Local Internet Marketing and the DIY Method

By Greg Richburg

We live in an advertiser's world. Logos, slogans, shock treatment and bug spray tell the stories of our youth and our future. We get bigger, older, uglier and more powerful every day if we can only force out the message that we have something to offer. What does it take to climb to the top? Hard work? Luck?

Let's forget all the past articles written about corruption with this horror or that. Let's kill the bad taste about the persuaders utilizing viral marketing techniques and spam advertising just to sell you some form of bogus Viagra or "legal" performance enhancing drug that's most likely a placebo anyways. Let’s ignore all the rumors and gossip about the Google Adsense and PPC marketing campaigns.

So what’s left?

Back in the day, we called it DIY (Do It Yourself.) There was a magazine called Maximum Rock and Roll. It was the wannabe rock star’s dream come true. To tell the truth, I am not sure if it exists any more. But none the less, it was the DIY approach to touring as a band, going gig to gig, cross country and town to town that helped many aspiring musicians find careers. The DIY system served as the needed push for the poor musician trying to catch a bone.

So what I am getting at here is this:
1. Advertising can cost a lot.
2. There are no guarantees.
3. It can be very stressful – Because it costs a lot and may not work.

And like the rock star, most advertising campaigns fail.

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A few years ago when my company was in its infancy, I spent over $10,000 with a local press company on an ad campaign. No only did it fail, but to my disappointment I received absolutely zero, nothing, nada, zilch… for my hard earned dollar. And at that time in my career, that was a lot of money.

I tell you, that was the last time I would give it up to a high risk campaign that relied on someone else’s production. So I started to study Internet based marketing. And what I propose is a simple DIY guide to Internet based marketing that has proven to be successful for next to nothing out of the pocket. Now this system is meant for the small office with little of no funds for advertising, but can also supplement a conventional marketing campaign with the press or other media formats.

The Point

I have discussed SEO in past articles. See Business Street June and July 2006, Search Engine Woes and the Dramatic Dance for more information on that subject. This DIY effort is about pure self gratifying, good old fashion PR and get out the megaphone ‘cuz I am coming to the party.

But first things first... You have got to have some time on your hands, you have got to be a visionary, and you need to have some skills. Do you like to write? Do you like to create? Because if you do, you can make your business successful with a solid Internet marketing campaign that won’t cost you much at all.

Take for instance this website called Valley411.com, it ranks #1 on MSN and Yahoo for Fresno Movies, it ranks high up for Fresno Night Life, Fresno Concerts, Fresno Events and many other phrases for Fresno, the Central Valley and surrounding cities. The site is only a year old and it averages close to 2500 page views each day.

That seems like quite a bit of traffic for a small regional market like the Central Valley. The best part is that the traffic to the site has grown each month since the sites development. Over 1300 different key words on various search engines found Valley411.com last month and the owners spent almost nothing on conventional marketing. A small advertisement in Business Street here and there served as a good supplement.

The Method

Valley411.com is a website that needs traffic to sell its product, just like any business, store or market. Valley411.com makes its money by selling advertisements. Besides that, Valley411.com is completely free. Free job board, free forum, and free entertainment based news. If you want Business, stick to Business Street or go to BusinessStreetOnline.com. If you want entertainment, go to Valley411.com.

We have put together a campaign that revolves around content. That is the important thing. The content that we put up is real and the traffic that we get is real traffic from people searching for the content. The method is derived from a simple point to point and news relates to news process that helps advertise the market in general. Sure, you may think that it helps the competition as well, but the main thing is that it helps build a demand. Sounds complex doesn’t it. But in reality it is very simple.

Online Forums

I don’t believe there can be too much competition. Competition helps promote the market. If we create the need for our competitors then the need for our market too will grow. So what do I do? I advertise my systems in a reciprocal method on other entertainment based news systems and forums.

