Powerful 10 Step Process for Getting Free, Targeted Traffic Online

Step 1: Create a quality, targeted article for your target group. Use this article to give away a lot of great, helpful information. Think of your article as a residual salesperson, getting interested, targeted prospects to read and then take steps toward a professional relationship with you. If they don't read and take action, then your virtual salesperson did his or her job in weeding out disinterested persons.

Step 2: Turn your article into a podcast. You can easily turn your article into a simple podcast with the use of quality audio software, or you can download Audacity from SourceForge.net and being creating podcasts for free. Once you do, set your podcast up as a feed, and then subscribe multiple podcast feeds to your main feed to spread your podcast into multiple directories and communities.

Step 3: Turn your article into a press release and release it all over the net. There are good free press release sites as well as paid press release sites. If you have never written one, you can get a little more mileage by hiring a professional writer from Elance or from a site like PRWeb. Paid press releases tend to get a bit more traffic and quality exposure for the effort.

Step 4: Turn your article into a quick video using Sony Vegas or another easy to use home video software. Then, post the video to multiple video sites like YouTube, Google Video, Yahoo Video, Vimeo, etc.

Step 5: Create another, but completely unique article from the same research you did for the main article and post it on your forum, blog, or main site. You can also have professional writers write a unique article on the same topic, if you provide them with an outline and research resource links. Make sure the article is not spun or a mere re-working of your main article by proposing a different approach to the same research and theme. Be sure to be very descriptive in your job posting and read their work thoroughly before awarding the job to someone for less hassle. This seems to work well for us and the clients we work with. Even work at developing long-term relationships with your writers so you can build a more solid and consistent publication for the long-haul.

Step 6: Embed the video in your blog post, article post or forum post in your site. Video has been shown to hold attention longer and drastically reduce the bounce rate of visitors if done well.

Step 7: Bookmark your videos, pod-casts, articles and blog posts with social book mark sites to help spread the word and create a mini-net on the internet for Search Engine benefits.

Step 8: Add an "AddtoAny" button on the bottom of all of your personal posts on your websites, forums and blogs so that others can share them easily and be sure to give a call to action to ask people to help share if they like it.

Step 9: Share your videos, articles, pod-casts, blog posts and forum posts to your Facebook account and invite others to view it and give feedback. Sometimes, feedback can really help spread the word as well as help you see things that others might find confusing so that you can become better at communicating your products and service benefits more clearly. Often times, people look for another vendor simply because they could not understand what your value proposition meant!

Step 10: Tweet your posts. Often times, you can have this automated. Tweet your posts and even offer incentives for others to share, like your post on Facebook, or re-tweet.

SPECIAL NOTE: Make sure that all of your articles and posts somehow point to your opt in or squeeze page and that you offer a lot of value or benefits for registrants / subscribers. Use each post to help point to and build your subscriber list effectively for higher profits online.

2:50 AM - By Anonymous 0

3 Free Ways To Increase Traffic To Your Site

Alright, so maybe you did your research and found a niche to build a blog around. You see people are spending money in that niche, and you've got some good affiliate products whether it be digital or physical, listed on your blog. But...

You're not selling anything!

Chances are, you're not getting any traffic to your site. Traffic is the lifeblood of any successful online business. Just like an actual store not getting any customers, a website without traffic is pretty much out of business.

Well, I'm here to make your online life a little simpler, and more profitable. I'll list some free sources to get you increased website traffic.

1. Submit to Article Directories

Submitting to article directories can greatly increase traffic to your site because you can list backlinks to your blog or site, and most of these article sites hold high page rank in the search engines. Some of the best article directories are:

• EzineArticles
• GoArticles
• ArticleDashboard
• ArticlesBase
• ArticlesAlley
• Just type in "article directories" in your search engine, and you can find a ton more.

What you should do is write an article in your Office or Word program, and save it. Then transfer it to your blog as a post. Once you do that, edit the article in some way so not is not exactly the same as your blog post, to avoid duplicating your content, and submit it to EzineArticles. Repeat this for each article directory, ensuring that each is different, so you have original content for each.

2. Submit a Press Release

This is one that took me a little longer to get to, because it is kinda out of my comfort zone. You basically submit information regarding your site to other sites that get word out in the form of a "news release".

It's a little more professional looking, and gets unbelievable exposure and traffic. These press release sites also rank excellently, getting in front of more people and more potential customers. Some examples of free press release sites are:

• Free-Press-Release
• Press Release Spider
• 1888 Press Release
• PRLog

3. Submit to Web 2.0 Sites

Web 2.0 sites are simply "mini-sites" that you can set up around your main blog or website. They carry HUGE rank authority in all search engines. They are also pretty fun to set up. They have many plugins and modules that you can add, making them very interesting and easy to read for your viewers.

Web 2.0 sites also have modules set up through sites like Amazon and eBay, where you can fill in your affiliate info, and any sales made through the 2.0 site will be credited to your account. The best thing about these high ranking sites is that you can include your RSS feed and links back to your main site for some huge backlinks. Here's some awesome 2.0 sites:

• HubPages
• Squidoo
• Weebly
• Tumblr
• LinkedIn

One other step of the Web 2.0 submissions is to install a link on one mini-site to the next. For example, from HubPages to your Squidoo page, from Squidoo to Weebly, etc. Just make sure to read over all rules and regs with each one of these sites, as they change quite frequently.

While doing all of these submissions, be sure to submit them to your bookmarking sites for even more traffic. Follow all of these steps, and come up with new articles and topics in your niche, and you'll start to see the traffic increase greatly.

2:49 AM - By Anonymous 0

The Best Tips For Link Builders

A question may be in the minds of webmasters, if link building will still be of much benefit to people, and if rankings are still important to get have success in an online business. This may crop up especially if they are doing paid advertising methods to bring traffic to their websites.

The fact is that link building is still significant, and links are still recognized by the search engines as being very valuable in getting websites the high rank they are aiming for. Article marketing and blogging are also effective in getting traffic, much like paid advertising method.

But links are also not equal in value and importance, and there are many of these in the internet, much like the valuable and reputable links. Thus, there is a great need for you to find and get only the valuable links and some of the best tips to get these links is enumerated below.

o Contents that are easy to understand and informative can be interesting to readers and finding that they can make use of the topics, they may think of making further actions like purchasing your product or service you offer. Contents that can be useful to prospects have more tendencies of being looked at.

o Blogs are great sources of getting lots of links because of the popularity that these types of contents are getting in the internet. Start a blog and you may have the possibility of getting lots of followers and you can get hundreds of links this way.

o With your blog you can link to other related blogs in your niche field and this technique is one of the cheapest forms of getting links, so you might as well use it. Other blogs are also monitoring what blogs like and you can also get links from them.

o Commenting on other blogs may be one source of getting links to your site. If you make these comments something useful and relevant to the other blogs. These people may find you worth looking at and also exchange some good ideas relevant to your traffic.

o Submitting your blogs to popular blog directories may get you lots of opportunities of getting more links from lots of people. Gaining more popularity of your blogs from followers of these popular directories can get more links and traffic.

Getting more links from others can help you in achieving more web visibility on the internet. You will be valued more by the search engines because of the lots of links that your site receiving and can have more chances of getting the higher positions and gaining a greater online presence.

By practicing the proper link building strategies, doing link building the ethical way and not link spamming, you can get the valuable links from other reputable sites in your field. This will also be good for your ranking strategies, and for your link building effort too.

2:47 AM - By Anonymous 0

Pedal to the Metal to Increase Web Traffic

So you have a great website and something to offer people, but for some reason no one is able to find your website. Too often are people told that simply owning a website is enough. But that isn't actually true. What good is a website if no one knows about it? So the real question is, how does someone get more people to visit their website?

There is no easy or simple answer to this question, but there are lots of things that are done to increase website traffic. You should research your market or your audience before you put a lot of energy into any traffic methods to make sure you're targeting the correct group of people. The more research you do, the better your chances of success are.

It's important to note all the types of traffic methods to choose from. There are free methods, paid tools, membership programs, one time launches, etc. You need to set a budget (if you're going to pay for some traffic) and create a goal you want the increased traffic to meet. Then you can start seeking out what methods will work best for you.

Check out your competition and see what they're doing to attract customers. You don't have to reinvent the wheel. Maybe your market responds to email marketing or maybe your demographic plays online videos games and you should run ads there. Anytime you see your competitor's ad somewhere, make a note and see how you too can become seen there.

Free traffic methods include things like social networks and email marketing. You can easily promote your website and/or product using social networks because so many people are active on those kinds of websites and are almost always free to join. But always be sure to check with the policies of any social network before posting about your business. Some sites have different rules or profiles you can use if you're acting as a company or product.

