AOL Desktop version 10.1 officially launched on Tuesday! It's available for download on Discover AOL.

You'll find more desktop themes and colors, enhancements to the Favorites and Address Book layout, and improvements in speed and stability in AOL Desktop v.10.1.

I'll go into more depth on Favorites and Address Book in the next few articles. Right now, I want to show you how to make AOL Desktop all your own.

Personalizations: With the Personalize menu in AOL Desktop v. 10.1, you can choose themes, customize the software with any color you want, apply your own personal photos to the background, and even set up a rotating photo slideshow.

Whenever you make changes inside the "Personalize" menu, your selections will be previewed in the software in real time.

Themes: Right-click on the background of AOL Desktop with your mouse to bring up the "Personalize" menu. This will bring you into the "theme" area, where you can select stock themes or modify and store your own.

Appearance: This is where you can change the color of the software using a number of pre-set colors. Or, select "custom" to launch the Windows color chooser to choose from even more colors.

Background: This area lets you select photos from your computer which you can apply to your background or background slideshow. Tip: don't browse to a folder that has too many photos because this will slow your software down. Ideally, set up a separate folder with the pictures you really want to use.

Preview: Finally, even though you'll see your changes applied in the software in real time, you can see a demo of your customizations by clicking on the "Preview" tab.

(By the way, that's a lavender field near Snowshill in Gloucestershire, England.)

Check out AOL Desktop version 10.1 and have fun making the software look exactly how you want. Stay tuned for my new articles on the Address Book and Favorites.

Cheers,

Laura

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Laura Peterson

Product Lead, AOL Desktop

The News

I'm pleased to share that my friends on the AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) social media team have created a custom chat room for the deaf community. You can access this room conveniently within AOL Desktop or via an external browser. All you need is an AOL or AIM screenname to chat.

The room is called "Deaf Friends".

Here is the link: http://chat.aim.com/chats/people/deaf-friends

Below are two screenshots; one shows the lobby area before you enter the room, and the second shows the Deaf Friends room and chat experience itself:

The Background Story

Several weeks ago, I was reviewing the AOL Desktop feedback submitted by AOL members, and I came across quite a few comments and questions regarding the lack of an official AOL chatroom for the deaf and hearing-impaired.

Gene, from Ohio, phrased the problem particularly eloquently:

"I'm a hearing impaired person and would like to have a chat room set up for people with hearing problems. It would be nice to be able to talk to others like myself and have a support room. Put yourself in a room full of friends or co-workers and plug your ears so you can't hear a word and try to communicate... This is what we live with every day. Can AOL step up to the plate and give us a full time chat room for the deaf?"

I forwarded this and other requests to Karri, a product manager on the AIM Chat team. Having also received similar requests from her own feedback channels, Karri was already in the process of creating the dedicated Deaf Friends chat room.

Making a Difference

We product managers appreciate everyone who submits their feedback to us at AOL. Our members can and do make a difference!

I'll close with Gene's perspective on why the Deaf Friends chat room is so important:

"Most deaf people are like survivors in small boats floating in a wide and vast ocean of hearing people. We do the best we can to adapt but it is hard for the hearing to understand what it is like for us to cope with everyday life. We do not ask hearing people to adjust to our life, but we do our best to adjust to theirs.

"I would like to thank you for heling us tie our small boats together so we can communicate with each other."

Once again, visit the Deaf Friends room at http://chat.aim.com/chats/people/deaf-friends to meet others in the deaf and hearing-impaired community.

Cheers,

Laura

Other useful links:

AOL Accessibility

AIM People Connection Blog

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Laura Peterson

Product Lead, AOL Desktop

Fraudulent email alert

A valiant AOL Beta tester just alerted me to a fraudulent spam email that appears to come from AOL, but is actually spam. I'm passing on what the email looks like, how to tell that it's fraudulent, and some more information for reporting fraudulent emails that appear to come from AOL.

The sender's address is "update@aol.com" and the subject is "AOL Notification: [ Account Update Needed ]". If you see an email with this sender and subject or any other fraudulent email that appears to be from AOL, forward it to TOSReports@aol.com. Below is a screenshot of the email.

Phishing and how to detect it

Attempting to obtain financial and other sensitive information by pretending to be a trustworthy organization via email is called "phishing". "Phishing" is when a spammer literally tries to "fish" for information by baiting an unsuspecting person with an email that looks reputable at first glance.

The good news is that many phishers leave themselves open to detection by including spelling errors and other dumb mistakes on their emails which valid corporate communications would never include. The trick is to be sensitive to these things so you don't get dragged in, just as you would be alert to a possible pickpocket or con artist on a street.

Case in point: spammers hope that you'll just quickly glance at the email and click on the link they've embedded without a further thought. By adding the blue AOL graphics that make the email look fairly professional, they're trying to distract you so you won't notice all the errors that the email contains.

