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Greetings from
Polar's E-Connections Team
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. |
Warning - Phishing Scams Are On The Rise
An ever-increasing number
of "phishing" scams are targeting online consumers each month. In
fact, such scams are said to have risen by an average of 50% a month during the
first half of this year alone! The term "phishing," also referred to
as "brand spoofing," or "carding," is a variation of the
word "fishing" -- the idea being that "bait" is thrown out
with the hopes that while most people will ignore the "bait," some
will be tempted into biting. Phishing is the act of sending an e-mail to an
Internet user and falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise
with the intent of scamming the user into surrendering confidential information
that will then be used for identity theft. Here's how a typical phishing scam
works:
A con artist sends a bogus e-mail message to a list of e-mail addresses. The
phony spam e-mail message purports to be from a bank, for instance, and asks
the e-mail recipient to provide account information to assist the bank in its
efforts to crack down on identity theft. The e-mail message is usually very
authentic looking and includes company logos and copyright information. These
messages typically state something about the recipient's account being
temporarily suspended if account information is not provided. A link is
provided within the e-mail message which takes the consumer to an
official-looking website. The site asks for personal information such as
account numbers, pin numbers, social security numbers, birth dates, etc.
Participation in the scam by the consumer results in identity theft -- and bad
consequences.
Businesses that are commonly targeted by "phishers" include banks,
credit card companies, brokerage firms, ebay, PayPal, Internet service
providers, as well as a variety of online retail e-commerce sites.
Tips On How To Avoid Getting Hooked By Phishing Scams
- Legitimate companies don't ask for financial or
personal information via e-mail. If you get an e-mail or pop-up message
that asks for this type of information, do not reply or click on the link
in the message. If you are questioning the legitimacy of an e-mail
regarding your account, contact the organization in the e-mail using a
telephone number you know to be genuine.
- NEVER send personal or financial information via
e-mail. E-mail is not a secure method of transmitting personal
information.
- Initiate online transactions by typing in the
organization's web address into your browser's Address Bar rather than
clicking on a link provided within an e-mail message that supposedly takes
you to the organization's site. Con artists can spoof an organization's
web address shown on an e-mail message's link and send you to a bogus site
instead.
- When you are asked to provide personal or financial
information through an organization's website, be sure to look for
indicators that the site is secure like a lock icon on the browser's
status bar or a web address that begins with "https:" -- the
"s" stands for "secure." Be sure to follow #3 above
before doing this step.
- Review bank account and credit card statements as soon
as you receive them to determine whether there are any unauthorized
charges.
Be sure to
report any suspicious activity to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). If you
receive spam that is fraudulently phishing for information, forward the message
to spam@uce.gov.
If you believe you've been scammed by a phishing scheme, file your complaint at
www.ftc.gov, and then visit the FTC's Identity
Theft website at www.consumer.gov/idtheft
to learn how to minimize your risk of damage from ID theft.
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Get the whole family what they really want this year...High
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bills online faster, bid on ebay faster...we think you get the picture. Contact
us today to get hooked up at 1-800-284-7222 or service@polarcomm.com. For more
information, visit our website at www.thinkpolar.com.
Ask The Help Desk - How
Do I Know Which Service Packs Have Been Installed On My Computer?
Question: My computer uses Microsoft's Windows XP Home Edition
as its operating system. I have automatic updates set up but how do I know if
the new Service Pack 2 (SP2) has been installed on my computer?
Answer: If you are curious to find out which service packs or software
updates have been installed on your PC running Windows XP Home Edition, do the
following:
- Click your cursor arrow on the "START" menu
located at the bottom left of your screen. Click on "My
Computer" from the resulting pop-up menu.
- When the "My Computer" screen appears, you
will see a list of items along the left side. Click on "View system
information." The "System Properties" screen will then
appear.
- Click on the "General" tab and you will see
all of your system information listed including which version of Windows
you are running and which service packs have been installed.
Great Sites To Check Out This Month
The Rebel Billionaire: Branson's Quest For The Best TV Show
http://www.fox.com/rebelbillionaire/ -
Donald Trump's ego just got some new competition. Britain's Sir Richard
Branson, billionaire and founder of Virgin Records, Virgin Airlines, and over
300 other Virgin-related companies, debuts this month in his own reality TV
series. In a format similar to The Donald's popular The Apprentice TV
series, sixteen American entrepreneurs are jetted to destinations around the
globe where their leadership skills are tested. Each week one contestant is
left behind on the tarmac as the rest of the group flies off to the next
adventure. The winner receives Branson's job and one million dollars!