Email marketing can also be used to inform people that you have a website or product to offer. If you already have a built list of followers, you can send emails to them time and time again when you have something new to offer. If you don't have a following yet, you can usually pay someone who does to send out to their email list or you can do a joint venture with someone else. There are tons of forums and group networks online for people looking to do this. A simple search should return tons of options.

Remember that no matter what traffic method you use, it will take time. Getting more people to your website is almost never an over-night event and takes patience. Use Google analytics or any other tracking device on your website so you can keep a record of how well your methods are working and what ones aren't. Stay consistent. If you keep up the work, you will see results, guaranteed!

2:46 AM - By Anonymous 0

Mac Vs Windows: Which Is Truly More Expensive?

When you're ready to buy a Mac, it's really not that different from any other serious purchase: you need to do a little research to make sure you're investing your money wisely. Few people like to replace their computer every year, even in two years. Most regular consumers would rather ride that baby 'til it dies, put some duct tape on it for a few more years, then buy a new one. So when buying a computer it's important to keep total cost of ownership (TCI) in mind. This is a term that factors in years of use, maintenance costs, downtime (when it's out for repair, for example) and other criteria for determining the true value of a computer. Many studies have been done that have proven that over the period of time you own the computer, Macs hold their value much better - one study showed that Windows was actually five times more expensive. And that study was nearly five years ago: Macs have come down in price since then.

Enjoy it, or Fix it?

Apple computers have long had to face down this "higher cost" issue. While it's true that you can find a PC for less than $500, even less than $300 in many places, you simply cannot compare the sticker price alone when deciding on which computer is right for you. Most of these sub-$500 PCs are cheaper because they're made from cheaper, and in many cases old and well-used, parts. Windows-based computers are still highly susceptible to over 100,000 viruses, malware, spyware, and other dangers that not only infect your PC but dramatically slow it down. To date there are no known viruses that affect Mac OS X. Those numbers alone should end the argument. Eliminate the cost of anti-virus software as well as the hours spent sweeping for malware etc., the repair costs to fix the PC after it's become infected, Would you rather spend your time enjoying your computer, or fixing it?

It's been said before, but think of buying a car: you can buy a cheap clunker, or a nice new car. You know you're going to have to put a lot more money into the clunker, much more downtime to maintenance and repair, and sooner than later you'll have to replace it. But at least it wasn't fun while it lasted, right? The same concept applies to computers: would you rather pay more upfront, or pay more in the long run?

Apples to Oranges

When comparing computers, make sure you're comparing properly. Comparison shopping can be confusing, especially if you aren't an expert in computer technology - and if you were, you probably wouldn't be reading this. One trap many fall into is comparing the processors: a PC has 4 Ghz chip, a Mac has a 3 Ghz, etc. However Apple's operating system utilizes the processor in more efficient ways, meaning that what seems to be a slower chip many times is equal to or better than one with a higher number. Those numbers haven't truly been an accurate measure of computer power for years, although many people don't let go it.

What you need to balance is what each computer comes with with the cost involved. In order to properly match computers, find a PC that includes comparable software to everything that's included on the Mac. Putting a value on iMovie, iPhoto, iWeb, etc. varies: you may never use iWeb for instance. You might be a gamer, or a graphic designer, or you may be in the majority of computer buyers: you just need a computer for Internet, email, and maybe your tunes and pictures. So match up the computers that fit your personal needs, and then move on to the total cost of ownership.

Most Importantly

This is going to be your computer. Advice is great, and can be helpful, but don't lose sight of what your needs are. For me, as well as most of my clients, by far the most important issue was getting a computer that I could enjoy, I could be productive with, and that would last as long as possible. The longest a PC ever lasted for me was about 3 years, and they weren't good years. I now own three Macs that are older than 5 years, including the iMac I bought for my mother in 2002. All still work fine. Obviously I'm going to be suggesting you buy a Mac, but it's from experience with both. Take my advice, put it in your pocket, and go to an Apple store to get a good long look. Do your research and decide what's best for you. If and when you do buy a Mac, I'll be right here waiting for you.

2:44 AM - By Anonymous 0

Laptop Repair: What Choice Do You Have?

In today's day and age, a laptop is probably one of the best gadgets that you could ever possess. The reasons are pretty obvious. There are many things that you can do with a laptop computer. It can greatly enhance your productivity. The things that you can normally do within the four corners of your office may now be accomplished outside. Deadlines which you have to meet urgently can now be met because you can now work in your home, in the park, or on a plane. Moreover, a laptop provides you easy access to information from the information superhighway, the internet, from nearly anywhere. Through your laptop computer, you get updated with the latest trends in politics, business, entertainment, and other information that is important to you. As a result of these practical benefits that you derive from using laptop computers, when this gadget breaks down you are greatly affected. It is for this reason why there is a need for laptop repair.

There are many ways by which laptop repair may be accomplished. In fact, the alternatives that you have are quite a good. For your laptop repair needs you may go to an established service center. There are, however, certain disadvantages with using a service center to fix your laptop. Aside from these service centers, you may directly go to your laptop manufacturer, especially, if it has an office in the place where you live. Under certain circumstances, this alternative is the most cost-efficient since you do not have to spend money for the laptop repair. However, this is normally only possible if your laptop is still under warranty. Otherwise, the cost of repairing your laptop computer including the parts that may be needed will be charged to you. Moreover, you may go to Google, Yahoo, or Bing, and type in "laptop repair" to look for these individual service providers. It is possible that you will be able to find a professional who does laptop repair at an affordable price.

However, despite the number of options that you have for laptop repair, it is important that you do this carefully and deliberately. Remember, your laptop computer is one of your important assets, it is therefore proper that you consign this with somebody that you can trust. Otherwise, the potential for disaster is there. Hence, choose the service center or the laptop repair professional that has the proven competence and track record in being able to fix laptops. The best way to do this is by asking questions. Do some research on the customers that they have serviced before. Do not rely on the information that they give you. You can also ask for references so that you will be assured that your laptop is in good hands.

Finally, considering what is at stake, you should have a ready plan for laptop repair. You can achieve this by knowing your laptop well. You have to read product brochures and specifications. This way you will be informed of the capabilities of your laptop and hopefully gain an understanding on the things that might affect its performance. Laptop repair need not be tedious and taxing. You just have to know where to go for laptop repair and you will be alright

2:44 AM - By Anonymous 0

What Is ATEX Directive 94/9/EC?

The ATEX Directive 94/nine/EC is a directive adopted by the European Union (EU) to facilitate free trade in the EU by aligning the technical and legal needs in the member states for merchandise meant for use in most likely explosive atmospheres. CENELEC design specifications are nevertheless used. All products put on the market place or put into support in the EU for use in potentially explosive atmospheres ought to comply with the ATEX directive.

Merchandise Covered by the ATEX Directive

This directive addresses "Equipment" and "Protective Systems" which could be utilised in probably explosive atmospheres developed by the presence of flammable gases vapors, mists or dust. "Equipment" is any merchandise which contains or constitutes a prospective ignition supply and which involves specific actions to be integrated in its design and/or its set up in order to prevent the ignition resource from initiating an explosion in the bordering atmospheres. Also provided in the expression "equipment" are security or command devices put in exterior of the hazardous location but acquiring an explosion defense function. A broad collection of goods arrives inside the definition of machines, which include electrical motors, compressors, diesel engines, lights fittings, handle and communication products and monitoring and detection products. "Protective Systems" are products which protect against an explosion that has been initiated from spreading or causing harm. They integrated flame arrestors, quenching techniques, pressure relief panels and fast- acting shut- off valves.

The directive excludes the pursuing varieties of merchandise:

• Medical devices
• Products for use in the presence of explosives
• Products for domestic use
• Personal protective products
• Sea-going vessels and cellular off-shore units
• Means of transport, besides vehicles for use in most likely explosive atmospheres
• Military devices

New Item Classification Gear Groups and Categories

The ATEX Directive, in Annex I, defines two Devices Groups which are subdivided into five Products Categories.

Be aware:

In order to ascertain the suitable Conformity Assessment Process, the manufacturer ought to initial occur to a selection based mostly on the intended use, as to which Machines Group and Devices Category the products belongs.

Machines Groups and Classes:

Gear Group I

• Equipment Category M1
• Equipment Group M2

Devices Group II

• Equipment Group 1
• Equipment Class two
• Equipment Category 3

What Are Equipment Groups?

The two Machines Groups defined in Annex I are based mostly mining and non- mining programs.

