Phishing? What on earth is that! Was that a misspelling?
Well, actually, no. Phishing is one of the latest internet
phenomenon in which some criminal out there in cyper-
space creates a "photocopy" website of a genuine one
and lures his victim into volunteering sensitive personal
info, convinced he is actually on the legitimate website.
Let's look at a classic example. I repeatedly see emails
popping up in my bulk folder claiming that Paypal has
identified an attempted fraud on my account. It then goes
on to say that it is critical that I log into my account via
link provided and change my personal details, making
sure to stress that urgency of the change to avert further
compromise.
Now here's the catch. After you unsuspectingly enter
your password and other sensitive data, the phishing
website then captures your password and all your
personal particulars and what do you know: you just
got hooked! You are suddenly no longer the only
"authorized" person who has access to your account.
There is also the "telephone phisher" who calls and
claims to be a customer service agent of Visacard
or Mastercard. He will claim that there has been some
fraudulent activity on your credit card, already having,
in this scenario, your card number, but trying to phish
your CVC (card verification code-last three numbers
on the reverse of your card).
According to a case study released last November by
Gartner Inc., of the 5000 adults who took theeir online
survey in August, the average loss per phishing victim
nearly quintupled from $257 in 2005 to $1,244 in 2006.
Pretty frightening eh.
To compound this problem, only 54% were able to
recover in 2006 compared to 80% in 2005, due largely
to a change in tactics by the scammers. While financial
institutions remain prime targets, less traditional brands
such as fictitious sweepstake contest are being employed.
Ebay and Paypal Are Primary Phishing Tanks
According to The Register, a number of Bank of Ireland
customers had lost €113,000 through a fraudulent email
scam. One customer is believed to have lost €49,000 after
responding to a fake email, while other clients lost between
€5,000 and €16,900. They have even conceded to compenate
some of it's customers who together lost some €160,000,
according to Irish Independent.
Gartner Inc. say that Ebay and Paypal are the top phishing
targets., a release corroborated by Phishtank, a community-
based anti-phishing network. Phishtank goes on the say that
some 1,493 distinct scam sites impersonated PayPal last
October alone, with another 1,210 phishing sites targeting
eBay.
Because of my online experience, I have a keen sense of
scamming tactics and was able to avert an attempted attack
on my identity. Using a Paypal website "image" the phisher
tried to get me to login under the guise that my Paypal account
has been compromised. I forward the email to Paypal and they
justified my suspicions.
PayPal will never send you an email with the greeting "Dear
PayPal User" or "Dear PayPal Member". Emails initiated by
PayPal will address you by your first and last name, or the
business name associated with your PayPal account.
For security purposes, PayPal will never ask you to re-enter
your full bank account, credit, or debit card number without
providing you with at least the last two digits of the nuimber.
Look Out! A 'Next Generation' Phishing Strategy Is On The Rise
Have you heard about the DIY man-in-the-middle phishing kits?
Well, if not, hold on to your chair because this one is out
and bad. If you are a seasoned webmaster, pay close
attention to this breaking news.
Security experts at RSA Security reveal that the so-called
"universal phishing kit" allows fraudsters to configure attacks
for any target web site without the need for customisation and
add that once fraudsters acquire and operate this kit, an
attack can be configured to "import" pages from any target
Web site.
The kit creates a fake URL that communicates with
both the end user and a legitimate company web site.
Spam e-mail is used to trick customers into entering
account data at the bogus site, which phishes account
details and multi-factor authentication information.
This data is then autmatically forward to the legitimate
site to access accounts. Any data submitted to the site after
the victim has logged into their account can also be stolen.
I know the above info can be a bit scary but don't throw
your hands in the air and destroy your credit card, I have
a few things to share with you on how you can help to
hook the phisher.
Firstly, once you "smell" a phishing bait, don't hide, tell it.
Go to Castlecops at http://www.castlecops.com/pirt and
paste in full email source of phish. Castecops and Sunbelt
Software have teamed up to launch a global phishing
termination operation through a volunteer PIRT (Phishing
Incident Reporting Termination) squad, funded by Castecops.
Your report is then fed to more than 50 organisations across
the web including Fraud Watch Int'l, Internet Crime Com-
plaint Center, (IC3)Korea Internet Security Center etc.
Observe the following do’s and don’ts:
>Do not click on the link in an email that asks for
your personal information.
>Do look for "https" and a padlock on a site
that requests personal information.
>Do pay attention to your statements
>Don’t download attachments, software updates
or any application to your computer via a link
you received in an email.
>Do report any suspected phishing activity to
CastleCops at http://www.castlecops.com/pirt
That’s my 2 cents for today. I hope I have helped
to make you more aware of those phishing baits around
you while you swim in the cyber ocean.
Swim carefully!
Michael
Friday, January 26, 2007
Friday, October 27, 2006
Drive Thousands of Visitors to your Website Through Social Networking at Zero Cost!
I'm just curious: Have you launched your blog yet? If not, you will
be excited to start one after your read below.
2005 could be dubbed the "blog year" as thousands of blogs
sprung up all over the internet. Check Technorati. They are now
tracking some 57.4 million blogs. That's 64% more than the number
as at November 2005!
Now what is this blog all about? Well, Blogs (short for "weblogs") are a
simple way for anyone to post fresh content in an easy-to-read web
site format with the newest information always on top.
Blogs are also referred to as Web2.0 in some circles.
Blogs are very easy to set up and maintain.
You can even post via e-mail to some blogs in pretty much
the same way to would send an ordinary email, using a blog email
address. Some folks go on a posting blitz daily because of the ease
and simplicity of blogging.
Did you know that ordinary online businesses are blogging their
way to internet success?
Yeah! search engine spiders love crawling through blogs
given their "freshness" and this boosts your search engine ranking,
increase your traffic, and improve your credibility -- what's the sum total
of all of this? You guessed it...more sales of course!
With a well-written blog, it's easy to establish yourself and if you
blog about a specific subject, like your industry or hobby, people
interested in that topic will visit your blog and read it often.
What you just read in the above paragraph is what is called
social networking ultimately leading to more customers. Visitors will,
without obligation, link to your web site overtime as you gain more
popularity.
