(Mostly) Free Tools

Apple device owners beware…you may not be as safe as you think from malicious hackers

By Sandra Clitter  |  2012/05/01 22:15 Posted in (Mostly) Free Tools, General, Tech Tips  |  Comments (2)

I finally have what I lovingly refer to as my first ‘iThing’. Yes, I was among those who got the latest iPad (mind you, NOT called the iPad 3, but still, it is the 3rd generation of the iPad). And technically, this isn’t my first iThing…it is my 3rd. I have owned two iPods (one currently still in service), and not newer than about the year 2003, so I think its safe to say that this is my first iThing of the modern era of iThings. My iPod is the ‘classic’ design (‘classic’ being a better term than ‘old’). So, it was with great anticipation that I waited for the UPS person to show up at my door on release day.

I thoroughly enjoy my iPad. Quite honestly, I haven’t explored all its capabilities, but I look forward to getting to know it, and its seemingly infinite array of apps. It certainly is handy! Love being able to slip it in a shoulder bag and hop on WiFi where I find it (I did NOT pay for the 4G version, though I may regret that down the road). Because I work on computers all day – and not just doing emails, etc., but coming up with technology solutions to business problems – I don’t have any interest in playing games, etc. I’m looking to use my iPad for office productivity solutions, so that will take some trial and error. Suggestions from you readers on ‘must have apps’ is welcome!

Anyway, I figured that if I am now in the world of (modern) Apple device owners, I should brush up on any protection software required for Apple products. I know that many people consider the Apple operating systems fairly bullet-proof and/or low on the radar, so that the ‘bad guys’ who spend their time writing malicious code just ignore it. In fact, in the Apple App Store, there are a couple of Apps out there which give INFORMATION on malware threats, but don’t actually provide protection to the iPad/iPhone. So, IT people might like them for alerting them to breaking threats which might be positioning for attack on their Microsoft based equipment, but the apps do NOT protect the ‘iThing’.

Hmmm…why, I ask? A little more searching found the explanations…all the apps install in their own ‘sandboxes’. In other words, each app is discreetly partitioned from the other apps. Therefore, an ‘iThing’ (either an iPod, iTouch or iPad) is inherently safer from attack than a traditional computer. As I understand it, data in one application is not accessible by other applications. In essence, each area is blockaded from other areas. Safari (the internet browser installed by default) or other browsers that you might install, would be the most susceptible to infiltration by ‘bad guys’ which might pick up (and steal) keystrokes, information, etc. as you type them. So, even on your ‘iThing’, use safe browsing techniques. Don’t surf the web carelessly when you’re on public WiFi.

What I found most interesting as I was reading up on Apple and susceptibility to infection was that the Mac platform is actually susceptible to infection by trojans (malicious software that gets installed without the computer owners knowledge). I found two recently published articles about the rise of vulnerability as the platform gains popularity – one in Forbes magazine and one in a technical site called CRN. Both say that there are over 600,000 infected Macs. The more people decide to leave the Microsoft world, the more the Mac system will get attacked.

Not to worry, however, as there is free software available to protect your Macintosh. Just head over to Sophos or ClamXav and download/install a free anti-malware tool. After all, while the threat of infection on a Mac is less than on a Windows machine, there is a chance – and that chance is increasing as the popularity of the Mac OS grows. Why not protect yourself?

Do not get fooled by fake anti-virus messages – and never, ever click unless you are sure!

By Sandra Clitter  |  2012/04/21 21:40 Posted in (Mostly) Free Tools, Tech Tips  |  Comments (2)

I figure its rarely a good thing when the phone rings at 7am…particularly when it’s your cell phone (a number that most of your clients have for emergencies). Most people haven’t even had their coffee yet! Clients on the West Coast are still tucked in bed. Has to be an East-Coaster. Has to be a problem.

So began my Friday morning. I try to put on a chipper, pretend-post-caffeine voice as I answer. “Good morning, this is Sandy…(bright smile – well, trying for a bright smile – in my voice)”

The voice at the other end begins, “So I clicked on an email that LOOKED like it was from my friend, Joe, but when I opened it, the email was actually offering me prescription drugs via the internet. I don’t know why Joe sent it to me, but then a Microsoft message popped up from my toolbar telling me that my anti-virus is not operating, so I clicked on the ‘fix-it button’ and now I can’t open any icons on my desktop.”

