Example of a Newspaper Ad
Don’t worry, this isn’t something that requires you learn a bunch of copywriting tactics or complicated writing tricks. You just need to put yourself in the place of your prospect.
Let’s jump into this with an example.
Let’s say that you sell a book on how to have more fun boating while spending less money and you want to use the newspaper to get more people to your website.
You want to give a short and enticing headline that peaks enough interest to get people to your website, nothing more.
Instead of giving you a long-winded explanation or course on copywriting, I’ll give you a handful of examples you can steal and model to fit your product or service.
Example #1
Learn Why I Have A Blast Boating Every Weekend And You Don’t! Free Newsletter.
(url here)
Example #2
Secrets Ways To Boat More, Have More Fun & Spend Less Money. Free Report.
(url here)
Example #3
Do You Enjoy Boating? Learn How To Do It More Often & Have A Blast Doing It At This Free Website…
(url here)
As you can see from the examples above, it doesn’t need to be some long winded advertisement. Just something short, simple and crafted to generate some curiosity is all you need.
You will also notice that there is a mention of there being a free report, newsletter or website. This is done to get the maximum amount of people to visit your link. It’s a proven fact that if you mention something is free versus not mentioning a freebie, you will get more responses to your ad.
It is also very hard to sell directly from a newspaper. You will notice that 99% of the ads are all geared towards getting the reader to take an action that costs nothing such as make a phone call, come in to the store, visit a website, etc. This is no mistake. If you tried to sell your product in a newspaper, you would need to take out a huge expensive ad in order to provide enough information to actually sell your product and the response would probably not be profitable.
This is a key part of this system and will be explained further in the next section. Don’t worry it’s all easy to put together.
The key objective of this ad is to just get people with an interest in your offering to your website.
It is extremely simple for you to use the examples above in your own advertising.
For example, if you sell an investing newsletter you could simply use example #2 and replace “Secret Ways To Boat More” with “Secret Ways To Make More Money Investing”, change the domain to yours and you have an instant ad.
Or if you sell a monthly membership to a site that offers video came codes and cheats you could take example #3 and replace “Do You Enjoy Boating?” with “Do You Enjoy Playing Video Games?”
I’m sure you can see the simplicity of using these examples for use in crafting your own advertisement. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel or spend 10 hours trying to make you ad perfect. Just take one of the examples provided and tailor it to your own offer or mix and match the ads to create something you like more.
Translation – Significance and Scope
The in-depth study of Art of Translation demands more attention not because it paves way for global interaction and offers an excellent opportunity to undergo socio-cultural survey of various languages and their literatures but also gives an opportunity to establish some kind of relevance it has in the study and area of Literary Criticism. Translation Studies can very safely be included as an important genre in the domain of Literary Criticism since translation is an art prompting to peep into the diversified lingual, cultural and literary content of a source language and thus highlighting/appreciating the essence and niceties of the literature of that particular translated language. In the context of Indian Studies, keeping in view the multilingual and pluristic cultural nature of our country,translation has an important role to play. It is through translation that we can look into the rich heritage of India as one integrated unit and feel proud of our cultural legacy. The relevance of translation as multifaceted and a multidimensional activity and its international importance as a socio-cultural bridge between countries has grown over the years. In the present day circumstances when things are fast moving ahead globally,not only countries and societies need to interact with each other closely, but individuals too need to have contact with members of other communities/societies that are spread over different parts of the country/world. In order to cater to these needs translation has become an important activity that satisfies individual, societal and national needs.
It goes without saying that the significance and relevance of translation in our daily life is multidimensional and extensive. It is through translation we know about all the developments in communication and technology and keep abreast of the latest discoveries in the various fields of knowledge, and also have access through translation to the literature of several languages and to the different events happening in the world. India has had close links with ancient civilisations such as Greek, Egyptian and Chinese. This interactive relationship would have been impossible without the knowledge of the various languages spoken by the different communities and nations. This is how human beings realised the importance of translation long ago. Needless to mentiuon here that the relevance and importance of translation has increased greatly in today’s fast changing world. Today with the growing zest for knowledge in human minds there is a great need of translation in the fields of education, science and technology, mass communication, trade and business, literature, religion, tourism, etc.
Defining Translation
Broadly speaking,translation turns a text of source language(SL) into a correct and understandable version of target language(TL)without losing the suggestion of the original. Many people think that being bilingual is all that is needed to be a translator. That is not true. Being bilingual is an important prerequisite,no doubt, but translation skills are built and developed on the basis of one’s own long drawn-out communicative and writing experiences in both the languages. As a matter of fact translation is a process based on the theory of extracting the meaning of a text from its present form and reproduce that with different form of a second language.
Conventionally, it is suggested that translators should meet three requirements, namely: 1) Familiarity with the source language, 2) Familiarity with the target language, and 3) Familiarity with the subject matter to perform the job successfully. Based on this concept, the translator discovers the meaning behind the forms in the source language (SL) and does his best to reproduce the same meaning in the target language (TL) using the TL forms and structures to the best of his knowledge. Naturally and supposedly what changes is the form and the code and what should remain unchanged is the meaning and the message (Larson, 1984).Therefore, one may discern the most common definition of translation, i.e., the selection of the nearest equivalent for a language unit in the SL in a target language.
Computers are already being used to translate one language into another, but humans are still involved in the process either through pre-writing or post-editing. There is no way that a computer can ever be able to translate languages the way a human being could since language uses metaphor/imagery to convey a particular meaning. Translating is more than simply looking up a few words in a dictionary. A quality translation requires a thorough knowledge of both the source language and the target language.
Translation Theory, Practice and Process
Successful translation is indicative of how closely it lives up to the expectations as: reproducing exactly as for as possible the meaning of the source text,using natural forms of the receptor/target language in such a way as is appropriate to the kind of text being translated and expressing all aspects of the meaning closely and readily understandable to the intended audience/reader.Technically, translation is a process to abstract the meaning of a text from its current forms and reproduce that meaning in different forms of another language. Translation has now been recognised as an independent field of study. The translator can be said to be the focal element in the process of translation. The writer/author becomes the centre, for whatever he writes will be final, and no two translators translate a text in the same way. It is genegally believed that a writer to know the intricacies of the TL in which he may wish to translate. As a matter of fact, it is not the writer of the SL text who asks someone to translate his works into the TL; it is primarily the interest of the individual translator which prompts him to translate a work into his mother tongue. A successful translator is not a mechanical translator of a text but is creative as well. We may say that he is a co-creator of the TL text. . In fact, for a translator knowledge of two or more languages is essential. This involves not only a working knowledge of two different languages but also the knowledge of two linguistic systems as also their literature and culture.Such translators have been seen to possess various qualities which we shall briefly discuss later.
Linguiustically,translation consists of studying the lexicon, grammatical structure, communication situation, and cultural context of the source language and its text, analyzing it in order to determine its meaning, and then reconstructing the same meaning using the lexicon and grammatical structure which are appropriate in the target language and its cultural context. The process of translation starts with the comprehension of the source text closely and after discovering the meaning of the text, translator re-expresses the meaning he has drawn out into the receptor/target language in such a way that there is minimal loss in the transformation of meaning into the translated language.This entire process could be graphed as under:-
Overview of the translation task
In practice, there is always considerable variation in the types of translations produced by various translators of a particular text. This is because translation is essentially an Art and not Science.So many factors including proficiency in language,cultural background, writing flair etc.determine the quality of translation and it is because of that no two translations seem to be alike if not averse.
