Thursday, April 28, 2005

Microsoft Action Pack

If you’re going to market the latest Microsoft software, you should have the latest Microsoft software. The Microsoft Action Pack offers a full suite of Microsoft Not-for-Distribution (NFD) software to run your business, train your staff, and provide great demos to your small and medium business customers. For $299 (U.S. dollars), you’ll get four quarterly software updates, plus Partner Guides, Project Guides, and Campaign Toolkits to easily implement, position, and market Microsoft software and solutions.Software included in the Action Pack:

• Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 Premium Edition

• Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003

• Microsoft Windows XP Professional Edition

• Microsoft Business Solutions CRM Professional

• Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Standard Edition

• Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise Edition

• Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003

• Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services Standard 2003

• Microsoft Office Visio Professional 2003

• Microsoft Office Project Professional 2003

• Microsoft Office Project Server 2003

• Microsoft Office Publisher 2003

• Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services Standard Edition

• Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2003

• Microsoft Business Contact Manager for Outlook 2003

• Microsoft MapPoint 2004 Standard Edition

• Microsoft Mobile Information Server 2002 Enterprise Edition

• Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003

• Microsoft Office InfoPath 2003

• Microsoft Office OneNote 2003

• Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 3a

• Microsoft Virtual PC 2004

• Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003 Web Edition

• Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition
Action Pack

Tuesday, April 26, 2005

Help Line: Task status needs change of color, others

By JAY LEE
Copyright 2005 Houston Chornicle

Q: My Outlook is not functioning the way I'd like regarding Overdue Tasks. I would like Overdue Tasks to show in a red color until they have been completed. Currently all tasks show as a blue color whether they are future or overdue. How can I fix this?

A: You can modify the color of your task status by clicking "Tools," "Options" and then selecting the "Task Options" button. In this menu you can choose the color of overdue and completed items.

If you or someone else did not modify this setting, then it could be that your Outlook application is malfunctioning.

Recently I discovered a very useful tool in Microsoft Outlook. Under the Help menu there is an option called Detect and Repair. If you select this option, Outlook will conduct a self-repair sequence that seems to correct some idiosyncratic behaviors in the program.

Readers please note, this is in reference to Microsoft Outlook and not Outlook Express.


Q: Every time I turn off my computer, I have a message that pops up the screen which says: "MediaAcck.exe - DLL Initialization Failed." Can you help me get rid of it?


A: MediaAccK.exe is an advertising program by Windupdate. From what I have read on line, you should be able to remove this from the Add/Remove programs section of your Control Panel.

Look for a program called Media Access and select "Change/Remove." Follow the instructions and the program should uninstall.

If this does not do it, there are some detailed instructions on manual removal at Trend Micros Web site. The URL is rather long, so I used www.tinyurl.com to make a more manageable link. To see the article, type "tinyurl.com/8c68u" into your Web browser and you will be taken to it.


Q: It is my understanding that when a hacker hijacks a PC and uses it to send spam e-mail without the owner of that PC's knowledge, the PC is referred to as a zombie. Is there a way to detect if my PC has become a zombie? I'm assuming that keeping my antivirus software and firewall current will help prevent this.


A: Keeping your computer protected with antivirus software, maintaining a software or hardware firewall, and scanning for spyware and adware will go a long way toward keeping your PC safe.

Still, it is good to know the warning signs that would indicate your computer might be compromised.

One thing to watch for is a significant decrease in Internet activities like browsing the Web and pulling in Web sites or downloading files. Spyware, viruses and Trojans often create a lot of network/Internet traffic as they send and receive data. This clogs your connection and slows you down.

Another indicator is a significant decrease in overall system performance. These intruders also use computing power resources like RAM and processor time to conduct their activities.

If you want to see what your computer is sending and receiving to the Internet, you might want to install a software firewall like Tiny Firewall from Tiny Software. Their Web site is www.tinysoftware.com.

The beauty of this particular firewall application is it will show you what programs are doing and where they are trying to connect.
HoustonChronicle.com - Help Line: Task status needs change of color

Direct2deal.com - Providing Lowest Price, Cheapest & Best Bargains With Hot Deals

Sunday, April 24, 2005

Free Windows 2000 support ending

If you still use Windows 2000 as your operating system, be warned: Free support for that aging OS is about to end.

Mary Jo Foley of Microsoft Watch reports that, starting June 30, "mainstream" support for Windows 2000 will be over.

