Tips from Computer Experts

TIPS FROM FOUR COMPUTER EXPERTS

compiled by Barbara Brabec

Cookies
E-Mail -- Plain Text or HTML?
E-Mail Worms & Viruses
HTML Code Tip

Cookies. "Cookies" are set when you visit a web site and fill out an online form that asks for certain information. Net Security guide Jim Williams advises that when you do this, ". . . don't answer the questions truthfully. Don't use your real phone number, address, age, income bracket or anything else that you don't want spread around all over the Internet. Unless I need for a site to email me some information, I always use a fake email address. I never use my real phone number, and no one needs to know what my household income is (except the IRS)."

Click HERE to get all of Jim's advice on good cookies/bad cookies.

E-Mail: Plain text or HTML? Steve Maurer, QuickCard Publishing and WebDesign suggests using a plain text format for your emails instead of HTML because:

1. All email clients can receive plain text messages. Not all can handle HTML mail.

2. As far as virus security is concerned, viruses and other bugs cannot be sent in the body of the plain text message. Still can be sent as an attachment. Your clients may feel better about virus security if they get your mail in plain text format.

3. MOST of the email newsletters I get are plain text. One of the reasons may be that plain text messages are smaller in size than HTML, thus are quicker both to upload and download. Not a problem if using a cable or DSL connection, but important if using dial_up (modem) connection.

Check out Steve's QuickCards Web site to learn how you might use his personal business cards to promote your business or personal event.

E-Mail Worms/Viruses. Mary Landesman at about.com says the email worm, Kak, is the second most prevalent malicious code threat in the wild today. She urges Windows 95/98 users to visit the Kak Help Center to download the Microsoft patch to ensure protection against Kak.

"Make sure you have antivirus software installed and update it frequently," she says. "Be sure to keep abreast of the latest outbreaks to help spot potentially dangerous emails and notify the sender if you do. Be especially wary of promiscuous e-mailers who always seem to send the latest funny story, joke, etc. If you don’t need it, delete it. Never open attachments received unexpectedly - even if from someone you know. Treat email as you would any other communications tool - know with whom you correspond. When in doubt, err on the side of caution."

Click HERE to read Mary’s article, "E-Mail: Pandora's Box" and be sure to sign up for her free antivirus newsletter.

HTML CODE. Jennifer Krynan, who writes about HTML code on www.about.com, suggests we web site owners think of our readers as "informavores," or beings that survive on information. She believes that if we give them what they’re looking for, our sites will survive.

"If you optimize your site for information foraging, your site would be more successful," she says. "The links on your starting page should give your readers an excellent idea of what they will get if they click on it."

I’m a regular reader of Jennifer’s articles. If you’re serious about your Web site, you should be reading her, too. Click here to get her tips on how to create better links for your site, and subscribe to the HTML/XML Newsletter.

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