E-Mail Scam Watch For IRS E-Mail Scams During Tax Season Ask The Help Desk Where's The Correct Place For E-Mail Replies? Sites Of The Month Great Sites To Check Out In March! Short Tutorial Manually Adjusting Time Settings To Match Earlier DST Start

Dear Netlink Customer, Spring begins this month and with it comes a fresh season of timely topics. With April 15 right around the corner, we bring you warnings of IRS e-mail scams aimed at unsuspecting taxpayers. You'll also learn how to adjust the date/time settings on your computer and find out the proper placement of e-mail replies within the message pane. Visit the sites we've selected to celebrate Women's History Month, discover fascinating facts about different nations, and get answers to common money questions. For pure springtime fun, check out the latest Will Ferrell movie and try your luck at fantasy baseball. The goal of each of our monthly eNewsletters is to keep our subscribers informed regarding their Internet connection and to improve their Internet experience. To meet this goal, each monthly newsletter will usually contain information related to: Warnings on a recent virus, e-mail hoax or security issue that may affect you An update on new services and other local interests An answer to a frequently asked Internet related question Some fun, seasonal websites to check out A short, step-by-step tutorial on an e-mail or browser related task 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. To see what's inside this issue, take a look at the index to the left and thanks for reading! - The Netlink Team

E-Mail Scam - Watch For IRS E-Mail Scams During Tax Season

It's a familiar scenario. As April 15th approaches, the amount of tax-related spam increases. The Internal Revenue Service has identified at least 105 different e-mail scams featuring the fraudulent use of the government agency's logo and Web address.

While there are variations of the IRS e-mail scam (some promise a tax refund and others threaten an audit), your response should always be exactly the same — DO NOTHING EXCEPT DELETE IT. Do not click links in the body of the e-mail and do not provide any information. Remember, the IRS never sends e-mail messages to taxpayers. If they need to contact you about a tax refund or audit, they will do so by mail.

These e-mail messages are phishing scams aimed at bilking you out of personal information such as your Social Security number and bank account numbers. Scammers are capitalizing on the fact that more than half of all tax returns are now filed electronically. For example, a recent e-mail claiming to be from the IRS contained this message: "You filed your tax return and you're expecting a refund. You have just one question and you want the answer now. Where's My Refund? Access this secure Web site to find out . . ." When victims click on the link, they find an IRS site that looks official but is actually a fake.

The good news is that you can help shut down these schemes and prevent others from being victimized. If you receive a suspicious e-mail that claims to come from the IRS, relay that e-mail to this IRS mailbox: phishing@irs.gov. The IRS can use the information, URLs, and links in the suspicious e-mail messages that you send to trace the hosting site and alert authorities.

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Ask The Help Desk - Where's The Correct Place For E-Mail Replies?

Question: When I reply to an e-mail, I put my reply at the top of the message pane (above the sender's original message). Most of my friends and family do the same thing. However, I correspond with a few people who reply to e-mail messages at the bottom of the message pane. Which way is correct?

Answer: Congratulations! You come out on top in this debate. Typing your e-mail reply message at the top of previously sent correspondence is considered proper etiquette. This just makes sense from an efficiency standpoint, especially when you have a series of messages going back and forth between two people. When the most recent reply is at the top of the message pane, it's right there in front of the receiver and ready to be read. By contrast, when the reply is placed at the bottom, the receiver has to waste time scrolling down the e-mail to find it.

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Great Sites To Check Out This Month

Astounding Stats
http://nationmaster.com/index.php -  Any idea what the least populated country in the world is? It's Pitcairn Island, which has just 45 residents. What country has the most Internet users per capita? It's New Zealand. And did you know that in Taiwan, mobile phones actually outnumber people? You'll find a world of fascinating facts at this site, which provides a vast central source of statistics comparing nations in more than one thousand categories. Browse around and you'll probably discover a thing or two about your own nation. For example, did you know that the U.S. is the all-time leader in number of Summer Olympics medals?

