Friday, January 18, 2008

Rumour Has It...

Recently there has been a rash of “warning” e-mails about various stories, claiming them to be true. Most of these turn out to be urban myths, legends, hoaxes, or scams. The unfortunate thing is that the news media often report on it as well, only adding to its believability.

At first, they only came to us through regular e-mail. Today they circulate everywhere, including the biggest social networking site – FACEBOOK. Even now, as I write this article, one of my friends has posted a rumour about children’s ball rooms in fast-food restaurants. A little education should help all of us with this growing epidemic.
What should you do if someone sends you an e-rumour? Don’t forward it! Don’t post it on the Internet! Don’t text it! Don’t repeat it at the water cooler! First, check it out! The best place to search for the facts is at the web site SNOPES.COM. You will likely find it there, and it will likely not be true.Oh, yes, occasionally one of those stories might actually be accurate, but that’s very rare. The bottom line is that we all need to check out our sources. Help stop the spread of electronic junk mail. Keep it to “just the facts”.

If you do forward one of these e-mails, make sure to use the blind carbon copy feature. This will keep all those e-mail addresses out of the message body, protect your friend’s privacy, and help reduce SPAM mailings. All you have to do is use the BCC: area of the message header instead of the traditional carbon copy area. Your pals will thank you!


Thanks for reading, and remember...
" Think Outside the Browser! "

Troy Roach
OnSite Technology
519-40-GEEKS
519-404-3357
http://www.onsitetechnology.ca/

Visit my other blog "Site of the Month" for my picks of the internet's best web sites, links and technology.

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