Ekhwan Web Master Tools, Tips and Tricks.

What is a domain ?

2010-06-16T08:31:00.000+04:00

A domain is the realm or area of control and ownership of a person or organisation on the Internet. A space that you control. It is a main constituent in the way the Net works, as it allocates a friendly name to a numeric address. We now tend to use the terms 'domain' and 'domain name' as interchangeable.

What is a domain name ?
What is a web domain ?
What is a domain for ?

A domain name is the entitlement to establish a website with that name, and has the preferred version of the wording, chosen by the owner. You buy the domain name of your choice, if available, and that allows you to make a resource of that name available on the web.

A domain name is a license, in exactly the same way that a title deed is the license to own property. The title deed is the license for the property, and a house may be built on it. A domain name is the title to space on the web, and also a 'permanent' friendly address (real addresses are numeric and changeable). A website may be built with that address as you have the entitlement to do so.

A domain name has value but a website does not, because it can only exist with the correct domain name, and with space to reside on. A website is a movable item but a domain name (wherever it may be hosted) stays the same. Again, a parallel may be drawn with property - a domain is a solid piece of property, though virtual. A website is more like a caravan or trailerhome, it is almost worthless without somewhere to place it. The domain is the property with the value. A domain name has been sold for $2.75m (creditcards.com - two and three-quarter million dollars), but the website on it has little value in comparison.

Essentially, the business is the domain.

How to own a domain

A domain name cannot be bought, it can only be rented. However most domains can be rented for long periods in advance, eg ten years. This is advised for all business domains. There are exceptions such as UK domains, which can only be rented for two years at a time.

If you 'own' the domain, ie registered the name first or bought it, then you are entitled to keep it as long as you wish. It cannot be taken (rented) by another unless you let it lapse, or for legal reasons. Due to its importance you should manage it carefully.

On this page, the words 'domain' and 'domain name' are usually interchangeable, because that is the way they are used in common speech. There are some technical differences that are not relevant to us. And here, we use the term 'to buy' a domain, but of course they can only be rented. However, if you are the registered keeper of a domain, you can rent it in perpetuity as long as you don't let it lapse. It cannot be rented or 'owned' by another.

How to choose a domain name

When choosing a new domain name, you have two distinct choices:

Choose a name that is a search term, as that will automatically place you higher in the SERPs.
Choose a name with a good brand image, as that will assist in sales.

These two choices cause some problems in the choice of a good new domain name. It would be good if they can be combined, but this is not normally possible.

If you go for choice #1, then your site will be placed higher in search results for the keyword that is contained in the domain name. This is for two reasons: the search engine will see your site as being more relevant to a search that involves that term; and if the domain name is exactly the search term (called an 'exact-match domain'), then they have to place you near the top, or even at position #1, since there is a possibility that the searcher is looking for your exact site. This choice is always valid, and can never be disputed - and it is especially useful in Year 1 to Year 2, when you have less organic traffic.

With choice #2, a good brand name as the domain, then image impact is maximised but traffic is ignored. This is a good choice in Year 3 onward as by that time you should have good organic traffic, and the brand becomes more important.

We should mention that choosing a domain that is neither a search term nor a good brand choice cannot be considered a good decision. Likewise the use of domains that are very long, or have words all run together - these are the worst of all choices.

What is a domain registrar ?

What is domain name registration ?

A domain registrar is a business that organises domain name purchases, storage, and management for you. Domain name registration therefore is interaction with a registrar in order to buy a domain. Domains are purchased from the central Internet name authority, ICANN, through a domain registrar. Most domains are freely available to all, but some have restrictions in the form of residence conditions and so on.

What is a top level domain ?

What is a TLD ?

A top level domain or TLD means two things. Firstly, the strict meaning is that it refers to the original main domain groups of .com, .net, and .org. However, it is much more commonly used now to simply mean any real domain, as against a subdomain which can only be rented on someone else's website. A real (aka top level) domain looks like: example.com, but a subdomain is in the form of: yourspace.example.com.

A subdomain like this has a strictly temporary value and cannot be transferred, as it is part of the main domain. No business site should use a subdomain of this type.

What is domain hosting ?

What is domain name hosting ?

What is a parked domain ?

Domain names, as bought, have no webspace with them. They are a title deed but have no property attached, just the right to operate property once purchased. Web property is provided by hosts, who operate computer centres (or datacentres) that are connected to the Net. They host or hold and operate your web presence for you.

A domain name gives the entitlement to open a proper website for business but you don't have to do that - you can simply have a one-page site. If you don't do this, your domain goes unresolved -which means it appears not to exist. Web enquiries for that domain will fail.

Domain name hosting is where a domain registrar provides a 'holding page' facility so that you can set the domain live to the Net without having a website. It's the best plan because otherwise the domain has no history, and even if ten years old, is still rated by search engines as new. Older domains have more rank.

Most domain registrars automatically supply this facility but you need to ask. The better ones also allow you to change the page content or even have adverts on it.

A parked domain is one that has this type of facility, and appears on the Net as a single-page site, thus gaining history and weight.

What is DNS ?

What is the domain name system ?

The domain name system or service (DNS) is the mechanism by which the real numeric address of a resource (a website) is allocated a friendly name (the domain name). Enquiries for that friendly name are routed to the correct real (numeric) address or IP.

Nobody could remember a name like 83.223.104.89 or type it correctly each time, so a 'friendly' name or human-readable name is given, such as example.com. However the Internet could not function with millions of names such as this, so they are mapped to the real address by the DNS or domain name service.

The DNS servers that your own browser / computer asks for 'directions' are maintained locally by your ISP. An ISP has its own DNS servers therefore. This means they control how you reach your destination, and may also act as an advertising channel, especially in the case of incorrect enquiries. Many ISP's DNS servers are also up to three days out of date, meaning that a website may change its location but that information will not be available to you as it has not yet changed at the DNS server.

The OpenDNS service bypasses your ISP's DNS servers and provides a far better service in all respects. The OpenDNS servers are updated every 15 minutes, so website locations are correct. In addition, known harmful sites that host malware attacks on browsers are blocked, and you cannot inadvertently visit them. Many users will be better served by replacing the ISP-controlled DNS IPs on home and office routers with the OpenDNS IPs.

What is a nameserver ?

What is a domain name server ?

What is a domain server ?

A nameserver or domain name server is a local server, at the hosts, that routes enquiries for the real address of a domain property to the correct computer at the host's facility. It tells the Net where to actually find a domain, ie a website, at the datacentre. The nameserver computer is registered as the location of the website, and is the last stop on the route for an enquiry about where to actually connect to the website. The domain, at the registrar, is pointed at the nameserver, at the host, which then gives the real numerical address (the IP) of the resource, ie the website.

If a person with a web browser on a computer connected to the Net wants to visit a website, their computer asks the central computers where to find it. They reply with the address of the nameserver where that site can be found, and the browser is sent to the correct datacentre. The person then sees the required website. This process is transparent and takes a fraction of a second.

What is a domain alias ?

A domain alias is another way to find an existing website / domain. If the site is at example.com, another domain such as alternative.com can be aliased to it, so that enquiries for both example.com and alternative.com both end up at the same website. We don't advise that extensive use is made of this facility since in practice there are negatives.

What is a Windows domain ?

What is a network domain ?

What is a computer domain ?

A Windows domain, network domain, or computer domain are all local network realms - spaces or groups with a local address on the network that have rules as to who may connect.

What is a public domain ?

There is no such thing in Internet use, it is an unrelated concept, meaning that something 'in the public domain' is of public record, widely known, or available to all.

Bad domain name mistakes

There are some hilarious examples of poor domain name choices. It is always preferable to use a domain name that is hyphenated, with words separated by dashes. This is because it is easier to read and understand, it is easier to remember, it is easier for search engines to parse (understand), and it's far less likely to give your enterprise a comedy rep like the ones below:

therapistfinder.com

- a service to be avoided, surely

[a therapists' directory]

atouchofart.com

- might be better suited to a baked beans wholesaler

[an art and pictures company]

Domain names with a series of joined words are only used by those without even basic technical knowledge of how a computer works. Google has finally decided to make this clear, in order to prevent the situation worsening - they clearly state that you should not use joined words or underscores on a website or in connection with domain names.

In brief: choose a domain name that contains a search term and/or is a good brand name, and space the words with dashes.

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2010-03-31T19:18:00.001+04:00

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Useful Windows XP DOS Commands & Tricks

2007-08-17T23:25:00.000+04:00

Typing DOS commands on the Windows Command Line prompt is a most efficient and faster way of doing things in Windows XP. Here's a run-down of the most useful DOS commands available in Windows XP. Some of these DOS commands even do not have an visual alternative.

DOS Command-line tools must be run at the prompt of the Cmd.exe command interpreter. To open Command Prompt, click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.

ipconfig - Windows IP configuration
Useful for troubleshooting your internet connection. Displays the current IP address of your computer and the DNS server address. If you call your ISP for reporting a bad internet connection, he will probably ask you to run ipconfig.

fc - Free BeyondCompare in XP
FC is an advanced DOS Command that compares two files and displays the differences between them. Though the file comparison results are not as interactive as BeyondCompare or Altova DiffDog, fc is still very useful. You can even set fc to resynchronize the files after finding a mismatch.

type - open text files sans Notepad
Similar to Unix cat command, Type is my favorite DOS command for displaying the contents of a text files without modifying them. When used in combination with more switch, type splits the contents of lengthy text files into multiple pages. Avoid using the type command with binary files or you'll hear alien PC beeps and see some greek characters on your PC.

ping - Say hello to another computer
Ping network command followed by the web-address or IP address tells you about the health of the connection and whether the other party is responding to your handshake request. Ping tool can also be used to convert the web address to a physical IP address.

tree - visual directory structure
You often need to take prints of your physical directory structure but XP has no simple "visual" commands for printing directory contents. Here, try the Tree DOS command and redirect the output to a text file.

tree > mydirectory. txt
print mydirectory. txt

attrib - make hidden files visible
Attrib lets you change attributes of System files and even hidden files. This is great for troubleshooting Windows XP. Say your XP doesn't boot ever since you edited that startup boot.ini file (Hidden), use attrib to remove the Hidden attibute and edit the file using EDIT dos command.

assoc - which program will open that .xyz file
The assoc DOS command can be used to either isplay or even modify the file name extension associations. The command assoc .htm will quickly tell you the name of your default web browser (see picture)

move - more flexible than copy-paste
Say you got a lot of XLS and DOC files in you MyDocuments folder and want to move only those XLS files that have their name ending with 2006. In XP Explorer, you have to manually select each file and then cut-paste to another folder. However, the DOS move command make things much simpler. Just type the following at the command prompt:
move *2006.xls c:\2006Reports\

find - advanced file search with filter
Find is the most powerful DOS command and even more useful than the Windows Desktop Search tool or the Windows Find Wizard. The find command searches for a specific string of text in a file or files. After searching the specified file or files, find displays any lines of text that contain the specified string.

To search your hard disk to find and display the file names on drive C: that contain the string "Google" use the pipe (|) to direct the results of a dir command to find as follows:
dir c:\ /s /b | find "Google"

Quick tip - Drag to avoid typing: When your command acts on a file or folder, you must type the path to that folder after the command. You can save typing time by dragging the file or folder from Windows Explorer into the command window.

To view help at the command-line, at the command prompt, type the following:
CommandName /?

Related resources on Microsoft Website:
List of DOS Commands with Examples | Command Line Redirection Methods

How to Flush DNS

2007-06-14T00:36:00.000+04:00

You can flush your DNS cache as per following.

1) For Windows- Start -> Run -> type cmd
- in command prompt, type ipconfig /flushdns
- Done! You Window DNS cache has just been flush.

2) For Linux

- To restart the nscd daemon, type /etc/rc.d/init.d/nscd restart in your terminal
- Once you run the command your linux DNS cache will flush.

3) For Mac OS X

- type lookupd -flushcache in your terminal to flush the DNS resolver cache.
ex: bash-2.05a$ lookupd -flushcache
- Once you run the command your DNS cache (in Mac OS X) will flush.

Portable Apps

2007-06-04T09:11:00.000+04:00

Thanks to the people who really contribute their time and much more their passion in developing applications that would make this world a better place to live in. opensource is the thing that has fascinated me sine long, infact the very day I first recognized the Internet, and went into the hosting business, I have made a point to contribute my share to the fabulous opensource community. The other day I was viewing a documentary on the Goolge boys who made history and billionaires of themselves by doing just this, help make the world a better place to live in.

Portable Apps Suite your computer, without a computer™ as they call it is something everyone should know and learn about. I have loved applications that have standalone executable files without installations, thats whats portability is all about. When you are in a business like web hosting such applications mean a lot to you when you are on the move. It makes a big difference when you have all your tools loaded on a flash drive or a portable hard drive. You can connect to your machines and clients and have records at hand all the time. Web Hosting is all about this after all. One of the favorite standalone application of mine has been putty and utorrent, thanks to my friends who pointed out to me these things.

PortableApps.com is the one place where you can find these wonderful mouth watering softwares. It also has a portable OS, MAC 7. Running a Mac from a Flash Disk, thats something you got to look at. Carry all your bookmarks, passwords, tools and even media players in your pocket. Well thats what has made me feel comfortable with the growth of technology and the open source community. Best of all these apps are totally free, no spyware, no adware, you dont even need to give your email address, nor buy any hardware. Well you are free to donate a small sum, whatever you like to. The site contains a portable version of office suite, filezilla, firefox, thunderbird, a PDF reader, an IM tool and much more.

Remote Control an Apple Mac from a Windows PC and vice-versa

2007-05-20T13:31:00.000+04:00

Want to use your Mac from a PC or vice-versa ? Get Yuuguu.

Yuuguu is a free computer screen sharing software cum IM client that's available both on Mac and the Windows platform.

Wondering why another screen sharing app when we already have Microsoft Tahiti or the popular Crossloop ? The answer is simple - Yuuguu is a cross-platform product meaning the participants may be on Mac or Windows computers but they can still share screens and chat together. CrossLoop and Tahiti are currently available only for Windows PC's

The Yuuguu screen sharing client interface resembles Google Talk - you add friends, invite them to your desktop or vice-versa and can even IM them during the screen-sharing session.

The whole process is very non-geeky and you need not make any adjustments to your Firewall or unblock any ports.

What's missing - No annotation tools or cursor highlights. And it is not possible to share a specific application, you'll have to share your entire desktop with all the running applications.

Yuuguu Homepage | Download Yuuguu

How to Access Blocked Websites

2007-05-13T20:45:00.000+04:00

Blocking access to undesirable Web sites through the use of Internet protocol filters has been a common government tactic since commercial Internet access first became available here in 1995. China and Saudi Arabia are believed to extend greater censorship over the net than any other country in the world under the pretext of information control.

Most of the blacklisted sites in Saudi Arabia are either sexually explicit or about religion, women, health, drugs and pop culture. They even block access to websites about bathing suits. So if you want to buy something to swim in, they seem to treat that as if it were pornographic in Saudi Arabia.

In China, webites containing sexually explicit content were among those blocked, but they also included sites on sensitive topics such as Tibet, Taiwan, and dissident activity. China also blocks access to Google News, Typepad and Blogger hosted blogs.

But what if an innocent website is accidentally blocked by your ISP or your government. There are always legitimate reasons to visit these blocked websites. We have listed a few methods to help you access blocked websites in school, college, office or at home.

Approach 1: There are websites Anonymizer who fetch the blocked site/ page from their servers and display it to you. As far as the service provider is concerned you are viewing a page from Anonymizer and not the blocked site.

Approach 2: To access the blocked Web site. type the IP number instead of the URL in the address bar. But if the ISP software maps the IP address to the web server (reverse DNS lookup), the website will remain blocked.

Approach 3: Use a URL redirection service like tinyurl.com or snipurl.com. These domain forward services sometimes work as the address in the the url box remain the redirect url and do not change to the banned site.

Approach 4: Use Google Mobile Search. Google display the normal HTML pages as if you are viewing them on a mobile phone. During the translation, Google removes the javascript content and CSS scripts and breaks a longer page into several smaller pages. View this website in Google Mobile

Approach 5: Enter the URL in Google or Yahoo search and then visit the cached copy of the page. To retrieve the page more quickly from Google's cache, click "Cached Text Only" while the browser is loading the page from cache.

Approach 6: A recent Oreilly story on accessing blocked websites suggested an approach to access restricted web sites using Google language tools service as a proxy server. Basically, you have Google translate your page from English to English (or whatever language you like). Assuming that Google isn’t blacklisted in your country or school, you should be able to access any site with this method. Visit this site via Google Proxy

Approach 7: Anonymous Surfing Surf the internet via a proxy server. A proxy server (or proxies) is a normal computer that hides the identity of computers on its network from the Internet. Which means that only the address of the proxy server is visible to the world and not of those computers that are using it to browse the Internet. Just visit the proxy server website with your Web browser and enter a URL (website address) in the form provided.

This page has a long list of proxies. You can either choose one yourself or let the service choose a random proxy for you. Also bookmark the DMOZ directory of free web-based proxy services and DMOZ directory of free proxy servers

Update: China appears to have moved beyond simply blocking access to a Web site with IP filters and may now be employing packet filters to scan individual packets for undesirable information, said Duncan Clark, managing director at telecommunication analyst BDA China Co. Ltd.

Source: Internet Filtering Worldwide

What to Do If Your Computer Is Infected

2006-12-04T19:10:00.000+04:00

Sometimes even an experienced user will not realise that a computer is infected with a virus. This is because viruses can hide among regular files, or camoflage themselves as standard files. This section contains a detailed discussion of the symptoms of virus infection, how to recover data after a virus attack and how to prevent data from being corrupted by malware.

Symptoms of infection
There are a number of symptoms which indicate that your computer has been infected. If you notice "strange things" happening to your computer, namely:

unexpected messages or images are suddenly displayed
unusual sounds or music played at random
your CD-ROM drive mysteriously opens and closes
programs suddenly start on your computer
you receive notification from your firewall that some applications have attempted to connect to the Internet, although you did not initiate this, then it is very likely that your computer has been infected by a virus

Additionally, there are some typical symptoms which indicate that your computer has been infected via email:

your friends mention that they have received messages from your address which you know you did not send
your mailbox contains a lot of messages without a sender's e-mail address or message header
These problems, however, may not be caused by viruses. For example, infected messages that are supposedly coming from your address can actually be sent from a different computer.

There is a range of secondary symptoms which indicate that your computer may be infected:

your computer freezes frequently or encounters errors
your computer slows down when programs are started
the operating system is unable to load
files and folders have been deleted or their content has changed
your hard drive is accessed too often (the light on your main unit flashes rapidly)
Microsoft Internet Explorer freezes or functions erratically e.g. you cannot close the application window
90% of the time the symptoms listed above indicate a hardware or software problem. Although such symptoms are unlikely to be caused by a virus, you should use your antivirus software to scan your computer fully.

What you should do if you notice symptoms of infection
If you notice that your computer is functioning erratically

Don't panic! This golden rule may prevent the loss of important data stored in your computer and help you avoid unnecessary stress.
Disconnect your computer from the Internet.
If your computer is connected to a Local Area Network, disconnect it.
If the computer cannot boot from the hard drive (error at startup), try to start the system in Safe Mode or from the Windows boot disk
Before taking any action, back up all critical data to an external drive (a floppy disk, CD, flash memory, etc.).
Install antivirus software if you do not have it installed.
Download the latest updates for your antivirus database. If possible, do not use the infected computer to download updates, but use a friend's computer, or a computer at your office, an Internet cafe, etc. This is important because if you are connected to the Internet, a virus can send important information to third parties or may try to send itself to all email addresses in your address book. You may also be able to obtain updates for your antivirus software on CD-ROM from the software vendors or authorized dealers.
Perform a full system scan.
If no viruses are found during a scan
If no viruses are found during the scan and the symptoms that alarmed you are classifed, you probably have no reason to worry. Check all hardware and software installed in your computer. Download Windows patches using Windows Update. Deinstall all unlicensed software from your computer and clean your hard drives of any junk files.

If viruses are found during a scan
A good antivirus solution will notify you if viruses are found during a scan, and offer several options for dealing with infected objects.

In the vast majority of cases, personal computers are infected by worms, Trojan programs, or viruses. In most cases, lost data can be successfully recovered.

A good antivirus solution will provide the option to disinfect for infected objects, quarantine possibly infected objects and delete worms and Trojans. A report will provide the names of the malicious software discovered on your computer.
In some cases, you may need a special utility to recover data that have been corrupted. Visit your antivirus software vendor's site, and search for information about the virus, Trojan or worm which has infected your computer. Download any special utilities if these are available.
If your computer has been infected by viruses that exploit Microsoft Outlook Express vulnerabilities, you can fully clean your computer by disinfecting all infected objects, and then scanning and disinfecting the mail client's databases. This ensures that the malicious programs cannot be reactivated when messages which were infected prior to scanning are re-opened. You should also download and install security patches for Microsoft Outlook Express.
Unfortunately, some viruses cannot be removed from infected objects. Some of these viruses may corrupt information on your computer when infecting, and it may not be possible to restore this information. If a virus cannot be removed from a file, the file should be deleted.
If your computer has suffered a severe virus attack
Some viruses and Trojans can cause severe damage to your computer:

If you cannot boot from your hard drive (error at startup), try to boot from the Windows rescue disk. If the system can not recognize your hard drive, the virus has damaged the disk partition table. In this case, try to recover the partition table using scandisk, a standard Windows program. If this does not help, contact a computer data recovery service. Your computer vendor should be able to provide contact details for such services.
If you have a disk management utility installed, some of your logical drives may be unavailable when you boot from the rescue disk. In this case, you should disinfect all accessible drives, reboot from the system hard drive and disinfect the remaining logical drives.

Recover corrupted files and applications using backup copies after you have scanned the drive containing this data.
Diagnosing the problem using standard Windows tools
Although this is not recommended unless you are an experience user, you may wish to:

check the integrity of the file system on your hard drive (using CHKDSK program) and repair file system errors. If there are a large number of errors, you must backup the most important files to removable storage media before fixing the errors
scan your computer after booting from the Windows rescue disk
use other standard Windows tools, for example, the scandisk utility
For more details on using these utilities, refer to the Windows Help topics.

If nothing helps
If the symptoms described above persist even after you have scanned your computer, and checked all installed hardware and software and your hard drive using Windows utilities, you should send a message with a full description of the problem to your antivirus vendor's technical support department.

Some antivirus software developers will analyse infected files submitted by users.

After you have eradicated the infection
Once you have eradicated the infection, scan all disks and removable storage media that may be infected by the virus.

Make sure that you have appropriately configured antivirus software installed on your computer.

Practice safe computing.

All of these measures will help prevent your computer getting infected in the future.

Quick Fix - an easy way to fix quota issues in CPanel

2006-08-20T00:25:00.000+04:00

Cpanel/WHM sometimes has problems with the user quota files causing all users accounts to have unlimited disk space available or 0 megs of disk space in use. This obviously confuses your customers and doesn't show a real representation of actual disk space being used by your clients. This guide will take you through fixing any quota issues with Cpanel manually or automated.

Common reasons for quota problems
- There are files owned by the same user elsewhere on the server
- The backup directory is being counted towards the users disk quota
- Extra log files are being counted towards the users quota
- Cpanel was just updated and the quotas are now unlimited

Quick Fix - an easy way to fix quota issues

Step 1. Log into your server through SSH as the root user.

Step 2. Run the following command
/scripts/fixquotas

Remote Desktop Connection

2006-08-17T10:14:00.000+04:00

Windows XP Professional includes a basic PC remote control tool which lets you log onto your PC remotely from anywhere. Do you know how to use it?

It’s called Remote Desktop Connection, and when you’ve properly configured your PC, this handy utility will let you log into your computer from anywhere in the world and control it as if you were sitting in front of it instead of half a world away.

