KC News 7 2001

TABLE OF CONTENTS
-----------------------------
OPEN BOOKMARKS IN NETSCAPE FAST
HI AD-AWARE, BYE EVIL SPYWARE
SPAM
BYE NAPSTER, HI GNUTELLA
WEBSITE TESTIMONIALS
CLEANING UP AFTER YOURSELF
UCE
DIY VIRUS?
ANOTHER AOL BUGGER
REUSABLE COPY - CARE OF NETSCAPE
BEST DEALS ON MAGAZINES
HOW THE NET REALLY CAME TO BE

====================
Keyboard Shortcut Du Jour
====================
OPEN BOOKMARKS IN NETSCAPE FAST
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Open your BOOKMARKS FILE in Netscape simply by using the keyboard combination [Ctrl-B]

KC TECHSHOP
-----------------
* MONEY-SAVING RANKINGS - the very best sites for comparison shopping, reviews and infos.
* "SWEET SPOT" SHOPPING LISTS - for PC DESKTOPs and LAPTOPs. Get the best price-to-quality ratio!
* GREEN PC Section - helps you save energy.

JULY DEAL$:
Canon FB630U CanoScan SCANNER - ONLY $50
15" refurbished Monitor IBM BBX 0.28mm DP ONLY $90

===============
HOUSEHOLD ITEM
===============
HI AD-AWARE, BYE EVIL SPYWARE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nobody wants evil spyware, right? Nobody wants to give their privacy away!

TALK IS SO CHEAP...
-------------------------
KAHL CONSULTANTS recommends products that we personally use.
Here's an amazing prepaid long distance service!

SAMPLE RATES from ANY US phone:
* 5.5¢ per minute USA and Canada
* 6¢ per minute Belgium, Germany, Hong Kong, UK
* 16.5¢ per minute Philippines
* 7¢ Connect fee per call
* Works worldwide (via web enabled CALLBACK)!
* No Monthly Fees! No Hidden Fees!

