Controlling Spam

Computer Care: Filtering out your electronic junk mail

By Arthur Glazerglazer.tech@gmail.com
POSTED: October 11, 2013 10:42 p.m.

Every afternoon when my mail gets delivered, I can’t help but notice how few junk letters I receive. I get a couple of bills, a magazine, the occasional package and maybe a solicitation from a local business or two. That’s it. A few years ago I got piles of paper every day. The bulk of junk mail today is sent electronically.

So now it’s my spam box that fills up daily. I can get 40 to 60 junk emails each day, but they go directly into my spam box. Without the defenses I have installed, there could be much more, demanding more of my attention each day.

There are various ways to cut down on your spam in your email inbox. It’s best to use filters, an email service or client that helps filter spam for you, and to use different accounts for different purposes.

Let’s start with the last one first. Your email address is precious. You shouldn’t give it out to anyone who asks. We all sign up for things: newsletters, sales flyers, sweepstakes and other things we come across online. The trick is to not use your real or your primary email address account for these purposes.

Create a throw-away or disposable email account that you only use for sign-ups, not for correspondences. An alternative to this is to use free websites that create these for you. Check outmailinator.com, guerrillamail.com, spamex.com or maildrop.cc (yes, cc).

There are others and most of these are free, but all will only keep your messages temporarily.

Some will retain them for a while — some a few hours, others only a few minutes — so be sure to check your accounts quickly for the response you may need.

On these sites, you create a temporary email address with the site’s domain and use that instead of your own for sign-ups.

You can also use your current email service to create a second or dummy account. If you use a Web-based email like Gmail, Yahoo or Hotmail, just make another account the way you made your real one. Just don’t use it for email. Instead of you@gmail.com, make secondary account like you.temp@gmail.com.

Some domains (I also use Earthlink and Charter) will allow you to set up filters to help block your spam. You can block by keyword, content, name or domain. The last is what I commonly use. When I keep getting spam from joe@junk.com, then, bob@junk.com, and info@junk.com, I just block the domain.

They all come into my Gmail inbox, and it has its own set of filters. If you use Gmail, click on the “Settings” link on the right side of the page when you’re logged in, then click on “Filters.” From there you can control what comes in. You can also create your own filter with your own personalized rules.

Should something slip through, there is a button to click when spam finds its way to your inbox. It will allow you to report the message as spam and block it and also allow you to unsubscribe to the message (if it has a legitimate unsubscribe link).

Be aware, too, that when you do sign up for things that you want (using your primary account), uncheck the box that gives permission to send future emails about sales, events, etc.

There are also spam-fighting products you can purchase to install on your computer. Some of the better ones include SpamFighter Pro, Mailwasher Pro, iHateSpam and Spam Catcher. Each works differently and some are for email clients (like Outlook), others are designed for Web-based email (like att.net), while there are some will work on all systems.

Many anti-virus or anti-malware products come with add-ons for spam reduction. Contact the manufacturer of your product to see what they may offer.

If you are an AOL user, your spam filter is turned on by default. To configure it, click on “Options,” then “Settings,” just below your user name on the upper right of the screen. Click on “Spam Settings” and then find the drop-down menu next to “Spam Filter” and adjust it to your liking.

Go to the “Sender Filter” option if you need to block specific people from reaching your inbox.

You should not respond to any solicitations you get via email. When you do, the sender then knows it is a live account and will send yet more junk email.

By no means respond to emails that appear vague or suspicious in the subject line. Some may offer you money or jobs. Others may say something like, “RE: About your email,” trying to lure you into opening and responding to it. Do not.

Before trashing the contents of my spam folder, I always give it a quick look, just in case something ended up there that should have gone to my inbox. It’s a computer; it makes mistakes.

If you keep your primary email address private, use filters and aliases and don’t respond to vague solicitations, you can reduce the amount of junk mail that reaches your inbox.

Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly on the Business page and on gainesvilletimes.com.

