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Last week, a variant of the well-known Sober worm (virus) started spreading via email. Some are calling it the biggest virus attack of the year, and a recent article says the infections aren’t slowing down. The email claims that one or more government agencies know you’ve been visiting illegal sites and asks you to fill out a questionnaire. Another variant has a Paris Hilton video attached to it. In either case, avoid opening any emails similar to this and also make sure your anti-virus software is up-to-date. Please read this article for an introduction on computer viruses.

Andy Carvin was at the WSIS summit in Tunis and interviewed the chief technology officer for MIT’s $100 laptop project. The video is informative and provides a unique look at the latest prototype. As Andy’s site seems to be very busy, Computers.net has made the video available here as well. Check it out here (or just click on the picture). For additional info on the project, check out our previous article.

We at Computers.net strive to provide an environment where readers find a unique blend of relevant computer news and do-it-yourself computer help. Now we’d like to make it even easier for you to find answers to your computer questions. A permanent link entitled “Help Desk” will be placed at the top of the left sidebar and point to this post. This will be an open thread where anyone can ask any computer question (via posting a comment), and Computers.net will try to respond the same day. It’s that simple. Ask away!

While many computer users are now familiar with using CTRL+C
and CTRL+V to copy and paste, few realize just how many keyboard shortcuts are
built into Windows. Computers.net has compiled a lengthy list of keyboard shortcuts, along with what we feel are the top 10 most useful ones. Here’s
our list:

more…

Earlier this week at a United Nations Internet summit, Nicholas Negroponte of MIT showed off the current design for the $100 laptop. According to one article, his goal is to distribute the laptops to 100-150 million students. Apparently five companies are bidding to make the laptop, though we don’t know which five. As Computers.net has scanned the Internet for information about the topic, it’s found both positive and negative comments:

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Introduction

USB Flash drives are known by many names including thumb
drives, jump drives, keychain drives, and USB memory keys. They have very
quickly become the portable storage media of choice for the many people,
replacing floppy disks, Zip disks, and even CD-RW disks to some extent. USB
flash drives are especially useful for students or people who regularly use
more than one computer and need a dependable way to transfer data back and
forth. Another advantage is that most USB flash drives will work with both Windows and Mac systems. (PCs still running Windows 98 need to install separate drivers. Macs
running anything older than OS 9 need drivers too.)

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News.com has announced that America Online, Yahoo, CNET Networks, Verizon and Computer Associates are among the companies backing the new Trusted Download Program. The companies are working closely with the online privacy group Truste in releasing standards for software downloads to be certified, which should be released early next year. Here’s what to know about the Trusted Download Program:

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Expect more “phishing” emails

Spoof emails are on the rise, and they are getting trickier.
Several months ago Computers.net
released an article called “10 Ways To
Recognize Fake (Spoof) Emails.” Since then there has been a rapid increase
in the number of “phishing” (pronounced “fishing”) scams, or scams that fool
people into giving credit card numbers and other financial information by email
or over the Internet. Apparently, scammers have figured out that they can con
more people by mimicking companies who do business primarily online, such as PayPal, eBay,
and online banks. These phishing emails are made to look identical to the real
ones, often using the same logos in an attempt to convince recipients that they
are the real thing.

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