Don't fall for PC scan scams

INTRODUCTION — news about your newsletter

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At least four times a year, we license a special bonus download for our paying subscribers. This issue's bonus is:

Windows XP Digital Media Solutions by Paul Thurrott

A 100-page PDF e-book excerpted from the new, 450-page printed book

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You'll receive the bonus e-book, and a full year of the paid version of Windows Secrets, by simply making a contribution of any amount — whatever you feel it's worth — between Mar. 24, 2005, and Apr. 27, 2005.

The e-book is a printable PDF file that's 5.4 MB in size. Your download time will range from 3 minutes on a cable modem to approximately 20 minutes on a 56 Kbps dial-up modem.

The 100-page excerpt covers the best ways you can use Windows to enjoy digital music, video, and photos. The book is updated with the latest information for XP Service Pack 2 and Windows Media Player version 10, which is a big improvement over the insecure version 9.

Version 10 has no known security flaws, according to security firms such as Secunia and Sunbelt Software. You should immediately download Media Player 10 if you run XP and still have version 9. The player is free.

To upgrade your subscription, use the following link: How to upgrade

The full, printed book, Windows XP Digital Media Solutions — a title in the PC Magazine series issued by Wiley Publishing — is not yet available in many bookstores. At this writing, however, it has begun to appear at some online booksellers. It lists for $29.99 in the U.S. More info: United States / Canada / Elsewhere

We look forward to bringing you even more secrets of Windows, and even more bonus content, in the year to come. —Brian Livingston, Editor

Corrected chart of Internet users

In the Jan. 27 newsletter, we printed a chart showing the location of our newsletter subscribers compared to all English-speaking Internet users. Reader Chris Miller of Clonmere Consultants Ltd. tipped us off that the "ESI Users" column reversed the numbers for Canada and the U.K. Here are the correct percentages (source: Global Reach):

Country	Readers	ESI Users
U.S.	78.8%	65.6%
Canada	5.7%	6.8%
U.K.	4.8%	11.8%
Australia	3.7%	5.0%
Other	7.0%	10.8%
	————	————
Total	100.0%	100.0%

Windows Secrets Newsletter
Issue 50 — 2005.03.24

• Get a bonus e-book
• Corrected chart of Internet users
• Don't fall for PC scan scams
• Impersonating a cleanup service
• Let's call it spyware if it qualifies
• The problem isn't ads, it's remote control
• Don't use P2P software that installs spyware
• CounterSpy clobbers MS AntiSpyware in test
• Index of Reviews
• Canon tops camera lists in PC Mag
• Belkin Wi-Fi performance impresses CNET
• Other editors like Linksys Wi-Fi router
• PC Pro tests 13 disks and picks Maxtor
• PC World names 2 DVD burners Best Buy
• Editors choose Samsung's LCD in PC Mag test
• HP wins back-to-back printing tests
• "Log Me In" is free remote access done right
• Classic remote access
• Welcome to the Web generation
• The price is right
• Web surfers, beware of dangerous waters
• CSS styles can now infect IE 6
• New info leak found in most browsers
• Patches are subject to a great deal of FUD
• FUD 1: April 12, your PC is no longer yours
• FUD 2: The entire U.S. government can patch before us
• FUD 3: Firefox is open to spyware
• Remove old versions of Sun JRE
• Thwart LAND attacks on XP and 2003
• Mozilla Suite out, Firefox and Thunderbird in
• MS05-002 patch for Win 98/Me crashes video driver
• MS05-011 halts XP file saves to 95, 98, OS/2
• The "right" browser for you and your environment
• Rules of engagement for patch warfare
• Rule 1: Don't always trust what you read
• Rule 2: Don't always trust what you know
• Rule 3: Don't always trust the tools
• BackupFox is new Firefox profile-saver
• Roboform tracks browser upgrades
• Why wait 'til you're dead to show in the Louvre?
• Useful Links

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CIRCULATION: over 145,000

TOP STORY — info you need to make Windows work

Don't fall for PC scan scams

By Brian Livingston

Thanks to massive publicity about the subject, computer users are now widely concerned that their machines might be infected with "spyware" programs. These applications monitor users' activities and perhaps transmit to a hacker the users' passwords and other confidential information. But many Web sites that claim to "scan your computer" to detect spyware are, in fact, spreading spyware themselves.

