Actrix Newsletter January 2004

This newsletter has been produced to help you get the most out of the Internet,
and to keep you, as an Actrix customer, informed of developments and services within the company.
Past newsletters may be viewed at http://editor.actrix.co.nz/
Newsletters are now archived by article at http://editor.actrix.co.nz/byarticle/
Questions and comments about the newsletter can be e-mailed to editor@actrix.co.nz
Other inquiries should be e-mailed to support@actrix.co.nz

Actrix Networks Ltd would like to wish all customers a very merry Christmas and a wonderful and prosperous 2004. Thank you for your custom during 2003. We hope you enjoy your vacation time and that you stay safe and well.

We'll still be here over the break to make sure we continue to deliver the best service possible. Our help desk will continue to function from 8 a.m. to midnight on all days except for Christmas Day and New Years Day.

See you in 2004!

If you'd like to ask a question or request some help on any Actrix or Internet-related matter. Simply send me an e-mail with the word "forum" in the subject line. I'll try and answer your question by return e-mail, and will also post the answer here for the benefit of others who may have a similar question or problem. By the same token, if you read something here and think you may have something to suggest, please feel more than free. Please also note that questions and answers may turn up under the Helpful Tips section on the Actrix home page (www.actrix.co.nz).

I'm really grateful to the Actrix Support Team, too, for their input here when some of the questions also have me a little stumped.

Geoff B writes: Many people I know buy things through the Internet, quoting their credit card details. Some habitually do their grocery shopping this way. I have never done this as it seems to me to be asking for trouble to broadcast this information to the world. As you say, not the sort of thing you would put on a postcard (Just How Secure is E-mail? - Sept '03). Is there any safe way to purchase through the net?

Hi Geoff, I'm actually a big fan of purchasing over the net with my credit card and have done so many many times without problems. There are just a couple of simple things you need to be mindful of.

In my article, Just How Secure is E-mail, I warned that e-mails are like the electronic equivalent of a postcard. They can be read by anyone with access to your mail server. For this reason I would never, never, ever put my credit card details into an e-mail. But reputable firms selling goods online will never ask you to e-mail them your credit card details. If they do, they should be avoided like the plague.

Normally you're invited to submit your credit card details by means of an online form. This is certainly the way supermarkets work. This type of online form should work very differently from an e-mail in that it will interact directly with the vendor and not send details in an unsecured format. The online form will transmit the details to the vendor using secure encryption so that any data transferred travels in a completely indecipherable format until it reaches the vendor where it is unencrypted. In this sense, it is secure while it travels, unlike an e-mail.

You can tell for sure when an online form is on a secure site. The URL will change from something like http://orderfromme.com to https://orderfromme.com. This tells you that you are now interacting with a secure server and that your data will be encrypted. Another way to tell you're on a secure site is to look for a little fastened padlock icon down to the bottom right of your screen (to the lower left if you're using Netscape). You should look for these signs before you click the Submit button.

What happens when your credit card details get to the vendor is another matter. Who knows for sure how securely they store your details or how many staff have access to them? Of course this is not a problem limited to internet purchasing. It is a reasonable question in any situation in which you hand over your credit card. However, there is no more reason to fear this from an internet firm than there is from a restaurant you're physically at.

My final word of advice is to stick with firms that are well known and already have a good reputation, especially if buying overseas. Don't let fear of credit card fraud make you miss out on the great opportunities that come with buying online. If your details are stolen and used by somebody else, you're not liable, the vendor is. They are required by law to verify that any purchaser is authentic. Even better news is that, in cases of fraud, you won't generally have to deal with the offending company. Your credit card company should refund your money and their experts will seek redress themselves from the vendor in question.

More information can be found in my article Is It Safe to Use Your Credit Card Online?

Graham asks: How can I know the actual cost in NZ dollars, of items for sale on line, particularly from .com sites? Is there a standard currency? Are there a settings in Windows or IE which will automatically convert into local currency?

