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E-Mail Scam - Watch Out For Scams Tied To The Olympics
Major news events
often serve as a hook for e-mail scams, and this month's Beijing Olympics is
no exception. The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT)
has received reports of phishing activity, some linked to Storm Worm, that
uses Olympic-themed messages. This Trojan is spread via an e-mail claiming
the Olympics will be delayed or canceled because of the May earthquake in
China. The message contains a link to a malicious website which tricks
visitors into clicking on what looks like an embedded flash video player. In
reality, it leads to the download of the executable file
"beijing.exe" that can infect the user's system with a Trojan.
US-CERT encourages users to take the following preventative measures to
mitigate the security risks:
- Install anti-virus software and keep its virus
signature files up-to-date.
- Do not follow unsolicited web links received in
e-mail messages.
For more
"computer security at home" tips, go to http://onguardonline.gov/index.html.
Also watch for other e-mail scams that are currently "playing
games" with the Olympics. They include a fake notice that you've won a
large sum of money in a lottery organized by the Chinese Olympic Committee
for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, and bogus websites offering tickets to
events.
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Webster-Calhoun Announcements - Bill Insert, Internet Changes
and Sprint Mailing
Bill Insert
Check the insert in this month's billing statement for more information about
ongoing construction, parades, and power supply for Fiber to the Home. If you
miss the insert, check it out on-line at www.wccta.net.
Click on Products and Services, then choose Archives.
Upgrades to WCCTA.net Internet Service Provider (ISP) Server
Webster-Calhoun is currently upgrading the computers used internally for
Internet service. This includes authentication, e-mail and web servers. We
anticipate having this conversion complete by mid-August. Unfortunately,
there have been a few instances recently where Internet service or e-mail has
been affected. Please bear with us as we make this conversion to improve your
Internet service.
In order to stay on the edge of technology for the benefit of all our
customers we feel it is important to continually upgrade our software, too.
The web based e-mail program known as I-mail has been upgraded to the most
recent version! Instead of the yellow postage stamp, look for the blue letter
and blue login screen. This allows you to see e-mail that is currently on our
server. Once you download the e-mail to your computer you can no longer see
it through I-mail. This is a great way to check your e-mail if you are away
from home. After this upgrade we received several comments from customers
regarding the default settings. Some frequently asked questions have been
added to the web site at www.wccta.net and
there is a help section in the program itself (top right corner).
To remove the preview pane: Go to preferences, under general user
settings uncheck the box that says 'show message preview pane'. Then click
the save button located just above the "general user settings."
Click on Inbox to the left to get back to the e-mail. This will remove the
preview pane so each time you click on an e-mail it doesn't automatically
open.
Note: Click on the e-mail once to highlight it, click the mouse twice to open
it.
To delete more than one e-mail: Remove the preview pane (instructions
above). To delete one e-mail, click the mouse once on the e-mail you wish to
delete. Once the e-mail is highlighted, hit the delete key. To delete several
e-mails in a row, click the mouse once on an e-mail then hold down the shift
key and at the same time click on another e-mail and it should highlight all
the e-mails in between. Want to pick and chose the e-mails to delete? Click
the mouse once on an e-mail then hold down the control key and at the same
time click the mouse to pick and choose which e-mails you would like to
highlight. Then hit the delete key on the keyboard.
Sprint Mailing
Webster-Calhoun Long Distance recently changed the underlying carrier network
for long distance service. This should have been invisible to the customer
and inadvertently resulted in letters sent to business customers thanking
them for their change to Sprint. This could also result in the long distance
carrier code displayed on your Webster-Calhoun billing to show as 0333
Sprint. If you receive any further correspondence from Sprint or have any
questions or concerns about your long distance carrier, please contact our
office at 515-352-3151.
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Ask The Help Desk - How To Keep E-mail Addresses From
Automatically Filling Up Your Address Book
Question: Whenever I reply to an e-mail message, the
e-mail address I replied to is added to my e-mail program's address book. My
address book is filling up with lots of e-mail addresses that I really don't
want in there. How can I prevent these e-mail addresses from automatically
being added? My e-mail program is Outlook Express 6 and I'm using Windows XP
Home Edition for my computer operating system.
Answer: There is a setting in Outlook Express 6 for Windows XP Home
Edition and Windows Mail for Windows Vista Home Premium that will
automatically add the name and e-mail address of a person to your address
book or contacts list when you reply to that person's e-mail - provided that
person is not already in your address book or contacts list. This feature can
cause your address book or contacts list to fill up rather quickly. To change
this setting so that contact information is only added to your address book
at your discretion, follow these steps:
1. Open Outlook Express 6 or Windows Mail.
2. Click your cursor arrow on the
"Tools" menu and select "Options" from the resulting
drop-down menu. The Options window will open.
3. Click on the "Send" tab. Uncheck
the box next to "Automatically put people I reply to in my Address
Book" for Outlook Express 6 or the box next to "Automatically put
people I reply to in my Contacts list" for Windows Mail.
