Friday, December 28, 2012

How to save and restore Mozilla Firefox Bookmarks


Saving Bookmarks in Firefox:

1. Click Bookmarks on the menu.
2. Show All Bookmarks.
3. Import and Backup.
4. Backup.
5. Choose filename (.json).
6. Save.


Restoring Bookmarks in Firefox:

1. Click Bookmarks on the menu.
2. Show All Bookmarks.
3. Import and Backup.
4. Restore.
5. Choose file.
6. Select the file you saved on Backup (e.g. bookmarks-2012-12-28.json).
7. Click Open.
8. Revert Bookmarks: This will replace all of your current bookmarks with the backup. Are you sure?
9. Press OK.
10. On the Mozilla Firefox browser, click View.
11. Toolbars.
12. Bookmarks Toolbar.

Saturday, December 22, 2012

How to recover deleted posts on Blogger (Blogspot) and republish


1. Open up a Google web search.
2. On the search box, type "site.yourblogsiteurl.com/". Note that the http:// is removed.
3. Your deleted post is still on Google's cache. From the search results, find your deleted post that you want to recover from the cached version.
4. Press CTRL + U or Right Click and select View Source.
5. On the html, press F3 or CTRL + F to search for the postID.
6. Copy the postID.
7. Sign in to your Blogger.com (Blogspot.com) account.
8. Go to your Dashboard.
9. Edit on any post on your blog. This is to open the Post Editor.
10. On the address bar, replace the postID with the postID of your deleted blog post.
11. Press Enter.
12. The Post Editor will recover the original content of your deleted post. You can then edit and Publish your post again. The comments will be recovered as well as the original Permalink of the deleted blog post.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

How to clean up, clear up, and secure your Mozilla Firefox internet browser and Internet Explorer browser


How to clean up your Internet Explorer browser:


1. Open Internet Explorer.

2. On the menu bar, click Tools.

3. Click Internet Options.

4. On the General tab, under Browsing History, click Delete.

5. Put a checkmark on those you want to clean/clear up:

 a. Preserve Favorites website data (cookies and temporary internet files that enable your favorite websites to retain preferences and display faster)

 b. Temporary Internet Files (copies of webpages, images, and media that are saved for faster viewing)

 c. Cookies (files stored on your computer by websites to save preferences such as login information)

 d. History (list of websites you have visited)

 e. Form data (saved information that you have typed into forms)

 f. Passwords (saved passwords that are automatically filled in when you sign in to a website you've previously visited)
 --- this is highly recommended to clear up or clean up to disable automatic logins. If your laptop or desktop computer is stolen or borrowed by someone else, then your personal information and other private important data will be stolen also because they don't have to know the passwords because they are automatically signed in...this is COMMON SENSE that is not so common. Disabling this automatic login and automatic saving of passwords is a very important procedure to secure your browser, computer, and to keep your personal information safe thereby avoiding identity theft.

 g. InPrivate Filtering data (saved data used by InPrivate Filtering to detect where websites may be automatically sharing details about your visit)

6. After putting a checkmark on those you want to clean up or clear up, click Delete.


To disable the option to save a password on Internet Explorer (for advanced users only):

1. Click Start.

2. Run.

3. Type regedit to open the Registry Editor.

4. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER --> Software --> Microsoft --> Windows --> CurrentVersion --> Internet Settings

5. Right-click Internet Settings --> New --> DWORD Value.

6. Name it as DisablePasswordCaching.

7. Right-click DisablePasswordCaching --> Modify

8. Under Edit DWORD Value --> Value data:

9. Set the value to 1.


------------------------------------------------------


How to clean up your Mozilla Firefox internet browser:


1. Open Firefox.

2. Click Tools then Error Console.

3. Click Clear.

4. Click Tools then Clear Recent History.

5. Under Time range to clear, select Everything.

6. Under Details, select those you want to clean up or clear up:

 a. Browsing & Download History
 b. Form & Search History
 c. Cookies
 d. Cache
 e. Active logins
 f. Site Preferences

7. Click Clear Now.


Disable the automatic remembering of passwords to secure your browser & computer:

1. Click Tools.

2. Click Options.

3. Click Security.

4. Under Passwords, make sure to UNCHECK:
   a. Remember passwords for sites
   b. Use a master password


For additional cleaning on the Firefox browser:

1. Search for the Firefox add-on Vacuum Places Improved.

2. Install the add-on Vacuum Places Improved.

Description of Vacuum Places Improved by Luca Niccoli:

Defragments your Firefox "Places" database (history/bookmarks)
This greatly reduces the lag while typing in the address bar and the start-up time.
This extension features configurable automatic cleaning, periodic reminder, and internationalization.


For further security on your Firefox browser:

1. Search for the Firefox add-on NoScript.

2. Install the add-on NoScript.

Description of NoScript by Giorgio Maone:

The best security you can get in a web browser!
Allow active content to run only from sites you trust, and protect yourself against XSS and Clickjacking attacks.

