New IRS Scam Hits Email Mailboxes
There is a new wave of email “phishing” that is showing up in email mailboxes this spring, unscrupulous scammers are now targeting the American public with email claiming to be from the IRS.
The ingenious fraudsters’ aim is to collect your Social Security number, credit card account information and banking account information. The emails, which look authentic complete with the IRS logo and privacy policy, lure people into providing this information by notifying them of an audit or offering them access to a link to collect their refund. Additionally, the web site that appears bears a striking resemblance to the official IRS web site (even the font type matches) and when people click home, it actually takes them to www.IRS.gov (the real IRS web site).
However, there are some flaws to these thief’s attempts to secure people’s private and personal information. This is what the public should know: In one of the scam emails in the browser or address bar at the top of the page it reads: http://tzk.kozle.pl and the information that is requested, Social Security number, credit card number, banking information (where the refund goes).
The public needs to know that the IRS generally does not communicate with them via email.
“We do not communicate with taxpayers via email. We may send you a letter, we may call you, but we do not send out email,” stated IRS spokeswoman Nancy Mathis.
In recent weeks up to one hundred complaints a day are reported regarding email scams and the IRS has found twelve web sites operated in eighteen different countries committing this type of fraud or other types of IRS related fraud.
If you get an email from the IRS and if you doubt its authenticity, it is best to call the IRS and verify that they did, in fact send the correspondence. Call the IRS at 1-(800) 829-1040 ask confirm if they are trying to contact you. To report a fraudulent or suspicious email claiming to be from the IRS, call the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1 (800) 366-4484. Furthermore, report any cases of identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission at www.consumer.gov/idtheft.
How Do Anti Spam Solutions Work?
We have all suffered from these annoying dangerous spam emails. Most of us still do. There are excellent anti spam solutions in the market, there is no reason to tolerate this no more.
To understand the solution we must first understand the problem. So, what is this spam email? Spam is unsolicited, unwanted, irrelevant or inappropriate email. Spam email is mostly used for commercial purposes. Spam emails are also known as “junk mails”.
So, why do people are constantly searching for the best spam blockers? Why do the market of anti spam solution rolls billions of dollars a year? Well, these spam emails are time consuming and are annoying. But, more than that, they cost a lot of money. Why? First, because time is money. But more than that, billions of spam emails are loading lots of unnecessary data over the servers.
Therefore, big software companies constantly develop anti spam solutions, spam blockers and email spam filters.
Anti spam solutions basically do one or more of the following things:
1. Anti spam solutions check the senders’ names and addresses and filter the spam emails according to a black list of spammers they own and update.
2. Anti spam solutions check the recipients’ names and addresses and according to certain parameters, they filter the emails. Fr example, if the mail is sent to a large group sorted alphabetically, the email is considered spam.
3. Anti spam solution scan the emails (Their subject and body) and search for certain words or phrases such as “Viagra” and filter the spam email accordingly.
There are many kinds of anti spam solutions such as anti spam lotus, anti spam exchange 5.5, anti spam for outlook express and others. Some work on the server layer and some on the client layer. But basically, they all do the same job – Make your life better.
Handling Hard Drive Crashes
The hard drive in our computers stores all data, and our computer could not function without it. Since hard drives are so important, a hard drive crash is without a doubt is a major crisis problem that someone could face on their computer.
Hard drive crashes can happen for a lot of reasons, and usually the owner is not to blame. Your hard drive is a magnetic disc that spins and has an extended arm hovering over it, to access any area, and collect the data. If the motor overheats and stops spinning or the arm fails to function, then your hard drive will crash and not be accessible.
Another way for your hard drive to crash is from corrupt files and viruses. Viruses come in many forms as spy ware, ad ware, in emails and many other places all over the web. I recommend a good virus protection program from McAfee or Norton to stop those viruses and prevent your hard drive from crashing.
