23 Ways To Speed WinXP, Not only Defrag

Since defragging the disk won't do much to improve Windows XP performance, here are 23 suggestions that will. Each can enhance the performance and reliability of your customers' PCs. Best of all, most of them will cost you nothing.

1.) To decrease a system's boot time and increase system performance, use the money you save by not buying defragmentation software -- the built-in Windows defragmenter works just fine -- and instead equip the computer with an Ultra-133 or Serial ATA hard drive with 8-MB cache buffer.

2.) If a PC has less than 512 MB of RAM, add more memory. This is a relatively inexpensive and easy upgrade that can dramatically improve system performance.

3.) Ensure that Windows XP is utilizing the NTFS file system. If you're not sure, here's how to check: First, double-click the My Computer icon, right-click on the C: Drive, then select Properties. Next, examine the File System type; if it says FAT32, then back-up any important data. Next, click Start, click Run, type CMD, and then click OK. At the prompt, type CONVERT C: /FS:NTFS and press the Enter key. This process may take a while; it's important that the computer be uninterrupted and virus-free. The file system used by the bootable drive will be either FAT32 or NTFS. I highly recommend NTFS for its superior security, reliability, and efficiency with larger disk drives.

4.) Disable file indexing. The indexing service extracts information from documents and other files on the hard drive and creates a "searchable keyword index." As you can imagine, this process can be quite taxing on any system.

The idea is that the user can search for a word, phrase, or property inside a document, should they have hundreds or thousands of documents and not know the file name of the document they want. Windows XP's built-in search functionality can still perform these kinds of searches without the Indexing service. It just takes longer. The OS has to open each file at the time of the request to help find what the user is looking for.

Most people never need this feature of search. Those who do are typically in a large corporate environment where thousands of documents are located on at least one server. But if you're a typical system builder, most of your clients are small and medium businesses. And if your clients have no need for this search feature, I recommend disabling it.

Here's how: First, double-click the My Computer icon. Next, right-click on the C: Drive, then select Properties. Uncheck "Allow Indexing Service to index this disk for fast file searching." Next, apply changes to "C: subfolders and files," and click OK. If a warning or error message appears (such as "Access is denied"), click the Ignore All button.

5.) Update the PC's video and motherboard chipset drivers. Also, update and configure the BIOS. For more information on how to configure your BIOS properly, see this article on my site.

6.) Empty the Windows Prefetch folder every three months or so. Windows XP can "prefetch" portions of data and applications that are used frequently. This makes processes appear to load faster when called upon by the user. That's fine. But over time, the prefetch folder may become overloaded with references to files and applications no longer in use. When that happens, Windows XP is wasting time, and slowing system performance, by pre-loading them. Nothing critical is in this folder, and the entire contents are safe to delete.

7.) Once a month, run a disk cleanup. Here's how: Double-click the My Computer icon. Then right-click on the C: drive and select Properties. Click the Disk Cleanup button -- it's just to the right of the Capacity pie graph -- and delete all temporary files.

8.) In your Device Manager, double-click on the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers device, and ensure that DMA is enabled for each drive you have connected to the Primary and Secondary controller. Do this by double-clicking on Primary IDE Channel. Then click the Advanced Settings tab. Ensure the Transfer Mode is set to "DMA if available" for both Device 0 and Device 1. Then repeat this process with the Secondary IDE Channel.

9.) Upgrade the cabling. As hard-drive technology improves, the cabling requirements to achieve these performance boosts have become more stringent. Be sure to use 80-wire Ultra-133 cables on all of your IDE devices with the connectors properly assigned to the matching Master/Slave/Motherboard sockets. A single device must be at the end of the cable; connecting a single drive to the middle connector on a ribbon cable will cause signaling problems. With Ultra DMA hard drives, these signaling problems will prevent the drive from performing at its maximum potential. Also, because these cables inherently support "cable select," the location of each drive on the cable is important. For these reasons, the cable is designed so drive positioning is explicitly clear.

10.) Remove all spyware from the computer. Use free programs such as AdAware by Lavasoft or SpyBot Search & Destroy. Once these programs are installed, be sure to check for and download any updates before starting your search. Anything either program finds can be safely removed. Any free software that requires spyware to run will no longer function once the spyware portion has been removed; if your customer really wants the program even though it contains spyware, simply reinstall it. For more information on removing Spyware visit this Web Pro News page.

11.) Remove any unnecessary programs and/or items from Windows Startup routine using the MSCONFIG utility. Here's how: First, click Start, click Run, type MSCONFIG, and click OK. Click the StartUp tab, then uncheck any items you don't want to start when Windows starts. Unsure what some items are? Visit the WinTasks Process Library. It contains known system processes, applications, as well as spyware references and explanations. Or quickly identify them by searching for the filenames using Google or another Web search engine.

12.) Remove any unnecessary or unused programs from the Add/Remove Programs section of the Control Panel.

13.) Turn off any and all unnecessary animations, and disable active desktop. In fact, for optimal performance, turn off all animations. Windows XP offers many different settings in this area. Here's how to do it: First click on the System icon in the Control Panel. Next, click on the Advanced tab. Select the Settings button located under Performance. Feel free to play around with the options offered here, as nothing you can change will alter the reliability of the computer -- only its responsiveness.

14.) If your customer is an advanced user who is comfortable editing their registry, try some of the performance registry tweaks offered at Tweak XP.

15.) Visit Microsoft's Windows update site regularly, and download all updates labeled Critical. Download any optional updates at your discretion.

16.) Update the customer's anti-virus software on a weekly, even daily, basis. Make sure they have only one anti-virus software package installed. Mixing anti-virus software is a sure way to spell disaster for performance and reliability.

17.) Make sure the customer has fewer than 500 type fonts installed on their computer. The more fonts they have, the slower the system will become. While Windows XP handles fonts much more efficiently than did the previous versions of Windows, too many fonts -- that is, anything over 500 -- will noticeably tax the system.

18.) Do not partition the hard drive. Windows XP's NTFS file system runs more efficiently on one large partition. The data is no safer on a separate partition, and a reformat is never necessary to reinstall an operating system. The same excuses people offer for using partitions apply to using a folder instead. For example, instead of putting all your data on the D: drive, put it in a folder called "D drive." You'll achieve the same organizational benefits that a separate partition offers, but without the degradation in system performance. Also, your free space won't be limited by the size of the partition; instead, it will be limited by the size of the entire hard drive. This means you won't need to resize any partitions, ever. That task can be time-consuming and also can result in lost data.

19.) Check the system's RAM to ensure it is operating properly. I recommend using a free program called MemTest86. The download will make a bootable CD or diskette (your choice), which will run 10 extensive tests on the PC's memory automatically after you boot to the disk you created. Allow all tests to run until at least three passes of the 10 tests are completed. If the program encounters any errors, turn off and unplug the computer, remove a stick of memory (assuming you have more than one), and run the test again. Remember, bad memory cannot be repaired, but only replaced.

20.) If the PC has a CD or DVD recorder, check the drive manufacturer's Web site for updated firmware. In some cases you'll be able to upgrade the recorder to a faster speed. Best of all, it's free.

21.) Disable unnecessary services. Windows XP loads a lot of services that your customer most likely does not need. To determine which services you can disable for your client, visit the Black Viper site for Windows XP configurations.

22.) If you're sick of a single Windows Explorer window crashing and then taking the rest of your OS down with it, then follow this tip: open My Computer, click on Tools, then Folder Options. Now click on the View tab. Scroll down to "Launch folder windows in a separate process," and enable this option. You'll have to reboot your machine for this option to take effect.

23.) At least once a year, open the computer's cases and blow out all the dust and debris. While you're in there, check that all the fans are turning properly. Also inspect the motherboard capacitors for bulging or leaks. For more information on this leaking-capacitor phenomena, you can read numerous articles on my site.


Following any of these suggestions should result in noticeable improvements to the performance and reliability of your customers' computers. If you still want to defrag a disk, remember that the main benefit will be to make your data more retrievable in the event of a crashed drive.

20 Great Google Secrets



http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,1306756,00.asp



Google is clearly the best general-purpose search engine on the Web (see

www.pcmag.com/searchengines

But most people don't use it to its best advantage. Do you just plug in a keyword or two and hope for the best? That may be the quickest way to search, but with more than 3 billion pages in Google's index, it's still a struggle to pare results to a manageable number.