How to host a website from home


Hosting your own web server may not be practical and economical, unless you have a viable reason for doing so. It takes some expertise, a great deal of time and often it is slow and unreliable which will make you lose visitors to your site. Your home server most probably will experience slow download or upload speeds which would annoy your visitors. Your ISP or Internet Service Provider may not allow you to host your own site at home and block your port number 80. Port 80 is the default port where your home web server is communicating with the world wide web or the internet.  Or, in most cases, your ISP may 'throttle' your connection speed. Also you may end up losing money rather than saving dollars. Running a home web server is also a threat to your security. Hackers may gain access to your sensitive files and is therefore a security risk. Generally, it is more economical, not to mention 'peace of mind'  to simply sign up for paid hosting company and let your website be hosted by paying a few dollars per year on web hosting sites. Just make sure to check the reputation, quality and value of service of the hosting site where you will get your website hosted. On the other hand however, some people or group would like to host their own website so that they have absolute control of the content and they have the money to pay for fast, reliable service to accomodate great traffic and massive visitors.

How to setup and host your web server from home: (Windows computers)


1. Get a Broadband with high-speed internet connection.
Sign up for an internet connection with a decent download speed especially for video and audio files.

2. Get a DNS hostname.
Obtain a DNS hostname absolutely FREE by going to http://freedns.afraid.org/
Follow the instructions.

3. Get a static IP address.
You will need this to have a permanent address for your home web server. If you have a router, it will automatically assign a non-permanent IP address, that is why you need a permanent address so that people who would like to visit your home web server will be able to access it.

4. Setup your router to allow port forwarding on port 80.

5. Allow Windows Firewall to have exception on port 80.

6. Choose a web server program.
Apache and IIS provides the best quality web servers. Other good alternative web server programs include Nginx, LiteSpeed, Lighttpd, Hiawatha, and Cherokee.

7. If you installed Apache, open a web browser and type http://localhost/.
You should see the default Apache home page. If this is working, then you can change it to your own home page. This is the page where visitors to your website will be directed to.

8. Edit the contents of your website.
If you installed Apache web server, the folder for your web pages will be here:
C:\Program Files\Apache Group\htdocs
The htdocs folder is where you will put your web pages, videos, music, and images, and other files. You can then edit and make updates, add files, change or delete files as you wish. You can then design your own website. Note that your home page should be named "index.html". This is the landing  page when visitors access your home website on your own home web server.

For more information on How to host your own website at home, visit this excellent website (it will answer most of your questions regarding hosting your own site at your home web server):
http://www.boutell.com/newfaq/creating/hostmyown.html

How to protect your computer from virus, spyware, and malware attack


One of the worst things that can happen to your computer is get infected by a virus, spyware, or any malware. Imagine yourself having all your important documents, files, reports, spreadsheets, CAD drawings, pictures, videos, music, and all other personal files. It is a great disaster right? Therefore, you must be aware that these virus and malware threats are serious and very destructive. A few years ago, my laptop was just over a year and it got infected by a Virtub virus. The first thing that happened was it disabled my Antivirus. I then restarted to Safe Mode with internet access. I looked around the web for an antivirus that is free and effective, one antivirus was able to remove some of the viruses but there was a few more. Luckily I was able to find an antivirus that really worked and it was on a 30-day free trial. This antivirus was developed in India. It took me almost a week to finally restore my files. Fortunately, all my files were intact except that it made permanent changes to some of the settings of my operating system. So, be warned and learn from your mistakes and the mistakes of others so that you will not become a victim yourself.

How to protect your computer from virus, spyware, and malware attack: 

1. Install Microsoft Security Essentials.
Microsoft Security Essentials is a free program for Windows system computers that is useful for protecting your computer against malicious software such as viruses, trojans, spyware, and other malwares. It has an excellent real-time protection feature to constantly monitor and prevent your home or small business computers against malware attacks. It has a simple, easy, and user-friendly interface and it automatically updates the virus, spyware, and malware definitions database.
Download Microsoft Security Essentials Antivirus.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/products/security-essentials

1a. You can also download the best free antivirus on the web. If you prefer not paying annually for antivirus software, consider downloading and installing these free antivirus programs that are proven, tested and effective. Some of them are even better than the paid versions.
Download the Best Antivirus softwares.
http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-anti-virus-software.htm


2. Install Malicious Software Removal Tool
The Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool checks your computers for new, popular, and widespread malicious software, worm and infections that affect a huge number of home and networked computers especially running on the Windows Operating System.
Download Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool.
http://www.microsoft.com/security/pc-security/malware-removal.aspx


3. Scan your computer regularly.
You can either use Microsoft Safety Scanner, Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool, Microsoft Security Essentials, or an Antivirus. The Microsoft Safety Scanner is another computer security software from Microsoft that scans and removes viruses, spyware, and other malicious software. It does not have any problem even if you have another antivirus program installed, so you don't have to worry about antivirus conflicts.
Download Microsoft Safety Scanner.
http://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/en-us/default.aspx


4. Turn on Automatic Updates.
If you turn on Automatic Updates, Windows will automatically download and install the latest security updates, thereby protecting your computer and making it safe from recent viruses, infections, and malicious programs developed and spread by evil people.

