Recently received a couple of emails with subjects similar to “Your Telstra Email Bill – 6859945087136”. These emails include an attached file “Latest Telstra Email-Bill.zip” which contains malware. You should delete these emails.
Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Doncaster, Templestowe, Eltham and the surrounding area.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Alert: Your Telstra Email Bill - 6859945087136
Alert: Qantas Customer Services - The seat requests have been added
Today I received a number of emails with the subject “The seat requests have been added”. These emails include attachment “your booking Qantas.zip” which contains malware. You should delete these emails. Qantas users are a regular target for malware and scammers. Where possible go to the Qantas site and check any information via their site. Do not trust emails which appear to come from Qantas as most are fake.
Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Doncaster, Templestowe, Eltham and the surrounding area.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Alert: Payroll Account Holded by Intuit
I started to receive a number of emails with the subject “Payroll Account Holded by Intuit” early this morning. I received similar emails across multiple email addresses which indicates this is a large spam/scam attack. The email is poorly worded and is an obvious fake. The log in link goes to various domains with one being a Russian domain. Whilst I don’t know anyone whose uses the legitimate service, I felt it was appropriate to warn others to delete these emails.
Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Doncaster, Templestowe, Eltham and the surrounding area.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Should compulsory voting go?
At the last state election I was surprised to hear there is one law
which wouldn't be enforced, or more specifically, unlikely to be
enforced. It is compulsory to vote in a Victorian state election and it
doesn't matter what your age is. However during a briefing for
independents it was said the law would unlikely to be enforced for
those over 70 and I have to say I was very surprised.
To me having a law which isn't enforced and actively disregarded by the
government is a law that doesn't make sense. All it does is add
confusion and cause stress to elderly.
The wording on the voting information sent out for the last local
government election was equally confusing and led people to think they
didn't have to vote. My initial reaction was "what the" when I read the
information which implied voting was not compulsory. I then saw another
young person who read it the same way as myself so it just wasn't my
reading of the material.
To me compulsory voting enables the major parties to easily determine
the safe seats and thus they can focus on seats which are marginal.
In the Bulleen electorate 86.47% voted for Labor or Liberal. There were
4.84% informal votes. That leaves less than 10% of the votes for anyone
else, making it close to impossible to be elected you aren't a Labor or
Liberal party member. If I were to advise anyone wishing to stand as an
independent I would have to say, do the sums and determine a seat where
the chances of being elected are greater. The implication of that is
don't waste your time on safe seats and to me that isn't good for the
majority of Australians. As consumers we buy brands and the Labor and
Liberal brands are entrenched into us all from a very young age. We
appear to be educated to vote one way or the other most of our lives.
Nothing much will change if we continue to vote for a party and not a
representative that puts our interests first before a party. Members of
parties have to put the party first so your interests will always come
second.
Compulsory voting makes it very easy for the parties with their large
marketing budgets to focus only on a small number of marginal seats. If
compulsory voting was removed every seat potentially could be seen as a
marginal seat and every representative would need to work harder to
ensure they were elected.
We shouldn't have laws which are put into place that the government
doesn't actively enforce. Voting if it isn't enforced for over 70s
should be optional, otherwise we send the message that the law is silly
and one if law is silly, then how many of our laws are silly.
I should state I am in favour of optional voting. To me it means it is
much harder for the political parties, and all areas get treated equally
rather than a few marginal seats benefiting. The outcome may not differ
in terms of party representation, but if it did, my hope is that it
would mean people are voted to represent the people first and the party
second.
Kelvin Eldridge
which wouldn't be enforced, or more specifically, unlikely to be
enforced. It is compulsory to vote in a Victorian state election and it
doesn't matter what your age is. However during a briefing for
independents it was said the law would unlikely to be enforced for
those over 70 and I have to say I was very surprised.
To me having a law which isn't enforced and actively disregarded by the
government is a law that doesn't make sense. All it does is add
confusion and cause stress to elderly.
