Expert help from Google Answers

Expert help from Google Answers

by: Jakob Jelling

Web users turn to search engines for answers to their questions. This is usually done through various levels of searching the engineกs database. Sometimes though, no matter how hard they try, searchers can’t find the information they need. Maybe they’re not familiar with how to narrow and focus searches, or they may not have enough background in the subject they’re researching to recognize the answer they need. Google Answers offers a solution.

With Google Answers, you hire an experienced researcher or specialist in your field of inquiry to provide answers to your questions. In a sense, this process works much like bidding on an item at eBay or hiring work done through a freelancer web site. You will create a Google Answers profile, a nickname, enter your credit card information, and when you post your questions, you specify how much you’re willing to pay for answers and an expiration date for replies.

There is a 50 cent per question listing fee, and your payment offer for an answer can range from $2.00 to $200.00 currently. Your offered price needs to be high enough to justify and compensate the time a Google researcher will spend finding an answer. Researchers receive 75% of your offered fee, and Google receives the remainder to help support the Google Answers service. Once you receive an answer, your credit card will be charged the offer amount you made for that answer.

Previously asked questions and answers are posted, searchable, and freely available at the Google Answers site. Other users may make comments on the questions and answers, to help clarify the information you receive.

Google Answers isn’t magic. They can’t answer unanswerable questions, and they won’t provide medical, legal, or financial advice. But for other tough questions that you just can’t find an answer for on your own, Google Answers may be, well, the answer!

By Jakob Jelling

http://www.sitetube.com

About The Author

Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.sitetube.com. Visit his website for the latest on planning, building, promoting and maintaining websites.

This article was posted on September 29, 2004

by Jakob Jelling

How to Eliminate Credit Card Refunds from กDigital

How to Eliminate Credit Card Refunds from กDigital Thievesก

by: George Papazoglou

Can you encounter the number of times where a Credit Card Sale was generated, only to receive a ‘refund Notificationก from your contracted ecommerce processor on behalf the กcustomerก?

Welcome to the electronic world of กcybershopliftingก.

Unscrupulous surfers, disguised as potential กcustomersก, systematically opt to ordering goods (using credit cards) in electronic form of delivery, only to request a refund minutes or days later after receiving the product.

The กcyber thievesก consent the wellknown กloopholeก of specific ecommerce processors who deploy a กno questions askedก refund policy.

Some… might concur to the predicament that a กliberal refund policyก boosts sales, but it is statistically verified that these claims are unthinkingly based gross sales figures, where refunds are *not* accumulated to extract the กnet profitก (minus refunds).

In numerous cases, the cyber thieves (or else called freebie hunters) automate their thievery, by using premade templates to ask for a refund, in order to save time and reap as many digital products as possible, for gratis.

A portion of cyber thieves, download a digital product, whether ebook or software, only to illegally sell it online at eBay or sell it in กwarez sitesก.

Optimistically, these unprincipled pinches are either prosecuted to the fullest extend of the law, for infringement of copyrights, or face imprisonment along with heavy fines.

So if you want to avoid getting targeted by cyber thieves (and losing thousands), the wisest approach is to conduct business with an ecommerce processor who will protect you against dodgy กfreebie huntersก (see http://trafficengine.net/stormpay for a genuine payment processor).

After all, it is *your duty* to forming your own ‘refunds policyก, not your processorกs.

About The Author

George Papazoglou is the author behind http://cybersoftware.com

This article may be freely distributed / republished, as long as it contains the authorกs credits and the precise entirety of the provided article, titled: กHow to Eliminate Credit Card Refunds from กDigital Thievesกก.

This article was posted on September 01, 2004

by George Papazoglou

You Don’t Have To Be Rich To Be A PC Gamer

You Don’t Have To Be Rich To Be A PC Gamer

by: Nathan Holsing

There is a common misconception that you have to take out a second mortgage on your house if you want to get a computer that will run all of the latest and greatest games. I don’t know who started the rumor that you need to spend $3000 to get a gaming computer. The truth is, if you are smart about it, you can easily afford to get a highend gaming computer. Here are a few simple rules to follow to put a gaming computer within reach.

Rule 1. Never buy the newest technology.

I know we all want to be the guy or girl with the newest toy, but you will never be able to keep up with technology. That topoftheline graphics card that came out today will be old news in just a couple of months and a new one will be released that is กso much betterก. Guess what happens to the price of the new graphics card you just broke the bank on? It dropped by about 50%. If you would have just been patient you could have purchased it for a fraction of the cost.

Rule 2. You only have to keep up with the software.

Rule 2 closely correlates to Rule 1. It usually takes software companies two years, give or take, to develop a new game. During this time there are new technology breakthroughs. If they went back and reengineered the game every time a new processor or a new graphics card came out, the game would never be released. Another important factor is that they want the game to be available to the largest number of consumers. For this reason they do their best to make sure the game can be played on a wide variety of systems. Check out the system requirements for some of the more popular games. A 1.8GHz processor and a Direct X 9 compatible graphics card will run just about everything out there. Granted you might have to turn some of the settings down but it will run it.

Once you reach a certain point the added performance of the new technology is noticeable. For example, the Athlon 64 chip has been out for more than a year, yet there are very few applications that require a 64 bit processor. If you check out benchmarks on the new PCI Express graphics cards you will see that they are running games at 300+ frames per second. When you watch a movie it runs at roughly 60 frames per second. A game will still run relatively smoothly at 20 frames per second. Basically anything over 60 frames per second likely will not be perceived while playing the game. You will only see the difference in your benchmark programs.

