By browsing a web page, you could infect your computer with 
spy ware, ad ware, dialers and hijackers. These, unwelcome 
guests, are some of the fastest growing threats on the 
Internet today. It is important to protect your computer 
and one of the most powerful software products, available 
for this, is Spy ware Blaster, a program created by Java 
cool. 

How are you affected? 

A spyware program will record every keystroke and e-mail as 
well as every web page you visit and every chat session. 
Some spyware programs will try to take control of your 
homepage, search page and other browser settings. Some may 
silently download themselves onto your computer. Others may 
pose as legitimate programs and persuade you to download 
them. 

Private and confidential information extracted from a 
user's computer may be put on the Internet before he can 
realize that he is a victim of these malicious programs. 

A Microsoft program called ActiveX is used to download 
software from websites for supporting legitimate services 
like file viewers or games. ActiveX can also be used to 
download spyware, hijackers, dialers and ad ware. Spyware 
Blaster can make it difficult for these ActiveX programs to 
run on your computer. It can also protect your computer 
from certain cookies while running Mozilla based browsers 
like Fire fox. 

The major anti-virus software product manufacturers have 
ignored the risks of spyware, hijackers, dialers and ad 
ware till now. Due to this, users have little knowledge of 
the software products that can be effective in detecting 
and eliminating them. One of the most powerful products 
available to provide security from spy ware is Spyware 
Blaster. 

Spyware Blaster 

Spyware Blaster is a freeware that offers effective 
protection from malicious Internet downloads. It disables 
malicious ActiveX controls that are already present and 
prevents downloads of malicious ActiveX controls from a web 
page. Its current database contains 822 items against which 
it provides protection. About 100 of these are tracking 
cookies, used by advertisers. 

Spy ware Blaster's Flash Killer capability enables it to 
block the installation of distracting macromedia flash 
content. It gives the user the option to block specific 
search engine toolbars and browser plug-ins.

With literally thousands of online casinos on the internet, it can sometimes become very confusing as to which ones are safe and reputable, and which casinos are not. So many of them are beautifully designed, look very professional and offer great signup bonuses, so how does one go about choosing the "reputable" online casinos while avoiding the "dodgy" ones? 

When choosing an online casino to play at, one should always take into consideration the following points: 

Licensed casino 

Is the casino licensed? While many online casinos are licensed, a significant number of casinos are not. There are plenty of unlicensed, illegal gambling casinos which are nothing more than money scam operations. One should always avoid these casinos at all costs. 

Where is the casino licensed? 

While online casinos licensed in Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Kahnawake, Netherlands Antilles, United Kingdom and the West Indies are recommended, online casinos licensed in Eastern Europe should be approached with extreme caution. 

24/7 Support 

Does the casino offer 24/7 phone, fax, live chat and email support? Test the casino's customer service department by asking them a few questions about their games, bonuses, etc and measure how long it takes to receive a decent response. 

Professional Recogition 

Is the online casino officially recognised by various gaming bodies and authorities? For instance, are the payout percentages of the online casino independently reviewed by auditors such as PricewaterhouseCoopers? Is this information made publicly available? 

Blacklisted 

Is the online casino blacklisted for any reason? There are many casinos which have been blacklisted by several gambling portals for one reason or another. Although not all blacklists are credible sources of information, one should avoid online casinos which appear in several blacklists. 

Software 

Casino software providers such as iGlobalMedia, Microgaming, Playtech, Random Logic, Real Time Gaming and WaterLogic are very popular and have excellent reputations in the online gambling industry. 

With so many online casinos coming and going, and with so many cons and scams surfacing on the internet everyday, one needs to be especially careful when registering one's credit card with or transferring money to an online casino. The above set of guidelines may not completely safeguard the player, but they are nevertheless a good set of common sense points to go by when choosing an online casino to play at.

You have to be very lucky to be one of the chosen few who receive an eBay coupon by email. These coupons are just like cash that you can use towards anything you buy on eBay – the only conditions being that you pay using PayPal, and that you are using eBay in the USA, Canada or the UK. 

There are two ways to get eBay coupons. 

Wait for that Email. 

