Mary, et. al.:
I do not normally reply to all with emails, but in this case I felt it appropriate.
PrettyPark.Worm (aka Trojan Horse, aka W32.PrettyPark) is an email worm affecting Windows 95, 98, and NT machines. Recipients receive a message from an associate and open the attached file, which many have reported believing to be an animation based on the popular "South Park" television series. (I cannot confirm this at this time.)
PrettyPark.Worm originally surfaced in late May of this year in France, and quickly spread across Europe and to the States.
PrettyPark.Worm installs a file named FILES32.VXD in the \Windows\System directory, and modifies the Windows registry key used to control how .EXE files are launched so that the .VXD file is used when launching the .EXE, insuring the infection is active.
When active, PrettyPark.Worm will attempt to email itself (the file
PRETTYPARK.EXE) to everyone in the user's address book every 30 minutes.
Also, PRETTYPARK.EXE will attempt to initiates a connection to an Internet Relay Chat (IRC) channel every 30 seconds, where information about the infected computer may be retrieved covertly.
The online scanners from antivirus.com and mcafee.com, as well as most recently-updated virus scanners, will detect PrettyPark.Worm. Removal (especially when using the online scanners) is complicated by the fact that Windows is using the infected file, thus preventing removal.
A number of sites have listed instructions for removal of PrettyPark.Worm; however, in my own experience with cleanup operations this morning, the instructions given should be modified. Here are the modified instructions.
DO NOT attempt them yourself unless you feel comfortable working with the Windows registry.
1) Using regedit (which may be launched by selecting Start->Run, and entering "regedit" in the line), find the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
\Software
\Classes
\exefile
\shell
\open
\command
For the value for the key listed as "(Default)", you will see >FILES32.VXD "%1" %*< (the value is that between the ">" and the "<").
2) Edit the value for (Default) to remove "FILES32.VXD" AND THE SPACE THAT FOLLOWS, so that the new value is >"%1" %*< (the value between the ">" and the "<", including the quotes around the first item).
3) Close regedit.
4) Exit to MS-DOS mode
(For the next steps, which all occur at an MS-DOS prompt, enter the command given between the quotes.)
5) "cd c:\windows\system"
6) "del FILES32.VXD"
7) "exit"
-Albert Croft
Cox Internet
Friday, October 22, 1999
Wednesday, July 21, 1999
BSOD
In a surprise announcement today, Microsoft President Steve Ballmer revealed that the Redmond-based company will allow computer resellers and end-users to customize the appearance of the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), the screen that displays when the Windows operating system crashes.
The move comes as the result of numerous focus groups and customer surveys done by Microsoft. Thousands of Microsoft customers were asked, "What do you spend the most time doing on your computer?"
A surprising number of respondents said, "Staring at a Blue Screen of Death." At 54 percent, it was the top answer, beating the second place answer "Downloading XXXScans" by an easy 12 points.
"We immediately recognized this as a great opportunity for ourselves, our channel partners, and especially our customers," explained the excited Ballmer to a room full of reporters.
Immense video displays were used to show images of the new
customizable BSOD screen side-by-side with the older static version. Users can select from a collection of "BSOD Themes," allowing them to instead have a Mauve Screen of Death or even a Paisley Screen of Death. Graphics and
multimedia content can now be incorporated into the screen, making the BSOD the perfect conduit for delivering product information and entertainment to Windows users.
The BSOD is by far the most recognized feature of the Windows operating system, and as a result, Microsoft has historically insisted on total control over its look and feel. This recent departure from that policy reflects Microsoft's recognition of the Windows desktop itself as the
"ultimate information portal." By default, the new BSOD will be configured to show a random selection of Microsoft product information whenever the system crashes. Microsoft channel partners can negotiate with Microsoft for the right to customize the BSOD on systems they ship.
Major computer resellers such as Compaq, Gateway, and Dell are already lining up for premier placement on the new and improved BSOD.
Ballmer concluded by getting a dig in against the Open Source community. "This just goes to show that Microsoft continues to innovate at a much faster pace than open source. I have yet to see any evidence that Linux even has a BSOD, let alone a customizable one."
The move comes as the result of numerous focus groups and customer surveys done by Microsoft. Thousands of Microsoft customers were asked, "What do you spend the most time doing on your computer?"
