Those get rich quick schemes are doubtful

I was on Twitter and I saw this message from someone I am following.   Talking about how to make 171,161.08 a month.

[gallery link="file" orderby="title"]

Ok before we go any further you would have to see the name Oprah Winfrey (see Above for Photo of Account) just like the name of the [intlink id="3501" type="post"]one who just came on to twitter[/intlink].    Now is this a true name or just a fake account?  I'll let you decide that because it looks like it is just random tweets with the same URL.    This to me is looking more and more like spam.  Back to the site, it is call Maverick Money Makers.

[ad]As you can tell this is like every other get rich page I've seen trying to tell you will make insane amount of money in a few minutes a day.  So I decide to go to another page unrelated to this page and you will get.

So now this is what keeps making me wonder if it isn't just a scam because Like the virus alerts you get where they try to keep you on the page.   I've also did some research and find that there was a post about this being a scam on Yahoo Answers but strangely it was deleted.   I don't know how long that cache copy of the question will be there, so I took pictures of the questions and answers to better help you decide for your self about why it was deleted.  See The gallery pictures for more information.

I won't say if it is actually a scam or not but everything that I've seen tries to get you to buy this stuff and tries to make you think you will make money easily.   My thought of this is that you will never make money quick and you will have to work hard for it.   I expect this blog to make money later on down the road like other blogs that have been on the net for a long time.  I however know that making money from the internet is never quick.   Everything I've made takes time and effort on my part.

Tech Journalist breaks the silence -- Journalist got Pwned!!

It was another ordinary day for this tech journalist. He had just waken up from his lovely dreams and hadn't realized that he was being baited with Phish. Yes that is correct he actually gave out his password to an Phish site and didn't know it.

I have to admit that he didn't hide it, in fact he decided to post about how he got Pwned and what happened.

The Face Of A Facebook Phishing Scam
[Click Picture to see the full story]

[ad#ad2-right]As you can see the site : Facebookcom.awardspace.com is a phishing site and should never give out your information to third parties.   Some things to remember if you get an email with a link sometimes won't send you to the real link.  This can be easily done just like blogging.  You don't know where you will end up when you click an email link.   One thing to remember is if in doubt log into facebook the old fashion way and see for yourself.

You could be the next person to have your Identity taken away from you.  So what should you do to prevent this type of phishing attacks, assume any email you get from Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and Any other Social Sites to be a possible phish email.   These are always going to be a problem for these sites.  The spammers want access to be able to spam your friends and family with links, or to make you look foolish.  This is the reason they do it for Money or just for laughs.

One thing to remember is having a strong password will make it that much harder for you to be phished because if you can't remember it you will be more careful.  I will keep preaching this having a good Firewall and Anti-virus will also prevent you from getting viruses from these type of phishing attacks.  It will also make it much more harder to go to sites that smell like Phish.  Remember only you can keep your identity a secret.

More Information on the downadup Worm

If your working to get rid of this Downadup Worm, F-secure is giving out a free removal tool to help with that task.   According to F-Secure Worm:W32/Downadup.gen description which Talks about how bad this worm is.

[ad#ad2-right]Due to companies not updating the MS 08-067 patch, it is the primary way for this worm to get onto a system.

Graham Cluely's Blog ask a question and got quite a few answers from the users. The results of the poll are 53% believe the hackers are to blame, and 30% think the System Administrators are to blame, and 17% think Microsoft is to blame for this worm.

I have a mix feelings over who is to be blamed for this worm. I think the person who wrote this, did it for a specific reason. We can't expect any software we use to be 100% safe, even Macintosh are not 100% safe. Microsoft isn't to be blamed because they tried to patch this as quickly as they could. I know that companies have a hard time keeping up with Microsoft updates, and they really can't be blamed. I think Hackers are always going to make a virus just because they can. That's in there nature and we will never be really rid of the virus or worm writers. They are in it for the Money, to boast, to take control of, or steal sensitive information. Windows being the Alpha Dog, people are always going to test the waters because of that.

So who do you think is to be blamed?  I'd like to hear your thoughts on this.