	POSTED: October 11, 2013 10:42 p.m. Every afternoon when my mail gets delivered, I can’t help but notice how few junk letters I receive. I get a couple of bills, a magazine, the occasional package and maybe a solicitation from a local business or two. That’s it. A few years ago I got piles of paper every day. The bulk of junk mail today is sent electronically. So now it’s my spam box that fills up daily. I can get 40 to 60 junk emails each day, but they go directly into my spam box. Without the defenses I have installed, there could be much more, demanding more of my attention each day. There are various ways to cut down on your spam in your email inbox. It’s best to use filters, an email service or client that helps filter spam for you, and to use different accounts for different purposes. Let’s start with the last one first. Your email address is precious. You shouldn’t give it out to anyone who asks. We all sign up for things: newsletters, sales flyers, sweepstakes and other things we come across online. The trick is to not use your real or your primary email address account for these purposes. Create a throw-away or disposable email account that you only use for sign-ups, not for correspondences. An alternative to this is to use free websites that create these for you. Check outmailinator.com, guerrillamail.com, spamex.com or maildrop.cc (yes, cc). There are others and most of these are free, but all will only keep your messages temporarily. Some will retain them for a while — some a few hours, others only a few minutes — so be sure to check your accounts quickly for the response you may need. On these sites, you create a temporary email address with the site’s domain and use that instead of your own for sign-ups. You can also use your current email service to create a second or dummy account. If you use a Web-based email like Gmail, Yahoo or Hotmail, just make another account the way you made your real one. Just don’t use it for email. Instead of you@gmail.com, make secondary account like you.temp@gmail.com. Some domains (I also use Earthlink and Charter) will allow you to set up filters to help block your spam. You can block by keyword, content, name or domain. The last is what I commonly use. When I keep getting spam from joe@junk.com, then, bob@junk.com, and info@junk.com, I just block the domain. They all come into my Gmail inbox, and it has its own set of filters. If you use Gmail, click on the “Settings” link on the right side of the page when you’re logged in, then click on “Filters.” From there you can control what comes in. You can also create your own filter with your own personalized rules. Should something slip through, there is a button to click when spam finds its way to your inbox. It will allow you to report the message as spam and block it and also allow you to unsubscribe to the message (if it has a legitimate unsubscribe link). Be aware, too, that when you do sign up for things that you want (using your primary account), uncheck the box that gives permission to send future emails about sales, events, etc. There are also spam-fighting products you can purchase to install on your computer. Some of the better ones include SpamFighter Pro, Mailwasher Pro, iHateSpam and Spam Catcher. Each works differently and some are for email clients (like Outlook), others are designed for Web-based email (like att.net), while there are some will work on all systems. Many anti-virus or anti-malware products come with add-ons for spam reduction. Contact the manufacturer of your product to see what they may offer. If you are an AOL user, your spam filter is turned on by default. To configure it, click on “Options,” then “Settings,” just below your user name on the upper right of the screen. Click on “Spam Settings” and then find the drop-down menu next to “Spam Filter” and adjust it to your liking. Go to the “Sender Filter” option if you need to block specific people from reaching your inbox. You should not respond to any solicitations you get via email. When you do, the sender then knows it is a live account and will send yet more junk email. By no means respond to emails that appear vague or suspicious in the subject line. Some may offer you money or jobs. Others may say something like, “RE: About your email,” trying to lure you into opening and responding to it. Do not. Before trashing the contents of my spam folder, I always give it a quick look, just in case something ended up there that should have gone to my inbox. It’s a computer; it makes mistakes. If you keep your primary email address private, use filters and aliases and don’t respond to vague solicitations, you can reduce the amount of junk mail that reaches your inbox.

	POSTED: October 11, 2013 10:42 p.m. October 11, 2013 10:42 p.m.

Password Security

Computer Care: The password is ... Best bet is to mix it up

	By Arthur Glazerglazer.tech@gmail.com

POSTED: October 19, 2012 11:59 p.m.

