[MikesWhatsNews] MWN #552

MikesWhatsNews, 16, 09, 2002
in today's issue #552
Fast Spreading Slapper Worm
Learn Chess at ChessKIDS Academy 
ENUFF
Tina's FrontPage Tips ~ PWS Check
CCC      IT Anthems
        Keep Things Up to Date
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NOTE: Any time you see the "  ++ ",  it means there is more 
          of the article, or story, on the linked site. Mike
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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
and; http://www.freelists.org/archives/mikeswhatsnews/
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Here is the latest from F-Secure. 

PRESS RELEASE For release September 15, 2002

Fast spreading Slapper worm enables attacker to take over infected
servers
 
F-Secure reverse engineered worms network protocol -- real-time
information on number and location of infected computers
 
The Linux.Slapper worm was first seen on Friday the 13th. Since
then it has infected thousands of web servers around the world 
and continues to spread.
What sets it apart from other worms is its peer-to-peer networking
capability, which the worm author may utilize to take over any or
all of the infected servers. This was apparently designed to launch
distributed denial-of-service attacks with the worm, but it also 
results in a situation where anybody can take over an infected  
machine and do practically anything with it.
 
The Slapper is representative of the new breed of worms and
viruses as it is as much an attack tool as it is a quickly spreading worm. 
 
During the weekend following Friday the 13th, F-Secure engineers
have reverse engineered the peer-to-peer protocol that the worm
uses. F-Secure has now infiltrated the Slapper peer-to-peer attack 
network, posing as an infected web server. Through this fake 
server, the exact number of infected machines and their network 
names can be identified.
 
F-Secure's Global Slapper Information Center provides regularly
updated information on the spread of the virus and numbers of 
infected servers categorized by the top-level domain. 
F-Secure is also sending a warning to the administrators of 
infected systems based on their IP addresses. 
A free version of F-Secure Anti-Virus for Linux will also be made
available to the administrators of infected systems. The license 
allows the product to be used in a limited fashion to remove the 
worm from the system. 
 
F-Secure is also contacting the national authorities in order to
alert the administrators of infected systems. It is imperative that 
the servers are cleaned and patched to prevent future infections 
as soon as possible - both to stop the spreading of the worm and 
to prevent unauthorised access to the infected servers.
 
Global Slapper Information Center can be found from: 
http://www.f-secure.com/slapper/
++
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Learn Chess at ChessKIDS Academy 
http://www.chesskids.com/
Teach your kids how to play chess
with our free online chess course 

Interactive chess lessons, quizzes, games and puzzles for kids
Play chess against the computer
FREE online chess books for kids - download and print
Everything YOUR school needs to run a chess club
A unique chess site for kids, teachers and parents
++
____________________________________________________________

ENUFF
http://www.akrontech.com/
The simplest & most reliable! 
Users keep confirming that ENUFF is the best computer and Internet timer
program on the market. Ideal for setting computer and Internet access limits
at home, work, school or library. This Parental Control software is loaded
with features, it is unbeatable and amazingly simple to use. Download and
try your copy FREE for 30 days!

For Windows 9X/Me and Windows NT/2000/XP
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Tina's FrontPage Tips, by Tina Clarke

PWS Check???

To find out which PWS you are currently
running, open a local web in FP and go to
TOOLS | WEB SETTINGS Next to "server" in
the general tab it will tell you which version you
are running.

AccessFP ~ FrontPage Resource Centre
Site ~  http://www.accessfp.net/
Ezine & Forums ~ http://anyfrontpage.com/  FREE FP E-Books
Journal ~ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AccessFPJournal
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Christies Computer Corner thanks to Christy;
<1stPicksoftware-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?Subject=subscribe>

IT Anthems
http://www.zdnet.co.uk/specials/2002/it-anthems/
ZDnet in the U.K. has a site called IT Anthems, which
features the lyrics
and audio files of the corporate anthems of various
IT giants like KPMG,
IBM and Ericsson.

~~~~~~~

Keep Things Up to Date
A lot of bugs are found in Windows,  how do you kill them?   Do
you leave them alone to do what they want or do you keep up to
date with the latest and greatest bug fixes and patches?
Ensuring you have the latest updates and patches helps to keep
your windows safe and sound.   We know its a pain to keep
checking for updates.  But you don't have to keep looking,
Windows can keep an eye things itself.

All you need to do is Install the Critical Update Notification
component, which scans the Web in the background without any
effort from you.  Pop-up messages alert you whenever Microsoft
releases fixes 
for bugs that can destroy data or compromise security. Don't
worry: nothing gets installed until you give your approval. 
 
Step 1: Choose Windows Update from your startmenu window. After
connecting with the Windows Update site, click the Product
Updates link, then click Yes when asked whether it's OK to scan
for installed upgrades.   If its been a while since you last
checked for updates this could take a short time
 
Step 2: Select from the list of available updates, then click the
Download button. Make sure to Include the Critical Update
Notification component.   Again depending on when the last update
was performed this may be quite a lengthy list.
 
Step 3: After installing this component Windows will routinely
check for new updates for you.  When it finds something Critical
(not just an every day not really necessary now patch), you'll
see a dialog box whenever Microsoft releases a critical update.
Follow the instructions to view and install the fix.  Be advised
more often then not updates of this sort usually require a reboot
so don't forget to save your work in progress. 
 
Step 4: In theory, the Device Drivers link on the Windows Update
page searches for updated hardware drivers but you're unlikely to
find anything useful here. 

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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 MWN will be given proper credit.
"MikesWhatsNews" believes in giving credit where credit is due but at imes 
deadlines and information that is very important to readers we accidentally 
misspost an item.
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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.
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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