Accommodation in Translation
Translation turns a communication in one language into a correct and understandable version of that communication in another language. Sometimes a translator has to take certain liberties with the original text in order to re-create the mood and style of the original.This,in other words is called ‘accommodation.’ This has three dimensions: cultural accommodation; collocation accommodation; ideological accommodation; and aesthetic accommodation.Accommodation is considered a synonym of adaptation which means changes are made so the target text produced is in line with the spirit of the original. Translation is not merely linguistic conversion or transformation between languages but it involves accommodation in scope of culture, politics, aesthetics, and many other factors. Accommodation is also translation, a free, rather than literal, kind of translation. Moreover, it is inevitable in practice if the translation is to maintain the source message’s essence, impact, and effect. There is an interesting saying: A translation is like a woman: if it is faithful, it is not beautiful; if it is beautiful, it is not faithful. That is to say if you want to be faithful with the text while translating you are bound to lose the beauty of the translated text and if you try to maintain the beauty of the translated text you are sure to be unfaithful with the original text.. Faithfulness was once considered the iron rule in translation process but over the years when we take a closer look, accommodation, or adaptation, is found in most published translations and it has become a necessity too since keeping in view the averse cultural/lingual/geographical/historical/political diversifications and backgrounds of various languages and their literatures, accommodation,if not compromising, is almost obligatory. Accommodation, too, has to be carried out very sensibly, more especially when it comes to translating poetry or any such text which is highly immotive and artistic in nature.For example translating poetry has never been so simple. Robert Frost once said, “Poetry is what gets lost in translation.” This is a sufficient evidence of the difficulty involved in translation of poetry. Because poetry is fundamentally valuable for its aesthetic value, therefore, aesthetic accommodation becomes an art instead of a basic requirement. A good poetry translator with a good measure of accommodation and adequate knowledge of aesthetic traditions of different cultures and languages, can be better appreciated by the target reader and can achieve the required effect.
Qualities of a good Translator
A good translator should have adequate knowledge of the SL(source language) from which he is translating into the TL which is generally his mother toungue/target language. In order to produce an accurate translation of the SL text he should have command over the grammatical, syntactic, semantic and pragmatic features of the SL. In addition to this it is necessary that he is well-conversant with the socio-cultural contexts of both the SL and the TL. A good translator should be the author’s mouthpiece in a way that he knows and comprehends fully whatever the original author has said in his text. One of the generally accepted characteristics of a good translation is that it should resemble the original text or come as close to the SL text as possible. It should appear like the original in the TL translation within the usual social and cultural settings with some minor accommodation, if necessary,of course.
Usually it is also believed that the job of a translator is a mechanical one-a simple rendering of the SL text into a TL text. But it is not so. The translator has to perform a really difficult task. It is in a way more difficult and complicated than that of the original writer. A creative writer composes or pens down his thoughts without any outward compulsion. A translator has to confine himself not only to the SL text but a host of other factors also intervene in the process of translating the TL.
A good translator must have an adequate knowledge of the subject or area to which the SL text relates so that the translator is able to capture the spirit of the SL text. If he does not have an in-depth knowledge, he may not be able to produce an accurate translation suitable for its intended purpose. For example, if you want to translate the Bible or the Gita or any other religious text, you must have adequate knowledge of those religious and theological works.
A good translator should be careful of the choices that he makes in using the TL. He should translate in the style, which is appropriate for the target audience. The style should be such that it appears to be natural and spontaneous to the TK readers. The translation in the TL should not sound alien.
A translator does need certain tools to help him out in moments of difficulty. These tools can be in the form of good monolingual and bilingual dictionaries, encyclopedias, e-dictionaries, glossaries of technical and standard works, etc. pertaining to the SL text.
A good translator must have patience and should not be in a hurry to rush through while translating any text. He should not hesitate in discussing with others the problems that he may come across. Morever, he should not shy away from conducting micro-research in order to arrive at proper and apt equivalents.
In short, a good translator should be a competent and proficient bilingual, familiar with the subject/area of the SL text chosen for translation. He should never try to insert his own ideas or personal impressions in the TL text. His objective should be to convey the content and the intent of the SL text as exactly as possible into the TL text. The job of a translator is very rewarding and intellectually stimulating
Finally,a few words(based upon my close understanding about translation study and activity) for up-coming translators and translation-lovers.To translate from one language into another has never been an easy endeavour.It is an exercise both painstaking and cumbersome and only those who have engaged themselves with translation work can realize the complex character of this Art. I have been associated with translation work for over three decades translating from English, more especially, from Kashmiri/Urdu into Hindi and back.
1-A good translator ought to be a good writer.
2-You needn’t translate everything that has been written, you need to translate the best only.
4-A good translator adjusts/accommodates and not compromises with the original text.
5-Translators are like ambassadors representing and exchanging the best of their literary world.
5-Art of translation is as old as makind, don’t you translate your thought before you speak it out? Some more suggestions:
1-Try to get into the mind of the writer.
2-Check your translation twice or may be thrice before finalizing the script. Put the original passage “aside” and listen to/read your translation with your ear “tuned in”, as if it were a passage originally written in the TL.
3-If your material is highly technical, with vocabulary that is distinctive to a discipline, it is important that the translator has at least some background or experience of that discipline. A good translator of poetry and drama may be a bad choice for a chemical engineering or biotechnology text.
4-If you have a native speaker of your target language handy, particularly one who is familiar with the subject, that person could be as useful as your teacher for final script-review. Take his assistance without fail.
A few more guide lines for the translators:
Do not try to find difficult equivalent words in the hope that this will add to the perfection of your translation.
Every language has its own punctuation rules and differ in many ways; take care to punctuate correctly.
Check your translation two or three times at the end.
Radio Talk Show Sample Format
You and your guest can call into your show up to 15 minutes prior to air time for any last minute issue discussion and to make sure you can hear your guest and they can hear you. When you set up your call you can and should set it up to open with everyone muted. Obviously you want to un-mute your guest as soon as they are seen on your control panel to have entered the call. Anyone that joins the call will join muted. You can un-mute them and re-mute them as their questions come up in the question cue when you start taking questions after you interview your guest.
Don’t start recording the show until just before you start your show introduction.
Here is a basic format for a talk show where you would be interviewing a guest and later opening the call for questions from your caller/participants:
o Do you introduction to your show introducing yourself . . .
Welcome your listeners and chat participants to . . .
(State the name of your show and what it is about) example:
This is (Your Name) and I want to welcome our callers and chatters to the (Name of your talk show) where we discuss all things (The subject of your show). We will be interviewing (Name of your guest/expert), of (Their company or website) regarding (what your guest is an expert on). The interview will last approximately XX minutes and then we will take questions.
o Next do a formal introduction of your interviewee – a sentence or two about their background, accomplishments and their business (Or whatever you and your guest have decided).
o Welcome your guest formally – Example: Hello (Guest name), I am so glad to have you on (Name of your show).
o Start out your interview by asking things like how your guest got involved with their area of expertise, how long they have been working in their area of expertise etc. Be sure to mention any books or training courses the guest has authored.
o Move on to your interview segment by asking the questions you worked out with your guest during your pre-interview call. Your interview of your guest/expert shouldn’t run over 30 minutes but if it does, don’t worry about it.
o Make sure before you end your personal interview of your guest that you plug their product or website or what ever it is they are promoting. If you are an affiliate, you want to have set up a re-direct page on your domain that goes to your affiliate page on your guest’s product site.
o You will have your Teleprompter open on the left side of you computer screen and the TalkShoe Control Panel open on the right side of your screen. You can look in the question cue and say the user name with the first question you want to ask your guest.