Let’s clarify. I write articles about the market. I utilize free services that exist online in order to promote myself and my sites. I talk about my competition and utilize free forums to discuss topics with interested people. Forums exist on almost any topic and are a great medium to learn from. They also can be utilized to teach people about the services you offer. And every bit you post on a forum, if done appropriately, can help in advertising your products and services.

The Internet is an awesome resource. There are so many DIY tools out there, we as consumers, business owners and marketers just need to be made aware of them.

Newsgroups and Syndication

I have over 500 pages of work published on websites all over the world. And each time someone reproduces one of my articles, my websites gets a little bump in page rank for a specified topic. There are loads of article syndication services out there where you can borrow from other or contribute yourself. If you contribute, and have something valid to say, others will pick up your article and reproduce it, giving you and your organization credit. Instant FREE advertising is the result. Is it starting to come together a little?

I can teach any of you how to become a published writer. And if you really want to be famous, if you really want to make a statement, if you really want to advertise your goods, wares or services, without spending a fortune, learn to harness the world of the Internet and its Do It Yourself resources.

You can launch any business you want without spending a nickel.

Greg Richburg is the owner and operator of Netricks, Inc. a Fresno California Web Design Company. Greg also runs the Fresno California Entertainment News Portal Valley411. Find more article written by Greg Richburg at Netricks Tech News Articles.

Search Engine Woes and the Dramatic Dance (Part 2)

By Greg Richburg
Netricks, Inc.

Issue No. 1 - The proliferation of junk sites is getting out of hand.

We left off last month with an interesting description of the Google Adsense system and its ability to allow webmasters to post Google Adsense advertisements on privately run websites for profit.

In Detail

Google charges its advertisers in two ways. The first and most commonly known is the CPC or Cost Per Click method. Easy enough, you buy a specific key word or phrase for so much per click and when a customer clicks on you, you get charged. Sure, the advertiser pays for visitors to its site.

The second method is the CPM or Cost Per Thousand Impressions. This system is a bit more precarious. The advertiser gets charged after its ad has shown up one thousand times, regardless of the location and if anyone has clicked on the ad. And on the other side, the webmaster makes a percentage of what the advertisers get charged.

Can you feel a problem brewing here?

At first glance, this appears like fair practice. Yet upon examination, webmasters are compelled to add the advertisements on their sites to earn some extra cash. Well this is where it gets nasty. There are those webmasters (people) out there that will gladly take advantage of any system. They forget about making any real website to share information, forget about making any real website to sell something and mass produce junk sites riddled with the Google Adsense advertisements.

I am going to be blunt. We are responsible for the creation of development of websites. I am not trying to blame Google for anything here. I am just trying to point out that there system is easy to take advantage of. Their system costs advertisers money and is slowly screwing up the Internet.

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For the most part, the advertisers that go with Google do not understand what they are getting into. Everyone sees Google as the big Giant of the Internet. Yet as an owner of many online websites selling anything from bikinis and beachwear to skincare and more, the ROI (Return on Investment) form Google is really low in comparison to its top competition. That may sound harsh, but here’s the deal.

Advertisers are getting charged regardless if their ad shows up on a valid site or a junk site. Google’s search count increases based on the number of ads that get displayed. And more and more poor webmasters are creating bogus sites that add nothing to our Internet experience except a waste of time when we come across their damned sites.

The same webmasters that are creating bogus ad riddled sites are also the same webmasters that are sending out billions of junk mail or spam to advertise the sites. They are also the same webmasters that are creating tons of pop-ups. They are the same webmasters that are using other ill-advised advertising techniques to get traffic to their bogus websites. The end result is that the Internet is getting uglier and uglier.

Not to mention again that the ROI from Google advertising in comparison to other search engines tends to be very low. But that is another story all together.

In the grand scheme of things, everything is related. And weather you like it or not, it is our duty to make things better. I do not believe it it Google’s fault one bit for the problems that are here in the Internet world, but I do believe that Google has the power to make things better. They are indeed one of the most powerful companies in the world.

