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Editorial

Christmas is getting close, which means the internet scammers and spammers will be out and about trying to get hold of your hard earned. Make sure your computer is protected and you maintain your internet savvy.

Remember to be cautious of service provider emails asking you to confirm your account details, passwords etc... (DON'T)

Watch out for those eBay bargains that seem to good to be true, they generally are...

Bruce Beresford, Manager & Editor

In this Issue:

• Featured Site
• Virus Watch
• MS plans cheap Windows
• Microsoft confirms next XP service pack
• Warning over scams
• Free Image Hosting
• Quotes of the day

Featured Site  

Aussie House Swap

Welcome to Aussie House Swap - A 100% Australian owned home exchange database dedicated exclusively for house swap holidays within Australia and New Zealand. Please feel free to scroll the houses currently on offer under the 'View Listings' in the Aussie House Swap menu for FREE.

Whether it's a quick weekend getaway, a longer family holiday across the country or a 12 month escape from life as you know it... House Swap holidays are for EVERYONE!

YOU choose your holiday location and YOU choose your swapping partner. Seniors may choose to swap with other seniors, families may choose other families. . . . it's all up to YOU!

If high mortgage repayments, or dipping into your valuable savings has prevented you from going on regular holidays, then house swapping is perfect for you. It is a fun and fantastic way to holiday without expensive accommodation costs. Just imagine having ALL your future holiday accommodation ABSOLUTELY FREE!

Visit the Aussie House Swap website...

Virus Watch  

Latest Threats - from Symantec

19-10-05 PWSteal.Tarno.O

17-10-05 W32.Mytob.LE@mm

MS plans cheap Windows  

MICROSOFT plans to release a low-cost version of its Windows software to slow piracy levels in India, a company official said.

Bradford Smith, head of legal affairs for world's largest independent software maker, said that Microsoft would produce a budget version of its operating system for India's market.

"We will launch more value products at affordable prices in India soon to reduce software piracy levels," Mr Smith said.

The low-cost Windows starter version for India will be available in Hindi and English at 1,000 rupees ($30), which would also help reduce entry-level personal computer prices to 10,000 rupees, he said.

Mr Smith said piracy level in India were around 73 per cent.

Microsoft's practice echoes that of global publishers, many of whom print lower cost versions of books whose sale is restricted to India or South Asia. Reuters

Microsoft confirms next XP service pack  

Microsoft has revealed plans to release a third service pack for its Windows XP operating system.

"There will be a Service Pack 3 for Windows XP," Bernard Ourghanlian, technical and security director at Microsoft France, confirmed, revealing that Microsoft's OS is set for another major update.

Windows XP's Service Pack 2, which came out last September, deeply modified the operating system by updating its security.

Windows XP SP3 will be available sometime next year -- after the launch of Windows Vista, which "is the priority for the development teams," according to Microsoft France.

Microsoft has yet to reveal details about the contents of the service pack. Laurent Delaporte of Microsoft France said: "Historically, certain functions of new versions of Windows are integrated in the service packs of previous versions." ZDNET France

Warning over scams  

CONSUMERS need to be wary of a telephone phishing scam offering a free holiday in America, the NSW government has warned. NSW Fair Trading Minister Diane Beamer said today people had received phone calls suggesting they had won a cruise or a bus holiday in the US.

They were then asked to enter a number which put them through to a US-based call centre, where their credit card and other personal details were sought.

Fair Trading investigators believed it could be a "phishing" scam, where the real purpose is to obtain a person's personal information, Ms Beamer said.

"Consumers should never provide account or credit card details to unsolicited callers," Ms Beamer said in a statement.

"It is important for consumer to stay vigilant, particularly as scammers are becoming more sophisticated in their attempts to exploit people.

"My advice to anyone on receiving such a call is to hang up."

Fair Trading is advising anyone who has received such a call and has provided their identification and credit card details to contact their card operator and the Australian Communication and Media Authority.

Meanwhile, Ms Beamer also warned small business operators to be on the lookout for scams offering unwanted IT Services.

She said small businesses were falling into the trap of paying additional fees for services they don't need.

"Scammers attempt to hoodwink businesses into buying or "renewing" a service that is superfluous to the businesses' needs," Ms Beamer said in a statement.

In one of the scams, an office will receive a letter or email offering a new domain name very similar to the existing one.

Not noticing the discrepancy, businesses sign up and incur an extra cost.

"This subtle difference can be missed by a busy office and often the business does not realise the damage has been done until the renewal notice from the original registrar arrives," Ms Beamer said.

"Despite court action having been taken in this area over the last few years, the message is not reaching small business ... and once the money is paid it is almost impossible to get a refund." AAP

Free Image Hosting  

PhotoBucket http://photobucket.com - A great free service...

Photobucket.com is a free, simple, fast, reliable image hosting and online photo album site that allows direct linking (hyperlink) and photo sharing. With the increasing number of digital cameras, camera phones, auction sites, message boards, classifieds, live journals, blogs and photo albums, Image Hosting is becoming very popular.

Photobucket is a free image hosting company for ebay, online auctions, classifieds, message boards, live journals, and online photo albums.

You can easily upload, categorize, add titles and delete images as needed. Direct linking is allowed. You can upload up to 20 pictures at once. Photos larger than 250 KB are automatically scaled down.

Limitations: 25 MB space; 1500 MB/month bandwidth; 250 KB file size limit; Extensions allowed: .jpg, .png, .gif, .bmp; Images must not contain any weird characters (numbers and letters only).

Want more hosting space? Then you can upgrade, and pay an annual fee.

Quotes of the Day  

California is a fine place to live--if you happen to be an orange. Fred Allen (1894 - 1956)

Even he, to whom most things that most people would think were pretty smart were pretty dumb, thought it was pretty smart. Douglas Adams (1952 - 2001), The Salmon of Doubt, p. 205

Humankind cannot stand very much reality. T. S. Eliot (1888 - 1965)

It may be that the old astrologers had the truth exactly reversed, when they believed that the stars controlled the destinies of men. The time may come when men control the destinies of stars. Arthur C. Clarke (1917 - ), First on the Moon, 1970

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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