How to Protect Yourself and Your Computer

Everyone is at risk of being attacked by viruses, trojans, etc, but those who are running a business are much more at risk as they have a higher profile. So before you start doing anything you need to ensure that you have all the protection you need.

When your computer is attacked it can take 2 forms:

1. Your computer itself is attacked by a virus, with varying degrees of severity, from a mild nuisance to wiping everything off your hard drive.

2. Your personal information be it your credit card, your bank details, etc and they are used to rob you. They can also be used to steal your indentity.

There have always been those who wanted to defraud others, usually of their goods, but ocassionally of their good name. All the internet does is make it easier for them to do it. The internet is neutral and can be used for good or evil.

But it does give those who are inclined towards evil deeds more opportunity to commit them. And also more opportunity to cover their tracks. We have all heard about identity theft, how your identity is stolen by someone else, who runs up bills in your name and even worse commits acts that you would not dream of committing.

These are the different ways you and your computer can be attacked:

Personality Theft
Credit Card Theft
Credit Difficulties
Scams
Hacking
Spam
Viruses.

Now let us look at them in detail and see what can be done to protect you:

Personality Theft is the worst and that is why it has been put at the top. When someone steals your personality they are acting as though they were you to everyone in the outside world.

They can gamble with your money, buy drugs, etc. This means that people think that this is something you do when the facts are you hate these things.

Another crime that is prevalent is that of credit card theft, which can leave you in debt, but can also give you a bad credit rating so that people will not lend to you.

But you can counter this. There are only a few agencies that those checking the credit rating of a person applying for credit go to and you can register with them and see what they have to say about your credit rating. But there is another method which you will learn about later.

The above are personal with other people stealing from you. But the next one is also personal, but in this case it is you that is defrauding yourself if you fall for them. So check and see that it
is genuine. Remember "If it appears to good to be true, it probably is."

The last ones have to do with people doing bad things to your computer. Most of it is a case of people placing viruses on it so that they cause you to lose your information either with them stealing it or wiping it out.

Up to now all of these aspects were dealt with by different firm, but not any longer. Now ECredit Shield have brought them all together and have provided all the tools you need to fight all aspects of Protection, be it personal, or connected with your computer.

But they don't stop there. You do not buy protection from them but join them and sell to others and make money.

When you join they provide the following facilities:

Credit Health eBook
a comprehensive guide to overall Credit Health

Credit Repair eBook
a detailed manual for Credit Repair

Credit Documents
dozens of info sheets and worksheets

Credit Protection Resources

* Identity Theft Programs
* Info on Credit Monitoring Services
* Internet Security Software

Credit Repair Resources

* Detailed information guide
* Federal Statutes & Guidelines
* Sample Letters


Credit Building Resources

* Detailed information & resources
* Ways to obtain credit
* Credit Card Offers

Credit Resources

* Information on the Credit Bureau's
* Glossary of Credit Terms

Credit Calendar
keep track of your progress and set reminders

eCredit Coach
a 24/7 credit support forum "ask the coach"

eCredit Tele-seminars
a variety of topics to assist you in wealth management

To find out more of the what they have to offer click here.

First Question: Do You Work
For Yourself or Others

As we saw in the Introduction nowadays no one can be said to be one or the other.

You could choose to work for someone else by filling in forms, writing articles, answering questions, etc, but being made an affiliate, so you could be said to be working for yourself.

Or you could choose to work for yourself, but promote other peoples products, which has aspects of working for others.

This is particularly true if you just use the affiliate link they gave you and do not get the name and email address of those you refer to them. To be able to get their details you need a Lead Capture/Squeeze page. There are many of these on the market. The one I use is Marketing Makeover Generator.

The reason I use this one is because they allow you to make as many as you like so that you can track where you place your and the response and also the means of testing both headings and audio to see which converts best and automatically using them. More will be said on this in a later post.

You may wish to start off working for others and then go on to work for yourself. Working for others can involve such as filling in forms, being a market researcher, by testing products, answering questions on what you have tested and also filling in forms, answering questions over the phone, giving your opinion on various matters.

If you do decide to work for yourself at a later date the first thing you will require is a good Autoresponder. I use Aweber. Recently I changed my Internet Service Provider (ISP) and obviously wanted to inform those whose mailing lists I am on that I was doing so. This involved telling their Autoresponder company. What I found out about them will be reported on later.

If you decide you want to work for yourself you have to decide if you want to provide a service or sell a product and if the latter if you want to deliver it digitally or sell a physical products. Selling a digital product be it a ebook, software to automate your business, etc is what the internet does best.

