Although this website is still new, fresh, unspoilt and even sort of virginal, it’s clearly gaining speed and getting off the ground – making its webmaster’s life a joy! I spend so much time pottering about with it that I’m even identifying myself with my computer: as you can see in the picture my head has turned into a monitor. My wife Caroline insists that it’s an improvement, by the way.

I’ve been making websites since 1998, which I took a step further in 2006 by becoming an internet marketer, after having been an internet buyer for several years. This enables me to look at the online trading game from both positions, between which I noticed a truly monumental information gap. There is an enormous amount of info, e-books, websites and software about selling, but very little about buying on the internet. It was relatively easy to become pretty good at the marketing part (I just sold three Eiffel Towers and a couple of Hoover Dams), but it took me a lot more time to become a clever buyer.

Although still being screwed every now and then (one of those Eiffel Towers was initially bought by myself!), I make it harder and harder for the crooks to pull the wool over my eyes. Being the generous guy my late parents used to think I am, I decided to share some of my profound buyer’s wisdoms with
you here. May it help you buy cheaply and safely, while avoiding the many pitfalls in this jungle we call the internet.

If there’s anything you want to ask, discuss or declare you can usually do that by commenting on the post in question. Then there is also the option to reach us via our contact form, and last but not least you are invited to make good use of the FAQ’s on our support page. Now have a good and profitable time at this site!

Studies show that unsolicited or “junk” e-mail, known as spam, accounts for more than half of all e-mail messages received. Although once regarded as little more than a nuisance, the tsunami of spam has increased to the point where many users have begun to express a profound lack of confidence in the effectiveness of e-mail transmissions, and increased concern over the spread of computer viruses via unsolicited messages.

Unfortunately, spam is very hard to fight at the source. It’s not for the lack of trying: already in 2003 U.S. President Bush signed the “Can Spam” bill, prohibiting senders of unsolicited commercial email from using false return addresses, using dictionaries to generate such mails, and the use of misleading subject lines. It also requires that emails include an opt-out mechanism. The legislation also prohibits senders from harvesting addresses from websites. Fine, excellent, admirable… but I haven’t seen any decrease in spam since. You?

The reason why it is so hard to snuff spam at the root, is the international character of what’s aptly called the World Wide Web. Nowadays, spam rarely comes from one’s own country, but usually from banana republics and coconut kingdoms halfway across the globe. Such emails are much harder to fight, because they’re sent from outside the jurisdiction of our own laws and regulations. Those regulations and laws are fine and good and necessary and all that, but they’re hardly likely to stop the problem, nor can they reasonably be expected to do so under the circumstances. So what can we do about the spam issue?

The one truly effective solution is getting rid of your computer and revert to snail mail, but that’s a bit drastic. However, there are several things you can do to at least minimize the amount of spam that’s coming your way. We’ll give you five fairly simple and effective measures you can take.

1. Do what you can to avoid having your email address out on the net.

   There are products called “spam spiders” that search the Internet for email addresses to send email to. To fight them you may use form emails which can hide addresses, and/or use addresses like sales@company.com instead of your full address. There are also programs that “scramble” your email, like jsGuard, which encodes your email address on web pages so that spam spiders find it difficult or impossible to read your email address.

2. Get spam blocking software.

   There are many programs out there for this, free as well as paid. A couple of freebies are available from Cloudmark and Mailwasher. You may also buy a professional version. Whatever you do, get the software. No, these applications are not foolproof, but they really do help. You usually have to do some manual set up to block certain types of email.

3. Use the multiple email address approach.

   There are a lot of free email addresses to be had. If you must subscribe to newsletters, then have a “back-up” email address. It would be like giving your sell phone number to your best friends and the business number to everyone else.

4. Attachments from people you don’t know are BAD, BAD, BAD.

   Email can have attachments and attachments can have viruses. Corporations often have filters, but personal email is far more open to spammers. General rule of thumb: if you do not know who is sending you something, do not open the attachment! Secondly, look for services that offer filtering. Firewall vendors offer this type of service as well.

5. Use “bulk-mail”, “junk” or “spam” baskets.

   If your email provider does not support this, consider moving to another. The concept is simple. If you know someone, they can send you emails. If you don’t know them, put them in the bulk email pile and then “choose” to allow them into your circle. Spam Blocking software has this concept as well, but having extra layers seems critical these days.

Internet access has become a basic and important necessity, even to the extend that the United Nations are currently pushing countries to consider it a human right. The UN started calling for universal access to important and basic information and communication services at the assembly of its Administrative Committee on Coordination early in the 21st century, following up in 2003 when addressing delegates of the World Summit on Information Society. France, Estonia and Greece were among the first to react, enacting and enforcing laws that make Internet access as a human right. Observers, analysts and advocates are waiting for more countries follow suit.

Every day many millions of people log in to the services offered across the Internet. Online shopping is very popular: clothes, collectors’ items, foods, gadgets, appliances, furniture, jewels… just about anything can be obtained via the web. Specialized sites sell concert, movie, plane and even ferry tickets. Banking transactions like depositing and transferring of funds are increasingly being done online. Movies, videos, news streams, and amateur clips can be downloaded through the internet. Computer applications and software are sold, sent, and downloaded online. Booking and reservations for accommodations in other cities and countries are conveniently done via the net.

