[MikesWhatsNews] MWN #784 HackFix

MikesWhatsNews  09, 06, 2005
in today's issue #784

2       Digital Theater
3       Custom Concentration 
4       WinXPTutor
5       Dealing with an infected PC 
6       ScreenGrab 1.0 
7       Windows Update version6
8       CCC   On-screen Hard Disk Indicator 
9               Peek-A-Boo Windows
10      I Love The Smell Of Spyware Burning In The Morning
11      Command Line Commands in XP
HackFix Updates 
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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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Please rate this Ezine at the Cumuli Ezine Finder

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<a href="http://www.cumuli.com/ezines/ra20853.rate";>
AOL Users</a>
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2
Digital Theater Freeware
http://www.cse.msu.edu/~stan/htpcinterface.html

The biggest complaint about HTPCs is that they are a pain to use.
No one wants to type on a keyboard when they would rather be relaxing on the 
couch clicking away at a remote control. That's where the Digital Theater 
Interface comes in.  This has a cool looking interface, support for 
programmable remote controls, hardware control over DVD changers, and theme 
support. 
++
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3
Custom Concentration
Freeware
http://www.botproductions.com/conc/conc.html

Test your memory in the classic tile-matching game, Concentration. 
Bot Productions's Custom Concentration is a free game for Microsoft 
Windows-based computers. Not only can you play Concentration with 
one of several included graphics sets, but you can also create your own 
games from images on your computer or on
the Internet.
Thanks to Christy
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4
WinXPTutor
http://www.winxptutor.com/index.htm
This site contains tips and HOW TOs for most of the common tasks in Windows XP, 
and should help any audience with skill level Basic to Advanced. Walk through 
our Windows XP Tips page to learn information given in a step-by-step approach.
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5
Dealing with an infected PC  Published: May 13, 2005
Columnist Charlie Russel, a Microsoft Most Valued Professional, teaches you how 
to recognize malware (a.k.a., malicious software) running on your computer and 
recommends recovery procedures to help you get rid of it.

How to recognize malware
Malware is designed to run undetected in the background. So how can you tell if 
you have undesirable software on your system? The signs to look for include:

? Advertising pop-ups that appear every few seconds.
? Extra toolbars in your browser that won't go away.
? Browser going to sites you didn't tell it to go to.
? Browser settings changing so your home page won't open.
? Unexplained system slowdowns.
? Sudden rise in computer crashes.
 
If you're experiencing these kinds of problems, it's a good idea to treat your 
PC as if it might be infected by checking it out thoroughly. Although there are 
other reasons why your system might slow down or frequently crash, if you're 
noticing these obvious indications of malware, your system has probably been 
compromised. It's time to take defensive action.
++
From; Exploring Windows V30
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6
ScreenGrab 1.0  free
http://no-nonsense-software.com/freeware/
ScreenGrab is a simple, yet effective screen capture utility for Windows. When 
running, ScreenGrab responds to preset hotkey combinations, making it easy to 
make screen captures without having to click on buttons or use the mouse. 

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7
Windows Update version 6
http://update.microsoft.com/windowsupdate/v6/default.aspx

Microsoft has released the new version of their Windows Update version 6

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8
'Christy's Computer Corner'
  thanks to Christy;
http://www.1stpick.org

On-screen Hard Disk Indicator  Freeware
http://www.lonewolf.gr/software/default.asp