If it is a chat only participant, you ask their question. If the caller is on the phone, un-mute the caller and say “Hi their (Username) we like to keep things on a first name basis here, so who are we speaking with? They will say their name – then you say, “From the producers board it appears you have a question about (Use an abbreviated version of the question or its primary subject), “Would you like to clarify that for us or maybe expand on your question?”
o Then you hand the question over to your guest. Let your guest have enough time to answer the question but if you do have a lot of questions in the cue, diplomatically cut them short if the answer runs over 3 or 4 minutes, saying “That’s great (Guests name), we have some more questions we need to fit into the time we have left today. (Use your own judgment on this tactic). Then mute the last caller, (Don’t stop talking – move right into the next question in the cue), saying “And out next question is from (Un-mute the next caller with a question and do the same into for that caller and their question.
o After the questions have been answered or you have taken all the questions you have time for, remind your listeners of the product your guest is promoting and any website you are promoting.
o Remind everyone on the call what the name of your show is, when your next show will be aired and who your upcoming guest is and what the topic of discussion will be.
o Do your sign off by saying something like – Well that’s it for the (Name of your show) – I want to thank our guest (Guest’s name) and all of our participants on the show – till next time this is (Your name), saying (What ever your catchy by line is).
o Stop the recording. Normally your recording will be available to download or listen to via flash media within 24 hours.
o You may want to download your show and upload it again for pod cast listeners. (See resources for free editing software.)
You can format your show any way you want. The above format example is just that; an example.
What Are the Consumer Benefits of E-Commerce?
Consumers today don’t realize how lucky they are compared to a couple of decades ago. While many of us remember the days when what you purchased was what you found locally or in a catalog, the younger generations don’t. I guess that is part of the technology in society and partially to blame for the generation gap out there.
However, I think we all have to admit that there are plenty of benefits for consumers when it comes to e-commerce. Basically, no matter where you happen to live the internet allows you the opportunity to buy what you want or need. It can be paid for online and then shipped to you. This is very convenient as you don’t have to leave your home to shop. You also don’t have to settle for the limited selection of items locally. If you want to give a gift that is very unique you will certainly be able to find it online.
You can benefit from extremely fast shipping too so if you have put off shopping or just didn’t remember something coming up that isn’t a problem. It may cost you a bit more to get it there in a few days but most of the time it will be worth it when you see the look of appreciation on the face of the person who has received it from you. If they are living far from you, just order it online, have it gift wrapped and then delivered to their doorstep! Not sure what to get someone? No problem, you can also send them gift cards to their email account for them to redeem later.
Comparing prices is a great benefit to consumers of e-commerce. As there is so much competition is rare that you won’t find several sites that offer you exactly what you are looking for. When you do compare prices though make sure you look at the whole picture. You don’t want to sacrifice quality to save yourself a few dollars. Make sure you are comparing apples to apples. Don’t forget to look at the return policies, the warranty offered, and the shipping costs. All of these factors can help you to decide which one to purchase from.
There are usually some additional savings too beyond what you see with e-commerce. If any site you look at has a section for a coupon or discount code, then open up a new browser to find one. They can save you money with dollars off, a percentage off, and even free shipping. This type of savings can really add up fast so don’t pass up this type of benefit when you shop online.
How many times have you received a gift that you weren’t completely happy with? That doesn’t have to happen though with e-commerce because you can create wish lists out there. This is perfect for you to give those in your life a chance to buy you something you really want or need. They will appreciate it too because it takes the guess work out of it. They will know their money is going for something you really want.
Due to the overwhelming number of benefits to consumers, e-commerce isn’t going away but it is going to continue to grow. In fact, more traditional retailers are complaining that they lose so much business to these online sites. Yet you can’t blame consumers for going where they benefits are and where the savings is. They want convenience, low prices, and the convenience of shopping when it fits their schedule instead of the other way around.
.Com Vs .Net
We all know .com is preferable to .net but how much so remains an arguing point. I think as a minimum baseline, .com holds at least a 75/25 edge over .net. After that, we can work our way down. In fact, some domainers think .net is worth 10% of a .com as a general rule of thumb. This is an extreme for the negative so you’re probably safe in thinking that for pure domain purposes, a .net holds between 10 to 25% of a .com’s value.
In practical function, .net performs better than stereotypes would have you believe. Quite simply, many people can remember a .net and .net websites have proven that they can be branded into a marketable property with or without the .com’s help. Obviously it would be beneficial to hold both extensions under your domain keywords, but several large online websites have done well soley under .net. Additionally, if you are buying for pure SEO purposes, .net works beautifully and allows your website to work under the same broad scale as a .com (while other extensions like .org and .mobi don’t.)
.Com domains will always be king but if the keywords are desirable enough and the price tag on the .com is out of your budget, there is no shame in taking a .net, especially because of the rapid registering of domain names.
If you are considering whether or not a .com is worth it, there are several key factors to consider. First, are you registering just the keyword? If so, then a .net is probably ok, but if you’re adding a prefix like my or the to a double keyword base, you’re stretching it. Next, is the .com developed? If the .com is developed, you may want to consider another domain but if it is parked, this is point in favor of .net as you might get some unsatisfied trickle down type-in. Third, how competitive is the niche? If you’re dropping down from a .com in a lightly competitive niche, it becomes less likely you would want to build a serious website on the .net. Last, how does the domain sound? This test is always a good tie breaker in your decision.
Blogger Vs WordPress – Which Should You Choose?
If you’ve been on the internet for any length of time, then you’ve certainly run across many blogs. Maybe you’ve even read a few blogs consistently. You might be thinking that starting a block could be a great asset for your business. It could help you to connect with customers, share information about new products or services, and enable you to do some free or low-cost advertising. If you’ve gotten this far in the thought process, you’ve probably realized that there are two basic options when it comes to blogging. You can choose to use Blogger, which is owned by Google. Or, you can choose to blog using WordPress, which is open source software. Each of these choices has advantages and disadvantages, but as usual one comes out ahead when you consider all of the factors involved.
Like everything else that Google touches, Blogger has been instrumental in bringing a practice that was the privy of the technologically savvy into the mainstream. In this case it is the habit of keeping an online journal. Blogger’s advantages are that it is extremely easy to use and very quick to set up. Because it is owned by Google, Blogger integrates well with the full line of Google applications. You can add your blog link to your Google Chrome page, add it to your bloglines feed, and find all sorts of add ons that help blogger to run better and do more things. Google has kept up well with the newest waves of technology and now allows you to purchase your own domain name for $10 per year and host your blog on your own domain name. This is obviously more professional-looking than having yourname.blogspot.com and is an automatic choice for most business-minded bloggers. Although the option for using your own domain name does bring Google back into the mainstream, most people consider a Blogspot blog to be less professional-looking than a WordPress blog.
Unless you are very interested in having your blog integrated with other features of your Google account, WordPress is probably the platform that you will want to use for your business blog. Because WordPress is open-source software it is constantly updated. The basic code is very light, and the flexibility is in the add-ons that can help your WordPress blog do almost anything you could possibly want. WordPress prides itself on being easy to install and brags that you can have a blog up and running in just 5 minutes. Even if you opt to pay for a domain name and web hosting WordPress makes this easy by recommending several well known hosting services. There are a multitude of templates available so that you can make your blog look exactly the way you want it to.