	Passwords are part of computing; there is no way around that. If you use a computer and the Internet, you will eventually need to use them. You may or may not need a password to log onto your computer, but one was needed to get your email this morning. Even if you didn’t have to manually type one in, your computer recalled it for you. I use a password manager and also allow Google Chrome to remember my passwords for me. There are 15 or so of them that I refer to on a regular basis to access various websites like email, my cloud storage, Amazon and other ecommerce sites that I frequent. There are also banking PIN numbers, alarm keypad codes and wireless router keys which are forms of passwords. You may use one to gain entry to your smart phone. Call them what you will, but any series of alpha-numeric codes you use to access something secretly is a password. There is no easy way for most of us to remember all of those codes, especially when choosing different ones for each site or application. If you use the same password for all of your websites and accounts, all could be compromised if just one is. So why take a chance? The poor choices are the obvious ones like your birthday or anniversary dates, your street, pet or your children’s names. Don’t choose the easy options. Stir it up a bit. Spell out anything that you can remember. Chocolate chip ice cream with chocolate syrup becomes ccicwcs; then add a number or symbol or caps. The end result could be CCiCwCs9*. Stir things up even more; spell things backward. A. Jones becomes senoja, then add numbers, caps or symbols to spice it up, like senojA5#. Be creative. Instead of your dog’s name, try using mydogbubba. Add caps or symbols for even more security as in mydogbubbA*7 or shorten it to dogbubbA*7. Backward, bubba becomes abbub. While on the topic of passwords and email, spam is something we all unfortunately get with email. One of the easiest ways to get spam is by having your email address sold to online merchants. The best way to avoid that is to be careful to whom and where you use your email address. Many times when you subscribe to a newsletter or sign up for something, it’s stated your address won’t be sold. Often times though, it is. That’s where most spam originates. One way to avoid this is to create secondary additional Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail or other accounts that you won’t regularly check or only to verify a subscription that you just signed up for. When the inbox is full on this throw-away account, just sign up for another. An alternative is to use a Disposable Email Account. I use yopmail, but there are many others to choose from. They include Dispostable, Dudmail, MailExpire, DeadAddress, Spamex, Incognito Mail, Dodgeit, Yopmail and Mailinator. All work basically the same way. You create a name, they offer an extension and a duration with most adding the ability to check the account for incoming mail. Sometimes you can get away with simply making up an address with a nonexistent domain and have it work. I’ve used xyz5@abcmail.com, but if a response is required, then that strategy won’t work. Recently, I signed up for a free sample online that required me to click on a link in an email to verify my address. Using yopmail, I created an address on the fly and checked it from their site (the same page I used to create it) a few minutes later. There was the link. You don’t need to commit anything to memory; just create a new name next time you need a DEA. Remember to change your passwords regularly. Use password managers like LastPass, Roboform or Password Safe to help you recall them. Although less secure, you could simply allow your browser to remember them for you. Visit pwnedlist.com to see if your email address has ever been hacked. Choose passwords that are unique for every account, not the same one for all of them and give them to no one. The longer the better. Use at least eight to 10 characters and mix them up with caps, numbers and symbols. There’s a password generator at random.org if you have trouble on your own. Don’t fall for phishing scams. Beware of any emails or websites asking you to provide sensitive personal information. Not even your bank will ask you for your password. Avoid using addresses, birthdays or dog’s names. To circumvent spam effectively, use disposable email accounts. The end result will yield higher security for your accounts with less paranoia about being hacked. As easy as it has become these days to have your privacy compromised, you want to make it as difficult as you possibly can. Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly on the Business page and on gainesvilletimes.com.

What you can do online beside check email

Computer Care: Behold the wonders of the Web By Arthur Glazerglazer.tech@gmail.com POSTED: February 4, 2012 1:00 a.m.

Did you know that Finley Stephens of Weston, Mo., lays claim to the largest ball of string (not twine) at 19 feet in diameter, weighing 3,712 pounds? How about the fact that it would take about 80,000 years to travel to the nearest star in Alpha Centauri with the technology that we have today? Australian shepherds don't come from down under but originate from Colorado. Really? Yes. I didn't know those facts, either, but I found them quickly (with multiple sources) on the Internet. Many of my clients tell me all they need their computers for is email, and they don't know what else they can do with them. I often sleep but five hours a night because I get caught up in Internet searches. Much of my computing knowledge I've learned from websites. I read news stories online, watch missed TV shows, do comparative research for products I want to buy, find programs for my computer and apps for my cellphone, learn how to repair things that I break and sell things that I no longer need. I have booked vacations, sold cars and artwork and bought cameras and laptops, all online. Most of the electronics I need for my computer business are purchased online at better prices than I can get locally, even considering the shipping costs. My point is that if all you use your computer for is email, then you need to take your mouse out for a ride. There is a world out there just waiting for you to explore. Too often I hear excuses like, "I am too old to learn," or "I don't know how." Well, bunk. (Synonym I found online for a more aromatic term I usually use.) When I was a kid, the only research I had access to was the World Book Encyclopedia. Each year, my parents would buy the annual supplement and I was thrilled. It was nice, but limited, and it cost a small fortune. By comparison, today the Internet is huge and it is free, aside from your connection fees. The information is literally available at our fingertips and is enormous, almost infinite. You don't need any special knowledge, only a desire to know or want something. Just ask Google a question. Speak like you would to a friend. Type your query in question form. Don't worry about grammar or using caps. If I want recipes with broccoli, but without cheese, that's what I would type: I would ask, "What are broccoli recipes without cheese?" (without quotes). Have a hankering to understand Einstein? Type, "Explain the Theory of Relativity." You will get pages of hits to your queries; the first few on the first page will usually answer your question. Avoid responses that say "ad," as they are paid-for responses and will steer you astray to the sponsors' product pages. Look at a few pages and save them as bookmarks or favorites, depending on what your browser calls them. Shop online. Do comparisons between products and stores and read what shoppers say about what you want to buy. If you buy online, you can have your purchase shipped or pick it up at local stores like Target, Sears and Wal-Mart, to name a few. Use snopes.com to dispel those email rumors we all get. (Bill Gates will give you $50 if you forward this column.) Feeling bad? Look up your symptoms online. Did your doctor prescribe some new medications for you? See what you shouldn't mix with them on the pharmaceutical's website. Discover which foods are antioxidant-rich or low in fat. Aside from Google, I like ask.com, howto.com and youtube.com. You'll find that many queries will refer you to these three sites often. You Tube is great if you need to know how to do things like fix a leaky toilet, change your car's water pump, refill your inkjet cartridges or install RAM in your computer. If you are a DIY enthusiast and a visual learner, you will like their videos. Watch, pause and rewind them. Bookmark the videos and watch them again. Are you tired of the bar scene? Internet dating has increased over the years. Approximately 5 million singles use online dating services worth about $4 billion worldwide. (Yes, these statistics come from the Internet.) If you have a webcam, download and install Skype, a free video-conferencing application. You will truly enjoy chatting with your dates or your out-of-town children and be able to see them at the same time. Welcome to the 21st century. The Internet works. My wife and I met online back when the information superhighway was but a dirt road. We have watched the Web and our marriage grow for almost 20 years, although I do believe Teressa knows more trivia than Google. If all you go online for is email, live dangerously. Go look up something. You can't break your computer — not like that, anyway. You don't need a Ph.D. or any special knowledge. The latter is what you'll gain. Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly on the Business page and on gainesvilletimes.com.

