Sunday, September 4, 2011

Market Participants

A few decades ago, worldwide, buyers and sellers were individual investors, such as wealthy businessmen, usually with long family histories to particular corporations. Over time, markets have become more "institutionalized"; buyers and sellers are largely institutions (e.g., pension funds, insurance companies, mutual funds, index funds, exchange-traded funds, hedge funds, investor groups, banks and various other financial institutions).

The rise of the institutional investor has brought with it some improvements in market operations. Thus, the government was responsible for "fixed" (and exorbitant) fees being markedly reduced for the 'small' investor, but only after the large institutions had managed to break the brokers' solid front on fees.

Monday, August 8, 2011

Share Certificates


Investors were given share certificates as evidence of their ownership of shares but certificates are not always issued nowadays. Instead, the ownership may be recorded electronically by a system such as CREST.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Choose a Forex Broker

Most investors who trade Forex stocks use a broker. A broker is an individual or a company, who buys and sells stocks according to the investor's wishes. Brokers earn money by collecting commissions or fees for their services.

You should check that a broker is registered as a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as protection against fraud or abusive trade practices. A Forex broker also needs to be associated with a financial institution, such as a bank in order to provide funds for margin trading. Picking the right Forex broker for you will take some work on your part. There are brokers who charge a flat fee and some that charge commission. It may be a good idea to talk with friends and business associates about their brokers. You may get some good leads, and you're certain to hear who to stay away from. There is nothing like word of mouth advertising.

If you are thinking of investing online, you could choose several online brokers and contact their help desks. Seeing how quickly they respond to your questions could be key in how they will respond to their customers needs. If you don't get a speedy reply and a satisfactory answer to your question you certainly wouldn't want to trust them with your business. Just be aware that as in other types of businesses, pre sales service might be better than after sales service.

Before you choose an online broker get a copy of their online demo account. What features are included? Is the software reliable? Does it offer automatic trading? Are there extra software features that cost more?

Before setting up an account with a Forex broker you will need to do further investigation. How quickly will these brokers execute your buy/sell orders? What is their policy on slippage? What are the transaction fees? What is the spread, fixed or variable? What are the margin requirements and how are they calculated? Does the margin change with currency traded? Is it the same for mini accounts and standard accounts?

Don't forget to ask about minimum account balances and interest payments on account balances. Make sure that your funds will be insured.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Preferred Stock

Preferred stock, also called preferred shares, preference shares, or simply preferreds, is typically a 'higher ranking' stock than common stock, and its terms are negotiated between the corporation and the investor.

Preferred stock usually carries no voting rights, but may carry priority over common stock in the payment of dividends and upon liquidation. Preferred stock may carry a dividend that is paid out prior to any dividends being paid tocommon stock holders. Preferred stock may have a convertibility feature into common stock.

Similar to bonds, preferred stocks are rated by the major credit rating companies. The rating for preferreds is generally lower since preferred dividends do not carry the same guarantees as interest payments from bonds and they are junior to all creditors.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Restricted stock

Also known as letter stock or restricted securities, refers to stock of a company that is not fully transferable until certain conditions have been met. Upon satisfaction of those conditions, the stock becomes transferable by the person holding the award.

Another type of restricted stock is a form of compensation granted by a company. Typically, the conditions that allow the shares to be transferred are a period of time, when they vest. However, those restrictions can also be some sort of performance condition, such as the company reaching earnings per share goals or financial targets. Restricted stock is becoming a more prominent form of employee compensation, particularly to executives. It has come to prominence as stock options have fallen out of favor after the perceived excesses of the stock market in the early 21st century.

Monday, May 30, 2011

Effective Strategies in Forex

Starting out in the Forex world of trading can be quiet daunting. So we have put together some of the most powerful strategies to help your forex trading.

So you are serious about profiting in forex trading, then you need to watch forex trends which are short term.

Here we are going to give you a 3 step simple method which if you use it correctly, will help you catch every superior forex trend and lead you to long-term term currency dealing success.

New and inexperienced traders don't try to follow the trend for forex lengthier term - instead they try forex scalping or day trading hoping to grab short term profit. These methods focus the trader on small moves and they hope to catch small profit however as most short term moves are random, this leads to equity eliminate.

Also make sure you are using the Best Forex Broker

The other alternatives are swing trading and long term forex trend following and this article is all about the latter method. If you look at any forex chart, you will see long-term term trends that last for months or years. These moves can and do yield serious profit - present we will outline a simple method to get them.

