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Happy New Year! |
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Greetings CTC Internet Subscribers
We think you'll find the information contained in this
newsletter to be a valuable tool for enhancing your Internet experience. If,
however, you'd prefer not to receive these bulletins on a monthly basis,
click HERE.
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Happy
New Year! - Time To Change Your Passwords
The
start of a new year is a good time to change your passwords, making sure you
create strong ones that will be less vulnerable to hackers. Why bother? Because
a stolen password leads to identity theft, the fastest growing crime in the
Given the importance of passwords, it makes sense to spend a little extra time
on their development:
- Make it lengthy. Each character added to your
password increases the protection. It should be at least 8 characters in
length; 14 characters or longer is ideal.
- Combine letters, numbers, and symbols. The
greater variety of characters, the harder it is to guess.
- Use a sentence as the starting point. Think of a
memorable sentence, take the first letter of each word, then mix up lower
case and upper case, and replace some letters with numbers and symbols.
- Avoid sequences or repeated characters.
- Don't use dictionary words.
Once you've created a new password, find out just how strong
it is by visiting Microsoft Corp.'s Password Checker: www.microsoft.com/protect/yourself/password/checker.mspx
Stay
Connected - During Winter Storms
In
light of the increased use of wireless phones, cordless phones, and VoIP, CTC
wants to remind you that these types of telephone technology will not work if electricity
goes out due to winter storms. One item to always have on hand is a corded
landline phone that plugs into the phone jack in the wall. Since a corded phone
does not require electricity, it can be your back-up method of communication
during and after a storm — keeping you connected to emergency personnel,
family, and friends.
It's important to understand:
- Once batteries wear out, cordless phones and
laptops require electricity and will not continue to work during a power
outage.
- Wireless phone systems and towers are not
required to provide backup power so wireless phones may not operate during
a power outage either.
For safety's sake, CTC urges you to keep at least one corded
landline phone in your home stored near a flashlight and other emergency items.
Ask
The Help Desk - How Do I Delete Many E-mail Messages At
The Same Time?
Question: Some time ago I found out how
to use keys to select a number of e-mails to remove them all at once instead of
one at a time. Now I don't remember how this is done. Can you remind me? I have
Outlook Express 6 and use Windows XP Home Edition for my operating system.
Answer: If you want to delete
groups of e-mail messages that are listed all together, click on the first
message in the group of e-mail messages you want to delete to highlight it. Now
hold down the "Shift" key and select the last message in the group
that is to be deleted. All messages between and including the first and last
messages selected will be highlighted. Then simply hit the "Delete"
button on the Outlook Express toolbar. All of the highlighted messages will be
deleted.
Great
Sites To Check Out This Month
Idol Thoughts
http://americanidol.com -
Season seven of American Idol
begins this month and television viewers are singing a happy tune. With dramas
and comedies in reruns due to the writers' strike, fresh episodes of the
popular competition will be music to many ears. Visit this site to see audition
preview videos, get a behind-the-scenes look at the show, and sign up to
receive the American Idol
newsletter. You can also look back at some favorite "Idol" moments
from past seasons including unforgettable comments from the judges.
Update for Travelers
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html -
All U.S. travelers returning from
Deal or No Deal
http://www.nbc.com/Deal_or_No_Deal -
Here's the deal — if you're looking for entertainment alone, watch the
game show Deal or No Deal with
Howie Mandel on TV. If you'd like a chance at winning up to $100,000, play the
Lucky Case Game online during Deal or No
Deal broadcasts. The online promotion runs through March 31, 2008,
so you still have time to try your luck at the loot.
Record-breaking Resource
http://guinnessworldrecords.com -
Could this be your year to set a record? Find out what it takes from the
experts at Guinness World Records. Click on the Break a World Record link to
get information on making a claim. Or just browse through the Video Vault for a
look at the fastest, strongest, largest, and most incredible things on the
planet. From the largest disco ball to the heaviest car balanced on the head,
there's enough here to keep you amazed for hours. Search by category: human
body, amazing feats, natural world, science & tech, arts & media,
modern society, travel & transport, and sports & games.
New Year's Resolutions
http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/New_Years_Resolutions.shtml -
This time of year, everybody is talking about New Year's resolutions —
even the U.S. government is ready to give you advice. This site contains tips
for most of the top resolutions including: lose weight, pay off debt, save
money, get a better job, eat right, and get fit. For help with the last one,
for example, you'll be directed to the website of the President's Council on
Physical Fitness and Sports. But you'll still have to do the exercises
yourself.
Short
Tutorial - Finding What Version Of Browser You're Using
People
often refer to the version number of the Web browser they are using. For
example, some talk about Internet Explorer 7 while others mention Firefox 2. To
discover what version of Web browser you are using to surf the Internet, follow
the steps below. Note that different steps are required to discover whether you
are using Internet Explorer 6 (or older versions) or Internet Explorer 7.
Discover Your Browser's Version Number When
Using Internet Explorer 6 Or Older With Windows XP Home Edition
- Launch your Internet Explorer browser.
- Go to the menu bar at you top of your screen and
select "Help."
- Click on "About Internet Explorer"
from the resulting submenu. The "About Internet Explorer" window
will appear listing the exact version of Internet Explorer.
Discover Your Browser's Version Number When
Using Internet Explorer 7 With Windows XP Home Edition Or Windows
- Launch your Internet Explorer browser.
- Note that Internet Explorer 7 does not have a
menu bar by default. Click your cursor arrow instead on the two
right-pointing arrows located to the far right of the icons on the
browser's toolbar. (The arrows will be found on the very far right of your
screen.)
- Click on "Help" from the resulting
menu screen and then "About Internet Explorer" from the submenu.
The "About Internet Explorer" window will appear listing the
exact version of Internet Explorer.
Discover Your Browser's Version Number When
Using Firefox With Windows XP Home Edition Or Windows
- Launch your Firefox browser.
- Go to the menu bar at the top of your screen and
select "Help."
- Select "About Mozilla Firefox" from
the resulting menu screen. A small window will appear listing the exact
version of Firefox.
Discover Your Browser's Version Number When
Using Safari With Macintosh OS X
- Launch your Safari browser.
- Click your cursor arrow on "Safari"
located on the menu bar at the top of your screen.
- Click on "About Safari" from the
resulting menu screen. A small window will appear listing the exact
version of Safari.
Discover Your Browser's Version Number When
Using Firefox With Macintosh OS X
- Launch your Firefox browser.
- Click your cursor arrow on "Firefox"
located on the menu bar at the top of your screen.
- Click on "About Mozilla Firefox" from
the resulting menu screen. A small window will appear listing the exact
version of Firefox.
We
hope you found this newsletter to be informative. It's our way of keeping you
posted on the happenings here. If, however, you'd prefer not to receive these
bulletins on a monthly basis, click HERE.
Thanks for your business!
Best regards,
The CTC Internet Team
Consolidated Telephone Company
218-829-3531
(We have used our best efforts in collecting and preparing the information
published herein. However, we do not assume, and hereby disclaim, any and all
liability for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions, whether such
errors or omissions resulted from negligence, accident, or other causes.)
©2008 Cornerstone Publishing Group Inc.
Trademarks: All brand names and product names used in this eNewsletter are
trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their
respective owners.