Fanbox Fan Emails Continue to Evade Email Inboxes

Several months after fan box spam messages started to appear in people's email inbox, new versions of emails from fanbox keep arriving. The subjects of the fan box mails have also become so varied these fanbox virus messages are likely to entice people to read the email and launch application on fanbox by sending interesting and seemingly personal subjects ( e.g I am giving you a pet, etc).

Thankfully, I have noticed that many of these fanbox scam emails are already filtered out and are marked as spam by my emailing service provider. If you are still receiving these fanboxnotes.com spam messages as legitimate email and you are looking for ways to remove or delete a fanbox account, I advise that you always mark these email messages as spam. This will "train" your email account to consider fanboxnotes.com messages as spam.

Preventing Viruses on USB Drives

Preventing Viruses on USB Drives will reduce the likelihood of malicious programs,files, viruses and malwares being installed in your PC.

USB drives are one of the ways through which computer viruses are spread. I remember that the annoying funny ust scandal virus which is commonly spread via yahoo messenger also infected other computer users who have used infected usb flash drives. Aside from the funny ust virus, other viruses that are spread through USB dongles and flash drives include ravmon and new folder.exe.

The unfortunate thing about USB viruses, however, is that a number of antivirus programs are reportedly inefficient in detecting and removing malicious programs in the USB drives. This is the reason why it is necessary to observe precautions. How do you prevent usb drive virus from infecting your flash drive? Here are some ways to protect usb to get virus:

Avoid plugging your USB flash drives in virus infected PCs. If you can, avoid plugging your USB drives in public computers that are prone to getting viruses. Some computer users complain of seeing new virus in their PCs after they have plugged their USB flash drives in internet cafés.

Install an antivirus software in your USB. I learned about this while scanning through yahoo answers. The portable version of a particular anti-virus can be installed in the USB removable drive to prevent it from getting Trojans and viruses. Read more about it here.

How to Identify a Fake Hallmark Ecard

Spammers seem to be taking advantage of the Christmas holiday season to spread viruses and malwares. Today, I received a message "You've received A Hallmark E-Card!" but after opening the email, I realized the ecard may not have come from one of my friends. Why?

1. The ecard does not contain any of my friends' name.
2. My email gave this warning: "Warning: This message may not be from whom it claims to be. Beware of following any links in it or of providing the sender with any personal information."

Anyway, I tried sending myself a legitimate hallmark ecard and realized what I have previously received is indeed a fake hallmark ecard. Links from these hallmark email cards may contain malware and hallmark card virus. I am not sure though if this is what they call as the hallmark postcard virus or the "postcard from hallmark virus".

Anyway, I made a comparison between the real hallmark email greetings ecard and the fake one. Hopefully this will help people distinguish a real hallmark ecard from the fake one:

	Real hallmark ecard	Fake Hallmark ecard
Subject	A Hallmark E-Card from John Doe*	You've received A Hallmark E-Card!
Sender	Sender's email (example, johndoe@ymail.com)	hallmark. com <notifications@hallmark.com>
Body Content	John Doe has sent you a Hallmark E-Card . If you recognize this name, click the link to see your E-Card. http://www.hallmark.com/ECardWeb/ECV.jsp?a=EG0246331000080M115271Y&product_id= If this name is not familiar to you and you're concerned about online security, please use the following steps: Visit http://www.hallmark.com/getecard Enter your e-mail address in the Original Recipient's E-Mail Address box. Enter EG0246331000080 in the Confirmation Number box. Click Display Greeting. Want to send an E-Card too ? Visit www.hallmark.com/ecards To view Hallmark's privacy policy or for questions, visit www.hallmark.com, and click the links at the bottom of the page.	A Friend has sent you a Hallmark E-Card. If you recognize this name, click the link to see your E-Card. http://www.hallmark.com/ECardWeb/ECV.jsp?a=EG0694272732475M245925860Y&product_id= If this name is not familiar to you and you're concerned about online security, please use the following steps: Visit http://www.hallmark.com/getecard Enter your e-mail address in the Original Recipient.s E-Mail Address box. Enter EG0694262772475 in the Confirmation Number box. Click Display Greeting. Want to send an E-Card too ? Visit www.hallmark.com/ecards To view Hallmark's privacy policy or for questions, visit www.hallmark.com, and click the links at the bottom of the page.

* Assume sender's name is John Doe

Delivery Status Notification (Failure) Email

Spammers are really getting more and more creative. After the MSN featured messages became known as malware spams, spammers are now using commonly sent email subjects. This time they are using the email subject "Delivery Status Notification (Failure) ".

People who have sent email messages and received this delivery status notification (failure) email will likely think that something went wrong with their sent messages and will possibly click on the links on the Delivery Status Notification (Failure)   message to learn the details of their supposed failed email message.

If you receive this email, ignore the links and immediately mark the email as spam.

Blogger Favicon Not Working?

Here's how to fix it:

1. Edit HTML
2. Ctrl+F    and paste this: ]]></b:skin> (Blogger will highlight this part of the code)


3. Copy and remove your old favicon code  (example: <link href='http://..../favicon.png' rel='shortcut icon'/> )

4. Paste your favicon code right after ]]></b:skin>.

Red Mobile Sim

A umobile representative called me the other day informing me that I will be receiving a red mobile sim that will replace my umobile simcard. I do not know why there is a change in branding but there are speculations online that say the objectives of umobile may not have been met and so maybe the change of name may signify major changes in umobile.

I am not actually using my umobile sim card (except in cases when I run out of load and I need to make an emergency call). For one, I only have one cellphone and despite umobile’s notice that sending text messages to other networks like Globe would be possible soon, I believe umobile to globe sms is not yet available.

I hope red mobile will be better than umobile. Some suggestions:

1. Make reloading much easier and more accessible. I consider myself more tech savvy than most of the friends I invited to umobile but I still feel more comfortable reloading my sim card in my suking tindahan. Some of my friends do not even have daily internet access. How can they reload their sims when they run out of load?

2. Make the price more competitive. The 100 pesos minimum reloadable load is actually quite expensive when you compare to Smart’s 30 pesos eload and Globe’s 15 peso load. Red mobile should have better pricing, otherwise, users will merely rely on their load allotment.

Barak caught on tape drunk

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="576" caption="Obama and Clinton drinking. Image source: http://www.sofakingdrunk.com/2008/05/09/obama-and-clinton-drinking-alcohol-obama-drunk-clinton-drunk/"][/caption]

US President elect Barack Obama has become a favorite subject among spam mail senders and recently, phishers and spammers have been making use of scandalous and intriguing Barack Obama stories when sending spam email.

This week, Sund Design special offers spam sent a spam message with the subject "Barak caught on tape drunk". If you have been among the recipients, you will be reading the following message:

You have received this message because you opted in to receives Sund Design pecial
offers via email. Login to your member account to edit your email subscription .
Click here to unsubscribe.
PLEASE DO NOT REPLY - This is being sent from an unattended mailbox.

Copyright © 2008 Sund Design, Inc. All rights reserved.
2308 Pointe Loop, Bismarck, ND 58503

There are links provided in this email and as always, you are advised not to click on any of these links because they may contain malware infections. You may not know but some of these spyware malware may still work even if you have a free spam blocker software or a barracuda spam firewall installed in your PC.

ClickCulture Special Offers Spam

Politics is indeed one of the best subjects that can be used by spammers these days to catch the attention of their recipients. After the "Bush killed Michelle Obama" spam MSN featured offers email, another set of election related email spam messages are hitting email accounts. This time, it does not come from a hoax CNN or MSN offer but from "ClickCulture special offers". One of these emails has the subject "McCain election was framed up" and indeed for unsuspecting McCain supporters and even Obama voters may unknowingly click the links on the email and send a computer virus to their PC.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="574" caption="Click Culture spam display images of viagra pills for sale online"][/caption]

This is the free downloads for spam message from this Click Culture spam:

You have received this message because you opted in to receives ClickCulture pecial
offers via email. Login to your member account to edit your email subscription .
Click here to unsubscribe.

The spammers also included this phrase:
"If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view."

The link however leads to some other site that may install computer viruses worms and malwares in one's computer.

How to stop receiving the ClickCulture Special Offers Spam

Getting rid of computer viruses is quite a challenging task but having a reliable email spam filter may help. Barracuda spam software is quite popular but you may also try using free spam filter and freeware anti spam applications.