Breakouts

By far the best way of catching the serious moves is to use a forex dealing strategy based around breakouts. A breakout is simply a move on a forex chart where a new high or low is made and resistance or support is broken.

It's a fact that most leading moves start from new highs or lows.

While it might appear that you are not buying or selling at the greatest level, you are in terms of the odds of the trend continuing. Most forex traders make the mistake of waiting for the breakout to come back and get in at a better price but these traders never get on board. The grounds for this is if a breakout occurs, then you have a new strong trend and a pullback is not very likely to occur.

Most traders don't buy or sell breakouts and that's exactly why it's such a powerful method.

The only point to keep in mind is a support or resistance which is ruined, should be valid and that means at least 3 points in at least 2 different times frames. The more tests and the greater the spacing between the tests the more valid the level is.

Confirmation

Of course not every breakout keeps and some reverse, these are false and can cause losses. You therefore need to confirm each move. All you need to do to achieve this is to put a few momentum indicators in your forex trading system to confirm your dealing signal.

These indicators give you an estimation of the strength and velocity of price and there are many to choose from. We don't have time to discuss them here (simply look up our other articles) but two of the greatest are - the stochastic and Relative Strength Index RSI

Stops and Targets

Stop points are easy with breakouts   Simply behind the breakout point.

If you have a serious trend then you need to be careful you can milk it, so don't move your stop to soon and keep it outside of normal volatility. If it is a huge move, trailing stops should be held a long-term way back and the 40 day moving average is a good level to use.

You have to keep in mind that when the trend does eventually turn you are going to give some profit back. You don't know when the trend is going to end, so don't predict.

It's ok to give a serious back, as that's the nature of trading forex. Keep in mind if you got 50% of all leading trend you would be very rich. When you are long term term trend following you have accept giving a bit back and taking dips in open equity as the trend develops - this is noise and does not affect the long term trend.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Forex Broker

Most investors who trade Forex stocks use a broker. A broker is an individual or a company, who buys and sells stocks according to the investor's wishes. Brokers earn money by collecting commissions or fees for their services.

You should check that a broker is registered as a Futures Commission Merchant with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as protection against fraud or abusive trade practices. A Forex broker also needs to be associated with a financial institution, such as a bank in order to provide funds for margin trading. Picking the right Forex broker for you will take some work on your part. There are brokers who charge a flat fee and some that charge commission. It may be a good idea to talk with friends and business associates about their brokers. You may get some good leads, and you're certain to hear who to stay away from. There is nothing like word of mouth advertising.

If you are thinking of investing online, you could choose several online brokers and contact their help desks. Seeing how quickly they respond to your questions could be key in how they will respond to their customers needs. If you don't get a speedy reply and a satisfactory answer to your question you certainly wouldn't want to trust them with your business. Just be aware that as in other types of businesses, pre sales service might be better than after sales service.

Before you choose an online broker get a copy of their online demo account. What features are included? Is the software reliable? Does it offer automatic trading? Are there extra software features that cost more?

Before setting up an account with a Forex broker you will need to do further investigation. How quickly will these brokers execute your buy/sell orders? What is their policy on slippage? What are the transaction fees? What is the spread, fixed or variable? What are the margin requirements and how are they calculated? Does the margin change with currency traded? Is it the same for mini accounts and standard accounts?

Don't forget to ask about minimum account balances and interest payments on account balances. Make sure that your funds will be insured.

Friday, May 6, 2011

Underwriting

Underwriting profit is a term used in the insurance industry. It consists of the earned premium remaining after losses have been paid and administrative expenses have been deducted. It does not include any investment income earned on held premiums.

It has also been very elusive to most insurance companies. Many companies will eschew Underwriting profit in order to gain a greater market share.

For example, an auto insurer collects money every month from its customers in the form of a premium. Should a customer have a covered auto accident, the company pays out a claim. In the time between the receipt of each premium payment and the paying of the claim, the money received by the insurer can be invested. Returns from investments are the primary source of profits for an insurance company. If the amount of premiums taken in is greater than the claims paid out, even before taking into account investment returns, the excess additional profit is called "underwriting profit".

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Forex Risk Management Strategies

The Forex market behaves differently from other markets! The speed, volatility, and enormous size of the Forex market are unlike anything else in the financial world. Beware: the Forex market is uncontrollable - no single event, individual, or factor rules it. Enjoy trading in the perfect market! Just like any other speculative business, increased risk entails chances for a higher profit/loss.

