UPDATE: This review is now outdated. I am leaving it here for informational purposes only. For the most up-to-date information and recommendations, please join my free newsletter.
Edition #97 – 11/27/2006
Over the holiday weekend I came across two things that I feel very compelled to warn you about.
I’ll keep it simple and to the point…
Warning #1: Internet Explorer 7.
After being prompted by my computer to download and install the latest Windows update, it asked me to also upgrade my browser to IE7 (I was using IE6). Since I know I’ll get a ton of flack from the FireFox crowd, let me just mention that I DO use FireFox too. However, I like to use IE most of the time because I run so many websites, and I like to see them through the same viewer as the majority of the population.
So I decided to go ahead and update IE. After it finished, I was no longer able to launch an IE browser. In fact, any time I attempted to, it froze my entire computer. I even tried right clicking the IE icon on my desktop, so I could check on the settings and THAT made my computer freeze too.
At first I thought it killed my internet connection, but fortunately I was able to connect using FireFox so I could do a quick search. What I discovered was that hundreds (probably thousands) of people have posted similar problems in the past week, meaning it is likely affecting MILLIONS of people.
I simply did a Windows System Restore to yesterday’s restore point, and all is good again. If you haven’t updated to IE7 yet, I would suggest waiting for a few months and making sure the general word on the street is a “go” before trying it.
Warning #2: Forum Equalizer.
Jeff Alderson and Rod Beckwith released a new program called Forum Equalizer, which semi-automates the process of registering for forums, and totally automates the process of posting on them.
The idea is to get “hundreds of high-quality one-way links pointing to your site overnight” by posting to forums all over the web (and including a link to your site in the posts).
First of all I’ll mention that I think Jeff is a good guy, and I don’t really know anything about Rod (I think this is mainly Rod’s project). I recommended Jeff’s Xybercode System last month, and I stick by that recommendation because it’s a great program.
That said, the Forum Equalizer gets my thumbs down.
They may as well have called it the Forum Spam Automator. Just as we found out when people started posting automated comments on blogs, the owners of these sites to NOT want this type of activity.
My wife and I run a forum that has been the target of a spammer for the past year. We spend about 15 minutes a day deleting the spams and bogus user accounts created by the spammer. I did the math, and if we do that 6 days a week, we are spending 78 HOURS a year! That ONE stupid spammer is stealing 78 hours a year of our lives.
If any forum is WORTH posting your link in, it is probably a moderated forum. You need to realize that if you use an automated tool to post in them, you are causing wasted time and massive frustration for those who run these forums. I’m already dreading that our “one spammer” problem could soon turn into an entire army of spammers armed with this new tool.
Second, I strongly believe that using this tool could get you banned from the search engines in no time flat. When angry forum owners (like me) start reporting you to the search engines (yes you can report spammers to search engines), you may see your site get dropped.
You’ll also get in trouble with your domain registrar, your web host, and your ISP if you did not hide your IP before using the tool.
That’s why most spammers use throw away domains. They know that those domains will only be good for a couple days. This technique is NOT something you want to experiment with on your real site.
The bonus product us equally bad… the Guestbook Equalizer (Guestbook Spam Automator, LOL).
I am not even going to give you a link to check it out. Just forget about it, and hopefully they will pull it off the market when they realize how destructive this software is to their fellow internet marketers who run the forums that are being targeted.
Finally, a recommendation: AdSense Discovery
Since I know many of you are keenly interested in building your AdSense revenue, I want to mention a new site created by my friend Ben Shaffer.
He’s put together a great collection of programs and tools to help you skyrocket your AdSense earnings.
There is some cool stuff in the collection including software, videos, tutorials, and more.
On the downside, I will mention that he included an auto-blogging program that I feel is “grey hat”. In general I’d prefer that people not use such programs, because it often results in poor quality sites (Note: this is not an auto-commenter which spams other people’s blogs…it just posts content on your own blog).
Nevertheless, the collection as a whole is an excellent value. My favorite part of the collection is the three month membership to his AdSenseAdwords keywords database. You might remember I highly recommended that site in my “Inner Circle” program a few months ago.
You can check out Ben’s collection at:
(Link removed – no longer available)
He’s raising the price within one week.
As always, I encourage you to post your comments here in the blog.
Have a great day!
======================
UPDATE:
I received an email from Rod Beckwith in response to my warning about Forum Equalizer:
Hello Eric,
I (we) are not evil, as you are implying. Any automation tool can be used constructively or for other purposes. This tool doesn’t work for just any forum and we do not encourage its abuse. We don’t like SPAM more than anyone else.
