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

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"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored."-- Aldous Huxley

As the prostitute said, "It's not the work, it's the stairs." As told to me by Elaine Stritch, star of stage, screen, & TV, right after she won her 1st Emmy. Ago 79.

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This is one fun site if you just took a trip by plane
http://www4.passur.com/lax.html
OK, I gotta tell ya, it's going to work better the faster you chip speed is and the greater your ram. It's wasn't that great for me with my 750 chip and 512 of ram laptop.
P.S. If you change the date BACK one day you'll see all the info on the plane you check on. Ya really only have to go back 3 hrs. to see it all. ENJOY!

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".

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"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored."-- Aldous Huxley

As the prostitute said, "It's not the work, it's the stairs." As told to me by Elaine Stritch, star of stage, screen, & TV, right after she won her 1st Emmy. Ago 79.

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By: Chad Redfern

According to the latest report from security software company Symantec (www.symantec.com), every computer user needs to make a conscious effort to keep his computer safe and secure. The biannual report provides analysis of trends in Internet attacks, malicious activity and security risks. Symantec has warned that vulnerabilities in web applications and browsers are continuing to pose serious threats, allowing hackers to access confidential information. Hackers are increasingly using attacks that exploit browsers rather than trying to batter through firewalls and other network protection devices, according to Symantec.

The biannual report showed that there was a great increase in the number of strategic and coordinated attacks on application and browsers. Last year such threats accounted for barely a third of all reported vulnerabilities. Symantec warned that web applications are popular targets because they are widely deployed and can allow attackers to circumvent traditional security measures such as firewalls. Web application vulnerabilities made up 48 percent of all vulnerabilities disclosed, up from 39 percent in the first half of 2004, according to the results from Symantec.

Symantec found that on average organizations received 13.6 attacks per day, up from 10.6. Significantly, for the third straight reporting period, the Microsoft SQL Server Resolution Service Stack Overflow Attack (formerly referred to as the Slammer Attack) was the most targeted vulnerability, used by 22 percent of all attackers. Symantec reported 1,403 new vulnerabilities, a 13 percent increase over the previous six-month period.

Windows and Microsoft users, you’re not alone. The Symantec report also predicts that hackers are becoming more interested in Macs during 2005, specifically mentioning sales of low-priced mini Macs. As more casual, less tech-savvy users adopt Macs, expect to hear more about vulnerabilities exposed within the Mac OS, which is based on the Unix operating system. Other security companies confirm Symantec’s finding and are seeing an uptick in Mac OS flaws and vulnerabilities.

It is important to remember that information is the key target for hackers. Over half of the attacks, viruses and trojans reported last year were designed to capture personal data. Also, this year we should expect to see an increase use of embedded content in audio and video images to launch hidden attacks. Symantec expects security risks associated with adware and spyware will likely increase. Impending legislation to curb these risks is not expected to be an effective or sufficient deterrent on its own.

The Symantec report pointed out that many other personal electronic devices are under attack.

“As more people leave their desktops and start accessing the Internet via mobile devices, so too do the crackers, these attacks will continue to grow as Bluetooth and adoption sets in,” Symantec officials said.

The bottom-line is that it is critical to make sure your operating systems, firewalls, browsers, applications and virus protection are up-to date.



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".

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"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored."-- Aldous Huxley

As the prostitute said, "It's not the work, it's the stairs." As told to me by Elaine Stritch, star of stage, screen, & TV, right after she won her 1st Emmy. Ago 79.

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Associated Press: Technology
REDMOND, Wash. - Microsoft Corp. on Thursday filed 117 federal lawsuits against unnamed defendants, accusing them of a high-tech form of identity theft known as "phishing."

The lawsuits, filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, accuses the "John Doe" defendants of using mass e-mail or pop-up ads to coerce consumers into revealing personal information such as bank account information, passwords or social security numbers.

The Redmond-based software company said it filed the lawsuits in hopes of uncovering some of the largest operators.