Currency markets are highly speculative and volatile in nature. Any currency can become very expensive or very cheap in relation to any or all other currencies in a matter of days, hours, or sometimes, in minutes. This unpredictable nature of the currencies is what attracts an investor to trade and invest in the currency market.

But ask yourself, "How much am I ready to lose?" When you terminated, closed or exited your position, did you understand the risks and taken steps to avoid them? Let's look at some foreign exchange risk management issues that may come up in your day-to-day foreign exchange transactions.

    1 Unexpected corrections in currency exchange rates
    2 Wild variations in foreign exchange rates
    3 Volatile markets offering profit opportunities
    4 Lost payments
    5 Delayed confirmation of payments and receivables
    6 Divergence between bank drafts received and the contract price

These are areas that every trader should cover both BEFORE and DURING a trade.

Exit the Forex market at profit targets
Take profit take orders, allow Forex traders to exit the Forex market at pre-determined profit targets. If you are short (sold) a currency pair, the system will only allow you to place a limit order below the current market price because this is the profit zone. Similarly, if you are long (bought) the currency pair, the system will only allow you to place a take profit order above the current market price. Take profit orders help create a disciplined trading methodology and make it possible for traders to walk away from the computer without continuously monitoring the market.

Control risk by capping losses
Stop/loss orders allow traders to set an exit point for a losing trade. If you are short a currency pair, the stop/loss order should be placed above the current market price. If you are long the currency pair, the stop/loss order should be placed below the current market price. Stop/loss orders help traders control risk by capping losses. Stop/loss orders are counter-intuitive because you do not want them to be hit; however, you will be happy that you placed them! When logic dictates, you can control greed.

Where should I place my stop and take profit orders?
As a general rule of thumb, traders should set stop/loss orders closer to the opening price than take profit orders. If this rule is followed, a trader needs to be right less than 50% of the time to be profitable. For example, a trader that uses a 30 pip stop/loss and 100-pip take profit orders, needs only to be right 1/3 of the time to make a profit. Where the trader places the stop and take profit will depend on how risk-adverse he is. Stop/loss orders should not be so tight that normal market volatility triggers the order. Similarly, take profit orders should reflect a realistic expectation of gains based on the market's trading activity and the length of time one wants to hold the position. In initially setting up and establishing the trade, the trader should look to change the stop loss and set it at a rate in the 'middle ground' where they are not overexposed to the trade, and at the same time, not too close to the market.

Trading foreign currencies is a demanding and potentially profitable opportunity for trained and experienced investors. However, before deciding to participate in theForex market, you should soberly reflect on the desired result of your investment and your level of experience. Warning! Do not invest money you cannot afford to lose.

So, there is significant risk in any foreign exchange deal. Any transaction involving currencies involves risks including, but not limited to, the potential for changing political and/or economic conditions, that may substantially affect the price or liquidity of a currency.

Moreover, the leveraged nature of FX trading means that any market movement will have an equally proportional effect on your deposited funds. This may work against you as well as for you. The possibility exists that you could sustain a total loss of your initial margin funds and be required to deposit additional funds to maintain your position. If you fail to meet any margin call within the time prescribed, your position will be liquidated and you will be responsible for any resulting losses. 'Stop-loss' or 'limit' order strategies may lower an investor's exposure to risk.

Easy-Forex foreign exchange technology links around-the-clock to the world's foreign currency exchange trading floors to get the lowest foreign currency rates and to take every opportunity to make or settle a transaction.

Avoiding/lowering risk when trading Forex:
Trade like a technical analyst. Understanding the fundamentals behind an investment also requires understanding the technical analysis method. When your fundamental and technical signals point to the same direction, you have a good chance to have a successful trade, especially with good money management skills. Use simple support and resistance technical analysis, Fibonacci Retracement and reversal days. Be disciplined. Create a position and understand your reasons for having that position, and establish stop loss and profit taking levels. Discipline includes hitting your stops and not following the temptation to stay with a losing position that has gone through your stop/loss level. When you buy, buy high. When you sell, sell higher. Similarly, when you sell, sell low. When you buy, buy lower. Rule of thumb: In a bull market, be long or neutral - in a bear market, be short or neutral. If you forget this rule and trade against the trend, you will usually cause yourself to suffer psychological worries, and frequently, losses. And never add to a losing position. On Easy-Forex the trader can change their trade orders as many times as they wish free of charge, either as a stop loss or as a take profit. The trader can also close the trade manually without a stop loss or profit take order being hit. Many successful traders set their stop loss price beyond the rate at which they made the trade so that the worst that can happen is that they get stopped out and make a profit.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Other Financial Services

