Blog Notice

I should have made this post a long time ago. I will be discontinuing this blog because of my work with my company. IN any case, I will be re-posting some articles in our website, QED IT Solutions, so please do visit that site. Thanks!

Removing Kavo.exe Virus

Just recently, Yahoo Messenger in my computer acted strangely, first it disappeared every time I log in then after some time even before logging in it will now display an "exception breakpoint error." What's this?

I scanned my system with McAffee however, No virus or trojan found and yet the problem is still there. I uninstalled yahoo messenger and installed it again. No success, still same problem. I hit the net and researched more about my problem. I got lots of hits but no real viable solution. However, I found temporal solution:

1. Run Task Manager (CTRL-ALT-DEL)
2. End explorer.exe process
3. Then run it again as a new task.
4. After which, YM! will run successfully.

Well, my Y! Messenger worked but I don't feel comfortable doing that process everytime I started my computer and decided to run YM! Plus the fact that there maybe some malicious code or program responsible for such mess.

So i tried researching more about it trough with good ol Google. You can see the search result from google when I keyed in "yahoo messenger disappear during login" in the search bar. Browsing through the results I found out that it was somewhat related to certain virus (e.g. AMVO.exe). You should find this amvo.exe when you look into your windows task manager. Problem is there's not AVMO listed in my task manager processes. Although, there is one suspicious looking program: Kavo.

So coming back to google, this time looking for Kavo. Whoa! this time I think I was finally able to hit the culprit. Kava.exe is trojan or malware!

Here's a little bit of info about Kavo.exe from TrendMicro Virus-trojan-work encyclopedia

Arrival and Installation - This worm arrives via removable drives and physical drives. […] Autostart Technique - It creates a registry entry to enable automatic execution at every system startup. […] Propagation Routine - This malware propagates via removable drives and physical drives by dropping a copy of itself as NTDELECT.COM. It also drops its non-malicious component file AUTORUN.INF to automatically execute dropped copies when the said drives are accessed. […]

So now its time to look for a removal procedure to eliminate this as my anti-virus programs are incapable of detecting and removing it. Luckily, after half an hour of surfing I came across this blog which provided a quick and easy solution to remove this trojan.

To remove Kavo-NTdelect go to this link

Being Cautious with those Widgets

A few days ago my wife greeted me in the morning with a news that her blog is acting strangely. A friend commented that her blog has been popping up ads with some malicious and adult content. So without having a chance to do my morning routine, I sat down in front of our notebook and immediately noticed that there indeed was something strange about her blog. Logging into her blog, it immediately started popping out unwanted ads. I also noticed that there were some ad links that is evident in her blog. Checking it out it, I noticed that those ads were from clicksor. The scary thing is I couldn't remember installing any codes in her blog that would correspond with those ads. You see when it comes to the nitty gritty HTML codes of her blog, my wife normally would ask me to do things for her. So since I did not put any codes there, I suspect either here account was hacked and somebody placed those codes in there.

So I started to to log into her account and read the HTML code of her blog one by one, yup! you read it right, I did analyzed everything line by line. Still, I was not able to see any malicious code that would point me to the culprit.

The next thing I did was, from instinct, started to remove each widget which have its own script. and lo and behold! when I removed the widget responsible in displaying her pagerank, those ads disappeared!

I did it three times (delete & insert the widget) to make sure the ads was really associated with that PR widget. Having isolated the problem I permanently removed it.

Thinking about it, that was a sneaky way for that widget to earn ad bucks from bloggers. The things is as far as I remember, that widget was there ever since my wife's blog was PR3 and it didn't pop up any ads during that time. The ads started to pop up when her PR was increased to PR4.

I can't remember if it was part of their TOS for using their widget. If it was then my bad for not understanding it. Still, even if it was I don't find there strategy amusing, or much less, ethical.

just my two cents.

