With the release of the bulletins for October 2007, this bulletin summary replaces the bulletin advance notification originally issued October 4, 2007. For more information about the bulletin advance notification service, see Microsoft Security Bulletin Advance Notification.

For information about how to receive automatic notifications whenever Microsoft security bulletins are issued, visit Microsoft Technical Security Notifications.

Microsoft is hosting a webcast to address customer questions on these bulletins on October 10, 2007, at 11:00 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada). Register now for the October Security Bulletin Webcast. After this date, this webcast is available on-demand. For more information, see Microsoft Security Bulletin Summaries and Webcasts.

Microsoft also provides information to help customers prioritize monthly security updates with any non-security, high-priority updates that are being released on the same day as the monthly security updates. Please see the section, Other Information.

Bulletin Information
Executive Summaries
 

The security bulletins for this month are as follows, in order of severity:
Critical (4)
Important (2)

Microsoft has released an updated version of the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool on Windows Update, Microsoft Update, Windows Server Update Services, and the Download Center.

Non-Security, High-Priority Updates on MU, WU, and WSUS

For this month:
Microsoft has released three non-security, high-priority updates on Microsoft Update (MU) and Windows Server Update Services (WSUS).

Microsoft has released one non-security, high-priority updates for Windows on Windows Update (WU).

Note that this information pertains only to non-security, high-priority updates on Microsoft Update, Windows Update, and Windows Server Update Services released on the same day as the security bulletin summary. Information is not provided about non-security updates released on other days.

Access this site to read details pertaining to the October Microsoft Updates.
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms07-oct.mspx

Another reader asked: Can you give me some advantages and disadvantages of doing online banking? I'm not sure if I should start using it or not.

That's an excellent question! I'm sure you all know that you can handle your banking on the Internet now. It's been around for awhile, but more and more people are taking advantage of it every day. But, as with anything else on the Internet these days, there are myths of it being of a bad interest, while others say it's the greatest thing in the world. Below, you'll find some pros and cons for this banking method and I'll just let you decide for yourself!

Before I go any further and just for your information, most banks and credit unions offer some form of online banking these days. It's also known as PC banking, home banking, electronic banking or even Internet banking. The banks who offer this service have been working for several years to find the best possible way to provide online banking to their customers so that they will be able to use it easily and more importantly, trust it.

Pros
- One of the big advantages of online banking is that it's a big time saver. It doesn't try to change the way you handle your money, but it does save you time from sitting down and writing out all those checks. It also speeds up the amount of time it takes for a transaction to process. It sometimes even gets it done faster than an ATM.

- Online banks are open 24 hours and seven days a week, so you never have to worry about the bank closing or not being able to get your transactions done in time. It's all just a mouse click away!

- If you're out of state on vacation or even out of the country, you can still do your banking. If a money problem comes up, you just have to find a computer and it can be taken care of any time of the day.

- Without having to keep track of paper checks, you save money on buying those and you're able to handle your banking more efficiently. Along with efficiency, you can access and manage all of your bank accounts from one (and only one) secure Web site.

- Online banking sites are also now starting to offer more banking tools that you can use to get your business done easier and faster. Some of these tools include account aggregation, stock quotes, rate alerts, portfolio managing, etc. These just help you complete your banking in a more effective manner.

Cons
- Now, even though online banking is supposed to be timely, sometimes the site can take awhile to load or even come up on your computer. If the site is having any type of trouble on any given day, it could prevent you from handling your banking. You always have to be prepared for something like that to happen.

- You do have to register on your bank's Web site before you can begin any banking. You will probably have to provide a user ID and a password, which you may have to get from your bank's branch office. This could take some time, which is a big disadvantage if you're in a hurry to get started. Also, if you're married and want to manage your account along with your husband or wife, you may have to go through a power of attorney type of thing to be able to access the same account. This just depends on the bank you work with.

- You have to take some time to learn your bank's Web site. This can take a little while, depending on how easy or difficult your bank makes the site design. You'll definitely need to sit down and learn the site before you do any transactions. You may need to run through the tutorials as well, which can take up your time.

- Banks like to change their site design without any prior notice. If this happens, you'll have to learn it all over again. Also, if they do this, it's possible you would have to sign up again and re-enter your information.

- One of the biggest things with online banking is the trust issue. Should you jump right in and trust the world of online banking? You may often wonder if your transaction really did go through or not, did you happen to do it more than once on accident, etc. You can always print your records off after each time you visit the site, but it's still a trust issue you have to handle yourself.
 