 (1) Intermediation or advisory services - These services involve stock brokers and discount brokers. Stock brokers assist investors in buying or selling shares. Primarily internet-based companies are often referred to as discount brokerages, although many now have branch offices to assist clients. These brokerages primarily target individual investors. Full service and private client firms primarily assist execute trades and execute trades for clients with large amounts of capital to invest, such as large companies, wealthy individuals, and investment management funds.
 (2) Private equity - Private equity funds are typically closed-end funds, which usually take controlling equity stakes in businesses that are either private, or taken private once acquired. Private equity funds often use leveraged buyouts to acquire the firms in which they invest. The most successful private equity funds can generate returns significantly higher than provided by the equity markets
 (3) Venture capital is a type of private equity capital typically provided by professional, outside investors to new, high-potential-growth companies in the interest of taking the company to an IPO or trade sale of the business.
 (4) Angel investment - An angel investor or angel , is an affluent individual who provides capital for a business start-up, usually in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity. A small but increasing number of angel investors organize themselves into angel groups or angel networks to share research and pool their investment capital.
 (5) Conglomerates - A financial services conglomerate is a financial services firm that is active in more than one sector of the financial servicesmarket e.g. life insurance, general insurance, health insurance, asset management, retail banking, wholesale banking, investment banking, etc. A key rationale for the existence of such businesses is the existence of diversification benefits that are present when different types of businesses are aggregated i.e. bad things don't always happen at the same time. As a consequence, economic capital for a conglomerate is usually substantially less than economic capital is for the sum of its parts.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Financial Service

Banks


A "commercial bank" is what is commonly referred to as simply a "bank". The term "commercial" is used to distinguish it from an "investment bank", a type of financial services entity which, instead of lending money directly to a business, helps businesses raise money from other firms in the form of bonds or stock.

 Banking services

The primary operations of banks include:

    1 Keeping money safe while also allowing withdrawals when needed
    2 Issuance of checkbooks so that bills can be paid and other kinds of payments can be delivered by post
    3 Provide personal loans, commercial loans, and mortgage loans (typically loans to purchase a home, property or business)
    4 Issuance of credit cards and processing of credit card transactions and billing
    5 Issuance of debit cards for use as a substitute for checks
    6 Allow financial transactions at branches or by using Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs)
    7 Provide wire transfers of funds and Electronic fund transfers between banks
    8 Facilitation of standing orders and direct debits, so payments for bills can be made automatically
    9 Provide overdraft agreements for the temporary advancement of the Bank's own money to meet monthly spending commitments of a customer in their current account.
    10 Provide Charge card advances of the Bank's own money for customers wishing to settle credit advances monthly.
    11 Provide a check guaranteed by the Bank itself and prepaid by the customer, such as a cashier's check or certified check.
    12 Notary service for financial and other documents

Other types of bank services
    1 Private banking - Private banks provide banking services exclusively to high net worth individuals. Many financial services firms require a person or family to have a certain minimum net worth to qualify for private banking services.Private banks often provide more personal services, such as wealth management and tax planning, than normal retail banks.
    2 Capital market bank - bank that underwrite debt and equity, assist company deals (advisory services, underwriting and advisory fees), and restructure debt into structured finance products.
    3 Bank cards - include both credit cards and debit cards. Bank Of America is the largest issuer of bank cards.
    4 Credit card machine services and networks - Companies which provide credit card machine and payment networks call themselves "merchant card providers".

Foreign exchange services

Foreign exchange services are provided by many banks around the world. Foreign exchange services include:

    1 Currency Exchange - where clients can purchase and sell foreign currency banknotes
    2 Wire transfer - where clients can send funds to international banks abroad
    3 Foreign Currency Banking - banking transactions are done in foreign currency

Investment services
    1 Asset management - the term usually given to describe companies which run collective investment funds.
    2 Hedge fund management - Hedge funds often employ the services of "prime brokerage" divisions at major investment banks to execute their trades.
    3 Custody services - the safe-keeping and processing of the world's securities trades and servicing the associated portfolios. Assets under custody in the world are approximately $100 trillion.