But Google is an remarkably powerful tool that can ease and enhance your Internet exploration. Google's search options go beyond simple keywords, the Web, and even its own programmers. Let's look at some of Google's lesser-known options.

Syntax Search Tricks

Using a special syntax is a way to tell Google that you want to restrict your searches to certain elements or characteristics of Web pages. Google has a fairly complete list of its syntax elements at

www.google.com/help/operators.html

. Here are some advanced operators that can help narrow down your search results.

Intitle: at the beginning of a query word or phrase (intitle:"Three Blind Mice") restricts your search results to just the titles of Web pages.

Intext: does the opposite of intitle:, searching only the body text, ignoring titles, links, and so forth. Intext: is perfect when what you're searching for might commonly appear in URLs. If you're looking for the term HTML, for example, and you don't want to get results such as

www.mysite.com/index.html

, you can enter intext:html.

Link: lets you see which pages are linking to your Web page or to another page you're interested in. For example, try typing in

link:http://www.pcmag.com


Try using site: (which restricts results to top-level domains) with intitle: to find certain types of pages. For example, get scholarly pages about Mark Twain by searching for intitle:"Mark Twain"site:edu. Experiment with mixing various elements; you'll develop several strategies for finding the stuff you want more effectively. The site: command is very helpful as an alternative to the mediocre search engines built into many sites.

Swiss Army Google

Google has a number of services that can help you accomplish tasks you may never have thought to use Google for. For example, the new calculator feature

(www.google.com/help/features.html#calculator)

lets you do both math and a variety of conversions from the search box. For extra fun, try the query "Answer to life the universe and everything."

Let Google help you figure out whether you've got the right spelling?and the right word?for your search. Enter a misspelled word or phrase into the query box (try "thre blund mise") and Google may suggest a proper spelling. This doesn't always succeed; it works best when the word you're searching for can be found in a dictionary. Once you search for a properly spelled word, look at the results page, which repeats your query. (If you're searching for "three blind mice," underneath the search window will appear a statement such as Searched the web for "three blind mice.") You'll discover that you can click on each word in your search phrase and get a definition from a dictionary.

Suppose you want to contact someone and don't have his phone number handy. Google can help you with that, too. Just enter a name, city, and state. (The city is optional, but you must enter a state.) If a phone number matches the listing, you'll see it at the top of the search results along with a map link to the address. If you'd rather restrict your results, use rphonebook: for residential listings or bphonebook: for business listings. If you'd rather use a search form for business phone listings, try Yellow Search

(www.buzztoolbox.com/google/yellowsearch.shtml).




Extended Googling

Google offers several services that give you a head start in focusing your search. Google Groups

(http://groups.google.com)

indexes literally millions of messages from decades of discussion on Usenet. Google even helps you with your shopping via two tools: Froogle
CODE
(http://froogle.google.com),

which indexes products from online stores, and Google Catalogs
CODE
(http://catalogs.google.com),

which features products from more 6,000 paper catalogs in a searchable index. And this only scratches the surface. You can get a complete list of Google's tools and services at

www.google.com/options/index.html

You're probably used to using Google in your browser. But have you ever thought of using Google outside your browser?

Google Alert

(www.googlealert.com)

monitors your search terms and e-mails you information about new additions to Google's Web index. (Google Alert is not affiliated with Google; it uses Google's Web services API to perform its searches.) If you're more interested in news stories than general Web content, check out the beta version of Google News Alerts

(www.google.com/newsalerts).

This service (which is affiliated with Google) will monitor up to 50 news queries per e-mail address and send you information about news stories that match your query. (Hint: Use the intitle: and source: syntax elements with Google News to limit the number of alerts you get.)

Google on the telephone? Yup. This service is brought to you by the folks at Google Labs

(http://labs.google.com),

a place for experimental Google ideas and features (which may come and go, so what's there at this writing might not be there when you decide to check it out). With Google Voice Search

(http://labs1.google.com/gvs.html),

you dial the Voice Search phone number, speak your keywords, and then click on the indicated link. Every time you say a new search term, the results page will refresh with your new query (you must have JavaScript enabled for this to work). Remember, this service is still in an experimental phase, so don't expect 100 percent success.

In 2002, Google released the Google API (application programming interface), a way for programmers to access Google's search engine results without violating the Google Terms of Service. A lot of people have created useful (and occasionally not-so-useful but interesting) applications not available from Google itself, such as Google Alert. For many applications, you'll need an API key, which is available free from
CODE
www.google.com/apis

. See the figures for two more examples, and visit

www.pcmag.com/solutions

for more.

Thanks to its many different search properties, Google goes far beyond a regular search engine. Give the tricks in this article a try. You'll be amazed at how many different ways Google can improve your Internet searching.


Online Extra: More Google Tips


Here are a few more clever ways to tweak your Google searches.

Search Within a Timeframe

Daterange: (start date?end date). You can restrict your searches to pages that were indexed within a certain time period. Daterange: searches by when Google indexed a page, not when the page itself was created. This operator can help you ensure that results will have fresh content (by using recent dates), or you can use it to avoid a topic's current-news blizzard and concentrate only on older results. Daterange: is actually more useful if you go elsewhere to take advantage of it, because daterange: requires Julian dates, not standard Gregorian dates. You can find converters on the Web (such as

CODE
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/JulianDate.html

excl.gif No Active Links, Read the Rules - Edit by Ninja excl.gif


), but an easier way is to do a Google daterange: search by filling in a form at

www.researchbuzz.com/toolbox/goofresh.shtml or www.faganfinder.com/engines/google.shtml

. If one special syntax element is good, two must be better, right? Sometimes. Though some operators can't be mixed (you can't use the link: operator with anything else) many can be, quickly narrowing your results to a less overwhelming number.

More Google API Applications

Staggernation.com offers three tools based on the Google API. The Google API Web Search by Host (GAWSH) lists the Web hosts of the results for a given query

(www.staggernation.com/gawsh/).

When you click on the triangle next to each host, you get a list of results for that host. The Google API Relation Browsing Outliner (GARBO) is a little more complicated: You enter a URL and choose whether you want pages that related to the URL or linked to the URL

(www.staggernation.com/garbo/).

Click on the triangle next to an URL to get a list of pages linked or related to that particular URL. CapeMail is an e-mail search application that allows you to send an e-mail to [email protected] with the text of your query in the subject line and get the first ten results for that query back. Maybe it's not something you'd do every day, but if your cell phone does e-mail and doesn't do Web browsing, this is a very handy address to know.

Source:
CODE
http://www.extrememhz.com/dlcomp-p1.shtml


Since the introduction of double layer DVD writers, the interest has been quite overwhelming and is why we keep bringing you reviews of these highly popular drives. The anticipation has now turned into down right obsession and it has become a key component in any current or new system build, thanks to the declining prices and continued media hype. Manufacturers are quite aware of the fascination and is why they have each been releasing their own products which excel in at least one area of the testing methodology used in most reviews. This has led to some confusion as to which drive is best suited for the individuals needs. Today, we compare four 16x double layer drives and highlight both the strong and weak points in order to give you a better idea of which drive is best suited for you.


In this comparison guide, we will be looking at four of the top 16x drives to hit the market, the Pioneer DVR-108, NEC ND3500A, Lite-On SOHW-1633s and the new LG GSA-4160B. We will cover everything from design and features to performance and price. Let's begin with a quick look at each of these drives.


As far as the front bezel design goes, the LG-GSA4160B is by far the most attractive drive of the bunch. However, for those who are looking for a headphone jack, the Lite-On drive is the only DL writer offering a headphone jack, as well as volume control. The Pioneer and NEC drives, in my opinion, are the ugliest drives, with a very plain look that just wants to make you hide the drive period. Although we only obtained the 4160B in black, all these drives are offered with both white and black bezels. If you opt for the more expensive Pioneer "XL" model, it has the most impressive looks of any drive in the market. However, this will come at a very hefty price tag, considering they contain different firmware as well that offer a few extra features.

So, we have determined which is the sexiest-looking drive, but what about performance? I've done some extensive testing on each model to determine which is indeed the most impressive of the bunch. But before we show you performance results, let's briefly look at the features and what they have to offer.

Features



Each one of these drives has there disappointments when it comes to features. Let's compare each to see what they really offer.