Rule 3. Build Your Own Computer

This is important for two reasons. First, you can be assured of better quality components when you pick everything out on your own. When you buy an offtheshelf system, chances are you are getting a big name CPU and everything else is most likely generic. Do you know what motherboard, power supply, or type of RAM you are getting? This of course, is my personal opinion, Iกm not saying every manufacturer builds sub standard machines, but from experience Iกve had greater longevity from the computers Iกve built myself. Iกve also noticed that you will often get little system memory, unless you pay a great deal more for it. You will often get 256MB of RAM with these base system. Windows XP will run, but likely with problems, on 256MB of RAM. It seems to be the most stable with 512MB or more. Other areas they cut costs is by using integrated graphics chips. This saves them having to put in a graphics card, but you will pay the price for it when you try to play a game.

The second reason to build your own computer is that you can cut your costs by stealing parts from your old computer. You can save hundreds of dollars by reusing the drives, case, monitor, keyboard and mouse. Plus, you don’t have to worry about calling a technician to install RAM or a new graphics card because youกll already know how to do it.

How Much Can You Build A Computer For?

I just checked out some pricing and you can build a very nice midrange gaming computer for around $600$700 using an AMD Athlon 64 3000+. If you can steal a DVD drive from your old computer and maybe the case, you can bring the cost down even more. You can build a highend machine for under $1000. The internet is full of useful websites about how to build computers. Look around and youกll find all the information you need. There are several books published about the topic as well. If you follow these simple rules and do a little research you can enjoy all of the best computer games even if you are on a shoestring budget.

About The Author

Nathan Holsing is the editor of GamingComputers.net a website that provides information regarding building computers, product reviews, and hardware buying guides.

[email protected]

This article was posted on April 13

by Nathan Holsing

The Never Ending Sale

The Never Ending Sale

by: Jay Conners

Once you have added a new customer to your book of business, plan on keeping that customer until you have all of their business, and the business of their family and friends.

This way you can ensure having their business forever.

When working as a branch manager a few years back, I was never satisfied with a customer portfolio until I had the complete wallet share of their business.

By wallet share I mean I not only wanted their checking accounts, I wanted their savings accounts, certificates of deposit, home equity loans and so on.

The same should go for you. Once you have a customer in the door, and have sold them that first product, continue to satisfy their needs with excellent customer service, and make them aware of certain products that have become new to your company, or any promotions that you may have going on. Continue to make them aware of all things that can make their lives more convenient or save them money.

Getting a customer to do all of their business with you, I admit, is a challenge. But like all relationships, the same holds true in business, relationships are built on trust.

Once a customer grows to know you and trust you, they will then begin to become more prone to moving the rest of their business over to you, and hopefully shoot some referrals your way.

For starters, get your customer in the door, just get one little piece of the pie. Think of it as asking them to lunch as opposed to asking them to dinner. Try and convince them to try out one of your smaller or less expensive products, or if you offer free trials, even better. Than go from there.

Getting back to wallet share . . .

While still in banking, I once had a customer tell me, that he did all of his business with us, and for that reason alone, he should be approved for the loan he was applying for.

Although I was confident that he would be approved for the loan, I decided to call his bluff any way.

I said; Mr. Jones, do you really do all of your business with us. His reply was yes.

I then asked him if I could see his wallet.

He pulled it from his back pocket and handed it to me.

After I opened his wallet and examined it for a few seconds, I pulled an American Express card from one of the sleeves and laid it on the table.

I said, Mr. Jones, you are a customer of American Express.

He replied that he was.

I than proceeded to tell him that he did not in fact do all of his business with us. I also seized this opportunity to sell him on one of our credit card promotions.

He chuckled at my wit, but did not take the credit card.

My point is, you want to get complete wallet share, you must dig deep, you might only have half of your customer’s business, when you think you have it all.

So ask questions, get to know your customers as well as you can. Find out what their needs are, than sell them the products you believe they can use, make their lives a little easier, or save them some money.

So remember, the sale never ends, it goes on and on. Your customers will always be in need of new things. So sell them, their friends, and their family what you have. At the very least, make them aware of the products you have, you never know when they may need it. Good luck!

About The Author

Jay Conners has more than fifteen years of experience in the banking and Mortgage Industry, He is the owner of http://www.jconners.com, a mortgage resource site, he is also the owner of http://www.callprospect.com, a mortgage lead company.

[email protected]

This article was posted on September 09

by Jay Conners

How Web Masters Can Start a Home Based Business Us

How Web Masters Can Start a Home Based Business Using Credit Cards

by: Claire Bowes

If you’re a webmaster who has been itching to start a home based business and you are experiencing some cash flow problems and are considering leaving your dreams by the wayside, don’t. Credit cards may be your answer. Now before you start feeling guilty about using your credit cards for some much needed cash flow and before you antagonize over this issue because of ขdebtข, let me assure you that credit cards ( http://www.thecreditcardcentre.co.uk/bestcreditcards.html ) may be your key to success when you use them wisely.

