Changing the list of programs

Changing the list of programs Add / Remove Programs

When you install a program then the program (which is good) will of course
add to Unsintall (in the Add / Remove Programs). But when you
have uninstall the program and there are still at the entry
Add / Remove Programs You can be manually removed. 

Entrance to the key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Uninstall
After that you can delete the entry remaining.

A.W.Surveys!



Earnings: $6.00 for welcome surveys, $4.00 per surveys, plus $1.00 per monthly surveys and $1.25 per friend you reffered.

How to Earn: Join, Answering Survey, Refer Friends

Redeem Method: PayPal, AlertPay and Check (U.S. Only)

Redeem Amount: $75, $200, $350, $500


W32.Koobface.D

Symantec Security Response

http://www.symantec.com/business/security_response/index.jsp

W32.Koobface.D

Risk Level 1: Very Low

Discovered: August 7, 2009
Updated: August 8, 2009 1:32:06 AM
Also Known As: WORM_KOOBFACE.V [Trend]
Type: Worm
Infection Length: 16,384 bytes
Systems Affected: Windows 98, Windows 95, Windows XP, Windows Me, Windows Vista, Windows NT, Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000

SUMMARY

W32.Koobface.D is a worm that spreads through social networking sites. It also sends confidential information to a remote location.

Protection

  • Initial Rapid Release version August 7, 2009 revision 051
  • Latest Rapid Release version August 7, 2009 revision 051
  • Initial Daily Certified version August 8, 2009 revision 003
  • Latest Daily Certified version August 8, 2009 revision 003
  • Initial Weekly Certified release date August 12, 2009
Click here for a more detailed description of Rapid Release and Daily Certified virus definitions.

Threat Assessment

Wild

  • Wild Level: Low
  • Number of Infections: 0 - 49
  • Number of Sites: 0 - 2
  • Geographical Distribution: Low
  • Threat Containment: Easy
  • Removal: Easy

Damage

  • Damage Level: Low
  • Payload: Spreads through social networking sites.
  • Releases Confidential Info: Gathers authentication cookies and sends them to a remote location.

Distribution

  • Distribution Level: Low

TECHNICAL DETAILS

This threat has been renamed from W32.Koobface.V to W32.Koobface.D

Once executed, the worm copies itself as the following file:
%Windir%\ld12.exe

It drops the following nonmalicious file as an infection marker:
%Windir%\prxid93ps.dat

The worm creates the following registry entry, so that it runs every time Windows starts:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\"sysldtra
y" = "%Windir%\ld12.exe"

It then deletes the following registry entries:
  • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\Explorer\Navigating\"(Default)" = ""
  • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\Explorer\Navigating\.Current\"(Default)" = "%SystemRoot%\media\Windows XP Start.wav"
  • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\Explorer\Navigating\.Default\"(Default)" = "%SystemRoot%\media\Windows XP Start.wav"


The worm checks for an internet connection by trying to connect to google.com.

It then attempts to connect to the following URLs:
  • [http://]mymegadomain03072009.com/achche[REMOVED]
  • [http://]rjulythree.com/achche[REMOVED]
  • [http://]u15jul.com/achche[REMOVED]
  • [http://]umidsummer.com/achche[REMOVED]
  • [http://]upr0306.com/achche[REMOVED]
  • [http://]uthreejuly.com/achche[REMOVED]
  • [http://]www.google.com[REMOVED]
  • [http://]web.reg.md/1/p.jpg|193854730[REMOVED]
  • [http://]web.reg.md/1/prx[REMOVED]
  • [http://]web.reg.md/1/pp.1[REMOVED]


It then scans for cookies in the Internet Explorer cache. It then connects to the following URL:
[http://]upr0306.com/ld/gen[REMOVED]

It sends information about authentication cookies for the following social networking sites:
  • bebo.com
  • facebook.com
  • hi5.com
  • myspace.com
  • netlog.com
  • tagged.com
  • twitter.com


The worm then receives the location of further updates and other files to download after sending the confidential authentication information.

It downloads other files and updates from the following URLs:
  • [http://]web.reg.md/1/p.jpg|193854730[REMOVED]
  • [http://]web.reg.md/1/prx[REMOVED]
  • [http://]web.reg.md/1/pp.1[REMOVED]

Recommendations

Symantec Security Response encourages all users and administrators to adhere to the following basic security "best practices":
  • Use a firewall to block all incoming connections from the Internet to services that should not be publicly available. By default, you should deny all incoming connections and only allow services you explicitly want to offer to the outside world.
  • Enforce a password policy. Complex passwords make it difficult to crack password files on compromised computers. This helps to prevent or limit damage when a computer is compromised.
  • Ensure that programs and users of the computer use the lowest level of privileges necessary to complete a task. When prompted for a root or UAC password, ensure that the program asking for administration-level access is a legitimate application.
  • Disable AutoPlay to prevent the automatic launching of executable files on network and removable drives, and disconnect the drives when not required. If write access is not required, enable read-only mode if the option is available.
  • Turn off file sharing if not needed. If file sharing is required, use ACLs and password protection to limit access. Disable anonymous access to shared folders. Grant access only to user accounts with strong passwords to folders that must be shared.
  • Turn off and remove unnecessary services. By default, many operating systems install auxiliary services that are not critical. These services are avenues of attack. If they are removed, threats have less avenues of attack.
  • If a threat exploits one or more network services, disable, or block access to, those services until a patch is applied.
  • Always keep your patch levels up-to-date, especially on computers that host public services and are accessible through the firewall, such as HTTP, FTP, mail, and DNS services.
  • Configure your email server to block or remove email that contains file attachments that are commonly used to spread threats, such as .vbs, .bat, .exe, .pif and .scr files.
  • Isolate compromised computers quickly to prevent threats from spreading further. Perform a forensic analysis and restore the computers using trusted media.
  • Train employees not to open attachments unless they are expecting them. Also, do not execute software that is downloaded from the Internet unless it has been scanned for viruses. Simply visiting a compromised Web site can cause infection if certain browser vulnerabilities are not patched.
  • If Bluetooth is not required for mobile devices, it should be turned off. If you require its use, ensure that the device's visibility is set to "Hidden" so that it cannot be scanned by other Bluetooth devices. If device pairing must be used, ensure that all devices are set to "Unauthorized", requiring authorization for each connection request. Do not accept applications that are unsigned or sent from unknown sources.
  • For further information on the terms used in this document, please refer to the Security Response glossary.

REMOVAL

The following instructions pertain to all current and recent Symantec antivirus products, including the Symantec AntiVirus and Norton AntiVirus product lines.
  1. Disable System Restore (Windows Me/XP).
  2. Update the virus definitions.
  3. Run a full system scan.
  4. Delete any values added to the registry.

For specific details on each of these steps, read the following instructions.

