Tips Guides

Today, the Internet has become an integral part of our lives. It’s a daily routine for us to log onto the internet for banking, shopping, social & business networking, job application, researching, music downloads and on other various important information retrieval, we all depend on internet.

With its worldwide popularity, the risk of Internet crime has also risen considerably. Precaution has always been better then cure so it’s in our hands to safeguard our personal information when we make any online transaction. With every bit of information you transmit through the Internet or store online, the risk of falling victim to the Internet crime also rises. Identity theft is at its all time high! Some of the various gullible trends that have been rising through the Internet include hacking, stalking, fraud, phishing, theft, spreading Malware and harassment! This not only causes a financial distress but more then often leads to the psychological stress.

Some of the ways that can help you to guard your safety in the Internet world and help you escape from falling prey to Cyber Crime are listed below. Do remember, your safety is at your own hands!

Awareness: Before you start the campaign to safeguards yourself from cyber crime, keep in mind that you know about the risks you are going to face! The right knowledge equips you to fight with a right mindset! Awareness is the most important weapon that will come to your rescue at the most difficult times!

Be Vigilant: These days most of the people who surf online are the members of social networking sites. Being social is nice but trusting everyone regarding your personal information can drown you into deep waters! Most of the cyber criminals maintain a good relationship at the start and at later stages they exploit that information for their own good. Do not let them exploit your trust! Be conscientious of the information you share with others online.

Don’t pass your Password: If any link in your email asks for your personal information or your password, quickly mark it as Spam and report it! Most of these emails are used to phish for your personal information. They will allure you with schemes such as ” Congrats! You’ve been chosen winner for a trip to Switzerland”, all excited you may give your information but in the end you’ll realize the big loss you made for yourself! Keep in mind, if you are dealing with a valid organization, it will never ask you for your password. Another way to keep your personal information secure is by changing passwords at some regular intervals. Though make it easy for yourself to remember!

We all enjoy using the Internet. It has been a valuable source of information since almost a decade now! Do not let anyone make it a bad experience for you by making you prey to their bad motives. So, to prevent yourself from becoming a victim to cyber crime keep in mind these basic tips, be vigilant and conscious of the information you share through the intranet connection.

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It’s been almost 5 years since the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 went into effect, but don’t think the law has faded by the wayside. Although anti-spammers have referred to the law as the YOU CAN-SPAM Act and are quick to point out shortcomings, the law is the law - and it is being enforced.

Anti-spam organizations as well as the FTC, Internet Service Providers and even popular sites like MySpace are becoming better and better at tracking down and prosecuting spammers.

If you’re doubtful about the legal ramifications of failing to comply with the CAN-SPAM Act, check out some of the sentences and fines that have been handed out to spammers since 2004. Fines have ranged from hundreds of thousands of dollars to hundreds of millions for spammers, and judges are handing out harsh sentences.

- 2006: online pharmacy spammer Christopher Smith was fined $5.3 million dollars as a result of a lawsuit brought by AOL. He received a 30 year sentence for charges that originated with this lawsuit.

- 2007: Jeffrey Kilbride was sentenced to over five years and James Schaffer was sentenced to six years in prison in charges related to porn spamming on AOL. Each was also fined $100,000, ordered to pay AOL $77,500, and had more than $1 million in revenue seized by the U.S. government

- 2007: Min Kim received 30-37 months in prison instead of a default 24-30 month sentence as a direct result of spamming.

- 2007: Todd Moeller was sentenced to 27 months in prison in charges relating to spamming.

- 2008: Edward Davidson was sentenced to 21 months in prison and ordered to pay almost $715,000 in fines for violating the CAN-SPAM Act and evading taxes.

This is just a sampling of some of the high-profile spam-related cases that have made the headlines over the past few years. Anyone who has had to deal with online-pharmacy and porn related spam clogging up their in-boxes is happy to see these criminals receive tough sentences and high fines.

You may not think you have much in common with these deliberate spammers, but if your latest email campaign violated the CAN-SPAM Act, you are guilty of a crime. Ignorance of the law will not help you in court, and you may be just as unpopular as these “bad guys” with your email recipients.

A Fresh Look at Compliance

It is up to every individual and business in the U.S. that relies on email as a form of advertisement or solicitation to comply with the CAN-SPAM Act. Although transactional types of commercial email are excluded from the Act, it is in every business’ best interest to make account update emails or other transactional communications CAN-SPAM compliant.

