MikesWhatsNews, 02, 07, 2004
in today's issue #739
HackFix Updates
2 HDD Health
3 Zero Assumption Digital Image Recovery
4 Multiboot With Windows XP
5 SOPHOS ANTI-VIRUS FOR MAC OS X 10.3
6 EazyCleaner Updated V.2.0.6.373
7 AdAware ~ New plug-in available - VX2 Cleaner
8 CCC SFX Maker
9 Minimizing the Desktop from the Task Bar
10 HEMI Hurling Game
11 Change Refresh Rate in Windows XP
CWShredder Creator Calls It Quits
____________________________________________________________

NOTE: Any time you see the " ++ ", it means there is more
of the article, or story, on the linked site. Mike
____________________________________________________________

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___________________________________________________________


HackFix updates, thanks to Christy;
staff@...
Http://www.hackfix.org
This weeks Virus Pattern Updates (07/01/2004)


All Software listed Alphabetically by Company name as some
companies manufacture more then one product.


Aladdin Knowledge Systems

Esafe Desktop/Gateway/Enterprise
Last Updated July01/2004
To update your software
Visit: http://www.esafe.com/esafe/downloads/virusig.asp
Or
>From the Esafe folder in your Start Menu select Download Updates
~~~~~

AlWil Software

Avast Antivirus
Last Updated June 29/2004
To update your software:
Visit: http://www.avast.com/i_kat_69.html
Or
Right click on the AVAST icon in the system tray, Select iAVS Update,
AVAST will check for updates and download the appropriate files as needed.
~~~~~

Authentium Software Systems

Command antivirus
Last Updated June 24/2004
To update your software
Visit
http://www.authentium.com/support/downloads/index.cfm
~~~~~

Center for Antivirus Technologies (CAT)

Quickheal
Last Updated July 01/2004
To update your software
Visit: http://www.quickheal.com/winupg.htm
Or
Open Quickheal select Utility from the top toolbar and liveupdate.
Follow the onscreen prompts.
Alternately you can select Liveupdate directly from the
QuickHeal program menu on the startmenu.
~~~~~

Frisk Software Systems

Fprot
Last Updated July 01/2004
To update your software
Visit: http://www.f-prot.com/download/home_user/
~~~~~

Computer Associates

E-Trust
Last updated June 30/2004
To update your software
http://www3.ca.com/support/vicdownload/
Or
>From the Respective folder in your Start Menu select Autodownload

For Vet Anti virus
http://www.vet.com.au/html/software/update.html

Be sure to have your Customer ID and your registered email address
handy for verification.

**Note**

We knew this time would come eventually, that Computer Associates
would not continue to support/update the older program
https://www2.my-etrust.com/services/ipe_support??
~~~~~~


GeCad Software

Rav (Reliable AntiVirus)
Last Updated: June 30/2004
To update your software:
Visit: http://www.ravantivirus.com/pages/dldupdate.php?type=Daily
Or
Open Rav and select Rav Update from the toolbar
~~~~~

Grisoft Inc.

AVG
Last updated June 30/2004
To update your software
Visit: http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_index.php
Or
Open AVG and click Virus Database to check for updates
Or
Open AVG control centre and click Update Manager/update now

**Note: To help speed up AVG updates you can set your program to use
an alternate download site.
Open AVG control centre->update manager->download from server. The
drop downbox should have listed www.grisoft.com (default) and
www.grisoft.cz. (be sure to select "apply" when done to save the changes)
The default site is most often used so can at times become temporarily
unavailable. By using the secondary site (www.grisoft.cz) helps to ease
the server and makes your update go quicker as most don't use it!
~~~~~

H+Bedv

AntiVir
Last updated July 01/2004
To update your software
Visit: http://www.free-av.com/antivirus/allinonen.html
Or
Open AntiVir, from the top toolbar select Tools->
start internet update and follow the on screen prompts.


Vexira
Last updated July 01/2004
To update your software
Visit: http://www.centralcommand.com/updates.html
Or
Open Vexira, from the top toolbar select Tools->
start internet update and follow the on screen prompts.