1. To disable System Restore (Windows Me/XP)
If you are running Windows Me or Windows XP, we recommend that you temporarily turn off System Restore. Windows Me/XP uses this feature, which is enabled by default, to restore the files on your computer in case they become damaged. If a virus, worm, or Trojan infects a computer, System Restore may back up the virus, worm, or Trojan on the computer.

Windows prevents outside programs, including antivirus programs, from modifying System Restore. Therefore, antivirus programs or tools cannot remove threats in the System Restore folder. As a result, System Restore has the potential of restoring an infected file on your computer, even after you have cleaned the infected files from all the other locations.

Also, a virus scan may detect a threat in the System Restore folder even though you have removed the threat.

For instructions on how to turn off System Restore, read your Windows documentation, or one of the following articles:

Note: When you are completely finished with the removal procedure and are satisfied that the threat has been removed, reenable System Restore by following the instructions in the aforementioned documents.

For additional information, and an alternative to disabling Windows Me System Restore, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base article: Antivirus Tools Cannot Clean Infected Files in the _Restore Folder (Article ID: Q263455).

2. To update the virus definitions
Symantec Security Response fully tests all the virus definitions for quality assurance before they are posted to our servers. There are two ways to obtain the most recent virus definitions:
  • Running LiveUpdate, which is the easiest way to obtain virus definitions.

    If you use Norton AntiVirus 2006, Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 10.0, or newer products, LiveUpdate definitions are updated daily. These products include newer technology.

    If you use Norton AntiVirus 2005, Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 9.0, or earlier products, LiveUpdate definitions are updated weekly. The exception is major outbreaks, when definitions are updated more often.


  • Downloading the definitions using the Intelligent Updater: The Intelligent Updater virus definitions are posted daily. You should download the definitions from the Symantec Security Response Web site and manually install them.

The latest Intelligent Updater virus definitions can be obtained here: Intelligent Updater virus definitions. For detailed instructions read the document: How to update virus definition files using the Intelligent Updater.

3. To run a full system scan
  1. Start your Symantec antivirus program and make sure that it is configured to scan all the files.

    For Norton AntiVirus consumer products: Read the document: How to configure Norton AntiVirus to scan all files.

    For Symantec AntiVirus Enterprise products: Read the document: How to verify that a Symantec Corporate antivirus product is set to scan all files.


  2. Run a full system scan.
  3. If any files are detected, follow the instructions displayed by your antivirus program.
Important: If you are unable to start your Symantec antivirus product or the product reports that it cannot delete a detected file, you may need to stop the risk from running in order to remove it. To do this, run the scan in Safe mode. For instructions, read the document, How to start the computer in Safe Mode. Once you have restarted in Safe mode, run the scan again.


After the files are deleted, restart the computer in Normal mode and proceed with the next section.

Warning messages may be displayed when the computer is restarted, since the threat may not be fully removed at this point. You can ignore these messages and click OK. These messages will not appear when the computer is restarted after the removal instructions have been fully completed. The messages displayed may be similar to the following:

Title: [FILE PATH]
Message body: Windows cannot find [FILE NAME]. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again. To search for a file, click the Start button, and then click Search.

4. To delete the value from the registry
Important: Symantec strongly recommends that you back up the registry before making any changes to it. Incorrect changes to the registry can result in permanent data loss or corrupted files. Modify the specified subkeys only. For instructions refer to the document: How to make a backup of the Windows registry.
  1. Click Start > Run.
  2. Type regedit
  3. Click OK.

    Note: If the registry editor fails to open the threat may have modified the registry to prevent access to the registry editor. Security Response has developed a tool to resolve this problem. Download and run this tool, and then continue with the removal.

  4. Navigate to and delete the following registry entries:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\"sysldtray" = "%Windir%\ld12.exe"


  5. Restore the following registry entries to their previous values, if required:


    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\Explorer\Navigating\"(Default)" = ""
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\Explorer\Navigating\.Current\"(Default)" = "%SystemRoot%\media\Windows XP Start.wav"
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\Explorer\Navigating\.Default\"(Default)" = "%SystemRoot%\media\Windows XP Start.wav"

  6. Exit the Registry Editor.

    Note: If the risk creates or modifies registry subkeys or entries under HKEY_CURRENT_USER, it is possible that it created them for every user on the compromised computer. To ensure that all registry subkeys or entries are removed or restored, log on using each user account and check for any HKEY_CURRENT_USER items listed above.

W32.SillyFDC.BCQ

Symantec Security Response

http://www.symantec.com/security_response/index.jsp

W32.SillyFDC.BCQ

Risk Level 1: Very Low

Discovered: August 7, 2009
Updated: August 7, 2009 8:16:47 AM
Type: Worm
Infection Length: 160,256 bytes
Systems Affected: Windows 2000, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows XP

SUMMARY

W32.SillyFDC.BCQ is a worm that spreads by copying itself to removable drives. It may also spread through file sharing programs.

Protection

  • Initial Rapid Release version August 7, 2009 revision 001
  • Latest Rapid Release version August 7, 2009 revision 001
  • Initial Daily Certified version August 7, 2009 revision 007
  • Latest Daily Certified version August 7, 2009 revision 007
  • Initial Weekly Certified release date August 12, 2009
Click here for a more detailed description of Rapid Release and Daily Certified virus definitions.

Threat Assessment

Wild

  • Wild Level: Low
  • Number of Infections: 0 - 49
  • Number of Sites: 0 - 2
  • Geographical Distribution: Low
  • Threat Containment: Easy
  • Removal: Easy

Damage

  • Damage Level: Low

Distribution

  • Distribution Level: Medium
  • Target of Infection: Removable drives

TECHNICAL DETAILS

When executed, the worm copies itself as the following file:
%SystemDrive%\RECYCLER\[SID]\sysdate.exe

It then creates the following registry entry so that it runs every time Windows starts:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\"Taskman" = "%SystemDrive%\RECYCLER\[SID]\sysdate.exe"

The worm spreads by copying itself to all removable drives as the following file:
%DriveLetter%\temp\winsetup.exe

It also copies the following file so that it runs when the removable devices are connected to another computer:
%DriveLetter%\autorun.inf

The worm may also spread though file sharing programs.

