| October 2002 | Issue 245 |
MEETING STARTS - 09:30 - OCT 12 th
We'll get going on Time!
With an on-time start, we'll have a few announcements. Then, follow that up with a round table on tidbits, problems and problem-solving. While we spent the last 2-3 meetings on security and privacy, it will not be abandoned; so if you have followups, we'll cover them here.
Then, we'll move to NETWORKING - which we have hit a few times in the past. BUT, a whole lot has happened in those intervening months. Networking is in the headlines everywhere, and the shelf space devoted to the huge variety of hardware has expanded enormously in the local computer stores!
The variety of technologies now available has only added to the confusion. The multiplicity of needs that networking can tackle also adds to the difficulty of making a choice. Not to mention the big spread in costs!!
Member John Murphy will be the foil for this session. He'll start with "Why Network at all?". This is YOUR chance to get the info to help you decide on what, if anything, you might do in your home.
Think it over ahead of time, get your questions prepared. If you already have some home networking in place, please come prepared to share your experiences for the benefit of others.
The following is an email recently sent out to many folks (likely including some of you) from Steve Ballmer, the President of Microsoft. I think you'll find it interesting:
Subject: Connecting with Customers (Oct. 2, 2002)
I spend a lot of my time thinking about how Microsoft can do a better job of serving its customers. I'm convinced that we need to do more to establish and [cont'd]
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THE NEW YEAR! - yes, believe it or not, another year has rolled by, MLCUG is still in operation
and we think we are ready to tackle yet another. So, if you agree, please send your $15 dues
(use the form on the last page) to "Stew" Stewart, our treasurer, soon. The sooner we get your
renewals, the sooner we'll know that we have the membership to continue.
You'll note that we have NOT had to raise the dues, since our major expenses (this newsletter
and the BBS phone-line) have been covered by the $15 level. If we should get any increases in
those costs, we might have to go up - but NOT this time round. So, make Stew happy and send in
the $$$ !!!
THE EMAILING LIST - for those members who have provided an email address, we have subscribed
them to the MLCUG listserver (operated most graciously by Pete Whinnery and the UPenn system).
This is a way to catch early announcements, hear about problems (and solutions?) between the
meetings. You can get (and give) help. A useful tool we feel; so when renewing, consider
including your email address in that spot on the form.
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"Enclosed is the final issue of C=HUG's GAZETTE. Effective Sept. 1st, 2002, the Commodore
Hayward User Group is no more.
We voted to disband for two reasons - the first is the Hayward Park Department's new liability
insurance requirement; our club is too small to afford the fees.
And the second reason is that we saw club membership slowly shrink to the point that all of the
club's chores were being handled by just two or three members.
So, it's time to close the book on our club. Good news, however, is that we'll still meet as a
social group, cont-inuing the friendships made over the years.
C=HUG has enjoyed swapping disks and newsletters with fellow user groups. We hope that we have
also provided your club with helpful Commodore information and entertainment, as you have for
us.
Best wishes, keep your 64/128's workin'! Commodore Hayward User Group"
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LUNCH - a half dozen or so of the regular attendees, usually partake of lunch at the Villanova
Diner after the meeting. Why not join us? It is a good time to get a little more help (or give
it) and just to have fun talking about our common interests. The food is quite good, too!
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By JOHN MARKOFF
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 27 In an effort to comply with the terms of an antitrust consent decree
agreement with the Justice Department, Microsoft said today that it planned to distribute its
first major update to the Windows XP operating system some time in the next 10 days.
The company will make a slight change in the desktop appearance of Windows XP, which was
introduced last October. A new feature will enable computer manufacturers to selectively hide
or display Microsoft's integrated programs displayed on the start menu of the operating system,
including the Internet Explorer Web browser, Windows Media Player and Windows Messenger
programs.
