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E-Mail Virus |
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E-Mail Virus - The Atak Mass-Mailing
Worm Adds A New Twist
The recent discovery
of the "Atak" e-mail worm has some anti-virus companies on the alert regarding
the release of similar deviant malware. The Atak worm, although not considered a
high risk mass-mailing worm at this time, does put a new wrinkle into the
virus/worm detection business of anti-virus software companies.
Most
developers of e-mail worms incorporate layers of "armoring" or encryption within
their worms' code. The intent is to make it very complicated for anti-virus
software companies to write detection and repair software programs for computers
which have been infected. The Atak worm goes beyond the typical armoring
techniques. It actively attempts to detect whether anti-virus software is
scanning for its presence within an infected machine. In fact, if the Atak worm
determines that it is being analyzed by anti-virus software, it stops running
and automatically shuts itself down. In other words, it attempts to go into a
"stealth mode."
Thankfully, all of the major anti-virus software
companies quickly discovered and developed remedies for the Atak worm. However,
anti-virus software is only as good as its most recent updated version. If you
have not purchased an anti-virus software program, we highly recommend that you
do so right away -- especially if your computer is Windows-based. Secondly,
computer users must be vigilant about downloading the most recent anti-virus
scanning updates. New variants of e-mail viruses and worms are discovered daily.
Regular anti-virus software updates (never go more than a week without an
update) are imperative for the protection of your computer and its
contents.
Still Time To Register To Win The Big Bills!
PSC is excited about
the number of customers signing up for our new eBill service.
With the click of a button, those customers can now view their PSC bill
online, including access to toll information not yet billed.
With eBill, customers receive a monthly e-mail with updates and
notification that their bill is ready for viewing. Click on the link in the
e-mail and log in . . . that’s all there is to it.
PSC’s E-Z Pay Bank Deduct customers can sign up, look at their bill, record
the amount in their checkbook and they’re finished. Or, with eBill, you can
choose to pay online using Visa® or Mastercard® or Discover®. No more messing
with paper, envelopes or stamps!
To sign up for eBill, click on sign up and complete the
registration information. You must complete this registration, entering a
Username and Password to be used strictly for eBill. The Username and
Password for eBill are not necessarily the same as for your Internet
access. You will need to have your last PSC bill in front of you, as you need
numbers listed on that bill. If you have questions when registering, contact
Customer Service at PSC at one of the following numbers: 357-2123, 536-3344,
843-5951 or 800-511-4899.
Sign up now for PSC’s eBill and one of the auto pay options and receive a
$1 credit each month for the rest of 2004. (If you are already an E-Z Pay
customer, just register for eBill.)
All households signing up for eBill through the end of August will be
registered for a drawing for 3 BIG bills ($300). We will announce the winner in
next month’s online newsletter.
Maintenance Notification Available - PSC can
notify you of planned Internet outages.
PSC has created an
e-mail list for those subscribers who wish to be notified via e-mail when PSC
will be performing hardware and/or software maintenance that may affect your
Internet service. We now have a web page where you can sign up for the list by
clicking on the following web address and entering your e-mail address.
http://www2.psci.net/newhome/help/listserv.cfm
You will then receive a confirmation e-mail back stating you have been
subscribed to the PSC Planned Internet Maintenance e-mail list. You do not have
to use a PSC e-mail address to receive maintenance notifications.
If in the future you wish to be removed from the list, you can use this same
site to unsubscribe.
Effective immediately, PSC will also place a maintenance bulletin on the PSC
Portal and web site in advance of all planned outages.
PSC NOTE: This e-mail list is to notify you in advance of PLANNED OUTAGES.
You will not be notified when outages occur beyond PSC control (i.e., storms,
etc.).
Take a peek at PSC’s improved portal/customizable
homepage!
Over 1100 PSC
customers are registered to use PSC’s new and improved customizable homepage!
You’ll find sports, entertainment, games, puzzles, stock info, comics, national
and world news, local and regional news, and more. And when we say local and
regional news, we mean local and regional! The local news is provided week days
by three area radio stations (WAXL, WBDC & WITZ). The regional news carries
news from WFIE – NBC 14, WEHT – TV 25, WEVV – CBS TV 44 and Fox 7 - WTVW – all
of Evansville, IN, Wave 3 TV, Louisville, The Evansville Courier and the
Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer.
To log in and customize your own personal homepage, go to http://portal.psci.net. Create your username
and password … pick the categories you want to see on your homepage ... and
enjoy!
Features of the customizable homepage include:
For more information, visit http://portal.psci.net/DesktopModules/Welcome/Tours/Features/Feature1.htm
and take the tour or visit http://portal.psci.net/DesktopModules/Welcome/Tours/ModifyHome/ModifyHome1.htm
for instructions on personalizing your own home page. What are you waiting for?
Check it out!
The Web Tools provide links to useful programs such as:
Ask The Help Desk - What Is
Desktop Wallpaper?
Question: A friend of mine said something about his desktop
wallpaper. What is he talking about?
Answer: Desktop
wallpaper is the image that appears on your computer screen behind all of your
icons and windows. Every computer comes with some choices built in, but most any
picture will work. Desktop wallpaper can be created by using scanned pictures,
downloading images from your digital camera, or even using pictures you download
from the Web.
