Are you using a ZIP drive that's connected to your Windows XP system
via a USB port? If so, you may have noticed that it's a bit sluggish when
transferring large groups of files to or from your hard disk.
To improve
performance, you can change the default Optimize For Quick Removal setting to
the Optimize For Performance setting. Follow these steps:
Open My
Computer. Right-click
the ZIP drive icon, and select Properties. Select the
Hardware tab in the Properties dialog box. Select the
ZIP drive in the All Disk Drives panel (if it's not already selected), and
click the Properties button. Select the
Policies tab in the Device Properties dialog box. Select the
Optimize For Performance radio button. Click OK
twice to close both dialog boxes.
Here's
something to keep in mind: While this process helps improve disk performance by
enabling write caching on the ZIP drive, it also means that you must use the
Safely Remove Hardware icon in the taskbar notification area in order to
disconnect the drive from the computer.
There's A New Version of AOL Instant
Messenger
What's new in AIM 5.5?
Use one Buddy List® Window for all your AIM Identities!
Use more than one AIM Screen Name/Identity. At work you're LawyerLisa783, at
home you're LisaHome783. With the new AIM service, sign-in once, and all your
AIM Identities are online at the same time ... in the same Buddy List!
• No multiple Buddy List windows crowding your desktop.
• Access all your AIM Screen Names/Identities from one Buddy List at the same
time!
• Sign-on once, and all your AIM Screen Names/Identities are automatically
logged on!
• Send and receive IM's from any of your AIM Screen Names/Identities
See your buddies live using Video IM!
Now you can see and hear your buddies using AIM's new Video IM feature!
Video IM adds a personal touch to any IM conversation, whether you're
communicating with family and friends across the street or across the country!
All you need is a webcam, microphone and broadband connection and you're ready
to take your IM'ing to the next level with Video IM from AIM.
Performance is better over a broadband connection or Local Area Network. You
may not be able to use Video IM if you or your buddies are behind a firewall.
Challenge your buddies to an AIM Game! Take a step up from Solitaire ...try AIM
Games!
Play Blasterball, Polar Bowler or Blackhawk Striker and even better, invite a
buddy to play with you!
Initiate games and invite buddies to play, right from your Buddy List window!
Bowl with your buddies or challenge them to a game of checkers! Watch their
moves and talk trash! The AIM service makes games better!
System Requirements • Windows: Windows 98/ME, WinNT4/2000/XP • IE 5.0 or
higher. • Video IM requires Window XP
BITS
Bytes
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 !!!
Here's A
Windows XP Tip
Redirect My
Documents to an alternate location
Have you ever wanted to change the location of the My Documents folder from the
local hard drive to a network drive? In previous versions of the Windows
operating system, performing this task required a series of tricky registry
edits.
However, that's not the case in Windows XP. A built-in feature allows you to
quickly and easily change the location of My Documents.
Follow these steps:
Press
[Windows]E to open My Computer.
Right-click
the My Documents icon in the folder tree, and select Properties.
This opens the My Documents Properties dialog box, and selects the Target tab
by default. My Documents is actually a shortcut to a folder, and the Target
text box in the Target Folder Location section displays the path to this
folder.
To change the location of the My Documents folder, type the new path in the
Target text box, or click the Move button.
Clicking the Move button opens a standard browsing dialog box. Use the controls
to drill down to any local or network drive you want.
Click OK to close all dialog boxes.
Why not give the
gift that keeps on giving all year round? I'm referring to a subscription to
either Smart Computingor CPU Magazines. If you are a current subscriber
and order a gift subscription, the folks at Smart Computing will add 2
additional issues to your current subscription at no charge. And remember that
even gift subscriptions will be credited to the SPCUG account so that we can
accumulate free subscriptions to give away to our membership.
To order call 1-800-733-3809 and be sure to give
the following Code Numbers so that SPCUG gets proper credit.