So stay cool and don’t forget your swimsuit; it is mighty hot out there these days.

All past articles written by Greg Richburg are available at http://www.netricks.com/news. Please address article suggestions to: info@netricks.com. And don’t forget to shop at My Shop Girl - Women's Swimwear and Bikini Store.

Search Engine Woes and the Dramatic Dance (Part 1)

By Greg Richburg
Netricks, Inc.

I wanna tug on your shirt about something. You see, there’s a little diddy that’s been buggin’ a bit. I don’t want to name any names or point any fingers, but just want to share my two bits, sort of throw it all up in the air and see who grabs what.

We here in the techie goop world like to sometimes talk in acronyms, so forgive me if I don’t explain everything; I’ll try my best though.

The situation

I have a little spit about what in my mind adheres to a major bug, a flaw in the system if you will, that is not getting as much attention as certain people think it should. It deals with a few rather “large” corporations, one in particular that in some way has a bit of a hold about you and me. And personally, I don’t like to be controlled all that much.

You ever wonder how to get at the top of the search engines for a particular key word or phrase? Well the process of getting there entails an effort called SEO better suited as “Search Engine Optimization” for you common folk. LOL. That means “laugh out loud.” ;) “wink.” Well my organization offers this SEO practice to many clients. But there is something that gets in the way, something that is bothersome and to tell the truth, not really fair.

A Foreshadowing

First off, tell me which of you out there actually like to get spam. Let’s see, one, two, ten… oh zero. That’s right; spam is one of those nuisances that we all despise. Tangent… If you are spamming people, please stop. I bring up spam here because it sort of relates, in an obtuse manner, yet not too obtuse.

The Beef

Now frankly, I am also growing very tired of bogus websites. The websites in particular are those that offer no real content, but just deliver a junk page with a load of Google ads. Many of you out there may not recognize these ads that I am talking about, but there is one thing that Google offers to people that in my opinion is tilting the search engine experience in a very derogatory fashion.

The Google APIs allow website owners to display Google based “Adsence” advertisements on their own websites for profit. Now an API is short for “application program interface.” APIs are used in all sorts of programming fashion and as a source do no harm whatsoever. But the specific API that I want to discuss allows website owners to display the Google based Adsence advertisements on their own private website with the chance of making a buck or two based on the traffic delivered to the specific advertiser.

Seems fair enough, right? I mean hey, if I bring you customers, shouldn’t I get a kickback? Well let’s examine this idea a little deeper. For instance, take a look at www.klickcommerce.com/swimsuits_bikinis/fashion_news.html. This is a legitimate site that discusses the sale of swimwear and as you can see on the left hand column, there are “Ads by Google.” This site properly utilizes the Google Adsence API in an ethical and tasteful manner. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it.

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The customers that come to this site get the content that they were searching for and also they get a few advertisements about some parallel content.

Now take a look at www.swimsuitguide.com/swimsuits.php. It is riddled with ads, all ads and really has zero content whatsoever besides the ads themselves. If you click on any of the links, all you get is another page with more advertisements.

The issue

I want you to realize something about these advertisements. The companies that place these advertisements are all paying on a per click basis. And Google pays anyone with the API on their site a small percentage, like a finder’s fee if you will, for any click that comes from their site. So as a site owner, I can forget about creating a valid site, I can forget about offering any content to the customer, and I can forget about offering anything at all as long as I can coerce someone into click on any of the Adsence ads listed on my site because I can make a nickel.

Think about that and I will pick up here next month and get into the real problems with this scenario. Have a nice day and remember what I said about spam. It all comes together. :) “Slimey.” And don’t forget your swimwear; it is mighty hot out there these days.

All past articles written by Greg Richburg are available at http://www.netricks.com/news. Please address article suggestions to: info@netricks.com. And don’t forget to shop at My Shop Girl - Women's Swimwear and Bikini Store.

