Nothing you do with a computer will ever be as important as making a solid backup. Hard drives crash, and when yours does, unless you have a backup, you'll find yourself facing expensive data recovery services or worse: lost data.
Now that Windows 7 has been released, many Windows users will be looking to back up their documents and media before upgrading -- an absolutely critical step. Luckily, Windows users have many options, including a very nice built-in back up program that ships with both Windows XP and Vista. Regrettably, the program is somewhat buried, so many users aren't familiar with it.
Depending on your needs, the built-in option may be sufficient. If you'd like an option with some bells and whistles not found in Microsoft's program, numerous third-party apps have got you covered.
There are a number of serious challenges when transferring backups between old and new operating systems. Many backup solutions aren't yet avaiable on Windows 7, or don't work on Windows 7 (e.g. NTBACKUP.EXE), or don't work on Windows 7 and never will be (e.g. Live One Care). There are also complications with correct placement of user settings and user data on a Windows 7 system. Many standard directories have moved, or work differently, and many settings need special treatment when transferring.
Microsoft's Windows Easy Transfer utility provides a one-stop solution.
The Windows Easy Transfer utility provides a number of ways to transfer data from an old computer to a new computer; but it works equally well for transferring data from an old Windows operating system to a freshly installed version of Windows 7. Microsoft specifically recommends this path when upgrading from Windows XP to Windows 7; but it also works when upgrading from Windows Vista 32-bit, to Windows 7 64-bit, or when upgrading to a clean install of Windows 7. Even if you are rolling the dice and performing an in-place Vista-32 to Windows 7-32 upgrade (which actually does work), you may want to consider using Windows Easy Transfer in order to provide a temporary backup of your user data.
Windows Easy Transfer allows you to back up all user files and settings for all users on the computer to an external or network drive. Once you have installed a clean copy of the operating system, you can restore user files and settings to the freshly installed operating system.
Versions of Windows Easy Transfer are available for download for 32-bit XP, 64-bit XP, and for32-bit and 64-bit Vista.
Download and run Windows Easy Tranfer for your platform. When prompted, select "An external hard drive or USB Flash Drive" as the method for transferring data from the old operating system to the new operating system. Later on in the UI sequence you will be asked where you want to store the resulting Easy Transfer file. Despite the title of the option, you can place the file on a secondary internal drive if you want. Just make sure you don't reformat the secondary drive, and lose the transfer file, while installing your shiny new copy of Windows 7.
It's not at all obvious what Windows Easy Transfer does transfer; but my experience has been that it tranfers pretty much everything except files in the Program Files and c:\windows directories. The very last item in the scan report is "Shared Items". And included in the "Shared Items" category are all files and folders that are not otherwise included in user profile directories. You can click on the Shared Item's "Customize" link and then the "Advanced" link to see the list of all files and folders that will be backed up for transfer. By default, pretty much everything was selected or backup on my system, including a few things that I could have done without, such as my "Recorded TV", c:\cygwin, and complete copies of a number of errant programs that had installed themselves outside of the c:\program files, and e:\program files directory.
There are also a number of quirks that I encountered that I would rather have known about before I ran it. When bringing up your clean copy of Windows 7, you need to create an account with the same name as the account you used to create the backup. If the account is different, then all user profile settings for the old account will be restored to the account you are currently using, renaming the account in the process. All other accounts in the backup are created and restored with correct names. Also, if you have multiple disks in the backup, but don't have matching drives when restoring, all folders will be merged onto the single disk when restoring. If there are folders with the same name on both drives on the source system, then they will be merged into the same folder when restoring. In my case, that's pretty much what I wanted, but I have no idea what would happen if there were collisions between data files.
The very nice thing about the Windows Easy Transfer process is that it provides a complete temporary backup while upgrading. If the upgrade fails, you can always restore your transfer to a fresh copy of XP, and be back where you started.