Now let’s say your hard drive has crashed, how do you determine the problem and can it be fixed? Well determining whether the hard drive crash is mechanical of software related is actually pretty easy. The flashing light on front of your computer case, that blinks when the computer is busy, is a good tool to determine the problem. If you see the LED light flashing, but the computer will not start, then most likely it is a software related problem, which means an operating system glitch or a virus of some sort. Lucky for you this usually can be fixed and all of your files can be saved
Worst case scenario is if you don’t see the LED light flashing in the front of your computer case, this means your hard drive has not activity which basically means it is a mechanical problem. A mechanical problem in your hard drive can be fixed, but it can get pretty expensive. It is cheaper to get a new hard drive then to fix it, but of course if you have important data stored on the broken hard drive that you must get back, then you really have no choice but to have a professional fix it. Your local computer store should have the expertise to repair it, but if not just ask them who can.
Overall, the best way to stop your hard drive from crashing is to not neglect it and take care of it.
Beware Of Computer Viruses
With every invention known to benefit man, you’ll always have a counterforce trying to destroy or take advantage of its benefits to the user. By now, if you’ve ever used or owned a computer, there is a certain problem that you have to constantly protect yourself from and that problem is viruses.
Many viruses are written by computer hacks just to see if they can break or mess up a system. Other viruses are mistakes written by programmers when they are trying to update certain internal programs on your system. The Windows operating system has developed this problem with its newer software but usually, they send you a notice or a software patch to correct the problem.
Every system should have some type of anti-virus software that’s on it and it should start-up with your system so that it can detect any problems right away. If you are using the Internet, virus protection is a must.
Viruses are broken down into different categories but the most damaging virus is the ones that have the .EXE extension. These viruses are deadly because they get inside the internal code of your computer system, known as registers. Once they infiltrate the registers, then your system is history.
There are other viruses called worms, which is just as obnoxious as .EXE viruses. There are other viruses that create folders that hold spy ware programs which can take control over your keyboard strokes. Regardless of the type of virus program, they all can be a headache to deal with and if you don’t catch them in time, they can be a headache to get rid of.
You have to keep up with the viruses as they are developed by intruders so your software packages should have the latest virus definitions to fight these malicious creatures. You can get a subscription to Symantec’s Norton Anti-Virus Software program or McAfee Virus Scan at their respective web-sites.
Get Rid Of Spam
Every day, both dmoestic and corporate users of the internet receive considerable amounts of spam e-mail. They are not only annoying, but sometimes you can miss an important e-mail or newsletter simply because you lose it among the great number of e-mails that flood out your Inbox. Often you’ll find that important people neglect to read your e-mail, because busy people like them hardly have the time and patience to browse through the huge quantities of spam mail they receive.
One solution to this problem is a filter or a free spam blocker. Many companies have designed filters for their customers. Many e-mail servers, especially the renowned ones that have a reputation to protect, have their own free spam blocker. There are several types of programs that can help you stop spam, including:
- the ones that are offered when you create a new e-mail address. Every company that provides e-mail service has a spam filter, including those that offer free accounts like Hotmail, Yahoo!, Gmail and so forth.
- there are also standalone programs that go through your mail folders regularly and do their best to separate valid e-mail from spam and unwanted mail. The main disadvantage with these free spam blockers is the fact that, when they do their checks, they use quite a large percentage of your computer’s resources and sometimes also of your bandwidth. Before installing this kind of free spam blocker, you’ll need to decide if this is okay with you.
- other types of free spam blockers are the ones that work as plug-ins to other programs like e-mail clients. The disadvantage with this kind of approach is that you need to download all your mail anyway, before the plug-in can do its stuff.
When you decide to use a filter, you must be sure that you update it or install new versions regularly, because marketing researchers working for spammres are continuously developing new ways of ‘fooling’ the filters. Filter makers must keep up by improving their software accordingly.