• Equipment Group I - comprises of gear meant for use in the underground elements of mines, and to all those components of surface area set up of this sort of mines, likely to become endangered by fire damp and/or combustible dust.

• Equipment Group II - comprises of devices meant for use in other destinations likely to turn out to be endangered by explosive atmospheres.

What Are Equipment Groups?

The Equipment Classes Defined in Annex I are dependent on the level of precautions required in accordance to the likelihood of the presence of an explosive ambiance. Considering that larger amounts of precaution are a lot more costly to attain, classification of equipment into categories enables precautions to be used that are acceptable to the chance.

The 5 Equipment Categories are:

• Category M1 & M2 for mining applications.
• Category one, two, & three for non- mining apps.

Devices Class M1:

Group M1 comprises of equipment which is:

Intended for use in mines endangered by fire damp and/or coal dust Essential to stay functional, even in the celebration of rare incidents relating to equipment, with an explosive environment present, and is characterized by the implies of safety these kinds of that:

• Either, in the function of failure of one particular implies of safety, at minimum an independent 2nd indicates supplies the requisite level of protection.
• Or the requisite stage of protection is assured in the celebration of faults taking place independently of every other.

Products Category M2:

Class M2 comprises of devices which is:

• Intended for use in mines endangered by fire damp and/or coal dust. Required to be de- energized in the event of an explosive environment.

• The means of protection relating to gear in this category assure the requisite stage of defense through usual operation and also in the care of a lot more extreme running circumstances, in certain individuals arising from tough managing and changing environmental problems.

Notice:

For Conformity Evaluation, Class M2 is sub- divided into:

• Electrical equipment and inner combustion engines
• Non- electrical products

Gear Group one:

Category 1 comprises of machines which is:

• Intended for use in areas which an explosive ambiance is constantly present or for lengthy intervals of time.

• Equipment in this group should assure the requisite degree of defense, even in the occasion of scarce incidents relating to products, and is characterized by suggests of protection this sort of that:

• Either, in the occasion of failure of one indicates of safety, at least an independent second suggests provides the requisite level of protection.

• Or the requisite degree of defense is assured in the function of two faults happening independently of each and every other.

Equipment Category two:

Group 2 comprises of equipment which is:

• Intended for use in areas which an explosive atmosphere is very likely to occur.

• The implies of defense relating to equipment in this class assure the requisite stage of protection, even in the event of frequent taking place disturbances or gear faults which commonly have to be used into account.

Notice:

For Conformity Assessment, Group 2 is sub- divided into:

• Electrical equipment and inner combustion engines.
• Non- electrical gear.

Devices Category 3:

Group three comprises of gear which is:

• Intended for use in places which an explosive environment is unlikely to arise or only to happen infrequently or for small period of time.
• Equipment in this category ensures the requisite level of defense throughout regular operation.

The New Conformity Mark

Below the Aged Directive, the "Epsilon X" symbol indicated conformity with CENELEC needs. This symbol was permitted to be utilized to solutions which were considered to be ultimate assemblies, NOT empty enclosures or element areas this kind of as terminal blocks, operators, breather drains, and many others.

Beneath the New Directive, the "Epsilon X" symbol will transfer into the marking string and be utilized to indicate explosion defense. The "CE" mark will now indicate conformity to the ATEX Directive. This mark can only be utilized to last assemblies and not to empty enclosures or component components.

What Should I Do to Comply With the ATEX Directive 94/9/EC?

• For products that meet the scope of the ATEX Directive, you have to ensure that they comply with the Vital Specifications specified in Annex II of the ATEX Directive.

• To assure that your goods comply with the ATEX Directive, you require to adhere to the applicable Conformity Evaluation Process(s). (These processes may possibly entail the participation of a notified physique.)

What Are the Vital Needs?

The Important Needs detailed in Annex II relate to functions of gear and protective systems that are important in purchase to protect against explosions or to control the effects of incipient explosions.

The Necessary Specifications fall into three groups:

1.Widespread Specifications
2. Needs for Devices
3. Specifications for Protective Devices

Prevalent Conditions

1. General Needs

- Principle of integrated explosion security
- Distinctive checking and maintenance circumstances
- Surrounding place conditions
- Marking
- Directions

2. Selection of Materials

- Products that could trigger explosions
- Adverse reactions involving resources
- Resistance to company ailments
- Protected operation all through foreseeable lifestyle
- Prevention of leaks
- Dust deposits
- Additional indicates of protection
- Protected opening
- Safety from other hazards
- Overloading of devices
- Flameproof enclosure systems

3. Potential Ignition Resources

- Hazards from distinct ignition resources
- Static electrical power
- Stray electric and leakage currents
- Overheating
- Stress compensation operations

4. Hazards Arising From External Effects

- Risk- free operation beneath specified operating ailments
- Resistance to mechanical and thermal stresses and aggressive substances

5. Requirements in Respect of Security Gadgets

- Security perform independent of measurement or handle operate
- Detection of failure - fail risk- free
- Immediate actuation of command unit
- Gear and/or protective programs made safe
- Restart lockouts
- Command and display models
- Products with measuring function for explosion defense
- Risks arising from application

6. Integration of Safety Requirements Relating to the Technique

- Manual override
- Dispersion of accumulated energy
- Energy failure
- Connections and interface
- Warning gadgets

Requirements for Machines

Within just about every Products Category the needs cover:

• Prevention of ignition resources from turning out to be energetic
• Control surface area temperatures
• Safe opening
• Prevention of dust ingress and egress

The Needs for Protective Devices cover:

1.General Conditions

- Dimensioning to decrease results of explosion to a protected level
- Positioning to protect against explosions from spreading
- Electric power failure
- Resistance to outside interference

2. Preparation and Design

- Characteristics of resources
- Shockwave resistance
- Pressure- stand up to of equipment
- Account take of pressure in peripheral devices and pipework
- Strain relief methods
- Explosion suppression devices
- Explosion decoupling techniques
- Integration into security methods

What Are the Conformity Evaluation Processes?

The ATEX Directive specifies a variety of Conformity Assessment Processes and the conditions when they must be utilized. The methods are:

• EC kind examination
• Quality assurance
• Verification modules
• Internal handle of creation

EC Type Examination

EC Kind Examination is a procedure carried out by a notified entire body to validate that a merchandise kind is in conformity with the pertinent essential requirements. The method is specified in Annex III of the directive. The notified system will look at the technical file supplied by the manufacturer and conduct this sort of inspections and tests as could be expected to show that the item variety complies with the conditions stated by the manufacturer. The notified body may advise on relevant specifications but it is in the long run for the producer to choose the intended use of the merchandise. The EC Kind Examination process culminates in a certificate issued by the notified human body, attesting that the kind as defined in the technical file complies with the directive.

Top quality Assurance Modules

There are two Quality Assurance Modules specified in the ATEX directive:

• Production Quality Assurance - which applies to Products Groups 1 and M1 and to protective techniques, and which is specified in Annex IV of the directive.

• Product Good quality Assurance - which applies to electrical gear and inner combustion engines only, in Gear Groups 2 and M2, and which is specified in Annex VII of the directive.

Each of these modules require the manufacturer to have a defined and documented process for controlling the conformity of goods to the demands of the directive as defined in the technical file accompanying the EC kind Examination Certificate(s) for the products form(s). The method have to be assessed by a notified body and be subject to periodic audit by the entire body. In addition the system could spend unannounced visits to the producer and may possibly have out inspection and/or testing of goods to verify conformity with the licensed type.

There are a few Verification Modules specified in the ATEX Directive.

• Product Verification - specified in Annex V of the directive, which applies to Devices Categories 1 and M1 and to the protective methods.

• Conformity to Sort - specified in Annex VI of the directive, which applies to electrical equipment and inner combustion engines in Equipment Groups 2 and M2.

• Unit Verification - specified in Annex IX of the directive which may well be applied at the choice of the manufacturer as an option to any other conformity evaluation modules.

Even though they vary in their certain needs, the Verification Modules all need every single item created to be inspected and examined for conformity with the demands of the directive. The Item Verification and Unit Verification processes are carried out by the notified physique, while the Conformity to Variety is carried out by the manufacturer underneath the responsibility of a notified physique. In all scenarios the manufacturer is required to draw up a Declaration of Conformity in the format defined in Annex X of the directive.

Internal Management of Manufacturing

• Internal Manage of Production applies to devices in Class two and M2 which is not electrical gear nor inner combustion engines and to products Group 3. It is specified in Annex VIII of the directive.

• Internal Control of Manufacturing is a course of action whereby the producer, on his own responsibility, carries out the necessary operate to ascertain that product which he areas on the sector comply with the requirements of the directive.