The wording on the voting information sent out for the last local
government election was equally confusing and led people to think they
didn't have to vote. My initial reaction was "what the" when I read the
information which implied voting was not compulsory. I then saw another
young person who read it the same way as myself so it just wasn't my
reading of the material.
To me compulsory voting enables the major parties to easily determine
the safe seats and thus they can focus on seats which are marginal.
In the Bulleen electorate 86.47% voted for Labor or Liberal. There were
4.84% informal votes. That leaves less than 10% of the votes for anyone
else, making it close to impossible to be elected you aren't a Labor or
Liberal party member. If I were to advise anyone wishing to stand as an
independent I would have to say, do the sums and determine a seat where
the chances of being elected are greater. The implication of that is
don't waste your time on safe seats and to me that isn't good for the
majority of Australians. As consumers we buy brands and the Labor and
Liberal brands are entrenched into us all from a very young age. We
appear to be educated to vote one way or the other most of our lives.
Nothing much will change if we continue to vote for a party and not a
representative that puts our interests first before a party. Members of
parties have to put the party first so your interests will always come
second.
Compulsory voting makes it very easy for the parties with their large
marketing budgets to focus only on a small number of marginal seats. If
compulsory voting was removed every seat potentially could be seen as a
marginal seat and every representative would need to work harder to
ensure they were elected.
We shouldn't have laws which are put into place that the government
doesn't actively enforce. Voting if it isn't enforced for over 70s
should be optional, otherwise we send the message that the law is silly
and one if law is silly, then how many of our laws are silly.
I should state I am in favour of optional voting. To me it means it is
much harder for the political parties, and all areas get treated equally
rather than a few marginal seats benefiting. The outcome may not differ
in terms of party representation, but if it did, my hope is that it
would mean people are voted to represent the people first and the party
second.
Kelvin Eldridge
Wednesday, January 09, 2013
Alert: You have been sent a file (Filename: Paypalsales-823596.pdf)
I've received a number of emails with the subject "You have been sent a file (Filename:". These are most likely malicious emails and you should delete them immediately. The link in the email will most likely take you to an undesirable location.
Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer advice and support.
Assisting residents and businesses in Doncaster, Templestowe, Eltham and surrounding suburbs.
Tuesday, January 08, 2013
Alert: Receipt for Your Payment to AU-AdCommerce-EOM@ebay.com.au
If you receive an email with the subject "Receipt for Your Payment to AU-AdCommerce-EOM@ebay.com.au" it is most likely a fake. I received one today. The link in the email to the PayPal site isn't legitimate and will take you to another site.
You should delete this type of email.
Don't click on links in the email. Open your browser, go to the site and check the information on the site if you are concerned.
You should delete this type of email.
Don't click on links in the email. Open your browser, go to the site and check the information on the site if you are concerned.
Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer advice and support.
Saturday, January 05, 2013
What are the tattslotto numbers?
Only getting one or two numbers each time you enter tattslotto on a Saturday night. That was my problem as well.
I decided to create a system which would improve my outcome from tattslotto. Now I am guaranteed to get at least two numbers and with a little luck I’m closer to winning a prize. The system wins a small prize 70% of the time. I’m wondering if others would also be interested in the technique I’ve developed.
If there is sufficient interest I’ll produce a system which will enable others to use the system I’ve developed. If you’re interested send me an email and I’ll keep you informed.
Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
NuTrendMedia appears to be blog spamming for Computer Repairs In Melbourne site.
Blog spamming is a technique businesses should avoid using to promote their business. Today I had the following comment left on my blog by Nutrendmedia.
"If your computer is malfunctioning, you need to take care in having it repaired.
computer repairs melbourne"
The line "computer repairs melbourne" was a link to a site set up by NuTrendMedia. Checking the logs showed NuTrendMedia are using a service in the Philippines to write blog spam into others' blogs to promote their site.