If you’re considering starting a blog to promote your business, you’ve probably realized that the choice mostly comes down to using Blogger or WordPress. Blogger is a great option for beginners since it now offers the option of registering your own domain name. However for flexibility, professionalism, and ease of use WordPress still comes out on top.
Intranet
Introduction to Intranets
What exactly is an intranet? It’s one of those terms that’s more thrown around than understood, and has become more of a buzzword than a commonly understood idea. Simply put, an intranet is a private network with Internet technology used as the underlying architecture. An intranet is built using the Internet’s TCP/IP protocols for communications. TCP/IP protocols can be run on many hardware platforms and cabling schemes. The underlying hardware is not what makes an intranet-it’s the software protocols that matter.
Intranets can co-exist with other local area networking technology. In many companies, existing “legacy systems” including mainframes, Novell networks, minicomputers, and various databases, are being integrated into an intranet. A wide variety of tools allow this to happen. Common Gateway Interface (CGI) scripting is often used to access legacy databases from an intranet. The Java programming language can be used to access legacy databases as well.
With the enormous growth of the Internet, an increasing number of people in corporations use the Internet for communicating with the outside world, for gathering information, and for doing business. It didn’t take long for people to recognize that the components that worked so well on the Internet could be equally valuable internally and that is why intranets are becoming so popular. Some corporations do not have TCP/IP networks, the protocol required to access the resources of the Internet. Creating an intranet in which all the information and resources can be used seamlessly has many benefits. TCP/IP-based networks make it easy for people to access the network remotely, such as from home or while traveling. Dialing into an intranet in this way is much like connecting to the Internet, except that you’re connecting to a private network instead of to a public Internet provider. Interoperability between networks is another substantial bonus.
Security systems separate an intranet from the Internet. A company’s intranet is protected by firewalls-hardware and software combinations that allow only certain people to access the intranet for specific purposes.
Intranets can be used for anything that existing networks are used for-and more. The ease of publishing information on the World Wide Web has made them popular places for posting corporate information such as company news or company procedures. Corporate databases with easy-to-build front-ends use the Web and programming languages such as Java.
Intranets allow people to work together more easily and more effectively. Software known as groupware is another important part of intranets. It allows people to collaborate on projects; to share information; to do videoconferencing; and to establish secure procedures for production work. Free server and client software and the multitude of services, like newsgroups, stimulated the Internet’s growth. The consequence of that growth stimulated and fueled the growth of intranets. The ease with which information can be shared, and with which people can communicate with one another will continue to drive the building of intranets.
A Global View of an Intranet
An intranet is a private corporate or educational network that uses the Internet’s TCP/IP protocols for its underlying transport. The protocols can run on a variety of network hardware, and can also co-exist with other network protocols, such as IPX. People from inside an intranet can get at the larger Internet resources, but those on the Internet cannot get into the intranet, which allows only restricted access from the Internet.
Videoconferencing is an important application that requires sending massive quantities of data. Intranets can be built using components that allow the extremely high bandwidths required for transferring such information.
Often an intranet is composed of a number of different networks inside a corporation that all communicate with one another via TCP/IP. These separate networks are often referred to as subnets.
Software that allows people to communicate with each other via e-mail and public message boards and to collaborate on work using workgroup software is among the most powerful intranet programs. Applications that allow different corporate departments to post information, and for people to fill out corporate forms, such as time sheets, and for tapping into corporate financial information are very popular.
Much of the software used on intranets is standard, off-the-shelf Internet software such as the Netscape Navigator and the Microsoft Explorer Web browsers. And customized programs are often built, using the Java programming language and CGI scripting.
Intranets can also be used to allow companies to do business-to-business transactions, such as ordering parts, sending invoices, and making payments. For extra security, these intranet-to-intranet transactions need never go out over the public Internet, but can travel over private leased lines instead.
Intranets are a powerful system for allowing a company to do business online, for example, to allow anyone on the Internet to order products. When someone orders a product on the Internet, information is sent in a secure manner from the public Internet to the company’s intranet, where the order is processed and completed.
In order to protect sensitive corporate information, and to ensure that hackers don’t damage computer systems and data, security barriers called firewalls protect an intranet from the Internet. Firewall technology uses a combination of routers, servers and other hardware and software to allow people on an intranet to use Internet resources, but blocks outsiders from getting into the intranet.
Many intranets have to connect to “legacy systems”-hardware and databases that were built before an intranet was constructed. Legacy systems often use older technology not based on the intranet’s TPC/IP protocols. There are a variety of ways in which intranets can tie to legacy systems. A common way is to use CGI scripts to access the database information and pour that data into HTML formatted text, making it available to a Web browser.
Information sent across an intranet is sent to the proper destination by routers, which examine each TCP/IP packet for the IP address and determine the packet’s destination. It then sends the packet to the next router closest to the destination. If the packet is to be delivered to an address on the same subnetwork of the intranet it was sent from, the packet may be able to be delivered directly without having to go through any other routers. If it is to be sent to another subnetwork on the intranet, it will be sent to another internal router address. If the packet is to be sent to a destination outside the intranet-in other words, to an Internet destination-the packet is sent to a router that connects to the Internet
How TCP/IP and IPX Work on Intranets
What distinguishes an intranet from any other kind of private network is that it is based on TCP/IP-the same protocols that apply to the Internet. TCP/IP refers to two protocols that work together to deliver data: the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol (IP). When you send information across an intranet, the data is broken into small packets. The packets are sent independently through a series of switches called routers. Once all the packets arrive at their destination, they are recombined into their original form. The Transmission Control Protocol breaks the data into packets and recombines them on the receiving end. The Internet Protocol handles the routing of the data and makes sure it gets sent to the proper destination.
In some companies, there may be a mix of TCP/IP-based intranets and networks based on other networking technology, such as NetWare. In that instance, the TCP/IP technology of an intranet can be used to send data between NetWare or other networks, using a technique called IP tunneling. In this instance, we’ll look at data being sent from one NetWare network to another, via an intranet. NetWare networks use the IPX (Internet Packet Exchange) protocol as a way to deliver data-and TCP/IP networks can’t recognize that protocol. To get around this, when an IPX packet is to be sent across an intranet, it is first encapsulated inside an IP packet by a NetWare server specifically for and dedicated to providing the IP transport mechanism for IPX packets.
Data sent within an intranet must be broken up into packets of less than 1,500 characters each. TCP breaks the data into packets. As it creates each packet, it calculates and adds a checksum to the packet. The checksum is based on the byte values, that is, the precise amount of data in the packet.
Each packet, along with the checksum, is put into separate IP wrappers or “envelopes.” These wrappers contain information that details exactly where on the intranet-or the Internet-the data is to be sent. All of the wrappers for a given piece of data have the same addressing information so that they can all be sent to the same location for reassembly.
The packets travel between networks by intranet routers. Routers examine all IP wrappers and look at their addresses. These routers determine the most efficient path for sending each packet to its final destination. Since the traffic load on an intranet often changes, the packets may be sent along different routes, and the packets may arrive out of order. If the router sees the address is one located inside the intranet, the packet may be sent directly to its destination, or it may instead be sent to another router. If the address is located out on the Internet, it will be sent to another router so it can be sent across the Internet.
As the packets arrive at their destination, TCP calculates a checksum for each packet. It then compares this checksum with the checksum that has been sent in the packet. If the checksums don’t match, TCP knows that the data in the packet has been corrupted during transmission. It then discards the packet and asks that the original packet be retransmitted.