A free spam blocker works by looking for trigger words or phrases inside the text of the e-mails, and categorizing e-mails on that basis. Nowadays, there are special programs being created that are designed to pass spam through free spam blockers by re-arranging words or using a different language style in the e-mails. This is an unfair marketing strategy, of course, but if you want to be protected against it, you must always have an up-to-date version of your free spam blocker program.
Specialists recommend that you should review your needs and see what kind of filter suits you best. Each approach has its advantages and disadvantages. You must make up your mind whether you want to use the default filter on the e-mail server, or if you want to download all your mail before scanning them, or if you are willing to share your bandwidth with a standalone application. The best way is of course, if you can blend all the programs in one, but that’s not always practicable. Still, it is advisable that you should not remain satisfied with the free spam blocker that your e-mail server provides, because you will probably continue to receive unwanted mail in spite of it. Using a plugin in addition to server-side filters is viewed by many experts as the most effective way of getting rid of spam, considering the trivial effort it takes to set up.
Security and Fiber Optics Certification
For those that are looking into information technology, they may also be noticing that there are several routes to take. You can get a security certification in fiber optics technology. There are several training programs that can allow you to get IT Certification in fiber optics, all which will increase your ability to work in a specified career field or understand the details of how fiber optics works.
Fiber optics is based around understanding the role that technology has when light has to move through the fibers. This allows the fibers to become transparent and allow for a display. If you are dealing with fiber optics, it will usually include understanding how to transmit this light through glass or plastic. Telecommunications, medicine, industrial areas and other types of areas will all use fiber optics in order to enable their technology to create the right display.
Abilities With a Fiber Optics Certification
After you know what fiber optics is, you can decide if it is a field that you would be interested in studying in. There are various types of fiber optics training that will allow someone to do a variety of things in order to get the displays right with technology. Usually, an IT program that teaches fiber optics for an IT Certification will include education about how fiber optics works, as well as details on how to use them for your benefit.
Technicians who are working towards the goal of getting IT Certification in fiber optics will first learn safety issues that are related to this specific field. They will then learn how to install and split fiber optics into certain technological devices. From here, they will learn how to link the different fibers and to test the links to make sure that they are working correctly. If there are problems, technicians will also need to help those dealing with fiber optics. There are specific courses in the IT Certification programs that allows for a fiber optic technician to learn the troubleshooting when dealing with this field.
Fiber optics will also go into more details that relate directly to how information technology works. When you are getting into this career field, or if you need to know it to relate to a different career that you are in, there will be several levels of understanding associated with it. One of the requirements for getting IT Certification in fiber optics is to know how to plan a route for the fiber optics to move into the technology area. You will also need to know how to install or take out the technology that is in a certain area. If you can’t simply trouble shoot to find a problem with the fiber optics, then you will also need to know how to test the technology, even if it is before it goes into the specified area. These several techniques will be important to learn when getting your IT Certification.
The Spamming Trap For Online Business Beginners
People who begin their online business ventures would naturally be unaware of many of the internet business rules, protocols and etiquettes. Yet, as in any law, the internet law does not forgive for ignorance. One of the most important issues that are governed by many controls over the internet is Spamming.
A beginner in online business can very easily fall unintentionally into the spamming trap while conducting internet marketing activity to promote his/her business.
Spamming has many faces and forms depending on the marketing activity performed. We will list the marketing activity, the possible spamming forms within each marketing activity, possible consequences and how to avoid unintentional spamming in each spamming form.
1- E-mail Campaigns: The most common spamming method is conducted through e-mail campaigns. E-mail spamming is when you send an e-mail promoting your product or service to someone who did not request any information from you. In many cases beginners fall into the trap of buying lists of e-mails from questionable sources and when sending the e-mail campaign they would realize that one of the following occurred:
a. Received direct complaints.
b. The e-mail account gets shut from the ISP or the hosting provider.
c. Contacted by internet police.