We have many tools that mass submit and we have found that we can’t seem to please everyone. Believe it or not, many article or press release sites don’t want to be submitted to using software….In this day and age, people want to have tools to make their lives easier, not more difficult.
In the next version we will be implementing many new measures to ensure that it will not be abused and it will now include many hundreds of forums that allow advertising.
As far as Guestbook Equalizer goes…isn’t that what people that have guestbooks want people to do?
Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I am a subscriber to your newsletter and think that you provide good content most of the time, however, you should talk with people before making blanket statements about them.
Take care,
Rod
To that, first I want to reiterate that my criticism is of the product and not of the creators of it, as I know they have created helpful tools in the past. Second, I am not against automation… in fact I am strongly for it, and I automate as much of my business as I can. Third, I agree that all technology has the potential to be abused and that does not make it inherently evil (I have mentioned this in my newsletter before). Lastly, I do not see how this tool can be used for non-spam purposes. Forum owners do not want spam. IF they are running a free advertising forum which welcomes automated spam, then that’s OK. BUT I wouldn’t want to post my link there anyway, as it will likely be seen by Google as a “bad neighborhood”. Likewise, guestbook owners do not want spam comments left for the purpose of creating a back link. They want comments from people who actually visited their site.
======================
2nd UPDATE:
I received another email from Rod Beckwith. He is very polite, and puts up a compelling argument, so I’ll share it here:
Hi Eric,
Re: I simply do not see how it can be used in a non-spam manner.
OK, let’s say you have a question (any kind of question, technical , marketing, life in general or otherwise) you would like to get answered…you post it up across several dozen or hundred forums for that matter. How much data could you get back to answer your question? Heck, you could probably use it to create a product just from the feedback you received from the sources that responded. You could do a survey if worded correctly along the path of the content in the forums. You could ask opinions about products or service and get a good feel for what the rest of the world thinks about a product/services (like a personalized epinions.com). I could go on an on, but I don’t think it takes a huge imagination to see that it can be used for non-harmful purposes. I don’t see anything ethically wrong with this sort of activity and getting links back to your website are the way to web was built and is being built.
People see what they want to see…SPAM is on the end of everyone’s toungue and it amazes me how many people would rather shoot first and ask questions later. I am glad our legal system doesn’t work like SPAM accusations do, or most of us would find ourselves on death row. ;->
I will be the first to admit, that many of our 1st generation products have issues that come up that need to be changed or adjusted to meet with our customers and comminities needs. That is not however a sign that we are trying to disrupt the balance of power on the Internet…heck we don’t sell enough software to even scratch the surface. The point is, we don’t intentually build anything that is bad or black hat. We try to build tools that will work for the small business marketer or owner that will actually give them an alternative to the high ticket software and services out there. With our software, you pay once instead of over and over for services or a rediculous amount for some high ticket software. We always supply free upgrades for the life of our products. How many software companies that you know of do that?
I am attaching a guide that we give to our subscribers and customers explaining our philosophy which explains pretty clearly how we feel our tools should be used. I would ask that you read it when you get a chance. It is only 21 pages. It is the first thing people are exposed to when they come to our sites.
Thanks and constructive feedback welcome,
Rod
Ok, so here’s how I’ll conclude this debate. I’ll concede that the software *could* possibly be used for a positive purpose. I am doubtful as to the effectiveness of any such attempt, as most forums are centered around particular topics, and most users of Forum Equalizer will not be going back to visit each forum and read responses to their post. But even IF it can be used for non-spam purposes, I stick by my opinion because of what I feel is an extreme potential for abuse. As a forum owner, I am admittedly biased, but I think that most forum owners would side with me.
I do agree that SPAM accusations are out of control, and people need to be careful about pointing their finger. As the publisher of a widely read marketing newsletter, you would assume correctly by guessing that even I get accused of spamming by ignorant folks who forgot they signed up, or simply press the “report as spam” button because they felt like it.
Let’s all do our part to stop SPAM by not being spammers 😉
Hi Eric:
Thanks for the warning about IE 7.0. My 14 year old son had downloaded it to his computer a few weeks ago and he had told me the same thing! So.. I am staying away from the download and sticking with IE 6.0. 🙂
Ceci Frederick
Thanks Eric for the warning, I hate IE 7 as well!