In one of the latest examples, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced on Mar. 11 that Spyware Assassin, a $29.95 program sold by MaxTheatre Inc., was promoted by bogus pop-up windows. These windows falsely claimed, "You have dangerous spyware virus infections on your computer. Click OK to install the latest free update to fix these errors."

The FTC said that if a computer user clicked OK, a phony "local scan" then reported that spyware has been found, displaying a phony list of supposedly infected files and folders. Both the original message and the "local scan" reported problems even if the computer was free from infections, the FTC said.

The federal agency persuaded the U.S. District Court in Spokane, Wash., where MaxTheatre is based, to issue a temporary restraining order. The site is now shut down.

This kind of scam is now so common on the Web that it's generating its own macabre jokes. One wag suggested in a Slashdot posting that, if the FTC really got serious, we'd soon see the following story:

"The Federal Trade Commission has shut down Microsoft, alleging the company participated in fraudulent practices with its Windows and Office software, which purportedly gave the illusion of an operating system and/or increased productivity at work, even though no improvement was done and in most cases, the user machine would stop working correctly after a day. The company's site then offered the user a $30 product to enhance security, which the commission reports 'didn't do a thing.' "

Impersonating a cleanup service

All kidding aside, the number of bogus programs that now pose as "antispyware" applications is enormous and still growing.

Eric Howes, a security researcher who has published numerous tests of cleanup programs (as described in our Feb. 24 and previous newsletters), has found more than 100 examples of disreputable applications on the Web.

He maintains a detailed list of Rogue/Suspect Antispyware Products on a page at Spyware Warrior, an informational site. The rogue's gallery includes such programs as "SpyDeleter," a product promoted, according to an FTC complaint, by Sanford Wallace, formerly a well-known spammer. The FTC sought a restraining order against Wallace and a related company, Seismic Entertainment Productions Inc., last October.

In many cases, according to Howes' listings, rogue programs actually install browser home-page hijackers and open a back door to install other software.

Many computer users are understandably fearful of online threats and click OK to cleanup offers, without first questioning the source of the "alert." This is one more thing to guard against on the Web.

Unfortunately, some legitimate security companies also offer online scans to detect malware on PCs. Although these companies mean well, I can't recommend such scans at this time. Even if the company produces a fine software product, any remote scan is subject to false positives. In other words, the scan might detect something on a PC and incorrectly label it malware. If the company then offers to sell a product to clean up the system, it can be accused of engineering the false positives, just as the FTC charged MaxTheatre of doing.

A much better approach is for computer owners to purchase low-cost but effective security programs to clean up their systems and then protect them from further infections. We include a summary of the top-rated programs in our Security Baseline section, below.

Important: Please note that my recommendation against Web scans of PCs does not apply to vulnerability detection sites, such as the excellent Shields Up! service provided by Steve Gibson of the Gibson Research Corp. This service, with your permission, examines a PC's network connection to determine whether or not it has "open ports" that can be exploited by hackers. Since the testing mechanism needs to be outside your network in order to conduct such vulnerability assessments, Shields Up! provides a valuable service that cannot easily be performed by software you install.

Let's call it spyware if it qualifies

I wrote in the Feb. 24 newsletter that the distinction between "spyware" and "adware" was meaningless. Since all such programs generate revenue or something else of value for their promoters, they should all be called adware, I said. This would preclude authors of such programs from saying, "Our product is not spyware, it's adware, which is fine." Programs that control any aspect of your PC without your full knowledge and consent are always a severe security risk and should not be tolerated. (I have always stated that "ad-supported software," where the ads are displayed within an application's primary window, as with Opera and Google, are fine.)

I now believe I shouldn't have dissed the term "spyware," so much. The public has come to fear "spyware" because of saturation coverage of the problem in the mass media. For this reason, I'm dropping my objections to the term and the newsletter will use "spyware," "adware," "malware" and other terms as appropriate.

Howes has written to me that definitions of spyware are actually becoming a burden on consumer advocates such as himself. He now feels that the more specific a definition is, the more it may be a trap:

"I'm really skeptical at this point that we ever will come up with a term for this kind of software that everyone can live with. The problem is that once you come up with a term and that term becomes even remotely tainted or even hints that the software is in any way undesirable, the people whose software you're trying to hang that term on are going to object.

"Just one year ago the industry was pushing the 'spyware=bad / adware=good' distinction. Now many of these same companies don't even want to be associated with the term "adware," so tainted has that term become.