You can also selective restore files, in multiple passes when restoring the easy transfer. My complete recorded TV files for all of Battlestar Gallactica season 4, for example, took 14 hours to back up, when creating the inital transfer. When restoring, I was able to deselect these files, reducing the restore time to a bit over 1 1/2 hours. Now that the DVD set is out, I probably never will restore them, honestly.
Now that you have safely transferred your data, you can turn your attention to simpler challenges, such as reinstalling all your software (which doesn't get backed up by Easy Transfer by default); and finding a new backup program that actually works on Windows 7.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Become a PowerPoint Power User
Microsoft PowerPoint has revolutionized the education process for corporations, conferences and educational establishments everywhere. So if you want to wow the participants in your next meeting, you might want to get to know PowerPoint like a power user.
These advanced tips and tricks will enable you to make your PowerPoint presentation even more powerful.
Setting the Default Text Style
To change the style of the text that appears when you type things that aren't the title or the slide body, do the following: Choose the first layout option and click in the title box. From the Format menu, select Font. Make all the changes that you want there, and then check default for new objects. Next click OK. From that point on, new text will be created in that font style and size.
Changing a Design Template
To change the design template for the title or slide body objects, on the menu select View…Title or Slide Master. Click the body of the slide then right click the slide and choose Group…Ungroup. Delete any part of the design you desire. Then right click and choose Group…Regroup. When completed choose the slide sorter view mode from the lower left-corner of the screen.
Using More Than One Guide
If you like using guides, but wish there were more, you can create additional Guides by simply holding down the CTRL key while dragging on an existing Guide. This will create a new guide. To get rid of guides, just drag them off the edge of the slide.
Creating Pages With Slides and Descriptive Text
If you want to create printable pages that have notes or descriptive text associated each slide, PowerPoint has a feature designed to do just this called Notes Pages, or Speaker's Notes (depending on which version you're using). To view the Notes page for any slide, go to the View menu and select Notes Pages. You will see an image of your slide there, and a placeholder for adding your script, notes, or any other text you wish. You can cut-and-paste text from Word here if you like. To print these pages, bring up the Print dialog, and at the bottom of the dialog where it says "Print What:", select Notes Pages. These pages were originally designed to be used as audience hand outs. To return to the normal view click the Slide View button in the lower right corner.
Building Presentations for Distribution to Others
When making a PowerPoint presentation that will be distributed to other people, there are some important things to watch out for that will cause problems:
1. Stick with the fonts that come installed with Windows; Fancy fonts that appear on your machine will cause problems if everyone else doesn't have them.
2. Avoid embedding sounds and videos: These will not go from Mac to Windows gracefully, and you have to be very careful about how you insert the files in order to get them to "travel" properly. See the FAQ section for more information on this.
3. Design the presentation on the lowest version that you think might be in use. For example, if you want the presentation to be able to be viewed by Mac users (who may not have upgraded to the latest version), you will want to design your presentation in PowerPoint 4.0. If you don't have PowerPoint 4, then you'll want to save your presentation in the lowest format you think people will have. For cross-platform distribution, 4.0 is still your safest bet; for Windows-only distribution, save to PowerPoint 95. When you down-rev save, be prepared for some visual changes in your file -- the previous version may not support some of the features you've put in, so be sure to sanity check your file on several different machines and versions BEFORE you distribute it!
Easily Changing From Caps to Lowercase (or Vice Versa)
If you have text that is in the wrong case, select the text, and then click Shift+F3 until it changes to the case style that you like. Clicking Shift+F3 toggles the text case between ALL CAPS, lowercase, and Initial Capital styles. This useful trick works with Word too!
Nudging Objects
You can use the arrow keys to move objects very small distances. This is a big win for those laptop users who no longer have mice. Select the object, then use your arrow keys. Each press of the key will move the object on "grid unit" (1/12th of an inch, don't ask why); if you hold down the Ctrl key while nudging, or if you have the grid turned off, you can move the objects one pixel at a time.
