Comet Cursors http://download.cometsystems.com/no_nag/nonag.asp Stop seeing comet cursor nag screens.

CoreMetrics http://www.coremetrics.com/consumer_opt_out/ opt_out_options.html#optoutnow Opts out of ads served by Columbia House. Note that uRL above is on two lines and should be entered into browser as one line.

Doubleclick http://optout.doubleclick.net/cgi-bin/dclk/optout.pl One of largest and most obnoxious internet advertisers. This will stop Doubleclick from profiling your visits.

Engage http://www.engage.com/privacy/confirmoo_privacy.cfm Opt out of this companies profiling.

Fastclicks.com http://www.fastclick.net/v4/optout2.cgi?234 "Click to win" ads.

Hunger Site http://www.interpolls.com/privacy/optout/optout.cfm Removes their pop under ads.

Interpolis http://www.interpolls.com/privacy/optout/optout.cfm Movie ads.

L90 http://ads.admonitor.net/opt_out.cgi Another ad server.

Rain Forest Site http://www.therainforestsite.com urnOffPopUnders Removes their pop under ads.

WebSideStory http://webveil.com/linkout/vwr1.hitbox.com/privcenter/edit.html HitBox.com, StatMarket.com, Yep.com amd WebSideStory.com.

X10.Com http://www.x10.com/home/optout.cgi?DAY=3000&PAGE= http://www.x10.com/x10ads1.htm One of most hated advertisers on internet, with their intrusive popups and silly product. This link will stop popups for a long time. Note wrap on URL above.

Some Cautions

Remember that you must opt-out of each and every individual company or service. There is not a global, opt-out of everything magic button anywhere.

If you use more than one browser you must opt-out in each and every one. This is because browsers do not share cookies.

The opt-out only applies to computer on which you are on at time. If you move to another computer you must opt-out there also. (Unless you are using something called a roaming profile, which means cookies and things follow you around. This is common in business environments but not in home.)

The opt-out only applies to a single log on. This means if you opt-out under "Fred" and you then log out and log back under "Tom", you must out-out all over again.

Opt-out cookies do expire, generally within 5 years. So you must later remember to opt-out again.

If you clear your internet cache and ask that cookies also be erased (or you erase them with a cookie killing product) then you will lose your opt-out settings.

Further Information On Opting Out:

Federal Trade Commission http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/protect.htm Sharing Your Personal Information: It's Your Choice

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3) What can you do if you are scammed?

Usually nothing. Scammers are clever. They demand fees which are not big – usually less than $100. In this way they do not attract attention of Police who have more urgent crimes to deal with. However, bigger scams are stopped by Police when large sums of money are involved.

4) What can you do to avoid Internet Scams?

Be careful. Anyone can have a website under a false name and false postal address. Anybody can start an internet business for a short time and swindle money. Then disappear only to open up again under another name on another website.

What characterises a genuine website?

A genuine website does not offer money for nothing. It has a clear contact address There are products or services for sale.

A useful site to visit if you have suspicions about any opportunity is http://www.scamfreezone.com It contains many articles about more popular scams. If you are scammed, there is little point in approaching Police unless sums of money are big. Instead learn from experience and educate yourself about scams so as not to make same mistake twice.

© John Lynch 2002

( John Lynch is an affiliate of Internet Marketing Center – http://www.marketingtips.com .cgi/650274 )