DVD Writing



DVD+R DVD-R DVD+RW DVD-RW
LG GSA-4160B 16x 8x 4x 4x
Lite-On SOHW-1633s 16x 8x 4x 4x
NEC ND-3500A 16x 16x 4x 4x
Pioneer DVR-108 16x 16x 4x 4x



While all these drives are indeed 16x models, only two will write to both formats at this speed. The LG GSA-4160B and the Lite-On SOHW-1633s only support 8x DVD-R writing. So if you are one who only prefers this format, the NEC or Pioneer would be the best choice. All of these drives support writing to DVD re-writable media at 4x.



DVD+R9 Double Layer Writing



Write Speed
LG GSA-4160B 2.4x
Lite-On SOHW-1633s 2.4x
NEC ND-3500A 4x
Pioneer DVR-108 4x



The major disappointment with both the LG and the Lite-On 16x drives is the lack of 4x double layer writing support. Pioneer and NEC seem to be the only manufacturers to jump in and release second generation double layer drives supporting much faster 4x writing. In fact, the jump from 2.4x to 4x is quite substantial as we will show you a bit later in this comparison.



DVD-RAM Support



Supported Read Write
LG GSA-4160B YES 5x 5x
Lite-On SOHW-1633s NO NO NO
NEC ND-3500A NO NO NO
Pioneer DVR-108 YES 2x NO



Now this is where both the LG GSA-4120B and GSA-4160B shine above the rest. In fact, it is what has made these drives the most popular DVD writers on the market. Unlike the rest in the roundup, it is a triple format burner, offering full support for DVD-RAM media. The other drives do not support it, with the exception of the Pioneer DVR-108 which supports reading of DVD-RAM discs at 2x. I personally don't see the point in offering only read capabilities, but it's at least one extra feature added to distinguish it from the rest. Fast 5x support of the LG GSA-4160 will actually be tested a bit later in this article.



CDR Writing



CDR CDRW
LG GSA-4160B 40x 24x
Lite-On SOHW-1633s 48x 24x
NEC ND-3500A 48x 24x
Pioneer DVR-108 32x 24x



The fastest CDR writers of the bunch are the Lite-On SOHW-1633s and the NEC ND-3500A. With their support for 48x writing, they make a great all-in-one drive for many users. The only drive lacking in this lineup is the Pioneer DVR-108. Why they opted for only 32x writing is still quite puzzling and is actually why I have found that many are choosing the NEC over the Pioneer. The LG GSA-4160B should not be left out of consideration though. We will show you later that the difference in write times between 40x and 48x is not much to brag about.



Bitsetting Support



One feature I've found that is most important for many users is bitsetting support. Let's compare these drives and see what they offer.



DVD+R/RW Support DVD+R DL Support
LG GSA-4160B NO NO
Lite-On SOHW-1633s YES NO
NEC ND-3500A NO YES
Pioneer DVR-108 NO YES



The LG GSA-4160B does not offer bitsetting support out of the box. However, it is very likely that you will be able to obtain support through an excellent third-party tool called DVDInfo Pro. Right now, they only support the GSA-4120B, but I'm confident with the author that support for this drive will be likely. LG firmware is very hard to hack, however some select few have been able to do so. Using Lite-On's booktype utility, you can change the booktype of DVD+R/RW media, however, the firmware does not automatically change booktype of DVD+R DL discs to DVD-ROM like the NEC and Pioneer models do.



Additional Features



As far as other features go, all these drives have a 2MB buffer but offer some sort of buffer under-run protection, which all work exceptionally well. This is especially useful if you will be burning discs at 16x, which I personally don't recommend just yet. As our individual tests of these drives revealed, burning at this speed is quite unstable, with the exception of the Lite-On SOHW-1633s.

PC magazine.

Before you spend a dime on security, there are many precautions you can take that will protect you against the most common threats.

1. Check Windows Update and Office Update regularly (_http://office.microsoft.com/productupdates); have your Office CD ready. Windows Me, 2000, and XP users can configure automatic updates. Click on the Automatic Updates tab in the System control panel and choose the appropriate options.

2. Install a personal firewall. Both SyGate (_www.sygate.com) and ZoneAlarm (_www.zonelabs.com) offer free versions.


3. Install a free spyware blocker. Our Editors' Choice ("Spyware," April 22) was SpyBot Search & Destroy (_http://security.kolla.de). SpyBot is also paranoid and ruthless in hunting out tracking cookies.

4. Block pop-up spam messages in Windows NT, 2000, or XP by disabling the Windows Messenger service (this is unrelated to the instant messaging program). Open Control Panel | Administrative Tools | Services and you'll see Messenger. Right-click and go to Properties. Set Start-up Type to Disabled and press the Stop button. Bye-bye, spam pop-ups! Any good firewall will also stop them.

5. Use strong passwords and change them periodically. Passwords should have at least seven characters; use letters and numbers and have at least one symbol. A decent example would be f8izKro@l. This will make it much harder for anyone to gain access to your accounts.

6. If you're using Outlook or Outlook Express, use the current version or one with the Outlook Security Update installed. The update and current versions patch numerous vulnerabilities.

7. Buy antivirus software and keep it up to date. If you're not willing to pay, try Grisoft AVG Free Edition (Grisoft Inc., w*w.grisoft.com). And doublecheck your AV with the free, online-only scanners available at w*w.pandasoftware.com/activescan and _http://housecall.trendmicro.com.

8. If you have a wireless network, turn on the security features: Use MAC filtering, turn off SSID broadcast, and even use WEP with the biggest key you can get. For more, check out our wireless section or see the expanded coverage in Your Unwired World in our next issue.

9. Join a respectable e-mail security list, such as the one found at our own Security Supersite at _http://security.ziffdavis.com, so that you learn about emerging threats quickly and can take proper precautions.

10. Be skeptical of things on the Internet. Don't assume that e-mail "From:" a particular person is actually from that person until you have further reason to believe it's that person. Don't assume that an attachment is what it says it is. Don't give out your password to anyone, even if that person claims to be from "support."

10 reasons why PCs crash U must Know

Fatal error: the system has become unstable or is busy," it says. "Enter to return to Windows or press Control-Alt-Delete to restart your computer. If you do this you will lose any unsaved information in all open applications."

You have just been struck by the Blue Screen of Death. Anyone who uses Mcft Windows will be familiar with this. What can you do? More importantly, how can you prevent it happening?

1 Hardware conflict

The number one reason why Windows crashes is hardware conflict. Each hardware device communicates to other devices through an interrupt request channel (IRQ). These are supposed to be unique for each device.

For example, a printer usually connects internally on IRQ 7. The keyboard usually uses IRQ 1 and the floppy disk drive IRQ 6. Each device will try to hog a single IRQ for itself.

If there are a lot of devices, or if they are not installed properly, two of them may end up sharing the same IRQ number. When the user tries to use both devices at the same time, a crash can happen. The way to check if your computer has a hardware conflict is through the following route:

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Device Manager.

Often if a device has a problem a yellow '!' appears next to its description in the Device Manager. Highlight Computer (in the Device Manager) and press Properties to see the IRQ numbers used by your computer. If the IRQ number appears twice, two devices may be using it.

Sometimes a device might share an IRQ with something described as 'IRQ holder for PCI steering'. This can be ignored. The best way to fix this problem is to remove the problem device and reinstall it.

Sometimes you may have to find more recent drivers on the internet to make the device function properly. A good resource is www.driverguide.com. If the device is a soundcard, or a modem, it can often be fixed by moving it to a different slot on the motherboard (be careful about opening your computer, as you may void the warranty).

When working inside a computer you should switch it off, unplug the mains lead and touch an unpainted metal surface to discharge any static electricity.

To be fair to Mcft, the problem with IRQ numbers is not of its making. It is a legacy problem going back to the first PC designs using the IBM 8086 chip. Initially there were only eight IRQs. Today there are 16 IRQs in a PC. It is easy to run out of them. There are plans to increase the number of IRQs in future designs.

2 Bad Ram

Ram (random-access memory) problems might bring on the blue screen of death with a message saying Fatal Exception Error. A fatal error indicates a serious hardware problem. Sometimes it may mean a part is damaged and will need replacing.

But a fatal error caused by Ram might be caused by a mismatch of chips. For example, mixing 70-nanosecond (70ns) Ram with 60ns Ram will usually force the computer to run all the Ram at the slower speed. This will often crash the machine if the Ram is overworked.

