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Newbies,Nerds & Nitwits. July 2002.
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sheldene chant
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Jul 14, 2002 07:22 PDT
|
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_______________________________________
NEWBIES, NERDS & NITWITS
Your 'support' ezine if you're nervous about the Net
July, 2002 Vol.2 Issue 7
Sheldene Chant, Editor
_____________________________________
By subscription only. Welcome to the 24th
offering from
Newbies, Nerds & Nitwits
You are receiving this newsletter because you
requested a subscription. Our subscriber list is
confidential. Unsubscribe instructions are at the
end of this ezine
____________________________________
IN THIS ISSUE
o Time for a Break...
o Defragmenting a Hard Disk is Not
Just a Drag
o Spyware & Adware
o Just How Private is Your eMail?
o How's Your e-Shorthand?
o 'Bad' Cookies - But Are They Really?
o Hot Tip - more keyboard magic
________________________________________
TIME FOR A BREAK...
_________________________________________
FORMER subscribers to 'NandN Update' are now receiving
'Newbies,Nerds & Nitwits' in its place and I hope you will all
enjoy your 'first' issue - after you've recovered from the shock
of discovering how lengthy it is (when compared to NandN
Update). The good news, however, is that we only publish
monthly...and on a regular basis.
There is also something cheering to tell our loyal NNandN
subscribers. Moving http://www.newbiesandnitwits.com to the
new web host is now completed (what a performance) so this
ezine will revert to reaching you mid-month rather than on the
very last day.
With regard to the website, Pam has the Forum set up and
although we're still sending each other test messages you're
invited to join in the fun - all suggestions very welcome.
In future the latest issue of 'Newbies, Nerds & Nitwits' will be put
on the website, soon after being sent to subscribers, so, if
you don't receive yours because of a full mailbox or whatever,
you'll be able to catch up with it online.
This issue includes a reminder that email messages resemble
postcards rather than sealed letters, so be discreet, and Tom
Glander explains how cookies (the cyber variety) can be good for
you.
If you're being bugged by Spyware and Adware (what's that?)
Pam Allen shows you how to sort this out, while I have some
tips for those who may be having difficulty scanning and
defragmenting a hard drive.
___________________________________
FREE TUTORIALS BY AUTORESPONDER
If you need to know more about backing up 'stuff' on your
computer click mailto:pearlsa-@fastresponder.com
and you should get the first tutorial within seconds.
If you are thinking about making your own web page, or
merely want to exercise your brain slightly, then send for
the web page tutorials by clicking
mailto:nerdsand-@fastresponder.com
Want to find files fast ?- then mailto:fin-@fastresponder.com
Organising your computer - mailto:org-@fastresponder.com
_______________________________________________
DEFRAGMENTING A HARD DISK IS NOT JUST A DRAG
_______________________________________________
ALTHOUGH I'll admit my overloaded PC works overtime, I still
object to the little quirks it develops on a regular basis.
Rebooting solves the problems some of the time but as a rule
it's Scandisk and Disk Defragmenter to the rescue. It never fails
to amaze me that some people never carry out these simple
maintenance tasks - and their computers are apparently
still operating!
Originally I relied on the Task Scheduler to run Scandisk and
defragment my hard drives while I was sleeping - but all I
achieved was a series of error messages so I was forced
to do it myself - but with encouraging results.
To get to these two tasks click on Start->Programs->
Accessories->System Tools. In the drop down menu you will
find both Scandisk and Disk Defragmenter but always run
Scandisk first.
It sounds simple - and it is - providing you turn off almost
everything else which may be running on your PC - with or
without your knowledge. And I mean almost everything -
including your virus scanner and screen saver, and only
excluding Explorer and Systray.
At first I thought I was the only one who had to go to these
lengths to run Scandisk and Disk Defragmenter successfully but
judging by the many letters I see in PC magazines, I'm not.
Start off by right clicking on the icons nestling in your System
Tray (bottom right on your screen) and close these programs.
Then do Ctrl->Alt->Delete (together) and you will see a list of
programs that are still in action (what a surprise). Highlight them
one at a time and click on Shut Down, until only Explorer and
Systray remain on the list.
Finally close your Screen Saver by clicking Start->Settings->
Control Panel->Display->Screen Saver. Select (None) from the
drop down menu in that dialogue box, then select Apply and OK.
This may sound like quite a mission but it's worth it. Scandisk
and Disk Defragmenter will run without hiccups and afterwards
your PC will behave itself beautifully - for a while.
And DON"T forget to re-enable your virus protection program as
soon as the tasks are completed. You'll have to reinstate your
screen saver but don't worry about anything else because the
programs you accessed via Ctrl/Alt/Delete will take care of
themselves.
Copyright 2002 Sheldene Chant.
____________________________________
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_______________________________________________
Pam Allen talks about
SPYWARE AND ADWARE
_______________________________________________
MOST of you have heard these terms, but may not be familiar
with what they are. Here's a quick explanation of how you're
affected and how to get rid of them.
Many programs, especially free or shareware programs, like to
include something 'extra'. In the case of spyware, it's an
application that runs in the background and tracks which sites
you visit, and what you do online. Programs that use this
technique routinely SWEAR that they just do it to better server
your needs. For instance, if you're using the Gator password
manager (which I love, by the way), it notices the sites you visit,
and what you're doing. If you search a site for info on a product,
Gator will whip out a popup up window that offers to take you to
a site that sells that product dirt cheap. Spyware is mainly
harmless, but it can be incredibly annoying.
