November 14, 2015 / como / 0 Comments
One of the guys who works for the computer repair company in one of the offices above Refresh suggested that perhaps I should do an article on the mysterious world of Bluejacking and BlueSnarfing.
The motive behind this suggestion was that whilst in a pub last night someone tried to compromise his mobile phone handset; we both agreed this was a danger Click readers should be made aware of. Bluetooth is a fantastic technology and one of its many applications allows modern day mobile phone handsets to communicate wirelessly and exchange data with each other. Although the technology currently has a theoretical maximum range of up to 100m, it is worth noting that when built into a mobile phone the two devices realistically have to be in the same room to communicate with one another.
There are many different ways this technology can be applied in the real world; one of the most useful is for hands-free headsets which will allow you to communicate with your mobile phone without the need to connect the two physically with cables. Bluetooth can also be used to send files such as movies, MP3’s and pictures to other people you know quickly, easily and best of all, for free!
Unfortunately, with most technology there is often a downside. In this instance, the problem with Bluetooth is that unless you turn it off when you’re not using it, then your phone will be continuously broadcasting itself and this can be a potential security vulnerability.
BlueJacking is a term used to refer to the sending of unsolicited messages over Bluetooth. The person sending the messages doesn’t have any control over your phone so it is technically harmless, however it can be quite confusing for the person on the receiving end when they receive anonymous messages. BlueJacking can also be used for unsolicited advertising; I was offered a box several weeks ago that when put in my window would send a message advertising my company to everyone who drove past with a bluetooth enabled phone. Of course, I declined but if such advertising technology catches on then using our phones on a day to day basis could become a lot more tiresome.
BlueSnarfing works in a different way to Bluejacking and is generally used maliciously. It takes advantage of the vulnerabilities in order to gain access to confidential data such as the contact list, pictures, and text messages. They can also dial premium rate numbers without the owners knowledge with of course can rack up large phone bills.
Another potential vulnerability of Bluetooth is that is can be used as a medium to transfer viruses. It is a rather strange state of the world when we have phones capable of contracting viruses but trust me, it does happen. Such viruses only tend to affect the handsets that have relatively advanced operating systems. Once infected these handsets then start propagating the virus by sending it out to every Bluetooth handset within range. These viruses are fairly easy to avoid because the handset does ask the user if they want to accept a file via Bluetooth before permission is given for the transfer to take place; typically only those uneducated in Bluetooth etiquette would accept such a file.
I don’t want to incite a knee-jerk reaction resulting in my readership abandoning Bluetooth ‘ It is a good technology, is genuinely useful and the risks are relatively low. If you do have a Bluetooth enabled handset there are a couple of ways to minimise your risk and luckily these are extremely easy to implement.
If you don’t use Bluetooth then keep it switched turned off or your status set as ‘undiscoverable’ as this will result in no malicious users being able to locate your handset. If you do require or simply would like to keep Bluetooth enabled then make sure that if you are asked whether you would like to receive a file you weren’t expecting then reject it. Simple!
November 13, 2015 / como / 0 Comments
Try to find a PPC advertising network by scrutinizing if that type of advertising works for you. Choosing the right PPC network will make your ad campaigns easy. By making correct use of PPC advertising networks, you can easily and effectively monetize your website with very little work.
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is one of the most effective and fastest ways to direct traffic and get customers to your website. PPC is a term that refers to a kind of internet advertising in which the advertisers pay a fee for every click by web surfers on their ads that are posted on your site. In other words, pay-per-click or PPC is a way of advertising the keyword in the search engines and on other sites.
You can put your website to work by registering on pay per click advertising networks. All it takes is a little time to set up your account for pay per click advertising from any network you choose. You will be paid on per click basis by all the advertisers whose ads your site carries. A big problem facing an online business in the early stages is of limited funds due to which they cannot afford level one PPC ad networks like Google and Yahoo. Second level ad networks and sites that offer PPC ads at a lower cost are a good option for such new websites.
Benefits of PPC:
As a general rule, people do not click on PPC ads without reason. They click only when they see something that captures their attention. However, if managed correctly PPC brings great benefits that are listed below:
PPC offers small sites a chance to be found by customers.
PPC exposes you to people who are likely to become your potential customers.
PPC allows you to identify and focus on the most profitable aspects of your business by providing a good tracking ability.
PPC helps you to understand the behaviour of the user thereby enabling you to improve your website that in turn helps you to get more leads.
