PressEnter Newsletter Archives   
> August, 2006

Hello PressEnter Subscribers!

For some, August means school is just around the corner. But we all have opportunities to keep learning, as this eNewsletter illustrates.
Included is a crash course on one of the latest e-mail scams targeting bank customers, a lesson on how buffering enables you to watch online videos faster, and a tutorial about downloading Mozilla's Firefox browser.
This month's Great Sites section offers more places to gain knowledge - about typing, about relationships, about survival, and about business.
Time to learn something new!

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, please Reply to this message and put "REMOVE" in the subject line. Please e-mail any questions or comments to <newsletter@pressenter.com>. If you have any technical questions, please e-mail <helpdesk@pressenter.com>.

Here's what's inside our August 2006 Newsletter:

A. E-Mail Scam - New Phishing Attack Reported On Banking Customers
B. PressEnter News - Tired of Junk E-mail?
C. Ask The Help Desk - What Is A Buffer?
D. Great Sites To Check Out In August
E. Short Tutorial - Downloading Mozilla's Firefox Browser

The PressEnter Newsletter Team

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

A. E-Mail Scam - New Phishing Attack Reported On Banking Customers

E-mail con artists have frequently masqueraded as banks in an effort to collect personal information such as account numbers. One of the latest such scams, first reported last month, takes a slightly different approach. These e-mail messages are being sent to customers of Bank of America and various other financial institutions, but claim to be promoting a new security program called SFN (Stop Fraud Now). That's right - they're committing fraud by pretending to be an organization that fights fraud.

The bogus SFN program offers to provide you with protection against cloning of credit cards and asks recipients to register by supplying their Social Security Number, credit card number, and ATM Personal Identification Number (PIN).

Remember, you should always be suspicious of an e-mail requesting personal financial information, even if it appears to be from a financial institution with which you have a relationship. Legitimate banks will never send you an e-mail asking you to disclose your credit card number or online banking password. Do not reply to this type of e-mail or click on any link included in the message. Just hit "Delete."

B. PressEnter News -- Tired of Junk E-mail?

If you're anything like us, you're being bombarded with junk e-mail on a daily basis and you're probably wondering what you can do about it.
Fortunately the technicians here at PressEnter have a couple of simple tips that will help you drastically reduce the amount of junk e-mail that you see.

The easiest way to start is to turn on our e-mail filtering service.
This service is free to use and easy to set up. Just go to:

https://my.pressenter.com/account/spam.php

and follow the instructions from there. You will need to login with your PressEnter username and password. This service filters based on a blacklist of demonstrated sources of spam.

Secondly, you can setup custom e-mail filters in your e-mail client.
This is a good way to catch any e-mail that you receive that you want to filter futher. The procedure for doing this varies depending on which client you use and can have unwanted effects if setup improperly.
Some clients, such as Thunderbird, have a system that lets you mark messages as either junk or not junk, and based on the characteristics of those messages it attempts to identify any future junk mail messages.
For more information on Thunderbird and to download your free version,
visit:

http://www.mozilla.com/thunderbird/

Another option available is to change your PressEnter email address.
This service is also free. If you feel it would be best to start with a clean slate, this option is for you.

Please contact our office or e-mail <helpdesk@pressenter.com> for assistance with any of these options.

C. Ask The Help Desk - What Is A Buffer?

Question: I've heard someone mention a "buffer" when referring to listening to music online. What is a buffer?

Answer: When you download an audio or video file from the Internet, your media player software, such as Windows Media Player, saves portions of the file in temporary memory during the process. This is called buffering.

The media player uses buffering technology to begin playing the clip before the entire file is downloaded. This means the clip will be played much sooner than if the entire file had to be completely downloaded before playback.

A buffer is also used to speed up a computer's performance by holding information in temporary memory (random-access memory [RAM]) until it's committed to a permanent location or task.

When you use a word processor, for example, your changes are held in temporary buffer memory until you save the document to your hard drive.
Buffers also are used to transmit data between hardware devices, such as a computer and a printer. This buffer is needed when one device can transmit data much quicker than another can receive it.

D. Great Sites To Check Out This Month

Survival Stories from the World Trade Center ============================================
http://wtcmovie.com

Opening this month is World Trade Center, the poignant and powerful
9-11 movie from Oliver Stone. It tells the true story of two officers
with the Port Authority Police Department, Will Jimeno and John
McLoughlin, who were buried under 20 feet of rubble inside the WTC
but were rescued 12 hours later. Their incredible tale of survival
is brought to life by a cast including Nicolas Cage, Michael Peña,
Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Mario Bello. A highlight of this movie site
is the "In Their Own Words" section featuring video interviews with
Jimeno and McLouglin themselves. Rated PG-13.

The Key to Free Typing Lessons
==============================
http://learn2type.com

Do the e-mail messages you write contain a few too many typos? Or
do your kids need better typing skills to master the homework
ahead? This site offers free interactive typing exercises (including
new Learn2Type for Kids) that automatically adjust to your skill level.
Start by taking the short typing test to instantly assess your speed
and accuracy. Then login whenever you like and complete the lessons
at your own pace. Free, convenient, and effective - that's our type
of typing tutor.