Adware is very similar; 'targeted' ads will pop up with stunning
regularity as soon as you install the 'mother' program. Some
Adware is so sneaky that it will actually replace a REAL ad on a
webpage with one of its own.
Of course, there are also thousands of sites that spawn popup
ads on their own, hoping that you'll be so happy to see 200 ads
for sexual enhancement at once that you'll immediately race to
their sponsor and purchase one. To stop THOSE ads, get a
program like popup stopper, or AdAware, both available at
http://www.download.com.
To find out if you have any hidden spyware or adware on your
system, go to http://and.doxdesk.com (using Internet Explorer
only), and it will tell you if anything is detected. If anything is
found, the site will tell you how to get rid of it, and any other
programs that will perform the same function, but without spying
or advertising.
For instance, Gator can be replaced with a great password
manager called Roboform, and Roboform doesn't try
to sell you anything.
If you want to download Roboform click on
http://www.roboform.com/
(c)2001 Pam Allen
_________________________
Pam Allen is co-webmistress at
http://www.newbiesandnitwits.com and has another site
- http://www.quickdecor.com - which features speedy
and inexpensive decorating ideas.
_____________________________________
NN&N BACK ISSUES
To view previous issues of Newbies, Nerds & Nitwits
go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/nerdsandnitwits/read
- and don't forget to visit the Newbies, Nerds & Nitwits
website, often - for stacks of information:
http://www.newbiesandnitwits.com
________________________________________
HOW PRIVATE IS YOUR EMAIL?
asks Richard Lowe, Jr.
_________________________________________
MANY years ago I was a consultant for a company who decided
they wanted to perform a security audit of their computer
systems. One of the components of their system that I was
requested to check out was email. My client wanted to
determine if their email was secure.
It took me all of a minute to determine that their email was totally
and completely insecure. Fortunately for them, this was in the
days before it was common for company computer systems to
be directly connected to the internet, because their email
messages were stored in plain text in a well known system
location. In fact, not only were the email messages stored in
a completely insecure manner, but deleted messages were not
actually deleted until an administrator purged them - and since
they didn't have anyone doing that there was a complete record
of company emails going back years in the past.
I had spent about 30 minutes on this part of the audit so far and
was ready to move on when one of the email messages caught
my eye. It was a particularly juicy romantic message from one
employee to another. Well, romantic is not the right word - highly
x-rated would be more like it.
Curious, I continued looking through the emails (off the clock, of
course, since I had already accomplished my mission as
regards email) to see what else was stored in the single
message file.
I stayed up all night long, highly amused at what I saw that day.
Believe me, I read some serious blackmail material (if I was that
kind of person). Lots of office romance, some flirting, X-rated
messages and other similar things. I remember one particularly
scandalous series of hundreds of emails going back and forth
between one man and a woman (both single) recounting their
relationship for years. Every date, every x-rated encounter was
written up in long, detailed messages. This was very entertaining
stuff indeed.
After a few hours I got bored and stopped reading. I was tempted
to keep a copy of the email data but resisted. That was not part
of my mission. Fortunately, it was also not part of my job to
report on indiscretions committed by various employees. My job
was to find and fix any insecurities, and that's exactly what I
did ... I erased the file and set up an automatic purge to
permanently delete old emails. At the time that was the best
that I could do.
I learned a very important lesson that day - email is not
private. Not by any means.
Not much has changed in the intervening years. In fact, email
messages are generally not encrypted in any way. In fact, I have
never received an encrypted email and I've only sent a few in my
entire life.
Just so you completely understand, a normal email message is
NOT the equivalent of a letter send through the normal mail. In
that case, you write your note on a piece of paper, put it in an
envelope and drop it into the mail. As far as email is concerned,
a better analogy is of a postcard. Your messages are 'written'
on the electronic equivalent of postcards.
What does this mean to you? Anyone can look at your message.
Quite literally, anyone.
Let's look at the process to illustrate how and when an email
message could be read by another person.
1) You write the email using your email client. The client may
create that email as a text file in a temporary folder on your
hard drive. If someone looked at your hard drive they could find
the email. And it's not any better if you use a web based email
client such as Hotmail. These leave files in the Temporary
Internet Folder, which can easily be recovered. Remember that
the next time you read your emails at work...
2) You do type in the email address to which an email is sent.
You could accidentally type in the wrong address. Worse yet, if
you have distribution or mailing lists, you could accidentally
type in one of those, which may cause an email to inadvertently
be sent to the wrong person or people. For example, if there was
a 'Joe S Smith' and a 'Joe M Smith' at your company with very
close email addresses, you could easily send to the wrong
person.
3) The email gets sent to your SMTP server (this is the system
which accepts your email message and forwards along towards
the destination). At this point, the message could, in theory, be
read by someone tapping your phone (or cable) connection. It's
not likely (unless you are a spy or something) but it's possible
(and not all that hard).
If you are at work, well, the email probably gets sent to your
SMTP server through something called a proxy server (the
computer which manages the connections to the internet). If so,
a copy of the email could be stored on the proxy server. In
theory, this could be examined by someone who had access to
that server.
If you happen to send the email from your companies own email
system, it is highly likely (especially in larger companies) that
the email will be examined by context checking software. This is
looking for curse words, sexual harassment, resumes and any
other inappropriate content. Any emails found which violate
company policy may be directly routed to personnel.
4) Okay, the email gets delivered to the SMTP server which it is
stored, still as a simple plain text file, until it is sent to the next
SMTP server. You see, emails never go directly from your
outbox to someone's inbox. They move from server to server
until they find their way to their destination. Each server keeps a
copy of the email until it is forwarded to the next one.
