10 Proven Ways to Make Money With Your Own Blog

A number of people own blogs but they do not know how to make money out of them. This is mainly because they do not realize how to create attention and attraction for prospective clients to fund their blogs. A well planned and managed blog can actually offer you freedom and control over your financial future. With an effective follow-up of promises of certain blogs and following 'how-to' manuals, you can actually smile all the way to the bank. On that note, in the following discussion, we are going to look at 10 proven ways to make money with your own blog.

1. Google AdSense

Google AdSense is a very significant tool that was designed with blog and website publishers in mind. Google AdSense works with Cost Per Click (CPC) and Earning Per Click (EPC). Blog publishers will basically get paid for clicks on Ads that appear on their sites. Anyone who has created, and maintains his blogs, can essentially take advantage of this fantastic opportunity. If you really know how to use the tool to your advantage, you can generate a great deal of revenue.

2. Amazon Associates

Amazon associates is majorly an affiliate system of a program primarily involving an agreement between the advertiser (you) and the retailer (Amazon). The advertiser markets the involved and he is paid by the retailer based on an agreement. More importantly, the amazon associate will get some commission when an interested buyer clicks on a given link online and makes a purchase. If you can manage to market as many products links as possible in your blog and sell some Amazon products then it's possible that you can indeed make good money on your blog.

3. eBooks

eBooks are basically books that are in a soft copy format and can be downloaded on an internet connection. There are a number of ways through which eBooks can be created. You can employ writers, write them yourself or even use a public domain content. There are always numerous ready buyers to buy your eBooks, regardless of your area of ​​concentration. With your blog, you can actually be selling your eBooks and get money or you can opt to sell the eBooks for other writers and they will pay at a commission.

4. Sponsored Content

Sponsored content is generally a native advertising method through which brand-sponsored videos and articles appear on social media platforms and sites of influence and also publishers. When you have sponsored content, there are usually a number of things you need to keep in mind as you market it. Firstly, do a perfect timing for your content, tie the content with your targets audience, use high-quality content such images to add value to the content and keep the tone relatable and authentic. You can always find brand-sponsored articles from big brands and advertise it on your blog and through that, you can indeed raise a significant amount of money.

5. Contextual Ads

This is essentially a form of targeted advertising that features adverts that appear on websites, such as the content displayed on mobile devices' browsers. In a nutshell, in contextual ads, the system displays ads that are closely related to the content of your site depending on the keyword targeting. With contextual ads, you are normally paid per number of clicks. If you can get a significant number of contextual ads displaying on your blog then you can actually earn relatively good money depending on the number of clicks.

6. Banner Ads

This is an advertisement that appears on a webpage in the form of a column, bar or box. The major function of a banner ad is to promote a brand or, even more importantly get visitors from the host site to advertise on its advertiser's website. The major function of a banner is to add traffic to your site and through that, you can seal your marketing deal. The more the traffic to your blog, the better. High traffic means high income.

7. Online Courses

When talking about an online course it's essentially a method of selling what you know. It can be your skill, or any form of art, such as teaching people how to play guitar, how to bake bread or how to use a specific software. With your blog, you can sell your online course very easily. The course can be learned by many people across the globe increasing traffic to your website. Through this, you are able to make a lot of money on your blog.

8. Promote Paid Webinar or Live Event

Promotion of paid webinar basically refers to promoting a web conference, online meeting or a presentation that is held online. Live events are always advantageous to both the attendees and presenters. One consideration when it comes to promoting live events is the target audience. Through the promotion of webinar paid events, you generate traffic to your blog hence ending up being paid by your advertiser.

9. Get Paid to Write Reviews

A number of brands hire people to write reviews about them and their products. In addition to that, you always have to be honest in proving both the positive and negative reviews. Importantly, through other freelancing platforms, you can also get jobs of writing reviews for different brands. This can actually earn you good money if you are consistent in your work. All you need is to equip yourself with the proper tips.

10. Consulting Service

Consulting services basically refer to professional practices that offer expert advice within a particular field. There are many areas where you can specialize and offer advice in as much as your blog is concerned. Making money through consultancy services starts by first inventing your experience and skills. With your skill and experience, you can always earn money per project basis. Use your blog to advertise you're services and you will earn good money through consultancy.

