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The LangaList
24-Jan-00
A Free Email Newsletter from Fred Langa About BrowserTune,
HotSpots, Columns, Tips & Tricks, and Other Activities
1) Final (?) Word on the Norton AV2K Patch
I've written quite a bit about the security holes in Symantec/Norton's antivirus apps in previous newsletters. (See http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2000/jan-3-00.htm#8 and http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2000/jan-6-00.htm#1 and http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2000/jan-10-00.htm#1 http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2000/jan-20-00.htm )
And last week, I told you that Norton finally had the patch done right so that it not only prevented hackers from using an open "port 110" to crash your system--- but even prevented hackers from seeing any port 110 at all: What they can't see, they can't hack.
Many people wrote to ask for a direct link to the patch. That's problematic because it's a LiveUpdate patch, and Norton apparently did not re-date the new patch to show that it differed from the one released at the end of December.
One way to see if you have the right patch is to check the Shields Up site at https://grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2 ; if your port 110 is invisible to the Shields Up probes, you're OK.
If you've run LiveUpdate and still are showing a port 110 to the outside world, then either the patch didn't work for you, or you still somehow have the old version. In this case, I suggest you uninstall, and then reinstall AV2K. When you're done, run LiveUpdate afresh and you should get all the latest code and virus definitions.
I'm sorry I can't give you a direct URL--- but please aim your ire at Symantec, not me! 8-)
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Reader Dale Caron wrote: In October of 1999 you
wrote an item in your Langalist about file extension you should add to your
AntiVirus software. I put the changes into my Norton 2000 at that time, but
recently I reinstalled my whole system, thereby losing the extensions. I tried
to look in your archives at Information Week but that archive is noticeably
missing there. Can you send me the list of extensions please. Thanks for the great
Langalist. I make use of lots of your ideas!---Dale Dale has a great idea: whenever
you reinstall *any* antivirus software (not just Norton's), you should verify
that it's scanning everything it should. That's because antivirus applications
often completely ignore "SHS" and other little-known or seemingly
benign file types that still can disguise malicious executables and macro
viruses. Check out http://www.informationweek.com/langaletter/102099langa.htm In fact, I have my AV software
set to scan *everything*--- all file types--- every night. It takes a little
longer, but that way, I can be sure nothing has been overlooked. Click to
email this item to a friend My column on "AO Hell"
struck a nerve: Now that AOL users are realizing how common it is for AOL5 to
mess up systems, many are ready to light the torches and march on Steve Case's
castle. Some members are so incensed at the bad behavior of AOL5 (and the way it
messed up their systems) they're talking about filing a class action lawsuit to
recover damages for their lost time and productivity! The story also has taken on a
life of its own: In the last few days I've been contacted by news organizations
ranging from CNN to Newsbytes, all following up on the original column--- which
I guess has been cut-and-pasted and re-emailed an incredible amount! (Update: CNN went ahead and
broadcast a news item using my column at http://content.techweb.com/winmag//columns/explorer/2000/02.htm
as visual; and also mentions my WinMag column on their website at http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/01/21/aol.five.ap/index.html.The
CNN folks have also contacted me about doing a follow-up, possibly on-camera.