Even if you have installed a spam arrest software in your PC, please do not click any links on these kind of dangerous emails regardless how legitimate and risk free these links look.

Friendster Cookies Error

Do you have difficulty when you sign in or sign up in the friendster login page? Don't ignore your account and look for friendster alternatives just yet. Services like friendster actually provide a help page where you can check out instructions on what to do everytime you deal with friendster problems such as friendster cookies error.

If you have problem logging in, it is advised that you clear your browser cache and cookies. How do you do it then? If you are using internet explorer, click the tools> internet options> general tab > click delete files and delete cookies.

You may also try to use a different browser like mozilla firefox or you can close your browser and reopen the freindster home page again.

Bush killed Obama? This is MSN Featured Spam

The MSN featured spam is hitting email accounts again. Several times these week, messages entitled with the subjects Cindy McCain shot on public, "We have all your personal info", "If you can read it, your wife isnt happy then", "Bush killed Obama", and "Dont miss the greatest sale ever" arrive in my spam folder. What makes these email messages intriguing aside from their catchy titles, is that the sender of the spam junk email is usually the recipient himself.

How do you stop receiving spam email such as this one? Most people would recommend that computer users use spam filtering software. There are several free anti spam software and free spam blockers such as the fre avg you can download online but should you decide on purchasing a spam fighter with more features, it is recommended that you read anti spam software reviews that are available online. Similarly, I personally recommend using efficient email service providers. My email account has been very efficient in identifying and filtering the MSN featured spam that the unsolicited MSN emails never get into my legitimate email inbox.

CNN TV Hologram Interview: How Did They Do it?

This is a video of the CNN hologram 3D interview with Jessica Yellin:

I was really in awe while I watched the hologram tv video because finally, the Star Wars concept of contacting people as if they are just there is finally a reality. So how does this human hologram work? According to Jessica Yellin in this video, she is in a tent and 35 high definition cameras are shooting her in different angles which result in a 3d image of her to appear in the television studio.

Now, which of the Philippine tv stations will be able to use hologram tv technology first, ABS CBN or GMA?

Let's Talk Online Spam

If you are looking for a boyfriend or a girlfriend online and you decided to click on links sent to your email by a supposedly "attractive blonde, brunette with brown eyes", you are likely making your computer a magnet to malware bytes and computer viruses rather than to some decent friends online.

Recently, my spam folder receives several email messages that target people who are looking for intimate buddies online. The email "Let's Talk Online", for example, has this message:

Don't you think it's time for a virtual romance with a cute girl? If so, I'm ready to start chatting with you!

The "Here's my contact page. Click Here!" phrase however has a link and will seem to lead to a site that can be harmful to one's computer.

There are also a variety of RE: Message 54 and RE: Message 78 messages that similarly works on the same concept:

Im a atractive blonde, brunette with brown eyes, and I'm looking for an intelligent man to communicate by e-mail, Skype, or on real dates!

Don't loose time and come get registered FREE at: http://stop-fl0p.net/?idAff=5

If you are tempted to click on these links, I suggest that you brace yourself for computer security troubles. Better still, delete and disregard these emails. You won't find good friends with these emails, start making friends with real people in your neighborhood. Remember also to at least have a fre anti virus in your PC in case somebodY uses your computer and has these similar emails.

Question It: Sister Spam Messages from Fanbox

Question it is another type of spam sent by the same people who are sending the fanbox fan messages. Based on my previous post on how to get off of fanbox, there are already numerous people who have complaints about fanbox messages and I guess, the question it emails are actually a diversion of the old kiss from fanbox messages.

I hope whoever owns the fanbox site will realize soon that people are actually annoyed of his marketing stance and the question it website  will soon be considered as a spammers' website.

Free Pop Up Blockers You can Use to Avoid Annoying Pop Ads

Pop up ads can be very annoying especially when you are surfing for an important information online and these unwanted adware ads just fill in your screen with unnecessary window displaying texts, images and videos that promote a particular product. Unfortunately, some of these slide-ins and pop-unders do not just contain spam ads but also malware and spware spams that can actually destroy a computer system. The Antivirus 2009 malware, for example, is initially presented as a pop up ad.

How to Stop Pop Ups and Spywares

Computer users are generally advised to download and install a spyware scanner or an anti spam server software to avoid the inconvenience of pop up spams. The Barracuda blocker spam, for example, can filter emails with spyware links that collect and display flash ads. It is also advised to use a pop up stopper while browsing sites. By using a firewalls pop up blockers, you will likely avoid seeing unwanted screens in your computer window.

Free Pop Up Blockers

The yahoo pop up blocker is a popular pop up spam blocker which is very efficient in blocking unwanted pop up websites. However, if you would like to have a better and more efficient pop up spam filtering service, there are efficient pop up spam filter service products that you can purchase online. Nevertheless, if you want to use and download free pop up blocker, you may want to check out these freeware spam filters for pop ups:

Elatronic.com/e-card.exe link from greetingcard.org

There seems to be another wave of greetingcard.org malware spam being distributed in the internet. The other day, I received an email with the subject "You have received an Greeting eCard" (notice the use of an) and like most legal ecard notices, the email tells me to click or copy paste a link into my web browser. I noticed however that the url contains an executable file which usually appears in email spam messages that contain virus and malwares.

The link given to me was http://elatronic.com/e-card.exe. I advice people who received similar greeting card messages from greetingcard.org not to open the link and delete the elatronic message right away because clicking the link may cause harm to their PC.

Phising Email: Notification from Citibank

Citibank card holders, beware of this phising email that presents itself to have come from Citibank. I received the email entitled "Notification from Citibank" today and thankfully, my email identified it as a spam.

The email addresses you as citibank customer and tells you that during their scheduled account maintenance and verification procedures, they have identified some error in your American express account.

The email will advise you to update and verify your information by clicking the citibank online update form link which is obviously an attempt to steal your log in information if you are using the citibank internet banking.

What is scary with this email is that it actually implies recipients of the message that it will be okay if they cannot access their account:

"If you account information is not updated within 48 hours then your ability to access your account will be restricted."

The "E-mail intended for your account" comes from "Citibank , Billing Department" but this actually come from phishers. It also fools people to check the "authenticity" of the message by telling them to click on links that they provide.

If you want to learn more how you can protect yourself from My Citi and Citibank, N.A. phising emails, visit the citibank website directly from your browser. Make sure that you input the correct web address.

How to delete the Cool USEP Scandal Computer Virus

Red Tube Virus
If your computer is infected with the cool USEP scandal virus, your default homepage regardless whether you are using firefox or internet explorer directs to redtube.com. Red tube is an adult website and like the funny UST scandal virus, users with infected computers find it difficult to remove or delete the Cool USEP scandal virus.

So how do you get rid of the cool usep scandal PC infection? Here are some tips and recommendations I gathered online:

Option 1: Use System restore.

Jinky doodle used the system restore to remove the cool usep scandal

1. From your computer's menu options, click programs, accessories, system tools and system restore. Choose a date before your computer got infected by the virus.

2. Press ctrl+alt+delete and delete the cool usep scandal from the infected drive.

Option 2: Use a noob virus removal tool

The tech reports recommends the use of the noob killer anti virus.

Download the Noob Killer

Option 3 Use Quicksmash

RC Guzon recommends quicksmash.

1. Download quicksmash and save it to your pc or flash disk.

2. Double click quicksmash

3. Check the checkboxes except "Mark legit logs"

4. Click the smash button.

Note: I have not used any of the options above. Use them at your own risk. For more information and thorough instruction on how you can remove the cool usep scandal, please visit the links I have mentioned above.

Free yahoo messenger on your phone with Unlichat

Globe is offering free use of yahoo messenger on cellphone to both their postpaid and prepaid subscribers via the Globe Unlichat.  Unlichat is an application that allows users mobile access to their yahoo messenger. The free YM usage will be available from September 5 to October 4 only.

How to Use Unlichat

You can start using Globe's unlichat by downloading the application. You can download unlichat at http://www.unlichat.com/ and read the thorough instructions and FAQs at www1.globe.com.ph/contentrn.aspx?sid=1&artid=133

Rates

Users who wish to continue using cellphone based yahoo messenger after the unlichat beta trial period may continue to use unlichat by purchasing credits. One day unlimited access costs PhP 25; five days unlimited access costs PhP 100 and 15 days unli use of unlichat is PhP 200.