This can be what you have produced yourself, bought with resell rights from others or which you are promoting as an affiliate.

If you decide to sell a physical product you have the problem of delivering it. The one thing most people complain about as far as this is concerned is the cost of shipping. And also the fact that they have to wait. When they think internet they think instant.

Here it has been established that unless you produce your own product you can be said to be working for others, but that this too has aspects of working for yourself. As this is the case you need to know How to Get People To Your Web Site Blog etc, so they can give you their name and email address and also purchase from you.

How to Get People To:
Your Web Site, Blog

In the Introduction it was said that there are 2 basic ways to earn money at home. But later it was established that working for others often has elements of working for yourself and vice versa.
It was also stated that which ever it was you have to find ways of getting people to your web site, blog, etc. Here are various ways of doing this. We will look at some of them giving a fuller review in later posts.

We start with:

1. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

Initially when someone made a web site it automatically appeared in the various Search Engines, as there were so few of them. But this has all changed, with thousands being brought out on a daily basis, which in its turn has lead to people searching for ways to get their site on the first few pages of Goggle, MSN, etc.

And in turn it has lead to people composing software to ensure that this happened for those who bought it. Some of these methods were and are good, but as in every other situation people have jumped on the bandwaggon, produced inferior version of the software, sold it to unsuspecting people and ruined it for the legitimate internet marketer.

This in turn lead to others devising other means of achieving this. With all of this some people have come to the fore and are known as experts in this field, with people listening to what they say and implementing their methods, with very good results. Allied to this is:

2. Pay Per Click (PPC)


This works on the principle that you pay when someone clicks on an ad you have placed in one of the Search Engines. The one most people us is that of Google AdWords. But they have recently changed the way those who use it can operate and have thereby increased how much they have to pay for each click. This has meant that once again people have tried to find away around it. Allied to this is:

3. Google Adsense

Here people put a small piece of code on their web site, blog, etc and when people click on it the person hosting it get paid by Google, who in turn charges the one who supplied the advert.

How this works is by Google spidering the web site, blog that is hosting it and seeing what the content of the page on which it is to be hosted is saying.

Which brings us to:

4. Key Words

When people want to know about something they type certain words into the box on the Search Engine and those who want people to visit their site find out what words have been typed into the boxes and bid on them in an effort to ensure that those who want to know about the topic visit their site and that of others.

This had led to people doing research and producing software that aids people in their search of the most popular and cheapest words and phrases.

All 3 of these will be looked at in the Review on Search Engine Optimisation. We now look at:

5. Publishing Articles

When someone wants information on a topic they go to the Search Engines and that is why this was looked at first. Another reason was that the Search Engines are available to everyone who has an internet connection, whilst other methods are not.

But this does not mean that they are inferior methods, just different. People going to Search Engines are more often than not looking for free information and are unlikely to pay for it, which is what is needed if you are to succeed in Working From Home on the Internet.

Any topic you can name are covered by Article Publications. But there are more general ones. It is just a question of searching.

6. Forums

Like Article Directories these concentrate on a single aspect of internet marketing such as list building, whilst others are more general.

7. Traffic Exchanges

There are 2 types of Traffic Exchanges Manual and Auto Surf. Initially Auto Surf sites operated on much the same principles Pyramid Schemes, with a few getting rich and those further down loosing their money and this has given them a bad reputation. But new ones have arisen that have overcome the problems of the earlier ones. Now they operate much as do manual surf sites, where those who sign up agree to look at the web site of others in return for credits that they can use to show their sites to others. Some of these are free, some you have to pay for and some have both free and paid aspects.

8. Safelists

These like the above can be both free and paid. The first ones offered no incentive to people to read the emails they received from other, but the newer ones do in that the give credits to people who read them. These can be used to place text and banner ads from other businesses on the web site of Safelists and also Traffic Exchanges. The can also, in some cases, be exchanged for cash.

These methods have been around for some time, but new programmes are continually appearing and these show no sign of abating.

All of these programmes and methods will be reviewed later, as will others not mentioned here.

But first we turn to SEO and the topics allied to it.

Search Engine Optimization

You may be wondering what this is and how you achieve it. The most well known of the Search Engines is that of Google. What has to be remembered is that they are in business, like everyone else, to make money and are on the side of those who keep them in business and that is those who use their search engine. This means that those who do not play by the rules and give what they say they are giving are not given a place in their search engine, or if they are it is somewhere no one will see it.

