Computers

FTP stands for "file transfer protocol". FTP is basically a way of sending files over the Internet.

An FTP program can help you with uploading information from your computer to your server and vice versa. All you do is drag the information from one window to the next.

If you have a website, then you want to use FTP and are probably already doing so without knowing it. Once you create your website, you have to get it to the server in order for it to be available online and the best way to transfer these files is by FTP.

Handling your file transfers with FTP only requires that you have an FTP client that provides you the software necessary. This type of client is available free online for personal use or educational purposes, but for business purposed there are plenty of good programs that are affordable and offer free trials as well.

Most of the time you will need to create a password and user ID for your FTP account and then all you have to do is sign in and start transferring.

FTP is certainly a program that will make your life a lot easier. If you are doing any kind of file transferring, whether it be from your computer to a server or from computer to computer, file transfer protocol will certainly make your job of managing files simple.

If you are interested in FTP and creating a user name and password for an FTP program then you need to go online and find the best program for you. There are many programs available from free to expensive and various ones have different tools and different functions that you might be interested in. Simply search online and research the different programs available.

Once you find the perfect FTP program, all that is left to do is download and start using it. You will find out quickly that when you implement FTP into your file transferring activities, it happens quickly and without a lot of hassle. You will really enjoy using FTP so find a program and download it today. There is no reason not to make your life easier by transferring files in this easy and straightforward manner.

If you are interested in a more detailed description of FTP and how it works in regard to technology and programming, you can simply search online for more technical information that will explain how FTP is written and used by servers and computers.

For most people however, knowing that FTP simply transfers files from computer to computer or from computer to server is enough information and will get them headed in the right direction so they can put the power of FTP to work.

Hard Disk Wiping and the Secure Removal of Data
It is important for businesses to recycle their computers, but have you thought about what happens to the data on your computer when it is collected?

How sensitive is the data stored on your hard disk?
If you are donating equipment to a recycler, you need to ensure that their data removal procedures operate to a high standard.

A recycler needs to honour the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998, in summary:

To treat all data obtained from a donation as confidential
To use appropriate methods to securely destroy all data
Notify the donor as soon as possible if any unauthorised use or disclosure of the data is made

How Do You Securely Remove Data?
If a hard disk is formatted, this is not a secure way to wipe data!
This method has inherent limitations, as only the file allocation tables and the pointers to the data (that render the data inaccessible) are destroyed. The data on the remainder of the drive is not destroyed, and the inaccessible data is easily retrievable. There are many free programs available on the internet to recover data from a formatted drive.

Best Practice:
A Recycler should use a piece of software which will:

run from a bootable floppy
report the actual hard disk capacity (the same reading as the BIOS and label on the HD)
overwrite a single character pattern to the entire HD
produce a report that all areas have been overwritten
report any bad or unusable sectors that cannot be overwritten
verify successful erasure
The key point here is that the hard disk is actually overwritten with new data – ie. 10101010
This ensures that your old data cannot be retrieved.

The Security Levels:
In order for a disk to be wiped to High Security Standards, such as Military Of Defense standard, the hard disk is overwritten several times, for instance:

Perform 3 overwrite cycles to all areas (where each cycle will be a single pattern, followed by its complement), and a final overwrite with a random character pattern (ie. A total of 7 overwrites) – verification of successful erasure should then be carried out for all Hard Disks.

How Do You Erase Data From A Hard Disk That No Longer Works?
The simplest way to ensure this is to destroy the Hard Disk. Recyclers have many different methods for this, but an example is to drill a hole through the disk, just off centre.

Summary
Before you allow your computer equipment to be collected, ensure you check the recyclers’ procedures for the secure removal of data from your hard disks. Most recyclers will also provide some form of report after the collection to guarantee the data from your hard disks was securely removed.

Generally the products offered by appliance producers are rather conservative in design. But every now and then something unusual appears on the market.

Right now it is the internet refrigerator. A refrigerator that you hook up to your telephone line so it can do its magic.

One of the first to introduce this concept to the public was LG Electronics. A Korean based company now distributing appliances all over the world. They have been the innovators of many changes to the appliance industry.

They have recently introduced a refrigerator with a television in the door. It allows you to watch your favourite programs while getting supper ready. Also, messages can be left on the screen for family members to see later.

The Future -----------------------------------------------

Other manufacturers have been contemplating an internet refrigerator that has a bar code scanner built into the door. So every time a package is added to, or removed from the refrigerator it keeps track of it. That means that you would know what is inside the refrigerator with the simple touch of a button. The refrigerator would never lie.

I can see the scenario now: “Mommy where did you hide the Popsicles? The refrigerator says there are two left”.

Perhaps, the question should be, ”do you really need an inventory of what is inside your refrigerator”? Generally I would say no. But, I can see situations where it would be advantageous.

“The frig says we need more milk “ -------------

Perhaps you are disabled and cannot access the refrigerator interior. Wouldn’t it be advantageous to know you only have one quart of milk left? You would access this information via a computer screen on the outside of the door that says it’s time to buy more.

What if the same person is able to push a touch pad on the computer screen and get a read out (or a printout) of all the contents? It would certainly make their shopping easier.

Or, what if the refrigerator were hooked into a service that delivers food to the home. If the refrigerator can keep track of the contents, it will also know when you have run out of something. So every week it could total your contents, connects itself to the Internet, and places an order with the grocery store.

Later that day the delivery truck arrives with what you require. All you have to do is put it into the refrigerator and pay the bill.

No grocery store parking, no lineups, no trying to remember what you did with your grocery list.

Ah, the joys of the modern age.

Not there yet --------------------------------------------

Well we’re not there quite yet. The Internet refrigerators we have today can be connected to the web, but mainly for service. Perhaps it starts making funny noises and you want to know why. Connect it to the telephone outlet, dial a service centre number, and the refrigerator will self-diagnose, offering you suggestions as to the cause of the problem.

So the question we all have to ask ourselves is, “is it worth the extra cost”. Would an internet refrigerator be helpful – or is it only marketing hype. As usual the consumer will make the final decision regarding that query.

Customers I have mentioned this refrigerator to are generally intrigued by the idea – at first. Then they usually tell me they think the world is already too fast paced. Many people work with computers all day and just want to get away from them at home. They already feel computers are ruling their office, so they don’t want them ruling their kitchens.

The feedback I get from customers is this type of product is only one more thing that would add to their stress level. So unless you have a specific need for an Internet refrigerator I think it is something that the general public is not yet ready to embrace.

Preventive Maintenance (PM) is defined as scheduled work done on a system to identify and fix any occurring issues before they become problems. The concept of preventive maintenance applies to many different industries. PM is often done on buildings, various types of machines, computers, institutions, as well as personal assets, including finances and property.

A common example of preventive maintenance is a car getting its oil changed. Usually, this is done when the car is in good working order to prevent any future problems resulting from the car running on old oil.

In the past, preventive maintenance was formed solely by personnel, but now computers manage much of the process. Computer programs can schedule the maintenance and send alerts to employees when work is needed. Another name for preventive maintenance software is computer maintenance management software (CMMS). These are software programs that allow users to identify and fix potential problems. Some common uses for preventive maintenance are healthcare facilities, computer hardware, correctional facilities, and personal assets.

Preventive maintenance software works in several ways, depending on what is being maintained, but most types of preventive maintenance software operate on the same principles. The main difference between types of preventive maintenance software for different industries is the asset or equipment being maintained. The core concept behind preventive maintenance for an automobile and a healthcare facility is generally the same. The difference is that an automobile’s engine must be kept in running order, while a healthcare facility’s equipment must be kept sterile.

The price range for preventive maintenance software varies depending on its use. Programs can cost about $60 for some personal asset software to several thousand for software used in correctional institutions. Although much of the scheduling of preventive maintenance is automatic and computerized, it is still important that people keep up with the physical aspects of the maintenance, such as replacing old parts and following the software’s recommendations.

When spyware invades a computer system it monitors, records and sends out to intruders information on your computer usage and internet habits and it can possibly detect private banking and security information which could result in identity theft. Computers are easily infected with spyware while users click around online or download freeware.
The Norton Internet Security Professional software is one of the top rated computer security tools for its ability to detect and fix viruses, Trojan Horses, spyware, joke programs and other malicious codes that can end up in security risks. The capabilities of all types of spyware are numerous, ranging from annoying consequences such as pop up to detrimental occurrences such as identity theft and complete computer failure.

Using the Norton security tool you can also screen incoming emails so as to avoid any that are linked with malicious viruses. However well the Norton Security Professional tool works, it is unlikely the program will catch all threats, especially spyware because of its widespread possibilities.

To more thoroughly guard yourself and your computer from spyware threats, use more than one spyware security tool, such as Ad-Aware by LavaSoft or Spybot search and destroy. Both of these programs are free for download and they work by scanning specifically for known and defined spyware threats. Using more than one internet security tool is necessary for catching both virus and spyware threats.

Have you priced a laptop computer lately? Buying a new laptop is a big investment; and just how big of an investment you want to make is entirely up to you. Look in your Sunday newspaper flyers to see countless models on sale each week. Initially selections were made by looking at the specifications and the general appearance. However that’s not the sole criteria any longer. Everyday more and more people are now stepping inside the mobile world. With so many models of laptops now available, how can you be sure about the choice you make? Below are several factors you should consider: CPU (Central Processing Unit), Video Card, hard disk, noise, battery life and RAM (Random Access Memory).

CPU is the main component which determines the performance of your computer and also the heating and the battery life. There is a trade-off between the CPU performance and the battery-life and power consumption (heating). If you want a laptop which would replace a desktop and if you are not planning to travel with it a lot then there are several different offers with desktop CPUs integrated in the laptop main board (such as a P4).

If you are fond of mobility and are going to use your new laptop for your business purposes or school, then you should consider buying a laptop with more suitable CPUs. AMD Athlon can be a solution: Athlon processors are designed for users who are looking for economical solutions, both purchase and usage. Older models of Athlon are no where near Intel Pentium products from the point of performance, and yet new models like 2800+ are potent enough to compete with P4 2.8 GHz.

There is one more model of CPU that many of the customers prefer: Centrino. Centrino is the new attempt of Intel to balance the tradeoff between the performance and mobility issues. With the 2 MB second level cash, the Pentium CPU is modified for the laptop which eases the burden of the CPU and implicitly pulls down the levels of heating and power consumption.

RAM and the graphic card are also two important factors for the quality of the laptop. There are two kinds of RAM on the market: SD RAM and DD RAM. In any case, there is no tradeoff, no comparison: DD RAM is better, and yet, you still have to be careful about the clock specification of the RAM. If you buy a RAM with 3.0 MHz clock speed, you will see the performance improvement it supplies to the whole system. Another thing to consider is that some computers have 512 MB RAM with two slots (256 x 2) which is not very good for the new laptop you are going to buy. Overall, if you want a good laptop, you should consider one equipped with a 3.0 MHz, 512 MB, DD RAM.

There are various video cards on the market today. The first thing you should check is the “ON-Board” specification in the video card. These cards are integrated into the main board and generally use your main RAM as for the video memory. If you are going to use your laptop for general purposes, not for gaming or 3-D design which would require 3D hardware acceleration, these laptops with onboard video card are for you. However, if you are a professional Counter Strike player, you would be disappointed with the screen delays and freezes.

The last technical detail is the hard disk. While buying a hard disk there is a detail which is much more important then the capacity: RPM. Rotation Per Minute determines how fast the data transfer rate is to the CPU to be processed so this specification also plays a huge role while dealing with multimedia stuff.

So if you’re in the market for a new laptop computer, one suggestion is to consider buying a Centrino laptop with an onboard video card with a big RAM if you are planning to use it for school or business purposes and also randomly for movies and music. Nevertheless, Pentium computers with AGP or PCI Express video off-board video cards would give you the performance of a desktop if you don’t mind the weight, noise and the heating of the laptop.

With so many decisions to make, take your time; do your homework and invest wisely.

About Indoor Air Pollution At The Workplace And At Home.
Workplace Air Pollution

When we think about pollution, we generally think in terms of outdoor air pollution. However, we spend many hours each day indoors, be it at home or in our work place. Yes, air pollution isn't only an outdoor issue. The air indoors, at our home and in our workplace can also be polluted and we can suffer because of it. Indoor air pollution can and does affect the quality of our life. In fact, levels of some types of air pollution can be higher indoors than outdoors. On average, people spend about 90 percent of their time indoors, so the quality of indoor air is very important to ones wellbeing and health. We need to breathe whether it is indoors or outdoors so we have to make the air we live in as pollution free as possible.

Air Pollution at our work place and the indoor air quality is an important health issue and demands our attention. Complaints abound related to indoor air quality due to more tightly sealed buildings, energy conservation measures, designed to re-circulate air within the building, which reduces the amount of outside air supply, that is allowed to come indoors. Adding to this problem is the use of synthetic and chemical materials used within the workplace environment, such as the modern office equipment, comprising photocopiers, laser printers and computers. Offices use plenty of cleaning products that can give out vapors that add to this pollution problem and to indoor air contamination.

Home- Indoor Air Pollution
A very harmful contaminant of indoor air is cigarette tobacco smoke. Then there is mould, mildew and dampness caused by condensation problems, improperly maintained combustion equipment, gasses from chemicals, dust mites and their by-products that lead to indoor pollution and cause a number of health related problems.

Mould is a common problem in a home and this brings about the release of mould spores, toxins, and moldy odors which lead to allergy and asthma reactions. Chemicals used in our house cleaning can release harmful vapors and synthetic fabrics, furnishings and other household products also bring about unseen contaminants. We have also increased the use of candles which is a source of indoor air pollutants. We must ensure that we maintain properly vented combustion devices, such as wood stoves, fireplaces,gas or propane cooking stoves, furnaces, water heaters etc. to enjoy a living space that is free from indoor pollution.
Health Hazards Due To Indoor air pollution
The health symptoms usually attributed to indoor air quality problems include headache, fatigue, shortness of breath, sinus congestion, cough, sneezing, skin irritation, dizziness, nausea, and eye, nose, and throat irritation. Some individuals may be particularly susceptible to the effects of indoor air contaminants such as those people with existing allergies or asthma, people with respiratory disease, people whose immune systems are suppressed due to chemotherapy, radiation therapy, disease, and those that wear contact lenses.

Ways to Protect Yourself from Indoor Air Pollution
Avoid smoking while inside the home.

Keep door and windows open whenever possible to ensure fresh air flow and air exchange which will help control humidity and eliminate gaseous chemicals which may be present indoors.

Fix any water damage from leaks, infiltration, or flood. Clean any mould and keep the place dry and moisture free.

Avoid excessive humidity (not more than 50% RH (relative humidity) in summer and 30% in winter)

Combustion devices such as a furnace, water heater, gas stove or fireplace should be inspected by a specialist at regular intervals and must be well vented.

Chemical such as varnish, paint, cleaning products should be used according to the manufacturer's recommendations and heed any warnings on the product labels and used with proper ventilation to reduce exposure to fumes or vapors.