This isn’t to say that you should go out and run up your cards up to the limit simply because they are there. Instead, we’re saying that credit cards are not all bad, credit card companies aren’t the devil and if you use your cards smartly then they can help jump start your fledging business’ finances or get you out of a cash crunch. However, the key is to learn how to use credit cards to your advantage and not your disadvantage. With this in mind, we have provided you with the top five tips that will help you use your credit cards wisely:

First and foremost, you should realize that carrying cards have some advantages. Here are some major ones that you should be aware of:

Credit allows you to buy needed supplies instantly instead of waiting until later;

You can spread out the cost of expensive equipment like software and computers;

You can learn to cleverly float cards and get months of interest free loans if you choose the right card and use it correctly;

When you use cards, your purchases are insured;

Credit cards allow you to keep track of miscellaneous purchases and expenses;

You can earn points and other rewards simply for using the card;

Credit cards help you budget your money. You get a single limit and once that is exceeded then you will be declined so you’ll be encouraged to keep track of how much limit you have.

Second, you have to find a card that has a great rate and/or the best benefits for you. For instance, if you will pay off the balance every month but travel a lot then you might want to consider a card with a higher interest rate that gives more frequent flier miles since you will not be affected by the interest rate when you can’t pay off the credit card balance every month. On the other hand, if you can’t pay your balance every month, you should consider the card with a lower interest rate.

Once you’ve found an appropriate card, you should make a commitment to pay your balance responsibly. That is, you should only charge the amount that you can realistically pay in a month or so and make a point not to rack up a ton of credit card debt.

You should really try and avoid using your credit card to get cash advances. This is because most companies charge cash advance fees which could hurt you. However, an exception to this would be if you have an emergency and need to handle a cash crunch then you should use the least amount possible.

Review your statements as soon as you get them to evaluate interest rates. Make sure that you don’t see any errors and if you do then report them right away.

In conclusion, you shouldn’t feel guilty about using your credit cards to help you start or finance your fledging web business. Instead, you should use the abovementioned tips and use your cards responsibly so that they continue to be a blessing when you need them!

About The Author

Claire Bowes is a successful freelance writer and owner of The Credit Card Centre ( http://www.thecreditcardcentre.co.uk ) where you will find further advice and tips on the best credit card deals ( http://www.thecreditcardcentre.co.uk/bestcreditcards.html )and small business credit cards ( http://www.thecreditcardcentre.co.uk/businesscreditcards.html ).

This article was posted on October 21, 2004

by Claire Bowes

How To Use Direct Response Card Decks To Fine Tune

How To Use Direct Response Card Decks To Fine Tune Your Marketing…

by: Thom Reece

Market research specialists have discovered a new tool which enables them to quickly identify target market cells, measure buyer acceptance, test new product or service concepts quickly and inexpensively and survey market characteristics…the Direct Response Card Deck.

For two to four cents per contact, the researcher can now gather market intelligence from both specialized vertical markets (lawyers, doctors, etc.) or broad based horizontal markets (all marketing executives across industry lines). In addition, these same markets can now be tested in such confined geographical areas as business executives in Hawaii or professionals in Minneapolis.

Not only does the marketer overcome one of the traditional problems in research…test sizes…he or she also reaps the huge advantage of accurate measurability and accountability. Since all responses can be directed right back to the research organization, market feedback is both quick and accurate.

Many firms have difficulty in obtaining statistically significant samplings through traditional channels because of budget restrictions.

Itกs not uncommon for important strategy decisions to be made on the basis of sampling as few as 2,000 names out of a universe of several million potential buyers. This is risky at best. It could lead to marketing disaster based on serious sampling error, or wrong conclusions drawn from insufficient data.

With direct response card packs, it is now possible to test or survey as many as 100,000 potential buyers for as little as $2,000 or less. For the research or direct marketing consultant this results in meaningful figures which are both statistically significant and forecastable.

Proper analysis of this larger sampling should result in strategy decisions which are more accurate, more meaningful, more valid and more profitable for the direct marketer.

The ability to order and conduct true A/B (or more) split run tests of offers, prices, etc. has important implications for the creative team.

The marketing intelligence gathered through card packs can be a valuable road map to success. Critically important data, discovered through card deck advertising, can determine the answers to such questions as:

Have we targeted to the correct audience?

Is the audience responsive to the degree necessary to maximize potential profitability?

Do we have the right combination of offer, price, copy, graphics, headlines, terms, etc.?

Are the response/profit characteristics such that they justify testing such other direct response media as direct mail, space or broadcast advertising?

Is there potential for a variation of this product/service to be marketed to a closely related audience?

What is the potential for backend profits from related item sales?

Are we barking up the wrong tree? Should we cut our losses now and thank our luck stars that we were able to discover, inexpensively, that we were wrong?

While the advantage of card decks as a market research tool outweigh the disadvantages, there are some restrictions you need to be aware of:

1. The card itself is small (about 3กx5ก) and as such restricts your ability to test such things as long copy and multiple option offers. Some decks provide larger format sizes with the ability to do foldover inserts which provide more space, but these options are at a substantial premium in price. The small space can work to your advantage because it forces you to limit your testing to those factors that have the most profound affect on response and profitability…i.e. offer and price, for example.

2. Color reproduction, if it is important to your product, is not always the best. The conventional .007 Hi Bulk paper stock normally used in card decks is not the best choice for color printing. Most deck publishers, however, offer a coated stock option and you may find it useful.

3. Response rates are,on the average, lower in card decks (1/4th of one percent to 1 percent) than they might be in a free standing direct mail package. On the surface this may appear to be a disadvantage. In fact it is not.

Your goal in market research/testing is to obtain statistically significant data across the broadest sampling possible…consistent with budgetary limits.

