cameramonkey

Is it just me, or is anyone else having wreck dot nightmares about ALF's now?

Actually, I heard in another thread that he moved it... the server is now in Texas

any ideas why I cant reply to messages?

started to read that as " how many canadian jumpers does it take....." LOL

On a similar note, what annoys me is when you drink good (read pricey) beer, and the masses that only want to pay the price of a coors or miller light bring a case of said beer to share. At the end of the evening, they take the attitude that all the beer is community since everyone "chipped in" and brought beer. Sure enough, your green bottles are the FIRST to go. They seem to take the attitude that its a fair trade that they should drink your green bottles and you can drink thier canned pee... I mean cheap domestics. I feel bad not "sharing", but it just isnt fair. (especially when you only get 1 beer out of your 6 because your green bottles didnt even make it thru the first round. ) Yes, some of us actually buy beer that tastes good, not just something to choke down to get us drunk. /vent

Ya'll (put the twang in for Jessica) know why women have smaller feet? So she can get closer to the stove! What do you tell a woman with two black eyes? Nothin! Ya already done told her twice! Man this thread is bringing out the worst (jokes) in all of us.

you heard the latest? that these problems are an intentional thing? its really a conspiracy to make the net so wild that the govt can come in and take control and govern it. scary, but isnt completely implausable.

I think I might have another idea. Donna, Just for giggles, I would find someone else with a CURRENT (updated virus list within the last 2 weeks) copy of norton antivirus and make a set of rescue disks. boot your pc with those disks and run a scan on your pc. ( I can burn a CD and send it if all else fails) what can explain you not finding any viruses, is that some have the ability to mask themselves from scanning software. These are called "stealth" viruses. the only way to detect and remove them is if they are not running at the time in memory. booting off clean disks will prevent it from loading and hiding itself. overall it sounds to me like maybe we have two people at odds because of a sneaky piece of virus crap, that is causing bad feelings all around without either party understanding exactly what is going on. (perfectly natural) Just wish I could clear it up so everyone is happy again. oh well, slowly but surely.

and another... tried responding to a private msg from airann... keeps giving me an error that there is no TO: feild specified. tried replying and sending fresh, but get the same error.

last I heard it was against MC's merchant agreement to charge more for a CC purchase.... HOWEVER... giving a "cash discount" can be construed as acceptable, but its still a grey area.

I noticed that although I filled in my email address in my profile, its still showing my home page URL in both the home page AND email fields when clicking on my profile from one of my posts. Am I smoking crack? Gilligan (the new server is GREAT BTW! Just when I thought it couldnt get better LOL)

nahh... at least she waited till Grandma died...:)

"Hello, I'd like to buy an argument please..."

Nah... girls fly better than that.

do what I had one of my teammates that FF's try with me. launch a 2 way with both gripping the harness above the handles. do what they tell you to do with your legs if it doesnt stay vertical (been a while so I forgot) and you'll have a blast. I had fun, but head down isnt for me... goes by too fast, and just isnt as fun for me. oh well *shrug*. Wish I could afford to make it, but the past 4 months havent been good to my business. :( Hell, even if I could grab my vidiot gear and get all the jumps paid for, dont think I could swing the rest of the expenses (travel, food, etc). Have fun without me!!

It all has to do with volumes of transactions. DZ's have a small number (relatively) of CC transactions per day, so they pay a higher fee per transaction than say, Target or Wal-mart. That is one contributing factor, plus factor in that (in theory) DZ margins are much tighter than other places. Without that CC surcharge, some places might actually be technically paying YOU to use the card(3% markup-4% fee... oops now 1% below "cost"), as the margin might be below the 4% they have to pay the CC company. I dont agree, but I understand. just my .02

its a show running in real time about a day in the life of an FBI agent charged with preventing an iminent assasination of a black presidential candidate. He is also searching for his teen daughter that ran away and disappeared. They call it real time because the entire season takes place over a 24 hour period, with 24 one hour long episodes in the series. I missed it, but it sounds good.