We all know we have to backup regularly, but those backups files can get huge. Add that to your existing your files and your notebook computer hard drive seems to have shrunk overnight. No matter what size hard drive you have on your notebook computer, space is a premium. Besides, it's not exactly a good idea to store your backups on the same hard drive since you can't retrieve it -- rather defeats the purpose of backing up don't you think? So what do you do, what are your options?

Backup to an external hard drive. This is probably the quickest, most cost effective option. You can often get a removable drive on sale or with rebate for a low price too. You can get one with hundreds of Gigabytes of space too. They can be easy to hookup to your notebook computer. However, do remember that they are hard drives and hard drives can fail. You may find the external backup fails before your notebook computer does.

Online backup. This is actually a good idea because physical disasters can happen to your home. And when that happens, you will always have a copy in a place not affected by the disaster. This is why businesses usually have one backup in the premises and one (or more) off premises. The good thing about online backup is, it's accessible from anywhere with an internet connection. So if your notebook fails when you're away from home, you can still retrieve your data.

Many of these services are reasonably priced and they provide you with everything you need to get the backups safely transfered. But because your data will be on someone else's system, choose a reputable company, one who is not only established but takes customer data confidentiality very seriously.

Network attached storage. This would make more sense if you have several computers. They allow you to not only backup several computers' data into one location but also ability to share or retrieve files from that central area. You can also achieve a similar effect equipping an older computer with a large hard drive and use it just for storage or backup.

Backup to CD or DVD. This is considered the safest for long term data integrity. External drives and network storage can still crash and prone to virusses. CD's and DVD's are also inexpensive. But backing up to disks daily is chore as you'll find yourself having to manually pop in the disks. It becomes even more hard work when you have a lot of files and your backup spans several disks. The other problem with this method is, backup utilities that come with your operating system cannot backup to a CD or DVD drive. So you'll have to fork out extra cash to buy a third party backup software that will.

No backup solution is one hundred percent and what you choose of course will depend on how you work. If your data is really important to you, try not rely on one backup source. Create two separate sources if you can afford to, just in case.

It seems like technology is headed for a massive telephone change over. The traditional Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is looking to be replaced by VoIP. VoIP is short for Voice over IP. VoIP is the routing of conversations over an IP network or the Internet. VoIP uses a packet-switched network instead of the circuit-switched voice transmission lines used by traditional telephone networks. VoIP does not need an Internet connection to work. A company that has a LAN connection with all of its computers can utilize VoIP technology.

VoIP is a great technology, but has a variety of issues with implementation. VoIP may face problems with latency because IPs do not provide Quality of Service guarantees, nor do they provide their packets of information in sequential order. High-speed Internet connections are required for VoIP and firewalls often prove tricky for VoIP technology. To combat this, many people use Session Border Controllers (SBC).

VoIP technology has many advantages. There are more new features with VoIP because of the lack of an International Telecommunications Union. VoIP is still very much an open market for developers, so the technology is constantly being improved. VoIP also has a lower cost than traditional sources because of the monopolies that exist or traditional phone companies being controlled by the government. Some users even see VoIP phone calls as free because they do not have to pay extra for the service. The user only pays the Internet service provider, and therefore the usage of VoIP seems to be free. You can also take your VoIP phone wherever you go because all you need is a network connection to make it work. VoIP technology will also benefit network agents who work for call centers. Agents can help callers from anywhere in the country with an Internet connection. Finally, because VoIP is on the computer, there is increased functionality. Conference calls can be held, information can be sent, and things like address books can be updated and shared over VoIP.

While VoIP has many advantages, there are a few drawbacks to the service. One of the biggest drawbacks is reliability. Telephone lines have back up generators in case of power outages, so phones can keep working. Because VoIP is connected to the Internet, a power outage will end a VoIP call when the computer shuts down. To combat this, users must buy an expensive uninterruptible power supply or a generator that must then be installed on the premises. Internet connections are also subject to disconnection, depending on crowded networks, and the quality of the ISP. If the Internet connection drops, then the VoIP call will be dropped. VoIP is also a problem for emergency calls. Because of the nature of the Internet and VoIP systems, emergency workers cannot trace calls. In the event that someone with an emergency has a problem but is unable to give an address, the emergency worker will not be able to trace the call and find the person. VoIP carriers are already attempting to fix this problem by implementing a technical work-around. Finally, it will be very difficult to integrate VoIP on a massive scale, because while the standard Plain Old Telephone System (POTS) has a common standard, VoIP does not.

VoIP has many advantages as well as some large drawbacks. The main roadblock in the way of global VoIP adoption is reliability. When VoIP proves that it can be just as reliable as traditional telephone services have been over many years, then it will start to be adopted. VoIP technology is always improving, so the problems with VoIP today are likely to be solved sooner than many people expect. VoIP can truly revolutionize both the business world and home life.

Hackers, phishers, viruses, worms…simply having your computer online can expose your data and personal information to all kinds of malicious and worrisome problems. If you’re somewhat new to the 'net' or to computers in general, these four tips could help protect you from identity theft, credit card fraud, or a complete computer takeover – all of which can happen without you even knowing about it!

1. What’s in Your Inbox? – If your e-mail program allows you to preview the entire message before or while it is being downloaded, turn this setting off. Some e-mails can contain dangerous code that could unknowingly compromise your computer and leave you vulnerable to viruses, worms or worse! Check the options in your e-mail program for a way to disable the message preview pane.

2. Scrutinize Your Messages – Don’t ever respond to messages claiming to be from your bank, credit card company, or other financial institution, which ask for personally identifiable information such as card or account numbers, passwords, or other private information – even if the e-mail looks to have come from the actual company. It may be a hoax designed to get you to unknowingly part with crucial financial or private contact information, leaving you vulnerable to credit card fraud, identity theft or credit card theft. Contact the institution or company that claims to be sending the e-mail and verify the contents of the message with them. Chances are – they never sent it. Only use the number on your statement though, and not the number that appears in the e-mail message. It may direct you right to the scammer, who will do everything they can to assure you that nothing is wrong!

3. If it’s From a Friend, it must be Safe, Right? – It’s logical to assume that a message from your friend or colleague is safe, but that isn’t always the case! If you receive an email from a friend or colleague which contains an attachment (could be a media clip, a screensaver, a picture or anything else), call them up to check and see if they really did send it. Many viruses and worms can hijack your computer and blast out a virus-ridden email to everyone in your address book, making it appear that it came from you and therefore, making it appear trustworthy.

4. Read Your Messages in Plain Text – Some e-mails written in HTML (the coding language that makes up many web pages) can be harmless. Others can contain malicious code that can hijack your e-mail program, browser, or your entire computer – and send your personal and financial information out to a hacker or scammer without you even knowing about it! Stay safe by setting your e-mail program to only show messages in plain text format (often in the options or settings section of the software). This will prevent threatening code from installing itself and compromising your system and private information.

Possibly one of the best ways to protect your e-mail is simply by exercising common sense. The Internet is a lot like a crowded plaza. Would your banker or credit card lender walk out into the middle of the throng of people and shout out to you to ask for your account information? Would you tell him where everyone could hear? Definitely not! The same caution should be exercised when checking your e-mail. These tips can help you stop scammers dead in their tracks while keeping you from becoming another victim of fraud or theft.

The majority of computers connected to the internet today are infected with some sort of spyware. The prevalence of internet use has made the growth of spybot, adware, spyware, Trojans, keyloggers and other malware fast and easy.

Each form of surveillance software invades users’ privacy through numerous methods so they can gather information about people’s internet and computer activities. Users must learn to deny spyware access or remove any current infestations in order to maintain a private internet experience.

The consequences of spyware can include identity theft, loss of system control, PC slow downs, pop up ads and browsers crashes. Without a spyware removal tool you are continuing to invite spyware in to invade your privacy. Your anti-virus and firewalls cannot catch most spyware applications because they are installed by piggybacking in on legitimate downloads that you approve such as freeware programs as well as music and game software.

Once on your computer the spyware works silently, beyond the user’s knowledge to gather private information. Spyware and adware software are stealthily embedded in your system, making them difficult to remove manually, which is why it is vital for internet users to find a spyware scanner. Spy scan tools search through the hard drive for spyware infected files. It then removes the detected files so your computer can be restored to it normal working capabilities. Several spyware tools
actively protect you from spyware infections while you are working online.

MODELS OF IAD

Clinical research on behavioral addictions has focused on compulsive gambling (8), overeating (11), and compulsive sexual behavior (12). Similar addiction models have been applied to technological overuse (24), computer dependency (25) and obsessive video game playing. These theories include psychodynamic and personality explanations, socio-cultural explanations, behavioral explanations, and biomedical explanations (26). Not all explain any addiction perfectly and some are better than others at explaining Internet addiction.

Diathesis-stress model

A dispositional model or diathesis-stress model of addiction might help in understanding IAD. Certain people, due to a variety of factors, may be predisposed (diathesis) to developing an addiction to something, be it alcohol, heroin, gambling, sex, shopping, or on-line computer services. If the right stressor, or combination of stressors, affects the person at a critical time, the person may be more inclined to develop an addiction.

Behavioral explanations

These explanations are based on B.F. Skinner's studies on operant conditioning (27). The person performs a behavior and gets either rewarded or punished for the behavior. Behaviour that is rewarded is reinforced and the person intends to indulge in that behaviour more frequently. This again becomes reinforcing, and the cycle continues.

Biomedical explanations

According to this perspective, this would make someone susceptible to addiction (27). There is definitive research that shows that some drugs act to fill in the synaptic gaps of the neurons in the brain, fooling the brain into sending out faulty information. This, it is thought, is one reason for the "high” one gets from engaging in activities such as running, drug use, and gambling. This might apply to Internet addiction, since many opportunities on the Internet are fun and exciting.

What To Do If Addicted To The 'Net?

Dealing with Internet Addiction is no different than dealing with any other type of addiction. All people who are addicted (to anything) have some degree of denial. Without denial, most addictions would not have become established in the first place. First, acknowledge the problem instead of denying when pointed by others around you or yourself. Don’t panic if established.

Second, just because there is a debate about the validity of this diagnostic category amongst professionals doesn't mean there isn't help for it. Don’t hesitate to ask for help. Addiction should never be viewed as a problem in and of itself. Addictions are much better viewed as a symptom of other underlying problems and deficiencies. One must look beyond the addiction itself and deal with underlying deficiencies in coping and life management skills that have given rise to it. If you have a life problem, or are grappling with a disorder such as depression, seek professional treatment for it. Once you admit and address the problem, other pieces of your life will fall back into place. Psychologists have studied compulsive behaviors and their treatments for years now, and nearly any well-trained mental health professional will be able to help you learn to slowly curve the time spent online, and address the problems or concerns in your life that may have contributed to your online overuse, or were caused by it.

It's not the technology that is important or addicting -- it's the behavior. And behaviors are easily treatable by traditional cognitive-behavior techniques in psychotherapy (28).

Once you take on the challenge of dealing with any addiction, you will need to marshal your ability to successfully deal with temptation. If you don’t have a sense that you have this power to succeed, you can use your addiction as an opportunity to discover that you really do have this important capability.

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19. Graphics, Visualization, and Usability Center. Online Access, March Issue, 1995: 51-52.
20. Grohol JM. Internet Addiction guide. From Dr. Grohol’s Psych Central – Internet Addiction and Online Addiction, February, 1999. Available at http://psychcentral.com/netaddiction/. Accessed June2, 2005.
21. Harmon A, Researchers Find Sad, Lonely World In Cyberspace. From The New York Times Company, August, 1998. Available at http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/08/biztech/articles/30depression.html. Accessed May 28, 2005.
22. Griffiths, M. Technological addictions. Clinical Psychology Forum. 1996:161-162.
23. Shotton, M. The costs and benefits of “computer addiction.” Behavior and Information Technology, 1991: 219-230.
24. Ferris JR. Internet Addiction Disorder: Causes, Symptoms, and Consequences. From Psychology Virginia Tech. Available at http://www.chem.vt.edu/chem-dept/dessy/honors/papers/ferris.html. Accessed May 25, 2005.
25. Sue, D, Sue, D & Sue, S. Understanding Abnormal Behavior, 1994. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
26. Orman MC. What To Do If You Are (Or Fear That You May Become) Addicted To The ‘Net, From Internet Addiction Survey, 1996. Available at http://www.stresscure.com/hrn/iaddict.html. Accessed May 28, 2005.

Internet Explorer is the browser used by most computer user and because the browser was designed to have third party functionality spyware distributors have taken advantage of the opportunity to spread their surveillance software. Creators of spyware are very aware that many users now have spyware removers up and running on their computers.

To counter this, spyware producers have designed browser help objects (BHO’s) that do not begin running until the user connects to the internet using
Internet Explorer. This type of dormant BHO also keeps users from identifying spyware by viewing what applications run with computer start-up.

To remove stubborn browser hijack objects the highest recommended program is Hijack This. The program was originally used to destroy homepage hijackers but it has evolved into an all around removal tool.

Begin by downloading Hijack This and then running a system scan. Once the scan is complete scroll to the detected files named 02-BHO and remove any suspicious looking
material.

Look at the path the BHO is using as well as the name and you should be able to decipher between the legitimate title and those that need removing. Files with random naming are most likely unwanted and should be selected for deletion. If a good file is removed accidentally you can use the restore function Hijack This offers.

When you think of software and personal computers (PCs),
you think Microsoft.

The global software giant dominates the PC market in both
penetration and pocketbook.

It seems you can't go a single day without seeing at least
one news story and several advertisements for Microsoft or
a Microsoft product.

But that doesn't mean Microsoft dominates in every corner
of the market; in fact, as the software behemoth gets
bigger, numerous niche software offerings spring up to fill
in the gaps left in Microsoft's wake.

As you'll see, a couple of these niche software programs
have managed to either beat Microsoft to the punch, or even
steal market share away from the seemingly invincible
company.

** FeedDemon **

FeedDemon software ($29.95) enables you to subscribe to and
read RSS Feeds (Real Simple Syndication).

RSS has emerged as the preferred way to share news and
other content with subscribers across the Internet without
the use of email.

The advantage to subscribers: as news, blogs, or other
content updates somewhere online, subscribers receive
virtually instant notification just by opening up their
reader.

This represents a huge time savings since subscribers can
receive updates without surfing individual sites to chase
down stories or wading through piles of spam to find the
content they actually want.

The advantage to publishers: no worrying about whether
email notifications, news releases, or blog updates made it
past the spam filters or unreliable mail servers.

Though many free RSS reader software packages exist (just
do a search on Google.com for "free rss reader"), FeedDemon
offers an unmatched suite of tools that enable serious RSS
subscribers the power and flexibility to mix and match
feeds, including the new "POD Casting" craze where content
providers syndicate audio content (MP3) over the web.

Available from www.bradsoft.com/feeddemon/, FeedDemon sets
the standard for RSS readers in a market that Microsoft has
yet to even address with any of its software products.

I'll make a daring prediction here: watch for Microsoft or
another large player to purchase FeedDemon rather than try
to reinvent the wheel and build a product brand themselves.

** FireFox Web Browser **

Security problems always seem to plague the Microsoft
Internet Explorer (IE) Web browser.

In fact, last year the problem got so bad, it forced
Microsoft to release one of the largest free software
upgrades (Service Pack 2) in the history of computing.

