Lots of cool, fun, and informative stuff every week!
I'm dubbing this week's issue the Albert Schweitzer Edition. If you don't already know about this outstanding Nobel Peace Prize Winner, our Ctrl-Alt-Backspace section includes special click-links to transport you to educational and informational websites.

Help! I Heard That FTP Is Not a Secure Method of File Transfer.
That is a true statement. The reason it's not secure is because it transmits your username and password in the clear and not in an encrypted form. This means that hackers using eavesdropping software might be able to intercept your username and password resulting in a hack of your website.

Here are some simple rules when using FTP to upload or download files...


There are some alternatives to use in both the Windows and Linux environments. One of the best is what is called Secure Shell (SSH) and is used as a secure method of connecting between two computers. For Windows you might try WinSCP and for Linux you might try gFTP. Don't let the name of gFTP fool you because it also includes options for switching into SSH mode. Both WinSCP and gFTP support SSH for file transfers. Trust me, the small learning curve is worth the peace of mind knowing that your username and password are not being broadcast for the world of hackers to sniff out.

How Strong Is Your Password?
I can't stress enough the importance of password security. You'd be surprised to know how many people use the pets' names, kids' names, streets they live on, or even just never change a temporary password whose only intended purpose is to be easily remembered. Here is a web page at Microsoft that will let you test how weak or how strong that little "susie" or "fluffy" password really is...
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/privacy/password_checker.mspx

Do You Want To See A Map of Where Your Website Visitors Are Coming From?
Then sign up for a ClustrMap. This is a free service, provided that your website does not exceed more than 2,500 visits each day. Don't confuse visits with hits, they're not the same. If you want an explanation of the difference between hits and visits, then check out the Web Hosting Tips of my February 5, 2006 issue. Meanwhile, you can see a ClustrMap in action at our website in the lower left corner at http://www.bictx.com and then sign up for your own ClustrMap at...
http://www.clustrmaps.com/index.htm

Don't make your email address available for spam harvesting!
There are many software products that spammers and bulk emailers use to browse domain websites in order to automatically collect email addresses from the underlying HTML. If you post your email address in plain ascii format, these software products will automatically pick it up and add it to a spam emailing list. This can result in a tremendous increase of spam email that you have to deal with...
http://www.bictx.com/encrypt.shtml

I can't stress enough the importance of password security. You'd be surprised to know how many people use the pets' names, kids' names, streets they live on, or even just never change a temporary password whose only intended purpose is to be easily remembered. Here is a web page at Microsoft that will let you test how weak or how strong that little "susie" or "fluffy" password really is...
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/privacy/password_checker.mspx

LimeWire - No Bundled Spyware, Adware or Trojans
Sooner or later your kids are going to load one of those P2P (point-to-point) file sharing programs that are notorious for installing spyware on your PC like the Kazaa music sharing service. Well, why don't you take preemptive action and show them a much safer alternative called LimeWire? LimeWire takes pride in offering a clean product and they even have a link on their page with tips about using P2P software safely...
http://www.limewire.com/english/content/home.shtml

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