Saving Across Multiple Diskettes
Since PowerPoint 7.0 (the one in Office 95, also known as PowerPoint '95) you have the option to save large files over multiple diskettes. From the File menu, select Pack and Go. This wizard will compress your PowerPoint presentation and copy the file onto as many floppies as are necessary. (Of course, who uses floppies in 2009? Most computers you'd want to send a presentation to don't even have floppy drives. Burn a CD or DVD, put it on a USB stick, e-mail it, put it on a Web site for others to download ...)
Draw a Line Perfectly Horizontal or Vertical
Depress the Shift key while dragging to create your line.
Draw a Perfect Square
Depress the Shift key while dragging to create your square.
Draw a Perfect Circle
Depress the Shift key while dragging to create your circle.
Quickly Access the Slide Master
Click on the Slide View icon (at the top-left of the screen), while depressing the Shift key.
Create a New Design Template
Click on the File drop down menu, select New and then select the Design Template tab. Select an existing design template that most closely matches what you wish to achieve. Make changes to the slide master as required. Then save the file as a template using the SaveAs command to save the file as a dot file.
Preview a Presentation in Black and White
Click on View > Black and White.
Send to the Back or Bring Forward an Object
Right click on the object, select order, and choose the desired command.
Insert the Copyright Symbol
To insert the copyright © symbol, enter (c) To insert the Trademark ™ symbol enter (tm) To insert the registered ® symbol enter (r). These options are controlled by AutoCorrect (exact location depends on your version of PowerPoint; it's in the Tools menu if you have one). You can turn them off, change them, or add others. For example, you may want to turn off the automatic conversion of (c) to © if you frequently use (a), (b), (c) and so on in your presentation. You can always create symbols another way anyhow.
Saving Shows
Save your presentation as a ‘PowerPoint Show’ (.pps) and your presentation will open straight into screenshow mode. To change a .pps back to a presentation for editing, locate the file name, right click the file name, choose rename, and change the .pps extension to .ppt. A warning about instability will appear, but no harm will be done to the presentation.
Jumping to Screens
In show mode type a number then hit ‘enter’ to go to straight to that screen (i.e., ’1’ to go back to the 1st screen). This is particularly useful if you have a large show for multiple speakers -- just make a note of the slide number where each one starts -- and during rehearsal, simply keying the number and pressing enter, jumps you straight to the right place. It's quick and efficient.
Hiding Screens
In the show mode you can hide your first (or any other) screen until you are ready to start by pressing ‘B’’ to blackout the screen or (‘W’ to ‘whiteout’ the screen) then press the ‘B’ or ‘W’ again to reveal the screen when you are ready.
To Go to the First Slide or Last Slide
Ctrl+Home will take you to the first slide in a presentation, Ctrl+End will take you to the last slide.
Toolbar Tips
You can customize your toolbar to contain buttons for tasks that you routinely conduct. Click View…Toolbars…Customize. Click the Commands Tab and choose the desired task. Click and drag the accompanying icon to your preferred location in the toolbar. Close the customize window.
Setting Up the Show
To set up the presentation to run continuously, click Slide Show…Set Up Show. Check ‘loop continuously until ESC’ and click OK.
To set up the presentation with timed settings on each slide, click Slide Show…Rehearse Timings. As each slide appears a rehearsal clock will appear in the upper left corner. When the desired time has expired click the mouse to progress to the next slide. After viewing the entire show you will be asked if you wish to save the rehearsed time. Click Yes.
To record your own narration for the presentation click Slide Show…Record Narration.
Printing the Presentation
You have many options for printing your presentation. Click File…Print. You can choose to print it as slides or handouts and choose how many will fit on a page, print it as a Notes Page, or print it in the outline view. Other options include to print it in Grayscale, Pure Black and White, or with Animations. You can also choose to print only specific slide numbers or print all slides.