Hi Graham, It would be nice, but I don't think there is a standard currency on the Internet the way that you might be meaning. Most prices quoted are in United States dollars, and occasionally there will be British pounds or Euros given at .com sites.

You'll rarely find anything at the site itself that will convert that price to New Zealand dollars, and I'm not aware of Windows coming with its own currency converter. Thankfully, though, doing your own research is pretty easy. There are quite a few sites out there that offer currency conversion as a free service (entering "currency converter" into Google brought up lots). They all work pretty similarly. Enter the price, the currency it's in and the currency you'd like to convert it to (e.g. NZ dollars). Then simply click Submit.

You might want to check the site's policies to see how often they update their figures, but most say they do their best to give the most up-to-date information. See the FAQ at http://www.xe.com/ucc/ for example (Universal Currency Converter).

Most sites offering goods for sale will make it clear what currency they are in. If in doubt, and the site is American, you can count on the amount being in American dollars. Usually there will be contact details on the site so that you can check and clarify if you need to. After that make your payment with your credit card (see the question above) and you'll find the kiwi dollar amount turning up on your credit card statement in the course of time.

Alistair writes: Greetings, I'm looking at getting a broadband connection, but would like to have a local ISP (Wellington based) for this, and so Immediately thought of Actrix, my current ISP. What I was wondering, is what Actrix offers compared other broadband providers that would somewhat Justify a $149.95 monthly payment for Jetstream Starter alone, when other ISPs offer the same connection for 1/5th of the price?

Hi Alistair, Good question. There is a major point of difference between what Actrix offers and what others offer when it comes to JetStart (JetStream Starter). Yes, our price is high compared to others, but we offer a truly uncapped option. This means, for the price we ask, you can download as much as you want and there will never be any other excess usage charges.

Other ISPs will offer cheaper JetStart access, but will cap the amount you are allowed to download each month. They will then charge you excess usage fees if you download more than the allocated amount; e.g. 5-10 Gigabytes/month for the slowest option, and much less if you choose a faster option.. These fees are usually pretty high.

The Actrix JetStream Starter price becomes quite attractive to users who do a lot of downloading and who have to take those excess usage charges into account. We have deliberately chosen to charge the high price and offer the unlimited usage because we felt that would be a good section of the market to target. Some customers who didn't tend to use so much traffic moved on to other options, but a lot of customers stayed on the rate, and found themselves paying less per month. We have also added many customers since then.

You'll be pleased to know that due to some price reductions at our end, and some increased efficiencies, we're now able to offer our unlimited JetStart at $69.95/month instead of $149.95.

Bert writes: Hello Rob, I read somewhere about what an IP address is, how one can find out through the RUN command what it is, and how it changes daily. However I did not understand it all. Please can you explain what it is ,what it does, and how I can get to it on Windows XP? Regards Bert

Hi Bert, Some of the finer points will be left out of this answer to protect those who don't want to get bogged down in too much technical detail. What you're asking about is what's called a dynamic IP Address. It is dynamic because it changes not just daily, but every time you connect. You can also get static IP Addresses, but these aren't usually used for dialup connections, and we may go into those another time.

IP is short for Internet Protocol. Every time your computer connects to the Internet, it is given an IP Address by Actrix. It's part of what happens when your computer talks with our computers as it comes online. An IP Address is a unique set of four numbers separated by dots such as 202.154.128.129 (it's also known as a dotted quod). Our computers keep a series of these numbers and hand one over to you each time you go onto the net and connect to web page servers, mail servers etc.

The first reason you need an IP Address is because you need something to identify you as you travel around the net. Each time you request a web page, your browser will first need to say to the web server something like, "Hi I'm 202.154.128.129. Can I have this web page please?" It would be nice if your browser could say, "Hi, I'm Deirdre's computer. I'm connecting through Actrix, and I live in sunny Wellington." However, because computers speak Number rather than English, this isn't going to mean much to them.

But wait! There's more!

