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
Warning. This article is intended to warn you about a hoax e-mail that circulates. You should not delete the file it mentions, and you should not follow the instructions in the example e-mail included.
The Jdbgmgr Hoax has been around for a couple of years and I've run an article on it before. It seems it would be a good idea to repeat it, however. The help desk reports that the number of customers encountering the hoax seems to be on the rise again. Indeed, I've received several well-meaning warnings lately myself.
The Jdbgmgr hoax e-mail turns up, usually sent to you by an alarmed
friend, and encourages you to go and delete a perfectly innocent Windows file from your
system. The file that the hoax refers to (Jdbgmgr.exe) is a Java Debugger Manager. It is a
Microsoft file that is installed with Windows. If you search for it within Windows you
will see it has a teddy bear icon as described in the hoax.
The e-mail you receive may look something like the following:
I was notified today by someone whose address book I am in that he had found a virus on his computer. It supposedly attaches to everyone in his address book and his C drive.
This morning I did find that virus on my C drive. Therefore, since you are in my address book, you will probably find it in your computer too. The virus (called jdbgmgr.exe) is not detected by Norton or McAfee Anti-virus systems. The virus sits quietly for 14 days before damaging the system. It is sent automatically by 'Messenger' and by your Address Book, whether or not you've sent e-mail to your contacts. Here is how to check for the virus and how to get rid of it. PLEASE DO THIS ASAP (it will only take a minute).
1.- Go to Start, click "Search"
2.- In the "Files or Folders option" write the name jdbgmgr.exe
3.- Be sure that you are searching in the drive "C"
4.- Click "find now"
5.- If the virus is there (it has a little bear-like icon with the name of jdbgmgr.exe DO NOT OPEN IT FOR ANY REASON.
6.- Right click and delete it (it will go to the Recycle bin)
7.- Go to the recycle bin and delete it or empty the recycle bin.
IF YOU FIND THE VIRUS IN YOUR SYSTEM, SEND THIS MESSAGE TO ALL OF YOUR CONTACTS LOCATED IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK BEFORE IT CAN CAUSE ANY DAMAGE.
Now, it is true that, just like any .exe file, Jdbgmgr.exe, can become infected by a
virus. However, just because the file appears on your hard drive, that does not mean you
have become infected. Any healthy Windows system should have that file there.
The Microsoft Debugger Registrar for Java (Jdbgmgr.exe) is generally only used by
Microsoft Visual J++ 1.1 developers and others writing or testing Java web code. As such,
the file is not system critical and it is not imperative that it is reinstalled unless you
specifically require that function. If you do wish to reinstall the file, you will need to
reinstall the Java Virtual Machine component of Windows, or download the Java environment
from:
http://java.sun.com/getjava/index.html.
I probably wouldn't bother. Your best course of action is to give yourself a scolding
for uncritically following instructions and deleting files without checking on the
validity of what you were told. After that you can just get on with your life. Keep it
quiet (no one else needs to know) and make a resolution to yourself to be more careful in
future. Whatever you do, don't pass the hoax on!
Even though deleting jdbgmgr.exe probably isn't really going to hurt
your computer, hoaxes like these can actually do a lot of harm. Forwarding them on causes
panic and confusion, and could even result in a "boy who cried wolf" effect,
whereby less-informed Internet users become de-sensitised by all the hoaxes and then
ignore a REAL virus warning.
In effect, and interestingly, the hoax e-mail itself becomes like a virus. Though it is not in and of itself malicious code, it does seek to accomplish many of the same things. It attempts to do damage to your machine, it is malicious in its nature, it preys upon ignorance and fear and it even asks you to forward itself on to everyone in your address book, which a coded virus would automatically do.