A word of caution though: It takes time to build trust. People must
"feel" you as a real person through your writing and this can take
a little while. No need to worry however. Here are a few tips to
sort of "fast track" your progress:
When writing your blog make your info "sticky" and of good quality.
By "sticky" I mean writing in such a way that your reader keeps coming
back for more.
Try to keep material original. They get more attention than links to
news and other blogs. Remember, you want to connect to your
audience and build trust.
Now this can be a bit challenging but keeping content updated and
topical is important. Let's say you have a seminar coming up in your area
on Forex trading in December and you wish to invite your readers.
Posting this info to your blog would be best at least a week before the
event. Why? because it gives search engines ample time to crawl
your blog so that folks will see your invitation ahead of time and not
days after the event has passed.
Ok, let's see...we could leave it here for now.
However, before I run, I'd like to encourage you to make sure you direct
your traffic to a "lead capture page". What is this? Simply put, a
gateway page that your visitor is prompted to put in his/her
name, email address and possibly telephone number. That's
how I do it.
Until I talk with you again, (in Jamaican parlance I would say
: "Until mi talk wid yu again")
Prosper and stay in good health,
Michael
be excited to start one after your read below.
2005 could be dubbed the "blog year" as thousands of blogs
sprung up all over the internet. Check Technorati. They are now
tracking some 57.4 million blogs. That's 64% more than the number
as at November 2005!
Now what is this blog all about? Well, Blogs (short for "weblogs") are a
simple way for anyone to post fresh content in an easy-to-read web
site format with the newest information always on top.
Blogs are also referred to as Web2.0 in some circles.
Blogs are very easy to set up and maintain.
You can even post via e-mail to some blogs in pretty much
the same way to would send an ordinary email, using a blog email
address. Some folks go on a posting blitz daily because of the ease
and simplicity of blogging.
Did you know that ordinary online businesses are blogging their
way to internet success?
Yeah! search engine spiders love crawling through blogs
given their "freshness" and this boosts your search engine ranking,
increase your traffic, and improve your credibility -- what's the sum total
of all of this? You guessed it...more sales of course!
With a well-written blog, it's easy to establish yourself and if you
blog about a specific subject, like your industry or hobby, people
interested in that topic will visit your blog and read it often.
What you just read in the above paragraph is what is called
social networking ultimately leading to more customers. Visitors will,
without obligation, link to your web site overtime as you gain more
popularity.
A word of caution though: It takes time to build trust. People must
"feel" you as a real person through your writing and this can take
a little while. No need to worry however. Here are a few tips to
sort of "fast track" your progress:
When writing your blog make your info "sticky" and of good quality.
By "sticky" I mean writing in such a way that your reader keeps coming
back for more.
Try to keep material original. They get more attention than links to
news and other blogs. Remember, you want to connect to your
audience and build trust.
Now this can be a bit challenging but keeping content updated and
topical is important. Let's say you have a seminar coming up in your area
on Forex trading in December and you wish to invite your readers.
Posting this info to your blog would be best at least a week before the
event. Why? because it gives search engines ample time to crawl
your blog so that folks will see your invitation ahead of time and not
days after the event has passed.
Ok, let's see...we could leave it here for now.
However, before I run, I'd like to encourage you to make sure you direct
your traffic to a "lead capture page". What is this? Simply put, a
gateway page that your visitor is prompted to put in his/her
name, email address and possibly telephone number. That's
how I do it.
Until I talk with you again, (in Jamaican parlance I would say
: "Until mi talk wid yu again")
Prosper and stay in good health,
Michael
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Easy Work From Home Ideas That Will Skyrocket Your Sales 12% Higher Than Your Competitor
The process of creating a dynamic website, i.e. making
your web site able to handle online payments, can seem like a
hike off Mount Everest for new netrepreneurs. But the fact is,
if for your internet based home business to be successful, you
MUST offer convenient and easy ways for your customers to pay.
Credit cards (especially Visacard, Mastercard and AMEX) are
presently the King Kong of the online payment world. The fact is,
you could capture 85% MORE sales by taking credit cards online.
CyberSource Corp.( a company that provides businesses with services and
software designed to automate the commerce transaction process in
multi-sales channel environments) reports, based on recent study, that web
sites providing four or more payment methods other than credit cards have
a sales conversion rate that is 12% higher than those offering just one payment
option in addition to credit cards.
According to Forrester Research (Nasdaq: FORR which is an independent technology
and market research company that provides pragmatic and forward-thinking advice about technology's impact on business and consumers.), 2005 saw more than a billion people
doing more than 250 billion online searches, spending over $170 billion! Now that's stunning.
In addition, they also predict that the percentage of U.S. households shopping online is
expected to grow from 39 percent in 2005 to 48 percent in 2010, and Forrester predicts that revenues will continue to grow because online shoppers tend to have more money.
And, driven by the convenience of being able to research and buy online at the same time,
buyers are expanding their online shopping activities.
So as you can see, more people are looking for something, finding it on the Internet,
and buying it than ever before, and it's still growing...
In fact, predictions are that 2006 should see 200 million more potential customers
online (2 billion by 2010!) and total Internet sales will increase another 20% or more
(FTI Consulting, a group whose principal activities are to provide turnaround, restructuring , bankruptcy and related consulting services)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In order to build a successful online empire then, you must accept credit cards on your web site . It's a known fact that you will lose
some 15% of your potential sales if you fail to accept credit cards on
your site and up to 400% in lost revenue.
Online shoppers can be the most impatient customers to handle,
especially with so many millions of options on the World Wide Web
It is imperative then that you make it easy for visitors to your web site
to buy your products.
Internet users expect immediate access to information, goods, or services
and do not have the time to be fumbling around on a website that does not
match their speed.
Setting up your own online credit card portal will also...
* Give your business a sense of credibility,
* Allow impulse buying spinoffs
* Give your customers a sense of convenience
security doing business with you.
* Online orders increase ROI (return on investment) because they nullify
the cost of using toll free numbers and live operators, and plastic
buyers are less concerned about price than cash buyers -- which means
you can raise your prices and lose almost no business!
* The hands-free advantage of credit card acceptance gives you
the opportunity to work ON your business instead of IN your
business.