The problem with this approach is if you are a legitimate business using suspect promotional techniques, it reflects on you and your ethics.
Every week I see a number of Australian companies paying good money and damaging their business reputation by using web companies who are using suspect promotional techniques. In business it takes a considerable amount of time and effort to build up trust. A single poor decision such as using a blog spammer to promote your business could undo years of hard work. Don't take the chance.
When using a web designer or SEO company make sure you understand exactly how they are going to promote your business and make sure they don't resort to blog spamming or other undesirable techniques a reasonable business person would consider unethical. In the end it is your business reputation you stand to lose.
Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
"If your computer is malfunctioning, you need to take care in having it repaired.
computer repairs melbourne"
The line "computer repairs melbourne" was a link to a site set up by NuTrendMedia. Checking the logs showed NuTrendMedia are using a service in the Philippines to write blog spam into others' blogs to promote their site.
The problem with this approach is if you are a legitimate business using suspect promotional techniques, it reflects on you and your ethics.
Every week I see a number of Australian companies paying good money and damaging their business reputation by using web companies who are using suspect promotional techniques. In business it takes a considerable amount of time and effort to build up trust. A single poor decision such as using a blog spammer to promote your business could undo years of hard work. Don't take the chance.
When using a web designer or SEO company make sure you understand exactly how they are going to promote your business and make sure they don't resort to blog spamming or other undesirable techniques a reasonable business person would consider unethical. In the end it is your business reputation you stand to lose.
Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Red Energy increases prices January 2013
It is that time of the year again when the electricity industry hikes up their prices. Each time I update the Energy Cost Calculator. I noticed when I first wrote the calculator the default price I used was 17.4 cents per kilowatt hour. We're now up to 25.74 cents per kilowatt hour.
The other interesting observation is the charge to the property continues to go up as well. The latest price is 102.30 cents per day. We can't control the price to the property which is where the retailers get us. Eventually however the retailers and distributors will price themselves out of the market and like Telstra did. Raising the monthly price of service which is a cost you can't avoid means real alternatives may start becoming viable. At 102.30 cents per day that is $377.34 a year. Over ten years that's a staggering $3,773.40. It starts to make some form of capital device look attractive.
For the moment however all we can do is reduce our usage and look for ways to reduce costs. Look at and measure your energy usage for existing equipment you have around the home. A power meter as shown on the Energy Cost Calculator page can be purchased for under $30 and will pay for itself many times over. We use a small freezer to hold food for Christmas but once Christmas is over it is turned off. It costs around $95 a year to run. Alternately if you can freeze food and it saves money, then factor in the power usage into the costs.
The Energy Cost Calculator has been provided to help others to determine the cost of running their appliances, plus, it also provides the ability to determine the time a new appliance with a lower energy rating will pay for itself in terms of electricity usage alone. If someone said you could have a new TV for half price you'd probably jump at the opportunity. If you pick the right size low energy TV the purchase can save you money on your electricity bill. However choose a large screen TVto replace your ageing 26" TV and chances are you'll increase your electricity bill. Click here for the Energy Cost Calculator.
I've also noticed some low energy LEDs at last becoming cost effective. I hope to check those out early in the near year.
Have a Merry Christmas.
Regards,
The other interesting observation is the charge to the property continues to go up as well. The latest price is 102.30 cents per day. We can't control the price to the property which is where the retailers get us. Eventually however the retailers and distributors will price themselves out of the market and like Telstra did. Raising the monthly price of service which is a cost you can't avoid means real alternatives may start becoming viable. At 102.30 cents per day that is $377.34 a year. Over ten years that's a staggering $3,773.40. It starts to make some form of capital device look attractive.
