eCurrents | September 2009

Warning! - Hackers Exploit Vulnerabilities In Adobe Tools

Cybercriminals are taking advantage of critical vulnerabilities in Adobe's Flash video player and Acrobat Reader, the widely used tool for opening PDF documents. They've been e-mailing PDF files with corrupted Flash video clips and hacking into websites to implant them. These clips, when activated, quickly install malicious programs on the user's computer. The goal is to gain control of PCs and turn them into obedient "bots" to steal data, siphon cash from online financial accounts, and spread spam.

Acrobat Reader is an increasingly popular target. Some 43% of the 1,500 cyberattacks identified by security firm F-Secure in the first six months of 2009 were directed at Acrobat Reader, up from nearly 29% last year. That puts Acrobat Reader ahead of Microsoft Word, which was targeted in 40% of this year's attacks.

If you use these Adobe tools and your computer is set for automatic updates, you should be receiving alerts about recommended software updates and security patches issued by Adobe. If not, go directly to the Adobe website at http://www.adobe.com/support/security for current information. You can also sign up for their security notification service at http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/entitlement/index.cfm?e=szalert.

Remember that for security reasons, it's always best to go directly to a software website by entering the URL yourself rather than clicking on a link found on YouTube or in an unsolicited e-mail message. When you're alerted of a needed software update, take the time to install it right then rather than deferring the installation until later. You may forget and the oversight could lead to computer headaches or worse.

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Travelers Get An Upgrade From 3 Rivers

We have good news for 3 Rivers' Internet customers who travel away from home with their laptops and have had trouble in the past sending e-mail. Previously, if you were not on your home connection, you may have been unable to send e-mail using Outlook or Outlook Express from your 3rivers.net account. Due to a recent upgrade of 3 Rivers' mail server, that problem has been eliminated. There is a small configuration change needed in your e-mail client to take advantage of this improvement. If you take your laptop on the road and have faced this issue in the past, call our Internet tech support number at 1-888-783-7354, and a support specialist will be glad to assist you with getting your e-mail set up to use this feature.

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Ask The Help Desk - Is There Any Harm In Forwarding Those E-mails That Ask Me To Send The Message To 10 Of My Friends?

Question: I frequently receive e-mails that advise me to not "break the chain" and forward the news item, consumer warning, or touching poem to 10 of my friends. I usually go ahead and do it, figuring that people will enjoy reading the messages and may gain something from them. Is this a bad idea?

Answer: An e-mail chain letter is any message that, either through overt instruction or through compelling content, encourages the reader to pass it on. You ask whether it's a bad idea to forward them, and the answer is "yes" for a couple of reasons.

First of all, many of these e-mail chain letters are complete hoaxes and contain inaccurate information. If you forward them, you could be spreading rumors, urban legends, and fake charitable activities. Secondly, they pose a serious risk to your privacy and that of your friends, as your contact information could end up being circulated around the globe and falling into the hands of cybercriminals.

Most people who forward e-mail chain letters believe they are doing something good by staying in touch and giving family and friends potentially useful information. From now on, however, we suggest that you go ahead and "break the chain."

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Sites Of The Month - Great Sites To Check Out In September

TV Time
http://tv.com - Leaves aren't the only things that change in the fall—so do the programs on the TV schedule. This site provides video clips, listings, top 20 lists, and features about the upcoming TV season and beyond. Find out what's happening with your favorite shows, find some new ones, and let others know what you think. You can also check out photos of your favorite stars.

And the Winner Is ...
http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Potluck-Show-Stoppers/Detail.aspx - You know it's true. Every potluck get-together has a "winner"—the recipe that gets requested the most. With the rise in popularity of simple at-home entertaining, you'll want to check out this site to make sure your next potluck dish gets the prize. From appetizers and salads to main dishes and desserts, you'll find hundreds of winning options here.

Stood There, Done That
http://stoodthere.com - Sometimes the best part of visiting someplace great is just standing there and taking it in. This site allows you to share that moment with others by uploading photos of yourself in settings ranging from the majesty of the Grand Canyon to the history of Pompeii. You can look at others' photos, vote for your favorites, and discover more of the best places on the planet.

Manual Mine
http://manualsonline.com - Tired of that huge accordion file of product manuals taking up space in your closet? This site may allow you to get rid of it once and for all. ManualsOnline is exactly what the name suggests: electronic versions of hundreds of thousands of manufacturer manuals. Find manuals for camcorders, laptops, lawnmowers, dishwashers, stereo systems, and more. Use the site to store your manuals in one convenient location. And if the manuals don't answer your questions, the site's online community might.

