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
Last month we published a link to what reportedly was a 1954 Popular
Mechanics prediction as to what a home computer might look like in 2004 (http://www.x-plane.com/naysayers_are_idiots.html).
Three readers have pointed out that this was indeed a hoax. Thanks James, John and Tim.
The below is taken from the Snopes Urban Legends web site entry on this particular hoax (http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/hoaxes/computer.asp):
Although the photograph displayed could represent what some people in the early 1950s contemplated a "home computer" might look like (based on the technology of the day), it isn't, as the accompanying text claims, a RAND Corporation illustration from 1954 of a prototype "home computer." The picture is actually an entry submitted to a Fark.com image modification competition, taken from an original photo of a submarine maneuvering room console found on a U.S. Navy web site, converted to grayscale, and modified to replace a modern display panel and TV screen with pictures of a decades-old teletype/printer and television (as well as to add the gray-suited man to the left-hand side of the photo):
The original photo is included at the Snopes site, as is a little more information for those interested. Now I could claim that I knew this all along, and that I just included the link as a Christmas fools joke, or that I wanted to make a point about not believing everything you read on the Internet, and you'd never know for sure whether I was telling the truth or not, would you?
Rob Zorn
Just a quick note about Actrix spam filtering. Our servers are set to remove e-mails to customers that appear to be spam. The filters use a set of complex and complicated rules as they decide, but they do not have the human ability to make value judgements. Therefore there will be occasional e-mails that sneak through unnoticed, and at times there will be legitimate e-mails filtered off to customers' spam folders by mistake.
The filters are always learning and we're constantly tweaking them to catch the most amount of Spam whilst making the least amount of mistakes. I am sure customers will agree that spam filtering has gotten better and better over time, but it will never be completely without error.
Some customers wish to be especially helpful and send in examples of spam e-mails that made it through, but there is really no need for that. In most cases, our mail technicians would have seen these spam e-mails come through anyway. You can imagine that when lots of customers do this at once, all it does is clog up the mailbox at support@actrix.co.nz or abuse@actrix.co.nz. This isn't what these e-mail addresses are intended for.
If customers particularly want to send in incorrectly marked mail (either something that sneaked through or something that was incorrectly flagged), they can send them to spamtrap@actrix.co.nz.. The spamtrap@actrix.co.nz address is not filtered, for obvious reasons. Messages sent here must be sent as attachments in order for us to be able to see the original headers. If they do not arrive as attachments, they cannot be acted upon. Where possible the subject line should be clearly marked SPAM or NOT SPAM.
These e-mails will be used to better train the filters. However, we are not able to guarantee that it will prevent future problems with a particular e-mail. It will only improve the filters chances at recognising it.
Services offered include:
|
Yes! The rumours are true. Now, if you live in some parts of the Wellington region, you can get a range of computer services including system crash repairs, pick up and drop off, hardware replacement and all sorts of assistance, and you can pay for it at reasonable rates on your Actrix bill.
We know that not all people have the expertise (or time for learning) to keep on top of the many hassles and challenges that face today's computer and Internet user. Computers can become infected with viruses and spyware. They start to run more and more slowly, they can be hard to configure and they can start to breakdown and crash. Who you gonna call?
Actrix has found a couple of reliable and trustworthy computer repair companies that we're prepared to recommend. They provide professional, friendly service at reasonable rates, and can fix most problems in your home. Pickup, repair and return can usually be completed within days.
Wellington region: Call C-tech on 380-8406/021 164-1563 or
e-mail info@c-techs.co.nz.
Mana - Kapiti - Horowhenua region: Call Compserv
on 04-902-0081/021-037-1943 or e-mail service@compserv.co.nz.
Service charges
are just $45.00 (including GST) per half hour which is enough time to diagnose and fix
most problems. Mention Actrix and provide your account number (or user id) and you can pay
for your repairs on your Actrix invoices. What could be more convenient?
Don't put
up with that slow, clunky problem machine anymore. Help may not be as far away or as
expensive as you fear.
