 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group PC (President's Comments) George Skarbek gskarbek@melbpc.org.au |
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Telstra Drops Easymail Service
Telstra is dropping its Easymail service, while Melb PC now provides a far superior Internet mail for ALL members as a component of membership. If you know anyone who is losing their Easymail, let them know that Melb PC membership provides many benefits plus the e-mail and access to newsgroups.
Having Line Drop Problems?
Many users have reported that occasionally their line drops out when they dial 9934 9400. If this happens to you, alter that number to one of the other numbers published on page 2 in this magazine. If you are not sure how to do it, or have other questions relating to the Internet then either look on the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section or contact iHelp (the Internet Help Team). Both can be accessed from our MOTD (Message Of The Day) page.
What Is Your Home Page?
If you use Melbourne PC User Group as your ISP then we recommend you set your browser to open at our MOTD page. If you prefer some other page, bookmark the MOTD and check it at least weekly as it is updated at regular intervals. Its purpose is to deliver important daily messages and other information to members. The URL is http://hww.melbpc.org.au/motd/.
If you have recently joined Melb PC and used our kit to set up the Internet service with Windows XP then on your first connection you may receive an ambiguous message from Microsoft asking about making the currently displayed Microsoft page, your default home page. The default answer is set to "Yes" but the correct answer is "No", otherwise the MOTD opening page will be replaced with the Microsoft page. If this has already occurred, you can restore our MOTD page manually by following these steps: From Internet Explorer click on Tools|Internet Options and under the General Tab you will see a textbox containing the URL for the home page. Replace that address with http://hww.melbpc.org.au/motd/ Note that the http:// is necessary. Note also, hww, not www. Click OK to save the new setting and exit the screen.
Viruses and Hoaxes
All members must be aware that you should keep your anti-virus software current by downloading the latest updates at regular intervals. Beware though, there are a number of cruel hoax warnings circulating.
A typical hoax will be a message, often stating some apparently reliable source, giving you some details and asking you to warn all your friends about this virus. It usually comes from a well-meaning e-mail friend, someone you know and would trust. The beginning of one such a hoax message is shown below.
This virus has been found in our system, it has already
gone to everyone in your address book, It lies dormant for 14 days then destroys the hard drive, please
follow these instructions to destroy the virus and then pass this message on to all in your address
book.
Effective method of finding and deleting the virus is as below. PLEASE ACT NOW.
1. Go to Start then Find (or search).
2. In Search for files or folders type in SULFNBK.EXE. This is the virus.
With several more steps following and then asking you to circulate this warning to all your friends.
Sulfnbk.exe is a Microsoft Windows utility used to restore long file names in case of corruption and should not be deleted. For more details about this hoax see: http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/sulfnbk.exe.warning.html.
You may consider checking a site that carries a list of such hoax messages before passing on any warning messages. This will prevent the mail servers' and your friends' mailboxes from being clogged. There are several sites that list common hoaxes; two such sites are: http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html and http://vil.mcafee.com/hoax.asp.
Next Monthly Meeting
Kodak will give a presentation in digital photography, giving details of what is available now and talk about future trends.
Over time all hard disks tend to fill but many users do not know what can be safely deleted. I will give a detailed demonstration of how to safely delete old rubbish files plus other tips on how to reclaim disk space.
Bryce, the program that can produce realistic 3D landscape generation and animation package will be demonstrated. David Mutch of Corel Down Under shows us what it will do.
Have you been to the Monthly Meeting yet? You don't know what you're
missing. Looking forward to seeing you there.
Reprinted from the March 2002 issue of PC Update, the
magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
