| | 
(25.03.04) XP Multimedia Edition, Microsoft's latest highly publicised OS, has hit early teething problems. Aimed at high end family PCs and intended to turn them into a hub for household entertainment, one of it's major inovations is a TV manager/recorder similar to TIVO (a digital recorder that learns from your viewing habits). Unfortunately the MS version has a nasty habit of deleting things unexpectly according to first of XP ME patches (click HERE for the MS page). This story taken from the inquierer (24.03.04) The Software Update page at the forum has bee updated to include details about the latest critical updates for Internet Explorer and Outlook Express plus links to items such as hotfixes not included in the MS patches. Click HERE for the page and more details.
SARS Virus: You may see stories about an email virus that exploits peoples concerns about the SARS outbreak appearing in the press this week. The emails come in various guises, SARS and Hongkong.exe for instance but out Norton antivirus has already updated to detect it. The only people who should be concerned are those who have not been online for a while, they should not go straight to their email but give Norton a chance to update first.
(23.03.04) Florida porn spammers have got together to sue anti-spam organisations such as the one I belong too. They claim we are interfering with their right to flood the world with adverts for viagra and teen webcams by producing software that stops them and blacklisting their ISPs. They don't stand much chance of wining apparently but they hope that we waste money defending the suit. Read more HERE.
EMI are to release the A to W, that's Atomic Kitten to Robbie Williams, of their music catologue via various online retailers such as HMV. Music will available at lower than store prices (I should hope so!) and people will be able to burn tracks to CD etc. Click HERE to read the EMI press release.
(22.03.04) The Empress strikes back: Madonna has hit back at people "pirating" her latest CD before it even hits the shops by flooding file sharing websites with fake tracks. When the fake file is downloaded and opened the listner just gets Madonna swearing at them, could be quiet appealing to some! Websites teargeted include Kasaa which is very popular locally (hello doctor). Despite this bold move her album is wldely available and being downloaded all over the place apparently. Click HERE for more.
(17.03.04) The Scottish Criminal Records office is to buy id2000, facial recognition software that can identify a person from a CCTV picture based on a mathamatical analysis of their face. We are all in favour of more crooks getting caught but coupled with the Scottish Labour party's intention to introduce ID cards and the national party's atitude to civil liberties makes this an interesting development.
It was the non-appearance of the Bagdad Ali, the Iraqi Information Minister, that marked the beginning of the end of the war. Oddly because of his insane optomism he became a popular figure with many people. So popular in fact that a website has been set up in the US so people can relive his finest moments. Click HERE to visit. Just imagine, for a long time this was the only news the Iraqis got!
(14.04.03) The Software Updates page has been updated with news of a "hotfix" (a patch that repairs a problem rather than a security hole) that may help those that have found webpages loading more slowly since they installed XP Service Pack 1. Click on the link at the top of the page.
(13.04.03) An virus hoax is doing the rounds of the community. It warns of dire consequences if you should open an email attachment called "life is beautiful" and has the usual plea that you should forward it to everyone in your address book. There is no such virus, if there was Symantec would be working on a fix and not be helpless to stop it as these email's always claim. So if you get sent the hoax just bin it and if you get sent anything that you are suspicious send it to me and I'll look into it. Thanks to all those that sent me a copy of this one, more hoaxes HERE
Also don't be tempted by the wave of spam offering cheap copies of Norton Internet Security or other Norton products. I received two such emails today, one of which valued Norton Utilities at $300. When the time comes to renew your Norton Internet Security you will be able to do it for less than $30 and you can buy genuine copies of Norton Utilities for under £20.
(11.04.03) So you just bought a new digital camera and you feel pretty good about it 6.5 megapixel capacity? Well get a load of this, the CRHT telesope on Hawaii has just installed "MegaPrime", the worlds biggest digital camera with a mind boggling 350 megapixel image capacity. The first pictures are available for your perusal by clicking HERE and following the links. Even though you have a choice of resolution and the largest is over one mb, the images are a tiny fraction of those available to the astromers. Check out the rest of their website, the old images are beautiful and fascinating too.
(10.04.03) XBOX will fall in price to £129.99* in the next week the second price cut this year and bringing it inline with the cheap and cheerful Gamecube. This amazing drop from £299 at launch demostrates Microsoft's failure to match the phenomenal success of the Playstation2 dispite a huge marketing campaign, technical superiority and some highly rated games. I think the problem lies in the price of the games (around £40) and the limited number available, in contrast the PS2 is back compatible with PS1's games, as well as having a much larger range of its own. *£129.99 = 199 Euros, handy to remember next time you're wondering about a rough conversion rate.
(03.04.02) Spam Spam Spam. A study from the Center for Democracy and Technology has found that publishing your email address in raw form on a website (i.e. blah@blah.com) is an open invitation to spammers (I told you!). They set up 250 email addresses under various conditions and counted the amount of spam emails they each got, 97% of those who posted an open link on a website received some almost from the moment they were put on the net. This is because spammers have software that does nothing trawl webpages for the @ symbol. If you have a website, check it, almost every local website I have visited has its contact details posted like this. Click HERE for more.
On the plus size, as trailed here some time ago, Hotmail, Yahoo and other major online email providers, are to limit the number of emails that can be sent from an address to 100 a day in an attempt to cut down on spam. Although it will have an effect on the amount of spam coming from these sources there are so many online services that I don't think it will have that much effect. In the longer term however it may lead to more pressure being brought to bear on Governments to do something about the problem. Both these stories come from this issue of ComputerActive magazine.
(02.04.03) Paypal, the online credit card based payment system, has been ordered to give up a years worth of profits made on gambling related payments in the USA. According to the US Attorney General they have been in breach of the "Patriot Act" which forbids companies to take payment for any activity related to crime or terrorism. Paypal, which is owned by online auctioneers ebay, denies the charges and is appealing. Read more HERE. thanks to sgegreen for this.
(31.03.03) War on the web: In case you aren't getting enough news from the front line, you can now view satelite images of Iraq supplied by QuickSat. The company that noramlly sells satelite images to town planners etc is making them available to news organisations. You can read more about this on the BBC website by clicking HERE, it doesn't contain a direct link to the pictures but of course I do and HERE it is.
Hackers continue to deface websites that they disagree with, the biggest faller being the website of the Arab TV station Al Jaazera. There has been debate in the media about whether this was due to hacking or just to much traffic but now it is clear that it is definately hackers. The website and TV station was set up by BBC journalists because they wanted to uphold principles of editorial independence, however it is widely seen in the west as "pro-Arab" (I have no idea, I have never seen it). In a new development an article in USA Today, hardly the most radical of publications, broadly hints that the site has been brought down by a US government security organisation, click HERE to read it.
sgegreens tip about XP SP1 slowing down computers is popping up all over the place as other websites notice developments at Microsoft. Remember you read it here first!
(29.03.03) As predicted by sgegreen on his Software Updates page at the forum, Microsoft seem well on the way to releasing Service Pack 2. A beta version (meaning mostly there but in need of testing) has "leaked" out from the company suggesting that it is almost ready to ship. However it is being held up by the legal difficulties caused by their dispute with Sun Microsystems (see story somewhere below). This has already caused them to change SP1 into SP1a and the Register thinks that the date that SP2 becomes available depends more on the outcome of the case than the readiness of the software (surely not). Read more HERE.