Additional CE Marking Directives

There are a few other directives that need to be appeared at for the duration of your product or service evaluation. If your product or service falls inside of the scope of these three directives, all directives have to be applied in parallel to fulfill the special specifications of every directive.

2:42 AM - By Anonymous 0

A Look At A Security Monitoring Video System

In the world of high-tech crime, security is no laughing matter, and it requires high-tech equipment to make sure everything is safe and secure. Whether it is intended for home use, or commercial, there are some things to consider before getting a security monitoring video system. Let's take a look at a few of them.

Home units are often setup to oversee the exterior of the property, but there are an increasing number of parents who also supervise the interior when a baby sitter is employed. Commercial uses involve keeping track of activity that is going on in store rooms, and production lines to help control theft, and for educational training purposes.

When getting started, determine how many cameras are going to be needed by walking around the property and taking notes as to what areas create a blind spot to activity. Even if there is going to be a central monitoring panel inside the home or business, you still need to decide where to place the cameras for best coverage, and no direct light on the lens.

Some people prefer having a wired system, but keep in mind that if these wires are exposed at ground level, it can be very easy for a burglar to cut them and disable the cameras. A wireless configuration might be better. For those cameras which are stationed on the outside, you might want to consider having them solar-powered, and indoor cams can be powered by a single solar panel and battery.

Examine all of the rooms that are being considered for monitoring, and make a list of the ones that are most important. Not every space needs a camera focused on it, but it is important to choose a place to put the cameras so that they are not easily seen by others. If cams are properly set up outside, thieves may still be looking for them inside, and baby sitters might toss their coat over the lens.

2:40 AM - By Anonymous 0

Mac Anti Virus - How to Secure Your Mac OS and Get Rid of the Latest Trojan

Using an Anti Virus for Mac system is not uncommon any more. Until some years back Mac viruses, malware, adware and other malicious items were almost impossible to find but now hackers are targeting the Mac OS very aggressively.

Recently we heard of a new Trojan horse that tried to attack a good number or Mac systems. This Trojan tried to trick the user into buying a fake antivirus for Mac by making the user believe that his/her system had been infected with a malware. As this malware is installed various pornographic sites open up and you get pop ups to upgrade to the latest version of this software so that your credit card information can be recorded. Though one of the good things about this Trojan was that it was unable to install itself, a good number of Mac users became a victim of this malware

Getting rid of this Trojan

It is also known as Mac defender, Mac security or other similar names. It is quite easy to get rid of this malware because it runs in the background and you are promoted to install it. You can easily remove it by following this procedure.

• Open the activity monitor and find any of these names like Mac security, Mac defender etc.
• Select it and click "quit process" or select "force-quit" if required.
• Go to the download/application folder and locate the installer file. Move this file to trash and then empty the trash.
• Go to Account and select system preferences. Remove all instances of this Trojan from the Login items as well.

Some easy Tips to keep your Mac system secure

• Though Apple makes it a point to open only safe files but your system cannot judge if the file is really safe. It is better to disable this feature by unchecking this feature in Safari's Preferences.
• Another important point that must be kept in mind that when you are using internet, various programs are downloaded automatically. It is always a good practice to manually install every new program. This trick is useful not just for Mac systems but for Windows also to some extent.
• Anti Adware, Anti viruses and other internet security tools are available for Mac also therefore it is better to install a good Mac Antivirus, Internet protection tool for Mac from a reputed brand so that your system remains protected all the time.

2:39 AM - By Anonymous 0

Google Adsense: what you need to know!

We read about how to develop a Google AdWord campaign, but where do these ads get featured? To think that the advertisements feature only on Google depending on the keywords searched by users is not true as that isis only part of the ad exposure. Google AdSense can be considered the other half of AdWords. AdSense allows website owners to feature relevant Google ads on their website which matches user profile with the profile requirement of each ad and also allows website owners to EARN revenue via the traffic generated by website.

So if you have a website which attracts decent number of hits every month, Google AdSense is probably a good revenue generation model for you and the below mentioned benefits should be effective to get you convinced:

Add a revenue stream to your business:
Google AdSense provides an added revenue stream to your business which is very easy to set up and has a robust backend application which delivers the most relevant ads to the most relevant target group.

Set up procedure is very simple:
You do not need any technology know-how when it comes to signing up with Google AdSense. A simple sign up process, subsequent approval, and copying some basic html code onto your website will get you started with Google ads on your site right away.

Immediate advertisers on your site:
Since Google already operates a very successful AdWords program, where thousands of advertisers sign up, you get immediate advertisers who would like to be featured on your website. No sales or marketing is required by you to get advertisers at any stage.

Continuous Technology enhancement at no cost to you:
Google research team spends thousands of man hours in improving the AdSense programme so that users are directed to the most relevant ads and all this is available to you with no cost.

Don't fret if you don't have a high viewer ship rate on your site:
You can still earn via Google AdSense. You can feature the Google search box on your site and the subsequent page displayed with the search results has ads featured on them which can be your revenue generating AdSense Campaign.

No Junk ads displayed on your website:
If you are concerned about displaying junk advertisements which might have no relevance to your website visitors, then Google AdSense is for you. Only relevant ads are displayed to users and that is picked by both the profile that you put together as well as the content on your website. A number of well defined filters work behind the AdSense programme allowing the application to be 'intelligent'.

Find Google ads a tad boring?:
You are not the only one. Even Google engineers realize that the ads need some colour to them and you can add that to the display option. This does not eat into the users' bandwidth and yet displays using a good colour combination on the website.

Google also operates a premium program for webmaster for the AdSense program if your website is attracting more than twenty million page views and five million search queries per month and this is known as AdSense Premier.

Getting started is easy:
It is difficult not to be convinced about the AdSense program, and you can start off quite easily with a single page form which requires basic information about the type of account you would like to have ( business or individual), website information, select product ( AdSense for Content or AdSense for Search) and contact information. Login needs to be created simply with a valid and frequently accessed email address. All the information submitted is sent to Google for approval and on approval, you receive a link to fetch code from which you need to post on your website and you are ON!

AdSense is an easy program to understand and implement and has already provided a steady source of income for many a net entrepreneurs! What are you waiting for?

2:05 AM - By Anonymous 0

Does Your PC Have Worms?

Worms aren't just for dogs anymore. Find out how to inoculate your computer against these nasty parasites.

What Are Worms?

Worms are descended from viruses and are even nastier. Just as ever stronger doses of pesticide breed ever more resilient locusts, better and better anti-spyware software bred ever more devious viruses.

Finally, some virus designers stopped having their creations infect and take over files the way real viruses infect and take over cells. Instead, they created programs that could stand on their own and cause plenty of trouble without the help of any other software applications. Just worms are independent organisms that can infect a host directly, so do computer worms infect computers directly.

What Do Worms Do?

Worm designers are often even more sinister than virus designers, since worm designers are not just vandals. Worm designers often use their creations to achieve specific goals:

• Backdoor creation. Worms often try to set up another kind of malware, a backdoor. A backdoor is a hidden opening in your network connection that lets the worm send data out and take data in. Practically speaking, the data it's sending out are often spam emails, and the data it takes in are instructions on spam emails to send.

• Denial of service attack. Some worm designers really are vandals rather than profit-hungry con artists sending spam. But their vandalism can be more targeted. They use worms to send out numerous requests to remote computers, such as web servers, in order to overwhelm them and therefore shut them down. This is called a denial of service attack.

• Spyware, Trojan, adware, and virus installation. Worms are often used simply to unleash other forms of malware on a computer that might otherwise block them.

• Information theft and fraud.Worms can multitask in order to set up spyware that gathers sensitive information--often financial information--and then set up backdoors, Trojans, viruses, or dialers to disseminate the stolen data.

How Do Worms End Up on a PC?

Worms enter PCs just as viruses, spyware and other malware do: any way they can! Some favorite points of entry for worms:

• Websites can actually download software to your computer without you realizing it. This software includes not only worms, but also spyware, adware, viruses, and other malware. These malware programs find their way into websites either by the deliberate design of the site owner or because hackers have installed the software on the website's server.

• Peer-to-peer file-sharing networkscontain many nice-enough-looking files that are really worms. One of the sneakiest disguises is a filename that indicates the spyware is really a video of a beautiful actress.

• Email, the favored route of viruses, can still be exploited by Spyware. But since new email programs usually block the automatic opening of file attachments, this is less of a problem than it used to be.

• Any internet connection inevitably lets data flow both in and out, and so is vulnerable to attacks by worms.

How Do You Get Rid of Worms?