SMTP servers are computer programs and they can be
programmed to do malicious or unusual things. For example, a
law enforcement agency could, in theory, program an SMTP
server to make a copy of any emails directed to a particular
person, and send those copies to their office.
____________________________________
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___________________________________
A hacker could, in theory, program an SMTP server (or examine
messages coming across the wire) to look for series of
characters that looked like credit card numbers (they are pretty
obvious). These email messages could be directed to the
hacker's own mailbox, thus giving him a steady supply of
income.
6) At any of these SMTP servers, the email could be examined
by anyone who has access to the email system. The internet
'wire' could also be 'tapped' and the email message captured on
the fly (this is highly unlikely but it is possible).
7) Since software is simply a series of rules created by human
beings, it is possible for an SMTP server to misunderstand how
to route your email. Thus, a message could be sent to the wrong
recipient (this has happened to me a few times) or to the wrong
SMTP server.
8) There is no guarantee that the person who receives a
message is actually the person who is the intended recipient.
Someone else could be using their email client, for example, or
an SMTP server may have misdirected the email to the wrong
inbox. In this case it works exactly like the post office - the
mailperson puts the mail in your mail slot, but he does not
guarantee that you will be the one who picks up the mail.
And since most emails are just text, they can be read by
whoever happens to receive them without any problems.
9) Naturally, once an email is receive it is stored on the hard
drive of the recipient. They are usually stored in text files
(for normal emails) or in the Temporary Internet Folder (for
web based emails).
10) Of course, once someone does receive an email he or she
is free to forward that email onto just about anyone, starting the
whole process over again.
11) At any point in this entire scenario, the email message can
be backed up or archived. In this case, it can be recovered later
and delivered to the wrong person.
So please, the next time you send those highly personal
messages remember that they can be read by anyone. You have
no way to know where these things wind up or how long they will
last. They could pop up anywhere at anytime with a vengeance.
Copyright (C) Richard Lowe Jr. and Claudia Arevalo-Lowe,
1999-2001.
----------------------------
Richard Lowe Jr. is the webmaster of Internet Tips And Secrets
at http://www.internet-tips.net - Visit our website any time to read
over 1,000 complete FREE articles about how to improve your
internet profits, enjoyment and knowledge.
_______________________________
REGISTRY FOR NEWBIES
So you're not such a Newbie after all? Like to know what
makes Windows act the way it does? Then this ebook will
give you a quick, easy understanding of your PC's Brain. It's
called 'The Registry For Newbies' and you can read all about
it here...
http://newbieclub.com/rfncopy/?pearlsandpigs
___________________________________
HOW'S YOUR E-SHORTHAND?
____________________________________
*h* - hug
H&K - hugs and kisses.
HAGD - have a good day
HAGN - have a good night
HAG1 - have a good one
*hb* - hug back
HF - have fun
HHIS - hangs head in shame
HHOJ - ha ha only joking
HHOS - hHa ha only serious
HIWTH - hate it when that happens
HTH - hope this helps
(More email acronyms in the
next issue)
__________________________________
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_______________________________________
MS WORD MAGIC
Discover how to create stunning letters, presentations,
greeting cards, promotional materials, memos, reports
and more - just like the professionals. 'MS Word MAGIC'
another ebooklet from the Newbie Club is guaranteed to
delight Newbies and Not-So Newbies - and all for just
$9.95! Read about it at -
http://newbieclub.com/wordmagic/?pearlsandpigs
__________________________________________
Bad Cookies-- But Are they REALLY?
asks Tom Glander
__________________________________________
FIRST of all, let's find out where your cookies are hiding.
1. Double click on the My Computer icon to open the window.
2. Double click on the (C:) drive icon.
3. Double click on the folder named "Windows"
4. Double click on the folder named "Cookies"
You'll find hundreds of files there that all end with three letters...
'txt'. Or, if your system doesn't show you file extensions, you
won't see the 'txt' endings.
Double click on any of the files. You'll see some text that appears
similar to this...
count
5
www.somewebsite.com/
0
3785014912
29425453
3939346272
29419418
*
OKAY. Now we know what a cookie LOOKS like. But are these
'bad' or dangerous? Or can they be? Do these cookies seek
information and 'phone home' with it? Do they know all about you
and what you do on the Web?
Yes, they can report LIMITED information about you. Here's how.
If an advertising company sets up a web site that has forms that
you fill in and submit, they have a record of you. They have your
name, zip code, or anything else you typed into that form.
They also 'set a cookie' on your computer when you visited their
web site. Now, whenever you visit their site again, they 'read' the
cookie that they 'set' earlier. They know it's you that's coming
back for a visit. Or at least it's the 'you' that you said you were.
(There's nothing to stop you from filling out 'bogus' information...
like you're the president of a company with 50,000 employees
and you make more than $500,000 a year. That kind of stuff.)
Cookies can only report information to their owners. And they
can only report the amount of information they were created
to report.
Whether a cookie is used for 'questionable' purposes or not
depends on the culture of the company that's using them on
their web site. For example, The Newbie Club uses cookies. We
'set' them on your computer so you can get back into the site
without having to enter your email address each time. This saves
you time. Sometimes our cookie works, and sometimes it
doesn't. If it doesn't work, then you are met with a security
message and have to type in your email address.
So you see, cookies aren't really dangerous. There's no harm
to be done with them. No physical harm to your computer. The
only harm may be to your sense of privacy.
Remember, cookies are simply text files created to report
specific bits of information to the web site that 'set' the
cookie in the first place. Those 'bits of information' are as simple
as what The Newbie Club uses, or as complex as the large
company that creates them.
