Google Tricks, Easter Eggs & Secrets

Google's engineers love to hide some pretty cool tricks at the most unexpected places. Add to that Google's policy of giving 20% of working time to its engineers to do what they want, and you have a search engine filled with lots of entertaining Easter eggs and tricks.

Sadly, most of these tricks are still a secret, but every now and then, Google employees leak these cool insider pranks and the

How to Detect a Phishing Email: An Example

Some of my important emails end up in the Spam folder due to incorrect filtering. So, I occasionally check the Spam folder to see if an email that was not spam ended up there. Today, while checking the Spam folder, I came across an email that was a classic example of a phishing message. Hence, I decided to share it here to point out some common tactics used in such messages.

Here is the email:-

Google Panda SEO: Make your Website Panda Proof

Panda is the part of the Google algorithm that targets low quality websites. However, there has been some argument over the content Google treats as being low quality. This has led to many unhappy webmasters who believe that their websites have been incorrectly targeted. Google, maintaining secrecy of its algorithm, does not reveal much as to what it considers as being good content.

Due to this

Tips to Shop Safely Online

Shopping online is becoming increasingly popular with consumers of all ages. With fast shipping and websites selling virtually everything, online shopping is an attractive alternative to the hassle of visiting multiple stores.

However, eCommerce safety is a huge issue, and many shoppers are unaware of how to ensure that their online transactions are safe, secure and private. Fortunately, there

Make Facebook Photos & Posts Private

Do you have private pictures of yourself or your family on Facebook which you don't want the entire world to see? This guide will help you change your Facebook privacy settings to only allow your friends or people you know to see your Facebook photos (and everything else you do). You can even customize the privacy settings of individual albums to share them with a small group of people like your

Becoming A Computer Technician – Tips On How To Get Started

 by: Jessica Lacy

 If you have a natural affinity for computers, and you enjoy working with machines, then one of the most rewarding and enjoyable jobs that you might want to look at is that of becoming a computer technician.

Among the benefits of becoming a computer technician is that it is a very varied and interesting profession, in which you can choose from a number of different ways to progress, and also choose whether you would like to be self-employed and running your own business, or you can work for an employer and follow a more structured employment path.

One of the routes into the work of a computer technician in recent years has been to study a course in computer building or repair that will give you a good foundation of knowledge about how computers are constructed, and how the various parts within the computer work together and complement each other.

Another option if you have already been tinkering and upgrading your own computers for some time is to look for a local computer technician who should be fairly experienced, and is willing to take on an apprentice so that you can get plenty of practical experience, and then apply this experience under their supervision as you develop your computer knowledge.

If you prefer to work in an environment where there is a more structured progression and development in your role as a computer technician, then you may want to consider looking at corporations which have large offices in your area, as these will often have a number of IT staff already working there. Among the benefits of following this career path is that the company will often sponsor you or at least give you some support in earning more qualifications and accreditations to help you develop.

Once you have begun to be established as a computer technician, then it is valuable for you to think about getting more qualifications or accreditations, which will allow you to increase the breadth of your knowledge and experience, which will naturally assist you in getting more lucrative opportunities, and moving forwards in your career as a computer technician. These can be either educationally based, or be accreditations provided by manufacturers.

Whichever route you choose, becoming a computer technician can be both an interesting and lucrative profession.

Best Animation Software

by: Paquette Logan

Realism is the key for that rising demand with 3D animation. This is the challenging technology designed for prospective artists and for professional animators alike to cultivate new editions and versions in the existing 3D cartoon programs. The frames within the models and the shots are sometimes simple, but the action or the movements within the characters is the location where the creativity and skills of the animator comes inside.

In 3D pc animation, visual styling are probably the categories that need be considered. Over the ages there has always been a confrontation involving two ideologies: paintings for art’s cause and art for human upliftment. 3D animation is also a creative art form predominant in these details age marked by way of numerous inventions. Technological advancement can be a major catalyst for the ideology of art for upliftment. 3D animation is a perfect amalgamation associated with both.

3D animation encapsulates a essence of art work its dynamic and ever evolving nature should make it a potent education represent paintings, drawing in addition to sculptures. This form of art challenges the creative along with the intellectual streak inside the artist. The artist now fails to only use the standard means but boasts to show scientific intelligence.

This investigation involves an intricate software understanding and computer animation. The form of art is so immaculate that you need to draw, paint and model the plan within the dominion of 3D computer animation. Lighting, cinematography, colour pallette, textures, sound synchronisation, shade providing, contrasts and animation are examples of the other requirements to be a professional 3D animator. The first step as being a 3D animator can be that aspirants ought to understand to help make an animation on needs to literally sculpt a model along with the technological strokes together with bring the inanimate matter someone's. Taking or withdrawing elements from the model one may need to judge the inspiring work from different vantage points. a model in 3d animation usually gets under way with 2D photographs which presents this model from different angels.

