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E-Mail Worm |
Hello
SpringNet1 Internet Subscribers!
To see what's inside this issue, take a look at the index to the left and thanks for reading! - The SpringNet1 Internet Team
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E-Mail Worm
- Mass-Mailing Worm Infects Computers Without Use Of E-mail Attachment
The recent
discovery of a new variant of the "Mydoom" e-mail worm has some anti-virus
companies on the alert for similar deviant malware. This version of the
Mydoom worm, although not considered a high-risk mass-mailing worm at this
time, does not attack and infect a computer when a recipient opens an e-mail
attachment. Instead, when the recipient clicks on a text link located within
an e-mail message, the recipient's machine connects with an infectious
website. The website then downloads the worm onto the recipient's computer!
So you must not only be on guard for mass-mailing worms and viruses when
receiving e-mail attachments, but you must also be more cautious than ever
when clicking on links within e-mail messages.
Just like other mass-mailing worms, this Mydoom variant takes advantage of a
vulnerability in the Internet Explorer browser found on Windows-based
computers. (The worm does not infect Macintosh, Unix, or Linux systems.) The
worm finds e-mail addresses within the infected computer and mass-mails
messages containing links to the infectious website. Similar to most other
e-mail worms, the Mydoom has a "spoofing" feature that disguises the actual
source of the e-mail by randomly selecting e-mail addresses from the
infected computer's system to be shown as the "sender" of the e-mail. Thus,
if a person receives the e-mail worm from a co-worker or relative, chances
are the person it shows being sent from was probably not the person who
actually sent it.
Remember, the ultimate responsibility of protecting your computer against
worms and viruses lies with you. Many viruses and worms not only spread via
e-mail, but also through the sharing of files when using floppy disks, zip
disks, CDs, and networks, as well as when downloading software from the
Internet. We encourage each of our users to install and utilize virus
scanning software, to update this software on a regular basis, and to scan
all incoming e-mail attachments before opening them even if the attachment
shows coming from a reliable source!
E-Mail System Notification
- Learn About The New Spam System
Over the past
few weeks we have implemented a new Spam control system. The system will
reduce the amount of Spam that you receive. We initially planned on using a
Spam folder to collect Spam but users found that system to be less reliable.
The new system is more reliable and allows you to check for legitimate mail
without logging into webmail first. The system works as follows:
You will receive a message from our system each day with the subject 'Spam
Digest' (Note: If you do not have any Spam in the digest you will not get
the notification) This e-mail will direct you to a web link that you will
log into with your username and password. Once you have logged in you will
see a list of e-mail that we blocked because they met one or more criteria
for Spam. In that list there may be some legitimate e-mail that was blocked,
you can select those e-mail for delivery by following the instructions on
the digest page.
Below is the link to the digest page, click on the link and take a look at
the new system:
http://mail.eosmail.net:8080/scripts/index.pl
It is important that you always check the Spam digest if you are expecting a
piece of e-mail and it doesn't getdelivered to your inbox, the digest can be
accessed at any time.
If you have any questions please e-mail
2techsupport@springnet1.com or
call into tech support.
Anthony Hopp
Ask The Help Desk - What
Is A PDF?
Question: I
hear people talk about opening and reading "PDFs" that are sent as e-mail
attachments. What is a PDF and how can I read them?
Answer: PDF is an acronym that stands for Portable Document Format.
It is a file format created by Adobe Systems Incorporated using a software
program called Acrobat. A document converted into or saved as a PDF
preserves the look and integrity of the original document, but allows the
creator of the document to share it with anyone electronically regardless of
whether the recipient has the same hardware or software platform as the
document's creator. This technology truly simplifies the document sharing
process and allows documents to be easily shared on the Web, via e-mail,
etc. PDFs are commonly used for catalogs, maps, presentations, white papers,
e-books, and computer manuals.
PDFs can be opened and viewed by either a PC or a Macintosh as long as the
computer's user has first downloaded and installed Adobe's free Acrobat
Reader software program. If you do not have the Acrobat Reader software
program installed on your computer, you can download it for free at
http://www.adobe.com.
If you want to create a PDF, you will need to purchase Acrobat Standard,
Acrobat Professional, or subscribe to the
"Create Adobe PDF Online" service.
When using a Macintosh computer running OS X, you can save a document as a
PDF from your Print Dialog Box. Just print like you normally would but when
the Print Dialog Box appears, click your cursor arrow on the "Save as
PDF..." button rather than the "Print" button. Give your new file a name and
click "OK." You'll have a fast and easy PDF. Additionally, Macs come with
Apple's Preview software program installed. It works well as an alternative
to Acrobat Reader.