MSO3-010 maybe mostly of concern to servers and ISPs because it concerns a hole in the software they run on which can be exploited by hackers but it could affect us in the long term if those servers and ISPs don't install the patch. Not keeping up to date with the MS patches is what caused the Internet slowdown in January as many, including Microsoft, fell victim to the slammer worm.
(28.03.03) Microsoft has a patch for users that have seen programs loading slowly after installing the service pack. Apparently it can make affected applications, such as NIS, load ten times quicker. The fix addresses the way the SP1 update handles large memory chunks that some non-MS programs need when starting. However MS is so insistent that it only goes to those experiencing the problem that it is only available after talking to an engineer.
More information is available at the forum on the Software Updates page (see link at top of this page) which was edited last night. Also added is the latest version of DirectX, 9a, which has been shown to improve the performance of graphical and other applications. Thanks again to sgegreen for all his hard work on the page.
SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Life project which I wrote about about on the 14th, has reported back it's initial findings on the 150 significant radio signals. I'm sorry to report that they haven't found anything that suggests that there is a civilization broadcasting out there. They intend to do deeper analysis but they aren't optimistic, so it's back to the screensaver I'm afraid. Read more HERE.
(27.03.03) The UK Government is currently framing laws to outlaw unsolicited email (spam). The laws are intended to ISPs a framework to work within that will allow them to ban and filter out emails from persitent offenders and will be EU wide. However I doubt how effective they will be, as a member of an email newsgroup that works to eliminate it I know that even defining it is hard and filtering it is even harder. Basically the spammers just adapt to the filters and carry on, they now send 40% of all emails and are expected to be sending most of it by next year. Whatever the UK does it is unlikely to be as dramatic as what California has already done. They have given residents the power to take senders to court where they will made to cough up $500! Read more about the UK/EU laws HERE and California's HERE.
(26.03.03) The Scottish Labour Party has announced plans to introduce ID cards should (or rather "when") they form a Government after the next Scottish Parliment. This is despite the UK Government withdrawing plans for their imminant introduction due to the huge protests generated by various websites, including in a small way, this one. Read more HERE.
(23.03.03) Hackers and virus writers will use any excuse to go about their work and the war in Iraq is no exception. The virus writers have come up with the ganda worm which arrives with an attachment purporting to be either pix from the front or a Bush satire of some sort. Fortunately Norton is on top of the situation already. Meanwhile hackers have defaced at least a 1000 websites, including the US Navy's (which is a bit worrying), with ant-war slogans. Click HERE for the hack story.
Meanwhile webcams again went down as protesters took to the streets Saturday. You may recall that this phenomena was spotted by this website before being picked up by other news sites. Click HERE to read more. So to sum up; Big Brother 1, idiots 2.
(21.03.03) The Foreign Office's travel advice was down on the first day of hostilities in Iraq due to the large numbers of people trying access the website. This maybe due to the number of airflights the fly near the region even if they don't stop their and the Goverments advise to people travelling abroad for the need to be alert. Read more HERE.
Open Source, the low cost alternative to Microsoft software seems to be gaining favour with the release next month of a report fom the National Audit Office. The first report of its kind , it examines the cost effectiveness of the way government departments purchase software licsenses and is expected to recommend the greater use of open source alternatives to MS products. This comes as the Central Scotland police force becomes the first to adopt OS desktop applications.
(20.03.03) The prospect of another Internet slowdown has arisen in the latest MS Critical Update notice. Highlighting a new "buffer overflow" problem facing 60% of servers, it asks them to make sure that their software is up to date. Unfortunately many of them don't keep software up to date as was demonstrated by the affect of the slammer worm in January. Hopefully they will have leaarnt their lesson from that experience.
(19.03.03) The astonishing prospect of a 100Ghz processor being available in the near future has emerged from a Chinese university. The chips are compatible with the Pentium 4 pin configuration and maybe available within 18 months, this is at a time when Intel and AMD are looking forward to a 4Ghz model. The Chinese have already successfully tested a prototype running at 5Ghz with no additional cooling! The only problem appears to be where they would be manufactured, the only factory capable of making them is in Taiwan. Read more details HERE.
(18.03.03) NoChex, the online cheque via email system, is the subject of an email scam similar, though less sophisticated than PayPal and ebay have been in the past. People who publicise that they accept NoChex payments have been receiving emails saying their accounts have reached a limit and they must submit their username and password etc to put things right. Fortunatly are on top of the situation and have emailed a warning to all members. I mention this because you can sign up to NoChex from the forum, read more by clicking HERE.
(14.03.03) SETI (the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) project has borne fruit, well seeds anyway. The project which has been running since 1999 which used the computers of 4 million ordinary people to analyse radio signals from space, has produced a list of 150 signals that show signs of possible intelligence. SETI is the largest computer project ever undertaken and has spawned many imitators (my screen saver works for a cancer charity) and you could take part too, see the useful links page for, er, links. Read the SETI news release HERE.
A new virus has appeared in the file sharing community. This isn't exactly an alert even though Symantec have no response to it because there's only been reported once "in the wild". It's worth mentioning though because it's so clever. It arrives as a attachment that appears to be a game and indeed it is a game. When the file is executed a shooting game runs and plays but in the background the virus is doing its work. It does the usual replication and forwarding to people in the OE address book but it also, and this is even more sneaky, places dummy pages to bank sites, paypal etc on your computer. When you visit the website you redirected to the fake page, you fill it in and when you hit send the info is sent to the virus writers. Scary. Read more HERE.
(09.03.03) The Teddy Bear hoax email has reappeared again in local inboxes. Also known as the Jdbgmgr hoax, it tells you that a virus is going around that can't be detected by Norton and tells you how to check if you are infected by searching for and deleting a particular file. The file is on your computer because it is part of the operating system although not a vital part. don't delete the file and just bin the email! Read more about email hoaxes and scams by clicking HERE. Thanks to beararus for posting this tip on the forum.
(07.03.03) Sony are to start testing online gaming for the Playstation2 at the end of this month. By far the most popular game box locally and its users should start saving up £39.99 for the adaptor. Read more by clicking HERE.
Its not only the anti-war people who are making their presence felt online. In a response to the campaign to deliver anti-war poems to George Bush (if that doesn't stop nothing will) a website for poets in favour of the war has been started in the US. It's sort of a poetry karma. Read the BBC story HERE which strangely doesn't have a link to the website itself. I do though and it's HERE.
(06.03.03) April 23rd is a day worth noting in your diary, National Book day will see a number of authors, from Terry Pratchett to Nigella Lawson, going online to chat with their readers. For a more extensive list of authors click HERE.
Paypal users should be on the look out for a scam email that is being sent out. Crudely asking for paypal and credit card details it is unlikely to take in many but then even the "Nigerian" con works on a few. Paypal and ebay have been subject to these hoaxes before but this one seems to be being sent out on a larger scale, the Register received 5 messages about it in one day. Click HERE to read more.
(05.03.03) Argyll & Bute made a web broadcast on Tuesday celebrating the e-libraries scheme that has put public access computers in all the authorities libraries. This like the NAIDC project is part of the national digital inclusion scheme. I would have liked to have brought this news on Monday so you could have viewed the webcast live but I only found out about after a reader tipped me off after the event. Still you can read about the event and the e-libraries scheme by clicking HERE. Thanks to Phillip for the tip off.