You also need an IP Address because it is more than just a temporary name. It is also a pathway. It's not strictly true that you "visit web sites." It is more accurate to say that they are downloaded to you. The web server at the other end uses your IP address to know where to send the data that makes up the web page. It will use those numbers to find its way back to Actrix, and once it has passed the data to us, we'll use the IP Address to know which modem line to squirt the data down so that it gets back to the right customer (all this is happening very very quickly, of course.).

By the way, Actrix keeps a record of which customer is given which IP Address. Occasionally we are contacted by Internal Affairs or by the police because they want to know who was given one of our IP Addresses at a certain time when something naughty was going on, so there are still ways of identifying people online and if they act illegally, chances are they'll be found out.

There are at least two ways of finding out what your current IP Address is.

Firstly and most easy, simply visit the site www.whatismyip.com. This site will display your IP Address for you when you visit.

Another more complicated method is to use you Run command.

Please note: Actrix supplies links to these sites for your interest and possible use. We cannot endorse or take any responsibility for their contents. Got a site you think would be neat to share with other readers? Let me know and receive a free Norrie the Nerd chocolate bar courtesy of Actrix!

Calendars Through the Ages
http://webexhibits.org/calendars/ - Here you'll find histories and FAQs of calendars, from ancient Rome to outer space, including Julian, Gregorian, Jewish, Islamic, Chinese, and Mayan. "Explore the fascinating history of the human endeavour to organise our lives in accordance with the sun and stars," and in some cases not.

The Complete History of the Internet
www.wbglinks.net/pages/history/ - This page represents a serious attempt to chronicle all events from the last few decades that have contributed to the development of the Internet starting from 1960 when telephone calls were switched for the first time by computer. It's a work in progress, but it's already pretty comprehensive. It would be of interest to most people who enjoy the Internet: from those who want to know that in 1969 Intel boasted a RAM chip with a whole KB of memory to those who are curious about when the first smiley was posted to Usenet.

Goofy Newspaper Headlines
www.humormatters.com/newspaper.htm - These are always funny. Here's a collection of a whole lot of them arranged under various categories. No sources or evidence is provided, but who really cares?

Genesis and Giants
www.stevequayle.com/Giants/index2.html - Steve Quayle has invested over 30 years researching the vast history of giants. "It has, for the most part, been kept from the public. Proof of giants' existence - their skeletal remains - has been quickly secreted away...Additionally, time has cloaked and sugar-coated these creatures' true perverse nature, the majority too vile, too demonic for bedtime stories. However, history is replete with their tales..." Check out the pictures, especially the collection of skulls!

Pretty Slick Jigsaws
www.jigzone.com/ - "The JigZone is the place on the internet for free online jigsaw puzzles." Choose your own level of difficulty, from a quick and simple puzzle of six pieces, to a challenging 247 piece cut. Once the puzzle has loaded you can go offline to continue playing. If you choose to become a member there are benefits such as uploading your own pictures, but if you're just looking for a quick diversion, this will keep you occupied for a few minutes to an hour.

Least Essential Albums of 2003
www.theonionavclub.com/avclub3948/avfeature_3948.html - In a move that reverses the trend towards "best of" lists that tend to feature this time of year, the Onion A.V. Club presents a simple list of music which no person should bother listening to. The least essential musical works in a number of categories are chosen - the recordings with the "flimsiest reasons to exist." Categories include The least Essential Album by a Pro-Wrestler, The Least Essential Album with the word "Essential" in the title, The least Essential Prolonged Adolescence, and many more!

Word Origins
www.wordorigins.org/ - "This site is devoted to the origins of words and phrases, or as a linguist would put it, to etymology. Where words come from is a fascinating subject, full of folklore and historical lessons. Often, popular tales of a word's origin arise. Sometimes these are true; more often they are not. While it often seems disappointing when a neat little tale turns out to be untrue, almost invariably the true origin is just as interesting."