Did you know that Finley Stephens of Weston, Mo., lays claim to the largest ball of string (not twine) at 19 feet in diameter, weighing 3,712 pounds? How about the fact that it would take about 80,000 years to travel to the nearest star in Alpha Centauri with the technology that we have today? Australian shepherds don't come from down under but originate from Colorado. Really? Yes. I didn't know those facts, either, but I found them quickly (with multiple sources) on the Internet. Many of my clients tell me all they need their computers for is email, and they don't know what else they can do with them. I often sleep but five hours a night because I get caught up in Internet searches. Much of my computing knowledge I've learned from websites. I read news stories online, watch missed TV shows, do comparative research for products I want to buy, find programs for my computer and apps for my cellphone, learn how to repair things that I break and sell things that I no longer need. I have booked vacations, sold cars and artwork and bought cameras and laptops, all online. Most of the electronics I need for my computer business are purchased online at better prices than I can get locally, even considering the shipping costs. My point is that if all you use your computer for is email, then you need to take your mouse out for a ride. There is a world out there just waiting for you to explore. Too often I hear excuses like, "I am too old to learn," or "I don't know how." Well, bunk. (Synonym I found online for a more aromatic term I usually use.) When I was a kid, the only research I had access to was the World Book Encyclopedia. Each year, my parents would buy the annual supplement and I was thrilled. It was nice, but limited, and it cost a small fortune. By comparison, today the Internet is huge and it is free, aside from your connection fees. The information is literally available at our fingertips and is enormous, almost infinite. You don't need any special knowledge, only a desire to know or want something. Just ask Google a question. Speak like you would to a friend. Type your query in question form. Don't worry about grammar or using caps. If I want recipes with broccoli, but without cheese, that's what I would type: I would ask, "What are broccoli recipes without cheese?" (without quotes). Have a hankering to understand Einstein? Type, "Explain the Theory of Relativity." You will get pages of hits to your queries; the first few on the first page will usually answer your question. Avoid responses that say "ad," as they are paid-for responses and will steer you astray to the sponsors' product pages. Look at a few pages and save them as bookmarks or favorites, depending on what your browser calls them. Shop online. Do comparisons between products and stores and read what shoppers say about what you want to buy. If you buy online, you can have your purchase shipped or pick it up at local stores like Target, Sears and Wal-Mart, to name a few. Use snopes.com to dispel those email rumors we all get. (Bill Gates will give you $50 if you forward this column.) Feeling bad? Look up your symptoms online. Did your doctor prescribe some new medications for you? See what you shouldn't mix with them on the pharmaceutical's website. Discover which foods are antioxidant-rich or low in fat. Aside from Google, I like ask.com, howto.com and youtube.com. You'll find that many queries will refer you to these three sites often. You Tube is great if you need to know how to do things like fix a leaky toilet, change your car's water pump, refill your inkjet cartridges or install RAM in your computer. If you are a DIY enthusiast and a visual learner, you will like their videos. Watch, pause and rewind them. Bookmark the videos and watch them again. Are you tired of the bar scene? Internet dating has increased over the years. Approximately 5 million singles use online dating services worth about $4 billion worldwide. (Yes, these statistics come from the Internet.) If you have a webcam, download and install Skype, a free video-conferencing application. You will truly enjoy chatting with your dates or your out-of-town children and be able to see them at the same time. Welcome to the 21st century. The Internet works. My wife and I met online back when the information superhighway was but a dirt road. We have watched the Web and our marriage grow for almost 20 years, although I do believe Teressa knows more trivia than Google. If all you go online for is email, live dangerously. Go look up something. You can't break your computer — not like that, anyway. You don't need a Ph.D. or any special knowledge. The latter is what you'll gain. Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly on the Business page and on gainesvilletimes.com.