A good rule of thumb: even if you're sure the email is legitimate, read it carefully before taking ANY action! Additionally, AOL would never threaten to suspend your account if you failed to verify your details. (Your account would only be at risk if you violated the AOL terms of service by failing to pay for your dial-up, or, for example, by using AOL to spam other members. You would in most cases be given an opportunity to immediate rectify the situation via a pop-up linking to an official AOL website.)

Here's that email in question with some tips to show you why it's spam and not a real email from AOL.

• Look for spelling mistakes -- "Informetion", "Dont", and "Decliend" are all red flags. I've circled those above.
• Look for bad grammar like those areas underlined above: this could include fragment sentences or improper use of punctuation. ("Must a Valid Credit Card" is such an obvious giveaway, but you could miss it if you were reading quickly.)
• Check out the embedded link by HOVERING over it with your mouse. (Don't actually click on it!) When you hover over the link, the hidden URL will appear in your mouse tooltip, which I've circled above. This one is definitely spam because the hidden URL contains a Russian domain (the .ru part). Compare this to the URL AOL uses for billing: bill.aol.com.
• Don't enter credit card information anywhere until you've been asked to validate your identity. This is why you have a unique account security question (e.g. "what is your favorite movie or book?") that you set up as part of your billing details.

  This article from AOL Help contains some additional information on reporting suspicious scam emails.

  Remember: take the time to read all emails thoroughly before clicking any links or taking any action! Report phishing and fraudulent emails to tosreports@aol.com

  Be safe!

  Laura

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  Laura Peterson

  AOL Desktop Team Blog Directory

Hi Everyone,

Happy Monday! I don't know what the weather's like in your part of the country, but here in Virginia, the end of March is decidedly not like a lamb: it's in the 40s and rainy.

No matter -- there's some neat stuff going on that's making me forget the weather.

Firstly, last week the AOL Help team published some AOL Desktop FAQs. The team and I looked at all the member feedback submitted over the past few months, and we distilled and answered the most common questions in one convenient location.

Check out the AOL Desktop FAQs: http://help.channels.aol.com/topic.adp?topicId=ART_223666

Secondly, this past Wednesday we had our first Beta chat for "Nexus" (the codename for the next version of AOL Desktop). It included about 16 testers and 4 of us from the team, including me and our Beta, development, and quality assurance managers. We'll be holding another one next week around 4/9. I'll post more details a little closer to the time. You're welcome to join us to ask questions and share feedback.

I'll also be back to normal this week in terms of posting and responding to comments. I took a few days off last week.

More to come soon,

Cheers,

Laura

We are exited to announce that AOL 9.1 has been released for all users, both free and paid!

AOL 9.1 is the latest version of AOL's integrated, desktop software. Sharing the look and feel of 9.0 versions, AOL 9.1 provides enhancements to web browsing, email, instant messaging, and other areas of the service. You can download AOL 9.1 at Discover AOL.

AOL 9.1 offers some exciting new features around browsing. If you already have connectivity (like broadband) you can browse without signing on. That way you can quickly and easily get directly onto the web. We'll prompt you for sign-on when you ask or attempt to get access to personal information, like email or IM.

Email has been enhanced as well. In AOL 9.1, we offer an "Inbox" style email system. If you are already a user, you can continue with the "Old/New" view, or adopt the new Internet-based "Inbox" style (which contains all old and new email together). We've also extended your mailbox with unlimited storage. For current users, if you would like to switch to this new style, go to KW: Inbox.

We have also added RSS support providing a quick and easy way to manage your favorite RSS feeds on the myAOL website.

Over the next few weeks, we'll provide additional details and rationale behind the new features in AOL 9.1. Watch this area for new entries where we'll respond to your questions, comments, and suggestions.

Until then, have fun with the AOL 9.1!

Thanks,

Doran Butuche
Senior Product Manager
AOL Desktop Software

Lots of exciting things are happening with AOL's Desktop Software - and this is the place where you'll get the latest scoop on all items related to:

• AOL 9.0 & 9.1: We'll talk about how to get the most out of the current AOL 9.0 products as well as our newest release; AOL 9.1. Building on the classic 9.0 experience, AOL 9.1 provides several improvements including web browsing without having to first sign in, easier access to mail folders, and RSS support.

• AOL Desktop: Our freshest all-in-one software for Windows, combining email, Web browsing and instant messaging into a single, easy-to-use application, letting you multi-task with fewer hassles.

• AOL Desktop Gadgets: Light-weight, task-specific mini-applications that display useful information in real time, right on your desktop.

Check out this blog to learn about new features, hear timely tips, and get answers to your questions. Sometimes we'll have important announcements regarding new releases, service enhancements, and bug fixes. Other times we'll just want to share whatever happens to be front of mind for the team. You'll hear from all kinds of folks involved in developing AOL desktop applications.

We also want your feedback. Our comments section is for you to respond to our blog entries, voice your opinions, share your tips, ask questions, or suggest topics you'd like us cover in the blog. We'll be reading your feedback and responding, so please share your thoughts.

Thanks!

Doran Butuche
Senior Product Manager
AOL Desktop Software