Demented Snow Globe
http://ww12.e-tractions.com/snowglobe/images/globe.swf - Here's some clever and slightly demented Christmas fun. Watch the happy little people! See them skating, shovelling, snowboarding and fighting amongst themselves! Now shake the snowglobe in let them know who's in charge! Be sure to let it run for a while and watch what they do. Keep your eye on the snowman. But do give them a good shake up. One or two of them seem to deserve it!

Toothpaste World
www.toothpasteworld.com/ - What does a respectable dentist do for kicks once he puts down the drill and local anaesthetic? He devotes his time to his collection. And because he's a dentist, his collection covers the wide world of toothpaste - over 1,000 squeezable tubes strong! Who knew that characters such as Woody Woodpecker, the Care Bears, and Hello Kitty have lent their names to the cause of top-quality teeth. Dr. Val sure does. And we thank him for bringing these and other important oral freshness matters to our attention. Check out the Ripley's Believe It Or Not collection of gift sets!

Weekly World News
www.weeklyworldnews.com/ - The Weekly World News is an entertainment tabloid devoted to inventing fantastically fictitious stories while keeping its tongue firmly embedded in its cheek. Ironically, some of its stories have been so well presented that they have been taken seriously by respected news sources, such as the one about Andrew Carlssin who time-travelled back from 2256 to make a killing on our stock market. Read about the mysterious bat boy found in a West Virginia cave, and about Saddam's love for playing chess with real humans! But, believe at your own peril.

Have They really Caught Saddam?
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CRG312B.html - You just never know with these sorts of things. This site presents several key articles from both mainstream as well alternative news sources which cast doubt on the official story of Saddam Hussein's recent capture. There appear to be several holes in the official story, including the photographic evidence. If this really is Saddam, then what happened to the three doubles?

Rock Star Child Photos
http://whiplash.net/forceframe.html?/arquivos.mv?busca=INFANCIA - Wasn't Marilyn Manson a cute baby? Whatever happened? Here you can see lots of Rock Star child pictures.The site is written in something I suspect is Spanish, but the alphabetical index works as expected.

PC Company customer calls in the police: A disgruntled customer of The PC Company has contacted police after the company failed to locate his machine, which was in for repair. Click here for more.

E-mail harassment left woman feeling "emotionally raped": It all started innocently enough. A flirtatious email sent to her work computer suggesting they spark up a relationship over the internet. Click here for more.

Blame it on the Kiwi lifestyle: Victoria University researcher Bronwyn Howell reckons New Zealanders shouldn't be overly concerned by international studies indicating a comparatively low take-up of broadband Internet services. Click here for more.

Christmas Warning: The inevitable spike in consumer spending on costly high-tech items during December means a mass of new and potentially vulnerable PCs and laptops will be connected to the Internet by new owners who mistakenly believe their computers have the latest patches and updates. Click here for more.

Church introduces e-minister: Questions about life, faith and the Presbyterian church can be answered online with the launch of a new website. The service is believed to be the first of its kind in New Zealand. Click here for more.

The Internet refuseniks: Just because Internet access is now widely available, that does not mean everyone will want to use it. What will it take to get the whole population online? Click here for more.

Feds simulate terrorist cyberattack: WASHINGTON - The Homeland Security Department's first simulation of a terrorist attack on computer, banking and utility systems exposed problems with the ways victimized industries communicated vital information during the crisis, the government's new cybersecurity chief said Monday. Click here for more.

Swen fends off Mimail to top viral charts: Message filtering firm MessageLabs blocked more than 567,000 Swen-infected emails this month. Durnaru-A was the second most prevalent nuisance with just under 386,000 sightings over the last four weeks while the undead Sobig-F worm put in approximately 265,000 appearances. Click here for more.

Conman baiting a new net sport: Computer buffs in New Zealand are "baiting" Nigerian fraudsters in a game dubbed the new internet bloodsport. The ultimate goal is to turn the fraud back on the Nigerians, but authorities warn the game is dangerous and are urging people not to play. Click here for more.

What should I do if the Internet goes down?: [Humour] Every year we grow more and more dependent on the Internet. But would you know what to do if your connection suddenly went down? Click here for more.