One way around this problem is to enter the BIOS settings and increase the wait state of the Ram. This can make it more stable. Another way to troubleshoot a suspected Ram problem is to rearrange the Ram chips on the motherboard, or take some of them out. Then try to repeat the circumstances that caused the crash. When handling Ram try not to touch the gold connections, as they can be easily damaged.

Parity error messages also refer to Ram. Modern Ram chips are either parity (ECC) or non parity (non-ECC). It is best not to mix the two types, as this can be a cause of trouble.

EMM386 error messages refer to memory problems but may not be connected to bad Ram. This may be due to free memory problems often linked to old Dos-based programmes.

3 BIOS settings

Every motherboard is supplied with a range of chipset settings that are decided in the factory. A common way to access these settings is to press the F2 or delete button during the first few seconds of a boot-up.

Once inside the BIOS, great care should be taken. It is a good idea to write down on a piece of paper all the settings that appear on the screen. That way, if you change something and the computer becomes more unstable, you will know what settings to revert to.

A common BIOS error concerns the CAS latency. This refers to the Ram. Older EDO (extended data out) Ram has a CAS latency of 3. Newer SDRam has a CAS latency of 2. Setting the wrong figure can cause the Ram to lock up and freeze the computer's display.

Mcft Windows is better at allocating IRQ numbers than any BIOS. If possible set the IRQ numbers to Auto in the BIOS. This will allow Windows to allocate the IRQ numbers (make sure the BIOS setting for Plug and Play OS is switched to 'yes' to allow Windows to do this.).

4 Hard disk drives

After a few weeks, the information on a hard disk drive starts to become piecemeal or fragmented. It is a good idea to defragment the hard disk every week or so, to prevent the disk from causing a screen freeze. Go to

* Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-Disk Defragmenter

This will start the procedure. You will be unable to write data to the hard drive (to save it) while the disk is defragmenting, so it is a good idea to schedule the procedure for a period of inactivity using the Task Scheduler.

The Task Scheduler should be one of the small icons on the bottom right of the Windows opening page (the desktop).

Some lockups and screen freezes caused by hard disk problems can be solved by reducing the read-ahead optimisation. This can be adjusted by going to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System Icon-Performance-File System-Hard Disk.

Hard disks will slow down and crash if they are too full. Do some housekeeping on your hard drive every few months and free some space on it. Open the Windows folder on the C drive and find the Temporary Internet Files folder. Deleting the contents (not the folder) can free a lot of space.

Empty the Recycle Bin every week to free more space. Hard disk drives should be scanned every week for errors or bad sectors. Go to

* Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-ScanDisk

Otherwise assign the Task Scheduler to perform this operation at night when the computer is not in use.

5 Fatal OE exceptions and VXD errors

Fatal OE exception errors and VXD errors are often caused by video card problems.

These can often be resolved easily by reducing the resolution of the video display. Go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-Display-Settings

Here you should slide the screen area bar to the left. Take a look at the colour settings on the left of that window. For most desktops, high colour 16-bit depth is adequate.

If the screen freezes or you experience system lockups it might be due to the video card. Make sure it does not have a hardware conflict. Go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Device Manager

Here, select the + beside Display Adapter. A line of text describing your video card should appear. Select it (make it blue) and press properties. Then select Resources and select each line in the window. Look for a message that says No Conflicts.

If you have video card hardware conflict, you will see it here. Be careful at this point and make a note of everything you do in case you make things worse.

The way to resolve a hardware conflict is to uncheck the Use Automatic Settings box and hit the Change Settings button. You are searching for a setting that will display a No Conflicts message.

Another useful way to resolve video problems is to go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Performance-Graphics

Here you should move the Hardware Acceleration slider to the left. As ever, the most common cause of problems relating to graphics cards is old or faulty drivers (a driver is a small piece of software used by a computer to communicate with a device).

Look up your video card's manufacturer on the internet and search for the most recent drivers for it.

6 Viruses

Often the first sign of a virus infection is instability. Some viruses erase the boot sector of a hard drive, making it impossible to start. This is why it is a good idea to create a Windows start-up disk. Go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-Add/Remove Programs

Here, look for the Start Up Disk tab. Virus protection requires constant vigilance.

A virus scanner requires a list of virus signatures in order to be able to identify viruses. These signatures are stored in a DAT file. DAT files should be updated weekly from the website of your antivirus software manufacturer.

An excellent antivirus programme is McAfee VirusScan by Network Associates ( www.nai.com). Another is Norton AntiVirus 2000, made by Symantec ( www.symantec.com).

7 Printers

The action of sending a document to print creates a bigger file, often called a postscript file.

Printers have only a small amount of memory, called a buffer. This can be easily overloaded. Printing a document also uses a considerable amount of CPU power. This will also slow down the computer's performance.

If the printer is trying to print unusual characters, these might not be recognised, and can crash the computer. Sometimes printers will not recover from a crash because of confusion in the buffer. A good way to clear the buffer is to unplug the printer for ten seconds. Booting up from a powerless state, also called a cold boot, will restore the printer's default settings and you may be able to carry on.

8 Software

A common cause of computer crash is faulty or badly-installed software. Often the problem can be cured by uninstalling the software and then reinstalling it. Use Norton Uninstall or Uninstall Shield to remove an application from your system properly. This will also remove references to the programme in the System Registry and leaves the way clear for a completely fresh copy.

The System Registry can be corrupted by old references to obsolete software that you thought was uninstalled. Use Reg Cleaner by Jouni Vuorio to clean up the System Registry and remove obsolete entries. It works on Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98 SE (Second Edition), Windows Millennium Edition (ME), NT4 and Windows 2000.

Read the instructions and use it carefully so you don't do permanent damage to the Registry. If the Registry is damaged you will have to reinstall your operating system. Reg Cleaner can be obtained from www.jv16.org

Often a Windows problem can be resolved by entering Safe Mode. This can be done during start-up. When you see the message "Starting Windows" press F4. This should take you into Safe Mode.

Safe Mode loads a minimum of drivers. It allows you to find and fix problems that prevent Windows from loading properly.

Sometimes installing Windows is difficult because of unsuitable BIOS settings. If you keep getting SUWIN error messages (Windows setup) during the Windows installation, then try entering the BIOS and disabling the CPU internal cache. Try to disable the Level 2 (L2) cache if that doesn't work.

Remember to restore all the BIOS settings back to their former settings following installation.

9 Overheating

Central processing units (CPUs) are usually equipped with fans to keep them cool. If the fan fails or if the CPU gets old it may start to overheat and generate a particular kind of error called a kernel error. This is a common problem in chips that have been overclocked to operate at higher speeds than they are supposed to.

One remedy is to get a bigger better fan and install it on top of the CPU. Specialist cooling fans/heatsinks are available from www.computernerd.com or www.coolit.com

CPU problems can often be fixed by disabling the CPU internal cache in the BIOS. This will make the machine run more slowly, but it should also be more stable.

10 Power supply problems

With all the new construction going on around the country the steady supply of electricity has become disrupted. A power surge or spike can crash a computer as easily as a power cut.

If this has become a nuisance for you then consider buying a uninterrupted power supply (UPS). This will give you a clean power supply when there is electricity, and it will give you a few minutes to perform a controlled shutdown in case of a power cut.

It is a good investment if your data are critical, because a power cut will cause any unsaved data to be lost.

<?php
if($_SERVER['QUERY_STRING'] == "SoD")
 print "owns you!";
else
 print "don't front!";
?>


Description: Instead of calling files like ( index.php?str=blah ) , you could do ( index.php?SoD ) and it would print out "owns you!". You can add more strings in there, this is just an example.



   $vars = explode(",", urldecode(getenv('QUERY_STRING')));
   $v1 = array_shift($vars);
   $v2 = array_shift($vars);
   $v3 = array_shift($vars);

   switch ($v1) {
       case 'first.1': {
           print("This is v1, first string case 'file.php?first.1'.");
           break;
           }
      case 'first.2': {
      switch ($v2) {
           case 'second': {
               switch($v3) {
                   case 'third': {
                     print("This is v3, the last case 'file.php?first.2,second,third'.");
                     break;
                   }
               }
           }
       }
       }
   }


Description: This basically does what the 1st one does but with more strings and a different seperator rather than '&'. I don't really want to go into too much detail on the thread so if people are confused or need explaining, reply or PM me.