Smart Computing (11607) CPU Magazine (272)
From the "Bytes" Mailbag
Can
you please refer me to a list of features I should have when I buy a new
computer? I have the disk of past archives but have not sound such a list.
Thanks.
Keith
Well
Keith there is a reason we call them "Personal Computers". Each is
different in many ways. The features you need are based on what you like and
hope to be able to do with your computer so it's very difficult to provide a
standard answer. I suggest you visit one of the local computer dealers who
support SPCUG, sit down with them and have them make suggestions based on your
particular needs.
Dave,
How do I get Google to include my Web site in search results?
I'd appreciate your help
Thank you,
Lou.
Google regularly crawls the Internet, looking for new Web sites. You can submit
your URL (which stands for Universal Resource Locator; it’s your Web address)
to Google. The company makes no promises that your site will be included in its
index.
The instructions for submission are at: www.google.com/addurl.html
Google checks listings that are available at the Open Directory Project ( www.dmoz.org ). Enter your Web site address
there, too.
As
the race for the 2004 presidential election heats up with primaries and
caucuses across the country this week, kids might sense the excitement, but
they may not completely understand the political process. The Internet can
help. Here's a look at a site parents and youngsters can browse together.
Scholastic News Online, a news site for kids, has a kids' guide to the
presidential election. The site offers a wealth of information about the political
process told in a manner that children in grades three to eight can understand.
It explains the differences between open and closed primaries, what a caucus
is, when the primaries are held, and what happens at the Democratic and
Republican conventions. The step-by-step guide takes kids through the process
as if they were running for president.
The site also provides a forum for young journalists to report on the
elections. The Scholastic Kids Press Corps, a diverse group of kids from across
the country, has been interviewing the candidates. "They get away with
questions that other journalists just can't ask," says Suzanne Freeman,
Scholastic News Online editor.
The youngsters' reporting includes a series of interviews with the candidates'
children to get their perspectives on their parents' campaigns.
Not only are there news stories to read, but there are also games and other
interactive activities including a scavenger hunt, which sends kids to some of
the candidates' Web sites to find information. Kids will be able to vote in a
mock primary and a mock election.
This site provides an excellent jumping-off point for further discussion about
the election. By understanding the process, kids can start to think about the
issues.
Florida Association of Computer User
Groups, Inc.
Spring 2004 Conference
Dear Fellow SPCUG Members, FACUG was
founded in 1993 to assist user groups in the performance of their managerial
and educational activities, to promote communications among local user groups,
and to facilitate relations between user groups and the computer industry.
FACUG is the successor organization to the Florida Suncoast Conference of PC
User Groups. Suncoast was one of the early regional groups having been started
in 1989 in Sarasota by our own Gary Schweinshaupt. Currently there are 59
member User Groups that belong to FACUG. The Annual Spring Conference is
being held on March 5-7 in Kissimmee. Over the years many SPCUG
volunteers have devoted countless hours of their time in an effort to help make
SPCUG a stronger organization and to their credit, have succeeded. Years ago
Gary encouraged me to attend a conference and to get involved which I gladly
did. Since then I have been a Director and now serve as Vice-President because
I have seen, first hand, how FACUG helps to not only strengthen SPCUG, but the
User Group Community as a whole. That being said, I would like to encourage all
Officers and Volunteers to register for the Spring Conference. FACUG
member attendees-$60
on site, $50 by mail before February 13,
2004.This fee covers breakfast, lunch, dinner, and participation in the
various roundtable panel discussions and door prizes, All volunteers who attend
are entitled to a $35 per day reimbursement from SPCUG. If you have any
questions, please contact me @ gerber@spcug.org
Hotel arrangements are in place Make your reservation for hotel
directly: Super 8 Suites 1815 W.Vine St., Kissimmee, FL 1-800-325-4348 $29.95 + tax/night double person room.
