What to Look For In a Spyware Blocker

Scanning your computer system to remove any spyware invaders that may be present is a good first step to protecting yourself from potential threats on the Internet; however, it simply is not enough. All too often, spyware components can come back just as easily after they are removed. To provide future protection for your computer system you need a thorough spyware blocker.

Your computer, just like your pets and kids, need to be immunized against potential threats. Spyware blocker programs are designed to provide that very protection and immunization.

Ideally, spyware blocker programs should have a variety of protection features to ensure your computer receives more than adequate immunization. Consider this for a moment. Which would you prefer:protection from ever developing a disease or a cure after you have it and become ill? It's not an understatement to say that just about everyone would say they would prefer to never get the disease in the first place. That's why we all line up at the doctor's office as kids to receive immunizations and booster shots.

To keep you computer from becoming ill, you need to select a spyware blocker with real time protection. This type of feature will detect a threat as soon as it attempts to attack your computer and stop it right in its tracks; thus preventing your computer from ever becoming infected.

One of the number one ways thats many spyware and adware components work is by sort of hijacking your home page. In some cases, you may have to turn on your computer one day to realize that your homepage has been changed or reset without your permission and in other cases you may not realize and change at all, yet the problem is still there. To combat this, be sure to look for a spyware blocker that will prevent your home page from being hijacked. This feature works by sort of low-jacking your home page so that it can't be reset without your permission.

Some of the best spyware blocker programs out there actually work by containing a list of restricted sites that prevent your computer from accessing sites which have been determined to be dangerous. If lack of control has you concerned, rest assured that many programs with such features also have a manual control option that gives you a choice of whether you want to visit the site but also informs you at the same time that this site may be dangerous.

Blog Software: Blogs versus Content Management Systems

In the blogging world, choosing the right type of software and/or web application is very important. There are hundreds of products to choose from. This article will summarize the main considerations for any blogger who is torn between a normal blog and a content management system.

There are two many types of applications that are used for blogging: blog software and Content Management Systems (CMS). The main difference is that a CMS is much more robust than blog applications.

If the goal is to simply publish day-to-day content on the 'Net, look no further than a blog. For the beginner, a basic blog is highly recommended over any CMS. With incredible web applications like "Blogware" and "Typepad", someone who knows very little about computers or the Internet can be up and running in no time. The better blogging system (such as the two mentioned above) is not free. Google's Blogger is one of the best free blogging services. WordPress is arguably the best of the best (free or not) blogs on the 'Net. WordPress features the most support (without geek speak), the most design templates (this is important), and it is free.

For those who want a Swiss Army knife of web applications, the content management system can’t be beat. The typical CMS allows everything the average blog can do and much more. A CMS has traditional Date/Time blog entries & creation of static web page that blogs like WordPress offer. User logins can be found in blogs but not accessories like photo galleries and user profile managers. Joomla and Drupal (two of the most popular CMSs) offer scores of add-ons that go WAY beyond a blog. As in some open-source blogs, a good PHP/SQL programmer can even create their own devices, modules and hacks to a content management system with relative easy. The Robust nature of the CMS allows large companies and organizations to use them as their entire web site. Many content management systems allow users to create blogs and web pages even add pictures, music and video. MySpace, Facebook, Friendster and other social networks are run on extremely robust content management systems backed with industrial sized databases.

List of popular CMSs:

With most CMSs, along with some PHP and SQL skill, the systems are easy to manage. However, here are some notes for everyone else.

Drupal: Although Drupal is ready to a layperson "out of the box" it is best handled by someone with patience willing to learn what is under the hood. The Drupal forums are written for geeks, by geeks.

Joomla: Joomla is very pretty and more user friendly than Drupal. It will only get the non-techie in trouble when they start adding modules and having to upgrade.

Expression Engine: Although it is not as versatile as Drupal, it is a web designers dream come true. After reading the Expression Engine manual, it is much more user friendly than Drupal and Joomla. The only drawback is that the more robust versions come with a price tag, where Drupal & Joomla are free.

The bottom-line is that day-to-day online journals with no frills need nothing more than a normal blog. For those with robust needs that will likely expand, a CMS is much better (but be prepared to learn the technology at least a little).

Where are the Search Engines Headed in 2007?

So it's the beginning of 2007 and you are wondering what the year will bring in terms of SEO changes. The changes can be summed up in 1 word - "relevancy".

When talking about trends in SEO, we are really talking about what Google is doing. Since Google is by far the leader in this field it is rare that another search engine innovates before Google.

Earlier this year, Google filed some new patents that are sort of interesting to read if you like that kind of stuff. To sum it up for the rest, Google's new patents talk about using relevancy to determine whether a site is worthy of including in the search engine result pages (serp). Relevancy in Google's mind is about how the words on your page compare to others site's pages that are on the same topic.

So, let's say your site is about politics. Specifically, republicans. Pages on your site will be compared to other sites that have similar pages about republican politics. And let's say you have a bunch of pages talking about President Bush. Those pages probably should also mention the White House and possibly the Vice President, Congress, current affairs, etc. Because other sites are relating George Bush to those other key phrases, you'd better work them into your content also.

Using Relevancy to your advantage will help your site to be viewed as a possible authority site. Authority sites have a distinct advantage when it comes to higher placement in the search engine results. Often times, education and government pages are viewed as authority (still a debatable practice) because of their domain. It is very tough to beat these pages but it can be done if you provide better content.

Your goal is to have the search engines consider your site an authority by providing content that is not only original but also viewed as relevant when compared against the web as a whole. No longer will keyword stuffing a web page get you a high placement. The search engines are working towards a learning machine with the ability to recognize patterns and use those patterns to manipulate their output.

Even though Google was the first to file patent, you better believe that Yahoo! and MSN are not far behind. It will be interesting to see if all of Google's patents will be accepted due to the wide ranging impact of the relevancy concept. It could be that the technique passes but the overall concept is rejected. Only time will tell on that subject, which could be a couple of years...

So, for 2007, build quality sites with relevant content and quality user design and you will have a web site that will stand the test of time, at least for 2007.