Putting the Purple Coo widget on your blog

Here is today's tutorial; I really enjoy doing these, though I always feel slightly guilty about the time it takes to do when I no doubt could and should be doing something else - pity I can't do it for a living.

So, if you want to put the clickable Purple Coo link like the one at the right on your blogpage, you will need to add the appropriate code to the right place on your blog customization page - DON'T PANIC! Here are the steps to take - I suggest you read it through first then try it.

1. You will need to copy the contents of the box of code below and then paste that code somewhere else.

2. To copy the code:
Either right-click in the box, choose Select All if available, right-click again and choose Copy,
Or left-click in the box, then CTRL-A (to select all) then CTRL-C (to copy) - can't remember the Mac route, but Mac users will know.

<a href="http://www.purple.dreamhosters.com/" target="_blank" title="Come on over to Purple Coo"><img width="208" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/1388/655686403497433/1600/z/805720/gse_multipart48162.jpg" height="42" /></a>

3. Now open another browser window (so you can refer back to this one) and open up your own Blog. Click on Customize (top right of your screen), then the Layout tab, and it should open up the page with the Add And Arrange Page Elements option, as below (click picture to enlarge):

4. Your blog's layout may be different, but at the top of one of the sides there should be the option to Add a Page Element, as pictured above - click that and you will get the page pictured below. Again, click to enlarge:

5. When you click on the blue ADD TO BLOG button for the HTML/Javascript option shown above, you will get to the Configure HTML/Javascript page, as shown below:

Once you paste in the code that you've previously copied, click on the Save button and then view your blog - if things have gone according to plan the clickable Purple Coo banner should now be on your blog's side column. If it's not, try again or email me and I'll try to help.

Fake links in emails etc

If you have arrived here from the Purple Coo Common Room post "Interesting website", you have obviously clicked on one of the links I gave in that post.

Chez nous we have had several spoof PayPal emails, with the subject line along the lines of "Problem with your account", "Account temporarily suspended" and "Security alert on your account!". I spotted them as fakes because one of the things one of the emails asked me to do is to click on the link they give to activate my account, ostensibly to verify the credibility of the email they have sent; however, when I hovered the cursor over the link, I saw a completely different address in the Preview Pane status line - see the image below:

All they have done, which is what I did in my Common Room post, is type an 'apparent' link, or make a 'button' link, with the 'actual' link being to somewhere completely different to where you think you'll be going if you click on it. Bad grammar and misuse of Capital letters in the body of the email message is also a clue.

If you DO get an email purporting to come from Paypal that you think might not be from them, the address to forward it to for verification is: spoof@paypal.com. They will get back to you to say whether it is bona fide or not.