If you’re running Windows XP Professional, you already have all the software you need to connect remotely to your PC. Whether you’d like to monitor a server, grab files from your home PC at work, or just keep an eye on your machines when you’re out, connecting remotely is easy to do. However, due to the vagaries of network configurations and various other quirks beyond your control, you may not be able to actually connect. Until now.

Preparing your system

First, you need to know the IP address of the computer you want to connect to. The only sure-fire way to always be able to connect to your PC’s is to use an ISP that provides you with a static IP address. Most ISPs give customers dynamic IP addresses, which can change every few days or even hours. Because your IP address is the way you’ll locate your computer on the net, you’ll need to know what your IP address is and monitor it as it changes.

The good news is that there are loads of programs that will notify you of IP address changes, whenever they occur. We like IP Address Monster (www.ipmonster.com). It’s a small program that runs in your system tray and can be configured to e-mail you whenever your IP address changes.

IP Address Monster should be your first stop to remote connectivity. This handy utility will keep tabs on your Internet address and send you an e-mail whenever it changes.

Now that you know your IP address, you need to make sure that Remote Desktop Connection is enabled. Make sure your firewall is configured to allow incoming connections on port 3389 (firewalls vary, so check your documentation to find out how to open the port).

You can turn on Remote Desktop Connection in the System Control Panel (Start, Control Panel, System). Check the Remote tab and make sure “Allow users to connect remotely to this computer” is checked. You’ll also need to have at least one user account that requires a password because accounts without passwords are prohibited from logging into Remote Desktop.

To enabling Remote Desktop, open the System Control Panel, go to the Remote tab, and check this box.

It’s important to make sure the passwords on the machine you’re going to remotely log into are “good” ones. This means you should use a mixture of letters and numbers, avoid words that are found in dictionaries, and change the password regularly to protect yourself from mischief.

Making the connection

At this point, your PC should be prepped and patiently waiting for a connection. To log in, you need to open the Remote Desktop Connection client on your remote PC. Go to Start, Programs, Accessories, Communications, Remote Desktop Connection. Input the IP address you want to connect to (courtesy of IP Address Monster) in the Computer field. Then enter your username and password.

Now you’ll want to tweak a few settings to optimize your remote experience. Whiz-bang features gobble up bandwidth, so you should tune your settings to match your home net connection. We recommend you start with a minimal feature set. Press the Options button, then the Display tab. Change the display settings to full-screen, 256-color. This looks acceptable and consumes practically no bandwidth. You’ll also want to browse to the Experience tab and change the Performance setting to reflect your home PC’s connection speed.

Switching to a lower color resolution and a smaller display area will greatly minimize the amount of data that has to transfer between your computer and the remote PC.

Once you’ve tuned the connection a bit, you’re ready to connect. Press the Connect key and you’re in!

What to do next

At this point, you should be connected. You can run programs and manipulate files just like you’re sitting in front of your PC. In fact, you can even use your PC’s e-mail and web browsers. Do you want to start downloading Desert Combat now so you can start playing it when you get home That’s easy enough; just log into your PC using Remote Desktop, open your web browser, and download the file. It will be sitting on your machine waiting for you as soon as you get home. If all your PCs are running Windows XP Pro, and you enable drive-sharing in the Local Resources tab, you can transfer files from remote PC to local PC. You can even remotely transfer files between local PCs on your home network.

Once connected, you can interact with printer ports and networked hard drives. This is a handy way to delete those “special interest” videos you downloaded before your wife finds them.

Basic Problem Prevention & Solution For Safe Computing

2006-08-17T09:41:00.000+04:00

SAFE COMPUTING

This post is meant to be a basic problem prevention and solutions for all members.

Before you can expect an optimally running system, you should make sure that it is clean and you have proper protection in place. Sometimes a system has just been too compromised and a full Windows reinstallation is required, including formatting (erasing) the hard drive. In this event, make sure all of your data files are backed up. A format and reinstall will definitely solve malware problems.

At the very least you need a spyware and virus protection program. Usually two spyware programs are a good idea, but only one full time loaded virus program is sufficient. Some are more resource intensive than others, can slow your system down, and be a real pain to uninstall later. Norton fits in this category, but many people are happy using and paying for it. AVG Free is, of course free, and provides real time protection.

For Spyware there are a lot of safe, and free choices. AdAware and Spybot are my personal favorites, but others use SpySweeper and others. Some of these programs are for removal, others are for protection from infestation. A program like CCleaner is also VERY helpful.

Be warned that there are MANY spyware prevention programs that are just that -spyware! Be careful of programs that you do not see on this list.

Any of these spyware programs should be updated first, then turn system restore off and run it in Safe Mode (F8 at boot time before you see the Windows logo). Anything found can be deleted safely.

Occasionally more resistant malware is found and Ewido can be helpful for getting these trojans on Windows 2000 and XP systems only. The above suggestions for running in safe mode with system restore off is applicable. The reason is that a restore can be harboring malware, and without doing this you run the risk of reinfecting the system.

Any unknown popup that says "Your computer has a problem. Click here to fix it" or similar should be a red flag. Do NOT click on the link or you will definitely be further infected. It also requires that you deal with the problem immediately with the above action.

Download Links:

AdAware is free here: http://www.majorgeeks.com/download506.html

Spybot is free here: http://www.majorgeeks.com/download2471.html

SpySweeper can is free here: http://www.majorgeeks.com/download3263.html

AVG Free is available here: http://www.majorgeeks.com/download886.html

Ewido is free to try at: http://www.ewido.net/en/

Actions home users can take to protect their computer systems

2006-08-17T09:35:00.000+04:00

1. Consult your system support personnel if you work from home - If you use your broadband access to connect to your employer's network via a Virtual Private Network (VPN) or other means, your employer may have policies or procedures relating to the security of your home network. Be sure to consult with your employer's support personnel, as appropriate, before following any of the steps outlined in this document.

2. Use virus protection software - The CERT/CC recommends the use of anti-virus software on all Internet-connected computers. Be sure to keep your anti-virus software up-to-date. Many anti-virus packages support automatic updates of virus definitions. I recommend the use of these automatic updates when available.

3. Use a firewall - We strongly recommend the use of some type of firewall product, such as a network appliance or a personal firewall software package. Intruders are constantly scanning home user systems for known vulnerabilities. Network firewalls (whether software or hardware-based) can provide some degree of protection against these attacks. However, no firewall can detect or stop all attacks, so itâ€™s not sufficient to install a firewall and then ignore all other security measures.

4. Dont open unknown email attachments - Before opening any email attachments, be sure you know the source of the attachment. It is not enough that the mail originated from an address you recognize. The Melissa virus spread precisely because it originated from a familiar address. Malicious code might be distributed in amusing or enticing programs. If you must open an attachment before you can verify the source, we suggest the following procedure:
1. be sure your virus definitions are up-to-date (see "Use virus protection software" above)
2. save the file to your hard disk
3. scan the file using your antivirus software
4. open the file
For additional protection, you can disconnect your computer's network connection before opening the file. Following these steps will reduce, but not wholly eliminate, the chance that any malicious code contained in the attachment might spread from your computer to others.

5. Dont run programs of unknown origin - Never run a program unless you know it to be authored by a person or company that you trust. Also, don't send programs of unknown origin to your friends or coworkers simply because they are amusing -- they might contain a Trojan horse program.

6. Disable hidden filename extensions - Windows operating systems contain an option to "Hide file extensions for known file types". The option is enabled by default, but you can disable this option in order to have file extensions displayed by Windows. After disabling this option, there are still some file extensions that, by default, will continue to remain hidden. There is a registry value which, if set, will cause Windows to hide certain file extensions regardless of user configuration choices elsewhere in the operating system. The "NeverShowExt" registry value is used to hide the extensions for basic Windows file types. For example, the ".LNK" extension associated with Windows shortcuts remains hidden even after a user has turned off the option to hide extensions.

7. Keep all applications (including your operating system) patched - Vendors will usually release patches for their software when a vulnerability has been discovered. Most product documentation offers a method to get updates and patches. You should be able to obtain updates from the vendor's web site. Read the manuals or browse the vendor's web site for more information. Some applications will automatically check for available updates, and many vendors offer automatic notification of updates via a mailing list. Look on your vendor's web site for information about automatic notification. If no mailing list or other automated notification mechanism is offered you may need to check periodically for updates.

8. Turn off your computer or disconnect from the network when not in use - Turn off your computer or disconnect its Ethernet interface when you are not using it. An intruder cannot attack your computer if it is powered off or otherwise completely disconnected from the network.

9. Disable Java, JavaScript, and ActiveX if possible - Be aware of the risks involved in the use of "mobile code" such as ActiveX, Java, and JavaScript. A malicious web developer may attach a script to something sent to a web site, such as a URL, an element in a form, or a database inquiry. Later, when the web site responds to you, the malicious script is transferred to your browser. The most significant impact of this vulnerability can be avoided by disabling all scripting languages. Turning off these options will keep you from being vulnerable to malicious scripts. However, it will limit the interaction you can have with some web sites. Many legitimate sites use scripts running within the browser to add useful features. Disabling scripting may degrade the functionality of these sites.. More information regarding the risks posed by malicious code in web links can be found in CA-2000-02 Malicious HTML Tags Embedded in Client Web Requests.

10. Disable scripting features in email programs - Because many email programs use the same code as web browsers to display HTML, vulnerabilities that affect ActiveX, Java, and JavaScript are often applicable to email as well as web pages. Therefore, in addition to disabling scripting features in web browsers (see "Disable Java, JavaScript, and ActiveX if possible", above), we recommend that users also disable these features in their email programs.

11. Make regular backups of critical data - Keep a copy of important files on removable media such as ZIP disks or recordable CD-ROM disks (CD-R or CD-RW disks). Use software backup tools if available, and store the backup disks somewhere away from the computer.

12. Make a boot disk in case your computer is damaged or compromised - To aid in recovering from a security breach or hard disk failure, create a boot disk on a floppy disk which will help when recovering a computer after such an event has occurred. Remember, however, you must create this disk before you have a security event.

Computer security risks to home users

2006-08-17T09:33:00.000+04:00

1. What is at risk?
Information security is concerned with three main areas:

* Confidentiality - information should be available only to those who rightfully have access to it
* Integrity -- information should be modified only by those who are authorized to do so
* Availability -- information should be accessible to those who need it when they need it

These concepts apply to home Internet users just as much as they would to any corporate or government network. You probably wouldn't let a stranger look through your important documents. In the same way, you may want to keep the tasks you perform on your computer confidential, whether it's tracking your investments or sending email messages to family and friends. Also, you should have some assurance that the information you enter into your computer remains intact and is available when you need it.

Some security risks arise from the possibility of intentional misuse of your computer by intruders via the Internet. Others are risks that you would face even if you weren't connected to the Internet (e.g. hard disk failures, theft, power outages). The bad news is that you probably cannot plan for every possible risk. The good news is that you can take some simple steps to reduce the chance that you'll be affected by the most common threats -- and some of those steps help with both the intentional and accidental risks you're likely to face. Before we get to what you can do to protect your computer or home network, lets take a closer look at some of these risks.

2. Intentional misuse of your computer
The most common methods used by intruders to gain control of home computers are briefly described below.

1. Trojan horse programs - Trojan horse programs are a common way for intruders to trick you (sometimes referred to as "social engineering") into installing "back door" programs. These can allow intruders easy access to your computer without your knowledge, change your system configurations, or infect your computer with a computer virus.

2. Back door and remote administration programs - On Windows computers, three tools commonly used by intruders to gain remote access to your computer are BackOrifice, Netbus, and SubSeven. These back door or remote administration programs, once installed, allow other people to access and control your computer. We recommend that you review the CERT vulnerability note about Back Orifice.

3. Denial of service - Another form of attack is called a denial-of-service (DoS) attack. This type of attack causes your computer to crash or to become so busy processing data that you are unable to use it. In most cases, the latest patches will prevent the attack. It is important to note that in addition to being the target of a DoS attack, it is possible for your computer to be used as a participant in a denial-of-service attack on another system.

4. Being an intermediary for another attack - Intruders will frequently use compromised computers as launching pads for attacking other systems. An example of this is how distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) tools are used. The intruders install an "agent" (frequently through a Trojan horse program) that runs on the compromised computer awaiting further instructions. Then, when a number of agents are running on different computers, a single "handler" can instruct all of them to launch a denial-of-service attack on another system. Thus, the end target of the attack is not your own computer, but someone elses -- your computer is just a convenient tool in a larger attack.

5. Unprotected Windows shares - Unprotected Windows networking shares can be exploited by intruders in an automated way to place tools on large numbers of Windows-based computers attached to the Internet. Because site security on the Internet is interdependent, a compromised computer not only creates problems for the computer's owner, but it is also a threat to other sites on the Internet. There is great potential for the emergence of other intruder tools that leverage unprotected Windows networking shares on a widespread basis.

6. Mobile code (Java, JavaScript, and ActiveX) - There have been reports of problems with "mobile code" (e.g. Java, JavaScript, and ActiveX). These are programming languages that let web developers write code that is executed by your web browser. Although the code is generally useful, it can be used by intruders to gather information (such as which web sites you visit) or to run malicious code on your computer. It is possible to disable Java, JavaScript, and ActiveX in your web browser. We recommend that you do so if you are browsing web sites that you are not familiar with or do not trust. Also be aware of the risks involved in the use of mobile code within email programs. Many email programs use the same code as web browsers to display HTML. Thus, vulnerabilities that affect Java, JavaScript, and ActiveX are often applicable to email as well as web pages.

7. Cross-site scripting - A malicious web developer may attach a script to something sent to a web site, such as a URL, an element in a form, or a database inquiry. Later, when the web site responds to you, the malicious script is transferred to your browser. You can potentially expose your web browser to malicious scripts by
* following links in web pages, email messages, or newsgroup postings without knowing what they link to
* using interactive forms on an untrustworthy site
* viewing online discussion groups, forums, or other dynamically generated pages where users can post text containing HTML tags

8. Email spoofing - Email spoofing is when an email message appears to have originated from one source when it actually was sent from another source. Email spoofing is often an attempt to trick the user into making a damaging statement or releasing sensitive information (such as passwords). Spoofed email can range from harmless pranks to social engineering ploys. Examples of the latter include
* email claiming to be from a system administrator requesting users to change their passwords to a specified string and threatening to suspend their account if they do not comply
* email claiming to be from a person in authority requesting users to send them a copy of a password file or other sensitive information
Note that while service providers may occasionally request that you change your password, they usually will not specify what you should change it to. Also, most legitimate service providers would never ask you to send them any password information via email. If you suspect that you may have received a spoofed email from someone with malicious intent, you should contact your service provider's support personnel immediately.

9. Email-borne viruses - Viruses and other types of malicious code are often spread as attachments to email messages. Before opening any attachments, be sure you know the source of the attachment. It is not enough that the mail originated from an address you recognize. The Melissa virus (see References) spread precisely because it originated from a familiar address. Also, malicious code might be distributed in amusing or enticing programs. Never run a program unless you know it to be authored by a person or company that you trust. Also, don't send programs of unknown origin to your friends or coworkers simply because they are amusing -- they might contain a Trojan horse program.

10. Hidden file extensions - Windows operating systems contain an option to "Hide file extensions for known file types". The option is enabled by default, but a user may choose to disable this option in order to have file extensions displayed by Windows. Multiple email-borne viruses are known to exploit hidden file extensions. The first major attack that took advantage of a hidden file extension was the VBS/LoveLetter worm which contained an email attachment named "LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.TXT.vbs". Other malicious programs have since incorporated similar naming schemes. Examples include
* Downloader (MySis.avi.exe or QuickFlick.mpg.exe)
* VBS/Timofonica (TIMOFONICA.TXT.vbs)
* VBS/CoolNote (COOL_NOTEPAD_DEMO.TXT.vbs)
* VBS/OnTheFly (AnnaKournikova.jpg.vbs)
The files attached to the email messages sent by these viruses may appear to be harmless text (.txt), MPEG (.mpg), AVI (.avi) or other file types when in fact the file is a malicious script or executable (.vbs or .exe, for example).

11. Chat clients - Internet chat applications, such as instant messaging applications and Internet Relay Chat (IRC) networks, provide a mechanism for information to be transmitted bi-directionally between computers on the Internet. Chat clients provide groups of individuals with the means to exchange dialog, web URLs, and in many cases, files of any type. Because many chat clients allow for the exchange of executable code, they present risks similar to those of email clients. As with email clients, care should be taken to limit the chat clients ability to execute downloaded files. As always, you should be wary of exchanging files with unknown parties.

12. Packet sniffing - A packet sniffer is a program that captures data from information packets as they travel over the network. That data may include user names, passwords, and proprietary information that travels over the network in clear text. With perhaps hundreds or thousands of passwords captured by the packet sniffer, intruders can launch widespread attacks on systems. Installing a packet sniffer does not necessarily require administrator-level access. Relative to DSL and traditional dial-up users, cable modem users have a higher risk of exposure to packet sniffers since entire neighborhoods of cable modem users are effectively part of the same LAN. A packet sniffer installed on any cable modem user's computer in a neighborhood may be able to capture data transmitted by any other cable modem in the same neighborhood.

3. Accidents and other risks
In addition to the risks associated with connecting your computer to the Internet, there are a number of risks that apply even if the computer has no network connections at all. Most of these risks are well-known, so we wont go into much detail in this document, but it is important to note that the common practices associated with reducing these risks may also help reduce susceptibility to the network-based risks discussed above.

1. Disk failure - Recall that availability is one of the three key elements of information security. Although all stored data can become unavailable -- if the media its stored on is physically damaged, destroyed, or lost -- data stored on hard disks is at higher risk due to the mechanical nature of the device. Hard disk crashes are a common cause of data loss on personal computers. Regular system backups are the only effective remedy.

2. Power failure and surges - Power problems (surges, blackouts, and brown-outs) can cause physical damage to a computer, inducing a hard disk crash or otherwise harming the electronic components of the computer. Common mitigation methods include using surge suppressors and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS).

3. Physical Theft - Physical theft of a computer, of course, results in the loss of confidentiality and availability, and (assuming the computer is ever recovered) makes the integrity of the data stored on the disk suspect. Regular system backups (with the backups stored somewhere away from the computer) allow for recovery of the data, but backups alone cannot address confidentiality. Cryptographic tools are available that can encrypt data stored on a computers hard disk. I encourage the use of these tools if the computer contains sensitive data or is at high risk of theft (e.g. laptops or other portable computers).

Technology

2006-08-17T09:27:00.000+04:00

This section provides a basic introduction to the technologies that underlie the Internet. It was written with the novice end-user in mind and is not intended to be a comprehensive survey of all Internet-based technologies. Subsections provide a short overview of each topic. This section is a basic primer on the relevant technologies. For those who desire a deeper understanding of the concepts covered here, we include links to additional information.

1. What does broadband mean?
"Broadband" is the general term used to refer to high-speed network connections. In this context, Internet connections via cable modem and Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) are frequently referred to as broadband Internet connections. "Bandwidth" is the term used to describe the relative speed of a network connection -- for example, most current dial-up modems can support a bandwidth of 56 kbps (thousand bits per second). There is no set bandwidth threshold required for a connection to be referred to as "broadband", but it is typical for connections in excess of 1 Megabit per second (Mbps) to be so named.

2. What is cable modem access?
A cable modem allows a single computer (or network of computers) to connect to the Internet via the cable TV network. The cable modem usually has an Ethernet LAN (Local Area Network) connection to the computer, and is capable of speeds in excess of 5 Mbps. Typical speeds tend to be lower than the maximum, however, since cable providers turn entire neighborhoods into LANs which share the same bandwidth. Because of this "shared-medium" topology, cable modem users may experience somewhat slower network access during periods of peak demand, and may be more susceptible to risks such as packet sniffing and unprotected windows shares than users with other types of connectivity. (See the "Computer security risks to home users" section of this document.)

3. What is DSL access?
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) Internet connectivity, unlike cable modem-based service, provides the user with dedicated bandwidth. However, the maximum bandwidth available to DSL users is usually lower than the maximum cable modem rate because of differences in their respective network technologies. Also, the "dedicated bandwidth" is only dedicated between your home and the DSL provider's central office -- the providers offer little or no guarantee of bandwidth all the way across the Internet. DSL access is not as susceptible to packet sniffing as cable modem access, but many of the other security risks we'll cover apply to both DSL and cable modem access. (See the "Computer security risks to home users" section of this document.)

4. How are broadband services different from traditional dial-up services?
Traditional dial-up Internet services are sometimes referred to as "dial-on-demand" services. That is, your computer only connects to the Internet when it has something to send, such as email or a request to load a web page. Once there is no more data to be sent, or after a certain amount of idle time, the computer disconnects the call. Also, in most cases each call connects to a pool of modems at the ISP, and since the modem IP addresses are dynamically assigned, your computer is usually assigned a different IP address on each call. As a result, it is more difficult (not impossible, just difficult) for an attacker to take advantage of vulnerable network services to take control of your computer. Broadband services are referred to as "always-on" services because there is no call setup when your computer has something to send. The computer is always on the network, ready to send or receive data through its network interface card (NIC). Since the connection is always up, your computerâ€™s IP address will change less frequently (if at all), thus making it more of a fixed target for attack. Whatâ€™s more, many broadband service providers use well-known IP addresses for home users. So while an attacker may not be able to single out your specific computer as belonging to you, they may at least be able to know that your service providersâ€™ broadband customers are within a certain address range, thereby making your computer a more likely target than it might have been otherwise. The table below shows a brief comparison of traditional dial-up and broadband services.

Dial-up Broadband
Connection type Dial on demand Always on
IP address Changes on each call Static or infrequently changing
Relative connection speed Low High
Remote control potential Computer must be dialed in to control remotely Computer is always connected, so remote control can occur anytime
ISP-provided security Little or none Little or none

5. How is broadband access different from the network I use at work?
Corporate and government networks are typically protected by many layers of security, ranging from network firewalls to encryption. In addition, they usually have support staff who maintain the security and availability of these network connections. Although your ISP is responsible for maintaining the services they provide to you, you probably wonâ€™t have dedicated staff on hand to manage and operate your home network. You are ultimately responsible for your own computers. As a result, it is up to you to take reasonable precautions to secure your computers from accidental or intentional misuse.

6. What is a protocol?
A protocol is a well-defined specification that allows computers to communicate across a network. In a way, protocols define the "grammar" that computers can use to "talk" to each other.

7. What is IP?
IP stands for "Internet Protocol". It can be thought of as the common language of computers on the Internet. There are a number of detailed descriptions of IP given elsewhere, so we won't cover it in detail in this document. However, it is important to know a few things about IP in order to understand how to secure your computer. Here weâ€™ll cover IP addresses, static vs. dynamic addressing, NAT, and TCP and UDP Ports. An overview of TCP/IP can be found in the TCP/IP Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) at:

htp://www.faqs.org/faqs/internet/tcp-ip/tcp-ip-faq/part1/

and

http://www.faqs.org/faq s/internet/tcp-ip/tcp-ip-faq/part2/

8. What is an IP address?
IP addresses are analogous to telephone numbers â€“ when you want to call someone on the telephone, you must first know their telephone number. Similarly, when a computer on the Internet needs to send data to another computer, it must first know its IP address. IP addresses are typically shown as four numbers separated by decimal points, or â€œdotsâ€?. For example, 10.24.254.3 and 192.168.62.231 are IP addresses. If you need to make a telephone call but you only know the personâ€™s name, you can look them up in the telephone directory (or call directory services) to get their telephone number. On the Internet, that directory is called the Domain Name System, or DNS for short. If you know the name of a server, say www.cert.org, and you type this into your web browser, your computer will then go ask its DNS server what the numeric IP address is that is associated with that name. Every computer on the Internet has an IP address associated with it that uniquely identifies it. However, that address may change over time, especially if the computer is

* dialing into an Internet Service Provider (ISP)
* connected behind a network firewall
* connected to a broadband service using dynamic IP addressing.