To create some sequence of animation one has to make a detailed view within the model in the format of drawings, scripts and transitions. Tools play a major role in that creative process but it does not abrogate creativity from the work of genius, for a still renders animation aspirant, determination is a only tool in addition to nothing even technological dependence on any sort usually requires away quality in the creation.

The procedure of acquiring 3D animation techniques could be the creation of a backdrop, the placed designing, the identity modelling, the computer animation, cameras, recording, music compositions and specialized effects. The module within the study of a 3D animation contains 3D modelling, a model in 3d prototypes, Character animation, Special effects, architectural improvisations and engineering technicalities. This creative field demands its aspirants to be immaculate in this tricks of animation which include JPEG, GIF, TIFF, TGA and PNG extendable. Holistically, 3D animation usually requires the creator to have an aesthetic taste from the placement of the model. 3D animation brings to our life all static images and is the foundation for the brand image on the institution lest one looses people interest. 3D animation if excessive can be tedious for this viewer and skilled 3D animators need to understand and identify the viewer’s type of equilibrium.

5 Web Based Scanning Tools

By: Robert Corter 


As attacks on web based scanning application continue to threaten the internet platform, the demand for tools on website scanning and security check continues to grow. Gone are the days of checking out on common hacks and picking websites at hand - software developers and IT pros can now use automated web application testing tools to gather reports and use them as guidelines in fixing security-related bugs or issues.

Web based scanning has become a part of the entire web application testing method for determining bugs in the software development cycle. And because security in web based scanning has become a crucial part of the software expansion, several requirements like the Payment Card Security Standard has been regulated to scan any web-based stuff and its vulnerability to ensuring security.

There are three key elements in an effective web based scanning program: defining the purpose & scope of the scan, assembling a readable & usable report and deciding on the right scanning tools to use during application. Even if the website is filled with security loopholes, it is very important to scan reports that can be translated into action (by means of upgrading) in order to regulate or, better yet, fix web scanning issues.

SECURITY is very essential in web based scanning. Take note that all websites are designed with relevant information about the company involved. These days, the cutthroat process of "website defacement" is done to trace hackers. So if you want to secure your web based scanning application instead of considering its susceptibility to hackers, here are top five web scanning vulnerability tools for both Linux and Windows platform.

WEBSECURIFY Web Security Testing

This is a cross-operating system testing tool available on Windows, Linux and Mac OS. WEBSECURIFY is considered the best web scanning vulnerability tool that helps control risks throughout your web application.

NETSPARKER Web Security Application Scanner

A highly-commercialized web scanning tool designed to find certain vulnerabilities over web application, NETSPARKER comes with a 30-day trial version for those who want to use rapid "web penetration" testing in determining security issues within the application.

NIKTO Web Scanner

Considered as the #1 source for web vulnerability scanning, NIKTO is available in Linux platform as well as page script distributors like BackBox, GnackTrack and BackTrack. You can also use this tool in Mac and Windows 7 platform, but make sure that you downloaded a fully-upgraded Perl Script first.

SKIPFISH Web Scanning Vulnerability Tool

This is the first automatic web scanning tool designed to trace all vulnerabilities under a single application. The unique thing about SKIPFISH is that you don't need to become an expert only to find scanning vulnerability in your website. The tool is available in the BackTrack 5 format.

OWASP (Proxy-ZAP) Zed Attack

This tool started out as an open web scanning application project by a non-profit organization dedicated in improving web scanning and security. The Zed Attack is a proxy used to integrate web penetrating tools into a single application (through using OWASP's automatic web scanning functionality).

The Cost of Replacing Data Vs Using Online Backup

By: Erin Gibb


According to a 2003 study at Pepperdine University in California, data losses cost American businesses a staggering $18,000,000,000. With the increasing use of more vulnerable laptops, and the concentration of data on multi-gigabyte hard drives that figure is probably higher today. Businesses worldwide are losing vast amounts of money each year due to hard drive crashes, disasters like fire of flood, and theft of or damage to a portable device. Even the data stored on a smartphone can be significant.
In another US survey, 69 percent of the computer savvy business people who were polled reported that they had lost data due to a disaster, viruses, hardware failure and, yes, accidental deletion. Something as simple as failing to save a file before your computer reboots (usually after an automatic upgrade) can cause data loss which translates into time lost reworking the file.

In many cases it is possible to retrieve at least some of the data lost when a hard drive crashes, but the technical wizards who know how to do this do not come cheap. It can cost thousands of euros for laptop, and tens of thousands for a networked computer. There are many back-up systems available to mitigate the problem, but a system is only as good as how faithfully it is followed. Many users of personal desktop or laptop computers have gone as far as to purchase a data storage device such as a USB flash drive or external hard drive. In theory all data files are loaded onto one of these devices at regular intervals. Now when was the last time that happened?