How to turn on Windows Automatic Updates:
a. Click Start -> Control Panel -> System -> Automatic Updates -> Automatic (recommended)
b. Click OK.


5. Turn on Windows Firewall.
a. Click Start -> Control Panel -> Windows Firewall -> General.
b. Select the On (recommended).
c. Click OK.


Precautions and Warnings to protect your computer from online virus, spyware, malware attack:

- If you visit a website and you get a pop-up message saying "Warning! Your computer is infected", "Click here for a free scan ", or "Your computer has a virus", "Click here to scan your computer free" or similar messages offering you to download and click a link or message box or pop-up dialogue box.......................... DON'T CLICK IT......................... DO NOT DOWNLOAD IT.......................... because it will install the REAL virus, malware, spyware, worm, trojan, or other infection in your PC.

- Do not download from untrusted sites, especially torrent sites, filesharing, peer-to-peer, or any other free download sites that are not trusthworthy.

- Update your softwares regularly to protect your PC from new and recent viruses and other computer infections.

- Always scan before and after you use USB pendrives, flashdrives, or USB sticks.
These devices are used from one computer to another, so make sure you scan them first.

- Use strong passwords for all your online accounts.

- Protect your privacy online.

- Browse or surf the internet safely and securely.

- Remove or Disable untrusted add-ons or ActiveX controls.

- Practice safe and secure online transaction habits.


Saturday, December 15, 2012

How to securely browse the internet? How to ensure my online transaction is secure


In this world of fast-pace technology especially on the internet, it is giving us convenience, comfort, speed, and flexibility. Also, the internet is full of scams, frauds, and online criminals waiting for their next victim and preying on the new and unaware. I was once a victim of online fraud myself. They took advantage of my little knowledge and lost a lot of money. This hub is for everyone who uses the internet for their banking, shopping, and other online financial transactions. These warnings are intended for your safety and security online. Be very careful online!!!

Although browsers have some form of built-in security features, we should not take these for granted and be always aware of evil-doers on the web. Readers of this page should include their comments and suggestions so that they will serve as wisdom and knowledge for online users who conduct internet transactions. Although this list is by no means complete, it is here to serve as warning and foreknowledge. It is for your safety, security, and privacy online.

Below are some ways on How to securely browse the internet and How to ensure your online transaction is secure:

* Check the domain being highlighted when visiting websites.
When you visit a website, look at the address bar and notice the bold letters (highlighted) to make sure you are not tricked by phishing sites with deceptive addresses.

* Turn On SmartScreen Filter.
SmartScreen Filter helps detect phishing websites. It protects you from installing malicious software, or programs that contain virus, spyware, malware, trojan and other computer problems.
a. In Internet Explorer, click the Safety button -> SmartScreen Filter -> Turn On SmartScreen Filter.
b. Click OK.

a1. In Mozilla Firefox, click Tools -> Add-ons -> Get Add-ons
b1. Search for FoxFilter
c1. Install and enable FoxFilter

* Remove or Disable untrusted Add-ons (ActiveX controls), browser extensions, browser helper objects, and toolbars.
Click here to learn how to remove or disable browser add-ons or extensions
http://eternaltreasures.hubpages.com/hub/How-to-speed-up-my-browser-Internet-Explorer-Mozilla-Firefox

*  Enable Cross site scripting (XSS) filter.
XSS filter helps prevent one website from adding a script code to other websites. This malicious code is intended to capture your login information such as account numbers, passwords, and other personal information. This kind of script are commonly employed by phishing sites to steal your bank and other financial information. They want to know exactly what letters or words you are entering from your keyboard. Cross site scripting is turned on by default. To enable it:
a. In the Internet Explorer browser, click on Tools -> Internet Options -> Security -> Internet zone.
b. Click on the Custom level button.
c. Scroll down to the Enable XSS Filter.
d. Select Enable.
e. Click on OK.

a1. In Mozilla Firefox, download, install, and enable the Firefox NoScript add-on or extension.
b1. You can then choose to allow scripts to run or disallow them on the same page.

* Make sure you have a secure connection when you do online banking, online shopping and other online credit card transactions.
Browsers use a 128-bit secure (SSL) connection. A secure connection uses encryption. An encryption is a method in which plain text is converted to a text that is not easily understood. It could be converted to a string of numbers, letters, etc. to prevent eavesdropping by unauthorized people. When you enter information to the website, it is encrypted at your computer so that it is secure to send and then decrypted at the website.  How do I know if an online transaction is secure?:
a. In Internet Explorer, you will see a lock icon (padlock in orange color) located on the right side of the Address bar.
b. For example, if you go to paypal.com, you will see in your address bar https://www.paypal.com, and the address bar will be colored green. On the right side, you will see the lock icon, and if you click on the padlock, you will see a message saying "VeriSign has identified this site as: Paypal, Inc., San Jose, California, US.  This connection to the server is encrypted". You can also click on "View certificates" and you will see the certificate information saying "Issued to: www.paypal.com; Issued by: VeriSign Class 3 Extended Validation SSL CA; Valid from and to dates."

