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Plop, Plop, Fizz,
Fizz! What a Relief from Spam It Is! HACKER,
noun 1.
[as it pertains to] Computing: somebody accessing another’s computer:
somebody who uses computer expertise to gain unauthorized access to a computer
system belonging to another, either to learn about the system or to examine its
data and to do it damage. Microsoft®
Encarta® Reference Library 2003. © 1993-2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights
reserved. ---------------- Ready
now for this month’s column about the bad guys? It’ll be ounces of fun. Remember
when we got the opportunity to register our phone numbers with the Do Not Call
registry to stop boiler room salespeople from interrupting us at dinner time?
Yeah, that worked out great. However,
you may still pose the question, “Why don’t they just do the same thing with
email? Why not have a Do Not Email registry?” [Ed: Lynn, you read my mind.] Glad
you asked. The
answer is so multilayered it’s difficult to peel so let me cut to the chase.
The folks at the Federal Trade Commission decided against a Do Not Email
registry because it’d be like lambs to the slaughter: If virus writers can
figure out a way to install a Trojan horse worm on your computer; send itself
out to everyone in your address book (including your Christmas card list) and
install the virus on their computers, what do you think they’d do with a
platter full of emails housed by the government? “WHAT?!”
you shout. “This is insupportable! We have the CAN SPAM Act! The government
would never allow that to happen…” If
you’ll recall, people who aren’t even old enough to vote yet got into the
Department of Defense computers a couple of years ago. The DOD is still
embarrassed about that one. So how hard can it be for illegal hackers to get
into the Do Not Email registry? Please. It’d be the underground geeks’
version of Your Money or Your Life. You
just know there would be prizes awarded. Covertly,
of course. Communication by email is staggering. The spam dilemma is
raising an issue that was going to happen soon anyway: the present email
structure was never meant to handle this amount of traffic. Spam is making it
worse. We are sinking under the weight of spam like a hedgehog in a spider web. Ewww.
Another example may be more palatable. So to speak. Picture
this: A beautiful spring day in New England… In the fall when the leaves are
turning… All right, back to Earth. The scene includes a creek over which spans
a small bridge. Except one side is held by ropes, not wood. The bridge will hold
two moving vehicles: one car and a bicycle. The bridge won’t go out with only
that much weight. Then a dog trots across the bridge. The bridge collapses like
a wet taco. This
is what we may be looking forward to if spam isn’t reasonably taken care of
soon. Hopefully without tromping on our civil liberties. And even then, email
will have to become more efficient and computers more powerful. ALL computers.
Because it’s called the Internet; in other words, a network of computers, so
if one comes down, they all come down. Internet-wise speaking. A house of cards,
only in this case, a pile of computers. Why
can’t we just filter out the spam, you might ask? We’re
trying. Everybody’s trying. But filtering e-mail based on content alone is
becoming more controversial because it’s rude. The personal rights people are
having a fit. I’m not too pleased about it either, to tell you the truth. If
the answer lies in content, ‘content’ as in the program that protects you
from spam is reading your email, that’s kind of disgusting. I mean, yuck. Kind
of like shredding love letters with the trash because they’re too explicit.
You never know what could be in there! Okay,
now for the good news. You thought there was maybe no good news? Well,
there is LashBack and this product is worth checking out. See it here with an
open mind: www.LashBack.com.
Its namesake software costs $3.99 per month per user or $29.99 per year. To use
it, you highlight spam, click a button and e-mail is deleted. Yeah, yeah, other
anti-spam and anti-virus programs already do that. But when you delete an email
with LashBack, a note is sent to them and LashBack handles the unsubscribe.
