SearchBliss releases "much more" than a webmaster toolbar

The idea of yet another browser toolbar is nothing new - until now.
SearchBliss has just released a new free webmaster toolbar with features that anyone who surfs the web would love.

The new webmaster toolbar has the same features that many toolbars from large companise have, like web search, images and news. What makes this toolbar different then all the others is that the user can actually add their own choice of components right to the toolbar.

"Giving the users the ability to add theirs own choice of components like games, music, videos, social networks, etc., allows them (the toolbar users) to build the perfect toolbar for their needs and interests", says John Kline, the owner of SearchBliss.com. "We have over 100 components available to choose from in order to build the perfect toolbar." says Kline.

Some key toolbar features, both integraded and optional are:

1. Search on SearchBliss and Google right from the toolbar.
Additional search features include the Google Dance tool, dictionary, news, images, and stocks.

2. Access your E-mails
E-mail Notifier allows you to see new e-mail message counts and access them right from the toolbar.

3. Pop-up Blocker and Privacy
Block annoying pop-up ads, and have privacy while surfing the web.

4. Access Free SEO Tools & Articles.
Target the best keywords with the keyword suggestion tool. Check a website's link popularity, Google backlinks, search saturation, blog popularity, keyword verification in the major search engines, and more.

5. Access Free Web Design Tools
Build and improve websites with over 30 free web design tools for building menus, web pages, and more.

6. Access Free Website Content
Increase website "stickiness" by adding free content.

7. Access Webmaster Forums
Discuss webmaster related subjects including internet marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), search engines, web design, coding, and community.

The most inticing feature of all...

8. Add your own components to the toolbar
Choose from hundreds of add-ons, including games, music, videos, social networks, and the list goes on!

The SearchBliss webmaster toolbar is available for Internet Explorer, FireFox, and Safari browsers.

New Search Engine Analytics Technology

A tiny technology startup's hot new Search Engine interface may soon be coming to a major Search Engine near you! In the mean time, anyone can try it out to see what the buzz is all about.

A small tech startup called SEOENG LLC. (http://www.seoeng.com) has developed a new type of Search Engine technology that may enhance major Search Engines in the coming years. The Bradenton, FL company has developed a patent pending user interface called a Search Engine Optimization Engine(R), which discloses highly secret Search Engine scoring algorithms to show precisely how and why a Search Engine ranks any Website, Webpage, and Link on the Internet. Webmasters and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Professionals, who currently utilize various Search Engine Webmaster Tools like analytics to gauge the success of their Websites, will see this new technology as a huge advantage for any Website's SEO and Search Engine Marketing.

Today's top Search Engines like Bing, Google, and Yahoo! all started this Website analysis trend by offering limited interactive portals for Webmasters to view a Website's performance on Search Engines. Such portals offer tools to track visitors, monitor the progress of PPC ads, and see which Webpages are the most popular amongst specific users. SEOENG(R) has essentially taken the next leap, offering complete transparency into the Website not from the visitor's perspective, but from the Search Engine's. This technology shows users what their Website looks like to a Search Engine, in precise detail, down to how each Link was scored. SEOENG's Webpage and Link "Scorecards" break down each penalty, show why that penalty was assessed, and then explain how to use the information to enhance the Website's ranking on any Search Engine.

SEOENG Co-Founder and President, Marketing and Operations, Maura Stouffer, discusses why this type of technology may be soon absorbed by the larger Search Engines: "We believe that revealing closely guarded Search Engine algorithms to the public may prove to be an unforeseen advantage to a Search Engine. The status quo tends to think that this would never happen -- after all, for ages Search Engines have been in a battle with spammers and 'black hat' SEO tactics, trying to keep their Search Results relevant. However, this is where the industry is changing. Search Engine algorithms are becoming so fail-proof that there really isn't much need to hide them from the public anymore." She goes on to say that, "Companies like ours are starting to realize that by opening these Search Engine tactics up to the public, they are essentially cleaning up the Internet, eliminating useless SEO techniques and millions of garbage Webpages from their keyword search results, in addition to reducing the massive amounts of spam filtering that Search Engines must do."

