Insects and Scumbags

Remember that old saying 'coming/crawling out of the woodwork'?

Supposedly this pertains to insects coming out of the wooden parts of a house. In time it was used for anything unexpected or hidden, usually something unpleasant.

Today it is a good description for scammers. The scam may come in email, snail mail or the telephone. Even TV ads may just be a scam.  All of those car waranty ads come to mind, as well as ads for 'real health insurance'.

Just recently someone called my siter-in-law and tried to get her banking information by telling her there was a problem with her account.  Fortunately she is no dummy and the scammer got nothing from her and hung up when she tried to get him to tell her what bank he was calling about.

There is just about nothing these evil doers won't try to scam folks out of their money.  I hate to insult the insects, but today it's the scumbags 'coming out of the woodwork'!

Watch out for Automatic Renewals and Those Renewal Notices

Recently someone told me about having a hard time canceling their subscription for a virus scanner. The user had decided not to renew this program and use another scanner.

However the company had charged the user's credit card using an automatic renewal that the user had no idea was in place. Possibly in the fine print of the EULA or somewhere in an obscure place there was a notice to the effect that the automatic renewal would happen, but that is doubtful.

While this may be of benefit for some users who might forget to renew the subscription, it seems to me it is an underhanded way to boost the revenue for the company. My answer for this problem is to buy a program from a local retailer or if that is not an option, use a credit card that offers a 'one time use'. Then if the company tries to charge the credit card, the charge will not go through.

This is not the only place where 'automatic renewals' can happen. Some periodicals will do the same thing.

Prevention magazine tried to use the same tactic with me. Since I was bitterly disapponted with this magazine (more ads than content) I certainly did not intend to renew the subscription.  When I called to complain, I was told I had signed up for the automatic renewal.  I knew better!

I also received an alternative health newsletter that tried the same tactic. When I called to see why, I got the same response. "You signed up for automtic renewal". I immediately canceled that newsletter and made the decision not to get any more snail mail newsletters.

Last year I decided to not renew any of my many magazine subscriptions.  When they all contain more ads than content I just decided I didn't need them any more.  I also got rather peeved when they kept sending me renewal notices a year in advance! I recently read about an elderly gentleman in his 90's that had a subscription paid up for 30 years! He just kept returning that renewal notice.

It seems that the scammers have gone main stream.  How sad is that.

Martha

Don't give that site your password!

Did you join one of the 'social networks'? If you did join one, did you give the site the login and password to your email account?

Why?

Did you give the site that information because it asked for it? If you don't know by now that is not a very good idea, then I will tell you why you need to keep your email private.

You need to know what happens when you give that 'social network' your login and password. They are going to 'spam' everyone in your address book by sending them an 'invitation to join this social network. This invitation will be sent to any business address, your boss (that could be very embarrassing!), every contact you have in your address book. This may include the owner/moderators for Yahoo Groups/other lists and can get you removed from the group/list! Owner/moderators really don't want to join your social network and don't appreciate the spam/invitation.

I suspect you probably didn't know that was going to happen, but in fact it did.

Now comes another question. What will that site do with all those email addresses it just added to their email address database? You do know spammers pay big bucks for email addresses, don't you?

Now just in case you didn't know all this and think you may want your friends to join you on that social site, most of them have an option for you to just add the email addresses manually. You might want to ask them first though, just in case they don't want their email address to be added to a potential spammers' list.

Think about it, giving someone access to your email is just not a good idea. Who knows what could happen if someone in charge of that database turns rogue and decides to 'have some fun' with your email account!

Did You Use An Online Service To Do Your Taxes?

I always buy my tax software and complete the return on my computer. I have always felt that online services of any sort are subject to hacking and who knows how these sites are really secure? (OK, I'm slightly paranoid!)