Card decks allow you to achieve this goal, precisely. Itกs much better to have a 1/4th of 1% response from a 100,000 name universe (250 responses) than to have a 12.5% (250 responses) from a small 2,000 name test cell. Although the total numbers are the same, the former example gives you a truer picture of market conditions and possible product/service acceptance.

In summation, we have found that direct response card decks, if used properly, can be ideal market research tools. Card decks are inexpensive to use. They give quick accurate and projectable results. They reduce the risk of sampling error, and the resulting data is both statistically significant and inherently more valid.

Thereกs only one way to know for sure…test it!

About The Author

©Copyright 2005 Thom Reece All Rights Reserved

Thom Reece is the CEO of OnLine Marketing Group, a direct response marketing agency with headquarters in Hawaii. He is the creator of the Online Marketing Resource Center [ http://www.ecomprofits.com ]. Thom can be reached by email at: thomATecomprofits.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on September 10

by Thom Reece

Using Paypal for eBay Purchases

Using Paypal for eBay Purchases

by: Terry Gibbs

Paypal is the preferred payment choice for many buyers because Paypal allows buyers to pay instantly for eBay purchases. In this article, we will review using Paypal on eBay from the buyerกs point of view.

Since eBay purchased Paypal, it has become even easier for buyers and sellers to complete auction sales. Buyers like Paypal because they can quickly and easily pay online. In fact, some bidders will only bid on items they can pay for with Paypal.

One thing that confuses buyers is some sellers accept Paypal payments through credit cards, while others only accept transfers. You see, with Paypal a buyer can fund the transaction in three ways. This can confuse buyers, and cause problems.

Hereกs the three ways to fund a Paypal transaction:

1. Transfer from a bank account tied to the userกs Paypal account.

2. Transfer from a Paypal balance.

3. Payment from a Credit Card.

The first two options cost Paypal nothing in processing fees. Credit cards cost about 2 percent to process, and Paypal passes this cost on to merchants. Some eBay sellers do not want to pay this fee for service, so they only accept payments by transfer. This confuses buyers who win auctions and assume a credit card transaction is fine.

Paypal wants users to transfer funds, and not use their credit cards. Not only is this cheaper for Paypal, but there is no risk of a chargeback.

A chargeback is when a buyer reverses the charge on a credit card by contacting his bank. Most, maybe all, banks will reverse a credit card charge with little or no investigation if the card holder contests the charge. The money is taken right out of the merchantกs bank account Paypal in this case.

Paypal makes it difficult to use a credit card to send money through Paypal. This is done making the credit card payment option difficult to find, and warning users about the กriskก because you cannot buy Paypalกs insurance.

With a credit card purchase, you do not need Paypalกs insurance. Your bank will reverse the charge free if the seller scams you.

One other way Paypal makes it hard for users to instantly send money with a credit card is by limiting the total amount you can charge.

The first time I tried to use Paypal to pay for an eBay auction, I was unable to use my credit card because the amount was above the limit. That was a $700 item. I think the single item limit is $500, but could not find confirmation of this. The lifetime limit, or total amount you can send all eBay sellers with a credit card is $2,000.

If you wish to pay for an item with a credit card through Paypal you should confirm the seller takes card transactions. This can be done reviewing the auction and looking for the credit card logos adjacent to the Paypal logo in the payment methods screen.

Whenever you pay for an eBay auction through Paypal, you should check the sellerกs Paypal status. Do not send large amounts to unverified users, and watch that the userกs address matches the auction details.

Paypal is an easy way to pay for your eBay purchases.

About The Author

Terry Gibbs is a collector/dealer of old toys and trains, and teaches others how to buy and sell antiques and collectibles. Gibbs is the author of two best selling eBay books ‘the Auction Revolution,ก and ‘the Complete Guide To eBay Consignment Sales.ก He has also written numerous other books about buying and selling antiques and collectibles. Learn more at his website: http://www.news.iwantcollectibles.com.

This article was posted on March 22

by Terry Gibbs

Make Your Mailing a Home Run, Not a Strike Out!

Make Your Mailing a Home Run, Not a Strike Out!

by: Joy Gendusa

You can use great design and copy to get a better response.

When you send a mailing to your customers or prospective customers you are counting on making considerably more money in new business than you spend on the mailing, right? It is obvious that if you were not going to profit from the mailing, you wouldn’t send it out.

A little less obvious is that it costs almost the same amount of money to send out a very attractive mailing piece with brilliant copy which is more likely to produce a great response rate as it does to send out a boring, poorly designed piece guaranteed only to land rapidly in the trash. Why?

The major part of your expenditure is in the mailing list and the postage. The printing costs are about the same for a perfect card as for a mediocre one. All right. So a good design and excellent copy is going to cost a little bit more. But only a little. You send out a postcard mailing to get a response (preferably lots of responses).

The front of the card, graphic and headline, is designed to attract the reader’s interest so that they read what you have to say. In short, to attract his or her attention.

The copy on the front and back of the card is designed to get the reader to respond, either by calling you or emailing you or visiting you or going to your web site. A response.

If your card accomplishes that, it’s done its duty.

How do you get it to do that?

Good design. Good copy. Assuming you have sent the cards to people who are likely to be interested in what you have to sell. (There’s no point sending a postcard selling raincoats to people in the Sahara Desert. They are the wrong ขpublicข).

It is more cost effective in the long run to hire a professional to do the design and copy for your promotion instead of spending all the time yourself to learn the software. A little time spent improving the design and copy of your postcards will result in much higher ROI (Return On Investment) for your postcard mailing.

