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INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Social Media Warning
Posting Vacation News Can Trigger Burglary

Landlines Can Be Lifelines

Two To View
A Couple Of Amazing Videos You Don't Want To Miss

This Month's FAQ
How Do I Share A Video From This eNewsletter?

Sites Of The Month
Great Sites To Check Out In July

Short Tutorial
Opening Multiple Tabs At Browser Startup


Hello West Central Internet Subscribers

Cool Summer PoolWe hope your July is filled with fun in the sun whether that's in your backyard or away on a vacation. If you do take off on a trip, make sure your Facebook posts don't alert burglars to your empty house, as our Social Media Warning explains. And if you'll be spending lots of time relaxing on your porch or deck, check out Great Sites for ideas on decorating outdoor spaces, choosing healthy foods for meals, and finding the next book to read in your lounge chair. Also in this issue, we do our best to brighten your day with a couple of funny videos as well as a quick tip on how to share videos with friends.

The goal of each of our eNewsletters is to keep our subscribers informed regarding their Internet connection and to improve their Internet experience. We think you'll find this information interesting.

To see what's inside this issue, simply scroll down the eNewsletter or click on the links within the index to the left. Thanks for reading!

- West Central Internet Services Team
 

 

Social Media Warning – Posting Vacation News Can Trigger Burglary

Cybercriminals are increasingly using social media to search out burglary opportunities. These thieves watch for information about upcoming or current vacations and time their crimes for when homes will be empty. When users of Facebook, Twitter, foursquare, and other social media sites post when they will be (or are) out of town, they run the risk of unknowingly making their homes prime targets for burglary.

Thieves get this information in several ways:
    Burgler Pic
  • Facebook: Say your status reads, "Can't wait for Monday, starting week-long trip to the Caribbean." If you haven't adjusted your privacy settings, this information can be seen by all of your Facebook friends. Even if your privacy settings are secure, people who can see it may decide to "share" or pass on the information to others who might be disreputable.

  • Twitter: On Twitter, if you haven't activated the "protect my tweets" setting, anyone (even those not following you) can see the information you post. A tweet like, "Stopping in Omaha on our long drive to Denver" lets everyone know you are not at home.

  • foursquare: This application is meant to let people know where you are. If you live in Boise and you have checked in at a restaurant in San Francisco, that's a huge tip-off to anyone who wants to get into your home without you there. And foursquare is doubly dangerous because you have the option of sharing your activity on Facebook or Twitter.
To protect yourself, post as little as possible about your vacation plans, and ask others not to talk about trips before they happen or while in progress. Remember, you can tell everyone about your vacation when you return. If you're simply too excited to not post your plans on Facebook, be sure your privacy settings are secure. To do this, in the upper right-hand corner of your Facebook home page, click Account and select Privacy Settings. Then click the Customize Settings link, which will take you to a page where you can specify what others see.

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Landlines Can Be Lifelines

Landlines Can Be Lifelines All phone services are not created equal. In particular, Internet-based VoIP and wireless phone services simply cannot match the performance of landline service during severe weather and other emergency situations. West Central Telephone wants to make sure your family is able to maintain phone communications in the event of a crisis.

VoIP and wireless services can fail to perform as needed during power outages and 911 calls. Landline connections are still far superior for emergency needs, and we strongly encourage people to stay with, or return to, landline phone service for safety and reliability. Every household should consider maintaining at least one corded landline phone. For more information, call 800-945-2163.

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Two To View – A Couple Of Amazing Videos You Don't Want To Miss

Cool Video Number 1   Cool Video Number 2
     
Charlie Bit My Finger!
One of the all-time most popular YouTube videos with more than 338 million views, this captures a funny exchange between two young brothers. The older boy, Harry, discovers what happens when he puts his finger in his baby brother's mouth. It's been described as a life journey in less than a minute — including joy, laughter, surprise, pain, and anger.
  Catch These Fishing Bloopers
This collection of fishing bloopers, with over 8 million views, will reel you in from the first scene. It features veteran fisherman, Bill Dance, and shows the hilarious results when boats and fishing poles don't quite do what they're supposed to do. Who cares if you catch any fish as long as you enjoy a laugh?

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This Month's FAQ – How Do I Share A Video From This eNewsletter?

Question: Sometimes I want to share a video from this eNewsletter that I really like. But when I click on "Forward" to send the entire email to friends, they can't view the eNewsletter correctly. Is there a better way to share videos?

Video Linking Answer: Yes, there's a quick and easy way to share these video links with others. After you click on the "Watch Now" button that appears on the video's screenshot, you'll see a URL at the top of the page in the address bar. For example, with the fishing bloopers video featured above, the URL is the following:

http://www.enewsletterhome.com/
_eNewsletter/2011/07/VIDEO_B.htm


All you have to do is select the URL, then copy and paste it into the body of an email to send the video link to friends. When they receive it, they can simply click on the link to go directly to the video or paste it into their browser's address bar and press "Enter" on their keyboard. Thanks for asking the question and we're glad you're enjoying the videos!

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Sites Of The Month – Great Sites To Check Out In July

Have A Royal Good Time
royal.gov.uk – If the recent visit to the U.S. and Canada by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (William and Kate) stirred up your royal fever, you won't want to miss the official website of The British Monarchy. Here you'll find a wide variety of content including biographies, speeches, and little-known facts. You can also check out photo galleries, watch the latest videos, and follow recent activities of the Royal Family.

