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Blasting Malware, Spam, Spyware and Other Pests

An Introduction to Computer Security

10 years ago, after a 12 month sabbatical, I returned to work with the company that employed me for nearly 15 years. Part of my new duties included writing technical manuals and working as a commercial photographer. A brand new computer with 19-inch monitor appeared on my desk and an Internet account and e-mail was set up for me.

I began to crank out technical information sheets and booklets in earnest, peppered with the high resolution photos I took. Since Internet research was a fundamental part of the task, I found myself spending several hours per day surfing the Internet (imagine getting paid for that).

It wasn’t long before my computer started acting crazily. Finally it locked up and I had to force a shutdown. It wouldn’t restart. Our IT guy proclaimed a virus was the culprit and he’d have to reformat my hard drive. Horror of horrors! That meant wiping the drive clean of everything on it!

By now I had hundreds of photos and technical bulletins saved on the hard drive. Fortunately some stuff was backed up on CD-ROMS—but not all of it. At the time my computer was protected by one of the leading anti-virus programs, but this was a new virus slithering its way around the globe. More on virus protection later. Chances are this calamity could have been avoided by blasting the source while it was still on the e-mail server.

But how do you do that!

I sent e-mails to customers and sources of information on an average of 25 to 30 times each day. Well, it wasn’t long before the spammers caught up with me–at first just three or four a day.

But by the time a year passed by, the spam outnumbered the stuff I really needed to read. But one of the e-mails I got was actually a Godsend. It was from a young chap in New Zealand who had developed a program called “Mail Washer.” When installed, this program looks at all of the e-mails on the e-mail server before they are downloaded into your e-mail client. It allows you to view who sent them, and if you suspect any may be spam, you can mark and trash them accordingly. But e-mail that you want to allow you can mark as friendly. When the same spam emails are sent to you again, Mail Washer flips this trash by sending a reply to the sender that the address no longer exists. It also indirectly prevents viruses from slipping into your computer too. While it doesn’t specifically point out an e-mail as being the bearer of bad tidings, it does give you the chance to dump any you don’t recognize. Especially those with ATTACHMENTS! Try Mail Washer, a freeware program. Get it at: www.mailwasher.net.

So how do the spammers get my information in the first place, I asked myself? Our chief engineer suggested that I check my Internet files for AD-WARE. Here’s the sequence I followed. This holds true for Windows XP or Vista. Go to Start and find your Control Panel. Open this and click on Internet Options. This will bring up Internet Properties. Under Browsing History on the General Tab, click on Settings. A new dialog will appear called Temporary Internet Files and History. Click on View Files. It unnerved me when I saw what was in that folder, hundreds of little files, some completely harmless, some very helpful and some just a pain in the butt.

When you think about cookies, what comes to mind first? The Keebler Elves? Famous Amos? Well the cookies I’m talking about here are not the edible kind. Even if you could eat them, some would leave a VERY bad taste in your mouth.

Many of the files you see are Cookies. These are tiny little files that are placed on your computer each time you log onto a new website. “How Stuff Works” says, “Cookies have, for some reason, gained a rather sinister image. But most are simple and harmless. Picture a cookie as just one or more pieces of information stored as text strings on your machine. A Web server sends you a cookie and the browser stores it. The browser then returns the cookie to the server the next time you return to that page. Cookies are commonly used to store a user ID. Do you wonder how Amazon.com knows your mailing address the second time you buy a book on line from the same computer? Cookies!

Included in this temporary file you will find Ad-Ware or Spyware. Consider Spyware as a collection of computer programs that attach themselves to your operating system in evil ways. They will suck the life out of your computer’s processing power. (Why does it take MS Word or Outlook so long to open?) They’re designed to track your Internet habits, flood you with unwanted sales pitches or generate traffic for their host Web site.

Malware (malicious software) is a program designed to infiltrate a computer without the owner’s knowledge or consent. Consider malware as a general term used by computer professionals to mean a variety of forms of intrusive, annoying and even hostile software or program code. A computer virus, a catchall term, includes all types of malware, including true viruses.

Software can be considered malware when the intent of the creator is perceived to be destructive. Malware includes viruses, worms, rootkits, trojan horses, spyware, dishonest adware and other malicious and unwanted software. Legally, malware is sometimes known as a computer contaminant. Malware should not be considered the same as defective software, in other words, software that has a legitimate purpose but contains harmful code.