Hard Disk Indicator from LoneWolf simply places a hard disk indicator in your 
system tray. We have found that it's often nice to be able to see when the hard 
disk is very active.
If your computer is a floor-placed tower, the hard disk activity light may be 
difficult to see. Just download Hard Disk Indicator and install it.

~~~~~~~~
9
Peek-A-Boo Windows

This happens all the time around here when the little one gets messing around 
with the backgrounds and screen savers, accidentally changing the resolution!

Ever have a window that has wandered partially off-screen? 
Not a big problem, unless you can't get to the title bar to move it.
For example, what do you do if you have a window that gets its title bar hidden 
above the TOP of the screen? 
(It happens, sometimes due to a system error, sometimes due a change in screen 
resolution.) The problem is, you can't grab the title bar with your mouse to 
move 
the window. 
Don't worry, there's an easy way to move the darn thing. Here's how:

1. Make sure the window has focus (i.e. it's the active window). 

2. Next, click Alt+Space and then press the letter M. 

3. Now, use your arrow keys to move the window back to where you want it.

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10
I Love The Smell Of Spyware Burning In The Morning
http://www.spywareinfo.com/newsletter/archives/2005/june2.php

I now have even greater sympathy for people suffering a spyware infection than 
ever before. I spent the better part of Tuesday night fighting off the worst 
spyware infection I have ever seen or heard of. 

Someone was kind enough to donate a copy of VMWare for me to use for testing. 
VMWare is software that pretends to be an entire computer and lets you install 
operating systems on it inside of a window. It makes it much faster and easier 
to test things than using a whole test PC. If I destroy the operating system, I 
can just shut down VMWare, restore a back up and have it up and running again 
within seconds. 

I have spent the last two days playing with VMWare and decided Tuesday to go 
visit a certain wrestling fan site, a site infamous for installing all manner 
of spyware. I was told that this site was guaranteed to be a rich hunting 
ground for spyware. The person who said that sure wasn't kidding. 

Let me begin this next part with an important note. Nothing at all happened 
until I said "Yes" to an ActiveX prompt. As bad as the infection is that I am 
about to describe, nothing would have happened if I had said "No" to that first 
prompt. Keep that in mind the next time you see an ActiveX prompt. NEVER SAY 
"YES" TO ACTIVEX PROMPTS THAT POP UP OUT OF NOWHERE! 
++
Thanks to; Martha http://www.marthas-web.com
The Internet is a hostile network like the wild-west without a sheriff!
____________________________________________________________
11
Command Line Commands in XP ~ Mike's Friday Tip

To get a quick help for all the commands you can enter from the RUN box: 

Click on Start> Run enter the line below
hh.exe ms-its:C:\WINDOWS\Help\ntcmds.chm::/ntcmds.htm

____________________________________________________________

  HackFix updates, thanks to Christy;
staff@xxxxxxxxxxx
Http://www.hackfix.org
This weeks Virus Pattern Updates (06/09/2005)

All Software listed Alphabetically by Company name as some 
companies manufacture more then one product.


Aladdin Knowledge Systems

Esafe Desktop/Gateway/Enterprise
Last Updated June 09/2005
To update your software
Visit: http://www.esafe.com/esafe/downloads/virusig.asp
Or
From the Esafe folder in your Start Menu select Download Updates
~~~~~

AlWil Software

Avast Antivirus
Last Updated June 09/2005
To update your software:
Visit: http://www.avast.com/
Or
Right click on the AVAST icon in the system tray, Select iAVS Update, 
AVAST will check for updates and download the appropriate files as needed.
~~~~~

 Authentium Software Systems

Command antivirus
Last Updated June 09/2005
To update your software
Visit http://www.authentium.com/support/downloads/index.cfm
~~~~~

Center for Antivirus Technologies (CAT)

Quickheal
Last Updated June 09/2005
To update your software
Visit: http://207.230.103.11/public/updates/updates.asp
Or
Open Quickheal select Utility from the top toolbar and liveupdate.  
Follow the onscreen prompts.  
Alternately you can select Liveupdate directly from the 
QuickHeal program menu on the startmenu.
~~~~~

Frisk Software Systems

Fprot
Last Updated June 09/2005
To update your software
Visit: http://www.f-prot.com/download/home_user/
~~~~~

Computer Associates

E-Trust
Last updated June 09/2005
To update your software
http://www3.ca.com/support/vicdownload/
Or
From the Respective folder in your Start Menu select Autodownload

For Vet Anti virus
http://www.vet.com.au/html/software/update.html

Be sure to have your Customer ID and your registered email address 
handy for verification.

~~~~~~


GeCad Software

Rav (Reliable AntiVirus)
Last Updated:  June 09/2005
To update your software:
Visit: 
http://www.ravantivirus.com/pages/dldupdate.php?type=Daily
Or
Open Rav and select Rav Update from the toolbar
~~~~~

Grisoft Inc.

AVG 
Announcing the End of Support for AVG Anti-Virus 6.0 (December 31, 2004)
Read more here: http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_avg6_termination.php
(New update details will be available soon)

Last updated June 08/2005
To update your software
Visit: http://www.grisoft.com/doc/72/lng/us/tpl/tpl01
Or 
You can also perform updates using the Check for 
Updates option within the menu that opens after right 
mouse button clicking over the AVG icon located on 
the system tray.



**Note:  
To help speed up AVG updates you can set your program to use 
an alternate download site.  
AVG 7.0  go to the control panel at the bottom is "Update Manager" 
select that and then select "settings" (at the bottom)  in there under  
"url"  you can add/delete/edit etc  the update urls as needed  you 
can move the order of the update urls as well.... such as putting the 
backup url first etc.  You can add the secondary site (www.grisoft.cz) 
to help to ease the server and make your update go quicker as most 
don't use it!
~~~~~

H+Bedv

AntiVir
Last updated June 09/2005
To update your software
Visit: http://www.free-av.com/antivirus/allinonen.html
Or
Open AntiVir, from the top toolbar select Tools->
start internet update and follow the on screen prompts.


Vexira 
Last updated June 09/2005
To update your software
Visit: no visable update page on site main page at 
http://www.centralcommand.com/index.html
Or
Open Vexira, from the top toolbar select Tools->
start internet update and follow the on screen prompts.

Vexira Antivirus is marketed by Central Command however 
it is the same program as Antivir with only a different name.
~~~~~