Several years ago I decided to 'test' the validity of the figures my purchased software produced, so I signed up online to a well known tax software site and input the data for my return.  Being the paranoid person that I am, all I put in for personal data was my name and email address that was required to signup.  No Social Security number, no address, etc. as I used the 'fill out later' option for those requirements. Once I determined my purchased software produced the same figues as the online version, I was finished and never went back to
the online site.

This year my paranoid feelings turned out to be right. I started recieving emails from this tax software company informing me that my electronic returns had been sent.

Now at first I thought this was a clever and well coded phish. It all looked very legitimate except for the fact the name of another person was included in the email. I decided I had better let this company know about the phish.  So I found a contact email and forwarded one of the emails to the company.

I was totally shocked when I received a reply saying the emails were from them! The email wanted me to provide the last four digits of my Social Security number and they would provide more information. Since they didn't have my Social Security number, that was a bit of a problem.

When I got more emails telling me the returns had been rejected due to some sort of errors I decided to see if I could find a phone number and call these folks.

I spoke to a nice man and explained the problem. He seemed to think that the person who filed the returns had used my email address. Now that explanation seemed to be totally lame (and typical!) as I just can't believe someone would use another person's email address for something as important as their tax returns. However he spoke to a supervisor and then he told me I would not receive any more emails from them.

Wrong! I have received at least three emails from them since then and today I got one asking me to 'Tell Us About Your Recent 'removed' Support Experience' and complete a survey!

This experience has just reinforced my belief that some things are better not done online!

Martha

Sneaky Stuff

Be careful when installing some legitmate programs or you may get some stuff you don't want.

When I installed the latest version of Java on my new laptop, I noticed that I was 'offered' Open Office as well. While I have nothing against Open Office, in fact it is a very useful and free office suite, and is installed on another of my computers, if I hadn't been watching I would have got the download for OO as well and it is a big download.

I like Foxit Reader and I like it much better than the piggy Adobe Reader. But the download wants me to take the Ask toolbar as well and insists I do and not just in one place. To me this is just 'shady' practice. I recall another 'offer' that wouldn't take no for an answer and really made me mad! I am not alone, read Bits From Bill.

Now I read that Symantec is doing the same thing! Here comes the Ask Toolbar again!

Are these reputable companies now forcing unwanted apps on us just to pad their bottom line? You bet, that's just what they are doing.

I understand when individuals that really need the money use Google Ads and that irritating Intellitxt to help pay the bill for their websites, but for companies like Symantec? Do they need the money that badly?

A word to the wise, unless you want all this 'value added' stuff, watch out while installing new apps! Getting to be more dangerous on the 'net every day.

Martha

The Disappearing Content

I am going to miss my morning newspaper. I still get a paper every morning, but it is less and less all the time.

There are a lot of full page ads, but I won't miss those. There are some articles that I still enjoy reading, but those are few and far between.  Most of what is in the paper I saw on the local news the day before, or I read it online from USA Today or CNN.

I used to get enough grocery coupons to pay for the cost of the paper. Now the coupons are still there, but not for stuff I want. Besides the store brands are less than the name brands even with a coupon.

I have been debating for some time whether or not to keep the newspaper. There has always been something satisfying about reading the paper with my morning coffee, and that enjoyment kept me from unsubscribing even though the content has been diminishing and some days there doesn't seem to be much of anything besides the comic strips. I need that morning chuckle to start the day.

Today was my decision day to stop paying over $200 a year for the paper. Sunday morning comics have always been a nice respite from all the negative news.  Today they were gone. No comics.  I called the paper to find out why and was told they were to be found in Section F. Why would you put the comics in the 'Homes for Sale section? Perverse humor? Nope they weren't there either.

"Well, look in the Your Life section, That is section F" the customer service rep said. Nope, not there either, and that section is section E not F. I know sometimes I may not 'get it', but I can read the section numbers! The comics are missing. So she sent me out another paper.

