February 13 2009 COOLSITES Newsletter #204 by Mark Donaldson

luem42 · Joined: Aug 02, 2003 Posts: 306

This is what the COOLSITES Toolbar looks like. Click here for more info: http://luem42.com/toolbar.html Click here to get it: http://luem42.OurToolbar.com

I have published the February 13 2009 COOLSITES Newsletter #204 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.

February 13 2009 COOLSITES Newsletter #204 by Mark Donaldson

Subscribers who don't receive the newsletter, due to stupid filters, may use a private link to download the newsletter in the text ( .txt ), html ( .html ) and the MS Word Doc ( .doc ) format in a zip file. I will upload the zip files to my archive site right after I send out the newsletter on Friday morning. If a subscriber doesn't receive the newsletter, by 9am ET, they can quickly download it, unzip it and peruse it offline. You can also read it online from there.

If you are a subscriber and don't know the private link you can email me for it. These zip files are less than 40K which is smaller than the 100K or more for the newsletter.

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Semper Gratis (forever free) of cost

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.

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

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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
February 9, 2009

Hi Everyone,

I'm sorry, I didn't have time to work on the newsletter this weekend.
Here is a letter from this time last year. Check it out and let me
know if you find anything that needs updated.
http://freewarewiki.com/ClifNotesNewsletter080210

I have continued on playing with more Linux operating systems. My pick
so far for best looking and easiest to use is Kubuntu 8.10, although
gOS is a close second.
You can find Kubuntu here: http://www.kubuntu.org/
gOS is here: http://www.thinkgos.com/

The last newsletter http://freewarewiki.com/ClifNotesNewsletter090125

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Security News and Links

I get these links and news from good sources however I do not test the programs myself because I just don't have the time. The definitive source of rogue info is Spyware Warrior- Rogue-Suspect Anti-Spyware Products & Web Sites: http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm

THIS IS ONE VALENTINE YOU DON'T WANT. From: www.komando.com

"Security firms are warning that criminals are sending Valentine-themed spam. The messages have short subject lines like "With all my love." They direct users to a site that hosts malicious software. The site has dozens of hearts. Clicking on one will download an executable file. The file is the Waledec bot. Researchers say the Waledec bot is currently small. But the criminals behind it are growing it fast. Many believe that the criminals behind the Storm bot are responsible for Waledec. The functionality of the bots is similar. And many of the same social engineering tricks are used. Watch out for this one!"

"Websense Security LabsT ThreatSeekerT Network has received reports of a new Waledac variant in the wild. The new spammed variant continues to use the Valentines theme. Once a user opens the URL in the spammed message, he is redirected to a site with 2 puppies and a love heart to give a Valentines theme. The user is then enticed to download a Valentines kit to prepare a present for a loved one, which is a new Waledac variant. This variant has a very low AV detection rate. Websense® Messaging and Websense Web Security customers are protected against this attack. To view the details of this alert http://securitylabs.websense.com/content/Alerts/3299.aspx "

“National Cyber Alert System Cyber Security Alert SA09-041A Microsoft Updates for Multiple Vulnerabilities Original release date: February 10, 2009 Source: US-CERT Systems Affected * Microsoft Internet Explorer * Microsoft Office Visio Overview: Multiple vulnerabilities exist in various Microsoft products, including Windows, Internet Explorer, and Office. The most severe of these vulnerabilities may allow an attacker to cause your computer to crash. Solution: Install updates The updates to address these vulnerabilities are available on the Microsoft Update site. We recommend enabling Automatic Updates. Description: In the Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for February 2009, Microsoft released updates to address vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows, Internet Explorer, and Office. The most severe of these vulnerabilities may allow an attacker to cause your computer to crash. More technical information is available in Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for February 2009 http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms09-feb.mspx “

Computer Virus And Worm Prevention Part I: http://www.lockergnome.com/it/2009/02/10/computer-virus-and-worm-preve...on-part

eBay Scams -- 23 Stay-Safe Tips To Keep You Out of Trouble. Scambusters.org: http://www.scambusters.org/ebayscams.html

Free B Gone is a content filter for parents, children, and anyone else wishing to keep their internet experience pleasant: http://support.it-mate.co.uk/?mode=Products&p=bgone

Free Internet Filtering Parental Control Software We-Blocker Safe Families: http://www.safefamilies.org/download.php

free Parental Control software. File Sharing Sentinel: http://www.akidthaine.com/

K9 Web Protection - Free Internet Filtering and Parental Controls Software: http://www1.k9webprotection.com/
New. Best Firewall 2008 - Personal Firewall Protection software, Anti Virus Software, Anti-Keylogger - Online Armor: http://www.tallemu.com/

Malware Knows No Bounds. flier on their windshield. The paper explains that they are in some sort of violation of some random parking statute and you need to view some listed Web site for more information: http://www.lockergnome.com/it/2009/02/04/malware-knows-no-bounds/

Microsoft plans critical patches for IE, Exchange: http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasi...mp;arti

Update. Avast! Home Edition 4.8.1335 complete ICSA certified antivirus package for home noncommercial use. This is the one I use. Mark.: http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html

Update. Norman Malware Cleaner 2009.02.11: http://www.norman.com/Virus/Virus_removal_tools/en

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Consumer News and Links

Used Vehicle Database Launched. From: http://www.consumerworld.org/

"In 1992, Congress passed a law creating a database of cars that have been declared total losses by insurance companies, and where consumers can check if a car had its odometer rolled back or was previously stolen. Special interests blocked the release of the database for nearly 17 years, but it just went live last Friday! It is called the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System database located at the unmemorable website, NMVTIS.gov . There are many problems, however. Only 27 states are participating at the moment. Insurance company records are not yet in the database. And it is not free."

