INSIDE
THE TIMES
Hardware
Helper
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What!?
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Search
Surfin'
Safari
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& Tricks
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Wary
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ASSESSMENTS
For
Your Information
ScamBusters
Hoaxkill
HoaxBusters
Urban
Legends
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|
 DO
YOU PRACTICE SAFE SURFING?
If the answer is No, or I Don't Know, this issue of
The WindowWalk Times is for you. We take internet security seriously
and so should you. Once you understand how anti-virus software, a firewall,
and common sense all work together to protect both you and your computer,
you will feel much more confident when you are surfing the internet.
It doesn't take long to learn the basics of internet
security and it only takes a few minutes of your computer's time every
day to run an anti-virus scan. Making a habit of safe surfing and anti-virus
scanning can save you a lot of time and money when your computer gets
infected. It is no longer "IF I get a virus"
but "WHEN I get a virus". Let us know if
there are any internet security issues you would like to see in a future
issue.
The WindowWalk Times will not have a summer issue (July/August
2005) this year. Look for us in your email inbox early in September
for lots of new information to Tame That Monster!
We would like to invite everyone to visit our newly
updated and refreshed web
site. There are some new pages and updated course outlines as well
as business and personal resources. Let us know if you have any ideas
or topics that you would like to see either on our web site or in our
newsletter.
WindowWalk Computer Education offers on-site courses
and hourly training ranging from the basics to advanced "power
user" features. We pride ourselves in making your computer education
a fully personalized, comfortable, and convenient experience.
Find out more about our Free
Business and Home Software Assessments for Small Business Owners
and Home Users.
Visit on
the web , send an
email , or call 830-9336 to give us your comments
and suggestions or to learn more about our effective software training.
|
 |
SURFIN'
SAFARI |
Some
Useful and Interesting Web Sites |
|
|
A
web site chock full of recipes, wine guides, video how-to clips,
and cooking tips. You can improve your cooking skills with a search
for recipes, or read reviews and articles, sign up for newsletters
and enter contests. Bon Apetit! |
|
Bartleby
is the preeminent publisher of Internet literature, reference, and
verse providing students, researchers, and the intellectually curious
with unlimited access to books and information on the web, free
of charge. |
|
If
you ever wanted to keep your friends spellbound with stories of
how nuclear radiation, kidneys, and web servers work, the hundreds
of illustrated, easy-to-follow tutorials here are all you need. |
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Back
to Top
|
WHAT
DOES IT DO? |
Quick
Descriptions of Popular Software |
AVG
ANTI-VIRUS |
|
AVG Anti-Virus is a comprehensive virus scanner that serves as
a shield against viruses. It scans your system and e-mail for
viruses and offers free updates, so you're guarded against the
newest threats.
Rapid virus database updates are available for the lifetime of
the product, thereby providing the high-level of detection capability
that millions of users around the world trust to protect their
computers. AVG Free is easy-to-use and will not slow your system
down (low system resource requirements). Highlights include automatic
update functionality, the AVG Resident Shield, which provides
real-time protection as files are opened and programs are run,
free Virus Database Updates for the lifetime of the product, and
AVG Virus Vault for safe handling of infected files.
AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition is available free-of-charge to home
users for the life of the product!
Visit the AVG
Free Edition web page to download this program and protect
your computer from virus threats.
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to Top
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SAY
WHAT!? |
Sound
Like a Computer Wizard |
|
| Cookie |
A
cookie is a small file that a web page on another computer writes
to your computer's disk to store various bits of information about
the web page you are visiting. Many people strongly detest cookies,
and the whole idea of them, and most web browsers allow the reception
of cookies to be disabled. |
| Firewall |
Firewall
software is used to protect an internet-connected computer from
virus infection. The firewall stands between your computer and the
internet and monitors the information that flows in and out. It
will block any dangerous files from entering or leaving your computer. |
| HTML |
HyperText
Markup Language. This programming language is used to encode instructions
that tell a web browser how and where to place information, graphics,
and links on a web page. |
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HARDWARE
HELPER |
MONITORS
- LCD vs CRT |
|
| What
is an LCD? |
LCDs,
or liquid-crystal displays (also called flat panels or flat screens),
are thin sandwiches of glass containing a liquid-crystal material.
