GREATER BOSTON SENIOR COMPUTER GROUP NEWSLETTER
Issue No.44 , January 8, 2003
CHAIRPERSON:: Arline Ekman, AVE@alumni.unh.edu
EDITOR: Harriet Mandell, harrietd@rcn.com
WEB PAGE: Garry Ziffer, http://users.rcn.com/gbscg
LIAISON: Eve Welts, ewelts@rcn.com
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IT’S IN THERE...one of the little known aspects of Windows is its excellent address book. Although Outlook’s may be better, this utility will meet most peoples’ needs. To open the address Book. Click Start..Programs (All Programs in Windows XP)..Accessories/Address Book. Once there you can enter lots of personal and business information.
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GENEALOGY ENTHUSIASTS...will be delighted to learn that the information which has been available at Mormon genealogy centers has now been put on the Web. Latter-day Saints has put 55 million names which come from the 1880 U.S. census and the 1881 Canadian census at the site http://www.familysearch.org Previously these were on 56 CDs and searching was time-consuming. You may search by name, race, birthplace, location or neighbor’s name. Best of all access is free.
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FROM GOOGLE COMES FROOGLE!!! This new service makes it easy to find information about products for sale online. Froogle focuses on product search and applies the power of Google’s search technology to a very specific task: locating stores that sell the item you want to find. Use Froogle by going to the link on the advanced search page on Google or go directly to the Froogle home page http://froogle.com You know you are using a commercial service. Type in the name of the item you want and click search. You may also choose to browse through the merchandise categories listed on Froogle’s home page. While you are at it, try the The Google Viewer through the site http://labs.google.com/gviewer.html It displays the pages found as a result of your google search as a continuous scrolling slide show.
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SPEAKING OF SEARCH ENGINES...another one that’s effective, easy to use but powerful with no clutter is http://ixquick.com This is able to search in seven languages. Also, if you are looking for an insightful homepage to start your day, try http://refdesk.com Quite useful!
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WHO LIKES ANAGRAMS? Asks Eve Welts. Then try this site for your amusement! http://wordsmith.org/anagram/advanced.html Then try a site that lists a secure way of protecting your passwords when you store them or write them down. Could be it will work. http://hometown.aol.co.uk/bvt01/myhomepage/games.html
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HOLIDAY LEFTOVERS OF WEB INFORMATION...From Fred Hammond comes this toast to all in the form of an Australian Shrine to Spirits featuring the rating of individual brands. http://www.physics.uq.edu.au/people/nieminen/spirits.html as well as a US site with much info about alcohol http://www.beerliquors.com/index.html Cheers!
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DO NOT CALL LIST...for protection from some telemarketing in Massachusetts either click to http://www.mass.gov/donotcall Or by phone 866-231-2255. The first list will be completed by the end of March and take effect April 1. After that date telemarketers who call someone on the list may be subject to fines of up to $5,000. Not all calls will be blocked. Nonprofit organizations are not required to abide by the list, nor are political organization, businesses that have a prior relationship with the consumer or telemarketers that don’t intend to complete a sale over the phone. Now, maybe someone will go after the email spammers.
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A NEW YEAR //TIME TO CHECK YOUR VIRUS SCANNER ...or WHAT IS A COMPUTER VIRUS?… A program or piece of code that is loaded onto your computer without your knowledge or consent. All computer viruses are man-made, but even a simple virus can make a copy of itself over and over again on your computer and is relatively easy to produce. Even a simple virus is dangerous because it will quickly use all available memory and bring your system to a halt. An even more dangerous type of virus is one capable of transmitting itself across networks and bypassing security systems. . WHAT IS VIRUS SCANNER SOFTWARE?… and what does it do for you? It is a utility (software) that searches a hard disk for viruses and removes any that are found. Virus scanners work by comparing the data on your computer against its collection of virus “signatures”. WHAT IS A VIRUS SIGNATURE FILE? …A unique string of bits, or the binary pattern, of a virus. The virus signature is like a fingerprint in that it can be used to detect and identify specific viruses. Anti-virus software uses the virus signature to scan for the presence of malicious code. Each signature is characteristic of a partricular virus, and when the scanner finds data in a file, email or elsewhere that matches the signature, it concludes that it has found a virus. However, a virus scanner can only scan for the viruses it knows about and new viruses are created every day, so KEEP YOUR VIRUS SCANNER’S SIGNATURE FILE UP TO DATE Every maker of anti-virus software provides a way to get free updated signature files from their web site. Many will send notification every time a new signature file is released WHAT SHOULD YOU DO FOR YOUR VIRUS SCANNER?… KEEP IT UP TO DATE. Is it up to date? Also keep the virus scanner utility itself updated as well. Virus writers ( the bad guys) periodically develop new methods that require that the scanning software change how it does its work.. Use these services.
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ADD SOME SOFTWARE TO YOUR COMPUTER.. Suggests Earle Barcus.. Some very practical such as WIN PATROL- Little doggie barks to let you know when there is new stuff added to your computer. Also checks for startup programs, active tasks, cookies, domain information. Go to http://www.winpatrol.com You may want to try SPYBOT - SEARCH & DESTROY It searches and "destroys" spyware and adware. This program is similar to Adaware, but maybe better on spyware. Find it at http://security.kolla.de Want to keep track of all your net passwords? Then, look for Password Pal at http://www.pcworld.com For a daily diary program and more with features like dream journal, daily pulse rating and a life diary to form the basis of your autobiography, check out Chronicles Software Co. at http://www.lifejournal.com
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WANTED: URL's of web sites; Helpful hints for Mac users, Win 95/98/ME/XP. Software reviews, desired topics for future meetings. Send these items via email to the editor. Please sign your email with your name. We will publish your email address, but not your name, phone number or address without your permission