|
Alert |
Hello
Scatter Creek InfoNet Subscriber |
You may
have heard about the recent outbreak of the M32/Mydoom@MM Worm (a.k.a.
W32.Novarg.A@mm Worm). This mass-mailing e-mail worm, discovered late
last month (1.26.04), is another example of why we encourage our
Internet users to install virus scanning software on their computers
and to frequently update this security software.
The 32/Mydoom@MM Worm is a mass-mailing worm that sends itself as an
e-mail attachment to all e-mail addresses found within an infected
computer. Many times these infected e-mail messages appear as spoofed
"return" or "bounce-back" e-mails. The recipient believes he/she has
received a bounced back e-mail message, opens the e-mail and then opens
the accompanying attachment. The recipient's machine is then infected,
which causes replicated e-mails to automatically be mass-mailed to the
e-mail addresses found on the recipient's computer. Although the
subject line, text within the message, and the sender's address can
vary greatly (making detection more difficult), the subject line will
commonly say something like "Returned mail:see transcription for
details" or "Mail Transaction Failed." The sender of the e-mail message
may show as coming from "Mail Delivery Subsystem" (but this also
varies). The text within the message itself may read something like
this: "The message contains Unicode characters and has been sent as a
binary attachment."
The 32/Mydoom@MM / W32.Novarg.A@mm Worm also includes a "backdoor"
feature which opens ports on the infected machine and potentially
allows hackers to have remote access to the computer. Although the
creator of this worm programmed the worm to stop self-replicating and
mass-mailing on February 12, 2004, (thank you), hacker vulnerability of
infected computers continues beyond this date.
The 32/Mydoom@MM / W32.Novarg.A@mm Worm only infects Windows-based
operating systems (not Macintosh, Linux or UNIX systems) and also
appears to ignore e-mail addresses ending in "edu," "mil," and "gov."
Remember, receiving an e-mail attachment from a trusted friend or a
reliable source may not necessarily mean they were the actual senders
of the message and attachment. Also, the ultimate responsibility in
protecting your computer against worms and viruses lies with you.
Many viruses and worms not only spread via e-mail, but also through the
sharing of files when using floppy disks, zip disks and networks, as
well as when downloading software. We encourage each of our users to
install and utilize virus-scanning software, to update this software on
a regular basis, and to scan all incoming attachments before opening
them, even if the attachment shows coming from a reliable source.
The Fastest
Web Accelerator On The Market Is Now Available! - Try It FREE
Through The 22nd Of February
If you
surf the Internet using a dial-up connection, you are painfully aware
of how slow web pages load. Propel Accelerator is a subscription-based
service that works with any dial-up connection, allowing you to
increase your surfing speed up to 5 times. So, pages that previously
took almost 30 seconds to load, can now be viewed in less than 7
seconds, on average.
Propel Accelerator is:
Costs just pennies a day and gives you accelerated access to all your
favorite websites. Call or e-mail us to sign-up now!
Ask The Help
Desk - Is There A Shortcut Method For Deleting
E-mail Messages?
Question: When
I delete an e-mail from my inbox, it goes into the "Deleted Items"
folder of my Outlook Express e-mail client. In order to get rid of this
e-mail from my computer, I then need to open my Deleted Items Folder
and delete it a second time. I must be doing something wrong. Do I
actually need to delete each discarded e-mail twice to remove it
permanently?
Answer: Outlook Express has you delete each e-mail message
twice as a precautionary measure so that you won't permanently delete
e-mail messages by accident. However, you don't really have to do it
twice for each and every e-mail. You can empty your entire Deleted
Items Folder all at once by right clicking on the folder and selecting
"Empty 'Deleted Items' Folder." (You can do the same thing by going to
the File menu.) Again, requiring the user to take two steps to delete
e-mail messages is Outlook Express's safety measure to ensure that
e-mail messages are not deleted prematurely.
That being said, there is a short cut method for permanently deleting
an e-mail message before it hits your Deleted Items Folder. This works
for the latest Windows versions of Internet Explorer and Netscape. The
next time you go to delete an item, hold down the "Shift" key and then
the "Del" key. This will delete the selected e-mail immediately and
permanently, bypassing the Trash or Deleted Items Folder. Use this
option with care, however. Outlook Express will ask you if you're sure
you want to proceed, but Netscape does not. Once it's gone...it's
really gone!