Recommendations

Symantec Security Response encourages all users and administrators to adhere to the following basic security "best practices":
  • Use a firewall to block all incoming connections from the Internet to services that should not be publicly available. By default, you should deny all incoming connections and only allow services you explicitly want to offer to the outside world.
  • Enforce a password policy. Complex passwords make it difficult to crack password files on compromised computers. This helps to prevent or limit damage when a computer is compromised.
  • Ensure that programs and users of the computer use the lowest level of privileges necessary to complete a task. When prompted for a root or UAC password, ensure that the program asking for administration-level access is a legitimate application.
  • Disable AutoPlay to prevent the automatic launching of executable files on network and removable drives, and disconnect the drives when not required. If write access is not required, enable read-only mode if the option is available.
  • Turn off file sharing if not needed. If file sharing is required, use ACLs and password protection to limit access. Disable anonymous access to shared folders. Grant access only to user accounts with strong passwords to folders that must be shared.
  • Turn off and remove unnecessary services. By default, many operating systems install auxiliary services that are not critical. These services are avenues of attack. If they are removed, threats have less avenues of attack.
  • If a threat exploits one or more network services, disable, or block access to, those services until a patch is applied.
  • Always keep your patch levels up-to-date, especially on computers that host public services and are accessible through the firewall, such as HTTP, FTP, mail, and DNS services.
  • Configure your email server to block or remove email that contains file attachments that are commonly used to spread threats, such as .vbs, .bat, .exe, .pif and .scr files.
  • Isolate compromised computers quickly to prevent threats from spreading further. Perform a forensic analysis and restore the computers using trusted media.
  • Train employees not to open attachments unless they are expecting them. Also, do not execute software that is downloaded from the Internet unless it has been scanned for viruses. Simply visiting a compromised Web site can cause infection if certain browser vulnerabilities are not patched.
  • If Bluetooth is not required for mobile devices, it should be turned off. If you require its use, ensure that the device's visibility is set to "Hidden" so that it cannot be scanned by other Bluetooth devices. If device pairing must be used, ensure that all devices are set to "Unauthorized", requiring authorization for each connection request. Do not accept applications that are unsigned or sent from unknown sources.
  • For further information on the terms used in this document, please refer to the Security Response glossary.

REMOVAL

The following instructions pertain to all current and recent Symantec antivirus products, including the Symantec AntiVirus and Norton AntiVirus product lines.
  1. Disable System Restore (Windows Me/XP).
  2. Update the virus definitions.
  3. Run a full system scan.
  4. Delete any values added to the registry.

For specific details on each of these steps, read the following instructions.

1. To disable System Restore (Windows Me/XP)
If you are running Windows Me or Windows XP, we recommend that you temporarily turn off System Restore. Windows Me/XP uses this feature, which is enabled by default, to restore the files on your computer in case they become damaged. If a virus, worm, or Trojan infects a computer, System Restore may back up the virus, worm, or Trojan on the computer.

Windows prevents outside programs, including antivirus programs, from modifying System Restore. Therefore, antivirus programs or tools cannot remove threats in the System Restore folder. As a result, System Restore has the potential of restoring an infected file on your computer, even after you have cleaned the infected files from all the other locations.

Also, a virus scan may detect a threat in the System Restore folder even though you have removed the threat.

For instructions on how to turn off System Restore, read your Windows documentation, or one of the following articles:

Note: When you are completely finished with the removal procedure and are satisfied that the threat has been removed, reenable System Restore by following the instructions in the aforementioned documents.

For additional information, and an alternative to disabling Windows Me System Restore, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base article: Antivirus Tools Cannot Clean Infected Files in the _Restore Folder (Article ID: Q263455).

2. To update the virus definitions
Symantec Security Response fully tests all the virus definitions for quality assurance before they are posted to our servers. There are two ways to obtain the most recent virus definitions:
  • Running LiveUpdate, which is the easiest way to obtain virus definitions.

    If you use Norton AntiVirus 2006, Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 10.0, or newer products, LiveUpdate definitions are updated daily. These products include newer technology.

    If you use Norton AntiVirus 2005, Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 9.0, or earlier products, LiveUpdate definitions are updated weekly. The exception is major outbreaks, when definitions are updated more often.


  • Downloading the definitions using the Intelligent Updater: The Intelligent Updater virus definitions are posted daily. You should download the definitions from the Symantec Security Response Web site and manually install them.

The latest Intelligent Updater virus definitions can be obtained here: Intelligent Updater virus definitions. For detailed instructions read the document: How to update virus definition files using the Intelligent Updater.

3. To run a full system scan
  1. Start your Symantec antivirus program and make sure that it is configured to scan all the files.

    For Norton AntiVirus consumer products: Read the document: How to configure Norton AntiVirus to scan all files.

    For Symantec AntiVirus Enterprise products: Read the document: How to verify that a Symantec Corporate antivirus product is set to scan all files.


  2. Run a full system scan.
  3. If any files are detected, follow the instructions displayed by your antivirus program.
Important: If you are unable to start your Symantec antivirus product or the product reports that it cannot delete a detected file, you may need to stop the risk from running in order to remove it. To do this, run the scan in Safe mode. For instructions, read the document, How to start the computer in Safe Mode. Once you have restarted in Safe mode, run the scan again.
After the files are deleted, restart the computer in Normal mode and proceed with the next section.

Warning messages may be displayed when the computer is restarted, since the threat may not be fully removed at this point. You can ignore these messages and click OK. These messages will not appear when the computer is restarted after the removal instructions have been fully completed. The messages displayed may be similar to the following:

Title: [FILE PATH]
Message body: Windows cannot find [FILE NAME]. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again. To search for a file, click the Start button, and then click Search.

4. To delete the value from the registry
Important: Symantec strongly recommends that you back up the registry before making any changes to it. Incorrect changes to the registry can result in permanent data loss or corrupted files. Modify the specified subkeys only. For instructions refer to the document: How to make a backup of the Windows registry.
  1. Click Start > Run.
  2. Type regedit
  3. Click OK.

    Note: If the registry editor fails to open the threat may have modified the registry to prevent access to the registry editor. Security Response has developed a tool to resolve this problem. Download and run this tool, and then continue with the removal.

  4. Navigate to and delete the following registry entry:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\"Taskman" = "%SystemDrive%\RECYCLER\[SID]\sysdate.exe"

  5. Exit the Registry Editor.

    Note: If the risk creates or modifies registry subkeys or entries under HKEY_CURRENT_USER, it is possible that it created them for every user on the compromised computer. To ensure that all registry subkeys or entries are removed or restored, log on using each user account and check for any HKEY_CURRENT_USER items listed above.

Using Mozilla Firefox

Using Mozilla Firefox
Millions of people are using mozilla firefox. But do you know that Mozilla had some great tricks? Here some tricks if you are using mozilla fire fox.
Zoom in (Ctrl +)
Zoom out (Ctrl -)
Reset Zoom (Ctrl 0)
Open new tab (Ctrl T)
Open link in new tab (Middle click on link)
Close a tab (Ctrl W)
Reopen a close tab (Ctrl Shift T)
Add bookmark with a single click (Use Star Button at right address bar)
Move cursor to location bar (Ctrl L)
Move cursor to search box (Ctrl K)
Scroll down the page (Space Bar)
Scroll up the page (Shift Space Bar)
Refresh the page (Ctrl R)
Back previous page (Ctrl Left Arrow)
Forward page (Ctrl Right Arrow)
Quick Find Text ( Ctrl F)
Quick Bookmark (Ctrl D)
If you need the latest updated mozila, download the browser here. 100% Free

Adsense Strategies for your website

Adsense Strategies for your website

After join with adsense you will start to promote you site so others will come and activity there. Some activity will make some revenue if they click our ads. So when you design your site with adsense, make sure to choose which one is the best and the most suitable for using.

