Online Shopping Guide

Food Allergy Symptoms
Food allergy symptoms can be quite uncommon. You might not believe this but only 1 out of 70 adults suffer from true food allergies. Food poisoning or even food intolerance is sometimes mistaken for a food allergy because of the similarities in symptoms.

Food allergy symptoms can be quite uncommon. You might not believe this but only 1 out of 70 adults suffer from true food allergies. Food poisoning or even food intolerance is sometimes mistaken for a food allergy because of the similarities in symptoms. If you are unsure if you are allergic to a particular food, you should learn to decipher what classic food allergy is. Mostly affecting children, food allergy is an illness where the body’s immune system defends itself from a substance that it considers to be harmful. The allergic reaction experienced is the sign that the body is trying to overcome the allergy-causing substance. Doctors usually run test to determine and confirm your food allergies. They might even ask you questions regarding your family’s general health since food allergy is thought to be partly hereditary. If your doctor finds a history of eczema, hay fever or asthma, then you have a higher risk of having a food allergy. A true allergic reaction usually starts with swelling and itching in the throat, tongue and mouth. Other food allergy symptoms include skin reactions, vomiting, diarrhea, coughing, wheezing, runny nose and sore, red and itchy eyes. An allergic reaction could begin the moment you ingest the food you are allergic to. The symptoms, however, could take longer to develop, sometimes even several hours. An anaphylactic shock is the worst possible allergic reaction. It could cause severe swelling, unconsciousness, lowering of the blood pressure and breathing difficulties. If not given proper medical attention, it could possibly lead to death. As you can see, it’s important to deal with food allergy symptoms right away.
Foods that cause allergy include peanuts, shellfish, tree nuts and fish. Some children develop allergies to cow’s milk, soya, eggs, wheat and seafood. If you have an allergy to a particular food, you could also have a reaction to other allergy-causing food. This is called cross-reactivity. Your dietician and physician could help you identify which foods to avoid and prevent allergic reactions. If you are still unsure if you have a food allergy, you should consult a doctor specializing on allergies. You would be asked questions pertaining to the symptoms you experience after eating a certain food, amount of the particular food you ate, preparation and storage of the food, medication you took to relieve the symptoms and effectivity of the medication. All these can help diagnose your food allergy. It is very important that you see a food allergy specialist. You must never, under any circumstances, try to determine the food you are allergic to on your own. You must remember that allergic reactions can be severe and you might be putting yourself in a very dangerous situation. If you’re allergic to something and you tamper with it, your body can react in bad ways.

Skin prick tests are sometimes used to diagnose a food allergy. A small amount of food extract is injected on the skin surface. An allergic reaction to that food extract will result to swelling and redness of the injection site. Sometimes, a false positive reaction is observed from a skin prick test. It would be wise to perform other tests, like a blood test for instance, to confirm food allergy and complete diagnosis.

By Sven Ullmann

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Beginners Guide to Importing Exporting Products.
The following article aims to assist would-be businessmen and beginners who intend to promote and sell their products or procure their stock in trade, capital assets, to or from the international market, respectively.

IMPORTATION:

1. Register your business and ensure that all licenses and other legal requirements have been complied with.

2. Obtain a list of suppliers dealing in the products you wish to import and select the most dependable. Do a comprehensive research on the industry. This can be done with the assistance of your bankers through their correspondents overseas.

3. Obtain a pro-forma invoice or firm offer from your selected supplier. Make sure that their quotation includes, among others, the terms of shipment such as FOB, C&F, or CIF. Payment for imports can be done in the following manner:

a.) By Letter of Credit (L/C) - Once you have agreed with your supplier on the pricing and other terms and conditions of your purchase, open a letter of credit with your bank. Depending on the agreement with your supplier, the L/C can either be sight or usance, revocable or irrevocable, confirmed or unconfirmed. Under a sight L/C, payment for the goods are made upon presentation of the documents from the supplier through your bankers (which is commonly the L/C opening bank) regardless whether or not you have received the goods imported. Under usance L/C, payment is made at a later day, after 30, 60, 90 or 120 days. A revocable L/C is one which you can revoke even without the consent of your supplier. A confirmed L/C is one by which the L/C advising bank, by virtue of their confirmation of the L/C, is liable to pay your supplier the value of the imported goods should the L/C opening bank be unable to pay your supplier for some reason.

b.) By Open Account (O/A) - Payment is made at a later date depending on your agreement with the supplier.

c.) By Documents Against Payment (D/P) - Under this mode of payment, you have to effect the payment of the imported goods upon presentation of the import documents by the bank.

