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Downadup - Largest Worm Infection Since 2001 Hits Corporate
Networks
A sneaky, fast-spreading computer worm known as Downadup (or
Conficker or Kido) is exploiting a security hole in Microsoft Windows to
infect millions of PCs in mainly corporate networks. It is considered the
largest and most serious corporate virus outbreak since Nimda unleashed its
fury in 2001. It appears Downadup may have been created to generate income
for people who get paid to install rogue antivirus software called
"scareware."
The worm can spread three ways:
- It attacks a vulnerability in the Microsoft Server
service. Computers without the latest Microsoft security patch can be
remotely attacked and taken over.
- It can scan company networks and attempt to guess
passwords.
- It can infect USB data sticks (also known as thumb
drives). While almost all of the Downadup occurrences have involved
corporate networks, it is possible for a home computer to be infected by
the user's corporate PC via the connection of a thumb drive.
Microsoft released a patch to stop the Downadup worm in October
2008 called MS08-067. To download this patch, visit:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS08-067.mspx
In January 2009, the high number of Downadup infections led Microsoft to
enable its anti-malware utility, Microsoft Software Removal Tool (MSRT), to
detect the worm. This optional component is updated monthly and can scan for
and remove some of the most prevalent threats in circulation today. For
details, go to:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/malwareremove/default.mspx
As always, we recommend you use antispam and antivirus software, install a
firewall, and keep operating system and browser software updated.
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Community Calendar
Stir-N-Up
Hope Volunteer Sign Up for 2009 Season
On Saturday March
14th at 9 am will hold a volunteer sign up. We need
volunteers to help as side-walkers and horse leaders during the sessions and
people to help exercise the horses. Horse exercisers will need at least
two years riding experience.
Stir-N-Up Hope is a Not-For-Profit organization that provides free
therapeutic riding sessions to handicapped individuals. The program is
seasonal running from spring to fall. To get to our facility, from Hwy 231 go
West on CR 500. Turn right on CR 200 (Hackleman Cemetery Road). Turn left at
the stop sign. The barn is the first building you will come to on the left.
If you would like to help, need more directions or information call Kelly
Epperson at 812-649-0941 or e-mail stirnuphope@psci.net or visit our
website at www.stir-n-uphope.org.
Southern Indiana
Horseman’s Club Inc. 2009 Open Euchre Tourney Schedule
Click
here for a complete list of the Euchre Tourney game dates and more
information.
Perry County Chamber
of Commerce 2009 Business of Year Awards Dinner
Save the date: Thursday, February 19th, 2009
For more information, call 812-547-2385.
Friends and Family
CPR Classes
From Perry County Memorial Hospital – click
here for more information.
2009 Fresh Start
Quit Smoking Clinics
From Perry County Memorial Hospital – click
here for more information.
2009 Home Health
Blood Pressure & Blood Sugar Screening
From Perry County Memorial Hospital – click
here for more information.
2009 Free Health
Screenings
From Perry County Memorial Hospital – click
here for more information.
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Ask The Help Desk - What Should I Do When My Computer Screen
Freezes Up?
Question: Sometimes when I'm working on my
computer, the screen just freezes up and I'm not sure why. What should I do?
Answer: Some common causes of a screen freeze are:
- Your computer is using up every bit of its RAM
(random access memory) at that point in time
- Running multiple applications simultaneously
- A computer virus
For a Vista PC, restart your computer by
simultaneously pressing the "Control" (ctrl), "Alt"
(alt), and "Delete" (delete) keys. This is called a warm boot.
Pressing this key combination on a Windows Vista PC will bring up a screen
containing five functions to choose from. Scroll down to the "Start Task
Manager" option. When the Windows Task Manager window opens, click on
the "Applications" tab to see what applications are currently
running. Highlight the applications and click on the "End Task"
button. If quitting the frozen application does not unfreeze the screen, you will
need to repeat the process. Close the Windows Task Manager screen and press
the "Control" (ctrl), "Alt" (alt), and "Delete"
(delete) keys again. This time when the screen appears containing the five
functions, look in the lower right corner and you will see a red button that
looks like a "power" key. You can shut down the computer by
pressing it, or if you click on the triangle next to it, you will see a
pop-up menu that lists other options including "Restart,"
"Sleep," "Hibernate," and "Shut Down."
If this fails, perform a cold or hard reboot, which is turning the computer's
power off and then on. To complete this operation, press and hold the
"power" button until the computer shuts off (usually about five
seconds). Wait a minimum of five seconds before turning the computer back on.
For a Windows XP PC, restart your computer by simultaneously pressing
the "Control" (ctrl), "Alt" (alt), and "Delete"
(delete) keys. This will bring up the Windows Task Manager window. Click on
the "Applications" tab to see what applications are currently
running. Highlight the applications and click on the "End Task"
button. If this fails to unfreeze the screen, click on the Shut Down Menu and
select "Restart" to restart the computer. If this fails, you will
need to perform a cold or hard reboot by following the instructions in the
paragraph above.
For a Mac, the first step is to force quit frozen applications by
simultaneously pressing the "option" (alt), "command"
(apple), and "escape" (esc) keys. When the Force Quit Applications
window opens, highlight the applications you want to quit and select the
"Force Quit" button. A pop-up box will appear asking if you want to
force the selected application(s) to quit; click the "Force Quit"
button. If this doesn't work, simultaneously press the "control,"
"command," and "power" keys to restart your computer.
