Welcome
to this week's edition of the Computer Kindergarten Newsletter.
Today is Sunday, January 11, 2009
In this Issue:
Special Feature: A Bad Economy is
Good for Scammers: Gas Saver Scam
Tips & Tricks: Twenty Five Most
Important Rules of Email Etiquette:
4. Keep Emails Short
Special Feature: Computer Don’t’s
This
Week's Topic: Minimizing Spam -
Report Spam
Question: Disposing of Old Computer
Equipment
Websites of Interest: Fruit and
Veggie Guru; Swing Era Radio Shows; Classmates; Science Hack
Please
consider the environment before printing this email.
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Special Feature: A Bad
Economy is Good for Scammers: Gas Saver Scam
The
following is from http://www.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...
An
ad on the Internet or elsewhere claims that your car could be getting better
mileage. All you need to do is add special drops or tablets to the gas tank...
or attach a special device to the exhaust pipe or elsewhere.
A
huge number of supposedly mileage-boosting technologies have appeared in
response to high gas prices. They usually are worthless or worse -- some
actually can damage your car.
What
to do: Ignore ads and emails that promise better mileage. If there were a truly
effective fuel-saving gas additive, it would be huge news, not something
promoted in Internet popup ads and spam.
In
the next edition of this newsletter:
A Bad Economy is Good for Scammers: Mortgage Scams
Visit
our Newsletter Archives for previous articles on A Bad Economy is Good for
Scammers
Unpaid
Fuel Bill
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/111608.html
Technicians
at your Home Scam
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/120708.html
Work-at-Home
Scam
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/121408.html
**************************************************************
Tips & Tricks: Twenty Five
Most Important Rules of Email Etiquette:
4. Keep Emails Short
This
article is part of our ongoing series on Email Etiquette. With the help of Heinz Tschabitscher from about.com, we are taking an in depth
look at email etiquette. To read
previous editions of this series, please visit our newsletter archives:
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/etiquette.html
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.
4. Keep Emails Short
Long
emails can look intimidating, and a long sequence of long paragraphs, possibly
including long run-on sentences that do not seem to stop but do not seem to go
anywhere either — sentences filled with extraneous words that add little
to the meaning but serve to confuse with multifaceted and sometimes conflicting
possible interpretations, can make the recipient read less than if the message
had been only, uh, about 3 sentences — three witty, concise and precise
sentences — long.
(If
you did not read the preceding paragraph, don't worry.) That is why it is usually a good idea to
keep emails as short as possible. Of course, this is not to mean that you
should cut your messages at any price.
Write
as Much as Necessary
Write
as long and as much as is necessary and appropriate. It is more important for
business emails to be succinct.
Personal emails can be flowery and long-winded. For clarity, fewer and
simpler words are still better.
Use
Bullet Points
If
you do have much to write:
* Break your message into
bullet points.
* Begin each point with a
concise summary or the action you want taken.
* Make sure important
information is not hidden in your message's or any
bullet point's meat.
One
Action per Message
Do
not lump together anything you need or want to tell a recipient into one
message. In particular, start a new message for each major action you request
from the recipient.
This
makes it easier for the recipient to get their email handled and the necessary
actions done. By setting a precedent, chances are they'll adopt the same method
for messages to you — and you'll have an easier time ticking off emails,
too.
To
read previous editions of this series, please visit our newsletter archives:
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/etiquette.html
**************************************************************
Special Feature: Computer Don’t’s
Here
are a few things you should never do with your computer.
Never
turn the computer off when you have a program or a window open. Close all programs and windows before
shutting down. If a program
freezes, try to use Task Manager to close the program. Hold down the Ctrl and Alt keys with one
hand and press and release the Del (Delete) key with the other. When Task Manager opens, click on the
program that is not responding and then click End Task. After the program closes, then shut down
the computer. (Always wait 60 seconds
before restarting the computer).
Never
remove a CD or DVD from the drive before it is finished. The safest way to open a drive is to
eject it (rather than pushing the drive button). To do so, double click the Computer (or
My Computer) icon on the desktop.
You will see a list of the drives on your computer. Right click on the CD or DVD drive; from
the resulting menu, left click on Eject.
That will make sure the drive has completely stopped, and then the drive
drawer will open.
Always
turn the computer off before connecting new hardware (unless the specific
hardware’s instructions say differently).