9. What are static and dynamic addressing?
Static IP addressing occurs when an ISP permanently assigns one or more IP addresses for each user. These addresses do not change over time. However, if a static address is assigned but not in use, it is effectively wasted. Since ISPs have a limited number of addresses allocated to them, they sometimes need to make more efficient use of their addresses. Dynamic IP addressing allows the ISP to efficiently utilize their address space. Using dynamic IP addressing, the IP addresses of individual user computers may change over time. If a dynamic address is not in use, it can be automatically reassigned to another computer as needed.

10. What is NAT?
Network Address Translation (NAT) provides a way to hide the IP addresses of a private network from the Internet while still allowing computers on that network to access the Internet. NAT can be used in many different ways, but one method frequently used by home users is called "masquerading". Using NAT masquerading, one or more devices on a LAN can be made to appear as a single IP address to the outside Internet. This allows for multiple computers in a home network to use a single cable modem or DSL connection without requiring the ISP to provide more than one IP address to the user. Using this method, the ISP-assigned IP address can be either static or dynamic. Most network firewalls support NAT masquerading.

11. What are TCP and UDP Ports?
TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) and UDP (User Datagram Protocol) are both protocols that use IP. Whereas IP allows two computers to talk to each other across the Internet, TCP and UDP allow individual applications (also known as "services") on those computers to talk to each other. In the same way that a telephone number or physical mail box might be associated with more than one person, a computer might have multiple applications (e.g. email, file services, web services) running on the same IP address. Ports allow a computer to differentiate services such as email data from web data. A port is simply a number associated with each application that uniquely identifies that service on that computer. Both TCP and UDP use ports to identify services. Some common port numbers are 80 for web (HTTP), 25 for email (SMTP), and 53 for Dmain Name System (DNS).

12. What is a firewall?
The Firewalls FAQ (htp://www.faqs.org/faqs/firewalls-faq/) defines a firewall as "a system or group of systems that enforces an access control policy between two networks." In the context of home networks, a firewall typically takes one of two forms:

* Software firewall - specialized software running on an individual computer, or
* Network firewall - a dedicated device designed to protect one or more computers.

Both types of firewall allow the user to define access policies for inbound connections to the computers they are protecting. Many also provide the ability to control what services (ports) the protected computers are able to access on the Internet (outbound access). Most firewalls intended for home use come with pre-configured security policies from which the user chooses, and some allow the user to customize these policies for their specific needs. More information on firewalls can be found in the Additional resources section of this document.

13. What does antivirus software do?
There are a variety of antivirus software packages that operate in many different ways, depending on how the vendor chose to implement their software. What they have in common, though, is that they all look for patterns in the files or memory of your computer that indicate the possible presence of a known virus. Antivirus packages know what to look for through the use of virus profiles (sometimes called "signatures") provided by the vendor. New viruses are discovered daily. The effectiveness of antivirus software is dependent on having the latest virus profiles installed on your computer so that it can look for recently discovered viruses. It is important to keep these profiles up to date.

Computer security

2006-08-17T09:25:00.000+04:00

1. What is computer security?
Computer security is the process of preventing and detecting unauthorized use of your computer. Prevention measures help you to stop unauthorized users (also known as "intruders") from accessing any part of your computer system. Detection helps you to determine whether or not someone attempted to break into your system, if they were successful, and what they may have done.

2. Why should I care about computer security?
We use computers for everything from banking and investing to shopping and communicating with others through email or chat programs. Although you may not consider your communications "top secret," you probably do not want strangers reading your email, using your computer to attack other systems, sending forged email from your computer, or examining personal information stored on your computer (such as financial statements).

3. Who would want to break into my computer at home?
Intruders (also referred to as hackers, attackers, or crackers) may not care about your identity. Often they want to gain control of your computer so they can use it to launch attacks on other computer systems. Having control of your computer gives them the ability to hide their true location as they launch attacks, often against high-profile computer systems such as government or financial systems. Even if you have a computer connected to the Internet only to play the latest games or to send email to friends and family, your computer may be a target. Intruders may be able to watch all your actions on the computer, or cause damage to your computer by reformatting your hard drive or changing your data.

4. How easy is it to break into my computer?
Unfortunately, intruders are always discovering new vulnerabilities (informally called "holes") to exploit in computer software. The complexity of software makes it increasingly difficult to thoroughly test the security of computer systems. When holes are discovered, computer vendors will usually develop patches to address the problem(s). However, it is up to you, the user, to obtain and install the patches, or correctly configure the software to operate more securely. Most of the incident reports of computer break-ins received at the CERT/CC could have been prevented if system administrators and users kept their computers up-to-date with patches and security fixes. Also, some software applications have default settings that allow other users to access your computer unless you change the settings to be more secure. Examples include chat programs that let outsiders execute commands on your computer or web browsers that could allow someone to place harmful programs on your computer that run when you click on them.

How-to Manage your Passwords efficiently

2006-08-17T09:19:00.000+04:00

There is nothing more important than password security in a world of technology. It is the first step to creating a safe and secure environment. If your password becomes compromised, there are limitless consequences to what could happen. There are a few very important factors in keeping your passwords safe and secure that everyone should adhere to.

Do not tell anyone your password

No one should ever know your password; your bosses, your friends, or your bank. None of them should ever know your personal passwords. Any help desk, company, or organization will have administrators or technicians that can reset your password if they need to do something with your account. Organizations will never ask for your password over the telephone or e-mail!

Do not write your passwords down

The key to a good password is one that you can remember easily, but is hard to guess. It's very important not to write your password down. Hiding it inside your desk, a book, in a picture is just waiting for someone snoopy to find it. Some organizations will require the writing down of passwords, but generally these are Administrator positions and the password books are locked up in a controlled safe or secure location. Your boss shouldn't have all your personal passwords in his desk!

Be aware all the time

When you are entering your password at the computer, or at a bank machine, be aware of who is around you. If you think someone is trying to look at what you are typing, ask them to step back, turn their head, or cover up the keyboard or keypad with your other hand. If you think that anyone may have your password or has seen you enter it, change your password immediately.

Do not use the same password

Far too many people only use one password for everything they do, it makes it easier to remember, but compromises their security. If you use the same password for chatting on a web forum and your online banking password, you are just asking for trouble. Use unique passwords for different projects, websites, and logins.

Password complexity

Password complexity is a very important issue with most users. Often users will have small passwords that are very simple because they worry about trying to remember them. It's very important to have a password that is complex enough to stop people from guessing it, or using automated programs to randomly break it. I will outline good and bad characteristics of passwords below, along with some tips for creating passwords.

Avoid bad passwords, or easily guessable passwords

There are many characteristics that are considered bad when it comes to choosing a password. These characteristics should be avoided at all costs to help keep your password as secure as possible.

Don't use personal information in your passwords. Passwords that contain your date of birth, pets, drivers license number, social insurance number and similar information should be avoided. This also means person numbers of your children, friends, and family also!

Make sure your password is adequately complex, don't use passwords like: kenken, dog, sex.

Stay away from incremental passwords! If you use a password like HiThere1, don't change your password every few months with HiThere2, HiThere3. Create unique passwords each time.

Don't reuse your old passwords even if you haven't used that password in 3 password changes, keep away from reverting to your old passwords.

Don't use words from the dictionary. Passwords should be original conceptions, with no words that could be guessed by an automated program.

Notes on character substitution

I mentioned in the last point that dictionary words should be avoided. This is very true, but in addition to that, there are now dictionary attacks that integrate common slang spellings and special characters. For those of you who were on the internet and BBS world, the old KRAD, elite speak, can be just as easily guessed as a properly spelled word from the dictionary. A couple of examples of what I'm talking about are, "elite speak" could just as easily be "l33t sp34k", "project" and "pr0j3ct". Don't rely on character substitution as a means of securing a simple password.

Creating a good password

Creating a good password is the key to your personal security. Keep these rules in mind when choosing your passwords:

A password should be over eight characters in length.
Do not use dictionary words.
Do not use character substitution such as "l33t sp34k"
Do not user personal information
Do not use variations on your userid or login name
Use both upper and lower case letters (a-z and A-Z)
Use numbers in your password
Use special characters (% # @ *)

Remembering passwords

Everyone knows how frustrating it is to remember passwords, but there is one way that seems to help many people. Trying creating your password using a Mnemonic Device.

"I like money, give me your money!" could translate to: Il$,gmyM!
"Oh, I wish I was an Oscar Myer Weiner!" could be: OH,iwIwaOMW

Simple phrases that are easy to remember for you seem to work the best.

HOW-TO : Setting up Nameservers in cpanel.

2006-08-17T06:30:00.000+04:00

Special Notes:
Some version of WHM/CPanel come with broken NDC. To fix this:

SSH into your box as root.

(a) Type: cd /scripts
(b) Type: ./updatenow
(c) Type: ./fixndc
(d) Type: service named stop
(e) Type: service named start

********************************************

1. Setup Nameservers In WHM
Go into WHM (Web Host Manager) and select Edit Setup from the Server Setup menu on the left. Enter ns1.newdomain.com in the Primary Nameserver field. Hit 'Assign IP Address' (write the IP down or remember it for the next step). Then hit 'Add an A Entry for this nameserver'.

Repeat this process for the Secondary Nameserver field.

2. Register Nameservers
Go to your domain registrar and register ns1.yourdomain.com (111.111.111.111) and ns2.yourdomain.com (222.222.222.222) as nameservers. 111.111.111.111 being the primary nameserver IP from step 1 and 222.222.222.222 being the secondary.

These registrations may take a few days to propagate (often as many as 3 days).

3. Reverse DNS
You may need Burstnet to enter a reverse DNS pointer (PTR Record) for your nameservers. You'll need to let them know each nameserver and its IP address. Sometimes you can suffer non-delivery of mail if you don't so this. Reverse DNS pointers can take a while to propagate. Send an email to support@burst.net with the following...

To: support@burst.net
From:
Subject: PTR Request

Please create the following PTR records.
123.123.123.123 - server.mydomain.com (Main Server IP)
111.111.111.111 - ns1.mydomain.com (This of course being your info)
222.222.222.222 - ns2.mydomain.com

4. Tidy Up Junk Nameservers
Go into WHM (Web Host Manager) and select Manage Nameserver IPs from the Server Setup menu on the left. Remove any nameservers you don't recognise. This is just a tidy up exercise in case anyone's set anything up on the box before you.

5. Initial Nameserver Setup
Go into WHM (Web Host Manager) and select Initial NameServer Setup from the Server Setup menu on the left.

6. Restart BIND
Restart BIND from SSH with (step 5 restarts BIND, but sometimes needs a proper stop and start for it to work):

service named stop
service named start

7. Manual Checks
This process doesn't always work, so there are some things you can check manually via SSH.

pico /etc/wwwacct.conf
Check that the nameservers are correctly specified on NS1, NS2 etc.

pico /etc/resolv.conf
Check that there are nameserver entries for each IP. There may also be one for 127.0.0.1 - this is okay.

Should read as follows:

domain maindomain.com
search maindomain.com
nameserver 127.0.0.1
nameserver 111.111.111.111
nameserver 222.222.222.222

Where 'maindomain.com' is the main domain of my server, and '111.111.111.111' and '222.222.222.222' are the IP addresses of my primary and secondary nameservers.

pico /etc/nameserverips
Check that there are entries for each IP acting as a nameserver.

A Beginner's Guide to Securing Your Server

2006-08-16T04:26:00.000+04:00

A Beginner's Guide to Securing Your Server (Security Inside WHM/CPanel)

These are items inside of WHM/Cpanel that should be changed to secure your server.

Goto Server Setup =>> Tweak Settings

Check the following items...

Under Domains

Prevent users from parking/adding on common internet domains. (ie hotmail.com, aol.com)

Under Mail

Attempt to prevent pop3 connection floods

Default catch-all/default address behavior for new accounts - fail

Under System

Use jailshell as the default shell for all new accounts and modified accounts

Goto Server Setup =>> Tweak Security

Enable php open_basedir Protection

Enable mod_userdir Protection

Disabled Compilers for unprivileged users.

Goto Server Setup =>> Manage Wheel Group Users

Remove all users except for root and your main account from the wheel group.

Goto Server Setup =>> Shell Fork Bomb Protection

Enable Shell Fork Bomb/Memory Protection

When setting up Feature Limits for resellers in Resellers =>> Reseller Center, under Privileges always disable Allow Creation of Packages with Shell Access and enable Never allow creation of accounts with shell access; under Root Access disable All Features.

Goto Service Configuration =>> FTP Configuration

Disable Anonymous FTP

Goto Account Functions =>> Manage Shell Access

Disable Shell Access for all users (except yourself)

Goto Mysql =>> MySQL Root Password

Change root password for MySQL

Goto Security and run Quick Security Scan and Scan for Trojan Horses often. The following and similar items are not Trojans:

/sbin/depmod
/sbin/insmod
/sbin/insmod.static
/sbin/modinfo
/sbin/modprobe
/sbin/rmmod

A Beginner's Guide to Securing Your Server (with SSH access)

These are measures that can be taken to secure your server, with SSH access.

Udate OS, Apache and CPanel to the latest stable versions.

This can be done from WHM/CPanel.

Restrict SSH Access

To restrict and secure SSH access, bind sshd to a single IP that is different than the main IP to the server, and on a different port than port 22.

SSH into server and login as root.

Note: You can download Putty by Clicking Here. It's a clean running application that will not require installation on Windows-boxes.

At command prompt type: pico /etc/ssh/sshd_config

Scroll down to the section of the file that looks like this:

Code:


#Port 22
#Protocol 2, 1
#ListenAddress 0.0.0.0
#ListenAddress ::

Uncomment and change

#Port 22

to look like

Port 5678 (choose your own 4 to 5 digit port number (49151 is the highest port number)

Uncomment and change

#Protocol 2, 1

to look like

Protocol 2

Uncomment and change

#ListenAddress 0.0.0.0

to look like

ListenAddress 123.123.123.15 (use one of your own IP Addresses that has been assigned to your server)

Note 1: If you would like to disable direct Root Login, scroll down until you find

#PermitRootLogin yes

and uncomment it and make it look like

PermitRootLogin no

Save by pressing Ctrl o on your keyboard, and then exit by pressing Ctrl x on your keyboard.

Note 2: You can also create a custome nameserver specifically for your new SSH IP address. Just create one called something like ssh.xyz.com or whatever. Be sure to add an A address to your zone file for the new nameserver.

Now restart SSH

At command prompt type: [b]/etc/rc.d/init.d/sshd restart[b]

Exit out of SSH, and then re-login to SSH using the new IP or nameserver, and the new port.

Note: If you should have any problems, just Telnet into your server, fix the problem, then SSH in again. Telnet is a very unsecure protocol, so change your root password after you use it.

Disable Telnet

To disable telnet, SSH into server and login as root.

At command prompt type: pico -w /etc/xinetd.d/telnet

change disable = no to disable = yes

Save and Exit

At command prompt type: /etc/init.d/xinetd restart

Server e-mail everytime someone logs in as root

To have the server e-mail you everytime someone logs in as root, SSH into server and login as root.

At command prompt type: pico .bash_profile

Scroll down to the end of the file and add the following line:

echo 'ALERT - Root Shell Access on:' `date` `who` | mail -s "Alert: Root Access from `who | awk '{print $6}'`" your@email.com

Save and exit.

Set an SSH Legal Message

To an SSH legal message, SSH into server and login as root.

At command prompt type: pico /etc/motd

Enter your message, save and exit.

Note: I use the following message...

Code:


ALERT! You are entering a secured area! Your IP and login information
have been recorded. System administration has been notified.

This system is restricted to authorized access only. All activities on
this system are recorded and logged. Unauthorized access will be fully
investigated and reported to the appropriate law enforcement agencies.

Now everytime someone logs in as root, they will see this message... go ahead a try it.

Disable Shell Accounts

To disable any shell accounts hosted on your server SSH into server and login as root.

At command prompt type: locate shell.php

Also check for:

locate irc
locate eggdrop
locate bnc
locate BNC
locate ptlink
locate BitchX
locate guardservices
locate psyBNC
locate .rhosts

Note: There will be several listings that will be OS/CPanel related. Examples are

/home/cpapachebuild/buildapache/php-4.3.1/ext/ircg
/usr/local/cpanel/etc/sym/eggdrop.sym
/usr/local/cpanel/etc/sym/bnc.sym
/usr/local/cpanel/etc/sym/psyBNC.sym
/usr/local/cpanel/etc/sym/ptlink.sym
/usr/lib/libncurses.so
/usr/lib/libncurses.a
etc.

Disable identification output for Apache

To disable the version output for proftp, SSH into server and login as root.

At command prompt type: pico /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf

Scroll (way) down and change the following line to

ServerSignature Off

Restart Apache

At command prompt type: /etc/rc.d/init.d/httpd restart

A Beginner's Guide to Securing Your Server (Apps to install)

These are applications that will help to secure your server.

Install chkrootkit

To install chrootkit, SSH into server and login as root.

At command prompt type: cd /root/

At command prompt type: wget ftp://ftp.pangeia.com.br/pub/seg/pac/chkrootkit.tar.gz

At command prompt type: tar xvzf chkrootkit.tar.gz

At command prompt type: cd chkrootkit-0.44

At command prompt type: make sense

To run chkrootkit

At command prompt type: /root/chkrootkit-0.44/chkrootkit

Make sure you run it on a regular basis, perhaps including it in a cron job.

Install rkhunter

1. Login to your server via SSH as root.
Then Type: cd /usr/local/src/

2. Download RKHunter Version 1.1.4
Type: wget http://downloads.rootkit.nl/rkhunter-1.1.4.tar.gz

3. Extract files
Type: tar -xzvf rkhunter-1.1.4.tar.gz

4. Type: cd rkhunter

5. Type: ./installer.sh

6. Lets setup RKHunter to e-mail you you daily scan reports.
Type: pico -w /etc/cron.daily/rkhunter.sh

Add The Following:
#!/bin/bash
(/usr/local/bin/rkhunter -c --cronjob 2>&1 | mail -s "RKhunter Scan Details" replace-this@with-your-email.com)

Replace the e-mail above with your e-mail!! It is best to send the e-mail to an e-mail off-site so that if the box IS compromised the hacker can't erase the scan report unless he hacks another server too.

Type: chmod +x /etc/cron.daily/rkhunter.sh

Install APF Firewall

To install APF, SSH into server and login as root.

At command prompt type: cd /root/

At command prompt type: wget http://www.rfxnetworks.com/downloads/apf-current.tar.gz

At command prompt type: tar -xvzf apf-current.tar.gz

At command prompt type: rm -f apf-current.tar.gz

At command prompt type: cd apf-0.9.4-6

At command prompt type: sh ./install.sh

After APF has been installed, you need to edit the configuration file.

At command prompt type: cd /etc/apf

At command prompt type: pico -w conf.apf

Scroll down and find

USE_DS="0"

change it to

USE_DS="1"

Now scroll down and configure the Ports. The following ports are required for CPanel:

Code:


Common ingress (inbound) TCP ports
IG_TCP_CPORTS="21,22,25,53,80,110,143,465,953,993,995,2082,2083,2084,2086,2087,2095,2096,3306,6666,7786,3000_3500"

Note: If you changed the port for SSH, be sure to include that port and remove port 22.

-----
21 FTP (TCP)
22 SSH (TCP)
25 SMTP (TCP)
53 DNS - Domain Name Server (TCP)
80 HTTP (TCP)
110 POP3 (TCP)
143 IMAP (TCP)
443 HTTPS (TCP)
465 sSMTP (TCP)
953 ??BIND??
993 IMAP4 protocol over TLS/SSL (TCP)
995 POP3 protocol over TLS/SSL (was spop3) (TCP)
2082 CPANEL (http://sitename.com:2082) (TCP)
2083 CPANEL SSL (https://sitename.com:2083) (TCP)
2084 entropychat server (disable from CPANEL service manager if not used) (TCP)
2086 WHM (http://sitename.com:2086) (TCP)
2087 WHM SSL (https://sitename.com:2087) (TCP)
2095 WebMail (http://sitename.com:2095) (TCP)
2096 WebMail SSL (https://sitename.com:2096)
3306 mySQL remote access (TCP)
6666 Melange chat Server (disable from CPANEL service manager if not used) (TCP)
7786 Interchange (TCP)
3000_3500
-----
5100 for ASP,
8080 and 8443 for JSP if you use them.
-----

Code:


Common ingress (inbound) UDP ports
IG_UDP_CPORTS="53,6277

-----
53 DNS - Domain Name Server
6277 SpamAssassin / DCC (email scanning)
-----

Code:


Common ICMP (inbound) types
IG_ICMP_TYPES="3,5,11,0,30,8"

-----
0 Echo Reply
3 Destination Unreachable
5 Destination Unreachable
8 Echo
11 Time Exceeded
30 Traceroute
-----

Code:


Common egress (outbound) TCP ports
EG_TCP_CPORTS="21,25,37,53,80,110,113,#123,443,43,873,953,2089,2703,3306"

-----
21 FTP
25 SMTP
37 Required for CPANEL Licensing
53 DNS - Domain Name Server
80 HTTP
110 POP3 (if you have scripts that need to retrieve email via POP, e.g. HelpDesk)
113 Authentication Protocol (AUTH)
123 NTP (Network Time)
443 HTTPS
43 WHOIS
873 rsync (CPanel updates)
953 BIND ??
2089 Required for CPANEL Licensing
2703 Razor (email scanning)
3306 mySQL remote access
-----

Code:


Common egress (outbound) UDP ports
EG_UDP_CPORTS="20,21,53,873,953,6277"

-----
20 ftp-data
21 FTP
53 DNS - Domain Name Server
873 rsync
953 BIND ??
6277 SpamAssassin / DCC (email scanning)
-----

Code:


Common ICMP (outbound) types
EG_ICMP_TYPES="all"

Save the changes then exit.

To start APF

At command prompt type: /usr/local/sbin/apf -s

APF commands are:

-s start
-r restart
-f flush - stop
-l list
-st status
-a HOST allow HOST
-d HOST deny HOST

Log out of SSH and then login again.

After you are sure everything is working fine, change the DEV option

At command prompt type: cd /etc/apf

At command prompt type: pico -w conf.apf

Scroll down and find

DEVM="1"

change it to

DEVM="0"

Save changes, exit and then restart firewall,

At command prompt type: /usr/local/sbin/apf -r

Install BFD (Brute Force Detection)

To install BFD, SSH into server and login as root.

At command prompt type: cd /root/

At command prompt type: wget http://www.rfxnetworks.com/downloads/bfd-current.tar.gz

At command prompt type: tar -xvzf bfd-current.tar.gz

At command prompt type: cd bfd-0.4

At command prompt type: ./install.sh

After BFD has been installed, you need to edit the configuration file.

At command prompt type: pico /usr/local/bfd/conf.bfd

Under Enable brute force hack attempt alerts:

Find

ALERT_USR="0"

and change it to

ALERT_USR="1"

Find

EMAIL_USR="root"

and change it to

EMAIL_USR="your@email.com"

Save the changes then exit.

To start BFD

At command prompt type: /usr/local/sbin/bfd -s

Modify LogWatch

Logwatch is a customizable log analysis system. It parses through your system's logs for a given period of time and creates a report analyzing areas that you specify, in as much detail as you require. Logwatch is already installed on most CPanel servers.

To modify LogWatch, SSH into server and login as root.

At command prompt type: pico -w /etc/log.d/conf/logwatch.conf

Scroll down to

MailTo = root

and change to

Mailto = your@email.com

Note: Set the e-mail address to an offsite account incase you get hacked.

Now scroll down to

Detail = Low

Change that to Medium, or High...

Detail = 5 or Detail = 10

Note: High will give you more detailed logs with all actions.

Save and exit.