Insurance

    1 Insurance brokerage - Insurance brokers shop for insurance (generally corporate property and casualty insurance) on behalf of customers. Recently a number of websites have been created to give consumers basic price comparisons for services such as insurance, causing controversy within the industry.
    2 Insurance underwriting - Personal lines insurance underwriters actually underwrite insurance for individuals, a service still offered primarily through agents, insurance brokers, and stock brokers. Underwriters may also offer similar commercial lines of coverage for businesses. Activities include insurance and annuities, life insurance, retirement insurance, health insurance, and property & casualty insurance.
    3 Reinsurance - Reinsurance is insurance sold to insurers themselves, to protect them from catastrophic losses.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Stock

The stock or capital stock of a business entity represents the original capital paid or invested into the business by its founders. It serves as a security for the creditors of a business since it cannot be withdrawn to the detriment of the creditors. Stock is distinct from the property and the assets of a business which may fluctuate in quantity and value.

The stock of a business is divided into shares, the total of which must be stated at the time of business formation. Given the total amount of money invested into the business, a share has a certain declared face value, commonly known as the par value of a share. The par value is the minimum amount of money that a business may issue and sell shares for in many jurisdictions and it is the value represented as capital in the accounting of the business. In other jurisdictions, however, shares may not have an associated par value at all. Such stock is often called non-par stock. Shares represent a fraction of ownership in a business. A business may declare different types (classes) of shares, each having distinctive ownership rules, privileges, or share values.

Ownership of shares is documented by issuance of a stock certificate. A stock certificate is a legal document that specifies the amount of shares owned by the shareholder, and other specifics of the shares, such as the par value, if any, or the class of the shares.

Used in the plural, stocks is often used as a synonym for shares. Traditionalist demands that the plural stocks be used only when referring to stock of more than one company are rarely heard nowadays.

In the stock can also refer to completely different financial instruments such as government bonds or, less commonly, to all kinds of marketable securities.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Modern Financial System

The financial systems in most western countries has undergone a remarkable transformation. One feature of this development is disintermediation. A portion of the funds involved in saving and financing flows directly to the financial markets instead of being routed via the traditional bank lending and deposit operations. The general public's heightened interest in investing in the stock market, either directly or through mutual funds, has been an important component of this process. Statistics show that in recent decades shares have made up an increasingly large proportion of households' financial assets in many countries. In the 1970s, in Sweden, deposit accounts and other very liquid assets with little risk made up almost 60 percent of households' financial wealth, compared to less than 20 percent in the 2000s. The major part of this adjustment in financial portfolios has gone directly to shares but a good deal now takes the form of various kinds of institutional investment for groups of individuals, e.g., pension funds, mutual funds, hedge funds, insurance investment of premiums, etc. The trend towards forms of saving with a higher risk has been accentuated by new rules for most funds and insurance, permitting a higher proportion of shares to bonds. Similar tendencies are to be found in other industrialized countries. In all developed economic systems, such as the European Union, the United States, Japan and other developed nations, the trend has been the same: saving has moved away from traditional bank deposits to more risky securities of one sort or another.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Automated Forex Trading System


Automated Trading is the next revolution in trading: a system that can trade Forex and other assets automatically by sending trading signals directly to your account. The good thing is there are a lot of Automated Trading systems available and more on the way. On the other hand, there are a lot of bad systems available. Here are ways to find the best.

Instructions
1.
Go to a automated trading exchange, like Collective 2 or Strategy Exchange and review the systems.

2.
Pick systems that have long-term success. Anyone can develop an automated trading strategy that makes money for a month and then blows up.

3.
Find a system with small rates of slippage. Slippage is when a system loses money before it starts to gain. Too much slippage can wipe out your account.

4.
Avoid excessive trading. A system that produces solid returns but conducts a high amount of trades is likely to lose money, or limit your return through trading fees and commissions.

5.
Check volatility. If a system’s swings scare you on the chart, imagine what it will do to you in real life. You’ll be spending just as much time watching the trades as you would if youwere making the calls yourself.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Economic Factors

•  Economic policy comprises government fiscal policy(budget/spending practices) and monetary policy (the means by which a government's central bank influences the supply and "cost" of money, which is reflected by the level of interest rates).
•  Government budget deficits or surpluses: The market usually reacts negatively to widening government budget deficits and positively to narrowing budget deficits. The impact is reflected in the value of a country's currency.
•  Balance of trade levels and trends: The trade flow between countries illustrates the demand for goods and services, which in turn indicates demand for a country's currency to conduct trade. Surpluses and deficits in trade of goods and services reflect the competitiveness of a nation's economy. For example, trade deficits may have a negative impact on a nation's currency.
•  Inflation levels and trends: Typically a currency will lose value if there is a high level of inflation in the country or if inflation levels are perceived to be rising. This is because inflation erodes purchasing power, thus demand, for that particular currency. However, a currency may sometimes strengthen when inflation rises because of expectations that the central bank will raise short-term interest rates to combat rising inflation.
•  Economic growth and health: Reports such as GDP, employment levels, retail sales, capacity utilization and others, detail the levels of a country's economic growth and health. Generally, the more healthy and robust a country's economy, the better its currency will perform, and the more demand for it there will be.
•  Productivity of an economy: Increasing productivity in an economy should positively influence the value of its currency. Its effects are more prominent if the increase is in the traded secto

