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Issue 153 - September 19, 2001
ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2001
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Welcome to the 153rd issue of the PC Improvement News. PCIN
consists mainly of news and tips. There is something for everyone,
and if this is your first issue, I'm sure there will be something
for you.
You can reach me at editor@pcin.net
with any suggestions or comments. If you give me two or three
issues, I know that you will come back for more!
Recommend PCIN at http://PCIN.net/recommend.shtml
Support PCIN at http://PCIN.net/donate.shtml
CONTENTS
OPENING THOUGHTS
The world seems to slowly be getting back to normal. As many
of you know, I live very close to the US/Canada border, and
yesterday I ventured to the border crossing for the first
time since the terrorist activity. I'd heard all sorts of
news of long delays and thorough searches. But it really wasn't
that bad. There was someone who asked questions, and someone
who searched my trunk (totally empty). It didn't take long
at all. I thought it was weird that going into the US, I didn't
have to show my ID, but coming back into Canada I did.
Anyway, that reminds me... occasionally people ask how they
can send "snail" mail to me. If you visit http://www.pcin.net/contact.shtml
you find out how to send me things in Canada or the US (you
can't send everything through email, you know!).
Return to the top
The NEWS
Major new worm poses serious threat worldwide
"A new worm that can infect all 32-bit Windows computers
and propagates using multiple methods has spread across
the world Tuesday morning, according to Roger Thompson,
technical director of malicious code at TruSecure.
The worm, called Nimda (admin spelled backwards), can spread
via e-mail attachments, HTTP, or across shared hard disks
inside networks, Thompson said. The worm can infect all
32-bit Windows systems -- Windows 98, 2000, Millennium Edition,
XP, NT -- because it scans systems for between 10 and 100
different vulnerabilities and exploits them when found,
he said."
The PCIN.net web site is hosted on an Apache web server
(non-Windows NT). My logs show that in the last day alone
I have been hit by 1200+ requests for the vulnerabilities
that will allow the worm to continue. Of course since it
isn't a Windows NT/2000 web server, the worm just gets a
File Not Found error.
For more info:
Major new worm poses serious threat worldwide
http://www.infoworld.com/articles/hn/xml/01/09/18/010918hnworm.xml
FBI, CERT Warn New Worm Spreading Fast
http://www.internetnews.com/dev-news/article/0,,10_886981,00.html
Scary Hybrid Internet Worm Loose
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,46944,00.html
Nimda virus/worm (September 2001 hysteria)
http://www.vmyths.com/hoax.cfm?id=267&page=3
AMD's Athlon: Give me an X...Give me a P
"Chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices will call its upcoming
desktop processor the Athlon XP in what seems to be an odd
marketing coincidence.
Sunnyvale, Calif.-based AMD next month will release a 1.5GHz
Athlon desktop processor. Unlike current chips that merely
go by the name "Athlon," the new chip and its
successors will carry the XP suffix, similar to Windows
XP, the name of Microsoft's next operating system.
Although the chip's XP designation appears to have been
inspired by Microsoft, that's not the case, sources say.
Instead, AMD will adopt the new brand as part of a campaign
to differentiate its chips from competing products from
Intel."
For more info:
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-7219359.html
Experts Reject Code Red II 'Cleanup Worm' Plan
"Another purported do-good virus called 'CodeGreen'
has been launched on the Internet, scanning systems for
Code Red II infections and applying a patch as it spreads.
But security officials say the worm cannot be trusted.
Security experts, who almost unanimously dismiss the idea
of fighting a virus with a virus, say the concept is interesting
and may hold promise on a tightly-controlled computer network
but is nothing but trouble "in the wild" on the
Internet.
'"The danger of using a worm or virus is that there's
no way to recall the thing if it started doing something
bad,' Symantec Anti-virus Research Center (SARC) director
Vincent Weafer told NewsFactor Network. 'There are just
too many variables to take into account."
For more info:
http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/13322.html
Bush: $55Mil Donated To Recovery Effort Over The Web
"President Bush today said $55 million has been donated
over the World Wide Web as Internet users pitch in to aid
recovery efforts following last week's terrorist attacks.
