In affiliate marketing, all people involved in the program get benefited. The affiliate earns income each time he refers a visitor to the website of the merchant. And on the other side, the merchant produces sales without spending a lot of funds for advertising and promotion. The goal, of course, of both sides is to attain as much earnings as possible.
Since the goal is to earn more income, both affiliate and merchant should consider including the practice of back-end selling in their business activities. Back-end selling is a great support for affiliate marketing. It can greatly augment the income produced from affiliate marketing.
Basically, back-end selling is the selling being conducted after the initial sale. That is, when a visitor becomes a paying customer for one product, another product can be advertised and sold to the same customer. This second product is called the back-end product. Since the customer is already acquainted with the merchant or affiliate, there is already an element of trust planted in between. Selling the back-end product may be easier than the initial sale.
Historically, back-end selling has helped boost the sales of both the online businesses and the land-bound companies. As indicated before, the major reason is the established trust between the customer and the merchant or affiliate. If the customer is satisfied with the first product that he purchased, he will logically assume that the online company is offering quality products. A satisfied customer can be easily turned into a "repeat customer"
The usual technique in backend -selling is to make the customer aware of another product, This second product can cater to the other needs of the customer. And when the satisfied customer becomes aware of the second or back-end product, he will certainly look into it and may decide to purchase it. After such a sale, the merchant or affiliate may offer another back-end product.
Back-end selling had been proven to be powerful in augmenting the income many traditional and land-bound companies. This marketing practice has also made hundreds of online companies flourish and expand. Therefore, it can be a marketing practice that can surely work well with affiliate marketing.
While affiliate marketing will attract new customers and lead to the first sale, the back-end selling can build loyalty among the customers. In other words, back-end selling is one major ingredient in creating that winning formula in affiliate marketing.
Every affiliate should look into the financial promise of back-end selling when coupled with affiliate marketing. These two can make the affiliate earn unbelievably amazing income.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Blogs Could Become An Embarassing Exposure
Public entries intended for friends could become an embarrassing exposure.
The number of places where young people go to bare their souls, to vent, to gossip is increasing. These places are the blogs – where people post their innermost thoughts for any number of Web surfers to see.
"My philosophy is to be totally honest – whether it's about my neighbor's dog or my opinions about Iraq war, since the people who read my blog are friends or acquaintances of mine." said Sarah, who lives in suburban Illinois and has been blogging for three years.
But some people find that a price can be paid for putting one's life online. Maya Marcel-Keyes, daughter of conservative politician Alan Keyes, had some discussions on her blog about being a lesbian, and this became an issue during her father's recent campaign for U.S. Senate because he made anti-gay statements.
Such incidents can cause personal and public dramas, often taking on a life they wouldn't have if the Web had not come along and turned individuals into publishers.
Other people think that some blog entries about partying and dating exploits will have ramifications down the road.
"I would bet that in the 2016 election, somebody's Facebook entry will come back to bite them,", says Steve Jones, head of the communications department at the University of Illinois at Chicago, referring to a networking site for college students and alumni, that is something of a cross between a yearbook and a blog.
Some traditional blog sites, like Xanga, LiveJournal or MySpace, which allow easy creation of a Web site with text, photos and often music, have gotten more popular in recent years, especially among the younger set.
Pew Internet & American Life Project made some surveys completed in recent months and found that nearly a fifth of teens who have access to the Web have their own blogs. And 38 percent of teens say they read other people's blogs.
I'm increasingly hearing stories about the risk of posting a blog, says Amanda Lenhart, a researcher at Pew. For example, a man whose daughter was a college student looking for a job. He typed his daughter's name into a search engine and found her blog, with a title that began "The Drunken Musings of ...."
"And they surely have some discussions" said Lenhart, chuckling.
The number of places where young people go to bare their souls, to vent, to gossip is increasing. These places are the blogs – where people post their innermost thoughts for any number of Web surfers to see.
"My philosophy is to be totally honest – whether it's about my neighbor's dog or my opinions about Iraq war, since the people who read my blog are friends or acquaintances of mine." said Sarah, who lives in suburban Illinois and has been blogging for three years.
But some people find that a price can be paid for putting one's life online. Maya Marcel-Keyes, daughter of conservative politician Alan Keyes, had some discussions on her blog about being a lesbian, and this became an issue during her father's recent campaign for U.S. Senate because he made anti-gay statements.
Such incidents can cause personal and public dramas, often taking on a life they wouldn't have if the Web had not come along and turned individuals into publishers.
Other people think that some blog entries about partying and dating exploits will have ramifications down the road.
"I would bet that in the 2016 election, somebody's Facebook entry will come back to bite them,", says Steve Jones, head of the communications department at the University of Illinois at Chicago, referring to a networking site for college students and alumni, that is something of a cross between a yearbook and a blog.
Some traditional blog sites, like Xanga, LiveJournal or MySpace, which allow easy creation of a Web site with text, photos and often music, have gotten more popular in recent years, especially among the younger set.
Pew Internet & American Life Project made some surveys completed in recent months and found that nearly a fifth of teens who have access to the Web have their own blogs. And 38 percent of teens say they read other people's blogs.
I'm increasingly hearing stories about the risk of posting a blog, says Amanda Lenhart, a researcher at Pew. For example, a man whose daughter was a college student looking for a job. He typed his daughter's name into a search engine and found her blog, with a title that began "The Drunken Musings of ...."
"And they surely have some discussions" said Lenhart, chuckling.