Search Engine ranking algorithms have grown numerous and highly targeted in recent years. Stouffer says SEOENG's philosophy, as a Search Engine itself, is that "…all Search Engines are solving the same business problems, and by offering a view into what problems a Search Engine is solving for, it does not necessarily offer the user the exact algorithm, but rather the concepts behind them. The disclosure of such concepts only helps to enable tools and technology to develop, inevitably improving not only Websites, but Search results."

To see this futuristic Search Engine interface and test your Website's Search Engine worthiness, visit: http://search.seoeng.com.

Source: PRWeb

Microsoft Rushing IE Security Patch

Microsoft is rushing out two emergency security patches ASAP before the scheduled Aug. 11 updates. The security patches are to be released on Tuesday.

One patch is a critical fix for Internet Explorer. The second isn't urgent, having to do with Visual Studio.

From Microsoft:

This is an advance notification of two out-of-band security bulletins that Microsoft is intending to release on July 28, 2009. One bulletin will be for the Microsoft Visual Studio product line; application developers should be aware of updates available affecting certain types of applications. The second bulletin contains defense-in-depth changes to Internet Explorer to address attack vectors related to the Visual Studio bulletin, as well as fixes for unrelated vulnerabilities that are rated Critical. Customers who are up to date on their security updates are protected from known attacks related to this out-of-band release.

For More Information: Microsoft Security Bulletin Advance Notification for July 2009

Five Critical Firefox Security Patches Released

Firefox 3.0.12 security and stability release now available

From Mozilla:
As part of the Mozilla Corporation’s ongoing security and stability process, Firefox 3.0.12 is now available for Windows, Mac, and Linux users as a free download from firefox.com.

We strongly recommend that all Firefox 3.0.x users upgrade to this latest release. If you already have Firefox 3, you will receive an automated update notification within 24 to 48 hours. This update can also be applied manually by selecting “Check for Updates…” from the Help menu.

The 5 critical patches are:

MFSA 2009-39 setTimeout loses XPCNativeWrappers
MFSA 2009-37 Crash and remote code execution using watch and __defineSetter__ on SVG element
MFSA 2009-36 Heap/integer overflows in font glyph rendering libraries
MFSA 2009-35 Crash and remote code execution during Flash player unloading
MFSA 2009-34 Crashes with evidence of memory corruption (rv:1.9.1/1.9.0.12)

Google Webmaster Tools: New Updates

Google has made some updates to it's Webmaster Tools, which Google names "Summer Shine".

From Google:
Here are a few highlights:
1. Our site selector now lists all verified sites that you own, and allows you to search as you type.

2. You can now block non-homepage sitelinks. Before today if you owned example.com, you couldn't block sitelinks for example.com/email.

3. You can now see URL removal requests submitted by other users for any sites you own, and revoke them if necessary. In the past, if another webmaster for your site mistakenly removed a URL on your site and left for vacation it was a difficult process to undo the request.

4. Our "Home" page is much easier to navigate. We now make a clear distinction between verified and unverified sites.



Source: Google Blog

SEO Expert's New Book Unveils the Simple Secrets of SEO

Grace Cherian has launched a new business manual entitled, "Racing to the Top: Twenty Tips to Ramp up Your Search Engine Ranking" which offers small business owners useful tips on how to optimize their Web site. The search engine optimization principles described in this handy, 14-page booklet are both easy to understand and apply. Even if business owners implement just a few of these tips, they can effectively ramp up their search engine ranking.

Annette Rolland, a graphic designer, said this about the book: "From key words to meta tags and much more, Grace Cherian provides a simple, useful search engine optimization guide."

"It was just two years ago that I first heard the term 'search engine optimization,'" Cherian said. "As a small business owner, I wanted my Web site to rank on the very first page of a Google search. But when I contacted a few search engine consultants, they wanted $3,000-$4,000 to optimize my site. I certainly didn't have that kind of money in my budget."

