200 Articles and Columns on PC Troubleshooting

PC Troubleshooting:
"200 Articles & Columns for 'pc troubleshooting' "

Free registration required. Top quality information.
http://techrepublic.com.com/5048-22-0.html?SearchThis=pc troubleshooting&nodeIds=all&tag=e099.0521&queryType=2&tag=search

What's New Now at Ziff Davis

What's New Now

http://blog.ziffdavis.com/louderback/

Skype Creator Promises Official VOIP Program Release:
"The peer-to-peer phone program Skype, which allows computer users to talk to each other globally for free, will soon be expanded to include a paid service that will connect Skype calls to regular phones, the program's co-creator said Wednesday.

Skype Technologies SA founder Niklas Zennstrom, who also co-developed the Internet file-sharing program Kazaa, made the announcement at an Internet-phone conference Wednesday in Markham, north of Toronto.
He said final bugs were being worked out of the Skype software's 'beta' or trial version, which already has at least 5.5 million users worldwide. An official release is scheduled for the summer.…"

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1595770,00.asp

Phishing Attacks on the Rise:
"…'The red flag should be any request for personal information, especially from someone who says they need it right now or there will be dire consequences,' said Patricia Poss, an attorney with the Federal Trade Commission's bureau of consumer protection.

Consumers who think they've received a phishing e-mail should not click on any Web links contained in the e-mail and, instead, forward it to the FTC's collection site at uce@ftc.gov.

If they've responded to such e-mails, they should contact their banks or credit card companies immediately to try to prevent account information from being misused, Poss said.

'Then, if you're worried about identity theft, get a copy of your credit report and make sure nothing is going on,' she added.… "

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1595710,00.asp?kc=ewnws052004dtx1k0000599

Essential Utilities from PC Magazine

2004 Utility Guide: "You won't find firewall, antispam, antispyware, or traditional antivirus tools in here—they're essential utilities, but we've covered them recently; see our current favorites in the Editors' Choices section. But with new viruses coming at us faster than AV companies can write signatures to stop them, we take a hard look at alternative detection methods that attempt to root out new threats based on their behavior, not just their signatures.

Some utilities are less fun than important—yes, you do have to back up your data regularly, and your Registry probably could use a good cleaning. The following pages present a mix of tools that taste good and are good for you.…"

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1594001,00.asp

Cisco Source Code Reportedly Stolen:
"According to a Russian security Web site, criminal hackers broke into Cisco Systems' corporate network last week and stole 800MB of source code for IOS 12.3 and 12.3t (an early deployment version of the operating system containing features not found in the vanilla 12.3 version). In addition, a 2.5MB sample of what is supposedly IOS code was released on an Internet Relay Chat channel as proof of the alleged theft.

'Cisco is aware that a potential compromise of its proprietary information occurred and was reported on a public website just prior to the weekend,' said Cisco spokesman Robert Barlow. 'Cisco is fully investigating what happened. As a matter of policy, we take security very seriously and we continue to take every measure to protect our intellectual property, employee and customer information.' "

IOS 12.3 is the newest main version of San Jose, Calif.-based Cisco's popular operating system. It's used across the company's networking line, including in home office routers (the 800 Series); those for branch offices (the 3700 Series); and those that comprise the Internet backbone (the 7000 Series). Other routers that use the operating system include the 1700, 2500, 2600 and 3600 Series.

This could represent a major security threat not just for Cisco users, but for the entire Internet. According to the Dell'Oro Group, a market research firm that specializes in the networking and telecommunications industries, Cisco owns 62 percent of the core router market.…

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1594322,00.asp

Crypto-Gram: May 15, 2004:
"In this issue:
Warrants as a Security Countermeasure
Counterterrorism in Airports
Crypto-Gram Reprints
News
Counterpane News
Security Notes from All Over: Bypassing the USPS
The Doghouse: Markland Technologies
The Doghouse: IQ Networks
National Security Consumers "

http://www.schneier.com/crypto-gram-0405.html

How to Create A JavaScript Windows Interface - WebReference.com-:
"When windows first appeared on computer screens around the world it revolutionized the way programs interfaced with the user. Multiple programs could be run at the same time without much confusion. Even within a single program, multiple windows could be used to separate unrelated bits of information or data entry forms and much more."

http://www.webreference.com/programming/javascript/gr/column6/index.html

ZDNet: Printer Friendly - Search engines take the stand:
"Fifteen years after his trial, a convicted drug dealer in New York state belatedly got a chance to clear his name--thanks in part to an Internet search.