The only way to be absolutely certain you are complying with the CAN-SPAM law is to read it thoroughly, and keep reviewing it. If you switch marketing companies or embark on a new email campaign strategy, or even if you take on a new marketing or affiliate partner, you must be certain they aren’t violating the CAN-SPAM law, as well.

You can read the CAN-SPAM Act at the FTC website, which is easy to access through any search engine. The Act is straightforward and simple to understand, but if you do have questions, you can contact the FTC and resolve any doubts or issues you may have via their website or telephone.

Whether you are fined or jailed for failing to comply with the CAN-SPAM Act or not, spamming is very bad business. You owe it to your online customers and email recipients to respect their privacy and personal preferences regarding the mail they receive. At the very least, the CAN-SPAM Act will ensure your business isn’t a source of frustration or worse for the Internet community.

Download Web Legal Kit today to learn about email compliance measures.

Find out how you can protect your intellectual property with copyrights, trademarks, and patents, including search functions.

http://www.weblegalkit.com

Your brave anti-spam software works hard to defend your inbox from all those messages about enlarging… um…. various things. Even more important, your spam buster also helps protect you from less-embarrassing –but more dangerous– phishing scam emails. But not entirely safe. Just in case a big bad phishing scam does get through to your inbox, it’s important to know how to spot it.

1. Do they handle your money? Then they won’t ask for your info.

The companies that deal with your money can be counted on for a lot of things. Making mistakes on your monthly statement. Talking robotically on the telephone (even if they’re human). Sending you advertisements you don’t want. But one thing they can’t be counted on to do –because they never do it– is ask for your account information in an email. No company that deals in your finances will ask for your info via email. Ever. Not the bank, not the IRS, and not Paypal.

2. Check that the sender’s email address matches the company’s URL.

Whenever you receive an email from a secure financial organization, such as your bank or the ever-friendly IRS, be sure to check the email over carefully. Is the name of the organization misspelled in the email address, or not included at all? Is the appearance and language of the email official? (Just a hint: a title of ‘It’s time 4 U to renew UR account!’ is a dead giveaway.)

3. Check who’s getting the email. If there’s more than one address, get suspicious quick.

If a message you’ve received has aroused your suspicion, a quick way to check if it’s legit is to take a look at who it’s gone out to. If there’s more than one email address there, they’re probably not who they say they are– after all, major companies have a privacy policy to follow. Many lazy phishers simply blitz the Net, sending messages to hot_bad_muscles1, hot_bad_muscles2, all the way up to you at hot_bad_muscles2000.

4. Do the email’s claims catch your attention? Check it online.

One way phishing spam works is by trying to scare you into acting quickly. They’re going to delete your account. Or they’re going to kill you. Or they’re going to run over your dog. If the content of an email catches your attention and you feel you must take action, look into it first. The easiest way to do this is to Google a sentence or two from the email. If you find other people online talking about it, it’s garbage.

The big bad phisher will try to get under your skin– but just delete those suckers right out of your inbox.

5. Stop phishing in its tracks by reporting phishing scams to the company they’re pretending to be.

No major (or, heck, minor) company wants to be impersonated by someone looking to steal their clients’ info and even their identities. While most of them don’t actually care what happens to you (when is the last time your bank manager gave you a hug?), they do care how identity theft makes their company look. So be sure to advise an organization that their customers are being targeted by a phishing spam. They can send out warnings, button down security, and generally work to keep their clients’ info safe.

There are a lot of nasty characters creeping around on the Net. And some careless people do fall into their traps. Don’t be one of them. Instead, up the anti-spam security on your email server, keep your eyes peeled for bogus emails, and delete, delete, delete.

Jes Darmanin works at GFI Software: a company that creates professional anti spam software for servers. More information about GFI MailEssentials - The leading server antispam solution on http://www.gfi.com/mes

In a world where you can do virtually everything online, one has to wonder where all the information is going, and how it is being protected. High speed Internet access and devices like Blackberry’s give us constant access to the Internet, and therefore, the ability to exchange information via the World Wide Web. But with this convenience also comes a price.

Local and national news stations run stories frequently about hackers that have corrupted someone’s database leaving millions of facing the possibility of identity theft. How do you go about protecting your identity when you’re online? And, is it really safe to do business online?

#1- Install a firewall on your computer. A firewall is software that installs on your computer to prevent unauthorized access to your computer. Without a firewall in place, you become exposed to hackers while surfing the Internet or simply having your computer connected to the Internet. There are many available, both free and paid, stand-alone or part of a package.