* Protect your privacy when you are online.
Click here to learn how to enable private browsing.
http://eternaltreasures.hubpages.com/hub/How-to-enable-private-browsing-in-Internet-Explorer-and-Mozilla-Firefox

* Use only proven, trusted and trustworthy websites that you know and trust.

* Don't trust a website when:
a. it is from your email and you don't know the sender (Do NOT click on the link!). Banks don't use email to update or ask for your information.
b. it offers cash, rewards, or saying you won money or lottery and prompts you to claim it.
c. it sounds too good to be true (Use common sense!!! Don't easily believe!).
d. it asks for your personal information such as phone number, credit card number, bank account number, password, birthday,  and other sensitive personal data.
e. it asks you to update your personal information by clicking on an email link. (Be careful of clicking email links)
f. it is a Paid to Click (ptc) site. They offer to sell referrals which are bots (programs) to fool you to believe you are making money, so you will keep buying fake referrals. They may pay you but in the long run, you will NEVER recover what you gave to them. Why would they give if they have not taken first?
g. it is a Get-Rich-Quick scheme.
h. it is a Pyramid sheme.
i. it is a Ponzi scheme.
j. it is a Multi-level marketing (MLM) strategy.
k. it is a High-Yield Investment Program (HYIP) in which it promises an unreasonably high return on your investment. They pay investors from the money which came from new investors).

* If you become a victim of online fraud, phishing, or scam:
- report it to the local police immediately
- contact your bank by phone or go to the nearest branch and report the problem
- change the passwords, PINs of all your online accounts
- close accounts that were unauthorizedly accessed
- place a fraud alert so that other people are warned and not fall into the same trap

How to speed up my browser (Internet Explorer & Mozilla Firefox)


Here are seven (7) simple steps that you can do to make your browser run faster. The introduction of High-Speed Internet, Broadband, Cable, DSL made a huge leap from the days of dial-up connections and busy phone lines. However, a lot of people take for granted and rely so much on their connection speeds thinking it is fast as promised by their Internet Service Providers. For sure there is always a way to improve and boost your internet speed and make your browsing experience faster than ever. Without going into so much technical details and using non-complicated means, I have simplified these procedures so that it is very easy to follow, straightforward and effective. After completing these instructions, you should see a speed improvement of your browser. The faster your browser, the more things you can accomplish online.

How to speed up internet browser:


To start with, make sure you have the latest version of your browser.

1. Clear browsing history.
Click here to learn how to delete browsing history data (Internet Explorer & Mozilla Firefox). 
http://internet-web-online.blogspot.ca/2012/12/how-to-enable-private-browsing-in.html


2. Adjust Disk space to use.
a. In Internet Explorer, click Tools -> Internet Options -> General -> Browsing History -> Settings.
b. Select "Automatically" in Check for newer versions of stored pages.
c. Put 60 MB in Disk space to use.
d. Click Ok.

a1. In Mozilla Firefox, click Tools -> Options -> Advanced -> Network -> Offline Storage.
b1. Put a check on 'Override automatic cache management'.
c1. Limit cache to 60 MB.
d1. Click Ok. 

3. Disable browser add-ons.
a. In Internet Explorer, click Tools -> Internet Options -> Programs -> Manage add-ons -> Select and Disable or Remove add-ons you don't need.
b. Click Ok.

a1. In Mozilla Firefox, click Tools -> Add-ons -> Extensions.
b1. Disable or Remove add-ons or extensions you don't need.

4. Defragment hard drive.
a. Click Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Defragmenter. (Windows XP)
a1. Start Menu -> type disk defrag -> Run Disk Defragmenter (Windows 7)

5. Run Disk Cleanup.
a. Click Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Cleanup. (Windows XP)
a1. Start Menu -> type disk cleanup -> Run Disk Cleanup (Windows 7)

6. Run Anti-virus.

7. Reset router.

How to delete browser cookies? How do I erase a cookie in my browser? How to clear the cookies in your browser?


What are browser cookies?

A browser cookie or web cookie is a group of text stored in a user's computer that is used to identify a user that is connected to a certain website or server (such as facebook.com). The cookie is a group of data or textual information that is being sent by an internet server to your browser whenever you connect to that website or server. When you access that website or server using your browser such as Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox, your browser will then send or return the cookie to the server or website every time you access or connect to it.

Examples of cookies:

Name cookie = a name cookie is used to store name information when a user or visitor accesses or connects to a website, server, or web page for the first time. This information is then retrieved by the browser from the name cookie that is stored in the visitor's computer whenever he or she visits the web page the next time again. The page will then post a welcome message with the visitor's name on it ("Welcome, John!").

