Hi, and welcome to this week’s news from The Web on Wheels!

Well these last two weeks have absolutely flown by – I’m in a bit of a whirl at the moment. It’s school holidays here in Victoria, and I’m having a fabulous time with my sons. There’s been friends coming for a play, coming for sleepovers, going for sleepovers, mostly playing, playing, playing. Last night we treated our boys (and us) to a night at Gold Class to see the movie Monsters vs Aliens. It was our youngest’s first time there. What a treat for him. Having his ice cream and drink, then half way through the movie having the young chap deliver his glass of smarties! I could see his smile in the dark. Here’s a pic of the boys kicking back in their huge comfy chairs.

Now a lot of our members don’t have young children at home any more. I wonder if there are grandchildren on the scene, are you able to spend some time with them during the school holidays? (whenever they occur in your neighbourhood.) I hope so. The relationship between grandparents and grandchildren is very special. If any of our members would like to share a story about that, or anything else, please email the group. The group email address is: thewebonwheels@igroops.com or just send me an email and I’ll share with the group, if you wish.

In this issue we’ll look at:

• Internet security;
• National Compliments Day; and
• A light-hearted moment

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Just a quick word about the content of this message.
Throughout this newsletter I have included various links to websites, and included some pictures.
Sometimes those links don’t work.
It’s NOT you!
Sometimes your computer, or the system you’re using (eg. Hotmail, Outlook) decide to look after your security and block your ability to go straight to an outside website or to download pictures.
Sometimes it’s simply that your computer is set to get only plain text messages. So no matter what you do, you won’t get the nice looking, easy-clicking tricks, your message will be just as it says – plain text without any of the fancy stuff.

If a link doesn’t work, try looking on your screen, usually toward the top of the email message and see if there’s some sort of message saying something about the link not being allowed. It might say, “Click here to download pictures” or  ”links have been disabled” – or something similar. Most of the time, it also gives you the option to click in that message area and give your computer permission to go ahead and allow the picture to come onto your computer, or allow you to get to the website.

“Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience ”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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This Week’s Concern

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Internet Security.

This is an area of concern for a lot of people. And rightly so. It also needs a bigger discussion, but I’d like to do a mini bit of awareness-raising about security on the Internet.

As you start to explore the internet, there may be times when you would like to sign up for membership with a business, or perhaps even buy something online. (Oh you might not think so now, but really, in time you’ll want to!)

Before you EVER give your financial details or passwords online, make sure you are on a secure site.
There are a couple of ways to tell if the site is secure.

• Look for the gold padlock symbol.   It’s closed when it’s secure.

Look for the padlock around the top right hand area of Internet Explorer, (or down on the bottom right hand corner if you’re using Firefox).

The padlock means the site is encrypted – which just means it goes through some heavy-duty security. Your computer and the site you’re on can understand the information, but it’s meaningless to others.

• Look in the website address.

Look towards the top of your screen, in the website address area.

-  If the site is secure the very beginning of the web address has an ‘s’ in it. The address starts with: https://www……
(oh and for those who want to know, the beginning bit stands for: Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure)

- If the site is not secure, then the web address will start with the usual: http……://www…….

Now not every website, nor every webpage needs this special secure connection. For example PayPal. When you go to their website, to their Home Page, it’s not secure as you’re not passing over anything sensitive. You might just be exploring their site.

But when you click on Log In, you go to their Log In page, which is secure. You can see by the change of the prefix on the web address, it changes to https:// … and you’ll also see the gold padlock.

Another thing that is really important:

• Make sure you are at the site you want to be on.

What I mean is, if you’re going to buy something online, or give your credit card details to someone, try to type in the website address yourself, rather than, for example, clicking on a link in an email.

This is one of the most popular ways people try to get your details. It’s call phishing. (pronounced fishing). I’m sure you wouldn’t do it, but there are many scams out there. And we’ve heard of those fake emails supposedly from a bank, asking you to confirm your details etc.
No reputable company, bank or government department would EVER send an email, asking you to click on a link and give your personal details. These emails need to be deleted IMMEDIATELY.

