September 26 2008 COOLSITES Newsletter 184 by Mark Donaldson

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I have published the September 26 2008 COOLSITES Newsletter #184 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.


September 26 2008 COOLSITES Newsletter #184 by Mark Donaldson


Almost everyone got last week's newsletter.

I still may have problems from time to time so here is what I have done. Subscribers 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 8am EDT, 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 newsletter email.

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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
September 21, 2008

Here are the headlines from this week's newsletter.
http://freewarewiki.com/NewsLetters

1. How many browsers do you have installed?

# REVIEWS
1. Ewido Antispyware Micro Scanner
2. Sophos Anti-Rootkit - easy to use scanner
3. Download Statusbar - Firefox addon for those who love downloading
4. KeyMaker - another fine way to make safer passwords
5. Lastpass - you don't have to remember more than one password
6. Snowbird Search - finds files very fast
7. Old Newsletter

# TIPS AND FEEDBACK
1. What free software do you need?
2. Epidemic of fake anti-malware threatens Internet users
3. Windiz Update - the Firefox alternative to Windows Update
4. Comments last week
5. Internet Fixes Weekend Windup

# COOL WEBSITES
1. Tag Galaxy - a whole universe of images
2. Mohawke's Best of the Best Free and Open Source Software Collection
3. 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

Latest Newsletter http://freewarewiki.com/ClifNotesNewsletter080921

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Security News


"Websense® Security Labs(TM) ThreatSeeker(TM) Network has discovered a new spam campaign using YouTube profiles to advertise products and services.

In the past, we have seen user invites sent within YouTube containing URLs to spam sites. Also, we have seen emails sent that spoof YouTube user invites but contain a link directly to the spam site. This time around, spammers and malware authors are combining to send out spoofed YouTube user invites that link to a profile on the legitimate YouTube Web site. The spam link is then advertised on that profile. From a spammer's perspective, the chance of success is increased with such attacks, because they make use of the clean reputation of YouTube services.

Clicking on the link in the email directs the user to a user (spammer) profile on a legitimate YouTube site. When users visit the profile page, they are encouraged to visit the spammers's advertised domain.

Websense Messaging and Websense Web Security cu! stomers are protected against this attack.
To view the details of this alert http://securitylabs.websense.com/content/Alerts/3186.aspx "


"Websense® Security Labs(TM) ThreatSeeker(TM) Network has discovered a new malicious social-engineering spam campaign masquerading as official emails sent by the popular Web 2.0 social-networking site, Facebook. The email is spoofed to appear from the domain facebookmail.com, an official domain used by Facebook for their outbound emails when notifying their users of an event.

It is common for Facebook to send an email to notify their users when another Facebook user adds them as a friend on the social network. However, the spammers included a zip attachment that purports to contain a picture in order to entice the recipient to double-click on it. The attached file is actually a Trojan horse.

A login page to Facebook is included in the body of the email. We have previously alerted on our discovery via our HoneyJax system about a viral Facebook phishing campaign, and thus would not be surprised if the login page presented was merely a fake front to a phishing site.

However, an examination of the HTML form's source code shows that it was indeed passing the user name/password to Facebook itself. This may be to increase the legitimacy of the email to evade reputation-based spam filters.

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/3185.aspx "

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Security Links

I get these links from good sources however I do not test the programs myself because I just don't have the time and most new programs won't work on my old 98 system. The definitive source of rogue info is Spyware Warrior- Rogue-Suspect Anti-Spyware Products & Web Sites: http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm


7 Top Pet Scams That Cost Money and Even Animal Lives. Scambusters.org: http://www.scambusters.org/petscams2.html

Antivirus, Firewall, & Spyware - Free Software Downloads and Software Reviews - Download.com: http://www.download.com/Antivirus-Firewall-Spyware/?tag=nl.e404

Beware Apartment Rental Scams: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view.bg?articleid=11...07&

Facebook fixes photo security hole: http://ct.cnet-ssa.cnet.com/clicks?t=71225896-be56918137808c8d29d61779...633af-b

Firefox update fixes critical bug brace: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/09/24/firefox_update/

FTC Charity Checklist: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt114.shtm

GPS Navigation Devices Can Be Spoofed, Counter Measures Not Effective In Certain Cases: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080922122523.htm

How to Minimize Exposure to Financial Risks: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/20/business/yourmoney/20money.html?part...=rssuse

iPhone. Trojan masquerades as iPhone game: http://ct.cnet-ssa.cnet.com/clicks?t=71225893-be56918137808c8d29d61779...633af-b

Mac OS 10.5.5 packs fixes for 34 security flaws: http://ct.cnet-ssa.cnet.com/clicks?t=71225899-be56918137808c8d29d61779...633af-b

New. Moon Secure AV antivirus: http://moonsecure.com/

New. Tool to detect and remove all the variants of W32-Antivirus2008 FraudTool. Also known as -Antivirus XP 2008-, -Antivirus 2008 XP-, -Antivirus 2008-: http://www.pspl.com/download/utility.htm

Update. Cryptainer LE 7.2.3.0 128-bit file and disk encryption software: http://www.cypherix.com/cryptainerle/index.htm

Yikes, After Ike, Scammers Proliferate: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6008124.html

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Windows Secrets Newsletter • Issue 168 • 2008-09-25

Free content posted on September 25, 2008:

INTRODUCTION
By Brian Livingston
London readers: meet with me on Sept. 27

TOP STORY
By Scott Dunn
Don't go from XP to Vista unless you go 64-bit
Windows 7 emphasizes performance, stability
Windows components are moving to the cloud