Email scams

Computer Care: Beware of costly email scams

By Arthur Glazer
glazer.tech@gmail.com

POSTED: August 20, 2011 1:00 a.m.

Computers are getting faster as prices drop. Facebook dominates the Internet and email scams from Nigeria and various mystery lotteries continue to fill my spam box.

I receive about a dozen of these notices each week. The most recent stated I had won $350,000 in the Blackberry Online Promotion.

Not only do I not own a Blackberry device, but it is supposedly a raffle draw, or a lottery. Don't you have to purchase tickets in a lottery before you can win it? Obviously not everyone asks themselves that question, because many do respond.

I also regularly receive emails from the Minister of Finance in Nigeria, announcing my winnings. They must be constantly replacing the minister, because I can't help but notice, each email lists a different minister.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, the number of people falling for the Nigerian scam is steadily increasing. In 2005, more than 55,000 people lodged complaints, up three times the amount from 2003. Following that rate, the number today would be just shy of a million.

The FTC also states that the number of people who actually file complaints is low, compared to the amount that are suckered into the scheme. People are simply ashamed to come forward. According to authorities, only 15 percent of fraud victims report their losses.

The U.S. Secret Service may also get involved with combating these crimes, but will not investigate unless there is a monetary loss of at least $50,000.

The Nigerian Scam 419, as it is called, is the third most lucrative Nigerian industry, generating more than $5 billion in the past 20 years. It got its name "419" from the Nigerian criminal code that deals with the crime.

Advance-fee fraud is another name for the Nigerian scam. This is a crime that asks for money up front in order to get more money. You pay a fee, and usually more than one, to procure you winnings - or not.

Scams evolve. The advance-fee fraud is similar to an older "Spanish prisoner" scam, where in exchange for money to bribe prison guards, a wealthy prisoner is promised a share of supposed treasure.

The reason so many of us continue to see these scams is because the scammers are getting enough responses to make it worth their while. You wouldn't think they would keep sending those emails year after year, but sending spam costs the spammer nothing.

Hypothetically, let's say they send a million emails (usually more) and 10 people respond. Each is suckered out of a mere $5,000 (usually much more). The Nigerian reprobate just made $50,000 sitting at his desk sending email.

More realistically, they may send 10 million emails, which follows with 100 respondents. That yields $500,000. Now that makes it worth sending those emails.

Similar email schemes involve work-at-home scams where you would take in money for a company and forward it to them from your account. You would then supposedly be compensated for it. Again you lose, as their checks ultimately bounce.

Another trap is charity scams. They tug on your heart strings asking for donations for accident victims, missing children, national disasters and so on. If you are solicited by a group for money, ask them questions before you agree to anything. Find out who they are. Ask if they could call you later or is there a call-back number? They will most likely hang up on you at that point.

A study by the Dutch firm Ultrascan shows last year advanced-fee scams resulted in losses more than $9 billion. Since they began about two decades ago, more than $41 billion in losses have been reported.

We recently got a phone call from supposed reps from the IRS (even though caller ID said Kingston, Jamaica) telling us we were winners in an IRS lottery. My wife joyously shouted to me that we had won and played along momentarily before she asked the silver-tongued miscreant if his mother knew what he did for a living - and then hung up.

We knew someone who was sucked into a similar scam. She was educated and intelligent. After going through tens of thousands of dollars, she maxed out her credit cards to these guys and ultimately had a stroke.

Those who fall for the scams are from all different areas of life demographically, having one thing in common: the greed of wanting or needing quick money.

To avoid becoming a victim:

- Don't succumb to pressure to respond quickly.
- Don't give money to a cause you don't fully understand.
- Ask where and with whom the firm is registered.
- Request written information.
- Do your own research about the company.
- Ask that information be sent to a financial adviser.
- Don't provide or verify any personal information.
- When in doubt, hang up or don't reply to emails.

If you have been victimized, forward appropriate written documentation to the United States Secret Service, Financial Crimes Division, 950 H Street, NW, Washington, DC 20223.

If you have to send money to win money, there is something wrong with the picture - and you don't want to be in it.

Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly on the Business page and on gainesvilletimes.com.

File sharing instaed of file attaching

Computer Care: File sharing now made easier thanks to free upload sites

By Arthur Glazer
arthur@glazerthepctech.com

UPDATED April 17, 2010 1 a.m.

Have you ever tried to send someone an e-mail with an attachment that you wanted to share, something you were passionate about, only to discover it has been rejected by the server?

Even if you don't know what a server is or why it rejects attachments, it happens.

Servers are the computers that filter, store and forward communications at both your ISP and the recipients'. Some will reject files larger than 5 MB, while others allow up to 20 MB. Even if yours will allow a large file to be sent, it may be blocked at the other end. There is though, a way around this obstacle.

