Sometimes it's hard to keep up with the news on a day to day basis. Here are the highlights from the Neopets news page for this month...

If you know someone who has a birthday coming up soon, why not send them one of the new Happy Birthday Gift Cards? (October 3, 2005)

Some of the characters from our Lost Desert storyline have been added to the Press Kit Images page. (October 10, 2005)

Thanks to his show of bravery in the defence of Sakhmet, General Dacon has earned his place in the Gallery of Heroes. (October 11, 2005)

Six new Neoboard titles have been added, including the most-requested "Avatar Adventurer" option. (October 18, 2005)

If you've been wanting a chance to test your drawing skills, this Nabile How to Draw might be just the thing. (October 20, 2005)

There are some new spooky Gift Tags available to attach to your Halloween tricks treats. (October 20, 2005)

The new NeoGreetings should help encourage any friends that are about to take their exams. (October 20, 2005)

If you fancy the Meridell Rubbish Dump, this new Neopedia article is just for you. (October 24, 2005)

There are three new spooky Halloween NeoGreetings to send to your friends. (October 25, 2005)

The infamous Prince Jazan of Qasala has been added to the How To Draw section. (October 28, 2005)

There are some Halloween Goodie Bags hidden around the site that you can pick up here:

c      Jhudora's Cloud

c      Island Mystic

c      Deserted Fairground Scratchcards

c      Tyrammet, the Tyrannian Village

c      Smugglers Cove

c      Kreludan Mining Corp

(October 31, 2005)

Special Days for these months were:

• Oct 4th - Grarrl Day
• Oct 10th - Eyrie Day
• Oct 13th - Bori Day
• Oct 16th - Jetsam Day
• Oct 23rd - Symol Day
• Oct 26th - Korbat Day
• Oct 31st - A grand night for the not so good Neopians. Magic and witchery are everywhere today.

Pets are painted at the Rainbow Pool (on the Main Shops page) with special magic paint brushes. Click here for a list of all pets and their available colors.

v      Hissies can be painted Glowing. (October 3, 2005)

v      Shoyrus can get a Split new look at the Rainbow Pool. (October 3, 2005)

v      What could be more appropriate on Grarrl Day than transforming your favorite Grarrl Neopet into a regal version? (October 4, 2005)

v      Grarrls also can now be painted Silver. (October 4, 2005)

v      The Ice Hissi looks an awful lot like you-know-who…(October 6, 2005)

v      The Skeith Transmogrification Potion is now available for those who may want a Mutant Skeith. (October 7, 2005)

v      Eyries can now be painted Maraquan. (October 10, 2005)

v      The Starry Acara might just brighten your night. (October 10, 2005)

v      Bori can now be painted Spotted and Disco at the Rainbow Pool. (October 13, 2005)

v      Checkered and Ice Jetsams are now available at the Rainbow Pool. (October 14, 2005)

v      The Grey Tonu has just been released. (October 17, 2005)

v      Rainbow Pool scientists have just discovered the results of painting your Kyrii with a Darigan Paint Brush. (October 17, 2005)

v      The Camouflage Draik has just been released. (October 18, 2005)

v      You can now own a Skunk Koi. (October 18, 2005)

v      If your Wocky has always wanted to be painted Disco, its wish can now be granted. (October 19, 2005)

v      This Speckled Bori is now available at the Rainbow Pool. (October 20, 2005)

v      You can now own a Custard Kau. (October 25, 2005)

v      If you are super lucky, you may be able to transform your Korbat into a Chocolate or Ice version. (October 26, 2005)

v      You can now own a Halloween Usul. (October 28, 2005)

v      You can also now own a Halloween Kyri or how about a Uni who looks a lot like the Nightsteed... (October 31, 2005)

For those of you looking for the Petpet Puddle, it is part of the Rainbow Pool. When you are on the Main Shops page, click on the Rainbow Pool. At the top of the next page is the link to the Petpet Puddle. Click here for a list of all petpets and their available colors.

