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Here is some good information and a few of my favorite links:.
Veterans serving veterans: If you are a veteran or the wife, daughter, grand daughter or the son of a veteran; find out about how you can help keep veterans' rights and interests alive in Washington D.C.
Computer Related Virus Protection You know you should install a Virus Scanning Program, but just having it loaded isn't enough. You must make sure the virus definition files are updated regularly. You should also schedule frequent scans of all the files on your computer. Twas a time past that the majority of virus programs were written to delete files or destroy your computer. The file deleters and computer killers are still out there, but in this day and age if the worst that happens is you have to reload your system, you got off lucky. These days, the big thing is stealing your personal information which (in the worst case scenario) could lead to total financial ruin. Never open a file attachment from someone you don't know. If it is someone you do know, double check to be sure they sent you the attachment before you open it. The virus writers may have already compromised your friend's system and may be using it to spread the infected files to all the people in his or her e-mail address book. Hoaxes Almost as bad as a virus are the many hoaxes floating around. These range from heart wrenching (and mostly untrue) tales of someone who has died or was severely adversely affected by eating or drinking something to the ones telling you to delete certain files (usually important system files) from your computer to get rid of a virus your Virus Scanner, that you maintain regularly, can not detect. These serve to instill unnecessary fear and clog up e-mail servers by having you immediately e-mail this to as many people as you can. So dutiful to their fellow man, most people blindly forward them on. If you are really concerned about these urban legends and tearful tales, check them out at one of the following sites before spreading them to others: Chain E-mails Another e-mail server and bandwidth clogger is the Chain E-mail. These tell you to pass the e-mail on to some number of people within a certain period of time and you'll get this or that blessing, bonus, special picture, etc or if you do not forward it bad things may befall you or if you don't forward this e-mail you don't love God. The list goes on. Do yourself and everyone else a favor and "Break the Chain!" Not only do they waste time, clog up e-mail servers and eat bandwidth...they're just plain annoying. Ask your friends and family how they really feel about getting these and respect their wishes if they say they don't like them. You should also check your Terms of Use policy with your ISP and e-mail provider. Some providers are starting to come down on people who send and pass on these chain e-mails. Common Sense Have you heard the old saying, "If it sounds too good to be true it probably is"? Well, think about it. 1. No one is going to pay you hundreds of dollars for forwarding an e-mail. 2. You did NOT win the Nigerian (or any other) Lottery because, even if it did exist, remember...you didn't play that lottery. 3. PayPal, EBay and The National Bank of Whatever are not going to send you e-mails telling you that your account will be closed if you don't follow the link in the e-mail and enter your personal information. If you hover your mouse over the links in these e-mails and look down in the status bar of your e-mail window, you'll see that while the words in the link say you are going to the PayPal (or whatever) website, the true location is something different. For instance, this link: http://www.candy.com says you are going to candy.com, but if you look in your status bar while holding your mouse over the link, you'll see it takes you right back to the home page of this website. Pay attention to this kind of stuff. If you REALLY just HAVE to check out your PayPal account to see if there was an unauthorized access or whatnot, close the e-mail, open your browser and enter the proper web address manually. Never click the addresses in these e-mails. 4. Refusing to buy gas on a specific day is not going to have an impact on the oil companies. What you don't buy today, you will buy tomorrow when your tank runs low. It's not like you are going to stop driving. Well, is it? Of course not. You have to go to work, do your shopping, get your kids to school, and so on. What WILL impact the oil companies and your wallet is for everyone to slow down, consolidate trips, make sure your vehicle is in good working order and that your tires are properly inflated, car pool, use mass transit where available, buying fuel efficient vehicles and riding a bicycle or walking. These last two will also have a positive effect on your health. There are lots of other ideas, but this is a great start. 5. Mrs. Rafikki Dumbschitt's husband did not die and leave 10 million dollars in a foreign bank (usually Nigeria) and you won't get 10 percent of that $10 million for your trouble in helping her get the money. What will happen if you insist on believing this junk is you will send her/them your banking information so the money can allegedly be deposited into your account. Then rather than put money in, she/they will siphon every penny you have out of that account.
These are but a few of the many examples of the sometimes silly and sometimes dangerous e-mails that are out there. Think before you click that link or before you forward that e-mail.
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