Also, thanks for the great tip on Adsensediscovery. I’ve bnee looking for a budle package like this for a while.
your the best man
Thanks for the IE7 warning Eric! I was about to press that upgrade button as your email came in!
Eric,
Congrats on shooting down Forum Equalizer. I agree that it is pure spam and should not be used. I also spend a lot of my time deleting bogus spam posts on one of my forums and when I saw Forum Equalizer being promoted by a couple big name marketers I was furious. Way to go on letting everyone know the truth about it. Thanks!
Kurt
http://www.AdSenseMasterPlan.com
Sorry about the IE problems you had. There’s a reason I use Linux instead of Windows whenever possible….
As to the “Forum Spam Automator”, I agree 150%. I am on several forums and moderate one, and I HATE spammers to a degree that should be outlawed. I think Jeff will be getting MAJOR negative feedback about his new product.
Ryan
I too have a forum but it’s a small one at this point but I have been having the same problem with Spamming. I hope people realize that programs like the Forum Equalizer do nothing more than SPAM forums, waste people time and make them and the products they are promoting look very bad.
Now it someone could just come up with a program that will recognize spam and delete it and remove the poster and block the IP address, now that would be something GREAT! 🙂
Nan
Nan- I totally agree about needing a program to block spam on forums. My wife actually suggested that I create one. I’m currently looking to see if there are any decent plugins out there already…
Eric
I just bought Patric C. traffic call and can’t belive it’s soooo cheap.Thank you for that info.
Eric,
Trying very hard to get started and spend a lot of time sifting out the many fraudulant offers and bogus information, really appreciate your honesty and support.
Hi Eric,
Thanks for the warnings. I was under the impression that there would be no new updates for explorer because they were no longer doing anything with it. At least that is what the website said last time I checked. No support anymore either.Oh well, you never know.
Hi
i just read your thoughts about IE7 i have been running it for about three almost four weeks and have had only minor trouble with it usually the only trouble i have found is it dont like some older programs .
I keep my internet computer on the microsoft automatic update program and have had very little trouble over all i am running xp pro with service pk 2I also use firefox and have the latest ver of it .
i also use a hp laptop the one with a p4 2.8 gig prossesor it dont like IE7 itdont crash the machine it just lockes up ie7 i can minimize it and still use firefox it is really strange .i hope they fix it soon
thanks for the heads up
Eric, my boy…
First of all, sorry about your IE7 experience. I know what you’re going through. Even upgrades on some of my most trusted software have made me long for the previous versions. Thank you for letting me know before I had to learn the hard way (and then figure out how to perform a system default)
Next, you are absolutely correct in your initial reaction to the Forum Equalizer. I can’t believe Jeff would have his good name sullied by a product that is so likely to become known as a tool of the spammer’s trade. I think a good slogan would be “Tools for a Forum Spammer” Perhaps he didn’t forsee the potential downside to this before he put his name on it…
WorkingMom.com has had to clean up after, block and play cat and mouse with some particularly persitant spammers ourselves. For forum moderators, it’s time consuming, labor intensive and maddening. For the people on the forum, it’s annoying and wastes their time as the sift through that stuff looking for legitimate and real posts. Nobody gains, not even the forum spammer because precious little business can be made by angering your potential customers. And as you said, the risk of getting your ISP notified, and host bombarded with complaints, and banned from search engines all must be dealt with by the poor soul who was trying to gain some recognition using a tool like this in a forum.
I could go on and on, but I won’t. I’ll close with this, forum spammers are in essence, broadcasting their lack of ethics, knowledge, AND the fact that they are looking to swindle people out of their money before their site gets pulled down. Even if that isn’t their intent, that’s the message it sends to everyone else. It’s like saying “I can’t be trusted.”
In His Service,
Sabrina
Let me also suggest that anybody who is even thinking about increasing their visibility with tehcniques like like this consider that in addition to getting banned from search engines, having their ISP yank their account, these techniques are also unlikely to yeild any actual real leads, revenue of business. This is a waste of the spammer’s time, and all the risk come back to him/her.
It really made an impact when that inkjet printer spammer was sent to prision, paraded in front of television cameras in handcuffs, etc. There’s a reason why it’s now not legal. Stuff like that really does steal people’s time, make everyone else less efficient at doing their jobs
Hi
Is the forum equalizer the same as the product in this link?
It sounds a little different in that this software finds high page rank blogs and sites and suggests that we add a comment with a link to our site.
http://www.commmenthut.com
I’d be grateful to hear from you about this.
