Blog for "the-enabler" of the letsnet.org network

---

If a packet hits a pocket on a socket on a port,
And the bus is interrupted as a very last resort,
And the address of the memory makes your floppy disk
abort,
Then the socket packet pocket has an error to report.

If your cursor finds a menu item followed by a dash,
And the double-clicking icon puts your window in
the trash,
And your data is corrupted because the index
doesn't hash,
Then your situation's hopeless and your system's gonna
crash!

If the label on the cable on the table at your house,
Says the network is connected to the button on your mouse,
But your packet wants to tunnel onto another protocol,
That's repeatedly rejected by the printer down the hall,
And your screen is all distorted by the side effect ofgauss,
So your icons in the window are as wavy as a souse,
Then you may as well reboot and go out with a bang,
Cause as sure as I'm a poet, the program's gonna hang!

When the copy of your floppy's getting sloppy on the disk,
And the microcode instructions cause unnecessary risk,
Then you'll have to flash your memory,
and you'll want to RAM your ROM,
Quickly turn off the computer and be sure to tell your mom!




MY ADVICE endeavors at keen.com. The number is 1-800-275-5336 (800-ask-keen) + ext. 0329063 for tech stuff, 0329117 for running a small business, and 0329144 on investing. Want to CHAT, I use Yahoo's IM as the_web_ster. View me in the Friends & Family part of webcamnow.com, just click on "view cams", then in the Java window click on WebcamNow Communities drop down arrow & select Friends & Family. Under the live webcams look for & click on me "the_webster".

---

wants to stop pop-ups. There are three kinds, and you'll need to do three separate things to block them.

1. Pop up windows created by web pages can be easily blocked by a third-party pop up blocker like the free Google Toolbar. However, the best way to block popups (and other nasties like browser hijackers) is not to use Internet Explorer at all. I uses OPera, Mozilla or Firefox. Mozilla & Firefox have built-in pop-up blocking but you must turn it on in the preferences/options.

2. Pop-ups can also be created by spyware. These programs run in the background and can appear any time, even if you're not online. I recommend Ad-Aware, & Spybot Search & Destroy to clean out spyware and block it in future. If you're going to continue to use Internet Explorer also get Spyware Blaster.

3. Finally, there's a annoying kind of pop-up that's, in my opinion as well as others, a security flaw in Windows NT/2000/XP. These versions of Windows have a function called netsend that's designed for system administrators. They can use it to communicate with all the computers on the network. Unfortunately, it can also be used by a spammer who can send a pop-up to ANY computer on the Internet. To block this form of Messenger spam you can turn off the Messenger service, or turn on a firewall. Enabling the built-in Windows XP firewall will block this spam forever.

And there are firewalls like ZoneAlarm like I use. And ZoneAlarm is free. Remember I have a router and I use firewalls(ZoneAlarm) on each puter.

MY ADVICE endeavors at keen.com. The number is 1-800-275-5336 (800-ask-keen) + ext. 0329063 for tech stuff, 0329117 for running a small business, and 0329144 on investing. Want to CHAT, I use Yahoo's IM as the_web_ster. View me in the Friends & Family part of webcamnow.com, just click on "view cams", then in the Java window click on WebcamNow Communities drop down arrow & select Friends & Family. Under the live webcams look for & click on me "the_webster".

---

Last nights sneak preview of Michael Moore's new film Fahrenheit 9/11 was to say incredibly powerful movie that lays bare the cynicism and greed behind Bush's war policy. And the astonishing and revealing footage in it has the power to change the course of the 2004 election. (There's a full review below.)

Given how devastating the movie is to President Bush's carefully crafted facade, it's hardly surprising that right-wing groups who call Moore a "domestic enemy" are using censorship and intimidation tactics to try to get it pulled from theaters. That's why we've got to do everything we can to make the opening a huge success.

Today, we're asking MoveOn members to pledge to see the film on the opening night -- Friday, June 25th. (If you can't make it on Friday, pledging to go on Saturday or Sunday is fine, too). It'll be fun, of course -- you'll be watching the movie with lots of other MoveOn members. It'll also send an unmistakable message to the media and theater owners that the public is behind this movie.