TCP includes the ability to check packets and to determine that all the packets have been received. When all the non-corrupt packets are received, TCP assembles them into their original, unified form. The header information of the packets relays the sequence of how to reassemble the packets.
An intranet treats the IP packet as it would any other, and routes the packet to the receiving NetWare network. On the receiving NetWare network, a NetWare TCP/IP server decapsulates the IP packet-it discards the IP packet, and reads the original IPX packet. It can now use the IPX protocol to deliver the data to the proper destination.
How the OSI Model Works
A group called the International Standards Organization (ISO) has put together the Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) Reference Model, which is a model that describes seven layers of protocols for computer communications. These layers don’t know or care what is on adjacent layers. Each layer, essentially, only sees the reciprocal layer on the other side. The sending application layer sees and talks to the application layer on the destination side. That conversation takes place irrespective of, for example, what structure exists at the physical layer, such as Ethernet or Token Ring. TCP combines the OSI model’s application, presentation, and session layers into one which is also called the application layer.
The application layer refers to application interfaces, not programs like word processing. MHS (Message Handling Service) is such an interface and it operates at this level of the OSI model. Again, this segmentation and interface approach means that a variety of email programs can be used on an intranet so long as they conform to the MHS standard at this application interface level.
The presentation layer typically simply provides a standard interface between the application layer and the network layers. This type of segmentation allows for the great flexibility of the OSI model since applications can vary endlessly, but, as long as the results conform to this standard interface, the applications need not be concerned with any of the other layers.
The session layer allows for the communication between sender and destination. These conversations avoid confusion by speaking in turn. A token is passed to control and to indicate which side is allowed to speak. This layer executes transactions, like saving a file. If something prevents it from completing the save, the session layer, which has a record of the original state, returns to the original state rather than allowing a corrupt or incomplete transaction to occur.
The transport layer segments the data into acceptable packet sizes and is responsible for data integrity of packet segments. There are several levels of service that can be implemented at this layer, including segmenting and reassembly, error recovery, flow control, and others.
The IP wrapper is put around the packet at the network or Internet layer. The header includes the source and destination addresses, the sequence order, and other data necessary for correct routing and rebuilding at the destination.
The data-link layer frames the packets-for example, for use with the PPP (Point to Point). It also includes the logical link portion of the MAC sublayer of the IEEE 802.2, 802.3 and other standards.
Ethernet and Token Ring are the two most common physical layer protocols. They function at the MAC (Media Access Control) level and move the data over the cables based on the physical address on each NIC (Network Interface Card). The physical layer includes the physical components of the IEEE 802.3 and other specifications.
How TCP/IP Packets Are Processed
Protocols such as TCP/IP determine how computers communicate with each other over networks such as the Internet. These protocols work in concert with each other, and are layered on top of one another in what is commonly referred to as a protocol stack. Each layer of the protocol is designed to accomplish a specific purpose on both the sending and receiving computers. The TCP stack combines the application, presentation, and the session layers into a single layer also called the application layer. Other than that change, it follows the OSI model. The illustration below shows the wrapping process that occurs to transmit data.
The TCP application layer formats the data being sent so that the layer below it, the transport layer, can send the data. The TCP application layer performs the equivalent actions that the top three layers of OSI perform: the application, presentation, and session layers.
The next layer down is the transport layer, which is responsible for transferring the data, and ensures that the data sent and the data received are in fact the same data-in other words, that there have been no errors introduced during the sending of the data. TCP divides the data it gets from the application layer into segments. It attaches a header to each segment. The header contains information that will be used on the receiving end to ensure that the data hasn’t been altered en route, and that the segments can be properly recombined into their original form.
The third layer prepares the data for delivery by putting them into IP datagrams, and determining the proper Internet address for those datagrams. The IP protocol works in the Internet layer, also called the network layer. It puts an IP wrapper with a header onto each segment. The IP header includes information such as the IP address of the sending and receiving computers, and the length of the datagram, and the sequence order of the datagram. The sequence order is added because the datagram could conceivably exceed the size allowed for network packets, and so would need to be broken into smaller packets. Including the sequence order will allow them to be recombined properly.
The Internet layer checks the IP header and checks to see whether the packet is a fragment. If it is, it puts together fragments back into the original datagram. It strips off the IP header, and then sends the datagram to the transport layer.
The transport layer looks at the remaining header to decide which application layer protocol-TCP or UDP-should get the data. Then the proper protocol strips off the header and sends the data to the receiving application.
The application layer gets the data and performs, in this case, an HTTP request.
The next layer down, the data link layer, uses protocols such as the Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) to put the IP datagram into a frame. This is done by putting a header-the third header, after the TCP header and the IP header-and a footer around the IP datagram to fra-me it. Included in the frame header is a CRC check that checks for errors in the data as the data travels over the network.
The data-link layer ensures that the CRC for the frame is right, and that the data hasn’t been altered while it was sent. It strips off the frame header and the CRC, and sends the frame to the Internet layer.
On the receiving computer, the packet travels through the stack, but in the opposite order from which the packet was created. In other words, it starts at the bottom layer, and moves its way up through the protocol stack. As it moves up, each layer strips off the header information that was added by the TCP/IP stack of the sending computer.
The final layer is the physical network layer, which specifies the physical characteristics of the network being used to send data. It describes the actual hardware standards, such as the Ethernet specification. The layer receives the frames from the data link layer, and translates the IP addresses there into the hardware addresses required for the specific network being used. Finally, the layer sends the frame over the network.
The physical network layer receives the packet. It translates the hardware address of the sender and receiver into IP addresses. Then it sends the frame up to the data link layer.
How Bridges Work
Bridges are hardware and software combinations that connect different parts of a single network, such as different sections of an intranet. They connect local area networks (LANs) to each other. They are generally not used, however, for connecting entire networks to each other, for example, for connecting an intranet to the Internet, or an intranet to an intranet, or to connect an entire subnetwork to an entire subnetwork. To do that, more sophisticated pieces of technology called routers are used.
When there is a great amount of traffic on an Ethernet local area network, packets can collide with one another, reducing the efficiency of the network, and slowing down network traffic. Packets can collide because so much of the traffic is routed among all the workstations on the network.
In order to cut down on the collision rate, a single LAN can be subdivided into two or more LANs. For example, a single LAN can be subdivided into several departmental LANs. Most of the traffic in each departmental LAN stays within the department LAN, and so it needn’t travel through all the workstations on all the LANs on the network. In this way, collisions are reduced. Bridges are used to link the LANs. The only traffic that needs to travel across bridges is traffic bound for another LAN. Any traffic within the LAN need not travel across a bridge.
Each packet of data on an intranet has more information in it than just the IP information. It also includes addressing information required for other underlying network architecture, such as for an Ethernet network. Bridges look at this outer network addressing information and deliver the packet to the proper address on a LAN
Bridges consult a learning table that has the addresses of all the network nodes in it. If a bridge finds that a packet belongs on its own LAN, it keeps the packet inside the LAN. If it finds that the workstation is on another LAN, it forwards the packet. The bridge constantly updates the learning table as it monitors and routes traffic.
Bridges can connect LANs in a variety of different ways. They can connect LANs using serial connections over traditional phone lines and modems, over ISDN lines, and over direct cable connections. CSU/DSU units are used to connect bridges to telephone lines for remote connectivity.
Bridges and routers are sometimes combined into a single product called a brouter. A brouter handles both bridging and routing tasks. If the data needs to be sent only to another LAN on the network or subnetwork, it will act only as a bridge delivering the data based on the Ethernet address. If the destination is another network entirely, it will act as a router, examining the IP packets and routing the data based on the IP address.
