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Hello PressEnter Subscribers!
Ready or not, the holiday season is now upon us. There are gifts
to buy, feasts to prepare, and football to watch. The Internet can
make your holiday preparations and celebrations more enjoyable and,
as your Internet Service Provider, we are happy to be part of it.
We think you'll find the information contained in this newsletter
to be a valuable tool for enhancing your Internet experience. If,
however, you'd prefer not to receive these bulletins on a monthly
basis, please Reply to this message and put "REMOVE" in
the subject line. Please e-mail any questions or comments to newsletter@pressenter.com.
If you have any technical questions, please e-mail helpdesk@pressenter.com.
Here's what's inside our November 2004 Newsletter:
A. Warning - Phishing Scams Are On The Rise B. PressEnter News
- Parental Controls and Spyware Blocker C. Ask The Help Desk - How
Do I Know Which Service Packs Have Been Installed On My Computer?
D. Great Sites To Check Out In November E. Short Tutorial - Turning
Off Your E-mail Software Program's Preview Pane
The PressEnter Newsletter Team
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A. Warning - Phishing Scams Are On The Rise
An ever-increasing number of "phishing" scams are targeting
online consumers each month. In fact, such scams are said to have
risen by an average of 50% a month during the first half of this
year alone! The term "phishing," also referred to as "brand
spoofing," or "carding," is a variation of the word
"fishing" -- the idea being that "bait" is thrown
out with the hopes that while most people will ignore the "bait,"
some will be tempted into biting. Phishing is the act of sending
an e-mail to an Internet user and falsely claiming to be an established
legitimate enterprise with the intent of scamming the user into
surrendering confidential information that will then be used for
identity theft. Here's how a typical phishing scam works:
A con artist sends a bogus e-mail message to a list of e-mail
addresses. The phony spam e-mail message purports to be from a bank,
for instance, and asks the e-mail recipient to provide account information
to assist the bank in its efforts to crack down on identity theft.
The e-mail message is usually very authentic looking and includes
company logos and copyright information. These messages typically
state something about the recipient's account being temporarily
suspended if account information is not provided. A link is provided
within the e-mail message which takes the consumer to an official-looking
website. The site asks for personal information such as account
numbers, pin numbers, social security numbers, birth dates, etc.
Participation in the scam by the consumer results in identity theft
-- and bad consequences.
Businesses that are commonly targeted by "phishers"
include banks, credit card companies, brokerage firms, ebay, PayPal,
Internet service providers, as well as a variety of online retail
e-commerce sites.
Tips On How To Avoid Getting Hooked By Phishing Scams
1. Legitimate companies don't ask for financial or personal information
via e-mail. If you get an e-mail or pop-up message that asks for
this type of information, do not reply or click on the link in the
message. If you are questioning the legitimacy of an e-mail regarding
your account, contact the organization in the e-mail using a telephone
number you know to be genuine.
2. NEVER send personal or financial information via e-mail. E-mail
is not a secure method of transmitting personal information.
3. Initiate online transactions by typing in the organization's
web address into your browser's Address Bar rather than clicking
on a link provided within an e-mail message that supposedly takes
you to the organization's site. Con artists can spoof an organization's
web address shown on an e-mail message's link and send you to a
bogus site instead.
4. When you are asked to provide personal or financial information
through an organization's website, be sure to look for indicators
that the site is secure like a lock icon on the browser's status
bar or a web address that begins with "https:" -- the
"s" stands for "secure." Be sure to follow #3
above before doing this step.
5. Review bank account and credit card statements as soon as you
receive them to determine whether there are any unauthorized charges.
Be sure to report any suspicious activity to the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC). If you receive spam that is fraudulently phishing
for information, forward the message to spam@uce.gov.
If you believe you've been scammed by a phishing scheme, file
your complaint at http://www.ftc.gov , and then visit the FTC's
Identity Theft website at http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft to learn
how to minimize your risk of damage from ID theft.
B. PressEnter News
*Office Hours PressEnter Office Hours for the Thanksgiving Holiday
are as follows so that our employees may spend the holiday with
their families.
Wednesday 11/24/04 Open 8:00a.m. - 6:00p.m. Thanksgiving 11/25/04
Our offices will be closed. Friday 11/26/04 Open 8:00a.m. - 6:00p.m.
Saturday 11/27/04 Open 8:00a.m. - Noon
*Parental Controls and Spyware Blocker PressEnter now offers Parental
Control software and Spyware Blocker. The Parental Control software
allows you to select from 6 categories of objectionable material
to filter out websites and requires a password for viewing sites
within those categories. Included in these categories are weapons,
sex and drugs. In addition to the Parental Controls, Spyware Blocking
capabilities are also available within the same software suite.
The Spyware Blocker can be used to remove existing Spyware on your
PC and will deny attempts to install new Spyware. These features
are available with the new F-Secure Antivirus Suite that protects
your computer while surfing the Internet. Call our office or e-mail
sales@pressenter.com for more information.
C. Ask The Help Desk - How Do I Know Which Service Packs Have Been
Installed On My Computer?
Question: My computer uses Microsoft's Windows XP Home Edition
as its operating system. I have automatic updates set up but how
do I know if the new Service Pack 2 (SP2) has been installed on
my computer?
Answer: If you are curious to find out which service packs or
software updates have been installed on your PC running Windows
XP Home Edition, do the following:
1) Click your cursor arrow on the "START" menu located
at the bottom left of your screen. Click on "My Computer"
from the resulting pop-up menu.
2) When the "My Computer" screen appears, you will see
a list of items along the left side. Click on "View system
information." The "System Properties" screen will
then appear.