A business that does not have some sort of data back-up system – one that is rigorously enforced – is just asking for trouble, serious trouble. Even with regular backing up some data losses occur, and time and productivity are always lost during the period when the data are being restored. Let’s say that three hours of downtime costs the company €100. It is likely to be much, much more, but suppose that by luck there were no sales lost, and the €100 just represents lost productivity because you still have to pay your employees even if there is nothing for them to do until the computers are back up.

For less than €100a year, it is possible to protect your data and guarantee that your small or middle-sized company does not suffer catastrophic losses. This is all done through the wonders of online back-up. The best part is that once the backup-software has been installed on your computer or server your job is done. No more remembering to change the tape or back-up on to a memory device. At fixed intervals, all your data are compressed and transmitted to an offsite location where they are stored. Encryption and secure transmission protect your data every step of the way. Your data is further safeguarded by using multiple data centresfor storage, even of older files and documents. This redundancy ensures full restoration in the time it takes to download the lost information.

The New Google Algorithm Farmer- What SEO/SEM Professionals Need to Know

by: John Moorehead

It's official! While there has been talk of an upcoming algorithm change from Google for at least a couple of months, these past couple of weeks saw a definite change in the way that Google ranks those sites on the web vying for top placement in its listings. So what is the big news? This algorithm specifically went after content farms and in addition to a broad extent low quality sites that have been gaming the system for higher rankings. Since the algorithm targeted content farmers, this algorithm has been nicknamed The Farmer.

If you read our recent article: "Google Moving Against Content Farms- What Does This Mean for SEO?" You probably were already on the look-out for the coming algorithm change. Now that the algorithm has taken effect, the SEO/SEM community definitely knows a little bit more about it, however there are still a few things that require more research and information.

Who Was Targeted by the Farmer Algorithm?

This algorithm change which took effect since late February is said to have affected between 11% and 12% of the search queries in the United States. As of the moment, it is not sure when the algorithm will affect other regions in the world.

Some of the major website properties that were affected included article distribution sites, aggregated content sites (those sites that republish original content from others), sites that mostly sell products with little or no content associated with them, and in general sites that don't have unique or high quality content. Generally speaking, if a website's goal is to monetize content that is not original or high quality, then it is likely that the site has been targeted by Google.

Who Has Benefited from the Farmer Algorithm?

Generally speaking, those sites that have or will benefit from this algorithm will be sites that create unique, high quality content. Obviously, white hat SEO always included creating high quality, unique content as a prerequisite for obtaining long term quality results, this fact hasn't changed.

Tips for SEO/SEM to Avoid the Wrath of Farmer

If you noticed a sudden drop in the Search engine result pages or if you want to avoid a sudden drop in the future, here are some tips that should help you avoid the raft of the Farmer algorithm.

Make sure that the vast majority of content that you post on your website is unique and original. Obviously, you may have to post product descriptions or technical specs that come from a manufacturer, however when possible, create original and unique content in addition to this republished content.

Consider using the Original Source meta tag from Google: meta name="original-source" content=http://www.somedomain.com/article1.html More information at: http://www.google.com/support/news_pub/bin/answer.py?answer=191283

This meta tag directly tells Google that the content you have on your site is original- this way if someone plagiarizes your content or duplicates it in anyway, Google will know the original source and you should get all the credit from Google.

Another good tool to checkout is at www.copyscape.com This tool will scan the net looking for duplicate content so that you can identify specific pages on your website that need to be re-written so they are 100% unique.

Be choosy with the type of articles that you distribute. It should be noted that while Google has targeted many article distribution sites, you will not be penalized for having your content on these sites- the more likely possibility will be these back links will have less power and thus be less effective- so there is no need to remove any of your content from these sites.

Be careful how you monetize your content. Obviously, those that heavily advertise on their site will receive extra scrutiny from Google. If you use content to lure traffic for monetization, definitely use unique content and do not rely solely on aggregated/republished content.

Obviously, the Farmer algorithm has only been out for a couple of weeks, so SEO/SEM professionals are still researching its broad effects. As always, we'll keep you updated as well if we find important information.

Make Your Website More Panda Friendly

by: James Salerno

The recent Google Panda update has raised the bar not only for SEO experts but also for web designers. It’s getting tougher and tougher to rank well and that means that you really have to pay attention to all designing and Google ranking factors. When we do this, search engines rewards us because we are rewarding our audience and providing them with the information and experience they are looking for. The following points will help you to make your website panda proof:-

1. Content is key:The Panda algorithm update emphasizes providing assurance only on websites that contain unique and useful content. This will help users better find content relevant to their search. If you provide web page content that is unique, relevant, high quality and preferably 1000+ words, your site will likely be rewarded with improved rankings and therefore, increased traffic.