Grace goes on to say, "Right then, I decided that it was up to me to learn as much about the principles of search engine optimization as I could. After doing reams of research on the topic, I distilled the information into a very basic, user-friendly 14-page manual. And I learned that search engine optimization is certainly not the esoteric topic that SEO consultants would like us to believe. Anyone can learn these SEO principles and implement them."

To preview this book, "Racing to the Top: Twenty Tips to Ramp up Your Search Engine Ranking," follow the link: Lulu.com.

Grace Cherian is a professional business writer and search engine optimization specialist who has been delivering writing projects on task, on target and on time for over ten years.

Source: PRWeb

Microsoft and Yahoo Deal in the Works - again

Is it Microhoo or Yasoft? - that is the question!

It seams there may finally be an advertising and search deal between Microsoft and Yahoo that is very close to becoming a reality. Top Microsoft executives including CEO Steve Ballmer have flown to Silicon Valley from from Redmond, Wash., to talk about the remaining issues.

Some of the possible terms include Microsoft paying Yahoo billions of dollars to take over Microsoft's search advertising.

As part of the deal it is likely that Yahoo be selling premium advertising for both companies.

Sources on both sides feel they are close to a deal, yet that it could come apart at any moment as it has in past negotiations.

One notably large leverage factor for Microsoft in these deals is the early success of the new search engine, Bing. For Yahoo, the technology cost-savings and cash is a big plus.

If the deals goes through, it could bring both Microsoft and Yahoo another step closer in their on-going battle against Google.

Windows 7 Pre-orders in UK show urgency

According to Amazon, sales of Microsoft's Windows 7 in the first eight hours in the UK climbed higher then those of Windows Vista's entire seventeen week pre-orders.

This reflects a wide-spread urgency for PC users to replace prior Windows operating systems with a much more efficient and "bug-free" version of Windows. Some prior Windows versions, mainly Vista, gave been nothing but a headache for Windows users. Many users are eagerly anticipating the full release of Windows 7 on Oct 22nd, when Microsoft expects all of the languages to be completed.

Windows 7 requires that prior versions of Windows have to be removed before the new software can be installed. The limited amount of pre-order copies are to expire in the UK on August 9th, and pre-order copies are to be shipped Oct 22nd. MSDN and TechNet subscribers as well as Volume Licence customers will have access to product keys.

Microsoft Gazelle vs Google Chrome OS

Microsoft's ace in the hole in its upcoming battle against Google Chrome OS, the search giant’s new browser-based operating system, could be a browser-OS hybrid project code-named Gazelle. As more and more applications move into the cloud, the need for a browser-based OS, one that can intelligently interface with a PC while managing Web resources, may become more intensive than ever for both Microsoft and Google as they compete for market share.

The media cycle of past few days has been dominated by word of Microsoft’s apparently imminent demise at the hands of Google Chrome OS, the search-engine giant’s newly announced operating system initially intended for mini-notebooks, known popularly as "netbooks."

While predictions of the death of Windows may be premature, Microsoft may already be in the midst of developing a competitor to Google’s stripped-down operating system, a project code-named Gazelle.

Microsoft has offered no official comment on Chrome OS; nor has it mentioned any potential release dates for a netbook-oriented operating system. However, it may feel pressure to respond to Google in order to hold its substantial market share in the netbook arena, which may erode if Chrome OS provides a satisfactory user experience.

"Google Chrome OS is not a full-frontal assault on Microsoft Windows, but instead coming at it from one side," Ray Valdes, an analyst with Gartner, told eWeek. "Google’s usual approach is to narrow the scope and solve one part of the problem in a deep way. We saw that with Google Maps and to a lesser extent with Gmail and Chrome browser."

In that spirit, Google with Chrome OS is "picking one low-hanging fruit," Valdes added. "They already have a browser, they also have an operating system (their flavor of Linux) and all they need is one relatively small subsystem (a windowing environment) to complete the picture."