Death to the Corporate Techie

A Baudelairen Experience
By Greg Richburg

“How many times must I shake my bells, And kiss thy low brow, dismal caricature? How many shafts, O my quiver be lost, Ere I hit the impalpable, mystical mark? We shall wear out our souls in cunning design and demolish many…” touted the late great Baudelaire over one hundred and fifty years ago. Anger, disdain, and contempt for what was he so enthralled on?

Well, in all due respect, I use the epic poet to perhaps shed a glimmer of light on a pathetic situation which has affected not only my small company but a few of my client’s as well. I want to simply point out a few facts about network services, technical support and what you get when dealing with a certain large enterprise operation and a medium size service provider, which I don’t feel the need to mention, (eh’hem Ti^^# W^RN#R and Arrrrrrr..), that may just be suffering from growing pains.

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My company, Netricks, Inc. is small, so small in fact that I know almost all two hundred and fifty clients on a first name basis. Yes 250, most here in the beautiful San Joaquin Valley.

We are so small that my three full time engineers, my two coders, graphic designer and two in house clerical staff members are proficient with either network or web related design. We have a system of checks and balances in place that we can answer most problems and issues quickly without leaving the customer waiting and waiting for answers and resolutions. However, we end up relying on larger corporations for numerous services which we cannot possible provide.

Let’s face it, we can’t do everything. We need the infrastructure that the larger corps and enterprise outfits offer. Now the main point I want to protrude is how intertwined everything actually is between e-mail hosting and Internet service. That is where the common problem occurs.

As well as networking and superior technical services, Netricks offers true hosting solutions for web design, database development, e-commerce and e-mail. We are not an ISP (Internet Service Provider.) For the most part, we rely on the AT&Ts and SBCs to provide that service. Although there are excellent smaller outfits here locally that give much better person to person service, like Integrity Networks run locally by Rod Caglia.

Integrity, like Netricks is small enough that its top employees are all efficient and hands on. Every employee is a top employee. Whoever you speak with there will for the most part be able to offer you expert service and support. Technical issues get handled immediately and without delay because they know their equipment and can easily handle their offerings.

In my experience, the larger companies promote their top engineers and the technical support gets handled by younger, less experienced personnel. I have witnessed several such cases recently where the ISP improperly routed multiple e-mail systems and my clients were unable to send and receive e-mail from certain hosts. In their minds, it all pointed to Netricks as the culprit to the problem, since it is Netricks that handles their e-mail service.

Yet, as most network engineers understand, it is the ISP’s responsibility to rout e-mail properly. If there are issues with the ISP’s domain name services infrastructure, problems will exist with routing e-mail; that is a fact. My expert engineers pointed this problem out to multiple technicians at these un-named organizations. And the ISP techs could not “find” any problems. Hmmmph, imagine that.

Over and over again they blamed us (Netricks) for the miss-routed e-mail. Now I service over 250 companies with my e-mail system and the only clients that were suffering from the routing difficulties were the clients that used that certain ISP Un-named company (out of RESPECT). Coincidence? I think not!

Over and over I met with my clients telling them that we would get to the bottom of the situation. I tried to assure them that the problems were not due to our e-mail system and that we would work with their ISP to resolve the issues at hand. Every time my engineers would call the ISP, a trouble ticket would be opened, of course. We would have to sit on our asses and wait for them to call us back. Usually they would get back to us the next day. Tick tock tick tock…

Multiple times they would tell my techs that they found a problem and fixed it and multiple times the problem would persist. Call after call, day after day the issues remained and we were the ones left waiting in the wings, feeling the pressure, looked at as the damned. Yet our hands were actually tied. Finally we would get the issue escalated to the “next level” tech at the ISP? Over and over again these issues went on. It took weeks to finally resolve. And in the end, our original remarks about the issues with the ISP were absolutely correct.

