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Defining What It Means to Be an Internet Marketer

noreply@blogger.com (mentoshlight) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 17:18:00 +0000

There’s no PhD you can strive for to be in the Internet marketing industry. You have to learn as you go – on your own – soaking up information along the way. The first thing you need to know is what it means to be an Internet marketer, because it isn’t always clear to everyone.

Let’s start with what Internet marketing is not. It’s not being a con artist. It’s not being a spam king. It doesn’t just mean selling on eBay or having your own website and products.

In reality, Internet marketers can pick and choose from a whole host of options available to help them make money. Your opportunities are virtually endless, and include one or more of the following:

Selling digital downloads (information products like eBooks)
Promoting other people’s products for a commission (affiliate marketing)
Selling on eBay or other auction sites
Running a membership site
Selling your online services (writing, graphics, etc.)
Owning a website that sells dropshipped or wholesale items

And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Being a newcomer to Internet marketing, you might be worried that you don’t have anything to sell. That’s okay – most people don’t start out with anything, and you never have t stock a tangible inventory if you don’t want to.

Internet marketing creates no gender or age boundaries for you. There are teenagers who have launched multi-million dollar companies as budding Internet marketers whose ideas sprung to life and catapulted them to instant success.

You don’t have to do anything unethical or shady to succeed at Internet marketing, and in fact, launching a respectable business with a solid reputation is the secret ingredient that will allow you to hatch an empire on the ‘net to fulfill all of your dreams and those of your family.

Don't Let AdWords Get Out of Control

noreply@blogger.com (mentoshlight) — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 13:36:00 +0000

AdWords can be a very difficult thing to master. A lot of people have to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars before they learn to make a profit. Some people are never able to become profitable, and give up after losing a considerable amount of money.

In order to have the best chance at being profitable, you have to learn to be extremely vigilant about your campaigns. You have to monitor them carefully, and always end campaigns that stay unprofitable for a long period of time.

One of the first things you should monitor is your CTR. If your click through ratio is very poor, your ads will cost more. It will take more money for the same number of clicks your competitors might get if they have a better CTR.

If your CTR is too low, you need to tweak your ad. You need to look at the text your competitors are using, and attempt to make it better. Try to get inside the minds of your visitors, and think about what they’re looking for when they search for a particular word or phrase.

Use AdWords’ split-testing setting to test multiple versions of your ads, and use the best ones.

Keep an eye on your quality score (QS). If your score is too low, then you need to do a few things to get your quality score up.

The higher your QS is, the less you’ll have to pay for your clicks, and the more profit you can potentially make. The quality score takes several factors into account for its ranking algorithm, and Google doesn’t release the details of every single one.

They give you a little general advice, but it’s not really enough for most people to dominate AdWords right out of the bat. After a lot of experimentation, many experts have come up with some guidelines than can help improve your quality score.

Make sure you have each campaign’s keyword phrases on the landing page itself. Don’t use the keyword “golf carts” if the word “carts” doesn’t appear anywhere on the page. That could bring your quality score down.

Your landing page shouldn’t be a single page with no internal links. Google doesn’t seem to favor single page landing pages. Add links to relevant products, articles related to the niche, or pages such as a privacy policy, terms of service, and a contact page.

Keep your campaigns to a few highly related keyword phrases each, such as one for the product name only, another for long tail phrases, and a third for more broad keywords. You should make sure you target those keywords in your ad.

If you have “golf clubs,” “golf bags,” and “golf club warmers” as your keyword phrases, you should try to use at least one of those phrases in your ad. You might have something like “Golf Clubs, Bags, and Accessories” in your ad. The words people search for will appear in bold in your ad, so the more you have in your ad, the more likely it is to be clicked.

Finally, you should carefully track conversions. Make sure you have a way to track which traffic came from AdWords if you’re sending traffic from more than one source. Conversions are ultimately the most important factor in the success or failure of your AdWords campaign.

Digital Download Dollars

noreply@blogger.com (mentoshlight) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 04:37:00 +0000

Whether you’re an affiliate marketer or a product owner, you get to choose how much you get paid to promote something. As a product owner, obviously you set the price. As an affiliate, you seek out products that have a good commission.

Digital downloads usually have a much better payout than tangible goods. Of course, if you’re promoting a high-ticket tangible item, you might make more – but it could be harder to sell to the general public, too.

A digital download is a text, audio, or video file that buyers can download instantly onto their hard drive and access immediately. Instead of waiting until tomorrow afternoon to run to Barnes and Noble, they log in at 3 o’clock in the morning when they can’t sleep and download a book on the topic they want.

A tangible book that costs $14.95 in a local bookstore can sell for $49 and up on the Internet as a digital download. As an affiliate, your commission will probably be higher, too.

If you promote a tangible book on Amazon that costs $14.95, and you get 7% of that, you’re only earning a little over a dollar. But that $49 digital download – an eBook about the same topic – offers you 50% commission, giving you $24.50 per sale!

It’s not hard to see which one pays better. As a product owner, you can create eBooks to compete with tangibles. You’ll charge a lot more, but you’ll be able to pay your affiliates a lot for their efforts, too.

If you’re not a writer and prefer a different type of product creation for your digital download, you can choose to create a series of MP3 files – audio tutorials that teach your topic to a paying audience. The public loves information they can digest on the go using their iPod or other electronic gadget.

