Bill Hopkins is the Webmaster of PhotoSourceFolio* (www.photosourcefolio.com) and a regular contributor to PhotoStockNotes. Send comments via Email to wh@photosourcefolio.com. Fax: 1 818 831-0916. Or US Mail: PhotoStockNotes. (*Display 6 of your images on our Web site!) For on-line marketing questions, contact him on the Cracker Barrel at www.photosource.com/board

A few months ago, I suggested that if you had a dedicated or broadband connection to the Internet, that you also have a backup plan using a dial-up service. For those that were connected to the Internet via NorthPoint and followed my advice, well, you’re pretty happy about that now, aren’t you? If you haven’t heard by now, NorthPoint, a provider of high-speed Internet access, declared bankruptcy last month, instantly dropping about half a million users from their system.

Ok, so I used that lead-in to get you to read this. Carnivore was the FBI’s name for its Internet surveillance system that has many camps up in arms. However, the black box still exists and is in use. The FBI just decided that the name Carnivore made it sound, well, like a predatory system that violates people’s privacy (imagine that). So, they christened it with a new name: DCS1000, the Digital Collection System. (Does anyone really think that the Internal Revenue Service is anything other that the Tax Collector? I thought not.)

but especially on the Internet. No legitimate ISP will send you an e-mail asking for your account info (like userid, password, or credit card info) by return email. If you get such an e-mail, do not reply and instead contact your ISP using the methods they previously provided to you. They MAY send an e-mail asking you to update your account info, AND will provide a secure link (https://) for you to make the changes. If it doesn’t ring true, contact them directly yourself (as above). For more info on identity theft (what this scam really is) visit http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft.

Bill Hopkins is the Webmaster of PhotoSourceFolio* (www.photosourcefolio.com) and a regular contributor to PhotoStockNotes. Send comments via e-mail to wh@photosourcefolio.com. Fax: 1 818 831-0916. (*Display 6 of your images for photobuyers to view, on your page on the PhotoSource website.) For on-line marketing questions, contact Bill on the Kracker Barrel at www.photosource.com/board.