* Provide you with a fully-automated payment and
tracking system.
But before you can start taking credit cards at your web
site, there are two important things you'll have to do:
1. Establish a secure server to process credit card
transactions, and
2. Set up a merchant account.
But now you scream, "How on earth do i do this?"
Don't panic, keep reading.
1) HOW ONLINE ORDERING VIA A SECURE SERVER WORKS
Online shoppers need to feel that sense of security when giving
out their personal, confidential details over the internet.
It becomes important then that your payment portal runs through a secure server that
protects your customers' confidential information and gives them the confidence to buy
from you over the Internet.
A secure server is simply a computer server that can transmits
confidential information such as credit card numbers without
the risk of someone intercepting the transmission and
"stealing" the information.
This then, allows your customers to buy from you without worrying about fraud.
N.B. Without a secure server, few people will buy from you.
The data is kept secure through encryption, which only the
oldest web browsers don't support. Encryption is a process that converts
plaintext into ciphertext (secret code) in order to prevent anyone except the
intended recipient from reading that data.
There are many types of data encryption, and they are the basis of network security.
Common types include Data Encryption Standard and public-key encryption.
You should ensure that you get a fully automated package. Example,
CardServiceInt'l, which will not only allow you to accept credit cards on
your web site, but makes it possible for you to sell more than one products.
Next you need a shopping cart software which allows your customers to pick
and place the items of choice in their virtual "shopping carts", just as they
would at their favourite supermarket.
Before checking out, they can confirm what's in their shopping carts, make
changes if necessary, and pay for their merchandise.
Note though that if you only have one or two items on your website, you may not
need a shopping cart as there would be a direct order page.
The shopping cart software, however, would still be running in the background,
as its funtion is to tally the order and communicate with the Gateway, which is the
software that processes your customers' credit cards instantly when they complete
the order form.
It gets their cards approved, transfers the money into your bank account,
and sends email confirmations to both you and your customers.
PayPal is another well established trans-border payment option, supporting
payments in US Dollars, Canadian Dollars, Euros, Pounds Sterling, and
Japanese Yen, making international sales easier than ever.
There are trailer loads of other benefits for you in addition to reaching an already
established network of over 64 million accounts in 45 countries.
The set-up process is fast, and you can get started in a jiffy and their charges
range between 1.9% to 2.9% of the transaction plus 30 cents per order, depending
on your company's sales volume.
N.B. Multiple Currency Transactions Exchange rate includes a 2.5% fee.
There is a word of caution though when thinking of using Paypal. According to
PayPal accepting their ToS (Terms of Service) in effect means you waive your rights
to credit card consumer protection laws if you want to use their service, and that you
may not issue a chargeback for unauthorized use of your credit card and PayPal account,
or if you do, then they have the right to limit your account.
They can be somewhat controlling as it relates to seller/vendor issues, such as randomly
freezing your account indefinately.
So, be careful when using Paypal's services. Having said that though, they still remain an increasingly popular way to take payments online.
So, if you have not yet gotten your online payment system set-up, there you
have it.
Pretty cool stuff, ain't it?
Well, please let me know if you have been benefited in anyway.
--
Committed to your success
your web site able to handle online payments, can seem like a
hike off Mount Everest for new netrepreneurs. But the fact is,
if for your internet based home business to be successful, you
MUST offer convenient and easy ways for your customers to pay.
Credit cards (especially Visacard, Mastercard and AMEX) are
presently the King Kong of the online payment world. The fact is,
you could capture 85% MORE sales by taking credit cards online.
CyberSource Corp.( a company that provides businesses with services and
software designed to automate the commerce transaction process in
multi-sales channel environments) reports, based on recent study, that web
sites providing four or more payment methods other than credit cards have
a sales conversion rate that is 12% higher than those offering just one payment
option in addition to credit cards.
According to Forrester Research (Nasdaq: FORR which is an independent technology
and market research company that provides pragmatic and forward-thinking advice about technology's impact on business and consumers.), 2005 saw more than a billion people
doing more than 250 billion online searches, spending over $170 billion! Now that's stunning.
In addition, they also predict that the percentage of U.S. households shopping online is
expected to grow from 39 percent in 2005 to 48 percent in 2010, and Forrester predicts that revenues will continue to grow because online shoppers tend to have more money.
And, driven by the convenience of being able to research and buy online at the same time,
buyers are expanding their online shopping activities.
So as you can see, more people are looking for something, finding it on the Internet,
and buying it than ever before, and it's still growing...
In fact, predictions are that 2006 should see 200 million more potential customers
online (2 billion by 2010!) and total Internet sales will increase another 20% or more
(FTI Consulting, a group whose principal activities are to provide turnaround, restructuring , bankruptcy and related consulting services)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In order to build a successful online empire then, you must accept credit cards on your web site . It's a known fact that you will lose
some 15% of your potential sales if you fail to accept credit cards on
your site and up to 400% in lost revenue.
Online shoppers can be the most impatient customers to handle,
especially with so many millions of options on the World Wide Web
It is imperative then that you make it easy for visitors to your web site
to buy your products.
Internet users expect immediate access to information, goods, or services
and do not have the time to be fumbling around on a website that does not
match their speed.
Setting up your own online credit card portal will also...
* Give your business a sense of credibility,
* Allow impulse buying spinoffs
* Give your customers a sense of convenience
security doing business with you.
* Online orders increase ROI (return on investment) because they nullify
the cost of using toll free numbers and live operators, and plastic
buyers are less concerned about price than cash buyers -- which means
you can raise your prices and lose almost no business!
* The hands-free advantage of credit card acceptance gives you
the opportunity to work ON your business instead of IN your
business.
* Provide you with a fully-automated payment and
tracking system.
But before you can start taking credit cards at your web
site, there are two important things you'll have to do:
1. Establish a secure server to process credit card
transactions, and
2. Set up a merchant account.
But now you scream, "How on earth do i do this?"
Don't panic, keep reading.
1) HOW ONLINE ORDERING VIA A SECURE SERVER WORKS
Online shoppers need to feel that sense of security when giving
out their personal, confidential details over the internet.
It becomes important then that your payment portal runs through a secure server that
protects your customers' confidential information and gives them the confidence to buy
from you over the Internet.