"I actually think the right approach now is to push people to stop getting hung up on the precise word(s) you use to name the software, which leads only to useless definitional disputes that the bad guys exploit to wriggle out of your term, and focus on the practices and behaviors of the companies and the software."

Howes provided the most far-reaching analysis of the various problems we face — and terms to describe them — in a paper he submitted to the FTC last year. At that time, he thought a better catch-all term would be "junkware." I recommend his paper to everyone interested in this subject.

The problem isn't ads, it's remote control

Unfortunately, the issue of pop-up ads (which are bad enough) has confused the main threat facing us. It isn't a display of ads that makes a program malware. It's the fact that the application has (1) the ability to run commands on the infected PC, or (2) download new versions of itself (which may have negative features), or (3) download entirely new programs that aren't in the best interest of the computer owner.

The fact that a PC user is giving control of the machine to someone other than its owner is the heart of the matter.

If I were writing laws about this, I'd prohibit software that can "morph" its code once installed, except under strict conditions. I believe all such software should be removed automatically by security programs. The user should then be able to see a log of what was removed, and should be able to undo some of the uninstalls, in some cases.

As I noted on Feb. 24, the license for the iSearch Toolbar, an adware program, says it may "without any further prior notice to you... install software from iSearch affiliates; and install Third Party Software." There is absolutely no reason for a legitimate software company to claim the right to install on your PC other programs from other companies, which you may never have heard of.

I believe there's an enormous financial incentive for adware makers to sell access to their network of PCs to questionable characters. With this temptation, I believe it's only a matter of time before seriously nasty programs are installed everywhere, making them stronger than the defenders. (At some point, say, they may collectively launch a massive DDoS against the servers of Symantec, McAfee, and other security firms. Some such attacks have already begun. Numerous malware programs alter a PC's Hosts file so attempts to connect to security firms' sites fail. These alterations are stopped by installing the leading antispyware apps, which are shown in our Security Baseline section, below)

That's why I believe all computer users should eradicate this stuff now, and that ISPs should start checking for and eradicating it, too.

Don't use P2P software that installs spyware

I've written previously that file-sharing software usually tries to install spyware. I noted on Jan. 27, for example, that Grokster alone could install as many as 15 separate adware programs.

If you insist on using such peer-to-peer applications — which open connections in your PC that have their own serious security risks — I urge you to read Ben Edelman's Unwanted Software Installed by P2P Programs.

Edelman, a respected researcher who is a Ph.D. economics candidate at Harvard University, shows the junk you can accumulate from file-sharing applications. Of the five programs he tested, only LimeWire was free from adware. (Edelman discloses that LimeWire has a consulting relationship with him. I believe his results are trustworthy none the less.)

In future issues of the newsletter, I hope to publish a list of Web sites that actually do provide useful PC scanning services without any hint that they might use false positives to sell products. This is an extremely difficult topic to research, because such sites may change at any time, making guarantees difficult. All I can say is: Watch this space.

Our thanks go out to our reader whose handle is Navigatr1 for help in researching this topic. To send us more information about spyware, or to send us a tip on any other subject, visit WindowsSecrets.com/contact. You'll receive a gift certificate for a book, CD, or DVD of your choice if you send us a comment that we print.

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THE SECURITY BASELINE — the minimum you need for safe computing

CounterSpy clobbers MS AntiSpyware in test

Every PC needs a complete set of the building blocks shown below for protection against hacker attacks. In this section, which appears in every issue, we summarize the top ratings from trusted reviewers.

New info: Sunbelt Software's CounterSpy, an award-winning antispyware application ($20 USD), hasn't yet been put to a fair, head-to-head test against Microsoft AntiSpyware by a major computer magazine, to the best of our knowledge. PC World recently tested several antispyware apps, but used an MS AntiSpyware signature file of a different date from the other programs, making direct comparisons impossible.

The lack of a definitive, published shootout of the two top contenders is partially explained by the fact that the programs originally shared the same code base and looked almost identical, as explained in a Datamation column. This meant that one or the other was usually omitted by reviewers to avoid "duplication."

An additional factor is that MS AntiSpyware has been in beta since Microsoft acquired and renamed the program formerly known as Giant AntiSpyware in November. Many magazines dislike rating beta software.

