Netscape Navigator 3.X Tips #6



*1.  GOLD DIGGERS            
  
The Mining Company is a service that brings together hundreds 
of people who serve as guides to various subject areas. Each 
area gets a distinct domain (such as genealogy.miningco.com, 
telecommuting.miningco.com, or usnews.miningco.com), and each 
guide presents annotated links to Web sites in its subject 
area, along with original content and extras like bulletin 
boards and chat rooms. Some sites are definitely better than 
others, but overall the service works because the guides get 
opinionated about the sites they review, so it's easier to 
make up your mind what to hit and what to avoid. 

http://www.miningco.com


*2. STUMP THE DOWNLOADER            
  
LBM? RDL? VBW? If you're a software fiend, maybe even a 
downloading junkie, the file extensions you encounter on your 
very own hard drive may occasionally stump you. Turn to the 
file extensions reference guide by Richard E. Harvey for 
help--it defines more than 1500 file types by extension. You 
can download this useful resource from Fileworld at 

http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-0413%2C00.html


*3. SPAM SCAM            
  
Writer Glenn Fleischman has documented an interesting FTP trick 
spam artists use to harvest e-mail addresses. The scam relies 
on the tendency of certain browsers to transmit your e-mail 
address as a password for an anonymous FTP log-in. When canny 
coders rig a Web page image to load only after initiating an 
FTP download, your e-mail address can get hauled off in this 
invisible transaction--but only if your version of Navigator is 
set up to send your e-mail address this way. To make sure you're
not vulnerable, Navigator 3.x users can go to Options, Network 
Preferences and click the Protocols tab. Make sure that bottom 
checkbox, 'Send E-Mail Address as Anonymous FTP Password,' is 
not checked. Click OK. 

To read more about the scam, go to Fleischman's site: 

http://www.glenns.org/ftpgrab.html


*4. CAN SPAM            
  
Another way spammers pick up e-mail addresses is by collecting 
them from newsgroups where people post messages. This practice 
is usually automated, so many newsgroup habitues have adopted a 
simple trick to avoid winding up on the junk mail lists: They 
configure their Mail and News Preferences to give out their 
E-Mail and Reply-To addresses with extra characters. For 
example, this technique might render an e-mail address such as 
user@tipworld.com as user@NOSPAM.tipworld.com. Then, in a 
signature file, the writer would include directions to remove 
NOSPAM from the address before replying. 

If a spam marketer tries to send e-mail to a server called 
NOSPAM.tipworld.com, the mail just bounces back. The spammers 
won't bother combing thousands of such messages for 
instructions, so the likelihood of receiving junk e-mail is 
much lower. 

If you try this trick, bear in mind that the spammers pick up 
every single e-mail address that appears in the post or its 
headers, so be careful. That's why some mischievous people 
supplement their signature files with the real or presumed 
addresses of people they don't like--for example, in the form 
"SPAM to bgates@microsoft.com" (naturally we don't endorse 
this practice).


*5. MOTHER'S LITTLE HELPER            
  
You can configure helper applications to open file attachments 
you receive in Netscape Mail. For example, if you receive 
Microsoft Word DOC files and you would like to configure Word 
to open them, here's how. 

>From the Options menu, choose General Preferences. Click the 
Helpers tab. Locate .doc among the listed extensions and select 
it. Click Browse and track down your Winword.exe file. Make 
sure the Action listed is Launch The Application. With 
Winword.exe as the assigned helper, click OK.


*6. BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS            
  
Geocities has improved an already good service by adding 
features to make the neighborhoods more accessible to outside 
visitors. In the old days, aside from a few highlighted sites, 
the contents of those zillions of individual sites remained 
something of a mystery. But now, when you visit the Geocities 
home page, you'll find a familiar-looking subject-based index 
to help you explore the neighborhoods. 

http://www.geocities.com


*7. OPEN SESAME--PART 1 OF 3            
  
Many users find that Windows 95 refuses to remember their 
Internet password. If the problem arose after you installed 
Windows 95 Service Pack 1, try installing the Password List 
Update, available at 

http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-wbs-0419%2C00.html 

The Password List Update resolves problems caused by the Windows
95 Service Pack 1. Follow the instructions provided at the 
Microsoft download site to install the update.


*8. OPEN SESAME--PART 2 OF 3            
  
Many users find that Windows 95 refuses to remember their 
Internet password. The Password List Update we described 
yesterday should resolve the problem for some users. But maybe 
the Password List Update isn't the solution to your password 
problems. Here's an additional recommendation: Check your 
system for the Client for Microsoft Networks. 

Go to Start, Settings, Control Panel and double-click the 
Network icon. Click the Configuration tab (if necessary). If 
the Client for Microsoft Networks does not appear in the list 
of installed network components, you must add it. 

Click the Add button, then choose Client and click Add. Windows 
95 should now build a driver information database. After that's 
finished, click Microsoft and choose Client for Microsoft 
Networks, then click OK. 

If prompted to restart your computer, choose No. Instead, go 
back to the Network Control Panel. Under Primary Windows Logon, 
select Windows Logon. Otherwise, Windows 95 will prompt you for 
a user name and password each time you log on. Now restart 
your computer.


*9. OPEN SESAME--PART 3 OF 3            
  
A third-party program exists to help you get over the Windows 
95 Dial-Up Networking blues. Dunce promises to save your 
password for you and bypass the Connect To dialog box 
altogether. Dunce also claims that it will reconnect you in the 
event of a disconnect. Want to give it a try? You can download 
a free copy from 

http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-0421nn%2C00.html 

If you've already used and appreciated Dunce for a while, you 
should know that a new and more full-featured Dunce Gold 
edition is on its way: 

http://www.vecdev.com/duncegold.html


*10. UNDER THE HOOD            
  
Have you created and published a Web site using Netscape 
Navigator Gold's HTML editor? Take it in for a tune-up at the 
Web Site Garage. This site offers a free evaluation of any HTML 
page on the Web. It runs a diagnosis that includes an overall 
design critique, a check for dead links, and a gauge of load 
time and link popularity. To be fair, it's not a very good 
judge of spelling, but overall the service is useful. If you 
have a large site, you might be willing to pay for regular 
monthly maintenance. 

http://www.websitegarage.com