In phishing scams, the Internet-based communications often purport to be from legitimate organizations, such as banks, and use that perception of a trusted relationship to get people to reveal personal information.

To avoid such identity theft, experts warn that users should be wary of giving out any personal information via e-mail or pop-up ads, especially if someone contacts them unexpectedly. Users also should be wary of clicking on e-mail links, which could divert a user to a malicious site that will then steal personal information.



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".

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"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored."-- Aldous Huxley

As the prostitute said, "It's not the work, it's the stairs." As told to me by Elaine Stritch, star of stage, screen, & TV, right after she won her 1st Emmy. Ago 79.

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Trend Micro announced this week an agreement with SINA, China's top Internet portal and most frequently visited Web site, to provide advanced security protection for more than 100 million email users in China and the global Chinese community.



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".

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"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored."-- Aldous Huxley

As the prostitute said, "It's not the work, it's the stairs." As told to me by Elaine Stritch, star of stage, screen, & TV, right after she won her 1st Emmy. Ago 79.

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Pharming Attacks Outwit Even Savvy Surfers

The reason pharming can be lucrative is because it can

fool even fairly savvy computer users. This attack starts

when hackers take advantage of the ever-growing number of

peer-to-peer applications to help spyware, a Trojan horse,

or a virus slip past a computer's defenses and lodge

itself in the background of a user's PC.

Hackers possess two admirable traits: persistence and

ingenuity. These attributes have unfortunately lead to a

phenomenon known as "pharming," the latest in a

never-ending series of insidious attacks.

This new threat packages a number of established attack

methods, such as phishing, viruses, spyware, and Domain

Name Service (DNS) redirection, in a new manner with the

goal of perpetrating identity theft.

"Since pharming can be lucrative, a number of criminals

are quite interested in it," said Shawn Eldridge, chairman

of the Trusted Electronic Communications Forum (TECF), a

vendor consortium examining ways for companies to protect

consumers from various online scams.

The reason pharming can be lucrative is because it can

fool even fairly savvy computer users. This attack starts

when hackers take advantage of the ever-growing number of

peer-to-peer applications to help spyware, a Trojan horse,

or a virus slip past a computer's defenses and lodge

itself in the background of a user's PC.

Bogus Destinations

The malicious code locates the host files in the

computer's operating system and creates an IP address for

a criminal's Web site that is designed to look like a

legitimate site from a bank or credit card company. When

the user types the bank's or credit card company's URL

into his or her Web browser, the spyware bypasses the

typical search of the DNS (basically the Internet's white

pages) and inserts the bogus destination.

Unless he or she is paying close attention, the user does

not notice the change, arrives at the fraudulent Web site,

and enters personal data , like credit card numbers, bank

account information, or social security identifications.

Most people feel comfortable entering such personal

information , because they have gone to these Web sites in

the past without any problem.

As far as they can tell, nothing out of the ordinary has

occurred, but they have given personal information to

criminals who are now in a position to steal their

identity. Unfortunately as they have honed their craft,

pharmers have improved their lure.

"The first pharming sites were relatively easy to spot:

they were filled with typos, grammatical errors and skewed

URLs," noted Richi Jennings, leader of the anti-spam

practice at Ferris Research Inc., an e-mail market

research firm. "Recently, the attacks have become more

difficult to discern because the fraudulent sites more

closely resemble legitimate Web sites."
Successful Hacks

Successful pharming attacks have taken place. The Troj

Banker A/j worm, seen near the end of 2004, watched for

users visiting banking sites and redirected to bogus

locations run by pharmers. Other attacks were less

threatening. In November 2004, Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG)

and Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) users were sent to Med

Network Inc., an online pharmacy. In March 2003, a group

dubbed the "Freedom Cyber Force Militia" hijacked visitors

to the Al-Jazeera Web site and presented them with the

message "God Bless Our Troops."

