This guide will show you the steps you should go through before, during, and after your website project. This is by no means a complete account, as I will try to be as industry-nonspecific as possible. Using these steps in your planning process will help to ensure your success online!
Step 1 - Why
Before you do anything, you'd better know why you need to be online. Are you planning a full e-commerce endeavor or just an online advertising brochure? The answer to this will determine the entire scope of your project and should be considered carefully. If you decide now and change your mind later, you'll have to begin the whole planning process again. Be informed and know what you plan to do.
Step 2 - Outline
Now that you know why you're going online, you should begin a general outline and begin brainstorming ideas amongst your partners and affiliates. Set down a rough estimate of the number of pages the site will have, decide the basic style you'd like to achieve, and list every idea you have for the site (outlandish or ordinary).
Step 3 - Rough Draft
Take the list you created in Step 2 and refine it. Mark each item as being "necessary", "valuable", or as a "perk". If you don't know how an item qualifies, it's not "necessary" and therefore is one of the other two. Only items that you MUST have for the site to exist should be listed as necessary. Items such as "logo", "brochure content," "contact info," etc. are considered "necessary." Items such as "email form," "graphical interface," and "product catalog" are "valuable." "Flash animation," "automated link-through-systems," and "really cool graphics" are "perks."
Create three new lists, one for each category: necessary, valuable and perk. On a sticky note, write your proposed budget for this endeavor and paste it to the "necessary" list. Now you have the basics and are ready to begin contacting designers.
Step 4 - Begin Shopping
If you have a small budget, your list of necessary items is fairly small, and you do not see anything on your list which appears complicated or unusual for a website, then just about any good and reputable designer will suffice. In this case, you should shop by price and service instead of portfolio and pizzazz.
If, however, you have a large budget, a complex list of items to accomplish, and you need experience over price, then you'd be better off looking for a large firm of designers who specialize in your type of site or market.
In either case, you should ask up front (on the phone or in your first meeting) if they'll supply a rough site map and/or set of mockup designs for your proposed site. Usually a designer is more than happy to excite you with nifty pictures of your site-to-be. You need this, as this will give you an idea of where the designer wants to go with your site. If it isn't where you want to be, then you'd better get it clear now before you've written a single check for the designer's service!
The sticky note with your budget figure is your guide to not going overboard. Know what you can afford and what you really need. It's easy to go crazy with all of the nifty options and cool widgets, but ask yourself if they're necessary. If they are a good addition or perk, make a note of it. You may use it later during the website's long-term development.
Step 5 - Domain Names
Choosing a domain name is a very important step in getting yourself online. A domain name to your online presence is as important as a name for your business was when you first began. Careful consideration and a lot of thought should be given to your choice of domain. www.yourbusiness.com is a good start. Go to http://www.register.com or any other domain registration site that offers "whois" service (most of them do) and put in your desired domain name. Don't register it yet if it's available, just check. Many of these services also include a list of "suggested alternatives." Look through them; sometimes something you hadn't considered will pop up!
Start a list of domain names you think would be appropriate. Once you have six or eight of them, show them to your spouse, your friends, or anyone else who can give you a fresh perspective. Narrow the list down to two or three names. Mark them 1 (most wanted), 2 (next) and 3 (last). Go online and find a good registrar. You should not pay more than $15 per year for the registration of a com, net or org name. If a service charges more than this, go somewhere else. I recommend www.IsThisDomainTaken.com, but you can use whom you'd like.
Register your domain. I suggest a year to get started. If you're still around this time next year, then go for a longer period. No use spending more than you have to right away!
Step 6 - Initial Designs
Unless your site is very simple and you were extremely prepared in the beginning (probably having done this before), you will have to have your site built in stages. Each stage should be thoroughly considered for every aspect of the site thus far. Check the navigability, the color scheme, the general look and feel, will it sell product or get customers interested, etc. Be sure to spend a lot of time with your designer to discuss these attributes and what you like and dislike. Print the pages of the site out (at least the main page for each section, if it's large) and write and sketch on them to show changes to graphics, text, and whatever else. Write up a detailed list of changes you'd like to see made and present that to your designer. Your designer will not be resentful of this-- don't worry about stepping on toes. This only makes his or her job easier!
No matter how small, every site has at least three design stages: mockup, rough draft, and the final version. Each stage allows changes to be made (even the final one)! Don't let a designer fool you into thinking that you only get to change a site so many times. Until you're happy, the site isn't done no matter what they say. On the flip side of the coin, however, don't be nit-picky or wishy-washy. Know what you want and point it out the first time. Don't change your mind halfway through and force the designer to scrap the whole thing. Likely, if the designer is smart, he or she will refund your deposit (minus a fee for time spent) and bid you farewell. Designers know that a wishy-washy client will never be happy and will do nothing but lose them money. As a professional, a designer has better things to do with his or her time than waste it on a never-happy client.