You can also use a tool like Camtasia and create video productions as your product creation tool of choice. Some people prefer to watch a lesson rather than read it. With both audio and video digital downloads, your price point can go beyond the borders of what text info products can pull in.

Combine all three media elements and you may be poised to market a high-ticket digital download that takes in upwards of $1,500 for a single sale – something affiliate marketers will jump all over.

Do You Have to Have Money to Make Money?

noreply@blogger.com (mentoshlight) — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 01:21:00 +0000

The short answer is, “No.” You can effectively launch an Internet marketing career without a single dime. All you need is a computer and an Internet connection, which does cost money, but we’re assuming you have those two components already.

Many a marketer has gotten his or her start as an affiliate marketer. Aside from shuffling around in your attic to find something you can sell for a profit on eBay, affiliate marketing is your best bet for a zero-dollar start-up business in the Internet marketing industry.

All you need is a free ID that you can get on PayDotCom, Amazon, Commission Junction, LinkShare, or ClickBank (to name a few), and the ability to learn about free traffic sites and you can begin generating an affiliate income without investing a penny of your own money.

That said, it’s best if you save a few dollars here and there to invest in some tools that are going to make your Internet marketing efforts a whole lot easier. For instance, you could sit around and brainstorm for five days to get a list of keywords – or, pay for a one-day subscription to WordTracker and harvest thousands of keywords in less than an hour.

You could also use nothing but web 2.0 social sites that are free, such as MySpace or Squidoo, to host your content and affiliate links. Or, you could pony up the $9.95 one-time fee for a domain name and $6.95 a month for hosting and have your own business presence on the ‘net.

You can also spend days and weeks searching for information about how to do a task that will help you make money as an Internet marketer – such as how to master pay per click advertising.

Or, you can invest in a step-by-step guide t shorten your learning curve. What most marketers suggest is to take a look at your budget and see what you have to invest. If you have to start out with nothing, go for it – but set aside a few of your profits to pour back into your online efforts.

Everything you’ll invest in is built to ease your workload and hasten the procedures, so your income will increase faster and with less input from you as you learn to wield these tools in your favor.

Getting Indexed Fast in Google

noreply@blogger.com (mentoshlight) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 04:47:00 +0000

A lot of people seem to think it takes weeks (or even months) to get indexed in Google, but that’s just not true. Almost anyone can get his or her site crawled and indexed in two weeks or less - sometimes you can even be listed in the Google index in as little as a few hours!

There are several ways to get indexed quickly. All of them involve getting links to your site on other sites that have high PageRank, or sites that are updated often and get crawled frequently by search engine spiders.

You don’t have to pay to do this. There are plenty of ways to get these types of links to your site without paying a penny. One of the easiest ways to get indexed quickly is to ping your site. You don’t have to own a blog to ping your site at places like pingoat.com or Pingomatic.com.

Just add your site’s name and URL, and leave the RSS feed link blank. (It’s not necessary.) Sometimes this technique alone can get you indexed in a day or two. Next, you should submit your link to various social bookmarking sites.

These sites get crawled several times a day, so they can be a very good way to get your own site crawled and indexed quickly. You should get an account at all of the major bookmarking sites. Don’t miss StumbleUpon, Digg, Furl, del.ico.us, and Slashdot.

Press releases can be very helpful in getting your site crawled and indexed quickly. Most of the more popular press release sites have good PageRank, get crawled often, and can even get your press release posted on a number of different sites that borrow news from the PR directories. Sometimes it can be worth submitting a press release simply for the ease and speed of being indexed.

Article marketing is another way to get indexed fast. Submitting an article or two can also help you get backlinks, better PageRank, and targeted traffic to your site. A lot of article directories have very good PageRank, so it definitely has benefits other than just quick indexing.

Blog commenting can be a very good way to get indexed quickly. You’ll need to find blogs that don’t have the “nofollow” tag, because blogs that have “nofollow” won’t let search engines crawl the links anyway.

This is debated by SEO experts – some saying the “nofollow” tag doesn’t even matter, since some search engine spiders ignore them anyway. Others claim you might get a small amount of traffic from the blogs themselves, but “nofollow” blogs will do nothing to help you get indexed faster.

You should also make sure you do all you can to maximize the ability of spiders to crawl your site. You should have links that are easy to find and follow, use text links instead of only image links, don’t use Flash or image maps unless you also have text links for spiders to follow, and make sure you keep your site as clean as possible. Having too many links on your main page can confuse spiders, and your site may not be indexed properly.

Forums often get crawled on a regular (daily) rotation since the content is updated often. Popular forums have had posts on their site show up on Google just minutes after they’re posted! It’s very common for posts on very popular forums to be in Google in under 24 hours. Posting a small link in your signature on some of these forums can help you get your site indexed quickly.

Finally, you can exchange links with other webmasters in your niche. Not only is this a great way to build backlinks, but if their sites get crawled often, you’ll be adding to the chance that your site will be crawled and indexed quickly, too. Link exchanges won’t penalize your site, either – unless you amass too many, too soon – so stick with organic growth (a few a day) and it won’t put up any red flags for the search engines.

