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Greetings from
Polar's E-Connections Team
We think
you'll find the information contained in this newsletter to be a valuable
tool for enhancing your Internet experience. If, however, you'd prefer not to
receive these bulletins on a monthly basis, click HERE. |
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!
LAST CHANCE - To receive FREE INSTALLATION!!
The holidays mean new
computers, new gear, and new games - now you need an Internet connection that
keeps up! Sign up for Polar High Speed Internet before January 15th, 2004
and your installation is FREE! That saves you $125 and you get download
speeds up to 1.5Mbps from a local provider. For more information on how to take
advantage of this limited time offer...log on to www.thinkpolar.com or call 1-800-284-7222.
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.
Note: If you don't see the gray bar,
open the message in its own window and follow steps one and two above.
Otherwise, click your cursor arrow on the "View" menu and drop down
to "Layout." When the "Window Layout Properties" window
appears, make sure "Show preview pane header" is checked.
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.
Thanks for your business!
Best regards,
The E-Connections
Team
Polar E-Connections
(We have used our best efforts in collecting and preparing the information
published herein. However, we do not assume, and hereby disclaim, any and all
liability for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions, whether such
errors or omissions resulted from negligence, accident, or other causes.)
©2004 Cornerstone Publishing Group Inc.
Trademarks: All brand names and product names used in this eNewsletter are
trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their
respective owners.