Copyright 2001 Roglan International
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
POIGNANT PEARLS & POTBELLIED PIGS - a
monthly ezine packed with original and amusing
articles, which will remind you not to take yourself
too seriously. To subscribe
<mailto:pearlypigs-@topica.com>.
Or, if you're wary of pigs in pokes, surf to
<http://www.topica.com/lists/pearlypigs/read> to
view back issues.
______________________________________
NEED A FRIENDLY, HELPING HAND?..
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deserve and teach you all you need to know with their
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and change your PC and Net experience forever.
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* ----------------------HOT TIP--------------------- *
CYCLE through open programs with the keyboard. If your
fingers are already doing the walking, why grab the mouse
to view a new window?
Just hold down the Alt key with your right hand, and press the
Tab key. Keep the Alt key down while releasing the Tab key.
You'll see a popup window with icons representing your open
programs. Release the Alt key to open the window associated
with the icon that's highlighted in the popup window. It works
like magic! Speaking of magic, have you seen Keyboard
Magic!? http://newbieclub.com/keyboard/?pearlsandpigs
~
Another tip from The Newbie Club
* -----------------------HOT TIP---------------------- *
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Copyright 2002 NEWBIES, NERDS & NITWITS
----------------------------------------------------------------------
LIST MAINTENANCE:
To subscribe :
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To view previous issues:
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WEBSITE: http://www.newbiesandnitwits.com
--------------------- Signature File----------------------
Editor/Publisher: Sheldene Chant
6 Strapp Lane, Amanzimtoti 4126,
KwaZuluNatal, South Africa.
mailto:shel-@icon.co.za
________________________________________
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<html>
<b>_______________________________________<br><br>
NEWBIES, NERDS & NITWITS<br><br>
</b>Your 'support' ezine if you're nervous about the Net<br><br>
<b> July,
2002
Vol.2 Issue 7<br><br>
</b>
Sheldene Chant, Editor<br>
<b>_____________________________________<br><br>
</b> By subscription only. Welcome to the 24th<br>
offering from<br><br>
Newbies, Nerds & Nitwits<br><br>
You are receiving this newsletter because you<br>
requested a subscription. Our subscriber list is<br>
confidential. Unsubscribe instructions are at the<br>
end of this ezine<br>
____________________________________<br><br>
<b> IN THIS
ISSUE<br><br>
</b> o Time for a
Break...<br><br>
o Defragmenting
a Hard Disk is Not<br>
Just a Drag<br><br>
o Spyware &
Adware<br><br>
o Just How Private
is Your eMail?<br><br>
o How's Your
e-Shorthand?<br><br>
o 'Bad' Cookies -
But Are They Really?<br><br>
o Hot Tip - more
keyboard magic<br>
<b>________________________________________<br><br>
TIME FOR A BREAK...<br>
_________________________________________<br><br>
</b>FORMER subscribers to 'NandN Update' are now receiving<br>
'Newbies,Nerds & Nitwits' in its place and I hope you will all<br>
enjoy your 'first' issue - after you've recovered from the shock<br>
of discovering how lengthy it is (when compared to NandN<br>
Update). The good news, however, is that we only
publish<br>
monthly...and on a regular basis.<br><br>
There is also something cheering to tell our loyal NNandN<br>
subscribers. Moving
<a href="http://www.newbiesandnitwits.com/" eudora="autourl">http://www.newbiesandnitwits.com</a>
to the<br>
new web host is now completed (what a performance) so this<br>
ezine will revert to reaching you mid-month rather than on the<br>
very last day.<br><br>
With regard to the website, Pam has the Forum set up and<br>
although we're still sending each other test messages you're<br>
invited to join in the fun - all suggestions very welcome.<br><br>
In future the latest issue of 'Newbies, Nerds & Nitwits' will be put<br>
on the website, soon after being sent to subscribers, so, if<br>
you don't receive yours because of a full mailbox or whatever,<br>
you'll be able to catch up with it online.<br><br>
This issue includes a reminder that email messages resemble<br>
postcards rather than sealed letters, so be discreet, and Tom<br>
Glander explains how cookies (the cyber variety) can be good for<br>
you.<br><br>
If you're being bugged by Spyware and Adware (what's that?)<br>
Pam Allen shows you how to sort this out, while I have some<br>
tips for those who may be having difficulty scanning and<br>
defragmenting a hard drive.<br>
___________________________________<br><br>
FREE TUTORIALS BY AUTORESPONDER<br><br>
If you need to know more about backing up 'stuff' on your<br>
computer click <a href="mailto:pearlsa-@fastresponder.com" eudora="autourl">mailto:pearlsa-@fastresponder.com</a><br>
and you should get the first tutorial within seconds.<br><br>
If you are thinking about making your own web page, or<br>
merely want to exercise your brain slightly, then send for<br>
the web page tutorials by clicking<br>
<a href="mailto:nerdsand-@fastresponder.com" eudora="autourl">mailto:nerdsand-@fastresponder.com</a><br><br>
Want to find files fast ?- then <a href="mailto:fin-@fastresponder.com" eudora="autourl">mailto:fin-@fastresponder.com</a><br><br>
Organising your computer - <a href="mailto:org-@fastresponder.com" eudora="autourl">mailto:org-@fastresponder.com</a><br>
_______________________________________________<br><br>
<b>DEFRAGMENTING A HARD DISK IS NOT JUST A DRAG<br>
</b>_______________________________________________<br><br>
ALTHOUGH I'll admit my overloaded PC works overtime, I still<br>
object to the little quirks it develops on a regular basis.<br>
