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I have published the April 4 2008 COOLSITES Newsletter #159 by Mark Donaldson.
The following is an excerpt from this weeks newsletter. To see the full newsletter with all of the COOLSITES links please click and bookmark this link:
http://luem42.googlepages.com/coolsites.html and check it each week. Thank you. Mark.
April 4 2008 COOLSITES Newsletter #159 by Mark Donaldson
Attention Subscribers and readers. Please read this.
Dang! Most subscribers did not get last week's newsletter nor this week's also. This is an ongoing problem with all Gmail users who send out newsletters, notices, memos, etc. to more than a few addresses. Gmail's help forum is full of users complaining about this problem and the fact that Google is doing nothing to help them correct the problem. They ask for help and receive nothing but form letter replies. No one understands why this is happening because they are not violating Gmail's antispam policies. Gmail says that an account may send out 500 emails in a 24 hour period but most people who are having this problem are sending out a lot less than that. It is obvious to me that Google would rather gmail be used to receive email then be used as a convenient small bulk emailer and Google has put these over-stringent controls in place to protect their good name.
Google has suggested that I use Google Groups but that doesn't get the newsletter to your inbox just a notice that there has been a new posting to the group. Other companies groups are the same and are not a solution for this problem. There are a few free services, like Freelists, but that is not the solution for all of those people that have this need.
Gmail was the perfect free solution for the small bulk emailer like teachers, coaches, small businesses and newsletter publishers like me because most ISP's have severe limits on the amount of outgoing email, to prevent spamming, and block port 25 which most bulk email programs use. I have been trying to find another free solution to this problem but have so far come up empty.
If anyone has an inside connection to the Google management please talk to them about this.
If anyone knows of a free solution please contact me at
http://luem42.com/contactus.html . Mark.
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Semper Gratis (forever free)
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.
My website is Dialup Friendly. All pages except "Just The Links" and "Specialized Search Engines" load up in under 15 seconds.
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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
Welcome to Clif Notes Newsletter
March 30, 2008
Here are the headlines from this week's newsletter.
# REVIEWS
1. Netscape Navigator - good bye old friend
2. Portable Flock - an easy way to try it out
3. Cool MP3 Chopper - chopping up those long mp3s
4. Kid Watch
5. Sizer - resize active windows to exact specs
6. Old Newsletter
# TIPS AND FEEDBACK
1. Frapper - you people live all over the world!
2. What free software do you need?
3. Best Firewall for 2008?
4. The 13 "Best of the Best" Free File Hosting Options
5. Microsoft Not Sure Of Its Own Future
6. Internet Fixes Weekend Windup
7. Comments last week
# COOL WEBSITES
1. WaveMyPic - Apply the lake effect to your pictures
2. Wowio - download free e-books
3. WRASAP - free hosted contact form
4. CoolSites Newsletter this week
# NEW NEWS
1. SnapFiles.com - new and updated freeware
2. News from Sarah in Tampa
3. Security news from Malware Advisor
4. A view from CyberNirvana
Lastest Newsletter
http://freewarewiki.com/ClifNotesNewsletter080330
From Clif:
Once again, MS Mole surfaces and speaks to our friend Bill. What evil lurks in the dark underground passages of Redmond? Only the Mole knows.
From Bill Allin:
Hi Clif,
I wasn't sure that we would ever have another report from MS Mole, but apparently he is still well connected and not afraid to speak behind the scenes.
Microsoft Not Sure Of Its Own Future
To say that Microsoft is in disarray over its operating systems is an understatement. As usual, MS acts as if everyone approves of its anointing itself King Of Software for life.
Speculation is that the lifespan of Vista may not even be as long as the initial commitment of five years. Its supporters, mostly those with Vista who have software that is all compatible, are in a minority, and a relatively quiet one at that.
MS has tried to focus itself especially on commercial clients for the past few years, despite its public claim that it has the operating system for the people. But industry IT people are up in arms. Major software makers such as accounting systems, for example, require years to tweak and debug their packages until they work perfectly with an operating system.
With a forecast lifespan for Vista of only five years, major manufacturers would be lucky to have their Vista systems online dependably for three years before they had to begin all over again with a new operating system.
Home users aren't any happier because many of their favourite programs, especially freeware, won't work on Vista or may be buggy with Vista. They want software fixes, but software manufacturers aren't eager to spend much time and money on fixes when a new OS should be tested shortly.
Then there are millions of XP fans who cry "If it ain't broke, don't scrub it!" Speculation is now that Microsoft will extend its final deadline for selling XP an extra year from its announced end sales date of June, 2008. My guess is that MS may extend its sales deadline even beyond the one year.
Meanwhile MS has withdrawn countless salable copies of XP from resellers, while at the same time forcing them to promote Vista, a situation which may cause outright rebellion among MS software sellers who are fed up with the dictatorial and seemingly backward tactics of Microsoft.
Major software testers in Malaysia have found so many faults with Vista and compatibility problems with Vista that IT publications following the tests are advising people who don't have Vista now to not buy it.
Way in the background, beyond visible distance and hearing by Microsoft, is a growing support base that's cheering on the still-mysterious new operating system supposedly coming from Google. Considering Google's track record, who would bet against them?
Now that Service Pack 1 for Vista is on the street, to the delight of some and the regret of many, Microsoft is set to release Service Pack 3 for XP, almost certainly in April's Update Tuesday bundle.
Despite the fact that MS conducted extensive testing of the beta version, Mole strongly advises everyone to avoid installing SP3 immediately. Such releases never come without grief for many. MS has been known to substitute revised versions of its service packs for download anywhere from a day to a week after the official release date without making a public announcement. After that MS calls the patches hotfixes.