Windows Secrets reader Bob Wilson has been conducting his own tests of the two competing programs. He's achieved some very interesting findings:

"I started using CounterSpy several months ago when it was first introduced. I then installed [the free, beta version of] Microsoft AntiSpyware. I thought that, due to the obvious similarities, people were getting $20 worth of free software.

"In the time I have been running both programs, the free program has only detected one piece of spyware, while CounterSpy has detected maybe a dozen, mostly key loggers.

"The last few times I found items using CounterSpy, I did not quarantine them. Instead, I ran the Microsoft program, which failed in each case to detect the spyware.

"Looking deeper, you find that the similarity of the two programs is superficial:
- The CounterSpy installation is larger: 64 MB compared to 14 MB for MS.
- The files examined by CS are about 62,000 compared to 20,000 by MS.
- The Registry locations examined are about 12,000 for CS and 8,500 for MS.
"Just thought people should know."

Some of the numerical differences can be explained by the fact that CounterSpy detects cookies and MS AntiSpyware does not. But CounterSpy also appears to beat the MS AntiSpyware beta because CounterSpy enjoys access to Microsoft's spyware database as well as Sunbelt Software's own reporting network. This means CounterSpy benefits from the resources of Microsoft's detection methods as well as its own spyware signature development.

We'll summarize for you the results of more authoritative tests here in the Security Baseline section as new reviews become available. Meanwhile, reader Wilson will receive a gift certificate for a book, CD, or DVD of his choice for sending us a tip we printed.

		1. Hardware firewall. For wired home and small-office networking, the 4-port Linksys BEFSX41 firewall (photo at left, about $65 USD street price) boasts PC Magazine's Editors' Choice award and implements NAT and SPI security. For wireless networking, the new Belkin Wireless Pre-N router ($120) also supports NAT and SPI and is currently top-rated at CNET.
		2. Software firewall. ZoneAlarm Security Suite (left, $60) holds PC Magazine's Editors' Choice as the best all-in-one software firewall, antivirus program, and antispam filter. For software firewall protection only, ZoneAlarm Pro ($35) is number one according to several testers, including PC World's Best of 2004 awards.
		3. Antivirus program. Trend Micro's PC-cillin Internet Security 2005 antivirus suite ($45), which also includes a personal firewall, recently won head-to-head comparisons in PC World and CNET against McAfee's and Symantec's offerings. Note: If you have ZoneAlarm Security Suite (see above), you don't need a separate antivirus program.
		4. Antispam program. Cloudmark Safetybar (available in versions for Outlook and Outlook Express, $30) is currently rated as a PC World Best Buy and a PC Magazine Editors' Choice. Note: If you have ZoneAlarm Security Suite (see above), you don't need a separate antispam filtering program.
		5. Antispyware program. For individuals, Sunbelt Software CounterSpy 1.0 (left, $20) is now the most effective remover of spyware, according to PC World. When used with the free HijackThis program, PC World says the two apps caught 100% of the spyware used in its testing. (HijackThis is an advanced program that's supported by free technical forums.) For small to medium networks, Sunbelt CounterSpy Enterprise ($255 for 10 machines) is top-rated by eWeek as a centrally managed program.
		6. Update management. For small to medium networks, Microsoft's free Software Update Services (SUS) is currently the best way to automate the downloading of critical Windows patches, according to a Network Computing review. (SUS is being renamed Windows Server Update Services. New info: Microsoft on Mar. 22 announced an open evaluation program for WSUS Release Candidate 1.) SUS, unfortunately, doesn't scan PCs for problems or distribute fixes for applications. GFI LANguard Network Security Scanner (left, $375 for 25 users) builds on SUS, checking your network for vulnerabilities and pushing out updates. LANguard NSS is top-rated by WindowSecurity.com and MCSE World. The latter site also publishes a helpful tutorial on augmenting SUS with LANguard NSS or Shavlik's HFNetChkPro ($620 for 25 users). Individual users should simply turn on the auto-download features of Windows Update and any installed apps they may have.

FORWARDING INSTRUCTIONS — news gains value when it's shared

Please share this information with your friends
You're encouraged to refer your friends and colleagues to this free newsletter. Because most e-mail programs don't correctly display a formatted message that's been forwarded, simply call people's attention to the permanent Web address of this issue: WindowsSecrets.com/comp/050324.

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INDEX OF REVIEWS — our directory of product shootouts

The Index of Reviews

In this section, we link to respected expert reviews of the best Windows-compatible hardware products available today. Only head-to-head ratings of competing products — not individual reviews of single products — are indexed here.