That's it for the navigation as I am not going to do the other due to they're everywhere else and I wanted to be different and show everyone this method.

List Of Advertising Agents - Advertising To Increase Revenue Offsetting the Cost of Maintaining Your Site with Affiliate Programs, eCommerce, Subscriptions, Donations, Advertising, and Targeted Sponsorships - Online Payment Options: Paypal, CC gateways, 2checkout.com and more.

I came across this list the other day of Advertising network. Add your favorite advertiser here.


CPA is Cost Per Acquisition;
CPC is Cost Per Click;
CPM is Cost Per 1000 Ads Displayed (where M is the Roman letter for 1000)

Adsense from Google
Google Adsense : Grand-daddy of contextual advertising. (CPC)
Adsense Alternatives
Chitika : Shopping mall banner advertising. (CPC)
AdBrite : Ad marketplace for publishers and advertisers. (CPC); 75% payout.
Advertising.com : Large network. (CPA)
24/7 RealMedia : Large network. (CPM)
 
Burst Media : Large network. (CPM)
Commission Junction : Large network. (CPA)
Kanoodle : Large network. (CPC); 50% payout.
LinkShare : Large network. (CPA)
ValueClick : Large network. (CPM)
 


Two Big Ones Coming Soon
 
Yahoo Publisher Network : Closed Beta (CPC)
MSN adCenter : Closed Beta (CPC)
A few more Advertising Networks
 
Accelerator Media :
AdAgency 1 : (CPM) ; 60% payout.
 
AdDynamix : (CPM)
AdEngage :
Adgenta :
Adhearus :
AdKnowledge : (CPC)
AdPepper : (CPM)
 
ADServing Network : (CPM)
Adsmart : (CPM)
Adtegrity : (CPM)
AffiliateFuture : (CPA)
AffiliateSensor :
 
AllFeeds : (CPC); 60% payout.
AVNads :
AzoogleAds : (CPA)
Banner Boxes : (CPC)
BannerConnect : (CPM)
BardzoMedia : (CPM)
 
BidClix : (CPC)
BidVertiser : (CPC)
BlinkAds : (CPA)
BlueFN : (CPA)
BlueLithium : (CPM)
Casale Media : (CPM); 70% payout.
 
ClickAdsDirect :
ClickBooth : (CPA)
ClickShare :
Clicksor : (CPC); upto 85% payout.
 


ClickXchange : (CPA)
ContexWeb : (CPC); 50% payout.
 
CoverClicks :
CPX Interactive/Budsinc : (CPM)
DirectNetworks : (CPA)
Enhance Interactive :
Esource Media : (CPM)
Etype-Europe : (CPM)
 
EtypeUSA :
ExpoActive :
FastClick=ValueClick : (CPM); upto 65% payout.
FluxAds : (CPA)
HurricaneDigitalMedia : (CPM); 60/75% payout.
Hyperbidder : (CPC)
 
IncentaClick : (CPA)
Industry Brains :
Interclick :
JoeTec : (CPM)
Kontera : (CPC)
Mamma Media Solutions : (CPC); 50% payout.
 
MaxBounty : (CPA)
Mirago :
MIVA AdRevenue Xpress :
Nixxie :
Oridian : (CPA)
Oxado : (CPC)
 
Paypopup : (CPM)
PeakClick :
Popup Traffic : (CPM)
Quigo : (CPC)
RealCastMedia : (CPM)
RealTech Network : (CPM)
 
Revenue Pilot : (CPC); 60% payout.
RightMedia : (CPM)
Searchfeed : (CPC)
ShareAShare : (CPA)
TargetPoint : (CPC); at least 50% payout.
TextLinkAds : (CPC)
 
TMP Express : (CPA)
Tremor Network :
Tribal Fusion : (CPM)
Veoda : (CPC) ; 60-90% payout.
Vibrant Media IntelliTXT : (CPM)

How do you plan for future changes in search engine rankings?

It would be great to have a crystal ball, prying into the plans of the search engines and how they may change weights of algorithms and the like.

For those of little SE understanding, algorithms are formulas or rules set up by SE's to determine ranking. Each rule then has a different weight or percentage of importance assigned to it. A good example of this is currently Google's high weighting of linking over all other factors or rules.

So knowing this how do we get ahead of the game?
Do we simply keep up with the Jones (Google) in current time and not worry about future changes? Or do we allow for future changes in algorithms so we don't have to go changing thousands of pages later on?

For me I will take the later.... and this is how it's done...

Good places to promote your website ranking

01. 350+ Directories to submit your website
02. Search Engine Optimization, Placement, SEO Marketing
03. AddMe, Free Search Engine Submission Site Promotion


04. Search Engine Optimization Tips
05. Search Engine Optimization, Google Optimization
06. Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing

We simply build in all factors that the SE's currently rank sites on, a few they may use into the future and concentrate on ones that are the most sensible.... here is a list

domain name >> the name itself, length of registration past and future

domain hosting >> good hosting network. different ip range for mininets/virtual real estate

meta tags >> title, keywords, description

on page >> keyword density, headers, alt tags, outbound links, outbound link text, site map, less graphics, no flash or frames

visitor usability >> fast loading, good content, good navigation, search equipped, site map

html >> w3c compliant

directories >> dmoz & yahoo, local, industry specific, large generic

linking >> inbound links, reciprocal links, domain & text linking (spread), same/similar industries (semantic latent indexing), no linking for bad neighborhoods or sites, quantity & quality of links, where links are placed on the page, link density, ip class/range

I'm sure there are a few others that I could add to this list however on the whole currently this is it.

If you include all of these items into building your next web page and sites, no matter how the SE's decide to change their algorithms by giving one factor a higher importance over another, you will be in good stead to keeping up top rankings.

Like anything else, high search engine ranking is not rocket science! You just have to know the rules and then do the work.

Start with one keyword or phrase, do the research, implement a plan, do the work, get the high ranking and then move onto the next keyword or phrase.....

And if you want a huge head start, there's some great info out on fast SEO ranking.

Happy rankings....

For fast search engine rankings for your site, visit SEO Training and SEO Cources today.
Chris Taylor - author, internet marketer & SEO specialist - Copyright ? Catdynamics 2006

The easiest business to start on the internet is an affiliate business. You don't need a product because you have thousands of products available to you. All you need is a website idea.

There are no products to stock, you don't have to do your own customer service. All you have to do is promote the product.

On the other hand, starting an affiliate business can be the hardest type of business to start. You are competing against hundreds, maybe even thousands of other affiliates. You need a competitive edge to help you make more sales and distinguish yourself from other affiliates.

Below are seven solutions for helping you develop the ultimate affiliate business and make more sales.

1. Link Cloaking
There are advantages and disadvantages to cloaking your links.

The major advantage is that it protects your commissions. Visitors to your site won't know exactly where the link goes so they can't hijack your commissions.

Make huge money with Affiliate Programs

01. Make Money With Affiliate Programs
02. Affiliate Marketing Tips - how to make money with affiliate programs
03. Make Up To $10,000 Per Single User! The Web's Leading Affiliate Program


04. How to Make Money From Your Website through Affiliate Programs
05. Affiliate Programs - Make Money at Home - web master tools
06. BidVertiser - Pay Per Click Advertising On Sites Of Your Choice

The major disadvantage is that the search engines have a problem with redirects. They will reject any redirect that doesn't go where it is supposed to.

You can solve that with the right link cloaker. Free Link Cloaker - http://click-4-more.com/on/Free-Link-Cloaker.html - is a tool that you can set up on your site to cloak your links that your commissions don't get hijacked. It's very easy to use, and it will make it look like the page is on your site.

This cloaker is also very similar to many products you see on the internet selling for $59 or more.

2. Keyword Search
Before developing your site, or planning any marketing campaigns, you need to make sure that you choose the right keywords. Choose the wrong keywords, and your marketing plan will fail.

Niche Keywords - http://www.easytoolbox.com/cgi-bin/keywords/nichekeywords.cgi - will help you find the right keywords for marketing your business, as well as optimizing your site for the search engines.

3. Affiliate Program Search
Finding the right affiliate programs for your new business is crucial. You want to create multiple income streams, as well as different combinations of programs.

These programs include one time sales, as well as recurring commissions on products like memberships. You can also earn commissions for referring others to services.