During this process, you should be considering the customer's point of view while visiting your soon-to-be-launched website. Will your customer want to come back? Will they be disappointed? What will they be expecting when they first type in that URL or click on that link? Your site needs a "draw" or a reason for being. Interesting content, prizes or coupons, and other items are good "draws." Content is best (a tutorial perhaps, or a continually changing tour of your factory…something) as it gives users a reason to show their friends, stay interested, and come back to double-check information they saw.
Step 7 - Begin Marketing
The marketing of your site should begin as soon as you have an idea when it will be complete. When a finish date is set in concrete, then your marketing should begin in earnest. Change all of your printed materials, business cards, letterhead, phone listings, etc. to include your new domain name (URL). Your company's new presence (www.yourcompany.com) should be as important as having your phone number listed. Consider giveaways or other interest-grabbers (freebies are always popular) and use them as a tool to launch your site (see Step 6 above). Promise a lottery, prize, coupons, or anything else that can only be had by visiting the website and entering the contest/printing the coupon. Whatever this "getter" is, make sure it's good enough that people will be interested. Once they're on the site, they should have a reason to stay (see initial designs, Step 6).
Step 8 - Hosting
Now that your site is nearly complete, you'd better find a place to put it! Your choice is web host is very important to the long-term success of your site. You need to make sure of several things before you hand out any money for this service: 1) is the host reliable? 2) will this host be around next year…the year after? 3) how much are they charging? 4) what are the limitations of their service (bandwidth, email accounts, etc.)? 5) will this host be flexible enough to keep up with the increasing demand of your site as it grows? 6) does the host offer several plans that can be easily upgraded to facilitate growth? 7) how quickly do they respond for customer service via email or the telephone?
All of these questions are very important. In the past, before I began hosting my own sites and customers, I would find a lot of competition and narrow it down to one provider using only questions 5-7. Finding a flexible host who also offers great customer service is difficult to find. Generally, if you send an email to your final prospects (after having narrowed the list using questions 1-4), the one who answers first is most likely your best bet. The one who takes longer than 24 hours to respond (including weekends!) should be removed from your list. At this point, you should have no more than one or two prospects. If you have more than one, the final question to ask is "who has the best facility, best hardware, and offers the best technical support?" Check their website or ask them via email what type of facility they are in, how many connections their server has to the outside world, and where the hosting company is located. If you are in the US and your prospective host is offshore, consider whether you want to take this risk. Remember: other countries have different laws and you may not be protected from data theft or other potential problems. As a rule, two outside connections for a server or rack is the bare minimum. The more the merrier here! What kind of machine would they be hosting you on? Check the library or another source of up-to-date magazines and find out what the newest technologies are. Chances are you can take the names of the hardware (RAQ 4 for instance) and guess that a RAQ 3 was the last generation of that machine. The newer the better! The technical support should be equivalent to the server and the facility: more is better!
Step 9 - Site Launch!
Now that your website is complete and you have a host and domain name, you're ready to launch! If all of this happens earlier than your expected or announced date (which it should if all is well), then DO NOT launch your site before the announced time. If you do it too early, you might give the impression that you're over-eager and desperate. Worse, people may believe that you pad all of your estimated dates too heavily and will have less trust in you. Keep in mind, though, that one day early is a far cry from a month early. A day will not hurt, a month could kill. Stick to your plan and don't jump ahead of yourself. Use the extra time to keep hyping your new release. Use screenshots or video captures of the now-finished site to enhance the anticipation. When the time comes, fire away!
Step 10 - Maintenance
Once your site is open to the world, you will begin to deal with the day-to-day items of owning a website. Keeping your site up-to-date and well maintained requires time and effort. Eventually it will become a regular routine and only the details will be different each time. It may sound mundane, but if done right, you will never lose interest in your website. You may need to contract a professional (generally the developer who created your site to begin with) to do your technical updates for you. Or you may wish to keep these updates yourself and learn a little about how a website is built from the inside out. Most likely, you'll hire a professional: and be smart to. Contracts can vary in scope and price. Find the one that fits your needs best and use it. Always take full advantage of what you're being given in a contract. If it's a by-the-hour list (say four hours per month), then utilize all of that time the developer is giving you. Have your marketing department (or whoever fills this role) create new and interesting things to update the site with. Include changing information, tutorials, new features, and other enhancements. Keep the site's focus at the forefront of your ideas, but continue to update and change things. If you create a site and leave it the way it is, changing it yearly or less, your visitor count will begin to drop, as people get wise to your lack of attendance. You change your other marketing regularly to keep them fresh, right? Do that with your website too! The advantage here is that a website is generally cheaper than another form of mass-media advertising, so changes can take place a lot more often.
Step 11 - New Looks
In general, a website should be completely re-vamped to receive an entirely new look or design at least once a year. This helps to keep the content fresh and forces your users to take notice once more. Making an anniversary of it can be an added bonus with plenty of hype and circumstance to build it up feverishly. When a company moves into a new building, they usually make a big deal of the event. Why not with your website too? Several months before you wish to change, consult with your original designer or maintenance provider. Get a tentative quote on the time frame and cost of these changes.