When receiving an email that claims to alert you to a new virus, look for URLs (links) to web pages at reputable antivirus sites, that back up the warning claim. A good virus warning should ALWAYS link to a website, eg. at Nortons or McAfee etc, to back up its claims. Lastly, if in doubt, check with a computer "geek" or your Internet Service Provider, or browse through a good antivirus website (eg. http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/vinfodb.html) for information on the warning, to determine if it's real or a hoax. Most antivirus websites have info on hoaxes as well as legitimate viruses.
HERE ARE A FEW RELATED SITES OF INTEREST:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q322993 - Microsoft's
official knowledge base article on jdbgmgr.exe.
http://www.vmyths.com/ VMyths
Online Database of Virus and E-mail Hoaxes
http://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/hoaxes/hoax.aspTrend
Micro Hoax Database
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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).
Roger writes: I have a question that reflects a number of
conversations we have had locally regarding the influx of aggressive virus attacks we are
all experiencing today. Could tell us how you catch up and keep ahead of the attacks as
they are released on the internet? How do you find out about the attacks, counter them and
set the counter in motion? And, of course what can we do to help you and ourselves?
By the way, Rob, it's real pleasure not having to keep deleting affected emails any
more... thanks to your CyberScan anti-virus service. All the best to you and Actrix. Roger
Hi Roger, These are some good questions. I'll try and answer from the
point of view of the individual user and from the point of view of the ISP.
There are two types of anti-virus scanners that can protect you and they both work in
pretty much the same way. Actrix has server based anti-virus scanners that sit on our mail
servers. Every e-mail that comes in for each customer is scanned for known viruses and
blocked or deleted if it can't be repaired (and most can't). The virus scanner is really
just software (a computer program) written and provided by one of many anti-virus
companies.
These anti-virus companies examine every new virus the minute it is found in the wild and
usually manage to create a way to identify it within a few hours of its discovery (this
way of identifying the virus is called a "definition"). They have people all
around the world who continually send them any file they have found that they think is a
virus.
They then make that "definition" available for download to all their customers
(in this case the ISP running the anti-virus scanner is the customer). Our virus scanners
are set to check back with the anti-virus company every hour or so of every day. This is
so that they can download the very latest definitions and begin protecting customers
without delay. The virus scanning software reads any code attached to any e-mail that
comes through them. If the code matches the virus definition they now know about, they can
block the virus from coming through to the customer
We're dependent on the anti-virus company in that regard. If they are slow to provide a
definition for a new virus, we are slow to provide protection, but they realise they are
in a competitive market (there are lots of companies) so they usually come through pretty
quickly.
Customers are also able to download their own personal anti-virus programs. In reality,
these are pretty much the same programs as the ISP uses, but they are easier to install
and generally better designed for novice use. They work the same way though, by
downloading definitions from whichever company makes them and loading them onto the
customer's own computer.
These personal programs stand in front of the customer's e-mail program (e.g. Outlook
Express) and check all incoming mail before it gets through. They then usually quarantine
the infected e-mail, placing it in a file where it will not be allowed to run or do any
damage until the customer can delete it.
The big advantage of having your own personal anti-virus program is that it can usually
also help protect you from viruses you don't get through e-mail (such as ones you might
download by mistake, or ones that connect to you straight across the Internet). Also, no
ISP will guarantee you protection. It is unlikely that the anti-virus servers will fall
over (there are always configured back-ups) but it is theoretically possible.
Most customers aren't able to update their anti-virus definitions every hour as it is
quite a drain on the resources of a 56K modem, but customers can help themselves (and
others) by using their own anti-virus programs and updating them regularly. It used to be
suggested that you update on a weekly basis, but with the prevalence of new viruses
lately, this should increase to twice weekly at the very least, as well as every time you
read or hear about a new virus (even if you just updated the day before).
When an individual becomes infected, they not only hurt themselves and their own machines.
They usually end up sending the virus out (over and over again) to everyone in their
address book. Sometimes they also get harvested as spamming machines and end up being used
by others to send Spam out, further contributing to this annoying problem as well.
