Following on from last week's article about email viruses, this week we'd like to talk about email hoaxes. Many hoax emails set out to cause disruption by convincing people to forward the email to as many of their friends and associates as possible, therefore propagating the problem. It doesn't take long before millions of copies of the same email are bouncing their way around the world's mail servers, causing delays and disruptions. Most have no long term consequences although the misinformation they spread and the network traffic they cause make their impact very similar to viruses.
The content of a hoax email generally purports to provide urgent information that everyone should be aware of. It could be a report about a new virus that urges you to forward it to all your friends immediately, or it may offer the promise of riches or good luck. Many times these hoax emails will quote reputable companies such as Microsoft or IBM as being the source of the information to give you the impression that the content of the message can be trusted.
Other hoaxes can actually set out to defraud. One in particular suggests the sender is involved in the treasury department of an African country. They ask you for your bank details so they can transfer money out of their country and promise to give you a handsome commission for using your bank account. Their true intent is to get your banking details, not to give you money.
As with viruses there are a number of steps you can take to avoid the trap of forwarding hoax emails:
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Check with the person that sent the email to you that they personally verified the contents as being true. Never assume that just because you know the person what they sent you must be true.
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Use your internet browser and your favourite search engine (www.google.com is a good one) to see if the email has been identified as a hoax. In your search include the word "hoax" and relevant key words from the email.
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Many sites have been setup on the internet to list hoaxes, especially hoax viruses. One such site is Symantec's Hoax page that can be accessed through the following link:http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html
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Once you start to look more closely it becomes easier to spot suspect emails. By spending a little time verifying the accuracy of the email you will help stop the spread of misleading and sometimes dangerous information.
How can I create a list that includes the student’s age at a certain date?
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Go to PEOPLE>STUDENTS and use the FIND feature to select the desired students to include (e.g. Year 7s only)
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Click on the EXPORT button from the toolbar
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Select the fields you require for your list, remembering to include the student date of birth field as this is required to calculate the age at a certain date
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Click on the EXPORT button and specify that you want the export file to be of type CSV with Headers
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Open the exported file in Excel
Note: when looking for the export file to open in Excel you need to specify that you are looking for a CSV file not an XLS file.
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For this example we will assume that the empty column is G, the Student Date of Birth is column D and the data starts at Row 2.
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In Cell G1 (at the top of the empty column) type in the date at which you wish to calculate the students' ages
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In Cell G2 (empty column on the first student record) type in the following formula:
=Rounddown(($G$1-D2)/365,0)
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Press ENTER. The first student's age at the specified date will now appear.
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Select the G2 Cell again and you will notice that in the bottom right hand corner of the cell the border will have a tiny square. Double click on this tiny square and Excel will automatically copy the above formula to all the remaining cells in the column. Now all students should have their age at the specified date being shown.
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"What one does is what counts and not what one had the intention of doing"
Pablo Picasso
Regards,
Heather McKay
Human Edge Software
Phone: 03 9690 5004
Fax: 03 9690 2802
Email: sas2000@human-edge.com.au
Human Edge Software adheres to a policy of not sending unsolicited (SPAM) e-mail. You are receiving this e-mail because you are listed as the primary contact for one of the services that our company provides. If you are receiving this message in error or wish to have the contact details changed please advise us via return e-mail or call us on (03) 9690 5044
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