My pre-caffeine brain was still waiting to hear ‘Hi’, but I realized that this was not going to be a relaxed conversation over a cup of coffee or cold-caffeine (Diet Pepsi being my caffeine of choice – even in the morning). This was a 911-type call because a machine was ‘down’. They needed help and they needed it NOW.

Quite truthfully, I’ll never know if a link in that email masquerading as coming from a friend was clicked, if a link on an infected website was clicked, or if the infection came via another route, but the FAKE anti-virus message was received and acted upon. The EVIL virus was launched and was trying to work its nefarious ways.

What does a fake Internet Security or Anti-virus message look like? Well, below are a couple of examples. Yes, these are FAKES!!!

So, why this message to all of you? To help you learn from others mistakes – how to recognize a fake Internet Security warning.

First, BEWARE OF ANTI-VIRUS/INTERNET SECURITY MESSAGES. Make sure that the message really comes from the anti-virus or internet security package you use. My client read the message to me, and it was a Windows message, but they use Norton. Giant warning flags. NEVER EVER follow a link/message from a software feature that you are NOT using. While this client uses a Windows platform, they do NOT use Window’s Internet Security. A neon DANGER, DANGER sign should have gone off in their heads.

Second, Google the message you’ve received to find out if that particular message has come up as a fake warning.

Third, close the questionable window and open up your Internet Security/Anti-Virus via that program’s interface (use the Start-Program menu). If your computer is really at risk, it will show up in that interface (e.g. the Norton or McAfee interface). If no ‘risk’ displays, then your computer is probably safe, but you still need to get rid of that errant warning. Keep on reading and follow the instructions below.

What happens if you mistakenly clicked somewhere and your computer is infected as my client’s was. Well, there are a couple of FREE tools which might help to solve your issues.

Download Malwarebytes (I use CNET.com or PCWorld.com for safe downloads).

Install, then launch Malwarebytes. Perform a scan.

Check “Perform Full Scan”, then “Scan”. Let it run. It could take several hours. Once it is done, if it found ‘cooties’ in your computer, Malwarebytes will offer to quarantine or fix the issues. Allow it to. Reboot your computer when it is all done. Click around…hopefully, all of your issues are solved.

Use this next tool in conjunction with Malwarebytes – in other words, run it after you’ve run Malwarebytes. CC Cleaner is another free computer fixing ‘friend’. Download and install this program.

Install, then launch CC Cleaner. You will need to run two different scans with this tool. Click on ‘Cleaner’, then ‘Run Cleaner’. When that completes, click on ‘Registry’, ‘Scan for Issues’, then allow CCCleaner to fix any registry related issues. Before allowing CCCleaner to fix issues, accept the offer to save a copy of your current registry (save it to your Desktop – you can delete it after a week or so, once you’re sure nothing ‘odd’ is happening).

These two programs, which contain a myriad of tools, are your BEST FRIEND when something goes awry on your computer. I always keep them installed on my machines, and use them as part of my normal housekeeping. Running them regularly will help you to catch issues that you may not even be aware exist on your computer.

And I beg of you…do NOT click on emails/links/websites of which you are unsure. Hover over links to see the REAL URL’s. Type in URL’s yourself into your web browser. Don’t open e-mails from friends that look ‘odd’. Instead, email your friend back (on a new email) and ask them if they had sent you an email with “Whatever” in the subject line…if they confirm, then its probably safe to open it.

I hope you don’t need to resort to these tools for more than maintenance.

How do I know if someone is talking about me on the web?

By Sandra Clitter  |  2012/03/06 10:00 Posted in (Mostly) Free Tools, General, Tech Tips, Web Tips  |  Comments (2)

As “they” say, your reputation is everything. This includes your reputation among family, friends, colleagues, and now, what appears about you online. Yes, you need to make sure that you stay abreast of any information posted on the web about you.

Have you ever had the experience of having someone – maybe a casual friend or business acquaintance – call you out of the blue to congratulate you on the award that you just won, tell you ‘atta boy’ or ‘atta girl’ for a speaking engagement you just landed? As a former boss of mine used to say, “How do it know?” (please forgive the poor grammar, that’s a direct quote!). In this case you might be wondering, “How on earth did they find out already, I didn’t tell anyone/see anyone, etc.?”

Well, back-in-the-day, just a little after dinosaurs roamed the earth, there used to be services called ‘clipping services’. Companies paid handsomely for people to comb through various publications for mentions of the name of their company, mentions of the appearances of their top executives, etc. You paid by the number of periodicals you wanted reviewed, as well as, by the number of times those periodicals were published, plus the number of names/mentions you were searching.

