Pirated software is on the increase and now accounts for over one third of the software installed on the world's computers and it's cost the software industry a staggering, $28bn (£12bn) last year in lost revenues. That's the startling claim of the UK based, Business Software Alliance. Their annual survey of global software piracy shows that some 36% of software applications were illegally installed and being used during 2003.
The study, conducted for the first time on behalf of the BSA by global technology research firm, International Data Corporation, incorporated major software market segments, including operating systems and consumer software and local market software. They discovered that while software costing $81bn (£38bn) was installed onto computers around the world, only $51bn (£23bn) was actually purchased and installed legally.
The USA and Canada who collectively are the most honest when it comes to purchasing software show a software piracy rate of 23% whilst the worst offenders are within the Eastern European countries, where piracy levels are an incredible 71%. It's difficult to draw any comparisons from previous years data as this is the first year the study has been out-sourced to an independent company and takes in a wider spectrum of software than the previous studies conducted in-house by the BSA. As well as counting the number of illegally produced software programs installed on systems, the study also includes software for where an insufficient number of site licenses have been purchased.
“Software piracy continues to be a major challenge for economies worldwide,” said Robert Holleyman, president and CEO of BSA. “From Algeria to New Zealand, Canada to China, piracy deprives local governments of tax revenue, costs jobs throughout the technology supply chain and cripples the local, in-country software industry.”
Mr Holleyman went on to say, that the IDC study reflects a logical evolution in BSA’s decade-long effort to measure piracy in the global economy. Its scope was expanded to account more accurately for trends such as the growth of local software markets worldwide and the acceleration of Internet piracy.
For its analysis, IDC drew upon its worldwide data for software and hardware shipments, conducted more than 5,600 interviews in 15 countries, and used its in-country analysts around the globe to evaluate local market conditions. IDC identified the piracy rate and dollar losses by utilizing proprietary IDC models for PC, software and license shipments by all industry vendors in 86 countries.
The study found that the size of a regional software market is the critical link between piracy rates and actual dollars lost. For instance, 91 percent of software installed in the Ukraine in 2003 was pirated, as compared to 30 percent in the U.K. But dollar losses in the U.K. ($1.6 bn) were about 17 times higher than those in the Ukraine ($92.1m). This difference is attributed to a much larger total PC software market in the U.K. than in the Ukraine.
“A number of factors contribute to the regional differences in piracy, including local-market size, the availability of pirated software, the strength of copyright laws, and cultural differences regarding intellectual property rights,” said John Gantz, Chief Research Officer at IDC. “Unfortunately, we found that high market growth regions also tend to be high piracy regions, such as China, India and Russia. If the piracy rate in emerging markets – where people are rapidly integrating computers into their lives and businesses – does not drop, the worldwide piracy rate will continue to increase.”
“The fight for strong intellectual property protection and respect for copyrighted works spans the globe, and there is much work to be done,” Mr Holleyman said. “BSA will continue to work with governments to enact policies to protect software intellectual property as well as implement programs to raise business and consumer awareness about the importance of copyright protection for creative works. Lowering the piracy rate will stimulate local economic activity, generate government revenue, create job growth and cultivate future innovation.”
Countries with Highest Piracy Rate:
* Vietnam 92%
* China 92%
* Ukraine 91%
* Indonesia 88%
* Zimbabwe 87%
* Russia 87%
* Algeria 84%
* Nigeria 84%
* Pakistan 83%
* Paraguay 83%
Countries with Lowest Piracy Rate
* United States 22%
* New Zealand 23%
* Denmark 26%
* Sweden 27%
* Austria 27%
* United Kingdom 29%
* Japan 29%
* Belgium 29%
* Germany 30%
* Switzerland 31%
Monday, December 31, 2007
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Microsoft Class Action Settlement in Minnesota - Submitting A Claim
Microsoft has settled a class action lawsuit with the state of Minnesota. Based on this settlement software purchased between May 18, 1994 and March 17, 2003 may be eligible for a voucher that will provide additional monies to the claimant upon proof of both software purchase and a qualifying hardware or software purchase after July 1, 2004. Windows or MS-DOS software is worth a $15.00 voucher while Microsoft Office and Excel is worth $23.00 Word, Works Suite, and Home Essentials 97 or 98 is only worth $9.00
The way it works:
To submit your claim visit http://www.microsoftminnesotasettlement.com and file a claim either as an individual or business using either a standard form or a volume license form. If you are lucky you will be filing an volume license form. Simply fill in the information related to your company and a Claims Administrator will do all the research for you. They will let you know which of your open or select license purchases qualify for the settlement voucher. Based on this you will receive the vouchers you are entitled to. If you have already purchased qualifying hardware or software after July 1, 2004 you can submit the proof of purchase with your settlement form. This will save you time as you will receive a check from Microsoft based on these purchases. Future purchases and be re-submitted for money based on the vouchers you received.
If you are filing a standard form you must supply product ID and purchase information. As with the volume license process you then receive vouchers which can be redeemed for hardware purchases made after July 1, 2004. If your claim is for five or fewer items and the value is less than $100.00 you can fill out the on-line claim form. You will need to have your product ID's available to complete the form. All claim forms must be submitted on or before February 25, 2005
What's a qualifying hardware or software purchase?
Qualifying hardware includes new desktop laptop or tablet computers. It also includes printers, scanners, monitors and even keyboards and pointing devices.
Qualifying software is any non-custom software which is used on qualifying hardware.
This brief article is only to serve as a quick read guide to obtaining your settlement. For all forms and detailed information please visit the official settlement site at http://www.microsoftminnesotasettlement.com. Here you will find all necessary forms and detailed instructions on filling out the forms. Be sure to read all forms and their instructions carefully to ensure you are providing the correct information regarding your claim.
The way it works:
To submit your claim visit http://www.microsoftminnesotasettlement.com and file a claim either as an individual or business using either a standard form or a volume license form. If you are lucky you will be filing an volume license form. Simply fill in the information related to your company and a Claims Administrator will do all the research for you. They will let you know which of your open or select license purchases qualify for the settlement voucher. Based on this you will receive the vouchers you are entitled to. If you have already purchased qualifying hardware or software after July 1, 2004 you can submit the proof of purchase with your settlement form. This will save you time as you will receive a check from Microsoft based on these purchases. Future purchases and be re-submitted for money based on the vouchers you received.
If you are filing a standard form you must supply product ID and purchase information. As with the volume license process you then receive vouchers which can be redeemed for hardware purchases made after July 1, 2004. If your claim is for five or fewer items and the value is less than $100.00 you can fill out the on-line claim form. You will need to have your product ID's available to complete the form. All claim forms must be submitted on or before February 25, 2005
What's a qualifying hardware or software purchase?
Qualifying hardware includes new desktop laptop or tablet computers. It also includes printers, scanners, monitors and even keyboards and pointing devices.
Qualifying software is any non-custom software which is used on qualifying hardware.
This brief article is only to serve as a quick read guide to obtaining your settlement. For all forms and detailed information please visit the official settlement site at http://www.microsoftminnesotasettlement.com. Here you will find all necessary forms and detailed instructions on filling out the forms. Be sure to read all forms and their instructions carefully to ensure you are providing the correct information regarding your claim.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Classification of Computers
Computers are available in different shapes, sizes and weights, due to these different shapes and sizes they perform different sorts of jobs from one another.
They can also be classified in different ways. All the computers are designed by the qualified computer architectures that design these machines as their requirements.
A computer that is used in a home differs in size and shape from the computer being used in a hospital. Computers act as a server in large buildings, while the computer also differs in size and shape performing its job as a weather forecaster.
A student carrying a laptop with him to his college is different in shape and size from all the computers mentioned above.
Here we are going to introduce different classifications of computers one by one. We will discuss what are in classifications and what job they perform.
Super computer
The biggest in size, the most expensive in price than any other is classified and known as super computer. It can process trillions of instructions in seconds. This computer is not used as a PC in a home neither by a student in a college.
Governments specially use this type of computer for their different calculations and heavy jobs. Different industries also use this huge computer for designing their products.
In most of the Hollywood’s movies it is used for animation purposes. This kind of computer is also helpful for forecasting weather reports worldwide.
Mainframes
Another giant in computers after the super computer is Mainframe, which can also process millions of instruction per second and capable of accessing billions of data.
This computer is commonly used in big hospitals, air line reservations companies, and many other huge companies prefer mainframe because of its capability of retrieving data on a huge basis.
This is normally to expensive and out of reach from a salary-based person who wants a computer for his home.
This kind of computer can cost up to thousands of dollars.
Minicomputer
This computer is next in he line but less offers less than mainframe in work and performance. These are the computers, which are mostly preferred by the small type of business personals, colleges, etc.
Personal computers
Almost all the computer users are familiar with the personal computers. They normally know what the personal computer is and what are its functions.
This is the computer mostly preferred by the home users. These computers are lesser in cost than the computers given above and also, small in size; they are also called PCs in short for Personal computers.
This computer is small in size and you can easily arrange it to fit in your single bedroom with its all accommodation. Today this is thought to be the most popular computer in all.
Notebook computers
Having a small size and low weight the notebook is easy to carry to anywhere. A student can take it with him/her to his/her school in his/her bag with his/her book.
This is easy to carry around and preferred by students and business people to meet their assignments and other necessary tasks.
The approach of this computer is also the same as the Personal computer. It can store the same amount of data and having a memory of the same size as that of a personal computer. One can say that it is the replacement of personal desktop computer.
This is one of the unique articles posted weekly on http://www.computer-and-printer-reviews.com.
They can also be classified in different ways. All the computers are designed by the qualified computer architectures that design these machines as their requirements.
A computer that is used in a home differs in size and shape from the computer being used in a hospital. Computers act as a server in large buildings, while the computer also differs in size and shape performing its job as a weather forecaster.
A student carrying a laptop with him to his college is different in shape and size from all the computers mentioned above.
Here we are going to introduce different classifications of computers one by one. We will discuss what are in classifications and what job they perform.
Super computer
The biggest in size, the most expensive in price than any other is classified and known as super computer. It can process trillions of instructions in seconds. This computer is not used as a PC in a home neither by a student in a college.
Governments specially use this type of computer for their different calculations and heavy jobs. Different industries also use this huge computer for designing their products.
