April 13 2007 COOLSITES newsletter by Mark Donaldson

luem42 · Joined: Aug 02, 2003 Posts: 260

I have published the April 13 2007 COOLSITES newsletter by Mark Donaldson.

The following is an excerpt from this weeks newsletter. To see the full newsletter with all of the COOLSITES links please go to my website at: http://luem42.com Thank you. Mark.

April 13 2007 COOLSITES by Mark Donaldson Issue 108

Collect them. Trade them. Use them as placemats. But for your sake read them.

Wherever you go if you see the user name LUEM42 that's me

COOLSITES is a list of safe, fun, useful, informative and just plain cool websites and programs that are FREE, FREE and FREE. All of the programs and websites I list are free. If I list anything that is so good but isn't free I will list the price with it.

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Pirillo's Picks for February 13 2007

"And if you think that's a lot of links, you should see how many http://luem42.com/ collects every day. It's enough to make you wanna never leave the house again as long as you live" Yours Digitally, Chris Pirillo http://chris.pirillo.com/

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Clif Notes Newsletter, Feb 2007 http://freewarewiki.com/ClifNotes

"The COOLSITES Newsletter - find the coolest links here. This fella named Mark Donaldson has been sending out his lists of cool sites since 2003. I'd never heard of him before last week. One day I was Googling myself to see who was posting links to my newsletter, and I found his website. I guess he's mentioned my newsletter at least 3 times. I like the COOLSITES website too, but I think it could use some reformatting to make it a bit easier to read. What I really like is the content there. Mark must really read a lot of stuff on the web and he takes the best links then tells you about them ." http://freewarewiki.com/CoolSitesNewsletter

A Typical MS Windows Security Update - plenty of problems
My good friend Clif at Clif Notes Newsletter installed the ANI exploit update from Microsoft and of course had problems. Please read about it by clicking th is link: http://freewarewiki.com/TypicalMsUpdate . It's a must read just for the great tip about how to copy error message text into the clipboard.

"This last Tuesday, Microsoft issued an early fix for a security problem with animated cursors. I was prompted to install this software after reading a special announcement from Mark at http://freewarewiki.com/CoolSitesNewsletter. Sometimes Windows Updates can cause problems. I'm sure many of you have seen this first hand. So what happened to me?"

Thanks Clif. Great info there. Now if I can only find out if the ani exploit truly affects 98/ME and how to prevent it other than just using safe surfing practices.

I practice safe surfing by using OpenDNS to prevent phishing sites, a custom HOSTS file which prevents ads, a restricted zone sites list along with proper zone settings (restricted disabled, trusted enabled and unknown prompt) which prevents most problems. I never open attachments from strangers and scan all downloaded items with Avira AntiVir and BitDefender 8's scanners. Every month I update AntiVir, BitDefender, AdAware and Spybot Search and Destroy and do a complete scan with these programs. These safe surfing habits have prevented all the problems a surfer can have. I have never been infected even though I have been "running with scissors" by keeping AntiVir's active shield disabled. Mark.

OpenDNS - Providing A Safer And Faster DNS: http://www.opendns.com/

Updated 03-19-07 Blocking Unwanted Parasites with a Hosts File: http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

Updated 01-31-07 IE-SPYAD Restricted Sites Ad Blocking Resources: http://www.spywarewarrior.com/uiuc/resource.htm

Avira AntiVir Personal Edition 7 v6.36.00.83: http://www.free-av.com/

BitDefender 8 Scanner Free Edition: http://www.bitdefender.com/PRODUCT-14-en--BitDefender-8-Free-Edition.html

Ad-Aware SE Personal Free by Lavasoft: http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad-aware_se_personal.php

Spybot-Search&Destroy: http://www.spybot.info/

Hi Mark,

The Anti-keylogger shield is not free apparently. (24.95 EURO 29.95 USD)

Clif

Dear Clif:

My mistake. Since there is a donation tab on their site I figured it was donationware. No where on their site does it mention cost but it also doesn't say free. I take it that it only tells you the price when you install it. That's kind of deceptive of them. The link has been eliminated from my website. Mark.

Yes I know I have a link for a free keylogger in the March 30 2007 newsletter. It's for parents who want to know what their kids are doing. Here are links for free anti-keyloggers and info. Mark.

Critical Update! Free Tool to Remove the CoolWebSearch Trojan Keylogger! - Reported by Aunty Spam's Net Patrol: http://www.aunty-spam.com/critical-update-free-tool-to-remove-the-cool...search-

KL-Detector- detect keylogging activity on your computer! (it can detect keylogger, but you should remove keylogger by yourself): http://dewasoft.com/privacy/kldetector.htm

New. QFX Software - Anti-Keylogging Software and More. KeyScrambler Professional gives you complete input protection. Anything you enter in the Web browser is protected against keyloggers: http://www.qfxsoftware.com/

SnoopFree Privacy Shield - Block spy software, keyloggers, snoop software, surveillance programs and other spies with our powerful Windows XP software free.: http://www.snoopfree.com/PrivacyShield.htm

Solutions from PC Magazine- Outsmarting Keyloggers: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1978523,00.asp

SSA-KeyLogger Clean rid your XP system of this spyware free: http://research.sunbelt-software.com/ssaclean.cfm

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Security News

Windows update for Ani. exploit have had some more problems
Known issues
After you install this security update on a Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2)-based computer, certain third-party applications may not start. Additionally, you receive an error message that resembles the following:
application_executable_name - Illegal System DLL Relocation
The system DLL user32.dll was relocated in memory. The application will not run properly. The relocation occurred because the DLL C:\Windows\System32\Hhctrl.ocx occupied an address range reserved for Windows system DLLs. The vendor supplying the DLL should be contacted for a new DLL.
For more information about this issue, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
935448 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/935448/) Certain third-party applications may not start, and you receive an error message when you start the computer: "Illegal System DLL Relocation."

