Hey! Instant Messangers!!!

Subject: Hey! Instant Messangers!!!
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 23 Sep 01 - 01:18 PM

check out jabber.com

cross platform IMing!

So, ICQ can talk to IM, can talk to yahoo, ect!

:-)

Subject: RE: Hey! Instant Messangers!!!
From: Bill D
Date: 23 Sep 01 - 09:53 PM

so can Trillian I use it a lot ....have been meaning to look into Jabber also, as they seem to have some serious plans about being TRULY cross-platform and open source.

Subject: RE: Hey! Instant Messangers!!!
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 24 Sep 01 - 12:39 PM

So it seems... one down side is that you have to have all the original programs installed in order to use Jabber... but that's just harddrive space, so it's no big deal...

I'm gonna give it a whirl when I get the chance... Hopefully it'll be cool...

;-)

Subject: RE: Hey! Instant Messangers!!!
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 26 Sep 01 - 03:06 PM

No one else cares?

Subject: RE: Hey! Instant Messangers!!!
From: catspaw49
Date: 26 Sep 01 - 03:15 PM

Well CH, I care, but right now I have gas and the fumes seem to be clouding my brain...........I do have a question though, for you or Bill or somebody.......Why do you need this? Not the gas, the jabber and such.

Spaw

Subject: RE: Hey! Instant Messangers!!!
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 26 Sep 01 - 03:24 PM

With Jabber, ICQ can talk to IM, can talk to Yahoo, can talk to... And Jabber adds a bunch of really neat features to all of them... and it's FREE!!!!!!

Subject: RE: Hey! Instant Messangers!!!
From: Bill D
Date: 26 Sep 01 - 03:30 PM

Clinton...I post useful & alternative programs all the time..the truth is, most people consider it a nuisance to have to deal with finding, installing & understanding new programs *unless* they see an immediate and direct need... 'improving' and going beyond the basics is not for everyone. The virus scares have gotten a few folks to add an anti-virus and a 'few' have gotten a firewall...and a VERY few have changed email programs to something other than Outlook Express or Netscape or AOL.....I have no idea why I, at the age of 60, took to figuring out this stuff and enjoying exploring for new & better (and mostly free) programs to make using the PC easier and safer. I have barely touched the heaps of fascinating things I have found...security programs, backup proggies, graphics editors, desktop publishing gadgets, fonts,...etc..etc...and if someone asks, I'll offer what I have, but there is no use waving Jabber or Trillian in front of folks who are happy with AIM & ICQ...mostly... I find that Trillian allows the best aspects of ICQ and IRC...instant response and a running log...but it has a 'different' feel...and requires a learning curve of sorts. so....*shrug*....I just don't fret about it...(look how little response the Opera thread got, relatively)

but yep...I shall try Jabber soon....after I finish installing my latest unzippers, PIMs and improvements on Windows Explorer..(you mean YOU don't have "Servant Salamander" or "PowerDesk" or "TurboNavigator" yet?...tsk! *grin*)

Subject: RE: Hey! Instant Messangers!!!
From: kendall
Date: 26 Sep 01 - 03:37 PM

Sopmeone please tell me about fire walls? And, what is this alternative to outlook express e mail?

Subject: RE: Hey! Instant Messangers!!!
From: catspaw49
Date: 26 Sep 01 - 03:47 PM

I suggest Zone Alarm and Eudora at the minimum Kendall. We've had about a blue million threads on this, especially every time a virus pops up.

I use a lot of different programs guys, but why do I want the stuff to talk to each other? I got IM and Icq and all....Why is this better?

Spaw

Subject: RE: Hey! Instant Messangers!!!
From: Bill D
Date: 26 Sep 01 - 03:54 PM

a firewall is a program that can be told to monitor things like cookies, Javascript pop-up ads, attempts to 'contact' your computer by un-invited guests(benign or nasty), and to do what YOU want about these various intrusions. There are several free ones which are nice, with varying features.

alternatives to Outlook Express?...LOTS of free choices, and a few paid ones... Katlaughing just switched to EudoraMail (which I use)..and says she loves it...there is also FoxMail, CalypsoMail, Pegasus...and several others.

more info & links on request

'spaw...I have had several times recently where ICQ was not responding, and Trillian worked perfectly...it does NOT have the chatrooms like ICQ uses for the MudChat...but for daily contacts, it simply acts very much like ICQ and does most of the same things, except faster. I don't use it 'instead of' but as a back-up...

Subject: RE: Hey! Instant Messangers!!!
From: Amergin
Date: 26 Sep 01 - 04:01 PM

The thing with firewalls...like I tell our customers, Kendall, is that things can go wrong and they start to block the connection...Zone alarm is notorious for it...and alot of times even if you have them disabled they still run in the background and block the connection...zone alarm tends to sometimes corrupt the registry, so that you will have no connection even if the program is installed...and then you have to delete the registry keys that are involved...but then I can almost guarantee a connection...