Use Notepad as a Diary: A new useful utility

2006-07-29T15:00:00.000+04:00

For people who use notepad to write down any info on a day to day basis (//like diary//):

1. Open a blank Notepad file

2. Write .LOG as the first line of the file, followed by a enter. Save the file and close it.

3. Double-click the file to open it and notice that Notepad appends the current date and time to the end of the file and places the cursor on the line after.

4. Type your notes and then save and close the file.

5. Each time you open the file, Notepad repeats the process, appending the time and date to the end of the file and placing the cursor below it.

Resource Saving Tips for shared accounts

2006-05-09T11:56:00.000+04:00

Resource Saving Tips

This tutorial is focused mainly at cPanel users but is for everybody who would like to get a little extra bang for their buck. Resources are what it is all about in the webmaster world and conserving some resources is crucial in money management. Even if you think you may have pulled all measures to save resources this may be a helpful tutorial. Yet again you may already know everything here. Read on to find out.

Conserving Bandwidth

Bandwidth is what is all about, do you have enough to get your visitors what they need with sufficient overhead? Too much overhead is a waste but too little overhead will make you lose customers, so how do you determine how much bandwidth you will use? How do you save bandwidth?

A little known method of bandwidth saving tips (mostly because hosts do not want you to know) is a very simple one... using the control panel from your domain contributes to your overall bandwidth. Use your hosts domain instead
For example: instead of going to http://yourdomain.com/cpanel for cPanel go to http://yourhost.com/cpanel (switching "yourhost" with your hosts website)
Disable HotLinking - HotLinking is where people will link from another website to your images or downloads and not give your website any credit. Basically the images are on your website and this website just links image tags to your website, Basically they are stealing your bandwidth. There is a tutorial on how to go about this if you are not sure how to accomplish this.
Enable caching on your website if its not dynamic. Caching will allow the end users computer to read from your server once in a while, the rest of the times it will read from its own backup copies until they expire.
Optimize your images for the internet and shrink their size, never use bitmap files (.bmp) and stick to jpeg (.jpg) or gif (.gif) files for images, these are optimized for the internet. There are conversion programs out there and there are optimization programs, be sure to get an optimization program that will be able to retain the images quality while drastically reducing its size. More than 50% of the bandwidth on most websites comes from images.
If you run any forums or submission scripts on your website ensure that they are secured (require a validation code for submission or login) this will reduce the possibilities of people making bots to spam your website and will reduce bandwidth usage.
Websites that have Large images, Videos, MP3's, and large files will use a lot of bandwidth. Some websites may need these but if you are sure your website doesn't need them then don't use them. It will save A lot of bandwidth
Limiting robot scanning can help greatly, this includes bots by google, msn, and yahoo alike. All you have to do is create a robots.txt and tell the bots what and what not to index. You can also do this with .htaccess if you are experienced enough.
Look at your logs of visitors, if you see any suspicious activity of what you may believe to be a bandwidth hog you can block these users from accessing your website via .htaccess or cPanel

Taking these measures Will save bandwidth but will not ensure you not to go over your limit. If you have a popular website be equipped with a lot of bandwidth respectively. Typically you should have 15% - 45% extra overhead on your bandwidth. You can calculate used bandwidth by how many hits you will be expecting by the average size of all of your files.

Conserving Storage

Storage is the second most important factor in web hosting with bandwidth in the lead. Storage is the amount of space you have to put files on the web server. Most websites generally do not use much storage, the most of what they use is bandwidth. However some sites make the exception and provide a multitude of things or just some big files. Either way here are some conservation tips on storage.

Zip up all files meant to be downloaded - if you want to have a database of downloads or just offer a couple of downloads this will greatly reduce the amount of space and bandwidth you use. If you are offering big documents for download as well (over 250kb) you should zip these up as well.
Optimize images - as said in bandwidth conservation, images play a majority in resources on the typical website. Optimizing images for the web is a rather crucial step in resource conservation.
Avoid Duplicate files - Duplicate files do you no good, make your hyperlinks point to the same file rather than the same file in 2 places on your account. This also makes updating much easier as you only have to update only one file.
Manage Backups - While backups are helpful they will pile up, Keep no more than 3 backups on your web hosting account simultaneously. Consider the fact that the backups are almost the size of your entire account, so 2 backups more than doubles your accounts disk usage in the typical scenario. Usually you should make the backup, download it, then delete it from FTP. However having a backup of the backup on the webserver will not hurt.
File Management - Remove unneeded, unlinked files. These files will be serving you no good anyway.
Use Dynamic Pages if you can, Dynamic pages do not require every page to be stored and can prove helpful. Instead of having multiple pages you can have one main file with a bunch of files that are included or generated via a language such as PHP. MySQL also helps in this as well, it is a further extent of space saving.

Saving space on a webserver is very easy and webspace isn't in as much demand as bandwidth, however the storage can be a deciding factor in your web hosting price. Be sure to not use any excess to save yourself hassle and bills. Whether you are a website offering many downloads or a website with no downloads conserving space is a very helpful practice.

Other Conservation Tips

Although the main conservation tips have been stated there are some you should know about...

MySQL/PostgreSQL Management - Be sure that you do not use too many, you can put different scripts in the same database for compacting. This will allow for you to meet your limit without having to go over. MySQL databases are almost always limited due to the fact they may be resource strenuous, as a countermeasure webhosts limit these to provide a cleaner service.
If you have severly limited e-mails use them wisely, instead of using a different e-mail for a different service or function try to mix them together and have a generalization mix. So instead of having support@yourdomain.com and billing@yourdomain.com and request@yourdomain.com you could sum them all down to websitename@yourdomain.com

Resource saving is helpful, especially when you are tight for money. Follow these tips and you should be better off for a cleaner, more effecient web hosting experience.
- Howard

How private are our emails?

2006-01-26T23:14:00.000+04:00

Like any average user, I was under the impression that my emails are relatively secure and could only be viewed by the recipient. Imagine my surprise, when I discovered that all emails whether by Yahoo/Gmail or by local ISPs are sent similar to the open postcard which can be read by the postmen, the staff at the post office who come in contact with the postcard, and the post office will retain a copy of all my personal and business mails.

The irony was that the intended recipient would need a password to get access to the email whereas most of the people /computers involved in the email delivery system gets a free copy!

It may be argued, that given the volume of emails, who will have time to peep into ones mails. But I would not want to leave my house door wide open giving the thieves GET IN MY HOUSE FREE CARD. Nor would I want my competitors to get hands on my pricing or quotations or my company’s system administrator to get a copy of my new job offer. Thats what happens when we use Yahoo/MSN/Gmail and other similar mail servers. (Although they do offer other great services, but not sufficient privacy.)

I came across two interesting FREE mail servers which promises us PGP encryption security. (they claim to be one of the best in the world) They are www.s-mail.com and www.hushmail.com . They are not rich in graphics, free storage space and features like those of Yahoo, Gmail etc., but offer us good privacy. Hushmail also has secure “type chat” but no voice chat. There would be much wider and better choices available on the net. Do let us all know if any of you have come up with a better secure FREE mail servers.

If you do intend to use Hushmail.com, do make sure you select a long passPHRASE of atleast seven words, as oppose to the usual passWORD. Because it uses individual passPHRASE to base its encryption for your email account.

My intention in this mail to let all laymen’s like me, know how their emails are being processed, and can exercise due diligence depending on their own privacy requirement.

Yusuf Yemani

Where did your dedicated server come from?

2006-01-22T00:18:00.000+04:00

Before you buy
Before you make that commitment to dedicated hosting, you should know where your machine came from. Is it new? Are any of the components refurbished? Is it a Dell, a Compaq or even a “clone”?

These are all very important questions that may not be approached unless you specifically ask.

For example, many Internet Service Providers will tell you that your dedicated server has a Pentium processor, or a Western Digital hard drive –but what does that really tell you about the reliability of your machine?

Virtually all computer hardware components that conform to IBM industry standards can be purchased separately. Anyone with a little know-how and the proper motivation can build an IBM compatible “clone” computer in a matter of hours, utilizing virtually the same hardware components found in any name brand machine.

To clone or not to clone
When properly manufactured and maintained by a knowledgeable IT staff, clone computers can perform just as well as those manufactured by the industry giants such as Dell and Compaq. But when you purchase a clone machine, you quite literally have absolutely no idea who manufactured it and under what conditions. In comparison, when you purchase a name brand computer, you know that it was manufactured under rigorous quality control standards and is backed in its entirety by a manufacturer’s warranty. Often times, if a name brand machine experiences a major hardware malfunction –the entire unit will be replaced, free of charge and with no questions asked.

The pitfalls of Computer “Clones”
As previously mentioned, only each individual hardware component is guaranteed by the original manufacturer’s warranty when dealing with clone computers. If your Western Digital hard drive fails, it must be sent back to Western Digital (for example). If your Pentium processor fails, it must be sent back to an Intel distribution center. If you begin to experience multiple problems with your clone machine, you could soon find yourself lost in a seemingly endless maze of Return Merchandise Authorization forms, warranties and late night e-mails.

A few more things to consider
Of course, your Internet Service Provider will assume the responsibility of wading through the support process in the case of a severe system failure, but would you sleep better at night knowing that they can simply place a single call to your server’s manufacturer in order to resolve the issue? Or are you okay with the knowledge that many vendors, manufacturers and distribution centers may get involved in the process before the issue is fully resolved?

Various start-up hosting companies offer clone servers as a means to cut costs. Purchasing the components separately and then building the machine onsite can result in saving hundreds of dollars per unit –as opposed to purchasing the pricier, pre-configured name brand units. If your ISP does not explicitly mention the manufacturer of your server, you should ask for this information. There could be a possibility that your machine was not built by an industry leader, is not backed by a full warranty and could be more trouble than it’s worth.

__________________
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Never Overlook Your Local Market

2006-01-04T23:46:00.000+04:00

All to often, online businesses forget about the vast opportunities available right at home in their local community. Never overlook this market!

Local Community Newspapers
Chances are that your local newspaper has a “business directory” section where you can display a small business card sized ad at a very affordable rate. I’ve seen prices as low as $10 per week! This is a great way to promote your brand in your local area.

You may also want to create a special promotion only available to your local community. Advertise this promotion with a display ad and you’ll be delighted at the response. I’ve seen a quarter page display ad that costs under $200 generate over $1000 in new revenues!

You can also utilize classified advertising in your local newspaper for only pennies a day! Yes, people do read the classifieds. Make sure to add BOLD TEXT to your title to increase the visibility of your message.

Trade Shows
Trade shows are one of the best ways to generate new business. To get a booth at a trade show or convention might cost anywhere from $100 to $1000. You will have the opportunity to personally promote your brand face to face to thousands of potential clients who are actually interested in your products or services. This kind of face to face contact is priceless!

Hold a Seminar
It sounds strange but seminars are fantastic ways to promote your business and to promote the fact that you are a true professional with extensive knowledge in your line of business. Someone they can trust! Make sure that all of your marketing materials promote your brand at every chance. Plus, you can charge a small registration fee to offset the cost of the room and pay for your time.

Example: A web site development firm might want to host a 1 hour seminar on “creating a successful online presence” or “Generating additional sales online”. A small conference room that holds 50 - 60 people might cost about $350 (including light refreshments). If you charge $10 and get a turn out of 50, you would generate $500.00 (Leaving you with $150 profit). Plus, that’s 50 business owners that have a very good change to actually become a paying client!

Check with your local chamber of commerce for upcoming business seminars and events that you can take part in. You might also want to join your local chamber of commerce. Many times, members will only do business with other members so it’s a great market to tap into.

Google's Secret Domain Name Registration Policy

2005-12-23T01:02:00.000+04:00

I was reading a forum post by Willie Crawford who is one of my favorite Internet marketers. Willie brought up a point that Google may favor ranking domains that have longer registration periods. His source, a domain name registrar, stated the following:

"As part of Google's recent patent application, Google made apparent its efforts to wipe out search engine spam, stating:

'Valuable (legitimate) domains are often paid for several years in advance, while doorway (illegitimate) domains rarely are used for more than a year. Therefore, the date when a domain expires in the future can be used as a factor in predicting the legitimacy of a domain and, thus, the documents associated therewith.'

Domains registered for longer periods give the indication, true or not, that their owner is legitimate. Google uses a domain's length of registration when indexing and ranking a Web site for inclusion in their organic search results.

To prove to everyone that your site is the real deal, register for more than one year and increase your chances of boosting your search ranking on Google."

Some domain name registrars are inclined to promote this position because it may motivate their customers to increase the terms of their domain registration, thereby increasing the
profits of the registrar.

That being said, I can also understand Google and other search engines considering the term of a domain registration as a small part of their algorithm used to determine free rankings of a website in their search engine. It is the job of every search engine to provide the most relevant search results possible and it is often the website owners who have a long-term mindset that are providing the most value to their visitors.

Aside from the search engines, I do know that some website visitors also check how long a domain is registered as part of their own personal due diligence to decide if they want to do business with a company or not. Think about it... If you are providing a service and your potential customer goes to http://www.whois.net and finds out that your domain expires in less than a year, they might think you're a "fly-by-night" company that won't be there when they need you and decide not to do business with you.

All in all, I believe it's important to have a long-term mindset when building your Internet business. If it helps you even slightly to get a better search engine ranking or increase the trust that potential customers have in your website, registering a domain name for a few extra years is a sound investment.

Inspired by this insight myself, I just added 5 additional years of registration do my Dotcomology.com domain which is now currently set to expire in the year 2012. I plan to be around until then and hopefully much longer. What about you?

------
Copyright © Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy
http://www.Dotcomology.com

Stone Evans is the author of "Dotcomology - The Science of Making Money Online" and he wants you to know that you shouldn't pay a dime for any ebook, marketing course, software program or anything else until you've read the groundbreaking document you
can download free at: http://www.Dotcomology.com

Is Your Web Hosting Fast Enough?

2005-10-29T02:42:00.000+04:00

Ever try to get to your own web site only to discover that it seems to take a long time for the page to load? Here are a few pointers on how exactly to understand and quantify your page load times.

First a few basics – there are many potential culprits when trying to track down why your page is loading so slowly – for example:

Your Local Internet Connection and Modem – Are you only connected to the Internet with a dial-up connection through a 14.4 K modem? Well…HELLO!…it’s gonna take a while for those large graphics on your page to load at that speed.

Your Local Personal Computer – Are you still using that “boat anchor” computer that you got back in the early 1990’s? Does it have an 8086 processes or with 64 meg of RAM? If so, your machine can slow down your Internet page loads.

Network Congestion – This is a catch-all phrase that most of the tech support folks will use when you call them. While it is possible for the specific portion of the Internet that you are connected with to be experiencing a general slowdown, this is rarely the cause of a slow loading web site.

WAY Too Many Large Graphics on Your Pages – Now we’re getting somewhere. A fairly common cause of slow pages load times (especially on a dial-up connection) is simply too many humungous files to download.

A Glitch in Your Script – Many times a simple plug-in or script that is expecting a common browser setting or cookie condition can hang. This is most common when you are testing or uploading new components to your web site.

Broken Links or Images – Often a simple typo in a URL will cause pages to hang while the Internet is off looking for a page or graphic that doesn’t actually exist.

Got Spyware? – Let’s face it, unless you watch your system like a HAWK, it’s possible that there are internal stealth programs that can slow your browsing experience to a crawl. Check early, check often for spyware.

Finally, Maybe Your Hosting Provider is Just Plain S – L – O – W.

Here is a simple step-by-step way to check your web site and to quantify how fast the page is actually loading from multiple locations around the world.

We’re going to use a free tool located at: www.alertra.com. Go to the upper right hand corner of the Alertra site to an input box labeled ‘Spot Check’ with the words ‘Enter URL’ next to it. Type in your website’s URL and click the ‘check’ button to the right of the input box. I will be describing the results I got when checking ‘Yahoo.com’.

Alertra checked the site from multiple worldwide locations including Hong Kong, China – Las Vegas, USA – and Atlanta, USA. Under ‘Result’ we see that the site loaded okay at each location. The page size is listed under ‘Kbytes’. The real deal is the next column: ‘Secs’. That is the exact time that the page took to download entirely at that location. The site loaded in under a second in Las Vegas, while it took a long 7.66 seconds in Atlanta.

Use the tool for your own URL and see what the results are. You can also type in the URL of several competitors and see if their sites load faster or slower than yours. You can also make changes to your site and quantify the difference in page load times.

Experts generally agree that if your pages are taking any longer than a few seconds to load, you could be losing visitors and sales to a faster loading competitor.

Good luck using this free tool to examine and understand your page load times. One last thought, make sure to check your pages multiple times throughout the day and get an average page load time. This will even out any irregularities that might sneak onto the Internet during the day.

Tutorial: simple backup rotation scripts

2005-09-18T19:02:00.000+04:00

I received several requests to post my backup scripts. Before I start, I think some background info is needed (i.e. what their purpose is): I've written them as part of the "Enterprise Class Backup" system we offer for webhosting accounts. Following rotation is used:

1) Full account backups:
a) on-server (dedicated hard drive used only for storing backups)
- daily backups, 7 days rotation
- weekly backups, 4 weeks rotation
- the standard daily/weekly/monthly cPanel backups are also available on this drive (1 day/1 week/1 month rotation)
b) off-server (another server in the same datacenter)
- weekly backups, 12 weeks rotation
c) off-site (stored on DVDs in a Swiss bank vault)
- monthly backups, 24 months rotation

2) MySQL database backups:
a) on-server (dedicated hard drive used only for storing backups)
- hourly backups, 24 hours rotation
b) off-server (another server in the same datacenter)
- daily backups, 7 days rotation
c) off-site
- weekly backups, stored on the monthly DVDs

Step by step guide

First of all, I'll describe the environment that's needed to run these scripts 1:1. This is a cPanel server running GNU/Linux, and while cPanel is not neccessary (you could use any other backups instead of the daily cPanel account backups, just modify the scripts), I can't say on what non-GNU/Linux OSes it would work without changes. Since we're talking about simple shell commands, they might work on other *Nix OSes like *BSD or Solaris, but I haven't tested it. You're welcome to post your findings.

a) on-server backups

You'll need a certain directory structure so the scripts work without modifications. The backup hard drive is mounted as /backup and has the following directories:

/backup/cpbackup : here are the cPanel backups. The three subdirs will be created automatically by cPanel/WHM.

/backup/rotation: this is where my scripts write their output. You need to create following subdirs: hourly, daily, weekly, monthly. You don't need to create any directories under these subdirs, the scripts will take care of that.

Let's start with the hourly rotation for MySQL backups. These aren't compressed because their primary purpose is if a client suddenly calls you in tears saying they just destroyed/corrupted/whatever their big and important DB 5 minutes ago, you can just copy back their files from the backup location to the /var/lib/mysql subdir and they'll be happy. This is my script in /etc/cron.hourly (file permissions 7xx):

code:

#!/bin/sh
rm -rf /backup/rotation/hourly/$(date +"%H")
mkdir /backup/rotation/hourly/$(date +"%H")
cp -R /var/lib/mysql/* /backup/rotation/hourly/$(date +"%H")

The daily rotation runs a couple of hours after the cPanel nightly backup and copies the latest account backups into the directory that corresponds to the current day and keeps them for 7 days before overwriting them:

code:

#!/bin/sh
rm -rf /backup/rotation/daily/$(date +"%u")
mkdir /backup/rotation/daily/$(date +"%u")
cp -R /backup/cpbackup/daily/* /backup/rotation/daily/$(date +"%u")

It's in /etc/cron.daily of course and needs to be owner executable (7xx).

The weekly rotation script does the same. Note that this one doesn't have an automatic delete mechanism (well a 52-week one), because I prefer to monitor available disc space and as long as there are sufficient reserves I keep the files, longer than advertised (after all, advertising and SLA is in my eyes the minimum, more is always OK). The script is located in /etc/cron.weekly and needs to be chmoded to 7xx.

code:

#!/bin/sh
rm -rf /backup/rotation/weekly/$(date +"%V")
mkdir /backup/rotation/weekly/$(date +"%V")
cp -R /backup/cpbackup/daily/* /backup/rotation/weekly/$(date +"%V")

The monthly script adds some new twists for still another layer of security: there have been reports again and again that cPanel/WHM corrupted a certain account's backup and all backup files were useless. In this case, the following (mind you, storage space wasting) addition makes sure that in this worst case you still have the majority of data for the customer. While it needs you to setup the account from scratch and copy lots of things into it and still do some of the steps manually (like setting up the MySQL DBs and users in cPanel), at least all website data, MySQL DBs, e-mails stored on the server, webstat outputs etc is still available. The script goes into /etc/cron.monthly and has a 7xx permission.

code:

#!/bin/sh
rm -rf /backup/rotation/monthly/$(date +"%m")
mkdir /backup/rotation/monthly/$(date +"%m")
cp -R /backup/cpbackup/daily /backup/rotation/monthly/$(date +"%m")
cp -R /var/lib/mysql /backup/rotation/monthly/$(date +"%m")
cp -R /home /backup/rotation/monthly/$(date +"%m")

b) off-server backups

These are stored on an external backup server to which I have only FTP access (thus no fancy stuff). The first is the MySQL daily backup, located in /etc/cron.daily (7xx as always):

code:

#!/bin/sh
cd /backup/rotation
tar -zcf mysql_$(date +"%F").tar.gz /var/lib/mysql/*
ftp -in <open 127.0.0.1
user yourusername yourpassword
bin
hash
prompt
put mysql_$(date +"%F").tar.gz
bye
rm -f mysql_$(date +"%F").tar.gz

You need to modify three variables: IP address (or hostname) where you connect to, username and password for the FTP access. I have to admit that the last line doesn't work (not yet sure why), the files are put but then they aren't deleted from the local place. Since these are relatively small and I've got ample storage space, I didn't look into this further (yet).

Next is the weekly FTP backup. This is a rather crude job, taking lots of CPU horsepower if you've got lots of accounts. It creates a giant .tar.gz of everything in the daily cPanel backup dir and pushes this on to the FTP backup server. Since by now we're speaking about disaster recovery backups (which you should not need in a normal case), I prefer having them in one big file instead of many small ones (if you prefer hundreds of small files every week in your FTP space, you can always use the mput command):

code:

#!/bin/sh
cd /backup/rotation
tar -zcf cpbackup_$(date +"%F").tar.gz /backup/cpbackup/daily/*
ftp -in <open 127.0.0.1
user yourusername yourpassword
bin
hash
prompt
put cpbackup_$(date +"%F").tar.gz
bye
rm -f cpbackup_$(date +"%F").tar.gz

Same comments apply as to the daily job.

There is no monthly FTP job because in its place is the monthly off-site backup job.

c) off-site backups

The off-site part is done manually, I first copy the contents of /backup/cpbackup/daily to a directory with FTP access, then use an FTP client to download the files to a local machine and shovel them on a DVD. For the weekly MySQL part, I prefer to use the most recent state, so I create a .tar.gz directly into an FTP-accessible directory and download it.

Notes

* You shouldn't even try to set up this system on an overloaded or low-end server.
* You cannot sell even remotely all the space on your primary hard drive (unless your backup drive is several times larger).
* I am aware that doing full backups every time is the most space-wasting kind of backup, but I prefer it over more sophisticated methods because with a differential or incremental backup system once you lose the starting point, the rest is so much dead bytes. With full backups, any single one stands on its own.
* Offering such a sophisticated solution on a per client basis (like a paid addon) needs only small modifications: all you need is to specify the account backup files and the subdirs in /var/lib/mysql that are to be part of the process. You could e.g. solve it by creating a dir where you first copy over the needed files from the original places, and then run the backup scripts on that directory.

Backing up while webhost is down

2005-09-18T18:46:00.000+04:00

If you forgot to back your content up, sometimes it is possible to retrieve it when your webhost is down & both URL & IP addresses don't work [this will not work with all hosts!]

1. If you don't know what your webhost's IP address is, go to this site & look it up by typing in the address of your webhost.