While Chrome OS will initially be a consumer-oriented offering, Valdes thinks, it will be roughly three to five years before it potentially impacts the enterprise.

In order for Microsoft to compete, Valdes said, the company needs "a fast, cheap lightweight browser-OS hybrid" like Gazelle.

Operating as a browser-based OS, Gazelle would likely manage access to devices and system resources, as well as enforce policies. In theory, this would protect users’ devices from malicious plug-ins and other malicious code.

A browser OS makes particular sense within the context of cloud-based applications, whose growing prevalence and popularity has put pressure on browsers to juggle power-intensive Web pages while interfacing with the user’s device.

"Yet browsers have never been constructed to be operating systems," Helen Wang, a senior researcher in the Systems and Networking group at Microsoft Research Redmond, is quoted as saying on the Microsoft Research Website. "Principals are allowed to coexist within the same process or protection domain, and resource management is largely non-existent."

Should Gazelle turn out to be a suitable netbook OS, however, the question is how quickly Microsoft can produce a commercial version to blunt the market penetration of the Chrome OS, which Google says will roll out in the second half of 2010.


Despite predictions on the Google blog that Chrome OS will eventually prove suitable for high-end desktop systems, creating an operating system for that particular market segment could prove more problematic, as Google will have to deal with potentially messier issues such as OEM peripheral vendors.

Microsoft has also demonstrated market dominance in that particular segment, which it plans to continue with the Oct. 22 rollout of Windows 7, its new operating system.

Source: Eweek

PCs could be hit next in Web attack

Cyber attacks slowing U.S. and South Korean websites could enter a new phase on Friday by attacking personal computers and wiping out hard disks, a South Korean government agency and web security firm said.

North Korea was originally a prime suspect for launching the cyber attacks, but the isolated state was not named on a list of websites from five countries where the attacks may have originated, the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) said.

The attacks targeting dozens of government and business sites in South Korea and the United States did not cause major damage or security breaches, experts said, but the KCC warned a new phase at 1500 GMT on Friday could cause severe damage to PCs.

Leading South Korean web security firm Ahnlab, which has closely examined the attacks, said the new phase would target data on tens of thousands of infected personal computers.

"The affected computers will not be able to boot and their storage files will be disabled," said Lee Byung-cheol of Ahnlab.

Almost all of the websites that were out of service this week, including the South's Defense Ministry, were up and running while Lee said the damage to Internet locations was dwindling due to better safeguards.

Source: Reuters

Is Bing a better search than Google?

The use of Google search for most of us is a habit. We know how it works and just what to expect. But with a little time on Bing, it is easy to see how the results compared to Google are better in many ways.

For example: Bing search results have a panel on the left of the search results that categorizes and refines search results. Let's say you search for "Michael Jackson", the panel shows related links for Images, Songs, Biography, Downloads, Merchandise, Posters, News, and Videos all related to Micheal Jackson. If you search for "multiple sclerosis", the panel shows related links for News, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Causes, Treatment, Prognosis, Articles, and Images. The same panel also saves the search history to save you time, and has a "clear all" feature for those with something to hide.

This feature alone no matter what you are searching for (images, video, etc.) really makes things a lot easier and with a lot less clicking then Google.

I'm sure there is a lot more for me to discover about Bing and this is just what I plan to do. Google is still a habit even for me, but now I find Bing a lot more pleasant...so now I can say "I prefer Bing over Google".

Yahoo Launches Search Pad Beta

Search Pad is a note taking application built into Yahoo! Search that automatically assists you in saving websites you visit and taking notes as you search. Search Pad helps you collect, edit, organize, save, print, and email your notes for immediate or future use.

Search Pad is helpful in completing tasks and making decisions that require collecting information over multiple search sessions such as making a large purchase, planning a vacation or gathering information on a health issue.

The Benefits of Using Search Pad
1. Effortless tracking: Automatically keeps track of sites you click on, detects if you are looking up information on a particular topic and organizes links and brief description for you.

