June 2006
In this issue...

> Computer Usage
> Bandwidth Loss
> Mice or Mouses?
> Outlook Tips
 

The amount of malicious software on the Web has increased greatly recently. Here are some guidelines to help protect yourself:

Practice Safe Browsing. Avoid unfamiliar or untrusted Web sites, especially Web sites that advertise "too good to be true" deals. Don't install unfamiliar third-party toolbars. I recommend you use only the MSN toolbar http://toolbar.msn.com/   or the Google toolbar http://toolbar.google.com/ .  You can increase your browsing security by taking these four steps:

1) Set the Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) security level to High.
2) Add Web sites you consider safe to Trusted Sites.
3) Use plain text to read the email messages you receive.
4) Block pop-up windows in your browser.

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Stop Bandwidth Loss

Filtering Techniques Block Inappropriate Content

If checking your e-mail means deleting dozens of offers for baldness cures, weight-loss products and vacation time-shares, you already know how annoying bulk e-mail advertising can be. What you may not know is that this type of e-mail, also known as spam, can actually end up costing your business money.

How It Happens
When spam floods your employees’ e-mail accounts, it sucks up costly bandwidth that should be devoted to business communication. It also makes workers less productive by forcing them to spend time sifting through and deleting dozens of junk messages. (Some statistics indicate that employees spend about 15 hours a year deleting e-mail. In a 50-employee company, that adds up to 750 hours, or 93 workdays, over the course of a year.) Worse, it may cause workers to miss or accidentally discard important messages in the process.

What You Can Do
Numerous filtering solutions are available to help you stem the tide of spam. At the desktop level, anti-spam software can be installed to block certain types of messages — for example, all advertisements, or all messages from a particular ISP. If you have an e-mail server, software can provide similar services at the server level, so spam never reaches your employees’ desktops. You may also consider using server-based hardware, which stops spam at the network gateway, or heuristic software, which uses multiple criteria to examine incoming messages and catch spam that might otherwise slip through.

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If you have three computers, do you have three "mice" or three "mouses"? The answer will likely depend on your personal preference. When the term "mouse" was coined for the "small mobile manual device that controls movement of the cursor and selection of functions on a computer display" (Merriam-Webster), the plural of the word was often "mouses." No one seems to know exactly why. Perhaps the word "mice" was simply too rodent-like and carried too negative a connotation. An Internet search will reveal that arguments exist for both terms, and, with popular usage being the determining factor, it’s appropriate to use either "mice" or "mouses." In fact, "mouses" probably has the edge. Why not take a survey at your location and let us know the results?