Traditionalists may argue that the internet has removed a lot of practices that we thought we’d have forever – like having just a landline and the post office to stay communicated. These days, we can call and send mails through the internet, at a lower cost and with much less effort. Consumers are enjoying the perks of a convenient internet lifestyle. This is why businesses should adjust to the changing times and make their products and services available on the internet by establishing informative and appealing websites. The first thought that probably comes to a businessman’s mind is the cost. How much does it cost to build and maintain a website? Surprisingly, it doesn’t cost as much as you think it does. There are website hosts which offer sites at a reasonable cost. The cost usually includes protection from the sophisticated hands of hackers who might harm your information and that of your clients’ by offering free anti-virus, anti-spam and anti-phishing software. The packages can also include an interface where the business owner can communicate directly with the clients through chatting. The best thing about this feature is that there is no limit to the number of hours or the number of clients you can speak with.

At this point you might have already realized that building websites is not as expensive as you originally thought it would be. Website hosting costs include other perks so you are actually getting so much more that what you pay for. One of the primary concerns also includes the aesthetic side of having websites. What do you do when you do not have the technical skills to build a website from scratch? Website hosts also take this into consideration and efficient website hosts usually include hundreds of templates which you can choose from. With the numerous templates available, I’m sure you will find something which suits your business and your own personal style.

We are now at a stage where we have so much to do in so little time. Searching through the internet is such a convenient way of getting things done. Businesses should recognize this and build websites to promote and retain clients. It is cost-efficient and it is definitely a business strategy every businessman should try.

But it might be necessary to ask ourselves: is it possible to eradicate ID theft/ phishing, or at the very least make it so rare as to become almost a non-issue? Do we have the technology to overpower these malicious individuals, and make their ‘art’ so difficult and so financially unproductive so that we end up forcing them to look for legitimate ways of spending their free time?

My answer is an emphatic No. unlike the vehicle industry which takes years to produce a more advanced simple gadget like a carburetor, computer innovations present us with almost daily new, easier to use, hip devices which make life so much fun. Therefore no government can ever discourage the internet revolution and its ever astounding innovations, unless they want to risk a countrywide mutiny.

But could hackers/phisers be successfully re-integrated into the law-abiding populace? Should criminal activity be seen to be encouraged? What about the victims? But if we will never defeat the miscreants, then what is the alternative?

My view, however unpopular, is this: in exchange for leniency/possible outright forgiveness, I’d propose the hacker and the “phisher” to be presented with two alternatives:

1. A sort of a six month moratorium, where total cooperation with law enforcement agencies should lead to their being absorbed into a special IT security institute – a sort of a half-way house – with good pay, but 50% of it goes to reimburse their victims.
2. For those who refuse to come out of their dark criminal world- a long jail term plus hefty fines should await them. I think the reasonable ones would take the former option.

Its amazing growth does come at a small price. As we incorporate the World Wide Web more into our lives we become more dependent to it. We use the internet more in the work we play. We rely on the internet for instant information we need. We even use it to convey our thoughts in popular blogs and forums.

This dependence leaves you susceptible to attacks from people without the purest of intentions. These internet threats can come in different forms. One of the most popular forms of internet threat can be seen in malicious software or otherwise called “Malware”. Malware can come in many forms including Trojans, worms and viruses.

Trojans are programs that act as a useful program but allow other people to access information in your computer or deliver a damaging payload to your computer. Worms are programs that copy itself over and over without the need of a host program. This is in contrast to a virus which does the same thing but needs to attach itself to a host program to achieve this.

Another threat to your internet security is Phishing and Phishing sites. Phishing is the unauthorized gathering of information by a fraudster. This can be done through the use of Phishing sites that use automated means to pull sensitive information from your computer.

Another growing threat in the internet comes from scammers and hackers. Scammers are nothing more than fraudsters trying to separate you from your money. They can pose as charity groups or organizations in need of aid asking for a donation from your credit card. They then use the information you supplied through your credit card to steal your identity and cost you thousands of dollars.

