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LangaList 2002-11-07 Please visit our sponsors and help keep the LangaList S.E. free!
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1) Wireless Networking...
Exactly, Jason. It can be very dangerous. And although you say you don't mind sharing your Internet access, even *accidentally* sharing your Internet connection via wireless can get you into trouble: One guy in New York recently got threatened with a $50,000 lawsuit by his ISP for doing just that. It also may not take long for someone to discover your wireless LAN, if it's unprotected. See this:
Wireless networking is a *big* topic; that's why I've made the pros/cons and right/wrong ways of setting up wireless security the topic of my current InformationWeek column at http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20021031S0004 . You can set up a wireless network so that only you can access it; or only you and a controlled group of known and approved users can use it; or so that anyone can use it, but with good safety, so no one can get into things they shouldn't, and without getting your ISP annoyed. It's all in the setup. <g> By the time you're done with this full-length article, you'll have the info you need to provide whatever level of security you want for your wireless devices. Come check it out at http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20021031S0004. See you there! Click to email this item to a
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--------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 2) ...And All Kinds Of NetworkingThis reader commented on a WinME networking issue, but the topic actually is broader, and can affect any and all versions of Windows:
There are an amazing number of pitfalls to avoid in networking; and they proliferate when you mix OS types or brands. Successful networking can involve everything from relatively simple software settings (like the above) to arcane and deep-geek hardware issues. These four excellent sites and metasites, either alone or in combination, probably can answer just about *any* networking question you might have: http://www.wown.info/ Click to email this item to a
friend 3) Heads Up: Microsoft's Knowledgebase Changes *Today*Microsoft's Knowledgebase is a tool you love to hate: On the one hand, Microsoft has done an amazing job in opening up a huge amount of free information about its products--- more so than any other company I know of. That's truly commendable. But the flip side is that the Knowledgebase can be a beast to navigate: You very rapidly can go from no hits at all on a topic to a uselessly huge number of hits. That's one of the reasons why I've long advocated using a better external search engine (like Google) to plumb the depths of the Knowledgebase: Let Microsoft provide the content, but let Google provide the search power: http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2001/2001-03-15.htm#3 But if you use the Knowledgebase--- and I hope you do--- you need to know that it's changing as of TODAY, Nov 7th, as this note from reader Dan Bailey states:
Full info: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;[ln];kbnumb Thanks, Dan! Click to email this item to a
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--------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 4) Outgrowing Your Email Software?This reader outgrew Outlook's ability to sort the very high volume of email he receives:
Let me suggest a different tack altogether: Rather than trying to force Outlook to do something it's not well designed for, you might want to consider simply changing to an email client that's specifically designed for easy sorting of even huge volumes of mail. Many people who have to deal with enormous quantities of email--- and that includes me--- prefer Eudora over other email clients. It has outstanding filtering, unlimited automatic sorting of mail into as many subfolders as you need, and it stores email as plain text files--- no weird DBX or PST folders to contend with. For example, I currently have 140 different mail folders (!) set up in my copy of Eudora. I use the built-in filtering tool to presort much of my inbound mail depending on how it's addressed or what keywords appear in the subject or body of the email. Whatever the filters don't automatically presort ends up in the generic "IN" basket; from which I can drag and drop the mail to the appropriate folder. When I start a major new subject in this newsletter, for example, I create a new Eudora folder for it, and tell Eudora automatically to drop all reader mail that mentions that topic into that folder. When I'm eventually done with that topic, I can zip-compress the contents of the folder (remember, Eudora mail files are just text) and save it in ultra-compact form, essentially forever. This makes it easy to search old mail with any text-based search tool. But there are other email choices too. See "What's The Best E-mail Client?" at http://www.informationweek.com/LP/columnists/langa/2001/04.htm Click to email this item to a
friend 5) "Error Saving Web Page..."I'm not exactly sure what common thread connected them, but several readers nearly simultaneously sent in items about an IE problem that can happen when you try to save a page. The problem affects all versions from IE5.01 onward; you get an error message saying "Error Saving Web Page. This Web page could not be saved at the specified location." The problem apparently stems from a badly done
convert-to-HTML routine in some Office components used to create web pages: See (Thanks to all who wrote in!) Click to email this item to a
friend 6) New Month, New Chances!It's a new month, and right now your chances are the best they'll ever be! To have a shot at winning a no-strings $30 Gift Certificate for any item The more times you make a recommendation, the greater your chances are of winning! Or, if you'd like to try to win $10,000(really!), try this link (full details also available here): http://www.recommend-it.com/l.z.e?s=143182 Either way, thank you, and good luck! Click to email this item to a
