CONTENTS 
-----------------------------

I.   INTRODUCTION
II.  INSTALLATION
III. DOCUMENTATION
	1. Settings 
		(1a.) Automatically Refresh Pager 
		(1b.) Interval Between Refreshes
		(1c.) Indicate Pager Changes While in Tray
	2. Personalize Options
		(2a.) News
		(2b.) Products
		(2c.) Tools
		(2d.) Advisories
		(2e.) Calendar
		(2f.) Vulnerabilities
		(2g.) Library
		(2h.) Forums
	3. Refresh
	4. Tray
	5. Exit
IV. KNOWN ISSUES
	1. Operation Timed Out Warnings
V.  REPORTING BUGS & REQUESTING INFORMATION
VI. NEW VERSIONS & ERRATA



I. INTRODUCTION
---------------

The Security Focus Pager is a small utility to keep the user updated on the latest happenings in the computer security industry. It does this by monitoring the Security Focus web site (www.securityfocus.com), and providing a brief description of new content when it is added. The pager is user-configurable to allow for varying amounts and types of content, frequency of updates, notification methods and more. Security Focus is the most complete computer security resource on the Internet, and this is the easiest way yet to get the latest security information as it happens.

II. INSTALLATION
----------------

This program requires Windows 95, 98 or NT4.0. To install the SF Pager, extract the zip file to a temporary location, run pgrsetup.exe, and follow the instructions. To uninstall the program, go to the control panel, run the 'Add/Remove Programs' applet, and select "SecurityFocus Pager".

III. DOCUMENTATION
-----------------

The pager has a series of configuration options available. The following documentation describes each feature. 


1. Settings 

	Refresh Settings
	--------------------

(1a.)	Automatically Refresh Pager	
		Two different settings are available for downloading your security data. The first is 'Automatically Refresh Pager'. This method is timed-interval polling of the Security Focus web site. It is primarily designed for end users with a full time 24/7 Internet connection. It should be noted that 'dial up on demand' end users	should not configure this item unless they are comfortable with the pager connecting to the Internet when the user may not be present. Billing issues with 'dial on demand' end users should also be a consideration. This feature will not operate properly without unrestricted access to the Internet via port 80. A downed connection will result in an 'Operation Timed Out Warning' which is documented in the 'Known Issues' section of this document. If this item is 'unselected' the pager will need to be refreshed manually by clicking on the 'Refresh' button on the pager. This is suggested for end users without the benefit of a full time Internet connection. 

(1b.)	Interval Between Refreshes	
		This item is the setting that controls how often the pager will poll the Security Focus web site to download your data. This can be set as low as every five minutes or as high as every 6 hours. This connection is simply an HTTP GET request to the Security Focus web site and will require very limited bandwidth.	

(1c.)	Indicate Pager Changes While in Tray
		This option is available for the end user to define by which method they would like to be notified of new available data. The default is the 'Animated Tray Icon'. This sets the pager to have its icon in your system tray blink when new information has been detected. The blinking will cease when the user launches the pager to view the new information. 

		The second available option is the 'Message Popup Box'. This item if selected will cause the pager to notify the user of new information via a 'Popup Box' on their terminal. 

2. Personalize

	Information Selection
	-------------------------

	The Security Focus pager allows you to select which information categories you would like displayed via 'Categories'. These are offered in the hope of helping the end user tailor their data feed so that the information presented is more highly relevant to their interests and needs. What follows is a description of the available categories.

(2a.)	News
		The 'News' category of the pager polls the web site for press articles related to computer security, privacy and other closely associated issues. This data represents stories collected from in excess of over 200 news sources.  

(2b.)	Products
		The Product category polls the web site for new vendor products in the Security Focus database. This typically includes VPN's, Firewalls, Auditing tools, IDS's etc. 

(2c.)	Tools
		Unlike the 'Products' section the 'Tools' section showcases freeware or shareware security solutions available for download. 

(2d.)	Advisories
		The Advisories section covers the releases of security advisories from roughly 50 software vendors and computer security groups. 

(2e.)	Calendar
		The Calendar section delivers information on upcoming conferences and events in the security community.

(2f.)	Vulnerabilities	
		The Vulnerability section delivers vulnerability descriptions, exploits and fix information for the most recent security problems released for public dissemination. Each entry is written to include all the available information on the subject as well as ancillary links and reference numbers such as Bugtraq ID and Mitre Corp's CVE.

(2g.)	Library
		The library section delivers a wide variety of security relevant journals, books and papers covering over 73 different security topics.

(2h.)	Forums
		The Forums section is a specialized content area written by Security Focus staff and Guest writers covering a number of relevant topics. 

3. Refresh

The Refresh button on the pager allows users to manually refresh the contents of the pager.

4. Tray

The Tray button minimizes the application, leaving only the system tray icon visible.

5. Exit

The Exit button closes the application and removes it from your system tray. 
		 		
		
IV. KNOWN ISSUES
-----------------

1. Operation Timed Out Warnings

 Under certain conditions the pager may issue pop up warning stating "Operation Timed out". This has been noted to happen on systems with intermittent network connectivity, for example some cable modems and ADSL connections, which occasionally and momentarily drop connection. While this may not be noticeable to the end user it can affect the operations of the pager. This problem may be evident in other 'polling' applications as well such as SETI's AT Home project or other applications which periodically poll web sites or Internet devices on a regular basis. This bug should not actually affect operation of the pager provided the net connection does not suffer extended down time. 


V.  REPORTING BUGS & REQUESTING INFORMATION
-------------------------------------------

Any bug reports, requests for support or information may be made to:

pager@securityfocus.com


VI. NEW VERSIONS OF THE PAGER & ERRATA
-------------------------------------

New versions of the pager as well as bug fixes may be had at:

http://www.securityfocus.com/pager/

New versions and patches will be announced via the web site and the pager.

