The PC Improvement News

Issue 64 - December 29, 1999

ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements (c) 1999

==== 664 Subscribers in 40 Countries ====

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Note 2: You can only win one contest every 30 days.

Welcome to the 64th edition of the PC Improvement News. In this newsletter,
I combine news, tips, thoughts, and contests. There is something for
everyone, and if this is your first issue, I'm sure there will be something
for you. I am willing to discuss any computer topics in this newsletter.
Email me at editor@pcin.net with your suggestions.

If you give me two or three issues, I know that you will come back for more!
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SOME OPENING THOUGHTS
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I hope you all had a relaxing holiday. Lisa and I were at my parent's place
on Christmas Eve, spent Christmas day at home, and then went to her parent's
place for a couple of days.  We'll spend New Year's Eve at home.

I hope you all celebrate a safe and happy New Year. Hopefully next week we
can all laugh at the Y2K hype and move on with our lives.

Last week's and this week's newsletter will be quite a bit shorter than
normal. I'm sure most people are busy getting things ready for the holidays.
The January 5th issue will be regular length.

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.

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THOUGHT OF THE WEEK
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I'd rather be a failure at something I enjoy than a success at something I
hate.
          - George Burns

Thought courtesy of http://www.HappyPublishing.com/
To subscribe to the FREE  Aspire to Something Higher  Thought-Of-The-Day
list, send a blank email to aspire-request@happypublishing.com with
SUBSCRIBE in the subject line.

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THE NEWS
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Hackers Go Public
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L0pht is an  elite  group of hackers. On May 19, 1998, Sen. Fred Thompson
(R-Tenn.) of the Senate Government Affairs Committee asked L0pht members,  I
'm informed that you think that within 30 minutes the seven of you could
make the Internet unusable for the entire nation. Is that correct?   That's
correct,  one L0pht member responded.  It would definitely take a few days
for people to figure out what was going on. 
Whether these hackers could do this or not is debatable, but on December 19,
1999 these people were profiled on ABC World News Tonight. The information
is available online and it is interesting reading. Supposedly they break
into web sites and other secure places to show that more security is needed,
not to steal anything.

For more info:
http://abcnews.go.com/onair/WorldNewsTonight/wnt_991220_CL_L0pht_feature.htm
l
http://www.l0pht.com/


Clinton Shops Online
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Even though President Clinton is a supporter of new technology, I guess he
is known to be quite computer illiterate (he should subscribe to PCIN!).  On
December 21 he went to a couple of  politically correct  web sites and
purchased gifts online. I don't think anyone cares about this, but I share
it just because I can't believe that Business Week magazine actually
provided space for this story.

For more info:
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/dec1999/nf91222b.htm


DVD Hackers Sued
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In an unrelated story (from the hacker story above), 72 hackers and web
sites have been sued by DVD Copyright Control Association for providing the
information needed to crack DVD copyright security. In the November 10, 1999
issue of PCIN at http://www.pcin.net/archive/1999/19991110.shtml I explained
that DVDs have security built into them that made it so you couldn't copy
them. Well, as usual, the code was broken, and now those people are being
sued.

For more info:
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,33303,00.html
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/363/business/Web_sites_sued_for_DVD_piracy
+.shtml
http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/indepth/docs/dvd122999.htm


10 Stories that Shook the Net
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CNN has compiled a list of stories that they claim  Shook the Net . I don't
think any of the stories were that earth shattering, but you can judge for
yourself.

For more info:
http://www.cnn.com/1999/TECH/computing/12/22/standard.10.stories.idg/index.h
tml

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I NEED HELP
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Will return January 5, 1999

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NEW CONTEST
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Will return January 5, 1999

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THE TIPS and OTHER STUFF
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Cheap Trick of the Week
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Cheap Trick of the Week: December 27, 1999
**Quick exploring **
Most likely your Windows 95 or 98 system is set to open folders in the My
Computer style with icons representing folders and files. But you can easily
open any folder in the two-pane Explorer style.
The usual way to do this is to right-click on the folder and select Explore
from the context menu.
Here's a faster method: Just hold down the Shift key while double clicking
on the folder.

Buy the Little Black Book of Cheap Tricks for only $9.95 Cdn (about $7.00
US).
http://www.pcin.net/help/books/cheaptricks.shtml


Keep Informed about Trojan Horses
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I had a colleague tell me that she was using ICQ one day and here CD-ROM
drive door kept opening and closing. A few other things were happening that
made it look like the computer was controlling itself.  It ended up she had
the Back Orifice program/Trojan horse installed on her computer and someone
was controlling her computer remotely.  Visit
http://split.netset.com/hackfix/ and read the information there about these
types of programs. They offer lots of information and links.


A Great Zip Extraction Program
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When using the Internet, it is an absolute necessity to have some sort of
program to open Zip and other compressed file formats.  There are many
options out there, but ZipMagic 2000 by Mijenix has got to be one of the
best.  It provides all of the functionality that the competition has such as
wizards, checkouts, good interface, etc., but it has a couple of other
features built-in that set it apart.
The most interesting one is the  Magic  mentioned in the title.  ZipMagic allows you
to view Zip files using the program interface or as regular Windows folders.
Whether from Windows Explorer or in an Open File dialog box, you can read
the contents of a zip file just like a folder.
ZipMagic also has a download manager included similar to GoZilla and
GetRight.  When you go to download files of certain types it will
automatically start. If the server allows it you can resume interrupted
downloads and schedule downloads for another time.
You can read the online review of ZipMagic 2000 at
http://www.pcin.net/help/software/zm2000.shtml or get more information from
Mijenix directly at http://www.mijenix.com/zipmagic2000.asp

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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.
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Graham Wing can be reached at editor@pcin.net
Copyright 1999, 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.

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