[MikesWhatsNews] MWN #476

MikesWhatsNews, 22, 04, 2002
in today's issue #476
Internet Content Rating Association
Windows Media Player "fix-it" Site
Dancing Ant 
Windows XP ~ Compatibility
CCC      Startup Delayer
        Shortcuts In Folders 
____________________________________________________________
NOTE: Any time you see the "  ++ ",  it means there is more of the

article, or story, on the linked site. Mike
____________________________________________________________

There is a complete archive of past MikesWhatsNews newsletters 
available to members on the Yahoo page, it is searchable by word
or
issue #. Here is the address direct to the messages;
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MikesWhatsNews/messages
NEW Freelists archives;
http://www.freelists.org/archives/mikeswhatsnews/
____________________________________________________________

The Internet Content Rating Association
http://www.rsac.org/lr_about.html
The Internet Content Rating Association is an international,
independent 
organization that empowers the public, especially parents, to make

informed decisions about electronic media by means of the open and

objective labelling of content. ICRA's dual aims are to: 

protect children from potentially harmful material; and, 
to protect free speech on the internet. 
There are two elements to the system: 

Web authors fill in an online questionnaire describing the content
of their 
site, simply in terms of what is and isn't present. ICRA then
generates a 
Content Label (a short piece of computer code) which the author
adds 
to his/her site. 

Users, especially parents of young children, can then set their
internet 
browser to allow or disallow access to web sites based on the
objective
information declared in the label and the subjective preferences
of the 
user. 
The ICRA system can be used with Microsoft's Internet Explorer 
immediately, with wider applications under development. 
The existing RSACi labels can continue to be used in both Internet
Explorer
and Netscape Navigator but will be phased out over time. 

A key point is that the Internet Content Rating Association does
not rate
internet content - the content providers do that, using the ICRA
system. 
ICRA makes no value judgement about sites. 

ICRA is a non-profit making organization with offices in both
Brighton, 
UK and Washington DC, USA. Members include many of the internet 
industry's leading names from around the world. 
++
____________________________________________________________

On 20/04/2002 at 3:52 PM Handle With Care wrote:
~~~
Re; Past its Prime: Is Anti-Virus Scanning Obsolete?
 by Paul Schmehl   last updated April 1, 2002
 
 The title and topic of this article is clearly
 controversial. It is guaranteed to get a strong
 reaction from the anti-virus industry, which is
 firmly convinced it sees clear sailing ahead. So,
 is anti-virus scanning obsolete? In a word, yes -
 but don=92t throw out your scanner. Its replacement
 hasn=92t been created yet. In this article we will
 examine the weaknesses of virus scanning that will
 cause its eventual downfall.
 Read more here:
  http://online.securityfocus.com/infocus/1562
++ There is more on the web site.

An Informed Reply ~ From One Who Works in The Prevention Industry

This sort of article makes me both nervous and angry.  Normally,
this
type of article is often written by the very people who write and
spread
viruses and trojans in order to lull people into self-satisfaction
that
they need not do anything.

It's not that it's entirely false.  It's that there's just enough
truth
in it to be misunderstood by the general public.  Saying that
anti-virus
scanning is obsolete is a lot like saying sex is obsolete.  With
artificial insemination, egg splicing, in vitro gestation, one
doesn't
need sex in order to procreate.  Yeah?  So what?

But, anti-virus scanning isn't as much fun as sex, and doesn't
serve a
similar purpose.  We've said for a long time that there is nothing
in
anti-virus scanning that is 100% and there never has been.  The
more



different ways you scan, the better your chances of identifying
and
removing something hidden.  But, due to laws of diminishing
returns,
there could always be something that slips by, even with the use
of 20
different scanners.

I am currently working with at least one trojan spreading rather
rapidly
that I have forwarded to major scanners and none so far have been
able
to provide even identification of the trojan, much less a removal.

But, as the article says, if you actually read the whole thing,
nothing
is available yet to replace computer anti-virus scanning.  It
would be
like saying that since there is no biological anti-biotic or
anti-viral
to cover all diseases, we should never be innoculated against
anything,
and why bother visiting a physician?  At the very least, we might
avoid
locations and means of known contagion.

Yes, many of the anti-virus scanner suppliers are becoming or have
become lax and arrogant, that shouldn't mean we should be giving
up.  I
could say the same about physicians.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------

Windows Media Player "fix-it" Site
http://www.nwlink.com/~zachd/pss/pss.html?noshowtoc
This is one of the most complete & thorough Windows Media Player
"fix-
it" sites I have ever come across. 
Simple Q & A format. Very detailed how-tos. 
Tips on burning (many s'ware types.) 
Fixes for all Win OSs (except 3x, LOL). Reg edits, Etc., etc.

Really excellent in all ways. :-)

From; Jas 
See her alternative to yahoo;
http://pub25.ezboard.com/bprotech84713 
____________________________________________________________

Dancing Ant ~ uses flash animation 
http://www.paulsfunhouse.com/fun/ant.html
You choose the move he'll do the move.
____________________________________________________________

Windows XP ~ Compatibility
<http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/howtobuy/upgrading/compat.a
sp>
Find which hardware and software is compatible with,
 or Designed for Windows XP. 
  
Type any combination of manufacturer name, product type or model. 
 ++
____________________________________________________________

Christies Computer Corner thanks to Christy;
<1stPicksoftware-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?Subject=3Dsubscribe>

Startup Delayer 
Windows 9x/ME/NT/2000/XP
Freeware
http://r2.com.au/downloads/index.html?id=3Dstartdelay

Can you learn another language in the time it takes for your
machine to boot? Do you turn on your PC when you go to bed, so
it's finished booting by the time you get home from work the next
day? 

When Windows loads it's Startup file, it attempts to load every
program in there at the same time. Therefore if you have quite a
lot of programs starting when Windows starts, each program will
try and grab CPU time so that it can load. 

Startup Delayer allows you to setup how many seconds after
Windows has started, to load each program. 

