What's a Rootkit?

Wikipedia says "A rootkit is a set of software tools intended to conceal running processes, files or system data, thereby helping an intruder to maintain access to a system whilst avoiding detection."

Rootkit Example

Probably the most public example of a rootkit in operation is the 2005 Sony rootkit or CD protection scandal. Sony distributed a program on some of its music CDs that installed a rootkit on the computers of anyone who played their music on their computer. The rootkit monitored the user's computer without the user's knowledge and prevented the user from copying the CD. Sony's rationale for installing the rootkit was protection of its copyrighted material.

However, because Sony installed the rootkit without customers' knowledge or permission and because Sony intially denied the allegations, a storm of controversy followed. During the media and Internet melee, some users discovered that the rootkit also introduced security problems for users and even lead to a slight slowdown of customer's computers.

In the end, Sony recalled the CDs and replaced them with non-rootkit CDs.

As bad as the Sony rootkit was, it arguably pales in comparison to what else can be done with a rootkit. For example, a rootkit can be used to hide a trojan program that secretly records keyboard strokes, looks for passwords and usernames, and even bank account information.

A Windows Only Problem?

Because Windows dominates popular computing, rootkits are proportionately more of a Windows problem. However, there are rootkits for other operating systems, including the Mac OS. In fact, the Sony rootkit affected both Windows and Mac OSX machines alike.

Likewise Unix, Linux, and other operating systems can be the subject of rootkit activity. However, again because Windows is such a large target (both in the market share sense and the size of the code sense), rootkits are a big issue for Windows machines.

What Can You Do?

Prevention

It sounds trite but "be careful." Being careful means not installing new programs on your computer without knowing for sure what the program does. So, for example, if while surfing the Internet you're offered a free utility to enhance the performance of your computer, don't bite. Here are some tips for avoiding rootkits (and other malicious software in general):

• Don't install software if prompted to do so from a browser popup window
• Don't install free software without investigating it first. See if a reputable software reviewer or knowledgable person uses it or recommends it. See if there is a technical forum for the software and see if there are any problems with the program.
• Don't open a file with a ".exe," ".pif," ".src," or ".com" extension without first knowing what the file does.
• Backup your system settings from time to time so that you can always "go back" if something malicious gets installed on your computer.

Rootkit Removal

The bad news is removal of a rootkit often involves backing up your data, reformatting the hard drive and installing your operating system software from scratch. While rootkits can be removed, the time often involved exceeds the time required to backup, format, and re-install.

With that said, there are rootkit removal programs available. Two of the best removal tools are RootKit Revealer from SystemInternals downloadable at "http://filehippo.com/download_rootkit_revealer/" and Blacklight from F-Secure. (Thanks to Rob, one of our technical support gurus, for the tip on SystemInternals and F-Secure)

Further Reading

Wikipedia has a fairly comprehensive article on rootkits.

What is a "traceroute?"

Break the word "traceroute" apart ("trace" and "route") and you'll know instantly what traceroute does. Traceroute tells you how your request and the resulting reply travels over the Internet.

Why would I want to use traceroute?

Let's say you're having a problem reaching a particular website. Maybe you suspect the site is down or the ISP hosting the site is down. Traceroute can often help identify the place where the problem is happening.

How do I perform a traceroute?

You should be aware when doing a traceroute that there are circumstances where the traceroute appears to indicate a problem where one does not exist. For example, a website or "hop" along the way to your destination may filter packets or may even discard them if traffic is heavy (thereby saving bandwidth and ensuring more important traffic gets through). As a result, a traceroute is a good tool for helping find problems but it is not a definitive test.

An easy way to perform a traceroute is to use the "Network Tools" page of the Helpdesk at the following URL:

https://helpdesk.islandnet.com/nettools.cgi

Simply type in the domain name you wish to trace and click on the "Traceroute" button. When the page reloads, you'll see a number of entries, plus a map at the bottom showing you the route your trace went in trying to reach the domain. The page may take a while to reload because it's making a request but also relaying information about each "hop" along the way.

Here's a list of "hops" a traceroute took while getting to and from "adobe.com" (click for a larger image) :

Here's a the map that appears at the bottom to show you graphically how your request travelled the earth (cool eh?; click for a larger image).

