PCWize Edition #24 - Meager Beginnings October 17, 1999 ______________________________________________________________________ I was working backwards through the PCWize/VBOK newsletter archives converting them to HTML for the new web site, and the further I went back, the more horrifying they became. It amazes me that people were actually interested in subscribing to those pitiful attempts at a newsletter. The more I think about it, the more I wonder if my friends and family were just humoring me. They were probably saying "Sure Leif, I want to receive your newsletter!" but were actually thinking about which kind of beer would be on sale that weekend! I guess everyone has to start somewhere, and thankfully, I have gotten much better at writing and design layout. Eventually it all worked out for the best, so a special thanks goes out to all those who loved and humored me, because without you, I wouldn't be having this much fun! :^) I also wanted to apologize to everyone who tried to go to last week and were told that the server was not found. This problem is close to being resolved as the server upgrades are almost complete. If you still want a sneak peak at what the new site will look like, you can go to . The site is not complete, so please don't e-mail me about dead links and non-functioning cgis. However, if you have comments about how the site looks or feels, then please send those along to . ______________________________________________________________________ TOC 1. Voting Booth and Other PCWize Stuff 2. Software Review 3. Cool Sites 4. Tips, Tricks, Do's and Don't Do's 5. That's the news! 6. Security Issues, Hoaxes, Viruses and Other Urban Legends 7. PCWize Contests and rules 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 Courier New. ______________________________________________________________________ ** A word from our sponsors ** ---------------------------------------------------------------------- PERSONALIZE THE NET! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Now you can locate, select and distribute the information that is important to you! * WebSeeker - Utilize the power of over 100 search engines to perform advanced searches, and get valuable results. * WebWhacker - Take the Net on the road! Download parts of or entire web sites for off-line viewing. * ClickBook - Print any document or web page in a double-sided booklet or brochure. BLUE SQUIRREL: http://www.bluesquirrel.com/index.html?ASCID=192 ------ Want to see your advertisement here? Send mail to with the text 'Advertiser' in the SUBJECT line for more information. ______________________________________________________________________ 1. Voting Booth and Other PCWize Stuff ------ Click here to vote for PCWize as one of the best newsletters in the "E-zines Top Ten Poll"! It's just a click, no need to fill anything out. ------ Come visit the PCWize forum and live chat. You may discuss anything computer related and it's a good place to get help with any computer questions you may have. ______________________________________________________________________ 2. Software Review ------ Name: Agent Web Ranking v1.6 by AADSoft Genre: Web tools Platform: PC Win95/98/NT Type/Cost: Freeware Size: 1.87MB Homepage: Download: One of the many duties of a webmaster is to see how well they rank in the search engine listings. This has always been an arduous manual process requiring a good amount of time. Apparently the people at AADSoft finally had enough of it and wrote an outstanding piece of software to do it all for you. You enter in the keywords and web site URL that you want to see hits for, click "Start" and AWR does all the hard work for you. It checks with all the major search engines, analyzes the returned hit pages, and provides you with a very nice report showing not only your ranking, but even the page on which you appeared. The fact that AWR is free is absolutely great, but what surprised me most is that they have written quite a few software packages and they are all free. If you go check out their web site, I'm sure you'll find something useful. ______________________________________________________________________ 3. Cool Sites ------ BABEL - A Glossary of Computer Related Abbreviations and Acronyms I enjoy the occasional chatroom and it always amazes me how many acronyms get invented everyday. I mean, where else could you see something like this (other than the military) and have it make perfect sense? BTW, IMNSHO some ANSI gfx r gr8. To find out what this and others like it mean, check out the BABEL database. ______________________________________________________________________ 4. Tips, Tricks, Do's and Don't Do's ------ Most people know how to clear the contents of the "Documents" menu on the "Start" button, but what if you want to be just a little more selective in what gets removed? Try going to the Windows/Recent folder where you will find the shortcuts to all those items in the "Documents" menu. Just delete the ones you want for a more streamlined "Documents" menu. ______________________________________________________________________ 5. That's the news! ------ Check out the new RIO 500! More tunes and a better design. ______________________________________________________________________ 6. Security Issues, Hoaxes, Viruses and