Summer is here -- grab some lemonade, kick off your shoes, and enjoy reading
this June issue. You'll learn about e-mail bouncebacks from spammers and why
they're annoying but not necessarily harmful. You'll also find out about
keystroke loggers and keylogging programs used to collect information from
specific computer users. In the tutorial, get instructions on how to remove
websites you no longer want in your bookmarked favorites. And don't miss the
Great Sites section to pick up Web browsing ideas including a new movie
about robots, a bird's eye view of the earth, and a preview of the Summer
Olympics.
Question: What is a keystroke logger and why would one be used? I often come
across the term while reading about computer security.
Answer: A keystroke logger is a hardware device that collects each keystroke
a user types on a specific computer's keyboard and saves it as text in its
own miniature hard drive. Later, the person who installed the keystroke
logger must return and physically remove the device in order to access the
information gathered.
By contrast, a keylogger program does not require physical access to the
user's computer. Someone who wants to monitor activity on a particular
computer can download it on purpose. It can also be downloaded unwittingly
as spyware and executed as part of a rootkit (a collection of tools that
enable administrator-level access to a computer) or Trojan horse (a program
in which malicious code is contained inside apparently harmless programming
or data). The keylogger program records each keystroke and uploads the
information over the Internet periodically to whoever installed the program.
Keylogging has legitimate purposes such as helping parents monitor their
children's activities or allowing law enforcement agencies to obtain
passwords or encryption keys used in crimes. However, spammers and identity
thieves also use this technology to steal personal information.
Have you received an increasing number of e-mail bouncebacks (returned
e-mails marked "Non Delivery Receipt") in your inbox? If so, you're not
alone. Internet Service Providers worldwide are reporting more complaints
from customers who suddenly get dozens or hundreds of e-mails informing them
that "the message you have sent has failed." Most of the time, the culprits
are spammers that insert gathered or random e-mail addresses into the
"Sender" portion of their messages. Spammers like to spoof this information
in order to sneak their messages past e-mail filters. When these e-mails are
not deliverable, they may be returned to inboxes like yours even though they
didn't truly originate there. Referred to as backscatter, such e-mail
bouncebacks come from legitimate e-mail servers that have been fooled by the
spammers.
While these messages may appear troubling, receiving such e-mails does not
necessarily point to a virus or spyware infection on your machine. There is
likely nothing for you to worry about as long as you're using virus
protection software and updating it routinely. Simply delete the messages
and ignore the irritation until this latest technique falls out of favor
with spammers. Again, it is very important that you have antivirus
protection installed and updated to reduce your computer's vulnerability to
attacks
Over the years, you've undoubtedly accumulated a long list of favorite
websites stored under the "Favorites" or "Bookmarks" feature of your
browser. As your life changes, however, you may find that some of these
sites are no longer of interest to you. It's easy to remove such sites from
your list and streamline your Internet searches.
To delete bookmarked favorites you no longer need or want, follow the steps below for your browser.
Deleting Bookmarked Favorites When Using Internet Explorer 7 Browser and Windows XP SP2 Home Edition (if menu bar is visible)
1. With Internet Explorer 7 open, click your cursor arrow on "Favorites" on
the menu bar.
2. Select "Organize Favorites..." from the drop-down menu. The Organize
Favorites window will appear.
3. Select the favorite site that you want to delete.
4. Click your cursor arrow on the "Delete" button. The Confirm File Delete
dialog box will appear asking if you are sure you want to send the link to
the Recycle bin.
5. Click "Yes." The site will be permanently deleted.
Deleting Bookmarked Favorites When Using Internet Explorer 7 Browser and Windows XP SP2 Home Edition (if menu bar is NOT visible)
1. With Internet Explorer 7 open, click your cursor arrow on "Tools" located
on the right side of your screen.
2. Select "Toolbars" from the drop-down menu.
3. Select "Favorites." The Favorites Center will appear on the left side of
your screen.
4. Right click on the favorite site that you want to delete.
5. Click your cursor arrow on the "Delete" option. The Confirm File Delete
dialog box will appear asking if you are sure you want to send the link to
the Recycle bin.
6. Click "Yes." The site will be permanently deleted.
Deleting Bookmarked Favorites When Using Internet Explorer 7 Browser and Windows Vista Home Premium (if menu bar is visible)
1. With Internet Explorer 7 open, click your cursor arrow on "Favorites" on
the menu bar.
2. Select "Organize Favorites..." from the drop-down menu. The Organize
Favorites window will appear.