Money Market

The money market consists of financial institutions and dealers in money or credit who wish to either borrow or lend. Participants borrow and lend for short periods of time, typically up to thirteen months. Money market trades in short-term financial instruments commonly called "paper." This contrasts with the capital market for longer-term funding, which is supplied by bonds and equity.
The core of the money market consists of interbank lending--banks borrowing and lending to each other using commercial paper, repurchase agreements and similar instruments. These instruments are often benchmarked to (i.e. priced by reference to) the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) for the appropriate term and currency.
Finance companies, such as GMAC, typically fund themselves by issuing large amounts of asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP) which is secured by the pledge of eligible assets into an ABCP conduit. Examples of eligible assets include auto loans, credit card receivables, residential/commercial mortgage loans, mortgage-backed securities and similar financial assets. Certain large corporations with strong credit ratings, such as General Electric, issue commercial paper on their own credit. Other large corporations arrange for banks to issue commercial paper on their behalf via commercial paper lines.
In the United States, federal, state and local governments all issue paper to meet funding needs. States and local governments issue municipal paper, while the US Treasury issues Treasury bills to fund the US public debt.
•    Trading companies often purchase bankers' acceptances to be tendered for payment to overseas suppliers.
•    Retail and institutional money market funds
•    Banks
•    Central banks
•    Cash management programs
•    Arbitrage ABCP conduits, which seek to buy higher yielding paper, while themselves selling cheaper paper.
•    Merchant Banks

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Network Firewall




Computer networks are more like any other kind of inhabited space networks have assets, they have participants and they have rules. Some computer networks are private and others public, some contain sensitive assets and others less so and so on. Generally user and traffic residing on one network need to be a protected from users and traffic on a different but connected network. Yet all these networks are inter-connected to a degree even if they are only connected via sneakernet and this interconnectedness is both a critical feature and an emergent vulnerability.

So it is not to surprising that the idea for "fire wall" functionality as applied to computer networks has been around since the early days of the Internet, and saw serious development in the 1990.It was eventually recognized that the very same problems applied in networks as existed in construction; containment and isolation. Network engineers began working with routers and packet filters as early containment technology, and from these efforts eventually emerged the sophisticated purpose built network firewalls common in computer cloud data centers and home computers.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Google Redirect Virus Removal - Learn How To Fix Google Redirect Virus


Google redirect virus is a special kind of virus. It becomes active whenever you do a search on Google and alters the search results. Instead of displaying real search results you are fooled by displaying solely advertisement and affiliate links. It is installed via a Trojan horse and usually executes itself once an user opens a browser. The other damage it can cause is to redirect the pages of the websites to spam and ad websites or bring up ad pop ups on the screen. You most likely are reading this, because your PC got infected with the virus. Don't worry. There are ways to fix Google redirect virus fast... if you know how to do it.

The first step to fix Google redirect virus is to open the "System32" folder found in the Windows folder located at the local drive or the drive C. Once you are inside the System 32 folder, look for "regedit.exe". Click on it. You should then rename it to a name you can easily remember. Then disable it as it is the location in which the Google redirect virus executes itself from.After that download anti-mailware. Install it and let it run. It is very important to download the most recent version of anti-mailware. Why? Because only the most updated version might be able to get rid of Google redirect virus and it will also fix other infections. When it comes to downloading them from internet sites, you should ensure that you have selected sites that are reputable and secure. It is hard to believe, but the number if scam sites offering anti malware which will infect your PC with even more malicious code, viruses and trojans is growing every day. It is important to scan all files and folders on your hard drive. This is to make sure that the software finds all threats and infections on your PC and can fix them.

