INews Newsletter - Jun 26, 2002
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* * * I N e w s * * *
A publication of Internet Nebraska, composed and distributed by
* * * manager@inebraska.com * * *
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Volume 5, Number 3 June 26, 2002
Welcome to another issue of INews, Internet Nebraska's customer
newsletter. This monthly newsletter communicates service bulletins,
announcements and other useful information to our customers. Please let
us know what you think of it. Archives of INews are located at
http://www.inebraska.com/inews
In this issue: Hotmail and Yahoo Mail Changes That Could Effect You
Keeping Spyware Off of Your Computer
Help Finding E-Mail Viruses
Reviewing A New E-Mail Program - Incredimail
Mr. Internet
*** Hotmail and Yahoo Mail Changes That Could Effect You ***
Beware! If you have a Hotmail account, you may notice your spam level
increase dramatically. This is due to your "opting in" to a list that
you've never known about.
Microsoft has recently decided that if you have a hotmail.com email
address, it will share your information with any company using it's
.NET Passport system. They say that if your information is shared,
online registrations and web purchases will be much faster, which may
indeed be the case. However, this is, in many people's opinion, a
violation of their privacy. Not only will these other companies have
your email address, but they will also have your age, occupation, and
gender.
Even those who explicitly told Hotmail not to give out their
information will still be subject to this. Anyone whose Hotmail
account was started before May 13th, 2002, will need to change the
profile settings in their account, and turn off the opt-in selections.
To turn these off, log in to your hotmail.com account. Once you are
logged in, go to "Options", and then "Personal Profile". There is some
information near the bottom of the screen labeled "Tired of
registration forms?", under which there are some check boxes, just
uncheck them. But be careful! Any time you go into the options, those
check boxes are automatically going to be checked, so you will need to
uncheck them every time.
For only $29 per year (roughly $2.50 per month if you think of it that
way), you can get an email account through Internet Nebraska that has an
interface very similar to Hotmail's. The biggest difference is that we
will not share your information with anyone at all, and if you get a lot of
spam, you can sign up for one of our spam filtering services. Also, with
Hotmail, there are millions of people trying to check their mail at the
same time, so mail can load slowly. At Internet Nebraska, our servers
are just right for the number of customers we have, so everything should
load up very quickly.
Another popular email service is going through some changes as well.
Yahoo! email customers will no longer be able to retrieve their mail
using a program such as Outlook Express or Netscape Messenger. This is
because Yahoo! is now charging $20 per year just to be able to use
these POP (Post Office Protocol) services.
At Internet Nebraska, all of our mail accounts include POP access,
regardless whether it's an email-only account, DSL account, or a dial-up
account. If you or someone else in the family needs a quality
mail account, let us know. Simply call and ask to start a new account.
When they ask what plan you want, or what kind of service, just say you
want a "metered" or "e-mail only" account, and we'll get you set up
quickly and painlessly with an inebraska.com email address.
*** The Capital Soccer Association - Advertisement ***
Capital Soccer Association specializes in
teaching soccer. However we recognize that
soccer, or any other youth sport is merely
one tool in the development of a young
child. Teamwork and sportsmanship through
knowledge and proficiency of the game are
our main goals.
-- http://www.capitalsoccer.com/
*** Getting Spyware Off Your Computer ***
What's this Spyware people keep talking about? Spyware is a generic term
for software that secretly tracks and reports (generally somewhat
anonymously) your WWW viewing habits. This data is then used for
marketing purposes. The program Gator is one of the more visible examples
of spyware. It monitors the sites you go to, and displays advertising
appropriate for what you're viewing. For example, if you're visiting
Honda's web site, Gator might pop up with a Toyota ad. This specific and
targeted advertising is great for advertisers, but can be annoying to the
viewer.
Spyware usually gets on your computer when you install free software (i.e.
DivX Pro, Bonzai Buddy). It then runs in the background, silently
collecting information about your surfing habits. So what can you do about
Spyware? Lavasoft's Ad-Aware may be the answer.
Ad-Aware is a program designed to scan your computer for spyware, and
remove it. It will sift through your files and registry looking for known
Spyware components. It builds a list for you, then asks you if you'd like
to delete them. Ad-aware also keeps up with new Spyware programs by
releasing updated reference files, much in the same way as your virus
program updates its data files. The interface is well designed,
straightforward, and easy to use.
