ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º ÇÄ¿ º K E E P I N G I N T O U C H º ³ º ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ º ³ º SPITFIRE Monthly Support Newsletter º ³ º for registered SPITFIRE Sysops! º ³ º January 1992 º ³ º Compliments of BUFFALO CREEK SOFTWARE º ³ º Buffalo Creek's BBS * 515-225-8496 º ³ º 38400/19200/9600/24400/1200 Baud º ³ º 2 Nodes º ³ º º ³ ÈÍÑÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ Edited by Jacque Shipley The Mother Board BBS - (515) 986-3464 - 19200 Baud Sysop Of The Month by Walt Crede Roam This Fertile Land - (515) 288-8755 - 2400 Baud Newly Registered SPITFIRE BBS List by Ann Woltz Other Contributions As Noted ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º Notes from the author of SPITFIRE! ÇÄ¿ ÈÍÑÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ As announced in last month's newsletter, listed below are the active registered Spitfire boards state by state and country by country. These statistics may not be 100% accurate but they are compiled using the most up to date information that we have. These statistics are arrived at by using only those boards operating with version 3.1. So in other words, we assume any sysop who has not upgraded to version 3.1 is no longer operating a board or is no longer operating SPITFIRE. Therefore those boards are not calculated in this data even though we are aware of some SPITFIRE boards operating with older versions. Alaska......... : 14 Missouri....... : 14 Washington..... : 18 Alabama........ : 7 Mississippi.... : 9 Wisconsin...... : 12 Arkansas....... : 12 Montana........ : 2 West Virginia.. : 6 Arizona........ : 40 North Carolina. : 19 Australia...... : 11 California..... : 105 North Dakota... : 1 Brazil......... : 1 Colorado....... : 5 Nebraska....... : 24 Canada......... : 89 Connecticut.... : 15 New Hampshire.. : 1 England........ : 7 Delaware....... : 17 New Jersey..... : 16 Finland........ : 1 Florida........ : 46 New Mexico..... : 4 France......... : 7 Georgia........ : 18 Nevada......... : 34 Guam........... : 1 Iowa........... : 38 New York....... : 31 Holland........ : 4 Idaho.......... : 8 Ohio........... : 34 Israel......... : 1 Illinois....... : 50 Oklahoma....... : 10 Italy.......... : 1 Indiana........ : 19 Oregon......... : 10 Netherlands.... : 9 Kansas......... : 13 Pennsylvania... : 30 New Zealand.... : 14 Kentucky....... : 5 Rhode Island... : 5 Ontario........ : 1 Louisiana...... : 21 South Carolina. : 16 Philippines.... : 1 Massachusetts.. : 15 South Dakota... : 6 Portugal....... : 2 Maryland....... : 11 Tennessee...... : 9 Puerto Rico.... : 5 Maine.......... : 18 Texas.......... : 65 Scotland....... : 1 Michigan....... : 17 Utah........... : 5 Switzerland.... : 1 Minnesota...... : 4 Virginia....... : 15 Japan.......... : 2 Please note the close competition between many of the states. For example, Oklahoma and Oregon both claim ten SPITFIRE boards. There are many running neck and neck. How about it Missouri, are you going to be ahead of Alaska a year from now? How about you Georgia, are you going to be ahead of Maine a year from now? I think it would be fun to see states competing with one another. What do you think? We feel it is important to note that SPITFIRE has been registered 1396 times and according to our information 1053 of these boards are still active. If my calculations are correct, this means there is a 75% success rate among SPITFIRE sysops. This 75% rate is well in excess of the national average. We will soon be removing all boards who have not upgraded to SPITFIRE v3.1 from our various lists in the very near future. We will remove them from our lists assuming that they are no longer operating or are no longer operating SPITFIRE as their system. Time is very quickly running out in regard to upgrading to SPITFIRE v3.1. In the event you know of someone who has not upgraded, you should tell them that they are going to loose their SPITFIRE free upgrade rights if they do not upgrade. Thank you. The SPITFIRE v3.2 upgrade notices and upgrade request forms have been mailed. Copies of SPITFIRE v3.2 will be compiled in the order the upgrade request forms are returned. Thank you for your continued support and promotion of SPITFIRE. Thanks.... visit with you next month.... Mike and the rest of the Buffalo Creek Gang ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͸ ³ SPITFIRE DISKETTE EXCHANGE UPDATE ³ ÔÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ; The SPITFIRE utility diskette exchange program is now being handled by David Van Horn, Visions II BBS. Anyone wishing to receive copies of SF utility programs can use the DISKXCHG.REG form to order the desired programs. DISKXCHG.REG is available for download from Buffalo Creek's BBS (515-225-8496) and provides complete details on how your order can be placed. ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͸ ³ SFCHKUP SPITFIRE UTILITY ³ ÔÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ; No computer systems are as vulnerable to virus infected software as those used to operate BBSs. As Sysops, we allow our expensive computer equipment to be extensively used by complete strangers. Thus, BBS systems become easy prey to the intentional "prankster" or innocent victim to the caller who unknowingly passes along a virus infected program. What can Sysops do to protect their investment? There are a number of software products available that are capable of detecting virus infected programs; both shareware and commercial. On the shareware market, McAffee's SCAN.EXE is perhaps the most reputable. Similarly, representing the commercial market is Central Point's Anti-Virus, capable of detecting over 500 viruses. Products such as these, are handy tools that enable the Sysop to protect their systems. However, checking the files is a manual process that must be done frequently to ensure continued protection. That is where SFCHKUP goes a bit further. Buffalo Creek Software's SFCHKUP automates the process of checking files uploaded to the BBS for possible viruses. SFCHKUP uses your favorite virus checker to scan for viruses on each file uploaded to your BBS. By using SFINIT.BAT to execute SFCHKUP, each file uploaded to the BBS can immediately be scanned for possible viruses before making it available for download. Typical configuration for SFCHKUP requires that all files uploaded be placed in a directory called \CHKUP1 for node 1, \CHKUP2 for node 2, etc. The exact processing performed by SFCHKUP is determined by the commands which the Sysop includes in CHKUP.BAT. Once the integrity of the file uploaded has been tested, it is MUVed to the appropriate download directory and made available for download to your callers. A sample CHKUP.BAT is included in the distribution package but may be modified to suit your needs. It is in the CHKUP.BAT you would include the commands required to scan for viruses using your favorite anti-virus software. However, don't stop there...because SFCHKUP can do much, much more! Use CHKUP.BAT to test the integrity of the file uploaded by confirming that no errors exist in the file compression. Test the integrity of *.GIF files as well. If you use Katz's .ZIP format and wish to keep a universal compression format on your system, decompress PAK, LZH, ARC or ARJ files and compress them back as ZIPs. (This would apply to any compression format you elect to use on your BBS.) Erase undesirable files from within the compressed file, such as PKUNZIP, PKZIP or COMMAND.COM. Also, by adding a line to SFCHKUP.BAT, you can immediately add your BBS's logo comment to the file. You may wish to avoid any processing of a particular file at all, for instance, *.TXT file which are uploaded. This can also be accomplished in your CHKUP.BAT. Your CHKUP.BAT can be written to erase any files that do not pass integrity checking or you may simply prefer to place them in another directory (such as \BADFILES) for further inspection. As you can see, you set the limits of what processing you wish to accomplish with SFCHKUP by the CHKUP.BAT file you create. Quoting from SFCHKUP.DOC; It is entirely up to you, the Sysop, how you utilize SFCHKUP and its associated CHKUP.BAT file. You can make it as simple or as elaborate as you please. Sysops who devise a unique methodology are encouraged to share it with the rest of the SPITFIRE BBS community by posting it in a message or uploading it to Buffalo Creek's BBS! The functions described above, in itself, makes SFCHKUP a very worthwhile utility that you will want to include as a part of your SPITFIRE BBS system. However, there is more! Unique to SFCHKUP, this utility will, in addition, update the SPITFIRE SFUSERS.DAT. If a file is uploaded that does not pass the integrity testing, the caller's statistics are updated and no credit is received for the upload. Should this happen, the Sysop may also choose to use SFCHKUP.MSG. SFCHKUP.MSG can be used to notify the caller the next time they call the BBS, that the uploaded file failed to pass the file integrity checking. ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͸ ³ SYSOP-OF-THE-MONTH ³ ÔÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ; Chuck Dearbeck The Bad Attitude BBS Erie, Pennsylvania Chuck stumbled onto computers after his brother Paul bought one and he saw all the neat stuff Paul could do with it. He especially liked that he could call over the phone with it, leave messages and talk to people from other parts of the country. "I took some computer classes," he commented. "and while going to school my wife and I started a business called Power User. We distribute shareware through mail order and at computer shows. I'm 36 years old and except for numerous lay-offs have been employed as a welder in local boiler shops since my teens. Recently, what we had only considered our hobby for four years has turned into a full-time business. "In 1988, my brother Paul, who also runs a SPITFIRE BBS (The Animal Farm in Jacksonville, Florida), sent me a new bulletin board software package named SPITFIRE he had been running and said it was the best around. We've been hooked ever since! My wife, Gay Ann, has more patience and a better temperament so she has taken over the Sysop duties. I've been demoted to maintenance with the official title of BBS janitor. "I enjoy when a caller who has never seen a SPITFIRE BBS logons on, they just can not believe how easy it is to use. I think that goes for the Sysop/Janitor side too! I never cared much for the "everything but the kitchen sink" approach and am glad to see SPITFIRE hasn't gained much weight over the four years we've been involved with it. "We started running 'Power User BBS' on a 30MB XT and ran that for about a year before changing the name to "The Bad Attitude BBS." We are now running two nodes with two GIG of hard drive space and a CD-ROM. For the years we've been running The Bad Attitude we were basically a free board but a short while back we changed to a subscription BBS. We have mixed feelings about where BBSing is headed, but 'times...they are a-changing.'" ÕÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ͸ ³ NEWLY REGISTERED SPITFIRE SYSTEMS ³ ÔÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ; A hearty welcome is extended to the following, who have recently become public registered SPITFIRE Bulletin Board Systems: The Information Booth.....................209-368-3660...9600 Baud Mark Carpenter, Sysop.............................Lodi, California Tacotel Amsterdam.......................+3120-637-0987...2400 Baud Rob V.D. Viffersdijk, Sysop.....................Amsterdam, Holland Concession Stand..........................713-332-0818..19200 Baud Robert Dickson, Sysop...........................League City, Texas HEALTH WISDOM Q&A.........................702-433-0818...2400 Baud Stanley Johnson, Sysop...........................Las Vegas, Nevada CaroWare BBS..............................704-437-9937...2400 Baud Mark Barry, Sysop........................Morganton, North Carolina The Roundhouse............................602-247-9322...2400 Baud Jim Johnson, Sysop................................Phoenix, Arizona DX Online Information Service.............617-581-9023...2400 Baud Michael Klein, Sysop...........................Lynn, Massachusetts Camelot...................................401-849-5017...2400 Baud George Warch, Sysop........................Middleton, Rhode Island PC Disk Downunder.......................64-09-837-1639...2400 Baud Hargon International Limited................Henderson, New Zealand Union Connection..........................803-324-2905...2400 Baud Benny Dawkins, Sysop.....................Rock Hill, South Carolina The Information Connection................317-462-4835...2400 Baud Gary