In most of the Hollywood’s movies it is used for animation purposes. This kind of computer is also helpful for forecasting weather reports worldwide.
Mainframes
Another giant in computers after the super computer is Mainframe, which can also process millions of instruction per second and capable of accessing billions of data.
This computer is commonly used in big hospitals, air line reservations companies, and many other huge companies prefer mainframe because of its capability of retrieving data on a huge basis.
This is normally to expensive and out of reach from a salary-based person who wants a computer for his home.
This kind of computer can cost up to thousands of dollars.
Minicomputer
This computer is next in he line but less offers less than mainframe in work and performance. These are the computers, which are mostly preferred by the small type of business personals, colleges, etc.
Personal computers
Almost all the computer users are familiar with the personal computers. They normally know what the personal computer is and what are its functions.
This is the computer mostly preferred by the home users. These computers are lesser in cost than the computers given above and also, small in size; they are also called PCs in short for Personal computers.
This computer is small in size and you can easily arrange it to fit in your single bedroom with its all accommodation. Today this is thought to be the most popular computer in all.
Notebook computers
Having a small size and low weight the notebook is easy to carry to anywhere. A student can take it with him/her to his/her school in his/her bag with his/her book.
This is easy to carry around and preferred by students and business people to meet their assignments and other necessary tasks.
The approach of this computer is also the same as the Personal computer. It can store the same amount of data and having a memory of the same size as that of a personal computer. One can say that it is the replacement of personal desktop computer.
This is one of the unique articles posted weekly on http://www.computer-and-printer-reviews.com.
Monday, December 24, 2007
Repairing A Corrupt .RAR/.ZIP Archive
Step 1:
Open WinRAR and browse to the folder with your .rar/.zip file.
Step 2:
Highlight the file and click the Repair button from the tool bar.
Step 3:
In the pop-up window, select "Treat the corrupt archive as RAR/ZIP" depending on which type of archive you are trying to repair.
Step 4:You may get a "Suspicious Entry" pop-up. If so, select All. This may happen several times while repairing.
Step 5:
After WinRAR has completed repairing the archive, click on Close.
Step 6:
To extract your file, highlight your new rebuilt archive.
Step 7:Next select Commands>Extract without confirmation
Step 8:
The files will start extracting.
Step 9:
The archived files will be extracted to the same folder as the repaired archive.
Open WinRAR and browse to the folder with your .rar/.zip file.
Step 2:
Highlight the file and click the Repair button from the tool bar.
Step 3:
In the pop-up window, select "Treat the corrupt archive as RAR/ZIP" depending on which type of archive you are trying to repair.
Step 4:You may get a "Suspicious Entry" pop-up. If so, select All. This may happen several times while repairing.
Step 5:
After WinRAR has completed repairing the archive, click on Close.
Step 6:
To extract your file, highlight your new rebuilt archive.
Step 7:Next select Commands>Extract without confirmation
Step 8:
The files will start extracting.
Step 9:
The archived files will be extracted to the same folder as the repaired archive.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Recycling Mobile Phones
Recycle Cell Phones
Technological advancements providing users with improved reception through integrated antenna systems, reduced size and weight of cell phones, along with numerous feature sets, and storage improvements have caused the bulk of cellular phone users and enthusiasts to upgrade to new and improved handsets. The low cost of cell phones and the added technological improvements mean that the majority of cellular phone users are on their 2nd or 3rd generation hand set.
Environmental Concerns
What many don't realize is that in many cases, the materials used to construct cell phones are toxic. Toxic elements found in many of today's cell phones can include arsenic, in semi-conductors and lead in the solder material. While the materials in a single phone are minimal consider the number of discarded cell phones in the relatively short time the technology has been available. The placement of these devices in landfills will cause long lasting damage and harm to the environment.
Recycling aged wireless equipment is a sensible alternative. Valuable materials can be recovered from used wireless devices in a number of different ways. In some cases, certain components may be separated by manual or simple mechanical means. The components can often be reused or melted down for alternative uses.
Cell Phone Disposal - What Options Exist?
Cell Phone Disposal - What Options Exist? The cell phone industry, understanding concerns related to the disposal of cell phones and PDAs have created alternatives to both refurbish and recycle the materials in older style cellular phones.
Wireless Recycling - http://www.wirelessrecycling.com - ReCellular Inc. is the largest recycler and reseller of used wireless phones and accessories in the wireless industry. A pioneer in charitable recycling arrangements, ReCellular has well-established partnerships with Easter Seals, the March of Dimes, and National Organization on Disability, Goodwill Industries, and The Body Shop. In addition, over 2,000 grassroots organizations from Boy Scout troops to religious organizations around the country work to collect wireless phones to support their philanthropic efforts. Charities can raise funds by increasing community awareness and acting as a wireless collection center.
Wireless Foundation - http://www.wirelessfoundation.org/DonateaPhone/index.cfm - Wireless Foundation refurbishes and provides cell phones to victims of domestic violence so that they can be used in the event of an emergency. The Call To Protect campaign also collects wireless phones to benefit victims of domestic violence. Proceeds from the sale of phones help fund agencies that fight domestic violence and are used to support educational efforts of the Wireless Foundation. Other phones are refurbished and become lifelines for domestic violence victims when faced with an emergency situation.
Recycle Wireless Phones - http://www.recyclewirelessphones.com - Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA*) and its member companies are committed to the goal of sustainable development and the environmentally sound management of their wireless products at end-of-life. Through its Wireless . . . The New Recyclable program, CTIA is educating the public on the options available for properly recycling used wireless devices. The program seeks to promote the collection of used wireless devices and ensure that collected wireless products will be managed properly. The site provides a directory of collection options.
AT&T Wireless - http://www.attwireless.com/our_company/cares/recycle_program.jhtml - Through the AT&T Wireless Reuse & Recycle program, consumers are invited to bring unwanted wireless phones, accessories and batteries (regardless of the manufacturer or carrier) to an AT&T Wireless retail store for recycling. AT&T Wireless is the first wireless carrier to partner with Keep America Beautiful, a nationally recognized nonprofit organization that focuses on waste impact minimization, litter prevention, beautification, community improvement and improvement of public places. Proceeds from the recycling of wireless phones, batteries and accessories are donated to Keep America Beautiful.
Call2Recycle - http://www.call2recycle.org/ - RBRC’s Call2Recycle™ program collects used cellular phones to benefit the environment and charitable organizations. With the help of consumers and 30,000 participating retail locations, RBRC's do their part in helping to keep cell phones out of the landfills.
HopeLine - http://www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline - The HopeLine phone recycling program is an exclusive program that uses wireless services and equipment to assist victims in emergency domestic violence situations. HopeLine collects wireless phones that are no longer being used. The used phones are either refurbished and recycled or sold. With the funds raised from the sale of the refurbished phones, Verizon Wireless purchases wireless phones and donates airtime to victims of domestic violence through human services and law enforcement agencies.
Technological advancements providing users with improved reception through integrated antenna systems, reduced size and weight of cell phones, along with numerous feature sets, and storage improvements have caused the bulk of cellular phone users and enthusiasts to upgrade to new and improved handsets. The low cost of cell phones and the added technological improvements mean that the majority of cellular phone users are on their 2nd or 3rd generation hand set.
Environmental Concerns
What many don't realize is that in many cases, the materials used to construct cell phones are toxic. Toxic elements found in many of today's cell phones can include arsenic, in semi-conductors and lead in the solder material. While the materials in a single phone are minimal consider the number of discarded cell phones in the relatively short time the technology has been available. The placement of these devices in landfills will cause long lasting damage and harm to the environment.
Recycling aged wireless equipment is a sensible alternative. Valuable materials can be recovered from used wireless devices in a number of different ways. In some cases, certain components may be separated by manual or simple mechanical means. The components can often be reused or melted down for alternative uses.
Cell Phone Disposal - What Options Exist?
Cell Phone Disposal - What Options Exist? The cell phone industry, understanding concerns related to the disposal of cell phones and PDAs have created alternatives to both refurbish and recycle the materials in older style cellular phones.
Wireless Recycling - http://www.wirelessrecycling.com - ReCellular Inc. is the largest recycler and reseller of used wireless phones and accessories in the wireless industry. A pioneer in charitable recycling arrangements, ReCellular has well-established partnerships with Easter Seals, the March of Dimes, and National Organization on Disability, Goodwill Industries, and The Body Shop. In addition, over 2,000 grassroots organizations from Boy Scout troops to religious organizations around the country work to collect wireless phones to support their philanthropic efforts. Charities can raise funds by increasing community awareness and acting as a wireless collection center.
Wireless Foundation - http://www.wirelessfoundation.org/DonateaPhone/index.cfm - Wireless Foundation refurbishes and provides cell phones to victims of domestic violence so that they can be used in the event of an emergency. The Call To Protect campaign also collects wireless phones to benefit victims of domestic violence. Proceeds from the sale of phones help fund agencies that fight domestic violence and are used to support educational efforts of the Wireless Foundation. Other phones are refurbished and become lifelines for domestic violence victims when faced with an emergency situation.
Recycle Wireless Phones - http://www.recyclewirelessphones.com - Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA*) and its member companies are committed to the goal of sustainable development and the environmentally sound management of their wireless products at end-of-life. Through its Wireless . . . The New Recyclable program, CTIA is educating the public on the options available for properly recycling used wireless devices. The program seeks to promote the collection of used wireless devices and ensure that collected wireless products will be managed properly. The site provides a directory of collection options.
AT&T Wireless - http://www.attwireless.com/our_company/cares/recycle_program.jhtml - Through the AT&T Wireless Reuse & Recycle program, consumers are invited to bring unwanted wireless phones, accessories and batteries (regardless of the manufacturer or carrier) to an AT&T Wireless retail store for recycling. AT&T Wireless is the first wireless carrier to partner with Keep America Beautiful, a nationally recognized nonprofit organization that focuses on waste impact minimization, litter prevention, beautification, community improvement and improvement of public places. Proceeds from the recycling of wireless phones, batteries and accessories are donated to Keep America Beautiful.
Call2Recycle - http://www.call2recycle.org/ - RBRC’s Call2Recycle™ program collects used cellular phones to benefit the environment and charitable organizations. With the help of consumers and 30,000 participating retail locations, RBRC's do their part in helping to keep cell phones out of the landfills.