I was always fascinated by this concept. Did one person read the same newspaper or magazine 100 times, each time with an eye out for a separate reference, or did they have an incredible memory and were able to scan the names/references that they needed to find, then read the publication once and picked up all the mentions – whether it was one or many? I still wonder. I could probably do a search and find out. If you want more information on “Clipping Services”, you can start with this Wikipedia link.

But I digress…Those services have sort of gone the way of buggy whips. They were indispensable at one point in time, but are used only by a select few today. Why? Because each and every one of us has access to our own “Clipping Service” – FOR FREE!

Google (yes, good ‘ole Google again) provides the free service called ‘Google Alerts’…and I strongly advise each and every one of you to at least set up a ‘vanity search’ for your own name…so you know what people are saying about you on the web.

It couldn’t be easier to set up. Simply go to www.google.com/alerts. The service DOES require a Google signon, but its a small price to pay for a VERY powerful service.

Use standard Google Search ‘rules’ (e.g. put a proper name in quotes to get results with the first and last name together) to get the results you are searching for, enter the search string in the ‘Search Query’ field. For example, if I want notifications for anything posted on the web about my company, I’d enter “Your Tech Tamer” (quotes INCLUDED). If you have a common name, you might want to tweak your search string to eliminate some errant notifications about the OTHER person/people with your name. We’ll use “Phil Collins”, but not THAT Phil Collins as an example. If you are A Phil Collins, but not THAT Phil Collins, you could enter a search string “Phil Collins” -Genesis -drummer -music. This will give you notifications of “Phil Collins” where the words “Genesis”, “drummer” and “music” are NOT mentioned. That helps to weed out some of the ‘other guys’. Additionally, if you go by a formal name and a nickname, you should set up BOTH alerts, the one above AND one for “Phillip Collins”.

If you want to limit the type of information you receive, you can select from the ‘Result Type’ drop-down and select ‘Everything’ or ‘Videos’ or ‘Blogs’, etc. to narrow down the amount of information. I’m not sure why you wouldn’t want everything for this ‘clipping service’ on your name, but you have the option.

‘How Often’ will determine how frequently results are sent to your e-mail. You can choose from ‘As it happens’, ‘Once a day’ or ‘Once a week’.

‘How Many’ is a quality filter…changing this from the default may create a deluge of e-mail.

‘Deliver To’ is the e-mail address to which the digest will be sent.

Hit ‘Create Alert’ and Google will begin trawling the web for any new posts that match your criteria. NOTE: It does NOT give you all the things ALREADY posted…you can run a normal Google search for those. It WILL give you any NEW posts on the web that meet the criteria.

Sit back and wait for Google to deliver your newly created ‘clippings’ to your Inbox.

Only your own imagination limits the amount of information you can have filtered into your inbox. After you set up alerts for your own name and company, create ones for friends, family, co-workers, clients, and competitors. Then YOU will be the first person saying ‘Hey, I just heard you won that coveted award…Congratulations!’

If you need help with creating accurate Google search strings, check out this post from last August.

Who Are Your Neighbors?

By Sandra Clitter  |  2012/02/19 16:05 Posted in (Mostly) Free Tools, General, Tech Tips  |  Comments (4)

Let me begin by saying that I am absolutely HORRIBLE with names. I don’t know why, but I am awful. I try to remember, I try all the mnemonic devices and still, I forget names that I really should know. Most embarrassingly are the names of my neighbors.

I’ve lived in my current house for almost 20 years. I love my neighborhood. I love my neighbors. That lady down the street that I wave to when she picks up her mail. The people at the end of the street with the adorable little boy who is rapidly becoming a young man. The people with the “Harley” mailbox. Over the years I’ve learned to at least recognize most of my neighbors, but I’m embarrassed to say that I don’t know many of their names.

A reader of this blog (and a neighbor!) gave me a HUGE piece of assistance when he pointed out this website to me:

Who are your Neighbors?

Just click on the link (or the image above), enter your address, click the ‘Get Started’ button and your whole neighborhood (courtesy, I’m sure of Google Earth) appears with indicators over each neighbor’s house and their names/phone numbers. Now, I can figure out the missing names!!! YEAH!!!

How handy could this be?!?!

Did you get a Gift Card that you have no interest in using?