Microsoft divides its support lifecycle into two phases: Mainstream and extended. Once a product enters the extended support period, Microsoft charges for support. Microsoft continues to provide security-specific hot fixes for products during extended support, but non-security hot fixes may be obtained for extended-support products only by purchasing an "extended hot-fix agreement."

Many businesses as well as serious-minded PC hobbyists consider Windows 2000 to be a superior operating system to Windows XP. They say it's easier to lock down and requires fewer system resources.

But technology marches on, and if you make the choice to stick with an outdated OS -- Windows 2000 is more than five years old now -- there's a price to be paid.

It's evolve or die . . . or at least start paying for support.
HoustonChronicle.com - TECHBLOG: "Free Windows 2000 support ending"

Friday, April 22, 2005

Widespread attack cripples computers with spyware

By Erik Larkin
PC World, 04/22/05

An insidious new Internet attack that hijacks a victim's Internet connection and stealthily installs a barrage of adware and spyware is targeting businesses and organizations across the U.S.

The two-pronged attack, which has been ongoing since early March, has afflicted an estimated 20,000 computers, according to Ken Dunham, director of malicious code at IDefense, a Va., Internet security company.

It starts with an assault known as DNS poisoning: Domain name system servers, which guide Internet traffic, are fooled into directing anyone heading to any .com Web site - for example, www.cnn.com or www.americanexpress.com - to a malicious Web site that the attackers control. That Web site then surreptitiously installs a wide range of adware and spyware on the victim's computer.

Companies suffer from the attack in a number of ways. First, the Internet connection for anyone using the poisoned DNS server - often the entire company in the case of smaller businesses - is completely disrupted. All Web traffic and e-mail trying to go to any .com site gets hijacked for as long as the DNS server remains compromised.

Even after the DNS server is fixed, the company has to clean the adware and spyware from any affected computers, an onerous task that can keep IT people like David Parsons, who supports about 7000 people in his help desk job at a Boston hospital, extremely busy. Parsons says his hospital was "slammed for about two days straight" by the DNS poisoning attacks starting March 29.

Dunham conservatively estimates that 3000 DNS servers at a range of U.S. companies, including at least two with more than 8000 employees, were compromised over the past month.

"It's a very sophisticated attack," Dunham says. His company sent out a high-level threat warning to its clients, which includes Fortune 500 companies and government organizations.

Dunham notes that both DNS poisoning attacks and the types of spyware and adware involved have been around for some time. But, he says, "this [attack] certainly is unprecedented in terms of the methodology and the sheer scope of adware and spyware installed."

However, Web surfers at home generally are not vulnerable to this type of attack. Most ISPs use a type of DNS server called BIND, which is not directly affected by attempts at DNS poisoning. But older BIND servers can contribute to the problem by passing the attack along to vulnerable Windows DNS servers.

How It Works

"It took us a little while to figure this one out," says Kyle Haugsness at the Internet Storm Center, who has been tracking the attacks since they first began and wrote a report about them for the ISC.

Haugsness doesn't have a total count of the different organizations that have been compromised, but he says that about 500 organizations were hit within the first six days.

Every computer has to talk to a DNS server to know how to get anywhere on the Internet, and almost every company network has its own DNS server. When a server is poisoned, it's effectively tricked into sending someone who types in a .com URL to the attacker's Web site instead.

That Web site checks to see if the victim is using Internet Explorer, and if so, it tries to install a huge amount of adware and spyware. Its attempts work if you haven't kept your copy of IE updated. Dunham says the software installed includes known Trojan horses like Krepper, and adware such as 180solutions and Coolwebsearch--about 18MB of unwanted software in all.

The apps can pop up advertisements on your system and change your IE settings. They can also send user information, such as keywords from searches, to the apps' designers.

"All the installation is done silently, in the background, with no user interaction," says Dunham.

Whether or not the malicious Web site succeeds in installing any spyware or adware, the victim ends up at two Web sites in separate windows that look like search engines and have a multitude of links to advertisers. Until the DNS server is fixed, any attempt to go to any .com Web site ends up right back at those two sites.

According to Haugsness's report, the DNS cache poisoning affects some Windows NT 4 and Windows 2000 DNS servers, and Symantec firewalls that use DNS. Both Microsoft and Symantec have released patches for the vulnerable products.