HopeLine - http://www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline - The HopeLine phone recycling program is an exclusive program that uses wireless services and equipment to assist victims in emergency domestic violence situations. HopeLine collects wireless phones that are no longer being used. The used phones are either refurbished and recycled or sold. With the funds raised from the sale of the refurbished phones, Verizon Wireless purchases wireless phones and donates airtime to victims of domestic violence through human services and law enforcement agencies.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Rogue Dialers - The Net's Latest Scamola!
If recent news stories concerning worms, trojans and security exploits within Microsoft's Internet Explorer, left you feeling vulnerable, this will leave you terrified. PC's the world over are already being hit by a new breed of trojan type software called Rogue Dialers. More malevolent than most ordinary spyware, Rogue Dialers actually hijack the computer's modem and then uses it to dial-up a premium rate telephone number, racking up huge telephone charges. Many Dialers operate whilst the victim is actively surfing the Net by dropping the current connection and then performing an automatic reconnection via a premium rate number. Most scary of all are the Dialers which connect themselves to a premium rate number while the victim is away from their machine, achieving this by detecting long periods of inactivity.
Most "infections" of Rogue Dialers are contracted by the "drive-by download" method, where-by the dialer software is automatically downloaded from a webpage without the victim ever being aware. This method of installing software onto a users PC was pioneered by the online adult services industry as a way of putting spy and adware programs onto a customers PC without them knowing. Originally confined to adult websites, drive-by downloads of spyware used to be known as the Electronic Pox; a risk the end-user took when visiting adult websites. Of course, just like the first pop-up box, also developed by the adult industry, the rest of the Internet was soon to follow. Thanks to a glaringly obvious design flaw in Microsoft's Outlook Express, which allows emails, including those containing HTML and embedded malevolent code, to be previewed without any warning, Rogue Dialers can be placed onto a victims PC without them ever going near a website. Rogue Dialers are just the next generation of electronic misery which can be inflicted upon the end-user. Unfortunately for any victims, Rogue Dialers hit the pocket and they hit it hard!
In America, one victim of a Rogue Dialer scam racked up some $500 in charges after their modem was hijacked and a premium rate number was contacted on just six occasions. In the UK too, numerous victims have reported huge telephone charges, with some in excess of £1500 ($2800).
The consumer website, Bad Business Bureau has received over 1300 complaints from victims of this latest scam and, while this whole matter is being investigated by Federal Trade Commission in the States and by the Office of Fair Trading in the UK, scammers are already responding with new software which dials numbers in countries where trade controls are lacking.
A further blow has recently been delivered to UK based victims with announcements from the leading telecoms providers, BT and NTL that they are "not responsible" for calls which have been made fraudulently and that customers will not be exempted from any charges incurred.
Protecting Yourself & Your Wallet
Firewalls and and anti-virus software WILL NOT provide protection against Rogue Dialer infections. The "drive-by download" method of introducing a Rogue Dialer onto a PC normally involves an ActiveX script and users advised, at the very least, to set their browser settings to either disable ActiveX or warn of its existence. For a more professional approach to protecting your modem, StopItNow, an Australian based software company has released a specific Rogue Dialer killer which retails for just $16.95.
To avoid having a Rogue Dialer dumped onto their computer via the preview pane of Outlook Express, users may want to consider an alternative email client such as the freeware program, Eudora.
Most "infections" of Rogue Dialers are contracted by the "drive-by download" method, where-by the dialer software is automatically downloaded from a webpage without the victim ever being aware. This method of installing software onto a users PC was pioneered by the online adult services industry as a way of putting spy and adware programs onto a customers PC without them knowing. Originally confined to adult websites, drive-by downloads of spyware used to be known as the Electronic Pox; a risk the end-user took when visiting adult websites. Of course, just like the first pop-up box, also developed by the adult industry, the rest of the Internet was soon to follow. Thanks to a glaringly obvious design flaw in Microsoft's Outlook Express, which allows emails, including those containing HTML and embedded malevolent code, to be previewed without any warning, Rogue Dialers can be placed onto a victims PC without them ever going near a website. Rogue Dialers are just the next generation of electronic misery which can be inflicted upon the end-user. Unfortunately for any victims, Rogue Dialers hit the pocket and they hit it hard!
In America, one victim of a Rogue Dialer scam racked up some $500 in charges after their modem was hijacked and a premium rate number was contacted on just six occasions. In the UK too, numerous victims have reported huge telephone charges, with some in excess of £1500 ($2800).
The consumer website, Bad Business Bureau has received over 1300 complaints from victims of this latest scam and, while this whole matter is being investigated by Federal Trade Commission in the States and by the Office of Fair Trading in the UK, scammers are already responding with new software which dials numbers in countries where trade controls are lacking.
A further blow has recently been delivered to UK based victims with announcements from the leading telecoms providers, BT and NTL that they are "not responsible" for calls which have been made fraudulently and that customers will not be exempted from any charges incurred.
Protecting Yourself & Your Wallet
Firewalls and and anti-virus software WILL NOT provide protection against Rogue Dialer infections. The "drive-by download" method of introducing a Rogue Dialer onto a PC normally involves an ActiveX script and users advised, at the very least, to set their browser settings to either disable ActiveX or warn of its existence. For a more professional approach to protecting your modem, StopItNow, an Australian based software company has released a specific Rogue Dialer killer which retails for just $16.95.
To avoid having a Rogue Dialer dumped onto their computer via the preview pane of Outlook Express, users may want to consider an alternative email client such as the freeware program, Eudora.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Microsoft's New Search Engine
I tried out Microsoft's new search engine (beta version) the other day. They have been working on it quite secretly now for almost a year. It has been rumored to be a Google killer once in full public release. They say its accuracy and ability to return relevant results will far surpass any other search engine on the Internet. That remains to be seen. I tried various combinations of single, double, and triple word/phrased searches to inspect the results.
To the casual observer I suppose a certain percentage of the results would seem to be accurate, but upon closer inspection and with a trained eye, the results for the most part ranged from poor to outright terrible.
I then attempted a series of searches on the same combination of words. "custom designed screen printed t-shirts" I was attempting to determine how much the results and rankings changed (or did not change) within the same set of query words. I searched with a variety of spellings on a particular keyword In this case, I selected the word "T shirts" then t-shirts (with a dash) and finally "tshirts" (no dash, all one word)
One web site had very consistent results across all three spelling methods. This intrigued me so I clicked on the link to analyze the site. i.e. Why was this one so well optimized or more specifically why did this new Microsoft beta search engine find this web site so tasty.
The site was completely broken. None of the graphics loaded properly. (in Internet Explorer) It was devoid of any contextual content on the home page and scarcely little throughout the rest of the pages. Some scrolling Java script overlapped the button for a drop down menu. No outside links. Nothing. Excuse the pun but this was not a pretty site. How then could Microsoft possibly rank this site one, two and three for completely different keyword phrasings and spellings on a soon to be major release for a search engine?
The answer revealed itself as soon as I took a look at the web site's HTML source code.
Guess what folks, meta tags are back! At least as far as the Beta version of Microsoft's new search engine is concerned, especially the keyword Meta Tag. Above all, this tag seemed to account for the heaviest weight in determining the aforementioned rankings. I will err on the side of caution here and assume that Microsoft has not finalized all their algorithm parameters yet, but the keyword tag was definitely what their spider had been eating.
The problem However, (beside the horrible site) was that this particular keyword tag, by all SEO standards, was an abomination! Nearly every rule and guideline we've come to know and love ALL thrown out the window! It looked like a tag from 1995. Multiple repetition. Too many characters, way too many words, broken lines, poorly weighted keywords, bad spacing, and completely useless keywords. What's a "rinsger" anyway?
Have a look for yourself. Here it is. (Without formatting changes)
KEYWORDS CONTENT="tshirts, tees, tee shirts, tee-shirts, printed t-shirts, blank t-shirts, eshirts, ishirts, short sleeves, sweatshirts, long sleeve, v-necks, tank tops, jerseys, screenprintings, screen-printings, custom t-shirts, custom designs, custom printing, custom embroidery, michigan, fraternitys, sororitys, sportswear, artwork, typesetting, imprints, engraves, emboss, stamps, pocket tís, ts, rinsger tiís, ringers, ladieís tís, designs,
designing, apparel, clothing, clothes, screens, printers, silkscree embroidery, embroidered, customs, fraternities, sororities, golf, towels, logos, promotional, fundraisers, personalized,
company, tailgates, formals, footballs, blocks, carnivals, circus, pledges, bid
day, rush, halloween, christmas, easter, thanksgiving, halloween t-shirts,
christmas t-shirts, easter t-shirts, thanksgiving t-shirts, floors, dormitory, churches, clubs, sports, sport teams, choirs, schools, businesses, fundraisers, intramural, hanes, jerseys, fruit of the looms, universities, michigan state university, MSU, msu, university of michigan, U of M, UofM, u of m, eastern
michigan university, EMU, emu, western michigan university, WMU, wmu, central
michigan university, CMU, cmu, colleges, universitys, universities, shrits,
tshrits, t-shrits, desings, te-shirts, teshirts, sirts, shits, shitts, custums,
screan"
Yup, pretty darn ugly, but the Microsoft Beta search engine seems to be eating it up. Granted this engine is still in beta version but let's review. Broken, useless site. Broken useless tags. Number one ranking! What's wrong with this picture?
Most search engine users will try a new search engine only a few times. When they do not get the search result accuracy and relevance they expect, they will soon dismiss it and move along. Beta version or no beta version, one thing is for certain. The Microsoft coders have plenty of additional work to do before releasing this search engine to the general public. Google coders, take the weekend off.
To the casual observer I suppose a certain percentage of the results would seem to be accurate, but upon closer inspection and with a trained eye, the results for the most part ranged from poor to outright terrible.
I then attempted a series of searches on the same combination of words. "custom designed screen printed t-shirts" I was attempting to determine how much the results and rankings changed (or did not change) within the same set of query words. I searched with a variety of spellings on a particular keyword In this case, I selected the word "T shirts" then t-shirts (with a dash) and finally "tshirts" (no dash, all one word)
One web site had very consistent results across all three spelling methods. This intrigued me so I clicked on the link to analyze the site. i.e. Why was this one so well optimized or more specifically why did this new Microsoft beta search engine find this web site so tasty.
