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Staying Computer Safe while Searching for Freebies on the Net Who doesn’t love the idea of getting something for nothing? Free stuff can bring a smile to anyone’s face, and the Internet is destination number one when you are looking for cash in on a few freebies. The downside of free stuff online is that if you aren’t careful, the free item could end up causing plenty of headaches and heartaches, not to mention a lot of cold, hard cash. If you want to score with free stuff online, make safety your number one priority by following these tips. First and foremost, treat your personal information like its cash. That might sound a little dramatic, but anyone who manages to steal your identity online is after one thing, and one thing only, your money and any addition money they can grab by cashing in on your credit. Protecting your name, address, credit card number, bank account number, phone number, social security number, and so on and so forth when you are registering for free offers is the first step to making sure you don’t get hustled when you’re just trying to enjoy a good freebie. That means that if you are asked for some personal information that you don’t feel comfortable handing out, let the freebie go. Likewise, make sure the site from which you are getting your free stuff has a privacy policy and that you know it, understand it, and can live with it. Speaking of that site that is handing out the free goods: just who are these people? If you were walking down the street and a shady looking person said they would give you a free DVD player if you followed them, chances are you would run the other way. Online, it is hard to tell the legitimate people from the people looking at you like a free lunch, but there are a few red flags you can look out for. Does the website look like it was thrown up in about 5 minutes, full of clip art and bad spelling? Is it hard to find information about where the website is registered, or where the business the website is supposedly promoting is registered? If the website purports to be affiliated with a certain brand you know, does it really look like it is, or does the logo look different/colors look off? If you can’t get a reasonable feel for who are dealing with online, don’t deal with them. Red flag number one? Asking for too much personal info should send you running. Another way to protect yourself is to build a virtual fortress around your computer. The net is filled with people who know how to walk right into your virtual home – your computer – and flip through everything you have on there, taking whatever they want. Many of these kinds of hackers draw you in by creating phony freebie websites. The way to keep them out is to keep your computer on lockdown. Make sure your firewall is stronger than you think it needs to be, and make sure it is always updated. Also, make sure you have antivirus software on the patrol for you and that you keep this software updated as well. Last but not least, keep those passwords in the vault, and make sure they are extra strong. No freebie website has any reason to ask you about the passwords for your accounts so don’t give them away – and don’t give them to anyone else online for that matter. Also, if you’re using your birthday or child’s name as password, don’t. Sure, it isn’t as easy to remember, but your password should be a random word and contain a collection of numbers and symbols as well. This will give you the extra layer of protection to make sure your online house is in order when you cash in on the freebies.

Networking Ideas to Land a Job You Want Finding a new job is always a chore, especially if you are looking for your ideal job. While all jobs have pros and cons, finding employment that you enjoy or feel strongly about can greatly improve your job satisfaction. There are many ways to network and find the job you want. One of the biggest ways to make connections is to volunteer or find an internship. If you have not been able to land a permanent position in the career of your choice, apply for internships or offer your services for free. This is an ideal way to get your foot in the door and since the employer will already be familiar with you, it increases your chances of being hired when an opening arises. Meet people in the field you want to be in. If there are conferences or organizations that members who work in your desired field join, see about getting a membership or attending. Networking within your field of choice can build connections that blossom in the future. Take a lesser position at the company you want to work at. If you want to be a manager but are offered a customer service position, take the customer service position. Management roles are less stressful when you know what the company expects from you. Watch and learn the ins and outs of being a manager at that particular company. After you have some experience under your belt, apply for the next opening. Ask around. Most job openings are not posted anywhere. Finding openings is typically more about inquiring than finding posting. If you are eager to be a part of a company, e-mail your resume to the Human Resources department and see what type of hits you get. Stop by local companies and inquire in person and leave a copy of your resume if there are openings. Most employers are using the Internet to find new employees. Even if the position they are hiring for is not posted online, searching through posted portfolios is commonplace. The best way to get noticed is to have a concise portfolio that goes into detail about past work experience and your future career goals. Before you make it to an interview, the employer should already have a good idea about whom you are. Having a web presence is essential to job-hunting these days. Many employers are using e-mail and electronic submissions to screen employees. With that in mind, you need to be Internet savvy. Brush up on Internet skills, learning the tricks and trades of using the web as a way to seek out the best jobs. Purchase a domain and post your portfolio there. Be sure to show versatility, accomplishment and organization in your portfolio. Also if you choose to use social or networking sites represent yourself in a positive light. Be sure to keep your portfolio updated even when you are not actively looking for work. An interested employer could choose to contact you based on your updated portfolio. Be open to relocating. Search through Internet job postings for other states. Leaving your hometown might be difficult but the job of your dreams may be out there somewhere. Pack up and move to a more economically viable area and mingle with the populous. Make your employment intentions known without seeming desperate for a job. No matter what type of job you have been dreaming of, there are numerous ways to get that position. The key to pinning down, and getting the job you desire is to never give up. If you have been on the job hunt for two years without any success, do not give up.

