The following information is not

(1) When you forward an e-mail, DELETE all of the other addresses that appear in the body of the message.  That's right, DELETE them.  Highlight them and delete them, backspace them, cut them, whatever it is you know how to do.  It only takes a second.  You MUST click the "Forward" button first and then you will have full editing capabilities against the body and headers of the message.

If you don't click on "Forward" first, you won't be able to edit the message at all.

(2) Whenever you send an e-mail to more than one person, do NOT use the To: or Cc: columns for adding e-mail address.  Always use the BCC: (blind carbon copy) column for listing the e-mail addresses.  This is the way that people you send to only see their own e-mail address.  If you don't see your BCC: option click on where it says To: and your address list will appear.  Highlight the address and choose BCC: and that's it, it's that easy.  When you send to BCC: your message will automatically say "Undisclosed Recipients" in the "TO:" field of the people who receive it.

Have you ever gotten an email that is a petition?  It states a position and asks you to add your name and address and to forward it to 10 or 
15 people or your entire address book.  The email can be forwarded on and on and can collect thousands of names and email addresses.  A FACT: The completed petition is actually worth a couple of bucks to a professional spammer because of the wealth of valid names and email addresses contained therein.  If you want to support the petition, send it as your own personal letter to the intended recipient.  Your position may carry more weight as a personal letter than a laundry listname and email address on a petition.

So please, in the future, let's stop the junk mail, the viruses and 

Microsoft has begun e-mailing its corporate customers worldwide, letting them know that they may need to start using a different version of Office as a result of a recent legal setback.

The software maker said Monday that it has been forced to issue new versions of Office 2003 and Office XP, which change the way Microsoft's Access database interacts with its Excel spreadsheet.

The move follows a verdict last year by a jury in Orange County, Calif., which found in favor of a patent claim by Guatemalan inventor Carlos Armando Amado. Microsoft was ordered to pay $8.9 million in damages for infringing Amado's 1994 patent. That award covered sales of Office between March 1997 and July 2003.

"It was recently decided in a court of law that certain portions of code found in Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003, Microsoft Office Access 2003, Microsoft Office XP Professional and Microsoft Access 2002 infringe a third-party patent," Microsoft said in an e-mail to customers. "As a result, Microsoft must make available a revised version of these products with the allegedly infringing code replaced."

Although existing customers can keep using older versions on current machines, any new installations of Office 2003 will require Service Pack 2, released by Microsoft in September. Office XP will need to be put into use with a special patch applied.

Microsoft is also recommending that customers update their existing software with the new code. 

Update, 4:28 p.m. ET: Nullsoft has released a new version of Winamp (v. 5.13) that apparently fixes this vulnerability. If you are using Winamp as your media player, be sure to download and install this important update.

Here's what I wrote about this earlier today:

Security experts are warning that instructions have been posted online detailing how bad guys could take advantage of a previously unknown critical security hole in the popular Winamp media player to install potentially dangerous files on users' computers. There currently is no patch available from Winamp  to address this issue, and the published exploit works as advertised.

The problem has to do with the way Winamp processes files ending in ".pls," which the software recognizes as playlist files. For instance, if you check out the free Internet radio stations at Shoutcast.com and click on a "tune in" link to listen to one of the hundreds of stations available for streaming, your browser will attempt to open up a .pls file.

Exactly what happens when you click on a link to a ".pls" file depends on which Web browser you are using. When I click on one of those links in Mozilla's Firefox browser, I get a pop-up message that says, "you have chosen to open 'shoutcast-playlist.pls"; it then asks me what I want Firefox to do with the file.

Clicking on such a link in Microsoft's Internet Explorer automatically opens the playlist file and starts up Winamp. This means that IE users who aren't careful about clicking on Winamp playlist links could find their computers owned by attackers using the exploit. This is likely to be one of those flaws that is just too good for the bad guys to pass up using, as Winamp is quite popular. The application has attracted a loyal following in part due to its customization options.