The two other things that customers have GOT to get used to doing
are the following:
1. Use the Windows Update page regularly (at least once per month - http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com).
This will update their computers to get rid of the security vulnerabilities that the
viruses exploit. Security vulnerabilities are like unlocked doors in a house that
Microsoft didn't realise were there when they released their software. The virus becomes
like a thief who sneaks in through an unlocked door he knows is there. The Windows Update
page will install "patches" which are like updates to the affected programs that
lock the doors that have been discovered to be unlocked. You can get to the Windows Update
page by opening Internet Explorer and clicking Tools and then Windows Update. Our help
desk would also love to assist anyone who isn't sure how to use the page (0800-228749).
2. DON'T CLICK ATTACHMENTS that you don't know about. Many viruses come as attachments to
e-mails but they don't announce that they are viruses. They look like something else and
they come attached to an e-mail that often has text in it trying to convince the user to
click the attachment. The rule of thumb is to never, Never, NEVER click anything that you
didn't ask for, or that comes from someone you don't know, even if it does promise to be
something great, or even if it claims to be something you need to click in order to
protect your computer. One common thing is for viruses to masquerade as a patch that will
protect the user from viruses. Remember, no anti-virus company will send out patches. You
can bet that any unsolicited "patch" is actually a virus.
I hope that helps!
Chris writes: Hi there Rob - I'm hoping you can help me with the solution a small problem that, so far, has eluded everyone else I've asked. When I open Internet Explorer it comes up full size just as it always did - but when I click a link that automatically open a new browser window, it opens up tall & skinny - about 40% of the screen width and 80% of the screen height. -
If I resize the tall skinny browser window by dragging all four sides, all subsequent windows opened will open full size - but only for that particular session. The next time I open Internet Explorer, all windows subsequent to the first will be shrunk again! Regards, Chris
Mike Cooper from the Actrix help desk responds: Hi Chris, The problem you
describe is quite a common issue, and fortunately reasonably easily solved.
When you next open an Internet Explorer window, reshape it to the size you require (most
probably filling the entire screen). The easiest way to do this is to double click on the
blue title bar at the top of the Internet Explorer window. Once you have done this, simply
hold down the CTRL key on your keyboard, then click on the X at the top right of the
window to close it (whilst still holding down the CTRL key). You will need to make sure
you only have one INTERNET EXPLORER window open when you do the above. When you next open
Internet Explorer is should be at the appropriate size.
If this doesn't solve the problem for you, let us know and we will attempt to find another
solution.
Francis writes: Rob, some chap in England that I do not know and have never knowingly contacted, received an email from me, and replied to it saying that he would kill me if I did not stop sending him viruses. I checked that my Norton Antivirus protection was up to date, and did a complete scan, but nothing was found. How is this possible?
Hi Francis, One of the worst things about viruses, and one of the ways in which they are cleverly designed, is that they send themselves on to others but use a fake e-mail address.
A typical virus, once it has infected a computer, will then scan that computer and learn every e-mail address it can find in your Address Book, your documents and in any web pages you've visited that are still stored on your computer. It then chooses one of those and uses that as a pretend sending address when it sends itself on.
So, the viruses the guy in England is receiving don't come from you. They come from some other machines that is infected, but whichever virus it is, it is pretending to come from you because it has learned of your e-mail address from somewhere else.
Some viruses can communicate back to their maker, or can download additions to themselves once they are installed. In this way, e-mail addresses from all around the world can be harvested and shared, so tracking down how this virus got your e-mail address is near on impossible.
The guy in England is rightly annoyed, but he is annoyed at the wrong person. As time goes by, people will become more familiar with how these nasties work, and will be less inclined to make threats against the apparent sender.
I hope that helps. Feel free to send this response on to your new friend.
Printer friendly version of this article...
Free Anti-Virus for All Actrix
Customers! We're pleased to report that extending our free anti-virus
service to all customers for has been extremely successful. We're sure you will have
noticed that we've caught just about all viruses, and customer feedback has been very
positive.