For the moment however all we can do is reduce our usage and look for ways to reduce costs. Look at and measure your energy usage for existing equipment you have around the home. A power meter as shown on the Energy Cost Calculator page can be purchased for under $30 and will pay for itself many times over. We use a small freezer to hold food for Christmas but once Christmas is over it is turned off. It costs around $95 a year to run. Alternately if you can freeze food and it saves money, then factor in the power usage into the costs.
The Energy Cost Calculator has been provided to help others to determine the cost of running their appliances, plus, it also provides the ability to determine the time a new appliance with a lower energy rating will pay for itself in terms of electricity usage alone. If someone said you could have a new TV for half price you'd probably jump at the opportunity. If you pick the right size low energy TV the purchase can save you money on your electricity bill. However choose a large screen TVto replace your ageing 26" TV and chances are you'll increase your electricity bill. Click here for the Energy Cost Calculator.
I've also noticed some low energy LEDs at last becoming cost effective. I hope to check those out early in the near year.
Have a Merry Christmas.
Regards,
Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer advice and support.
Servicing Doncaster, Templestowe, Eltham and the surrounding area.
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer advice and support.
Servicing Doncaster, Templestowe, Eltham and the surrounding area.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Red Dog played by Koko has passed away.
Charlie Brincat of Herding Dog Training (www.herdingdogtraining.com) has passed on that Koko, the dog which played Red Dog in the movie of the same name has passed away. Thank you Charlie.
Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 if you require help with your computer.
No problem too small.
Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 if you require help with your computer.
No problem too small.
Alert: Receipt for Your Payment to AU-AdCommerce-EOM@ebay.com.au - PayPal.
I received a fake email pretending to be a receipt from PayPal for an eBay purchase. You should delete these emails. The email contains a link a site other than PayPal and is most likely a malicious site.
Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Doncaster, Templestowe, Eltham and the surrounding area.
Alert: Vodafone - Thanks - Your payment has been received.
I received a number of emails pretending to be from Vodafone. These emails have an attachment with a filename along the lines of “Payment Details 17717323.zip”. The attachment contains malware.
You should delete these emails. Most antivirus software packages do not pick up the latest malware. The only thing stopping you from infecting your computer is you.
Treat all unsolicited emails with caution. The MyAnswers solution 2293 documents the approach I use to check email attachments.
Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Doncaster, Templestowe, Eltham and the surrounding area.
Monday, December 17, 2012
Debt Collector Melbourne - Don't wait until an unpaid amount becomes a bad debt. Get assistance sooner and you may end up avoiding the debt collector stage.
As a business owner have you found yourself in the position where a person for no reason decides to delay payment? The problem is you did the work for them, they dealt with you and they haven't paid you so it is a waiting game.
Sooner or later you'll probably go away and they end up not paying.
Surprisingly, a way to reduce the unpaid amounts is to get a person to act as your accounts receivable person. A call from a different person often has the effect of recovering unpaid amounts. People are more inclined to believe you are serious when they receive a call from someone who is more skilled in getting payment for you. You won't get paid every time, but you should get paid more often and you won't have the stress of dealing with people you'd rather not call.
If you run your own business and would appreciate assistance in chasing up money owed to you, give Kim Raddock a call at Credit Matters on 03 9802 0608. You can also find Credit Matters on the Glen Waverley postcode page www.JustLocal.com.au/3150.
Kelvin Eldridge
www.JustLocal.com.au
Saturday, December 15, 2012
MyAnswers: Determine how much electricity a television, refridgerator, freezer costs to run
The following MyAnswers solution 2295 is now available:
How to determine how electricity a television, refridgerator, freezer or other applicance uses based on the Energy Rating sticker on the applicance and thus how much it costs to run.
Click here to obtain the solution.
Click here for related solutions.
Kelvin Eldridge
MyAnswers
(An Online Connections service.)