That’s it for that subject today – but please remember:

• Before you give over any bank or financial details, look for the CLOSED GOLD PADLOCK.
  If it doesn’t have it – get away from it.
  If you really want what they’ve got, then send them an email or phone to ask for alternative payment methods.
• As a rule of thumb, if you are at a reputable site, and if you check that the site is secure, and if you use a MasterCard or Visa Card, then you should be secure.

Of course nothing is absolute, but companies such as MasterCard and Visa encourage online payments and strive to make the environment secure.

Still the bottom line is; if you don’t feel comfortable, then don’t do it.

There are more ways to find out more about the site you’re on, such as clicking on the padlock, or clicking on a coloured area on the address bar to find out more about the company, but I’ll put those details in the full article.

It will be in the Articles section of our member’s site by the end of next week, if you’d like to read further on this.

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How are you?

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National Compliments Day

In my research on this I’ve discovered that it’s celebrated on January 24th in some places but apparently in Australia, it’s today, April 16. I wonder why that is, there seem to be a few days that are celebrated on different dates in different parts of the world. Mother’s Day is one that springs to mind. It’s the fourth Sunday in March in the UK, or the first, second or last Sunday in May, depending on which part of the world you’re in. Anyway, I digress …

Back to

National Compliments Day.
How often do you say nice things to your friends? Do you ever pay your boss a compliment? Well, for one day of the year, there is no excuse not to. National Compliments Day on April 16th is one day in the year in Australia (and on January the 24th in the USA) when people can give compliments. If someone pays you a compliment, you feel good, so you should pay other people compliments. Be sure to return the compliment if someone says something nice about you. Tell your boss he or she looks great. Let the sales assistant in the grocery store know they always do a fantastic job. It will brighten up their day and maybe they will be kinder to you in the future. Of all the different days we celebrate, National Compliments Day is one that makes us all feel good.

So just what is a compliment? It is a polite expression of praise given to someone to make them feel good. It comes from the heart and is an important part of building relationships. To pay a compliment is a win-win situation. You feel good and the receiver of your compliment is also happy. It is a simple sign of honesty that can bring sunshine into another person’s day. It seems compliments are more necessary today than ever before. We are often too busy and stressed to notice other people. Face-to-face contact is decreasing because of the Internet. This simple and natural skill needs to become a bigger part of the way we interact with others. You never know what new friendships you can build by paying a simple compliment.

The above is from ESL Holiday Lesson. This site is for people who have English as a second language, and they use Holidays as a way to engage students so they’ll find learning English a little easier. I think it’s a great idea, and their topics make good reading. Sean’s site is: http://www.eslholidaylessons.com/index.html

Vivienne, I’d like to take the opportunity to compliment you and all our subscribers today. Most of you are trying to learn this new technology and it’s daunting, and I applaud you all for trying to overcome your apprehension. It is daunting, it’s like trying to learn several languages all at once, and you’re doing it – so give yourself a pat on the back!!

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Humour me!

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Housework

Today’s bit of humour comes from one of our lovely members – Lisa. Thanks so much Lisa!

And if any other members feel like sharing some jokes, please let me know. Email the group at: http://members.thewebonwheels.com.au or send me an email: vivienne@thewebonwheels.com.au

Enjoy this week’s funny – it’s my way of doing things too!

HOW TO CLEAN THE HOUSE

1. Open a new file in your PC .

2.   Name it ‘Housework.’

3.   Send it to the RECYCLE BIN.

4.   Empty the RECYCLE BIN.

5. Your PC will ask you,

‘Are you sure you want to delete Housework permanently?’

6. Calmly answer, ‘Yes’ and press mouse button firmly …

7. Feel better?

Works for me!!!!!

Bye for this week,
Smiles and best wishes
Viv

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