Happy New Year! Time To Change Your Passwords Webster-Calhoun Annoucements Bill Insert And Winter Weather Ask The Help Desk How Do I Delete Many E-mail Messages At The Same Time? Sites Of The Month Great Sites To Check Out In January! Short Tutorial Finding What Version Of Browser You're Using

Hi Webster-Calhoun Internet Subscribers! The start of a new year is a good time to resolve to better manage your online activities. So we're giving you tips to help you do just that. Learn to create strong passwords to reduce your risk of identity theft. Find out how to save time by deleting multiple e-mails simultaneously, and how to identify your Web browser version. For more help with resolutions, check out our Great Sites list. You'll also get ideas for January entertainment and important travel news. The goal of each of our monthly eNewsletters is to keep our subscribers informed regarding their Internet connection and to improve their Internet experience. To meet this goal, each monthly newsletter will usually contain information related to: Warnings on a recent virus, e-mail hoax, or security issue that may affect you An update on new services and other local interests An answer to a frequently asked Internet related question Some fun, seasonal websites to check out A short, step-by-step tutorial on an e-mail or browser related task We think you'll find the information contained in this newsletter to be a valuable tool for enhancing your Internet experience. If, however, you'd prefer not to receive these bulletins on a monthly basis, click HERE. To see what's inside this issue, take a look at the index to the left and thanks for reading! - The Webster-Calhoun Internet Team

Happy New Year! - Time To Change Your Passwords

The start of a new year is a good time to change your passwords, making sure you create strong ones that will be less vulnerable to hackers. Why bother? Because a stolen password leads to identity theft, the fastest growing crime in the U.S. and the top complaint filed with the FTC for the past seven years. A hacker could open new accounts and max out your credit limit, change your mailing address and have items (and bills) sent to them, or take out a loan in your name.

Given the importance of passwords, it makes sense to spend a little extra time on their development:

• Make it lengthy. Each character added to your password increases the protection. It should be at least 8 characters in length; 14 characters or longer is ideal.
  
  
• Combine letters, numbers, and symbols. The greater variety of characters, the harder it is to guess.
  
  
• Use a sentence as the starting point. Think of a memorable sentence, take the first letter of each word, then mix up lower case and upper case, and replace some letters with numbers and symbols.
  
  
• Avoid sequences or repeated characters.
  
  
• Don't use dictionary words.

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Webster-Calhoun Annoucements - Bill Insert And Winter Weather

Bill Insert
In this month's bill statement you can find out more about new privacy rules at WCCTA, notification letters that will go out, open house winners, scholarship opportunities and what award was given to WCCTA's General Manager, Daryl Carlson. If you missed it, check it out on the web site at www.wccta.com, then click products and services, and archives.

Winter Weather
With last year's winter storms in February and March many people took into consideration what to do during a power outage. A short power outage is not a problem for Webster-Calhoun's telephone service. But ice, snow, wind and impassable roads that cover our service are and leave those areas without power for days, certainly is. Whether your service is provided by cabinets in rural areas or Fiber to the Home each service is different.

But everyone can heed this advice. Cordless phones are dependent on commercial power and are dead as soon as the electricity goes off. Your home should retain at least one phone that is hardwired to a jack. That means the phone must have a cord attached to its receiver and is not plugged into an electrical outlet. If you don't care to keep one in use daily, have one in storage that you can pull out and plug into a jack if and when there is a power outage.

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Ask The Help Desk - How Do I Delete Many E-mail Messages At The Same Time?

Question: Some time ago I found out how to use keys to select a number of e-mails to remove them all at once instead of one at a time. Now I don't remember how this is done. Can you remind me? I have Outlook Express 6 and use Windows XP Home Edition for my operating system.

Answer: If you want to delete groups of e-mail messages that are listed all together, click on the first message in the group of e-mail messages you want to delete to highlight it. Now hold down the "Shift" key and select the last message in the group that is to be deleted. All messages between and including the first and last messages selected will be highlighted. Then simply hit the "Delete" button on the Outlook Express toolbar. All of the highlighted messages will be deleted.

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Great Sites To Check Out This Month

Idol Thoughts
http://americanidol.com -  Season seven of American Idol begins this month and television viewers are singing a happy tune. With dramas and comedies in reruns due to the writers' strike, fresh episodes of the popular competition will be music to many ears. Visit this site to see audition preview videos, get a behind-the-scenes look at the show, and sign up to receive the American Idol newsletter. You can also look back at some favorite "Idol" moments from past seasons including unforgettable comments from the judges.

Update for Travelers
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html -  All U.S. travelers returning from Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean by air have had to carry passports since January 23, 2007. Beginning January 31, 2008, adult travelers re-entering the U.S. by land or via ferry or small boat must carry a passport or a government-issued photo ID (such as a driver's license) plus proof of citizenship (such as a birth certificate). Children 18 and younger need only proof of citizenship. The requirements are part of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative launched after 9/11. More details are available on this site so go here before you make travel plans to go out of the country.

Deal or No Deal
http://www.nbc.com/Deal_or_No_Deal -  Here's the deal — if you're looking for entertainment alone, watch the game show Deal or No Deal with Howie Mandel on TV. If you'd like a chance at winning up to $100,000, play the Lucky Case Game online during Deal or No Deal broadcasts. The online promotion runs through March 31, 2008, so you still have time to try your luck at the loot.

Record-breaking Resource
http://guinnessworldrecords.com -  Could this be your year to set a record? Find out what it takes from the experts at Guinness World Records. Click on the Break a World Record link to get information on making a claim. Or just browse through the Video Vault for a look at the fastest, strongest, largest, and most incredible things on the planet. From the largest disco ball to the heaviest car balanced on the head, there's enough here to keep you amazed for hours. Search by category: human body, amazing feats, natural world, science & tech, arts & media, modern society, travel & transport, and sports & games.

New Year's Resolutions
http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/New_Years_Resolutions.shtml -  This time of year, everybody is talking about New Year's resolutions — even the U.S. government is ready to give you advice. This site contains tips for most of the top resolutions including: lose weight, pay off debt, save money, get a better job, eat right, and get fit. For help with the last one, for example, you'll be directed to the website of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. But you'll still have to do the exercises yourself.

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Short Tutorial - Finding What Version Of Browser You're Using

People often refer to the version number of the Web browser they are using. For example, some talk about Internet Explorer 7 while others mention Firefox 2. To discover what version of Web browser you are using to surf the Internet, follow the steps below. Note that different steps are required to discover whether you are using Internet Explorer 6 (or older versions) or Internet Explorer 7.

Discover Your Browser's Version Number When Using Internet Explorer 6 Or Older With Windows XP Home Edition

1. Launch your Internet Explorer browser.
2. Go to the menu bar at the top of your screen and select "Help."
3. Click on "About Internet Explorer" from the resulting submenu. The "About Internet Explorer" window will appear listing the exact version of Internet Explorer.

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We hope you found this newsletter to be informative. It's our way of keeping you posted on the happenings here. If, however, you'd prefer not to receive these bulletins on a monthly basis, click HERE.

Thanks for your business!

Best regards,

WCCTA.net
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Webster-Calhoun Cooperative Telephone Association
1106 Beek Street, PO Box 475
Gowrie, IA  50543-0475

Phone: 515-352-3151

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