A federal judge last November threw out Manuel Rodriguez's conviction and granted him a new trial after discovering evidence of potential jury tampering in a review of court records and queries on Web search engine Google. U.S. Magistrate Judge Frank Maas said that his review of the 1988 court transcript, coupled with looking up jurors' names in Google, had revealed that the assistant district attorney had 'improperly' removed Hispanics.… "

Some judges call Web search a crucial research tool, but critics of the trend are warning that searches on Google and its rivals are no substitute for the painstaking process of evidence and testimony.

"A Google search that I conducted" suggested that a removed juror had "a Hispanic name," Maas wrote in the court decision overturning the conviction.

Rodriguez finished his sentence before his new trial could take place. But his case nevertheless offers a striking illustration of the growing clout of Internet search engines among the judiciary--a controversial trend that's so far garnered little attention outside legal circles.

In the United States and abroad, judges are turning to search engines such as Google to check facts, to look up information about companies embroiled in litigation, and to challenge statistics presented by attorneys in court. Dozens of judges have penned opinions describing Google as a valuable--and sometimes crucial--source of knowledge.

To be sure, Google has no monopoly in the legal system. Yahoo's search engine popped up in the landmark Napster copyright case four years ago, and Oregon police tried to track a criminal defendant accused of firearm violations through Yahoo searches. When AltaVista was in its heyday, it also was mentioned in a handful of cases.

But in the last few years, Google appears to have become the courts' favorite search engine. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company--which announced its plans for an initial public offering last month--accounts for 41 percent of U.S. search referrals, according to statistics compiled by research company WebSideStory.

In one case in Ohio, a judge who ordered a mother not to smoke near her 8-year-old daughter cited medical journals and a Google search that lists 60,000-plus links for "secondhand smoke" and 30,000-plus links for "secondhand smoke children." In addition, the California Supreme Court has Googled for evidence showing that stun belts, which jolt prisoners with 50,000-volt electric shocks, can be harmful and should not have been used in a criminal trial. And an enterprising federal judge in New York did his own Google search to demonstrate that a watch, jeans and handbag retailer named Alfredo Versace was infringing the trademarks of the famous Gianni Versace design house.

Some legal experts warn that Google searches are no substitute for the painstaking process of evidence and testimony. "If a judge is taking as proof facts that are reported in any public medium that pertain to individual actions by persons involved in a case, that is troubling," said George Fisher, a Stanford University law professor. "Those are the sorts of facts that are supposed to be proved in the courtroom under the rules of evidence.…"

http://zdnet.com.com/2102-1104_2-5211658.html?tag=printthis

DVD Rot, or Not?:
"The recent Associated Press story about insidious, disc-devouring 'rot' wasn't the first to hit the mainstream press. Major news outlets Worldwide have for years been publishing sensational reports that up to 20 percent of all mass-produced CDs and DVD-Video discs were slowly destroying themselves. But when an alarmed DVD industry investigated whether the problem was indeed as catastrophic as it appeared, it turned out that most reported incidents had actually been caused by improper disc handling and storage. Despite the latest round of headlines, true 'DVD Rot' today appears to be exceedingly rare. Users themselves are the greatest threat to the longevity of their DVD collections.

Most people think of DVDs as little more than high-capacity CDs, but though the two are very similar, DVDs have vulnerabilities that require particular care in their handling, storage, and cleaning. But with a bit of knowledge and effort, nearly all damage to DVDs can be prevented.…"

http://www.pcmag.com/print_article/0,1761,a=126783,00.asp

Wallon Worm Skirts Around Windows Patch Release:
"Wallon's infection process is complicated. Unlike the ordinary e-mail worm that arrives in an attachment to a message, Wallon appears as a link in a message to a Yahoo page. But with redirection, the Yahoo connection leads to another page that delivers an encrypted link to yet another page that delivers a special downloader application.

