Bank of America’s website (http://bankofamerica.com) has a page that outlines privacy and security policies. The following is a list of tabs on the privacy and security page:

1. Overview
2. Our Products Are Secure
3. Preventing Fraud
4. Detecting Fraud
5. Reporting and Resolving Fraud
6. Privacy Policies and Preferences
7. Additional Resources

A sub-category under Preventing Fraud is Types of Online Fraud, which are email and fraudulent websites, spyware and viruses, pop-up advertisements, fraudulent phone calls and numbers, and mobile phone security.  Phishing is covered under email and fraudulent websites.  Bank of America tries to educate account holders on the practice of phishing by providing examples of phony email messages using the Bank of America logo and tips on how to recognize a phony email.  If you receive an email that looks like it is from Bank of America but asks for your personal information or bank account numbers, it is definitely fraudulent.  Bank of America never asks for that kind of information by email.  Misspellings and other grammatical errors should raise a red flag in telling you that the email is phony.  If you receive a suspicious email, Bank of America asks you to report it to them by forwarding the email to abuse@bankofamerica.com and then advise you to delete it.

SunTrust Bank (http://www.suntrust.com/) basically provides the same information in regards to phishing as Bank of America.  The tips about email they provide to help protect the account holder are:

1. Use secure messaging when it’s available.
2. Use caution when opening unsolicited emails and attachments.
3. Don’t click and tell.  This means to never respond to an unsolicited email asking you to provide or update personal information or account numbers.

SunTrust has a link on their Fraud Resource Center page that directs you to an article titled “How Not to Get Hooked by the ‘Phishing’ Scam”.  This link directs you to the Federal Trade Commission’s website and the article can be found under the Consumer Protection tab.  Suspicious SunTrust emails can be forwarded to emailabuse@suntrust.com.  If you have provided any information in response to a phishing email, use should call their customer service hotline to speak to a SunTrust Representative.

The following illustration is an example of a phishing email provided by Bank of America.

The Barnes and Noble (http://www.bn.com) at Commonwealth Center in Brandermill offers Wi-Fi.  It has become a gathering place for all kinds of people, such as students, workers and teens.  I have even seen people meet there before to hold interviews.  The only change in the atmosphere that I have noticed is limited sitting areas.  It isn’t a nuisance because even though there are more people in the store, it is still nice and quiet.  The majority of the people I see using their laptops are there by themselves, not in groups. 

Another public place that offers wireless Internet access near me is Panera Bread (http://www.panerabread.com) at Stony Point Fashion Center.  It has become a gathering place just like Barnes and Noble.  A crowd of people at a bookstore doesn’t bother me.  I get irritated when it is lunchtime and I want to grab a bite to eat and can’t find anywhere to sit.  Especially when a table for four is occupied by one person sprawled out with their laptop (which they do have the right to do and the right to be there). 

Restaurants and bookstores are only a few public places that offer wireless Internet access.  Other places that offer Wi-Fi are airports, hospitals, schools and libraries.

     Microsoft conducted this experiment because they believed that the trouble people were having with Vista was really all in their head.  But according to many IT Managers, that isn’t so.  They cited the reasons for not wanting to upgrade to Vista due to it’s resource requirements, intrusive security features and lack of compatibility with older software.  Many people questioned the fact that users were only able to watch Vista, but not actually interact with it.  I believe if the participants were allowed to actually use it and not just watch it, the post-demo score would not have jumped so high.  When I bought a new desktop computer in January 2008, Microsoft Vista was the operating system.  I do not care for it at all.  I still prefer Windows XP over Vista.  http://www.informationweek.com/news/windows/operatingsystems/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=209800457

     The marketing aspects of the Mojave Experiment clearly backfired on Microsoft.  The most obvious reason being that they think consumers are stupid.  They also make the participants of the experiment look foolish, and who likes to feel that way?  Nobody.  Blaming the users of Vista for having problems with the operating software isn’t a great strategy to get more people to buy Vista either.  http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/marketing/why_the_mojave_experiment_fails.html

    One good thing about multifunction printers is that they save a considerable amount of space.  I would not have enough room in my kitchen for a separate printer, copier and scanner.  If you have multiple computer users in your house, you can set up wireless connectivity to the printing device.  This capability allows you to save a lot of money by not having to buy a printer for everyone who has their own computer.  It is much cheaper to buy an all-in-one printer than it is to buy each item separately.  Keep in mind that at first it is cheaper and more convenient to only have to purchase ink and other supplies for one device, you will also go through these supplies faster since you are using the printer for more than one task.  All-in-one printers also save you a lot of time during the initial setup and for occasional software updates.

     There is also a downside to all-in-one printers.  For instance, if you take a lot of pictures and print them from your multifunction printer, the quality may not be as good as if you had purchased a device that specializes in printing photos.  You have to ask yourself if it is more important to you to save money or to sacrifice quality.  Multifunction printers can also present servicing issues.  If something goes wrong with your copier, you will be without access to a scanner, printer and possibly faxing capabilities until the problem is fixed. 

     An all-in-one printer is sufficient for my home office needs.  The multifunction printer I have was part of a package deal when my mom and dad bought me a laptop several years ago for Christmas.  I have it hooked up to my PC.  I do not have it wirelessly setup to print from my new laptop.  The only functions I use are printing and copying.  I have no use for the scanning function.  I do have a separate photo printer because it prints a better quality picture than my all-in-one does.

My Son Who Hates Having His Picture Taken

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My Husband and I on the 4th of July