| Engadine Web Services | Newsletter
2 - 20 May 2004 |
This newsletter has been designed to maintain links with customers and provide an information service for internet users generally. Please visit us at http://www.engadineweb.com.au
Editorial
Thanks for the great response to our last Newsletter and thanks also for the requests for answers to your questions and articles to be published. Welcome to all those who have requested a subscription to our Newsletter; good to have you on board.
From the feedback received, it was suggested that I feature a web-site; one of my customers or a site that would be of interest to us all. This is a great idea and can also provide some publicity for our customers.
Bruce Beresford, Manager
In this Issue:
- Featured Site
- Virus Watch
- Browser Toolbars
- Webshots Desktop
- Windows Update
- Post-it Notes Software
- Dictionary & Thesaurus Free Service
Featured Site 
This month's featured site is Comfort Living .
Comfort
Living is a unique business specialising in the supply of luxury and personal
hygiene bathroom equipment as well as home and business security systems.
Phuong Vo started working with personal hygiene bathroom equipment in 2002 as a sales representative for Rantech.
Her understanding of the benefits of these products grew out of personal experience. Totally convinced of the benefits, Phuong realised that with her product understanding there was an opportunity to start her own business.
The new business, Comfort Living, has gone from strength to strength with Phuong Vo at the helm providing excellent products through excellent customer service.
Virus Watch
We have a new virus watch service located on our Contact Us page, this provides information on the top 6 virus threats. It is kept up-to-date by Symantec Security Alerts. Sasser virus slows Internet RACHEL ROSS A new computer worm has snarled thousands of computers around the world, causing Internet traffic to slow. Unlike many computer viruses, the Sasser worm doesn't come in the form of an e-mail attachment. Instead, Sasser sneaks into vulnerable computers via communications ports — completely unseen to the average user. It's only once the computer is infected that Sasser makes its presence known. "You might find that your computer starts to reboot itself or shut itself down repeatedly," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for anti-virus software firm Sophos PLC. Fortunately, the virus does not destroy or alter data on infected machines. Sasser takes advantage of a security flaw in two versions of Microsoft Windows operating system: Windows 2000 and Windows XP. The flaw is related to a part of the operating system known as the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service, or LSASS. Microsoft issued a security bulletin about the LSASS vulnerability on April 13 and included information on how to fix the problem by downloading additional software from the company. But the worry is that many computer users still have not installed the software patch. |
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The patch is available from Microsoft, however if you maintain your Windows Update you will already have the patch. If not, don't try the patch yourself unless you are sure of what you are doing... Ed W32.Bobax.D is a worm that exploits the LSASS vulnerability. This vulnerability discussed in the Microsoft Security Bulletin MS04-011. Infected computers may become an email relays. Notes: While this threat may execute on Windows 95/98/Me/2000/Server 2003-based computers, it targets only the Windows XP operating system. Virus definitions dated prior to May 19, 2004, may detect this threat as Bloodhound.Packed.
Backdoor.Paproxy is a Backdoor Trojan horse that allows the infected computer to be used as a network proxy. Type: Trojan Horse Systems Affected: Windows 2000, Windows 3.x, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT, Windows XP Systems Not Affected: DOS, Linux, Macintosh, Macintosh OS X, Novell Netware, OS/2, UNIX |
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Browser Toolbars
Browser toolbars can be of great assistance to you while
using your internet browser, they can provide a quick and easy search
method, block pop-up adds, help you fill out enquiry forms and more...
Some 
come
at a price and the price is leaving yourself open to unsolicited advertising
and even the 'take-over' of your browser. Also some are darn hard to remove.
The Google toolbar is the most popular, it's FREE and has no advertising or browser hijacking associated with it.
A very good article has been written by Kim Komando for The Detroit News and it's titled:
Benefits and pitfalls of browser toolbars; 'click' the link to read this article.
Webshots Desktop
What a great way to dress up your Desktop. Have beautiful
images cycling through at your pre-set rate and also as a screensaver.