About The Author

Joy Gendusa founded PostcardMania in 1998; her only assets a computer and a phone. In 2004 the company did close to $9 million in sales and employs over 60 persons. She attributes her explosive growth to her ability to choose incredible staff and her innate marketing savvy. Now she’s sharing her marketing secrets with others. For more free marketing advice, visit her website at www.postcardmania.com.

This article was posted on March 03

by Joy Gendusa

iKobo Review Part 1

iKobo Review Part 1

by: Adam Senour

The Initial Discovery
In April of 2004, I became aware of a company called iKobo as the result of a posting on Web Design Forums (http://www.webdesignforums.net), a website design discussion board. An individual who was new to the discussion board posted a series of comments regarding iKobo and its presence as a possible serious competitor to PayPal. Upon further research on the company, a series of other forum discussion board posts were discovered. Forum link examples can be found below:

http://www.kwcom.net/cgibin/forumtest/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=228&get=last (KW.com discussion forums)
http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1075960#post1075960 (SitePoint discussion forums)
http://www.webdesignforums.net/showthread.php?t=13774&highlight=iKobo (Web Design Forums discussion forums)

The supporters of iKobo in these forums, as is seemingly the recurring trend, are new posters to the boards who elect to join and repeat various elements of the iKobo website (http://www.ikobo.com) ad nauseam. Said posts also contained affiliate hyperlinks and often made mention of iKoboกs tentier affiliate program. For those of you who may not be familiar with discussion forums online, this is often considered to be a spam technique and may result in the poster being banned (as is the case in the Web Design Forums hyperlink above).
In some cases, customers claimed to be able to develop antifraud mechanisms using iKoboกs Instant Payment Notification (IPN) system. An IPN system is merely intended to notify the customer of a payment having been made by one of their customers and, as such, cannot be used to determine fraud.
Ikobo Background
From the iKobo website (http://www.ikobo.com):
กOur goal is to make peopleกs lives easier.ก Founding vision of iKobo
Two immigrants who understood the difficulties involved in sending and receiving money internationally founded iKobo in January 2001. Two successful years later, iKobo Money Transfer is now the fastest growing money transfer company in the world experiencing an exponential growth rate.
From the beginning the founding principles of the company have been:
Cost Providing a valuable service at a fair price to the consumer.
Convenience Allowing the customer to quickly and easily send money, while instantly receiving cash the moment it is sent.
Customer Service Commitment to educating the consumer, providing live telephone support, and dedicating all available resources to ensure piece of mind when sending and receiving money. Our customer service philosophy is catering to one customer at a time.
The iKobo Money Transfer platform is designed to be the most secure platform in the world in order to prevent fraud and ensure that every customer transaction is protected. You can feel confident that your money is safe with iKobo.
The iKobo Team
Not much information is revealed, other than a feelgood description that can be best characterized as กglittering generalityก. The lack of information is a recurring theme across the iKobo website; in many cases, two seemingly different aspects of the site, such as กWhat is iKobo and How Does it Work?ก and กFAQsก, are identical.
The concept of iKoboกs service appears to be very similar to that of PayPal, its closest targeted competitor. iKoboกs system differs from PayPal in that the receiver is sent an IKard. The IKard is a VISA Electron/Interac card, which the recipient of funds may then take to a bank machine and make an ATM withdrawal. Because this is a VISA Electron card, it may also be used to purchase goods and service online; the recipient may alternatively elect to send money via his/her own IKard to other iKobo users.
The fees for iKobo services are very similar to PayPalกs; 4% ($2.00 minimum) is deducted for each persontoperson transaction, and 2.9% + $0.29/transaction is charged to merchants. Unlike PayPal, there is an additional $1.50 deducted for each ATM withdrawal and no mention of a sliding scale based on volume for merchants.
Delivery options for the IKard vary in price; for many countries in Europe, the IKard may be shipped free of charge via express delivery. However, countries such as the United States and Canada, an express delivery charge of $9.95 applies.
IKobo accepts VISA and MasterCard, but not debit card or banking information.
iKobo caps customer sending and receiving at $200 USD per month; however, these limits may be raised at the request of the iKobo user if said user sends copies of various documents to iKobo (such as a driverกs licence, utility bill, or note from a chartered bank indicating the customerกs account is in good standing.) No explanation is given as to the usage of this additional information and why it is required.
Hypothesis and Experimental Plan
Based on the lack of information provided by both the iKobo website and its supporters, I was suspicious that iKobo was a disreputable service and that, as a sender, my money would not reach the intended recipient.
Therefore, I devised, with the help of one of my staff, a controlled experiment in which I would send the staff member $10 USD ($10 USD being the required minimum for the first iKobo transaction) through the iKobo system. The staff member would in turn, sign up as an iKobo member and attempt to determine if he received the IKard and was able to cash it.
In addition to the testing of the system, I would attempt to contact iKobo via the email address I obtained from a WHOIS lookup on the iKobo.net domain name ([email protected]), as well as [email protected]. For the purposes of privacy, and to ensure that I would be able to assume this identity for future research, I used an assumed name for these purposes.
Attempt 1 Registration and Sending Money Via MasterCard
On July 6, 2004, I registered as an iKobo user. The registration process was a twostep process.
Step 1: Step 1 asks for minimal information name, country of origin, email, password, confirm password, two security questions (Motherกs Maiden Name, high school, first job, etc.) There is an option to opt out of any future solicitation from iKobo and other third parties; however, this option is only accessible via a Javascript popup window that results from the clicking of a hyperlink that was significantly smaller than the rest of the text on the site.
Upon submission of this form, an email is submitted containing a hyperlink. The user, upon clicking the hyperlink, is taken to Step 2.
Step 2: The user is provided with a form that asks for additional information (address, phone, date of birth.) For some reason, a disabled form field containing country code is included. At this point, the user is registered and may proceed to the credit card entry form to enter a payment.
Payment Form: This is, for the most part, a standard payment form asking for name, address, and credit card information via a Secure Socket Layer. However, there were three abnormalities with regard to this form:

Default information for certain fields was filled in via Javascript.
The credit card issuing company telephone number was included as a required field.
The CVV2 (credit card verification number on the back of the card) was placed by itself on a separate form.

For each credit card used on the iKobo system, an initial small amount is added to the transaction to determine if the sender does indeed possess the credit card. iKobo sends a daily reminder to the user to confirm that the transaction did go through and to check his/her credit card statement to find and verify the amount. If this amount is not verified within 5 days, the transaction is cancelled.
In the case of my MasterCard, nothing had happened for a twoday period, although I did receive the reminders daily. As a result, I contacted support via the iKobo Live Chat option.
Support Chat with Penny Wang, July 8, 2004
The following chat log was copied and pasted directly from my web browser, and is shown unedited with two exceptions:
1. The HTML bold tag for Pennyกs name kept showing up as กB>ก, possibly an indicator of manual typing.
2. Personal information such as an email address has been blocked out for privacy and future testing reasons.
Penny: Thank you for choosing iKobo. My name is Penny. How may I help you today?
You: Hi Penny.
Penny: Hello
You: I tried doing my first send two days ago, but I still havenกt received the deal from my MasterCard where the small amount is supposed to be on it yet.
Penny: what is your email address?
You: (email address provided, although I had to enter this in to use the Live Chat).
Penny: For security purposes I will need for you to verify your two security questions
You: Okay.
Penny: your mothers maiden name and name of high school
You: (information provided)
Penny: thank you
You: No problem.
Penny: you have up to five days from when the transaction was made to verify the small amount
You: Okay.
Penny: sometimes it may take up to 72 hours for the amount to show
You: Okay.
You: Why so long?
Penny: have you tried calling your credit card company today?
You: Yup.
You: They said they didnกt have anything recorded.
Penny: you would need to ask them if there was any small charges made or any pending transactions that have not yet posted
You: Okay. I did that, and they said no. So I guess I still have to wait then.
You: What happens if it goes past that time frame and nothing gets posted to my account?
Penny: you may want to contact us before the fifth day if the amount has still not shown
You: Okay.
You: And then what?
Penny: and we will extend for two more days
You: Okay.
Penny: usually it should already be posted
Penny: once you have obtained the amount you will need to log into your ikobo account
Penny: click on กverify accountก and enter in the amount your credit card company has told you
You: Okay.
Penny: since you are using a mastercard and we have been having some difficulties in processing those, there may be a possibility that after you verify the amount it will cancel the transaction
You: Thanks.
You: Difficulties?
Penny: if that happens then wait a couple of hours and log back in and try to send the money again. This time it should go through and you do not need to verify the mastercard again
Penny: for the mastercards yes, we are experiencing some slight difficulties and we thank you for your patience in this matter
You: How would I cancel the first one then, so that I donกt get charged twice?
You: Oh wait, never mind. I misread what you said.
Penny: once you verify the small amount it will be credited back into your account
Penny: the one that is cancelled will not go through
Penny: so you would not be charged
Penny: does that make sense?
You: Yeah, it does.
Penny: Was there anything else I can assist you with today?
You: So there will be no charge at all until the transaction goes through on my MasterCard.
You: No, that was it.
You: Thanks.
Penny: yes
Penny: your welcome
Penny: Thank you for choosing iKobo and have a nice day! : )
Penny: Please email [email protected] in regards to my service. My name is Penny Wang. Thank you for your time in this matter. : )
You: Okay. Thanks.

Article conitnued in Part 2.

About The Author

Adam Senour is the owner of ADAM Web Design, a leading web design and development provider in the Greater Toronto Area. Please visit http://www.adamwebdesign.ca for more information on ADAM Web Design products and services.

This article was posted on July 30, 2004

by Adam Senour

Promote Your Web Business With Every Email You Sen

Promote Your Web Business With Every Email You Send!

by: Dan Karwoski

Website owners are always on the lookout for new ways to promote their business. What if I told you could advertise your business every time you send an email and it wouldn’t cost you a dime?

When you meet someone you might give him or her one of your business cards. Now the recipient has all your contact information, learns a little about your business and this allows you to expose your brand. With an eBusinessCard you can still give them one of your cards, electronically, using Microsoft Outlook! All you have to do is create your card in HTML to resemble your printed card. Then save it to your Outlook signature folder so you can send an electronic version. The big advantage to an electronic card is it has live links that can take the viewer to the exact page on your website with the information they need. See the sample here http://www.junglia.com/emailstationary/horiz.asp.

Open your favorite HTML editor and design and build your card. Or if you currently use a printed card just copy it. If you lack design and/or HTML skills you can use the handy form below to painlessly create your own card. If you create your own card remember to use absolute paths (full http path) for all your links and images. In order for this to work with all email clients you will need to place any images you use on a server and create an absolute link to the image. If the email recipients don’t have HTML enabled in their mail client Outlook automatically creates and sends a text version, which can be read with any program.