===================
WORD OF THE MONTH
===================
SPAM
~~~~~
SPAM is the word for unsolicited e-mail. ELECTRONIC JUNK MAIL. Stuff you didn't ask for. See also UCE below.

* Unsolicated emails to a mass audience.
* Cross posting commercial email to multiple newsgroups or email lists
* Internet based telemarketing
* Sending unsolicited messages to chat and instant messaging services
* Attempting to fool search engines through massive or fraudulent submissions.

Two basic rules regarding spam:
1.Everything stated by a spammer is a lie.
2.When in doubt, see rule #1.

SPAMISH                                         ENGLISH
-------------                                    ------------
This is not spam                                  This is spam
You requested                                    We hope you will believe that because we have a bridge to sell
To be removed                                   To confirm that we found a live address
IMPORTANT!                                  Does the word 'bull' have a meaning to you?
Enter your credit card number here      Sucker!
Enter your phone number here             Sucker!

General Spam Reports <uce-@-ftc.gov>
North American Securities Admin. Assoc. <cyberfraud-@-nasaa.org>
US Postal Inspection Service <Fraud-@-uspis.gov>
Stock Fraud <enforcement-@-sec.gov>
NASDAQ Stock Fraud <isfeedback-@-nasdaq.com>
OTC Stock Fraud <ombuds-@-nasd.com>
Pyramid and Ponzi Schemes <pyramid-@-ftc.gov>
US Tax Evasion Scams <net-abuse-@-nocs.insp.irs.gov>
FDA OTC Drug Scams <otcfraud-@-cder.fda.gov>
FTC Health Claim Scams <health-claims-@-ftc.gov>

PLEASE REPORT SPAM ONLY TO THE RELEVANT ADDRESS!
DO NOT CARPET-BOMB these addresses blindly with copies of your junk email.

==================
SITES FOR SORE EYES
==================
BYE NAPSTER, HI GNUTELLA
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Napster of old has died. The new Napster has yet to arise.

OPEN SOURCE?
That means the software source code is made available free of charge to the general public (famous examples: UNIX, Linux, FreeBSD).

PEER-TO-PEER?
That means a computer network where each machine has equal rights and responsibilities. Not like client/server networks, where client machines are served by a dedicated server computer.

File sharing software is hip - but not too slick - yet. Probably the best file sharing network right now is called GNUTELLA - a fully-distributed information-sharing technology.

Gnutella isn't focused on trading music. Anything on a computer can be shared via Gnutella.

Gnutella comes in many flavors. My current favorite is called Bearshare - get it, because it's one of the best Gnutella clients.

Bearshare tip 1: Bearshare comes bundled with SaveNow. While installing Bearshare UNSELECT SaveNow, because it is evil spyware. read the Cnet article - link below

Bearshare tip 2: If you don't have at least a ISDN or DSL or cable broadband internet connection DON'T BOTHER.

Bearshare tip 3: It takes about half an hour to understand how Bearshare works. Read the manual and visit Bearshare.net

======
KC TIPS
======
WEBSITE TESTIMONIALS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Putting testimonials on your website is IMPORTANT!

People will have proof that you've made previous customers happy, and they will TRUST you more.

So get some real testimonials on your site! Make them SPECIFIC - state HOW you helped a client - instead of general like, "You're totally groovy!"

And make sure people providing testimonials are EASY to contact - either via an e-mail or website.

=======
WinTips
=======
CLEANING UP AFTER YOURSELF
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You want to clean up after yourself?
Paranoid about others knowing what you did on your computer?
Running out of hard drive space?
Want to protect your privacy?
Want to improve your performance?

If you said YES to any of these questions, then follow these BASIC, INTERMEDIATE, AND ADVANCED steps:

I. BASIC STEPS
------------------
Anyone can do these at any time. These do not require you to install any extra hardware or software. CLOSE ALL OPEN APPLICATIONS FIRST.

1.) DELETE TEMP FOLDER FILES
Delete all files in your temp folder(s) older that a day. Usually your temp folder is C:/windows/temp and/or C:/temp
This is safe to do at any time. Open Windows Explorer, find the TEMP folder, and delete the contents. Don't delete the folder!

2.) DELETE TEMPORARY AND BACKUP FILES
Delete all temporary files (*.tmp) and backup files (*.bak) on your hard drive. Use the File Finder. Click START - FIND - FILES OR FOLDER and do two searches on all your drives, one for *.tmp and one for *.bak files. Same goes for files ending in *.chk and *.old and *.log and *.prv and Delete them all.

4.) DELETE LARGE MULTIMEDIA FILES
Delete large video and audio files that you don't need. Video files have the extension "mov" or "mpg" or "avi." Audio files have extensions of "mid" or "wav" or "mp3." Use the File Finder. Click START - FIND - FILES OR FOLDER and do searches on all your drives for *.mov and *.avi and so on.

Graphic files and photos also take up a lot of disk space. Computer users often view something and then leave it on their hard disk. This takes up space and that slows down the system. Graphic files end in the files extensions "bmp", "gif", "jpg", "jpeg", "pcx" and "tif." If you are unsure of the contents of video, audio or graphic files, review them before deleting.

5.) DELETE PROGRAMS YOU DON'T USE.
Delete programs that you no longer use. Like the games you finished playing. Or the random stuff you installed but never learned how to use. Go to START - SETTINGS - CONTROL PANEL and click Add/Remove Programs. Remove programs you no longer use. Under the Install/Uninstall tab, select the program you wish to remove and click the Add/Remove button to uninstall it. Note: this doesn't get rid of files slowing your computer down.

6.) DELETE FILES YOU DON'T NEED
Windows 98: Select START - PROGRAMS - ACCESSORIES - SYSTEM TOOLS. Click Disk Cleanup.

7.) CLEAR DOCUMENTS MENU
Click START - SETTINGS - TASKBAR AND START MENU. Select START MENU PROGRAMS. Click the Clear button to remove the contents of the Documents menu. Tip: The Taskbar Properties dialog box can also be opened by right-clicking a blank area on the taskbar, and then clicking Properties.

8.) EMPTY MY DOWNLOAD FILES FOLDER
Using Windows Explorer open the "My Download Files" folder and delete unnecessary files.

9.) CLEAN WINDOWS HISTORY FILE
Using Windows Explorer open the directory Windows/History. Simply delete the contents. Easy!

10.) EMPTY YOUR RECYCLE BIN
Remember that when you delete files you are simply sending them to the RECYCLE BIN. So don't forget to delete the ENTIRE CONTENTS of the recycle bin

=======================
AOTM (Acronym of the Month)
=======================
UCE
~~~
Unsolicited Commercial E-mail or UCE is the new name for SPAM, that junk mail that clutters up your in box. See also SPAM above.

Don't reply to any unsolicited mail, even if they offer to remove you from their mailing list. Instead of getting you off the list, it lets them know it's a live account.
If an e-mail is from someone you don't know - legitimate or not - JUST DELETE IT.

Regardless of what the spammers tell you, there is still no federal law in the USA that regulates spam. A number of states have passed anti-spam laws, however laws in California and Washington already have been ruled unconstitutional. You can check out the http://www.suespammers.org to keep up to date on developments.

