Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

(+) A PC That is Dedicated Solely to Your Financial Affairs

NOTE: This is a follow-up article to the (+) An Ounce of Virus and Malware Prevention is Worth a Lot Plus Edition article that I published a few days ago.

The following is a Plus Edition article written by and copyright by Dick Eastman.

A newsletter reader sent an email message with a question that I think everyone should think about. I don't believe he realized that I had supplied the answer a few days earlier in a Plus Edition newsletter article.

He wrote:

First, thank you for all your technical advice on using computers. Because of you, I purchased an off line back up system that I had to use just the other day for a corrupted file. Saved me from losing a week's work on one family line. Also, I just purchased the handheld scanner based on your article.

I am going to be presumptuous and ask you a non-genealogy related question on security and ID theft. I have had several malware problems this year. All have been solved. But it has made me think about our financial links and records. This may be extreme, but does it make sense to buy a laptop that is dedicated solely to your financial affairs? It would never be used to go to any web sites except for the financial institutions. When not in use, its connection to the Internet would be turned off. It would never leave our apartment. It seems to be that it reduces to almost zero the possibility that you will get malware designed to get this information. Any thoughts?

Federation of Genealogical Societies Announces Search for Editor of FGS FORUM

The following announcement was written by the Federation of Genealogical Societies:

The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) today announces that it is accepting applications for the position of editor of its electronic quarterly magazine, the FGS FORUM.

The Federation is a non-profit organization founded in 1976 for the purpose of helping genealogical and historical societies and family associations strengthen and grow. The FGS FORUM is an important publication that supports the organization’s mission. The magazine is accessible in PDF format by individual subscribers and by two officers of each FGS member organization.

Ontario Genealogical Society Appoints Sarah Newitt as Assistant Executive Director

The following was written by the Ontario Genealogical Society:

The Board of the Ontario Genealogical Society is pleased to announce the appointment of Sarah Newitt as Assistant Executive Director.  She will become Executive Director next April, on the retirement of the current Executive Director, Dr Fraser Dunford.
           
Sarah, age 28, has been the Society’s librarian for the past year.  She holds a BA in German from Queen’s and a MLIS from McGill.  She has worked in a number of libraries in Ontario and in Montreal.  She has had a life-long association with Girl Guides.  A native of Mount Albert, Ontario, she has lived in Japan, India, and Germany.

Ireland’s First Genealogy Show

The Back to Our Past show will be held in the RDS in Dublin, Ireland. It will commence at 12.00 noon until 7pm on Friday 15 October 2010. On Saturday and Sunday 16 and 17 October, 2010 the event will run from 11am to 6pm.

The Back to Our Past show is the first such show in Ireland and it will be held in conjunction with the Over 50s Show but it will be a stand-alone event with its own identity and entrance, which will be in The Industries Hall in the RDS, Anglesea Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4. Further information is available on events, presentations and exhibitors, www.backtoourpast.com.

According to the show's organizers:

The Google Earth for Genealogy Video Series Expands

The following announcement was written by Lisa Louise Cooke:

SAN RAMON, CA, September 29, 2010 – Genealogy Gems announced today that the second installment of the Google Earth for Genealogy video series has been released at www.GoogleForGenealogy.com.

“Google Earth has the power to geographically document and tell the stories of our ancestors' lives, and in this new video I show you how to do just that,” said Lisa Louise Cooke, Genealogy Gems owner and producer and host of the popular Genealogy Gems Podcast at www.GenealogyGems.com and in iTunes. “I’m excited to be expanding on the concepts covered in the first DVD, and in Volume II we take Google Earth from family history research tool to compelling genealogical storyteller.”

(+) Store Your Files Online at No or Low Cost

The following is a Plus Edition article written by and copyright by Dick Eastman.

I travel a lot and occasionally find myself in need of a file that I left "back home." I need a way of quickly and easily obtaining any files that I need, but there are times when remote access is not an option since it requires my computer to stay powered on and have constant Internet access. If you do not want to leave your computer powered on all the time, uploading your files to a server on the web is the best solution.

There is a second advantage as well: uploading the files to an online server is also a great method of making backups of your important files. I’ve long preached the utmost importance of backing up your critical genealogy files. If your primary computer ever fails, an online storage service lets you easily retrieve any of the files you earlier uploaded to the service.

You can find a number of web services that let you upload files. A few of them even provide some amount of file space free of charge.