According to both OneStat.com and Webside Story, two of the
Web's leading Web analytics companies, Microsoft's IE
market share has dipped below 90%.

See actual stats from WebSide Story Here:
http://www.websidestory.com/services-solutions/datainsights/spotlight.html

In response to serious security threats to Internet
Explorer, an upstart browser named FireFox from Mozilla.org
took off like a rocket ship in late 2004.

Available free from www.Mozilla.org, FireFox offers not
only a full-featured Web browser without the security
problems, but also a number of features not available on
Internet Explorer.

Probably the most popular feature Firefox offers over IE is
"Tabbed Browsing," which enables you to open multiple Web
pages without opening multiple windows.

Firefox also limits harmful Active-X controls and pop-up
windows.

Firefox tends towards a less forgiving attitude on HTML
coding and may display some Web pages awkwardly, where IE
displays most pages as the designer intended.

Despite this, Firefox makes an excellent browser and
Microsoft should take heed that market dominance doesn't
last forever once consumers see a viable alternative.

And the lesson in all of this for all you would-be
entrepreneurs out there with the next great idea?

It doesn't matter how big or small your organization, it
always comes back to a simple formula: Meet the needs and
solve the problems of a specific niche audience better than
the next guy and you'll be the winner!

St.Petersburg , August 22, 2005 - CEZEO Software announces the release of LanTalk.NET instant messaging software.

You need an instant messaging system, but you want to avoid the risks of information theft and unauthorized access to a corporate network? The thing is that all public IM-services are controlled by third-hand firms. Therefore, nobody can guarantee invulnerability of such services, and that is why intruders are sometimes able to get your information. Moreover, even your employees, using public IM-services, can send important (and secret) information to strangers. Our solution is exactly what you need. LanTalk.NET is a service, which can be completely isolated in your network (by disabling necessary ports in the corporate firewall). The application possesses all features essential for easy messaging within an enterprise local network.

Bringing great ideas to the marketplace requires the best communication tools, tools that navigate quickly around obstacles like busy signals or spam, and which give you instant acknowledgment that you have been understood. Instant messaging is becoming the slickest and most versatile means of communication in business, and CEZEO Software has designed LanTalk.NET to focus on efficiency in keeping people in touch.

For most mid-size companies with networks linking up to 1000 computers, LanTalk.NET is the optimum solution for messaging and file transfer via attachment, practically replacing corporate e-mail. And because LanTalk.NET is a serverless application, administrative tasks and costs disappear. The highly configurable interface and Help systems get even novice users messaging with a minimal learning curve.

CEZEO has a variety of site licensing packages for LanTalk.NET based on volume, the details of which are located at CEZEO software website. Customizing of LanTalk.NET is an option for an additional fee. CEZEO offers a 30-day trial period with the fully-functional program, which runs on Microsoft Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP/2003 operating systems.

CEZEO Software specializes in network communication and security software with a focus on IM serverless technologies that is simple to install and use.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Pavel Sokolov
CEZEO Software
http://www.cezeo.com

# # #

More information about LanTalk.NET:
http://www.cezeo.com/products/lantalk-net/

Direct evaluation download URL:
http://www.cezeo.com/downloads/lantalk-net.exe

Screenshot URL:
http://www.cezeo.com/products/lantalk-net/lantalk-net.gif

300dpi Screenshot URL:
http://www.cezeo.com/products/lantalk-net/media-kit/lantalk-net.tif

As the threats of spyware continue to spread the means computer users must take to protect themselves and their computers from spyware infections become more difficult. A legitimate attitude among many computer uses is that the spyware should not have been installed on their computer without permission in the first place, therefore why should internet users be forced to pay for its removal. Although understandable, this way of thinking can cause users’ computers to crash while spyware applications steal away with your private information, unless you take thorough action to remove spyware through free downloadable removal tools.

Purchasing anti-spyware software will provide the surest protection from future spyware invasions, but if the time and effort is put forth using free spyware removal tools, computer users can actively protect their computers on their own. Three of the top free spyware removal tools include Ad-Aware by Lavasoft, Spybot Search and Destroy and Hijack This, the latter being the least user friendly. Combining the efforts of several free spyware scan and removal tools and running the updates and scans regularly on each will provide the ultimate defense against spyware infections.

Try running the spyware scans once you have rebooted your computer and set it to safe mode. After the scan and removal tasks are complete, restart the computer to test if the spyware tools removed spyware causing any functional problems. When using Hijack This you should have a knowledge of what applications run at start up along with which browser help objects you need according to the software you use. If you are unsure of either, try using the program under the watch of a more technically educated person.

Spyware has boomed into the top internet threat in no time and it continues to affect more computer users each day. Spyware is best described as a rogue application that latches to your system so it can record personal information and monitor internet usage. As spyware has grown it has become much easier to be infected with it.

In some instance computer can be infected with spyware just by visiting the wrong web site. Most spyware is installed without the user’s knowledge.

The most serious form of spyware comes as keyloggers which record each keystroke made on an infected computer. Each account number, password, email address, chat or email message or social security number you key into your computer is being duplicated and sent back to the intruder. Keyloggers are often responsible for identity theft and its spread.

Adware is thought to be a form of spyware because it still records and submits to intruders your personal and computer usage information. The information adware gathers about a person is used by companies to target you with advertisement they have dubbed appropriate for your interests. Spyware in the form of adware and other less harmful spyware usually finds its way into your computer by being bundled in with freeware and shareware downloads. To avoid spyware and adware you must proceed
with caution when considering a freeware download.

Computers can be infected by visiting the wrong web sites because at insecure sites, hackers are able to take advantage of security vulnerabilities through the browser. This happens most often through Internet Explorer, however Microsoft tries to release patches to these security vulnerabilities once they have been found but users are still at risk until then. Users
also remain at risk because once the patch is released they either do not know about the vulnerability or about the fix.

Law makers are striving to find regulations for these spyware privacy invasions but until then users must protect themselves.

To secure your computer now you can download several free and purchasable programs that will scan and remove spyware
infections. Many of the new versions of spyware tools also offer “always on” protection that blocks spyware from downloading while you surf the internet.

Spyware and Adware infest over 90 percent of computers in use today. Internet linked computers has made it easy for spybots, adware, and trojans to infiltrate and compromise online privacy. Installed toolbars can also contribute to browser hijacking and spyware related problems.
Spyware, malware, scumware, and trojans gather information about people and online activities. It is important to deny these “Internet Pests” the opportunity to infiltrate computers, so that computer privacy is intact. Everybody is entitled to enjoy online privacy and security.
There are serious consequences pertaining to unidentified spyware, which include identity theft, computer corruption, slow down of pc system, privacy issues, and annoying pop-up ads. Neglecting to stop spyware is a surefire way to invite computer infestations. Spyware removal software is a “must” for Internet privacy and security.
Spyware slips by anti-virus and firewall protection by piggybacking on seemingly legitimate downloads. These spyware files are stealthily installed on computer systems without anyone ever knowing it.  Infestations often occur when people download freeware, shareware, file sharing or through email and instant messaging.
Spyware and adware are applications that intertwine with core computer functions and make manual removal, without system disruption, very difficult for most computer users. That is why it is important to have anti-spyware software installed.
A spyware scanner is a useful tool that protects computers at all times, so that people can enjoy surfing the net, without compromising privacy. Personal surfing habits, online chats and Internet activities are protected from those prying Internet eyes. Online identity theft is of great concern these days. Hence, it is a good idea to install spyware removal software, for online privacy. Protect yourself, from Internet snooping and stealing of personal information, for peace of mind.

Rack mount computers are essentially computer servers. Computer servers are not the ones you play games on or send emails to your friends with.

Servers perform a small number of specialized operations, some as little as a single operation, but they have the ability to perform it millions of times over and over again, quickly and flawlessly. And when one server is no longer adequate to handle the volume of transactions that a business may require, other, bigger, more powerful servers are needed. When the new servers arrive, they are networked into the system and to save space, are mounted on racks.

When the business with the servers is a steel company, or an automobile manufacturer, industrial rac mount computers are the standard. Stored in rugged steel frames, stackable in standard 19-inch racks, industrial rack mount computers are used for database servers, web servers and networks. Furthermore they are also quite commonly used in laboratory and workshop environments.

Linux is a special operating system that is basically a version of Unix, which has become the foundation of the Internet. When ISP’s like AOL and others came into existence, the amount of servers they needed to accommodate millions of customers eager to surf the web was staggering. In order to make space for that amount of computers, a special rack mounted unit was created to hold the Linux servers. Dubbed the Linux Rack mount Computer system, it became the choice for all of the new Internet businesses all over the world. Soon after, manufacturers of the Linux Rack mount Computer racks where inundated with orders and quickly fell behind schedule.

It took a while for Intel to catch up with it’s rivals, but once they did, the Xeon Rack mount Computers quickly overtook everyone else in the field and became the gold standard among all of the rack mounted computers being installed.

Spam, as defined in the context of computers, the Internet and electronic messaging, is a term used to designate unsolicited bulk electronic messaging and communication. In particular, spam is unsolicited bulk mailings that are commercially oriented. It is most commonly used in advertising, but it is also used to perpetrate religious, political or other types of messages. Spam is, often times, considered the electronic equivalent of junk postal mail, telemarketing or broadcast faxing. Spam got its bad name and reputation from the advertisement of ill reputable and questionable products, such as pornography, pyramid schemes, fad products, pump-and-dump stocks, etc.

Spam is delivered via several mediums, to include:
·E-mail messages
·Search engines
·Instant messaging
·Web blogs
·Usenet newsgroups
·Text messaging mobile phones
·Internet telephony

The growth of spam is a result of the cost benefit to initiators, who need only devise and develop distribution lists. The other associated costs of spam, such as bandwidth, message management and loss of productivity, become the responsibility of recipients of the messages, ISPs or other public and private entities.

In 2003, the US passed the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing (CAN-SPAM) Act of 2003, which establishes standards for sending commercial e-mail. More specifically, the act is intended “to regulate interstate commerce by imposing limitations and penalties on the transmission of unsolicited, commercial electronic mail via the Internet”. The act establishes the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) as the overseer of its provisions.

The act establishes electronic mail as extremely important in communication since it “provides an opportunity for the development and growth of frictionless commerce”, which is being threatened by unsolicited commercial email. The act establishes the following as criminal behaviors when used in connection with foreign or interstate electronic mail:

·Knowingly accessing a protected computer without authorization
·Intentionally deceiving or misleading the origin of messages
·Falsifying header information
·Falsifying registration information for 5 or more e-mail accounts or 2 or more domain names
·Falsely representing one's self as the registrant of 5 or more IP addresses
·Obtaining e-mail addresses through improper means
·Perpetrating fraud, identity theft, child pornography, obscenity and the sexual exploitation of children.

Criminal penalties include a fine and/or imprisonment for up to 5 years dependent upon:
·The volume of electronic transmissions
·The amount of falsified information
·Losses incurred by others
·Monetary gains from the act
·Whether the act was committed in furtherance of an felony
·Prior offenses.

Civil penalties are dependent upon the jurisdiction placing the charges and may range from hundreds of dollars to millions of dollars, dependent upon the severity of the crimes and losses involved. Also, property traceable to proceeds from monetary gains and equipment used to commit an offense may be forfeited to the US government.

As critics of the law argue, the legislation fails to dictate to marketers and advertisers, not to spam. In fact, the act does not make reference to the term, “spam”, except as used in the name, CAN-SPAM. The act makes reference to the phrase, commercial electronic mail message, and defines it to be “any electronic mail message, the primary purpose of which is the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service (including content on an Internet website operated for a commercial purpose)”.

Legislation is intended to curb practices inherent in spamming, such as e-mail harvesting, dictionary attacks and using viruses and Trojans to perpetrate messages. The act establishes the following with respect to commercial electronic mail messages:

·A message must contain a legitimate return address.

·A message must include and specify a method to opt-out of receiving further messages. The ability to opt-out must be available for 30 days.

·The sender may not initiate messages after 10 days of receipt of an opt-out.

·The sender may not sell, lease, exchange or transfer the opt-out e-mail address to an affiliate.

·The sender may offer a menu of options that allow the recipient to either opt-out or opt-in to future messages*.

·A message must include an identifier that specifies the message as an advertisement or solicitation.

·Messages containing sexually oriented material must contain clearly identifiable markings or notices

·A message must include a valid, physical, postal address by which the sender may be contacted.

·The sender may not send messages to addresses that were knowingly acquired from proprietary websites and ISPs, through automated methods. Particularly, when the site or ISP provides notice of their refusal to give, sell or transfer addresses for the purpose of initiating electronic mail messages.

·The sender may not create automated scripting and other means to gain multiple email addresses for the purpose of transmitting illegal messages.

·The sender may not transmit messages from a computer or email address obtained without authorization.
*Unlike opt-out advertising, which allows the recipients of advertisement to discontinue any unwanted advertisements from the sender, opt-in advertising allows the advertiser to request to have specific advertisement sent. The recipient may allow or deny permission to have further advertisement sent. If allowed, the advertiser immediately includes that e-mail address to its distribution list. Another option is, double opt-in advertising, which is similar to opt-in advertising except that once the recipient grants permission to send advertisements, a confirmation request is sent to the recipient to verify that they did, indeed, allow the permission. The e-mail address is added to the distribution list only after the recipient has positively responded to the confirmation request.

CAN-SPAM is not intended to provide cause for the general public to sue spammers, individually or in class action suits. It is designed to allow enforcement by the FTC and other federal agencies for the benefit of the general public. Individuals remain privy to the state laws and regulations of their particular jurisdictions.

Before you upgrade your PC hardware it’s best to search all options and ask for advice. Only after this you can go and buy a new component. It’s also useful to check if you really need an upgrade.

Do not upgrade your very old PC because it would cost a lot of money. It’s cheaper to buy a new computer in such cases because they are easier to upgrade later.

Upgrading the hard drive:

The majority of people do not really need to upgrade their hard disk, unless they use it for playing a lot of music, movies, and games. A 20 GB hard drive is sufficient to keep new office and internet applications, and all your files and data.

A medium sized hard drive would be around 40 GB and the maximum would be around 60 – 80 GB.

Before upgrading your hard disk it’s best to do a complete disk checkup including disk scan, defragmentation, etc. If you happen to be an average user and need more storage you can add an additional drive to the existing one. Before an upgrade, be sure to back up your files.

Upgrading the RAM:

RAM or Random Access Memory is the short-term memory of the PC. It keeps data that is being worked on now and may or may not be transferred to the hard drive that represents the long-term memory of the computer.

Current processors can perform an enormous number of operations per second. The hard drive, on the other hand, is significantly slower to handle so much information. This is where a high-speed RAM memory comes in. RAM needs a power supply to keep data. Once the power is turned off the data is lost.

Almost all PCs have 64 MB RAM and often 128 MB. If you want to run newer applications on your PC then you must upgrade to 128/256 MB RAM.

A lot of people who upgrade from 98 to Win 2000 discover that their computers lock up very often. This is because they don't have enough RAM.

CPU upgrade:

If you choose this upgrade, you will have faster execution of instructions but it leaves the RAM and hard drive capacity unchanged.

