February 2018
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This is a bi-monthly compilation of questions that our clients have asked us recently!
Why do I keep getting e-mail requests to update my account information for my AT&T mail (or my Yahoo mail or my credit card, etc.)? Sometimes I even get requests from banks I don't even do business with! Without exception, any e-mail message you get that seeks to get you to verify your log-in credentials to anything online IS A FRAUD and should be ignored! E-mails that seek to get the recipient to verify online account information are called "phishing" (pronounced "fishing," with the spelling's origin all but lost in Internet lore). The creators of these messages rely on the ease with which such communications can be made to look authentic with legitimate images that have been pirated. The messages usually include some kind of implied threat that non-compliance with the request will result in account closure or other unpleasant results. Please don't be misled! If you happen to click on a web link in one of these bogus messages, you will usually find yourself presented with a web page that looks entirely legitimate. But if you look closely at the web page address in the title bar of your browser, you will see that you are NOT connected to AT&T, Wells Fargo, PayPal or any other online vendor's real website. Many phishing web sites are set up on server hardware which has been compromised unbeknownst to the site owner and most end up being shut down within hours or days of being set up. Unfortunately, during that window of opportunity, a great deal of personal information ends up in the hands of fraudsters who peddle it to still other criminals for any manner of illicit activities. Your best defense is simply never to act on any e-mail-based request for any kind of personal information from any online vendor. Your internet provider, your bank and your credit card company all know how to reach you through secure channels (they have your USPS address, for one thing). They will never send you an e-mail request for personal information. Fortunately, many phishing e-mails are created by foreign crooks with less than stellar command of English and their solicitation messages frequently are populated with spelling errors, strange punctuation and feature what we like to call "spammer grammar"! Still, if you receive an e-mail that really seems legitimate, please call Terri or me first to help you evaluate the situation before you become yet another victim of Internet identity theft. Chromebooks are so cheap - should I buy one? You have all probably seen at least one Chromebook commercial and with the prices for Chromebook ranging anywhere between less than $200 to over $1,000, you may be wondering if something so inexpensive would work for you. The Chromebook, regardless of which model you choose, uses neither the Apple Operating System nor the Windows Operating System. It uses Google's Chrome OS, which, according to cnet.com, is basically the Chrome web browser dressed up a bit to look like the Windows desktop. Unlike your Mac or PC, the Chromebook uses only web apps. You can’t download and install applications that live on your computer. So if you use applications like Adobe Reader, Photoshop, Skype or a dedicated email program like Windows Live Mail on your computer, you won’t be able to use them on a Chromebook. The Chrome Web Store does offer some online versions of the applications you use on your Mac or PC, including some Microsoft products, but the Chromebook's native Google Docs and Sheets can handle Word and Excel files if you prefer not to use the web versions. One issue to consider if you are thinking about buying a Chromebook is printing. You can't just connect a Chromebook to a USB printer and start printing. Among the many things you can't download and install on a Chromebook are printer drivers, so you must route your print jobs over the web using Google Cloud Print. You'll need a cloud-ready printer that can connect directly to the web, or you can use a classic printer connected to a Windows computer or Mac. Before you decide to buy a Chromebook, determine how you use your current Mac or PC and how you feel about the cloud. If you like the idea of accessing your email and files from the web anywhere you have internet access, and you can live without some of the apps you currently have on your Mac or PC, then the Chromebook might be a good, inexpensive option for you. Just ask Dave or me and we will can help you decide what options are best for you. What do you want to know more about? There are still many other topics we could talk about here or in a personal consultation. We welcome your comments and questions for future issues of the OCW Insider. Or give one of us a call or shoot an e-mail and we'll set up an appointment to meet with you! |
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phone: 864.710.7009 email: dave@oneclickwonders.com |
phone: 864.633.6707 email: terri@oneclickwonders.com |