The Internet is integral to our everyday life

You probably didn't need a survey to tell you that the Internet is important in Americans' everyday lives. But just in case you didn't realize how important, a survey recently done by Pew Internet & American Life Project reveals that more and more people are turning to the Internet to help in life's major moments. In their memo on the survey, the researchers state that over the three-year period from January 2002 to March 2005, "Internet use grew by:

54% in the number of adults who said the Internet played a major role as they helped another person cope with a major illness. And the number of those who said the Internet played a major role as they coped themselves with a major illness increased 40%.

50% in the number who said the internet played a major role as they pursued more training for their careers.

45% in the number who said the Internet played a major role as they made major investment or financial decisions.

43% in the number who said the Internet played a major role when they looked for a new place to live.

42% in the number who said the Internet played a major role as they decided about a school or a college for themselves or their children.

23% in the number who said the Internet played a major role when they bought a car.

14% in the number who said the Internet played a major role as they switched jobs."

If you would like to view the report, you can go to this PDF document of the report, The Internet's Growing Role in Life's Major Moments.

AT&T Personal Choice Plan

You can get phone service plans from a variety of the top phone service providers from WhiteFence, including the AT&T Personal Choice(SM) plan, which was designed for privacy and control along with the convenience and flexibility necessary in today's active households. The AT&T Personal Choice Plan includes Unlimited Flat Rate, Caller ID and InLine®. It also includes your choice of two of the following features:

• Call Waiting
• Three-Way Calling
• Speed Calling 8
• Auto Redial
• Call Return
• Call Forwarding
• Call Waiting ID
• Call Blocker
• Privacy Manager®.

If a consumer wants to get long distance phone service from AT&T as well, they can sign up for the ALL DISTANCE® Select, which includes all the services of the AT&T Personal Choice plan, as well as unlimited nationwide, direct-dialed long distance phone service.

VoIP phishing attacks

I'm sure you've heard that VoIP can save you lots of money in telecommunication cost, but did you know that VoIP inadvertently helps out phishers? In a current scam, phishers are sending emails to individuals asking them to dial a number and enter in personal information to get to their financial information
In the article Phishing Attacks Cast Shadow over VoIP, Cloudmark, a provider of messaging security solutions, warns that "VoIP services can reduce the costs associated with conducting such attacks, providing the perpetrators with less risk of discovery." By using new technologies, Cloudmark has been able to identify and block these "spoofed-number attacks."

The lengths that these phishers are willing to go to deceive individuals is amazing. Adam J. O'Donnell, Ph.D., senior research scientist at Cloudmark, is quoted in the article as saying:

"We've seen two separate VoIP attacks hit our network this week, the first we've been able to analyze in detail. In these attacks, the target receives an email, ostensibly from their bank, telling them there is an issue with their account and to dial a number to resolve the problem." Callers are then connected over VoIP to a PBX (private branch exchange) running an IVR system that sounds exactly like their own bank's phone tree, directing them to specific extensions. In a VoIP phishing attack, the phone system identifies itself to the target as the financial institution and prompts them to enter account number and PIN. The result can be personally financially devastating."

Direct Energy to buy Entergy Solutions' customer accounts

According to the article Direct Energy to buy Entergy unit's ERCOT accounts for $30 mil, UK-based Centrica's Direct Energy will be spending a lot of money on Entergy Solutions' retail customer accounts. In the deal, Direct Energy will be getting more than 100,000 residential and commercial customers in the Houston and Dallas areas.

How tweaking their envelope paid off for Netflix

Ever wondered how Netflix decided on the design for their current envelope? Well, apparently others did as well. In the article The evolution of the Netflix envelope, author G. Paschal Zachary discovered it was only after years of changing their envelope that Netfilx settled on their current style. The article includes a detailed photo gallery that charts the evolution of their envelope. 

How do I find information about my state's utilities?

Have you been looking for information about your state's utility regulations? You should look at your state's public utility Web site to find out about utilities in your state. This site on the Consumer Action Website lists street address and Websites for all 50 states' public utility commissions.

What is threatening the cable companies?

According to the article Cable:Telcos no threat, although telecommunications companies efforts to penetrate the cable market may not be considered a threat, cable companies are a bit worried that Wall Street is too concerned about the potential loss of video revenues. These subjects were discussed thoroughly at the recent National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) Show. Though cable executives spent much of their time saying telecommunications efforts into the media market were more hype than substance, they did concede that any uncertainty in the market may lead to problems on Wall Street.

Censoring Skype

In accordance with Chinese regulations, Skype in China is being censored. Skype chief executive Niklas Zennstrom confirmed that conversations about the Dalai Lama, the banned Falun Gong spiritual group and other sensitive topics have been censored by Tom Online, Skype's Chinese partner. Rick Tehrani, the author of the article China Censors Skype, writes that this censorship brings up a larger issue, that of how far will the Chinese government go to censor communication as new technologies allows for increased ways for people across the world to communicate. For more information about this subject, you can read Tehrani's article or the article Internet phone firm Skype says Chinese partner filtering text messages; defends censorship.

New Offer - Graceba Total Communications

Graceba Total Communications is a local family-owned and operated business that provides cable television, high speed Internet and phone service in the Wiregrass area (Dothan, Kinsey, Webb, Cowarts, Avon, Ashford, Cottonwood and Gordon) in Alabama. If you are a resident in these areas, you can now get Graceba Total Communications cable and high speed Internet services through WhiteFence.

Benefits of DIRECTV

Want to see how DIRECTV compares to DISH Network? DIRECTV is the nation's leading digital multi-channel television service provider. Some of DIRECTV's features include:

• Packages start as low as $44.99 for over 135 channels.
• Offers local channels in 92 percent of U.S. households, and is launching additional markets in the near future.
• Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) are available for a small monthly fee in addition to the programming. DVRs enable subscribers to record programs and edit commercials as often as the customer needs to do so.
• All programming is digital in quality.
• Offers an exclusive NFL package.

No matter which of these satellite providers offers you found to be more impressive, you can get either of the through WhiteFence. You can also use the WhiteFence comparison engine to further compare DIRECTV and DISH Network's features.