Welcome to 2006!
If you're wondering why you're getting this newsletter ... well, it's because you signed up for it. You entered your email address, and you responded to a confirmation email. If you want to unsubscribe, then just click on the link at the bottom of this email.
I don't plan to include that reminder at the top of every issue, unless of course the problem gets worse.
The problem? People hitting a "This is spam" button instead of unsubscribing. Why is that a problem? It hurts newsletter publishers, it hurts other subscribers, and it makes the overall spam problem worse instead of better. Rather than get into it here, I'll point at my article Why shouldn't I use the "Report Spam" or "Junk" button? (http://ask-leo.com/why_shouldnt_i_use_the_report_spam_or_junk_button.html) and my podcast What is, and is not, spam (http://ask-leo.com/what_is_and_is_not_spam.html).
One person commented on the article and pointed out that RSS is an alternative to emali delivery that bypasses all the spam issues, and indeed it is. This newsletter has been available as an RSS feed since day one at: http://ask-leo.com/newsletter.xml.
Such excitement. I hope your holidays were a little quieter :-).
BREAKING NEWS: Microsoft has released the patch for the "WMF Exploit" ahead of schedule. I recommend everyone install it. Read more here: Should I be worried about this "WMF Exploit" that everyone's been talking about? - http://ask-leo.com/should_i_be_worried_about_this_wmf_exploit_that_everyones_been_talking_about.html
*** Contents
- New Articles of Note on Ask Leo!
- Popular Articles from the Ask Leo! Archives.
- Interesting Sites and Useful Resources.
- Newsletter Administration Department
You're receiving this newsletter because you subscribed, and confirmed your subscription. Instructions for unsubscribing are at the end of every newsletter.
*** New Articles of Note on Ask Leo!
Should I be worried about this "WMF Exploit" that everyone's been talking about?
I got an email warning me to basically stay off the internet until next week because of some new virus or something called a "WMF Exploit". Is it really that serious? Do I really need to stay off line? I'm not sure I can handle the withdrawal from being disconnected that long!
Yes, it's serious.
But, no, you don't have to go through withdrawal. In an unprecedented move, Microsoft has released the patch for the problem ahead of schedule.
Continue reading:
"Should I be worried about this "WMF Exploit" that everyone's been talking
about?"
http://ask-leo.com/should_i_be_worried_about_this_wmf_exploit_that_everyones_been_talking_about.html
* * *
Outsourcing Tech Support - Good, or Evil?
Over here, or overseas, incompetance knows no boundaries.Continue reading: "Outsourcing
Tech Support - Good, or Evil?" 
http://ask-leo.com/outsourcing_tech_support_good_or_evil.html
* * *
Can I prevent my mail from being forwarded by others?
Is there any way I can keep from letting people forward emails I have sent them onto others?
In short: no.
And it can get even worse. Much worse.
Continue reading: "Can
I prevent my mail from being forwarded by others?"
http://ask-leo.com/can_i_prevent_my_mail_from_being_forwarded_by_others.html
* * *
How do I stop MSN Messenger from starting automatically and logging me in?
I've MSN Messenger at a friend's house, and now he's logging in as me and IMing all my friends, because Messenger was set to remember me. How do I stop that, and how do I prevent it from happening again?
You're not alone, I see this a lot. If you're not careful, it's very easy to accidentally give someone else access to your account if you use MSN Messenger a public computer or someone else's computer.
It require's a little diligence on your part, or you're going to get into trouble.
Continue reading:
"How do I stop MSN Messenger from starting automatically and logging me
in?" 
http://ask-leo.com/how_do_i_stop_msn_messenger_from_starting_automatically_and_logging_me_in.html
* * *
How can I archive email in my free email account?
Without manually copying and pasting the text of every single message and if possible, how can I archive my email messages? I have no POP3, IMAP, or administrative access. It's a free webmail account.
Yet another reason I intensely dislike relying on free email accounts for "important" things. There are so many things that can, and do, go wrong it's scary. I hear very sad "I've lost everything" stories on a regular basis.
So you're quite right to want to backup.
Continue reading: "How
can I archive email in my free email account?"
http://ask-leo.com/how_can_i_archive_email_in_my_free_email_account.html
* * *
Why doesn't my machine's IP address match what I'm told on the internet?
