Blog for "the-enabler" of the letsnet.org network

---

"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored."-- Aldous Huxley

As the prostitute said, "It's not the work, it's the stairs." As told to me by Elaine Stritch, star of stage, screen, & TV, right after she won her 1st Emmy. Ago 79.

---

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Business Writer

SAN FRANCISCO - Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO - news) is preparing to introduce a new service that blends several of its Web site's popular features with two of the Internet's fastest growing activities — blogging and social networking

The hybrid service, called "Yahoo 360," won't be available until March 29, but the Sunnyvale-based company decided to announce the product late Tuesday after details were leaked to The Associated Press and other news outlets.

Yahoo is testing the service with a small group of employees, some of whom have been working on the project since last year when the product was operating under the code name "Mingle."

The service is designed to enable Yahoo's 165 million registered users to pull content from the Web site's discussion groups, online photo albums and review section to plug into their own Web logs, or blogs, the Internet shorthand used to describe online personal journals.

Yahoo also is making it easier for the service's users to connect with others who share common interests and friends — a practice known as social networking. Participants can either choose to open their blogs to the entire world or restrict access to people invited through e-mail.

"We heard from people that they have a strong desire to stay close to the people who are important to them, but at the same time they didn't want to feel like they were exposing themselves online," said Julie Herendeen, Yahoo's vice president of network products.

The service represents Yahoo's effort to tap into the popularity of blogs and social networking sites.

Although many critics continue to dismiss blogs as mostly prosaic rambling, 27 percent of online adults in the United States read them and another 7 percent write them, according to a study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project.

Blogs also have gained more credibility as they have broken news missed by the mainstream media and provided firsthand accounts of the war in Iraq (news - web sites) and the tsunami that killed thousands in Asia.

Meanwhile, social networking sites are establishing themselves as major online attractions.

MySpace.com, the most popular among the bunch, drew 8.9 million unique visitors who generated 4.6 billion page views last month, according to comScore Media Metrix, a research firm. By comparison, Yahoo's 110 million unique visitors accounted for nearly 30 billion page views last month, Media Metrix said

Expanding into social networking and blogging mark another significant step in Yahoo's push to make its Web site even more essential to the personal and professional pursuits of its users.

The service is also meant to encourage Yahoo's most frequent visitors to create and share more content, a process the company hopes will attract even more people to its site. If it can increase its audience's size and give visitors more reasons to stick around longer, Yahoo would become an even more attractive marketing vehicle for advertisers.

Some of Yahoo's other rivals already have ventured into blogging and social networking, with limited success so far.

Online search engine leader Google Inc., Microsoft's MSN.com and Ask Jeeves Inc. all have become involved in the blogging movement. Google also is dabbling with a social networking service called Orkut, joining other well-known sites such as Lycos.

MySpace.com Chief Executive Chris DeWolf predicted Yahoo will have a tough time catching up with entrenched social networking sites like the one he runs.

Yahoo is entering social networking with a significant advantage because so many people have already shared their personal information with the company to become registered users. Yahoo also has deep pockets, with $3.5 billion in cash and short-term investments at the end of 2004.



When it becomes available later this month, Yahoo 360 initially will be restricted to users invited by the company. Those early participants will then be able to invite others.

MY ADVICE endeavors at keen.com. The number is 1-800-275-5336 (800-ask-keen) + ext. 0329063 for tech stuff, 0329117 for running a small business, and 0329144 on investing. Want to CHAT, I use Yahoo's IM as the_web_ster. View me in the Friends & Family part of webcamnow.com, just click on "view cams", then in the Java window click on WebcamNow Communities drop down arrow & select Friends & Family. Under the live webcams look for & click on me "the_webster".

---

"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored."-- Aldous Huxley

As the prostitute said, "It's not the work, it's the stairs." As told to me by Elaine Stritch, star of stage, screen, & TV, right after she won her 1st Emmy. Ago 79.

---

Dan Tynan and Scott Spanbauer

If people didn't fall for online scams, online scammers would take up another line of work. And really, it isn't terribly hard to protect yourself.

If you do one thing today, print out the following list and tape it to your computer.

Be wary of any financial solicitation from a stranger, especially if there's a sense of urgency involved. Scammers always want you to act without thinking too hard about it.

Be very clear about what you're buying from an auction site, and what such items typically cost.

