"Microsoft isn't 100% to blame for anything, to be sure, but I just cannot buy this sentiment about Microsoft being a victim in even the smallest way. They deserve to be a target because they are the world's richest company that has ample resources to prevent these worms if they truly want to do so. Windows XP was their big opportunity to make a shift in how operating systems and incorporated applications are presented to users, and not only did they ignore the chance to tighten things up, the situation has gotten worse. Raw sockets, an inadequate firewall (which will be enabled by default soon), Messenger service exploitation, UPnP flaws and a general snow job about how XP is Microsoft's most secure operating system yet have only done harm." Randy continues: "If there is one thing to take away from all of this, it's that there is no single point of blame, but there is only one point of prevention. The creators of the exploits are obviously criminals, users have the ability to help in some way (but that's an unrealistic expectation), and I think most of all, Microsoft owns the largest share of negligence because of the well-known and often-predicted security disasters. It was a given that XP would be able to be abused long before it was ever released. What did Microsoft do about it? What did they do about the useless, wide-open services with XP SP1? Messenger, UPnP and raw sockets were left alone. Microsoft is providing the weapons, and the ammo is freely available. Perhaps now that Microsoft is in the line of fire, they'll redesign the safety system... perhaps not."

"What's most interesting to me about this whole thing is the several Mac users that have contacted me repeatedly wondering if these huge news stories affect them. Some have even believed they propagated a worm using their Mac. These don't only affect Windows users, as it turns out, and the lost time and productivity dealing with the concern is just as damaging." Well, even if they're not infected with the original bug, inboxes are OS neutral. There's food for thought - and we've got nothing but time to think.

Yours Digitally,              
Randy and Chris       

GnomeDOWNLOADS

Stamp v2.4 [1.9M] W9x/2k/XP FREE

http://www.klingebiel.com/tempest/hd/Stamp.htm

{Timestamp digital camera files} My photo albums of each child are organized from oldest to newest photos. Typically, digital camera photos are given names like img0001, img0002, and that is the order the photos were taken. However, img0001 could've been taken a week earlier than img0002. Stamp will rename the files any one of three ways, but all three have a date and timestamp in the filename so you can see exactly when the photo was taken. You can preview the names before changing them and move or copy them to the same or new folder. The user documentation is clear and useful for those who need a little extra help. For me, I successfully ran the program without reading the help file. [Meryl]

Abilon v1.22 [355k] W98/2k/XP FREE

http://www.mywebattack.com/gnomeapp.php?id=106998

Abilon is a very nice news aggregator for XML/RSS feeds. It comes loaded with various interesting sources, and you can remove or add new ones as you please. Besides the clean and easy-to-use interface, it offers custom checking intervals per item as well as filtering based on the content. If any feeds are updated, Abilon alerts you with a pop-up balloon from the system tray. The program also includes a small blogging tool that lets you post your own blog entries to Blogger, LiveJournal, or MovableType. Additional features include advanced search options, import/export and more. [MWA]

Synchromagic Pro [2.0M] W9x/2k/XP US$29.95

http://windows.fileoftheday.com/archives/006948.html

Synchromagic is an intelligently-designed utility to perform foolproof synchronization of files and directories, with many useful options, including foolproof synchronization of files and directories, either one-way or bi-directionally. Tasks can also be performed over a local area network, FTP, and at Internet kiosks. Silent mode, shutdown after synch, and e-mail reporting are included. Useful silent mode allows administrators to synch without users interrupting or corrupting synchronizations. Synchromagic also gives the option to transfer only if files are on target. The program can also be used to create a mirror site for disaster recovery or to back up files, directories, and even entire drives. Specific tasks can be saved and performed at the click of a button.

Synchromagic features a handy separate ScanFolder utility to compare directories to determine disk space allocation and show at a glance where all the data is stored. Files can be selected or excluded by either byte size or extension. Exclude specific folders and files. Seamless integration with Windows Scheduler provides many scheduling options. An RAS dialup utility is included to support remote area dial-up, synch, e-mail reports to administration, and shutdown. There's a new kiosk mode to delete files on source after synch, and language interface plugins are available for different languages. Additional parameters include deleting new files/directories that were modified after last synchronization, and the option to use settings as a pattern for new tasks. [FOTD]

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Protect Your Privacy: Shred Sensitive Files With These Utilities
You may not know it, but when you delete a file, it can still be recovered. These files destroy data and preclude any possibility of future recovery.
http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/collection/0,collid,1278,tk,lg,00.asp

Sure Delete v5.1
http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description/0,fid,22393,tk,lg,00.asp
Permanently wipe all traces of a file from your hard drive.