Microsoft provided a security patch for this vulnerability in April and suggested its application for all currently supported Windows versions. The company describes the update as 'critical' and recommends it for all Windows variants, starting with Windows 98, even for systems where Outlook Express is not the default e-mail reader.… "

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1591569,00.asp

Mac Trojan Set Loose—More to Come?:
"The first malicious Trojan for Mac OS X has been found in the wild, leading some to claim the platform may be on the verge of increased attention from virus writers."

The Trojan—dubbed AS.MW2004.Trojan by anti-virus company Intego—was first discovered by a reader of British Mac magazine MacWorld. It takes the form of a file purporting to be a version of the newly released Office 2004 for Mac and is available on download services such as LimeWire.

However, despite appearing with a legitimate-looking icon, the Trojan is in fact a simple AppleScript application that, when run, erases the contents of the user's Home folder. And, unlike the real release of Office 2004, the application is only 108KB in size.…

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1591850,00.asp?kc=ewnws051304dtx1k0000599

New Sasser variant indicates copycat - News - ZDNet:
"A teenager suspected of writing the Sasser code has been arrested by police in Germany. Since his arrest, two variants of the worm have been detected in the wild. The suspected author had confessed to German police that he had released the fifth version of the worm, Sasser.E, four days before he was taken into custody. Antivirus firms didn't detect the variant until the day after the arrest. The most recent, Sasser.F, was first detected Tuesday.

Luis Corrons, head of antivirus company Panda's research labs, said the Sasser.F worm's source code looks like it was written by an inexperienced programmer who has slightly modified the original code but had not added any new functions or behaviors.

'Studying the evolution of Sasser, the fact that variant F does not include any new features confirms that it is the work of a different person,' Corrons said. "

http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5211114.html?tag=header.newsfeed

Microsoft Issues Single New Security Alert for May:
"Microsoft's security alerts for May were posted this afternoon. And the list was refreshingly short. The single new vulnerability revealed does allow for remote code execution by an attacker, but with many limitations on the attack, leading Microsoft to classify the problem as 'important.'

The problem is in the Windows Help and Support Center in Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. Windows 2000 and other earlier versions are not affected. The Help and Support Center is based on Internet Explorer components and uses a special protocol called HCP, also used by the Control Panel."

Such pages use an "hcp://" prefix, while normal Web pages use an "http://" prefix. The vulnerability is in the process that the Help and Support Center uses to validate the data from an HCP Web site.

The attacker would have to construct a malicious Web page and entice the user to visit it and click on a specific link. According to Microsoft's advisory on the issue, "After they click the link, they would be prompted to perform several actions. An attack could only occur after they performed these actions."

Certain very old versions of Outlook, lacking certain past security patches, also might allow the attack to be sent through an HTML e-mail. All versions of Outlook and Outlook Express for the past several years run HTML e-mails in the "restricted zone," which would make it much harder to exploit this vulnerability.

Microsoft released a patch for the vulnerability, which can be downloaded from the same page that contains the advisory describing the vulnerability. There are also workarounds available, including unregistering the HCP protocol. These are described in the advisory.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS04-015.mspx

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1590651,00.asp?kc=ewnws051104dtx1k0000599

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS04-015: Vulnerability in Help and Support Center Could Allow Remote Code Execution (840374):
"This update resolves a newly-discovered vulnerability. A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the Help and Support Center because of the way that it handles HCP URL validation. The vulnerability is documented in the Vulnerability Details section of this bulletin.

If a user is logged on with administrative privileges, an attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take complete control of an affected system, including installing programs; viewing, changing, or deleting data; or creating new accounts with full privileges. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer privileges on the system would be at less risk than users who operate with administrative privileges.

Microsoft recommends that customers install the update at the earliest opportunity."