I am sure I am a little out of the loop and probably missing a few key items, but I may have an idea. From the sound of it, this might just be a case of a virus having very bad timing. If this happened back in the early summer, the virus activity was at its highest with code red floating around out there. I have to agree with donna, as I dont see a way for that virus to flow that way. Its probably just a case of the virus coming in coincidentally at the same time that this wreck dot crap (and there is sooooo much of it) went down. (not taking sides, just making professional observations)

As I Indicated, I was oversimplifying terms... otherwise I would have pointed out there are Black hats, white hats (your type) and those that occupy the grey areas in between... I dont like the term "Honkey" either, but I am one so I guess I gotta live with it LOL Remember, I'm not out to explain it all, or be all touchy feely and PC. Just summing this stuff up so the average Joe that just uses a PC for work will be more informed and less dangerous (to himself) as a whole. Gilligan "If you think education is expensive, try seeing how much ignorance costs."

Thanks alot. I have taken some of those editing changes and corrected the (more) final document. (I left the "hacker" term alone as in this geographical area its the more broad definition of an internet person with bad intentions) Its amazing what happens when you spend several hours writing something like that. Even 10 proofreads and edits dont help after a while LOL Anyone else that has ideas for clarifying this, those comments are welcome, especially those that speak english as a second language. (my old english teachers might argue based on my grades its still a second language for me) I will eventually be rolling this out to my clients as a form of user education and want to help make it as clear as possible. the working document is now located here... http://jump.havencomm.com/Internetsecurity.html

another happy way to do it is my way... I have a windows 2000 server with a Streaming Media Server here. No downloading at all. the files play as they download just like watching TV. It has its own drawbacks like lots of bandwidth, slower users get smaller pictures, etc. but it works for me. One of these days I'll find a real home for this server since my cable modem provider limits uploads to 16k/sec :( http://jump.havencomm.com/skyvideo.html

Oops... that link to the chain letter info on my site should be : http://jump.havencomm.com/ODD/chainletter.html

any bets as to whether there will be any USEFUL info such as the fact that thermals from fire tend to cause MAJOR issues wont be represented? I wont make that bet as I am sure it will be one sided and ignorant info as usual.

A surprise rodeo or fruit-loop is one thing, but not one that takes 1000 feet or more. Bad form... especially for an AFFI