Step 12 - Success!
By the time you're ready for Step 11, you should have an idea of how successful your site has become and projections of how successful it will be if it keeps to its current path. Like most businesses, a website should start out small and become larger and larger as time passes. It should also become more and more popular. After the first year, begin to make more long-term goals and at minimum a yearly prospectus for your site. Goals reaching out as far as three years are not outlandish, but make sure they're flexible enough (and are reviewed for relevancy enough) that they can be altered to meet new challenges or changing viewpoint. Your yearly prospectus should match your first year's goals in scope. If your goal is to have a certain number of visitors per week six months from now, then your prospectus should show how this is going to happen (and whether, realistically, it really can happen). Above all, keep your focus! Know where you want to be, why you want to be there, and how it's going to happen. Your website and your business should share common threads throughout--including their goals. Keep on track and you'll have nothing but success!
http://www.content.onlypunjab.com/Article/How-to-Start-a-Website--The-Basic-Guide/4200320092003392233
Friday, October 5, 2007
How Important are Back Links?
When setting up your website for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) on Google there are several factors you need to look at in order to obtain a high rank on their search engine. Of course your content and meta tags must be inline with positive density percentages and reciprocal links. Google then takes your website and performs a mathematic equation and places a numeric value on your website depending on one of the most important features, reciprocal or back links.
A back link and reciprocal link are identical. They both say the same thing to the Google engine, that your site should be ranked higher in the order because other people find value in what your website has to offer, thus they provide a link to your site. In turn, you keep a closed loop by reciprocating the favor to the other website by extending the same courtesy of a back link. Thus creating a solid network connection. Google likes to see interconnectivity and will reward your website well for planning it this way.
There are drawbacks to the equation. As things change a website that you are affiliated with may drop a hyperlink or a page may get accidentally deleted. When the Google robot goes through your website and finds a dead link it notes that you aren’t keeping good care of your website and punishes your web rank by reducing its point value. If you wish to know what your sites current point value is download The Google Toolbar and search for your website www.yourwebsitename.com in the box and perform a Google web search. Upon reading the full URL, Google will go directly to your site first thus pulling up your home page. There on the toolbar will be a page rank for your website between 1 and 10. 1 being a less visited and noted website and 10 a site that screams traffic 24/7.
Some of the individuals you share reciprocal links with may in fact scan all their links for continuity, should they receive a bounce back for a broken link on your website you can be assured you will receive an email from them. Keeping your website in balance with other sites you share links with will keep the Google engine happy. If you go off and add a company that is not Google friendly, meaning they have no back links you may also lose points.
http://www.content.onlypunjab.com/Article/How-Important-are-Back-Links-/4200320092003392478
A back link and reciprocal link are identical. They both say the same thing to the Google engine, that your site should be ranked higher in the order because other people find value in what your website has to offer, thus they provide a link to your site. In turn, you keep a closed loop by reciprocating the favor to the other website by extending the same courtesy of a back link. Thus creating a solid network connection. Google likes to see interconnectivity and will reward your website well for planning it this way.
There are drawbacks to the equation. As things change a website that you are affiliated with may drop a hyperlink or a page may get accidentally deleted. When the Google robot goes through your website and finds a dead link it notes that you aren’t keeping good care of your website and punishes your web rank by reducing its point value. If you wish to know what your sites current point value is download The Google Toolbar and search for your website www.yourwebsitename.com in the box and perform a Google web search. Upon reading the full URL, Google will go directly to your site first thus pulling up your home page. There on the toolbar will be a page rank for your website between 1 and 10. 1 being a less visited and noted website and 10 a site that screams traffic 24/7.
Some of the individuals you share reciprocal links with may in fact scan all their links for continuity, should they receive a bounce back for a broken link on your website you can be assured you will receive an email from them. Keeping your website in balance with other sites you share links with will keep the Google engine happy. If you go off and add a company that is not Google friendly, meaning they have no back links you may also lose points.
http://www.content.onlypunjab.com/Article/How-Important-are-Back-Links-/4200320092003392478
Getting into the Yahoo Directory
To submit to Yahoo directory there are two submission options: "Standard," which is free, and "Yahoo Directory Submit," which involves a submission fee. If you own a non-commercial website then you can use the standard submission option. There is no guarantee that any Yahoo editor will ever get to review your site considering the volume of sites that are submitted every day.
If you want a faster turnaround to get your website indexed quicker then you can go for the paid option even in the non-commercial category. The fee is $299 to submit to Yahoo Directory. The fee for the non-commercial category is one time and is called the submission fee. You will not be refunded the money even if your site is rejected.
For the non-commercial category ensure the following to avoid rejection:
1. The website is not overtly commercial
2. Fully functional site with no broken links or under construction pages
3. User friendly and browser friendly website.
If your website fulfills the above criteria your site will be reviewed and included in the index in about 7-10 business days.
There are many advantages to being listed in the Yahoo Directory. One is there are higher chances of your website being listed in the main results of Yahoo - which are powered by the Yahoo Crawler and also that of other search engines like Google and MSN.
