Computer Viruses 101: What You Need to Know Now

Computer viruses first emerged in the 1980s. Since then, they have posed problems for computer users worldwide. Unfortunately, most are here to stay.

In this article, Justin Kemp talks about origins of computer viruses, their types, and ways to prevent them from harming your own computer or your company’s computer network.

What is Duplicate Content?

The answer to this question is very simple:

Duplicate content is content which appears in more than one location on the Internet.

It is more difficult to figure out how search engines see duplicate content, what problems it presents to the web site owner, and how to fix duplicate content issues. In this basic article explains all this using copied pages, duplicate product information, multipage product lists, and duplicate home pages as examples.

Passwords, it’s as easy as 123

Simple passwords are easy to remember, and they are equally easy for hackers to crack. Many of those easy passwords are on default hackers’ lists. Like the word “password” that is still the most common password in use today.

Switching to a more complex password can be unsettling (what if you forget it?), but a hard to crack password does not have to be impossible to remember. Bob Russo shows examples of reasonably memorable passwords that will keep your site and online accounts with sensitive information safe.

Unless companies pay, their Facebook updates reach 6 percent of followers

One more argument against leaning too heavily on social media to promote your business.  shares the recent news about how Facebook treats businesses and what they may have in mind for the future:

Facebook continues to tighten the screws on the businesses that use the service to market to their customers. Independent research shows that new updates from businesses reach about six percent of the people who follow those businesses. It is rumored that Facebook intends to reduce this number to “between one and two percent” over time. Businesses that want to reach the people who follow them at higher rates will have to pay Facebook to reach them through paid advertisements.

Always remember: your own web site is more important than any other online venue. By using their platform you are helping their business first and foremost, then (if you do it right) benefit yourself.

3 Ways Merchants can Create a Sense of Urgency

We all fall victim to procrastination; it is very tempting to put off things today, that we think can be done tomorrow.

Unfortunately, this common tendency affects e-commerce conversion rates, as many shoppers don’t feel a sense of urgency to complete their online purchases —resulting in abandoned shopping carts and lost conversion opportunities for merchants.

Luckily, Internet retailers can discourage consumer procrastination in a variety of ways by creating a sense of urgency and encouraging immediate action.

What Are “Smart” Credit Cards, and Why Are They Coming to America?

Starting late next year, every credit card in the United States will adopt a more secure system.

Andrew Tarantola explains what it is, and how it works in this Gizmodo article:

What Are “Smart” Credit Cards, and Why Are They Coming to America?

What does it mean for you, the merchant?

Both MasterCard and Visa have set an October 2015 deadline to roll out the new EMV “smart cards” technology in America. Once the deadline passed, if a merchant is still using the old system with a swipe and a signature, they will be liable for any fraudulent transactions if the customer has a chip card. On the other hand, if the merchant uses the new system, but the customer is still using the old card, then the customer’s bank will bear the liability instead.

5 Ways To Kick Start Your Email Marketing This Year

Chris Hexton reminds about important things to review at the beginning of the year in order to set your campaigns on the path to success:

5 Ways To Kick Start Your Email Marketing This Year

What do you do to maximize the impact of subject lines, personalize emails, accurately track conversions, increase subscribe rates, or tailor emails to subscriber actions?