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Welcome to this week's edition of the Computer Kindergarten Newsletter.
Today is Sunday, November 16, 2008
We will not be publishing this newsletter for the next two weeks so the writers and editors can prepare for and enjoy Thanksgiving with their friends and families. We wish all of our readers a very Happy Thanksgiving!
In this Issue:
Special Feature: A Bad Economy is Good for Scammers: Unpaid Fuel Bill Scam
Tips & Tricks: Twenty Five Most Important Rules of Email Etiquette: 1. Take Another Look Before You Send a Message
This Week's Topic: Minimizing Spam – Registering Online
Question: Find Missing Desktop Icons
Websites of Interest: Thanksgiving; World Aids Day 2008; Spa Finder; Astrology; The Motley Fool; The Globalist; USPS
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Special Feature: A Bad Economy is Good for Scammers: Unpaid Fuel Bill Scam
The following is from bottomlinesecrets.com. Reprinted with permission.
Rising unemployment rates, sky-high fuel prices, a plunging stock market and falling home values have landed many Americans in difficult financial straits. This makes people psychologically predisposed to jump at a potential solution -- without stopping to consider whether this solution is truly as appealing as it seems.
Here is a recently reported scam that is designed to take advantage of America's current economic problems...
Unpaid Fuel Bill
Someone claiming to be a representative from your heating-fuel company phones you on one of the coldest days of winter. He/she says that you didn't pay your last bill, so the company has no choice but to turn off your gas (or suspend your oil deliveries) immediately.
He would like to be lenient, but high fuel prices have made your unpaid bill so large that company policy requires immediate action.
You protest that you paid your bill, but the representative insists that the payment was not received. The only way you can avoid a disruption in service is to make the payment immediately by supplying a credit or debit card number.
The representative warns you that if you do not do this, it will be weeks before the company can send out a technician to restart your service.
The caller is a con man, not a heating-fuel company employee. This is true even if caller ID says that the call is coming from the fuel supplier. Sophisticated scammers can make caller ID say whatever they want it to.
If you supply your credit card number, it will be used to make unauthorized purchases. Heating companies are heavily regulated by state governments and usually cannot suspend customers' service until they have sent several written warnings.
What to do: Hang up, and then phone your heating-fuel provider to confirm that your account is paid in full.
In the next edition of this newsletter: A Bad Economy is Good for Scammers: Technicians at your Home Scam
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Tips & Tricks: Twenty Five Most Important Rules of Email Etiquette: 1. Take Another Look Before You Send a Message
Over the next twenty five editions of this newsletter, we are going to take an in depth look at email etiquette with the help of Heinz Tschabitscher from about.com.
The rules of email etiquette are not rules as much as they are guidelines that help avoid mistakes (like offending someone when you don't mean to) and misunderstandings (like being offended when you're not meant to).
These core rules of email etiquette help us communicate better via email.
1. Take Another Look Before You Send a Message
With email, what can be misunderstood will be misunderstood. That's why you should be doubly careful with everything you write.
One strategy to avoid misinterpretations is to
* allow every message at least some minutes of rest after you have finished it, but
* before you press the Send button.
Reread and reconsider the whole message when you return to it, possibly from the recipient's perspective.
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Today's Topic: Minimizing Spam – Registering Online
In many cases, you are signing yourself up for junk mail. When you shop online, when you register at websites, anywhere you input your email address, you may be signing up for spam if the recipient or anyone who can view your address sells email addresses to spammers. You have to provide an email address when you shop though. How else can they send you the confirmation email? And there are some sites with information that you want and they demand an email address.
What can you do? Create a freebie email address just for those things. Go to yahoo.com for example, and click on mail. Follow the steps and create an account. Use this address for shopping, registering and anywhere else.
Keep your main address and give it to no one except your friends and family.
In the next edition of this newsletter: Minimizing Spam – Stop the Forwarding Fiend
Visit our Newsletter Archives for previous articles on Minimizing Spam:
Minimizing Spam - Create a New Address
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/110908.html
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Question: Find Missing Desktop Icons
I was playing with my new computer and all of a sudden all my icons disappeared. How can I get them back?
Answer:
You have hidden your desktop icons. You have to un-hide them. Here is how:
In Windows XP
Right click on a blank spot on your desktop.
In the resulting menu, point to Arrange Icons By; a submenu will appear.
In the submenu, find the item that says Show Desktop Icons. Click on that and your icons will display on the Desktop.
In Windows Vista
Right click on a blank spot on your desktop.
In the resulting menu, point to View; a submenu will appear.
In the submenu, find the item that says Show Desktop Icons. Click on that and your icons will display on the Desktop.
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Websites of Interest:
Thanksgiving
Visit our website for recipes, decorating ideas, tips for traveling, e-cards, ways to help the needy, and much more.
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/thanksgiving.html
World Aids Day 2008
December 1st is World Aids Day. Visit this website to learn more and see what you can do to help.
http://www.worldaidsday.org/
spafinder
Tired of the cold? Visit this website for suggestions on a wide range of luxury spots.
http://www.spafinder.com/
Astrology
If astrology is one of your interests, take a look at Astrocenter.
http://www.astrocenter.com
The Motley Fool
Check out this website for lots of information on investments.
http://www.fool.com/
The Globalist
The Globalist is an online daily magazine that focuses on Globalization, the global economy, international politics, and culture.
http://www.theglobalist.com/
USPS
Don't stand on long lines at the post office anymore. At usps.com, you can buy stamps online, calculate postage rates, track packages, change an address and much more.
http://www.usps.com/
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