2. Login using the IP address as the address. Use the same username & password that you signed up with in the first place.

All of your files should be there. Unfortunately, you won't have access to any database files, unless you backed them up or they were backed up automatically & saved in a zip file. You should have access to your mail folder, so you can save any emails you want. However, you have access to database files via cpanel if you access it through IPaddress/cpanel

This is especially good if you plan on switching webhosts right away.

Server Side HTML

2005-09-09T01:00:00.000+04:00

What the Heck is Server Side HTML?
By Robert Plank

If you're stuck in the dark ages and are still editing the pages of your web site by hand, there's an easy way to change the look of your web site on a moment's notice, by editing only one file.

I know, there are all kinds of brand new blogging scripts, forums, CMSes, and other stuff to make your site easy to update. But on the other hand there are just as many desktop-based programs that churn out thousands of static HTML files for you to put on your server.

What do you do when you have to change these files later? Edit them by hand, one at a time? I don't think so.

You can save a lot of time down the road using Server Side Includes (SSI).

The point of using Server Side HTML is so you can include other pages on your regular HTML pages, things like a list of links you regularly update OR a header and footer.

Try it out. Take one of those static HTML pages on your site and rename it to something like "filename.shtml" instead of "filename.html." All we've done is changed the "html" at the end to "shtml."

Now, take the part of that site you want to appear on every page (the header graphic, link sidebar, etc.), copy and paste that part and save it into a file named "header.shtml." REMOVE that text from your filename.shtml file.

Now, in the filename.shtml file, place this at the top:

[!--#include virtual="/header.shtml"--]

(IMPORTANT: Replace the brackets [ and ] above with the greater-than and less-than "HTML" brackets... hold shift and press the "comma" and "period" keys on your keyboard.)

Upload filename.shtml and header.shtml to your server and load header.shtml. If everything went well, the page should look exactly as it did before. The only difference is: you only need that one "include virtual" line to show the top of the page, AND to change that top HTML later on all you have to do is edit header.shtml.

If you had this sort of code on 20,000 pages of your web site all you'd have to do was edit that ONE header.shtml file, and your entire site would change as soon as you uploaded that header.shtml file.

Not bad, huh?

Now do the same thing with the bottom of your web site, only save the new file as footer.shtml and at the bottom of filename.shtml place this:

[!--#include virtual="/header.shtml"--]

Again, not that exact code... replace the hard-brackets with HTML brackets.

But wait, your fancy page generator software will only save the files as .HTM or .HTML, and specifically links to certain files. You can't just go in and edit everything to link to .SHTML files.

Htaccess to the rescue.

Place this in a new text file:

AddHandler server-parsed .shtml .html .htm

Save that as "htaccess.txt", upload to your web server, and rename that htaccess.txt file you just uploaded to ".htaccess", WITH the dot in front. Now try renaming filename.shtml to filename.html. Guess what, your server side includes now work on .html and .htm files too.

Hopefully your page generator software allows you to edit the template and place these server-side include tags in there. (If not, look into a program called BKReplaceEm.) Don't worry, the pages will look funny and broken on your hard drive but once they are sitting on your web server everything will turn out ok.

If you find yourself doing a bunch of repetitive HTML editing it might be time to look into Server Side Includes to make instant changes.

You know what else, you can use a similar bit of HTACCESS code to make PHP scripts act as HTML files. That, plus 35 more "Why Didn't I Think of Those" secrets are revealed in my upcoming ebook: http://www.affiliatebattleplan.com

Optimize your hosting experiance.

2005-09-05T07:16:00.000+04:00

Resource Saving Tips

This tutorial is focused mainly at cPanel users but is for everybody who would like to get a little extra bang for their buck. Resources are what it is all about in the webmaster world and conserving some resources is crucial in money management. Even if you think you may have pulled all measures to save resources this may be a helpful tutorial. Yet again you may already know everything here. Read on to find out.

Conserving Bandwidth

Bandwidth is what is all about, do you have enough to get your visitors what they need with sufficient overhead? Too much overhead is a waste but too little overhead will make you lose customers, so how do you determine how much bandwidth you will use? How do you save bandwidth?

* A little known method of bandwidth saving tips (mostly because hosts do not want you to know) is a very simple one... using the control panel from your domain contributes to your overall bandwidth. Use your hosts domain instead
For example: instead of going to http://yourdomain.com/cpanel for cPanel go to http://yourhost.com/cpanel (switching "yourhost" with your hosts website)
* Disable HotLinking - HotLinking is where people will link from another website to your images or downloads and not give your website any credit. Basically the images are on your website and this website just links image tags to your website, Basically they are stealing your bandwidth. There is a tutorial on how to go about this if you are not sure how to accomplish this.
* Enable caching on your website if its not dynamic. Caching will allow the end users computer to read from your server once in a while, the rest of the times it will read from its own backup copies until they expire.
* Optimize your images for the internet and shrink their size, never use bitmap files (.bmp) and stick to jpeg (.jpg) or gif (.gif) files for images, these are optimized for the internet. There are conversion programs out there and there are optimization programs, be sure to get an optimization program that will be able to retain the images quality while drastically reducing its size. More than 50% of the bandwidth on most websites comes from images.
* If you run any forums or submission scripts on your website ensure that they are secured (require a validation code for submission or login) this will reduce the possibilities of people making bots to spam your website and will reduce bandwidth usage.
* Websites that have Large images, Videos, MP3's, and large files will use a lot of bandwidth. Some websites may need these but if you are sure your website doesn't need them then don't use them. It will save A lot of bandwidth
* Limiting robot scanning can help greatly, this includes bots by google, msn, and yahoo alike. All you have to do is create a robots.txt and tell the bots what and what not to index. You can also do this with .htaccess if you are experienced enough.
* Look at your logs of visitors, if you see any suspicious activity of what you may believe to be a bandwidth hog you can block these users from accessing your website via .htaccess or cPanel

Taking these measures Will save bandwidth but will not ensure you not to go over your limit. If you have a popular website be equipped with a lot of bandwidth respectively. Typically you should have 15% - 45% extra overhead on your bandwidth. You can calculate used bandwidth by how many hits you will be expecting by the average size of all of your files.

Conserving Storage

Storage is the second most important factor in web hosting with bandwidth in the lead. Storage is the amount of space you have to put files on the web server. Most websites generally do not use much storage, the most of what they use is bandwidth. However some sites make the exception and provide a multitude of things or just some big files. Either way here are some conservation tips on storage.

* Zip up all files meant to be downloaded - if you want to have a database of downloads or just offer a couple of downloads this will greatly reduce the amount of space and bandwidth you use. If you are offering big documents for download as well (over 250kb) you should zip these up as well.
* Optimize images - as said in bandwidth conservation, images play a majority in resources on the typical website. Optimizing images for the web is a rather crucial step in resource conservation.
* Avoid Duplicate files - Duplicate files do you no good, make your hyperlinks point to the same file rather than the same file in 2 places on your account. This also makes updating much easier as you only have to update only one file.
* Manage Backups - While backups are helpful they will pile up, Keep no more than 3 backups on your web hosting account simultaneously. Consider the fact that the backups are almost the size of your entire account, so 2 backups more than doubles your accounts disk usage in the typical scenario. Usually you should make the backup, download it, then delete it from FTP. However having a backup of the backup on the webserver will not hurt.
* File Management - Remove unneeded, unlinked files. These files will be serving you no good anyway.
* Use Dynamic Pages if you can, Dynamic pages do not require every page to be stored and can prove helpful. Instead of having multiple pages you can have one main file with a bunch of files that are included or generated via a language such as PHP. MySQL also helps in this as well, it is a further extent of space saving.

Saving space on a webserver is very easy and webspace isn't in as much demand as bandwidth, however the storage can be a deciding factor in your web hosting price. Be sure to not use any excess to save yourself hassle and bills. Whether you are a website offering many downloads or a website with no downloads conserving space is a very helpful practice.

Other Conservation Tips

Although the main conservation tips have been stated there are some you should know about...

* MySQL/PostgreSQL Management - Be sure that you do not use too many, you can put different scripts in the same database for compacting. This will allow for you to meet your limit without having to go over. MySQL databases are almost always limited due to the fact they may be resource strenuous, as a countermeasure webhosts limit these to provide a cleaner service.
* If you have severly limited e-mails use them wisely, instead of using a different e-mail for a different service or function try to mix them together and have a generalization mix. So instead of having support@yourdomain.com and billing@yourdomain.com and request@yourdomain.com you could sum them all down to websitename@yourdomain.com

Resource saving is helpful, especially when you are tight for money. Follow these tips and you should be better off for a cleaner, more effecient web hosting experience.
- Howard

Malware

2005-07-13T11:16:00.000+04:00

There is a range of unpleasant malware out there that can literally place your PC & its data into some1 else’s hand. Even if this thing or possibility doesn’t concern you, the more immediate effects of spyware, Trojans & dialers probably will. Means if u doesn’t take care of ur computer and if u try to ignore these things then u should better understand that these things will not ignore ur computer means these things are searching such computers on internet which have no protection against themselves so they can easily attack ur computer. Once any of these things gets into ur computer then ur computer will start behaving in an abnormal way.. or your ur computer will give u slow performance. In case of dialers, the first you may know about them is when an impossibly high phone bill arrives on ur doormat.

Most of the people are familiar with the concept of a computer virus : the self-replicating piece of code that hides inside another program or documents so that you unwittingly pass it on to other machines, thus spreading the infection. However, viruses are only one kind of malware, which is the term used to describe any potentially harmful software. There’s a whole list of other types of such things which do different things as per instructions.

You may well have come across a worm, which is often mistakenly called a virus& works in a similar way, except that it doesn’t need ur help to execute it…. as it can infect other computers effectively by itself. The Trojan may also be familiar to you. It’s a program that at first appears very interesting and even useful or fun to install, but once you run it the unpleasant contents are revealed, although not always immediately. Means Trojans are software that all of us install in our computer mistakenly and after getting access to ur computer it starts slowing down your computer or start doing some other works in ur computer not immediately but it do that.

You also probably familiar with spyware & adware programs that exist to promote other services either with or without your permission and that may collect marketing information about you. I think it’s better if I explain u some common malware types in a good way.. let c how can I do that hmm…

And now just c below THE SUSPECT LIST. The name below are the most common malware candidates. The below spyware programs are explained with the software name too …..means.. I am explaining u the spyware type with a true example that if u install that software then wat will happen or wat kind of spyware will get installed or…. Aaaahhh… wat should I say.. just c the details below then u will get to know that wat I am trying to say hahah…

SPYWARE: -

How it Works : Spyware is software that collects data on the PC user without his or her knowledge. This may include logging the web sites visited or even caching credit card numbers in severe cases.

Example : Gator ( This is a software which is available for download on internet) if u download and installed in ur computer then it starts producing pop-ups & partially disable firewalls. It’s manufacturer, the claria corporation denies that the application is spuware but if u install this software in ur computer then surely strange things will do gets start.

WORM: -

How it Works : Worms are similar to viruses, but they are self contained & don’t need to insert themselves into other programs or files. They use email or other file transmitting capabilities of PCs to disperse themselves.

Example : MyDoom, first detected at the end of January 2004, spread rapidly & caused a global internet slowdown.. sure it was really interesting to c that who ever developed such thing … his bug has slow down the internet world wide… it was a real disaster situation.

EXPLOIT: -

How it Works : An exploit is a piece of software designed to take advantage of a bug or flaw in another program, providing access to the host PC or the ability to damage it.

Example : Exploits tend to be known by the vulnerability that they use, like the recent OLE & COM vulnerability patched by Microsoft in February 2005.

WABBIT: -

How it Works : Wabbits are self-contained like worms, but they don’t replicate via networks. Instead they multiply repeatedly on the local computer, seriously affecting its performance, although they may have other ill effects built in, too.

Example : Cookie Monster, named after its sesame street inspiration. What it does is that it locks up the terminals, causing them to repeatedly demand cookies.

ROOT KIT: -

How it Works : There is a set of tools installed remotely on a system once it has been hacked. Root Kits exist for most operating systems & may differ depending on the method used to crack your PC.

Example : Specific examples are hard to point to, but rootkits can either give access to the Operating System “kernel” (core service of any operating system) or to applications running remotely.

TROJAN HORSE: -

How it Works : A Trojan is a malicious program disguised as legitimate software. It often renders your defenses useless or opens a backdoor for an attacker.

Example : Fraggle Rock emerged in Britain 2001. It logged keystrokes, stole passwords and provided remote access to infected PCs.

DIALLER: -

How it Works : A dialer is designed to use your modem to make an unauthorized phone call, usually to a premium rate number. The victim’s PC runs up big phone bill & the scammer collects the profits.

Example : Mejorbus used the possibility of accessing porn web cams as an enticement to download. It hijacked the browser & dialed the premium rate number at startup.

BACKDOOR: -

How it Works : A backdoor may be installed on your system via a Trojan or worm. It may also have been planted in an otherwise legitimate (legal) application. It provides a way to access your system, usually remotely, while avoiding normal authentication procedure.

Example : The SoBig worm installed backdoor that enabled infected computers to be used as spam relays.

BROWSER HIJACK: -

How it Works : Software designed to hijack your browser may be executed via a Trojan or a worm. It resets your browser home & search pages to ones favoring the site of origin. Undoing this is tricky. Means to remove these browser hijacks from your browser is quite difficult but nothing is impossible..

Example : Fastwebfinder resets the homepage to www.fastwebfinder.com . it also modified the search bar, search page and favourites of internet explorer (only).

ADWARE: -

How it Works : I think I heard this name b4. This describes software supported by advertising. In it’s most kind form, adware displays advertisements within a program. However, more intrusive advertising might trigger pop-ups or even gather marketing data. This crosses over with the next category spyware.

Example : Winad emerged in 2004. Among other behavior, it triggered numerous pop-up adverts in internet explorer (only)

VIRUS: -

How it Works : A virus is a program that can replicate itself. It spreads by inserting copies of itself into other programs or documents, in a similar manner to the way living viruses insert themselves into body cells.

Example : Elk Cloner, thought to be the first computer virus, replicate itself via floppy disks.

What is Business Process Management - BPM?

2005-06-29T11:11:00.000+04:00

Business Process Management or BPM, is the practice of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of any organization by automating the organization's business processes. BPM used to be also know as Business Process Reengineering (BPR).

Many companies have business processes that are unique to its business model. Since these processes tend to evolve over time as the business reacts to market conditions, the BPM solution you choose must be easily adaptable to the new conditions and requirements and continue to be a perfect fit for the company.

In order to use BPM effectively, organizations must stop focusing exclusively on data and data management, and adopt a process-oriented approach that makes no distinction between work done by a human and a computer.

The idea of BPM is to bring processes, people and information together.
Dynamic infrastructure requires separation of flows, business rules and services.
Identifying the business processes is relatively easy. Breaking down the barriers between business areas, and finding owners for the processes is difficult.
BPM not only involves managing business processes within the enterprise but also involves real-time integration of the processes of a company with those of its suppliers, business partners, and customers.
BPM involves looking at automation horizontally instead of vertically.
Business Activity Monitoring (BAM) is essential for measurement of BPM impact.

Examples of BPM tasks that your organization performs that should be automated include:

Expense Reports Travel Requests
Purchase Orders Human Resource Management
New Accounts and Credit Authorizations Sales Orders
Project Management Software Change Management

The following example illustrates the power of BPM:

When a B2B partner needs some inventory, he can log into the web site and order required inventory. An email will be generated and sent to the supervisor responsible for the partner's inventory. The supervisor can click on the link in the email, login to the site and approve the inventory. The partner will be notified of the allocation and the inventory will be shipped.

What is CRM?

2005-06-29T11:06:00.000+04:00

CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. It is a process or methodology used to learn more about customers' needs and behaviors in order to develop stronger relationships with them. There are many technological components to CRM, but thinking about CRM in primarily technological terms is a mistake. The more useful way to think about CRM is as a process that will help bring together lots of pieces of information about customers, sales, marketing effectiveness, responsiveness and market trends.

Goolge Ranking

2005-06-19T11:25:00.000+04:00

Great Site Ranking in Google The Secret's Out

Google recently filed a US patent which reveals a great deal of how they rank your web site. Some of it you could never have guessed at...
By Darren Yates, 6/11/2005

Google recently filed a US patent which reveals a great deal of how they rank your web site. Some of it you could never have guessed at...

How many years did you register your domain name for?
If it was only one then Google could hold that against you.

Why?

Because the majority of Spam websites only register a domain name for one year. A domain name registered for a longer period implies that the owner is more likely to be legitimate and serious about their web site.

This is just one of the unusual factors possibly considered by Google when indexing and ranking a website. Factors you could never even have guessed at in some cases.

How do I know this?

Google recently made public, March 31 2005, the contents of their filing of United States Patent Application 20050071741.

In which many of the search giant’s secret ranking criteria is revealed and it makes very interesting reading. You must read this if you are serious about ranking well in Google. The days of Spamming Google are drawing to a close. With this patent they reveal just how hard they're coming down on Spam sites. You Do Not want to get caught out.

Listed below you will find the hard facts, I recommend that you bookmark this page now. You will need to reference it each time you optimize a new site.

• Links.

It's common knowledge that Google relies heavily on inbound relevant links to rank a site. Now they explain exactly how it works.

As well as the number, quality and anchor text factors of a link. Google seems to also consider historical factors. Apparently the Google 'sandbox' or aging delay begins count down the minute links to a new site are discovered.

Google records the discovery of a link, link changes over time, the speed at which a site gains links and the link life span.

With this in mind, fast link acquisition may be a strong indicator of potential search engine Spam.

Gone are the days of pages and pages full of links. You must grow your links slowly to stay below the radar and be careful who you exchange links with. That means no more buying hundreds of links at once or other underhand tactics.

PR is now very valuable.

Your link anchor text should vary but remain consistent with your site content. No more using your main keywords on every link exchange you gain. That's 'anchor Spam'. Instead vary them around your top five to ten keywords.

Link exchanges are still very important but you must work and utilize them ethically. If you don't and you get caught, the recovery from a ban can be months and your host and IP may also be recorded.

Softly seems to be the message. The fact is fewer but better quality links will benefit you more and they will be much more likely to be over the long-term which is good too.

• Site click through rates (CTR)

CTR may now be monitored through cache, temporary files, bookmarks and favorites via the Google toolbar or desktop tools. Many have suspected for some time that sites are rewarded for good CTR with a raise in ranking. Similar to how Adwords works.

CTR is monitored to see if fresh or stale content is preferred for a search result.

CTR is also analyzed for increases or decreases relating to trends or seasons.

• Web page rankings are recorded and monitored for changes.

• The traffic to a web page is recorded and monitored over time.

• Sites can be ranked seasonally. A ski site may rank higher in the winter than in the summer. Google can monitor and rank pages by recording CTR changes by season.

• Bookmarks and favorites could be monitored for changes, deletions or additions.

• User behavior in general could be monitored.

As Google is capable of tracking traffic to your site you should closely monitor the small amount of copy returned in search results. Ideally you will want to integrate a call to action in there to increase your listings CTR.

Clicks away from your site back to the search results are also monitored. Make your site as sticky as possible to keep visitors there longer. As mentioned above it may also help if you could get your visitors to bookmark you.

• The frequency and amount of page updates is monitored and recorded as is the number of pages.

Mass updates of hundreds of files will see you pop up on the radar.

On the other hand, few or small updates to your site could see your rankings slide --unless your CTR is good. A stale page that receives good traffic may hold it's own and not require an update. So don't update for the sake of it.

Depending on your market, fresh content may not be a requirement. If the information your pages contain do not go out of date then updating may not be necessary. If your market is more news based for example, then changes regularly are a must. In general changes don't necessarily have to mean fresh content. They could involve simple edits to current content.

A further indicator that Google is really cracking down on Spam is made clear in the following extract from the Patent. Reference is made to changing the focus of multiple pages at once.

Here's the quote -
"A significant change over time in the set of topics associated with a document may indicate that the document has changed owners and previous document indicators, such as score, anchor text, etc., are no longer reliable.

Similarly, a spike in the number of topics could indicate Spam. For example, if a particular document is associated with a set of one or more topics over what may be considered a ’stable’ period of time and then a (sudden) spike occurs in the number of topics associated with the document, this may be an indication that the document has been taken over as a ‘doorway’ document.

Another indication may include the sudden disappearance of the original topics associated with the document. If one or more of these situations are detected, then [Google] may reduce the relative score of such documents and/or the links, anchor text, or other data associated the document."

There's still more to look out for:-

• Changes in keyword density is monitored and recorded as are changes to anchor text.

• The domain name owner’s address is considered, most likely to help in a local search result.

• The technical and admin contact details are checked for consistency. These are often falsified for Spam domains.

• Your hosts IP address. If you are on a shared server it's possible somebody else on that server is using dirty tactics or Spamming. If so, your site will suffer since you share the same IP.

The impression I get here is that Google has learned from the Spam 'attack' they suffered in early 2004 and they are determined to eradicate it from their listing results.

So what do you do?

There's a lot to take onboard here and consider. But you can't go far wrong with your SEO if you try to grow your site as organically as possible.

If you know what you are doing you can take short cuts. Carry on with link exchanges but consider each site carefully and slow down in your gathering of them. Vary your anchor text. Add small amounts of good quality content to your site regularly. Check your search engine listings and edit your site to include a call to action in them if possible. Make your site more 'sticky' to encourage visitors to stay a while. Encourage visitors to Bookmark your site. Oh, and register new domain names for at least two years.

Before you do anything remember to reference the above info first. It may just save you months of misery as your site gets banned and 'Sand boxed'.

Overall keep it ethical and you can't go far wrong.

Do not be tempted to Spam. Stick to the guidelines above and you are much more likely to outlast and out rank your competition.

©2000-2004, 2005 Buzzle.com®. All rights reserved.

50 Web Design Tips – that increase your sales!

2005-06-13T13:17:00.000+04:00

by Mario Sanchez

Tips to brand your website

1. Include your logo in all pages. Position it at the top left or each page.

2. Complement your logo with a tagline or catchy sentence that summarizes your business purpose. For example "Always low prices" is the tagline for Wal-Mart.

3. Create a favicon. A favicon is that small graphic that appears next to the URL in the address bar.

4. Have a consistent look and feel in all your pages. Use a color scheme and layout that are clearly recognized across your site.

5. Have an About Us section that includes all relevant information about you and your business.

6. Include a copyright statement at the bottom of each page.

Tips on website navigation

7. Design your pages to load in less than 10 seconds (50Kb maximum size, including pictures).

8. Group your navigational options in relevant categories.

9. Use common names for your menu options: Home, About Us, Contact Us, Help, Products. Avoid "clever" or "trendy" alternatives.

10. If your site uses Flash, provide also an HTML version for users who prefer a less fancy, faster site.

11. Provide simple text navigation links at the bottom of long pages, so users don’t need to scroll back up.

12. Link your logo to your homepage, except in the homepage itself. Put a link to your homepage on all your internal pages.

13. Display a "breadcrumb trail"; it is basically the path from the homepage to the page where you are. A breadcrumb trail looks like this: Home > Section > Sub-Section > Page, and it greatly facilitates navigation.

14. If your site is too big, provide Search capabilities. Include a search box in the upper right corner of your homepage, and a link to a Search page from your interior pages.

15. Set your search box to search your site, not to search the web.

16. Create a custom error page that displays a simple site map with links to the main sections of your site. That way, you will not lose visitors that have followed a bad link to your site or who have misspelled your URL.

Tips on Layout and Content Presentation

17. Save the top of your page for your most important content. Remember: good content must flow to the top.

18. Lay out your page with tables, and set the width in percentage terms instead of a fixed number of pixels. That way, your page will always fit the screen, without the need to scroll horizontally.

19. Optimize your page to be viewed best at 800x600 (the most popular resolution at the time of this writing).

20. Use high contrast for the body of your page: black text on white background, or white text on black background work best.