If your site is a purely commercial site and you wish to submit to Yahoo Directory you will have to pay yearly submission fee of $299. This does not guarantee your site's inclusion in the Yahoo directory but most decent sites are accepted provided they satisfy the criteria mentioned above for the non-commercial category.
Every year your site will be re-evaluated after you pay the submission fee and either listed or rejected. You can include your site for a year and then check your traffic and revenue stats to see if you really want to continue being in the Yahoo directory. If it is not worth the money then you decline to be listed. You won't be charged in that case.
If you site got indexed and ranked by virtue of being in Yahoo directories then as long as your site has right on-page and off-page factors it will continue being there even if you longer wish to continue in the Yahoo directory.
Also, being in the top rankings may have got you lot of links from other sites, you might run a linking campaign to get lots of new links for your site, you might have loads of new, quality and relevant content to your site. If you have done all this chances of your being dropped from the indexes are remote.
The Yahoo Directory Submission Process:
Once you have finished designing and constructing your website to the last detail it is simple to submit to Yahoo Directory. For the free submission just click on "Suggest a Site" link that appears at the top page. This will bring up the submission form. Just fill it and you are done.
For the commercial category use the Yahoo Directory Submit Form. Enter the details of your website, pay the submission fee and in about 7-10 business days you should hear from Yahoo about your inclusion or rejection.
http://www.content.onlypunjab.com/Article/Getting-into-the-Yahoo-Directory/4200320092003394157
If you want a faster turnaround to get your website indexed quicker then you can go for the paid option even in the non-commercial category. The fee is $299 to submit to Yahoo Directory. The fee for the non-commercial category is one time and is called the submission fee. You will not be refunded the money even if your site is rejected.
For the non-commercial category ensure the following to avoid rejection:
1. The website is not overtly commercial
2. Fully functional site with no broken links or under construction pages
3. User friendly and browser friendly website.
If your website fulfills the above criteria your site will be reviewed and included in the index in about 7-10 business days.
There are many advantages to being listed in the Yahoo Directory. One is there are higher chances of your website being listed in the main results of Yahoo - which are powered by the Yahoo Crawler and also that of other search engines like Google and MSN.
If your site is a purely commercial site and you wish to submit to Yahoo Directory you will have to pay yearly submission fee of $299. This does not guarantee your site's inclusion in the Yahoo directory but most decent sites are accepted provided they satisfy the criteria mentioned above for the non-commercial category.
Every year your site will be re-evaluated after you pay the submission fee and either listed or rejected. You can include your site for a year and then check your traffic and revenue stats to see if you really want to continue being in the Yahoo directory. If it is not worth the money then you decline to be listed. You won't be charged in that case.
If you site got indexed and ranked by virtue of being in Yahoo directories then as long as your site has right on-page and off-page factors it will continue being there even if you longer wish to continue in the Yahoo directory.
Also, being in the top rankings may have got you lot of links from other sites, you might run a linking campaign to get lots of new links for your site, you might have loads of new, quality and relevant content to your site. If you have done all this chances of your being dropped from the indexes are remote.
The Yahoo Directory Submission Process:
Once you have finished designing and constructing your website to the last detail it is simple to submit to Yahoo Directory. For the free submission just click on "Suggest a Site" link that appears at the top page. This will bring up the submission form. Just fill it and you are done.
For the commercial category use the Yahoo Directory Submit Form. Enter the details of your website, pay the submission fee and in about 7-10 business days you should hear from Yahoo about your inclusion or rejection.
http://www.content.onlypunjab.com/Article/Getting-into-the-Yahoo-Directory/4200320092003394157
The Benefits of Spam Blockers
The benefits of spam blockers are immense. They not only save your time, energy and space, but also prevents your PC from getting infected with viruses, phishing, and crashing down of the whole system. Take a look at the various spam blockers and their effective role in giving you a spam free inbox.
In order to realize the benefits of spam blockers, it is best to first know the possible dangers and difficulties that you can face due to spam and junk mails. You must be constantly irritated by these junk mails. But, there are many other reasons to avoid junk mails filtering into your inbox other than just posing as an obstruction to your eye. There are people who can make the spam look as though it is being sent from your own personal computer. This is known as spoofed email address. Once such a thing occurs, your ISP will cut your internet connection, even without your knowledge. You computer system can be effectively slowed down or it can be crashed due to the impact of viruses that comes with spam. This can lead to all your private information being stolen and to being directed to adult sites. They not only steal all your information, but also delete all that you have stored in your PC. The spam blockers are anti spam software, the uses anti spam programs to prevent the occurrence of these incidents by preventing unsolicited mails from entering your inbox.
Spam Blockers-A Protective Shield for your Computer
Another benefit of using spam blocker is it prevents phishing. Phishing is when you get these junk mails that are dressed as official mails like the bank mails. They ask you to enter your pin code and password to view information or to view the attractive deals. In this process, they collect all your information and utilize it. Spam also occupies a lot of memory space on your computer. They may also contain scams that trick people with attractive money offers. Here comes the importance of spam blockers. The spam blockers prevent the messages from entering your inbox. This saves not only the space, but also the other potential threats and damages.