A secure server is simply a computer server that can transmits
confidential information such as credit card numbers without
the risk of someone intercepting the transmission and
"stealing" the information.
This then, allows your customers to buy from you without worrying about fraud.
N.B. Without a secure server, few people will buy from you.
The data is kept secure through encryption, which only the
oldest web browsers don't support. Encryption is a process that converts
plaintext into ciphertext (secret code) in order to prevent anyone except the
intended recipient from reading that data.
There are many types of data encryption, and they are the basis of network security.
Common types include Data Encryption Standard and public-key encryption.
You should ensure that you get a fully automated package. Example,
CardServiceInt'l, which will not only allow you to accept credit cards on
your web site, but makes it possible for you to sell more than one products.
Next you need a shopping cart software which allows your customers to pick
and place the items of choice in their virtual "shopping carts", just as they
would at their favourite supermarket.
Before checking out, they can confirm what's in their shopping carts, make
changes if necessary, and pay for their merchandise.
Note though that if you only have one or two items on your website, you may not
need a shopping cart as there would be a direct order page.
The shopping cart software, however, would still be running in the background,
as its funtion is to tally the order and communicate with the Gateway, which is the
software that processes your customers' credit cards instantly when they complete
the order form.
It gets their cards approved, transfers the money into your bank account,
and sends email confirmations to both you and your customers.
PayPal is another well established trans-border payment option, supporting
payments in US Dollars, Canadian Dollars, Euros, Pounds Sterling, and
Japanese Yen, making international sales easier than ever.
There are trailer loads of other benefits for you in addition to reaching an already
established network of over 64 million accounts in 45 countries.
The set-up process is fast, and you can get started in a jiffy and their charges
range between 1.9% to 2.9% of the transaction plus 30 cents per order, depending
on your company's sales volume.
N.B. Multiple Currency Transactions Exchange rate includes a 2.5% fee.
There is a word of caution though when thinking of using Paypal. According to
PayPal accepting their ToS (Terms of Service) in effect means you waive your rights
to credit card consumer protection laws if you want to use their service, and that you
may not issue a chargeback for unauthorized use of your credit card and PayPal account,
or if you do, then they have the right to limit your account.
They can be somewhat controlling as it relates to seller/vendor issues, such as randomly
freezing your account indefinately.
So, be careful when using Paypal's services. Having said that though, they still remain an increasingly popular way to take payments online.
So, if you have not yet gotten your online payment system set-up, there you
have it.
Pretty cool stuff, ain't it?
Well, please let me know if you have been benefited in anyway.
--
Committed to your success
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
A Simply Innocent Domain Decision That Can Lead To A Guilty Verdict
Domain names are simply the addresses of the Internet. They are divided into hierarchies. The top-level of the hierarchy appears after the last dot ('.') in a domain name.
In "Yahoo.com", the top level domain name is .COM. The .COM name is the most common top-level domain name, and is used to indicate that the domain name is owned by a commercial enterprise.
Other common top-level domain names include .ORG (for non-profit organizations), .NET (for network and Internet related organizations), .EDU (for four-year colleges and universities), .CO.UK (UK websites) .GOV (for government entities) .TW (Taiwanese sites)
...and it doesn't stop there.
There is currently a new wave on the internet. It's the new .WS, racing its way towards internet popularity.
The number of Internet users is expected to hit 300 million by 2005. As internet use increases, so will domain name purchases, hosting accounts and websites. Currently, there are about 20,000 new registrations per day.
Now, like everything else in life, registering a domain name comes with its own risks and therefore caution must be exercised in doing so. Here's a simple example. You have been looking for a niche market over a period of time and finally came across a winner...
...Pet care!
Excited and full of optimism, you quickly register the domain name petcare.com.
Then, something strange happened...
...You receive a letter from some attorney representing Pet Care Corporation claiming that you have violated there trademark laws! Oh no! How could this be? You ensured that your domain name was available before registering it. You even went as far as to checking with Deleted domains and now this!
Well, guess what just happened. Pet Care Corp. has always been a brick and mortar business but just shortly after you started your petcare.com website they decided to go online and discovered that petcare.com was already taken.
Trouble, big trouble...
...The fact that you registered your domain name before the patented Pet Care Corp., their advent on the internet gives them autonomy over the use of the domain name you have chosen!
Ridiculous! How could this be?
Well, the following might surprise you:
Holders of valid trademarks are protected from infringements of that trademark by the Lanham Act.
According to Section 32 of the Lanham Act:
Any person who shall, without the consent of the registrant--
(a) use in commerce any reproduction, counterfeit, copy, or colorable imitation of a registered mark in connection with the sale, offering for sale, distribution, or advertising of any goods or services on or in connection with which such use is likely to cause confusion, or to cause mistake, or to deceive ... shall be liable for trademark infringement. 15 U.S.C. Section 1114(1). Section 43 of the Lanham Act applies to
(1) Any person who, on or in connection with any goods or services, or any container for goods, uses in commerce any word, term, name, symbol, or device, or any combination thereof, or any false designation of origin, false or misleading description of fact, or false or misleading representation of fact, which--
(A) is likely to cause confusion, or to cause mistake, or to deceive as to the affiliation, connection, or association of such person with another person, or as to the origin, sponsorship, or approval of his or her goods, services, or commercial activities by another person, or
(B) In commercial advertising or promotion, misrepresents the nature, characteristics, qualities, or geographic origin of his or her or another person's goods, services, or commercial activities....
A good example of the foregoing, is the case of Cardservice, Int'l v. McGee, 950 F. Supp. 737 (E.D. Va. 1997)
Because of McGee's use of "cardservice.com", Cardservice International has no access to an internet domain name containing its registered mark, and must use a different domain name.
Cardservice International's customers who wish to take advantage of its internet services but do not know its domain name are likely to assume that "cardservice.com" belongs to Cardservice International.
These customers would instead reach McGee and see a home page for "Card Service". They would find that McGee's internet site offers advertisements for and provides access to the same services as Cardservice International--credit and debit card processing.
Many would assume that they have reached Cardservice International or, even if they realize that is not who they have reached, take advantage of McGee's services because they do not otherwise know how to reach Cardservice International. Such confusion is not only likely, but, according to McGee, has actually occurred at least four or five times since he began using "cardservice.com". Transcript of Preliminary Injunction Hearing at 366.