q        Doglefoxes can now be painted all sorts of colors at the Petpet Puddle including Custard, Black and Cloud. (October 5, 2005)

q        Why not give your computer a new look with this adorable Doglefox Screensaver? (October 5, 2005)

q        Dribblets and Intesteens can be painted Faerie and Mutant at the Petpet Puddle. (October 6, 2005)

q        The long-awaited Starry Petpet Paint Brush has just been released. (October 12, 2005)

q        The first 6 Petpets to be available in the new Starry color (not counting the Starry Wuzzle, of course ) are the BaaBaa, Droolix, Faelie, Feepit, Meepit, and Meowclops. (October 12, 2005)

q        Gooples can now be painted Starry, Fire, Ghost and Plushie at the Petpet Puddle. (October 17, 2005)

q        If you've ever wondered how to draw a Goople, this new How to Draw should help you out. (October 17, 2005)

q        The Pikis can now be painted Sketch, Rainbow, Black, and Ghost at the Petpet Puddle. (October 18, 2005)

q        If you like Disco Petpets, you'll be happy to hear that Bilguss, Weewoo, Kookith and Tenna can now be painted at the Petpet Puddle. (October 19, 2005)

q        Symols can now be painted Starry, Black, Island and Rainbow. (October 21, 2005)

q        If your Neopet is not easily frightened, these 3 new Spooky Petpets would love to go home with you.

The new avatars have been added.

The Game page has been updated.

Work continues on the upcoming museum. This project is rather large, but at least you can get a quick look at it here. Note that these pages are still very much under construction. If you have anything you’d like to contribute, please send it to: Naomi_Tran@baylor.ed

The plan for next month is to update the tour pages. I'm hoping that by then the Lost Desert will be back to normal...or fairly close.

If there is anything you think needs attention, please let me know.

Avatars have a broad based appeal that touches almost every aspect of life in Neopia. These are the avatars that were added this month. For a complete list, drop by the avatars section of the Chat FAQs. If you know of one that is not listed, simply fill out the automatic comment form.

Games on Neopets are in a constant state of change and these changes are often not listed in the news. Here are the changes for this month:

Here are the new games that were added this month:

a    Bionicle: Battle Zone

a    Fitness Squad

a    Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

a    Campbell's Chicken and Stars: Going Hollywood

a    Whack a ghost

These games were taken off the site this month:

Ø       BIC: Back to School

Ø       Enchanted Matching: Trollz

Ø       Fosters: Revealing Video

Ø       Loonatics Unleashed: Matching Madness

Ø       Power Rangers: Street Battler

Changes to existing games:

The latest game to be given a makeover is Evil Fuzzles From Beyond The Stars. This new version features better graphics and a few little additions. (October 6, 2005)

Extreme Potato Counter is now available in all 11 languages. (October 13, 2005)

Hanna and the Pirate Caves has just been updated with an Options menu. You now have the option to turn the sound effects off and on and there is also an option to disable the background in the game, which will be helpful if you have a slower computer. (October 21, 2005)