As for alternative email programs, I would go with eudora...as it is free (if you don't mind an out of the way ad) and has all sorts of neat features on it and can be fairly user friendly...and you can also get a manual on it from the same site...one thing though is that many ISPs may not support it...I know that we do not...because we do not provide it...in fact we do not support netscape beyond 4.6...as AOL has taken them over...and they are now a comptetitor...

Subject: RE: Hey! Instant Messangers!!!
From: Bill D
Date: 26 Sep 01 - 04:02 PM

and, I have an older, hard-to-find firewall called AtGuard which is pretty easy to talk to...will send it to anyone who wants to try it...there is also a free one called "Tiny Personal Firewall" which is VERY highly regarded, but which they say is not as easily configured (read..expects you to know a few technical terms )

Subject: RE: Hey! Instant Messangers!!!
From: catspaw49
Date: 26 Sep 01 - 04:19 PM

'Gin Boy, I don't doubt you a bit, but I have personally never had the first problem with Zone Alarm in about two years now.

Spaw

Subject: RE: Hey! Instant Messangers!!!
From: Bill D
Date: 26 Sep 01 - 04:41 PM

ummm...the last..AND most stable'real' version of Netscape is either 4.75 or 4.78...depending on your definition of 'stable'..AOL did NOT mess those up. What happens with Zone Alarm is related to how much you ask it to do....if you are a hacker who surfs the scariest parts of the WWW and dodges virtual bullets all day, ZA may get overworked and schitzy...most local folks don't have that problem. also "they still run in the background and block the connection" ...not if you configure then properly!!!! I have used ZA for about a year now, though I find that AtGuard does 90+% of what I need done...I am, however, considering taking out ZA and trying TINY.(see above)

Subject: RE: Hey! Instant Messangers!!!
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 26 Sep 01 - 05:45 PM

BillD, et al.

Virus scares tend to be exactly that... just SCARES! How hard is it to get a decent Virus Shield and update it regularly??? If you can't handle that, the world of computing is proably beyond you and you should stick to surfing the net on your TV or your Pezz coloured Imac...

Why a home user EVER needs a firewall is beyond me... what do you have on your system that SOOOO important?!?!? Ya know... putting a firewall on your home system is just BEGGING for trouble, because, like driving overcautiously when you've had a couple, it draws attention to yourself... (And before those WANKERS start jumping up and down and pissing an moaning, I am NOT advocating drinking and driving... I use it as an example is all... calm ye down...)

Besides, it's not those people I'm posting at... it is the folks like you and me who are willing to give new things a try, and are not freaked out by that box sitting there beside this hyped-up TV screen...

My suggestion... we need another Thread Prefix... "Tech Stuff".. so's we can swap this kind of info amongst us!

Mudcat... It's not just for music anymore!!

LOL!!!

Subject: RE: Hey! Instant Messangers!!!
From: kendall
Date: 26 Sep 01 - 05:56 PM

Sorry Spaw, never had an interest in firewalls before, so, havn't checked out those threads. What is on my pc that might benefit from a firewall? All personal information. This stuff can be stolen and used to steal ones identity. I'm very careful what I post, but, for instance, my home address is on a couple of sites. I got a virus about a year ago, and it raised old kadady with me. Cost me a bunch of scratch to nix it. Know what I'm saying? I get a heap of e mails that I just dont open because I dont know the sender. How about if I just update my virus scan?

Subject: RE: Hey! Instant Messangers!!!
From: Bill D
Date: 26 Sep 01 - 06:08 PM

gee, Clinton...I bait 'em & you scare 'em off...*wry grin*...and there IS a tech thread (in the FAQ I guess...it pops up in the regular list now & then)...but I'd like to see more folks get interested.

as to firewalls...you 'can' set your browser to accept, reject or "ask" about cookies...a good firewall can be set to know what cookies you'll accept and keep you from having to click 'no' buttons or change settings....and best of all, it can stop or curtail (depending on brand & settings) those damn pop-up ads that grab the corner of your screen and won't close!......AtGuard will block either ALL Javascript or only pop-up windows...or nothing...your choice. It will also block selected email from many sites.

so....if you feel safe without one...fine....I have a mostly cement & brick house, but I also have smoke alarms....And 'mostly' I don't have people messing with my doors when I'm gone, but I lock 'em anyway....I do hate extra precautions, as I grew up NOT having to lock doors, but the extra precautions take very little time & effort once they are set up, and NONE of those viruses last few months got me, and I see 'almost' no pop-up ads....

and until recently, no one had PLASTIC knives confisticated at airports.

