Comporium eNewsletter eNewsletter

E-Mail Scam
New IRS E-Mail Scams Use Rebate as Lure

Simple Steps For All Users On How to Protect Your Identity

Ask The Help Desk
Where Is The "Help" Button On Internet Explorer 7?

Sites Of The Month
Great Sites To Check Out In March

Short Tutorial
Erasing Your Private Information From A Public Computer

Welcome, Comporium Internet Subscribers

This March issue starts with an important warning about e-mail scams during tax season — make sure you watch for these bogus messages in the weeks ahead to help avoid identity theft. To protect your private information when using a public computer, follow our tutorial on removing your history, cache, and temporary files. We also teach you how to find the "Help" button on Internet Explorer 7 and guide you to a variety of Great Sites to help educate, entertain, and instruct you this spring.

E-Mail Scam - New IRS E-Mail Scams Use Rebate as Lure

It's tax season again and the Internal Revenue Service is warning taxpayers to beware of current e-mail scams using the IRS name. In particular, watch for messages about the upcoming rebate checks tied to the economic stimulus package — spammers are using these rebates as bait. The goal of the scams is to trick you into revealing personal and financial information such as Social Security or bank account numbers, which the scammers can use to commit identity theft.

The IRS does NOT send unsolicited e-mail about tax account matters to taxpayers, and you will NOT need to respond to any e-mail in order to receive this year's rebate check. The vast majority of Americans who qualify for the rebate will not have to do anything other than file their 2007 individual income tax return to receive their check. The IRS will use information on the tax return to determine eligibility and calculate the amount of the stimulus payments.

Another bogus e-mail falsely claims to come from the IRS and tells the recipient that he or she is eligible for a tax refund of a specific amount. The message then instructs the recipient to click on a link in the e-mail to access a refund claim form that asks for bank account information.

Should you receive an e-mail claiming to be from the IRS — DO NOTHING EXCEPT DELETE IT. Do not click on links within the body of the e-mail, and do not provide any information. If the IRS needs to contact you about a tax refund or audit, they will do so by traditional mail. If you need to access the IRS website to get information, initiate contact by typing the IRS.gov address into your browser's address bar.

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Simple Steps For All Users On How to Protect Your Identity

Every day we read about another case where someone has become a victim of identity theft. In fact, the FTC estimates that as many as 9 million Americans have their identities stolen each year. The crime takes many forms. Identity thieves may rent an apartment, obtain a credit card, or establish a telephone account in your name. You may not find out about the theft until you review your credit report or a credit card statement and notice charges you didn't make-or until you're contacted by a debt collector. Below are some simple steps you can take to protect yourself from identity theft.

General Information:

The Federal Trade Commission has also put together a great document on how to protect consumers from identity theft (foundhere). It contains several great tips, including how to get a free copy of your credit report every year. To view the document, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed. Some of the best tips from this site include:
- Shred financial documents and paperwork with personal information before you discard them.
- Protect your Social Security number. Don't carry your Social Security card in your wallet or write your Social Security number on a check. Give it out only if absolutely necessary or ask to use another identifier.
- Don't give out personal information on the phone, through the mail, or over the Internet unless you know who you are dealing with.
- Never click on links sent in unsolicited emails; instead, type in a web address you know. Use firewalls, anti-spyware, and anti-virus software to protect your home computer; keep them up-to-date.
- Don't use an obvious password like your birth date, your mother's maiden name, or the last four digits of your Social Security number.
- Keep your personal information in a secure place at home, especially if you have roommates, employ outside help, or are having work done in your house.
TTired of getting those pre-approved credit card offers in the mail? The major credit card bureaus in the United States provide a means for consumers to "opt out" of these offers. For more information, click here.

