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Caution! Warning About Counterfeit And Pirated Software
According to a recent report from Microsoft®, the number of customers who unknowingly purchased counterfeit and pirated Microsoft software has risen dramatically over the last two years. This software poses a serious risk to security, since studies around the world have shown that a high percentage of illegally copied or downloaded software contains spyware, malware, or other malicious code. Consumers who are duped by fraudulent software can encounter viruses, lose personal information, risk having their identities stolen, and waste valuable time and money.
Worse yet, today's counterfeiters are often large criminal syndicates that don't stop at distributing hundreds of copies of unlicensed software. Software pirates are likely to create botnets, which are armies of compromised computers controlled by cybercriminals and used to perform a host of illegal Internet activities.
Here are some tips to help you avoid buying counterfeit software:
1. Take the time to fully research the products that you are buying and from whom you get them. Read reviews and talk to retailers so that you build a knowledgeable perspective.
2. If the price seems too good to be true, it probably is. Buy from a reputable source such as major retailers or other recognized resellers.
3. Look for spelling mistakes on the software package or a shoddy appearance.
4. Make sure software products are licensed. It is standard that every legal piece of software includes a developer's license agreement.
5. If you're unsure if a product is legitimate, call the manufacturer.
Microsoft has launched an education campaign to help you recognize counterfeit and pirated software, and know if you're purchasing genuine products. For more information, visit their "How to Tell" site at http://www.microsoft.com/howtotell.
Ask The Help Desk What Are Hashtags And How Do I Use Them?
Question: As someone who's just getting started on Twitter, I'd like to know more about hashtags. What are they and how do I use them?
Answer: Hashtags are a community-driven way to label tweets (posts made to Twitter). They begin with the hash mark (#), followed by a word, phrase, or abbreviation—examples of hashtags include #americanidol and #lakers. When you insert a hashtag in your post, it makes it easy for Twitter users who don't already follow you (plus anyone searching Twitter) to find your public contributions to the discussion on that particular topic.
Here are some tips for you:
• In order to get tracked via a hashtag, you need to opt-in and follow twitter.com/hashtags. Every time you make a post in Twitter that includes a hashtag, it will show up as a real-time post on hashtags.org.
• If you visit hashtags.org, you can click on any tag and it will show you all of the posts that have been tagged with that keyword.
• You can search for hashtags on Twitter by using the search box on the Twitter sidebar.
• You can also subscribe to any updates that contain a tag by visiting hashtags.org, entering in the tag you want to follow, and then clicking "subscribe."
By the way, thanks for the question. We're glad we could hash over this topic with our readers.
Short Tutorial Changing The Sound Of E-mail Notification
You probably enjoy having the freedom to change the ring tone on your phone to suit your personality and preferences. Well, you have a similar opportunity to change the sound you hear when new e-mail arrives on your computer. Just follow the steps below for your e-mail program and operating system:
Changing the Sound of New E-mail Notification Using ...
E-Mail Program: Outlook Express 6 or Mozilla Thunderbird
Computer Operating System: Windows XP
1. Select "Control Panel" from the "Start" menu. (Make sure you are in "Classic View.")
2. Double click on the "Sounds and Audio Devices" icon.
3. The Sounds and Audio Devices Properties window will open. Click on the "Sounds" tab.
4. Highlight "New Mail Notification" in the "Program Events" list.
5. In the "Sounds:" field, select a sound from the drop-down list, or use the "Browse" button to find a sound not in the list. To assist you in selecting a sound, click on the arrow button next to the drop- down list to listen to a sound of interest.
6. When you have made your selection, click on the "Apply" and then the "OK" buttons to accept and save your changes.
Changing the Sound of New E-mail Notification Using ...
E-Mail Program: Windows Mail or Mozilla Thunderbird
Computer Operating System: Windows Vista
1.Select "Control Panel" from the "Start" menu. (Make sure you are in "Classic View.")
2. Double click on the "Sounds" icon.
3. The Sound window will open. Click on the "Sounds" tab.
4. Highlight "New Mail Notification" in the "Program" list.
5. In the "Sounds:" field, select a sound from the drop-down list, or use the "Browse" button to find a sound not in the list. To assist you in selecting a sound, click on the "Test" button to listen to a sound of interest.
6. When you have made your selection, click on the "Apply" and then the "OK" buttons to accept and save your changes.
Changing the Sound of New E-mail Notification Using ...
E-Mail Program: Mail.app
Computer Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5
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, select the "General" tab by clicking on its icon.
3. Click on the drop-down button next to "New mail sound." A drop-down menu listing all the sounds in your system will appear.
4. Select a sound and the sound will play. Keep making selections and listening to sounds until you find the one you like best.
5. Once you have made your final sound selection, close the Preferences window to save your changes. |