Be wary of goods sold "as is" or sellers who claim products are authentic but refuse to provide proof.

Check the seller's reputation score carefully before you bid.

When you get an e-mail from your bank, never click the link inside it. Always open your browser and type your bank's Web address manually.

When you log in to your bank account, make sure you're doing it on a secure site; the Web address should start with "https" and you'll see a tiny lock icon in the bottom right corner of the browser.

Be suspicious of all contests and giveaways, and read the fine print before filling out any online forms. Pay COD for shipping and handling, if you can.
Don't believe all return addresses. Though an e-mail message may claim it's from your bank, your ISP, or even your boss, that doesn't mean it is. Spammers and virus mailers generally spoof the "From" address field in their messages with a legitimate address that they've stolen. You may even have received spam from yourself as a result of this clever technique.

Don't open e-mail attachments--unless you absolutely, 100-percent trust the sender (e.g., it's someone you know well sending an attachment you've been expecting). Most viruses and worms arrive on your PC in the form of e-mail attachments.

If you think you've been taken for a ride, contact local law enforcement in your area. Then file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center.
END
Also don't forget the latest, you can now get sent a link in your messenger, Mirosoft was the first, that sends you to a virus web page. Look back at my earlier enter on it for detail. It wasn't long ago that this new way to GET YA came about. The link isn't being sent by the person your chatting with. It'll be something like, "Oh, and I thought this was funny". I think I labled it something like "Another way to get ya"



MY ADVICE endeavors at keen.com. The number is 1-800-275-5336 (800-ask-keen) + ext. 0329063 for tech stuff, 0329117 for running a small business, and 0329144 on investing. Want to CHAT, I use Yahoo's IM as the_web_ster. View me in the Friends & Family part of webcamnow.com, just click on "view cams", then in the Java window click on WebcamNow Communities drop down arrow & select Friends & Family. Under the live webcams look for & click on me "the_webster".

---

"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored."-- Aldous Huxley

As the prostitute said, "It's not the work, it's the stairs." As told to me by Elaine Stritch, star of stage, screen, & TV, right after she won her 1st Emmy. Ago 79.

---

E-Mail Paranoia
I don't email this info as I did once, it's safer to blog it.

By Scott Spanbauer

I love the Toshiba laptop I bought last year. I keep just about everything related to work, school, and my finances on it. So when I received an e-mail from Toshiba warning that my model may have a data-threatening memory defect, I was anxious to find out whether my machine was affected. A link in the message took me to a Toshiba Web page, which promised to download a utility to my PC that would check for a defective memory module. All I had to do was click one button.

But just as I was about to click that button, a doubt bubbled up from the depths of my digital credulity. Could the whole thing be a scam? Was I about to download and install a Trojan horse, backdoor program, or worm? As it turned out, it wasn't a trick: Toshiba really did send out an e-mail containing an embedded link leading to an executable file download located at a long, complex Web address. Trouble is, phishing exploits, browser hijackers, and other online scams often hook their victims by using similar-looking e-mail messages.

Fortunately, you can learn to spot these e-mail cons by using a handful of investigative techniques and a boatload of common sense. Here are some of the ways to tell a genuine message from a bogus one.


Don't Take the Bait

If you keep just this one thing in mind, you'll protect yourself from the majority of e-mail attacks: Assume any message could be malicious. It matters not who the sender appears to be, or whether the message's corporate logos, artwork, and embedded links look authentic. It's a trivial matter for scam artists to create fake messages that contain return addresses, images, and URLs lifted from the real company's own Web site.

Next, use your newfound paranoia to examine messages critically. If you don't have an account with Citibank, for example, the company won't be sending you any account-related e-mail. But even messages that appear to come from firms you have an account with may not be real. Remember, your new motto is "Trust No One."

Before clicking a link or taking any action requested in a message, determine for certain that the message is genuine. Return addresses, embedded links, and images can be deceiving. Look for dire warnings and other classic con techniques, undoubtedly accompanied by a link to a bogus Web site where you'll be asked to enter personal information.

Legitimate e-mails and scams can look very much alike. Both may be text-based, reasonably well written, and plausible (although phishing messages often contain typos and poorly composed sentences with questionable logic). Both also contain real addresses to each company's Web site. The only difference is that, for example, a faux-Citibank message also may have a link to a short-lived phishing site where the unsuspecting visitor is asked to enter personal information. Rather than providing a link to a specific page, genuine messages from companies that are savvy to phishing and other online fraud will generally instruct you to visit or log in to the company's main Web site.