How to tell if your Islandnet site is up using traceroute

Of course, if you can't reach your Islandnet.com hosted website, you can't use our Network Tools to find out where the bottleneck is. So, what's a person to do?

Well, on a Windows 2000 or XP machine you can use a traceroute command from the command prompt. Here's how to do it.

1. Click on "Start" at the bottom, left-hand corner of your desktop.
2. Click on "run" on the startup menu.
3. Type "command" in the "open" field, then click on "Ok."
4. At the command prompt, type "tracert example.com" where "example.com" is the domain name you want to trace.
5. Wait for the traceroute to complete. It may take some time, particularly if there are problems with reaching the site.

Below is a screenshot of a traceroute done from the command prompt for the "adobe.com" domain name. You can see that there *is* a problem with reaching the Adobe website that originates at Adobe, not somewhere along the road. If there was a problem along the way (i.e. before the request reached Adobe), you'd see timeouts or other problems before the Adobe domain is reached (click the image below for a larger version).

Background

When people publish their first web page or web site some concepts may not be all that clear. Where do the pages reside? If the pages don't reside on my computer, where *do* they reside? How do I get my pages onto the Internet?

This is not a comprehensive guide but it should give you some basics to start with.

Where Web Pages Live

Most people understand that the Internet is a worldwide network of computers. After all, "worldwide web" is a term that was used to describe the many web pages and web sites linked on the Internet. Although "worldwide web" isn't a term used all that much anymore, it's an apt description.

Every computer linked to the Internet in some way is part of the Internet. As a result, even the computer you're using now is part of the Internet.

That's where some confusion can arise. "If my computer is part of the Internet, why can't someone just view web pages from my computer?"

Technically, anyone on the Internet *can* view web pages on your computer. However, there are some issues that need to be addressed before a computer can host web pages.

Hosting Web Pages on Your Computer

If you were to host web pages on your computer, there are two fundamental issues to deal with--security, and technical requirements.

Security

Security is a pretty fundamental issue and this is probably the single-most important reason why most people choose to host their web pages with an Internet Service Provider or a Hosting Company. Simply having a connection to the Internet is a risk in the first place. Putting website files on your computer and setting up your computer to accept requests for those documents brings the risk to an entirely higher level.

Hosting web pages on your computer requires that you install and run services, which facilitate requests for your web pages from "outside" users. The services you install and run for serving web pages come with a variety of settings, features, and characteristics that introduce gateways into your computer. If improperly set or monitored, these gateways open your computer to malicious attacks.

As a result, it is extremely important to have a good understanding of the basics related to server software and settings.

Technical Requirements

The phrase from a paragraph above, "variety of settings, features, and characteristics that introduce gateways into your computer," alludes to the fact that you need hardware and software not normally run with or on a "consumer" computer.

First, you will likely want to have a separate computer to server up web pages. Having your web pages on the same computer that has your personal and / or business and banking information is asking for trouble.

Second, you will need to install an operating system and web server software combination so that people can request and get web pages.

Third, you will likely also want to install mail software so that people can e-mail you. You can opt to have someone else like Islandnet handle your e-mail, thereby eliminating the need for mail software.

Fourth, you will want to have a firewall between your Internet connection and your web server. Having a firewall between your web server and your Internet connection allows you to stop unwanted traffic before it reaches your web server, thereby sparing your web server from many potential attacks.

As an aside, Islandnet.com can help you host web pages on your computer by using a free service called "Dynamic DNS." Dynamic DNS "forwards" requests for your domain or a subdomain to a dynamic IP address like the ones used by Shaw and other high speed connection companies. For more information on Dynamic DNS, have a look at this Helpdesk help page.

Hosting with an ISP

Hosting with an ISP or hosting company is the route most people choose. Here are a list of reasons people choose ISPs or hosting companies:

• company's focus is on hosting websites, meaning their expertise is centered around the technology and service
• security is a primary focus for hosting companies
• high quality hardware and software are used
• customer does not need to know the details of the technology
• many optional services (such as PHP & MySQL support and web gadgets) are included, meaning added functionality is available whenever the site owner needs it

Getting Your Pages onto Our Web Server

So, because your web pages are likely not going to be available directly from your computer, how do you get your files to our servers? Well, there are a number of ways. Here are three.

