The Megaphone Blog

This is an excerpt from our original post on The Megaphone Network

Here are the symptoms:

1. You get the message “Windows VIRUS ALERT” Informing you that a virus has been detected on your computer and you should install and run the software. Now if you have surfed the internet very much you have no doubt gotten this alert before. It’s a Trojan and is trying to get you to download some infected software. But a simple click of the “X” in the corner always gets rid of it and your ok because it never downloads to your computer. Ok here is where this one differs:

The software message you get is from some company called “Pandora”. And they have their agreement as part of this “Alert”. However there is no place to cancel this alert nor does the “install software” link on it even work. At this point even if you use the “ALT, CONTROL, DELETE” to end the program your running it’s to late. This virus has already started infecting your computer.

2. If you have in fact become infected with this one. When you close your browser your desktop has now become the virus alert. This virus changes your desktop setting and then deletes the two tabs in your control panel that allows you to delete that one and change it back to your own.

3. Ok so now you realize your infected. So you try to do a google or yahoo search to find out what it is and how to fix it.

PLEASE PAY ATTENTION HERE!

When you do your search you will get the Google or Yahoo search results page like normal. However when you click a link to go to that site you will be redirected to some spam links sites. They may not be porn either but simply a link farm. You appear to be directed to LOOKSMART first then to the link farm.

4. Your computer will start to slow down and hang up. Often times you will have to reboot or restart your computer to get your login to work.

You can view the full post here: Virus Alert

In the early days when blogs first came about they were little more than an online journal where the individual could place his rambling thoughts on some space on the internet. Times have changed. Today a blog is used by both the individual and corporations.

The individual still uses a blog for his own personal space, sure, but today he is often supplementing his income by using his blog as an advertisement media. Corporations are often times willing to sponsor a blog that has a reader base. This seems to work well for both parties. The blogger still blogs about what he enjoys and the advertiser get some promotion for his products that related to the bloggers site and readers. An apparent win-win situation.

But what else can you do with a blog? Today blogs are rapidly becoming a full blown CMS. For example take a look at The Cuckleburr Times. This is a WordPress Blog. The platform is no different than the one I am blogging on here but the look to the visitor is really different. The Cuckleburr Times is an online magazine for authors and writers and therefore you might think that a blog would not be capable of running a full blown site. But one look at The Cuckleburr will tell you that you’re wrong.

So just what would your site be about? Instead of purchasing a lot of hosting resources that you might never use why not think about blogging? The cost for a blogger package on The Megaphone Network is only $4.99 a month. It is affordable for everyone and opens a whole world of possibilities for your online presence.

Use the form below to inquire about the hosting packages we offer.

I am sure that many of you have heard about Sub-Domain Hosting but just what is it and is it really free?

First off, what is Sub-Domain Hosting?

Sub-Domain hosting is someone who is willing to give you space on their sever. You would not have your own domain and really have no control over the website as a whole but you will usually have some sort of control over your own website. The space is usually pretty limited and depending on what type of company is providing your hosting it may be free or paid. With as cheap as website hosting is there is really no benefit to paying for sub-domain hosting other than the fact you will not have to register a domain name.

For the sake of this blog we will talk about the free sub-domain hosting. Is it really free? The simple answer is usually no. Sure you will not have to pay a fee to the company for hosting your site but you will most likely have a lot of advertising that may become so prevalent that you and your guest will have a hard time using your site because of the advertising and pop ups. If you think about it why would some company you do not know give you free website hosting?

Does The Megaphone Network provide any type of free hosting? Yes we do. We provide free sub-domain hosting for writers, authors and professional bloggers. Is The Megaphone Network hosting free? Yes, to the point that you do not pay us to host your website. We install WordPress for your blog and then give you admin rights. Which means you will be free to admin your blog as you see fit.

Does The Megaphone Network place banner ads and other advertising on your free site? Yes we do sell advertising spots and accept campaigns from companies and individuals. These promotions are worked out between The Megaphone Network and the advertiser and your website may be included as part of the campaign. In most cases the advertising will consist of a written article review of a company or its product.

Will I share in the revenue from any advertising placed on my site?

Yes! The Megaphone Network is a revenue sharing site. Your revenue share of any advertising campaign placed on your site will depend on the type of campaign, and the degree you participate in the campaign.

If you’re a writer, author or professional blogger and would like more information about your Sub-Domain Hosting contact us at : The Megaphone Network

If you have decided you’re going to blog you need to decide which blogging platform you are going to use. There are several you can choose from. The choice is really not hard at all. Hands down the only real choice is WordPress.

WordPress is used by most professional bloggers and there are several reasons for this. WordPress is simple to upload and use. You can even use FANTASTICO and do the automatic upload from your CPANEL although I do not recommending using FANTASTICO for any program installations. (Because of some permission problems you may run into at a later date when you expand your website). But really a manual installation of WordPress is not much harder nor does it take much longer than using an installer.

Another reason is to use WordPress is all the community support. There are many php and script programmers creating plugins and widgets daily for use with WordPress. This means that you will probably never have to learn any type of coding in order to create and maintain your blog with the functions that you will need. Most likely there will be a plugin already created and free to download and use.

