Link to Moapa Valley Telephone
 

Inside This Issue

E-Mail Hoax
Beware Of E-mails Threatening Internet Access Suspension

Free Local Calling To Most Las Vegas Cell Phones

Ask The Help Desk
What's "Twitter?"

Sites Of The Month
Great Sites To Check Out In October

Short Tutorial
Setting Up a Signature for Your E-Mails



   

Hi MVDSL Internet Subscribers

It's October and the colors of the leaves aren't the only things changing - so are the scams used by cyber criminals. Take note of the new e-mails showing up in inboxes that claim your Internet access will be suspended. This issue also covers the increasingly popular Twitter service for sharing brief updates with family and friends, and tells you how to set up a personalized signature for your e-mails. In Great Sites, you'll find inspiration for all kinds of autumn activities including making healthy meals, planning a beach vacation, winterizing your home, and enjoying concerts by your favorite artists.

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, please see the opt out link at the bottom of this e-mail.

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!

- Brad with MVDSL Support
 
  
 

 

E-Mail Hoax - Beware Of E-mails Threatening Internet Access Suspension

Cyber criminals are currently using the threat of Internet access suspension to trick unsuspecting users into opening a malicious attachment. One version of the e-mail is supposedly sent from the "ICS Monitoring Team" of the "Internet Service Provider Consorcium" - organizations that do not exist. Its message claims that this consorcium (note the misspelling) conducts network wiretapping and is aware of illegal Internet activities committed by the user. Examples of these alleged activities include the pirating of software, movies, and music.

Take a look at one of these fraudulent e-mails below:

  e-mail sample


The user is told via this example to open the attached .zip file to see a report of their online activities in the past six months. This file actually contains a Trojan virus designed to communicate with remote hackers. If the file is opened, it will infect the user's PC. The cyber criminals are banking on the fact that some people do, in fact, engage in some form of illegal downloading and will be worried enough about losing Internet service to open the attachment.

If you receive an e-mail similar to this regarding suspension of your Internet access, delete it and do not open the attachment. In addition, always keep your Internet security program updated, which offers anti-virus protection. To learn more about how and where to legally download music, including tools for parents and educators, visit the Recording Artists Association of America site at: http://www.riaa.com

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Free Local Calling To Most Las Vegas Cell Phones

It is now a free call to most cell phones in the 702 area code. Over the past year we have entered into contractual agreements with Verizon, AT&T/Cingular, Sprint/Nextel, and T-Mobile to provide free local calling for Moapa Valley Telephone customers to these providers. You no longer need to dial a 1 or the 702 area code-just the seven digit number. If you do dial a 1 first, your call will be routed to your long distance carrier and you will be billed for the call.

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Ask The Help Desk - What's "Twitter?"

Question: I've been hearing the term "Twitter" mentioned a lot these days. What is it exactly and how does it work?

Answer: Launched in July 2006, Twitter is a social networking and micro-blogging site that allows users to post short updates to the question, "What are you doing?" Updates, known as tweets, are limited to 140 characters in length. They can be posted through any of three methods: web form, text message, or instant message.

The service is designed as a way for friends, family, and co-workers (called followers) to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent messages. Updates are displayed on the user's profile page and delivered to other users who have signed up to receive them. The New York Times says that Twitter is "one of the fastest-growing phenomena on the Internet." As of July 2008, over two million Twitter accounts were registered.

Find out complete details, including how to join, at http://twitter.com Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o to see a video titled "Twitter in Plain English."

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

Are Your Bank Accounts Safe?
http://www.fdic.gov/edie/index.html - Troubling news from the financial sector has many Americans concerned about the safety of their bank deposits. This site was recently developed to help people check whether or not their accounts are fully insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). It features EDIE the Estimator, which can calculate your FDIC insurance coverage for each FDIC-insured bank where you have deposit accounts. It also offers step-by-step tutorials illustrating strategies for families, a couple, and a business owner.

Foods for Fall
http://www.seasonalrecipes.com - This website is devoted to seasonal cooking and right now the spotlight is on fall. You'll find recipes featuring ingredients that are currently in season such as cranberries, pumpkin, butternut squash, and sweet potatoes and yams. Tired of the same old pumpkin pie recipe? Try Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars or Double Decker Pumpkin Pie instead. Want to make something fun for Halloween? Whip up some Creepy Crawly Spider Cookies.

Browse the Best Beaches
http://travelchannel.com/Travel_Ideas/Best_Beaches - Are you dreaming of a beach vacation? Let the experts at the Travel Channel guide you to the best beaches in the world. They've grouped them by type of vacation (family or romance) as well as season of the year and region. So put on your flip flops and stroll through this long stretch of beaches that are guaranteed to provide fun in the sun.

How to Winterize Your Home
http://doityourself.com/stry/prepareforwinter1 - Before you know it, those winter winds will be blowing. Is your home ready? What needs to be done to prepare? This site provides a review of important tasks including furnace and fireplace inspections, adding insulation, and cleaning gutters. Get to work now and you can look forward to a more comfortable home with reduced energy costs.