Scrolling Credits
Scrolling text can be an effective means of ending or beginning a presentation. Click the desired text. When the Custom Animation text box opens, click the Effects tab. Click the arrow at the right side of the Entry Animation list box to expand the list. Locate Crawl From Bottom and select it. Check the list box labeled Introduce Text. If it isn't set to All at Once, click the arrow at the right side of the list box and select All at Once. Click the Timing tab and select the radio buttons labeled Animate and Automatically. Click OK to close the dialog box and save your changes.
Keyboard Shortcuts Cheat Sheet
* Insert a new slide - CTRL+
* Switch to the next pane (clockwise) - F6
* Switch to the previous pane (counterclockwise) - SHIFT+F6
* Make a duplicate of the current slide - CTRL+D
* Start a slide show - F5
* Promote a paragraph - ALT+SHIFT+LEFT ARROW
* Demote a paragraph - ALT+SHIFT+RIGHT ARROW
* Apply subscript formatting - CTRL+EQUAL SIGN (=)
* Apply superscript formatting - CTRL+PLUS SIGN (+)
* Open the Font dialog box - CTRL+T
* Repeat your last action - F4 or CTRL+Y
* Find - CTRL+F
* View guides - CTRL+G
* Delete a word - CTRL+BACKSPACE
* Capitalize - SHIFT+F3
* Bold - CTRL+B
* Italicize - CTRL+I
* Insert a hyperlink - CTRL+K
* Select all - CTRL+A
* Copy - CTRL+C
* Paste - CTRL+V
* Undo - CTRL+Z
* Save - CTRL+S
* Print - CTRL+P
* Open - CTRL+O
It should be noted that the majority of these shortcuts work in every Office application, not just PowerPoint.
These advanced tips and tricks will enable you to make your PowerPoint presentation even more powerful.
Setting the Default Text Style
To change the style of the text that appears when you type things that aren't the title or the slide body, do the following: Choose the first layout option and click in the title box. From the Format menu, select Font. Make all the changes that you want there, and then check default for new objects. Next click OK. From that point on, new text will be created in that font style and size.
Changing a Design Template
To change the design template for the title or slide body objects, on the menu select View…Title or Slide Master. Click the body of the slide then right click the slide and choose Group…Ungroup. Delete any part of the design you desire. Then right click and choose Group…Regroup. When completed choose the slide sorter view mode from the lower left-corner of the screen.
Using More Than One Guide
If you like using guides, but wish there were more, you can create additional Guides by simply holding down the CTRL key while dragging on an existing Guide. This will create a new guide. To get rid of guides, just drag them off the edge of the slide.
Creating Pages With Slides and Descriptive Text
If you want to create printable pages that have notes or descriptive text associated each slide, PowerPoint has a feature designed to do just this called Notes Pages, or Speaker's Notes (depending on which version you're using). To view the Notes page for any slide, go to the View menu and select Notes Pages. You will see an image of your slide there, and a placeholder for adding your script, notes, or any other text you wish. You can cut-and-paste text from Word here if you like. To print these pages, bring up the Print dialog, and at the bottom of the dialog where it says "Print What:", select Notes Pages. These pages were originally designed to be used as audience hand outs. To return to the normal view click the Slide View button in the lower right corner.
Building Presentations for Distribution to Others
When making a PowerPoint presentation that will be distributed to other people, there are some important things to watch out for that will cause problems:
1. Stick with the fonts that come installed with Windows; Fancy fonts that appear on your machine will cause problems if everyone else doesn't have them.
2. Avoid embedding sounds and videos: These will not go from Mac to Windows gracefully, and you have to be very careful about how you insert the files in order to get them to "travel" properly. See the FAQ section for more information on this.
3. Design the presentation on the lowest version that you think might be in use. For example, if you want the presentation to be able to be viewed by Mac users (who may not have upgraded to the latest version), you will want to design your presentation in PowerPoint 4.0. If you don't have PowerPoint 4, then you'll want to save your presentation in the lowest format you think people will have. For cross-platform distribution, 4.0 is still your safest bet; for Windows-only distribution, save to PowerPoint 95. When you down-rev save, be prepared for some visual changes in your file -- the previous version may not support some of the features you've put in, so be sure to sanity check your file on several different machines and versions BEFORE you distribute it!