21. Don’t use too many different fonts in one page. Also, avoid using small serif fonts (like Times Roman): they are difficult to read from a computer screen. Verdana is the most web-friendly font, since it is wide, clean and easy to read.

22. Avoid long blocks of text. Use tools that facilitate scanability, like bullets, subtitles, highlighted keywords, hyperlinks, etc.

23. Avoid amateurish features like: numeric page counters, wholesale use of exclamation points, all caps, center justified blocks of text, excessive animated gifs, busy backgrounds, etc.

24. Don’t use pop-up windows. They distract your visitors and are immediately dismissed as ads.

25. Test your site so that it looks good in different browsers and resolutions.

Tips on Writing for the Web

26. Write in layman’s terms so that everybody can understand your content, unless you’re running a technical site for technical people.

27. Reading from a screen is painful: use 50% less words than you would use on print.

28. If a page is too long, break it into several pages and link to them.

29. Don’t use font sizes smaller than 10pt. for the body of your page. Specify your fonts in percentage terms instead of pixels, to let users set their own size preferences using their browser’s text view options.

30. Use a spell checker. Spelling mistakes are embarrassing and hurt credibility.

Tips to Know Your Customers

31. Ask for feedback: include a feedback form in your Contact Us page.

32. Publish an ezine and include a subscription form in your homepage. Give your customers valuable information and encourage them to contact you.

33. Include polls and other tools to gather market intelligence.

Tips on Linking

34. Make your links descriptive. They should indicate what the user will be linking to, as opposed to just saying "click here".

35. Don’t underline anything that is not a link.

36. Underline your links and use a consistent color for them across your site (preferably blue).

37. Use a different color for visited links, so that your visitors know where they’ve been (preferably purple or a more subdued tone of the unvisited links color).

38. When linking to a non-HTML file, such as Excel, Word or Acrobat, make it evident, by including a small icon next to the link.

39. Don’t link to "under construction" pages.

40. Make sure that your links work and that you don’t have broken links. There are free online tools that can help you with this.

41. If you use graphic links, don’t forget to use the ALT attribute. The ALT attribute should describe what are you linking to.

Tips on how to use graphics

42. Optimize your graphics. Use only .gif and .jpg formats. Make your image files as small as possible while maintaining acceptable quality. Use a free online graphics optimization tool.

43. Use thumbnails (miniature versions of a picture) and make them clickable to the actual size picture.

44. Avoid graphics that look like ads. People ignore them.

45. Use the ALT attribute on pictures, even the image is not a link. It helps users with disabilities and people who have turned off graphics.

Tips to optimize your site for the search engines:

46. Create short, descriptive page titles, to entice search engine users to click on your links.

47. Create a site map containing all your pages, and link to it directly from your homepage. Search engine robots will follow the link to your site map and will most likely add all your pages to the index.

48. Decide what the two or three main keywords are for each page (the words you believe search engine users will type to find your page) and repeat them often in your page title, description meta tag and page body.

49. Create a Links page and call it Resources. In it, place links to those sites that have agreed to place a reciprocal link to your page. The more inbound links you have from quality sites with a topic related to your site, the better your site will rank with the search engines.

50. Use more text than graphics, and minimize the use of Flash and JavaScript. Search engines heavily favor text and will crawl and index your site faster.

Why Blogs Have Become the Search Engine Optimization Equalizer

2005-06-07T18:17:00.000+04:00

Blogs Are The Great Equalizer

Blogs are the great equalizer because they simplify the task of adding content to a website on a daily or weekly basis. They make it simple for the average joe to add content to their site on a daily basis with just a few clicks of the mouse.

What is more, the spider search engine companies recognize this and make it a point to spider the blog networks on a regular basis, sometimes a daily basis.

It may take a spider search engine up to three months to spider your site if you go directly to their submission page to add your domain to their database. On the other hand, with a blog, you can put a story about your domain on a blog with a link to your domain, and your website can generally get crawled within a week or so of putting your link on the blog.

Blogs Require A Commitment On Your Part

Daily additions to your blog should be your goal. If you do not have time to do daily additions, you should at worst do a weekly addition to your blog.

Just like in the real world of websites, if you don't update your blog on a regular basis, the spiders will save their time and resources by not spidering your blog on a daily basis. If however you do update on a daily or near daily basis, then the spiders will visit your blog with the same fervor you bring to your blog.

Additionally, it sometimes seems like the search engine spiders are giving some additional weïght to the results culled from the blogs. The point in this additional weighting is that blogs are filled with personal comments and recommendations rather than salës pitches.

Blogs Are Easy To Set Up, Even For The Rank Amateur

There are in fact several blog programs available that you can either load into your own domain or that you can use from a third-party, remotely-hosted server.

To see a list of the blogging programs that are available, check-out this link:

http://keywordtext.com/redir/blog-list

My personal favorite is Blogger.com which happens to be owned by Google. Blogger allows you the ability to use the software from their servers or to integrate the blog software into your own site with very little effort on your part.

I was able to integrate their software into our own site and to customize the display of the blogger to fit our domain's format, and I was able to pull that task off in just about 30 minutes --- with most of that time dedicated to the custom display of our blog.

Add to the simplicity of setting up the blog, the fact that since blogger.com is owned by Google.com, they will always be very keen to spider our blog on a regular basis.

From launch of our website, to the spidering of our site by Google took just about ten days. Within three days of the launch of our site, Google had spidered the main page of our site. Within ten days, Google had already spidered the whole of our website.

Compared to other websites we have launched, this was the fastest turn-around time from new release to traffïc from the search engines. We believe the difference in this case study had to do more with the addition of the blog on the day of our launch than anything else we may have done to promote our domain.

Equalize Your Site With The Sites Of The Big Boys

The big sites on the internet got to be that way because they consistently add new, original, and exclusive content to their websites.

While you and I may nevër have as much content on our sites as the big boys do, we can benefit from the lessons they teach to us.

Now that you have also learned this important lesson, it is time to put this knowledge into action. Make it part of your daily or weekly schedule to add fresh, interesting content to your website. Your banker will thank you.

About The Author
Hunter Waterhouse is one of the editors at: KeywordText.com. "Keyword Text" managed to bring together several writers and editors to provide a few low-cost writing services for those who are working hard to become more profitable. They offer Content Creation Services which include: Exclusive WebPage Content and Reprint Articles. Keyword Text also offers very attractive Volume discounts. Compare us to our competition, you will be surprised. http://keywordtext.com/dir.pl/ktc/index.html

----
Visit the Blog of Juzar Shk Yusuf bhai Mandviwala

7 point checklist to choose a web hosting service

2005-06-01T21:46:00.000+04:00

Before you can launch your web site, you'll need to engage the services of a web hosting company.

A web host, quite simply, allows you to rent space on a web server. Your web pages are then stored on this server, and the host computer allows other people connected to the Internet to view them.

There are literally hundreds of web hosting companies to choose from. How to choose the right one?

As with trying out any new service, you won't really know how good a web hosting company is until you try it. Therefore, ask around and see whether you can get any recommendations from those who already use a web hosting company. You might also want to consider how long the company has been in business, how reliable it is known to be, and how expensive it would be if you want to upgrade your plan in future.

Other areas to consider include:

Disk space
How much disk space do you need? Does you website have less than 10 pages? You'll need only a small amount of space. Is it a huge site that has thousands of pages? You'll be needing a lot of disk space. Most web hosting plans limit how much space you will have, so make sure the plan you choose meets your needs.

E-mail accounts
How many e-mail accounts do you need? You'll probably need one for each employee and one for each department (sales, accounts, support). Make sure you purchase a hosting plan that has enough e-mail accounts. Also, do you want full POPS access, Web-based e- mail, or both? Ekhwan Hosting has it all at the right price.

Data transfer
How much data do you need to transfer? Most hosting plans limit how much data transfer you are allotted each month. If you expect a lot of people to visit your site, you'll need a plan that allows for plenty of data transfer.

E-commerce
Will you be selling goods or services through your site? If not, there's no need to sign up for an e-commerce web hosting service. If you are, e-commerce web hosting services such as shopping cart software, SSL support and a merchant account will be vital.

Database, script and extension support
Some hosts will try to blind you with all the features they provide: Frontpage, MS Access, MySQL, MS SQL, Peri support, PHP support, ASP support and SSI support. Do you really need all these features? If not, make sure you are not paying for extras you'll never use.

Operating systems
Do you want a UNIX hosting plan or a Windows hosting plan? Unix is the most commonly used operating system among Web servers. It is known for its flexibility, reliability and stability. Windows hosting plans give you the ability to utilize many forms of dynamic content and specialized databases. Windows hosting plans are often used for sites utilizing Frontpage, ASP, MS Access databases, MS SQL Servers and other Microsoft applications.

Support
Is customer and technical support available 24/7? Can you easily get through on the customer support hotline? Or are you on hold for hours?

Website Marketing

2005-05-11T11:24:00.000+04:00

The Secret Sauce in Web Site Marketing
By Scottie Claiborne

Web site marketing is about getting people to your site, then convincing them to take action: buy, join, subscribe, read more, etc. I'm going to give you the secrët to unlocking the potential in your website. Right now. Absolutely for frëe. (Of course, if you WANT to send monëy, feel frëe to do so!

The Secret is Words

Hmm ... not very exciting, is it? You were expecting something flashier and unexpected probably... like special meta tags or coding or a secrët search engine ranking recipe. The truth is that many websites just need more descriptive copy.

When many business owners set out to build a website, they start by looking at images, themes, and color schemes. They worry over technology like flash and javascrïpt, wanting their site to be "cool" and outdo the competition. Their focus is on the visual and the interactive elements of the site. They pony up thousands of dollars to designers and coders to get that cool, interactive site they feel they must have, then they get someone in the office who's not busy at the moment to throw together some copy. It's almost an afterthought.

All You Need is Words

Ok, maybe that isn't all you need, but words are The Most Important aspect of your site. The professional that most people think they can do without -the copywriter- is the one who can have the biggest impact on the success of your site. No matter what your website looks like, plain and simple or a triumph of visual graphic art, if the words are right it will convert.

Search Engine Rankings & Customer Conversions

Search engine spiders can't read pictures. They can't read Flash very well, although they are making strides in that direction. The same goes for javascrïpt and other non-html technologies; for the most part search engine spiders ignore what they don't understand and look for what they do understand- text.

The words that are visible to people reading the page are the key element that search engine spiders use to determine what your page is about. (The other key element is links- we'll cover that in a future article.) Once the engine knows what the page is about, they can show that page to people who are searching for the words found on that page. That sounds pretty simplistic, but it's amazing how many pages only contain a picture and a few words, or flash animations, or other non-text items.

Sometimes the text on the page is really an image and not text at all, making the information virtually invisible to search engines. Some designers will tell you that putting the text from the image into the alt attribute of the image will solve the problem, but alt text is virtually ignored these days by the major engines. It's too easy to put irrelevant information in an alt attribute.

While the site owner often thinks the picture says it all and the web designer thinks it is cutting edge, the customer wants to know more. The web is a research tool as well as a marketing medium and when viewing a commercial site people want to know all the benefits, sizes, colors, and configurations.

Words Make All the Difference

A company rents cotton candy machines in Kalamazoo, SC. Their Cotton Candy Machine page has a big picture of a Cotton Candy Machine with "Cotton Candy Machine- $45" under it. Their page title says "Cotton Candy". That's all. A searcher typing in "cotton candy machine rental Kalamazoo" will not be able to find this page, because the search engine doesn't know that is what the page is about!

A potential customer who does find the page may look at it and think, "Hmnn... the other rental place has their machine for $40, I'll call them instead."

You need pictures and words in order to sell effectively.

Let's take our cotton candy example and redo that page in order to get more search hits and more customers calling to book it:

Title: "Cotton Candy Machine Rental in Kalamazoo, SC"

Picture: Nice photo that we already had.

Heading: "Cotton Candy Machine Rental"

Copy:

Add excitement to your next party or event with our Cotton Candy Machine for rent! The sweet aroma and taste of fresh cotton candy can turn any party into a festival.
You can also raise funds for your organization with our Cotton Candy Machine! Sell cotton candy at your next carnival, festival, or even gatherings such as school PTO meetings or church get-togethers.
The low rental price of just $45 includes delivery, and we can even supply you with cotton candy flosssugar and cones.
Why Rent a Cotton Candy Machine from Our Company?
We are the only company in Kalamazoo, SC that offers a cotton candy machine with a safety bubble for your protection. Our Cotton Candy Machine is cleaned and sanitized after every use and inspected for proper operation before delivery. We'll even review the operating procedures with you when we drop it off.

Page footer on every page: Our Company Party Rentals in Kalamazoo, SC. Call us today! (999) 999-9999

The Payoff

A search engine will know that page is about cotton candy machine rental in Kalamazoo and your customers will know the benefits of renting from you. By taking the time to put all the information about a product or service and repeating the key terms where they make sense you can:

Help search engines to know what the page is about
Give people a reason to buy
Reinforce your company services or offerings
Spend less time on the phone/sending e-mails giving out basic information
Identify the location for local businesses
None of that requires a special copywriter, designer, or programmer. You can do it yourself!

Don't be tempted to sneak in extra words... hidden text is penalized these days and stuffing words in your image alt attributes is a waste of time; most engines completely disregard it. And semi-visible or tiny text looks very unprofessional to your clients- it's just not needed. If you can't work it into the visible copy, you don't need it on the page.

Write a page title that reflects what the page is about, a good meta description, keywords that appear on the page, then put all the information you have about the product or service on that page in visible text for your visitors to read. If your writing skills are lacking, hiring a web copywriter, or even better an SEO copywriter. It may very well be the best investmënt you can make in your web marketing strategy!

About The Author
Scottie Claiborne is the owner of Right Clïck Web Consulting and the facilitator of the Successful Sites Newsletter. She is a speaker at the Search Engine Strategies conferences and the High Rankings Seminars as well as the administrator of the High Rankings Forum.

How to create a favicon

2005-04-15T00:23:00.000+04:00

Matt's how-to on creating a favicon:

1. Download png2ico, which is a small, free utility for Windows, Linux, et cetera that works quite well. Extract it to c:/.

2. Create an image you’d like to use at a decent size (at least 32x32 pixels) in your favorite image editor. I like Photoshop so here’s what I did there:

a). Ctrl + N to start a new document. Choose 32x32 pixels for the size. Cram whatever you want to use in there.

b) Do a Save for Web (Ctrl + Alt + Shift + S) and save it as a PNG with the filename icon-32.png to the same folder as the program you just downloaded (to keep things simple). If you want to keep the size down I would recommend taking it down to 16 colors. Don’t forget transparency if you need it.

c) Now go back and resize the image you’re working on to 16x16 pixels (Tools ? Image Size)

d) Save this image as a PNG with the filename icon-16.png in the same directory as the above.

3.Now it gets a little tricky, open up the command line. Try Start ? Programs ? Accessories ? Command Prompt.

4. Navigate to the folder where the png2ico.exe file is, if you followed the directions above you can use the command cd \png2ico.

5. Now you just have to enter a command to roll those two PNG files you made into one nice ICO file. Here you go: png2ico.exe favicon.ico --colors 16 icon-32.png icon-16.png . You may be able to use command line completion (pressing a letter or two and then tab) to fill some of that in for you. You could potentially embed 64x64 and 128x128 pixel sizes into the icon file by just specifying additional PNGs of that size, but for a web favicon that really isn’t needed. Just remember this if you ever want to make a nice application icon. For an application icon you’d probably want to use a PNG-24 with full alpha transparency, which this tool supports as well.

6. Now there should be an favicon.ico file in that same folder which you should upload to the root of your site and then link to it with something like < link rel="shortcut icon" type="image/ico" href="/favicon.ico" >

7. Have a drink.

VPS vs. Dedicated Server

2005-04-01T19:30:00.000+04:00

In a nut shell but as thorough as possible:

VDS/VPS - A portion of the server resources is devoted to your account. The more you pay the bigger your portion of resources. Think of it as a pie that has been un-equally divided up for the most part. Now also the other thing to remember with VDS/VPS many hosts will be running these on dual or sometimes even quad xeon servers thus there is plenty of resources to go around. Just also remember in some rare cases your VPS/VDS may be affected by another VPS customer on the host machine.

Dedicated server(s) come in two forms:

Unmanaged - You get a good rate with a nice amount of transfer normally and are given root access to the server. The datacenter is not responsible for managing the server as it is "self managed" otherwise known as unmanaged. Pretty much leaves you with a few options available: managing the system yourself completely or bringing in an admin to assist you with your kernel/software upgrades as well as securing the system.

Managed - You pay a bit more for the monthly fee (usually around $200-$400 approximately depends upon what server specification and how much management time is put into it pretty much) and the datacenter or the host you choose handles doing operating system upgrades/updates and securing the server for you. Now the main thing to remember here is that many companies offer different levels of server management best thing to do with this is always read the management definitions so you are aware of what is covered with your plan and what is not (should give you a bearing upon how much you need and what you can handle on your own).

What it really boils down to is do you want to be a piece of the pie or do you want to be the pie? That and also what your budget is, remember you can always upgrade further one the need arises that warrants doing so.

Hope this elaboration has assisted in giving you a bit more understanding of the aspects of levels of services. Definitely owe you some congrats on chosing to come seek guidance on WHT first before doing as so many have and diving off the deep end. I wish you the best in all your endeavors.

-Justin

What is a Portal?

2005-03-28T21:56:00.000+04:00

A Portal CMS is a CMS that is built to serve as a news aggregator or community based system. Portals tend to focus on posting news stories, with automatic linking from introductory text to full stories. Most allow for readers to rank and comment on the stories they read, and make provisions for non-administrators to post items of interest.

DMS

2005-03-28T21:41:00.000+04:00

What is a DMS?

The short answer - a DMS is a Document Management System.

The long answer - a DMS is a system that seperates the content from the web site.

Content in this case can be a PDF file, a Word file, Excel, and any other native format. The system is a container for these documents.

The benefits include being able to retrieve these documents easily and without losing its original format. More sophisticated systems allow for fulltext searches, cataloging by topic or interest, and access controlled by user and group permissions.

Top-posting Vs. Bottom-posting

2005-03-27T11:29:00.000+04:00

Why is Bottom-posting better than Top-posting
By A. Smit and H.W. de Haan

Definitions:

Top-posting: Writing the message above the original text, when one replies to an email or a post in a newsgroup.
Bottom-posting: The opposite of top-posting. Now the new message is placed below the original text.

We are fanatic Usenet-readers. As a result we are often annoyed by people who keep top-posting. This is considered as not good 'Net etiquette'. The majority of Usenet-users prefer bottom-posting.
In addition to bottom-posting, it is customary to leave out non-relevant parts of the message with regard to the reply, and to put the reply directly beneath the quoted relevant parts. If you want to know more about writing new posts. Check out this site: http://www.xs4all.nl/~hanb/documents/quotingguide.html

Below you can find our arguments why bottom-posting is better than top-posting.

Because it is proper Usenet Etiquette. Check out the following URL: http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc1855.html . It is a little outdated but still has a lot of valid points. Let us quote something from this site:

If you are sending a reply to a message or a posting be sure you summarize the original at the top of the message, or include just enough text of the original to give a context. This will make sure readers understand when they start to read your response. Since NetNews, especially, is proliferated by distributing the postings from one host to another, it is possible to see a response to a message before seeing the original. Giving context helps everyone. But do not include the entire original!

We use a good news reader like Forte Agent. Good newsreaders like Agent put the signature by default at the end of the post, which is the Usenet convention. Microsoft Outlook Express however has some serious bugs. Let us quote someone we know:

"The day Microsoft makes something that doesn't suck is probably the day they start making vacuum cleaners." -Ernst Jan Plugge

We are programmers ourselves, and we know it is very easy to implement to put a signature at the end of the post instead of putting it directly above the post you are replying to and can not change the position. Forte Agent has as a feature that reply to a post it will remove the signature (recognizable by '-- ', note the extra space) and everything below it, so it will remove a part of the original message. This is good Usenet practice so Agent is not faulty. Outlook Express on the other hand is faulty, check this bugreport regarding the Usenet signature delimiter.
If you want to try Agent, you can get it here.

Top-posting makes posts incomprehensible. Firstly: In normal conversations, one does not answer to something that has not yet been said. So it is unclear to reply to the top, whilst the original message is at the bottom. Secondly: In western society a book is normally read from top to bottom. Top-posting forces one to stray from this convention: Reading some at the top, skipping to the bottom to read the question, and going back to the top to continue. This annoyance increases even more than linear with the number of top-posts in the message. If someone replies to a thread and you forgot what the thread was all about, or that thread was incomplete for some reasons, it will be quite tiresome to rapidly understand what the thread was all about, due to bad posting and irrelevant text which has not been removed.

To prevent hideously long posts with a minimal account of new text, it is good Usenet practice to remove the non-relevant parts and optionally summarize the relevant parts of the original post, with regard to one's reply. Top-posting inevitably leads to long posts, because most top-posters leave the original message intact. All these long posts not only clutter up discussions, but they also clutter up the server space.

Top-posting makes it hard for bottom-posters to reply to the relevant parts: it not possible to answer within the original message. Bottom-posting does not make top-posting any harder.

Some people will argue that quoting looks bad due line wrapping. This can simply be dealt with by dropping Outlook Express as a start, and using only linewidths of 65 - 70 characters. Otherwise one has do it manually, and that can be tiresome.

A reason given by stubborn top-posters: they don't like to scroll to read the new message. We like to disagree here, because we always have to scroll down to see the original message and after that to scroll back up, just to see to what they are replying to. As a result you have to scroll twice as much when reading a top-poster's message. As a counterargument they say (believe us they do): "You can check the previous message in the discussion". This is even more tiresome than scrolling and with the unreliable nature of Usenet (and even email is inevitably unreliable), the previous message in the discussion can be simply unavailable.

Some newsgroups have strict conventions concerning posting in their charter. As an example we can tell you that in most Dutch newsgroups, you will be warned, killfiled or maybe even flamed, if you fail to follow Usenet conventions or if you do not quote according to the quoting guidelines. In general: it is better to practice the guidelines, if one does not want to get flamed in a newsgroup one just subscribed to.

We can conclude that there are no good reasons we know of for top-posting. The most top-posts originate from the minimal work people spend on making posts. We think that one should be proud of one's post, that is it contains relevant content, well-formed sentences and no irrelevant 'bullsht', before uploading to your newsserver. If the majority of the group will adhere to this convention, the group will be nicer, tidier and easier to read.

As a final remark we want to bring non-quoting* into mind. This means that the original content of an email or Usenet post is completely removed. It makes it very hard for a reader to find out to what and whom one is replying. This phenomenon can be partly attributed to wrong settings of news- and email-clients, and partly to people who want to start with clean replies.

------
See definition of top-post here.

The History of Web Hosting – A Galactic Network

2005-03-18T12:50:00.000+04:00

It may interest you to know that before 1991 web hosting as you know it today did not exist.

Then again, you probably wouldn’t recognize the internet before 1991, either. But to look at the history of website hosting, you have to look at the history of the internet itself. The internet may be the greatest media advancement since radio and television, but the internet as we know it today is powered by nearly 50 million websites forming its central nervous system.

Without websites, where could you go when you when you went online?

The Early Days

The original concept of the internet has been attributed to J.C.R. Licklider in August of 1962 at MIT. Licklider wrote a series of articles where he envisioned a “Galactic Network” concept based on the idea of a series of globally interconnected computers where resources and information could be accessed from any site.

Sound familiar?

Licklider was soon to head up ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency), the Computer Sciences program at MIT. There he would convince his successors the importance of his ideas about computer networking.

Interestingly enough, ARPA was developed by the military at the same time as NASA to find a way for the Americans to catch up to the U.S.S.R. in the space race after the launch of Sputnik. The early work on computer networking revolved around a concept known as “packet switching”, based on the idea that network data could be sent through phone lines as tiny packages instead of the traditional solid circuit lines of the day.

