June 22 2007 COOLSITES newsletter # 118 by Mark Donaldson

I have published the June 225 2007 COOLSITES newsletter # 118 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.

<a href="http://luem42.OurToolbar.com/"><img src="http://luem42.com/toolbar.jpg" alt="This is what the COOLSITES Toolbar looks like. Click here to get it." BORDER="0"></a>

June 22 COOLSITES Newsletter # 118 by Mark Donaldson

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.


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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
June 17, 2007

Thanks for reading my newsletter. Each week, I will have freeware reviews, tips, tricks, news, and lots of cool websites for you to check out.

I hope you enjoy this week's letter. Be sure to write me for advice or yell at me for messing up.

# REVIEWS
Ad-Aware 2007 - new look but no major improvements
Safari 3 beta - Apple's new web browser for Windows
Opera 9.21 USB - excellent portable browser
JkDefrag - a unique and handy defrag tool
MessenPass - getting lost IM passwords from your PC
Free WMA to MP3 Converter - as simple as it sounds
Word Processor Review from Zaine at Donation Coder
Old Newsletter

# TIPS AND FEEDBACK
The Quintessential Guide to Creating High Quality MP3s
Why DRM Doesn't Work
Dad at the Comedy Barn
Internet Fixes Weekend Windup
Comments last week

# COOL WEBSITES
Vista-Themes.net - free themes, icons and wallpapers
WebRide - discuss the web
CoolSites Newsletter this week
Websites I've visited recently


Go to http://freewarewiki.com/ClifNotesNewsletter070617
to see the current newsletter at the Freeware Wiki.


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Windows Secrets Newsletter • Issue 112 • 2007-06-21

The following topics appear in the free version http://WindowsSecrets.com/comp/070621

TOP STORY Svchost.exe gets worse before it's fixed
The svchost.exe saga has persisted for months
Diagnosing the problem on your own system
What to do if you're affected

KNOWN ISSUES ZoneAlarm now supports Vista, offers free extensions
Free sub extension for ZoneAlarm customers
More on EULAs and transparency
Recalling EasyFlow's clear EULA language

WACKY WEB WEEK Don McMillan explains how not to use PowerPoint

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Security News

"Websense® Security LabsT has received reports of a large scale attack in Europe that is using the MPACK web exploit toolkit. For more information on MPACK please see the Panda Labs blog here:
http://blogs.pandasoftware.com/blogs/securitylabs/images/PandaLabs/200...5/11/MP

At the time of this alert our ThreatSeeker technology has discovered more than *10,000* sites that have been compromised and have IFRAMES pointing to the hub infection site. Assuming users connect to one of the compromised sites and are vulnerable to one of several loaded exploits a Trojan Horse is downloaded onto their machine which is designed to steal banking, and potentially other confidential information through a serious of web infection downloads. The main site has a statistics page and it has shown very large numbers of users connecting to the infected sites and high levels of users who have been compromised. As you can see from the below screenshot the top regions are Italy, Spain, and the United States. For additional details and information on how to detect and prevent this type of attack:"
http://www.websensesecuritylabs.com/alerts/alert.php?AlertID=782


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Security Links

C.L.U.E. Did you know that your C.L.U.E reports and insurance score reports are often used to determine your overall risk as an insurance customer: http://www.choicetrust.com/servlet/com.kx.cs.servlets.CsServlet?channe...elcome&

Free Credit Report. The only place you can get it for free. AnnualCreditReport: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp

FTC looks for more victims of ChoicePoint breach. Victims have until Aug. 18 to file claim: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2007/061907-ftc-looks-for-more-victims.html

Internet ScamBusters. Credit Card Offers That Simply Won't Stop: http://www.scambusters.org/credit-card-offers.html

'Italian job' Web attack hits more than 10,000 sites - InfoWorld - News - 2007-06-18 - By Robert McMillan, IDG News Service: http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/06/18/Italian-job-Web-attack-hits-...00-site

Microsoft fixes 15 flaws with six patches; four considered critical - Tech news blog - CNET News.com: http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9728649-7.html?tag=head&tag=nl.e757

New. Bounce Bully - Bounce Spam mail Back to Spammmers in Outlook and Outlook Express: http://www.bouncebully.com/

