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E-Mail Scam - Flu Outbreak Leads To Scam Outbreak
As they do with most every major news event, cybercriminals
are attempting to cash in on the worldwide hysteria over H1N1 swine flu by
using a variety of online scams. These include fraudulent e-mails selling
swine flu survival guides or bogus vaccines and medications. One of the more
serious spam messages contains a malicious PDF file that purports to answer
frequently asked questions about the swine flu. When a user accesses the
file, malcode within the PDF tries to drop another piece of malware onto the
user's system. If a victim opens the file, their machine is immediately
infected with a Trojan, which tries to steal sensitive data.
Here's an example of one of the many flu-related spam messages:
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There have also been Search Engine Optimization (SEO) attacks where malware
writers register domains related to the swine flu news event, and
"game" the search engines' site-ranking algorithms to have their
domains displayed among the top items when users search for information on
the event. These bogus websites claim to have products available for purchase
that will "prevent, treat and even cure" the swine flu virus.
Be on the lookout for e-mails and websites aimed at taking advantage of the
current swine flu outbreak. To avoid falling victim to these scams:
- Get all the information you need about the flu from a
reputable source such as the World Health Organization site at www.who.int/en/
- Avoid opening e-mail from an unknown source and do
not click on links in the body of the e-mail or open any attachments.
- Make sure your antivirus and antispyware software is
up-to-date and all operating system security patches have been
installed.
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Webster-Calhoun Announcements: Bill Insert / TotalTech
Bill Insert
Did you see the insert in with this month's billing statement? It included
information about allocation notices, summer storms, Prairie Valley Dollars
for Scholars, and a new product called TotalTech. You can see the bill insert
by going to our website, http://www.wccta.com/state-news/documents/June09newsletter.pdf.
You can find it at www.wccta.net under
products and services. If you scroll to the bottom of the page you can see
all the past issues in archived items.
TotalTech
With today's complex computer hardware, software and peripherals, it's more
difficult than ever for the common computer user to know how to solve
complicated PC problems. That's why you'll find TotalTech so valuable. It's
the fast, save and secure way to get your PC running at peak performance.
Technicians can remotely access your PC via the Internet to diagnose and fix
many PC problems! Issues such as routers, printers, operating systems, error
messages, virus, spyware and slow productivity. For more information about
what's available, visit our website at http://www.wccta.com/pcsupport.htm.
It's located under products and services, Internet services, and TotalTech.
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Ask The Help Desk - Before I Forward E-mails, Am I Supposed To
Delete The E-mail Addresses Of The Previous Recipients?
Question: Whenever I get an e-mail with a funny joke
or video, I enjoy forwarding it to family and friends. But I heard that it's
viewed as inconsiderate to not delete the e-mail addresses of the previous
recipients before I forward e-mails. Why is this? And how do I delete the
addresses?
Answer: There are a couple of reasons why it's preferred to delete the
e-mail addresses of the previous recipients before forwarding e-mails. First,
it can be annoying for your recipients to have to scroll down through a
seemingly endless list of addresses before they get to the "guts"
of the message. More importantly, addresses left exposed in circulating
e-mails can be easily harvested by spammers and other cybercrooks.
Fortunately, it's very easy to delete these addresses before you forward
e-mails. And your family and friends will thank you.
Whether you are using Outlook Express, Windows Mail or Mozilla Thunderbird
for PC users, or Mail.app 3.1 for Mac users, simply highlight and then delete
the "From" and "To" e-mail addresses within the body
of the e-mail before you forward it.
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Sites Of The Month - Great Sites To Check Out In June
WHO on Swine Flu
http://who.int/en - Looking for
authoritative information about the H1N1 flu virus (otherwise known as swine
flu)? The World Health Organization (WHO) website is a good place to get it.
This comprehensive site offers public health guidelines, updates on reported
cases, pandemic status alerts, travel advice, and FAQs.
Instructables
http://instructables.com - Go
here to learn how to do just about anything better. The site features
instructions for do-it-yourself projects in a wide variety of categories such
as arts and crafts, games, gardening, music, pets, and technology.
User-friendly videos and photos guide you through the projects, and user
comments offer firsthand accounts of what it's like to work on them.