Easily Changing From Caps to Lowercase (or Vice Versa)
If you have text that is in the wrong case, select the text, and then click Shift+F3 until it changes to the case style that you like. Clicking Shift+F3 toggles the text case between ALL CAPS, lowercase, and Initial Capital styles. This useful trick works with Word too!
Nudging Objects
You can use the arrow keys to move objects very small distances. This is a big win for those laptop users who no longer have mice. Select the object, then use your arrow keys. Each press of the key will move the object on "grid unit" (1/12th of an inch, don't ask why); if you hold down the Ctrl key while nudging, or if you have the grid turned off, you can move the objects one pixel at a time.
Saving Across Multiple Diskettes
Since PowerPoint 7.0 (the one in Office 95, also known as PowerPoint '95) you have the option to save large files over multiple diskettes. From the File menu, select Pack and Go. This wizard will compress your PowerPoint presentation and copy the file onto as many floppies as are necessary. (Of course, who uses floppies in 2009? Most computers you'd want to send a presentation to don't even have floppy drives. Burn a CD or DVD, put it on a USB stick, e-mail it, put it on a Web site for others to download ...)
Draw a Line Perfectly Horizontal or Vertical
Depress the Shift key while dragging to create your line.
Draw a Perfect Square
Depress the Shift key while dragging to create your square.
Draw a Perfect Circle
Depress the Shift key while dragging to create your circle.
Quickly Access the Slide Master
Click on the Slide View icon (at the top-left of the screen), while depressing the Shift key.
Create a New Design Template
Click on the File drop down menu, select New and then select the Design Template tab. Select an existing design template that most closely matches what you wish to achieve. Make changes to the slide master as required. Then save the file as a template using the SaveAs command to save the file as a dot file.
Preview a Presentation in Black and White
Click on View > Black and White.
Send to the Back or Bring Forward an Object
Right click on the object, select order, and choose the desired command.
Insert the Copyright Symbol
To insert the copyright © symbol, enter (c) To insert the Trademark ™ symbol enter (tm) To insert the registered ® symbol enter (r). These options are controlled by AutoCorrect (exact location depends on your version of PowerPoint; it's in the Tools menu if you have one). You can turn them off, change them, or add others. For example, you may want to turn off the automatic conversion of (c) to © if you frequently use (a), (b), (c) and so on in your presentation. You can always create symbols another way anyhow.
Saving Shows
Save your presentation as a ‘PowerPoint Show’ (.pps) and your presentation will open straight into screenshow mode. To change a .pps back to a presentation for editing, locate the file name, right click the file name, choose rename, and change the .pps extension to .ppt. A warning about instability will appear, but no harm will be done to the presentation.
Jumping to Screens
In show mode type a number then hit ‘enter’ to go to straight to that screen (i.e., ’1’ to go back to the 1st screen). This is particularly useful if you have a large show for multiple speakers -- just make a note of the slide number where each one starts -- and during rehearsal, simply keying the number and pressing enter, jumps you straight to the right place. It's quick and efficient.
Hiding Screens
In the show mode you can hide your first (or any other) screen until you are ready to start by pressing ‘B’’ to blackout the screen or (‘W’ to ‘whiteout’ the screen) then press the ‘B’ or ‘W’ again to reveal the screen when you are ready.
To Go to the First Slide or Last Slide
Ctrl+Home will take you to the first slide in a presentation, Ctrl+End will take you to the last slide.
Toolbar Tips
You can customize your toolbar to contain buttons for tasks that you routinely conduct. Click View…Toolbars…Customize. Click the Commands Tab and choose the desired task. Click and drag the accompanying icon to your preferred location in the toolbar. Close the customize window.