Password cookie = a password cookie is used to store password information when a user or visitor accesses or connects to a website, server, or web page for the first time. This information is then recovered by the browser from the password cookie that is stored in the user's computer whenever he or she visits the web page the next time again.


Cookie Process Flow Diagram:

1. You open your browser (Firefox or Internet Explorer)
2. You type the address "facebook.com" on the address bar of your browser
3. You see the user Login and password
4. You enter your Email and Password and click Login
5. Facebook will then send a user cookie and a password cookie to your browser
6. Your browser will search and retrieve the user and password cookie information data that is stored in your computer
7. Facebook will display your Profile and Welcome page...


Potential threats and dangers from browser cookies:

identity theft
privacy issues
tracking user's activity
stealing visitor's personal information
spyware
malware
session hijacking
information hacking
data eavesdropping within a network


How to delete browser cookies?


Internet criminals, hackers, and evildoers on the web will always try to find and use devilish resourcefulness and means to do their trade of fraud, theft, hacking, and deception.
Due to the potential threats and dangers listed above, it is for your safety that you should delete your browser cookies. Here is the simple step by step procedure on how to delete, erase, and clear up your browser cookies for Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox users.

Internet Explorer:

- Open Internet Explorer
- Click on "Tools"
- Select "Internet Options"
- Under the "General" tab on
- Browsing history
- Click "Delete"
- Check "Cookies"
- Click "Delete"

Note:
Under Browsing history, on "Delete" you have to option to delete temporary internet files, history, cookies, saved passwords, and web form information.

- Under "Settings", "Temporary Internet Files" you have the option to "Check for newer versions of stored pages", "Disk space to use".

- Under "History",
you can specify how many days Internet Explorer should save the list of websites you have visited.


Mozilla Firefox:


- Open Mozilla Firefox
- Click on "Tools"
- Select "Options"
- Click "Privacy"
- Under "History"
you have the option to "Accept cookies from sites" and "Accept third-party cookies" and keep until options - they expire, close Firefox, ask everytime.

- Click "Exceptions" and specify the address or addresses of website(s) that you want to "Block", "Allow for Session", or "Allow" to use their cookies.

- Click "Show Cookies"
Search or Select a cookie and "Remove Cookies" or
"Remove All Cookies"
- Click "Close"

How to create a strong password that is hard to guess


The growth of the internet is exponential. Millions or maybe even billions of people have undeniably used the internet and had an online account. Many people everyday become victim of hackers, cyber criminals, and other fraudulent tricksters. Everyday, many people have their passwords stolen, known, or otherwise compromised. And not only passwords but PINs, personal information, bank and financial information, and other sensitive private data. Some people just take it for granted and only thought of their convenience and ease that they used the same passwords for all their online accounts and regrettably lost money or became a victim of scam or other online fraud. Although my topic is how to create a strong password, I have included links at the end on how to surf the web securely and how to make a secure online transaction.

How to create a strong password:


- Create a password that is at least 12 characters long.

- When making passwords, make sure you have a good combination of Uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, symbols, and special characters such as *, -, or _.

- Change your passwords regularly.

- Create alternative means of safety. Example, if the website provides second password or additional security passwords, pass phrases, or security questions, take advantage of these safety measures.

- If your password or PIN is compromised, stolen, or become known, immediately report it and contact the company where you have the account. You may have to close your account, or talk to someone within the company and follow their advice for the best course of action and solution.

- Make sure your passwords are different and unique for each of your online accounts.

- Be careful, creative and unique. Remember it is for your own safety and security.

- Don't make a password that is in the dictionary.

- Don't share passwords with anyone.

- Don't use birthdays, anniversary dates, or any dates related to you.

- Don't use names of your family members, husband, wife, son,daughter, favorite colors, singers, songs, or pet.

- Don't use name of a city, country, province, street address, building number, apartment number or postal codes.

- Don’t use the same password on all sites for all your accounts.

- Don't write down your passwords in an unsafe location

- Don't use a phone number, serial code, registration code of any number written on your equipment, furniture, or appliances.

- Don't make a password that can be easily guessed by anyone.

- Don't base your passwords on easy and obvious patterns.

- Listen to good advice, and learn from the mistakes of other people using the internet and being online.

- Protect your privacy.

- Know How to browse the internet safely.

- Know How to make a secure online transaction. 

Search Engine Optimization (SEO): How to increase site traffic and earn money online


What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?


Optimization comes from the Latin word "optimus", which means best. Search Engine or Web Search Engine is a set of programs and algorithms used to search the internet. Google, Yahoo, Bing and Ask are the big four search engines. Thus, in simple words, SEO means making your site the best or on top of search engine results.