There's really only one good way to make sure your computer is rid of worms: scan it with multiple antivirus and anti-spyware programs using a full-system scan. Worms are tricky, so anything less than a full-system scan might let them escape. Worse, with new worms coming out all the time, some antivirus and anti-spyware packages may not even know about a new worm until after its wreaking havoc on your machine. That's why you should try using more than one antivirus program and more than one anti-spyware program to increase your odds of successfully detecting the malware.

Don't have more than one anti-spyware and antivirus software? You'd better start downloading. After all, worms won't take excuses.

2:04 AM - By Anonymous 0

Breaking the Myth about Page Rank (PR)

The most difficult challenge most web designers face is getting traffic to your site. There are plenty of companies who promise to send traffic your way. Sadly, most of this traffic is not qualified. Yes, your hit counter will move higher, however, if its not qualified, you may find you have unhappy visitors to your site. Unhappy visitors will not click on your ads or purchase your products.

Once you have optimized your site, consider submitting it to every search engine. If you want to get spidered quicker in Google, have a web page with a PR of 4 or higher point to your site. Your site will be spidered within a couple of days!

One myth I would like to bust is that PR is a measure of a web site. Its not. I receive countless emails offering a reciprocal link with their PR5 or PR6 site. Unless my link is appearing on the main page, or a page that has PR6, I am not getting a share of PR6. Most likely, my link will appear on a page that has a PR2!

Page rank is Google's ranking of that specific page's relevance. Just because the main page has a PR of 4, does not make every page on the site a PR4. Beware of sites who claim that they will exchange links with you and its to your benefit since they have a PR5 or PR6. Where is your link appearing? If its on a page that has a PR of 4 or 5 or 6, great!

Reciprocal linking, if done properly, will ensure that your keywords are at the top of the search engine. If you have a popular keyword, you ll need to have more back links. Pick your link partners properly, and ensure that they are linking to your keyword.

For example: if your site is www.joesdinner.com, consider sending out requests to relevant higher ranking pages to start with, followed by lower ranking pages and ask web designers to link back in a manner so that your url is a hyperlink for your keyword, not your site url or site name.

Presuming their keyword is "best dining in new york", having links pointing to your site with an anchor tag incorporating your keywords will improve your search engine rankings dramatically.

Once you have established a collection of sites pointing to your site using your keywords, you will start receiving reciprocal link exchanges from other sites. This is where you can start to be particular.

If you want to maintain an effective PR and attract better sites for linking, follow these tips:

a) Is it indexed?
While their site may be indexed, the page where they are placing your link, is it at least indexed by google? If you type in allinurl:www.sitename.com/links/right_here.html and there are no results, consider declining their offer. If the page your link appears on has not been indexed, there is no benefit whatsoever to you. If your pages have PR, they may consider placing your link on another page. If the page your link appears on is indexed, but does not have PR, consider accepting their offer. While the page today may not have PR, it will in time.

b) How many neighbours?
The value of the page rank is shared with each of the links on that page. If you are splitting that PR with several other sites, your share of PR will be small, which doesnt help you. Reconsider accepting any link exchanges if your site is 1 of more than 30 - 40 sites that will appear on that page, unless its a very high PR. Further, if there are too many links on that page, Google may consider the page to be part of a link farm, which may end up penalizing your site.

c) Is it relevant?
Google is big on relavancy. Ensure your links pages are relevant. If you operate a site about golf, having links from cooking sites will not help you establish your page rank. It may cost you more than you get in return.

How to Find Good PR sites:

a) Do a search for them by typing in your keyword and start asking for reciprocal link exchanges. Take a look at their PR and go from there. Remember, its the number of sites that backlink to you that matters, not strictly the PR of the page. I would rather have 50 pages that have a PR1 pointing to my site, than to have 5 sites that have a PR5. Of course, if you can get 50 pages that have a PR5 pointing to your site, you are laughing!

b) Take a look at your existing link partners and check out their links pages. Its clear the people appearing on those links pages are interested in reciprocating.

c) Purchase software that will help find quality link partners.

It is important to attract higher PR sites when you are on a reciprocal link campaign. However, its not the most important thing when it comes to search engine rankings. Its the backlinks that point back at you that are key. The more of those, the better off you will be for your keyword.

Remember: every page starts off as a PR0. Just because its new doesnt mean it wont get a higher PR once google gets around to assessing a score. If the page your site appears on is indexed, and its a relevant site of quality, consider exchanging links. You'll grow a large list of link partners in a short period of time, and increase your search engine rankings in the process.

2:01 AM - By Anonymous 0

90s Web Design: A Nostalgic Look Back

A nostalgic look back at 90s web design, and a warning to anyone whose website is an accidental anachronism.

Remember the days when every PC was beige, every website had a little Netscape icon on the homepage, Geocities and Tripod hosted just about every single personal homepage, and "Google" was just a funny-sounding word?

The mid-late 1990s were the playful childhood of the worldwide web, a time of great expectations for the future and pretty low standards for the present. Those were the days when doing a web search meant poring through several pages of listings rather than glancing at the first three results--but at least relatively few of those websites were unabashedly profit-driven.

Hallmarks of 1990s Web Design

Of course, when someone says that a website looks like it came from 1996, it's no compliment. You start to imagine loud background images, and little "email me" mailboxes with letters going in and out in an endless loop. Amateurish, silly, unprofessional, conceited, and unusable are all adjectives that pretty well describe how most websites were made just ten years ago.

Why were websites so bad back then?

Knowledge. Few people knew how to build a good website back then, before authorities like Jakob Nielsen starting evangelizing their studies of web user behavior.

Difficulty. In those days, there weren't abundant software and templates that could produce a visually pleasing, easy-to-use website in 10 minutes. Instead, you either hand-coded your site in Notepad or used FrontPage.

Giddiness. When a new toy came out, whether it was JavaScript, Java, Frames, animated Gifs, or Flash, it was simply crammed into an already overstuffed toy box of a website, regardless of whether it served any purpose.

Browsing through the Internet Archive's WayBack Machine, it's hard not to feel a twinge of nostalgia for a simpler time when we were all beginners at this. Still, one of the best reasons for looking at 90s website design is to avoid repeating history's web design mistakes. This would be a useful exercise for the tragic number of today's personal homepages and even small business websites that are accidentally retro.

Splash Pages

Sometime around 1998, websites all over the internet discovered Flash, the software that allowed for easy animation of images on a website. Suddenly you could no longer visit half the pages on the web without sitting through at least thirty seconds of a logo revolving, glinting, sliding, or bouncing across the screen.

Flash "splash pages," as these opening animations were called, became the internet's version of vacation pictures. Everyone loved to display Flash on their site, and everyone hated to have to sit through someone else's Flash presentation.

Of all the thousands of splash pages made in the 1990s and the few still made today, hardly any ever communicated any useful information or provided any entertainment. They were monuments to the egos of the websites' owners. Still, today, when so many business website owners are working so hard to wring every last bit of effectiveness out of their sites, it's almost charming to think of a business owner actually putting ego well ahead of the profit to have been derived from all the visitors who hit the "back" button rather than sit through an animated logo.

Text Troubles

"Welcome to…" Every single website homepage in 1996 had to have the word "welcome" somewhere, often in the largest headline. After all, isn't saying "welcome" more vital than saying what the web page is all about in the first place?

Background images. Remember all those people who had their kids' pictures tiled in the background of every page? Remember how much fun it was trying to guess what the words were in the sections where the font color and the color of the image were the same?

Dark background, light text. My favorite was orange font on purple background, though the ubiquitous yellow white text on blue, green or red was nice, too. Of course, anyone who will make their text harder to read with a silly gimmick is just paying you the courtesy of letting you know they couldn't possibly have written anything worth reading.

Entire paragraphs of text centered. After all, haven't millennia of flush-left margins just made our eyes lazy?

"This Site Is Best Viewed in Netscape 4.666, 1,000x3300 resolution." It was always so cute when site owners actually imagined anyone but their mothers would care enough to change their browser set up to look at some random person's website.

All-image no-text publishing. Some of the worst websites would actually do the world the service of putting all their text in image format so that no search engine would ever find them. What sacrifice!

Hyperactive Pages

TV-envy was a common psychological malady in 1990s web design. Since streaming video and even Flash were still in their infancy, web designers settled for simply making the elements on their pages move like Mexican jumping beans.

Animated Gifs

In 1996, just before the dawn of Flash, animated gifs were in full swing, dancing, sliding, and scrolling their way across the retinas of web surfers trying to read the text on the page.