Back on Track

Weeks after our computer broke down making some of my personal files and applications being unaccessible, I finally was able to set up and install a replacement pc. Thus, here I am back at blogging trying to recover some lost ground...

Creating Your Own Website The Easy Way!

Nowadays, the emergence of websites be it for businesses or personal (blogs) is on the rise. Especially now that creating a website seems to be as easy as ever!

There are a lot of web development companies and a plethora of freelancers! The challenge lies in selecting the right developer. For me, as a rule of thumb, I usually recommend choosing a developer or freelancer nearest to your location. This way you can easily communicate your needs to them.

However, you can also try creating your own website. I found this great site in the internet that helps anybody on how to build a website without prior technical knowledge. With their cool service you can practically launch you own site in less than ten minutes!

OneWebHosting is a unique web solution company since they can offer you on-the-fly solutions. They can help you build the your site with the following tools:

• Web site builder wizard
• Setting up an Ecommerce page Wizard
• Web Form Wizard
• Splash Page Wizard
• Flash Animation Wizard
• A online photo editor
• Photo Album Maker
• Blog Development Tool

Try it yourself and take a free test drive of their service and see that you can really create a professional looking site without HTML or other Web Development knowledge. Or you can take a peek of their design gallery and see samples of their great looking sites.

OneWebHosting is simply the best online website builder I found so far!

Welcome to the ride

I'll give you a glimpse of my offline life...
I love motorcycles.
I like to ride.
I like to experience that freedom.
That unique experience only motorcycle riders feel...

Web Ad Protypes from Microsoft

I read this from the news this morning. The original article was written by Jessica Mintz, an AP Technology Writer. Here's a portion of the article:

"Microsoft Corp.'s online advertising researchers will spend this year teaching computers to be smart about sticking ads into video clips, and to be even smarter about targeting ads to specific Web surfers.

Microsoft showed off a handful of early-stage advertising projects at its headquarters Tuesday that may or may not turn up as part of Microsoft's Web advertising platform.

The demonstrations come just days after Microsoft's $44.6 billion bid for Yahoo Inc., which, if successful, will boost the software maker's Web traffic and online ad revenue.

The full article can be found here "

Looking at it from a blogger's perspective, I can't help to ask myself if this will be a new opportunity for us? Does this offer a better system than Google's AdSense (which is quite obvious that Microsoft is trying to take on a bigger share of the pie)?

I'm crossing my fingers.

Online Casino: Getting that Casino Fever!

Warning: Just like the real thing, playing online casino games are addictive!

Still if you have the time and money to spare, then go catch the casino fever! It's real fun and stress relieving (at least for me!).

However, before kick starting your favorite browser and keying online casino on google, here's some tips on how to choose the right online casino:

1. Check out the site's software. You have to make sure you only play with reputable gaming softwares. You can find such information in the online casino's information pages. Among the list of the major and trustworthy softwares are Cryptologic, Microgaming, Net Entertainment, Playtech, Boss Media, Random Logic and OddsOn.
2. 24 hour online support is a MUST. If there are no chat supoprt at least look for a phone number and an email address. It's a good precautionary step to test the customer support before committing to play.
3. Another thing to look for is the site's gaming licenses. You don't want to play on a scam site, would you?
4. Read the fine print regarding their promotions and bonuses. This will tell you more about deal you're getting into. Also, some sites may only pay you the money if you win over a certian value for example so you better know this.

So how to get information about the above tips? well visit some casino review sites first before playing. This saves you a lot of time (and money) since you get first hand information on how some casino sites rates in terms of gamesmanship and performance.

Another such site is OnlineCasinoLinks.com. This site have researched and written detailed reviews on hundreds of online casinos out there.

If you are looking for a good casino graphics and playability, with the highest payouts and regarded as the safest and secure then this site have some recommendation up in their list.

If I'd known how old I was going to be I'd have taken better care of myself

Adolf Zukor, a film mogul and founder of Paramount Pictures, on approaching his 100th birthday once said:

"If I'd known how old I was going to be I'd have taken better care of myself."

