Fredericksburg Personal Computer Users Group
Archive of Older Special Interest Items (2001-2002)
Items of Special Interest!
Tuesday, November 26, 2002
fpcug.org is now back on-line and now hosted by westhost.com.
Wednesday, November 06, 2002
hutman.com, our former internet host provider ceased business operations.
Saturday, November 02, 2002
Judge Accepts Settlement in Microsoft Case Call for Tougher Curbs Rejected
Wednesday, October 23, 2002
Saturday, October 19, 2002
Tuesday, October 15, 2002
Parent Beams About DirecTV - Hughes Positions Itself for New Deal
Friday, October 11, 2002
Wednesday, October 09, 2002
Satellite TV Rivals Rewriting Deal Firms Work to Land FCC Approval
Microsoft Easing Up On DVD Restrictions Copied Discs to Play on More Devices
Sunday, October 06, 2002
Friday, October 04, 2002
WorldCom Glitch Causes Internet Delays Botched Software Upgrade At UUNet Unit Blamed
Monday, September 30, 2002
The Wrong Wave? Most Cell-Phone Users Want to Talk, Not Surf
Which Wireless Service? The Call Can Be Complex.
Tuesday, June 18, 2002
Please Note!At the June 2002 BoD meeting a discussion arose over the cost of sending the Newsletter to all of you via regular mail. It turns out that the cost has risen dramatically due to printing and postal increases with additional postal increases coming soon. This adds up to be approximately equal to the annual dues we collect each year. It was suggested that many people would be satisfied to read the Newsletter on the website where it appears every month anyway. The savings could be considerable. To indicate your choice please forward your preference to Bill Williams (flick1@erols.com) in the following manner. In the subject write "Newsletter via website" or "Newsletter via regular mail". Bill will do an analysis and determine if the website approach is acceptable to enough members to make it worthwhile. We will still mail the Newsletter to those who prefer to continue receiving it in the regular mail.
The Newsletter would be available at all SIGs and at the General Meeting also.
Thank you for a prompt reply.
Cliff Dalseide
President FPCUG
Making Spam Go Splat
Sick of Unsolicited E-Mail, Businesses Are Fighting Back
Sunday, June 09, 2002
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A15849-2002Jun8
Privacy and Security on your PC
By: David Rittenhouse
May 28, 2002
http://www.extremetech.com/article/0,3396,s=1024&a=27417,00.asp
and
"Making Your PC Secure:"
By: Fred Langa - http://www.langa.com/
Part One: http://content.techweb.com/winmag/columns/explorer/2000/04.htm
Part Two: http://content.techweb.com/winmag/columns/explorer/2000/05.htm
Part Three: http://content.techweb.com/winmag/columns/explorer/2000/06.htm
Part Four: http://content.techweb.com/winmag/columns/explorer/2000/07.htm
The Langa articles are a couple years old, but still contain good information.
StarOffice 6.0 Lives Up to its Name
Tuesday, May 28, 2002
http://www.pcmag.com/article/0,2997,s=1470%26a=27287,00.asp
StarOffice[tm] 6.0 Office Suite - A Sun[tm] ONE Software Offering
Thursday, May 16, 2002
http://wwws.sun.com/software/star/staroffice/6.0/
Sun touts StarOffice as affordable Microsoft alternative
Wednesday, May 15, 2002
http://computerworld.com/softwaretopics/software/apps/story/0,10801,71192,00.html?nlid=PM
OpenOffice.org: Serious Suite Alternative
Monday, May 6, 2002
http://www.eweek.com/article/0,3658,s=708%26a=26349,00.asp
Be Ready to Repel Viruses, Old and New
By Rob Pegoraro
Sunday, April 21, 2002; Page H07; Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19399-2002Apr20.html
Web surfers brace for pop-up downloads
By Stefanie Olsen Staff Writer, CNET News.com
April 8, 2002, 4:00 AM PT
Web surfers who thought online advertisements were becoming increasing
obtrusive may be dismayed about a new tactic: pop-up downloads.
In recent weeks, some software makers have enlisted Web site operators
to entice their visitors to download software rather than simply to view
some advertising. For example, when visiting a site a person may receive a
pop-up box that appears as a security warning with the message: "Do
you accept this download?" If the consumer clicks "Yes," an
application is automatically installed.