What if you have more than one e-mail you want to permanently delete
from your inbox using the shortcut method above? Just press down your
"CTRL" key as you click the items you want to delete and then follow
the procedure above.
Once again, remember, this gets rid of the items forever, so be careful
with it!
Great Sites To
Check Out This Month
Mars
Rovers Send Amazing Images Back To Earth
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html -
Both the Spirit and the Opportunity robotic rovers have
successfully landed on Mars and are sending remarkable panoramic views
of the red planet back to earth. This is the home site for NASA's Mars
Exploration Rover Mission. There's no better place for the latest news
and amazing images from Mars!
Captain Kangaroo's Bob Keeshan
http://tvparty.com/lostterrytoons.html -
Bob Keeshan, star of the Captain Kangaroo television program,
passed away last month at the age of 76. Captain Kangaroo was
the longest running network children's television show of all
time...running from 1955 to 1984. Many of us grew up watching it. Bob
Keeshan blended easy-going entertainment with education. This is a
wonderful site to find out more about Mr. Keeshan, a great pioneer in
children's television programming.
Queen Mary 2 -- The World's Largest Ocean Liner
http://www.cunard.com/QM2/default.asp?Active=about -
Are you looking to take a cruise on the tallest, longest and most
expensive passenger vessel ever built? You're in luck. The Queen Mary 2
recently made its maiden voyage. The QM2 has fourteen passenger decks,
five swimming pools, ten restaurants, a spa run by 51 employees of
Arizona's Canyon Ranch, and the first planetarium at sea. It is 147
feet longer than the Eiffel Tower is tall. This site provides virtual
tours, an extensive photo gallery, and information on future
destinations.
76th Annual Academy Awards
http://oscar.com/index.html -
The 76th Annual Academy Awards will be televised later this month live
from Hollywood, California. It's hype. It's glitz and glamour. It's
when hundreds of movie lovers from around the globe are glued to their
television sets to see who will receive the highest honors in
filmmaking. For updates on this year's Oscar nominations, listings of
past winners, and red carpet photos of your favorite, fashionable
stars, head to this website!
Snow Ski Racing Season Charges Ahead
http://www.skiracing.com/ -
The World Cup Ski Circuit is now in full swing. Catch the latest news
about your favorite Super G, Downhill, Slalom, Giant Slalom and
Combined skiers. The site provides race results, late-breaking
ski-related news, and feature stories. The site also provides
information on the Cross Country World Cup, the Ski Jumping World Cup,
the Snowboarding World Cup, and the Freestyle World Cup.
Short Tutorial - Adjusting
The Cookie Settings On Your Browser
A vast
majority of websites place one or more cookies on your hard drive when
you first visit their sites. A "cookie" is a piece of information
stored in a file on your computer that is placed there by a website
when you visit it. Its job is to keep track of your preferences when
you revisit the site in the future. Actually, these cookies can be
quite helpful to you when visiting or making purchases at shopping
sites.
The default setting for both the Internet Explorer and Netscape
browsers is to automatically accept any and all cookies whenever a
request is made by a website. If you are concerned about websites
placing cookies on your browser as you surf the Web, newer web browsers
provide settings that can be adjusted to block the acceptance of all
cookies from being added to your computer. Alternatively, you can set
your browser to advise you each time a website attempts to add a cookie
to your computer. In the latter scenario, you can then accept or
decline the cookies at your discretion on a case-by-case basis.
To adjust your browser's cookie settings when using Internet
Explorer (6.0 +):
To adjust your browser's cookie settings when using Netscape 7.1:
To adjust your Safari browser's cookie settings on a Macintosh:
We hope
you found this newsletter to be informative. It's our way of keeping
you posted on the happenings at our shop. If, however, you'd prefer not
to receive these bulletins on a monthly basis, click HERE.
Thanks for your business!
Best regards,
All
of Us at Scatter Creek InfoNet
©2003
Cornerstone Publishing Group Inc.
Trademarks: All brand names and product names used in this eNewsletter
are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of
their respective owners.