During its federal antitrust trial, Microsoft argued that such a change would cripple the
Windows program. [the fact that it does NOT makes one wonder about the accuracy and
trustworthiness of the rest of their testimony!!:ejv]
The change will make it possible for hardware vendors to customize their systems by striking
business deals to include alternative programs from companies like America Online and
RealNetworks. It will also permit computer users to reselect the hidden Microsoft programs, if
they choose.
The change is part of a series of steps Microsoft said it would take as part of the consent
agreement it signed with the Justice Department last November. Separately, it has agreed to
document its program publicly, license certain protocols and establish an education and
compliance effort within the company.
Microsoft also said it would again distribute its version of the Sun Java software engine. It
removed the program in June 2001 as a result of its legal dispute with Sun Microsystems, which
created Java.
In addition to the efforts to comply with the consent decree, Microsoft executives said today
that the new operating system update, known as Service Pack 1, is part of three important office
and consumer efforts intended to move computer capabilities beyond the desktop PC.
The company said it planned in the fall to introduce Windows XP Media Center, software for PC's
that adds television and other digital media functions; Windows XP Tablet PC, for portable
computers to support handwriting application; and Windows Powered Smart Display, for portable
screens intended to work remote with a desktop PC via a wireless connection.
"We are extremely optimistic about the future of the personal computing market," said John
Pinette, a Microsoft marketing executive.
The new software release which will be available: 1) online as a free download, 2) through
computer hardware vendors, 3) from Microsoft on compact discs for $9.95, and 4) in October
through retailers as part of the complete operating system. It contains security patches and
bug fixes, as well as a series of new features.
In addition to Microsoft's version of the Java Virtual Machine, Service Pack 1 will include an
updated version of Internet Explorer 6, software to support its new .Net online services
initiative (watch out for this one:ejv), and support for version 2.0 of the Universal Serial Bus
standard, which is used to connect hardware peripherals.
The company has also decided to offer modest license discounts on additional installations for
home and small-business users. An online license option will be available at a $15-to-$30
discount from the usual price, which typically ranges from $160 to $260. [generous!
Original from The New York Times Company
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Well, folks, speaking of XP, since the last meeting, Emil took the plunge - invested in a new
(lowish-end) PowerSpec PC from MicroCenter. It came with Windows XP Home Edition pre-
installed.
I say low-end mainly because the model I got had no bundled software, just what Microsoft
provides with XP and a bit of extra stuff (which I have not yet looked at) from PowerSpec
itself.
It has an Athlon 2000+ (1.67 GHz) CPU, 256 MB of RAM, a 40 GB hard drive and a CD-ROM drive (no
burner, no-DVD, and such-like).
It is NOTICEABLY faster than my present home-built PC which I put together about 2.5 years ago.
I have just got it set up and running (you have to do some stuff when XP starts up for the first
time, much as any pre-installation of Windows required). It looks like PowerSpec did do the
Product Activation (since there has been no message about that yet).
So, I'm getting my first look at XP from the very beginning. As MS provides it, all you see on
the desktop is a (nice-looking) background, the task bar (showing only the Start button and the
clock) and one desktop icon - the Recycle Bin. NOTE: the Recycle Bin is located in the lower
right hand corner of the screen (does that say anything to you Mac users?).
The PC is properly using our home network and getting to the internet that way (like all our
other machines). It was NOT super intuitive getting that up...
'Nuff for now. But, I'm getting ready to better handle XP-related questions, folks. [Emil
Volcheck]
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Here's a security test to have a go at:
http://defense.zdnet.com/
It's on cybersecurity, with online tests for home and corporate users. I took the home test,
got an A. The ZDnet guy who did a column got a D! Here's his story:
http://cl.com.com
/Click?q=57-YJBXII0AFAaOiw7FnutD9RMG
How about taking the test & recording your score? Then we can share results and see what holes
we still need to fill. [John M]
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The September 14th meeting of the club was attended by 18 (recorded) folks - and we had seats
for all! I think VU put a few more chairs in
Our faithful setter-up/taker-down, Marty Caulfield, was back from the shore; so he had
everything ready for us. The meeting started ON TIME! Thanks, Marty.