Peter
Peter- I am not familiar with Comment Hut, but it looks like a blog comment spammer to me. But if you just use it to find the high PR pages and then leave a REAL comment (not a standard automated post) then it could be quite useful.
Hi Eric.
Just another day in the world domination plans of microsoft.
I checked the date I “upgraded” to IE7 in the system restore calendar.
Guess what.
It’s greyed out, so I can’t restore back.
How cheeky is that?
And it still amazes me the number of “wide awake” corporates who forget that IE isn’t the only web browser out there.
As soon as the message pops up saying “use IE because Firefox don’t work” I click away and unsubscribe.
Stupid, stupid people.
Cheers
hey Eric,
I hear you on the IE7 problems. My well-updated tablet pc let’s me run it, but it can’t seem to pull up any page without posting an error page first (and when I refresh, voila! the site is fine). I loaded it for the same reason as you and to get a jump on any compatibility issues with old sites, but now I have to use Firefox as my primary browser for daily tasks.
As for the Forum Submitter, I saw an announcement through one of the other marketers lists and didn’t even open it as it sounded like a spam technique. Even having the guy recommend it means I reconsider whether he makes my list of six marketers to watch.
Anyway, a breath of fresh air from you as always…
Hi Eric & Visitors,
Re: IE7, Don’t like it? Go to control panel, Add or Remove Programs and uninstall it.
Then go to Automatic Updates & change your preferences to, automatically notify me but don’t download or install anything.
Re: Firefox, don’t like it much, In fact I prefer Opera.
http://www.opera.com/index.dml
Happy Trails, . . . . .
Hi Eric ,
It’s a great tip for adsense discovery.
It’s a great guide .
Warm regards ,
http://commonwealthtv.tv
Hi Eric.
I hope you won’t mind if I take a moment to comment on your IE7 experience with some thoughts that may benefit your readers.
Internet Explorer is an important application, and should be kept up-to-date, whether you use it or not!
With versions up to and including v6.x, IE is not an individual application in the normal sense. It is tightly bound to the Windows operating system. If you don’t want to use IE you should just ignore it’s existence, because attempting to uninstall it can result in a lot of pain. Fortunately there is no problem with having multiple browsers installed simultaneously, so you can use any browser you like without worrying about other browser installations.
IE is important because it consists of a number of modules, each of which performs a different task, and some of which are AVAILABLE FOR USE BY OTHER PROGRAMS!!! So, in short, if you don’t keep IE updated, exploitable weaknesses in IE may adversely affect you even if you don’t use it as a browser.
With respect to IE7, some people have a problem upgrading, most don’t. The determining factor is probably not IE7 itself but the state of your existing system. I recommend trying the upgrade, and if it fails do exactly as Eric did – revert to a pre-update Restore point. And folks, if you don’t know how to create and retrieve a Restore Point LOOK IT UP! This is something that all SANE non-masochists do before any major operation.
However…
If you are keeping IE6 for the time being, MAKE SURE IT IS RIGHT UP TO DATE, regardless of what browser you prefer to actually use.
Anyone wanting more information on this topic can read my paper “Browser Wars” (link at the bottom of at http://HackersNightmare.com/FreeContent) – the paper is actually an extract from my book “The Hackers Nightmare”). It’s “plain English”, not techno-speak.
RE BLOG SPAMMING:
—————–
A simple captcha should prevent automated spamming. I believe there are many captcha plug-ins for various blog systems.
Hope this helps.
Best regards,
– Bill Hely
– Author: “The Hacker’s Nightmare”
– http://HackersNightmare.com
– “How to keep hackers, worms & other germs out of your PC”
Thanks for your information on IE7. Luckily I never update it. I don’t know about anyone, but I believe this is not the first problem people using IE facing problem. I’m not quite sure when or how I update it, but currently I’m not able to use my Microsoft Excel anymore. This happened when my Explorer ask me whether to download a latest update of something before turning off my PC. Without thinking, I just updated it.
The next day, I could not use my Microsoft Excel anymore. Funny thing is, others Office Application still work normally. I really wish whoever manage the IE stop asking people to update things so often when they still not sure whether their updates is working smoothly.
Thanks Eric for your review on Forum Equalizer. Although Rod Beckwith and Jeff Alderson have come out with a great software before, but Forum Equalizer is not a software that will help anyone business.