Conclusion

With the above-discussed ways, it's undoubtedly obvious to see ways that will earn good money from your blog. All you need is to manage, maintain and, take advantage of various opportunities to generate money from your blog.

unlimited

A number of people own blogs but they do not know how to make money out of them. This is mainly because they do not realize how to create attention and attraction for prospective clients to fund their blogs. A well planned and managed blog can actually offer you freedom and control over your financial future. With an effective follow-up of promises of certain blogs and following 'how-to' manuals, you can actually smile all the way to the bank. On that note, in the following discussion, we are going to look at 10 proven ways to make money with your own blog.

1. Google AdSense

Google AdSense is a very significant tool that was designed with blog and website publishers in mind. Google AdSense works with Cost Per Click (CPC) and Earning Per Click (EPC). Blog publishers will basically get paid for clicks on Ads that appear on their sites. Anyone who has created, and maintains his blogs, can essentially take advantage of this fantastic opportunity. If you really know how to use the tool to your advantage, you can generate a great deal of revenue.

2. Amazon Associates

Amazon associates is majorly an affiliate system of a program primarily involving an agreement between the advertiser (you) and the retailer (Amazon). The advertiser markets the involved and he is paid by the retailer based on an agreement. More importantly, the amazon associate will get some commission when an interested buyer clicks on a given link online and makes a purchase. If you can manage to market as many products links as possible in your blog and sell some Amazon products then it's possible that you can indeed make good money on your blog.

3. eBooks

eBooks are basically books that are in a soft copy format and can be downloaded on an internet connection. There are a number of ways through which eBooks can be created. You can employ writers, write them yourself or even use a public domain content. There are always numerous ready buyers to buy your eBooks, regardless of your area of ​​concentration. With your blog, you can actually be selling your eBooks and get money or you can opt to sell the eBooks for other writers and they will pay at a commission.

4. Sponsored Content

Sponsored content is generally a native advertising method through which brand-sponsored videos and articles appear on social media platforms and sites of influence and also publishers. When you have sponsored content, there are usually a number of things you need to keep in mind as you market it. Firstly, do a perfect timing for your content, tie the content with your targets audience, use high-quality content such images to add value to the content and keep the tone relatable and authentic. You can always find brand-sponsored articles from big brands and advertise it on your blog and through that, you can indeed raise a significant amount of money.

5. Contextual Ads

This is essentially a form of targeted advertising that features adverts that appear on websites, such as the content displayed on mobile devices' browsers. In a nutshell, in contextual ads, the system displays ads that are closely related to the content of your site depending on the keyword targeting. With contextual ads, you are normally paid per number of clicks. If you can get a significant number of contextual ads displaying on your blog then you can actually earn relatively good money depending on the number of clicks.

6. Banner Ads

This is an advertisement that appears on a webpage in the form of a column, bar or box. The major function of a banner ad is to promote a brand or, even more importantly get visitors from the host site to advertise on its advertiser's website. The major function of a banner is to add traffic to your site and through that, you can seal your marketing deal. The more the traffic to your blog, the better. High traffic means high income.

7. Online Courses

When talking about an online course it's essentially a method of selling what you know. It can be your skill, or any form of art, such as teaching people how to play guitar, how to bake bread or how to use a specific software. With your blog, you can sell your online course very easily. The course can be learned by many people across the globe increasing traffic to your website. Through this, you are able to make a lot of money on your blog.

8. Promote Paid Webinar or Live Event

Promotion of paid webinar basically refers to promoting a web conference, online meeting or a presentation that is held online. Live events are always advantageous to both the attendees and presenters. One consideration when it comes to promoting live events is the target audience. Through the promotion of webinar paid events, you generate traffic to your blog hence ending up being paid by your advertiser.

9. Get Paid to Write Reviews

A number of brands hire people to write reviews about them and their products. In addition to that, you always have to be honest in proving both the positive and negative reviews. Importantly, through other freelancing platforms, you can also get jobs of writing reviews for different brands. This can actually earn you good money if you are consistent in your work. All you need is to equip yourself with the proper tips.

10. Consulting Service

Consulting services basically refer to professional practices that offer expert advice within a particular field. There are many areas where you can specialize and offer advice in as much as your blog is concerned. Making money through consultancy services starts by first inventing your experience and skills. With your skill and experience, you can always earn money per project basis. Use your blog to advertise you're services and you will earn good money through consultancy.