So, before registering your domain, make sure you are satisfied that your intended domain name will not be infringing on any company's trademark or patent rights!
Today's Jamaican Patois special:
You say in english: Do you have a US visa?
We say in Jamaican patois: Yu ha' no US visa?
Follow this link to your complete homebiz solution in a box
In "Yahoo.com", the top level domain name is .COM. The .COM name is the most common top-level domain name, and is used to indicate that the domain name is owned by a commercial enterprise.
Other common top-level domain names include .ORG (for non-profit organizations), .NET (for network and Internet related organizations), .EDU (for four-year colleges and universities), .CO.UK (UK websites) .GOV (for government entities) .TW (Taiwanese sites)
...and it doesn't stop there.
There is currently a new wave on the internet. It's the new .WS, racing its way towards internet popularity.
The number of Internet users is expected to hit 300 million by 2005. As internet use increases, so will domain name purchases, hosting accounts and websites. Currently, there are about 20,000 new registrations per day.
Now, like everything else in life, registering a domain name comes with its own risks and therefore caution must be exercised in doing so. Here's a simple example. You have been looking for a niche market over a period of time and finally came across a winner...
...Pet care!
Excited and full of optimism, you quickly register the domain name petcare.com.
Then, something strange happened...
...You receive a letter from some attorney representing Pet Care Corporation claiming that you have violated there trademark laws! Oh no! How could this be? You ensured that your domain name was available before registering it. You even went as far as to checking with Deleted domains and now this!
Well, guess what just happened. Pet Care Corp. has always been a brick and mortar business but just shortly after you started your petcare.com website they decided to go online and discovered that petcare.com was already taken.
Trouble, big trouble...
...The fact that you registered your domain name before the patented Pet Care Corp., their advent on the internet gives them autonomy over the use of the domain name you have chosen!
Ridiculous! How could this be?
Well, the following might surprise you:
Holders of valid trademarks are protected from infringements of that trademark by the Lanham Act.
According to Section 32 of the Lanham Act:
Any person who shall, without the consent of the registrant--
(a) use in commerce any reproduction, counterfeit, copy, or colorable imitation of a registered mark in connection with the sale, offering for sale, distribution, or advertising of any goods or services on or in connection with which such use is likely to cause confusion, or to cause mistake, or to deceive ... shall be liable for trademark infringement. 15 U.S.C. Section 1114(1). Section 43 of the Lanham Act applies to
(1) Any person who, on or in connection with any goods or services, or any container for goods, uses in commerce any word, term, name, symbol, or device, or any combination thereof, or any false designation of origin, false or misleading description of fact, or false or misleading representation of fact, which--
(A) is likely to cause confusion, or to cause mistake, or to deceive as to the affiliation, connection, or association of such person with another person, or as to the origin, sponsorship, or approval of his or her goods, services, or commercial activities by another person, or
(B) In commercial advertising or promotion, misrepresents the nature, characteristics, qualities, or geographic origin of his or her or another person's goods, services, or commercial activities....
A good example of the foregoing, is the case of Cardservice, Int'l v. McGee, 950 F. Supp. 737 (E.D. Va. 1997)
Because of McGee's use of "cardservice.com", Cardservice International has no access to an internet domain name containing its registered mark, and must use a different domain name.
Cardservice International's customers who wish to take advantage of its internet services but do not know its domain name are likely to assume that "cardservice.com" belongs to Cardservice International.
These customers would instead reach McGee and see a home page for "Card Service". They would find that McGee's internet site offers advertisements for and provides access to the same services as Cardservice International--credit and debit card processing.
Many would assume that they have reached Cardservice International or, even if they realize that is not who they have reached, take advantage of McGee's services because they do not otherwise know how to reach Cardservice International. Such confusion is not only likely, but, according to McGee, has actually occurred at least four or five times since he began using "cardservice.com". Transcript of Preliminary Injunction Hearing at 366.
So, before registering your domain, make sure you are satisfied that your intended domain name will not be infringing on any company's trademark or patent rights!
Today's Jamaican Patois special:
You say in english: Do you have a US visa?
We say in Jamaican patois: Yu ha' no US visa?
Follow this link to your complete homebiz solution in a box
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Exploding Your Income Through The Power of Pay-Per-Click Search Engine Marketing-Part One
It was just about an hour before I put this blog together that I sat with Konica, our eldest daughter, helping out with her math homework on calculating simple interest. Eyes watery, limbs growing visibly restless, and sleep fast advancing, she struggled with the last problem and at this point something became very obvious to me...she didn’t fully master the principles governing the accurate determination of simple interest including time period and rate of interest.
Everything around us is based on a set of principles. Your car is based on a set of mechanical and electrical principles. The bulb in your living room is designed on a set of principles. Your telephone is intricately created on some basic fundamental principles, and did I mention the needle your tailor used to hem your dress or suit? The list goes on and on.
Running a home based business is no different. There are some very critical "know-hows" that you must get the hang of before a work at home dream can come true. Anything from as simple as running an email campaign to as complex as getting the top ten ranking on Google search engine takes into focus some vital insight to avoid becoming the next internet marketing casualty.
One very effective internet marketing tool that can truly make your work at home business take off like a rocket is knowledgeably using pay-per-click search engines. Whilst pay-per-click search engines can be the impetus to your internet success, if used foolishly, they can dry up your bank account! No kidding, pay-per-click campaigns can either leave you whistling all the way to the bank or shamefacedly whimpering away from the bank!
Let’s take you back to my preamble which spoke to understanding the principles behind any process. Put another way, nothing in life is to be feared, it's to be understood. Having said that, you can certainly maximize your ROI (return on investment) by building a wildly successful PPC campaign if you understand some basic principles.
Like anything else, you have to first determine a budget. Would you jump in your car/truck, drive to the supermarket, grab the biggest trolley, pack it navel high without first ensuring that you have enough funds to pay for the goods. So, how do you determine your pay-per-click budget? Not that difficult at all.
