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By now just about everyone's spent some time on-line, but you've gotta be
careful what you type or you could end up somewhere on-line you never
expected. And joining us with his own cyber-horror story is our own
un-common sense expert and Dallas Morning News columnist Benjamin Dover.
Question 1: So I see in your
column in today's paper that someone created quite a headache for you in
last week's edition?
Answer 1: As a matter of fact
they did. Last week's column generated several hundred e-mails...the column
discussed how to obtain congratulatory letters from the president (as well
as the governor). Why the huge response to that topic? Because someone here
at the paper allowed the typesetting software to inadvertently "break" the
URL (web address for the special web page on my site) with a hyphen. Anyone
who’s spent a little time on the Internet by now knows that it’s a most
un-forgiving place. You’ve gotta type website or e-mail addresses
exactly as they’re written: Adding an
extra dash, slash, dot or hyphen will shoot the wheels off of your
cyber-hunt. So to answer your question, Dennis: You’re right–they published
the incorrect web address...here’s the correct one:
www.bendover.com/congrats.asp.
Question 2: A reader also
pointed out that these letters can be requested by e-mail...and you warn
people about the uncertainty of e-mail. Why?
Answer 2: I’ve been burned on
several occasions by either ridiculously long or randomly-changing URLs
published by government agencies...so my solution? I simply direct readers
to a permanent (and hopefully simple) web address on my site for additional
information and (hopefully) a much easier web environment to navigate for
answers. You’re right, it’s possible to now fax or e-mail letter requests to
the White House, but it’s important to remember that e-mail is still an
inexact science. Relying solely on e-mail for crucial communication is
risky. My advice if you’re determined to e-mail
something important? Print a copy of the e-mail after it’s been
sent and then fax a copy of it as a back-up.
Question 3: In your
newsletter last week you had a story about a grandmother who shocked her
grandchildren when they got on-line on her computer...and this hammers home
your warnings about the dangers that lurk on the Internet doesn't it?
Answer 4: Oh sure...they've
done such a great job at stopping junk faxes and spam, so I'm sure they'll
be equally-effective going after spyware.
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