It took weeks of problematic service and countless calls to the Internet Service Provider in order to finally get the issues escalated. That was the hard part. Once we got the trouble ticket beyond their low-level technical support and into the hands of a qualified engineer *** Poof *** the problems went away. They finally listened.

Why was it so difficult? I tell you, growth can kill. It is not I that wishes death upon the corporate techie, for they are indeed good for my business. Yet, I believe that it should be important to small companies like mine and also large to higher qualified support all the way down the ladder. And I leave you with a mystical thought from the Old Great, yet in a modern flavor:

“If you haven’t hope, one strange experienced hope,
That Death, like a new sun afloat in the sky,
Will cause the flowers of their [Corporate] brains to bloom!”
The Echoes of Baudelaire neigh ricochet as swift as the keys falling on deaf ears. We can only attempt to influence the layman’s ways with truth, however un-poetic it may indeed be. Perhaps they will listen next time, perhaps. Nonetheless, I hope they read and learn.

Have a nice day fair ladies and gentlemen.

E-Commerce - The Wave of the Future – Simple… LOL

Selling online can be a really profitable business. We have all heard the stories. The online market is growing at a level that far surpasses the retail market. Although the overall percentage of E-Commerce sales in comparison to the total retail market sales may still seem small, the acceleration rate is indeed enormous.

The facts do not lie:
The Census Bureau announced in February that the estimate of U.S. retail e-commerce sales for the fourth quarter of 2005 was $22.9 billion, an increase of 3.3 percent from the third quarter of 2005. Total retail sales for the fourth quarter of 2005 were estimated at $960.3 billion, an increase of only 0.3 percent from the third quarter of 2005.

Here’s the kicker. The fourth quarter 2005 e-commerce estimate increased 23.0 percent from the fourth quarter of 2004 while total retail sales increased a mere 6.0 percent in the same period.
Now as a seller of online goods myself, I understand the difficulties and hardships associated with starting an online system. So let me be the first to tell you if you haven’t already heard it, that just because you have an online store, doesn’t mean you are going to make a nickel. It is a very cutthroat world out there.

Yes the numbers look good, more and more people are indeed shopping online. But with that, so goes the competition. I got into the online business sort of by default. My company designs and develops websites. We have setup lots of e-commerce systems for clients of all sorts. And well, I just sort of decided one day that I should start selling product online as well.

I quickly learned that just because a store exists, doesn’t mean that the people will come. I remember going to the opening day at She She, the woman’s boutique in The Riverview Shopping Center. With all the hoopla of a new center and a new women’s clothing store selling cool high end goods, there were tons of people right there waiting to spend. Opening day was fantastic.
Well the opening day of an online store can bring about a little disconcerted emotional weather forecast if you know what I mean. More tears will be hitting that cash drawer then nickels for sure.

I often use this analogy with my customers, “having an online shop is like opening a store in a really dark alley without a sign.” It gets really lonely. The bottom line is that you need to either create a conventional marketing campaign, or develop a thorough online plan. And online plans do not mature over night.

The MyShopGirl.com system of websites just reached 200 sales since its concoction one year ago. 75 of those sales came this past month. That is my number one site of close to 30 that are dedicated towards selling beachwear and swimwear online. We planed and implemented an obtuse marketing program that has developed and matured over the past year and a half. Today I can say that without any conventional marketing what so ever, we can make an online e-commerce system work.

But not without a cost.

The estimate of U.S. retail e-commerce sales for the fourth quarter of 2005 totaled $26.5 billion, an increase of 27.5 percent from the third quarter of 2005. What does it take to get a piece of that pie?

A good marketing campaign takes a well thought out plan. Anyone can build a website. That really is the easy part. But not everyone can design and develop an e-commerce system that will become successful.

Do your homework.

All past articles written by Greg Richburg are available at http://www.netricks.com/news. Please address article suggestions to: info@netricks.com. And don’t forget to shop at My Shop Girl - Women's Swimwear and Bikini Store.