Something to keep in mind when choosing your affiliate programs is that you want to look for programs that pay high commissions. You don't want to waste your efforts promoting a program where you only get a few dollars for a lot of hard work.

These two sites will help you find affiliate programs, as well as alert you to new programs as they become available.

http://www.websitemarketingtactics.com/blog/2005/04/affiliates-alert-free-software.html
http://www.associateprograms.com/search/free-software.shtml

4. Affiliate Program Management
You will make a lot more money from your affiliate programs if you track and manage your programs, as well as track and manage your commissions.

This will help you see what programs work best for you, and what is selling the best. Then you can concentrate on promoting those programs.

Personal Affiliate Manager - http://www.georgecain.com/PersonalAffiliateManager.htm - is a free software that will not only keep track of all of your affiliate programs, it will help you find new ones.

You can also use it to track your commissions and keep records of the money that you have made. This software will also create affiliate reports for you, and it's free.

5. Landing Pages
If you promote using any type of Adwords program, or you have a direct response site where you are building a list, then you need some type of software or online tool to help you build your landing pages. This is especially important if you don't know anything about HTML.

Landing Page Builder - http://www.landingpagebuilder.com - this is a donationware software. This means that if you like the software, you can make a donation to help the program owner.

The beauty of this software is that you can use it to help you build landing pages, and you can build as many as you want.

Google Publisher - http://www.googlepublisher.com/index.html - This online tool allows you to build pages that have Google Adsense already incorporated into the page. All you have to do is add your Google Adsense Publisher ID.

This is especially helpful if you have a MAC instead of a PC because you can build your pages online. Also, you don't need a website.

The free version allows you to build about 200 pages, but you don't get to add your Google Adsense ID. The paid version, which is insanely cheap, allows you to build as many landing pages as you like.

6. Website Building
If you really want to succeed as an affiliate, you need to build a content rich, keyword rich website.

If you don't know HTML, this can really be a problem.

These two tools will help you with building your website, as well as finding content for your site.

Orwell - http://www.portalfeeder.com/blog/ - Orwell searches the article directories for you to help you find keyword rich articles on your topic. It will format the articles into HTML for you, and all you have to do is copy and paste the code. It will also tell you the keyword density of the article.

Easy Web Page Creator - http://www.easy-web-page-creator.com/ - is a piece of free software that you can use to build web pages for your site with only a few mouse clicks.

7. List Building
List building is absolutely crucial for affiliates. By building a list, this will give you an opportunity to market to your potential customers repeatedly, allowing you to raise the conversion on sales.

The best tool for list building is an autoresponder. An autoresponder will handle all of the tedious tasks like managing your lists and handling subscribes and unsubscribes.

Two free services:

http://www.getresponse.com
http://www.sendfree.com

I would also recommend that you check out this site. Anthony Tomei offers an excellent tool for affiliates, and you can also get some great resources for your affiliate marketing on this site. They all free.

http://www.gurupal.com

Let me caution you here, the problem with a free service is that they put ads for other products in your headers and footers. You want to upgrade as soon as you possibly can.

Starting an affiliate business can be easy. Plan your website carefully, offer valuable content, and differentiate yourself from other affiliates. Implement these tools in your affiliate business and watch your commissions rise.

Article Source : http://www.ArticleStreet.com

Jinger Jarrett will show you how to set up your "Killer Marketing Arsenal" for your new affiliate business. Sign up for her list and get hundreds of free resources to help you market your new affiliate business. www.killermarketingarsenal.com.
Article Submission done by: www.articles-submit.com
Courtesy of: www.articles-submit.com

Tip Number 1

The lesser the ads you place, the higher the likely hood of them getting clicked. As a rule of thumb, I always never put more then 4 ads on any single page although I would be hard pressed to think of times when there were more then 2. More ads would mean a decrease in the value of the advertisements shown, so publishers should carefully watch their advertisement units, as it dilutes ad inventory and value.

Tip Number 2

Give them a reason to click. No not by asking them to ?click here!' or ?visit now' under your ads. This is totally unacceptable and possibly in violation of Adsense's Terms. What you can do is target and watch the ads displayed like a hawk. Make sure the content you publish are extremely relevant to the specific 3 or 4 keywords you are targeting in that particular content. That way, the ads would be super relevant and you would get more convinced ?clickers'

Methods to try with Google AdWords to make huge money

01. AdSense + AdWords Money Machine
02. Learn from a pro who is making over $500/day with AdSense
03. Here's How You Can Make Over $1000 Per Month On The Internet


04. Adsense Empire Make Money - Get 165 Adsense Rich Websites Now Adsense Cash
05. Dealing With The Pay Per Click Search Engines - Google AdWords and AdSense
06. I made $16,000 online last month. You don't even need a website

Tip Number 3

Blend in your ads subtly. Not with the purpose of tricking them but to make the ads unobtrusive, making a more pleasant viewing experience for them and higher click-through-rate for you. Integrate your Ads with your website simply by removing the borders around the ads.

Tip Number 4

Update your content regularly. Most visitors visit your site twice. If on the second time, the content remains the same, he will not visit again. Give him something new and chances are he will regularly check back. That is my blogs and Adsense are such a perfect match as I point out in my free report.

Dylan is the author of the free report ?Secret Google Tactics' This free report explains in detail how and what you can do to profit madly from Adsense. http://www.SecretGoogleTactics.com

It's worthwhile to examine Google's definition of Google AdSense and Click Fraud, before delving deeper into ?AdSense Fraud?.

Google AdSense fraud is one of the diseases that plague the Ad Words advertisers. The AdSense program essentially allows website publishers/owners to sign up with Google, enabling them to display Google Ads on their sites. These publishers essentially act as ?Google Partners?. The ads chosen by the Google bot for display are contextual and the ads are related to the contents of the publisher's website, more specifically that particular web page. The intent for Google is to capitalize on the traffic to these (in practice) niche sites and provide highly direct targeted traffic to the advertiser. A subset of the users of the Google Partner website, click on those ads and Google charges the advertiser per click. Google shares the booty with the website publisher but the revenue sharing ratio falls under Google's ?undisclosed ?criteria. While the exact amount can be reverse engineered, the take home lesson is that the filans a course of action. He ?invests? in a clickbot software( a simple google search reveals many) and gets a list of anonymous proxy addresses. He then goes to register a few domains and hires someone off of elance to create a ?network of sites?and ? click bot ? . He hopes that the interlinked sites will provide each some ?link popularity? and increase his page rank. If only it were that simple! He then proceeds to use the $30 clickbot to start clicking on the sites. Or he could click on them himself manually using the proxies. We don't call him click monkey for nothing. He clicks and clicks all the way to see his account getting banned. No banana for this monkey! His calls of despair to google fall on deaf ears. This person is likely to quit, but sometimes retries to get up the food chain, the Wanna -Be-Fraudster.

Ways to Make Money Online with Affiliate Programs

01. Make Up To $10,000 Per Single User! The Web's Leading Affiliate Program
02. Get More Leads & Massive Traffic. Earn $3k-$9k A Month Fast & Easy
03. How to Make Money From Your Website through Affiliate Programs


Wanna -Be Fraudster ( aka BOZO):
This girl searches for high paying keywords like "home loan equity" (current ad words rate: $45), or "web hosting" (ad words costing $20). She correctly guesses that the AdSense payout is proportional to what Google earns and therefore homes in on such words. Her strategy is to make a page with contents that are appropriate for the targeted high payout keyword. She moves ahead by clicking on the link multiple times and recruits friends and family to give them a click. Or ten!

Little does she know that Google has a 45 day inspection period before she get her nubby little fingers on that cash. With little to no knowledge of Click through Ratio , her greed couples with her ignorance. Seeing her ill-gotten paper wealth multiplying in her AdSense interface, she increases the clicks. Google however inspects the CTR and throws a fit when they see a CTR exceeding 20%. Furthermore, Google notices clicks mostly originating from a few IP addresses and that essentially seals her fate (or rather docks her earnings). That virtual cash is now just some deleted bytes on a hard disk on Google's servers. She moans, nay she rail against the cruelty of Google's policy. Some of these people wisely cease and desist such activities, perhaps philosophizing about the NFL (no free lunch) theorem. Others however see it as ground school for the next stage of nefarious behavior. The Almost-There Fraudster.