Who do you think is to blame for the Downadup Worm? 1) End Users 2) Microsoft who did patch it 3) The person who Wrote this Worm 4) Companies who didn't implement updates 5) No one it is going to happen 6) People who pay the writers of Virus/Worms View Results Make your own poll

If you think someone else is to be blamed just make a comment.

Please bear in mind that this poll is not scientific and is provided for information purposes only. The comments expressed on this page are those of a subsection of poll participants, and not necessarily those of Tech-linkblog. Tech-linkblog makes no guarantees about the accuracy of the results other than that they reflect the choices of the users who participated.

Viacom might be going to HULU

According to some of the news post people are worried about Viacom leaving Time Warner. Now Here's where Viacom might be going digital. What do I mean Digital, I am talking about going to HULU. If Viacom doesn't sign a deal with Time Warner, that would leave a space ope for someone else like Hulu.

So Viacom isn't happy with Time Warner, or They want to go IPTV. Some of the Headlines I'm seeing are:

[ad#tim-right-free-cell-1]
• Time Warner Cable Loses Viacom: MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central To Go Dark


• Dispute Between Time Warner and Viacom May Affect Cable Shows


• Viacom could pull MTV off Time Warner Cable


• Viacom And Time Warner Cable Play Chicken; Programmer To Pull Networks Over Fee Dispute

These are just a few that I am seeing pop up around the internet.  So what does that mean to the internet user?  Well On one of there show's like Dora the Explorer on Nickelodeon will begin to stream some of the shows previews on Dec 29, 2009 for it's next show.  When you go to Nickelodeon Site you get this:



[ad#ad2-right]Although this just means they want as much money as possible this does give Hulu the chance to start streaming this type of content easier and probably be able to sign a contract with them without much of a fuss. After all Viacom wants to make money some how. So what can you do to get them to go to Hulu. Email Hulu and tell them and tell them you want Viacom to come to Hulu. If this happens so many things will happen with regards to online media.

Warning Signs of Hard Drive Trouble

For every computer there comes a time when you have a problem with hardware or software. This is for those who want to learn the signs of possible fixes for having hard drive problems. Although if you know you're hard drive is dieing then you better back it up as quickly as possible. You will of course need to get the back up software to protect your data.  If you have special drivers you will need to backup yours drivers.  If you have an OEM system then you will need to backup the Hidden Partition.

So what are the warning signs of a hard drive failure:

[ad#ad2-right]

• Unexpected freezing of Windows -- When Windows Locks up and you have to reboot or getting a Blue Screen of Death.   You have no choice but to restart because you can't do anything with windows.


• Losing data files -- if you seem to see files being lost or deleted without your direct input.  It might be a sign of a computer virus or it could be a damaged hard drive.


• Locking up during boot -- this is most common when you have a hard drive failure, although if you can restart and not be a problem then just keep in mind that it might be the beginning.  The more frequent you have the lockup boot problems the more chance of the hard drive dieing.


• Hard drive isn't recognized in BIOS-- Although this can be a old hard drive, if the bios can't see it then the problem might be a hard drive failure, usually this is meaning you just have to replace the hard drive.  there's isn't much you can do with this problem, just replace the hard drive.  Most of the time it is a problem inside the Hard drive bios and you really can't fix this, you'd have to send it off to possibly save the hard drive data.


• Clicking, Scratching, Whirling, Grinding sounds from Hard drive -- This is the most dangerous signs of hard drive failure and means you need to get your data off ASAP.  If you want to hear some of the waring sounds of a dieing hard drive click here.

Although some of these can or can not be a hard drive failure, some can be driver issure or disk defragmentation and should be check out to rule out these problems.   There can be several problems that might be easily fixed.  If you think it is a failure you might try Spinrite.  The program is made by Steve Gibson and he actually has a "Absolute Satisfaction Guarantee".  So if it doesn't work or your not satisfied you aren't out any money.  I've used this in the past for hard drives that are dieing so I could get all the important data off before it died all together.  It is essential that if you can get it working for a short time to get a backup.