Vexira Antivirus is marketed by Central Command however it is the
same program as Antivir with only a different name.
~~~~~

Kaspersky

Kaspersky Anti-Virus (formerly AVP)
Last updated June 25/2004
To update your software
Visit: http://www.kasperskylabs.com/updates.asp
Or
Open AVP from the top toolbar click Tools-> Update virus definition
Or
>From the Kaspersky folder in your Start Menu select AVP updater


*Note* Avp now has available a cumulative update and a
daily update with the daily being any important items they
feel shouldn't wait till the next cumulative update. Our
dates here are based on the most recent Major update.

**Note: Improved update accessiblity. To ease the update web traffic
Kaspersky labs has additional servers for autoupdating. The program
defaults to use one server but can be altered to check a variety of
servers. Select Kaspersky updater, select update via the internet to
open the drop down box(es) select "location" Check the box labeled
"Use alternate locations from the list" select next and next to update.
This option should stay selected after the first time. This helps
Kaspersky lighten the load for updates and helps you obtain updates
easier.
~~~~~

Network Associates

Mcafee
Last updated July01/2004
To update your software
For Mcafee Visit
http://www.networkassociates.com/us/downloads/updates/superdat.asp
(for Virus and Engine updates)


Drsolomn (Product no longer available for new users however
updates still available for current users): Go to the following
Internet site: http://download.mcafee.com/updates/4x.asp
IMPORTANT: When you get to this site you may notice that it refers
to VirusScan. This update is not only for VirusScan. It also works
with Dr.Solomon's.

Or
Open your respective software virus scan scheduler, double click
Auto update, click Run Now to do a manual live update, or click
Schedule to set up a timed live update.
~~~~~

Norman Data Defence

Norman Virus Control
Last updated July 01/2004
To update your software
Visit:
http://www.norman.com/downloads.shtml#definition_files_updates
Be sure to have your Valid Username and password handy for verification.
Or
>From the Norman folder in your Start Menu select Internet Update

**Note Norman Virus Control web updates are only for version prior to
5.0. Norman 5.0 can only be updated via the update in the program itself.

Thunderbyte Anti Virus
Current Version: This product is no longer being supported.
http://www.norman.com/tbav.shtml
~~~~~

Softwin

BitDefender (Previously known as AVX - AntiVirus eXpert as of Nov 06/01)
Last Updated July 01/2004
To update your software
Visit:
http://www.bitdefender.com/bd/site/downloads.php?menu_id=19&s_id=3
Or
Open BitDefender select Protection Options->live upgrade
Or
>From the BitDefender folder in your Start Menu select Bitdefender Live

Press Release on the software change
http://www.bitdefender.com/press/ref1.php
~~~~~

Sophos

Sophos Anti Virus
Last IDE available July 01/2004
To obtain the latest IDE files
Visit: http://www.sophos.com/downloads/ide/

**Note: Sophos does not update as other products do. They update
the Engine/software once a month (or so) to include all the previous
IDE files. New IDE files are available with new virus threats and must
be downloaded individually until the next software update is available.
Our update dates reflect the most recent available IDE file.
~~~~~

Symantec

Nortons AntiVirus
Last updated June 30/2004
To update your software
Visit:
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/defs.download.html select
your language -> product from the list
Or
Open Nortons software and click the "live update" button
Or
>From the Nortons folder in your Start Menu select LiveUpdate -
Norton Antivirus
~~~~~

Trend Micro

PcCillin
Last updated June 30/2004
To update your software
Visit: http://www.antivirus.com/download/pattern.asp
Be sure to have your Registration number handy for verification
Or
Open PcCillin click Update then click Update Now (or Update later
to Schedule a timed update)
~~~~~~~~~

If there is an Anti Virus program that is Not listed here that
you would like to see added to the weekly updates list Please
feel free to let us know.

Remember Your anti virus software is only as good as the user...
If you don't keep it updated it won't provide you with maximum
protection.