(01.03.03) Yet another hoax email has appeared on the net, this time warning that the Internet will close down completely due to an "Internet time bomb" that will be triggered by the date 03.03.03. As usual it urges people to forward it to everyone in their address and as usual it is nonsense. I can understand well meaning but inexperienced people beingf taken in by this stuff but anyone who sends me one after the 3rd will be poked with stick... Read more by clicking HERE.
I hate spam and I've had an idea for stopping or a least slowing it down. ISPs are starting to filter it out of the email that passes through their systems and are stopping millions of emails a year. I think it is time that they struck back at the senders. Every email contains a link and a (phoney) unsubscribe option, the ISPs should set their computers to ping the link and respond to the unsubscribe option. This would overwhelm the senders computers with false responses, possibly causing them to crash and certainly making their "work" much harder. I've sent the idea to as many people I can think of who might be able to use it, I'll let you know if anyone responds! A nice twist was added by Steve Green who suggested that the unsubscribe emails should contain the email address of another spammer.
(28.02.03) Another hoax email is doing the rounds of our digital community, this time it's a hoax virus alert known as the WTC Survivor email. It warns you not to open any email with that title or relating to 9/11. Like all these hoaxes it urges you to forward it to as many people as possible but unlike some doesn't urge you to delete any vital files. It is well known enough to have it's own response page but in my opinion it's hard to tell whether it was started by a well meaning computer user or by someone just trying to clog up the email system. Read the Sophos response page by clicking HERE (includes copy of email).
More from the Inquierer on the information that Windows updates takes from your computer when you use the scan page. Click HERE to read it. Thanks Steve.
(27.02.03) Spam (unsolicited email) is on the increase and is if it continues could bring the Internet to a grinding halt if it goes unchecked. In 2001 it accounted for 8% of all email, last year it reached 40%. The vast majority is sent by 150 companies based in the USA which specialise in this type of marketing and it doesn't matter what you do, eventually you will end up on their lists. There are things you can do to cut down on it, never have an email address in plain site on a webpage (like many local websites), never respond to it and always check the opt-out box on any online form. The Guardian Online had two great articles on the subject today, click HERE for an overview of the current situation and HERE for some guidance on how to cut down on it.
(25.02.03) Local webmasters, that's anyone who has their own website, should look out for a fake demand asking them to register their domain name. Appearing like a genuine invoice it tells you that .com version of your website must be registered and asks you for £175 to do so. The email comes from UK Internet Registry which has no authority to issue domain names and is just another reseller. Nominet, the genuine Internet registry is investigating how they got their hands on a list of UK domain name owners. Just bin any emails from them and read more HERE.
Microsoft maybe processing more information than is strictly necessary when you visit it's updates page according to the Inquirer (click HERE). The blurb that accompanies the pluggin you have to download and install to use the update page clearly states that no information is stored at MS via the process but the Inquierer story implies otherwise. If true it would give MS a clear advantage in developing software and purchasing companies. I'm not suggesting that people should stop using the service which is simple and useful but their commercial rivals must be worried.
(24.02.03) You may hear about the Lovegate email worm in the coming weeks but you don't need to worry, Norton will find and quarantine it so long as it's updated on the 23rd or later.
Martin Sheen, who plays President Bartlet in the channel 4 series "The West Wing", is to lead an online protest against the Iraq war that our leaders seem so keen on. See how you can take part by clicking HERE.
(23.02.03) Ebay: It is reported in the Register that ebay will pass on the personal details of its members, including their auction browsing habits and purchasing, to any law enforcement agency that asks for them. This isn't immediately worrying until you realise that this on request not on the production of a court order which is the normal practice of websites (Microsoft and Yahoo for instance). While this is probably to speed up of and therefore discourage, fraud, as an ebay user I don't like the idea of personal information being easily available, especially as they receive so many requests that they are probably fairly easy to spoof. It won't put me of using their services but I don't like it and hope that the negative publicity that news has generated will make them change the practice. Read more by clicking HERE. Thanks to Steve for this.
Just a reminder: The BBC's latest online webcast will be broadcast tomorrow at 3 o'clock and throughout the week thereafter. Click HERE for the webpage.
(21.02.03) The Register has taken another email tip from this website, this time for the story of the 19th about chatroom risks. Which is nice, considering how many stories I take from them! Read their version by clicking HERE.
Radio 4's Material world had a good piece about the way that hackers are tracked down using "forensic computing" and thanks to the miracle of Internet Radio you can listen to it whenever you want. Just click HERE then on the page link (the item is about half way through the archive clip). Thanks to doggo for sending this in.
(20.02.03) It may surprise some but it is actually possible something useful with a computer! It doesn't even involve any actual work either or even knowing anything, just the willingness to give up the XP screensaver and to allow someone else to make use of the time it would be running.
It's very simple, their are lots of big research projects going on which need process data. Rather than spend their funds on buying gigantic computers they farm out the work in tiny chunks to the computers of private individuals like you and me. All you have to do is to visit their website, download a small program and the next time your screensaver kicks in it will get to work. When it has finished with data it waits until you go online, sends in its homework and gets some more. It costs nothing and you get the satisfaction of knowing that someone is getting some use out of your computer. There are projects to suit all interests, here's a sample (click on the bold text to go that website):
Genomeathomehelp the unravelling of the human genome.
Setiathome search for extra terrestrial life.
Intel United Devices Cancer Rearch Project
GIMPS research prime numbers.
Fight AIDS at home.
medical research into how proteins assemble themselves, helps work on things like alzheimers, cystic fibrosis and cancer.
Thanks to Felicity Hansen for reminding me about this!
(19.02.03) Chatroom risks: If this doesn't make you take notice of what your children are doing online nothing will! 15 year old Danielle Athni has managed to trap the fraudster who who stole details of a her fathers credit card and used them to purchase over £700 worth of software and services. The theft had occurred three years ago when Danni met "Gafferboy" in a chatroom and accepted an email attachment from him which allowed him to gain access to the family computer. She tracked him down in another chatroom which specialised in hacking and persuaded him to send her his real name and address. This sounds all well and good until you realise that he had got away with this and other offenses for three years and the police had been unable to catch him. It is impossible to guard yourself against this sort of attack if you accept the email and attachment because they can be written as one offs and so your anti-virus software won't pick them up, so as I written so many times before talk to your children, train them to be careful online and don't let them give their details to or accept attachments from, strangers! Read more by clicking HERE.
(18.02.03) BBC Online has started to broadcast webcasts just for the Internet on Mondays (could kick myself for not posting this on Sunday) and repeated throughout the week. They concentrate on computer and Internet issues and you can write in and comment on them. This weeks edition includes a timely item about recycling old computers and is well worth a listen. Click HERE to view (it gives a choice between 56 and 14k connections) and if you write in to them mention who sent you!
(17.02.03) A virus warning for all you Kasarr and kazarr users. The Igloo trojan promises pictures of various Hollywood stars but delivers a backdoor program along with them. Symantec (Norton) will add it to the automatic update list on the 19th and it's available for manual download now. Click HERE to do so and read more.
A spooky robot head was unveiled today, capable of mimicing human emotions by analysing expressions on peoples faces via cameras in it's eyes. It's hailed as a further step in computers being able to interact with people. Click HERE to read more.