Disclaimer: Although spinrite might fix some of the problems associated with a hard drive failure, it might not fix all the problems or any problems.   So it is left up to the user to decide if it is worth it or not to buy it.   I don't recommend this for every situation or every problem only for the off chance that it might let you get the important data off the computer before you lose it.  Use at your own risk.

What is a Virus and Why do I have one

After seeing more and more the updates coming from the net.  I wanted to talk about what a Computer Virus or Trojan is and how you get it.   So how did  you could of gotten a Virus in the first place.   So here are some information to consider:

The vulnerability of operating systems to viruses

So what does that mean to you?  Most of the times when you get a virus you have a vulnerability in some place in your Operating system and it is either something that has not be known by Microsoft, Apple, and Linux or is know as a Zero-day Exploit. [ad#ad2-right]

A zero-day (or zero-hour) attack or threat is a computer threat that tries to exploit unknown, undisclosed or patchfree computer application vulnerabilities. The term Zero Day is also used to describe unknown or Zero day viruses.

[Via Wikipedia]

This is one of the most used because if it is an unknown exploit by the Operating System creators then they have a longer to us the exploit.  Most of the time hackers like to use this because that means there is a possibility of finding even more vectors to infect other systems.  You see if they can get on one system they can then find ways to get on other systems.

In the Old days, you'd ask

How Did I Get This Virus, Anyway?

You get a virus when you copy infected files to your computer, then activate the code inside by running the infected application or opening an infected document. How you copy the infected files is irrelevant: Viruses don't care if you get them as an e-mail attachment, a download, or via a shared floppy disk, though e-mail attachments are the most prevalent (and easiest) mode of transport.

[via PcWorld] (Dated Oct 13, 2000 11:00 pm)

That was before hackers wanted to infect for more personal gains.   There is a list of things that hackers want to get when they Infect a system and it is usually very few things.   In the Old days they wanted the fame but now they want money and to take control over the internet.  They usually want to infect for Money or to have computers become botnets.  Now We aren't talking about the Movie, I Robot.   Once a system becomes a bot it doesn't think for itself but follows a line of command from the Command and Control center.  So lets say we have  several hundred bots on one net, and the hacker blacked mailed a server saying if they didn't pay up they'd get DoS attacked.  With enough bots going to one site at one time can slow or even bring down a site, that is how A hacker sometimes uses a virus or trojan to get into a system.

Viruses & Trojans try to Avoid detection

So you have a virus, it wouldn't do a virus any good to be detected right after getting onto a system.   More and more, viruses are trying to avoid being seen and heard.  Most hackers who program are wanting to infect more than one system so they have to make really sure that you don't find out your infected.    So with that said there are several ways  and I won't try to explain them because I think the link talks about it better than I could.   It however will give people something to think about.


In the next few days there will be another post on How you will be able to figure out if you have a virus.  I had to talk about this first so people could understand how to figure out if you have in the next post.  So stay tuned for more

PS3 launches "HOME" so you don't have to go anywhere for the Holidays!

Sony, Launches "Home" today and according to the Washington Post and I'll quote:

PS3 owners will be able to download and check out the new service starting tomorrow. Home is free to Web-connected owners of the game console, though users may opt to spend money to spiff up their avatars and virtual apartments.

[via Washington Post]

[ad#ad2-left]

It looks very much like it will be a success with the users.   This should make it a lot easier to meet people and discuss what they are playing.   It looks like they are trying this in BETA and should out of beta in a couple of months.  Sony should start offering service for everyone  as they roll out it to all parts of the world.   It will take time for it to get to all the pople so please be patient.

Yet another Turn For Yahoo, They lay off 1,500 people.

As much as I like Yahoo, they decide to lay off workers due to money. It's really not un-expected due to the fact that they've been doing poorly.

Yahoo began laying off 1,500 workers on Wednesday as part of a plan, announced in October, to slash expenses by $400 million a year. The cost cutting, however, may have to go deeper in the coming year.