Grand Theft Ummagine Maps
and Level Guides

by Velasco

Level 1
Ok, First level - very simple. Go down, head right to the Ummagine, and wander off to the exit. You should have no trouble in this level.
Level 2
Ok, go left, down and stop long enough for the guard to reach that awning. Then go right and down to trap him, then you're free to nab the Puntec Fruit and exit!
Level 3	Level 3, alternate
I've seen both of these during my research; just use the one for your own game. Head to the middle wall and wait for the guard to notice you, then slip around, double back to that block and wait for him. When he gets close enough, go up to grab the Ummagine, double back around again and make a break for the exit! (there are easier ways also - why not invent your own? :-)	This level is similar to its counterpart on the left - lure him to the block then sprint around the side to trap him, go grab the Tchea Fruit, then slip around the guard the long way and head to the exit. As always, there are often multiple ways of finishing the level - do what suits you.
Level 4
The guard starts walking towards you when you start, but Don't Panic! ;) simply make him trap himself in that corner there and you are home free. Just make sure not to walk on the cracked tiles, as you fall through. There's one near where the guard gets trapped and one by the top left Ummagine, so watch out!
Level 5 The Gardener's Revenge hedge maze is random each time, so simply keep to your left or right to get to the exit. It might take a while, but you'll find the exit eventually. And, of course, head for the exit if you see a clear path to it regardless of whether or not it's a right or left turn.
Level 6	Level 6, Alternate
Like level 3, level 6 contains two possible layouts. For this one, grab the potion (you won't need it this level, contrary to what they say). Trap the guard with the obelisk (you should be getting pretty good at this now!), grab the Ummagine and exit to the left.	Same basic routine - grab the potion, trap the guard with the well, nab the Bagguss and exit. You might not need to go so far out of your way to trap him; this is just the way I did mine.
Level 7
Ok, just cross the top bridge and climb the steps to the magic ring. Don't fall through that cracked floor. Cross back across the top bridge with the ring in your possession, carefully navigate the lower bridge (don't go too far up-left or you'll fall off the bridge onto the ring island) until you're almost at the end, and get ready to use your potion (you have to click on it, remember? So to get it ready, hold your mouse over it while you move into position). Use the potion, grab the Ummagine, reverse and haul booty out of there before the potion wears off. Then just head for the exit. Watch out for the cracked tile!	Also, something weird...if you leave the steps going up-right and keep walking, you walk ONTO the water and jump into the air, then hover there. When you move off of the water you fall back down, but that's still pretty odd.

Level 8
Ok folks, this is a BIG level. Head to the second palm tree and wait for the guard to chase you, then lead him down to the plus-sign-looking walls group. While you're there grab the Ummagine, if you didn't do it when you trapped the guard. The go between the two obelisks - it's an entrance to the Hidden Pit level, the guide for which is below. After you're done there, sneak back up to grab the potion (see why you used it and not the ring last level?), then go all the way down to the stone bridge at the bottom. Ready your ring, then cross, slip it on, grab the Puntec Fruit and go down-left. Do NOT touch the guard - remember, they will still catch you if you use the ring and walk into them, unlike the potion. Wait for the invisibility to wear off, then let the guard chase you onto the bottom left bridge. Trap him in the bend, then exit the bridge and cross in the shallow water (it's a thin strip of lighter-colored water all the way to the left). Don't fall into the whirlpool. Grab the ring from the broken bridge without falling through, then ready it, head for the door, use it and escape!
Secret 1
Now that you're here, just grab all the fruit and head to the blue tile. I don't care how you do it, there aren't any guards or tiles to watch out for.
Level 9 Ah, the wonderful Three Halls of Insanity. Remember what I said about level 8 being big? Welcome to level 9! This one is actually easier than Level 8, just more tedious. You simply zigzag back and forth, and if you make a misstep you fall through the trap tiles. For the first small rooms it's right, up-left two, cross, up-left three and repeat the crosses and up-left threes after that. For the second room, just head left at the beginning instead of right. Crossing the boundary in the second hall, make sure you head up-right immediately, as the screen changes and you might walk too far accidentally. Don't forget the second secret room in the left corner, the map of which is below. For the big room, simply follow the path as exactly as you can. When getting the Puntec, feel free to take short steps (press the button twice quickly, once to go and once to stop) if you want to.
Secret 2
Not as tedious as Three Halls, but almost. Just wind your way around the path, collecting Ummagines as you go, and then wind your way back to leave.