Don't forget our Actrix Friend get
Friend promotion! If you get a friend to sign-up for a dialup plan with Actrix,
we'll give you a credit to the value of your friend's first monthly payment as soon as
they pay their first bill.
You can get as many friends as you like to sign up. The only proviso is that your friend has to stay with us for at least three months (or else we will rescind the credit). And remember, the credit comes through to your account only after your friend has paid their first bill.
We've added a referrer field to the sign up page. All your friend has to do is put your main account user name into that field when they sign up. (Your main account user name is the first part of your e-mail address before the @ sign.)
So why not go ahead and encourage your friends to sign up with Actrix? We don't think they'll ever regret making the move.
To sweeten the deal even more, every month all new customers who have been referred by a friend will go into a draw for six free months on whichever plan they've chosen. Winners will be contacted by e-mail and mentioned on our web page and in the newsletter around the first of each month.
Click here to access the promotional page and find out more.
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).
Kay writes: Hello; On recommendations arising from a previous Actrix newsletter, I downloaded the free Spybot Search & Destroy Program. I am concerned that every time I run this program, two "red flagged" spywares reappear, even after I have clicked on "fix the selected problem(s)". These two are named DSO Exploit, and Real Money. Real Money seems to affix itself to a different desktop file after it has supposedly been deleted, and the DSO Exploit reappears again when I run the Spybot program immediately after I thought I had fixed these two problems. Can you please tell me what is going one here, and do I have a problem that needs addressing?
Mike Cooper responds: The DSO Exploit is an issue with Internet Explorer/Outlook Express that SpyBot picks up on. Microsoft has since fixed the vulnerability via Windows Update, however SpyBot will still report it as a fault. The fault with SpyBot has also been repaired and it should be fixed with a program update for SpyBot shortly, so this isn't something to worry about, though you should be sure to keep current with Windows updates.
More info about the SpyBot fault is available here: http://www.safer-networking.org/en/faq/36.html.
More info about the DSO Exploit: http://channels.lockergnome.com/windows/archives/20041105_whats_a_dso_exploit_and_how_do_i_get_rid_of_it.phtml
If you haven't visited Windows Update recently it is highly advisable that you do so in order to ensure your machine is totally up to date with all security fixes: http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com. It's also be a good time to make sure your virus scanner is current and up to date as well.
The "Real Money" item that SpyBot is picking up is a little harder to pin down. I get the feeling it relates to a program which keeps making a shortcut to a web-site on your desktop. This shortcut refers you to a web-site, and the author gets paid for each "hit" on the site.
Information on why SpyBot detects it is listed here: http://www.safer-networking.org/en/threats/22.html. It reports that it may be related to a program called "Windows Control" which you may have installed on your PC.
Maureen writes: After reading the good reports on the Free AVG Virus
Scan, I took the plunge and downloaded it this morning, but a couple of hours later had to
uninstall it again. Once installed I couldn't get any e-mails in at all and outgoing ones
only with great difficulty, i.e. the Norton's AV stuttering through the process like a
failing light bulb. On phoning Actrix Support the advice was to uninstall AVG. I did, and
everything worked fine. The added comment being that Actrix were getting lots of queries
re this problem. Have things changed since you first recommended it?
My second query is...why do some e-mails (two senders in particular) go straight to my
Deleted Items folder in Outlook Express?
Mike responds: Hi Maureen, AVG has just undergone a major revision. At the time we were recommending it, they were running version 6. They have now released version 7 which seems to have a few teething issues particularly with its pass-through mail scanner. Actrix Support was definitely correct in this being quite a widespread issue - unfortunately a problem that occurs with almost all antivirus programs. You may be able to look at installing AVG 7 and disabling the pass-through mail scanning, however even this is no guarantee it won't cause problems. There is no easy fix for this really - it becomes a bit of the "rock and a hard place" where antivirus software causes all sorts of problems, but without it you are at risk.
There are other free scanners around that may be worth a try, particularly: http://www.clamwin.com/ and http://www.free-av.com/. These are both good free scanners that may be worth using in place of AVG. Actrix is still scanning all inbound e-mail for viruses which does remove a lot of the potential threats, but we still recommend customers have their own personal protection.
