Link to Randolph Telephone Company
 

Inside This Issue

E-Mail Hoax
Beware Of Fake Microsoft Update E-mail

Work Called. Did You Get The Message?

Ask The Help Desk
What Are The Squiggly Codes I Often See When Logging Into A Secure Website?

Sites Of The Month
Great Sites To Check Out In July

Short Tutorial
Deleting Multiple E-mail Messages Using Column Headings



   

Greetings Randolph Telephone Internet Subscribers

We offer helpful information about many activities in this July issue, so no matter what's keeping you busy these days, you're covered. Are you worrying about Internet security? Don't miss the latest news about fake security alerts that pretend to be from Microsoft but are really from spammers. Are you struggling to keep up with an overflowing Inbox? Learn a fast and easy way to delete multiple e-mail messages simultaneously. Do your summer plans include baking a special cake, hiking and camping in a new place, improving the quality of your sleep, or helping out a worthy cause? If so, you'll find plenty of great ideas in Great Sites.

The goal of each of our monthly eNewsletters is to keep our subscribers informed regarding their Internet connection and to improve their Internet experience. We think you'll find this information interesting. If, however, you'd prefer not to receive these bulletins on a monthly basis, click here.

To see what's inside this issue, simply scroll down the eNewsletter or click on the links within the index to the left. Thanks for reading!

- The Atomic Techs
 
  
 

 

E-Mail Hoax - Beware Of Fake Microsoft Update E-mail

If you receive an e-mail that appears to come from Microsoft about an Update for Microsoft Outlook/Outlook Express (KB910721), do NOT click on the link or open the attachment. These e-mails, while quite convincing in their appearance and lack of the usual spammers' misspellings, are actually fake security alerts. They are designed to get you to download Trojan malware in the form of a file named officexp-KB910721-FullFile-ENU.exe.

Examples of the e-mail subject lines are:
  • Install Critical Update for Microsoft Outlook
  • Microsoft Outlook Critical Update
  • Install Update for Microsoft Outlook
Take a look at one such e-mail:

Microsoft E-mail Hoax Example

This is a good opportunity to remind you that Microsoft never sends e-mails about a single security update. All Microsoft security updates are released together on the second Tuesday of each month and are posted at http://update.microsoft.com. You can visit this site monthly to manually upload your choice of available updates. However, Microsoft recommends that you get the updates delivered automatically to your PC.

To learn how to turn on automatic updating for your particular operating system, go to: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/downloads/windowsupdate/automaticupdate.mspx.

You can also sign up to receive the Microsoft Security for Home Computer Users Newsletter at http://www.microsoft.com/protect/secnews/default.mspx.

In addition, don't forget to keep your antivirus software updated, and remain cautious about opening e-mail attachments (especially executable files ending in .exe).

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Work Called. Did You Get The Message?

Tired of Playing Secretary1
Tired of Playing Secretary2
Tired of Playing Secretary3
Tired of Playing Secretary4


If you have teenagers at home, you know that the calls can seem endless. Have you ever had to rely on them to take down an important message? Call Waiting is great, but you may never know if someone called while they were on the phone.

Why spend all evening answering the phone for someone else or worry that you've missed an important call? Get Personal Ring from Randolph Telephone and know who the call is for before you know who is calling. Plus, you can give your kids their own phone number without the expense of a second line.

It gets even better... add Personal Ring in July and get Voicemail FREE for 3 months. You can even set up submailboxes so each family member can manage their own messages. Why wait? Call us at 622-7900 today!

Offer expires 7/31/09.

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Ask The Help Desk - What Are The Squiggly Codes I Often See When Logging Into A Secure Website?

Question: When I'm logging into a secure website, I often see squiggly codes such as a distorted word or phrase that I have to copy. I heard these codes are supposed to stop spammers. How do they work?

Answer: You're talking about CAPTCHAs, which stands for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart. These codes are alphanumeric and made of several distorted characters. Users are asked to copy the characters into an empty field—a task that's easy for a human but difficult for a computer.

This is an example of a CAPTCHA:

  CAPTCHA example

CAPTCHAs are designed to "trip up" the automated software used by spammers. While this software is good at reading text, it has a hard time with distorted characters and will therefore be denied access to whatever website it was trying to exploit. Spammers' programs can sometimes crack a CAPTCHA, but it's a complicated process with a low success rate so most spammers are still blocked.