Great Sites To Check Out This Month
Counting
Calories And More While Online
http://CalorieControl.org - Is it
time to start counting calories again now that the holidays are over? Head
to the online calculators located at CalorieControl.org. The site not only
includes calorie calculators but also an exercise calculator, body mass
index calculator, weight maintenance calculator, and a healthy weight
calculator. Additionally, the website provides lots of helpful tips and
articles on exercise and eating healthy.
The 100 Greatest Movies Ever Made
http://afionline.org/tvevents/100years/100yearslist.aspx - This site
from the American Film Institute provides lists of some of the best features
in America's film history. A panel of 1,500 leaders from the U.S. movie
community selected the contents of each list. Lists include the 100 greatest
movies, the 100 funniest movies, the 100 greatest movie stars, the 100 most
thrilling movies, the 50 most villainous villains, the 50 favorite movie
heroes, and the 100 best movie songs of all-time. The favorite movie list
includes five Steven Spielberg films and four films each by Alfred Hitchcock
and Billy Wilder. Jimmy Stewart and Robert DeNiro both had starring roles in
five of the selected movies. Can you name the films?
Repair Your Broken VCR
http://fixer.com - Has your VCR gone on the
blink? Don't throw it away. First follow the easy step-by-step instructions
found at this site. Fixer.com claims that most VCRs can be repaired with no
prior electronic experience and no expensive equipment. The site also has a
neat technique for ejecting a stuck videotape—and the instructions do not
include the use of a sledgehammer!
Your Online TV Game Show Resource
http://tvgameshows.net/ - Utah
resident Ken Jennings won an amazing 74 straight games as a contestant on
the TV game show Jeopardy! During his winning streak, which lasted
from June 2, 2004 to November 30, 2004, Jennings set dozens of Jeopardy!
records including the highest number of correct responses in one show (45),
the highest number of cumulative first ring-ins (2,575), the most Final
Jeopardy! correct answers (51), the most number of games locked up after
Double Jeopardy! (65), the largest winning margin in series history ($73,200
on July 23rd), the highest number of category sweeps (94), and, of course,
the all-time record for most total winnings on a TV game show series
($2,522,400). To find out all you ever wanted to know about TV game shows,
their hosts, the contestants, and even daily updates on TV game show news
and scores, check out this site!
The 2005 PGA Tour Gets Into Swing This Month
http://www.PGA.com/ - The Professional
Golfers Association (PGA) kicks off its new season this month with visits to
Kapalua, HI, Honolulu, HI, San Diego, CA, and La Quinta, CA. (It's a tough
job but somebody's got to do it.) Vijay Singh will attempt to defend his
number one player status against last year's top contenders that include
Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Stewart Cink, and others. The PGA's
official site provides tips on improving your game, tour event schedules and
ticket information, the latest PGA news and standings, player bios, and
more.
Short Tutorial - See
Graphics Within Incoming E-mail Messages
One of the
protective features added to Outlook Express for Windows XP users who have
installed Service Pack 2 (SP2) is the ability to block images from being
displayed within incoming e-mail messages. However, what's the fun of
receiving e-mail messages from friends or sources you trust unless you can
look at the graphics and images? Microsoft provides an easy option to allow
images to appear within messages either on a per e-mail basis or for all
e-mail messages. To see the graphics within messages on an e-mail-by-e-mail
basis, with your Preview Pane open, do the following:
- Click your cursor arrow on the gray bar located just below the
subject line of the message. It will say, "Some pictures have been
blocked to help prevent the sender from identifying your computer. Click
here to download pictures." If you click anywhere on that gray bar, the
pictures for that particular e-mail will appear for as long as you have
that e-mail open.
- If you go to a different e-mail and then come back to this message, you will need to click on that bar again to see the images within the message.
If you want to be able to see all pictures on all incoming e-mail messages that contain images, you can disable this blocking feature. Here’s how:
- Go to the Outlook Express "Tools" menu and drop down to "Options."
- When the "Options" window appears, click on the "Security" tab.
About half way down the window you'll see an item titled "Download
images." You will see a box next to the words "Block images and other
external content in HTML e-mail." If you uncheck this box, it will allow
images to be viewed again just as they were before your SP2 update.
- Click "Apply" and then "OK" to save your new settings and close the window.
We hope you
found this newsletter to be informative. It's our way of keeping you posted
on the happenings at our shop. If, however, you'd prefer not to receive
these bulletins on a monthly basis, click HERE.