Greg Richburg a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer and the owner of Netricks, Inc. a network consulting, web design and hosting company located in Fresno, CA. Visit Netricks at http://www.netricks.com/. 559-222-2500.

The Peer-to-Peer Fiasco – A Tax Time Warning!

It has been almost 2 years since I last visited this topic, and to my amazement, this problem has grown to enormous proportions. Napster, Morpheus, Bearshare, Kazaa… Sound familiar? Well the originals are still available, but the new kids on the block that are really making a stir are Shareaza, iMesh, ZeroPaid, Xolox and then of course the Bit Torrent family.

So I ask, “how many of you out there have installed peer-to-peer file sharing applications on your home or office computers?”

Do you really know what you are doing when you install these “Free” programs? Admit it or not. You, I, and millions of others have utilized the Napster days or the modern Shareaza era for the benefit of “borrowing” music, video, software and many other data based mediums available. “To what end,” I ask you? BEWARE! A snake in the grass looms. See below.

Viruses, Worms and Trojans

Yes it’s true. You can contract various technical illnesses by downloading files, especially in a peer-to-peer environment where you have no clue where the file is actually coming from.

Malicious code can easily piggy-back various file types and upon execution, install right into your PC or network. I have seen it happen. Right here in one of our local government offices, I witnessed a downloaded file spread through the network connection like wildfire. Luckily damage was limited due to somewhat of an anti-virus infrastructure.

The worst factors are the data processing elements that you do not see. Malicious code comes in all manners. New clever code can be deposited on your system and go unseen for long periods of time. And if your anti-virus programs are not up to date, or your firewall systems are not secure enough, you better watch out. A simple Trojan horse can allow an intruder to access your entire network in a heartbeat.

Spyware and Adware

Oh my, these little bastards are causing more and more network destruction every day. Watch out for the freeware applications. More garbage gets installed on your PC when you setup Kazaa and other P2P apps than any other program types I have seen. Pop-up directors, sneakware applications like the GAIN, and still the number one pain in the ass, the “Hotbar” programs that promise to make your Internet experience more enjoyable, cause nothing but problems.

Read the fine print ladies and gentlemen; know what you are doing when you do it. Sadly, I say, a good new virus, or spyware attack is great for business. I get paid to resolve your problems.

The Big Truth

I share this with you for your benefit and for your own good. If you install these applications wrong, you could be offering your livelihood to any number of hack attempts on your personal PC, your office network, and most importantly of all, your financial security.

By default, some of these applications allow access to your “My Documents” folder. Some of you by accident make the “My Documents” folder your shared resource for file trading. I have even seen people open up their entire “C:\” drive for the trade. What this means is, you are allowing every Tom, Dick and Harry out there access to all the data on your system and take whatever they damned well please.

It is tax time people. Will your accountant send you your tax documents via e-mail? Do you file online? People out there search the P2P file sharing networks for suckers every day.

Do a search on your Kazaa installation for 1040, 8283, tax, IRS, federal, income, tax return, tax document, financial statement, blah, blah, blah, money, money, money or anything of that kind and tell me what you find. Now try proposal, account, bank, or any other word that the novice computer user may title a confidential document left in the “My Documents” folder with a peer-to-peer file sharing application installed.

Or maybe you don’t even know you have a P2P file sharing application on your home office computer because your 11 year only son who is more computer savvy than you just had to download the new “Golddigger” mix by Kanye West with Jamie Fox in the background. Think about that for a second. Not to bring up a bunch of “What if’s,” but seriously, What if…

Identity Theft is getting trendy. Do the search. I guarantee you will be amazed at what you find.

A Rule for the Road:
If you allow your children to play on your home office PC, be sure they do not accidentally jeopardize your confidential files by installing free software.