A limited number of rooms are being
held until 2/17/04 . Request the group rate for the Florida
Association of Computer User Groups, Inc. ( I strongly recommend booking your
hotel reservation NOW! This is the height of the tourist season.)
All things considered, I'm sure that you will
bring back to SPCUG information and ideas that will serve the Sarasota PC User
Group well while having a good time in the process.
I hope to see you there, Dave
Gerber
FACUG VP
Here's An SPCUG Trivia Question
As of February 7th
....
How many individual
e-mail messages has Dave sent to the SPCUG membership including Meeting &
SIG Notices, Special Announcements & Dave "Bytes"?
And No, there is no prize ... just for fun !!!!
Click the Question Mark to submit your
guess
Please remember to include your name
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 HEREwhen your merchandise is sold
so that I can remove it from the listing. I will try to run each ad for
a month.
Other
e-mail service providers, such as America Online, Microsoft and Yahoo, offer
filtering services. But what makes ZoEmail different, according to the company,
is that it can block unwanted e-mail, without blocking e-mails from friends,
colleagues and mailing lists a person would like to get.
The
biggest problem people face today in their battle against spam is the trade-off
between high levels of antispam protection and the prospect of missing
important e-mail messages. Software filters tend to have high rates of false
positives, which means that they block good e-mail along with the bad. ZoEmail
said AT&T's technology has solved this problem.
"We
allow users to have control over their privacy and security, so they don't have
to worry about getting obnoxious e-mails," said Mike Oyster, president of
ZoEmail. "And unlike the filtering technologies that many services use,
users don't have to look through hundreds of e-mails in their junk mail folders
to find the one good e-mail."
Here's
how it works: When a ZoEmail user wants to send a message, the system selects a
unique "key"--a special word and number combination--and makes the
"key" part of the ZoEmail user's e-mail address.
For
example, instead of creating an e-mail address that simply says
Jane@zoemail.com, the user creates a key with extra letters and characters that
follow the name. For example, the e-mail address above could be
Jane.1234gbd@zoemail.com. Jane can give out this coded e-mail to whomever she
likes. Using this address gives certain senders permission to send Jane e-mail,
which will get delivered unhindered. If a spammer randomly sends mail to
Jane@zoemail.com, the messages will be bounced back and will never enter the
in-box.
The
ZoEmail service also enables Jane to create a separate key to anyone on her
mailing list. And if by chance, her e-mail address falls into the wrong hands,
she can revoke permission by simply clicking a disable "key" button.
The
downside to this service is informing people on the mailing list of any key
changes. But ZoEmail has tried to solve this problem. If an address is
corrupted, users can choose to have a new key generated automatically when they
send e-mails from a ZoEmail account.
The
concept of disposable e-mails is nothing new. Other e-mail services, including
Yahoo, Spamex and Mailshell,
also offer similar capabilities. Typically, these services enable users to sign
up for several e-mail addresses that they can turn on and off at will. They can
also swap out old addresses with new ones, if they find themselves on unwanted
mailing lists.
The
Center for Democracy and Technology, a public policy group, conducted a study
last year that showed that one of the most successful methods of avoiding
unwanted messages involves obscuring e-mail addresses or hiding them
altogether. The group also suggested that people use multiple e-mail addresses
that they could disable or throw away, if a spammer got a hold of it.
Unlike
other e-mail services from Yahoo or Hotmail, which also offer antispam
protection, the ZoEmail service will cost $11.88 for a one-year subscription
with 12MB of storage space and $19.08 for an account with 50MB of storage
space.
Create PDF Files for free from any application. PDF reDirect is
installed as a 'virtual printer'. This enables Windows application to create
PDF documents via the 'Print' command. PDF reDirect has no restrictions, no
watermarks, and no pop-up advertisements!