My friend Bud Casselberry gave me a call the other day to tell me that he started to use the online services for his credit card company.  He was surprised that one could do that.  (He had been doing online banking for quite awhile.)  Anyway, he prodded me to put a note in the KCnet Newsletter about the convenience of managing your credit cards online.  Keep in mind the same pros and cons apply to online Credit Card services as outlined above for online banking.

Here is a site with tons of credit card company info.  http://www.bestcreditoffers.com/index.php?rid=010113&link=1213&lid=95405&gclid=CLzogK7rgY8CFRoGEgodyxfLYg

Need a card?  Check with your personal bank or do a search for the best credit card rewards.
Here are links for some of the most popular credit card companies.
Visa Card
Master Card
Discover Card
American Express Card

Craigslist is sometimes blamed (and praised) for killing the traditional classified ad business, some call it the next eBay, and others use it for job postings. Craigslist was founded in 1995 by Craig Newmark, internet entrepreneur. Often described as an online community, Craigslist is a site where you can find jobs, housing, goods, services, romance, local activities, advice and lots more.

Newmark says he started the site "to give people a break" and over a decade later, it's clear that the bare-bones but very useful site does just that for many people. Craigslist was originally limited to the San Francisco area, with want ads, items to sell, and even personal ads. But with San Francisco "help wanted" ads for a relatively humble $75.00 per ad ($25 for NYC, LA, DC, Boston, Seattle, and San Diego) and all other services offered for free, Craiglist has gained in popularity, expanding to 450 cities in 50 countries.

Craigslist generates income solely from help wanted ads, and offers a month's posting of a job ad at significantly lower cost than traditional print ads, and even lower cost than the leading career websites like Monster.com, Careerbuilder or Hotjobs. In fact, a Wall Street Journal report in 2000 hailed Craiglist as the "most efficient job-recruiting website nationwide." Craigslist's success with it's help wanted ads proved that both employers and employees wanted a cost-effective, no-hassle way to fill openings in the job market.

Newspaper publishers who have traditionally charged high fees for their "help wanted", "for sale", housing and personal ads are seeing that business dry up, and many of them blame Craigslist. Given that Craigslist serves 30 million people a month, and generates over 8 billion page views monthly, that claim doesn't seem far fetched.
Craigslist versus eBay

One fundamental economic shift that's come with the popularity of the Web is the buying and selling of items between individuals. The success of both eBay and Craigslist's "For Sale" section is testimony to how popular online person-to-person commerce has become. Both sites have their positives and negatives. Craiglist, for starters, is free to post goods you want to sell. eBay charges fees to list your wares. Since eBay is strictly a site for buying and selling merchandise, the reputation of the site hinges on the safety of transactions made on it, so many measures are taken against fraudulent activity. Craiglist is more of a free-for-all with an open-market type of feel. Therefore, Craiglist's motto when it comes to buying goods on its site is more-or-less "buyer beware".

Another difference, arguably good or bad depending whom you ask, is that Craigslist, unlike eBay, allows for the bartering of goods, and also for the sale of services. These services can range from computer geeks for hire to other more "personal" services.

Craigslist - Not Without Controversy
Newmark has created a for-profit web site with a communal feel. He has a policy of not policing the website, instead giving users the choice to "flag" any content deemed inappropriate. With enough user flags, the posted content is deleted from the site. This exercise in democracy has not been without controversy, however...

In 2005, Craiglist was in the midst of controversy after New York vice squads uncovered a prostitution ring which used Craiglist as an advertising venue. In 2007, a house in Tacoma, Washington was vandalized and stripped down to nearly its foundation, after a Craiglist ad offered users to come to the home to "take anything you want." Problem was, the ad was placed without the owner's consent.

There is ongoing debate about the often inflammatory comments posted on the "Rants and Raves" message boards. These posts often contain racist and misogynistic language, an unfortunate by-product of the nobler intention of the site's attempt to give some sort of unpolicied forum to users who can post anonymously.

Controversies aside, Craiglist has proven itself as a popular and economical way for people to network and connect, in a variety of contexts. Craigslist is an engine for social interaction, and commerce greases the wheels. 

From Nate Clinton, a Microsoft Update Program Manager, via the Microsoft Update Product Team blog:The mystery continues: Why are Windows machines automatically updating themselves?

    “We have been hearing some questions recently regarding Tuesday’s update release changing automatic updating settings. We have received some logs from customers, and have so far been able to determine that their AU settings were not changed by any changes to the AU client itself and also not changed by any updates installed by AU.