Desktop wallpaper is not the same thing as a screensaver.
A screensaver activates after a computer is left idle for a period of time. It
covers the entire desktop (including icons and menu bars) with movable images or
other screen effects. The moving images prevent any stationary images located on
your desktop display (like icons or menu bars) from appearing on the screen too
long and thus causing "burn-in." Burn-in can be a problem on CRT and plasma
monitor displays. You know your screen has burn-in when you can still see the
menu bar or icons when your computer screen is black.
Great Sites To Check Out This Month
Origins Of Common
Expressions
http://idiomsite.com/ - An idiom is
a manner of speaking that is natural to native speakers of a particular language
or region. We use them all the time but most of us don't know their origins.
Some common idiom expressions include "living high on the hog," "put a sock in
it," "under the weather," "skin of your teeth," "mum's the word," and "sleep
tight." Find out the origins of these and many more idioms at this enlightening
site. So "go the extra mile," pour yourself a "cup of Joe" and have a "field
day" browsing this website "'til the cows come home."
Please Pass Me
The Pickles
http://ilovepickles.org - Pickling
is one of the oldest forms of food preservation. It was first discovered
thousands of years ago by the Mesopotamians. North Americans now consume over
2.5 billion pounds of pickles each year! Are you looking for some creative ways
to add "pickling" to your next salad, appetizer, bread, entree, or even dessert?
(Sauerkraut chocolate cake anyone?) This site, developed by a trade association
for the pickled vegetable industry (called Pickle Packers International, Inc.),
includes recipes, fun activities for kids, and, of course, some pickle trivia
that should come in pretty handy at your next dinner party.
Name Your
Baby
http://BabyNameGuide.com/
- August has historically been the most popular month of the
year for babies to be born. If you or a friend or family member are expecting
soon, this could be a valuable site to check out. BabyNameGuide.com is a great
resource when it comes to naming children. If you are looking to go with the
masses when it comes to name selection, "Jacob" has been the most popular name
for boys since 1999. (Michael held the top spot from 1964 - 1998.) "Emily" has
been the most popular girl's name since 1996 replacing "Jessica" which held the
top position the previous seven years. How about your own name? Did it make the
top 100 list?
Play Fun Dr. Seuss Games
http://seussville.com/ - Here's a
fun game site for the younger kids in your family. (You can play the games too
when the kids are out of the room and you get your turn on the computer!) Click
on the "Playground" link of the site for access to five easy click-and-play
games with a Dr. Seuss theme. (You'll need the Flash program installed onto your
computer to play the games.) Also, the "Biography" section of this site provides
an interesting look into the eventful life and imaginative mind of Theodor
Geisel -- Dr. Seuss.
Major League Baseball Races Is Heating Up
http://mlb.com - August is a
great time of the year to watch the boys of summer play some ball as the pennant
races really begin to heat up. Major League Baseball's official website provides
up-to-the-minute scores and stats, links to every team's official club site,
schedules, stadium seating charts and online ticket sales, autographed auctions,
photo galleries, and a fun section for kids.
Short Tutorial - Saving Web
Images As Your Desktop Wallpaper
Have you seen a Web
image you really like? Did you know there's a really nifty way you can save it
as your desktop wallpaper? For PC Internet Explorer users, simply right-click on
the image and choose "Set As Background." If you are on a PC and using Netscape
for your browser, right-click on the message and choose "Set As Wallpaper." The
background of your computer screen will now be the new saved image.
If
you get tired of using this image, right-click on the desktop and choose
"Properties." With the "Desktop" tab selected, choose the wallpaper you want
from the list that appears. Click "Apply" and then click "OK."
If you
want your Web-based wallpaper back again, right-click on the desktop, choose
"Properties," and then click on the "Desktop" tab. There will be a list of
pictures for you to choose from under a picture of the monitor with the current
background selection. Now choose "Internet Explorer Wallpaper" or "Netscape 7.1
Wallpaper" from the list. You'll note that these selections won't appear until
you set a Web graphic as your wallpaper. Windows stores just one image under
this selection, so if you choose a new wallpaper image from the Web, Windows
deletes the previous one. Make sure your selected image is big enough and
proportioned correctly. If it isn't, it will look blurry or distorted.
If you are using a Macintosh running OS X, right-click or option-click
on the image and select "Download Image To Disk." Then, under the Apple menu,
drop down to and select "System Preferences..." Click on the Desktop icon and
then, where it says "Collection," click on "Desktop." The picture you downloaded
to disk should be there. Click on it to select it and then close the window.
Note: Many online images have copyrights associated with them, so you'll
need to first get permission from those site owners to copy an image from their
site. Not to worry ... there are many free images available online.
We hope you found
this newsletter to be informative. It's our way of keeping you posted on the
happenings at our shop. If, however, you'd prefer not to receive these bulletins
on a monthly basis, click HERE.
Thanks for
your business!
Best regards,
PSC
One Community
On-line
©2004
Cornerstone Publishing Group Inc.
Trademarks: All brand names and
product names used in this eNewsletter are trade names, service marks,
trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.