Davis, Sysop..............................Greenfield, Indiana The Place BBS.............................801-943-4616...2400 Baud Mario Giordani, Sysop.........................Salt Lake City, Utah Big Town..................................919-239-1800...2400 Baud David Creveling, Sysop......................Lucoma, North Carolina The Magic Mind Bender.............Phone Number Unknown...2400 Baud Jeff Clarkson, Sysop.........................Scottsbluff, Nebraska Cyperus City BBS..........................602-633-2755...2400 Baud Bryan West, Sysop................................Glendale, Arizona Wild Blue.................................902-434-7290...2400 Baud Kel Jeffries, Sysop.................Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada Kastle Krypton............................609-426-9002...2400 Baud Michael Ahern, Sysop......................East Windsor, New Jersey The Cave..................................318-741-3400...2400 Baud Daniel Nabors, Sysop.......................Bossier City, Louisiana The Hour Glass............................302-678-1613...2400 Baud Fred Christy, Sysop................................Dover, Delaware J.E.N.A. BBS..............................312-528-2650...2400 Baud Armando Rosario, Sysop...........................Chicago, Illinois The Neutral Zone BBS......................916-251-4051...2400 Baud Bill Lock, Sysop............................Sacramento, California Network-Link BBS..........................317-251-4051...2400 Baud Larry Maclellan, Sysop.......................Indianapolis, Indiana The "Us" Project..........................302-529-1650...9600 Baud Walt Mateja, Sysop............................Wilmington, Delaware The H.O.T. BBS............................513-941-7390...2400 Baud Jay Neff, Sysop...................................Cincinnati, Ohio NiteChills................................402-734-4924...2400 Baud Chris Kuchma, Sysop................................Omaha, Nebraska The Charmed BBS...........................602-486-2375...2400 Baud Dennis Rice, Sysop...............................Glendale, Arizona The Media Center..........................304-353-3170...2400 Baud Scott Westerman, Sysop.............................Pekin, Illinois V.O.I.C.E. BBS............................313-532-9986...9600 Baud Jim Samples, Sysop..........................Redford Twp., Michigan Visions One BBS...........................519-336-8493..38400 Baud Glenn Ogilvie, Sysop.......................Sarnia, Ontario, Canada Genesis Systems...........................401-683-6795..12000 Baud Eric Bishop, Sysop........................Portsmouth, Rhode Island Viper 1 BBS...............................208-832-4706..38400 Baud Earl Pedersen, Sysop...........Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho Ron's Room................................410-969-2244...2400 Baud Ronald Eglof, Sysop...............................Severn, Maryland In addition, there were 9 new private SPITFIRE BBS Systems registered. These private SPITFIRE BBS's included registrations from: Manly Vale, Australia; Englewood, Colorado; Topeka, Kansas; Fayetteville, North Carolina; Peabody, Massachusetts; Omaha, Nebraska; St. Louis, Missouri; Edmington, Alberta, Canada; and Smyrna, Georgia. There were 24 registrations for whom registration information was incomplete. These included BBS's in: Maryville, Washington; Stanmore, Australia; Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada; Gloucestershire, England; Los Angeles, California; Brisbane, California; Richardson, Texas; Hamilton, Ohio; Tullula, Illinois; West Chicago, Illinois; Worchester, Massachusetts; Las Vegas, Nevada; Denton, Texas; Hays, Kansas; Las Vegas, Nevada; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Las Vegas, Nevada; Guaynabo, Puerto Rico; Somerset, Kentucky; East Hartford, Connecticut; Las Vegas, Nevada; Lincoln, Nebraska; Spartanburg, South Carolina; and Keystone Heights, Florida. The increase in registrations where information is incomplete is largely due to Buffalo Creek's Software's new policy of accepting on-line Mastercard and Visa credit card registrations. JUST A REMINDER...the newsletter is always looking for contributions. Please forward any articles in ASCII text to either Buffalo Creek's BBS or The Mother Board BBS.