Welcome
to this week's edition of the Computer Kindergarten Newsletter.
Today is Sunday, August 10, 2008
In this Issue:
Special Feature: Worst Email Scams
Tips & Tricks: Website Address
Shortcut
This Week's Topic: Error: Red X Instead of a Picture
Question: Microsoft Word: Ending a Bulleted List
Websites of Interest: The Internet
Movie Database; Carfax; Reminders; Wills and Living
Trusts
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Special Feature: Worst Email
Scams
The
following is from switched.com:
Scam
#4: Nigerian Letter Scam
The
Come-On
The
"419 letter," named for the Nigerian penal code that addresses crime
schemes, shows up as an e-mail from someone looking for your help in a
seemingly desperate yet worthy cause, usually someone looking to give money
away in his or her final days. An excerpt from a particularly desperate one
follows:
"...before my late
husband died he was a major oil tycoon,and
deposited the sum of 25 million dollars ( Twenty five million dollars) in one
of the Spanish bank in Madrid,Spain. some years ago,thats all i have left now,i need you to
collect this funds and distribute it according to the God wishes and for
charity . so that when i die
my soul can rest in peace.the funds will be entirely
in hands and management. i
hope God gives you the wisdom to touch very many lives,that
is my main concern. 20% of this money will be for your time and effort,while 80% goes to charity.
So if you know you can assist me then forward to me immediately the following informations.
1) NAMES AND ADDRESS
2) PHONE AND FAX NUMBERS
3) YOUR NATIONALITY
4) OCCUPATION
5) AGE and your Marital Startus.
Please reply back to me on
this email: jennydiaz@mail.vu."
The
Scam
In
exchange for your personal information like bank accounts and routing numbers,
the sender promises a large lump sum for your help. You never get the money, of
course, and the e-mail sender is across the world impersonating you, creating
an alternate version of you with credit cards and bank accounts until your
credit goes so bad that you will spend years trying to fix it.
You
will even often get official-looking documents to get you to pony up for
shipping and documentation fees, making the whole thing look legitimate.
What
You Can Do
Carols
says: "Free money from Nigeria offered in an e-mail from a princess in
distress or a diplomatic prisoner? Fat chance. These scams
have been plaguing consumers for years, with variations on the dramatic set-up,
but the bottom line is the same: Getting involved with these scams can be more
than just a waste of your time. They can also be dangerous and
life-threatening."
For
more information, 419eater.com has a great FAQ that even documents some of the
cases as well as some citizens fighting back against the scammers. Warning:
Some of these accounts are for mature audiences only.
Be
sure to read our next newsletter to learn all about the Gone Phishing scam.
Please
visit our newsletter archives for information on the scams we have highlighted
in previous editions of this newsletter:
Investment
Pump & Dump scam:
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/072008.html
Cancel
This Order! scam:
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/072708.html
You
Win! scam:
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/080308.html
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Tips & Tricks: Website
Address Shortcut
Here
is a quick way to type in website addresses. Just type in the name
of the site without the www and the .com. After you are done, hold down the CTRL
key and then press and release the Enter key. Then release the CTRL key; the http:www
and the .com parts will automatically be typed in for you.
For
example, to get to our site, type in computerkindergarten,
then hold down CTRL and press Enter.
You will now see the www and the .com added and the website will appear
on your screen.
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Today's Topic: Error: Red X Instead of a Picture
Question: On my new computer, whenever someone
sends me pictures, all I see is a red X.
I do not get the picture. What am I doing wrong?
The
following is from worldstart.com
One
of the main areas where people see the red X is in their e-mail. If you use
Outlook Express and are having trouble seeing pictures in your e-mail, open it
up and go to Tools, Options and choose the Security tab. Make sure the Block
images and other external content in HTML e-mail box is unchecked. Now, if you
are sending an e-mail and people have been complaining to you about the
pictures not showing up, try this: open up OE and go to Tools, Options, Send
tab. Under the Mail Sending Format section, make sure HTML is selected and then
click on the HTML Settings button. From there, make sure the Send pictures with
messages box is checked. That should solve all of your e-mail issues.
If
you're having trouble seeing images in Internet Explorer, go to Tools, Internet
Options and click on the Advanced tab. Look for the Multimedia section and make
sure the box that says Show Pictures is checked. For Firefox, go to Tools,
Options and click on the Web Features icon. Make sure the Load Images box is
checked as well.
Another
cause may be that your browser security settings are set too high, which
prevents you from accessing the Web site that handles the images. In IE, go to
Tools, Internet Options, Security tab and click on the Default Level button.
Make sure your settings are set somewhere around the medium level.
Another
cause could be your antivirus or firewall settings. Look for a
setting that says Disable Web Bugs and make sure it is turned off. That
should allow all the images to pass through so that you can see them.
There
are also a couple other simple reasons why your images may be blocked. One is
that you're looking at a Web site that is busy, temporarily shut down or
offline. A Web host could also be working on certain things on the site,
causing the images to be down. If everything else we've discussed above is set
correctly and you're still not seeing the images, this might be your problem.
All you can really do is just try the site again
later. Also, when you're trying to view images on a Web site or in your e-mail,
make sure you are actually connected to the Internet, because they will not
show up if you're not online.
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Question: Microsoft Word: Ending a Bulleted List
I
frequently use bullets in my Word documents. i
always encounter a problem when trying to end the list; the bulleting keeps on
going. What can I do to make this
easier?
Answer:
After
your last bulleted item, press the Enter key. That will bring you down to the next
line, and automatically put a bullet in.
Press the Backspace key; the bullet will disappear, and you can continue
typing on that line with no bullet or press Enter to skip down to the next
line.
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Websites of Interest:
The Internet Movie Database
Have
a question about a movie or TV show?
Check out this website for a database of facts about more than 200,000
movies and TV shows.
http://www.imdb.com/
Carfax
Before
buying a used car, take a look at carfax. Enter the
car’s Vehicle Identification Number and this website will check it
against a database of more than a billion records.
http://www.carfax.com/
Reminders
This
website will send reminders for all your important events. Sign up and set up to send timely
messages to your email, phone or cell phone.
http://iwantsandy.com/
Wills
and Living Trusts
This
helpful website, from AARP, explains all you need to know about wills and
living trusts.
http://www.aarp.org/money/personal/articles/choice_of_a_lifetime.html