Delicious Holiday Recipes
http://epicurious.com/ - Are
you looking for a variety of great new recipes to try this holiday season? Then
head over to what this site calls "The World's Greatest Recipe
Collection." The recipe section has a "Search Spy" link which
gives you a peephole look into the ten most recent terms typed into the site's
recipe search box. The terms are refreshed every fifteen seconds with a new set
of ten terms. It might give you some great ideas for something new to try. How
about a platter of lime and coconut shrimp with red curry sauce to go with your
turkey?
Online Owner's Manuals
http://livemanuals.com/ - So
it's time to reset the clock on your VCR but you can't find your owner's
manual. Not to worry. This useful site makes online owner's manuals available
for hundreds of different products -- everything from photography equipment to
electronics. You can search the site's database by the type of product or by
the manufacturer. The website also includes a live simulation showroom with an
audio feature that reads step-by-step manual information to you.
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie Opens This Month
http://nick.com/all_nick/movies/spongebob/ -
This month marks the return of SpongeBob SquarePants, Squidward Tentacles,
Sandy Cheeks, Mr. Eugene H. Krabs, and the rest of the gang in The SpongeBob
SquarePants Movie. The movie is based on the popular animated TV series
which was the #1 rated TV show for ages 2-11 during the 2001-2002 season. Its
creators ended TV production in 2003 to concentrate on the making of this
movie. Yes, SpongeBob SquarePants still lives in a pineapple in the community
of Bikini Bottom. The site includes four hilarious movie trailers, fun games,
cast member bios, and cute e-cards.
Simplified BCS System To Determine College Football Champion
http://bcsfootball.org/ - The
purpose of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), which was established in 1998,
is to determine the national champion of NCAA Division I college football yet
maintain the bowl system that's nearly 100 years old. Although not perfect, the
system is probably an improvement over the old format of bowl match-ups with
affiliated conferences. There's a new, simpler formula in place this season. So
now is the time for football fans to begin putting down their binoculars and
picking up their calculators. For all you've ever wanted to know about the BCS
plus a complete breakdown of the week's current standings, check out this site.
Short Tutorial - Turning
Off Your E-mail Software Program's Preview Pane
The Outlook Express, Entourage, Netscape 7.1, and Eudora
e-mail programs all utilize the "Preview Pane" feature as a default
setting. The Preview Pane setting allows recipients to easily view the contents
of new e-mail messages without having to click on the message to open it up.
This saves time and is great when getting e-mail messages from friends and
family.
The problem with the activated Preview Pane feature of these software programs,
of course, occurs when spam e-mail is sent to a user's inbox. The recipient is
almost forced into viewing the contents of spam e-mail messages prior to
deleting them. Sometimes the images can be pretty distasteful.
A user can easily "turn off" the Preview Pane feature of their e-mail
program. By doing this, the user only views messages he/she actually wants to
open. Here's how to do it:
Outlook Express for Windows
- Click your cursor arrow on the Outlook Express
"View" menu.
- From the resulting drop-down menu, select
"Layout."
- When the "Layout" window opens, look for
"Preview Pane" about half way down.
- Uncheck the check box next to "Show Preview
Pane."
- Click on the "Apply" button and then click
"OK" to close the window.
Entourage
for Macintosh
- Click your cursor arrow on the "View" menu.
- From the resulting drop-down menu, uncheck
"Preview Pane" by clicking on it.
Netscape
7.1 Mail
- Click your cursor arrow on the "View" menu.
- From the resulting drop-down menu, select
"Show/Hide."
- From the resulting submenu, uncheck "Message
Pane" by clicking on it.
Eudora
6.1
- Click your cursor arrow on the "View" menu.
- From the resulting drop-down menu, select
"Options."
- When the "Options" window opens, look for
the "Category" pane on the left hand side. Scroll down until you
find the "Viewing Mail" icon and click on it.
- In the "Preview Pane" section, uncheck the
check box next to "Show message in preview pane."
- Click "OK" to close the window.
We hope you found this newsletter to be informative. It's
our way of keeping you posted on the happenings at our shop. If, however, you'd
prefer not to receive these bulletins on a monthly basis, click HERE.
Thanks for your business!
Best regards,
The E-Connections
Team
Polar E-Connections
(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.)
©2004 Cornerstone Publishing Group Inc.
Trademarks: All brand names and product names used in this eNewsletter are
trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their
respective owners.