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Greetings List Members!    

In this March 31, 2005 Issue:

Springing Into It...
I.O.U. April Fools
Computer Jive
            Phishing
            Degauss
            Spyware

Events

Friends For Michael Day
Tobacco Buyout Meeting
Hear Ye, Hear Ye FIRST Henry County Renaissance Faire
Henry County Farmers Market Opens
Planning Your Financial Future
22 Annual New Castle Spring Fling

Springing Into It

The peepers know it,
The flowers and the trees know it,
Even the birds and the bees know it.

The fickleness of Mother Nature not withstanding, it is...at long last...Spring!  Along with the warmer days and less cold nights comes the great surge of outdoor events.  Please check below for the fun goings-on this month and coming soon, including a new event that is really cool!

And remember...Sunday, April 3, 2 a.m., becomes April 3, 3 a.m. (Spring Ahead!)

By the way, this is a good time to check your battery operated smoke and CO2 detectors.

Yes, April Fool's Day has crept up on me.  It's been a "tradition" to author a little spoof every year at this time, and there is a bit of silly literary mischief lurking.  However, due to family matters the April Fewl's Gazette will arrive a tad bit late, but it will arrive!  Watch the main page of the Henry County Web for a link when it's available.  See previous "Fewl's" here.

Computer Jive

Phishing
Those that have been on this mailing list for awhile know that I am like a broken record (skipping CD for the young'un that have never seen a record) when it comes to anti-virus protection for your computer.

There are other villains besides the nasty viruses and worms.

"Phishing" is not new, but it has recently brought more attention by the conventional media.  Phishing sounds like "fishing" and like-wise in meaning--the perpetrators are "fishing" for information about you that they can use to their illegal ends.  Far too sly and sneaky they just don't come out and ask you for your password or information...fortunately most people have wised-up and know not to give personal information in email or on the phone.

The most recent devious technique is to pretend to be eBay, AOL, or even your bank, and they need you to go to the web site and re-enter your information on the form on the page.  An email like this will look very official and legitimate...it will even look like it came from an official email address.  Don't you believe it.  It will also be worded with such urgency that it will encourage you to act quickly (before you have a chance to think)!  I personally have had these in my email inbox too...from "banks" that I don't bank with and aren't even in this state.

They will always provide a website address to go to to "update" you information...almost always it will be a direct link to "their" site.  Don't believe it.  If your email program, even web mail, has a status bar function in the VIEW or TOOLS menu, (some programs may have this in OPTIONS or PREFERENCES) go ahead and turn on that status bar.  It will place a little added "strip" at the bottom of your program page that will display information as the mouse passes over hyperlinks.  Folks that don't use, have turned off, or don't know about the status bar will be missing some tell-tale information.  The status bar will show the actual properties of the hyperlink (http://www.something) not merely the highlighted words.  Pass your mouse over any of the hyperlinks in this newsletter and if your status bar is turned on you will see the actually web address there.  Pass your mouse over the hyperlink in one of these phishing emails and you will see where the link will actually take you.  (DO NOT CLICK ON THE LINK.)

Here's an example:  You get an email that says that there is a potential security violation to your account.  It tells you that you access to your account will be terminated in 24 hours if you do not respond immediately by clicking the the link below and verifying your information.  This email supposedly came to you from eBay and you mouse over the link and instead of saying ebay.com in the address displayed in the status bar, it says " http://126.XX.XXX/statusphoney/ebayaccounts/".  Or, the displayed link goes to a site that has nothing, what-so-ever to do with the company purporting to contact you, such as, http://iamgoingtostealfromyou.com/givemeyourinfo (but not as blatant.)

What's wrong with these addresses?  After all, the one is supposed to be from ebay, and it does say "ebayaccounts," right?  And the other isn't a numeric address, so what's that problem?

First, eBay--or for that matter ANY professional legitimate website-- doesn't use the numeric address; they will use their registered domain name, AND, it will be right up at the front of the address--not buried near the end as some directory name on some account, somewhere that you'd rather not send your information to.  The other should be somewhat obviously not connected to the claimed sender.

So far, there are reasonable ways to be on guard against phishing.  Certainly be suspicious of claims to be a bank--especially a bank you don't deal with, or an eBay email to an account that you never use for eBay transactions.  And even if it looks legitimate (and I've seen some very convincing forgeries lately) stop and consider.  It would be better to go to the phone and call your bank, or go to the authentic web site in your browser and type it yourself, and just open your account.  (More advanced users can even go to Network Solutions and do a WHOIS search.)  If there's something changed or in question you will have an indication there--not by some bogus phishing attempt.

By the way--eBay has been forged so many times they have added warnings in several places on their site and directly sent to bona-fide users.  Read up and be smart--be smart little "phishees"--don't take the bait.

Degauss
This one is short...and mostly easy.  :-)

Degauss is simply the act of discharging a build of a magnetic field.  Some electronic equipment is highly sensitive to this.  My newest "repeat offender" is my router, that often requires me to discharge it once a day.  (When I don't, my satellite connection won't engage, even with a good signal.)

It's a simple fix, even if not convenient.  Just unplug the equipment from the outlet and wait about 15 seconds before plugging it back in.