Hackers are different from the normal scammer because they not only deal with the personal side of fooling someone but they can also go the technological route. Hackers are usually computer programmers that break through your security measures through the use of their skill in computers.

These are just some the threat you need to worry about when you are looking to the internet to expand your business. The people at Gossimer understand these risks and approach them holistically to provide the best security for your business website, business email and your domain name.

The key initiatives of their security strategy revolve around five key objectives: The privacy of your vital information; the integrity of your data; the protection of your data from being deleted or destroyed; the proper of identification and authentication of users; and the protection of your network service from hacking and internet attacks.

Internet security is a serious issue that needs to be addressed for the proper implementation of the web in your business. Contact Gossimer today and they will discuss how their solutions can specifically address your concerns about the internet and its security.

At times we have hundreds of files on our computers that we do not use, just sitting there. We should establish periods that we do a bit of system cleaning on the computer, deleting unnecessary files and organizing folders in an efficient manner that makes them easily found and with the proper file headings.Computers are like cars they need to be maintained!.

If you have experienced a few system hang ups and had to reboot the computer it is worth running scandisk on the computer to detect and fix errors that arise as a result of these system hang ups and the presence of viruses. But what is scandisk you may be asking yourself? Scandisk is a maintenance tool that aims to search and correct bad clusters when a program was prematurely aborted. At the send of the scan a report is produced that informs the user the files scanned and the amount of space scanned.

Always ensure that the signatures of your Anti-Virus is up to date this will curtail the possibility of viruses infesting your computer system. Ensure that you do frequent system checks to detect viruses, spy ware etc.

Never open e-mails if you do not know the user this will be committing system suicide and be suspicious of formal and informal e-mails that may come from friends as well. They usually do not address you personally eg. Hello , we would like you have a look at our pictures thanks bye.

If you use a password(and I recommend you start doing so) to enter your computer, HIDE IT! DO NOT PASTE IN ON A POST IT AND LEAVE IT FOR THE WORLD TO SEE IN OBVIOUS AREAS!.Another useful tip is to scan all Cds, pen drives, floppy disks for viruses before accessing any file on them.For those that are not computer cracks on the matter then every protection can never be enough to protect you as you navigate the worldwide web. Protecting your password can also come in the form of writing a .htacess file that guarantees protection of sensitive information on your system and thus curtailing hackers and possible phishing.

Once you are expanding your computer operations and sense that your system is slowing down, this could be an indication of the necessity of more memory space or virus infections on your system. Installing memory is a simple process that can be done from home if you one is confident enough to do so, or with a qualified person if not.

The hardware is the first component of the computer that we come in contact with and care should be taken to keep it clean. This not only increase ones productivity it also is a healthy approach.Imagine touching a mouse that has layers of grease from centuries and centuries of sticky finger contacts, or a keyboard that has tons of overnight snacks embedded between it´s keys, this obviously is a cause for alarm.

The steps to clean ones hardware does not not involve any special product than the simple traditional methods of a soft brush,a little water and maybe a piece of cloth .It is important that a day is set aside to do this so as to avoid disturbance during the process. There also has to be an established order in mind to know which parts you intend to clean first.

After unplugging all components and and an order has been mentally established to clean the different components, all that is left now is patience.The keyboard which is basically the ‘hands’ of the whole system can suffer alterations if dust and crumbs are not taken from it quickly.To remove dirt from the keyboard one can use a professional keyboard cleaner that has been adapted justly for this purpose. Turning the Keyboard over on a piece of paper and gently shaking it to remove all accumulated dust ,one then passes a soft brush to remove any excess dirt on the outside of the Keyboard.The same applies for Laptops.

The monitor and the CPU can both be cleaned using a non-abrasive cloth to remove any excess of dirt. Areas like the USB ports generally have accumulated dust and once again the use of a small soft brush is handy. For those you wish to use a professional Laptop screen cleaner , this is highly optional, but one will achieve the same results with simple conventional methods.The aim of all of this is that you clean and not destroy while cleaning.