We started with a fairly short set of announcements by yours truly. Then we did our usual
tidbits, questions and problem-solving roundtable for the next hour or so.
SPYWARE
ANTI-VIRUS
This time, we wanted to run what would be the normal live update which is much quicker once your
installation has had its original update. We were able to observe the various steps that the
"Live Updater" utility does. Member John Murphy noted that he has the systems at his workplace
doing this regularly and has observed that Symantec normally updates their website info a couple
of times a week. However, when there is a virus problem running amok, the updates can be daily
(or even more often)!
What this demonstrates, unfortunately, is that the "malware" community is alive, well and
thriving (and has nothing better to do than makes life more difficult for the rest of us)!!!
[Note added at press time: this last week brought us the next in line after the nefarious Klez
worm - the BugBear worm! It has been spreading pretty rapidly, reinforcing the need to keep
your AV software up-to-date. SPECIAL NOTE: if your AV software does not catch this worm before
it is activated, it will disable the AV software and prevent its being detected in the
future!!!]
FIREWALLS
However, hardware-based firewalls, usually in the form of local area network (LAN) routers have
grown markedly in the last year. This increase has been driven by the growth in homes (and
businesses) that now have "always-on" internet connections. These make locating and re-locating
your home system much easier for the hacker community. The hardware makes your computer itself
essentially invisible to the internet - only the router can be seen from the outside and there
is nothing the outsider can do to get thru.
The software-based systems perform the same function (perhaps adding some additional flexibility
because they are more user configurable), So, you may ask - if I have a router-based firewall,
why bother with extra software.
One answer is that "redundancy is a virtue". A second is that software-based firewalls also
prevent programs that are installed on your system (like SPYWARE!), from getting OUT to the net.
The hardware firewalls do not do this (nor does the Windows XP firewall); so having a good
software firewall is a real asset. And, with freeware products like Zone Alarm, it is very easy
to get that extra layer of protection.
If members want to cover anymore on the topic of firewalls (or any other subject), let us know.
You can either contact any steering member (see p.7) or post your interest to the club's email
listserver.
Oh yes, for the first time in months, one member availed himself of the high speed download
capability that we try to make available to folks who have dial-up at home and a big file to
grab. In this case, they were just a couple of 11 MB files, but they came down about 20X faster
than his normal at-home performance. The downloaded files were quickly burned to a CD-R which
he brought in. So, if you have a normal dialup internet access at home, you may want to try
this route for a big job.
ANNOUNCEMENTS & COMMENTS
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C=HUG's "DEMISE" - the following note came with an exchange newsletter we received a couple
of weeks ago.
REGULAR REMINDER - Attendees know that we have a very fast internet connection from the VU
meeting room! So, if you have a very large download, you could bring along a zip disk (or maybe
a CD-R) and get it done there, either before or after the main meeting.
Windows XP Update Is Set
as a Part of U.S. Deal
Windows XP
DIGITAL DEFENSE TEST
LAST MONTH'S MEETING
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We had a very brief reminder discussion on spyware. Folks were urged to make sure that
their "spyware finder/remover" (like Lavasoft's Ad-Aware) is also kept up-to-date. Short term
experience indicates that this happens only about monthly. The spyware phenomenon is much more
a privacy than a security issue, as the spyware producers are mainly interested in tracking what
you do and feeding (selling) that info to marketers who want to push goods and services to you.
The main program included a follow-on to last month's installation of Norton Anti-Virus
2002. At that meeting, we had done the original install, then ran the "Live Update" feature
twice to bring the installation up to snuff for the changes that Symantec had wrought since last
September 2001, when the install CD was produced.
The last part of the program time was devoted to a discussion of firewalls, both hardware
and software. The latter have been the main focus of our previous discussions (and industry
activity, including the firewall utility that is included in Windows XP).