Short of attaching your video, song or string of images to an e-mail, you can upload it to a file-sharing Web site. Each works somewhat differently, but is basically the same. Most have free plans that allow you to share your files with your buddies. File size may be limited, but is still 10 times or more than what your ISP would allow.

Your files are viewed by invitation, encrypted for security and optionally password protected should you want a heightened defense.

Some allow only one file at a time, some have time limits; how long the file could stay at the site. Others limit the amount of times the file may be accessed, still usually at least 100 times though.

Let's begin with dropbox.com. After you download and install a small applet, you have a program that will sync the files on all of your computers and will also let you share files with others.

At sendthisfile.com, it's all done from their site. After registration, you can send any size file, but it will only remain available for three days and with the free plan, you can send to only three recipients.

With ofile.com, you have 3GB of free storage space with their provisional plan. It's good for two months.

Wetransfer.com offers 2GB of free storage and there is no registration required, making it extremely easy to use. From their site, enter the files to share, your e-mail address and those of your recipients along with an optional message. Hit transfer and that's it. Your files can be shared with up to 20 others and will be there for two weeks.

Filedropper.com, also easy to use, allows 5 GB of free storage and as long as the file is being downloaded, it is kept on their servers. After you upload a file, you copy a link and send to your friends to download it.
At yousendit.com, their Lite account is free for a gigabyte of storage and transfer. You can only send one file at a time, but it can be up to 100 MB.

None of these file-sharing sites slam you with ads or banners promoting some other cause. At wetransfer, the background is an ad, but more like a screensaver and is more pleasant than annoying.

These sites offer free plans with the hopes you'll want you to buy into one of their pay plans. There is no waiting while you watch an advertisement. You get a link to a file and that's it.

Obviously, the paid plans on all of the sites are enhanced. They have faster speeds; allow larger files, more recipients and options such as tracking, express delivery and resumable uploads or downloads should a connection be interrupted.

You'll also have the option of keeping a file private, so only you can see it (for backup purposes).

Yousendit for example, installs a plug-in that becomes integrated to Outlook. When you attempt to send a file, it asks if you want to attach it to an e-mail or use their service instead.

Keep in mind there is more to these services than simple file sharing with others. It is also a good way use the cloud to back up your important files. Duplicate the ones you don't want to chance losing. Send up copies of best photos, your tax documents and your resume.

The primary purpose of these sites and of this column though, is to stress the ease at which one can share files with others. To give you an idea how easy this can be, I'll share a file with you. Go to this link: http://www.filedropper.com/arthur-image and get my byline photo. It may not be a keepsake, but you'll get an idea how easy the process is.

It took 20 seconds to upload it and should take just as long to download. Normally, someone would have e-mailed the link to you.

Go to the Web sites listed above and give them a try. You'll see the differences between them, and with all, how easy file-sharing can be. Perhaps initially, send yourself a file to test the process. Use the file I sent you if you want.

Forget about worrying whether your file is too large an attachment for you to e-mail. Try sharing instead of attaching.

Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly. Arthur welcomes your computer questions and ideas for future columns.

Email Alternatives

Computer Care: Many options for e-mail are often free, too

By Arthur Glazer
arthur@glazerthepctech.com

POSTED March 19, 2010 7:58 p.m.

Not everyone checks their e-mail the same way. There are basically two types of e-mail: Web or cloud-based and client-based. Web mail includes Yahoo, MSN, Gmail and Hotmail. Client e-mail uses programs like Outlook, Outlook Express, Windows Mail, Thunderbird and Eudora.

Each has their own advantages and disadvantages. Most Web mails are free, as are some of the client-based programs. Some are sponsored with banners or taglines. With many of the Web mail offerings, you are limited to the amount of storage space and attachment size. Fast Mail, for example, has an ad-laden free version that limits you to 10 MB of mail storage. Once you start with a pay plan, the ads disappear and the storage space increases.

Gmail from Google is a free Web-based program; you access it from your Web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox). It gives you 7 GB of storage and also has ads. It incorporates a good spam blocker and will check your other accounts as well.

Thunderbird from Mozilla is a free client that has tabs like its cousin Firefox. It is highly customizable and has many skins and other add-ons free to download.

The main difference between the two types is that programs like Outlook (client mail) create folders on your computer where the mail is stored. You can download it and read it later offline, but the program needs to be installed on the computer.

With Gmail and other Web-based programs, your mail is stored on their servers and you need to be online to access it. But the upside is that you can read it via a browser on any computer with Internet access.

Web mail controls the storage capacity since it is on their computers; client mail storage is dictated only by the size of your hard drive.

Web e-mail is left on mail servers until you delete it. If you don’t, eventually your senders will get a message saying your mailbox is full. The same could happen with client-based mail, but by default, its mail is usually only kept on servers for two to three months.