Web Hosting - Changing Web Hosts, Pitfalls and Planning At some point, nearly everyone finds it necessary to change web hosts. It may be just a migration to another server, or it may be changing web hosting companies entirely. Either way, the process is fraught with potential dangers. But there are ways to minimize the odds of problems and maximize your changes of a smooth migration. Plan, plan, plan. Make a very detailed list of everything that is on your current system. Review what is static and what changes frequently. Note any tailoring done to software and files. Be prepared to remake them if the systems aren't transferred properly or can't be restored. Keep careful track of all old and new names, IP addresses and other information needed to make the migration. Backup and Test Backup everything on your system yourself, whenever possible. Web hosting companies typically offer that as a service, but the staff and/or software are often less than par. Often backups appear to go well, but they're rarely tested by restoring to a spare server. When the time comes that they're needed, they sometimes don't work. Do a dry run, if you can. Restore the system to its new location and make any needed changes. If you have the host name and or IP address buried in files, make sure it gets changed. This is often true of databases. SQL Server on Windows, for example, picks up the host name during installation. Moving a single database, or even multiple ones, to a new server is straightforward using in-built utilities or commercial backup/restore software. But moving certain system-related information may require changing the host name stored inside the master database. Similar considerations apply to web servers and other components. Accept Some Downtime Be prepared for some downtime. Very few systems can be picked up, moved to another place, then brought online with zero downtime. Doing so is possible, in fact it's common. But in such scenarios high-powered professionals use state-of-the-art tools to make the transition seamless. Most staff at web hosting companies don't have the skills or the resources to pull it off. Prepare for Name Changes One aspect of moving to a new host can bedevil the most skilled professionals: changing domain names and or domain name/IP address combinations. When you type a URL into your browser, or click on one, that name is used because it's easier for people to remember. www.yahoo.com is a lot easier to remember than 209.131.36.158. Yet the name and or name/IP address combination can (and does) change. Still, specialized servers called DNS (Domain Name System) servers have to keep track of them. And there are a lot of them. There may be only two (rarely) or there may be a dozen or more DNS servers between your visitors' browsers/computers and your web host. Every system along the chain has to keep track of who is who. When a name/IP address changes, that pair has to be communicated to everyone along the chain, and that takes time. In the meantime, it's possible for one visitor to find you at the new place, while another will be pointing to the old one. Some amount of downtime will usually occur while everything gets back in sync. The Little Gotchas But even apart from name and IP address changes, there are a hundred little things that can, and often do, go wrong. That's not a disaster. It's just the normal hurdles that arise when changing something as complicated as a web site and the associated systems that underlie it. Gather Tools and Support Having an FTP program that you're familiar with will help facilitate the change. That will allow you to quickly move files from one place to the next to do your part to get the system ready to go or make repairs. Making the effort to get to know, and become friendly with, support staff at the new site can be a huge benefit. They may be more willing to address your problem before the dozen others they have to deal with at any given moment. Ok. On your mark. Get ready. Go.