Dec 16

ISP selling Internet surfing history

Interesting information on how ISPs selling the surfing history of their consumers.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/03/AR2008040304052.html

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2007/03/your-isp-may-be-selling-your-web-clicks.ars

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2007/03/does_your_isp_s/

In USA, an ISP makes $5 per month per user.  Recently  I have received emails and other information related to the websites I surf.  I wonder what the going rate every month is for my surfing habits.  Some alternatives to get rid of this problem is to use encryption or get your own ISP.

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Dec 16

Journalism for sale

Posted in business, media

From http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?263241

Indian media doesn’t do introspection. We recommend it to others—MPs, political parties, militants, judges, scientists…. They are all advised to look deep inside their own trade and clean up the rot. Meanwhile, the rot creeping into the fourth estate is studiously ignored or airbrushed, usually by organising a “studio discussion” in which the citizen is asked: Does the media need to be accountable? Discussion over. Issue over. Fortunately, even that stratagem is wearing thin. The chicanery is conspicuous.

After some time, it is easy to recognize a genuine story and some thing that has been paid for. The rate varies from Rs 50000 to Rs 2.5 Lakhs or more.

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Dec 12

Dangers of mobile banking

Many internet “experts” talk about  mobile internet and banking, but the security of these systems is suspect.

Rs 86000 stolen from ICICI bank account through mobile banking.
From:http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/ArticleImage.aspx?article=12_12_2009_001_029&mode=1

Mobile phones are not secure, I have received strange SMSes from JustDial and DNA ,  better to be low tech and safe.

Related : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/LATEST-NEWS/Rs-500cr-land-row-Builder-hacks-into-partners-email/articleshow/5260031.cms

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Dec 11

Female staff attrition

Posted in business, technical

This article on women in the IT sector

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/jobs/TCS-Wipro-Infosys-go-all-out-to-check-high-female-staff-attrition/articleshow/5324809.cms

has some interesting numbers.

At the entry level,  the  male / female ratio is almost 50: 50 , but at the senior level at Infosys, women constitute less than 2 % ( and many of them will be HR and similar departments)

As mentioned,  with a female boss ” Often male employees, are not too cooperative in the team”.  So even if  you are extremely good at your work, if  you are woman employed  in any organization (however progressive it may claim to be ) , you will rarely get a fair deal.

In other sectors like engineering (infrastructure) it is worse,  engineers are expected  to spend time outdoors in the sun,  girls are told at some campus interviews ” Girls are like flowers to be kept in a vase,  if they go outside they will wilt, so please don’t sit for campus interviews”

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Dec 8

Personal information for sale

From http://cryptome.org/isp-spy/yahoo-spy.pdf

Federal law (See 18 U.S.C. § 2706) requires law enforcement to reimburse providers like Yahoo! for costs incurred responding to subpoena requests, court orders, or search warrants.

• Basic subscriber records: approx. $20 for the first ID, $10 per ID thereafter
• Basic Group Information (including information about moderators): approx. $20 for a group with a single moderator
• Contents of subscriber accounts, including email: approx. $30-$40 per user
• Contents of Groups: approx. $40 – $80 per group

Yahoo is not the only company indulging in these activities.  This is the reason having a personal profile on any kind of networking website like Facebook, Orkut or Linkedin is risky,  you never know how it will be used or misused.  Better to spend a little money and get  your own website.

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Nov 29

Delisting from search engines

Posted in business, internet

Creating really useful and accurate content takes a lot of  time and money.  If the content creators don’t make much money, they will not be able to continue for a long time.

http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/11/24/is-the-murdock-bing-deal-really-just-about-the-wall-street-journal

If  one party is at an unfair advantage,  the other party will search and move away as soon as they find a better deal.

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Nov 26

RTI act

Posted in government, law

Over the last week, I have realized how much freedom of speech you have in India and how much better most large Indian companies are compared to certain foreign organizations in so called democracies.

Even if Rs 3 is wrongly deducted , you can hope to get it back in India from a well run company,  but outside India, you are unlikely to be treated fairly and decisions are taken unilaterally. Their lawyers  will claim to have made payment, but will not be able to provide any supporting evidence.

If  you are dealing with a government organization,  you can use the

Right to Information Act

It takes time, but you will get the information you need.

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Nov 24

Couriers and cheque books

Posted in crime

You can never be too careful.  When you receive a cheque book, you should always ensure that the cheque leaves are in place.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Woman-swindled-of-Rs-25-lakh/articleshow/5262344.cms

Some couriers will deliver a courier to some other address and then claim it has been delivered to you.  You should be alert and register a complaint as soon as you realise some thing is wrong.

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Nov 22

Salaries in non-urban areas

Posted in business, internet

There is a big gap in the salaries in urban and rural areas.  In small towns and villages, even today  a salary of  Rs 3000 per month (less than US$60)  is considered adequate for a white collar job.  The cost of living is also lower.

BPO salaries in rural India

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Nov 15

Stolen leads and affiliate commissions

Posted in business, internet

If  leads and affiliate sales are a major source of  revenue,  it is important to find reliable businesses/ websites to work with.  Very often, your affiliate commission gets stolen,  if the minimum payout is $25,  you do not have a single conversion for months once you reach $24.  And when you remove the affiliate link from your website, the affiliate manager starts frantically emailing you.

Lead generation is better, you can atleast forward the same lead to another company / competitor and also warn the buyer about the supplier who has cheated you.   An example of what people do when promises are not kept.

http://www.david-carter.com/wp/2009/11/the-real-power-of-domain-development/

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