5 Guaranteed Ways to Increase Your Google Adsense Earnings

I started using adsense some time in 2006 but because I did not earn from it, I stopped using adsense until March 2007* when I decided to display google ads in my site again. This time, however, I have been receiving adsense payouts regularly and for the past three months this year, I noticed an increase in my google ads earnings. How did I do it?  Here are five tips that can help you increase your adsense profits, these are the things that I did which increased my adsense clicks and earnings:

1. Observe how successful sites use and display google ads. Some of the bloggers who earn lots of money from adsense may not tell you their tricks and strategies but you will know if you take time to read and study their websites. Where do they place the ads? What ad size do they commonly use? Try to apply "their ways" on your site, the strategies may work for your site too.

2. Use adsense for search. If you are using a search form in your site, why not use adsense for search box instead? Ads displayed in the results page are targeted and likely related to what your site visitors are looking for and so increases the chances of them clicking the ads.

3. If you are your site's visitor, will you click the google ads? Ask yourself. Will you notice and be likely interested in the ads located at the bottom of your site?

4. Learn SEO. Who will click your google ads if you don't have site visitors? Do you know that visitors who come from search engines are likely to click your ads than visitors who just clicked your link in a fellow blogger's sidebar? This is the reason why learning SEO is crucial. I recommend reading SEO ebooks such as Dan Thies' SEO Fast Start.

5. Take heed of adsense tips, tricks and advices. Don't be hard headed. If the adsense help center tells to blend, complement or contrast color palettes of your ads to your site's background, then do it. This also goes true with ad formats. I also advice reading blogs that tackle about selecting profitable niche and keywords.

*Content scrapers would steal contents from my wordpress.com blog and post them in Made for Adsense sites. My husband encouraged me to use adsense again so I can get financial benefits from my posts too.

Is page rank useless or important?

"Got spanked", this is the term some bloggers and website owners use to describe their web sites and blogs which have been penalized by google. Bloggers whose sites have been "spanked" either lost or decreased their page ranks and usually attribute this to the practice of selling of links from their sites.

A site's page rank is supposed to show how a search engine, google in particular, values a particular site based on the number and quality of links that it receives. Unfortunately, following the "page rank dances", many web site owners and bloggers now consider page rank as an unreliable and useless site ranking system.

Question: Is the page rank system already a thing of the past or is it still important and bloggers should improve and "take care" of their page ranks?

Some blog sponsorhip companies like payperpost and sponsoredreview have their own means of ranking sites. It is evident though that site owners still prefer to get links from older sites with higher pager ranks. As such, web site owners who are selling links from their sites should really be cautious about their page rank or risk losing potential link buyers. Therealstats.info can provide useful tools for web site owners who would like to check out their page rank online as well as the age of their domain. The SEO tools are free but Professional Evaluation Reports can be availed for a more thorough information on improving a site's performance.

Fortunately, web site owners can do something about page rank penalties by learning and applying SEO in their websites. I have read several posts on the web saying that the higher a site's page rank is, the more likely is its post to appear in the first pages of the SERP. Based on my experience with several of my sites however, higher page rank does not necessarily mean more traffic and for those bloggers and websites who earn from their sites by selling products or offering services to their visitors or through pay per click programs, traffic, not the page rank is the key.

So is page rank useless or important? Yes or no. It depends on how you want to use or monetize your site. As for me, I have been focusing on my traffic lately and not on my page rank and it is quite obvious why, my site got spanked and I am not yet sure when google will bring me back some page ranks again.

Are these Email Messages in Your Inbox?

This week alone, I received more or less 100 spammy messages but thanks to my reliable webmail, 99% of these spam messages landed in my spam folder and not in my inbox.

Among the spam messages that I receive this week are as follows:

• Do you want 25000 USD from the government, it is possible from Registered Advisors

This email tells you that that if you are an American citizen over the age of 18, you
may be eligible for some kind of government grant; encourages you to take advantage of their free FREE Government Funding CD.

• Your Title wants to be your loyal fan from FanBox Fan NOREPLY @fanboxnotes.com

It's funny that the Fanbox site tells it is a Spam-Free Web-based email because Fan box itself is one of the most diligent spammers that I know. Check out "How to Stop Receiving Fanbox Spam" to learn how you can get rid of the fanboxnotes spam.

• Need $$$, Google PayDay software makes it so easy! (see offer for details) from GooglePayDay

This email tells you they are going to show you how to create an automatic cash flow machine by working with Google.

The following are  other spam emails sent by spammers. I noticed that most of this emails sell viagra and other pills and tablets online:

• Where are you, I'm frozen!


• We need your presence


• Can't find you, darling


• Lost my number? )


• Witness some positive changes in your body


• Money so easy you'll kick yourself


• Work at home positions. Immediate Placement


• Don't reject my calls!


• Returned mail: Over quota


• Get a government grant that comes from your tax dollars: Searching for some extra money this year? You may qualify for free government funding! Millions of Dollars available now.


• View Your Latest Credit Score


• Sales Receipt from Amazon: To unsubscribe from this mailing list, please log in to www.ultralofty.com
  
  
  , click on "My Account", click "Update" to edit your registration details and uncheck the "Receive Newsletter?" check box


• Create some extra cash with Google

Why do I receive such an enormous amount of Spam messages? I love free services online and sometimes registering your email to get free graphics and free applications can land you into trouble. If you receive any of these mail messages in your inbox, I suggest you mark them as spam and delete them. You may also find it worthy to install fre antivirus norton in case you accidentally click on these virus/worm containing email messages.

MMORPGs, SEO and Website Monetization

With the number of gamers playing MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) these days, it is undeniable that starting blogs, writing articles and SEOing* on games such as Cabal, DOTA and Warcraft become a rewarding learning experience especially for bloggers who monetize the traffic of their websites. It is therefore a no wonder why it is so easy to find websites and blogs that post articles about popular games these days given the number of targeted readers who read and search for MMOG tips and tricks.

Yahoo! Buzz Wordpress Plugin for Download

Yahoo buzz! is now open and publishers and bloggers can now use Yahoo's own version of digg to have their stories published and voted for. I tried using Yahoo buzz! today by submitting one of my posts in my personal blog Rhodilee.com, "Kadayawan 2008". I embedded a yahoo buzz button in my post and replaced "ARTICLEURL" in the code with the URL of the post that I wanted to submit.

Personally though, I find the process tedious and I can't figure out how to the insert the yahoo buzz button automatically in all of my posts. Fortunately, a plugin is now available for all wordpress users who want to place the buzz on yahoo button in their blogs.

The Yahoo! Buzz Wordpress plugin is created by Travis Johnson and is available for download here.

Spam Alert: MSNBC- Breaking News and BBC News

I received three MSNBC Breaking News today in my mailbox although they are already classifed as spam. I must say though that the "news" are quite interesting. Teenagers who receive the email are likely to click the High calorie food banned in canteens link and parents would want to know about the "story" behind Plane crashes into prep school, hundreds of kids killed.  Unfortunately though, these series of MSNBC- Breaking News are spam and clicking the links will only result in you downloading harmful software or files.

There is also the BBC News spam that now arrive in the mailbox. This too is a malware email and clicking on the links is not recommended.

Read Beware of the CNN.com daily top ten email to understand why it is not advised to click on any links, even the unsubscribe links from these emails. If you wish not to receive these types of email, you might want to read this post: Unsubscribe from CNN Alerts: Breaking News, MSNBC- Breaking News and BBC News Spam.

Unsubscribe from CNN Alerts: Breaking News Spam

The CNN Alerts: Breaking News is the latest addition to the latest wave of CNN alerts spam mails that have been proliferating among email users. Like its CNN spam predecessors, the CNN Alerts: Breaking News provide links that when followed, may lead users into downloading harmful files into their computer. Some people have been spoofed into downloading malwares from the cnn breaking news email but with the new CNN Alerts: Breaking News Spam, some email users already receive warning telling them that such message may not actually come from whom it claims to be and advice is given against following  links contained on the email.

Blogspot Blogs, Google Ads Used to Spread Malwares

The spammers who have been sending the CNN daily top ten email have not been satisfied in proliferating trojan files through spam messages. They are now utilizing blogspot blogs and even google ads to ensure the spread of their malware.

Another Trojan from CNN Alerts: My Custom Alert Email

The spammers who have been sending the CNN.com daily top ten email spam seems to be sending a second wave of malware spams but this time the links really look like they lead to legit CNN links. Just today, I received this CNN alerts: My custom alert email and the supposed news the email brings is really catchy: President Bush withdraws from Iraq. The hoax news title link also looks like a real CNN site: http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/08/07/threat.ap/index.html. Unfortunately, the sender of the email does not really look suspicious because it comes from a certain esubitam@equus-kentucky.com.