Rebooting solves the problems some of the time but as a rule<br>
it's Scandisk and Disk Defragmenter to the rescue. It never fails<br>
to amaze me that some people never carry out these simple<br>
maintenance tasks - and their computers are apparently<br>
still operating!<br><br>
Originally I relied on the Task Scheduler to run Scandisk and<br>
defragment my hard drives while I was sleeping - but all I<br>
achieved was a series of error messages so I was forced<br>
to do it myself - but with encouraging results.<br><br>
To get to these two tasks click on Start->Programs-><br>
Accessories->System Tools. In the drop down menu you will<br>
find both Scandisk and Disk Defragmenter but always run<br>
Scandisk first.<br><br>
It sounds simple - and it is - providing you turn off almost<br>
everything else which may be running on your PC - with or<br>
without your knowledge. And I mean almost everything -<br>
including your virus scanner and screen saver, and only<br>
excluding Explorer and Systray.<br><br>
At first I thought I was the only one who had to go to these<br>
lengths to run Scandisk and Disk Defragmenter successfully but<br>
judging by the many letters I see in PC magazines, I'm not.<br><br>
Start off by right clicking on the icons nestling in your System<br>
Tray (bottom right on your screen) and close these programs.<br><br>
Then do Ctrl->Alt->Delete (together) and you will see a list of<br>
programs that are still in action (what a surprise). Highlight them<br>
one at a time and click on Shut Down, until only Explorer and<br>
Systray remain on the list.<br><br>
Finally close your Screen Saver by clicking Start->Settings-><br>
Control Panel->Display->Screen Saver. Select (None) from the<br>
drop down menu in that dialogue box, then select Apply and OK.<br><br>
This may sound like quite a mission but it's worth it. Scandisk<br>
and Disk Defragmenter will run without hiccups and afterwards<br>
your PC will behave itself beautifully - for a while.<br><br>
And DON"T forget to re-enable your virus protection program as<br>
soon as the tasks are completed. You'll have to reinstate your<br>
screen saver but don't worry about anything else because the<br>
programs you accessed via Ctrl/Alt/Delete will take care of<br>
themselves.<br><br>
<b>Copyright 2002 Sheldene Chant.<br>
</b>____________________________________<br><br>
RECOMMEND Newbies, Nerds & Nitwits to a friend!<br>
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<a href="http://www.cumuli.com/ezines/newner.ezine";><br>
AOL Users Click Here</a><br>
_______________________________________________<br><br>
Pam Allen talks about<br>
<b>SPYWARE AND ADWARE<br>
</b>_______________________________________________<br><br>
MOST of you have heard these terms, but may not be familiar<br>
with what they are. Here's a quick explanation of how you're<br>
affected and how to get rid of them.<br><br>
Many programs, especially free or shareware programs, like to<br>
include something 'extra'. In the case of spyware, it's an<br>
application that runs in the background and tracks which sites<br>
you visit, and what you do online. Programs that use this<br>
technique routinely SWEAR that they just do it to better server<br>
your needs. For instance, if you're using the Gator password<br>
manager (which I love, by the way), it notices the sites you visit,<br>
and what you're doing. If you search a site for info on a product,<br>
Gator will whip out a popup up window that offers to take you to<br>
a site that sells that product dirt cheap. Spyware is mainly<br>
harmless, but it can be incredibly annoying.<br><br>
Adware is very similar; 'targeted' ads will pop up with stunning<br>
regularity as soon as you install the 'mother' program. Some<br>
Adware is so sneaky that it will actually replace a REAL ad on a<br>
webpage with one of its own.<br><br>
Of course, there are also thousands of sites that spawn popup<br>
ads on their own, hoping that you'll be so happy to see 200 ads<br>
for sexual enhancement at once that you'll immediately race to<br>
their sponsor and purchase one. To stop THOSE ads, get a<br>
program like popup stopper, or AdAware, both available at<br>
<a href="http://www.download.com/" eudora="autourl">http://www.download.com</a>.<br><br>
To find out if you have any hidden spyware or adware on your<br>
system, go to <a href="http://and.doxdesk.com/" eudora="autourl">http://and.doxdesk.com</a> (using Internet Explorer<br>
only), and it will tell you if anything is detected. If anything is<br>
found, the site will tell you how to get rid of it, and any other<br>
programs that will perform the same function, but without spying<br>
or advertising.<br><br>
For instance, Gator can be replaced with a great password<br>
manager called Roboform, and Roboform doesn't try<br>
to sell you anything.<br><br>
If you want to download Roboform click on<br>
<a href="http://www.roboform.com/" eudora="autourl">http://www.roboform.com/</a><br><br>
<b>(c)2001 Pam Allen<br>
</b>_________________________<br>
<i>Pam Allen is co-webmistress at<br>
<a href="http://www.newbiesandnitwits.com/" eudora="autourl">http://www.newbiesandnitwits.com</a> and has another site<br>
- <a href="http://www.quickdecor.com/" eudora="autourl">http://www.quickdecor.com</a> - which features speedy<br>
and inexpensive decorating ideas.<br>
</i>_____________________________________<br><br>
NN&N BACK ISSUES<br>
To view previous issues of Newbies, Nerds & Nitwits<br>
go to: <a href="http://www.topica.com/lists/nerdsandnitwits/read" eudora="autourl">http://www.topica.com/lists/nerdsandnitwits/read</a><br><br>
- and don't forget to visit the Newbies, Nerds & Nitwits<br>
website, often - for stacks of information:<br>
<a href="http://www.newbiesandnitwits.com/" eudora="autourl">http://www.newbiesandnitwits.com</a><br>
________________________________________<br><br>
<b>HOW PRIVATE IS YOUR EMAIL?<br>