d.) By Documents Against Acceptance (D/A) - Under this mode, the documents are forwarded to you through an appointed bank in your locality and upon your acceptance, (i.e. signing the relative document signifying your acceptance of the liability) the bank then surrenders the documents to you, and payment will be made later, after 15, 30, 45 or 60 days depending on your agreement with the supplier.

e.) By Prepayment - Advance payment must be made before supplier ships the goods

Note that the basic import documents consist mainly, but are not limited to, original Bills of Lading (B/L) or Airway Bill; original Commercial Invoice; original Packing List; or any such other original documents which you may require. These documents are necessary so the importer can secure the release of the imported goods from the shipping/airline companies and customs authorities.

EXPORTATION:

1. Register your business ensuring that all requirements have been complied with.

2. Choose the products that you are going to export and ascertain from the difference governmental agencies that these are not banned items. Where necessary, obtain a list of all the documents that are required especially for regulated products. If you produce or manufacture your own products for export, know your production capacity. If you subcontract the production of your goods, know the production capacity of all your subcontractors.

3. Open an account with a bank with international connections or one with correspondents in the locality of your customers.

4. Where necessary, obtain a background check of all your would-be customers through the aid of your bankers.

5. From new buyers, always insist on prepayment before you ship your goods.

6. If you agree on payment by Letter of Credit (L/C), ensure that the L/C is irrevocable and at sight.

7. Try to understand the different modes of payment for international trade, as discussed above, under Importation.

This is a simple step-by-step guide on import and export procedures. While requirements may vary from country to country, the general and basic procedures are essentially the same.

By  John Kovanski

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Simple Website Design Principles for Internet Marketing

An essential element of the success of any Internet Marketing
campaign is the ability to not only generate traffic to your
Website, but capturing the interest of the visitor once he’s
on your site. The are a number of techniques that the best
Internet Marketing Strategies employ to ensure that their
Website Design encourages a user to linger.

To a great degree all Internet marketing strategies - article
marketing, blogging, search engine optimization and email
marketing, depend on the quality of your Website design to
close the sale.

As you design and continually refine your Website, maintain
constant focus on what you are trying to accomplish, what
message you are trying to communicate. All the principles
in the world are worthless without vigilance to your ultimate
objective.

Here are five fundamental rules of thumb to observe to make
sure your Website performs well.

1) Do not use splash pages

Splash pages are the first pages you see when you arrive at
a website. They normally have a very beautiful image with
words like “welcome” or “click here to enter”. In fact, they
are just that — pretty vases with no real purpose. Do not
let your visitors have a reason to click on the “back” button!
Give them the value of your site up front without the splash
page.

2) Do not use excessive banner advertisements

Even the least net savvy people have trained themselves to
ignore banner advertisements so you will be wasting valuable
Website real estate. Instead, provide more valuable content
and weave relevant affiliate links into your content, and let
your visitors feel that they want to buy instead of being
pushed to buy.

3) Have a simple and clear navigation

You have to provide a simple and very straightforward
navigation menu so that even a young child will know how
to use it. Stay away from complicated Flash based menus
or multi-tiered dropdown menus. If your visitors don’t
know how to navigate, they will leave your site.

4) Have a clear indication of where the user is

When visitors are deeply engrossed in browsing your site, you
will want to make sure they know which part of the site they are
in at that moment. That way, they will be able to browse relevant
information or navigate to any section of the site easily. Don’t
confuse your visitors because confusion means “I’m outta here”!

5) Avoid using audio on your site

If your visitor is going to stay a long time at your site,
reading your content, you will want to make sure they’re not
annoyed by some audio looping on and on on your website. If
you insist on adding audio, make sure they have some control
over it — volume or muting controls would work fine.

If you analyze every aspect of your Website Design and ask the
question - ‘does this contribute to my ultimate objective?’ -
you’re Website should evolve into a significant contributor for
your Internet Marketing efforts.

By Michael Saunders.

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Protect Yourself Against Malware

The same Internet connection that lets you reach out and touch millions of Web servers, e-mail addresses, and other digital entities across the globe also endangers your PC and the information it contains about you.

Every day, virus, spyware, and adware creators come up with new, ingenious ways to gain access to your PC. These steps will help keep you safe:

Think before you click:
Attached files that end with .exe, .com, .bat, and .scr, as well as scriptable document files, including .doc and .xls, can infect your PC with a single click. Many e-mail programs block access to executable-file attachments.