Porn hysteria strikes again: This morning's revelations in the Daily Telegraph that up to 50 managers at Australia Post have been caught sending pornographic e-mail is doubtless to spark off yet another bout of anti-Internet hysteria, as it was surely calculated to do. Click here for more.

Jokes inflame 'e-mail epidemic': The next time you send a joke e-mail to your work colleagues, think about how much it is costing your employer. Click here for more.

Sex sells, especially to Web surfers: Gone are the furtive visits to seedy theaters and the fear of being outed as some perverted purchaser of porn. Now, all you need to indulge anonymously in the "XXX" world is your trusty personal computer and a good connection to the Internet. Click here for more.

Porn site to catch paedophiles: British police have created a website that claims to offer images of child pornography in a bid to catch paedophiles. Click here for more.

Blow to music piracy fight: In a surprise setback for the recording industry, a US appeals court ruled that record labels must abandon their favourite method to track down those who illegally copy music online. Click here for more.

Three arrested over 'drugs website': Police believe they have uncovered the first website in the UK allegedly designed to sell illegal drugs over the internet. Click here for more.

Where the Net Is Heading in 2004: Making forecasts about the Internet is always a dangerous business. The Web has stubbornly defied conventional wisdom in all manner of areas. Clothes and other high-touch goods would never sell online? Wrong. Everyone would have broadband by 2005? Wrong again. Click here for more.

Microsoft scorns Israeli OpenOffice defection: The Israeli Ministry of Commerce - essentially the treasury - has suspended all contracts with Microsoft. First out of the door is the Israeli employment agency, which will replace 550 out of 700 users with OpenOffice. Click here for more.

Pirated Windows hits Malaysia: Malaysia's brazen software pirates are hawking the next version of Microsoft's Windows operating system years before it is supposed to be on sale. Click here for more.

Windows 98 Presents Security Problems As It Ends Lifespan: Companies still running Windows 98 risk facing unpatched Internet threats as Microsoft puts the operating system out to pasture early next year, said a research firm Thursday... Although there are large numbers of machines still running Windows 98, the Redmond, Wash.-based developer is set to retire the operating system and will stop posting security fixes for the OS in mid-January 2004. Click here for more.

Linux becomes a more practical option: Dropping Microsoft software from the desktop should become a more practical option early next month when a CD containing open source software supported by Sun Microsystems goes on sale. Click here for more.

Auckland to get Linux centre: IBM has established a Linux centre of competency in Auckland on the back of work it is doing to shift many of Air New Zealand's core applications to the open-source environment. Click here for more.

NHS may ditch Microsoft on costs: The National Health Service, Britain's biggest employer, is considering ditching Microsoft software after a row over mounting licensing costs. Richard Granger, NHS IT director, has ordered a trial of a Linux-based system from Sun Microsystems as part of a �2.3 billion computer modernisation plan. Click here for more.

First open source laws passed: THE Democrats have scored a win in the open source battle, with Australia's first piece of open source legislation passing through the ACT Parliament last night. Click here for more.

Followup with the LUG Of Iraq: Life is tough here in Baghdad, no question. But Iraqis have plenty of food and not that many people have been physically injured. What delights many Iraqis most right now is that they can, for the first time in a lifetime, learn about the outside world. Click here for more.

Creator of Linux defends its originality: Linus Torvalds, creator of the popular Linux computer operating system, defended his work Monday as not always lovely but original--and certainly not copied, as a Utah company has contended. Click here for more.

Norwegian hacker cracks iTunes code: A young Norwegian who became a global hacker hero by writing and distributing a program to crack DVD security codes appears to have struck again, this time against Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes online music service. Click here for more.

Vuln exposes soft underbelly of Mac OS X: Details of a vulnerability in Mac OS X that creates a mechanism for crackers to take over vulnerable machines has been posted on the Net. Click here for more.

Apple's Panther bares its teeth: Apple, fed up with playing second string to Windows, has been taking its operating system from strength to strength. The result is a new front end and some very solid Unix technology under the bonnet. Click here for more.