This sis the most cost effective upgrade and can increase the efficiency of your computer
considerably. Seek a professional help before you take a decision.

Motherboard:

Upgrading motherboard is not such a good proposition unless you replace the CPU and the RAM as well to achieve greater performance levels. You upgrade the motherboard either because the current one doesn’t support a faster CPU or the CPU requires a different socket. It could be very expensive. Think about buying a new PC.

Ports:

Ports are sockets at the back of your computer where you plug in external devices. Older PCs work on “parallel” ports. If you need to work a lot on peripherals such as digital cameras, digital camcorders, CD burners, and scanners then you need to upgrade to USB and Firewire ports if you are not using them already.

Both tend to be cheaper than the “parallel” and SCSI devices they replace. Always make sure that there are no compatibility problems with other devices in your PC when you plan to upgrade any hardware on your machine.

First of all, some people are worried that they will not be able to use Linux hosting because they run Windows on their PCs. However, what operating system you run on your own PC is irrelevant to which web hosting environment you can use, because the latter is run remotely on a web server, where your website files will be uploaded.

Linux and Microsoft Windows are two different operating systems. Windows is a well-known household name and does not require much introduction. Linux is a new version of the Unix operating system. Both these operating systems make excellent environments for web hosting. However, there are some differences between them.

To help you decide whether Linux or Windows hosting is better for you, we look at the following elements:

Cost

Linux is known as an "open source" operating system. i.e. there is no licensing fees to pay. Therefore, compared to Windows, Linux is very cheap. Starting with Windows XP, Microsoft has begun enforcing software activation. This means that a single copy of Windows can only be installed on one computer. With Linux, once you own a copy, you are free to install it as many times as you wish on any number of computers.

Reliability

Linux is reputed to be very stable and reliable. This means that a Linux server is much less likely to crash than a Windows server. Subsequently, a Linux server will mean more 'up time' for your website.

Experience

Linux has many more years of experience than Windows in hosting.

Speed

There is no real difference in speed between Linux and Windows, but Linux is slightly faster in processing basic web pages.

Functionality

Windows support ASP (Active Server Pages), a Microsoft programming/scripting language, which allows you to build dynamically database-driven web pages by connecting to a Microsoft database such as SQL Server or Access. Linux does not support ASP nor Microsoft databases, but uses MySQL database instead.

If you use Microsoft Frontpage to create your website, it doesn't mean that you have to choose Windows hosting. All Linux accounts come free with Frontpage extensions, which allow you to upload your Frontpage website to your web space on a Linux server.

Scripts

There are many CGI programs available on the Internet. The majority of these are Perl scripts and have been developed on Linux / Unix web servers. So they tend to install more smoothly and operate more reliably on a Linux server. Moreover, many Perl scripts are downloadable from the Internet free of charge.

To summarise, most users find that Linux hosting is easier to use, more reliable, provides free, open source software and is much cheaper than Windows hosting. So unless you particularly need to use Windows specific features such as ASP and an Access database, it is probably a better choice to choose Linux over Windows. For more information on Linux hosting, visit .

© Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved
http://www.thenetreporter.com
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Until recently, software giant, Microsoft's Internet Explorer Web browser enjoyed a relatively unchallenged position as the most popular Web browser in the world.

Despite lawsuits and charges of unfair competition from the likes of Netscape and others, Microsoft dominates browser software with over 90% market share.

Microsoft's dominance of the browser market stems mainly from the simple fact that the majority of computers get delivered with Microsoft Windows as the default operating system.

Internet Explorer (IE) comes standard with all Windows software and, thus, virtually everyone automatically gets the IE browser.

By default, Microsoft owns the browser market because they catch consumers early, get them conditioned to using the IE software, and, until recently, no other software offered a compelling enough reason to switch.

However, with a seemingly endless rash of security problems, consumers started looking elsewhere for alternative Web browser options.

This consumer demand may well spell the end of Microsoft's dominance in the browser marketplace.

In response to severe security vulnerabilities, several alternative Web browsers recently gained significant market share.

** Opera.com **

One of the original "alternative" browsers, "Opera" offers a significant number of interesting tweaks over Internet Explorer, including the ability to open more than one html page within the browser, as opposed to one page per window with IE.

The free version of Opera carries advertising messages, but for $39 you can turn off the advertising and unlock additional features.

** Mozilla.com **

Mozilla actually offers two choices for alternative Web browsing. Mozilla 1.7, the current version of the original Mozilla software, includes an email program, newsgroup reader, and even a chat feature.

Mozilla also offers a newer browser called "Firefox" that has many people raving about enhanced features. Both browsers come free of charge and do not appear to carry any third party advertising.

** Netscape.com **

Netscape, one of the original Web browsers, still offers its browser software free, though you must do some searching on their site to find it.

Scroll to the bottom and click "Download Latest Netscape Browser."

Based on their site, Netscape seems to be in the middle of an identity crisis since they look more like Yahoo! than a software provider.

** An 800 lb. Gorilla on the horizon? **

Online search engine powerhouse, Google, has never shied away from taking on Microsoft.

In fact, they've done something Microsoft couldn't do, namely turn a profit with a search engine.

Based on past behavior, how long do you think it will take Google to release a Web browser of their own?

Despite statements to the contrary, I believe Google willcome out with their own Web browser within the next 18 months.

Look at their Hotmail.com alternative, Gmail, at http://gmail.Google.com.

Google gave away so much storage space they forced Hotmail to make major concessions in their free service.

Google Desktop blows away the Microsoft search utility for your PC.

Don't for a second think Google doesn't have a browser in development and a strategy to release it (for free) if they can cut Microsoft off at the knees.

Who are these people? If they were profiled by the FBI or some law enforcement agency what would the profile look like? What age group would they fall into and what sort of background would they come from?

In August of 2003 an 18 year old teen was arrested for springing a version of the MSBlaster worm to internet computers by the millions. It is thought that he may have even triggered the blackout that occurred in the US and Canada in that same period.

Only yesterday someone else released a Zotob worm on computers with Windows 2000 operating systems. Big boys like CNN, The Associated Press and The New York Times were all adversely affected. It is said that little permanent damage was done but the systems of these major companies were brought to a screeching halt as computers kept shutting down and rebooting as if little gremlins had their hands on the switch.

Where does it end? As if the computers and the software weren’t expensive enough then it becomes the business and expense of everyone to protect the computer. We need blocks to keep the porn away from the kids. We need blockers to keep the incessant ads from popping up in our faces every nanosecond. Then bring on the personal firewalls the anti-virus software, encryptions, spyware stoppers and perhaps a dose or two of antihistamine to keep our noses clear of the dust that goes airborne from the cooling fans when we start up. It takes no computer genius to know at least two things. One is that the next big operating system will cost a great deal more than our last one. The other is that it will not have the many deterrents and blockers we need, built in. Security must be a wonderful business to be in these days.

To get back to the hack, (no rap intended) where does this breed of cyber-monkey come from? Personally, I envision a teenager locked in his upstairs room with dozens of empty Coke cans and Twinkie wrappers strewn across the floor. With a blank stare fully hypnotized by the Xs and Os dancing across the plasma screen they peck and stab at the keyboard with deliberate, rhythmic intent as if they were submitting to a spirit that gave them auto writing skills as a reward for their simple acquiescence. Then when the cyber moon lines up with the planets they know its time. With one click of the enter key they take down the power in half the United States and transfer the funds of millions of Americans to accounts in the Netherlands. How could you stop this person? Would a simple ‘Hey, it’s a nice day why don’t you go outside and find something to do’ set them off in a new direction?

As a boy our weekly Sunday edition of the paper had a special section in the funnies called, Jimmy Halto’s, “They’ll do it every Time.” Jimmy would point out various absurdities in our society that may occur from time to time. I never anticipated that the day would come when our entire society would become absurd, If Halto were still punching out his weekly syndication today it might be called, “They’ll Do It Once in a While” and it could depict those few normal things that pop up now and then. Like, kids who do go outside and look for something else to do.
We have terrorist alerts to watch for now along with neighborhood watches to help bring down the crime just outside our doors. Add to that a school system that has to use metal detectors, cops, sniffing dogs and cameras just to get the kids through one day of school.
Night time activities almost anywhere USA have now brought dangers that are off the scale. As if all this danger outside wasn’t bad enough now we have to find ways to plan counter moves against hackers who are probably sitting in our own houses plotting the next big blackout or something worse.

Even if I weren’t a preacher of the gospel I would find it hard not to think of a biblical warning about the way things will be in the last days. “Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and looking for those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. Luke 21:26 KJV

'Blogs' or 'Blogging' have existed for several years and there are still many people who don't know what one is and how important it is to making you money.

A blog is a web log. It's used to add contents of a diary or news by the owner (blogger). For example, I may want to blog about the latest affiliate programs there are and ones that have good commissions as soon as I know about them. People can visit my website and see new contents on my website regularly.

A blog should contain information about a similar topic. For example, cars, computers, stamps etc... The good thing about blogs is that you can write whatever you want on it. Your visitors can even comment on what they think about a particular blog. With a blog you do not need to have any programming experience. You can update a blog easily by just typing what you want just like with a word processor. What an easy way to update a website.

So now we know what a blog is, what's so good about a blog? Why are so many talking about it?

Owners have found that updating fresh content to their websites has been made easier by using blogging software. Before blogs were popular, people had to create the content, get it transferred into HTML by the programmer, and then uploaded to the website. All this hassle is gone with blogging.

Perhaps, the most important thing about having a blog is that the search engines love them. Yes, search engines love new content. It means a website is not static, therefore search engines will visit that website often and get them indexed. If you have a blog, search engines will have your website in their listings quickly.

Blogging should be done regularly by your business. The customers should have the feeling that your blog will be updated regularly so that they will feel the need to visit often. If your blog is stagnant, then people will not go back. This is not how blogs are used.

What a lot of people don't know about blogging is that it can also help make you money. Yes - blogs can be profitable too.

One of the ways you can profit from blogs is to provide valuable content to them, and keep them regularly informed. Once you have created that relationship with them, you can place affiliate links within your blogs. These have to be products or services that you recommend to your readers to use. Good commission comes with using this idea.

You can even ask your readers to donate money to maintain your blog. Stress that your blog is a free service and you hope that they will support you etc...

Once you have a lot of visitors to your blogging website, you can use Google's Adsense which shows Google's ads on your blogs. When your visitors click on those ads, you'll get a percentage of the payment for each click. With a lot of visitors, this will add up to a nice check every month.

You can even have an advertising space at the top of your blog. Advertise this space. You can charge people weekly to advertise what they want. You may even have more than one space for advertisements. The more popular and more visitors your blog gets, the more you can charge for these advertising spaces.

The blog http://www.home-business-setup.com shows the ways in which money can be made which I've discussed throughout this article. Notice the AdSense at the top of the page and also the text link which other people will pay for once they know the blog gets traffic.

Just shows that there are so many ways to profit from blogging that it would be crazy if we don't start now.

Computer furniture has evolved over the years. Improvements in the design and decor of computer desks have revolutionized the way people work at the computer. With the increase in the number of computer accessories, such as keyboard, mouse, and additional attachments like the printer, scanner, hard disks, modems, the allotment of space for all these accessories has become a challenge. Modern office furniture has to be modular, movable and flexible.

The most important feature of a good computer desk is ergonomic design. As people work spend more hours at the computer, it is important that the desks are comfortable to sit at for long hours. Moreover, they have to look good and blend in well with the rest of the office or home. As greater comfort ensures greater productivity, companies are more willing to provide the best computer desks for employees.

Modular computers desks provide flexibility and versatility in use – they can be remodeled very easily depending on the use. These are ideal for the limited office spaces of today, and also work well in homes because they can be easily changed according to different requirements. Fittings are provided to accommodate various other accessories that may be required while using the computer, such as a document holder, wrist rest, file hangers, CD holders, or telephone shelf. Such desks are also often accompanied by a manual that contains comprehensive instructions for assembling or disassembling the unit. On the whole, computer desks today are leaner, and have fewer drawers and more shelf-space than before.

In most modern computer desks, the unique arrangement of the panel systems ensures optimum space, privacy and advanced wire management. The spine of the desk should be designed to not only provide power and data to the whole unit but also to support the desk assemblies, staking storage, divisional screens, transfer screens and other accessories. The end result is optimal space utilization.

A versatile computer desk should not necessarily compromise style. Computer desks are being designed with every kind of material possible ranging from traditional oak and wood to metal, glass and fiber.

While many people think that the mixing of the separate audio tracks is the final step, a recording must be mastered well in order to sound good. CD mastering is the last chance for creative input when creating a compact disc. After a disc is mastered, it can be printed, reproduced, and sold.

The process of mastering a CD includes several steps. The first step is putting the songs, called tracks at this point, in order. Next, the volume is leveled for all of the songs. The length of time between songs is also adjusted, and any editing on the intros and ends of the songs (such as fades and crossfades, etc.). Also, any unlisted, secret songs, usually known as hidden tracks, are added at this point.

There are several ways to master a CD. First, the mix can be sent to a professional CD mastering engineer, which is what professional musicians with major recording contracts usually do. These mastering engineers often work in their own mastering facilities, which are different from standard recording studios, in that they have much less gear and are designed for the best playback of the mix as possible in order to fix any slight discrepancies.

Aside from professional CD mastering engineers, CDs can be mastered at home using computer software. This option is usually more realistic for unsigned artists or musicians who are just starting out. Depending on the quality of the software and the skill of the person doing the mastering, the CD may sound great or it may sound muddy and unprofessional.

Online CD mastering is another option. CDs mastered online can be a great time-time, in that, instead of sending a mix to a mastering engineer, the mix is sent over the Internet. This option requires a high-speed Internet connection.

Free CD mastering is obviously the cheapest way to master a CD. Artists may want to use free mastering programs on demos or other early recordings that artists use to send to record labels to generate interest. Many CD burning programs included on many computers can be used to do basic but necessary mastering functions.

The difference between a professional sounding CD and an amateurish recording is often found in the mastering. All of the songs played on the radio are extensively mastered in order to sound slicker and more listenable.

If you're a computer expert, you'll probably already know about these tips (hopefully this will provide you with a little reminder). If you're not an expert, don't worry - these tips are simple, and don't require a lot of computer experience.

While an old computer will never operate at the same speed as a newer (and bigger & faster) computer, you can help your computer stay as "young & healthy" as possible.

1) Disk Cleanup

Performing a disk cleanup regularly is a good idea. Whenever you "surf the internet", open attachments, delete files, your computer saves a record of your activity. Many of these files are harmless, and individually are very small. But if you spend a lot of time on your computer, before long you'll take up enough space to slow your computer down a bit.

Disk Cleanup is a Windows utility that helps keep unused and unwanted files from taking up extra storage space on your computer. You can think of it as "spring cleaning” for your computer.

Basically, it removes files that may have once been useful or used but now are just taking up extra room that could be used for more useful programs and files.

To perform a disc cleanup, click on the Start button on the bottom left of your computer screen, then Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disc Cleanup. A small box will pop up, allowing you to select the files to delete (most files are OK to delete, but if you are unsure, it is best to not select the file). Then click OK, and the unused files will be removed.