Almost one year to the day that Bill Gates announced Internet Explorer 7 for XP SP2 at RSA 2005, Microsoft has released a second public beta for the new-and-improved Internet browser.  Hoping to stop the increasing tide of disgruntled surfers switching to Mozilla Firefox and Opera 8, Microsoft has mirrored the look and feel of those other browsers while adding a few unique features to IE 7 for XP SP2 (mostly borrowing from what we've already seen in IE 7 for Windows Vista previews).  Although this is a public beta, which means that anyone can download and install it now, Microsoft is quick to caution early adopters that this is still a technical beta, meaning that Microsoft wants Web site developers to see how the changes in the new IE will affect their sites.  For the end user, know that not all Web sites will function properly using IE 7 for XP SP2 beta 2.  And note that you must be running Windows XP SP2 in order to install this beta; all older versions of Windows are now limited to Internet Explorer 6.  The final release of IE 7 for XP SP2 will be in the fall of 2006.  For a look inside this new release, see our Internet Explorer 7 for XP SP2 beta 2 slide show.

More eye candy
Microsoft has reworked the overall familiar look and feel of Internet Explorer 7 for XP SP2.  The address bar now appears on the top and is not movable (relocating the bar is a common ploy among spyware and adware vendors).  Also, the toolbar has been simplified to show only icons.  Want the menu bar back?  No problem, just add it.  Also, the Favorites sidebar now has three tabs: one for Favorites, one for History, and one for RSS feeds.

Tabs Description: 
Continuing from beta 1 is the ability to use tabs within Internet Explorer.  However, borrowing from what we've seen inside the Windows Vista prereleases, Microsoft has added the ability to visually display all open tabs.  Unlike with Vista's IE 7, you can't mouse over the open tabs to see previews of each page, something that Firefox and Opera currently allow you to do.

Zoom
Another feature borrowed from Windows Vista is page zoom.  You can wheel in or wheel out on a page, which is perfect for those with less than 20/20 vision.  Opera currently offers this feature.

Shrink to print
IE 7 for XP SP2 will automatically size a page so that when it goes to your printer, you won't lose the content on the far right side of the page.  The text may be smaller, but the text will be whole.  You also have the ability to print only the highlighted section of a Web page.

RSS
New to Internet Explorer 7 for XP SP2 beta 2 is a complete Really Simple Syndication (RSS) substructure.  Currently, when you use a third-party application to receive and read RSS feeds, the app must load a complete RSS rendering engine.  Microsoft has created its own and adds it to the Windows XP SP2 operating system (hence, you'll have to reboot when you install the new IE 7 beta).  However, the payoff is nice.  When you subscribe to an RSS feed, you'll no longer see a page of HTML but a fairly basic representation of all the current feeds for that page, plus any categorizing the site has done regarding specific topics.  Also, Microsoft has joined with Mozilla in using the same icon from RSS, making it easy for users to switch between Firefox and IE 7.

Built-in search 
Although MSN Search is the default search setting within IE 7, Microsoft does link out to Google and other sites, so you can quickly change that.  If your default search is currently set to Google, however, no need to worry: when IE 7 imports your data from IE 6, it'll preserve your search engine preference.  Also, IE 7 will lock that preference so that installing toolbars won't automatically--and sometimes without your permission--change that preference.

Improved security
Many fleeing Internet Explorer 6 have cited increased security concerns as a major reason.  There are many legacy problems within Internet Explorer that have resulted from Microsoft's decision to marry its Internet browser with its Windows operating system architecture.  IE 7 for XP SP2 attempts to mitigate some of those concerns.  While in the short term these may dissuade some criminal hackers, others may find other flaws within the venerable browser to exploit going forward.

