11 Days to Go

It was a busy week at the Presidential Inaugural Committee. We launched a website dedicated to President-elect Obama’s call to Renew America Together: USAservice.org, and today General Colin Powell gave a press conference announcing the site to the public. In addition, we picked two enthusiastic student essayists, James and Tyrone Coleman, to attend the Inaugural Parade in a special viewing section.

There are 11 days left until Barack Obama takes office. We hope you enjoy your weekend and keep checking back here for official information about the Inauguration.

Friday, January 9, 2009 at 02:36pm BY Amy Hamblin

General Colin Powell Formally Unveils Renew America Together Initiative

General Colin Powell formally announced today the Renew America Together initiative as part of President-elect Obama’s national call to service. Standing in the Mayflower Hotel in Washington D.C., Powell exhorted all Americans to make an ongoing commitment to revitalize our local communities, starting on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday is not only a day off but also as it’s been characterized for the last 14 years, it has been a day on. It’s a day to reach out to our fellow citizens in need.

He encouraged everyone to visit USAservice.org to find or host a service event. More than 4,000 service events are registered on the site already.

Windows 7

According to Chief Executive Steve Ballmer, Microsoft Corp.'s next version of the Windows operating system is almost ready to go public. He says that a nearly final "beta" test version of Windows 7 will be available Friday for regular PC users to download and tinker with. The new operating system could be available for purchase on PCs within a year . It uses much of the same underlying technology as its predecessor, the much-maligned Vista. But Windows 7 aims to resolve many problems PC users had with Vista. Microsoft says it will make it easier to install peripheral devices and to have the software pump out fewer annoying warnings and notifications.

Microsoft also says that they will make its Live Search programs the default search engines on more personal computers and mobile phones.

"It feels like we've entered a period of reduced expectations, a time when we may be tempted to temper our optimism and scale back our ambitions," Ballmer said, in a nod to the recession. "But no matter what happens with the economy or how long this recession lasts, I believe our digital lives will only continue to get richer."

Ballmer is hoping to boost the number of people using Microsoft's Live Search engine. Through a deal with PC maker Dell Inc., Dell will put a special Live Search browser toolbar and Windows Live programs, including Microsoft's e-mail and instant-messaging applications, on most of the consumer and small-business PCs that it sells worldwide. That deal replaces a relationship between Dell and Google.

About Domain Names

Think of a domain name as an address and your website or blog as the motor coach that you will park there. You can use the same address and get a new motor coach with a whole new look at any time. You just need to prepare for this by removing the old motor coach and reploacing it with a new one.
You need a website host. Blogger is a host. Registering a domain doesn't point visitors to your site until you assign or point that domain name to a location or host.
If you don't have a site yet, don't sweat it. A temporary parked page displays when visitors go to your Web site.

GoDaddy will make the contact information you listed for your domain public, per their registrar's agreement with ICANN (the international governing body of domain names). Using false information violates the registration agreement and leads to the termination of your domain registration.

It is advised that you spend a few bucks to get private domain registration services to help protect your privacy. When you purchase private domain registration services they will list the Domains By Proxy name, postal address, and phone number on the Whois directory.

You can:

* Cancel, sell, or transfer your domain registration.
* Revert the registrant listing for your domain registration back to you.
* Renew your domain registration when it expires.
* Designate the nameservers for your domain.
* Resolve claims arising out of a dispute involving your domain registration.

According to GoDaddy, DNS or Domain Name Server is the system that allows your Web site to display when users enter a domain in a Web browser. Nameservers are the Internet's equivalent to a phone book; they link the number to the name. The nameserver maintains a directory of domain names that match the IP addresses, or computers. Information from all nameservers on the Internet is compiled in a central registry, making it possible for people across the Internet to access your Web site using domain name.

Twitter hit by Phishing Scam

Twitter was hit with phishing scams and hacker attacks during the last three days.

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone wrote on the site's blog that the accounts were compromised after a hacker accessed tools the support team uses when a Twitter user can't remember or wants to reset their login info. The attacks came after Twitter suffered a vicious phishing scam over the weekend, during which everyday Twitter users may have been tricked into logging on to a page masquerading as the Twitter front page, according to the site.

"We considered this a very serious breach of security and immediately took the support tools offline," Stone said in the blog post. "We'll put them back only when they're safe and secure."

It's called Phishing

If you receive a direct message or a direct message email notification that redirects to what looks like Twitter.com—don't sign in. Look closely at the URL because it could be a scam.

According to Twitter:

This morning we discovered 33 Twitter accounts had been "hacked" including prominent Twitter-ers like Rick Sanchezand Barack Obama (who has not been Twittering since becoming the president elect due to transition issues). We immediately locked down the accounts and investigated the issue. Rick, Barack, and others are now back in control of their accounts.

What Happened?

The issue with these 33 accounts is different from thePhishing scam aimed at Twitter users this weekend. These accounts were compromised by an individual who hacked into some of the tools our support team uses to help people do things like edit the email address associated with their Twitter account when they can't remember or get stuck. We considered this a very serious breach of security and immediately took the support tools offline. We'll put them back only when they're safe and secure.

So, what's Twitter going to do about it?

We plan to release a closed beta of the open authentication protocol, OAuth this month but it's important to note that this would not have prevented a Phishing scam nor would it have prevented these accounts from being compromised. OAuth is something we can provide so that folks who use third party applications built on the Twitter API can access their data while protecting their account credentials.

Phishing can become dangerous when criminals get your account numbers.
The FDIC has created this webpage to inform and warn consumers about a type of fraud called “phishing.” The term "phishing" – as in fishing for confidential information - refers to a scam that encompasses fraudulently obtaining and using an individual's personal or financial information.

This is how it works:

A consumer receives an e-mail which appears to originate from a financial institution, government agency, or other well-known/reputable entity.

The message describes an urgent reason you must "verify" or "re-submit" personal or confidential information by clicking on a link embedded in the message.

The provided link appears to be the Web site of the financial institution, government agency or other well-known/reputable entity, but in "phishing" scams, the Web site belongs to the fraudster/scammer.

Once inside the fraudulent Web site, the consumer may be asked to provide Social Security numbers, account numbers, passwords or other information used to identify the consumer, such as the maiden name of the consumer's mother or the consumer's place of birth.

When the consumer provides the information, those perpetrating the fraud can begin to access consumer accounts or assume the person's identity.

The best thing to do is:

If you want to sign in to an account NEVER FOLLOW THE LINK FROM AN E-MAIL.
Always, go to the sight directly from your saved book mark or by typing in the address.
Be aware of what is in your address bar before you start typing.

Protect Yourself!