</b>asks Richard Lowe, Jr.<br>
_________________________________________<br><br>
MANY years ago I was a consultant for a company who decided<br>
they wanted to perform a security audit of their computer<br>
systems. One of the components of their system that I was<br>
requested to check out was email. My client wanted to<br>
determine if their email was secure.<br><br>
It took me all of a minute to determine that their email was totally<br>
and completely insecure. Fortunately for them, this was in the<br>
days before it was common for company computer systems to<br>
be directly connected to the internet, because their email<br>
messages were stored in plain text in a well known system<br>
location. In fact, not only were the email messages stored in<br>
a completely insecure manner, but deleted messages were not<br>
actually deleted until an administrator purged them - and since<br>
they didn't have anyone doing that there was a complete record<br>
of company emails going back years in the past.<br><br>
I had spent about 30 minutes on this part of the audit so far and<br>
was ready to move on when one of the email messages caught<br>
my eye. It was a particularly juicy romantic message from one<br>
employee to another. Well, romantic is not the right word - highly<br>
x-rated would be more like it.<br><br>
Curious, I continued looking through the emails (off the clock, of<br>
course, since I had already accomplished my mission as<br>
regards email) to see what else was stored in the single<br>
message file.<br><br>
I stayed up all night long, highly amused at what I saw that day.<br>
Believe me, I read some serious blackmail material (if I was that<br>
kind of person). Lots of office romance, some flirting, X-rated<br>
messages and other similar things. I remember one particularly<br>
scandalous series of hundreds of emails going back and forth<br>
between one man and a woman (both single) recounting their<br>
relationship for years. Every date, every x-rated encounter was<br>
written up in long, detailed messages. This was very entertaining<br>
stuff indeed.<br><br>
After a few hours I got bored and stopped reading. I was tempted<br>
to keep a copy of the email data but resisted. That was not part<br>
of my mission. Fortunately, it was also not part of my job to<br>
report on indiscretions committed by various employees. My job<br>
was to find and fix any insecurities, and that's exactly what I<br>
did ... I erased the file and set up an automatic purge to<br>
permanently delete old emails. At the time that was the best<br>
that I could do.<br><br>
I learned a very important lesson that day - email is not<br>
private. Not by any means.<br><br>
Not much has changed in the intervening years. In fact, email<br>
messages are generally not encrypted in any way. In fact, I have<br>
never received an encrypted email and I've only sent a few in my<br>
entire life.<br><br>
Just so you completely understand, a normal email message is<br>
NOT the equivalent of a letter send through the normal mail. In<br>
that case, you write your note on a piece of paper, put it in an<br>
envelope and drop it into the mail. As far as email is concerned,<br>
a better analogy is of a postcard. Your messages are 'written'<br>
on the electronic equivalent of postcards.<br><br>
What does this mean to you? Anyone can look at your message.<br>
Quite literally, anyone.<br><br>
Let's look at the process to illustrate how and when an email<br>
message could be read by another person.<br><br>
1) You write the email using your email client. The client may<br>
create that email as a text file in a temporary folder on your<br>
hard drive. If someone looked at your hard drive they could find<br>
the email. And it's not any better if you use a web based email<br>
client such as Hotmail. These leave files in the Temporary<br>
Internet Folder, which can easily be recovered. Remember that<br>
the next time you read your emails at work...<br><br>
2) You do type in the email address to which an email is sent.<br>
You could accidentally type in the wrong address. Worse yet, if<br>
you have distribution or mailing lists, you could accidentally<br>
type in one of those, which may cause an email to inadvertently<br>
be sent to the wrong person or people. For example, if there was<br>
a 'Joe S Smith' and a 'Joe M Smith' at your company with very<br>
close email addresses, you could easily send to the wrong<br>
person.<br><br>
3) The email gets sent to your SMTP server (this is the system<br>
which accepts your email message and forwards along towards<br>
the destination). At this point, the message could, in theory, be<br>
read by someone tapping your phone (or cable) connection. It's<br>
not likely (unless you are a spy or something) but it's possible<br>
(and not all that hard).<br><br>
If you are at work, well, the email probably gets sent to your<br>
SMTP server through something called a proxy server (the<br>
computer which manages the connections to the internet). If so,<br>
a copy of the email could be stored on the proxy server. In<br>
theory, this could be examined by someone who had access to<br>
that server.<br><br>
If you happen to send the email from your companies own email<br>
system, it is highly likely (especially in larger companies) that<br>
the email will be examined by context checking software. This is<br>
looking for curse words, sexual harassment, resumes and any<br>
other inappropriate content. Any emails found which violate<br>
company policy may be directly routed to personnel.<br><br>
4) Okay, the email gets delivered to the SMTP server which it is<br>
stored, still as a simple plain text file, until it is sent to the next<br>
SMTP server. You see, emails never go directly from your<br>
outbox to someone's inbox. They move from server to server<br>