Here some tips for you

When using adsense:
1. Using the right ad block sizes
Make your ads not look like ads. Blends and make it size looks like a content so people don't know there is an ads there. With Google Adsense you can choose and use ad block size. Google provide you some ad size, leaderboard, skycraper, rectangle, Which one do you think is the best?

2. Good Placement
Place your ads so people can see and cares of your ads. Placing your ads at the bottom of post area will get more attention or making ads border have the same color of the background make more looks like a content.

But read the Placement ads TOS first.

If you are new with adsense you should read this

If you are new with adsense you should read this.

There is a lot of publishers has banned from Google Adsense. It's happen because they do not understand about Google's TOS (Term of Service). Please make sure to read it before you step away. Once you have banned from Google Adsense, you'll be unable join with the same account again forever. How pitty ..

So make sure to understand first.


Here is some tips with Adsense:

1. Do not click your own ads
Do not click your own ads. Not even once to try it. Remember Google is a Super multi billion company. There is no stupid guy work there. They know all about trick that try to cheat them. So don't even try to click your own ads.

But some people say, hey.. i click my own ads and look it works. Yes of course it works. But later you'll received Google's love letter and said, "You're banned, fraud click". And at that time you'll change your mind. So once again, do not click your own ads.

2. Inviting others to click ads
Do not invite others to click your own ads. You may say, i have a good website, i have an adsense there, come on click my ads.

What i say brothers.., "Google Knows", and what happen? "Banned"
Google is watching you. Ip, place, visitors number, they even know your place. If they give free service like Google earth, to see from satelite, what we know if they could see where you are standing now?

Just don't invite others to click your own ads.

3. Use the match color palettes
Use match colors between your ads and your site will effect your revenue.

4. Bad ads placement
Place your ads where people could see it. Do not put your ads in the wrong place. Try to make a riset where is the best to place your ads.

For me, the most highly click place is under the post, and vertical ads on the side bar, and leaderboard on the top or bottom page.

Keep the place safe according to Adsense TOS, and don't put it which place that makes an accidental click. We will review about accidentaly click later.

5. Use Channels
Channel is a statistic service for Adsense, so you know where is the right place to put the ads. Let the statistic tell you which one is better for you.

Channel also as a report about click numbers, page impresssion, specific revenue of your ads site. Use channel for details ads information.

6. Use the right ad blocks
So many visitors on the web is carefully about this, and they will not click the ads. Make sure your ads is looks blend with your site so they do not know there is an ads.
Using the right ad blocks will increase your revenue.

How to choose a domain name

How to choose a domain name

Although UNI.CC domains are available for commercial usage, using an extension other than .com or another popular one such as .net or .biz could mean less traffic to your site since people tend to remember .com domains easily. Anyway, having a UNI.CC domain name is much better than having a long or confusing URL.

1. List as many words as you can think of related to your project and to the content of your website. Make different combinations with the listed words that are short, memorable, not easily confused and hard to misspell.

2. Shorter domain names are easier to remember and type, and far less susceptible to mistakes, but sometimes a longer domain can be easier to remember by human memory than the shorter one.

3. Try to avoid hyphenation and unconventionally spelled words that might trip people up when they go to type the domain name into a Web browser. When people recommend your site to their friends verbally, having hyphens in your domain name leads to more potential errors than when the name does not contain hyphens.

4. Your domain name should be your website name, therefore for the simple reason that when people think of your website, they'll think of it by name. If your name is also your URL, they'll automatically know where to go.

5. Use your own company/organization name instead a generic product/topic name. People will more likely remember "JohnsonsMonitors.uni.cc" than "ComputerMonitors.uni.cc".

Free web sites

Free web sites

Many beginners choose to start their projects using free website services because they feel that registering a domain name and signing up to a hosting service is too expensive.

Free hosting and website builders are ideal if you need a temporary website (e.g. for school), advertise an event or publish articles (science, history, internet topics, games, etc).

Don't expect to create a successful business website without spending any money. You can't expect people to take a commercial site seriously if it is hosted for free showing pup-up windows and doesn't have a professional appearance.

Another problem is that the search engines have gotten selective about who they add, because of the number of small and "unimportant" sites that tend to have only links to external sites and offer very little information about a focused topic or concept.

There are hundreds of free services like Geocities and Google Sites.

Budget hosting

Budget hosting

Budget hosting is simply the cheapest hosting plan offered by a hosting company. If your site contains mostly static HTML pages, with a small amount of traffic, don't require high amounts of disk space, don't require programming and is used primarily for personal use or by small business, a low cost hosting plan may be a good option to be evaluated.

The plans are a viable hosting option since they usually contain many of the commonly required features. However, you must take into account that your site will be hosted in a server that already hosts hundreds of sites. There is a high probability that one or more of those sites become a victim of a hacking attack or begin to use server resources in excess, which can lead to service downtimes or long download times.

If reliability is important to you, look for a hosting company that hosts better plans in separate servers or doesn't provide budget hosting plans at all.

In general, budget hosting accounts don't include priority and qualified technical support. If you experience problems, probably you'll have to wait long response times and re-submit trouble tickets many times until the techs understand your request and take care about your issue.

In short: budget hosting is a good option only if you are not running a critical business website.

Web templates

Web templates

A web template is a pre-designed webpage that contains free space for text and photos to create websites in much less time. Web templates reduce or eliminate the need for a professional webpage designer.

The first step in creating a webpage is to design a layout. This will involve choosing various fonts, frames, graphics, a color scheme and basic functionality. By loading the web template into an HTML editor, you just need to add your text and images to the ready-made pages.

You may require additional software such as Fireworks or Adobe Photoshop for image editing and an HTML editor such as Front Page or Dreamweaver in order to add your text and images.

Take into account that you will not be getting a unique website and that the level of customization is much lower than having a web designer doing the whole job. Besides, you may experience some difficulties making the content to fit well into the template.

Basic web design guidelines

Basic web design guidelines

The most important rule in web design is that your web site should be easy to read. You should choose your text and background colors very carefully. The web site should be easy to navigate, all of your hyperlinks and graphic buttons should be clear to your visitors. Navigational buttons and tabs should be not too small and easy to read.

The homepage is in most cases, the most important page and gets more page views than any other page. Start the page with a few words that summarize what the site or company does, especially intended for first-time visitors because they need to know about the site's purpose. Your homepage should offer users a clear starting point for the main one to four tasks they'll undertake when visiting your site.

Design your website in a way that your visitors can find what they are looking for in your site within three clicks. Include a Search Input Box, if possible.

