Clean your Windows registry

CleanMyPC Registry Cleaner 3.50 - The Most Popular Registry Cleaner

• PC runs much slower than when you first bought it


• PC crashes for no apparent reason


• You keep receiving error messages and don't know why

 

Solution: You need a Reliable Registry Cleaner!
CleanMyPC™ Registry Cleaner can clean your Windows registry, tune up your PC and keep it in peak performance!

The Windows registry is a database repository for information about a computer's configuration. The registry keep growing when you use Windows. As it does so, it attracts obsolete and unnecessary information, and gradually becomes cluttered and fragmented. With the growing of the registry, it can degrade the performance of the whole system and cause many weird software problems. To keep your computer in top performance, it is recommended to periodically clean your Windows registry with a reliable and efficient Registry Clean

CleanMyPC Registry Cleaner scans the Windows registry and finds incorrect or obsolete information in the registry. By fixing these obsolete information in Windows registry, your system will run faster and error free. The backup/restore function of the tool let you backup your whole Windows Registry so you can use it to restore the registry to the current status in case you encounter some system failure. Besides above, the startup and BHO organizer feature let you manage your startup and IE BHO items with ease, and you can control the programs started with Windows and IE more handy with this feature!

In short, CleanMyPC Registry Cleaner help you get rid of the bloat in Windows registry and achieve a cleaner, faster system.
The latest version adds the registry defrag/compact and privacy eraser features.

Main Registry Cleaner Features:

• Automatic Registry Scanning and Cleanup


• Backup and Restore the full Registry


• Registry Defrag and Registry Compact


• Tracks Eraser feature for privacy protection


• Startup Organizer


• IE BHO Organizer


• Improve system performance


• Remove Trojan which utilize startup items and IE BHO
  

Try It

Protecting Portable Devices: Data Security.

Why do you need another layer of protection?
Although there are ways to physically protect your laptop, PDA, or other portable device (see Protecting Portable Devices: Physical Security for more information), there is no guarantee that it won't be stolen. After all, as the name suggests, portable devices are designed to be easily transported. The theft itself is, at the very least, frustrating, inconvenient, and unnerving, but the exposure of information on the device could have serious consequences. Also, remember that any devices that are connected to the internet, especially if it is a wireless connection, are also susceptible to network attacks (see Securing Wireless Networks for more information).

What can you do?

• Use passwords correctly - In the process of getting to the information on your portable device, you probably encounter multiple prompts for passwords. Take advantage of this security. Don't choose options that allow your computer to remember passwords, don't choose passwords that thieves could easily guess, use different passwords for different programs, and take advantage of additional authentication methods (see Choosing and Protecting Passwords and Supplementing Passwords for more information).
• Consider storing important data separately - There are many forms of storage media, including floppy disks, zip disks, CDs, DVDs, and removable flash drives (also known as USB drives or thumb drives). By saving your data on removable media and keeping it in a different location (e.g., in your suitcase instead of your laptop bag), you can protect your data even if your laptop is stolen. You should make sure to secure the location where you keep your data to prevent easy access.
• Encrypt files - By encrypting files, you ensure that unauthorized people can't view data even if they can physically access it. You may also want to consider options for full disk encryption, which prevents a thief from even starting your laptop without a passphrase. When you use encryption, it is important to remember your passwords and passphrases; if you forget or lose them, you may lose your data.
• Install and maintain anti-virus software - Protect laptops and PDAs from viruses the same way you protect your desktop computer. Make sure to keep your virus definitions up to date (see Understanding Anti-Virus Software for more information).
• Install and maintain a firewall - While always important for restricting traffic coming into and leaving your computer, firewalls are especially important if you are traveling and utilizing different networks. Firewalls can help prevent outsiders from gaining unwanted access (see Understanding Firewalls for more information).
• Back up your data - Make sure to back up any data you have on your computer onto a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or network (see Good Security Habits and Real-World Warnings Keep You Safe Online for more information). Not only will this ensure that you will still have access to the information if your device is stolen, but it could help you identify exactly which information a thief may be able to access. You may be able to take measures to reduce the amount of damage that exposure could cause.

Authors: Mindi McDowell, Matt Lytle

Packet Sniffing

A network sniffer, or packet sniffer, is an application that captures all traffic traveling past a network interface attached to some network. Packet sniffing is useful for network troubleshooting and software developers; however, it can also be used to eavesdrop on unencrypted traffic (unencrypted email, Web packets, IM, and more).

When people communicate via IM, they do not realize their communication is probably hopping around numerous times through various networks and routers. On any network segment along this path, someone can use a packet-sniffing tool to intercept such communications. However, scanning through a large number of packets to extract something useful is very difficult. Thus, attackers also employ communication filters, software to detect and identify specific types of communication currently underway.

When attackers get access to some wire, they attach a network device to that network segment. Next, they install a communication filter to capture packets that contain specific strings or patterns, such as the "password" keyword. If a pattern in the filter matches traffic from the wire, that packet is recorded for subsequent analysis.

Flat, unswitched local area networks are particularly vulnerable to sniffing attacks because every packet traveling between two hosts is broadcast to all nodes on the network segments to which each host belongs. Thus, a sniffing device or program could be connected to any port or installed on any machine on the same segment. A few years ago, switching technology became sufficiently inexpensive to be widely accepted as a standard LAN building block. In many installations, switches replaced broadcast hubs and were used to micro-segment LANs into numerous virtual segments. Switches also establish point-to-point channels between pairs of hosts as they initiate conversations. This alleviates the problem of sniffing but does not eliminate it completely (especially if attackers can access the switch itself).

In the real world it is at least difficult, if not impossible, to gain access to ISP facilities and install sniffers there. Therefore, the biggest source of sniffing threats stems from LANs and public facilities. Cable modem technology is particularly prone to sniffing-based attacks, because all users on a cable segment can see (and therefore sniff) all traffic on that segment. Companies or organizations that support remote access for cable modem-based users should definitely use more secure implementation, preferably those based on IPSec.

Because so much information used in popular messaging software now takes the XML format using the HTTP protocol, traffic vulnerability to sniffing is actually on the rise. The latest trend is to convert everything to XML formats. Unfortunately, this also means that using HTTP without SSL or TLS is tantamount to sending information in clear text from the hacker's perspective. This explains why sniffer attacks are both insidious and potentially very dangerous because they can decode and reveal lots of sensitive information.

To prevent information leaks, you can't rely on communication programs that use no encryption mechanisms; you must use IPSec or VPN solutions to secure communications both on the local network and for all remote access. If IM services are deployed for business purposes, use applications similar to Microsoft Exchange Server 2000, which enables you to operate your own IM server that might or might not interact with the rest of the world. As a matter of security policy and user education, users should also be coached on which types of communication and file transfer are appropriate using IM outside organizational boundaries—if indeed such use is permitted at all.

Using Caution with Email Attachments

Why can email attachments be dangerous?

Some of the characteristics that make email attachments convenient and popular are also the ones that make them a common tool for attackers:

• Email is easily circulated - Forwarding email is so simple that viruses can quickly infect many machines. Most viruses don't even require users to forward the email—they scan a users' computer for email addresses and automatically send the infected message to all of the addresses they find. Attackers take advantage of the reality that most users will automatically trust and open any message that comes from someone they know.


• Email programs try to address all users' needs - Almost any type of file can be attached to an email message, so attackers have more freedom with the types of viruses they can send.


• Email programs offer many "user-friendly" features - Some email programs have the option to automatically download email attachments, which immediately exposes your computer to any viruses within the attachments.

What steps can you take to protect yourself and others in your address book?

Be wary of unsolicited attachments, even from people you know - Just because an email message looks like it came from your mom, grandma, or boss doesn't mean that it did. Many viruses can "spoof" the return address, making it look like the message came from someone else. If you can, check with the person who supposedly sent the message to make sure it's legitimate before opening any attachments. This includes email messages that appear to be from your ISP or software vendor and claim to include patches or anti-virus software. ISPs and software vendors do not send patches or software in email.
Save and scan any attachments before opening them - If you have to open an attachment before you can verify the source, take the following steps:

• Be sure the signatures in your anti-virus software are up to date.


• Save the file to your computer or a disk


• Manually scan the file using your anti-virus software


• Open the file

Turn off the option to automatically download attachments - To simplify the process of reading email, many email programs offer the feature to automatically download attachments. Check your settings to see if your software offers the option, and make sure to disable it.
Consider additional security practices - You may be able to filter certain types of attachments through your email software or a firewall.