"There have been a few instances where hackers have taken

over search engines and redirected unsuspecting users to

fraudulent Web sites," said Paul Luehr, vice president and

deputy general counsel at Stroz Friedberg, LLC, a

consulting firm specializing in computer security.

Pharming has been viewed as the natural follow-on to

phishing, an approach where hackers send users e-mail

messages, such as "You need to update your account," and

then whisk them away to bogus sites where the users

inadvertently hand over personal data. As users become

more aware of phishing and vendors enhance their defense

mechanisms against it, hackers look for another attack

mechanism and pharming seems like a viable option.
Multiple Parties

But there are a few differences in the two approaches.

"Pharming seems to be a more methodical attack than

phishing," TECF's Eldridge told TechNewsWorld. "With

pharming, a hacker sends out his work and then waits for

the user to enter the link and end up in the wrong site.

With phishing, the results tend to be seen fairly

quickly."

As a result, he thinks that two different groups of

individuals are conducting the two attacks.

Regardless of who is launching the attacks, companies and

end users want to take steps to limit their exposure to

them, so vendors have been developing products

specifically for it. Anonymizer Inc. developed software

that creates an encrypted path between a computer and a

Web site to shield users from spyware. The product

protects users against host file pharming attacks by

intercepting all browser requests and returning the page

information to the end user before the connection is made.

Enhancing a user's browser could also help to thwart

attackers. Netcraft Inc. offers a browser plug-in that

displays geographic information about the site being

visited. If a user notices that a mortgage company's site

is being supported by a server somewhere in Eastern

Europe, he or she can assume the site is illegitimate.

Another approach is enhancing browsers so they

authenticate the identity of a particular Web site via the

public DNS system, an approach that is gaining traction as

users try to verify email transactions.
Preventative Measures

In addition to technical advances, companies are adding a

few more steps to their authentication processes.

Financial institutions have been experimenting with

multi-factor authentication where a transaction is not

completed until a user calls back and confirms that he or

she did in fact move from an account. In some cases, banks

rely on Simple Message Services and wireless handsets to

notify users that money has been transferred from their

bank accounts or items added to their credit cards.

As the new defense mechanisms take hold, hackers work on

new attack schemes. "Unfortunately, cybercrime presents an

ongoing arms race: as soon as defenses arrive to stop

attacks, criminals attempt to perfect new attack

mechanisms," Stroz Friedberg's Luehr told TechNewsWorld.



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".

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"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored."-- Aldous Huxley

As the prostitute said, "It's not the work, it's the stairs." As told to me by Elaine Stritch, star of stage, screen, & TV, right after she won her 1st Emmy. Ago 79.

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Open explorer (left click on the your Geen start botton) and go to a file folder from which you need to make multiple shortcuts to your desktop. Select all of the files you need by holding down the Ctrl button and left-clicking each file. When you are done selecting, right-click one of the selected files and drag to your desktop. Release the button and select "Create Shortcut" on the menu that appears and multiple shortcuts will appear on your desktop. Be careful to use the right mouse button when dragging, not the left. Otherwise you will actually move the files, and not just create shortcuts.



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".

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"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored."-- Aldous Huxley

As the prostitute said, "It's not the work, it's the stairs." As told to me by Elaine Stritch, star of stage, screen, & TV, right after she won her 1st Emmy. Ago 79.

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This is not my story. Good info to have tucked in the back of our minds.

A true story - Susie is recuperating at an incredible pace for someone who had a massive stroke - all because Sherry saw Susie stumble - -(that is the key that isn't mentioned below) - and she then asked Susie the 3 questions. So simple - - this literally saved Susie's life - - I had received this informative e-mail the week Susie had her stroke.

Susie failed all three questions, and I called 911. Even though Susie had normal blood pressure readings and it did not appear to be a stroke, as she could converse to some extent with the Paramedics they took her to the hospital right away. I thank God for the sense to remember the 3 steps!

Read the following and Learn how to help recognize a possible stroke victim!

SOMETHING WE ALL NEED TO KNOW. IS IT A STROKE?