Warning: Someone sent you an Ecard email may contain malwares

There are two things that I always remember when opening ecards in my email:

1. The ecard should come from someone I know or else, the card comes from a spammer.

2. If the ecard appears in my spam box, it is likely that the email contains links that will likely download malwares in my computer.

Yesterday, I spotted one email in my spam box with the subject "Someone sent you an Ecard." The message says:

Remove get_flash_update.exe downloaded from CNN Daily Top 10 Spam

Read this article about the flashget update virus for an instruction on removing the downloaded get_flash_update.exe file.

Some people who have received the CNN daily top ten email spam have unknowingly downloaded the trojan get_flash_update.exe file. If you are among these people, your anti malware software may identify the threat as Win32:Trojan-gen (Avast); Trojan.Erotpics (Symantec); TrojanDropper:Win32/Nuwar (Microsoft); BackDoor-DNM (McAfee) and I-Worm/Nuwar.W (AVG).


Once the get flash update exe is installed in your PC, it will download a malware that will cause pop out messages appearing in your screen telling you that a spyware is detected in your computer. The CNN Daily Top ten malware will install Antivirus XP 2008, a rogue anti-spyware program that displays deceptive computer security risk messages in your computer and tells you to remove the security risk with a software. (Please read more about the virus alert in system tray xp homes here: AVXP08.com offers fake antivirus software?).

If you wonder about how to remove the get_flash_update.exe file that you have downloaded through the CNN daily top ten malware pack, this is how you can remove the CNN Daily Top 10 malware:

Beware of the CNN.com daily top ten email

CNN com is one of the most respected websites when it comes to breaking international news. Unfortunately, some spammers seem to be taking advantage of the CNN name to victimize innocent victims. I opened my email today and found one email with subject "CNN.com Daily Top 10". Here is what the email contains:

Antivirus XP Removal

I was working in my PC today when an adult site suddenly popped out of my screen. I had difficulty closing Porntube and a pop out message warned me that I have spyware in my computer. The pop out message encouraged me to scan my PC using an antivirus XP software from AVXP08.com. AVXP08.com seems suspicious so I searched for more information about this Antivirus XP 2008 and here are some of the things that I have gathered from the world wide web.

AVXP08.com offers fake antivirus software?

According to a comment at McAfee site advisor, the AVXP08.com site offers a fake antivirus software which means that the link AntivirusXP2008Installer.exe that is downloaded when you click the scan your system for free now link may actually bring more harm to your PC.

An analysis from Virustotal.com also results in AntivirusXP2008Installer.0xeto be identified as follows:

• Fraud tool (DR/FraudTool.XPAntivirus.MA.1 from AntiVir)


• Adware ( Adware.XpAntivirus.AJ from BitDefender)


• Trojan (Trojan.Peed.IG from ClamAV)

If you get to arrive to this avxp08.com site, make sure not to click or download anything.


How to Get Rid of Antivirus XP

To remove avxp08.exe, delete it from the control panel but if it is not there do the following:

1. Launch the task manager by pressing ctrl + alt + del

2. Look for the avxp08.exe in the processes tab and press the end process button

3. Delete the avxp08 folder under c:\program files \

You may also use malwarebytes, a free malware removal tool if you do not know how to get rid of the antivirus xp 2008 virus:

Malware Bites

Have you downloaded a fake antivirus from this site?

Other fake anti virus protection programs that now proliferate online include antivirus system pro

.

MSN Featured Offers Spam

I was checking my email's Spam folder today and one message that really caught my attention is the spam email with the subject "Angelina Jolie's Free Video". No, I was not intrigued by the subject but I saw my very own email address as the sender of the message. I opened the message and it says I receive the email because I am subscribed to MSN featured offers.

Content of the MSN Featured Offers Spam

Here is the  edited content of the email:

Click Here! (I removed the link but it leads to http://195.190.13.98/video-nude-anjelina.avi.exe. please do not open the link in your browser, it might contain viruses or spywares!)

Wordpress 2.6 Now Available for Download

The "stable" version of Wordpress 2.6 is now available and wordpress users who have not yet upgraded to this latest version will see the upgrade to wordpress 2.6 link in their dashboard.

Problems with Wordpress 2.6

I already upgraded one of my sites today using the Wordpress Automatic Upgrade plugin and here are some of the troubles I have encountered so far:

The Wordpress automatic upgrade plugin was not be able to re activate my plugins so for those who are using Automatic Upgrade plugin, it will be a good thing to save a copy of your active plugins first before upgrading.

Some of my plugins won't work. Actually this is inevitable but I hope plugin authors will be able to upgrade their plugins too so they can work well with newer versions of wordpress.

Wordpress 2.6 features

What made me decide to upgrade to WP 2.6  ASAP is because of the theme preview feature. I always put my site on maintenance mode every time I want to make changes with my themes. Of course the Word count feature also comes handy particularly when I make commissioned posts which require specific number of words. Honestly though, I still have to really try out and familiarize myself with the features of this new WP version.

For more information on wordpress 2.6, watch this video:

Will You Buy a Refurbished MacBook Air?

The apple store is selling refurbished Macbook Air  at a lower price of course. A Refurbished MacBook Air 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo that is currently available for sale at the apple website is now sold at $1,549.00 from the original price of $1,799.00.

Will you buy a refurbished Macbook Air?

Refurbished macbook air is at least 14% cheaper than brand new macbook air units but is it wise to purchase refurbished items from Apple? I have been browsing online for user feedbacks on apple refurbished products and so far, most have been positive.

According to the apple website, their refurbished products go through stringent refurbishment processes before they are offered for sale plus the units come with a one year limited warranty. The only difference that I see between a brand new macbook air and a refurbished one is the box. Refurbished macbook air units may come with a brown box instead of a black box but who cares about boxes if you can save more than 200 dollars?

Blog Directories

Many webmasters recommend submitting url of sites to blog directories as this is supposed to help a blog or a website become more visible to the search engines. Submitting blog URL to directories may also help increase the number of site visitor and one way back links that a site receives. The latter in particular applies to directories that do not require a reciprocal link from a site.

The wordpress codex even attests the usefulness of blog directories and encourages wordpress users to add their sites to directory listings for traffic and search engine optimization purposes. There are tons of websites with high PR in the world wide web but many SEO specialists agree that dmoz.org is the best and the most important blog directory.

Of course directories are not only for blogs, they are for other industries as well. For bloggers and web masters, however, taking advantage of blog directories may be a good way to increase search engine visibility and improve traffic.

Abuse and Bullying Online

In 1997, a Korean actress commited suicide and her family and a psychiatrist attributed her death to cyberbullying. The actress reportedly got upset about negative comments that were posted on her website which may have resulted in her to commit suicide.

Surf the Internet from Your Car- Even Without a Laptop

We know of small TVs installed on cars so passengers can watch their favorite movies while traveling. Recently though, some drivers are even able to read blogs and visit their favorite websites by merely sitting inside their car -- even without a laptop.

According to allworldcars. com,  some car companies now offer their clients the ability to surf the internet in their car and that is even without a laptop.  The software used for this technology is reportedly already released and drivers of laptopless internet able cars can just select a url from their list of stored web pages and sites and the desired page will be displayed.

See how this works:

Image taken from All World Cars

Drivers should of course surf the net only when their car is stationary. Everyone knows about the dangers of texting while driving and people who drive and surf the internet all at once are likely to suffer from undesirable consequences.

Honestly though, I find this technology quite redundant. Why pay for such feature when you have a laptop that you can use to connect to the internet regardless where you are? This technology may not even be available to all new car san diego.

Price of Iphone in the Philippines

How much does Iphone cost in the Philippines?

Updated October 2012:
For those who plan to buy an Iphone through Globe Telecom, refer to the table below:

iPhone 4S	Unli Surf Combo 1799	iPhone 4S Prepaid Kit**
16GB	P4,800	P36,690
32GB	P10,080	P42,490
64GB	P15,096	P48,290

*P1,799 monthly service fee + P200 monthly cashout payable via 0% Citibank credit card payment installment up to 24 mos.

To date, Globe Telecom has not yet published prices for Iphone 5 on their website.

Refer to the table below for the complete price list of iphone as offered by Globe Telecom. Chart is taken from Globe.com.ph's website .