Conclusion

With the above-discussed ways, it's undoubtedly obvious to see ways that will earn good money from your blog. All you need is to manage, maintain and, take advantage of various opportunities to generate money from your blog.

Cyber ​​Security

The increased growth and adoption of web 2.0 technologies, the platforms that enable the publishing of user generated contents has led to the creation of another dimension in which human existence called the cyberspace. In the cyberspace, people interact just as they do in the physical space. They socialize, conduct businesses, study, share and store materials, and even entrust highly valued assets (in terms of information) for easy access, availability, and safe keeping.

Cyber ​​security is essential to govern the conducts and manners of interacting with the computer systems and other user in the cyber security. Without a sense of security, various activities like e-commerce, care-free socializing, business networking and the like would not be possible and hence set a hurdle in this mobile and information era.

Cyber ​​security vs Computer / Information / Network security: –
Though these terms are sometimes used interchangeably, they are indeed different. Computer security, network security and information security all target solely on the safeguarding of computer systems components and the data / information created, stored or transmitted on or through the systems. Cyber ​​security goes a step further to take care of the possibility where a user can be a victim of a cybercrime. There are crimes such as Intellectual property rights violations in which the system components are not victims, they are mere media used to facilitate the crime and the rights owner is the victim.

Cyber ​​security from the legal angle: –
Different countries have different laws enforcing cyber security. Taking the United Republic of Tanzania as an example, The Cybercrimes Act 2015 governs the conducts and liability of parties in the cyberspace. For all the examples given above and many more, the law clearly guides what is to be done. It also provides legal guides on how users are to interact in the cyberspace, utilize devices and systems, as well as responsibility of all involved parties in any interaction in the cyberspace.

Cyber ​​and the Healthcare Industry: –
The Healthcare industry has featured in the top 5 industries attacked by cyber criminals for a number of years now. The WannaCry ransomware attack earlier this year that affected many health trusts across England and Scotland brought the health impact of the cyber threat to the forefront of media and political debate in the run up to the 2017 General Election. So why would anyone want to attack healthcare and what are the threats?

vpn

The increased growth and adoption of web 2.0 technologies, the platforms that enable the publishing of user generated contents has led to the creation of another dimension in which human existence called the cyberspace. In the cyberspace, people interact just as they do in the physical space. They socialize, conduct businesses, study, share and store materials, and even entrust highly valued assets (in terms of information) for easy access, availability, and safe keeping.

Cyber ​​security is essential to govern the conducts and manners of interacting with the computer systems and other user in the cyber security. Without a sense of security, various activities like e-commerce, care-free socializing, business networking and the like would not be possible and hence set a hurdle in this mobile and information era.

Cyber ​​security vs Computer / Information / Network security: –
Though these terms are sometimes used interchangeably, they are indeed different. Computer security, network security and information security all target solely on the safeguarding of computer systems components and the data / information created, stored or transmitted on or through the systems. Cyber ​​security goes a step further to take care of the possibility where a user can be a victim of a cybercrime. There are crimes such as Intellectual property rights violations in which the system components are not victims, they are mere media used to facilitate the crime and the rights owner is the victim.

Cyber ​​security from the legal angle: –
Different countries have different laws enforcing cyber security. Taking the United Republic of Tanzania as an example, The Cybercrimes Act 2015 governs the conducts and liability of parties in the cyberspace. For all the examples given above and many more, the law clearly guides what is to be done. It also provides legal guides on how users are to interact in the cyberspace, utilize devices and systems, as well as responsibility of all involved parties in any interaction in the cyberspace.

Cyber ​​and the Healthcare Industry: –
The Healthcare industry has featured in the top 5 industries attacked by cyber criminals for a number of years now. The WannaCry ransomware attack earlier this year that affected many health trusts across England and Scotland brought the health impact of the cyber threat to the forefront of media and political debate in the run up to the 2017 General Election. So why would anyone want to attack healthcare and what are the threats?

Pros and Cons of The 4 Types of 2D Animation

As you might know, there are different types of animation, and today I’m going to focus on the types of animation you can do in 2D. Frame-By-Frame, Rotoscoping, Cut Out Animation, And Rigged Characters with Inverse Kinematics.

1. Frame-by-Frame

This is also known as Classical Animation, Traditional Animation or Flip Animation. What you do here is pretty simple, you draw each frame. Ha! Simple, right? I know. But wait, there’s a way to do it. First, you have to know your frame rate, which in the next example will be 12 fps (frames per second), and for that we will have to do 12 drawings for one second.