What You Can Do

The bad news is that there's not much you can do personally to guard your work computer from being affected by DNS poisoning. You have no good way to avoid using DNS or to protect yourself if your company's DNS servers have been hit. Your IT department must make sure your DNS servers are not vulnerable.

But you can protect yourself against the malicious software installs by making sure your version of Internet Explorer is up-to-date with all current patches. Other browsers, such as Firefox, are not vulnerable to such installs.

If you've already been hit with spyware and adware by this attack or some other method, consult Steve Bass's helpful advice for cleaning your computer.

What's Behind It

Joe Stewart, a senior threat researcher at LURHQ, a South Carolina Internet security company that independently studied these attacks, analyzed the Web site redirection involved and the links in the two apparent Web search pages that resulted. Stewart found that clicking on one of the advertiser links in either of the sites sends information to Findwhat.com, an Internet marketing company that counts pay-per-click advertising as a big part of its business. The information sent includes one of two account numbers. That sent number notifies Findwhat to transfer payment to that particular account.

So, according to Stewart, the attack is all about money. The adware and spyware generates revenue in much the same way as pay-per-click links do with a variety of different companies, he says. Once you click on an advertisement in a pop-up, someone else gets paid.

According to Findwhat spokesperson Michelle Craft, her company started a comprehensive inquiry when it was notified about LURHQ's report. Findwhat discovered that those behind the DNS poisoning attacks were affiliates of two Findwhat account holders.

"Both of the traffic sources mentioned in the LURHQ report were immediately terminated by the applicable [account holders] and are no longer able to access Findwhat.com's advertisers," Craft says. Advertisers who paid as a result of victims' clicks have gotten their money back, she adds.

Craft declines to provide any further information on the Findwhat account holders, and says Findwhat doesn't have any more information on the attackers.

The Global Internet

But there may be other clues as to who's behind the attacks. The malicious spyware installs come from an Internet site whose name includes the word vparivalka. Important note: Do not try to point your browser to the 'vparivalka' site, as it may try to install a large amount of difficult-to-remove adware and spyware on your PC.

According to Irine Sakk, a native Russian speaker in Northwestern University's Department of Linguistics, vparivalka is a Russian slang word with connotations of fraud and cheating. Depending on context, she says, it can mean giving someone something they didn't want, when they were expecting something else.

The ISP responsible for the current IP address used by vparivalka.org is based in the Ukraine and does not list any contact information on its Web site, which says it is "under construction."

Internet Pain

Although LURHQ's Stewart has worked with FBI agents investigating other attacks in the past, he doesn't know of any investigations into these attacks, and doesn't expect to see one.

"We have a hard enough time getting law enforcement to pay attention" to seriously destructive viruses, he says.

But attacks like these are "really becoming more of a problem for the end user than, say, viruses or phishing or the other things getting the headlines," he says. By throwing up unwanted pop-ups, hijacking Web connections, and slowing computers to a crawl, they are "making the experience of using the Internet painful."

http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2005/0422widesattac.html

Thursday, April 21, 2005

MAKE: Blog: MAKE:DIYcast- our new audio/podcast experiment!

Tuesday, April 19, 2005

Help Line: Recovery from virus no sure thing

HELP LINE
Recovery from virus no sure thing
By JAY LEE

Q: My computer at home has a virus. What software should I use to get rid of it completely? Is there a free software program that will get rid of the virus, or do I have to purchase a program?

A: First of all, it is desirable to prevent a virus infection rather than attempt to recover from one.

An antivirus program is designed to stop a virus and is less capable of cleaning up an infected system. Once a computer becomes infected, the damage is done, and it cannot always be repaired.

When kept up to date, a good antivirus program checks e-mail and other files coming into your computer and intercepts the virus before it can deliver its payload.

These payloads include a variety of nasty things like causing your e-mail program to send random infected e-mails to your contacts, rewriting files with infected files, erasing files and programs, and sometimes even completely crippling your system.

You should keep a good antivirus program running on your system at all times if you connect to the Internet.

But rather than using a free antivirus program, I would choose a name brand like Norton or McAfee. The reason is my data is precious to me, and I really want to be protected from virus infections. There are new viruses coming out almost daily and, as a result, your antivirus program frequently needs to be
updated.

Companies that charge for their software have money to pay their developers to stay
on top of things. I just want to know there is someone seriously keeping track.

That said, there are free programs available that are quite good. AVG is one of the more popular free antivirus programs, and many respectable computer users swear by it.

Check out its Web site at www.grisoft.com.