Antiphishing
We think the most useful security enhancement, on a day-to-day basis is the new antiphishing component within IE 7 XP SP2.  Using heuristics, or algorithms, rather than whitelists, Internet Explorer can analyze a given page and determine whether it's the real McCoy or a spoofed page.  Should you land on a suspicious site, you'll see a golden bar across the top of the page.  You'll have a chance to correct any errors, saving pages you know are not frauds but that may appear so within IE.

Internet security settings
Another very good change is the simplified Internet security settings options.  Microsoft has raised the security bar, making the default setting Medium-High.  If you need to change any of the security settings--say, to install new software via download--you'll see a golden bar across the top of the screen, reminding you that you are now surfing under less-than-secure settings.  You can use a one-click menu option to change those settings back.

ActiveX opt-in 
One of the sore spots for Microsoft has been flaws within the ActiveX Controls native to Windows but easily exploited via Internet Explorer.  With IE 7 for XP SP2, Microsoft has neutered all but the most essential ActiveX Controls.  If you need more, you'll be asked to activate them on a case-by-case basis.  This should limit criminal hacker-attack vectors within IE 7.

Address bars in every window
A new feature within IE 7 for XP SP2 adds an address bar to pop-up windows, allowing you to determine whether you want to view that content (advertising, for example).  This feature is currently available in Firefox.

IDN support
Another way a criminal hacker can attack Internet Explorer users is to substitute characters from one character set into another within a domain name.  For example, if you set English as your native language, all URLs will display characters from the English character set.  If someone decides to use a Cyrillic character in a fraudulent domain name, you'll see a warning across the screen.

High-assurance security certifications 
If you do online banking or e-commerce with IE 7 for XP SP2, you'll notice that Microsoft has also upgraded its certificate requirements.  Currently, all certificate authority statements from Web servers are rendered as low security, with Microsoft pushing site developers to adopt a more robust certificate authority transaction.  In this case, the client-side app is available before the back-end technical enhancements will be ready, but Microsoft did say this was a technical beta.

One click cleanup Although Firefox and Opera have offered this for years, Microsoft has finally made it easy for anyone to delete their browser history.

Mozilla on Wednesday released an update for Firefox 1.5 that fixes several security flaws and makes other changes aimed at improving the open-source Web browser.

The update, Firefox version 1.5.0.1, patches a total of eight security vulnerabilities. One is deemed "critical" by Mozilla, four are rated "moderate" risk, and three are tagged "low" risk. The more serious flaws could let an attacker take over a system running a vulnerable version of Firefox, according to Mozilla's security alerts.

Among the issues tackled is a problem disclosed late last year, which concerns Web pages with an extremely long title that could cause Firefox to crash.
In other news:

    * Tech under fire on human rights
    * The Smoking Gun: Hot as a pistol
    * File-swap leaders face legal D-day
    * Electric slide for tech industry?

Security monitoring company Secunia rates the Firefox update "highly critical." Mozilla recommends that all users switch over to this latest version, according to the Firefox update release notes.

Aside from the security fixes, the update delivers improved stability and support for the Mac OS X platform, according to the release notes. Users of Firefox 1.5, first released last November, can upgrade to the new version using the automatic update feature, or it can be manually downloaded from a Mozilla site. 
http://www.mozilla.com/

Have you ever added a Web site to your Favorites and a neat little icon appeared next to it? For instance, add Google and a cute little "G" appears. It sure makes it easier to find that site in a big long list. But wait, get online a day later and the nifty little Favicon is gone. What gives?

Well, here's why: Internet Explorer puts favicons in Temporary Internet Files so when you empty the cache, it deletes the icon. So, what can you do to keep your favicons from disappearing?

Today's tip is a bit involved, but not as complicated as it looks, so take your time and stay with me. Basically, what we'll be doing is creating a folder in My Documents for Favicons and then we'll be moving them from Temporary Internet Files.

1. Let's start by creating a folder. Open up "My Documents," right click a blank area and select "New" and "Folder." Name the folder "Favicons." Windows XP has a link on the left side of its folder windows that says "Make a new folder." You can click that.