They have a ranking system, which they have recently changed, to determine who reaches the first few pages. When people are search for information on a word or phrase that they have typed into the box they only look at the first 2 or 3 pages and if they don't find what they want they chose another word or phrase. So if you can get on these pages there is a good chance that your link will be clicked on.

One person who has studied this has devised a system to ensure he is on the first page and is the acknowledged as being an expert in this field is Brad Callen. He has recently released SEO Elite in which he dispels the myth that only those who are experts in internet marketing can learn how to increase traffic to their web sites without using PPC and bankrupting themselves because of the new rules that Google have imposed on those who use their AdWords.

To read more about it click here. Also see side link.

Once they dominated the market but now others are providing a similar service. One of the newest is MSN AdCentre. This has only just launched and they are giving away $50.00 worth of advertising, but this won't last long. They charge very much less that Google do for their ads.

Pay Per Click

This is one way you can assure you reach the front page. But due to the way Google now operates this you could bankrupt yourself by paying far to much per click. But one way of avoiding this is to do research to see what are the key words that people are using and choosing those that are not so popular. If you do this you will have to pay much less per click than you would if you chose the more popular key words. Which brings us to:

Key Words

Once again people have seen a need and have stepped in to supply it. This means that there are various ways to find out this information, some free, some low cost and some quite expensive. One of the best if not the best is WordTracker.com. Others are Overtures Key Word Selection and Googlefight.com.

Google Adsense

This works the opposite to AdWords, with them you pay, with Adsense you are paid. Dr Patrick Hillenbrand has produced a series of videos in which he tells about the Scientifically Proven Methods of Exploding Your AdSense Earnings...

These are Taking The Internet Community By Storm. If You Are You Ready to take a leap forward and finally start harvesting massive daily profits like the top AdSense earners you need these.

You can watch the breakthrough step-by-step AdSense Video blueprints to how he made a genuine $10,852 in the FIRST month using NO search engine traffic

To see them click here.

Linking

Another way Google assess your position in their Search Engine is the number of links you have on your web site and blogs. These take 2 forms: Backward links, where a firm links to you, but you don't link to them and Reprociprical where you exchange links with others. This will be looked at in more detail in the post on Article Marketing, which we turn to next.

Article Marketing

In this post we looked at how to get your web, blog on to Search Engines. Here we review Article Marketing. This can be viewed as free advertising, but unlike other forms of advertising you are not allowed actually do so. But you can put a link to your web site at the bottom of any articles you submit and all directories encourage you to tell those who read your articles something about yourself. This is called a Bio.

There are hundreds of publications that you can contribute articles to. Some of them concentrate on one topic others are much more general. The more places you put your articles the more you will be recognised and be viewed as an expert.

If you write about things that people want to know about and which they find interesting they are likely to tell their friends about it and pass it on to them. This is viral marketing at its best.

Originally not many people contributed to article directories, but when people realised that this was free publicity for themselves and their web sites, many people jumped on the bandwagon. But many of the articles were either poorly written, or were taken from others hardly, or not changed at all and passed off as original work.

But the article directories soon put a stop to that. It is possible to use what others have written provided it is substantially changed. But a better method is to read articles about the subject you want to write about and use them to give you ideas and then write your own.

Again in answer to this need other marketers seeing a need have produced software that allows you take material and change it. Originally this took the form of putting an article in a form provided and having it automatically changed. But all this did was change certain words and didn't substantially change the content and was rejected.

But new software is much better in that it takes sentences from different publications and allows the person using it to write their own articles, which can then be submitted to article directories, included on their web site, in blogs, etc.

It has been questioned if it is better to submit to many different directories, or stick to a few. Some say submit to a few, while others say to submit to as many as possible. It is up to you to test it and see which works best for you. But if you go along the path of submitting to as many as possible you encounter the problem of how long it would take you to do so.

Once again a need has been supplied with a solution with people devising software that allows you to enter the information that you would submit to each of them, such as your bio, web site, etc, write your article and select which directories you want it send to and send it.

Both schools agree that it is better to do a series of articles and submit them at the same time rather than submit them at different times.

Another benefit of article marketing is the number of links you get as people use your articles and pass them on to others. As we saw in the review of SEO this is one of the ways of getting yourself a high place in the search engines.

You might like to join Bloglinker

This Review on Article Marketing has established that:
It is Viral Marketing at its best
There are a few does and don'ts.

The same could be said of our next topic: Forums.

