Before you allow your child to go online without your supervision, make sure you establish a set of rules that you can all agree on.
If you're not sure where to start, here are some ideas on what to discuss with your kids to teach them about using the Internet more safely.

1.  Encourage your kids to share their Internet experiences with you. Enjoy the Internet along with your children.

2.  Teach your kids to trust their instincts. If they feel nervous about anything online, they should tell you about it.

3.  If your kids visit chat rooms, use instant messaging (IM) programs, online video games, or other activities on the Internet that require a login name to identify themselves, help them choose that name and make sure it doesn't reveal any personal information about them.

4.  Insist that your kids never give out your address, phone number, or other personal information, including where they go to school or where they like to play.

5.  Teach your kids that the difference between right and wrong is the same on the Internet as it is in real life.

6.  Show your kids how to respect others online. Make sure they know that rules for good behavior don't change just because they're on a computer.

7.  Insist that your kids respect the property of others online. Explain that making illegal copies of other people's work—music, video games, and other programs—is just like stealing it from a store.

8.  Tell your kids that they should never meet online friends in person. Explain that online friends may not be who they say they are.

9.  Teach your kids that not everything they read or see online is true. Encourage them to ask you if they're not sure.

10.  Control your children's online activity with advanced Internet software. Parental controls can help you filter out harmful content, monitor the sites your child visits, and find out what they do there.

More good stuff at:   http://www.microsoft.com/protect/family/guidelines/default.mspx

Okay, I admit it! No one really asked today's question, but I saw this on our message board the other day and I just had to include it in today's newsletter. It may seem like a little joke to you, but all the information you're going to get today is something we all really should pay attention to. So, what am I going on and on about? Well, posted on our message board by "doldgeek" was a thread called "The Ten Net Commandments." They are just ten Internet "laws" we all should abide by on a regular basis. Let's see what they are, shall we?!

1.) Thou shalt not buy merchandise found in pop up ads or spam.

2.) Thou shalt not post thy e-mail address, phone number, address or social security number on the Internet, nor shalt thou post anyone else's.

3.) Thou shalt not forget to update thy Windows every second Tuesday.

4.) Thou shalt not connect to the Internet without installing an antivirus, nor shalt thou begin a scan without checking for updates.

5.) Thou shalt not connect to the Internet without installing a firewall.

6.) Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's credit card number, nor his bank routing number, nor his social security number.

7.) Thou shalt not enter thy credit card number without seeing the tiny padlock icon on thy status bar.

8.) Thou shalt not reply to the e-mail from the Nigerian banker.

9.) Thou shalt not forward chain letters to thy friends and family.

10.) Thou shalt not use "password" as thy password, nor thy birthday, nor thy childrens' names.

Aren't those great?! I mean, they all make a lot of sense and if you think about it, they are some general rules we can all follow when it comes to keeping ourselves and our computers safe. Also, in case you were wondering, this list was put together by Mr. Mike Healan, who works for Spywareinfo. I just thought this was something all of you who do not use our message board on a regular basis would like to see. I hope you enjoyed it! 

The following is an article on the new Live Search is from WEBWARE, a CNET Site.
Microsoft plays catch-up on search     By Elinor Mills , – September 26, 2007

Microsoft unveiled on Wednesday the first significant changes to its Live search site since it was launched over a year ago, adding new shopping, entertainment and health verticals and improving video search. But most of the changes, particularly in the core search relevancy, mirror what competitors already offer.

The company demonstrated the new features at an event dubbed "Searchification" at its Mountain View, Calif. offices. Some of the news was leaked late last week in a blog entry written by one of its own employees.

The most interesting items are:

• User reviews and ratings when searching for products. "We basically crawled the entire Web, Amazon, Price Grabber, Yahoo Shopping, any other Web site, and really got to an algorithmically computed score effectively, which we call an 'opinion index,' which synthesizes what people are saying about this particular product," Satya Nadella, corporate vice president of search and advertising at Microsoft, said in an interview with CNET News.com. This is really useful and will speed up the shopping and research process.