Excel 2007and Excel Services 2007 involving calculation

Excel 2007and Excel Services 2007 involving calculation of numbers around 65,535.This issue was introduced when we were making changes to the Excel calculation logic in the Office 2007 time frame.  Specifically, Excel incorrectly displays the result of a calculation in 12 very specific cases (outlined below).  The key here is that the issue is actually not in the calculation itself (the result of the calculation stored in Excel’s memory is correct), but only in the result that is shown in the sheet.  Said another way, =850*77.1 will display an incorrect value, but if you then multiply the result by 2, you will get the correct answer (i.e. if A1 contains “=850*77.1”, and A2 contains “=A1*2”, A2 will return the correct answer of 131,070).

So what, specifically, are the values that cause this display problem?  Of the 9.214*10^18 different floating point numbers (floating point) that Excel 2007 can store, there are 6 floating point numbers (using binary representation) between 65534.99999999995 and 65535, and 6 between 65535.99999999995 and 65536 that cause this problem.  You can’t actually enter these numbers into Excel directly (since Excel will round to 15 digits on entry), but any calculation returning one of those results will display this issue if the results of the calculation are displayed in a cell.  All other calculation results are not affected.

fixes for this issue in Excel 2007 and Excel Services 2007 are available for download from the following locations:

Excel 2007: http://download.microsoft.com/download/6/1/3/61343075-aa12-4152-a761-fccc16d6cef4/office-kb943075-fullfile-x86-glb.exe
64-bit Excel Services 2007: http://download.microsoft.com/download/c/d/c/cdcccd84-86cd-4199-b01c-1df2dac66534/office-kb943076-fullfile-x64-glb.exe
32-bit Excel Services 2007: http://download.microsoft.com/download/c/d/c/cdcccd84-86cd-4199-b01c-1df2dac66534/office-kb943076-fullfile-x86-glb.exe

KB Articles have been posted as well:

Excel 2007: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/943075/
Excel Services 2007: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/943076

Registry Clean Expert: Fix&Backup registry

The Windows registry is a database repository for information about a computer's configuration. The registry keep growing when you use Windows. As it does so, it attracts obsolete and unnecessary information, and gradually becomes cluttered and fragmented. With the growing of the registry, it can degrade the performance of the whole system and cause many weird software problems.

Registry Clean Expert scans the Windows registry and finds incorrect or obsolete information in the registry. By fixing these obsolete information in Windows registry, your system will run faster and error free. The backup/restore function of the tool let you backup your whole Windows Registry so you can use it to restore the registry to the current status in case you encounter some system failure. Besides above, the startup and BHO organizer feature let you manage your startup and IE BHO items with ease, and you can control the programs started with Windows and IE more handy with this feature!

In short, Registry Clean Expert help you get rid of the bloat in Windows registry and achieve a cleaner, faster system..

Feature highlights include:

• Scan Windows registry and find incorrect or obsolete information in the registry.


• Fix the obsolete information in Windows registry with this Registry Cleaner and boost your Windows performance.


• Make backups for Windows Registry.


• Restore Windows Registry from previous backup.


• Manage the programs started when Windows starts up with the Startup Organizer.


• Manage the IE BHOs with BHO organizer.


• Remove Spyware, Adware and Trojan hidden in your startup items and BHOs.


• Registry Compact and Registry Defrag.


• Built-in Tracks Eraser for privacy protection.


• A user-friendly interface makes it easy for anyone to use Registry Clean Expert.
  

Use Strong Passwords.

Your living space has doors and windows, and perhaps most of the time they’re locked. For each lock that uses a key, chances are that each key is different. You know to lock up and not to share the keys with strangers, and probably not with most of your friends. You should not hide keys under the mat or in a flowerpot on your front porch.

Passwords for computers are much the same. For each computer and service you use (online purchasing, for example), you should have a password. Each password should be unique and unrelated to any of your other passwords. You shouldn’t write them down nor should you share them with anyone, even your best friends.

A password can also be complicated. Most schemes let you use any combination of letters, both upper and lower case, and numbers; and some also let you use punctuation marks. Lengths can vary. You can create a password to be as complicated as you want. The key (no pun intended) is to be able to remember this password whenever you need it without having to write it down to jog your memory.

Like the thief at your door, computer intruders also use trial-and-error, or brute-force techniques, to discover passwords. By bombarding a login scheme with all the words in a dictionary, they may “discover” the password that unlocks it. If they know something about you, such as your spouse’s name, the kind of car you drive, or your interests, clever intruders can narrow the range of possible passwords and try those first. They are often successful. Even slight variations, such as adding a digit onto the end of a word or replacing the letter o (oh) with the digit 0 (zero), don’t protect passwords. Intruders know we use tricks like this to make our passwords more difficult to guess.

Just like the front door key, even a complicated password can be copied and the copy reused. Remember the earlier discussion about information on the Internet being in the clear? Suppose that really strong password you took a long time to create – the one that’s 14 characters long and contains 6 letters, 4 numbers, and 4 punctuation marks, all in random order – goes across the Internet in the clear. An intruder may be able to see it, save it, and use it. This is called sniffing and it is a common intruder practice.

The point is that you need to follow the practice of using a unique password with every account you have. Below is a set of steps that you can use to help you create passwords for your accounts:

1. The Strong test: Is the password as strong (meaning length and content) as the rules allow?
   
   
   
2. The Unique test: Is the password unique and unrelated to any of your other passwords?
   
   
   
3. The Practical test: Can you remember it without having to write it down?
   
   
   
4. The Recent test: Have you changed it recently?

In spite of the SUPR tests, you need to be aware that sniffing happens, and even the best of passwords can be captured and used by an intruder.

You should use passwords not only on your home computer but also for services you use elsewhere on the Internet. All should have the strongest passwords you can use and remember, and each password should be unique and unrelated to all other passwords. A strong password is a password that is longer than it is short, that uses combinations of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and punctuation, and that is usually not a word found in a dictionary. Also remember that no matter how strong a password is, it can still be captured if an intruder can see it “in the clear” somewhere on the Internet.

Norton Internet Security 2008

Norton internet security 2007 is a very useful internet security utility that will protect your computer while you surf online.

The chaos and rapid growth of the world wide Web have created the perfect environment for malicious and damaging entities that threaten your PC and your identity. The important documents stored in your computer must be protected from hackers and other virtual prowlers. With Norton Internet Security, you will be able to enjoy your computer with confidence, knowing that viruses and spyware will be either blocked or removed. All kinds of malicious programs will be removed automatically, including the damaging side effects.

Key Technologies

• Antispyware


• Antivirus


• Two-Way Firewall


• Advanced Phishing Protection


• Intrusion Prevention


• Rootkit Detection

Features

• improved performance delivers faster starts and scans.


• One click access to expert support.


• Network security monitoring helps protect your wireless network.


• Norton Identity Safe delivers enhanced i dentity theft protection.


• Works quietly in the background.


• Protection for up to 3 PCs per household


• Blocks identity theft by phishing Web sites


• Protects against hackers


• Detects and eliminates spyware


• Removes viruses and Internet worms automatically


• Protects email and instant messaging from viruses


• Prevents virus-infected emails from spreading


• Rootkit detection searches underneath the operating system using patented technology


• Includes protection updates and new product features as available throughout the renewable service period


• On-going Protection option automatically renews your subscription


• Need antispam or parental controls?

Go to Norton Internet Security 2008

Update Salfeld Child Control 2007

Computers are the place for children. This is the place where they can sharpen their agility as well as their abilities. They can learn and make new friends. What’s more, the Internet provides information for homework assignments. So far, so good. But they also need to be protected from the computer—for one thing, so that they don’t lose their sense of time and forget to go out and play with their friends once in a while, and for another, because of the dangers lurking on the Web. That’s why responsible parents everywhere install Child Control on every computer that their children use.

Give children an “allowance” of time
Child Control 2007 keeps track of the time your kids spend in front of the computer. Once their time is up, the computer automatically shuts down and won’t start up again—something any kid can understand. Our experience has shown that Child Control 2007’s verdict is accepted without arguments—there is no debate and no discussion. Another way of looking at it: “Child Control gives your kids back time that they are then free to spend in other ways.”

Safety on the Internet
It isn’t always easy to watch your young ones’ every move on the computer—and it’s even harder to follow what they’re doing on the Internet. Child Control 2007 can also help you here, by automatically shutting the door on their Internet connection once their allotted time is used up. Parents can easily regulate how many hours a day each child can spend on the Internet, and even specify the precise hours of the day when the gate to the worldwide online community will be available.

The Dark Side of the Internet
Sure, you can find any number of sites that are useful for learning, reference, and games. Then there are the other ones that are clearly inappropriate for children and teens. Some parents also worry about their children ending up on one of these sites by accident, or as the result of a dare. These fears can be quickly put to rest by Child Control 2007, which has already made a name for itself in Internet monitoring.