Setting Up the Show
To set up the presentation to run continuously, click Slide Show…Set Up Show. Check ‘loop continuously until ESC’ and click OK.
To set up the presentation with timed settings on each slide, click Slide Show…Rehearse Timings. As each slide appears a rehearsal clock will appear in the upper left corner. When the desired time has expired click the mouse to progress to the next slide. After viewing the entire show you will be asked if you wish to save the rehearsed time. Click Yes.
To record your own narration for the presentation click Slide Show…Record Narration.
Printing the Presentation
You have many options for printing your presentation. Click File…Print. You can choose to print it as slides or handouts and choose how many will fit on a page, print it as a Notes Page, or print it in the outline view. Other options include to print it in Grayscale, Pure Black and White, or with Animations. You can also choose to print only specific slide numbers or print all slides.
Scrolling Credits
Scrolling text can be an effective means of ending or beginning a presentation. Click the desired text. When the Custom Animation text box opens, click the Effects tab. Click the arrow at the right side of the Entry Animation list box to expand the list. Locate Crawl From Bottom and select it. Check the list box labeled Introduce Text. If it isn't set to All at Once, click the arrow at the right side of the list box and select All at Once. Click the Timing tab and select the radio buttons labeled Animate and Automatically. Click OK to close the dialog box and save your changes.
Keyboard Shortcuts Cheat Sheet
* Insert a new slide - CTRL+
* Switch to the next pane (clockwise) - F6
* Switch to the previous pane (counterclockwise) - SHIFT+F6
* Make a duplicate of the current slide - CTRL+D
* Start a slide show - F5
* Promote a paragraph - ALT+SHIFT+LEFT ARROW
* Demote a paragraph - ALT+SHIFT+RIGHT ARROW
* Apply subscript formatting - CTRL+EQUAL SIGN (=)
* Apply superscript formatting - CTRL+PLUS SIGN (+)
* Open the Font dialog box - CTRL+T
* Repeat your last action - F4 or CTRL+Y
* Find - CTRL+F
* View guides - CTRL+G
* Delete a word - CTRL+BACKSPACE
* Capitalize - SHIFT+F3
* Bold - CTRL+B
* Italicize - CTRL+I
* Insert a hyperlink - CTRL+K
* Select all - CTRL+A
* Copy - CTRL+C
* Paste - CTRL+V
* Undo - CTRL+Z
* Save - CTRL+S
* Print - CTRL+P
* Open - CTRL+O
It should be noted that the majority of these shortcuts work in every Office application, not just PowerPoint.
Block Ads
You know those ads that take over your entire screen? Or the ones that intrusively play music, alerting everyone around you that you've visited a website that is probably not work-related? How about those ads that leave behind tracking cookies so they can monitor your internet surfing behavior? These are the ads that make you scared to surf the internet. Fortunately, you can avoid them.
Ad blockers are among the most popular browser extensions around. But if you use several browsers on several PCs, keeping everything in sync and installing all those plug-ins can be a pain, especially when you could be blocking ads at a higher level.
It's not hard to block ads long before they reach your browser, you just need to set up an IP-blocking list (the same technology your browser-based blocker is using) either on your PC or through your router.
Ad blockers are among the most popular browser extensions around. But if you use several browsers on several PCs, keeping everything in sync and installing all those plug-ins can be a pain, especially when you could be blocking ads at a higher level.
It's not hard to block ads long before they reach your browser, you just need to set up an IP-blocking list (the same technology your browser-based blocker is using) either on your PC or through your router.
Identify a Phishing Scam
Hold on to your passwords if you want to stay safe on the internet. Of course, you need those passwords to access your bank, your e-mail and sites where you connect with friends. There are people out to trick you into giving those private codes away using a scam called "phishing." Let's look at how to identify and avoid falling for one yourself.
The strange name sounds a lot like the fishing you do in a lake with a pole. That's because it's a similar process: phishers apply bait and wait for a bite. They want you to be the fish.
