CyberCoyote - August, 2008

NEWS, NOTES and NOTICES
CyberCoyote delivery is changing

From the email notice:

Do not be unduly alarmed. :-) This is the first time that I've sent a notice like the one below to subscribers instead of sending the full newsletter.
I just uploaded CyberCoyote - August, 2008 to the cybercoyote.org website. This is only a notice. Read the full issue online now, and find out why I'm making this change...

In other words, the main use of the HTCC mailing list will be to send notices of new issues, while CyberCoyote itself is now online only. The HTCC Episodic Web feed also announces each new issue.

Why is CyberCoyote delivery changing?

CyberCoyote is "link intensive", i.e., many items are just excerpts or descriptions that link to other info. It's easier to compose, read and use a link-laden document like that in HTML (Web page) format.

Up until now CyberCoyote has been a plain-text email newsletter because some subscribers don't want to receive HTML email. It's a tedious process to convert HTML format to plain-text though. And I'm losing my enthusiasm for tedium. ;-) I also forget parts of the process, which results in broken links.

How is it changing?

I'll be sending plain-text email notices -- similar to the one above -- when new issues are ready. CyberCoyote will be published online (only) as Web pages. Email notices will include a direct link to the new issues. I will also continue to generate the HTCC Episodic Web feed for those who prefer to get their notices separately from their email. ;-)

TIPS, TOPICS and TWEAKS
Gmail changes

Keeping an eye out for subtle changes in the Gmail interface pays off. Sometimes you'll spot new features -- for example, the green flask -- that you're not likely to hear about (unless you subscribe to the Gmail Blog with a feed reader).

Another example recently appeared at the bottom of the Gmail page. Now, if you forget to log off at a temporary location you'll see a reminder at the bottom of the page that you are still logged on there when you sign on somewhere else. It might be important to know that. ;-)

Gmail also finally makes it easy to get the privacy of encryption for your messages. Just go to "Settings" and tell Gmail to "Always use https" for your browser connection.

Google help central

Learn about (virtually) all of Google's products and services by visiting their Help Centers. You can also view an alphabetical listing.

Find computer and Internet help online

I recently updated my Online Help page at the HTCC website. I had some new information to add, and much to my horror :^) I found that I had never actually created the Google Custom Search that I claimed was there. I hope you don't have any computer problems to solve, but you might keep that page in mind if for when you do.

SECURITY
Is your computer a zombie?

One of the prime objectives of present day crimeware is to capture your computer and turn it into a "bot" -- a zombie that does dirty work for the botmaster. Zombie computers are used for all sorts of nefarious enterprise.

There's been a lot written on how to avoid this Voodoo, but not much on how to know if your PC is one of the living dead. You can now check up on it's status at Trend Micro's "RUBotted". My own report was "No Bots Found", which is what I expected, but it's nice to know.

Where does all that Voodoo come from?

Email attachments still carry much of the malware that infects PCs, but corrupted websites are now where most of it comes from. And these are increasingly legitimate sites that have been booby-trapped.

"Three-quarters of all Web sites that try to foist malicious software on visitors are legitimate sites that have been hacked, a report released today found. Even worse, most of these compromised sites are social networking communities and some of the Internet's most popular destinations."

So what's a person to do?

"The single most useful step a Windows user can take to be protected from threats at trusted Web sites is to run the operating system - or the Web browser - under a limited user account that does not have privileges to install software or modify key settings on the PC."

If you're running Windows Vista, and you've left UAC enabled, you are already well protected. Provided you think before you click any UAC dialogs If you're running XP, there are many ways to run browsers with reduced rights.

ODDS and ENDS
The highroad to Las Vegas :-)
Construction of the Colorado River Bridge is advancing with construction of the 1,060 foot twin-rib concrete arch.  The Colorado River Bridge is the central portion of the Hoover Dam Bypass Project. Construction on the nearly 2,000 foot long bridge began in late January 2005 and the completion of the entire Hoover Dam Bypass Project is expected in June 2010.  When completed, this signature bridge will span the Black Canyon (about 1,600 feet south of the Hoover Dam), connecting the Arizona and Nevada Approach highways nearly 900-feet above the Colorado River.

Hoover Dam Bypass Website -- another Dudley Puryear find

Mars (and Saturn) through a real telescope:

Tammy is using a better telescope than the one Galileo Galilei had, but it's no Hubble. :-)

"Have you ever wondered what it was like to look through a real telescope? ... After all the exciting news we've heard about Mars, I thought it might be fun to let you take a look through a small telescope and see what Mars really looks like - flaws and all." --Tammy Plotner
And here's a look at Saturn through the same telescope. [Hubble's view]

"Looking for the mouse"

Just follow the chain of links: It will eventually lead you to an interesting discourse on where the Internet fits in modern life.

That's all, folks.

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