To see the Fahrenheit 9/11 trailer and pledge to see the movie on the opening weekend, go to:

http://www.moveonpac.org/f911/?id=2949-3646104-YRmkUta5zw10_vFfKGLFuQ

Then please pass this message on to your friends, family, and co-workers.

Fahrenheit 9/11 isn't just the most powerful and complete indictment of the Bush administration that I've ever seen - it's one of the best movies I've ever seen. It's a knockout blow: a poignant, darkly funny film that deftly interweaves footage of the President, his allies, and the Americans his policies betrayed. As Fox News' reviewer put it, the movie "is a tribute to patriotism, to the American sense of duty - and at the same time an indictment of stupidity and avarice." (See http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,122680,00.html for the full review.)

Despite years of television coverage on Iraq and the war on terror, most of the movie consists of footage you'd never see on TV. There are heart-breaking interviews with troops in Iraq, chilling scenes of the civilian consequences of that war, and footage of Bush so candid and revealing that it's hard to imagine how Moore got his hands on it. In one unforgettable scene from the morning of September 11th, Bush blithely reads a children's book to a classroom of kids for seven long minutes after his chief of staff quietly informs him that the second plane has hit the World Trade Center and "we're under attack." The film is filled with this stuff, and it's hard to imagine seeing it and not being moved, shocked, and outraged.

Fahrenheit 9/11 opens with footage of Bush administration officials putting on their TV makeup. Paul Wolfowitz sticks his comb in his mouth, slathers it with spit, brushes it through his hair, and grins a toothy grin. Colin Powell eyes the camera nervously as a makeup artist dusts his face. And, moments before President Bush goes on TV to somberly announce the beginning of the Iraq war, we see him goofing around, making funny faces at the folks behind the camera.

These candid portraits encapsulate the genius of Moore's documentary. Compared to his other films, there's little pranking or moralizing. Moore basically stays out of the picture: he doesn't have to indict the Bush administration, because with powerful and indisputable video, Bush and the rest indict themselves.

As Moore unravels Bush's story, he joins it with the stories of the real Americans who have shouldered the burden of the post-9/11 war policy. In Flint, Michigan, we hear from a group of inner-city kids whose only option for education and a better life is to enlist in the Army - and then, in a scene that's both humorous and deeply creepy, join two Marine recruiters as they case a local mall for possible enlistees. We watch a California peace group that was infiltrated by the local police department under the Patriot Act. And, in the final heartbreaking scenes, we witness the pain of a mother who lost her son in Iraq.

In the hands of other directors, the content could easily feel exploitative. But Moore is grounded by a patriotism that rings through every frame of the film. Compassion and love of country give the film its striking authenticity: it's clear that what stings most about the President's behavior, for the subjects of the film, is Bush's betrayal of our country's soul.

Fahrenheit 9/11 is a film with the power to change hearts and minds. It's brilliant, funny, moving, and authentic. And together, we can make it a huge success.

Watch the trailer and pledge to see the film opening night at:

http://www.moveonpac.org/f911/?id=2949-3646104-YRmkUta5zw10_vFfKGLFuQ

Sincerely,

--Eli Pariser
MoveOn PAC
Wednesday, June 16th

P.S. Fahrenheit 9/11 has already reaped widespread praise from critics. Here are just a few samples:

Roger Ebert, "Less is Moore in subdued, effective '9/11'," Chicago Sun Times, May 18, 2004
"Despite these dramatic moments, the most memorable footage for me involved President Bush on Sept. 11. [Ebert goes on to describe the scene.] The look on his face as he reads the book, knowing what he knows, is disquieting."
http://www.suntimes.com/output/eb-feature/cst-ftr-cannes18.html

Mary Corliss, "A First Look at "Fahrenheit 9/11," Time Magazine Online, May 17, 2004
Corliss calls the film, "Moore’s own War on Error."
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,638819,00.html

Frank Rich, "Beautiful Minds and Ugly Truths," International Herald Tribune, May 21, 2004
"'Fahrenheit 9/11' is not the movie Moore watchers, fans or foes, were expecting. (If it were, the foes would find it easier to ignore.)"
http://www.iht.com/articles/521066.html





MY ADVICE endeavors at keen.com. The number is 1-800-275-5336 (800-ask-keen) + ext. 0329063 for tech stuff, 0329117 for running a small business, and 0329144 on investing. Want to CHAT, I use Yahoo's IM as the_web_ster. View me in the Friends & Family part of webcamnow.com, just click on "view cams", then in the Java window click on WebcamNow Communities drop down arrow & select Friends & Family. Under the live webcams look for & click on me "the_webster".