Detailed instructions for uploading and using your card are listed here http://www.junglia.com/emailstationary/horiz.asp in step 7.

This is a simple and inexpensive way to promote your business. Everyone you correspond with will know that you are a professional.

About The Author

Dan Karwoski has been teaching website design to college students since 1997 and has created quality work for MSNBC, Microsoft, Amazon, Atom Films and many others. Interested students can learn the basics of web design by registering at http://www.learn2design.net. Please email questions to [email protected].

[email protected]

This article was posted on October 20, 2004

by Dan Karwoski

Are You Safe Ordering Online?

Are You Safe Ordering Online?

by: Michael Rock

Even this day and age people are very insecure about ordering anything online. Even though many people order and give their credit card information over the phone they still are hesitant upon ordering online. This article will show you what to look for to see if it is safe to order online, the general process on how things are processed online, and the securities involved. Knowledge is the key for security and I want you to gain security by reading this article.

What The Web User Should Know:

Everyone knows to look for the padlock on the bottom of the browser, right? If not that tells you that the web page is secure. Along with that padlock on the bottom of the browser your web page SHOULD display https:// instead of http://. (The s stands for กsecuredก)

กHow is a web page secure?ก

HTTPS is the use of Secure Socket Layer (SSL) as a sublayer under its regular HTTP application layering. If you view a HTTPS page and see a warning pop up about the certificate of the site read the warning carefully. Here are a couple of warnings that I came across when setting up a SSL certificate for my site. Such as . . . Certificate is for https://theinternetpresence.com but the page is for https://www.theinternetpresence.com. (When I edited the hyperlink and left out the www, it resolved the issue.) Certificate points to hsphere.com instead of theinternetpresence.com. (Again, a simple setting resolved this issue.) Hsphere is the hosting control panel I use that controls my site. But look carefully at warnings that point to a web site that you are not familiar with and warnings that state there is no SSL certificate at all. For an example of the!

se warnings you can visit my site at https://www.theinternetpresence.com, because currently Iกm switching from a Windows Server to a Unix Server for added stability and security. If you did not receive a warning then it means that the move was completed.

For a brief description on what the requirements are to obtain a SSL certificate look below under กWhatกs the process involved for getting a SSL Certificate?ก

กWhat about types of Browsers?ก

Internet Explorer used to control 90% of the market for web browsers, so naturally hackers and cheaters were attracted to attacking that browser to obtain information. So the safe alternative was to use a different browser like Firefox that was not very popular. But as Firefox gains popularity they will become a target as well. Their goal was to gain 10% of the market, and they are now pushing 20% according to statistics of people visiting my site.

You would be interested in knowing that with a properly configured web site with the correct shopping cart script for collecting credit card information that connects to a merchant account gateway, the credit card number is never seen by the webmaster. Itกs true! I cannot see the process of filling out the information, and when I visit my merchant account online to view transactions Iกm not shown the full credit card number. กBut be warned on how people can work around this!ก

กHow can they process a credit card that is insecure and/or see my credit card number?ก

If the page is unsecured. (http instead of https and the lock is open on the bottom of the browser)

If they use a simple online form to ask for the information instead of a script. (When the information is emailed out instead of processed) Even if the form is on a HTTPS page it would still be secured, but as soon as it is mailed it becomes unsecured and if anything happens the web site owner could lose his merchant account and not be able to apply for a new one EVER AGAIN! Iกve seen customers use this way to process cards and manually enter them at their store. Needless to say I refused to create a site that operates this way for liability issues.

What the Online Store Owner Should Know:

กWhatกs the process involved for getting a SSL Certificate?ก

Fill out the required information of name, address, phone number, etc.

Certificates range from $39 to $1499. Typically the $39 one will work fine.

You will get a กphone authenticationก call recording your voice stating your name for security and asking you to enter a 4 digit code that would be provided for you.

After that has been verified you can install the SSL Certificate.

กWhat alternate ways are there to accept payments?ก

Check. But this way takes longer to achieve payment.

COD Will you get the payment after itกs delivered?

PayPal Secure, but viewed as unprofessional. (I still offer it as an alternative though)

If you have a business that you would like to move online you should get a merchant account or have your กbrick and mortarก merchant account upgraded to online by adding a gateway. If you have any questions at all on anything about merchant accounts talk to Corey Bryant. He has an enormous amount of information on merchant accounts and setting up your business online. You can email him at [email protected]?subject=Internet_Presence_sent_me. You can also find a wealth of information about SSL certificates at http://www.theinternetpresence.com/ssl.htm.

In Conclusion:

It is possible to have an unsecured transaction over the internet, but by far it is MUCH SAFER than handing your credit card over to someone who can jot down the number and verification code on the back of the card, or stating the card number over the phone for an order. I sincerely hope that I did not scare anyone off with this report, but gave them the knowledge on how to protect themselves.

Until the next article have a great day!

Copyright © Michael Rock

(You have permission to copy this article as long as it remains intact with the authorกs byline)

Web development contractor (Web Design and Hosting)

Internet Presence

www.TheInternetPresence.com

http://www.theinternetpresence.com/businessarticle32.htm

About The Author

Michael Rock

The owner of this registered company has over twenty years experience with DOS, windows business applications, numerous programming languages, artistic development, and web design. Other areas of interest include web marketing, web promoting, and business marketing and development. After the persuasion of those praising his work, he decided to go into business himself and highly suggests everyone else to do the same.