• Expanded video index, scene detection, mouse-over video previews and other features that make it easier to find and watch videos. "With videos now we crawl the entire Web for videos, YouTube, AOL Video, Soapbox, what have you, and then created something called the 'Smart Motion Thumbnails,'" Nadella said. Hovering over the still images with the mouse brings up a short video preview. As part of a new entertainment vertical search, Microsoft has created rankings for celebrities, called xRank, which assigns a score to celebrities based on things like click-through rates and volume of queries on that name. Personally, I don't care if Britney Spears is hot or not in this week's Internet buzz.

• Mapping improvements will include single-click directions and printing, so that you can easily get directions from a particular major roadway and print the directions easily. The maps also will offer hints, such as informing you that if you have passed a particular street you have gone too far, and allow you to choose whether you want directions for the route with the least traffic, the shortest time or the shortest distance. Very handy.

• They also demonstrated some translation features that are kind of cool, including the ability to split the screen to see the original and translated versions, as well as the ability to hover over a section of non-English text and see the translation in a pop-up window.

Other new features that aren't anything novel:
• Business details on local listings. Results for specific businesses will include hours of operation, address, reviews, cuisine type, photographs and other information gleaned from sites like Judy's Book, Yelp and City Search.

• Instant answers and query refinements on health-related results, an increasingly popular type of Web search. Microsoft Live Search is integrating technology it acquired from medical search engine Medstory. Searches can be refined to focus on things like conditions and medications, and includes fresh content from the Mayo Clinic and peer review journals. In an interesting side note, the company said that the top three health searches are "sex," "pregnancy" and "diabetes." Live Search now offers a due-date calculator for pregnancy queries. I'm not sure what new interactive features the site will offer for a health search on "sex."

The health, shopping and entertainment verticals are new and show results mixed in with the Web results, as well as having tabs on the main search page. The video search is now powered by Microsoft's in-house technology and not a third-party as before. All of the verticals will now have instant answers with topic-specific data and links. In addition, the size of the main index has increased four-fold and the main search interface is cleaner.

The core search relevancy improvements include auto-spell correction; recognition of compound words; stemming, or adding an "s" to the end of the word if it is needed; and including words like "the" that would normally be ignored in a search, but which might be necessary to understanding the meaning of the query. For instance, a search for "The Office" would rank results related to the television show of that name higher than Microsoft Office-related results.

Most of the changes to the core search will be available by the end of September, while the new features in the vertical searches will be rolled out before the end of October. The company plans to release major updates every six months to one year, Nadella said.

With the latest release, Microsoft's third generation of search, Microsoft is catching up to Google on core search relevancy and surpassing Yahoo, said Nadella, who joined the Search team six months ago from the business applications division.

But Danny Sullivan, editor of Search Engine Land, had a different take, calling the changes "incremental improvements."

Microsoft executives seem to be in denial on how much work they have ahead of them on search. Not only are they losing share according to Hitwise and comScore, but the usability of their site is sorely lacking, according to Google Blogoscoped.

And don't expect the other search giants to sit still. Sources close to Yahoo say the company plans to unveil significant enhancements to that Web search site in the coming weeks.

Granted, Microsoft's image search is one of the best and they have been innovative with maps, but that's pretty much where their search excellence ends. This latest face lift is more of a nip and tuck to get the search engine back into the contest than it is designed to win it. 

Oh yeah, Woophy is one of my favorite Web sites! Ever since Amanda wrote about it for her cool site section (you can read her review on it here  http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/3962), I have been visiting it on a very regular basis and from the looks of today's question, it seems as if a lot of you have too. Woophy really is an awesome site and I think it's great that so many of you have taken advantage of one of our suggestions!

Okay, so let's move on to today's question. Yes, Woophy does hold a huge photo contest every year and this year is no exception! So, whether you've participated in the past or if this is your first time, you really have a chance to do great things with this one! Each year, Woophy picks a new contest theme and this year, they want pictures about "News." Now, while that may seem a little boring, it's not meant to be that way. Woophy wants to see pictures of what you consider to be news in your part of the world. They don't want you to send in photos like your local newspaper publishes, but real images of what goes on in your neighborhood. Here are some of the examples they have given: pie eating contests, parades, season changes and so on.

I think a lot of you could come up with some really great ideas for this one. Maybe your hometown puts on a festival like no one's business every year or maybe your town is big into high school football. Whatever the case may be, Woophy wants you to capture some images that show the true colors of the news in your area. Don't go out and take pictures of something that will be shown on your 11:00 news, but something that really speaks true to where you live in this world. It's open to anyone around the world, so don't hesitate to enter based on where you live.

