MalwareBytes: It's Free, But Is It Any Good?

In the sea of anti-malware programs there are some programs that standout for one reason or another...most often it's simply because of reliability and overall value. Malwarebytes is one of those programs. Malwarebytes is a complete anti-spyware software that is recognized for its simplicity and ease of use.

Benefits:

As a primary freeware software program, Malwarebytes is more than respectable in its ability to protect computer systems against malware attacks. Honestly, Malwarebytes does not score as well as the pricier and more recognized protection software packages on the market, but what is does do is provide a simple interface that is easy for the less technical person to nagivate and effectively use.

Malwarebytes has the capability of detecting all types of known malware threats as well as many stealth malware threats that are present on your system. Not only does this program do a good job in detecting these threats it also does a respectable job in removing these threats from your computer. When there is a threat that Malwarebytes had difficulty removing it is usually on a system that is heavily infected and requires more detailed cleaning. For systems that are relatively clean this program generally runs smoothly.

As mentioned earlier one of the best features of this program is its ease of use. One does not have to be technically savvy in order to make optimal use of this program.

Down Side:

Although this program performs on an acceptable level on some key fronts, it does have some associated cons. One of the most significant down sides to this program is the fact that is does slow your computer down while performing active scans. Unlike some of the more popular anti-malware programs, Malwarebytes does not have the ability to effectively perform a full scan behind the scenes without a significant drag being placed on the operation system. Because scans can be time consuming and interfere with the normal work process, it is best to run them during normal down times.

Malwarebytes also performs below expectations in detecting and removing spyware. During the process of scanning for spyware, the program used, on average, 90MB of memory. This is significantly more than the average program with similar performance standards. Outside of the fact that the system scan monopolizes memory, the scan is excruciatingly slow, progressing at an average rate of 10MB per second. The combination of these two issues results in an overall poor system performance for your computer. To run regular functions during a scan is not recommended.

Bottom Line:

Malwarebytes is an effective anti-malware program. Although it has its challenges in performing in certain areas, it more than makes up for it with its simplicity and straight forward user interface.

If you suspect that your computer is already highly infected with malware and spyware, this is not the program for you, but if you have recently had your system cleaned and debugged, Malwarebytes is a viable alternative to some of the pricier programs on the market. As a freeware, it rates at the top.

Author Bio:

Louis Rossmann is a straight shooting tech guy who specializes in repair and LCD replacement. Contact him through his Rossmann Group website.

Read More

The Changing Face of Blogging

Do you know where the terms "blog" and "blogging" actually originate? They are words that are the result of a condensed term - "web log". Put them together and you find the origin of blogs. When people first started blogging it was far different from what we see today, and most were not all that interested in doing much more than expressing an opinion. This quickly transitioned into project based blogs, such as the famous "Julie and Julia" blog in which a woman shared her experiences when trying to recreate all of the recipes in a single cookbook by Julia Childs.

The ability to monetize blogs was quickly discovered and today, people blog as a business, to sell things, promote ideas, earn a small stream of income, and to even do their online marketing and SEO work.

This tells us that a lot has changed about blogs, but one thing has been fairly consistent throughout the entire time period - and that is that WordPress has always been a very reliable platform for bloggers. Today, a blogger can sue WordPress and one of the many amazing WordPress templates to create a blog of any kind, and with any purpose.

Further Evolutionary Processes:

What most people do not realize when they make the choice to go with WordPress is that their site or blog is going to be "optimized" almost immediately. This is because WordPress doesn't demand that a blogger know anything about coding and HTML. Instead, most will fill in the forms used to populate the content on the blog.

If that last sentence was a bit too heavy on the "techno speak", let's rephrase it - WordPress is designed to be used as a sort of "fill in the blanks" product. You develop the blog or site by entering in text in areas designated has headings, subheadings, titles, text, and more (this fills or populates the screen with the data you want to share with the world). It even asks you to put titles and descriptions for things like videos or images - even though these things do not actually appear on the site.