INSIDER TRICKS
By Scott Dunn
Converters maximize your video-file options
The king of converters is simple but effective
Friendly video converter has a free version
The open-source solution is cool but complex
This converter asks for more than it delivers

KNOWN ISSUES
By Dennis O'Reilly
Balancing health-data accessibility, security
Taking note of RoboForm's note feature

WACKY WEB WEEK
By Katy Abby
Finally! Your Windows error messages decoded


http://WindowsSecrets.com/comp/080925

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Space Weather News for Sept. 25, 2008 http://spaceweather.com

CHINESE SPACE LAUNCH: China's Shenzhou 7 spacecraft carrying a 3-man crew lifted off today from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and is now in Earth orbit. During the upcoming three-day mission, Chinese astronauts, called taikonauts, will launch a small satellite and conduct their country's first space walk. As they orbit Earth, Shenzhou 7 and the body of the rocket that launched it will be visible to the naked eye from many parts of the globe. Check the Satellite Tracker for viewing times: http://spaceweather.com/flybys .
(Note: Frequent checks are recommended; predictions may change as the orbit is adjusted and estimates of orbital elements improve.)

Sighting reports and updates will be posted on http://spaceweather.com

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Make My Start Page Your Home Page

Try my start page and make it your home page. 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, 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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Free Cloth Totes at Walmart

Walmart is giving away their cloth totes if you return a bag full of their plastic bags for recycling. Just bring the bag inside to their cashiers and ask about them. Mark.

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More Excitement

Last week I said how excitting this year is turning out to be. The excitment is still growing. Now the government wants to be your mortgage holder. That means that they will be a kinder, gentler lender and debt collector but it will be easier to process defaulters since they are the courts.

BTW. I got my first complaint ever about anything because of what I said. To me that's priceless because I made people think.

Go Cubs Go. Go Cubs Go. Go Cubs Go.


A bad day for the GOP on politics, bailout plan: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080926/ap_on_bi_ge/financial_meltdown

Alaska senator didn't know oil company paid bills, lawyer argues - CNN.com: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/25/stevens.trial/index.html

ALMOST ARMAGEDDON. MARKETS WERE 500 TRADES FROM A MELTDOWN: http://www.nypost.com/seven/09212008/business/almost_armageddon_130110.htm

Biden, Obama helped keep 'Bridge to Nowhere' alive: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/23/biden.earmarks/index.html

Bush, Congress at record low ratings: http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN1844140220070919?sp=true

CEOs who got out before crisis left with millions: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080925/ap_on_bi_ge/bailout_ceo_pay

Rep. Rangel Calls Palin 'Disabled': http://wcbstv.com/campaign08/congressman.charles.rangel.2.821541.html

Congressman Charles Rangel- I Didn't Mean To Call Palin 'Disabled': http://wcbstv.com/campaign08/congressman.charles.rangel.2.821541.html

Democrats want pay limits, loan aid in financial bailout: http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2008/09/22/2008-09-22_democrats_want_..._limits

FBI serves search warrant against UT student in Palin case - www.tennessean.com - The Tennessean: http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080921/NEWS0206...921009/

foreign-based banks with big U.S. operations could qualify for the Treasury Department's mortgage bailout: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/13690.html

Former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley isn't expected to face charges after a lengthy investigation into his lurid messages to underage congressional pages: http://apnews.myway.com//article/20080919/D939J0T81.html

Fury at $2.5bn bonus for Lehman's New York staff: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/fury-at-25bn-bonus-for...hmans-n

Government tries multiple quick fixes for crisis. Feds' overnight pledge to pump -hundreds of billions of dollars- into buying bad bank debts: http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2008/09/19/2008-09-19_government_trie...ultiple

House clears $25bn fpackage of low-cost loans to help hard-pressed carmakers and their suppliers finance plant modernisation: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/83bfe68c-8a8f-11dd-a76a-0000779fd18c.html?nc...k_check

Is Your AIG Insurance Policy Safe: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/18/BUQH12VR22...L&f

Lawmakers reach compromise deal on $700B bailout: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080925/ap_on_bi_ge/financial_meltdown

McCain Suspends Campaign to Help With Bailout: http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/09/24/mccain-suspends-campaign-to-he...with-ba

Michelle Obama- Don't vote because 'she's cute': http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D939A0EG9&show_article=1

Oil prices surge after bailout gets $700B price tag: http://money.cnn.com/2008/09/22/markets/oil/index.htm?cnn=yes

O'Reilly Hacked for Comments about Palin Hack: http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/09/bill-oreilly-ha.html

Palin probe to end before election: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PALIN_TROOPERGATE?SITE=AP&S...ION=HOM

Political Conservatives Fear Chaos; Liberals Fear Emptiness: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080924124549.htm

Sandra Bernhard issues 'gang rape' warning to Sarah Palin by her black brothers if Palin goes to Manhatten: http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2008/09/19/2008-09-19_sandra_bernhar...ssues_g

SEC bans short selling for financials: http://money.cnn.com/2008/09/19/news/economy/sec_short_selling/index.htm?cnn=yes

University of Massachusetts officials yesterday quashed efforts by an Amherst campus chaplain to offer two college credits to any student willing to campaign in New Hampshire for Obama: http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view/2008_09_23_UMa...chaplai

Vermont candidate to prosecute Bush if she wins: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080919/ap_on_el_st_lo/prosecuting_bush

WaMu becomes biggest bank to fail in US history: http://apnews.myway.com//article/20080926/D93EAI4O0.html


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COOLSITES 100 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.