VBOK #13 - Resources/Virus Perspective ______________________________________________________________________ TOC 1. Resources 2. Security Issues 3. Software Review 4. Cool Sites 5. Nickel Knowledge If the columns in the below articles appear misaligned, it's because you are using a non-fixed width font. If you would like to see them nice and straight, change your E-mail font to Times New Roman. ______________________________________________________________________ 1. Resources ------ Places to go, to be in the know!! How many of you know what you want from the internet, but can't quite find it? Hopefully this article will alleviate some of those problems. Below are reviews of sites that I think are absolutely essential for "being in the know". The first section I'm going to cover (although it belongs in a section below under it's own heading) is hoaxes and virus scares. How many of you have received a "Forward this to everyone, so this virus doesn't destroy the world!!!", or Bill Gates is giving away 10,000 copies of his latest and greatest software if only you forward this e-mail to ten more people, or if you don't forward this e-mail to 5 more people your life will fall apart messages!!!!! Probably most of you. Now, how many of you actually forwarded them??? Whhoooopash (You've just been slapped!) Almost all of these are designed to clog up the internet backbone with garbage messages. We all hate slow connections, so STOP FORWARDING THEM!!! Now, before I go further, I'm not saying you should ignore them. Maybe one out of a hundred might have some truth to it. Such as the FCC wanting to get the public's opinion on whether telephone companies should charge ISPs extra for their use of the telephone system. This one was actually true, about a year and a half ago. What I am saying, is that you verify it before forwarding it to everybody in your address book. There are some very good sites to do this, which I'll get to in a moment, but first let's get to some logic. How do you determine if a message is bogus? Here's some pointers: 1. Does it say "Forward to everyone you know!!" 2. Does it say "If you open this e-mail, it will erase your hard drive"? So far there are NO viruses of this type. There is really only one way for you to get a virus from e-mail, and that is if you OPEN/RUN an attachment to the e-mail message (this includes Word documents macro virus). You will *not* get a virus just from opening the e-mail (Unless you have some oddball e-mail program that automatically runs any attachments when you open a message). 3. Does it say "I've fully checked this out, and I'm not lying!!", or something similar to it. Unless of course you get a message from me saying that I've checked it out, because I really will have. 4. Does it look like it was written by a ten year old (I'm not saying that a ten year old will never say anything important). Most people who write these couldn't spell their way out of a wet paper bag (However you do that :) Their are some thow that can spel really good, and are evun artikulate (grin), so their message sounds very real. This is called "Baffling with BullSh*t". :) 5. Does it sound incredulous??? I mean a personal letter from Bill Gates? Wow, you must be really special. He's a pretty busy guy, but he took time out to write you. I'm impressed. NOT! 6. Does it say "Don't accept any messages from so-an-so, he's been sending viruses!" This is mainly an ICQ thing, which they have been getting nailed pretty hard with. What can you expect, they are a relatively new service with almost 16 MILLION users. If you aren't using ICQ yet, you don't know what you're missing . 7. Use common sense. If it looks buffaloneous, don't send it. I can almost guarantee that if the world does crumble because of this new virus or chain-letter, they wont find out that you were the weak link that caused the whole world notification plan to fail. ;) So on to the sites that will put you "In The Know" about hoaxes. If after checking everywhere else, you still aren't sure, send it to me. You might get razzed, but at least you'll know. :) Ok, now on to more "Places to go, to be in the Know!" *************** * General * *************** -- IRS Tax Forms You can download just about every federal tax form that exists from here. They can even be downloaded in different flavors: PDF, PCL, PostScript, SGML Text. *************** * Computers * *************** ------ Multiple coverage ------ -- Tom's Hardware Guide This is the man who does it all. If you want the inside scoop to all the latest PC hardware, this is the site. This is a guy who knows real benchmarking from the hype. -- PC Techzone A really good place to just get all the coverage. Pretty good information, easily navigated. -- System Optimization PC Hardware and Performance Guide Want to make it go faster, work smoother, and be better? This is a great place to learn to tweak it. ------ BIOS ------ -- Wim's BIOS Page Have a need to match BIOS numbers to a motherboard? Don't know where to turn for the latest BIOS flash updates? This place is great. Listings for both Award and AMI are