Hey Eric, I laugh a bit when you said you don’t know who Rod is. I laugh because I don’t quite respect him because I used to have a bad experience with him. I bough one of his product in the past and I don’t really like the product at all, so I ask for a refund. I was quite surprised when he was quite rude when I asked for it. Anyhow, that was the past.
IE7 – Been running it since beta (about 7 months now) with no problems at all, not even a single crash and the update to the full release version was not issue either, so it must be just certain combinations of software that cause it. I like FireFox and Opera also and use all 3 at times.
Comment Hut needs to be used just as you mentioned Eric, find the higher ranking blogs and leave a real post, but it saves time by finding the better ranked blogs for you.
Thanks for the other tips/warnings/suggestions as always…
While some may call Rod Beckwith a “good guy,” I found his support service inadequate and guarantee nonexistance. I had
purchased the DST (Domain Suggestion Tool) only to find that
it wouldn’t function. Upon requesting help and finally requesting a refund, I never got anything more than a intial response: “I’ve turned it over to my programmer.”
My first request for support begin in July ’06. I even faxed his office with a picture printout of the error I was getting. Todate, no follow-up from his office.
Thanks Eric for this chance to vent.
Hi Eric,
Thanks for the IE warning.
Unfortunately, it came a little too late for me. I downloaded the latest version last week on Tuesday, did all the necessaries etc. I carried on with my work (I mainly use Firefox but need IE just to check web layout differences). Then, after several hours working with several programs and software it was time to reboot. I shut down my computer and rebooted, signed into my computer and that’s when I got the shock of my life. All the usual icon images had disappeared from my desktop and I quickly learned that I could not open a single file, folder or Internet browser. It looked like my computer details with thousands of files etc were totally useless. I could not access anything!
To cut the story short, I ended up taking my computer to the computer store for a check (this was on Wednesday) – they quickly told me that the Windows registry had been compromised and most of the data in there had been burnt rendering my computer useless.
They were able to save most of my data onto a new drive before proceeding to clear my computer and do a complete re-install from scratch. All this time I had a sneaky suspicion that IE7 had something to do with it. I am thinking of sending the bill of $250.00 to Microsoft now – it was a darn expensive Thanksgiving for me! I have the original IE6 back and will NOT be upgrading in the near future.
Well done with your review on Forum Equalizer mate. Personally the only thing that wastes more time for me than deleting forum spam is deleting guestbook spam, and it just seems horrific that a guy with the profile of Jeff Alderson should produce a package with both nightmares rolled into one!
Hi Eric,
It’s been a while since I’ve posted but you comments RE: IE7 caught my eye. I’m not a huge fan of IE but I actually do like IE7. I’ve installed it on about a dozen different pc’s including a couple of notebooks and it has performed flawlessly. BUT I always make sure I’ve installed all of the other available updates first. While I greatly prefer Firefox, even over IE7, your point about site accessibility with IE vs Firefox is very valid. Also, I use a corporate PC at work and I’m limited to IE due to an intense dislike of anything that doesn’t originate in Redmond.
Since I’m not familiar with your system I have no clue as to why it “locked up” with IE7. But for those who are faced with site accessibility problems or other barriers to using Firefox, IE7 is, easily, the best version of IE yet. You might want to give it another try on a different system to see if you get a different result.
Warmest regards,
Bob Stovall
Hi Eric and friends.
I haven’t used IE(?) for over a year. Microsoft may be the biggest software company in the world but most of their products fall just short of the mark. They also fail to to do complete and thorough tersting before they release any product or update. Just read the history of them and you’ll see it’s true. I got sick of IE6 and it’s problems (it’s best feature for me is it’s “History”), that I went to Opera. Opera is good, but it too has some limitations, so I added FireFox. Now I use Firefox 90%, Opera 9.5%, and only use IE to check how a new page looks. I will NOT be upgrading to IE7.
I use Win XP to be compatible with most other computers, but recently had to buy a new version because the auto updates on the older version stuffed up my computer and my only recourse was to install a newer version.
As for the Forum Submitter, I agree with you wholeheartedly. I got a copy of an automatic article submitter a few weeks ago and used it to submit just one article to a few places. I have noticed since then my search engine listings across the three most popular (google, Yahoo and MSN) have dropped to half what they were and are reducing.. There’s a lesson in there somewhere.
Frankly, automation is good, and necessary, but only if it doesn’t impinge on the rights of others, and can be judged as ethical in every way. Let’s face it, if you don’t actually visit a forum, and read the comments there, how on earth can you actually make a valid comment? My Judgement? It’s a spam tool.