USA Today reporters, Byron Acohido and Jon Sqartz state that surfing the web has never been more risky. “Simply connecting to the Internet—and doing nothing else—exposes your PC to non-stop, automatic break-in attempts by intruders looking to take control of your machine surreptitiously.

“It’s a hostile environment out there,” says technical security consultant Kevin Mitnick, who served five years in prison for breaking into corporate computer systems in the mid-1990s. “Attackers have become extremely indiscriminate.”

So what’s a person to do?

SPYWARE CAN BE THE MOST SERIOUS THREAT TO YOUR COMPUTER!

According to some estimates, more than 90 percent of all personal computers that regularly connect to the Internet are infected with some kind of SPYWARE. So how do you get rid of spyware? You use a program that searches your hard drive and locates it just like a virus scan. It then gives you the option to ignore it or trash it.

For a couple of years I used a freeware program that did a pretty good job of finding spyware. But all good things must come to an end and the manufacturer stopped providing upgrades, and they put a price on it.

Aside from the annoyance factor, the invasion of privacy alone justifies the use of a trusted anti-spyware tool. Your PC should be armed and at the ready for any spyware intruders that try getting into your system. You can completely eliminate these nasty little tracking devices from your computer system and prevent them from ever latching on in the future. Treat yourself to a free spyware scan. You will most probably be amazed at just how many threats are actually present.

By not protecting your PC from intruders, it’s only going to be a matter of time before your computer gets hijacked by harmful spyware—if it hasn’t already! If someone were peeping into your windows to spy on you, you would be upset, wouldn’t you? You would do something about it! Well guess what? This is exactly what will happen while you surf the web! These Komputer Klingons are installing spyware tracking devices into your PC and eavesdropping without your permission! Spyware not only gives advertisers an inside look at what interests you online, it can also lead to disclosure of highly sensitive personal data as well. Now that’s SCARY!

Was this information helpful! You will learn a great deal more by claiming your free scan.

The link below will lead you to a virus-free website where you can select a

FREE, NO OBLIGATION SPYWARE, MALWARE  SCAN.

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Happy and safe surfing!

Back To Make Money Online

(This article is the 1st Part of a series of articles of the author Veena Furtado’s forthcoming Book/EBook – “Veena’s Make Money Online Strategies – Book 1” and  is a worldwide protected publication of © Copyright Veena Furtado)

Are you finding it difficult to make money online?

You must understand very clearly that there are certain very very
critical success factors in any how to make money online opportunity. And these factors which could ensure that you make easy money online are listed as follows:

* A great product of service 30 %
* A solid company 30 %
* The compensation plan 20 %
* A personal coach or mentor 20 %

Behind almost every very success full person as Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Dell, Steven Jobs or Barrack Obama stands a coach or mentor.

If you have the first 3 factors, get a coach!

I stopped writing articles to make easy money online. I just wanted a break from writing. But now I am back. Back to make money online fast.

Take a word of inspiration from A. Lou Vickery, in your efforts to earn make money online -

“Nothing average ever stood as a monument to progress. When progress is looking for a partner it doesn’t turn to those who believe they are only average. It turns instead to those who are forever searching and striving to become the best they possibly can. If we seek the average level we cannot hope to achieve a high level of success. Our only hope is to avoid being a failure.”

If you want to me to help you set up and run your very own successful website business with help every single step of the way… just visit the my website (see link given below) and take a look.

You will not regret it. I promise!

Best Wishes.
Veena Furtado
Internet Business Developer
Team Trainer/Coach/Mentor/Friend
http://www.veenamakesmoneyonline.com/signuptep.html

Keunggulan Bisnis Online

Dunia bisnis memang tidak akan pernah ada matinya, selalu muncul suatu metode-metode baru dalam berbisnis. Hal ini seiring dengan perkembangan zaman.

Agar lebih mengerti keunggulan bisnis on line dibanding bisnis off line, kita perlu mengerti hal berikut ini :

Apa itu Bisnis On Line?

