'Netline News
 Date: June 1, 2004
Happy Father's Day!

  
 From the editor

June means getting outdoors and enjoying activities such as camping, softball, tennis, and golf. It can also be a time for just relaxing on the porch and enjoying the beautiful, warmer weather. However you spend your summer months, we hope that the Internet, along with this month's Netline News, will help you get your summer off to a great start. We think you'll find the information contained in this newsletter to be a valuable tool for enhancing your Internet experience.
If, however,  you prefer not to receive this newsletter each month, you may be taken off the mailing list at any time.  See unsubscribe instructions at the bottom of this newsletter.
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 From Your Local Help Desk

Virus News Flash - Microsoft Corp.'s Bounty Program Snags Author Of Sasser Worm

In November 2003, Microsoft Corp. launched an Anti-virus Reward Program, (initially funding it with five million dollars) to be used as bounty money for people who offered information leading to the arrest and conviction of creators of e-mail viruses and worms. Well, apparently money talks.

Last month, informants tipped off Microsoft officials in Germany with the name of the author of the Sasser worm. Microsoft Corp. then worked with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations, the U.S. Secret Service and German officials. The end result? Less than a week after the release of the Sasser worm, German authorities arrested an eighteen-year-old high school student suspect, named Sven Jaschan, who lives at home with his parents near the small German hamlet of Rotenburg. (Not surprisingly, he was sitting at his computer at the time of the arrest.) Jaschan confessed to German officials that he did in fact create the Sasser worm along with its four variants. Investigators said Jaschan's confiscated computer contained source code from
the Sasser worm.

Additionally, authorities believe Jaschan to also be the author of the Netsky worm (and its 28 variants) which was released in February 2004. One of the latest Netsky variants stated in its source code, in part, "Hey AV (anti-virus) firms, do you know that we have programmed the Sasser virus?!?
Yeah, that's true ..."

Jaschan is being investigated on suspicion of computer sabotage, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

The Sasser worm attacks Windows 2000 and Windows XP machines through the port vulnerability discussed in Microsoft's Security Bulletin it posted on its website back on April 13, 2004. If you run either Windows 2000 or Windows XP on your computer and have yet to download this free security patch, do so immediately at:
www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS04-011.mspx

Symptoms of an infection include the continual crashing and rebooting of your computer system. If you believe that the Sasser worm has already infected your computer, go to the following Microsoft web page for assistance:
www.microsoft.com/security/incident/sasser.asp

A note of irony -- The mother of the eighteen-year-old high school student suspect runs a computer store in the small town of Waffensen, Germany. No doubt he was sent to bed early without supper.

Help Desk hours are:  Monday - Friday: 8am to 9pm  Saturday: 10am to 2pm
Phone number: 256-8324     764-8324     597-8324 e-mail: support@meltel.net
 Tech Tips & Tricks

The default setting on most e-mail software programs is to show e-mail messages in HTML format. In this format, text within the message may appear in various colors; it can be underlined, italicized, or in bold print; and it can be changed to various sizes and fonts. When multiple users amend a
forwarded e-mail message, each with their own "style" of font, type size, colors, etc., the results can be quite dysfunctional.

A simple method of cleaning up a messy message like this prior to forwarding it to others is to switch the e-mail software's settings to a text-based e-mail rather than an html-based e-mail. This converts all of the text within the message to a single uniform text standard. Here's how:

Outlook Express for Windows
1. Select the message from your list of messages that needs simplifying by clicking on it with your cursor arrow.

2. Click on the "Forward" button. This will allow you to
modify the message.

3. Go to the message's "Format" menu and click your
cursor arrow on it.

4. When the drop-down menu appears, you will see two items about two thirds of the way down. One says "Rich Text (HTML)," and the other menu item says "Plain Text." The current setting will have a bullet in front of it. You can
see the current setting is "Rich Text (HTML)." Select "Plain Text" by clicking your cursor arrow on it.

5. When a warning dialog box appears warning you about changing the formatting, select the "OK" button.

6. Send the message.

Outlook Express for Mac OS 9 and Entourage for Mac OS X
1. Select the message from your list of messages that needs simplifying by clicking on it with your cursor arrow.

2. Click on the "Forward" button on the button bar. This will allow you to modify the message.

3. On the left hand side of the message's formatting bar is the HTML button. Click on it and the message will switch to "text" format. (If you get a warning dialog box telling you that you're going to discard any text formatting, click "OK.")