Of course, if you just wait, you’ll be waiting for a long time. You have to do something to make yourself look like the kind of person eBay would want to tempt back with a coupon. If you open an account, buy a few medium-value things and then suddenly stop, the chances are you’ll find yourself with some kind of special offer – but still, not always. 

Go Searching. 

The better way, of course, is to go and find the coupons that are out there on the web. This is quite hit-and-miss, as eBay don’t always have an offer on, but when there’s a valid code you can guarantee that it’ll be everywhere within a few hours. Just type ‘ebay coupon codes’ into your favourite search engine, but be prepared to pick through some rubbish. You might find you have better luck if you use a more obscure search engine, where people haven’t taken the trouble to game the results. 

If going through search engines is too much for you, then just keep an eye out at any community forums you frequent, where someone might just post one. You probably have the best chances if you make a few friends on eBay’s own forums at http://hub.ebay.com/community. It can be fun and educational to chat to the regulars there too, so you really have nothing to lose. 

How do You Redeem Coupons? 

A coupon is basically a code, with some being quite long. All you need to do is pay with PayPal as usual for the item you want to use the coupon towards. After you choose PayPal as your payment method, you will notice a heading that says ‘Coupons, Gift Certificates and eBay Anything Points’. Type the coupon code in here: they can be long, so you should use copy-and-paste to make sure you get it right. Just click ‘Redeem’, and it’s good to go. 

Don’t worry about causing problems for sellers by doing this, by the way – they have no way of even telling that you used a coupon, as eBay just pay them for the item as usual. Coupons are good for sellers as they attract more buyers to eBay, meaning that they get more bids on their auctions. After all, why would they object to getting more money without you actually having to pay it? 

Since you’re interested in making your eBay shopping more affordable, you might be interested to know that you can now buy eBay items on credit. Our next email will tell you all the details of eBay’s new ‘Buyer’s Credit’ program.

One of the most popular questions asked in online business forums or even by my customers and subscribers is this : 

“How the hell can I increase my sales?” 
or 

“I’ve got tons of visitors but nobody seems to be buying anything? What gives?” 

FISHNETS WITH HOLES? ANYONE? 
Getting traffic is not the be all and end all of a successful online business. It requires skills, specific online marketing strategies designed for your site and a robust customer service strategy. 

So what if you have thousands of visitors per day! That does’nt amount to success, unless you close at least 5 to 10% of those visitors. 

You see, when you get a lot of traffic from your advertising and marketing activities and nobody there to guide them, is like hauling a big fishing net in the water with a major flaw…..it has a sizeable hole in the middle. So you can say goodbye to eating fish…for now, at least. 

Would you go and pick up items on display from a store that does not offer the least bit assurance of somebody manning it? Sure! Sure, we’re on the work smart, work less attitude but hey, humans prefer humans, and they most certainly will buy from somebody they’ve talked to before. You see, they need to feel some warmth and yes, especially on the internet where items are passed on in “cold” or “digital” means. 



DOING THE BOTTOMLINE 
It’s good that you have some or a lot of visitors to your website, but the bottomline is that you should have the best customer service and a lot of options for them to contact you, the soonest. The more the better! 

Look around you. Take a look at the most popular sites on the net or even your favorite newsletter, they all have one common factor, customer service availability. 

The most common or popular customer service strategy is through a form-to-mail which prohibits anybody from spamming your email account rather than having them email you directly, well unless you have a very good email filter software. 

But you can offer them additional ways to contact you such as these options below. 


PROVIDE MANY OPTIONS FOR CONTACT 
Online business is a contact sport. You want to close more sales? Then increase your customer service availability and options. 

Providing them with a lot of options would mean that you are always ready to receive their inquiries, or issues with a welcoming smile. It would make you more credible. It would create a halo of success to your already plumed hat. 

Let us take a look at some of the free ways for you to interact with your website visitors: 

CHAT SERVICES 
Mostly, website owners would be the one manning these free chat services and if you’d like to be assumed as a pro-entrepreneur you can always advance anytime to a helpdesk solution or upgrade from your free account. 