Q: I have a box that pops up on my screen that says, "Do you want to close the connection to the Internet?" How do I get rid of this pain?

A: This is a feature of Windows that kicks off when you close your last Internet application, such as e-mail or Internet Explorer.

You can turn it off within Internet Explorer by clicking "Tools" then "Internet Options" and choosing the "Connections" tab. Find your dial-up connection in the list and highlight it, then select "Settings."

Click on "Advanced" and turn off the "Disconnect when connection may no longer be needed" option.

Click "OK" when you're done.


Q: I always put my PC on standby when I'm not using it. However, ever since I installed SBC DSL, my PC will only stay on standby about 30 seconds and then comes back on all by itself. So now I have to turn it off when not in use. Please help.

A: DSL and cable modems use a network interface card to connect to your PC. In many of the newer computers, there is an option in the BIOS called "Wake on LAN."

This feature is designed to bring a computer out of standby when it detects network activity. This is the likely culprit.

You can enter into the system BIOS and turn this feature off.

Consult your documentation for more information.
HoustonChronicle.com - Help Line: Recovery from virus no sure thing

Handling digital pics a snap

Handling digital photos can be easy, fun — and free
By DWIGHT SILVERMAN
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

Chances are you've got a digital camera in your home. And by the end of the year, you're more apt to own one than a film camera.

Sales of digital cameras long ago surpassed those of film models, and the Photo Marketing Association International predicts that 52 percent of American households will own them by the end of 2005.

Once you own a digital camera, you've got to figure out what to do with the photos you take. Here's a look at three Windows programs for managing and editing images. One of them is a must-have, considering how good it is and because of its price: free.

• PICASA 2 — Free, Google. Every time I fire up this program, I shake my head in astonishment. Picasa 2 is easily the most impressive freeware I've used.
It passes all the tests to qualify as great software. It does what it claims and does it well. It's very easy to use. It's quick, nimble, yet still full-featured.

Picasa is primarily a photo-management program that makes it easy to find and organize digital images. It has rudimentary photo-editing features, but they may be enough, particularly if you mostly print, e-mail or share photos online.

Picasa works best if you keep photos sorted into folders on your hard drive. But even if you don't, you can select different views, such as organizing by date in a slick, 3-D timeline view.

You can tell Picasa which folders to keep an eye on, and when you add an image, it will automatically include it.

To edit a photo, just double-click on it from the library. You can lighten, automatically adjust contrast and brightness, fix red-eye or straighten an image. You can reduce, crop or apply effects, from applying film grain to "warmify."

Picasa can automate the creation of a Web page to display a folder's images, which can then be uploaded to a hosting service. You can create a movie-based slideshow, a screensaver or a photo collage.

To share photos online, Picasa incorporates an intriguing chat service called Hello. You can invite friends to chat with you and then instantly share photos with them via Picasa.

It works with all versions of Windows starting with Windows 98 and newer. You can get Picasa 2 at www.picasa.com.

• PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 3.0 — $100, Adobe. Earlier versions of Photoshop Elements were basically Photoshop Lite — same interface, but not much to make the software easier to use and understand. Elements 3.0 makes a huge leap in the right direction.
The new version combines Elements and Photoshop Album, giving you powerful photo editing and organizing in one program. You get to either of these — known as the Editor and the Organizer — through a simple startup screen that lets you choose a task.

The Organizer opens with a timeline of your photos stripped across the top. Move the slider across the timeline and your photos appear below. You can also view your photos by folder or in calendar format, with thumbnails appearing on the dates the images were taken and holidays highlighted. This is great if you want to see all photos taken, say, last Thanksgiving.

The Editor launches from the welcome screen or the Organizer, and can be used in two views. QuickFix is designed for novices, with only the most basic editing tools available. Standard Edit gives you a powerful set of features, including layers, special effects and even Photoshop's Healing Tool, which automates the fixing of many blemishes.

One of my favorite features is Photo Compare, which lets you pair photos that are similar, making it easier to decide which is the best shot.

Photoshop Elements is far more powerful than Picasa in terms of editing, but it's also much slower. Like Photoshop, it takes forever to launch, and moving from the Organizer to the Editor can be sluggish.

The Windows version works only with 2000 and XP. A version for the Macintosh requires at least OS X 10.2.8. Trial versions of both are at www.adobe.com.