YOU CAN NOW EASILY LOCATE THE DOWNLOADS MENTIONED IN DAVE
"BYTES" BY CLICKING ON THE BUTTONS ON
Check regularly since I'm always adding new content
Click HERE to submit your favorite Freeware or Shareware program
Kazaa Delivers More Than Tunes
Forty-five percent of the executable files downloaded through
Kazaa, the most popular file-sharing program, contain malicious code like
viruses and Trojan horses, according to a new study.
Out
of 4,778 files downloaded in one month, Bruce Hughes, director of
malicious-code research at security firm TruSecure, found that nearly half of
them contained various types of nefarious code.
Some
code was designed to infect every file in a computer user's Kazaa download
directory with a virus. Other code would steal users' AOL Instant Messenger
password or install a program on their computer to allow the attacker to
surreptitiously send spam through it or otherwise take over the machine remotely
to steal personal data and files on the computer.
Hughes
said the code he found in shared files got there in one of three ways: The
person hosting the shared file embedded the malicious code in a file on
purpose; the code was a peer-to-peer worm designed to scour the network and
drop itself into download directories; or, in the case of some viruses, once
the user downloaded an infected file, the malicious code automatically infected
other files in the user's file-share directory so that the user inadvertently
infected the computers of other users who downloaded those files.
About
3 million users are logged onto Kazaa at any one time. Hughes said this has
made the file-sharing network increasingly attractive as a channel for
distributing malware.
According
to the Wild List, a list that tracks viruses and worms that are currently in
circulation, the number of types of viruses circulating through Kazaa increased
133 percent in 2003. In January, the list recorded nine different viruses
passing through Kazaa; at the end of the year the number was up to 21.
Hughes
used such keywords as "Britney Spears," "Microsoft XP,"
"nude" and "porn" to choose the files he downloaded on
Kazaa, focusing on some of the common files that users might share and the most
popular keywords placed in search engines. He looked only at executable files
-- program files that launch when a user double-clicks them, and that usually
end with .exe extensions in the file name. These are the types of files that
most often contain malicious code.
He
said a lot of the malicious code he found was embedded in program files that
are designed to bypass or break copyright protections placed on software files
like Microsoft Office to allow users to share pirated copies of the software.
So
far, however, music, picture and movie files have not been infected with
malicious code, because they aren't executables, Hughes said. Users can't run
them simply by clicking on them. People need to open them through another
program, such as a multimedia program like Real Player.
Hughes
said an attacker could trick a user into thinking a malicious file is a music
or movie file by giving the file name a double extension such as .wav.exe (for
music) or .jpg.exe (for images). If users don't know .exe indicates an executable
file, they would click on it and launch the malicious program.
Hughes
said it is also possible that someone will eventually find a way to infect
movie and music files with malicious executable code, although it hasn't been
done yet.
"It's
one of the things that we worry about," said Hughes.
Two
vulnerabilities were discovered two years ago, however, in Microsoft Windows XP
and in Nullsoft's Winamp, a popular Windows media jukebox player, that a hacker
could exploit with an MP3 file to take control of a user's computer. Both
Microsoft and Nullsoft offered patches for the vulnerabilities when they were
discovered. The music file doesn't launch a payload itself; it takes advantage
of a vulnerability in the other programs.
Hughes
said that this year there will likely be a significant surge in the amount of
malware that is intentionally posted and unknowingly shared on peer-to-peer
file-sharing networks.
Hughes
said that 80 to 95 percent of the malicious code on Kazaa can be detected with antivirus
software, depending on the detection program. But he said that people often
don't update their software with current virus definitions.
They
can also be infected if the malicious code is new and not yet detected. And
some malicious code is designed to shut down antivirus programs and firewalls
if it does get past the detection programs.
"Organizations
need to warn their employees about file-sharing applications and the danger
they pose to them at work and at home," Hughes advised. "Antivirus is
one way to stop the stuff from happening, but you also need policies in place
to make sure employees aren't using dangerous software like Kazaa."
He
also said that parents should watch what their kids are downloading and make
sure they have updated antivirus programs on their computer.