You should then head back to the "System32" folder and change the name of the folder back to the original (regedit). The next step is to open the registry editor window. If you don't know how to do this: go to the start menu, click on run and type in "regedit". On this window, you will find "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE" on which you should select software. Ok, you are almost there.... now select "Microsoft", "Windows" and then "Current Version" and finally "run" Now look for RegSVR32=%system%msmsgs.exe which you can find on the right window. Once you found it right click and select "delete".

Ensure that the executable file is stated as mentioned above and avoid as much as possible to delete any other file as they may end up getting rid of important registry files, forcing you to re-install the operating system. To complete the process you are required to restart the computer. If you have done everything correctly, Google redirect virus should be gone. I recommend going to Google and starting a search to make sure the virus is indeed gone. You should now get real search results and not fake affiliate links or ads. The last step is to update your antivirus software to make sure that your computer does not get infected again.

How To Get The Latest Spyware Removers


Numerous researches have been conducted in order to find out which of the available Spyware Removers in the market is the best one. Since Adware and Spyware viruses have become the number one most irritating threat to everyone's computer, someone would have to do the dirty work by doing a lot of research in order to benefit all mankind. Though sorting through all of the available anti spyware programs to identify the best ones is like finding a needle in a haystack, it really is crucial for anyone to know about the best spyware program and get educated on the spyware removers reviews.

Among the top 5 spyware removers that have been reviewed include Anti Spyware 2010, Spyware Nuker, No Adware, RegistryFix, and XoftSpySE. The XoftSpySE was rated 9.8 out of 10 and is the best spyware removers so far, with features such as fast and powerful ability to detect spyware and adware, easy to use, finds, assesses, and categorizes threats for free, and works quite well with Windows Vista, XP, and 7. Its overall satisfactory percentages as voted by most customers are 98%. Meanwhile, the No Adware was voted the second best with rating of about 9.6 out of 10, with features like easy-to-use and clean interface, fast scans, and its ability to quickly detect the second most malware on computer. Its overall satisfactory percentages are 92% and works well with XP and Vista.

For the Anti Spyware 2010, it was rated 8.9 out of 10 with overall satisfactory percentages as voted by testers and customers for about 85% and works well with Vista and XP. Though it is still considered as third best with 3 stars and is the up and coming program that is worth a look, it still misses some top functionality and features. The Spyware Nuker found mainly "cookies" but missed some key Spyware. Some testers found their interface to be quite intuitive. With an overall rating of about 8.7/10, the program is quite easy to use. For the RegistryFix, the program mainly weeds out any unwanted junk such as cluttered registry.

As conclusion, a spyware remover is considered to be a good one if it is easy to set up, has effective detection of threats and is able to remove spyware when one is detected. System and scanning performance plays a part too. If the remover slows down the system, users will not favour it, also if it takes a long time to perform a full scan.

Remove the System Defragmenter Virus - How To Get Rid Of This Malware


If your computer has started slowing down or you need to maintain it one of the first things you may consider is running the disk defragmenter tool. Unfortunately there is malware that takes advantage of this and presents itself as an advanced system scanner and defragmenter to help you to optimize your computer. This is the system defragmenter virus otherwise called the Trojan:Win32/FakeSysdef.

This malware cleverly plays on a name similar to the windows disk defragmenter but instead called itself the system defragmenter and tricks most people into thinking it is the same, if not a similar product from Microsoft.

The sole purpose of this malware is to get you to buy the full version of it, which does absolutely nothing to improve computer performance and may actually make it worse than before.

How does this malware trick you?

This malware look similar to a genuine disk defragmenter. It usually gets on your computer by tricking you into thinking it is genuine software and once installed it is very hard to remove. It will then run a fake system scan and report numerous hard disk and system errors. The longer this malware stays on your computer the more errors it will generate in an attempt to make you buy it.

You will see errors like:

#1 your hard drive has bad sectors.
#2 your computer has serious registry errors.
#3 your CPU is overheating.
#4 your computer is infected with malware causing disk corruption.

This malware then informs you that all this can be fixed by running the full version of this product. To stop this you need to remove the system defragmenter virus quickly.

How do you get rid of this?

#1 The first step is to stop this malware from running at all. To do this start task manager by right clicking on the task bar, then select task manager.

#2 once task manager opens go to the processes tab and find a process called exe. Exe. Click on it with your mouse and highlight it and then click on end process at the bottom of the task manager box.

#3 Start the registry editor from the start menu. To to do this go to start, then run and type in regedit. Then go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "exe.exe and delete this exe.exe entry.

#4 Once you have done this search for and delete the following files and program folders.

a) maindll.dll

b) Remove the system defragmenter.lnk file or shortcut from the desktop.

c) Delete the system defragmenter folder from the programs folder.