Guess what, no comics in this one either, but there were a few more ad circulars. The section numbers are still the same as the first paper. So, the customer service rep didn't know which section was which or else no one told her the comics were gone. Another thing could have been a 'Dilbert' move, they laid off the folks who know how to put the paper together.

Regardless of what happened, my decision has been made. I customized my Google page to include my favorite comics and that's the end of it.

Martha

Internet Explorer 8

Did Microsoft finally get IE right? Time will tell.

I installed IE 8 on my test computer which is using a nearly pristine version of Vista Home Premium. The computer is less than two months old and so far I am only using it to test stuff (no betas yet).

I attempted to import my bookmarks from Firefox (a nice improvement) and then I got the same old thing, 'not responding'. I closed IE and reopened it and found to my surprise that the bookmarks did import.

So I looked to see if the humongeous security hole was gone, but nope, it's still there! (ActiveX)

Until ActiveX is removed from IE, it will never be my default browser.

When I get a new computer with Windows 7, I will get two other browsers, Firefox and Opera and then I will disable Internet Explorer! (I hope they keep this option in the final release!)

Martha

Bonus Definitions

Bonus - Old definition. A reward for a job well done.

Bonus - New definition. Another way to screw the Amercian taxpayers by rewarding people who really should be fired for incompetance.

How terribly sad!

Martha

The Vista Bashers; Will They Bash Windows 7?

I am using the beta for Windows 7 and it is pretty cool.

It still has UAC. There are several levels of UAC, but if you really want protection, it needs to be the top level. (Security. Stops MBR Rootkits from installing as well as untold other crimeware).

Vista bashers like UAC turned off; guess they don't like to rely on Windows to protect their computers. First they fuss about the lack of security, but when they get it, they don't like it. Can't please some folks regardless of what you do.

It still won't support your old printer or scanner, because the printer and scanner manufacturers don't make drivers for them. (Not the fault of Vista or Windows 7, but try and make folks believe that!)

It looks cool and still puts things in different places than Windows XP. (The locations make more sense!)

The Internet connection utility is super cool. Windows 7 found my print server and installed the printer with no problems. I was amazed at how well that went.

So far Windows 7 seems to be fast, lean and working well. I did have to download an email program as no email client is included with Windows 7.

Unfortunately the biggest security hole in Windows is still there. (Internet Explorer) I hear there will be an option to turn IE off; that is great news!

After updating Windows 7 the first thing I did was download and install Firefox. Then I installed Avast for virus protection. For what it is worth, everyone should have a backup browser. Even if you use and like Internet Explorer, you never know when IE will have a 'spasm' and quit working.

I expect some of the Vista bashers will try Windows 7 and really like it.

Martha

The Vista Bashers, Part Two

It's been a while since I posted the first 'HTML Vista Bashers'. I still like Vista and the 'Vista Bashers' are still bashing.

I keep asking folks why they don't like Vista.  The answers I get vary, but most of the time there is only one reason.

A favorite program won't work. When I ask them if they tried the Program Compatibility Mode, they don't know what that is!

They can't find anything because it isn't where Windows XP put stuff. (They don't look!)

The UAC (User Access Control) is too much 'in my face'. They could turn it off, but they don't know that.

Some of the replies indicate they aren't even using Vista, but someone they know has it and that someone doesn't like it.

A common response was 'I read it's no good'.  No real reason, they are just repeating what they have read or heard.

I think the real reason may be Vista isn't Windows XP!

Some of these folks remind me of sheep. They follow someone else and never make a decision for themselves. Sheep sometimes will follow the lead sheep off a cliff, at least that's what I have heard.

Martha

Why Do Some Programmers Think Everyone Uses IE?

I do not use Internet Explorer. I don't like Internet Explorer. Rumor has it I can turn it off in Windows 7 and I hope that's true! I will use it long enough to download Firefox and then it will be turned off.

So if I turn IE 8 off, then what will happen when I want to update programs that open IE when I click Update? IE is NOT my default browser and I deeply resent it when programmers that insist I use it to update a program!