Greg Richburg a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer and the owner of Netricks, Inc. a network consulting, web design and hosting company in California. As well, Greg runs a web based distributorship for Ujena swimwear and clothing. Please visit My Shop Girl Sexy Swimwear and Web Bikini Store and Clothing for Women for details.

All past articles written by Greg Richburg are available at Netricks Tech News

The Attack of the Advertiser

Spy Mother Spy
by Greg Richburg, Netricks, Inc.

The menacing campaigns that drive the corporate spyware and adware market is developing way out of hand. Who are these companies and how do they get away with it? They are costing computer users millions with their sneakware system of promotional crap!

We have some serious problems. These narcissistic bugger programmers that develop application and browser hijackers, pop-up pushers, adware scams and other bogus blots of code that only make life worse, need to be taught a lesson or two. They are like fleas, pesky taggers, used gum thrown on the pavement that you just stepped in, but way worse. And for what reason? Advertising?

The graffiti artist or “tagger” is trying to make a name for himself by either creative representation or pure mass distribution. Hey, you are all annoying, you are all vandals, but really, your destruction is trite. We are not afraid of you we just think your art is ugly.

Of course you can get some bug spray or clean your shoe, but these hijacks will cost you a whole lot more. Oh yeah, I have seen massive amounts of destruction brought about by malicious code, and I am not talking about viruses.

Let’s Reason

Truthfully, I think we need to intervene and get a hold of this situation. There are companies that produce “hijackers” for the sake of advertising. But that code has grown far too chaotic to serve as any means for honest advertising. I am hired every day to fix problems brought about by certain American corporate advertising campaigns.

Most of us have experienced the various “Trojans” that hijack your Internet browser start and search pages, changing them to some site that they are advertising for, let alone the formidable “about.blank” page. The Trojan then makes it difficult to change these setting back, often requiring Registry edits and special removal tools just so you can get back to easy Internet browsing.

Let’s look at some industry specifics.

One of the largest Adware agencies WhenU.com of New York, distributes its software piggybacked on popular “free” applications downloaded from the Internet. Once on your computer, it then distributes advertisements in the form of pop-ups to your desktop as you browse the Internet. Who’s to blame in this scenario, WhenU or its clients that actually pay WhenU to distribute their ads? Merck, T-Mobile, Priceline, Verizon, to name a few.

And mortgage brokers. I would say that 50% of all the spam I receive is based around some untrue promise about an enormously low interest rate for which I qualify. Strange, most of the junk mail I get in my street mailbox is the same crap. WHO FALLS FOR THIS? It must work if the junk keeps coming and coming.

I am not talking specifically about spam here, that is a story in itself, but I am talking about unfair marketing techniques that need to be controlled. We all see our fair share of mortgage company pop-ups, don’t’ we?

Give me the shotgun!

The worst of the worst are the various toolbar distributors that promise a better Internet experience. CoolWebSearch, Hotbar, WyWebSearch, and the horrid “My Search Assistant” which mutates itself if you try to uninstall it. How creepy is that? Every time you uninstall the hijacker, it places itself in a different spot on your computer and renames itself, so the next time you restart your PC, it re-installs. Trust me, the longer you keep this program on your system, the worse your system gets. More and more pop-ups which lead to more spyware and adware and the resolution is horrendous. Wipe and reload.

The Reverence

Bow down to the savior of smart computing. Learn to understand how your system gets infected. Learn to use the appropriate spyware and adware prevention programs and removal tools. Learn to get some help before it is too late. The difficult part if finding who to trust.
That’s where I come in.

Greg Richburg a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer and the owner of Netricks, Inc. a network consulting, web design and hosting company in California.
As well, Greg runs a web based distributorship for Ujena swimwear and clothing. Please visit My Shop Girl Sexy Swimwear and Web Bikini Store and Clothing for Women for details.
All past articles written by Greg Richburg are available at Netricks Tech News Articles. Please address article suggestions to: 1919@netricks.com.