until they find their way to their destination. Each server keeps a<br>
copy of the email until it is forwarded to the next one.<br><br>
SMTP servers are computer programs and they can be<br>
programmed to do malicious or unusual things. For example, a<br>
law enforcement agency could, in theory, program an SMTP<br>
server to make a copy of any emails directed to a particular<br>
person, and send those copies to their office.<br>
____________________________________<br><br>
MyOwnEzine<br>
Does your online business need a lift? MyOwnEzine.com<br>
can help. Learn to start your own ezine! Improve your<br>
website! Promote your online business! All this and more<br>
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<a href="mailto:subsc-@myownezine.com" eudora="autourl">mailto:subsc-@myownezine.com</a><br>
___________________________________<br><br>
A hacker could, in theory, program an SMTP server (or examine<br>
messages coming across the wire) to look for series of<br>
characters that looked like credit card numbers (they are pretty<br>
obvious). These email messages could be directed to the<br>
hacker's own mailbox, thus giving him a steady supply of<br>
income.<br><br>
6) At any of these SMTP servers, the email could be examined<br>
by anyone who has access to the email system. The internet<br>
'wire' could also be 'tapped' and the email message captured on<br>
the fly (this is highly unlikely but it is possible).<br><br>
7) Since software is simply a series of rules created by human<br>
beings, it is possible for an SMTP server to misunderstand how<br>
to route your email. Thus, a message could be sent to the wrong<br>
recipient (this has happened to me a few times) or to the wrong<br>
SMTP server.<br><br>
8) There is no guarantee that the person who receives a<br>
message is actually the person who is the intended recipient.<br>
Someone else could be using their email client, for example, or<br>
an SMTP server may have misdirected the email to the wrong<br>
inbox. In this case it works exactly like the post office - the<br>
mailperson puts the mail in your mail slot, but he does not<br>
guarantee that you will be the one who picks up the mail.<br><br>
And since most emails are just text, they can be read by<br>
whoever happens to receive them without any problems.<br><br>
9) Naturally, once an email is receive it is stored on the hard<br>
drive of the recipient. They are usually stored in text files<br>
(for normal emails) or in the Temporary Internet Folder (for<br>
web based emails).<br><br>
10) Of course, once someone does receive an email he or she<br>
is free to forward that email onto just about anyone, starting the<br>
whole process over again.<br><br>
11) At any point in this entire scenario, the email message can<br>
be backed up or archived. In this case, it can be recovered later<br>
and delivered to the wrong person.<br><br>
So please, the next time you send those highly personal<br>
messages remember that they can be read by anyone. You have<br>
no way to know where these things wind up or how long they will<br>
last. They could pop up anywhere at anytime with a vengeance.<br><br>
<b>Copyright (C) Richard Lowe Jr. and Claudia Arevalo-Lowe,<br>
1999-2001.<br>
</b>----------------------------<br>
<i>Richard Lowe Jr. is the webmaster of Internet Tips And Secrets<br>
at <a href="http://www.internet-tips.net/" eudora="autourl">http://www.internet-tips.net</a> - Visit our website any time to read<br>
over 1,000 complete FREE articles about how to improve your<br>
internet profits, enjoyment and knowledge.<br>
</i>_______________________________<br><br>
REGISTRY FOR NEWBIES<br>
So you're not such a Newbie after all? Like to know what<br>
makes Windows act the way it does? Then this ebook will<br>
give you a quick, easy understanding of your PC's Brain. It's<br>
called 'The Registry For Newbies' and you can read all about<br>
it here...<br>
<a href="http://newbieclub.com/rfncopy/?pearlsandpigs" eudora="autourl">http://newbieclub.com/rfncopy/?pearlsandpigs</a><br>
___________________________________<br><br>
<b>HOW'S YOUR E-SHORTHAND?<br>
</b>____________________________________<br><br>
*h* - hug<br>
H&K - hugs and kisses.<br>
HAGD - have a good day<br>
HAGN - have a good night<br>
HAG1 - have a good one<br>
*hb* - hug back<br>
HF - have fun<br>
HHIS - hangs head in shame<br>
HHOJ - ha ha only joking<br>
HHOS - hHa ha only serious<br>
HIWTH - hate it when that happens<br>
HTH - hope this helps<br><br>
<i>(More email acronyms in the<br>
next issue)<br>
</i>__________________________________<br><br>
PLEASE RATE THIS EZINE...<br>
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AOL Users</a><br>
Editor’s note: When you click to rate it, make sure you<br>
check the number. It’s automatically set at 5, but you<br>
can go as high as 10. Make sure you change it to the<br>
number you want.<br>
_______________________________________<br><br>
MS WORD MAGIC<br>
Discover how to create stunning letters, presentations,<br>
greeting cards, promotional materials, memos, reports<br>
and more - just like the professionals. 'MS Word MAGIC'<br>
another ebooklet from the Newbie Club is guaranteed to<br>
delight Newbies and Not-So Newbies - and all for just<br>
$9.95! Read about it at -<br>
<a href="http://newbieclub.com/wordmagic/?pearlsandpigs" eudora="autourl">http://newbieclub.com/wordmagic/?pearlsandpigs</a><br>
__________________________________________<br><br>
<b>Bad Cookies-- But Are they REALLY?<br>
</b>asks Tom Glander<br>
__________________________________________<br><br>
FIRST of all, let's find out where your cookies are hiding.<br><br>
1. Double click on the My Computer icon to open the window.<br>
2. Double click on the (C:) drive icon.<br>
3. Double click on the folder named "Windows"<br>
4. Double click on the folder named "Cookies"<br><br>