Scrolling Text

Just in case you were having a too easy time tuning out all the dancing graphics on the page, an ambitious mid-1990s web designer had a simple but powerful trick for giving you a headache: scrolling text. Through the magic of JavaScript, website owners could achieve the perfect combination of too fast to read comfortably and too slow to read quickly.

For a while, a business owner could even separate the serious from the wannabe prospects based just on how (un)professional their business websites looked. Sadly, the development of template-based website authoring software means that even someone with no taste or sense whatsoever can make websites that look as good as the most biggest-budget design of five years ago.

Of course, there are still some websites whose owners seem to be trying to spark a resurgence in animated gifs, background images, and ugly text. 'll just have to trust that everyone is laughing with them, not at them.

2:00 AM - By Anonymous 0

12 Steps to Creating a Business Online

"E-commerce"

A word pervading our society, making headlines around the world, and causing the stock market to rise and fall with
startling ease.

It seems every business news story centers on some technology company’s "DOT-com" or "DOT-bomb"!

With all the positive and negative hoopla, business owners of any size company can throw up their hands and feel the "E" world has left them behind.

Every business owner, salesperson, or professional asked one of two questions in the past year, either "Am I using e-commerce correctly?" or "How do I effectively get involved in e-commerce?"

You can buy hundreds of books and pay thousands in consulting fees to analyze and debate the answer to the first question.

To answer to the second question just follow these 12 steps.

Step 1 - Buy a domain name (your own DOT com). Go to www.NetworkSolutions.com and research names. Can a customer easily spell and remember it?

Step 2 - Write down your online goals and prepare a time and money budget.

How soon do you want your e-commerce site up and running?

How much will you spend?

How many hours will you devote to the site and when?

Step 3 - Surf the web to find other sites you like and dislike. Learn from others’ successes and mistakes by taking the best of what their sites offer and adapting it for your own use.

Step 4 - Design your site on paper. Define elements, look, feel, colors etc.

Step 5 - Hire a professional to set up the graphics and navigation, but with the intention of you or your staff maintaining the site’s day to day operations, communication and updates.

Step 6 - Invest in a digital camera and web publishing software such as Microsoft Front Page or Adobe Acrobat to keep up with the site’s maintenance.

Step 7 - Maintain, change, and update your site at least once a month. (The one exception to this rule are those one- page, sales letter websites. Once you have one of those that performs well and makes sales, don't change it!!)

Step 8 - Promote your site at every opportunity. Tell people about it. Put your web address on your business cards and in all your ads. Some companies even advertise their web address when they put you on hold on the telephone.

Step 9 - Give people a self-serving reason to visit your site. Coupon savings, discounts, special incentives, free information, and free newsletters represent excellent enticements for attracting visitors to your site.

Step 10 - Concentrate on obtaining an email address from every customer and potential customer.

Obtain permission to send periodic, value added malings to your database.

Use a list server to organize and maintain your mailing list.

Step 11 - Always look for and use the simplest solution or option.

Whether adding a shopping cart, database or other option to your e-commerce operation, seek out and use the simplest answer for your needs.

Step 12 - Become educated and stay current in the world of e-commerce.

Learn the marketing and sales techniques of the online world.

1:59 AM - By Anonymous 0

10 Tips For Web Success

The webmaster's biggest job is to get their traffic up and keep customers/visitors coming back. Building the site is one thing, but simply building and posting a website does not guarantee traffic. In fact, a website could be beautiful and an example of all the latest technology and still not attract a single visitor if not promoted correctly. Here are 10 tips to guide you to success with your website.

(1) The internet is a new medium.
At least compared to print, it is. A website is a waste if it simply re-hashes something which could easily be put into print. Don't have the site be just an online brochure. Put up features which take advantage of the internet as a medium of communication. Filter information for them. Provide search capability. Provide interactivity with features like forums, quizzes and tools. Web visitors like to interact.

(2) Treat the Customer's Time as Valuable.
When a person visits your website, you have their attention for that point in time. You either need to use it or you will lose it - fast. Most visitors have short attention spans, what you need to design your site homepage so that it grabs their attention and provides what they are looking for right away. Its like walking into a restaurant. If you walk in and just stand there and nobody comes to greet you, you might wonder what is happening. But, if the hostess comes and greets you right away and walks you to a table, then you will be there for awhile and eat. The same analogy goes for websites. Don't overcomplicate your website homepage. Best results will be obtained if you make it very clear where to click to find what they need.

(3) Design the site for customers, not the company.
Your site needs to satisfy the needs of customers, not the company. So, don't post content which is not really useful to the site's customer. And avoid over-flattering marketing hype about the company. It inflates the ego of the company more than it helps your customer.

(4) Involve the Visitor.
Keep the visitor involved and make them feel like a valuable contributor. Actively ask for the feedback and suggestions. Ask for communication from your visitors and answer that communication swiftly. When getting that communication, capture their email address. This will allow you to communicate with them long after they have moved on and forgotten about you.

(5) Keep it Current.
You need to have content on your website which is timely and relevant to the customer's life. Posting month-old news is not interesting. Posting dry product information which never changes is not interesting. Yes, you need to have product information and other information on your site that won't change much, but you can also post more timely content. You can, for example, post content about how your products can be used in certain situations in life. Provide tips and techniques - things which are immediately applicable and solve a problem.

(6) Pay Attention to Form/Design.
Some sites simply over-do it on the eye-candy. Big graphics just for the sake of graphics often impress the site's designer more than the visitor. Do not use graphics that are large and purposeless. Remember, some visitors may still be accessing your website via dial-up. Your site needs to load up quickly for all users. A slow website will cause your users to leave quickly. Also, pay attention to graphic and design size. Many web designers operate on fairly large screen resolutions and sometimes forget that even though a graphic looks great to you, it will appear enormous to somebody on a smaller resolution. On the flip side, don't go too light on graphics. A site which is poorly designed and using the default font and no color is not very aesthetically pleasing. Any web visitor, whether they admit it or not, judges your company by your website unless they have something else to go on. A well-designed site communicates professionalism. A poor design makes the site seem like an afterthought.

(7) Promote.
When a visitor communicates to you via email, it is best to use a web form. not only will this keep your email address from being picked up by spammers, it will also allow you to ask your customers for their email address and then store that address for later use. Employ the "push/pull" marketing strategy. A visitor coming to your website is the pull, but later you want to push content back to them in the form of a newsletter or other promotional material. Start a mailing list and use it. Invite visitors to sign up. Promotion makes or breaks a business, and as long as you respect the ethical considerations of your mailing list, you should use it.

(8) Don't Operate in a Cocoon.
The internet is a medium which is shared by millions. When you set up your website, don't operate as if you are a self-contained island. Get out there and keep in tune with what is happening on other websites related to your own. Participate in forums. Post links to other websites and ask for a link in return. Form partnerships with other sites if it is appropriate. When it comes to communication, people like personal contacts. Hiding behind general email address like "sales" and "info" is OK as long as there is a way to also email you directly. A company site which allows email direct to the management is good. Just remember how much you hate calling a company and getting stuck in their phone system. Sometimes you just want to talk to somebody. Give your visitors that ability.

(9) Have a Plan to Attract Repeat Traffic.
Use newsletters, out-going email, contests, forums, clubs, auctions - anything that will cause people to return to your website. When posting links to other websites, don't just send your visitors somewhere else. They may never return. Provide them an exit page. Give them a pop-up when they try to leave your site. Or at the very least make external links open in a new window.

(10) Track Your Visitors
Pay attention to your site's statistics and react accordingly. What are people reading? How are they finding you? Do they just come and leave right from your homepage? How long as they are on your website? Do they return? This data is immensely valuable in fine-tuning your website based on customer needs and wants. Remember, the biggest mistake of any webmaster is designing the site for what THEY want. A successful website is designed for the target audience, not to impress the site's owner.

1:59 AM - By Anonymous 0

Identity Theft Article - A Phisher Is Trying To Steal Your Identity!

