Thursday, July 2, 2009

Surf Anonymously - The Key to Internet Safety

Surf Anonymously - The Key to Internet Safety
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Brad_M_Smith]Brad M Smith

Threats to internet users' security are ever on the rise, thereby sparking many discussions about the issue. These threats can be anything from hackers, spammers, phishing scams, viruses, and even pedophiles who are hidden in the shadows of the cyber world. However, one thing they have in common is they can't wait to jump at their next victim and advance their malicious intents. This is the reason why Internet safety is important.

To be able to look into the need for guarding your Internet privacy and security, it's important to know what risks you are avoiding. These days, there are four main online agendas you'll always want to steer clear of.

Hacking, which is defined as the unauthorized access of one person to another person's computer, is a fundamental issue in Internet security. This is, in fact, a very serious issue these days, especially for banks and other institutions that keep massive amounts of confidential data in their network databases. To address this threat, a network security system must be implemented to secure sensitive files. Most common scenarios of hacking include banking password thefts or, in worst cases, identity thefts. Once the hacker has the information he needs, he will naturally be able to make transactions as though he were this person. For example, he would be able to withdraw cash from his victim's bank account because now he has stolen all the information he needs.

Another threat to Internet security is phishing which is still a form of data theft, except that emails are used to propagate the malicious cause. For example, a phisher sends his victim an email saying the latter's bank account has been tampered with and needs to be fixed only if he revealed his bank account number, password or any other sensitive information. Spamming, on the other hand, might be harmless but it still becomes a bother as it floods an email with unsolicited, unwanted emails, telemarketing calls and even snail mails.

Pornography is yet another online safety concern. There is simply too much illegal sexual content on the Internet as well as human predators who are always on the look out for their next victims. Many cases have involved pedophiles who usually trap children during chat and bully them into meeting up. And then the abuse starts. Internet pornography is also something to watch out for especially for people who upload sensitive photographs and videos over the Internet as these could easily land in pornographic sites.

On a national scale, cyber terrorism happens. This refers to online attacks against government sites by tracking their IP address. With cyber terrorism, highly sensitive government files are put at risk as hackers try to expose them and put national and international security on the line. Internet extortions are also possible among other criminal activities possible in the world wide web.

These are threats that anyone may encounter at anytime, that's why important to actively work on keeping them at bay. Educating children goes a long way in protecting them from online abuse.

Or simply hide your IP with an [http://www.ipsharkk.com]IP changing software so you can [http://www.squidoo.com/changeipaddressforanonymoussurfing]surf anonymously and escape the eye of hackers who wont' find a link to you because they'll never know your real IP address.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brad_M_Smith http://EzineArticles.com/?Surf-Anonymously---The-Key-to-Internet-Safety&id=2527790

What is a Firewall?

What is a Firewall?
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Sturat_Mitchel]Sturat Mitchel

A Firewall is a computer system or network designed to block unauthorized access by permitting the authorized communications. Firewall is a device or a system configured to deny, encrypt, decrypt all computer traffic among varying security domains based on a set of rules. Firewalls can be implemented either on the hardware or software or on combination of both. Firewalls usually stop the non-permitted internet users from getting the access to the private networks, mainly intranets. All the traffic passes through the firewall and it examines each message and blocks the one's that do not meet the specified security norms.

Firewalls make use of several techniques to block unauthorized accesses like Packet filters, Application gateways, Circuit level gateways and Proxy servers. Packet filters keep a look at each packet of data entering and leaving the network and thus accepts and rejects as per the user defined rules. It's quite effective and transparent but difficult to configure.

Other technique is the Application gateways. It is quite effective as it applies security norms to the applications like FTP and Telnet but subsequently leads to performance degradations. The Circuit level gateway also applies security norms like application gateways whenever a UDP or TCP link is established. Data packets thus move between the hosts without further inspection. In this way proxy server intercepts the messages entering and leaving the network and thus successfully hides the real network addresses.

A Firewall regulates the flow of traffic between computer networks of varying trust levels, basically among the non trustable zone Internet and the trusted zone, an internal network. But there lies a zone between the trusted and mistrusted zones referred to as the perimeter network or Demilitarized zone.