Phishing It's Signs and Your Options
Phishing is the act of some individual sending an email to a user in an attempt to scam the user to release personal information. Is it easy to determine if it's a scam? Sometimes – but not always. I hope to give you enough examples and information to help you to safeguard yourself from these unsavory individuals.
In addition, sometimes the email is sent to malicious software so as to render your computer helpless. Thus, it is important that you do not click on the link they provide, because that is the trigger that will load the software to your system.
EXAMPLES OF PHISHING
You receive hundreds of emails in your mailbox, but one email catches your eye – it directs you to a website, requesting that you need to update your personal information. It requests such personal information as:
passwords
credit card numbers
social security number
bank account numbers
"It appears to be legitimate", you say to yourself. And you also notice that the emails are from companies that you have been doing business with for a while. Warning: The website could be bogus.
Here are several examples of phishing in action.
1. E-mails stating they are from E-bay and they feel that your account may have been compromised and would like you to verify your information with they so conveniently supply. DO NOT click on it.
2. E-mails from Paypal or your bank asking that you verify your information because they feel that your account has been compromised, or heaven forbid, suspended. Same scenario, different company. DO NOT click on the link.
3. E-mail that states that an unauthorized transaction has occurred on your account. Please click the link below and confirm your identity. DO NOT.
4. Here's a work at home scam – We have seen your resume on Monster and feel you would fit our position. If you are interested, please go to our website, look over the experience required and submit your resume if you have this background. Website is professional looking, offer looks good – but it could be a scam.
WHAT ARE THEY AFTER
In the above examples they are after information about you, be it passwords, credit cards, social security numbers, anything that can identify you – and that which they can use to profit from you.
The job email is used to verify that the email address is a true blue, active email address. What do they do with this info – they sell these accounts to spammers for good money. They need to verify your email address-because if the spammers come up empty – this person's business is dead.
HOW TO VERIFY SAFELY
1. If they want you to verify your account, do not cut and paste, or use the link they provide in the email. Close your Internet session, open a new session and enter the site that you have on record to verify.<
2. Emails requesting resumes – Verify their account before you send your resume. When verifying – these red flags should be considered:
1) If they are hesitant to provide a phone number – might be a scam. 2) If their business address is not verifiable –might be a scam. 3) If the website is new – might be a scam. 4) If they use a large company's name-and that company never heard of them – might be a scam.
5) Again, verify this information before you send your resume.
WAYS TO PROTECT YOURSELF
Here are some quick tips to protect you and your computer system.
1. Use anti-virus software and a firewall – keep them up to date.
2. If you have a broadband connection make sure you have a firewall in place.
3. Don't email personal or financial information.
4. Before providing personal information – search to see if the site is secure – look for a lock icon. However, remember not all phishers are stupid – in fact, they could be computer savvy enough to forge security icons. Thus, look for a site whose link looks like this: https://www.somename.com -- this shows that it is a secure site.
5. Coupons from respected companies – Verify that it is a true-blue coupon from the company – I had one coupon sent to my email address from what I thought was Staples. Verified it with Staples – not a coupon honored by Staples. When on the Internet – if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it still may not be a duck!
6. When making transactions on the Internet – be it online banking, Paypal, Internet Gold, etc. – complete your transaction, log out of the website, and close out of your Internet Explorer-and then continue with a new session of Internet Explorer.
WHERE TO FORWARD SPAM THAT IS PHISHNG
If you encounter spam that is phishing, or are a victim of a phishing scam, you can forward the information to spam@uce.gov and to the company, bank or organization that the email may have stated they are from. In many cases, the other organizations have information on their website where you can report the attempted scam.
In addition, if you have been scammed, and you wish to file a complaint – go to ftc.gov.
To conclude, no one is immune to spam or a scam. But try to be ever vigilant and do your due diligence with anything you do on the Internet. But being human is a scammer's hope – they know that most will ignore the bait, but some will be tempted. So, if you so humanly slip, and succumb to a phishing scam, you can report them to ftc.gov.
In addition, sometimes the email is sent to malicious software so as to render your computer helpless. Thus, it is important that you do not click on the link they provide, because that is the trigger that will load the software to your system.
EXAMPLES OF PHISHING
You receive hundreds of emails in your mailbox, but one email catches your eye – it directs you to a website, requesting that you need to update your personal information. It requests such personal information as:
passwords
credit card numbers
social security number
bank account numbers
"It appears to be legitimate", you say to yourself. And you also notice that the emails are from companies that you have been doing business with for a while. Warning: The website could be bogus.
Here are several examples of phishing in action.
1. E-mails stating they are from E-bay and they feel that your account may have been compromised and would like you to verify your information with they so conveniently supply. DO NOT click on it.
2. E-mails from Paypal or your bank asking that you verify your information because they feel that your account has been compromised, or heaven forbid, suspended. Same scenario, different company. DO NOT click on the link.
3. E-mail that states that an unauthorized transaction has occurred on your account. Please click the link below and confirm your identity. DO NOT.
4. Here's a work at home scam – We have seen your resume on Monster and feel you would fit our position. If you are interested, please go to our website, look over the experience required and submit your resume if you have this background. Website is professional looking, offer looks good – but it could be a scam.
WHAT ARE THEY AFTER
In the above examples they are after information about you, be it passwords, credit cards, social security numbers, anything that can identify you – and that which they can use to profit from you.
