CrexTechs Blog

My sister didn't know that if you click on the little box in front of an email in the inbox, you can choose delete and delete the email without opening it.  She was going nuts opening each email and deleting it.  What a relief to her that she could select a bunch of spam and other suspicious looking email and delete it all at once.   She learned she could mark it as SPAM, rather than deleting it, thereby banishing it forever, or at least until the spammer changed his/her MO.  That was a long time ago.  She is getting more and more computer literate every day--she uploaded her own profile picture on Facebook just the other day!!

You can read all about SPAM at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spam_(electronic)

Then here are the emails that look legitimate but are  "phishing" for private information. They try to trick you into believing they are who they say they are and at first glance they do a pretty good job.  Here is some great information from Vipre's newsletter and how to recognize this type of email and delete them.

Vipre Newsletter Editor's Note: The following piece comes from a good friend of ours Carlos Duran who has his own blog The Remote Help Expert

http://www.sunbeltsecuritynews.com/NK7DJ1/100428-E-mail-Scam

"I just got an email that says...":

1. I was just awarded a million dollars by Google.
2. That my email account needs to be verified and for that I need to provide certain information.
3. That the IRS needs me to fill out a form with personal information and fax it back to a fax number in Canada.
4. That UPS could not deliver my package because it doesn't have my address, and needs the following data by return e-mail so if you could please fill out the attached form...

On and on (laughable as they are, the above are actual scam e-mails making their way around the world). So, what do scam e-mails have in common? How can they be recognized?

1. They ask you for sensitive data, such as a password, social security number, bank account or credit card details, and so forth. And usually they offer a reward if provided or threaten a penalty if not provided.
2. They often are written with bad grammar or have glaring typos in them (like an email from Hotmail calling it "hot mail")
3. They come from an e-mail address that is not related to where it's supposed to be coming from.

In some cases they throw a curve because they ask for sensitive data and provide a file attached to the email, which one is supposed to use to provide the data. However the purpose of the e-mail is not to get your data, but to get you to open the attachment that is not what it appears and will infect your computer if opened, like the UPS example above. Pretty slimy.

So if you ever get an e-mail with any of the above points (especially the first point), know that it's a scam, and don't fall for it. Delete it, report it if you know how to and feel like it. But whatever you do, don't provide the information requested. Don't even reply. -- CD

Check out the Vipre Newsletter archive:

http://www.sunbeltsecuritynews.com/archives

If you wish to subscribe to the newsletter:

http://www.sunbeltsecuritynews.com/Subscribe/

The other day I got an email on my personal account with no sender information and no subject.  Now I know better than to click on email that I don't recognize and I am usually pretty vigilant about discarding email that looks even a little off -- raiding email accounts and stealing address lists is an old trick.  But I got curious so I clicked on it.  There was nothing there.  I uncompressed the "header" information which gives more details about who sent the email.  This uncompressed header information is what your email provider abuse administrator wants you to copy and send them when you report email abuse.  The email was from somebody @chinese.com, whoever that is.  I suspect they were just looking for good email addresses to use to send out spam.  They probably weren't even Chinese!  They know that with a computer they can generate all kinds of potential email addresses to test.  If the email doesn't bounce back then it is a good address and they can use that address to send out spam.  I am sure some spammer is bouncing spam off my email account this very minute.  There is nothing that I know of that I can do about this except report it.   And I did.

Bouncing spam off my account makes me irritated but it doesn't hurt me per se except that I will be getting a bunch of  "can not deliver" emails for messages I never sent.  But there are a lot of dirty tricks out there that can hurt me, tricks that appear just as innocuous as the no sender no subject email I clicked on.  These dirty tricksters are not just exploiting email accounts but also social networking sites where most of us have felt pretty safe as well as just about every other popular website.  So, don't ever let down your  guard.  They are out there and they are determined to ruin your day if not your financial life.  Check out the following link for some of the latest dirty tricks.  And remember, these are just a few of the many tricks so beware and be wary.

http://www.rtek2000.com/Tech/antivirus-vipre.html

The business world has changed unbelievably in the last ten years.   If a business, large or small, does not have a web presence, they may very well become irrelevant in the minds of the consumer.  I know I always check out companies on the internet before I do business with them--I want to know who they are and who they see themselves to be and how they value me as a potential or returning customer.  A web presence is a must in today's world.

Unfortunately, really small businesses are finding that it is prohibitively expensive to create and maintain a website.  Blogging for really small businesses seems like a good answer because even the most computer challenged person can fairly easily learn how to create and maintain a blog.  (We do provide web hosting and design services.  We can also help you set up a blog through WordPress or Blogger and teach you how to maintain it.)

Blogging seemed like a no-brainer for us even though we already had a website.  While our website provides all the basic information about what we do here and how to contact CrexTechs, the blog lets us talk about issues that we are dealing with--the biggie is anti-virus protection--and important information we want to communicate with our customers and computer users generally.

The blog also gives us a fluid way to let our customers know what we offer for sale beyond desktops and laptops.

Now we are looking at Facebook.  How can Facebook enhance what we do? How can Facebook help us reach the people in Burnett County, Wisconsin, and beyond who need our services and products?   Facebook  seems like the next step but will our customers and potential customers look for us on Facebook?  And will they (you) become fans?

Many of our customers are small business owners who are wondering the same thing--can Facebook really help our business to grow?

Here is a link that may help you decide if, as a small business owner, Facebook is for you.

http://webworkerdaily.com/2009/07/21/32-ways-to-use-facebook-for-business/

Then of course the question becomes, to Twitter or not to Twitter.

Here is a link to a blog that discusses 50 reasons to Twitter.

http://www.chrisbrogan.com/50-ideas-on-using-twitter-for-business/

While we are not done putting our Facebook page in order, look for us on Facebook at:

CrexTechs