Why we fall for email hoaxes

Send this email to everyone in your address book, and you'll receive $321 from Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. Don't lick the envelopes at your local ATM, because a madman has put poison on them. Forward this email to help find a missing girl. We've all received these relatively harmless yet annoying email hoaxes, chain letters, and urban legends. But why do some of us fall for them?

At least 10 times a day, I receive these email hoaxes in my inbox and usually press the DEL button before you can say "Nigerian bank scam." But aside from greed or gullibility, why do so many of us fall for these ridiculous claims? Can forwarding an email you receive to seven people really make wishes come true? Of course not. But I have some theories on why we succumb to hoaxes:

• Heartstring tugging Take a look at those emails with photos of "lost" children, accompanied by a horrible sob story. Unless you're a heartless brute, it'll evoke some sort of emotional response -- which is how they get ya. A similar thing happened after Sept. 11, with fake pictures of people on the World Trade Center's observation deck just before impact.
• Proximity Email hoaxes and urban legends might seem more plausible when they happen close to your home. This includes emails you might get from someone in the same city that says someone is attacking women at a shopping mall that's right around your house (the villain asks you to smell "perfume" in the parking lot, but it's chloroform!). Because it hits home, you might tend to believe it more.
• Credibility Letters you receive in your email inbox might seem legitimate if they’re (allegedly) from a credible source, such as a president of a large company, a politician or a tech-savvy relative. In other words, you might tend to believe something is true when it's not, because of who is signing their name at the end of the email. This is especially true with emails that contain company letterhead of a familiar logo.
• The ol’ testimonial Just like a TV infomercial, when the email hoax begins with a “real” testimonial, you might be suckered into it. For example, I recently received one that said something like, “Forward this email to everyone, and put your address at the bottom, and AOL will send you a check for $290 -- my sister-in-law did this last month, and she just received her check yesterday!” Ya, right.
• Media coverage When an email hoax cites some sort of media coverage, like, “This was on Oprah yesterday,” or “I read this in Saturday's Wall Street Journal,” you may be more inclined to fall for it since it falsely adds legitimacy. I recall getting an email about a proposed five-cent email tax, and it began with, “Not sure if anyone saw this today on Good Morning America…” Yadda, yadda, yadda.

So, folks, please don’t be so naïve -- chances are if something sounds too good to be true, it is. And if you believe an African billionaire wants to give you a couple of million dollars for helping him bring funds into the country, boy, do I have some swampland in Florida to sell you!

Free media converter -- a smart download

How many times has this happened to you? A friend emails you a "must watch" video clip, but when you double-click the attachment, your PC tells you it doesn't have the necessary software to play it. Or if you like a song and try to copy it to your favorite MP3 player, it says the file format isn't supported. Sigh.

Now, there is good news. FormatFactory is a free media converter that converts audio, photo and video files.

• For audio It reads and converts to MP3, WMA, MMF, AMR, OGG, WAV and MP4 (including support for iPod, iPhone, PSP, and BlackBerry formats).
  
• For photos It supports JPG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIF, and ICO.
  
• For video This software plays and converts to MP4, 3GP, MPG, AVI, WMV, FLV, and SWF.

Other features include a DVD/ISO ripper; the ability to repair some damaged video and audio files; batch conversion options; and photo conversion that supports zoom, rotate, flip, and tags.

While not pretty, the interface is clean and accessible.

Relive the '80s with Knight Rider GPS

GPS navigation units are a dime a dozen these days, so it’s no surprise manufacturers are trying to find unique angles to entice new customers.

Mio is about to launch a Knight Rider-themed navigation unit, featuring the original voice of David Hasselolff’s KITT car from the beloved ‘80s television show.

We got our hands on this clever GPS device, so here's what you can expect:  Turn on the unit, and you'll immediately hear the familiar “whoosh-whoosh” noise, accompanied by a related animation on the 4.3-inch screen. Following this is a personal greeting by KITT (actor William Daniels), in our case: “Marc, where would you like to go today?” Cue the ear-to-ear smile.

And yes, you can select from one of many names on the list. What's more, red LEDs flash on the sides of the jet black GPS device, moving in rhythm with KITT's turn-by-turn instructions, such as “Turn right in 300 feet, at the end of the road.”

Available for about $270, the Knight Rider GPS by Mio includes maps for both the United States and Canada and houses more than four million POIs (points of interest), such as hotels, gas stations and restaurants. The map also displays brand icons for many major chains, such as golden arches for McDonald's.

Free encryption tool helps secure your files

Replacing a lost or stolen laptop might be the least of your worries if you consider the potentially sensitive data that resides on it.

That’s why encrypting your private files or folders, which involves adding password protection, is a recommended safeguard. Most programs require the user to manually add encryption after the file has been created or updated.

TrueCrypt offers a free solution that works in “real time,” meaning that data is automatically encrypted or decrypted right before files are loaded or saved -- without any user intervention.

Available for Windows and Mac, TrueCrypt has users first download and install the small 2.85MB program, and upon setup, select which volume (e.g., drive C:) to encrypt. Finally, you must type in a password required to access the files or folders. That’s it.

Even data that’s dragged and dropped onto the volume is automatically encrypted for your safety and convenience, plus users can also use this clever tool to protect files on an external drive, such as a USB flash drive. Only by typing in the correct password can the files be accessed.

TrueCrypt uses encryption algorithms AES-256, Blowfish (448-bit key), CAST5, Serpent, Triple DES and Twofish. It is based on Encryption for the Masses (E4M) 2.02a.