 2,3,6,9,10,13,16,17, and 20. Fall Foliage Spectacular Excursions at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. October 23-25 - Wellsboro Rail Days. http://www.tiogacentral.com/