Dave Bytes

Dave "Bytes"

Please remember to use your thinker, before you tinker!

A Periodic Newsletter for the Members of the Sarasota PC User Group

January 5, 2004

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(if you haven't already)

New Year’s Resolutions

Here are ten New Year’s Resolutions to keep you and your computer healthy and happy in 2004. If you read through these ten tips and find that you are not currently following them all, it may be time for you to implement some new computer habits.

1. Back up regularly

Remember when using a computer, Murphy’s Law always applies. “Anything that can go wrong will.” Hard drives crash and computer mishaps occur regularly. Protect your data by always having a backup copy available.
With writable CDs, it’s easier than ever to make a copy of your important files. Don’t forget to back up your e-mail data as well.

2. Use a surge protector

Lightning, power surges, and power anomalies can damage your expensive computer equipment. Make sure that you have a good surge protector and that all your equipment is plugged into the surge protector. Don’t forget that the telephone or cable line that connects to your computer should also be protected by a surge protector. Special surge protectors that accept telephone and cable lines are available.

3. Install an anti-virus program and update it regularly

Viruses are rampant in today’s computer world, and they are dangerous.
Get a good anti-virus program. Make sure that it is running at all times. Verify that it is updating automatically or update it manually on a regular basis.

4. Download and install updates

Security holes in the Windows operating systems are constantly being unearthed. When a hole is found it makes your computer vulnerable. You must install all the patches that Microsoft issues to correct the security problems. Set your computer to automatically install the patches or check the Microsoft Windows Update Center regularly. (Click on Start, All Programs, Windows Update.)

5. Install a firewall

If you are using a broadband Internet connection like cable or DSL, a firewall is a must. In today’s world of hackers, even dial-up users should consider using a firewall to stop intruders from accessing their computer and their personal information. A firewall can be installed by using a firewall software program. Symantec and McAfee both have good
firewall programs. Or try Zone Alarm, a free program found by clicking HERE

6. Check for spyware

Spyware is devious software that invisibly piggy-backs on software or files that you download from the Internet. It is aimed at tracking Internet habits, stealing passwords and accessing personal information.
This nasty stuff is now appearing everywhere. Get a good spyware detection program and run it on your computer to find and delete spyware. Two free programs are Ad-aware and Spybot, Search & Destroy. Click the program name to download.

7. Don’t buy from spam

Spam is ruining e-mail communications and causing a lot of frustration and aggravation. We can try to control it and legislate it all we want. The bottom line is that if no one ever viewed or bought anything from spam, it would slowly disappear. Don’t click on any item that is in an unsolicited e-mail, and whatever you do, don’t purchase anything from
spam.

8. Don’t propagate chain letters and/or hoaxes

Chain letters and hoaxes also clog up e-mail. In spite of what the e-mail may say, bad luck will not come as the result of not sending a chain letter. If you think an e-mail may be a hoax check it out at SPCUG's Internet Viruses, Virus Hoaxes & Urban Legends page

9. Defrag

To keep your hard drive in tip-top condition you should use defrag utility occasionally. This will speed up your computer and is especially important if you work with large files like video files. To find the defrag utility click on Start-All Programs-Accessories-System Tools-Disk Defragmenter.

10. Clean up occasionally

Eliminating some of the junk that accumulates in your computer can speed up your computer and make finding things easier. If you use Windows Me or XP you can use the built-in clean up utility (Start-All Programs-Accessories-System Tools-Disk CleanUp). This utility will help you empty the trash, delete temporary files, and compress old files.
You should also delete old files or copy them to a CD to archive them.
The New Year is also a good time to revise or implement your file organization method. Decide in advance where you will keep your 2004 files and create new folders to keep them in.

There’s nothing like a new year with a new start to help you implement good habits! Happy New Year to All!

Here's An Internet Tip

Free Internet service has disadvantages as well as advantages -- if it didn't, how could anybody get away with charging for Internet service?
Free Internet service providers have a lot to offer, but they are not for everyone. Here's the basic idea, from the free ISP's point of view:
They want to gather information about you and use that information to sell you stuff. If you're comfortable with that arrangement, you and the free ISP will get along famously. If not, your relationship will always have an undercurrent of tension.