The images are d
ownloaded
free from Webshots as well as using your own digital or scanned images.
I have been using this for some years now and have collected 1000's of
images. Its worth a visit to their
site.
The Webshots Desktop is the most advanced photo management application ever created! It displays stunning professional photos as your screensaver and wallpaper, and provides innovative tools for sharing your personal photos on the web. It's easy to upload, store and share photos on your personal Webshots homepage, and you can then add your personal photos, plus millions more from the Webshots website, to your screensaver and wallpaper.
There is a PC and Mac version, you can download it free from here.
Windows Update
If you are running Microsoft Windows then it's important that you regularly visit windows update if only to ensure you maintain your system with the "Critical Updates".
Windows
Update is the online extension of Windows that helps you to keep your
computer up-to-date. Use Windows Update to choose updates for your computer’s
operating system, software, and hardware. New content is added to the
site regularly, so you can always get the most recent updates and fixes
to protect your computer and keep it running smoothly.
- Looking for the latest updates for your personal computer? When you click Windows Update on the Start menu or the Help and Support Center home page, Windows Update makes it easy and only offers you updates that are specific to your computer's needs.
- If you're a network administrator or advanced user and you need to download updates for other computers, take advantage of the Windows Update Catalog. Simply click Windows Update Catalog in the left navigation pane (if you don't see it, click Personalize Windows Update to see options for displaying this link).
Windows Update can be found on your Start menu or here. If you access the internet using a Broadband service this is an easy process, however if you use a dial-up 56k service some of the downloads can take time. Whatever your service you must maintain your "Critical Updates" to ensure the security of you system and try to keep ahead of hackers. Those with Broadband; there is no excuse not to have you system always up-to-date.
Those of you running Windows XP, ensure you have installed Service Pack 1a. This is available on Windows Update but as the file is very large you need Broadband to get it. It is generally available as an inclusion on most FREE CD's provided with computer magazines. If you are unsure of using Windows Update or installing the Service Pack, don't do it yourself get assistance from an experienced user.
Post-it Notes Software
How
did I ever do without Post-it Notes for my computer. Yep, that right,
little yellow post-it notes right on your Desktop and it's FREE.
Sure you can keep all those important appointments and notes in your software
database and have them remind you when you load your Calendar or Access
database. But being human I sometimes forget to look; these post-it notes
are in my face all the time.
What happens when you cross a Post-it® Note with a computer? Post-it® Software Notes - the classic yellow note designed for your PC!
You can use this digital version of the famous canary
yellow® note to remind you to do something, to capture an idea or
to organize all those important phone numbers -- all from your computer
desktop. You can also subscribe to receive relevant information delivered
directly to your computer on Post-it® Software Notes from website's
that provide this service.
They have Standard, Professional and Lite versions with the latter being
FREE.
As
they say: Not ready to buy, then download the FREE Lite edition
so you can experience Post-it? Software Notes on your computer:
- Create your own notes with pictures and hyperlinks
- Stick notes on your computer desktop as a visual reminder
- Add alarms to your notes so you don't forget
- Subscribe to receive information on a Post-it® Software Note from website's that provide this service
- Attach notes to documents, such as Microsoft Word
Where do ya get it? Right here...
Dictionary & Thesaurus
Free Service
If you were not already aware, there is a great free dictionary & thesaurus service available on the net. You can also register for a free word of the day email. The URL is http://www.dictionary.com. Just type the word you are looking for into the form entry field at the top of the screen.
Have any questions relating to the internet or your computer? Let me know and I will research an answer and use this for future entries in our newsletter. Pass on your questions via the Enquiry Form on our Web-Site or send me an email.
If you have a friend or associate that you feel would benefit from receiving this newsletter please forward it to them for their review...
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Copyright © Engadine Web Services
Manager: Bruce Beresford
Phone: 02 9520 7838
Mobile: 0402 024 160
http://www.engadineweb.com.au/
ABN: 34 474 430 019