The job email is used to verify that the email address is a true blue, active email address. What do they do with this info – they sell these accounts to spammers for good money. They need to verify your email address-because if the spammers come up empty – this person's business is dead.
HOW TO VERIFY SAFELY
1. If they want you to verify your account, do not cut and paste, or use the link they provide in the email. Close your Internet session, open a new session and enter the site that you have on record to verify.<
2. Emails requesting resumes – Verify their account before you send your resume. When verifying – these red flags should be considered:
1) If they are hesitant to provide a phone number – might be a scam. 2) If their business address is not verifiable –might be a scam. 3) If the website is new – might be a scam. 4) If they use a large company's name-and that company never heard of them – might be a scam.
5) Again, verify this information before you send your resume.
WAYS TO PROTECT YOURSELF
Here are some quick tips to protect you and your computer system.
1. Use anti-virus software and a firewall – keep them up to date.
2. If you have a broadband connection make sure you have a firewall in place.
3. Don't email personal or financial information.
4. Before providing personal information – search to see if the site is secure – look for a lock icon. However, remember not all phishers are stupid – in fact, they could be computer savvy enough to forge security icons. Thus, look for a site whose link looks like this: https://www.somename.com -- this shows that it is a secure site.
5. Coupons from respected companies – Verify that it is a true-blue coupon from the company – I had one coupon sent to my email address from what I thought was Staples. Verified it with Staples – not a coupon honored by Staples. When on the Internet – if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it still may not be a duck!
6. When making transactions on the Internet – be it online banking, Paypal, Internet Gold, etc. – complete your transaction, log out of the website, and close out of your Internet Explorer-and then continue with a new session of Internet Explorer.
WHERE TO FORWARD SPAM THAT IS PHISHNG
If you encounter spam that is phishing, or are a victim of a phishing scam, you can forward the information to spam@uce.gov and to the company, bank or organization that the email may have stated they are from. In many cases, the other organizations have information on their website where you can report the attempted scam.
In addition, if you have been scammed, and you wish to file a complaint – go to ftc.gov.
To conclude, no one is immune to spam or a scam. But try to be ever vigilant and do your due diligence with anything you do on the Internet. But being human is a scammer's hope – they know that most will ignore the bait, but some will be tempted. So, if you so humanly slip, and succumb to a phishing scam, you can report them to ftc.gov.
Safe Trading On Ebay: Avoiding Fraud For Buyers Sellers
Safe Trading On Ebay: Avoiding Fraud For Buyers & Sellers
Turn on CNN or Fox News, read a column on the Internet or play your favorite all news radio station an you'll become acutely aware of the "so-called" fraud online – specifically related to eBay.
Definition of Fraud: "In a broad strokes definition, fraud is a deliberate misrepresentation which causes another person to suffer damages, usually monetary losses."
Like many, I have had negative experiences one eBay. However, I've also had negative experiences with unscrupulous people in the real world. The truth is that eBay is just a microcosm of real-life society where 99.9% of people are good nature.
Have you had a bad experience on eBay? I spoke with someone recently who said that a "fraudulent experience on eBay" ruined their desires to use eBay as a sales platform." That seems just a bit immature, don't you think? Just a few weeks ago my nine year old daughter left her board shorts on a lounge chair while swimming in the pool (at a nationally recognized vacation resort). When she returned, her shorts were gone. Someone stole her shorts. Fraud and theft. How should my nine year old respond? Should she never swim in a public pool again?
Of course not. But, she can learn a valuable life lesson of how to protect herself and her property. And to that we discover the purpose of this article. How can we protect ourselves from potential fraud on eBay?
Fraud on eBay, while small in proportion to the number of transactions that take place, is a real issue for the unsuspecting eBay member. Follow the following points to reduce the potential of fraud on eBay in your online trading adventures.
Fraud Tip #1: Understand Phishing
1. A new word to the Websters' Dictionary for 2005, this has become #1 of the top areas of Fraud Alert in the history of the internet. Here is the definition from dictionary.com: "A method of identity theft carried out through the creation of a website that seems to represent a legitimate company. The visitors to the site, thinking they are buying something from a real business, submit their personal information to the site. The criminals then use the personal information for their own purposes, or sell the information to other criminal parties." In specific terms, it may relate to your eBay membership, PayPal account, bank account, credit card, or other account where you need an ID, password and/or personal information.
2. Fraud on eBay can occur when you receive a phishing email that sounds 100% legitimate. It might come from: support@... And looks like this: "Dear eBay member, You have received this warning because we have strong reason to believe that your eBay account had been recently compromised and it could be used by a third party without your authorization. In order to prevent any fraudulent activity from occurring we are required to open an investigation into this matter. To speed up this process, you are required to verify your eBay account by following the link below."
a. Here's what happens: when you click on the link listed, you are taken to a web page that looks exactly the same as the sign-in page -- for example, you are sure you are at the eBay sign-in page. You are asked for personal information, including ID and password, etc.
3. How to protect yourself? You need to know that eBay, PayPal or any other secure site will NEVER ask for your personal, identifying information in an email. What should you do? Delete the email and tell yourself you're not going to fall victim to a phishing scam.
A high percentage of online and eBay fraud is eliminated simply by understanding phishing and knowing how to deal with it.
Fraud Tip #2. Only Buy From Sellers With an Established Feedback Score
• Love or hate eBay's feedback system, but is has its purpose. By doing your due diligence you can weed out potentially fraudulent eBay sellers simply by reviewing their feedback score. Pay particular attention to the last 90 days and be sure read all the comments posted on the first 3 pages. A sellers feedback score will is increasingly important if you are purchasing a high ticket item. Fraud on eBay can be dramatically reduced by following this Fraud Tip.