Kaspersky

Kaspersky Anti-Virus 
Last updated June 09/2005 
To update your software
Visit: http://www.kaspersky.com/updates.asp
Or
Open AVP from the top toolbar click Tools-> Update virus definition
Or
From the Kaspersky folder in your Start Menu select AVP updater


**Note:  Improved update accessiblity.  To ease the update web traffic
Kaspersky labs has additional servers for autoupdating.  The program
defaults to use one server but can be altered to check a variety of 
servers. Select Kaspersky updater, select update via the internet to 
open the drop down box(es) select "location"  Check the box labeled 
"Use alternate locations from the list"  select next and next to update.  
This option should stay selected after the first time.  This helps 
Kaspersky lighten the load for updates and helps you obtain updates 
easier.
~~~~~

Network Associates

Mcafee 
Last updated June 08/2005
To update your software 
For Mcafee Visit
http://www.networkassociates.com/us/downloads/updates/superdat_download.asp
(for Virus and Engine updates)


Drsolomn (Product no longer available for new users however 
updates still available for current users):  Go to the following 
Internet site: http://download.mcafee.com/updates/4x.asp
IMPORTANT: When you get to this site you may notice that it refers 
to VirusScan. This update is not only for VirusScan. It also works 
with Dr.Solomon's. 

Or
Open your respective software virus scan scheduler, double click 
Auto update, click Run Now to do a manual live update, or click 
Schedule to set up a timed live update.
~~~~~

Norman Data Defence

Norman Virus Control
Last updated June 07/2005
To update your software
Visit: 
http://www.norman.com/downloads.shtml#definition_files_updates
Be sure to have your Valid Username and password handy for verification.
Or
From the Norman folder in your Start Menu select Internet Update

**Note Norman Virus Control web updates are only for version prior to 
5.0.  Norman 5.0 can only be updated via the update in the program itself.

~~~~~

Softwin

BitDefender 
Last Updated June 03/2005 
To update your software
Visit: 
http://www.bitdefender.com/bd/site/downloads.php?menu_id=19&s_id=3
Or
Open BitDefender select Protection Options->live upgrade
Or
From the BitDefender folder in your Start Menu select Bitdefender Live

~~~~~

Sophos

Sophos Anti Virus
Last IDE available June 09/2005
To obtain the latest IDE files
Visit: http://www.sophos.com/downloads/ide/

**Note:  Sophos does not update as other products do.  They update 
the Engine/software once a month (or so) to include all the previous 
IDE files.  New IDE files are available with new virus threats and must 
be downloaded individually until the next software update is available.  
Our update dates reflect the most recent available IDE file.
~~~~~

Symantec

Nortons AntiVirus
Last updated June 09/2005
To update your software
Visit: 
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/defs.download.html select 
your language -> product from the list
Or
Open Nortons software and click the "live update" button
Or
From the Nortons folder in your Start Menu select LiveUpdate - 
Norton Antivirus
~~~~~

Trend Micro

PcCillin 
Last updated June 08/2005
To update your software
Visit: http://www.antivirus.com/download/pattern.asp
Be sure to have your Registration number handy for verification
Or
Open PcCillin click Update then click Update Now 
(or Update later to Schedule a timed update)

**Note:  Users of non-NPF (i.e., old 3-digit pattern format) compliant 
products will not be able to update to the pattern release indicated 
in this email.  Non-NPF compliant products can only update to 
pattern 991, which was released March 7, 2005. TrendLabs urges 
all affected customers to apply the New Pattern Format solution 
at http://www.trendmicro.com/en/support/npf/overview.htm or 
upgrade to the latest product version to address this limitation.
 
~~~~~~~~~

If there is an Anti Virus program that is Not listed here that
you would like to see added to the weekly updates list Please
feel free to let us know.

Remember Your anti virus software is only as good as the user...
If you don't keep it updated it won't provide you with maximum
protection.

This weekly Update will be sent every Thursday on or after
6pm (eastern) to keep you up to date on virus pattern updates
available. Virus patterns are checked for most recent update
date as of 6pm Thursdays.

~~~~

~ Hackfix Project Staff
staff@xxxxxxxxxxx
Http://www.hackfix.org

3017 St Clair Ave #176
Burlington, Ontario
L7R 3L7

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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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interesting.
I also welcome any submissions about new products, web pages, or articles of 
interest.

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"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 
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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.
You can read a sample of my newsletter on my web page http://www.mwn.ca
My virus pages ~ http://virusinfo.hackfix.org 
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