I have done some research on what are the rules or guidelines to follow on how to optimize your site, making it search-engine friendly, avoiding being penalized and most of all to stay on the first page of search engine results then finally on the top spot, being number one on the list. I don't want to use hard to understand computer terminologies because my main audience are beginner webmasters and publishers who know little about SEO and site traffic. In order to make your page, article, hub, lens, blog or website content search-engine friendly and ultimately achieve the first position on the first page of search engine results, follow these general principles, simple rules and guidelines detailed below:

Rules, Guidelines and Tips for Optimizing your website(s):


** Page Title of your site should be relevant to its contents. (Example: Daily Chess Puzzles)

** Domain or subdomain URL should be related and should reflect the page title. (Example: http://www.daily-chess-puzzles/mate2.htm)

** Choose words and keywords carefully and precisely. (Example: chess puzzles, solutions to chess puzzles)

** Use appropriate and relevant Headings on your content. (Example: Solutions to mate in 2 chess puzzles:)

** The site content should be unique, rich in quality, informative, useful and easy to understand.

** Think about your readers. Your article should be positive, educational, clear, straightforward and natural.

** Think of repeat visitors. Think of your visitors bookmarking your site. You want your visitors to keep coming back in case they miss something.

** Think of visitor recommendations. A visitor may endorse your site to his or her friend and relatives, thereby increasing your site visits.

** The site structure, format and general outlook should be reader-friendly, easy to navigate and provide excellent user experience and satisfaction.

** A picture is worth a thousand words. Provide photos with related headers, footers or captions.

** A video is worth a million words. Include videos relevant to the topics in your article content showing detailed explanations, instructions and procedures.

** Use relevant tags. Limit the number of tags to a maximum of 15. (Example: chess, game, puzzles, problems, solutions, mate, checkmate, 2 moves)

** Provide links to other related, trusted, quality and content-rich sites. (Example: See also, Read also, Click here for more information on Chess Puzzles)

** Place backlinks (incoming links to your website) to other prominent, highly rating, high PageRank sites, social networking sites, blogging sites, forums, etc.

** Provide a Guest book (a place where readers can leave their comments, ideas or opinions).

** Moderate comments to avoid spam which would result in your site being removed from the index of search engines.


To optimize your site on search engines, beware of these warnings:


-- Don't abuse (deceptively repeat) keywords to avoid being penalized on your page ranking and rating.

-- Don't use spam, schemes to influence search engine algorithms and other evil manipulations to avoid being removed from search engine indices.

-- Don't rewrite or otherwise copy and make duplicate content from other sites to avoid copyright or trademark infringements and violations.

-- Don't make your article content full of twists and turns, just be honest, direct and concise about the topic of discussion.

-- Don't include malicious, deceitful, fraudulent and harmful links in your site.


How to increase traffic to your website, blogs, pages, lenses or hubs?


By following the rules and guidelines enumerated above and avoiding the warnings listed, it should bring satisfactory result in optimization of your site which would then cause numerous visitors generating tons of page views and thus creating a massive huge traffic to your site.


How do I earn money online on the internet?


An optimized site means high page rank which means superiority in search engine results which leads to high volume of traffic which leads to hundreds, thousands or even millions of page views which translates to big income potentials from your site on the web.

List of Top 10 Most Visited Websites in the World


How many unique visitors does Google get everyday? How many unique page views does Google get everyday? every month? These are the questions that prompted me to publish this article. If you search on search engines, you will have different answers on how much traffic or how much daily or monthly visits and page views each website has. Although the data from the statistics are estimates, it is useful information in order to establish a ranking which has credible numerical basis. Alexa.com (http://www.alexa.com/topsites) has a database of information on site statistics such as Traffic Rank, Reach, Pageviews, Pageviews/User, etc. Internet World Stats (http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm) provides an estimated 2,267,233,742 global internet users as of December 31, 2011. Using the values from the two websites above, calculation can be made to generate figures and arrive at the top 10 list of the world's most viewed sites.


Top 10 Most Visited Websites in the World: (April 2012)


Rank 1 - Google.com

Daily global unique internet users: 50.4 %
Daily global unique visitors: 1.14 billion
Daily global unique pageviews per user: 11.6
Daily global unique pageviews: 13.22 billion
Monthly global unique pageviews: 396.72 billion

Rank 2 - Facebook.com

Daily global unique internet users: 44.3 %
Daily global unique visitors: 1 billion
Daily global unique pageviews per user: 12.7
Daily global unique pageviews: 12.7 billion
Monthly global unique pageviews: 381 billion

Rank 3 - Youtube.com

Daily global unique internet users: 32.6 %
Daily global unique visitors: 739 million
Daily global unique pageviews per user: 12.3
Daily global unique pageviews: 9.09 billion
Monthly global unique pageviews: 272.7 billion

Rank 4 - Yahoo.com

Daily global unique internet users: 22.3 %
Daily global unique visitors: 506 million
Daily global unique pageviews per user: 6.5
Daily global unique pageviews: 3.29 billion
Monthly global unique pageviews: 98.7 billion

Rank 5 - Baidu.com

Daily global unique internet users: 11.2 %
Daily global unique visitors: 254 million
Daily global unique pageviews per user: 18.2
Daily global unique pageviews: 4.62 billion
Monthly global unique pageviews: 138.6 billion

