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Vol. 3, No. 12
3-27-03
Lots of news this week, including a couple of tips sent along from readers. Hash outlines moving files across a Mac network, Matt’s email pick covers power management and CMOS batteries, the Download of the Week links to a cool free compressed file manager and more!
First up chatroom and BBS
denizen Dan Dennison sends along a frightening story of industrial espionage and
the possibility that hundreds of thousands of motherboards currently in use may
suffer catastrophic failure. It
seems the formula for the electrolyte solution used to soak the interior
components may have been stolen from a Japanese capacitor maker and the formula
was one that had been discarded by the manufacturer as faulty.
The bad electrolyte mix
apparently leads to a build up of hydrogen inside the sealed capacitor resulting
in leakage or even to the component exploding (which has the equivalent power of
one of those little bang caps you can buy during the summer at convenience and
fireworks stores). Needless to say
that’s not a good thing.
You can read an example of
what happens when these things fail at http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=195.
According to http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-993696.html
the newest beta version of MS Office 2003 could be a real problem for antivirus
programs. It seems that the way
that the new Office embeds macros into files can slow a virus scanner to a crawl
since the macro can be stored virtually anywhere in the file instead of the
standard location for such code.
Microsoft claims this is a
problem with the XML standard and not with Office but since Office is the
defacto standard you know the drill ;)
Speaking of viruses, reader
Paul Reeves sent me a link to http://www.f-secure.com/v-descs/ganda.shtml,
which describes a new virus that takes advantage of the current war with Iraq to
spread.
The virus, Ganda, comes via
email with subject lines such as “GO USA!!!”, “Is USA always number one?” and
“G.W. Bush animation”. This one is
non-destructive but infects .exe and .scr files and carries it’s own SMTP server
to bypass your Outlook and Outlook Express programs to send itself out to
everyone in your Address Book.
As always follow these 4
simple rules. Use an antivirus
program and keep it updated, be suspicious of any attachments from strangers, be
suspicious of any attachments from friends and NEVER just open an email
attachment without saving it and scanning it first.
In more amusing news this week Microsoft pulled an ad in South Africa, which claimed Windows made hackers as extinct as mammoths, saber-tooth tigers and the unfortunate dodo.
In the ad MS stated
“Microsoft software is carefully designed to keep your company's valuable
information in, and unauthorized people and viruses out. Which means that your
data couldn't really be safer, even if you kept it in a safe. Which is great
news for the survival of your company. But tragic news for hackers."
Richard Clarke, a South
African journalist, filed suit against MS through the Advertising Standards
Authority and they ruled:
"The directorate notes that the documentary evidence submitted is internal documentation, which the respondents (Microsoft) did not have evaluated by an independent entity. The secure software claims are therefore ex facie unsubstantiated."
Oops!
You can read Mr. Clarke’s explanation at http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/29942.html.
Lastly http://news.com.com/2100-1028-994176.html?tag=fd_top details a new bill sponsored by Ron Wyden, D-Ore, which would require any digital media using a copy protection scheme to prominently display that fact on the label.
It seems like a no-brainer, requiring companies to apply a label on music CDs, program CDs and DVDs that they carry some odious copy protection like Cactus Shield but as of now they can do so without warning. This bill simply requires the publisher/manufacturer to label the package telling the consumer that fact up front. My guess would be that Cactus Shield and other copy blocking software companies would soon file bankruptcy due to plummeting sales of products that utilize them.
Mr. Wyden’s website is http://wyden.senate.gov/ and I strongly suggest an Email, Fax or phone message telling him “Good job”!
Until next week,
Kevin Mefford, Editor
Download
of the Week
Many of the files you can download from the Internet are compressed and they may be something other than the standard .zip format.
.tar, .gzip and MIME are fairly common in Linux and AOL environments as well as .sit from Mac systems. A program that can open any and all of those is freely available from http://www.stuffit.com/expander/.
