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Smack That Hacker!

WOW!!!

Hacker Smacker was one of those titles we knew was going to do good, but we never expected it to be this big! I guess I'm not the only one who likes the idea of a user friendly firewall program :-) This is already our most popular firewall offer ever! A big "Thank You" to the hundreds and hundreds who ordered yesterday.

What's that? Still not sure if you need a firewall?

Well, if a hacker gets into your computer, they can

	Steal personal info like credit cards, SS#, name, address, phone, etc.
	Steal internet info like passwords, online bank info, etc.
	Plant keystroke loggers so anytime you type in sensitive info (credit cards, bank accounts, address, etc) that info is sent back to the hacker.
	Use your computer in denial of service attacks against major web sites
	Destroy and / or plant files, install viruses, or disable Windows altogether
	Use your computer as a junk mail server for who knows what type of e-mail (OK, you can probably guess). A big article on this in the current issue of PC World. They say the problem is epidemic and people are completely unaware their computer is being used by an outsider until their ISP contacts them.
	Or they can just spy on your computing activities

Why This Firewall?

I've seen and used a lot of different firewalls and this is simply best I've ever worked with. It's really easy to use and includes a lot of features that other firewalls just don't offer. FarStone has a real knack for making powerful software very user friendly and they really did a fantastic job on this one.

In addition to keeping hackers out and being easy to use, this software can:

	Let you know when a program is trying to access the internet - great for catching spyware in the act! You may be surprised how many programs you thought were "safe" like to sneak around the internet when you're not looking (I was).
	"Pass Lock" allows you to shut off all access to the net if you think something is wrong. You can even set it so that it automatically disables the connection after a certain amount of time. Once set, no traffic - inbound or outbound - can pass though. Even programs that are allowed access can't play while you're away!
	Log attacks - including the attacker's IP address
	Protect your privacy by insuring that your personal info isn't accidentally sent over the internet.
	Clear internet history, cookies, web links, auto-match, windows temp folder, password history, start menu run items, and tons more
	Display what programs are currently connected to the internet
	Allows you to set your computer so it's only able to access the 'net for a specified duration.
	Customize your security level
	Works with multiple users

Your price? Just $12.97 and US shipping is FREE! Why pay $50 or more for a firewall that just isn't as good? This is the best I've used and I can't recommend it highly enough. Give it a try - you'll love it too :-)

http://www.worldstart.com/store/hackersmacker.htm

PS - Be sure to check out the Comparison Chart that shows you why this beats Norton, Mcafee, and ZoneAlarm! Besides, if you don't like it, you can send it back within 30 days for a refund. Nothing to lose, unless you miss out!

Computers 101

Q:
What is the Windows Clipboard?

A:
The Windows clipboard is used to temporarily store stuff. This "stuff" can come in the form of just about anything. Images, files, documents, etc.—they can all be placed on the clipboard. Once something has been copied to the clipboard it can be pasted into another location.

The clipboard isn't a program you can actually access and play with. It's a built-in windows component that works transparently. When you copy or cut, the info is put onto this clipboard. When you paste, the information that's on the clipboard is put into whatever it is you're working on.

For instance, if I have some information on a web page that I want to put into a word processing document, this is what would happen:

1. I highlight and copy (CTRL-C) the text from the web page. When I do this, the text is placed on the clipboard.

2. Now, I open my word processor (MS Word 2000 and up must be open before you copy). Right now, the info is still sitting on the clipboard and can be pasted into my word processor or any other program that can handle text.

3. OK, now I right-click a blank area of my word processing document and choose Paste from the resulting menu (or just use CTRL-V) . This will take the info that's currently sitting on the clipboard (i.e. the web page text in this case) and attempt to put it into my word processing document.

I say "attempt to put the info on the clipboard into the word processor" because sometimes the info that's on your clipboard is not compatible with the program you're using. For example, if you try to paste a picture into notepad, that just isn't going to work.

For example, lets say you were working on a report in MS Word and you would like to quote some information you uncovered on the web. Rather than printing out the web page and re-typing the block of text you would like to quote, you can highlight the text on the webpage and copy it to the clipboard (highlight by holding down your left mouse button and dragging it over the section of text you would like to have. Copy it by right-clicking that section of text and selecting Copy from the menu that pops up).