Control Internet access using filters
Child Control lets you activate filters to block all websites oriented toward violence or sex. You can also filter out specific words that may appear on various websites. Alternatively, you can limit access to only the websites that you specify. In that case, your kids will only be able to access these sites, and all others will be off-limits. In the 2007 version, parents can also limit their kids’ stay on certain sites to a specified time, so that eventually they will have to put their online games away and get back to their homework.

System Requirements
Our products use very few system resources and can easily be run on older PC's. Software programs listed here can be run on all current Windows platforms (Windows 95(b), 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, XP SP2 (home und professional). Resource usage is relatively light: a Pentium II, Celeron, or AMD Athlon/Duron running at 266 MHz or above; a mouse; VGA (800x600 or higher); 64MB RAM; and 5 MB free disk space per application are sufficient.

Download the trial version : Salfeld Child Control 2007 
Visit Site : www.salfeld.com

Microsoft Windows Vista Weather Gadget vulnerability

The Windows Vista Weather gadget contains a vulnerability that may allow and attacker to execute code.

Gadgets are mini-applications designed to provide the user with information or utilities. Windows Vista treats gadgets similar to the way Windows Vista treats other executable code. Gadgets are written using HTML and script, but this HTML is not located on an arbitrary remote server as web pages are. HTML content in the Gadget is downloaded first as part of a package of resources and configuration files and then executed from the local computer. This download process is similar to applications (.exe files) downloaded from the Internet.

Today, the Windows Vista Sidebar hosts Gadgets built from HTML, JavaScript, and potentially ActiveX controls, and because Gadgets are HTML, they are subject to Cross-site Scripting style bugs. These bugs are extremely serious because script in the Sidebar is capable of running arbitrary code in the context of the locally logged-on user.

This document outlines some of the secure programming best practices that should be considered when building Windows Vista Sidebar Gadgets.

Never Trust Input

This is the same advice we have given for years, and it still holds true for Sidebar Gadgets. Many Gadgets read, manipulate, and then display untrusted data, such as that coming from an XMLHttpRequest object or an ActiveX control. All such input needs to be validated.

Validate Untrusted Input

There is no replacement for a good input checker. You should build a function or functions that include regular expressions to verify that the input is correctly formed, and if it is not, you should reject the data. Below is a loose example that only allows numbers, brackets, dashes, and spaces between 6 and 14 characters long.

More Information MS07–048

What is Phishing and Pharming?

Phishing attacks use both social engineering and technical subterfuge to steal consumers' personal identity data and financial account credentials. Social-engineering schemes use 'spoofed' e-mails to lead consumers to counterfeit websites designed to trick recipients into divulging financial data such as credit card numbers, account usernames, passwords and social security numbers. Hijacking brand names of banks, e-retailers and credit card companies, phishers often convince recipients to respond. Technical subterfuge schemes plant crimeware onto PCs to steal credentials directly, often using Trojan keylogger spyware. Pharming crimeware misdirects users to fraudulent sites or proxy servers, typically through DNS hijacking or poisoning.

Avoiding Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks

What is a social engineering attack?

To launch a social engineering attack, an attacker uses human interaction (social skills) to obtain or compromise information about an organization or its computer systems. An attacker may seem unassuming and respectable, possibly claiming to be a new employee, repair person, or researcher and even offering credentials to support that identity. However, by asking questions, he or she may be able to piece together enough information to infiltrate an organization's network. If an attacker is not able to gather enough information from one source, he or she may contact another source within the same organization and rely on the information from the first source to add to his or her credibility.

What is a phishing attack?

Phishing is a form of social engineering. Phishing attacks use email or malicious web sites to solicit personal, often financial, information. Attackers may send email seemingly from a reputable credit card company or financial institution that requests account information, often suggesting that there is a problem. When users respond with the requested information, attackers can use it to gain access to the accounts.

How do you avoid being a victim?

• Be suspicious of unsolicited phone calls, visits, or email messages from individuals asking about employees or other internal information. If an unknown individual claims to be from a legitimate organization, try to verify his or her identity directly with the company.
  
  
  
• Do not provide personal information or information about your organization, including its structure or networks, unless you are certain of a person's authority to have the information.
  
  
  
• Do not reveal personal or financial information in email, and do not respond to email solicitations for this information. This includes following links sent in email.
  
  
  
• Don't send sensitive information over the Internet before checking a web site's security policy or looking for evidence that the information is being encrypted (see Protecting Your Privacy and Understanding Web Site Certificates for more information).
  
  
  
• Pay attention to the URL of a web site. Malicious web sites may look identical to a legitimate site, but the URL may use a variation in spelling or a different domain (e.g., .com vs. .net).
  
  
  
• If you are unsure whether an email request is legitimate, try to verify it by contacting the company directly. Do not use contact information provided on a web site connected to the request; instead, check previous statements for contact information. Information about known phishing attacks is also available online from groups such as the Anti-Phishing Working Group (http://www.antiphishing.org/phishing_archive.html).
  
  
  
• Install and maintain anti-virus software, firewalls, and email filters to reduce some of this traffic (see Understanding Firewalls, Understanding Anti-Virus Software, and Reducing Spam for more information).

What do you do if you think you are a victim?

• If you believe you might have revealed sensitive information about your organization, report it to the appropriate people within the organization, including network administrators. They can be alert for any suspicious or unusual activity.
  
  
  
• If you believe your financial accounts may be compromised, contact your financial institution immediately and close any accounts that may have been compromised. Watch for any unexplainable charges to your account (see Preventing and Responding to Identity Theft for more information).
  
  
  
• Consider reporting the attack to the police, and file a report with the Federal Trade Commission (http://www.ftc.gov/).

Warns Public of Fraudulent Phishing Email.

US-CERT is aware of a recent surge in fraudulent phishing e-mail messages. The messages, claiming to be from the United States National Medical Association, contain a subject line that reads "The United States National Medical Association" and a link that, when followed, will direct the user to a malicious website. These messages are not from any United States government agency.

Users are encouraged to take the following measures to protect themselves from phishing attacks:

• Do not follow unsolicited web links received in email messages.


• Verify the legitimacy of the email by contacting the company or agency directly through a trusted contact number.


• Visit the Anti-Phishing Working Group for more information on known phishing attacks.

Mozilla Releases Update to Address URI Sanitization Vulnerability

Mozilla has released an update for the Firefox browser to address two vulnerabilities with URI sanitization.  These vulnerabilities may allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code on an affected system. 

More information regarding these vulnerabilities and the Firefox update can be found in the following:

• Vulnerability Note VU#783400
  
• Vulnerability Note VU#403150
  
• Mozilla Foundation Security Advisory 2007-27
  
• Mozilla Firefox update

US-CERT encourages users to upgrade to Firefox 2.0.0.6 which has been released to address these vulnerabilities.

Microsoft Windows URI Protocol Handling Vulnerability

US-CERT is aware of a vulnerability in the way Microsoft Windows determines how to handle URIs, which may be be leveraged by a remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands on an affected system.  Public reports demonstrate that Mozilla Firefox can be used to pass malicious URIs to Windows, but other applications may also act as attack vectors for this vulnerability.

More information regarding this vulnerability can be found in Vulnerability Note VU#403150.

4 steps to protect your computer

Step 1. Keep your firewall turned on.

A firewall helps protect your computer from hackers who might try to delete information, crash your computer, or even steal your passwords or credit card numbers. Make sure your firewall is always turned on.

Step 2. Keep your operating system up-to-date.

High priority updates are critical to the security and reliability of your computer. They offer the latest protection against malicious online activities. Microsoft provides new updates, as necessary, on the second Tuesday of the month.

Step 3. Use updated antivirus software.

Viruses and spyware are two kinds of usually malicious software that you need to protect your computer against. You need antivirus technology to help prevent viruses, and you need to keep it regularly updated.

Step 4. Use updated antispyware technology

Viruses and spyware are two kinds of usually malicious software that you need to protect your computer against. You need antispyware technology to help prevent spyware, and you need to keep it regularly updated.

 

Using Caution with Email Attachments

Why can email attachments be dangerous?

Some of the characteristics that make email attachments convenient and popular are also the ones that make them a common tool for attackers:

• Email is easily circulated - Forwarding email is so simple that viruses can quickly infect many machines. Most viruses don't even require users to forward the email—they scan a users' computer for email addresses and automatically send the infected message to all of the addresses they find. Attackers take advantage of the reality that most users will automatically trust and open any message that comes from someone they know.


• Email programs try to address all users' needs - Almost any type of file can be attached to an email message, so attackers have more freedom with the types of viruses they can send.