Auditing tax-prep software. differences between the two top-tier tax-prep apps that might help you decide which one to use for your 2008 return: http://ct.cnet-ssa.cnet.com/clicks?t=83276936-be56918137808c8d29d61779...633af-b

California Employees Force to Take Off Without Pay: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,489565,00.html

Consumer Action Handbook - Free 2009 Consumer Action Handbook: http://www.consumeraction.gov/caw_orderhandbook.shtml

Consumer Report's Recession guide: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/money/resource-center/recession-gui...4-08/re

Early tax refund loans are a true rip-off. H&R Block has reached a nearly $5 million settlement with the state of California over its deceptive tax refund loans: http://clarkhoward.com/liveweb/shownotes/2009/02/03/15045/

FBI raids peanut butter plant suspected in outbreak: http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/02/10/peanut.butter.raid/index.html

FDA- Plant knowingly sold salmonella-laced food as far back as 2007, at times sending out tainted products after tests confirmed contamination: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090206/ap_on_go_ot/salmonella_outbreak

Free credit scores. Clark suggests several websites that will give it to you for nada.: http://lmax.clarkhoward.com/t/12234132/729041/63659/0/?u=aHR0cDovL2NsY...aG93YXJ

Free online dating. Clark shares a few sites that offer no-fee online dating.: http://lmax.clarkhoward.com/t/12234132/729041/63660/0/?u=aHR0cDovL2NsY...aG93YXJ

HSC Electronic Supply - Silicon Valley's Electronic Marketplace: http://www.halted.com/

Peanut Co. owner refuses to testify to Congress: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090211/ap_on_bi_ge/salmonella_outbreak

Target - Grocery - Coupons: http://sites.target.com/site/en/supertarget/page.jsp?title=coupons_specials

TurboTax vs. TaxCut: http://ct.download.com/clicks?t=85092943-be56918137808c8d29d6177983a63...-bf&amp

US Airways to charge $7 for pillows and blankets: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/20090205/ap_tr_ge/travel_brief_us_ai...ys_pill

ZingSale - Save Money Shopping! Sales, Deals, Discounts & Bargains: http://www.zingsale.com/

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Make My Start Page Your Home Page I have updated it on 10-3-8

Try my start page and make it your home page by clicking "Click here to make my start page your default homepage".

It has the following convenient logins and links such as: Google Mail Login, Yahoo Mail Login, Windows Live MSN HotMail Login, Froogle Price Search, Google Maps, MySpace Login, Lockergnome Cool Web Links, Weather Radar, BugMeNot, E! Online, Zap2it TV Guide, Snopes, Scambusters, YouTube, FaceBook, and links to my webpages. You can also google the web or my website. It also has a link for your suggestions so you can help me make it better.

The best thing about it is it's simple, small and loads up on dialup in less than one second. Check it out today at: http://luem42.googlepages.com/start.html

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Windows Secrets Newsletter

Free content posted on Feb. 12, 2009:

TOP STORY
By Mark Joseph Edwards
SiteAdvisor ratings may be 1 year out-of-date
McAfee certifies for a fee, but it's no guarantee
Ratings unchanged for 6 weeks, 6 months, or more
Site re-evaluations can be agonizingly slow

KNOWN ISSUES
By Dennis O'Reilly
CNN.com's use of Octoshape puts readers on edge
To unstick a disc, a deep freeze beats butane
Update: Microsoft does a U-turn on Win7 UAC

WACKY WEB WEEK
By Katy Abby
More fun than reporting on stock-market carnage
http://WindowsSecrets.com/comp/090212

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Space Weather News
http://spaceweather.com

"COMET TAIL: Comet Lulin (C/2007 N3) is approaching Earth and putting on a good show for amateur astronomers. Yesterday, Feb. 4th, observers witnessed a "disconnection event." A gust of solar wind tore off part of the comet's tail in plain view of backyard telescopes. Photos of the event are featured on today's edition of http://spaceweather.com. Activity in the comet's tail and atmosphere will become even easier to see in the weeks ahead as Lulin nears closest approach on Feb. 24th. At that time the comet will lie only 38 million miles from Earth and it should be visible to the naked eye. In the meantime, please note that Feb. 5th-7th, is an especially good time to find Comet Lulin in the pre-dawn sky. The comet is gliding beautifully close to the naked-eye double star Zubenelgenubi. Just point your binoculars at the double star and the comet will materialize right beside it. Visit http://spaceweather.com for photos, sky maps and more information."

"COLLIDING SATELLITES: Experts are calling it an "unprecedented event." Two large satellites have collided in Earth orbit. Kosmos 2251 crashed into Iridium 33 on Tuesday, Feb. 10th, approximately 800 km over northern Siberia; both were destroyed. The resulting clouds of debris contain more than 500 fragments, significantly increasing the orbital debris population at altitudes where the collision occurred. The Air Force Space Surveillance Radar is monitoring the clouds as they pass over the radar facility in Texas. We, in turn, are monitoring signals from the radar and you may be able to hear debris "pings" by tuning in to our live audio feed. This is a story that will unfold in the days ahead as researchers study the evolution of the debris clouds and piece together the details of the collision. Stay tuned to http://spaceweather.com for full coverage."

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COOLSITES 103 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. I may make comments about the links but you will know because I always sign them with "Mark".

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.