If you've never done a disk cleanup on your computer, now is a good time to get started. Then, depending on how much you use your computer, you can perform a disk cleanup every few weeks to keep your computer running smoothly!

2) Defragmenting Your Computer

Another way to improve the performance of your computer is to defragment your hard drive. What is defragmenting, and why do you need to do it? Here's a simple explanation:

Basically, defragmenting is putting files back where they belong. With the files in the proper order, your computer will run more efficiently.

You don't need to hire a computer expert to defragment your computer. It's simple to do. You just need to plan ahead, because if you have a lot of "stuff" on your computer, it could take a while.

And it's best not to use your computer while defragmenting.

Not sure how to defragment your computer? You can either click on your computer's help file (Click the "Start" button on the bottom left of your computer screen, then Help), or click on Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Defragment - for most computers) .

Keep in mind that the actual wording is slightly different depending on the operating system you use (Windows 95, 98, XP, etc) so you might need to refer to your computer's help file.

Periodically defragmenting your computer will keep it running smoothly!

3) Removing Spyware & Adware

If you've ever had spyware or adware on your computer, you know how frustrating it can be - strange things happening, your homepage changing, inappropriate popups, unfamiliar icons...
What exactly is spyware or adware?

Simply, files that are often downloaded onto your computer without your knowledge (or at least without you knowing what they really are).

Unfortunately, many of these programs "sneak" their way onto your computer, so avoiding them entirely is difficult, especially if you spend a lot of time on your computer, surfing the Internet and downloading new programs and files.

Fortunately, there are ways to remove these unwanted files from your computer.

Here are 2 adware/spyware removal programs that are simple to use (and both are free):
Ad-Aware http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/
Spybot http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html

Why does adware/spyware continue to be such a problem? Because most of these programs make money for the people creating and spreading them, unfortunately. So, all we can do is try to avoid them as much as possible, and to remove them when they do find their way onto our computers.

If you do find spyware on your computer, don't panic. In many cases, you just have some extra "junk" on your computer. But keeping spywaer and adware off of your computer will help it run more quickly and efficiently.

4) Uninstalling Old & Unused Programs

While uninstalling old, unused programs will help speed up your computer, removing the wrong files can cause you some big problems. So, please proceed carefully. And if you are not comfortable, please ask for help from someone you know who is more knowledgeable.

Most programs that you download simply have an "uninstall" feature that comes with them. If you're like me and you download a lot of free programs or free trials, after a while your computer begins to slow down. That means it's time for me to remove some of the old programs I don't use any more (and most I only used once just to see how they work).

To uninstall unused programs from your computer, first click on the Start button on the bottom left, then Programs, then click on the name of the program and Uninstall. If there is no uninstall option, then click on the Start button on the bottom left, then Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs.

Again, if you are unsure whether or not to remove a program, it is best to leave it.

If you follow these instructions, you should find your computer working faster right away.

5) Get A High Speed Internet Connection

If you spend a lot of time on the internet, a high speed internet connection is a must. It is more expensive, but for most people the savings in time and effort is worth the added expense.

There are several advantages of having a high speed internet connection - faster surfing, web pages open more quickly, files download faster, and if you send or receive large files, like pictures or video, trying to open these files with a slower dialup connection is extremely frustrating!

If you're already spending $20 a month or more for your dialup connection (through your phone line) then you'll find DSL to be comparable in price, and a lot faster.

A cable internet connection might cost a little more, but it is usually the fastest type of internet connection you can get from home.

High speed wireless connections are available for those who travel a lot. And high speed satellite internet is available in areas where other options are not (check your options first, as this is the most expensive high speed connection).

That's all the tips for increasing your computer speed and helping your computer run more efficiently. We hope you found these tips helpful!

© 2005 Hi-Speed-Internet.com.

5 years ago we gathered around and marveled at the little specs moving at our commands, doing not much – except moving off course, we called these things games. Today the hardware in computers and other devices has changed significantly; we went from having a “spacious” 1mb hard drive to 250 GB of space. The graphics have also taken a giant leap for our computers, no longer are we confined to little dots but our 256mb graphic cards allow us to explore a virtual world in 3d. The sound has also changed from 4bit to 32 and pretty soon 64bit; we went from beeps to actually words. Finally the speed of our beloved computers has also increased from mere kilobytes to gigabytes of rams. In such a short period of time we went from what we used to call “advanced” technology to today’s much superior devices. So if you guys are like I am, there is one question that strikes our mind, what’s next? Well I would love to say that we will be able to put on our virtual glasses that will allow us to explore the virtual world as if we were in it, but this is not likely, sorry guys; however, these sorts of glasses are being constructed but its unlikely they will come out any time soon. What we can expect to see is an improvement in our Text-to-speech and vise versa programs after the 64bit sound card is released allowing the computer to understand our voices much clearly, also we should soon be seeing more “dept” in our computer as you may know that the most our computers can run on 32bit resolution, it is expected that Microsoft is like to bring out a 64bit resolution with there next version of windows. Also the speed and graphics are to increase a lot more, already some games look as they are almost real, and soon they will look real. I am not certain exactly what marvel the computer hardware’s will hold in the future, but one thing is certain it will be something to forward too, and once again the next generation will be mocking the so called advanced technology we have today.

Unexplainable funds appear in your bank account. Cars and computers that aren’t
working inexplicably begin to function again. Out of the blue, strangers provide much-needed assistance. You’re not in The Twilight Zone. You’re in The Intuitive Zone—receiving the Grace and support that come from following your intuition.

Miracles abound in the world of intuition. Rules for how you think life works are on permanent vacation. Impossible and improbable occurrences are common.

But sometimes we stray off this Super High Way of Success. And we find ourselves heading down the Rocky Road of Struggle. This dead-end route is strewn with disappointments around career, health, finances or relationships. What happens? How do we end up on the Path of Unhappiness?

Disengage the Autopilot!

We find ourselves on life’s Bumpy Road because we stop using our inner guidance to navigate the Express Way to Success. When we don’t make conscious, intuitive choices about the direction we’re going, our default guidance system engages. This autopilot system steers us into the ego mind’s territory—a predictable, limited realm of rules from the past. Unfortunately, the mind’s rules about how life works don’t include miracles of Grace for you. Only the boundless world of intuition allows for super success.

3 Tips for Super Successful Living

If you’re ready to zoom down the Super High Way of Success, try these 3 Tips for Living Intuitively:

1.Learn to Discern

Hone your ability to tell the difference between your mind’s chatter and your inner guidance.

One way to discern between mind talk and intuition is to notice that—in the long run—inner guidance always leads you to more love, prosperity and miracles. The tricky mind promises you more happiness, wealth and health. Intuition delivers the goods.

Track the outcome you get when you follow the suggestions of your mind. Does the road lead you past previous limitations? Are your longings satisfied? Most folks say “No.”

Document the results you get from following your intuition instead of your mind. Notice how your heart instincts lead you to freedom from the restrictions of the past. Your deepest desires are fulfilled. You discover an unlimited flow of love and abundance.

2.Write Down Intuitive Successes

Keep a written log of your successes as you experience them. If you don’t write down your breakthroughs in health, abundance and magic, you may quickly forget your miracles … just like your mind always does!

Why does the mind forget the wondrous happenings in our lives?

The mind’s value and preeminence are threatened when we listen to our intuition instead of the mind. The mind wants to keep its position as our top advisor, so the mind has a personal investment in not reminding us when intuitive miracles occur. Instantaneous healings, money coming out of the blue, or people inexplicably helping us out of a jam can’t be explained by the mind. Therefore, the mind conveniently forgets to remind us of miracles that break its rules. Because … oh my God, we might realize how limited the mind is—and not listen to it any more!

You can take your power back from the intentional forgetfulness of the mind. Accumulate proof to convince yourself that following your inner guidance is better for you than following your mind. By periodically re-reading your log, you can tap back into the flow and ease that occur when you take intuitive action. Written facts from your personal experience become your best ally. When your mind is trying to convince you to not trust your intuition, your log will show you the truth.

The following story is taken from one of my log entries. This encounter with Grace is only one of many examples of help showing up at the perfect time. If such a miracle happened only a few times in my life, I might chalk it up to coincidence. But after countless similar personal experiences, I’ve learned that when I follow my inner guidance, even if I get myself into trouble, Grace always shows up to pull me out of a bind.

The Stranger from Nowhere

Often my intuition encourages me to take solo quests into nature to reconnect with my magic. On this particular trip, I’m camping 30 miles from the closest outpost to civilization. It’s day five of my adventure, and I’ve yet to see another person.

After hiking all day through a long narrow canyon, I’m two miles from my campsite when I realize I’ve overexerted myself. My body’s weak and shaky. Unable to continue scrambling over the truck-size boulders lodged in the gully, I search for an easier way back than trudging through the rugged canyon. My intuition strongly urges me to scale the canyon wall to reach a dirt road above that goes right to my campsite. Yet I can clearly see the last ten feet of the climb is a sheer vertical rise with no footholds. My mind tells me I can’t make it to the top. Even though scaling the cliff makes no logical sense, I follow my inner guidance.

Stranded! Ten feet from freedom! My mind is ruthlessly raking me over the coals for getting stuck. Just as I begin to doubt my intuition guidance, I hear a vehicle coming down the dirt road. Completely hidden from view because of the steep gorge, I can’t see the car or the road. Then I listen as the car stops on the road above me. Surprisingly, I hear footsteps walking to the edge of the canyon directly over my head. As I look up, a man leans over the rim, inquiring causally, “Would you like a hand up?”

“I sure would!” I gratefully reply. After he pulls me up, he gets back in his car and drives off without saying another word.

As I watch my “guardian angel” disappear around a bend, I review the facts of my intuitive miracle. I followed my inner guidance to go to the canyon. I got into trouble. I didn’t let my mind stop me from following my intuition and climbed up the canyon wall as far as I could. I was rescued. My savior couldn’t have seen my predicament. The gorge is invisible from the road. There’s no reason for anyone to stop. There’s no scenic view. No pullout. Yet, the man stopped exactly where I was stranded. And, he’s the only person I’d seen in five days!

I realize once again that saving Grace is available to us all when we travel the Super High Way of Intuition.

3.Merge with the Surge

Merge with the aliveness of your intuitive breakthroughs. Soak up the feelings of joy, peace, Grace and the excitement of success. Let the feeling of experiencing a miracle transform your life. Move past just viewing or witnessing the event. Allow the energy of exhilaration to sink into your cells. When you let yourself be deeply affected by a high vibration feeling, your vibration shifts to a higher level. You’re at a new wave length, a new frequency. You’re playing at an expanded level of aliveness and power. You see fresh options. You’re more creative and courageous. You become happier and healthier in the physical world.

Use your written log of past miracles to transform your life now. Allow yourself to shift into feeling the joy of the breakthrough in the present moment. Invite the sensation of excitement to permeate your body. Let the vibration affect you. The more deeply your bones and tissues absorb this vibration, the more your life changes. Let the sensations sink in. Merge with the surge of Grace. When you feel the rush of sweet success, celebrate it. Own it. The higher vibration is now yours to use to create more miracles.

You can experience the transforming power of Grace when a stranger rescues you from a gorge. Or you can experience Grace closer to home: with a pal, plant or puppy. A pal helps you laugh at your predicament so you move up to a higher vibration. The beauty of a plant shifts you out of your gloom and doom. A playful pup nuzzles you up out of your heavy emotions. You can free yourself from the doldrums through dancing, cooking or gardening. It’s helpful to find your own unique ways to lift your spirits so you can get back on the High Way.

Let in Prosperity—Sooner!

Each of us has a choice as to how many rocky road detours we want to take. And, whenever we decide to travel on the Super High Way to Success, our inner guidance unceasingly and compassionately steers us towards abundance, wellness and boundless love.

Most people download and save so much information on their computer that before long the computer starts slowing down and the user has no idea what the problem is. However, even if you are not a computer whiz there are several things you can easily do to speed up your computer quickly and easily.

Tip #1 Defrag

One of the first things you should do if you want to speed up your computer is to defrag. This is something you can easily do and a wizard on your computer will help you defrag. You might want to do it overnight, however, because it can take a long time.

Tip #2 Spyware Remover

Download a good spyware remover. Most computers have a lot of spyware running in the background, stealing information and slowing down your computer. Remove it frequently if possible.

Tip #3 Empty Temp Internet Files

Most Internet browsers save your last visited web pages for up to 30 days. If you don't want all of those pages saved then change the days to one or two, or none, whatever meets your needs.

Tip #4 Turn off Active Desktop

When you turn of active desktop that will be one less thing using memory on your computer. Plus, you won't really notice the difference.

Tip #5 Antivirus Programs

Make sure you have a good anti-virus program and use it frequently. If you are deleting virus and preventing them from feeding on your computer then you will have a faster computer as well.

Once you perform these simple tasks you will be amazed at how much faster your computer runs and with so little effort.

As spyware threats continue to grow the methods by which users are infected becomes less and less difficult. It no longer takes physical access to a computer nor do users have to click on an ad or email attachment to install the malicious applications. Spyware can easily be picked up by visiting a web site. Spyware is put on computers commonly when users download freeware or shareware. Once you download these programs, spyware and adware are installed as well.

You may begin to notice more pop ups and slower computer functions once spyware has infected your system.
Spyware moves through your computer and monitors your internet habits and the information is sent to a third party who uses it for advertising purposes most likely. More serious types of spyware are capable of recording each keystroke you make on your computer. This means every chat or email message as well as passwords, social security and credit card number are all recorded by the intruder.

Several different types of spyware exist, which makes catching and removing the invasive applications even more difficult. Adware is the most common form of spyware. It works by sending you pop up ad after pop up ad for various products and services while you are online. Adware also monitors your internet surfing habits and sells that information to other parties who then use it to bombard you with junk email and spam.

Another form of dangerous spyware comes as browser hijackers. These applications get into your computer and change your start page and preferred search engine to a site full of ads or adult material. Browser hijackers are typically also a data miner which reports all of your internet browsing habits to a central database that is sold to other parties.

One of the most dangerous and malicious spyware programs is keyloggers, which are used mostly for identity theft and credit card fraud. Keyloggers can record every piece of information you type in your computer from credit card numbers to social security numbers and banking information.

Probably the most expensive form of spyware that users have to deal with is a modem hijacker. Also known as dialers, these applications install themselves so they can use your internet connection to dial long distance or premium rate phone numbers.

By dialing these remote areas from your connection you are the one charged for the outrageous rates. To remove any current spyware infections users need to obtain two or more anti-spyware programs. These programs can scan
your system, compile a list of infected files and remove them to restore normal setting and functioning. Ad Aware from Lavasoft and Spybot Search and Destroy are two free spyware tools that work well together in catching all possible spyware infections. To avoid future spyware threats from infecting your computer do not click on links or ads offering free movies, competitions, prizes or software.

Installing and keeping a firewall activated on your computer can help reduce the amount of spyware infections. And having a good anti-virus program is essential, although it cannot detect most forms of spyware it will help keep your computer more secure.