You Tube Time Machine

These are the movies and sound recordings our ancestors flocked to see and hear. At least, some of them are. The later ones are some that I saw not that many years ago.

The You Tube Time Machine is a collection of audio and video snippets from 1860 (that is NOT a typo!) through 2010 that provide a history of movies, videos, and sound recordings. I rather enjoyed looking at some of the older ones, before 1920. These are really corny and it is difficult to imagine anyone paying money to see them. However, when moving pictures were still a novelty, I guess it didn't take much of a plot to entice audiences to watch.

Press Your Cremated Ashes Into A Vinyl Record

Here's a different way to remember a loved one. Or perhaps the way that YOU would like to be remembered. Vinyl records once were declared dead, but they still seem to live on, kept alive by enthusiastic audiophiles. Now, once you die, you can become part of a vinyl record.

Andvinyly, a UK-based company, offers the opportunity to have some of your cremated ashes pressed into a vinyl record. The company's web site points out that it is the perfect resting place for vinyl lovers. It also states:

A Sign of the Times: Missing Children Posters Move to Facebook

Genealogists should be recording changes in our lives and lifestyles. Here's one for the books: The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) has stopped publishing pictures of missing children on milk cartons. Instead, the Center now obtains better results by publishing pictures on Facebook. In most cases, the pages are published by the missing child's relatives or friends, not by the NCMEC.

Drive-by Downloads Explained

Yesterday's article about Fake LinkedIn Spam Can Steal Your Bank Passwords used the phrase "a drive-by download." Several people asked, "what is a drive-by download?"

The following explanation was written by Dennis Faas:

The expression 'drive-by download' is used in four increasingly common meanings:

1. Downloads which the user indirectly authorized but without understanding the consequences. For example: by installing an unknown ActiveX component or Java applet.

Note that Microsoft Internet Explorer uses the ActiveX scripting language, whereas Mozilla Firefox does not; thus, many argue that Firefox is considerably more secure than Internet Explorer because it is not susceptible to ActiveX-based attacks. (Source: cnet.com)

(+) An Ounce of Virus and Malware Prevention is Worth a Lot

The following is a Plus Edition article written by and copyright by Dick Eastman.

Today's warning about a new scam circulating online claiming to be invitations from LinkedIn brought to mind how easy it is to deal with such problems. Of course, you always want to have the latest updates installed on your anti-virus and anti-malware program, but that alone is not enough.

NOTE: "Malware" is an abbreviation for "malevolent software" and is used as a general reference to viruses, trojan horse programs, spyware, and other software that is designed to do bad things to your computer.

The anti-virus and anti-malware programs can only detect new problems AFTER each program's producers have updated the program's virus definitions to detect whatever latest malware is floating around. Typically, that is one to seven days AFTER the new virus or malware is released. Yesterday's problem spread around the world within minutes and most anti-virus/anti-malware programs did not yet detect it when the email message was received.

Stonehenge Boy was from the Mediterranean Area

Chemical tests on teeth from an ancient burial near Stonehenge indicate that the person in the grave grew up near the Mediterranean Sea. The bones belong to a teenager who died 3,550 years ago and was buried with a distinctive amber necklace containing about 90 amber beads.

The conclusions come from analysis of different forms of the elements oxygen and strontium in his tooth enamel. Analysis on a previous skeleton found near Stonehenge also showed that the previous person was also a migrant to the area.

Fake LinkedIn Spam Can Steal Your Bank Passwords

Beware of requests claiming to be from social networking sites! According to Cisco Security:

Starting this morning, Monday 9/27, at 10am GMT, cyber criminals sent spam email messages targeting the LinkedIn social media community.

Victims are emailed an alert link with a fictitious social media contact request. These messages accounted for as much as 24% of all spam sent within a 15-minute interval. Clicking the link, victims are taken to a web page that says "PLEASE WAITING.... 4 SECONDS" and redirects them to Google. During those four seconds, the victim's PC is infected with the ZeuS data theft malware by a drive-by download. ZeuS embeds itself in the victim's web browser and captures personal information, such as online banking credentials, and is widely used by criminals to pilfer commercial bank accounts.

FamilySearch Beta Preview

FamilySearch is sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) and the web site at http://www.familysearch.org has become one of the more popular sites on the Internet. Now the public is able to access the latest version of the site even though ithasn't been formally launched.

The newest version, beta.familysearch.org, is up and running for the public, even though it carries the "beta" name, usually reserved for a test site on the Internet.

