There's a new scam out there and it involves—puppies. That's right. Puppies. If you get an e-mail message from someone you don't know, and it involves puppies, be careful. It might be an advanced fee fraud or a phishing scam.
Advanced fee fraud and phishing scams use e-mail and fraudulent Web sites that are designed to steal your money or your personal information. Recently, these kinds of scams have evolved into a type of elaborate social engineering fraud that aims to prey on your sympathy, or offer you deals that seem too good to be true.
In the case of the puppy scam, classified ads in newspapers and on the Web, or messages sent directly to your e-mail inbox offer free puppies (you just pay the shipping costs) or offer purebred puppies at a discounted price. In each case, the victim sends the money, but the puppy never arrives.
For more information, see American Kennel Club and Better Business Bureau warn consumers to be wary of puppy scams.
The newest version of Windows Live OneCare is now available to download, includes the following features and more:
If you're part of a small business or you live in a house with more than one computer, the OneCare service from Microsoft can make working with your computer network easier.
You can manage your network’s safety, share Internet access, and print to one printer from wherever you are in the building without sharing your personal information with the entire neighborhood.
To learn more about the new features of OneCare, read Windows Live OneCare: What's new?
You can also watch a demo of the product.
On June 10 Microsoft released seven security bulletins for Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Internet Explorer, and Microsoft DirectX.
To get the updates, go to the Microsoft Update Web site. To get updates automatically from now on, turn on automatic updating.
To get more technical information about the bulletins, visit Microsoft TechNet.
Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) is here and if you use a computer that runs Windows Vista, all you have to do is turn on automatic updating to get it.
In fact, you might have already gotten it.
To turn on automatic updating:
1. Click the Start button in the lower left corner of your screen, click Control Panel, and then click Security.
2. Under Windows Update, click Turn automatic updating on or off and then follow the instructions on the screen.
(It's a good idea to select the Install updates automatically option so that you don't have to remember to install the updates manually after you download them).
What is Windows Vista SP1?
Windows Vista SP1 is an update to Windows Vista that addresses feedback from you, our customers. SP1 addresses specific reliability and performance issues, includes support for new types of hardware, and addresses some management, deployment, and support challenges for IT professionals.
How to find out if you already have SP1
To find out if you already have SP1, click the Start button in the lower left corner of your screen, and then type "system information" in the search box. Click System Information to open the window. If you already have SP1, you will see the words "Service Pack 1" in the Value column of the Version row.
For more information, see Windows Vista Service Pack 1.