Issue 265 - November 12, 2003

ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2003
==== 2149 Subscribers in 62 Countries ====

Welcome to the 265th 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. If you give me two or three issues, I know that you will come back for more!

You can reach me at editor@pcin.net with any suggestions or comments.

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Support PCIN at http://PCIN.net/donate.php

CONTENTS

Opening Thoughts

I have been testing the Password Agent software by Moon Software for a future review and was storing my login information for a variety of online stores. There was one particular Canadian store that I couldn't remember my password for. I put in the necessary information to try and reset it, but nothing matched and so I was told to call their customer service line to reset it. I did, and all I needed to provide was my name and email address. I was shocked! Anyone could have provided that same information and purchased items with my credit card that was stored. Not a good way to do business.

Speaking of reviews, Chris has finished the review for NewGator, an RSS aggregator that integrates with Microsoft Outlook. Both Chris and I have used it extensively and love it. Check out The Tips and Other Stuff section for more details.

Graham editor@pcin.net and Chris chris@pcin.net

The NEWS

Students aren't using info technology responsibly

"Colleges and universities that invest a lot of money in technology may want to focus more on teaching students to use it responsibly, a survey suggests.
More than eight of 10 undergraduates (83%) regularly use information technology in their academic work, but an even larger share (87%) say their peers at least "sometimes" copy and paste information from the Web without citing the source, according to the 2003 report from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE).
The 4-year-old initiative is aimed at assessing how well students are learning and how effectively colleges contribute to undergraduate learning."

For more info:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2003-11-09-students-it_x.htm

Barnes & Noble Taking Dot-Com Biz Private

"Top U.S. bookseller Barnes & Noble Inc. said on Friday it plans to take its money-losing Web bookstore unit private, buying all shares it does not already own in Barnes & Noble.com in a deal worth about $115 million.
News of the proposed transaction pushed shares of Barnes & Noble.com up by more than 24 percent at the open of the Nasdaq stock market.
Barnes & Noble, based in New York, already owns around 75 percent of the dot-com division, which has struggled to make headway against stiff competition, particularly from arch rival and leading Internet bookseller Amazon.com Inc."

For more info:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=3778058

Job sites may jeopardize privacy, says report

"Some career Web sites, recruitment services and automated job-application kiosks offer flimsy privacy protections and might even violate employment and credit laws, said a report released on Tuesday.
Many job sites still let too much information from resumes posted online get into the hands of third parties through online 'cookies' that monitor Web surfing, according to the report, led by Pam Dixon, formerly of the University of Denver's Privacy Foundation and now head of her own group, the World Privacy Forum."

For more info:
http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20031112.wpriv1112/BNStory/Technology/

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POLL of the WEEK

Last Week's Poll

Will Linux suffer now that RedHat has dropped its distribution

Yes 23.23 % (23)
No 22.22 % (22)
I don't care 54.55 % (54)
Total votes: 99

This Week's Poll

Why do you think Microsoft is offering a reward to catch hackers?

They are genuinely interested in security
They are trying to look good
They are trying to shift attention away
I don't know

You can also vote online at http://PCIN.net/polls/

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PCIN.net FREEHELP FORUM

Visit the PCIN.net FreeHelp Forum at http://PCIN.net/help/forum/ to post your questions or answer others.

Question

I think that my password has been hacked in my Outlook Express. Problem is, I can't seem to find the tool or function that will allow me to change it........any suggestions greatly appreciated. Further, does anyone have a suggestion on how I can tell HOW it was compromised?

Response

No responses yet.

To post a response, visit the Software How-To forum at http://PCIN.net/help/forum/index.php?board=6 and click on the "Microsoft Outlook" topic.

Visit http://PCIN.net/help/forum/ to post a question of your own.

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PCIN.net UPDATE

Check out these new or updated pages on the PCIN.net site:

NewsGator Technologies NewsGator Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/newsgator.php

Sunbelt Software iHateSpam Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/ihatespam.php

Logitech Cordless Elite Duo Hardware Review
http://PCIN.net/help/hardware/lced.php

XemiComputers Ltd. DeskLook 3.0 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/desklook3.php

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THE TIPS and OTHER STUFF

Newsgator Software Review

Newsgator is an excellent news aggregator addin for Microsoft Outlook, but goes beyond that functionality as well. As a news aggregator, it provides many features. It also has the ability to read NNTP (Usenet) posts and plugins are available for posting to many of today Blogging products. It's integration into Microsoft Outlook make NewsGator a must have for any Outlook user.
Check out the full review at http://PCIN.net/help/software/newsgator.php

Print Device Manager Reports

There are many utilities out there that will show you what hardware you have on your computer, but don't forget about the Device Manager. All recent version of Windows will show you all of the hardware, as well as allow you to print a report. In Windows 2000/XP, go into the Device Manager, and from the View menu, choose Print. In Windows 98, click the Print button on the main Device Manager screen. If you have a text printer driver, a PDF printer, or another file-based printer, you can print to file and then share it with others.

Windows Users Group Network Tips

Many people know of WUGNet.com as a place to find good shareware. But they also have a Windows Tip of the Day. You can find all of the past tips (going back to January 1997) by visiting http://www.wugnet.com/tips/date.asp

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PCIN.net AFFILIATED SITES

Both of us have other sites other than PCIN.net. These are all sites that we are actively involved in (they aren't client sites). Don't forget to check them out from time to time for updates:

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DISCLAIMER and OTHER STUFF

PCIN is brought to you by Graham Wing. The opinions expressed are those of the Editor, Graham Wing and the Assistant Editor, Chris Empey. Graham Wing and Chris Empey accept no responsibility for the results obtained from trying the tips in this newsletter.

  1. If any of the links are too long to fit on one line, you may have to cut and paste.
  2. You can only win one contest every 30 days.
  3. To subscribe another address or unsubscribe, please visit http://PCIN.net/ and follow the appropriate links.
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  5. There are only 3 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, you have requested FreeHelp from me in the past, or you have registered with the FreeHelp Forum.
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Graham Wing can be reached at editor@pcin.net
Chris Empey can be reached at chris@pcin.net

Copyright 1998-2003, 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.

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