3) Click on the "General" tab and you will see all of
your system information listed including which version of Windows
you are running and which service packs have been installed.
D. Great Sites To Check Out This Month
The Rebel Billionaire: Branson's Quest For The Best TV Show =============================================
http://www.fox.com/rebelbillionaire/ Donald Trump's ego just got
some new competition. Britain's Sir Richard Branson, billionaire
and founder of Virgin Records, Virgin Airlines, and over 300 other
Virgin-related companies, debuts this month in his own reality TV
series. In a format similar to The Donald's popular The Apprentice
TV series, sixteen American entrepreneurs are jetted to destinations
around the globe where their leadership skills are tested. Each
week one contestant is left behind on the tarmac as the rest of
the group flies off to the next adventure. The winner receives Branson's
job and one million dollars!
Delicious Holiday Recipes =================== http://epicurious.com/
Are you looking for a variety of great new recipes to try this holiday
season? Then head over to what this site calls "The World's
Greatest Recipe Collection." The recipe section has a "Search
Spy" link which gives you a peephole look into the ten most
recent terms typed into the site's recipe search box. The terms
are refreshed every fifteen seconds with a new set of ten terms.
It might give you some great ideas for something new to try. How
about a platter of lime and coconut shrimp with red curry sauce
to go with your turkey?
Online Owner's Manuals ================== http://livemanuals.com/
So it's time to reset the clock on your VCR but you can't find your
owner's manual. Not to worry. This useful site makes online owner's
manuals available for hundreds of different products -- everything
from photography equipment to electronics. You can search the site's
database by the type of product or by the manufacturer. The website
also includes a live simulation showroom with an audio feature that
reads step-by-step manual information to you.
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie Opens This Month =========================================
http://nick.com/all_nick/movies/spongebob/ This month marks the
return of SpongeBob SquarePants, Squidward Tentacles, Sandy Cheeks,
Mr. Eugene H. Krabs, and the rest of the gang in The SpongeBob SquarePants
Movie. The movie is based on the popular animated TV series which
was the #1 rated TV show for ages 2-11 during the 2001-2002 season.
Its creators ended TV production in 2003 to concentrate on the making
of this movie. Yes, SpongeBob SquarePants still lives in a pineapple
in the community of Bikini Bottom. The site includes four hilarious
movie trailers, fun games, cast member bios, and cute e-cards.
Simplified BCS System To Determine College Football Champion ================================================
http://bcsfootball.org/ The purpose of the Bowl Championship Series
(BCS), which was established in 1998, is to determine the national
champion of NCAA Division I college football yet maintain the bowl
system that's nearly 100 years old. Although not perfect, the system
is probably an improvement over the old format of bowl match-ups
with affiliated conferences. There's a new, simpler formula in place
this season. So now is the time for football fans to begin putting
down their binoculars and picking up their calculators. For all
you've ever wanted to know about the BCS plus a complete breakdown
of the week's current standings, check out this site.
E. Short Tutorial - Turning Off Your E-mail Software Program's
Preview Pane
The Outlook Express, Entourage, Netscape 7.1, and Eudora e-mail
programs all utilize the "Preview Pane" feature as a default
setting. The Preview Pane setting allows recipients to easily view
the contents of new e-mail messages without having to click on the
message to open it up. This saves time and is great when getting
e-mail messages from friends and family.
The problem with the activated Preview Pane feature of these software
programs, of course, occurs when spam e-mail is sent to a user's
inbox. The recipient is almost forced into viewing the contents
of spam e-mail messages prior to deleting them. Sometimes the images
can be pretty distasteful.
A user can easily "turn off" the Preview Pane feature
of their e-mail program. By doing this, the user only views messages
he/she actually wants to open. Here's how to do it:
Outlook Express for Windows
1. Click your cursor arrow on the Outlook Express "View"
menu.
2. From the resulting drop-down menu, select "Layout."
3. When the "Layout" window opens, look for "Preview
Pane" about half way down.
4. Uncheck the check box next to "Show Preview Pane."
5. Click on the "Apply" button and then click "OK"
to close the window.
Entourage for Macintosh
1. Click your cursor arrow on the "View" menu.
2. From the resulting drop-down menu, uncheck "Preview Pane"
by clicking on it.
Netscape 7.1 Mail
1. Click your cursor arrow on the "View" menu.
2. From the resulting drop-down menu, select "Show/Hide."
3. From the resulting submenu, uncheck "Message Pane"
by clicking on it.
Eudora 6.1
1. Click your cursor arrow on the "View" menu.
2. From the resulting drop-down menu, select "Options."
3. When the "Options" window opens, look for the "Category"
pane on the left hand side. Scroll down until you find the "Viewing
Mail" icon and click on it.
4. In the "Preview Pane" section, uncheck the check
box next to "Show message in preview pane."
5. Click "OK" to close the window.
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We hope you found this newsletter to be informative. It's our
way of keeping you posted on the happenings at our office. If, however,
you'd prefer not to receive these bulletins on a monthly basis,
send us an e-mail at newsletter@pressenter.com and type "REMOVE"
in the subject line.
Thanks for your business!
Best regards,
The PressEnter Newsletter Team PressEnter! Internet
Web: www.pressenter.com E-mail: <newsletter@pressenter.com>
(We have used our best efforts in collecting and preparing the
information published herein. However, we do not assume, and hereby
disclaim, any and all liability for any loss or damage caused by
errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions resulted from
negligence, accident, or other causes.)
(c)2004 Press Enter LLP
(c)2004 Cornerstone Advertising Group Inc.
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