		DIGITAL CAMERAS Canon tops camera lists in PC Mag PC Magazine takes the guesswork out of camera buying by picking the best cameras out of 24 tested — in six different categories. The 12 models they give their Editors' Choice award to are: Canon PowerShot S70 (Compact category, Score: 4.0/5.0) Fujifilm FinePix E550 (Compact, 4.0) Kodak EasyShare LS743 (Compact, 4.0) Canon PowerShot SD300 Digital Elph (Ultracompact, 4.0) Olympus Camedia C-765 Ultra Zoom (Superzoom, 4.0) Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ15 (Superzoom, 4.0) Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20 (Superzoom, 4.0) Canon PowerShot G6 (Enthusiast, 4.0) Konica Minolta DiMage A2 (Enthusiast, 4.0) Olympus C-8080 Wide Zoom (Enthusiast, 4.0) Canon EOS 20D (Digital SLR, 5.0) Casio Exilim EX-P505 (Hybrid, 3.5) Link to all ratings and full review
		PROPRIETARY PRE-N WIRELESS ROUTERS Belkin's performance impresses CNET In the category of Pre-N routers, currently much sought-after for higher speed and greater range, Belkin outperforms all others in this class, according to tests by CNET. Remember, Pre-N routers are not likely to be compatible with 802.11n equipment, which soon will be standardized. Belkin Wireless Pre-N router (Score: 8.4/10.0) Link to all ratings and full review
		PROPRIETARY PRE-N WIRELESS ROUTERS Editors at PC Mag like Linksys router PC Magazine also puts Pre-N routers through their own tests of throughput and range. Like the CNET review (above), PC Mag's editors gave the Belkin model a high 4.0 rating. But the Editors' Choice went to the Linksys unit, also rated 4.0, which CNET's reviewers didn't much like. Linksys WRT54GX Router with SRX (Editors' Choice, Score: 4.0/5.0) Link to all ratings and full review
		HARD DISKS PC Pro tests 13 disks and picks Maxtor PC Pro Magazine puts eight SATA and five external hard disks through tests for performance, speed, and noise. The Maxtor DiamondMax 10 (120 GB) comes out on top in all categories, making it the PC Pro Labs winner. Maxtor DiamondMax 10 (PCPro Labs Winner award, Score: 5/6) Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 (PCPro Recommended, 5) LaCie 250GB USB 2 (PCPro Recommended, 5) Link to all ratings and full review
		DUAL-LAYER DVD BURNERS PC World names 2 DVD burners Best Buy The editors at PC World gather 12 state-of-the-art, dual-layer DVD burners and put them to the test. Toshiba, one of the fastest drives on the chart, and the competively priced BenQ capture the Best Buy awards. Toshiba SD-R5372 (Best Buy, Score: 4.5/5.0) BenQ DW1620 (Best Buy, 3.5) Link to all ratings and full review
		20-INCH LCDs Editors choose Samsung's LCD in PC Mag test PC Magazine tests 10 large LCD monitors that are sharper than those that used to be available and now occupy a more reasonable price point. The Samsung SyncMaster outshines all the rest and makes Editors' Choice. Samsung SyncMaster 213T (Editors' Choice, Score: 4.5/5.0) Link to all ratings and full review
		DUPLEXING PRINTERS HP wins back-to-back printing tests CNET takes a look at four laser printers with built-in duplexers. It likes the HP for its two-sided printing, compact size, and the quality of its output. HP LaserJet 1320 (Editors' Choice, Score: 8.0/10.0) Link to all ratings and full review Note: The links above lead to information from U.S. sources. For information from sources in other countries, enter the name of a reviewed product into a search box at one of the following links: Canada / Elsewhere

HERE'S A TIP — you'll get a better newsletter if you choose the paid version

You're reading the free version of the Windows Secrets Newsletter
Subscribers to the paid version receive additional information in each issue. Some of the extras this week are:

