The Alexandria Monthly Newsletter

From the President's Desk

Welcome to the second month of 2010! We are excited about making this year the best year yet, and I believe we’re already well on our way. We’ve grown tremendously during 2009 and are grateful for your incredible loyalty. We’re committed to providing the finest customer service and products in the industry and appreciate the confidence and trust you show in us. Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any concerns, suggestions and needs you have. As always, you can reach us at 1.800.347.6439 or sales@companioncorp.com.

—Bill Schjelderup
President ∞

Tech Article

Attention: Please contact your district or organization's computer support department before installing new software.

More and more computer users are dealing with the problems of spyware being inadvertently downloaded to their computer. The COMPanion tech support department has provided some information on what spyware is and how to protect against it.

What is Spyware and how can I protect against it?

The recent changes in online use, including large influxes of consumers now using the internet, broadband access being made available at home and the fact that internet use has become so easy and so common, have given rise to a new threat to computers and users. Spyware, or adware as it is sometimes called, has become as prolific and profitable as spam email.

Spyware is a term used to describe a broad group of applications that may be downloaded and installed with or without the user's consent. Spyware can capture information about computer and internet use and send it back to companies without the user ever being aware that it is there. Many spyware applications gather information while the user is online or offline and then send it — at the earliest opportunity — to the company that created the spyware application. Some spyware can even capture each keystroke entered on the computer that is infected. Passwords, social security numbers, credit card numbers and more can potentially be sent out via spyware. While the company that created the application may have the best of intentions and may not ever use that information, it may be possible for other parties to also gain access to that information.

Spyware can also generate annoying pop-ups while users are connected to the internet. Not all pop ups are generated by spyware — some are launched by a site at a user's request. The pop ups that come up when the user is off line, has just connected or are not requested by the user may be launched by spyware. Spyware can slow a computer to a crawl. The processes that these hidden applications perform are constantly running, tying up the processor and memory with various searches for information.

Downloading spyware is like downloading cookies; anyone who spends enough time browsing the internet is bound to pick a few of each. The best way to avoid spyware is to use a browser that isn't as vulnerable and has advanced security. Another solution is to choose a browser that is not usually targeted by spyware.

Browser Solutions

Internet Explorer is the most widely used browser. Consequentially, Internet Explorer is the most exploited browser. This is not necessarily due to poor design; rather, it is due to the fact that spyware applications are designed to attack the most commonly used browsers and operating systems. In addition, because Internet Explorer is an integrated part of the Windows operating system it has access to much more of the system — and that access can be exploited. Microsoft is aware of this growing threat and, as a result, will be adding additional security to their operating systems and browser to minimize the access that spyware has to the operating system and to lower the number of exploits available in the browser to download and execute spyware applications.

Until that time, it may be wise to adjust the security settings of Internet Explorer to limit the effectiveness of spyware. The security settings in Internet Explorer are complex and will limit access on certain websites, so they should be set with care.

Users may also choose to install a browser that is less popular or that is less vulnerable to exploits. Here is a list of browsers which are not affected as much by spyware; there are versions for both Macintosh and Windows, unless otherwise specified:

Mozilla

Firefox (formally Phoenix)

Opera

Camino (formally Chimera) Macintosh only

Safari

K-Meleon Windows only

While these browsers are less prone to spyware, note that almost every browser is susceptible to some form of spyware.

Spyware Countermeasures

To eliminate spyware, users can download any number of utilities that will clean their systems of known spyware applications. Since new spyware is developed daily, like virus protection software, anti-spyware software must be updated and scans run frequently.

Two free anti-spyware programs are Ad-aware (http://www.lavasoftusa.com/) created by Lavasoft and Spybot (http://www.safer-networking.org/) made by Patrick M. Kolla. These utilities are free to the public, but both organizations are supported by donations and purchases of full versions of their software.

Another countermeasure that is often employed is pop up blocking software. Pop up blocking software is very useful because it stops all pop up ads from loading, whether they were initiated by spyware or the website that is being viewed. There are some downsides to pop up blocking software. First, if a website launches a pop up window at the user's request, often times the pop up blocker will suppress that window. Secondly, many sites use browser plug-ins that are often stopped by pop up blockers, as a result, parts of the page may fail to load or may load improperly. This includes the Alexandria client installation page. Finally, many software applications now implement Java, which many pop up blockers prevent from loading. If the pop up blocker stops Java, the applications using Java will fail to run.

Another disadvantage of using a pop up blocker is that it treats the symptoms but not the source of spyware. Most spyware is designed to send data back to the company that created it. Simply suppressing the pop ups that some spyware applications generate does not eliminate the software; it simply hides its most apparent effect. Overall, the most effective way to deal with spyware is to run scans of all computers that connect to the internet with an updated anti-spyware application.

Yet another way to prevent spyware from sending information from a system is to put that system behind a firewall. A firewall is a program, a network device or a server that controls the information that flows to and from machines that are connected to the internet. Most firewalls can be configured to log internet access. A firewall can be hardware or software. It can protect an entire network or a single computer. Most firewalls can be configured to allow as much or as little information through them as the user sees fit.

Users that are behind a firewall that is configured by another entity should assume that the firewall does not prevent spyware from sending information.

A software firewall can be installed on local machines that will limit the information coming from, and going to, the internet. OS X and Windows XP both have built in firewall software; however both are extremely limited in the amount of control they offer. Zonealarm (http://www.zonelabs.com) from Zone Labs offers a more selective approach to controlling Internet use. Again, a firewall does not remove existing spyware, but it can prevent it from sending information, and it can alert the user to unauthorized communication which the spyware initiates. A utility that removes spyware is still preferable.