4. Send the message.
Sites of the Month

Lewis And Clark Expedition Bicentennial Celebration
http://www.lewisandclark200.gov/  - This year marks the 200th anniversary of the historic Lewis and Clark Expedition. This site is the result of a collaborative effort of 32 federal agencies and organizations. Cumulatively, the information provides insightful details (journals, timelines, maps, letters, bios, etc.) on the expedition's quest to find the best water portage solution between the heads of the Missouri River in the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west.

Video Game Ratings And Overviews
http://esrb.org/  - The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory body for the interactive entertainment software industry. ESRB.org helps parents get a clearer understanding of the products they might buy for their children as well as providing a "prescreening" method of online interactive games. Simply type in the name of the game or the name of the video publisher into the site's search engine to get specific rating information.

Unique Family Vacation Attractions
http://roadsideamerica.com/  - Are you looking for some unique tourist destinations to visit during your family vacation this summer? We've got the perfect site for you! RoadsideAmerica.com is "your online guide to offbeat attractions" across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

Garfield Hits The Silver Screen
http://garfieldmovie.com/main.html - He's got priorities: Eat, sleep and then eat again - - and now he's got his very own movie. The June 11th release of Garfield The Movie marks the first feature film for this popular comic strip feline. The official site offers many trailers, games, production information, e-cards, and more.

Wimbledon Championships: June 21st - July 4th
http://wimbledon.org/en_GB/index.html  - The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club has been hosting the Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon almost every year since 1877. (Championships were not held during World War I and World War II.) What started out as a garden party atmosphere attended by only a few hundred spectators, now attracts over 500,000 fans each year, not to mention the millions across the globe watching on television. The Club's official site is filled with history, statistics, stories, ticket and accommodation information, vintage photography, and virtual tours.
Email your favorite website- netnews@meltel.com

Feature of the Month


Join Us for the

 an official event of Sinclair Lewis Days
6:30-11:30 pm
Friday, July 16th

Sinclair Lewis Park

Enter Your Band Today:

Limited to the first 8 bands
$25.00 entry fee
 

Free Internet Classes

Browsing Only
Melrose High School Library
June 29........7:00pm to 9:00pm

Emailing Only
Melrose High School Library
July 1.........7:00pm to 9:00pm

Browsing Only
Eden Valley High School-Rm 127
June 7.........7:00pm to 9:00pm

Emailing Only
Eden Valley High School-Rm 127
June 8.........7:00pm to 9:00pm

Browsing Only
Kimball Business Center
June 28........7:00pm to 9:00pm

Call to register and for more info:
Melrose Telephone Company
256-7471        548-3200
597-3333        764-7600
 

This Month's Chronicles
Birthstone: Pearl
Flower:    Rose

 

June 2004
June 2 Clean Air Day
June 4 Donut Day
June 6 Cancer Survivors Day
June 14 Flag Day
June 20 Father's Day
June 21 First Day of Summer

This Day in History
 www.scopesys.com/anyday

Horoscopes
 Gemini:  May 21 - June 20
Cancer:  June 21 - July 22

Question and Answer

Question: How Do I Print Only Sections Of Pages Rather Than Entire Documents?

Answer: Here are two ways to avoid printing the entire article with Outlook Express. First, you can try printing certain pages of the article. For instance, the virus article  will be on pages one and two most of the time. In that case, choose "Print" from the "File" drop-down menu. When the print dialog box comes up, change the "Page Range" settings from "All" by clicking on the "Pages" button and entering
"1-2" in the "Pages" field. This will cause only the first two pages of the article to print. Deciding which pages to print takes some guesswork as there is no print preview option in Outlook Express.

Another option is to simply highlight the section you want to print, copy the text out of the article (by choosing "Copy" from the Edit drop-down menu), and then paste the text (by choosing "Paste" from the Edit drop-down menu) into some sort of word processing document (i.e. Microsoft Word, AppleWorks, etc.). Then just print that page.

Email your questions and we will do our best to answer them!
 netnews@meltel.com
 
 Joke of the Month

The old pastor made it to a practice to visit the parish school one day a week. He walked into the 4th grade class, where the children were studying the states, and asked them how many states they could name. They came up with about 40 names. He jokingly told them that in his day students knew the names of all the states. One lad snickered, "Yes, but in those days there were only 13".
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 Disclaimer

We do not have financial interest in, or endorse, any of the sites, or products offered by the sites, listed in this customer newsletter.  No opinions expressed on these sites should be considered to be the opinion of diversiCOM Melrose Telephone Company or it's employees. This is a free service of diversiCOM Melrose Telephone Company to enhance your Internet surfing experience. It is our policy to not share your e-mail address with any third party for any reason.