Although the Apple website endorses Globe Telecom as the official "seller" of iphone in the Philippines, many Filipinos still prefer to buy their iphones from other sources. One common reason for this is the price offered by Globe for their iphone units. Iphones from Globe are far more expensive than units sold by "non official" iphone sellers. Thus, many prefer to buy their iphone from other sources.

Where do Filipinos buy their iphones other than from Globe Telecom?

1. Online shops (sulit, ebay, multiply). When buying an iphone online, make sure to check the feedback and credibility of your seller. Be also cautious with deals that are too good to be true particularly because fake iphones are also sold online. You may think that you got your iphone 4 for only five thousand pesos only to realize later that it isn't the real iphone.

2. Pawnshops. Although iphones that are sold in pawnshops may have been brought there by their legitimate owners, it is also likely that some of these iphones are stolen goods.

Are you an iphone user/owner? Where did you buy your iphone?

Car that Runs on Water: Truth or Fiction?

Reuters recently featured a news story and a video about a Japanese company that was reportedly able to produce a car that runs on water. Japan based company Genepax, is said to have produced a car that derives its energy from water. The water powered car reportedly uses an energy generator that can extract hydrogen from water poured into the car's tank to release electrons which in turn produce electric power that can run the car. The Japanese company claims the water powered car can run at a speed of 80 kph for about an hour using only one liter of water.

Solar Bra from Triumph

Ladies, who among you are willing to wear a Triumph bra with solar panels on it? Well, definitely, I will not volounteer myself to wear one of those solar bras. I do not see any point why I should go through the hassle wearing such bra when a cotton bra is far more comfortable :-).

The solar bra is not yet available in stores but in case you wonder how it looks like, it looks like this:

Most Prevalent of New Computer Worms can Modify Web Pages

In its April 2008 internet security threat report, Symantec corporation, the company behind symantec norton ghost and other symantec norton security products, named the top ten new malicious codes that pose threat to computer users. These top ten malicious codes were detected during the last half of 2007 and the most widely reported of these new malicious codes family is a computer worm that can modify web pages.

New Girly Theme for Can Talk Tech

I am getting tired of people thinking that the author of Can Talk Tech (well that's me!) is a male, thanks to my name that sounds like a man's name and to the popularity among male bloggers to blog about tech (I guess more women bloggers are actually into personal blogs and shopping blogs) so I finally decided to use a wordpress theme that will tell people I am actually a female (lol).

Surfing the Net from a Umobile Powered Cellphone

My husband already received his umobile sim pack (mine will be delivered on Monday) and we have been exploring the features of this ad supported mobile network since hubby installed the sim in his K610i Sony Erricsson cellphone.

If there is one really outstanding feature that I have noticed from umobile, it is the internet browsing speed. I have been checking my websites in the cellphone and opening my email accounts and geeeee, it is FAST. i am not sure whether we are actually spending money everytime we usethe mobile internet but for such speed (better try it if you have the sim), the proposed P10.00/30 minute rate would be a good deal. I do not have worry much about the rate though because I will be eligible for a 100 peso free load for the next six months hahahha!

Anyway, I want to thank Juanel, it was in his blog that I read about umobile. Luckily I was able to grab invitations for me and my hubby.

How Spammers Use Your Email Ad to Send Junks Mails

Spammers can use your email address to send unsolicited emails and you may just realize they did when you start receiving numerous non delivery messages in your mailbox.

Have you ever received an email message that looks like this?



This type of email is called a Non Delivery Report or NDR. These messages also come by the name Delivery Status Notifications (DSN) and "bounce messages".This is the message that email users often receive when the message that they have sent failed to be received by the recipient. NDRs are actually helpful because they help email users know when they were unsuccessful in sending their electronic messages. However, some people are starting to receive NDR messages regardless that they have not sent messages to the supposed recipients. This is now referred to as an occurrence of NDR spam or backscatter spam.

How Spammers Use Somebody Else's Email to Send Junk Mails

NDR spam occurs when somebody receives NDR messages without him actually sending such email messages. How did this happen? Spammers used to harvest email addresses to send spam messages. Nowadays, however, they can also use these addresses as senders of their junk messages. Spammers may use your email address when sending spam messages and when this happens, you receive the non delivery notification when a recipient's email does not exist.

How to Stop NDR Spam

Prevention is better than cure, they say, and this applies in avoiding the hassles of being a target of NDR spams. Among the best ways to block ndr spam are to avoid displaying your email address in text form in the world wide web and to use efficient anti spam filters. It also helps if you have a separate email when registering for trivial sites and web memberships. People who sign up for "free product updates" and free jokes are also more at risk of being victimized by spammers.

More information about backscatter spam is available in the NDR spam white paper released by the GFI software company.

17 Beautiful Blogger Black Templates

Black is beautiful and some bloggers just like to use beautiful blogger templates in their websites. One of the disadvantages of using black xml templates is that it is sometimes difficult for site visitors to read the content of your site. Nevertheless, I have been using a black theme in this site and people still seem to continue reading my posts :-)

I have been looking for a template for blogger that I can use in my blogger supreme blog these past few days and I have found several dark but awesome black blogger templates. Here are some of the free to use black blogger beta templates that I have found online. Some of these blogger xml templates may not be all dark or black but headers and sidebars are in dark colors. Check out these awesome blogger template designs that you can use in your blogspot blogs:

SEO Strategies that do not Work

There are several ways on how to rank well in the search engine results page but there are so called SEO myths that many website owners and even bloggers adopt to rank well in the SERP or at least to get higher page rank. Worse, some people still endorse these strategies unaware that such SEO methods do not work. What are these SEO myths and fallacies? Here are some of the popular SEO strategies that do not work:

1. Link Exchange. Link exchange particularly excessive exchanging of links can have negative results in a site's ranking. This was mentioned under "Link schemes" in Google's webmaster help center. I am not saying it is bad to exchange link. Blogrolls are essential in the blogging community but website owners should practice exchanging links for other purposes other than for SEO. Blogrolls, for example, can be used to drive direct traffic to your friends' sites or to your other blogs.

2. Use of meta keywords. I have been using the keyword field of the All in One SEO Pack for as long as I can remember only to realize that my efforts were useless. Thanks to the SEO Fast Start ebook by Dan Thies who discussed about the irrelevance of meta keywords. Meta description is important as this can improve click through rates in the SERP but meta keywords are now being ignored by the search engine. A better alternative to using the meta keyword is to strategically incorporate your important keyword in the meta description and by strategically, I mean putting your important keyword in the first few words of your post description.

3. Keyword stuffing. Keyword density does NOT matter. You do not have to repeat a keyword over and over again for your page to rank well in that particular keyword. Humans hate spams and search engines hate sites that spam keywords. The "ideal keyword density", or what can be considered as just the right number of a keyword's occurrence so a page cannot be considered as spammy by the search engines vary among webmasters. There are in fact tools that measure keyword density but there is one trick to make sure your article is not overstuffed with keywords: Read your article and if it already sounds silly because you always use your keyword instead of using some pronouns, you are already abusing your keywords.

PS. i am still working out on NOT to overstuff my articles with keywords.

***

Page1Promotion is a Search Engine Optimization specialist offering SEO consultancy in major US cities.

Spim Blockers to Filter Instant Messaging Spam

With spim attacking every possible instant messaging account, a spim blocker may be necessary in keeping away annoying and nonsense ads and avoiding viruses and worms that may be sent through instant messaging networks.

What is Spim?

Spim, otherwise referred to as instant messaging spam is a kind of spam that appear in instant messaging services and target users of yahoo messenger, ICQ and windows live messenger. Spim programs can be more annoying than spam messages because it is quite difficult to despam these spim messages that just pop out during an IM conversation. Aside from bombarding recipients with unsolicited messages and ads, it is also not least likely that these spims may bring along viruses such as the Funny UST scandal virus that can affect a whole computer system.

Why Google Changed its Favicon

Google has recently changed its big G favicon into a blue (or is it purple?) colored small letter g. The question is why. I searched on the web and found these probable answers:

• Google maybe wants to be known as the little g and not the big G. Google is perhaps exercising one of its self proclaimed core values "Think and act like an underdog". At least through its favicon.


• The new google favicon is perhaps an effort to prove Google's search engine infinity. Read more about this in this article: Google Change Its Favicon.


• The change in favicon might just be a company business trick for Google to attract more people (and perhaps more revenue earning opportunities?). Read Google changed favicon Big G to small g.

