Buy or Renew Your No LIMITS PLUS package, and You Could WIN our Holiday Sweepstakes!
Warning - Phishing Scams Are On The Rise
Great Sites To Check Out In November
Save Yourself a Call - Check Our Online Tech Support Info First
Online Shopping Tip: How Do I Know If I Am Connected to a Secure Server?
Ask The Help Desk - How Do I Know Which Service Packs Have Been Installed On My Computer?
That's right. When you renew or buy our NO LIMITS PLUS package during November through December 17th, you are automatically entered into our Holiday Sweepstakes!
Three winners will be selected and each will win a Kodak Easy Share Digital Camera and Docking Station! Renew your package now - contest ends Friday, December 17th! Visit our website at http://www.gallatinriver.com/aboutus/sweepstakes_rules.php for complete official rules and information about the sweepstakes.
NO LIMITS PLUS is our best package of services. With it, you can make all the calls you need to plan your holidays. You can shop online, e-mail photos, even send your list to Santa. What a great gift for yourself or someone you care about.
* Unlimited local and nationwide calling
* Unlimited use of popular calling features
* Unlimited high-speed Broadband Internet
Call us today! 1-800-223-1851
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:
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
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.
The Rebel Billionaire: Branson's Quest For The Best TV Show
Delicious Holiday Recipes
Online Owner's Manuals
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie Opens This Month
Simplified BCS System To Determine College Football Champion
Got a question about your Internet service? Before you call the Help Desk, check
our Technical Support website (http://support.gallatinriver.net).
You can find answers to frequently asked questions.
You’ll find lots of useful information, including:
TIP: Print a copy of this page http://support.gallatinriver.net. It contains a summary of the key settings you may need. Write your
username and password on it. Fold it up and tape it to the bottom of your mousepad or some other secure place.
Question: When I provide credit card information to a retail merchant online,
is it really secure? Also, how do I know if I'm connected to a "secure server" when
using my credit card to buy something online?
Answer: Microsoft Internet Explorer's web browser uses Secure Sockets Layer
(SSL) technology to encrypt transaction data (i.e. credit card transactions) before
the information is sent over the Internet. SSL scrambles personal and credit card
data thereby keeping it private during its transmission. When you logon to a secure
server at an online merchant's site, the secure server communicates with your browser
by sending encrypted (coded) information that only the secure server and your browser
can read. The communication between the web page and your browser is normal,
except that all information coming or going is now coded.
Encryption technology makes it extremely difficult for any third party intercepting
credit card related communication to decode or decipher the message. If you are buying
something online, make sure to place orders online only from those retail sites that
provide ordering access through a secure server. Encryption technology is not 100%
foolproof, but you probably have a better chance of getting ripped off by a sales
clerk copying your credit card number at a convenience store than getting your
information stolen over the Internet.
Here are a few things to look for to ensure that the merchant is utilizing a secure
server before you proceed with an online purchase:
• Look for an unbroken key or padlock at the bottom of your browser window
when filling out your order online. This indicates that the merchant utilizes
software that allows the transaction to be encrypted using SSL technology
prior to its transmission.
• Check the URL in your browser's address or location window. The web address
will begin with "https://" rather than just "http://" if your transaction is
secure. The "s" stands for secure. If the online merchant does not have a
secure server, it is recommended that you place your order over the telephone
rather than transmitting your credit card information online.
When ordering by phone, remember to always ask for the customer service
representative's name and obtain a confirmation order number.
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:
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.
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!
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.
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.
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!
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?
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.
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.
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.
• Solutions to the most common dial-up and Broadband problems
• Computer settings for dial-up and Broadband Internet access
• Instructions for configuring your web browser and mail reader and more
• When you go to a secure site or secure web page, a warning dialog box
will appear on your screen telling you that you are entering a secure site
or page. Likewise, you will see a warning dialog box appear if you leave a
secure page and go to an insecure website or web page. You may not see these
warning boxes if you or someone who uses your computer has turned off this
warning.
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.
Gallatin River Internet