| HOME | Virus returns to wreak havoc April 26th By JIM BROOKS Last year, the Win95.CIH computer virus wreaked havoc when it surfaced on Monday, August 26th. The virus corrupted data on user's hard drives, and even damaged the BIOS operating system on some computers, rendering the computer unbootable. The virus is one of the many recurring types out there -- those that wait until a certain time and date to do surface and do their damage. Now computer experts fear a variant of that virus will again wreak havoc on infected Windows 95/98 computers tomorrow -- Monday, April 26. The CIH 1.2 virus will only run itself once this year -- tomorrow -- and experts believe this variant may be more widely spread that previous variations of this computer bugs. The CIH 1.2 virus is also nicknamed the Chernobyl virus, since it is timed to "go off" on the anniversary of the Russian nuclear accident. As with any virus, the best insurance is a good defense -- buy or download a current computer virus program and use it regularly. Try these Web sites for a copy of the latest program if you think you might be exposed to the CIH virus, or need to update an out-of-date virus checker. All three offer a trial copy of their latest programs, or you can purchase a copy on the Web: <ufdots> Symantec: www.symantec.com, makers of the Norton Anti-virus line of programs. <ufdots> McAffee: www.mcaffee.com, virus detection software maker. <ufdots> Trend Micro: www.antivirus.com, creator of virus detection software. OH! YOYO! I've been a fan of yo-yo'ing since I was 10 years old and convinced my mom I couldn't live without a new Duncan Butterfly model yo-yo. Not that I was ever a pro at yo-yo tricks, but yo-yoing has provided countless hours of cheap entertainment for many years. Trendy toys come and go, but in the past 30 years, it seems the popularity of yo-yo's surges every few years, especially in the springtime. I was alerted to the latest yo-yo resurgence when my 6-year-old daughter came home from school asking for one. And on Easter Sunday, my nephew demonstrated a slick new-fangled ball-bearing axled yo-yo, and demonstrated his skills with a slew of flips, twists and loops through the air. Since then, I haven't unearthed my Duncan Butterfly yet, but I did stumble across some Web sites aimed at yo-yo enthusiasts both past and present. • Smarty Pant's 3D Yo-Yo Tricks is a Web site that provides exactly what the name states -- instructions and three-dimensional graphics on how to do all those cool yo-yo tricks. There are step-by-step instructions for many yo-yo tricks, along with an animated yo-yo fanatic who demonstrates the proper method in real-time 3D animation. Now if you haven't picked up a yo-yo recently, I recommend you visit the online review of yo-yos. You'll find reviews of models ranging from the $3.50 Duncan Butterfly to the $135 Playmaxx Cold Fusion all-aluminum model. Visit Smarty Pants' site at www.webspun.org. • If you're interested in shopping for a yo-yo on the Web, one place you'll find most every type of yo-yo is at eYoYo.com. The folks at eYoYo have a wide selection of yo-yos, and supplies, like replacement strings, which can be hard to find. There are reviews, with ratings of every model they sell, judging each yo-yo by its traits and abilities. The folks at eYoYo, each with an average of 10 years of experience in Yo-Yo's claim that they "Know the Yo," and they even offer their own high-tech stratoSpin yo-yo. Grab your credit card and make the yo-yo fan in your household very happy with a visit to www.eyoyo.com. AUCTION ACTION. If you've noticed an increase in the number of online auction Web sites, there's a simple reason why: They're one of the few businesses online that are making money. And the success is paying off, at least for eBay CEO Meg Whitman. Thanks to the soaring value of eBay's stock, Whitman received pay, bonuses and compensation equaling $43 million last year. Most of that was in the form of stock options in eBay. She received options last year to buy 7.2 million shares of the auction company. Whitman's compensation was highlighted in Business Week magazine's look at 365 of the top-paid CEOs in the U.S. Comments and questions about this column may be sent to jbrooks@myoldkentuckyhome.com, or visit www.myoldkentuckyhome.com on the World Wide Web. | HOME |