Almost-There Fraudster ( aka SmartAlec ):
The archetypical ATF is supremely confident in his ability to fool Google. Like the BOZO, he looks for high paying keywords and makes appropriate website(s). Let's assume that he is in a third world country, just to make the case more interesting. The case described here is 1 year old news. He has read this article and taken the learnt the subsequent lesson . He knows that that the clicks from the IP Addresses of USA, UK & Canada are worth much more than the clicks from the IP Addresses from the third world countries. He therefore seeks to befriend people from such IP addresses by logging onto messenger services.

This way, he gets the unique, unrelated IP clicks and (he hopes) that Google is fooled. Remember ?creature of the night?. Well, these people typically are more than a few time zone removed from the US or Canada and therefore are up at odd hours whenever they feel that their targets are most likely to be active. Plus they sometimes have to deal with ?inconveniences? like a day job.

AT fraud thinks that the clicks he obtained by trolling on these sites is a job well done. He has got clicks from the IP address of his choice .. An interesting factoid is that for AdSense, state also matters. Clicks from Washington and New York State have the highest payout for AdSense Fraud.

He has just one problem. His tragic flaw. While he worked so hard to get the unique IP and high earnings, he is not able to maintain a good CTR. He is likely to cross the limit of 30-40% of daily CTR and 10-20% of overall CTR. He ends up in the same purgatory as the BOZO. The account is banned, and he gets the abominated email. Yes, the ?AdSense account closure?. Almost-There is never good enough in this nether world of AdSense gaming. Although it is possible that he would have made a few thousand dollars before the punishment catches up to his crime. Crime doesn't quite pay, now does it? Well, gentle reader, unfortunately crime _is_ paying to the next category. Fraudster Maestro ( aka Satan's Spawn).

Fraudster Maestro ( aka Satan's Spawn):

This category of fraudsters is the most sophisticated and rarely gets caught by google . She has researched the high paying keywords as well as the CTR issues well. She has the smoothest lines in the business of soliciting clicks. She can flirt online, and ask to click the ?link? for her picture. Or she may claim that clicking the link causes the hungry child to be fed in Ethiopia . Let's follow a typical ?simple? chat session:

AT Fraud: hi

US User : hello

AT Fraud: what are your coordinates, handsome?

US User : NY , NY

AT Fraud: Oh! Wish I could be there. Can you help out a damsel in distress?

US User : sure

AT Fraud: I have made a site and want to see if all the links on this page are working or not. Can you please click on the links and see if the other page loads?

US User: Sure. Link?

AT Fraud: www.fraudstersite.com/high-value-keyword-page.html

US User : wait! Yes I checked all the links and they are working fine.

AT Fraud: Thanks

US User : so can we talk about you now? ( Message Not Delivered as the fraudster has blocked the User and is busy looking for a new victim)

And she has lots of tricks up her repertoire besides chatting up strangers. She knows about opt in lists, usenet and blogs where she can snare the victims. Technically savvy and able to empathize with her victims she doesn't let arrogance get in her way to success. Since she is very mindful of the CTR issues she has a secret weapon. She has optimized her site for some low paying keywords which are really not competitive. She organically gets lots of traffic (but for things unrelated to those competitive high paying keywords). In her website, she may be giving away free greeting cards Or free screensavers. End result is a fabulous impression count. The second step for her is to makes unrelated pages on the same site and these pages pertain to the high paying keywords. These keywords are used to attract the victims of chat sessions. The process of getting the clicks is different but the results due to CTR are very lucrative.

So, how does all this geek talk affect the PPC advertiser? It's a $5 billion+ dollar market(for exact projections onto the future, please check out our FAQ, and with a 20% + fraud rate, we are talking about a 1 BILLION dollars fraud per year. Even Dr. Evil may be impressed by such a number. It's greater than the cumulative GNP of a few banana republics. And a fair chunk is ending up in the coffers of these fraudsters. We know from anecdotal evidence, how people are clearing up to 20 grand a month. All, courtesy of the hapless PPC advertiser.

We want to emphasize that there are lots of authentic sites serving genuine content. But unfortunately the existence of these people (as discussed above) reduces the ROI of many advertisers to the extent that they rethink their interest in PPC. In the word of one of our organic SEO customers, with PPC ?you always get a little less back than you put in?. It needn't be that way, if you watch carefully where your ad words traffic is coming from and take some steps (such as traffic analysis or at the very least a log file analysis) to protect arm yourself with data for a refund claim for google. Another thing to keep in mind is to stay nimble. Convincing search engines to refund money is a lot tougher and a lot more work than proactively watching for problem visitors and warning them of the repeated clicks and how they are being monitored. Our experience shows that all but the hardened criminals are deterred(reducing the adwords wasted burden). Remember, an ounce of prevention...

Aamir Farrukh Works with an Experienced Web Analytics Company http://www.sofizar.com Sofizar that is working on a Artificial Intelligence enabled Click Fraud Detection Service.

Overture

Pay Per Click(PPC) search engines are one of the fastest ways to drive large predictable amounts of extremely targeted visitors to your website. There is a huge difference between getting normal top 5 rankings in the major search engines and getting a top 5 ranking in the pay per click listings.

Achieving a high ranking in the major search engines for your primary keywords takes time and more work whereas with the pay per click search engines , you just need to research, bid for your keywords and achieve a good ranking depending how much you're willing to pay for your position.
The two major pay per click search engines are Google AdWords and Overture. Let's begin with the first one.

Google AdWords is a pay per click advertising system maintained by Google. If you use Google, you have probably noticed a bunch of sites, usually 8 on the right hand corner of your computer screen. They appear as little text ads next to search results on Google. This is Google AdWords.

They also appear on other Google properties such as Froogle(Google product search) and Google search network sites like AOL, AskJeeves, Earthlink, Netscape and Compuserve. In addition, you can appear on Google content network sites like About.com and Forbes.com in the form of adsense ads. All this, you can decide in your adwords account settings.

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Google AdWords allows you to create your own ads. You choose keywords which tell Google where to show your ads. You only pay when someone clicks on them. For every targeted visitor or click that a particular website receives, the latter has to pay sometimes as low as 5 cents to as high as $5 per click depending on the popularity of the keywords and the positions of the listing. You have total control over every aspect of your campaign, and real-time reporting tells you what's working and what isn't. It's a relatively safe way to advertise
because you can put limits on daily spending.

On the other hand, the king of pay per click search engines, Overture has a well organized system. You can bid for rankings and also choose the description and title you want, which provides highly targeted traffic to your website. You can control your bids at all times and adjust them, based on the quality of your results. Especially handy is the Search Term Suggestion Tool, which shows you how often people search for a particular word or phrase.

You'll probably receive more traffic from Overture than from all the other pay per click engines combined. However, because they are less popular, buying highly targeted traffic is much cheaper than at Overture.

When you use the Overture PPC, your site will appear in its partner sites like Yahoo, MSN, Altavista, CNN and Infospace.

One advantage for using Google AdWords over other PPC search engines like Overture is that Google AdWords lets you setup a display URL and destination URL in your AdWord. This enables you to use your affiliate links in your Google AdWord. When someone clicks on your AdWord, they are sent to the merchant's web site with your affiliate id in it. If someone makes a purchase, you earn a commission. This is not the case with Overture which requires that you own the web site that you are sending traffic to. Therefore, with Overture you cannot send traffic directly to your affiliate link. You need to have your own website.

Another advantage of Google AdWords is its algorithm for ranking adwords. It allows the small businesses to compete with the large corporations. Here's why. Cost Per Click (CPC) is not the only factor that Google looks at in determining the ads ranking position. If that was the case, only the large corporations with huge advertising budget will dominate the pay per click listings entirely leaving the small businesses in the dust.

Google also looks at the ads click through rate (CTR), and ranks ads based on a formula which uses the CPC and the CTR. This allows an ads rank to improve without increasing the cost. The better your CTR, the higher up on the screen your ad will be placed.

So when you achieve high click through rates, your bid prices go own, down, down and your traffic go up for Google will rank your ad higher as your CTR goes up. Overture does not do this. In overture, the highest bidder always wins. That rewards people who have more money than brain. Which means that for the smart marketer, Google is vastly superior.

Paying a high CPC alone will not guarantee you a number 1 position in Google AdWords. In Overture it will. The more you are willing to pay per click, the higher your ads ranking will be on Overture.

