We have a good read for you this month, I hope you enjoy, as always rants, raves, complaints or just a genuine plain old disagreement talk to me at geoff.hirst@vbug.co.uk.

1. Framework Service Packs
2. Visual Basic Power - Walkthrough
3. Soup to Nuts - A Webcast Series for Windows Forms Development
4. Broadcasting Messages to Multiple Clients
5. Treaps - www.codeproject.com
6. SQL Server Inhjection Attacks - What they are and how to find them
7. You are an OOP Programmer - Part One
8. Your First C# WebService - Chris Munder - CodeProject
9. VBUG Blog

DON’T FORGET: It's just over 6 weeks to go until the VBUG Annual Conference & 10th Anniversary Celebrations from 16-19 November 2004. To find out more go to VBUG Conference Itinerary. You can either book online or call +44 (0)1753 648 555.

For more information go to http://msdn.microsoft.com/netframework/downloads/updates/sptechpreview/

For more information go to http://weblogs.asp.net/msdnwebcasts/archive/2004/09/07226144.aspx

For more information go to http://msdn.microsoft.com/vbasic/default.aspx?.../vbnet06082004.asp

For more information go to http://www.codeproject.com/vb/net/TreapVb.asp

For more information go to http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/04/09/SQLInjection/default.aspx

For more information go to http://www.devcity.net/net/article.aspx?alias=practical_oop_1

For more information go to http://www.codeproject.com/cs/webservices/myservice.asp

For more information go to http://blog.vbug.net/

Joel covers interface elements why they work, but the main point of the book is why some software seems easier to use than others. He talks of the user model, what the user expects the program to do when he does something, if its what he expects, then he is likely to use the program more, if not, he gets a feeling of not being in control and may not like the program. It is one of those I definitely recommend for your collection!

Just while we talk books, I have become a great fan of the Addison-Wesley .net Development Series. They have great authors, Don Box, Chris Sells, Paul Vick etc etc. Now, Keith Brown has released The .NET Developers Guide to Windows Security (http://www.compman.co.uk/cgi-win/browse.exe?ref=694501) now its not been released in the UK yet, but I got this gem from Don Box Keith Brown has made this book available as a wiki. You can get that by clicking here.

Spy Sweeper, is free initially you actually only pay for updates to the spyware files, a little like virus signature files. The really cool thing about Spy Sweeper is it sits on your system tray and it watches what is going on, all the time, just like your anti-virus. Spy Sweeper is $40 for 2 years updates, that equates to about £1 per month. So, if you have a firewall, anti-virus and something like spy sweeper, and keep them all up to date, your PC is probably about as safe as its going to get. But don't take my word for it, take a look for yourself www.webroot.com

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Examforce (these are the people behind Exam Cram). I had apparently been on their website and offered some feedback and they were now offering me a 'special' deal.

With some scepticism, I listened to the guy, Jeff was his name. Now, anyone who has studied for certifications knows the following

1. It takes time
2. It can be real expensive
3. It's not easy

Examforce made me the following offer, I have a Lifetime subscription to their Microsoft Exam Preparation Software. Now lifetime is lifetime, the guy told me that it will cover exams for software that hasn't even been written yet. This was too good, I was waiting for the stoopid price. This was the kicker, the price was $800 (about £450). They offered over $2000 of exam preparation kit, for $800. Now, as a VBUG member I can get a similar deal, you can't get this direct from their site. If you are interested in this deal, you need to do this.

• Email me geoff.hirst@vbug.co.uk with the subject line Examforce Details. And I will let you know what to do next.

Please note that this deal does not include exam fees, those are your responsibility. It also has no affiliation with VBUG or the .netXChange. I am telling you this simply because I figured it was a good deal and the guy said anyone I referred to him he would offer the same deal. Well, I have referred a number of people to him and they all got the same deal.

Please note that this is not the sort of training you would get from DevTrain. DevTrain is high-quality area specific training of which I know of only one other provider in the world. This training is simply to get you certified. Once you are certified, Devtrain will make you better.