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This Month's Topics
Microsoft Update
ZoneAlarm Bloat
Test Your Passwords
Newsletter Format

Microsoft Update

Most computer owners have by now learned to use Windows Update to keep their operating system patched against security risks. But how many people even know that there is an Office Update that offers patches for Office? And no, Windows Update does not automatically include Office Update. Now, however, there is a way to patch all Microsoft software at once. It's called Microsoft Update, and you can find it here http://update.microsoft.com/microsoftupdate/ v6/muoptdefault.aspx.

One word of caution: Microsoft Update now includes a Windows verification process. If you are using an illegal version of Windows, or just don't like Microsoft delving into your operating system to ensure that it is a legal version, stay with Windows Update. Microsoft does give you the option to return to Windows Update if you try Microsoft Update and don't like it.

ZoneAlarm Bloat

We recently updated our ZoneAlarm firewall to version 6. To our surprise, we found that ZoneAlarm now checks many things it didn't previously. While that's reassuring, it can also be a pain. For example, ZoneAlarm will alert you to a "Dangerous Activity" every time you start a program (like Word) or you try to use keyboard shortcuts in a program.

You can, of course, assure ZoneAlarm that the activity in question is fine, and you can also tell it to remember that you said it is fine, but it takes a day or two of this to get ZoneAlarm to shut up and leave you alone. One danger of this bloat is that the user, impatient with all the false alarms, will unknowingly authorize something he/she shouldn't. The buzz in the forums is not happy, so we expect to see a fix of some sort from ZoneAlarm fairly soon.

Test Your Passwords

In our June newsletter, we talked about password security. We have found a website that gives you a rough test of your passwords. We're recommending it with some reservations: Note that it does not know your dog's name or your favorite brand of motorcycle or other personal information about you. So if your password is your dog's name followed by a number and an exclamation point, this website will probably rate it a very secure password. The problem is that anyone who knows you and has heard you talk about your dog knows to try that (with variations) as a password to get into your system/bank account, etc.

With that reservation in mind, the website is http://www.securitystats.com/tools/password.php.

Newsletter Format

This month we're experimenting with one of the newsletter formats provided by Constant Contact, the service we use for managing our newsletters. We may try other formats in succeeding months. If you like it, or if you don't, email us and tell us.

Thanks for joining us this month. See you next month.

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Jonathan Spencer
CyberArtisans Web Developers
jspencer@cyberartisans.com
http://www.cyberartisans.com/
617-965-4110