The mouse is another gadget that allows us to enjoy an efficient user interface with our system and with the realms beyond(Internet).Excess dust and grime will compromise it´s function and you will notice this based on the time response it gives when you move it. Care should be taken in opening it and a soft bush should be used so as to not damage it.

There is no need to open the casing of the CPU nor the Laptop. All that requires cleaning resides on the external part of the casing. If you are not a professional, opening may void all warranty rights and you may unintentionally damage some internal part.The use of cotton to clean is a good option but I prefer a brush.

For Windows and Linux users both have a firewall is built in and is activated by default. The fact that the firewall is built into all Windows/Linux operating system does not limit the user from choosing another firewall that suits his needs once the original is turned off. One can easilty create exceptions if there is a need to recieve information from another soource eg Instant messaging, windows media player etc.

Firewalls do not protect your system fom viruses neither do they prevent you from opening e-mails that could damage your computer. In cases like these if is the user´s responsibility to install an adequate Anti-Virus program and to always update it´s signatures. Apart from this he should always exercise caution when he opens e-mails and do not know the sender.Even if one knows the sender care should be taken at all times when opening the contecnts of e-mails.

If there is not a built in firewall then there is the possibility do buy Software Firewalls to help protect your system. While this is a advantage software firewalls can only be placed on one computer and do not permit installation on various computers. In other words there can only be one software firewall for each computer and usually they are costly.

For homes that have an internet connection one generally uses hardware routers to offer protection while connected. Hardware routers offer protection to various computers and allow multiple usage.

Finally for those who use a wireless networks then there is are wireless routers that can be used. They allow one to connect laptops and generally do not use wires to connect, thus eliminating a clustered working environment. They however emit signals that can be intercepted with the right machine and generally do not come with built in firewalls, which indicates extra cost for the user.

Its amazing growth does come at a small price. As we incorporate the World Wide Web more into our lives we become more dependent to it. We use the Internet more in the work we play. We rely on the Internet for instant information we need. We even use it to convey our thought in the popular blogs and forums.

This dependence leaves you susceptible to attacks from people without the purest of intentions. These Internet threats can come in different forms. One of the most popular forms of Internet threat can be seen in malicious software or otherwise called “Malware”. Malware can come in many forms including Trojans, worms and viruses.

Trojans are programs that act as a useful program but allow other people to access information in your computer or deliver a damaging payload to your computer. Worms are programs that copy itself over and over without the need of a host program. This is in contrast to a virus which does the same thing but needs to attach itself to a host program to achieve this.

Another threat to your Internet security is Phishing and Phishing sites. Phishing is the unauthorized gathering of information by a fraudster. This can be done through the use of Phishing sites that use automated means to pull sensitive information from your computer.

Another growing threat in the Internet comes from scammers and hackers. Scammers are nothing more than fraudsters trying to separate you from your money. They can pose as charity groups or organizations in need of aid asking for a donation from your credit card. They then use the information you supplied through your credit card to steal your identity and cost you thousands of dollars.

Hackers are different from the normal scammer because they not only deal with the personal side of fooling someone but they can also go the technological route. Hackers are usually computer programmers that break through your security measures through the use of their skill in computers.

These are just some the threat you need to worry about when you are looking to the Internet to expand your business. The people at www.gossimer.com understand these risks and we approach them holistically to provide the best security for your web domain.

The key initiatives of their security strategy revolve around five key objectives: The privacy of your vital information; the integrity of your data; the protection of your data from being deleted or destroyed; the proper of identification and authentication of users; and the protection of your network service from hacking and Internet attacks. A great feature that Gossimer offers is free whois privacy protection which allow customers to conceal their personal information from unscrupulous whois data scrapers.

Internet security is a serious issue that needs to be addressed for the proper implementation of the web in your business. Contact us today and we will happily discuss how our solutions can specifically address your concerns about the Internet and its security.