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Warning! |
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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Warning!
- Tricky New "Sober Worm" Discovered
There's an
e-mail worm that recently began to circulate around the Internet called the
"W32.Sober.N@mm worm." (The worm only infects Windows-based systems - not
Macintosh, Unix, or Linux systems.) Also known as the W32/Sober.o@MM worm,
this new variant of the Sober worm was first discovered on April 19, 2005,
and includes a tricky Trojan horse feature. The text of the deceptive e-mail
message promises the recipient a benefit if he/she opens the accompanying
attachment but something quite different occurs when the attachment is
opened.
Below is the exact text of an actual W32.Sober.N@mm e-mail worm currently
circulating the Web:
(no longer available)
As you can see, the goal of the worm is to trick you into thinking that the sender has received some of your private e-mail messages and is simply returning them to you within a zipped attachment. When you open the attachment, you are infected with the W32.Sober.N@mm worm. Pretty slick!
The W32.Sober.N@mm worm is a mass-mailing e-mail worm. Once the attachment is opened, it sends itself as an attachment to e-mail addresses found within the infected machine. Like most worms circulating around the Internet, the W32.Sober.N@mm worm also has a "spoofing" feature that conceals the actual sender of the e-mail message by randomly selecting e-mail addresses from the infected computer's system to disguise the source of the e-mail. So, if a person receives this e-mail worm from a co-worker or relative, chances are that the person it shows being sent from was probably not the person who actually sent it.
Remember, receiving an e-mail attachment from a trusted friend or a reliable source may not necessarily mean that they were the actual senders of the message and attachment. Also, 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.
Webmail and Spam Digest
- Upcoming Enhancements
We have been
listening. You, the customer, have made comments about Webmail and the Spam
Digest from time to time of things you like and features or improvements you
would like.
By mid-May you will see an updated webmail look. Don't worry, all of your
e-mail will still be there as well as all of your webmail settings including
your address book, signature and vacation message. No information in webmail
will change. We have had several customers testing the updated webmail for
about a month and the reports have been very positive.
We will also be releasing a new, improved version of the Spam Digest.
Reading the Spam Digest will be easier as it will be presented in a tabular
format. You will also be able to sort items in the Spam Digest by date,
sender, subject and the one I really like, country. For many customers, the
majority of spam actually originates outside of the US. By being able to
sort by country, you will be able to more quickly review the mail in the
Spam Digest. When the Spam Digest format changes and you see the data in
columns, remember the following trick when sorting based on any of the
columns:
When one first selects to sort on a column, the data is presented in
ascending order, ie, a, b, c, d etc. By choosing the same column to sort a
second time, the information is presented in descending order, ie, z, y, x,
w, etc. Selecting the sort column a third time returns the column to the
original order.
We are continually working to offer you the best services and we appreciate
your suggestions and comments.
Ask The Help Desk - How
Do I Stop Annoying Animations And Irritating Music On Websites?
Question: Sometimes
when I open a web page that contains information I'm looking for it has ads
that flash brightly or contain silly animations. Other times a site will
have annoying music. I turn down the volume and try to ignore the ads but is
there a better way to deal with pages like this?
Answer: Both the animations found in many banner ads and the
background music played on some websites can truly drive a person batty. The
"Stop" button on browsers used to be the simple fix. When you'd come to a
site that contained irritating animations or unpleasant music, you'd simply
wait for the page to fully load and then click your cursor arrow on the
browser's "Stop" button. The animations and the music would stop but you'd
be able to read the information on the page that you were after — in peace.
The "Stop" button worked (on Windows when using Internet Explorer) because
most web developers created their animations in gifs and even attached the
sound file (music) to the gifs. The "Stop" button still works on gifs.
Today, however, many animations are developed in a software called Flash.
Clicking on the browser's "Stop" button doesn't kill Flash-based animations.
However, if you right-click on the Flash animation, you'll get a pop-up
window displaying controls that may or may not allow you to stop or pause
the animation. It depends on how the developer set up the Flash file.
On a Macintosh, the Safari browser doesn't have separate buttons for "Stop"
and "Refresh." This makes it impossible to stop animations after the page
loads.
Firefox has separate "Stop" and "Refresh" buttons but, once the page loads,
the "Stop" button isn't functional.
So, in summary, either turn down your volume and grin and bear the
animations or find a more pleasant site to visit.