The second issue is most probably occurring because these senders have been added to your "Blocked Senders List" in Outlook Express. To remove these addresses:
Judy & John write: We have Windows 95. Can you please tell us how to get pictures which come through as a space with a red cross in the LH corner? I can get the message but not the pictures. Thanks.
The problem you describe is generally not a fault at your end. Rather it is a problem with the person sending you the e-mail.
Some e-mails can refer to pictures that are either located at a specific location on the sender's computer, or exist on a web-site somewhere on the Internet. When these messages are forwarded on to someone else, they may not always take the images with them, or the site they referred to may no longer have the pictures available.
The person sending you the message may be able to change a setting in their mail program to fix this. In Outlook Express the setting is found by going to:
Tools --> Options --> Send --> HTML Settings --> Make sure a tick is next to "Send pictures with messages".
The only thing on your PC that may affect this is if you have Outlook Express set to only display in plain text. However, I see this one as unlikely to fix it. You can check this by going to:
Tools --> Options --> Read --> Make sure there isn't a tick next to "Read all messages in plain text".
Ken writes: Some time ago I downloaded the 'Smiley Central' programme and have used it often on e-mails. Lately the Smiley Central icon on the tool bar is greyed out and I cannot access it. I have searched the list of programmes on my computer but cannot find it. When bringing up the Smiley Central URL and trying to download it again it comes up with the message that it is already installed in your computer. Where is it?
Hi Ken, If it's on your computer, you should try and find it in Add/Remove programs (which you need to get to from the Control Panel). It'll probably be listed as one, some or all of these:
If it's not one of those, you''ll need to read through the whole list as it will be mentioned in some way, or another.
To get to your Control panel via Windows 95-2000: Start/Settings/Control Panel.
To get to your Control panel via Windows XP: Start button/Control Panel
You may need to remove it completely before you download it a second time. I am not sure why it is greyed out, but the easiest thing might be just to remove it and start again.
However, our advice would be not to reinstall it, as it is a well known adware/pop-up/spyware/bloat app: See http://www.doxdesk.com/parasite/MySearch.html.
It fact we'd even be so bold as to suggest a round of SpyWare removal tools: http://files.actrix.co.nz/viewsub.php?subcategory=SpyWare&category=Security
And if you have W2000/XP you may want to get the new Microsoft anti-spyware thing: http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx (more on this in future newsletters).
Printer friendly version of this article...
Actrix can now offer you excellent rates for your toll
calls. Plus, if you purchase ActrixTolls, you can choose to move to any of the following
discounted Internet plans.
CyberByte1 (with tolls)
Just like our standard CyberByte1 but with no monthly fee!
CyberByte60
Just like our CyberByte30 ($9.95), but with twice as many free hours per month at no extra
charge!
CyberByte Flatrate
Just like our CyberByte150 ($19.95), but with unlimited hours at no extra charge!
For more information on ActrixTolls please go to www.actrixtolls.co.nz.
Have you been thinking about making the move to broadband? Sign-up to Actrix JetStream Home before 13 March and receive a free installation valued at $99. For more information about the offer, and Actrix JetStream Home, please go to http://www.actrix.co.nz/domestic/highspeed/jetstreamhome.php.
Please note: Actrix supplies links to these sites for your interest and possible use. We cannot endorse or take any responsibility for their contents.