3. Select the favorite site that you want to delete.
4. Click your cursor arrow on the "Delete" button. The Confirm File Delete
dialog box will appear asking if you are sure you want to permanently delete
this file.
5. Click "Yes." The site will be permanently deleted.
Deleting Bookmarked Favorites When Using Internet Explorer 7 Browser and Windows Vista Home Premium (if menu bar is NOT visible)
1. With Internet Explorer 7 open, click your cursor arrow on the "Tools"
button located on the right side of your screen.
2. Select "Toolbars" from the drop-down menu.
3. Select "Favorites." The Favorites Center will appear on the left side of
your screen.
4. Right click on the favorite site that you want to delete.
5. Click your cursor arrow on the "Delete" option. The Confirm File Delete
dialog box will appear asking if you are sure you want to permanently delete
this file.
6. Click "Yes." The site will be permanently deleted.
Deleting Bookmarked Favorites When Using Firefox 2.0 Browser and Windows XP SP2 Home Edition, Windows Vista Home Premium, and Macintosh OS X 10.4
1. With Firefox open, click your cursor arrow on "Bookmarks" located on the
menu bar.
2. Select "Organize Bookmarks..." from the drop-down menu. The Bookmarks
Manager window will appear.
3. Select the bookmarked site you want to delete by clicking on it.
4. Click your cursor arrow on the "Delete" button/icon located at the top
right of the window. The site will be permanently deleted.
Deleting Bookmarked Favorites When Using Safari 3.1 Browser and Macintosh OS X 10.4, Windows XP SP2 Home Edition, or Windows Vista Home Premium
1. With Safari open, click your cursor arrow on "Bookmarks" on the menu bar.
2. Select "Show All Bookmarks" from the drop-down menu.
3. Select the bookmarked site you want to delete.
4. Click your cursor arrow on "Edit" on the menu bar.
5. Select the "Delete" option. The site will be permanently deleted.
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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.
©2008 Cornerstone Publishing Group, Inc.
In this edition:
Your Local Help Desk
Tech Tips and Tricks
Sites of the Month
Bounceback E-mail Techniques
Free Internet Classes
Free Internet Classes
Browsing Only
Melrose High School
Media Center (library)
June 16th, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
E-mail Only
Melrose High School
Media Center (library)
June 18th, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Call to register:
256-7471
764-7600
597-3333
548-3200
Sites of the Month
Recipes for Success
There really are cookies that taste like a million bucks, and Carolyn Gurtz of Gaithersburg, MD bakes them. She was this year's $1 million grand prize winner in the Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest for her Double-Delight Peanut Butter Cookies. Get the recipe for them here, as well as the recipes for many other award-winning Bake-Off dishes. You can
also sign up for free e-mail newsletters and print moneysaving coupons.
Understanding Natural Disasters
The world news has been filled recently with stories of natural disasters ˘ the cyclone in Myanmar
(Burma), the earthquake in China, a volcano eruption in Chili, and tornadoes, flooding, and wildfires in the U.S. To learn more about the
causes and effects of these hazards, take a look at this site. It features NASA satellite imagery of the events along with explanations of the science involved. You'll also find links to related websites and articles about topics including fires, floods, severe storms, and volcanoes.
Summer Olympic Games
Get ready for the splendor and excitement of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in August by visiting the official website now. You can familiarize yourself with all the sports and venues, tour the sites of the Beijing area including the Great Wall, and test your Olympic knowledge by taking the daily quiz. You can also take a close look at the unique medals made of gold and jade that the winning athletes will receive.
Sightsee from Home
If you haven't tried Google Earth yet, you're missing a very cool online resource. Google Earth lets you "fly" anywhere on the globe and gain a bird's eye view of satellite imagery, maps, terrain, and 3D buildings. Type in an address, zip code, city, or state and Google
Earth instantly takes you there. You can even swoop from outer space to street level and leap from one building top to another. The new Sky feature lets you view images of distant galaxies and nebulae from the Hubble Space Telescope. Just download the free Google Earth 4.3 software to use these features, and enjoy an around-the-world tour without spending a cent.
Out-of-this-world Robots
In theaters this month is the
new computer-animated movie about a robot named Wall∏E (short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class). The cosmic comedy is from writer-director Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo) and the creative geniuses at Pixar Animation Studios (Cars, Ratatouille). Don't miss this fun journey across the universe as Wall∏E chases a sleek robot named EVE. In the meantime, check out the site for Build-A-Bot Games as well as the movie's
trailers, Super Bowl commercial, and photo gallery.