How Intranet Routers Work
Just as routers direct traffic on the Internet, sending information to its proper destination, and routers on an intranet perform the same function. Routers-equipment that is a combination of hardware and software-can send the data to a computer on the same sub network inside the intranet, to another network on the intranet, or outside to the Internet. They do this by examining header information in IP packets, and then sending the data on its way. Typically, a router will send the packet to the next router closest to the final destination, which in turn sends it to an even closer router, and so on, until the data reaches its intended recipient.
A router has input ports for receiving IP packets, and output ports for sending those packets toward their destination. When a packet comes to the input port, the router examines the packet header, and checks the destination in it against a routing table-a database that tells the router how to send packets to various destinations.
Based on the information in the routing table, the packet is sent to a particular output port, which sends the packet to the next closest router to the packet’s destination.
If packets come to the input port more quickly than the router can process them, they are sent to a holding area called an input queue. The router then processes packets from the queue in the order they were received. If the number of packets received exceeds the capacity of the queue (called the length of the queue), packets may be lost. When this happens, the TCP protocol on the sending and receiving computers will have the packets re-sent.
In a simple intranet that is a single, completely self-contained network, and in which there are no connections to any other network or the intranet, only minimal routing need be done, and so the routing table in the router is exceedingly simple with very few entries, and is constructed automatically by a program called ifconfig.
In a slightly more complicated intranet which is composed of a number of TCP/IP-based networks, and connects to a limited number of TCP/IP-based networks, static routing will be required. In static routing, the routing table has specific ways of routing data to other networks. Only those pathways can be used. Intranet administrators can add routes to the routing table. Static routing is more flexible than minimal routing, but it can’t change routes as network traffic changes, and so isn’t suitable for many intranets.
In more complex intranets, dynamic routing will be required. Dynamic routing is used to permit multiple routes for a packet to reach its final destination. Dynamic routing also allows routers to change the way they route information based on the amount of network traffic on some paths and routers. In dynamic routing, the routing table is called a dynamic routing table and changes as network conditions change. The tables are built dynamically by routing protocols, and so constantly change according to network traffic and conditions.
There are two broad types of routing protocols: interior and exterior. Interior routing protocols are typically used on internal routers inside an intranet that routes traffic bound only for inside the intranet. A common interior routing protocol is the Routing Information Protocol (RIP). Exterior protocols are typically used for external routers on the Internet. AÊcommon exterior protocol is the Exterior Gateway Protocol (EGP).
Intranets come in different sizes. In a small company, an intranet can be composed of only a handful of computers. In a medium-sized business, it may include dozens or hundreds of computers. And in a large corporation, there may be thousands of computers spread across the globe, all connected to a single intranet. When intranets get large, they need to be subdivided into individual subnets or subnetworks.
To understand how subnetting works, you first need to understand IP addresses. Every IP address is a 32-bit numeric address that uniquely identifies a network and then a specific host on that network. The IP address is divided into two sections: the network section, called the netid, and the host section, called the hostid.
Each 32-bit IP address is handled differently, according to what class of network the address refers to. There are three main classes of network addresses: Class A, Class B, and Class C. In some classes, more of the 32-bit address space is devoted to the netid, while in others, more of the address space is devoted to the hostid. In a Class A network, the netid is composed of 8 bits, while the hostid is composed of 24 bits. In a Class B network, both the netid and the hostid are composed of 16 bits. In a Class C network, the netid is composed of 24 bits, while the hostid is composed of 8 bits. There’s a simple way of knowing what class a network is in. If the first number of the IP address is less than 128, the network is a Class A address. If the first number is from 128 to 191, it’s a Class B network. If the first number is from 192 to 223, it’s a Class C network. Numbers above 223 are reserved for other purposes. The smaller the netid, the fewer number of networks that can be subnetted, but the larger number of hosts on the network. A Class A rating is best for large networks while a Class C is best for small ones.
To create a subnet, the demarcation line on the IP address is moved between the netid and the hostid, to give the netid more bits to work with and to take away bits from the hostid. To do this, a special number called a subnet mask is used.
Subnetting is used when intranets grow over a certain size and they begin to have problems. One problem is management of host IP addresses-making sure that every computer on the network has a proper, up-to-date host address, and that old host addresses are put out of use until needed in the future. In a corporation spread out over several locations-or across the world-it’s difficult, if not impossible, to have one person responsible for managing the host addresses at every location and department in the company.
Another problem has to do with a variety of hardware limitations of networks. Dissimilar networks may all be part of an intranet. An intranet may have some sections that are Ethernet, other sections that are Token Ring networks, and conceivably other sections that use different networking technologies altogether. There is no easy way for an intranet router to link these dissimilar networks together and route the information to the proper places.
Another set of problems has to do with the physical limitations of network technology. In some kinds of networks, there are some strict limitations on how far cables can extend in the network. In other words, you can’t go over a certain distance of cabling without using repeaters or routers. A “thick” Ethernet cable, for example, can only be extended to 500 meters, while a “thin” Ethernet cable can only go to 300 meters. Routers can be used to link these cables together, so that an intranet can be extended well beyond those distances. But when that is done, each length of wire is essentially considered its own subnetwork.
Yet one more set of problems has to do with the volume of traffic that travels across an intranet. Often in a corporation, in a given department, most of the traffic is intradepartmental traffic-in other words, mail and other data that people within a department send to each another. The volume of traffic outside to other departments is considerably less. What’s called for is a way to confine intradepartmental traffic inside the departments, to cut down on the amount of data that needs to be routed and managed across the entire intranet.
Subnetting solves all these problems and more. When an intranet is divided into subnets, one central administrator doesn’t have to manage every aspect of the entire intranet. Instead, each subnet can take care of its own administration. That means smaller organizations within the larger organization can take care of problems such as address management and a variety of troubleshooting chores. If an intranet is subnetted by divisions or departments, it means that each division or department can guide the development of its own network, while adhering to general intranet architecture. Doing this allows departments or divisions more freedom to use technology to pursue their business goals.
Subnets also get around problems that arise when an intranet has within it different kinds of network architecture, such as Ethernet and Token Ring technologies. Normally-if there is no subnetting-a router can’t link these different networks together because they don’t have their own addresses. However, if each of the different networks is its own subnet-and so has its own network address-routers can then link them together and properly route intranet traffic.
Subnetting can also cut down on the traffic traveling across the intranet and its routers. Since much network traffic may be confined within departments, having each department be its own subnet means that all that traffic need never cross an intranet router and cross the intranet-it will stay within its own subnet.
Subnetting can also increase the security on an intranet. If the payroll department, for example, were on its own subnet, then much of its traffic would not have to travel across an intranet. Having its data traveling across the intranet could mean that someone could conceivably hack into the data to read it. Confining the data to its own subnet makes that much less likely to happen.
Dividing an intranet into subnets can also make the entire intranet more stable. If an intranet is divided in this way, then if one subnet goes down or is often unstable, it won’t affect the rest of the intranet.
This all may sound rather confusing. To see how it’s done, let’s take a look at a network, and see how to use the IP address to create subnets. Let’s say we have a Class B network. That network is assigned the address of 130.97.0.0. When a network is given an address, it is assigned the netid numbers-in this case, the 130.97-and it can assign the host numbers (in this case, 0.0) in any way that it chooses.