Some computer monitors have a "degauss" button right on the front panel.  Just press it, and your screen will jitter for a moment, look like it's going to have a seizure, and then stabilize.  (A monitor that has built up a charge will often have a corner or area where the colors are "off"--it doesn't hurt to just do it every few months, even if you don't see symptoms.)  Some monitors don't have a button, they automatically degauss when they are turned off for several minutes and turned back on.  Other typical equipment that is susceptible?  Satellite TV receivers, VCRs and DVDs.  When you are trouble shooting any high tech equipment, try this degaussing for a cost free fix.

Spyware
Back to the nasties.  I've mentioned spyware (a.k.a. Adware) before, but new developments warrant a mention again.

Sources of spyware are on the rise.  Simply visiting a web site can deliver spyware to your computer.  Another avenue straight to your computer is via "freeware", and "add-ons".  Read the EULA (end user license agreement) that comes with legitimate software and you might see that by accepting your are allowing the software to collect and transmit data about your computer use--though it may not be worded as straight forward as that.  "You don't get something, for nothing," is commonly the case.  Some very good software IS free and doesn't have hidden mechanisms to track you, or deliberately deceive you, but you need to be aware that this can happen.  Sometimes your will find a program that is so good and so useful, you figure it's worth the risk to accept it.  Caution to you!  (Commonly these can be add-on "toolbars", "search bars", etc.)  Know what you are getting into.

So what's the problem with spyware and adware?  For starters, SPAM.  Spyware on your computer will greatly increase the likelihood of "abundant" unsolicited offers.  The spyware records what you look at and search for most often and then "phones the main office" to tell them what sort of things you like.  Then they begin force feeding you advertisements for related products.

Spyware on your computer can also alter your search results, by providing your with links to sponsors only or at the top ranking, instead of ALL relevant links.

While spyware is running on your computer collecting this information and transmitting it back to the "mother ship" it is robbing your computer of resources and bandwidth--effectively and often noticeably slowing down your computer.

And now, this new twist!  Some of the newest and nastiest spyware includes "keystroke loggers."  What's that?  The spyware records (logs) every keystroke on your computer.  Does that sound like something you want slowing you down?  Slowing you down is the LEAST of your concerns with keystroke loggers.  Think about the kind of things you type on your computer keyboard.  Things like usernames, passwords, account numbers!  It's as bad as someone looking over you shoulder at the ATM!  Now you can see how bad this type of spyware can be.

In addition to your anti-virus software (which your should already be using and updating regularly!) and a reliable firewall (which should run all the time--or close to it!) you need to invest in anti-spyware software.  There are free anti-spyware scanners and cleaners, but a "for money" program usually filters and blocks spyware BEFORE it gets onto your computer.

I won't be listing or recommending a particular programs, in this newsletter.  I've discussed this before and this is getting long, so I'll re-visit this topic again in the future.  But there's no reason you can't do an internet search and investigate what's available--and every reason that you should.

e-POSTCARDS FROM HENRY COUNTY, WITH LOVE.
E-postcards is a freebie from The Henry County Web. http://www.henrycountyky.com/postcard

REMINDER

Take-a-Moment e-Newsletter

This on-line electronic newsletter won a national award. This newsletter is different from the Henry County Announcements and also includes different content than the Henry County Homemakers Extension Newsletter (see below). This is an OPT-IN newsletter and includes various topics from the Agents of the Louisville Area Cooperative Extension Service.  To register just go to the web site: http://www.take-a-moment.com. Click on the "To Sign Up Here Button". This newsletter received some "rave" reviews when we evaluated it's effectiveness with those who receive it! So if you or someone you know uses the computer (a daughter, niece, grandchild) please encourage them to sign up. Also if you know of a business who would like to have their employees receive this free service please have them contact our "webmaster" Joyce Meyer through the web page listed above or .

Henry County Cooperative Extension Service Homemaker Newsletters By Email

Would you like to receive your Homemaker Newsletters in email?  We are creating a mailing list to deliver your newsletter right to your email address, but first we need to know, would you be interested? Email is more economical for us and faster for you. The newsletter includes information about Extension Homemakers programs in the county and near-by, club information, and often recipes, health tips and more! So if this sounds interesting, use the on-line form to sign-up.  Henry County Web--Family & Consumer Sciences

Shop Online @ Made In Henry County Ky

At last we are launching madein.henrycountyky.com!  Our new web site will feature ONLY products that are made right here in Henry County!  Sure, if you live here, you can just bop down to Cook's or Perry's or Henry County Supply, or visit one of the festivals and grab yourself some Henry County goodies, but there are a number of you on the mailing list that grew up here and moved away, or plan to move here in the future, or visited one of our community events--so it's not just a short drive to get your yummies.  This is your way to get some goodies from back home.  So tell your kids and friends a-far that they can buy Henry County made goodies on the internet at madein.henrycountyky.com.

There is a modest selection there now--jellies, honey, brooms, to name a few--but more additions are planned.  So check it out yourselves and visit often to see what's coming.

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© Copyright 1997-2010 Joyce K. Meyer. All Rights Reserved This site was created by Joyce K. Meyer, on October 26, 1997. Last revised on 07/27/10.