January 2005 Archives
The Hosts file contains mappings of IP addresses to host names. This file is loaded into memory at startup, then Windows checks the Hosts file before it queries any DNS servers. This prevents access to sites listed in the HOST file by redirecting any connection attempts back to your machine. The HOSTS file can also block other software applications from connecting to the Internet.
SecuriTeam reports that Internet Explorer 5.x and 6.x (even with XP Service Pack 2) surf to the wrong Web site if a short, dotted-decimal IP address contains an "escaped space character." (That character looks like "%20".) The resulting address fools Earthlink's FraudEliminator program and CoreStreet's SpoofStick toolbar, the firm says:
http://www.securiteam.com/windowsntfocus/5ZP0F20EKS.html
What to do: Until there's a patch for this, don't click links formatted as n.n.n.n%20x.com.
Items discussed included the following:
1. Mike Gerst reminded the group of the remote control software, "Network Streaming," that is up and running for EIT faculty to use on a trial basis. We have a 5-user license. Greg is using it, and so far, it is working great.
Weldon, Mike, Pete, and Philip have all used it. If anyone (outside EIT) wants to try this remote software, let Dr. Lippke know. Go to our EIT web site (eit.tamu.edu), and click on "EIT Remote PC Assistance" to see the other users. These licenses are available for sharing. After you have experimented with it, then log out so someone else can use it. Weldon requested a login for Jana to use at Stephenville. Kevin Chilek wants to test it out also for 4-H use.
2. Mike discussed IP renumbering of the Jack K. Williams Administration users. The renumbering will be conducted this Tues, Jan. 4. We hope it will go smoothly without email interruptions. Luke Klima will be assisting with the IP number changes.
MS AntiSpyware beta Review:
The scanning itself seems quite effective. It found two spyware
products, one of which received a level 3 "elevated" warning, that
neither Spybot or Adaware had noticed. It also identified that the Yahoo
toolbar was attempting to change my personalized search settings and
remove the Google toolbar, and let me block that (Spybot also saw that).
Scanning was fast, on par with its major competitors.
**Seems the Yahoo toolbar is not so innocent after all**
The existence of a security flaw in PDF files requires the upgrading of Adobe Reader and Acrobat software. PDFs are usually considered safe to open, and this is apparently the first exception since November 2000, when a hole was found in Adobe's version 4 software.
To eliminate the risk, take one of the following three steps.
(1) Rename Adobe's eBook.api file, if you don't use Adobe eBooks;
(2) Install the Reader 6.0.2 upgrade; or
(3) Upgrade Reader and Acrobat to version 7.0.
We recommend upgrading to Reader 7, just released last month, which is reportedly much faster than Reader 6.
iDefense has posted a description of the problem and workarounds for it:
http://www.idefense.com/application/poi/display?id=163
For the Reader 6.0.2 upgrade or the free Reader 7.0, see:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/alternate.html
Those of us who have been using the free RSS reader for Groupwise have discovered that it recently expired. Fear not. I just downloaded the reader again from the following link and installed it. Now it no longer displays an expiration period, but shows "Lite v. 1.0.31" instead.
Opening some PDF documents causes the error message "error reading linearized hint data." This has occurred with county 4-H newsletters in the TECO system web pages. A solution for this error lies in the configuration of the Adobe product attempting to open the file. A quick reconfiguration of internet settings allows the document to open.
There are several issues with Centra Symposium client operation. Most are related to Windows XP with Service Pack 2 and the recent (October 2004) upgrade to Centra Version 7.1. This blog repeats some and adds on to Larry's eariler entry.
The 5 most common trouble areas (not necessarily in order)are:
1. The CentraOne client version
2. The Java Virtual Machine version
3. The Active X control permissions
4. Browser Pop-Up Blocker
5. Windows XP Firewall
Details on settings for each of these is included below. Other things to be aware of are third party pop-up blockers, tool bars that include pop-up blockers and third party firewalls. Oh Yea, an important step is to make sure a microphone and speakers are actually attached to the computer.
