Is there any advertizing methods that don't cause viruses?

[zephyrs]

I have recently started to do some businesses online.    And I would like to know what forms of advertising cause viruses, because I don't want to be guilty of giving viruses to people.    Please answer all these questions with a yes or no:
(1) Does all mass-mailing cause viruses?
(2) Does all pop-ups cause viruses?
(3) Do all autoresponders cause viruses?
(4) Do banner exchanges cause viruses?
           Thanks.
                                     Debby

[DavidR]

A Yes/No answer doesn't cut it.

1. If your computer is infected, it could infect mass mailings from your computer.

2. It depends on the content of the popup script, a popup in itsself is not a virus, it is the malicious script content.

3. Similar answer to 1 above, if the autoresponder is on your computer or the host is compromised (reputable company should take precautions to combat the spread of viruses), it could spread a virus, but more likely not.

4. Much the same as 2 above.

[zephyrs]

Hi!   Thanks for explaining.     What do you suggest for determining whether popup content is dangerous or not?   Do a background check on the company offering it, or what?     Or is there signs from descriptions of the bad ones that could help me to tell that it was bad?
          Bye.
                              Debby

[Eddy]

Neither of the 4 causes virus, but keep the following in mind:

1] Noone likes spam. So don't send mail unless people have given you permission. In some countries it is forbiddin by law to send unsolicitated mail.
2] More and more people block popups
3] Auto repsonder can be handy to handle certain things automaticly, but people prefer a personal msg.
4] Banner exchanges normally only generate money for the ones who host the exchange service. More and more people add banner exchange servers to their black list so they don't see it.

If you have a online ordering system, just make sure the website is setup easy so people can find their way, submit it to searchengines, and make sure everything is working on the website. If you offer a good product/service for the right amount of money, people will come to you automaticly.

[zephyrs]

Hi!    Thanks for explaining.    If you don't mind, tell me what you think of a lead service I learned about.    He asks for $1.00, and says I will easily get $5.00 back.
                       Debby

[Eddy]

Don't believe talk like that. The only ones that benefit are them. Just make sure people can find your website in the searchengines by using the correct meta tags in your webpages.

Example:
The page in my link was created in about 15 minutes time. Just because I was getting tired to give the same answer over and over again after ms-blast was hitting the internet. I just told some people of its excistence and submited it to some searchengines. Now I get over 100 visitors a day and the amount is still growing without me doing anything for it.

[zephyrs]

Thanks for explaining!
                     Debby