---

If you're interested in learning more about your system and its components, click the Start Button and select Run. Type MSINFO32.EXE and Windows will run a program that gives you more information than you ever thought you wanted to know about your system.


MY ADVICE endeavors at keen.com. The number is 1-800-275-5336 (800-ask-keen) + ext. 0329063 for tech stuff, 0329117 for running a small business, and 0329144 on investing. Want to CHAT, I use Yahoo's IM as the_web_ster. View me in the Friends & Family part of webcamnow.com, just click on "view cams", then in the Java window click on WebcamNow Communities drop down arrow & select Friends & Family. Under the live webcams look for & click on me "the_webster".

---

"Citing the high costs of running the free service, performance concerns, and health problems, Dave Winer closed down the weblogs.com hosting service without any prior notice. As many as 3000 sites are now inaccessible, and the users who want to transfer their data elsewhere have to ask (politely) for it to be exported. As might be expected, reactions range from understanding to enraged. Netcraft has a report, too."

That is way you start see my every own blog page on a server that is controlled by members of Letsnet.org. Steelhoof, you know the guy who hates SPAM and is letsnet's GUY on Linux, well he's the one who is contributing space on his server to letsnet.org. And if your looking for a place to host your website or page or if you want to register a domain name, I.E. letsnet.org, he can handle that for you too. $10.00 appx. a month paid thou PayPal. E-mail him at Help@yourcomputers.org. Just some old "hobbyist" & non old Techs trying to help, safely. And now it looks like have a computer is not going to do it if your concerned about losing your info. I'm still trying to recover from yahoo's dropping their Ecard service and changing to a new one. I lost all my saved cards and much more. So the more I can do for myself or within letsnet the better. Something to think on. information is power and power is control, and the more control you have the better you are to handle your affairs the way you want.



MY ADVICE endeavors at keen.com. The number is 1-800-275-5336 (800-ask-keen) + ext. 0329063 for tech stuff, 0329117 for running a small business, and 0329144 on investing. Want to CHAT, I use Yahoo's IM as the_web_ster. View me in the Friends & Family part of webcamnow.com, just click on "view cams", then in the Java window click on WebcamNow Communities drop down arrow & select Friends & Family. Under the live webcams look for & click on me "the_webster".

---

And boy is Microsoft mad.

A browser hijacker known as ILookup has been caught red-handed exploiting a previously unknown flaw in Microsoft Internet Explorer. Pop-up toolbar spreads via IE flaws.

ILookup installs as a toolbar and browser helper object. Once installed, it will hijack the home page, search page and sidebar search page. It also will create pop-up ads, most of them pornographic.

A Dutch student and security researcher analyzed the hijacker after receiving an email about it. He posted his findings to Bugtraq after realizing that it was exploiting flaws in Internet Explorer that no one knew about. These flaws enables this hijacker to infect Internet Explorer running on all versions of Windows and regardless of security patches.

Microsoft is extraordinarily upset about the situation. Stephen Toulouse, security program manager for Microsoft, called the ILookup's use of a security flaw "criminal" and said that Microsoft has contacted the FBI about it.

I am glad to see Microsoft taking this so seriously. If only we could direct Microsoft's anger at the hundreds of other browser hijackers who also exploit flaws in Internet Explorer. There's an excellent candidate at coolwebsearch.com.

update An adware purveyor has apparently used two previously unknown security flaws in Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser to install a toolbar on victims' computers that triggers pop-up ads, researchers said this week.

One flaw lets an attacker run a program on a victim's machine, while the other enables malicious code to "cross zones," or run with privileges higher than normal. Together, the two issues allow for the creation of a Web site that, when visited by victims, can upload and install programs to the victim's computer, according to two analyses of the security holes.


The possibility that a group or company has apparently used the vulnerabilities as a way to sneak unwanted advertising software, or adware, onto a user's computer could be grounds for criminal charges, said Stephen Toulouse, security program manager for Microsoft.