Many bloggers, especially writers and artists, need the image upload feature. WordPress makes this simple. You simply give your upload file the correct permission when installing WordPress on your server. Then you can upload images that you will use in your post right from your text area. It really does take a lot of time consuming work out of using images in your content.

Again there are several options and WordPress is not the only one. But it is the most efficient one that I have tested. The Megaphone Network uses WordPress for all its blogging needs.

If you’re new to website building these are two terms you will need to become familiar with. You probably have already heard about HTML (HYPER TEXT Markup Language). For many years this was the foundation of your website. You can use HTML for everything from displaying your content to images.

An example of HTML is the color of the word “HTML” being different in the previous sentence. The reason why the word is a different color is because I have linked you to a site that explains in detail what HTML is. Therefore I used HTML in order to create the link and change the color of that word to let the reader know that it is a link to some information.

However the quest for improvement is never ending. Hence PHP Programming. PHP differs somewhat in HTML in that it is a scripting language. Which means that instead of trying to use HTML code to perform functions, PHP is used instead.

An example of PHP is this whole site. Most all functions of the site will have been written in PHP Scripting.

So is HTML dead? No, not by any means. You will still need to understand and use at least the basic html. But the beauty of PHP is that it can be used in conjunction with HTML. You will find that most of the programs or CMS systems you will use will have mostly PHP page extensions instead of the .HTML or .HTM.

When looking for a web host make sure that PHP is enabled for your server. I really do not know of any host today that does not offer this but if in your quest for the perfect hosting company you discover one that does not, then do not even consider this host.

So in short you will need at least a basic understanding of both HTML and PHP to operate and maintain your website in a professional manner.

The Cuckleburr Times

I would like to take a minute to invite all our readers to visit The Cuckleburr Times. Here you will find some of the best professional writers and authors displaying their craft and their abilities. You will find articles on everything from humor to motivational courses all written by professional and freelance writers.

If you’re an aspiring author and would like to see your work published all you need to do is submit it to The Cuckleburr Times for review. Advertisers can also find a great wealth of knowledgeable, professional and available writers for your ad campaigns.

Check out The Cuckleburr Times and all of The Megaphone Network. We think you will be surprised at what you find available for advertising promotions for your site or products.

Joomla has announced an important security update for all Joomla user’s who have installed any version of the new 1.5+ . This does not affect any Joomla site hosted on The Megaphone Network since we have not built any live sites using Joomla 1.5.

If your using Joomla here at The Megaphone Network you site is not affected by this security update. This is just information for other Joomla users who may not be aware.

Excerpt From Joomla.Org :

A flaw in the reset token validation mechanism allows for non-validating tokens to be forged. This will allow an unauthenticated, unauthorized user to reset the password of the first enabled user (lowest id). Typically, this is an administrator user. Note, that changing the first users username may lessen the impact of this exploit (since the person who changed the password does not know the login associated with the new password). However, the only way to completely rectify the issue is to upgrade to 1.5.6 (or patch the /components/com_user/models/reset.php file).

Affected Installs

All 1.5.x installs prior to and including 1.5.5 are affected.

Magick

The Megaphone Network would like to take a minute and welcome it’s newest blogger to the family, Magick! Magick is a beautiful 4 month old girl and the blog will be maintained by Grandma.

Grandma will be sharing the life and times ( and lots of pictures too I am told ) of Magick as she grows.

We are really excited to welcome Magick to our family of bloggers and look forward to watching as she grows.

Magick is hosted by The Megaphone Network

We have been discussing the process for the beginning webmaster to get his blog up and running. And there is very much more on this topic we will be discussing but I also know that many who are purchasing blog hosting is also looking at ways in which they can make money with it.

There are many different solutions and the one you pick will depend on your blog. My suggestion would be to start out with Bloggertizer. Bloggertizer is free for both advertisers and bloggers. The key to any blog is content. And this is the reason The Megaphone Network recommends that you do not create a blog simply for advertising purposes but create one based on what you enjoy. A hobby is an excellent way to start blogging. If you enjoy something you are more likely to share your knowledge by spending the time required to write blogs.

Once your site has some good content then advertisers are more likely to want to purchase your services or buy a spot on your blog. Sure it takes time to develop a blog but then that is what blogging is all about.

Bloggertizer can also be a good friend to the advertiser. As an advertiser you want to find bloggers who are already blogging about products that match your company. Using the free resources at Bloggertizer can enable you to find the perfect blog for your advertising campaign. It really is a win-win for both parties.

Business Hosting can differ somewhat from blog hosting. And this is where you will need to decide just what you’re intending your new website to become. If your a professional blogger then basic blog hosting will probably provide all the resources that you will ever need in order to maintain your site and your clients campaigns.

However if you intend at some point in time to open an online store on your website where you will be using a shopping cart system then you should consider stepping up to the Business Plan from the start. There are several reasons why you might want to consider starting out with the Business Plan rather than upgrading at a later date.

A little thought into the initial setup of your site can go a long way to preventing headaches down the road. Getting the right size package and features will ensure you give your site the option to grow without worrying about recourse problems.

Feel free to contact us about any questions you may have in regards to our hosting plans and features.