You can download the latest version of Ad-Aware from CNET's Download.com
archives ( http://download.com.com/3000-2094-10045910.html ). You can
download this software from Lavasoft's homepage ( http://www.lavasoft.nu )
as well.
Lavasoft also provides you with a tool called RefUpdate which you use to
keep your reference file up-to-date. RefUpdate will check to see if there
is a new reference file available when you run it. It will then do all the
work for you by downloading and installing the new reference file.
RefUpdate is available for download at
http://www.wyvernworks.com/Lavasoft/refupdate.exe .
Beware, however, that some programs may not function properly without their
Spyware halves. In this case, you'll have to choose between losing that
particular program or leaving the spyware on your computer. Even if you
leave iy, at least you'll know it's on your computer.
Ad-Aware is a powerful tool to help protect your Internet privacy, and
comes highly recommended from our staffers who use it.
*** Schaefer's TV & Appliance Center - Advertisement ***
Schaefer's is an independently owned and
operated television, appliance, and home
theater retailer in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Born out of a small corner drugstore four
decades ago, Schaefer's TV & Appliance is a
22,000 square-foot "superstore" today,
specializing in commercial/professional-grade
appliances, whole house sound systems, home
theater and central vacuum systems. The
success of Schaefer's is key to repeat
business. If a customer happens to have a
problem with a product, Schaefer's will bend
over backwards to get it solved. Our service
center is the largest in the city, and has been
voted Lincoln's #1 servicer for 10 years in a
row! A knowledgeable sales staff, express
delivery, easy financing, and our customer
service representatives are just a few of the
ways in which we at Schaefer's distinguish
ourselves from the rest. Stop by our showroom
at 48th and R in Lincoln, or call us at
and see for yourself.
-- http://www.schaeferstv.com/index2.htm
*** How to Determine if an E-Mail is a Virus ***
Viruses are becoming peskier and more widespread in e-mail than ever
before. How do you tell if someone sent you a virus? To be absolutely
sure, you will have to verify for each message that the sender actually
sent it. This process would be incredibly time consuming and annoying.
If the message seems odd, then be sure to verify the sender. If you don't
want to have to do this every time, you should at least follow the
guidelines below. These are by no means 100% fail-proof and shouldn't be
used as a substitute for a good anti-virus utility.
To know if you have a virus in your e-mail, you first have to know what a
virus looks like. The best weapon is knowledge. Read up on the most
current virus threats at http://www.sarc.com/avcenter , the
Symantec Security Response Center, where you can read descriptions of
viruses, and removal tools are provided to people whose computers are
infected.
Be sure to keep up with all of the security updates for your e-mail
client. This will help reduce the chance that a bug in your mail program
will allow a malicious attachment to run.
Be wary of any attachments sent to you. With the exception of (hopefully-
now-closed) Microsoft bugs, you cannot get a virus just by reading an
e-mail. You will have to run the attachment for it to infect your
computer. It's good practice never to open attachments that have the
file extension .exe, .pif, or .vbs, unless you're expecting them. Some
viruses are tricky in that they have a double extension. An attachment
with the extension .mp3.vbs is a potentially harmful script, and not an
MP3 file.
Generally, virus e-mails are very short or have no text at all. What text
there is will most likely be trying to get you to open the attachment (and
in bad English). A classic example of this is the Sircam virus:
Hi! How are you?
I send you this file in order to have your advice
See you later. Thanks
There are a few other things you need to consider when deciding to open an
attachment.
- Is this the way the sender normally talks?
- Do you even know the sender?
- Does the text make sense?
If yes is the answer to all of these, then odds are reduced that your
attachment is a virus.
Some recent viruses actually take a text file from the victim's computer
and pastes a section of it into the e-mail message when replicating. If
you receive an e-mail with an attachment that looks like it is a section of
a larger paper, letter, or help document, it could be one of these new
viruses.
For more information on viruses, please see these sites:
http://vil.mcafee.com/default.asp
http://www.sarc.com/avcenter
http://www.antivirus.com/vinfo/
*** Integrated Computer Systems - Advertisement ***
ICS, an A+ Authorized Service Center serving western
Nebraska for over 14 years, is ready with over 40 years
of combined experience to professionally and expertly meet
your computer needs. From large networks to stand alone
PC's, ICS proudly offers their knowledge and expertise to
work for you. Whether it be Windows (95, 98, 2000, NT, ME),
Novell or Unix, new installations, trouble shooting,
networking, print sharing or repair, ICS will be there to
assist you or your personnel on arriving at the best
possible solution to fulfill your needs.
