In an effort to compete with Microsoft’s Internet Explorer Web Browser, Netscape announced the release of a public beta (test) version of their popular web browser, based on the Mozilla technology. Netscape, which is owned by AOL, has been a financial supporter of the Mozilla technology. This has given Mozilla the capital to develop their browser, called “FireFox”. The new browser, dubbed Netscape 8, includes antifraud technology and boasts that it will better protect people from growing online fraud threats such as Phishing (see March 2005 eNewsletter). The test browser has been available for several months to a small group of beta testers, but now is available for anyone. Netscape once controlled approximately 80 percent of the Web browser market, but Microsoft's Internet Explorer wrested the market away and currently owns nearly 90 percent of the sector. Please read the license agreement very carefully. After reading the agreement, I had some security concerns and decided not to install the software on my system. Go to: ( http://browser.netscape.com/nsb/ )
E-mail “Harvesting”
It has been reported that several computer viruses (worms) are circulating using the Google and Yahoo search engines. How do they do it? They “harvest” e-mail addresses from web sites. Hackers have written code that uses the popular search engines to find web sites and then searches those web sites for e-mail addresses embedded in the source code. The most common design practice to eliminate this potential problem is to create a contact form that redirects the information to an e-mail address stored on the web site server. This prevents hackers from retrieving e-mail addresses. Never display your personal or company e-mail address on your web site! If you do, it will explain why your inbox is flooded with “spam” (unsolicited e-mail messages). Talk to your IT professional about creating a server-side contact form that will help protect you from unwanted e-mail messages.
You can perform a variety of on-line security checks by going to the One on One Computer Consultants Home page at: ( http://www.1on1cc.com ) and clicking on the link to Symantec Security Check. You can perform a Virus Check, Security Check, and/or Trace a Potential Attack on your computer system.
"Free" Software Downloads
Belarc Advisor
This is a personal PC profile program. It will scan your system and display
a detailed report of the hardware and software installed on your PC,
including Microsoft Windows Hot fixes. The results are displayed locally in
your web browser. The information can be very helpful when troubleshooting
issues or simply checking to see if your system will meet the minimum system
requirements for new software installations.
Go to: (
http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html ).
For links to other free software downloads, go to: ( http://www.1on1cc.com/downloads.htm ).
The Downside of “Shared” Memory
Many of the new computers and all laptops use “shared” memory for the video chipset. (If your desktop computer has the video card built-in to the main board, then you’re sharing memory.) The downside is that the higher the resolution and color depth that you set on your video, the more memory that is being used by the video chipset. The more memory used by the video chipset; the less memory that is available for your operating system and to run your software applications. If the performance of your computer seems to be slow, try adjusting the resolution and color depth of your computer. You only need the higher levels if you’re working with photos, graphics files or applications requiring those settings.
For more computer Tips & Tricks go to the One on One Computer Consultants Tips Page at: http://www.1on1cc.com/tips.htm )