Another clue: A phishing message may be delivered to an e-mail address that you don't use with that company or institution. Note that I've received phishing messages at a widely publicized (and indexed) address (nettips@pcworld.com), whereas a genuine PayPal message came to my personal address, which I had previously verified with PayPal. If you get a message at an address you never registered with the company, it's fake.

Know Your Links

Intuition and a suspicious nature are a good start, but to separate real messages from bogus ones, you also need to decipher their Web addresses. In a couple text-based messages I received, all addresses were plain text, so what I clicked was what I got. Clicking "https://www.paypal.com" took me to the real PayPal Web site. But clicking "http://218.45.31.164/signin/citifi/scripts/login2/index.html" didn't exactly lead to a Citibank Web site.

One clue is the string of numbers following the URL prefix "http://". Every Web site resides at a specific Internet Protocol address, so, for example, you can get to the PCWorld.com site by typing 65.220.224.30 in your browser's address bar instead of www.pcworld.com. However, "218.45.31.164" doesn't lead to the Citibank Web site, even though the rest of the address looks like other links you may routinely click. The only way you can be sure to reach the real Citibank site is to type the domain-name-based URL www.citibank.com into your browser's address window manually. (And once you do, be sure to click the Consumer Alert link that describes these fraudulent e-mail messages.) If you're not sure where an IP address leads, don't click it.

Substituting a numeric IP address for a domain name in a URL isn't the only way a malicious message will try to trick you. The address "www.citibank.com" is the real deal, but "www.citibank.phishing.com" could lead anywhere. Every domain name ends with a top-level domain, such as.com,.org,.edu, or a country-specific TLD such as.cn (China),.uk (United Kingdom), or.ru (Russia). The word just to the left of this TLD, together with the TLD portion, spells out the actual domain name: "citibank.com", for example, is all it takes to get to Citibank's site. When a phisher modifies a domain name slightly, or inserts a word to the left of the TLD, the link changes. Phishers hope that you won't know or notice the difference between "pcworld.com" and "pcworld-gotcha.com" or "pcworld.phishing.com."

E-mail attacks can also use the HTML formatting to conceal the true destination of links. If a message is composed using HTML, the underlined link text may not be the same as the actual embedded link. This was true of the e-mail I received from Toshiba and was one reason I became suspicious of its origin. Most e-mail programs display an embedded link's destination URL in the bottom status bar or in a pop-up window when you hover the mouse pointer over it.

The Safe Way to a Site

I needed to find out whether the message from Toshiba was genuine; if it was, I would have to test my beloved laptop for a faulty memory module. First I entered a likely Toshiba site URL--"toshiba.com"--into my browser's address bar; this move transported me to a global Toshiba site.

After rummaging around awhile, I finally stumbled upon a Web page describing the same issues noted in the Toshiba e-mail, and using the same URLs. Voil?! I had my confirmation--the Toshiba e-mail was truly legitimate. But I still never clicked the message's embedded link, going instead through the link on the company's Web site. You can never be too careful.

Scott Spanbauer is a contributing editor for PC World. He writes the monthly Internet Tips column.

MY ADVICE endeavors at keen.com. The number is 1-800-275-5336 (800-ask-keen) + ext. 0329063 for tech stuff, 0329117 for running a small business, and 0329144 on investing. Want to CHAT, I use Yahoo's IM as the_web_ster. View me in the Friends & Family part of webcamnow.com, just click on "view cams", then in the Java window click on WebcamNow Communities drop down arrow & select Friends & Family. Under the live webcams look for & click on me "the_webster".

---

"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored."-- Aldous Huxley

As the prostitute said, "It's not the work, it's the stairs." As told to me by Elaine Stritch, star of stage, screen, & TV, right after she won her 1st Emmy. Ago 79.

---

Dan Tynan

After years of trying to recover from the dot-com hangover, the Internet is booming again. Online retail sales increased by 26 percent in 2004, according to comScore Networks. In September 2004, the number of domain name registrations hit 64.5 million--an all-time high. You know what else is on the rise? Internet crime.