The 130.97.0.0 network is a single intranet. It’s getting too large to manage, though, and we’ve decided to divide it into two subnets. What we do is fairly straightforward. We take a number from the hostid field and use it to identify each of the subnets. So one subnet gets the address 130.97.1.0, and the other gets the address 130.97.2.0. Individual machines on the first subnet get addresses of 130.97.1.1, 130.97.1.2, and so on. Individual machines on the second subnet get addresses of 130.97.2.1, 130.97.2.2 and so on.
Sounds simple. But we have a problem. The Internet doesn’t recognize 130.97.1.0 and 130.97.2.0 as separate networks. It treats them both as 130.97.0.0 since the “1″ and “2″ that we’re using as a netid is only known to the Internet as a hostid. So our intranet router will not be able to route incoming traffic to the proper network.
To solve the problem, a subnet mask is used. A subnet mask is a 32-bit number in IP form used by intranet routers and hosts that will help routers understand how to route information to the proper subnet. To the outside Internet, there is still only one network, but the subnet mask allows routers inside the intranet to send traffic to the proper host.
A subnet mask is a number such as 255.255.255.0 (the built-in default for Class C addresses; the Class B default is 255.255.0.0 and the default for Class A is 255.0.0.0). A router takes the subnet mask and applies that number against the IP number of incoming mail to the network by using it to perform a calculation. Based on the resulting IP number, it will route mail to the proper subnet, and then to a particular computer on the subnet. For consistency, everyone in a particular intranet will use the same subnet mask.
Subnetting an Intranet
When intranets are over a certain size, or are spread over several geographical locations, it becomes difficult to manage them as a single network. To solve the problem, the single intranet can be subdivided into several subnets, subsections of an intranet that make them easier to manage. To the outside world, the intranet still looks as if it’s a single network.
If you’re building an intranet and want it to be connected to the Internet, you’ll need a unique IP address for your intranet network, which the InterNIC Registration Services will handle. There are three classes of intranet you can have: Class A, Class B, or Class C. Generally, a Class A rating is best for the largest networks, while a Class C is best for the smallest. A Class A network can be composed of 127 networks, and a total of 16,777,214 nodes on the network. A Class B network can be composed of 16,383 networks, and a total of 65,534 nodes. A Class C network can be composed of 2,097,151 networks, and 254 nodes.
When an intranet is assigned an address, it is assigned the first two IP numbers of the Internet numeric address (called the netid field) and the remaining two numbers (called the hostid field) are left blank, so that the intranet itself can assign them, such as 147.106.0.0. The hostid field consists of a number for a subnet and a host number.
When an intranet is connected to the Internet, a router handles the job of sending packets into the intranet from the Internet. In our example, all incoming mail and data comes to a router for a network with the netid of 147.106.0.0.
When intranets grow-for example, if there is a department located in another building, city, or country-there needs to be some way to manage network traffic. It may be impractical and physically impossible to route all the data necessary among many different computers spread across a building or the world. A second network-called a subnetwork or subnet-needs to be created.
In order to have a router handle all incoming traffic for a subnetted intranet, the first byte of the hostid field is used. The bits that are used to distinguish among subnets are called subnet numbers. In our example, there are two subnets on the intranet. To the outside world, there appears to be only one network.
Each computer on each subnet gets its own IP address, as in a normal intranet. The combination of the netid field, the subnet number, and then finally a host number, forms the IP address.
The router must be informed that the hostid field in subnets must be treated differently than non-subnetted hostid fields, otherwise it won’t be able to properly route data. In order to do this, a subnet mask is used. A subnet mask is a 32-bit number such as 255.255.0.0 that is used in concert with the numbers in the hostid field. When a calculation is performed using the subnet mask and the IP address, the router knows where to route the mail. The subnet mask is put in people’s network configuration files.
Overview of an Intranet Security System
Any intranet is vulnerable to attack by people intent on destruction or on stealing corporate data. The open nature of the Internet and TCP/IP protocols expose a corporation to attack. Intranets require a variety of security measures, including hardware and software combinations that provide control of traffic; encryption and passwords to validate users; and software tools to prevent and cure viruses, block objectionable sites, and monitor traffic.
The generic term for a line of defense against intruders is a firewall. A firewall is a hardware/software combination that controls the type of services allowed to or from the intranet.
Proxy servers are another common tool used in building a firewall. A proxy server allows system administrators to track all traffic coming in and out of an intranet.
A bastion server firewall is configured to withstand and prevent unauthorized access or services. It is typically segmented from the rest of the intranet in its own subnet or perimeter network. In this way, if the server is broken into, the rest of the intranet won’t be compromised.
Server-based virus-checking software can check every file coming into the intranet to make sure that it’s virus-free.
Authentication systems are an important part of any intranet security scheme. Authentication systems are used to ensure that anyone trying to log into the intranet or any of its resources is the person they claim to be. Authentication systems typically use user names, passwords, and encryption systems.
Server-based site-blocking software can bar people on an intranet from getting objectionable material. Monitoring software tracks where people have gone and what services they have used, such as HTTP for Web access.
One way of ensuring that the wrong people or erroneous data can’t get into the intranet is to use a filtering router. This is a special kind of router that examines the IP address and header information in every packet coming into the network, and allows in only those packets that have addresses or other data, like e-mail, that the system administrator has decided should be allowed into the intranet.
All intranets are vulnerable to attack. Their underlying TCP/IP architecture is identical to that of the Internet. Since the Internet was built for maximum openness and communication, there are countless techniques that can be used to attack intranets. Attacks can involve the theft of vital company information and even cash. Attacks can destroy or deny a company’s computing resources and services. Attackers can break in or pose as a company employee to use the company’s intranet resources.
Firewalls are hardware and software combinations that block intruders from access to an intranet while still allowing people on the intranet to access the resources of the Internet. Depending on how secure a site needs to be, and on how much time, money, and resources can be spent on a firewall, there are many kinds that can be built. Most of them, though, are built using only a few elements. Servers and routers are the primary components of firewalls.
Most firewalls use some kind of packet filtering. In packet filtering, a screening router or filtering router looks at every packet of data traveling between an intranet and the Internet.
Proxy servers on an intranet are used when someone from the intranet wants to access a server on the Internet. A request from the user’s computer is sent to the proxy server instead of directly to the Internet. The proxy server contacts the server on the Internet, receives the information from the Internet, and then sends the information to the requester on the intranet. By acting as a go-between like this, proxy servers can filter traffic and maintain security as well as log all traffic between the Internet and the network.
Bastion hosts are heavily fortified servers that handle all incoming requests from the Internet, such as FTP requests. A single bastion host handling incoming requests makes it easier to maintain security and track attacks. In the event of a break in, only that single host has been compromised, instead of the entire network. In some firewalls, multiple bastion hosts can be used, one for each different kind of intranet service request.
How Firewalls Work
Firewalls protect intranets from any attacks launched against them from the Internet. They are designed to protect an intranet from unauthorized access to corporate information, and damaging or denying computer resources and services. They are also designed to stop people on the intranet from accessing Internet services that can be dangerous, such as FTP.
Intranet computers are allowed access to the Internet only after passing through a firewall. Requests have to pass through an internal screening router, also called an internal filtering routeror choke router. This router prevents packet traffic from being sniffed remotely. A choke router examines all pack-ets for information such as the source and destination of the packet.
The router compares the information it finds to rules in a filtering table, and passes or drops the packets based on those rules. For example, some services, such as rlogin, may not be allowed to run. The router also might not allow any packets to be sent to specific suspicious Internet locations. A router can also block every packet traveling between the Internet and the internal network, except for e-mail. System administrators set the rules for determining which packets to allow in and which to block.
