Mr. Gates and Mr. Disney will
NOT pay you to forward emails. The only ones who get something out of them is
the spammers who harvest the email addresses once it gets forwarded to them.
You don't have a relative who was killed and left millions
of dollars which needs to be secretly tranferred to your account - this is the classic "Nigerian
Scam" that has a lot of variations - no longer limited to Nigeria, and people use your personal
information (like my maiden name) to try to get you to think this is real. Also, you didn't win a lottery in a
foreign country if you didn't enter - and if you did enter, did you check that it
was legitimate in the first place (red flag - you have to pay a release or transfer fee before you
can get your winnings)?
Your bank, eBay, PayPal, the IRS, FDIC, etc. WON'T email you to log in or call to
verify information - if you have doubts, call the bank or company directly or go to the
website directly, but NEVER use a link given to you in an email, or call a number given to you in the communication -
(remember the movie "The Sting"?) the party at the other end will pretend to be legitimate and get your personal
information from you or ask you for money.
To check for hoaxes click on the following sites for more information:
Snopes.com has lots of urban legends, hoaxes, and in particular the rumors
concerning our national tragedies - how people have gotten out of hand with the stories, and scams pleading for help.
Check for more hoaxes at http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org
VIRUS RESOURCES
Keep up with new virus updates here - these are great comprehensive
sites and include info on hoaxes, new viruses, calendar of when a
virus will hit, an alphabetical list of viruses:
McAfee
Symantec
Download award-winning antivirus & anti-spyware software from Kaspersky Lab now
Computer viruses and spyware removal
Do NOT open any attachment unless you KNOW what it is and are expecting it! Don't click on ANY web sites that are in emails
that you cannot verify - they may take you to bogus sites that may try to get your personal information or have you
download viruses.
FIREWALLS
Others try to get into your computer to pull up sensitive information or
to take control over your computer. You need to block their access which can be done with a good firewall.
The firewall has stopped many intruders. It will show you how many times unauthorized entry is
attempted, and ask your permission to proceed. Hackers try to control individual
computers in mass, and direct them to certain corporate sites in mass to overload
servers and try to crash the corporate servers in cyber-attacks. Hackers also
enter into individual computers to pull up personal information like credit cards
and social security numbers, to commit fraud and even Identity Theft.
Install a firewall on your computer - it is necessary.
Get the most secure firewall with identity and privacy protection by downloading ZoneAlarm Pro today
More resources for Webmasters and Computers.