Simple Cybersecurity Measures for Individuals

noreply@blogger.com (mentoshlight) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 12:01:00 +0000

Most people in the civilized world these days use computers. The devices are not just accessories and equipment aiding academic studies. Computers are made to connect online, which in turn could facilitate actual and basic transactions. You could shop, bank, pay bills, transfer funds, reserve tickets, conduct businesses, and do just about anything you need to do online. Cybersecurity would help make you secured and safe all the time.

Because there is money across the Internet, defrauders, thieves, and burglars now focus on online crimes. Online transactions are mostly using credit card accounts, debit cards, and Internet accessible bank accounts. Thus, expect hackers and attackers to strive their best to be able to access your sensitive personal information. You might not know it but as you use your personal computer today, you might already be exposed to several Internet security problems.

How are cyber crimes committed? Usually, hackers, intruders, and attackers design and deploy computer viruses, computer programs, or software to penetrate into systems that are aimed at searching computer systems for important personal data of users without proper authorization. Viruses are rampant. They spread like wildfire and most infected computers are not identified. Thus, as you use your computer for basic online transactions, your information might also be tapped by unscrupulous cyber criminals.

Some viruses are spread through using removable hardware like discs and flash derives. Some are propagated through opening attachments in suspicious email messages. Some are most dangerous as they are automatically coming with pop up screens when you enter or open specific Websites. Downloading unsecured data online could also be a culprit. If you want to take instant cybersecurity measures, you should resolve not to get viruses from the abovementioned venues and occasions. However, you may find it difficult not to be exposed to computer virus risks.

Aside from refraining to avoid the mentioned risks, it would also do wonders if you purchase effective anti-virus programs. There are specific products that provide protection against common computer viruses. Some have protection against spread and vulnerability to malicious codes, also known as malwares. To provide you better and more options, there are many virus protection brands and products available across the market today. Their proliferation makes cybersecurity rampant and more competitive these days.

Speaking of being competitive, many anti-virus software are now made accessible to most individuals. Cost is a primary issue because not all products are affordable. The best and most effective protection is of course premium priced. If you could not afford to purchase such software, you could opt for the more affordable ones. There are even brands and products that are offered for free. All you have to do is to be patient in finding them.

You should constantly have your computer system checked. As an added protection, it would be better if you would install or activate firewall protection naturally imbedded in your system. You could also hire services of computer and IT experts to help you ensure your total online and computer protection.

Cybersecurity should never be neglected. In fact, it should be accorded with utmost importance. These days when security across the Internet is getting more serious, it is just appropriate if you would aim not to be victimized by cyber criminals and cyber threats. Cyber crimes and risks could be avoided if you know how. Explore options.

Cyber Security Regulations

noreply@blogger.com (mentoshlight) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:35:00 +0000

Assalamualaikum and hello...
today topic is about cyber security regulation.
Cyber security is meant to protect personal and work-related data and information stored in our computer and personal websites. With the increase of individuals, organizations, and members of the community falling prey to cyber crimes and security attacks, there is an increase in demands for more measures to be taken.

Alarmingly, the number of people getting affected cyber security attacks is increasing. According to a research by Panda Software in 2006, 1 out of 5 e-mail messages that corporate servers receive are spam and 1 out of 20 is infected with malware. Consumer Reports released a report in 2006 showing that United States consumers would spend $7.8 billion over the last two years for computer repairs and replacements because security attacks like malware and viruses.

Security attacks like these do not only costs an individual repairs, businesses, organizations and the national economy could suffer losses. In 2005, cyber crime led to a loss of whopping $130.1 million, all because of viruses, unauthorized access to computer systems and personal and financial information theft.

There are numerous measures that should be taken by the government to help resolve cyber crimes and attacks. In the United States, there are different legislations in the executive and Congress level that are meant to protect computer systems and other medium of information technology. This is called cyber-security regulations.

Cyber –security regulations is to make sure that companies and private institutions would be using or protecting their systems from any cyber attacks like viruses, worms, phishing, denial of service and unauthorized access.

The United States Chamber of Commerce said that there are about 64 % of small businesses that are getting protection for their systems to protect their customer’s financial information. While there are about 72 % of businesses expressed concern about security of the company’s assets and information.

In the United States, there are cyber-security regulations, for both federal and estate governments. For federal government cyber security regulations, they focus mainly on specific industries and fields, healthcare, organizations, financial institutions and agencies that work with systems and information. Unfortunately, this regulation do not reach and cover computer related industries like Internet Service Providers (ISP).

Additional to this, the federal government is also trying to resolve issues of cyber security breach by allocating more funds in research and programs directed to research better solutions and recommendations for improving cyber security. The government is collaborating with members of the private sector.

Meanwhile, states are forming their own methods of dealing with security attacks. An example is the regulation passed by the California State in 2003 called Notice of Security Breach Act. Different states have followed the example of California and created their own anti-breach regulations and standard procedure.

There has been an ongoing debate about cyber security regulation. There are people who comments that creating a regulation is not the answer and not enough, what is needed is better defenses against hackers, viruses and similar threats. The regulation is said to restrict industries to develop programs and software that would boost cyber security. Aside form this, businesses also fears that having the regulation will cut back their healthy profits since they would meet more limitations and would cost them more.

But inspite of regulations and software that could protect your computer and systems, still the best way to boost cyber security is preventing any attacks from happening in the first place. There are easy tips that could be followed to avoid cyber attacks from happening.