Note As of April 5, 2007, Microsoft is aware of the following third-party programs that are affected by this problem:
â€¢ Realtek HD Audio Control Panel
â€¢ ElsterFormular 2006/2007
â€¢ TUGZip
â€¢ CD-Tag

If you receive a similar message when you use other programs, install the update that is mentioned in Microsoft Knowledge Base article 935448. If we confirm that other programs are affected by this problem, we will update Microsoft Knowledge Base article 935448 with more information.

Certain third-party applications may not start, and you receive an error message when you start the computer- Illegal System DLL Relocation: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/935448 also see:http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925902

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From: Scot's Newsletter April 2007 - Vol. 7, Issue No. 90 http://www.scotsnewsletter.com/83.htm

"Comodo Firewall Pro is currently my leading software firewall contender. Having shed its Jetico-like barrage of pop-ups and offering excellent options and settings, Comodo is a very good product. It's also one heckuva bargain with its 100% free lifetime license. I don't expect all future Comodo versions will be free. Comodo Group will probably start charging at some point. For now, the price is very, very good. "

Scot has tested Comodo's, Jetico's and Kerio's free firewall and that was his conclusion. Mark.

Comodo Firewall Pro: http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/

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Security Links

10 Tip To Survive Online Tax Hacker & Phishing Attacks -- InformationWeek: http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=19880...5&c

Ad-Aware SE Personal Free by Lavasoft: http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad-aware_se_personal.php

Authentium- FTC Complaint Form a Keylogger's Paradise - Yahoo! News: http://news.yahoo.com/s/prweb/20070404/bs_prweb/prweb516068_1

Broward Woman Stumbles Upon 'Oprah' Sweepstakes Scam. Bailey did the smart thing by not cashing in the check, which might have given scammers information to her account: http://www.local10.com/news/11602744/detail.html

Comodo 2.4 Firewall Free Firewall Software: http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/

Deadbeat EBay Sellers and Bidders: http://www.angelfire.com/zine/aguirre73/hallofshame.html

KL-Detector1.3 detect keylogging activity on your computer! (it detects keyloggers, but you should remove keylogger by yourself) free: http://dewasoft.com/privacy/kldetector.htm

New. Just released Tuesday 4-10-07 AVG Anti-Rootkit Free Edition: http://www.grisoft.com/doc/download-free-anti-rootkit/us/crp/0

Over 2,000 sites now exploit .ani security flaw - Network World: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2007/041007-over-2000-sites-now-exploit.html

Scam Alert. Shop wisely to avoid buying a cloned car: http://www.idahostatesman.com/103/story/78074.html

Scambusters.org Creating Computer Passwords: http://www.scambusters.org/computerpasswords.html

Spybot-Search&Destroy: http://www.spybot.info/

Update. Jetico Personal Firewall 2.0.0.28 Beta All security products from Jetico- BestCrypt, BCWipe, Jetico Personal Firewall, BCArchive. Download it now.: http://www.jetico.com/

Update. BCArchive 1.08 All security products from Jetico- BestCrypt, BCWipe, Jetico Personal Firewall, BCArchive. Download it now.: http://www.jetico.com/index.htm#/bcarchive.htm

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Global warming has been very good to me

Although global warming is bad for all of us it can create better weather in some localities. For me, here in southeast Virginia, it has produced many years of moderate winters and summers. I track the summers by how many days are in the nineties, how many nights are in the eighties and how many days are in the hundreds. All of the 21st century summers have been moderate. I track the winters by how many nights are freezing, how many days are freezing and how many snows we get. This winter we had 39 frozen nights when we usually have 50-60. We had 2 frozen days when we normally have 10-20. And we didn't have any snow during winter instead of the normal 4-10. However as I write this on April 7 it is snowing outside. We haven't had any snow in April for 21 years and that was just a few snowflakes reported by an observer. It's been 43 years since any official trace of snow in April and 67 years since any official snow accumulation. It looks like we got 3 inches before it ended later this morning. BTW we had 3 frozen nights in a row after that snow. Mark.

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Google beats Microsoft again

I compared Google Maps to Windows Live Maps and Google wins hands down. Their satellite view has a higher magnification on my house than Microsoft's and Microsoft's satellite view is way out of date. It shows the old buildings which were turn down 5 years ago while Google's show that the buildings are gone and the new police headquarters is almost finished.

You can see the differences here:

Google's view at the same scale as Microsoft's which was probably taken last summer: http://luem42.googlepages.com/google.jpg

Microsoft's view at the same scale as Google's which is as close as it can get and was probably taken more than 5 years ago: http://luem42.googlepages.com/microsft.jpg

Google's closest view centered on my house: http://luem42.googlepages.com/googmh.jpg

Google's view of the new police HQ: http://luem42.googlepages.com/googphq.jpg

If Google ever makes an OS (Googlinux) it will probably be small, fast, versatile and reliable like everything else they do. I've said it before "Microsoft was the 80's, AOL was the 90's and Google is the now". Mark.

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COOLSITES 123 cool links

I harvest what I believe to be the best links from the best sources that are safe, fun, informative, useful and just plain cool. I categorize them and edit their descriptions for clarity.

To see the full newsletter with all of the COOLSITES links please go to my website at: http://luem42.com Thank you. Mark.