[New York Times]

[ad#ad2-left]Now we know the Google and Yahoo planned on getting together but that went south due to the Lawsuit.  Some think Yahoo's systems is flaky and is bound to fail.  Although I don't know much of the back story, I'd just wanted to let my readers know about Yahoo.  If you want to read the other articles on Layoffs by all means.   I also suggest people search my site for some good tid bits

Hello Twitter, Goodbye Pounce!

In a move that feels more like a cruel prank than a financial strategy, Six Apart has purchased Pownce--only to shut the company down. The blogging company acquired the micro-blogging site for an undisclosed sum before announcing that it would shut Pownce in a mere two weeks.

[via PcMag]

[ad#ad2-right]Although This is nothing to big because those who use Pownce was using just o play around with.  People who are using Pownce will have to go back to Twitter or something other like Twit Army.   If you have an account there you will need to start looking around for another social outlet.   Some of the ones I like are on my About me page and should give you some ideas on where you look.

Although if Six Apart was smart they should of tried to Monitize the service but I guess they just wasted there money in buying Pounce.   They wanted something else from the company that owned Pounce but not sure what.

Cricket USB UM100 Broadband Wireless Modem Review.

The UM100c is No Longer Available, Please check out the Cricket [intlink id="3059" type="post"]A600 Modem Review[/intlink] Or the [intlink id="4523" type="post"]UM185 Broadband modem[/intlink]. The UM185 modem might be a replacement to the UM100.

After a full week of playing around with this USB wireless, I wanted to talk about it. So let's break it down into pieces.

1. [ad#text-broadband1]


2. Installation --  The installation of the USB was not to difficult.  I did have to do some more steps than this:  Install the Software, then hooked up the USB device to the USB port.


3. Manual Activated the Broadband --  For some reason in my area they had several people have problems with the broadband activation.  So I had to activate it manually!!

After that all went well, I was on the internet just a cruising along.  I did however wonder why I was getting such a slow response speed.  When I went traveling I thought I would share some of my local results with you to better show you my speed.  All these test were done at



Please see an updated post on how to get even more speed from the broad band modem.
This speed is not the true speed for the broad band modem.

The Percentages over the results are showing you just what my signal strength was when I was doing the test.  Two of the 4 were traveling on the highway and the other two were stationary.  I also know that my speed will vary along with signal strength, I know I have to be a mile or less from a tower to get 100%.

*Update* 12/21/08

[ad#cricket-1]In my other post I talk about why I didn't get the speed I expected, but after I did the activation I went to normal Mobile Broadband speeds.   I also now have been using the USB Modem for my main internet without any or much problems.   I know I can't play any major online games but I can at least have the internet with me were ever  I go.   As long as you stay in the coverage area, you should be in good shape.  .  Like I Said I've used it in my area for over a 1 month and with the small little problem, the speed has been really dependable and I haven't had any major issue with connectivity. I've been using this modem as my main internet and have not seen any major internet and have not seen any of the cap come my way.   I think they won't mind to much as long as you don't ABUSE the internet, for example don't use it for bittorrent downloads and you should be fine!!

Update 12/24/2008
I also did travel with my laptop to another city, and I got to say it was really good and how it did when I went from one city to another. Check out the report here.
According to some post and forum talks around the the internet they are talking about the soft cap of 5 Gigabytes but that seems to not be so important right now.   After all, they have to make money some how.   I will update as necessary when I find anything else out.

update 1/01/09

I also did a video and uploaded it to youtube using the broadband connection. I had no problem uploading this video to Youtube. I've embedded it in this web page. See it on the bottom:



I also bought the [intlink id="3059" type="post"]A600 Cricket modem[/intlink] and I absolutely love this modem because of the things you can do with it.

Microsoft kills a fake antivirus tool from 994,061 computers!

According to Arstechnica and I'll quote:

[ad#ad2-left]Win32/FakeSecSen has gone by various names, including Micro Antivirus 2009, MS Antivirus, Spyware Preventer, Vista Antivirus 2008, Advanced Antivirus, System Antivirus 2008, Ultimate Antivirus 2008, Windows Antivirus, XPert Antivirus, Power Antivirus, and Ultra Antivirus 2009. Furthermore, it is skinnable, so each of these variants has a different GUI, although the basic functionality is the same: bother users with warnings of malware until they pay up.

