LET'S COMMUNICATE 
Agriculture Communication Newsletter 
July 2001, No. 67

CONTENTS: 

WRITE THE RIGHT WORD 
WORMS, VIRUSES AND OTHER MALADIES 

WRITE THE RIGHT WORD

"Because so many words are written every day, it is easy to forget their potential power."--Gerry McGovern

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Gerry McGovern, publisher of an electronic newsletter on Web publishing, says that with the emergence of the Internet and text messaging on mobile phones, the power of the word is again dominating our culture and economy. Noting that every process that can be automated is being automated, he says, "Words, on the other hand, are still more an art than a science...Our sentences and paragraphs will be the last thing to be truly automated, which means that they will be an area in which humans will and must continue to excel." McGovern says words work so well online, in the restricted environment of the Internet, because they are already a compression technique for communication. "Those of us who wish to succeed need to become better with words. We need to be able to write better so that our words have more of a chance to rise above the massive traffic jam of words that the world has become," he says.

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Writing for the Web needs to be lean and mean. Write short, clear sentences. Combine them into short, clear paragraphs. Get to the point quickly, without rambling or dawdling. Cut out dead words and meaningless padding. That's how to write for the Web. That's also how to write for every other medium.

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So what are some of these meaningless words we can get rid of? For example:

WORMS, VIRUSES AND OTHER MALADIES

The national news has been filled with dire warnings about the Code Red worm lately. So, what effect will that have on us? Hopefully, none at all. Code Red attacks web servers using Microsoft's Internet Information Server (IIS), looking for one specific security hole in the program. Since the first attacks, Microsoft has released program patches to correct the problem. If you are running your own Web site using MS - IIS, you should get the update from Microsoft as soon as possible. For more detailed information, check the F-Secure website at http://www.f- secure.com/v-descs/bady.shtml

A far more widespread worm we have been seeing is the SirCam worm. This one spreads through an infected file attachment in email. Our ExtNet administrator, Roger Egeberg, has applied an email filter that should slow or stop the spread of the virus through the ExtNet system. Detailed info on SirCam is at http://www.f- secure.com/v-descs/sircam.shtml

You should continue to be cautious of attached files in email. Some of the things to watch for: 1 - Is the attachment referenced in the text of the message? Some worms add attachments without the sender's knowledge. 2 - Does the message come from some unknown person? Many "spam" email messages include infected attachments. 3 - If the message is from someone you know, does it seem to be in character for them? One of our users received an email referencing an obscene act from his own mother! 4 - Use your own judgement and common sense. If the message doesn't feel right, don't open it. If you're really curious, contact the sender by phone first and find out if they REALLY sent that message.

And finally, be sure your antivirus software is up to date and has all the configuration tweaks applied. Jerry Ranum in Ag Comm Computer Services recently emailed all-ag with update information. If you haven't yet read or applied his advice, it is in the organization's best interests for you to do so as soon as possible. Dave Jacobs