E-Mail Virus The 32.Netsky.B@mm Worm Spreads Across The Web It’s That Time of Year! It’s Storm Season In Southern Indiana – And, Yes, You Can Prevent Damage To Your Computer THEY’RE EVERYWHERE, THEY’RE EVERYWHERE! Make sure your computer is not a “virus carrier”, be responsible. Ask The Help Desk How Do You "Drag and Drop?" Sites Of The Month Great Sites To Check Out In March! Short Tutorial Shortcuts When Managing Your Favorites/Bookmarks

Hello from PSCI The month of March is the beginning of many exciting things ... a new season, the NCAA basketball tournament, the PBA World Championships ... and spring-cleaning? Whatever your interest, we hope that we can help you to enjoy it all the more through the World Wide Web and the tips and information presented in our newsletter. The goal of each of our monthly eNewsletters is to keep our subscribers informed regarding their Internet connection and to improve their Internet experience. To meet this goal, each monthly newsletter will usually contain information related to: Warnings on a recent virus or e-mail hoax that may affect you An update on new services and other local interests An answer to a frequently asked Internet related question Some fun, seasonal websites to check out A short, step-by-step tutorial on an e-mail or browser related task We think you'll find the information contained in this newsletter to be a valuable tool for enhancing your Internet experience. If, however, you'd prefer not to receive these bulletins on a monthly basis, click HERE. To see what's inside this issue, take a look at the index to the left and thanks for reading! - The PSCI Team

E-Mail Virus - The 32.Netsky.B@mm Worm Spreads Across The Web

The most recent worm to cause a major stir around the Internet is the "32.Netsky.B@mm Worm" which was first discovered on February 18, 2004. The 32.Netsky.B@mm Worm is a mass-mailing worm that sends itself as an attachment to e-mail addresses found within an infected machine. (The worm only infects Windows-based systems – not Macintosh, Unix or Linux systems.) Once launched on the infected computer, an error dialog box appears that states that "The file could not be opened!" The worm also copies itself onto computer subdirectories that contain "share" or "sharing" in the directory name. This could allow copies of the worm to be spread through Instant Messaging clients, file-sharing networks, or via any folders that contain the words "share" or "sharing."

Like most worms circulating around the Web, the 32.Netsky.B@mm Worm has a "spoofing" feature that disguises the actual source of the e-mail by randomly selecting e-mail addresses from the infected computer's system to be shown as the "sender" of the e-mail. So, if a person receives this e-mail worm from a co-worker or relative, chances are the person it shows being sent from was probably not the person who actually sent it.

An e-mail message that contains the 32.Netsky.B@mm Worm as an attachment will have one of the following text messages within its subject line:

hi
HI
hello
read it immediately
something for you
warning
information
stolen
fake
unknown

The message body will randomly contain any one of about four dozen short phrases. The attachment will also appear as one of dozens of randomly selected names.

Remember, receiving an e-mail attachment from a trusted friend or a reliable source may not necessarily mean they were the actual senders of the message and attachment. Also, the ultimate responsibility of protecting your computer against worms and viruses lies with you. Many viruses and worms not only spread via e-mail, but also through the sharing of files when using floppy disks, zip disks, CDs and networks, as well as when downloading software from the Internet. We encourage each of our users to install and utilize virus scanning software, to update this software on a regular basis, and to scan all incoming attachments before opening them, even if the attachment shows coming from a reliable source.

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It’s That Time of Year! - It’s Storm Season In Southern Indiana – And, Yes, You Can Prevent Damage To Your Computer

Yes, it is already March and this usually means the start of storm season in Southern Indiana. Power surges and lightning associated with those storms can cause major damage to your computer and the attached equipment. The following explains what lightning and power surges can do to your computer and then steps you can take to protect it.

Power surges often happen during storms (although they can occur at other times) and are increases in the voltage that powers your computer, tvs, appliances, etc. Surges often go unnoticed, last only 1/120th of a second, are much more common and do more damage than most people know. According to recent studies, there are surges of power going on constantly. Some of these can be absorbed by your power supply, while others can only be handled by a quality surge suppressor. Power surges can and will wipe out anything that gets in the way if of the right magnitude! Power surges can not only damage or destroy computer equipment, but also equipment plugged into your computer externally, such as your monitor, printer or scanner.

Lightning sends a massive power surge along a line and can destroy everything in its path. One thing to remember, even the best surge suppressor cannot survive a direct lightning strike. However, by making the right choice in power protection, you can increase the probability that your surge suppressor will take the hit - ending up destroyed - and your equipment will stay protected.

An important item most people don’t think of is the need to protect your computer equipment from damage coming in through the phone line. If lightning strikes your telephone wire, the jolt could travel down the phone line to your modem and your computer, causing the same type of damage as an electrical power surge. This is the most common cause of modem failure.

Here are a few simple steps to take to protect your computer and other electronic equipment from lightning damage.

1. The only way to guarantee that your system will remain safe is to shut down computer, unplug it, and disconnect the phone cord from the computer or jack. Do this if you know a storm is coming shortly or if there is a chance of storms while you will be away from your home or office.
2. Even when no storms are present, make sure the computer and phone line are plugged into a surge protector of some kind. Tiny electrical surges that could damage a computer are always present over the power grid.
3. Another option, in particularly for business, etc., is to connect the computer to an Uninterruptible Power Supply, or UPS. A UPS is similar to a standard surge suppressor except that it includes a battery backup that can last anywhere from ten minutes to three or four hours, depending on the quality and dollar amount invested. Most quality power supplies also regulate the power flow to a computer so that it receives a constant, unchanging stream of voltage. Many also include software that will shut the computer down when the battery gets low on power.