Free Anti-Spam for All Actrix Customers! As promised, we have been working on implementing a universal anti-Spam services for all customers. Equipment and software has been purchased and we're already running an anti-Spam solution in a test environment. We hope to have this up and running for all very soon. We are very aware of how annoying the Spam burden has become.
This anti-Spam service will be free for all and customers won't have to do anything to begin receiving it. It will filter Spam on our mail servers and siphon it off to a separate folder for each customer. Customers will need to log into Actrix Web Mail to check their Spam folder as we will automatically be deleting whatever's in it after 30 days. Customers who don't wish their mail filtered will be able to opt out.
This service will be separate from our locally developed (TMDA-based) CyberFilter which
will continue as a paid service for those who wish to continue using it.
Expect an e-mail from me soon announcing that Spam-filtering is all go!
Please note: Actrix supplies links to these sites for your interest and possible use. We cannot endorse or take any responsibility for their contents.
 The Movie Spoilerwww.themoviespoiler.com/ - This site is a bit like the "Cliff's Notes" of recent movies. You get the whole story, from beginning to end, in a quick five minute read. You'd be able to lie quite convincingly about having seen any movie, but, more usefully, it would be a great way to get a feel for what a movie might be like (you wouldn't have to read all the way to the end of the synopsis) or it would be a good way to clarify something in a plot that you didn't quite get. |
 Free Online Security Checkhttp://security.symantec.com/sscv6/default.asp?productid=globalsites&langid=au_nz&venid=sym - "Symantec Security Check tests your exposure to a wide range of online threats. It's free and efficient, and it helps you determine your Internet security needs." Of course, the test is designed to encourage you to purchase Symantec security products, but that is entirely optional. If you are using a 56K modem and have have lots of files on your PC, the virus check will take quite some time. |
 Kick It!http://flash.pr0n.biz/kickups.swf - When I was younger I was always jealous of those kids who could keep a soccerball aloft by gently and continually kicking it over and over without letting it touch the ground. This site allows you to have a go at this in a virtual sense. Click the ball to get it going and then keep clicking it to furnish the gentle kicks. It gets harder when it starts bouncing off the sides. No, I'm not going to share my highest score. |
 Online Palm Readerhttp://www.mindbodysoul.com/corpus/soul/psychic/crystal/palmistry/palm.cgi?line=Life - Getting your palm read has never been so convenient and cost efficient. This site presents you with a few drawings. You compare them to your palm and then select the option each time that best matches your set of lines. Hey presto, your fortune is told and your character analysed. My first result was incredibly accurate. So I did it again selecting random options. Whaddyaknow! It was suprisingly accurate again! |
 Carb Wirewww.carbwire.com - One of the most successful weightloss approaches over the last few years has been the low-carb Atkins Diet, and this site supplies you with lots of information. Articles are broken down by subject, so you can check the latest news about all things carbohydrate and how they are "the enemy". You'll also find recipes and basic information on how the diet works. The Atkins site is at http://atkins.com/. |
 Stonehenge Aotearoawww.astronomynz.org.nz/stonehenge/stonehenge.htm - "For millennia people have gazed in awe at Stonehenge, often totally unaware of how structures such as this were used. Stonehenge Aotearoa [Wairarapa] will be a full-scale working adaptation of Stonehenge that is intended to inspire New Zealanders young and old, to explore and experience for themselves how technologies of ancient times were used, and still can be used, to give practical and detailed information on the seasons, time and navigation." |
 Everyday
Mysterieswww.loc.gov/rr//scitech/mysteries/archive.html - This is another site suggested by Doug Bowker. It's a fun site full of mysterious facts from nature. It deals with quite a few urban myths as well. Does emptying water spiral differently in different hemispheres? Why do onions make you cry? Something I've always wondered about: just how high can a nine-banded armadillo jump? Thanks Doug! |