How to do it: You can do this by having the correct timing of the movement. First, you need a sample (if you are animating a character jumping, then you need a video of someone jumping).

Once you have the video, there are many ways to calculate time and convert it into frames. My favorite is: Stop Motion Works Stopwatch (link at the end of this article). In my example it will be a 8 frame jump.

What you do is: You draw the key frames of the skeleton of your character, and then, you continue by drawing the in-between frames. Let’s make an example of a female jumping (only the action, that means, no anticipation and no aftermath, to keep this simple and friendly). You draw the starting pose (frame 1), then the character in mid-air (frame 5), and finally the landing posture (frame 9).

After you have those 3 drawings, you draw a the in-between frames. A drawing between starting pose (frame 1), mid-air pose (frame 5), and landing (frame 9). In other words, you draw frames 3 and 7. And finally, you draw the missing frames. Easy enough? After the skeleton is animated for all the frames, you add detail frame by frame, a little bit of body form, then a more detailed head on every frame, then the right arm on all the frames, and so on. You continue until you have a detailed character on every frame.

Pros: Your limit is your own imagination. Characters can do whatever you want, have any facial expression you want and any pose you can come up with.

Cons: Takes a lot of time. Animating 1 second can take a couple of hours.

2. Rotoscoping

Rotoscoping is another form of frame-by-frame animation. What you do is you take a piece of footage and import it into your favorite 2D animation software. Now, all you do is draw the silhouette of every frame. Then you substitute those drawings with some details that make up your character. Big nose? Long hair? Fat? Thin?

Pros: You work a bit faster, because you don’t have to draw the key frames and then the in-between, you just follow each frame; and the motion is very realistic, because you just follow the footage frame by frame.

Cons: Even though it can be a bit faster than Traditional Animation, you still need a lot of time to do it, because you have to draw every frame, and also, you start to get limitations: The character will only do what the person in the footage does.

If you need it to do something else than what you have in the footage, then you will have to switch to traditional animation, drawing the key frames first, then the in-between.

3. Cutout Animation

This kind of animation takes preparation. You take each angle of your character (front, sides and back) and you “cut” the character into its parts (hence the name Cut Out Animation). For example, if you were to animate the front side, then you would have the head in one layer, the arms, forehand and hands for each side in a different layer, and so on. This takes time to prepare, but the good thing is that you don’t have to draw each frame, you only prepare once and then you animate the character as if it was a puppet.

Pros: It’s way faster to animate, because you don’t have to draw each frame, you only draw your character and each facial expression once, and after the “puppet” is ready, you can start animating.

Cons: It can take a some time to prepare and the character is limited by the rig. That means, you can’t put her in any position you can imagine, only those you can achieve with the rig. Another disadvantage is that it’s not the fastest way to animate, because if you want to move his hand, then you need to rotate the shoulder, then the arm, then the forearm until you get the hand to the place you need.

4. Rigged Characters (using Inverse Kinematics)

This type of animation is the fastest to achieve. Software like Toon Boom or Animation Studio have a lot of tools that help you rig a character with inverse kinematics and automate facial expressions.

Inverse kinematics are the opposite of forward kinematics (used in Cut Out animation). In Cut Out animation, if you need the hand to be in a position, you have to rotate the shoulder, then forearm and so on. Inverse Kinematics let you click on the hand and move it to the position you want, and the positions and rotations of the shoulder, arm and forearm are automatically calculated by mathematical formulas.

Pros: You animate at top speed. With just a few clicks and drags.

Cons: It takes longer to prepare than the cut out animation, but cuts your working time exponentially. Another disadvantage is that you have limits, you can only do what the Rig allows you to. You can’t move the character into any position you can imagine, but only into those allowed by the rig.

Conclusion:

You cannot have it all. You either have unlimited movement, but huge time investment, or you get limited movement with little time investment. These are the options you have. And for the record, Disney movies use frame by frame, but the shows you see on TV, because they are under schedule, they use a combination between Rigged Characters and Frame by Frame, depending on the shot they are working on.

My advice is, learn to do Frame-by-Frame animation and Rigged Characters, you need them both. But if time is a big issue, then you should definitely master Rigged Character Animation. You can find courses online.

