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Eureka Newsletter - August Issue - Volume 4 | Issue #4

Headline News

Complete Redesign is Under Way!

It's now 2004 and this page has not been revised in some time... and it's about to get a facelift. Coming soon will be all fresh content and this area will be kept as current as possible. While GeoCities and Eureka are no longer with us, the support and guidance we attempted to offer, and the spirit in which is was delivered, will be kept alive on this page.

Spyware and Internet Security... Are You Safe?

There has been a lot of talk about spyware and other Internet security issues. This is not just for your ISP, it's for anyone who is online that feels their system should have maximum security. The Internet is riddled with sophisticated hackers that think nothing of getting into your system and stealing your registration numbers and other ID. While not rampant, it does happen! You don't need to invest in expensive software to protect yourself, but a little knowledge of the situation and where to find the tools is all that you'll require to help protect your information and system from piracy and hackers.

One of the best pages of information regarding this situation is posted by Gibson Research Corporation and covers the factual evidence in their research of such tools as RealNetworks, Netscape, and NetZip's download utilities... and what they found is quite unnerving for those who like to protect their privacy.

If you don't think this is a serious situation, then check your system with their Shield's Up tool. Many who have tested their system against this device designed to locate open ports that would permit a hacker direct access to your system, have been quite alarmed at how vulnerable their system and it's contents are.

How about all those nifty little tools you like, including Comet Cursor and Cute_FTP... did you know that these are part of an extensive list on tools that you've been offered and are most likely running spyware that will report your actions and downloads? Surprised? You shouldn't be, any FREE offer probably has something else hidden into it that the site making the offer can capitalize on. You think you are not affected by any of this? You should check the list of known software tools that include spyware and download and run Gibson Research's OptOut, which will not only report any spyware on your system, but will also disable it!

A final recommendation to all PC users is to check out ZoneLab's ZoneAlarm. This is the ultimate in a private firewall for your system, and is set up to stop the spread of VBS type viruses, instant disconnect from intrusive sites, and allows you to set permissions on which tools can access the Internet from your system. All of these tools are small in size, easy to install and run, and are your best weapons for fighting back against the undesirable aspects of the Internet community.

ADD YOUR VOICE

Got a peeve, or had real bad service from an online source? Express yourself! We'll post your opinion or problem for others to read and react to. Your input could help save another from a bad experience!

To submit information or article to this newsletter please use the Contact Editor form.

Quick Links

Yahoo!/WebRing - Here We Go Again...

If you run a webring through WebRing.com you have already received the notice from Yahoo regarding your re-registration to continue your existing webring. Once again promising to improve the services of this function, just like the promises they made to GeoCities. What GeoCities has undergone is a dismantling of services, the upgrade included the degradation and elimination of our neighborhood structure.

Yahoo has not added anything to any specific feature, they just keeping adding more add-on tools, targeting those who have signed up for any of it's memberships. Even My!Yahoo lost features that they no longer subscribe to, and GeoCities keeps losing affiliates. In the strive to aquire more there has been a lack of quality and development in each of it's services.

What has become questionable is the purpose for all this. Why are new registrations required? Could it be the larger base of information that they would acquire through WebRing's member database? These are the questions that come up within Yahoo's own membership. With all this random expansion, what is their focus, or do they have one?

It's that promise of improving services when there has been little evidence of fulfillment in any of it's current tools. Without special features that would distinguish Yahoo's services from it's competition, it promotes the idea of looking for better, less intrusive services from another server. Yahoo has yet to learn that loyalty is earned, not arbitrarily expected. If the user is not satisfied, they'll move away, and move away quickly.

Developing Your First Commercial Page

You learned HTML on your homepage, and you have developed a nice little page, but you are not allowed to sell your product or service... now it's time for a commercial page. I would not recommend skipping the home page building, you need to get a good feel for HTML before venturing further.

Once again you are faced with needing to start out on a shoestring budget, and you want to locate affordable services. Thankfully, there are many sites now that host free commercial pages, plus the amount of space provided is more than generous. You will have to learn about CGI or use online CGI services. Such services are not provided with these spaces, and FTP is the only method of file tranfer, no WYSIWYG editors here.

You might want to invest in a domain name, but many of these services will provide a vanity URL that is just as suitable for starting out, plus you can transfer to using a domain name later without changing your account.

If you are selling a product, you will have to provide your own secure online transactions. In shopping around the best value in online transaction is offered by Charge.com, but still requires the purchase of basic transaction equipment.

Both VirtualAvenue and Netfirms.com are specifically targeting the commercial page client, and offer great online support. Response to email is timely and polite. Complete portal of webmasters resources can be found at 321Free.com and some great online tools are available at Bravenet. Simple to follow tutorials on all the required skills are available at Webmonkey and NewbieNet.

One advantage of a commercial site is the ability to select to use affiliate programs, this should not be your primary focus, but should suppliment your revenues while you get yourself established. If you do not have a primary product or service, there are affiliate programs that can set you up with a complete online business in your area of interest.

How FREE is FREE?

Don't you just love all of these free offers we see online? Long distance calling cards, software, newsletters, are all being offered to you for free. But, how free is free? It would be naive to believe that someone is offering you something for free, no strings attached. So what's the trade off? You are providing them one of the hottest comodities in today's market, your personal information. Your name, address, phone number, credit card info, is all sought after and collected for the purpose of directly soliciting you with other offers.

If you've noticed an increase in spam, mail advertisements, and telephone solicitors, it's probably because you took someone up on a free offer, and now your name is being shared with hundreds, even thousands more solicitors waiting for you to take the bait.

One of the biggest mistakes made is to miss reading the fine print. Had you been aware that your information was being shared or sold, would you have signed up for that free item? If your privacy and personal information is important to you, you should not share any information you don't want passed around, and one method is to avoid those supposed free offers.

Privacy is hardly possible on the web, somewhere there is stored information on you, it could be the data sent with a cookie that includes info off your computer, your ISP's files, your online mail account. Almost anywhere you go on the web they want to know your personal interests - fatal mistake is in indicating any interest, but could result in random spamming just because you provided an email address. A free offer will just add to it.

TOP PICKS

Bravenet - has all the greatest online tools, easy to use, can be customized with your logo, best stats, rings, forums, mail, and more!

Slashdot - the very best in Internet news, developments, reviews and opinions, all the latest from an insider's perspective.

Michael J. Fox - when he stepped out of the spotlight as an actor to put his best effort into Parkinson's research, it came with one of the best pages on the subject, plus Michael's personal diary and more.

Tucows - still the best stop for anyone on the web, packed full of useful online and development tools, this is one to keep bookmarked.

The Cyber Guy - the dude who is out to prove that armed with just a computer he doesn't need to leave home to survive. A fun place to visit, send Kurt email, and learn about his experiment.