When exposed to electric current, the molecules of liquid-crystal
material change their alignment to either transmit or block light,
which ultimately creates an image. Each pixel is composed (in most
cases) of red, green, and blue subpixels. |
LCD
monitors cost more than same-size CRTs, but they offer a few significant
advantages. |
Pros
Thin and stylish
Energy efficient
Relatively lightweight
Crisp image
More display area (a 15-inch LCD is equivalent to a 17-inch CRT)
No refresh-rate flicker
Little or no low-frequency electromagnetic emissions compared with
a CRT
Perfect screen geometry |
Cons
Relatively expensive
Fragile
Limited viewing angle
Color rendition may be limited or inconsistent
Moving images may smear
May flicker from inability to synchronize with signal correctly
Image quality is greatly reduced when running in nonnative resolution
because the image must be scaled to match the pattern of physical
pixels |
| What
is a CRT? |
The
original CRT (cathode ray tube) technology was invented more than
100 years ago and has been greatly refined since. Inside a color
CRT, three electron guns shoot streams of electrons at the screen.
A mask blocks the electrons so that the beam from one gun hits only
red phosphor dots on the screen, just as the beams from the other
guns only hit green or blue phosphors. By controlling the position
of the beams and how fast they turn on and off, a CRT can create
pixels of varying sizes, so it can produce different-resolution
images with little loss of image quality. |
Although
they're big and boxy, CRTs are inexpensive – and indispensable
for some computing tasks such as video-editing and gaming. |
Pros
Relatively inexpensive
Rugged
Unlimited viewing angle
Generally good color rendition
Moving images do not smear
No flicker from problems with synchronizing with a signal
Can display different-resolution images with relatively little loss
of quality |
Cons
Large and bulky
Energy inefficient
Relatively heavy
Pixels are not clearly defined at any resolution
Less display area (a 15-inch LCD is equivalent to a 17-inch CRT)
Refresh-rate flicker is below 75Hz; flicker is more severe with
larger monitors
More low-frequency electromagnetic emissions than LCDs
Nearly impossible to get perfect screen geometry, especially with
flat-faced CRT designs
Almost impossible to get perfect convergence of red, green, and blue
beams on all parts of the screen |
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SOFTWARE
SEARCH |
Zone Alarm Internet
Security 5.5 |
|
ZoneAlarm's
Internet Security 5.5 is one of the best security suites we've seen.
Its interface is far easier to use and understand than the competition's,
and its feature set, which includes a personal information vault
and instant-messenging encryption, puts the comparably priced Norton
Internet Security 2005 and McAfee Internet Security 2005 to shame.
The latest ZoneAlarm version really beefs up its spam-blocking capability
using partnered technology from MailFrontier Desktop, without slowing
your PC down. ZoneAlarm Internet Security is now the suite to beat
for all-around Internet privacy and security, whether you use your
PC from home or take the corporate laptop out on the road. |
We're
especially impressed by ZoneAlarm Internet Security's unique privacy
control feature, which lets you store and track user-defined personal
information in an encrypted "information vault." If you
subsequently type any of that data, such as your credit card number,
on a Web site, ZoneAlarm asks whether you want the destination added
to your Trusted Sites list. If you say no, the outbound transmission
is blocked. This feature stops keystroke loggers and other tools
used by identity thieves; currently, it isn't included within either
the McAfee or Norton Internet security packages. |
CNET
Rating: 8.0 out of 10
|
|
|
| The
Good |
Extremely
easy-to-understand interface; includes antivirus, firewall, and
antispam apps; excellent built-in help; doesn't slow Web access;
great selection of security tools.
