Dave Bytes June 20 2004

Dave "Bytes"

Please remember to use your thinker, before you tinker!
June 20, 2004

A Periodic Newsletter for the Members of the Sarasota PC User Group and the World!!

In Windows XP, the left side of the Start menu displays quick access to recently used programs. You may have noticed that items above the thin gray line within that menu never change. In Microsoft-speak, those items are "pinned" to the menu. Items below the gray line change quite frequently to reflect programs you've used recently. You may want to put some different programs above the gray line so that they're always available on the menu. Or you may want to remove a program that you used recently, but don't intend to use again for a while. These things are easy to do. If you right-click on any program name in that menu, you see several options. Here's a rundown of the main options:

Pin to Start menu: Pins the item to the upper portion of the menu, so it never gets "bumped" by recently used programs.

Unpin from Start menu: If the item is already pinned to the menu, use this option to "unpin" it.

Remove from This List: Takes the item off the menu.

Rename: Lets you change the name that the option displays

Buying and Burning Your Favorite Songs with AOL

After a lot of hesitation, many arguments, and a few well-placed lawsuits, the music industry seems to finally understand that people want access to their music online, and that they might actually pay for the privilege if some way existed for them to do that.

This great online birthing brought many new music services into the world, including everything from a new, improved, and payment-oriented Napster to the impressive-looking Real One Rhapsody system from the Real Audio folks.

Not to be outdone, America Online introduced its own pay-for-play music system, integrated directly into the AOL service. AOL dubbed the service MusicNet (keyword MusicNet). Drawing from all corners of the music world, MusicNet puts a little over 400,000 songs at your beck and call. Like all of the services, MusicNet offers CD-quality sound for a great listening experience.

You sign up for this premium service separately from your regular AOL membership fee. Rather than leave you with just a couple of subscription options, MusicNet puts four tasty musical platters on the table, letting you pick and choose exactly what you want:

The Basic subscription sets you back a paltry $3.95 per month, but it only gives you access to 20 songs a month.

With the Standard level, the price goes up to $8.95 per month, but now you get to enjoy as many songs as you want, either online or by downloading them to your computer.

The service's two top-priced options, Deluxe at $13.95 and Premium at $17.95, let you burn music onto CDs.

Like so many other subscriptions in the world, remember that MusicNet's goal involves hooking you into the service and getting you to pony up some money each month. The free limited-time offer automatically morphs into an $8.95 per month Standard level membership after the trial period ends. If you decide that you love MusicNet, then all's the better.
However, if you tried MusicNet but you didn'tlove it, call AOL's famous Customer Service department at 866-278-6582 and cancel your subscription.

Why not give the gift that keeps on giving all year round? I'm referring to a subscription to either Smart Computing or 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) PC Today (146) CE Tips (219)

If you do not have Acrobat Reader installed on your computer you can get it by clicking this button

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 1500 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.

EarthLink and Webroot Software released a report Wednesday, revealing that nearly one of every three computers scanned in April for Trojan horse programs or system monitor spyware was infected.

Internet access provider EarthLink and security software maker Webroot scanned nearly 421,000 computers for their April Spy Audit report. Trojan horses and system monitors accounted for 133,715 pieces of the spyware found on those computers--representing almost one in three machines.

System monitors track users' computer activity, capturing virtually everything they do online. Trojan horses appear to be software programs a user has requested but actually aid hackers in stealing computer data. That information is then used to gain unrestricted access to users' computers while they are online.

"Consumers should be aware of the applications and files residing and running on their machines," Matt Cobb, Earthlink's core applications vice president, said in a statement. "While certain types of spyware are malicious, other programs can be used to improve their Internet experience."

Security experts note that the damage from Trojan horses or system monitors can sometimes be more severe than adware and adware cookies typically found on PCs.

When adding all four types of spyware found on the scanned computers during April, the Spy Audit Report found 11.3 million instances of spyware on the computers. That averaged 26.9 pieces of spyware per machine.

In March, 237,200 PCs were scanned, with 7.1 million pieces of spyware found on the computers. That averaged 30 pieces of spyware per PC, according to the report.

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.