Here is the link For Stop Motion Works Stopwatch

unlimited

As you might know, there are different types of animation, and today I’m going to focus on the types of animation you can do in 2D. Frame-By-Frame, Rotoscoping, Cut Out Animation, And Rigged Characters with Inverse Kinematics.

1. Frame-by-Frame

This is also known as Classical Animation, Traditional Animation or Flip Animation. What you do here is pretty simple, you draw each frame. Ha! Simple, right? I know. But wait, there’s a way to do it. First, you have to know your frame rate, which in the next example will be 12 fps (frames per second), and for that we will have to do 12 drawings for one second.

How to do it: You can do this by having the correct timing of the movement. First, you need a sample (if you are animating a character jumping, then you need a video of someone jumping).

Once you have the video, there are many ways to calculate time and convert it into frames. My favorite is: Stop Motion Works Stopwatch (link at the end of this article). In my example it will be a 8 frame jump.

What you do is: You draw the key frames of the skeleton of your character, and then, you continue by drawing the in-between frames. Let’s make an example of a female jumping (only the action, that means, no anticipation and no aftermath, to keep this simple and friendly). You draw the starting pose (frame 1), then the character in mid-air (frame 5), and finally the landing posture (frame 9).

After you have those 3 drawings, you draw a the in-between frames. A drawing between starting pose (frame 1), mid-air pose (frame 5), and landing (frame 9). In other words, you draw frames 3 and 7. And finally, you draw the missing frames. Easy enough? After the skeleton is animated for all the frames, you add detail frame by frame, a little bit of body form, then a more detailed head on every frame, then the right arm on all the frames, and so on. You continue until you have a detailed character on every frame.

Pros: Your limit is your own imagination. Characters can do whatever you want, have any facial expression you want and any pose you can come up with.

Cons: Takes a lot of time. Animating 1 second can take a couple of hours.

2. Rotoscoping

Rotoscoping is another form of frame-by-frame animation. What you do is you take a piece of footage and import it into your favorite 2D animation software. Now, all you do is draw the silhouette of every frame. Then you substitute those drawings with some details that make up your character. Big nose? Long hair? Fat? Thin?

Pros: You work a bit faster, because you don’t have to draw the key frames and then the in-between, you just follow each frame; and the motion is very realistic, because you just follow the footage frame by frame.

Cons: Even though it can be a bit faster than Traditional Animation, you still need a lot of time to do it, because you have to draw every frame, and also, you start to get limitations: The character will only do what the person in the footage does.

If you need it to do something else than what you have in the footage, then you will have to switch to traditional animation, drawing the key frames first, then the in-between.

3. Cutout Animation

This kind of animation takes preparation. You take each angle of your character (front, sides and back) and you “cut” the character into its parts (hence the name Cut Out Animation). For example, if you were to animate the front side, then you would have the head in one layer, the arms, forehand and hands for each side in a different layer, and so on. This takes time to prepare, but the good thing is that you don’t have to draw each frame, you only prepare once and then you animate the character as if it was a puppet.

Pros: It’s way faster to animate, because you don’t have to draw each frame, you only draw your character and each facial expression once, and after the “puppet” is ready, you can start animating.

Cons: It can take a some time to prepare and the character is limited by the rig. That means, you can’t put her in any position you can imagine, only those you can achieve with the rig. Another disadvantage is that it’s not the fastest way to animate, because if you want to move his hand, then you need to rotate the shoulder, then the arm, then the forearm until you get the hand to the place you need.

4. Rigged Characters (using Inverse Kinematics)

This type of animation is the fastest to achieve. Software like Toon Boom or Animation Studio have a lot of tools that help you rig a character with inverse kinematics and automate facial expressions.

Inverse kinematics are the opposite of forward kinematics (used in Cut Out animation). In Cut Out animation, if you need the hand to be in a position, you have to rotate the shoulder, then forearm and so on. Inverse Kinematics let you click on the hand and move it to the position you want, and the positions and rotations of the shoulder, arm and forearm are automatically calculated by mathematical formulas.

Pros: You animate at top speed. With just a few clicks and drags.

Cons: It takes longer to prepare than the cut out animation, but cuts your working time exponentially. Another disadvantage is that you have limits, you can only do what the Rig allows you to. You can’t move the character into any position you can imagine, but only into those allowed by the rig.