Why is this required? WordPress, as indicated, is optimized. When you have a high tech website with lots of images and videos, it can actually cause that site or page to do badly in search engines because the "crawlers" don't know how to deal with the content. When there is text that describes the content, and uses well-chosen keywords to do so, it helps the site to appear higher and higher in search engines.

A Contemporary Example:

Consider the food based blog of the gluten free baker. This woman has a very image heavy website with lots of step by step instructions. This is not really a good way to get higher search engine results, but here WordPress theme allows her to enter descriptions for the images, titles, and more. This ensures that the search engines find and index the terms that will help this blog to go higher and higher in related search engine results.

Because this writer wants to monetize her site by linking to products related to her recipes and topics, it is imperative that people looking for things like gluten free foods and baking suppliers find this blog quickly in their search. Using WordPress really ensures that this blog does not get lost in the massive number of similar sites and blogs, and because the owner of the blog updates content on a weekly basis, and also uses social media to obtain inbound links (such as when someone shares a post on Facebook), the results are impressive.

All WordPress users can expect this sort of easy optimization and integration, and can turn to it for any kind of blogging message.

Author Bio:

Anny Solway is a dedicated writer at ThemeFuse – a leader in the premium WordPress themes area. She likes to discover new ideas about internet marketing, social media and blogging.

Read More

The Rise Of The Mobile App

Smartphone's are pretty incredible, as is the internet itself. This article will chart the continued rise of the Smartphone and the applications that make them so appealing to their users. In the internet age we live in, having access to it at all times is vitally important. May it be because you need to do some shopping or check your bank account balance, the option has to be there.

Many of you will work in the city and have high pressure jobs that require a lot of phone calling and instant messaging; the only way to get that on the go is with one of these phones. Businesses are now fundamentally tailored around the functionality of mobile devices including tablets.

Think back to ten years ago and then compare the business world to what it is like now, the rise and change has been incredible. There are three key reasons why the mobile application has become so popular and I will explain them within the this article,

The Internet:

The rise of the mobile application can be attributed solely to the rise in the internet and thus the rise in the number of Smartphone's on the market. It is frightening how far technology has come in such a short space of time and it is only going to get more detailed and advance.

Most people are internet literate nowadays and this is reflected in the complexity of apps and mobiles. As more people become comfortable with using the internet (don't forget it is still a new thing) wed developers are becoming more willing to advance the apps they produce.

You can get an application for almost anything; I will touch upon this later in the article.

Stimulation:

A lot of people in the world today have experience everything that they want or need to experience, may it be travelling or purchasing goods. There is a lot of wealth in the world and people get very bored and mobile applications can often provide the stimulation they need.

It is something that is out of your control; you don't set the levels or create the rules. You have got to abide by someone else's and that frustration/sense of achievement after completion is something you can't get from buying the latest car on the market.

Ease of Access:

You can literally do anything on an app nowadays. You can do your banking, your shopping, book your holidays, have a gamble and check your Facebook, all within a few seconds. The ease of access and wide ranging nature of apps makes them so appealing and companies such as Made with Marmalade have recognized this.

They create cross border platforms for apps that can be used on all Smartphone's and thus they infiltrate every aspect of the market. This is just one example of how companies are clocking on to the fact the internet is the most progressive market to be involved in. The future can only get more advanced and people have such an open mind when it comes to technology that any new creations will certainly have the required audience.

Image Credit: Royalty Free or iStock.

Author Bio:

Andrew is an author with a love for modern technology. He likes to keep up to date with the latest phones and tablets as well as writing about them.

Read More

5 Reasons To Use A Website Builder

If you don’t have a personal website, but you’re dreaming about launching one, you’ve come to the right place. In this article I’m going to list and describe the benefits of using the most convenient site building tools - online website builders. As for me, these platforms are the very definition of innovation in the technology domain, as they offer everything you need to build a professional-looking website in one place.