Identity Theft Article A Phisher Is Trying To Steal Your Identity! Sooner or later everyone with an email account will receive a phishing attempt from some internet scammer. What is phishing? How can you protect yourself? These are some of the questions this identity theft article will provide, along with some free resources and practical advice on how to protect your online identity.
The Anti-Phishing Working Group estimates that 75 million to 150 million phishing emails are sent every day on the internet. Phishing (pronounced fishing), is online identity theft that uses spoof emails, fraudulent websites and crimeware to trick unsuspecting internet users into providing financial data, credit card numbers, social security numbers, account logins and passwords, etc.
A spoofed email looks like it is from a legitimate company, usually banks, credit card companies, paypal, ebay, etc. These fraudulent emails look like they are from the “real” company, and generally try to get you to log into your account through the links in the email. The spoof email may state that there is a problem with your account and if you do not log in and update your information your account may be suspended, restricted, closed, etc. Generally these emails try to convey a sense of urgency; if you don’t correct this problem your account will be suspended.
Trojans are increasingly being used as a phishing technique according to Sophos, a security firm. The Brizilian police recently arrested a phishing gang of 18 people who stole $37M from online banking accounts. This phishing gang would send out emails that included Trojans. Once a Trojan infects your computer, all internet activity can be monitored and transferred to the phisher. This is a serious threat as you probably won’t know that you are infected with a Trojan.
According to David Jevans, Chairman of APWG, “Attacks can, and are, coming in a variety of other flavors. Instant Messaging, exploited websites, P2P networks, and search engines are all being used to download and run key logging malcode and/or be directed to websites which may contain malcode or be fraudulent. Attackers are also not just interested in username and password access to bank accounts. Social security numbers, credit cards and other identity information are also being stolen.”
Protecting yourself against phishing scams.
• Do not give out personal or financial information through an email request.
• Always log on to your sensitive accounts by opening a new browser and typing the actual URL directly into the address bar. For example, if you receive a suspected phishing email from ebay, open a new browser and type www.ebay.com in the browser bar.
• Do not click on any link in a suspected phishing email.
• Only use a secure website to submit sensitive data. A secure sites’ address will begin with “https://” instead of “http://”
• Check the activity of your online accounts regularly.
• Make sure your browser is up to date and all security patches are installed.
• Report phishing and spoof email to: reportphishing@antiphishing.com , spam@uce.gov, and forward the email to the company that is being spoofed.
• Keep your pc protected with updated anti-virus software, anti-spyware software, and a firewall.
You may also want to install anti-phishing software.
o Earthlink ScamBlocker is a free browser toolbar that alerts you to known phishing sites. It’s free and can be downloaded at www.earthlink.net/earthlinktoolbar.
o Webroot has a beta version of PhishNet which you can download at www.webroot.com/products/phishnet/
o PC Tools Spyware Doctor offers protection against known phishing sites, spyware and blocks popups.
With the consequences being identity theft, it is imperative that you learn to protect your pc and your identity by exercising caution and installing the proper tools. Hopefully, this identity theft article has given you the information you need to avoid being the next phishing victim. Remember, legitimate companies don’t ask for personal or financial information in an email – so don’t give it to them!

1:57 AM - By Anonymous 0

7 Steps To Effectively Take Control Of Your Inbox And Reduce Spam

Everbody hates spam! I am sure spammers hate getting spam too, but they still continue to dish it out. Why? Because it is still effective. Believe it or not, many of us still click on the links or follow-up with the spam message. As long as we continue to do this, spam will exist. If everybody understood this and paid no attention to spam, the spammers will eventually give up because it costs them realy money to send out emails. It is hard to quantify what the cost of sending out one, two or fifty emails is, but 1 million or 5 million emails certainly has a cost that is not negligible. When the payback starts to get so small that the spammers cannot make a decent living, they will find something else to do. This day will come and I cannot wait for it to arrive.

In the meantime, what can we do about it. Well, I am not going to tell you that there is a perfect solution that will stop all spam, but what I will tell you is that there is a way to reduce the problem and manage it effectively using the 7 steps outlined below.

Step #1: Get Your Own Domain Name

Fighting spam effectively starts with getting your own domain name. For example if your name is Andy Williams, you would purchase a domain name called andywilliams.com, which is of course already owned by the famous singer. This has some unique advantages over using an ISP given domain name or a webmail service such as Hotmail or Gmail. It also has some minor disadvantages. Let's examine these.

One major advantage is that you control the entire email address. You could create emails addresses like andy@andywilliams.com, info@andywilliams.com, sales@andywilliams.com and so on. This is in stark contract to an ISP assigned name like andywilliams@comcast.net. If you wanted another one, you'd have to open up another account or pay extra for each additional ISP assigned address. If you ever decided to switch ISP's, you would lose that email address and have to start over using a new one, and inform everyone you communicated with about it - a very messy proposition.

Many get around this problem by getting a Hotmail, Yahoo Mail or Gmail account which you can access from anywhere as long as you have internet access. These types of email accounts definitely have a place in your email toolchest, but do not suffice as your primary personal email address. One reason is that you do not have access to your email messages and address books when you are not online, like during a long flight. Anotehr drawback is that they do not allow you to export the online address books making portability very tedious.

I prefer owning my own domain name which I call my permanent email address. I will always have this email address as long as I renew this domain name every year. The cost of registering a domain name varies from $4 to $8 per year for most common ones. This is a small price to pay for the advantages it brings you.

The one minor disadvantage of owning your own domain name is that you need to manage it yourself, or have someone do it for you. This in my opinion is far outweighed by the advantages mentioned above.

Step #2: Create Private Email Adresses

A private email address is one that nobody but your inner circle knows about. Every person that you give your personal email address to is someone that you trust and want to receive email from.

Setup one private email address for every person who is going to need to receive messages. This could be you and 5 other members of your family or 12 employees that work for you. This part is quite straightforward, you simply login to your email control panel and create new accounts for each email address that is going to be used to receive email.

Step #3: Create Public Email Addresses As Aliases

A public email address is generally known to the public. It can be specific like andyw@andywilliams.com or generic like receptionist@andywilliams.com.

A public email address is created as an email alias. An email alias is not a real email address, but an address that gets redirected to a real email address. For example, you setup receptionist@andywilliams.com as an alias that redirects to mary@andywilliams.com. Whenever some sends an email to receptionist@andywilliams.com, it will end up in Mary's inbox. If you change receptionists, you simple modify the redirect for a very elegant solution. You can then publish this public email address on a website, in a brochure, on print advertising, business cards etc. without giving away your personal email address and without having to make much changes if Mary leaves and a new receptionist is hired. This is a huge benefit and maintains your privacy as well as those of others you have created email adresses for.

How does this help with spam, you ask? By using email aliases in a smart fashion, you could very easily shut down any spam that starts coming in. Let's examine how this can be done.

Step #4: Setup the Default or Catch-all Email Address

Your email control panel will have something called a "default address" or it is also sometimes called a "catch-all address". This is a valid email address that all unresolved emails go to. If you set this up to be your personal email address for example, then you will receive all emails that are addressed to "anything"@andywilliams.com, this includes sales@andywilliams.com, joe@andywilliams.com, andrew@andywilliams.com etc. Herein lies the secret to combat spam.

Step #5: Create Specific Named Public Email Addresses As And When Required

When you are forced to register on a website where you want to get some information from, you are usually asked for a valid email address. Well guess what, you now have an unlimited supply of valid email adresses. I usually use a specific format when registering at websites - it is "websitename"@andywilliams.com. So if I am registering at a website called www.get-rich-quick.com, I would use the address get-rich-quick@andywilliams.com as my valid email address. When the site sends me an email, it gets redirected to my personal email or whatever the default or catch-all address is.

Step #6: Send Spam Back To Where It Came From, If Possible

Here comes the real bonus, if you subsequently start receiving spam addressed to none other than get-rich-quick@andywilliams.com, you simple create an email alias for get-rich-quick@andywilliams.com and redirect the email back to exactly where it came from, for example georg-bush@get-rick-quick.com. You will then never get another email from anyone using that email address ever again. This is cool and is my favourite part. Bear in mind that spammers usually send email from an address that is not their own, so if you see an address like noreply@get-rick-quick.com, then you would redirect it somewhere else, for example a Hotmail address that you setup just for redirection purposes. Please exercise some discretion here because spammers often use the email addresses of real people and we don't want these innocent people getting redirected email.

Step #7: Be Diligent In The Ongoing Management Of Your Domain

If you do this diligently for each website where you register by identifying the website name, you will very quickly know which websites are selling email addresses and which ones honor their promise not to share your information. ALl this while, nobody by your personal inner circle knows your private email address.

A real-life example in my case: I use a specific email alias for my Paypal account which nobody but Paypal knows. I have never ever received spam on this address, but I have received hundreds of spam messages on other email aliases that I have created. All of these emails supposedly come from Paypal and address me as "Dear Valued Paypal Member" or something similar, warning me that my account is going to be closed or suspended unless I click on their link and update my credit card information.

I hope that I have given you some food for thought on how to manage the ever growing spam problem by protecting yourself by taking some initiative and getting your own domain name. The added benefit is that you now have a permanent email address no matter where you choose to live or which ISP you use to connect to the internet.

There are many other ways to fight spam which I will perhaps address future articles.