Conclusion:

You cannot have it all. You either have unlimited movement, but huge time investment, or you get limited movement with little time investment. These are the options you have. And for the record, Disney movies use frame by frame, but the shows you see on TV, because they are under schedule, they use a combination between Rigged Characters and Frame by Frame, depending on the shot they are working on.

My advice is, learn to do Frame-by-Frame animation and Rigged Characters, you need them both. But if time is a big issue, then you should definitely master Rigged Character Animation. You can find courses online.

Here is the link For Stop Motion Works Stopwatch

How VPN Is Safer Than Trusted Computing

Business enterprises and government institutions are constantly looking for ways to protect data security. The cyber fraud is increasing and no user is safe on the internet. Every individual and organization should potentially establish secure platforms to communicate with other systems on the internet. The challenge in establishing secure platforms is that anonymity is compromised while enhancing security. For internet users, anonymity is equally important as security and hence, finding the right platform to ensure anonymity and security at the same time is important. Moreover, the platform should have minimal demands from the clients because the use of mobile devices and mobile internet can not always guarantee access to consistent hardware and software from the client side.

Trusted Computing – What Is It?

Trusted computing is a new kind of technology developed by an exclusive Trusted Computing Group. This group essentially believes that software security should be coupled with hardware security to provide reliable and safe environments for internet users to gain safe and secure access to internet. According to trusted computing technology, consistent behavior is expected from the client side and this behavior is reinforced by a combination of hardware and software. To make anonymity possible, the trusted computing technology uses a trusted third party as a middleman between the client and server.

VPN – How It Works?

The Virtual Private Network (VPN) technology believes in the use of trusted and secure servers as middleman between client and server. Rather than connecting to the main server, the clients will establish contacts with the secure server which will in turn connect to the main server requested by the client. All the data transferred from client to trusted server will stay secure and the server will attempt to provide security and anonymity to clients. The main server will never even know that the client is connecting through a secure middleman server.

Why VPN Is Safe And Better Than Trusted Computing?

When two different technologies are available to meet the same purpose, it is only natural to compare the technologies to find out a better option. The technology that is only suitable for people and organizations with a specific set of resources can not be implemented by everyone and this where VPN gains a winning point. Moreover, trusted computing technology is still in its budding stage and not everyone can benefit from it.

The trusted computing technology is only possible when the clients have resources and means to use services of trusted third parties. The server that has to connect with the client should also have access to trusted servers. Otherwise, anonymity is impossible. VPN on the other hand is very well established and the servers do not have to worry about the source of the connection. Complete anonymity is guaranteed for client computers and data transferred between client and VPN servers is always secure. Moreover, mobile VPN is also available and since, you can securely access internet even from your mobile devices. The quality of data security and anonymity you obtain from VPN servers directly depends on the service provide and that is why you should trust leaders in the industry like VPN4all.com and OcShield.com.

vpn

Business enterprises and government institutions are constantly looking for ways to protect data security. The cyber fraud is increasing and no user is safe on the internet. Every individual and organization should potentially establish secure platforms to communicate with other systems on the internet. The challenge in establishing secure platforms is that anonymity is compromised while enhancing security. For internet users, anonymity is equally important as security and hence, finding the right platform to ensure anonymity and security at the same time is important. Moreover, the platform should have minimal demands from the clients because the use of mobile devices and mobile internet can not always guarantee access to consistent hardware and software from the client side.

Trusted Computing – What Is It?

Trusted computing is a new kind of technology developed by an exclusive Trusted Computing Group. This group essentially believes that software security should be coupled with hardware security to provide reliable and safe environments for internet users to gain safe and secure access to internet. According to trusted computing technology, consistent behavior is expected from the client side and this behavior is reinforced by a combination of hardware and software. To make anonymity possible, the trusted computing technology uses a trusted third party as a middleman between the client and server.

VPN – How It Works?

The Virtual Private Network (VPN) technology believes in the use of trusted and secure servers as middleman between client and server. Rather than connecting to the main server, the clients will establish contacts with the secure server which will in turn connect to the main server requested by the client. All the data transferred from client to trusted server will stay secure and the server will attempt to provide security and anonymity to clients. The main server will never even know that the client is connecting through a secure middleman server.

Why VPN Is Safe And Better Than Trusted Computing?