Getting a free Internet account is a lot like getting an non-free Internet account, only cheaper: You find out what's available, pick one or more free ISPs that look promising, get those ISPs' set-up software, and run it on your computer. The set-up software guides you through the process of creating your account. After the account is created, you have the ISP's icon on your desktop. Opening the icon connects you to the Internet via that ISP. While you are connected, you see ads on the screen, usually in little browser windows that you can't close. The hardware requirements of free ISPs are the same as any other dial-up service.

At the moment, the free ISP market is in flux (and may take up long-term residence there). Not a week goes by without some free ISP announcing major changes in the way it operates. Many have gone out of business or merged, and most of the survivors have cut down on the quantity of free service they offer. Every time a service closes or chases away some of its users by imposing more restrictive rules, users shift to other free ISPs who may not be equipped to handle all the new
traffic. That obscure little ISP where you never get a busy signal can become swamped overnight.

You can stay on top of this evolving situation by visiting FreedomList.
FreedomList lets you search for free ISPs in any country, rate or review your free ISP, see the average ratings other FreedomList users have given their free ISPs, and read those users' reviews. The site also collects news stories concerning free ISPs.

George's
BITS

Dave's
Bytes

George & Dave return on January 8th

Clicking on the WLSS Logo will take you to the

"Bits & Bytes"

site where you can listen to the most recent broadcast and our Commercial too !!!

From the "Bytes" Mailbag

Dave, sorry to bother you with this but I, being a newcomer to Windows XP home edition, have a problem. There is a list of 29 Security Updates for Windows XP which come up in a small balloon form on the desktop with increasing frequency when we turn on our computer (Dell Dimension 2350) Some of these updates are marked as "critical" others appear to be useless for our purposes. The window also offers an "automatic update"

What is your advice, should I download all of these, even though I don't understand the purpose for most of them or download only those that are designated as "critical" even if I don't understand them or forget about all of them? Also, should I sign up for the automatic update? Does Microsoft charge for these updates now or in the future?
Any advice is welcome
Thanks,
Tom

Well Tom, if you ask this to 100 people you are likely to get 100 different opinions so here's mine. If you want to play it extremely safe (and with Microsoft are you ever really safe?) just download the ones identified as critical. Since I am behind both a hardware (router) and software firewall I don't bother with the "Security" Updates. If there are updates available that increase or enhance functionality and it applies to me then I will download those updates. I do not favor having these updates install automatically since I like to know what is going on and not have things happen in the background that I can't identify as a potential problem cause.

And as far as Microsoft charging for these updates ...... watch the world move to Apple !!!!!

Dave,
I have Windows 98. Could I set up "autorun" to automatically run or open CD s when I put them into my machine? Seymour

Sure thing Seymour,
Open "My Computer" and highlight (single-click) the CD-Rom Drive.
Right-Click on the highlighted drive and choose "Properties"
Select the "AutoPlay" tab.
Select the action you want as your preference.
Done !!!!

Dave,
A friend of mine is NOT able to move an icon from the desktop to the taskbar on the bottom of the desktop. She has no icons there and cannot get any to stay there. What is the problem?
Something needs to be unclicked somewhere but I don't know where to go.
Thanks,
Ann

In order to have icon shortcuts appear on the taskbar you have to activate the "Quick Launch Toolbar".
When you right-click on a blank area of the taskbar you will see a list of available toolbars. Check "Quick Launch" and the default Windows icons will appear and you (or your friend) can drag any desktop shortcut to the taskbar.

Got a question?

Why not "Byte" me?

While Wandering the Web

In the beginning, the Internet was made up of only a handful of web sites and homepages. It wasn't long before someone decided to bestow honors on the best of these creations. Before you knew it, Glenn Davis had started up Cool Site of the Day. Suddenly, everyone with half a knowledge of HTML and the ability to draw straight lines began to think they could make a decent (and cool) homepage. Nuh-uh. The infamous Mirsky rose to the occasion and Mirsky's Worst of the Web was born. Tired of the whole process, Mirsky hung up his hat and the awful side of the web is left unchecked... until now. This is the Worst of the Web™.

