Avoid Scams

Avoid Scams
First thing to do is ask yourself "Is this offer too good to be true?" well then it most likely is and you should ignore or report the message/offer/letter right away because it is probably a scam.

To help you identify whether you might be the target of a scam, examine the following list:

*Were you promised a large amount of money in return for sending a wire transfer?

*Are you required to wire funds to be deposited by someone you don't know?

*Are you being instructed to wire money in order to claim lottery or prize winnings?

*Are you being asked to wire money in response to a guaranteed credit card or loan offer?

*Are you being instructed to send money to claim an inheritance?

*Are you wiring money in response to an internet or phone offer?

*Are you required to send money to someone you don't know?

*Are you supposed to send money to participate in a foreign lottery?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions and proceed, you are taking part in a high risk transaction that is most likely a scam or case of fraud. If you decide to take your chances, you will not be able to recover the money you send and the bank will hold you responsible for any overdrafts to your account.

Always check out any company that you will be dealing with financially with the Better Business Bureau.
You can also check the Scam Busters website to see if something you have received has been reported as a scam.

How to Surf the Internet Anonymously With Proxies

If you are worried about shadowy corporations or other entities you don’t trust keeping tabs on your Internet surfing habits, you should surf the Internet anonymously with proxies. It's relatively easy to do and completely free.

Find an Internet proxy server. For a huge list of free proxies, see the link to proxy.org in the Resources section below. You can click on any of these listings and instantly be taken to a proxy server.

Find a proxy server with an Internet address field. Some proxy servers require you to make some changes to your browser or download something. But ones where you can type in an Internet address are easiest to use.

Type in a URL and click “Go.”

Surf the Internet anonymously. Once you type in an Internet address, the proxy server will create a new address bar for you to use. You can now surf through an anonymous proxy.

Use the mini-URL form to continue surfing anonymously. If you want to navigate to a different site, use the built-in address bar from the proxy server

How to Determine Origin of Microsoft Files

If you use Microsoft Office Access, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher or Word, you may be interested to know who created the file, or when it was created or more foundational information. This information may be helpful in tracking files, or providing info for your records and/or file management. Here are a couple of easy steps to obtain that information.

From the current document >
Go to the File menu >
Click on Properties

On the Standard toolbar >
click Open >
In the Open dialog box, select the document for which you want to view properties.

On the Views menu, do any of the following:
To preview the contents of the file before opening it, click Preview.
To view such properties as the size of the file and the date the file was last modified, click Details.
To view all document properties, click Properties.

How to Run Grammar Checks Online

To find the appropriate Internet site, you will need to open you Internet browser. Navigate to the spellcheckplus website. This is the site that offers the free grammar check for your work.

Open your written work. Without closing your Internet browser, open the word processor file that contains the written work you wish to grammar check.

Copy your work. Using your mouse, click on the written document body once. Hold the control key and hit the "A" button on your computer. Once the entire work is highlighted, hold the control key again and hit the "C" button.

Paste your work. Move your mouse down to the bottom of your computer screen and click on the open Internet tab. Move your mouse into the open white square and hold the control key once more. While holding the control key hit the "V" button. This will paste your document into the grammar check screen.

Check your work and fix errors. Move your mouse over the "Check Text" button and click. The grammar checker will find all mistakes and help you to correct each one.

Save your corrected work. After you have corrected any grammatical errors. Use the copy and paste functions described above to save the corrected document onto your computer.



About Grammar Checkers

In theory, a computer grammar checker should work like a spell checker. It should identify errors and suggest alternatives for corrected text. However, spelling is fairly straightforward. In comparison, grammar is more much interpretive.

Despite recent advances in computer technology, it is very difficult for a machine to learn to properly understand the English language. In written English, there are a number of expressions that have multiple meanings and the context of a word's usage can directly affect the tone of a sentence. These subtleties are simply impossible for a machine to fully comprehend, thus leaving grammar checkers with three main flaws:

* A grammar checker may miss important errors.
* A grammar checker may accidentally suggest corrections that are inaccurate.
* A grammar checker may flag grammatically correct text as incorrect.

There are many common grammar errors that computer software struggles to find. For example, one recent study comparing the effectiveness of common grammar checkers found that these programs will typically miss the following errors:

* No comma after an introductory element in a sentence
* Missing preposition
* Comma splice
* No comma in a compound sentence
* Vague pronoun references
* Tense shift
* Incorrect use of the possessive apostrophe
* Pronoun agreement error
* Run-on sentence
* Sentence fragment

If you're truly interested in learning to improve your grammar, it's best not to rely on software to catch your errors. Instead, brush up on basic grammar rules by visiting the following websites:

* Daily Grammar
* Grammar Monster
* 1 Language
* English Page
* Superteach