SoCal IT Pro Association Newsletter
  		Volume 3  Number 9
September 1, 2005
Southern California Information Technology Professional Association
 
Welcome Members, Visitors and Friends!
Inside this Issue:
Zotob Worm Linked to Credit Card Fraud Ring
Microsoft reports another flaw in IE
Meeting Announcement
Favorite Third Party Tools: Stinger!
Commentary: I didn't see you at the last meeting...
Final Notes…
Email the Editor

And Now, The News...

Microsoft reports another flaw in IE

Another security hole in Internet Explorer 6? Are you really surprised? I didn't think so. This one affects XP systems with Service pack 2 and all current security updates as well. On August 29, Joris Evers of CNET News.com reported another hole that Microsoft is scrambling to plug. "The security hole allows for 'full-blown remote code execution. If a user browses to a bad Web site, malicious software can be installed on their PC without their knowledge.'" To read the full story, click here.

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The Zotob Worm has been linked to a credit card fraud ring.

After the attack a few weeks ago, that affected computers at Chrysler, ABC and CNN, Turkish authorities have made significant progress in finding and arresting members of a credit card fraud ring, that used the virus as a backdoor. Twenty-one year old Atilla Ekeci, handle: Coder, and eighteen year old Farid Essebar, handle: Diabl0, are suspected of writing Zotob, Mytob, and Rbot. According to Joris Evers, CNET News.com, "Both Mytob and Zotob attack Windows computers and feature backdoor capabilities. Criminals could use this backdoor to install software that spies on users or to install "bot" programs that create "botnets," networks of hijacked PCs that are rented out to relay spam or attack other systems." To read the full story, click here.

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Meeting Announcement: Thursday, September 8, 2005, 6:00 pm:

High Tower Software presents "Common Mistakes People Make in Detection and Intrusion Prevention"
by Dr. Eugene Shultz CISM, CISSP
For more information, goto: http://www.high-tower.com. Now, once again, we present this exciting offer:

VALUABLE NEWSLETTER COUPON

FOR SoCal IT Pro Association MEMBERS ONLY

PRESENT THIS COUPON WHEN YOU SIGN IN AT THE ADMISSIONS TABLE TO RECEIVE

1 FREE EXTRA RAFFLE TICKET

A SECOND CHANCE TO WIN A FABULOUS DOOR PRIZE!!!
That's right!, cut out the above coupon, and present it at the admission table, and receive your extra, FREE Raffle Ticket! As always please RSVP on the http://www.SoCalITPro.org website (it helps us to know how much PIZZA to order). The link is on the lower left hand side of the home page. (BTW: a couple months back, someone won on both their original ticket, AND on the free extra ticket!)

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Favorite Third Party Tools: Stinger!

Here's one you can use! Go to McAfee.com, get Stinger. What is Stinger? It's a FREE compact anti-virus program that includes the most current virus signatures, and it runs from floppy disks (about four of 'em). McAfee updates the signature files frequently. Why do you want Stinger? What if something infects your system and you can't even boot? Do you already have an AV tool that boots from a floppy? (I mean a current one.) Just download this puppy once each month, write it to floppies, and IF (WHEN) something nasty happens to your machine, you've got something that might help. Com'on, what are you waiting for? I said it's Free! Download Stinger now.

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Commentary: I didn't see you at the last meeting…

I didn't see you at the last meeting...of course, my car was in the shop, and I couldn't get a ride, and I didn't have cab fare, and my horse was lame, and my dog team can't run without snow, so I have a good excuse for not being there. But why weren't you there? You know the Board, all volunteers btw, is having conniption fits wondering why you aren't coming to meetings. Is it that you don't like the free pizza? Yeah, that must be it...we're not ordering your favorite, with pepperoni, mushrooms, and anchovies, right? Okay, that's not it. Maybe the Thursday night TV lineup is a powerful attractor. No? Well then, maybe you're not interested in winning the prizes. Yeah, that's it. You already have one too many X-boxes, and USB drives. No? Okay, maybe you're not interested in the technical topics offered. If not, why don't you tell us who you'd like to see give a presentation? Perhaps you already know a contact phone number or Eddress for that vendor, corporation, person?

So then, why haven't I seen you at the meetings? Perhaps the "Users asking users" section is of no use to you? You already know how to solve all your problems at work, so you don't need us any more. Oh, that's not it either? Is it that you're too shy to network with other IT professionals? (Do we need to hold mixer games like "Twister" to get you to talk to one another?) What about the MCT corner? It doesn't help you to get a little more knowledge of your subject? What about the free classes, or classes at a reduced rate from QuickStart? Those don't interest you? And what about the reduced subscription rate for Windows IT Pro Magazine? Are you already getting it through another source (at a higher cost)?

Maybe I haven't seen you because you're not receiving the meeting notices? Are we sending you so may monthly meeting notifications that your spam blocker is blocking them from getting through to you?

Are the annual dues too high? Is that why I haven't seen you at the meetings? Yeah, maybe its the money angle. Fifty dollars is too expensive for a professional, maybe? (The Board, all UNPAID VOLUNTEERS by the way, is tearing its collective hair out trying to figure out how to get people to pay dues. Out of some two thousand supposed members in our database, only 114 members have paid dues this year. How can we afford to order the pizza if nobody pays dues? Huh? And what about the rental fee for the meeting room? What about the special technical speaker you want to hear? Where do we get the money to pay for them, huh?)

Then again, it's probably the gasoline, right? That's why I haven't seen you at the meetings. That's too expensive right now, isn't it? It's certainly grabbing me by the tailpipe! And Aliso Viejo's such a far piece from where you work, isn't it? Well, then help us find a more centrally located meeting venue that doesn't cost an arm and a leg to use one evening per month. The SoCal IT Pro Association is an ALL VOLUNTEER organization! We need your help! HELP!

So, I guess I'll see you there Thursday, September 8, 2005, at 6:00 pm, right? Nag, nag...am I nagging? [Subliminal message: PAY YOUR DUES!] Of course not. I never nag. [Subliminal message: COME TO MEETINGS!] Nudge, maybe, but nag? [Subliminal message: VOLUNTEER TO HELP!] Never!

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Final Notes…

>Suggestions: An organization is always more efficient when its members pitch in. We want suggestions for products, vendors, or technical presenters YOU would like to see at our meetings. If you have ideas for things you think we should be doing, let us know! After each meeting, Suggestion/Evaluation forms will be available. Alternatively, you may email suggestions to Brad Fischl, brad.fischl@quickstart.com, or to the Editor (see below) or you could make your suggestions on our new Online FORUM!

>Submissions: If you any ideas for an article that you might like to write for this Newsletter, or about any third-party software that you would like to share with our members, please submit your article to the Editor, contact information below. Please use the Rich Text Format (.rtf file) for your article, and in the subject line of your email, put the word, Newsletter, so I don't accidently delete your email. (I tend to delete emails from people I don't know unless the subject line clearly indicates something important.)

See you at the meeting on Thursday, September 8, 2005

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Robert Holtzman, Editor  rholtzman@socalitpro.org
SoCal IT Pro Association Newsletter Volume 3 Number 9 September 01, 2005
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