A surprising number of respondents said, "Staring at a Blue Screen of Death." At 54 percent, it was the top answer, beating the second place answer "Downloading XXXScans" by an easy 12 points.
"We immediately recognized this as a great opportunity for ourselves, our channel partners, and especially our customers," explained the excited Ballmer to a room full of reporters.
Immense video displays were used to show images of the new
customizable BSOD screen side-by-side with the older static version. Users can select from a collection of "BSOD Themes," allowing them to instead have a Mauve Screen of Death or even a Paisley Screen of Death. Graphics and
multimedia content can now be incorporated into the screen, making the BSOD the perfect conduit for delivering product information and entertainment to Windows users.
The BSOD is by far the most recognized feature of the Windows operating system, and as a result, Microsoft has historically insisted on total control over its look and feel. This recent departure from that policy reflects Microsoft's recognition of the Windows desktop itself as the
"ultimate information portal." By default, the new BSOD will be configured to show a random selection of Microsoft product information whenever the system crashes. Microsoft channel partners can negotiate with Microsoft for the right to customize the BSOD on systems they ship.
Major computer resellers such as Compaq, Gateway, and Dell are already lining up for premier placement on the new and improved BSOD.
Ballmer concluded by getting a dig in against the Open Source community. "This just goes to show that Microsoft continues to innovate at a much faster pace than open source. I have yet to see any evidence that Linux even has a BSOD, let alone a customizable one."
Monday, January 25, 1999
Children of the Eighties
We are the children of the Eighties. We are not the first "lost generation" nor today's "lost generation." In fact, we think we know just where we stand--or are discovering it as we speak. We are the ones who played with Lego Building Blocks when they were just building blocks and gave Malibu Barbie crewcuts with safety scissors that never really cut. We collected Garbage Pail Kids and My Little Ponies and Hot Wheels and He-Man action figures and thought She-Ra looked just like I would when
I was a woman. Big Wheels and bicycles with streamers were the way to go, and sidewalk chalk was all you needed to build a city.
Imagination was the key. It made the Ewok Treehouse big enough for you to be Luke (or Lea) and the kitchen table and an old sheet dark enough to be a tent in the forest. Your world was your backyard and it was all you needed. With your pink portable tape player, Debbie Gibson sang backup to you and everyone wanted a skirt like the Material Girl and a glove like
Michael Jackson's. Today, we are the ones who sing along with Bruce Springsteen and the Bangles perfectly and have no idea why. We recite lines with the Ghostbusters and still look to The Goonies for a great adventure. We flip through TV stations and stop at the A-Team and Knight Rider and Fame and laugh with The Cosby Show and Family Ties and Punky Brewster and "What you talkin' 'bout Willis?" We hold strong affections for the Muppets and The Gummy Bears and why did they take the Smurfs off the air? After school specials were only about cigarettes and step-families, the Polka Dot Door was nothing like Barney, and aren't the Power Rangers just Voltron reincarnated? We are the ones who still (secretly) read Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, the Bobbsey Twins, Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume, Richard Scarry and the Electric Company. Friendship bracelets were ties you couldn't break and friendship pins went on shoes--preferably hightop velcro Reeboks. And pegged jeans were in, as were Units belts and layered socks and jean jackts and jams and charm mecklaces and sideponytails and just tails. Rave was a girl's best friend; braces with colored rubber bands made you cool. The backdoor was always open and Mom served only red Kool-aid to the neighborhood kids. Entertainment was cheap and lasted for hours. All you needed to be a princess was high heels and an apron; the Sit 'n' Spin made you dizzy but never made you stop. Pogoballs were dangerous weapons and Chinese Jump Ropes mever failed to trip someone. In your Underoos you were Wonder Woman or Spider Man or R2D2 and in your treehouse you were king.
In the Eighties, nothing was wrong. Did you know the President was shot? Star Wars was not only a movie. Did you ever play in a bomb shelter? Did you see the Challenger explode or feed the homeless man?
We forgot Vietnam and watched Tianenman Square on CNN and bought pieces of the Berlin Wall at the store. AIDS was not the number one killer in the United States. We didn't start the fire, Billy Joel. In the Eighties, we redefined the American Dream, and those years defined us. We are the generation between strife and facing strife and not turning our backs. The Eighties may have been (scratch that) The Eighties may have made us idealistic, but it's that idealism that will push us and be passed on the our children--the first children of the twenty-first century.
