How to Recognize Spam

For some, it’s easy to spot spam in your inbox. But for others, it can be a real challenge. Spammers use a variety of tactics to make their email look tempting, believable and worthy of attention. But much like a spoiled brat or a passive-aggressive boss, we don’t want to encourage a spammer any more … Read more

Vishing

I didn’t think we needed a specific term for scam phone calls, but here we are. Following in the footsteps of smishing and quishing, we also have the term vishing. Vishing is another portmanteau, created from voice + phishing. When you see or hear about vishing, they’re referring to any phishing/cybercrime carried out over the … Read more

Wi-Fi Calling

Wi-Fi Calling is a commonplace function, built into most smartphones by now. But as ubiquitous as it is, I still meet people unfamiliar with it, or suffering without it. So here’s all you need to know about it: The Basics Wi-Fi Calling (rarely called Voice over Wi-Fi calling or VoWiFi) is another service that allows … Read more

Caller ID Spoofing

Caller ID spoofing, or phone number spoofing, is important to understand. If you’re not familiar with this practice, let me explain: Caller ID Is Fallible When you receive a phone call, most phones display some identification about the inbound call. You may see: You need to know: The info shown on your Caller ID can … Read more

Mail2World ↔ Gmail Problems

If you use Shentel (or other Mail2World) email, you might notice that you can’t get an email to go through to someone’s Gmail address. Or maybe a Gmail user is telling you that they can’t send email to you at your Shentel.net address. I’ve seen Mail2World ↔ Gmail Problems off and on for many years … Read more

Mobile Broadband

When shopping for internet service, you may have plenty of options: Cable, Fiber, Fixed Wireless, Satellite, DSL. But one oft-overlooked option needs to be included: Mobile Broadband. This home internet service is powered over the airwaves and through the same towers as your cellular phones. Consider these options from the big cellular companies: T-Mobile Home … Read more

Starlink Satellite Train

Alright, folks: if you ever get to see a line of “moving stars” in your night sky, relax and enjoy the spectacle. This is not War of the Worlds or Independence Day or HHGTTH. It’s a Starlink Satellite Train! Starlink is the world’s premier satellite internet service provider. And as they expand and improve service, … Read more

New Storage Limits on Outlook.com

Microsoft has made some changes to the amount of free storage you get with their email and other cloud services. If you are a paid member of Microsoft 365, you probably don’t have to worry about any of this. But free users are in a different boat. The new storage limits on Outlook.com email addresses … Read more

Ads in Your Email Signatures

Some companies and software products use your email to advertise their product. Free antivirus companies commonly do this, but Microsoft and Apple are also guilty of this. They insert a blurb into your email signature, so that everyone you contact will read a promotion text at the end of your message. Other companies do not … Read more