Bisnis off line adalah suatu bisnis dimana transaksi jual maupun beli dilakukan di dunia nyata, terlihat secara kasat mata ada uang ada barang. Selain itu membutuhkan tempat untuk bertransaksi misalnya kantor, toko, dll. Jelas ini membutuhkan biaya dna modal yang besar untuk mengoperasionalkannya termasuk biaya sewa tempat, gaji pegawai, dsb. Pussiing khan…
Berbeda dengan bisnis on line, BISNIS ON LINE adalah bisnis yang dilakukan melalui dunia internet (dunia maya.. tapi bukan dunianya setan coiii….), bedanya adalah transaksi jual beli dilakukan secara on line melalui internet. Walaupun pada kenyataannya terjadi proses pengiriman barang secara nyata pada beberapa hal. Namun dengan demikian kita tidak terlalu membutuhkan biaya yang besar seperti bisnis off line. Simple khan…

Dari pengertian kedua bisnis tersebut sudah dapat diidentifikasi keunggulan BISNIS ON LINE, antara lain seperti berikut :
1. bisnis online bisa dilakukan dari mana pun, yang penting ada komputer dan koneksi internet, sudah bisa berbisnis… mudah kan?
2. bisnis online itu tidak memerlukan ruang kantor yang besaaarr… apalagi harus ijin usaha dll. huufggh repoot!!
3. Modal relatif kecil. Ini nieh yang orang” banyak suka. Otomatis.. secara.. tidak perlu mendirikan kantor, toko dsb cukup hanya komputer dan koneksi internet.
4. bisnis online berpotensi INCOME BESAR! Bukan hanya besar bahkan UNLIMITED… Banyak sekali jenis bisnis yang dapat dilakukan di internet… lihat aja di dan semuanya berpeluang untuk mendatangkan income yang besar (gimana engga’ orang modal relatif kecil tapi bayarannya dolar hehehe…)
5. bisnis online tidak memandang siapapun yang menjalankan, baik pemula maupun profesional… its O.K. semua bisa sukses. Saya juga sedang menuju kesuksesan hehehe…
mau bukti yang lain…. lihat aja di SINI

Ooo..iya satu lagi yang penting sekali untuk mengurangi resiko kegagalan lebih baik jangan melakukannya secara otodidak… selain membutuhkan waktu yang lama juga membutuhkan pengeluaran yang banyak untuk belajar sana sini.
Panduan terbaik dari seorang profesional dalam bisnis on line adalah UANGPANAS.com

Make Money Online: 5 Powerful ways to make money online

<p>I have been working online since the beginning of 2005 after starting my marketing career offline a few years before that. I love making money online and the idea that I can be on holiday in an exotic location and have to just answer a few emails is what I would call real bliss. At the end of the day to run an online business and make serious money online all you need is a working laptop/computer and an internet connection.

<p>I remember back in 2005 sat in a internet café on holiday in Lanzarote checking on my emails as I was selling numerous information products on eBay and was making sure that everything was ticking over whilst I was enjoying myself. It is also the idea that you don’t need to have any staff in order to run your own business. The idea that I can work solid one day and then take two days off is certainly the biggest thrill that it offers me.

<p>I have several different streams of income that allow me to make money online. Some are better than others as they take less time and energy. Those that you have to put the extra effort into are always the most rewarding just because of the pain and passion that has gone into the creation.

<p>Here is a list of my best ways to make money online:

<p>One page information sites: This is where you create a one page site of information that people will need to know on a daily basis and cover it from head to toe in Adsense. To be able to make a decent profit you want to have at least a hundred of these and they require absolutely no maintenance and can be forgotten for years to come. They could cover things like maps for holiday destinations, calendars, local area events or even software that people are desperate to get their hands on.

<p>Affiliate Marketing: Just by writing a review for someone else’s product can seriously increase the amount of money into your PayPal account. Aim for products that are new and not those that have already been oversaturated in the market as you want a prime position in Google. If you own a website why not include a couple of banners or a review on a customers download page.

<p>Blogging: I personally love Blogging and if you can write a simple Blog Post there is lots of money waiting for you. Create small little niche sites with lots of Adsense and make sure that your Blog Posts reflect what is being currently searched in the search engines and you have it made. When your Blogs are doing well and you are earning a regular income from it you can get Blog posts written for you for a rather low amount so in effect you can have an automated business with very little work involved.