Most programs when updating from within honor my preferences and use my default browser.

I won't mention any names, but I just updated my favorite screen capture program and when I clicked for the update IE opened. Grrrrrrrrr!

Martha

Hope and Change

Our new president promised us 'hope and change'. Did he mean he would surround himself with folks who don't pay their taxes?

I hope that's not what he meant!

It's just my opinion, but I think anyone, regardless of who they are should be disqualified from any position in government if they are guilty of not paying their taxes.

It's NOT ok to say 'I didn't know'! If I had failed to pay taxes, the IRS, which is a government department, probably would have threatened me with jailtime and would have come after me big time as soon as they knew I owed taxes. And why didn't they go after these guys?

It isn't very comforting to me to know the Secretary of the Treasury is a tax cheat. He's in charge of the Treasury! And the sad thing is, he isn't the only tax cheat being offered a high profile position in the United States government.

The 'change' is looking more and more like change to the Clinton era.  All of the folks in charge seem to be from that time.

I hope that things will change and for the better, but so far it doesn't seem likely!

Martha

Microsoft Antivirus NOT!

I normally do not post virus warnings, as they are generally hoaxes.

However since a lot of people will trust stuff labeled 'Microsoft', I deemed it necessary to warn folks about a new or rather updated and renamed, rogue antivirus/antispyware software being offered using Microsoft's name.

For more information, see this site.

The spyware remover being advertised on this site is SpyHunter. The site owner could be affiliated with SpyHunter and I have done some research about SpyHunter. It is a legitimate program but is not among the top ten rated removers. It also has a name that was once connected with a rogue program that is no longer available. (I suspect they should have checked that out and didn't.)

There are a number of sites that rate spyware removers, but without knowing whether or not these sites are affiliated with any of the programs it is difficult to decide which is the best.

If you want to check to see if your favorite remover is among the top scanners, here are a couple of sites to check.

Top Ten Reviews

Safer-networking

Just keep your spyware scanners updated and scan frequently to prevent malware from installing, and if a program has a name you think you can trust, check it out first!

Martha

'Rude' Programs

Some programs are just plain rude. I don't know any other way to describe them.

Did you want that program to startup and run in the background every time you turn your computer on? No? You didn't, but it does and will continue unless you know how to stop it. There it is, running, eating resources and making your computer slow. It would open just fine when you need it without always running. That's just rude!

When you installed a new program did you want it to make your default program for that type of file? No? You didn't, but it did.  Now you have to figure out how to change the default program back to what you want. That's also just plain rude!

When you finally managed to figure out how to stop that program from starting up everytime you start your computer, because it was rude in the first place, now when you run the program it puts itself back in your startup, that is exceptionally rude!

Some rude programs want to install other stuff on your computer. Sometimes the other stuff is spyware, but not always.  If you don't watch out, rude programs will install stuff you don't want.

Some programs are just so 'rude', I won't have them on my computer!

Maybe I should clarify. The programmers are the rude ones!

Martha

Treasures on the Web

Lots of stuff among the flotsam and jetsam on the 'Net. I see tons of sites, most of them are just so so.

Every now and then I find a site that I consider a true 'treasure'. These sites just offer me an 'escape' from the humdrum of daily stuff.

A few of these treasures are listed here and maybe you will consider them treasures as well.

Dark Roasted Blend, Weird & wonderful things
You can spend hours and hours on this site. No matter what you like, you can surely find something to enjoy here. Fantastic collections of photos!

Playa Cofi Jukebox The top 100 songs from the golden years of music.
I guess it's just me (or maybe you), but a lot of the stuff that passes for music these days is just not for me. The music on this site is Music! You can select a year and listen to real music while you work.

I love animal pictures, animal antics, and funny stuff.  Lolcats is just one section on this site. There are over 90 pages of these funny captioned kitties! Loldogs is just as big! A treasure for animal lovers!