Internet Presence was founded in 2003 from a desire to become independent. Less than 1 year later Internet Presence has had accounts in three different states ranging from a locally owned auto collision repair shop to a glass packaging industry that sells its product worldwide.

[email protected]

This article was posted on April 06

by Michael Rock

We Know Why You Haven’t Decided Yet To Purchase A

We Know Why You Haven’t Decided Yet To Purchase A Security Product

by: Liuba Ceban

With the growth of information technologies, people own a lot of professional or personal information, which has both a financial and emotional value. As people get vulnerable to numerous security threats, they become more and more aware of the ways they could overcome their vulnerability. And this security concern is common to all people, especially when it comes to lose something they possess. This is why the security products, available on the IT security market, are more and more commonly expanded in Europe and USA.
Among many people who rely on different kinds of digital assets in their businesses and private life, there are some whose main concern is how to protect them. There are also people who think that it is too far for them to make a decision on purchasing existing security products, because they do not have any special knowledge in security. Here we would like to come up with the data, which would help you to get a start in considering the ways you could protect your information.
At first look, it seems that the security products market is so sophisticated, that without any professional knowledge it is not possible to understand what kind of products you need. You may think that it is so much complicated to be able to analyze what solutions exist, what for they may be used and which one is right for you to purchase.
These questions and the solutions to them may seem vague to people with excellence in other areas, but with no knowledge in the IT security. By giving the answers to these and other related questions, we will help you define your needs and decide which data protection and access control solutions will best suit your needs.
1. What is the security software for and how can it help people?
While the security products industry is largely expanding in the world, there are more and more areas where it can be used. The Dekart Company has committed itself to developing solutions that can be easily deployed and used by people.
Most of the digital assets, available on the market, are designed with the option for the security hardware installation. The PCs and many mobile devices that can be connected to PCs (like mobile phones) and that may have an increased need for security, are technically available now to be protected .
From another point of view, there are products, which can be of real help in protecting important data (like hard disk encryption and file encryption software, brought to you by Dekart). These products can protect any type of data for any kind of people, who are interested in protection of their business information, scientific researches, as well as personal information. This type of protection ensures that no data will be accessed and viewed by unauthorized malicious users, even if your computer is lost or stolen or if there are many people who can access it.
The security products have another large area of usage. When there is the need to control access to the office computers, Dekart offers its smart card and biometric authentication solutions. The stateoftheart biometric identification improves the security of login procedures, thus ensuring that no third party will access critically important information.
Users now can also protect and encrypt their email correspondence using Dekart digital certification service in combination with the smart card and biometric authentication.
There are different hardware devices used to provide two and threefactor authentication to secure access to the information. Dekart offers the flexibility to choose between different vendors’ smart cards, tokens, biometric devices and even USB flash drives to satisfy users’ security needs.
The types of the Hardware Keys (USB tokens and Smart cards)
Dekart Software uses the following types of Hardware Keys to generate secret cryptographic keys and store users’ private data:
1. USB (universal serial bus) tokens are smaller tokenstyle cards that plug directly into the USB port of a computer. The USBcompatible ports are being built into many PCs (i.e., desktops and laptops) and many mobile devices that connect with PCs (i.e., PDAs and mobile phones), as this is the simplest type of reader to connect
2. Smart cards are conventional credit card–shaped contact cards
The Smart Card device contains the cryptographic chip. The use of creditcard size Smart Cards has successfully been adopted by a number of European companies, with a particularly high level of acceptance in Germany and France. However, high hardware deployment costs and the lack of application standards associated with Smart Cards have proved to be significant barriers to their widespread use, especially in the US.
USB Token solution is different from traditional smart card solutions in that it does not require a reader infrastructure, helping to make it less expensive for organizations to deploy and easier for users to adopt.
Dekart has developed the following utilities for managing and deploying the smart cards or tokens used with Dekart applications:
1. Dekart Key Manager Utility can help determining the memory usage of the card, performing backups and duplicating the data stored on the hardware keys.
2. Key Formatting utility or Corporate Key formatting utility allows formatting the smart cards or tokens to be used with Dekart software.
What to consider before purchasing a smart card or USB token?
1. Define all of your anticipated present and future card usage requirements
2. Define the memory requirements for each certificate or application. Here is a sample of Smart Card memory usage:

Free space – 5K
Your custom application 1,5 K
Smart Card logon certificate 2,5 K
Smart card vendor applications 8K
Windows for Smart Cards Operating system 15K

3. Making a decision on which present and future applications are required. It is important to preview the future applications needed, as it is important to leave an extra storage space on the chip.
4. Test smart cards and smart card readers to verify compatibility before deploying them in your production environment.
In conclusion, there are few things important to understand:
1. It is important to remember that there are different types of hardware and software available for them.
2. It is suggested to understand specific needs of the buyer and the variety of existing products in order to make the best purchasing decision.
For more information about the products designed to protect your confidential information, please, visit www.dekart.com

About The Author

Ceban Liuba

Born in 1974 in Ukraine (former USSR)

Now lives in Moldova

Studien Social Work and theology in 19911996 in Romania

In 20032004 Was in Nonprofit Management Masters Program

Since 1998 works on Internet

Since 2004 works in the IT security Software Company as a Technical Writer

[email protected]

This article was posted on July 07, 2004

by Liuba Ceban