Computer Corner No.5

Further to my comments about Broadband in the last issue of Computer Corner I can confirm that the current state of play is as follows. BT have committed to completing the work needed on the Carlton exchange by January 26th 2005 and Mesh Broadband which should have been available form September 6th has been put back two months to November 8th (2004).

Spyware

This Internet software pest is now causing more problems than viruses. Spyware (or as it is now more generically known; Malware) was initially developed in order to track peoples’ Internet habits in order to provide marketing information for large companies. It did this by tracking individuals’ Internet browsing and storing the information thereby developing a profile of users’ favourite sites and consequently the likely areas they were interested in. This Big Brother invasion of our privacy (in my opinion) has now been taken up by less reputable people and now “Malware” includes diallers, data miners and hijackers. Diallers are software that implants itself in your PC and tries to trick you into believing that it is just a normal internet connection, if you fall for their cunning and click “OK” at the wrong point you will find yourself connected to the Internet as normal but instead of your 1or 2p per minute charge you are suddenly in for £1.50 upwards a minute, a fact that won’t become apparent to you until your next telephone bill arrives. Data Miners are sinister in that they attempt to illicit personal information such as Bank Account numbers, credit card details etc. Hijackers are probably the least harmful in that they re-direct your home page to a site trying to sell you something (usually). There are a number of ways to combat these threats, the first is via your ISP, most large ISP’s offer a spyware protection package (certainly BT and AOL do) which may be free depending on the tariff you are on. Secondly you may need to increase you’re the software on your PC by installing Norton Internet Security (includes Norton Antivirus) or a similar brand. Thirdly, as mentioned previously you can download a spyware program which will search and destroy the enemy, the number 1 for this is Xoftspy which costs $39 and can be downloaded from www.xoftspy.com.

Windows XP Service Pack 2(SP2)

Much has been made in the computer press of this new release of software for Windows XP users. It heralds recognition by Microsoft that their Internet Explorer and Outlook Express packages are inherently insecure from viruses and Malware. I recommend XP users to obtain a copy on CD and install it without ado. SP2 makes your PC much more secure from invasion by the afore-mentioned Malware and is easy to install. To date I haven’t witnessed any problems installing this Service Pack although it is recommended that you ensure you have backed up all your data before you install. CD’s can be obtained from PC World (or yours truly) and are free. I would not recommend any body to download SP2 from the Internet as it will take several hours. Lastly, I have rabbited on long enough, if you want to know how to talk to anywhere in the world for the cost of a local call and in some cases free, make sure you read the next issue or find Les and ask him.

On that mysterious note I would like to wish all readers a Happy Christmas and enjoyable New Year.

Barry Wilson (Cactus Trading)