I am sure most of us will have the same sentiments. I am also sure that no one of us can predict what will we be years and years from now, for there are many, many factors that affect our lifestyle. Most of the things that happen to us are beyond our control. But what can really help us prepare for where we are going can be planning our retirement or old age. Because even if we are able to do so many activities and responsibilities right now, there will be a point in time when age will catch up on all of us.

Preparing for our retirement place such as our care homes can help us a lot. With the state of the arts facilities and programs for our health good, care homes can make our retirement days blissful and secure.

Another Look at Ashop's Hosted Shopping Cart Software

Last week I made a trial account at Ashop Commerce regarding their hosted shopping cart software and I am impressed by what I saw. Installation was actually a breeze and the flexiblity was superb. Even if it is actually a hosted ecommerce software (this means your ecommerce site and functionality is actually hosted in Ashops' servers) you can still have the look and feel of your ecommerce site to blend to your theme.

More importantly check out is fast and simple. For me, as an owner of an ecommerce site this is important. I don't want to have my customers change their mind at the last minute due to frustrations because of complex and confusing payment!

Here's six reason why you should choose Ashop:

1. Ashop's ecommerce software is AFFORDABLE. With multiple plans to choose from depending on your site's actual ecommerce needs.
2. Installation is EASY! Even if you have no web development or HTML knowledge you can easily setup your ecommerce site.
3. Ashop have superb TECHNICAL SUPPORT AND CUSTOMER SERVICE that you can depend on.
4. With their optimized coding your site GETS FOUND ON SEARCH ENGINES 100% of the time.
5. Their CUSTOMISABLE DESIGN WITHOUT RESTRICTIONS makes it easy to blend the hosted shopping cart into your own unique website theme
6. and most of all they offer the TOTAL SOLUTION-- a Securely hosted, free emails, 128 bit SSL checkout security, design services, full fraud alerts and web promotion services.

So if you are in the market for online shopping cart, check out Ashop Commerce.

 

Win a unique blog design!

Here's another cool and easy contest for us bloggers. AffiliateGossip.com is sponsoring a contest wherein the grand prize is a "unique blog design plus two marketing banners."

How to enter?

You can submit as many entries as you want by:

• Subscribe to AffiliateGossip.com's site feed
• Drop your Entrecard to their site
• Writing a review on your blog (such as this one)
• Referring visitors from your website to their site

Contest winners are drawn every other month. The winner will be contacted via e-mail and his/her blog will be showcased on their website.

Again, it's as simple as that.

pro360: Reviewing Online Casinos

During my first time in the United States, my plan was to go to Las Vegas and try their world famous casinos. The plan never materialized as my work schedule did not permit it. I'm not a gambler, but once in a while you'll have that curiosity to try it out. Nowadays, you don't have to be in Las Vegas to play. There a lot of sites in the internet offering online casino service.

However with more than a thousand sites, the problem is how to find the right site that will offer the best gaming experience, a scoring system that you can trust and the highest offered bonus to play.

For that matter, pro360.com is a MUST site to visit if you are planning to play online. The site offers honest reviews which are designed to help players. They have systematically identified popular online games (e.g., Blackjack, Slots, Poker, Roulette, Craps, etc) as categories. Each category has its own "Top 20 Reviewed Casinos" list which can help you to significantly narrow down your choice.

Their ranking system is based on accumulated scores on the following criteria:

1. Overall Score
2. Game Experience
3. Trust Score
4. Extras

I find their casino reviews to be thorough, touching from the graphical interface to software, security, and customer service.

Pro360.com is indeed a good web resource for online casino players.

 

Digital Painting Anyone?

Our graphics designer was tinkering with her photo editing software last week since we are in between projects right now. I gave her a digital photo of my youngest daughter to convert to a digital painting effect.

What she did was awesome! To think that I just taught her that skill!

