From the editor   In this edition
With March comes the return home of "snowbirds" who've been vacationing during the winter months, spring break for the college kids, and "madness" for college basketball fans. To make this month safer and more enjoyable for our Internet customers, this month's newsletter includes help on avoiding tax return e-mail scams, a great site that teaches ballroom dancing, and a tutorial on how to fit and then print web pages to standard size paper.
 		 > Your Local Help Desk
> Tech Tips & Tricks
> Sites of the Month
> Irish Potato Farmer
> Feature of the Month
> This Month's Chronicles
> E-Mail Scam
> Internet Classes
Your Local Help Desk

Feature of the Month



Our new packages include:
Local Phone
Long Distance
Digital Cable
High Speed Internet

Click here for details
on our Packages.

 Call 351-1460
or stop by our office!

* Some restrictions may apply.

 

Free Internet Classes

Browsing Only
Melrose High School
Media Center (Library)
March 2 ........7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Browsing Only
Eden Valley High School
Computer Lab Room 127
March 6........7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

E-mail Only
 Eden Valley High School
Computer Lab Room 127
March 7........7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Browsing Only
Sauk Centre High School
Computer Lab Room 14
March 20 ........7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

E-mail Only
Sauk Centre High School
Computer Lab Room 14
March 21 ........7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Browsing Only
Kimball High School
Media Center (Library)
March 27 ........7:00 - 9:00 p.m.


 

 
Call to register and for more info:
Mainstreet Communications
 351-1460

 

This Month's Chronicles

Birthstone:  Amethyst
Flower:  Violet
 


March 2006
March 1 Peanut Butter Day
March 3 National Anthem Day
March 6 Dentists' Day
Frozen Food Day
March 10 Alexander Graham Bell Day
March 15 Quilting Day
March 17 St. Patrick's Day
March 20 First Day of Spring
March 20 Earth Day
March 22 Goof off Day

This Day in History
www.scopesys.com/anyday

 

Irish Potato Farmer

An aging man lived alone in Ireland. His only son was in Long Kesh Prison, and he didn't know anyone who would spade up his potato garden. The old man wrote to his son about it, and received this reply,  "For HEAVENS SAKE, don't dig up that garden, that's where I buried the GUNS!!!!!"

At 4 A.M. the next morning, a dozen British soldiers showed up and dug up
the entire garden, but didn't find any guns.  Confused, the man wrote
to his son telling him what  happened and asking him what to do next.

His son's reply was: "Just plant your potatoes."
 
Why Can't I See Graphics In My Incoming E-mail Messages?

Question: Why can't I see graphics on incoming e-mail messages anymore? I used to be able to see them. I use Microsoft's Windows XP and Outlook Express.

Answer: Microsoft Corp. developed and released software called Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Windows XP users in the fall of 2004. Its purpose was to "patch holes" in some of Microsoft's software programs to help reduce the threat of e-mail viruses, e-mail worms, and hacker attacks. SP2 most specifically eliminated many of the vulnerabilities within its Internet Explorer browser and Outlook Express software programs. Most Windows XP users have since downloaded SP2.

One of SP2's protective measures for Outlook Express is to block images from being displayed within incoming e-mail messages as a default setting. Microsoft had discovered that some virus/worm threats arose from malicious code within the graphics of e-mail messages. Microsoft's solution was to prevent users from seeing any graphics within e-mail messages. This is probably the reason you are no longer able to see graphics within your e-mail messages.

Luckily, Microsoft provides an easy option to allow images to appear within messages, either on a per e-mail basis or for all e-mail messages. To see graphics within messages on an e-mail-by-e-mail basis, with your Preview Pane open, follow these steps:

1. Click your cursor arrow on the gray bar located just below the subject line of the message. It will say, "Some pictures have been blocked to help prevent the sender from identifying your computer. Click here to download pictures." If you click anywhere on this gray bar, the pictures for that particular e-mail will appear for as long as you have that e-mail open.

2. If you go to a different e-mail and then come back to this message, you will need to click on that bar again to see the images within the message.

Note: If you don't see the gray bar, open the message in its own window and follow steps one and two above. Otherwise, click your cursor arrow on the "View" menu and drop down to "Layout." When the "Window Layout Properties" window appears, make sure "Show preview pane header" is checked.

If you want to be able to see all pictures on all incoming e-mail messages that contain images, you can disable SP2's default blocking feature by following the steps below.

1. Go to the Outlook Express "Tools" menu and drop down to "Options." When the "Options" window appears, click on the "Security" tab. About half way down the window you'll see an item titled "Download images." You will see a checkbox next to the words "Block images and other external content in HTML e-mail." If you uncheck this box, it will allow images to be viewed again just as it was before your SP2 update.

2. Click "Apply" and then "OK" to save your new settings and close the window.
 


 Help Desk hours are:
Monday - Friday: 8am to 9pm Saturday: 10am to 2pm
 Phone number: 351-1460
 e-mail: support@mainstreetcom.com 

 
E-Mail Scam
IRS "Refund Notice" E-mail Is A Fraud

Tax season is now in full swing. That means that it is also the time of the year for Internet scammers to attempt to trick wage earners out of their hard earned money using the IRS as their front. A variety of fraudulent IRS-related e-mail messages are currently circulating around the Internet.
 

Here are how a couple of them work:

A recipient receives an e-mail message from tax-returns@irs.gov. The subject line says "IRS Tax Refund." The message claims that the recipient is eligible to receive a tax refund of $571.94. A link is provided for the recipient to complete a form in order to receive the refund. Although the link appears to go to an IRS web page, the recipient is redirected to a scammer's website where personal data is then captured. THIS E-MAIL IS A SCAM!