#2 - Use anti-virus software to avoid contracting a virus which can monitor your computer habits. Remember, anti-virus software is usually an annual subscription, don’t let your subscription expire.

#3 - Don’t use the same password for all of your online accounts. It can seem tempting to keep them all the same just for the sake of simplicity, but if you do, and a hacker gains access to your desktop, you may find that they are able to also gain access to all of your personal accounts.

#4 - Use spam filters in your email. Most hosted email solutions now have anti-spam solutions. If they offer it, use it!

#5 - Avoid Email Scams. - Different than spam, email scams use social engineered methods to convince you to trust the sender. Often these scams talk about large sums of money that need to be deposited in your bank account. If you respond, you will begin emailing with a live person, maybe for months, that will work to gain your trust and then steal your money through gaining access to your bank account.

#6 - Don’t ever click links in emails from senders you do not know; this is one of the easiest ways for hackers to gain access to your information.

#7 - Make sure websites you visit are secure. These are easily distinguishable just by glancing at the toolbar on your browser. A URL that begins with ‘Https’ indicates a secured and encrypted site.

#8 - Beware of phishing. Phishing emails are those that look like emails from reputable sites like PayPal, eBay and even your bank, but are designed specifically to steal your identity. The hope is that you will read the email, panic at its information and click on a link within to verify your account details. The website you visit appears as being from the vendor and you are asked to enter your personal information to verify your account. Once you do this, you will find your account at a zero balance within days. One way to avoidphishing is to avoid clicking the embedded link in the email and instead type in the organizations official URL in your browser and login on the official page.

#9 - Watch out for misdirected urls. When you type in a misspelled URL, you can be redirected to a bogus website, although it looks authentic. Often you are asked tologin with your legitimate credentials, which are captured by the bogus site. Then you are often given an error notice that the site cannot process your request and to return at a later date. This buys time for the criminals to take your stolen credentials, visit the legitimate site, and drain your bank account.

Keeping your identity safe online takes work and persistence, but it’s worth it. The only certainty when dealing with identity theft is that the battle will never end. As the hackers become savvier, the solutions will become more high-tech and you will need to stay on top of what’s current. Common sense plays a large role in keeping you and your family safe from online identity thieves.

Richard Bliss is an Internet Security Expert and VP of Marketing with with worldwide GroupWise monitoring software provider GWAVA. Visit them online and see why GWAVA is the #1 software provider for Novell GroupWise.

I was talking to a client recently about why he should add a newsletter opt-in form on his website so that he can capture email addresses.

He said “but Sam I don’t like spam”.

In hindsight I probably should have worded that a little bit differently when I said capturing an email address. What I should have said is to offer something of value to the visitor for their email address - Permission Based Marketing.

But even before this conversation I was beginning to see a trend that a lot of businesses have the idea that sending out an email is akin to sending out spam. I can understand why they would think so. With so much spam getting into our inbox emails are getting to point where they’ll soon have a negative connotation.

That’s why you have to differentiate yourself and not spam your customers.

So What’s the difference between Spam vs Permission Based Marketing?

First and foremost Spam often arrives without permission, it’s not targeted to what you’re interested in and often there’s no way to opt out of it. They literally captured your email from a website or a forum.

If it walks like a duck…
If you start sending emails with nothing but your sales letter or an advertisement then it’s going to come across as spam. There’s no way around it. Just because a subscriber gave you permission to get their email address does not mean you can start sending them spam.

Why market to them then?
Just because you can’t spam your email list doesn’t mean you shouldn’t sell to them. You just have to market it right.

So whats next?
Your first and foremost goal is to provide your list with information that they find valuable. Remember the email is about what they’re interested in - that could be anything (news, your views, articles). Provide your list with targeted information about what you do, what are new changes that are in your field, a case study, a new idea — just make sure you tie it back to what they’re interested in.

Let’s take an example:
Let’s say you’re a graphic design artist, and you have a website where people join your list — people that are interested in graphic design services or are graphic design artists themselves. You could include information about why using dark text on light background is better then the other way around and explain why. Basically you could write an article about it.

Again, your goal is inform and educate your visitors. Keep providing them with information and the next time you have some type of special offer or sale then you can send out the information to your entire list letting them know about it. I would by no means consider this spamming because the artist has continued to provide me with information, hasn’t tried to hard sell me every single day, or send spam. And for providing me with this invaluable information every now and then they send in a small offer or deal. Completely fine with me.

