My Top 5 Internet Warnings

According to a recent article by Kim Komando, large parts of our lives are moving online. That's especially true of our entertainment options. Unfortunately, that opens the door to criminals and most of these sites should be avoided. They may be offering pirated movies. Some sites charge customers a fee, but all you get are links to legitimate, free sites. The worst offense of all, though, is that many of these sites are selling your credit card information to criminals. That's just asking for identity theft! It would be nice if the Internet police could shut them down. Unfortunately, there is no such organization. These crooks are often foreign and pretty much operate with impunity. So, it's up to us, the customer, to steer clear.

My Top 5 Internet warnings:

1. Always keep this thought in your mind, "If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is." If your gut is telling you to beware - LISTEN!

2. Use caution before clicking on a flashing advertisement; make sure you trust the company.

3. Do not give your credit card number to a company on the Internet that you do not know. They could be criminals and now they have your credit card number.

4. Do not purchase software for $25 when the retail cost is $200 (i.e., Microsoft products, Adobe products, etc.) Not only did you give a criminal your credit card number, the software more than likely will not work properly.

5. Never open a zipped/compressed or executable (.zip or .exe) file unless you are EXPECTING the email. Zip files can contain an executable file that infect your computer with a virus.

Bonus Tip: Never, and I mean never ever, give your password to anyone requesting it via email or enter a password into a link sent to you in an email.

User Name Availability Web Site

It is important to brand yourself or your company consistently across the major social network websites. That means getting the same username identity/URL as often as possible. It makes it easier for others to find you, but it also builds a cohesive marketing strategy that eventually does make it into the main search engines. It also keeps others from tapping into your success and hijacking your brand's efforts and identity.

Ever wanted to sign up for a social site, but the one username you want is taken after signing up for five pages? Annoying, huh? I came across this great new site, Namechk.com, that allows you to find out if your special username is already taken on dozens of different social sites. Cool, huh?

What can you use the application for?
NameChk is an interesting application which can be used to search for the availability of usernames on 106 sites in one go. This is a wonderful idea because searching and finding usernames that aren't taken is becoming extremely difficult. NameChk allows you to check 106 sites all at the same time which will help you to choose a good username which can be used on all of the sites. NameChk can be useful to promote your brand by registering the same name on every single site, or help you find usernames which are still available on most of the sites. It's an extremely quick service and it only takes around 8 seconds to return the result. If you did all of this manually it would take you hours!

What is the history and popularity of the application?
The application was founded in April 2009 and, although still very new, it is becoming increasingly popular. Namechk is a useful and very quick solution to find usernames which are available.

How does the application look and feel to use?
Namechk has a very simple design; there is a search box at the top and results down at the bottom. You simply put the username that you are interested in having in the search box and then click the button. It will then run a very quick search and return with the results. Then registering accounts at any one of the social networking sites is just a matter of clicking the name and filling out the registration form safe in the knowledge that your chosen username is already available.

How does the registration process work?
It's not possible to register for an account since it works just like a search engine. There are no accounts available on the site.

What does it cost to use the application?
NameChk is completely FREE to use, it seems to be supported by Google Adsense adverts, but these are small and don't get in the way. It's a very useful website and a real joy to use!

Who should use namechk.com?

NameChk is perfect for anyone that struggles to find good usernames on a number of the social networking sites. It is becoming more difficult every day, so this is a great idea. It is also good for companies who are trying to build their brand image; they can use this tool to find a name which is available on most of the platforms and then register it to promote their products.

Namechk Features

• Check usernames on 106 different social networking sites
• Register by clicking on the buttons
• Find usernames which are available on all platforms
• Build your brand image