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke. Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

1. Ask the individual to SMILE.

2. Ask him / her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

3. Ask the person to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE.

If he or she has trouble with any of these tasks, call 9-1-1 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

After discovering that a group of non-medical volunteers could identify facial weakness, arm weakness and speech problems, researchers urged the general public to learn the three questions. They presented their conclusions at the American Stroke Association's annual meeting last February. Widespread use of this test could result in prompt diagnosis and treatment of the stroke and prevent brain damage. The quicker you act, the less damage to the patient's body.

A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this posting sends it to 10 people, you can bet that at least one life will be saved.


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".

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"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored."-- Aldous Huxley

As the prostitute said, "It's not the work, it's the stairs." As told to me by Elaine Stritch, star of stage, screen, & TV, right after she won her 1st Emmy. Ago 79.

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Beginner Tip: Search Option
When you are searching for a file using "Find" or "Search" within the Start menu, you can use the ? as a single wild-card character in the name of the file for which you are looking.

For example: *.EXE will find all files with the EXE extension. ??LY.EXE will find all files with L and Y as the third and fourth letters of a four-character name and an EXE extension.



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".

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"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored."-- Aldous Huxley

As the prostitute said, "It's not the work, it's the stairs." As told to me by Elaine Stritch, star of stage, screen, & TV, right after she won her 1st Emmy. Ago 79.

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Joel Durham Jr. - ExtremeTech

Don't care for Microsoft Office products? Or do you just not feel the need to pay the market price for a PIM, many of whose features you might not need? There are plenty of alternatives to Outlook that offer varying levels of functionality and compatibility. Here's a rundown of some of what's out there.

Outlook Express

Outlook Express is a no-frills e-mail client that's nice if you don't care about the calendar and robust contact management of Outlook. It doesn't include its own spam filtering, so you'll need a third-party spam-management tool.

Free with Windows, Outlook Express lets you do e-mail and not much more. It includes simple message rules and a folder system. Its address book keeps a minimal amount of information handy, and features such as shared contact lists aren't available. Outlook Express is potentially adequate for those who fear complicated feature lists, but power users will feel limited by its lack of robustness.

Eudora

As a non-Microsoft alternative to Outlook, Eudora might be the ideal email client for you. It includes a powerful email function and a nice address book, plus a million ways to use them, but lacks the calendar that Outlook offers.

Eudora's strength lies in its interface. This program offers a ridiculous number of ways to customize how it looks and behaves, and if you wander around an office that uses Eudora as its primary email client you'll probably see a different configuration on each monitor. Furthermore, it lets you sort through its address book in any number of ways, allowing you to pinpoint recipients in seconds.

Features like MoodWatch (which flags possibly offensive strings in outgoing email to keep you from alienating someone) and ScamWatch (which helps you avoid succumbing to "phishing" scams) round out an already robust package. A powerful anti-spam feature filters out junk mail according to your preferences.

Three levels of Eudora are available: the full-featured paid version for around $50, the ad-sponsored version with fewer features and a banner ad to distract you, and the Lite version which is comparable to Outlook Express.

Mozilla Thunderbird (My choose)

From the makers of the popular Firefox browser (you know the one, the browser that's actually making a dent in Internet Explorer's market share[and don't forget Opera.com this one handles cookies better than the other two and it holds you web pages till us use it again]) comes an email client that's not only free, but vastly powerful.

Thunderbird does an amazing job with its intelligent filtering of junk email. Beyond that, it includes such things as an RSS reader, message grouping, a wildly customizable view and a groovy feature called Saved Search Folders: these powerful folders look like other email folders, except they execute a search function according to your criteria and they display messages with that criteria.

Like Firefox, Thunderbird is an open source project. You can grab user created themes to change its look and user created extensions to add functionality. In fact, one extension you can download is a calendar function, which the base program lacks.
source: http://tinyurl.com/4e9uu Want to know more about that URL and how I did that, call me.



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".