Spyware is not limited to machines running Microsoft operating systems, however, most spyware is written to run on the various versions of Windows. At this time, MacScan is probably the best software to handle spyware for OS X users. Currently there is not a Macintosh vendor that provides free anti-spyware software This is probably due to the fact that spyware is not as prolific on the Macintosh operating system. That said, many spyware programs work through the user's browser, and will run in Linux and UNIX based systems, which OS X borrows heavily from. As a result, spyware will become a more serious problem for Macintosh users in the future.

To recap, the best solution is to use a web browser that spyware is not being written for or a browser that contains sophisticated security or spyware countermeasures. Because it is likely that spyware will still infect any system that browses the internet, it is a good idea to use a utility to remove any spyware that may be present. ∞

Kaaren's Corner

By Kaaren Linton, Librarian/Alexandria Trainer

"Explore-ing" and Alexandria's v6 Researcher

Alexandria's v6 Researcher certainly has a new look, doesn't it?  Along with the new look comes the ability to customize parts of the Researcher window; however, you must have an "A" license.  (If your license is an "M" license, when you click on Explore Builder, it will be grayed out.)

Let's look at the Researcher window.  Notice that below the Simple Search portion is another line of icons labeled Explore, Most Popular, What's New, Award Winners, and eBooks.  This is the portion of the window that you may customize -- adding, deleting, or changing the buttons that are seen and what those buttons do.  For instance, if I have a subscription to EBSCO's database, I might want to have one of the buttons programmed to launch an internet browser and go to the EBSCO website.  I might want to change the Award Winner button from a search for all awards to a search for just my state's book award nominees for the current year.  If I have no e-books, that button should probably be deleted. 

To make these changes, let's go to Tools on the menu bar and select Explore Builder.  Notice that when Explore Builder opens, there is a list of panes.  The pane that I want to work with is the one that is highlighted -- v6 explore start.  All other panes shown are the additional panes that have been created to support the Explore button on the v6 explore start pane.  To open the pane I want to edit, all I have to do is double click on that pane in the list.  This causes the Edit Explore Pane window to open with the selected pane ready for editing.

To delete a button, I will <ctrl> + click (Macintosh) or right click (Windows) on the button to be removed.  From the menu that appears, I will select Remove Button.  This immediately removes the button; so make certain that you are truly on the button you want to remove. When you have finished making the changes you want to make, click on OK on the Edit Explore Pane window to complete the process for that pane.

To change the function of the Award Winners button, I would double click on that button and the Define Explore Button Action window will open.  Here, I can change the name of the button to the particular award I want, so, I would change the name to Utah Children's Book Awards 2010.  Next, I will select the type of action that I want the button to perform from the Actions drop-down menu.  In Alexandria version 6.0.2, an Edit button has been added at the bottom of the window, so I will click the Edit button so that the Define Explore Button Search window will open.   On this window, I will enter my search criteria in the first search field and leave the drop-down menu set to Search All Words.  (Remember if more than one term is entered in a search field, then Alexandria treats the search as an exact match search using Boolean AND Operator.  Naturally, you will use as many of the Search fields as you need and set the Search Type drop-down menus and Boolean Operators and you desire.  If you wish to change the maximum number of results shown, just change that drop-down menu to the setting that matches the number you want.  Click on Set at the bottom of the window, then on OK on the Define Explore Button Action window.

To add a new button, it is much the same as editing a button.  However, instead of making changes, you will be creating the settings you want.  Double click on a blank button, enter a name for the button, select the Action type and fill in the criteria.  For instance, if I wanted to add a button to launch the NBA website, I would enter the name for the button, NBA website, in the Button Name field, select Launch a URL from the Action drop-down menu, then, enter the URL on the field on the Query window.  I would enter http://www.nba.com in the field on the Query window and click on OK.  All that is needed now is to give the button an appropriate graphic and this is done copying the graphic and, then, <ctrl> + click (Macintosh) or right click (Windows) on the Define Explore Button Action window. When the menu opens, click on Paste button image.

You may also change the order of the buttons.  Simply click-hold-drag a button from one button location to another.  If there is a button already in that location, Alexandria will swap the locations of the two buttons.

If you want to add additional panes and want to have a button open another pane, then you must make the pane that you want to open before you can set that button's action to Go to another pane.

Like most functions in Alexandria, after you have completely finished with the Explore Builder, click Save to save the changes or Revert to cancel the changes.  That's all there is to it -- quick, easy, wonderfully useful -- and, so much fun to do!

∞

COMPanion Tradeshows

Click here for the list of tradeshows COMPanion will be attending for the rest of the year!

Alexandria v6 Webinars
Many of our customers have recently attended a series of free online webinars designed to explain significant differences between Alexandria v5 and v6. The topics for these events included Preferences, Researcher, Patrons & Items, and Reports & Utilities. The webinars have been extremely popular and the response from those who have attended them has been overwhelmingly positive. We have received numerous requests from customers to post recordings of the sessions on the Alexandria website. Consequently, we are happy to let you know that you can now access the sessions by going to: http://www.goalexandria.com/webinars/webinarvideos.html

Each session lasts approximately 30-45 minutes. Handouts have been created for each topic, and we recommend that you download and print them prior to watching the session.

If you have questions or comments regarding the information presented in the sessions, please direct your queries to trainers@companioncorp.com. We also provide customized online or onsite training for a fee. To learn more about this option, please contact Sales at 1-800-347-6439. ∞