Hello Marlowe & Associates Subscribers! We're doing our best to keep you and your computer healthy with this April issue. To avoid computer viruses, be sure to read about recent spam aimed at Facebook users and how to spot these fraudulent e-mail messages. In Great Sites, we feature resources to help you achieve a healthier credit score, find out about clinical research on medical conditions of interest to you, and discover healthy recipes that are quick and easy to make. You'll also learn why "https" is a sign of website security, and how to set up automatic e-mail message delivery at startup. 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, just hit "reply"and type "remove" into the subject line. Here's what's inside our April 2009 Newsletter: A. SURFER BEWARE - FACEBOOK USERS FACING SPAM ATTACKS B. NEWS FROM THE SHOP C. ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE D. CREDIT CARD ACCEPTANCE E. ASK THE HELP DESK - WHAT DOES THE “S” IN “HTTPS” STAND FOR? F. SITES OF THE MONTH - GREAT SITES TO CHECK OUT IN APRIL G. SHORT TUTORIAL - SETTING UP AUTOMATIC E-MAIL MESSAGE DELIVERY The Marlowe.net Team ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ A. SURFER BEWARE - FACEBOOK USERS FACING SPAM ATTACKS The widely popular social networking site, Facebook, now has more than 175 million active users with the fastest growing demographic being those 30 years old and older. Perhaps you're one of the many Facebook users that recently received spam containing subjects like the following: • An invitation to lunch by a family • Your reported violation of Facebook's Terms of Service • A link to a video of dancing girls Take a look at one example of these fraudulent e-mail messages below: http://www.cornerstonenow.com/newsletter/section-a/ 2009/09-04facebookspam.jpg These spoofed Facebook messages contain links to websites that try to prompt recipients into installing a malicious application. If you receive e-mail messages like this, DO NOT CLICK ON THE LINK. Instead, simply delete them. Also make sure you have a firewall installed, and keep your antivirus and antispyware software up to date. Facebook actively works to stop spam related to their site and to bring legal action against the spammers. In addition, Facebook has security experts and engineers focused on the integrity of the site and continues to build systems to prevent and respond to spam attacks. They recommend that Facebook users report spam by using the links located throughout their website. B. NEWS FROM THE SHOP The Chasco Fiesta is history for another year, so if you've been waiting for the traffic snarls to pass, now is a great time to pay us a visit. We spent some quality time last month rearranging our shop benches. The changes allow us to work on more customer machines at the same time, speeding up the amount of time it takes us to finish working on any given computer. We are still working out some minor issues, but for my bench, the next effect is to triple the number of available spots for computers. This is a MAJOR deal given the amount of time that it takes to download Windows Updates and and run the tools I use to decontaminate malware infested computers. In addition to speeding up repairs, it is also allowing us to build and configure new systems faster as well. This is extremely important now that we are starting to come out of the recession and our customers are once again buying new computers. One side benefit is that we've come up with some very nice cable management tools that you may find useful for cleaning up your own cable clutter. See the newsletter sections below for additional announcements. C. ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE We've been recommending F-Secure antivirus software to our corporate clients ever since we first started Gulfcoast Networking five and a half years ago. F-Secure has had an excellent version available for individual use, but it has been expensive...upwards of $100 a copy. As a result, we haven't sold many copies of the home versions over the years. Things have changed and now F-Secure home products are extremely affordable and we can STRONGLY recommend them. They are still more expensive than Command Anti-virus, but they do a better job of working in the background unnoticed. F-Secure Anti-virus is very similar to Command Anti-Virus in the way it protects your computer from viral infections. It is simply a little more quiet in how it goes about it's business. F-Secure Internet Security has everything in F-Secure Anti-Virus plus spam fighting, a firewall, protection for children from unwanted web content, a web surfing time lock for children, and Application Control that prevents harmful programs from connecting to the Internet. We will be happy to sell you either the classic F-Secure Antivirus 2009 for $39.95 or the more comprehensive F-Secure Internet Security 2009 for $59.95. Both of these products are a step up from Command Anti-virus, which we continue to have available for $29.95 ($19.95 on autorenew). We are currently evaluating the F-Secure product for Windows Home Servers. We have a Windows Home Server at the house and our initial impression is that the F-Secure protection program for Home Server is very nice. D. CREDIT CARD ACCEPTANCE Based on our recent experience with American Express' "customer service" folks, some of whom still actually work in the US, we have decided that we no longer wish to be associated with American Express and we have dropped our merchant accounts. I can count on my fingers the number of our customers who are effected by this change. Without boring you with the details, we found their "customer service" operation to be unresponsive and even after their Executive Office got involved, it took over THREE WEEKS to get what should have been a minor issue sorted out. It didn't help that the customer service email system on their website was broken for virtually that entire time. American Express changed itself into a bank so it could grab $3.5 Billion of our tax dollars for itself prior to announcing that it was shedding 7000 American jobs and started treating good, long-term customers like dirt. The loss of those 7000 good employees shows in the declining level of service that they are able to provide to their members. American Express is the poster child for everything that is wrong with the federal TARP bank bailout and, in my humble opinion, they deserve to go out of business rather than get a penny more of our tax dollars. The one bright spot is that I spent all of the almost 90,000 points I'd accumulated over the years on a nice camera so I can take pictures of my next granddaughter in a few weeks. We continue to happily accept Visa, Mastercard, and Discover as well as checks