Now, to enter your photo in the contest, you must be a Woophy member first. So, if you're not already signed up, just click here http://www.woophy.com/user/mypictures.php to register. You just have to fill in a username, your e-mail address and a password. Then just click Submit and you'll be good to go. When you have your photo ready, you need to upload it into your personal Woophy photo collection first (there are directions on the site on how to do that). Once you do that, you can then enter your picture into the contest. There are three different categories you can choose from as well. Those are "Below the Surface," "Big World Events" and "Raging Reporter." If you're not sure which category your photo best fits into, go to this Web site http://www.woophy.com/contest/index.php to read some of Woohpy's examples. You can also view some of the past submissions for each category, which is very helpful as well.

You can submit as many photos as you want for each category too. The contest runs until December 31, 2007, so you still have plenty of time to get out and get some great shots. Woophy then has four judges (Ron Wunderink, Vincent Mentzel, Thesi Geesink and Hoyte van Hoytema) who will look over all the photos and choose an overall grand prize winner, as well as, one winner for each category. That will happen sometime in January 2008, so they don't make you wait too long to find out who wins! And to keep you on your toes, each month until the contest is over, Woophy will award the person with the "best monthly entry" with an awesome Woohpy T-shirt. How cool is that?!

So, I bet you're dying to know what you win if your photo is chosen, right? Well, one grand prize winner will receive an Olympus E 140 SLR digital camera and the three category winners will receive a Gorillapod, which is one of the best tripods on the market today. Woophy will also publish the winners' photos on their Web site for all to see, along with being part of Woophy's photo exhibition in the spring of 2008. Wow, that sounds like a pretty good deal to me! To read in full the rules and regulations, just click here  http://www.woophy.com/contest/index.php.

Now, my only question is: Are you ready to submit your photo? If you are, just log in to your Woophy account, click on the Contest tab at the top of the page and then look for the Submit a Picture button. Then just follow the directions and you will officially be entered in the contest. This really is a great thing that Woophy is doing, so why not take part in it? It doesn't cost you a dime and who knows, this could be your chance to show your pictures off to the entire world. Take a chance and enter today. 

Accounts of conflicts with XP's repair option came to our attention after Microsoft's "silent install" of Windows Update (WU) executable files, known as version 7.0.600.381, was reported in the Sept. 13 and 20 issues of the Windows Secrets Newsletter.
Sept 13 
http://WindowsSecrets.com/links/jd59qkst1jhwd/b31ce3h/?url=windowssecrets.com%2F2007%2F09%2F13%2F01-Microsoft-updates-Windows-without-users-consent
Sept 20
http://WindowsSecrets.com/links/jd59qkst1jhwd/723243h/?url=windowssecrets.com%2F2007%2F09%2F20%2F02-Protect-yourself-from-silent-Windows-updates

The trouble occurs when users reinstall XP's system files using the repair capability found on genuine XP CD-ROMs. (The feature is not present on "Restore CDs.") The repair option, which is typically employed when XP for some reason becomes unbootable, rolls many aspects of XP back to a pristine state. It wipes out many updates and patches and sets Internet Explorer back to the version that originally shipped with the operating system.

Normally, users who repair XP can easily download and install the latest patches, using the Automatic Updates control panel or navigating directly to Microsoft's Windows Update site.

However, after using the repair option from an XP CD-ROM, Windows Update now downloads and installs the new 7.0.600.381 executable files. Some WU executables aren't registered with the operating system, preventing Windows Update from working as intended. This, in turn, prevents Microsoft's 80 latest patches from installing — even if the patches successfully downloaded to the PC.

I was able to reproduce and confirm the problem on a test machine. When WU tries to download the most recent patches to a "repaired" XP machine, Microsoft's Web site simply states: "A problem on your computer is preventing the updates from being downloaded or installed." (See Figure 1.)

Windows Update error Figure 1. 

Most ordinary Windows users might never attempt a repair install, but the problem will affect many administrators who must repair Windows frequently. Anyone who runs XP's repair function will find that isolating the cause of the failed updates is not a simple matter.