Great Sites To Check Out This Month
Photos Of
Food Served By Airlines Around The World
http://AirlineMeals.net/ -
AirlineMeals.net claims to be "the world's first and leading site about
nothing but airline food." This site is filled with over eleven thousand
photos of, you guessed it, food served by airlines. Links include images of
crew meals, airline lounge food, airport restaurant food, and meal of the
week archives. Dozens of airlines are represented including Iceland Air,
Aero Mexico, United Airlines, Qantas, Air Namibia, Croatia Airlines, Air
China, and British Airways. (Check out the fancy food served on the
Concorde!) Images are submitted by regular folks like you and me who fly. So
the next time you take a flight, don't forget your camera!
Star Wars Episode III — Revenge of the Sith
http://starwars.com/ - This month marks
the release date of the highly anticipated premiere of the last of the three
prequels to the Star Wars saga. Star Wars Episode III — Revenge of
the Sith is George Lucas's final Star Wars themed movie.
Production was a three-year endeavor and the special effects promise to be
amazing once again. Check out this site for updated information, movie
trailers, and more.
What Kind Of Dog Would You Be?
http://Gone2theDogs.com/ - If you
were a dog, what kind of a dog would you be? You probably wonder about this
all of the time. Well this site has the answer. The website promotes a
British film to be released this summer called Gone To The Dogs.
Click on either the "Game" link or the "What Dog Are You?" link and answer
ten personality-related questions. The site will then tell you the breed and
traits of the dog you'd be ... if you were to turn into a dog, of course.
Save Money When Filling Your Car With Fuel
http://www.FuelEconomy.gov/ -
With fuel prices so high right now, we could all use some tips on saving
money at the gas pump. This site provides information on how to calculate
your MPG, how hybrid cars work, how cars are tested for fuel economy
ratings, and more. A section on gas mileage tips will help you get the best
gas mileage possible. It's a pretty handy site to review before you take
this summer's road trip vacation.
USDA Introduces New Interactive Food Guide Pyramid
http://MyPyramid.gov - The U.S.
Department of Agriculture introduced a new Food Guide Pyramid late last
month called MyPyramid. MyPyramid is triangle-shaped like the old pyramid
but now includes six colored vertical stripes representing food categories.
The USDA's interactive site, MyPyramid.gov, allows consumers to enter their
own age, gender, and average daily physical activity for a customized report
of suggested daily amounts and types of foods to consume. Unfortunately,
chocolate was passed over again as one of the main food groups.
Short Tutorial - Setting
Up AutoComplete On Your Browser
Your browser
may have a button on its toolbar called "AutoComplete." (It's called
"AutoFill" on a Macintosh.) AutoComplete is a useful yet underutilized
feature which is available on most browsers. Its purpose is to save you time
when filling out online forms when placing orders with online merchants.
Rather than filling out an order form each time you make an online purchase,
browsers provide a place to store this information to then use as needed
when placing an order. Here's how to set up AutoComplete on your browser:
Utilizing AutoComplete When Using Internet Explorer Browser
- Open Internet Explorer.
- Click on "Tools" on your browser's menu bar and select "Internet
Options."
- Click on the "Content" tab and select "AutoComplete."
- Check the box next to "Forms" and click "OK."
- Click the "My Profile" button.
- If you have placed contact information about yourself within your
Address Book, AutoComplete can use it for your profile. Select the
second option ("Select an existing entry from your Address Book to
represent your profile") and then choose an Address Book entry by
clicking on it. Click "OK" and this will be your profile.
- If you do not have the contact information about yourself within
your Address Book, select the first option ("Create a new entry in the
Address Book to represent your profile"), fill in the information on the
form, and click "OK." The next time you go to make a purchase online or
fill out a form, AutoComplete will take your profile information and
automatically fill out the form for you once you key in the first few
letters.
- To make changes to your profile information, click on the "My Profile" button under the "Content" tab of the "Internet Options" window and fill in the blanks in your profile. You can also simply go to your Address Book in Outlook Express and make your revisions there.
- Open Safari.
- Click your cursor arrow on "Safari" on your browser's menu bar and
drop down to "Preferences."
- Click on the "AutoFill" icon.
- Make sure there is a check in the box next to "Using info from my
Address Book card."
- Click on the "Edit" button to enter or update your information.
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,
Neal E. Miller
Springnet1, Inc.
Springnet1, Inc.
717 S Grand Ave West
Springfield, IL 62704
800-261-6006
217-241-6000
(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.)
©2005
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.