Warning! Spammers And Cyber Criminals Exploit The Season Ask The Help Desk Can Google Lead ANYONE To My Front Door? Sites Of The Month Great Sites To Check Out In December Short Tutorial Blocking A Sender's E-mail Address |
Hello NCKCN internet members It's a busy time of year, so this December issue gives you quick tips for the season. Despite the hectic pace, be sure to take the time to watch for fraudulent e-mails linked to shopping scams or bogus financial promises. In minutes, you can learn how to protect your privacy by removing your name from the Google phonebook, and how to avoid unwanted messages by blocking a sender's e-mail address. To help streamline your information searches, check out the Great Sites section. You'll find smart ideas on airfare bargains, books, financial aid resources, recipes for entertaining, and movies to help you "hoop it up." The goal of each of our monthly eNewsletters is to keep our subscribers informed regarding their Internet connection and to improve their Internet experience. We think you'll find this information interesting. If, however, you'd prefer not to receive these bulletins on a monthly basis, click here. To see what's inside this issue, simply scroll down the eNewsletter or click on the links within the index to the left. Thanks for reading! - The NCKCN Team |
Warning! - Spammers And Cyber Criminals Exploit The Season
Security experts are reminding people to be on high alert for fraudulent e-mails during the month of December. Spammers and cyber criminals have already begun sending out spam with messages related to seasonal shopping and the current economic turmoil.
Examples of this spam include offers of Rolex watches at low prices (that are, of course, fake), and e-mails that promise you a chance to win money for your gift purchases. Others target job hunters with messages made to look like employment opportunities from major companies, or promote bogus lotteries to financially strapped individuals. The typical goal of this spam is to either lead recipients to phishing sites to capture personal information or install malware and turn PCs into zombie machines. If you receive e-mail messages like this, DO NOT CLICK ON THE LINK. Instead, simply delete them. Also, make sure you have a firewall installed, and keep your antivirus and antispyware software up to date. To get additional information regarding online safety and computer protection, you can visit http://www.getnetwise.org.
Ask The Help Desk - Can Google Lead ANYONE To My Front Door?
Question: I've heard that Google recently implemented a feature that enables anyone to type a phone number into the search bar and be able to see the corresponding address and view a map that shows where that home is located. I'm concerned that this could pose a safety risk for me and my family. Is there anything I can do?
Answer: Google did recently implement the feature you've described and it also provides a link that will give directions to the address. While this feature can certainly be convenient for your legitimate visitors, it could also lead strangers to your front door and create security issues. We encourage you to take a moment now to look up your own phone number and find out if it is mapped:
Sites Of The Month - Great Sites To Check Out In December
Dare to Compare
http://www.farecompare.com - This site provides a variety of tools to help you get the best deals on your upcoming flights. Use the search function to compare fares on various airlines and sign up for an alert that tells you when those prices drop. You can also get text and video “insider tips” and an airline industry eNewsletter. Be sure to look at the “cheap flights” information for the airport nearest you. Good Reads http://www.whatshouldireadnext.com - Ready to reach for that next book, but finding your bedside table bare? No worries! Just type the name of the last book you read into this site, and get a list of great recommendations for what to read next. Register to build your own favorites list and build the database to provide better answers for everyone who uses the site. Mini Meals http://recipe4living.com/Recipes/10-Appetizers.aspx - Want to give your guests something to munch on while you're putting the final touches on the meal? Explore this site for simple or gourmet appetizer ideas. Find finger foods, salads, spreads, dips, and sauces, or search for your favorite ingredient. The site also features helpful reference guides including a conversion calculator, food substitutions, and a dictionary of herbs and spices. Best of B Ball http://sportsinmovies.com/best-movies/basketball.asp - Hurricane Season, a film about a high-school basketball coach who leads a team to victory following Hurricane Katrina, comes out this month and joins a long list of other movies featuring basketball. This site lists the best basketball films ever made, and ranks them according to viewer ratings. You can contribute your own ratings, submit reviews, and watch trailers. College Cash http://www.finaid.org - If you are in the process of researching financial aid for college, this site can help. It provides detailed descriptions of sources for paying college expenses including scholarships, loans, savings, and military aid. It also demystifies financial aid applications and features calculators for determining things like costs, savings plans, and loan details. Still confused? Check out the FAQs.
Short Tutorial - Blocking A Sender's E-mail Address
Are you getting annoying e-mails from someone you know? If you are, you can block the sender's e-mail address so that you will no longer see their messages in your Inbox. Instead, any e-mails received from that address would go to your Deleted Items or Junk E-mail folder. Please note that blocking a sender's e-mail address is not an effective way to fight spam, since spammers will typically change their e-mail address frequently.
Blocking a Sender When Using ... - E-mail Program: Outlook Express 6 - Computer Operating System: Windows XP SP2
- E-mail Program: Windows Mail - Computer Operating System: Windows Vista
- E-mail Program: Mozilla Thunderbird 2.0 - Computer Operating System: Windows XP SP2 and Windows Vista
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