Beginning in July, it is not possible for Windows users to install updates without first receiving the 7.0.6000.381 version of nine Windows Update support files. 
** (See my Sept. 13    for details.) If Automatic Updates is turned on, the .381 update will be installed automatically. If AU is not turned on, you'll be prompted to let Windows Update upgrade itself before you can installing any other updates. Consequently, users are forced to get the silent update before they can attempt to install Microsoft's latest security patches.

The problem apparently arises because seven of the DLLs (dynamic link library files) used by WU fail to be registered with Windows. If files of the same name had previously been registered — as happened when Windows Update upgraded itself in the past — the new DLL files are registered, too, and no problem occurs. On a "repaired" copy of XP, however, no such registration has occurred, and failing to register the new DLLs costs Windows Update the ability to install any patches.

Registering DLL files is normally the role of an installer program. Unlike previous upgrades to WU, however, Microsoft has published no link to an installer or a downloadable version of 7.0.6000.381. Strangely, there's no Knowledge Base article at all explaining the new version. The lack of a KB article (and the links that usually appear therein) makes it impossible for admins to run an installer to see if it would correct the registration problem.

Sept 13  http://WindowsSecrets.com/links/jd59qkst1jhwd/b31ce3h/?url=windowssecrets.com%2F2007%2F09%2F13%2F01-Microsoft-updates-Windows-without-users-consent

One possible fix is to install an older version of the Windows Update files (downloadable from Step 2 of Microsoft Knowledge Base article 927891)
http://WindowsSecrets.com/links/jd59qkst1jhwd/509195h/?url=support.microsoft.com%2Fkb%2F927891%2Fen-us
over the newer version. This involves launching the installer from a command line using a switch known as /wuforce.

That corrects the registration problem, although even in this case you must still accept the .381 stealth update (again) before you can get any updates. The fact that the /wuforce procedure solves the problem suggests that the installer for .381 is the source of the bug.

Manually registering files solves the problem
If you find that Windows Update refuses to install most patches, you can register its missing DLLs yourself. This can be accomplished by manually entering seven commands (shown in Step 2, below) at a command prompt. If you need to run the fix on multiple machines, it's easiest to use a batch file, as Steps 1 through 5 explain:

Step 1. Open Notepad (or any text editor).
Step 2. Copy and paste the following command lines into the Notepad window (the /s switch runs the commands silently, freeing you from having to press Enter after each line):

    regsvr32 /s wuapi.dll
    regsvr32 /s wuaueng1.dll
    regsvr32 /s wuaueng.dll
    regsvr32 /s wucltui.dll
    regsvr32 /s wups2.dll
    regsvr32 /s wups.dll
    regsvr32 /s wuweb.dll

Step 3. Save the file to your desktop, using a .bat or .cmd extension.
Step 4. Double-click the icon of the .bat or .cmd file.
Step 5. A command window will open, run the commands, and then close.

The next time you visit the Windows Update site, you should not have any problem installing the latest patches.

In my articles in the last two weeks on the silent installation of the Windows Update support files, I stated that the stealthy upgrade seemed harmless. Now that we know that version .381 prevents a repaired instance of XP from getting critical patches, "harmless" no longer describes the situation. The crippling of Windows Update illustrates why many computer professionals demand to review updates for software conflicts before widely installing upgrades.

"I understand the need to update the infrastructure for Windows Update," says Gordon Pegue, systems administrator for Chavez Grieves Engineers, a structural engineering firm in Albuquerque, N.M. "But I think Microsoft dropped the ball a little bit communicating how the system works. Administrators should know these sorts of things, in case problems arise."

A Microsoft spokeswoman offered to provide an official response about the situation, but I received no reply by press time.

If you ever need to run the repair option on XP, first see the detailed description provided by the Michael Stevens Tech Web site. 
http://WindowsSecrets.com/links/jd59qkst1jhwd/cf43fch/?url=www.michaelstevenstech.com%2FXPrepairinstall.htm

I'd like to thank Windows Secrets contributing editor Susan Bradley for her help in bringing reports of this problem to light.

Today's topic is something that has been around for the last couple of years, but within the last few weeks, it seems to have crept back up again. Therefore, I felt it was my duty to warn you all about it once more. Now, I know a lot of you have probably already heard of this and you may have dealt with it yourselves before too, but either way, this is a security issue and you all need to be aware of it. Alright, let's get right to it!