    “We are still looking into this to see if another application is making this change during setup with user consent, or if this issue is related to something else. We are continuing the investigation, and as I have more information I will update this post.

    “If you are running into this issue, your help would be greatly appreciated. You can contact support, and they can walk you through the steps necessary to provide logs and other useful data.”

So, it doesn’t seem to be Automatic Update (AU) or the patches themselves at fault. So what caused last Past Tuesday’s patches to be installed automatically and machines to be rebooted for a group of users who had chosen not to allow automatic installation of patches — as originally reported on the AeroXperience site? It’s still not clear whether it is Vista only (or also XP) that is affected and whether Windows Software Update Services (WSUS) users have seen the same problem.

More to come when there’s new info to share.

Update (3:30 p.m. EST): I’ve gotten notes from a few users saying that XP is also affected. Microsoft officials had declined to comment on which versions of Windows were affected by this update glitch. So far it seems to be XP and Vista. Other users of other Windows releases out there having the same trouble?

Observance of DST, and “Summer Time” in much of Europe, is often different around the world; many areas, countries and territories shift their clocks at different times throughout the year. During these changes, clocks are usually shifted by one hour. Some locations follow a set of standard, uniform rules for the start and end dates of DST, but some locations determine the dates on a much more dynamic basis.

Unless certain updates are applied to your computer, the time zone settings for your computer's system clock may be incorrect during this four-week period. In particular, you must make sure that both your Windows operating system and your calendar programs are updated.
Do I have to update my computer?

Home users: If you use Windows Vista or have Automatic Updates turned on, you may not be affected by the change in daylight saving time. If you want to confirm, follow the steps in the Daylight Saving Time Update Guide below.

IT professionals and IT managers: The Daylight Saving Time Update Guide below will quickly lead you to KB articles and downloads for the products you specify in the guide.
Daylight Saving Time Update Guide

Go to this Microsoft site to do the test.  http://support.microsoft.com/gp/cp_dst

A bipartisan bill that would let victims of identity theft seek restitution for money and time they spent repairing their credit history was introduced on Tuesday in the Senate.

The legislation would also give federal prosecutors more tools to combat identity theft and cybercrime, according to sponsors Democrat Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Republican Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania.

Leahy is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Specter is the ranking Republican on the panel.

Last year, 8.4 million Americans were victims of identity theft, and many were left with a bad credit report, which takes months or years to repair, the lawmakers said.

"Cybercriminals are getting smarter and more effective in their online efforts to strip Americans of their privacy and their property," Leahy said in a statement.

The bill would also eliminate a requirement that the loss resulting from damage to a victim's computer must exceed $5,000 for prosecution; make it a felony to use spyware or keyloggers to damage 10 or more computers; and expand the definition of cybercrime to include extortion schemes that threaten to damage or access confidential information on a computer.

~ Story Copyright © 2007 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. ~

[Update 24-August, 2:00PM: By popular request, I’ve assembled a list of the parts that went into this system, including specs and prices.]    http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=290

In June, I recounted my out-of-the-box experience with a new Dell PC running Windows Vista, starting with a failed BIOS upgrade, undergoing a successful repair, and establishing that the basic hardware and software setup was rock-solid.

The reason I bought this PC in the first place was to use it as the hub of a home theater system, integrated with a 5.1 surround sound setup and a 50-inch Sony HDTV with Vista Media Center as the front end. So, at the beginning of July, I took the plunge and moved this system out of the office and into the living room. It took about two weeks to assemble all the pieces I needed and get everything working together correctly, but today I am thoroughly pleased with everything about this system. If you’ve considered doing the same thing, I have some advice in this post, and I’ve documented the whole thing with an image gallery so you can see what it looks like.
Click below to access an  THE IMAGE GALLERY  “Using Windows Vista as a home theater hub”
Image Gallery:  http://content.zdnet.com/2346-12354_22-160341.html

My goal with this system was to consolidate all of our digital media - photos, music, and home videos - into a single location accessible over the network. I want to be able to play back any album or song, create playlists on the fly, launch slide shows, and view home movies, all using a remote control. I had no doubt that the Media Center interface would work, because we’ve been happily using Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 for the past two years, with an Xbox 360 in the living room as an extender. Bringing the PC into the living room simplifies the equipment lineup, reduces the cost, and potentially offers better performance because it’s not bound by network speeds.