How to avoid e-mail spamming:
a. Make sure that the person who you are sending your campaign to has requested information from you or allowed you to send him e-mails.
b. When buying e-mail lists make sure that the list is safe and has allowed e-mails to be sent to them.
c. Ensure to have a statement at the end of your e-mail that would allow the recipient of your e-mail campaign to opt out if they do not wish to receive any communication from you.
2- Link Submission: Spamming in Link submission could be done in different forms but to cut the story short, you should follow the rules of each directory carefully. Among the very famous rules that are common across many link submission directories:
a. Do not submit your website link in more than one category.
b. Do not submit different pages of your website; submit only your top level link.
c. Do not submit your link more than once. Search the directory to check if your link already exists.
Failing to follow the rules of each directory would delete your link immediately at this particular directory.
3- Article Submission: Just like link directories, article directories have their own rules as well. Not complying with these rules will make those directories decline your articles. Among the most famous rules are the following:
a. Submit your own work and not somebody else’s.
b. Submit a topic that is acceptable by the directory.
c. Do not make your title all in Capital letters. Use Title Caps form.
d. Do not Bold your key words within your article.
4- Posting in Forum: Again you have to read the rules of each forum you intend to be part of before you make any posts. Among the most famous rules are the following:
a. Do not advertise your business in your posts.
b. Do not include affiliate links in your posts.
c. Follow the exact rules of the forum for your sig. file.
Failing to comply will make the forum moderators cancel your account permanently.
5- Blogging: Filling your Blog by copying other people’s articles could eliminate your account permanently with your Blog host.
6- Search Engine Related Spamming Activity:
a. Filling your site content with your keywords will be considered spamming by search engines.
b. Submitting your website to link farms will be considered spamming by search engines.
c. Adding huge amounts of content to your website while your site niche does not usually require such additions will be considered spamming by search engines.
d. Submitting your website to FFA’s could be considered as spamming by search engines.
e. Including Keywords in your Keyword tag on your website while they are not related to your website could be considered as spamming by search engines.
I hope this will help all online business beginners to avoid the spamming trap and have a smooth and successful internet marketing activity.
How to Reduce Spam in Your Inbox and Enhance Your Email Security
Spam is the internet’s equivalent of junk mail. Spam is defined as an e-mail message sent to people without their consent or permission. Addresses of recipients are often harvested from Usenet postings or web pages, obtained from databases, or simply guessed by using common names and domains.
Spam is sent to promote practically any product or service ranging from “Adult” products to logo design for websites. It is also used by hackers to spread viruses or links to dangerous websites used to gather your personal information like credit card details or passwords for sites like Ebay or PayPal. To the average user these messages appear genuine. Even the link has a genuine looking domain name. This technique is known as “Phishing.”
Here are some smart strategies and tips you can employ now to start reducing Spam and boost your email security.
- Configure your anti virus software to automatically scan your incoming email for viruses. Email is still widely used to distribute malicious software. Make sure you keep your anti virus software definitions up to date.
- If you are someone that frequently signs up for “freebies” or other stuff on the internet start using a separate e-mail account just for this purpose. Accounts from providers like Yahoo!, Hotmail, and Google’s Gmail all come with generous storage as standard.
- If sites don’t accept free e-mail address from the services listed above then use a free disposable email service like Sneakemail – http://www.sneakemail.com.
- If you are posting your email to a blog or your website then submit it in a way that is only recognizable to a human. For example if your email is johndoe@hotmail.com then post it as “johndoe at hotmail.com”.
- Never open a message from an address you do not recognize – always delete it straight away. This is especially so if there is an attachment. Never reply to a message as this only confirms the email address is “live” to the spammers.
- If you get an official looking message from your bank or Ebay or another site you are not sure is genuine here is what you do. Instead of clicking on the link embedded in the mail log on to the site normally via your browser. If there are any genuine serious problems you should get a message when you log on. Alternatively contact the site’s customer service via the phone if possible.