To protect yourself online:

Make sure your Windows computer remains up-to-date on security patches from Microsoft. To check for updates to your Microsoft Operating System, click here.
Use antivirus, spyware, and firewall software. Comporium offers Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security to all High Speed Internet customers for free. For more information, click here. There are also several free software packages for Dial-Up customers available on the Internet including AVG and Ad-Aware.
Be extremely cautious about clicking on links or file attachments that arrive via e-mail or instant message. E-mail and IM networks are the most popular ways to spread viruses and worms, and many will appear to have been sent from someone you know. If someone sends you a brief message urging to you click on a link, consider sending a reply message or calling the sender to verify its authenticity.
Be careful what you download. Take a minute or two to research software you download before you install it-you may get more than you bargained for. Also, avoid downloading programs from "peer-to-peer" (P2P) file-sharing networks popular with song swappers. A large percentage of these programs harbor viruses, spyware or other unwanted malware.
Browse the Internet with an alternate browser. Much of today's spyware is focused upon users of Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser. Consider surfing the Internet with a browser that is not so cozy with the underlying operating system, such as Mozilla Firefox.
If you shop online, always shop at reputable sites. A good place to check reputation is the Better Business Bureau.

Ask Comporium

Do you have a question about how something works or a Comporium service? If so, send them in! A question will be selected every month and will be answered in the monthly subscriber newsletter. To submit your question, send an e-mail to the Comporium E-LINKS Editor. The user who submits the selected question will receive a prize from the Comporium Prize Vault!

Beach Blast

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Ask The Help Desk - Where Is The "Help" Button On Internet Explorer 7?

Question: I recently replaced my Internet Explorer 6 with the newer Internet Explorer 7 browser. In looking at the Internet Explorer 7 browser, I can't find the "Help" button. What happened to it?

Answer: In an effort to free up space on the browser window, Microsoft Corp. hid the "Help" button on Internet Explorer 7. (Internet Explorer 7 does not have a menu bar by default, which is where "Help" is found in Internet Explorer 6.) To find the "Help" button, whether you are using Windows XP Home Edition or Windows Vista Home Premium as your operating system, follow these steps:

Launch your Internet Explorer 7 browser.
Click your cursor arrow on the two right-pointing arrows located to the far right of the icons on the browser's toolbar. (The arrows will be found on the very far right of your screen.)
Click on "Help" from the resulting menu screen. Selecting "Internet Explorer Tour" from the resulting submenu will provide helpful information about your new browser.

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Sites Of The Month - Great Sites To Check Out In March

National Geographic Videos
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video - Take a close-up look at amazing video from around the world at this National Geographic site. Categories include animals, daily news, environment, kids, music, people & places, science & space, and specials. Both educational and entertaining, the videos let you explore the diversity of this planet a few minutes at a time — from a market in Morocco to giant spiders in the sea.

Dyeing to Decorate Eggs?
http://familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts/season/specialfeature/easter_eggs_ms - Disney's Family Fun magazine has "egg-xactly" what you need to prepare for Easter egg decorating. This site contains dozens of creative ideas to turn shells into little works of art. Go beyond the usual dip-and-dye method and try decoupage, sponges, stickers, crayons, and stencils. It'll be easy to get crackin' since the instructions are all here.

Prepare for the DTV Transition
http://dtv.gov - In less than a year, on February 17, 2009, a government mandate will require TV broadcasters to stop transmitting analog signals. After that day, only digital signals will be used. Now's the time to educate yourself on the upcoming change and find out what you may need to do to get ready. This FCC site covers all the essentials on the new TV technology, converter box coupon program, and shopping tips.

Welcome to the Show
http://mlb.com/spring_training/y2008/index.jsp?c_id=mlb - Every team starts with a clean slate. Warm up for the 2008 season by visiting Major League Baseball's Official Spring Training website. You'll find the in-depth information you need on the teams, players, and new prospects to get you ready for the games ahead. Thinking about traveling to Florida or Arizona this year to watch the preseason action? You can purchase your Spring Training tickets online.