I’ll take a look at the AdSense Discovery. Also the Comment Hut should be a good tool to FIND the high profile blogs, but then we should pay the blog owner the courtesy of visiting, reading, and leaving a valid comment. Who knows
Cyberhi5 Eric :
Yes there are some interesting issues with IE7 and Firefox alike. I found that Firefox is a problem.
Like Don says Nov. 27th / 06 here , you will learn the hard way if you don’t set your Microsoft
automatic updates to “notify & prompt before downloading anything. Just that 1 setting alone can
prove a point by allowing 1 setting to enter your hard drive and automatically download everything
new and available , even if you don’t need it. For newbies who don’t know better that can even
completely commit what is available on a tiny hard drive like my old 13MB storage capacity and
make the operating system completely inoperable , blank screen.
The absolute #1 warning sign is storage space on the hard drive. You must know how much you
have left or available in MB or GB prior to downloading anything , no less allowing any website or
software program to have your permission to go ahead at all times. Overload can be the result
that causes the video card to be inoperable through the non existant operating system. The
operating system must have space to even appear in video format. This condition is equivalent to
putting a blank VHS tape into your VCR and expecting to see anything , you won’t.
As we have heard many times , “IT’S IN THE LIST” , you also must check and recheck your list
of settings each time you download any browser because the very first thing that is done by new
browsers is that the new files set your settings to “DEFAULT”. That means your computer settings
have changed and that alone can cause lots of individual problems. When I first downloaded
Firefox I realized how significant that browser download was and tried to rehash all of the checkmark
boxes to no avail. I tried and retried just about everything and finally dumped Firefox by uninstalling
it when I started to read all the associated information that it caused me to seek out and follow.
In conclusion , any new browser , including “TOOLBARS” can have many file or driver file issues
with your present operating system files inclusively . Which leads me to believe that the #2
Warning sign is your video card , it’s capabilities and even it’s version.
My experience with IE7 was fantastic , when I returned to my operating system I was getting camera
shot action through the browser , click , snap , next address. No progress bar or hesitation , just
click here , click there , snapshot after snapshot , but later on , when the browser was effected by
subsequent file downloading , it too , settled back into the normal routine of IE6.
That’s what makes your “TIPS” valuable because we are constantly studying new stuff which asks
us so many questions about our Operating System , Versions and alike. Strict attention must be paid
to what already exists and what is being considered for downloading , no less all of the different aspects of the installation and use. If you enter “SAFE MODE” you should look at the settings lists
and see if you recognize any options that seem to be “DISABLED” by default and “ENABLE” them
before thinking that either one doesn’t work. Which brings me to strike 3 , Warning sign # 3 is that
new downloads take up more space and usually require drastic Video Card requirements you may
not be able to provide with a standard OEM ( Original Equipment Manufactured ) video card .
3 strikes and you’re OUT . I find that if you consider Microsoft (IE6 or IE7) first you have the best possible chance at being compatible with your operating system and you can also always go to the Microsoft.com website to download or search for solutions , anything else is just a shot in the dark and YOU’RE OUT. We should keep in mind the fact that the Operating System is usually Microsoft
derived , therefore it needs specific Microsoft file inclusions to work. Needless to say that your
processor speed ( 500mhz or less ) is another subject that only has (1000mhz =1GB) solutions and your ram needs to now be 512mb to do anything well because more usage takes more ram to
function properly. If your ram runs low while operating the system , it will crash by default overload ,
leaving you with a blank screen or multiple restarts. This doesn’t mean IE7 or Firefox are the initial
problem , the system is using more ram and more space if you have attached file extensions to the
existing IE6 files. If you upgrade by downloading any file you have to consider what that is doing to
the entire Motherboard , that’s why you might get conflicts , overloads , or even underloads.
With all this talk of “automation” software , you have to consider that RAM ( Random Access Memory)
is being used full time and relies on the amount you have available. 256mb of ram is a must as
anything less is only going to be able to allow you to have minimul use of the Video Card and will
crash when overloaded by exceeding the amount available.
If you don’t , you’re out and need to restore the prior setup configuration.
Consideration
Brian
PS. Try http://www.maxthon.com
Hi Eric,
Why would you or any other forum owner want to report a spammer to a search engine, webhost, ISP, etc when you don’t have proof or even know if the owner of the website mentioned in the forum spam sent out the spam?