You must at least know your total sales. This is very easy to calculate as you will see in the following example. Mark sells hand crafted antique glass trinkets made in Poland. He sold 30 pieces this month making his total sales clearly 30. He then calculates his gross revenue, which would work out to be $300 if he sold one piece of ornament at $10 a piece. Mark now needs to determine his total expenses (this is very important). So, let's say he had to spend $2 per glass decoration, let's say a glass chain in this case, then $1.50 shipping, clearly his expenses would be $3.50. Mark would be in a path to profitability because his gross revenue exceeds his total expenses.
But wait...
Mark has to do one more very important thing. He must determine his unique visitors. How does he establish this? Not too hard really. He would simply need to get his server log from his web host, which is a file that details how many unique visitors (first-time visitors to his site, not repeat visitors!) visit his site, in addition to exactly where on the page his visitors landed and even how much time they spent there!
Now that we have got those basics right, it's time to figure out the value of each visitor to your website which would speak to such things as conversation rate (unique visitors divided by total number of sales), net profit (gross revenue minus total expenses divided by total number of sales) and visitor worth (net profit per sale divided by conversion rate).
Next, you need the best keywords for your pay-per-click campaign, but how do we do this? I will save this for my next issue. Keep looking out.
Oh, just before I go, here is another cool Jamaican Tip of the Day:
Did you know that "wicked!" is a Jamaican street slang that means "very good or impressive" Ironical, isn't it?
Everything around us is based on a set of principles. Your car is based on a set of mechanical and electrical principles. The bulb in your living room is designed on a set of principles. Your telephone is intricately created on some basic fundamental principles, and did I mention the needle your tailor used to hem your dress or suit? The list goes on and on.
Running a home based business is no different. There are some very critical "know-hows" that you must get the hang of before a work at home dream can come true. Anything from as simple as running an email campaign to as complex as getting the top ten ranking on Google search engine takes into focus some vital insight to avoid becoming the next internet marketing casualty.
One very effective internet marketing tool that can truly make your work at home business take off like a rocket is knowledgeably using pay-per-click search engines. Whilst pay-per-click search engines can be the impetus to your internet success, if used foolishly, they can dry up your bank account! No kidding, pay-per-click campaigns can either leave you whistling all the way to the bank or shamefacedly whimpering away from the bank!
Let’s take you back to my preamble which spoke to understanding the principles behind any process. Put another way, nothing in life is to be feared, it's to be understood. Having said that, you can certainly maximize your ROI (return on investment) by building a wildly successful PPC campaign if you understand some basic principles.
Like anything else, you have to first determine a budget. Would you jump in your car/truck, drive to the supermarket, grab the biggest trolley, pack it navel high without first ensuring that you have enough funds to pay for the goods. So, how do you determine your pay-per-click budget? Not that difficult at all.
You must at least know your total sales. This is very easy to calculate as you will see in the following example. Mark sells hand crafted antique glass trinkets made in Poland. He sold 30 pieces this month making his total sales clearly 30. He then calculates his gross revenue, which would work out to be $300 if he sold one piece of ornament at $10 a piece. Mark now needs to determine his total expenses (this is very important). So, let's say he had to spend $2 per glass decoration, let's say a glass chain in this case, then $1.50 shipping, clearly his expenses would be $3.50. Mark would be in a path to profitability because his gross revenue exceeds his total expenses.
But wait...
Mark has to do one more very important thing. He must determine his unique visitors. How does he establish this? Not too hard really. He would simply need to get his server log from his web host, which is a file that details how many unique visitors (first-time visitors to his site, not repeat visitors!) visit his site, in addition to exactly where on the page his visitors landed and even how much time they spent there!
Now that we have got those basics right, it's time to figure out the value of each visitor to your website which would speak to such things as conversation rate (unique visitors divided by total number of sales), net profit (gross revenue minus total expenses divided by total number of sales) and visitor worth (net profit per sale divided by conversion rate).
Next, you need the best keywords for your pay-per-click campaign, but how do we do this? I will save this for my next issue. Keep looking out.
Oh, just before I go, here is another cool Jamaican Tip of the Day:
Did you know that "wicked!" is a Jamaican street slang that means "very good or impressive" Ironical, isn't it?
Saturday, November 05, 2005
Helpful Online Shopping Tips
There is little doubt that, in a considerably short period of time, the Internet has grown enormously in both its applications and number of users. The Internet's great degree of adaptation, coupled with its relatively unique characteristics of interactivity and personalization, increases the chances of innovative business strategies.
(Source eMarketer.com)
FACT - Only 1/3rd of the World are on the Internet despite 1.58 
million users
joining us every month.
One revolutionary change brought forth by the Internet - online shopping - has become a viable threat to traditional shopping channels, such as retail stores and catalogs in certain product areas (Lohse and Spiller, 1998). According to Ernst and Young's Annual Global Online Retailing Report (2001), online shopping will represent 10 to 12 percent of all sales in apparel, health, and beauty, and as much as 25 percent of all sales for books, music, software, and consumer electronics by 2005.
While the traditional "brick-and-mortar" shopping venues are restrained by time and space, the Internet has decreased the effort and time consumers spend on shopping (Bhatnagar et al., 2000). Furthermore, the Internet makes an unlimited range of products and services accessible for consumers all around the world (Quelch and Klein, 1996). Subsequently, people can buy or sell virtually anything, at anytime, from anywhere, through online shopping. For this reason, Samiee (2001) declared the Internet to be "one of the most significant, and perhaps the greatest, marketing tools for the global marketplace" (p. 284).
Despite the significant growth and optimistic outlook for the future growth of online shopping, negative aspects are also becoming more frequently associated with this alternative shopping method. For example, consumers are worried that the Internet still has very little security with respect to using their credit cards and disclosing personal information (Pallab, 1996). Consumers are also concerned about purchasing a product from "faceless" sellers without physically examining the products. Therefore, it is assumed that people may feel a certain degree of risk when purchasing a product through the Internet. In other words, consumers may worry about the performance of the product they are trying to purchase, the possible loss of their time or money, or even other people's judgments about their purchase, until they finally confirm the quality of the product.
Exercise the following precautions when shopping online:
- Know your vendor. You can check on the company's reputation with the Better Business Bureau. This is an especially good idea if you learned about the company from an unsolicited e-mail message. Ask if the vendor is located overseas because you might not have the same legal protections with overseas companies.