"We consider that any use of an exploit to run a program is a criminal use," he said. "We are going to work aggressively with law enforcement to prosecute individuals or companies that do so."

Microsoft learned of the issue when a security researcher posted an analysis of the problem to the Full Disclosure security mailing list Monday. The software giant has already contacted the FBI and is in the "early stages" of building the case, Toulouse said. The company is considering creating a patch quickly and releasing it as soon as possible, rather than waiting for its usual monthly update.

The flaws are apparently being used to install the I-Lookup search bar, an adware toolbar that is added to IE's other toolbars. The adware changes the Internet Explorer home page, connects to one of six advertising sites and frequently displays pop-ups--mainly pornographic ads, according to an adware advisory on antivirus company Symantec's Web site.

On Tuesday, security information group Secunia released an advisory about the problem, rating the two flaws "extremely critical."

"Secunia has confirmed the vulnerabilities in a fully patched system with Internet Explorer 6.0," the group wrote. "It has been reported that the preliminary SP2 (a major security update being developed by Microsoft) prevents exploitation by denying access."


The flaws could let any attacker with a Web site send an e-mail message or an instant message with a link that, when clicked on by an Internet Explorer user, would cause a program to run on that victim's computer.

The original analysis, written by a Netherland student researcher, Jelmer Kuperus, who found that the type of programming needed to take advantage of at least one of the flaws required sophisticated knowledge of the Windows operating system.

"While sophisticated, it's so easy to use, anyone with basic computer science can set up such a page, now that the code is out there in the open," Kuperus wrote in an e-mail interview with CNET News.com. "It's just a matter of changing two or three (Internet addresses) and uploading another" executable file.

Kuperus, who used an e-mail account based in the Netherlands, wrote in a Monday e-mail that he had been tipped off to the adware Trojan horse by an unnamed individual.

"Being rather skeptical, I carelessly clicked on the link only to witness how it automatically installed adware on my PC!" he wrote.

The Internet address from which the adware Trojan horse was downloaded resolves to I-Lookup.com, a search engine registered in Costa Rica that antivirus firms Symantec and PestPatrol have linked to aggressive advertising software. Two of the top three searches on the site relate to removing such programs, according to I-Lookup.com's own statistics.

A domain name search shows i-Lookup.com's parent company to be Aztec Marketing, but Pest Patrol links the site with iClicks Internet. E-mails sent to both companies for comment were not immediately answered.

Kuperus believes that i-Lookup.com's parent company may not be directly responsible for the adware-installing Trojan horse program, but that it could be rewarding the creator through an affiliate program.

"It does pass along a referrer code when downloading," he said. "Whomever created this probably is getting money for every install, so if the folks at (i-Lookup.com) would be willing, they would be able to track down the perpetrators."

Microsoft's Toulouse said Internet Explorer users could harden the software against such attacks by following instructions on the company's site. Other browsers available on Windows, such as Opera and Mozilla, do not contain the flaws.

Thanks to C/net.com/s news.com and spyware for the info.


MY ADVICE endeavors at keen.com. The number is 1-800-275-5336 (800-ask-keen) + ext. 0329063 for tech stuff, 0329117 for running a small business, and 0329144 on investing. Want to CHAT, I use Yahoo's IM as the_web_ster. View me in the Friends & Family part of webcamnow.com, just click on "view cams", then in the Java window click on WebcamNow Communities drop down arrow & select Friends & Family. Under the live webcams look for & click on me "the_webster".

---

As of the morning of June 15, 2004 Yahoo has upped the stacks, anyone who has been a user, for free, at Yahoo mail now has an account with 100mb. And for those who have been paying the 19.95 a YEAR, YOU NOW HAVE 2G for storage. Way to go Yahoo...

And Yahoo doesn't want to scan ever email for addresses so you get spammed by a ton of emails like Google does. I wonder what GOOGLE stands for, but I'm betting on of those Gs stands for Goverment.



MY ADVICE endeavors at keen.com. The number is 1-800-275-5336 (800-ask-keen) + ext. 0329063 for tech stuff, 0329117 for running a small business, and 0329144 on investing. Want to CHAT, I use Yahoo's IM as the_web_ster. View me in the Friends & Family part of webcamnow.com, just click on "view cams", then in the Java window click on WebcamNow Communities drop down arrow & select Friends & Family. Under the live webcams look for & click on me "the_webster".