Use a spam filter:
Though some malware makes its way onto your computer via drive-by browser hijacking, e-mail is its other main source. Install a junk-mail filter to reduce your chances of activating malicious scripts embedded in messages.

Update your antivirus software:
Allowing your antivirus software to continue running after its subscription has expired is actually worse than using no antivirus software at all: Not only do you lack the crucial virus signature database updates, but you expose your system to malware that targets known flaws in antivirus software.

Tips on avoiding Viruses and Worms:
Install antivirus software, update regularly, and use it regularly.
Never open unsolicited e-mail attachments with the file extensions VBS, SHS, or PIF.

Disconnect your network or modem cable when you are not using your computer-or just power it down.
Avoid attachments with sexual file names.

Antivirus software is a software installed on your computer that protects you from viruses. Antivirus software programs can contain between 40,000 - 100,000 “virus definitions” that are updated on a daily or as needed basis.

My personal favorite free antivirus app is Grisoft AVG Anti-Virus Free. In the paid programs, i do recommend Kaspersky anti virus. Its great in work.

Get a second opinion:
Install and use only one antivirus program at a time on your computer because multiple real-time scanners will conflict with one another. If you have doubts about your programs effectiveness, however, use a free online virus scanner, such as Panda Softwares ActiveScan) or Trend Micros HouseCall.

Download with discretion:
Any program you download and run on your system could potentially result in a lethal infection or zombification. Download software only from reputable online sources that first scan all of their download files for any malware.

Use a bidirectional firewall:
Windows XP and Vista each come with a firewall that blocks incoming attacks; it is enabled by default in Windows XP Service Pack 2 and later. For the best protection, you will also want to block unwanted outgoing connections made by malware on your PC that attempts to either connect to a remote server or send out spam.

Vistas firewall can be set up to do that, but configuring it is not a job for the average Windows user. Instead, get one of several free bidirectional firewall programs, such as Zone Labs ZoneAlarm Free, or Agnitums Outpost Firewall Free.

Most commercial security software suites also include a firewall program.

Use antispyware:
Anyone who uses a computer is susceptible to spyware infection. In fact, nine out of 10 Internet-connected PCs are infected with spyware. Spyware threats can be any application that may track your online or offline PC activity. If you use the Internet, its very likely some form of spyware threats are already at work on your PC.

Detecting spyware is tough and spyware removal is even more difficult. Even if you think you have successfully removed an unwanted program manually, a remaining tickler file can trigger a complete reinstallation the next time you start your PC. And as a survival tactic, malware programs often leave similar traces elsewhere on your system so the game of cat and mouse never ends.

Spyware, adware, and some browser cookies slow down your system, cause crashes, and track your online activity. Antispyware utilities work much like antivirus software, detecting and removing the unwanted software from your PC. We picked Webroot Spy Sweeper 5 and NoAdware as our favorite in our “Spyware Fighters” antispyware roundup.

Upgrade from XP:
Service Pack 2 makes Windows XP much safer, but the operating system still has security holes, and it remains a top target for malware authors. Windows Vistas new user access controls ask your permission before launching new programs, which reduces the chances that malware can leap from the Web to your PC automatically, though some Vista bugs have already been found.

Both the Mac OS and Linux offer even stronger safeguards against program launching, and they are rarely the targets of malware attacks, which makes it very unlikely that Web-hosted attacks–or any other kind–will afflict computers running those operating systems.

By: Cher

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What’s an SEO?

SEO is an abbreviation for “search engine optimizer.” Many SEOs provide useful services for website owners, from writing copy to giving advice on site architecture and helping to find relevant directories to which a site can be submitted. However, a few unethical SEOs have given the industry a black eye through their overly aggressive marketing efforts and their attempts to unfairly manipulate search engine results.

Search Engine Optimizers SEO is an abbreviation for “search engine optimizer.” Many SEOs provide useful services for website owners, from writing copy to giving advice on site architecture and helping to find relevant directories to which a site can be submitted. However, a few unethical SEOs have given the industry a black eye through their overly aggressive marketing efforts and their attempts to unfairly manipulate search engine results.
While Google doesn’t have relationships with any SEOs and doesn’t offer recommendations, we do have a few tips that may help you distinguish between an SEO that will improve your site and one that will only improve your chances of being dropped from search engine results altogether.

• Be wary of SEO firms that send you email out of the blue. Amazingly, we get these spam emails too:

“Dear google.com,I visited your website and noticed that you are not listed in most of the major search engines and directories…” Reserve the same skepticism for unsolicited email about search engines as you do for “burn fat at night” diet pills or requests to help transfer funds from deposed dictators.

