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Welcome to today's edition of the Computer Kindergarten Newsletter.
Today is Sunday, November 4, 2001
In this Issue:
Featured Computer Term: Worm
Topic: Search Engines
Progressive Learning Series: Changing The Number Of Columns
Featured Website: The CIA World Fact Book
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Today's Featured Computer Term: Worm
Technically, worms are not viruses. The original worm programs were designed to be helpful. Actually, the first destructive worm, Morris, was a good program that crashed, causing networks to crash along with it.
A worm is a self-replicating program that does not alter files. It enters your computer in some way (usually it's downloaded), sets itself up in memory, and begins to duplicate itself.
Unlike viruses, worms do not need any kind of user intervention or action to begin their evil activity. Worms do not require a host program to operate; they use parts of an operating system that are automatic and usually invisible to the user. . Once on a computer, a worm immediately begins its destructive task, and at the same time, looks for connections by which it can replicate and transmit itself to other host computers. In a contest between viruses and worms, worms win as potentially the more destructive of the two.
It is common for worms to be noticed only when their uncontrolled replication consumes system resources, slowing or halting other tasks.
How do you know if you have a worm and what can you do?
If your system is running slower and slower, maybe you have a worm. To find out, run a virus scan. Norton, McAfee, or InoculateIT should do the trick.
Some of the more famous worms are programs such as the Morris worm, Anna Kournikova (named for the tennis player), Code Red I and II, and Annoying. Such worms wreak havoc among unsuspecting persons who inadvertently run the offending programs.
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Today's Topic: Search Engines
Thanks to Computer Kindergarten newsletter subscriber Evan for the following question:
I've been trying to find ways of connecting with other Honda Gold Wing riders on the Internet. I've spent hours with search engines and can't seem to find chat rooms or email lists at all. Is it possible that this just doesn't exist on the Internet?
Answer:
First of all, I can't imagine that there is anything that DOESN'T exist on the Internet. It seems that every possible subject or interest in the entire world is addressed in one place or another on the 'Net. The trick is finding it.
You're in the right place, starting with search engines. There are hundreds, probably even thousands, out there. For a start, go to Yahoo!, type in keyword "search engines" and then click on Search Engines and Directories. That'll give you a list of hundreds of search engines, with a little description of each one. One of the tricks to on-target search results is finding the right search engine for you.
Another secret to good search results is keywords. The search words you put into the engine will determine your results. Too general and you'll get too many results, too specific and you won't get any results. Keep trying different words and different combinations of words. Don't give up!
Take a look in the Links section or in the Links for AOL Users section at the bottom of this newsletter for more information on using search engines and getting the results you want.
Here are some of my favorite search engines:
Yahoo.com
Dogpile.com
Lycos.com
Askjeeves.com
google.com
Excite.com
Mamma.com
By the way, with a few minutes of searching with google.com, I found a website you might be interested in. Here's their description and a link:
Wings on the Internet is centered around an email discussion forum where all members can share riding stories, exchange technical tips, plan rides and events, and discuss motorcycling. To participate in WOTI, you will want to join the forum.
http://www.woti.org/
You see? You can find anything on the 'Net!
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Progressive Learning Series: Microsoft Word
Changing the Number Of Columns
If you have already added columns to your document, Word lets you easily change the number of columns you are using. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Select the Columns option from the Format menu. When you do, you will see the Columns dialog box.
2. Change the value in the Number of Columns field to the number of columns you desire.
3. In the Apply To box, select Whole Document or This Section (depending on what you want your change to affect). This causes Word to reformat the layout of your columns.
4. Click on OK.
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Today's Featured Website: The CIA World Fact Book
Did you know what the current population of Djibouti is? Do you even know where Djibouti is? The Central Intelligence Agency does and is willing to share information about that country and many other countries around the world.
The CIA website highlights the geography, people, government, economy, communication, transportation, military, and transnational issues of nations with data available in 2001. There are reference maps to look at and the fact book itself is downloadable. There's also an up-to-date page listing the chiefs of state and cabinet members of governments and types of government.
This is a great resource for research, academic projects, or just figuring out what the news reporters are talking about when they refer to a hot spot in some never-heard-of-before country.
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html |
