Computer Talk

 

This page is intended for computer / mobile tips that I hope are useful.


MOBILE PHONE  –  ICE

‘ICE’ ( In Case Of Emergency). The idea was apparently thought up by a paramedic who found that when he went to the scenes of accidents there were always mobile phones with patients but he didn’t know which number to call. He therefore thought that it would be a good idea if there was a nationally recognised name for this purpose.  He came up with the idea of using the name ‘ICE’ ….. In Case of Emergency

In your mobile phone contacts, add a new contact.  Give it the name ICE, then enter the telephone number of the person you would like contacted In Case of Emergency. Press SAVE.


FORWARD THIS MESSAGE ON

I continually receive messages saying ……’send this to all your contacts’ …….or ……’send this to 10 people and something wonderful will happen……’ or ‘send this to all in your life who are special’……  Almost always these messages are designed to clog up the email network. Some people seem to get delight in seeing if their messages will come back to them.  Whatever the message (and some cases the message is very nice), EVERY time I see the words ‘forward this (or send this) to ……. I hit DELETE and send it to the Waste Basket, Trash Bin, or whatever your computer calls it.

And if you really think something is so important that you MUST send it out to all your friends, PLEASE check first that the information is not a HOAX (or URBAN MYTH).  a simple Google search on part of the text will give you the answer.  I find that 98% of such messages are either HOAXES or URBAN MYTHS.

In summary

  • NEVER send on a message that askes you to send it on.
  • If you MUST send a message on, make sure it is not a HOAX or URBAN MYTH.


I AM FROM MICROSOFT…….!

If you receive a telephone call from someone saying “I am from Microsoft and we have detected a Virus on your computer” – hang up immediately, it is a SCAM and they are NOT from Microsoft.  They are just trying to get access to your computer to install SPYWARE.  PLEASE BEWARE!!!


SPAM EMAIL MESSAGES

Every day I receive spam email messages with attachments I am asked to open or with links I am asked to click.

Without going into a lot of detail, here are my golden rules for emails:

  • NEVER save or open an attachment unless you are 100% certain that it is safe.
  • NEVER, NEVER, NEVER open a .zip or .exe file …….unless you have personally spoken to the sender and you are expecting such a file.
  • NEVER click a link in an email – unless you know the sender and ALSO you know it is completely safe.
  • If you get an email containing a link, hover your mouse over the link (without clicking) and read (somewhere on the screen) where the link will take you.  Does the link make sense? If the hover information is different to the text in the email – BE VERY AWARE and sense DANGER.
  • IF you are certain a link is safe, it is better to copy and paste the link into your browser, rather than click on the link
  • NEVER reply to an email where you do not know the sender and they do not use your name.  (beware if your name is in your email address, the sender might use your name even though you do not know them).