Use Your WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) Software

Most, if not all, HTML editing software has some sort of file transfer functionality built in. Because there are a number of HTML editing software programs out there, we're not going to cover "how to" for each program. Rather, the following information will allow you to set your program to transfer files to and from your computer:

Hostname:

islandnet.com

Username:

YOUR ISLANDNET USERNAME

Password:

YOUR ISLANDNET PASSWORD

That's it. You should not need to alter any other settings in order to transfer your files.

Transferring the files may involve simply dragging files from one window to another or it may involve selecting the files to be transferred, then clicking on a button to start the transfer.

Use an FTP Program

"FTP" stands for "File Transfer Protocol" and it's a special protocol used when large files are to be transferred.

There are many FTP programs available, many of which are free. You can search for FTP programs by visiting a site like "downloads.com" and searching for "FTP" or "FTP program."

To make a connection using an FTP program, you use exactly the same information as outlined in the section above--hostname, username, and password. You should not need to change any default settings.

Transferring files will likely involve simply dragging files from one program window into another.

Using the Windows Desktop

If you use Windows 2000 or Windows XP, you can access your Islandnet account using your desktop. Here's what you need to do.

One, find the "My Computer" icon on the desktop and double-click it.

Two, navigate to the place where your website files are located.

Three, double-click on the "My Computer" icon again to open another window. This is the window you'll use to access your Islandnet account. Note that when you open a window, there is an "address bar" located near the top of the window, just below the title bar. The address bar tells you the location of the files you're viewing.

Four, type the following into the address bar of the newly opened window and hit the "Enter" key on your keyboard:

ftp://MY_USERNAME@islandnet.com

Of course, you'll replace "MY_USERNAME" with your Islandnet username.

Five, a dialogue box will open aksing for a username and a password. Enter your Islandnet username and password, then hit the "Enter" key on your keyborad again.

Six, the window will display the folders and files in your account. Double-click on the "www" folder to open it. The "www" folder is where web pages are normally located.

Seven, go back to the first window you opened and select the files you want to transfer. Once the files are selected, simply drag them over to the other window and the files will transfer.

Ask for Help

After all that is said, you can always ask us for assistance. Call our office at 383-0096 or e-mail support@islandnet.com.

Islandnet Picks

Photo.net	Webshots.com	Nvu HTML Editor	M-Audio
We're suckers for gizmos, gadgets, and electronic stuff. We're also suckers for purdy things, including great photography. Here's a site with over 100,000 users and offers everything from equipment advice to photography tips and photo critiques. Take a look at the gallery on this photography site and rate a few photos. Heck, if you're into photography at all, you'll probably want to join. Just a peek at the weekly gallery will probably prompt "wows," gasps, and "how'd they do thats."	Flickr (featured in another Islandnet.com newsletter) is hot and some estimate it has over 750,000 users. Not bad eh? Well how 'bout a site with 20,000,000 users? That's right, webshots.com has over twenty million users. You can browse over 397 million images! Wow, what a time waster this could be! Visit exotic locations like Rangiroa in French Polynesia without ever leaving your computer desktop. Oogle photos of extreme sports. Or share your own photos. Check it out.	It's our favourite word again--"FREE." Nvu is a free HTML editor based on the editor formerly bundled with the Netscape browser, back when the browser was in versions 3 to 6 or so. The HTML editor is now available separately and you can download and use it free of charge. Compared to some of the not-free editors out there, Nvu may be somewhat limited but if you're just starting out, it's not a bad option at all. Support is done by way of Nvu community technical forums. What's more is you can "stick it to the 'man'" by using the Linux version of Nvu.	These people make great sound equipment that you can connect to your computer. But even if you've got a good sound card in your computer, chances are you haven't heard of M-Audio. On the other hand, if you're into music, instruments, and recording, you've probably heard of M-Audio. If you need some computer-based equipment that's a cut above the equipment you normally get at a computer store, these people are worth checking out.