---

BPL stands for "Broadband over Power Lines". Tells ya alot don't it. The rest of the story from http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2001955375_powerline14.html. Your going to love this if your too far away to get DSL...

A select group of Internet users, near Seattle, is poised to receive high-speed connections through something found in virtually every house: the electrical socket.


MY ADVICE endeavors at keen.com. The number is 1-800-275-5336 (800-ask-keen) + ext. 0329063 for tech stuff, 0329117 for running a small business, and 0329144 on investing. Want to CHAT, I use Yahoo's IM as the_web_ster. View me in the Friends & Family part of webcamnow.com, just click on "view cams", then in the Java window click on WebcamNow Communities drop down arrow & select Friends & Family. Under the live webcams look for & click on me "the_webster".

---

Time invested now may add years to your life later. Your life and those of your family.

http://www.fema.gov/areyouready/

MY ADVICE endeavors at keen.com. The number is 1-800-275-5336 (800-ask-keen) + ext. 0329063 for tech stuff, 0329117 for running a small business, and 0329144 on investing. Want to CHAT, I use Yahoo's IM as the_web_ster. View me in the Friends & Family part of webcamnow.com, just click on "view cams", then in the Java window click on WebcamNow Communities drop down arrow & select Friends & Family. Under the live webcams look for & click on me "the_webster".

---

I downloaded and installed the program Download Accelerator Plus. I used it for a few weeks, then I uninstalled DAP and its toolbar. I thought I had completely uninstalled them, but the toolbar name still shows up when I click on View | Toolbars. Is there any way that I can delete the name so it won't show up next time?

Edward Chen

It's unfortunate that DAP's uninstall routine didn't completely clean things up, as manually removing the remnants will be a bit tedious. Launch REGEDIT from the Start menu's Run dialog and navigate to the key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ Microsoft\Internet Explorer \Toolbar\WebBrowser. You should find at least one value in the right-hand pane with a name that's a GUID—a bunch of letters and digits between curly brackets, like {2318C2B1-4965-11D4-9B18-009027A5CD4F}. One such value represents the absent toolbar, but to find out which one, we'll have to look elsewhere.


Work through the list of GUID-named values from the bottom, as the top ones usually represent IE's own toolbars. Navigate to the subkey of HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID whose name is the same as the name of the value; for example, HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{2318C2B1-4965-11D4-9B18-009027A5CD4F}. Check the (Default) value in the right-hand pane to see which toolbar it represents. The example shown here is the Google toolbar.

When you've identified which one corresponds to the absent DAP toolbar, right-click on it, choose Rename, and prefix the name with a period. That's safer than deleting the key; if you make a mistake, you can restore its name. Back in the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ ...\WebBrowser key, rename the corresponding value in the same way. After you've verified that the unwanted entry in the toolbar list is gone, you can go back and delete the key and value that you renamed.

Note that in Windows XP Service Pack 2, due sometime in the first half of 2004, Internet Options will include a dialog for managing add-ons such as toolbars and Browser Helper Objects. We anticipate that it will make solving problems like this one much easier.
Tip of the day from PCMag.com




MY ADVICE endeavors at keen.com. The number is 1-800-275-5336 (800-ask-keen) + ext. 0329063 for tech stuff, 0329117 for running a small business, and 0329144 on investing. Want to CHAT, I use Yahoo's IM as the_web_ster. View me in the Friends & Family part of webcamnow.com, just click on "view cams", then in the Java window click on WebcamNow Communities drop down arrow & select Friends & Family. Under the live webcams look for & click on me "the_webster".

---

My wife's computer always has Symantec's WinFax program running in the system tray. We haven't been able to get rid of it. If we use Task Manager to stop the process from running, it's back at the next reboot. I downloaded and installed Startup Cop from PC Magazine, but WinFax doesn't appear in the list. How can I disable this program?

B. Treloar

You can prevent WinFax from launching at startup by removing it from the Startup program group. Select Start | Programs | Startup and click on the WinFax Controller icon. From the pop-up menu, select Delete and then OK.