Honestly, I believe google changed its favicon for no reason at all. The new favicon is stripping google with an iconic identity (I almost thought I was on a phising site when I first saw the new google icon while checking my adsense account). Maybe the people at google just got tired of the old favicon and changed it to something new. Most bloggers do that with their own site favicons too.

How to Stop Receiving Fanbox Spam

A lot of email users experience problem with fanbox and question it spam messages. I have been receiving fanbox and question it messages for several months now. I started to receive these messages from my friends but later on, I have been receiving fanbox messages from people I do not know.

I already decided that these fan box question it emails are actually spam messages that I need to ge
t rid of. Unfortunately, I still receive fan box and question it messages regardless that I have already marked them as spam.

What is fanbox?
Fanbox is the rebranded sms.ac but I would like to adopt gadgetpanel.com's description of fanbox, "Fanbox is SPAM. They will phish your password and SPAM your friends." Take note of the word phishing. How to stop spam from fanbox?

How to Stop Receiving Fanbox Spam

Mark the fanbox email you receive as spam.
This may not totally stop fanbox from sending you with spam messages but this can blacklist the sender. Once marked as spam, fanbox mails may no longer go directly to your inbox but to your spam or junk mails.

To disable fanbox spam, click the "opt out" option from the fanbox email.

Click "Never" and "Save". I will try to do this when I receive my next fanbox spam mail and see if this will work.

Update August 18:

I have not been receiving fanbox spam mails for quite a while now until this week. A new wave of fanbox fan messages are arriving in my spam folder. The message comes from NOREPLY@fanboxnotes.com with the subject msg me on yahoo wants to be your loyal fan" and the email even has my own name on it!

Here is what the message contains:
Msg me on yahoo wants to be your loyal fan!

Automatically sign in to view msg me on yahoo's profile and/or photo, and accept or reject her fan request.
You can change the frequency of this type of notification. Visit our Terms of Service or Privacy Policy.
FanBox - 255 G Street #723, San Diego, CA 92101, USA
Spam protection
Computer users can do something about the prevalence of spam and viruses by taking advantage of spam blockers. It is even recommended that big companies that are in need of email spam filtering make use of anti spam appliance. A spam appliance is a hardware device that is used together with a spam filter software for instant messaging and email filtering and spam solutions.

73 New Wii Games for Release in 2008

For wii owners who have been looking forward to play better wii games, the new and upcoming wii games for 2008 may just be far better if not to become the best and most popular wii games to become available.

Here is a list of the wii games that are set for release this year.

Royalty Free Images for Use on Websites

Images on websites and blog posts can greatly enhance the appearance of a site as well as encourage visitors to read featured articles. This is the reason why many webmasters find photos and images helpful in improving the appearance as well as the readership of a website. Not all bloggers however are able to produce images that they can use. Thanfkfully, there are royalty free images that can be used on websites. Here are some sources of royalty free images that can be used in blogs and websites:



Amgmedia.com Royalty free photos in this site can be used provided that credit is given to the site and photographer.

Visipix.com The site provides free copyright images for private and commercial use.

Unprofound.com

Stockvault.net

Freedigitalphotos.net

Cepolina.com

Freindster Background and Layouts

Freindster, (correctly spelled as friendster) is considered as the most popular social networking site in the Philippines. While Filipinos have friendster alternatives such as the option to showcase their backgrounds, profiles and photos through blogs, many still prefer to check out public and private photos posted by their classmates and friends in services like Friendster.

By having an account and profile at friendster.com, long lost friends and classmates are able to find and communicate with each other. I opened an account at Friendster a few years back with the encouragement of my husband and since then, I was able to find old friends and classmates who are now based in different parts of the globe.

Background and History
Friendster is founded by Jonathan Abrams in 2002. In 2003 internet giant company google tried to buy the social networking site for $30 million but the offer was turned down. In 2007, Freindster introduced a social & photosharing community, the photodiary.com.

Free Layouts and Graphics
The popularity of freindster particularly in the Philippines is perhaps the reason why there have been massive searches on friendster background, friendster free layout and friendster tweaks. Thankfully, users of the social networking site no longer have to settle with the traditional friendster overlay layouts because there are now a number of sites that offer help in hacking friendster and provide skins, tricks and layouts.

Here are some of the hot friendster layout that users can find online:

Anime Friendster layout. Catz19 is a good source of anime layouts for friendster . The site also has friendster crossover layouts such as this one:

Free to Watch Animal Videos

Animal videos can be fun and entertaining but the best of it all, there are plenty of these videos that you can watch for free even without a login. Plus, if you are into SEO, the keywords might do wonders to your site traffic as well.

Updated August 2008: I made changes to this post. If you arrive here looking for videos or pictures, I suggest you try watching the following videos. They are fun and entertaining:

Grand Theft Auto 4 Release, Controversies and Reviews

The video game Grand Theft Auto IV is getting numerous searches lately with fans googling in search of xbox 360 cheats, reviews, maps and gameplay. Some have even been looking to download grand theft auto online or are searching about grand theft auto 5. The searches may be sparked by the worldwide release of the Grand Theft Auto 4 last April 29 but some of the searches may also be attributed to the grand theft auto vice city stories and controversy.

Critics of the grand theft auto 4 multiplayer video game consider it not suitable for minors and letters were even sent to retailers to discourage them from selling the "disgusting and violent" new grand theft auto games.

Nevertheless there have been good and positive grand theft auto 4 reviews. The wikipedia even says it is the best rated video game of all time.

Prepaid wireless broadband from Smart

Smart has introduced another wireless broadband service to Fiipinos who are gradually becoming dependent on internet access, SmartBro Prepaid. SmartBro Prepaid is a lot similar to the smart plug and surf only that Smartbro prepaid does not have monthly fees. The rate for using this wireless prepaid broadband service is P10 per 30 minutes of internet use.

The Smart broadband prepaid kit costs PhP 4500 and is inclusive of one and a half hour worth of internet access load. I believe that this also comes with the Smart BRO USB modem which will be used to plug into the laptop's USB port to connect to the world wide web. Reloading can also be reportedly done by buying credits from smart load retailers. Speed is reportedly up to 384 kbps in areas with 3G coverages.

Smart claims this can be used nationwide but I wonder if this smart prepaid wireless broadband will work if I go to the boondocks. I mean will the broadband work in areas without 3G coverages? I still need to get out of the house to call when I go to some remote places in the provinces that I go to sometimes. I wonder if I can use the prepaid broadband in those areas.

Beautiful Free 3 Column Blogger Templates

Here are some of the reasons why some bloggers prefer to use 3 column blogger tempaltes:

1. 3 column blogger templates can accommodate more widgets than 2 column templates

2. The extra sidebar in a 3 column blogger template can be used as an advertising space for google ads or similar blog revenue earning programs
There used to be a limited number of 3 column blogger templates on the web but now, say goodbye to hacking your blogger templates to add an extra sidebar. There are now a number of blogger template designers who offer new and better looking blogger skins for your blog. The best thing about these templates is that they can be downloaded for free. Here are some links that provide 3 column xml templates  for download online.



http://aspiredblogger.blogspot.com/2009/07/polaroid-3-column-blogger-xml-template.html

http://freeskins.blogspot.com/

http://aspiredblogger.blogspot.com/

Some of these 3 column beautiful blogger templates were actually inspired if not converted from wordpress themes. Unfortunately not all of the beautiful wordpress themes are available for download as blogger templates. Most popular magazine wordpress themes like Options and Structure, for example, have not yet been converted to blogger and not everyone has the ability to make blogger converted wordpress templates.

My Picks for the Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs in 2008

I was not able to make an entry during last year's Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs writing project. Fortunately, Janette Toral has decided to come up with The Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs in 2008. The writing project is supposed to identify "influential" blogs that were created not earlier than July 1, 2007. While it may be quite challenging to identify blogs that are "gradually gaining influence", I am identifying my choice of Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs in 2008 based on the following parameters:

1. Influential blogs are blogs that have the ability to start a "movement". I should have included Macuha.com in my list for his pinay scandal movement but his blog was started somewhere in January 2007.

2. Influential blogs are blogs that are able to convert considerable number of visitors into readers. People won't subscribe to your blog if they do not like or need what you post right?

3. Influential blogs are blogs that make people do what you advocate for and write in your blog. Filipinaimages.com should be in my list but the blog was created in June 2007 (just a month earlier).