AirAnn gave me the idea and I wanted to share with the rest of my skydiving friends. Bear with me as this is pretty long. Hopefully you will consider it worth the reading and learn something new (and hopefully make life easier for yourself as well). This document is still in draft mode, but I am working on getting a working copy on my web site. Check in there for final copies if you wish. http://jump.havencomm.com (Others in the technical fields bear with me and save the flames. Many concepts are generalized and vanilla-ed out for ease of understanding by the masses and may not be 100% accurate, although harmlessly so.) As a professional Network Consultant, every day I run into people that have virus and general security problems, and have no idea that what they were doing was dangerous. Hopefully this will act as a bit of a computer/internet security primer, and prevent many problems later for all my friends. Antivirus software: Most users either don’t use anti virus software, or simply don’t realize the copy they purchased with their system 6 months ago is completely useless. Most users assume that like all other programs they purchase, it will run right out of the box indefinitely. Not true, and here's why. Contrary to popular opinion, virus software doesn’t magically know what a virus is. Here is the basic way it works. Someone in the IT industry notices a strange file doing weird or damaging things. They send that file to someone like Symantec, who analyzes the file. If it is determined that it is truly a virus, they inspect it and learn all they can about it. They then add that file's properties and habits to the virus database. during the next update, your virus software downloads this definitions file and now knows what to look for. here's an analogy that seems to work well in educating my clients. I liken the process to mug shots on a post office wall. You walk down the street and see a shifty looking character. Sure, he's just a shady character, but nothing big, just another person (like your uncle Ed. Scary, but harmless). You visit your post office and see his mug shot on the wall. You now know he was an axe murderer. on the way back home he is still standing there on that same street corner. Now that you have seen his picture, you know he is a wanted felon, and call the police. Without going to the post office, you never would have known he was a criminal. That’s pretty much how the software works; it doesn’t know what to look for till you give it a reference. They estimate that there are dozens of new viruses written per week in the world (most never see the light of day). I recommend Norton Antivirus 2001 or higher (approx retail $50 USD). In my experience, it is the easiest to use, and the easiest to update. By default, it checks the 'net for updates to its database every two weeks in the background and usually never requires input from you. The virus list subscription lasts 1 year. Here is a link to their site with lots of cool and useful info on the subject. http://www.symantec.com/specprog/happypc/index.html If you already have a virus software package installed, check with the manufacturer's website for (most likely) free virus list updates. Email: In today's times, it is very easy to get a virus via email. ESPECIALLY when using the most common reader, Outlook Express. It originally was made more powerful for people like me to distribute system corrections, updates, and modifications, but was quickly exploited by hackers as a means to distribute viruses and cause general mayhem. In general, DO NOT accept ANY attachment from ANYONE unless you are expecting them(not even dear old mum). There are self replicating viruses that use the address book to send itself to all the people you know. Several even add the recipient's name and some comments to the body to make it seem like you sent it. It generally goes something like this. you get a strange spreadsheet from a client. It makes no sense why he would send you a spreadsheet on the growing patterns of male boll weevils, but you open it anyway. Well, nothing you care about, so you delete it. Damage is done, you have been infected (the virus was attached to the spreadsheet). It now proceeds to grab a random doc off your PC and forward it to everyone on your list. one version of this virus actually pulls a different file for every user. It sends these out to everyone along with a snippet, intended to get them to open the file. Another by-product of the virus... distributing potentially sensitive material to others, like Grandma's secret cookie recipe, or even worse, company financials or proprietary data such as payroll info (containing SSN's). Meanwhile, you have no idea what is going on; you don’t see any outward signs of the virus. Since they know you, they open the doc, and the process starts all over again. Meanwhile, the virus goes into overtime, making your PC run funny, act weird, slow down to a standstill, deleting files, etc. One version actually has the potential to overwrite the system BIOS (hardware brains) on certain un-protected systems. Erasing this chip info causes the system to become a paperweight that can’t be easily repaired. the entire mainboard usually has to be replaced. This can cost between $100 and $1000 depending on the system. That problem luckily, is far and few between. In general, don’t accept any attachments that you aren’t expecting or that don’t look right. one good way to tell if its legit, is that the body will usually have SPECIFIC details and information in it to tell you it wasn’t generated by a script. Some even place your name in the greeting (from the address book "name" fields". so just because it says "Dear Bill," as an opening, doesn’t mean it is legit. Generally speaking, the auto forwarded messages by viruses have the equivalent of "here read this" in the body; no details. Email the sender back or call to verify the validity. if they say "I didn’t send you anything" delete it immediately. A happy system that is properly protected by a real time antivirus solution helps to reduce any damage by viruses. Email forwards: This started as a part of "Email", but I got a bit carried away and it grew into its own section. Another Phenomenon is the FWD principle. You get an email alert about something, and it says you should forward it to everyone you know or something bad will happen, etc. Bull****. If a company has something to say, they will send it to all the users themselves instead of asking other users to pass it on. This is a phenomenon known as a socially engineered virus. It isn’t dangerous, but it uses peer pressure and a good story to get you to forward a bogus email, thus wasting time