The site was completely broken. None of the graphics loaded properly. (in Internet Explorer) It was devoid of any contextual content on the home page and scarcely little throughout the rest of the pages. Some scrolling Java script overlapped the button for a drop down menu. No outside links. Nothing. Excuse the pun but this was not a pretty site. How then could Microsoft possibly rank this site one, two and three for completely different keyword phrasings and spellings on a soon to be major release for a search engine?
The answer revealed itself as soon as I took a look at the web site's HTML source code.
Guess what folks, meta tags are back! At least as far as the Beta version of Microsoft's new search engine is concerned, especially the keyword Meta Tag. Above all, this tag seemed to account for the heaviest weight in determining the aforementioned rankings. I will err on the side of caution here and assume that Microsoft has not finalized all their algorithm parameters yet, but the keyword tag was definitely what their spider had been eating.
The problem However, (beside the horrible site) was that this particular keyword tag, by all SEO standards, was an abomination! Nearly every rule and guideline we've come to know and love ALL thrown out the window! It looked like a tag from 1995. Multiple repetition. Too many characters, way too many words, broken lines, poorly weighted keywords, bad spacing, and completely useless keywords. What's a "rinsger" anyway?
Have a look for yourself. Here it is. (Without formatting changes)
KEYWORDS CONTENT="tshirts, tees, tee shirts, tee-shirts, printed t-shirts, blank t-shirts, eshirts, ishirts, short sleeves, sweatshirts, long sleeve, v-necks, tank tops, jerseys, screenprintings, screen-printings, custom t-shirts, custom designs, custom printing, custom embroidery, michigan, fraternitys, sororitys, sportswear, artwork, typesetting, imprints, engraves, emboss, stamps, pocket tís, ts, rinsger tiís, ringers, ladieís tís, designs,
designing, apparel, clothing, clothes, screens, printers, silkscree embroidery, embroidered, customs, fraternities, sororities, golf, towels, logos, promotional, fundraisers, personalized,
company, tailgates, formals, footballs, blocks, carnivals, circus, pledges, bid
day, rush, halloween, christmas, easter, thanksgiving, halloween t-shirts,
christmas t-shirts, easter t-shirts, thanksgiving t-shirts, floors, dormitory, churches, clubs, sports, sport teams, choirs, schools, businesses, fundraisers, intramural, hanes, jerseys, fruit of the looms, universities, michigan state university, MSU, msu, university of michigan, U of M, UofM, u of m, eastern
michigan university, EMU, emu, western michigan university, WMU, wmu, central
michigan university, CMU, cmu, colleges, universitys, universities, shrits,
tshrits, t-shrits, desings, te-shirts, teshirts, sirts, shits, shitts, custums,
screan"
Yup, pretty darn ugly, but the Microsoft Beta search engine seems to be eating it up. Granted this engine is still in beta version but let's review. Broken, useless site. Broken useless tags. Number one ranking! What's wrong with this picture?
Most search engine users will try a new search engine only a few times. When they do not get the search result accuracy and relevance they expect, they will soon dismiss it and move along. Beta version or no beta version, one thing is for certain. The Microsoft coders have plenty of additional work to do before releasing this search engine to the general public. Google coders, take the weekend off.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
We Know Why You Haven’t Decided Yet To Purchase A Security Product
With the growth of information technologies, people own a lot of professional or personal information, which has both a financial and emotional value. As people get vulnerable to numerous security threats, they become more and more aware of the ways they could overcome their vulnerability. And this security concern is common to all people, especially when it comes to lose something they possess. This is why the security products, available on the IT security market, are more and more commonly expanded in Europe and USA.
Among many people who rely on different kinds of digital assets in their businesses and private life, there are some whose main concern is how to protect them. There are also people who think that it is too far for them to make a decision on purchasing existing security products, because they do not have any special knowledge in security. Here we would like to come up with the data, which would help you to get a start in considering the ways you could protect your information.
At first look, it seems that the security products market is so sophisticated, that without any professional knowledge it is not possible to understand what kind of products you need. You may think that it is so much complicated to be able to analyze what solutions exist, what for they may be used and which one is right for you to purchase.
These questions and the solutions to them may seem vague to people with excellence in other areas, but with no knowledge in the IT security. By giving the answers to these and other related questions, we will help you define your needs and decide which data protection and access control solutions will best suit your needs.
1. What is the security software for and how can it help people?
While the security products industry is largely expanding in the world, there are more and more areas where it can be used. The Dekart Company has committed itself to developing solutions that can be easily deployed and used by people.
Most of the digital assets, available on the market, are designed with the option for the security hardware installation. The PCs and many mobile devices that can be connected to PCs (like mobile phones) and that may have an increased need for security, are technically available now to be protected .
From another point of view, there are products, which can be of real help in protecting important data (like hard disk encryption and file encryption software, brought to you by Dekart). These products can protect any type of data for any kind of people, who are interested in protection of their business information, scientific researches, as well as personal information. This type of protection ensures that no data will be accessed and viewed by unauthorized malicious users, even if your computer is lost or stolen or if there are many people who can access it.
The security products have another large area of usage. When there is the need to control access to the office computers, Dekart offers its smart card and biometric authentication solutions. The state-of-the-art biometric identification improves the security of login procedures, thus ensuring that no third party will access critically important information.
Users now can also protect and encrypt their email correspondence using Dekart digital certification service in combination with the smart card and biometric authentication.
There are different hardware devices used to provide two- and three-factor authentication to secure access to the information. Dekart offers the flexibility to choose between different vendors’ smart cards, tokens, biometric devices and even USB flash drives to satisfy users’ security needs.
The types of the Hardware Keys (USB tokens and Smart cards)
Dekart Software uses the following types of Hardware Keys to generate secret cryptographic keys and store users’ private data:
1. USB (universal serial bus) tokens are smaller token-style cards that plug directly into the USB port of a computer. The USB-compatible ports are being built into many PCs (i.e., desktops and laptops) and many mobile devices that connect with PCs (i.e., PDAs and mobile phones), as this is the simplest type of reader to connect
2. Smart cards are conventional credit card–shaped contact cards
The Smart Card device contains the cryptographic chip. The use of credit-card size Smart Cards has successfully been adopted by a number of European companies, with a particularly high level of acceptance in Germany and France. However, high hardware deployment costs and the lack of application standards associated with Smart Cards have proved to be significant barriers to their widespread use, especially in the US.
USB Token solution is different from traditional smart card solutions in that it does not require a reader infrastructure, helping to make it less expensive for organizations to deploy and easier for users to adopt.
Dekart has developed the following utilities for managing and deploying the smart cards or tokens used with Dekart applications:
1. Dekart Key Manager Utility can help determining the memory usage of the card, performing backups and duplicating the data stored on the hardware keys.
2. Key Formatting utility or Corporate Key formatting utility allows formatting the smart cards or tokens to be used with Dekart software.
What to consider before purchasing a smart card or USB token?
1. Define all of your anticipated present and future card usage requirements
2. Define the memory requirements for each certificate or application. Here is a sample of Smart Card memory usage:
* Free space – 5K
* Your custom application -1,5 K
* Smart Card logon certificate -2,5 K
* Smart card vendor applications - 8K
* Windows for Smart Cards Operating system -15K
3. Making a decision on which present and future applications are required. It is important to preview the future applications needed, as it is important to leave an extra storage space on the chip.
4. Test smart cards and smart card readers to verify compatibility before deploying them in your production environment.
In conclusion, there are few things important to understand:
1. It is important to remember that there are different types of hardware and software available for them.
2. It is suggested to understand specific needs of the buyer and the variety of existing products in order to make the best purchasing decision.
For more information about the products designed to protect your confidential information, please, visit www.dekart.com
Among many people who rely on different kinds of digital assets in their businesses and private life, there are some whose main concern is how to protect them. There are also people who think that it is too far for them to make a decision on purchasing existing security products, because they do not have any special knowledge in security. Here we would like to come up with the data, which would help you to get a start in considering the ways you could protect your information.
At first look, it seems that the security products market is so sophisticated, that without any professional knowledge it is not possible to understand what kind of products you need. You may think that it is so much complicated to be able to analyze what solutions exist, what for they may be used and which one is right for you to purchase.
These questions and the solutions to them may seem vague to people with excellence in other areas, but with no knowledge in the IT security. By giving the answers to these and other related questions, we will help you define your needs and decide which data protection and access control solutions will best suit your needs.
1. What is the security software for and how can it help people?
While the security products industry is largely expanding in the world, there are more and more areas where it can be used. The Dekart Company has committed itself to developing solutions that can be easily deployed and used by people.
Most of the digital assets, available on the market, are designed with the option for the security hardware installation. The PCs and many mobile devices that can be connected to PCs (like mobile phones) and that may have an increased need for security, are technically available now to be protected .
From another point of view, there are products, which can be of real help in protecting important data (like hard disk encryption and file encryption software, brought to you by Dekart). These products can protect any type of data for any kind of people, who are interested in protection of their business information, scientific researches, as well as personal information. This type of protection ensures that no data will be accessed and viewed by unauthorized malicious users, even if your computer is lost or stolen or if there are many people who can access it.
The security products have another large area of usage. When there is the need to control access to the office computers, Dekart offers its smart card and biometric authentication solutions. The state-of-the-art biometric identification improves the security of login procedures, thus ensuring that no third party will access critically important information.
Users now can also protect and encrypt their email correspondence using Dekart digital certification service in combination with the smart card and biometric authentication.
There are different hardware devices used to provide two- and three-factor authentication to secure access to the information. Dekart offers the flexibility to choose between different vendors’ smart cards, tokens, biometric devices and even USB flash drives to satisfy users’ security needs.
The types of the Hardware Keys (USB tokens and Smart cards)
Dekart Software uses the following types of Hardware Keys to generate secret cryptographic keys and store users’ private data:
1. USB (universal serial bus) tokens are smaller token-style cards that plug directly into the USB port of a computer. The USB-compatible ports are being built into many PCs (i.e., desktops and laptops) and many mobile devices that connect with PCs (i.e., PDAs and mobile phones), as this is the simplest type of reader to connect
2. Smart cards are conventional credit card–shaped contact cards
The Smart Card device contains the cryptographic chip. The use of credit-card size Smart Cards has successfully been adopted by a number of European companies, with a particularly high level of acceptance in Germany and France. However, high hardware deployment costs and the lack of application standards associated with Smart Cards have proved to be significant barriers to their widespread use, especially in the US.