For effective results and protection, firewall needs to be properly configured. A firewall pretends to work within explicitly allowed rule sets. Thus, effective firewall configuration requires the detailed understanding of the network applications along with the checkpoints essential for the organizations every day operations.

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How to Make a Good Online Password

How to Make a Good Online Password
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Francisco_Perez]Francisco Perez

Making a good online password is today one of the most important aspects that we need to be aware of, specially if we have a strong presence on the Internet, or online if you prefer. Like anyone using the online world today, we have most likely a lot of accounts that need passwords. Bank accounts, social networks, new startups we might consider checking out, email accounts, blogs, forums, access to our company's server, you name it.

Though we should maintain unique passwords for important services (like company servers, bank accounts and some important email accounts), it still is a pain to determine what password we should create and worst of all, having to remember passwords for every service we are using online. In most cases, it is possible that you find yourself reusing the same passwords, over and over again. Needless to say that, such practice is obviously not recommended. Regardless of how strong your password can be, once it is compromised, it is one big invitation for a hacker to gain access on other services you use.

How are passwords created?
Basically there are two ways that passwords are generated. You either create it yourself (e.g. signing up for a Google Account), and the other computer generated (normally temporary passwords). One other important aspect is that in almost all cases, a username is also required to log in a specific service. Such usernames are created just the same way as passwords are. As a side note, don't forget to immediately change any computer generated password you have obtained.

What is a strong password?
A password is considered to be strong when it is very complicated (even for automated calculations) to discover. A set of random characters, that are between 8 - 10 characters long will be a good start. The longer the better. If you can add in some symbols, like @?&%, even better. Last, but not least, strong passwords are those that are stored in our head. We do not have them written down anywhere at all. No PDA, no protected excel sheet, no piece of paper, mobile phone, nowhere.

What is a weak password?
Your own name, a member of a family's name, your pet, birthday, favorite color, your car's brand, your license plate, your telephone number, your social security number, etc. are normally considered to be poor choices when creating your password. You may even combine all this and make it more difficult for a hacker, like writing them backwards, etc., and still be considered weak. These are still options to consider, but quite frankly, they are weak and it still does not solve the matter of having too many passwords to remember.

That said, what if I told you, that I use a strong password that is unique and different at the same time. Sounds impossible? Well, read on.

As I mentioned earlier, complicated enough is to have different passwords with different user names. After a lengthy exercise and an awful lot of research on the subject, I finally came up with a simple yet powerful way to make this password madness a little easier. It's a simple way to only have to remember one password, but at the same time, being different for every service.

How to Make the Password?
First step. Rather than thinking of a word for your password, remember a phrase instead. For example: "Why Do I Need A Password?". Then take the first letter of each word, which is this case will be: WDINAP? (Note that I left the question mark on purpose). This method makes your password look very random, and since it has a symbol at the end, makes it even stronger.

How to make this unique and different? First step is already unique in itself. Now the second part will make it different and yet easy to remember. Say you need a password for your bank (ex. Bank Of America). Just take the first letters of the name - BOA and add it to your phrased password. In our example, it will look like this: BOAWDINAP? Another example. Say you have an account with Facebook. The letters can be FB. Adding this to your phrased password will look like this: FBWDINAP?

Too easy? OK, you are not convinced that it is strong enough. Add a symbol between them. I will use the "+" sign for this purpose. The master phrased password will then be: +WDINAP? and for Facebook, like this: FB+WDINAP?

That's it. It can be done and it is easy to remember. Most important, is that it is unique and a very strong password. No need to write this down anywhere. Want another example? My password is so strong I can not remember it = Mpissicnri.

Time to change those passwords.

Francisco Perez (aka DiTesco) an Internet Business Entrepreneur, provides Information and resources on [http://www.iblogzone.com]Making Money Online, Internet Marketing, Twitter Tips and Tools, Social Media, Internet Technology and more.

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Wednesday, July 1, 2009

What's Podcasting?