I am addicted to little games that don't require a ton of graphics and eat up my computer resources. Several years ago I found a marble game that just is a delight to me. I play it all the time when I need a 'break'. There are some other games on the site, but this is the one I play.

Corn DancerThe author of this site is extremely talented. Even without the great photos he takes, the accompanying prose paints such a picture you could 'see' what he captures on film. A new adventure every week brightens my Monday morning!

I hope you enjoy my 'treasures'!

Martha

Why Do I Have to Opt Out?

I didn't opt in for all the junk email from these so called 'Social Networks' like Grouply that are trying to get members by having new members spam everyone in their address books.

So why do I have to opt out? It is almost like all of the spam we receive that tell you to 'opt out' if you don't want to receive any more spam.  All of those are just trying to find out if your email address is valid.

I keep getting phone calls from various 'service' companies wanting me to have my carpet cleaned, etc. I can opt out of those calls, but I am forced to listen to the entire spiel before I am given the choice to 'opt out' by pressing a number on my phone keypad.

I didn't ask for these calls, so why do I have to 'opt out'?

I still get a lot of snail mail for stuff I don't want.  In order to stop it, I have to go through a long process. I have to write letters and then wait who knows how long before the snail spam will stop coming, if it does stop.

I didn't ask for this waste of resources that keep coming into my mailbox, so why do I have to 'opt out'?

I suppose there are some legitmate reasons for sending all that junk to me, but I don't want that junk. Why do I have to 'opt out'!

I don't want any more mail from American Express wanting me to apply for their card.

I don't want that Grouply spam or any of the other 'Social network' spam that tricks new member into sending 'invitations' to everyone in their address book.

(These uninvited invitations are sent out because most of the wording is such that new members don't realize they are giving these jerks permission to go into their address books. Why they don't realize it I don't know; they gave them their user name and password! What did they think was going to happen? Why would anyone of reasonable intelligence give a strange website their user name and password for their email? I think these are the same folks that reply to  Mrs. Eki Omorodion in Nigeria.)

Martha

Signup for Medicare Part D

It sounded easy.

Go to the Medicare website and find a plan that suits your needs.  Then go to that plan's website and enroll online. What could be easier, a no-brainer NOT!

I went to the plan's site and signed up. Like a good document person, I printed everything.

Three weeks later I got a letter saying everything was approved and what my monthly premium would be.  In the meantime, before I receive the card I can use this letter as proof of coverage. Except......this was not the plan I signed up when I enrolled.

After several phone calls navigating the infamous phone menu hell more than once,  someone answered.  After explaining the problem, I was told I could call another number and re-enroll in the correct plan. Now since the plan I was told I was enrolled was about $30.00 a month higher than the plan I actually enrolled, I had to resolve this and fast!

So I called the last number given to me and waited on hold. And waited. And waited.  All the time I am waiting my eardrums are being blasted by the same music. Over and over and over again, for over an hour.  After about 40 minutes an irritating beeping started. The beeping was intermittent and what it was for I have no idea unless it was to irritate me so much I would hang up.

Finally someone answered and I refrained from snarling.  I explained my problem and was told the same thing had happened to some other folks.  (Bait and Switch?) The operator took my enrollment again after I made sure she was enrolling me into the correct plan. (I only have her word for it.)

So hopefully when I receive the next letter it will be for the right plan. If it isn't, the snarling will surely begin in earnest. This time the snarling will be to the local watchdog, my US Representative, US Senators, Medicare and anyone else I can think of.

I am perhaps a little more patient than a lot of folks. I am also more familiar with using a computer than the majority of seniors. I keep hearing about how frustrated a large number of seniors are about signing up and some don't sign up, and now I know why.

The providers for Medicare Part D have from January to November 15th to make sure their websites work properly for folks who sign up on the web.  If they can't manage to do this, then they shouldn't have the option available to signup on the web.

