Warning! Image-based Spam Outfoxing Some Filters Deadly Virus Hits Internet!!! - Real or Hoax? From Michael Sharer, PSC Tech Support Ask The Help Desk Stop The Wrong Links From Loading Sites Of The Month Great Sites To Check Out In September! Short Tutorial Keyboard Shortcuts For Internet Explorer, Safari, And Firefox

Hello from PSC Like fall leaves turning color, this September eNewsletter focuses on change. You'll learn about a change in e-mail format that spammers now use to attempt to fool spam-filtering software. You'll get lots of handy keyboard shortcuts when surfing the Web to speed-up your online experience. And for a fun change of pace, visit the Great Sites we've selected. You'll fly through WWI, gaze at stormy skies, catch NFL action, and explore new music handpicked for you. 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, e-mail hoax or security issue 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 PSC Team

Warning! - Image-based Spam Outfoxing Some Filters

Disreputable marketers are increasingly using a new strain of spam that's cleverly attempting to sneak by spam-filtering software. Called image-based spam, it embeds messages in attached, randomized .gif or .jpg image files and these images are changed each time a message is sent. The difference in each image may be just a change in the border or the variance of one pixel, but it's enough to get past traditional spam filters that analyze keywords. Like traditional text-based spam, image-based spam often includes pitches for things like pharmaceuticals and penny stocks.

According to research released by security gateway provider IronPort, image-based spam has increased twelve-fold in the past year. It now accounts for over five billion messages per day and 78 percent of this spam passes through first- and second-generation spam filters. The company estimates that about 30 percent of spam delivered to an individual's inbox is of this type. And it can be more than just annoying. Image-based spam eats up space and create storage problems because each message can be up to seven times larger than text-based spam.

Another factor that's led to greater volumes of spam being sent around the globe recently is the increased number of zombie computers — infected PCs that have been hijacked by spammers for their own use. Spammers rotate through zombie networks every few hours, constantly changing the IP address of the source of the spam in order to evade detection. CipherTrust, a leading message security company, reports that they identify nearly 250,000 new zombies each day, and it's estimated that 80 percent of today's spam is sent via zombie computers.

Rest assured that we continue to implement the very latest spam filtering techniques to stay a step ahead of the "bad guys" in the ever evolving battle against spam. We appreciate our customers doing their part in protecting their computers by using firewalls, receiving and downloading system software upgrades each month from Microsoft, Apple, etc., and installing and then regularly updating their anti-virus programs. Together, we'll continue to win this war.

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The next time you get a message warning you of a deadly virus or cautionary tale (for example, "be careful, terrorists are hiding HIV infected needles in telephone booths!"), take a moment to check out the validity of the warning.  An excellent site to do this is "Snopes.com - Rumor has it..." (http://www.snopes.com).  The Snopes.com website lists thousands of "warnings" for viruses, scams, and other "information" that is passed along through email.

So the next time you get a warning advising you to "send this email to everyone you know!", take a moment and make sure you're sending out something worthwhile, not just falling for an Internet prankster's joke.

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Ask The Help Desk - Stop The Wrong Links From Loading

Question: If I accidentally click the wrong link on a webpage, do I have to wait for this page to fully load before selecting the correct link or can I "bail out" sooner?

Answer: Good news — there are two easy escape routes to take when you realize you've clicked on the wrong link. Which one you use depends on where you are in the selection process.

If you've clicked the wrong link and still have the left mouse button pressed down, just drag your pointer off the link to a blank spot on your screen and release. Problem solved.

If you've already released the left mouse button, just hit your Escape key ("esc") on your keyboard. This will stop your browser in its tracks and the page will not continue to load. It will also prevent those pesky pop-up windows from appearing.

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Great Sites To Check Out This Month

Legendary Pilots Fly Into Theaters
http://flyboysthemovie.com -  On September 29th, Flyboys takes off from the pages of history and lands in theaters. The movie was inspired by the true story of first squadron of American combat pilots, Lafayette Escadrille, during WWI. As a squadron of only 38 mismatched but determined American boys, they learned to fly and embarked on a great romantic adventure that became legendary. Visit this site for a behind-the-scenes look at how Flyboys got off the ground and a sneak peak at the special effects. Rated PG-13.

Hurricane Tracking
http://www.wunderground.com/tropical -  Hurricane season continues through the end of October, and the National Hurricane Center forecasts that this year's north Atlantic hurricane season may be even more active than last year's. Keep on top of these powerful storms with the help of this powerful site. It includes tropical storm and hurricane updates, tracking maps, interactive flash maps, computer models, and public advisories. You can also check out fascinating hurricane history and see a list of the 2006 storm names.

Grade "A" Homework Site
http://homeworkspot.com -  It's back-to-school time. No matter how many questions your student has, here's one place to find the answers. This homework information portal features the best K-12 homework-related sites together with a wide variety of educational resources. Subjects include English, math, science, history, art, music, technology, foreign language, and college prep. You'll also find links to the world's best libraries, museums, and current events sources.

Your Taste In Tunes
http://pandora.com -  Like some help discovering new music you'll love? This innovative site promises to do just that. It was created by the Music Genome Project, a group that analyzes music by breaking it down into its fundamental elements like "repetitive melodic phrasing" and "subtle use of vocal harmony." You simply enter the name of one of your favorite songs and the site scans a century of popular and obscure recordings to finds songs with musical similarities to your choice. On an even better note, it's all free.

NFL Regular Season Kicks Off
http://nfl.com -  It just wouldn't be football season without NFL.com. Get in the middle of the action each day with free video clips from NFL Total Access and the Best of NFL Films plus special features such as In Their Own Words, Playbook, and Point After. Never miss a game thanks to schedules posted by the week, team, and national TV listings. And enjoy access to all the latest in team standings, stats, rosters, injury reports, and depth charts. This site's a winner!

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Short Tutorial - Keyboard Shortcuts For Internet Explorer, Safari, And Firefox

Microsoft Corp. provides simple keyboard shortcuts for it's Internet Explorer browser. Likewise, Apple's Safari browser and Mozilla's Firefox browser provide similar shortcuts. Use these easy keystroke shortcuts and you may never need to use your mouse again — well, almost never. Here are a few of the more commonly used shortcuts for each of these browsers:

Safari MACINTOSH

Shortcuts for . . .

Finding things:

• Press on the "CMD" key and the "F" key to open a "Find" box. This allows you to find words located on the web page you currently have open.
• Press on the "CMD," "Option," and "F" keys simultaneously to select the Google search box.

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We hope you found this newsletter to be informative. It's our way of keeping you posted on the happenings here. If, however, you'd prefer not to receive these bulletins on a monthly basis, click HERE.

Thanks for your business!

Best regards,

PSC
One Community On-line




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