(15.02.03) Some of you may have noticed stories about the US are to use cyber war techniques in the war against Iraq and also that the Slammer worm was blamed on cyber terrorists ( it wasn't them, just the usual suspects). It turns out waging cyber war on a country where only about 6 people are online and there aren't even that many official computers boils down to "agents" unplugging the the phone lines at the exchanges. Hey, maybe they've been practicing on Easdale! Read more HERE.
(12.02.03) That island that was up for sale by the sq. foot is now up for sale on ebay a sales concept. Having completely failed to sell enough to justify the original purchasers the chancer, sorry entrenpeneur, has decided to sell the concept of selling off a bit of rock covered in grass in tiny bit to idiots, sorry, Americans has put it for auction. There's 8 days left, it's reached $100 000 but not it's reserve. Click HERE to bid. Thanks to Steve for the tip.
(11.02.03) Those of you who already owned computers before the NAIDC one arrived might be interested to know that the price of DDR memory has fallen dramatically recently, for some models it is almost equal with that of SDRAM. This due to a huge increase in manufacturing capacity and won't last forever in my opinion. Some companies will inevitably close and prices will stabilise and may rise in the future. SDRAM prices in contrast have risen over the last couple of months from a low of £22 for 256mb to £31 ( they seem to be fluctuating around this figure) because of plant closures.
(10.02.03) CD sales are down and it's all the fault of all you folk with CD-RWs and your swopping of music on the Internet. It's not because the age profile of the western world is heading towards an epidemic of Victor Meldrews or that there hasn't been anything worth shelling out £14.99 for since, erm, (?). How many Eminems albums does one person need? No, it's because you are copying music onto your computer and putting it on CDs to give to your friends. Just like you did with cassettes, you're a very bad person. It says so HERE.
(08.02.03) In Boulder, Colorada, a police SWAT team was called out to a domestic dispute after a man was heard to threaten to kill another occupant of the apartment. People were evacuated, roads closed but the team left without making an arrest after bursting in and finding the armed man screaming at his computer rather than his wife. As he owned the gun legally no offense had been committed and no action was taken. Read more by clicking HERE.
(05.01.03) If computer chips are to go faster the connections have to get closer and the wires thinner because that's the basic reason that our computer's are quicker than Charles Babbage's, what he put in a shed Intel can put on a pin. The circuitry in a chip is now so thin that it could fit in the smallest of the 3rd Policemans small boxes and still have room for his lunch. They can't go any faster without finding a new way of making small circuits and so they have. Hewlett Packard (who now own the makers of our PCs btw) announced the highest-density memory to date today based on molecular level connections so small that a 1000 64 bit units could sit on the end of a human hair. Boggle your mind by clicking HERE.
(07.02.03) I just liked this article on the rise on security measures over the last year, see if you do too by clickingHERE.
(04.02.03) Microsoft is releasing a new version of Service Pack 1 as a result of a court action taken by Sun Microsystems. They have been instructed to include Sun’s Java Virtual Machine (JVM) rather than MS’s version, Microsoft VM. MS included MVM with the first release of SP1, SP1a will not have either and JVM will be available via XP Update. Later this year SP1b will be released with JVM. I think I’ve got all this right, check for yourself by clicking HERE. It seems to me that if you need to install SP1 you would be better off borrowing an old copy which includes MVM rather than go through the hassle of an extra download. VM is a program that web developers use to add functionality to websites
Yahoo and other providers of children’s chatrooms have not adopted government guidelines due to them being owned by US corporations. As has been said many times before, it is up to parents to instruct their children in safe internet practice and monitor their computer use. There have been 12 children assaulted in the UK as a direct result of chatroom contacts. Read the full story by clicking HERE.
(03.02.03) The Slammer worm has been the fastest spreading virus in history, outstripping Klez, ILoveyou and BugBear in the short time it's been around. It can also claim to be the to have effected more people than any other too, as it prevented us all from accessing webpages. It even effected, don't laugh, Microsoft, read how by clicking HERE.
Bill Gates launched a new generation of Microsoft products today, claiming it was the future of learning and on-the-fly record keeping. Praising it's combination of innovation and simplicity he anticipated a large market in the third world and state school systems in the UK and US. MS-S&C as it is known utilises mineral based in and output mediums and is set to take the world by storm. MS said that it would aggressively defend patents against people recreating the new product for themselves. Click HERE for photo.
(01.02.03) Virus Alert! A new vulnerability has been found in Outlook Express that allows code writers to disguise viruses in a new way. By adding three extensions to the end of a file name it fools OE into displaying one thing, a jpeg icon for example, when clicking on an attachment actually activates an .exe file. The one virus they have found out in the wild so far, sadhound, doesn't have the ability to replicate itself, so it is unlikely to become very common. Unlike most viruses I've reported on however, this one isn't detected by Norton yet, you can go to their site ( click HERE ) and download an update but the automatic update won't get the definition until later this week. So be careful what you open, save to disc and wait if you have doubts about the sender. More details HERE Spyware is the little brother of the sadhound virus mentioned above. Rather than taking over your computer and allowing someone else to control it, it makes automatic changes and sends info about your surfing habits back to its homebase. A particularly nasty example of it was reported by the BBC this week, Xupiter, a browser pluggin that changes various bits of your browser etc. You're unlikely to get it on your computer because it only installs automatically if you've lowered your security settings. Read about it HERE and check out the Computer Updates page for a tool to remove spyware from your computer.
(31.01.03) The BBC has been caught by a virus again, this time sending out emails infected with the SoBig worm to people on the Archers mailing list after it had apparently been circulating the Beeb’s internal mail system unchecked. They were good enough to write to everyone to tell them and included a link to the Symantec’s removal tool. Oddly I missed this on the BBC website, instead Steve found it HERE.
The AOL users amongst you might be interested in this story about the company’s astonishing lose of $45 billion in the last quarter of last year. Even more amazing was the chief executive who described himself as satisfied with the performance! Read more in this long but easy to read article in the Herald Tribune HERE.
(29.01.03) The Government announced new legislation to make internet the stalking of children in chatrooms by adults a criminal offence punishable by up to 5 years in prison. If it became known that an adult was entering a childrens chatroom pretending to be a child then a restraining order would be issued. The studies that underlie this found that on average a child could expect to be approached by an imposter within 20 minutes of being in a chatroom, 20% of children reported inapropriate conversations and of those 10% had secret meetings with people they had met online. Read more by clicking HERE. Read a guide to online safety by clicking the link on the left.
Vodaphone users will be able to access hotmail and other Microsoft services it was announced today. Erm, this is interesting but I can't think of anything else to say about it but you can read the full details HERE.
(27.01.03) I've had quite a few messages relating to the difficulty of people accessing emails or the erratic behavior of the internet. I think these could be due to the virus effecting Microsoft servers across the world (see story below).
Microsoft is in breach of the data protection act, which regulates the keeping of electronic data, having forgotten to renew their license. And I thought I was inefficient! Read more detail HERE.
(25.01.03) Websites all over the world are facing difficulties due to a virus emanating from the far east which is mounting "denial of service" attacks on servers using MS software (maybe that's why A&B went for Apache). As I understand it these attacks involve flooding a computer with so much incoming data that they cannot cope and cease to function properly, while we aren't effected directly, other than not being able to visit some websites, it does have direct relevance to us. Many of the patches released by MS are for things that allow our computers to be used to mount such an attack and it's what our firewalls protect us against, people hijacking our computers and using them as a base. Click HERE to read more.
