[MikesWhatsNews] MWN #613

MikesWhatsNews, 10, 12, 2002
in today's issue #613
Reduce The Risk Through Safe Computing
Human Authentication Project 
Design News Online
Intenet Dot-Playground
Calenz
Disney's Treasure Planet
pcAnywhere 11.0 Beta Testers
Browser Parasites, Adware, Scumware, Spyware - Stamp them out
CCC      Calenz
        Display Calibration
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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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WEB SEMINAR: REDUCE THE RISK THROUGH SAFE COMPUTING
On Tuesday 10 December Sophos will present a live web seminar
describing why anti-virus software is only part of the malware
solution. The talk will detail how companies can best implement
safe computing to reduce the threat of both existing and new,
unknown viruses and worms. This presentation will give you the
knowledge to effectively and dramatically reduce the threat of
virus infection on your company's networks and desktops. Sign
up now if you would like to attend and ask questions.

http://www.sophos.com/link/reducerisk
____________________________________________________________

Try this intriguing Human Authentication Project Test from Carnegie 
Mellon University.  http://www.captcha.net/humanaut/
It's a study on cryptogtaphy and passwords.
thanks to Steve; http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pro_tech  
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Design News Online

http://www.designnews.com/

{Hardcore hardware portal}  Think of it as an
online mag for Dilberts. You know, engineers. 
Those unsung heroes that build, test, and improve the gadgets that make our
lives easier. Well... most of the time. The print version has been in
circulation for over half a century, but now you can get all of the new
content straight from the Web site, too.
Check out the reviews, learn about new products, and even search for
occupations in the field of design and engineering. 
Funny, I thought they just drove trains?

Thanks to; Christy
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Intenet Dot-Playground  by Cynthia L. Webb ~ www.washingtonpost.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9400-2002Dec4.html
The Internet is home to a wealth of information, some of it educational,
some of it banal -- and some of it downright pornographic. Because of that
last, widespread category, parents have gone to legislators, asking them to
protect their children from adult content. Free speech issues abound, but
that hasn't stopped Congress from approving -- and President Bush from
signing -- a law to create an Internet safe haven for kids. Whether the
"kids.us" domain will be a success is still unclear, because no one knows
how accurately the online neighborhood can be regulated for appropriate
content. The legislation is called the Dot Kids Implementation and
Efficiency Act of 2002. 
++
Thanks to; Thanks to; Jasmine,
 Owner/Group Moderator: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pro_tech  and
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/computersupport_2  
A Technical Support Alliance Charter Member 
____________________________________________________________

Disney's Treasure Planet ~ Demo
<http://www.gamepro.com/index.html?/computer/pc/games/files/4323.shtml>

Treasure Planet: Battle at Procyon, based on Walt Disney Pictures' upcoming
animated feature "Treasure Planet," is a 3D action, real-time PC game by
award-winning game developer Barking Dog Studios. 

In the game, players command "solar sail" powered space ships that resemble
old-world vessels. Using their wits and courage, players must defend the
queen and empire from marauding space pirates and a mysterious new enemy
with virtually indestructible "Ironclad" ships. 

In single player mode, players receive battle training, can tailor their
ships and weapons or jump right into their mission. In multi-player mode, up
to four players can create customized fleets, including determining the
space ships that they will use, the characteristics of their crew, weapons
and more, and then go up against each other in strategic combat over the
Internet. For players who want immediate action, a skirmish mode provides
instantaneous mini-battles. Across all modes, the game features a simple,
easy to master interface with advanced options for experienced RTS fans. 
++
from; GamePro.com Weekly Newsletter:
____________________________________________________________

Invitation for pcAnywhere 11.0 Beta Testers (for Small, Medium, Large
Businesses):

The Symantec pcAnywhere team invites you to participate in the Symantec
Enterprise Development Alliance Program (EDAP). 
As an EDAP participant, you will have the opportunity to provide technical
feedback during pcAnywhere 11.0 corporate beta cycles. 
You will be provided information about the project, instructions on
obtaining the beta build(s), and a dedicated project email address to submit
comments and feedback.

If you are interested, please send an email indicating so to
cdp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
Please include your name, title, company name, address, and phone number.
____________________________________________________________

Browser Parasites, Adware, Scumware, Spyware - Stamp them out
http://allentech.net/parasite/index.phtml
Parasites are unsolicited commercial software applications installed on 
your computer, usually without your knowledge - or consent.
Parasites work through your browser, assault you with unwanted advertising,
spy on your web surfing habits, compromise your system's security and
stability, and even alter the content and links that you see in web pages!

We ourselves became aware of parasites only after we noted a sharp decrease
in our bookstore earnings while our bookstore traffic had increased more
than three fold!
'Click-thrus' were up - but sales simply evaporated! 
This was traced directly to sales links being hijacked by parasite programs!

If our experience is typical then the problem is enormous!
Few of these parasites provide any benefit to the user, indeed most users
are unaware that they have parasites installed on their system at all!

Parasites may be grouped by names that best describe what they do:
Adware
Unleashes a torrent of unwanted advertising banners, pop-ups, pop-unders,
etc., on the lucky user, best described as a plague.

Scumware
Adds advertising links to web pages, for which the page author does not get
paid, and hijacks affiliate-program payments by substituting the page
owner's affiliate identifier with another! 
Usually designed by people who hang out around school yards in their free
time. Scum.

Spyware
Watches everything the user does on-line and transmits that information back
to marketing companies - or other interested parties.
Some of the other 'side benefits' of these programs are, they leave security
holes whereby arbitrary code can be executed on the user's computer, and
they degrade system performance and cause errors and crashes because they
are usually badly-written.
++
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Christies Computer Corner thanks to Christy;
<1stPicksoftware-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?Subject=subscribe>

Calenz
http://www.calenz.com/main.htm
Freeware

Calenz. It's a calendar. It's colourful, customizable &
changable. It's cool.  Calenz is a personal calendar which runs
locally on your PC. It allows you to enter any events for days on
or after today and Calenz will remind you on the events occurring
today and tomorrow. Use it as a means to remind you of important
or special days and to schedule your timetable. Calenz can load
when Windows boots up and it will notify you with a window of the
events happening today and tomorrow. It minimizes automatically
after you have read the events or when there are no events. 
~~~~~~~

Display Calibration

http://www.displaycalibration.com/

Most regular users don't think much about screen resolution. 
That's a promise your monitor makes every New Year's Eve. Right. 
So, this site was created to help you calibrate your screen so it shows you
stuff the way it should.
Some colors, while pretty, may actually bring harm to your eyes.
You may need to change the brightness, contrast, color depth, and screen
resolution; test and tweak these factors in a flash.
I promise you'll like the results. Of course, YMMV... so check your systems
manual first.
Thanks to; Christy

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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
______________________________________________________________________
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My virus pages ~ http://virusinfo.hackfix.org 
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