To stop those 'copy & paste' thefts of your work you first have to find them. This can help.

I might recommend this to several 'publishing' sites that I know and frequent.

Copyscape: find your content online.

Find IP Addresses and Your Download/Upload Speed

internetfrog IP-tracer and SpeedChecker

Mainly, InternetFrog is to trace IP-addresses to see where someone hails from. This site can be useful if you suspect e-mail fraud. If a request is coming from a country that is not what it appears, alert! Case in point, -I keep getting things in my ‘junk mail’ box informing me that I have won a ‘MSN/Yahoo/AOL lottery’ from someone called “William Ghates” and this is clearly, oh-so clearly SPAM.

This vain attempt to gain attention is laughably pathetic. It is as if absolutely no effort had gone into the creation of this Internet SPAM flotsam. Just slap some top-level domain names in the “Subject” line and feign an internationally recognized name with a bit of alphabetic obfuscation and voilà! Formula for success? -Not!

I almost feel sorry for the sap on the other end of this pathetic attempt to feign a workable confidence scam. Sad thing is, -it probably works about 1% of the time. A few dozen thousands of e-mails sent would equal a few hundred potential victims responding and, of course, getting ripped off.

Running the IP checker on InternetFrog showed me that this mail is coming from, well, -let’s just say its an Eastern European (formerly Communist) country… -Enough said…

Too bad the “spamsomeone” site has been taken down… That was a site that one could place such e-mail addresses and submit THEM, and hundreds of thousands of ‘junk mail replies’ would be sent to THEIR e-mail address instead! Clog THEIR e-mail boxes, lock-up THEIR account, etc. That site has disappeared because most likely it was also being used improperly (ex-boyfriends spamming ex-girlfriend, etc.) It had tremendous potential for being abused.

At InternetFrog, you can also test your computer’s Download & Upload speed (see image, above.) This is useful and fun and why I included this selection. The graphical diagram quite implicitly shows you what your computer is capable of doing.

Modern Web Pages for Modern Browsers

hotdesign TABLE-less web design. Why using TABLEs for Web Design is Stupid.

I build web pages, and I strive for cross-browser, W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) compliant builds. This means no proprietary (i.e., IE-only, Netscape-only, etc) code, and, use only semantic coding techniques. This means faster downloads, smaller bandwidth consumption, easier to maintain and update sites and the content works on all browsers. No more 'Best Viewed with (insert browser name here)' disclaimers on your site.

"hotdesign" is absolutely one of my favorite sites.

"...This Message Will Self-Destruct in 5 Seconds. -Good Luck Jim"

privatenote private notes that self-destruct once your sent message is read.

For the “Mission: Impossible” fan, here is a way to send a message to someone and the message is only viewable once, and it ‘disappears without a trace' after being read. –Thinking about a secret rendezvous or you want to spill some dirt about ‘Evil Pointy-Hair Boss' to someone in the office but not leave any trace of said message? (Humming “Mission: Impossible” theme music to self.)

A Rose By Any Other Name

Username check See if your chosen username is available, being used by yourself (or if already taken; being used by someone else.)

I write online articles, earning a few dollars per article. Submitting to ‘social sites’ is easier if you reuse the same ‘username’ and, if the data is not privileged or critical, the same ‘password’ as well. Private yes, critical or super-secure to re-use passwords? No, not really. But if it doesn't require this level of security, it is a convenience.

Here is a utility to check if your username is taken, is presently being used, or available. Try it. -I was rather surprised. I did not realize how many sites I am a member of under the same (and other) username(s.) And, I found some sites that I am NOT a member of but someone else already has my chosen username. This happens too.

Why Was He Sad: Pop the Clouds

WhyWasHeSad -a Silly Pop-the-Clouds Game

I have got to waste time between clients, work and brainstorming sessions. Here is a super easy, somehow uplifting silly exercise. You are creating blue sky by popping the clouds. –Sort of like a Winnie the Pooh fantasy to chase all the clouds from the sky! But alas, -more clouds keep coming in from both sides!

Nobodyhere. Just Beary-Much Knockdown Fun for No Reason

nobodyhere teddy bear knock-down game

I don’t even know how to describe this. It has no purpose, no reason. I just think its fun to topple the pile of teddy bears and watch them spring right back into place, ready for another knockdown.

(All images taken as screenshots from my computer. By me, -thestickman)

As it already has been pointed out there isn't any silver bullet solution to stopping all of the spam that we receive, but there are ways to stopping most of it. Depending how bad a person wants to put an end to the problem these websites will help solve at least most of the problems that spammers inundate us with. Read on and use the tools provided here in this article and start living nearly a spam-free life, now.