(24.01.03) Memory prices went up this week for the first time since well before Christmas following the longest period of price stability I can remember. They have risen from £26.99 to £28.99 in £1 steps and 256mb is now £34.06 inc VAT & P&P from Crucial. I monitor prices and post the current one in the mouseover text on the Crucial advert on the forum.
I got sent a tip about a security vulnerability yesterday that seemed so big and complicated that I felt I should analysis it before posting. Keep checking back, there isn't a patch for it yet but it's as well to be aware.
(22.01.03) My friend Tim Berners-Lee (well, he send me an email...) is in an argument with Microsoft over WC3's policy of developing royalty free Internet standards. Tim believes that the Internet should be freely available to all, while MS argues that patents need to be enforced in order to encourage companies to develop new technologies. Read more by clicking HERE.
(21.01.03) HP (Hewlett-Packard) have become the biggest seller of PC since there takeover of Compaq, who made our computers. Despite sales dropping, the overall sales of the two combined companies narrowly outstripped Dell's. It's interesting that the worlds biggest sellers aren't the most heavily advertised and aimed at the private user but the companies that are primarily aimed at the business end. Read a bit more HERE.
Online gamers (hey dudes!) should be aware of a threat slightly more significant than your overarmed opponent. The networking software used by companies like Gamespy who network players (a great company btw) allows "denial of service attacks" to walk through firewalls, basically enabling the flooding of a remote computer's internet connection and causing it to crash. This is too complicated to go into detail about here, read the full story (but only if a member of the family plays online) HERE.
(19.01.03) The Sobig worm has turned up on local computers, presumably from someone using an old machine without an up to date AV program. As the story below points out the NAIDC Norton AV will spot and deal with the threat. The only people who need worry are those using an old computer or who go straight to their email having been off-line for a while. If you've been off-line for over a week you should connect to the internet and allow Norton time to update itself.
(16.01.03) Three stories relating to "open source" (software where the core code is publicly available to developers) today.
Nokia, the worlds largest mobile phone maker, is to offer programmers a free Java based system to develop its software for its phones ( inquierer HERE a development which may or may not be connected with the problems of MS based mobies ( Register HERE ).
Microsoft is to allow governments, including the UK's, access to the core codes behind some MS applications. Not all the code, 3% will still be secret and access will only be available for the upper levels of government, not councils etc. The idea is to make it possible for them to build in their own security safegaurds in the same way as they can with Linux based systems. Read more by clicking HERE.
(15.01.03) The Register, for a long time a favourite source of stories, has used the tip that I sent them about the BBC's virus problems (see story below)! This is the first time this has happened, I get a lot of local news first (and last) but I've never spotted anything in the wider computer world worth passing on before. Read their take on the BBC's difficulties by clicking HERE.
(14.01.03) A preview of the upcoming (as I believe Tony refers to it as) war is available by clicking HERE. I found it worryingly convincing. I take no responsibility for anyone visiting any of other content available on the same website, particularly the strippers, which is just plain disturbing and clearly the product of a warped mind.
(13.01.03) The BBC has been struck down by the virus that I wrote about on Saturday! What is odd about this is that although they ran a story about any earlier variation of the same virus which effected, amongst others BSkyB but there's no mention of their own problems on the BBC website. Read more details on the latest infection HERE and read the old BBC story by clicking HERE.
(12.01.03) ID cards aren't of immediate relevance to local computer users but if you are as concerned with security as I am, or as sceptical of their merits you might be interested in this link. It's to a page that allows enables you to easily send your views to the home office on the subject (they're collecting the views of the public on the subject). The slant of the website is against ID cards but you can support them if you wish too. Go to the page by clicking HERE and select option two to put things in your own words.
(11.01.03) Another big virus alert will probably appear across the media this week and again Norton is protecting our computers. Three of the "worms" that are being highlighted, Lirva.A, ExploreZip.E and Lirva.B work through the kazaa file sharing system (see stories below), conning the gullible into opening dodgy files and the other, Sobig, appears in your inbox with an attachment which tempts you to open it. As usual regular webusers are protected by Nortons automatic update (it did so today), it only those people who are not using their computer regularly that are at risk. They should go online and visit a few webpages or something and allow Norton to update before downloading and opening emails.
(09.01.03) MSN 8 arrived today in the form of a free disc on a magazine and I was struck by how many services it offered. Easy parental controls for parents, anti-spam service, anti-virus system and much more. It costs from £5 per month and I was wondering if it was a product worth getting if you have children. If anyone has experience of it please email me. Click HERE to visit the MSN 8 website.
(05.01.03) Google has launched a searchable news service which you can access from its usual search page. Still in its beta stage, it has 4000 news items that are updated continuously and cover all sorts of subjects. Click on the image to visit.
Yesterday's story about Argyll & Bute's website caused a tiny ripple of controversy on the message board which might interest one or two of you, check out the thread by clicking HERE.
(04.01.03) Really anorak this but Argyll & Bute's new and very good website*, has changed from using Microsoft's IIS v5 (which Argyllcom uses) to the open source Apache Tomcat, which is a Java based system owned by arch MS rival, Sun Systems. What all this means I've no idea but it appealed to my inner geek.
*See News yesterday.
(03.01.02) Microsoft has issued a hotfix (a patch for computers suffering a specific problem) for people who's computers are behaving like this: After logging onto the computer and accessing programs form the start menu:
Window's Explorer quits unexpectedly.
You receive an "Access Denied" error message.
This hotfix is only for those whose computer is showing the above symptoms and is not applicable to those whose computers don't. For further details go HERE.
(31.12.02) The BBC report the appearance of a new virus, Yaha K, which has infected 26 000 computers across the UK since its detection on December 21st. However your computer will be protected provided the virus definition date is dated the 30th and it should be if you have automatic update operating. Most people will be unaffected but those who do not connect often should be told not open Outlook Express until they have been online for a ten minutes or so (this will allow Norton to update). Read the BBC story HERE and Nortons response HERE.
Intel intends to call the successor to the Pentium the "Prescott". Industry insiders that it will achieve great success despite being very poor at processing basic language....
(30.12.02) The Enquirer reports that tests in Italy on the latest version of DirectX (9) have found problems when handling multiplayer games such as Microsoft Flight Simulator that result in the game becoming unplayable. These problems are then replicated in the single player mode. The problems occurred across a range of graphic cards on machines that had perfectly well on (reliable) Direct8. The Enquirer article leads to an article on an Italian website which is worth translating if only for comedy purposes. Click HERE for the Enquirer.
(29.12.02) Microsoft is to adopt similar techniques to stop spammers creating computer generated email addresses. The big spammers are companies that provide a service to merchants which creates millions of emails a day. In order to do this they need to create temporary addresses to prevent people from blocking them. They can only do this with an automated process and it is this that Microsoft aims to stop. The technology creates slightly mangled words in the email application form which, while easily recognised by a human, will confuse a computer. Yahoo has been using similar methods for some time, which is why you don't get so much spam from their addresses anymore. Read the whole story on CBS News HERE.
(27.12.02) The Register reported two stories about Microsoft this week that look connected to me. Firstly Microsoft have been told to carry to Sun Systems Java along with .NET on it's computers in a temporary injunction. The judge said said .NET was to be become the more successful it should be because of quality not because of its makers dominant market position. Read the full story HERE.
