We've heard from three patrons who use USA Datanet as their ISP. They can't connect to the iPac. All three say that they could do it before but suddenly they've been locked out. I contacted USA Datanet and they sent me the message below. One of the patrons tried this and it worked. If someone calls with this problem, please find out if they're on USA Datanet and if they're using the accelerator program called Propel. If they are, give them these instructions.

Other ISPs use accelerators that can also interfere with iPac access. For more info, see Troubleshooting for the Online Catalog.

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Some of our customers are running a proxy program called Propel Accelerator. The program by Propel Corporation uses port 8080 by design. As we are not able to make any changes to the program, customers do have the option to turn Propel off during browsing. Please the instructions below.

To Turn off Propel:
1. Close all browser windows
2. Start > Run > USA Datanet Accelerator > Stop USA Datanet Accelerator
3. Click 'yes' on pop up warning.

To turn Propel back on:
1. Close all browser windows
2. Start > Run > USA Datanet Accelerator > Start USA Datanet Accelerator
3. Open browser

Firefox Beta Update

I've gone back to the "old" Firefox, version 1.0.7. While the beta version was noticeably faster, there were a few things I didn't like. I had trouble opening Windows media files, such as video news stories. The player window would open, but there was no picture, only sound. I couldn't stop or pause it. Another of Fulton's Favorite Firefox Features, friends, was being able to move among open tabs using the CTL+TAB keys. I was disappointed to find that this did not work in the beta. When these issues are resolved, I'll go back to the beta.

One of the reasons the beta is so fast is that it uses link prefetching. Link prefetching downloads, or prefetches, links and other documents from a web page that you're viewing and stores the items in the browser's cache. When you access one of the prefetched items, it can be served up quickly out of the cache. But you may also get cookies and web pages in your browser's cache from web sites that you did not visit.

Mozilla's browsers all do this, but the Firefox beta's prefetching is on steroids. Mozilla has posted information on prefetching.

Prefetching may present some security issues for users and bandwith use problems for web developers. This article explains how.

You can disable prefetching by following these instructions:
1. Type "about:config" the address bar.
2. Scroll down to the setting "network.prefetch-next" and set the value to "False".

You can also delete these files by clearing your browser's cache and cookies. Be careful not to delete any cookies you want to keep.

Here's more information on problems with the beta. Scroll down to Known Issues.

So the trade-off is speed vs. possible security issues. You make the call.

I think everyone at the library got spammed on Monday from the same person. To help deal with this in the future, you can create a filter in Eudora that will intercept messages like this and put them in the Trash. You won't even see them.

To make a filter:
Open the Eudora Inbox and click once on the offending message to highlight it.
Go to the Special menu and select Make Filter.

When the Make Filter box appears, you have several choices based on the content of the message. In this case, click the Subject Contains button. The subject of the message is Ultimate Online Pharmaceutical. Next, click the Delete Message button. Finally, click the Create Filter button. The box will disappear. You are now ready to filter your messages. Go to the Edit menu and choose Select All. This will highlight all the messages in your Inbox. Go to the Special menu and select Filter Messages. All messages with that subject line will be sent to the Trash. In the future, any message with that subject will automatically be filtered to the Trash.

Making filters can be tricky, because spammers often change letters in the subject lines. For example, the "O" in Online may be changed to a zero. This will evade the filter. Sometimes it's easier just to delete the message without making the filter. In this case, the filter is effective because we got multiple identical messages. Other times,it's best to make a filter based on the sender's e-mail address. For example, somehow I got on a mailing list for a series of rock music concerts in England. I've contacted them several times asking to be removed from the list. They've ignored my requests, so I made a filter that sends all messages from them to the Trash.

Filters can be used to help sort your mail, too. You can make a mailbox for all messages from a discussion list and then create a filter to send them there. This can help keep your Inbox orderly.

If you're using Outlook Express, you can do the same thing by making Message Rules, which can be found under the Message menu. The OSX Mail program also lets you make rules. Go to the Mail menu and select Preferences. Click the Rules button, then click Add Rule. You'll see a box of menu and choices similar to those in Eudora.

Weekend Update

It's important to keep your computer updated with the latest security fixes and patches. If you're using a Windows computer, go to the Start menu and select Windows Update. Let Windows scan your rig, then click the Express button. After a few minutes you'll see a list of updates. Click the Install Updates button.

Apple issued a security update today. You can get it by running Software Update, which can be found in the System Preferences. You'll need to restart after installing.

There's also a new version of Firefox, 1.0.7. If you're daring, you can try the Beta Firefox, 1.5 Beta 1. I'm using it and it's screamingly fast. According to Mozilla, here's what new:

* Automated update to streamline product upgrades.
* Faster browser navigation.
* Drag and drop for browser tabs.
* Improvements to popup blocking.
* Clear Private Data feature.
* Answers.com added to search engine list.
* Descriptive error pages, redesigned options menu, and RSS discovery.
* Better accessibility support.
* Report a broken Web site wizard.
* Better support for Mac OS X.