Some of the effective spam blockers and filters include Spam Bully, Spam Inspector, and Zaep. A portable spam filtering solution, SpamArrest makes it easier for you to check for spam even when you don't have access to your computer. It makes use of a webmail along with a spam filtering solution. If you are using Outlook, then Qurb is the best option. Anti spam for outlook includes Spam Bully that keeps your inbox free of spam. Even the SpamPal identifies the well known spammers with the help of spam blacklists. For POP accounts, Death2Spam is extremely effective. MailWasher Pro is secure and a time-saving spam filter that also protect your computer from viruses. Make use of the full benefits of these well known spam blockers and email spam filters to make your computer safe and protected from viruses and spam.
http://www.content.onlypunjab.com/Article/The-Benefits-of-Spam-Blockers/4200320092003366313
In order to realize the benefits of spam blockers, it is best to first know the possible dangers and difficulties that you can face due to spam and junk mails. You must be constantly irritated by these junk mails. But, there are many other reasons to avoid junk mails filtering into your inbox other than just posing as an obstruction to your eye. There are people who can make the spam look as though it is being sent from your own personal computer. This is known as spoofed email address. Once such a thing occurs, your ISP will cut your internet connection, even without your knowledge. You computer system can be effectively slowed down or it can be crashed due to the impact of viruses that comes with spam. This can lead to all your private information being stolen and to being directed to adult sites. They not only steal all your information, but also delete all that you have stored in your PC. The spam blockers are anti spam software, the uses anti spam programs to prevent the occurrence of these incidents by preventing unsolicited mails from entering your inbox.
Spam Blockers-A Protective Shield for your Computer
Another benefit of using spam blocker is it prevents phishing. Phishing is when you get these junk mails that are dressed as official mails like the bank mails. They ask you to enter your pin code and password to view information or to view the attractive deals. In this process, they collect all your information and utilize it. Spam also occupies a lot of memory space on your computer. They may also contain scams that trick people with attractive money offers. Here comes the importance of spam blockers. The spam blockers prevent the messages from entering your inbox. This saves not only the space, but also the other potential threats and damages.
Some of the effective spam blockers and filters include Spam Bully, Spam Inspector, and Zaep. A portable spam filtering solution, SpamArrest makes it easier for you to check for spam even when you don't have access to your computer. It makes use of a webmail along with a spam filtering solution. If you are using Outlook, then Qurb is the best option. Anti spam for outlook includes Spam Bully that keeps your inbox free of spam. Even the SpamPal identifies the well known spammers with the help of spam blacklists. For POP accounts, Death2Spam is extremely effective. MailWasher Pro is secure and a time-saving spam filter that also protect your computer from viruses. Make use of the full benefits of these well known spam blockers and email spam filters to make your computer safe and protected from viruses and spam.
http://www.content.onlypunjab.com/Article/The-Benefits-of-Spam-Blockers/4200320092003366313
Why You Should Use A Spyware Removal Tool
All computer users that access the internet should be using a spyware removal tool. If you don't know why then keep reading.
Spyware can have many names including adware, malware, trackware, and snoopware but for most internet users it is not the names they are familiar with but the symptoms of a spyware software infection.
Being infected by spyware software means that your computer will be performing very sluggishly, you will have an increased amount of pop up ads appearing, you homepage may change unexpectedly, and you might also find that you get strange search results whilst browsing the internet.
Make no mistake about it, spyware is a nuisance, and the only thing that will help to keep it from your computer is installing and using a spyware removal tool.
Spyware software left undetected on your computer can have disastrous effects. Once of the greatest threats is identity theft. This may seem a little severe but spyware software can include keyloggers that will capture all your keystrokes including passwords, personal information, and even bank details. So you see a spyware removal tool really is essential.
Spyware Facts You Should Know
Did you know that nine out of ten computers that are connected to the internet become infected with spyware software? When a spyware blocker is installed, 88% of scans will reveal some form of spyware or adware. Spyware does not just come from adult orientated websites; in fact your computer can be infected no matter what your surfing habits.
As you can see installing a spyware blocker really is essential especially if you want to protect your information. Spyware will not go away and you need to stay protected. A spyware removal tool can help you do just this and there are a wide range of free spyware downloads available. Install a spyware blocker now or else turn off your computer.
http://www.content.onlypunjab.com/Article/Why-You-Should-Use-A-Spyware-Removal-Tool/4200320092003366321
Spyware can have many names including adware, malware, trackware, and snoopware but for most internet users it is not the names they are familiar with but the symptoms of a spyware software infection.
Being infected by spyware software means that your computer will be performing very sluggishly, you will have an increased amount of pop up ads appearing, you homepage may change unexpectedly, and you might also find that you get strange search results whilst browsing the internet.
Make no mistake about it, spyware is a nuisance, and the only thing that will help to keep it from your computer is installing and using a spyware removal tool.
