Alert: Watch for fake email greeting cards
'Tis the season for special offers
Ask The Help Desk - Blocking Unwanted Websites
Great Sites To Check Out In December
Short Tutorial - Flagging E-mail Messages In Your Inbox
Beware of fake email greeting cards. While not viruses, these cards have some of the same characteristics.
Here's how the scam works: An email is sent, inviting you to pick up an online greeting card from one of several websites including friend-greetings, friend-cards, cool-downloads, and laugh-mail. If you click on the link to retrieve the card and download an application, the application will capture all of your Outlook email addresses and send them an email as well.
Permissioned Media Company is circulating the fake cards. The company sends an email with a link to pick up a card. When users click the link and open the web page, they're prompted to download and run an installer package so they can get their card. Users are also asked to accept a lengthy agreement. Accept the agreement, and users have given permission to email the web link to all users in their Outlook Address book. (This is a good reason to read all license agreements, even if they're long.)
Technically, these "greeting e-mail messages" are not viruses or worms because they have no attachments. They can be nuisances, though, because of the many unsolicited e-mail messages they generate.
NOTE: E-cards are a great way to spread holiday cheer. We recommend www.bluemountain.com and www.hallmark.com.
Celebrate the season with savings on our best services. Wrap them up - or enjoy them yourself!
Save substantially every month with a Broadband or Dial-Up discount package - plus enjoy the simplicity of a single bill for all your Internet and phone services. How convenient.
Upgrade to Broadband with a special holiday savings. Or add a Second Line for your teen, your dial-up connection, or your home office. Ask about the limited-time offer!
Call now for fast installation!
Residential: 800-223-1851
Business: 800-371-6712
Question: My oldest child, a ten-year-old boy, uses the Internet to do research for schoolwork. Although I do sit with him as he is doing his online research, I am concerned about the "adult" material he may come across when he's doing his online searches. Any suggestions?
Answer: It's wise that you are monitoring your son's use of the Internet as he does his research. A simple option (and one that most people don't know about) is the use of filters on most search engines. These "Web Content Filters" can be adjusted to screen offensive websites from appearing when doing searches within a particular search engine. (They do not work outside the search engine.) To find and set these filters, see below:
- AltaVista - Click on
the "More" link on altavista.com. Click on the "Family Friendly Filter"
link. From here, you can customize your password-protected filter
preference.
- Ask Jeeves - This search
engine has a specific website entitled "Ask Kids for Jeeves," (AJKids.com) that provides "G" rated
sites as search results.
- Google - Click on the
"Preferences" link on google.com. Choose the desired filtering level
next to the "SafeSearch Filtering" header. You'll need to adjust the
SafeSearch settings on a per-search-basis if you are using Google's
"Advanced Search" or "Advanced Image Search" options.
- Lycos - Click on the "Parental
Controls" link found on lycos.com. Choose the desired filtering options
from the password protected Lycos SearchGuard.
- Each of the above search engine filters will reduce the likelihood that your son will be exposed to inappropriate content. However, none of these filters is perfect. The content of pages changes daily and the filters only work as long as the user is within a particular search engine. In addition, some of these filters rely on cookie technology, so if the cookies on your computer are deleted, the corresponding filter settings will be turned off as well.
For more information on family-friendly surfing, visit www.getnetwise.com
Lyrics To Christmas Songs
http://christmas-carols.net/
- Planning on doing some Christmas caroling this holiday season but
have forgotten the words to some of those classics? This site provides
Midi music and lyrics to dozens of Christmas songs.
Fun Activities From Santa's Workshop
http://santas-workshop.org -
Here's a fun site to check out with the kids. It's got pages the kids
can color, a live "Elf Cam," some easy-to-make Christmas cookie recipes
and a fun "Santa's Christmas Quiz" page. You can also learn how to
build a gingerbread house and make a variety of Christmas crafts.
Great Holiday Recipes
http://eatturkey.com - Nothing
tastes better during the holidays than a delicious turkey. If you're
looking for ideas on how to cook that perfect bird, this site -
produced by the National Turkey Federation - has all the information
that you'll need. The site includes holiday tips for preparing and
carving your turkey as well as great stuffing, gravy, side dish,
dessert and leftover ideas. It also includes virtual cooking
demonstrations by thirty renowned chefs. Bon appétit!
Trivia for Holiday Games or Chatter
http://www.famousnamechanges.com
- Do you know Demetria Guynes, Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra, or Ramon
Estevez? Actually you do. These are the given names of Demi Moore, Meg
Ryan, and Charlie Sheen! Check out Famous Name Changes for free,
alphabetical listings of your favorite stars and the names that marked
their pre-showbiz lives. It's a great way to spend some downtime, not
to mention a stellar provider of cocktail party banter.
Money for Nothing
http://www.unclaimed.org -
According to the Wall Street Journal, one in eight Americans has state
money coming to him or her. Find out if you're one of the lucky ones.
The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA)
is a nonprofit organization that helps reunite unclaimed funds-$15
billion worth of wages, security deposits, and bank accounts-with their
owners. Its helpful site provides agency contact information for each
state, plus links when available. Best of all, it won't cost you
anything to search or file a claim.
Do you get e-mail messages you want to mark so you can easily find them later? Outlook Express provides an easy way to do this:
Outlook Express/Mac and Windows PC Users:
- Open Outlook Express.
- Select a message to flag by clicking your cursor arrow on it.
- Go to "Message" on the Outlook Express menu bar and drop down to "Flag Message." ("Flag" on a Macintosh.)
- A flag icon will appear to the left of the selected message.
Macintosh OS X "Mail.app":
- Open "Mail" application.
- Select the message you want to flag by clicking your cursor arrow on it.
- Go to "Message" on the menu bar. Drop down and select "Mark as Flagged."
- A flag icon will appear to the left of the selected message.
We hope you found this newsletter to be informative. It's our way of keeping you posted on some of the latest happenings. If, however, you'd prefer not to receive these bulletins on a monthly basis, send us an e-mail at and type REMOVE in the subject line.
Thanks for your business!
Gallatin River Internet