Date: Sun, 10 Jan 1999 08:21:28 -0600
Reply-To: TOURBUS-Request@LISTSERV.AOL.COM
Sender: The Internet TourBus - A virtual tour of cyberspace
Comments: Resent-From: crispen@netsquirrel.com
Comments: Originally-From: Patrick Douglas Crispen
From: crispen@NETSQUIRREL.COM
Subject: TOURBUS -- 7 JANUARY 1999 -- GAMES.YAHOO.COM / PICTURE.EXE
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Howdy, y'all! I apologize for the tardiness of today's TOURBUS post. I
was in Philadelphia on Thursday and Friday for a job interview, and I
have been feeling a little "under the weather" since then (I think I am
allergic to Yankees).
I want to thank the folks at "Woody's Office Watch," "World Wide
Store," and "Affordable Computer Supply Marketplace" for bringing
today's holiday journey of our little bus of Internet happiness to you.
Please take a moment to visit today's sponsors and thank them for
keeping TOURBUS on the road!
+--------------- BREAKTHROUGH SHOPPING ADVANCEMENT! -----------------+
Adventure into a "realistic dimensional" shopping environment.
Sidescroll thru doorways, stores and aisles. Merchandise items pop up
from shelves. A small shopping basket follows you thru the mall.
Three levels and 12 stores to shop from.
WorldWide Store - The Internet Place to Shop.
+------------------ http://www.worldwidestore.com -------------------+
+------------- SAVE! 2 FOR 1 ON MOST INKJET CARTRIDGES --------------+
EPSON S0220089: 2 FOR $25 / EPSON SO20189: 2 FOR $26 / EPSON SO20191
2 FOR $26 / CANON BCI-21: 2 FOR $10.50 / CANON BJI-201: 2 FOR $8
ONE HP 51645A $19.99 / EPSON SO20093: 2 FOR $14.50 / VISIT OUR SITE
FOR FANTASTIC PRICES. CHECK OUT OUR "NEW LINE" OF MEDIA PAPERS!
+------ http://www.acsmsupplies.com/tourbus.htm * 888-429-9373 ------+
On with the show ...
One of TOURBUS' traditions is our annual Frequently Asked Questions
post. This is not that post. :P
Actually, I had planed to send you the FAQ post today, but an ugly
little urban legend recently popped up that I felt deserved squishing.
So, today's post contains that urban legend, along with an except from
a TOURBUS Plus post I recently wrote on Java-based games. But, be
looking for our annual TOURBUS FAQ post on Thursday (I should be over
my Yankee-itis by then). :)
---------------
GAMES.YAHOO.COM
---------------
Our first stop is at
.
The games.yahoo.com site offers seventeen different free Java-based
games, ranging from backgammon and chess to spades and bridge. Even
better, all of the site's games are both interactive and multi-player.
You "compete" real-time with other online players around the world.
The drawback to this is that, at least in games that require you to
have a partner, you run the risk of having a partner who is absolutely
clueless (for example, I was once paired with an online spades partner
who was holding seven spades and still bid nil). Actually, even those
situations are pretty fun because each "gaming room" also offers live
chat capabilities (so you can either make fun of your clueless partner
or, if you are like me, you can CHEAT and send signals to your
partner). :)
The only things you need to play any of the games at games.yahoo.com is
a Java-enabled browser (like Internet Explorer 3.0 or Netscape 3.0 or
higher) and a Yahoo "identity." If you already have an account with
another Yahoo Feature (My Yahoo, Yahoo Chat, etc.), you already have a
Yahoo identity. And, of course, you can always sign up for a free
Yahoo identity at
http://edit.my.yahoo.com/config/eval_register .
One word of warning about games.yahoo.com and other Java game sites: it
takes a little while for each game's Java applet to load. Patience
(coupled with a fast Internet connection) is a virtue.
---------------------------------------------
IS PICTURE.EXE REALLY WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS?
---------------------------------------------
Imagine if your local TV newscaster warned you that
This just in: The Beretta 92FS Centurion model pistol could pose
a serious danger to you and your loved ones! If you point the
open end of a Beretta 92FS Centurion model pistol at another
person and pull the trigger, you could seriously hurt or even
kill that person. So remember, beware of Beretta 92FS
Centurion model pistols!
Obviously, this warning is pretty silly. *EVERYONE* knows that if you
point a gun at someone and pull the trigger, you could (and probably
will) hurt that person. This is true for *ALL* guns, regardless of the
gun's make or model.
Is our "Beretta warning" story accurate? Technically, it is. Pointing
a Beretta pistol at someone and pulling the trigger can indeed be
dangerous. But, is the story newsworthy? ABSOLUTLELY NOT!
Enter Bob Sullivan
------------------
On January 6th, MSNBC correspondent Bob Sullivan wrote an article
warning that
If you receive an attachment in e-mail called "picture.exe,"
don’t open it. If you do, what happens next reads a bit like a
spy novel this Trojan horse drops two more programs called
note.exe and manager.exe which will search through your internet
cache directory and, if you have one, the directory that holds
your America Online username and password. It then encrypts that
information, tries to establish an Internet connection, and sends
it all to an e-mail address in China.
[quoted from http://www.msnbc.com/news/229572.asp]
Is Sullivan's article accurate? Yes. There is indeed a file called
"picture.exe" that contains [or at least *COULD* contain] a Trojan
horse. Is Sullivan's article newsworthy? HARDLY!
Password-stealing programs are nothing new. According to Rob
Rosenberger at the Computer Virus Myths homepage
(http://www.kumite.com/myths/), "AOL has known about password-stealing
programs for *years*." Even worse, there are several *BILLION* file
names out that that could contain a virus or a Trojan horse.
"Picture.exe" is just ONE of those file names.
How can you protect yourself from viruses and Trojan horses?
1. Ignore every single warning that tells you to beware of a
particular file name, even if that warning comes from MSNBC.
Since several billion files names could conceivably contain a
virus or a Trojan horse, warnings like these are an absolute
waste of time.
2. Purchase a good antivirus program at your local computer store
and update your virus definitions often (look in the
software's owners manual for instructions on how to update the
definitions).
3. In the words of Rob Rosenberger, "[b]eware any file sent by
someone you don't know. Beware any file sent by someone you DO
know."
And, of course, beware of Beretta 92FS Centurion model pistols! :P
--------------------------------
TODAY'S SOUTHERN WORD OF THE DAY
--------------------------------
LAYMAN (Noun). A sour fruit.
Usage: "Git me another piece of that layman pie."
[Special thanks to Juan P. Robertson for today's wurd]
You can find all of the old Southern Words of the day at
http://netsquirrel.com/crispen/word.html
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(\__/) .' ) )) Patrick Douglas Crispen
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