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New TV System National Broadband Plan More Email Hoaxes & Phone Scams Candlelight Christmas Local Website of The Month Two To View |
We'll hold our Customer Appreciation later this month, and we hope to have a big announcement early next year about your TV service. The FCC has released a few general points about the proposed National Broadband Plan, more email hoaxes are making the rounds, and we don't want you to be spooked into missing this year's Candlelight Christmas in Hartington. Speaking of scary, check out the elevator video in our Two to View section; it's a claustrophobic's worst nightmare. We also feature the new Holy Trinity Parish website in this month's issue. This issue also includes advice on how to quickly screen websites (so you can avoid the disreputable ones) and highlights a few wonderful websites to inspire you for pumpkin carving, fall baking, family photography, and more. |
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Facebook Warning – Scams Often Follow Big News Events  Newsworthy events, like the devastating Hurricane Irene in August, often trigger malicious links and phishing attacks that spread quickly across Facebook. The lure used by scammers is a promise of showing "leaked" videos, pictures, and other sensational information.
The Hurricane Irene version looks something like the screen shot to the right. No video actually exists. The page displays a clickable image of a fake video player. Clicking "Share" displays the link on the Facebook user's wall. Clicking "See the video" displays a list of deals that require user registration. The scammers' goal is to drive more traffic towards certain sites. They earn their money by getting a commission for every survey completed, every product purchased, and/or every account compromised. They may also use these types of Facebook scams to spread malware and obtain personal information. Regardless of the disaster that's in the news, remember this: Whenever you're offered the chance to see a video or pictures that no one else has seen, don't be tempted to click. At the very least, these types of scams will place you in a cycle of worthless advertising promotions. In the worst-case scenario, you may unknowingly load nasty spyware and viruses on your computer. If you fall victim to a scam like this and the scammer's page appears on your Facebook wall, go directly to the page and click the "Unlike" link in the lower left-hand column. This will stop the scam from spreading via your wall.
Customer Appreciation - Thank You, Thank You Hartelco will be holding a customer appreciation lunch on Friday, October 28th from 11:00 am - 1:30 pm. We'll be serving taverns (sloppy joes) and chips in the large garage area on the south side of our new office, so please join us as a way to say thank you for your patronage. Back to Top
New TV System - Happy New Year Hartelco TV is working through steps to implement a new cable TV system called IPTV. This new type of video service would replace your current cable TV system and be available only through fiber optic cable - the same cable that you use for your phone service! The advantages of a new cable TV system would be many more channels (over 100), more HD (high-definition) channels, an on-screen program guide, whole-house DVRs (Digital Video Recorders), and different tiers & levels of available TV channels. Stay tuned for more details in 2012.
National Broadband Plan - Final Rules Released Soon On Thursday October 6th, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski shared some of his ideas for the FCC's National Broadband Plan that will be voted on by the FCC on October 27th. While his remarks were not detailed, he did comment that major changes were coming to the Universal Service Fund system that has built this country's communications infrastructure since the 1930's. Without explicit details, it's very hard to ascertain how it will directly affect our customers. He did say that the FCC will address call termination issues which have drastically increased within the last year. We have seen an escalation of customers reporting issues of calls coming into Hartington being answered, and no one seems to be on the other end of the line. Our internal testing seems to show that the calls are using cheap, less expensive routes to get to Hartington. This is an attempt by long distance carriers to avoid paying Hartelco. We hope the FCC gets the issue resolved as soon as possible so our customers' service quality increases back to a normal level for long distance calls. We hope to give you more information next month, but as with all federal regulations, it takes time to work through the details and how they will affect our lives.