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

Ace Of Cakes
http://foodnetwork.com/ace-of-cakes - Art and cuisine meet on the fun new Food Network show, Ace of Cakes. The show presents the creations of Chef Duff and his staff as they decorate up to 20 cakes per week, including whimsical designs and detailed replicas. The Ace of Cakes website features videos highlighting the show's sweet creations and cool cakes baked by viewers.

Sleep On It
http://sleepfoundation.org - The National Sleep Foundation website is packed with helpful information about sleep including articles, videos, and quizzes. You can learn about the correlation between exercise and sleep, food and sleep, how medical problems can affect sleep, and more. The site also lists international sleep care centers, and a variety of online communities to share your experiences with sleep and sleep disorders.

YouTube U
http://youtube.com/edu - What do Dolly Parton and President Obama have in common? They both have recently delivered university commencement addresses. You can view them, as well as other addresses and interesting lectures at the YouTube EDU site. You'll find videos on medical, scientific, political, musical, business, and other topics from YouTube's college and university partners.

The Great Outdoors
http://gorp.away.com - If you love to enjoy the great outdoors, you'll love this site. Find the best places to go worldwide and discover what to do once you get there. Featured activities include hiking, camping, biking, fishing, paddling, and climbing. Get advice on gear, clothing, and electronics, and tips on things like what to pack for a backpacking trip, how to find a good trail, international travel, and family trips.

Reader To Reader
http://readertoreader.org - Reader to Reader is a nonprofit organization dedicated to "bringing books, free of charge, to needy school libraries and public libraries across the United States." You're invited to donate books or money via their website to help make it happen. When you visit the site, you can also read about the organization's programs and success, and check out their blog to learn about recent activities.

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Short Tutorial - Deleting Multiple E-mail Messages Using Column Headings

It can be a daunting task to keep up with managing your e-mail, so here's a way to save some time when you're ready to clean out your message folders. By using column headings, you can quickly delete all messages from a specified sender simultaneously—much easier than hunting down that person's messages scattered throughout your Inbox. Simply follow the steps below to delete multiple messages from a particular sender:

Deleting Multiple E-mail Messages Using ...
- E-mail Program: Outlook Express 6
- Operating System: Windows XP
  1. With Outlook Express open, click on the column heading that will most help you delete the group of unwanted messages. For example, if you want to get rid of all messages from a particular person, click on the "From" button to sort the messages into groups sorted by names.

  2. Scroll down to the first message in the group you want to delete. Click on the first message in order to highlight it. Then, while holding down the "Shift" key on your keyboard, click the last message in the group. The group of messages you want to delete should be highlighted.

  3. Click the "Delete" button on your toolbar.
Deleting Multiple E-mail Messages Using ...
- E-mail Program: Windows Mail
- Operating System: Windows Vista
  1. With Windows Mail open, click on the column heading that will most help you delete the group of unwanted messages. For example, if you want to get rid of all messages from a particular person, click on the "From" button to sort the messages into groups sorted by names.

  2. Scroll down to the first message in the group you want to delete. Click on the first message in order to highlight it. Then, while holding down the "Shift" key on your keyboard, click the last message in the group. The group of messages you want to delete should be highlighted.

  3. Click the "Delete" button on your toolbar.
Deleting Multiple E-mail Messages Using ...
- E-mail Program: Mozilla Thunderbird 3.0
- Operating System: Windows XP or Vista, or Mac OS X 10.5
  1. With Thunderbird open, click on the column heading that will most help you delete the group of unwanted messages. For example, if you want to get rid of all messages from a particular person, click on the "Sender" button to sort the messages into groups sorted by names.

  2. Scroll down to the first message in the group you want to delete. Click on the first message in order to highlight it. Then, while holding down the "Shift" key on your keyboard, click the last message in the group. The group of messages you want to delete should be highlighted.

  3. Click the "Delete" button on your toolbar.
Deleting Multiple E-mail Messages Using ...
- E-mail Program: Mail.app 3.1
- Computer Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5
  1. With Mail.app open, click on the column heading that will most help you delete the group of unwanted messages. For example, if you want to get rid of all messages from a particular person, click the "From" button to sort the messages into groups sorted by names.

  2. Scroll down to the first message in the group you want to delete. Click on the first message in order to highlight it. Then, while holding down the "Shift" key on your keyboard, click the last message in the group. The group of messages you want to delete should be highlighted.

  3. Click the "Delete" button on your toolbar.

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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,

Aaryn M. Slafky
Director of Marketing & Communications



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