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Volume 3, Issue
5
January 2010
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Happy New Year From Theme Shack |
| Due to a family emergency no newsletter was released for
December 2009. We apologize for any inconvenience. We've got 2 special screensavers for you this month. |
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Screensaver Of The Month
for December
Snowy Owls by Wallpapers by Mary |
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Tell your friends about the Theme Shack newsletter
and for the month of December we have a free gift for them and you just
for signing up to receive our FREE monthly newsletter. This month’s
awesome FREE screensaver is titled Snowy Owls. "Beautiful
screensaver featuring 2 snowy owls floating in a sunset sky
" But,
you can only get it for FREE if you sign up
to receive our monthly newsletter. |
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Sign Up Today and Get A FREE Exclusive
Screensaver created by one of the 5 Star Theme Shack Creators each and
every month plus you'll get the activation codes and download links for
all the past Exclusive monthly screensavers too. |
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Screensaver Of The Month
for January
Snow Top by Elfie Creations |
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Tell your friends about the Theme Shack
newsletter and for the month of January we have a free gift for them
and you just for signing up to receive our FREE monthly newsletter. This
month’s awesome FREE screensaver is titled Snow Top and was created by
Elfie Creations.. "Picturesque
screensaver featuring a snowy mountain top high above the clouds" But,
you can only get it for FREE if you sign up
to receive our monthly newsletter. Sign Up Today and Get A FREE Exclusive Screensaver
created by one of the 5 Star Theme Shack Creators each and every month
plus you'll get the activation codes and download links for all the past Exclusive
monthly screensavers
too. |
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Is your identity safe? Here are some e-threats
to your identity: |
* Phishing. You get an e-mail that appears
to be from your bank or an online service, most often PayPal or
eBay, instructing you to click on a link and provide information
to verify your account.
* Pharming or spoofing. Hackers redirect a legitimate Web
site's traffic to an impostor site, where you'll be asked to
provide confidential information. Scammers have been targeting
social networking sites, such as Facebook.
* Smishing. This is phishing done with text messaging on
your smart phone. It instructs you to visit a bogus Web site.
* Spyware. You've unknowingly downloaded illicit software
when you've opened an attachment, clicked on a pop-up or
downloaded a song or a game. Criminals can use spyware to record
your keystrokes and obtain credit card numbers, bank-account
information and passwords when you make purchases or conduct
other business online. They also can access confidential
information on your hard drive.
You don't need to have a computer to become a victim.
* Vishing -- voice phishing. You get an automated
phone message asking you to call your bank or credit card
company. Even your caller ID is fooled. You call the number and
are asked to punch in your account number, PIN or other personal
information.
* Bank-card "skimming." Crooks use a combination of a
fake ATM slot and cameras to record your account information and
PIN when you use a cash machine. Your credit or debit card also
can be skimmed by a dishonest store or restaurant worker armed
with a portable card reader.
* Crooks will steal your wallet or go through your mail
or trash.
More than half of identity theft cases involve credit card
fraud. Checking accounts are the second most popular target. But
some crooks have other plans:
* At least 250,000 people a year have been victims of medical
identity theft for the last several years. Crooks use
fraudulently obtained personal information to get expensive
medical procedures or dupe insurance companies into paying for
procedures that were not done.
* The victims of about 5% of reported identity theft cases
are children. The fraud often goes undetected for years --
until the young adult applies for credit. Even the dead aren't
safe. |
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Protect your computer from vulnerability: |
* Keep system and
browser software up to date and set to the highest security
level you can tolerate. Install antivirus, antispyware and
firewall protection, and keep them up to date as well. When
possible, use hardware firewalls, often available through your
broadband connection router.
* If you use wireless Internet access, make sure you get
help from someone who understands wireless security when you set
up your access point or router.
* Back up your data and store it way from your computer.
* Don't open e-mails from strangers. Malware can be
hidden in embedded attachments and graphics files.
* Don't open attachments unless you know who sent them
and what they contain. Never open executable attachments.
Configure Windows so that the file extensions of known file
types are not hidden.
* Don't click on pop-ups. Configure Windows or your Web
browser to block them.
* Don't provide your credit card number online unless you
are making a purchase from a Web site you trust. Reputable sites
will always direct you to a secure page with a URL starting with
https:// whenever you actually make purchases or are asked to
provide confidential information.
* Use strong passwords: at least six characters,
including at least one symbol and number, and no reference to
your name or other personal information. Use a different
password for every site that requires one, and change passwords
regularly. It's recommended to use at least 10-15 alpha and
numerical characters
* Never send a user name, password or other confidential
information via e-mail.
* Consider turning off your computer when you're not
using it or at least putting it in standby mode.
* Don't keep passwords, tax returns or other financial
information on your hard drive. Here's a little tip that I use
to keep track of all the user ID's and passwords I need to
remember. Purchase a recipe card file (I got mine at the dollar
store along with 200 cards for $2) Then make a card for each
service or site and write down the user ID and password used.
This was you don't need to store them on your computer and they
are always hand should your computer crash and you need to
re-install everything. |
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Honorary Shacker For January 2010 |
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We are so overwhelmed
with all the supportive and encouraging emails and postings from
our visitors that we felt it was time to say Thank You to you.
So each month we will be selecting someone and making them an
Honorary Shacker. So what does that mean? Well, we have a very
special wallpaper created by Patches and a matching screensaver
created by Lady Di as a special gift for them for their support
and for visiting us here at The Shack. Because without them, we
may not be able to offer all the adware and spyware free files
and downloads that we do. |
This month, Deanna Luper nominated
Sandra S.
So Sandra, all of us at Theme Shack want to thank you for
your support and kind words and we hope you enjoy your free gifts. |
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RECIPE
OF THE MONTH |
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Fiesta Dip by LadyAqua
This dip is great for dipping baby carrots, celery,
cauliflower, broccoli, radishes, or just about anything. Also
good with hot wings, meatballs, potato chips. |
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1 8oz. cream cheese, softened
1 8oz. sour cream
3/4 of a quart jar of Kaft Mayonnaise
1 package Hidden Valley Fiesta Dip Mix
1 package Hidden Valley original Ranch Dip Mix
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Beat first 3 ingredients
together til smooth. |
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Add
the dip mixes and stir til well blended. Cover & chill. |
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Do you have something you would like to see added at Theme Shack?
Drop us a note and let us know. We will do our very best. E-mail:
postmaster@themeshack.net
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| Editor: Lady Di -
January
2010 |