<p>Article Writing: Just by writing 5 articles a day and then have a link through to one of your products can seriously increase your sales. They say that if you do write 25 a week so that’s 5 a day Monday to Friday you can expect to make $1000 in your first 30 days. However as your popularity grows and your reputation increases for being a accomplished writer you will earn much more than this.

<p>Forum Marketing: This is my personal favourite you just NEVER knock the ability to build a business through the likes of internet forums. I use them most days and through answering a simple question and telling the person that I am replying to that they can find the answer on my Blog I can add over 100 clicks in a matter of minutes. This can work in any niche too and doesn’t just have to be associated with the make money online niche.

<p>Social Marketing: This has to be the most powerful way of gaining traffic through to your products and services. As a member of many of them including Twitter, FaceBook, Digg, StumbleUpon and Yahoo Answers I have seen first hand how much they can help your business day in day out. By answering a quick question on Yahoo about Hostgator I can create at least $200 in affiliate commission. Using bookmarking sites like StumbleUpon and Digg has had an amazing affect on the amount of sales that I have received and placed me in the search engines a lot quicker than I could have possibly imagined.

<p>I have now provided you with five excellent ways to make money online. I have to say without a doubt even though these are not the only ways they are my best ways to make money online. Just think about which ones are yours!

Kamera Digital Vs Kamera Konvensional

Memotret dengan kamera digital, dari kamera saku sampai ponsel.

Jika kita amati perkembangan tekonologi kamera digital dalam satu dasawarsa terakhir ini sangat pesat sekali, sehingga kamera ini cepat populer dan banyak digunakan masyarakat untuk melakukan berbagai pemotretan. Banyaknya pengguna kamera digital, setidaknya bisa dilihat dari : pertama, perusahaan yang tadinya tidak memproduksi kamera digital, sekarang ikut meramaikan pasar dengan mengeluarkan produk-produk baru yang unik dan menarik.

Kedua, banyaknya iklan yang menawarkan produk kamera digital diberbagai media dengan menonjolkan kepraktisan pemakaian dan kelebihan, di samping tentu saja harga yang semakin murah. Ketiga, hampir di setiap ada keramaian, selalu banyak masyarakat yang membawa kamera digital untuk melakukan pemotretan.

Kondisi seperti digambarkan di atas, tidak lain karena harga kamera digital cenderung semakin murah ini tentu menguntungkan konsumen, bahkan ada yang menawarkan di bawah Rp 1 juta, akibat persaingan yang ketat, juga adanya faktor kemudahan dalam menggunakan kamera digital, dibanding kamera film.

Untuk mendukung argumen, bahwa kamera digital benar-benar digemari masyarakat dan bisa dikatakan merajai pasar, baru-baru ini penulis melakukan survei kecil-kecilan dengan mengunjungi beberapa studio foto, dan mewawancarai pemilik/petugasnya.

Dari survei tersebut hasilnya adalah pertama, jenis kamera digital yang dijual di studio foto lebih banyaknya jumlahnya, dibanding dengan kamera film. Kedua, omset penjualan kamera digital lebih banyak dibanding kamera film. Ketiga, proses pencetakan foto dengan kamera digital lebih banyak dibanding yang menggunakan kamera film. Perbandingannya berkisar antara 75 persen dan 25 persen.

Mudah

Banyaknya kamera digital yang digunakan masyarakat saat ini tidak terlepas dari adanya faktor kemudahan yang ditawarkan. Karena banyaknya kemudahan-kemudahan tersebut, sampai-sampai ada iklan kamera digital yang menggambarkan seorang anak bayi pun bisa melakukan pemotretan.

Pesatnya perkembangan penggunaan kamera digital, sebenarnya selain karena berbagai faktor kemudahan dalam mengoperasionalkannya, juga didukung faktor lain seperti: pertama, kemudahan dalam memotret. Dengan mempelajari berbagai fitur yang menempel pada bodi kamera dan langsung praktik pemotretan, dalam waktu relatif singkat seseorang sudah bisa memotret dengan hasil yang tidak terlalu mengecewakan.

Kedua, ukuran kamera digital yang kecil dan minimalis, sangat praktis dan mudah dibawa-bawa sehingga tidak sedikit orang kantoran yang membekali diri dengan kamera digital, ketika melakukan survei lapangan, dan kegiatan lain.

