CyberCoyote - March 16, 2006

NEWS

There were just enough of us at our business meeting today to make a quorum. That allowed us to go ahead with review and approval of the revisions to our bylaws. They were approved as revised with a few minor changes. We will be publish them on our website shortly.

TIPS and TOPICS

My aunt always told me to look both ways three times before I crossed the street. I compromised on two. :-) Now there's a new reason to heed that advice.
http://cybercoyote.org/url/168.html

I recently got an urgent email that warned of a "9-0-# Scam". I decided to "Google" it first -- http://www.google.com/search?q=90# -- before passing it on. Here's what I found out:
http://www.breakthechain.org/exclusives/90pound.html
http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/jailcall.asp

WINDOWS

Take charge of your "Start" menu: Make it easier and quicker to find your favorite programs.
http://blogs.msdn.com/tiptalk/archive/2006/02/23/538148.aspx

PHISHING

Netcraft launched an anti-phishing system at the start of 2005: You install a toolbar and effectively become part of a giant neighborhood watch system whereby the most experienced members of the community can report phishing sites and effectively block them for the rest of the community.
http://news.netcraft.com/
http://toolbar.netcraft.com/

Google has a Firefox extension that warns you when you're at a known "Phishing" site. This type of attack is becoming more sophisticated, widespread and dangerous. Safe Browsing is often able to automatically warn you when you encounter a page that's trying to trick you into disclosing personal information.
http://www.google.com/tools/firefox/safebrowsing/index.html
http://cybercoyote.org/security/phishing.shtml

DOWNLOADS

An obsessive-compulsive might find computer housekeeping fun to do. You and I might be a little more casual in our approach. :-) If you download more than a few files, you can end up with quite a mess though. Ed Bott suggests a simple but effective way to keep track of not only the downloads, but the essential information that goes with them.
http://www.edbott.com/weblog/?p=693 -- getting them organized
http://www.edbott.com/weblog/?p=1254 -- keeping them organized

INTERNET

One of the best ways to avoid getting more spam is to not unsubscribe unless you know the sender is not a spammer! Now there's a way to be more confident when deciding what to do.
http://cybercoyote.org/url/165.html
http://cybercoyote.org/internet/fauxham.shtml -- more

DIVERSION

You no longer have to wait until after dinner for your daily ration of good dirt.
http://www.wesmirch.com/