Friday, December 14, 2012
Me and My Dog Photo - an idea perhaps for an unusual Christmas gift
Charlie Brincat’s site Me and My Dog Photo is now live and provides a slideshow of Charlie’s photographic work taking photos of dogs and their owners. If you’re thinking of a present for someone who owns a dog but can’t think of anything, then why not give them a gift of a photo session with Charlie so they’ll have a photo to treasure of themselves and their best friend.
Kelvin Eldridge
www.JustLocal.com.au
Thursday, December 13, 2012
The Block All Stars are Dani and Dan, Mark and Duncan, Josh and Jenna, Amity and Phil
The Block All Stars cast has been announced and include: Dani and Dan, Mark and Duncan, Josh and Jenna, Amity and Phil.
If you’re not the renovating type but looking to renovate your bathroom or kitchen you may wish to check out Master Renovators.
Kelvin Eldridge
www.JustLocal.com.au
Alert: Ticketek Purchase
Just received a faked email pretending to be from Ticketek with the subject “Ticketek Purchase”. There is an attached file “Ticketek-Purchase-2453030830.zip” which contains malware. You should delete these emails.
Note: Windows 8 built-in antivirus does not detect many new malware programs but then again neither do most of the other programs people would generally use. Your only defence is caution.
A quirk in Outlook means if you do save this file (and many similar files I’ve reviewed) you aren’t able to open the file which inadvertently protects you. If you use web mail and download the attached file you can open the file. This is not a recommendation for Outlook, just an observation.
You should delete any suspicious emails immediately and treat all attachments with care. In MyAnswers solution 2293 I share the approach and site I use to check attachments for malware.
Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Assisting residents and businesses in Doncaster, Templestowe, Eltham and the surrounding area.
Alert: iPhone 5 dream pack only 29.95 !
I’ve received multiple emails to different email accounts with the subject “iPhone 5 dream pack only 29.95 !” supposedly from Ready Steady Shop.
These emails are unsolicited spam sent to email addresses obtained from the internet. They may also be a scam.
Australian businesses know spamming is illegal and I would highly recommend if you receive spam from an Australian business that no matter how good the offer you should delete the emails.
If you receive spam you can forward the spam to report@submit.spam.acma.gov.au. Don’t change the subject or add anything else to the email.
It would be very easy to eliminate spam in Australia if the will was there. Once spam was verified to be of significant volume the domain could be redirected to ensure just as a car is impounded if people are breaking the law. Luckily in Australia most people respect the law. It is better to support ethical businesses because they are more likely to support you.
Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Supporting residents and businesses in Doncaster, Templestowe, Eltham and the surrounding area.
Alert: Free shipping for Christmas from Hartmann Appliances
I’ve received a number of emails to different email addresses (scraped from the internet) with the subject “Free shipping for Christmas from Hartmann Appliances”. It is hard to tell if this is a scam or simply a massive spam marketing exercise. The site has no contact details other than an email address.
I’d highly recommend if you receive emails from spammers that you simply delete the emails. If businesses spam people which every business in Australia knows is against the law it cast doubt as to how ethical the business is. It is better to deal with a more ethical business.
These email are very suspicious.
I’d highly recommend if you receive emails from spammers that you simply delete the emails. If businesses spam people which every business in Australia knows is against the law it cast doubt as to how ethical the business is. It is better to deal with a more ethical business.
These email are very suspicious.
You can report spam by forwarding spam emails to report@submit.spam.acma.gov.au. Don’t change the subject line or add anything to the email.
Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Assisting residents and businesses in Doncaster, Templestowe, Eltham and the surrounding area.
Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Assisting residents and businesses in Doncaster, Templestowe, Eltham and the surrounding area.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Free 2013 The Weekly Times Dogs Calendar with pictures by Zoe Phillips
For those who love their four-legged friend, Charlie Brincat (www.HerdingDogTraining.com) has passed on tomorrow’s edition of The Weekly Times will include their free 2013 Dogs Calendar with pictures by Zoe Phillips.
Thanks Charlie.
Kelvin Eldridge
www.JustLocal.com.au
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