Its late. You've been scouring the web for that perfect present for your Aunt Bess in Idaho. You finally find it at presents4aunties.com. The site looks a lil rough on the edges, weird colors and such. But they have that gift you know will make Aunt Bess add you to her will. You purchase the gift, log off and head to bed. Tired but happy.
The next day, coffee in hand, you turn on your puter. That's strange you say, its awfully slow this morning. Finally its booted and ready to go. You open your browser to check the Cow Tipping Blog for the latest posts.
Whats this you say, My Homepage is now longer the Blog , but a site trying to sell me a DVD of the Smurfs vs the Terminator!
Oh well you say, not quite fully awake. You type in the URL for your Blog and wait. And wait, and wait. Finally its up! You start to read the mornings postings. Youre into the second post about the upcoming Cow Tipping Championship in Vegas when a Popup appears and says you need to go to heartburngone.com for the new revolutionary cure for heartburn. Click here now it says and receive a free gift, the secret cure for Baldness!
Weird you think, you click the X to close it.
You don't realize by clicking the X that a small hidden piece of code has just been downloaded to your puter.
You finish the Blog postings and decide to check your Bank Account. You type in the URL and wait, and wait. Finally the Bank Logon appears. You log in, completely unaware of the code, which is actually a Keylogger, is recording your every keystroke. The Transaction is there for Aunties gift, youre so happy. You log off and remember you forgot to email that document for your Boss. That's ok you say, I can log in from here and send it! Technology is so great ! You log into your work portal and access your email program, find the document, attach it to the email form and send it. You vaguely remember it had something to do with the updated personal info list for all of the employees at your job. It includes their Addresses, email addys and Direct Deposit Account numbers, also their Logon Names and Passwords to access the Computers at work.
Darn you say as another Popup appears, whats wrong with this puter?
Well at least you didn't forget the Bosses Document. Wouldn't want to get in trouble with the Boss. You've a great job, working for the Trans Global Bank after all. Offices all over the world don't ya know.
Well time to check your Anti-Virus program for updates. Hmmm it says no updates kneeded . You notice the Mis-spelling but what the heck, those things happen. Geez the puter is really slow! You decide to reboot, hoping that will fix it. Gripes, now it wont even boot! At least theres a lil extra money in the ole Bank Account to get it fixed.
The above is fiction. No animals were harmed. But its scary huh to think it could happen.
Granted it's a worse case scenario, but I wonder...
Be smart out there people, learn how to use your Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware programs. Keep em updated, and it they don't work well for your surfing habits, find programs that will. Keep your puter protected, your well being may depend on it.

Article edited for proper content by Wendy McCallum
Permission to copy ok as long as about author info remains with article.
Copyright 2005 SpywareBiz

Get ready for high speed Internet! It’s going to change the way you do business now and into the future! If you own a small business, get an edge up on the competition. You deserve it and so does your business. Whether big or small, we all know how important the Internet is. We rely on it, so why not get the very best of the best.

Direct TV has your answer with its exclusive Internet service. It’s better than dialup. Even better than DSL and it is readily available in the United States! There are no restrictions. All you need is a view of the southern sky and you’re set! With DIRECWAY, your Internet will always be connected and secure. Enjoy incredible download times of 1000kbps and networking capability. That means you can set up more than one computer in your office – which ends up saving you money in the end.

DIRECWAY is your ticket to the information highway. It’s extremely easy to order and set up and there is always someone available to answer your call when needed, no matter what time of day or night it is. Your updates are automatic so there’s no need to waste valuable time maintaining your computer and Internet service. Clearly, it’s a win-win situation. In fact, this value added package is all you need for your small business.

Each email account you receive gives you 10mb of storage, perfect for keeping larger files on your computer. DIRECWAY for small business is taking control. It’s compatible with your PC or Macintosh computer and you’ll also receive the option for dialup accounts or static IP addresses. Best of all, it’s affordable. Rates are under $100 a month – a small cost for keeping your business on its toes. Make the switch to a more reliable service. Stop wasting your time with an Internet service that doesn’t give you what you need. See what it’s like to have the very best high speed available today! You owe it to yourself and your business!

Millions of Americans understand how important it is to have Internet access from home and at work. For a long time, dialup was the only way to go. We had to deal with long wait times, inconsistent logins, and getting bumped off the server without warning. We’ve had to buy separate phone lines, or tie up our existing phone lines, just to use it, and the service wasn’t that reliable to begin with. Download times were long and excruciating. As a result, using the Internet was a frustrating way of finding information while keeping in touch of your loved ones or conducting business with your suppliers and clients.

Not anymore! There’s a new wave of affordable Internet service sweeping the nation. It’s called DIRECWAY, a service brought to you exclusively through DIRECTV. Once you experience high speed internet, you’ll wonder what you were using before.

With DIRECWAY Internet, you are guaranteed to have super fast service for your small business. In fact, it’s always connected so you’ll never have to wait to get online. Download music and information in seconds and talk to the ones you love through email, messenger programs, or with webcams. You can even network other computers in your home or office – making DIRECWAY high speed extremely affordable and flexible for your lifestyle and needs. Whether you use a Mac or a PC, you’ll have instant access because there is no software to download. Best of all, no matter where you are in the United States – as long as you have access to the southern sky, you’ll be able to ride the information highway. Think about adding DIRECWAY to your existing DIRECTV satellite service. It makes sense and you can’t go wrong.

Get surfing today! Use this high speed Internet service on multiple computers by using the DW6000 modem. Think about all the money you’ll save! Talk to your clients and friends on the computer for free using high speed Internet. NO more busy lines. No more extra phone lines! You’ll also enjoy a number of email accounts so your family has access to a personal account. It’s all you’ll ever need and more.

Tips For Finding Great Deals On Computer Accessories & Supplies

Tip #1. Do a Google search. Don't be to general in your search, type
in exactly what your looking for. Try putting the words you
type in quotes to narrow the search.

Tip #2. Go shopping at the office supplies and discount clubs. You
may find some discount clubs like Costco & Sams have a 6
month return policy, check your location. California stores
have a 6 month no questions asked policy, and yes, this means
Computers and Software too, even if the package is open and
you have used it. Just make sure you can put it back in the box
and you have the receipt.

Tip #3. Don't forget to check eBay.

Tip #4. Try other stores like Fry's, Best Buy, Circuit City, Dell, Gateway,
CompUSA.

Tip #5. If your looking for used try craigslist.org, eBay.com,
http://auctions.yahoo.com

Tip #6. Compare prices at pricescan.com, pricewatch.com,
pricegrabber.com, price.com, epinions.com, shopper.cnet.com,
streetprices.com & bizrate.com

Tip #7. Check the Sunday newspaper.

Tip #8. Staples, Office Max and Office Depot have price matching. So
If one of them has a sales you can take the sale ad to any one
of them and they will honor it. Helpful if the store having the
sale is not to close to you.

Hope this helps, good luck and thanks for reading.

In an effort to offer computer users who utilize Internet Explorer an initial protection device against spyware, Jayde Online Inc. and Xblock Software announced a partnership they planned to take on in 2004. The two companies planned to merge the spyware tool X-Cleaner, provided by XBlock, into Jayde’s Internet Explorer search engine toolbar, ExactSeek.com. The ExactSeek toolbar already provided features including web search, pop-up blocking, highlighting and drag and search along with Alexa ranking information.

Executives at Jayde Online are seeking to provide internet users with multiple new features upon the release of each new free toolbar. By working with XBlock the company hopes to provide users with an initial line of defense against spyware threats. Because computer users are constantly being preyed upon by spyware those involved in the industry predict spyware could far surpass the threats computer viruses bring. Executives at XBlock believe the use of anti-spyware tools on the ExactSeek toolbar will not offer computer users a complete defense against spyware but it will protect computers from the most prevalent spyware, adware, keylogger and Trojan problems.

The XBlock company has provided several online security tools for consumers and corporations since its beginning. ExactSeek.com is part of the Jayde Corporation which is comprised of several online network sites. Jayde also focuses on publishing several email newsletters.

10 Things To Know BEFORE Hiring A Freelance Programmer
by Robert Plank

To avoid the same mistakes I see marketers making over and over again, there are a few things you need to know before you hire that eLance, Scriptlance, or RentACoder software developer.

Law 1: Your software needs to be created in small steps.

It's more expensive that way, but at least you can get your version 1.0 out with the basic features. Once you have that base just pay the programmer on a case-by-case basis depending on which SMALL feature you want to add.

Get your version 1.0 working, fully error-free, tested, and SELLING with the site live before adding features for version 1.1, 1.2, 2.0, etc. When you move on to these newer versions make sure it is all error free and selling on your site before continuing.

After the initial version has been written you will know exactly what you're paying for.

Keeping it simple allows you to be very specific about what you want your script to do without overloading the programmer with details.

Small steps also mean any changes to your software project will happen fairly quickly. If they don't, you can ditch an unreliable programmer without losing months of time.

Law 2: Programming will cost you money.

Every once in a while some guy I used to do programming for but haven't had time for in a while tells me about a programmer in India, or Russia or some other place who spent a day writing a script and it all cost him a grand total of... 6 dollars.

Then I take a look at the script and it looks like about $6 worth of work to me.

There is no reason to go ultra-cheap on the money you put into creating your software product. Your only expense is the cost of having it developed, everything after that is pure profit.

A (print) book publisher will pay an ex-President millions of dollars for a ghostwriter to produce an autobiography, because once the actual text is written, the publishing company can start manufacturing books for a dollar or two and sell it at $29.95. It's the same idea here, most of the expenses will come now instead of later.

Law 3: Most programmers know "diddly" about marketing.

Sorry. It's just a fact. Most of these guys have been creating the exact same script over and over... usually bad ones like a traffic exchange or dating script. Be patient and explain split-testing, double opt-in or whatever needs to be explained and if the programmer can't understand those concepts just go with someone else.

Law 4: The code needs to be well documented (comments in the code), that way you can come back to it.

If you find a problem with your program a year from now, even the original programmer will be clueless UNLESS there are comments within the source code explaining very clearly what every function and block of code is supposed to do.

Law 5: Your programmers need to speak decent English.

Not that Indian dialect of English either, real English. This is definitely not the time to lose anything in translation. Plus if everything's in another language how can you possibly switch to another programmer if you need to later?

Law 6: You will almost always catch stuff the programmer didn't.

There is a real thing called Programmer's Immunity. Basically it says that the "average" user will have more computer problems than a programmer, because a programmer is used to making things work (work-arounds). This means every once in a while, your programmer will subconsciously miss bugs that are glaringly obvious to you.

Don't get annoyed, just let the programmer know about the problem, and what exact steps need to be performed to reproduce the error.

You will need to test the program yourself. You will also need to send the program out to beta testers to make sure others can use the software without problems AND you need to find out if the program can be used without instructions by someone who has never seen the software before.

The installation instructions need to be worded as simply as possible, without a lot of legalese or technical terms.

Law 7: (For web-based apps) use HTML templates.

Most programmers I've seen are shitty designers. This way you can change the way the script appears and even hire out a professional designer.

You need the programmer to use a very simple template system.

In PHP this would be something like FastTemplate, where there is a simple "tag" in the HTML like {firstName} or %firstName%. There are other bad template scripts for PHP such as Smarty, which sucks because it embeds PHP code in the templates. You'd have the same problem using regular PHP. The whole point of having templates are to separate the code from the appearance.

Law 8: If you can afford it, get a code inspector.

This is a programmer you know to be good but maybe too expensive to write the entire script, who can take a quick look at the code after every release to make sure the program is "good enough" ... not perfect but sellable.

Your inspector is only looking for HUGE problems in the program or script like the usage of gotos or globals, or maybe your freelancer is using a database but hasn't normalized it properly or forgot to add indeces where they are needed to keep the database fast.

Law 9: Stay away from GPL, open source, and re-used code AT ALL COSTS!

This is a biggie. Make it clear you do not want code reused from other scripts. Obviously if the coder uses parts of someone else's script you are in violation of copyright laws.

On the other hand there is free software out there called GPL (GNU Public License) which is free to use but only if you make the source code of your entire software product available as well. That is definitely NOT what you want.

Law 10: Your software will break over time.

This is just a fact. If you're having some desktop software created in C++ the code might not compile correctly on a different compiler in a few years. Some software written in version 1.0 of Microsoft's .NET runtime already breaks when you run it on computers with version 1.1 (argh!)

Don't even get me started about PHP. When PHP releases new versions the new ways of doing things are not always backwards compatible. Depending on which modules or security patches a given web host has installed, certain functions may not work as well. You just have to test, that's life.

Each of us has been faced with the problem of searching for information more than once. Irregardless of the data source we are using (Internet, file system on our hard drive, data base or a global information system of a big company) the problems can be multiple and include the physical volume of the data base searched, the information being unstructured, different file types and also the complexity of accurately wording the search query. We have already reached the stage when the amount of data on one single PC is comparable to the amount of text data stored in a proper library. And as to the unstructured data flows, in future they are only going to increase, and at a very rapid tempo. If for an average user this might be just a minor misfortune, for a big company absence of control over information can mean significant problems. So the necessity to create search systems and technologies simplifying and accelerating access to the necessary information, originated long ago. Such systems are numerous and moreover not every one of them is based on a unique technology. And the task of choosing the right one depends directly on the specific tasks to be solved in the future. While the demand for the perfect data searching and processing tools is steadily growing let’s consider the state of affairs with the supply side.

Not going deeply into the various peculiarities of the technology, all the searching programs and systems can be divided into three groups. These are: global Internet systems, turnkey business solutions (corporate data searching and processing technologies) and simple phrasal or file search on a local computer. Different directions presumably mean different solutions.

Local search
Everything is clear about search on a local PC. It’s not remarkable for any particular functionality features accept for the choice of file type (media, text etc.) and the search destination. Just enter the name of the searched file (or part of text, for example in the Word format) and that’s it. The speed and result depend fully on the text entered into the query line. There is zero intellectuality in this: simply looking through the available files to define their relevance. This is in its sense explicable: what’s the use of creating a sophisticated system for such uncomplicated needs.

Global search technologies
Matters stand totally different with the search systems operating in the global network. One can’t rely simply on looking through the available data. Huge volume (Yandex for instance can boast the indexing capacity of more than 11 terabyte of data) of the global chaos of unstructured information will make the simple search not only ineffective but also long and labor-consuming. That’s why lately the focus has shifted towards optimizing and improving quality characteristics of search. But the scheme is still very simple (except for the secret innovations of every separate system) - the phrasal search through the indexed data base with proper consideration for morphology and synonyms. Undoubtedly, such an approach works but doesn’t solve the problem completely. Reading dozens of various articles dedicated to improving search with the help of Google or Yandex, one can drive at the conclusion that without knowing the hidden opportunities of these systems finding a relevant document by the query is a matter of more than a minute, and sometimes more than an hour. The problem is that such a realization of search is very dependent on the query word or phrase, entered by the user. The more indistinct the query the worse is the search. This has become an axiom, or dogma, whichever you prefer.
Of course, intelligently using the key functions of the search systems and properly defining the phrase by which the documents and sites are searched, it is possible to get acceptable results. But this would be the result of painstaking mental work and time wasted on looking through irrelevant information with a hope to at least find some clues on how to upgrade the search query. In general, the scheme is the following: enter the phrase, look through several results, making sure that the query was not the right one, enter a new phrase and the stages are repeated till the relevancy of results achieves the highest possible level. But even in that case the chances to find the right document are still few. No average user will voluntary go for the sophistication of “advanced search” (although it is equipped with a number of very useful functions such as the choice of language, file format etc.). The best would be to simply insert the word or phrase and get a ready answer, without particular concern for the means of getting it. Let the horse think – it has a big head. Maybe this is not exactly up to the point, but one of the Google search functions is called “I am feeling lucky!” characterizes very well the existent searching technologies. Nevertheless, the technology works, not ideally and not always justifying the hopes, but if you allow for the complexity of searching through the chaos of Internet data volume, it could be acceptable.