Unsecured: Cyber Security And Your Data

noreply@blogger.com (mentoshlight) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:21:00 +0000

How many times have we heard about cyber security problems? Credit card information and identify stolen, viruses spreading, everybody is falling victims of cyber security crimes. The more that we depend on computers and internet, the higher possibility that we are putting ourselves at risk.

Cyber security is very much needed to be improved and reinforced, most especially since most of activities are moved by technology nowadays. Email, cellphones and instant messengers are big parts of our communications. While, technology like mp3s, mp4s, and digitized entertainment are very much in demand. Transportation would use GPS and you can even do online shopping and pay for your internet.

Cyberspace is utilized for our needs. But how safe is our information stored in computers? Cyber security’s function is to prevent, detect and fight off any attacks to our systems that could put our personal and working information in jeopardy.

The risks of storing too much information in our computers are increasing over the years. These are bad news especially if your are managing your finances online, storing personal data or any work-related activities. Viruses and hacking is so common, that we should take necessary precautions to prevent it from happening to us.

According to Consumer Reports, published in 2006, there is about 1 out of 3 computer users who have fallen victims of viruses, spyware or phishing. These cyber security attacks costs consumers to spent $7.8 billion in years 2005 and 2006 for computer repairs, parts and replacements.

How do you defend yourself from these cyber security breaches? How do you protect your data? To protect your personal and work-related data, here are some easy steps that you could do.

• Use and regularly update your anti-virus software.
Viruses are among the major problems, they could slow down computers, send data to other units and completely make your system unusable. If you already have an anti-virus software installed in your computer, then you would have to keep in updated.

• Spyware alert.
Another huge problem is the spyware or the adware. These are computer software that could partially control or intercept your computer functions. This software is secretly installed on computer, especially if you are frequently downloading something from the internet. The good thing is that anti-virus softwares are also offering spyware detection.

• Any computer program that is being unused can be deleted or uninstalled.
Too many unnecessary programs can even make your computer vulnerable to security attacks. Since you are not using them anyway, then it is better to uninstall them.

• If you are not the only person using your computer, then it would be best to separate your documents from the other users of the computer.
This would prevent anybody from accessing, changing, deleting your files. Some would have two computers, one for personal and the other one for work-related data and information.

• Use passwords, but avoid writing passwords in pieces of paper for easy reference. When choosing passwords, choose those that are easy to remember and personalized. If you have sensitive files, there are encryption programs that would enable to protect your data.

• When deleting documents, make sure that you have completely removed it from the system.
There are times when hackers can still restore the information. So make sure that it is totally removed.

These cyber security measures should be taken seriously and are actually very easy to do. These would help you protect data and information, that tool you for a long time and effort to finish.

Cyber Security Building a Good Habit

noreply@blogger.com (mentoshlight) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:47:00 +0000

assalamualaikum and hye to all my blog readers. This time time entry i would like to share with u all more about cyuber security. Cyber security is not at all that difficult. Once you have incorporated it into your system then it is just like riding a bicycle or can be as normal as walking. All you need is to learn how you can make it work well and build a good habit to make cyber security consistent.

By doing this you can have a better chance of keeping your confidential information protected from attacks from virus or similar applications or from hackers. This way you can keep your personal information safe from other persons who would like to access them and use them for personal gain or protect them from applications that can erase or corrupt your files.

Part of building a good habit would be to identify how your information can be accessed and who would be the most likely people who can gain from accessing your confidential files. It’s like identifying the usual suspects in a criminal line-up. I’m not saying that the people you know cannot be trusted but it helps to be extra cautious. You brother might not do something untrustworthy by his friends might and if they have physical access to your computer then your files are at a risk of being hacked.

Lock your computer with a good password. Use combinations of letters and numbers, upper case and lower case, and even use codes. Avoid using the usual birthdays, social security numbers, bank PINs, account numbers, favorite superheroes, favorite food, etc. Use unique passwords and make one up for every system that requires authentication. Do not use the same password in all your confidential files.

To protect your computer from outside hackers, the best thing would be to disconnect your computer from the network when you’re not using it. No anti-virus application or firewall systems provide 100 per cent protection. The best way would be to remove yourself from the network when you’re not using your computer to reduce the risk of being attacked.

When you do go online, make sure that you have your firewall on and your anti-virus application active. Also look into your security settings. Your emails, web browsers and even other applications have specific settings which increase the security allowing them to block attacks from virus, malware and spyware. Study the security settings and select one which permits you to maximize the use of the application but at the same time offer you a good deal of security to keep your files protected.

Also, do not forget about power surges and other technological problems. Even though, the virus and hacker threats are real and sometimes the priority, people also forget that sometimes power surges or breakdown of computer hardware can cause loss of data or have files corrupted and rendered unusable.

To have added protection therefore, it would be wise to install some uninterrupted power supply that protects your from power surges and allows you to back up or shut down your computer properly preventing possible corruption of files and applications.

And speaking of backing up, it would be great if you would regularly back up your files just in case the unthinkable happens. May these be personal files or files you need for work, having a good back up is always a good thing to have.

You see, once you have a system you will develop a good habit in cyber security which can help reduce the risks of losing files or your confidential information being hacked.