USB Token solution is different from traditional smart card solutions in that it does not require a reader infrastructure, helping to make it less expensive for organizations to deploy and easier for users to adopt.
Dekart has developed the following utilities for managing and deploying the smart cards or tokens used with Dekart applications:
1. Dekart Key Manager Utility can help determining the memory usage of the card, performing backups and duplicating the data stored on the hardware keys.
2. Key Formatting utility or Corporate Key formatting utility allows formatting the smart cards or tokens to be used with Dekart software.
What to consider before purchasing a smart card or USB token?
1. Define all of your anticipated present and future card usage requirements
2. Define the memory requirements for each certificate or application. Here is a sample of Smart Card memory usage:
* Free space – 5K
* Your custom application -1,5 K
* Smart Card logon certificate -2,5 K
* Smart card vendor applications - 8K
* Windows for Smart Cards Operating system -15K
3. Making a decision on which present and future applications are required. It is important to preview the future applications needed, as it is important to leave an extra storage space on the chip.
4. Test smart cards and smart card readers to verify compatibility before deploying them in your production environment.
In conclusion, there are few things important to understand:
1. It is important to remember that there are different types of hardware and software available for them.
2. It is suggested to understand specific needs of the buyer and the variety of existing products in order to make the best purchasing decision.
For more information about the products designed to protect your confidential information, please, visit www.dekart.com
Monday, December 10, 2007
Does Microsoft Show Hackers How To Attack?
After another security hole recently surfaced in Microsoft's Windows operating system, the software giant released a patch this past Friday to plug the possibly devastating "back door" which allows hackers to potentially seize control of any pc running Windows.
The latest threat, "Download.Ject," infiltrates computers after users surfing with Microsoft's "Internet Explorer" web browser visit websites infected with the virus.
This newest security patch covers Windows XP, 2000, and Windows Server 2003.
Several factors make this latest development more disturbing than past discoveries of security problems with Internet Explorer, currently the most dominant web browser on the market.
First, it demonstrates very clearly that criminals discovered they can use the power of viruses to very profitably steal important bank, personal, and credit data from people on a large scale.
Second, it took Microsoft what many would consider a very long time to come up with a patch for this problem.
Before a fix appeared, Microsoft told everyone who uses Internet Explorer to stick their finger in the dyke by putting their web browser security settings on high, rendering it impossible to view or use features on many websites and web-based services.
Third, expect this to happen again as new holes open in the future when Microsoft makes Windows more complicated, adds layers of code, and generally makes the operating system more complex.
This may sound like business as usual, however, I think this story actually points to a much deeper problem, one for which I'm not sure a simple solution exists.
Though free and reasonably reliable, many people do not automatically update their Windows operating system through the update service on Microsoft's website. (I won't even get into how many people don't operate up-to-date anti-virus protection.)
Whenever Microsoft publishes a security update, especially for a highly publicized and obviously widespread security breach, thousands of people will not immediately download the update.
In fact, tens-of-thousands of users will not download these security updates for days, weeks, even months (if ever).
So let me ask what seems like a very elementary question: By publishing security updates that point out very obvious flaws in their system, doesn't Microsoft also point the way to exactly where the holes exist?
Let me put it another way.
Doesn't this rate the same as discovering that the local bank vault won't lock and then announcing the details on the front page of the paper along with the dates and times no bank guard will be on duty?
After all, if tens-of-thousands of users won't immediately get the Microsoft Security Patch, don't those patches show hackers exactly which holes get plugged (and which, logically, must already be open without the patch)?
It doesn't take a hacker with more than a basic set of skills to recognize where and what holes got fixed and then reverse-engineer how they can get into computers that don't get updated.
Now, do I have a concrete, 100% bullet-proof answer to this problem? Unfortunately, I don't have more than a common- sense answer...
At this point, your best defense rates staying current on the latest threats and how to defend against them.
Keep your anti-virus software current, your firewall up, and your Windows software updated with the latest security patches.
Though not a perfect solution, at least you'll have a fighting chance to prevent, or at least minimize, any possible threats.
The latest threat, "Download.Ject," infiltrates computers after users surfing with Microsoft's "Internet Explorer" web browser visit websites infected with the virus.
This newest security patch covers Windows XP, 2000, and Windows Server 2003.
Several factors make this latest development more disturbing than past discoveries of security problems with Internet Explorer, currently the most dominant web browser on the market.
First, it demonstrates very clearly that criminals discovered they can use the power of viruses to very profitably steal important bank, personal, and credit data from people on a large scale.
Second, it took Microsoft what many would consider a very long time to come up with a patch for this problem.
Before a fix appeared, Microsoft told everyone who uses Internet Explorer to stick their finger in the dyke by putting their web browser security settings on high, rendering it impossible to view or use features on many websites and web-based services.
Third, expect this to happen again as new holes open in the future when Microsoft makes Windows more complicated, adds layers of code, and generally makes the operating system more complex.
This may sound like business as usual, however, I think this story actually points to a much deeper problem, one for which I'm not sure a simple solution exists.
Though free and reasonably reliable, many people do not automatically update their Windows operating system through the update service on Microsoft's website. (I won't even get into how many people don't operate up-to-date anti-virus protection.)
Whenever Microsoft publishes a security update, especially for a highly publicized and obviously widespread security breach, thousands of people will not immediately download the update.
In fact, tens-of-thousands of users will not download these security updates for days, weeks, even months (if ever).
So let me ask what seems like a very elementary question: By publishing security updates that point out very obvious flaws in their system, doesn't Microsoft also point the way to exactly where the holes exist?
Let me put it another way.
Doesn't this rate the same as discovering that the local bank vault won't lock and then announcing the details on the front page of the paper along with the dates and times no bank guard will be on duty?
After all, if tens-of-thousands of users won't immediately get the Microsoft Security Patch, don't those patches show hackers exactly which holes get plugged (and which, logically, must already be open without the patch)?
It doesn't take a hacker with more than a basic set of skills to recognize where and what holes got fixed and then reverse-engineer how they can get into computers that don't get updated.
Now, do I have a concrete, 100% bullet-proof answer to this problem? Unfortunately, I don't have more than a common- sense answer...
At this point, your best defense rates staying current on the latest threats and how to defend against them.
Keep your anti-virus software current, your firewall up, and your Windows software updated with the latest security patches.
Though not a perfect solution, at least you'll have a fighting chance to prevent, or at least minimize, any possible threats.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
How to Clean your Keyboard-Part 2
When it comes to cleaning your keyboard there are many methods that can be used, some harder and more effective than others.
The easiest method is the Shake Method. It is so easy that you can do it right now. Pick up your keyboard, turn it over being careful not to press any keys, and shake it. See all of that stuff fall out? It is dirtier than you thought, isn't it? You can use one of the following methods to clean it further.
The Blow Method - You can buy cans of pressurized air at the computer department or computer store which are made especially for cleaning your computer. They usually have either a hose and nozzle or a tube extending from the nozzle. Hold the keyboard up vertically (that means that end of the keyboard is up and the other end is down), aim towards the keys and press the button. Keep blowing until all of the debris is blown out. Be sure to get around and in between all of the keys. This can be done with the computer on, but it is better if it is off so that you do not have to worry about pressing the keys and coming up with a page of aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa's.
The Vacuum Method - This is just like the Blow Method except that a vacuum is used instead of a can of pressurized air. It is quite simple. Just turn the vacuum on, pull out the hose, and run the nozzle over the keys. Before doing this make sure your keyboard does not have any loose pop off keys that could be sucked into the vacuum.
The Cotton Ball Method - This can be done in addition to the above methods and in lieu of the following methods. Take a cotton ball or cloth and wet it with rubbing alcohol. It should not be so wet that the alcohol runs down into the cracks of the keyboard. Wipe the tops and sides of the keys.
The Dishwasher Method - I hesitate to tell about this method because there is the possibility that it could fry your keyboard. When I had less experience with computers, I dunked my keyboard in a sink full of water to clean it. It did work afterwards, so I don't doubt those who say this method will not mess up your keyboard, but if it does, don't complain to me. I warned you. If your keyboard is not the standard membrane type of keyboard or if it is on a laptop, do not even think of trying this.
This is how you do it. Unplug the keyboard and place it face down in an empty dishwasher. Do not disassemble the keyboard and do not put it in a dishwasher that has dirty dishes in it. Some say to add soap, some say not to. Run the dishwasher through a regular cycle. Take the keyboard out, shake the water out, and stand it on end until it is completely dry (this may take several days). If it does not work after doing this, it may not be dry. Let it stand another week and try it again. If it still does not work, I warned you.
The Disassembly Method - This is the most thorough method, but it should not be done on laptop keyboards or non-standard non-membrane keyboards.
Turn off the computer and unplug the keyboard. Turn the keyboard upside down. You may want to get two books or short boards to place the keyboard on. Position them so that they hold up the keyboard on the edges when it is turned over. This should leave the keys dangling and not touching the books or the floor. This is especially needed when the keyboard's back is off; otherwise the keys will be lifted out of their position by the floor (or whatever surface it is laying on).
Get a screwdriver and remove all of the screws from the back of the keyboard. Lay the keyboard down on the books and carefully remove the back.
Take everything apart and clean thoroughly. It is better to take the keys out one at a time and clean them so that you do not put them back in the wrong place. Wipe each one down with a wet cloth and then with a dry cloth. Any keys that may be hard to put back in, can be cleaned in place without removing them. Wipe around the keys as they sit in place and blow any debris out with your lungs (using compressed air or a vacuum may upset the keys). If you are really brave, you can remove all of the keys at once and give the frame a good wipe down too.
Do a once over and make sure that you have cleaned everything. Then reassemble it all.
Don't forget the keyboard's cable. Wrap a wet cloth around it and wipe it down. It may have an accumulation of grime that needs to be scrubbed off. Also if any of the letters on the keys have rubbed off, you can use a fine point permanent marker to draw the letter back on the key.
Use these cleaning methods and your keyboard will last a long time and be something you can be proud of.
The easiest method is the Shake Method. It is so easy that you can do it right now. Pick up your keyboard, turn it over being careful not to press any keys, and shake it. See all of that stuff fall out? It is dirtier than you thought, isn't it? You can use one of the following methods to clean it further.