Go Condo
http://pickpackgo.com - Take a
trip through vacation rentals at hundreds of locations worldwide. Now is a
great time to find a good deal on a condo and, since condos have kitchens,
you can also save on restaurant costs by cooking for yourself. To use the
site, just enter your destination, travel dates, preferred price, and other
details to get your results. Photos and visitor comments provide a realistic
description of each property.
The Grilling Coach
http://thegrillingcoach.com - It's
grilling season! And if anyone knows grilling, it's Richard Myers, otherwise
known as The Grilling Coach. This site offers detailed instructions about all
things related to grilling including recipes, safety instructions, how to
improve your grilling skills, and grill buying guides. Check out the
instructional videos for more "hot tips."
View the New You
http://weightview.com - Ever
wonder what you will look like when you lose those extra pounds? Now you
don't have to wait for it to happen to find out. The WeightView site allows
you to upload a photo of yourself and specify how much weight you'd like to
lose, then sends you back an image of you at your target weight. You can use
this image to motivate yourself to stay proactive about your goals. Check out
the blog and join the community for additional support.
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Short Tutorial - Shortcut For E-mailing A Link To A Friend
What do you do when
you discover a great website and want to e-mail the link to a friend? Do you
copy and paste the URL from the address bar into the body of your e-mail
message? That method certainly works, but many browsers offer a feature that
makes e-mailing a link even easier by setting up the e-mail for you. Just
follow the steps below for the browser you use:
E-mailing a Link Using ...
-Web Browser: Internet Explorer 7 or 8
-Computer Operating System: Windows XP or Windows Vista
1. With Internet Explorer 7 or 8 open and while
on the webpage that you would like to e-mail, click your cursor arrow on
"File" on the menu bar, select "Send" from the resulting
drop-down menu, and then select "Link by E-mail..." from the
subsequent drop-down menu.
2. Your default e-mail program will open and a
new e-mail will automatically appear that contains the link to the webpage
you selected within the body of the e-mail. The subject line will also
automatically populate.
3. You simply need to add the recipient's
e-mail address in the "To:" field and write a message in the body
of the e-mail if you choose.
4. Next, click on the "Send" button
and your e-mail containing the link will be on its way.
E-mailing a Link
Using ...
-Web Browser: Mozilla Firefox 3.0
-Computer Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5, Windows XP, or Windows
Vista
1. With Firefox open and while on the webpage
that you would like to e-mail, click your cursor arrow on "File" on
the menu bar, and select "Send Link..." from the resulting
drop-down menu.
2. Your default e-mail program will open and a
new e-mail will automatically appear that contains the link to the webpage
you selected within the body of the e-mail. The subject line will also
automatically populate.
3. You simply need to add the recipient's
e-mail address in the "To:" field and write a message in the body
of the e-mail if you choose.
4. Next, click on the "Send" button
and your e-mail containing the link will be on its way.
E-mailing a Link
Using ...
-Web Browser: Safari
-Computer Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5, Windows XP and Windows
Vista
1. With Safari open and while on the webpage
that you would like to e-mail, click your cursor arrow on "File" on
the menu bar, and select "Mail Link to This Page" from the
resulting drop-down menu.
2. Your default e-mail program will open and a new
e-mail will automatically appear that contains the link to the webpage you
selected within the body of the e-mail. The subject line will also
automatically populate.
3. You simply need to add the recipient's
e-mail address in the "To:" field and write a message in the body
of the e-mail if you choose.
4. Next, click on the "Send" button
and your e-mail containing the link will be on its way.
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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
A product of Webster-Calhoun Cooperative Telephone Association
Webster-Calhoun Cooperative Telephone Association
1106 Beek Street, PO Box 475
Gowrie, IA 50543-0475
Phone: 515-352-3151
(We have used our
best efforts in collecting and preparing the information published herein.
However, we do not assume, and hereby disclaim, any and all liability for any
loss or damage caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or
omissions resulted from negligence, accident, or other causes.)
©2009 Cornerstone
Publishing Group Inc.
Trademarks: All brand names and product names used in this e-mail are trade
names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective
owners.
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