	Paul Thurrott / Briefing Session. What the insiders know — and what you need to find out — about Windows: • "Log Me In" is free remote access done right • Classic remote access • Welcome to the Web generation • The price is right
	Chris Mosby / Over the Horizon. The steps you need to take NOW to protect yourself, because patches aren't yet available for some known threats: • Web surfers, beware of dangerous waters • CSS styles can now infect IE 6 • New info leak found in most browsers • Leak affects Opera and Firefox as well as IE
	Susan Bradley / Windows Patch Watch. We tell you which official patches have problems and, more importantly, how you can work around them: • Remove old versions of Sun JRE • Thwart LAND attacks on XP and 2003 • MS05-002 patch for Win 98/Me crashes video driver • MS05-011 halts XP file saves to 95, 98, OS/2
	Mark Burnett / Update Management. How you can use free or commercial software to automate patching and upgrading, whether you're responsible for 5 PCs or 50,000: • Rules of engagement for patch warfare • Rule 1: Don't always trust what you read • Rule 2: Don't always trust what you know • Rule 3: Don't always trust the tools
	Ian Maddox / Hot Tips. The latest tricks you need to make Windows work the way you want it to work: • BackupFox is new Firefox profile-saver • Roboform tracks browser upgrades

Paid subscribers gain access to all past paid newsletter content
Make a contribution to support our research into Windows and you'll immediately be able to read and search through scores of valuable articles. In addition, paid subscribers are entitled to download valuable content that we license for you at least once every calendar quarter.

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If you do this by April 13, 2005, you'll instantly be sent the full, paid version of today's newsletter.

To upgrade to the paid version of Windows Secrets, please visit WindowsSecrets.com/upgrade. Thanks in advance.

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ELECTRONIC BOOKSHELF — new e-books from the editors

Spam-Proof Your E-Mail Address
This 27-page e-book by Brian Livingston gives you step-by-step instructions that can eliminate 97% of the spam that would otherwise clog your e-mail account. You could call it "Livingston's Spam Secrets." The PDF-format e-book is the result of months of experiments and tests we conducted. We now receive little or no spam to the addresses we used as guinea pigs. These tests show that you can actually reduce your volume of spam to practically nothing, not just battle an unstoppable and ever-growing flood. The methods we describe work with Windows, Apple, and Linux and don't require any filters or block lists — but you can use those in addition to the book's techniques, if you wish. More info

WACKY WEB WEEK — playing for you the Internet's greatest bits

Why wait 'til you're dead to show in the Louvre?
Reuters, the New York Times, and many other news outlets reported today that a British artist who goes by the name Banksy has been hanging hilarious painted spoofs (photo, left) in New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and other museums around the world.

The Wooster Collective, a group named after a street in New York City, has posted what it calls exclusive photos of the artwork and how the installations were pulled off. In one case, the collective says, a piece remained on a museum wall for three days before it was discovered and taken down by officials.

Reuters quotes the artist as saying he was inspired to do his pranking by his sister, who he found one day tossing out some of his pictures. When he asked why, she replied, "It's not like they're going to be hanging in the Louvre." He says, "I thought why wait until I'm dead." See the photos

USEFUL LINKS — more stuff that's good to know

Give your PCs an immune system
A new category of security software known as host-based intrusion prevention systems looks for unusual computer behaviors to determine which programs are malicious. (By Brian Livingston, Datamation) More info

A preview of Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition
In addition to Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Microsoft is also prepping two x64-based Windows Server 2003 products. x64 is the platform of the future, and one that all Windows Server administrators should be thinking about. (By Paul Thurrott, SuperSite for Windows) More info

Measuring search-engine optimization
An entrepreneur is launching a service that may be able to objectively measure the effectiveness of search-engine optimization firms. (By Brian Livingston, Datamation) More info

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ABOUT YOUR SUBSCRIPTION — we're here to serve you

The Windows Secrets Newsletter (formerly Woody's Windows Watch and Brian's Buzz on Windows) is published twice a month, except for breaks in July and December. The newsletter is published on the first and third Thursdays after Patch Tuesday (the 2nd Tuesday of each month, when Microsoft generally releases new Windows patches).

Publisher: The newsletter publisher is WindowsSecrets.com LLC, 300 Queen Anne Ave. N. #456, Seattle, WA 98109 USA. Vendors, please send no unsolicited packages to this address (readers' letters are fine).

Editor: Brian Livingston is the coauthor of Windows 2000 Secrets, Windows Me Secrets, and eight other books. Associate Editor: Paul Thurrott is the author of Windows XP Home Networking and Great Digital Media with Windows XP and the author or coauthor of several other books. Contributing Editors: Susan Bradley, Chris Mosby. Research Director: Vickie Stevens. Program Director: Ian Maddox.

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