We'll try to work out the details this week. I wonder if they'd be doing all
this if AOL hadn't just bought them? 8-) In
any case, stay tuned!) And chime in! What are *your*
feelings about AOL? Is your AOL experience different from mine? Have you found
ways around the upgrade hassles? What do you think the future will hold as AOL
emerges as the biggest media company on the planet? The discussion is ongoing at
http://content.techweb.com/winmag//columns/explorer/2000/02.htm See you there! Click to
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Humans are highly visual creatures. The way something is shown to us can
profoundly affect how we think about that thing; conversely, the way we
visualize a thing can reveal a lot about the way we think about it. A quick example: Say I ask you to show me, on a piece of paper, where you
live. Would you write down your address? Or would you draw a sketch of your
house? Maybe you'd draw a local street map. Techies with a GPS might write down
a latitude-longitude pair, while other people might draw a regional or national
map, or even the globe of the earth, showing geographic features or political
boundaries, or both. In any case, the method you chose to represent visually "where you
live" would say a lot about you and how you view the world. Now, how would you draw the web? How would you draw cyberspace? The
traditional, common representation is to view it as a vast array of hyperlinked
documents, drawn as some kind of node diagram where each document (node) is
connected by lines to other documents. But that's two-dimensional thinking, and a 2D representation totally fails in
the face of the fact that any two random pages on the web are just 19 clicks
away from each other! [ It's true: Albert-Laszlo Barabasi published his research
results in the science journal _Nature_. He spidered over 300,000 web pages,
collected the links found on those pages, and then used statistical analysis to
sieve the results: On average, any two random web pages are just 19 clicks
apart, and the web is such that that number won't grow by very much, even as the
web continues to enlarge. (See http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_443000/443754.stm
.) So, to correctly represent the web as noded, hyperlinked documents, you'd
need to draw it as, perhaps, an incredibly dense sphere with an astonishingly
small click-radius! ] But even that's only one way to look at the web; and indeed the web itself is
only one part (albeit the largest) of Cyberspace. So how do you envision Cyberspace? It's a real question that's getting both
serious study from cognitive and computer scientists; and widespread popular
treatment in books and movies (like "The Matrix"). Visualizing cyberspace is also the subject of my column at Byte.Com this
month. In it, I'll give you numerous examples of how different people look at
the web and at cyberspace in radically different ways; show you some examples
from research sites around the world; and talk about works ranging from William
Gibson's seminal _Neuromancer_ (in which Gibson actually coined the term
"cyberspace") to treatments in today's movies. So, how do you visualize Cyberspace? What's the best depiction
you've seen? The worst? (Personally, I thought The Matrix's "green flowing
code" was great, but that the climactic scene's "the world as 3D
code" was just plain silly.) How do you describe Cyberspace to someone who
has no idea what it is? What's the best ---and the worst---way to think about
Cyberspace? Share your thoughts: Please check out my "Monitor" column starting
midday (EST, GMT-5) on Monday Jan 24 via the front door at http://www.byte.com
, and then join the discussion in the Byte Newsgroups either by clicking
to Click to
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I get a lot of mail like this
which--- well, I'll just let it speak for itself: Dear Fred, I have written to you a
few time before with questions and other things that have boggled me about my
system. Today, however, I write to commend you on your incredible tool,
BrowserTune. I recently installed a beta version of IE and thought that I had it
uninstalled. This was not the case however, I soon figured out that I could not
connect to secure sites. When I attempted to go to a secure site it would just
bring up a blank page. I quickly headed over BT2K and started the test. I flew
through your first 2 test with flying colors, when I arrived at the third test I
ran into a problem on the security test. I followed the links and ideas that
were on the site to help solve my problem. I can once again view secure pages
and check my online accounts. Thank you Fred for all your hard work and devotion
to all of us and BrowserTune! Thanks---Jeff Patterson Glad it helped! Indeed, not only
can BT2K help you fix what's broken in your browser, it often can help you sniff
out many problems before they begin to affect you in any obvious way, and that's
even better. Check out the newest update of
BrowserTune at http://www.browsertune.com/bt2k Click to
email this item to a friend It's almost time for
me to select another monthly winner of a copy of "Poor Richard's E-Mail
Publishing: Creating Newsletters, Bulletins, Discussion Groups and Other
Powerful Communications Tools." This book has been described as "An
excellent, straightforward manual on email publishing, banner ads, driving
traffic and especially ethics." To enter, just
use the following link to recommend the LangaList to a friend. Your friend just
may find a new source of useful information; I just may gain a new subscriber;
and you just may win a book! (Full details also available via this link): http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm#2 Or, if you'd like to
try to win a Palm III organizer, try this link (full details also available
here): http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm#1 Either way, thank
you, and good luck! Click to
email this item to a friend John Quist offers this
"gentle summary of this year's e-mail junk and fraud..." I know this guy whose
neighbor, a young man, was home recovering from having been served a rat in his
bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken. So anyway, one day he went to sleep and when
he awoke he was in his bathtub and it was full of ice and he was sore all over.