 MailFrontier Phishing IQ Testhttp://survey.mailfrontier.com/survey/quiztest.html - "Phishing" is the word for fraudulent e-mails that attempt to trick you into parting with your sensitive information. This is an excellent little test that will reveal to you what you know about phishing, and will probably teach you a whole lot more. Read the 10 example e-mails, and say whether you think they're legitimate or a fraud. When you are given your score, you'll get a short explanation as to how each one could be recognised for what it really was. |
 The Monkey Shakespeare Simulatorhttp://user.tninet.se/~ecf599g/aardasnails/java/Monkey/webpages/index.html - "If you have enough monkeys banging randomly on typewriters, they will eventually type the works of William Shakespeare." Become part of the largest ever experiment to see if this is true! Every time you display this page, you are automatically participating in the Monkey Shakespeare project. The current record is the first 24 letters from Henry IV Part 2. |
 2004 Year-End Google Zeitgeistwww.google.com/press/zeitgeist.html - "Based on billions of searches conducted by Google users around the world, the 2004 Year-End Zeitgeist offers a unique perspective on the year's major events and trends. We hope you enjoy this aggregate look at what people wanted to know more about this year." You can also view the 2004 Interactive Zeitgeist timeline. |
 100 things the British didn't know...http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4134329.stm - ... at this time last year. "Each week the Magazine picks out snippets from the week's news - interesting newsbites that we learn along the way, and find their way into 10 Things We Didn't Know This Time Last Week every Saturday. So at the end of the year, here is an almanac of those things we learned." |
 You Can Eat Flowershttp://www.wildflower-inn.com/recipes.htm - According to Preston McDorban, author of a new book called Flower Power, a regular diet of fresh flowers can raise IQ levels by as much as 20 points in just a few months. What's more, the brain booster is healthy, inexpensive and totally natural. This site provides you with some recipes using flowers. I guess if your IQ doesn't improve, there's always the floral-flavoured burping to make the project worthwhile, and we all need more flower in our diet. |
 Sam's Mailbox Picture Collectionhttp://sblom.com/mailbox/ - Please enjoy Sam's repository of the most bizarre mailboxes on the planet, adorning streets from North Carolina to right here in New Zealand. From the Octo-Box to the Hammer, it's the most fun posties have probably had since the invention of the plain brown wrapper. Check out the last one which is from Texas. You'd really have to be an enthusiast, wouldn't you? |
 TV
Cream's Top 100 Toyshttp://tv.cream.org/extras/toys/index.html - Do you remember, oh so many years ago, "tearing down the stairs at five in the morning, in wide-eyed anticipation of the contents of that mountain of wrapped boxes under the Woolies' fireproof silver tinsel tree? So, to this end, we polled TV Cream's readership to find the most well-remembered - for better or worse - toys that turned up in the stockings of yesteryear, from the tiniest rubber novelty to the many bulky Bakelite candidates for that hallowed "main present" status." |
 New Zealand Bugswww.landcareresearch.co.nz/research/biodiversity/invertebratesprog/invertid/ - Thanks Peter (and daughter Beth) Lepper for sending in this site recommendation. They found a beetle they didn't recognise and found the site searching for information on the net about insects. "[We] found this site - really brilliant, easy to use, informative, great coverage, and a kiwi site too! Great for the homework and for just general browsing." |
 Symbol Search Enginewww.symbols.com/graphicsearch.html - Since the dawn of time, human beings have loved symbols and all sorts of graphic representations of (often secret) meanings. This site provides information on meaning and origin of 2,500 symbols. Use the step by step table to specify the graphic characteristics of any sign you are looking for, or simply choose a few random characteristics and see what interesting stuff you can find. |
 NZ Ghostswww.nzghosts.co.nz/ - We've featured NZ Ghosts before, but considerable progress has been made and there are several new sections of interest, including information about hauntings from many places around the world. The New Zealand section has been expanded into a number of sub-categories based on location. Check the Ghost Guide to see what you should do if you think your place is haunted. Good interesting fun for believers and doubters alike. |
 Scam Busterswww.scambusters.org/internetscams.html - 2004 was a very big year for Internet scams, but most experts agree that 2005 will be even bigger. Internet ScamBusters, one of the oldest and most comprehensive online clearinghouses for information about Internet scams, has created a 'Top 10' list of predictions for the biggest online threats you need to watch out for to stay safe in 2005. |
 Tall or Not?http://albinoblacksheep.com/flash/tall.php - After you enter your height, this site takes you to a list of celebrities showing their height in relation to yours. Click anyone in the extensive list to see the comparison. It can be quite revealing. Things aren't looking good for my blind date with Elle Macpherson, but maybe I could point out to her that at least I'm taller than Al Pacino. |
Kiwis embrace online shopping: If New Zealanders were initially slow to shop online in the early days of the internet, they certainly caught up last year. Click here for more.
