May 2004 eNewsletter

Link to Agri-Valley Services, Inc. / AVCI.net

E-Mail Virus
The Beagle E-mail Worm Hunts Unsuspecting Internet Users

Government Cracks Down
AVCI.net Warning

Ask The Help Desk
Will Microsoft Still Support Windows 98?

Sites Of The Month
Great Sites To Check Out In May!

Short Tutorial
Taking Carbon Copied Names Out Of E-Mail Messages

Greetings from AVCI.net!

The month of May not only brings flowers but it also brings graduations, Mother's Day celebrations, and the anticipation of summer vacation. The Internet can assist you in planting your garden, buying gifts, planning your vacation, or finding summer camps for the kids. And because we know that your education continues even after school is out, we hope that you will learn something new by reading our eNewsletter this month!

The goal of each of our monthly eNewsletters is to keep our subscribers informed regarding their Internet connection and to improve their Internet experience. To meet this goal, each monthly newsletter will usually contain information related to:

Warnings on a recent virus or e-mail hoax that may affect you
An update on new services and other local interests
An answer to a frequently asked Internet related question
Some fun, seasonal websites to check out
A short, step-by-step tutorial on an e-mail or browser related task

We think you'll find the information contained in this newsletter to be a valuable tool for enhancing your Internet experience. If, however, you'd prefer not to receive these bulletins on a monthly basis, click HERE.

To see what's inside this issue, take a look at the index to the left and thanks for reading!

- The AVCI.net News Team

E-Mail Virus - The Beagle E-mail Worm Hunts Unsuspecting Internet Users

You may have heard about the recent outbreak and subsequent spread of an e-mail worm that appears to be sent by the recipient's ISP (Internet Service Provider). The name of this worm is "Beagle" but it has multiple variants which work in a similar manner.

In addition, the Beagle worm is a type of "Trojan horse." A Trojan horse worm contains a message that promises one thing but actually does something else. Here's how the Beagle worm works:

The e-mailed Beagle worm shows-up in a user's inbox. Although the sender of the e-mail containing the worm was actually an infected computer, the sender's e-mail address is spoofed to show it as coming from the recipient's ISP, not the actual sender. One of the following words are utilized within the arriving e-mail address:

administration
management
no reply
staff

support

The Subject Line randomly shows one of over thirty messages. Common verbiage includes:

Warning about your e-mail account
E-mail technical support message
Notify about using the e-mail account

E-mail account utilization warning

The text of the e-mail message varies on a random basis as well. A few common lines include:

Some of our clients complained about the spam (negative e-mail content) outgoing from your e-mail account. Probably, you have been infected by a proxy-relay trojan server. In order to keep your computer safe, follow the instructions.

Please, read the attached for further details.

In order to read the attached, you have to use the following password: 56538.

Our anti-virus software has detected a large amount of viruses outgoing from your e-mail account. You may use our free anti-virus tool to clean-up your computer software.

For further details see the attached.

Attached file is protected with the password for security reasons. Password is 1601.

We warn you about some attacks on your e-mail account. Your computer may contain viruses. In order to keep your computer and e-mail account safe, please follow the instructions.

Please, read the attached for further details.

For security purposes, the attached file is password protected. Password is "81235".

The messages are spread when the user opens the accompanying attachment (usually an ".exe" file). The worm infects the recipient's computer, grabs the e-mail addresses from his/her address book and then sends the worm to these addresses. The "from" addresses are spoofed to show the sender as the recipient's ISP, not the e-mail address of the infected computer. Needless to say, it's a very clever trick and lots of people around the globe have fallen for it.

Remember, receiving an e-mail attachment from a trusted friend or a reliable source may not necessarily mean they were the actual senders of the message and attachment. Also, the ultimate responsibility of protecting your computer against worms and viruses lies with you. Many viruses and worms not only spread via e-mail, but also through the sharing of files when using floppy disks, zip disks, CDs and networks, as well as when downloading software from the Internet. We encourage each of our users to install and utilize virus scanning software, to update this software on a regular basis, and to scan all incoming e-mail attachments before opening them, even if the attachment shows coming from a reliable source - - like your own Internet Service Provider!

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Government Cracks Down - AVCI.net Warning

Four Oakland County Michigan men recently became the nation's first individuals to be charged with the federal government's new anti-spamming laws.