These scams find ways to get you to a page that looks like the login to a financial institution or other site where knowing your credentials can benefit them in some way. Many times the "hook" comes in the form of an e-mail that appears to be from a trusted source. Also in the e-mail is a call to click a link to go to a site that is made to look like the one you know.
Another common phishing scheme, especially on social networks, is to take advantage of messaging systems built into the products. The messages may even come from trusted friends, who have themselves fallen pray to the scam.
Once you are on the phishing site, if you type your login information, it will be sent to the bad guys, even though it looks just like a site you trust.
Read on to learn some ways to identify a scam before you fall for it.
Too Good To Be True
Your bank just sent you an e-mail. You open it up and the bank claims to have found an error in your favor. "Click here" to claim the money which is rightfully yours! The old saying still has resonance in this connected age. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Your friend may be touting a get-rich-quick scheme. Even if this friend usually shares completely reliable information, be wary. Your friend may have fallen victim to a scam himself. If you have his phone number, pick up the phone and get to the bottom of it. He may appreciate you alerting him to the scam.
Since we've all become fairly resistant to this "too good" scam, many phishers use the opposite approach. If it sounds too bad to be true, such as an unexpected large payment from your account being processed by your bank, watch out. The scammers are preying on your desire to fix the problem immediately.
The same goes for unexpected payments or charges with online wallet services like Paypal. When it comes to your money, especially, you can't be too skeptical. Read on for other ways to identify whether there's a scammer on the other end of that login form.
Look at the URL
This may get a little techy, but it's something any internet user should learn. The URL (Uniform Resource Locator), which is the web page's full address, is a telling hint toward whether you're being scammed.
Your location bar is usually up at the top of the window you use for web browsing. The text inside starts with http:// or https://. The part that comes immediately after that is the host name, like /wired.com/. Sometimes, instead it has extra words up front, like /howto.wired.com/. That's called a sub-domain.
Whoever owns the main .com (or .net, .org, etc.) can make as many sub-domains as they want. Scammers use a simple trick to include your bank's name in front of their own web site name.
Let's say your bank's website is yourbank.com. A scammer might use yourbank.securebank.com, which looks pretty good. But remember, your bank can own anything ending in .yourbank.com. But whoever owns securebank.com (the scammer in this case) can put anything in front of securebank.com, including the name of your bank.
Using the URL to identify the scam means you have to understand the difference between securebank.yourbank.com and yourbank.securebank.com. If they look the same to you, know that makes you extra vulnerable. Just when you thought it couldn't get worse: often the scammers get really devious and use yourbank.com.securebank.com. The URL begins with your bank's complete web site name, but it's still a scam!
Some browsers identify the main part of the host name by bolding it in the location bar. That can make it easier to figure out whether or not you're looking at the real site. Even with the visual aid, it's still all too easy to misread the text in the location bar.
Login at the Site Itself
At this point, you have an inkling you're being phished, yet you also want to know if there really is a deposit waiting for your account. If it sounds too good to be true, and you aren't able to decipher whether it's the real URL, it's time to go straight to the source.
You need to visit your bank, or whichever site this is, directly. Don't click links in e-mails or messages, but preferably type the address of the site you usually use into the location bar. Alternatively, you can search for the name of the bank and click the search result.
Once you are on the site itself, log in there. Doing this will ensure that you are really on the correct website and not sending your credentials to a third party. When you have logged in, look to verify the information you were told in the potential phishing scam. For example, if your bank e-mailed you about a bounced check, wouldn't there be some sign of that on the site itself, too?
If you still aren't sure, you can go old school: Pick up the phone. If the site is a financial institution, there's got to be a way to call them. Remember to get the number from the real site, not from the site you visit by clicking a link.
Following this and other tips in this article should keep you safe from phishing scams. Healthy skepticism and a little technical know-how go a long way to keeping your personal data secure.