When I’m asked which is the easiest and the most cost-efficient way to build a website, I always recommend website builders. And this is due to the following reasons:

1.) They Are Easy-to-Use:

Convenience is probably the strongest side of modern website builders. Most of them feature very user-friendly CMS based on drag-and-drop and WYSIWYG editing principles. These allow you to see how your website will look like when live (even on the smartphones and tablets). This is to say that anyone is capable of building a website there, regardless of the HTML knowledge level. Below is a screenshot of Zoho Sites web design suite depicting their intuitive WYSIWYG editor.

2.) They Offer Advanced Website Building Tools:

Website builders are by no means inferior to other methods of webmastering. Their scope of features runs the gamut from smart widgets to QR-code generators. What’s more - most of these features are available within their absolutely free packages (in most cases you ‘pay’ just by displaying the system’s copyright on your pages). A good example of a functional website builder is uCoz web design platform. Their free package amazes: ability to attach a previously purchased domain, ability to generate a custom email, extended statistics, technical support, etc.

3.) They Let You Start Your Own Business:

Not only do site constructors help you taking your current business online, but they also help you set up a new enterprise. Webydo web design suite, for instance, offers a very smart content management system allowing web designers to manage multiple websites and clients. With their unparalleled CMS you’ll be able to adjust permission settings and add collaborators enabling your clients to upload and edit their website content easily, without messing up design.

4.) They Are Cost-Efficient:

Building a website on a SaaS (software as a service) platform is far more cheaper than the alternatives: assembling a website piece by piece yourself (hosting + domain + CMS + plugins + themes, etc.) or hiring developers and designers. In fact, website builders allow you to build a functioning website with $0 seed capital. But they also offer access to more advanced tools for extra fees. Take a look at Weebly web design platform pricing: everything’s transparent, straightforward and affordable:

5.) They Give You Freedom of Customization:

There are many misconceptions surrounding website builders, and one of the most popular is that on these platforms you’ll be limited to their default templates only. But is not true. On most platforms you can upload your own templates or modify the readymade designs with pixel accuracy. This feature is available on Squarespace web design platform within their Developer Plan, for example.

Author Bio:

Howard Steele is the owner of superbwebsitebuilders.com. There he publishes his own professional website builders reviews and comparisons. Apart from these, he writes design-related articles.

Read More

How to Save a Wet Cell Phone?

Chances are, you or someone you know has dropped their cell phone in water. It’s that moment when everything turns into slow motion, as your lifeline to social media, friends and family slowly succumbs to a watery death. But is there a way to rescue your cell phone once it’s taken the plunge? Keep reading and check out this infographic ,"How to Save a Wet Cell Phone".

With over 80% of the population using cell phones in the United States, it’s no surprise that many have lost a phone to water. Over 116,000 cell phones end up in the laundry each year, and over 850,000 end up in a toilet! There’s even a Facebook group dedicated to those poor souls that have lost a cell phone during a trip to the bathroom. 29% of cellphone users admit that their damage was caused by spilling a drink on them, and it’s no surprise that men are three times as likely to damage their phone via water!

Have a Look At: Saving Your Smart Phone When It Falls In The Toilet!

Once you’ve rescued your phone from the H2O, it’s time to act-and act quickly. First, turn off the device-if it’s off already, don’t turn it on! Dry it off, and take it apart-including sim cards and the battery. Don’t shake or jostle the phone too much, as this can force water into delicate parts of the device. If spray alcohol is available, spraying the inside may help disperse the water. Use a small vacuum to help suck out any water, and then immediately put the phone into a bag of rice. You can also purchase a first-aid kit from Dry-All to help save your cell phone. Whatever you do, do not put your phone in the microwave, take a hair dryer to it, or place the device on a heater.


Feel free to like, comment, and share this, “How to Save a Wet Cell Phone” infographic from Partselect.com!

Source: Partselect.

Read More

Tips For Protecting Your Online Intellectual Property

What online intellectual property do I have?