When he got out of the tub he realized that HIS KIDNEYS HAD BEEN STOLEN and he
saw a note on his mirror that said "Call 911!" But he was afraid to
use his phone because it was connected to his computer, and there was a
virus on his computer that would destroy his hard drive if he opened an e-mail
entitled "Join the crew!" He knew it wasn't a hoax because he himself
was a computer programmer who was working on software to save us from Armageddon
when the year 2000 rolls around. And it's a little known fact that the Y1K
problem caused the Dark Ages. His program will prevent a global disaster in
which all the computers get together and distribute the $250.00 Neiman-Marcus
cookie recipe under the leadership of Bill Gates. (It's true-I read it all last
week in a mass e-mail from BILL GATES HIMSELF, who was also promising me a free
Disney World vacation and $5,000 if I would forward the e-mail to everyone I
know.) The poor man then
tried to call 911 from a pay phone to report his missing kidneys, but reaching
into the coin-return slot he got jabbed with an HIV-infected needle around which
was wrapped a note that said, "Welcome to the world of AIDS." Luckily
he was only a few blocks from the hospital-the one where that little boy who is
dying of cancer is, the one whose last wish is for everyone in the world to send
him an e-mail and the American Cancer Society has agreed to pay him a nickel for
every e-mail he receives. I sent him two e-mails and one of them was a bunch of
x's and o's in the shape of an angel (if you get it and forward it to 10 people,
you will have good luck but 10 people you will only have OK luck and if you send
it to less than 10 people you will have BAD LUCK FOR SEVEN YEARS). So anyway the
poor guy tried to drive himself to the hospital, but on the way he noticed
another car driving along without its lights on. To be helpful, he flashed his
lights at him and was promptly shot as part of a gang initiation. Send THIS to all the
friends who send you their junk mail and you will receive 4 green m&ms, but
if you don't the owner of Proctor and Gamble will report you to his Satanist
friends and you will have more bad luck, your wife will develop breast cancer
from using the antiperspirant which clogged the pores under her arms, and the
U.S. government will put a tax on your emails forever. Click to
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See you next issue! Best, (Please recommend
the LangaList to a friend! (And maybe win a Palm III) An easier-to read formatted HTML version is
available in the "what's new" section of http://www.langa.com.
(The HTML version of each issue normally is available by 9AM EST [GMT-5] of the
issue date.) All past LangaList issues are also available via the same link. Why are you getting this newsletter? There are
only two ways to get on the list (direct email request or via the WinMag mail
list signup page) so if you're getting this newsletter; your name came to me
through one of those channels. SUBSCRIBE (it's free!): Send email to subscribe-langalist@lyris.dundee.net About
the advertisers: Langa Consulting LLC will never knowingly accept
advertising for a fraudulent product, company or service. However, Langa Consulting LLC makes no implied or explicit warranty, recommendation or endorsement
of or for the products, companies or services mentioned in the ads. Disclaimer:
The tips and other information given in the newsletter are researched and are
believed to be accurate, but we cannot and do not guarantee that all the
information here will work on all systems, for all users, all the time. All
information herein is offered as-is and without warranty of any kind. Neither
Langa Consulting LLC, nor its employees nor contributors are responsible for any
loss, injury, or damage, direct or consequential, resulting from application of
any information presented here. This newsletter is a free service of Langa Consulting LLC and is Copyright © 2000 Langa Consulting LLC. All rights reserved.2)
Speaking Of Reinstalling...
http://www.langa.com/sendit.htm
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22 Million Members v. AOL: A Class Action Suit?
http://www.langa.com/sendit.htm
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Visualizing Cyberspace
http://www.langa.com/sendit.htm
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BT2K Feedback
http://www.langa.com/sendit.htm
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Last Week For January's Book Drawing!
http://www.langa.com/sendit.htm
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Just For Grins
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Fred
(fred@langa.com)
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