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Virus Hoax
Over the last few months we have had several instances of virus hoaxes where email readers have been asked to remove or delete files from their computer hard drive -- if you have any questions about whether or not a notification you receive is valid or for proper removal instructions, check at McAfee under Virus Hoaxes
or at McAfee.com for recent virus threats and removal instructions.
Bugbear Virus - Category 4 HIGH Risk
W32.Bugbear@mm is a mass-mailing worm. It can also spread through network shares. It has keystroke-logging and backdoor capabilities. The worm also attempts to terminate the processes of various antivirus and firewall programs. ... read more at Symantec Security Response.
NOTE: If the worm is currently active on your computer, you will not be able to run LiveUpdate. In this case, you must download the definitions using the Intelligent Updater. (for Norton AntiVirus users). For those using McAfee Virus protection follow the Bugbear instructions - CLICK HERE!
The ci-Interactive Search/Resource Page
Net Q&A
In the early days of the web, people were flooded with Hoaxes, Scams and Cons -- you name it and someone was trying to squeeze a buck from some unsuspecting, web novice. Although there are currently many resources available providing information to prevent and stop such behavior (many of them are identified in our previous newsletters), some still exist --- this month we will provide some additional resources to help you make wise web decisions -- the example we will use will be finding a web design/hosting/marketing company but the resources recommended could be used to research any company doing business on the web.
Before you do business with anyone on the web -- CHECK THEM OUT!
How long have they been in business -- you can check this easily by looking up their domain name/website address at Network Solutions WHOIS Records. Visit the WHOIS web page and type in the domain you are checking -- for example -- cyberisle.com -- then click GO. The information displayed will provide you with a date that domain was created -- in this example it is March 1996 -- letting you know that cyberisle.com has been in business for more than 6 years. You also find contact names and phone numbers listed. In a time when we have seen many dot coms come and go and is important to consider longevity and consistency of the web company you decide to trust with the task of developing your web presence.
Does the company make claims about their product or abilities that are based on fact -- again, CHECK IT OUT! Again, using finding a web design/hosting/marketing company as an example, take a look at the client portfolio, evaluate the number and quality of websites along with the features like contact forms, or searchable databases. Ask to see Web Trends statistic/traffic reports of some of the websites and view the number of visitors, referral sources and general traffic flow.
Basic common sense applies - whether doing business on the web, over the telephone, by fax or in person.....
SOME RELATED THOUGHTS:
Have you heard about the Left Handed Whopper available at Burger King?
How about the first Human Male Pregnancy?
And one more .... A company providing brain transplants including photos and investment opportunities....ohhhh my!
GOOGLE -- AN INTERESTING FEATURE
Cached Copies!
Google offers an interesting feature -- a cached snapshot copy of webpages at the time they were indexed by Google:
"Google takes a snapshot of each page examined as it crawls the web and caches these as a back-up in case the original page is unavailable. If you click on the "Cached" link, you will see the web page as it looked when we indexed it. The cached content is the content Google uses to judge whether this page is a relevant match for your query.
When the cached page is displayed, it will have a header at the top which serves as a reminder that this is not necessarily the most recent version of the page. Terms that match your query are highlighted on the cached version to make it easier for you to see why your page is relevant."
Try it for fun -- go to google.com and type in a specific website address/page and click on the Google Search button -- a good test would be this news page -- cyberisle.com/news. When the results appear you will see a list of options below the search results including the option of SHOW GOOGLE'S CACHE OF CYBERISLE.COM/NEWS. Select the option and compare the current page with Google's cached copy -- hmmmm....I can think of some uses for that one!
How to Choose a Web Site Designer
Previous ci-Insider News
August, 2002
Using Email Signatures
FLASH sites - How to Avoid Search Engine Roadblocks
June, 2002
Calculating Customer Acquisition Cost
Don't Believe the Email FROM Line
Google's Page Rank Formula
April, 2002
SCUMWARE
HOAXBUSTERS
Latest Computer Virus Threats and Global Virus Tracking
How to Check Who is Linking to Your Website
February, 2002
Reliable Web Host - Discount Prices???
Link farm Scam
Search Engines and Paid Submissions
Clearing your Cache
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