Fraud Tip #3. Do Not Pay With Western Union
• The chance of Fraud on eBay has been reduced through eBay's own internal policing of buyer payment options. If you are going to pay for an item you purchase on eBay – always use PayPal as you are covered by PayPal's buyer protection program.
• Here is eBay's latest "Safe Payments Policy:
"Permitted on eBay.com: Sellers may offer to accept PayPal, credit cards including Mastercard/Visa /Amex/Discover, debit cards and bank electronic payments online for eBay purchases. Sellers may also offer to accept bank-to-bank transfers, often known as bank wire transfers or bank cash transfers. Sellers may accept COD (cash on delivery) or cash for in person transactions. Sellers may offer to accept payment through Certapay and Propay. Sellers may offer to accept personal checks, money orders, cashier's checks, certified checks and other negotiable instruments.
Not permitted on eBay.com: Sellers may not solicit buyers to mail cash. Sellers may not ask buyers to send cash through instant cash transfer services (non-bank, point-to-point cash transfers) such as Western Union or Moneygram. Sellers may not ask buyers to pay with Stormpay. Finally, sellers may not request payment through online payment methods not specifically permitted in this policy."
With regards to cash payments on eBay, "The U.S. Postal Service tells us it's unsafe, and now eBay is telling everyone that it is unsafe," said Matt Halprin, eBay's global policy VP. "So if a seller solicits or encourages offers to accept cash, [they are] encouraging unsafe payment methods and we do remove that seller's listing."
eBay Fraud, which accounts for only a small fraction of one percent of all transactions can be significantly be reduced by your use of PayPal.
Fraud Tip #4. Preventative Measures - Tips For Your Protection
• The IFCC (Internet Fraud Complaint Center) has an excellent website that includes a tips page where you will read about Internet Auction Fraud, Non-Delivery of Merchandise, Credit Card Fraud, Investment Fraud, Nigerian Letter Scam, and Business Fraud.
In a perfect world, everyone would be honest and trustworthy, but, unfortunately, there are those who will try to take advantage of others. The Internet provides tremendous opportunity – like anything else, use it wisely.
in Auctions
What now? Once you have read this article, give it a rating.
Safe Trading On Ebay: Avoiding Fraud For Buyers & Sellers
Turn on CNN or Fox News, read a column on the Internet or play your favorite all news radio station an you'll become acutely aware of the "so-called" fraud online – specifically related to eBay.
Definition of Fraud: "In a broad strokes definition, fraud is a deliberate misrepresentation which causes another person to suffer damages, usually monetary losses."
Like many, I have had negative experiences one eBay. However, I've also had negative experiences with unscrupulous people in the real world. The truth is that eBay is just a microcosm of real-life society where 99.9% of people are good nature.
Have you had a bad experience on eBay? I spoke with someone recently who said that a "fraudulent experience on eBay" ruined their desires to use eBay as a sales platform." That seems just a bit immature, don't you think? Just a few weeks ago my nine year old daughter left her board shorts on a lounge chair while swimming in the pool (at a nationally recognized vacation resort). When she returned, her shorts were gone. Someone stole her shorts. Fraud and theft. How should my nine year old respond? Should she never swim in a public pool again?
Of course not. But, she can learn a valuable life lesson of how to protect herself and her property. And to that we discover the purpose of this article. How can we protect ourselves from potential fraud on eBay?
Fraud on eBay, while small in proportion to the number of transactions that take place, is a real issue for the unsuspecting eBay member. Follow the following points to reduce the potential of fraud on eBay in your online trading adventures.
Fraud Tip #1: Understand Phishing
1. A new word to the Websters' Dictionary for 2005, this has become #1 of the top areas of Fraud Alert in the history of the internet. Here is the definition from dictionary.com: "A method of identity theft carried out through the creation of a website that seems to represent a legitimate company. The visitors to the site, thinking they are buying something from a real business, submit their personal information to the site. The criminals then use the personal information for their own purposes, or sell the information to other criminal parties." In specific terms, it may relate to your eBay membership, PayPal account, bank account, credit card, or other account where you need an ID, password and/or personal information.
2. Fraud on eBay can occur when you receive a phishing email that sounds 100% legitimate. It might come from: support@... And looks like this: "Dear eBay member, You have received this warning because we have strong reason to believe that your eBay account had been recently compromised and it could be used by a third party without your authorization. In order to prevent any fraudulent activity from occurring we are required to open an investigation into this matter. To speed up this process, you are required to verify your eBay account by following the link below."
a. Here's what happens: when you click on the link listed, you are taken to a web page that looks exactly the same as the sign-in page -- for example, you are sure you are at the eBay sign-in page. You are asked for personal information, including ID and password, etc.
3. How to protect yourself? You need to know that eBay, PayPal or any other secure site will NEVER ask for your personal, identifying information in an email. What should you do? Delete the email and tell yourself you're not going to fall victim to a phishing scam.
A high percentage of online and eBay fraud is eliminated simply by understanding phishing and knowing how to deal with it.
Fraud Tip #2. Only Buy From Sellers With an Established Feedback Score
• Love or hate eBay's feedback system, but is has its purpose. By doing your due diligence you can weed out potentially fraudulent eBay sellers simply by reviewing their feedback score. Pay particular attention to the last 90 days and be sure read all the comments posted on the first 3 pages. A sellers feedback score will is increasingly important if you are purchasing a high ticket item. Fraud on eBay can be dramatically reduced by following this Fraud Tip.