Rank 6 - Wikipedia.org

Daily global unique internet users: 14 %
Daily global unique visitors: 317 million
Daily global unique pageviews per user: 3.91
Daily global unique pageviews: 1.24 billion
Monthly global unique pageviews: 37.2 billion

Rank 7 - Live.com (Windows Live)

Daily global unique internet users: 10.5 %
Daily global unique visitors: 238 million
Daily global unique pageviews per user: 6.6
Daily global unique pageviews: 1.57 billion
Monthly global unique pageviews: 47.1 billion

Rank 8 - Blogspot.com
Daily global unique internet users: 8.5 %
Daily global unique visitors: 193 million
Daily global unique pageviews per user: 4.8
Daily global unique pageviews: 926.4 million
Monthly global unique pageviews: 27.79 billion

Rank 9 - Twitter.com
Daily global unique internet users: 8.4 %
Daily global unique visitors: 190 million
Daily global unique pageviews per user: 3.5
Daily global unique pageviews: 665 million
Monthly global unique pageviews: 19.95 billion

Rank 10 - QQ.com

Daily global unique internet users: 7.4 %
Daily global unique visitors: 168 million
Daily global unique pageviews per user: 8.8
Daily global unique pageviews: 1.48 billion
Monthly global unique pageviews: 44.4 billion

Friday, December 14, 2012

How Virus, Spyware, Trojan, Malware, Worms attack your laptop or desktop computer


MALICIOUS PROGRAMS, CODES, SOFTWARES

As technology progresses and advances, so are the internet or web criminals advance in their ways of attacking your computer, desktop, laptop, webtop, and other online electronic equipment. The most common ways of attacking your PC's are in the form of viruses, spywares, trojans, malwares, and worms.

Computer virus
A virus is a computer program that replicates itself by copying the code into the other programs stored in your computer or laptop.

Spyware
A spyware is a software in the form of freeware or adware program that promises to do a certain job for your computer but after installation, it will collect information about web sites you visit, activities you do in your computer, games that you play (without you knowing about it), thereby compromising your personal information and privacy to the makers of the software where they will make use of the collected information from you often in a deceptive manner like theft, fraud, and sinister purposes.

Trojan
A trojan is a code, program, or software that is camouflaged as something useful but in reality is actually harmful to your computer and will result with the hacker to be able to connect remotely to your computer via the trojan introduced and gain access to your files, folders, and data. The name is derived from the Greek mythology where the Trojan Horse is filled with attackers inside.

Malware
A malware is a software that is often deceptively installed in your desktop computer or laptop that causes your computer to shutdown, have black screen, malfunction, or any abnormal and harmful effects caused by the changes of the malware in the system settings of your device.

Worm
A worm is a program or any harmful code that is usually a virus that replicates and reproduces itself to your computer. After making a copy of itself on your machine, it will go on to infect other computers or machines connected in your computer network.


METHODS OF ATTACK

It is often recommended by computer experts to have your computer installed with a good antivirus. But what if the malicious attacker or hacker disables your anti-virus first and once your antivirus is disabled, he/she will go on to hack and steal your personal information or even worse is to damage your computer or your network and other network resources and peripherals.

The most common and often most effective method of attack is through a link to be clicked on your email or through a link on a website. Another tricky way that these evildoers use is by popping up a window in a website that says

"Your computer is infected with virus" or other similar messages and on the bottom or following lines

"Click here to scan your computer for free" or similar messages like

"Click here to clean your computer", etc.

Once you click it...BOOM!...a harmful program, code, or virus will be downloaded and run in your computer and there goes the infestation.

Still another usual method is by mixing the code, program, virus, trojan, or spyware in a compressed file (.zip or .rar) together with a popular software and after you download and extract or uncompress the file, there goes the virus out to do its malignant work!

From my experiences, I was attacked with viruses called IGFXWD32.exe and WIN32.VIRTOB.GEN/VIRUT and the first thing it did was to disable my Antivirus (Bitdefender, Nod32 antivirus) and proceeded with the installation and virus attack. On another occasion, I was searching for a certain software and then I found it in a website and it is free to download. After I downloaded the software (which was in a .rar file) and extracted it using Winrar, my NOD32 from Eset antivirus detected a trojan/virus. On another time, while on a Google search, I came across a site with a pop-up screen message saying "Your computer is infected with viruses, Click here for a free scan", so I clicked OK and my laptop was infected. There are virtually thousands of ways that these fraudulent people use to deceive unsuspecting computer users on the internet and do their dirty work anytime, anywhere on the web!

Watch out and be careful...

Be ready, protect your computer, protect yourself!

Warnings on using Facebook


Facebook is the most popular social networking service website in the world. As of 2011, it has over 800 million accounts and growing each day with hundreds of thousands of new account registrations per day. You might say that you are enjoying the benefits of Facebook such as bonding, connecting, and socializing with loved ones, family, and friends, easy and fast communication and posting of messages, quick notifications and access to friends' updates, photos, and profile pages, and many more.

