September 2014 February 2013 December 2012 • Holiday Update, from the Team at Benson & Associates October 2012 • If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I'm talking to you, Microsoft September 2012 • Microsoft to end support of Windows XP and Office 2003 June 2012 • Microsoft Unveils New tablet April 2012 • WHAT EXACTLY IS "MANAGED SERVICE"? February 2012 December 2011 • Backup and Disaster Recovery / Business Continuity Planning September 2011 • HP Notebook PC battery Pack Replacement Program - IMPORTANT SAFETY RECALL August 2011 • Reclaim your privacy settings on LinkedIn July 2011 • Electronics recycling fees are being reduced June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 • (APRIL FOOLS) - Very Important - URGENT ACTION REQUIRED! March 2011 • The end to pharmaceutical scam emails? February 2011 • MDaemon v12 - BlackBerry Edition November 2010 • Barracuda Spam and Virus Protection • Microsoft's Streetslide takes on Google Streetview October 2010 • A Few Perspectives on OpenOffice.org • The History Of The (Fake) 'Free Public WiFi' You Always See At Airports September 2010 August 2010 • Private browsing: not so private • Microsoft Releases Emergency Patch For Windows July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 • Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program March 2010 • What the heck is SEO, and does it actually work? February 2010 • Encourage Your Customers to Complain • Five Reasons to Consider Managed Service January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 • Genie Timeline Now Available • Independent Anti-Virus Field Test September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 • Benson & Associates NEW Advertisement May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 November 2008 August 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 November 2007 June 2007 September 2005 August 2005 |
How to spot an e-mail hoax - 2010-07-28 (reprinted with permission of Brett M. Christensen, Owner and Manager, Hoax-Slayer.com "Debunking email hoaxes and exposing internet scams since 2003") There are thousands of email hoaxes moving around the Internet at any given time. Some may be the latest email hoaxes around. Others may be mutated versions of hoax messages that have travelled the Internet for years. These email hoaxes cover a range of subject matter, including: · Supposedly free giveaways in exchange for forwarding emails. · Bogus virus alerts. · False appeals to help sick children. · Pointless petitions that lead nowhere and accomplish nothing. · Dire, and completely fictional, warnings about products, companies, government policies or coming events. The good news is that, with a little bit of foreknowledge, email hoaxes are easy to detect. Hidden within the colourful prose of your average email hoax often lurk telling indicators of the email's veracity. 1. Does the email ask you to send it to a lot of other people? 2. Does the email fail to provide confirmation sources? 3. Is the language used overly emotive or highly technical? A "yes" answer to one or more of the above questions, should start some alarm bells ringing. These indicators do not offer conclusive evidence that the email is a hoax but they are certainly enough to warrant further investigation before you hit the "Forward" Button. Benson & Associates suggests using www.hoax-slayer.com or www.snopes.com to confirm the validity of any mass email before littering the inboxes of your friends and co-workers with hoaxes and scams. It's just a part of professional email etiquette. If you have any questions relating to Internet Security and privacy, please call Benson & Associates help desk at 1-877-247-1664. |