Q. Sally is taking her first plunge into the internet. She asks: Should I take courses, or will I gain the required knowledge quickly by trial and error?
A. Night computer and internet courses are held at most high schools Sally, and they are usually free. Well-compiled courses teach you tips and tricks you won't pick up quickly on your own. These include sorting bookmarks when you add them, using search engines, finding and understanding FAQs (frequently-asked questions), finding and downloading software, understanding netiquette and identifying suspicious email. Most importantly these courses can give you direction and an ability to handle the internet to your greatest advantage from the outset, while teaching you how to avoid the pitfalls that often catch self-taught users.
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Q. Pete asks: How can you tell if an email is a scam or legitimate? I received a confirmation of lottery winning for a substantial amount. My son claims its a scam. How can I confirm this?
A. Lottery scams are common and appear under many guises. If you have heard nothing of this lottery or cannot recollect entering any competition or lottery of this type recently, its definitely a scam. Often the emails demand processing fees or trick you into giving personal details. Usually a quick search for key text on sites such as Scambusters will produce a full history of a scam.
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Q. Julz wants to know how to get MSN Messenger to offline message. I just came online and received messages on MSN Messenger from someone that wasn't online. How can I do this?
A. The person has updated to Live Messenger, Julz. It's the latest version of Microsoft's chat software and contains several new components, offline messaging being one of them. Download the Windows Live Messenger
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