enormous. There is also FAQs, discussion boards etc... -- The BIOS Survival Guide If it isn't here, it isn't anywhere. This site has it all. The information cup runneth over. ------ CPU ------ -- Alternative CPU Have you ever wanted to know what advantages and disadvantages the 6x86 (Cyrix) has over Intel processors? This is the place to go. -- The Chiplist FAQ Got a CPU, but don't know exactly what it is? This site lists pretty much all of the CPUs across multiple platforms. It has pinouts, technology, and detailed CPU info. -- CPU Central Another really awesome CPU site. -- CPU Info Center Another really good CPU site. Even has a die photo gallery. ------ Drivers ------ -- Drivers Headquarters If you need drivers for just about any piece of hardware, this is a great place to start. They'll get you pointed in the right direction (namely in the direction of the manufacturer's driver page.) ------ Memory ------ -- The Memory Manual Got some RAM laying around, but don't know what type/size/speed etc they are? Go here and match up model numbers to find out. There is also RAM related definitions, and some technical information concerning RAM. -- Crucial Memory (Owned by Micron) There is tons of great information here, from guides on installing RAM, to how they work. -- Kingston Memory Another place for really great information. There's a pretty good guide on RAM here. ------ MODEM ------ -- The V.90 (56K) Modem Page It's a total blitz of information on the new V.90 standards for 56K modems written and maintained by users like us. No promotional garbage here, just the straight facts. ------ Motherboards ------ -- The Motherboard Homeworld Reviews, chipset info, how-tos etc.. Lot's of great info on a variety of motherboards. -- Intel Secrets This is pretty much for the hardcore geek, but there is some unbelievably great information here. ------ Security ------ -- Intro to Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) Ever wondered about PGP? What is it? How do you use it? etc... This is the beginner's page, and it'll help you to understand what it does and why you should get it. ------ Troubleshooting ------ -- Alfred Poor's Computer Cures Just like in the Computer Shopper. You can even ask him a question. -- Alfred Poor's Forum Read a threaded discussion forum on cures. -- PC Magazine's PCTech Just like in PC Magazine. Good coverage of multiple topics. ______________________________________________________________________ 2. Security Issues by The NMI ------ ******** Note to readers ****** The following subject is a sore issue with too many people here, so I felt a disclaimer was needed here to exonerate the main writer from anything I may offend people with here. The opinions expressed here are solely my own, and in no way reflect the opinions of VBOK, or its publisher. Basically, don't fly off the handle at anyone but me, ok? ********************************** Hey, readers, guess what time it is? You guessed it, time for another fabulous Security Issues section. Well, last issue, I promised you readers a little something about Macs... and yes, I will discuss a little about Macs specifically (more in a later article), so all you big blue clone users will have to sit and be quiet. Ya might even learn something :) First off, I wanted to send shots out to the hackers in Australia - Seems you like what we do here at VBOK, and we're pleased to hear about it (we have eyes everywhere :) By the way, if YOU (yeah you) have some area of concern that you'd like me to address or discuss here, drop me a line at the address at bottom. So anyway, there I was, after the last issue's article had been e-mailed, pondering what the heck I was gonna write about on Macs... So going through my archives, I looked at some more or less interesting files I had completely forgotten about, and I found several Megs worth of zipped virii. NOW BEFORE YOU GO OFF CURSING MY NAME AS "ONE OF THOSE DAMN VIRUS WRITERs", sit back down, be quiet, and keep reading. Yes, I have written several virii, NO, I have never given them out to anyone. If you think the boys at McAfee have never tried their hand at coding these puppies, think again. One of my favorite sayings for occasions like this is "If you know how to write 'em, you know how to fight 'em". Or, put simply, you build these things, coding them from the ground up, and you get a better idea of how they work, what damage they could do, and how to stop them. Bear in mind that my interests in computer security do not just extend to programs that people write, but, like virii, programs that "write themselves". So enough with the self-justification - If you feel the need to send me hatemail, please enclose U.S. $20 for handling fees, and send 'till your heart's content :) Ok, Anyway, obviously, I won't be going in to the whole how-to-write-a-virus thing, since this would go beyond the scope of the article, and this will be more of an editorial than a technical article, but bare with me for a bit. If you wanted to learn how to secure your home, you would ask a "security consultant" (AKA: retired burglar) - If you wanted to