Come Aboard the Midway
http://www.midway.org - The Midway is a carrier with a 47-year history that spanned the end of WWII and Desert Storm. The next time you're in San Diego, make time to visit the USS Midway Museum and see the ship for yourself. It's a tour that's been experienced by more than a million people, and you can get a taste of it at this site. Check out this site to see historical photos, read about the crew, download a map, and get details on exhibits like the Admiral's War Room and the Brig.

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Short Tutorial - Erasing Your Private Information From A Public Computer

When sharing a computer at a public location (i.e. a hotel lobby or a library), it's a good idea to remove the history, cache, and temporary files from the computer before closing your surfing session. Leaving the information on the computer opens the door later for others to access your private information. Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer, Macintosh's Safari, and Mozilla's Firefox browsers each provide a solution for erasing your sensitive information upon the completion of your Internet session.

Erasing Your Private Information From A Public Computer When Using Internet Explorer 6 On Windows XP Home Edition or Windows Vista Home Premium

With Internet Explorer 6 open, click your cursor arrow on the "Tools" menu. Drop down to and select "Internet Options."
When the "Internet Options" window opens, click on the "General" tab.
In the section labeled "Internet Files," click on the "Delete Cookies" button. This will delete cookies set by the sites you visited.
When the "Delete Cookies" dialog box appears, click "OK."
To delete your temporary Internet files, click on the "Delete Files..." button. When the "Delete Files" dialog box appears, you can click "OK" to delete your temporary files. Also, if you saved any pages to your hard drive for offline viewing, you can delete them by checking the box next to "Delete all offline content" and then click "OK."
In the "History" section, click on the "Clear History" button. This will delete the record of the sites you visited.
A small "Internet Options" dialog box will open and ask, "Are you sure you want Windows to delete your history of visited Web sites?" Click the "Yes" button.
Click "OK" to close the "Internet Options" window, and then close your browser.

Erasing Your Private Information From A Public Computer When Using Internet Explorer 7 On Windows XP Home Edition or Windows Vista Home Premium

With Internet Explorer open, click your cursor arrow on "Tools" located on your Internet Explorer toolbar.
Scroll down and select "Internet Options" on the menu screen. An "Internet Options" window will appear.
Click your cursor arrow on the General tab and select "Delete..." under the "Browser history" heading.
A "Delete Browser History" window will appear. Click your cursor arrow on the "Delete all..." button located toward the bottom of the window.
A smaller "Delete Browser History" window will appear asking if you are sure you want to delete all Internet Explorer browsing history. Click on the "Yes" button in this window. This window also has the option to select "Also delete files and settings stored by add-ons." Check this box as well.
Click "OK" to close the General tab window.
Close your Internet browser to clear cookies still in memory.

Erasing Your Private Information From A Public Computer When Using Firefox 2.0 With Mac OS X 10.4, Windows XP Home Edition, Or Windows Vista Home Premium

With Firefox open, click your cursor arrow on the "Tools" menu, drop down to and select "Clear Private Data...".
When the "Clear Private Data" dialog box opens, check the boxes next to all of the listed items.
Click the "Clear Private Data Now" button, and then close your browser.

Erasing Your Private Information From A Public Computer When Using Safari 3.0 With Macintosh OS X 10.4, Windows XP Home Edition Or Windows Vista Home Premium

With Safari 3 open, click your cursor arrow on the "Safari" menu on your Mac, or the "Edit" menu on your PC and drop down to "Reset Safari..."

When the "Reset Safari" dialog box opens, click on all check boxes next to the listed items.

Click the "Reset" button, and then close your browser.

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We hope you found this newsletter to be informative. It's our way of keeping you posted on the happenings here. If, however, you'd prefer not to receive these bulletins on a monthly basis, click here.

Thanks for your business!

Best regards,

e-LINKS Editor

Comporium Group
330 E. Black St.
Rock Hill, SC 29730

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(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.)

©2008 Cornerstone Publishing Group Inc.

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