The FTC has a complaint hotline 877-FTC HELP (4357) if a consumer has received spam and been ripped off. It maintains a spam database. Forwardspam to it at this email address:
uce-@-ftc.gov

Handy Acronym Links (or HAL):
BABEL : A Glossary of Computer Oriented Abbreviations and Acronyms
http://online.dossnet.com/babel.htm

================
!!Hoax & Virus Alert!!
================
DIY VIRUS?
~~~~~~~~~
A hoax e-mail warning people that their PCs may contain a virus called sulfnbk.exe seems to be propagating as a result of mass hysteria.

The e-mail was originally written in Portugese. It's been translated and appears worldwide. It advises people to delete a harmless Microsoft Windows utility--called sulfnbk.exe--from their hard disks.

Antivirus experts were quick to point out that the e-mail does not contain a worm, and is being passed around simply by well-meaning people alarmed at its contents.

"This is social engineering on a grand scale," said Symantec spokesperson Lucy Bunker. "Whereas e-mail worms mass mail themselves and cause destruction, this hoax message simply asks you to mass mail it yourself, and then delete the information on your computer. In essence, you're doing the work of a destructive virus yourself." That's why it's DIY = Do It Yourself.

Remember kids, play it safe on the net. Don't trust internet fairy tales. Scan for virii and verify your emails here:
http://www.kahl.net/hoax

=======
NetTips
=======
ANOTHER AOL BUGGER
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The BAD NEWS: To speed up download times, AOL recompresses almost all image files and saves them into their proprietary ".art" format. By default, this applies to all BMP, GIF, JPEG, and Progressive JPEG files between 1KB and 8MB in size (AOL doesn't recompress animated GIFs).

The GOOD NEWS: Users can DISABLE image compression in their AOL browser. Otherwise they may regularly see distorted (recompressed) images.

AOL servers will occasionally choke on a thumbnail and resave an image with color bands or black blocks in it. And AOL not only recompresses JPEGs that are more than 640 pixels wide, but it resizes them, too!

If you must use AOL you are encouraged to download a STANDARD Web browser like Internet Explorer 5 or Netscape (version 4.77, NOT 6). Many AOL users will have already installed one of these browsers anyway (Windows comes with the Internet Explorer built in).

HOW? In Preferences select Internet/WWW and ensure "Uncompressed Graphics" or "Never Compress Graphics" is selected. Depends on your version of AOL.

REUSABLE COPY - CARE OF NETSCAPE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You need to create a series of messages that use the same text? You can copy the text you need from one message to another.

The normal way to do this is by CUT and PASTE, but Netscape supports an even easier method.

Open the new message, then open the existing message that contains the text you want to copy. Now select the text you want, then DRAG the selected text from the old message and DROP it into the composition window of the new message.

BEST DEALS ON MAGAZINES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I don't know how they do it, but this site offers subscriptions to thousands of magazines for only $4 a year! I've ordered a couple to test it, so lets see if this deal is too good to be true!

Alex
Kahl Consultants
http://www.kahl.net
Technology. Use it appropriately. Put it in our hands.

THE PLUG
========
Is your small business or organization performing? Have enough clients? Want to enhance your net presence? Our latest clients include:

If you got this far you obviously enjoyed KC News. Pass it on!
Please forward it to a handful of your friends. Remember, the best things in life are free.

THE PUNCH LINE
==============
HOW THE NET REALLY CAME TO BE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An old, bearded shepherd with a crooked staff walked up to a stone pulpit and said, "And lo, it came to pass that the trader by the name of Abraham Com did take unto himself a young wife by the name of Dot."

And she said unto Abraham, her husband, "Why doth thou travel far, from town to town, with thy goods when thou cans't trade without ever leaving thy tent?" And Abraham did look at her as though she were several saddle bags short of a camel load, but simply said, "How, Dear?" And Dot replied, "I will place drums in all the towns and drums in between to send messages saying what you have for sale and they will reply telling you which hath the best price." And the sale can be made on the drums and delivery made by Uriah's Pony Stable "[UPS]."

Abraham thought long and decided he would let Dot have her way with the drums. And the drums rang out and were an immediate success. Abraham sold all the goods he had, at the top price, without ever moving from his tent. But this success did arouse envy.

A man named Maccabia did secret himself inside Abraham's drum and was accused of insider trading. And the young man did take to Dot Com's trading as doth the greedy horsefly take to camel dung. They were called Nomadic Ecclesiastical Rich Dominican Siderites, or NERDS for short.

And lo, the land was so feverish with joy at the new riches and the deafening sound of drums, that no one noticed that the real riches were going to the drum maker, one Brother William of Gates, who bought up every drum company in the land. And indeed did insist on making drums that would work only if you bought Brother Gates' drumsticks.

And Dot did say, "Oh, Abraham, what we have started is being taken over by others."

And as Abraham looked out over the Bay of Ezekiel, or as it came to be known "eBay," he said, "we need a name that reflects what we are." And Dot replied, "Young Ambitious Hebrew Owner Operators."

Kahl Consultants
P.O.Box 4284
San Rafael, CA 94903-4284
USA
Tel: +1-415-499 0838
Fax: +1-415-499 0833
www.kahl.net
Contact us

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Technology
Use it appropriately
Put it in our hands