The Blow Method - You can buy cans of pressurized air at the computer department or computer store which are made especially for cleaning your computer. They usually have either a hose and nozzle or a tube extending from the nozzle. Hold the keyboard up vertically (that means that end of the keyboard is up and the other end is down), aim towards the keys and press the button. Keep blowing until all of the debris is blown out. Be sure to get around and in between all of the keys. This can be done with the computer on, but it is better if it is off so that you do not have to worry about pressing the keys and coming up with a page of aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa's.
The Vacuum Method - This is just like the Blow Method except that a vacuum is used instead of a can of pressurized air. It is quite simple. Just turn the vacuum on, pull out the hose, and run the nozzle over the keys. Before doing this make sure your keyboard does not have any loose pop off keys that could be sucked into the vacuum.
The Cotton Ball Method - This can be done in addition to the above methods and in lieu of the following methods. Take a cotton ball or cloth and wet it with rubbing alcohol. It should not be so wet that the alcohol runs down into the cracks of the keyboard. Wipe the tops and sides of the keys.
The Dishwasher Method - I hesitate to tell about this method because there is the possibility that it could fry your keyboard. When I had less experience with computers, I dunked my keyboard in a sink full of water to clean it. It did work afterwards, so I don't doubt those who say this method will not mess up your keyboard, but if it does, don't complain to me. I warned you. If your keyboard is not the standard membrane type of keyboard or if it is on a laptop, do not even think of trying this.
This is how you do it. Unplug the keyboard and place it face down in an empty dishwasher. Do not disassemble the keyboard and do not put it in a dishwasher that has dirty dishes in it. Some say to add soap, some say not to. Run the dishwasher through a regular cycle. Take the keyboard out, shake the water out, and stand it on end until it is completely dry (this may take several days). If it does not work after doing this, it may not be dry. Let it stand another week and try it again. If it still does not work, I warned you.
The Disassembly Method - This is the most thorough method, but it should not be done on laptop keyboards or non-standard non-membrane keyboards.
Turn off the computer and unplug the keyboard. Turn the keyboard upside down. You may want to get two books or short boards to place the keyboard on. Position them so that they hold up the keyboard on the edges when it is turned over. This should leave the keys dangling and not touching the books or the floor. This is especially needed when the keyboard's back is off; otherwise the keys will be lifted out of their position by the floor (or whatever surface it is laying on).
Get a screwdriver and remove all of the screws from the back of the keyboard. Lay the keyboard down on the books and carefully remove the back.
Take everything apart and clean thoroughly. It is better to take the keys out one at a time and clean them so that you do not put them back in the wrong place. Wipe each one down with a wet cloth and then with a dry cloth. Any keys that may be hard to put back in, can be cleaned in place without removing them. Wipe around the keys as they sit in place and blow any debris out with your lungs (using compressed air or a vacuum may upset the keys). If you are really brave, you can remove all of the keys at once and give the frame a good wipe down too.
Do a once over and make sure that you have cleaned everything. Then reassemble it all.
Don't forget the keyboard's cable. Wrap a wet cloth around it and wipe it down. It may have an accumulation of grime that needs to be scrubbed off. Also if any of the letters on the keys have rubbed off, you can use a fine point permanent marker to draw the letter back on the key.
Use these cleaning methods and your keyboard will last a long time and be something you can be proud of.
Friday, December 7, 2007
The Super Duper Problem Fixer
One of our customers pointed out a new program to me and wanted me to check it out. This program called itself a bug fixer. It was a sharp looking program and claimed to fix bugs on the user's computer that he didn't even know existed.
It sounded like a super duper problem solver until I downloaded it and took a closer look. Being a programmer I quickly saw behind its smoke and mirrors. It actually only performed six of the over 1000 cleaning processes which our A1Click Ultra PC Cleaner and RegVac Registry Cleaner do.
Even though it did little compared to our programs, it found 504 problems. How can that be? My computer was clean. The program did not show any details about the results but wanted $30 before it would clean them. I'll never know for sure about those results, but I suspect that they were fabricated and that the true number of problems was 0.
There are many shady developers out there that just want to make a quick buck. I doubt this bug fixer program will even be around in a year.
This provides a good lesson to anyone. Be sure to purchase software from a trusted developer and don't buy a program just because it looks nice.
We have been in the software business since 1996 and are continually improving our programs. You will not hear hype and lies from us. Our programs may not look that good on the surface, but under the hood they are super. When you purchase our programs, all future updates are free.
If you haven't tried RegVac Registry Cleaner and A1Click Ultra PC Cleaner, try them today.
It sounded like a super duper problem solver until I downloaded it and took a closer look. Being a programmer I quickly saw behind its smoke and mirrors. It actually only performed six of the over 1000 cleaning processes which our A1Click Ultra PC Cleaner and RegVac Registry Cleaner do.
Even though it did little compared to our programs, it found 504 problems. How can that be? My computer was clean. The program did not show any details about the results but wanted $30 before it would clean them. I'll never know for sure about those results, but I suspect that they were fabricated and that the true number of problems was 0.
There are many shady developers out there that just want to make a quick buck. I doubt this bug fixer program will even be around in a year.
This provides a good lesson to anyone. Be sure to purchase software from a trusted developer and don't buy a program just because it looks nice.
We have been in the software business since 1996 and are continually improving our programs. You will not hear hype and lies from us. Our programs may not look that good on the surface, but under the hood they are super. When you purchase our programs, all future updates are free.
If you haven't tried RegVac Registry Cleaner and A1Click Ultra PC Cleaner, try them today.
Remote Blog or Self Hosted Blog?
So you’ve decided to blog, but aren’t sure whether you should host the blog yourself or sign up for a free service like blogger.com. It’s a dilemma that many bloggers face. There are pros and cons to both, which makes the decision difficult for many. Neither is perfect, and neither is for everyone. Fortunately, you should be able to make the best decision for you if you are armed with adequate knowledge of both. In this newsletter, we’ll go over services like blogger.com and others, plus software that allows you to host your own blog. We’ll also go over the pros and cons of each. After reading this, you will know which is best for you.
Who offers free blog hosting?
Many sites offer free blog hosting. Among them are Forumer, Blogger, BlogEasy, Aeonity, BlogThing and Blogates. A quick search for “free blog” on Google reveals many possibilities.
What software can I use to host my own blog?
Like free blog hosting, there are many possibilities for software that makes hosting your own blog easy. Most of them are free to use. These include:
WordPress(the most popular software)
Apache Roller
Blosxom
Geeklog
Textpattern
LifeType
There is also blog software which you can purchase for use on your site. These include:
Community Server
Movable Type
Radio UserLand
One negative about using software and hosting your own blog is that the process can often times be complicated. You have to download the software and install it to your server, which doesn’t always go easily. It’s particularly hard for those who don’t have a lot of experience installing things on servers.
Why should I remotely host my blog at a place like Blogger?
Places like Blogger allow you to host your blog there. It’s a good option for many people.
The Pros
• It’s easy to set up and maintain a blog. You don’t have to go through the trouble of installing software and configuring it to work on your server. All you have to do is sign up for an account and start posting.
• It’s friendly for beginning bloggers. Sites that host blogs offer good tutorials on how to make your blog postings, so that even someone who is completely new to the concept of blogging can do it easily.
• Most blog hosting sites are completely free to use. There is no need to pay for things like a domain name and hosting.
• Monetizing your blog is easy. Rather than having to manually put HTML/Javascript codes on your blog to manually set up things like AdSense and Pay Per Click advertising, you can select an option on most blog hosting sites that does much of the work for you.
The Cons
• You don’t have as many options to customize your blog. Remotely hosted blogs are admittedly somewhat limited in terms of what you can actually do on them. You have to stick with what is provided to you in terms of look and features.
• The URL you get is always yourname.BLOGSITE.com. You don’t get to have a custom domain name like YOURNAME.com. This can possibly hurt traffic to your blog.
• Blogs hosted on free blog sites don’t look as professional as self hosted blogs.
Why should I self-host my blog?
The Pros
• You have more options and more flexibility. You are able to tweak the blog to your liking.
• Your URL is your address for your blog. Rather than having go to where your blog is hosted to read it, they can read it right from your site.
• The ability to make your blog look professional. Blogs that are hosted on sites of their own tend to look a lot better than those hosted on free sites.
• More space for your blog. Free blog sites usually place a restriction on how much space you have for things like photos and music. By hosting your own blog, you are able to use as much space as you need.
The Cons
• There are sometimes problems with setting up blog software to run on your site and server. If you aren’t experienced when it comes to working with mySQL, the process will be hard.
• Updates aren’t as easy to post.
• You have to manually set up programs to monetize your blog. However, if you are good with HTML/Javascript, this shouldn’t be too hard.
• You have to pay for your own hosting and domain
As you can see, there are pros and cons to both. Which should you choose? Well, it depends on who you are and what you intend to use your blog for. If you intend to use it for business, then a self-hosted blog is the best idea. If it’s a personal blog, then a free hosted blog will probably be fine for you.
Closely examine all of the pros and cons mentioned above. That way, you’ll be able to make the best decision for you!
Who offers free blog hosting?
Many sites offer free blog hosting. Among them are Forumer, Blogger, BlogEasy, Aeonity, BlogThing and Blogates. A quick search for “free blog” on Google reveals many possibilities.
What software can I use to host my own blog?
Like free blog hosting, there are many possibilities for software that makes hosting your own blog easy. Most of them are free to use. These include:
WordPress(the most popular software)
Apache Roller
Blosxom
Geeklog
Textpattern
LifeType
There is also blog software which you can purchase for use on your site. These include:
Community Server
Movable Type
Radio UserLand
One negative about using software and hosting your own blog is that the process can often times be complicated. You have to download the software and install it to your server, which doesn’t always go easily. It’s particularly hard for those who don’t have a lot of experience installing things on servers.
Why should I remotely host my blog at a place like Blogger?
Places like Blogger allow you to host your blog there. It’s a good option for many people.
The Pros
• It’s easy to set up and maintain a blog. You don’t have to go through the trouble of installing software and configuring it to work on your server. All you have to do is sign up for an account and start posting.
• It’s friendly for beginning bloggers. Sites that host blogs offer good tutorials on how to make your blog postings, so that even someone who is completely new to the concept of blogging can do it easily.
• Most blog hosting sites are completely free to use. There is no need to pay for things like a domain name and hosting.