Home Business How-To's
======================
http://entrepreneur.com

August is officially "Home Business Month." If you'd like to start a
home-based business or expand the one you already have, this site from
Entrepreneur magazine is an excellent resource. It covers all the
basics, from marketing and sales to money and finance. You'll also
find low-cost startup ideas, stories from successful "mompreneurs,"
and guides to starting the most popular businesses around.

Listen to Your Elders
=====================
http://elderwisdomcircle.org

When you need advice, there's nothing more valuable than the insights of
someone older and wiser. This site provides free advice from volunteer
"cyber grandparents" between the ages of 60 and 103. Elder Wisdom
Circle is one of the largest providers of personal advice anywhere,
and visitors to the site can get help with most any issue ranging
from parenting problems to dating dilemmas. Read the responses to
questions submitted by others, or send in one of your own for a fast,
personalized reply.

News on the Net - US Open Tennis Championships ==============================================
http://www.usopen.org/home/default.sps

The 2006 US Open is August 28 to September 10 in New York. If you've
always dreamed of going, get on the ball and visit this site for
tickets and visitor information. Last year's US Open set an all-time
attendance record of 659,538 fans - evidence of the sport's growing
popularity. Never played tennis but want to take a swing at it?
You'll also find tips on getting started and information about tennis
instruction including free Tennis Block Parties held across the U.S.

E. Short Tutorial - Downloading Mozilla's Firefox Browser

Web analysis firm OneStat.com reports that global usage of the free Mozilla Firefox browser is growing. As of July 2006, total worldwide market share for Firefox is 12.93 percent, U.S. usage is 15.82 percent, and Canadian usage is 14.58 percent. Firefox is becoming a popular browser because it blocks viruses, spyware, and pop-up ads and isn't as vulnerable to attacks as Microsoft Internet Explorer. It also offers advanced features like tabbed browsing, which lets you open multiple web pages in a single window and quickly flip back and forth between them.
To download Mozilla's free Firefox browser onto your computer, simply follow the steps below.

Downloading Mozilla's Firefox 1.5.0.4 When Using Windows XP SP2 Home
Edition:

1. With Internet Explorer open, type "www.Mozilla.com" into your
browser's address bar and then hit "Enter" on your keyboard.
2. Click your cursor arrow on the "Download Firefox" button.
3. The file download security warning will open. Click the "Save" button.
4. In the "Save As" dialog box, choose where you want to save the Firefox
installer on your hard disk and click the "Save" button.
5. Once the installer has finished downloading, double click on it.
6. A security warning will ask if you want to run the installer. Click
"Run."
7. When the "Welcome to Mozilla Firefox" screen appears, click the "Next"
button to start your Firefox installation.
8. After reading and agreeing to the licensing terms, select the "I Accept
the terms of..." radio button and then click the "Next" button.
9. Choose what type of install you want to do (Standard or Custom) and click
the "Next" button.
10. Close all other open applications and click the "Next" button.
11. Under the "Install Complete" section, check the "Launch Mozilla
Firefox now" box and click the "Finish" button.
12. The Import Wizard will open. Select whether you want to import your
settings from Internet Explorer into Firefox and click the "Next"
button.
13. Click the "Finish" button to exit the Import Wizard.
14. You will be asked whether you want to use Firefox as your default
browser. It is recommended that you click "No" until you've decided
whether you like it better than your existing browser of choice.
15. Firefox will open and a shortcut will be placed on your desktop.

Downloading Mozilla's Firefox 1.5.0.4 When Using Macintosh OS X:

1. With Safari open, type "www.Mozilla.com" into the address bar of your
browser and then hit "Return" on your keyboard.
2. Click your cursor arrow on the "Download Firefox" button.
3. Once the installer has finished downloading, double click on it.
4. The installer will launch and open to the license agreement.
To accept the terms of the license, click on the "Accept" button.
5. The Firefox disk image will mount on your desktop and open.
You will see a Firefox icon with a graphic indicating that you should
add Firefox to your Application folder.
6. Drag the "Firefox" icon onto your Application folder icon.
Firefox will be copied to that location.
7. Close the "Firefox" disk image window and drag the disk image to the
trash to unmount it. That's it. You can now run Firefox as your
browser.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

We hope you found this newsletter to be informative. It's our way of keeping you posted on the happenings at our office. If, however, you'd prefer not to receive these bulletins on a monthly basis, send us an e-mail at newsletter@pressenter.com and type "REMOVE" in the subject line.

Thanks for your business!

Best regards,

The PressEnter Newsletter Team
PressEnter! Internet

Web:    www.pressenter.com
E-mail: <newsletter@pressenter.com>

421 North Second Street
P.O. Box 409
River Falls, WI 54022

(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.)

(c)2006 Press Enter LLP
(c)2006 Cornerstone Publishing Group Inc.

< Previous Page