2. Manage notes: You can add and edits notes to the research documents, re-order or delete notes in a way that make sense to you.

3. Access & share: You can save the research documents with your Yahoo! account and then access them anywhere on the Web in the future. You can also share them with friends/family by printing them out, via email or as a web link.

Free Norton 2010 security software betas available now

Need new computer security software? Consider Norton's upcoming 2010 versions of Norton AntiVirus and Norton Internet Security, both of which are available as free betas for a limited time.

These betas won't be formally announced until Monday, but you can download them here today if you want to get a jump on everyone else.

Which one should you get? Norton AntiVirus is a simple virus and malware killer, while Norton Internet Security adds identity theft protection in the form of a browser plug-in that ensures you aren't browsing phishing websites, plus a system that monitors your network for security breaches (including when you're connected to public wireless hotspots). Put more simply, all the features of Norton AntiVirus appear in Norton Internet Security, so if you want broader protection, NIS may be the way to go.

Both applications build on the very successful, wholly revamped Norton 2009 applications, but with a few new spins. Based on the idea of "reputation," Norton now goes beyond just checking antivirus definition files for infections, now taking into account user-provided data about various programs to determine what applications running (or attempting to run) on a system are good or bad. It's kind of like Yelp star ratings, but for digital data.

The dashboard is now updated, too. While the look and feel are similar to the 2009 version of the software, you'll find addition features, including application ratings (which offer a numerical safety score based on each app's reputation, as outlined above), plus detailed CPU and memory utilization charts along with a more visual history screen outlining infections over time.

I've had relatively limited experience with the NIS beta so far, but for now my opinions are mixed. Installation was rocky and took a few tries to get right, and the application rating system doesn't really do a lot for me in its current incarnation. I appreciate that many apps I run are "Norton Trusted," but am troubled that Norton doesn't trust some major, common apps (rating them as merely "Good"), including Sun's Java install, and software required for my PC's webcam and touchpad. The "smart firewall" is also way too aggressive. I had to shut it off in order to once again be able to share my printer with other PCs on my network. Still, it's a promising beta and I like some of the ideas behind it.

The beta's only good for 14 days (though it claims on the download page to be good for 30 days), so keep that in mind if you want to try it out.

Source: Yahoo Tech

New SEO Tool Launched by GoDaddy.com

Giving its customers more of a chance to complete with the more than 200 million websites in existence, domain registrar web host Go Daddy (www.godaddy.com) has released "Search Engine Visibility," a new search engine optimization tool that walks users through a step-by-step process to make their website search engine friendly, not only making a search engine more likely to index the entire site, but also to help the website rise in search engine rankings.

According to Go Daddy's Wednesday announcement, Search Engine Visibility walks users through a process to optimize their site by defining keywords, analyzing content and tracking keyword performance. Search Engine Visibility also provides a "Top 10 SEO Checklist," which helps identify commonly made mistakes and techniques on how make a website stronger.

"Lots of our customers want to know how to rank higher in Internet search engines,'" Go Daddy chief executive officer and founder Bob Parsons said in a statement. "So we created Search Engine Visibility. This tool gives you real tactics and sound advice about search engine optimization - without having to pay big bucks."

Search Engine Visibility also provides a video tutorial and other educational materials, as well as telephone customer support, to help users better understand the SEO process. Once a website is optimized, users can submit their website to the most commonly used search engines on the Internet.

Source: The WHIR

Microsoft's Bing Search Share Rises

Bing has made a slight gain in market share, but has quite a long way to go before it catches up with the search industry leader Google.

Microsoft had 8.23% market share the first month Bing was live (a 1% increase), putting Bing close behind Yahoo's 11.04%, but still way behind Google's 78.48%.

A 1% market share increase for Microsof's Bing does not appear very positive, especially when you consider the overall investment Microsoft made developing and advertising Bing. However, time may change this if the share continues on it's upward change. The fact is, Bing is still a baby in the big world of search, and if it's loved, cherished, and fed...Bing will grow.