The Microsoft Malware Protection Center recently released some data on how the removal tool performed this month: FakeSecSen was removed from 994,061 machines. That number isn't the highest Microsoft has recorded before, and the number of removals depends on which malware Microsoft adds each month and how widespread it is.

[via Arstechnica]

This seemed to of happened this month with the usual Windows update.  If you haven't updated your system just yet you should.   This troublesome fake virus seems to have been killed  from several systems.  This could effectively make it harder for these guys who ever designed this program to make money.  I hope microsoft does even more virus removals in next month.  If you still want to try to get rid of these viruses don't forget to check out my tips on Virus removal.

With Black Friday for 2008 quickly approaching!!

Since Black Friday is approaching next month, I Figured it is time to point to places where you could find them.  Now that being said, I don't think people should take some of these ads serious because of all the possibility.  Where these ads are being placed is not going to be the absolute final end all price.   Knowing these competitors like I do, they are going to have an ace in the hole.  You will probably not find out until a week or a few days before black Friday.

They will of course try to keep the really juicy stuff out of the hands of people who blab about this on the net.

Why do they have Black Friday?

The term "Black Friday" originated in Philadelphia in reference to the heavy traffic on that day. More recently, merchants and the media have used it instead to refer to the beginning of the period in which retailers are in the black (i.e., turning a profit).

[via Wikipedia]

Now that being said you can expect to save a lot on Electronics, maybe even laptops.  You could even save money buying a Playstation 3, or an Xbox 360.   That it why there is so much hype in this so called black friday.   With the possible recession looming over our heads, everyone is worried about being laid off.

Here are some great sites to watch to see what might be coming your way:

[ad]

• Black-Friday.net


• Bfads.net


• Black Friday Info


• Toy's R Us Big book


• Black Friday Ads


• Deal Taker - Black Friday


• theblackfriday.com

With these links you should start to find the deals and plan out where you want to be in the coming future.   If you have any other websites just put them in the comments section for all to see.

I want to hear what people think about Black Friday ads.  Is it right to to have this information early, or is it wrong?  Do you think they will stop this in the near future?  These are all the questions I have been wondering?  Is this right for them to hide this information or do they have a real need to hide it?  Why not come up with another Black Friday date?  I want to hear you comments and your ideas on this and other post.

Oprah Recommends the Kindle!

Today in Chicago, and on TV screens across the USA, Oprah Winfrey is going to recommend her new "favorite gadget," which is Amazon's Kindle ebook reader. A brief video has appeared on Amazon's website to plug the show -- as spotted by Chris Nuttall at the Financial Times -- which will also feature a guest appearance by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. (Not his first, by the way.)

[via Guardian.co.uk]

[ad]

I this recent turn of events I thought I recommend some great Kindle Reviews and let you decide if it is worth your money.  So Here are some fantastic Sources to help you decide for yourself:

[ad]

• Amazon Kindle Real-Live Review Gizmodo


• MacInTouch Kindle Review


• Cnet Reviews of the Kindle


• ZDnet Reviews of the Kindle

These are just a few that I could find to better help you make choices on if you would like to buy a Kindle.  I hope this better helps you decide if it is worth.

Is Hulu encouraging people to watch shows illegally?

[ad]

I've been scouring Hulu for the last few days and come up with some interesting observation.   I wanted to talk about Hulu's commitment to its users.   I don't say that lightly but just recently the distributors and the copyright holders only have been putting up a few episodes here and there on old shows like:

• The Pretender


• Stargate Atlantis


• Naruto


• Babylon 5


• Angel


• Sliders

Some of the comments I've seen have been talking about watching the rest of the shows from other sources:

• The Pretender - watch Season 3 for free
  


• Stargate Atlantis - Buy it through Itunes


• Naruto - Suggests that this user might of downloaded episodes
  


• Babylon 5 - AOL Video has Season 3


• Babylon 5 - Talks about Alternatives


• Angel - Suggest buying it


• Sliders - Netflix it

[ad]

Now let's start off saying that it really isn't Hulu's fault, because they can only make available what the publishers says are available for the public.   Some of this suggest to me that the publishers are trying to make us go buy the DVD's.  Hasn't it been said that DVD sales are dead?   So why are the publishers doing this, they want the money and what they want usually happens unless we stand back and take a stand.    I am encouraging everyone to write Hulu and Tell them what you think.   I would like to see these shows come more quickly and be more available.   If not what other choices do the people have?