Your Mac should start up automatically after a brief delay. You can also shut
down an unresponsive Mac by holding down the "power" key for a few
seconds. Wait a minimum of five seconds before turning the computer back on.
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Sites Of The Month - Great Sites To Check Out In February
To Refi or Not To
Refi?
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/calc_vml/refi/refi.asp - With
the current economic crisis, you may be wondering what, if anything, you
should be doing differently with your finances. Should you sell stocks? Put
off retirement? Pay down debt? If refinancing your mortgage is a move you're
considering, use the “Should You Refinance Your Mortgage Calculator” on this
site. By entering basic information, you'll find out your new monthly
payment, monthly savings, difference in interest, total cost, and months to
recoup costs.
Sweet Treats
http://www.hersheys.com/valentines/recipes/ - February
is the month we celebrate love with kisses, hugs, gifts … and delightful
desserts. This site features recipes for cookies, pies, and other sweet
treats to treat your sweetheart. There are heart-shaped cakes,
raspberry-laden glazes, festive fruit, and, of course, plenty of chocolate.
Trip Advisor
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ - Recommendations
from friends always help when traveling. But what if your friends haven't
been where you're going? This website offers millions of reviews from
travelers who have visited a wide selection of destinations worldwide. Get
information on hotels, attractions, and restaurants; get suggestions for your
next trip; or look for bargain travel ideas.
Coming Soon
http://www.film-releases.com/film-release-schedule-2009.php - Winter
is the perfect time for indoor entertainment, and many movies (both big
screen and DVD) will be released in the coming weeks to provide it. This site
lists release dates chronologically, or you can search for the film you've
been dying to see by title, actor, or genre. Click on film titles to get
summaries, cast and director information, and other details. The site also
allows you to download movies to view on your computer, TV, or portable
player.
Jam the Scam
http://www.fakechecks.org/about.html - This
site educates visitors about fake check scams that require you to wire money
to the scammer after depositing a bad check into your bank account. The
site's main message: You are responsible for the missing funds! Take the
Fraud Tests to find out if you are susceptible to being a victim of these
scams, watch the Fake Out and victim videos to learn more, and review the
prevention information to find out how to avoid these costly mistakes.
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Short Tutorial - Setting Up AutoComplete In Your Browser
The AutoComplete (or AutoFill) feature of a browser is designed
to streamline the process of Web searches as well as make it faster and
easier to fill out online forms. In the case of Web searches, this feature
provides a drop-down list of suggestions for websites when you begin typing a
URL into the Address bar. AutoComplete can also automatically complete
information such as your name and address when you begin to enter them on
forms for website registration or online purchases. You can customize the
AutoComplete settings on your browser or turn them off completely by
following these steps:
Setting Up AutoComplete When Using ...
- Web Browser: Internet Explorer 7
- Computer Operating System: Windows XP and Windows Vista
- With Internet Explorer open, click your cursor arrow
on "Tools" in the menu bar. Select "Internet
Options" from the resulting drop-down menu.
- When the Internet Options window opens, choose the
"Content" tab.
- Under the "AutoComplete" section, select
the "Settings" button.
- The AutoComplete Settings window will open. Select
the check boxes for the AutoComplete options you want to use under the
"Use AutoComplete for" section.
- Click the "OK" button in both windows to
save your changes and close each window.
Setting Up AutoComplete When Using ...
- Web Browser: Mozilla Firefox 3.0
- Computer Operating System: Windows XP and Windows Vista
- With Mozilla Firefox open, click your cursor arrow on
"Tools" in the menu bar. Select "Options..." from
the resulting drop-down menu.
- When the Options window opens, choose the
"Privacy" tab.
- Under the "History" section, click on the
box next to "Remember what I enter in forms and the search
bar."
- Click the "OK" button to save your changes
and close the window.
Setting Up AutoComplete When Using ...
- Web Browser: Mozilla Firefox 3.0
- Computer Operating System: Mac OS 10.4
- With Mozilla Firefox open, click your cursor arrow on
"Firefox" in the menu bar. Select "Preferences..."
from the resulting drop-down menu.
- When the Preferences window opens, choose the
"Privacy" tab.
- Under the "History" section, click on the
box next to "Remember what I enter in forms and the search
bar."
- To accept and save your changes, click on the red
circle in the upper left corner of the window to close it.
Setting Up AutoComplete When Using ...
- Web Browser: Safari
- Computer Operating System: Mac OS 10.4
- With Safari open, click your cursor arrow on
"Safari" in the menu bar. Select "Preferences..."
from the resulting drop-down menu.
- When the Preferences window opens, choose the
"AutoFill" tab.
- The AutoFill window will open. Select the check boxes
for the options you want to use in the "AutoFill web forms:"
section.
- Next to the option that you selected, click on the
"Edit..." button. Here you can view or change your saved
information.
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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
PSC
11877 E State Road 62
PO Box 126
St Meinrad, IN 47577
(800) 511-4899
(We have used our best efforts in collecting and preparing the
information published herein. However, we do not assume, and hereby disclaim,
any and all liability for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions,
whether such errors or omissions resulted from negligence, accident, or other
causes.)
©2009
Cornerstone Publishing Group Inc.
Trademarks: All brand names and product names used in this eNewsletter are
trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their
respective owners.
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