Meanwhile Microsoft is believed to be planning the acquisition of Macromedia the makers of "Flash" programming. The technology would become part .NET and give the application the ability to rival Java. Read the story HERE.
(23.12.02) Commercial TV companies have complained the Dept. of Media about the way that the BBC subsidies it's online services from license fee. They say that this unfair as they have to pay through advertising and that UK viewers are paying for a service provided to millions of people world wide. This maybe true but the BBC website is one of the great things about the internet and anyone who uses it will want the present system of support to continue. You can have your say by emailing the Secretary of State, Tessa Jowell by clicking HERE and read a fuller version of the Observers story by clicking HERE.
(21.12.02) Microsoft is facing two potentially very³ expensive copyright actions next year. The first comes from Eolas Technologies Inc and Regents University, California and claims that Internet Explorer contains technology they hold the rights to. Which would mean that MS owes them money on every copy of Win95 onwards and the second case is just as serious. InterTrust Technologies say they own the DRM (Digital Rights Management) system that allows the secure transmission of data between computers. To get an idea how valuable this might be, Sony and Phillips fought to buy the small Californian for over $400 million and failed earlier this year. Read the full stories at the Register by clicking HERE and at Fortune by clicking HERE.
(20.12.02) RealPlayer V2 Gold has realeased the patch for the security hole mentioned below, although patch is not quiet the word for a download of over 8 mb! Rather its virtually a complete reinstall and is a rediculous size for people on slow connection. Some of these updates are getting to be a real pain, far to big and far to regular. The companies should be testing more efectively befor releasing the programs in my opinion. For download open RealPlayer, click on "Tools" and then "Check for Update". If you are still using version one, wait until you see the new version on a cover disc.
(17.12.02) BT has made two dramatic changes to it's broadband policy. Firstly it's halved the cost of it's wholesale product, that's the price it sells capapcity to the other ISPs for and secondly it's dropped the 42 day "confirmation" window. This was the time in which ISPs had to confirm sales in between an exchange reaching it's trigger level of people registering interest and BT upgrading the exchange. Now BT will upgrade an exchange as soon as sufficient people register their desire for broadband. I got both these stories from Computer Buyer magazine and you read them for yourself by clicking on PRICE and CONFIRMATION.
(16.12.02) A 12 year old boy has spoofed government advisors into sending him emails intended for the Prime Minister. In an interview on BBC Online (click link) he demonstrates how he did it. The piece is a bit misleading in that it implies that he has somehow hacked into the mail system and that anyone who downloads a bit of software could do it. In fact all he has done is to change the name that his email appears to come from and someone has replied thinking he was Tony Blair, very funny but hardly a security risk for the rest of us, more an example of Government not grasping the basics of the present day internet. If you have RealPlayer click HERE to hear the interview, if not use the link above to get it.
I wondered if people would be tempted by the story to try and get hacking tools for email addresses and had a look around for what was available to the average person. Nothing would sum up the situation I think but there are an amazing number of forums where people are still getting conned out of their passwords with promises of hacking tools. I've added the password scam to the forum thread and you can read it by clicking HERE (scroll to the end of the thread). There's also new message about phoney ebay and AOL website pages.
Don't be fooled by fake security alerts that pop-up when you surf the net! These are a misleading form of advertising designed to trap the unwary, typically they look like this one. Clicking on OK will take you to a page trying to flog you some sort of security software. What's nasty about them is that they have an element of truth, you are broadcasting an IP address when you surf but this changes everytime you connect to the internet, it's not like a phone number. These adverts are produced by a company called Bonzi and are the subject of a class action (where lots of individuals get together) in the United States. Variants on these include fake error messages and warnings that your modem isn't working efficiently. Click here for illustration
(14.12.02) RealPlayer (our favourite internet radio) is looking at ways to patch security flaws that can allow malicious code to be run from websites on peoples computers. It's highly unlikely that these will effect most people as they just visit the BBC but it might effect people who visit some of the darker but remarkably well known, corners of the net. Read the story by clicking HERE. Thanks to Steve for the tip.
(13.12.02) Critical Update MS02-69 is a YES, the way they'd written the warning was confusing but it appears that the vulnerability enables programmers to embed damaging code into a webpage. I and another user have not been able to download the recent patches due to the page failing, if anyone else has had a similar experience let me know.
China has the fastest take up of broadband according to the Register while the UK lies in 13th position for actual lines installed. Click HERE for the full story.
(12.12.02) Critical Updates MS02-69 yes ( I think, the bulletin was evn more confusing than usual ), MS02-70 yes ( but No if you have installed XP SP1 ), MS02-71 YES.
(11.12.02) The Register (my favourite online mag) reports a heartening story of a small victory in the war against spam. Mike Wendland, who runs a business that every day sends out millions of spam emails for others has been inundated with junk mail by angry internet users. A website posted his home address and suggested that people sign him up for every offer going! He's most upset. Read the whole story by clicking Here and visit the website that inspired it HERE, you can even sign up and join the fight!
(08.12.02) Tech' News has been renamed Anorak News for no particular reason and to mark the occasion I've started a new thread at the Forum called, er, Anorak News. The first item is the release of the first leaked screenshots of Microsoft's "longhorn" operating system, something of interest to anoraks and geeks everywhere. But no one else. Click HERE to see them.
(06.12.02) Microsoft have upgraded the threat of to critical update bulletin MS-0268 to YES.
(06.12.02) A nasty new email scam arrived in my mail this morning, at first I thought it was genuine. The email opens to reveal a very sophisticated advertisement purporting to come from a charity raising money for AIDS victims in Africa. It offered to sell me a rather good picture for $100 but closer inspection revealed it to be another scam. There was no charity number, it came from a Hotmail address and other than the link to online payments, no website. A search of Google revealed that there was a charity helping AIDS victims in New York with a similer but nothing matching the exact name on the email. If you get an appeal from the "Momentum Progect", ignore it and also be careful of any other email appeal. Always check that it's a legitimate charity and has a contact website.
(05.12.02) Microsoft Critical Update Bulletins MS 0267 Yes, MS 0268 Yes (0268 is a cumulative patch, so if you haven't done one for while it will kill a lot of birds with one stone)
(30.11.02) UFOs in Cyberspace? Yes, the government plans to release official information on UFOs on the web as a result of recent freedom of information legislation (recent in a geological sense). Read more HERE(29.11.02) A trial of a new broadband technology is taking place in Essex that could have a significant impact on many remote communities. "Long Range" wireless broadband is being provided for 30 users but the trial will be enlarged to cover Colchester, Ipswich and parts of neighboring Suffolk. Each mast has a range of 25 miles and can deliver at speeds at up to 1.5mbps (3 times faster than asdl). According to the Register the estimated cost per month will be £14.50. Read the Register story HERE and visit the project website HERE.
(28.11.02) BBC Online is reporting the emergence of a new worm (a sort of virus), WineVar. It's a particularly nasty one but fortunately the last Norton automatic update contained the definition for it, so if yours are dated 24th of November or later then you'll be OK. However a lot of us help people go online for the first time and the first thing we do is to check email. It might be worth making sure that Norton has updated (which it will of its own accord) before opening any new messages. Thanks to Dr.Zog for bringing this to my attention.