What's Podcasting?
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Hasan_Shirazi]Hasan Shirazi

Pod casts are also known as audio blogging. Meng (2005) defined pod casting as "the process of capturing an audio event, song, speech, or mix of sounds and then posting that digital sound object to a Web site or "blog" in a data structure called an RSS (Real Simple Syndication) envelope (or feed)".

Many of the marketers, trainers and consultants are now a days using podcast for providing tutorials to their subscribers clients and students. There are four good reasons why companies should podcast:

* To gain first mover advantage,

* To develop customer loyalty,

* To give the company a more human voice,

* To exploit the PR value of a new technology.

These audio files automatically gets downloaded onto the users' computers, who are subscribed with the feeds of the service provider, which directly goes into the management programs onto the users' computer such as Music Match, iTunes or Windows Media Player. These programs further transfer these audio files to the subscribers audio devices as they are synchronized with the computers and could be listened anywhere anytime as desired.

After uploading the content, it requires to be tagged via XML in a format known as RSS 2.0 so that it could be delivered to the people subscribed to editor's RSS newsreader. As the content is delivered to the subscribed people it automatically, download to their portable audio devices as they synchronize it and will be able to listen it anywhere any time they intend to.

Curious about creating a Podcast of yours, just follow the steps given in the image below: [http://stepstothetop.blogspot.com/2009/05/podcast-or-audio-blogging.html]http://stepstothetop.blogspot.com/2009/05/podcast-or-audio-blogging.html.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hasan_Shirazi http://EzineArticles.com/?Whats-Podcasting?&id=2414359

How to Make Money Online With Simple, Easy Podcasts

How to Make Money Online With Simple, Easy Podcasts
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Tellman_Knudson]Tellman Knudson

Podcasts are an awesome tool that you can use to make money online...it is easier to learn how to make money online with podcasts than with a lot of other vehicles. You can build your list and get your business started really quickly. I'll talk about some of the things that make podcasting such a great way for a beginner or seasoned veteran to build or grow their internet marketing business.

First, they are easy

Unlike building a website, there's no fancy CSS style sheets, no fonts...no html code...nothing like that to worry about. They are so simple you can literally have your podcast up and running in an hour. I think blogs are pretty easy to set up...well, podcasts are WAY easier even then setting up a blog!

They are on the internet forever

Once you get your podcast up it is on the internet forever. That's different from, say a newsletter, which you email out and either gets read or thrown away. People will actually seek out your older podcasts after they listen to your recent ones.

There is less competition

The big search engine for podcasts is iTunes...everybody knows about it, but there just isn't a lot of podcast content out there. That means you have less competition which makes it easier for you to be a break out star in your niche!

Ranking vs Rating

iTunes ranks you based on the number of 5-star ratings your listeners give you. So you can actually ask your listeners to go to iTunes and leave comments and give you a 4- or 5-star rating. Over time you are going to build up a good list of 5-stars and subscribers which is going to have you ranking higher in the iTunes search engine than any newcomer.

Use them to drive traffic

You can also use your podcasts to drive traffic to your website or blog if you have them. You just want to mention at the beginning and end of the podcast where the listener can go for more information. Give you name, the URL and things like that.

If you don't already have a website or blog, when you set up your podcast hosting with podomatic they will create a page for you. You can have notes there, what you are about, your various titles, etc...and you can drive traffic there.

Then on your podomatic page you can have a link to your iTunes page...so you can actually link both these pages together by driving traffic to your podomatic page and there having a call to action to give you a 5-star rating on iTunes and provide your iTunes link right there. Sweet!

List building and email marketing

When you host your podcast, if you use a service like podomatic, which is free, they will actually have a way for people to sign up for your list so they can be emailed when you release a new podcast.

You can customize the email that is sent out and have other links in it...to your iTunes page, your website, whatever.

So whether you are wondering how to make money online quickly and easily, or you are wanting to boost your existing business, podcasts are a great tool. They are super simple and free to set up. There really are no excuses-anyone can use podcasts for their internet marketing business!

The ListBuilding Club is the premier source of list building information online. Join Tellman and the Overcome Everything team as they teach thousands of people about list building and how to make money online. To learn more how to make money online with podcasts or other internet marketing tools, please visit http://ListSpeed.com/

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Can I Get Rich on the Internet?