By Sandra Clitter  |  2012/01/03 21:02 Posted in (Mostly) Free Tools, General, Tech Tips  |  Comments (4)

HAPPY NEW YEAR, Everyone!!!

Sorry things have been quiet on this end, but I got caught up in the holiday crazies (and loved every minute of it!). The days just seemed to fly by. Now that we’re in the January doldrums, it’s time to get back to work!

I am always amazed by the number of Gift Cards are are given/received each year. It seems like the numbers just go up and up and up. While I usually love getting a gift card, there are times when someone purchases a card that isn’t for a store/restaurant that one can actually frequent. Maybe someone bought you a gift card for Applebees, but the nearest Applebees is over 50 miles away. You might like getting the card, but never have a chance to actually USE it – or using it is impractical!

Well, if you’ve found that you have one or two of those ‘less than useful’ gift cards in your possession and you’d like to get some cash for them, you don’t need to beg an exchange with friends anymore. There are actually several sites which allow you to sell your unwanted gift cards for a fair percentage of the face value. WOOHOO!!

I came across two good articles this week that wrote about this phenomenon and decided that I would share what I read. The first is on a favorite site of mine: CNET How To. “How to sell your unwanted gift cards” by Jason Cipriani was the first that I came across. I was fascinated because it never dawned on me that such sites existed (although in retrospect, it makes sense).

The second article I found on a My Money Blog. Entitled “Selling Unwanted Gift Cards for Cash“, this one caught my eye, as well…probably because after reading the first article, I was pondering the pros/cons/risks of, in essence, reselling gift cards.

There appear to be four major services specializing in Gift Card “redemption”:

Cardpool.com
PlasticJungle.com
GiftCards.com
GiftCardRescue.com

For each type of card you want to redeem, compare between the sites – some pay better on one type of card and another may pay better on another type of card. I did a quick ‘what if’ with a card that I got (but which I’m not really going to redeem because I want to use it) and found the following results on the quote:

Regal Entertainment Card worth $25.00 face value would fetch:

Cardpool.com: $18.00
PlasticJungle.com: $18.00
GiftCards.com: $18.25
GiftCardRescue.com: $17.50 for Cash or $18.38 for an Amazon Gift Card

Both these authors cited above have done some good research on the topic and written excellent articles. Please check them out for further details, but I wanted to let everyone know that if you got a gift card for someplace you simply can not or will not patronize, there may be an option to turn that card into cash.

(Disclaimer: I have NOT completed any transaction, so can only go on the comments others have left regarding the subject)

How can I access my Bookmarks or Favorites from any computer?

By Sandra Clitter  |  2011/11/26 21:25 Posted in (Mostly) Free Tools, Business Processes, General, Tech Tips, Web Tips  |  Comments (2)

There are so many times when I’m working on a computer that is NOT my own and I want to get to some website that I have bookmarked (set as a ‘favorite’) on my computer. Worse still if you work primarily on public computers and can’t save your own set of bookmarks at all. Maybe you have a personal computer and a work computer, and somehow, the favorite that you need to reference always seems to be on the other computer. Some URL’s (e.g. Google) are obvious, but others are well-hidden or buried or not entirely ‘findable’ without the help of that precious bookmark.

Is there a solution? Is there a way to make your bookmarks/favorites ‘portable’ or accessible from ANY computer? You betcha!!!

Time to check out www.aboogy.com.

With Aboogy, you can set up all your favorites that can be accessed from any computer – as long as you remember you Aboogy signon. When you first go to www.aboogy.com, you’ll be asked to create a user ID and password, then click on a confirmation e-mail from Aboogy. Once that’s done, you are ready to roll with setting up your own list of favorites/bookmarks/shortcuts that can be accessed from ANY computer.

Your first time signing in to Aboogy, you’ll be asked to read this screen – they’ll only show it once!

Once you’ve closed that screen, you’ll be able to set up your favorites and tracking a variety of ways – buttons, links, images, categories – all under YOUR control!!

Start by importing your existing bookmarks or favorites from your computer:

Next, edit and organize the links as you like using the ‘Editor’ tool:

Head back to your Aboogy page and VOILA! Your bookmarks/favorites are all available to you from ANY computer:

The additional benefit is that if your computer crashes, you haven’t lost your library of bookmarks/favorites – even if backing up isn’t on your regular schedule (though shame on you for ignoring that critical chore :-) !)