But every time you use WinFax, by default the Controller remains running after the Message Manager has been closed. To get the Controller to exit whenever the Message Manager closes, go to Start | Programs | Symantec WinFax PRO | Program Setup. Select Call Status and Controller and click on Properties. Then select Close Automatically from the When not in use control, and click on OK.

The reason WinFax doesn't appear in Startup Cop's list is that the utility controls only applications that are launched at startup. WinFax is a service, not an application, and as such is launched in a completely different fashion.

Many services are critical to proper Windows operation; but some, including WinFax, can be disabled without destabilizing your system. Windows includes a handy application for managing services, giving you another way to handle WinFax and (if you do it carefully) other troublesome services.

Launch Services.msc from the Start menu's Run dialog. Scroll down to the WinFax service in the list and click on the Stop button. If you want to stop it altogether, set its Startup type to Disabled. If you want to turn it on only when you need it, set the Startup type to Manual. Carefully note the Service name at the top of the Properties page; for example, the service name of the WMI Performance Adapter is WmiApSrv. To turn on the service, enter the command net start name at a command prompt or the Start menu's Run dialog, replacing name with the service name. To turn the service off, enter net stop name in the same way.
For more info on "Services" a blog that Leo Laporte of TechTV (now gone, but look for him to return, somehow)past on is http://www.blackviper.com/winXP/sericecfg.htm is a place to go. But be careful your getting into some very inportant stuff. KNOW KNOW KNOW what your doing. with what he's talking about...



MY ADVICE endeavors at keen.com. The number is 1-800-275-5336 (800-ask-keen) + ext. 0329063 for tech stuff, 0329117 for running a small business, and 0329144 on investing. Want to CHAT, I use Yahoo's IM as the_web_ster. View me in the Friends & Family part of webcamnow.com, just click on "view cams", then in the Java window click on WebcamNow Communities drop down arrow & select Friends & Family. Under the live webcams look for & click on me "the_webster".

---

Everyone talks about protecting the corporation from intruders—including, perhaps, its own employees. But who's protecting your instant messages from snoops? Most companies tolerate some personal calls, e-mails, and IMs, as long as the privilege isn't abused. But don't forget—they can legally monitor conversations on their equipment, whether phone or computer. So not only are your e-mails fair game, but so are your IM sessions.

While we're sure your messages are entirely wholesome and aboveboard, we're equally sure there are some you'd rather not have bandied around the department or forwarded to everyone. Fortunately, you can secure your personal IM messages without too much difficulty. Bear in mind, however, that no encryption scheme prevents keystroke capturing or copying unencrypted text from the screen by spyware and monitoring software; the messages are encrypted only while in transit, on your network, or on the Internet.


AOL, Microsoft, and Yahoo! include encryption in the enterprise versions of their software, but the easiest way to encrypt personal IM sessions is to download IMSecure, from Zone Labs (www.zonelabs.com). The freeware version of this program will encrypt one IM account, and it also protects against buffer overflow IM exploits. AIM, MSN, or Yahoo! will all work with the freeware version. The Pro version encrypts multiple accounts and provides additional security features. Your correspondent must be running IMSecure as well; messages to recipients without the program are not encrypted.





MY ADVICE endeavors at keen.com. The number is 1-800-275-5336 (800-ask-keen) + ext. 0329063 for tech stuff, 0329117 for running a small business, and 0329144 on investing. Want to CHAT, I use Yahoo's IM as the_web_ster. View me in the Friends & Family part of webcamnow.com, just click on "view cams", then in the Java window click on WebcamNow Communities drop down arrow & select Friends & Family. Under the live webcams look for & click on me "the_webster".

---

Yahoo! playing both sides of the spyware issue
Mike Healan
June 2, 2004
This article is located at http://www.spywareinfo.com/articles/spyware/yahoo_toolbar.php

As many of you no doubt have heard, Yahoo! recently released a new toolbar which they claim detects and removes spyware. The toolbar uses technology licensed from Pest Patrol, the vendor of a popular antispyware product.

Unfortunately, it turns out that Yahoo! has decided to set the toolbar to ignore all so-called "adware". The toolbar forces the user specifically to set it to seek out adware.


Click for full screenshot

The reason for this decision appears to be the business relationship between Overture, which is owned entirely by Yahoo!, and the Claria corporation, which creates and distributes Gator. As it turns out, Yahoo!, through Overture, provides 31% of Claria's entire annual revenue.

