Clark talked with a computer-savvy listener about how to avoid getting those pesky spam mails. The caller has three suggestions and says he has eliminated 85-90 percent of his spam mail using these three methods:
1) Use two separate e-mail accounts. The first is your private account, which you only give out to your friends and those you trust. Your second account is your public account and is the one you use to register on sites and order goods online (the ways most spam is generated). For your public account, we suggest using one of the free e-mail services such as Yahoo or Hotmail.
2) Register your e-mail address with the Direct Marketing Association's e-mail preference site, dma.org. By entering your e-mail addresses in the provided form, you are automatically taken off the lists of those marketers who are members of the association. This "online opt-out" lasts for one year and you can request to be notified by e-mail when your year is almost up.
3) The third option mentioned was to register with Brightmail.com , but the site has since reached its quota of accounts and is no longer registering new e-mail addresses. However, the site is still filtering spam through its corporate relationships with certain ISPs. So if you have one of the following, you can contact your ISP to inquire how you can benefit: Earthlink, AT&T Worldnet, Visto, Hiwaay Net and Arkansas.net.
For more spam-fighting resources, check out Spamcop's site.
Jul 18, 2008 -- Beat the keyloggers with this simple tip
Clark was recently disturbed to learn that your personal info can float out in cyberspace long after you think it has been removed. This is because of caching issues.
Search engines send spiders out across the web to find info that's stored on servers all over the world. Then they present that info to you during a web search.
But the spiders only crawl certain parts of the web every few days or weeks. So info can be stored or "cached" in cyberspace even after it's gone from the original server. In most cases, there will be a lag before it disappears completely.
When it comes to browser security, Clark uses a free tool available at Finjan.com.
It prevents him from going to mistyped addresses where danger may lurk, and it goes beyond just looking at URLs to look at the actual code on a page.
Meanwhile, here's one low-tech suggestion to beat keyloggers. A keylogger is a program that gets secretly installed on your computer when you visit bogus websites. It can be used to track every keystroke you make and steal valuable passwords.
This trick involves typing passwords out of order or adding extra characters that you goes back and erases before logging on. Say for example your password is "jane." Instead of typing "j-a-n-e," try typing something like "j-a-x-n-x-e." Then go back and manually erase the extra characters (the x's) using your mouse, not the keyboard, and you just may trick someone who may be remotely monitoring your keystrokes!
|
May 28, 2008 -- A crash course in online safety
RIP-OFF ALERT: Clark recently spoke about protecting yourself online against cyber-criminals. Now technology columnist Walt Mossberg has compiled a handy list that reinforces the message. Below are some excerpts:
• Never click on a link in an e-mail that appears to be from your bank, credit union or brokerage. Call the company if you are in doubt.
• Don't click on links in an e-mail offering free goods or services.
• Never download free software from unknown websites.
• Don't download video drivers from sites other than Microsoft, Adobe or Apple.
Clark also wants to add that you should be using a browser like Firefox, which is safer than Internet Explorer. Please note that it's OK to download new security patches from Firefox.
People have been asking Clark about that website he recently discussed that blocks suspect sites from loading in your browser. It's HauteSecure.com.
Finally, Mossberg also recommends a free service from McAfee called Site Advisor that alerts you when a web address could be dangerous.
|
May 01, 2008 -- Free computer protection, free mobile phone search service
Clark loves free services and has 2 new ones to share with you. The first comes from a company called HauteSecure.com, which protects your computer if you mistype a web address. Too often criminals will register bogus domains that may be just one letter off from a legitimate address. When you hit those fake sites, your computer may become infected with a keylogger program. So the free download at HauteSecure.com protects you by blocking sites that could threaten your computer.
The second service Clark has discovered is called ChaCha.com. This free mobile phone service allows you to ask a question by calling 800-2-CHA-CHA. You then receive a text with your answer. It's like Google for your cell phone. So far the results have been hit or miss. While it worked well during a pre-show meeting, it returned a wrong answer when Clark tried it out on air by asking, "Who won the 1964 World Series?" He received a dud answer via text message -- The New York Yankees -- in about half an hour. It was the St. Louis Cardinals who beat the Yanks in 7 games!
|
Jun 20, 2007 -- Penny stock spam e-mails
Penny stock e-mails are rampant these days. These types of e-mails are the fastest growing type of spam out there. These e-mails are all a part of the pump and dump strategy where a company or person will buy a bunch of the stock and send out these e-mails. They then hope that a fraction of the people that get the e-mail will invest in their chosen stock. Often the stock will jump for a short amount of time until it crashes back down. You are making somebody money when you are doing this but not yourself. Do not think that you are going to get rich quickly based on some insider tip, because you end up making someone else rich, and getting yourself hurt.
|
| 
