Any regular e-mailer, (email is by far the most popular app on the internet), will be well acquainted with the continual bombardment of spam and should also know effective anti-virus protection is a ‘must-have’ on PCs these days.
Less obvious than the current deluge of urgent emails, supposedly emanating from a number of concerned Australian banks, but sometimes more damaging, is the increase in the numbers and severity of attacks by cyber criminals using malicious software to infect machines for various covert purposes.
The cost of ongoing regular updates for even quite small offices can be substantial and many in the IT industry have been questioning how the world’s largest software company has been able to avoid taking responsibility for this aspect of using their proprietary OS products for so long.
One commentator likened it to a modern day car manufacturer supplying automobiles without installing airbags saying “whilst it may be less obvious than forgetting to fit essentials such as brakes to a vehicle any reasonable person would have to agree that driving regularly will at some point expose car owners to the risk of an accident”.
Diehard Apple users have often taken great pleasure in the fact that their Macs do not usually receive the same level of attention from hackers as PCs, although a recent cyber attack may in fact herald the end of that era.
According to Microsoft, “MSE is a no-cost anti-malware solution that provides consumers with quality protection from diverse threats including viruses, spyware, rootkits and trojans", adding “cost and performance barriers prevent many consumers from using up-to-date security software to protect their PCs”.
The Redmond based conglomerate said it will also automatically update MSE for users. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/default.aspx
What does SMARTPAGES actually do?
My exasperated friend, (see last week’s GET CONNECTED column), just gave me another broadside; this time about why I think YOC’s online directory, ( refer www.smartpages.com.au ) is so much better or even different from all the others currently available.
I say broadside, but to be fair he tells me he only wants to help me explain myself better to regular e-zine readers, i.e. not techos or geeks, and I do believe him.
I guess if I had to claim one single factor it would be Usability. With the SMART SEARCH tool it is possible to find just about any local company by inserting only the first four letters of their name or category, e.g. ‘cour’ for a courier or ‘barn’ for Barnetts Couriers. See http://wollongong.smartpages.com.au/advanced.cfm
I believe this is a massive advantage and I am not aware of any other directory or search engine that can do anything approaching that, including the ubiquitous Google, and I track about 30 offerings every day as part of our ongoing R&D effort.
Just about any regular online directory user will be aware there are presently a number of major shortcomings in local search: including and perhaps most irritatingly - incomplete or out-of-date listings.
Many of these types of problems relate to major online directories being based on old telephone directories. In fact, our call centre operators tell me when they ring to confirm details some 30-40% of these listings are out of date … some up to 10 years.
What’s more, the layout of many online directories are an unsatisfactory attempt to replicate telephone directories and their listings can be spread over multiple pages or require endless scrolling.
Let’s face it, purpose-built online directories are always going to be superior and nearly all regular users expect and insist on this type of advanced functionality.
What’s more, SMARTPAGES is a bottom-up directory, which means all listings are authenticated by locals before being posted and can be continuously updated online.
Oh - I almost forgot to mention - most of SMARTPAGES’ over 500 categories are listed in the Top10 or important first page on Google, when searched in conjunction with community name. Check out our first category listed ‘Abrasive Blasting’ plus Wollongong, Parramatta or Sutherland.
If you would like to hear more about how SMARTPAGES can help local companies with low cost advertising options just email me: andrewc@smartpages.com.au | 