A Yahoo! spokesperson tried to deflect the issue by stating that they use Pest Patrol's antispyware technology, which itself makes a distinction between "adware" and "spyware". However, Pest Patrol's software does not ignore "adware" either by default or as an option. This change was made entirely by Yahoo!

The spokesperson also tried to portray the decision as one giving choice to the user. In fact, the user has the choice already when they see the results list. The user can choose which software to remove and which to leave alone. Unless, of course, they forget to check the box for adware and then they end up with no choice at all, in the matter of adware.

Yahoo! is playing both sides of the issue, with users caught in the middle. Yahoo! could legitimize the activities of such companies as Claria, WhenU.com, Lop.com and coolwebsearch.com. These are all companies who spend significant effort trying to portray their software as "adware". In fact, the practices of all of these companies have come into question numerous times. In Utah, for instance, Gator and WhenU.com's advertising and installation practices are illegal.

This is an unfortunate situation. Yahoo! needs to decide whose side they are on, their users or the parasites. I would encourage all users of this toolbar to express their opinion to Yahoo!. This is a beta test after all and they are soliciting opinions from their users. I say we should take them up on that offer.


Best is to DO your own spyware hunting...


MY ADVICE endeavors at keen.com. The number is 1-800-275-5336 (800-ask-keen) + ext. 0329063 for tech stuff, 0329117 for running a small business, and 0329144 on investing. Want to CHAT, I use Yahoo's IM as the_web_ster. View me in the Friends & Family part of webcamnow.com, just click on "view cams", then in the Java window click on WebcamNow Communities drop down arrow & select Friends & Family. Under the live webcams look for & click on me "the_webster".

---

New systems (computers) may have security holes that can be exploited by worms like Blaster, which wreaked a fair amount of havoc on PCs in the past year. The first thing to do with a new or reformatted system (or one you've just upgraded from XP Home to XP Pro, for that matter) is to update it with critical security patches from Microsoft. But there's a catch: You could get infected by a worm in the few minutes required to download the security patches. Get that Anti-spamware on there fast and use it right after you install it.

So:
1. update windows
2. scan for viruses
or
get a router at the same time you get that new sys. and put a firewall on that computer so you don't become a "Zombie" in the first few mins. your up.

MY ADVICE endeavors at keen.com. The number is 1-800-275-5336 (800-ask-keen) + ext. 0329063 for tech stuff, 0329117 for running a small business, and 0329144 on investing. Want to CHAT, I use Yahoo's IM as the_web_ster. View me in the Friends & Family part of webcamnow.com, just click on "view cams", then in the Java window click on WebcamNow Communities drop down arrow & select Friends & Family. Under the live webcams look for & click on me "the_webster".

---

BSA, Business Software Alliance is a formost org. dedicated to promotinga safe and legal digital world, at this site you can report an orgaization using unlicensed software on it's computers, or a organization that Distributes pirated software, or you can report piracy that involves software offered through the World-Wide Web, FTP, e-mail, bulletin boards (BBS), chat (IRC, ICQ, etc.), news groups, or any other unauthorized distribution of software using the Internet.



MY ADVICE endeavors at keen.com. The number is 1-800-275-5336 (800-ask-keen) + ext. 0329063 for tech stuff, 0329117 for running a small business, and 0329144 on investing. Want to CHAT, I use Yahoo's IM as the_web_ster. View me in the Friends & Family part of webcamnow.com, just click on "view cams", then in the Java window click on WebcamNow Communities drop down arrow & select Friends & Family. Under the live webcams look for & click on me "the_webster".

---

When writing information to your hard disk, Windows isn't the most careful shelf stocker. Sometimes, it breaks files apart, stuffing them into nooks and crannies. Unfortunately, Windows then takes longer to retrieve the files. To speed things up, use the Disk Defragmenter: Use the Rearrange Items on My Hard Disk task that pops up when you choose the Control Panel's Performance and Maintenance category.
Run Disk Defragmenter every few weeks, especially if your computer seems to be running slowly or you can hear your hard drive making frantic rummaging noises. I defrag weekly, but you know I have my puters running all day. So, it usage too.