Can I Get Rich on the Internet?
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Bailey_Kelso]Bailey Kelso

Making money on the internet is really a pretty easy thing to do... making a lot of money online on the other hand is no walk in the park.

When it comes to the idea of getting rich, I suppose you would need to figure out exactly what that means to you; how much money is enough to consider ones self rich?

To some, making $100 a day online would be pretty significant. To others it would not even come close to replacing the money they make at their current job, let alone make them rich.

Now, a hundred dollars a day online is a significant benchmark that a lot of Internet Marketers set their sites on because if you could achieve that consistently, then it is reasonable to think you could double it... and then double it again.

The thing about that though is it's like the 4 minute mile, it is touch to achieve and a lot of people give up before ever getting there.

So, can you get rich online? Absolutely! Can you make enough money each and every day to quit your day job, or course you can, people do it all the time.

But, you do need a solid plan to get there and then you must take decisive and consistent action. Taking action each and everyday is the key yo your success. Don't rest on what you did yesterday!

It is very reasonable to think that with enough work and consistent effort you can reach your financial goals and to me, that means you're rich!

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bailey_Kelso http://EzineArticles.com/?Can-I-Get-Rich-on-the-Internet?&id=2545264

The Places to Make Money Online

The Places to Make Money Online
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Ben_Prince]Ben Prince

Following are five ways to make money through Internet

1. Write blogs:

Blogging has been tipped off to be one of the main focuses of making money online. It is considered to be the most effective way to earn. The main source of money that you can make by writing your blogs is by placing commercials. Writing blog-posts that are polished and not too personal are welcomed.

2. Sell Photos online:

This medium is most profitable to people in the creative industry and are photography lovers. By selling your best captured moments through lenses, and making them available to general public, you can easily make money. No doubt, you will face competition from your peers, but it will also open a new venture for steady income.

3. Online coaching:

People today are very busy in their daily chores. No one has time to meet a personal coach and solve queries or take tips. You can provide online coaching to people by making yourself available to online questions, doubts or even for suggestion. This can be done through e-mails, IM or through VoIP. This offers an upcoming way to make money online with more users asking to get their doubts solved on the web.

4. Sell products:

Online trading is the new mode of selling things. You can sell anything right from CDs or DVDs to informational products like books, online selling is the new mantra. You can buy items from your wholesalers and make them available to your customers for sale.

5. Sell yourself:

If you happen to possess a special skill which you think can earn you big bucks, you are in with a possibility to earn big. You may be good with Photoshop or even programming. This might give you a way to earn money and also help you learn new things.

These are 5 ways to earn money through Internet. For more details on how to earn big through Internet, visit: http://www.youmustberich.com.

Ben Prince is a wealth creation expert and investment consultant. Read his money making secrets reports at http://www.youmustberich.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ben_Prince http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Places-to-Make-Money-Online&id=2523825

Website Keeps Popping Up - 5 Simple Steps How to Stop Malware in Safe and Easy Way

Website Keeps Popping Up - 5 Simple Steps How to Stop Malware in Safe and Easy Way
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=A._Wood]A. Wood

A common plague infecting most computers today is Malware. The conventional virus seems almost harmless in comparison to the damages being caused by this malicious program.

If you are wondering how to stop malware, you must know about the different forms of malware and ways to prevent infections in the first place.

Basically, malware aims to ruin your PC settings and operations while spying on your personal information without your consent. Some of the common types of malware include:

· Adware
· Virus
· Worms
· Ransom Ware
· Trojan Horses.
· Spyware

Before you get to the stage of determining how to stop malware, you should know how to ascertain whether your PC has malware infection or not. Usually, the symptoms of an infected computer are:

· Significant reduction in speed of performance
· Frequent hanging or pauses
· Erratic and unstable behavior of Windows operating system
· Display of random popups

The reasons for malware infection may be hidden in different sources such as emails, websites, peer to peer file sharing software, popup messages, instant messaging software and networks.

Now that you know the causes and means of malware attacks, it's time to figure out how to stop malware and cleanup your PC.

