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
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!).
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
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?
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.
Not much new happening these days. Will have a couple of reviews done soon.
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:
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.
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.
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