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Welcome to this week's edition of the Computer Kindergarten Newsletter.
Today is Sunday, September 21, 2008
In this Issue:
Special Feature: Worst Email Scams
Tips & Tricks: Add a Sender to the Outlook Express Address Book
This Week's Topic: Spyware
Question: Internet Explorer Back and Forward Buttons
Websites of Interest: HowStuffWorks; Europe Travel Guides; HubbleSite; New Scientist
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Special Feature: Worst Email Scams
The following is from switched.com:
Scam #8: Phishing for Stimulus
The Come-On:
You're getting a tax refund from the IRS. Woohoo, free money!
The Scam:
The e-mail, which comes from "tax-refunds@irs.gov," provides a link for you to follow to fill out a special form with personal and financial information. In reality, the IRS will never ask for this info unsolicited, and you don't have to fill out anything more than your normal tax forms to get the refund.
What You Can Do:
Delete the message. If you feel like maybe you deserve the refund and have questions about it, contact the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 . They'll tell you all you need to know.
Be sure to read our next newsletter to learn all about the Donate To Scammers! 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
Nigerian Letter scam:
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/081008.html
Gone Phishing scam:
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/081708.html
US Bombs Iran scam:
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/090708.html
Make Money From Home! scam:
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/091408.html
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Tips & Tricks: Add a Sender to the Outlook Express Address Book
Follow these steps to add the sender of an email to your Outlook Express address book:
Click on the email in the list of your emails. That will select it.
Click Tools on the menu and then click Add Sender to Address Book.
This will put the sender’s email address in your Outlook Express address book. If the sender’s email includes his or her name, that will appear, too.
If you want to edit the entry, open the Address book, select the sender and add any additional information.
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Today's Topic: Spyware
Question: What exactly is spyware and how do I protect my computer?
Answer:
The following article, from www.asktcl.com, explains what spyware is and how to use Spybot, a good antispyware program that everyone should have on their computer.
Spyware is a term used to describe an assortment of undesirable software that displays pop-up advertisements, makes changes to your system, and can even send private information that you have stored on your computer to other people. Some of the symptoms that might indicate that your computer is infected with spyware or malware would be:
New toolbars in Internet Explorer that you don't remember installing.
New Icons on your desktop, in your favorites or history.
Your Internet home page has changed.
Your search page has changed.
Unwanted advertisements pop up on your computer.
Your computer is running so slowly it stops functioning, freezes up, or crashes frequently.
While some spyware programs do "spy" on you by sending your private information or a record of your activities to other people, not all spyware programs send information. A program can be classified as spyware if it runs on your computer without your knowledge or consent. How does software get on your computer without your knowledge or consent? Usually the spyware will display a message from a website or another program that entices you to click on it by promising anything from making your computer run faster, to entering to win a prize. Unlike viruses that make copies of itself and send them out to infect other computers, spyware relies on its ability to trick you into installing it.
Spybot Search & Destroy
Spybot S&D started out 8 years ago as a small spyware scanner that detected and removed about 30 spyware programs. The entire scan would run in under a minute. Spybot S&D has grown over the years and today it detects over 600,000 spyware programs.
You can download Spybot S&D here:
www.safer-networking.org
When you have Spybot S&D installed, you need to take care of a few things to get it running in top shape.
First, you need to update the program. There are new spyware programs being created every day. Updates provide a way for Spybot S&D to protect you from the latest spyware threats. There is a link to the update page when you first open the program, and it is quite easy to follow the prompts from there.
Spybot S&D allows you to immunize your computer against some kinds of spyware. It will block files from pages known to have bad contents, blocks spyware executable codes, and blocks tracking cookies.
The final step you need to take is to run a scan to search for spyware that might already be installed on your system. The scan can take quite a bit of time, so make sure you have some time to let the scan run.
If you update the program, re-immunize, and scan for problems on a monthly basis, you will greatly reduce the risk of spyware on your computer.
To download and install Spybot S&D:
1. Go to www.safer-networking.org and start the download.
2. In the File Download window, click "Save".
3. Select a location to save your file, and click "Save" again.
4. Make sure there is no check mark in front of "Close this dialog box when download complete" if there is, click to remove the check mark.
5. When the download is complete, click the "Run" button to start the installation.
6. Click "Continue" in the User Account Control dialog box.
7. Select your language and click the "OK" button.
8. Click the "Next" button in the setup wizard window.
9. Read and then click to accept the license agreement. Click "Next".
10. Click "Next" in the next three windows.
11. In the select additional tasks window, I remove the check mark from the "Tea Timer" option. This setting will ask you every time a program wants to make changes to your system. It can be confusing for many users, and interrupts your work.
12. Click "Next", and then "Install", and "Finish".
To update Spybot S&D
1. Open the spybot program (there will be an icon on the desktop)
2. Click "OK" in the "Legal Stuff" dialog box.
3. Click the button that says "Search for updates"
4. Click to select a location close to you, click "Continue".
5. A list of available updates will be displayed, important ones will already be checked off. Click the "Download" button and they will be downloaded and installed.
To Immunize against Known Spyware:
1. After downloading updates, click on the "Immunize" icon in the left side of the Spybot S&D window.
2. On the Immunize page, click the "Immunize" button with the green cross on it.
3. When there are zero unprotected items left, you are all set.
To search for spyware problems.
1. Open Spybot S&D.
2. Click the button that says "Check for problems".
3. Wait until the scan is finished.
4. Select the problems you want fixed. (red items are already selected for you)
5. Click the "Fix Selected Problems" button
6. Click "Yes" to fix the problems.
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Question: Internet Explorer Back and Forward Buttons
Thank you for the article on Internet Explorer History in last week’s email; it was very informative. I, too, have a new laptop and am struggling with some of the differences in IE 7. For example, in older versions of IE, the back button had a small down arrow to the immediate right that would allow a skip back over several websites. That button is no longer there; can it be found elsewhere?
Answer:
Yes, it can. Look to the immediate right of the forward button. The down arrow there works for both the back and forward buttons. Click that down arrow and you will see a list of all the recently visited websites. Click on the site you want to return to, and your browser will open that site.
Visit our newsletter archives to read our article on Internet Explorer History:
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/091408.html
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Websites of Interest:
HowStuffWorks
Curious about something? This searchable website provides information on how things work.
http://www.howstuffworks.com/
Europe Travel Guides
Thinking about a trip to Europe? Check this website for easy to use guides for every country and all major cities.
http://www.europe-travel-guides.com/
HubbleSite
For anyone interested in astronomy, visit this website for news, articles and amazing pictures of starts, planets, galaxies and much more.
http://hubblesite.org/
New Scientist
Visit this interesting website for news about health, weather, science, technology and much more.
http://www.newscientist.com |
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