Never forget: we are the children of the Eighties. If this is familiar, you are one of us...pass it on to all the others...
I was a woman. Big Wheels and bicycles with streamers were the way to go, and sidewalk chalk was all you needed to build a city.
Imagination was the key. It made the Ewok Treehouse big enough for you to be Luke (or Lea) and the kitchen table and an old sheet dark enough to be a tent in the forest. Your world was your backyard and it was all you needed. With your pink portable tape player, Debbie Gibson sang backup to you and everyone wanted a skirt like the Material Girl and a glove like
Michael Jackson's. Today, we are the ones who sing along with Bruce Springsteen and the Bangles perfectly and have no idea why. We recite lines with the Ghostbusters and still look to The Goonies for a great adventure. We flip through TV stations and stop at the A-Team and Knight Rider and Fame and laugh with The Cosby Show and Family Ties and Punky Brewster and "What you talkin' 'bout Willis?" We hold strong affections for the Muppets and The Gummy Bears and why did they take the Smurfs off the air? After school specials were only about cigarettes and step-families, the Polka Dot Door was nothing like Barney, and aren't the Power Rangers just Voltron reincarnated? We are the ones who still (secretly) read Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, the Bobbsey Twins, Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume, Richard Scarry and the Electric Company. Friendship bracelets were ties you couldn't break and friendship pins went on shoes--preferably hightop velcro Reeboks. And pegged jeans were in, as were Units belts and layered socks and jean jackts and jams and charm mecklaces and sideponytails and just tails. Rave was a girl's best friend; braces with colored rubber bands made you cool. The backdoor was always open and Mom served only red Kool-aid to the neighborhood kids. Entertainment was cheap and lasted for hours. All you needed to be a princess was high heels and an apron; the Sit 'n' Spin made you dizzy but never made you stop. Pogoballs were dangerous weapons and Chinese Jump Ropes mever failed to trip someone. In your Underoos you were Wonder Woman or Spider Man or R2D2 and in your treehouse you were king.
In the Eighties, nothing was wrong. Did you know the President was shot? Star Wars was not only a movie. Did you ever play in a bomb shelter? Did you see the Challenger explode or feed the homeless man?
We forgot Vietnam and watched Tianenman Square on CNN and bought pieces of the Berlin Wall at the store. AIDS was not the number one killer in the United States. We didn't start the fire, Billy Joel. In the Eighties, we redefined the American Dream, and those years defined us. We are the generation between strife and facing strife and not turning our backs. The Eighties may have been (scratch that) The Eighties may have made us idealistic, but it's that idealism that will push us and be passed on the our children--the first children of the twenty-first century.
Never forget: we are the children of the Eighties. If this is familiar, you are one of us...pass it on to all the others...
Matthew Chapters Five and Six
v18.
"...But I promise you that not even a period or a comma will ever disappear from the [Mosaic] Law."
v19.
"If you reject even the least important command in the Law and teach others to do the same, you will be the least important person in the kingdom of heaven.
But if you obey and teach others its command, you will have an important place in the kingdom."
Our Father in heaven,
help us to honor
your name.
Come and set up
your kingdom,
so that everyone on earth
will obey you
as you are obeyed in heaven.
Give us our food for today.
Forgive us for doing wrong
as we forgive others.
Keep us from being tempted
and protect us from evil
"...But I promise you that not even a period or a comma will ever disappear from the [Mosaic] Law."
v19.
"If you reject even the least important command in the Law and teach others to do the same, you will be the least important person in the kingdom of heaven.
But if you obey and teach others its command, you will have an important place in the kingdom."
Our Father in heaven,
help us to honor
your name.
Come and set up
your kingdom,
so that everyone on earth
will obey you
as you are obeyed in heaven.
Give us our food for today.
Forgive us for doing wrong
as we forgive others.
Keep us from being tempted
and protect us from evil
Quotes and Excerpts
"Five years after permitting law-abiding citizens to carry guns, 10 states found that their murder rates had dropped by an average of 15 percent, rape by 9 percent, and robberies by 11 percent. The likelihood of a mass shooting in those states dropped from nearly 75 percent to zero.