These options are usually dealt with by the protocols assigned to different types of e-mail programs. There is POP (3) mail, Post Office Protocol, which receives most client-based mail. Web mail uses IMAP, Internet Message Access Protocol, to receive. They both use SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) to send the mail.

Many Windows 7 users have noticed that Microsoft failed to put an e-mail client in their latest operating system. XP users had Outlook Express, Vista had Windows Mail. (Outlook, by the way, is part of Office and is not free.) The folks in Redmond were only trying to cut down on the clutter. They made it an a-la-carte offering.

If you want an e-mail client, you can download it for free from their Web site. Navigate to Windows Live Mail here.

Not to go on a rant here, but I need to mention some things concerning e-mail etiquette.

Just because your buddy suggests a certain e-mail needs to be forwarded 10 times to ensure good luck doesn’t mean you have to do it. A “must read” from Aunt Tilly may be of no interest to the rest of your contacts. Please consider that.

When a supposed expert sends something, it doesn’t necessarily mean it is so. I can sign an e-mail with NASA after my name, claiming Mars will explode in May. Check out anything suspicious at www.snopes.com before you forward it. They debunk many online urban myths.

One last piece of advice about e-mail accounts: Get yourself a free one. No matter what type of account you have, a free one can’t hurt. It can actually help. Use it as a throw-away account just to sign up for things. You’ll never even check it.

When you sign up for newsletters, online forums or contests, that’s where much of the spam comes from. You just gave out your e-mail address and it could have been sold to solicitors. So why use your real address?

Get a free one from Hotmail or Yahoo. When they tell you the box is full, toss it and get another.

Tell 10 of your friends about this column or your computer will get a virus tomorrow.

Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly. Arthur welcomes your computer questions and ideas for future columns.

Phishing for data

Computer Care: Don’t take the hook with data phishing games

By Arthur Glazer
arthur@glazerthepctech.com

POSTED July 3, 2009 11:41 p.m.

Phishing is a relatively new term that has roots in its homophone water sport, in that it means one is looking for something that’s not readily available. But as opposed to looking for fish, it is searching online for data: yours.

Those phishing for your information are not phooling around. Unlike its fun counterpart, phishing is not a leisure sport. It’s a full-time business. It employs professional thieves stalking you on the Internet.

The most common phishing trap you could fall for is the e-mail scam. You might get something in your inbox that appears to be from your bank, utility, retailer or credit card company. The ploy is to get you to refresh or confirm your personal information because your account is supposedly being updated or is about to be closed. It preys on your fears and hopes that in your moment of anxiety, you’ll cooperate.

Upon close scrutiny, you can usually tell that these are fraudulent e-mails, but most people are trusting by nature and are tricked into believing they are legitimate. Usually you will not be addressed by your name, but as Client, Patron or Card Holder. The threat may be somewhat vague, yet specific enough to get your attention.

Other e-mails may include a link for you to click on. This will take you to the phisher’s Web site, which may look like those that you do business with, but is not. It will include a blank form with an official-looking header of that company. Any information you type in is then given to the thief, whether it be your account number, password, Social Security number or pin code.

Again, scrutiny will be the tell-all. Look carefully at the web address. It may have your bank’s name in it, but instead of being "www.your-bank.com," it may read something like "www.ag.accounts.your-bank.com."

A good way to tell if a link is legitimate is to hover your mouse over the link. The true destination will appear either in a pop-up or in the browser’s status bar at the bottom of the page.

Alternatively, you may receive an official sounding phone call asking for the same information.

They will be friendly, yet assertive, requesting your personal information. If you didn’t call them, hang up. I guarantee if you ask them for a call-back number, they will hang up on you.

Your bank will tell you that they would never contact you this way. Be aware; be careful; be suspicious. There is a lot at stake: your money or even your identity. If in doubt, call or go to your bank or institution in question.

As always, your best offense is a good defense. Have the proper tools in place and the knowledge of what to do to protect yourself.

Get and use good anti-virus, anti-spam and anti-phishing utilities for your computer and be sure your firewall is in place.

Many companies now have either free downloadable utilities or offer free scans from their Web site. Check out what McAfee has to offer at http://home.mcafee.com/Downloads/FreeScanDownload.aspx?affid=0; McAfee also has a free Site Advisor available that will let you know if the site you are on is legitimate or not.

See what Symantec has at http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/WelcomePage.asp or look at AVG’s LinkScanner at http://linkscanner.avg.com.

Comodo has recently released a new, free utility, Comodo Internet Security, to assist in keeping your system free of malware. It includes a firewall with anti-virus and even comes with a 30 day free trial of LivePCSupport. Download it from their website at http://personalfirewall.comodo.com/download_firewall.html.

Any of these companies also offer full version utilities with more bells and whistles, for a price.