You'll see a long list of Web sites and objects connected with them. At the top you'll see headers for "Name,""Internet Address," "Type," etc. Click "Type" to sort the list. Scroll down until you see "Icon." Highlight any icons you see there and copy (Ctrl+C).

3. Now you'll need to point to the new icon. Go back to Internet Explorer and find the Favorite that the favicon goes to. Right click and choose "Properties." Click the button that says "Change Icon," then the button that says "Browse." Navigate your way to the Favicon folder and select the correct favicon.

Now you won't lose your favicons.

P.S. This method can also be used to assign icons to any of your favorites. That's right. You can download an icon off the Web, put it in your favicons folder, and make it a favicon. You can find thousands of icons for free at Leo's Icons at: http://www.iconarchive.com/

Keep in mind that you'll need to follow this procedure each time you add a favorite that has a favicon. Also, I had one the other day that was locked somehow so I couldn't move it. Don't be surprised if that happens occasionally.

This guy will happen on the third of every month until infected computers are destroyed or the virus is found on infected machines and eliminated.

The Nyxem-D worm can pose as pictures of the Kama Sutra.

Experts at SophosLabs™, Sophos's global network of virus, spyware and spam analysis centers, have warned users to be wary of unsolicited emails claiming to contain obscene pictures and sex movies.

The W32/Nyxem-D worm (also known as Email-Worm.Win32.VB.bi, Blackworm, or W32.Blackmal.E@mm) can spread via email using a variety of pornographic disguises, in an attempt to disable security software. If launched it tries to disable a number of anti-virus and firewall products, and attempts to harvest other email addresses from the infected computer, in an effort to spread itself further.

Subject lines used in the malicious emails include the following:

*Hot Movie*       Arab sex DSC-00465.jpg       ****** Kama Sutra pics       Fw: SeX.mpg       Fwd: Crazy illegal Sex!       give me a kiss       Miss Lebanon 2006       Part 1 of 6 Video clipe       School girl fantasies gone bad       The Best Videoclip Ever

The Nyxem-D worm can pose as pictures of the Kama Sutra.

"Companies should educate their users to practice safe computing - that includes never opening unsolicited email attachments and discouraging the sending and receiving of joke files, pornography and funny photographs and screensavers," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "This worm feeds on people's willingness to receive salacious content on their desktop computer, but they could be putting their entire company's data at risk."

The W32/Nyxem-D worm has a destructive payload, which triggers on the third day of any month, destroying DOC, XLS, MDB, MDE, PPT, PPS, ZIP, RAR, PDF, PSD and DMP files by replacing their contents with the string:

      DATA Error [47 0F 94 93 F4 K5] 

Sophos automatically updated customers with protection against the W32/Nyxem-D Windows worm, which does not infect Macintosh computers, at 16:03 GMT on 16 January 2006.

Sophos recommends companies protect their email with a consolidated solution to thwart the virus and spam threats as well as secure their desktop and servers with automatically updated anti-virus protection.

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.  Go to http://housecall.antivirus.com/  then choose the link   "Scan without registering".  Follow the directions.

You should disable any anti virus program that you have running.  If you do not have a virus program I recommend that you use one of the programs offered above first and then download and install one of the free programs listed below or install any anti virus program you have purchased.

AVG Free
AVG Free Edition is the well-known anti-virus protection tool. AVG Free is available free-of-charge to home users for the life of the product! Rapid virus database updates are available for the lifetime of the product, thereby providing the high-level of detection capability that millions of users around the world trust to protect their computers. AVG Free is easy-to-use and will not slow your system down (low system resource requirements).
http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/lng/us/tpl/v5

Avast
Avast has been "anti virusing" for quite awhile.  The following info comes from their download page:   Avast! Home is now free of charge for HOME users for NON-COMMERCIAL use. You can find more info here.
http://www.avast.com/eng/down_home.html
Note: This product is free for home non-commercial use after registration!
HINTS:   Click on the English Version Link and download the installation file.  Then click on the installation file and follow the directions.  You will need to return to the download page and click on the link to get the registration key.   It will be sent to you in an email after you provide some registration information.  This will give you 14 months of coverage including any updates which can be set to auto download.  You can reregister for additional free coverage at the end of the 14 months.
You will want to browse around and choose from the many options available for operation.  This process will take some time and digging.

