One easy stop... Merchant Control Center !

 

We have spoken to a number of merchants lately that were afraid that they may have spyware on their system.  Some merchants just have 'flaky' systems, that cannot perform simple tasks from time to time.  With the proliferation of Spyware, Malware, and Adware, your system can become congested with garbage, to the point where it may not function at all!  I thought this would be a good opportunity to share our technical experience on this subject

Spyware and Adware are an insidious threat creeping up on computer users. They are sometimes called Malware because they are unwanted and can sometimes cause harm to your computer. Most are used to monitor the browsing/shopping habits of the computer's user, or to display advertisements. Some are designed to force you into visiting certain web pages to exploit the pay-per-hit nature of internet advertising. Most people have had the experience of having their homepage hijacked, or having a new screensaver suddenly installed. Or even having their keystrokes (with passwords) sent directly to a hacker!

If you want to learn more about these threats to your security, Microsoft has a site (not complete, but not bad considering..) that can give you further insight into this ever-growing problem. Remember, that as a Merchant, you have a responsibility to your customers to protect any data (especially credit card data) that you may have.  Our policy is to NEVER store a customer's credit card number on our internal systems.

Free utilities to remove Spyware, Malware, and Adware as well as to protect your self from the actions of these nasties!  Those of you that have been reading this newsletter for a while know we like to locate FREE, or very-low-cost utilities and solutions for our merchants.  The first of these is AD-Aware Personal, from Lavasoft.  The free version of this utility needs to be run manually and periodically (the pay-for version is automatic), but not only does it do a great job, but it's "Library" of Spy/Mal/Ad-ware definitions is updated regularly, and available as a free download.  Even better, it allows you to bypass the removal of "Friendly" objects in your registry and browser, like the Alexa, Google, and Yahoo! toolbars.

Shield your system!  Ad-Aware Personal cannot protect you from everything, including a real-time attack, from the outside, or from a 'Trojan Horse" planted on your computer through other means.  Zone Alarm Personal sets up an internal firewall that alerts you when a program attempts to access the Internet.  It knows about browsers, email apps and such, but will inform you even if a commercial program attempts to 'call home'!  You will be surprised how many software packages send data to their manufacturers, often without telling you!  Zone Alarm gives you the option of saying "NO"!  If you are a company using a local network, you can specify a range of your internal addresses (192.168.1.1..255 for LinkSys) so your computers can still share files and peripherals.

You can now generate a trouble ticket that we monitor on evenings and weekends! This support is PRIMARILY via email, but you can include a phone number where you can be reached.  This support is for our software and hardware packages only, billing and transactional problems are handled at the toll free number you were sent upon approval.  Response times can range from minutes to hours, depending on the time and day of submission.  Click here to see the trouble ticket entry form.

This is a correction to our September 17th newsletter, where we listed the compatible Samsung models for the Pocket Merchant.  The Samsung cable for Pocket Merchant works with the i500, i600, and i700.  It is NOT compatible with the i730. 

The Samsung i730 is compatible with our Bluetooth card reader.   The instructions for setting up the i730 are available here.

Our new low cost Pocket Imprinter the size of a 4 x 6 postcard, and only one inch thick!. The Pocket Imprinter III is manufactured from tough engineering grade plastic and aluminum. This little jewel is for mobile businesses wanting the freedom to accept credit card payments, regardless of where they are. It is used by food deliveries, taxi cabs, limousines, in-home sales, tow trucks and airline duty-free carts. It is compact, lightweight and easy to use. Simply insert the customer's credit card together with the appropriate sales slip, slide the lid to the right and a perfect impression is produced in one pass

MERCHANT PLATE INCLUDED (MerchantAnywhere.com merchants only) 

INCLUDES 100 sales slips  Click here to order.

ORDER FREE MERCHANT MATERIALS HERE!!!

Copyright (c) 2004 Advanced Merchant Solutions, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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Merchant Information is a newsletter that is available to all members of MerchantAnywhere.com and Advanced Merchant Solutions, Inc. This newsletter is provided as an informational tool designed to keep you up-to-date on the latest news and tools available for mobile commerce and merchant processing. As with all user information, we do not give or sell your personal information to any outside company for its use in marketing or solicitation. To unsubscribe from this newsletter, please reply with "REMOVE" in the subject line.  All of our merchant applicants should be receiving this email newsletter.  If you would like to subscribe, send an email with 'SUBSCRIBE' in the subject to: merchantapp@merchantanywhere.com.  If you are currently receiving the newsletter, and would like to be removed from the mailing list, send an email with the word 'REMOVE' in the subject to: inform@merchantanywhere.com . Once removed, we cannot reinstate that email address, you must re-subscribe with another.