• PAINT SHOP PRO 9 — $100, Corel. Paint Shop Pro 9 was already in the pipeline when Corel bought Jasc Software last year. The company decided it wanted to emphasize the professional market, so Paint Shop Pro contains features aimed at those who are serious about digital imaging.
Paint Shop Pro's interface and approach are not that different from version 8, but some powerful new filters and features have been added. For example, a new Digital Camera Filter finds and fixes the flaws most common to lower-end digital cameras.

The program also has new features aimed at artists. Corel recently acquired the high-end art program Painter, which lets artists work with digitally simulated "natural" media, from paints to markers to even crayon. Paint Shop Pro now also features this capability in its drawing tools, complete with a Palette Mixer that lets you blend colors similar to working with oils.

I particularly like the new Selective Undo, which lets you choose which goof-up you want to correct.

While Paint Shop Pro has a basic photo organizer, it's not as good at keeping track of images as either Picasa or Photoshop Elements.

Despite its early roots as a simple shareware image editor, Paint Shop 9 is a fairly complex program, and some novice users may find it confusing. There's a "lite" version with a somewhat friendlier design, Paint Shop Pro Studio, that might be a better for digital image newbies.

Paint Shop Pro works with Window 98 SE or newer, and a trial version is available at www.corel.com.
HoustonChronicle.com - Computing: Handling digital pics a snap

Micro Center Online: BYOPC Build Your Own PC

Friday, April 08, 2005

-Virus/Spyware discussion - Explorer debilitated by spyware...

Internet Explorer Cannot Connect to Secure Sites

How to troubleshoot situations where you cannot complete MSN sign-up or connect to SSL secured (128-Bit) Web sites by using Internet Explorer in Windows XP

Thursday, April 07, 2005

Symantec Security Response - W32.Spybot.Worm

Google Search: can i change the image in windows xp screen saver?
Google Search: can i change the image in windows xp screen saver?

Neowin.net > Replace Image in the default WindowsXP Screensaver

Tuesday, April 05, 2005

With Cosmic Blobs, have fun by the gobs

With Cosmic Blobs, have fun by the gobs
Interactive program for kids makes 3-D works of art come alive

By ANNE REEKS
For The Chronicle

While you can't judge a book by its cover or software by its title, those supposed superficialities sometimes say a lot about what's within.

So it is with Cosmic Blobs Lab Rat Edition (Ages 7-14, $40, SolidWorks Corp., Windows, www.cosmicblobs.com), an ingenious and amusing 3-D graphics program that's both easy to use and powerful. Kids can create artworks that seem to pop off the page and then make them do just that via animation.

But before I discovered Cosmic Blobs' inner virtues, the name hooked me. I pictured pudding-shaped aliens with a Zen sensibility or gelatinous rodents oozing out of their cages. Either way, it sounded like fun.

How nice that the reality is better than my high, or at least hopeful, expectations. The maker of Cosmic Blobs, SolidWorks Corp., does graphics software for engineers, artists and architects and knows 3-D, inside and out. However, such, ahem, solid credentials might not have translated as well to the children's market.

After all, the pocket-protector crowd doesn't demand razzle-dazzle and might prefer the challenge of complicated controls. Kids expect all the trimmings plus simple and straightforward means to the desired
end.

Cosmic Blobs delivers on all fronts. It's well-organized. A colorful, drippy, acid-green-accented frame around the large workspace holds tools and materials and has the feel of a mad professor's lair. Very cool. Jars hold different-shaped blobs to use as raw material, similar to modeling clay. Instruments to bend, stretch, shrink, flip, flatten and otherwise mold the blob are displayed as disembodied hands doing the action.

The interface is entirely self-explanatory. No words are needed. But amusing sound effects accompany every poke or pull. Once shaped, blobs can be painted, decorated with features and accessories and then animated, accompanied by music and a backdrop. Creations can be saved in various formats, e-mailed, printed in 2-D or 3-D, pasted into a report or even used as an online avatar.

The product Web site, www.cosmicblobs.com, has a trial version of the program, handy instructional videos — intro, special features, basic and advanced animation — and a gallery of models to crib
from.

Sadly, none of this creative and functional largess means I managed to make anything impressive with Cosmic Blobs. Experimenting was a hoot, though. No doubt, more artistic types one-fifth my age could craft amazing animals, monsters and robots. But I'm wise to stick with words.
HoustonChronicle.com - At Home

Doug's Windows 95/98/Me/XP Tweaks and Tips

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