MY ADVICE endeavors at keen.com. The number is 1-800-275-5336 (800-ask-keen) + ext. 0329063 for tech stuff, 0329117 for running a small business, and 0329144 on investing. Want to CHAT, I use Yahoo's IM as the_web_ster. View me in the Friends & Family part of webcamnow.com, just click on "view cams", then in the Java window click on WebcamNow Communities drop down arrow & select Friends & Family. Under the live webcams look for & click on me "the_webster".

---

Windows XP User Accounts Windows XP enables an entire family or small office share a single computer. Because everybody has a user account, Windows keeps track of everybody's settings. In fact, the same computer acts like five different computers for a family of five. Best yet, the computer keeps track of everybody's programs while different people use the computer. Switching users is fast and easy. While holding down the Windows key (it's usually between your keyboard's Ctrl and Alt keys), press the letter L. Wham! The Welcome screen pops up, letting another person use the computer for a while. After you finish using the computer, hold down the Windows key and press the letter L. Wham! The Welcome screen pops up again, letting a different user log on. Note: This tip applies to Windows XP only.



MY ADVICE endeavors at keen.com. The number is 1-800-275-5336 (800-ask-keen) + ext. 0329063 for tech stuff, 0329117 for running a small business, and 0329144 on investing. Want to CHAT, I use Yahoo's IM as the_web_ster. View me in the Friends & Family part of webcamnow.com, just click on "view cams", then in the Java window click on WebcamNow Communities drop down arrow & select Friends & Family. Under the live webcams look for & click on me "the_webster".

---

A while back someone suggested this (I forget where it came from):

Put aaa followed with a bunch of letters, symbols, etc. like
"aaa&*%^%$@nowhere.com" as the first entery in my address book and an other like "zzz*%&^$@nowhere.net" so that both ends of your address book have
invalid addresses. Then if someone uses your address book to send
out spam you will know because one of them will bounce back as
undeliverable.

Clever!

Or

just put !!!!#screwde@bumfo0bar
as the first address in your book.

Then if you get a bug, the program tries to send out to that
invalid address, being its the first in the book because of the "!" then you
immediately know you've been had, because the mail comes back to you as
undeliverable returned mail, then you can scan with a virus cleaner.


MY ADVICE endeavors at keen.com. The number is 1-800-275-5336 (800-ask-keen) + ext. 0329063 for tech stuff, 0329117 for running a small business, and 0329144 on investing. Want to CHAT, I use Yahoo's IM as the_web_ster. View me in the Friends & Family part of webcamnow.com, just click on "view cams", then in the Java window click on WebcamNow Communities drop down arrow & select Friends & Family. Under the live webcams look for & click on me "the_webster".

---

Why ask? Because others want your speed to use. One reason why it so hard to find who sent out a virus is because they hack into regular peoples computers and use that computer to send out the virus. These computers now have a name "ZOMBIES". And zombies computers now are 80% of all spam sent over the net today. ISP don't want that Buz anymore, so spammers are using your computer to do the work. And without a firewall you more than likely a zombie spammer yourself. Well your computer anyway. Another is to download things like moves. Don't let this happen to you. A firewall is good and we'll let you know what programs in your computer want or need to go out to the net, which you can say yes or no to. One way to find out if you've got spyware in your computer. A firewall will also tell you when someone wants into computer. Again you get to say yes or no. ZoneLabs has a free download that you could start with. But a router hides your computer and it's address on the Internet from them. Put the two together would be like locking the front door at night and not just shutting it. I'm still using "wired" and not going "wireles" for awhile. Why? Wired is safer. I don't want others picking up my signal.

One thing not in the above is get a router. I use a Linksys Model BERSR41(wired). Radio Shack for about $60 & coming down. It will pay for itself the first time someone tries to get in but you'll not know. Sorry about that.


MY ADVICE endeavors at keen.com. The number is 1-800-275-5336 (800-ask-keen) + ext. 0329063 for tech stuff, 0329117 for running a small business, and 0329144 on investing. Want to CHAT, I use Yahoo's IM as the_web_ster. View me in the Friends & Family part of webcamnow.com, just click on "view cams", then in the Java window click on WebcamNow Communities drop down arrow & select Friends & Family. Under the live webcams look for & click on me "the_webster".