Spam grows: The percentage of spam in email is now about the 55 per cent mark, according to data supplied by email security firm MessageLabs. Click here for more.

Sexual spam could spark lawsuits: Legal experts are warning companies to do more to stop pornographic spam reaching employees. Click here for more.

Porn virus targets spam stoppers: Anti-spam organisations are coming under attack from a virus written to bombard their websites with junk data. The Mimail-L Windows virus poses as an e-mail from a woman called Wendy... Click here for more.

Get ready for a blizzard of Christmas spam: On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me... Six emails for penis enlargement... five for cheap credit... four for Viagra... three for a dodgy online pharmacy... two for a get-rich-quick scam in Nigeria... and an electronic greetings card with a hidden virus that turned my computer into a spamming machine. Click here for more.

Mafia recruiting spammers, crackers, AV chief warns : Spammers, beware - organised criminals are positioning themselves to take a slice of your business. Click here for more.

Tips to help cut flood of junk e-mails: Congress on Monday approved the first national effort to stem the flood of unwanted e-mail pitches offering prescription drugs, cheap loans and other come-ons. But experts say you can take steps experts to reduce the flood of spam e-mail: Click here for more.

Yahoo Proposes New Internet Anti-Spam Structure: Internet services company Yahoo Inc. said it is working on technology to combat e-mail spam by changing the way the Internet works to require authentication of a message's sender. Click here for more.

Grandma's computer could be Viagra sales spammer: Security experts have identified the probable culprit behind that seemingly unceasing torrent of spam and viruses. It could be you. Click here for more.

Parents advised to play it safe with children's net access: Parents giving their children access to the internet for Christmas have been urged to make use of filters and talk to children about potential online dangers. Click here for more.

Nigeria aiming to delete scams: Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said he would step up measures against his country's notorious junk-mail conmen who swindle people around the world of hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Click here for more.

Reports of new Explorer holes probed: Microsoft Corp. is investigating a report of seven new security holes in its Internet Explorer browser discovered by a Chinese researcher, a company spokesman said. The spokesman said Microsoft is not aware of anyone actively exploiting the holes or of any impact on customers. Click here for more.

Skimming, Scamming, and Blood-sucking—Online: ...but dig into the Internet and you find some very clever people attempting to separate the masses from their money. Click here for more.

Tips for safe internet use: An Australian federal government agency designed to promote a safer internet, particularly for young people, is calling for parents to play it safe over the festive season. Click here for more.

Cyber scams set to rise: Banking officials and computer security experts predicted the wave of cyber scams targeting the financial services sector will soar in 2004 as the industry braces for a new onslaught of fraud schemes. Click here for more.

Danger - Phishing ahead: This low key mention of a new explorer flaw has serious implications. If you are a Windows MSIE user, see how easy it is to be fooled, just pretend the following page is an official looking pop-up, email, forum posting, or any link at all... Click here for more.

Bored teens blow �80m in e-shopping spree: Three "bored" German teenagers blew a staggering �80 million in just two hours after they ran amok in an online spending spree. Click here for more.

Meet the new cyber maids - women who do Windows as well as windows: In Hong Kong's competitive market for domestic workers, a new wave of technologically trained women has emerged who not only can clean a house but regard Power Point as more than a place to plug in the vacuum cleaner. Click here for more.

Pupils' bizarre gifts to their teachers receive a virtual dedication: A Birmingham primary school teacher has set up a website dedicated to the bizarre collection of gifts he has received from his pupils. Click here for more.

Thanks again for reading the Actrix newsletter. Feedback can be sent to me via the e-mail address listed below. Please limit this to comments/suggestions regarding the newsletter. Requests for support should go to the Actrix Help Desk (support@actrix.co.nz) or to the Accounts Department (accounts@actrix.co.nz).

Happy new year! Take care through January,

Rob Zorn
editor@actrix.co.nz
http://editor.actrix.co.nz