Fraud Tip #3. Do Not Pay With Western Union
• The chance of Fraud on eBay has been reduced through eBay's own internal policing of buyer payment options. If you are going to pay for an item you purchase on eBay – always use PayPal as you are covered by PayPal's buyer protection program.
• Here is eBay's latest "Safe Payments Policy:
"Permitted on eBay.com: Sellers may offer to accept PayPal, credit cards including Mastercard/Visa /Amex/Discover, debit cards and bank electronic payments online for eBay purchases. Sellers may also offer to accept bank-to-bank transfers, often known as bank wire transfers or bank cash transfers. Sellers may accept COD (cash on delivery) or cash for in person transactions. Sellers may offer to accept payment through Certapay and Propay. Sellers may offer to accept personal checks, money orders, cashier's checks, certified checks and other negotiable instruments.
Not permitted on eBay.com: Sellers may not solicit buyers to mail cash. Sellers may not ask buyers to send cash through instant cash transfer services (non-bank, point-to-point cash transfers) such as Western Union or Moneygram. Sellers may not ask buyers to pay with Stormpay. Finally, sellers may not request payment through online payment methods not specifically permitted in this policy."
With regards to cash payments on eBay, "The U.S. Postal Service tells us it's unsafe, and now eBay is telling everyone that it is unsafe," said Matt Halprin, eBay's global policy VP. "So if a seller solicits or encourages offers to accept cash, [they are] encouraging unsafe payment methods and we do remove that seller's listing."
eBay Fraud, which accounts for only a small fraction of one percent of all transactions can be significantly be reduced by your use of PayPal.
Fraud Tip #4. Preventative Measures - Tips For Your Protection
• The IFCC (Internet Fraud Complaint Center) has an excellent website that includes a tips page where you will read about Internet Auction Fraud, Non-Delivery of Merchandise, Credit Card Fraud, Investment Fraud, Nigerian Letter Scam, and Business Fraud.
In a perfect world, everyone would be honest and trustworthy, but, unfortunately, there are those who will try to take advantage of others. The Internet provides tremendous opportunity – like anything else, use it wisely.
in Auctions
What now? Once you have read this article, give it a rating.
Turn on CNN or Fox News, read a column on the Internet or play your favorite all news radio station an you'll become acutely aware of the "so-called" fraud online – specifically related to eBay.
Definition of Fraud: "In a broad strokes definition, fraud is a deliberate misrepresentation which causes another person to suffer damages, usually monetary losses."
Like many, I have had negative experiences one eBay. However, I've also had negative experiences with unscrupulous people in the real world. The truth is that eBay is just a microcosm of real-life society where 99.9% of people are good nature.
Have you had a bad experience on eBay? I spoke with someone recently who said that a "fraudulent experience on eBay" ruined their desires to use eBay as a sales platform." That seems just a bit immature, don't you think? Just a few weeks ago my nine year old daughter left her board shorts on a lounge chair while swimming in the pool (at a nationally recognized vacation resort). When she returned, her shorts were gone. Someone stole her shorts. Fraud and theft. How should my nine year old respond? Should she never swim in a public pool again?
Of course not. But, she can learn a valuable life lesson of how to protect herself and her property. And to that we discover the purpose of this article. How can we protect ourselves from potential fraud on eBay?
Fraud on eBay, while small in proportion to the number of transactions that take place, is a real issue for the unsuspecting eBay member. Follow the following points to reduce the potential of fraud on eBay in your online trading adventures.
Fraud Tip #1: Understand Phishing
1. A new word to the Websters' Dictionary for 2005, this has become #1 of the top areas of Fraud Alert in the history of the internet. Here is the definition from dictionary.com: "A method of identity theft carried out through the creation of a website that seems to represent a legitimate company. The visitors to the site, thinking they are buying something from a real business, submit their personal information to the site. The criminals then use the personal information for their own purposes, or sell the information to other criminal parties." In specific terms, it may relate to your eBay membership, PayPal account, bank account, credit card, or other account where you need an ID, password and/or personal information.
2. Fraud on eBay can occur when you receive a phishing email that sounds 100% legitimate. It might come from: support@... And looks like this: "Dear eBay member, You have received this warning because we have strong reason to believe that your eBay account had been recently compromised and it could be used by a third party without your authorization. In order to prevent any fraudulent activity from occurring we are required to open an investigation into this matter. To speed up this process, you are required to verify your eBay account by following the link below."
a. Here's what happens: when you click on the link listed, you are taken to a web page that looks exactly the same as the sign-in page -- for example, you are sure you are at the eBay sign-in page. You are asked for personal information, including ID and password, etc.
3. How to protect yourself? You need to know that eBay, PayPal or any other secure site will NEVER ask for your personal, identifying information in an email. What should you do? Delete the email and tell yourself you're not going to fall victim to a phishing scam.
A high percentage of online and eBay fraud is eliminated simply by understanding phishing and knowing how to deal with it.
Fraud Tip #2. Only Buy From Sellers With an Established Feedback Score
• Love or hate eBay's feedback system, but is has its purpose. By doing your due diligence you can weed out potentially fraudulent eBay sellers simply by reviewing their feedback score. Pay particular attention to the last 90 days and be sure read all the comments posted on the first 3 pages. A sellers feedback score will is increasingly important if you are purchasing a high ticket item. Fraud on eBay can be dramatically reduced by following this Fraud Tip.
