Cruzio Newsletter - Number 74, March 30th, 2004
1. Beware Viruses Disguised as Cruzio Email!
2. Free: Security Brown Bag This Thursday
3. ShopSite: New Features Added
4. Cruzio Wins 10th Straight Metro Award
5. Cruzio at Earth Day Celebration
6. Thanks for the Testimonials
7. Thanks for Removing Files
8. Buddy Bucks
9. Late Fees
10. About This Newsletter
11. How to Reach Cruzio (dial-in or tech support)
1. Beware Viruses Disguised as Cruzio Email!
Please beware of email messages that appear to come from
Cruzio Technical Support or other reliable-seeming addresses.
These are often bogus messages, sent by the Beagle and
MyDoom worms. Please don't open any unexpected attachments,
*even if they seem to come from Cruzio*. They don't come
from us.
Hackers have recently escalated their trickery and are using
information extracted from email headers on infected hard
disks to "spoof" legitimate senders.
Computer worms used to come wrapped in messages that looked
as though they were written by semi-literate 16-year-olds.
(Actually, they probably *were* written by semi-literate
16-year-olds.) Many worms still look amateur.
But now, more professional types are getting into the act.
The emails are friendly in tone, convincing, and official-
sounding -- or sometimes they look like common, system-generated
error messages. They describe an email problem or a bounced
message, and ask you to take action which sounds plausible.
We aren't surprised that many people fall for it.
You may receive similar messages which appear to be from Ebay,
PayPal, other Internet providers, and the like.
Cruzio will not send you attachments. We will not send you 5
messages in a row saying the same thing. If you ever have any
doubt, be safe: check our Web site (below), or email or call
Cruzio before clicking on an attachment. It's likely we will know
exactly what you are looking at.
Once a virus is identified, Cruzio quickly assesses the threat
to our customers, publishes details on our Web site, and takes
action to block the virus from customers' mailboxes. We do not
catch every instance of every virus. We do catch most, and we will
be able to help you if you are infected or if you have questions.
What happens if you click on a nefarious attachment?
The risk is that your computer will be infected by a worm. The
worm may disable your computer, but even worse, it may turn your
computer into a zombie that bombards countless other computers
around the Internet. In other words, without your knowledge *you*
will become the one sending out the fake emails. So:
DON'T open attachments
DON'T give out your password
DON'T believe every email you read
DO turn on your email filter -- for instructions see
http://www.cruzio.com/support/email/junk_mail_filtering.html
Please check our virus page for more information:
http://www.cruzio.com/support/security/virus_info.html
2. Free: Security Brown Bag This Thursday
Speaking of computer security, learn more about how to keep your
computer and network secure in our next, FREE Brown Bag Workshop,
led by the indefatigable Stephen and Mike from Cruzio Technical
Support:
Thursday, April 1st, 12-1:30 pm
Cruzio Storefront, 903 Pacific Ave
"Not All Worms Are Organic"
Find more information and register at
http://www.cruzio.com/brownbag/
or call 459-6301 x247 to sign up. Lunches are available for
$7 per person. Register soon, this is one of our most popular
workshops!
3. ShopSite: New Features Added
We've recently upgraded out ShopSite Web stores, thanks to the
excellent work of Chief Systems Engineer, Mark. New features are
significant, and include:
- Email receipts sent to your customers after purchases
(Manager and Pro Stores)
- Customer registration: Your site can remember customers
who register, making repeat purchases easier, and
can group them into categories of your choosing
(Pro only)
- Improved templates: Create a consistent look throughout
your site, repeat it easily (Manager and Pro)
- Auctions and Donations: Enable purchases for a non-set
price (Pro only)
Recent purchasers of ShopSite have already gotten the upgrade for
free, but those who bought or upgraded ShopSite before November, 2003,
will have to pay a fee to enjoy the new features.
Please see our ShopSite Services page
http://www.cruzio.com/services/ecommerce/
for more details.
4. Cruzio Wins 10th Straight Metro Award!
10 years! We have won Metro reader polls for "Best Internet Service
Provider" for 10 years in a row now. Wow. Thank you so much for
voting for us.