Corporate systems
The third on the list are the turnkey solutions based on the searching technologies. They are meant for serious companies and corporations, possessing really large data bases and staffed with all sorts of information systems and documents. In principle, the technologies themselves can also be used for home needs. For example, a programmer working remotely from the office will make good use of the search to access randomly located on his hard drive program source codes. But these are particulars. The main application of the technology is still solving the problem of quickly and accurately searching through large data volumes and working with various information sources. Such systems usually operate by a very simple scheme (although there are undoubtedly numerous unique methods of indexing and processing queries underneath the surface): phrasal search, with proper consideration for all the stem forms, synonyms etc. which once again leads us to the problem of human resource. When using such technology the user should first word the query phrases which are going to be the search criteria and presumably met in the necessary documents to be retrieved. But there is no guarantee that the user will be able to independently choose or remember the correct phrase and furthermore, that the search by this phrase will be satisfactory.
One more key moment is the speed of processing a query. Of course, when using the whole document instead of a couple of words, the accuracy of search increases manifold. But up to date, such an opportunity has not been used because of the high capacity drain of such a process. The point is that search by words or phrases will not provide us with a highly relevant similarity of results. And the search by phrase equal in its length the whole document consumes much time and computer resources. Here is an example: while processing the query by one word there is no considerable difference in speed: whether it’s 0,1 or 0,001 second is not of crucial importance to the user. But when you take an average size document which contains about 2000 unique words, then the search with consideration for morphology (stem forms) and thesaurus (synonyms), as well as generating a relevant list of results in case of search by key words will take several dozens of minutes (which is unacceptable for a user).

The interim summary
As we can see, currently existing systems and search technologies, although properly functioning, don’t solve the problem of search completely. Where speed is acceptable the relevancy leaves more to be desired. If the search is accurate and adequate, it consumes lots of time and resources. It is of course possible to solve the problem by a very obvious manner – by increasing the computer capacity. But equipping the office with dozens of ultra-fast computers which will continuously process phrasal queries consisting of thousands of unique words, struggling through gigabytes of incoming correspondence, technical literature, final reports and other information is more than irrational and disadvantageous. There is a better way.

The unique similar content search
At present many companies are intensively working on developing full text search. The calculation speeds allow creating technologies that enable queries in different exponents and wide array of supplementary conditions. The experience in creating phrasal search provides these companies with an expertise to further develop and perfect the search technology. In particular, one of the most popular searches is the Google, and namely one of its functions called the “similar pages”. Using this function enables the user to view the pages of maximum similarity in their content to the sample one. Functioning in principle, this function does not yet allow getting relevant results – they are mostly vague and of low relevancy and furthermore, sometimes utilizing this function shows complete absence of similar pages as a result. Most probably, this is the result of the chaotic and unstructured nature of information in the Internet. But once the precedent has been created, the advent of the perfect search without a hitch is just a matter of time.
What concerns the corporate data processing and knowledge retrieval systems, here the matters stand much worse. The functioning (not existing on paper) technologies are very few. And no giant or the so called search technology guru has so far succeeded in creating a real similar content search. Maybe, the reason is that it’s not desperately needed, maybe – too hard to implement. But there is a functioning one though.

SoftInform Search Technology, developed by SoftInform, is the technology of searching for documents similar in their content to the sample. It enables fast and accurate search for documents of similar content in any volume of data. The technology is based on the mathematical model of analyzing the document structure and selecting the words, word combinations and text arrays, which results in forming a list of documents of maximum similarity the sample text abstract with the relevancy percent defined. In contrast to the standard phrasal search by the similar content search there is no need to determine the key words beforehand – the search is conducted through the whole document. The technology works with several sources of information that can be stored both in text files of txt, doc, rtf, pdf, htm, html formats, and the information systems of the most popular data bases (Access, MS SQL, Oracle, as well as any SQL-supporting data bases). It also additionally supports the synonyms and important words functions that enable to carry out a more specific search.
The similar search technology enables to significantly cut time wasted on searching and reviewing the same or very similar documents, diminish the processing time at the stage of entering data into the archive by avoiding the duplicate documents and forming sets of data by a certain subject. Another advantage of the SoftInform technology is that it’s not so sensitive to the computer capacity and allows processing data at a very high speed even on ordinary office computers.
This technology is not just a theoretic development. It has been tested and successfully implemented in a project of giving legal advice via phone, where the speed of information retrieval is of crucial importance. And it will undoubtedly be more than useful in any knowledge base, analytical service and support department of any large firm. Universality and effectiveness of the SoftInform Search Technology allows solving a wide spectrum of problems, arising while processing information. These include the fuzziness of information (at the document entering stage it is possible to immediately define whether such a document already belongs to the data base or not) and the similarity analysis of the documents which are already entered into the data base, and the search for semantically similar documents which saves time spent on selecting the appropriate key words and viewing the irrelevant documents.

Perspectives
Besides its primary assignment (fast and high quality search for information in huge volume such as texts, archives, data bases) an Internet direction could also be defined. For example, it is possible to work out an expert system to process incoming correspondence and news which will become an important tool for analysts from different companies. Mainly, this will be possible due to the unique similar content search technology, absent from any of the existent systems so far except for the SearchInform. The problem of spamming search engines with the so called doorways (hidden pages with key words redirecting to the site’s main pages and used to increase the page rating with the search engines) and the e-mail spam problem (a more intellectual analysis would ensure higher level of security) would also be solved with the help of this technology. But the most interesting perspective of the SoftInform Search technology is creating a new Internet search engine, the main competitive advantage of which would be ability to search not just by key words, but also for similar web pages, which will add to the flexibility of search making it more comfortable and efficient.

To draw a conclusion, it could be stated with confidence that the future belongs to the full text search technologies, both in the Internet and the corporate search systems. Unlimited development potential, adequacy of the results and processing speed of any size of query make this technology much more comfortable and in high demand. SoftInform Search technology might not be the pioneer, but it’s a functioning, stable and unique one with no existent analogues (which can be proved by the active Eurasian patent). To my mind, even with the help of the “similar search” it will be difficult to find a similar technology.

Every now and then you can read about a new virus and the damage it causes. The millions viruses costs companies each time they strike. It is however not only companies that are suffering from the damages caused by viruses. A virus can be just as damaging if not more for a private Internet user by destroying important documents, family pictures and everything else you keep on your computer. Therefore should no home computer be without a good virus protection software. This way you can protect your computer and yourself from loosing data, corrupted hard drives and a number of other problems. There are several anti virus programs available of which some are free and some are not. You should however always remember that you might get what you paying for, meaning that the service and the updates might be better for the paid alternatives and thereby protect your computer better.

When using a virus program you should try to find one that is fast, reliable and able to discover as many viruses as possible. Whether it is fast or not might seem unimportant if you don't use your computer that much, but you will find that an anti virus program that scans your computer faster will be used more frequently and thereby giving you a better protection. If an anti virus program should be effective when protecting your computer it needs to be able to recognise all viruses, and since new viruses are constantly created this means that the database for the program has to be constantly updated. You should therefore consider how often the different anti virus programs update their databases when choosing which antivirus program to get. You should always make sure to keep your virus program up-to-date.

One of the best anti virus programs on the market today is Panda Active Scan Anti Virus Software Online which has an unrivalled capacity for detecting viruses and other threats online which is the most common path for viruses to reach our computer. Almost all viruses today are spread through the Internet. Panda Titanium Active Scan Anti Virus 2005 is easy to install and once it is installed it finds and remove viruses automatically. Panda Anti Virus also automatically updates itself if you want it to. In other words: Panda Anti Virus is an anti virus program that manages itself and makes sure that it is up to date and able to keep your computer safe from viruses. Panda Titanium Active Scan Anti Virus 2005 scans your entire computer, including the program itself, to make sure that a virus can't infect any part of the computer. Panda Anti Virus doesn't just search for virus, it also search your computer for a number of other security risks like spy wares and Trojans.

Panda Anti Virus contains TruPrevent Technologies. TruPrevent Technologies is a system designed to help Panda Anti Virus protect your computer against unknown viruses and intruders. The user can choose whether they want to use TruPrevent Technologies or not. The technology has been implemented to allow Panda Anti Virus to protect your computer against new virus since a new virus can spread world wide within a few hours. The TruPrevent Technologies allows Panda Anti Virus to detect and block viruses even if they are not yet included in the virus database. This allows Panda Titanium Active Scan Anti Virus 2005 to keep your computer safe against all viruses and not only the ones that are already identified, since you might encounter a new virus despite the fact that Panda updates their database at least once a day. Old anti virus programs - and most of the modern anti virus programs as well - can only protect you against already identified viruses. The ability to protect against unknown viruses is what Panda Anti Virus a superior choice for an anti virus program.

Panda Titanium Active Scan Anti Virus 2005 does not only offer superior security and very user friendly functionality. It also comes with tech support where experts answer any questions that might arise.

All personal computers should have virus protection since you otherwise risk loosing important document, family pictures etcetera and if you are looking for user friendliness and a superior security Panda Anti Virus is your best choice.

You can get panda antivirus at support cave

With the demand for anti-spyware tools continuously on the rise because of the constant release of new and more invasive spyware scams, computer users may find themselves falling victim to malicious software downloads while searching for the right spyware removal tool. Several spyware removal software programs have been identified as fakes, but not before many computer users were drawn into the trap.

Spyware Assassin claimed to be a spyware removal tool released by MaxTheater but underneath the claims to remove malicious spyware, the program was found to be a fake. The tool offered users a free scan that of course detected spyware, whether it was there or not because there was actually no real scan taking place. Once the results from the scam scan were presented to the user it was advised that they immediately purchase the entire program to rid their computer of the malicious “spyware.” Recently, however, the Federal Trade Commission uncovered their scam to make money off of false spyware tools.

An even sneakier spyware scam was put on by Seismic Entertainment Productions who used tactics to infect user’s computers with actual spyware and then advised those users to purchase Spy Wiper or Spy Deleter to remove the spyware. Any of these fake software programs are obvious reasons why computer users must learn to research the credibility and background of a program before purchasing or downloading.

If a company bombards you with aggressive advertising for their product or pushes you to take immediate action by offering scare tactics, it is best for users to steer clear of that product. Any company, especially new or young companies that claim perfect results or all around protection is something to look at with caution. No spyware tool can offer users complete protection and any one that claims they can is using irresponsible advertising.
Computer users should also remember not to purchase or download a spyware program based on their name. The name is not a depiction of what the product offer.

When searching for a legitimate spyware tool spend time researching the program and company’s background and avoid believing everything the advertisements tell you.

There are F words in business. We have seen many small businesses on the internet flourish and fulfil their dream, but sadly we have seen some flounder and fail because they had the wrong product.

To be successful in a new business:

1. Choose the right product or service.
   
2. Learn everything there is to know about the product or service.
   
3. Price it well.
   
4. Arrange reliable delivery.
   
5. Get a customer friendly website.
   
6. Get found at the top of search results.
   

In this article we discuss choosing products for the purpose of selling them on the web.

1. Consumables:
   
   
   

   Products that get used up and need replacing create repeat business. e.g:
   
   Razors cost little but the blades wear out and need replacing.
   
   Printers are often sold at a low price, but their cartridges always need replacing.
   

   Good service in delivering consumables generates repeat business.
   

   This applies to compatibles as well as brand-name products.
   

   The most successful among our websites in this group sell printer inks and toners.
   

   
   
   
   
   
2. Books, CDs, DVDs:
   
   
   

   If people know the item and it's authors / producers, they won't mind buying it on the internet, if price and delivery is competitive.
   

   If the item is a self-published book, CD / DVD, then people need to be able to inspect it before deciding to order it.
   

   The most successful among our websites in this group sell known text-books.
   

   The least successful offered home produced CDs
   

   
   
   
   
   
3. Artworks:
   
   
   

   Prints or reproductions of known artworks can sell on the internet, provided there is a money-back guarantee if the customer is not happy with the quality.
   

   If the item is an original by an unknown artist, then it's very difficult to display its quality on the web to the point of persuading a customer to order it. Most people would want to personally see the actual artwork.
   

   The least successful in this group offered original oil paintings.
   

   
   
   
   
   
4. Brand Name Products, Parts, Accessories:
   
   
   

   If they are brand-name items with a manufacturer's guarantee, then provided price and delivery is competitive, these are the basis for most successful businesses on the web, regardless what product.
   

   People know exactly what they are getting, and receive a guarantee.
   

   The most successful among our websites in this group sell computers, parts and accessories, followed by perfumes.
   

   
   
   
   
   
5. Services:
   
   
   

   Breaking into a service market is very difficult. Exact details of the service offered must be provided on the website.
   

   A service business often needs to get established and get the first few customers to provide testimonials, before business from strangers flow in.
   

   The usual rules of competitiveness and reliability count very much towards success in the service industry.
   

   The most successful of our service website clients provide wedding cars, followed by landscaping, then financial services.
   

   
   
   
   

Supply:

Get a binding agreement with a reliable supplier, and ensure the supplier also benefits from selling through your business.
We know one business which closed down after their overseas supplier started selling direct to their customers.

Conclusion:

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, other factors must also be present to ensure a successful business, but choosing the product is the first make or break factor in starting a business.

More information for small businesses can be found at platypus websites - www.platywebs.com.au

Dennis Gorelik, a Senior Developer at IBM and creator of the PCnous artificial intelligence system, identifies a weakness of an AIS (artificial intelligence society, consisting of computers trained to 'think'), in that it was not born through natural selection, as human beings are. However, one could view whether this is a disadvantage or an advantage from a couple of sides. Within human natural selection, there are biases based on upbringing, genetic factors, and how ultimately one responds to social events. For example, if one came from a violent past/childhood and ended up being a psychopath, this could override any INTELLECTUAL, socially beneficial learning that this person had received. Meaning, their naturally selective birth and upbringing could affect them in their decisions, based not on logic, but by their own emotional biases.

With AI, this factor is, at least on paper, removed on a world-based scale, with the Machine being the sum of all parts, from all people connected to it. In WIRED magazine’s new issue, for example, writer Kevin Kelly describes the internet’s home for AI as being a breeding ground for a single consciousness by billions of people and situations. So, while in a individually controlled AI environment, the AIS might by function – or by purposeful ‘programming’ – take on the biases of an INDIVIDUAL user, within the framework of mass contributions, it becomes a gigantic collector of information. I imagine that the ideal, if AIS is to work for human advantage, is that the emotional side of the Machine would at best take on so-called ‘normal’ emotional states of the people and systems it serves. People on a whole do not wish to be abused or stolen from or killed en masse, or to perform these actions.