Your Browser – Cyber Security’s 1st Line of Defense

noreply@blogger.com (mentoshlight) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:11:00 +0000

Nowadays, many people seemed to have forgotten the importance (and the inherent dangers) of their computer’s browser. They forgot that the browser, per se, works like a two-way street. It is where cyber security should police the two-way cyber traffic.

A web browser’s main job is to find and display web pages. From there, it makes possible the “communication” between your computer and the web server where a site is located.

Cyber security risks
But, your browser is also – and this is the dangerous part – the gateway of the cyber world into your computer. And, not all of the things from the Internet going inside your computer are good. Some are downright risky.

Today’s browser is sophisticated enough, through the years of innovation, to handle the multiple applications needed to surf the Internet. Many of these try to boost up and heighten the surfing experience by enabling your browser’s functionalities.

But sometimes, these functionalities are not needed and they can leave your computer vulnerable. It is therefore safe to disable them until they are needed.

In a perfect world, one should set one’s browser security to the highest level possible. But these settings may restrict the functionality of other features and prevents some web pages to load properly. The best compromise solution would be to set your browser to the highest security level (to prevent attacks) but at the same time enabling some features to work when you need them.

Today’s many browsers are mostly graphical browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox, AOL, Opera, Safari for the Macintosh, and Lynx for the visually-impaired users.) These are capable of playing video and audio clips, aside from displaying texts and graphics. Most have user-friendly tabs and options in choosing your preferred security level setting.

It is important to know and be familiar with your browser and how it is different from the others. It will come in handy when you evaluate and determine the features and setting most appropriate for your use.

For instance, to explore the basic security options in Windows’ Internet Explorer, you click Tools on the menu bar, select Internet Options, choose the Security tab, and click the Custom level. In Firefox, you click Tools first, select Options, and then click Content Privacy and Security tabs. The others have their own path systems.

Choosing your browser
Security should be paramount in choosing your browser. But, of course, given one’s particular needs in surfing and using the Internet, other considerations are just as important. Sometimes, a browser comes packaged with the operating system. It should not limit, however, your choice.

Compatibility – does your browser work with the OS (operating system) of your computer?

Ease – are you comfortable and familiar with the options, menus, system of your browser?

Function –will it still work if other plug-ins or other devices are installed?

Appeal – do you like how your browser looks and works?

Functionalities - Your browser should be able to give you the option of putting web sites into different segments, or zones, and define different security restrictions for each. The best protection should be to set the security to the highest level, or maintain it at a medium level.

If you know of some sites which can be classified as trusted, you can set your browser setting accordingly. You may require them to implement SSL or Secure Sockets Layer so you can verify if they are what they claim to be. Note, however, that it is good to avoid lowering your security levels with them. If they are attacked, you might be included.

You may restrict particular sites you are not sure of. Prevention is always the best cure for any disease, real-life or online.

Be careful about your Java and ActiveX controls. These scripts, used to achieve certain appearances or functionality, can be used in attacking your computer. This is also true about Plug-ins, those additional software that enhances the function of some programs. Make sure that the sites that installing them are trustworthy.

For safety, it is advisable to disable Cookies and enable them only if the site you trust requires them.

Cyber Security starts first in your browser. It is best that you start the safeguarding process from there, your computer’s door to the wide, wild world of cyber space.

Cyber Security and Online Shopping

noreply@blogger.com (mentoshlight) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 05:08:00 +0000

With the popularity of online shopping today, the importance of cyber security becomes essential to everyone. Shopping, even in the real world, involves money and where there is money, there go the criminals. And since much shopping is now happening in cyber space, these criminals lost no time in following the money trail targeting online shoppers.

Online shopping became fashionable when people discovered one is free from stress and fatigue caused by crowds and traffic. There is also the convenience of searching whatever it is you want from your home, at your most convenient time, and paying for it without waiting in line. All of these with just a few click of a mouse.

However, the Internet is also a convenient place for cyber criminals as well. They target the online shoppers, fraudulently obtaining information they can use for their own financial gains. These criminals use the three most common ways in attacking the online shoppers.

Unprotected computers
Unprotected computers are easy target for viruses and other malicious codes used by cyber criminals to gain access to the information inside it. On the other end, online vendors have to protect their computers, too, against attackers who may access their customer databases.

Fake sites and email messages
In the virtual online world, a site (or an online store) can be faked by these criminals, with no one the wiser. These fake sites mimic the legitimate ones and inherit the business, at least until they are caught or noticed.

Charities had been misrepresented before, especially during natural disasters or holiday seasons where people pour in donation money and aid. Most often, though, these attackers collect information for their own illegal use.

Cyber safety measures
Maintaining an up-to-date anti-virus program, a firewall and anti-spyware is always the three-pronged first line of defense in cyber security. They protect you against viruses and Trojan horses that may steal or modify your data and make your computer vulnerable. Spyware may also give the attackers access to your data.

Updated browser
Browsers are the gateway between your computer and the Internet. They must be updated first. Also, open the option of automatic updates to your computer so that the operating programs and utilities are up to date.

It is likewise important to check the default settings of your computer and apply the highest level of security. This will preempt the attackers to use default setting of the programs. This applies primarily to browsers, email clients, etc. because these are the connectors to the Internet.