So here are a few links to better help you understand Hulu's rights and why they do what they do sometimes:

• Understanding Hulu


• How to Improve Hulu's Advertising


• Hulu United States Only -- FAQ

White House is Open to a new Stimulus Check Yet again?

The Economy is still trying to rebound after being told that there is a recession coming our way.  Can they actually make the economy better by introducing even more money?  Did it help the last time around?  The 2008 Stimulus Check that they released doesn't seem to have made a great amount of difference.  So why introduce even more money into a economy that will have to bottom out, sooner, or later.

[ad]

You see having the economy bottom out, is actually good for it.   It clears away the dead and creates life, just like a forest fire it will create even more life in the future.


So what about this New Stimulus Check that the White house is thinking of doing?  Are we going to have to pay more in the future for this so called free money?   I am curious as to what people think about this?   Do you want another Stimulus check or should we let the economy fix itself?

[ad]
According to the Swamp, White house open to new 'booster shot', in the article they talk about this boosting our economy but I don't think so!!!  It will not boost it just make it even harder to bottom out and will most likely cause it to last even longer. Is it even going to make much of a difference, you decide.  I want to hear you opinions.

What's with Google trends?

Having been going to the Google Trends and keeping watching.  I am starting to wonder something?  Take a look at this and you tell me?

[ad]Can you see how someone might use this to create a Goog-411 and use it to promote there website? It is all about the hits and getting what publishers like to say the eyes on a website. Now is that going to confuse people or make people not want to come to a site.  So how would people abuse this?

Very Simple, they'd watch what is trending and post accordingly.  Now you as a reader would click on the website expecting to see what you want to see but instead it would popup with advertisements and maybe malware?  Check these links to better understand it:

• Skype isn't always safe!


• Some Important programs to prevent yourself from having viruses and Malware!!

[ad]
Now even though these are just a few.  You can see how someone might want to abuse it and get there site up on Google trends and be able to infect several to even millions of computers before Google sees that or stops.  You could in theory take over a website high in Google rankings and do exactly that.

Then I have to ask myself, why would hackers want to do it in the first? One they'd be able to direct people to sites that they could use to phish your information, or maybe make money by you going to these sites. It is all about money, I don't say that lightly, but it seems to always be true.

So what is Google doing to prevent this? is it right to use Google for your advantage? Do we need it for anything other than to see what people are looking at? Is that a form of them tracking your every click.

[ad]
Are you comfortable with them keeping the list of what people searched for last year? if you don't believe me, go check it out yourself. These are important questions to answer and should be explored.

Is Hulu the "salad course"?

As I've been watching Hulu the last few months.  I've come to think that Hulu isn't offering us the viewers the chance of a full course meals.  They seem to like to stop after the first 2-3 seasons on most of the shows.    I recently contacted Hulu about the Naruto episodes and here's what they had to say about it:

Thanks for the email. On background, sometime in the coming weeks, Hulu
will get the remaining episodes of Naruto Season 1, and we'll also get
episodes from Season 2-3 in the future as well.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks.
Brandon Boone

[ad]

So why does Hulu do this? I have a theory and this is one that most people will agree on. My theory is that the distributors are trying to entice us into buying the rest of the seasons from someplace, like Amazon or Itunes. Now I am going to have to say this is really stupid way of business and will sooner or later create even more of a demand to download these shows illegally. In the past people have always looked for the cheap way to watch there favorite shows.