- Protect your privacy. Web sellers often collect information about you to share with other companies, so you can get bombarded with sales information you don't want. You can reduce the risk of unsolicited sales pitches by shopping from vendors that post their privacy policies and offer you options about use of personal information. In most cases, a vendor needs only your password, credit card number and shipping information. NEVER give anyone your credit card details via email.
- Pay with a credit card. Other payment options don't offer the same consumer
protections. If the product doesn't arrive on time or if you aren't satisfied, you can dispute your vendor's charges. You also are protected from unauthorized credit card charges. Federal law limits your liability for unauthorized charges to $50. To confirm that you are on a secure server, look for an unbroken key or padlock at the bottom of your browser window. These symbols mean the information you send is encrypted. Paypal is an excellent way to make very secure payment online. - Check delivery dates. Vendors usually tell you when to expect your merchandise when you place the order. Sellers must ship items no more than 30 days after the order date. If the seller can't ship the goods by then, you must be given a chance to cancel and receive a full refund.
- Check shipping and handling fees. Be sure to designate the delivery mode you prefer, or the vendor may decide for you. Many retailers base their shipping fees on the price of the item or the weight of the goods.
- Track your purchases. Print out and file any records related to on-line purchases. Save a printout of the web pages with the seller's name, address, phone number, a description of what you ordered, and any e-mail messages to or from the seller. These documents can be your insurance policy in case you don't receive you order or you receive the wrong shipment. Fedex and DHL for example, employ very effective tracking systems, giving you the ability to trace your shipment from dispatch to delivery.
Choosing The Best Affiliate Programs
Getting started online is not one of the easiest things to do, especially if you lack the requisite know-how or guidance. It's quite like falling in love for the first time and not being able to find the right words to say. As simple as introducing yourself becomes
such a maze, you wonder what you had for dinner last night.
Now what makes the situation even more challenging, is the fact that you have
literally thousands of offers puling you in every conceivable direction, all at the same time, all having one aim…your wallet! Oh, I mean your credit card!
Quite an ordeal, isn’t it?
Well, it is so truly said that experience teaches wisdom, and, no kidding, I can attest
to that. Sitting up before my computer night after night, until 1 a.m., 2 a.m., 3 a.m.
…staggering out of bed with eyes half opened, fighting with the little energy that is
left to stay awake so I can get the kids ready for school on time and most importantly,
get me ready for work, calmly assuring myself that things will be better the next time around.
I was dead wrong! Why?
Because the next time I pushed that power button on my computer, flexed my
neck a bit (it’s a blessing I’m not wearing a neck support by now) and jumped online,
would have been the worst nightmare yet!
Before I could barely pull up my chair, someone yelled frantically from the other side of cyber space “Join my affiliate program and make six figures overnight!!!” Pl-lease, that should have been “Enter your credit card number here and I will show you how to become poor overnight!”
I have learnt my lessons the hard way. I have seen many eerie days, spent many sleepless nights, stumbled many a times, lost hard earned money chasing some fly-by-night join-and-do-nothing-and make BIG-bucks schemes, suffered ridicule from family members, you name it, but today, thank GOD, I have turned over a new page in my internet diary.
With all this experience, I believe I am rounded enough to guide you to not making the
same silly mistakes I made. (Wow! That just gives me such a feeling of joy)
Now even though they come with their pitfalls and cul-de-sacs, joining the right
Affiliate program/s, is probably the easiest and fastest ways to get started online.
This is simply a basic “no risk” agreement /partnership giving the right promote
someone else’s product, in exchange for a commission. Simply put.
You get your own affiliate link/URL like, http://www.howtomakeitonline.com/your
ID. Once you refer someone to your link and he/she makes a purchase, voila, you make
Money! You don’t have the cumbersome task of storing inventory, worrying with shipping woes, employing and paying staff, not even renting an office!
There are two types of affiliate programs on the: one-tier or two-tier. You make
money with the former by direct sales only. On the other hand, the latter allows you the flexibility to sign up “sub-affiliates”, on whose efforts you make money as well!
However, there some questions and possible actions you should ask or take before joining an affiliate program.
They should include:
1. Does the affiliate program offer you a free way to join
without buying the product or service? This option gives
you the opportunity to kind of “feel out” the program
before actually committing your hard earned cash.
2. Contact other affiliates already in the program to see if
they have had any problems. You can do this through their
discussion board (a great way to know what others are saying)
or do some research online using Google etc.
3. Is the product or service related to your target audience?
For example, if you have a passion for gardening, look out for
Affiliate programs in this area.
4. Can they notify you by e-mail when a sale is made? Critical
factor. You need to see if your efforts are paying off.
5. Do they offer backend products so you can get repeat sales
from the same person? This is a very effective method. For eg. You are
buying a book at Amazon.com and during the process you see some-
thing like, “People who buy The Purpose Driven Life also bought
God Came Near” or something like that.
6. How often will you receive a commission check? AND, how much sale
you will have to make before receiving your check. I am yet to collect
$70 from a home based self-claimed millionaire who painted a dazzling picture
of promptness and guarantee.
7. Do you get credited for a sale if people come back in a month
and then make a purchase? Of course, people here speaks to your
or your sub-affiliate’s personal referral.
8. Can you get around-the-clock help online or offline?
9. Do you get a large percentage of each sale as commission? How
unreasonable it would be for your affiliate program to give you only
$5 on a $97 sale! After all, you had to work hard to make that sale.
10. Do they provide you with proven sales material? (links,
banners, classified ads, sales letters etc)
11. Will they give you the leeway to create promotional ads.
It would be pointless if you are unable to creatively promote
the program to maximize your earnings.
12. Do they offer you access to an online sales stats page?
13. Do they use a reputable system to track your sales?
14. Does the affiliate program pay commission for sales of
people who sign up under you? This is the two-tiered approach
referred to above.
15. Can they offer customers a lot of different ordering
options, so in return you won't lose sales. What if I came
to your affiliate website looking for how-to tips on skiing
but you only offer skiing gears? See the logics?
16. Will they keep in contact with you on a regular basis by
e-mail?