• Monetizing your blog is easy. Rather than having to manually put HTML/Javascript codes on your blog to manually set up things like AdSense and Pay Per Click advertising, you can select an option on most blog hosting sites that does much of the work for you.
The Cons
• You don’t have as many options to customize your blog. Remotely hosted blogs are admittedly somewhat limited in terms of what you can actually do on them. You have to stick with what is provided to you in terms of look and features.
• The URL you get is always yourname.BLOGSITE.com. You don’t get to have a custom domain name like YOURNAME.com. This can possibly hurt traffic to your blog.
• Blogs hosted on free blog sites don’t look as professional as self hosted blogs.
Why should I self-host my blog?
The Pros
• You have more options and more flexibility. You are able to tweak the blog to your liking.
• Your URL is your address for your blog. Rather than having go to where your blog is hosted to read it, they can read it right from your site.
• The ability to make your blog look professional. Blogs that are hosted on sites of their own tend to look a lot better than those hosted on free sites.
• More space for your blog. Free blog sites usually place a restriction on how much space you have for things like photos and music. By hosting your own blog, you are able to use as much space as you need.
The Cons
• There are sometimes problems with setting up blog software to run on your site and server. If you aren’t experienced when it comes to working with mySQL, the process will be hard.
• Updates aren’t as easy to post.
• You have to manually set up programs to monetize your blog. However, if you are good with HTML/Javascript, this shouldn’t be too hard.
• You have to pay for your own hosting and domain
As you can see, there are pros and cons to both. Which should you choose? Well, it depends on who you are and what you intend to use your blog for. If you intend to use it for business, then a self-hosted blog is the best idea. If it’s a personal blog, then a free hosted blog will probably be fine for you.
Closely examine all of the pros and cons mentioned above. That way, you’ll be able to make the best decision for you!
It's Raining ccTLD's
By now you've probably noticed the onslaught of unfamiliar domain name extensions popping up here and there. Like most domain name professionals, you've probably sat at your computer pondering whether or not you should kick out the extra cash to register some of these domain names... why?
Keywords! While droves of individuals place an extreme value on the domain names extension, I firmly believe that the extension has nothing to do with the success or failure of the domain name. While certain ccTLD's (Country Code Top Level Domains) gain popularity, others leave little to be desired. Mostly because of certain restrictions placed on the domain extension by it's sponsoring organization.
Those ccTLD's made available nationwide, or at least with no registration restrictions are, of course, going to be more popular than ones limited to corporations of the country for which it stands.
What determines popularity. People do. How do we increase the popularity of these alternative domain names? Marketing, and education. The best thing to do is make people aware that they do, in fact, have other options.
Just because .cc is technically the country code for the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, or .ad is for Andorra doesn't mean you have to market it that way. Use some creativity in choosing the best name possible. People remember creative names.
Again, I cannot stress the importance of keywords. The part of the domain name before the extension is, and always will be the most important aspect of the domain name. So, if your question is, should I buy or invest in ccTLDs, the answer is yes. Though the present return on these alternative domain names is minimal in comparison to the .com, the future looks promising for certain ccTLDs, for example, Beauty.cc sold for $1,000,000; setting a record for the highest amount paid for a non .com! I'd say the proof is in the pudding, not to beat an old cliché to death.
Keywords! While droves of individuals place an extreme value on the domain names extension, I firmly believe that the extension has nothing to do with the success or failure of the domain name. While certain ccTLD's (Country Code Top Level Domains) gain popularity, others leave little to be desired. Mostly because of certain restrictions placed on the domain extension by it's sponsoring organization.
Those ccTLD's made available nationwide, or at least with no registration restrictions are, of course, going to be more popular than ones limited to corporations of the country for which it stands.
What determines popularity. People do. How do we increase the popularity of these alternative domain names? Marketing, and education. The best thing to do is make people aware that they do, in fact, have other options.
Just because .cc is technically the country code for the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, or .ad is for Andorra doesn't mean you have to market it that way. Use some creativity in choosing the best name possible. People remember creative names.
Again, I cannot stress the importance of keywords. The part of the domain name before the extension is, and always will be the most important aspect of the domain name. So, if your question is, should I buy or invest in ccTLDs, the answer is yes. Though the present return on these alternative domain names is minimal in comparison to the .com, the future looks promising for certain ccTLDs, for example, Beauty.cc sold for $1,000,000; setting a record for the highest amount paid for a non .com! I'd say the proof is in the pudding, not to beat an old cliché to death.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
How to Clean your Keyboard- Part 1
I know most of you will not heed this advice, but KEYBOARDS CAN MAKE YOU SICK (how's that for tactfulness?). Germs live on your hands and fingers. When you type, many of them jump on to the keyboard. When someone else types on your keyboard, those germs transfer to their fingers. Or when you later type on the same keyboard, those germs reconquer your fingers. Regularly disinfecting the keyboard can prevent this.
To disinfect the keyboard, turn off the computer. Then spray disinfectant on a cloth. Be sure to use disinfectant and not just any type of cleaner because not all cleaners disinfect. Also do not spray the disinfectent directly on the keys. Spray it on the cloth. Wipe down the top and sides of the keys. Give the keys a few minutes to dry off before turning the computer back on.
Now that you know how to do it, you should make it a regular practice to disinfect the keyboard. It's one step towards a healthier you.
So you have your keyboard disinfected and life is great. Then your child spills koolaide all over it. What do you do? There are certain steps that you should take when something, like pop, beer, wine, coffee, milk, or kool-aide, is spilled on the keyboard.
The first thing to do is immediately unplug the keyboard from the back of the computer and turn the keyboard over so that its keys are down. This will allow the liquid to drain out. You will probably want to put a cloth under the keyboard or at least make sure that the surface you have put it on is washable.
Then use the mouse to shut down Windows and turn off the computer (this is important because later you will have to plug the keyboard back into the computer and you should never plug any device into a computer while it is on).
While the keyboard is upside down use a cloth to dry as much of the liquid off as you can. If you have a can of compressed air or a vacuum, while the keyboard is upside down blow or vacuum it out. Then let the keyboard set upside down for at least a night so that it can adequately dry out.
If the liquid that spilled on it was sticky, you may want to follow the extensive cleaning procedure explained in the next article, How to Clean your Keyboard - Part 2.
Liquid spilled on a laptop keyboard can easily reach the hard drive, so turn it over immediately and leave it in that position until it dries.
Keyboards are quite resilient and so it should work when you turn it on again. But if not, another attribute of keyboards is that they are cheap and so it won't cost too much to buy another one.
With these pointers in mind and a quick reaction, you just may save your keyboard from total destruction the next time it gets coated with coffee.
To disinfect the keyboard, turn off the computer. Then spray disinfectant on a cloth. Be sure to use disinfectant and not just any type of cleaner because not all cleaners disinfect. Also do not spray the disinfectent directly on the keys. Spray it on the cloth. Wipe down the top and sides of the keys. Give the keys a few minutes to dry off before turning the computer back on.
Now that you know how to do it, you should make it a regular practice to disinfect the keyboard. It's one step towards a healthier you.
So you have your keyboard disinfected and life is great. Then your child spills koolaide all over it. What do you do? There are certain steps that you should take when something, like pop, beer, wine, coffee, milk, or kool-aide, is spilled on the keyboard.
The first thing to do is immediately unplug the keyboard from the back of the computer and turn the keyboard over so that its keys are down. This will allow the liquid to drain out. You will probably want to put a cloth under the keyboard or at least make sure that the surface you have put it on is washable.
Then use the mouse to shut down Windows and turn off the computer (this is important because later you will have to plug the keyboard back into the computer and you should never plug any device into a computer while it is on).
While the keyboard is upside down use a cloth to dry as much of the liquid off as you can. If you have a can of compressed air or a vacuum, while the keyboard is upside down blow or vacuum it out. Then let the keyboard set upside down for at least a night so that it can adequately dry out.
If the liquid that spilled on it was sticky, you may want to follow the extensive cleaning procedure explained in the next article, How to Clean your Keyboard - Part 2.
Liquid spilled on a laptop keyboard can easily reach the hard drive, so turn it over immediately and leave it in that position until it dries.
Keyboards are quite resilient and so it should work when you turn it on again. But if not, another attribute of keyboards is that they are cheap and so it won't cost too much to buy another one.
With these pointers in mind and a quick reaction, you just may save your keyboard from total destruction the next time it gets coated with coffee.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Choosing a Domain Name
Your web site address, or domain name, is an important part of your Internet branding and Internet marketing strategy. But most people give the choice of a domain name little thought, and just register their company name or the closest domain name they can get to their company name.
By doing this, they are missing some great Internet marketing opportunities.
Let’s look at some of the choices you need to make and ways to make your domain name market harder for you.
Company Name vs. What People Search For
Let’s look at a hypothetical business called Susan’s Creations that makes gift baskets. (My apologies to any businesses that may actually have this name.)
In this example, Susan registers “susanscreations.com” as her domain name, .com being the most common suffix for domain names.
This domain name has the benefit of being easy to remember and would work well for people who already know about Susan’s company and are searching for it by name.
But what if this is a new company and Susan’s Creations is unknown? People will most likely search for “gift baskets”, not for a company they’ve never heard of.
Many search engines will rank a web site higher if they have the key word people are searching for right in the domain name. So, in this case, a domain name like giftbaskets.com would rank higher when people search for “gift baskets” than a domain name like susanscreations.com.
For a company like Nike, nike.com would work better than runningshoes.com because Nike has spent millions of dollars and many years building up the brand name, Nike.
But for entrepreneurs, focusing on what you are selling instead of your company name might improve your chances of success. So in this case, Susan should probably look at a domain name like “giftbaskets.com.”
Unfortunately, many common product names with the .com extension are already taken. So let’s look at some alternatives.
Geographic Considerations
Are you serving the world, your country, or your local town?
If your customers are country or town specific, you can use your domain name to help you be found easier when customers are looking for local products and services.
The most common domain names are as follows.
* .com - global commercial
* .org – global for organizations
* .net – global for networks
* .biz – global for business
Each country also has it’s own geographic domain name suffix. Here are a few examples:
* Canada - .ca
* United States - .us
* Great Britain - .uk
* Australia - .au
* Germany - .de
So if you are a Canadian company with primarily Canadian clients, it would make sense to register a .ca name so that people know you are Canadian. This will also help you rank higher in the search engines when people are looking for country specific searches. So Susan might want to register giftbaskets.ca instead of giftbaskets.com.