"You'll
really need to be careful what you're doing," he said.
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
Here's A Special Offer For User
Group Members
Do you hate spam email? If so, you are going to be very excited
about Aladdin System’s latest release, SpamCatcher. SpamCatcher stops 99%
of spam so you get only the email you want. Another new addition to Aladdin’s
line of everyday solutions is Spring Cleaning. Spring Cleaning, powered
by EasyUninstall, gives you one-click PC Cleanup power. Check out the product
descriptions below for more details.
As always, registered user groups are entitled to a 40% discount on Aladdin
Systems products. So, get a great deal on these new products, or any Aladdin
products, by going to the online store (http://www.aladdinsys.com/store) and
entering the discount code “UserGroup” (exactly as shown) in the “discount
code” field. A 40% discount will be given when you hit “apply”. If you would
like to “try before you buy” just go to the product’s homepage to download a
demo.
Download the latest PC User Group order form, with discount code listed on
back, at http://www.aladdinsys.com/support/usergroups. With this form,
you can order by phone or fax, and the store URL is listed too.
SpamCatcher. Blocks 99% of Spam. Get only the email you want.
Spammer tactics change constantly. That’s why SpamCatcher uses a combination of
sophisticated technology and teamwork to keep up-to-date and defeat spam. Each
time you approve or block an email, one anti-spam vote for that email type is
anonymously recorded in the SpamCatcher database. Anti-spam votes are tallied
continuously, updating SpamCatcher filters. As soon as spammer tactics change,
the SpamCatcher worldwide network responds. This dynamically updated network,
combined with Heuristics, Bayesian analysis, Fuzzy Logic, Source analysis and
Artificial Intelligence makes SpamCatcher the ultimate spam defense system.
Key Features:
€ Installs in minutes
€ Integrated with Outlook, works with many popular email programs
€ One-year of spam filter updates included free
€ Blocks 99% of spam
€ Imports address books to allow friendly email
System Requirements:
Windows 95, 98, 2000, NT, ME, XP
All email clients using either POP or Microsoft Exchange are supported,
including: Outlook 2000, Outlook 2002/XP, and Outlook 2003 beta, Eudora,
Netscape Messenger.
MSN/Hotmail also supported through your email client
Yahoo supported through your email client with paid Yahoo POP access
15 MB free hard disk space
Get SpamCatcher 3.0 for $17.99. That
is 40% off retail price of $29.99
Shipping, handling, and tax is added when applicable.
Spring
Cleaning for Windows, powered by EasyUninstall. One-Click PC Cleanup. Spring Cleaning®'s easy-to-use tools and one-click solutions make
it easy to find duplicates, sweep away clutter, regain disk space, uninstall
old programs, fix common PC problems, transfer programs to a new PC, and more.
Plus, step-by-step instructions and a Complete Undo feature provide built-in
safety so you can clean with confidence!
System Requirements:
Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/XP
30 MB disk space
32MB RAM (16MB RAM for Windows 98/ME)
Get Spring Cleaning 3.0 for $17.99.
That is 40% off retail price ($29.99)
Shipping, handling, and tax is added when applicable.
Pause For Thought
"Learning
is what most adults will do for a living in the 21st century."
--
Perelman
size=2 width="100%" align=center>
SPCUG February 2004 Volunteer of
the Month
Betty McMillen
If you are near the Renewal/New Member Table, you will hear
"This is the best $35.00 I have ever spent." We would like to
recognize Betty McMillen as our Volunteer of the Month.
A year ago this month Betty joined SPCUG. She started classes and found where
help was needed right away. At the end of class she would go around and make
stations neat. Some students had neglected the SIG leader request to do this.
At the general meeting she again put on smiles and assisted as a Greeter.
She will go out of her way to help those with the worried lost look on their
face. When extra help was needed at the Renewal/New Member Table, Betty placed
herself there. She was immediately available for help at the Holiday Social.