Computer security expert Richard Smith explained that with such
downloads, "You don't even know why you're getting this
program, and the people who do (pop-up downloads) are relying on the fact
that people tend to say 'Yes.'"
"A person should request the download," he said.
"It's the classic opt-in, opt-out debate."
In some cases, people are not even asked whether they want the software.
It just installs on the hard drive--a particularly troublesome tactic that
some have dubbed "drive-by download."
Some Net users have complained ...More....
Date: Mon, 8 Apr 2002 07:45:41 -0400 Subject: Yahoo "tracking" Very important information about Web "Beacons" Bugs (the real name) and Yahoo PRIVACY Policy. (This is not directed towards email Ygroups-this has to do with your Yahoo ID and personal info.) On the web site you will see in the privacy statement a reference to "Web Beacons" you need to click on the OPT-OUT button to opt-out. If you don't Yahoo will follow you around on the Internet tracking the sites you visit and every thing you do and send this info back to Yahoo for "marketing" info. This is a Web Bug. It is not cool and it is an invasion of your privacy, but it is still legal. All Yahoo HTML email that you receive also includes a Web Beacon (Web Bug) this is so they can keep track of live email addy's and to see who is opening up the email. All Commercial and HTML email you receive has a web bug, not just that from Yahoo. Here is the direct link to the Web Bug (Beacon) information. You will have to click on the opt-out link to set the opt-out option which is just another cookie. So if you delete your cookies you will have to go and opt-out again. http://privacy.yahoo.com/privacy/us/pixels/details.html
Date: Sun, 31 Mar 2002 04:16:07 -0000 Subject: Yahoo's New Marketing Change will flood your inbox This is rapidly making the rounds, but those of us who are in Yahoo! Groups need to know this: Yahoo has made a "global" change to all of its users "Marketing Preferences." To check yours, and re-set them, log in to your Yahoo account, scroll to the bottom of the page, click on "Privacy Policy." On the next page, under "Assistance" click on "Marketing Preferences." You will probably find that you have been signed up for all kinds of junk. Change each or all as you feel appropriate to your needs/wants. When checking your account you will be signed up to the following: New Yahoo! features and events. Yes Exclusive offers, online sales, and shopping tips on Yahoo!. Yes Travel specials and exclusive deals. Yes Managing personal finances. Yes Entertainment, games, and sports. Yes Finding a job or an employee. Yes Meeting someone special or a new friend. Yes Staying in touch with friends and participating in online communities. Yes Managing my time and contacts. Yes Using Yahoo! for research and surfing the Web. Yes Building web sites for personal or professional use. Yes Ways to sell things on Yahoo!. Yes Tools for growing and managing a business. Yes It will even set you up to receive junk via the U.S. mail and via your phone number. They have the right address and phone number, even though you never gave it to them.
Date: Tuesday, March 29, 2002 Subject: New Beginner class to start Monday, April 8th From: Ray Pollock Beginner's Class: Ray is planning the next Beginner's Class to start on April 8, and to meet every day, Monday thru Friday, at 9 AM, for 2-3 weeks. The first two weeks will meet in the Gates Lab at the Rappahannock Library, in Fredericksburg, and the third week will be meet the Falmouth Fire House.
Date: Tuesday, March 26, 2002 Subject: New Investing SIG to start Tuesday, April 9th From: Kay Pollock The Investing SIG will NOT recommend stocks. The goal of the Investing SIG is to introduce participants to websites which offer a free education about investing and/or free tools for investigating and analyzing stocks. Like other FPCUG SIGs, questions from SIG participants will be encouraged. Participants will also meet others who are interested in learning more about investing, and learn a great deal from their questions as well. The organizational meeting for this SIG will take place at the Falmouth Fire House on April 9, at 7 PM.
Date: Wednesday, March 20, 2002 Subject: Two more viruses/worms/creepy-crawlies No doubt you've noticed that the press (both technical and secular) raged all a-twitter with news of two more viruses/worms/creepy-crawlies. One piece of malware, dubbed W32/Fbound, arrives as a file called patch.exe that's attached to an email message with "Important!" as its subject (unless your email address ends in .JP - indicating you're from Japan - long story). The other hobgoblin, W32.Gibe, lives in a file called Q216309.exe that's attached to an email message which appears to come from Microsoft, and claims to be "the latest version of security update, the update which eliminates all known security vulnerabilities affecting Internet Explorer and MS Outlook/Express". Yeah. And I'm the Easter Bunny. You all know the drill, right? If somebody sends you a file, don't open it, run it or do anything but thumb your nose at it, until you've contacted the person who supposedly sent you the file, and made sure that it's OK. Even then, you should pass the file through an anti-virus program before it sees light of day.
Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2002 To: FPCUG Internet SIG internet-sig@fpcug.org Subject: [Internet SIG] Identity Theft Scam Using Fake IRS Email Some taxpayers have received a scam email, which indicates that they are under audit and need to complete a questionnaire to avoid penalties and interest. The email scam refers to a fictitious "e-audit." They are asked for social security numbers, bank account numbers and other confidential information. The IRS doesn't audit via email, nor does it send audit notifications via email. Thanks to CAPT Paul L. Anderson USN (Ret), Director Retired Activities Office, NSWC Dahlgren VA for this info.
Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2002 To: FPCUG Internet SIG internet-sig@fpcug.org Subject: [Internet SIG] Link in Email to a Web Page Could be Fake Excerpts from an article by Robert Vamosi of CNET Be careful. Not all Web site links received via e-mail open real Web sites. In the case of MyParty for example, the www.myparty.yahoo.com link is actually an attached file that contains a worm. MyParty arrives as e-mail. The attached file seems to be a URL to a Web site named www.myparty.yahoo.com. If the fake Web site link is opened, the worm copies itself and sends a copy of itself to each address found in the Windows address book. Also, on systems with Windows NT, 2000, and XP, MyParty installs a backdoor Trojan horse, allowing a malicious user to gain control over an infected computer. In general, do not open attached files in e-mail without first saving them to hard disk and scanning them with updated antivirus software. Contact your antivirus vendor to obtain the most current antivirus signature files.
Date: Tues, 29 Jan 2002 Subject: Myparty Worm Spreading Quickly Myparty Worm Spreading Quickly By Dennis Fisher A new mass-mailing worm hit the Internet on Sunday and has begun spreading rapidly. The new worm is known as Myparty.A and arrives as an e-mail with the subject line "New photos from my party!" The body of the message reads as follows: "Hello! My party...It was absolutely amazing! I have attached my web page with new photos! If you can please make color prints of my photos. Thanks" There is an attachment named www.myparty.yahoo.com, which does not point to any Web page and is instead a disguised executable file. When executed, the file uses its own SMTP engine to mail itself to everyone in the infected PCs Microsoft Outlook address book. The Myparty worm continued to spread rapidly throughout the day Monday as users in the United States arrived at work and found copies of it in their mailboxes. Researchers discovered late in the day that in addition to mailing copies of itself to multiple users, the worm also installs a Trojan on machines running Windows NT, 2000 or XP. As of 4:30 p.m. EST Monday, MessageLabs Ltd., a U.K.-based company that tracks virus activity, had stopped more than 9,000 copies of Myparty.A. Symantec Corp., the Cupertino, Calif., security vendor, gave Myparty.A a severity rating of three on a five-point scale.
Date: Tues, 29 Jan 2002 Subject: Netscape flaw leaves cookies unsecure By Sam Costello January 29, 2002 6:52 am PT A SECURITY FLAW in Netscape Communications' Navigator Web browser can let malicious Web site operators view the information stored in cookies on a user's computer, according to a security note published on Netscape's Web site. The vulnerability affects Navigator versions 6 through 6.2, as well as version 0.9.6 and earlier versions of the open-source version of Navigator, Mozilla, according to an analysis written by Marc Slemko, who discovered the bug. The bug, Slemko said in his analysis, can be exploited by causing users to visit a Web address inserted into HTML code on a Web page or in an HTML-formatted e-mail. If the user were to view the malicious Web site, cookies could be stolen off the user's computer, Slemko said. Cookies are small data files used by many Web sites to track user visits, preferences and identity. If a cookie is readable, it can be used to impersonate the rightful owner of that cookie on a Web site. Netscape urges all users of Navigator 6 through 6.2 to upgrade to version 6.2.1 which does not contain the flaw. Mozilla users should upgrade to version 0.9.7, which also contains the fix. Users can upgrade the Netscape browser at http://home.netscape.com/computing/download/index.html or Mozilla at http://www.mozilla.org/. Slemko's analysis of the vulnerability can be found at http://alive.znep.com/~marcs/security/mozillacookie/.