1:57 AM - By Anonymous 0

Top 7 Ways to STOP Junk Email

Nothing makes me angrier than opening my email in-box to
find over 150 messages, wading through them all, and
discovering that 135 of the messages rate as nothing more
than junk.

The problem with junk email or "spam" (the popular slang
for unsolicited commercial email) only seems to get worse
with each passing day.

Luckily, we can fight back in ways that will actually cut
down significantly on the amount of spam we receive on a
daily basis.

Try these tips and see if they can't cut the spam you
receive down by at least half.

** Don't Respond

Much of the spam you receive contains an "unsubscribe" link
saying something like "To unsubscribe, click here." Do NOT
click that link.

Clicking it lets spammers know they've got a live email
address!

** Use Mailwahser

Get a program like "Mailwasher" from Mailwasher.net that
allows you to view the email you receive before you
download it.

The program makes it simple to delete dozens of emails,
including viruses, before they reach your computer.

** Use Your Filters

Your email program most likely contains filters you can use
to weed out emails containing the usual spam words like
"opportunity, $$$, sex, viagra" and a host of others.

You can set the filters to delete messages containing these
words before ever downloading them to your computer.

** Use An "Assassin"

Spam "killer" services offer users high-powered filtering,
often requiring a sender to prove their identity before an
email gets sent to the recipient.

One such service, SpamArrest.com, forces email senders to
go to a website and type in a random word before their
email gets delivered. This service has gained a lot of
popularity lately and seems reasonably effective.

** Use a Temporary Email

Maintain a public and private email address and never give
your private email to anyone other than family and friends.

Go sign up for a free email account with Hotmail.com or
mail.yahoo.com to use whenever you subscribe to a
newsletter or request a free report. That way, if the spam
ever gets too bad, you can simply abandon the free account
and open another.

Your private email address should remain safe because
nobody will know it except the people you trust.

** Never Post Your Email

Never post your private email address in forums, guest
books, news groups or on a website. Spammers use little
robots that comb the Internet looking for email addresses
they can collect and sell to others.

Always use a free account or set it up so you can shut off
the exposed email address once the spam gets too bad.

** Abandon Ship

Shut down your current account and just start over! This
may seem a drastic move, but it may represent the best
course of action if your sanity or your email box can't
handle another offer for sexual enhancements, a great
business opportunity, or a free cruise.

Notify everyone you want to know your new email address and
get on with life.

1:56 AM - By Anonymous 0

How To Avoid Spam Robots

Despite the fact that Federal legislation (the CANSPAM act) made it illegal, harvesting email addresses from the web using automated robots remains alive and well.

Spammers who need fresh email addresses release software spider programs that comb the Internet and suck email addresses off Web pages, guest books, and anywhere else you might post your email address.

Once they get your email address, spammers will trade it around like 5th graders with a new pack of Pokemon cards at recess and you can expect the avalanche of email to begin flooding your inbox.

In order to combat this still rampant practice of stealing email addresses from websites and sending people email they don't want, the following tips should help protect you.


** Break It Up **

Obviously the best way to avoid getting picked up by an email harvester is not to post your email anywhere on anyone's website (including your own).

If the only way someone can get your email is if you give it to them, that creates a similar situation to operating with an unlisted phone number.

If telemarketers can't get your phone number, they can't call.

If you must post your email address, post it in a way that a robot won't recognize it as an email address. Instead of posting YOURNAME@YOURDOMAIN.COM, you can put YOURNAME (AT) YOURDOMAIN.COM and then, in parenthesis, put (replace AT with @ to email me).

Though it seems like an extra step for legitimate email, you'll find it a very effective technique.


** Use An Image **

Currently, online spiders (ANY spider, including search engines) cannot read text that appears in a graphic or picture. If you must display an email address on a page, then do it by typing your email address into your favorite graphics program and saving the image as a .gif or .jpg. Then post the image onto your web page so people can see the email, but spiders cannot. This too creates an extra step for people because they must type in your email address, but it's an effective solution if you must display an email address on your own website.

** Use An Email Form **

Another way to cut down on spam originating from your own website is simply not to display an email at all.

Instead, allow customers and prospects to contact you through a form where they fill in fields, click a button, and your website emails you their message.

A note of caution: make sure the form script you use does not keep your email address visible in the form code.

If the form code contains the email address, spam robots can find it even though you don't see it on the page.


** Make It Hard To Guess **

Sometimes you'll get unsolicited email because a spammer guessed your email address.

It's not a far stretch to imagine that someone probably has the email Jim@yourdomain.com, so spammers will do a "dictionary" attack on common usernames.

1:55 AM - By Anonymous 0

Tips to Build Your Email Address Database

WHY BUILD YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS DATABASE?

Gaining your customers' email addresses will:

• Provide an additional channel for reaching your customers
• Increase the ROI of your marketing investments
• Significantly reduce your customer acquisition and marketing costs
• Allow you to easily measure the impact of your marketing campaigns
• Increase your customer participation and retention rates

With ongoing postal and telemarketing pressures impacting marketing budgets for many organizations this year, email marketing could become the "silver lining " for many marketers. But how do you create a successful email marketing campaign if you do not have a substantial email database? That question may be one of the largest Internet related challenges facing companies this year.

Research shows that the majority of organizations have email addresses for less than 10% of their postal files. So how do you level the playing field and start to add quality permission - based email addresses to your database?

Here are some tips that you can use to cost effectively build your email address database and increase your customer participation and retention rates:

START TO ASK FOR IT!

Every communication or touch point with a customer should start or end with a request for an email address. By utilizing the four points below, you should be able to add email addresses for 5% to 10% of your postal file over the course of one year.

1. Direct Mail Collection

Think about how much time and money you spent for copy and design on your last new direct mail piece. Most companies have started to ask their customers for their email address information within these mailings. This is a great step forward. However, companies need to look at one major improvement if they want to increase their email address collection rates.

To date, most requests for email address information have been pushed, shoved or jammed into whatever white space remains. It should be no surprise that the success rate has been less than stellar.

To improve on these efforts, you need to provide your members with a reason to release their email addresses to you. E-newsletters, purchase confirmations, petitions, and special discounts and offers are but a few of the benefits that will encourage your members to come on board.

2. Web Page Collection

Many companies have an email address collection function in place via the web. To improve your sign-up rates, add text below the email request box that informs your visitors of the special email benefits that they will receive (i.e. e-newsletters, purchase confirmations, delivery updates, etc.) upon registering. You can also utilize a pop-up link to inform users of these special benefits.

Finally, your email address request function should be available on your home page. Don't make your users go and look for it. Every click away from your home page reduces the chances of your users taking an action and providing you with their email address information.

3. Existing Email Database Collection

Don't forget to ask the members of your existing customer base for email addresses of their friends, family and associates. Viral marketing is a powerful tool to use and is extremely cost effective! You could ask them either to provide you with additional addresses or simply to pass on your newsletter, email specific offers, or other information to others they feel have similar interests.

4. Telemarketing Collection

Don't assume that your telemarketing agents are asking for email addresses from potential customers. Ensure that your agents have an updated script, which outlines the previously described benefits to potential customers of providing their email addresses.

The suggestions above are a great start! Yet they really should be viewed as a secondary plan for building your email database. To exponentially and expeditiously grow your email database, please read on!

EMAIL APPENDING

Utilizing an email appending service enables you to add email addresses for up to 25% of your postal file, all within 3-4 weeks.

Email Appending - is the process of adding an individual's email address to that individual's postal record in side your existing database. This is accomplished by matching the postal database against a third party, permission based database of postal and email address information.

Best Practices - Email Appending is not a prospecting tool. The DMA (Direct Marketing Association) and its interactive arm AIM (Association of Interactive Marketing) have guidelines in place that dictate that email appending only be used to append email addresses to your existing opt-in postal record house file.

The Process - Your opt-in postal file is securely transferred to an email appending provider, who will do an initial gross email address match of your file against its opt-in database of postal and email address records. Your appending provider will then send these matches a permission-based message prepared by you. All bounces and opt-out requests will be removed from the list. At that point a valid permission-based email address file of your customers will be delivered back to you.

Cost - Less than the price of a postal stamp!

IN SUMMARY

The first step of any successful email marketing effort is to build a permission-based email address list of your customers. The simplest, quickest and most cost-effective way to do this is through email appending, which will enable you to add email addresses for up to 25% of your postal file. Secondary efforts of email address collection via focused direct mail, web, viral and telemarketing practices are also important and will enable you to add email addresses for an additional 5% to 10% of your base on an annual basis.

Best of luck in building your email address database. As many companies have already learned, the ROI and cost savings to be achieved will far exceed your expectations.

1:55 AM - By Anonymous 0