Trade Me predicts another doubling of turnover: The on-line auctioneer - New Zealand's equivalent of eBay - predicts it will host over 35 million internet auctions in 2005. Click here for more.
NZ computer expert aids US murder case: A New Zealand computer forensics expert is helping American investigators gather evidence against the woman accused of murdering a pregnant Missouri woman and kidnapping her unborn child. Click here for more.
ISPs urged to protect the gullible: The agency's executive director of enforcement Jan Redfern has warned that Australians "tend to be quite susceptible" to online scams. Click here for more.
Dealers act confuses online traders: News that regular users of Trade Me may have to become secondhand dealers has sparked a flurry of debate in New Zealand's online community. Click here for more.
Hallowed be thy domain name : The Office of the Domain Name Commissioner is calling for public submissions on how New Zealand should resolve disputes over website addresses. Click here for more.
BBC web search aids odd queries: ...there were many strange enquiries, including: what is a dog?, how do you say basketball? and what is the biggest collection of naval fluff? Click here for more.
E-Mail Traps to Avoid in Business: E-mail is like having a brilliant friend who is somewhat crazy, not well socialized, and occasionally self-destructive. Click here for more.
The offline generation: Savvy Internet surfers like those reading this online story might find it hard to fathom, but plenty of Americans have never visited the Internet -- and a substantial portion of them are grandparents. Click here for more.
ISP suffers apparent domain hijacking: A Panix.com representative said ownership of the domain had been moved sometime Friday evening to a company in Australia, the domain name server (DNS) records had been moved to the United Kingdom, and that the company's mail had been redirected to a company in Canada. Click here for more.
Year's worst gadgets, tomorrow's eBay items: Sometimes the innovation elves just miss the mark. Click here for more.
Naughty kids' Christmas gifts sold on eBay: An online casino that bought a cheese sandwich said to bear the Virgin Mary's image and a cane sold to banish a young boy's fear of ghosts has struck again... Click here for more.
10 things that make you forward e-mails: What is it about the best e-mails which makes them so compelling? Click here for more.
Five big tech stories for 2005: Here are five stories that I believe will emerge in 2005. 1. Internet attack... Click here for more.
Addicted to the net: Anthony Chan betrays the tell-tale signs of his addiction: his skin is pallid and covered in spots, he sits nervously hunched, peering to correct his blighted vision... Click here for more.
IT support for your parents: To your peers, you're no more technologically savvy than the next person, but to your parents you are Bill Gates, Albert Einstein and Mr Clippy rolled into one. Click here for more.
Internet Elite Look Ahead: "At least one devastating attack will occur in the next 10 years on the U.S. networked information infrastructure or the country's power grid." Click here for more.
Who owns your e-mail after you die?: When L/Cpl Justin Ellsworth was killed in Iraq, his father decided to create a memorial to his dead son using the e-mails he wrote and received while in the Middle East. Click here for more.
ID theft mastermind gets 14 years: Philip Cummings, 35, used his job as a computer helpdesk employee to steal personal information from more than 30,000 unwitting customers. Click here for more.
Hacker read Secret Service e-mails: A hacker broke into a wireless carrier's network over at least seven months and read e-mails and personal computer files of hundreds of customers, including the Secret Service agent investigating the hacker... Click here for more.
Ancient rock carvings go online: The panels were unearthed during a two-and-a-half year search of the moorlands of Northumberland by Newcastle University archaeologists. Click here for more.
No More Internet for Them: Fed up over problems stemming from viruses and spyware, some computer users are giving up or curbing their use of the Web. Click here for more.
Some online addicts can't imagine life without a connection: More than 137 million Americans spend at least part of their day online, and when it is unavailable, many suffer withdrawal much as they would if they had to go without coffee or cigarettes. Click here for more.
VXers creating 150 zombie programs a week: Malicious programs capable of turning home PCs into zombies controlled by hackers are growing at between 150 to 200 per week. Click here for more.