Subject: RE: Hey! Instant Messangers!!!
From: Justa Picker
Date: 26 Sep 01 - 06:27 PM

Clinton,
Let's say you work out of your home, and everything connected to the operation of your business resides on your computer. And then lets say (1) of your competitors also happens to be a computer hacker in his spare time as it's his hobby. Do I want to take the chance even if it's 1 in a 100,000 that this guy will access my computer, download my client base, contracts, and inside information on how my company operates? Not a fecking chance.

There are also a lot of people running web servers using Front Page, that have not password protected access to their web folders. I have found two instances of people I know, and I informed them of how vulnerable they were.

I'd rather err on the side of paranoia than trust that all of the millions of people who access the web and internet daily, have no interest in my computer. But I already know from the amount of spyware in the form of "cookies" that it ain't so. CNN and Yahoo leave spyware on my system everytime I visit those sights (and I'm sure there are a zillion other web sites as well.) I run Ad-aware after each time, I visit these, and other unknown websites. Amazing what you find.

Subject: RE: Hey! Instant Messangers!!!
From: Justa Picker
Date: 26 Sep 01 - 06:29 PM

Oh, and if you set your browser not to accept cookies, in an attempt to thwart spyware, in many cases those sypware-lobbing web sites won't function properly in your browser or deny you access to the site contents completely.

Subject: RE: Hey! Instant Messangers!!!
From: Amergin
Date: 26 Sep 01 - 06:44 PM

Bill, most of the calls I have received that related to the firewall program were normal users...in other words people who didn't know much...

Subject: RE: Hey! Instant Messangers!!!
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 26 Sep 01 - 06:53 PM

JP... sounds like a classic case of PARANOIA if ya ask me...

"There are also a lot of people running web servers using Front Page, that have not password protected access to their web folders"

That's their problem not mine... only a dullard wouldn't password protect ANY net access to their computer, and well, there's only one way to really learn eh?

What one person calles 'spyware', I tend to call 'the price of cyberspace'... there ain't nothing that a damn cookie can take off my computer that I ain't afraid of people knowing about...

Subject: RE: Hey! Instant Messangers!!!
From: GUEST
Date: 26 Sep 01 - 07:20 PM

Clinton,

Could you please explain how 'hiding' my computer with ZoneAlarm makes it more likely to be attacked?

I can understand your 'sticking out like a sore thumb' analogy, but I don't understand how that would apply in this case

Grateful for your thoughts

Subject: RE: Hey! Instant Messangers!!!
From: Bill D
Date: 26 Sep 01 - 07:27 PM

Justa Picker....Ad Aware is GOOD stuff!...now if they'd just write a program that would answer my phone and bite telemarketers on the butt!

Subject: RE: Hey! Instant Messangers!!!
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 26 Sep 01 - 07:45 PM

When a 'hacker' ghosts a server and sees "ICE"* around a home computer, that hacker becomes curious to find out what that home computer has on it to warrant such measures...

To my knowledge there is no way to be totally A. Nonny Mouse on the internet... And if there's one back door, there are probably others as well...

*ICE... Intrusion Counter Measures

Subject: RE: Hey! Instant Messangers!!!
From: harpgirl
Date: 26 Sep 01 - 08:04 PM

Hey! I am brat424267 on IM.

Subject: RE: Hey! Instant Messangers!!!
From: Justa Picker
Date: 26 Sep 01 - 08:11 PM

(Just in case anyone's interested here's a clicky for Ad-Aware.)

Subject: RE: Hey! Instant Messangers!!!
From: Steve in Idaho
Date: 26 Sep 01 - 10:13 PM

OK - Went to the Ad-Aware site. Made some sense to me but I am illiterate when it comes to these things. Are the spyware thingys (highly technical term for me) in some way dangerous? Can they take my checking account and go get my bank money? What does this spyware do? I am seriously interested - I just don't have a lot of positive experiences with downloading a program and having it be effective. Took me a year or better just to get the cookie reset on my home puter for Mudcat. So please tell me more - Steve

Subject: RE: Hey! Instant Messangers!!!
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 26 Sep 01 - 10:17 PM

Absolutely not Norton1... your bank accounts are safe...

I see no good reason to download Ad-aware... especially if you're gonna use it to hack your regestry!!!! That is not for non-gompies!!!!

Subject: RE: Hey! Instant Messangers!!!
From: Bill D
Date: 26 Sep 01 - 10:20 PM

IM?....is that AIM?

Subject: RE: Hey! Instant Messangers!!!
From: Steve in Idaho
Date: 27 Sep 01 - 10:33 AM

Not sure what that meant but certainly appreciate your following up with me. I clear my cookies out fairly regularly - unsure why other than it takes up space - but am always leary of what the net has access to - Steve