Never
have food or drink around the computer.
Keep
magnets away from the computer.
Watch for desk accessories – some have magnetic parts on
them.
Follow
these guidelines and your computer should stay in good condition for a long
time.
**************************************************************
Today's Topic: Minimizing
Spam - Report Spam
For
most people, spam is somewhat irritating, but to Internet Service Providers,
it's a huge problem. All that spam takes a tremendous amount of resources
(which, of course, increases the prices that we have to pay for Internet
access). If you'd like to help stop spam, you can do so. Before
you do anything else, report spam to your ISP.
Many email provides use spam filters. This means that their computer goes
through each email that comes into your account and compares it to certain
parameters. Some may use a very
extensive list of keywords.
For example, if an email has the word pharmaceutical in it, it will be
directed right into the spam or junk folder.
Occasionally
the spam filter may not work. That
is when you should use the Spam or Junk button that many email programs have at
the top of the inbox. Select the
email and then click the Spam or Junk button. It will take the email out of your inbox
and move it into your Spam or Junk folder.
For
email services without a Spam or Junk button, check with your Internet Service
Provider for any steps they may have that can be used to report Spam.
This
ends our series on minimizing spam.
We hope you enjoyed it and will welcome any questions or comments you
may have. Please visit our
Newsletter Archives for the previous articles we published on this topic:
Minimizing
Spam - Create a New Address
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/110908.html
Minimizing
Spam – Registering Online
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/111608.html
Minimizing
Spam – Stop the Forwarding Fiend
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/120708.html
Minimizing
Spam - Never Respond to Spam
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/121408.html
**************************************************************
Question: Disposing of Old
Computer Equipment
Question: I got a new computer for Christmas and
will be getting rid of my old one.
What do I have to do to make sure that whoever gets it cannot find any
of my personal information?
Answer:
Before
you dispose of an old computer, you must make sure the information on the hard
drive cannot be recovered. Deleting files, and even formatting the hard drive,
just removes the information the computer uses to find the files, not the files
themselves. Files that have been erased can be found again by someone with a
little computer know how.
To
make sure your information is permanently deleted, you
should either remove the hard drive from the computer before you dispose of it,
or use an erasing program, called a wiping or shredding utility.
Here
are two wiping utilities that can be used:
http://www.cyberscrub.com/products/cybercide/index.php
http://www.ontrackdatarecovery.com/hard-drive-software/ontrack-eraser.aspx
For
free wiping utilities, visit
http://www.download.com
Do
a search for a free wiping program.
Before downloading and installing a program that you find there, be sure
to take a look at the Editors’ and User ratings – the more stars, the better!
Question: I just got a new computer and want to
know how I should go about disposing of my old computer. Is it hazardous to the environment? Do I have to recycle it?
Answer:
Yes,
there are environmental concerns.
Some computer parts have hazardous materials in them that can eventually
leak out and harm the environment.
Check with your local waste management company or local government to
find out about the procedures in your area for disposing of computer equipment.
Some
of the larger computer manufacturers offer recycling programs. Here are links to the more popular
brands:
Acer
https://secure2.tx.acer.com/Recycle/Page_1.aspx
Dell
http://www.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/about_dell/values/environment/recycling_main?~ck=ln&c=us&l=en&lnki=0&s=corp
Gateway
http://www.gateway.com/about/corp_responsibility/env_options.php?rdr=v1047
HP
http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/globalcitizenship/environment/return/index.html
Toshiba
http://explore.toshiba.com/innovation-lab/green
Make
sure you remove the hard drive before disposing of the equipment!
**************************************************************
Websites of Interest:
Fruit and Veggie Guru
At
this website, not only can you learn all about fruits and vegetables, but you
can find some delicious recipes for them as well.
http://www.fruitandveggieguru.com
Swing
Era Radio Shows
If
you like the music from the 1930’s through the 1950’s, visit this
website for a list of radio shows that you can listen to right on your
computer. Turn up the speakers!
http://swing-sked.wikispaces.com
Classmates
Get
in touch with your old friends. At this site, you can reconnect with your old
friends from high school, college or the military.
http://classmates.com
Science
Hack
Do
you enjoy topics in physics, biology, green energy and other areas of
science? If you
do, take a look at this website where you can watch educational videos on many
different topics in science.
http://sciencehack.com