How to Protect Your Children During Internet Use

June 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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In a world where the internet is ever-more prevalent, children are going on at an increasingly younger age. It is not uncommon to see a child under the age of 10 that has his own computer or smart phone. Technology is entertaining, but is also pertinent to keep in touch with the world and what is going on. There is a question, however, as to what age it is really appropriate for children to browse the internet on their own. Dangers lurk online for children, including inappropriate information and bullys. Still, there are ways you can help protect your children without sheltering them from the world wide web.

  • Get involved with your child’s internet use. Before you become stalker-ish and encourage your child to go online behind your back, it is important that you constantly communicate with her about the internet. Instead of being the seemingly over-protective parent, trying browsing sites together.
  • Let your child know that there are dangers on the internet. Blocking internet usage without fully disclosing the potential risks may actually backfire by piquing your child’s curiosity and wanting to browse forbidden sites.
  • Limit the use of smart phones at a young age. Does it really matter that all of the other six-year-olds browse the internet on their phones? Absolutely not. Children at this age are not likely to fully realize the perks of having constant online access, let alone any dangers.
  • Consider having a family office space. Gone are the days where a family had only one computer. Still, your child may get into trouble by having her own computer in her room.

 

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Browsing the Internet: Differentiating Between Credible and Unreliable Health Information

June 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

There is an increasing amount of information online based on virtually any topic you can think about, including health issues. Many people are not fond of going to the doctor, and some cannot even afford visits, lab work and medications. You can browse any health topic online and can find answers for alternative remedies and prescription drug ratings. However, there are potential risks associated with relying too much on virtual information as opposed to seeing a medical practitioner:

  • Misdiagnosis. There are so many health ailments out there, many of which have similar symptoms. By giving yourself a diagnosis, you could potentially miss out on much needed medical treatment.
  • Self treatments. Alternative remedies are an increasingly popular way to treat different ailments, from an upset stomach to even cancer. However safe they may seem, herbs are just as powerful as conventional medications. Taking herbs can interact with other medications and even cause allergic reactions. Plus, they may not be as effective as promised on the websites.
  • Obtaining information from an uncredible source. There are experts in all fields, including the health care industry. There are a wealth of reliable medical articles written by doctors, nurses and health experts. Avoid those that are not.

 

There are definitely some advantages to looking up health information online, particularly before you visit your doctor. This can help better prepare you to ask questions and to fully understand the information your physician is relaying to you. Still, health information online should not replace a doctor’s visit for a diagnosis. If you have any health concerns, feel free to browse for information, but be sure to make an appointment too.

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Evolving Technology Helps Evolving Opinions

May 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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Image by csimple via Flickr

The only permanent thing in life is change. Our parents thought television was a luxury! The world around us is characterized by choices, which we most often take for granted. The generation that we are a part of has been blessed to have witnessed such fantastically evolving technology. Today, our lives would be impossible without the convenience of using the computer or the laptop. The world is at our fingertips.

From Babbage in 1822 to Cerf in 1973, evolution of technology has been a long and painstaking process. When Babbage conceived his version of the computer, little did he think that his invention might eventually be the mainstay in the lives of millions of people. The Internet had its humble beginnings with Cerf’s ARPAnet and now connects people across hundreds of nations in real time.

The Internet encourages participation of people in all walks of life and from all age groups. The transfer of information and ideas has never been this easy. It has also never been this free.  With the evolution of the Internet, we are now able to play games like poker and connect with people across the world.  As human beings, we are thinking animals that are blessed with opinions. These opinions have found their worthy outlet in the Internet. It has given every lay person the opportunity to function away from the restraints of traditional press and politics. Opinions and daily news from around the world is now accessible to every person using the Internet, irrespective of where said person is based or what language he/she speaks.

Not only does this allow for a better developed picture to evolve for the rest of the world but review shows that Internet news trends to be less biased than traditional news. This news is also delivered on a relatively open forum where opinions, chats, discussions and debates are all welcome and indeed, expected.

It has been said that, -History is the story of the winning counterpart’. Internet news and discussion forums give the world an opportunity to change the ramifications of this statement. History need no longer sing biased songs. Internet news and forums are being used to tell both sides of the story to the rest of the world.

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The Internet Just Got a Whole Lot Bigger

May 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Domain Names 

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The internet is a big place. Many liken it to the universe; a constantly expanding mass of particles. Except in the case of the internet, the particles are the millions of websites out there. Recently the universe of the internet has gotten bigger, yet again, with the introduction of millions more domain names.