and Internet bandwidth. I liken it to electronic graffiti. its fake and they write it to see how far it will spread. One of my favorite responses to this phenomenon is on my web site: http:// http://jump.havencomm.com/ODD/chainletter.html One common one right now is one that is circulating is one that says that hotmail users are being asked to forward a warning that hotmail is running out of server space and will start deleting unused email addresses. If you don’t forward this email to at least 15 other hotmail accounts, they will assume yours is unused and will delete it. Sounds silly doesn’t it? Most people don’t stop and think that if hotmail had something like this to say, they would say it themselves. Its kind of like Ford calling you and saying they have a recall on mustangs, and if you wouldn’t mind, please call all your friends and tell them. In reality, hotmail is doing this, but only if you don’t log into your account every 90 days. and then they only empty your mailboxes as needed. the accounts don’t go away. Also, contrary to popular belief, there is no general way to tell who is sending email where and how many copies you forwarded. So the silly forwards that say if you send it to at least x number of people something cool will happen (like tigger bouncing across your screen) is false and just wishful thinking. So don’t expect that $1000 check from bill gates for forwarding that particular email. Besides, how can someone send you that check? they can’t get your name and snail mail (postal) address from your email (generally speaking). If users would only stop and use their heads before hitting the FWD button, they would figure it out themselves, but alas alot of users only believe what they want to without regard to the possible repercussions down the road (what can one email hurt?). When confronted with these facts, most users admit that they really didn’t believe it, but HOPED it was true and in a twisted way expected it to happen even though they knew it really wouldn’t happen. Instant Messaging: Same thing. There are several viruses that take advantage of instant messenger platforms by replicating across the web. One particularly ingenious one is actually interactive. Once infected, your PC asks (hidden from your screen) everyone on your buddy list as they log on " I just took a new picture of myself yesterday, do you want to see it?" If you send an acknowledgement that is in its list such as "sure" "yes" "uh-huh", etc. it will start to transfer a file called Pic1324(randomized characters).exe to you. most people don’t notice the .exe extension, meaning it isn’t a picture, but a program and run it, thus repeating the cycle. This particular worm is relatively harmless, but is designed to choke the msn messaging system; No known threats to your PC. But, this is just the beginning. others may modify the worm, and make it dangerous. Once again, a happy system that is properly protected by a real time antivirus solution helps to reduce any damage by viruses, and will catch them before they infect your PC. File Types: No matter what someone says in the message, if the file ends in .exe, .vbs, .com, .pif it isn’t a picture, it’s a program file and is potentially harmful. The most common types are .jpg .jpeg .gif .bmp .pcx . Generally speaking, anything other than any of the file types listed as pictures could be damaging to your system.(Note, these are by no means a definitive list, but a summary of the most common file types) By default, some systems don’t show a file extension (the 3 letters after the period, like .exe) for known types. Turning this back on helps to tell what kind of files they are. Icons are sometimes another indicator. if the other pictures on your hard disk show for instance a Photoshop icon, but this file being sent named "picture" shows a white box with a blue top, beware. Individually. these indicators are by no means foolproof, but putting all these indicator together can sometimes make sense and stop a problem before it happens. I guess the bottom line is THINK and be wary of everything. Firewalls: For those of us fortunate enough to have a direct connection to the net via cable modem or DSL, another problem arises. Physical access. This “always on” Internet connection gives us a new set of problems. Normally, the windows desktop family (95, 98, ME) does not ship with active server programs that would enable a hacker to attach to our systems. Normally, the worst they can do to us is what is called a DoS attack (Denial of Service). This type of attack usually renders our PC useless for network communication until we reboot thanks to a flaw in how windows reads some network packets. No real harm done, just annoying. However, due to some viruses known as a trojan horse, it is possible for them to remotely install such a program. This threat is fairly low, but once they have access to your PC, its hard telling what they can do. Such examples include looking at the hard drive data, or using your PC to attack other systems so they can’t be traced as easily (zombie attacks). That’s where a firewall comes in. It can be a hardware device, or a piece of software that prevents unwanted access to a pc. The hardware solutions start at about $100, and software solutions can be free. In fact, a free one called Zone Alarm rated higher than several commercial packages. Generally speaking, a firewall doesn’t hurt if you are on a modem either, but due to the fact that you seldom get the same internet address when you reconnect, you are at a lower risk. http://www.zonealarm.com/zap26_za_grid.html General: Windows 98 and newer has a neat utility known as "windows update" with this internet based application, you can quickly and easily apply software updates and security fixes to the operating system with just a few clicks of the mouse. Some exploits are due to a bug in the original software, and can be disabled by using this update utility. One part of this package can even be downloaded so that it checks periodically and warns you whenever a new update is available. That way you don’t have to keep checking in. Well, that’s about it for my babbling. Hopefully this helps to educate the masses a bit more. Feel free to ask any questions if something doesn’t make any sense. Bibliography Email: http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/[email protected] http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/[email protected] http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/hoaxes/hotmail.htm http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/nothing/billgate.htm Instant Messaging: http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.annoying.worm.html