This weekly Update will be sent every Thursday on or after
6pm (eastern) to keep you up to date on virus pattern updates
available. Virus patterns are checked for most recent update
date as of 6pm Thursdays.

~~~~

~ Hackfix Project Staff
staff@...
Http://www.hackfix.org

3017 St Clair Ave #176
Burlington, Ontario
L7R 3L7
____________________________________________________________
2
HDD Health
http://www.panterasoft.com
S.M.A.R.T. stands for Self Monitoring And Reporting Technology. This is a
set of tools built into your hard drive that monitor such things as your
hard drive's spin up time, temperature & seek time performance in order to
spot patterns that may indicate an impending hard drive failure. HDD Health
is a usefull freeware that interprets the output from your drive's SMART
technology & issuing you with a warning of any problems that may lead to
data loss & enable you to take the needed actions. The program can issue
warnings in the form of a popup, a warning across your network or even an
email message.

____________________________________________________________
3
Zero Assumption Digital Image Recovery
http://www.z-a-recovery.com/digital_image_recovery.htm

Zero Assumption Digital Image Recovery is a freeware data recovery tool,
specifically designed to work with digital images. It allows you to recover
digital photos accidentally deleted from digital camera memory.

There exists a vast variety of digital camera and associated media types on
the market, so it is virtually impossible to test the program with each and
every hardware combination. Generally, program should work with any media
type (e.g. CompactFlash, MemoryStick, SmartMedia and so on) accessible by
means of operating system. You need the use your camera or the appropriate
card reader you normally use to transfer images from camera to PC.
++
____________________________________________________________
4
Multiboot With Windows XP
http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=637515
Install two or more operating systems on your PC, and then choose the one
that you want to use each time you restart. Learn how to multiboot, or how
to configure your computer to start Windows® XP, Windows 2000, or Windows
NT® with either Windows 98 or Windows 95.
++
From; Microsoft
____________________________________________________________
5
SOPHOS ANTI-VIRUS FOR MAC OS X 10.3
Don't forget - Sophos doesn't just protect PC users.
Companies which use Apple Mac OS X 10.3, as well as Mac OS X 10.2, can now
benefit from an enhanced version of Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac OS X. Find
out more and try the product out now.

http://www.sophos.com/companyinfo/news/sav383-for-osx.html
http://www.sophos.com/pressoffice/pressrel/uk/20040623sav383macosx.html
http://www.sophos.com/products/sav/
____________________________________________________________
6
EazyCleaner Updated V.2.0.6.373

EasyCleaner is a small program which searches Windows' registry for entries
that are pointing nowhere. EasyCleaner also lets you delete all kinds of
unnecessary files like temps, backups etc. You can search for duplicate
files and you can view some intresting info about your disk space usage! You
are also able to manage startup programs, invalid shortcuts and add/remove
software list. ToniArts may not be held accountable in any way if
EasyCleaner affects your computer in a negative way.
List of some features:

Very nice interface!
Finds invalid registry entries ----> deleting them speeds up your computer!
Finds duplicate files ----> deleting them will free disk space!
Finds all unnecessary files like backups, temps etc. ----> deleting them
will free disk space!
Finds all invalid shortcuts ----> deleting them will free disk space and
increase usability!
Manage programs starting at Windows startup! ----> who knows, you might even
catch a virus before it gets serious!
Manage Windows' add/remove software listing!
Easily remove Internet Explorer's temporary Internet files, history and
cookies!
Very user friendly!
Shows some intresting info about your disk space usage.
Very customizable.
Multi-language support!
Uses only little amount of recources while running!
Huge help file which gives you every little detail about EasyCleaner!
++
____________________________________________________________
7
AdAware ~ New plug-in available - VX2 Cleaner

By Åsa Karlsson - Content Manager
Contributions by Mårten Holmqvist - Research, Stefan Lundström -
Software Development

Lavasoft's new plug-in VX2 Cleaner detects the malware VX2 and offers you
the ability to remove it from your computer. Some users have experienced a
very difficult variant of VX2 which cannot be removed by Ad-Aware. For those
users which have this variant, we have developed a plug-in to help you
remove this VX2 variant.

This VX2 variant registers itself in a way, which gives it system
privileges. It also prevents the user from viewing this information by
removing the user's rights to do so. Furthermore it constantly monitors the
registry and prevents any attempts to remove its associated values. This
makes it very difficult for the user to manually remove it.

The VX2 Cleaner works with all editions of Ad-Aware 6 build 181.


How to use Lavasoft's VX2 Cleaner plug-in

- Close Ad-Aware 6 build 181 and Ad-Watch (if running)
- Download the free VX2 Cleaner at
http://updates.ls-servers.com/plvx2cleaner.exe
- Install the VX2 Cleaner
- Start Ad-Aware 6 build 181
- Go to "Plug-ins"
- Select the VX2 Cleaner plug-in and click "Run Plugin"
- If your computer isn't infected, click "Close".


If your computer is infected

- Select "Clean system"
- Reboot your computer
- Scan your computer with Ad-Aware
- Remove any VX2 objects detected
- Reboot your computer again
- Run a second scan to make sure the files have been removed from your
computer

More information on VX2 can be found in the TAC database at
http://www.lavasoftnews.com/ms/display_main.php?tac=VX2

Download Lavasoft's VX2 Cleaner plug-in at
http://updates.ls-servers.com/plvx2cleaner.exe
From; Lavasoft's The Eye;
http://www.lavasoftnews.com/cgi-bin/mojo/mojo.cgi?___________________________
_______________________________
8
'Christy's Computer Corner'
thanks to Christy;
http://www.1stpick.org

SFX Maker
http://sfxmaker.cjb.net/
Freeware

Create self-extracting archives. ZIP files are nice when you have a way of
unzipping them. But what if you're stuck without an unzipper?! No sweat.
Make it SFX! Converting those standalone ZIP archives into self-extracting
EXE files. Now you can share your zipped files with anyone -- even if they
don't have a decompression utility on hand. You don't have to be a wizard;
the Maker will take you through the process, step-by-step.