• Email programs offer many "user-friendly" features - Some email programs have the option to automatically download email attachments, which immediately exposes your computer to any viruses within the attachments.

What steps can you take to protect yourself and others in your address book?

Be wary of unsolicited attachments, even from people you know - Just because an email message looks like it came from your mom, grandma, or boss doesn't mean that it did. Many viruses can "spoof" the return address, making it look like the message came from someone else. If you can, check with the person who supposedly sent the message to make sure it's legitimate before opening any attachments. This includes email messages that appear to be from your ISP or software vendor and claim to include patches or anti-virus software. ISPs and software vendors do not send patches or software in email.

Save and scan any attachments before opening them. If you have to open an attachment before you can verify the source, take the following steps:

• Be sure the signatures in your anti-virus software are up to date (see Understanding Anti-Virus Software for more information). 


• Save the file to your computer or a disk .


• Manually scan the file using your anti-virus software Open the file.

Turn off the option to automatically download attachments - To simplify the process of reading email, many email programs offer the feature to automatically download attachments. Check your settings to see if your software offers the option, and make sure to disable it. Consider additional security practices - You may be able to filter certain types of attachments through your email software (see Reducing Spam) or a firewall (see Understanding Firewalls).

3 Steps to Ending Scams and Virus Problems.

Watching how the traditional media covers the latest virus or scam would make one think we are all innocent victims and it is the "evil Internet" at work once again. News flash! Innocent? More like uninformed. Victim? In many cases add the word "willing." The media's point of view and how they choose to portray these occurrences always makes me chuckle.

In the past decade, there has been very little progress when it comes to onliners wanting to acquire just enough information and knowledge to know how to protect themselves. They throw their hands up claiming "I'm not a techie!" while they proceed to want to participate in "technienology." The truth is these issues are part and parcel of participation.

Many do not update their virus programs (that is if they even have one in the first place) and they believe some of the most gratuitously ridiculous offers. That is as long as those "offers" insinuate easy riches with little effort or expense. To that end; there is your weakest link. The propensity to believe misinformation that caters to one's inner desires.

When did plain old common sense go out the window? Why do the natural rules of trust, common sense and due diligence for some reason not seem to apply online? Off-line if these tactics were used, most would probably laugh the salesperson right out of the building! But online, we enter the surreal world of possibilities combined with the perception that some of the most important issues of all are ours to ignore or disregard if we so please.

When it comes to impeding scams and viruses there are three simple solutions:

1. For Scams: Simply don't believe it; none of it! If it comes in an e-mail you didn't request-just hit delete! If it's on a Web site, do your due diligence to confirm claims and to ask for recommendations and proof. Investigate how long the site has been online. Read their terms and conditions. E-mail them with every single question you may have before you give them one red cent of your hard earned dollars. Only proceed if you receive timely and concise answers. Not willing to make these efforts? Then plan on getting ripped off and you deserve it! Buyer beware? More like buyer be informed!

2. For Viruses: Update your virus software every time you log on. Simple. Don't click on any links within e-mails that you are not expecting. Most virus software has an automatic scheduler so that the software can update daily at specified times. Once this is setup you will no longer have to manually update. Then, keep your update subscription current. Remember, you computer doesn't know what to protect you from without these updates!

3. Make an effort in both these areas to understand the tools and resources available to you to help you participate in a smart and informed manner. You can literally check anything out online by searching Google to find reviews, warnings or even accolades and recommendations. Take the time to use and absorb the information available to you if you want to participate in information technology!

By following the above three steps, those who create viruses wouldn't have a leg to stand on and the scammers would not be in business by taking advantage of what folks don't want to take the time to understand or verify.

As long as Netizens do not make a concerned effort to be informed there will be someone out there willing to take advantage of them. Don't blame technology; don't blame the scammers and hackers. The blame should be placed with those who can easily avoid these situations, but choose to not be informed enough to do so.

About the Author:

Judith Kallos is an authoritative and good-humored Technology Muse who has played @ http://www.TheIStudio.com for over a decade.

Check out her popular Technology Cheat Sheets: http://www.LearnAndThrive.com

F-Secure Patches multiple vulnerabilities in Products.

Finnish security vendor F-Secure has patched multiple vulnerabilities in its software, including a buffer overflow vulnerability affecting a number of its products.

The buffer overflow vulnerability lies in the processing of LHA archives and may allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code or create a denial-of-service condition. This flaw is related to a similar problem discovered last fall involving the way the Gzip decompression utility handles LZH-compressed archives, F-Secure officials said in an advisory.

"An attacker may create a specially crafted LHA archive, which then in its decompression phase exploits the described buffer overflow vulnerability, allowing arbitrary code to be executed or the exploit to create a denial-of-service condition," said officials at the Helsinki, Finland-based company.

The bug affects F-Secure's Anti-Virus, Internet Gatekeeper and Internet Security product suites.

Two other vulnerabilities were patched Wednesday as well. One is an IOCTL (Input/Output Control) vulnerability in the Real-time Scanning component of F-Secure workstation and file server products for Windows. An attacker with local access to the system can escalate their privileges to the system with a specially crafted IRP (I/O request packet) due to improper access validation of the address space used by Real-time Scanning, company officials said.

The final flaw patched Wednesday is a bug in F-Secure's Policy Manager Server that could be used by attackers to launch a denial-of-service attack. A DoS condition can be triggered by using NTFS-reserved words as URL filenames, company officials warned. France-based security research organization FrSIRT rates this particular flaw, which is remotely exploitable, as low risk.

By Brian Prince www.eweek.com

Corporate Security for Your Home Business.

The words Corporate Security may conjure up images of a group of techies working in a wire-filled basement room of Microsoft or HP, combating hackers and terrorists online using words like algorithm and encryption. If you own your own business, do not allow yourself to think that security is only for big corporations. Every company, big or small, technological or traditional, has two major security concerns: protecting information, and protecting hardware.

Corporate Security: Information

Information is the commodity that makes companies unique. That information could be a process your company does better than others; or it could be how to make the unique product you sell; or it could be a collection of information that you have that others want access to. In any case, protecting the information that makes your company viable could mean financial life or death for your venture. There are three simple corporate security solutions you can implement to decrease the likelihood that your information will be leaked or lost.

Make back ups often. If you are like 90% of computer users out there who use Windows, pressing [ctrl] + S is a habit well worth forming. Besides information, time is one of your most valuable resources, so you can't afford to lose hours of work every time the system crashes. Save your work as often as you stop typing. Making additional copies of master files in other places beside your hard drive will mean you won't lose everything if your hard drive becomes corrupted. Keep these discs in a safe place where you can easily access them if you need to.

Keep secret passwords secret. This may seem like a no-brainer, but too often we think of passwords as annoyances slowing us down. Systems are password-protected to ensure that only those persons who should be allowed access are granted access. If you are working out of a home office and have little face-to-face interaction with clients or customers, you may be tempted to leave your system unlocked or pin a list of your user names and passwords near the computer. Remember that children are both curious and smart, and in only a few clicks of the mouse they can accidentally erase important files. Do yourself the favor of memorizing your passwords and changing them on occasion.

Maintain an up-to-date computer system. Computers that run slower also have the terrible tendency of getting overloaded and shutting down. The internet is one of the biggest culprits of bogging down your processing speed, but running several programs at the same time will also do it. Keeping your processor and memory up-to-date will help ensure that you are able to perform all the tasks that are required of you without having to spend a lot of time waiting for your computer to catch up.

Corporate Security: Hardware

Chances are good that IBM's annual technology budget is quite a bit larger than your home business's budget. Between putting food on the table and covering the operating costs of your business, purchasing new equipment might seem like a luxury you'll never have. Protecting your computer system from viruses, spy ware, and malicious software is one of the most cost-effective ways to ensure your computer will last as long as you need it to.

Know what is on your computer. Viruses can come through email, discs, or the internet, and are typically well-hidden on your hard drive. Perform systematic checks of the temporary internet files, cookies folder, and the rest of your hard drive to ensure that you have not accidentally picked up a virus. Software can be purchased that filters spam and helps you manage the internet files and cookies that are downloaded automatically on your computer. A proactive approach in combating viruses and spy ware is usually the most effective way to make sure your hardware stays protected.

Though corporate security solutions may seem like a luxury your home business can not afford, protecting information and hardware are priorities that all companies should have. Following these simple, inexpensive solutions to common security concerns your company may have will go a long way in helping you succeed.

Nick Smith is a client account specialist with 10x Marketing - More Visitors. More Buyers. More Revenue. For more information about cost-effective corporate security solutions, visit ContentWatch.com.

Benefits of BCC (blind carbon copy).

What is BCC?