Managing Photos and Video – it is soooo not my ‘thing’

By Sandra Clitter  |  2011/11/07 23:31 Posted in (Mostly) Free Tools, General, Tech Tips  |  Comments (2)

Just so you know, managing photos and videos are really NOT my ‘thing’, yet questions on these items tend to generate a bunch of questions by readers of my blog. Honestly, my solution is ‘let someone else do it’, but that’s not really offering useful advice now, is it? I don’t think that ignoring the subject is too useful, either.

Confession: I have NEVER actually shot a video (well technically, that’s not true…one time I accidentally switched my digital camera to ‘video’ and took a time-lapse ‘photo’, but I don’t think that that counts).

I DO take photos from time-to-time, but I’m not the family historian, either. I do NOT enjoy spending a lot of time tweaking photos, either. I AM pretty good at resizing images and cropping them. That’s the level of my ‘expertise’. To the graphic artists and some others, I’m sure, that sounds pretty lame, but its the truth.

Unfortunately, this makes me push the requests for information on video/photo editing into the ‘too hard’ basket :-) . Sorry gang, just being honest.

SOOOOOOOO, when I saw an article in PC World, written by Patrick Miller, titled “Shoot, Share, and Edit Your Photos and Video on the Cheap” I gave a whoop! Someone else has the information that my readers have been requesting. YEAH!!!!

Patrick gives you links to video editing (cheaply) in this article. Additionally, he gives you tips on photo editing and sharing by sharing this link. (Both articles are written by Jonathan Wylie, also of PC World).

Let me say a heartfelt – thank you, Patrick (Jonathan, we thank you, as well…Patrick pointed, you actually compiled the information)!!! You ventured where I just haven’t trod!!!

I will add my 2-cents worth here: No program, particularly those which are free, is perfect. Each service is going to be stronger in one area than another. Before putting all your ‘eggs’ in one basket, upload a few images or videos and ‘play around’ with the various alternatives. For some people one feature is more important than another. Find the service that is stronger in those areas that are most important to you and then start loading up that ‘basket’!

Happy editing and sharing!!!!

Get tired of your desktop background (wallpaper)?

By Sandra Clitter  |  2011/10/16 19:30 Posted in (Mostly) Free Tools, Tech Tips  |  Comments (3)

When you spend as much time behind your computer as I do, sometimes you just want to do something ‘fun’ with your computer…I don’t mean ‘fun’ as in playing games (well, maybe YOU want to do that, but it’s just not my thing). By ‘fun’, I mean spicing up your computer with ‘funner’ things than the standard defaults.

We’ve talked about “Fences” in another post (click here to check out that desktop organization tool) which allows you to better organize your desktop. That was more of a ‘functional’, rather than ‘fun’ find.

Today, I ran across something called ‘John’s Background Switcher’. When I went to his website, John sounds like my kinda guy! He finds a solution to a computing problem, then allows the world (yes, you and me) access to the fruits of his labor free of charge. His work is called ‘donationware’. You can use it for free if you like, but if you feel you get value from it, he’d appreciate a donation (there’s a link on his website to allow you to donate should the mood strike you). You can check his site out here. The ‘Background Switcher’ allows you to change the background on your desktop (not the screensaver, but the wallpaper) on a regular basis – from every 10 seconds to once a week! The images that are placed as your background can come from the ‘stash’ you have on your computer or from any number of a variety of sources (Flickr, Facebook, RSS Feeds, Google Images, Picasa, Bing, Yahoo!, etc.). So if you like images from National Geographic, go out and create a link to their photos, and your computer wallpaper will update with the images.

To download, simply go here for a secure, verified download. Run the install, then set it up. Took me a total of 2 minutes to have a rotating wallpaper on my computer. The software appears to be ‘low overhead’ meaning that it will not drag your computer to its knees simply by its presence.

As of right now, I have only added a folder of images of my cats to rotate, but I’ll be playing with the settings and adding more ‘feeds’ – either from my computer or from the web.

You’ll note that you can change the duration that an image stays on your desktop, select how large the image is (you can even create a montage), display different images on different monitors, add multiple feeds (I only show one added here).

There are also a wide variety of more detailed settings if you feel like playing around with them. (Pressing the links on the left changes the settings you can set on the right)

With just a couple of clicks of my mouse, here is what my desktop looks like (much ‘funner’!!):

Even people like me who are ‘creativity impaired’ can be creative with this little program. Thanks, John!!!