To begin, this e-mail scam has to do with the Windows Updates that come out every second Tuesday of each month. The hackers involved with this scam are pretending to be Microsoft and they're sending out fake e-mails, telling users they need to install a critical update right away. They give you a link to follow, which takes you to a false version of the Windows Update Web site. You are then presented with a series of links you can use to download the update, but in all actuality, you're downloading a Trojan virus and other malicious patches. If your computer becomes infected with the virus, the hackers can then obtain complete control of your PC.

Now, there are a couple things you should look out for when it comes to this particular scam. First, the hackers usually try to send this e-mail out right around the time when a monthly update is scheduled to arrive. And in case you haven't noticed, we are now in a new month and the new updates will be coming out next week sometime (right around October 9, 2007). So, keep your eyes out for any unusual e-mails within the next week or so, because if it's going to happen, it will be soon. Also, keep in mind that Microsoft will never send you an e-mail about their updates. The updates will always show up in your taskbar and nowhere else. Don't be fooled by a look alike Microsoft image. Like we always say, just use some common sense when you're going through your e-mails. If something looks suspicious, delete it and forget about it. If you do that, you'll be just fine!

After almost a year of hemming and hawing over how and when to acknowledge publicly its plans for Windows Vista Service Pack (SP) 1, Microsoft finally released on August 29 its officially-approved schedule and feature set for the awaited update.

Vista SP1 will go to about 10,000 to 15,000 selected beta testers by mid-September, officials said. The SP1 beta build will be made available to these testers for download form the Microsoft Connect site. A broader public beta of SP1 is likely around the time Microsoft delivers a release-candidate test build of the service pack, officials said, while declining to provide a timeframe for that build. The final “gold” release of SP1 is now slated for some time in Q1 2008.

Microsoft told selected testers earlier this summer it planned to release the final Vista SP1 in November 2007, around the same time as Windows Server 2008 went to manufacturing. Microsoft also announced on August 29 that it has delayed the release to manufacturing of Windows Server 2008 until Q1 2008.

The promised feature set for Vista SP1 is the same as the one Microsoft outlined earlier this summer when it first told selected testers details about is plans for the service pack. General Manager of Windows Product Management Shanen Boettcher said Microsoft plans to include in SP1 “all previously released updates” that the company has rolled out since Vista was released to manufacturing in November 2006. All of the performance and reliability fixes that Microsoft made available this summer via two mega Vista hotfix packs will be part of SP1.

Microsoft is refreshing “a significant number” (in the company’s words) of Vista components in some way with this service pack, but does not believe application compatibility will be adversely affected as a result, Boettcher said.

On the short list of Vista SP1 features:
    * Support for Direct 3D 10.1
    * support for Secure Digital (SD) Advanced Direct Memory Access (DMA) to improve transfer performance and decrease CPU utilization
    * Performance tweaks lessening the amount of time it takes to copy files, shut down and resume Vista machines
    * Support for ExFat, the Windows file format for flash memory storage and other consumer devices
    * Improvements to BitLocker Drive Encryption to allow not just encryption of the whole Vista volume, but also locally created data volumes
    * The ability to boot Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) on an x64 machine
    * Improvements to battery life by reducing CPU utilization be “not redrawing the screen as frequently, on certain computers”
    * Improvements to Internet Explorer 7 performance by reducing CPU utilization and speeding JavaScript parsing

While the final size of Vista SP1 is roughly what Microsoft told testers it was likely to be (45 MB planned, vs. 50 MB actual), this is the size of the SP as it will be delivered via Windows Update and Windows Software Update Services (WSUS) only. Standalone SP1 will be 1 GB for x86 systems. (See my ZDNet blogging colleague Ed Bott’s post for more on this point.)

Vista SP1 has been in private beta testing with key OEM and Technology Adoption Program (TAP) testers for “a few months,” said Boettcher. Several of the privately distributed pre-beta builds have leaked over the summer, in spite of Microsoft’s non-disclosure policies surrounding all information pertaining to SP1.

Going forward — beyond Q1 2008 when it delivers Vista SP1 and the final Windows Server 2008 code — Microsoft is looking to more closely sync up the updates it is providing for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. Under a new and evolving
“service model,” Microsoft plans to provide customers with constant, regular fixes and updates to Windows client and server.