Concealed-carry laws help deter crime in two ways. They keep criminals off balance because they cannot be sure which of their intended victims is armed, and they save lives when an armed citizen is able to subdue a criminal before the police arrive. In Jacksonville, Fla., recently, a criminal brandished a gun in a restaurant and threatened to start shooting people at the count of 10 unless the cash register were opened. At the count of 8, two armed citizens with handgun permits stood up and shot him.
Not only do concealed-carry laws deter crime, they do not increase suicide rates, swell accidental shootings or result in citizens turning their guns on police officers -- all dangers that opponents of concelaed-carry laws cite. By contrast, several police officers have had their lives saved by permit holding citizens. In Pearl Miss., an assistant principal was able to subdue the young murderer who opened fire at a high school because he carried a gun in his car. It's hard to be enthusiastic about a weapon of death, but facts are facts: Guns save lives."
Mona Charen, The Gazette, July 13, 1998, p. N7
Concealed-carry laws help deter crime in two ways. They keep criminals off balance because they cannot be sure which of their intended victims is armed, and they save lives when an armed citizen is able to subdue a criminal before the police arrive. In Jacksonville, Fla., recently, a criminal brandished a gun in a restaurant and threatened to start shooting people at the count of 10 unless the cash register were opened. At the count of 8, two armed citizens with handgun permits stood up and shot him.
Not only do concealed-carry laws deter crime, they do not increase suicide rates, swell accidental shootings or result in citizens turning their guns on police officers -- all dangers that opponents of concelaed-carry laws cite. By contrast, several police officers have had their lives saved by permit holding citizens. In Pearl Miss., an assistant principal was able to subdue the young murderer who opened fire at a high school because he carried a gun in his car. It's hard to be enthusiastic about a weapon of death, but facts are facts: Guns save lives."
Mona Charen, The Gazette, July 13, 1998, p. N7
Sunday, January 17, 1999
I no longer work at COX COMM extended offtopic explanation
>Well, those of you who work at TCA probably already know, but for those
>of you who don't, I won't be coming back in to work Monday.
>Which is good, because I've apparently got plans with Derrick and Louis
>anyways.. ;)
>
>For those of you who don't know, I got terminated from my position at
>TCA, and so I don't have to repeat this for everyone individually when
>you will ask me in person or whatever, I'm going to explain it for you
>why I got removed from (the) office.
>
>TCA users have a relatively serious problem with Netbus, which most of
>you are familiar with. In case you aren't familiar with it, it's a
>virus which allows intruders from the internet to basically have full
>control over your computer, including listening to your microphone,
>opening your cd drive, your entire file system, as well as numerous
>other juvenile pranks.
>
>Cursory scans of our users show that at anywhere from times one out of
>every fifty users up to one out of every hundred are infected with
>netbus or back orifice (a virus of the same kind).
>
>I was working on writing a program which would go in and remove this
>virus from a computer, and I was testing out on our users computers.
>One of the users in Longview (one of our service areas) had a trap set
>up on his computer where it looked like he was infected, but when the
>program came in to remove the virus, it would actually be a message to
>the intruder stating his ip would be reported to the ISP.
>
>Well, just that happened, and while I talked with the individual upon
>which my program intruded and explained the situation to him (for which
>he was grateful that something was being done like that), he had
>already talked to someone else and the news filtered up all the way to
>the TCA legal department.
>
>And then of course I came in a couple days later and was told to clean
>out my cubicle after a short talk with Jenell (our office manager) and
>Tracy (one of the new NOC support staff). I cleaned out the cubicle
>under the supervision of Tracy.
>
>To TCA staff: I don't hold any hard feelings towards you guys. You
>don't have to panic, even though I know passwords upon hidden passwords
>to get in, I won't, because I knew you guys didn't want me to get
>canned (that's what I'm told anyways...).
>
>On the other hand, I would like to take a aluminum baseball bat to this
>anonymous legal team who demands my blood for my first offense in four
>years of loyal service to the Internet Tyler/TCA organisation.
>
>So this is my temporary new email address, guys, until I get another
>job where they issue me an email address, or I get my website back
>online.