The bottom line: It works. Spectacularly well, in fact. I originally approached this as a proof-of-concept experiment, and I was half expecting to run into at least one roadblock that would cause me to give up and go back to my old setup. Surprisingly, the only obstacles were minor ones.
page 1
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As it stands right now, within the next few weeks, Microsoft is going to be releasing the SP 1 to approximately 10,000 pre-selected testers who will then test the utility to make sure it will be ready for the public when that time comes. Side note: Those testers will also be testing the SP 3 for Windows XP that is also scheduled to be released in the near future. Once all the testing is done, Microsoft will work their magic with the finishing touches and it will finally be available to us!

Now, what's going to be included with the SP 1, you ask? Well, it's mostly going to be a compilation of tweaks and fixes that are geared toward improving the stability and reliability of the Vista operating system. It's not going to be chocked full with a lot of new features, but it will do what it's intended to do and it will do it well. So, whether you've been a Vista user since it began or you're going to be upgrading soon, the SP 1 will surely come in handy for all of you. Plus, at least now you know what's up ahead and you have something to look forward to.

The emails, which come from a husband and wife who claim to be on a Christian Mission in Africa say that their Yorkshire Terrier dog is not coping well in the hot weather.

Part of the email, which give contact phone numbers in Nigeria, reads:

I and my Husband have now decided to give her out on Adoptioto someone that can give her a good home and take very good care of her. She's a very loving puppy, she will be a good companion. If you know you can take very good care of her do send me a reply back through my email address below or you can give me a call so we can discuss on phone.

The scam emails offer a Yorkshire Terrier dog for adoption

These email con-tricks, known as a 419 scam, are named after the relevant section of the Nigerian penal code where many of the scams originated and are unsolicited emails where the author typically offers a large amount of money. Once a victim has been drawn in, requests are made from the fraudster for private information which may lead to requests for money, stolen identities, and financial theft.

Other examples of 419 email scams include a message claiming to come from a persecuted widow of the late Nigerian head of state, an associate of the massacred Nepalese royal family, and even an African astronaut stranded on the Mir spacestation.

Earlier this year Sophos reported how a former treasurer of Alcona County, Michigan, had been arrested after allegedly investing more than $1.2 million of county funds in Nigerian fraud scams. 

The Storm Worm ranks as one of this year's most virulent and persistent viruses. After making a January debut, transported by e-mail, the virus was notable for the more than 50,000 variants that it subsequently spawned.

The Storm Worm has since continued unabated, most recently in the form of Web-based attacks. E-mails, socially engineered to look like electronic greeting cards and linked to a Web site containing malware, completely avoided traditional e-mail antivirus gateways. The Storm Worm's course change to the Web reflects a growing trend of malware Web-based attacks launched through e-mail.

The simple logic behind these e-mail-based blended threats is astoundingly effective: no attachment means no antivirus block. And when combined with a user-friendly invitation, it creates the opportunity for a high infection rate.

Blended threats easily lead people to Web sites where malware gets downloaded--often without user interaction or knowledge. The industry is just now realizing the severity of the problem,

Researchers at Google recently published a paper concluding that approximately 10 percent of reviewed URLs contained "drive-by downloads" of malware binaries (PDF) and many more that were flagged as suspicious.
Malware once lurked in the dark corners of the Internet, but recent hacks have shifted it to the places we all frequent.

Our research at Avinti examined URLs being "advertised" through e-mail by spammers, and we found similar results: 40 percent of all e-mails contain at least one URL, and of those, approximately 7 percent linked to a malware site.

Malware once lurked in the dark corners of the Internet, but recent hacks have shifted it to the places we all frequent. For evidence, look no further than this year's hacking of the Web site for Dolphin Stadium, home to Super Bowl. Or the Sydney Opera House. Even popular social-networking sites like MySpace and Facebook have been platforms for exploits. Yes, the sites we frequent daily and trust may be the biggest threats we face in the future and we may be lured there by an innocuous e-mail link to view a greeting, blog or video.

The new Web (2.0) is a fertile breeding ground for malware. Links, blog postings, shared applications and syndicated traffic are all backdoor opportunities for unknown exploits to invade legitimate sites.

At the same time, traditional tools such as Web filters, originally built for blocking objectionable content, struggle to catch these attacks as much as antivirus products do in keeping up with ever-changing e-mail-borne attacks. Spammers and hackers have automated the process so that these sites can be up and running and then down in a matter of hours long enough to carry out their attacks. Like the Storm Worm variants, these sites may be up, active and out of business before a bad URL or IP address is ever logged.

