Auto-redirecting is a simple technique of automatically sending visitors of a website to another website or web page that has a different URL address without the need to click a link. There may be some delay of a few seconds or it can be instantaneous, depending on the codes you are going to use.
Auto-redirecting is very useful for SEO purposes. You can use multiple, highly optimised URL addresses with names that are easy to recall and then point them all to your actual website. Auto-redirecting is also very useful if you have transferred the contents of your original website to a new URL address but you intend to keep the former address.
It would be impractical to delete a former URL address if it already has a good SEO ranking and has multiple back links. For instance, if you have a blogsite that already has back links from your various friends in the blogosphere it would be a waste of time and effort to again contact all the bloggers or website owners who have previously linked with your original site. Without auto-redirecting, you would again be starting from scratch.
Here is an example: Reasonable Doubt. If you click on this link it will open my old blogsite but after a few seconds, it will automatically redirect you to the new blogsite to which I have transferred the contents of the old blogsite.
To integrate an auto-redirecting feature in your old blogsite or website, there are three codes that you can use, namely, the “meta” codes, the “javascript” codes and the “form” codes. You can only use one set of codes at a time. Just copy-paste the highlighted codes in the specific section of your HTML template as indicated below. Simply replace the "pagename.html" with the new URL address.
The Meta Codes
<head>
...head section stuff (Title, Description,etc.)...
<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="5;url=pagename.html">
</head>
The Javascript Codes
<head>
<script language="javascript"><!--
location.replace("pagename.html")
//-->
</script>
...other head section stuff (Title, Description,etc.)...
</head>
The Form Codes
<head>
<script language="javascript"><!--
document.myform.submit()
//-->
</script>
...other head section stuff (Title, Description,etc.)...
</head>
<body>
<form name="myform" action="pagename.html" method="get"></form>
...rest of the page...
2010-08-05
Auto-Redirecting
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2010-06-26
Beware of Online Scams
HOME||CONTENTSYou may think that you are already too sophisticated to become a victim of scams. Well, if there are suckers born every minute, you may find it difficult to keep your guard. No matter how intelligent or educated you may be, there might be one equally intelligent and educated scammer who can make a fool of you and run with your money, or worst, your identity! There are many forms of con or confidence tricks out there and it may take several volumes of books or dissertations to document and classify them all. This blog post will only focus on a few common online scams.
Here are some common online scams that you should be wary about. This list is far from being detailed or comprehensive but it can help you avoid becoming a victim.
1.) Phishing scam -- This scam relies on imitating legitimate websites, complete with logos, forms, graphics and functional applications. You may accidentally stumble-upon this sites as you surf the web or you may receive an email luring you to these sites. Some phishing sites are masking as e-commerce sites, selling some bogus products. However, most phishing sites are clones of popular websites, such as Yahoo.com and Facebook.com. The main purpose of phishing sites is to "fish" or collect information, which may include user names, passwords, credit card numbers, and PIN numbers. You may end up being a victim of identity theft.
2.) Auction fraud -- Unlike phishing scams, most auctions frauds are perpetrated using legitimate auction sites, such as eBay.com, Sulit.com and Bidz.com. You may end up paying for a product that will never be delivered. One way to avoid this type of scam is to use a secured means of payment, such as PayPal.com. The actual transfer of payment can be temporarily held or cancelled if the item that you ordered does not arrive on time. Another way to avoid this scam is to ask for the tracking number of the courier service that is supposed to deliver the package. Most courier companies have online facilities that allow you to track shipments. A reversed scenario can happen if you happen to be the legitimate seller asked to send the item you are selling.
3.) Nigerian 419 Letter -- The name of this scam is derived from the section of the Nigerian Penal Code that this scam violates. Basically, this scam is a bogus money laundering scheme that asks you to be an accomplish. Emails of this scam are sent to prospect random victims. The letters typically start in this manner:
"DEAR SIR/MADAM: I REPRESENT THE RECENTLY DEPOSED MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE FOR NODAMBIZIA, WHO HAS EMBEZZLED 30 MILLION DOLLARS FROM HIS STARVING COUNTRYMEN AND NOW NEEDS TO GET IT OUT OF THE COUNTRY..."
4.) Lottery/Raffle Scam -- This is a type of email scam that is too good to be true. You may have already received an email congratulating you because you have won millions from an online lottery that you never joined. In some versions, the prizes are in the forms of goods, such as computers, Xbox, cameras, iPods, Plasma TV, etc. Would-be victims are asked to pay for the processing fee or shipping cost. Prospective victims will be lured to phishing sites and required to submit their credit card or debit card details.
5.) Freelance Work Scam -- This type of scam commonly victimized those who are desperate and gullible enough to find easy money online. Prospective victims are given freelance tasks that need to be finished within specified period of time. Job offers may include writing, programming, graphic designing, and marketing. Victims are not paid after submitting their works. Some scammers may require "test" works that are unpaid. Another version of this scam is the "data entry" scam that promises lucrative income by simply typing data. Most of these so-called "data entry" opportunities require fees in order for a job-seeker to be given the job.