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms04-015.mspx

Motherboards.org - The Elusive Zen of Motherboard Identification:
"It certainly may appear to the inexperienced that there is some 'black magic' involved in the art of motherboard identification but really it only involves patience, determination and a little common sense in most cases. There is no doubt that those of us that have some experience do have an advantage in the ability to recognise some common model numbers or bios strings and in knowing the location of certain resources but all this really does is make the search quicker.

80% of the requests for motherboard identification in this forum can be answered in a few seconds by doing a search using the information supplied by the poster and a good search engine such as www.google.com

This can be done by anyone, 'guru' or not."

http://www.motherboards.org/articlesd/how-to-guides/910_1.html

The Search Engine Report - Number 90 - May 6, 2004:
"Search Engine Watch News

Search Engine Strategies Toronto & London!

Search Engine Articles By Danny Sullivan

SearchDay Articles

Search Engine Articles

Search Engine Resources"

http://searchenginewatch.com/sereport/article.php/3350871

Why your personal firewall could be obsolete - TechUpdate - ZDNet:
"If your business has turned the use of personal firewalls into a required countermeasure, now's a good time to start thinking more strategically before buying any more personal firewall technology from a third party.

Although it still has a serious flaw that Microsoft will have no choice but to fix, the morphing of Windows XP's built-in personal firewall from a toy into a more serious security technology means that now's also a good time for the remaining independent personal firewall vendors like Zone Labs to be thinking about long term survival strategies. For the cottage industry of personal firewalls that includes giants like Symantec and McAfee (a division of Network Associates) and smaller players like Zone Labs, Sygate, Internet Security Systems (makers of BlackICE), and Panda Software, this was an inevitable turn of events.… "

http://64.95.71.98/techupdate/stories/main/Preview4987.html

Patches Could Have Lessened Sasser Worm Spread:
"Sasser's spread began to stabilize Tuesday, but not after infecting hundreds of thousands of computers since Friday by exploiting a known Windows flaw for which Microsoft Corp. issued a software patch three weeks ago. "

Twenty British Airways flights were each delayed about 10 minutes Tuesday due to Sasser troubles at check-in desks, while British coastguard stations used pen and paper for charts normally generated by computer.

On Monday, the worm hit public hospitals in Hong Kong and one-third of Taiwan's post office branches. Major corporations around the world also were infected.

Home users were particularly hit hard, computer security experts say, because they generally lack the know-how to install patches and tend not to have the firewalls needed to keep Sasser from spreading to other computers via the Internet.

Late this summer, Microsoft plans to introduce a Windows XP update that would turn on a built-in firewall and automatically obtain and install security patches regularly. Microsoft is currently testing the update.

For now, computer users must manually turn such settings on—through "System" or "Automatic Updates" in Windows' Control Panel—or they must periodically check the company's Web site for new patches.…

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1585008,00.asp?kc=ewnws050504dtx1k0000599

Sasser.D Worm Arrives, Ready to Do Damage:
"A fourth version of Sasser has the potential to cause serious slowdowns and outages; a hoax e-mail claiming to contain a fix for the worm in fact contains a version of the NetSky worm.…"

Sasser.D appeared Monday afternoon and is similar to the previous three versions in most respects. The main difference in the new variant is that it uses ICMP echo requests, also known as pings, to look for other machines to infect. The Nachi worm of last summer had the same capability and, on networks with a number of vulnerable machines, the worm caused severe congestion.

The new Sasser variant could cause the same problems, experts warn. And, Sasser.D can scan multicast addresses, which has led to it causing some destabilization of routers that handle multicast traffic, analysts at The SANS Institute in Bethseda, Md., said.

Sasser.D also uses a different name for the file it leaves on infected PCs: Skynetave.exe. And it creates a remote shell on TCP port 9995, instead of 9996, which is used by the other three variants.

In addition to the new variant, there also is a hoax e-mail circulating that claims to contain a fix for Sasser. The message actually contains a new version of the NetSky worm.…

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1584121,00.asp?kc=ewnws050404dtx1k0000599