Islandnet.com Hosted Sites

Photography by Sierra	Pearson College	LandSharkz	Speedway Motors
So what's "Photography by Sierra" got going for it? It's purdy. This Islandnet.com hosted website has some very "purdy" images on it. It's the perfect place to spend some idle time just taking in the beauty. What's more, if you like one or more of the photos, you can buy it!	From the Pearson College website: "Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific stands as a memorial to the life and work of the late Canadian Prime Minister and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Lester B. Pearson. The College promotes the cause of international understanding by creating an environment in which students from many countries and cultures are brought together to study and to serve the community." Islandnet.com is happy and proud to have Pearson College as a web hosting customer.	"Geocaching"--hmmm--the term sounds like it might mean shoveling dirt into bags and hiding it in your basement. But of course, that's ridiculous. Geocaching actually refers to a sport where participants hide goodies in remote and / or difficult to access places around the world and others are supposed to find it given only latitude and longitude. The people who find the "goodies" are supposed to replace the goodies they find with new stuff to take its place--and the game goes on. If this explanation doesn't make sense to you, visit this Islandnet.com hosted website to find out more.	Whether you need a diesel gas mizer or a shot of teutonic testosterone booster, Speedway Motors has got a car for you. Volkswagens, Porsches, and Audis make this a place you'll want to linger if the smell of new car interiors, tire rubber, and gasoline turns your crank. Founded in 1952, Speedway Motors is a Victoria automotive institution. Islandnet.com is proud to host the Speedway Motors website.

We Love Websites!

Websites are our business--hosting them and building them. If you need a website--blog, retail, business-to-business, personal, database-driven, or something else--Islandnet has plenty of website development and programming experience. Call or e-mail us if you'd like anything from graphics to nit-picky programming.

ou can add Times Roman, Verdana, Courier, and maybe Helvetica to the mix but that's pretty much everything that will display as you'd expect. Of course, you see a much wider variety of fonts displayed as graphics like the dropped capital at the beginning of this paragraph.

So why is it that you don't see a more diverse mix of fonts on the Internet?

The answer has two parts. First, it's important to understand that fonts that appear in a website are not embedded in the site. Rather, the fonts you see on a website are loaded from your computer. This is a trick to limit the amount of data that has to get transferred from the website to your web browser. So, when you load a web page the browser reads the HTML code and gets your computer to load the correct font to display the web page narrative.

Second, because fonts are loaded from the "local" machine and not the web server the fonts need to be located on the "local" machine in order to display correctly. If the font does not exist, the narrative will not display as expected in the web browser.

In order to have web pages display as expected (i.e. using the font the page was designed with), the page must be designed with a font the designer *knows* will be loaded on site visitors' machines. While there are many, many fonts available, the list of fonts common to computers throughout the world is very limited. As a result, the fonts that are common to most computers are used very frequently for web pages.

Here's what happens when you try to use a "fancy" font and it doesn't exist on a visitor's machine. The first line below is text displayed in a "fancy" font using HTML code. The second line is text displayed as it should appear, rendered as an image, like the dropped capital at the beginning of this article.

Unless you've got the font "Old Dreadful No 7 BT" loaded on your machine, the first line probably appears as Arial, while the second line illustrates why the font is called "Old Dreadful."

So, what fonts are common to most computers? Here's a link to a site that outlines font popularity. The page is pretty old so there's no telling how accurate the list is anymore. Even if it's out of date now, though, it illustrates why a limited number of fonts are used over and over.

http://www.annabella.net/print/pfontpop.html

In the last newsletter we outlined a number of browser alternatives. In this newsletter we're going to point out some alternatives to the two major e-mail programs, Outlook and Outlook Express. As with our browser alternatives, the following list isn't exhaustive but it does cover the more popular non-Microsoft products. "Standalone" programs only are covered here.

Thunderbird (PC - Windows, Linux & Mac)

Thunderbird is a partner product to Firefox, the up-and-coming free and open source browser. Like Firefox, Thunderbird is also open source and free.

Thunderbird supports SSL encryption of e-mail messages and, if you want to send and receive PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) encrypted e-mails, there's an extension you can install that supports it.

However, probably the most attractive Thunderbird feature is the fact it is more secure than Outlook or Outlook Express. Of course, this is partly due to the fact it's not as large a target as Outlook or Outlook Express but it is also due to the fact Thunderbird was built from the ground up with security in mind.