BCC, which stands for blind carbon copy, allows you to hide recipients in email messages. Unlike addresses in the To: field or the CC: (carbon copy) field, addresses in the BCC: field cannot be seen by other users.

Why would you want to use BCC?

There are a few main reasons for using BCC:

• Privacy - Sometimes it's beneficial, even necessary, for you to let recipients know who else is receiving your email message. However, there may be instances when you want to send the same message to multiple recipients without letting them know who else is receiving the message. If you are sending email on behalf of a business or organization, it may be especially important to keep lists of clients, members, or associates confidential. You may also want to avoid listing an internal email address on a message being sent to external recipients.
  
  
  

  Another point to remember is that if you use the To: or CC: fields to list all of your recipients, these same recipients will also receive any replies to your message unless the sender removes them. If there is potential for a response that is not appropriate for all recipients, consider using BCC.

  
  
  
  
• Tracking - Maybe you want to access or archive the email message you are sending at another email account. Or maybe you want to make someone, such as a supervisor or team member, aware of the email without actually involving them in the exchange. BCC allows you to accomplish these goals without advertising that you are doing it.
  
  
  
  
  
• Respect for your recipients - Forwarded email messages frequently contain long lists of email addresses that were CC'd by previous senders. These addresses are highly likely to be active and valid, so they are very valuable to spammers. Furthermore, many email-borne viruses harvest email addresses contained in messages you've already received (not just the To: and From: fields, but from the body, too), so those long lists in forwarded messages pose a risk to all the accounts they point to if you get infected.
  
  
  

  Many people frequently forward messages to their entire address books using CC. Encourage people who forward messages to you to use BCC so that your email address is less likely to appear in other people's inboxes and be susceptible to being harvested. To avoid becoming part of the problem, in addition to using BCC if you forward messages, take time to remove all existing email addresses within the message. The additional benefit is that the people you're sending the message to will appreciate not having to scroll through large sections of irrelevant information to get to the actual message.

How do you BCC an email message?

Most email clients have the option to BCC listed a few lines below the To: field. However, sometimes it is a separate option that is not listed by default. If you cannot locate it, check the help menu or the software's documentation.

If you want to BCC all recipients and your email client will not send a message without something in the To: field, consider using your own email address in that field. In addition to hiding the identity of other recipients, this option will enable you to confirm that the message was sent successfully.

Authors: Mindi McDowell, Allen Householder

How can you reduce the amount of spam?.

What is spam?

Spam is the electronic version of "junk mail." The term spam refers to unsolicited, often unwanted, email messages. Spam does not necessarily contain viruses—valid messages from legitimate sources could fall into this category.

How can you reduce the amount of spam?

There are some steps you can take to significantly reduce the amount of spam you receive:

• Don't give your email address out arbitrarily - Email addresses have become so common that a space for them is often included on any form that asks for your address—even comment cards at restaurants. It seems harmless, so many people write them in the space provided without realizing what could happen to that information. For example, companies often enter the addresses into a database so that they can keep track of their customers and the customers' preferences. Sometimes these lists are sold to or shared with other companies, and suddenly you are receiving email that you didn't request.
  
  
  
• Check privacy policies - Before submitting your email address online, look for a privacy policy. Most reputable sites will have a link to their privacy policy from any form where you're asked to submit personal data. You should read this policy before submitting your email address or any other personal information so that you know what the owners of the site plan to do with the information.
  
  
  
• Be aware of options selected by default - When you sign up for some online accounts or services, there may be a section that provides you with the option to receive email about other products and services. Sometimes there are options selected by default, so if you do not deselect them, you could begin to receive email from lists those lists as well.
  
  
  
• Use filters - Many email programs offer filtering capabilities that allow you to block certain addresses or to only allow email from addresses on your contact list. Some ISPs offer spam "tagging" or filtering services, but legitimate messages misclassified as spam might be dropped before reaching your inbox. However, many ISPs that offer filtering services also provide options for tagging suspected spam messages so the end user can more easily identify them. This can be useful in conjunction with filtering capabilities provided by many email programs.
  
  
  
• Don't follow links in spam messages - Some spam relies on generators that try variations of email addresses at certain domains. If you click a link within an email message or reply to a certain address, you are just confirming that your email address is valid. Unwanted messages that offer an "unsubscribe" option are particularly tempting, but this is often just a method for collecting valid addresses that are then sent other spam.
  
  
  
• Disable the automatic downloading of graphics in HTML mail - Many spammers send HTML mail with a linked graphic file that is then used to track who opens the mail message—when your mail client downloads the graphic from their web server, they know you've opened the message. Disabling HTML mail entirely and viewing messages in plain text also prevents this problem.
  
  
  
• Consider opening an additional email account - Many domains offer free email accounts. If you frequently submit your email address (for online shopping, signing up for services, or including it on something like a comment card), you may want to have a secondary email account to protect your primary email account from any spam that could be generated. You should also use a secondary account when posting to online bulletin boards, chat rooms, public mailing lists, or USENET so that you can get rid of when it starts filling up with spam.
  
  
  
• Don't spam other people - Be a responsible and considerate user. Some people consider email forwards a type of spam, so be selective with the messages you redistribute. Don't forward every message to everyone in your address book, and if someone asks that you not forward messages to them, respect their request.

Authors: Mindi McDowell, Allen Householder

Good Security Habits.

How can you minimize the access other people have to your information?

You may be able to easily identify people who could, legitimately or not, gain physical access to your computer—family members, roommates, co-workers, members of a cleaning crew, and maybe others. Identifying the people who could gain remote access to your computer becomes much more difficult. As long as you have a computer and connect it to a network, you are vulnerable to someone or something else accessing or corrupting your information; however, you can develop habits that make it more difficult.

• Lock your computer when you are away from it. Even if you only step away from your computer for a few minutes, it's enough time for someone else to destroy or corrupt your information. Locking your computer prevents another person from being able to simply sit down at your computer and access all of your information.
  
  
  
• Disconnect your computer from the Internet when you aren't using it. The development of technologies such as DSL and cable modems have made it possible for users to be online all the time, but this convenience comes with risks. The likelihood that attackers or viruses scanning the network for available computers will target your computer becomes much higher if your computer is always connected. Depending on what method you use to connect to the Internet, disconnecting may mean ending a dial-up connection, turning off your computer or modem, or disconnecting cables.
  
  
  
• Evaluate your security settings. Most software, including browsers and email programs, offers a variety of features that you can tailor to meet your needs and requirements. Enabling certain features to increase convenience or functionality may leave you more vulnerable to being attacked. It is important to examine the settings, particularly the security settings, and select options that meet your needs without putting you at increased risk. If you install a patch or a new version of the software, or if you hear of something that might affect your settings, reevaluate your settings to make sure they are still appropriate (see Understanding Patches, Safeguarding Your Data, and Evaluating Your Web Browser's Security Settings for more information).

What other steps can you take?

Sometimes the threats to your information aren't from other people but from natural or technological causes. Although there is no way to control or prevent these problems, you can prepare for them and try to minimize the damage.

• Protect your computer against power surges. Aside from providing outlets to plug in your computer and all of its peripherals, some power strips protect your computer against power surges. Many power strips now advertise compensation if they do not effectively protect your computer. During a lightning storm or construction work that increases the odds of power surges, consider shutting your computer down and unplugging it from all power sources. Power strips alone will not protect you from power outages, but there are products that do offer an uninterruptible power supply when there are power surges or outages.
  
  
  
• Back up all of your data. Whether or not you take steps to protect yourself, there will always be a possibility that something will happen to destroy your data. You have probably already experienced this at least once— losing one or more files due to an accident, a virus or worm, a natural event, or a problem with your equipment. Regularly backing up your data on a CD or network reduces the stress and other negative consequences that result from losing important information (see Real-World Warnings Keep You Safe Online for more information). Determining how often to back up your data is a personal decision. If you are constantly adding or changing data, you may find weekly backups to be the best alternative; if your content rarely changes, you may decide that your backups do not need to be as frequent. You don't need to back up software that you own on CD-ROM or DVD-ROM—you can reinstall the software from the original media if necessary.

Authors: Mindi McDowell, Allen Householder

Lottery Scam, What It is and how to Avoid It?

Internet scams and frauds are on the rise! The quantity of scam emails with various fraud schemes any email account receives today is simply overwhelming! There is this infamous Nigerian 419 scam, which is by far the most widely circulated one. I wrote about it in one of our ezine articles not long ago. You can read about it here! And there are many other scams like Lottery, Letter of Credit, money transfer, black money conversion, real estate, fraudulent order and the list goes on and on.