StuffIt Expander can decompress those files and more, it’s available in Windows, Linux and Mac flavors and it’s free!
The neatest thing about StuffIt Expander is that when you uncompress a file it makes a folder inside the base folder with the same name as the file and puts the resulting files into that new folder.
That’s extremely handy when you download files to your desktop. Some programs for example would uncompress something called 40files.zip into 40 files all over your desktop. StuffIt Expander makes a folder on the Desktop called 40files and puts all those files into it.
Regardless of whether you’re a Mac, Windows or Linux user this is a great free tool…
Mac Tip
of the Week
Moving Files across the
Network
When you drag and drop files or
folders on to another drive in OSX, by default the OS performs a "copy"
function. That is, it leaves the original file at the source. Sometimes you want
to actually move the file and not copy it. One way is to go back and delete the
original after you have moved it, but this is cumbersome and there is an easier
way. After you drag the file to the desired location, press the Command or Apple
Key before you let go of the mouse. This will change the function from a "Copy"
to a "Move" and will remove the original file from its location.
Another
interesting way of doing this is to actually move all the files and folders to
the "Trash". Then you can move them en masse to the network file or folder and
when you are done the originals will be removed. I don't think the Trash Can was
ever meant to be used this way but it is an interesting behavior in OSX and is
useful if one is moving different files and folders from the source drive to the
destination drive.
Recommended Download
A pdf browser plug
in. It allows you to read a pdf file directly into your browser instead of
having to view it in Acrobat Reader or OSX Preview after it downloads. This is a
gem of a plug-in and once I started using it I wondered how I lived without it
all this time. It works on most OSX browsers that I have tried. Of course you
have to get a separate one for Internet Explorer, but its only 70 KB so there's
not too much to complain about.
Here is the Download Site.
http://www.schubert-it.com/download/
Look for the PDF Browser Plugin 1.1 halfway down the
list.
Hash
hash@ucanweb.com
Email
Question of the Week
Q: Couple of problems that I
would like to know whether they might be related.
1.
As I am working on PC (Win98
2E and 256Ram), my monitor will go black and looses its signal input. Nothing
will correct it except a reboot. If I only turn monitor off, wait and turn
back on, then the screen message is that there is no input signal. This seems to
be totally sporadic but will also happen if no programs are actively running and
PC is just 'on'.
2.
I am running ZoneAlarm. I
get messages about permitting LiveUpdate and other programs I am familiar with,
to access the Internet. I answer yes but with the box checked to remember for
future. It does not seem to do the remembering part.
3.
At the end of bootup, an
error message comes to screen. "System CMOS error: checksum bad. Default config
used” I press F1 for resume and PC seems to operate OK
Are all 3 problems due to
bad CMOS battery, or is the monitor problem a video card going
bad?
I have located the battery
(Sony CR2032) and Radio Shack has a replacement for 2.99. My user’s guide for
computer makes note about moving jumper pins in order to clear CMOS. Do I need
to do anything with those small pins or can I just disconnect power and replace
battery?
Am I going to have any
problems due to not having a backup of my CMOS file?
A: Replacing the CMOS battery
will most definitely fix the checksum error and you don't need to do anything
with jumpers to replace it. Just swap out the old battery and boot the
PC. You'll get the same error the first time but once you continue
with the defaults loaded you shouldn't receive the error
again.
The no
signal problem could be almost anything but is most likely a power management
setting. Right click somewhere on the desktop and choose Properties, then
click the Screen Saver tab. Click the Settings button in the lower right
and set the Power Scheme as Always On and the System Standby as never.
Apply and OK and that may fix it.
Frankly
I'm a bit stymied by the ZoneAlarm problem but would guess it is related to a
corrupted ZA file or possibly a virus or trojan infection. Try
uninstalling ZA and installing the newest version.
Hope that
helps and thanks for listening :)
Kevin Mefford
84online@microdome.net
If you have
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email them to bob@iglou.com.
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