Level 12
Ok wow. Just wow. This level...UGH. It is highly complicated and I don't blame you a bit if you get stuck there, as I did myself for...well, months. :-P It was leanbeanmiller's wonderful written walkthrough that helped me out, and hopefully my visual guide can clarify things further. Walk down-right initially - you're about to make a break for safety and you won't have time to do it later. Then walk the straight shot left, and the guard will race after you, doing a weird sort of zigzaggy move. If you're extremely fast and accurate, you can dart into the alcove and move back to the right just before he reaches you. You want him on the OTHER side of the wall, not trapped in the doorway (and certainly not THROUGH the doorway). Get the secret behind the toilet - ah, those crazy Sakhmetians, who would have ever thought to check there? Who would have WANTED to, more like it. Walkthrough for the third secret level is below. Once you return, walk quickly past the doorway and stop, to give that other guard a chance to notice you. Then walk back to the up-right and carefully get the guards stuck in the doorway - I guess the high life of a palace guard is hard on the waistline. I imagine this little gag looks an awful lot like something the Three Stooges would do, heh. Head left, down, then left again - the third guard should start to notice you, but you don't have to worry about him yet. Take the time while he's still stuck in his alcove to position yourself right across from the Tchea Fruit - you don't want to take time out to do it later. Then just dash across to it, and time your motion so the guard traps himself against the wall. I've indicated where he should end up on my map, if that's confusing to you. With Guard #3 out of the way, head to the center room and get the Ummagine, being careful of that cracked tile by the throne. Then retrace your steps to get right in front of the Bagguss, and ready a potion. Walk down and immediately use the potion, as the guard is waiting for you. Walk to the base of the stairs and then wait for the effect to wear off. Walk up the stairs, luring him with you, and eventually Guard #4 as well. Replenish your potion supply at the top of the stairs and ready it again, then use it, hop down, get the Sphinx Links - hope they haven't spoiled - run down-left, and hopefully you'll be out of range by the time you change back. If not, no big deal, you'll just have a chase to the finish. Finally, ready your ring, and continue down-left. Use the ring when the screen changes to stop the guard, dodge him, take the Puntec Fruit and exit the level. W00t!
Secret 3
If you have trouble with this level you should be playing a different game, seriously.

Neopets, Stan the Kyrii, Kyriis in general, Grand Theft Ummagine,
all the fruit names, the awful Elephante Guards, Neomail and anything
else you can possibly imagine except the name Velasco is (c) and (tm) and
whatever else to Neopets.com, Inc, 2005.

Common Sense is not that common:
Keeping your computer, account and yourself safe.

There has been a lot of talk this month about a certain site and cookie grabbers/spyware, etc. Just for the record, I’ve visited that site before and never had any problems. On the other hand, it’s always good to remember safe computing practices. With that in mind, I thought I’d post a quick refresher on computer safety.

While some sites are great places to meet new friends, learn new ideas, or just kick back and have fun, some places most definitely are not safe. Not all the people you may meet are friendly or fair. Some even think that it’s “fun” to hurt others. There are also dangers such as stalkers who would do much worse than take your account. There are some simple steps that you can take to help safeguard against them and keep having fun. Many of these are listed in detail on the Scammers page. They can be broken down into four areas though: Too good to be true, Fake Staff, Nosey Neighbors and Good Password Design.

Too good to be true There is an old saying that you should always remember: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably IS too good to be true. In short, why would someone offer something really good to you that would benefit them more than you? Do they ask for trust? If they do, don’t. It could very well cost you your account. Items for info? Don’t be silly… Never send/buy items in exchange for information. It's never worth the price you pay. Remember, if you need help, tips, or general information either neomail one of us Newbie Guardians or ask in the Newbie Chat or Help Chat. All legitimate information is available for free.

Fake Staff The only neomail account that the Neopets staff uses to contact users is theneopetsteam. And they will never ask for your password or require anything from you to award you with a prize. Also remember that no member of the Neopets staff will ever contact you through any instant messenger service/email.

Nosey Neighbors Keep your private information private. Don’t give out your email address or Instant Messenger ID and especially don’t just randomly post it where everyone and anyone can see it. Don’t use someone else’s email to register an account or change your email listing to someone else’s address. All they have to do is “request password” and your account is gone.