For common names such as gift baskets, you’ll probably find the .com name already gone and even the country name may be gone as well. You might be able to still use the phrase you need and target your geographic area even better by trying domain names such as:
* canadiangiftbaskets.ca
* canadagiftbaskets.ca
* vancouvergiftbaskets.ca
* torontogiftbaskets.ca
By using the city, you will improve your ranking when people search for a phrase which includes the city such as “Vancouver gift baskets.” Most people looking for local help will include the local city or town in the search.
Finding an alternate name
You can find out what alternate key words people are looking for in the search engines by using a service such as WordTracker. WordTracker will help you find alternative, high-traffic key words that you can then incorporate into your domain name.
Other considerations
1. Ease of use: Is the domain name short enough to remember or to be given over the phone? If Susan chooses a domain name like “susanscreationsgiftbaskets.com,” you can see how people would find it difficult to remember or write down.
2. Hyphens: Some people register domain names with hyphens in them because the name they wanted is already registered, for example “gift-baskets.com.” This can be effective, but too many hyphens make it hard to remember and you run the risk of people just typing in the name without hyphens and being directed to a competitor.
3. Vanity domain names: It might be a good idea to register your own personal name. I registered garlandcoulson.com so that it wouldn’t be gone when I was ready to do something with it.
Where to register your domain name
Our recommended company for registering domain names is Dotster - Dotster will allow you to register .com domain names for $14.95 US per year and .ca domain names for about $20.00 US per year.
At these kinds of costs, you can afford to purchase a number of domain names to ensure they won’t be gone when you are ready to launch additional Internet ventures.
A great domain name could be the start of a great Internet business!
By doing this, they are missing some great Internet marketing opportunities.
Let’s look at some of the choices you need to make and ways to make your domain name market harder for you.
Company Name vs. What People Search For
Let’s look at a hypothetical business called Susan’s Creations that makes gift baskets. (My apologies to any businesses that may actually have this name.)
In this example, Susan registers “susanscreations.com” as her domain name, .com being the most common suffix for domain names.
This domain name has the benefit of being easy to remember and would work well for people who already know about Susan’s company and are searching for it by name.
But what if this is a new company and Susan’s Creations is unknown? People will most likely search for “gift baskets”, not for a company they’ve never heard of.
Many search engines will rank a web site higher if they have the key word people are searching for right in the domain name. So, in this case, a domain name like giftbaskets.com would rank higher when people search for “gift baskets” than a domain name like susanscreations.com.
For a company like Nike, nike.com would work better than runningshoes.com because Nike has spent millions of dollars and many years building up the brand name, Nike.
But for entrepreneurs, focusing on what you are selling instead of your company name might improve your chances of success. So in this case, Susan should probably look at a domain name like “giftbaskets.com.”
Unfortunately, many common product names with the .com extension are already taken. So let’s look at some alternatives.
Geographic Considerations
Are you serving the world, your country, or your local town?
If your customers are country or town specific, you can use your domain name to help you be found easier when customers are looking for local products and services.
The most common domain names are as follows.
* .com - global commercial
* .org – global for organizations
* .net – global for networks
* .biz – global for business
Each country also has it’s own geographic domain name suffix. Here are a few examples:
* Canada - .ca
* United States - .us
* Great Britain - .uk
* Australia - .au
* Germany - .de
So if you are a Canadian company with primarily Canadian clients, it would make sense to register a .ca name so that people know you are Canadian. This will also help you rank higher in the search engines when people are looking for country specific searches. So Susan might want to register giftbaskets.ca instead of giftbaskets.com.
For common names such as gift baskets, you’ll probably find the .com name already gone and even the country name may be gone as well. You might be able to still use the phrase you need and target your geographic area even better by trying domain names such as:
* canadiangiftbaskets.ca
* canadagiftbaskets.ca
* vancouvergiftbaskets.ca
* torontogiftbaskets.ca
By using the city, you will improve your ranking when people search for a phrase which includes the city such as “Vancouver gift baskets.” Most people looking for local help will include the local city or town in the search.
Finding an alternate name
You can find out what alternate key words people are looking for in the search engines by using a service such as WordTracker. WordTracker will help you find alternative, high-traffic key words that you can then incorporate into your domain name.
Other considerations
1. Ease of use: Is the domain name short enough to remember or to be given over the phone? If Susan chooses a domain name like “susanscreationsgiftbaskets.com,” you can see how people would find it difficult to remember or write down.
2. Hyphens: Some people register domain names with hyphens in them because the name they wanted is already registered, for example “gift-baskets.com.” This can be effective, but too many hyphens make it hard to remember and you run the risk of people just typing in the name without hyphens and being directed to a competitor.
3. Vanity domain names: It might be a good idea to register your own personal name. I registered garlandcoulson.com so that it wouldn’t be gone when I was ready to do something with it.
Where to register your domain name
Our recommended company for registering domain names is Dotster - Dotster will allow you to register .com domain names for $14.95 US per year and .ca domain names for about $20.00 US per year.
At these kinds of costs, you can afford to purchase a number of domain names to ensure they won’t be gone when you are ready to launch additional Internet ventures.
A great domain name could be the start of a great Internet business!
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Use Events to Market on the Internet
Having difficulty knowing what to offer people online? Worried that your prospects are too bombarded by sales pitches to pick yours out from the hundreds they get every day?
Try something different – an event!
Events have a number of benefits over standard marketing approaches. Some of these benefits include:
* Events are perceived as informational and are often more accepted than sales pitches.
* Events generate a sense of urgency as they are scheduled on a certain date with a registration deadline.
* By sending an event e-mail, you can reach people’s inbox, a place they look at nearly every day. With a web site, people have to remember to visit.
* Regularly changing events give people a reason to come back to your web site.
* Regardless of whether the event is held online or offline, an event can offer a better opportunity to build relationships than e-mail, mail, phone or a web site visit.
Building your list
To market your events well, it is important that you regularly build a list of people interested in what you offer and the events you create.
Make sure your web site invites visitors to sign up for your newsletter and event schedule. Ensure each contact with a client or prospect ends with an invitation to join your mailing list.
You can easily manage your subscriber system, send broadcasts and create professional looking invitation, event schedules and newsletters using an affordable service like Constant Contact.
Tips for promoting an offline event
Here are some tips for promoting your offline event:
1. Be sure to tell people the benefits of attending.
2. Offer something interesting to get them to come out.
3. Include the address, time, contact info for more information and how to register (if required)
4. Provide a link to a map so they can easily find it.
5. Include a “refer a friend” link so they can pass the invitation on to others.
Tips for promoting and holding an online event.
1. You can hold online web conferences or other events using a system like Voice Café. Voice Café lets you bring people together with audio, video and PowerPoint presentation capabilities.
2. If you are using a web conferencing system, try to get people to log in early and test the system. This will ensure they get the best experience from your event.
3. Find web sites and newsletters that reach your target market and post or advertise your event in them. A free place you can advertise events online is The Ryze Network. The Ryze Network is an online community of over 20,000 people that lets you participate in discussion groups, connect with others and list events.
Event ideas
Here are a few ideas for your events, whether they are online or offline.
* Offer contests and door prizes
* Have a guest speaker or a way that people can connect with experts
* Offer “how to” demonstrations
* Open houses and customer appreciation days
* Free food is often a draw. Or unique food – I used to go to an ethnic festival primarily to try the different foods, even though the food wasn’t free.
* Provide information and resources
* Entertain – Include hypnotists, magicians, clowns, singers, dancers, etc.
* Inspire – Offer inspiration speakers and stories
* Let them network – One unexpected benefit of my both my offline and online courses is that my students meet each other and often start doing business with each other or form strategic partnerships.
So add some urgency to your marketing – schedule and promote a memorable event!
Try something different – an event!
Events have a number of benefits over standard marketing approaches. Some of these benefits include:
* Events are perceived as informational and are often more accepted than sales pitches.
* Events generate a sense of urgency as they are scheduled on a certain date with a registration deadline.
* By sending an event e-mail, you can reach people’s inbox, a place they look at nearly every day. With a web site, people have to remember to visit.
* Regularly changing events give people a reason to come back to your web site.
* Regardless of whether the event is held online or offline, an event can offer a better opportunity to build relationships than e-mail, mail, phone or a web site visit.
Building your list
To market your events well, it is important that you regularly build a list of people interested in what you offer and the events you create.
Make sure your web site invites visitors to sign up for your newsletter and event schedule. Ensure each contact with a client or prospect ends with an invitation to join your mailing list.
You can easily manage your subscriber system, send broadcasts and create professional looking invitation, event schedules and newsletters using an affordable service like Constant Contact.
Tips for promoting an offline event
Here are some tips for promoting your offline event:
1. Be sure to tell people the benefits of attending.
2. Offer something interesting to get them to come out.
3. Include the address, time, contact info for more information and how to register (if required)
4. Provide a link to a map so they can easily find it.
5. Include a “refer a friend” link so they can pass the invitation on to others.
Tips for promoting and holding an online event.
1. You can hold online web conferences or other events using a system like Voice Café. Voice Café lets you bring people together with audio, video and PowerPoint presentation capabilities.
2. If you are using a web conferencing system, try to get people to log in early and test the system. This will ensure they get the best experience from your event.
3. Find web sites and newsletters that reach your target market and post or advertise your event in them. A free place you can advertise events online is The Ryze Network. The Ryze Network is an online community of over 20,000 people that lets you participate in discussion groups, connect with others and list events.
Event ideas
Here are a few ideas for your events, whether they are online or offline.
* Offer contests and door prizes
* Have a guest speaker or a way that people can connect with experts
* Offer “how to” demonstrations
* Open houses and customer appreciation days
* Free food is often a draw. Or unique food – I used to go to an ethnic festival primarily to try the different foods, even though the food wasn’t free.
* Provide information and resources
* Entertain – Include hypnotists, magicians, clowns, singers, dancers, etc.
* Inspire – Offer inspiration speakers and stories
* Let them network – One unexpected benefit of my both my offline and online courses is that my students meet each other and often start doing business with each other or form strategic partnerships.
So add some urgency to your marketing – schedule and promote a memorable event!
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