1. One way to remove malware from your computer is by using good quality internet security software. Free antivirus software will not be as effective as it claims to be. Make sure that you update the software regularly and renew your subscription in time.

2. Windows XP and vista have built-in firewall and you just need to switch it on to safeguard your Pc from malware infection. All the critical updates can be done via Windows Update.

3. Once you have set up a good spyware removal tool and installed it, removing malware will be quite easy. Just follow the recommended steps and the software will automatically remove all malware.

4. Don't use illegal or immoral sites as these present a higher risk of malware infection to your PC. Many fraudsters and scam lurk at such sites in wait of innocent internet users who become easy victims of nasty virus attacks.

5. If you want to follow the manual steps on how to stop malware, make sure that you are aware of all the technical aspects of your computer system. Other wise, you may just end up ruining your present settings and any chances of revival.

Tired of viruses infecting your computer and slowing down PC performance? Do you want to know how to stop malware in safe and fast way? You can scan your computer for free and fix them with the best spyware removal the market. After scanning and fixing your PC, you will be surprise how fast your computer is. http://expert-product-reviews.net/spyware-removal.html

About the Author

Ally Wood is a professional software reviewer and has worked in CNET. Now she is working for her own review software company to give feedback to the software creator and has done deep test in spyware removal software. After reviewing the most popular and efficient antispyware softwares, she has written complete review on a review site for you that can be accessed for free.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=A._Wood http://EzineArticles.com/?Website-Keeps-Popping-Up---5-Simple-Steps-How-to-Stop-Malware-in-Safe-and-Easy-Way&id=2522376

Is it Safe to Buy Online?

Is it Safe to Buy Online?
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Jerry_Dyess]Jerry Dyess

One question remains for many consumers about their use of the Internet, is it safe to buy online? As more and more people turn to online shopping for both large and small items, the answer is a definite yes. It has never been more secure to purchase over the Internet, and of course online shopping has a wide array of other benefits as well.

Buying a product online is the ultimate in convenience. From the comfort of your own home you can leisurely browse different products, brands and stores. You can shop at anytime of the day or night, whenever you have the time, energy or motivation.

You can compare products for different features and prices. In this way shopping online actually saves you money, because you can easily track down the best deal for the specific product you are looking for. You aren't restricted to buying it at a physical store that happened to carry the item you were looking for while nobody else does near you. You'll also be able to see the reviews and comments people have about specific items, which should help you make a more informed decision that you won't regret later.

Shopping online will end up saving you more money besides through price comparison. You'll save money by not having to pay for gas and drive around from store to store all day long. You won't have to pay for parking either. Additionally, you'll be saving a great amount of time from avoiding the hassle of picking up and going to each store on your list for a few items. You can buy everything you need with just a few clicks of your mouse, and your well much needed time and hard earned money will both stay with you.

Considering all of these advantages, shopping online is a vital component of many households. However, getting back to the question on hand, is it really safe to shop online? You should cast all of your fears aside, because great advancements in technology and online security has enabled consumers to feel completely safe and happy with online transactions. Secure websites and addresses, encrypted data, SSL and EV SSL certificates and so on have all tightened up the world of online shopping.

Meanwhile, the improvements in security with online shopping have not been matched at physical locations. You still have to turn over your credit card to somebody you don't know anything about. This person could easily take a picture of your numbers, or jot them down to try to steal your information. It can take only seconds for you to get ripped off in this fashion.

But when you shop online nobody else has their hands on your information and nobody gets to see what you are entering. It's complete privacy and complete security, and there's no middle man running the transaction that can do you more harm than good.

Feel confident in the fact that online shopping today is more secure than it ever has been. In many ways it is even more secure than shopping at physical store locations. Of course, it is also extremely convenient, will help you make a better decision and will save you time and money.

Jerry Dyess is owner and operator of Choose Energy ( http://www.ChooseEnergy.com) - An online resource for lower Texas electricity prices. You may use this article as long as this box remains unchanged.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jerry_Dyess http://EzineArticles.com/?Is-it-Safe-to-Buy-Online?&id=2520768