 Over 50 Internet Time-Killershttp://ferryhalim.com/orisinal/ - Choose any of these simple games and your 15 minute break period will be gone instantly. They are easy to play and mildly engaging. When you're bored with one, you can quickly move on to another. There aren't a lot of rules, and complicated keyboard mastery is not necessary. That is not to say that the games don't have a certain required skill level. You should be able to go offline and keep playing once a game has downloaded properly. It might vary from game to game. |
 WhoIsHe.Comhttp://whoishe.com/ - This site provides a paid service checking on the backgrounds of people you have met online. It's American, of course, and so probably of little use to New Zealanders. However, it does provide an set of "Internet horror stories" that might be of interest, as well as safety tips about meeting people online, links to other sites and so forth. |
 How
Attractive Are You?www.attract-o-meter.com/questions1.jsp - The Attract-o-Meter 3000 can tell you just how desirable you are. Answer its twenty or so questions honestly and it will assign you a percentile which ranks you against everyone else who's completed the form. Please don't get too worried if you don't like the result. Allowing web pages to influence your own self-image probably makes you less attractive. |
 Flatrock.Org.Nzhttp://flatrock.org.nz - Despite its reasonably bland name, and the fact that this site "grew (and grew!) out of an investigation into a disastrous investment in New Zealand forests, [it] has morphed into a reference site covering a variety of topics." In fact it is quite a wonderful mishmash of reading. Visit the Newcomers section to get your initial bearings, then start exploring the topics which range from science to relationships to how to play cards to oddities to gender differences and onwards. The site is laced with good humour, and I really enjoyed the vast collection of interspersed relevant quotes. |
 A List Of Fallacious Argumentswww.don-lindsay-archive.org/skeptic/arguments.html - This page concisely lists the many types of false arguments you might come across when listening to speeches, reading opinion or debating the finer points of the meaning of life with your friends. You will be much better able to win debates (and stop your opponent in his or her tracks) if you can mention the technical name of the fallacy they have used. This new skill could really win you admiration at parties. Or it could make you a frightful bore. |
Microsoft Windows open on Maori language: Microsoft will release a Maori language version of its popular Windows XP operating system and Office 2003 desktop suite next year. Click here for more.
E-learning the way of the future - academics: Canterbury University students now have no excuse for missing lectures. In the past year, the number of lecturers using the internet as a teaching tool has doubled and is still rising. Click here for more.
Ministry of Health says its computers are virus-free: The government department charged with protecting the nation's health is itself fending off a virus. But there's no chicken soup and hot water bottle for the Health Ministry... Click here for more.
Discrimination rampant in IT: Sexual harassment and discrimination are rife in the IT industry, a survey by Wellington recruitment company Real Recruitment finds. Click here for more.
Wheelers and dealers: Pssst! Wanna buy a gold watch? What about a laptop, or a widescreen TV, or a pair of thigh-high red leather boots? Kiwis are getting hooked on a new online trading phenomenon. Lucy Corry logs on to Trade Me. Click here for more.
People feel loyalty to computers: A team at Pennsylvania State University in the US found that people were drawn to a PC because of their tendency to assign human attributes to machines. Click here for more.
Downloads rise as file traders seek new venues: Music downloads among U.S. adults have risen sharply during the past several months, despite a crackdown by the music industry to curb such behavior. Click here for more.
Hate websites continue to flourish: A new report from UK-based e-mail filtering company SurfControl says that the number of hate and violence websites has grown by nearly 300 per cent since 2000. Click here for more.
Lottery scams new flavour of the month: Lottery scam emails are increasing at an alarming rate, according to Fraudwatch International, the Australian website that protects consumers from identify theft. Last month FraudWatch International received over 1000 variations, double the number of phishing email scams. Click here for more.
Opera parts curtain on next act: Tiny Opera Software on Wednesday continued its campaign to demonstrate the feebleness of mainstream Web browsers, releasing a product upgrade with new features and a customisable interface. Click here for more.