1. Spaml

Using a disposal email address when filling out membership forms to your favorite website or forum will allow you to keep your real email address both personal and private from prying eyes. This is a fantastic and easy to use disposable email address proxy that generates its users a temporary email address, so to receive confirmation emails without having to give out your real email address to total strangers. This is not the type of email address that spammers want to bother with, because they are only good for one-time and then afterwards are disposed of.

2. Audit My PC

This website offers webmasters and businesses a free anti-spammers solution that will turn the spammers' world upside-down and inside out in just one-click of the mouse. Spammers often use Spam-Bots to search the web for email addresses to add to their databases, so to send out more spam. The Audit My Pc solution feeds these Spam-bots with fake email addresses that will make the spammers' email lists worthless and cause the spammers to have to clean out their databases and start over from the beginning.

3. Anti-spam Techniques

Wikipedia offers a wide range of subjects and topics on just about anything that a person can imagine or would be interested in. This is an excellent article about anti-spam techniques that the average person could use to start stopping spam. The more that a person understands about spam and how spammers work, then the better chance they have turning the tables on the spammers that consistently make the Internet experience a living hell.

4. Arachnoid

Since learning as much as possible about how spammers work and how they collect our email addresses this website offers an impressive look inside the world of spamming. It offers additional solutions to prevent and protect your computer from spammers.

5. SpamCop.net

If you could report unsolicited email to an organization, so to stop spammers from sending you anymore-unwanted email, would you use it? SpamCop is an organization that allows private Internet citizens to report unsolicited email (spam) to and they will do the rest for you. This is a great little Internet tool that will surely cause some headaches for those anonymous spammers bugging us on a daily basis.

6. ASSP

ASSP has developed a nifty piece of anti-spam software that is easy to install, use and is free to use for personal use. It works with the SMTP server and stops spam in its tracks, before it can be dropped into your email inbox. There are so many features regarding this anti-spam software that this brief description just doesn't do it any justice. Visit the website and read the benefits for yourself and you'll agree with this statement.

7. MyTrashMail.com

Here is another Internet tool that webmasters and bloggers can use to protect your computers from spammers. This website provides users with a little piece of code that can be cut and paste to any web page and when spam-bots invade your personal space they are comforted with hundreds of fake email addresses that they carry back to the spammers' spam email database, thus rendering the spammers' email list worthless.

8. BlackMail

According to BlackMail their Free Anti-Spam Software is “a highly configurable SMTP mail filter that runs at a system level as a proxy to your existing mailer.” The computer program selectively rejects bogus or spam email during receipt and will block unwanted mail relaying, if your mailer is unable to do so on its own. This is an outstanding spam filter that checks against spam sites, spam keywords, RBL (Real-time Blackhole List) and much, much more.

9. MailWasher

MailWasher is an excellent email receiving and filtering program that allows its users to check and manage emails before downloading them into their computer. The email received will be stored on the Internet instead of being delivered directly into your computer hard drive. Users can choose to block, bounce, black list or receive the email that they receive with this easy to use anti-spam Internet tool. I have been using this program for years and I can personally testify that this is an excellent email and anti-spam tool to use. It is Free and fun to use.

10. Grisoft Free AVG Anti-Spam Software

Grisoft, the makers of AVG anti-virus and AVG Anti-Rootkit Free has done it again by developing probably one of the finest anti-spyware programs called AVG Anti-Spyware Free Edition 7.5. This computer program scans your hard drive for spyware, malware and eliminates most spam instantly. This software is completely free to download and use for personal use only. I use it daily and it is honestly the best program of its kind that I have found, tested and used.

11. Virtu-Software “Spam”

Spam is not only a headache to receive and dispose of at times, but much of these unwanted, unsolicited emails contain promises of fortune, fake PayPal and eBay notices and other types of Spam scams that cost the world billions of dollars in losses every year. This website offers its visitors an opportunity to avoid becoming the next Spam Scam victim and gives its users the tools to spot and avoid the spammers' scam traps that they have set for the unsuspecting Internet user.

The more knowledgeable that the average Internet user becomes, then the less opportunity that the spammers will have to sending out their bulk spam to the world. While there isn't any foolproof way of stopping all spam at least there are tools and a wealth of information available on the web to save us time and money that these spammers are costing our businesses and personal incomes.

Today. Right now! We can take the power back from those spammers that have been consistently causing us to curse every time we open our email Inbox, just to be comforted with every sort of spam possible. The power is yours, so use it wisely.