March is Women's History Month
http://history.com/minisites/womenhist -  According to the U.S. Census Bureau, women now outnumber men in this country (152 million compared with 148 million). If women of the past are any indication, today's women will continue to make valuable contributions in every field. This site celebrates Women's History Month with a look at groundbreaking American women throughout the years. For example, did you know that Victoria Chaflin Woodhull was the first female presidential candidate in 1872? Check out the list of Firsts in Women’s Achievement, the History of Women's Suffrage, and the National Women's Hall of Fame. It's an inspiring tour through the lives of amazing women.

Laughter on Ice
http://bladesofglorymovie.com/ -  For the first time in the history of the sport, two men (Will Ferrell and Jon Heder, star of Napoleon Dynamite) compete as a figure skating pair. That's the premise behind this lighthearted comedy from DreamWorks, which promises to spin, lift, and jump its way through laugh after laugh. (The skating costumes alone are worth a chuckle.) See the trailer at this site and register for updates on special events and promotions.

Wealth of Money Tools
http://smartmoney.com/worksheets -  Different stages of life generate different types of financial decisions. Should I buy or lease a car? How much house can we afford? How much should I save for college? How long will my money last once I retire? This site contains a broad range of step-by-step financial worksheets to help you find the answers you need. It's easy to use and a smart resource for making informed choices about buying, saving, investing, and borrowing.

Join the Fun of Fantasy Baseball
http://www.mlb.com/mlb/fantasy/wsfb/info/index.jsp -  The free fantasy baseball game, MLB.com Open, starts a new season on April 2nd. So now's the time to join the fun and compete for the $10,000 prize. The easy-to-play game is designed for fantasy participants of all skill levels so anyone can take a swing at it. Play with your friends in your own private league or test your skills as an individual against a random group of eleven other participants. Get complete contest rules and register online, then check out the site's stats on team records, players, draft action, and more.

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Short Tutorial - Manually Adjusting Time Settings To Match Earlier DST Start

As a result of the U.S. Energy Policy Act of 2005, Daylight Saving Time (DST) is set to begin three weeks earlier this year on March 11th. (Congress decided that more early evening daylight would translate into energy savings.) Most U.S. states and Canadian provinces are following this revised DST schedule. Be aware that unless certain updates are applied to your computer, it's possible that the date/time settings may now be incorrect. This is because software created before 2005 is set to automatically advance its timekeeping by one hour on the first Sunday in April, not the second Sunday in March.

To help you "spring ahead" this year without stumbling, just follow these steps:

Windows Users

1. Go to this webpage: http://support.microsoft.com/gp/cp_dst and read the introduction to see whether you need to update your PC for the new daylight savings time law.
   
   
2. Select the option that best applies to you from the list and then click "Next."
   
   
3. Select your operating system and click "Next."
   
   
4. To download the update for the system you selected, click the "Download" button.
   
   
5. You will be asked if you want to download the update to your disk or run it immediately. Either way is fine but, for the purpose of this tutorial, we will choose to run the update. Click the "Run" button.
   
   
6. The "Internet Explorer - Security Warning" dialog box will appear. Click the "Run" button again.
   
   
7. The first screen of the "Software Update Installation Wizard" will appear. Click the "Next" button.
   
   
8. The "License Agreement" screen will appear next. Click on "I Agree" to agree to the terms and then click the "Next" button.
   
   
9. The final screen of the installation wizard will appear. Click the "Finish" button.
   
   
10. When the installation wizard quits, you will return to the "Update your operating system" window in Internet Explorer. Click the "Next" button.
    
    
11. Some other programs will require additional updates. Select the program you would like to update and then continue. This applies mostly to Outlook users, not Outlook Express users. If you are an Outlook Express user or if you use Thunderbird or some other e-mail client, select "I do not use Outlook" and click the "Next" button. If you do use any of those programs, mark them and follow the directions.
    
    
12. The "I do not use Outlook" window will appear. Click the "Next" button.
    
    
13. You are now finished. As the final screen says, there is no reason to restart.

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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,

Mike Huggenberger
Director
Great Plains Communications Netlink



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