Spyware software left undetected on your computer can have disastrous effects. Once of the greatest threats is identity theft. This may seem a little severe but spyware software can include keyloggers that will capture all your keystrokes including passwords, personal information, and even bank details. So you see a spyware removal tool really is essential.
Spyware Facts You Should Know
Did you know that nine out of ten computers that are connected to the internet become infected with spyware software? When a spyware blocker is installed, 88% of scans will reveal some form of spyware or adware. Spyware does not just come from adult orientated websites; in fact your computer can be infected no matter what your surfing habits.
As you can see installing a spyware blocker really is essential especially if you want to protect your information. Spyware will not go away and you need to stay protected. A spyware removal tool can help you do just this and there are a wide range of free spyware downloads available. Install a spyware blocker now or else turn off your computer.
http://www.content.onlypunjab.com/Article/Why-You-Should-Use-A-Spyware-Removal-Tool/4200320092003366321
SPAM blocker
Spam is one of the leading causes of email traffic congestion and loss in productivity. Spam is essentially unwanted email, it may be from a known source, but can still be spam mail. Surveys the world over have estimated that thousands of man hours are wasted by corporates the world over, due to useless spam mails.
Impact of spam mail on productivity
Just imagine a regular employee coming to work to discover 30 new mails, it will take him a good 10-15 minutes to figure out which ones are genuine and which one's are just useless spam. Now extrapolate this figure to 10,000 employees, that makes it 2500 man hours a day that are spent filtering spam! And throw in the added complication of viruses from unwanted attachments, one can clearly see that the productivity of a company is being affected by spam. The solution is more often than not to go out and buy expensive spam filtering software that is then installed on each computer and actively scans each mail before it reaches an employee's inbox. An additional virus scanning software also needs to be purchased.
The problem with software on a per computer basis is that its pretty expensive, an anti spam software for 10,000 users can cost nearly half a million dollars including the price of an anti virus software. And then there are software problems that need to be fixed which usually require hiring additional manpower. The solution to this problem is much simpler if there is a separate server, that first receives all the mails for a company, scans them and then forwards them to the company's internal mail server. This ensures that a company does not spend any money on hardware, software and maintenance, and in addition have state of the art spam filtering and email scanning.
How spam filtering services work
Spam filtering services are fast, effective and best of all they take away the headache of actually installing software on each computer and then additional maintenance costs. The first step in installing a spam filtering service is to route all emails to the spam filtering service's server. This is what is called the setup phase and usually takes anywhere between an hour to a day, based on the complexity of the accounts a company has and the level of customization. Once an organization successfully sets up emails to be routed to a spam filtering service's server. The emails are then processed in three steps
Step 1
The emails are first scanned for viruses, trojans and other malware. Spam filtering servers usually have more than one anti-virus scanner, this ensures that every email is not just scanned by a single scanner but actually put through multiple anti-virus scanners, that are updated on a daily basis to make sure that the anti-virus protection is the latest. If any email is infected it is cleaned, if the virus cannot be removed, then based on the client's specifications the email is either deleted or stored separately.
Step 2
Phase two involves putting the email through spam filters, a spam filter actually checks an email for trigger keywords (popular trigger keyword examples are “Cheap Viagra”, “Win cash awards”) and also checks the sender's address against a known database of spammers. Most anti-spam services allow downloading the spam into a spam folder of the inbox, so even if the anti-spam server has accidentally marked genuine mail as spam it is not lost. During the setup phase of the spam filtering service, the client can decide if they want all spam mail deleted or want it forwarded to a spam account.
Step 3
This is the final phase, all mails are virus free, spam free and can either be downloaded at the client's leisure or are automatically forwarded to the client's email server. Once again this depends on the way the client has configured the spam filter service.
It is not necessary that all spam filtering services offer virus scanning, in fact most anti-spam filtering services actually charge a little extra for virus scanning services, the best option for any organization is to look around and find a spam filtering service, that offers all features at attractive pricing.
http://www.content.onlypunjab.com/Article/SPAM-blocker/4200320092003390569
Impact of spam mail on productivity
Just imagine a regular employee coming to work to discover 30 new mails, it will take him a good 10-15 minutes to figure out which ones are genuine and which one's are just useless spam. Now extrapolate this figure to 10,000 employees, that makes it 2500 man hours a day that are spent filtering spam! And throw in the added complication of viruses from unwanted attachments, one can clearly see that the productivity of a company is being affected by spam. The solution is more often than not to go out and buy expensive spam filtering software that is then installed on each computer and actively scans each mail before it reaches an employee's inbox. An additional virus scanning software also needs to be purchased.
The problem with software on a per computer basis is that its pretty expensive, an anti spam software for 10,000 users can cost nearly half a million dollars including the price of an anti virus software. And then there are software problems that need to be fixed which usually require hiring additional manpower. The solution to this problem is much simpler if there is a separate server, that first receives all the mails for a company, scans them and then forwards them to the company's internal mail server. This ensures that a company does not spend any money on hardware, software and maintenance, and in addition have state of the art spam filtering and email scanning.