Located in North Platte, Integrated Computer Systems serves
over a 100-mile radius reaching communities such as Kearney,
Valentine, Thedford, Mullen, Sidney, Ogallala, McCook, Grant,
Imperial, Gothenburg, Lexington, Chappell, Sutherland, and
Hershey, to just name a few. So give us a call at 534-1500,
toll free 800-400-1527, or stop in and see us at 101 South
Chestnut.
*** Reviewing A New E-Mail Program - Incredimail ***
Incredimail
http://www.incredimail.com
Have you ever felt that e-mails you send to friends and loved ones
don't quite capture the full effect of what you wanted to say? While
e-mail may never be as effective at getting some points across as a
hone call or face-to-face communication, there's a program available that
helps you take it a step closer, and it's free!
Incredimail lets you liven up and personalize your e-mail.
Some of the things it can do (colored text, for example) are available
in other e-mail programs, but Incredimail combines a lot of fun features
into a convenient interface. Here are just a few of Incredimail's
features:
Pictures
Background colors and pictures
Colored text
Personalized handwritten signatures
Self-recorded voice messages
3D Effects
Animations
Emoticons! (these replace text such as =) or :-) with actual smiley faces!)
Note that your e-mail recipient does not have to be using Incredimail
to receive your messages. Messages are sent in standard HTML with
attachments, and should be viewable by anyone whose mail program supports
these things. For business use and graphically-challenged recipients,
Incredimail also lets you easily send plain text e-mails. Text-only
messages are smaller and therefore send faster, and are easier to view
for many people.
Besides these features, Incredimail gives you several options for
sprucing up the main screen used to send and receive mail. For example,
you can set up a contact list like you have in your Instant Messaging
program. All you have to do is click on the contact, and Incredimail will
open a new window ready to go with that contact's e-mail address already
entered for you -- a real time saver over the traditional address book in
most e-mail programs.
You can also choose from many notification displays that let you know when
you have mail. Live the good life with a butler that tells you when you
have mail, or have a cute little puppy scamper up on your screen with a
letter for you! And if these aren't quite your thing, there are dozens of
other options you can download from their web site.
Incredimail is just the thing you're looking for if you think Outlook
Express and Eudora are a little boring. In addition to the fun stuff, it
has all the standard features found in most e-mail clients, like off-line
editing, multiple message folders with automatic sorting, and leaving
messages on the server. It's also a piece of cake to set up, and their
web site is chock full of good information and tips, as well as new
sounds, images, animations, etc., that you can download and use in your
e-mail.
If Incredimail sounds like something you want to check out, head on over
to http://www.incredimail.com and take a look. It's a free download and
entertaining to play around with, even if you don't end up using it on a
daily basis.
*** Mr. Internet ***
Q: Mr Internet. I have anti-virus software installed on my computer, but
I keep receiving messages from my friends telling me I am infected with
a virus. What else do I need to do?
A: Your anti-virus software is only as good as the virus definitions it has
installed. Updating your anti-virus software regularly is imperative as
you are far more likely to become infected with a new virus than one
that has been around for years.
To update the McAfee anti-virus software you will need to open the
VirusScan software and click on "Check for a VirusScan Update". To
update the Norton AntiVirus software you must open the program and run
LiveUpdate.
After updating your virus definitions you will always want to run a full
system scan to ensure you are not infected. This also might be a good
time to configure your anti-virus software to update itself on a regular
basis, if your program supports it.
Mr. Internet is a regular feature of the INews, and he welcomes questions
of any kind. Just mail them to mrinternet@inebraska.com, and he'll answer
one or two each issue. Those he doesn't use will not necessarily be
answered, and you should still use 'manager' and 'accounts' for regular
business.
*** Advertise on Our Home Pages ***
What better way to advertise your business than on a Web page that is seen
tens of thousands of time every month? None, if you're paying as little
as we charge for it!
We are now offering banner advertising that rotates on all our pages
which is priced based on the number of impressions (viewings) per month.
Your banner can reach thousands of Nebraska residents, and this is a
unique way to advertise your Nebraska business to residents in the area.
Prices for banner advertisement can be found at:
http://www.inebraska.com/ad.html
We will also be selling links from our main page. Please contact
manager@inebraska.com, or give us a give us a call at our office,
402-434-8680, and ask how you can reserve banner spots on some of the
hottest URL's in the state. The advertisers in this issue did, and we
recommend them highly.