Reputable vendors
This is where care should be taken because cyber criminals are very good at mimicking the sites of legitimate vendors and make it appear genuine. You need to verify their legitimacy before supplying any information. Keep the phone numbers and the physical addresses of these vendors which you can use in case of problems.

Security features and private policies
As always, passwords and other security features add protection, if correctly used. Check the site’s privacy policy before giving out personal or financial information. You have to understand how your information are stored and used.

Encrypted information
Make sure the information you give out are encrypted. To check if it is, see if it includes a URL that begins with "https:" instead of "http:" and a padlock icon. If the padlock is closed, the information is encrypted. Know where the padlock icon is located in your favorite browser because some attackers use fake padlock icons to trick users.

Use your credit card
Credit card charges have laws that limit your liability in case of fraud. This may not be the case for your debit card. Because debit cards draw money directly from your bank account, unauthorized withdrawals could leave you penniless. Needless to say, a record of your purchases should be kept aside. Report immediately any discrepancy.

Shopping online is truly a time-saving, hassle-free, and fun way of buying whatever you want on the Internet. The presence of the ubiquitous cyber criminals stalking at every cyber corner necessitates the need of cyber security as well.

It is everyone’s responsibility.

Family Cyber Security

noreply@blogger.com (mentoshlight) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:13:00 +0000

Keeping your family safe today takes on another additional front – online or the Net. The perils that you and your family face whenever anyone is online are just as dangerous as in real life. There simply is a need for cyber security to minimize, if not totally deflect, these dangers.

Cyber security is not just to protect you and your children from online dangers. It is also to ensure that your computer is safe and secure – from your children. By following some simple computer practices, these dangers can be lessened.

The usual safeguards may not be adequate. Children, by nature, are curious and inquisitive. They like to pry things, satisfy their natural need to know.

As parents, there is a delicate balance on how long the lease we give out to kids to satisfy their natural need and the necessity to protect themselves from the outside world and from themselves.

A child out into the Net, either playing a game, researching materials for homework or a term paper can be potentially harmed. Common accidents would be your child stumbling into a porn site, getting into malicious web pages that infect your computer, or inadvertently erasing your own computer’s files.

Mistakes like these happen and your child may not be aware of them. Or if they are, they may not inform you what happened for fear of punishment.

Another fearsome threat is the ‘online predator’. Because of the Internet’s natural cover for anonymity, these people deceive and manipulate other online users to get what they want. Adults are common victims of these people, and it follows that children are even more susceptible to their dangerous manipulative schemes.

The following are some suggested safeguards in implementing cyber security in the family.

1.Be involved with your children’s activities

There are some activities you can do with your kids that will in effect allow you to supervise their activities. If this is not possible, you can always monitor their computer use – which sites they visit, the activities they do online, etc. If they are using emails and chat rooms, try to follow who they are corresponding with, and whether they actually know them.

2.Rules and danger warnings

The children should be made aware about online dangers. They must be able to recognize suspicious behavior or activities from the Net.

This will help you set out boundaries on their computer use. Everything, of course, should be appropriate for their age, knowledge and level of maturity. It is not correct to scare them, but to make them be alert and aware. This includes sites they are allowed to visit, programs they can use, and activities they can do.

3.Separate accounts and other controls

Today’s operating systems already carries the option of creating different user accounts on one computer. You can create separate accounts for them to protect your own files and data from accidentally accessed, modified, or – horrors! – deleted.

If you don’t have separate accounts, consider limiting the functionality of your browser (like remembering passwords, other information, etc.) to preclude accidental access.
It is here that it is important to keep your anti-virus utility, firewalls, and other safeguards up to date and active.

Some browsers allow you to restrict viewing certain web sites and protect these settings with a password. (click Tools, select Internet Options, choose the Content tab, click Enable under Content Advisor, etc.)

Some service providers also offer services that protect children who go online. They can help filter and block sites that are not suited to children. The Internet is also full of special programs for children’s protection. Check those that suits your needs best.

4.Open communications and computers

Set your computer in an open area of the house where everyone can monitor anyone’s computer activities. It can deter children from doing things not allowed.

Most important, communication lines between all members of the family should be kept open. The children must know that they can approach their parents at anytime about anything they see on the computer.

This is very important, not just for cyber security, but also for the family’s well-being as a whole, whether anybody is online or not.

Cyber Security

noreply@blogger.com (mentoshlight) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:20:00 +0000

The computer was originally created as a harmless aid to do complex processes. Over the years, however, the harmless machine, which is charged with almost limitless potential, has become the ground work for cyber crimes. These crimes, which affect individuals, organizations, and even governments, call for tight cyber security to cut short the possibilities of inflicting further harm. But what is cyber security exactly? And how does this protect the whole cyber community?

The proliferation of cyber crimes

In 2007, a report identified 500,000 computers as “zombies” after being hijacked by hackers. “Zombie” computers respond to the prompting of the hackers and allow them to freely break into the systems and gain access to important files and personal information through backdoors. This can inflict danger—from making unauthorized purchases through someone else’s credit card to imposing threats to the national security.

There is no solid figure just how many affected computers there are now today, but reports said the numbers are higher. In fact, there was not a point of dwindling down; hacking has been projecting an upward trend. Proof to that is the unbelievably high cyber crime rate in 2008.

