Many of you know I absolutely detest forwards.
Unfortunately we have come full circle. In the old days back when AOL, phone lines, and busy signals were all common, we used to say If you don't download a file/attachment, you won't get a virus. Unfortunately that changed with 3 inventions known as Trojans (viruses that hide in E-mails), Pop Ups Designed for advertising, but eventually modified to download viruses that create even more pop ups, and Malware/Adware/Spyware.
Pop ups are mostly controlled now and more rare, but Malware is approaching an all time high.
Malware is on the rise because it takes longer to discover and get reported. This is because Malware doesn't often have the potential to steal data illegally and the majority of it is legal. There are also pieces of software that don't even have to be downloaded into your computer to affect you. It can acquire the information legally and sell it legally just form your E-mail address.
So why I am typing all this?
Well Forwards are back worse than ever. Because we now have all this wonderful security technology, people somehow think it is safe to forward E-mail again (or they never stopped), often without even thinking about it. If I had my way, the forward button would be disabled on a computer until after you took a class on what it does and why it is there.
In the past 10 days between my colleagues and I we have over 50 reports of computers going off-line. Many of these are due to E-mail overloads. This is because somebody gets an E-mail and blasts it to somebody. Then that E-mail address is fair game for attacks, spam, Trojan attempts, Phishing, and Malware.
This doesn't mean you will get a virus or have your identity stolen, it just means hundreds or thousands more attempts will be made to do so over several months or a year. Your E-mail may get slow, or shut down due to your internet service providers mail server being overloaded or just your account on that server being overloaded.
Sending and receiving E-mails may also become difficult or stop all together since security software may want to contain the problem.
So what can we do to stop stupid forwards (as mentioned previously, you need not read them to be impacted, simply the E-mail going thru is enough)? In the past forwards were just annoying. Jokes, cute stories, pictures, gimmicks, get rich quick scams and more were sent to your inbox without your permission, request, or acknowledgement. These often came from the older crowd that thinks somethings cute, has a good heart and intentions and wants to share. Even though you didn't want it, these are the toughest people to tell that to.
You have to tell them to stop, not just sending it to you either, stop sending it period!
Of course, by them just sending it to you, you probably got a few Viagra E-mails and some E-mails you just didn't understand. For those of you that need that Viagra info, I do apologize and did not mean to offend.
Over the next 2 weeks I will start publishing the help page on GeniusDirect.com again.
This is because so many people are having so many issues caused by E-mail, especially in the past few weeks.
Often a good computer guy/girl can fix these over the phone quickly. However, if we all communicate we can prevent these problems before they occur. If you know somebody that forwards endless supplies of junk, let them know, they are not providing a good service.
Here are the rules of E-mail etiquette for the 2007 Fall season.
1. If you didn't create it, don't send it.
a. So before clicking send, this means you typed the whole E-mail, you created the attachment, and/or you are the author.
2. Forwards are still ok if:
a. You are sending a form to be filled out (be careful of many Do not call/Do Not E-mail forms, they are scams or contain tracking/malware/viruses) by somebody that requested it.
i. Example: My wife needs to fill out X form for Health Insurance
ii. Bad Example: Do not call form that I didn't ask somebody to send to me
3. Ask somebody if they want it!
a. Either by E-mail or phone ask people if they want the E-mail you are forwarding if indeed it is not something you created.
4. Get at least 2 E-mail addresses
a. Get a Yahoo, Gmail or hotmail account. It only takes a few minutes. Have people that still send you forwards and junk send it to that account. You don't even ever have to delete them, just log into the E-mail once every 100 days or so.
b. Use this account for anything commercial (besides sensitive info such as banking).
i. Example: I am buying something from sears. Use this E-mail account for the receipt and such. That way the junk doesn't go to your real inbox.
FAQs:
I heard there are cell phone viruses now, is that true and can it affect my phone?
Yes, its true, and yes it can affect your phone, but these are still very rare and limited. In fact, it is not even confirmed if anyone has had a cell phone virus yet, just that it is possible.
All cell phones use a form of memory chip that can be erased and reloaded from the phone itself, similar to your computer. Text messages are currently the method of choice for cell phone virus possibilities. Most cell phone viruses are just designed to be annoying right now causing keys to malfunction, stick, or be incorrect (pressing 5 = 2 etc.). The worse part about this is that they might be able to spread faster than regular viruses and make you lose all your contacts and stored phone numbers.
My kids always download stuff like games or music, can that screw up my computer?
Every user in the house should really have their own E-mail account and computer log in, if not their own computer in todays day and age. Most Malware only effects the account it was downloaded on, so Jimmy wouldnt mess up Suzies computer log in with Malware. Many kid websites are fairly safe, but it is still possible for them to download something to screw up the computer. Usually this is something annoying and a quick fix, and not a virus or malware.
My computer is slow or performing badly and I need somebody to come out and fix it, should I call the Geek Squad or Firedog?
I would recommend you E-mail
Kathy@computerbytespro.com. However, in certain cases the Geek Squad or Firefox can be a great tool. They are however very expensive. The geek squad charges $249 to diagnose your problem. This is also sometimes a simple Diagnosis such as Yeah you broke it. To fix the problem which often can result in the loss of all data is another $99. To reload everything like it was new is usually around $350. They often hire very young people around the age of 18-21 as well, which can make some people feel uncomfortable.
How and How often should I back up?
Future issue coming
soon, previous issue gave the highlights.
I personally recommend Thumb Drives for most items, pictures being the possible exception, since Windows prompts you to burn a CD every time you download pictures (makes it easier).
Is it true that 1 E-mail can wipe out my whole computer and make me lose all my pictures, documents, and E-mails? E-mails stored on a computer are especially difficult to back up. The sheer volume of E-mails makes this a time consuming task. It also makes finding the E-mail that caused an issue very time consuming and most people are not willing to pay for the time it takes a tech to do this. However, to answer the question, yes, if you didn't back up your data, an E-mail can cause you to lose it all and fast. Usually the E-mail doesn't erase the data, but causes a problem that can only be fixed by erasing the data.
I get a ton of junk E-mail already and am afraid to open it to click the remove link, how do I make it stop?
The best way is to change your E-mail address. Use a change service (many are free from your Internet Service Provider). Once done, change to the new address and follow the steps above by using 2 addresses. This should fix your problem.
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