Complaints about online fraud nearly doubled from 2003 to 2004, according to a December 2004 report by the FBI (news - web sites) and the National White Collar Crime Center. Research firm Gartner estimates that nearly 10 million Americans were hit by online fraudsters last year--largely due to a wave of phishing e-mails seeking to steal users' identities.

In fact, phishing attacks seem to be the new, hot scam. Scammers send you an e-mail that tries to lure you to a legitimate-looking Web site where you'll be asked to enter personal information. The thing is, it's all fake; and if you fall for it, someone is ready to take your Social Security (news - web sites) Number and start opening credit card accounts.


The FBI recently began warning people of scammers posing as tsunami-relief organizations. And late last month, the FBI warned that someone out there was even posing as the FBI itself--sending a fraudulent e-mail with the subject line "FBI Investigation" and trying to lure people into buying products from a separate, fictional scam artist whom the Feds were supposedly on to.

Confusing? Sure. But just ask yourself this: When was the last time the FBI sent a polite e-mail when they wanted someone's cooperation in an investigation?

Thousands of con artists, grifters, fraudsters, and other denizens of the dark are trolling for victims online. Can you recognize online fraud when you see it? Here's a quick guide to the Top 5 scams and schemes you're most likely to find on the 'Net.

1. Auction Fraud

The setup: Online auction fraud accounts for three-quarters of all complaints registered with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (formerly the Internet Fraud Complaint Center). There are many types of eBay chicanery, but the most common one is where you send in your money and get nothing but grief in return.

What actually happens: You never get the product promised, or the promises don't match the product. The descriptions may be vague, incomplete, or completely fake. One scammer accepted bids for Louis Vuitton bags that she didn't own, and then scoured the Internet looking for cheap knockoffs that cost less than the winning bid. She managed to collect at least $18,000 from bidders before she got nailed. A buyer thought he'd purchased a portable DVD player for $100, but what he got instead was a Web address for a site where he could buy a player for a $200 discount. The stories are virtually endless.

The risk: You get ripped off, losing time and money. If you spill the beans about the scam, the seller may retaliate by posting negative eBay reports about you using phony names.

The question you've gotta ask yourself: Who in their right mind would sell a $200 bag for $20?

2. Phishing Scams

The setup: You receive an e-mail that looks like it came from your bank, warning you about identity theft and asking that you log in and verify your account information. The message says that if you don't take action immediately, your account will be terminated.

What actually happens: Even though the e-mail looks like the real deal, complete with authentic logos and working Web links, it's a clever fake. The Web site where you're told to enter your account information is also bogus. In some instances, really smart phishers direct you to the genuine Web site, then pop up a window over the site that captures your personal information.

The risk: Your account information will be sold to criminals, who'll use it to ruin your credit and drain your account. According to Gartner, phishing scammers took consumers (and their banks, who had to cover the charges) for $1.2 billion in 2003.

The question you've gotta ask yourself: If this matter is so urgent, why isn't my bank calling me instead of sending e-mail?

3. Nigerian 419 Letter

The setup: You receive an e-mail, usually written in screaming capital letters, that starts out like this:

"DEAR SIR/MADAM: I REPRESENT THE RECENTLY DEPOSED MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE FOR NODAMBIZIA, WHO HAS EMBEZZLED 30 MILLION DOLLARS FROM HIS STARVING COUNTRYMEN AND NOW NEEDS TO GET IT OUT OF THE COUNTRY..."

The letter says the scammers are seeking an accomplice who will transfer the funds into their account for a cut of the total--usually around 30 percent. You'll be asked to travel overseas to meet with the scammers and complete the necessary paperwork. But before the transaction can be finalized, you must pay thousands of dollars in "taxes," "attorney costs," "bribes," or other advance fees.

What actually happens: There's no minister and no money--except for the money you put up in advance. Victims who travel overseas may find themselves physically threatened and not allowed to leave until they cough up the cash. (FYI, "419" is named for the section of Nigeria's penal code that the scam violates.)

The risk: Serious financial loss--or worse. Victims of Nigerian letter fraud lose $3000 on average, according to the FBI. Several victims have been killed or gone missing while chasing a 419 scheme.

The question you've gotta ask yourself: Of all the people in the world, why would a corrupt African bureaucrat pick me to be his accomplice?