Increasingly people are using BitTorrent to download their favorite TV-shows. The rise of unauthorized downloading of TV-shows is a signal that customers want something that is not available through other channels. It’s more about availability than the fact that it’s free and should be viewed as an opportunity, not a threat.
[Via Torrentfreak]

It is one thing to offer free content and get revenue from the free content. It is another to offer free shows and encourage people to download the rest of the show illegally.

Why do they want to buy the rest of the episodes, it is simple math.  They are wanting to get the money for each DVD you buy.  In today's economy there seems to be less and less Blue ray sales.

[ad]

Published: September 23, 2008 - 08:18PM CT

The numbers show that Blu-ray's market share dropped 13.39 percent from the previous week, and that DVD's numbers actually went up by 0.15 percent. Netflix CEO Barry McCarthy recently told Home Media Magazine that he didn't expect Blu-ray to have much of an impact on the company's DVD business in 2008 at all. Citing high player prices, he said that only a fraction of Netflix subscribers currently rent Blu-ray disks.

[via Arstechnica]

Although, this is a couple weeks old article from arstechnica, I thought it was more relevant than most. It talks about how people can't afford to buy a player and the BD Dvd's due to the high prices and charge more than they should. So why do it in the first place? I don't know but all this is showing people are having to choice cheaper and cheaper ways to watch what they want because of the US economy slinding further into recession.

[ad]

What is your most favorite show or movie?  Are you willing to pay a lot for the movie?  These are questions,  that we have to challenge Hulu and other shows on why they only have 2 or 3 seasons of a particluar series.  Is it right to have lure us into the episode and not offer more episodes later on?

Are you asking to be scammed?

As we go further into the economic death, we are faced with the most undesirable aspect of the human culture.  That is to say, scammers are going to use the chance to find people to scam.  I don't say this lightly because scammers have become more cunning and dubious through the years.  They are actually using the internet as well as most companies.  They are going to sites like Monster.com, Careerbuilder.com, and other hiring sites to get people to apply for jobs.

<<See Previous Post -- Nationwide Marketing Scam

Having said that, I recently had a problem with being tried to be scammed.  I applied to a job posted on Careerbuilder and that is how they got a hold of my home address.  I did not think about the security problems associated with applying for jobs on line, until recently.

As you can see that is how they got a hold of my information and have made myself vulnerable to scams and also, other potential problems.  I am talking about Theft ID and also spam.  Although spam is to be expected with anything we do online.  I've come to the conclusion that we will always have to deal with spam.   I wanted to talk about how to be careful when you apply for online jobs and  put your information out on the internet.  I've started taking some steps to prevent this from happening again.

[ad]

• No Longer am I going to apply for any more private companies -- if I can't see who they are then they have something to hide.
  


• To prevent spam -- I am going to make an email address just for my resume.  That way I don't have to worry about spam on my main account.


• If it's too good to be true, it is probably not --  I am going to start using that philosophy when I'm about to apply for a job.  See picture above, advertising way to much money for a Customer Service rep.


• Don't ever put your Social on your Resume --  That is the most crucial part, if you want your identity stolen that is one sure way to get it stolen.  Even though that should be painfully obvious it is sometimes overlooked.
  

I am sure there are more but that is the basic idea of the whole thing.  I will probably come up with even more ideas later on but this was one thing that I have been thinking about all day.    I also think we have to starting asking the questions before the seriousness of the scammers come to bear.   They will never go away but until we get serious, they will always be there to taunt us and laugh us.   I am not sure how to do it,  Do you?   Are we  just supposed to sit here and take it or do we fight back and how?   These are importantquestions  for anyone to consider when you are faced with the possiblity of fraud or being scammed?  How do we deal with it in the future? Should scammers be punished serverely or moderately?

Scam ALERT: NATIONWIDE MARKETING!!

*Update* Seems to be that they've went and changed to another name.  They are now using  Excel Marketing, and I plan on keeping people updated.   Read the comments to find out about what people have said!!!