The goal is to deliver one set of updates that will be able to be applied simultaneously to both client and server. This will be possible because Vista and Windows Server 2008 are built atop the same core kernel, Boettcher said.How and if this new “servicing” model will impact the way Microsoft delivers future service packs for Vista and Windows Server 2008 is yet to be finalized, Boettcher said.

Microsoft still is telling customers not to wait for Vista SP1, and to proceed with testing and upgrades now. After hearing about what’s coming in SP1, I can’t imagine anyone planning to move to Vista not waiting for SP1.

Taking advantage of international concern regarding the daily demonstrations in Burma, IT security and control firm Sophos has cautioned computer users to be wary of a malicious email which claims to be a message of support for monks and other protesters in Burma from the Dalai Lama. In reality, however, it carries a malicious attack designed to infect the recipient's PC.

The email reads as follows:

Dear Friends & Colleagues, Please find enclosed a massage from His Holiness the Dalai Lama in support of the recent pro-democracy demonstrations taking place in Burma. This is for your information and can be distributed as you see fit.

Best wishes.

Tenzin Taklha
Joint Secretary
Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama

When users open the attached document (filename: hhdl burma_001.doc), it attempts to exploit a Word vulnerability which in turn tries to drop a Trojan horse onto the victim's PC. Sophos proactively detects the malicious document as Exp/1Table-B and the Trojan it tries to install as Agent-CGU.

Sophos experts note that to add even more credibility to the message and to encourage a greater number of victims to open the attachment, a link to official website of the Dalai Lama was included.

"The Burmese regime is said to have tried to stop news from coming out of the country by shutting down internet cafes and controlling computer users' access to the net. People around the world are hungry to hear about the latest situation in the country and support the pro-democracy movement, and may be tempted to read this so-called letter from the Dalai Lama," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos. "Using topical news stories to trick unwary computer users into opening and downloading malicious code is one of the oldest tricks in the book, but it's obviously still working or the hackers wouldn't waste their time on it. We should all use our common sense and question the legitimacy of emails sent out of the blue." 
 
 

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.
**************************************************************************************************
Free Anti Virus programs for 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.

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.

**************************************************************************************************
Free Spybot and Adware programs for download.

AVG Anti-Spyware Free is a free anti-spyware protection tool developed by GRISOFT for home use. We invite you to join the millions of satisfied customers worldwide who have downloaded the software and now enjoy the benefits of ewido anti-spyware Free.
What you get with anti-spyware Free
Easy to use
Daily database updates
Heuristics to detect unknown threats
Automatic Cleaning Engine
And most of all ... great customer satisfaction!
http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/20/lng/us/tpl/v5 

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/

Windows Defender  is a free program that helps protect your computer against pop-ups, slow performance, and security threats caused by spyware and other unwanted software. It features Real-Time Protection, a monitoring system that recommends actions against spyware when it's detected, and a new streamlined interface that minimizes interruptions and helps you stay productive.
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx 
 

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 anti virus 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.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/

Welcome to a highly addicting game Web site that challenges you to think. Here you will find puzzles, word games, memory games and more!

I have already spent a good hour exploring this site and I became very addicted to the game What Was There? In that game, you have to look at images, memorize them and then answer questions about what you did or did not see. Each right answer scores you 10 IQ points!

Dragger was also a lot of fun. You have to drag the pieces into the puzzle frame in the right order. It’s a nice twist on a jigsaw puzzle.

Counterfeit was another one I spent a lot of time playing. You have to look at two paintings and figure out in what ways they are different. Some of them were very hard to spot and were quite a challenge to solve.

Rotate is a puzzle game where you have to rotate the squares into the right positions to make the correct image. Everything has to match up perfectly, so be careful before you click Continue that you have the solution you want.

For all you Sudoku lovers out there, you’ll find your favorite number puzzle on this site as well! These puzzles have the highest IQ points I have seen on the site, as they are worth 100 points each.

If you click the link for word games, you will see even more options for games on this page. I found LetterMaze hard to complete in the time limit and it was pretty challenging, because you have to mouse over the letters very precisely. But, once you get the hang of it, it is a lot of fun!

Other word games you’ll find here are: Anagramania, Guess the Word, Spellice and The WordHunt Game. That’s just naming a few that I tore myself away from the other games to play!