~~~~~~~~
9
Minimizing the Desktop from the Task Bar

When you need to get to your desktop quickly, minimizing program after
program can be a real bother.
You can avoid this annoyance by learning to right-click on the task bar at
the bottom of the screen on a blank spot (a place where there is no
program's name).
You should see an option called "Minimize All Windows (Win98) or "Show the
Desktop" (WinXp)."
Select and watch all the windows shrink down in succession.
Now, you will be at your desktop and ready to move forward quickly.
If your keyboard has a Microsoft Flag Key the Flag Key-D combination will
also show the desktop.

Was this forwarded to you ?
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____________________________________________________________
10
HEMI Hurling
http://www.nstorm.com/games/game_detail.asp?game_id=66
PC- Pentium 300, 64 MB Ram, 4 MB VRAM, Win 95, Win 98, Win 2000, Win NT, Win
XP
Ever seen those "wannabe" pickup trucks on the road braggin' about this and
that?
We know just what you'd like to do to them...like open a big can of
whoopass.
And you can. You've got a fire-breathing, 5.7 liter, HEMI (R) Magnum (R)
powered Dodge Ram, full of road ripping muscle. Load up one of those bucket
of bolts on the back bed of your Ram, hit the gas, then the brakes, and hurl
it through the air towards the big pile of junk forming at the end of the
road.
Yeah, it's got a HEMI all right! WARNING: Don't try this in real life!
From; NStorm games
____________________________________________________________
11
Mike's Friday tip ~ Change Refresh Rate in Windows XP
http://www.evga.com/support/guides/guides.asp?file=XPrefresh

Advantages of changing the refresh rate for many people include alleviating
eyestrain after long periods of time in front of a computer screen or
removing pesky lines that roll across the screen. Adjustments to this
display property can be made quickly and easily.

Step 1: Enter the Display Properties window by right-clicking the Windows
Desktop and selecting Properties.

Step 2: Once you arrive at the Display Properties window, select the
Settings tab in the upper right hand corner then click the Advanced...
button in the lower right.

Step 3: You will arrive at the properties window for your video card. Select
the Adapter Tab.

Step 4: Information about your video card will be indicated in the middle
section. Click the button that is labeled List All Modes...

Step 5: A window will appear that will indicate compatible modes that is
supported by both the video card and the monitor. The description follows
the format of Resolution, Color Depth, and Refresh Rate measured in hertz
(Hz). Select the refresh rate of your choice and click the OK button.

Step 6: Simply click on the APPLY button to set the Refresh Rate setting for
your monitor.

Step 7: The screen may flicker a couple of times, resulting in the refresh
rate of your choice. Another pop-up window asks if you would like to keep
the current settings. If the screen goes black with no video, the refresh
rate you have selected may not be supported. You have up to 15 seconds to
keep the settings or revert to your previous configuration. If you are
satisfied with the new refresh rate select Yes followed by the OK button.
++
____________________________________________________________

CWShredder Creator Calls It Quits
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/47001
Browser hijack variants getting too nasty.
If you've had your home-page hijacked and researched a cure, then you know
how useful the CWShredder application can be in reclaiming control.
Unfortunately, the Dutch student and developer of the application, Merijn
Bellekom, has decided to call it quits, noting that the new variants of
hijackers are becoming "too aggressive or too complicated to allow for
automated removal". CoolWebSearch, which Merijn calls "the most complex,
invisible and devious hijacker" ever coded, has spawned a large number of
variants, all of which are getting increasingly become more difficult to
stop. No word yet if he's willing to offer up the source code to allow
others to continue his great work.
++
____________________________________________________________

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Antivirus software is a good choice to scan your system for possible viruses,
however no virus scanner is 100% effective as manufactures cannot keep up with
the rapid change of viruses that happens daily.
Be sure to update yours regularly.
http://www.hackfix.org/software/antivirus.html
______________________________________________________________________
Please feel free, to offer constructive criticism, as that will help me keep it
interesting.
I also welcome any submissions about new products, web pages, or articles of
interest.

All submissions posted in MWN will be given proper credit.
"MikesWhatsNews" believes in giving credit where credit is due but at times
deadlines and information that is very important to readers we accidentally
misspost an item.

If you believe something to be miscredited, or you know the author of one of the
articles which we have posted as 'unknown', please do let us know so we can
correct the information where applicable.

Many times in a article you may see a click here for more information, or to go
to a link, these often will not work, as the original information, was taken
from a page with HTML links. This is when you will want to go to the webpage
indicated in the article, ++ ,for 'the rest of the story'
***MfM*** indicates that I am adding my own information to a particular
article.
`~*~*~*~*~*~`
Mike ~It's a good day if I learned something new.
You can read a sample of my newsletter on my web page http://www.mwn.ca
My virus pages ~ http://virusinfo.hackfix.org
mytech@...
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