Whether you have a web-based business, like an e-commerce site, or a simpler online presence such as a Facebook or Twitter profile, you are likely to be creating intellectual property online.

Intellectual property means “creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce” (according to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)).

Online intellectual property may include:

• Names and logos.
• Software code.
• Artwork.
• Photographs.
• Content, for example, website copy, Facebook posts, and potentially, tweets.

Protecting your name and logos:

The best way to protect your name and logo against copycats is to apply for relevant trade marks.

Unlike the internet, trade marks are country specific. To protect your name in Brazil you will need to register a Brazilian trade mark.

Here are some tips for protecting your name and logo,

• Know your name: Check if other people are using your name for the same or a similar thing. If so, consider if you must use this mark, or if you can find something else.
• Know your countries: It is expensive and time consuming to apply for and maintain trade marks worldwide. Focus on your key countries.
• Know your product or service: Trade marks are registered in relation to specific goods and services. The better you know your product the easier it will be to produce an accurate, focussed trade mark.
• Know your lawyer: Working with a trusted lawyer or trade mark attorney will help you to get the most out of your trade mark.

Protecting your content, artwork,and photos:

Content, artwork and photographs are primarily protected by copyright. Protecting content, artwork and photographs online can be difficult. You may remember the outcry over Instagram’s change to their terms and conditions which gave them much wider rights over user photographs than many thought appropriate. If not, check it out here. Copying is often key to infringing copyright. It is impossible to stop someone from copying your work, but you can take some practical steps to reduce the risk. Here are some,

• Know when you created the work and be able to prove it, for example by emailing it to yourself.
• Use a © notice to warn other people that something is your work, for example, “© 2013, Waterfront Solicitors LLP. All rights reserved”.
• Watermark any images, or use other methods to make it harder for people to copy the image, such as blocking right-clicking.
• The length of copyright and any registration processes will vary from place to place, so check with a local lawyer if you are unsure.

Protecting your software code, personal or open source:

Under some limited circumstances, you can get patent protection for software. This is something that you may want to look into if you are doing something new and inventive. However, generally, copyright will protect software. There are three main types of software,

1. Software you own: you have done the physical coding.
2. Commissioned: you have commissioned a developer to do the coding.
3. Free or open source (FOSS): you have neither developed it nor commissioned it, but it is available for you to use without charge.

You need to know the licence terms to make the most of your software. What can the user do with the software?

• If you are licensing software to users: clarity matters. If there are restrictions on use, for example, if only registered users are allowed to use the software you should make this clear.
• If you are using third party code: what are you able to do with it? For example are you able to use it for commercial purposes?

For absolute certainty and peace of mind, it’s best to talk to a local lawyer, who can help draft terms and conditions tailored to your needs.

Author Bio:

Chloe Taylor is a solicitor specialising in intellectual property at Waterfront Solicitors LLP in London, UK.

Read More

A Week's Worth of Motivational Quotes

We’ve all heard of and may have even met some people that are able to sustain their motivation burning for an incredible length of time. They are the types that are likely to dominate over their chosen vocation. Unfortunately, all of us aren’t programmed the same way. If you’re like me whose had trouble maintaining an attention span of more than a few minutes, a dose of motivation can go a long way.

Motivation could come in the form of events, people, material things, wants and words. I’ll stick to the latter as one of the best mover of people. Yep, there’s no doubt that words are powerful enough to inspire and move mountains. If we look back at history, most of our great achievements were due to very inspiring words that moved people’s emotions.

As a regular person who’s trying to make a living, a workweek can be as daunting as building the pyramids at times. Hence, powerful words or quotes are what’s needed to set us off.

Source: EricWelke.

Author Bio:

Kimberly L. Smith began writing her own blog in 2010. It was not long after that websites started to pursue her writing prowess. Now she has moved on to another challenge – affiliate marketing, more specifically Elite Marketing Pro.

Read More