Date: Sat, 15 Dec 2001 09:44:23 To: FPCUG Internet SIG Subject: [Internet SIG] IE Security Hole Microsoft released a security patch to plug a hole in IE that could allow hackers to steal passwords and trick people into downloading virulent files. Users of IE versions 5.5 and 6.0 should install the patch. The patch, released Thursday, can be found on Microsoft's Web site.
To: FPCUG Internet SIG Subject: [Internet SIG] Don't Open Unexpected Attachments NEW YORK TIMES December 5, 2001 They Looked, They Clicked, a New E-Mail Virus Conquered By JOHN SCHWARTZ A new malicious computer virus ((worm)) named Goner began making the rounds of the online world yesterday like an <<Internet IQ test.>> Anyone who has not learned <<the most important computer security message of the last two years — do not open any unexpected files that come attached to e-mail messages>> — ends up infecting the computer. ...Goner... deletes a number of programs, including Internet security programs like ZoneAlarm. If the victim uses the Microsoft (news/quote) Outlook e-mail program, Goner sends itself to those in the e-mail address book. It can also be spread through ICQ, an Internet instant-message system... ...Goner is <<not>> automatically blocked by many security screens looking for features of older viruses. Most antivirus companies had patches ready yesterday. The program arrives in an e-mail message that says, "When I saw this screen saver, I immediately thought about you," and, "I am in a harry [sic], I promise you will love it!" The file attached to the message is named "Gone.scr." "If that doesn't look like a virus, nothing does," scoffed David M. Perry, the global director of education for Trend Micro (news/quote), a computer security company based in Tokyo. Despite extensive warnings, he said, people still open unexpected attachments. "They call and say, `I downloaded it and I clicked on it — what should I have seen?' " "Your pink slip," he explained in a mock response, "because you're an idiot." ((Please Note: I'm only <<quoting>> the article here, i.e., "idiot" is NOT my words - Marty G))
GONER WORM SPREADS, TRIES TO DELETE FIREWALLS Posted December 04, 2001 11:41 Pacific Time A NEW HIGH-RISK worm, called "Goner," which attempts to delete a number of program files on infected computers, including firewall applications, is spreading quickly Tuesday, according to a number of anti-virus firms. The worm spreads by way of an attachment sent to users of Microsoft's e-mail programs Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express, and, in a change from the usual worm formula, also through the chat application ICQ, according to vendors of anti-virus products including McAfee.com, Computer Associates International, and Trend Micro. Goner does not exploit any security vulnerabilities like the recent Badtrans worm, but instead must have its attachment double-clicked in order to be launched, said April Goostree, virus research manager at Sunnyvale, Calif.-based McAfee.com. For the full story: http://www.infoworld.com/articles/hn/xml/01/12/04/011204hngoner.xml?1205weam
Date: Sat, 10 Nov 2001 To: FPCUG Internet SIG From: Marty&Carol consultant1@usa.net Subject: [Internet SIG] Yet Another Danger In Visiting Unknown Web Sites Before you click on a URL in an email forwarded to you, ask yourself, "Do I know and trust the ORIGINAL email being forwarded by my trusted friend?" SECURITY: Cookie Data Exposure Vulnerability Microsoft has released a Security Bulletin that addresses a security vulnerability in Internet Explorer. This vulnerability allows data in cookies to be exposed to and altered by a malicious user. Cookies are used by web sites to store personal information about a user, and they should only be accessible to the web site to which they belong. Due to this vulnerability, a malicious user can design a URL that, if visited, is capable of accessing other web sites' cookies. Microsoft does not have a patch available for this vulnerability at this point in time. However, Microsoft has labeled the security risk of this vulnerability as "high," and has offered a work-around to be used until a patch has been released. To implement this work-around, do the following: Open Internet Explorer. Click on Tools and select "Internet Options." Select the Security tab and click on "Custom Level." Scroll to the bottom, and then set both "Active Scripting" and "Scripting of Java Applets" to "Disable." Click "OK," and then click "OK" again. Note: Disabling Active Scripting and Java Applets will cause some web pages to lose functionality. If you are less concerned about this security vulnerability, or use pages with Active Scripting or Java Applets often, you may want to wait for Microsoft to release a patch addressing this vulnerability rather than disabling scripting. Click here for more information from Microsoft: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/security/bulletin/ms01-055.asp
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