The first quarter of 2011 saw a whopping 4.5 million domain names created on the internet. This sees the total number of names registered on the internet jump to a staggering 209.8 million. That’s a lot of websites! They won’t all become individual websites of course, with many people purchasing several domain names and set them to redirect to one main website. It’s a smart idea if your business has several different products or services.

With 209.8 million only representing top level domain, there are many more millions of domain names which are country coded. These country coded domain names account for 81.7 million of the domain name available on the internet today. If you’re wondering what a top level domain is, it is a domain name without a country code, such as .com or .net. Therefore a country coded top level domain name is one with the country code in it, such as .uk or .au.

The internet has certainly grown by leaps and bounds since its humble beginnings. What was a database designed specifically for the U.S armed forces has turned into a valuable information and communication tool for millions across the globe. With the addition of more domain names the internet universe will continue to expand.

 

 

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Success Through Affiliation: Online Business

March 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment

It’s a dream of independence, of wealth conjured online. The modern money philosophy is one of quick posts and quicker rewards, with blogging recognized as a way to generate profits through traffic and quality content.

Too often, however, is the potential of this process ignored: with individuals struggling to carve out reputations, forcing themselves to an unhappy solitude. Such solitude isn’t needed, though; it can instead be replaced to affiliation.

As its name implies, affiliation is the decision to align a particular blog or online business with others. Individuals choose to create interest by siphoning off visitors from other sites (as well as nudging their customers toward similar products). It is a symbiotic endeavor, and one that could spark immediate value.

By choosing from the top affiliate programs users will indulge in endless benefits, such as gaining additional income from the excess of traffic, seeing search engine rankings increase as their sites become more recognized and discovering a wealth of new potential customers. The advantages are many, the demands are few, and the process could eventually offer full-time implications.

No avenue is to be chosen impulsively, however. No selection is to be made without concern. Time must instead be offered, with all programs examined for their potential growth and consumers. The convenience of this process can’t be denied, but effort must be given first to achieve it. Individuals must be willing to examine all candidates carefully, recognizing their strengths and weaknesses. Understand which partnerships will provide value and which will instead distract customers. The distinction is vital.

Therefore, research all top affiliate programs. Look for similar products or blogs, understand daily traffic flows, and project the reactions of readers. The steps may be complicated but they will yield success and an online business can suddenly be transformed into a permanency.

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The World of the Online Hobby

March 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment

If you have ever felt that the world would be a whole lot more fun if you never had to leave your home, then you live in the right age. When it comes to things like freelancing and the availability of various hobbies that can be done entirely over the Internet, the day may be very nigh when a person never even has to walk out of their front door. When it comes to hobbies which do not require you to invest a lot of resources or leave home, the modern world is great.

Just as there is a time to work, there is also a time to play. You can obviously spend your days playing games like World of Warcraft (hey, everybody else seems to be doing that), or you could check out an Online Casino and see if you can make yourself a little money on the side. While you may or may not end up winning, the least you can do is end up having a pretty good time through playing some table games, and maybe trying your hand at video poker and the slot machines. If all else fails, you still won’t have wasted gas.

There are a lot of different kinds of businesses which you can use to make enough money so that you never really have to leave the house if you do not want to. While you might find it strange that you could actually stay at home all of the time, doing freelance work such as consulting through Skype can pretty much finance your way into being a full time shut-in.

Filed Under: Internet, Technology Tagged With: , ,

Internet Protocol Version 6

February 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment

If you have been online in the past month or so, you should have heard the news that Internet is running out of IP addresses. Most people have pushed this aside after believing it to be a rumor, but this is actually true. The internet protocol version 4 which the worldwide internet was using until now to assign web addresses, has run out of numbers for new computers and domain names. You don’t have to get alarmed now, because this is being slowly replaced by the much more expansive IPv6 or the Internet Protocol version 6 addresses which will succeed the first generation IPv4 addresses.

In you are using Windows Vista or Windows 7, you can go to your network properties, where you will notice an additional option for IPv6. The actual task to moving to IPv6 will be harder than just adding a new protocol option to windows. All the routers currently used will have to be changed. The fact that there are close to 340 undecillion addresses is a huge increase over the currently used IPv4 which offers only 2^32 addresses. Major Websites such as Google, Facebook and Yahoo have agreed to move into the IPv6 addresses to go into a test mode. IPv6 was developed after the predicted end of the IPv4 protocol by the Internet Engineering Task Force. This is described in the Internet standard document forever new and existing internet provider to move into this. It is actually more feasible than IPv4 addresses and simplifies the assignment of addresses and network renumbering. For the time being the IPv4 addresses will be continued and slowly changed into the IPv6 addresses. The two protocols will be used by middle exchangers that will transition from one IPv6 to and IPv4 addresses. This protocol is more secure than the previous generation of addresses than the IPv4 addresses could provide.