>
>(markalexanderhopkins@yahoo.com)
>of you who don't, I won't be coming back in to work Monday.
>Which is good, because I've apparently got plans with Derrick and Louis
>anyways.. ;)
>
>For those of you who don't know, I got terminated from my position at
>TCA, and so I don't have to repeat this for everyone individually when
>you will ask me in person or whatever, I'm going to explain it for you
>why I got removed from (the) office.
>
>TCA users have a relatively serious problem with Netbus, which most of
>you are familiar with. In case you aren't familiar with it, it's a
>virus which allows intruders from the internet to basically have full
>control over your computer, including listening to your microphone,
>opening your cd drive, your entire file system, as well as numerous
>other juvenile pranks.
>
>Cursory scans of our users show that at anywhere from times one out of
>every fifty users up to one out of every hundred are infected with
>netbus or back orifice (a virus of the same kind).
>
>I was working on writing a program which would go in and remove this
>virus from a computer, and I was testing out on our users computers.
>One of the users in Longview (one of our service areas) had a trap set
>up on his computer where it looked like he was infected, but when the
>program came in to remove the virus, it would actually be a message to
>the intruder stating his ip would be reported to the ISP.
>
>Well, just that happened, and while I talked with the individual upon
>which my program intruded and explained the situation to him (for which
>he was grateful that something was being done like that), he had
>already talked to someone else and the news filtered up all the way to
>the TCA legal department.
>
>And then of course I came in a couple days later and was told to clean
>out my cubicle after a short talk with Jenell (our office manager) and
>Tracy (one of the new NOC support staff). I cleaned out the cubicle
>under the supervision of Tracy.
>
>To TCA staff: I don't hold any hard feelings towards you guys. You
>don't have to panic, even though I know passwords upon hidden passwords
>to get in, I won't, because I knew you guys didn't want me to get
>canned (that's what I'm told anyways...).
>
>On the other hand, I would like to take a aluminum baseball bat to this
>anonymous legal team who demands my blood for my first offense in four
>years of loyal service to the Internet Tyler/TCA organisation.
>
>So this is my temporary new email address, guys, until I get another
>job where they issue me an email address, or I get my website back
>online.
>
>(markalexanderhopkins@yahoo.com)
I no longer work at COX COMM
>
> Hello.
>
> I'm sending this to you because you were in my address
> book, my apologies if you got two copies or you don't know
> me. (or maybe that's a good thing.. ;)
>
> This is just a not to let you know my email address has
> changed to markhopkins@mindless.com, I no longer have any
> addresses at the tyler.net domain. My rizzn.com
> addresses, however, should be functioning again soon.
>
>
> /markus --
> Under God - Indivisible - Prime
>
> "INTERRUPT TRANSMISSION"
> GHOST PLANET CODE V1.0:
> CHSg+++Zo-Mo++Br+++Bl+Ja++Lo++Me+Lg+ C2C*/+++
> Med "The Empire Strikes Brak" CP* "Hoodleehoo Hoodleehoo" "Scat
> Sandwich" U+ L+ W++ Sm19 Fi
> C+++++pc/NT
> "RESUME TRANSMISSION"
>
>
> - .m a r k.h o p k i n s
>
> http://www.rizzn.com - If you were cool, you'd be here.
> Hello.
>
> I'm sending this to you because you were in my address
> book, my apologies if you got two copies or you don't know
> me. (or maybe that's a good thing.. ;)
>
> This is just a not to let you know my email address has
> changed to markhopkins@mindless.com, I no longer have any
> addresses at the tyler.net domain. My rizzn.com
> addresses, however, should be functioning again soon.
>
>
> /markus --
> Under God - Indivisible - Prime
>
> "INTERRUPT TRANSMISSION"
> GHOST PLANET CODE V1.0:
> CHSg+++Zo-Mo++Br+++Bl+Ja++Lo++Me+Lg+ C2C*/+++
> Med "The Empire Strikes Brak" CP* "Hoodleehoo Hoodleehoo" "Scat
> Sandwich" U+ L+ W++ Sm19 Fi
> C+++++pc/NT
> "RESUME TRANSMISSION"
>
>
> - .m a r k.h o p k i n s
>
> http://www.rizzn.com - If you were cool, you'd be here.
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