Dishing Up Food Advice
choosemyplate.gov – The U.S. Department of Agriculture has replaced the traditional food pyramid with My Plate, a concept that makes it easy to maintain a healthy diet. This site describes the My Plate graphic and offers many ideas for eating well and staying healthy. Here you'll find details about each food group, healthy eating tips, information on physical activity, and much more. Don't forget to check out the Daily Food Plan section to get a personalized eating plan.

What To Read Next?
yournextread.com – Wondering what book to put in your beach bag this summer? This site can help. Get recommendations by browsing the featured lists or by entering the name of a book you like to see similar picks. You can "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" recommendations to improve future results. And when you find something you like, save it to your list or click on the social media buttons to get opinions from friends.

This Day In History
history.com – History buffs and trivia hounds will love this site. Each day it lists what happened "on this day in history" in business, politics, entertainment, sports, and more. Check out the featured stories such as "First Roller Coaster in America Opens." Or skip to another day such as your birthday to find out what happened in history on that day. Visit the site often to get new updates or sign up for the daily newsletter.

Build A Backyard Paradise
hgtv.com – Can't afford a tropical vacation this year? Create a little paradise in your own backyard with inspiration from the photos and videos on this site. Find ideas for big yards or small: fire pits, fountains, pools, decks, furniture, and many other relaxing features. The site includes ideas for all budgets so you're sure to find at least a few you can use. Your yard may end up so beautiful that you won't want to leave!

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Short Tutorial – Opening Multiple Tabs At Browser Startup

You probably have a group of websites that you like to visit daily, perhaps ones that provide most of your news, weather, sports, and stock reports. Did you know you can identify each of these sites as a home page and they will open as tabs and be ready to view each time you launch your browser? It's a very handy feature and one that gives you quick access to your favorite sites. Simply follow the steps below for your browser.

IE 8 Icon Opening Multiple Tabs at Startup Using ...
Internet Browser:
Internet Explorer 8 or 9
Computer Operating System: Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7
  1. With Internet Explorer open, click your cursor arrow on "Tools" and then select "Internet Options" from the drop-down menu. The Internet Options window will open.

  2. In the "Home page" section of the "General" tab, you will see "To create home page tabs, type each address on its own line." Type in the website address (URL) that you want to open at startup. Press "Enter" and then type another address. Repeat until you have entered all the addresses that you want.

  3. Click on the "Apply" button to save your changes and then click on the "OK" button to close the Internet Options window.

  4. Close and then restart Internet Explorer.
Firefox Icon Opening Multiple Tabs at Startup Using ...
Internet Browser:
Mozilla Firefox 5
Computer Operating System: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Mac OS X 10.6
  1. With Firefox open, in separate tabs, open the pages that you want to use as your tabbed home pages.

  2. Click your cursor arrow on "Tools" (for Windows) or "Firefox" (for Mac) in the menu bar. Then select "Options" (for Windows) or "Preferences..." (for Mac) from the drop-down menu. The Options/Preferences window will open.

  3. Click on the "General" icon if it is not already selected.

  4. In the "Home Page:" field in the "Startup" section, click on the "Use Current Pages" button.

  5. Close the Options/Preferences window and then restart Firefox.
Safari Icon Opening Multiple Tabs at Startup Using ...
Internet Browser:
Safari 5
Computer Operating System: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Mac OS X 10.6
  1. With Safari open, in separate tabs, open the pages that you want to use as your tabbed home pages.

  2. Click your cursor arrow on the Bookmarks menu and select "Add Bookmarks for These # Tabs."

  3. Name the bookmark "Home Page Tabs."

  4. Click on "Safari" in the menu bar. Then click on "Preferences..." from the drop-down menu.

  5. Select the "General" icon located at the top of the Preferences window.

  6. In the "New windows open with:" field, click on the up/down arrow button and select "Choose tabs folder..."

  7. A window will then open asking you to "Choose a folder or collection." Choose the collection you just created called "Home Page Tabs" and click the "Choose" button.

  8. Close the Preferences window.

  9. Close and restart Safari.
Chrome Icon Opening Multiple Tabs at Startup Using ...
Internet Browser:
Google Chrome 12
Computer Operating System: Mac OS X 10.6
  1. With Chrome open, in separate tabs, open the pages that you want to use as your tabbed home pages.

  2. Click on "Chrome" in the menu bar. Then click on "Preferences..." from the drop-down menu. A new tab will open for the "Preferences" page.

  3. Select the "Basics" link on the Preferences page.

  4. In the "On Startup" section, click the radio button next to "Open the following pages:" and then click on the "Use Current Pages" button.

  5. Close the tab for the Preferences page.

  6. Close and restart Chrome.
Chrome Icon Opening Multiple Tabs at Startup Using ...
Internet Browser:
Google Chrome 12
Computer Operating System: Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7
  1. With Chrome open, in separate tabs, open the pages that you want to use as your tabbed home pages.

  2. Click on the wrench icon to the left of the address field and click on "Options" in the drop-down menu. A new tab will open for the "Options" page.

  3. Select the "Basics" link on the Options page.

  4. In the "On Startup" section, click the radio button next to "Open the following pages:" and then click on the "Use Current Pages" button.

  5. Close the tab for the Options page.

  6. Close and restart Chrome.

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We hope you found this newsletter to be informative. It's our way of keeping you posted on the happenings here. If, however, you'd prefer not to receive these bulletins, click here.

Thanks for your business!

Best regards

The WCTA Communications Team
Internet Specialists



WCTA Sebeka
308 Frontage Road Box 304
Sebeka, MN 56477

1-218-837-5151 or toll free at 1-800-945-2163


©2011 Cornerstone Publishing Group Inc.

Trademarks: All brand names and product names used in this eNewsletter are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.