Click the LOGO to visit

Dave "Bytes" 1st Edition CD

Due to space limitations I have removed the Dave "Bytes" archives from the internet.

I have created a CD which will include the over 100 Editions of "Bytes" and over 600 of your favorite animations.

This "Bytes" 1st Edition CD will be for sale for the last time at the January 7th General Meeting for the piddly sum of $5.00.

Click Here to Reserve Your Copy

Or, if you can't make the meeting you can have a Dave "Bytes" CD mailed to you

Send $7.00 (includes postage & supplies) to

Dave Gerber

7424 Cass Circle

Sarasota, Fl. 34231

Don't get left out! Be sure to get yours while they last!

Checks payable to: Dave Gerber

The "Bytes" Beg, Bargain & Barter Basement

Got something "computer related" to sell? Looking for that rare peripheral? If it's computer related you can submit a short classified ad for exposure in Dave "Bytes". Be sure to include your name and e-mail address in the ad. You can also include a picture of the item. Now some would suggest that there be a charge for this feature but alas, since my bookkeeping skills leave much to be desired I've determined that this will be a free service to all SPCUG members in good standing. "Bytes" is currently sent to almost 1000 homes in the area. Ad requests will be included as soon as possible. I assume absolutely no responsibility as to the accuracy or completeness of supplied info. All transactions are between consulting adults which leaves me entirely off the hook. Please let me know by clicking HERE when your merchandise is sold so that I can remove it from the listing. I will try to run each ad for a month.

Gateway flat screen 17" CRT. Monitor is approximately 2 years old and in perfect working condition. Only $60. and I will even deliver to the next SPCUG meeting on 1/7 free!

Ken Spence
922-4123
scuba2@comcast.net

Compaq Presario 4860
333 MHz Intel Pentium II
128 MB Ram
8 GB hard drive
DVD-ROM drive
56K modem
17" Monitor

$200 or Best Offer

Contact: Bill Merkent
Email: wmerkent@comcast.net
Phone: 351-1294

Click here to send your ad

Spam rage: Man arrested For Threats To Company

Silicon Valley computer programmer has been arrested for threatening to torture and kill employees

SAN FRANCISCO -- Call it spam rage: A Silicon Valley computer programmer has been arrested for threatening to torture and kill employees of the company he blames for bombarding his computer with Web ads promising to enlarge his penis. In one of the first prosecutions of its kind in the state that made "road rage" famous, Charles Booher, 44, was arrested Thursday and released on $75,000 bond for making repeated threats to staff of a Canadian company between May and July.

Booher threatened to send a "package full of Anthrax spores" to the company, to "disable" an employee with a bullet and torture him with a power drill and ice pick; and to hunt down and castrate the employees unless they removed him from their e-mail list, prosecutors said.

He used return e-mail addresses including Satan+hell.org.

In a telephone interview with Reuters on Friday, Booher acknowledged that he had behaved badly but said his computer had been rendered almost unusable for about two months by a barrage of pop-up advertising and e-mail.

"Here's what happened: I go to their Web site and start complaining to them, would you please, please, please stop bothering me," he said. "It just sort of escalated ... and I sort of lost my cool at that point."

The Sunnyvale, California man now faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for next month on charges of threatening to injure someone. He said he did not own any guns or have access to anthrax.

Booher said the problem stemmed from a program he mistakenly downloaded from the Internet that brought a continuous stream of advertising to his computer.

The object of the Californian's anger was Douglas Mackay, president of DM Contact Management, which works for Albion Medical, a firm advertising the "Only Reliable, Medically Approved Penis Enhancement."

"This went for a long, long time. He seemed really dedicated to this," Mackay said from Victoria, British Columbia in Canada. "He seemed like a guy just crazy enough with nothing to lose that might actually do something."

He said his firm does not send spam but blamed a rival firm which he said routes much of their unsolicited bulk e-mail through Russia and eastern Europe. Mackay said such firms gave a bad name to the penis enhancement business.