T-Mobile have installed the first firewall for the US users of it's GPRS (or "G3") mobile phones in a bid to fight the first signs of mobile hacking. This is the technology that NAIDC intends to use to connect a few remote homes which cannot get a BT phoneline installed and so of some local interest. You can read more by clicking HERE. I don't know how vodaphone charges for its G3 phones but the article says that T-Mobile charges by the mb, it would be cheaper for NAIDC to give me a two way satelite link than a phone that charged like that!
(27.11.02) Sony has announced new copy protection to prevent sharing and piracy. Sharing is the real target as the pirates find a way round anything pretty quickly. New Cds will be encrypted with a code similar to Microsofts XP activation system and customers will have to get a decryption key from the internet if they want to store a CD on a computer. The first key is free allowing the music to kept on one system but subsequent keys will be charged on a per track basis, so copying and sharing will no longer be free. The idea has been met with equal amounts a derision and anger in various music sharing forums. This is just another step in the music industry's move to restrict the use of its products, even if they inconvenience the consumer in doing so. What's odd is that the people who make the uncrackable CDs are the same people who make the blank CDs and the technology that copies them. They should take themselves to court.
(23.11.02) Microsoft have responded to my (well, maybe not just my) emails concerning the complexity of their critical update bulletins by announcing they are going to improve the service to home users. In the near future a simplified bulletin will replace the present practically indecipherable one and they have also created a security page, full of useful info, especially for the home user which you can visit by clicking HERE. Of course they haven't made things completely user friendly, home users may no longer be referred to as "Client Systems" but instead "End Users". Why not "Home Users"? Thats what we are.
(22.11.02) Emails containing .exe files may have a problem getting through if you have installed all the upgrades and patches for Outlook Express. A friend emailed me a copy of a free program and at first it was rejected by the server or possibly my email (I don't think this was the case, I saw no sign of it trying download). When he put it in a zip file and remailed it came through without problem. Both of us have got all the upgrades etc and the security protocols (or whatever they're called) maybe the cause.
(21.11.02) Critical Update Bulletins MS02-065, YES; MS02-066 is a cumulative patch for Internet Explorer so it's a YES and there's a revision to MS02-050, YES.
Microsoft Messenger's latest upgrade to version 5 seems to be prone to crashing, if you've still got v4.7 stick with it until they sort the problems. Thanks to sgegreen for this.
(16.11.02) LG Electronics, famous for their cheap and reliable computer components and white goods, have put on sale something of that can only be described as a luxury. Well not only, I was going to say useless but there's no need to be insulting. Click HERE (then take interactive tour) and wonder at the Internet fridge. Great website though, other highlights include an internet microwave, for those who can't wait 45 seconds until eating after arriving home and the internet washing machine (why?).
(14.11.02) Bad news for those of us who still run computers on Win95/8 according to THIS article from the online magazine the Register. In a recent speech a MS director anticipated the time when MS would have to stop making new products retrospectively compatible with older operating systems. Which will rather leave the majority of the world who use Win95 (yes I was surprised too) with no choice but to upgrade.
(13.11.02) AltaVista has relaunched in a leaner and meaner form. Once upon a time they were the top search engine, then they decided to turn themselves into a portal to compete with Yahoo and MSN and then Google came along. The new AltaVista is a nicely organised search engine with some nice features, like suggesting keywords to add to your search for instance. It doesn't turn up the ten pages or more that Google can and the results seem more focused. See for yourself by clicking HERE.
(10.11.02) Our right to play digital media and to share it are soon to be seriously compromised by the way the UK Government is choosing to implement a new EU directive. The new directives are aimed at allowing big media companies to encrypt their data against illegal reproduction and stopping home copying. In the UKs vision of the directive there is no need for them to also make sure that the CD or whatever is playable across all devices and you have no comeback against them if it's not. Unbelievable but true, your only recourse is to complain directly to the home office who will pass the complaint onto the company! (also see archive story regarding Windows Media Player v9 beta).
(07.11.02) Not critical updates but two minor fixes have been released by Microsoft, they cure a couple of glitches in XP and OE. No need to go into details, which is good because I don't really understand them, you can get them HERE and HERE.
(05.11.02) Worlds smallest web-ad launched. Proving that a good ad doesn't have to be as intrusive as the ones that infested the forum recently to be effective, the MicroMachines PC game launched a 10X10 pixel promo ad today. What's really neat is that though it's small it's got interactive features, some of which don't even have anything to do with the game. Click on the right bit of the ad and you can play the smallest game of pong I've ever see. Click HERE to see it.
(31.10.02) Latest update bulletins from Microsoft: MS02 62, 63 & 64 all "yes" but only just.
(29.10.02) Two new email scams on the loose, both of which involve "e-cards", electronic greetings cards sent via email. Both arrive telling you have an e-greetings card and ask you to download software to view them, something we're all familiar with but these little ActiveX controls don't do what they say on the tin! Once installed the one from FriendGreetings.com runs a program that remails the greetings card to your entire address book, which is bad enough but the other's worse. It comes from egreetings@yahoo.com (a false address) and it installs an AX control that monitors your surfing and deluges you with pop-up ads for porn sites it thinks you might visit. Amazingly none of this is illegal as you have agreed to download the controls!
(25.10.02) More critical updates but thankfully none are really urgent: mso2-059: yes, -060: yes -061: no. "yes" is such a vague threat that not even I worry about it and I worry about everything!
Yet another alert about the African email scam, visit the Mets' website to learn more!
And don't get taken in by the "Teddy bear" virus! It arrives, often from a friend, telling you about a new virus that Norton can't pick up and tells you to delete a file on your computer. The file is part of your operating system and may cause some programs not to run. Read the details HERE.I go on about computer security a lot but then I have been on line for over five years and have never been effected by a virus or any of the computer nasties out there. If you're a worrier too you'll enjoy this webpage, it probes the connection ports on your computer for vulnerabilities. As you've got a firwall it won't find much wrong but it will find one significant port open. It's the Universal Plugin and Play port which is kept open by default. Fortunately the site also has a little application that closes it for you. Test your ports by clicking HERE.
(11.10.02) Microsoft Bulletin : MS02-058 YES (If you've followed my tips about getting XP service packs on disc these updates only take a few minutes to download.
The 4 latest critical updates apply to us as follows: MS02-054 yes, -055 YES, -056 no, -057 yes. As you can see I've adopted a new format for multiple updates; no, yes and YES, I think they are pretty self explanatory.
Broadband via satellite will soon become a real alternative for those out of the range of ASDL! Its not cheap and it's only one way, you upload via your phone but you download at 1.5mbs, almost 30 times faster than our current maximum 56k! This would make downloading programs and other large files a realistic prospect, as well as streaming video. It will cost around £30 pm unmetered + a installation fee for the dish etc. Thanks to bhouys2000 for posting this on the forum. If you want more details check his message by clicking HERE.
(03.10.02) VIRUS ALERT! People are sending out the BugBear virus. I have been sent it and I know of one other case, as we are all connected via our email it could spread through the community very fast. Fortunately I had received a warning from Symantec this morning and had updated my AV program so I was unaffected. The solution is to update your AV manually rather than wait for auto update. details of how to do this on the Computer Tips page (scroll down)
If you have been infected you may have to remove the virus manually. To do this you will need a bug remover. Download the one you need by clicking HERE. When the window opens click on the links in left panel to find the download.