-- I have to agree with Quezon.ph that the criteria of "influential" differ from one person to another. My perception of influential blogs may be different from other bloggers who participate in this contest. I hope though that more participants to this writing project will be able to to at least show some criteria as to how they come up with their list of the ten emerging influential blogs.

Here is my partial list of my entries for the The Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs in 2008. Hopefully I will have this finished this week.

1. prcboardexamresults.com. This website is surely helpful to bar and board exam takers given that the PRC website is always down. Nevertheless, what makes this site influential is the fact that it has gained leadership among Philippine blogs that cover PRC board exam results. As for its readers, the site has gained more than 13,000 subscribers since its creation in September 2007. (Updated May 8, 2008: I am deleting this entry. The reason? I just asked myself how a website that shows PRC results can influence the way people think and act. I have also realized that being a leader does not necessarily mean influential. I am calling this site as outstanding but not necessarily influential).

21. Blog ni Inday. The site is primarily a humor blog that "gathers and shares Inday jokes found online and from SMS messages". What makes this humor blog influential is that it inevitably establishes a new genre of Filipino jokes similar to the Erap Jokes a few years back and institutionalizes these "jokes" by publishing them in a new communication medium, blogging.

2. Filipino Voices.

Update: June 12

Geez, I really find it more difficult to finish my entries. Most of the influential blogs are not "new" enough.

3. Davao Food Huntress. When does a blog on food and dining become influential? I guess it is when people become used to checking it out to know where it is best to spend one's money when eating out :-) I love food and I always check this blog to know where it is best to eat in Davao City. Looking at the number of comments on each of this blog's postS, I can say that there are lots of people who do just as I do. The first post of Davao food huntress is dated August 6. So I guess, this blog qualifies for the top ten emerging influential blogs.

wpthemedesigner.com At last, a Filipino WP theme designer!!!!

4. Mar Roxas for President in 2010. Let me give a personal political statement: I am NOT voting for Mar Roxas in 2010 (unless maybe he stops spending excessive money promoting his candidacy). Nevertheless, I am voting for the Mar Roxas for President in 2010 for the top 10 emerging influential blogs in 2008. Why? Realistically, more Filipinos are likely to vote for Roxas and they would be getting much info about him and his candidacy in this blog.

5. Ready to be Rich.  I am tired of seeing the keyword "make money online" in money related blogs where bloggers usually write about blog monetization and even SEO. Fitz Villafuerte's website is a relief from this as he does not only cater to those interested in blogging but also in giving money making and saving tips to the non web savvy individuals. His blog can potentially instill financial innovation among his readers.

Updated July 6, 2008

6. Fritzified A blog from a really good photo enthusiast! I hope Fritzified will feature more of his photos and make some of them available for other bloggers to use for free :-). We need more Filipino themed photos in our blogs!

7. Sino sila A watch dog of bloggers? Hmmmm.. this site may be visited by more and more "guilty" bloggers in the near future.

8. Project Vanity I guess it is time a pinay gives fashion and beauty tips for fellow pinays. At least most of the products featured in this blog is available locally, I do not have to spend a fortune buying from ebay.com to look and feel better :-)

9. Wifelysteps Moms and wives are the future of the Philippine blogosphere besides reading this blog reminds me that being a wife and mother is cool.

jlozada.com I am voting for this blog for the same reason that I voted for Mar Roxas blog.

10. Online Job Workers Honestly, I am running out of blogs to vote for hahaha so I am nominating my blog. Will this blog be influential too? Hopefully more people will soon visit this blog to learn where they can get legit online jobs. I hope the blog will be influential enough to change people's online earnings and lives.

July 29, 2008

At last I got my 10 picks!

Wordpress Upgrade Horror: Automatic Upgrade Plugin Won't Work

I finally decided to upgrade my WP 2.1 blog to the newer version of wordpress last week because of the "security vulnerabilities" of the older version. Excessive bandwidth usage in two of my blogs also prompted me to decide to upgrade.

I upgraded my personal blog Rhodilee dot com using the Wordpress Automatic Upgrade Plugin without having any trouble at all. Unfortunately, the plugin won't work in my other blogs including this blog and my niche blog Online Job Workers.

So what do you do when the wordpress automatic upgrade plugin does not also work with your blog? Here are some suggestions:

1. Use another wordpress upgrade plugin. The instant upgrade plugin for wordpress is another plugin that does the same thing as the wordpress automatic upgrade plugin. Nevertheless, wordpress users who installed their blogs via fantastico (such as in my case) will not be able to use it.

2. Upgrade via fantastico. I considered upgrading my site via fantastico hoping the upgrade will be as easy as installing a wordpress blog. Unfortunately, I was neither able to upgrade using fantastico because upgrade to wordpress 2.5 and 2.5.1 is not yet available due to "bug fixing and testing", according to my hosting provider. Nevertheless, here is a good tutorial on How To Upgrade Wordpress 2.3.x+ Via Fantastico.

3. Upgrade your blog using Filezilla. Wordpress actually recommends the use of filezilla to manage a wordpress site and using filezilla to upgrade to wordpress 2.5 or 2.5.1 may be a good option that you have if you can't automate your upgrade. To upgrade using filezilla, download the filezilla client and read this article: Upgrade WordPress Guide How To Upgrade WordPress. If you are stuck on how to upload and download files using filezilla, read this post.

I was able to upgrade my sites using filezilla.

Downloading Youtube Videos

Videos posted on youtube takes some time to load. This especially applies to popular videos and highly seached videos like "mririan" that may be too slow to buffer. This might be the reason why many people are looking for ways to watch youtube videos more conveniently in their computer by searching for a free youtube downloader online. There are also copyrighted videos that are uploaded but will inevitably be deleted in the video sharing website so many find it convenient to download the youtube video while it is still available.

How to download youtube videos
Fortunately, there are youtube downloading softwares that claim to make it easier to download videos from youtube. A free software from Biennesoft, for example, allows users to download from sites like youtube and use this as a convert the video to whatever format they like. This youtube converter can then convert the videos into formats compatible with iPhone, iPod and similar devices. Youtube downloading sites like downloadyoutubevideos.com, on the other hand, merely requires the url of the video and provides a downlink to saving your file. It however requires that you have an installed FLV video player to save youtube videos.

If you are a voracious youtube or zootube video downloader though, your computer might need more Memory to store all your video contents.

File Attachments Spammers Use to Infiltrate Your Inbox

Because more and more people have already become aware of spam mails sent as plain text such as the 419 spam mail, spammers now use different tactics to pass through spam email blockers and antivirus anti spam softwares. Some of these spam messages are so cleverly structured free anti spam programs may not be able to block them.

So how do spammers manage to get through free email spam blockers, fre anti-virus software and free spam blocker softwares? They send spam through email attachments. The following are four types of attachment spam you may receive in your inbox. Read through and you might just realize the last attachment you opened today actually came from a spammer:

1. Photo and Image files. Image spam is effective in circumventing free spam filter because image spams may be considered merely as images by email client softwares. This perhaps explains why you may still receive emails with images that sell watch replicas and online pharmacy products regardless of your spam email blockers. How to get rid of this type of spam? Do not read email messages with images that come from people you do not know.

2. PDF files. Another type of spam that many email anti spam programs may not be able to filter is Pdf spam. Make sure that you check out who your mail sender is when you receive PDF files especially if you are the type who always receive PDF files in your mailbox. PDF spam is a spam threat that is considered as a development out of image spams.

3. Excel Files. Business people who often use excel program are most at risk of opening spam emails with excel files. With the advent of spammers using excel files as attachment, security experts also say that spammers may also inevitably use powerpoint and word documents as spam attachments. Understanding and combating spam messages that use excel files and other attachments can be read at the GFI software white paper on "Attachment spam-the latest trend".

4. Zip files. Zip files are usually used when downloading and sharing files in the internet. People also use zip files to make it easier and faster to send bulky data over email. Unfortunately, spammers are also using zip files to make it similarly easier and faster to spam mailboxes. According to SC magazine, spam mails that contain zip files usually use the following or a variety of these words: Invoice and document; alert, invitation and notice. Watch out for these words especially when opening emails with zip files that come from unknown sources.

Where to Find and Buy a Wii

There is currently a shortage of Wii specifically in US and UK. Nintendo has in fact removed its ads in the UK because of the wii shortage. People here in the Philippines is luckier though because it is much easier to find a Wii. I was scouring ebay.ph yesterday when I saw somebody selling a brand new Nintendo wii and nobody has bid on the PHP 21,000.00 (504.444 USD) game console yet.