America's Napster generation goes to war: Photos sent by US soldiers in Iraq beyond the control of their chiefs show how the latest technology can undermine the carefully crafted public relations of the modern military machine. Click here for more.
Company shuts down Web site showing beheading: The al-Qaeda-linked Web site that first posted a video of American civilian Nicholas Berg's beheading was shut down Thursday by the Malaysian company that hosted it -- because it was drawing too much traffic. Click here for more.
Seniors Will Increasingly Turn to Web For Health Info: About 5.5 million seniors in the US surf the Internet for health information, but eight times as many future seniors, those people between the ages of 45 and 65, are searching the Web for such information, according to analysis by Manhattan Research. Click here for more.
Cashing In on Virus Infections: After a recent epidemic of computer viruses that seemed much worse than usual, security experts are questioning whether the antivirus software industry is working hard enough -- or has enough incentive -- to develop new and better ways of stopping nasty software. Click here for more.
Trojan poses as news about bin Laden capture: California-based anti-virus software company PandaLabs says it has detected a trojan which comes to users as a spam message claiming to give information on the "capture" of Osama bin Laden. Click here for more.
Coder serves up poetry with newest Bagle: The author of the latest variant of the Bagle worm has gone beyond penning just a piece of code: The writer has also included a poem in the document attachment on which the worm piggybacks. Click here for more.
Teen 'confesses' to Sasser worm: An 18-year-old German high school student has admitted creating the Sasser internet worm, police say. Click here for more.
New version of Sasser undermines lone coder theory: The appearance of a new version of the infamous Sasser worm shortly after the arrest of its admitted author has fuelled speculation that its creator worked with other virus writers. Click here for more.
Viruses get caught in the herd: Not doing everything you can to protect your own computer by installing a firewall, buying anti-virus software and keeping it up to date and installing the patches issued by vendors when they come out rather than when the worm that exploits them is everywhere on the net, is as anti-social as refusing to tell your sexual partners that you have got Chlamydia. Click here for more.
Symantec takes bite off virus-ID spam: Symantec has shown the way for other antivirus firms to finally end the proliferation of false virus notifications, which wrongly identify the source of an e-mail-borne virus and add to the general deluge swamping users' inboxes. Click here for more.
A question of trust online: We should embrace the "trust economy", argues technology analyst Bill Thompson, even if there are bad people out there. Click here for more.
Eye on Spyware: EarthLink and Webroot Software scanned roughly 1.1 million PCs of US Internet users and found over 29.5 million instances of spyware. Click here for more.
Bank security review sparked after $100K stolen in internet scam: A sweeping review of internet banking security is being done after international criminals stole up to $100,000 from online customers. Click here for more.
Eyeing Spyware: The scope of the spyware problem is beginning to emerge under both industry and legislative scrutiny--but it could already be too late to stop the snoops. Click here for more.
Clueless user: ditch the victim mentality: The solution is not some Deus ex Machina to magically solve all security issues. The solution is for the end user to start caring. Honestly, I continue to waver on whether or not this will ever happen, but I'm sure that if end users don't start taking some responsibility in learning Safe Surfing, that these problems (and others) will always exist. Click here for more.
Protecting passwords: Ali Baba needed only the words “Open, Sesame,” to get all the treasure. So much for technological advancement. Click here for more.
Under the skin of digital crime: There was a time when hacking was something positive. It was done in the name of intellectual curiousity rather than financial reward. As such, it is something that Professor Neil Barrett is happy to admit that he used to do. Click here for more.
The rising cost of protecting your identity: With identity theft rampant, we need to be cautious with our personal information. But consumer advocates say there's something else we ought to be vigilant about: expensive services for identity theft protection. Click here for more.
Microsoft to create pop-up safety lessons: Microsoft plans to use more dialog boxes and other messages in future software releases to educate people on 'safe' computing. Click here for more.