Joining Forums and Web 2.0

The Elizabethan poet John Donne (1572-1631) said: "No Man is an Island, complete of himself....". People in the 21st century agree with him and not liking the anonymous nature of the internet are Joining Forums and other Web 2.0 sites.

Joining Forums is another good way to build your list. And also give yourself a chance to really Brand Yourself. As with articles submitted to directories you are not allowed to advertise in Forums, but you are allowed to set up a signature file with links to your web sites and blogs. But anything that looks like an affilate link is not allowed.

Often Forums are part and parcel of membership sites, which are themselves becoming popular with more and more people joining them.

Forums were the earliest of such sites as My Tube, My Space, Direct Matches, etc. And news ones are being added to the list.

Here are the Forums I have joined and which you might like to consider joining. Most of them are free to join, but some are not and with some you can join for free but upgrade.

Conquer Your Niche is, unlike most other Forums, exclusively a Forum and is not connected to a web site providing goods and services.

You can join for free, but can upgrade for a one time free, unlike other Forums, who charge a monthly fee.

Most Forums are connected with regular web site and concentrate on a particular niche market. This one, on the other hand, caters for all niches and tells you how to Conquer Your Particular Niche, whatever that is.

Some Forums have very few subscribers, but this one has thousands of people who you can contact and build a relationship with, asking questions and answering them thereby Branding Yourself. Click here to Join for Free

Dream Team Money is unique in that unlike all other Forums it was set up to make money by Building a Team to help the others in it Make Money.

It is free to join and remains free. They supply all the tools you need to succeed.

You can build your List Fast.

To join click on the Banner below.



Money Making Forum

Another Forum I have joined is that of Alex Jeffreys Easy Profit Auctions. This is allied to his Easy Profit Auction web site, which you have to join first and then you can join the Forum.

His site tells you how to build your list using EBay. He says that Jim Cockrum book ‘The Silent Sales Machine - Hiding on eBay’ made him realise the error of his ways with only dealing in physical goods on EBay and not using it to build his list and that he researched it and the site was the result of this. It takes the form of interviews with various well known marketers. Those who have signed up are told about them and are able to access the account to hear the recording if they cannot attend the live call. To Learn All About It Click Here.

Forums could be said to be in the vanguard of Web 2.0. We now look at some of the newer ones, starting with:

My Space.

Just as with Forums you are not allowed to advertise. It has been set up for people with the same interests to get together and exchange views, build friendships, etc. You join say something about yourself, what you are interested and what your web site is about and others read it and get in touch with you via the email address you gave.

Direct Matches

This operates much as the above does. There are 4 levels Free, Customer, Manager and Executive.

Squidoo

This is still very much in its infancy. It is the brain child of Seth Goodwin, who wrote: Everyone is an Expert. In it he explains how came to set it up. This was read by Bob The Teacher who, after getting his lense (which is what you put on the web is called) reviewed and who is frequently near to top of the list, decided to set up a web site called

Squidoo Secrets

To tell others how to achieve the same. He has included the above mentioned by Seth Goodwin as well as other. He also gives away audios he has done with Paulie Sabol and many other bonuses, including videos on how to set things up. You can join for free. To find out what he as to offer you click here.

Unlike Forums and MySpace and Direct Matches, Squidoo encourages their members to advertise. They not only encourage it, but provide many tools for you to do so. Among which is a link to:

You Tube

You may have heard of this as it is open to everyone and is built around videos. People take them and put them on it.

This is just an introduction to this topic more will be said in later posts.

Viral Marketing

You won't be on the internet long before you hear the term Viral Marketing. What is Viral Marketing. Basically it is marketing that acts like a virus. It is something you can set up and let it start multiplying itself as it gets passed from one person to another.

Motivated Marketing proves to be just as powerful in strategies as it is in the software itself. Below
you will find a student and customer of the course who reveals what he experienced after installing it on his site...

Click Here To Learn More About This Amazing Software.

Ryan Bessling of SourceCodeJackpot.com applied it to his site and this is what he said:

"I have more than doubled my sales!" I have more than doubled my sales and I have gained 22 new affiliates that are selling my products for me at SourceCodeJackpot.com. Thank you very much! - Ryan Bessling SourceCodeJackpot.com

You too can have the same results as Ryan when you install Motivated Marketing behind your website.

Learn why people are saying that this software changed the way marketing is done on the internet for good!

Click Here to read more amazing success stories from people who applied Motivated Marketing and how they all now profit big from their own products and membership sites.

To your success,