Hi all,

[ad] Just got this nice little letter from Nationwide Marketing.  This was sent snail mail, or Postal mail.   I came home today to find I got mail from 30 Centurian Drive/Markham, ON L3R 8B9 Canada.   I opened it up and find a check from Nationwide Marketing.   it's the old routine, they want you to cash the check send them $3,500 and you keep the rest.  The fake check that I know is faked, I call the bank in question.   It says you have to do a 2 hour evaluation training and get paid training for 200$ per Hour.   The fake check was for $3,990.00 and $3,500 was supposed to be sent through a Wal-mart Money Gram.   The so called position was Customer Service Evaluator (Rep ID#: KB0C0608).     I am supposed to call 1-905-598-1519 I received this assignment to validate the enclosed payment.Thank goodness I did a little searching and found out this was a scam.

A little more information about this so called fake check is:

Nationwide Marketing

PO BOX 91

Minneapolis, MN 55440

Keybank of UTAH in Price, UT

Check Date 10/06/2008 Vendor ID 6280748  31-0300/1243

Routing number is : 124303007   Bank: KEY BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION

Peter Goldman Is the So called Co-ordinator.

Along with the letter and check there was a Customer Satisfaction Evaluation Tool (CSET), I'm assuming this is a way for them to get the important information of the money gram.   We are supposed to fax that after the completion of the assignment.

I did posted this to get the word about this scam.  I encourage all of you leave comments about this and warn people of all the variety of this scam.  Thank goodness I did research or I could of been a victim too, thanks Google!!!

There was another form of this starting up and I wanted to let people know:

Well, guess what . . . I just got a "Customer Service Evaluator" letter, check and survey sheet in my mail! The post mark is from Canada, and the check is from The State Bank of Faribault, Minnesota and the survey company letterhead says that they are located in New York. The phone number I am supposed to call is 1-416-831-1673 to let them know that I have gotten the check. Then I keep $100 and wire the rest back using Money Gram.

I did a google search on the name of the company, and they have a scam alert on their site telling people that the letters that they are getting in the mail are NOT from them.

http://www.surveyclub.com/e/ScamAlert.aspx
They should really check WHO they are sending these letters and checks to before they drop them in the mail!

[From Shawn Mosch]

This came from the scam victims site and wanted to inform people of this scam too!

[gsom-optin]

5 ways to improve your chance of getting hired.

Having seen the economy this week, I've come to the conclusion that it is time to redo all the important essentials and get all my ducks in the order as they say.   I've been thinking of how best to be ready in case the dreaded day comes when my employer no longer needs my assistance and what could I do to be prepared.

[ad]

• Get Someone to Critique your Resume -- This is the most important step because this is the first place employers look when they want to hire someone.  So how do you get it critiqued?   Here are some good links to help you start off with:  Careerbuilder Critique, Mind of Root Peer Critique(Last until Oct 30, 2008).


• Have your Resume Ready to upload to Resume sites --  You should always register at all the important resume sites just in case.  The Sites that I recommend are : Monster, Career Builder,  Hot jobs, Dice, US jobs, Best Jobs USA, Computer Jobs, and Nation Job.


• Use your website as a place to put your Resume -- Have your resume available in case some contacts you and tells you they know someone who is looking to hire people.  Have this resume hidden and only give it out to people you know.   This is also known as networking.
  


• Network as much as possible --  There are sites out there that have made it easier to network.  Sites like linkedin.com, this site is great because of the 6 degrees of possibility as I call it.  You know someone, they know someone, and then you will both know the same one!!   This also will greatly increase your chance of an employer finding you.


• For those who want to be Self employed --  I wanted to say that most people who want to be self employed know just how hard it is to begin with.  So I've got some interesting links to help start you on your way.   First link is Technibble.com Computer Business Kit,  This has Maintenance Sales Letter, Work Order, Marketing Analysis and Payment Overdue Letter. It is also a good idea to have an MP3 Advertisement that you can give to podcast and throw them the link to it.  You will need to market yourself to the public in ways that no one has thought of.   You will on an occasion have to spend money in order to get money, it's always been that way but it seems to work.

These are some great tips that will greatly improve your chances of landing that job or becoming even more chance of you making money.   If you have any tips or want to suggest ways to improve upon these tips please email me.   If you like what you see discuss it on the blog or click on my ads to help offset the cost of this blog.