MikesWhatsNews 04, 03, 2005
in today's issue #773

2 Giant-Sized Gaming
3 National Geographic Screensaver
4 Context Magic v1.1.b3
5 Firefox 1.0.1 Released
6 PC WIZARD 2005
7 XPSP2 Soon to be Delivered Automatically
8 CCC Abelibrary
9 Using the Preview Pane in Outlook Express
10 HJT Hotkey
11 Quick Uesr Switching in XP
HackFix Updates
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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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2
Giant-Sized Gaming
http://www.blinkenlights.de/arcade/games.en.html
In Europe, people are playing video games with their cell phones but with a BIG
difference. The key word there is "BIG". I know that some phones here use the
phone screen to do stuff with, like watch TV, play games or check out emails. In
Europe they can do that too but in addition, they can play classic video games
like Pong, Tetris, Pacman
and Breakout using the lights of high-rise buildings.
With Project Blinkenlights
<http://www.blinkenlights.de/arcade/games.en.html>, Europeans can play classic
video games on the sides of buildings with their cell phones. Why don't we have
that? Your screen in this case is approximately 3370
square-meters in size. In France, for example, you can connect to the
Biblioth=E8que nationale de France by dialing +33 (1) 44 24 73 50 and then stand
in front of the building to play a giant Tetris arcade game. The current show
will be interrupted and the text "TETRIS" announces that the game can begin.
Cool huh??!! With the key 4 and 6 on your keypad the elements can be moved left
and right respectively. With key 5 you can rotate the element counter-clockwise.
If you have found the desired position, you can drop the element immediately by
typing 8.

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3
National Geographic Screensaver
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/channel/screensavers/daretoexplore/
A nice free (and free from spyware!) screensaver from National Geographic.
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/channel/screensavers/daretoexplore/

Thanks to; Martha
http://www.marthas-web.com
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4
Context Magic v1.1.b3 (Free Edition)
http://www.contextmagic.com/menu-extension/
Context Magic is a Windows Explorer shortcut menu extension that greatly extends
functionality of the standard Send To menu and allows to manage files and
folders with a few mouse clicks. To bring it up, just right-click a file or
folder in the Windows Explorer, and point to Context Magic in the pop-up menu.
++
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5
Firefox 1.0.1 Released
http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/
Firefox is a fast, full-featured browser that makes browsing more efficient than
ever before.
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6
PC WIZARD 2005 free
http://www.cpuid.com/pcw.php
PC WIZARD 2005 is a powerful utility designed especially for detection of
hardware, but also some more analysis. It's able to identify a large scale of
system components and supports the latest technologies and standards. This tool
is periodically updated (usually once per month) in order to provide most
accurate results.

PC WIZARD 2005 is also an utility designed to analyze and benchmark your
computer system. It can analyze and benchmark many kinds of hardware, such as
CPU performance, Cache performance, RAM performance, Hard Disk performance,
CD/DVD-ROM performance, Removable/FLASH Media performance, Video performance,
MP3 compression performance.
++
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7
XPSP2 Soon to be Delivered Automatically
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-5590501.html

Microsoft is alerting customers that it will soon start delivering
Windows XP Service Pack 2 to all customers using Automatic Update,
whether they want it or not.

In response to requests from businesses, Microsoft last year released a tool
that allowed companies to continue using the automatic update feature but
temporarily block the security-oriented update from downloading.

However, the grace period comes to an end on April 12. Microsoft has
posted a warning on its Web site, alerting people about the impending deadline.

"Time is running out!" Microsoft said. "Please note that the mechanism to
temporarily disable delivery of Windows XP SP2 is only available for a period of
240 days (eight months) from Aug. 16, 2004. At the end of this period (after
April 12, 2005), Windows XP SP2 will be delivered to all Windows XP and Windows
XP Service Pack 1 systems."
++
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8
'Christy's Computer Corner'
thanks to Christy;
http://www.1stpick.org

abelibrary

http://www.abelibrary.com/

Now you cant say you havent read a particular book because you couldnt find it!
With millions of rare, used, out-of-print and hard-to-find books for your
library, available from a network of
independent booksellers, abelibrary.com provides a unique and enjoyable book
buying experience.
~~~~~~~~
9
Using the Preview Pane in Outlook Express

Although the Outlook Express preview pane is very handy, in these days of e-mail
virus contamination, many users believe that it's safer to do without the
preview.
To turn off the preview pane, choose View|Layout.
When the dialog box opens, deselect the "Show preview pane" check box and click
OK.

Now, you can look at the "From" information and decide whether to open an e-mail
or just delete it.

Was this forwarded to you ?
Get your own subscription here:
<1stpickPCtips-request@...?Subject=subscribe>

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10
HJT Hotkey freeware
http://hometown.aol.co.uk/jrmc137/HJTHotkey/

Provides easy access for analyzing HJT logs.
What is HJT Hotkey By Acsell
From:
http://forums.net-integration.net/index.php?s=0b4591fdf48dbf603a740aa833a51a31&s\
howtopic=24566
HJTHotkey is designed to speed up the researching of items in a HijackThis log
once it has been posted onto a forum or from a log file. It will run in the
system tray and when a hotkey/shortcut key is pressed it will copy the word that
has been selected and automatically search for that word on Google, sysinfo.org
(startup items, Toolbars, BHO's), windowsstartup.com (startup items),
answersthatwork.com (processes)or one of the offline Startup, BHO, CWS and
Toolbar databases depending on the hotkey that is pressed.
There is also a tutorial available here which shows you how to analyse your own
log using HJTHotkey and manually:
http://hometown.aol.co.uk/JRMC137/hjttutorial/tutorial.htm
Mirror: http://www.spywareaid.com/hjt/tutorial.htm

Thanks to; Sean at mycomputerheadaches
MCH - http://shorterlink.com/?PBFUJ5
SMB - http://savemybutt.com
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11
Quick user Switching in XP

Another of the many shortcuts using the Windows key on the keyboard is the
combination of;

Windows key and the letter L

This is the XP shortcut to "switch users"

This is handy of you share the computer with other users.
____________________________________________________________

HackFix updates, thanks to Christy;
staff@...
Http://www.hackfix.org

This weeks Virus Pattern Updates (03/03/2005)

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


Aladdin Knowledge Systems

Esafe Desktop/Gateway/Enterprise
Last Updated Mar 03/2005
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 Mar 03/2005
To update your software:
Visit: http://www.avast.com/
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 Mar 03/2005
To update your software
Visit http://www.authentium.com/support/downloads/index.cfm
~~~~~

Center for Antivirus Technologies (CAT)

Quickheal
Last Updated Mar 03/2005
To update your software
Visit: http://207.230.103.11/public/updates/updates.asp
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 Mar 01/2005
To update your software
Visit: http://www.f-prot.com/download/home_user/
~~~~~

Computer Associates

E-Trust
Last updated Mar 03/2005
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: Mar 03/2005
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
Announcing the End of Support for AVG Anti-Virus 6.0 (December 31, 2004)
Read more here: http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_avg6_termination.php
(New update details will be available soon)

Last updated Mar 02/2005
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 Mar 03/2005
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 Mar 03/2005
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 Feb 25/2005
To update your software
Visit: http://www.kaspersky.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 Mar 02/2005
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 Mar 02/2005
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 Feb 25/2005
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 Mar 03/2005
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 Mar 03/2005
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 Mar 03/2005
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

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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
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"MikesWhatsNews" believes in giving credit where credit is due but at times
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If you believe something to be miscredited, or you know the author of one of the
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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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