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SideTrax is a bunch of mini, tid-bit articles that are important or fun and worthy of sharing, but don't warrant a full article.
Table of Contents
Check Before You Forward It!
Holiday Articles
Report Internet Crime
Important New Email Scams
Verify Secure Sites
"You're Cracking Me Up," said the dog.
Shop at Target...Help Your Kid's School
4-Wheel Turkeys
Free Gift Labels from Microsoft
Check Before You Forward It!
It amazes me that...in life, most people will agree that they would prefer to avoid making a fool out of themselves. If that is the case, then why do so many people forward outrageous emails without checking their validity? Granted, I know that most of these people are Internet newbies and have not yet had their bubbles burst and still assume that the information on the Internet is factual...they don't know about the bazillions of scams. So lets help wise them up!
When a friend sends you some type of idiotic spam that they have forwarded, telling you that you could make millions by forwarding the email to all your friends because Bill Gates or some person/company will pay you for your talented marketing skills...open your browser, enter a few keywords from the email like:
"Bill Gates" emails marketing "get money" forward
Then copy/paste a couple of the million links to hoax details you'll get as results into a reply to your friend so they can see that this stuff is garbage. Or better, send them the following link to my article on the subject:
Please Forward to Everyone You Know
http://www.computorcompanion.com/LPMArticle.asp?ID=146
 Holiday Articles
This December issue may not be loaded with Holiday articles, but we have posted others in the past. So be sure to check out our archives...we have years of great articles.
To get you rolling, here are some potentially relevant ones you might want to read:
Planning a Party?
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMArticle.asp?ID=108
Make Your Own Holiday Labels
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMArticle.asp?ID=126
Holiday Sites
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMArticle.asp?ID=274
Designing Your Own Holiday Stationery
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMArticle.asp?ID=271
Creating Your Own Holiday Cards
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMArticle.asp?ID=474
Price It, Stamp It, Send It
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMArticle.asp?ID=467
Personalize Postage Stamps
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMArticle.asp?ID=552
Fun Photo Gifts
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMArticle.asp?ID=563
Your Holiday Pictures - On Your DVD Player?!?
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMArticle.asp?ID=483
3D Album
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMArticle.asp?ID=201
Report Internet Crime
Have you been the victim of a scam or other type of Internet crime? Report it here at the Internet Fraud Complaint Center at: http://www1.ifccfbi.gov/index.asp
And their press room is a good place to regularly check to find out details of dangerous forms of attempted identity theft: http://www.ifccfbi.gov/strategy/pressroom.asp
Important New Email Scams
Granted, all email scams are important if you are tricked into giving away your personal information, which you should NEVER, EVER, EVER do through an email link. But recently, there have been a couple that could frighten people enough to cause them to comply...these came from the FBI and IRS...but are scams and both agencies warn that they would never email citizens and ask them to provide details via an email link. So until an agent shows up at your door...ignore these types of emails!
See these links for more details:
FBI warns of fake e-mail scam
http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,106445,00.html
IRS warns against tax refund 'phish' scam
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10268811/
Verify Secure Sites
Although experts suggest that you are less likely to have your identity swiped through the Internet than going through your daily life and having your purse or wallet swiped, you still need to be vigilant. And one thing you want to be sure to do before you type in your credit card number at that web store to make a purchase, is to make sure that the site is using a secure server.
All the big shopping sites do offer security, but it's a good idea to check, particularly on those smaller sites. A quick, easy way to check it is to look to see if the page where you are typing in your credit card details begins with "https://". Note the added 's' on the normal URL. That stands for secure and it helps prove that the site is now using a secure server technology that helps protect anyone from capturing your information as you enter it. Another way to check is to look in the lower/right corner of your browser. You should see a little lock icon showing that the site is a locked site using a secure server...validated by the https URL.
Granted, this fact only holds true assuming that you also have good spyware software always running on your system that helps to ensure that you do not have some type of hidden software on your system, placed there by a hacker through the Internet when you were not paying attention, who could now be recording all your keystrokes and thereby capturing your credit card number! All this means is that the site you are using is secure...your own security is up to you!
And speaking of things you should do...here's a good article I found that provides some smart tips to help you keep yourself safe both on and off the Internet:
Protect yourself from identity theft
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/13146939.htm
"You're Cracking Me Up," said the dog.
 Dog owners know that their dogs laugh. They have great personalities and some of them are genuine comedians. Animal behaviorists are finally realizing that this fact may be true...as they run a few experiments. It's been in the news, but here's a fun CNN news video that demonstrates this issue. If you're a dog lover, don't miss this video!
Thanks to David Horowitz for passing this link to me!
www.yahoo.com/s/264112
Note! It appears the above link is clogged and people are having trouble viewing from that link. So know that you can read the original article at the link below. More importantly, you can find the link to the Jeannie Moos video in the middle of the page at the article linked below.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/12/10/laughing.dogs.ap/index.html
Shop at Target...Help Your Kid's School
 Do you shop at Target? Did you know that you could have been sending a percentage of every dollar you spend...to benefit your child's, or grandchild's school? Target stores have donated thousands of dollars directly to specific schools. Extra money that allows schools to purchase things above and beyond their limited budgets.
So if there's a child in your life who you would like to benefit from the money you spend, sign up at Target through the URL below and then...go shopping! You're helping your kids!<wink>
Target - Take Charge of Education
http://target.com/target_group/community_giving/take_charge_of_education.jhtml
4-Wheel Turkeys
The first car I ever got to drive on my own was my dad's old 1966 Ford Fairlane...yes, white with red interior. Dad never had a new car...he worked very hard to buy a house and raise a family. And like most good parents, struggled to give their kids more than they had.
I got my first new car because my dad died, mom didn't drive, I was the only one still around to be her driver, and the old Ford was costing too much to keep running. So when I was 17, dad left us, but made sure I had that new car he was never able to purchase for himself. It was a 1972 Plymouth Gold Duster...and I loved it!
Thankfully, my brother, who went with mom and I to get the car, knew a lot about cars, so I didn't get stuck with a goldfish bowl Gremlin or a Blow Me Up Pinto!
What are the worse cars ever made? Did you own one? What's your vote. See what MSNBC readers chose as their least loved American auto: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10139923/
Free Gift Labels from Microsoft
Why go out and buy gift labels if you have a computer and color printer. Microsoft gives you a sheet of cute, fun labels you can download, free and print off to make as many as you need...because you always run out before you finish wrapping!
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/TC010129721033.aspx
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