Looking at my daily doze of scam letters, looks like, the lottery scam seams to be gaining popularity among the con artists. This scam is similar to other forward fee schemes, where the goal of the con artist is to persuade an unsuspected victim to send an advance payment for some dubious offers that the swindlers never plan to fulfill.

Email Lottery Scam

The subject of the emails from an unknown source to you will, probably show, something similar to, "Congratulation! You have own a lottery". With minor variations the text in most of these letters is virtually identical.

The letter, usually, claims to be issued by a Lottery Company based in some countries like The Netherlands, Switzerland, England, Canada or the USA.

And then it says that you are one of many people randomly chosen from all over the world to participate in a lottery of a very large sum. You along with some others have won this lottery. You will be asked to contact them immediately to claim your prize money. Most certainly, the letter will also warn you to keep this as a secret and will specify that the offer has a time limit.

If you contact them after receiving this letter; there are number of variation how the thugs will try to swindle you. They are quite imaginative and sometimes very innovative in their endeavors.

In general the idea is - you have to pay a fee before the lottery company can release the amount to you. The pretexts are, usually, an investigation company has to make sure that you are the right person who won the lottery, as a foreigner you have to pay a tax before you can get your prize and there is a processing and handling fee that has to be paid before hand, etc.

Don't think that these dubious offers are only sent by emails. People received them by regular mails, by direct phone calls and even by SMS.

Phone Call Lottery Scam

One fine morning you may receive a call from a person, claiming to be a lawyer from a prestigious law farm, and will tell you that you have won a foreign lottery; that a processing fee is due before the prize money can be released to you. The seniors are most likely to be the victims of these telemarketers. If you are located in the USA, most likely, the person will introduce himself as a Canadian lawyer and will inform you as if you have won a Canadian Provincial Lottery.

Lottery Scam by SMS

You may even receive a SMS message advising that you have won a foreign lottery. You will be instructed to log onto a website and enter a login and password, which would be provided to you in the message. The site will have the same look and feel of a legitimate lottery site, but in fact, it is a copy site created by the scammers. The URL address will have a very minor, virtually, unnoticeable difference. Once you log in and see for yourself that you have really own the lottery, you will be asked to forward a gaming tax of US $100 to US $500 before you claim your prize.

How to identify these scams and avoid being conned?

The number one motto that you should follow is - if it is too good to be true, then probably, it is indeed too good to be true! There is no way you can win a lottery, in what you have never participated!

The followings are the signs of probable scam offers, you will be better off if you avoid them scrupulously:

Any offer, where you have to send cash upfront to redeem you prize.

Any offer of a substantial percentage of a large sum of money to be transferred into your account, in return for your "discretion" or "confidentiality";

Requests for signed and stamped, blank letterhead or invoices, or for bank account information;

Requests for payment in advance of transfer taxes or other fees; Statements that your name was provided to the soliciting party either by someone you do not know or by "a very reliable contact;"

Unsolicited calls asking if you would like to be in a "Lottery pool";

Mail notifying you that you have already won a substantial sum of money.

Nowshade Kabir is the founder, primary developer and present CEO of Rusbiz.com - a Global B2B Exchange with solutions to create e-catalog, Web store, business process management and other features to run a business online. You can read various articles written by Nowshade Kabir at http://ezine.rusbiz.com.

A High Tech Identity Theft With A Low Tech Solution.

Have you ever got an email asking you to confirm your account information from a bank or a company that you have never done business with? The email looks official and it even has a link that appears to take you to the company's website. The email you have received is actually from an identity thief. These crooks are hoping people that have an account with the business will click on the link and submit their account information for verification purposes. These thieves are phishing for account information. Phishing is a sophisticated way to lure you to phony websites where you voluntarily surrender your passwords and account information to identity thieves without realizing it.

These types of emails often threaten you. You must take action within a limited time or the consequences will be dire. Some AOL customers received a phishing email stating if they did not verify their account information within 24 hours, their service would be terminated. Other phishing emails will state your account has been flagged or has a problem and the account information needs to be verified. We received an email for Pay Pal that stated our account had been flagged and we needed to verify our account information. The identity thieve was lucky. We do have an account with Pay Pal. We open the email and it appeared to be an email from Pay Pal. We click on the link and it took us to https://www.paypal.ae.com. The site looked Pay Pal's website. The web page was asking for our account information for verification purposes. We knew right away it was a phony because our Pay Pal account was opened with another email address. This particular site has been shut down, but doesn't mean the identity thieve was caught. You could receive a phishing email from the same thieve tomorrow. What can you do to avoid such a trap?

First, realize reputable companies will never send you an email asking you to confirm your account information. The email will look authentic and this may cause you some concern. If this is the case, you can always call the company and ask about your account. An alternative to calling is checking your account online. Do not click on the link in the email. Log completely out of your email and open another window and type in the company's web address to verify your account.

You're probably thinking why would you want go to the trouble to close your email and open another browser window. The link in the email is a cloaked redirection link that will take you to another website that is not associated with the company. A cloak link will show you the correct web address when you move your mouse over it. If you do click on that link, the web address, or URL, will be similar to the company's address, but it will not match exactly. The website will look just like just like you expect it too look. The web page will ask for your account information. You're just one click away from submitting your account information to the identity thieve. We went to the actual Pay Pal website and, sure enough, our account was ok.

Identity thieve have been known to attach a file to a phishing email. The attachment contain a program to transmit your personal information on your hard drive to the identity thieve. You will never know the program has been installed on your computer. Never open an email attachment unless you specifically requested it and are expecting an email with an attachment. The phishing email may be from someone you know. His or her computer could be infected with a virus that sends email to everyone in his or her address book. Delete the emails with attachments without opening the email.

Finally, if you get an email that is phishing for your information, forward it to spam@uce.gov. If you know how open the email headers, cut and past that information into the email to help the FCC track down these identity thieves.

George Burks of http://www.mybiweeklymortgagepayment.com has offered a biweekly mortgage payment plan with no enrollment fees since 1999. His interest in financial topics is varied and includes identity protection. Please visit our financial library.

Avoiding the Spam Trap: Get Your Message Delivered!

Your message is not being delivered.

If you send emails to your customers, I have some bad news for you. Not all of your emails are making it to your intended recipients. Between ISP spam filters, spam-blocking email servers, spam-killing email software, and email content filtering everywhere in between, the chances are high that your messages just aren't making it past all of these roadblocks.

Recent studies show that opt-in subscriptions are erroneously spam blocked at rates of 17% (according to Return Path) to 38% (according to Mail.com). So, 17% to 38% of the e-mail you send to people who want it or even pay for it in many cases, does not reach them. Just by choosing the wrong words or phrases, or sending the wrong type of attachment, your email can become a "false positive", and end up filed into some garbage bin where it gets mixed up with various offers to increase the size of some random body part -- never again to be seen.

These false positives can occur even if the intended recipient is very interested in receiving your message, even if their life (or livelihood) depends upon receiving that message. Even if automated spam filters don't destroy your message, as in-boxes fill up with more and more garbage, it's becoming common for people to simply overlook wanted mail and inadvertently delete it.

It's only going to get worse.

When the new federal law dubbed "The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003" (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing) was passed in December, many were startled and confused by the apparent legalization of spam. Now, as long as an emailer complies with the law regarding header falsification, misleading titles, and opt-out procedures, it would seem that marketing through spam has become legitimate!

The CAN-SPAM law only restricts the legality and processes involved in sending Unsolicited Commercial Email (UCE). There is no implied responsibility on behalf of any provider to guarantee delivery of all messages. In fact, ISPs are given the right to filter and block email any way they deem necessary according to their policies. The law doesn't burden ISPs to discriminate whether the email was permission-based or unsolicited. They can block incoming bulk email simply on the basis of a single complaint.

And if that wasn't bad enough, the CAN-SPAM Act suggests a bounty of 20% or more of fines collected go to the people who turn in spammers. As more "offenders" are reported, more ISPs are blacklisted, and the more likely your message will end up vaporized long before it hits home.

So now, with more and more marketing efforts involving purchased and shared opt-in lists, more and more companies able to legally spam, and more and more Unsolicited Commercial E-Mail floating around on the internet, there is bound to be a reaction, and that reaction is sure to be quite strong. Following the Red Queen Principle, as spammers continue to find a means to push out spam -- ISPs, hosts, and email packages will continue to improve their defenses, as well, blocking more mail than ever before.

Has E-mail Come to an End?

No one could have imagined that things would get this bad. Spammers and virus authors are rapidly crippling email. Even though e-mail was once dubbed the "killer app" of the Internet, some doomsayers are going so far that viruses, spam, and spam filters are joining forces to bring about the death of email. The theory is that, eventually, inboxes will become so full of unwanted garbage emails, and so many desired messages will be deleted along the way, that email will become useless.