Your web site should be quick to download. Visitors quickly lose interest in your web site if a page does not download within 20 seconds.

Graphic design tips:
>> Don't use textured backgrounds that make your text to be unreadable or font colors that are hard to read.
>> Don't set the text size too small.
>> Don't use all capitalized letters.
>> Keep the alignment of your main text to the left, not centered.
>> Center-aligned text is best used in headlines.
>> Try setting link colors to the main color of your website (or blue, which is immediately recognized as a link). Underline links, if possible.

Colors and styles should be unique for each element. People should not be confused between regular text, links, important text and headlines. Use graphic design to enhance important web page items, but don't over-format the main content.

Don't use animation in excess, especially in banners. Frames should last at least 2 seconds. If the animation goes faster it tends to disturb instead of keeping the reader's attention.

Write descriptive window titles. The TITLE tag should start with a brief description of the product or topic of the web page followed by the company name. Add tags to set keywords and description for search engines.

Add an "About Us" and "Contact us" page. Sometimes people do need details about who you are and how they can contact you. Good corporate information is important to increase a new or lesser-known company's credibility and contact information is vital for feedback and to keep in touch with your website visitors.

Web design

Web design

HTML design requires a great deal of skill, therefore hiring a website designer is the option most people opt for.

A web site typically consists of web pages containing text and images. After each web page is created, they are typically linked together using a navigation menu composed of hyperlinks.

There are many aspects in this process, which may vary depending on the desired exposure and response. For typical commercial web sites, the basic aspects of design are: content, appearance (style) and usability.

It is essential to define the purpose of the website and evaluate the relevance of information that will be published for the target audience. You need to organize the basic information structure by categorizing the content and organizing it according to user needs. The site should be user-friendly, with the interface and navigation simple and reliable.

Web designers help you doing this hard work. Think about how many hours you'll be able to spend to achieve a good work and if it is worth to assume that cost.

Website translation and regionalization

Website translation and regionalization

English is one of the most prevalent second languages, and people in many lands read and understand English however, cultural differences often lead to misunderstandings that should not interfere with your message.

Website translation is one of the most cost-effective methods to reach international markets. Many companies and organizations have already realized that by translating their websites, they made possible for some people to buy their products and services.

It is recommended that the entire website is translated however, you may decide to translate only core pages on which you highlight your international offerings.

Translation companies generally accept the content to be translated in text format such as .txt, .rtf, .doc or download the content of your website directly. The translation of graphical elements (.jpg, .gif, .png, files) is a little bit complex: Translation companies can provide you the translations in a text document and you create the new images in-house (or by the web designer in charge of your website). If you can afford the extra price some of them can provide you ready-to-use translated images.

It is important to mention that web site maintenance costs will be higher. Each additional language site may increase the maintenance cost for about 120% for static site and about 60% to 80% for dynamic sites depending on the technology used. For sites implemented on some content management systems (CMS) these costs can be reduced to less than 30%.

Regionalization

We mean by "regionalization" as a process by which the content is not only translated, in addition, it is adapted to a specific local/regional market. Product offerings, marketing messages, payments and delivery processes are different for each local market. Your website should be adapted to communicate a slightly different and customized message to every new market you are trying to reach. A "regionalized" web site is commonly formed by a group of pages telling about corporate information (which are translated to multiple languages) and one product/service information sub-site especially adapted for each market/region.

Graphic Formats

Graphic Formats: Usage of JPEG, GIF and PNG

GIF, JPG and PNG formats are supported by all web browsers. Other formats such as BMP and TIFF are supported only by Windows based browsers and are not part of the web standards, so be careful when you work with images and avoid mixing format types. A common error is to rename the file extension of a .BMP file as .JPG, Internet Explorer will detect the right format and display the image, but other browsers such as Firefox won't do it. When you work with image editing software be sure to "Save As.." images to the chosen format. Never rename the file extension.

GIF and PNG are similar: the main difference is that GIF can only support 8-bit color (or a palette no greater than 256 colors). It may also handle dithering poorly, which is the result of pixels in a graphic that try to mix themselves up to emulate different colors. Photographs saved as GIF can also lose their detail and a wide range of values. PNG can handle a 24-bit palette providing 32 millions of colors. Both formats can include transparent backgrounds and are ideal to display words (titles, text and buttons) and line-art graphics.

Another advantage of GIF is that it supports frames and can be used to animate images. Most banners and animated icons are saved in GIF format.

JPEG is superior in rendering color and detail found in photographs or graphics using blends, gradients, and other tonal variations. It also provides for greater compression options allowing you to set the perfect balance between quality and file size. For photographs JPEG has a better compression (smaller file size - faster to download) than PNG.

Marketing tips

Marketing tips

1. Create the best content you can with the best products you can possibly offer. Your content is your best advertisement.

2. Recommend your site to others: Print personal cards, publish in local newspapers. Publish in Internet directories.

3. Although, search engines are overpopulated with results. You can make your site rank well in the search engines. The key is to create original keywords.

4. Participate in contextual advertising networks like Google Adsense, and Yahoo! Publishing Network, which deliver text ads delivered based on the content of your web page.

5. Partner with different websites; try traditional advertising on others' website.

6. Increase visits with Pay Per Click Advertisement: search the lower competitive keyword, high search terms and low price.

7. E-Mail Campaings: Send out with your own e-mail to targeted audiences. Use only addresses from your subscribers list and direct contacts. Few emails but well targeted and personalized should work well. Don't buy lists from others because you don't know the origin of those addresses and your website and email can be easily included in SPAM databases.

8. Participate in industry discussion forums associated with your industry. Don't ask participants directly to visit your site (as an ad) because that will cause your messages to be removed.

List archives by title

How can I list my archives by title?

Note: This article is for classic templates. If your blog is using Layouts, this feature is supported as an option by the archive page element. (Select the "hierarchy" option.)
Ordinarily, archive links point to pages that contain a day, week, or month's worth of posts. However, if you have a lot of posts in each time period, it can be awkward for readers to sort through them all and find the ones that interest them. So some people like to make a title index of their archived posts, where each title will then lead to the full text of the post. That's what we're going to do here. Before we begin, you'll want to make sure that you have post pages turned on for your blog, and that all your posts have titles. I recommend monthly archiving so that you can fit more titles on a page, but you can use whatever setting you want for that.
Notes:
  • You can add in other Blogger tags to this bare-bones version, if you want. For instance, you might add the <$BlogDateHeaderDate$> tags if you want to group the titles by date.
  • As with any template modifications, you should be sure to save a backup copy of your template before you start. Just copy and paste all your code to a text file on your hard drive, so you'll have it there as a replacement in case anything goes wrong.
  • http://www.google.com/support/blogger/bin/answer.py?answer=42209&cbid=p2a19ukuvzui&src=cb&lev=answer

Adding a site

Adding a site

You can add up to 500 sites, including news and mobile sites, to your account. In addition, we'll ask you to verify your site. This is because we need to know you own a site before we'll show you certain information about it or enable you to use our tools. Verification doesn't affect PageRank or affect your site's performance in Google's search results. (There are also special instructions for adding Blogger blogs and sites created using Google Sites.) If you create blogs using Blogger, you can automatically add and verify sites by enabling Webmaster Tools directly from the Blogger dashboard.