Ketiga, harga kamera digital dan biaya operasionalnya lebih murah. Harga murah tersebut bisa diperoleh konsumen ketika pertama kali membeli kamera, maupun ketika proses pencetakan. Hal ini bisa terjadi, karena setiap melakukan pemotretan tidak harus membeli film, tetapi menggunakan memory card dan gambar-gambar yang akan dicetak dapat dipilih dengan melihat pada layar LCD/monitor. Sedangkan gambar-gambar yang tidak menarik bisa dihapus. Hal ini tentu tidak bisa dilakukan dengan kamera film.

Keempat, apabila fitur-fitur yang ada pada kamera digital dipahami dengan baik fungsi dan cara menggunakannya, kualitas gambar yang dihasilkan kamera digital tidak kalah dibanding hasil pemotretan dengan kamera film. Kelima, proses pencetakan gambar tidak harus distudio foto, tetapi bisa dilakukan dirumah/kantor, dengan menggunakan seperangkat komputer, printer yang mempunyai kemampuan mencetak foto, dan kertas khusus untuk mencetak foto.

Keenam, gambar yang ada di memory card bisa dipindah penyimpanannya ke Compact Disk, Flashdish, komputer dan lainnya. Sewaktu diperlukan, gambarnya bisa dilihat di layar monitor komputer, lalu dilakukan editing dan dicetak sesuai kebutuhan.

Proses tersebut tentu sangat membantu pengguna kamera digital, karena lebih praktis dan efsien dalam penanganan master foto-foto yang menarik dan layak dijadikan dokumentasi penting.

Kalau demikian, apakah kejayaan kamera film sudah berlalu dan akan ditinggalkan penggunanya? Jelas tidak, sebab walaupun secara riil, pemakaian kamera digital semakin banyak, namun kamera film tetap banyak peminatnya, terutama mereka yang benar-benar fanatik dan sudah lama menggunakan kamera film dalam setiap pemotretan, sehingga tidak mau beralih kepada kamera digital.

Kalau pengguna kamera digital kebanyakan adalah dari para pehobi atau tujuan pemotretan tidak dikomersialkan, tetapi untuk keperluan sendiri, sedangkan pengguna kamera film cenderung digunakan oleh fotografer yang benar-benar serius menggeluti bidang fotografi, karena memotret merupakan suatu profesi atau pekerjaan.

Para pengguna kamera film (terutama jenis kamera RLT) ini sangat menikmati kegiatan memotret yang dilakukan secara manual. Kalau ditanya, di mana sebenarnya letak keasyikannya?

Sebagian besar pemakai kamera digital pasti akan menjawab, saat memutar-mutar gelang diafragma untuk memilih angka yang tepat, ketika akan melakukan pemotretan, mengatur speed, memutar-mutar lensa zoom/tele saat memfokus subjek dan seterusnya

Momen-momen tersebut merupakan keasyikan tersendiri, yang hanya bisa dilakukan dengan kamera film, karena pada kamera digital, fasilitas-fasilitas tersebut sudah menempel pada bodi kamera dan pengaturan penggunaannya serba otomatis.

Kamera film inipun sangat menarik digunakan untuk bereksperimen dalam berbagai pemotretan, karena dengan mengatur diafragma, menggunakan speed dan ASA film tertentu, akan diperoleh gambar yang berbeda dengan kualitas yang berbeda pula, tetapi memberikan nuansa lain yang menarik.

Mungkin bagi sebagian orang ada yang berpendapat bahwa menggunakan kamera film terlalu repot dan tidak praktis, tetapi bagi pengguna kamera film sangat mengasyikan, karena justru di sinilah ketrampilan dan seni fotografi benar-benar diuji dan dipraktikan, sehingga jika karya foto yang dihasilkan berkualitas tinggi, tentu sangat membanggakan si fotografer.

Walaupun dari uraian di atas, kamera digital lebih mudah dan banyak digunakan masyarakat, namun masalah pilihan dalam penggunaan kamera tentu terpulang kembali kepada masyarakat pengguna dan tujuan pemotretannya itu sendiri.

Anda Dapat membeli produk kamera ini di toko elektronik online belidigital.com