learn how to defend yourself, you'd ask someone who knows how to fight. SO, knowing we want to fend off those nasty Mac virii, we should consult someone who knows how to write Mac virii. Now, if you ask folks who write virii, one of the main things they do is test their virus against anti-virus software - usually the best they can find. The folks I know who have studied Mac virii* say that currently the best out there is a free-ware product written by John Norstad called Disinfectant. It's a general habit of mine to avoid the money-hungry anti-virus companies, only because I check any incoming code myself, but my friends say this is the one to get for your Mac. So, given all this, you wonder why people write virii at all - You think maybe all virus writers should be shot? I hope not, because the concepts used in writing any self-replicating code are critical to many cutting-edge developments in the last ten years. Ever hear of computer simulated testing? This concept, along with many others, involves something called a Genetic Algorithm, or GA. Now, GA is the process by which a computer combines many hundreds of possibilities, selecting some of the best from each test, combining them, and testing again - Just like many virii out there today, which create many different code solutions for the same problem, and try to see which one is the best, by which survives the longest. I use a similar approach for some types of graphics programming, using code I have learned from writing virii to let the computer find, by efficiency, the best and quickest code for doing some certain function on the screen. This logical evolution of virus writing has made many things safer (By testing dangerous things like engine turbines on the computer instead of real life) and more efficient (because the computer can accurately test literally thousands of designs quickly), which benefits us all in the long run. So back to virii on your computer - What can you do to protect yourself? Use some common sense - If you get a strange program, scan it first, with several different types of anti-virus software, watch where ya download things from, and remember that no AV software can find every single virus that exists - these things are made to reproduce and stay hidden, so the best (although not the most feasible) option is to learn how these things work - Learn to code!! :) *For some of the coolest Mac hack links, files, etc, check out http://www.weasel.org/ Weasels got some great Mac stuff so be sure to stop by and give him a visit! Later All! Questions, comments, gripes and complaints? Send 'em along with all your dark secrets and conspiracy theories to: The NMI ______________________________________________________________________ 3. Software Review ------ WebSnake - 1.84 MB Internet/HTML (PC) http://anaserve.com/anawave/websnake/ http://www.anawave.com/downloads/Snake123.exe I've been looking for a piece of software like this for a long time. I've never really found a good off-line web browser, but this is it. Tell WebSnake which site you want and how you want it, and it'll get as little or as much of it as you want. Some options include: * Mirroring site. Copies all files and directory structure used for the web site (Even all the Javascript files!!) * E-mail address collection from site. Any e-mail addresses referenced on the site will be collected and collated into tab or comma delimited files. * Site mapping. You'll get a whole site overview of all available links and files. * Search. Will search an entire web site for pages containing only the keywords you specify. * Is very netiquette aware (Meaning it doesn't just rape a site and kill their bandwidth). ------ TechFacts 95 - 1.3M Troubleshooting Win95 (PC) Get this great little program to help you sort out the woes of your Win95 nightmares. Helps to diagnose and fix the things ailing your machine. ______________________________________________________________________ 4. Cool Sites ------ The National Fraud Information Center Think someone might be trying to rip you off over the Internet? Come here to see if it resembles any of these other scams, and get some tips as to how to avoid being scammed. ------ MathWorld For those of you who actually think this kind of stuff is fun, here's a whole site dedicated to the "fun" of math. ------ The Wine Enthusiast If you are into wine, this is a neat place to check out all the cool stuff to make your wine collection so much better. ------ Bill Gates Blue Screen of Death Have you heard all about Win98 crashing in front of hundreds of people during a demonstration??? Click above to D/L (download) the movie. ______________________________________________________________________ 5. Nickel Knowledge ------ - Your short term memory last for about 30 seconds. - The average person remembers approximately seven items when asked to recite back from a list just previously memorized. - In one year, light travels 5,880,000,000,000 miles. Well, that concludes this issue. Have fun. Leif Gregory Copyright (c) 1998 by Leif Gregory. 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