I'd just like to add that bugbear does a really scary thing, it searches through your computer and steals any personal information that you may have. This will include credit card details or bank paswords that you might have hanging around in Internet history....EEK!
Sorry about this but the story I ran about the upgrade potential of these computers turns out to be rubbish. The upgrades only apply to old Celeron/Pentium mobo's but ours have the more modern ones to start with. The furthest we can go is a Pentium III 1.4, which would cost about £140+VAT and isn't really worth it. Sorry for getting your hopes up and thanks to Steve for pointing out the error.
I'm a little sorry about this but the Greek government has decided to rescind it's law banning computer games (see story below), possibly the first case of a law being overturned by laughter...
Microsoft are teaming up with Brightmail to stop "porn" spam. Hooray! Even if you're a broad minded adult, endless invitations to visit Tracy's webcam are as tedious and as they are offensive. Previously Brightmail have offered it's screening service exclusively to businesses but now, through Microsoft, they will be available to all. Essentially it works in the same way as Nortons parental controls, it builds up a huge database of banned spam and eliminates them from the emails you download. I haven't got more details but I think this will happen at the server rather than you having to download the program as you do with Norton. More news as I get it.
I just heard this on Radio 5, the worlds best ever paper plain has been launched on the world and the design is available from Physics.org. Go get it!
The first Smiley was not invented in 1982 as claimed by many but by the head of IT at Coca Cola by a Mr (wait for it) Smiley, who used to create them on the screen and then print them out for his son, Ken. This story would be a complete waste of space if it was not for the name of the inventor. (From the Register)
Have you had problems getting through to either an 0880 or 0845 number? These are commonly used by companies providing free call numbers for there customers. Problems started occurring yesterday and were felt nation wide. I haven't heard any reports of people having problems getting through to the Scottish Executive helpline but that is run by PC Business and they are the business!
(05.09.02)Greece has banned computer games! This story is so weird I triple checked before I wrote this and I'm still a bit suspicious. In order to cut down illegal gambling the Greeks have banned all electronic games in either public or private places on both PCs and mobile phones. Theoretically you could be arrested for taking your moby on holiday! For more details click here.
(04.09.02)Microsoft Security Bulletin MS02-050: Certificate Validation Flaw Could Enable Identity Spoofing. Did you understand that? If you did email me, I need people like you. However it does effect the domestic user from what I can tell and MS describe the it as "critical", which is their highest rating I think. To update follow the step by step in "Computer Tips". This update takes 1 minute.
(01.09.02) Spyware that tracks every action you take on your computer is now commercially available! Although it is sold as a tool for worried parents and bosses to monitor their children's and employees activities, it also comes with complete instructions for the software to be installed on a remote computer. The products terms of use states that if it installed without the legal right to do so then the terms of use have been broken there is nothing to stop someone actually doing it.
This software can track everything from programs launched to chatroom activity and sends reports to the monitoring computer. It arrives as an .exe file attachment and the company advises that this be renamed to be tempting to the recipient.
I will check around for removal programs but be extra vigilant when opening .exe files in future!
(30.08.02) Microsoft Security Bulletin MS02-048 issued this week is additional to the one in news and seems to be relevant to the home users. I advise you go to Microsoft update by clicking on help at the top of Internet Explorer and then on Microsoft Update. This update takes one minute.
(21.08.02) Have you ever received an email from Nigeria claiming to be from lawyers trying to free up several million pounds in frozen grant money? Or maybe claiming you were the last surviving relative of the victim of a fatal car crash and were set to inherit a lot of money? In both scenarios all you had to do to get your hands on the huge pile of cash was to send some money to cover the costs of the legal processes, sometimes several thousand pounds. You might even have been given a link to the website of the "National Bank of South Africa". I've been sent many versions of these emails and needless say I ignored them. Many people didn't and they managed to scam tens of thousands of pounds from less suspicious people. Well Interpol have caught them! Last week they arrested 15 men, closed down their fake SA Bank website and froze several bank accounts. I expect that very few of the victims will ever see their money again but at least they won't be bothering me for while.
Until the next scam artist turns up that is.
(19.08.02) According to Computer Buyer some Freeserve Anytime customers have been connected to the wrong number. Now, this isn't effecting people who have been connected by the NAIDC installers, although I would check anyway but those who have manually configured the connection themselves. In some cases they had been talked through the process by the Freeserve helpline at 50p a minute! Some people have run up bills of over £700, if that wasn't bad enough they were still being charged the £13.99 for their anytime package.
This might effect the few people who got the email from Freeserve (see news) and then used the helpline to reconfigure their connection. The crucial thing to note when checking your connection is that all Anytime packages start with the numbers 0808 or 161642.
Freeserve has introduced a mechanism that checks that you are connected to the right number and sends you an email if you're connected to the wrong one but for some reason this only kicks in after two weeks and you can spend a lot of time on the internet in two weeks.
The planet saw the arrival of it's one billionth computer last month. It has taken 20 years to reach this number but they reckon that it will only take another six to reach two billion. Remarkably this means that computer ownership is the only thing on earth growing at a faster rate than people are becoming Elvis impersonators. In an odd coincidence this sites front page had it's one thousandth hit last week, surely some kind of omen.
Or maybe it demonstrates that it just has some way to go in terms of market penetration...
If you're a BT Openworld customer you may have noticed a lot of sites becoming unavailable recently. That old error 404s got you in its spell. According to PC Buyer this is down to BT failing to correct a problem with it's Domain Name Server. The DNS turns the site name into a string of numbers which it then uses to identify the site, out of date numbers will result in the old 404 popping up
BT have known about this since July but haven't done anything yet.
Broadband: BT has announced plans to enable customers connected to small exchanges the possibility of upgrading to ASDL. Previously they had insisted that it was uneconomic to upgrade if there were fewer than 200-400 customers expressing interest in broadband, the new minimum is 16. This is still to high for my exchange but will make it possible for people in most of the villages on Mull and on the smaller islands to get the service.
My thanks go to Dr Zog for drawing my attention to this and the good doctor has started a thread at the forum which goes into much more detail. Click here to read it (opens in new window) and have your say.
Britain's most powerful ginger haired man after Chris Evans, Robin Cook, wants your views on how technology can improve government at all levels. They will contribute towards the development of services such as booking doctors appointments, school registration, voting, web coverage of council meetings, it's endless really.
It has particular relevance to us because we live in a remote area and now we have a very rate of PC ownership.
Have your say by going to e-democracy.gov.uk.
(Opens in a new window)
Not exactly hot news but interesting none the less. Our new digital community is in a small way part of a very large dispute between Freeserve and the Government over VAT. Freeserve object to the way companies like AOL don't have to pay it because they're based overseas so they're moving their Anytime accounts to Maderia because it has a lower rate. They estimate they'll save over £4mil by doing this. (Computer Active)
Scary news of a new type of email virus that can infect jpegs! It just gladdens the heart to know that somewhere out there are people thinking up new ways to screw up our computers. As yet there have been no reported instances of such a virus in the wildbut they're coming! Keep those AVs updated.
New search engine "bigger than google" launched. According to ComputerBuyer mag it particularly good at sniffing out obscure bits of research from it's 2.1 billion(!) pages. So, a great source for those new Brittany pix then...
Check it out at alltheweb
| |
