How To Avoid Getting Hooked By PfishingWritten by Cavyl Stewart
"Pfishing", sometimes spelled "Phishing", is a word that's used to describe a method of identity theft where con men use fake e-mail that looks like it comes from legitimate sources. This e-mail is designed to hoodwink you into giving out personal and financial information. Once scammers receive your information they use it to either clone your identity or to empty out your bank accounts and run up your charge cards. Here are some tips on how to avoid becoming next victim. 1. Never respond to an e-mail that looks like it came from your bank or any of your credit card issuers no matter how official it appears. Phishing scam e-mails will tell you that there is some problem with your account and that you have to click on an embedded link to correct that problem. They may threaten to close your account, or report you to credit bureau, if you do not respond. DON'T DO IT. Don't call telephone number that appears in email either. Get out one of your old bank or credit card statements and call number that appears there. Explain what email says and follow directions that you receive from actual employee. Chances are they'll tell you its a scam. 2. Never give your bank account information, credit card numbers, Social Security number, passwords, personal identification numbers (PIN), or Date of Birth to anyone who asks you for that information by email. No legitimate company will expect you to reveal sensitive information via email. Also, no company that issues you a PIN will ever ask you to reveal that PIN to any of their employees. 3. Never respond to any offer to buy anything by clicking on link in e-mail. Even if e-mail looks like it comes from your favorite department store it might be a scam. To avoid being hooked by Pfishing, type in URL to department store by yourself. Go to Google.com to look it up if you don't already know it.
| | Tips For Getting Technical Support Help OnlineWritten by Cavyl Stewart
Sometimes your PC will start acting strange for no apparent reason or a program which you use regularly will all of a sudden stop working as it should. This can be a frustrating experience especially if you have no idea where to go for help. If this happens to you, don't panic! Here are some simple tips which may turn your frown upside down. 1. Don't assume that your problem is unique. The chances are that someone else has had that problem and it has already been solved. Google is a great place for getting technical support help believe it or not. You may have to experiment with wording your problem and refining your search, but it's worth a try. For example my Outlook email client stopped showing me 'Subject' field when I was composing new email. As a result all of my email was going out without a subject. After a bit of experimenting with wording problem I found answer by searching on phrase "Outlook subject field missing". Someone in an online discussion group had same problem and answer was provided. When you find good discussions groups bookmark them for future use. I have a bookmark I call Technical Support Help and it's full of great web sites. 2. The Google trick is good for lots of software but you should always try web site of program's manufacturer as well. Sometimes your problem is really a bug and there may be a new release or work around available. Many software web sites have FAQs, discussion lists, and help desks available that provide free support. Sometimes there is a telephone number that you can call but you may have to pay for live help.
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