New. Web Monitor controls all outgoing HTTP requests from your computer and blocks unwanted Internet resources and redirects: http://www.ixag.com/

Safari. Another flaw within Safari 3.0 for Windows beta - Tech news blog - CNET News.com: http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9729768-7.html?tag=head&tag=nl.e757

Safari. Apple updates Safari with version 3.0.1 for Windows (beta) - Tech news blog - CNET News.com: http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9729505-7.html?tag=head&tag=nl.e757

Safari. Yet another URL flaw for Safari 3.0 for Windows beta - Tech news blog - CNET News.com: http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9730157-7.html?tag=head&tag=nl.e757

Security & Spyware Software - Free Software Downloads and Software Reviews - Download.com: http://www.download.com/Security-Spyware/2001-2023_4-0.html?tag=nl.e404

Security Watch- iPhone insecurity - legitimate concern about its security: http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-3513_7-6743612-1.html?tag=nl.e404

Toshiba- Sony battery causes another fire: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8PRPTQ00.htm

Update. PC Security Test 2007 v7.2 antivirus - antispyware - antihacking: http://www.pc-st.com/us/

Update. Comodo BOClean Anti-Malware 4.24: http://www.comodo.com/boclean/boclean.html

Update. SpamBayes. Free anti-spam tool uses Bayesian logic to separate good mail from bad in Outlook or other POP3 or IMAP programs: http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fid,23098/description.html?tk=nl_lg

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Random Thoughts

Yea! after several years of publishing the COOLSITES newsletter I finally got some criticism about this newsletter so let me tell you about my secret agenda. I am a very judgmental person. I allow myself to be very judgmental because "I judge myself first and more harshly than I judge others" which I believe can be thought as a corollary of the "Golden Rule" "Judge others as you would want them to judge you". At least I hope others aren't judging me as harshly as I judge myself.

I don't care what your politics, religion or your affiliations are. If you are a public figure and you are a hypocrite, stupid or have committed a crime I will "out you" here. I especially like to out the hypocrites because I think they have the potential to do the most harm to society. So don't blame me if you don't like your (insert affiliation here) showing up here. I'm an equal opportunity "outer". Plus it's fun for me.

Paris Hilton did not get jail time for DUI or driving with a suspended license. She got jail time for contempt of court. She thought she was above the law and even arrived at court fashionably late by 15 minutes.

The only place you can get your free annual credit report is not the place you see on TV. It is here: Free Credit Report. The only place you can get it for free. AnnualCreditReport: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp

You can also get your free annual insurance report from ChoiceTrust here:

C.L.U.E. Did you know that your C.L.U.E reports and insurance score reports are often used to determine your overall risk as an insurance customer: http://www.choicetrust.com/servlet/com.kx.cs.servlets.CsServlet?channe...elcome&
C.L.U.E. Here's how you can order your free C.L.U.E. report once a year: http://radio.clarkhoward.com/UM/T.asp?A234.1243.4060.8.288583
C.L.U.E. Protect yourself and get your free C.L.U.E. report: http://clarkhoward.com/shownotes/2007/06/14/index.html#4

And here is where you can get help with prescription medication costs: Partnership for Prescription Assistance help qualifying patients who lack prescription coverage get the medicines they need through the public or private program that’s right for them: https://www.pparx.org/Intro.php

I harvest, what I think are, the best links from all of the great newsletters I receive and pass them on here in my newsletter. Sometimes I learn of a link first, print it here, then see it in other newsletters. As long as these good links get out there and help people I don't care where I get them. I generate less than 5% of these links from my own web surfing so 95% are harvested from other newsletters which means you would be seeing a lot less links if I published only my links.

BTW Yahoo mail is still delaying the delivery of this newsletter. Mark.

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Safe Surfing

My sister in-law, Reina, found out recently that she instinctively practices some safe surfing habits. But she needs to practice all of them.

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 internet 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. I never visit adult sites and I don't download screensavers and I don't use a P2P program. I have set up my networking according to Steve Gibson's advice at GRC.com and tested it using his Shields Up website. 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 and not using any firewall. 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

See why I prefer Avira and BD8 here: http://luem42.com/antiviru.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/

Shields UP! -- Internet Connection Security Analysis: https://grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

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COOLSITES 155 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.