~~~~~~~

Shortcuts In Folders

Does your desktop look like a mishmash of icons slapped all over?
Icons get added to your desktop as you install software or play
your latest game, and even as reminders and such. After some
time, these icons can become more troublesome than helpful. My
advice is to have only the icons that you use the most frequently
on your desktop.  Other less used, but still helpful, shortcuts
can be moved to folders on your desktop. Right click on your
desktop,select New->folder and create a folder called
"Shortcuts."   Now, in that folder, create as many subfolders as
you want. Copy the desktop shortcuts to the new folders by
right-clicking and using the Cut/Paste commands (or drag and
drop) and you will have quick access to your programs and still
minimize clutter on your desktop.

Was this forwarded to you ?
Get your own subscription here:
<1stpickPCtips-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?Subject=3Dsubscribe>
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/1stpickPCtips

____________________________________________________________

Antivirus software is a good choice to scan your system for
possible 
viruses, however no virus scanner is 100% effective as
manufactures
cannot keep up with the rapid change of viruses that happens
daily.
Be sure to update yours regularly.
http://www.hackfix.org/software/antivirus.html
____________________________________________________________

Please feel free, to offer constructive criticism, as that will
help me keep
it interesting.
I also welcome any submissions about new products, web pages, or 
articles of interest.

All submissions posted in the newsletter will be given proper
credit.
"MikesWhatsNews" believes in giving credit where credit is due but
at
times deadlines and information that is very important to readers
we
accidentally misspost an item.
If you believe something to be miscredited, or you know the author
of
one of the articles which we have posted as 'unknown', please do
let us
know so we can correct the information where applicable.

Many times in a article you may see a click here for more
information,
or to go to a link, these often will not work, as the original
information,
was taken from a page with HTML links.
This is when you will want to go to the webpage indicated in the
article,
++ ,for 'the rest of the story'
***MfM*** indicates that I am adding my own information to a 
                  particular article.
Mike ~It's a good day if I learned something new.
<mikeswhatsnews-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?Subject=3Dsubscribe>
You can read a sample of my newsletter on my web page
http://www3.telus.net/mikebike/
My virus pages http://virusinfo.hackfix.org
mytech@xxxxxxxxxxx


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