Hear the Buzz on Concerts
http://beethere.net - BeeThere makes it possible to track your favorite artists and their tour dates in 800 cities in the U.S. and Canada using your iTunes collection as a starting point. The site searches club websites, member postings, and the open Web to get current information on upcoming music events. Create your own watch list and be notified in time to buy concert tickets.

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Short Tutorial - Setting Up a Signature for Your E-Mails

A signature is a block of text placed at the bottom of your outgoing e-mails to "sign off" and close the messages. The primary purpose of a signature is to let people know who you are and how to contact you. Many people also take this opportunity to convey a bit of their personality through the use of a favorite quotation or a particular font.

What you include in your signature is up to you, and you may want to create a couple of signatures - such as one for business and one for personal use. To set up a signature, follow the steps below for your e-mail program.

Setting Up a Signature for Your E-Mails When Using ...
- E-mail Program: Outlook Express 6
- Computer Operating System: Windows XP SP2 Home Edition
  1. With Outlook Express open, click your cursor arrow on "Tools" in the menu bar and select "Options..." from the resulting drop-down menu.
  2. In the Options window, select the "Signatures" tab.
  3. In the "Signature settings" section, click on the "New" button.
  4. Enter the personal signature that you would like to appear on future e-mails. Check the box next to "Add signatures to all outgoing messages" so that your signature will automatically appear in new e-mails.
  5. Once you have entered your signature, click on the "Apply" button and then click "OK" to accept the signature and close the Options window.
Setting Up a Signature for Your E-Mails When Using ...
- E-mail Program: Windows Mail
- Computer Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium
  1. With Windows Mail open, click your cursor arrow on "Tools" in the menu bar and select "Options..." from the resulting drop-down menu.
  2. In the Options window, select the "Signatures" tab.
  3. In the "Signature settings" section, click on the "New" button.
  4. Enter the personal signature that you would like to appear on future e-mails. Check the box next to "Add signatures to all outgoing messages" so that your signature automatically appears in new e-mails.
  5. Once you have entered your signature, click on the "Apply" button and then click "OK" to accept the signature and close the Options window.
Setting Up a Signature for Your E-Mails When Using ...
- E-mail Program: Mozilla Thunderbird 2.0
- Computer Operating System: Windows XP SP2 Home Edition and Windows Vista Home Premium
  1. You must create the signature file using basic text formatting by using a program such as Microsoft's Notepad. Notepad can be found by clicking your cursor arrow on Start>All Programs>Accessories>Notepad.
  2. With Notepad open, manually type in the signature exactly as you would like it to appear in future e-mails. For example:

    Jane Doe
    Senior Programmer
    jdoe@xyzcompany.com
    (800) 555-5555

  3. Save the Notepad document in a folder of your choice on your computer, such as My Documents/E-mail Signatures/Thunderbird Signature.
  4. Next, with Mozilla Thunderbird open, click on "Tools" from the menu bar and select "Account Settings..." from the resulting drop-down menu. The Account Settings window will open.
  5. On the left side of the Account Settings window, click on your e-mail address.
  6. On the right side of the Account Settings window, check the box next to "Attach this signature" and then click on the "Choose" button.
  7. Next select the Notepad file that you saved earlier containing your signature. The file path under "Attach this signature" will now be filled in.
  8. Click on the "OK" button to accept the signature and close the Account Settings window.
Setting Up a Signature for Your E-Mails When Using ...
- E-mail Program: Macintosh Mail.app
- Computer Operating System: Mac OS X 10.4
  1. With Mail.app open, click your cursor arrow on the "Mail" menu and select "Preferences" from the resulting drop-down menu.
  2. When the Preferences window opens, click on the "Signatures" icon.
  3. You will now see three panes. The first pane has a list of your accounts. Click on the account that you want to create a signature for. It will now be highlighted.
  4. Under the middle pane, you will see two buttons—one with a plus (+) sign, the other with a minus (-) sign. Click on the plus sign. A signature with the name "Signature #1" will appear in the middle pane. In the third pane, you will see the default signature that Mail.app has created for this account.
  5. If you would like to change the default signature, click on any part of it and enter your own text.
  6. To get the font of your signature to match the default font in your message, check the box next to "Always match my default message font."
  7. Click on the "Choose Signature:" button and select "In Sequential Order" to get your new signature to show up automatically when you create a new e-mail message.
  8. If you would like to have the signature appear above quoted text when you reply to a message, check the box next to "Place signature above quoted text."
  9. When you have the signature settings the way you want them, click on the red button in the upper left corner of the Preferences window.

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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, please see the opt out link at the bottom of this e-mail.

Thanks for your business!

Best regards,

Brad Lyon
Internet Manager



Moapa Valley Telephone Company
183 S Anderson St
Overton, NV 89040

702-397-2601

(We have used our best efforts in collecting and preparing the information published herein. However, we do not assume, and hereby disclaim, any and all liability for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions resulted from negligence, accident, or other causes.)

©2008 Cornerstone Publishing Group Inc.

Trademarks: All brand names and product names used in this eNewsletter are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.