How do I avoid getting bitten by a computer ‘bug’?

By Sandra Clitter  |  2011/09/22 09:00 Posted in (Mostly) Free Tools, General, Tech Tips  |  Comments (4)

It seems like every day brings a new rash of evil-doers on the virtual highway. Steering clear of the bad guys can sometimes feel like a full-time job, but there are a few tricks you can use to protect yourself with little effort.

FIRST AND FOREMOST, make sure that you have anti-virus/anti-spam/anti-malware security software installed on your computer and KEEP IT UP TO DATE!!!! McAfee, Norton and Kapersky are three of the most common names in computer security, but there are plenty of others. AVG offers a free version to personal (non-commercial) users.

Now that that little lecture is out of the way, let’s discuss your e-mail. WHEN IN DOUBT, DELETE.

One of the most insidious ways to attack your computer is by your very own e-mail. Clicking on links that are from seemingly ‘safe’ site, or opening attachments from apparently ‘safe’ sources is an almost guaranteed way to get an evil virus on your computer.

Now that you’re scared to death to read your mail, how do you protect yourself? Really, it’s pretty easy. Here’s what you do – and it only takes a second…it doesn’t have to interfere with your production…VERIFY THE LINKS BEFORE YOU CLICK.

How?

Easy.

See the image above…it APPEARS to have come from Twitter. They’re telling me that I have a message to read. BUT…it’s not from Twitter…its someone phishing for information from me…trying to steal my signon and password.

The first ‘clue’ that this isn’t from Twitter is the fact that they say ‘Hi’, not ‘Dear Sandy’ (or whatever name you’ve used on your account).

The next clue comes if you hover your cursor over the link the phisher wants you to click:

You’ll notice that this link, which is masked to look like it would go to Twitter (and should read something starting with www.twitter.com), has a link to some unknown site. That site is NOT Twitter, and not safe to click. If I really thought Twitter wanted me to check something out on my account, I would open up a browser, type in the URL (www.twitter.com), and go to my account to check it.

Here’s how easy it is to do. I created the link below (this one happens to be safe to click on, but it will NOT take you to Twitter):

http://www.twitter.com

The link above LOOKS like a legitimate link to Twitter when you first see it, but the link actually takes you right back to this blog! It APPEARS to go to Twitter, but no…it comes right back to me…and it COULD just as easily have gone to some nefarious site.

If you hover over the link on the screen (if you’re trying it, hover over the link above…the image below is just that, an image):

Then, look to the lower-left corner of your browser screen, you will see the ‘real’ destination revealed:

It’s that easy to see where someone is trying to send you – via an e-mail (hovering over the link in the email displays the real link) or on a regular web page (hovering over the link will make the real URL appear on your screen, probably in the lower-right corner of your screen).

If you get an e-mail with an attachment from someone you don’t know (they may say they are UPS, FedEx or the USPS) telling you to open the attachment to find out about a delivery you missed, STOP! DO NOT OPEN IT!! [One regular reader of this blog found that out the hard way and had to spend days trying to recover their computer. He happened to be waiting for a UPS delivery, so thought it was legit. Unfortunately, opening the zip file corrupted his hard drive.]

A fake notification will have some tell-tale signs:

First, it says ‘Dear customer’…if they know enough to send ME an e-mail, they KNOW my name!

Next, there is no information about the shipment in the subject or body…only a link. Legit shipments contain some detailed information in the shipping notification which will assure you that the e-mail is real.

A REAL notification will include information in the subject and/or body that you can enter directly into www.ups.com or www.fedex.com or www.usps.com in order to track the shipment (you don’t need to click links).

Your name and/or address will appear in the body of the e-mail.
A tracking number or other package information will appear in the subject line or body of the e-mail.
None of the major shipping companies will attach the information in a zip, word, pdf document.

(Note: I’ve blanked out some of the personal information on this image, so you won’t see the full tracking number or address, but you get the idea).

If I wasn’t sure that this e-mail was legitimate, I could go to www.ups.com and enter the tracking number given in the e-mail. Again, there is no reason to trust the links in the e-mail.

So, to sum it up:

1. Legitimate e-mails will address you by name.
2. Hover over the link they want you to click and see if the URL is legitimate.
3. When in doubt, open up a browser and type in the url manually, then check whatever the e-mail is trying to get you to check by entering through the ‘front door’ instead of taking the shortcut.
4. Do NOT open up attachments from people you don’t know.