When you think about the black market, I’m sure the majority of you will think of prohibition days.  When alcohol was made illegal, it did two things: It made the bad guys more money, and it put the average joe in a dangerous position while trying to acquire it.  Bring in the 21^stcentury. Sure, there still is a black market… but come on, who is afraid of mobsters anymore? Today, we have a gaming black market. It has been around for years, but will it survive? With more and more games moving towards auction houses, could game companies “tame” the gaming black market?

In the old days of gaming on the internet, we spent most of our online time playing hearts, spades… whatever we could do while connected to the internet. As the years went by, better and better games came about. Then, suddenly, interactive multiplayer games came into the picture. These interactive games, mainly MMORPGS, allowed for characters to pick up and keep randomly generated objects known as “loot”. This evolution of gaming created the black market.

In the eyes of the software companies, the game is only being leased/rented by the end user. You don’t actually have any rights to the game. This is where the market becomes black.  The software companies don’t want you making money of “virtual” goods that are housed on the software or servers of the game you are playing on.  The software companies, at this point, started to get smarter.

Where there is a demand…

The RSS feed, which commonly stands for Really Simple Syndication, is an internet protocol that helps spread the availability of frequently published or updated Internet content.

RSS Benefits for an Internet Content Provider or Blogger
The use of an RSS feed saves immeasurable time for a content provider. When an interested person subscribes to an RSS feed, the owner of that feed now has a way to reach large numbers of people without having to resort to spamming techniques. The RSS feed also allows a content provider to send the requested topical information without specifically asking, every time, to those people who have subscribed. The content provider uses a program, written in XML code to make the information they post available to each person that has requested a subscription to that particular RSS feed.

RSS Benefits for the Average Internet User
The Internet grows larger by the minute. It is easy for a person to have information overload. The use of an RSS feed gives an individual more control over what information they see while on the Internet. It is also very useful for anyone that wants to stay up to date. Subscribing to the RSS feed for a topic of interest automatically provides the subscriber continued availability of the latest information on that topic. The Internet user relies on a small program called an RSS Feeder to gather the information on the RSS feeds to which they have subscribed.

Most browsers these days have built in RSS readers making that gathering the desired information easier than ever to accomplish. Joining an RSS feed is a very simple thing to accomplish.
 

RSS Benefits for Small Businesses

More and more Small Business owners are adapting targeted online marketing campaigns such as RSS Feeds in order to provide relevant content to new and existing customers. Maintaining web content such as:  company news; contests; promotional events; related articles; notifications; product launches; directories; and newsletters are examples of ways of staying in touch with customers in any niche market.  As search engines retrieve information from RSS Feeds and content is syndicated to other websites, chances of increased traffic are inevitable.  For active websites, RSS feeds are invaluable tools for small business owners.

USA.gov Updates: News and Features

Search for RSS feeds (search topics)

Welcome to Google Reader (find and keep track of interesting stuff on the web.)

NPR public radio station (popular, news, program and topics RSS feeds)

RSS in Plain English (video)

10 Helpful Uses of RSS Feeds for Marketing

Incorporate Google RSS feeds onto your site

Adding RSS Content on Yahoo

Viruses, trojans, and other malicious programs are everywhere. There's always a new threat to your computer's security, and many of these threats invade your computer without you even knowing. Most viruses aren't going to loudly announce themselves, so it's important to know the hidden ways in which your computer can become infected.


Infected Files from Other Computers

Whether you're borrowing someone's flash drive or grabbing a file from their computer, your computer can become infected if the file or device you're using already contains a virus, trojan, or other form of malware.

This is a very common issue, and you won't even know there's a problem most of the time. For example, if your computer is connected to other devices on a network, and you decide to pull an important file off of another computer on the network, your computer will become infected if the file you took has a virus attached to it.

Also, if you forgot your flash drive, and you need to use your friend or coworker's device for the day, then even plugging the device into your computer can cause the infection in the flash drive to be transmitted.


Downloading Legitimate Programs

Another way your computer can be secretly infected is when you download a legitimate program and run it. There are numerous legitimate programs on the internet that can help you in many ways. The programs themselves could be infected, though.

Also, one of the most common ways your computer can become infected is when you don't read the fine print before you download a program. Some of them may insist that you install another small program in addition to the one you initially chose. The boxes that you are supposed to click to give your consent may already be clicked.

This small extra program is the one that may carry an infection that will spread to your computer when you run the main program. You may get a lot of good use out of the legitimate program, but the virus attached to the extra hidden program can cause you a lot of trouble.


Using Vulnerable Applications

Security is a serious matter. If even one of the applications you use on your computer is vulnerable to becoming hacked or infected, then your entire computer is at risk and could become secretly infected. Anything from PDF viewing applications to your operating system can become infected if you don't download the latest security patches and keep everything up-to-date.


Not Using Antivirus Software

Antivirus software can protect your computer from a number of viruses, trojans, and other problems. Your computer can become infected in a number of ways, so you need to have good antivirus software to provide strong protection from hidden attacks.


Viruses, trojans, and other malware can infect your computer in a variety of hidden ways. To prevent infection and problems, you need to be careful about what you download, and you should keep your applications secure. Also, find reliable antivirus software to help.

Related:

How Do IT Placement Agencies Work?

5 Disruptive Technologies for the Enterprise: What are the Implications?

Information Technology is one of the most dynamic industries with new technologies surfacing frequently. In such a scenario, it can get intimidating for information technology professionals at all levels to keep abreast of the latest technology innovations worth investing time and resources into.

It can therefore get daunting for entry and mid-level IT professionals to decide which technologies they should potentially be developing skills. However, the biggest challenge comes for senior information technology professionals responsible for driving the IT strategy in their organizations.

It is therefore important to keep abreast of the latest technology trends and get them from reputable sources. Here are some of the ways to keep on top of the latest trends in Information Technology.

·         Subscribe to leading Analyst Firms: If you work for a leading IT organization, chances are that you already have subscription to leading IT analyst firms notably Gartner and Forrester. These two firms are some of the most recognized analyst firms with extensive coverage on almost every enterprise technology including hardware and software. These Analyst firms frequently publish reports on global IT spending and trends that are based on primary research conducted on vendors and global CIOs & CTOs. However, subscription to these reports is very expensive and if you are a part of a small organization you may have issues securing access to these reports. One of the most important pieces of research published by these firms happens to be the Gartner Hype Cycle which plots leading technologies and their maturity curve.Even if you do not have access to Gartner research, you can hack your way by searching for “Gartner Hype Cycle” on Google Images and you will in most cases be able to see the plots similar to the one below