That way, the connections would only be used as long as there were packets of information running through them, freeing up space on the line or “bandwidth” for more computer activity. Later, while working on a way to allow telecommunications systems survive a nuclear war, Paul Baran would develop the actual “Hot Potato” design of networking that would lay the foundation for what would one day be the internet. The next step was to get the computers to actually talk to each other.

Is There Anybody Out There?

In 1965, Lawrence G. Roberts and Thomas Merril connected the TX-2 computer located in Massachusetts with the Q-32 computer in California via a dial-up telephone line supplied by AT&T and the first computer network was born. However, the computers were agonizingly slow, communicating at a steady 2.4 kbps.

The lack of speed convinced Roberts and Merril that the solid circuit-switching of the AT&T phone system was terribly inadequate and Baran’s packet switching method was the only way to go. Amazingly, it was soon discovered that the same work on packet theory had been taking place in three separate places simultaneously without any of the researchers aware of each other.

In 1966 Roberts unveiled his plans for “ARPANET”, the first wide-area network ever developed. In 1969, those ideas turned into a reality when they successfully linked computers at UCLA, The Stanford Research Institute, The University of California Santa Barbara, and the University of Utah. Each computer was a “host” or node in the connection, making them all able to interact with one another. Over the next 2 years, they would add 19 more hosts and 13 nodes to their little network.

The internet was a healthy baby, but it still had a lot of growing to do.

You’ve Got Mail!

In 1971 Roy Tomlinson wrote the first basic e-mail program, and it was quickly broadened by Lawrence G. Roberts. With this, researchers could finally send and receive messages over their network.

This would prove to be the biggest development in the internet’s short history; e-mail use has become the backbone of internet communications and is used by hundreds of millions of people every day to connect with each other.

When the researchers integrated the popular program into ARPANET, they made several design modifications before deciding on the “@” symbol for e-mail addresses.

The ‘70s also saw the birth of TELENET, the first commercial version of an internet provider, as well as several other networks. Also, TCP was officially split into TCP/IP in an attempt to unify all of the budding networks that were springing up in North America and around the globe.

TCP/IP stands for Transmissions Control Protocol and Internet Protocol. TCP is the host to host connection used by computers and IP passes the individual packets of information between computers.

The internet was growing, but it was still a very different animal than what we know today.

Coming of Age

The eighties saw rapid growth and development in the computer sciences field. Specifically, the TCP/IP format was first used to tie the ARPANET system to several other networks. The format allowed the networks to access each other while operating individually. Officially, it was the first definition of the term “Internet”, meaning a series of networks linked together by the TCP/IP format.

With all of these new networks and the growth of the old networks, it became necessary for scientists to be able to disseminate between the various sources and institutions. In 1984 the introduction of the Domain Name System, or DNS, became a standard for computers to be able to differentiate themselves from one another. Six domains were introduced: edu (Education), gov (Government), mil (Military), com (Commercial), net (Network Resources), and org (Organization). On March 15, 1985, Symbolics.com became the first registered domain name.

Welcome to the World Wide Web

1991 was an important year in the development of the internet. Already an entity in its own right, it was about to get a lot bigger. It started with the National Science Foundation (NSF) when they decided it was time to lift commercial restrictions on the web. This in turn opened the internet up to limitless commercial possibilities. Electronic commerce was born, and with it came companies who were starting to think there might be a future in website hosting services.

Later that year, the folks at CERN unleashed the World Wide Web (www) onto the world, which incorporated Tim Berner-Lee’s new HTML computer Language. HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language, and uses specifications for Uniform Resource Locators URLs).

Aside from giving the world a mouthful of new abbreviations to memorize, it also became the universal standard for locating website addresses.

The internet was no longer simply a playground for universities and computer enthusiasts. With each new addition to its format, it became easier to use and easier to explain. At the same time, it grew in complexity. The business world saw the potential of the medium and seized on their chance.

Website hosting, once expensive and complicated, is now cheap and only somewhat complicated. It began with large companies renting out extra space on their servers and has now become big business in itself. There are at least as many companies that offer web hosting as there are companies that provide internet service.

As computers continue to evolve, the internet itself evolves. And with each new change come new changes to the way the business of website hosting is packaged to potential customers.

So where do you want to go today?

-------
Bill Schnarr is a successful freelance copywriter, one of experience and diversity. He provides valuable tips and advice for consumers purchasing asp hosting services, e-commerce hosting services and free internet phone. His numerous articles offer moneysaving tips and valuable insight on typically confusing topics.

This article on the "History of Web Hosting" reprinted with permission.

Understanding Web Logs; And Why it Matters

2005-03-08T23:37:00.000+04:00

General web statistics give pertinent information about website visitors. Webmasters analyzing these statistics have a better understanding of who their website visitors are and how they perceive the website. A lot can be learned by evaluating navigation patterns, most-viewed pages and exit pages. Deciphering web logs could easily become a full-time job. The information that can be gleaned from close log scrutiny is extremely valuable.

When a visitor comes to a website, the site has just a few seconds to grab the visitor's interest. Slow-loading pages or broken graphics will send visitors and potential customers looking elsewhere. In order to make sense of web statistics, consider using a log analysis program. These programs tend to format the information in an easy-to-understand way, often providing graphs or visual representations that make understanding and seeing patterns that much easier.

The downside to using software for web log analysis is that webmasters can easily be confused about what the actual results mean and which results matter the most. The information contained in the log file should be analyzed in conjunction with other information.

Let's take a look at some of the critical areas. How many unique visitors visit the site each day? This statistic, by itself, is not terribly important, but when compared to a previous week's or month's logs, patterns will generally emerge. Sudden declines in site visitors might be indicative of downtime or dropped links, while sudden increases might be indicative of a successful ad campaign or improved search engine ranking. This assumption can only be made if sales for the corresponding time period have increased as well.

Traffïc alone is not the goal; qualified website traffïc that converts a visitor into a buyer is generally the goal of most webmasters. Web statistics on their own do not always paint a true picture. Webmasters need to use logs to validate advertising campaigns and track where traffïc is coming from. While details in a log file alone are not conclusive proof of an ad campaign's success or failure, general assumptions can be made based on the patterns. General statistics will help determine who your visitors are and what habits they have.

Specific areas to take a close look at:

How long are users staying on the website or a specific page? This question addresses a website's "stickiness". Stickiness gives webmasters an indication of how important their content is. If users return on a regular basis or remain on a specific page for an extended period of time, generally the content is considered valuable.

Site Entry Pages?
What pages in a website are visitors coming into? Is a specific page on the site drawing an unusually high amount of traffïc? Do users come back to the website? Is there a reason for a visitor to come back to the website? Generally, content that is refreshed often will attract return visitors. What specific areas on the site are of interest to web visitors, and can those content sections be expanded to increase the overall value of the website?

Site Exit Pages?
What pages in a website are visitors leaving from? If a specific page has a large number of visitors leaving the site, perhaps the content needs updating. It is critical that you consider the source of the traffïc. Are visitors coming to the website through a pay-per-click campaign with a landing page that does not relate to the initial search terms? Directing visitors to content-specific landing pages will help reduce quick site exits.

Who is Making the Referral?
What kind of website is sending traffïc to your website? Assumptions can be made based on the quality of the referral source. Let's face it, if a crack site is the leading referral generator to a software site, it is unlikely that the majority of visitors will be interested in purchasing.

Bad Requests?
Are visitors attempting to access pages on your website that are no longer active? Be sure to chëck logs for any pages or graphics that are generating errors for visitors.

Number of Unique Visitors?
Don't get too hung up on the number of "hits" a website has, as this can be interpreted differently. Sometimes logs interpret graphic access as a hit. A more accurate reflection of traffïc can be seen by tracking unique visitors.

There are a number of inexpensive yet quality log analysis applications available for download from: Monitoring-Software.net and Monitoring-Tools.net.

By evaluating web logs webmasters can continuously improve their site and measure their success. Online or off, tracking results is critical to achieving success. If you don't track, you don't know what works. How can you improve what you don't measure?

About The Author
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for NotePage a wireless text messaging software company.

Windows or Linux Hosting. Which Is Right For You?

2005-02-08T02:30:00.000+04:00

Before you begin reading this article, it’s only fair to point out that there’s very little difference for you between a Windows or Linux web host, if you fit at least one of these:

• A new or casual Webmaster,
• Your site is non-revenue generating
• Your web site is created with static HTML pages generated from boxed software

More often than not, you need to look no further than regular Linux web hosting because it usually cost less and offers a wider variety of control panels, which may be a strong selling point for beginners and intermediate users.

So, When Do You Consider Windows Hosting?

The moment you decide you want your web site to have more complex features, such as members only sections, shopping cart, live help, chat, forums and so on, then the host server operating system might be important. You could use Java Scripts, which are processed by the visitor’s browser and are non-dependent on the web server, but they lack the power to access, retrieve and store information in a database.

A database is one of the cornerstones of interactive web sites. They store information necessary to provide web mail to your visitors or give them the option of a customized web page every time they visit. To fully harness the power of a database, you’ll need server side programs as the go between. These programs sends a web site visitor’s input to the server, processes it and returns information in HTML format customized to the visitor’s instruction. Because the web pages are generated on demand, they are also referred to as dynamically generated.

Windows Desktop And Server Operating System

If you run a Windows desktop or use Windows based web page builders such as FrontPage, it doesn’t mean you must opt for Windows web hosting. This is true vice versa. Whatever operating system you use on your desktop has little to do with your choice of hosts unless it’s a matter of preference. As long as you understand your FTP or web publishing software, your web host can be on any operating system.

Keep in mind, that you don’t have to learn how to use another operating system because web hosts usually provide a web based control panel from where you administrate your account and uploaded files.

Web Site Objectives

What’s important is for you to know what you want your site to do and what you want to offer on your web site. This is what will ultimately lead you to the type of hosting that’s right for you. As mentioned earlier, interactive web sites utilize server side programs. There are many out there but the more common are ASP, PHP or Perl. Each programming language has it’s own strengths and weaknesses and sometimes one can give you something the other can’t although not very often. For the future reference, PHP and Perl are Linux based and ASP is Windows based.

Which Languages To Use

All these languages are capable of processing similar instructions. There’s little one can do the other can’t. As you might expect, ASP will naturally have tighter and better integration with Microsoft’s products such as their SQL Server, .NET framework and it seems to work a lot better for web based systems with intranet capabilities.

Moreover, server side scripting can be complex, requiring web developers who are able to code in that language. Developers are usually strongly partial to one language. If you hire one, chances are the developer will use their programming language of choice and make the necessary hosting recommendations.

Given these factors, it isn’t uncommon for businesses to gravitate towards ASP. Most businesses have invested a lot of money in acquiring software licenses. Switching could mean investing time, knowledge and more software and businesses are not always prepared to do that.

If you’re not a business, it depends on your learning capabilities and which language makes more sense to you. Casual webmasters and those running web sites not entirely commercial usually choose PHP scripts. This is rather natural considering there are no hidden costs in running PHP. The source itself is open meaning anyone can download, utilize or amend it as long as they don’t claim copyright or sell it.

If you opt to use ASP to power your web site, then you’ll want to go with Windows hosting. In the past several years, ASP has also become available on Linux machines if your web host has Chilisoft installed. Do remember, if you choose this option, it might not work as well as it would on Windows. Because Chilisoft is a go-between program, it’ll have some limitations.

This is also true the other way around. While you can have PHP or Perl on a Windows web host, they weren’t developed for Windows and might not work as well. Support is also lacking. In fact, there are often disclaimers about using these languages on Windows servers.

Some hosts have successfully implemented these programming languages for the different platforms. Be very clear in this case about the scripts you want to use because server configurations for Windows can be vastly different from Linux; certain server settings work well for one script but not another. This might cause the script to fail or not function at it’s full potential. This is why it’s always best to go with the operating system the language was built for.

Security

In most cases, you’ll most likely be told flat out that Unix based servers have better security. Mainly, because these operating systems have consistently been reliable, while Windows is a big target for exploitation. Unfortunately, Windows servers historically aren’t known for it’s reliability but both are can be equally secured. Web hosting wise it boils down to one thing. No matter how good the operating system is, your site cannot be secure or reliable if your host has not configured it correctly and doesn’t update often or swiftly.

Performance

In speed and performance they both perform well although it is known PHP and Linux seems to be a little faster than ASP and Windows. With more web hosts using the newer Windows 2003 Server, performance has also improved. Unless you’re counting the seconds you’ll probably not notice too much. Regardless which platform your web hosting is, the key is to look for a good host. Do they upgrade well ahead or do they max out the resources before doing so? Are they responsive to you?

In conclusion, the first step to deciding between a Windows or Linux host is what you want your site to do now and in the foreseeable future. Next, you need to figure out which scripts work best for the particular job you want to do. For example, ASP is better known for it’s shopping carts and PHP message boards are reliable and popular.

Boris

Introduction to FTP

2005-02-08T01:28:00.000+04:00

FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol and is a standard application protocol that uses the Internet’s TCP/IP protocol to transfer files from one computer to another.

FTP is a very common process today. FTP is commonly used to transfer web pages from the creator’s computer to the server where the web site is situated. Also FTP is used to download programs and files to your computer from a server.

How do I use FTP?

To use FTP you will need to install FTP software on your computer. There are many freely available FTP programs on the Internet such as, FTP explorer (http://www.ftpx.com) and Smart FTP (http://www.smartftp.com).

How do I connect with FTP?

Follow the steps below to connect to a server, to upload files using FTP Explorer:

Open FTP Explorer.

Click on the connect button on the toolbar or select connect from the Tools menu.

In the Profile Name text, enter a name to give your FTP connection.

In the Host Address text box enter the address of the server you are connecting to (this can either be the DNS entry or the IP Address).

Enter the Port number that the server accepts FTP connections on (the default port for FTP is 21).

Tick the Use PASV option, if your computer is behind a firewall, which does not allow external FTP connections.

Tick the Use Firewall option if your computer is located behind a firewall.

Either enter a user name for the FTP login or tick the Anonymous option (the anonymous option will only work if the server is set up to allow anonymous FTP connections – if this is selected go to step 10).

Enter the user’s password in the Password text box.

In the Initial path text box, enter the path on the server, where you want your connection to start at – this is optional.

In the Attempts text box enter the number of times to try the FTP connection if fails, you will need to have at least 1 in this text box.

In the Download path you can specify the path on your computer where to save the files downloaded from the server – this is optional, you can specify this later if you like.

To establish the connection with the server click on the Connect button.

How do I upload files using FTP?

Once you have established your connection with the server the next step is to upload your files to the server. The following describes how to do this:

Go to the path on the server where you want to upload your files to.

In the Tools menu click on the Upload button.

Select the file or files that you want to upload (to select more than one file hold down the CTRL key).

NOTE: You can also upload files by dragging and dropping them to the directory/folder on the server.

Click on the Open button. Your file will now be uploaded to the server. (You will see this uploading process in the dialog box.)

How do I download files using FTP?

You can also use FTP to download files to your computer from a server. The following describes how to download a file.

Make sure you are connected to the server.

Go to the file that you want to download.

Right click on the file and select Download To..

Select the path on your computer where you want the file to be saved to.

The file will now be downloaded to your computer. (You will see this downloading process happening in the dialog box.)

How do I end my connection?

You can end the connection by simply clicking on the Disconnect button on the tool bar or by clicking on Disconnect from the Tools menu.

The Benefits Of Having A Website

2005-02-08T01:19:00.000+04:00

When you're searching through the Internet you will find endless amounts of information, about everything, and all at your fingertips. The Internet is the largest source of knowledge in the world. Why is this? Because anyone can get their information on there. All you need is a web site and a resource generous web hosting company.

Many people think that getting their website on the Internet is an expensive venture, fortunately though, this need not necessarily be true; if you find the right web host, the benefits of having a web site will definitely outweigh the costs.

There are many different ways to benefit from having a web site, whether it is for personal gain, or to aid your business success. Those who have their own personal websites generally use them to further an interest or a hobby; having a web site is a great way to share and exchange knowledge with others. Businesses on the other hand use a website to promote and market their goods and services, while cutting back on such expenses as postage, couriers and advertising, etc.

These are but a few key benefits of owning a website:
Increased awareness of products and services - Businesses can now greatly expand their markets, no need to constrain the focus to only the local scene, but by using the Internet, businesses can venture into international and regional markets, with greater ease. This dynamically changes the nature and the marketing activities of some businesses, possibly encouraging the business to expand the diversity of its products and services, to meet these new markets. Websites, in their nature, allow hundreds and thousands of items to be on view 24/7; thus encouraging wider viewing, and extended trading hours.

Freedom - With the freedom of being able to post your information on your website, hence on the Internet, at any time of the day; available information of all variations is increasing at a huge rate. The freedom to browse anywhere and interact with anyone is enough to tempt the smallest of businesses and the most introverted of people to get on the Net; hence Net users are increasing in numbers, at an alarming rate, approximately 50,000 per day. Businesses are buzzing on the Net, they have found a way to compete on an even field, with even the largest of corporations; and within a daily increasing customer marketplace.

Cost advantage - Net businesses are extremely aware of how they can profit by being on the Internet; they can advertise their products and services without the huge costs, and delays of printing, publishing and distribution. The market is a global one, which adds greater value to the costs outlaid for promotion and marketing; compared to the limits of offline. E- commerce facilities can be incorporated into the website, transforming 2D screen visuals into user reactive models, for example, consumers can order their products and services online, greatly reducing administration expenses. Reduction of telephone calls to potential customers; follow ups by email; newsletters digitally made, promoted by email or downloadable from the website, with reduction of distribution costs; less promotional material sent out, printed and wasted; extended trading hours without a human presence; are just a few ways to cut costs.

The current opinion is that any business not on the Internet now or in the near future is not only missing out on the rewards of this new and vibrant industry, but is adding itself to the list of "the forgotten".Don't waste time scratching your head wondering what the Internet can do to benefit your business, you will be left behind; instead, think about how you can take advantage of this new and cheap form of industry awareness. Look for a web designer, or web developer, get a quote, and tell them what you need.

Press Releases - How to Write a Great Press Release

2005-02-04T22:09:00.000+04:00

What is a press release?

A press release is pseudo-news story, written in third person, that seeks to demonstrate to an editor or reporter the newsworthiness of a particular person, event, service or product.

How is a press release used?

Press releases are often sent alone, by e-mail, fax or snail mail. They can also be part of a full press kit, or may be accompanied by a pitch letter.

What does a press release look like?

Here's a template you can use to format your press release correctly:

Note: The three #'s mark the end of the press release.

What should I put in my press release?

Stop right now and click here to read our in-depth advice about packaging yourself as newsworthy. This is an important step – so don't skip it!

Let's stick with the theme presented in that report: you run an vitamin web site specializing in weight-loss products. Through the process described in the report, you've nailed down a nice, newsworthy topic – teenagers and how they deal with issues of weight. But that's a broad topic, not a story.

In the report, we provided a number of ideas for potential stories. Let's pick the first one and craft a press release.

The story: What do kids think about a "thin is in" society?

As you sift through your message boards looking for quotes, you see a trend appearing. There are lots of messages criticizing Hollywood actresses and pop singers for being too thin. Many girls are saying that seeing these women make them feel bad about their own bodies. A number of the boys are pointing out that they don't find ultra-thin women appealing.

Now you've got your angle -- your hook that will grab a reporter's attention:

Teenagers think that a "thin is in" society pretty much stinks.

Now let's get writing.

Press Release Headline

Before you write a word, remember this:

The reporter isn't interested in helping you make money or driving visitors to your site. He's looking for a story that will be interesting to his readers and pleasing to his editor. He could care less about your great selection, super customer service and commitment to quality. He wants to know only the info that will help him craft a good story about teens and their weight.

Take your ego out of it. Take your natural inclination to sell, sell, sell out of it. Look at your story with a cold, objective eye.

OK, let's get to our press release headline.

State your most exciting news, finding or announcement in as few words as possible. Emulate the headlines you see in the newspaper every day.

Bad Press Release Headline:
NEW WEBSITE THAT OFFERS HERBAL WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAMS LETS TEENS SPEAK OUT ABOUT WEIGHT ISSUES

Good Press Release Headline:
TEENS: ULTRA-THIN MOVIE, POP STARS SET BAD EXAMPLE

Don't worry, you'll get to plug your website soon enough. In the meantime, you've just thrown a meaty hook at the reporter.

The Press Release Subhead

Subheads are remarkably useful tools, yet usually overlooked by press release writers. Basically, the press release subhead gives you the opportunity to flesh out your angle and further hook the reporter, without stepping on the drama of the press release headline.

Here's a headline/subhead combo I might use for this press release:

TEENS: ULTRA-THIN MOVIE, POP STARS SET BAD EXAMPLE

Website Forumgoers Weigh In: Teens Don't Find Ultra-Thin Celebs Attractive;
Girls Say Negative Self-Images Reinforced by Hollywood's Super-Skinny

The Press Release Lead

It's Journalism 101 -- the lead paragraph includes the who, what, when, were and how of the story. If the reporter were only to read the lead of a good press release, he'd have everything he needed to get started.

There's no room for BS, hype or sell. Just the facts.

Bad Press Release Lead
Recently on theplace4vitamins.com, an online store dedicated to selling the best herbal products, teenagers had the chance to say what they thought about weight loss and whether a society that pressures young people to be thin is a good thing or a bad thing.

Good Press Release Lead
America's teenagers are angry at Hollywood for glamorizing ultra-thin bodies, and many girls say they feel too self-conscious about their bodies as a result of watching TV, movies and music videos. The findings are gleaned from more than six months of ongoing discussion and debate at the website theplace4vitamins.com. According to theplace4vitamins.com President John Smith, anger and resentment toward the Hollywood ultra-thin runs deep, particularly among teenage girls.

The Rest of the Press Release

The balance of the press release serves to back up whatever claims were made in the lead and headline. In this case, you'd pull some quotes from the message boards (an aside here: if you really were to pull quotes in this fashion, you should only use the poster's name or identifying information with his or her permission. Otherwise, simply say "a 14 year old boy said..." or "a 16 year old Midwestern girl added..." Also, if this technique appeals to you, be certain that a disclaimer appears on your message boards notifying posters that all posts become your property and copyright). Use enough supporting material to make your case, and to demonstrate that, whatever angle you're promoting, it wasn't something you slapped together carelessly.

Next, a quote will help put in some perspective:

"I was surprised by the level of anger expressed in these messages," Smith said. "Teenagers are far more clued into this issue than most people would imagine."

Or, you might ask an expert for a quote:

"This demonstrates once again the need to teach young girls and boys about how to develop a positive self-image," said Jane Doe, author of "I Like My Body Just As It Is". "theplace4vitamins.com has done a true service by bringing these attitudes to the public's attention."

Finally, spend a sentence or two describing your company and what you do:

theplace4vitamins.com was founded in 1997 to provide consumers with a wide choice of vitamins, supplements and herbal products. The site offers a range of articles, research materials and message forums for the health conscious consumer.

This paragraph is known as the "boilerplate" -- an old newspaper term meaning a block of standard text that's used over and over again (e.g. the explanation of symbols on the stock price page). In this case, it's text that you might use at the bottom of all your releases.

Place your boilerplate right above the # # #'s.

One more trick: below the ###'s, add a line that says something like:

If you'd like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with John Smith, please call Pat Brown at 555/555-2222 or e-mail Pat at pr@theplace4vitamins.com

Some Key Things to Remember

Stay away from hype-bloated phrases like "breakthrough", "unique", "state-of-the-art", etc.

Always write it from a journalist's perspective. Never use "I" or "we" unless it's in a quote.

Read lots of good newspaper writing, such as the New York Times or the Washington Post to get a feel for the style.

Shorter is better. If you can say it in two pages, great. If you can say it in one page, better.