Given the frequency of hackers hijacking a legitimate Web site to insert malware, such as an attack spoofing the Better Business Bureau, blocking a domain or subdomain is becoming more problematic. What about linked pages? Are they blocked by association or if they serve up the malicious link? What if a single IP address hosts sites for both malware and non-malware sites? Without proper control, we may end up either blocking too much, or jeopardizing our trust in valid Web sites.

Fortunately, there is some light now that we have recognized the problem. Organizations like Stopbadware.org and Google are beginning to address ways to share information on malware sites. More vigilance by social sites and IT directors on patching and maintaining their Web sites is going to become more critical than ever.

In addition, there is a greater realization among vendors that since hackers and spammers don't look at e-mail, IM, or the Web independently, they can't afford to either. What we need now are proactive solutions that are as dynamic as the attacks they are trying to prevent; that can detect both known and unknown threats, whether on the Web, e-mail, or IM. Until then, beware the next time you get an e-mail greeting card. 

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.

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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/

  HALLOWEEN COSTUMES & MAKEUP
One of the things that makes Halloween so wonderful is that you can dress up as any fantasy you want and have your persona excepted. Over the past few years, Halloween has seen a resurgence in popularity with adults and their Halloween festivities.

Adults can be seen in Halloween costumes at parties, costume contests, masquerade balls, themed nightclubs, and yes, even Trick or Treating. Popular classics like transforming yourself into a Sexy Witch to cast a spell over all who see you, maybe being a Vampire Seductress for the night, or taking on the sultry persona of the Queen of Halloween herself, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark!

Every year around September 1st, people start getting in the mood for Halloween. In fact, some of us are in that mood all year long! Decorating your home, car, office space, dorm room, or just about anywhere that you spend any amount of time. So, here you'll find a few ideas to help get you started on decorating for Halloween. Some things here are store bought and some are crafts that you can make at home. Setting the mood for Halloween has never been so fun!

DOORWAY FACADES - FEATURED DECORATION
The entrance to your haunted home will set the mood for that one special night of the year. Door decorations can cost as little as ten dollars, and up to hundreds of dollars for full sized door-frames that are really impressive. The Skull Door Frame facade is a very creepy decoration. Click here for some of the best ways to let your trick or treaters, party guests and other potential victims know that they are about to meet doom.

Make the most of October and have a great time! Start some Halloween traditions with friends and family! You'll find a coffin full of articles here to get your imagination going.

HALLOWEEN TIP OF THE DAY
Use your garage for setting up a small walk-through haunt. You can turn it into anything you want, a mad scientist lab, a vampires tomb, a grave yard.

http://www.halloween-online.com/

Access here to find theatres running Halloween Horror Movies and to view trailers:
http://www.halloweenmovies.com/

Play Halloween Hangman - loads of fun!  http://www.dedge.com/flash/hangman/hangman.swf

READ POSSUM LIVING:
     http://www.f4.ca/text/possumliving.htm

My mom actually passed this Web site my way and I'm so glad she did. She teaches at a school that decided to do their fundraising through this site. I wanted to share it with those of you who plan fundraisers for schools, churches and other non-profit organizations as well.

Wondering how it works? Well, I’m pleased as punch to tell you! First, you'll need to register your non-profit organization. If the site isn't familiar with it, they will have to verify it, which could take one to seven days. After approval, your name will appear on their list of partners and you can start looking through their fundraising options. They have Web drives and catalog drives.

A catalog drive is something we are all familiar with. I remember going door to door in my neighborhood as a child trying to sell cookies, candy, candles and whatnot. I remember my parents paying for the box of candy my friends and I ate, not realizing it’d cost money. But now, you can sell eco-friendly products at your next catalog fundraiser. From reusable water bottles to soaps and lotions to gifts like bracelets and chocolate, it's all here on this site. They’ll send you the catalogs and order forms you'll need as well. Also, with this option, you can keep 40 percent of what you make!

A Web site drive is a newer way of raising money with a fundraiser. From what I understand, people shop this Web page and list your non-profit if they want to purchase from you. With this one, you get 25 percent of the sales to put toward your fundraiser.

With a lot of our minds turning to what we can do to help better our environment, these products will really strike a chord with buyers. Everything is eco-friendly and even more so, to the point of being practical and useful. Well, maybe the chocolate isn’t useful, but don't we all love chocolate anyway?!

I think this is a great way to raise funds for non-profit organizations. It's something that will help your organization, but it also helps the planet. It's pretty neat if you ask me!

http://www.greenraising.com/

Oh, and we've also included a list of the blogs that we work on, during daytime hours. We're sure you're already checking those out regularly, so just consider this something of a refresher.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2194604,00.asp