by Charles Oropallo | Feb 20, 2019 | Internet, Introduction, Monadnock Shopper News, Shopper News, The CW Corner, Website Development
So many services try to persuade us to access, link to, or download from “The Cloud.”
What is “The Cloud” anyway? A magical portal in the sky wherein lies knowledge and wisdom? Information stored in the atmosphere’s ionized particles? Aliens storing our information in flying saucers accessed by our Smartphone’s?
“The Cloud” simply refers to computer networks connected to the Internet. We’ve renamed something that’s been around for a while now.
When you’re using any device – whether it’s a desktop, laptop, smartphone, iPad, table, or whatever – that is connected to the Internet, you’re accessing a massive network of computers. This is often called accessing “The Cloud.” There really are no “clouds” involved at all. All of the servers and machines that supply all of the information we access all reside in various physical machines in many places all over the planet.
While all of what’s necessary to make the Internet happen is complex, it’s not magic. Dealing with local companies – a local “cloud” – really helps local economies. By lumping everything Internet into “the cloud” it’s easy to be helping distant economies instead of your own.
Local web companies can set people up in a LOCAL “cloud” where they can store the files needed to operate their websites to do business.
by Charles Oropallo | Feb 13, 2019 | Email, Internet, Monadnock Shopper News, Security, Shopper News, The CW Corner, Website Development
Last week I wrote about possible dangers of “FREE” offerings.
While verbiage varies, the end result is the same if you follow their link: headaches of an unimaginable magnitude for you!
Here’s an example of many I see each day in our company emails:
____________________________________________
Dear charles@charlesworks.com ,
Your mailbox quota is full.
This may cause your mailbox to be disabled or you may no longer be able to receive more emails
to continue using your mailbox. You will need to upgrade your mailbox quota immediately. This service is free.
Re-update your account
Note: Failure to update your account might lead to permanent deactivation of your account.
Thanks,
The Security team. 2019
____________________________________________
Clicking lands you on an extremely convincing page. One wanting me to enter my email login information even had “© 2018 CharlesWorks” in it.
These work based on two principles: Offering the FREE “we’ll fix it” service and threat of imminent services loss. Together they convince you to bite. Especially that sense of urgency! Remember the world isn’t going to halt if you don’t act right away – it can wait until you deal with it properly.
Companies don’t have you “verify” your email account this way. If anything seems fishy concerning your email, call your email provider and ask for assistance. That’s what you pay them for!
by Charles Oropallo | Feb 6, 2019 | Do-It-Yourself, Internet, Monadnock Shopper News, Security, Shopper News, The CW Corner, Website Development, Website Updates, WordPress
It surprises me how many people still fall for anything with “FREE” attached to it. We shockingly still see “free counters” on many websites. They’ve been around as long as the web. Newbie web users still get fascinated by counters showing site visitor numbers.
There are problems with some freebies. If you visit a website and see that 3 people have visited it, that doesn’t exactly instill confidence in the site.
An aesthetic issue is that really nice, elegant looking websites don’t usually have counters. So site visitors aren’t distracted by traffic to the site. In fact, site counters are simply not that much in fashion these days.
Another problem is that many free counters are actually security risks. For an example, I recently read about a “Free SuperCounter Widget” that many have been using. It redirects site visitors to other sites (like dating and gambling and so on). So folks installing this counter were unwittingly sending site visitors away from their site.
Even more insidious is where the counter loads malware/viruses into the website – infecting site visitors as well.
The bottom line here: Yet another simple lesson about getting what you pay for. If your site has been infected, contact us or your developer for help.
by Charles Oropallo | Jan 30, 2019 | Do-It-Yourself, Domains, Internet, Monadnock Shopper News, SEO, Shopper News, The CW Corner, Website Development
Domain names are the least expensive part – yet the most important – of one’s Internet presence! Here are some tips on choosing them.
Initial Search – Be careful how you search! Unscrupulous companies buy domains people search for to sell at much inflated prices (often $100+ for $15 domains). CharlesWorks at http://CharlesWorks.domains does NOT do this practice. Or just ask us.
Association – Use the name of your business as all or part of your domain.
General Names – More general domain names are most likely already registered to other businesses (it never hurts to check with us first).
TLDs – Top Level Domains are the “extensions” like .com, .net, .org, .club, etc. Search engines today don’t care what they are.
Hyphenated Names – We recommend avoiding hyphens to lessen confusion, unless you absolutely can’t get your words another way.
Variations – Can be an option if your general business name is already registered, like adding “NH” before or after it.
Keywords – Pertinent words in your domain are increasingly important. Simplistically put, search engine algorithms rank the importance of web sites according to words.
Cost – Domains vary according to TLD, Many common ones are still only about $15-$20 annually.
Most importantly, we ensure domains we sell are renewed annually so you will not lose them!
by Charles Oropallo | Jan 23, 2019 | Domains, Internet, Monadnock Shopper News, Security, SEO, Shopper News, The CW Corner, Website Development, Website Updates, WordPress
Let’s broach the topic of SSL (Secure Socket Layers) and their importance on the web.
Using SSL is like sending certified mail through the post office. Mailing certified letters requires a signature by the receiver. The sender knows it got to the right place. SSL is instantaneous!
SSL is a security protocol (specified way of doing things) that helps guarantee that the browser you are typing information into is actually connecting with the website you believe you are connected to. This is extremely important when doing online banking, sharing private or personal information, or using your credit card. SSL is important regardless of the device (phone-tablet-laptop-computer) you’re using.
Besides ensuring you’re reaching the correct destination, SSL is MOST important when using devices through public WiFi (hotspots). They can be “snooped” by hackers. “Snooped” means hackers can sit in a parking lot near a place with WiFi and easily record all data communications happening. It is a hacker’s gold mine for people not security conscious.
Businesses expect to pay roughly $70-$199/year plus installation for SSL on a website. At CharlesWorks, it’s part of the hosting – with NO additional ongoing charges.
SSL is important! Feel free to contact us for more information.
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