In other cases, Internet vigilantes have bombarded spammers with both unsolicited e-mail and regular mail and phone calls, launched attacks on spammers' computers and posted spammers' personal information on the Internet, according to reports.

Separately, lawmakers in Washington said the U.S. House of Representatives was poised to vote for on a measure to outlaw most Internet spam. Lawmakers hope to pass a national anti-spam bill before a much tougher California state law goes into effect on Jan. 1.

Dave's Cool Downloads

Tweak UI
This PowerToy gives you access to system settings that are not exposed in the Windows XP default user interface, including mouse settings, Explorer settings, taskbar settings, and more.

Click Here to Download

564 kb

IE Favorites Check 0.5b

IE Favorites Check (IEFC for short) is a program designed to help the users of Internet Explorer to manage their Favorites. It was tested with IE versions 4, 5.5 and 6 under Windows 95, 98, NT, XP and 2000. It is freeware, fast and hopefully useful.

The core of IEFC is a task force of 10 virtual Internet browsers working as a team with one objective: visit all of your favorite web pages and check their existence. The result of each visit is written in real time in a Status column of the program's screen. After this fast operation you have several easy to use options to clean and update your Favorites collection.

IEFC doesn't need any special installation. All you have to do is to unzip all the packed files into a folder of your choice and run IEFavCheck.exe
To uninstall just delete the folder and the files. Before you run IEFC, be sure that you have entered a User Name when you started Windows for the last time, then read the Help file.

Click Here to Download
368 kb

TaxACT completes your taxes faster and easier than ever! TaxACT Standard includes all commonly used forms and schedules and reflects all of the NEW tax laws. And best of all, it's completely FREE! No hidden charges! No hidden conditions! You won't pay a penny to prepare and print your tax return! And, unlike other free software products, TaxACT Standard has no limitations or missing functionality.

Click Here to Download
7.4 Mb

YOU CAN NOW EASILY LOCATE THE DOWNLOADS MENTIONED IN DAVE "BYTES" BY CLICKING ON THE BUTTONS ON

WWW.DAVEBYTES.COM

Check regularly since I'm always adding new content

Click HERE to submit your favorite Freeware or Shareware program

Want to Join SPCUG or Renew Your Membership?

Click the SPCUG Logo for an online
Membership Application that you can
type into and print

Here's The Latest Virus Information & Alert

MSN Messenger Worm Making Rounds
By Ryan Naraine

A new worm targeting users of Microsoft's MSN Messenger network is making the rounds and anti-virus vendors are warning that the threat level and distribution remains high.

The Jitux.A (W32/Jitux.A.worm) was detected squirming through the text chat application and trying to get users to download malicious code. The worm comes in the form on a URL which downloads the "jituxramon.exe" file.

According to an alert from Panda Software, when a user runs the file, the worm sends new messages containing the link every five minutes to all contacts stored in MSN Messenger.

The worm has no destructive effects, nor does it cause changes to the system configuration. It is compiled in Visual Basic and runs on Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000 and XP.

Network Associates and Trend Micro have updated virus definitions to nab the Jitux worm.

The appearance of the Jitux.A worm is not the first time virus writers have target instant messenger networks, particularly the MSN Messenger.
In recent times, the Henpeck/W32/ Fleming worm was also intercepted within MSN Messenger.

The appearance of IM worms comes on the heels of several warnings that instant messaging networks will be a major target for malicious virus writers.

The increasing popularity of IM usage -- among home and enterprise users -- comes with security concerns and security vendor Symantec has already warned that users of IM and peer-to-peer networks are at high risk of attack.

Statistics from Symantec showed that of the top 50 virus threats during the first six months of 2003, IM and peer-to-peer technology played a role in 19 -- a 400 percent increase from the previous year.