The president urged Americans to continue giving."
For more info:
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/170228.html
Return to the top
POLL of the WEEK
Here are the responses from the last poll:
What program do you use to read your email?
Microsoft Outlook Express: 45.16%
Microsoft Outlook: 20.43%
Other: 13.98%
Eudora: 10.75%
Netscape Composer: 5.38%
Web site: 3.23%
Lotus Notes: 1.08%
Total Votes: 93
Visit http://pcin.net/polls/
to participate in the new poll this week:
Do you worry about companies using cookies or other registration
information (demographics) to track your "surfing"
habits?
Return to the top
FREEHELP FORUM
Visit the PCIN FreeHelp Forum to post your questions or answer
others. Each week I highlight a question, and where to go
to get the answer.
Question
I get this message when my Internet Explorer is opening:
"Internet Explorer cannot open the internet site. The
connection with the server was reset."
Is this my problem or the sites problem? If it's mine, what's
the best way to fix it?
Answer
It's the server's problem.
Any other comments or suggestions? Visit http://www.pcin.net/cgi-bin/forum/index.cgi
and check out the Software Forum to post your comments, or
to post a question of your own.
Return to the top
PCIN.net UPDATE
Not much new happening these days. Will have a couple of
reviews done soon.
Return to the top
THE TIPS and OTHER STUFF
Cheap Trick of the Week
**Detect Web site data**
Want to know when a Web site was last modified? Or whether
documents are secure on the site?
If you use Netscape Navigator as your browser, when you
are at a site you want to check out, just type about:document
(with no spaces) in the place where you usually enter an
URL (Web address) and hit Enter or Return.
You'll get all kinds of info about the site, including its
structure and links to images.
Get your own copy of "The Little Black Book of Cheap
Tricks: 2001" by visiting http://www.pcin.net/lbbct/
Uses for the BACKSPACE Key
A while ago I mentioned several uses for the SHIFT key.
Well, this time we'll cover the BACKSPACE key:
- Pressing the BACKSPACE once (without pressing any other
key) will delete one character to the left at a time.
- When in Internet Explorer (and not in a form field), pressing
the BACKSPACE will do the same thing as hitting the back
button.
- In most programs, pressing the CTRL key and the BACKSPACE
key will erase the entire word on the left.
- Pressing the ALT key and the BACKSPACE issues an undo
command (the same as Edit - Undo, or CTRL-Z)
Erasing Cookies?
Like most people on the planet, every once in a while I
clean out my Cookies, History, and Temporary Internet Files
folders. I do this on my home computer, my laptop, at work,
and whenever someone asks me to help them with their computer.
Well, I could have cost them some money. Alexa has been
found guilty of tracking users, and if you have an Alexa
cookie on your computer, you are supposed to submit some
details to them, and you may be eligible to get some of
the settlement. Who knows, check out http://www.alexa.com/settlement/
and see if you qualify.
Return to the top
DISCLAIMER and OTHER STUFF
PCIN is brought to you by PC Improvements. The opinions expressed
are those of the editor, Graham Wing. PC Improvements and
Graham Wing accept no responsibility for the results obtained
from trying the tips in this newsletter.
- If any of the links are too long to fit on one line,
you may have to cut and paste.
- You can only win one contest every 30 days.
- To subscribe another address or unsubscribe, please visit
http://www.pcin.net/
and follow the appropriate links.
- Recommend PCIN to others at http://www.pcin.net/recommend.shtml
and be entered in a monthly draw.
- There are only 2 ways to get on the subscriber list.
You have either been subscribed by filling out a subscription
form on any of the pages on my site, or you have requested
FreeHelp from me in the past.
- If you have a web site or run your own newsletter, please
email me at editor@pcin.net
and I will add it to the subscriber web pages that I have
on my site.
- Support PCIN by visiting http://www.pcin.net/donate.shtml
Graham Wing can be reached at editor@pcin.net
Copyright 1998-2001, PC Improvements and Graham Wing. All
rights reserved.
This publication may be reproduced in whole, or in part,
as long as the author is notified and the newsletter is presented
as is.
Support PCIN by visiting http://www.pcin.net/donate.shtml
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