The four men utilized computers at some of the nation's largest corporations to send some of the very junk email you may have received in your mailbox.

You may read more about it here: Mike Wendland's Detroit Free Press Story.

These charges are sure to be the first of thousands to come, and one of many which are sure to be challenged in the courts.

While we're talking about spam, here's another reminder about mail from AVCI.net.

We will NOT ever email you asking you to verify your login, password, address, date of birth, credit card number, social security number or any other personally identifiable information.

Over the past few months, many of our subscribers have received messages similar to this:

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Dear user of e-mail server "Avci.net",

Our antivirus software has detected a large ammount of viruses outgoing from your email account, you may use our free anti-virus tool to clean up your computer software.

Please, read the attach for further details.

In order to read the attach you have to use the following password: 52486.

The Management, The Avci.net team

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

THIS MESSAGE IS JUNK! DO NOT OPEN ANY ATTACHMENTS WITH THIS MESSAGE!

When these types of messages arrive in your mailbox, simply delete them.

Believe it or not, Spam Slade rejects over 100,000 pieces of junk email while Dr. Watchem removes upwards of 4,000 viruses attached to email messages DAILY! That's a lot of mail, but the spammers are tricky and continually figure out ways to avoid mail-filtering techniques.

You can view the results Spam Slade's work at: Spam Filtering Results. You can also view the results of Dr. Watchem's work at: Virus Scanning Results.

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Ask The Help Desk - Will Microsoft Still Support Windows 98?

Question: I still use Microsoft's Windows 98 for my computer's operating software. I heard that Microsoft does not support Windows 98 any longer. Is this true?

Answer: Microsoft's support of Windows 98 and Windows 98 Second Edition was scheduled to end on January 16, 2003. (Microsoft offers a minimum of five years of "mainstream support" from the date of a product's general availability.) However, the company has extended its support of these products through June 30, 2006. Microsoft will continue to provide information pertaining to critical issues (including security updates) that affect these operating systems.

For more information about Microsoft's announced extension of support for Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, and Windows Millennium, go to: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;LifeAn1

For critical security update information for Windows 98 and Windows 98 Second Edition, go to: http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/en/default.asp

To read about security bulletins from Microsoft that affect your operating system (Windows 98 and others) go to: http://www.microsoft.com/security/security_bulletins/

To find the free online self-help area of Microsoft, go to: http://support.microsoft.com/

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Great Sites To Check Out This Month

The Complete List Of Phobias
http://Phobialist.com/ - Chances are pretty good that most people have some sort of a phobia (fear of something). Some degree of the fear of heights (Acrophobia), of needles (Aichmophobia), of speaking in public (Glossophobia), or of darkness (Nyctophobia) are pretty common. Medical professionals have also identified some less prevalent phobias including the fear of poetry (Metrophobia), the fear of bicycles (Cyclophobia), the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth (Arachibutyrophobia), the fear of the number 13 (Triskadekaphobia), the fear of otters (Lutraphobia) and the fear of your mother-in-law (Pentheraphobia). Okay, maybe the last one isn't so uncommon. Check out this site for a list of over 500 identified phobias.

Test Fly A Jet Engine From Your Computer
http://geae.com/education/engines101/ - Have you ever looked out the passenger window of a commercial airliner and wondered how in the world the big object you are sitting in can get off the ground? The Transportation Division of the General Electric Company (the largest manufacturer of jet engines worldwide) has developed a very intriguing site explaining how jet engines work. It provides short, easy lessons on "Jet Propulsion 101" and "Build A Jet Engine." The "Test Fly A Jet Engine" section allows you to move the throttle of a simulated jet engine to see how thrust, engine speed and temperature change. Hang on! (You'll need to have the QuickTime plug-in on your browser.)

Shrek 2 Movie Released This Month
http://shrek2.com/ - Shrek is a big, ugly, green, smelly ogre who found the love of his life (Princess Fiona) in the original Shrek movie. The adventures continue this month with the theatrical release of Dreamworks' Shrek 2. The cast (voices) include Mike Myers (Shrek), Eddie Murphy (Donkey), Cameron Diaz (Princess Fiona), Antonio Banderas (Puss-in-Boots), and Julie Andrews (Fiona's Mother, the Queen). The site provides some neat sound effects, cool games, and some really fun, free Shrek-themed e-cards you can send to your friends.