5. Cruzio at Earth Day Celebration
Every day is Earth Day! Join Cruzio on Sunday, April 25th to
celebrate the annual community Earth Day event at the San Lorenzo Park
in Santa Cruz from 11 am to 5 pm. Earth Day festivities include booths,
demonstrations, free stuff, great music and ways you can help protect
our environment.
Cruzio will join in the annual Earth Day festival to promote wise
use of resources, computer recycling, and energy awareness. We
feel these are major issues in our industry, and worthy of attention.
For information on computer recycling:
http://www.cruzio.com/local_info/computer_recycling.html
6. Thanks for the Testimonials
Lately we have been publishing some testimonials from
customers in print ads and on the Web. We just wanted to
say "Thank You" to those customers who send in compliments,
and thanks also for those who've given Cruzio permission to
use your words publicly.
It's sometimes hard to explain why a company like Cruzio can
compete with big corporations (with their advertising megabucks),
and our customers say it much better than we ever could.
We encourage you to let us know your experiences, good or bad,
so that we can share them with staff and learn what is working
and what isn't. You can always send in a comment by clicking
the "Suggestion Box" button at the bottom of any page on our
Web site:
http://www.cruzio.com
7. Thanks for Removing Files
We just want to send out a thank-you to those Cruzio customers
who regularly read and download their email, and discard what
they don't want. It saves disk space on Cruzio's computers.
8. Buddy Bucks
Recommend us to friends, family, colleagues: if a new customer
gives us your email address, registration number, or full name when
they sign up you'll get $10 credit to your account. If two friends
sign up, $20. Three friends, $30. It just goes on and on. And
since we now have nationwide dialup, you don't have to confine
yourself to referring friends in Santa Cruz County!
9. Late Fees/Cans
If you're late on a payment to Cruzio, turn it into a donation
to hungry folks in our community. We will waive your late
fee if you bring 3 cans into our office for our Second Harvest
Food Bin barrel. Learn more about this charity at
http://www.thefoodbank.org
10. About This Newsletter
Cruzio doesn't like to waste bandwidth with extra email, but we
sometimes have events and announcements that users need to know about.
This seems like the most efficient way to let people know what's
happening. Hope it's helpful. Please email support@cruzio.com with any
comments or questions. By the way, we would love to have a regular,
predictable schedule for this newsletter...but we simply do not send
it unless there is real news enclosed. Thus the haphazard datelines.
11. How to Reach Cruzio (dial-in or tech support)
To reach the Cruzio Information Center, for online technical and
sales information:
http://www.cruzio.com/support
To dial in to Cruzio, set your software to dial one of the numbers
below (note: we've expanded and joined modem pools, so you may be
using another number. If so, don't worry, it still works just fine).
Local Dialup: 459-9408
*New!*
Nationwide Dialup: Look up a local number on our Web page:
http://www.flexpop.net/hub.php3?c=Locations&p=Numsearch
or call Cruzio toll free, 1.800.303.3302
To call Cruzio:
459-6301............Use this number to check Cruzio's system status,
pay your Cruzio bill, find out more about our hours and location,
or to reach someone in customer service and technical support.
To send email to Cruzio, use one of these addresses:
support@cruzio.com ......for technical support
office@cruzio.com .......for billing and ordering information
Cruzio's location:
903 Pacific Avenue, Suite 101, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Cruzio's hours:
Sales hours: 10am-6pm, Monday through Friday; 10 am - 2 pm Saturday
Technical support: 10-6 pm, Monday through Friday, 10am - 2pm Saturday
System monitoring, including customer-alerted emergencies, 24 hours
per day, 365 days per year (leap years, 366 days)
Thanks very much from Cruzio:
Chris, Peggy, Julianne, Kathy, Mark, Georgette, Tapati,
Alec, Stephen, Paul, Gershom, Jessi, Michael, another Chris,
Maria, James, Juana, Krissie, Nikkie, Mike, Mario, Don, Bruce,
Jason, Gabriella, Edgar, and Brian; Sebastian and Nick
(our fabulous interns); Jake, Annika, and Carly (the kids)
After a 12 mile hike, Dad and Jake, age 12, were exhausted.
Dad: Wow, you want to do that again?
Jake: Not now, Dad.
Dad: I mean like in August.
Jake: I'll think about it.
Dad: Why don't you just say yes?
Jake: Well it's like someone's asking if you want to be
in a pie-eating contest right after Thanksgiving
Dinner.