The current crisis in cyber insecurity puts many banks, airports, hospitals, and governments in the danger zone. It opens more opportunities to identity theft, virus dissemination, system breakdown, and other similar cyber crimes. In a much larger scale, it makes launching highly sophisticated terrorist attacks much easier.

Here comes the rescuer

To avoid such threats, computer users are advised to take cyber security measures. Cyber security is a set of techniques or guides that aim at protecting systems from any form of cyber attacks, which may creep into the system in the form of malware (virus and spyware), intruders, and hackers. Cyber security also lessens the risk of falling prey to Internet frauds, scams, and bogus transactions.

Individual users and organizations are liable to keep their computers updated, loaded with the latest security technologies, and regularly checked by a security technician. The goal here is for every computer owner to be individually responsible for his system’s security. And education plays a major part. Authorities recommend every computer owner to be informed about the latest trends in cyber crimes as well as the latest security technologies to abort any threat of attacks.

There are also efforts from the government, computer companies, digital experts, and other parties to come up with a more secure, stricter, and restructured cyber environment that is regulated by enforced laws and technological systems. With the existing setup, hackers and other cyber criminals reign free in the Internet, but further security and system developments in the cyber community will allow for more fluid Internet usage and transactions with lesser risk for frauds and cyber attacks.

Globally, however, much should be done. Currently, law enforcement faces limitations in many countries for many reasons. In some instances, local concerns and issues overshadow the need for implementing efficient cyber security measures. But cyber security can’t be employed by only two to three governments alone. Cyber crimes affect all nations where the Internet holds a primary place in running the government, military, economy, business, and other vital sectors. And if one nation is heavily compromised, it is not impossible for the world as a whole to become a cyber crime victim.

So, what is cyber security? It is the world’s counterattack to the damaging threats of the virtual world called the Internet. And it calls everyone to action.

Why Do We Need Cyber Security?

noreply@blogger.com (mentoshlight) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:53:00 +0000

Why do we need cyber security? There a number of reasons. The cyber community changes in an unbelievable pace. Unfortunately, along with these changes are equally unbelievable threats. The nature of the Internet as a tool for communication and education has been used and misused for personal gain, which resulted in cyber attacks and unprecedented rise in cyber crime rates. These rates are expected to increase more rapidly in the coming years if cyber security is not put in place. So, why exactly do we need cyber security? Let us count the reasons.

1.) Hackers are everywhere. He can be your business rival, your neighbor, or simply a person out to take over your computer. He makes use of software loopholes and hijacks your computer through backdoors, usually installed programs, or through cracking software. When he finally marches into your computer, he can gain access to possibly all your personal and confidential information such as bank accounts, credit cards, or top trade secret. He can also use your computer to attack other networks, with you apparently oblivious to all his malicious operations.

2.) Internet scams and frauds are rampant. These include phishing, a very organized cyber crime, which deceives people into giving their banking details. Cyber criminals, pretending to be representatives from legitimate financial institutions, send e-mail messages and ask unsuspecting people to verify their passwords, account numbers, and other vital information. According to a report, in 2006 alone, phishing attempts increased by 81%. These attempts could effectively be counterattacked if they weren’t too sophisticated to actually deaden spam filters.

3.) Cyber theft is a common cyber crime. In fact, it is the most reported. Over time, it has increasingly become so easy for cyber criminals to steal information from computers, not only from individuals but for companies, banks, and other organizations as well. Though they hardly report the case, big companies lose large amounts of money.

4.) Virus can slow down your computer. Worse, it can cause system crash. Virus reaches your system through a number of entryways. One is through unsecured and unknown websites from which you download files, programs, applications, or tools for free. As much as it can infect home computers, virus can leave damaging effects to companies, both big and small. For instance, Melissa virus hit Microsoft and other big companies in 1999, which led them to temporarily terminate their e-mail systems.

5.) Spyware, as the name hints, can spy on you. A computer program automatically installed on your computer, spyware tracks personal information you entered and sends it to its creator. In most cases, spyware is used to steal big sum of money. Unlike computer viruses, spyware leaves the computer owners totally unaware of its presence. A study revealed that 92% of users with infected systems don’t know that spyware has broken into their computers.

6.) Adware can keep unwanted ads to show up. Like spyware, adware penetrates the system through shareware. On its own, it downloads ads and allows them to run and pop up. This proves to be quite annoying for computer owners. But what’s even more troubling is that adware can sometimes contain spyware. This increases the risk for cyber threats.

Why do we need cyber security? Cyber criminals are smart beings. They find ways to get into our systems and create havoc in less time than we expect. And because they don’t cease to innovate and produce more sophisticated threats, we should always put our guard on and reinforce whatever cyber security measures we have these days.

ISU HALAL HARAM

noreply@blogger.com (mentoshlight) — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 06:48:00 +0000

KRISIS PEMAKANAN UMAT ISLAM HARI INI

SERUAN ALLAH KEPADA MAKANAN HALAL
WAHAI SEKALIAN MANUSIA, MAKANLAH YANG HALAL LAGI BAIK DARI APA YANG TERDAPAT DI BUMI...”
(SURAH AL-BAQARAH: 168)

PERKATAAN ‘THOIYYIBAN’ BERMAKNA BAIK, DAN INI JUGA BERERTI MAKANAN ITU MESTILAH BAIK UNTUK DIMAKAN DAN DIPEROLEHI DARIPADA SUMBER YANG ASLI

-RASULULLAH S.A.W PERNAH BERSABDA

“SESIAPA YANG BERWASPADA TERHADAP PERKARA-PERKARA YANG DIRAGUI, IA TELAH MEMELIHARA AGAMA DAN KEHORMATAN DIRINYA, DAN SESIAPA YANG AKUR DENGAN PERKARA-PERKARA YANG DIRAGUI, IA AKAN TUNDUK KEPADA PERKARA YANG DILARANG.”