Using tools on my machine, I can see that my IP address is one thing, in my case 192.168.1.100. But when I go to an internet site that shows me my IP, it shows my something completely different. Which is right?
The answer won't clarify anything, but I'll tell you anyway.
They're both right.
No, your machine doesn't really have two IP addresses, but the IP it shows as depends on who's looking, and from where.
Continue reading:
"Why doesn't my machine's IP address match what I'm told on the
internet?"
http://ask-leo.com/why_doesnt_my_machines_ip_address_match_what_im_told_on_the_internet.html
* * *
What is, and is not, spam
I discuss a recent article talking about the report spam button, and its missuse.Continue reading: "What is, and is not,
spam"
http://ask-leo.com/what_is_and_is_not_spam.html
*** Popular Articles from the Ask Leo! Archives
Number three a series of articles on changing your Hotmail password. Another surprisingly frequent question:
I've forgotten the answer to my MSN Hotmail secret question, *and* my password, what do I do?
So far I've covered how to change your Hotmail password, and how to change your Hotmail password if you've forgotten it. The last one involves knowing the answer to a "secret question" that you set up when you created your Hotmail account.
But what if you forget that too?
*** Interesting Sites and Useful Resources
The Internet Tourbus - http://www.tourbus.com
TOURBUS is a free email newsletter published twice a week, and read by about 100,000 people in 130 countries around the globe. Your tour guides Bob Rankin and Patrick Crispen (also known as the "Click and Clack" of the online world) explain Internet technology in plain English, with a dash of humor. Since 1995, Tourbus riders have been getting the scoop on Search Engines, Spam, Viruses, Cookies, Urban Legends, and other topics. We also give you in-depth reviews of the most useful, fun and interesting sites on the Net.
The Internet Tourbus is another great resource for learning more about the internet, technology and other on-line parephernalia.
* * *
This Is True - http://www.thisistrue.com
This is True is a weekly syndicated newspaper column by Colorado humorist Randy Cassingham. True reports on bizarre-but-true news items from legitimate newspapers from around the world (never "tabloids"). Each story ends with commentary by Randy -- a tagline which is humorous, ironic or opinionated. An online pioneer, True has been publishing online weekly since June 1994. You too can have such true stories of human weirdness sent to you once each week by e-mail for free.
True comes in two flavors - free (of course), and paid. True is one of the few on-line subscriptions I actually pay for - it's that good. As they say, truth is stranger than fiction, because fiction has to make sense. Check out the on-line archives, as well as the related Honorary Unsubscribe - http://www.honoraryunsubscribe.com and Bonzer Web Sites of the Week - http://www.bonzersites.com too!
* * *
The latest entry out at Forwarded Funnies: "No sense of humor - http://www.forwardedfunnies.com/no_sense_of_humor_009647.html.
*** Newsletter Administration Department
Do you have a question? A comment, perhaps? Newsletter subscribers can drop me a line at leo <at> ask-leo.com. (I only give that email address to newsletter subscribers, so I'll know it's from one of my loyal readers.) If you like, you can make sure you get past any spam filters by simply posting your question or comment using the Ask Leo! question form: http://ask-leo.com/askleo.html.
I'll be honest: I'll try to respond, but I get a lot of questions every day - I'm currently quite backlogged. I simply cannot answer absolutely every one. Rest assured, though, that even if you don't hear from me directly, I read every email I get.
Leo's Answers Newsletter is a weekly publication of Ask Leo! and Leo A. Notenboom. It's also available as an RSS feed at this URL: http://ask-leo.com/newsletter.xml?UD=nl. Archives of previous newsletter issues can be found on the Ask Leo! web site, http://ask-leo.com/newsletter.html.
You're quite welcome to forward this email in its entirety, but you should probably delete your unsubscribe link below, so your friends don't unsubscribe you by accident. You may forward individual articles from this newsletter only if you include all and only the text of that article as found in this newsletter, including any links therein. You may not copy full articles from the Ask Leo! website - more on that in my section on copyright: http://ask-leo.com/terms.html#copyright.
I'd sure appreciate it if regular readers got a subscription of their own. You can sign up at http://newsletter.ask-leo.com.
Till next week!
Leo Notenboom
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I never hit the “This is Spam” button. I just don’t see how that does any good. You will have to do that to the new thousands of spam email that you will eventually receive.
I just delete them.