More Email Hoaxes & Phone Scams - Don't Be Fooled The Hartelco Computer department is warning customers that a new email hoax has evolved to use FedEx and UPS shipping systems. The emails seem authentic, and say that they have failed to deliver a package and that they need to verify your email address. Please don't fall for any such email hoaxes. Just delete any such emails and don't think a second thought about it. And if you've watched the news recently, you may have heard about phone scams reportedly involving financial institutions. How it works is that you get a call and the caller says that he's from a nearby bank and he just needs to confirm a few items. Anytime you receive a call like this, you should immediately hang up the phone and call back your local bank and report the scam call. Not only does this alert the local bank, but it also is a way to confirm that your money is not at risk - by YOU calling the bank directly at their regularly advertised phone number. Banks will never contact you via phone to confirm any information or account numbers.
Candlelight Christmas - Mark Your Calendars Mark your calendars for Hartington's Candlelight Christmas and Lighted Vehicle Parade on Friday November 18th. It will be fun festivities for all. This year's theme is "A Charlie Brown Christmas". So get your creative ideas for a parade entry flowing and let the fun begin! Watch for more details in next month's eNewsletter.
Two To View – A Couple Of Amazing Videos You Don't Want To Miss
This Month's FAQ – Is There A Way To Quickly Screen Websites? Question: I don't want to get scammed dealing with suspicious websites. Is there a way to quickly screen websites before I do business with them?
Answer: Yes, there are a number of ways to do this type of screening. Both Internet Explorer and Firefox have features that monitor your browsing activity and alert you if a site seems suspicious. Review the help section within your browser to find out how to activate these features. There is also software available that serves the same purpose. Contact your Internet Service Provider for more details. In addition, you should always keep your eyes open and watch for the warning signs of phishing sites. Here are two key strategies: 
(If you'd like your business' website featured, contact us at htc@hartel.net. This is a free service.) Holy Trinity Catholic Church Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Hartington is celebrating 125 years of faith this year. One of the ways they are commemorating this milestone and looking ahead to the future is the creation of a new website for the parish. Some of the features of the new website are: Mass times, bulletins - both current and older, contact information, a calendar page with a schedule of events for schools and Holy Trinity and St Michael Parishes, forms for all types of parish activities, an education page with newsletters and other documents for both Holy Trinity Grade School & Pre-school, and Cedar Catholic Jr-Sr High School, a listing of ministries and groups and contact information for each. Holy Trinity Parish would also like to invite everyone to our celebration of 125 years on Sunday October 16th. There will be a 2:00pm Mass of Thanksgiving. At 3:15pm is the dedication of the new parish office and rectory building, with tours for priests from 3:30 - 4:00pm, and the general public is invited to an Open House at the new building from 4:00 - 6:00pm. Also on Sunday October 16th, is the parish's annual Fall Happening from 4pm-7pm. Food will be served in the Monsignor Werner Activity Center, while games, raffles, and book sales will be in the Holy Trinity Gym. Again, just visit our website at www.holytrinityhartington.com for more information or just give us a call at 402-254-6559 or email trinitymichael@hartel.net. (Web design by Hartelco)
Sites Of The Month – Great Sites To Check Out In October
Short Tutorial – Removing Contacts From Your Address Book If your email address book is cluttered with names from inactive relationships or filled with out-of-date email addresses, you're wasting time wading through an unnecessarily long list. So it's worth taking a few minutes now to clear out the clutter.
To remove contact information from your address book, simply follow the steps below for your specific email program:
We hope you found this newsletter to be informative. It's our way of keeping you posted on the happenings here. If, however, you'd prefer not to receive these bulletins, click here.
Thanks for your business! Best regards The Hartel.net Team  Hartelco 103 W Centre PO Box 157 Hartington, NE 68739 Ph 402-254-3901  Trademarks: All brand names and product names used in this eNewsletter are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. |
Halloween has its share of scary characters, as does the Internet. In this October issue, we start by reminding you of how scammers take advantage of natural disasters like Hurricane Irene to try and lure you to malicious links.
Removing Contacts From Your Address Book When Using ...
Removing Contacts From Your Address Book When Using ...
Removing Contacts From Your Address Book When Using ...