|
| The
Bad |
No
printed manual; expensive live phone support. |
| The
Bottom Line |
ZoneAlarm
Security Suite puts Norton Internet Security and McAfee Internet
Security to shame with its easy-to-use features. |
| See
the full review at www.cnet.com/reviews. |
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to Top
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WEB
WARY |
Viruses,
Hoaxes, and Scams on the Internet |
Phishing
Scams |
|
The
term comes from techies who like to replace the letter 'f' with
'ph.' So, the term applies to scamsters who are 'phishing' for your
private information, to steal your credit card or bank info -- or
worse, your identity. |
(Note:
spelling errors are in actual emails.) |
Subject:
YOUR ONLINE BANKING ACCOUNT
Dear Online Banking Consumer,
This email was sent by your Online Banking center to verify your
e-mail address. You must complete this process by entering required
iformation like your Online Banking login and password. This is
done for your protection --- becaurse some of our members no longer
have access to their email addresses and we must verify it. Please,
complete the following information:
Bank Routing/ABA Number (9 digits):
First 6 digits of your Banking Card:
Online Banking Login ID (CIN or CAN):
Your Online Banking Password (or PIN):
|
A
phishing scam is an identity theft scam that arrives via email.
The email appears to come from a legitimate source such as a trusted
business or financial institution, and includes an urgent request
for personal information usually invoking some critical need to
update an account immediately. Clicking on a link provided in the
email leads to an official-looking website. Personal information
provided to this site, however, goes directly to the scam artist. |
Fraud
is a growing problem on the internet as people are tricked into
providing personal information including credit card numbers, passwords,
Mother’s maiden name, bank account numbers, ATM pass codes
and social security numbers. Virus protectors and firewalls do not
catch most phishing scams because they do not contain suspect code,
while spam filters let them pass because they appear to come from
legitimate sources. |
Companies
that have been spoofed by phishing scams include: Microsoft Corp.,
MSN, eBay, Amazon.com, PayPal, AOL, Comcast, CitiBank, Wells Fargo
Bank, Bank of America, Washington Mutual, and many more. |
The
best way to protect yourself from phishing scams is to avoid supplying
personal information to an email request. If you believe the request
might be legitimate, call the company’s customer service department
to verify this before providing any information, but do not use
phone numbers contained in the email (if any are included). |
Action:
Never, ever, ever respond to emails that ask for personal info. |
Always
use common sense. |
| To read the full article,
click here. |
|
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to Top
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ASK
TIZZIE |
From
the Email Files of our Resident Computer Monster |
|
We
have Outlook Express and are able to receive pictures but we cannot
forward them, all that is sent is the type and those boxes with
the star in the middle. Also sometimes we cannot receive what we
presume are pictures and sometimes there is sound and sometimes
not? |
If you have
recently updated Windows, it will have included security updates
to Outlook Express. One of the security features that is installed
is a change of settings to prevent attachments from coming and
going. I have had a lot of calls and emails concerning this "update".
You can easily change the settings to allow attachments to come
into your computer.
Go to the
Tools menu and click Options. Click the Security tab at the top
and you will see several options listed. Remove checkmarks from
"Do not allow attachments to be saved or opened that could
potentially be a virus" and "Block images and other
external content in HTML email". That should allow all attachments
to come through. Be wary, however, not to open suspicious email
attachments as they are likely viruses. You can also change the
"Zone" setting to Internet zone from the Restricted
Sites zone if you are having any trouble viewing web sites.
Make sure
that you have an anti-virus program running on your computer.
This program will monitor all your incoming and outgoing emails
for virus activity.
Outlook Express
is the primary email program targeted for virus activity (since
it is the most widely used and is a Microsoft product). If you
are feeling adventurous, you may want to try Eudora. It is a nice,
easy-to-use email program and allows all of your folders to be
imported from Outlook Express. It is a free program (in sponsored
mode) and can be downloaded at www.eudora.com.
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to Top
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TIPS
AND TRICKS |
Change
the Home Page in Internet Explorer |
|
Visit the
web site you wish to use as your home page, when the page is open,
select "Internet Options" from the "Tools"
menu. Under the General Tab which should be opened by default,
choose "Use Current". You are done and the page will
now be your default home page.
You could
also type the name of the web site, if you know it, in the text
box - always start with http:// - and click the Apply button at
the bottom of the Internet Options dialog box.
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to Top
|
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you would like a link to your business on our website, please click
here. |
|
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