When two different technologies are available to meet the same purpose, it is only natural to compare the technologies to find out a better option. The technology that is only suitable for people and organizations with a specific set of resources can not be implemented by everyone and this where VPN gains a winning point. Moreover, trusted computing technology is still in its budding stage and not everyone can benefit from it.

The trusted computing technology is only possible when the clients have resources and means to use services of trusted third parties. The server that has to connect with the client should also have access to trusted servers. Otherwise, anonymity is impossible. VPN on the other hand is very well established and the servers do not have to worry about the source of the connection. Complete anonymity is guaranteed for client computers and data transferred between client and VPN servers is always secure. Moreover, mobile VPN is also available and since, you can securely access internet even from your mobile devices. The quality of data security and anonymity you obtain from VPN servers directly depends on the service provide and that is why you should trust leaders in the industry like VPN4all.com and OcShield.com.

Bitcoins – Should You Use Them?

Bitcoin was launched as a private initiative in 2009. Unlike traditional arrangements, such as the Euro, Sterling and Dollar, it is not controlled by a central monetary authority. Instead, it is underpinned by a peer-to-peer network of its users' computers. This is similar to how Skype, a video chat service, operates.

The basic unit of value is the bitcoin . However each bitcoin can be subdivided into satoshies. One satoshi is equal to one hundred millionth of a bitcoin (ie, a bitcoin divided into eight decimal places).

Bitcoins and satoshies can be transferred from one internet user to another in order to pay for goods or services at virtually zero cost. This allows you to make international transfers without having to mess around with exchange rates and onerous bank charges. Bitcoins can be bought and sold for traditional cash at special exchanges.

Bitcoin wallets

In order to use Bitcoin, you need a wallet , a special piece of software in which you store, send and receive bitcoins. There are three kinds of wallets, software wallets, mobile wallets and web wallets.

Software wallets are installed on your computer and they give you full control over your wallet. Mobile wallets are installed in your smartphone or tablet and allow you to use Bitcoin for daily transactions in shops and supermarkets by scanning a quick response (QR) code. Web wallets are located on the World Wide Web, ie they are a form of cloud storage.

Payments using bitcoins are super easy. They can be made from wallets on your computer or smartphone just by entering the receiver's address, the amount and then pressing send. Smartphones can also obtain a receiver's address by scanning a QR code or bringing two phones that contain near-field-communication (NFC) technology, a form of radio communication, close to each other.

Receiving payments is just as easy … all you have to do is give the payer your bitcoin address.

Protecting your wallet

A bitcoin wallet is like a wallet full of cash. To reduce the risk of loss, you should keep only small amounts of bitcoins in your computer or smartphone and keep the bulk of your bitcoins in a safer environment, such as an offline wallet. Provided your wallet has been encrypted, an offline back-up will allow you to recover your wallet, should your computer or smartphone be stolen.

Encrypting your wallet allows you to set a password that must be input before funds can be withdrawn. However, recovering a bitcoin password is impossible if it is lost. That is why you need to be absolutely sure you can remember your password. If the value of your bitcoins is significant, you could store the password in a bank vault or where you store important papers.

In order to be as secure as possible, you should store off-line back-ups in multiple locations using various media such as USB flash drives and CDs.

Because bitcoin runs on software you download to your computer (PC or laptop) or smartphone, you need to update this software regularly in order to keep your wallets and transactions safe.

Advantages of bitcoins

Bitcoins have several significant advantages:

1-you can send and receive limitless amounts of money instantly at any time to and from anywhere in the world.

2-processing does not cost any fees or only very small fees.

3-bitcoin transactions are irreversible, which protects sellers from the fraudulent charges that are increasingly common with credit cards.

4-payments are made without personal information being upgraded, which provides strong protection against identity theft.

5-the receipt and payment process is completely neutral, transparent and predictable.

Disadvantages of bitcoins

However, using bitcoins has several disadvantages:

1-they are not yet accepted universally and then can not be used everywhere.

2-their value is volatile because the number of bitcoins in circulation is quite small so relatively small transactions can affect their price significantly.

Should you use bitcoins?

The short answer is NO or, at least, not in a major way yet.

Bitcoins are fungible assets with durability, portability, divisibility and scarcity, ie they have all the characteristics of conventional money (Euros, Dollars, Pounds etc). They have value so they can be changed for other currencies at exchanges.