How spam filtering services work
Spam filtering services are fast, effective and best of all they take away the headache of actually installing software on each computer and then additional maintenance costs. The first step in installing a spam filtering service is to route all emails to the spam filtering service's server. This is what is called the setup phase and usually takes anywhere between an hour to a day, based on the complexity of the accounts a company has and the level of customization. Once an organization successfully sets up emails to be routed to a spam filtering service's server. The emails are then processed in three steps
Step 1
The emails are first scanned for viruses, trojans and other malware. Spam filtering servers usually have more than one anti-virus scanner, this ensures that every email is not just scanned by a single scanner but actually put through multiple anti-virus scanners, that are updated on a daily basis to make sure that the anti-virus protection is the latest. If any email is infected it is cleaned, if the virus cannot be removed, then based on the client's specifications the email is either deleted or stored separately.
Step 2
Phase two involves putting the email through spam filters, a spam filter actually checks an email for trigger keywords (popular trigger keyword examples are “Cheap Viagra”, “Win cash awards”) and also checks the sender's address against a known database of spammers. Most anti-spam services allow downloading the spam into a spam folder of the inbox, so even if the anti-spam server has accidentally marked genuine mail as spam it is not lost. During the setup phase of the spam filtering service, the client can decide if they want all spam mail deleted or want it forwarded to a spam account.
Step 3
This is the final phase, all mails are virus free, spam free and can either be downloaded at the client's leisure or are automatically forwarded to the client's email server. Once again this depends on the way the client has configured the spam filter service.
It is not necessary that all spam filtering services offer virus scanning, in fact most anti-spam filtering services actually charge a little extra for virus scanning services, the best option for any organization is to look around and find a spam filtering service, that offers all features at attractive pricing.
http://www.content.onlypunjab.com/Article/SPAM-blocker/4200320092003390569
Spam filter
In 2004, Bill Gates famously said that the spam problem would be solved by 2006. Well, Bill: It's 2007, and we're still waiting.
Everybody makes mistakes. Of course, Mr. Gates doesn't have a crystal ball, so telling what the future holds for spam is little easier for him than it is for the rest of us. Nonetheless, by looking at the current patterns of spam, we can make some estimates regarding the future of spam.
For one thing, statistics show that the problem is set to grow. Spam rates have almost doubled over the past twelve months to over 100 billion spam mails sent per day, and this figure is rising. Spammers have found that affiliate spam is so profitable that they are able to run the risk of legal recourse in their attempts to make money. In this sense, increased spam laws have largely been a disappointment so far, as they seem to impact far too few spammers. Perhaps, then, the future of spam will be defined by what happens in the legislatures and the courts around the world. CAN-SPAM could just be the beginning, and one day mass, unsolicited mail could be banned outright. Should the continuing problems of botnet viruses and other trojans continue, this isn't quite as far-fetched as it sounds.
Spam virus technology, then, is perhaps the most growing part of the spam threat. But surely, as Bill Gates argued, technology exists that can block this. That's true, but it relies on all computer users being tech-savvy enough to install and maintain it - something that's decidely impossible in the rapidly-expanding world of cyberspace. Indeed, those well-informed enough to protect themselves with spam firewall programs and virus checkers may well be in the minority.
So perhaps the solution does not lie with the end user; failing the legal method, perhaps the large technology companies and anti-spam software authors could target the spammers themselves. Perhaps there can be a growth in software that would make spam either virtually impossible, or prohibitively expensive? Indeed, technology in the antispam sector has advanced significantly in the last few years - prompting Gates' notorious remark - and can affect both sender and recipient. To stop spam from being sent, Gates once advocated "charging" mass mailers in computational cycles in order to discourage massive, indiscriminate sending sprees without overly penalising smaller companies. Simply put, Gates sought to end the days when a spam mailer program could fire off tens of thousands of emails in seconds - instead, each email would take several seconds to send. Small businesses dealing with customers in the hundreds, rather than the millions, would not be hit hard, but spammers would need to invest in computer architecture far beyond what they currently use now. What's more, it would render botnets too slow to be worth the risk.
But surely that runs the risk of alienating legitimate marketing firms, or those companies with huge, self-gathered mailing lists. As these are so powerful, perhaps Gates' idea was too far-fetched. Maybe so; hence, the solution may come from the increased use of verification technology. GoodMail is a popular program for some large companies, who pay the GoodMail Systems company for the privelege of attaching a small token of authenticity to their emails, ensuring that certain co-operative ISPs allow their emails safe passage to the end user's inbox. Putting more responsibility with the user was the Caller ID for E-Mail idea, already piloted in the Hotmail spam filter. This is a spam blacklist technique involving the recognition of certain good/bad IP addresses in email headers, and filing the incoming messages accordingly. However, for those whose email providers do not set up this facility for them, it can prove difficult; and with increasingly elaborate spamming techniques - from image spam to phishing and beyond - all being sent from a range of IPs courtesy of hacked, zombie PCs, blocklists may soon grow to be unwieldy.