One of the patrons who was having trouble accessing the catalog just e-mailed me. She was jubilant! I had asked her to turn off her accelerator. She did and got into the catalog with no problem. She was using USA Datanet's program, called Propel, but other accelerators may cause the same problem.

In the past week, two patrons have contacted us about problems accessing the iPac. Their descriptions of the problem are identical, i.e., they used to be able to connect with no problem, they've made no changes in their computer, they get "404 Page Not Found" error messages and they have no problem viewing other web pages.

We suspect that they may be using a web accelerator which is causing the problem. ISPs often provide these accelerator programs to dialup users. They use data compression technologies to speed up Internet connections. Sometimes the quality of images on web pages is affected by their use.

On OCPL's troubleshooting page they recommend turning off these accelerators when using the catalog. If you want know the geek stuff, the server that runs the library catalog uses a specific port, number 8080, to send and receive data. The accelerators are sometimes balky about connecting to this port.

Flash drives in the computer lab

Here's some updated information on using flash drives in the lab. Today we installed lighted green USB extension cables on all the lab computers. (The coolness factor is very high.) Patrons may use flash drives on the lab computers only. The security settings on the public Internet computers prevent the drives from being used with them.

Do not use patrons’ flash drives on the computers at the Information Desks as that would be a security risk to the library’s computer network.

Flash drives should be plugged into the lighted green USB extension cable.
The drive only goes in one way. Don’t force it. If it doesn’t go in easily, it may be upside down.

Flash drives must be scanned for viruses before using!

On the Dells, go to the Start menu and select My Computer. The drive icon will appear there, labeled Removable Disk F. Right-click on the icon and select Scan for Viruses.

On the Macs, go to the Items for Mac _ window and open Norton Antivirus. Click once on the disk icon, the click the Scan/Repair button.

After scanning for viruses:
To access the drive, go to the Start menu and select My Computer. The drive icon will appear there, labeled Removable Disk F. Double-click on it to open it.

On the Macs, the drive icon will appear on the desktop. Double-click on it to open it.

To eject the flash drive:
On the Dells, return to the My Computer window. Right-click on the drive’s icon and select Eject from the menu. After the icon disappears, disconnect the drive.

On the Macs, click once on the drive’s icon on the desktop. Go to the Special menu and select Eject. A message will appear that tells you it’s safe to disconnect the drive.

Rogue Spyware

Spyware has become a huge problem and getting if off your computer is important. But some anti-spyware products use deceptive marketing to pressure you into buying them. For example, you may see a banner message offering to remove spyware that it has found on your computer. But installing the program may also subject you to marketing messages and popup ads. Before using a spyware killer, check it out on Spyware Warrior, where you can find a list of "rogue spyware" programs that are of questionable value.

Two articles on Internet use in public libraries are in the Davescope today. As our library starts testing the new PC reservation system, these provide some food for thought. What kind of service should we offer, and why?

High demand for computer access leads some to impose time limits

No games, chat rooms on library computers

Daveman loves coffee! When I travel, I'm always on the lookout for local coffee shops. They're interesting places and I like supporting the local barristas. Today I discovered Delocator that helps me find independent coffee shops anywhere in the U.S. Just enter a zip code and click "Delocate". You'll find a list of shops with their addresses and links to Google Maps.

Don't know the zip? Look it up at the U.S. Postal Service site.

Your Computer Needs a Flu Shot, Too!

Daveman will be presenting this program at Liverpool Public Library on Thursday, 9/13. We'll be meeting in the Sargent Room from 1:00 - 2:30 PM.

Keeping your computer safe while you’re on the Internet is critical. I'll show you free and easy ways to secure and protect yourself. You’ll discover to how to recognize common dangers and minimize risks. You’ll learn what to do, and not do, with dangerous e-mail messages. I’ll also show how to keep your system updated to guard against viruses, worms, Trojan horses, hackers and spyware. No registration necessary.

There are four browsers on the Information Desk computers. I'd like to encourage everyone to use Safari or Firefox. Although there are sometimes problems accessing specific sites or databases (you can't reach AllData with Safari, for example), these two browsers have several advantages. They offer tabbed browsing, an organizational and time-saving feature that Explorer doesn't have. They are more secure and are continually updated by the manufacturers. Internet Explorer for the Mac was released in 2001. It has not been, and will not ever be, updated by Microsoft. Safari and Firefox are much quicker than Explorer, too. The only disadvantage I've found is that they don't offer Print Preview yet. If I need to preview a page, I copy the URL into Internet Explorer, print it, then get out of there. I haven't mentioned Netscape, which includes several add-ons (e-mail and newsgroup reader, a chat program and html editor) that use a lot of system resources. This makes it slow to start-up, load pages and it can slow down other programs.