Worm plays Tetris with victims: The Cellery worm spreads across insecurely configured network shares and distracts infected users with a Tetris-like arcade game. Click here for more.
Worm poses as porn-purging program: A new mass-mailing worm which tries to scare naive users into running it by saying pornographic content has been found on their PCs has begun doing the rounds. Click here for more.
IE flaw threat hits the roof: Three unpatched flaws in Internet Explorer now pose a higher danger, a security company warned, after code to exploit one of the issues was published to the Internet. Click here for more.
Cyber crime booms in 2004: The last 12 months have seen a dramatic growth in almost every security threat that plague Windows PCs. Click here for more.
Trojan Horse Christmas: The Trojan Horse I'm talking about is that shiny new Windows PC that thousands and thousands of people unwrapped during the holidays this year. Click here for more.
Microsoft debuts security tools: Microsoft is releasing tools that clean up PCs harbouring viruses and spyware. Click here for more.
Worst spyware queues up: Beware of CoolWebSearch, a program that can change Microsoft Internet Explorer's security settings and wreak havoc on computers. Click here for more.
Experts: Cyber-crime bigger threat than cyber-terror: The paradox of the Internet -- a computer network originally designed to survive nuclear attack succumbing to spam, viruses and other malicious code written by teenagers -- riles computer security experts. Click here for more.
UK spammer charged with further offences: The UK's most prolific spammer, Peter Francis Clifford Macrae, remains behind bars after being charged with further offences at Huntingdon Magistrates court. Click here for more.
Internet spammer can't take what he dishes out: West Bloomfield bulk e-mailer Alan Ralsky, who just may be the world's biggest sender of Internet spam, is getting a taste of his own medicine. Click here for more.
'Spam King' to halt ad invasion: Federal authorities are quietly carrying out a series of raids against the nation's biggest suspected spam operators in their most aggressive actions yet. Sometimes striking in the early morning... Click here for more.
Texas sues student 'spammer' for $2m: Texan authorities launched federal suit yesterday against a University of Texas student alleged to have run one of the world's largest spam operations. Click here for more.
Ebay to drop support for Microsoft's passport: Microsoft Corp said today that eBay Inc will soon drop support for its Passport service, originally intended to make the world's biggest software maker the gatekeeper of web identities. Click here for more.
The big giver - where Bill Gates' money goes: One of the world's "mega-donors" is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, set up by the Microsoft founder in Seattle in January 2000. Click here for more.
Microsoft NZ revenues dip: Microsoft New Zealand's revenues have fallen, possibly the first time they have done so since the subsidiary was founded in 1991. Click here for more.
Apple unveils low-cost 'Mac mini': Apple has unveiled a new, low-cost Macintosh computer for the masses, billed as the Mac mini. Click here for more.
Teen accused of leaking Apple secrets: A Web site that disclosed Apple's top-secret plans to bring out a $499 mini computer and a new bare-bones iPod -- prompting a lawsuit from the company -- turns out to be the brainchild of a 19-year-old Harvard University student. Click here for more.
Many Faces of the Mac Mini : Available in stores for just a few days, Apple's new Mac mini computer appears to be something of an omnia omnibus -- all things to all people. Click here for more.
Mozilla's Lightning to strike Outlook?: "I think Outlook leaves a lot of room for a fast competitor," said a Mozilla volunteer involved in the project, who asked not to be named. Click here for more.
Reporter fired for Yahoo baby hoax: A Romanian tabloid says it has fired a reporter for making up a story about a couple who named their son Yahoo as a sign of gratitude for meeting over the Internet. Click here for more.
27-year-old Elvis water sold on internet: The winning bid for the water was $US455 ($NZ638). [Wade Jones] he won't sell the cup. Click here for more.
Man auctions ad space on forehead: A 20-year-old US man is selling advertising space on his forehead to the highest bidder on website eBay. Click here for more.
Things Computers Can Do In Movies
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 February,
Rob Zorn
editor@actrix.co.nz
http://editor.actrix.co.nz