Why Windows is a security nightmare: Security in all mainstream operating systems is non-existent; however, things are especially bad for Windows. Windows happens to be the favourite target of worm and virus writers. Click here for more.
Microsoft needs some open-source fairy dust: I thought I had a pretty good handle on the differences between the open-source community and the traditional proprietary approach to software development. Click here for more.
Free and oh, so sweet: Considering a company software upgrade? Having won the respect of IT managers, Linux is spreading to the desktops of average users and offers a surprising array of free options over the internet. The hard part is making a choice. Click here for more.
OS X Makes Slow Debut on PC: For years, Mac users have been able to run Windows on their machines using products like Microsoft's Virtual PC. Now Windows and Linux users can do the reverse. Click here for more.
The claws of the jungle: Cyber jungle laws mean Jaguar and Panther must give way to the Tiger. Click here for more.
Mac OS X vulnerable to one-two combo attack: Apple Computer got hit by a double whammy this week when a security researcher publicized a pair of flaws in Mac OS X that when used together could let attackers place a malicious program on a Mac and then run the file. Click here for more.
If It Looks - And Annoys - Like Spam...: Brian Haberstroh is not a spammer. Take his word for it. After all, Haberstroh's company, Sendmails Corp. of Manchester, N.H., doesn't flood electronic mailboxes. Instead, Sendmails gets other people to do it. Click here for more.
Survey: Spam will beat Bill Gates: A survey of IT security professionals conducted at the Infosecurity show in London this week revealed that more than 80 percent of people do not think that Bill Gates' pledge to eliminate spam within two years is realistic. Click here for more.
Fine-Tuning Spam Filtering: The spam crackdown is causing headaches for companies, such as newsletter publishers, that ship large volumes of legitimate e-mail. Because of the crackdown on spam, these companies are seeing spikes in the number of undelivered messages. Consequently... Click here for more.
The net effect: It's usually hailed for changing lives, not destroying them, but that's how Susan describes the internet. She wishes her family had never connected. Click here for more.
German pair auction child on Internet for one euro: A German woman and a male friend face prosecution for human trafficking after they put the woman's daughter up for auction on the Internet at a starting price of one euro, about $1.20, authorities said Wednesday. Click here for more.
The good, bad and ugly - plastic surgery stories: An estimated 80 per cent of cosmetic surgery practices have their own Web sites to advertise procedures, and a growing community of patients are sharing their experiences, and photographs, online in vivid detail. Click here for more.
'Save Karyn's' charity payback: A woman who turned to the net to help her clear a $20,000 credit card debt has said she hopes to donate that amount to charity. Click here for more.
Devils hit cyber church: The world's first online church has been forced into an urgent rethink after computer hackers logged in as "Satan" and disrupted services with four-letter expletives and racist remarks. Click here for more.
Computer users are divided into three types: Novice, Intermediate and Expert.
Novice Users - People who are afraid that simply pressing a key might break their computer.
Intermediate Users - People who don't know how to fix their computer after they've just pressed a key that broke it.
Expert Users - People who press the keys that break other people's computers.
The Three Laws of Secure Computing:
1) Don't buy a computer.
2) If you do buy a computer, don't plug it in.
3) If you do plug it in, sell it and return to step 1.
Computer Messages: what they say and what they actually mean:
Press Any Key.
Press any key you like but I'm not moving.
Press A Key.
Nothing happens unless you press the 'A' key.
Installing program to C:\...
... And I'll also be writing a few files into c:\windows and c:\windows\system where you'll NEVER find them.
Cannot read from drive D:...
...however, if you put the CD in right side up...
Please Wait...
...indefinitely.
Directory does not exist...
....any more. Oops.
The application caused an error. Choose Ignore or Close.
....Makes no difference to me, you're still not getting your work back.
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).
Take care through June,
Rob Zorn
editor@actrix.co.nz
http://editor.actrix.co.nz