HOW MANY OF US HAVE HAD A VIRUS, SPYWARE, ADWARE, SPAM OR PHISHING EMAIL THAT IS MERELY SPOOF OR SOME NASTY FORM OF ATTEMPTED ID THEFT THAT HAS COSTED TIME, MONEY, AND PATIENCE, TO SAY THE LEAST...

THE PURPOSE OF THIS GUIDE IS TO ASSIST OTHERS IN PROTECTING THEMSELVES AGAINST THE MOST PREVALENT WHITE-COLLAR CRIME OF THE MILLENIUM: ID THEFT

LIKE MANY OTHERS, IN OCTOBER OF 2005, I RECEIVED A VERY WELL-DONE PHISHING LETTER FROM WHAT I THOUGHT WAS EBAY ASKING FOR EVERYTHING FROM MY MOTHER'S MAIDEN NAME TO MY SSN AND CREDIT CARD INFORMATION, OR ELSE MY ACCOUNT WOULD BE SUSPENDED.  I HAD SEEN THESE BEFORE, BUT THIS ONE WAS VERY WELL DONE.

HERE ARE SOME TIPS TO AVOID WHAT HAPPENED TO ME:

• DOWNLOAD THE EBAY TOOLBAR IF YOU PLAN ON DOING ANY EBAYING WHATSOEVER.

• DO NOT REPLY TO ANY EMAIL STATING IT'S FROM EBAY THAT DOES NOT ADDRESS YOU BY YOUR REGISTERED NAME.  COMMONLY, HACKERS WILL ADDRESS AN UNSUSPECTING EBAYER BY THEIR USER ID, WHEREAS EBAY USES YOUR FULL NAME AS IS REGISTERED ON EBAY ITSELF.

• IF YOU ARE STILL UNSURE, GO TO MY EBAY USING THE TOOLBAR, AND CHECK MY MESSAGES.  IF THE SUSPICIOUS MESSAGE IS NOT THEIR, IT IS SPOOF.  SEND IT TO SPOOF@EBAY.COM.  THEY WILL APPRECIATE IT.

• LIKEWISE, PAYPAL HACKERS GENERALLY USE THE SAME APPROACH, SO REPORT THE PHISHING EMAIL TO SPOOF@PAYPAL.COM

• DOWNLOAD YOU INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER'S (ISP) TOOLBAR AND THE GOOGLE TOOLBAR FOR FREE POP-UP BLOCKING.  COMCAST EVEN OFFERS FREE MCAFEE SERVICES TO THEIR CUSTOMERS!!!

• AN ARTICLE IN CONSUMER REPORTS STATES THAT NORTON AND MCAFEE ARE EXCELLENT, BUT THERE ARE OTHERS THAT ARE EVEN BETTER (PLEASE NOTE THAT SOME OF THEIR SERVICES CANNOT BE USED SIMULTANEOUSLY.).  TREND MICRO SPYWARE IS ALSO SUPERB IN ERASING ONE'S TRACKS AFTER DOING HIS OR HER BUSINESS ON THE COMPUTER...

• DELETE YOUR TRACKS EVEN FURTHER ON THE COMPUTER BY ANOTHER MEANS: GO TO TOOLS ON THE TOOLBAR, PULL IT DOWN TO INTERNET OPTIONS, AND DELETE COOKIES, FILES, AND HISTORY, AND THEN CLICK OK.  THIS SHOULD BE DONE ONCE A DAY FOR HIGH-ROLLING EBAYERS WHO MAY BE BEING WATCHED WITHOUT THEIR COGNIZANCE.

• DEFRAGMENT THE HARD DRIVE AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK FOR FASTER CONNECTIONS TO AND FROM DIFFERENT APPLICATIONS.

• GODZILLA IS A GREAT INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER AND IS FREE TO DOWNLOAD.  IT IS VERY FAST AND GETS THE USER FROM ONE SIGHT TO ANOTHER IN A BLINK.

• SOME EVEN BETTER PROTECTION FOR THE COMPUTER IS:

1. BITDEFENDER (ANTIVIRUS) $30.00
2. F-SECURE (ANTISPYWARE) $60.00
3. MICROSOFT OUTLOOK 2003 AND APPLE OS 10.4.6 MAIL

- THESE FOUR SPECIFIC SUGGESTIONS WERE DERIVED FROM CONSUMER REPORTS, SEPTEMBER 2006.

FOR ALL OF YOU PLAGIARIZERS AND PEOPLE FILLED WITH SPITE OR OVER-POWERED BY THEIR OWN MYOPIC ZEST FOR THIS CONTEST,

BEWARE...

THERE IS A THING CALLED KARMA THAT COMES AROUND SEVENFOLD TO THOSE WHO VOTE AGAINST ME ONLY TO STUFF THEIR OWN BALLOTS.  IF YOU DO NOT LIKE MY ARTICLE, PLEASE, JUST DO NOT READ IT!!!

 THANK YOU.