NOTE: There are actually many legitimate opportunities online. However, you must need to weed-out the bogus ones to avoid becoming a victim.
Cellular Phones Vs. Wireless Landline Phones
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The development and popularity of the mobile cellular phones has made the landline phone almost obsolete. Fewer homes and individuals here in the Philippines can afford a landline phone subscription but many Filipinos can afford and desire to have the latest model of cellular phones. Some Filipinos even save or borrow money from loan sharks just to buy the latest mobile phone model. Some opt for original brands while others prefer cheaper cloned brands, such as the China-made touchscreen phones.
The popularity of cellular phones units is not only because of their affordability and high-tech features. More importantly, mobile phones are widespread because of the convenient and affordable prepaid subscription options. For as low as two pesos, "pasa-load", a mobile phone can already be used to send SMS. For a time, the landline phone companies simply could not compete with the mobile phone service providers.
However, all of these changed with the introduction of the wireless landline phone services. At present, there are two major telephone companies providing wireless landline phone subscriptions. PLDT is the dominant provider of wireless landline services in Metro Manila while Bayantel dominates the provinces with its Bayantel Span phones.
For as low as 499 pesos subscription fee per month, a subscriber can already have a landline with unlimited local calling time. Pre-paid subscriptions are also offered by both PLDT and Bayantel. Both also now have SIM cards for their phone units. The phone units are available in two main designs, namely, the desktop types and the mobile or "cellphone" types. The desktop types can be connected to a computer and used to access the internet but additional fees are required. Typically, additional 12 pesos is charged per "online" hour, prorated down to minutes.
2010-06-25
Why Do I hate Windows 7?
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Last year when my computer became infected with multiple viruses and worms, I decided to have it reformatted because it was already too slow and some programs were not anymore working properly. My former operating system was Windows XP. The computer technician convinced me that I should try Windows 7 Ultimate. Here in the Philippines, there are five versions of Windows 7, namely, Windows 7 Starter, Windows 7 Home Basic, Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate. At first I was satisfied with its performance because there were fewer crashes and glitches. My computer also performed faster and somewhat became less vulnerable to viruses.
I know that these operating system is really meant to be simple, focused and incremental in upgrade to make it more compatible with a wide range of software and hardware. This made sense but as the months passed-by, I have discovered some limitations and goofs of Windows 7 that can be considered as unforgivable (at least in my experience).
I have listed a few of the reasons why I hate Windows 7:
1.) The Audacity Cross-Platform Sound Editor does not work well with Windows 7. When I had Window XP running in my computer, I can record, edit and convert any audio or music playing in my computer into MP3 format. This was very useful when I was searching for music that I want to convert to MP3 format from YouTube flash videos.
2.) My Avira Anti Virus program cannot anymore perform complete system scan. Although I am not absolutely sure if the Windows 7 is at fault, I suspect that the operating system cannot handle some of the commands from the anti-virus program.
3.) The Windows Media Player included in the Windows 7 package lack many features of other versions of Windows Media Player. For example, there are no "Visualization" options in Windows 7 Media Player.
4.) Upgrading some features (formerly present in XP and Vista) will mean additional expense.
5.) There is a problem with the Windows Live Photo Gallery. When you click a hyperlink that leads to an audio or video file, Windows Media Player sometimes does not start and the browser may return an error message.
6.) If you use the Windows Backup configuration wizard and either complete or cancel the wizard without viewing the advanced backup configuration page at least once, the wizard may stop responding.
7.) Some websites are not correctly displayed if you use the Internet Explorer.
2010-06-24
Email Forwarding
HOME||CONTENTSPerhaps you want to be anonymous or you want to have backup email. Whatever your reason might be, an email forwarding option can be very helpful. It will allow you to receive emails in another email address. For instance, you can set up a decoy or anonymous email address and let the emails sent to this address be forwarded to your personal email address. You may think that it is somewhat redundant and in-efficient. Well, the main advantage is that you can effectively manage emails in this manner. You can create multiple decoy email addresses and read emails by opening your personal or regular email address. You do not anymore need to log-in to multiple accounts.
2010-06-21
Google Forms
HOME||CONTENTSBefore the development of Web 2.0 technology that allowed user-based modifications, people need to know HTML coding, CSS, JavaScript, Perl, CGI programming and other web-based programming languages to effectively design and maintain a website. It is either you learn these languages or you hire a website designer. You will also need a dedicated server to store and manage the data on your website.
2010-06-20
Freelance Online Jobs
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More than a year and half passed since I last wrote an entry for this blog. I have been quite busy with work. Well, I actually had to juggle several works, from HTML encoding to website managing, from copy writing to copy-editing, from search engine optimization to email marketing. Although many were only part time and short-term contracts, I sometimes had to work more than twelve hours a day when projects and deadlines piled up. I also had (and still have) one full time work. Since I was retrenched from my regular job two years ago, most of the opportunities that followed were online freelance jobs. With the separation pay that I received from being retrenched, I was able to buy a laptop computer and was also able to have an internet connection. The first freelance job that I did was article writing for only two dollars per 550-word article. Although the pay was very low, I had to do it because I could not afford to lose income and let my family go hungry.