Thunderbird does not come with calendar functionality.

Eudora (PC & Mac)

Eudora comes in a free, ad supported (called "Sponsored Mode"), version and a paid version. This program has been around for a very long time. In fact, Eudora goes way back to before the time of modern browsers like the first version of Netscape or even Mosaic. As you might expect, Eudora is a very mature product with pretty much all the bells 'n whistles you'd expect from a modern e-mail application.

Eudora is a very secure program as well. Again, this is due in part because it is not as large a target as Outlook or Outlook Express. Despite being relatively small compared to the Microsoft offerings, it's estimated that around 20 million people use Eudora worldwide.

Mulberry (PC, Mac, Linux)

Mulberry is a free, secure, and fully featured e-mail program. However, using Mulberry is a bit more daunting than using other e-mail programs. Mulberry does not have built-in spam filtering, as do many other e-mail programs; however, if you're an Islandnet customer, that isn't a huge deal anyway!

Pegasus (PC - Windows & DOS)

Pegasus is generally a very good e-mail program, being secure, relatively easy to use, and fully featured. Versions are available for Windows and, get this, DOS.

Sylpheed - Claws (PC - Windows, Linux, & Unix)

Sylpheed - Claws is a good email client that integrates well with GnuPGP (message encryption). It's lightweight, runs in Linux, Unix (Solaris & Free BSD), and Windows and uses mbox format for mailboxes so it's easy to import/export mail. (Thanks to Rob, one of our tech support people, for this tip)

Other Programs

There are many other e-mail programs available. However, you should exercise caution when installing other programs. There are some programs available that install spyware and / or adware along with the e-mail program itself. You should do some "background checking" before installing new programs, particularly free programs that appear to lack backing from an obviously reputable organization or company.

Helpdesk forums too tedious in your browser? Use your Newsreader!

If you're one of many people who like to use their newsreader (i.e. newsgroup reader, not RSS newsreader), perhaps opening your browser, logging into the Helpdesk, and waiting for each forum page and forum posting to load is just too much for you. Maybe you're used to the zippy performance of your favourite newsreader.

Then use your newsreader, no problem!

Here are the settings you'll need to log into the Helpdesk forums using your newsreader:

Username:

Your Islandnet Username

Password:

Your Islandnet Password

Server Name:

helpdesk.islandnet.com

Depending on your newsreader, you may have to give your password when you setup the initial settings or when you first try logging into the newsgroup. But, in a nutshell, that's it! You can log into the Helpdesk forums using your newsreader.

Want a Map on Your Website So Customers Can Find Your Business? - Use Google

Whether your business location is hard to find or not, it's a good idea to show people where your business is. Do you embed a map on your site? You could but finding one you can use without copyright infringement can be frustrating.

Why not use a link to Google Maps? It's really easy.

Just go to Google and click on the "Maps" link at the top of the page. Then input the address you want to display on a map for your website visitors into the search field and press the "Enter" key on your keyboard. What loads next is a map of your city with a "pin" stuck in a map at the address you input. Cool, eh?

If you look at the address bar of Google Maps, you may wonder how you'll link to the map you've got in your browser. You'll probably see something like the following in the address bar:

http://www.google.ca/maphp?hl=en&tab=wl&q=

The link above leads to a map of Canada and the United States--not helpful. Here's how you create the link. Use the following syntax in creating your link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=1412+Quadra+St+Victoria+bc+canada&om=1

The above link leads to a map of downtown Victoria with the Islandnet location pinpointed. To pinpoint your business location all you need to do is replace our address in the URL above with yours. So, where "1412" appears, insert your street address. Where "Quadra" appears, insert your street name. Where "St" appears, insert your street, road, place, or route abbreviation. Where "Victoria" appears, insert your city. You get the idea.

Slick!

Legal Stuff

The information displayed in this newsletter and any previous or subsequent newsletters is for information purposes only. Islandnet.com, AMT Solutions Group, Inc. and related companies are not responsible for any losses or damages resulting from the use of information in the newsletter. While the information contained in this newsletter is believed accurate, readers must verify information for themselves. Sites we link to do not necessarily represent the opinions or policies of AMT Solutions Group, Inc.