Try to find a PPC advertising network by scrutinizing if that type of advertising works for you. Choosing the right PPC network will make your ad campaigns easy. By making correct use of PPC advertising networks, you can easily and effectively monetize your website with very little work. Targeting keywords on your website not only directs more traffic to your site, but also makes you earn more revenue for a PPC ad campaign.
There are affiliate marketers who use unethical forms of advertising like spamming, hidden tracking cookies and other such techniques that skew the system to create fake leads and end up only turning away customers. Hence, it is important that you create accountability in your network, so that it does not damage your business through questionable practices. You need to collaborate with responsible affiliate marketing businesses that try only ethical standards and uniform practices.
As there is huge competition between online businesses, finding a niche market is key to success. You need to target your advertising strategy to a niche consumer base. Good affiliate marketing network will help you reach your target audience and make out the most profit from your investment. You need to check out the reliability of PPC advertising networks before joining any of these. It will enable you get the optimum.
November 13, 2015 / como / 0 Comments
Here comes the bride and boy, has she got money to spend. Unfortunately, your bridal shop isnt likely to be the only one angling to get her business. Advertisements and sales are all well and good, but there are other ways to reach your prospective customers, and promotional products can play a big part. Here are some uses for promotional products that can help your till drawer ring along with the wedding bells.
Wedding Show or Expo Giveaways Wedding shows are one of the biggest draws for new customers for bridal shops and other wedding-based businesses. The problem with taking part in a wedding show, though, is that your shop is one of dozens that the brides-to-be will see that day. You need a way to stand out from the crowd, and a way for them to recall your shop in particular once they get home. Promotional products offer you just that kind of distinction.
While many other consultants and shops will be appealing to the bride-to-bes dream of a big day, you can score points by recognizing what she needs right now. One of the handiest promotional gifts you can hand out to a girl in the midst of the planning whirlwind is a personal wedding planner. Conference folders with multiple pockets are ideal for this use. All the features that make them ideal for note-taking at conferences apply just as well to all the meetings and decisions that the future bride faces. Tuck your own materials into the main pocket where theyll be displayed, and discreetly emboss your name on the front cover. Voila! You have a very special bridal gift that will stand out from the pack for its utility and style.
Little Nothings Thats what my Gran used to call those little notions that shops give away when theyre courting your business. They range from a bowl of mints at the till to little packets of sewing notions with the shop name on them. Giveaways of this type are great for keeping the mood in your shop and for spreading your name outside the shop. Instead of just dumping a bag of wrapped mints into the bowl, though, fill it with personalized clic clac tins or cards of mints with your shop name on them. Other promotional handouts that will help spread your name include emergency repair kits with needle and several colors of thread and compact mirror and comb sets.
Special Thank You Gifts When you outfit an entire wedding party, keep in mind that every single bridesmaid is a potential bride, bringing you even more business. The experience that they have with you will determine whether or not they return to your shop when its their turn to walk down the aisle. Little touches can make a big difference. One way to make a great impression is to give each member of the wedding party a special thank you gift when they come in for their final fitting. Remind them of the special pampering theyll get with a specially boxed set of incense and candles, or perfumed bath soaps and spa gelee, with your name discreetly printed on the gift box, of course.
November 12, 2015 / como / 0 Comments
Your biggest asset when becoming an internet marketer is to know how to get free targeted traffic to your web sites. It doesn’t matter how many web sites you’re promoting. Your primary goal should be to keep the cost down. It feels great to have monthly sales well into the thousands, but it also can ruin your day when you realize that most of this money goes right back into your advertising costs.
Yes, there’s a rule that you need to reinvest 75% of your profit into advertising and marketing. I like this rule, but it also needs to be timely constraint. I think this rule is good for your first 3-6 months of business. After this you should be able to pull back the cost for advertising without impacting your income streams.
My philosophy in internet marketing is that if you have to spend a lot of money to keep a positive cash flow, the competition is probably too intense for this market segment. You will be better of to research a new niche market.
On the topic of free advertising, there are many free classified ad providers, but only a few sites offer truly free advertising. They all want something in return, there’s no webmaster out there who promotes your stuff for free just because he/she feels like it today. One way to get free advertising is to tap into a startup company. There are hundreds of web sites that want to be the next Google. To attract new customers they give away free pay per click credits. Sometimes up to $100 worth of clicks.
Another way to receive free quality advertising is to give these webmasters what they want. In most cases it’s a link from your website to their website. This can be a problem, especially if you want to keep your home page clean from too many flashy banners.
In this case try to figure out of the link back is required to be on your home page or any page from your website. If there’s no requirement to have the link on your homepage, create a collection web page that is not necessarily part of your whole web site and put link back from this site. To keep the flow put a tiny link from your home page to this page and you’re done.