Homework Helper
http://factmonster.com - As the new school year begins, point your kids to Fact Monster, a site that makes homework seem like fun. It's loaded with information on topics ranging from U.S. cities to metric conversions to "Women of Influence." Kids can play brain-twisting games, look up words in the dictionary, or improve their study skills. When they're ready for a study break, they can visit the Harry Potter page or the Best-Selling Video Games of All Time.

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Short Tutorial - Organizing E-mail Into Folders Using Rules

In our August '09 issue, we covered how to create new e-mail folders and manually move e-mails into them. This month we're following up with tutorials on how to organize e-mail into folders using rules or filters—a convenient, automatic way to file e-mails, which is an alternative to using the manual method.

Organizing E-mail Into Folders Using Rules ...
E-mail Program: Outlook Express 6 and Window Mail
Computer Operating System: Windows XP and Windows Vista

1. With Outlook Express or Windows Mail open, click your cursor arrow on "Tools" from the menu bar. Select "Message Rules" from the resulting drop-down menu and then select "Mail..." from the resulting submenu.
2. The New Mail Rule window will open. Choose the conditions for your rule. For this tutorial, we will select "Where the From line contains people" in the "Select the Conditions for your rule:" section.
3. Next, select the actions for your rule. For this tutorial, we will select "Move it to the specified folder" in the "Select the Actions for your rule:" section.
4. In the "Rule Description (click on the underlined value to edit it):" section, click on the "contains people" link.
5. The Select People window will open. Here you can manually type in names and click the "Add" button or you can choose people from your Address Book for Outlook Express or Windows Contacts for Windows Mail. For this tutorial, we will select people saved in the Address Book or Windows Contacts by clicking on the "Address Book..." or "Contacts..." button.
6. The Rule Addresses window will open. Select from the list of saved contacts and click on the "From" button. Once you have selected all individuals to include in your rule, click on the "OK" button.
7. The Select People window will reappear listing the contacts that you have selected for your rule. Click on the "OK" button.
8. The New Mail Rule window will reappear and the selected people for your rule will now appear in the "Rule Description (click on the underlined value to edit it):" section.
9. Next select the folder location into which you want the messages stored by clicking the "specified folder" link in the "Rule Description (click on the underlined value to edit it):" section.
10. The Move window will appear. Select the appropriate folder you want the messages stored in and click on the "OK" button.
11. In the "Name of the rule:" section, type in the rule name and click on the "OK" button to close the New Mail Rule window.
12. To create more rules, click on the "New" button in the Message Rules window. Otherwise, click on the "OK" button to save your changes.

Organizing E-mail Into Folders Using Filters ...
E-mail Program: Mozilla Thunderbird 2.0
Computer Operating System: Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Mac OS X

1. With Thunderbird open, click your cursor arrow on "Tools" from the menu bar. Select "Message Filters..." from the resulting drop-down menu.
2. The Message Filters window will open. Click on the "New..." button.
3. In the "Filter name:" field, type in the name of the filter.
4. When the Filter Rules window opens, choose the conditions for your filter in the "For incoming messages that:" section. Click the button next to "Match all of the following," "Match any of the following," or "Match all messages" depending on how general or specific you want your filter to be.
5. For this tutorial, we will select "From" and "is" from the drop-down menus.
6. Type in the person or phrase you want to filter in the empty box to the right.
7. In the "Perform these actions:" section, choose "Move Message to" from the first drop-down menu. In the second drop-down menu, choose the file location you want the message to be stored in, and then click on the "OK" button.
8. The Message Filters window will reappear and you should see the filter you just created. Highlight the filter, click on the "Run Now" button, and then close the Message Filters window.

Organizing E-mail Into Folders Using Filters ...
E-mail Program: Apple Mail.app 3.1
Computer Operating System: Mac OS X

1. With Mail.app open, click your cursor arrow on "Mail" from the menu bar. Select "Preferences" from the resulting drop-down menu.
2. The Preferences window will open. Click on the "Rules" button.
3. Click on the "Add Rule" button.
4. When the Rules window opens, type a name for the rule in the field next to "Description." Now choose the conditions for your rule by clicking on the button in the line that reads, "If any of the following conditions are met:" Your choices are "any" or "all." "All" is the more restrictive choice.
5. Next, set the specific conditions for the rule. For this tutorial, we will select "From" and "Contains" from the drop-down menus.
6. Type in the person, phrase, or e-mail address you want to filter in the empty field to the right.
7. In the "Perform the following actions:" section, choose "Move Message" from the first drop-down menu. In the second drop-down menu, choose the file location you want the message to be stored in and then click on the "OK" button.
8. If you would like the new rule immediately applied to selected mailboxes, click the "Apply" button. Otherwise, click "Don't Apply."
9. The Rules window will reappear and you should see the filter you just created. Click on the red dot in the upper left corner to close the window.

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