Some e-mail publishers are considering giving up on e-mail altogether and finding other ways to deliver their message. While this may sound pretty extreme, the spam wars are an extreme situation. And extreme situations call for drastic measures...

RSS to the Rescue

One such alternative is RSS, which stands for either Really Simple Syndication, or Rich Site Summary, depending upon with whom you're speaking. A primary reason that RSS is a viable alternative is that since readers select their RSS Feeds, spam is no longer an issue. This is because RSS works a little bit differently than email, using pull, instead of push, technology.

By notifying people interested in your content, as well as web sites that collect and package content announcements (called aggregators), you "feed" them your content. From this process we get the term "RSS feed." By providing an RSS feed, another site may pick up your "news" through your feed and syndicate it. Only the feed publisher can designate what information gets into the feed, and the only information the subscriber pulls down is what the publisher puts there.

If email continues on its self-destruct course, RSS could very well become the new standard, either replacing email subscriptions or, more likely, as an email supplement.

What are RSS Feeds?

An RSS feed is a Web-accessible XML file containing a listing of web pages with related news or information. RSS is basically a stream of raw data: content completely separated from presentation. The XML-based RSS feed contains content information, such as the headline, description, an excerpt, and the URL where the subscriber can find the content in its entirety. Once uploaded to a website, the RSS feed should be validated for completeness and accuracy. Once it is validated, the feed can then be submitted to engines.

A sample feed can be seen at: http://www.EnvisionSoftware.com/Articles/Index.xml

Consuming the Syndicated RSS Feed

Individual subscribers can view RSS feeds in special feed reader software, called a news reader. Additionally, webmasters can syndicate your news feeds to their website using an aggregator. Both aggregators and news readers consume RSS feeds, presenting them in a format for use by humans in pretty much the same way Web browsers work with web pages.

To subscribe to a newsfeed, the subscriber tells their feed reader to periodically poll a certain site's RSS feed file, pasting the URL for the RSS feed into their feed reader, much like bookmarking a page in your Web browser.

Then, to read the news, the feed reader visits the subscribed feeds, grabs the latest information, and displays a sorted list of the latest headlines from each source. Sometimes the reader will show brief descriptions of the content, but it always links to the full content on the publisher's site.

Not quite ready for prime time

Even though it's been around for a decade, RSS technology is still in its infancy. This immaturity presents a few challenges.

The biggest issue today is that mainstream web and e-mail clients do not yet support RSS feeds. Expect to see some movement in this direction as the RSS movement swells.

There are lots of freestanding news readers out there, and they each have their unique shortcomings. Over the next year or two, RSS software should improve significantly and RSS will become a more robust publishing platform.

RSS usage and news aggregator adoption is still very limited. So, RSS will not be a complete solution without greater subscriber participation.

RSS is text-only. Attractive layout and graphics cannot make up for poor quality content in the world of news feeds.

The RSS Business Model

Content publishers need to determine how to make RSS content distribution profitable. Just as there are paid e-mail newsletters, there can be paid RSS news feeds. It's just another file that resides on a web server, so it can be served from a password protected web site. However, with a paid RSS newsfeed, readership is reduced, as subscribers are limited to using RSS aggregators or news readers which support authentication.

While content publishers may be afraid of RSS, the business model of e-mail publishing doesn't really change using RSS. Readers still see the same content, with the same design, layout, and ads in an HTML newsletter. The trick is to have content which strikes the reader's fancy -- headlines and descriptions have to be worthy of clicking on, before the readers will see the full content.

What Does The Future Hold for RSS?

RSS has gained quick acceptance in certain circles such as small technology companies, innovative consulting organizations, and self-publishers. Even Microsoft has started publishing RSS feeds without attempting to strong-arm themselves into a dominant position, thus far.

AOL's upcoming AOL 10 software will support RSS technology. Microsoft will most likely support RSS in Outlook and Outlook Express, similar to its current support for newsgroups. Additionally, web hosting tools like Geocities offer tools to syndicate RSS feeds.

It may take some time, however, for RSS to gain momentum in the IT departments of midsize-to-large companies, which are typically slower to adopt nascent technologies like RSS.

Should you consider RSS for your publication?

While RSS may not be an immediate replacement for the email newsletter, it will become a powerful choice in corporate and personal communication in the very near future. Once the big guys adopt RSS as a content sharing and distribution medium, it will gain greater acceptance. The benefits of RSS will be widespread, and full-featured RSS news readers will be prevalent.

Moving your subscriber base from e-mail newsletters to RSS feeds might be a tall order at this juncture. For now, it's up to publishers to sell readers on the RSS concept, and explain how it alleviates the pain of spam.

Whether you decide to convert to RSS full force or simply offer RSS as an alternative for your subscribers, it's important to realize that e-mail is starting to lose its luster, and now is a very good time to include RSS in your publishing repertoire.

About The Author

Daiv Russell is a Software Engineering Strategist with Envision Software, a software project management and development outsourcing company committed to helping information technology organizations solve problems, increase revenues, and reduce costs by guiding software development teams through project management chaos. Envision publishes Luminary, a monthly software project management newsletter.

DRussell@EnvisionSoftware.com

Three Faces of SPAM.

Like everybody who will ever read this, I get spam in my e-mail. Mine seems to fall into one of three categories. The first is the Nigerian scam about helping some poor, pathetic soul collect megabucks, supposedly from someone who has died and left a fortune. I'm not sure what is worse: that there are people desperate enough to believe those messages, or that there are people despicable enough to prey on the desperate. The net result is the despicable con the desperate into sending money which the desperate will never see again.

The second type comes from people who sound innocent enough. They have a product or a business or a service or something else that is perfectly legitimate. They surf the web, find one of my sites, find the "contact us" link, and send me information about whatever they have to offer. I suppose, in their minds, it isn't any different than walking down the street or going through the telephone book writing down addresses, and then sending out bulk business mail with the same offer. They could get the same information for more money and less time by buying a mailing list. THAT is perfectly legitimate. Harvesting e-mail addresses off of web sites is NOT. Spam is officially defined as "unsolicited commercial electronic mail." The key word is "unsolicited." If I didn't ask for it and you send it anyway, it is unsolicited. When people harvest e-mail addresses off of web sites and then send commercial messages, that, by definition, is spam. I report them to my ISP and you should, too.

The third type isn't so innocent. These people, like the second type of people already discussed, surf the web, find sites, and harvest the e-mail addresses from the "contact us" link. Instead of starting out by sending you what they have to offer, they get devious, sneaky, and just plain under-handed. They send you a message asking for more information about whatever you have to offer on your site. When you graciously respond, it turns out they couldn't care less about what you have to offer. The ONLY thing they want is to confirm your e-mail address so they can start to dump offers on you, hoping you will buy something from them. Nasty trick.

Let me give you an example from one that once came across my screen. It seemed to be from a nice lady with homey graphics and nice colors in her e-mail. If my memory serves me well, she even stated that she was disabled and looking for ways to earn a living off the internet. In my mind, that's a hard combination to resist. A great deal of effort was put into this to make it sound as if she had built an internet community around her site and services. Maybe she did; I don't know. Anyway, I was na๏ve enough to respond with the information she had requested. Soon solicitations for this, that, and whatever business offer, etc. began arriving in my inbox. I finally put two and two together and realized that they were from her, but I was still reluctant to report it as spam, so her messages went quietly into the trash. I mean, she seemed SO NICE! Then I got this huffy message, apparently broadcast to her entire mailing list, about how if people didn't want to receive her messages, why didn't they just unsubscribe, etc. It seems quite a few people had reported her as a spammer and she was getting into trouble. It was time for me to respond, so I told her, bluntly, that what she was sending out WAS spam. It was unsolicited. I never signed up to be on her mailing list, and no doubt the people who had reported her never signed up to be on her mailing list, either. I only responded to a request FROM HER for information and that in no way implied that I wanted to be on her mailing list or that I wanted to receive her offers. She must have gotten the message because I have received nothing else from her.

So how about you? Are guilty of sending out e-mail to people who did not specifically request to receive offers from you or about a business that you represent? If you go around looking for e-mail addresses to harvest for your own purposes, you are guilty of sending SPAM. Instead, post your offers on your web site and market them legitimately. It's the right thing to do. When people fill out your form, they are giving you permission to send them information. Keep a record so you can defend yourself if they ever forget what they did.

If you are on the receiving end of unsolicited offers, go ahead and report them as spam. Don't feel guilty; you are not the guilty party. Just make sure you really didn't sign up for a newsletter or something and then forgot! It is sooooooooooooooo not cool to report spam that really isn't!