Disk Cleanup v4.4
http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description/0,fid,5048,tk,lg,00.asp
Permanently remove any traces of deleted files from your hard disk.

BCWipe v3.03
http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description/0,fid,6270,tk,lg,00.asp
Completely erase files from your hard drive by overwriting them with random data.

SafeClean Utilities v3.02
http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description/0,fid,22386,tk,lg,00.asp
Clean up your drive by getting rid of files programs leave behind.

Active@ Kill Disk Hard Drive Eraser v1.1
http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description/0,fid,22920,tk,lg,00.asp
Destroy data on your hard drive, excluding any possibility of future recovery.

GnomeCLICKS

GnomeSYSTEM

Tortoise CVS v1.4.5 [4.2M] W9x/2k/XP FREE

http://www.tortoisecvs.org/

{Version control} As organized as I am even with computer documents, I sometimes lose track of the versions and go nuts. Version control is a painful issue for many of us, and we try to create processes to ease the pain. Even in my day job as a process analyst with documented procedures, we get mixed up. This is for simple word processor documents, so I can imagine it's a nightmare for developers since I work in a development shop. Users using TortoiseCVS can check out modules, update, commit, and see differences by right clicking on files and folders within Explorer. You can see the state of a file with overlays on top of the normal icons. Those on Win95 should read the FAQ about the icon overlays. [Meryl]

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GnomeFAVORITE

Rent a Coder

http://www.rentacoder.com/

{Hire and bid on coding projects} You may have seen Web sites where freelancers can bid on projects posted by businesses needing assistance. Rent a Coder works similarly by giving businesses the opportunity to post projects needing development help. Currently, there is no charge to use the service. However, like eBay, when the coder is the highest bidder, a 15% of the winning amount goes to Rent a Coder. I think that's fair, especially since they don't charge membership fees, and eBay has been successful with this method. It's not just for programmers, though, as there are categories for graphic designers, data entry, documentation, networking, testing, and Web design. Competition is fierce as there are a lot of bidders per project. [Meryl]

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GnomeTIPS

jrmiller writes: "Greetings! I have 20 new computers in my labs running Windows XP Pro. When they're idle at the "Ctrl-Alt-Delete" screen, I'd like to use the 3DText screen saver to display the name of our University. Following the instructions in MS Knowledgebase article Q314493 'HOW TO: Change the Windows Logon Screen Saver in Windows XP' I can get the 3DText screen saver to load, but the only text it displays is 'Microsoft Windows.' I tried changing a few registry keys, but none made a difference. Anyone have a clue which registry entry needs to be changed to allow me to customize the text? Thanks."

Wolf offers, "Just log in as the Administrator and change the text to what you want it to be. You can do this by right-clicking any empty part of the Desktop, select Properties, and then click on the Screen Saver tab. Change it to the text you want it to be by clicking on 'Settings.' Click Ok, and Ok, and you're done. The text you select in the Administrator account should be the text that will display when you are not logged in and the Screen Saver is active. Hope this helps!"

Buster2058 gives us another option: "Here's the answer I found for your question. I messed around with this for over an hour and couldn't get a satisfactory display. After completing the instructions in MS Knowledgebase article Q314493, I then added the following keys following the instructions from here:

[HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Screen Saver.3DText]
"Font"="Tahoma"
"Text"="TxtHere16charmax"

"You can save/import the above reg file if you want, or add them manually. I imported the user settings for sstext3d.scr, but that did not work satisfactorily either. Your best option might be to use ssmarque.scr (it worked flawlessly) or install a better third-party screensaver on all 20 machines." [Jim and his Hosting Special]

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Claymore replies: "Go to Control Panel | Internet Options | Connections. Click 'Never dial a connection.' In the same window, click the LAN button and select 'Automatically detect settings.' Remember - if you go back to dial-up you will have to change the above connection setting." [Jim and his Hosting Special]

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