"Every 30 days, we are doing a pretty significant update," said Paul Nauta, manager of public affairs for Family Search. "We're getting ready for our official launch the first of next year."

There is No Such Thing as a Half-Cousin!

One of my pet peeves is a term that I see online over and over: someone claiming to be a "half first cousin" or a "half second cousin once removed" or something similar. Sorry folks, but there is no such thing as a "half first cousin." I know that lots of families use that term to refer to various relatives, but there simply is no such thing in the U.S.

NOTE: I will describe references used in the U.S. It is possible that relations are described differently in other countries and especially in languages other than English.

Many people think that a "half first cousin" is someone who shares one grandparent with you but not both of them. For instance, my great-grandfather was married twice. He had several children by his first wife. The wife then died in childbirth and great-grandfather later remarried and had more children by his second wife. I am descended from great-grandfather and his first wife. I recently met a man who is descended from great-grandfather and his second wife. Some people would think that this other man and I are half-second cousins. "Half" apparently refers to a mistaken belief that we only share half the relationship because of our different great-grandmothers.

In fact, we are second cousins. Period.

Suzanne Russo Adams' Latest Addition to Her Family Tree

Many people here will recognize the name Suzanne Russo Adams. She has been mentioned in this newsletter dozens of times. Suzanne is an Accredited Genealogist specializing in Italian research. She is also the Society Partnership Manager at Ancestry.com. Now Suzanne and her husband, Steve Adams, have welcomed a new little girl into the world. Here’s what Suzanne wrote:

“Ashley Faith Adams born 8:12pm Sunday, September 26th. 6 lbs 9 oz and 19 inches. We are excited!”

Illinois State Genealogical Society Announces 2010 Award Winners

The following announcement was written by the Illinois State Genealogical Society:

Awards To Be Made At ISGS Fall Conference, October 23, 2010

September 27, 2010 – Springfield, IL. On Saturday, October 23, 2010, five individuals will be honored by the Illinois State Genealogical Society (ISGS) with awards for their outstanding achievements in the field of genealogy. ISGS will present the awards at the upcoming ISGS Fall Conference – “You Have Family – You Have History” – held at the historic Hotel Père Marquette in Peoria, Illinois. The recipients include:

1911 New Zealand Electoral Rolls Available on CD

The 1911 General Election in New Zealand saw over 590,000 people registered to vote. A new CD contains the lists of citizens who were eligible to vote and includes electoral maps from Alan McRobie’s Electoral Atlas. This CD can be purchased from shop on the New Zealand Society of Genealogists website, www.genealogy.org.nz, for NZD$50.

The New Zealand Society of Genealogists also has a number of other CD-ROM resources available that are listed in this PDF file:  Download NZS0G_Publications_Update_Sept_2010.

Private Company Takes Over Libraries

I have written a number of times about the huge changes being made at many libraries today as the technology changes rapidly. Today's New York Times has an interesting article about changes in Library management. Many cities are now outsourcing the management of their libraries.

David Streitfeld writes in the Times:

A private company in Maryland has taken over public libraries in ailing cities in California, Oregon, Tennessee and Texas, growing into the country’s fifth-largest library system.

Now the company, Library Systems & Services, has been hired for the first time to run a system in a relatively healthy city, setting off an intense and often acrimonious debate about the role of outsourcing in a ravaged economy.

(+) The Three-Story Outhouse

The following is a true story by Dick Eastman and is offered here as a Plus Edition article.

Just by way of introduction, I want to tell you that I was raised on a farm in the small town of Dexter, Maine, about 30 miles northwest of Bangor, perhaps 40 miles south of Moosehead Lake. Dexter is a scenic little town that was supported by woolen mills and a shoe factory in those days. Nothing much ever happened in Dexter, and the residents kind of liked that.

I grew up sort of “in between generations.” That is, when I was a youngster, I lived on a farm that had no indoor plumbing. The same was true of many of our neighbors as well, although not for all of them. It was a time when many people were converting from what we call outhouses to more modern small rooms that were indoors and had modern fixtures. That is, many of our neighbors were purchasing bathtubs, sinks, and flush toilets.

My parents, however, had none of those modern facilities when I was a youngster. We didn't have a flush toilet or a bath tub. In fact, I bathed every Saturday night, whether I needed it or not, in a galvanized tub in front of the wood-burning stove in the kitchen.