I would also suggest that you “cloak” your affiliate ID if you
don’t already have your own website yet (for more info on how to obtain
your own website at zero cost, visit http://www.retirein365.net).
Here’s a link providing you with FREE resources, including a tool to cloak
your affiliate ID, http://www.addme.com/tools.htm
In closing, be patient when starting your online journey. Anxiety is the your
greatest enemy with frustration on the other side as its alibi. It takes time to
achieve success online and one must always be mindful of the pitfalls and
“cyber pockets”.
If you are prepared to walk the walk and talk the talk of the successful,
your online future is bright.
Before I run off here's anotherTip Of The Day for you on Jamaican creole (Patois):
In English you ask, "Where are you from?" In Jamaican patois you say, "weh yu come from?"
AND (hold on to your seats for this one!)
You say "I love to eat at KFC", Jamaican patois goes like this, "mi love fi nyam a KFC"
Chao! Keep looking out for more very interesting articles from yours truly.
such a maze, you wonder what you had for dinner last night.
Now what makes the situation even more challenging, is the fact that you have
literally thousands of offers puling you in every conceivable direction, all at the same time, all having one aim…your wallet! Oh, I mean your credit card!
Quite an ordeal, isn’t it?
Well, it is so truly said that experience teaches wisdom, and, no kidding, I can attest
to that. Sitting up before my computer night after night, until 1 a.m., 2 a.m., 3 a.m.
…staggering out of bed with eyes half opened, fighting with the little energy that is
left to stay awake so I can get the kids ready for school on time and most importantly,
get me ready for work, calmly assuring myself that things will be better the next time around.
I was dead wrong! Why?
Because the next time I pushed that power button on my computer, flexed my
neck a bit (it’s a blessing I’m not wearing a neck support by now) and jumped online,
would have been the worst nightmare yet!
Before I could barely pull up my chair, someone yelled frantically from the other side of cyber space “Join my affiliate program and make six figures overnight!!!” Pl-lease, that should have been “Enter your credit card number here and I will show you how to become poor overnight!”
I have learnt my lessons the hard way. I have seen many eerie days, spent many sleepless nights, stumbled many a times, lost hard earned money chasing some fly-by-night join-and-do-nothing-and make BIG-bucks schemes, suffered ridicule from family members, you name it, but today, thank GOD, I have turned over a new page in my internet diary.
With all this experience, I believe I am rounded enough to guide you to not making the
same silly mistakes I made. (Wow! That just gives me such a feeling of joy)
Now even though they come with their pitfalls and cul-de-sacs, joining the right
Affiliate program/s, is probably the easiest and fastest ways to get started online.
This is simply a basic “no risk” agreement /partnership giving the right promote
someone else’s product, in exchange for a commission. Simply put.
You get your own affiliate link/URL like, http://www.howtomakeitonline.com/your
ID. Once you refer someone to your link and he/she makes a purchase, voila, you make
Money! You don’t have the cumbersome task of storing inventory, worrying with shipping woes, employing and paying staff, not even renting an office!
There are two types of affiliate programs on the: one-tier or two-tier. You make
money with the former by direct sales only. On the other hand, the latter allows you the flexibility to sign up “sub-affiliates”, on whose efforts you make money as well!
However, there some questions and possible actions you should ask or take before joining an affiliate program.
They should include:
1. Does the affiliate program offer you a free way to join
without buying the product or service? This option gives
you the opportunity to kind of “feel out” the program
before actually committing your hard earned cash.
2. Contact other affiliates already in the program to see if
they have had any problems. You can do this through their
discussion board (a great way to know what others are saying)
or do some research online using Google etc.
3. Is the product or service related to your target audience?
For example, if you have a passion for gardening, look out for
Affiliate programs in this area.
4. Can they notify you by e-mail when a sale is made? Critical
factor. You need to see if your efforts are paying off.
5. Do they offer backend products so you can get repeat sales
from the same person? This is a very effective method. For eg. You are
buying a book at Amazon.com and during the process you see some-
thing like, “People who buy The Purpose Driven Life also bought
God Came Near” or something like that.
6. How often will you receive a commission check? AND, how much sale
you will have to make before receiving your check. I am yet to collect
$70 from a home based self-claimed millionaire who painted a dazzling picture
of promptness and guarantee.
7. Do you get credited for a sale if people come back in a month
and then make a purchase? Of course, people here speaks to your
or your sub-affiliate’s personal referral.
8. Can you get around-the-clock help online or offline?
9. Do you get a large percentage of each sale as commission? How
unreasonable it would be for your affiliate program to give you only
$5 on a $97 sale! After all, you had to work hard to make that sale.
10. Do they provide you with proven sales material? (links,
banners, classified ads, sales letters etc)
11. Will they give you the leeway to create promotional ads.
It would be pointless if you are unable to creatively promote
the program to maximize your earnings.
12. Do they offer you access to an online sales stats page?
13. Do they use a reputable system to track your sales?
14. Does the affiliate program pay commission for sales of
people who sign up under you? This is the two-tiered approach
referred to above.
15. Can they offer customers a lot of different ordering
options, so in return you won't lose sales. What if I came
to your affiliate website looking for how-to tips on skiing
but you only offer skiing gears? See the logics?
16. Will they keep in contact with you on a regular basis by
e-mail?
I would also suggest that you “cloak” your affiliate ID if you
don’t already have your own website yet (for more info on how to obtain
your own website at zero cost, visit http://www.retirein365.net).
Here’s a link providing you with FREE resources, including a tool to cloak
your affiliate ID, http://www.addme.com/tools.htm
In closing, be patient when starting your online journey. Anxiety is the your
greatest enemy with frustration on the other side as its alibi. It takes time to
achieve success online and one must always be mindful of the pitfalls and
“cyber pockets”.
If you are prepared to walk the walk and talk the talk of the successful,
your online future is bright.
Before I run off here's anotherTip Of The Day for you on Jamaican creole (Patois):
In English you ask, "Where are you from?" In Jamaican patois you say, "weh yu come from?"
AND (hold on to your seats for this one!)
You say "I love to eat at KFC", Jamaican patois goes like this, "mi love fi nyam a KFC"
Chao! Keep looking out for more very interesting articles from yours truly.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