To add and verify a site:
  1. Sign into Google Webmaster Tools with your Google Account.
  2. Click Add a site, and type the URL of the site you want to add. Make sure you type the entire URL, such as http://www.example.com/
  3. Click Continue. The Site verification page opens.
  4. (Optional) In the Name box, type a name for your site (for example, My Blog).
  5. Select the verification method you want.
    • Meta tag: We will ask you to add a meta tag with a unique value to your site's home page. This is the easiest solution if editing your home page's HTML is easier than uploading new files. In addition, this solution lets you easily verify sites you've created using Google Sites.
    • HTML file: We will ask you to create a file with a specific name and upload it to a specific directory on your webserver. The file can be empty—Google cares only about the file's location, not about its content.

What kind of sites can I add?

Here is a list of the types of URLs you can add as a site:
  • example.com
  • www.example.com
  • bar.example.com
  • foo.bar.example.com
  • www.example.com/foo
  • www.example.com/foo/bar
  • foo.bar.example.com/catalog/dresses
Webmaster Tools data and reporting work best on a site level. For example, if your site www.example.com has separate sections for different countries, we recommend adding each of those subsites or subfolders as a separate site. For example, if you have a travel site with specific subfolders covering Ireland, France, and Spain, you could add the following sites to your Webmaster Tools account:
  • http://www.example.com
  • http://www.example.com/france
  • http://www.example.com/ireland
  • http://www.example.com/spain

Promoting Your Blog

Promoting Your Blog

This is in no way a science or guarantee; it's simply a few suggestions with which many bloggers have found success.
Set your blog to Send Pings. When this setting is activated, your blog will be included in various "recently updated" lists on the web as well as other blog-related services.
Activate Your Navbar. Do this and you might start to see the effects right away! One of the features on the Blogger Navbar is a button called NextBlog - click it to visit the next Navbar-enabled blog.
Install Email This Post. If you use Email This Post on your blog, people will be able to forward your posts to friends. This may not have an immediate impact on your site stats but it enables others to publicize your blog for you.
Turn on Post Pages. By publishing every post as its very own web page with Post Pages, you ensure that your entries are way more link-able and more attractive to search engines.
Turn on your site feed. When people subscribe to your site feed in their newsreaders, they're very likely going to read your post.
Add your blog to Blogger's listings. When you add your blog to our listings it shows up in Nextblog, Recently Updated, and other places. It's like opting-in to traffic.
Write quality content and do it well. If your "style" is bad writing, worse grammar, no punctuation, and an ugly design, that might be okay for a niche crowd. But the idea here is to achieve mass appeal, so fix yourself up a bit.
Publish regular updates. Simple: the more you blog, the more traffic you'll get.
Think of your audience. A good way to build an audience is to speak to one in particular. When you keep your audience in mind, your writing gains focus. Focus goes a long way toward repeat visitors.
Keep search engines in mind. There are a few things you can do to make your blog more search engine friendly. Use post titles and post page archiving. This will automatically give each of your post pages an intelligent name based on the title of your post. Also, try to be descriptive when you blog. A well crafted post about something very specific can end up very near the top results of a search.
Keep your posts and paragraphs short. Strive for succinct posts that pump pertinent new information into the blogosphere and move on. Keep it short and sweet so visitors can pop in, read up, and click on.
Put your blog URL in your email signature. Think of how many forwarded emails you've seen in your day, and just imagine the possibilities.
Sumbit your address to blog search sites and directories. People look for blog content at Technoration their list? You should be. Submit your blog's url to Technorati, Daypop, Blogdex, Popdex, and any other site of that ilk you come across. every day, are you
Link to other blogs. Links are the currency of the blogosphere and it takes money to make money so start linking.
Install a blogroll. It's a very simple yet effective social networking scheme and it has the same result as a simple link if not stronger: traffic! So if you don't have one yet, sign up for a blogroll and get that link-list going.
Be an active commenter. This is in the same vein as linking. Most comment systems also provide a way for you to leave a link back to your blog which begs a visit at the very least. So if you feel inspired, leave a comment or two in your blog travels. It behooves you.
Enable Following on your blog. Following a is a great way to keep your friends updated on the latest activity on your blog. New blogs will have this blog feature enabled by default, but for older blogs you will have to enable it from the Layout | Page Elements tab.

Learn How to Improve the Google Ranking of Your Website!

 Learn How to Improve the Google Ranking of Your Website!
Download Google SEO Guide today and learn some simple optimization techniques that will improve the ranking of your website!

We Give You Specific Techniques (with examples!) on how to Optimize Your Site

Optimizing your site will help to improve your organic Google ranking and boost the number of free visitors to your site!

Download the Guide Now to Learn:
  • How to Create Effective Meta Tags – Easy to read step by step guide!
  • The Best Ways to Structure Your URLS and Navigation - For maximum SEO impact!
  • How to Create High Ranking Content - Tips to improve your keyword density!
  • How to Promote Your Site & Build Links - Best practice advice from Google!

Use Keyboard Posting

Use Keyboard Posting
Blogger has several keyboard shortcuts you can use while editing posts. They definitely work in Internet Explorer 5.5+/Windows and the Mozilla family (1.6+ and Firefox 0.9+), and might work in other browsers. Here they are:
  • control + b = Bold
  • control + i = Italic
  • control + l = Blockquote (when in HTML-mode only)
  • control + z = Undo
  • control + y = Redo
  • control + shift + a = Link
  • control + shift + p = Preview
  • control + d = Save as Draft
  • control + p = Publish Post
  • control + s = Autosave and keep editing
  • control + g = Indic transliteration