Fraud Tip #3. Do Not Pay With Western Union
• The chance of Fraud on eBay has been reduced through eBay's own internal policing of buyer payment options. If you are going to pay for an item you purchase on eBay – always use PayPal as you are covered by PayPal's buyer protection program.
• Here is eBay's latest "Safe Payments Policy:
"Permitted on eBay.com: Sellers may offer to accept PayPal, credit cards including Mastercard/Visa /Amex/Discover, debit cards and bank electronic payments online for eBay purchases. Sellers may also offer to accept bank-to-bank transfers, often known as bank wire transfers or bank cash transfers. Sellers may accept COD (cash on delivery) or cash for in person transactions. Sellers may offer to accept payment through Certapay and Propay. Sellers may offer to accept personal checks, money orders, cashier's checks, certified checks and other negotiable instruments.
Not permitted on eBay.com: Sellers may not solicit buyers to mail cash. Sellers may not ask buyers to send cash through instant cash transfer services (non-bank, point-to-point cash transfers) such as Western Union or Moneygram. Sellers may not ask buyers to pay with Stormpay. Finally, sellers may not request payment through online payment methods not specifically permitted in this policy."
With regards to cash payments on eBay, "The U.S. Postal Service tells us it's unsafe, and now eBay is telling everyone that it is unsafe," said Matt Halprin, eBay's global policy VP. "So if a seller solicits or encourages offers to accept cash, [they are] encouraging unsafe payment methods and we do remove that seller's listing."
eBay Fraud, which accounts for only a small fraction of one percent of all transactions can be significantly be reduced by your use of PayPal.
Fraud Tip #4. Preventative Measures - Tips For Your Protection
• The IFCC (Internet Fraud Complaint Center) has an excellent website that includes a tips page where you will read about Internet Auction Fraud, Non-Delivery of Merchandise, Credit Card Fraud, Investment Fraud, Nigerian Letter Scam, and Business Fraud.
In a perfect world, everyone would be honest and trustworthy, but, unfortunately, there are those who will try to take advantage of others. The Internet provides tremendous opportunity – like anything else, use it wisely.
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Safe Trading On Ebay: Avoiding Fraud For Buyers & Sellers
Turn on CNN or Fox News, read a column on the Internet or play your favorite all news radio station an you'll become acutely aware of the "so-called" fraud online – specifically related to eBay.
Definition of Fraud: "In a broad strokes definition, fraud is a deliberate misrepresentation which causes another person to suffer damages, usually monetary losses."
Like many, I have had negative experiences one eBay. However, I've also had negative experiences with unscrupulous people in the real world. The truth is that eBay is just a microcosm of real-life society where 99.9% of people are good nature.
Have you had a bad experience on eBay? I spoke with someone recently who said that a "fraudulent experience on eBay" ruined their desires to use eBay as a sales platform." That seems just a bit immature, don't you think? Just a few weeks ago my nine year old daughter left her board shorts on a lounge chair while swimming in the pool (at a nationally recognized vacation resort). When she returned, her shorts were gone. Someone stole her shorts. Fraud and theft. How should my nine year old respond? Should she never swim in a public pool again?
Of course not. But, she can learn a valuable life lesson of how to protect herself and her property. And to that we discover the purpose of this article. How can we protect ourselves from potential fraud on eBay?
Fraud on eBay, while small in proportion to the number of transactions that take place, is a real issue for the unsuspecting eBay member. Follow the following points to reduce the potential of fraud on eBay in your online trading adventures.
Fraud Tip #1: Understand Phishing
1. A new word to the Websters' Dictionary for 2005, this has become #1 of the top areas of Fraud Alert in the history of the internet. Here is the definition from dictionary.com: "A method of identity theft carried out through the creation of a website that seems to represent a legitimate company. The visitors to the site, thinking they are buying something from a real business, submit their personal information to the site. The criminals then use the personal information for their own purposes, or sell the information to other criminal parties." In specific terms, it may relate to your eBay membership, PayPal account, bank account, credit card, or other account where you need an ID, password and/or personal information.
2. Fraud on eBay can occur when you receive a phishing email that sounds 100% legitimate. It might come from: support@... And looks like this: "Dear eBay member, You have received this warning because we have strong reason to believe that your eBay account had been recently compromised and it could be used by a third party without your authorization. In order to prevent any fraudulent activity from occurring we are required to open an investigation into this matter. To speed up this process, you are required to verify your eBay account by following the link below."
a. Here's what happens: when you click on the link listed, you are taken to a web page that looks exactly the same as the sign-in page -- for example, you are sure you are at the eBay sign-in page. You are asked for personal information, including ID and password, etc.
3. How to protect yourself? You need to know that eBay, PayPal or any other secure site will NEVER ask for your personal, identifying information in an email. What should you do? Delete the email and tell yourself you're not going to fall victim to a phishing scam.
A high percentage of online and eBay fraud is eliminated simply by understanding phishing and knowing how to deal with it.
Fraud Tip #2. Only Buy From Sellers With an Established Feedback Score
• Love or hate eBay's feedback system, but is has its purpose. By doing your due diligence you can weed out potentially fraudulent eBay sellers simply by reviewing their feedback score. Pay particular attention to the last 90 days and be sure read all the comments posted on the first 3 pages. A sellers feedback score will is increasingly important if you are purchasing a high ticket item. Fraud on eBay can be dramatically reduced by following this Fraud Tip.