Therein lies the danger. There are times when the value of the bitcoin can fluctuate broadly, by 50% in one day. So, as a store of value, they are not for the faint-hearted. In other words, you should not have more money than you can afford to lose in the form of bitcoins.

However a wallet with small amounts of bitcoin in it could have been used for minor day-to-day transactions which would help familiarize you with internet treaties. As the amount of bitcoins in circulation increases, their value viz-a-viz other treaties should stabilize and you can start using them for larger transactions.

encrypt

Bitcoin was launched as a private initiative in 2009. Unlike traditional arrangements, such as the Euro, Sterling and Dollar, it is not controlled by a central monetary authority. Instead, it is underpinned by a peer-to-peer network of its users' computers. This is similar to how Skype, a video chat service, operates.

The basic unit of value is the bitcoin . However each bitcoin can be subdivided into satoshies. One satoshi is equal to one hundred millionth of a bitcoin (ie, a bitcoin divided into eight decimal places).

Bitcoins and satoshies can be transferred from one internet user to another in order to pay for goods or services at virtually zero cost. This allows you to make international transfers without having to mess around with exchange rates and onerous bank charges. Bitcoins can be bought and sold for traditional cash at special exchanges.

Bitcoin wallets

In order to use Bitcoin, you need a wallet , a special piece of software in which you store, send and receive bitcoins. There are three kinds of wallets, software wallets, mobile wallets and web wallets.

Software wallets are installed on your computer and they give you full control over your wallet. Mobile wallets are installed in your smartphone or tablet and allow you to use Bitcoin for daily transactions in shops and supermarkets by scanning a quick response (QR) code. Web wallets are located on the World Wide Web, ie they are a form of cloud storage.

Payments using bitcoins are super easy. They can be made from wallets on your computer or smartphone just by entering the receiver's address, the amount and then pressing send. Smartphones can also obtain a receiver's address by scanning a QR code or bringing two phones that contain near-field-communication (NFC) technology, a form of radio communication, close to each other.

Receiving payments is just as easy … all you have to do is give the payer your bitcoin address.

Protecting your wallet

A bitcoin wallet is like a wallet full of cash. To reduce the risk of loss, you should keep only small amounts of bitcoins in your computer or smartphone and keep the bulk of your bitcoins in a safer environment, such as an offline wallet. Provided your wallet has been encrypted, an offline back-up will allow you to recover your wallet, should your computer or smartphone be stolen.

Encrypting your wallet allows you to set a password that must be input before funds can be withdrawn. However, recovering a bitcoin password is impossible if it is lost. That is why you need to be absolutely sure you can remember your password. If the value of your bitcoins is significant, you could store the password in a bank vault or where you store important papers.

In order to be as secure as possible, you should store off-line back-ups in multiple locations using various media such as USB flash drives and CDs.

Because bitcoin runs on software you download to your computer (PC or laptop) or smartphone, you need to update this software regularly in order to keep your wallets and transactions safe.

Advantages of bitcoins

Bitcoins have several significant advantages:

1-you can send and receive limitless amounts of money instantly at any time to and from anywhere in the world.

2-processing does not cost any fees or only very small fees.

3-bitcoin transactions are irreversible, which protects sellers from the fraudulent charges that are increasingly common with credit cards.

4-payments are made without personal information being upgraded, which provides strong protection against identity theft.

5-the receipt and payment process is completely neutral, transparent and predictable.

Disadvantages of bitcoins

However, using bitcoins has several disadvantages:

1-they are not yet accepted universally and then can not be used everywhere.

2-their value is volatile because the number of bitcoins in circulation is quite small so relatively small transactions can affect their price significantly.

Should you use bitcoins?

The short answer is NO or, at least, not in a major way yet.

Bitcoins are fungible assets with durability, portability, divisibility and scarcity, ie they have all the characteristics of conventional money (Euros, Dollars, Pounds etc). They have value so they can be changed for other currencies at exchanges.

Therein lies the danger. There are times when the value of the bitcoin can fluctuate broadly, by 50% in one day. So, as a store of value, they are not for the faint-hearted. In other words, you should not have more money than you can afford to lose in the form of bitcoins.

However a wallet with small amounts of bitcoin in it could have been used for minor day-to-day transactions which would help familiarize you with internet treaties. As the amount of bitcoins in circulation increases, their value viz-a-viz other treaties should stabilize and you can start using them for larger transactions.