How To Make Your Site Social Media Friendly

How To Make Your Site Social Media Friendly
Numerous companies are losing vast amounts of revenue due to their web sites doing poorly in the search engines. Web sites that are not easy to find via search miss out on attracting new customers as well as repeat customers that use Google to navigate sites they already know about. Is the same true for web sites that are not social media friendly?
People discover new sites through search, but also through recommendations made via email, word of mouth and through social media content. Making a web site social media friendly will facilitate the saving and sharing of content with others, extending reach and facilitating engagement.
Consumers find new content via social networking sites ranging from links on Twitter to Facebook to their favorite blogs. Content creation and links that occur as an outcome of social media participation can provide positive signals to search engines and affect search visibility. Making a site more social media friendly will expand the opportunity for content to be discovered directly and indirectly.
Search is the most efficient and effective way for consumers to discover content. Companies that want to take advantage now of where trends in information publishing, discovery and marketing would do well to ensure their content strategy factors in the value of search as well as social media.
Core concepts to understand search engine friendly web sites includes:
  • Crawlable content
  • Site organization
  • Internal links
  • Keyword usage - content optimization
  • Code/HTML optimization
  • Inbound links from external web sites
The notion of “search engine friendly” basically means making a web site easy for search engines to find, make a copy of, understand and rank in search results. Search engines are by no means perfect, not even Google. Making web sites more search engine friendly means making up for shortcomings in the search engines’ ability to crawl, index and sort web content.
This is why SEO is an important asset to the performance of natural seasrch results. All major search engines invest in continued improvements in order to achieve a better search experience for users. Some of the things that SEOs have traditionally done for web site publishers are now handled automatically by search engines such as many of the features included in Google’s Webmaster tools.
Improving a web site’s availability to search engines as well as keyword usage and links (internal/external) helps the search engine provide better search results to consumers. It’ also helps companies marketing their products and services to attract more qualified buyers. Not only can web site traffic increase, but the right kind of visitors will self segment themselves by the keywords they use to search.
Many companies have the search issue handled or at least they’re on their way. A recent study by eMarketertop digital marketing tactic for 2009. shows B2B companies rate Search Marketing as one of their top marketing investments for 2009. A poll run on Online Marketing Blog with well over 500 responses also ranked SEO as a
Standard search is evolving but it’s not enough to remain competitive to focus on standard Search Engine Optimization tactics. The social web is the web of the near future and real time search results through services like search.twitter.com or even the new sort by recency option within Google are giving consumers more control over the freshness of the information available to them.
The increasing demand for fresh, live web content as well as the expectation of consumers to interact with what they find in the search results demands that web site owners and content publishers make their web sites both search and social media friendly.
Here are a few ways web sites can make themselves more “Social Media Friendly”:
  • Fresh content - To play the search and social media game, a web site must be in the content publishing business. Search engines and participants of the social web respond favorably to the signals created from frequent updates. Participation in off site social channels can be brought into the corporate web site through RSS or widgets providing web site visitors access to additional forms of information and interaction with the company.
  • Social content - Not all of a company’s social web participation needs to happen offsite with third party tools. The addition of a blog, reviews, forum or even a social network to the company web site can provide intersted consumers opportunities to interact with other brand fans as well as the company.
  • Easy to share - Besides the ability to contribute to conversations happening on a corporate web site, there’s a tremendous opportunity and benefit to making it easy for site visitors to share that content with others. Many sites offer “share this” options that make it easy for readers to submit the page being viewed to popular social bookmarking and social news web sites such as Digg, Delicious and StumbleUpon. Sharing options for Facebook, Twitter and email are also popular.Making it easy for web site visitors to share interesting content (web pages, video, images) facilitates the word of mouth recommendations people make in real life, except when done online, they become searchable assets.
The advantages of incorporating social features include improved online word of mouth, stimulating conversations with prospective customers and advocates and expanded market reach. The question is, are web marketing teams incorporating a social media strategy with their overall search marketing and vice versa?
Are you making your web site search engine friendly for the social web?

Atom

Atom - Physical Science - The Structure of an Atom
The atom is a basic unit of matter consisting 
of a dense, central nucleus surrounded by 
a cloud of negatively charged electrons. 
The atomic nucleus contains a mix of positively 
charged protons and electrically neutral 
neutrons (except in the case of hydrogen-1, 
which is the only stable nuclide with no neutron). 
The electrons of an atom are bound to the nucleus 
by the electromagnetic force. 
Likewise, a group of atoms can remain bound to 
each other, forming a molecule. 
An atom containing an equal number of protons and 
electrons is electrically neutral, 
otherwise it has a positive or negative charge 
and is an ion. 
An atom is classified according to the number 
of protons and neutrons in its nucleus: 
the number of protons determines the chemical element, 
and the number of neutrons determine the isotope 
of the element.  
The name atom comes from the Greek ἄτομος/átomos, 
α-τεμνω, which means uncuttable, something that 
cannot be divided further. 
The concept of an atom as an indivisible component 
of matter was first proposed by 
early Indian and Greek philosophers. In the 17th 
and 18th centuries, chemists provided a physical 
basis for this idea by showing that certain 
substances could not be further broken down 
by chemical methods. 
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, 
physicists discovered subatomic components and 
structure inside the atom, 
thereby demonstrating that the 'atom' 
was not indivisible. 
The principles of quantum mechanics were used 
to successfully model the atom.
Relative to everyday experience, atoms are 
minuscule objects with proportionately 
tiny masses. Atoms can only be observed 
individually using special instruments 
such as the scanning tunneling microscope. 
Over 99.9% of an atom's mass is 
concentrated in the nucleus, with protons 
and neutrons having roughly equal mass. 
Each element has at least one isotope with 
unstable nuclei that can undergo 
radioactive decay. This can result in a 
transmutation that changes the number of 
protons or neutrons in a nucleus. Electrons 
that are bound to atoms 
possess a set of stable energy levels, 
or orbitals, and can undergo transitions 
between them by absorbing or emitting 
photons that match the energy differences 
between the levels. The electrons determine 
the chemical properties of an element, 
and strongly influence an atom's magnetic 
properties.
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Web Hosting Scams

Web Hosting Scams

If you’re new to the blogging and you want start your own business
online, you need to choose a good host service, first. There’s a lot of
web hosting out there to choose, so, become harder to choose one.
Before I start the3dtechnologies I certainly didn’t know what to
think, because I had already bad experienced with BIG reputable web
hosting and I feared I may lose my money, yet.
Thus, for those are starting with blogging and don’t know how to
start choosing a web hosting, I found an interesting video that explain
as most of all web hosting reviews out there are influenced by the

advertising dollars.
Look the below video, and open your eyes.

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Maximizing AdSense Revenues via Up-Selling

Maximizing AdSense Revenues via Up-Selling

If you go into any Blockbuster Video store, you quickly notice the company’s use of a classic marketing technique – up-selling correlated products. This technique is highly effective at maximizing Blockbuster’s revenue and profit per customer. Moreover, this same technique can be applied to websites using Google’s AdSense program.

Up-selling is defined as selling additional, often higher priced, products and services to current customers. Ideally, the upsold products are correlated to the initial products – that is, they fill the same, or similar customer need that the first product did. Blockbuster up-sells its rental customers by offering them new and previously owned videos for sale. It also groups videos and posts signs saying “if you liked this video, you’ll like this video” spurring rentals of the new video.