2. Above the fold design: Narrowing your header images, removing header banner images and pushing more content onto the top of your site will help with Panda.

3. Web Page indexing: A website with more than 100 web pages and maximum pages indexed by Google would be considered as a Panda friendly website.

4. Page rank: Page rank is still one of the most important factors. PageRank is an independent measure of Google’s perception of the quality/authority/credibility of an individual web page. It does not depend on any particular search phrase. Google conveniently reports this as a number from 0-10 (10 being the best).

5. Check your Domain registration: Domain registration for five years helps to enhance authority points. This is a small tip, but every little bit helps.

6. Webmaster tools: It enables webmasters to get a better idea of what Google “thinks” about their web sites, how the Google “spider” sees them, and what improvements could be made.

7. Social media proof: Google Panda takes social media trends seriously and content that is loved by social media sites like Twitter and Facebook gets better position in search engines.

8. Optimize for Fast Load Times: Avoid flash, single background images in the website. Google tends to favor sites that are snappy, quick, and fast.

How To Scan and Fix Registry with Registry Cleaner?

by: Austin Porter

Whenever you use your PC, it either reads or inserts entry onto a particular spot in its system. Overtime, this process can accumulate and cause some problems which are hard to ignore. It's because of this why you regularly have to scan and fix registry of your PC using related cleaner software. Continue reading to learn more about this. I will also be discussing a top quality registry cleaner software that speed up my PC quickly.

The computer has to remember a lot of things - hardware attached, selected system options, applications around, etc. Each time you use it, it has to go through all of these entries. However, there may also be invalid, missing or double entries. Such can be caused by anything from removing a hardware previously attached, to deleting a file or program.

When such happens, you will notice that the PC will begin to work a lot slower than before. Although it goes through all these entries in a very fast manner, still it may take some time if there's too much to read. Eventually, you will also notice certain programs will refuse to run, and system crashes will surface more frequently.

Of course you can always take your computer to an expert to have all unnecessary entries removed. However, it may come with a steep price tag. What's more, it's supposed to be done periodically to keep your computer in tip-top shape. Doing it on your own is definitely not recommendable, as you can even cause some irreversible damages.

What you can do is to install and run registry cleaner software. This will automatically examine each of the entries made from day one. It removes safely and effectively those which are already invalid, missing or were recorded twice. This is a much safer way for you to do so, instead of attempting to manually remove entries which can cause the PC problems.

You may scan and fix registry using free software you may find online. In downloading them, carefully read the system requirements so you're installing something that will work best for your computer. Also, see to it you get one from a reputable website. There are also those which you may purchase, often with other useful tools. I personally managed to clean up my computer by downloading high quality registry cleaner software.

Cheap printer ink cartridges: helps in cost cutting

by: Jean Colestock

With the increase in the usage of printers in businesses and office, demand for printer ink cartridges has gone up as well. At the same time, quality of the pages and the ink cartridges has become the essential factors in printing the pages. Many a times, people lookout for the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) ink cartridges whenever their printers fall short of ink. Why throw money down the drain, when you can buy cheap printer ink cartridges. When you go for the OEM ink cartridges, you are likely to spend huge amount of money on the printing needs. They will end up increasing your overall stationery costs.

With the entry of the third party vendors producing cheap printer ink cartridges, the monopolistic market of the branded and genuine ink cartridges is almost shut. These cartridges are cheaper than the original ones. The ink cartridges are non bio-degradable. Every year, people from across the globe add into millions of tons of garbage in landfills. Used printer ink cartridges are dumped without thinking of re-filling. The cartridges are formed of high grade plastic and take up thousands of years before they break down. It is advisable to practice secure ink cartridges recycling to assist and save the environment from damage caused by the unsuitable disposal of the printer ink cartridges. Online world is one of the great places to purchase cheap printer ink cartridges.

There are several online suppliers who provide cheap printer ink cartridges. All you need to do is to woof on the one that provides you with the great services and best prices. The web world is a wonderful tool and it can help you put the cash back in your pocket. Saving money on cheap printer ink has never been easier, however, with the online advancements; you can be assured about the costs. Online traders have their websites with product information. Therefore, inspect some of the known online suppliers and also browse through the prices they are providing.

If you are looking out for cost cutting in your office stationeries, then it is advisable to go for cheap printer ink cartridges. Although, the digital era has taken over in offices across the globe, yet there are many such companies that rely on the documents. Printing is important in carrying out both business and office tasks. Whether you are looking to print mere documents like minutes of a meeting or other essential documents like financial reports or any other project progress report, you just cannot avoid printing. For all such tasks, you can bank on cheap printer ink cartridges.

These days, printer ink is a sore spot for consumers. The consumers are searching for ways to save money in buying ink. Hence, one can save a lot of money by buying cheap printer ink cartridges. Now start saving immediately just by ordering cheap printer ink from the online source.