You should cancel any unused email accounts ASAP. Why?
Spammers and scammers love accessing email accounts that lay dormant using them to start sending out offers under your name. You may not know until it is too late.
Chances are you may have created an email account(s) long ago and then began using Gmail , Outlook or your Mac email in more recent years. Don't know how to delete an email account? Each company is different but if you Google "terminate Yahoo" (or whatever your account is) you should find the information necessary to delete that email account. Often if you are logged into your email account in the Settings you can locate a link to "Terminate Account" or "Cancel account."
If you no longer have the login information for your unused email account, you should contact the Support department of that company and ask how your email account can be deleted.
Staying safe online requires regular monitoring of all your online accounts. That job can become more manageable by deleting any you no longer use.
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
Tuesday, June 18, 2019
Block your cellphone number from Caller ID
Are there times that you'd rather not share your cellphone number when calling a business or possibly someone you don't know?
All you have to do is dial *67 (star 67) before dialing your phone number and it will temporarily deactivate Caller ID. On the phone receiving the call, it will usually display "Private number" rather than your name or phone number.
If you are calling an 800 number or an emergency number this will not "work." Caller ID will identify your name and or phone number.
Do you have a tip you'd like to share with others? Feel free to send it to me and I'll pass it on.....giving you credit, of course! :-)
All you have to do is dial *67 (star 67) before dialing your phone number and it will temporarily deactivate Caller ID. On the phone receiving the call, it will usually display "Private number" rather than your name or phone number.
If you are calling an 800 number or an emergency number this will not "work." Caller ID will identify your name and or phone number.
Do you have a tip you'd like to share with others? Feel free to send it to me and I'll pass it on.....giving you credit, of course! :-)
Tuesday, June 11, 2019
Super Fast Way to search Google
If you're like me when reading something on the internet that I want to learn more about (often), I copy and paste that word or phrase into the Omnibox or Google Search box. But I just learned there is a faster way:
Next time you want to look up what a word means or learn more about something you've read, try this:
1) Highlight the word or phrase you want to research
2) Right-click on the highlighted text (on computers with a trackpad do a Control key and click on the trackpad)
3) Choose Search Google for "selected text" from the contextual menu. A new browser tab will then open. That's all there is to it!
If you are reading on a tablet or phone, you tap the word or phrase to highlight it, then choose Look Up from the pop-up menu.
Next time you want to look up what a word means or learn more about something you've read, try this:
1) Highlight the word or phrase you want to research
2) Right-click on the highlighted text (on computers with a trackpad do a Control key and click on the trackpad)
3) Choose Search Google for "selected text" from the contextual menu. A new browser tab will then open. That's all there is to it!
If you are reading on a tablet or phone, you tap the word or phrase to highlight it, then choose Look Up from the pop-up menu.
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
Your Best Protection is You!
Can you remember the days before email; when our mailboxes often contained several pieces of "junk" mail each day? Times have changed, and It seems that most of my junk mail now arrives in my Inbox!
Most email programs have built-in filters to help protect you from scam and phishing emails, and these continually improve. In some programs you can also manually change your level of filtering. However the best defense against scams and phishing attacks will always be YOU.
You should remain vigilant and skeptical of any email that:
Most email programs have built-in filters to help protect you from scam and phishing emails, and these continually improve. In some programs you can also manually change your level of filtering. However the best defense against scams and phishing attacks will always be YOU.
You should remain vigilant and skeptical of any email that:
- Claims to be from a friend but comes from an unfamiliar email address;
- Contains an attachment or link that asks for login credentials;
- Requests a cell phone number or money.
When in doubt, call the sender (don’t reply to the email) to verify that they sent the email, or call the company. Don't use any links or numbers in the email. Access that information by going directly to the company's website to locate a number to call. Usually that information is located in a section titled "About Us" or "Contact Us".
Many of us love all of our devices, but the use of those devices require a commitment from you to stay aware and "tech smart" .......which you are doing each week when you read the latest Tuesday Tech Tip! :-)
Many of us love all of our devices, but the use of those devices require a commitment from you to stay aware and "tech smart" .......which you are doing each week when you read the latest Tuesday Tech Tip! :-)