Vitamin T

I Just Want My New Dress

When pop-up ads started appearing a few years back, I thought I was going to go insane constantly trying to close the boxes one by one. Then gratefully, companies began to develop pop-up blockers. The first time I used my pop-up blocker, I thought it was great. Wow, finally less of those pesky ads. But still somehow, even with it turned on those ads seem to haunt me. But that is not what I’m ranting about here. Every once in awhile, you need those pop-up boxes.

Often when making on-line purchases, a separate box pops to complete the check-out process, with pop-up blocker turned on the box appears, but I can’t see the text. The only way to remedy this is to hold down the control key. Who can always remember to hold the control key? I’m all excited about that great new dress, but now I can’t seem to get it.

Or some times I’m purchasing online content. What I purchased appears in a new pop-up, but with blocker turned on, I can’t see what I just purchased.

Will it ever be possible to have the best of both worlds? Not receive any annoying unsolicited pop-ups, but when I make a purchase I can see what I ordered without holding the shift key? There are some pop-up blocker products available that allow you to see desirable pop-ups by creating an "allow-list" for sites like online shopping or financial institutions, but these are mostly paid products. Even if I can customize what sites I want pop-ups from, how am I to know when I visit a new site whether or not they use pop-up boxes that I might find desirable.

In conducting some preliminary research, I was surprised to find out that this topic has not received much coverage in mainstream media. Pop-ups only seem to be a minor point when discussing the greater issue of spyware/adware. Have you ever had the problems I experienced?

-Pamela Klores, Reichert Communications

Does Outsourcing Help Rural America?

From business publications to talk shows, board rooms to server rooms there’s been a lot of talk about outsourcing. Hidden within the controversy and the hype is an interesting bit of information that, as a former small town girl and now long-time resident of San Francisco, really hits home for me--how the issue at the heart of outsourcing, reducing costs by finding a workforce with a low cost of living, is causing businesses to take a new look at rural America.

Small and mid-size businesses are discovering that moving the company’s operations to a small town in the mid-west or south means cheap property, less expensive workers, less crime, and the bonus ‘warm fuzzy’ of being able to revitalize a town.  In Stephanie Simon of the LA Times’ recent story, “Real Estate Hunters Go Old School” She follows a couple from Seattle who move their small business to a dying town in Kansas.  The couple expects their small business to have a payroll of about 15 in just a couple of years.  The presence of this type of business is a huge opportunity for towns that average 300 people, not just for the jobs and tax dollars provided but also for the fact that the companies often revitalize large abandoned buildings (i.e. schools) that have become town eyesores.

What about tech outsourcing you might ask?  That’s what’s been causing all the controversy in Silicon Valley.  Companies need cheap educated tech workers to fill outsourced positions.  You might think that kind of educated workforce wouldn’t be found in those small towns of the mid-west and south.  If you thought that, you’re wrong. In Scott Cohn of MSN Money’s story “Forget India; Outsource Jobs to Arkansas”,  Kathy Brittain White, who grew up in Arkansas, saw an opportunity to take back tech jobs that would normally be outsourced to India and bring that money to Arkansas.  In that state the cost of living is about half that of big cities and there’s an educated tech workforce thanks to programs at Arkansas State and other state colleges.  State officials hoped that tech jobs would replace job losses on the farm.  Those hopes were dashed when tech outsourcing overseas picked up, but Kathy Brittain White and her company Rural Sourcing hope to change all that.

These signposts of change are the best hope in years that revitalization is heading to rural America.

- Madge Miller, Reichert Communications

Part 2: The Greatest Threat in 2005

In 2004, an anti-spyware bill passed the House of Representatives with a 399-1 vote, but it failed to pass in the Senate. In recent news, Representative Mary Bono (R-California) reintroduced the bill which is labeled, The Securely Protect Yourself Against Cyber Trespass Act, AKA, SPY ACT. The bill defines most functions performed by so-called spyware as unfair business practices subject to U.S. Federal Trade Commission fines. The bill would allow for fines of up to $3 million for software developers who steal personal information from a user’s computer and/or highjacks its browser.

Of course, no bill is without an opposition. A recent article discusses the threats to the online advertiser and publisher industry and their widespread use of cookies. Trevor Hughes, executive director of both the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) and the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) believes passing of the SPY ACT will lead “to a "return to the stone age" of interactive marketing, and he laments a lack of industry awareness of HR 29's negative consequences.”

To avoid annoying disruptions and to protect my identity forces me to battle spyware and adware head on. But until there is a bill and the threat is gone there are multiple services available to detect, confiscate and block. Luckily those downloads are available free. Companies like WinPatrol, Ad-Aware, OptOut, Spybot and Spy Sweeper are just a few free spyware protectors who solve the problem. In addition, Microsoft launched a beta of its 1st anti-spyware tool known as Microsoft AntiSpyware.

-Meghan O'Driscoll, Reichert Communications

The Greatest Threat in 2005

The talk out there is that Adware and Spyware will be the major threat in the coming year. I agree after experiencing the worst of it these past few weeks.

Until last month, I didn’t really understand what it was and the effects it could have on my everyday work, Web searches and scariest of them all my identity. I had never been infected by a computer virus or even been overloaded with Spam. Knock on wood. So when my computer acted up, multiple annoying pop ups appeared and my path to the Internet was cut, I panicked.

Spyware is programming that is put in someone's computer to secretly gather information about the user and relay it to advertisers or other interested parties such as hackers and spammers. It is defined as a technology assisting in the gathering of information about a person or organization without their knowledge. Spyware enters a computer by way of a software virus or as result of installing a new program without the user’s consent. By simply clicking a pop-up window, anyone can install spyware unknowingly. Adware, more specifically designed to serve advertising is similar to spyware, including the same components for tracking and reporting user information but results in the display of advertising banners.

Spyware and adware attacks can result in sluggish computers, problems with genuine software, difficulty accessing applications, uncontrollable pop-ups, random toolbars, loss of Internet connection, computer crash and worst of all your identity being stolen. Cookies too are effected. Since cookies store information about an Internet user on their own computer and a user may or my not know about it, the cookie could be considered a form of spyware and when detected removed from the end user’s computer.

To be continued...........

-Meghan O'Driscoll, Reichert Communications

Cell Phone Spam – Will it Become as Prevalent as Online Spam?

I don’t know about you, but I spend between 15 and 20 minutes every day deleting junk messages from my email -- and I’ve recently begun receiving spam text messages (SMS) on my cell phone.  The last thing that I want is to spend more time wading through unwanted messages on my phone. 

The good news is that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has voted to outlaw all unauthorized text messages to mobile phones and pagers unless the owner has given permission.  The FCC made the case that mobile-phone spam is particularly harmful to consumers because they often have to pay for the time it takes to delete the message.  But since most ISPs charge a flat monthly fee, this same case can not be made for email messages.

My hope is that the FCC cell phone spam ruling is better enforced than its sister ruling which went into affect January of 2004.  Consumers have yet to see the benefits of outlawing online spam.  The FCC is scheduled to hold an open commission meeting on January 13, 2005 on the topic of cell phone spam. For more information about this meeting, visit http://www.fcc.gov/.

- Barbara Reichert, Reichert Communications