So, then, perhaps better spam filtering software is the idea. It's certainly seemed to help in the cases of Gmail and some other webmail providers, whose users still suffer from spam, but less so than those who use no protection at all. However, it's difficult to provide a catch-all solution, particularly as image spam and other interesting methods of spam mailings continue to grow. Indeed, one thing that's guaranteed in the future of spam is that spamming techniques will grow more and more advanced - and more and more devious, too.
Putting prevention aside, it seems that spam will continue to grow not only in our inboxes, but elsewhere. Forum spam is increasingly problematic, particularly on message boards using older versions of board software, or those without Captcha tests upon registration. Mobile spam is also growing, with cell phones now the victim of unwanted mass mailing, particularly in the Far East. Indeed, the further down the path of the information age we go, it seems that we can neither run nor hide from spam, no matter what Bill Gates thinks on the matter.
http://www.content.onlypunjab.com/Article/Spam-filter/4200320092003390820
Everybody makes mistakes. Of course, Mr. Gates doesn't have a crystal ball, so telling what the future holds for spam is little easier for him than it is for the rest of us. Nonetheless, by looking at the current patterns of spam, we can make some estimates regarding the future of spam.
For one thing, statistics show that the problem is set to grow. Spam rates have almost doubled over the past twelve months to over 100 billion spam mails sent per day, and this figure is rising. Spammers have found that affiliate spam is so profitable that they are able to run the risk of legal recourse in their attempts to make money. In this sense, increased spam laws have largely been a disappointment so far, as they seem to impact far too few spammers. Perhaps, then, the future of spam will be defined by what happens in the legislatures and the courts around the world. CAN-SPAM could just be the beginning, and one day mass, unsolicited mail could be banned outright. Should the continuing problems of botnet viruses and other trojans continue, this isn't quite as far-fetched as it sounds.
Spam virus technology, then, is perhaps the most growing part of the spam threat. But surely, as Bill Gates argued, technology exists that can block this. That's true, but it relies on all computer users being tech-savvy enough to install and maintain it - something that's decidely impossible in the rapidly-expanding world of cyberspace. Indeed, those well-informed enough to protect themselves with spam firewall programs and virus checkers may well be in the minority.
So perhaps the solution does not lie with the end user; failing the legal method, perhaps the large technology companies and anti-spam software authors could target the spammers themselves. Perhaps there can be a growth in software that would make spam either virtually impossible, or prohibitively expensive? Indeed, technology in the antispam sector has advanced significantly in the last few years - prompting Gates' notorious remark - and can affect both sender and recipient. To stop spam from being sent, Gates once advocated "charging" mass mailers in computational cycles in order to discourage massive, indiscriminate sending sprees without overly penalising smaller companies. Simply put, Gates sought to end the days when a spam mailer program could fire off tens of thousands of emails in seconds - instead, each email would take several seconds to send. Small businesses dealing with customers in the hundreds, rather than the millions, would not be hit hard, but spammers would need to invest in computer architecture far beyond what they currently use now. What's more, it would render botnets too slow to be worth the risk.
But surely that runs the risk of alienating legitimate marketing firms, or those companies with huge, self-gathered mailing lists. As these are so powerful, perhaps Gates' idea was too far-fetched. Maybe so; hence, the solution may come from the increased use of verification technology. GoodMail is a popular program for some large companies, who pay the GoodMail Systems company for the privelege of attaching a small token of authenticity to their emails, ensuring that certain co-operative ISPs allow their emails safe passage to the end user's inbox. Putting more responsibility with the user was the Caller ID for E-Mail idea, already piloted in the Hotmail spam filter. This is a spam blacklist technique involving the recognition of certain good/bad IP addresses in email headers, and filing the incoming messages accordingly. However, for those whose email providers do not set up this facility for them, it can prove difficult; and with increasingly elaborate spamming techniques - from image spam to phishing and beyond - all being sent from a range of IPs courtesy of hacked, zombie PCs, blocklists may soon grow to be unwieldy.
So, then, perhaps better spam filtering software is the idea. It's certainly seemed to help in the cases of Gmail and some other webmail providers, whose users still suffer from spam, but less so than those who use no protection at all. However, it's difficult to provide a catch-all solution, particularly as image spam and other interesting methods of spam mailings continue to grow. Indeed, one thing that's guaranteed in the future of spam is that spamming techniques will grow more and more advanced - and more and more devious, too.
Putting prevention aside, it seems that spam will continue to grow not only in our inboxes, but elsewhere. Forum spam is increasingly problematic, particularly on message boards using older versions of board software, or those without Captcha tests upon registration. Mobile spam is also growing, with cell phones now the victim of unwanted mass mailing, particularly in the Far East. Indeed, the further down the path of the information age we go, it seems that we can neither run nor hide from spam, no matter what Bill Gates thinks on the matter.
http://www.content.onlypunjab.com/Article/Spam-filter/4200320092003390820
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