Surely if I had chosen to call and enroll it would have saved me quite a bit of frustration and agravation.

Rant over,

Martha

Butt Glue

I kid you not, there is such a product. There are websites that sell it. I couldn't figure out why anyone would need it, but the explanation given is so beauty pageant contestants won't have to use staples (Ouch!) to prevent a section of their swimsuits from disappearing into a body crevass.

I guess there are some folks who will do anything, but I absolutely cannot imagine why anyone would have used staples on their behinds.  So I guess butt glue is a real advancement for those folks.

Just in case you are wondering how I found out about this product, it wasn't because I was looking for it.  I found it in Dave Barry's column; 'Why do we give gifts during the holiday season?'

There are more wacky gifts in his column, all of which I can't believe anyone would ever buy. (Except butt glue, I can see why a girl wearing one of those beauty pageant swimsuits might need that. However, I have a better solution.  She could wear a swimsuit that actually covers her fanny, then she won't need any butt glue.)

Happy shopping!

Martha

Spam in My Gmail Account

I have more than one G-mail account and use them all. I really like G-mail's spam filters because for all but one of my G-mail accounts very seldom (read almost never!) does a spam email hit my Inbox. Until about three months ago, this was true for all of my G-mail accounts.

I very foolishly used one account to sign up for something from a corporation I thought could be trusted not to sell my email address. I should have known better! Upon reading the privacy policy in depth, I found the following:

A. Strategic Partners
"From time to time we may enter into a special relationship with another company that is not owned or affiliated with the (edited) Company. These special relationships may include business partners, sponsors and co-branded sites (referred here as "co-branded pages"). Any information, including personal information, that you provide on one of these co-branded pages will be shared with these third party partners. By participating in activities or providing your information on these co-branded pages, you also consent to our providing your personal information to those third parties. Since these third parties will use your information in accordance with their own privacy practices, you should check their web sites for information regarding their privacy policies."

No place does it tell me exactly 'who' these third parties are or how I can find out. So in effect by signing up, I gave them permission to give my email address to anyone they choose who may decide to sell my information and/or actively spam my email address!

So the fact that this account is now literally a spam account it is mostly my own fault for trusting! Folks, on the Internet you can't trust major companies to respect your privacy. I suspect if you read the 'privacy policies' of any major company that offers a free service you will find it is a 'privacy NOT policy'.

But I am wondering why G-mail doesn't seem to be able to determine that all of this junk email is spam when the other accounts don't have this problem!

Martha's Web
Martha's Place

Yahoo Spam

Just about everyone with an email account gets spam, some more than others. Most ISPs, or email purveyors like Yahoo, Hotmail, etc. have an address that we are encouraged to use to report the spam perpetrators.

Don't waste your time if it is for Yahoo.  I rather suspect the email address for spam reporting just goes into cyberspace somewhere, never again to be seen by human eyes or if it is actually answered, a canned reply will be delivered back and no other action is taken. The canned reply, if one is actually received, gives a solution that has nothing to do with the complaint. The last time I sent a complaint to Yahoo's 'abuse@ address the message 'bounced' with a mail daemon telling me the address was 'not valid'.

The same thing seems to be true for the option to "Report Abuse" form that Yahoo so nicely offers. It is a waste of time.

There is a spammer with a Yahoo address that is repeatedly spamming Yahoo Groups owners/moderators. Frequent complaints to Yahoo have not stopped the spammer or disabled his Yahoo.com email account. A Yahoo moderator cannot send these spams to a spam filter as this would effectively remove the ability to handle legitimate requests for members.

Yahoo has been telling us they want to improve their service. A good way to start would be to remove spammers using a Yahoo.com email account.

And before you make a comment that the account may be 'spoofed', the headers indicate it is a real account.

Martha

Footnote:

Someone just told me "It's the Yahoo way, get used to it". Yep, they are right!