Another tax-related e-mail fraud message also arrives to recipients
appearing to come from the IRS. The subject line refers to "Refund Notice" and the message asks the recipient to click on a link to check the status of the recipient's tax refund. The resulting page mirrors an IRS web page but is actually part of a website run by a scammer. The page asks that the user enter personal information onto a form (first and last name, social security number or IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, and credit card
information) to verify the recipient's identity and to process the refund
check. THIS E-MAIL IS ALSO A FRAUD!

We urge our Internet customers to be cautious of e-mail messages that request private information for the purposes related to income tax
processing or tax refunds. These e-mail messages may be phishing scams attempting to gather personal and financial information.
 
Tech Tips & Tricks
Printing Web Pages Using The Landscape Option

If you've ever tried to print an order form or a receipt from a web page, you've probably found that sometimes web pages are not optimized for printing. When you pull your paper out of the printer, you may discover that
the right side of the page has been cut off or pages have been split vertically down the middle. By default, some browsers will attempt to scale web pages down to fit when printing onto standard size paper. However, this may leave the type size on the printed page too small to read.

A handy solution is to change the orientation of the page you are printing from "Portrait" (up and down) to "Landscape" (side to side). This allows you to print the text that would normally be cut off the printed page. Follow these steps to print web pages in a landscape format.

Printing Web Pages in Landscape When Using Internet Explorer 6.0 Browser and
Windows XP Home Edition:

1. With Internet Explorer open, click your cursor arrow on the "File" menu and drop down to and select "Page Setup." The "Page Setup" window will appear.

2. Under "Orientation," select "Landscape."

3. Click "OK" and then proceed to print the desired page.


Printing Web Pages in Landscape When Using Firefox 1.0 Browser and Windows
XP Home Edition Or Macintosh OS X:

1. With Firefox open, click your cursor arrow on the "File" menu and drop down to and select "Page Setup." The "Page Setup" window will appear.

2. Click on the "Format  Options" tab.

3. Under "Format," select "Landscape" for your Orientation.

4. Click "OK" and then proceed to print the desired page.

Printing Web Pages in Landscape When Using Safari 2.0 Browser and Mac OS X:

1. With Safari open, click your cursor arrow on the "File" menu and drop down to and select "Page Setup."

2. When the dialog box appears, look for "Orientation" and select one of the icons that indicates a landscape view.


3. Click "OK" and then proceed to print the desired page.

Printing Web Pages in Landscape When Using Netscape 7.2 Browser and Windows
XP Home Edition Or Macintosh OS X:

1. With Netscape Navigator open, click your cursor arrow on the "File" menu and drop down to and select "Page Setup." The "Page Setup" window will appear.

2. Click on the "Format  Options" tab. 3. Under "Format," select "Landscape" for your Orientation.

4. Click "OK" and then proceed to print the desired page.
 
Sites of the Month:

Learn How To Ballroom Dance At Home
http://ballroomdancers.com
The popular television show Dancing With The Stars has created a renewed interest in ballroom dancing. If you've never tried it before or are in need of a refresher course, check out this site. It gives you a handy glossary of terms plus tutorials on doing the Foxtrot, Waltz, Tango, Rumba, Cha Cha, East Coast Swing, and more. The site also has great music to listen to while you practice. Have fun!

Pictures Of Men Wearing Socks With Sandals
http://www.sandalandsoxer.co.uk
If seeing pictures of men wearing socks with their sandals offends you, do not enter this site. It contains over 300 pictures of men (and some women, too) who are wearing socks with their sandals. Dark socks, white socks, watermelon socks -- you name it. Do you have a dad, brother, or friend who wears socks with his sandals? Then why not take his picture and submit it to this site?

Ice Age 2 - The Meltdown Released Later This Month
http://www.iceagemovie.com/
The sub-zero heroes from the hit CGI film, Ice Age, are back. Manny the woolly mammoth, Sid the sloth, Diego the saber-toothed tiger, and Scrat the hapless squirrel return. Voiceovers include Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Dennis Leary, and Queen Latifah. For a sneak preview, head to this site. Ice Age 2 - The Meltdown is rated G for general audiences.

You Share A Birthday With Famous People
http://worldalmanacforkids.com/explore/birthdays.html
Have you ever wondered what famous people share your birthday? You can find out by heading to this site and selecting the month and date of your birthday. A listing of famous people born on your birthday will appear. For instance, if your birthday is on March 26th, you share birthdays with Tennessee Williams,
James Caan, Diana Ross, Marcus Allen, and Martin Short.

Get On The Cover Of A Wheaties Cereal Box
http://wheaties.com
Over the past 70 years, Wheaties has recognized hundreds of outstanding amateur and professional athletes for their achievements by placing pictures of them on Wheaties boxes. Dozens of interesting pictures of these commemorative packages can be found at this site. Did you know that Lou Gehrig was the first athlete to appear on a Wheaties box? Do you also know that you can get your own picture on the front of a Wheaties box? Check out this site to find out how.
 
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 Disclaimer
We do not have financial interest in, or endorse, any of the sites, or products offered by the sites, listed in this customer newsletter. No opinions expressed on these sites should be considered to be the opinion of diversiCOM Mainstreet Communications or it's employees. This is a free service of diversiCOM Mainstreet Communications to enhance your Internet surfing experience. It is our policy to not share your e-mail address with any third party for any reason.

©2005 Cornerstone Publishing Group, Inc.