Okay, I was just kidding.

You can check out some of her original works here.

Digital Painting Effect

Original Photo

Blog Contest: Win $100 from JoeTech.com!

Heads up fellow bloggers!

Here's a simple contest where you get a chance to win $100 in cold cash. Contest is spearhead by JoeTech.com together with the following blogs:
- Link Bait
- Gorilla Sushi
- CK Marketing
- The Big Bald Blog
- How 2 Blogger
- Dot Sauce Magazine
- Jason Boom

The rules are simple. You just have to:

1. Make a comment of value (not just “i agree”, etc.) on a post = 1 entry
2. Subscribe to RSS via email = 2 entries (per blog you subscribe to!)
3. Write a post about the contest on your blog (must include a link to this page and the links below to participating blogs) = 25 entries

Contest deadline is 12:00AM on March 1, 2008. But why wait? check it out now!

 

The Business Plan for Your Website Design Company

If you are a freelancer and want to establish your own web design business, then having a business plan is an absolute MUST! However, creating a business plan is no easy task by itself. Fortunately, there is one good resource available in the internet. So if you are thinking to have your own web design business, this is for YOU!

dNeero Survey #: Get it going with dNeero

All About Rugby!

I love watching basketball games. Here in the Philippines, basketball is the most popular game. However, when I have to work in Malaysia for a minimum six months, I missed my daily dose of watching the hoops game. During this time though, I was introduced to a new interesting and fun game: RUGBY!

Rugby is a game that is played in more than 100 countries worldwide. Rugby is played with two teams of fifteen players from each each side. The object of the game to take the ball in the end zone of each team to score points. What I like about rugby is its continuous flow type of game-- relentless action!

When I went back to the Philippines I lost track of Rugby, until today. I came across RBS6Nations.com website, the official website for Europe's premier international rugby tournament, the 6 nations championship. This site provides a comprehensive coverage of the rugby games from the 6 nations tournament (comprised by England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales). The website also contains a list of tournament news, fixtures and results, as well as interactive games and podcasts section for the six nations fans.

If you are a Rugby fan this website is the best site for you!

Revenue Opportunity: Blogging with Smorty

If you would like to explore some monetizing opportunities with your blog (i.e, blog for money, etc.), then sign up for Smorty. Smorty is an online service that gives you the opportunity to get paid for blogging. They basically connect advertisers to us bloggers by providing a good blog advertising system.

Nowadays, Product manufacturers or service providers advertise on blogs for the purpose of visibility and product awareness. Since blogs do provide fresh content they offer unmatched publicity specially when the blogger actually patronizes one of their products. Another advantage of a product being reviewed in blogs are the inbound traffic through link backs to their site where visitors can be converted to actual customers.

On the other hand, bloggers get paid for simply giving honest reviews and opinions about the advertiser's products or services. The only requirement is that the actual post should be at least 150 words in length. Its as simple as that!

How does Smorty differentiate itself from the other similar services?

1. Pay outs are 5 days after your blog post has been approved through your paypal account.
2. Each approved post will earn you a minimum of $6. This can get as high as $100 depending on your Pagerank and Smorty score.
3. Smorty makes use of a unique blogger ranking system. Smorty's calculates it's own smart score system, it's created by combining the following factors 1) Googles PageRank, 2) Alexa Rankings, 3) Return rate of given tasks 4) Approval/Decline ratio of completed tasks and 5) Number of completed tasks. If you have a higher Smorty score, you are more likely to receive more campaign offers and more higher priced campaigns.

Okay, so how do bloggers join?

Joining Smorty is absolutely free. There's no set up and maintainance fees whatsoever. There are a few requirements though:

• Your blog must be indexed by Google and Yahoo
• Your blog must be older than 3 months
• Your blog must not contain any violent, hate related or adult content
• Your blog must be active and have a history of minimum average 2 new posts per week
• The blog must not have duplicate posts or excessive duplicate content

Joining Smorty is a good addition to your revenue stream.
So if you haven't done it yet, you might as well sign up and get paid to blog.