Bravenet.com - Free Webmaster Resources. Cut and paste services you can use for your site for free. They use LivePerson for their customer help service. (FREE AND PRO) 
http://www.Bravenet.com 


Chat-Forum.com – They offer free Java Chat Rooms & Advanced Custom Internet Chat Solutions (FREE AND PRO) 
http://chat-forum.com/ 


Parachat.com - They’re solutios enable real-time communication on their own web site for a host of applications, including corporate interaction, moderated events, distance education, visitor retention, customer service, dating and romance, entertainment, and family fun. (FREE AND PRO) 
http://www.parachat.com 


Boldchat.com - Boldchat is a FREE live chat service for web sites to do live help and live support chats with visitors. They don’t have ads and their free account is for unlimited personal use. (FREE AND PRO) 
http://www.boldchat.com 



PHONE SUPPORT 
If you want credibility then put your phone number up in your website. Make it more visible to the eye especially on your home page or on your product or service order page. This way, they’ll be more comfortable to see that they can call you anytime. You can ask your local phone company to provide you with a 1800 number so visitors all over the world can call you for free. 

RULING IN VOIP 
VoIp is certainly getting it’s share of the market right now as more and more softphones or internet phones are coming out of the market every month. 

What is voip? Voice over internet phone which basically denotes that you can now make clear pc to pc calls worldwide. 

Skype.com 
Take a look at Skype for example. They’re definitely a new player against giants like Yahoo, and MSN but they say that they have 14 million downloads up to date. I’m not against them but hey, they’re software is ad-ware so you should be aware! 
http://www.Skype.com 

Buzzfon.com 
There’s a new player in town and they call their pc to pc calling softphone, Buzzfonp2p. They’re giving away free 30 day trials and yes, the user surveys are in. They’re clear, the quality is amazing with no disruptions mind you even if you’re on dial up! So you can check them out. http://www.buzzfon.com and nope, they don’t have ads on them and you can even make pc to phone calls, phone to phone calls, phone to pc calls on their advanced version of Buzzfonp2p, aptly called, Buzzfon+. 

GO BROADBAND FOR LESS 
There are a lot of broadband services out there who would’nt charge you an arm and a leg for their services. One of them is Vonage and the newest player in town is Bonusfon. 

Vonage.com 
They have specific target packages for different market segments and they’re basically number one in terms of broadband user surveys. 
http://www.vonage.com 

Bonusfon.com 
They are certainly getting their own share of the market, as what the energetic telecom owner Tam Sanchez said regarding distributing global broadband services. Their rates are highly affordable and they have a feature called pay –per-talk. Pay only for the services you need and you want. Yes, they’re lower than Vonage and more competitive and flexible in terms of packaging. 
http://www.bonusfon.com 


HELPDESK SOLUTIONS 
Helpdesk solutions are web applications that you install on your own server or hosted on the provider’s server that includes most of the customer support solutions like FAQ, TICKET SUPPORT SYSTEM, and LIVE CHAT. Some even have phone in support. 

There are a lot of helpdesk solutions out there which are free but then always has a drawback. It’s either, chatting service are slow on your server or it just freezes in the screen while you’re online or you can only try it if you have the latest language of php, and perl installed in your server. 

There are particular helpdesk solutions we like that offers a lot more for less. 

LiveHelp.Stardevelop.com – PHP Live Help Messenger is the new real-time, live chat, customer service software solution allowing customer support operators to chat to potential online customers browsing your web site. (Price : $89.00) 
http://www.livehelp.startdevelop.com 



DNAHelpdesk.com - DNA Helpdesk is a powerful yet user friendly module for the corporate helpdesk available on its own, combined with DNA Pack 1 (Inventory) or as part of our overall DNA management suite. DNA Helpdesk is a fully web based solution providing detailed recording and tracking of user Help Requests. (Price : Commercial) 
http://www.dnahelpcenter.com/ 


IN CONCLUSION 
There are a lot of ways to interact and create a more personalized service than your other competitors and that will surely depend on the ways and means that you want them to contact you. Provide them more avenues of interaction and they will certainly trust you more than your competitors. Help them to help yourself. 

Happy Profitting!