The screaming should begin at least by the Wednesday following Update Tuesday and continue for weeks afterward. Wait until you have read of the success or the troubles of others with similar setups to yours before taking the plunge. If you aren't having problems with your XP SP2 now, you have no reason to hurry to install SP3. As always, eventually you will be required to get SP3, but you can be an interested spectator for a while.
Cheers Bill Allin
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Security News
"National Cyber Alert System Cyber Security Alert SA08-094A Apple QuickTime Updates for Multiple Vulnerabilities Original release date: April 3, 2008 Source: US-CERT Systems Affected: * Apple Mac OS X running versions of QuickTime prior to 7.4.5 * Microsoft Windows running versions of QuickTime prior to 7.4.5 Overview: Apple has released Apple QuickTime 7.4.5 to correct several vulnerabilities Apple Knowledgebase article HT1241. These vulnerabilities could allow an attacker to gain access to your computer. Solution: Upgrade QuickTime OS X users should use the Mac OS X Software Update feature to download and install Apple QuickTime 7.4.5. Consider scheduling Software Update to check for updates automatically (this option is enabled by default). Microsoft Windows users should upgrade to Apple QuickTime 7.4.5. Description: QuickTime prior to version 7.4.5 has multiple image and media file handling vulnerabilities that could allow an attacker to run malicious programs on your computer. This could occur when you unknowingly visit a malicious website. Upgrading to Apple QuickTime version 7.4.5 will correct these vulnerabilities. Note that Apple iTunes installs QuickTime, so any system with iTunes is vulnerable. For more technical information, see
http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA08-094A.html "
Update. QuickTime Alternative 2.5.0:
http://www.codecguide.com/about_qt.htm QuickTime Alternative is a trimmed down version of QuickTime that contains only the essential components needed for playing QuickTime content that is embedded in webpages.
Spybot Search and Destroy Detection Updates 04-02-2008 Just run Spybot and click update.
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Security Links
Anti-virus comparison test of current anti-malware products, March 2008. And the free ones scored as good as or better than the paid ones. Mark.:
http://www.sunbelt-software.com/ihs/alex/Results_2D2008m3b_US.htm
Craigslist Warning- Selling a Home- Be Sure Scammers Don't Rent It First. Scambusters.org:
http://www.scambusters.org/craigslist.html
FBI - House Stealing The Latest Scam on the Block:
http://www.fbi.gov/page2/march08/housestealing_032508.html
Get My FBI File. Do you have an FBI file:
http://www.getmyfbifile.com/
IE7-s Security Zones User Interface Part I:
http://www.lockergnome.com/it/2008/03/31/ie7s-security-zones-user-inte...ce-part
IE7-s Security Zones User Interface Part II:
http://feed.lockergnome.com/~r/nexus/it/~3/261910114/
IE7-s Security Zones User Interface Part III:
http://feed.lockergnome.com/~r/nexus/it/~3/263022794/
IE7-s Security Zones User Interface Part IV:
http://feed.lockergnome.com/~r/nexus/it/~3/263624709/
New. Iconix. Iconix eMail ID uses industry standard technologies to verify the authenticity of the message:
http://www.iconix.com/
New. RootQuest 1.0.1 root kit remover:
http://www.comsentry.com/?page=rootquest&info=view
ProQuo - Stop Junk Mail and Protect Against Identity Theft for Free:
http://www.proquo.com/
Top 10 Anti-Malware Tools:
http://grandstreamdreams.blogspot.com/2005/12/top-10-anti-malware-tools.html
Update. Spyware Terminator 2.2 Beta Free spyware removal and spyware protection - Spyware Terminator:
http://www.spywareterminator.com/
Updated MAR-09-2008 Blocking Unwanted Parasites with a Hosts File:
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm
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Windows Secrets Newsletter • Issue 147 • 2008-04-03
The following topics appear in the free version
TOP STORY It's official: upgrade hack included in Vista SP1
Previous Windows version not needed for upgrade
Upgrading Vista on a clean machine works in SP1
Vista upgrading over itself is no accident
KNOWN ISSUES VirtualBox is an impressive VM contender
Innotek provides a worthy virtual-machine option
You need more than virtual security for a VM
Run Virtual PC on XP Home and Vista Home Premium
WACKY WEB WEEK Video shows top 10 ways to break your server
http://WindowsSecrets.com/comp/080403
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They tried to scam me
Dear Sir/Madam
NOTIFICATION
We wish to inform you that your email address emerged as one of our winning email addresses in our promotional sweepstakes held lately.Hence you have been declared a winner of the winning sum payout of £1,356,000.00 Pound Sterling which is equivalent to $2,876,000.00. Inorder toclaim your winning prize you are required to contact your agent for your claim verification form which you are to fillout.
All winners of this online promotion programme were selected randomly from various websites through computer draw system and extracted from close to 200,000 Companies and unions the are sponsors of our promotional programme.
you can contact your agent with the information given below.
Name of Agent: Mr. Adams Cole
Emails: claims.centre.TakeThisOut@hotmail.com
Regards,
Adams Cole.
This one came from ooklha.TakeThisOut@charter.net
I print those addresses here so spambots can harvest them and fill their inboxes. Mark.
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And Don't Forget
Battlestar Galactica's last season starts tonight at 10pm on SciFi and Star Wars Episode 1 is on Spike tonight. Mark.
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COOLSITES 99 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 click and bookmark this link:
http://luem42.googlepages.com/coolsites.html and check it each week. Thank you. Mark.
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