Building Website Traffic

2005-02-03T01:42:00.000+04:00

There are many ways to build traffic. In this tip we will explain a couple free sure fire ways to increase your traffic.

– Add interactive features to your site, such as guest books, message boards, online polls, postcard services, or chat rooms. These features increase the "stickiness" of your site, that quality that causes user retention ... in other words, repeat traffic.

– Encourage your visitors to participate in the creation of your site. For example, add a classified ad section, or a links submission page, or a feedback form that allows users to post their comments.

– Provide valuable information. This may sound like an obvious piece of advice, but it is surprising how many websites really don't offer much else than a glowing tribute to themselves. Do some digging, offer real information about the topic of your site, like recipes for a cooking site, or a photo swap service for an automotive site.

– Offer links to other sites that offer services you may not be able to provide. An example might be a link to a free search engine submitter for a webmaster-related site; or a link to a currency converter on a travel site; or a link to a mortgage calculator on a real estate site. It's amazing but true that people will remember your site as if you were actually providing the service.

– Join a traffic exchange program. Most of these programs work by exchanging links, or popunders with other sites, which in turn increases your overall number of "unique" visitors.

– Increase word of mouth. Don't ever underestimate the power of word of mouth. You can help this process along by using a tell-a-friend service, where users can quickly and easily email your website URL to their friends, without leaving your site.

With these tips, you will have your counter spinning in no time at all!

Marketing with Ezines

2005-02-03T01:39:00.000+04:00

Electronic Newsletters or Ezines are a must have for any growing online enterprise. A well-planned ezine is a way to build your website's traffic base, as well as generating income through advertising.

Success for any ezine rests chiefly on growing your readership. Here are five ways to do that:

Include a link or form within the navigation menu on your site, ensuring maximum exposure and build your list.
Add a link to your ezine subscription on all outgoing e-mail with a signature file.
Trade ad spots in other ezines to promote your website. Track subscribers if possible.
Post articles to other ezines, with a link back to your site to generate interest in your own ezine. As well as increasing your link-backs, for online publications.
Encourage your subscribers to refer and/or forward the publication to their friends.
Make the newsletter useful and unique. Be sure that the newsletter provides a service or information that is in demand.
Comply with anti-spam regulations. The last thing you want is to have your list blacklisted due to being considered spam.

For a list of some of the Ezine Submission Sites and Ezine directores from around the Web, visit TrafficZap.com

Increasing Conversions

2005-02-03T01:34:00.000+04:00

What are conversions? A conversion is when you take a raw visitor, and turn them into a buyer, member, or reader, depending what your final goal is. Increasing your rate of conversion is pivotal in running a successful web site. Here are some tips on how to increase your conversion rate.

– Explain your product in detail. Shoppers do not want to ask questions if they do not have to. Give the shopper all the information they need to make the decision to purchase. Some shoppers will leave if they do not find the information they are looking for.

– Include your phone number, or a link to your contact page on all pages throughout your site. It is especially important to include it on all product information pages and payment pages.

– Price your product according to the market. Do some research; make sure your product is competitive in the market. It is extremely easy for someone to shop the competition online, so make sure you know what they are going to find elsewhere, and that your product is better.

– Make sure your site is attractive. A user needs to feel secure if they are going to buy online, if your site is not attractive, they will not feel secure, and will not buy.

– Provide multiple payment methods. Allow a user to pay in many ways, such as PayPal. Consider allowing checks, and use a payment provider that allows for e-checks.

Following these very simple tips will help you increase the effectiveness of your online marketing campaign.

Streaming Media

2005-02-02T01:22:00.001+04:00

Capturing your video for streaming ... by Russell Shaw

In last month's column, I discussed some tips for you to shoot great outdoor video suitable for encoding into streaming media content for your site.

Regardless of the type of video you have taken, your next step will be to transfer the content from your digital video camera to your computer for editing, and then encoding.

"Video capture is one of the most system-intensive tasks you can demand of a personal computer," notes a file on leading video editing software program Adobe Premiere's site at www.adobe.com/support/techguides/premiere/performance/main.html. "Getting professional results depends on the performance and capacity of all of the components of your system working together to pass frames from the video-capture card to the processor and hard disk. Your system is only as fast as its slowest component."

To ensure the most efficient transfer between your video camera and your PC, you will need to be aware of several rules of thumb. Some of these will require you to have:

A video-capture card robust enough to capture video at the appropriate frame rate and size for the Internet.
An IEEE 1394 connector for the actual transfer of the video content from your video camera to your computer.
An IEEE 1394 port on your PC, to receive the video content as it is being transferred.
A hard disk with a spin rate fast enough to store captured video frames as soon as they are handed off from the video card.
A system with enough processor speed to handle the transfer of your video data, as well as with enough memory to handle the video transfer, as well as smoothly conduct the video editing and encoding tasks.
A hard disk with enough free space to store your "raw" video content prior to its being edited and encoded.

Now, I will present these issues in detail, and review some recommended capabilities:

Understanding Capture Cards

With the appropriate video capture software, the video feed you are attempting to transfer will be recognized and accepted by your PC.

Video capture cards are necessary for this purpose. ViewCast Corp.'s Osprey-210, which costs around $200.00 with a connecting cable included, is one of the most popular. The card itself inserts into an available PCI slot or port, and comes with a set of drivers.

You may not need to go that route, however. Most video-editing software has built-in video capture capabilities that work in tandem with IEEE 1394 FireWire Ports.

If you use Windows XP, the bundled-in Windows Movie Maker application also has built-in video capturing and editing.

Abobe Premiere has some recommendations for smooth video transfer. Predictably, the more frames per second that need to be moved, the higher the necessary transfer rate. Television station newsroom edit bays often aim for the NTSC video standard rate of 29.97 frames per second and an eventual display of 720 by 480 pixels for digital video. Many streaming content creators are satisfied with 15 frames per second and 320x 240 resolution.

The Magic of IEEE 1394

Your digital camera contains an IEEE 1394 connector port. If your PC or notebook computer is three years old or newer, it should as well. You will simply need to obtain a cable to connect both ports.

The cable itself is a piece of cake. Decent 3 to 6-foot IEEE 1394 cables are available at most computer and electrical supply stores. Typically, they cost between $10 and $25.

For older PCs you will need a IEEE 1394 adapter card, which will plug in to one of your PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) slots. I don't wish to be a snob, but if your PC is too hold to have a built-in IEEE 1394 connector port, it probably is not robust enough to handle the demands of video transfer, editing, and encoding.

What is IEEE 1394? As you may know, it is a standard for fast transfer of digital data between enabled devices. Historically referred to as "FireWire," IEEE 1394 enables transfer between as many as 63 devices at speeds of 400 megabits per second. IEEE itself stands for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, which has blessed the standard.

According to the 1394 Trade Association, "the IEEE 1394 multimedia connection enables simple, low-cost, high-bandwidth isochronous (real-time) data interfacing between computers, peripherals, and consumer electronics products such as camcorders, VCRs, printers, PCs, TVs, and digital cameras. With IEEE 1394-compatible products and systems, users can transfer video or still images from a camera or camcorder to a printer, PC, or television, with no image degradation."

With that understood, all you need to do is connect the camcorder to your PC, make sure that your camcorder is switched on, and then launch your capture software. Most such software has a set of graphical controls that can control your hooked-up camcorder remotely. When I perform transfer tasks, I prefer "batch capture." This lets me transfer all the video content I wish in one fell swoop. After transfer, the video is parked on my hard drive, ready for the editing and encoding tasks ahead.

A Matter Of Spin

You Say You Want 7200 Revolutions? All hard drives spin. This process involves "platters," which store data in sectors for retrieval. With transfer of large digital video files, your hard disk must spin fast enough to store the captured video frames as soon as they arrive from the video card. Once you start editing your stored video, your hard drive must be powerful enough to "seek" and then retrieve the various video content elements quickly.

In terms of the user experience, Internet-delivered streaming video does not have as high an expectation of quality as television. If you envision streaming your content, you will not need to adhere to NTSC video standards. Yet regardless of the medium you intend to deliver your streams in, your hard drive should run at 7200 revolutions per minute or more.

Fortunately, most newer hard drives already have 7200 rpm capabilities. You probably will have more than enough spin power to handle the video transfer.

If your hard disk is not up to the job, two things can happen: both of them, bad. During the transfer stage, frames will not get transferred and will drop out. The result will be discontinuous source video. If "seek" time is too slow, pulling together various sections of a clip during the editing process will be arduous.

Watch Your Processor Speed

Video capture and editing will place major demands on your computer's system. Not only are these processes resource-intensive, but unless you have a workstation or PC specifically devoted to this job, you may well be performing these tasks with other functions running in the background. Many is the time I have been video editing on my system, with Microsoft Word and Outlook Express running in the background.

The best guide to minimum processor speed and other requirements will be the editing and encoding software vendor recommendations on the applicable download page or product box. Adobe Premiere stipulates a minimum 500 megabyte processor speed, but suggests a minimum 800 megabyte rate for real-time preview -- the ability to watch video as you edit it.

The real need for speed comes in the streaming video encoding process Windows Media Encoder 9 stipulates that a dual 2 GHz or higher processor, such as an Intel Xeon or AMD Athlon MP, is best for high-end, video.

Most video editing and encoding products counsel 256 megabytes or more of RAM. Unless you are transferring, editing and encoding on a relic, you should be OK there.

Space Is The Place

Digital video is one big storage hog. You are looking at several factors here. Most video editing programs require several hundred megabytes of storage space. Adobe Premiere 6.5 recommends that you have 600 megabytes free and at the ready.

That's just for starters. Streaming video software such as Windows Media Encoder 9 will cost you about another 10 megabytes of storage just to download it.

Those old MB's will really start adding up once you start storing transferred, raw .avi files on your PC. Ulead Video Studio computes the ratio as high as 13 gigabytes for each hour of digital video transferred and stored at maximum preview quality. My own stored .avi files take up a small fraction of that, but at acceptable minimum you are still looking at several tens of megabytes per minute.

In these days of 140 gigabyte-and-more hard drives, 13 gigs do not sound like a lot. Keep in mind, though, that as you acquire digital video skill, your storage requirements will increase exponentially. That's not even counting all the other stuff on your PC.

Of course you could delete the raw files you have edited and encoded, but I would advise against it. Keeping the source material around in handy, stored form is prudent. You may never know when you need it.

Finally, you will want to ensure that your computer will be able to energetically retrieve your video. Retrieval of large files works best when they are stored in sizable, contiguous blocks on your hard drive. If these blocks are not available, your hard drive will store elements of these files wherever it has room for them. In such cases, you would be looking at the limitations of a fragmented hard disk. If the problem is severe enough, the frame rate at which clips are captured can degrade, and elements can drop out. You already know the answer: run your built-in or added-in defrag utility as often as necessary.

Why Pay Big Bucks for PDF Software: Consider Your Options

2005-01-31T22:11:00.000+04:00

By Merle MCPromotionsPress.com

If you've ever downloaded a document or purchased an ebook online, odds are it was created in something called "Portable Document Format" (PDF). PDF was initially created by Adobe and is the standard for online documents, as they can be viewed on a variety of platforms and computers.

To read PDF documents, a computer must have "Adobe Acrobat Reader" installed, which comes at no charge. If you don't already have it on your system, you can download it here: http://adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

Now if you want to create a PDF document, you could go out and spend a few hundred dollars on Adobe Acrobat Software. But there are other, lower cost (even free) options. If you plan on creating reports or ebooks, or any other document to add to your website, you'll want to take a look at what's available in the PDF creation department.

1) http://PDFMoto.com : A Web publishing system that converts documents you create in any Windows application into PDF. They offer several different versions, so pricing varies, but they do offer a free version that is limited to 50 documents.

2) http://PDF995.com : Free software that allows you to create PDF documents as easily as hitting the "print" key from within any application. The free version has an advertising splash page that comes up everytime you run the program but you can purchase "keys" for $9.95 each to remove them if they bother you.

3) http://Sanface.com/txt2pdf.html : Txt2PDF Shareware that is actually a Perl 5 program that converts your old text docs to PDF format. Runs on any platform that supports Perl. The personal edition is only $39.00.

4) http://www.oakworth.demon.co.uk/gymnast.htm : Gymnast is a text to PDF creator for Windows. This downloadable software is actually freeware. Very powerful and easy to use and it's loaded with features. Just open the software, select the document and convert it.

5) http://tinyurl.com/la4j : CutePDF Printer is totally free. This software has no annoying ads or banners. Choose print from within any application to create a PDF instantly.

6) http://Win2PDF.com : This software creates PDF files from any Windows NT, Win 2000 or XP application. Price ranges from $35.00 to $69.00, depending on which version you wish to purchase. Installs as a print driver so all you do is click print from any software app you're using and you're done.

As you can see, you have plenty to choose from when it comes to software packages, but what if you just have an occasional need to create PDF's? There are some websites that will allow you to create documents right online at their sites.

Here are a few to get you started:

1) Adobe:
Look in the left hand column for the button that says "create PDF online." You can create up to five documents free; after that you'll need to pay $9.99 a month or $99.00 per year for unlimited usage.

2) Create Your Own PDF:
Just paste your text into the box and hit the button. Presto, you're done.

3) GoBlc:
Free online conversion service that allows you to upload any document. They do the PDF conversion and email you back with the file.

One of the biggest problems with PDF documents, especially when it comes to ebooks, is that they're not easily modified for use by affiliates /associates. Many .exe ebooks allow you to download them and easily customize them with your own affiliate links. When it comes to viral marketing, rebranding ability is of the utmost importance. This gives others the incentive to freely give away your ebook if they can insert their own affiliate links. This was a problem with PDF, but not anymore.

1) Viral PDF:
With this software, you can easily rebrand your PDF ebooks. It's actually a set of two Windows files. Once you create your material you can give it to your affiliates along with a small software application that allows them to rebrand the links in the ebook with their own. Only $67.00.

2) Custom PDF Maker:
A script that allows your visitors to enter their links into a webpage, press a button and the PDF is created with their links in it. Only $19.95.

3) PDF Link Changer:
Software that searches through a PDF file, displays all url's and email links and allows you to easily change them. If you create marketing materials for your affiliates, this one's for you. Purchase without resale rights for only $19.00.

No matter how you choose to create your own PDF's -- with software, on the fly online, or rebrandable -- by taking the time to check out these resources, you'll save yourself a lot of time and money. Remember, when it comes to PDF creation, Adobe's not the only game in town.

About The Author
Merle operates EzineAdAuction.com "Where some of the Best Deals in Ezine Advertising are Made". Buy & Sell Ezine Ads in a live auction setting! Publishers sell off your excess inventory and Buyers pick up some Fantastic bargains. Free E-book on how to write "glowing" ezine ads..... Download Now.

Affiliate Marketing - The best way to market your products.

2005-01-31T02:01:00.000+04:00

You may not know this, but lately We've been researching how to successfully grow a business on the Internet. And through this research, We've uncovered an extremely powerful marketing technique that we knew you'd want to hear about... It literally allows you to advertise your business all over the Web, on thousands of web sites, absolutely FREE!

You only pay when you make a sale... and that means you ONLY PAY FOR ADVERTISING THAT WORKS! It's called an "Affiliate Program" (also referred to as a Reseller or Associate Program), and it simply involves allowing other people to promote your product or service in exchange for a small commission each time they make a sale. These people, referred to as "affiliates," send visitors to your site using banner ads, text links, personal letters of recommendation, etc... and for every visitor they send you that buys, you pay the affiliate a small percentage of the profits you make (called a "referral fee"). Pretty impressive, right?

We thought so too... It is quite literally the ultimate performance-based advertising because YOU ONLY EVER PAY FOR RESULTS! Hundreds, even thousands, of people can promote your products on every corner of the Web, and you only ever pay them when they make a sale!

However, even though Affiliate Programs are... A HIGHLY PROFITABLE MARKETING TOOL ... a critical point we've realized from the research is that your Affiliate Program can only be as good as the software that is running it for you!

If you want to be the biggest and best -- and literally BLOW PAST YOUR COMPETITION with an army of affiliates that only get paid when they make a sale -- you had better have software that is GUARANTEED to track every visitor your affiliates send you ... no questions asked! But do you need to spend $2,000 to $10,000+ on Affiliate Program software... and then hundreds of dollars a month thereafter... in order to build a successful Affiliate Program?

At first we thought so (a lot of the so-called "experts" will tell you this is the only way to go), but then we discovered this powerful software that blows its overpriced competition out of the water. Honestly, if you're interested in starting your own Affiliate Program and advertising your business on thousands of web sites for FREE -- only paying when an ACTUAL SALE is made -- then we'd highly recommend checking out the following web site:

http://www.marketingtips.com/assoctrac/t.x/641036

Here you'll find *accurate* information (along with some really VALUABLE MARKETING TIPS) about how you can start your very own successful Affiliate Program using software designed by a highly-respected Internet marketer who has one of the most successful Affiliate Programs on the Web. (This guy got frustrated by those $2,000 to $10,000+ options and decided to take matters into his own hands... with impressive results!)

After all the research we've done, this is truly the best information we've found for starting your own Affiliate Program -- and that's why we wanted to make sure you have the same opportunity to profit.

Hope this helps.

Ekhwan Web Solutions - Brotherhood Beyond Boundries
Your Gateway to Establishing an Online Presence.
http://www.ekhwan.com/

How do I set up Outlook for my email account?

2005-01-29T23:14:00.000+04:00

Step 1:

From the Tools menu on the top menu bar of your Outlook program and click Accounts.

Step 2:
Click Add and then Mail on the top right side of the dialogue box.

Step 3:
Type in your Display Name. This is the name that will appear in the From field on your outgoing messages. Then click Next.

Step 4:
Type in your email address. This is the address people will use to send you an email. It will look similar to yourname@yourdomainname.com. Then click Next.

Step 5:
Select POP3 as your incoming mail server.

Then type in your Incoming and Outgoing Mail Server names.

Incoming Mail Server name: mail.yourdomain.com (replace .com with .net, .org or whatever extension your domain name uses)
Outgoing Mail Server name: smtpout.secureserver.net

Note: Your hosti will tell you exactly what your incoming and outgoing mail servers are.

Then click Next.

Step 6:
Type in your email address as your account name.

Type in the password that you used when you set up your email account.

Then click Next.

Step 7:
Choose the method you use to connect to the Internet.

If you use a local ISP to connect, select Connect using my phone line.

If you are connected to a local area network (LAN) that is connected to the Internet, select Connect using my local area network (LAN).

If you are connecting through a third party dialer select I will establish my Internet connection manually.

Then click Next.

Step 8:
If you chose to make your Internet connection either through a LAN or to establish your connection manually, click Finish.

If you chose to make your Internet connection through your local ISP, select the name of that connection in the text box, or select Create a new dialup connection. Then click Next.

Step 9:
If you found your Internet connection in the text box on the previous page, click Finish.

If you are creating a new dialup account, complete the information required in the Internet Connection Wizard. Then click Finish.

Step 10:
Click on the new account name and then click Properties.

Step 11:
Click on the Servers tab.

Step 12:
In the Outgoing Mail Server section, check the box My server requires authentication. Then click Settings.

Step 13:
Select Log on using. Type in your SMTP account name and password. Click OK. Then click OK in the next window.

*These instructions are for Outlook 2000.

Email Tutorials

Yet MORE Cool Tools that are also Free!

2005-01-26T19:15:00.000+04:00

By Robin Nobles

Several months ago, I published an article on cool tools that are also frëe. We all enjoy discovering frëe resources that genuinely merit value, don't we?

Thanks to everyone who wrote and sent me your own cool tools. We'll keep publishing articles as long as you keep sending me your own ideas! We'll combine and categorize them into one very helpful list.

Here's Part 2 of our Cool Tools that are also Free. You'll find Part 1 in the SiteProNews Archives

Link Reputation Tool

We know the importance of link popularity (the number and quality of inbound links pointing to our Web site). Equally important is link reputation - what those inbound links say about our Web site. In other words, link reputation is what is written in the link text, or the clickable text, pointing to our Web site. With this frëe link reputation tool, you can learn what other sites are saying about your Web site.

Trojan Scanner

Wow. This tool really brings back "fond" memories when I had my very own Trojan horse clomping around inside my computer system. (A word of advice: please get a firewall!)

The Trojan Scanner at Information Exchange scans your system for 85 known Trojans. You'll hold your breath as it runs its scan, or at least I did. You'll also find a WhoIs Lookup, a Server-Check, and other cool tools.

Quality Assurance ToolBox at the W3C Consortium

The W3C offers a suite of validators that you can use, such as a W3C markup validator, a CSS validator, an XML validator, a log validator, and some that I've never heard of!

As you know, it's important to be in compliance with W3C standards, and these tools and validators will help you to accomplish just that.

FreeWebSubmission Site Ranking Tool

Plug in your URL and your keyword phrase, and you'll quickly learn your rankings across 12 major search engines in a minute or two. Pretty slick!

SnapFiles

Frëe software (freeware) galore! This is a computer addict's paradise. Enjoy!

Dynamic Drive

Dynamic Drive offers original dynamic scripts (DHTML) and a JavaScript code library, including calendars, mouseover images, DHTML games, scrollers, etc.

CoolText Logo Generator

Not a Web or graphics designer (like me)? This site has some frëe logo and button generator tools just for you.

DNS Report

Many domains have DNS problems. This handy site will help you find those problems and fix them by providing a DNS report for your domain.

Everything You Want to Know about a URL (and I do mean everything). URLinfo is a "tool for handling Web pages," and it includes 107 tools that you can use to dig for information on a URL. You'll be there for hours, so grab a sandwich and a cup of coffee and get ready! There are more nooks and crannies to this site than you can possibly imagine.

What is my IP Address?

Doesn't take much explanation on this one, does it? If you ever need to know your IP address, this neat little online tool will answer the question for you.

Frëe Report on How to Measure the Effectiveness of Your Online Marketing Campaigns (by Marshall Sponder)

This frëe downloadable report is a phenomenal study in how to measure the traffïc to your Web site. Too many times, Web site owners work and work on increasing their traffïc, then stop way too short by forgetting about studying that traffïc.

This PDF download takes you several steps further in helping you understand the value of analyzing the traffïc to your online business.

Right click on the link below:
http://www.searchengineworkshops.com/SearchEngineMetrics.pdf

Choose "Save Target As." Choose a location on your hard drive to download the frëe report to. Enjoy!

Frëe Wordtracker Magic Audio Tutorial

Sign up for John Alexander's audio tutorial offering tips for doing keyword research using Wordtracker. Two audio tips are sent out by e-mail once a week, and they're approximately 2-3 minutes in length.

These tips are worth their weight in gold as they open your creative mind to researching keywords.

Search Engine Relationship Chart

By far, the best chart to show the relationships between the search engines and directories is Bruce Clay's. He does a tremendous job of keeping it up to date, and you can even download a copy as a PDF.

Again, thanks to all of you who shared these "cool tools" with me. Be sure and send me your list, and I'll add them to the next article. Thanks so much! ( robin@searchengineworkshops.com)

About The Author
Robin Nobles conducts on-location search engine marketing workshops, online SEO training, and Ultra-Advanced SEO Symposiums. SEW recently launched localized SEO training centers through the Search Engine Academy.

For programmers - Free Dev Tools

2005-01-26T11:51:00.000+04:00

There are 3 good free ressources that are great.

1) Webmatrix, a free ASP.NET development tools available for download at : http://www.asp.net/webmatrix/

2) Visual Web Developer 2005 Express Edition is a lightweight, easy-to-use and easy-to-learn development tool focused exclusively on Web development. It's from Microsoft and it's free.
http://lab.msdn.microsoft.com/express/vwd/

3) What about a free HTML Editor such as Frontpage or Dreamweaver ? Not yet as powerful but very good. It's also free, (open source) download NVU at http://www.nvu.com. There is a Windows and a Linux version. Everybody should be happy.

Ekhwan Web Master Tools, Tips and Tricks.

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