Another good free program is:
http://www.free-av.com/
This one installs a bit easier than Avast.

Spybot - Search & Destroy 1.4 - product description
Application to scan for spyware, adware, hijackers and other malicious software.
Choose one of the sites to download from.
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/mirrors/index.html

Ad-Aware Personal provides advanced protection from known data-mining, aggressive advertising, Trojans, dialers, malware, browser hijackers, and tracking components. This software is downloadable free of charge.
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/

 
The table below lists the top 5 virus and malware files submitted to Computer Associates during the week from January 23, 2006, to January 29, 2006.

   1.Win32/Beovens!generic
   2. Win32.Netsky.P
   3.Win32/Blackmal.F
   4. Win32/Mytob.KM
   5. HTML/Phishbank.ACI
 

Here are a few sites of many that can help you determine if an email is a hoax or real.

http://www.snopes.com/
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/
http://www.quatloos.com/

http://www.sbxl.org/
http://www.superbowl.com/features/detroit
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6840160/
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs05/series?series=seapit

Animals Index
The Aquarium is home to approximately 10,500 specimens and more than 560 species of animals.
Amphibians
Frogs, toads, and salamanders are amphibians that most people are familiar with. Amphibians are cold-blooded (ectothermic), smooth-skinned vertebrates (animals with backbones) that are capable of living both on land and in water, usually in different stages of their lives.
Birds
Birds are wonderfully varied creatures inhabiting all parts of the world. The most unique defining feature of these warm-blooded vertebrates is feathers. All have wings, and all but a few species fly.
Fish
Fish are magnificently diverse in size, shape, color, and pattern. Cold-blooded, they live in both fresh and salt water, from cold regions to the tropics. Almost all have fins, gills, and scales. About 96 percent are bony fish. The rest are cartilaginous fish: sharks, skates, and rays.
Invertebrates
No bones about it! Most of the world’s animal species - up to 99% - are invertebrates! These diverse creatures have one common characteristic: they lack the backbone and accompanying skeleton of vertebrates. Some invertebrates are very soft, but most have some support structure.
Mammals
Mammals are warm-blooded vertebrates that can nourish their young with milk-producing mammary glands. Marine mammals have adapted to a lifestyle dependent on rivers or oceans.
Reptiles
Most people think of snakes when they hear the word reptiles, but reptiles also include chelonians (turtles and tortoises), crocodilians (crocodiles, alligators, caiman, gavials), lizards and tuataras. They are air-breathing vertebrates with tough, waterproof skin that retains moisture.
Exhibits
The Aquarium features hundreds of exhibits featuring more than 14,000 animals. Currently, our premiere exhibits include:
Animal Planet Australia: Wild Extremes
Movement is everywhere: a rustle in the trees, a splash in the pool. A flash of color might reveal lizards skittering across the ground, flying foxes leaping in the trees, a crocodile gliding into a pond, or a flock of lorikeets feeding on nectar. This is Animal Planet Australia: Wild Extremes!
Frogs! A Chorus of Colors
The new frog exhibit features highly adaptive, visually stunning, operatically-superior, high-jumping, lily pad-hopping, bog-swimming, and yes, aero-gliding amphibians. The exhibit is open. Check back soon for more info.
Dolphin Amphitheater
Currently there is no dolphin show. Instead, the doors to the amphitheater are open, and training is in session! See the dolphins, talk with our staff, and learn more about these amazing animals. You might even catch a glimpse of our dolphin calf!
http://www.aqua.org/index.html

This one speaks for itself.  Very interesting reading here.
http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/