The strange name sounds a lot like the fishing you do in a lake with a pole. That's because it's a similar process: phishers apply bait and wait for a bite. They want you to be the fish.
These scams find ways to get you to a page that looks like the login to a financial institution or other site where knowing your credentials can benefit them in some way. Many times the "hook" comes in the form of an e-mail that appears to be from a trusted source. Also in the e-mail is a call to click a link to go to a site that is made to look like the one you know.
Another common phishing scheme, especially on social networks, is to take advantage of messaging systems built into the products. The messages may even come from trusted friends, who have themselves fallen pray to the scam.
Once you are on the phishing site, if you type your login information, it will be sent to the bad guys, even though it looks just like a site you trust.
Read on to learn some ways to identify a scam before you fall for it.
Too Good To Be True
Your bank just sent you an e-mail. You open it up and the bank claims to have found an error in your favor. "Click here" to claim the money which is rightfully yours! The old saying still has resonance in this connected age. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Your friend may be touting a get-rich-quick scheme. Even if this friend usually shares completely reliable information, be wary. Your friend may have fallen victim to a scam himself. If you have his phone number, pick up the phone and get to the bottom of it. He may appreciate you alerting him to the scam.
Since we've all become fairly resistant to this "too good" scam, many phishers use the opposite approach. If it sounds too bad to be true, such as an unexpected large payment from your account being processed by your bank, watch out. The scammers are preying on your desire to fix the problem immediately.
The same goes for unexpected payments or charges with online wallet services like Paypal. When it comes to your money, especially, you can't be too skeptical. Read on for other ways to identify whether there's a scammer on the other end of that login form.
Look at the URL
This may get a little techy, but it's something any internet user should learn. The URL (Uniform Resource Locator), which is the web page's full address, is a telling hint toward whether you're being scammed.
Your location bar is usually up at the top of the window you use for web browsing. The text inside starts with http:// or https://. The part that comes immediately after that is the host name, like /wired.com/. Sometimes, instead it has extra words up front, like /howto.wired.com/. That's called a sub-domain.
Whoever owns the main .com (or .net, .org, etc.) can make as many sub-domains as they want. Scammers use a simple trick to include your bank's name in front of their own web site name.
Let's say your bank's website is yourbank.com. A scammer might use yourbank.securebank.com, which looks pretty good. But remember, your bank can own anything ending in .yourbank.com. But whoever owns securebank.com (the scammer in this case) can put anything in front of securebank.com, including the name of your bank.
Using the URL to identify the scam means you have to understand the difference between securebank.yourbank.com and yourbank.securebank.com. If they look the same to you, know that makes you extra vulnerable. Just when you thought it couldn't get worse: often the scammers get really devious and use yourbank.com.securebank.com. The URL begins with your bank's complete web site name, but it's still a scam!
Some browsers identify the main part of the host name by bolding it in the location bar. That can make it easier to figure out whether or not you're looking at the real site. Even with the visual aid, it's still all too easy to misread the text in the location bar.
Login at the Site Itself
At this point, you have an inkling you're being phished, yet you also want to know if there really is a deposit waiting for your account. If it sounds too good to be true, and you aren't able to decipher whether it's the real URL, it's time to go straight to the source.
You need to visit your bank, or whichever site this is, directly. Don't click links in e-mails or messages, but preferably type the address of the site you usually use into the location bar. Alternatively, you can search for the name of the bank and click the search result.
Once you are on the site itself, log in there. Doing this will ensure that you are really on the correct website and not sending your credentials to a third party. When you have logged in, look to verify the information you were told in the potential phishing scam. For example, if your bank e-mailed you about a bounced check, wouldn't there be some sign of that on the site itself, too?
If you still aren't sure, you can go old school: Pick up the phone. If the site is a financial institution, there's got to be a way to call them. Remember to get the number from the real site, not from the site you visit by clicking a link.
Following this and other tips in this article should keep you safe from phishing scams. Healthy skepticism and a little technical know-how go a long way to keeping your personal data secure.
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