Spellice was a very fun game where you have to type the sentence you see correctly. The version you are looking at has spelling errors in it. I thought it was rather nifty, because all the phrases came from Alice in Wonderland.

The WordHunt Game has moving letters that rotate around the square and you have to figure out what they spell. I was hoping for an actual word hunt where you have to find words in a jumble of letters. You know, like those word search magazines you can get at the grocery store. But, this was still very fun!

I hope you’re ready to test your brain with these challenging puzzles. I know I can’t wait to get back to them. Enjoy!

http://www.gamesforthebrain.com/

Oh yeah, Woophy is one of my favorite Web sites! Ever since Amanda wrote about it for her cool site section (you can read her review on it here  http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/3962), I have been visiting it on a very regular basis and from the looks of today's question, it seems as if a lot of you have too. Woophy really is an awesome site and I think it's great that so many of you have taken advantage of one of our suggestions!

Okay, so let's move on to today's question. Yes, Woophy does hold a huge photo contest every year and this year is no exception! So, whether you've participated in the past or if this is your first time, you really have a chance to do great things with this one! Each year, Woophy picks a new contest theme and this year, they want pictures about "News." Now, while that may seem a little boring, it's not meant to be that way. Woophy wants to see pictures of what you consider to be news in your part of the world. They don't want you to send in photos like your local newspaper publishes, but real images of what goes on in your neighborhood. Here are some of the examples they have given: pie eating contests, parades, season changes and so on.

I think a lot of you could come up with some really great ideas for this one. Maybe your hometown puts on a festival like no one's business every year or maybe your town is big into high school football. Whatever the case may be, Woophy wants you to capture some images that show the true colors of the news in your area. Don't go out and take pictures of something that will be shown on your 11:00 news, but something that really speaks true to where you live in this world. It's open to anyone around the world, so don't hesitate to enter based on where you live.

Now, to enter your photo in the contest, you must be a Woophy member first. So, if you're not already signed up, just click here http://www.woophy.com/user/mypictures.php to register. You just have to fill in a username, your e-mail address and a password. Then just click Submit and you'll be good to go. When you have your photo ready, you need to upload it into your personal Woophy photo collection first (there are directions on the site on how to do that). Once you do that, you can then enter your picture into the contest. There are three different categories you can choose from as well. Those are "Below the Surface," "Big World Events" and "Raging Reporter." If you're not sure which category your photo best fits into, go to this Web site http://www.woophy.com/contest/index.php to read some of Woohpy's examples. You can also view some of the past submissions for each category, which is very helpful as well.

You can submit as many photos as you want for each category too. The contest runs until December 31, 2007, so you still have plenty of time to get out and get some great shots. Woophy then has four judges (Ron Wunderink, Vincent Mentzel, Thesi Geesink and Hoyte van Hoytema) who will look over all the photos and choose an overall grand prize winner, as well as, one winner for each category. That will happen sometime in January 2008, so they don't make you wait too long to find out who wins! And to keep you on your toes, each month until the contest is over, Woophy will award the person with the "best monthly entry" with an awesome Woohpy T-shirt. How cool is that?!

So, I bet you're dying to know what you win if your photo is chosen, right? Well, one grand prize winner will receive an Olympus E 140 SLR digital camera and the three category winners will receive a Gorillapod, which is one of the best tripods on the market today. Woophy will also publish the winners' photos on their Web site for all to see, along with being part of Woophy's photo exhibition in the spring of 2008. Wow, that sounds like a pretty good deal to me! To read in full the rules and regulations, just click here  http://www.woophy.com/contest/index.php.

Now, my only question is: Are you ready to submit your photo? If you are, just log in to your Woophy account, click on the Contest tab at the top of the page and then look for the Submit a Picture button. Then just follow the directions and you will officially be entered in the contest. This really is a great thing that Woophy is doing, so why not take part in it? It doesn't cost you a dime and who knows, this could be your chance to show your pictures off to the entire world. Take a chance and enter today. 
 http://www.woophy.com/contest/index.php.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this journey into a language that most of us know of, but are not familiar with, let alone fluent with. I know I did. I’m going to go study this information some more and see if I can get better use out of it!
http://morsecode.scphillips.com/index.html

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Pumpkin Simulator
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