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The firewall debate heats up

After my post yesterday, then my article in the newletter, a few people feel that I am way off base in recommending that most people don't need a firewall.

First, Windows XP has a firewall built-in, if you use DSL or you have your cable Internet running through a Router, then you have a hardware firewall. My comments are pertaining to the extra software firewalls like ZoneAlarm and Sygate.

My cool brother-in-law, Nishan, emailed me with a few comments about my articles. He designs and maintains a huge database for a medical billing company in Oregon. In other words, unlike me, he is a true geek. I merely pretend to understand when people talk about SQL, Linux, and Apache, Nishan understands this stuff.

Spam on the rise again

I'm not sure what it it is about late summer, but I have noticed the last few years that my spam is at its worst in late July through September and then it tapers off again until the next summer. I have no idea what the correlation is, but it has been consistent the last three years. 

I don't worry about it, however, because my Inbox stays pristine with the help of Cloudmark Desktop. You have heard Adam and I rave about this product for nearly four years now. Without it, I would have probably given up email years ago! <

Find black single christians in your area!

Ya gotta love spam sometimes. The above title was the subject line of a spam email sent to an elderly white client of mine who has been happily married to her husband for decades.

With a straight face, I told her not to judge the company that sent the spam until she had tried the service. She didn’t think that was funny. 

Changing your email address is easy

A new customer that I helped today uses AOL. She stated that she is frustrated with AOL’s support, price, and continuous barrage of advertising among other things. In the next breath, however, she said

Use the Internet to stop solicitor calls

Two years ago, Colorado became one of the first states to institute a "no-call" list that consumers could sign up for to prevent solicitation phone calls. This past week, the FTC started a national "no-call" list. These lists must be checked by phone solicitation companies every three months to updated their databases. If a solicitor calls you and you are registered on the "no-call" list, you can file a complaint and the solicitor will be fined fairly substantially ( up to $11,000 per incident for the national list).

As opposed to spam (unsolicited email), phone solicitors are regulated and must comply to certain rules. Therefore, these lists do work. Colorado residents who signed up two years ago report that their phone solicitation calls are almost nil. In less than twenty-four hours, the national list had almost one million people sign up. The FTC expects nearly sixty million numbers to be registered by next summer. 

Spam Revisited…and Outlook Express Filters

If you use Outlook Express, a listener, Jerry, pointed out an important and extremely helpful tip for seeing less junk in your Inbox. Thanks Jerry!

1. Click Tools from the menus
2. Click Message Rules –> Mail
3. (Click the New button IF the ‘new mail rule’ box doesn’t appear)
4. Check the box “Where The To Line Contains People”
5. Check “Delete It” or another action you prefer
6. Click on the blue “Contains People” in the third box
7. In the select people box, type in Your E-Mail address
8. Click the Add button
9. Click on the Options button (this is the most important step)