Don’t even think about to put the link on your web page and a few days later you will remove it. These days the link back verification is done automatically and they will check from time to time if you keep your promise or not. Your free ride will suddenly stop and you will gain a reputation as cheater.
For more information about free advertising visit my web sites.
November 11, 2015 / como / 0 Comments
EDEN PURE – ITS ALL ABOUT ADVERTIZING
Nealry everyone has come across the full-page advertising ads in newspapers and magazines or heard veteran radio commentator Paul Harvey tout the Eden Pure on his national radio program. In considering whether we should add the Eden Pure to our online product mix, along with thousands of other retailers nationwide, we simply do not feel this heater lives up to the advertising hype. The popularity of this heater has only skyrocketed since the decline in our economy. Simply stated, people want to cut their living expenses and the Eden Pure ad campaign is perfectly timed to play into peoples concerns. No doubt, we could make a generous profit from selling this heater but have decided against it.
Why?
We wont go into too much detail here. Just visit the blogs or Google Eden Pure and view the comments by Consumer Reports or Consumer Research. There youll find a wide range of comments from glowing to downright negative. We agree with the findings of Consumer Reports that this is an overpriced heater. And in light of the issues people have with broken elements during shipping and difficulty getting their heaters warranted, we hope people will do a thorough investigation before buying such an expensive item. We feel there are many reliable and less expensive heaters on the market that can perform equal or better. In fact, we think a quality liquid filled portable baseboard heater works very well at heating good sized living spaces, at about half the cost and without some the hassles of broken elements many Eden Pure customers often complain about.
What about the claim that the Eden Pure can cut heating costs by 50%. Is that true?
Yes and No. What they are really saying (but they dont say it in their advertising) is Zone heat. Shut your central furnace off. Isolate yourself to one room or area of your house. Plug in the Eden Pure heater, and youll save up to 50% in heating costs. So its not that the Eden Pure heater saves you money, its the fact that you are zone heating and not wasting heat energy in unoccupied areas of the house. That is what saves you money. That is a concept we promote and agree with. But the Eden Pure ad campaign makes people believe it is the heater that accomplishes the savings. We think that is mis-leading. It is the method of heating that saves, not necessarily the heater.
So, can I use another type of electric heater and save up to 50% in heating costs? Yes!
Here are the facts. The highest output on the Eden Pure heater is 1500 Watts, or 5,119 BTU/Hr., and draws about 12.5 amps in high output mode. Youll find that other 1500 Watt heaters draw the same amount of energy. In fact, 1500 Watts is the maximum power wattage for any appliance plugged into a standard household outlet. Amperage draw is amperage draw. You can expect to pay about .8 cents an hour to operate an electric heater, based on average energy rates throughout the country.
But doesnt the Eden Pure technology distribute the heat better than other electric heaters?
Not necessarily. We agree that infrared energy is very effective. Afterall, infrared heating is our primary focus (our corporate name is Infra-Red Products Supply, Inc.)
Infra-red heating is what we do. But what really is infrared? Infrared is simply another term for radiant. Even a baseboard heater emits infrared (radiant) heat. The same is true of oil-filled heaters and even direct-vent fireplaces. They all emit soft, safe and comfortable infrared (radiant heat to the surrounding space. Since the first principal of thermal dynamics is that heat seeks cold, connected spaces and adjacent rooms will become warm over time or until the thermostat is satisfied. That is true with almost all radiant heaters. Having said that, we do not recommend a small $35.00 forced air “personal” heater. These little heaters should not be left unattended for long stretches of time. In addition, they lack the safety features of the more expensive heaters and are not thermostatically controlled. The better heaters are not usually found in big box stores and home centers. But you can find them online or from a local electrical supply wholesaler.
Another important thermal principle is that humid air holds heat better than dry air. Many Eden Pure customers are told to purchase a humidifier to enhance the heating effectiveness of the heater, with the idea that the heat energy can ride the humidity to adjacent areas better than if the air is dry. That is true. But that concept works with any heater, not just with an Eden Pure. So if you want to increase the effectiveness of your zone heater, or any heating system for that matter, think about getting a humidifier. It can make a huge difference.
In our opinion, there is nothing special about the Eden Pures ability to heat up a space. There are many safe, reliable and much less expensive electric and gas heaters on the market specifically designed to heat small living spaces or provide supplementary heat where the central heating system is inadequate.
NOTE: The above information is our opinion and is not in any way intended to defame or discredit the Eden Pure or Sun Twin brand names. We encourage people draw their own conclusions.