My purpose of writing this article is to warn people of the potential dangers of using Facebook. Knowledge is power. If you have knowledge of these warnings on using Facebook and if you are aware of the dangers in using Facebook, then, you can avoid most of the potential threats to you and your family, friends, and groups. Although this is not a complete list, the warnings or dangers listed here are the most common ones. I will update this list as necessary. I encourage each reader to share their experiences or add their own warnings on their use of Facebook to prevent and protect other people from becoming the next victim.

Warnings on using Facebook: beware of the dangers of Facebook!


- Identity theft, this is one of the most dangerous problems in using social networking sites, be rational enough of providing sensitive information about yourself or other people

- Invasion of your privacy, it is very dangerous, uncomfortable, and unsettling when people know very much about your personal details

- Facebook hackers sell Facebook user names and passwords for $20 each or less......and, they work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, preying on the next victim

- When you post your plans or trips showing the dates and times, evil-doers might take advantage of your absence in your home, office, or residence, thus running the risk of property theft and criminals increasing their chances of stealing your possessions

- Many people lost their jobs or failed interviews because of Facebook or Twitter

- Links being posted and shared have great potentials of injecting viruses, malwares, spywares and other malicious computer and network attacks

- Danger of being compromised by friends that have weak passwords

- There are millions of fake profiles on Facebook, he or she might invite you to become a friend, and you might fall prey

- Be careful when you share your personal feelings and opinions

- Be prudent of posting messages that are for your friends only as opposed to everyone in the public, you might regret it later, so think carefully first

- Be careful of adding friends, connecting with a so called "friend" might prove to be a friend from hell

- Be careful of uploading photos, you will lose your copyrights. Also when you upload, you might violate a company's copyright and trademark rights

- Make sure you have sufficient knowledge of a social group before joining a Facebook group. The internet is full of scams, fraud, and online violence. You might get involved with the harms, violence, and crimes that they (will) commit

- Information that you provide, update, and post might be used against you or be used to take advantage of you

- When you click on the Like button, it will collect information about your interests, preferences, and what you love, therefore, Facebook will learn more about you

- Personal information in social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter allow hackers, scammers, and other online criminals to spy on your profile and manipulate what they know about you and cause you unpredictable troubles and grief

- Ads, contests, promotions, and other third party applications such as games might obtain your private information from Facebook

- Facebook is one of the best sites where cheaters, scammers, and tricksters do their dirty work. Facebook is a place they call 'paradise'!

- It is very easy for internet criminals to impersonate one of your friends and steal confidential data and information about you or your friends
- Communications with friends can not be totally secure. What if there's a bug (security or code problem) that lets other users read private chats and messages?

- Facebook is addictive

- Threat of unsafe ads and unsecured applications

- Facebook is a time thief (if you are poor in personal time management)

- Unnecessary and unwanted information and messages popping up, prompting up from time to time

- It is hard and time-consuming to delete a Facebook account. Even if you delete your photos and pictures, they still remain on Facebook servers.

- and many more threats and vulnerabilities

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

How to enable private browsing in Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox


When you use the internet in a common area where you share a computer such as Library, Student internet cafe, public internet cafe, in your office, or just your own laptop computer borrowed by someone else, chances are they are able to track which websites you visited, what materials or topics you have surfed on the web. Not all things you want them to be open to the public. Some things are worthwhile keeping it private or secret. Examples are online bank transactions, credit card transactions, and online shopping where you don't want the public to discover your credit card number, bank card number, account number and other sensitive personal information. There are a number of reasons why you would want to keep your browsing privacy and keep your surfing without a trace or a trail of footprint. With private browsing, you have some level of protection when you check your bank balance at work in the office or in an airport wi-fi network.

How to keep your privacy while surfing: Internet Explorer 8

1. Use InPrivate Browsing to surf the internet in private.
a. Click File -> New Tab -> Browse with InPrivate or Click the Safety button, and then click InPrivate Browsing.
b. Click Tools -> Internet Options -> Privacy -> put a check mark on 'Disable toolbars and extensions when InPrivate Browsing starts'.
c. Click Ok.

2. Delete your browsing history after browsing.
a. In the Internet Explorer toolbar, click Safety -> Delete Browsing History.
b. In Delete Browsing History, put a check mark on Preserve Favorites website data.
c. Put a check mark on Temporary Internet Files, Cookies, History, Form data, Passwords, InPrivate Filtering data.
d. Click Delete.


How to enable private browsing: Mozilla Firefox 9

1. Enable private browsing.
Click Tools -> Start Private Browsing -> Click Start Private Browsing.

2. Delete browsing history after surfing.
a. Click Tools -> Clear Recent History
b. Time Range to clear -> Everything
c. Put a check mark on Browsing and Download History, Form and Search History, Cookies, Cache, Active Logins,  and Site Preferences.
d. Click Clear Now.
e. To clear history when you close the Firefox browser, Click Tools -> Options -> Privacy -> Put a check on 'Clear history when Firefox closes'.