4. Postal Forwarding/Reshipping Scam

The setup: You answer an online ad looking for a "correspondence manager." An offshore corporation that lacks a U.S. address or bank account needs someone to take goods sent to their address and reship them overseas. You may also be asked to accept wire transfers into your bank account, then transfer the money to your new boss's account. In each case, you collect a percentage of the goods or amount transferred.

What actually happens: Products are purchased online using stolen credit cards--often with identities that have been purloined by phishers--and shipped to your address. You then reship them to the thieves, who will fence them overseas. Or you're transferring stolen funds from one account to another to obscure the money trail.

The risk: Sure, you can make big bucks for a while. But after a few months, you're going to look inside your bank account and find it cleaned out. Worse, when the feds come looking for the scammers, you're the one they're going to nail.

The question you've gotta ask yourself: Why can't these people receive their own darn mail?

5. "Congratulations, You've Won an Xbox (news - web sites) (IPod, plasma TV, etc.)"

The setup: You get an e-mail telling you that you've won something cool--usually the hot gadget du jour, such as an Xbox or an IPod. All you need to do is visit a Web site and provide your debit card number and PIN to cover "shipping and handling" costs.

What actually happens: The item never arrives. A few months later, mystery charges start showing up on your bank account. The only thing that gets shipped and handled is your identity. (A more benign variation on this scam drives you to a site where you're asked to cough up your contact info and agree to receive spam from advertisers until unwanted e-mail is coming out of your ears.)

The risk: Identity theft, as well as lost money if you don't dispute the charges.

The question you've gotta ask yourself: When did I enter a contest to win an Xbox (iPod, plasma TV, etc.)?

Award-winning journalist Dan Tynan has written about Internet scams and scammers for more than a decade. He's the author of PC World's Gadget Freak column and the upcoming book, Privacy Annoyances (O'Reilly Media, 2005). He has never come to the rescue of a deposed African bureaucrat.



MY ADVICE endeavors at keen.com. The number is 1-800-275-5336 (800-ask-keen) + ext. 0329063 for tech stuff, 0329117 for running a small business, and 0329144 on investing. Want to CHAT, I use Yahoo's IM as the_web_ster. View me in the Friends & Family part of webcamnow.com, just click on "view cams", then in the Java window click on WebcamNow Communities drop down arrow & select Friends & Family. Under the live webcams look for & click on me "the_webster".

---

"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored."-- Aldous Huxley

As the prostitute said, "It's not the work, it's the stairs." As told to me by Elaine Stritch, star of stage, screen, & TV, right after she won her 1st Emmy. Ago 79.

---

March 14th, 2005, sorry about that but I don't use or advise useing AOL so I don't fellow new of them. Anyway;
From the how-nice-of-them dept.
While it's likely that many people already suspected that using AOL's instant messaging product, AIM, you were opening yourself up to all sorts of privacy breaches, most of those people probably didn't realize that this was officially condoned and promoted by AOL in their terms of service. Well, to be fair, it's only in their "new" terms of service for AIM (though, it applies to anyone who downloaded the product in the last year), which states: "You waive any right to privacy. You waive any right to inspect or approve uses of the content or to be compensated for any such uses." At least they come right out and say it, rather than hiding it behind legal speak. Update: AOL has responded to the story -- but seem to miss the point. All they say is that AOL doesn't read what you say -- even though the TOS say they can. Also, they claim that this isn't "new" but has been in place since last year (which makes sense, since that's when the terms apply to). Of course, that doesn't actually make the TOS any less of an issue. If AOL isn't violating your privacy, why should they make you give up those rights? Update again: And, now, they're saying the "you have no privacy" statement only refers to public posts on public forums -- which actually does make sense, though seems to be implied from the fact that those forums are "public." Either way, it's beginning to sound like this is much ado about nothing.

MUCH TO DO ABOUT NOTHING. Stop useing it and they'll change thing back or go away. Try it. It is that eazy to get what you want in this counrty, as it only master is the all mighty DOLLAR. And if your not there to see the ads they lose $$$. And then they change.



MY ADVICE endeavors at keen.com. The number is 1-800-275-5336 (800-ask-keen) + ext. 0329063 for tech stuff, 0329117 for running a small business, and 0329144 on investing. Want to CHAT, I use Yahoo's IM as the_web_ster. View me in the Friends & Family part of webcamnow.com, just click on "view cams", then in the Java window click on WebcamNow Communities drop down arrow & select Friends & Family. Under the live webcams look for & click on me "the_webster".