Now she will assist at a SIG class. Is she ready? She said "NO." She
will do it to strengthen her own skills.
Because of her interest and enthusiasm for SPCUG, next month Betty
will be attending her first FACUG Spring Conference in Kissimmee, as will
others, to support and represent our User Group.
She is pleased to Volunteer for SPCUG, but not as much as SPCUG is pleased to
have her.
For all of her efforts Betty was presented with a $50 Gift Certificate from
Office Depot.
Who Said "There's No Room for
Humor in Computers"?
Just
in case you weren't feeling too old today, this will certainly change things.
Each year the staff at Beloit College in Wisconsin puts together a list to try
to give the faculty a sense of the mindset of this year's incoming freshmen.
Here's
this year's list:
The people who are starting college this fall across the nation were born in
1983. They are too young to remember the space shuttle blowing up.
Their lifetime has always included AIDS.
Bottle caps have always been screw off and plastic.
The CD was introduced the year they were born.
They have always had an answering machine
They have always had cable.
They cannot fathom not having a remote control.
Jay Leno has always been on the Tonight Show.
Popcorn has always been cooked in the microwave.
They never took a swim and thought about Jaws.
They can't imagine what hard contact lenses are.
They don't know who Mork was or where he was from
They never heard: "Where's the Beef?", "I'd walk a mile for a
Camel! ," or "de plane Boss, de plane."
They do not care who shot J. R. and have no idea who J. R. even is.
McDonald's never came in Styrofoam containers.
They don't have a clue how to use a typewriter.
Do you feel old yet? Pass this on to the other old fogies in your life.
You know you are living in the year 2004 when:
Your reason for not staying in touch with some family and friends is because
they do not have e-mail.
You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of three.
Your grandmother asks you to send her a JPEG file of your newborn so she can
create a screen saver.
You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is
home. Every
commercial on television has a web site address at the bottom of the screen.
You buy a computer and 3 months later it's out of date and sells for half the
price, or less than you paid for it.
Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20
or 30 years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go
get it.
Using real money, instead of a credit or debit card, to make a purchase would
be a hassle and take planning.
You just tried to enter your password on the microwave.
You consider second-day air delivery painfully slow.
Your dining room table is now your flat filing cabinet.
Your idea of being organized is multiple-colored Post-it notes.
You hear most of your jokes via e-mail instead of in person.
You get an extra phone line so you can get phone calls.
You disconnect from the Internet and you get this awful feeling, as if you just
pulled the plug on a loved one.
You get up in the morning and go online before getting your coffee.
You wake up at 2 AM to go to the bathroom and check your e-mail on your way
back to bed.
You start tilting your head sideways to smile. :)
You're reading this and nodding and laughing.
Even worse; you know exactly who you are going to forward this to!
Instead of adding a Web page to the Internet Explorer Favorites folder, you can
create a shortcut to the Web on your computer's desktop. That way, you can open
the Web page (and launch Internet Explorer at the same time, if it's not
already open) simply by clicking the shortcut icon.
To place a shortcut to a Web page on your desktop, follow these steps:
In the Internet Explorer 6 browser, open the Web page to which you want to
create a shortcut.
Choose File, Send, Shortcut to Desktop.
Internet Explorer creates a shortcut to the current Web page, with the title of
the page beneath a Web icon. To rename the Web page shortcut, click the Show
Desktop button on the Quick Launch toolbar to display the desktop and then
right-click the new shortcut icon and choose Rename from its shortcut menu.
After editing characters or replacing the entire name, press Enter.
If the Internet Explorer browsing window isn't full size (as is the case when
you click the Restore button in the upper-right corner of the window), you can
create a shortcut to the Web page that you're currently viewing by dragging the
Web page icon to the desktop. (This icon appears at the beginning of the
Address bar, in front of the URL of the current Web page.)
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.
Every
commercial on television has a web site address at the bottom of the screen. 