When an intranet is protected by a firewall, the usual internal intranet services are available-such as e-mail, access to corporate databases and Web services, and the use of groupware.
Screened subnet firewalls have one more way to protect the intranet-an exterior screening router, also called an exterior filtering router or an access router. This router screens packets between the Internet and the perimeter network using the same kind of technology that the interior screening router uses. It can screen packets based on the same rules that apply to the internal screening router and can protect the network even if the internal router fails. It also, however, may have additional rules for screening packets specifically designed to protect the bastion host.
As a way to further protect an intranet from attack, the bastion host is placed in a perimeter network-a subnet-inside the firewall. If the bastion host was on the intranet instead of a perimeter network and was broken into, the intruder could gain access to the intranet.
A bastion host is the main point of contact for connections coming in from the Internet for all services such as e-mail, FTP access, and any other data and requests. The bastion host services all those requests-people on the intranet contact only this one server, and they don’t directly contact any other intranet servers. In this way, intranet servers are protected from attack.
How To Add Value To A Website And Increase Its Profit
When you started your website you probably had high ideas for it, hoping to become the next Internet millionaire with your passion and expertise. But over time, your website may have gotten into a rut, and should you find yourself in this position, it is important not to give up on the potential that it still possesses. Getting your site rejuvenated and earning profits is all about adding value. But how do you add value when you feel like you are out of ideas? It starts with increasing your traffic, but that will not happen unless you have solid content that keeps the audience coming back for more. If you are ready to take your content to the next level, then there are some things that you should keep in mind.
First of all, recurring features do well if you have an idea that is worthwhile. Say that you run a movie site. People may get a little tired of simply hearing your reviews on the latest movies that you have seen when you happen to get around to going to the theater. Recurring features, while they may seem like too much routine, keep you focused and your creativity motivated. Instead of simply blathering on about why you didn’t like this movie or that, how about taking a current topic-the latest releases in theaters, for instance-and relating them to new releases 20 years ago? What did the Cineplex look like in 1991 as opposed to 2011. That way you have something new to talk about every time the feature occurs, but you also have a framework that helps you produce the content faster and with more originality.
Making a list of feature ideas that would be good for your niche is a start, but it is not the only way to add value to your site. You also must build a sense of community to get your visitors excited about what you have to offer. Many website owners do this through podcasts. Podcasts are like short radio programs that people can listen to online or through their portable devices such as iPhones and iPods. These make great time fillers for those long drives to work day in and day out.
With good content and a motivated audience, you can build value through increased advertising revenues-after all, your site is more attractive when it has a following-and donations. Donations give the audience a way to give back to you through incremental support. While a $3 donation here and there may not seem like much, when you have 2,000 loyal followers signed up for a recurring monthly donation, that’s $6,000 in revenue. How better to add value than through the support of your visitors?
How to Build a Website: Step-By-Step Introduction to Building Your Own Site in One Day or Less
Today building a website doesn’t require any special programming or design skills. If you know how to send an email or create a document in a word processor, you have sufficient skills to set up and maintain your own site. Of course, that refers to personal or small business websites (including small e-commerce website), and not enterprise or large e-commerce sites that require lots of customized features and sophisticated design.
Most folks with even the most basic computer skills could put up a site in a couple of hours, or in one weekend – what they will need is details that is laid out in straightforward logical steps – a web design course for complete beginners, should you will.
How to Make a Website in 5 Easy Steps
So here are the steps required to build a basic website.
Step 1. Register a domain name. Go to 1and1.com or other domain registrar’s site and search for obtainable domains. Choose a.com domain with keywords that best describe your business and site’s content. Domain registration cost: under $10 per year.
Step 2. Set up a hosting account. Select a reputable provider with online support, for example, I use Bluehost or Hostgator. I suggest you decide on a plan that permits for unlimited number of domains, such plans usually cost under $8 per month, so the cost isn’t high, and you’ll have the ability to set up far more sites on the exact same hosting space.
Step 3. Install WordPress with a 1 click installation. I recommend Bluehost or Hostgator since they both offer simple WordPress installation. But what is WordPress and why should you be using it? WordPress is a free, open-source content management system (CMS) that allows you to construct and expand your site easily. It’s a blogging platform, but – don’t worry – your site doesn’t have to look like a blog at all, unless you want it to. You’ll be able to access your administrator’s panel from any web browser, and to add a new page you will be using an editor that looks a great deal like your internet email interface. You can just type your text there, add a title, click publish, and voila – you will have a brand new page added to your internet site. Cost: Totally free. For more information on WordPress, go to WordPress.org (don’t confuse it with WordPress.com, which is a paid hosting platform for WordPress.)
Step 4. Choose a free or professionally designed theme for your site. Read the instructions on how to install it, activate it and set it up. Cost: depending on the template: from free to under $100.
Step 5. Add content to your site. With WordPress, adding content to your site is super easy, and there are plenty of tutorials online that will teach you how to do it. It’s best to also optimize your site for the search engines.
How To Find Available Domain Names For Your New Website
Over the past few months I have received many emails from frustrated readers asking for ways to find available domain names for their new websites.
They don’t have the time to look for or wait for domains to expire. They also don’t have the startup cash to fork out for a pricey domain. They just want a cool, fresh, new domain name to start working on their website.
The tool I use to brainstorm available domain names is called Domain Name Analyzer. It is made by DomainPunch and is free to download. It is an amazing tool and does the job perfectly.
Well, let’s say I am looking to get an available domain for a “golf tips and equipment” website I want to make. I first come up with word combinations that I would like to use if possible. A great way to find words that could go well with search terms is to use a keyword suggestion tool like Wordze.
This way you can combine your target word with words which are actually searched for by people – which means there is demand for your target word from the start. (In addition to this, I use Wordze to find keywords for my AdWords campaigns – so I kill two birds with one stone).
For my example term “golf”, I found the words “tips, accessories, equipment, clubs, wedges, putters, irons, instructions” which seem to be pretty popular in the Wordze search results. Wordze tells me people have extensively searched for the above words in combination with the word “golf” in recent days.
I also decide to throw in a set of other generic terms which can always go well in a domain name “ideas, point, place, world, site, news, ways, heaven, haven”.
Ok, so we have our target words, now what?
Fire up your Domain Name Analyzer!
Once you have Domain Name Analyzers turned on, look in the top toolbar. You will see an option called “Domain List”. Click it and go to “Create Domain Names From Keywords”. This launches the Create
Domain Names from Keywords box:
Enter your prefix terms in the left box, and your suffix terms in the right box. For best effect I entered golf, golfing and golfer in the left box. Also, in order to avoid pointless checking of words which are usually registered, you can click the No suffix padding and No prefix padding checkboxes. Also, make sure you select which Tlds you want to search in. I selected .com, .net, .org and .us.
After you have completed all this, you are ready to search.
So, click ok!
You will find that after you click ok, Domain Name Analyzer populates it’s lookup queue with your keyword combinations. Thanks to your check in Wordze, you have the right keywords for the job. The look-up queue will look something like the above. As you see, the words have been combined with your selected TLD’s for a list of all possible combinations.
Use the search button in the toolbar to start up the search. The Domain Name Analyzer does the entire job for you in a few minutes.
Obviously, this is just an example of the power of this cool free tool. It has a lot more functionality and allows you to do a lot more.
You might find that popular word combinations are taken, but don’t be discouraged. Find the right keyword combinations and combine them with Domain Name Analyzer to find the next domain name for your new website.