friend 7) Online Security With Bank Cards/Credit CardsIf you're keeping up with your security patches, you've probably seen several that can affect the safety of online ordering with credit cards. See, for example, http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;EN-US;q328145& Those patches, and related general concerns, have led to a number of reader emails asking about the possibility of someone hijacking your credit card info by eavesdropping on connection between you and a supposedly secure online ordering site, and such. It may surprise you to learn that the most common forms of credit card and account theft that occur online have nothing--- nothing at all--- to do with people snooping on your connection to a remote site. Rather, the most common problem is when people voluntarily give out information to unknown or bogus sites or persons. The most classic form of deception here is something like the old AOL scam where someone sends out a note that looks like (but isn't) an official AOL email. The note says something like "...our database crashed and we need to rebuild it. To keep your account active, click here and re-enter your account info..." The link leads the gullible to a non-AOL site where they dutifully enter their private account info, thus giving the data-thieves everything they need to make fraudulent purchases, using the victim's credit card info. Note that the victims could have *perfect* browser security, and it wouldn't matter: The problem here is gullibility, not browser security. That's the most common form of data theft, but it affects people only one at a time. A most serious problem occurs when crackers break into the server at an e-commerce site, and simply steal the database that contains all account data; one such theft can affect literally tens of thousands of accounts at once. But this is exactly analogous to a thief in the physical world breaking into a store or restaurant, and stealing the credit-card slips or records filed there. Thus, the cracking of e-commerce sites also isn't a browser security issue. E-commerce sites must use good security practices to keep out crackers just as brick-and-mortar businesses must use good physical security to keep out thieves. The kind of browser you use to visit an online merchant's site has zero--- zero!--- effect on a cracker's ability to break into the site and steal the database. I'm NOT suggesting that it's unimportant to keep your guard up online--- it is. By all means keep your own PC and browser security strong and up to date. But after that, your best protection against credit card fraud and account theft is (1) to pick carefully the people with whom you choose to do business; (2) to stay alert (avoid offers that seem too good to be true or that otherwise set off your BS detectors); and (3) to choose a credit-card provider that offers full fraud protection. Then, even if someone steals your card or account info or otherwise abuses your account, it's between the thief and the bank--- not you. A further note: Many debit cards DO NOT offer fraud protection; if someone steals your account info, they can clean you out. Most credit cards, on the other hand, routinely offer fraud protection that limits your exposure to the first $50 of fraudulent charges; and some banks even waive that modest amount so that you'll owe nothing--- $0--- for fraudulent purchases made with your card or account numbers. In my case, I never, ever use a debit card online, but I routinely make credit card purchases online without worry. If you don't know what kind of card you have or what fraud protection your bank offers you, give 'em a call. And if you don't like what you hear, find another bank: There's no reason to give your business to a bank that won't protect you from fraud. As long as there are thieves in the world, there never will be a 100% secure solution EITHER in paper-based or electronic transactions. But with reasonable precautions, there's no particular extra risk in making credit card purchases online. More info: http://www.browsertune.com/bt2kfull-2/security-intro.htm (And by the way: a TOTAL recode of Browsertune is in progress. Stay tuned for more info!) Click to email this item to a
friend 8) More Reader Sites!Do you have a home page or website? (It doesn't matter what size.) Please click
over to http://www.langa.com/code.htm , and maybe you can join the hundreds and
hundreds of LangaList readers who have "Loaded the Code!" (If you've already
"Loaded The Code" and are wondering if your site will appear here or on the
Langa.Com web site, please see http://www.langa.com/link.txt ) Manually Browse All Posted-to-Date Sites Starting At "I Love Eudora" Outlook Tips Brian & Darlene's Home Page (Nova Scotia) clickeasygifts Fairy Art Shopping Portal Kipper's Korner Life With Computers New Zealand Tourism Candlepin Bowling Advanced Checksum Verifier and More Click to email this item to a
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--------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 9) Change "My Document" Default?
Piece o' cake, Francisco. See Click to email this item to a
friend 10) Just For GrinsFrequent contributor R. Dan Park sends along this item, whose origins are lost in the mists of the 45,000 pages Google finds it posted on...
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--------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 11) Plus! Edition Highlights:
Today's LangaList Plus! Edition contains all ten items above, plus about 30% more content including: A site than can help you identify just what's running in the background on your PC--- even if it has a nonobvious name; a very different approach to displaying a random quote (tag line) in your email sigs; and the final release of a long-awaited registry cleaner--- it's free, and it just may be the best one ever made. Complete Plus! Edition info: http://www.langa.com/plus.htm Click to email this item to a
friend PLEASE NOTE: See you next issue!
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