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Welcome to this week's edition of the Computer Kindergarten Newsletter.
Today is Sunday, October 14, 2007
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Please have a mammogram or take someone you love to have one.
In this Issue:
Special Feature: Scammers Use Fake Caller ID Numbers
Tips & Tricks: Do Not Unsubscribe from a Spammer's List!
This Week's Topic: Understanding Printers
Question: Canceling a Print Job
Websites of Interest: My Beautiful America; ;Food Geeks; Report Card for America; Global Restaurant Guide
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Special Feature: Scammers Can Now Use Fake Caller ID Numbers
The following is from scambusters.org
In a new phishing scam, con artists are using phony caller ID numbers to solicit personal information and money. Thanks to the phony caller IDs, the "spoofers" are able to convince victims that they're receiving a call from a bank or credit card company -- and use this to acquire sensitive personal and financial information, or even money, from their victims.
The "beauty" of this scam is that few people would ever think that the names and phone numbers appearing on their caller ID screens were not genuine.
What this means is that scammers are already using phony caller IDs and are posing as representatives of banks, credit card companies and government agencies. The problem has reached the point where Senator Bill Nelson from Florida is sponsoring legislation to ban the transmission of false caller ID numbers. "A similar bill has already sailed through the house," reports ABCnews.go.com.
Unfortunately, ANYONE with Internet access and a few dollars can find a number of legal online services that supply fake caller ID numbers.
Here at ScamBusters.org, just a few minutes of research revealed several services that tout the "benefits" of caller ID spoofing, including:
* Maintaining the privacy of your caller ID number.
* Changing your voice to sound like a male or female.
* Fooling friends and business associates (or business competitors).
One firm claims its technology is suited to individuals in certain law-enforcement-related professions, while another advertises its services as inexpensive, easy to use, and great for "business or fun."
Here are three tips that can help you avoid being scammed:
1. Don't assume that the information displayed on your phone, regarding who the caller is, is accurate -- now you know it can easily be spoofed.
2. Never give out personal or financial information over the phone unless you know EXACTLY whom you're dealing with.
3. If you have doubts about who's on the phone, call back the main number at your bank or credit card company rather than talking to the person who calls you.
The moral of the story is that -- at least for now -- you can't trust caller ID to tell "the whole truth and nothing but the truth." After all, scammers are always finding new ways to con people. However, as long as you stay informed, you can remain one step ahead of the scammers.
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Tips & Tricks: Do Not Unsubscribe from a Spammer's List!
Once you have identified a message as spam, don't believe a single word in it, least of all any unsubscription information it contains.
Spammers don't remove addresses from their list. If you try to unsubscribe, the best that can happen is nothing. More than likely, though, you'll get more spam afterwards, since you have just verified that you do indeed receive messages at that email address.
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Today's Topic: Understanding Printers
In most cases, printers are much slower than computers. When you tell your computer to send data to a printer, it sends it much faster than the printer can print it. This could cause a bottleneck situation. There are two different ways of preventing that: printer buffers and print spooling. You won't have to do anything to make them work. But it is good to understand how they work.
The printer buffer is pretty small and may hold anywhere from a few lines to a few pages of data, depending on your printer. As soon as the printer buffer fills, the computer stops and waits before sending anymore data. If you're printing something very long, this could tie up your computer for minutes or even hours.
Windows solves this problem. It takes the data that's on its way from your computer to your printer and stores it on disk temporarily until your printer is ready for it. Since it's a file on disk, and not sitting in the wires and cables inside your computer, it doesn't tie up the computer - so you're free to get back to work. This process is known as print spooling, and the program handling it (usually Windows) is known as a print spooler.
The temporary file that Windows creates during printing is called a spool file. This is the file that's sitting on the disk, holding your print job. By giving the print command, your document is sent to the spool file. When finished receiving your data, the spool file sits in a temporary holding place known as the print queue. If no other print jobs are already waiting in the print queue, the new spool file is sent directly to the printer. If the printer is working on something else, it has to wait its turn. In either case, the actual printing is not tying up your computer, and you are free to do other work.
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Question: Canceling a Print Job
Can I stop a document from print after I have clicked in Print?
Answer:
Yes, you can, if the document is still in the print queue.
Check the status of a print queue. Click on the Start button and point to Settings, click on Printers. That will open the Printers folder. Double-click the printer's icon. Windows displays a list of all the documents in the queue in the order in which they'll be printed, and the amount still left to print.
To remove a document from the queue, select it and then choose Cancel Printing from the Document menu. If Windows was in the middle of printing that document, this will stop it in its tracks. If there are other documents after it in the queue, Windows will move on to printing them.
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Websites of Interest:
My Beautiful America
If you look at no other website, please visit this one. You will see photos of some of the most amazingly beautiful places in America.
http://oldbluewebdesigns.com/mybeautifulamerica.htm
Food Geeks
With over five thousand recipes, food tips, info for specialized diets and more, FoodGeeks is a website for anyone who appreciates cooking and fine dining.
http://foodgeeks.com/
Report Card for America
The recent bridge collapse in Minnesota makes us wonder about all the bridges and roads and how safe they really are. Take a look at this website, created by the American Society of Civil Engineers, for information about America's states, cities, and towns.
http://www.asce.org/reportcard/2005/index.cfm
Global Restaurant Guide
Looking for a good place to eat? This is a website to visit for vacation planning or to check out what is good in your own town.
http://www.restaurants.com |
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