 | The
mind, once expanded to the dimensions of larger ideas, never returns to
its original size. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes
| Kerrville
Texas
830-895-5016 |
| What's
Up This Week? | Sunday, January 1, 2006 | Archives |
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 What's In Here?Lots of cool and
informative stuff every week! I'm dubbing this
week's issue the New Year Edition. Our Ctrl-Alt-Backspace
section includes a special click-link image to transport you to the origins of the Hogmanay New Year's Celebration. Enjoy!
Click any of
these links to go
directly to your favorite section...
Missed an
issue?Check out
past issues here...Archives
 Hear
Ye! Hear Ye!
Sometimes
we have
special sales, important notices about virus outbreaks or
other technical
bulletins. Call 830-895-5016 if you're
interested in any sale items we might list here. But please click here to read our disclaimer before
visiting any third-party websites.
New Zero-Day Exploit Threatens XP Users
"For
years, one of the most troubling trends in the security industry has
been the ever-shrinking "time to exploit." That is, the time between
the discovery of a system vulnerability and the emergence of malware
exploiting that vulnerability. Ultimately, the trend ends with zero-day
exploits, which tap previously unreported vulnerabilities and leave
vendors and security firms with no time to respond."
Read the complete article at...
http://redmondmag.com/news/article.asp?editorialsid=7111
Keep Up-To-Date on Current Unpatched Vulnerabilities
http://www.eeye.com/html/Research/Upcoming/index.html
A Tangled Web of Services
"Every
now and then Bill Gates writes a memo talking about a fundamental new
direction for Microsoft. For all the healthy brain cells in his head,
those "new" directions are occasionally something a competitor is
already doing."
Read the complete article at...
http://redmondmag.com/columns/article.asp?editorialsid=1193
Start The New Year Right
You don't have time for your computer to break down. Soon it will be
tax filing season and you need your computer to perform reliably more
than ever without hardware or software failures. Most hardware related
problems start out with a simple failure of the power supply cooling
fan. Ever so quiet and nefarious, this causes a build-up of heat that can fry other delicate
components and lead to disk drive failures and loss of important data.
Call me at 895-5016 to schedule a PC Checkup and I'll perform the
following critical services to ensure your PC is healthy for the New
Year...
- Inspect for damaged or improperly seated components.
- Check for frayed cables and loose connections.
- Check the operation of your CPU and power supply cooling fans.
- Remove dust or other particulate matter from the interior of your PC case.
- Check your antivirus status.
- Check your security and critical updates status.
You
may still be able to get mileage out of your old PC. We can give it a
PC Checkup and and clean it up so you can either donate it to a worthy
cause or give it to a youngster in time for Christmas. Check the
following link for more information about our PC Checkup Service...
http://www.bictx.com/checkups.shtml
Latest Virus
Threats
W32.Dabora.B@mm
W32.Dabora.B@mm is a mass-mailing worm that mimics financial Web sites.
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.dabora.b@mm.html
Trojan.Spamlia
Trojan.Spamlia is a Trojan horse that sends SPAM email to all recipients in the Windows Address Book.
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/trojan.spamlia.html
Trojan.Infticker
Trojan.Infticker is a Trojan horse that displays a ticker at the top of the screen stating the compromised computer is infected.
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/trojan.infticker.html
Sober Worm Alert!
Make
sure your anti-virus software is completely up-to-date before January
5, 2006. Check out the full alert article here and mark your calendars
to check your Windows computer's anti-virus status. You'll need to
ensure that your virus definition files are up-to-date, not just your
subscription status, otherwise your PC could fall victim to the Sober
Worm.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2005-12-07-sober-worm_x.htm
Check For New Sale Items In Our Online Store...
 Fun
Stuff
Each
week we stumble across interesting, educational and fun sites on the
internet.
We hope you enjoy this section of our
newsletter as much as we do! But please click here to read our disclaimer before
visiting any third-party websites.
Snowball Fight
Just
because you live in Texas doesn't mean you can't have a snowball fight.
Pack 'em tight and see how many points you can score without hitting
Santa...
http://www.elfmovie.com/swf/snowball_fight/index.html
Sorting Through 2005's Major Weirdage
Contributed
by one of our readers, this MSNBC page has a comprehensive list of some
of the weirdest and interesting news events of 2005. Enjoy...
http://www.msnbc.com/comics/nw.asp
So You Think You Know It All?
Fun facts contributed by one of our readers...
http://www.studmaster.net/knowitall.html
Challenge Your Senses!
Put
your senses to the test with this quiz and see how well you perform. It
contains 20 timed questions and takes about 10 minutes. Enjoy!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/body/interactives/senseschallenge/senses.swf
Have You Ever Had A Pork Martini?
http://www.echonyc.com/~jkarpf/home/martini.html
Aerial Reconnaissance Archives
"During
World War II, photographic reconnaissance played a major part in
military intelligence. The techniques that were developed then gave
intelligence officers the ability to view the enemy's activities in 3D,
and make highly accurate assessments."
http://www.evidenceincamera.co.uk/
Some Techies Will Like These Network Calculators
http://www.subnetmask.info/
You Are Hereby Invited To Tour Mr. Bill Gate's Estate
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/tech/billgate/gates.htm
What Do The Stanzas of Our National Anthem Mean?