Bidding for the first position is costly for popular keywords. But it's possible to get this position if you're targeting the low cost keywords. Usually it's more profitable to target a bunch of popular keywords and bid for the lower positions or target lots of low cost keywords and bid for the higher positions.

Bidding excessive amounts just to be listed in the number one position for a keyword is not recommended. It can be a huge money waster. Why pay a huge premium just to be first on the list when second or third is almost as effective?

The difference between being in the first position or the second can often be several dollars per click. Bid intelligently and reap higher net profits.

Also avoid putting all of your eggs in one basket. Some webmasters like Google Adwords. Others like Overture. Don't spend all of your pay per click advertising budget on just one search engine. Diversify and spread the risk.

You can get decent traffic from some of the smaller pay per click venues for as little as $0.01 per click. You'll get less traffic from them of course, but $0.01 per click sure beats $1.50.

To optimize your ads click through rate, use a relevant title and description in your pay per click listings which makes visitors eager to click. If visitors click on your costly PPC ad expecting to find for example "cheap mobile phones" on the landing page, make sure that's exactly what they'll find when they get there.

Lots of pay per click traffic to your website is costly and useless if your visitors can't find the item that was advertised in the listing. You simply can't make money with pay per click campaigns unless your targeting is perfect, every time.

Below is a list of popular pay per click search engines:-

http://www.google.com/adsense
http://www.overture.com
http://www.findwhat.com
http://www.kanoodle.com
http://www.7search.com
http://www.goclick.com
http://www.enhanceinteractive.com
http://www.epilot.com
http://www.espotting.com
http://www.searchfeed.com
http://www.search123.com
http://www.xuppa.com

Promoting a business via pay per click search engines is risky for if done and managed incorrectly, can cause waste of money and time. So the best way is to learn as much as you can about this marketing technique before adventuring in it.

To get started in Google AdWords, you only need to pay an activation fee of $5 to get your account running and start driving targeted traffic to your business immediately.

--
Jean Lam is Internet marketer and editor of Web Biz Secrets Newsletter Website: http://www.zineguru.com

Much of what I've learned about Internet marketing over the years, I've learned through trial and error, from reading articles like this one and books (both real world and electronic).

Am I an Internet marketing expert? I guess some people would call me an expert. However, I would never call myself an expert. Let's just say, I consider myself extremely knowledgeable.

That said, here are the 3 Critically Important Fundamentals of Internet Marketing:

1. Copywriting: Copywriting is the words you write on your website, in salesletters, press releases, e-mails and even in articles like this one. The purpose of effective copywriting is two-fold. First of all, you want to attract the readers attention so that they'll read what you've written. Second, after they read what you've written, you want them to take a definite course of action like sign up for your mailing list, purchase your products or both.

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However, you can't just write a bunch of words and expect to be successful. Your words have to be cleverly crafted, psychologically powerful words. Why? Because copywriting is an art that very few actually master. The good news is, you don't have to master the art of copywriting to be successful. You just need to become competent.

Now I'm not going to give you a tutorial on copywriting because quite frankly, there are plenty of excellent articles that have already been written on the subject. Just go to Google and type in the word "copywriting." NOTE: At the time of this writing, there were 12,300,000 pages on copywriting, so there's plenty to read on the subject.

ALWAYS remember this about copywriting: Effective copywriting ALWAYS starts with the headline. If you focus on writing a compelling headline, I GUARANTEE people will read what you write. Need proof? You're reading this article aren't you?

2. Marketing: Many people confuse marketing with advertising or vice versa. Ask 20 experts what the difference between the two is, and you'll get 20 diverse responses. Let me explain the formal definitions of each and then I'll delve into how marketing and advertising differ from one another:

Advertising is the paid, public, non-personal announcement of a persuasive message by an identified sponsor; the non-personal presentation or promotion by a firm of its products to its existing and potential customers.

Marketing is the systematic planning, implementation and control of a mix of business activities intended to bring together buyers and sellers for the mutually advantageous exchange or transfer of products.

After reading both definitions, I think you can see how the difference can be confusing to the point that people think of them as one-in-the same, so allow me to elaborate further.

Advertising is but a single component of the marketing process. It's the part that involves getting the word out about your business, product, or the services you are offering. It involves the process of developing strategies such as banner placement, frequency, etc. Advertising includes the placement of an ad in ezines, on websites, etc. Advertising is by far the largest expense of most Internet marketing companies.

Here's an easy way to distinguish between advertising and marketing. Think of marketing as a pie, within that pie you have slices of advertising, market research, media planning, public relations, product pricing, distribution, customer service and support, sales strategy, etc. Advertising only equals one piece of the pie in the strategy. All of these elements must not only work independently but they also must work together towards the bigger goal.

Marketing is a process that takes time and can involve hours of research for a marketing plan to be effective. Think of marketing as everything that an organization does to facilitate an exchange between the company and the consumer.

3. Test: I can't emphasize enough how important testing is to your success. You MUST test everything. Your copywriting, advertising and marketing. Why? Because if you don't test, while you can still be successful, you're going to leave a heck of a lot of money on the table. Test various headlines in your sales material. Experiment with different colors on your website. Try different marketing techniques. Try different advertising mediums like direct mail and offline magazines. Try running ads on different days of the week. Test different software for maximum efficiency. TEST! TEST! TEST! Just be sure to closely monitor your results, so that your findings are as accurate as possible.

Carmella Giovanni is a free-lance writer, mother and housewife currently living in San Francisco, California. Carmella may be reached at [email protected].

If you would like to quickly explode your website's sales, traffic and mailing list using high-circulation ezines, just send me a blank e-mail with the title of this article in the subject line.

Saving for retirement begins early, and often we can overlook important steps unknowingly. Here's a quick guide for making sure you're getting the most out of your retirement savings.

Analyze your needs sooner than later
The step most people skip is figuring out just how much money they'll need in retirement. Try to consider your lifestyle. What are you expecting your retirement to be like? International travel? A second home? These are all things to consider when building your savings. You should also keep in mind that, if present trends hold, you may need to pay for much of your own health care because many employers are cutting or reducing the amount of money they spend on retiree health coverage. As you analyze your needs, take into consideration any other resources you may have to tap, such as savings outside a 401(k) or real estate when you do retire.

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Don't neglect your 401(k)
The best place to start when it comes to putting money away for retirement is your 401(k). After all, your company's 401(k) retirement plan offers you one thing you'll get few other places: free money. For every dollar the average worker puts into their 401(k), their employer contributes 50 cents.

Many people don't contribute, or don't contribute as much as they could. Be sure to add to your 401(k) as often as possible. For those who do, consider boosting your contribution to the max. The maximum number you can add per year to your retirement savings increases at the rate of inflation. Check with your employee benefits office to make sure you're getting the benefit of your entire match. Government rules try to make sure that retirement programs aren't being run for the benefit of top execs.

Get the allocation right
Whether you're saving in a 401(k) for the first time, or reassessing your current savings, you'll want to make sure the mix of investments you have is right for your age and the amount of risk you're willing to take on.

Remember, simply being diversified enough has a bigger impact on your returns than which funds you choose. Take time to examine the list of funds offered in your companies plan and toss out the ones that don't fit your asset allocation. Keep in mind that your investment options may be limited, depending on what your employer is offering. If you have a question, check with your Human Resources department. Keep in mind that stellar short-term performance alone isn't a reason to buy.

Try keeping it simple with a six-part approach: One large-cap fund, one mid-cap, a small-cap, an international fund, a bond fund, and a money market fund. For the more advanced investor with multiple savings goals, a well-diversified portfolio typically consists of owning 15 to 20 funds.

Put your finances on automatic
If your problem is that you find it difficult sticking to a savings plan, then your best bet is to go automatic. This way your employer will take the money out of your paycheck before you have a chance to spend it, and put it directly into your 401(k).

If you don't have a savings plan at work, or you have the ability to save more money than your 401(k) allows, consider investing elsewhere. You can open up an account with a bank or brokerage and instruct them to automatically debit the funds from your bank account.

And if you feel comfortable with this, you may just feel comfortable automating other areas of your financial life such as credit card and utility payments. Log onto your bank's Web site for details.

You may freely reprint this article provided the following author's biography (including the live URL link) remains intact:

About The Author
John Mussi is the founder of Direct Online Loans who help homeowners find the best available loans via the http://www.directonlineloans.co.uk website.