Visit www.staysafeonline.org for some good information including a list of more web sites that will give your system a security scan for free. Here’s a list to help you get started:

Know who you’re dealing with online.

Never click on links in unknown e-mails.

Keep your Web browser and operating system up to date.

Back up important files.

Protect your children online.

Use security software.

Use strong passwords and change them regularly.

Use strong authentication technology.

Don’t use public computers to do your online banking or bill paying.

Learn what to do if something goes wrong.

Other good online resources are www.onguardonline.gov and www.fraud.org.

If you believe you’ve been scammed, file your complaint at www.ftc.gov, and then visit the FTC’s Identity Theft website at www.consumer.gov/idtheft.

Computers are great tools and the Internet is an incredible resource. To think about what the two of them together can accomplish is astounding. But if you’re not careful, you may get caught in someone’s phishing expedition.

Keep your eyes open and be aware of your surroundings as if you were in a bad part of town. These guys don’t phish or cut bait as those in a boat do. They are relentless. Just because the Internet is a virtual place, doesn’t mean you can’t really get ripped off. You can.

It’s virtually the same.

Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly. Arthur welcomes your computer questions and ideas for future columns.

Email and Spam

Computer Care: Foil spam with filters, dual e-mail accounts

By Arthur Glazer
arthur@glazerthepctech.com

POSTED Oct. 17, 2008 5:01 a.m.

Along with error messages, system crashes and blue screens of death, let’s add spam to the list of things you don’t want to see on your computer. Aside from it being a tasty luncheon meat, spam is the unwanted 90 billion junk e-mails we all get in our inboxes daily.

Incorrectly, the spam acronym has been deciphered as Stop Pornography and Abusive Marketing or Superfluous Pieces of Additional (or Annoying) Mail. Originating from an old Monty Python Viking skit, it actually doesn’t stand for anything.

Officially, it is referred to as UCE, which does stand for Unsolicited Commercial E-mail.

There are various ways to cut down on this onslaught of excessive junk mail. Some are defensive, others proactive. To begin with the most basic, I suggest you sign up with an Internet Service Provider that offers spam protection. Gmail is one of them. Everyone I know with a Gmail account doesn’t have much of a spam problem. It apparently filters well.

Aside from relying on the ISP filtering your mail, you can get a program to do it at your end. There are many on the market, some free. Mailwasher, available at mailwasher.net, is a good free one; another is Spamfighter Standard, found at spamfighter.com. They also offer a paid version with more bells and whistles for $29.

Most programs learn as you use them. You train them to know what is good or bad e-mail. They have "Approve" and "Block" buttons in a toolbar on your e-mail client.

If you do use an anti-spam program, don’t trust it completely. It will have false positives from time to time. By that, I mean that when you check your spam box, you may find an e-mail from someone the program thought should be isolated, but in fact is a friend of yours. It scans for address types and certain keywords in the body of the mail. It’s always a good idea to scan even the rejected mail for something that may not be spam.

Many security suites have anti-spam filters built in to them. You may have an anti-virus or spyware program that already has spam protection, so check it out before you add something else.

The easiest way to prevent spam from getting to you is by being careful. Get two e-mail accounts. Use one exclusively for online registrations and to sign up for newsletters, chat rooms or bulletin boards. Use the other only for your friends and those you trust. Just remember which is which.

You might consider naming your alternate account with something like (your_name)temp@blank.com or (yourname)signup@blank.com, whatever works for you. Once your address is out on the net, it spreads, so be careful. Many companies buy and sell e-mail lists regularly.

When you do sign up for something, be aware of the checkboxes near the submit button. By default, they remain checked. That gives the site owner permission to use or sell your personal information, including your e-mail address. All you have to do is uncheck them before you submit the form.

In some instances, you can use a fake e-mail address to sign up for things. If they just want you to register and are not sending you a link to activate an account, make up an address. I’ve used bob101@xyz.com and got away with it.

Use free e-mail accounts and treat them as disposable. When you begin to get too much spam, toss the address and get another. Aside from Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo also offer free accounts.

Even paid accounts will allow multiple e-mail addresses. One of my ISPs is Charter, which allows five addresses per account. You could always delete the abused one and add a new one on a rotating basis.

Don’t respond to spam or click on any links in the message. Just delete it. Once the spammers know you are there, their mail will be relentless. Many times you’ll see a link to click for address removal. Don’t do it. Also don’t reply with "Remove" as the subject or ask to be removed. Again, all it does it confirm that they’ve hit a live address.

No matter what type of spam you receive, by no means should you ever threaten anyone, not even the Nigerian minister of the treasury.

Programs, filters or whatnot, by far the easiest way to cut down on this nuisance is to have multiple e-mail addresses. It is the least amount of effort, the most effective, and like my advice, it’s free.

Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly. E-mail Arthur with your computer questions or suggestions for future topics.