Password Protection One of the best ways to protect your account is through good password design. Make them at least 6-10 characters long and include numbers/special characters to make them harder to guess. Never make it something personally connected to you…yes it may be easier to remember, but it’s easier to guess, too. Change your password often to protect any accidental discovery. Clean out your cache, cookies and temporary internet files frequently, preferably daily…especially if you share a computer with anyone else. Avoid the “Save My Password” or any other “auto-login” options. This will make your account available to anyone using that computer. Last but most importantly: Never deliberately give your password to anyone.

If you are worried about your computer safety, you may want to pick up a few free programs to help:

Ad Aware can be downloaded for free at http://www.lavasoft.de/

Spybot Search & Destroy can be downloaded for free at http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html

AVG Antivirus Free Edition can be downloaded at http://www.grisoft.com/doc/40/lng/ww

TNE does not support or endorse these programs in any way nor am I rewarded in any way by your use of them. These links have been provided to you as a recommendation only.

Common Terms: (as defined by TechWeb Encyclopedia)

• Adware - (1) (ADvertisementWARE) Software that periodically pops up ads in a user's computer. Adware is considered "spyware" and is installed without the user's knowledge. It typically displays targeted ads based on words searched for on the Web or derived from the user's surfing habits that have been periodically sent in the background to a spyware's Web server. (2) (AD supported softWARE) Software that is given away for free because advertising messages appear on a regular basis.  (Not to be confused with the anti-ad program AdAware.)
• Antivirus program (or Virus Scanner) - Software that searches for known viruses. As new viruses are discovered by the antivirus vendor, their binary patterns are added to a signature database that is downloaded periodically to the user's antivirus program via the Web.
• Cache (see also Temporary Internet Files) - Pronounced "cash." A cache is used to speed up data transfer and may be either temporary or permanent. Memory and disk caches are in every computer to speed up instruction execution and data retrieval and updating. These temporary caches serve as staging areas, and their contents are constantly changing. Browser caches and Internet caches store copies of Web pages retrieved by the user for some period of time in order to speed up retrieval the next time the page is requested.
• Cookie - A small data file created by a Web server that is stored on your computer either temporarily for that session only or permanently on the hard disk (persistent cookie). Cookies provide a way for the Web site to identify users and keep track of their preferences…Cookies are commonly used to "maintain the state" of the session as a user browses around on the site. For example, if you filled out a form and decided to leave that for a moment to view another page, when you come back to that form, the data would still be there. Without cookies, the site would not know who you were.
• Cookie Grabber (or Cookie Poisoning) - The modification of or theft of a cookie in a user's machine by an attacker in order to release personal information. Cookies that log on to password-protected Web sites automatically send username and password. Thieves can thus use their own computers and confiscated cookies to enter victims' accounts.
• Dataminer - A program that analyzes activity in the computer. It may refer to legitimate analyses commonly performed by organizations internally or to spyware that secretly captures a user's Web surfing habits.
• Firewall - The primary method for keeping a computer secure from intruders. A firewall allows or blocks traffic into and out of a private network or the user's computer. Firewalls are widely used to give users secure access to the Internet as well as to separate a company's public Web server from its internal network. Firewalls are also used to keep internal network segments secure; for example, the accounting network might be vulnerable to snooping from within the enterprise. In the home, a personal firewall typically comes with or is installed in the user's computer. Advanced personal firewalls also detect outbound traffic to guard against spyware, which could be sending your surfing habits to a Web site. It alerts you when software makes an outbound request for the first time.
• Keystroke logger (see also Snoopware) - A program or hardware device that captures every key depression on the computer. Also known as "Keystroke Cops," they are used to monitor an employee's activities by recording every keystroke the user makes, including typos, backspacing and retyping.
• Popup - An advertisement that displays on top of everything on screen when you visit a Web page or have the misfortune of having