and cash. E. ASK THE HELP DESK - WHAT DOES THE “S” IN “HTTPS” STAND FOR? Question: I've noticed that some website addresses begin with "http" and others with "https." What does that "s" stand for and does it mean anything to me as a user? Answer: The acronym HTTPS stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure. The word "secure" refers to the fact that HTTPS uses a secure socket layer (SSL) for security purposes when transferring data. Some examples of sites that use HTTPS include banking and investment websites, e-commerce websites, and most websites that require you to log in. Websites that use the standard HTTP protocol transmit and receive data in an unsecured manner. This means it's possible for someone to eavesdrop on the data being transferred between the user and the Web server. By contrast, secure websites use the HTTPS protocol to encrypt the data being sent back and forth with SSL encryption. If someone were to capture the data being transferred via HTTPS, it would be unrecognizable. You can tell if a website is secure by viewing the address field of your Web browser. If the Web address starts with "https://," you know that you're accessing a secure website. Most browsers will also display a lock icon somewhere along the edge of the window to indicate the website that you are currently visiting is secure. You can click the lock icon to view the secure certificate that authenticates the website. Whenever you're asked to enter personal or financial information on a website, make sure that the URL starts with "https://" and that the lock icon appears in the window. F. SITES OF THE MONTH - GREAT SITES TO CHECK OUT IN APRIL Credit Care http://helpwithmycredit.org - Help With My Credit provides information to assist and educate consumers struggling with debt. Their website features helpful, easy-to-understand advice for those having trouble keeping up with payments. Topics include managing credit wisely, credit card basics, credit card features, understanding your credit score, reading your statement, and credit counseling. If you don't find what you need, check out the additional resources and links. LOC Online http://loc.gov - Love to learn? Then you will love this site. The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world with millions of books and other media in its collections. The online collection contained in this site is also vast. Highlights include learning games and activities, a "wise guide" that shows you what's available, a performing arts encyclopedia, "places in the news," and webcasts featuring musicians, poets, and more. CenterWatch http://centerwatch.com - Do you or someone you care about have a serious medical condition? Have you wondered if there's a way to keep up with the research about treatments for it? This site may provide the answers. It offers news, directories, analysis, and proprietary market research on clinical research for a variety of conditions. You will find a database of clinical trials, a subscription service for notifications, a list of recently approved drugs, and a collection of additional resources. Rachael Ray Recipes http://rachaelray.com - Rachael Ray, popular TV host and cookbook author, is known for her warmth, energy, and boundless curiosity. Ray is also famous for her 30-minute meals and you can find lots of quick and easy recipes on her site. Now that the weather is getting nicer, check out the Spring Fever section for recipes that let you spend less time at the stove and more time outside playing. Late Is Great http://lastminute.com - Procrastinators, this is the travel site for you! Find incredible deals when you make last minute — or even last second — travel plans. The site includes flight, hotel, car, and vacation deals for a variety of destinations, as well as terrific tips for what to do when you get there. You can search by occasion, budget, or your preferred type of vacation activity. Use the "going out" section to plan your days when you arrive, or the "gift ideas" section to give the gift of travel. G. SHORT TUTORIAL - SETTING UP AUTOMATIC E-MAIL MESSAGE DELIVERY Do you have to click on the "Send/Receive" button to obtain your messages when starting up your e-mail program? Perhaps they used to be automatically delivered but after you upgraded your e-mail program, this feature was no longer operating. Follow the steps below to have your e-mail messages automatically delivered at startup: Setting Up Automatic Message Delivery When Using ... - E-mail Program: Outlook Express 6 - Computer Operating System: Windows XP 1. With Outlook Express open, click your cursor arrow on "Tools" from the menu bar and select "Options..." from the resulting drop-down menu. 2. The Options window will open. While on the "General" tab, and within the "Send/Receive Messages" section, check the box next to "Send and receive messages at startup." 3. Click on the "Apply" button to save your changes and then click on the "OK" button to close the Options window. Setting Up Automatic Message Delivery When Using ... - E-mail Program: Windows Mail - Computer Operating System: Windows Vista 1. With Windows Mail open, click your cursor arrow on "Tools" from the menu bar and select "Options..." from the resulting drop-down menu. 2. The Options window will open. While on the "General" tab, and within the "Send/Receive Messages" section, check the box next to "Send and receive messages at startup." 3. Click on the "Apply" button to save your changes and then click on the "OK" button to close the Options window. Setting Up Automatic Message Delivery When Using ... - E-mail Program: Mozilla Thunderbird 2.0 - Computer Operating System: Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Mac OS X 10.5 1. With Thunderbird open, click your cursor arrow on "Tools" from the menu bar and select "Account Settings..." from the resulting drop- down menu. 2. The Account Settings window (Local Folders window on the Mac) will open. Under your account located on the left side of the window, click on "Server Settings." You will now see several server setting options on the right side of the window. 3. In the "Server Settings" section, check the box next to "Check for new messages at startup." 4. Click on the "OK" button to save your changes and close the Account Settings window. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ We hope you found this newsletter to be informative. It's our way of keeping you posted on the happenings at our shop. Thanks for your business! Best regards,, Rob Marlowe Marlowe & Associates and Gulfcoast Networking, Inc. 6335 Grand Blvd New Port Richey, FL 34652 727-232-1558 (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.) Portions ©2009 Cornerstone Publishing Group, Inc.