4. Click on "Apply" and then
"OK" to save the setting and close the Options window.
Note: See the
"Short Tutorial" section below for shortcut steps on quickly adding
received e-mail addresses to your address book.
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Sites Of The Month - Great Sites To Check Out In August
Is It Just Me?
http://downforeveryoneorjustme.com - This
entirely self-descriptive website allows you to find out if you're unable to
access other websites because of a malfunction in your system or theirs. Type
in any URL and get instant feedback as to whether or not the site is actually
"down." If so, there's nothing to do but wait it out. If not, it
might be time to call your favorite computer geek.
Survey What They Play
http://www.whattheyplay.com - If
you want to make sure your kids are playing appropriate video games, get to
know this invaluable online resource. The site is loaded with information
about thousands of video games, including reviews from experts and comments
from readers. Find out which games are most popular and which ones are new.
You can search for suitable games based on brand, genre, age, and rating, or
even post your own comments.
Drive In For Big Fun
http://driveinmovie.com - Quick!
Before summer ends, check out a drive-in movie! Use this website,
"dedicated to the history, preservation and promotion of outdoor
theatres," to help you find a drive-in (BIG screen) movie theater in
your area. View photos and find contact information for drive-ins in the
U.S., Canada, and Australia. Don't forget to stop by the "Reminiscing at
the Drive-in" page to read letters from those with fond drive-in
memories.
School Support
http://adoptaclassroom.org - This
back-to-school season, consider providing help to a struggling school. Pick a
local classroom, or have the site pick one for you, and donate funds that can
be used for supplies, educational games, and other materials. If you are a
teacher, you can use the site to register your classroom for assistance. Or
start a program in your school or community. With teachers spending an
average of $1,200 per year of their own money for classroom materials, they
can use all the help they can get.
Find Funds Fast
http://missingmoney.com - A
search on this site could prove to be the rainbow that leads to your pot of
gold. MissingMoney.com features a database of records showing unclaimed
assets required to be turned over to states. Examples of assets that might be
waiting for you include stocks, bonds, mutual funds, bank accounts, safe
deposit box contents, uncashed checks, insurance policies, utility deposits,
and unclaimed tax, retirement, or mortgage insurance refunds. The interface
is easy to use and returns results within seconds.
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Short Tutorial - Adding Received E-mail Addresses To Your
Address Book
In this month's
"Ask The Help Desk" section, we explained how to keep unwanted
e-mail addresses from automatically filling up your address book. But how do
you quickly add the addresses you do want to store? Simply follow the steps
below for your e-mail software program, and your address book will stay
relevant, current, and convenient.
Adding E-mail Addresses/Contacts To Your Address Book When Using ...
- E-mail Program: Outlook Express 6.0
- Computer Operating System: Windows XP SP2 Home Edition
1. With Outlook Express open, click your cursor
arrow on the e-mail message received from the individual that you want to add
to your address book.
2. Select "Tools" from the menu bar.
3. Select "Add Sender to Address
Book" from the drop-down menu.
Adding E-mail
Addresses/Contacts To Your Address Book When Using ...
- E-mail Program: Windows Mail
- Computer Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium
1. With Windows Mail open, click your cursor
arrow on the e-mail message received from the individual that you want to add
to your Contacts list.
2. Select "Tools" from the menu bar.
3. Select "Add Sender to Contacts"
from the drop-down menu.
Adding E-mail
Addresses/Contacts To Your Address Book When Using ...
- E-mail Program: Thunderbird 2.0
- Computer Operating System: Windows XP SP2 Home Edition, Windows
Vista Home Premium, or Mac OS X 10.4
1. With Thunderbird open, click your cursor
arrow on the e-mail message received from the individual that you want to add
to your address book.
2. Left click on and hold the "From"
header. A drop-down menu will appear.
3. Click on "Add to Address Book..."
from the resulting drop-down menu.
4. The address book will open with a new
contact including the information from the e-mail. Fill in any other details
you would like for this contact and then click on "OK" to save and
exit.
Adding E-mail
Addresses/Contacts To Your Address Book When Using ...
- E-mail Program: Apple's Mail 2.1.1 and Address Book 4.0.4
- Computer Operating System: Mac OS X 10.4
1. With Mail open, click your cursor arrow on
the e-mail message received from the individual that you want to add to your
address book.
2. Click your cursor arrow on the
"Message" menu.
3. Select "Add Sender to Address
Book" from the resulting drop-down menu.
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We hope you found
this newsletter to be informative. It's our way of keeping you posted on the
happenings here. If, however, you'd prefer not to receive these bulletins on
a monthly basis, click here.
Thanks for your business!
Best regards,
WCCTA.net
A product of Webster-Calhoun Cooperative Telephone Association
Webster-Calhoun Cooperative Telephone Association
1106 Beek Street, PO Box 475
Gowrie, IA 50543-0475
Phone: 515-352-3151
(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.)
©2008 Cornerstone
Publishing Group Inc.
Trademarks: All brand names and product names used in this eNewsletter are
trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their
respective owners.
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