Fraud Tip #3. Do Not Pay With Western Union
• The chance of Fraud on eBay has been reduced through eBay's own internal policing of buyer payment options. If you are going to pay for an item you purchase on eBay – always use PayPal as you are covered by PayPal's buyer protection program.
• Here is eBay's latest "Safe Payments Policy:
"Permitted on eBay.com: Sellers may offer to accept PayPal, credit cards including Mastercard/Visa /Amex/Discover, debit cards and bank electronic payments online for eBay purchases. Sellers may also offer to accept bank-to-bank transfers, often known as bank wire transfers or bank cash transfers. Sellers may accept COD (cash on delivery) or cash for in person transactions. Sellers may offer to accept payment through Certapay and Propay. Sellers may offer to accept personal checks, money orders, cashier's checks, certified checks and other negotiable instruments.
Not permitted on eBay.com: Sellers may not solicit buyers to mail cash. Sellers may not ask buyers to send cash through instant cash transfer services (non-bank, point-to-point cash transfers) such as Western Union or Moneygram. Sellers may not ask buyers to pay with Stormpay. Finally, sellers may not request payment through online payment methods not specifically permitted in this policy."
With regards to cash payments on eBay, "The U.S. Postal Service tells us it's unsafe, and now eBay is telling everyone that it is unsafe," said Matt Halprin, eBay's global policy VP. "So if a seller solicits or encourages offers to accept cash, [they are] encouraging unsafe payment methods and we do remove that seller's listing."
eBay Fraud, which accounts for only a small fraction of one percent of all transactions can be significantly be reduced by your use of PayPal.
Fraud Tip #4. Preventative Measures - Tips For Your Protection
• The IFCC (Internet Fraud Complaint Center) has an excellent website that includes a tips page where you will read about Internet Auction Fraud, Non-Delivery of Merchandise, Credit Card Fraud, Investment Fraud, Nigerian Letter Scam, and Business Fraud.
In a perfect world, everyone would be honest and trustworthy, but, unfortunately, there are those who will try to take advantage of others. The Internet provides tremendous opportunity – like anything else, use it wisely.
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What now? Once you have read this article, give it a rating.
Yahoo To Prohibit Competitive Keyword Bids Containing Trademarks
Yahoo Search Marketing (searchmarketing.yahoo.com) has recently announced its advertisers of a new policy to be implemented as of March 1st 2006, concerning the use of trademarks within their products and services *.
Under the new policy, no reference to a trademark can be made (except for ads placed by the trademark owners themselves, obviously), and consequently no bids can be make for keywords containing such trademarks. Exceptions refer to usage of trademarks in non-competitive ads, such as those made by re-sellers, or in informative (and still non-competitive) ads.
The previous policy allowed references to competitors' trademarks and comparisons as long as they were "objective and informative" - the formulation makes me cringe, as it is clearly troublesome trying to evaluate one's objectivity when speaking of business competitors. As for the "informative" side of it… the probability for someone to actually PAY for an ad to be informative of someone else's product/service, that's as believable just like the existence of Santa Claus.
It is really good to see Yahoo making a big step forward in regulating abuse and misuse of trademarks, even though that probably translates in some revenue loss for them, by having certain advertisers migrate to a "friendlier" place such as Google. According to Google's policies, "[...] advertisers may select trademarked terms as keywords or use them in the content of the ad. As a provider of space for advertisements, Google is not in a position to arbitrate trademark disputes between advertisers and trademark owners. As stated in our Terms and Conditions, advertisers are responsible for the keywords and ad text that they choose to use. Accordingly, Google encourages trademark owners to resolve their disputes directly with the advertiser, particularly because the advertiser may have similar ads on other sites. However, as a courtesy to trademark owners, Google is willing to perform a limited investigation of reasonable complaints."
The question is why would Yahoo change its policies and apparently offer Google an even bigger bite from the SEM cake? It is way too early to say now, and their official explanation is not entirely believable: Yahoo states to have had the users' best interest in mind, by providing them with a better experience when searching terms that contain trademarks. Though this would make a laudable initiative with a good PR potential, experts know the search market is driven by large publishers and advertisers and not by the little surfing guys. Numerous speculations can be made: threats of large legal actions from trademark owners, pressure from certain groups of interests are among the most vehiculated ones.
However, a more plausible one is that Yahoo makes preparations for a much larger scale movement destined to influence the market in a manner we cannot anticipate just yet.
Until further industry news, there's one thing to rejoice: from now on, no "better than Botox" ads on Yahoo and their partner sites!
* - the products and services covered by the new policy are: Sponsored Search, Local Advertising, Search Submit, Product Submit, Travel Submit and Directory Submit.
Under the new policy, no reference to a trademark can be made (except for ads placed by the trademark owners themselves, obviously), and consequently no bids can be make for keywords containing such trademarks. Exceptions refer to usage of trademarks in non-competitive ads, such as those made by re-sellers, or in informative (and still non-competitive) ads.
The previous policy allowed references to competitors' trademarks and comparisons as long as they were "objective and informative" - the formulation makes me cringe, as it is clearly troublesome trying to evaluate one's objectivity when speaking of business competitors. As for the "informative" side of it… the probability for someone to actually PAY for an ad to be informative of someone else's product/service, that's as believable just like the existence of Santa Claus.
