The old saying goes "Feed a cold and starve a fever." Or, is that "Feed a fever and starve a cold?" I never was quite sure about that. What I am sure of is that the best course of action when it comes to spammers is starvation. Spammers need information. The less you give them, the better your life will be.

• Spammers like mailing lists: When using a mailing list or signing up for some online service, if possible don't provide an email address. If you have to give them something, either sign up for some "disposable" account somewhere such as Yahoo!, Hotmail, or some other free service, or make something up. Idontwantany@leavemealone.com, for example. Even if you think the company or service you're submitting your address to is on the level, spammers may sign up for those same lists just to see who else is on them.


• Spammers love forwarded messages: We've all been guilty of sending on the occasional inspiration chain letter, which in itself isn't necessarily a bad thing. Sending them on with the dozens of other recipient's email addresses intact is. If you must forward a message, or send a letter to multiple recipients, trim out all the old headers and use the BCC (Blind Carbon Copy) function of your email client. That way the recipient of the messages sees only your address and theirs in the headers. That's just a matter of courtesy, really. No one wants their personal information flung around the globe indiscriminately.


• Never open spam: If you get a message that you suspect is spam, delete it unread. A common tactic of spammers today is to use "Web bugs" to track their messages. These are embedded, often invisible image in the body of the message that are unique to each user. The spammer can simply check his logs to see which of those images have been downloaded, and he knows he has a "real live" address. Some mail clients, such as Microsoft Outlook "preview" messages for you, before you even open them. If yours does that look for a way to turn that off. If the message is never read the spammer can't know which of the addresses in his file are legitimate. (Note: SquirrelMail, the web mail system we use here in Honey Grove, automatically disables images that the system considers suspicious, and replaces them with a "this image has been removed" message,)


• Never reply to a spam: If you're faithfully following the guidelines above this one won't even come into play, but I'm going to say it anyway. All bulk mail originating in the U.S. is required by law to have an opt-out option. Don't use it. First off, spammers don't care about the law anyway, but if one does honor his legal requirement to remove you from that particular spam list, he still has a known-good address to focus on for all of his other mailings. Not only does he know that it's a valid address, but he also knows that you read and are even willing to respond to a spam. That's a spammer's Holy Grail.


• Use the tools at your disposal: If you use a Web-based mail service such as Hotmail, Yahoo!, or Gmail, use the included anti-spam measures. Those systems learn collectively. When you tell them that a message is spam, everyone else on that service benefits. Don't just roll your eyes and delete the message. Take the time to actually classify the message. It's for the greater good.


• Never, under any circumstances buy anything from a spam: This should be a given, but the fact remains that spam is a business. If no one ever bought anything from a spammer, they would have no reason to do what they do. Believe it or not, there are people out there who buy "GenE.r!c C!al-is" from email and look to their inbox to find The B3st Mort:g@ge Ratez." The reason you have spam in your mail box today is that someone bought something from that same email yesterday.

      Being a technology professional, my friends, family, and coworkers often seek me out for advice when they decide to buy a new computer. I'm often asked what I think the best vendor is, or what sort of specifications I think people should look for when they buy a new machine. I thought I'd take a moment to address a frequently-asked question here in the Tech Notes blog. Below is a fictionalized version of the type of email I often receive along with my answer to it.

Mark,
      My daughter will be starting college soon and needs a laptop. What would you recommend? What should I look for, and how much can I expect to spend? Is there a particular brand or model you like? What about this new Windows Vista? Should I get that or stick with Windows XP, since that's is what's on our computer at home?

      First off, my advice on laptops has always been to get as much as you can possibly afford. They're difficult and expensive to upgrade later, so you're better off maxing out your budget now. As for what she needs in a laptop, that depends on what she'll be doing with it. If she really needs portability, meaning she'll be carrying it around with her all day from class to class, go with something small and light- maybe a 12” display. If it'll be used most of the time at her desk in a dorm room, then spring for the 17" or larger display with a full-sized keyboard. The reality is that most people buy a laptop when what they really need is a desktop. Consider carefully whether you truly need a laptop, because they generally cost about twice as much as a comparable desktop machine. Also, laptops are inherently fragile. They're designed to be light and portable, and that always means less durable.
      As for brands and models, the truth is that they're all about the same. In reality there are only a very few companies in the world that make laptops, no matter what label is on the cover. If you have a Dell and your neighbor has a Compaq, they were most likely manufactured on the same assembly line somewhere in Japan. What differentiates one company from another are price and service. Price literally varies from day to day, but as I've indicated before, it shouldn't be a major factor in your buying decision.
      For years I've recommended Dell computers for the simple reason that their service and support was clearly superior to the other major manufacturers. Today, however, that just isn't the case. Again, due to global outsourcing your support call on your Dell laptop and your neighbors call for his IBM desktop are likely to be answered by the same call center in India. There's just not anything right now to distinguish one vendor from any other.
      Personally I'm a big fan of the Tablet PCs for versatility and portability. A Tablet PC is a special type of laptop with a few extra features. First off, the screen will rotate 180 degrees so that when the machine is in the “closed” position the display is on top, rather than facing the keyboard. It will also have a special stylus that allows for hand-writing on the screen. With the display in the tablet orientation a student can lay the machine flat on a desk and take notes by hand, rather than typing. Later the included software can translate the hand-written notes into standard text. This allows for a more intuitive use of the computer.
      Recent research indicates that when a student takes notes by hand she is forced to pay more attention to the lecture. Since hand writing is slower than typing, it's virtually impossible to “zone out” and simply become a passive transcriber of what's being said. The student must select and synthesize key points, thus resulting in a more engaged learning experience.
      As far as the operating system is concerned, I'm still advising people to stay away from Windows Vista. I've been using it on my office computer for several months and, frankly, it's just not as good as Windows XP. I have no doubt that in time Vista will become a solid, reliable, multifaceted operating system, but in my opinion it's not ready for the masses just yet. It may be difficult to find Windows XP from any major vendor, but if you can find XP, it's what I recommend.
      Since the next question I'm usually asked is “What kind of laptop do you use?” I'll answer that now. I have a Toshiba Portégé Tablet PC, and have been using it for just over a year. It cost me around $1,500 and I think it was worth every penny. I've used big, bulky, heavy laptops before and while they're great when sitting at a desk, they quickly begin to seem like anvils when being carried around a campus all day. For me, smaller is better, and the 12.1” display with a total weight just under five pounds makes it virtually effortless to carry with me.