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Domain Name Dispute Glossary

February 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Domain name disputes frequently arise because there are constant problems associated with ownership, choice of name and other issues. The dispute resolution system is created to solve all problems associated with internet problems, but this system is just too complicated for a normal internet domain owner to understand. Huge books are written explaining these jargons. Here are a few important terms related to internet dispute resolution system. UDRP defines most of the below mentioned terms in the glossary.

Abusive Registration: This is used to define a unreasonable ownership of a username that is unfair to the trademarked name of another person or company. This is a key factor under the universal Nominet Dispute Resolution Policy. The domain name registered is used for unfair uses which are unacceptable to the service offered by the other company.

ACPA: ACPA is the Anti-Cybersquatting Protection Act is used in cases of unfair registration of domain names. This is a major internet safeguard in United States where it is stated under the Lanham Act.

Domain Name Arbitration: This is the process of resolving internet disputes between two parties on a domain name. The arbitration is a contractual system of dispute resolution between a register and a registrar.

Bad Faith: Bad faith is used to convince the judge or the arbitrator that the registered domain name is used wrongly or for a purpose that it was not intended for. Instances where a domain name is booked with a name that is similar to another company’s trademarked name or if a company is blocking a domain name without even using it for the right purpose or with the intention of disrupting the business of an another client.

Cancellation: Cancellation is the process of handing over the domain name or revocation. Here the owner does not resume rights over the domain name.

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Domain Name Terms Continued Part 4

February 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Continuing with more important terms that hold significant importance in domain name registrations are mentioned below.

Registration: The process where a person books a domain name and pays for it is known as registration. One a fresh domain name is purchased; it is known as registered domain name and is not available to any registrar around the world.

Registrar: Any company online or offline registering domain names for others is a registrar. Registrars have to get permission from ICANN and have to purchase their domain addresses from the TLD.

Registry: A registrar holds all the information for the registered domain names or the TLD they represent on its registry. For example ORG has its registry under Public Interest Registry, whereas COM and NET have their registries under VeriSign. These registries do not sell domains to customers, rather directly to registrar.

Renew: After the expiration of the date till which the register has paid for the domain name, the domain name goes into the redemption phase. Before it goes into this phase, it provides a period when the owner of this site can renew the domain name for another 1 or 5 years. If the owner fails to do so, this domain name goes to the deletion cycle, where it will be available for another user to buy it. A domain name can be renewed by anyone, but the ownership remains even if someone else renews it.

Reseller: There are a few companies which are dedicated to just selling already registered domain names. These are called reseller sites and sell domain names belonging to others on their site. The resellers aid the transfer of a domain name from one registrar to another person. The reseller site has to provide support to the new buyer or registrar. The prices offered by resellers are higher than that offered by registration sites and are mostly used by website fishers to register mass domain names in their name.

Resolve: In cases where after entering a domain name when it does not appear to be accessible, this case is called as website is not resolving.

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Bankruptcy and the Internet: Can Domain Names be Liquidated?

February 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The Internet has revolutionized so many things. Even the financial world has been affected by the Internet, especially when it comes to bankruptcy. Some attorneys use the Internet to work with their clients to make the process of filing easier. However, there’s another aspect of the Internet and bankruptcy that you may not have thought of yet.

More and more people are registering domain names and setting up their own websites. Websites can serve as a location where you can post your thoughts, sell your favorite items, and even lure advertisers. Entrepreneurs are turning to the Internet for a profit. However, if you file for bankruptcy, everything, including your domain could be liquidated.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy allows the debtor to receive, in essence, a clean slate. However, there is a high cost. The debtor must liquidate his or her assets; those assets are converted to cash and that cash goes toward paying off the debt. Within a few months, the debt is erased and the debtor can start clean. The liquidation of assets is the tough part because almost everything you own could be put toward your debt, including your domain name.

The determining factor about whether a domain name would be liquidated all comes down to its worth and what kind of bankruptcy you file. If you have a popular business or if your website attracts a lot of traffic, it could be worth more than you think, and with Chapter 7 bankruptcy it would most likely be liquidated. However, under Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the bankruptcy laws would most likely allow you to keep your domain name if it is a source of revenue for you. For information about which to choose, consult with professionals at www.TotalBankruptcy.com.

Before you file for bankruptcy, make sure you know the bankruptcy laws well so that you can decide what form of bankruptcy is right for you and your domain. Before you know it, you will be on your way to financial freedom.

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