It would be easy to sabotage the search engine rankings of a competitor’s website that way….send out lots of forum spam with the competitor’s website in the spam….I guess Google is not that dumb….plus you could get the innocent competitor in trouble with their webhost or ISP.
I recently made a post in a forum about a website because it had a great web tool that I liked very much and I wanted to recommend the web tool to everyone in the forum….guess what….the forum moderator thought my post was spam…hopefully I didn’t get the website owner reported or in trouble because of my post.
Remember what the constitution of your country says…you are innocent until proven guilty…just because your website is mentioned in a spam e-mail, forum spam post or spam blog comment doesn’t mean you sent it out.
Hope you answer this one.
Hi Eric,
I admit it. I looked at Forum Equalizer and Comment Hut this past week and although I was intrigued, I decided it seemed too easy and sneaky and I wanted to wait for other people’s opinion before buying either of them.
Now, I’ll stay away and keep going about creating backlinks in the slow whitehat way 🙂
As for IE…I’ve had 7.0 installed for awhile now and haven’t had any problems although I use FireFox 99% of the time and only open IE to have a quick look at how my webpages are rendering for IE visitors.
Keep up the great job Eric.
Roger Auge
http://www.profitmessaging.com
No luck man, I downloaded IE7 and I didn’t encounter any problem however, I only use it to test my new websites. I browse fast with Firefox!
I totally aggree with you for the forum spam. It’s a shame. I like marketing, but it is really BAD to ennoy people. I am subscribed to many forums, and while I am pronoting my different websites, I enjoy spending time on these forums, helping others and get my question answered.
NO SPAM please.Those auto forum spam post system must stop. I intend to set up a forum soon, and tI will not be happy with spammers…
Thanks for your useful tips.
Hi Eric,
MANY thanks for the warning on IE7. Lucky for me I’ve not installed it yet!
On Forum Equalizer: definately also two thumbs down. As I’m already dealing with spammers in my inbox on a daily basis, I would hate to receive spam posts in my forum as well!
Keep up the good work Eric.
Mada
I updated to IE7 with no problems whatsoever. It is imperative to keep your MS products up to date. It states on the IE7 download page to make sure you have Service Pack 2 installed and fully updated. It also gives the system requirements necessary. As stated previously it is important to maintain your MS updates for security reasons and MS compatablility reasons.
I use Firefox from time to time and usually have both platforms open at the same time with no problems.
Hi Eric,
I’m gradually finding my way around internet marketing and understand the need for all of us to be to making a living, however, I have received a number of promotional emails from a number of marketers surrounding the launch of Forum Equializer, but ones who did not provide an objective view, ie point out the potential negatives. This is why I shall remain a subscriber of your news letter. It is a rarety for you to give the thumbs down to any one, and I would agree with you that from what I read both Rod and Jeff’s reputations proceed them with regards to software development. In fact I have read glowing tributes to them from Andrew Fox and Liz Tomey. Maybe this is a case of a well meaning concept without a full consideration of all implications. It also makes me understand the need that whatever product someone is promoting they should check it out thoroughly before making their recommendations.
Thanks for your continued good advice
Josh Leo recommends akismet spam blocker plug-in for blogs, but forums are a whole different world…
Hi Eric & ALL,
Warning 1 – IE7 SOLUTION!
My computer was infected sorry i mean affected with IE7 !
I thought i should post a thread for all to quickly solve the problem with IE7 – Uninstall it using the method suggested below if your computer ceases to work starts flashing & making strange noises! – Mine did!
I couldn’t even shut down it down via the start menu, so had to hold that on button down (ooh i hate doing that)
Anwayz i will get to the point…
If you had the problem as bad as i did you wouldn’t be able to read this thread! – but pass it on if you hear someone with a similar problem who has IE7.
Windows XP
Start or restart the computer.
Keep tapping the F8 key until a menu appears, choose SAFE MODE option.
Then choose your operating system (there is usually only one option unless you are running a few different operating systems) – hit ENTER
Then follow these steps:
Start menu > settings > control panel > add remove programmes, find IE7 in the list, highlight it and uninstall it
On the same screen choose configure windows components > UNcheck IE > press next to UNinstall > then go back and RE-check IE > press next to INstall > then restart your computer… VOILA you will now have IE6 back and no problems.
My advice would be to always check for IE6 updates & wait a while until IE7 is more stable.
This is only my opinion but I won’t be installing it for a while!!!!!