- Consider using standalone spam filtering software. This software analyses your email for common characteristics of spam email including words like “click” or “teens.” It also compares senders’ emails against a “Friends List.” Try Mailwasher for free here – http://www.mailwasher.net.
Physical Security of Your Computer System
You’ve paid a lot of money for your computer system and the majority of your business documents and information is kept on your computer. Wouldn’t it be wise to take physical security measures to protect your system and the data that is on it?
If you are a SOHO business owner that has a system in the home with critical information on it, care should be taken to make sure that the system is password protected. If the computer is used for other than business, then you may want to consider getting a separate system so that you’ll have a system for business and a system for the family so data won’t be destroyed.
However, if you cannot afford a new system at this time then make sure that files are password protected for certain documents so that information cannot be changed or compromised. It’s good to constantly back up your system weekly based on the volume of business that you conduct.
Laptops have become the rage of all computer users. They are small, portable and convenient to use. You can take laptops anywhere (coffee shop, library, and restaurant) and do business while accessing the local Wi-Fi spot to get on the Internet.
Extra care should be taken when you are carrying your laptop. Before you leave home, put your laptop in the trunk, away from the trunk latch so that it isn’t visible. That way, if you have your window down, no one can reach in and steal it when you make a stop.
When you are in a public place, you should always be in close proximity of your laptop. Not unless you really know people in the place that you are in, take your laptop to the restroom with you. It’s better to be safe than sorry and have all of your hard work and information disappear!
If you make a stop to the grocery store, DON’T leave your laptop on the front seat! People have been known to smash windows and steal laptops. Put your laptop in the trunk! Most cars come with alarm systems so if someone tries to break in, the alarm will alert the owner.
Use common sense in physically protecting your computer systems.
Strategies To Fight Email Spam
If you are a business owner and you rely on email, spam is going to be a major concern. How you address it can make a big difference in employee efficiency. Email spam has been a nuisance and has gotten even worse over the last several years. Email spam slows down server performance and can eat away at storage. Cleaning all those bad messages out of your inbox is time consuming. The easiest way for viruses to spread is via email.
Having a strategy to deal with email spam and viruses threats is essential for any business to survive and be productive. You can limit the negative impact to your business by having policies and guidelines in place.
Tips to avoid getting email spam:
- If you have a company web site, use a contact form that the web site visitor
can fill out. Some spam mers use robots that crawl web pages looking for
email addresses. Your web site designer should be able to help you with this. - When signing up for forums, products and services use a free email or throwaway
account like hotmail or Yahoo mail. - When signing up for offers be careful what boxes you check although technically
not spam you may get a lot of email offers you do not want. - Never reply to an email spam message, this just lets them know that your
account is active. - You may want to use a throwaway email address if you post on newsgroups
or forums.
These measures may help to reduce spam, but if you have an old email address you may want to change your email address or deploy a spam filter system. There are several choices for anti spam systems you could buy software that runs locally on your PC to filter the spam, but this can be expensive, does not prevent virus infection, and is not a good choice in a networked environment. Managing individual machine spam software is inefficient.
If you have limited technical resources you can outsource you email spam filtering to a hosted anti spam and virus solution provider. Spam filter service providers colocate their spam and virus filters in data centers with redundant power and network connections. You will need to change your mail exchanger on your dns servers to point to the service providers spam filters. Your service provider will then scrub your email for spam and viruses. They then forward your email to your mail server minus the spam and viruses. This gives you a few extra layers of protection. In the event of a network outage or server downtime your email is held and is delivered when the network or your server is available minus the virus and spam. Spam filter services also scan for viruses; this adds another layer of defense to the virus software already running on your network.
If you have an organization with more than one hundred email boxes investing in your own spam filter appliance is the most cost effective solution if you have the technical expertise to manage the system. A spam appliance sits in front of your email server and blocks spam and viruses. The price of the spam appliance will depend upon your number of users, amount of mail and storage requirements.
Fighting spam is no longer be a losing battle if you have a good strategy to deal with the threat.