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Staying Computer Safe while Searching for Freebies on the Net
Who doesn’t love the idea of getting something for nothing? Free stuff can bring a smile to anyone’s face, and the Internet is destination number one when you are looking for cash in on a few freebies. The downside of free stuff online is that if you aren’t careful, the free item could end up causing plenty of headaches and heartaches, not to mention a lot of cold, hard cash. If you want to score with free stuff online, make safety your number one priority by following these tips.
First and foremost, treat your personal information like its cash. That might sound a little dramatic, but anyone who manages to steal your identity online is after one thing, and one thing only, your money and any addition money they can grab by cashing in on your credit. Protecting your name, address, credit card number, bank account number, phone number, social security number, and so on and so forth when you are registering for free offers is the first step to making sure you don’t get hustled when you’re just trying to enjoy a good freebie. That means that if you are asked for some personal information that you don’t feel comfortable handing out, let the freebie go. Likewise, make sure the site from which you are getting your free stuff has a privacy policy and that you know it, understand it, and can live with it.
Speaking of that site that is handing out the free goods: just who are these people? If you were walking down the street and a shady looking person said they would give you a free DVD player if you followed them, chances are you would run the other way. Online, it is hard to tell the legitimate people from the people looking at you like a free lunch, but there are a few red flags you can look out for. Does the website look like it was thrown up in about 5 minutes, full of clip art and bad spelling? Is it hard to find information about where the website is registered, or where the business the website is supposedly promoting is registered? If the website purports to be affiliated with a certain brand you know, does it really look like it is, or does the logo look different/colors look off? If you can’t get a reasonable feel for who are dealing with online, don’t deal with them. Red flag number one? Asking for too much personal info should send you running.
Another way to protect yourself is to build a virtual fortress around your computer. The net is filled with people who know how to walk right into your virtual home – your computer – and flip through everything you have on there, taking whatever they want. Many of these kinds of hackers draw you in by creating phony freebie websites. The way to keep them out is to keep your computer on lockdown. Make sure your firewall is stronger than you think it needs to be, and make sure it is always updated. Also, make sure you have antivirus software on the patrol for you and that you keep this software updated as well.
Last but not least, keep those passwords in the vault, and make sure they are extra strong. No freebie website has any reason to ask you about the passwords for your accounts so don’t give them away – and don’t give them to anyone else online for that matter. Also, if you’re using your birthday or child’s name as password, don’t. Sure, it isn’t as easy to remember, but your password should be a random word and contain a collection of numbers and symbols as well. This will give you the extra layer of protection to make sure your online house is in order when you cash in on the freebies.
Software company patent A Software Company Patent is the Door to a World of Confusion There is no universal understanding of exactly what a software company patent is. In general, owning a patent allows a company certain rights (or exclusivity) for a prescribed amount of time. Individuals or corporations seeking a patent must apply for a patent in each and every country in which they wish to have one. Unlike copyrights, patents are not automatically granted to applicants and can take quite a while in order to be approved. Another thing to remember, particularly with a software company patent, is that a patent may issue in one or more of the countries in which you've applied but not all of them. The real problem lies in the fact that there really is no central agreement about what a software company patent actually grants among any of the nations so those who are awarded patents may not be getting exactly what they think they are getting in the process. With no universal agreement there really can't be universal enforcement about the laws and the rights surrounding a software company patent. The growth of Internet business and e-commerce in general has led to many patent applications for software, particularly software that was designed for specific business applications. The problem is that while the cases are granted and successfully tried and defended in some countries, other countries offer no enforcement or legal recourse for those who do not honor the software company patent even if the patents were granted in those countries. The fine line between nations about what is and isn't patentable is another challenge when it comes to establishing and honoring patents. In other words, the issue of a software company patent is a rather confusing process at best. Patents differ greatly from copyrights, which are issued automatically and recognized and enforced internationally. Copyrights protect the source code of software from being copied and registration is generally not required in order for your work to be protected. Lately there is a new term, copyleft, which is an obvious play on words and represents the rights to not only redistribute the works that are covered by this but also to modify and freely distribute those modifications. This term is very much in the spirit of many open source types of software and music. The catch for copyleft protection is that the newly created work be distributed in the same manner and spirit in which it was received. In other words if you were freely given the software, then you must freely provide the improvements and modifications you made to that software. Of course this is a long way from the idea of a software company patent. It is also important that you are sure you understand exactly what you are applying for as far as your patent goes. Different countries will grant patents for different things and those are closely regulated and carefully regarded when it comes to software-know what you are applying for and understand what you are being granted. A software company patent means different things to different people in different places and it nearly impossible to get other countries to honor a patent that they would not have granted at the same time they shouldn't expect other countries to honor patents based on their decision to do so either. One unfortunate circumstance surrounding patents is that there seems to be an unequal and obvious disparity between the haves and the have not's. Patent enforcement for software, unlike literature and music is largely subjective. In literature and music, it is rather obvious that the copyright has been abused or that the work has been copied, this isn't as simple with software which is one other reason that software company patent is such a hotly debated subject in the software industry. Copyright lawyer guild What exactly is a copyright lawyer guild? A copyright lawyer guild is just like any other guild, it a is club just for copyright lawyers. Many times you can find a list of names of all the copyright lawyers that have joined, as well as all their contact info and if they have a website or not. Sometimes you will have to be invited to join, while others it is free for you to look around. However as a guest you may only be able to view certain information, once you pay though you’ll get to look at all the goodies the guild holds. There will most likely be a select amount of newsletters put out by the guild, the number depends on the guild itself and how many they want. In a way this is very much like a writer’s guild, you will have a list of every writer in a certain state and their information about them. Any client can find a copyright lawyer’s guild online, this is basically a site that lists all types of information about copyrights, cases, lawyers, releases and much more. A client may even find out if the their copyright lawyer has been acknowledged for any special awards in the at-a-guy section, not all have this but most will. There will probably be a lot of articles on copyright issues and might explain to you what it is you need. You can also find cases that are currently going on and others that have already been through trial, this is a great way to stay up to date with all the latest copyrighting issue. If you are lawyer it is great so you always know what is going on and what is being added to the laws that already exist. One may even find a forum inside an online copyright lawyer’s guild; this opens doors to both clients and lawyers. A lawyer may be able to find help in an area they aren’t 100% about and a client is able to ask for help without being charged. A copyright lawyer guild may also be a group that meets every couple of months at a restaurant, office or a number of different places to discuss things. Topics may include things they are dealing with, cases in the press or inside the office, or hot topics in the field. How to help a client that is upset, how to use etiquette in emails, etc. They may watch a short film on copyrights and how they effect the business. There may be a few seminars that they are invited too or asked to actually give speeches at, the topics are endless but will all reflect on their field of expertise. Guilds are a great way for a person to meet and greet others in their profession and share stories or experiences with one another. Not all copyright lawyer guild list every lawyer, only those that pay for membership are. Which means if your lawyer hasn’t paid his dues than he won’t be listed, however this doesn’t make him a bad lawyer. Your lawyer may just be starting up and hasn’t got around to joining a guild or if he’s been around for a while maybe he hasn’t had much luck in finding clients through guilds and would rather do it the way he’s been doing it. |