I checked ebay.com and there sure are available Nintendo Wii Game consoles  but looking at the number of bids (10-30 bids on ending soon items), a Wii that has been bought from ebay.com is sure to be very expensive.

4 Ways to Protect Your Email from Spammers

There are so called email harvesters that glean the internet for email addresses. Once, your email is "harvested", then expect spammers to spam your mailbox with anything from free download indian and pakistani scandal clips to phishing email messages. While it helps that the two popular webmails gmail and yahoo have built in spam blockers, it is inevitable that phishing and hoax mails can get through your inbox.

So how do your protect your email address from spammers and email harvesters?

1. Avoid exposing your email address. The best way to protect your email address from spammers is to avoid displaying your email address especially in your blogs or websites but in case you feel obliged, the following may help:

2. Display your email as an image. Instead of displaying your email as text, use an image instead. Humans can read this, robot email harvesters won't.

3. Use an alternative format when displaying your email as text. E.g mail(@)yourmail.com.

4. Use a captcha program. Captcha (Completely Automated Turing Test To Tell Computers and Humans Apart) can now be used to protect your email. The reCAPTCHA Mailhide for example, requires people to solve a reCAPTCHA before they will be able to view your email address.

Bit Torrant sites to download movies and games

Warning:
Torrant sites may provide free to download files. Be advised however that they are also popular sources of rogue anti virus protection programs such as green av, windows police pro and personal guard 2009.

What is a bit torrent?
Bit torrants or torrent files are used for file sharing over the internet. Movie download torrent allow people to download classic television and anime shows. Bt torrent download sites also have a wide array of audiobooks, games, software, muzika (music) and downloadable bit torrent for mac.

Torrent sites are considered as violative of copyright infringement laws but bit torrent users argue that these sites give options to overpriced soft wares. Bit torrent freeware may even cause the prices of original programs to become relatively lesser. Torrents, however, are not safe to download. A lot of viruses malware, spyware and trojans come with these files. Some torrent sites provide forums on the torren files contents which may help in identifying which bt file is infected or broken and even give information about the download speed.

How to use bit torrent
It is essential that the torrent has a high amount of seeders and leechers. Seeders are those who upload the files. A high number of seeders mean faster download speed. Leechers on the other hand are those who are downloading the file. Downloaders are generally advised to read the forums before downloading a file to prevent viruses and malicious soft wares. Seeding is considered as the "ethical thing" to do after the download is complete. Additionally, you may check out this post by myowntechblog.blogspot.com on how to use torrent.

Bit Torrent Sites
Choosing the right torrant sites is crucial. Trust is the key in choosing your site for downloading movies, games and musics. Some of the popular bittorrant sites include Torrentreactor.com (bit torrant downloader); Torrentspy.com (closed since March 24); Thepiratebay.org (bit torrent download website best for downloading TV shows such as Prison Break, Heroes, Naruto, Avatar, Desperate Housewives and even High School Musical); Sumotorrent.com (bit torrent free download site) and Pinktorrent.com which is a popular source of adult and porn bit torrents.

How does bit torrent work?
Different free bit torrant sites require different download applications that need to be installed in the computer. Torrentreactor requires Azureus that requires JRE (Java Runtime Environment); Torrentspy requires bittorrent downloader; and all other sites may use ?torrent or micro torrent

Your internet speed will be compromised if you use torrent downloader applications. It is suggested that you leave your computer open overnight or for as long as it takes to download the file. Multiple downloads are also possible.

New Naruto Games for 2008

The popularity of the Naruto TV series brought about the introduction of other Naruto products like the new naruto games for the nintendo wii, online playable naruto games and naruto games for psp. Naruto is an animated manga series about a boy named Naruto Uzumaki. The animation series originated from Japan but is now widely popular in many parts of the Western world where the Naruto series has been translated to cater to English speaking fans particularly in the United States.



New Naruto Games

Naruto games are similarly as popular as the TV series considering the number of people who want to look for naruto games cheat and download free naruto games. So whats new in naruto video games? New Naruto games are being introduced this year 2008:

Naruto: Ninja Destiny

The Naruto: Ninja Destiny is a 3D fighting game for the Nintendo DS. Nevertheless, a number of game reviews consider the Naruto: Ninja Destiny as a clone of other Naruto fighting games like the Naruto: Clash of Ninja.

Naruto Shippuuden: Shinobi Retsuden 2

A sequel to Naruto: Shinobi Retsuden, the Naruto Shippuuden: Shinobi Retsuden 2 developed by Takara Tomy is expected to be released on April 24, 2008. Reviews of this Nintendo DS 3D Fighting game are expected to come out soon after the release date.

4 Sites to Search for the Most Popular Keywords in the Internet

There are several SEO advantages if you know the most popular keywords in the internet, you will learn what people search for which will give an idea what's hot and what's not in the world wide web. To put it simply, knowing what the most popular keywords are will allow you to drive traffic to your site.

Here are four sites that can be used to research for the most searched items in the internet:

Yahoo Buzz. Yahoo buzz identifies the most popular stories through a buzz score that is based on people's searches, votes and emails. Hot items are often displayed as feature stories in the yahoo page but the yahoo buzz site itself provides an hourly update of the top 10 keywords on yahoo.

Google Zeitgeist Hot Trends. Googel displays its top 100 keywords at the Google Zeitgeist Hot Trends.The keywords are based on US searches. Country specific top keywords can be found here. The results for the top 15 keywords by country are updated monthly.

Lycos 50. Lycos features its top queries on a weekly basis in the Lycos 50. Particular terms are excluded from the list such as country names, automated queries, pornographic and four letter words. Misspellings and plurals are also considered when counting the searches for a particular keyword.

Technorati. Technorati does not only display the most popular blogs and sites in the internet. It also displays the top 15 searches, top videos. top movies and top news.

The most popular keywords in the internet may be very competitive. This is why I suggest using related keywords when writing about these popular search engine terms.

New adsense alternative for publishers

Google has been releasing a number of new rules recently including the display of a privacy policy in sites that display google adsense. The company also requires their publishers to make google ads distinguishable which can otherwise affect ads click through rates. There were also publishers who were banned from adsense which is why news of companies which can potentially replace adsense as a source of revenue among publishers can really be interesting. Just recently, I read at Techsagar about India's first google ads alternative, Adzant.

I am not sure if Adzant is available to international publishers but I already signed up to receive an email notification once the company becomes fully operational. The company reportedly offers publishers different options for selling ads. I just hope that the ads that will be displayed are targeted to my traffic. I do not want to be posting ads about traveling to France when my blog post is about cooking adobo.

Will Google eliminate the 336 x 280 ad format?

After requiring adsense publishers to post privacy policy in their sites, Google has again announced new rules that should be observed by bloggers who monetize their sites with adsense. This time, publishers are prohibited to place ads under a title or section which will give out an impression that the ads are not ads.

I am quite uncomfortable with this because my adsense monetized sites generally display adsense right below the post title. Worse, I always enumerate things in my sites so I generally use titles such as Wednesday jobs for writers; Beautiful Free Blog Templates for New Blogger, etc. See this screenshot from Jobzonline:

This new adsense rule update also prohibits the use of ads near links or texts that have the same colors and line spacing as the ads. To make things easier to understand, Google is eliminating ads that can "trick" non web savvy users to click ads that look like part of the site contents.

Uh-oh, this will really make me busy updating my sites the next few days.

The ad format that works well with my sites is the 336 x 280 size and since most adsense publishers use this format to make the ads look like part of the site content, (yes, "trick non websavvy users" as you may say), will Google eliminate the 336 x 280 or similar ad formats soon? If that happens, that will surely be a bad news for me and a number of adsense publishers out there.

New Google feature to predict tomorrow's events

Google Australia announced a new Google feature called the gday which can predict news events, sports results and actual text contents of blogs and newspaper columns "24 hours before they are written".

Using a technology Google Australia calls MATE (Machine Automated Temporal Extrapolation), gday can predict what will happen in the world wide web a day before they will happen but before you get crazy over this google feature, the announcement is actually one of Google's hoaxes for April fool's day.

Google's official blog version of April fool's day offering, on the other hand, is the announcement of a project Virgle whose goal is to establish permanent human settlement in planet Mars and before you head on to your gmail to send some email using Gmail Custom Time, remember too that this is also a part of Google's april fool's day hoaxes.