Once you have done all this restart your computer. If you have done everything correctly you should find that you have removed the system defragmenter virus. If it is still there either you have made a mistake or the virus has regenerated itself using hidden registry and system files. If this is the case you need to use the next option to remove it.

Automatic method to remove this malware

If you have been unable to remove this malware following the steps above the next step is to download and run a system and registry scanner. Ensure you do not download more malware! A genuine system scanner will scan the windows registry and the windows files for any malware and stop it. It will then help you to remove any trace of the system defragmenter virus and get rid of it for good.

How to Identify Fake Antivirus Software


The purpose of antivirus software is to keep your computer clean from malicious software, codes, etc. On the contrary, fake antivirus programs attack your computer and steal personal information from it and use it for various purposes. They can sell your details for unwanted advertisement, spam messages, etc. It can go worse. If your computer has financial information, these rogue software can be used to steal your money from Bank account or Credit Card.

So, the question is how to identify if some program is fake. For experts, it is not a big deal but for beginners it can be a tough task. The Graphical User Interface (GUI) of these fake antivirus software looks very legitimate at first but a little research can help you find the truth behind the story.

How to Identify?

Following points will help you identify a fake antivirus software:

- Software pops up asking you to scan your computer.
- You haven't installed that software.
- If you have clicked "Scan" button it will show a lot of viruses.
- It won't help you clean your computer instead it will ask you to purchase security software to clean your computer. DO NOT BUY IT!

List of Fake Antivirus Software:

Following is the list of some common antivirus software. According to McAfee, the number of fake antivirus software has increased by 400% since 2009 and its growing fast.

- CleanUp Antivirus
- Dr Guard
- Antimalware Defender
- XP Guardian 2010
- Antivirus Live
- XP Internet Security
- Antivirus XP 2010
- XP Antivirus Pro 2010
- Security Antivirus
- Advanced Defender
- My Security Wall

Tips & Warnings

- Do not use your credit card information to buy a product you are not aware of.
- Never scan your computer online with a antivirus you are not familiar with.
- If you are not sure whether some program is legit or not, do little research over the Internet to find out details.
- The price of one software can be as high as $99.99. Do not waste your money on this.
- If you are affected with a fake antivirus, immediately clean your computer with a legit Antivirus software. Some well known security software are Kaspersky, McAfee, Panda, malwarebytes, etc.
- Always reboot your computer in Safe Mode to carry on the cleaning process. Do not start your computer in Normal mode until you are not sure that your system is cleaned.

Get Rid Of Internet Defender - Remove It From PC


About rouge antispywares

Beware of internet defender as it resembles like other antispyware programs but it a disastrous and fake antispyware program. Actually it is the hackers who develop these kinds of fake antispyware programs that instead of removing spywares make your system slow and unhealthy. As stated above it is like other antispyware programs but instead of its promises it creates abnormalities in your system degrading its performance and speed. However, it is a fake antispyware that misguides user and harms your PC badly. Never be the victim of such fake antispyware programs and try to remove Internet Defender as soon as possible before it crashes your system or makes it unusable.

Harmful outcomes of such malwares

Internet defender comes when you download video codec or any free application on your windows. The most threatening act of this malware is that it tracks your important information from your PC so there is chance of identity theft and leaking of important information's. You may also get unwanted pop up messages that are annoying. Other than these consequences your browser may get hijacked and if you open a site it gets redirected to some other site which is not safe. From there comes additional malwares and Trojans that harm your PC. Your system will behave abnormal and comparatively slow. It creates a trap and compels the user to buy licensed version of internet defender to get rid of these abnormalities, viruses and spywares. Instead of buying the versions try to remove this threatning fake antivirus.

Removal of such fake antiviruses

To get rid of these deadly viruses the best and ultimate solution is performing manual steps. However, rouge antispyware are developed throug hackers so it may overcome the efforts for removing. Still manual steps are effective and the best way to get rid of these misleading antispyware. Before trying out these manual steps make sure that you are technically sound to perform these steps. Never take risk or do any wrong move. If you safely perform manual steps but unable to resolve the issue then try third party application to get rid of internet defender. Windows privacy agent removal tool is an efficient tool that thoroughly scans and eliminates harmful malware completely from your PC. With the use of the tool you get rid of all the abnormalities and issues occurred on your PC due to such fake antispyware programs. To explore about the ways to resolve the issues effectively and completely visit the link given below.