-HUKUM SYARIAH

“MENURUT PERATURAN ASAS HUKUM SYARIAH ADALAH HARAM BAGI ORANG ISLAM MENGAMBIL MAKANAN ATAU MINUMAN YANG BOLEH MEMBAWA MAUT, SAMA ADA CEPAT ATAU LAMBAT, SEPERTI RACUN, ATAU SESUATU YANG MEMBAHAYAKAN, TERMASUK MAKAN DAN MINUM SECARA BERLEBIHAN SEHINGGA BOLEH MENJEJASKAN KESIHATAN.”

DALAM KONTEKS AJARAN ISLAM, SETIAP INDIVIDU MUSLIM WAJIB MENYELIDIKI DAN PRIHATIN TERHADAP MAKANAN YANG AKAN DINIKMATI, BUKAN SETAKAT MAKANAN YANG BOLEH MEMBAHAYAKAN KESIHATAN, MALAH JENIS MAKANAN YANG MENGANDUNGI BAHAN HARAM, YANG SEKALIGUS BOLEH MENJEJASKAN AQIDAH.

SELAIN ITU, JIKA MEMAKAN MAKANAN ATAU MENGGUNAKAN PRODUK YANG DIRAGUI TAHAP KEHALANNYA JUGA BOLEH MENGAKIBATKAN DOA YANG KITA PANJATKAN KEPADA ILAHI TIDAK DIMAKBULKAN SEPERTI DARIPADA HADIS RIWAYAT MUSLIM DAN AT TIRMIDZI

DARIPADA HADIS RIWAYAT MUSLIM DAN AT TIRMIDZI, RASULULLAH ADA BERCERITA MENGENAI SESEORANG YANG DALAM KESUSAHAN, KERUNSINGAN DAN BERPAKAIAN COMPANG-CAMPING MENADAH TANGAN SAMBIL BERSERU, “YA RABBI, YA ALLAH, YA TUHANKU.... SEDANGKAN DIA MAKAN, MINUM DAN MEMAKAI PAKAIAN DARIPADA HASIL YANG HARAM DAN TIDAK HALAL. MAKA MUSTAHIL DOANYA DITERIMA ALLAH S.W.T.

IMAM GHAZALI JUGA PERNAH BERPESAN...

“JIKA KITA INGIN ANAK KITA MENJADI SOLEH, BIJAKSANA DAN BERGUNA, BERIKANLAH IA MAKANAN DARIPADA REZEKI YANG HALAL SEJAK IA LAHIR. MAKANAN YANG HALAL SELAIN MENJADIKAN ANAK KITA BERGUNA, BOLEH MENJADIKAN MENTAL MEREKA PINTAR DAN CERDAS. SEBALIKNYA ANAK AKAN MENJADI DERHAKA TERHADAP KITA JIKA IA DIBERIKAN MAKANAN YANG HARAM DAN KOTOR.”

sesuatu makanan itu dikatakan halal jika:
-IA TIDAK MENGGANGGU FUNGSI NORMAL TUBUH DAN FIKIRAN
-IA BEBAS DARIPADA NAJIS DAN BUKAN PRODUK YANG DIPEROLEHI DARIPADA -SUMBER BABI ATAU HAIWAN YANG TIDAK DISEMBELIH ATAU DIBURU MENGIKUT HUKUM SYARAK
-IA BEBAS DARIPADA PRODUK YANG DIAMBIL DARIPADA BABI DAN ANJING ATAU LAIN-LAIN BINATANG YANG HARAM
HAKIKAT PERTANIAN MODEN YANG BERTENTANGAN DENGAN SYARAK
DALAM KONTEKS ‘THOYYIBAN’ KITA PERLU MENGAMBILKIRA KEMUNGKINAN BAHAWA PRODUK SEPERTI TELUR DAN HASIL TENUSU MUNGKIN HARAM JIKA BINATANG YANG MENGHASILKANNYA DITEMPATKAN DALAM KEADAAN TIDAK BERSIH, SEMPIT DAN MENYEKSAKAN SERTA DISUNTIK DENGAN BAHAN BERBAHAYA SEPERTI HORMON, ANTIBIOTIK DAN BAHAN KIMIA LAIN YANG BERTUJUAN UNTUK MENAMBAHKAN PENGELUARAN SEMATA-MATA.

BUKANKAH ALLAH S.W.T ADA BERFIRMAN,
“DAN TIDAK SEEKORPUN BINATANG YANG MELATA DI BUMI DAN TIDAK SEEKORPUN BURUNG YANG TERBANG DENGAN KEDUA SAYAPNYA MELAINKAN (MEREKA IALAH ) UMAT-UMAT SEPERTI KAMU.... “ (SURAH AL-AN’AM, AYAT 38)

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