Indeed, convenience is a keyword regarding internet access. Goods and, even more important, information are available from home – translating into big savings in time, effort and money. If Internet access is successfully made a human right, more people will enjoy and use it for their own educational, material and other benefits. Technologically it’s no problem at all: internet access, even via broadband, is becoming increasingly available all over the world. It’s only politicians that can, and often do, stop it. That’s why it should become a human right.

If you have computers in your home and your kids have access to them, you need to take care of the brats’ online safety. That’s easier said than done, on account of most children effortlesly outsmarting their parents when it comes to the internet. It’s also a matter of privacy which is highly valued, especially by teenagers: they don’t like you meddling. Remarkably though, said privacy will always take a back seat to their safety once they’re chatting on social networking sites and other parts of the internet. You lock your home’s door against predators, but unfortunately these slimy thieves have found another way to get in – your computer.

How can you protect your kids when they are online just like you do inside your home? Here’s a book that helps you keep the kids safe, and gives you some peace of mind too.

Finding the right Security Suite for you

Before you holler joyfully: “If I install the right protection I’ll never be attacked, infected, hacked, phished or robbed online again” I urge you to be realistic: there is no such thing as a secure operating system or web browser. Such varmin doesn’t exist. While the use of security suites and other complementing products can significantly reduce your risks, they are not magic wands that you can wave to eliminate 100% of your risk. Any product claiming they can do this should be viewed with great skepticism. Better: give them a wide berth.

With that being said, let’s talk computer security and security suites. There are numerous ways in which the security of your computer can be breached. The most common threats come from worms, viruses, Trojans, phishing, hackers and crackers. Potential security breaches come in the form of downloading unfamiliar email attachments, being monitored by spyware, maliciously attacked by malware, or probed through port scanning.

Dshield.org tracks, among other things, port scanning violations. Port scanning involves a person (hacker or cracker) who attempts to break into your computer through the open ports in your system. Once an open port is located, the evildoer will attempt to collect your personal data, and/or install a malware program on your computer. On average, Dshield.org logs over 1.1 billion reported attempts of port scanning each month. Even scarier is that this is just based on their program participants. Imagine how many more incidents are occurring each month to all computer users!

Dshield.org also reports on survival time. Survival time refers to how long it will take before an unpatched PC is attacked or infected. Here’s a snapshot of their operating system breakdown:

Windows: 128 min
Unix: 3648 min
Application: 1203 min
P2P: 1591 min
Backdoor: 5432 min

In short, if you have a Windows-based operating system and an unpatched PC, you will be attacked or infected in a little over 2 hours. When looked at in these terms, securing your computer becomes a mission.

Here are a few easy and fairly logical steps you can take to immediately protect your computer.

1. Don’t run unfamiliar programs on your computer
It sounds like common sense, but many of the most prominent attacks have involved spyware and email attachment worms. If you don’t recognize the sender, don’t download its attachments. It really is that simple: if you don’t recognize the sender, don’t download its attachments.

2. Don’t allow unrestricted physical access to your computer
If you have sensitive or proprietary information on your computer, allowing other employees or family members to use your computer can lead to potential breaches in your computer’s security.

3. Don’t use weak passwords
Use passwords that are difficult for others to figure out. No names of children, pets, anniversary dates, or birthdays! Because there’s a password needed for almost everything, many people use the same password over and over again. Big mistake! The use of one single password provides a hacker with easy access to all your personal information. If you must write your passwords down, jotting them down on post-its all over the place is not the best idea (grin)!

4. Regularly patch, fix and/or update your operating system and applications
Many industry experts believe that most network security attacks would be stopped if computer users would just keep their computers updated with patches and security fixes. Too often, we forget to do this on a regular basis. Remember that every day, new viruses, worms and Trojans are being created and distributed. They are looking for the weaknesses in your computer system. Having outdated software is like holding the door open and inviting them in for a visit.

5. Don’t forget to make regular backups of important data
Always keep a copy of important files on removable media such as an external hard disk or recordable CD-ROM disks or DVD’s. Store the backups in a location separate from the computer.

In most cases, Windows desktop and screen-saver passwords provides adequate protection for normal security concerns. However, if you feel more comfortable taking additional security measures consider obtaining a comprehensive security suite.

Selecting your Antivirus Software

Alright then: start by asking yourself a series of plain common-sense questions.

Do you need password protection for individual files, your desktop, a network, or to block someone’s access to the Internet? Is your computer used only by you, or do multiple users have access to the computer? If the latter, how many? What are your system requirements? How much do you want to spend? Are there any reviews about the various products, or has nobody ever written about them? Do you really need what you think you need, or should you rethink your needs?

Once you have answered these questions, you can begin to research which security suite will best meet your needs. Product reviews and user statements provide a great starting point. PCMagazine, Zdnet.com and Consumer Reports are just a few informative sites that offer research on various computer software products.

There are numerous security suites on the ever expanding market. Take the time to choose the one that meets your specific needs. In this post you see two popular programs that we can recommend, but remember: safe internet shopping is not a matter of ‘one size fits all’!