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E-Mail Virus |
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Dear Netlink Customer,
We think you'll find the information contained in this
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however, you'd prefer not to receive these bulletins on a monthly basis,
click HERE. |
E-Mail
Virus - Mydoom E-mail Worm Returns
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The "Mydoom" e-mail worm has returned. First
discovered in January 2004, Mydoom became one of the top ten most prolific
virus/worms of last year. Now anti-virus companies have reported a new variant
of this mass-mailing worm. The variant is called "W32.Mydoom.AX@mm"
and its discovery is one more example of why we encourage all our Internet
users to install virus-scanning software on their computers and to frequently
update their security software. (Note: Mydoom infects only Windows-based
operating systems — not Macintosh, Linux, or UNIX systems.)
The W32.Mydoom.AX@mm e-mail worm (also known as W32/Mydoom.bb@MM) is a
mass-mailing worm that sends itself as an e-mail attachment to e-mail addresses
found within an infected computer. Although the sender's address, the subject
line, and the text within the message of the e-mail can vary greatly (making
detection more difficult), the "from" address is usually spoofed to
show coming from places like "Postmaster," "Mail
Administrator," "The Post Office," "Mail Delivery
Subsystem," "MAILER-DAEMON," or "Bounced mail." The
subject line will commonly say something like "Returned mail: see
transcript for details," "Returned mail: Data format error
delivered," "Message could not be delivered," or "Mail
System Error - Returned Mail." The message body text varies but may say
something like this:
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"Dear user of (your ISP
domain here), |
The message leads users to believe they have received a bounced back e-mail
message notification from their Internet service provider. When opening the
accompanying attachment, however, the recipient's machine becomes infected with
the Mydoom worm. This results in replicated e-mails being automatically
mass-mailed to the e-mail addresses found on the recipient's computer.
The W32.Mydoom.AX@mm worm also includes a "backdoor" feature that
opens TCP port 1034 on the infected machine. This allows hackers to potentially
have remote access and control of the infected computer.
Remember, receiving an e-mail attachment from a trusted friend or a reliable
source may not necessarily mean they were the actual senders of the message and
attachment. We encourage each of our users to install and utilize
virus-scanning software, to update this software on a regular basis, and to
scan all incoming attachments before opening them, even if the attachment shows
coming from a trusted source. The ultimate responsibility of protecting your
computer against worms and viruses lies with you. In addition, many viruses and
worms spread not only via e-mail, but also through the sharing of files when
using floppy disks, zip disks, and networks, as well as when downloading
software. Be sure to scan these files for infections as well.
Ask
The Help Desk - What Does "OS" Mean?
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Question: I was reading a
computer-related article the other day and it mentioned "OS." I've
heard "OS" mentioned in conversations but I've never known what it
meant. What is it?
Answer: "OS" stands
for "Operating System." It's the system that makes your computer run.
There are several popular systems available on the market. Macintosh OSX
(that's "Oh Es Ten"), Windows in its various flavors from 95, to 98,
to XP, and Linux in its various forms. If you're having trouble with your
computer and you are talking to a tech support person, he/she will usually ask you
what OS you are running. Your answer will most likely be one of the aforementioned
systems.
Great
Sites To Check Out This Month
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Helpful Tax Information In March
http://irs.gov/ - If you are a
"do-it-yourselfer" when it comes to filing your federal income tax return,
the IRS lets taxpayers file returns totally free this year without the
prerequisite of purchasing special software. Already over 60 million 2004 tax
returns have been "e-filed." Not only is this method fast, but also
if you owe money you can authorize electronic funds withdrawn from your
checking account, savings account, or even use a credit card. There's also a
link to "Forms and Publications" that'll allow you to print off and
file returns via snail mail.
"The Tonight Show" With Johnny
Carson
http://JohnnyCarson.com -
January 23, 2005 marked the passing of the greatest nighttime TV entertainer of
our generation. Born in
Do Some Research Before Your Next Purchase
http://ConsumerSearch.com -
Are you looking to buy a new hedge trimmer this spring? How about a stair
stepper to burn off those extra pounds you put on during the winter? Before you
make a purchase, head to ConsumerSearch.com for listings and reviews of
top-rated products according to a variety of industry experts. The site can be
used as a search engine to find product analysis on dozens of products. The
data includes in-depth evaluations plus independent rankings of the reviews by
ConsumerSearch.com staff.
Collecting PEZ Candy Dispensers
http://PEZ.com - Do you remember eating
PEZ candy as a kid? Opening the lid on the dispenser to see the candy pop out
was as much fun as actually eating the candy. First marketed as a peppermint
condiment in
It's Time For Some March Madness!
http://ncaasports.com/ -
There's no better time of the year for college basketball fans than March.
There's also no better website that covers the sport than the official site for
both the men's and women's NCAA basketball championships. The site provides
links to information on Final Four individual and team records (i.e. Bill
Bradley still holds the single game tournament record with 58 points in 1963
while Lorri Bauman from Drake University set the record in 1982 on the women's
side with 50 points), championship video archives, the brackets and locations
for each of the playoff rounds, articles highlighting recent big games, as well
as ticket price information.
Short
Tutorial - Creating A Backup Of Your Outlook Express E-mail
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Most
people find that both their personal and business e-mail messages create a kind
of journal. In the same way that people keep shoeboxes of special letters sent
from friends or file cabinet drawers containing letters and documents from
business associates, many users today use their e-mail software as an archive
resource.
A hard disk failure or corrupted e-mail files caused by a computer virus could
cause the loss of a user's archived e-mail correspondence. To help safeguard
against such an occurrence, users can create a backup of their e-mail messages.
As the tutorials below detail, a user can copy all of his/her e-mail files,
save them to a secure location, and then restore the files if needed at a later
date.
To backup e-mail messages in Outlook
Express 6.0 and Windows XP, follow these steps:
To restore
e-mail messages from a backup in Outlook Express 6.0 and Windows XP, follow
these steps:
To backup
e-mail messages when using Macintosh's Entourage e-mail client:
Macintosh users can protect their e-mail messages and settings by creating a
backup of their Documents folder and saving it to a secure location. Each of
the relevant Microsoft identity files for Entourage is contained within the
Documents folder. It's a matter of simply dragging a copy of the folder to a
disc.
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We hope
you found this newsletter to be informative. It's our way of keeping you posted
on the happenings at our shop. If, however, you'd prefer not to receive these
bulletins on a monthly basis, click HERE.
Thanks for your business!
Best regards,
Mike Huggenberger
Director
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1-800-734-7467
(We have used our best efforts in collecting and preparing the information published
herein. However, we do not assume, and hereby disclaim, any and all liability
for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or
omissions resulted from negligence, accident, or other causes.)
©2005 Cornerstone Publishing Group Inc.
Trademarks: All brand names and product names used in this eNewsletter are
trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their
respective owners.