Other Urban Legends ------ Before we begin, let me define these for you: Security Issues: These are issues affecting your privacy and security while on the Internet. Most security risks that will be mentioned here are ones concerning holes in software which leak information or will allow people to gain access to private information. Viruses/Trojans/Worms: These will be *real* warnings about new viruses. If I'm warning you of a virus, then you can take it to the bank that I've fully checked its validity first. Hoaxes: The most memorable in all of your minds is most likely the Good Times Virus hoax. These are warnings about some new fangled virus that will wreck your life. The difference between this and other virus warnings is that they aren't for real. Their entire purpose is to scare people and bog down mail servers with all the forwarding going on. The reason I'll be telling you about them is so that you'll be in the know and won't forward them to everyone in your address book. Urban Legends: These are stories that will be computer related, but aren't necessarily virus related. A warning/story moves out of the hoaxes category when it keeps making a comeback. An example of an urban legend would be the one about the FCC allowing phone companies to charge for local access to the ISP in which the cost would be passed onto us as users. ------ Name: W97M/Melissa(v/u) Category: Macro Virus Again, little loser boys and little loser girls with nothing better to do have modified the Melissa virus. Unfortunately, this time it does a little more than just send annoying e-mail to people in your address book. Here are the two new variations and the damages they inflict: Melissa.v deletes all the files and directories from the root directory on certain mapped drives (generally network drives). Melissa.u is a little more selective in its file deleting spree, but still goes after a few of the important files. Both of these variants are detectable by McAfee, but make sure you go and download the newest virus signatures if you haven't already. For more information: Melissa.v Melissa.u ______________________________________________________________________ 7. PCWize Contests and Rules ------ In a deal with Blue Squirrel Software, PCWize will be hosting two contests over the next two weeks. One winner will be announced at the end of each week and that winner will have their choice of one of three registered software packages; Web Whacker, Web Seeker, or ClickBook. Depending on your e-mail client, the above URL may have wrapped. You need to make sure that you get everything between the <> to go to the special offer page. This might entail you having to cut and paste. Sorry, but there wasn't anything I could do about it. Just go to the above URL, click on one of the three software packages to read more about it. If you like it, download it (evaluation version at bottom), and if you are the winner, you'll receive the registration number via e-mail. ** NOTE - There isn't a MAC version of WebSeeker, so your choices will be limited to either Web Whacker or ClickBook. WebSeeker - Pinpoint exactly what you're looking for on the Internet. WebSeeker 98 v3.4 runs your query through more than 100+ Internet search engines and narrows the search to the EXACT information you want. In Version 3.4 you can add your own search engines. WebWhacker - The ultimate off-line browser! This powerful tool allows you to save Web pages directly to your hard drive, so you can view them off-line at highly accelerated speeds. ClickBook - An easy-to-use printing utility that transforms single-sided documents and web pages into professional booklets, brochures, greeting cards, and more. ------ The winner of this weeks random drawing contest is: John Fry Winner decided by a psuedo-random number generator I wrote a long time ago when first learning C/C++ : void main() { srand(time(NULL)); printf("%d", 1 + rand() % 712); } ______________________________________________________________________ Well, that's it for this issue! Have a good week and I'll see you in seven days. Leif Gregory Copyright © 1997-99 by Leif Gregory. All rights reserved. You may share this copy of the PCWize newsletter with others as long as it is reprinted in it's entirety to include the copyright notice and subscription directions. If you've received this edition of the PCWize newsletter from a friend or colleague and wish to start receiving your own copy, then click the below link and send the generated e-mail message. I have made every attempt to ensure that all information contained in this newsletter is accurate to the best of my ability. Due to the myriad of possible configurations in the PC platform, information and software discussed here may not always work with your particular configuration. That being said, Leif Gregory and the PCWize newsletter can not be held liable for any damages you may incur either directly or indirectly from the use of anything contained in this newsletter. PCWize does not endorse any of the products or services provided by advertisers in this newsletter. As with anything in life, please check the credibility of the advertiser as well as to use common sense. If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. PCWize Editor PCWize Homepage Unsubscribe Back-Edition Titles