Be sure to attend the January 7th General Meeting to hear one of the world's most knowledgeable individuals in the Anti-Virus world today

Dave Perry of Trend Micro

Here's An SPCUG General Meeting Reminder

Main Presentations: Trend Micro

MEETING SCHEDULE - January 7, 2004
SARASOTA MIDDLE SCHOOL 4826 Ashton Road
Time PM	Room	Main Presentation Room (Cafeteria)
5:00 - 7:00	314	Member Badge Table Open
5:00 - 7:00	314	Member Registration Table Open
5:00 - 7:00	314	Special Drawing and Software Review Table Open
5:30 - 6:45	314	SIG Information Table
6:20 - 6:50	314	"Computers & You" TV Show
7:10 - 8:10	314	PC-cillin Internet Security with Dave Perry
8:15 - 8:30	314	General and SIG Announcements,
		Special Drawing and Vendor Drawing and Door Prizes


Time PM	Room	Forum Meeting Rooms
5:15 - 6:00	303	Digital Imaging Forum with Mike McNaughton
6:00 - 7:00	627	Windows Forum with Marshall and Dean
6:00 - 7:00	303	Computer Forum with Mike McNaughton
6:00 - 7:00	623	Digital Photography for Beginners Forum with Chuck Mason
6:00 - 7:00	314	Genealogy Forum with Steve Henkel
6:00 - 7:00	624	Tech Support Forum with Dr. Brian Lewis
6:00 - 6:55	629	New Member Orientation with Dave Gerber
7:00 - 8:00	629	Absolute Beginners Forum with John Mackey
7:00 - 8:00	303	Photoshop Forum with Mike McNaughton
7:15 - 8:15	627	Paint Shop Pro Forum with Marshall and Dean

Pause For Thought

"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has limits."

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Please Sign the "Bytes" Guest Book

Here's An E-mail Tip

Undeliverable
Chances are that sooner of later you're going to get a message with that heading in your Inbox telling you that a message you sent failed to reach its destination. At first glance the contents of the error message may look like nonsense, but you can look for these clues to give you insight into what went wrong:

Unknown host (or Host unknown): This is probably the most common error message that you'll receive. It means that the mail delivery system can't find the address that you gave it. Double-check the e-mail message that you sent and make sure that you didn't mistyped the address.

Network Unreachable, Connection Timed Out, or Bad File Number: A message like this usually signals that the recipient's server is down (or experiencing some other kind of problem). The only thing you can do is to wait and try again later. This kind of problem is usually temporary, but you may have to wait anywhere from a few minutes to a couple of days before the message is delivered successfully.

Don't Be an Invisible Member

Get Involved

To inquire about volunteer opportunities

Click Here

Remember.. "The more you put in....

the more you'll take out"

Here's An Outlook (Express) Tip

Saving E-mail Drafts in Outlook or Outlook Express while Online

If you're not online when drafting an e-mail in Outlook, clicking the Send button merely sends your message to the Outbox, where it waits until you reconnect with the Internet. So if you need to edit that message one more time before sending, you can click the Outbox and get your draft back, and then go online to Send it.

But what if you are online (as networked computers usually are) and you want to store your e-mail temporarily before sending it? Do you just have to leave it open on your desktop until you can finish that message? Nope: You can put it in the Drafts folder. As its name implies, the Drafts folder can contain rough drafts of all the e-mail you haven't finished but plan to send eventually (like that New Year newsletter you started in December). After composing a draft e-mail, follow these steps:

Choose File, Move to Folder (or press Ctrl + Shift + V).

The Move Item To dialog box appears. Click the Drafts icon and then click OK.

A dialog box appears letting you know that Outlook has copied your e-mail message to the Drafts folder instead of sending it. Don't let that scare you. Choose File, Close (or press Alt, F, C).

A dialog box appears asking if you want to save the current e-mail message. Click No (Alt, N) because you already saved a copy.

Remember

Don't Let Your

Membership Lapse

contact: membership@spcug.org

Looking for a SIG or Forum?

The best place to go is the SPCUG Event Calendar.
Once there you can view everything planned for SPCUG members.
Want to register for a SIG? There is no better place to do that then at http://www.calsplus.com/spcug
This calendar is updated on a daily basis making it the most accurate way to see what's happening in the world of SPCUG.

Click here for the Dave "Bytes" Archives

P.S. Don't forget to say "Hi" at the meeting!!

Sarasota Personal Computer User Group, Inc

Phone: 877-SPCUG-HI

To Send A Message To Dave Click Below

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