Shopping for a Shopping Cart!

Before, one of the challenges of creating a web site for small businesses is incorporating an e-commerce functionality. I remember spending a lot of time sitting down in the front of my computer keying those PHP, ASP codes just to make a simple ecommerce software work.

Nowadays there's a plethora of shopping cart software available, the challenge, now lies in choosing the right one. Just recently, I came across Ashop Commerce. Ashop Commerce offers a complete solution for merchants to sell online. One thing that interests me was their service on hosted shopping cart software. Normally, a shopping cart is a software that you install in your web server and run in from there. Using Ashop's Hosted Shopping Cart, you don't have to install anything in your server, you can actually run the shopping cart from Ashop's hosted sites. And everything is web based, you don't have to code anything except some tweaking in HTML to add or customize your branding and layout. Ashop Commerce also provides a secure checkout system. You can try it out for yourself with their 10-day free trial and see how good their shopping cart is.

Here's a short list of their shopping cart features:

• Web based store administration with no graphic design or HTML skills required
• Fully web optimised structure, Page titles with keywords embedded
• Easy shopping cart payment gateway setup (2 minutes)
• Accept credit cards, real time payments
• Integrated with all major banks and payment gateways
• Offline (manual) credit card processing
• Cheques, bank deposit
• Create your own payment options
• CVC (Security Code) support
• Configurable currency symbol
• Multi currency support
• Google checkout integration

If you like to have a shopping cart for you site, you may want to visit http://www.ashopcommerce.com.

Entrecard: Is it really doing your blog any good?

Entrecard.

It's the hype in the blogosphere these days. If you're a serious blogger then you should know about Entrecard.

Its a social networking media that encourages fellow bloggers to visit other blogs and to drop their "business cards" on your blog. During my first few days after I joined, Entrecard drove at least 30 visitors a day. I estimate that this is a very small number compared to other bloggers.

But do these numbers really reflect the quality of traffic I get from my site?

By entrecard's own system, it encourage bloggers to visit fellow bloggers site and then drop their cards in their blog's entrecard widget. This gives you EC credits where you can use to buy ads in the entrecard system. A few months after Entrecards' launch a site dedicated to entrecard network browsing is already in placed, see Createlf EntreCard.


However, how many bloggers are actually reading your blog? I myself admit that out of the 50 blogs I browsed in a day to drop my card, I only read and stay at about 5 blogs that interest me. To the rest of the other 45 blogs I am just another site statistic contributing to their bounce rate.

For those not familiar with what is bounce rate, here's a short note from wikipedia:

Bounce Rate (often confused with Exit Rate) is a term used in website traffic analysis. A Bounce occurs when a website visitor leaves a page or a site without visiting any other pages before a certain session timeout elapses. There is no standard minimum or maximum time limit a visitor must leave by in order for a bounce to occur. Rather, this is determined by the session timeout of the analytics tracking software. A commonly used session timeout value is 30 minutes. In this case, if a visitor views a page and leaves his browser idle for 31 minutes, they will register as a "Bounce". If they then continue to navigate after this delay, a new session will occur and the last page they view before exiting or timing out again will result in another "Bounce". Thus, it is important to note the dependency between bounces and sessions.

With this is mind, I go back to my original question: Is it really doing your blog any good? I would have to answer yes! As a networking media its main goal is to drive traffic--to give your blog the opportunity to be seen (or read) by a lot of people. It's a known fact now that bloggers constantly hop and drop their cards across the network of entrecard users. I think it will always be that way. Now, for those bloggers to actually read your blog, it rest solely on the blog author--to create a good, inviting theme that will showcase good blog content. As the saying goes in the blogosphere, CONTENT IS KING!

As for entrecard, it has done its job. Now the rest is up to you.