It’s hardly perfect because using it means we have to collectively help stamp
out spam. But everybody has to play or it doesn’t work. LashBack hasn’t done
too bad a job so far: they already handle 10,000 pieces of spam with only 8
employees. This company first checks for compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act and if
it complies by using a legitimate unsubscribe option, your email is unsubscribed
and the nasty spammer is put on a list and won’t be allowed into your inbox in
this century. If they don’t comply, the culprit is reported to the FTC and
anti-spam organizations. You
can see where this is going-- nowhere unless everybody cooperates. And it’s
going to take a while. But it’s better than no help at all. If
you have the time (yeah, right!) read the full article here at eWeek’s website
in a piece by Cameron Sturdevant: http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1617324,00.asp If
you think this means there's no hope for us non-corporate, self-employed types,
not true. It's back to the same thing it's always been: We are forced to protect
our work with the best antivirus, anti-spam programs we can find and download
and execute the latest virus definitions. You should put a scheduled note in
your calendar to remind you about the latest Microsoft updates, too. Just
consider this all a part of your workday. Like
brushing your teeth or walking the dog or complaining about who won the
election. Just
your normal every day routine stuff. A
reminder to all you folks who still insist on banking in person: If you're still
hesitating about doing your banking on the web, I’ve said it before and I’ll
repeat myself amidst all the eyeball-rolling: I suggest you start, if for no
other reason than you connect your own password to your accounts. Because if
you're not doing it because you think you’re safer by banking in person, you
should know that the banks already have your accounts on the web, NOW, whether
you're using them on the web or not. So you may as well take the greatest
precaution and protect them with your own password instead of the generic one
the bank has assigned it. Geez,
I can hear the stampeding. LAST
MINUTE NOTE: Regarding
the latest JPG download scare: If you’re shaking in your boots about the
viruses that can hide in a JPG file attached to an email, know this: a
virus-laden JPG has to be downloaded first (you wouldn’t do that, would you?
WOULD YOU!? Without letting your anti-virus program check it first?) This JPG
has to be a specially crafted file to trigger a Windows vulnerability and
execute the virus code. If you’ve downloaded the latest antivirus definitions,
you should be all right. But be careful out there. If someone you know sends you
an email, they should tell you in the body of the email that they’ve attached
a JPG file. Tell friends and family to do so from now on. I
won’t open a JPG from someone I’m related to, much less from someone I
don’t know. I’d rather have root canal three times next week than do that.
Rebuilding your computer’s software is no day at the beach. I’ve had to do
it several times in my life and I don’t have the time or the patience for it.
Accent on the ‘no patience’ part. Now
for the updates. Go here to get the latest Windows updates: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/officeupdate/default.aspx
Click
on the "Check for Updates" button and the system will scan your
computer to make sure you already have the latest updates. Keep
in mind-- this will help plug the holes that Microsoft left when they developed
their software. The little boy with his finger in the hole of the dike is the
JPG file. The dam is nasty but can't do anything unless our boy takes his finger
out of the hole because then the water (virus) is released. None of this could
have happened if Microsoft had plugged these holes in the first place. I
could practically see the Redmond, Washington programmers bursting through the
door with, “We’re done and on time, Bill!” Except
for my Main Squeeze, programmers are irritating. They should NOT be allowed to
write the software instruction manual. The ones who have should be forced to
write DVD player directions. And ad copy for cereal boxes. And captions for
political figures. I
feel better already. The
one light in the tunnel is that if you've already downloaded the much-maligned
Service Pack 2 on your system, you're probably protected. But "probably
protected" is like "a little bit pregnant." You’re better off
installing SP2 along with a good anti-virus program, like Norton’s. It all
helps to make sure your files don't disappear before your eyes and you still
have your work protected in future. Just
as nasty is the latest CitiBank scam. The ones traveling in the wild were actual
images of CitiBank’s website so it looked exactly like CitiBank's site. If you
work with graphics very much you know how to spot a graphic as opposed to
straight text. It may be very hard to see but if you look closely at the email
screen, you can detect the slightest gray color background. Pretty sloppy for
nasty hackers. Geez, if it’s worth doing it’s worth doing well. These people
can forget about ever being employed by the likes of Dell or Verizon. Panic
and chaos. My work here is done. Lyne Royce is a freelance writer living near Phoenix with one devoted husband and six spoiled cats. All are strays, including the devoted husband. Lyne likes stray cats, the Arizona desert and 80's rock. After fifteen years teaching software classes, Lyne decided to listen to Thalia, her muse, who had been beating Lyne over the head with a baseball bat to get her attention. Lyne currently belongs to several writers' discussion groups and is a member of The Net Wits, National Association of Women Writers, and Southwest Writers organizations. Lyne is also a contributing columnist at www.ewritersplace.com and Absolute Write. Contact Lyne at Lyne2@WrittenWell.com. Click here for past columns.
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