Who knows maybe I’ll even take them up on the deal.

Please keep in mind this is just an example. There are a lot of variables that come into play if you plan on marketing to your list.

- First as I mentioned above - provide them with valuable information or up-to-date news
- Next don’t spam them - Don’t send them more than one email a day and if it is daily make sure it’s informational. I’d recommend starting out with a monthly newsletter then weekly and so on.
- Third - Maintain consistency. Don’t email them twice in one week and then the next email is 2 months later. No. Make sure you send out your newsletter consistently. Start off once a month and then if you can create content for twice a month then go for for it.
- Fourth - Don’t lie. Subscribers hate when you lie. So just don’t do it.
- Fifth - If possible try to get their name and email, and when sending out your email use their name in the email header
- Next provide them with a way to unsubscribe and if they unsubscribe honor their request
- Don’t include the entire article in your email - make sure to include a click here to read the complete newsletter on the website type link so that they get a chance to see your website again.

To find out more information visit Netlyte | Houston Web Design. You can also request free information to find out how we can help you build your Website at Web Design Houston

Does any of this sound familiar? You get so much spam that you have to keep your finger on the delete button whenever you check your email. Then you inevitably erase the one or two important messages that you really needed to see, so you have to sift through all the spam again in your Trash folder to find them.

If you go out of town for a couple of days, your inbox fills up with junk and your important messages start to bounce before you can return to your computer to clean out your inbox and make room.

That was my situation. I have a spam filter at the ISP level, which really does not seem to filter out much. And I tried a couple of other spam filtering solutions, but they delayed my email too much, and I never fully trusted that everything was getting through.

I tried SpamArrest after noticing that a colleague was using it, but my expectations were not terribly high because the other filtering solutions that I had tried just did not work for me.

How Does it Work?

When you sign up for a SpamArrest account, you simply make a few changes to your email program (such as Outlook or Eudora) so that SpamArrest can download your email from your ISP to the Spam Arrest mail server. Then SpamArrest sorts it and filters whatever you do not want. I expected to have a little trouble configuring my email account correctly, but it was no sweat at all. The instructions are very detailed and easy to follow. They definitely cater to the layperson, so there is no jargon. And if you do have trouble, you can get technical support via email.

The basic SpamArrest account allows you to filter up to 5 email accounts. And they have a webmail feature, too, so you can access your mail by logging into your account at the SpamArrest website. It is great if you are traveling and just want to check in.

Once your email accounts are configured, you simply decide whose email you would like to continue to receive. You can preauthorize senders by typing in specific email addresses, by using a special import feature, or by preauthorizing entire domain names.

When someone who is not on your preauthorized list tries to email you, she will receive an email asking her to verify her intent to send you the message. The idea is that a real human being will verify her identity, but a spambot or automated mailing system will not.

One of my favorite parts of the SpamArrest system is that anyone who is on your preauthorized list is never sent a verification email at all. So you can easily set it up such that your friends, relatives, and colleagues never know you are filtering your messages.

Once someone responds to the verification email, she is added to your list of authorized senders. Then her original email (and all subsequent emails she sends you) will get through.

You can always remove people from your list of approved senders, too, so you have total control of whose email gets to your inbox.

If a verification email is not responded to, the email stays in a special “Unverified” folder in your online SpamArrest inbox for a whole week. That way, you can log in and check to see if any important messages were not verified. For example, sometimes I will forget that I signed up for an email newsletter, so I simply authorize the sender by clicking a button on the screen. Then the message, and all subsequent messages from this particular email address, will go right to my inbox and skip the “Unverified” folder altogether.

Right after I opened my SpamArrest account, I checked this Unverified folder every day, but now I find that most of the senders that I want email from are already on the authorized list, so I check in only every few days. It is easy to tell which messages in your Unverified folder are new since your last login, because they stay in bold typeface until you log out.

According to the SpamArrest statistics on my account, a full 63.64 percent of my email to date has been spam. It is such a great relief to know that it never made it to my inbox at all. I save a lot of time each morning, and I enjoy sending and receiving email again.

How Much Does it Cost?

At the time of this writing, SpamArrest subscriptions are $5.95 per month (or you can save by signing up for a year or two at a time: $44.95 for one year and $74.95 for two years.) You can add features for an additional fee, but I have the basic subscription and have never needed anything beyond that.

You can get a free 30 day trial of SpamArrest here. And view the latest Coupon Codes here..