• No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google. Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings, allege a “special relationship” with Google, or advertise a “priority submit” to Google. There is no priority submit for Google. In fact, the only way to submit a site to Google directly is through our Add URL page or through the Google Sitemaps (Beta) program, and you can do this yourself at no cost whatsoever.

• Be careful if a company is secretive or won’t clearly explain what they intend to do. Ask for explanations if something is unclear. If an SEO creates deceptive or misleading content on your behalf, such as doorway pages or “throwaway” domains, your site could be removed entirely from Google’s index. Ultimately, you are responsible for the actions of any companies you hire, so it’s best to be sure you know exactly how they intend to “help” you.

• You should never have to link to an SEO. Avoid SEOs that talk about the power of “free-for-all” links, link popularity schemes, or submitting your site to thousands of search engines. These are typically useless exercises that don’t affect your ranking in the results of the major search engines — at least, not in a way you would likely consider to be positive.

• Some SEOs may try to sell you the ability to type keywords directly into the browser address bar. Most such proposals require users to install extra software, and very few users do so. Evaluate such proposals with extreme care and be skeptical about the self-reported number of users who have downloaded the required applications.

• Choose wisely. While you consider whether to go with an SEO, you may want to do some research on the industry. Google is one way to do that of course. You might also seek out a few of the cautionary tales that have appeared in the press, including this article on one particularly aggressive SEO: search engine rankings. While Google doesn’t comment on specific companies, we’ve encountered firms calling themselves SEOs who follow practices that are clearly beyond the pale of accepted business behavior. Be careful.

• Be sure to understand where the money goes. While Google never sells better ranking in our search results, several other search engines combine pay-per-click or pay-for-inclusion results with their regular web search results. Some SEOs will promise to rank you highly in search engines, but place you in the advertising section rather than in the search results. A few SEOs will even change their bid prices in real time to create the illusion that they “control” other search engines and can place themselves in the slot of their choice. This scam doesn’t work with Google because our advertising is clearly labeled and separated from our search results, but be sure to ask any SEO you’re considering which fees go toward permanent inclusion and which apply toward temporary advertising.

• Talk to many SEOs, and ask other SEOs if they’d recommend the firm you’re considering. References are a good start, but they don’t tell the whole story. You should ask how long a company has been in business and how many full time individuals it employs. If you feel pressured or uneasy, go with your gut feeling and play it safe: hold off until you find a firm that you can trust. Ask your SEO firm if it reports every spam abuse that it finds to Google using our spam complaint form at Ethical SEO firms report deceptive sites that violate Google’s spam guidelines.

• Make sure you’re protected legally. For your own safety, you should insist on a full and unconditional money-back guarantee. Don’t be afraid to request a refund if you’re unsatisfied for any reason, or if your SEO’s actions cause your domain to be removed from a search engine’s index. Make sure you have a contract in writing that includes pricing. The contract should also require the SEO to stay within the guidelines recommended by each search engine for site inclusion.

What are the most common abuses a website owner is likely to encounter?One common scam is the creation of “shadow” domains that funnel users to a site by using deceptive redirects. These shadow domains often will be owned by the SEO who claims to be working on a client’s behalf. However, if the relationship sours, the SEO may point the domain to a different site, or even to a competitor’s domain. If that happens, the client has paid to develop a competing site owned entirely by the SEO.

Another illicit practice is to place “doorway” pages loaded with keywords on the client’s site somewhere. The SEO promises this will make the page more relevant for more queries. This is inherently false since individual pages are rarely relevant for a wide range of keywords. More insidious, however, is that these doorway pages often contain hidden links to the SEO’s other clients as well. Such doorway pages drain away the link popularity of a site and route it to the SEO and its other clients, which may include sites with unsavory or illegal content. What are some other things to look out for?There are a few warning signs that you may be dealing with a rogue SEO. It’s far from a comprehensive list, so if you have any doubts, you should trust your instincts. By all means, feel free to walk away if the SEO:

• owns shadow domains

• puts links to their other clients on doorway pages

• offers to sell keywords in the address bar

• doesn’t distinguish between actual search results and ads that appear in search results

• guarantees ranking, but only on obscure, long keyword phrases you would get anyway

• operates with multiple aliases or falsified WHOIS info

• gets traffic from “fake” search engines, spyware, or scumware

• has had domains removed from Google’s index or is not itself listed in Google.

By Vijay Verma

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