The late Isaac Asimov wrote an interesting article about our national anthem and it's worth reading...
http://www.purewatergazette.net/asimov.htm
Awesome Chalk Artist!
Definitely
worth visiting this site to see some of artwork done entirely with
chalk. He also does sculptures (but not with chalk)...
http://www.kurtwenner.com/gallery/index.htm
 Web
Hosting
Tips
Do
you
have a domain website hosting account with
us? If so, you'll want to check this section for handy tips
to
help make your website standout from the crowd. Sometimes
we'll
give tips about working with your Plesk Control Panel. But please click here to read our disclaimer before
visiting any third-party websites.
Gallery Remote
Gallery
Remote is a client-side Java application that provides users with a
rich front-end to Gallery. This application makes it easier to upload
images to your Gallery.
http://gallery.menalto.com/wiki/Gallery_Remote
Do You Have A Hosting Account With Us?Then
install Gallery for free from your Plesk Control Panel and you can upload, maintain, and share your
favorite photos across the internet Take a gander at our
very own Gallery (still a work-in-progress) and you'll see some awesome
Texas Hill Country and Rose photography... http://www.bictx.com/gallery/
 Linspire
Linux Tips
Linspire
Linux is a great operating system designed to be the easiest of all desktop linux distributions.
If
you haven't tried it for yourself yet, ask for a free demo CD the next
time we service your computer. But please click here to read our disclaimer before
visiting any third-party websites.
Do You Know Someone Who Got A New Computer For Christmas?
It's
only a matter of weeks before they will have become infected with
spyware, adware, pop-ups or worse. That new computer will no
longer run fast and in no time it will become an oversized paper
weight. If you really want to help them out, don't spend endless hours
trying to fix their PC. Ask them to give us a call at 895-5016 and
we'll discuss their options to get away from Microsoft Windows in this
New Year. Besides, not everybody can make the switch to Linux but
we can sure help in their decision-making process. We can obtain
Linspire Linux and help them say a permanent goodbye to spyware,
adware, pop-ups, and virus problems.
http://www.linspire.com/products_linspire_whatis.php
Linspire Linux Tip of
The Week
Don't
forget to check the archive link at that page for previous tips...
http://www.linspire.com/tooltips.php
Latest Linspire Letter....
http://www.linspire.com/linspire_letter.php
Michael's Latest Minute...
http://www.michaelrobertson.com/
 Microsoft
Windows
Tips
Microsoft Windows is
still the operating system that most people are familiar with.
Many businesses have based their requirements around
this
commercial operating system and so it remains the cornerstone of our
onsite support service. But please click here to read our disclaimer before
visiting any third-party websites. Exactly How Fast Is Your CPU?
http://www.bictx.com/tip5-28-03.shtml
Free Notable Software Download...
(click
the image)
|
And ye, who have met with Adversity's blast,
And been bow'd to the earth by its fury;
To whom the Twelve Months, that have recently pass'd
Were as harsh as a prejudiced jury -
Still, fill to the Future! and join in our chime,
The regrets of remembrance to cozen,
And having obtained a New Trial of Time,
Shout in hopes of a kindlier dozen.
~Thomas Hood (poet) 1799-1845
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I
hope you've enjoyed this edition of our weekly newsletter. I try to
make each week's edition different and special by including meaningful
computer tips and links to fun, educational, and scientific websites.
If
you have any items of interest you might like to see addressed in the
future, or you have any Fun Stuff links of your own that you might like
to share, drop me an email and we'll see if we can include them for you.
Visit
the following website if you want
to subscribe or (gasp!) unsubscribe...
http://lists.bictx.com/mailman/listinfo/brightideas
Meanwhile,
don't forget to keep your computer's anti-virus current and your
critical and security patches up-to-date for the most reliable
computing experiences on the internet.
Happy
Computing!
Tomas
Bright Ideas Computing
Kerrville,
Texas
http://www.bictx.com
830-895-5016
|
Please
make sure that you possess the fundamental and required skill sets
before you implement any advice or attempt to perform any
troubleshooting steps we, or other websites, might recommend. You
should also be advised that we have no control over how you perform any
troubleshooting steps nor do we have any control over the content of
other third-party websites you might visit that are listed in our
weekly newsletter. We also do not know if you have patched your
computer with the latest security updates nor do we know if your
anti-virus definition files are fully up-to-date.
Therefore,
in
no event shall Bright Ideas Computing or any of its third-party product
or service providers be liable to any person for any special,
incidental, indirect, consequential, or punitive damages of any kind,
including, without limitation, those resulting from loss of use, loss
of data, or lost profits, in connection with any advice provided by
Bright Ideas Computing, damages resulting from visiting third-party
websites or damages resulting from implementing any advice from those
third-party websites, whether or not you are advised of the possibility
of such damages.
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