Sandi Moses has been involved in internet marketing since November, 2003. Visit her sites at http://www.123iwork4me.com http://www.123-home-based-business-works-4-me.com

Remove Rogue Desktop Icons Created By Spyware.

If you have used a Windows machine for a while, whether it's Windows XP, Windows 2000 you're sure to have noticed desktop icons appearing from out of nowhere. How can icons mysteriously emerge on your Windows desktop?

1. When you buy a computer, many vendors place icons to selected products and services on your desktop, such as links to high-speed Internet Service Providers (ISPs) or add-on services vendors think you may need.

2. As you install software on your Windows machine, icons may appear, either to start the application or link to the manufacturer's website. Installing just one program could add three or more icons to your desktop!

3. It's easy to accidentally drag a Favorite, bookmark, text file, or other icon to your desktop, creating an icon.

Normally, it's easy to delete Windows desktop icons. Just place your mouse pointer on the offending icon, then right-click it and choose "Delete", clicking "Yes" to confirm if prompted.

However, what if the rogue icons are for adult websites, unfamiliar search engines, or other websites you don't recall visiting? You may try removing these icons but get an error, or after removal they still reappear again and again and again!

If so, then more than likely spyware, adware, or other malware has infected your machine. It may have been through file trading software, an inadvertent "yes" click when a popup window asked you to install software, 'freeware' that included adware, or other means. To remove the rogue icons, you need to remove the malware creating these icons.

Removing spyware and adware can be a time-consuming process, fraught with potential disaster as it is possible to accidentally remove files that render your operating system unusable. However, the following software products can help with this process as long as you read the instructions carefully, make backups, and get expert advice if you're not completely sure about removing what they ask you to do:

* Ad-Aware: http://www.lavasoft.com/

* Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware: http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/

* Pest Patrol: http://www.pestpatrol.com/

* Spybot Search and Destroy: http://safer-networking.org/

* Spy Sweeper: http://www.webroot.com/

So, how can you prevent these icons from appearing in the first place? Practice safe computing.

* Backup your machine. If it does get infected to the point of being unusable, at least you won't lose all your important files.

* Install security-related operating system updates so spyware and adware cannot enter your system through well-known exploits.

* Download or buy a virus scanner, and keep it updated! Virus scanners cannot detect all spyware, but it doesn't hurt to have one. Check online or visit your local computer software store.

* Purchase a hardware or software firewall, and keep it updated! Firewalls help protect your computer from common exploits that spyware or adware can use to infect your machine.

* Consider using a different web browser. Though it is not perfect, Mozilla Firefox is currently less susceptible to spyware than Internet Explorer, mainly because it lacks certain technology (such as ActiveX) that is often exploited by malware writers. Note that depending on your web use, certain websites may not work correctly with other web browsers.

By practicing safe computing and using spyware-removal software, you can help remove rogue desktop icons from your desktop and keep others from appearing.

Andrew Malek is the owner of the MalekTips computer and technology help site. Visit his anti-spyware page for more advice on removing adware, spyware, and other malware.

How to Manage Your Username and Password The Easy and Secure Way.

Have been an Internet user for more than 9 years, I have 100's of logins and passwords to keep. I'm paranoid. I'm now even more paranoid after I joined YMMSS because I use online payment systems on weekly basis if not daily.

I used to use Microsoft Excel to manage my usernames, passwords, and other registration information, both online and offline. Excel is not safe because there are programs to crack password protected Excel workbooks and I even cracked the spreadsheet and VBA source code password for one of my old Excel financial models I developed. Today I still use Excel to store some personal information but I only save the Excel file on my another PC that is not connected to Internet.

In my article "6 Essential Steps to Protect Your Computer On the Internet", I highly recommended the award winning RoboForm. Free version of RoboForm (http://www.roboform.com) does come with limitations such as 10 Passcards only. If you don't want to buy the Pro version (costs $29.99 as of my writing), there is an easy-to-use freeware (see below) you can download right now and manage unlimited usernames and passwords.

Download freeware Password Safe from SourceForge.net - the Open Source community.

https://sourceforge.net/projects/passwordsafe/

Here are some great features of Password Safe:

- No installation is required. Simply download and double click the pwsafe.exe file.

- Easy portable. Just copy and paste the EXE file and .dat database file to any disks. Be aware that when you open Password Safe in the other disk, you need to specify the database file location (the .dat file).

- One master password unlocks an entire password database that can contain all your other passwords.

- Grouping. Usernames and passwords can be grouped into different categories you define, eg. Email Address, Payment, etc. You are in total control.

- Strong, random password generation.

- Copy username and password to clipboard so that you don't have to type them. Always keep in mind that you should never type any username and password.

- Browse to URL. With one click, the URL related to your username and password can be opened in your default web browser. Another save on typing.

- You can create more than one password database (but you have to memorize more than one master password. Not recommended.)

Here are some tips of using Password Safe (version 2.04) and managing password in general.

Tip #1 - Always create a strong master password (Safe Combination as used in the software).

Strong password should meet the following criteria:

- At least 8 characters long to prevent cracking. The longer the better.

- The password should contain lowercase, uppercase, numeric, and any other characters that are available on keyboard.

- Ideally you should not use any meaningful words or numbers in the password. Totally random password is the best.

Tip #2 - Let PasswordSafe generate random password for you.

To generate random password:

- Click the menu item Edit.

- Select Add Entry (or use corresponding icon button).

- When the dialogue window opens, on the right hand side, you can see a Random Password Generate button. Click it, a random password will be automatically inserted in the Password field.

The generated random password is constructed according to the password policy defined in Password Safe. You can modify the default policy.

- Click the menu item Manage. - In the dropdown menu, click Options. - Click the Password Policy tab. - Change the policy based on the strong password criteria stated above.

Some sites only allow alphanumeric passwords so make sure you select the appropriate check boxes when this is the case.

Tip #3 - Very Important: Never type your master password when open PasswordSafe.

Keylogger spyware can record keystrokes.

How can you enter master password without typing? I do this.

Step 1: Open a Notepad file (.txt).

Step 2: Copy and paste an article from any Internet website to this .txt file.

Step 3: Select characters from this article and copy, paste to form your master password.

Tip #4 - Very Important: Never lose your master password.

I memorize my master password. In addition, I also physically write it down to a hand written study material that has my previous uni works. Among the 1,000's of words, I placed my 22 characters master password in two different pages in encrypted format that can let me derive my master password.

Tip #5 - Categorize username and password.

When you add a new entry, you need to specify Group, Title, Username, Password, and Notes. The entries that share the same Group name will be gathered together automatically.

One Group can contain another Group as its sub Group. For example, I have Email Address group which contains three sub-groups as Friend, Work, Family.

Tip #6 - For security reasons, always use Copy Username to Clipboard and Copy Password to Clipboard.

Remember, never type username and password on a web form. This is how to do it.

- Highlight an entry.

- Right click mouse.

- In the pop-up menu, select Copy Username to Clipboard or Copy Password to Clipboard

- Go to your login form, paste the username or password.

You can use mouse to do copy and paste. If you prefer short-cut keys, this is how.

Copy: Ctrl+C Paste: Ctrl+V

Tip #7 - Use "Browse to URL" rather than typing URL in browser address bar.

When you enter a new entry or edit an existing one, you can enter a URL (must start with http://) at the first line in the Notes field. You can save website login page's URL in this field. When you need to open a login page in browser, right click the entry and click Browse to URL in the pop-up menu. Then the login page will be opened in your default web browser automatically.

Tip #8 - Don't forget to backup your password database file.

Use the Make Backup menu item to save a second copy of your password file.

Tip #9 - Store your backups in a different offline computer or location.

This is a widely used backup strategy.

Tip #10 - Use the Notes field to store as many information as you want. Very handy for memo.

If you don't have two computers, you need to use other storage media to save a second copy of your backup file and version them by date (easy to track back). Other storage media can be zip drive, thumb drive, floppy disk, CD, etc.

Off site backups are also important. Don't overlook this. You lose all your data if you lose both your computer and your other storage media all together for any reason.

Many companies provide online storage services for a fee. You can store any digital files (you should password protect these files first) on their secure servers. Search Google and you will find a lot.

I have two computers. One is used to surf net and it does not have any sensitive info stored on it. Another one is for my development work (not connected to Internet) and it has my backup files. I also store my backups in a thumb drive and CDs sometimes.

The author, Jerry Yu, is an experienced internet marketer and web developer. He is a proud member of YMMSS. Visit his site Get Paid Full Time Income By Reading Ads Online - YMMSS for FREE "how-to" step-by-step action guide to kick start a successful online business, tips, knowledge base articles, and more.