To show how this technique can be applied to Google AdSense, let us look at an example of a painting website. To begin, it is critical to understand that by enrolling in the AdSense program the “product” that this website is selling is the keyword “paint” or “painting” as these keywords will show up in the AdSense results posted on their web pages. It is also critical to understand the price of these keywords, or how much the advertiser pays when someone clicks on one of their ads (a portion of which is passed on from Google to the owner of the painting website). In this case, top advertisers are paying approximately 19 cents for the keyword “paint” and 45 cents for the keyword “painting.”

By applying the technique of up-selling correlated products to the painting website, the website owner could dramatically increase the price of its products and the rate at which people buy (click on) the product. Like in the Blockbuster example, the key is to first determine expensive, correlated products to up-sell. In the painting case, one keyword that quickly comes to mind is “home remodeling” as painting is often part of a larger home remodeling project. Moreover, “home remodeling” has a price of $1.70, or nearly nine times the price of “paint.” Furthermore, finding keywords correlated to “home remodeling” yields even more expensive keywords such as “home improvement loan” which currently has a price of $6.50, or thirty-four times the price of the original term “paint.”

Now that the more expensive and correlated products have been identified, the website owner must create web pages with quality content about these products and entice, via text and links, visitors to go to these pages. The higher quality the content, the more enticing the product or service becomes, and the more likely a visitor is to click on one of the high paying AdSense ads.

In summary, by simply posting AdSense ads on their websites, most website owners are losing out on significant profits. Rather, they must identify the most expensive keywords that are correlated to their existing keywords and create web pages with quality content about these pages. While this requires some work, the returns on this investment are significant.
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Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that is almost always caused by exposure to asbestos. In this disease, malignant cells develop in the mesothelium, a protective lining that covers most of the body's internal organs. Its most common site is the pleura (outer lining of the lungs and internal chest wall), but it may also occur in the peritoneum (the lining of the abdominal cavity), the heart, the pericardium (a sac that surrounds the heart) or tunica vaginalis.

Most people who develop mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles, or they have been exposed to asbestos dust and fiber in other ways. Washing the clothes of a family member who worked with asbestos can also put a person at risk for developing mesothelioma. Unlike lung cancer, there is no association between mesothelioma and smoking, but smoking greatly increases risk of other asbestos-induced cancer. Compensation via asbestos funds or lawsuits is an important issue in mesothelioma.

The symptoms of mesothelioma include shortness of breath due to pleural effusion (fluid between the lung and the chest wall) or chest wall pain, and general symptoms such as weight loss. The diagnosis may be suspected with chest X-ray and CT scan, and is confirmed with a biopsy (tissue sample) and microscopic examination. A thoracoscopy (inserting a tube with a camera into the chest) can be used to take biopsies. It allows the introduction of substances such as talc to obliterate the pleural space (called pleurodesis), which prevents more fluid from accumulating and pressing on the lung. Despite treatment with chemotherapy, radiation therapy or sometimes surgery, the disease carries a poor prognosis. Research about screening tests for the early detection of mesothelioma is ongoing.


Signs and symptoms

Symptoms of mesothelioma may not appear until 20 to 50 years after exposure to asbestos. Shortness of breath, cough, and pain in the chest due to an accumulation of fluid in the pleural space are often symptoms of pleural mesothelioma.

Symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma include weight loss and cachexia, abdominal swelling and pain due to ascites (a buildup of fluid in the abdominal cavity). Other symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma may include bowel obstruction, blood clotting abnormalities, anemia, and fever. If the cancer has spread beyond the mesothelium to other parts of the body, symptoms may include pain, trouble swallowing, or swelling of the neck or face.

These symptoms may be caused by mesothelioma or by other, less serious conditions.

Mesothelioma that affects the pleura can cause these signs and symptoms:

> Chest wall pain
> Pleural effusion, or fluid surrounding the lung
> Shortness of breath
> Fatigue or anemia
> Wheezing, hoarseness, or cough
> Blood in the sputum (fluid) coughed up (hemoptysis)

In severe cases, the person may have many tumor masses. The individual may develop a pneumothorax, or collapse of the lung. The disease may metastasize, or spread, to other parts of the body.

Tumors that affect the abdominal cavity often do not cause symptoms until they are at a late stage. Symptoms include:
> Abdominal pain
> Ascites, or an abnormal buildup of fluid in the abdomen
> A mass in the abdomen
> Problems with bowel function
> Weight loss

In severe cases of the disease, the following signs and symptoms may be present:
> Blood clots in the veins, which may cause thrombophlebitis
> Disseminated intravascular coagulation, a disorder causing severe bleeding in many body organs
> Jaundice, or yellowing of the eyes and skin
> Low blood sugar level
> Pleural effusion
> Pulmonary emboli, or blood clots in the arteries of the lungs
> Severe ascites

A mesothelioma does not usually spread to the bone, brain, or adrenal glands. Pleural tumors are usually found only on one side of the lungs.

Diagnosis
Diagnosing mesothelioma is often difficult, because the symptoms are similar to those of a number of other conditions. Diagnosis begins with a review of the patient's medical history. A history of exposure to asbestos may increase clinical suspicion for mesothelioma. A physical examination is performed, followed by chest X-ray and often lung function tests. The X-ray may reveal pleural thickening commonly seen after asbestos exposure and increases suspicion of mesothelioma. A CT (or CAT) scan or an MRI is usually performed. If a large amount of fluid is present, abnormal cells may be detected by cytology if this fluid is aspirated with a syringe. For pleural fluid this is done by a pleural tap or chest drain, in ascites with an paracentesis or ascitic drain and in a pericardial effusion with pericardiocentesis. While absence of malignant cells on cytology does not completely exclude mesothelioma, it makes it much more unlikely, especially if an alternative diagnosis can be made (e.g. tuberculosis, heart failure).

If cytology is positive or a plaque is regarded as suspicious, a biopsy is needed to confirm a diagnosis of mesothelioma. A doctor removes a sample of tissue for examination under a microscope by a pathologist. A biopsy may be done in different ways, depending on where the abnormal area is located. If the cancer is in the chest, the doctor may perform a thoracoscopy. In this procedure, the doctor makes a small cut through the chest wall and puts a thin, lighted tube called a thoracoscope into the chest between two ribs. Thoracoscopy allows the doctor to look inside the chest and obtain tissue samples.

If the cancer is in the abdomen, the doctor may perform a laparoscopy. To obtain tissue for examination, the doctor makes a small incision in the abdomen and inserts a special instrument into the abdominal cavity. If these procedures do not yield enough tissue, more extensive diagnostic surgery may be necessary.

CT scan of a patient with mesothelioma, coronal section (the section follows the plane that divides the body in a front and a back half). The mesothelioma is indicated by yellow arrows, the central pleural effusion (fluid collection) is marked with a yellow star.

Red numbers: (1) right lung, (2) spine, (3) left lung, (4) ribs, (5) descending part of the aorta, (6) spleen, (7) left kidney, (8) right kidney, (9) liver.

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