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Editorial

A new Internet worm has been detected that can infect Microsoft's Windows platforms faster than previous computer worms, according to an antivirus software maker.

The Zotob worm appeared shortly after the world's largest software maker warned of three newly found "critical" security flaws in its software, including one that could allow attackers to take complete control of a computer.

The latest worm exploits security holes in Microsoft's Windows 95, 98, ME, NE, 2000 and XP platforms and can give computer attackers remote access to affected systems, said Trend Micro.

"Hundreds of infection reports were sighted in the United States and Germany," Tokyo-based Trend Micro said in a statement released late last week.

"Since most users may not be aware of this newly announced security hole so as to install the necessary patch during last weekend, we can foresee more infections from worm Zotob," it said.

The latest virus drops a copy of itself into the Windows system folder as BOTZOR.EXE and modifies the system's host file in the infected user's computer to prevent the user getting online assistance from antivirus web sites, Trend Micro added.

Microsoft has issued patches for this worm. Make sure that you keep your windows software updated...

Bruce Beresford, Manager & Editor

In this Issue:

• Featured Site
• Virus Watch
• Telstra broadband outage forces reboot
• Alleged Perth spammer shut down for now
• Personal data 'being shared'
• Laptop sparks airline emergency
• Tech Tips - important maintenance tasks
• Quotes of the day

Featured Site  

Aussie House Sitters

Home owners! Are you planning on being away from your house for a period of time in the future? If you are, then there is no better way for you to gain peace of mind than by having a house sitter care for your home, garden, pets while you are away.

House sitters! Are you sick of paying rent? Want to save for that something special? Need a change of scenery? Want to open your heart by giving love to someone's pets and/or gardens? If so, then house sitting is definitely for you.

House sitting is where you live in a person's house for an agreed period of time while they are away. You are relied upon to maintain the house as if it was your own, doing any household jobs that need doing such as pet care, garden maintenance, forwarding mail etc. House sitting can be either a short term stay of a week or anything up to a year or longer.

Visit the Aussie House Sitters website...

Virus Watch  

Latest Threats - from Symantec

20-08-05 W32.Zotob.I

19-08-05 Backdoor.Darkmoon

Telstra broadband outage forces reboot  

Some Telstra customers in eastern states lost their broadband Internet access early afternoon Tuesday 16 August 2005.

"The outage started at 1.15 pm and had an impact on customers attempting to log in or surf the Internet," Telstra said in a statement, noting it affected both ADSL and cable customers.

Telstra did not provide any indication as to how many customers experienced problems but said service was restored nearly three hours later.

Telstra engineers rectified the situation which affected some users in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, the ACT and Tasmania, the company said.

"We suspect that the problem was caused by a software issue although investigations are continuing."

"The main issue here is that the services are now up and running," Telstra spokesperson Warwick Ponder told ZDNet Australia.

Well I think the main issue here is that Bigpond seems to be always falling down, I tried ringing their technical support but just received a message that they are not taking calls. They could have at least provided a recording stating that their bigpond system is suffering problems and giving us an estimated outage time. Telstra obviously has a real problem with customer service and customer communications; will total privatisation make a change?

If you are a bigpond cable or ADSL customer, here are some tips.

Get yourself a Bigpond Buddy - someone (maybe two) in your area that has the same type of connection. When you loose your bigpond connection call your buddy first before calling Bigpond Technical Support. This will save you major frustration. If they are off line as well then the problem is Bigpond.

If you do have the unfortunate experience of calling Bigpond Technical Support, the first thing you will hear as a recorded message to advise that shutting down your computer and turning off your modem for say 10 minutes may assist in reconnection. This is GOOD advice and the best thing to do before you suffer the Technical Support Team.

Still have problems? Then better call Technical Support. The first thing you should do is ask if there are any outages in your area, then ask if they can see your modem at their end, as the last thing you want to do is have one of their Technical Support people talk you through a complete rebuild of your operating system. I have been with Bigpond since it started (because I like the speed of cable) and I am yet to meet a real Technical Officer on the other end of the phone.

Important - the last things you blame for your disconnection problems with Bigpond, is your computer or yourself.

Alleged Perth spammer shut down for now  

The Federal Court has issued a temporary injunction preventing Perth company Clarity1 and its managing director Wayne Mansfield from sending out commercial electronic messages from Australia that do not comply with the Spam Act 2003. ZD Net Australia >>> more

Personal data 'being shared'  

UNPRECEDENTED volumes of personal information on millions of ordinary Australians are being shared between federal government departments under dramatic extensions of a little-known "data matching" scheme, privacy advocates have warned.

Even before the possible introduction of a national identity card, federal agencies are increasingly cross-matching the personal data held in vast government databases to crack down on identity theft-related crimes ranging from terrorism to welfare fraud and tax evasion.

The depth of personal information held by the Government has reached extraordinary levels, with the Tax Office keeping records of such details as religious affiliation and criminal convictions.

"Matching is inherently contrary to the privacy principle that (personal) information should only be used for the purpose it was collected," Australian Privacy Foundation spokesman Nigel Waters said.

The Attorney-General's Department says identity theft costs the Australian economy more than $1.1 billion a year. AustralianIT July 23, 2005 >>> more

Laptop sparks airline emergency  

15 July, 2005 - THE smell from an airline passenger's overheated laptop computer has sparked an emergency at the Gold Coast Airport.

The Virgin Blue Boeing 737-700 was half an hour from Coolangatta on a flight from Sydney late yesterday when the pilot radioed ahead to have emergency services put on standby.

"Cabin crew had noticed a slight electrical smell and advised the captain," said Virgin Blue spokeswoman Heather Jeffrey.

But shortly before landing, one of the passengers told the crew he believed the smell was coming from his overheated laptop computer which had been put away, Ms Jeffrey said.

The plane landed without incident at 9.32pm (AEST) yesterday (14 July, 2005) and was later checked by engineers as a precautionary measure. AAP

Tech Tips  

Here are some important system & software maintenance tasks you should be carrying out on a regular basis.

1. Firewall

2. Antivirus

3. Spyware/Adware

3. Backup - regular

4. Windows Updates

5. Office Updates

6. Archive emails

7. Check for application upgrades

8. Hard Drive Chkdsk

9. Hard Drive Defragmentation

How many of these tasks are you carrying out now?

Quotes of the Day  

In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice; In practice, there is. Chuck Reid

Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it. Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948)

Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't. Erica Jong

The thing I hate about an argument is that it always interrupts a discussion. G. K. Chesterton (1874 - 1936)

Brought to you by The Quotations Page

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.

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