You'll find hundreds of files there that all end with three letters...<br>
'txt'. Or, if your system doesn't show you file extensions, you<br>
won't see the 'txt' endings.<br><br>
Double click on any of the files. You'll see some text that appears<br>
similar to this...<br><br>
count<br>
5<br>
<a href="http://www.somewebsite.com/" eudora="autourl">www.somewebsite.com/</a><br>
0<br>
3785014912<br>
29425453<br>
3939346272<br>
29419418<br>
*<br>
OKAY. Now we know what a cookie LOOKS like. But are these<br>
'bad' or dangerous? Or can they be? Do these cookies seek<br>
information and 'phone home' with it? Do they know all about you<br>
and what you do on the Web?<br><br>
Yes, they can report LIMITED information about you. Here's how.<br><br>
If an advertising company sets up a web site that has forms that<br>
you fill in and submit, they have a record of you. They have your<br>
name, zip code, or anything else you typed into that form.<br><br>
They also 'set a cookie' on your computer when you visited their<br>
web site. Now, whenever you visit their site again, they 'read' the<br>
cookie that they 'set' earlier. They know it's you that's coming<br>
back for a visit. Or at least it's the 'you' that you said you were.<br><br>
(There's nothing to stop you from filling out 'bogus' information...<br>
like you're the president of a company with 50,000 employees<br>
and you make more than $500,000 a year. That kind of stuff.)<br><br>
Cookies can only report information to their owners. And they<br>
can only report the amount of information they were created<br>
to report.<br><br>
Whether a cookie is used for 'questionable' purposes or not<br>
depends on the culture of the company that's using them on<br>
their web site. For example, The Newbie Club uses cookies. We<br>
'set' them on your computer so you can get back into the site<br>
without having to enter your email address each time. This saves<br>
you time. Sometimes our cookie works, and sometimes it<br>
doesn't. If it doesn't work, then you are met with a security<br>
message and have to type in your email address.<br><br>
So you see, cookies aren't really dangerous. There's no harm<br>
to be done with them. No physical harm to your computer. The<br>
only harm may be to your sense of privacy.<br><br>
Remember, cookies are simply text files created to report<br>
specific bits of information to the web site that 'set' the<br>
cookie in the first place. Those 'bits of information' are as simple<br>
as what The Newbie Club uses, or as complex as the large<br>
company that creates them.<br><br>
<b>Copyright 2001 Roglan International<br><br>
</b>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br><br>
POIGNANT PEARLS & POTBELLIED PIGS - a<br>
monthly ezine packed with original and amusing<br>
articles, which will remind you not to take yourself<br>
too seriously. To subscribe<br>
<<a href="mailto:pearlypigs-@topica.com" eudora="autourl">mailto:pearlypigs-@topica.com</a>>.<br>
Or, if you're wary of pigs in pokes, surf to<br>
<<a href="http://www.topica.com/lists/pearlypigs/read" eudora="autourl">http://www.topica.com/lists/pearlypigs/read</a>> to<br>
view back issues.<br>
______________________________________<br><br>
NEED A FRIENDLY, HELPING HAND?..<br>
Frustrated and confused about PCs and the Internet?<br>
Sick of feeling like a patronized, second class citizen?<br>
The Newbie Club will treat you with the respect you<br>
deserve and teach you all you need to know with their<br>
revolutionary free Learning System. Click over NOW<br>
and change your PC and Net experience forever.<br>
<a href="http://newbieclub.com/?pearlsandpigs" eudora="autourl">http://newbieclub.com/?pearlsandpigs</a><br><br>
* ----------------------HOT TIP--------------------- *<br><br>
CYCLE through open programs with the keyboard. If your<br>
fingers are already doing the walking, why grab the mouse<br>
to view a new window?<br><br>
Just hold down the Alt key with your right hand, and press the<br>
Tab key. Keep the Alt key down while releasing the Tab key.<br>
You'll see a popup window with icons representing your open<br>
programs. Release the Alt key to open the window associated<br>
with the icon that's highlighted in the popup window. It works<br>
like magic! Speaking of magic, have you seen Keyboard<br>
Magic!? <a href="http://newbieclub.com/keyboard/?pearlsandpigs" eudora="autourl">http://newbieclub.com/keyboard/?pearlsandpigs</a><br>
~<br>
<i>Another tip from The Newbie Club<br><br>
</i> * -----------------------HOT TIP---------------------- *<br><br>
FREE EZINES<br>
Find hundreds of quality, FREE Ezines at the Cumuli<br>
Ezine Finder: <a href="http://www.cumuli.com/ezines/" eudora="autourl">http://www.cumuli.com/ezines/</a><br>
----------------------------------------------------------------------<br>
Copyright 2002 NEWBIES, NERDS & NITWITS<br>
----------------------------------------------------------------------<br>
LIST MAINTENANCE:<br><br>
To subscribe :<br>
<a href="mailto:nerdsandnitwi-@topica.com" eudora="autourl">mailto:</a>nerdsandnitwits-subscribe@topica<a href="mailto:nerdsandnitwi-@topica.com" eudora="autourl">.com</a><br><br>
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To view previous issues:<br>
<a href="http://www.topica.com/lists/nerdsandnitwits/read" eudora="autourl">http://www.topica.com/lists/nerdsandnitwits/read</a><br><br>
WEBSITE: <a href="http://www.newbiesandnitwits.com/" eudora="autourl">http://www.newbiesandnitwits.com</a><br><br>
<br>
--------------------- Signature File----------------------<br><br>
Editor/Publisher: Sheldene Chant<br>
6 Strapp Lane, Amanzimtoti 4126,<br>
KwaZuluNatal, South Africa.<br>
<a href="mailto:shel-@icon.co.za" eudora="autourl">mailto:shel-@icon.co.za</a><br>
________________________________________<br><br>
<br><br>
<br><br>
<br><br>
<br><br>
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