Hope this helps someone.
Best wishes, Pete Faraway
Business Card CD Ltd
Ya ..
I have problems with IE7…..but it’s Ok .
We have here all the time to fix it..hihihii…
Bonne journée à tous !
Chris
web.m..st..e..r
thanks Eric for the update and warning on i.e. 7 yes i have heard similar stories as posted . i just don’t understand why m.s. would go ahead and release i.e. 7 without having given it a complete systems testing before sending out for download with the bugs still in it. well think of it they are still sending patches for xp and windows 98 -what does that tell you? thanks danny
This message goes out to Peter Charalambos who has so kindly posted a link to the download page of our “Comment Hut Lite” software. Peter, I thank you for helping to spread the word about “Comment Hut” but would appreciate if you removed the link to the download page.
Paul and I have spent a lot of time and energy to create “Comment Hut” and the website. And being a marketer yourself, I’m sure you can appreciate the reasons why we offer a “Lite” version to “Comment Hut as a list builder. Simply posting a link to the download page is not the nicest of things to do. Can you please remove ASAP please.
Eric:
Your comment referring to “Comment Hut”
“Peter- I am not familiar with Comment Hut, but it looks like a blog comment spammer to me. But if you just use it to find the high PR pages and then leave a REAL comment (not a standard automated post) then it could be quite useful.”
The second part is absolutely spot on, that’s’ what we made it for, to cut down the research time in searching keyword related blogs, and then READING AND LEAVING RELEVENT, USEFUL COMMENTS that add value to the webmasters blog. That way, it’s a win-win situation for all concerned. The poster gets a high page rank, one-way back link, plus the added spider activity on their sites, and the blog owner is happy too, because of the added useful content.
The reference you make to “Comment Hut” “looking like a blog spammer” is not accurate. The creator of Comment Hut, Paul Forcey, made sure that this was not the case. It is impossible to blog spam with this tool. Anybody wanting to check it out for themselves are welcomed to try the free version, which will allow you to search Google for WordPress blogs related to your keyword niche. See http://www.commmenthut.com and download the free version.
Thanks for your understanding and help.
Stewart Alexander
Affiliate Relationship Manager
Comment Hut.Com
Stewart – thanks for the note and clarification about your program. And I fixed the afformentioned link.
Thanks so much for that Eric. I’m sure Peter had good intentions when he posted the link. Sometimes it’s easy to do wrong things when all ya trying to do is help out.
An I understand your initial reaction to Comment Hut too. I also reacted like this when I first saw it. I thought ” Come on Paul, not another Blog spamming tool!” But iwas just guilty of not taking the time out to check it properly. So I understand your knee jerk reaction (if i ever bump into you, you owe me a beer 😉
Have a good one mate,
Stewart
I did what most haven’t and bought Forum Equalizer to try.
Crashed my pc multiple times leading to a repair bill. Also the registration aspect didn’t work for me. Have requested a refund, fool me 🙁
Great work Eric. I’m happy with my IE6 and FF1.5. Regards
Eric,
I’m a forum owner and I really feel the pain from this stupid software. Not do I get the same stupid posts over and over again. It doesn’t seem to bother them to spam my forum time after time.
I have a hard time to keep my ban control up to date. First I ban the username and then I ban the ip address. Not only am I annoyed by this, my legit forum members are starting to complain about the garbage posted.
There must be a way to block this.
Happy Holidays,
Peter
Hi dude!
Christmas Day falls on December 25. It is preceded by Christmas Eve on December 24, and in some countries is followed by Boxing Day on December 26. Some Eastern Orthodox Churches celebrate Christmas on January 7, which corresponds to December 25 on the Julian calendar. December 25 as a birthdate for Jesus is merely traditional, and is not thought to be his actual date of birth. Regards
Hello Eric, thanks for the info on IE7. We have two computers running in our household for business purposes. We each downloaded the new IE7, one computer had to be restored since most of the applications installed locked up and wouldn’t run at all. The other one, mine seems to be running just fine. They are pretty much the same machine so I’m not sure why one will work and one won’t. The only problem I have noticed is at times, if I click on a link it returns an error, not found. However If I reclick that link slowly I get the web site, go figure. The one thing I do like about the IE7 is the upper broser bar give me the info that is shown in the search engines on that subject. Keep the Good info coming. Cheers and God Bless!
My favorite part of the collection is the three month membership to his AdSenseAdwords keywords database