39th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards
http://acmcountry.com/awards_show.htm - Reba McEntire will host the 39th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards on Wednesday, May 26th, live from Las Vegas. Your favorite country stars have been nominated including Alan Jackson (eight nominations), Brooks & Dunn and Toby Keith (five nominations each), Jimmy Buffett and Martina McBride (four each), Kenny Chesny and Brad Paisley (three each), and Tim McGraw, Montgomery Gentry and Randy Travis (two each). Other nominations include Shania Twain, Terri Clark, Alabama, and many more. For pictures and summaries from last year's event, as well as the inside scoop on this year's show, head to the Academy's official site.

Summer Games In Athens
http://athens2004.com/athens2004/ - The Olympic Games, to be hosted by Athens, Greece, are just around the corner. Over 10,000 athletes and 5,500 team officials from 201 nations are expected to participate. Over 21,000 members of the media (yes, two media people for every one athlete) will also be in attendance. Twenty-eight sports will be represented in 38 venues with a total of 301 medal ceremonies occurring from August 13-29th. Check out this site for daily press releases as well as information on tickets, accommodations, transportation, schedule of events, pictures, stories, and more.

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Short Tutorial - Taking Carbon Copied Names Out Of E-Mail Messages

Are you looking for a simple way to remove long recipient lists from messages you want to forward to others? These are the e-mails that have been forwarded many times over or have been carbon copied to dozens of people by a single sender. There's a simple method for "cleaning-up" messages like these –– and it's good Internet etiquette to do so.

In Outlook Express, follow these simple steps:

Highlight the text of the e-mail message (not including the list of all of the carbon copied e-mail addresses) you'd like to send to your friends and then copy it. This can be done by using the keyboard command CTRL + "C". (You can also use a handy right-click short cut to copy. Just right-click on the selected text and choose "Copy" from the drop-down menu.)

To create a new e-mail message, click your cursor arrow on the "Create Mail" button. Paste the original copied text in to the new message window by using the keyboard command CTRL + "V" or by right clicking and choosing "Paste" from the drop-down menu.

To send the "cleaned-up" to others, place your own e-mail address in the "To:" field and place the e-mail addresses of your friends in the "Bcc:" (blind carbon copy) field of the e-mail header. Click your cursor arrow on the "Send" button located in the e-mail header to send the message. Delete the message when it comes to you. When your e-mail arrives at its destinations, your friends' e-mail addresses will not appear within the e-mail header nor within the message itself if the e-mail is then forwarded to others. Only your e-mail address will appear as the original sender. Hopefully, your friends will follow proper Internet etiquette by "cleaning-up" (removing) your e-mail address from his/her message before forwarding your e-mail message to others.

If a "Bcc:" option does not show up on your e-mail header when using Outlook Express, click your cursor arrow on "View" in the menu bar located at the top of your screen. Next, select "All Headers" from the drop-down menu. The "Bcc:" field will be visible below the "Cc:" field. The "Bcc:" field will now appear as an option each time you create a new message from scratch or when forwarding or responding to e-mail messages.

For those using Netscape, go to "Mail" and click on the "Compose" button. The "To" field will have a flashing insertion bar. The "To" label is actually a button. Click your cursor arrow on it and a drop-down menu will appear with several options. Select "Bcc" and begin entering e-mail addresses.

For those of you using Apple's Mail.app, click on the "New" button to create a new message and type your addresses in the "Bcc" field directly below the "Subject" field. Remember when copying text to use the Command + "C" keys. Use the Command + "V" to paste. You can also "Control" + click (right-click if you have a two button mouse) on the selected text and select "Copy" or "Paste" from the resulting drop-down menu.

NOTE: With most email client software like Outlook Express, Netscape, or Mail.app you don't have to put anything in the "To" field to send to the addresses you list in the "Bcc" field. However, many spam filters will flag or block messages to Undisclosed Recipients because it's a common spammers' trick to load hundreds of addresses in the Bcc field with nothing in the "To" field. Putting your email address in the "To" field will keep the phrase "Undisclosed Recipients" out of your message.

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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,

Chip Sett
AVCI.net News Reporter
Agri-Valley Services, Inc. / AVCI.net

(We have used our best efforts in collecting and preparing the information published herein. However, we do not assume, and hereby disclaim, any and all liability for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions resulted from negligence, accident, or other causes.)

©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.