It is really good to see Yahoo making a big step forward in regulating abuse and misuse of trademarks, even though that probably translates in some revenue loss for them, by having certain advertisers migrate to a "friendlier" place such as Google. According to Google's policies, "[...] advertisers may select trademarked terms as keywords or use them in the content of the ad. As a provider of space for advertisements, Google is not in a position to arbitrate trademark disputes between advertisers and trademark owners. As stated in our Terms and Conditions, advertisers are responsible for the keywords and ad text that they choose to use. Accordingly, Google encourages trademark owners to resolve their disputes directly with the advertiser, particularly because the advertiser may have similar ads on other sites. However, as a courtesy to trademark owners, Google is willing to perform a limited investigation of reasonable complaints."
The question is why would Yahoo change its policies and apparently offer Google an even bigger bite from the SEM cake? It is way too early to say now, and their official explanation is not entirely believable: Yahoo states to have had the users' best interest in mind, by providing them with a better experience when searching terms that contain trademarks. Though this would make a laudable initiative with a good PR potential, experts know the search market is driven by large publishers and advertisers and not by the little surfing guys. Numerous speculations can be made: threats of large legal actions from trademark owners, pressure from certain groups of interests are among the most vehiculated ones.
However, a more plausible one is that Yahoo makes preparations for a much larger scale movement destined to influence the market in a manner we cannot anticipate just yet.
Until further industry news, there's one thing to rejoice: from now on, no "better than Botox" ads on Yahoo and their partner sites!
* - the products and services covered by the new policy are: Sponsored Search, Local Advertising, Search Submit, Product Submit, Travel Submit and Directory Submit.
Computer Networking Fundamentals
A computer network is a collection of two or more computers with communication between them through a medium. The communication medium can be through radio waves, wires, infrared, optical fibers etc.
Computer network is an integral part of our daily lives, with the most important reason being that of communication. The use of computer networking is to share resources like fax machines, printers, modems, files etc., and its other uses are database server, computer server, email, chat, internet etc. The computer to which the resources are attached is called the server and the other computers that access the resource are called clients. In peer-to-peer computer networks there are no servers.
The sharing of fax machines, printers, and modems amongst many computers and users reduce the operational cost. A database on a computer network is a very important application as it stores and runs many important data and jobs. Emails and chats can be used for instantaneous communication and sending of files on a computer network.
The computer networks are classified, depending upon the size, as Local Area Networks (LAN), Wide Area Networks (WAN), Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN) and Personal Area Networks (PAN). The topology (topology is the way the computer networks and network resources are connected) of the networking can be classified as Bus Network, Ring Network and Star Network.
The networking hardware basically consists of wiring, network cards and a hub. Computer network cards are required so that one computer can understand what the other computer is "talking". Network cards have a unique MAC address to identify computers on a computer network. Hubs connect all the computers in the network. Hubs can also be used to connect to other hubs to increase the size of the computer network. Two computers can be connected using Ethernet cards or phone lines or power lines for communication, with hardware kits available at roughly a cost of $100.
As the number of computers in an office or a home increases, so do the number of cables, so wireless networking is a viable solution. In wireless networking radio transreceivers or infrared signals are used to communicate between computers and devices. Examples of wireless networking include Wi-fi and Bluetooth technology, though there may be security issues involved in wireless networking. However there definitely is a stronger preference towards wireless networking nowadays among consumers.
Computer networks have added a new dimension to the 21st century. Today the cyber world is much faster and wider than the real world. This has all been made possible due to computer networks. Computer networks have revolutionized business, communication, travel, research, defense, society and almost all human endeavors. The evolution of computer networks has helped the technological revolution take a big leap forward.
Computer network is an integral part of our daily lives, with the most important reason being that of communication. The use of computer networking is to share resources like fax machines, printers, modems, files etc., and its other uses are database server, computer server, email, chat, internet etc. The computer to which the resources are attached is called the server and the other computers that access the resource are called clients. In peer-to-peer computer networks there are no servers.
The sharing of fax machines, printers, and modems amongst many computers and users reduce the operational cost. A database on a computer network is a very important application as it stores and runs many important data and jobs. Emails and chats can be used for instantaneous communication and sending of files on a computer network.
The computer networks are classified, depending upon the size, as Local Area Networks (LAN), Wide Area Networks (WAN), Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN) and Personal Area Networks (PAN). The topology (topology is the way the computer networks and network resources are connected) of the networking can be classified as Bus Network, Ring Network and Star Network.
The networking hardware basically consists of wiring, network cards and a hub. Computer network cards are required so that one computer can understand what the other computer is "talking". Network cards have a unique MAC address to identify computers on a computer network. Hubs connect all the computers in the network. Hubs can also be used to connect to other hubs to increase the size of the computer network. Two computers can be connected using Ethernet cards or phone lines or power lines for communication, with hardware kits available at roughly a cost of $100.
As the number of computers in an office or a home increases, so do the number of cables, so wireless networking is a viable solution. In wireless networking radio transreceivers or infrared signals are used to communicate between computers and devices. Examples of wireless networking include Wi-fi and Bluetooth technology, though there may be security issues involved in wireless networking. However there definitely is a stronger preference towards wireless networking nowadays among consumers.
Computer networks have added a new dimension to the 21st century. Today the cyber world is much faster and wider than the real world. This has all been made possible due to computer networks. Computer networks have revolutionized business, communication, travel, research, defense, society and almost all human endeavors. The evolution of computer networks has helped the technological revolution take a big leap forward.