Now, head back to MS Word and position the cursor where you would like to insert the text. Hit CRTL-V (or click the Edit menu, Paste), and presto, the web page text you copied has now been pasted into your Word doc.

Oh, for more on Copy & Paste head to:
http://www.worldstart.com/tips/copypaste.htm

~Steve

Have a question for the newsletter? Submit it at the link below:
http://www.worldstart.com/submitquestion.htm

Tip of the Day

Purge Your Clipboard of Large Files

When you use the "copy" or "cut" command, it copies information to your Windows clipboard. That information is kept in your RAM memory until it's replaced by something else.

Unfortunately, if you're copying large items, this can adversely affect your computer's performance. How? Well, that large file, picture, object, or whatever it was that you copied is floating around in your RAM, regardless of whether it's been pasted or not.

For example, let's say I have 32 meg of free RAM. I copy a 10 meg file to my clipboard. Now, that file will continue to occupy 10 meg of RAM until something else is placed on the clipboard, the clipboard is purged, or I restart my computer.

So what can you do?

The simplest thing would be to just copy something small to your clipboard. Maybe copy a blank space in a word processor to your clipboard or possibly a short sentence. Anything small is fine. Since your clipboard can only hold one item at a time, the old 10 meg file is replaced with the new small file.

You could also open the Clipboard Viewer, hit the Edit menu, then Delete. This will quickly purge the clipboard contents.

You can get to the clipboard viewer by clicking Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools. It should be under there if it's installed (it's not always installed).

XP users have a similar utility called the ClipBook Viewer (MS does like to change things). I shuffled through my Accessories menus but couldn't find any hint of its existence. After a little research, I discovered how to make a desktop shortcut for it. Want one too? Here's how:

Right-click a blank area on the desktop, then select New, Shortcut from the resulting menu. For the command line use:

C:WINDOWS\system32\clipbrd.exe

Hit Next and name the shortcut:

ClipBook Viewer

Hit Finish.

Just double-click to see what's on your clipboard. Oh, and when mine first ran, I had to "restore" the viewer window - for some reason that only makes sense to Microsoft, it was minimized in the lower left hand corner of the viewer program. A quick click on the double boxes and I was able to view my clipboard contents.

To delete the contents of the clipboard using this utility, click the black "X" on the toolbar.

An additional note for MS Office 2000 users: Office 2000 saves multiple items to the clipboard, so the clipboard has a button to 'Clear All', it also enables you to paste items other than the one last copied. There appears no way to clear specific items from the clipboard.

When you exit the program, you should get a prompt saying that there is a large amount of data on the clipboard and asking if you wanr to save it for other applications.

To view the clipboard in MS Office 2000, go to View then Toolbars and click on Clipboard. This will allow you to see the multiple clipboard entries.

There is a little icon that looks like a clipboard with an X on it. Just click there and bye-bye multiple clipboard items.

~Steve

Have an original tip for the newsletter? Submit it below:
http://www.worldstart.com/writers-guidelines/index.htm

Amanda's Cool Site of the Day

The Phobia List

Well do you need to know the name of the phobias you have? Or just want to know some of them for Scrabble or conversation? Well then, this is a site you need to check out. A huge listing of phobias for your browsing pleasure in alphabetical order. Browse by letter or choose the phobia list and just scroll down from A to Z. Here are a few phobias to digest.

Agrizoophobia- Fear of wild animals.
Agyrophobia- Fear of streets or crossing the street.
Megalophobia- Fear of large things.
Melissophobia- Fear of bees.
Thermophobia- Fear of heat.
Tocophobia- Fear of pregnancy or childbirth.
Tomophobia- Fear of surgical operations
Venustraphobia- Fear of beautiful women.
Verbophobia- Fear of words.
Verminophobia- Fear of germs.

Be very afraid!

http://phobialist.com/

Do you have a cool, non-commercial site that you want to share?
Send it to Amanda at amanda@worldstart.com