In short, natural selection is a hit-or-miss thing on purely intellectual and emotional basises. “Love is blind,” “there’s no accounting for SOME people,” “There’s a sucker born every minute,” etc. With the large amount of data an AIS civilization would collect, there would in theory be a checks-and-balances library for more and more questionable, dubious, socially detrimental things, regardless of the user. It would become a servant to the population – not to any one particular group, person or thing.

I like to think of the example of open source software development, or mainstream sites like Wikipedia that allow the people at large to update information at will, and seed out vandals. Humans are fallible in emotional/logical ways that a Machine would not be. At the same time, the AIS is fallible by the simple inadequacy of it FULLY capturing the entire range of every mental/emotional/psychological impact of natural occurrences – from a mad girlfriend, to the effects of a tsunami, to why your college roomie likes to play the Black Dragon calypso album five times a day. The Machine, for all its exposure to the world, cannot know what people think – only what we do. So, tweaks in its activity can be monitored and adjusted by a world at large – much better than trusting the maintenance to a possibly megalomaniacal techno-whiz who might want to take out the planet because he hated his daddy. ;)

A possible serious weakness to AIS is its adaptation to a world which becomes more and more dependent on its use, from medical use to financial markets to solace for lonely, desperate people. In the Great Depression, people so dependent on the old stock exchange during the crash literally killed themselves. When the World Trade Centres were smashed down, the stock exchange similarly was affected.

We all know what possible consequences are if a massive blackout nullified even the back-up systems of hospitals, heat and light, even food and water production. And many people now live out their social lives via the Internet (see the perp who almost succeeded in a mass suicide with lonely female members of his chat group.) In the event of a cataclysmic system crash for a fully-integrated, fully-indispensable worldwide AIS, it could become instant bedlam. So, the social importance of an AIS in that scenario would have to be very closely monitored by thinking, reactive humans after all. We will still have to use our good ol’ noggins, because you can’t eat or drink silicone chips, and what good is a mechanical AI heart in your chest if it stops working?

One more point about the implications of a fully-functional AIS, and this stretches to religion and spirituality. All of the world’s religious texts were written by the hands of men. Whether the belief in God came through divine revelation (as the religious/spiritualists like me believe), or simply through man’s childlike imagination (as the atheists attest) is a history-long argument between these two groups.

From a philosophical point of view, however, the question takes on a different route. If man indeed invented God, the argument could go, the issue might be how technology affects views of what God is. The point might be made by the philosophers that God was written into the books by human beings, mainly to attempt to understand the meaning of life, of who we are as a species, and to help us just get by life. If systems of thought and technology can be upgraded to higher levels of understanding, why couldn’t there also be a God v.2.0? After all, they may argue, the old model was a Lord who we couldn’t see or touch – it’s a major leap of faith to know that God exists. The old text was written in parchment and dictated morality -- today's dominant medium is multi-bit, encrypted and often imposes morality in internet law, chat room behavior and advice columns on how to be a better spouse or member of a community.

The internet was created by us by through a vision of connecting humans to the universe. So, many people who sit on their butts for hours a day making sure their social and financial prayers are answered, may choose to be on their knees to what they consider an alive-acting, omnipresent, all-knowing, all-seeing, instantly accessible Diety – an AIS-powered internet God for a new millennium. What effect this possible stream of thought will have on our flesh-and-blood world, so connected to a universe-wide savior to so many, remains to be seen.

Using free spyware scan and removal programs you are able to detect spyware infections currently running on your computer. Once you have successfully found and removed the malicious spyware infections you best defense against future spyware invasions is to purchase anti-spyware software that will actively protect your computer from new spyware intrusions.

Finding one or more spyware programs that can detect and rid of harmful and invasive spyware is an important part of the maintenance on your computer. Spyware has become a prevalent threat to all computers, especially PCs and any others using Internet Explorer. The likelihood that your computer will not be infected with spyware is slim to none due to the multitude of methods spyware is capable of using to latch onto your system.

Originally used solely for advertising purposes spyware was designed to record your internet usage and online shopping habits so that companies could solicit you with ads they thought would interest you based on the information gathered from spyware being placed in your computer. Spyware continues to run silently on your computer most of the time but the information it records and sends back to intruders is much more private.

Passwords, credit card numbers, social security numbers and other personal information can easily be found on your computer by spyware. Computer users often find spyware on their system as a result of them downloading game, music or other freeware programs. Spyware threats are so widespread now users can easily pick them up simply by visiting certain web sites, even if they have been designated secure.

Using one or more of the many free spyware removal programs is the initial step in guarding your computer and private information from spyware. After downloading the scanning tool check online for updates so your will be using the latest spyware definitions. Once you computer has been cleaned of current spyware infections it is best to purchase spyware software to provide your computer with maximum protection. These types of anti-spyware software can scan similar to anti-virus programs and they also provide “real-time” protection while your surf the internet.

The internet is undoubtedly a fantastic resource for families and offers a rich vein of educational content.

However, there are potential dangers - welcome to the seedy world of viruses, spam, trojans, pornography, spyware and other nasties.

These are the Top Twelve Threats No Computer User Should Ignore.

1. Viruses - A computer program that copies itself. They often disrupt your computer system or damage your data. Viruses are usually received by email attachments so be careful opening anything from a dubious source. They can affect anyone, for example, the destructive Mydoom worm affected one out of three small and mid-sized businesses.

2. Spyware - Sends information about you and your computer to somebody else. Spyware may send the addresses of sites you have visited or worse still, transmit personal information. With today’s concerns about identify theft this is a real worry. For example, CoolWebSearch may hijack web searches, home page, and other Internet Explorer settings. Spyware is normally received as part of shareware or freeware downloaded from the web.

3. IP Spoofing - A technique to gain unauthorized access to computers, whereby the intruder sends messages to a computer with an address indicating that the message is coming from a trusted host.

4. Trojans - An apparently legitimate computer program that is really intended to disrupt and damage computer activity by sending information, perhaps even passwords onto a third party without you knowing. As an example, recent emails entitled "Osama Bin Laden Captured" attempted to download the "Trj/Small.B." Trojan if the embedded URL was clicked. This trojan attempts to hijack the PC.

5. Spam - Unsolicited mail often promoting products of a dubious financial or sexual nature. Don't leave your email address on websites and internet bulletin boards as they are harvested by spammers.

6. Adware - puts advertisements on your screen. These take many forms including popups, popunders and advertisements that appear later, even if your browser is closed. Some are sent using the Windows Messenger service which allows a spammer to direct an advertisement straight to your computer by sequentially sending messages to IP addresses. Always irritating, they are also often of a pornographic nature.

7. Diallers - for those of us still with dial up modems, dialler programs redirect calls to a very expensive number. You won’t know until you get the bill.

8. Hijackers - Hijackers take control of your web browser and may reset your home page, search bar and search pages. They can redirect you to undesirable sites or stop you going to particular sites.

9. Hackers - With so much personal data available online to anyone with a password you must be sure your password is secure. If you are using your mother's maiden name, your cat's name or your birthday then your password is at risk. Here are two tips for making a secure password. Method One - pick two random unrelated three letter words and two digits. Mix them up and what do you have? A secure password such as "red19cat" or "hotpin73". Method Two - pick a short sequence of words such as Now Is The Winter Of Our Discontent Made Glorious' and you have a password of "nitwoodmg". You could even change the I's and O's to digits.

10. Phishing - Emails purporting to come from reliable sources such as Paypal, Ebay or your bank. Often wanting you to verify your account details, they can look very realistic but are generally scams to harvest usernames and passwords. Always open a new browser winder and type the address there, rather than clicking on the link provided.

11. Hoaxes - Chain letters, scams, false alarms. At best they take up time and bandwidth but at worst vulnerable can be victims of fraud. Pass it on!

12. Stranger-danger – For those of us with children - do you know what they actually do when they are online? Are they working on homework tasks, downloading illegal music or pornography? Or are they chatting to strangers in chat rooms? You should consider blocking access to undesirable sites and logging their activity with a surveillance tool. Oh, and don't forget that where children are concerned, computers should always be kept in a family room and never in their bedroom.

Three Step Action Plan

There are three basic, essential steps that should be taken to ensure your PC is kept threat-free.

Firstly, be sensible when opening attachments or following email instructions from apparently reputable sites.

Secondly, make sure you are using the latest service pack of Windows as Microsoft is continually closing loopholes to tighten up security.

Finally, there's a range of low cost tools such as firewalls, antivirus, spam blockers and spyware killers available. Like everything else they vary in quality and you tend to get what you pay for so always do your research first and perhaps try a free trial before getting your credit card out.

The internet is undoubtedly a fantastic resource for families and offers a rich vein of educational content.

However, there are potential dangers - welcome to the seedy world of viruses, spam, trojans, pornography, spyware and other nasties.

These are the Top Twelve Threats No Computer User Should Ignore.

1. Viruses - A computer program that copies itself. They often disrupt your computer system or damage your data. Viruses are usually received by email attachments so be careful opening anything from a dubious source. They can affect anyone, for example, the destructive Mydoom worm affected one out of three small and mid-sized businesses.

2. Spyware - Sends information about you and your computer to somebody else. Spyware may send the addresses of sites you have visited or worse still, transmit personal information. With today’s concerns about identify theft this is a real worry. For example, CoolWebSearch may hijack web searches, home page, and other Internet Explorer settings. Spyware is normally received as part of shareware or freeware downloaded from the web.

3. IP Spoofing - A technique to gain unauthorized access to computers, whereby the intruder sends messages to a computer with an address indicating that the message is coming from a trusted host.

4. Trojans - An apparently legitimate computer program that is really intended to disrupt and damage computer activity by sending information, perhaps even passwords onto a third party without you knowing. As an example, recent emails entitled "Osama Bin Laden Captured" attempted to download the "Trj/Small.B." Trojan if the embedded URL was clicked. This trojan attempts to hijack the PC.

5. Spam - Unsolicited mail often promoting products of a dubious financial or sexual nature. Don't leave your email address on websites and internet bulletin boards as they are harvested by spammers.

6. Adware - puts advertisements on your screen. These take many forms including popups, popunders and advertisements that appear later, even if your browser is closed. Some are sent using the Windows Messenger service which allows a spammer to direct an advertisement straight to your computer by sequentially sending messages to IP addresses. Always irritating, they are also often of a pornographic nature.

7. Diallers - for those of us still with dial up modems, dialler programs redirect calls to a very expensive number. You won’t know until you get the bill.

8. Hijackers - Hijackers take control of your web browser and may reset your home page, search bar and search pages. They can redirect you to undesirable sites or stop you going to particular sites.

9. Hackers - With so much personal data available online to anyone with a password you must be sure your password is secure. If you are using your mother's maiden name, your cat's name or your birthday then your password is at risk. Here are two tips for making a secure password. Method One - pick two random unrelated three letter words and two digits. Mix them up and what do you have? A secure password such as "red19cat" or "hotpin73". Method Two - pick a short sequence of words such as Now Is The Winter Of Our Discontent Made Glorious' and you have a password of "nitwoodmg". You could even change the I's and O's to digits.

10. Phishing - Emails purporting to come from reliable sources such as Paypal, Ebay or your bank. Often wanting you to verify your account details, they can look very realistic but are generally scams to harvest usernames and passwords. Always open a new browser winder and type the address there, rather than clicking on the link provided.

11. Hoaxes - Chain letters, scams, false alarms. At best they take up time and bandwidth but at worst vulnerable can be victims of fraud. Pass it on!

12. Stranger-danger – For those of us with children - do you know what they actually do when they are online? Are they working on homework tasks, downloading illegal music or pornography? Or are they chatting to strangers in chat rooms? You should consider blocking access to undesirable sites and logging their activity with a surveillance tool. Oh, and don't forget that where children are concerned, computers should always be kept in a family room and never in their bedroom.

Three Step Action Plan

There are three basic, essential steps that should be taken to ensure your PC is kept threat-free.

Firstly, be sensible when opening attachments or following email instructions from apparently reputable sites.

Secondly, make sure you are using the latest service pack of Windows as Microsoft is continually closing loopholes to tighten up security.

Finally, there's a range of low cost tools such as firewalls, antivirus, spam blockers and spyware killers available. Like everything else they vary in quality and you tend to get what you pay for so always do your research first and perhaps try a free trial before getting your credit card out.

History and Background

The virus was one of the first ever threats to computer security. It brought a whole new fear upon computer users. Bugs and glitches could cause damage unintentionally, but a virus created havoc intentionally, and therefore often caused much more damage then just glitches in software. Technically a virus must be in a host file and spread manually by people, versus a worm which spreads by an automated process and doesn't require a host file, but we will include worms as part of the term virus. Therefore, the threat of viruses quickly multiplied expotentially. One computer infected by a virus is manageable, but a virus spreading uncontrollably and automatically can cause damage to sometimes entire populations. And with the introduction of the Internet, billions of computers worldwide could be accessed with a click of a button. These abilities are what made the virus probably the greatest security to personal computers in the 21st Century.

What kind of damage will it inflict?

Since up to 100 new viruses are discovered every minute by anti-virus industries worldwide, the damage they inflict varies considerably. Some will display an annoying popup. Some will swap your mouse buttons. Some will uninstall Internet Explorer. Some will delete all your personal files. And some, though rare, will slow down your computer fan to the point that your computer processor starts smoking. All have 1 thing in common - they reduce your productivity in some way and they inhibit you from comfortably using your PC. Therefore you must take several precautions to insure you do not to become infected with viruses. With just a few simple security measures, the chances of getting infected with a virus can be cut down by over 90%.

Security Measures

The most important step - Be careful of everything you do on the Internet! It is extremely rare for a computer to get infected by a virus if you only download and browse trustworthy sites and emails. If an email has an attachment and looks suspicious it is very likey to be a virus. If a site is providing illegal or inappropiate content, it should be considered a risk. These are basic rules of safe browsing of the Internet and unfortunately, most people only learn these rules after a disaster. Don't learn from experience! Don't let it happen in the first place.

Keep your system up-to-date. Nearly every major virus threat to operating systems are patched soon after discovery. Visit your operating system update website often, which is www.windowsupdate.com for Windows users.

Get a reliable antivirus solution. The most common is Norton Antivirus, but I personally do not like its unreliability and incompatibility with many PCs. On the otherhand, it is probably the most user friendly antivirus solution on the market, and is probably best for PC beginners.
If you're looking for a free yet extremely reliable and easy-to-use antivirus solution, Avast may be your answer. I am currently running Avast and am very happy with it. I previously tried Norton Antivirus, Norton Client Security, NOD32 Antivirus and McAfee Antivirus, but each had their own individual problems and so I had to constantly change antivirus software until I finally reached Avast.

Some people go overboard and install many other security measures but I don't recommend this. These measures only hog resources, confuse users and cause conflicts with other software. Some of this software includes firewalls, memory explorers and file protection.
References

www.wikipedia.org

us.mafee.com

www.netmom.com

www.pcworld.com

Links

Avast Antivirus - www.avast.com