Aspiring writers, freelancers, bloggers and students take note! There’s a new war against plagiarism heightened by the recent rash of content theft, more notably amongst bloggers and freelance journalists.  Here are 5 simple detect plagiarism of your content.

1. How to Look for Copies of your Work Online

Undoubtedly the most well known in the field for fast, accurate searches, Copyscape is every plagiarist’s nightmare! It functions by finding sites that have copied content without permission simply by typing in your URL.  Copyscape is free, but has a premium edition that allows more powerful tools like batch Search, which you can use to check your entire site for copies in a single click, up to 10,000 pages.

2. How to Detect Plagiarism in the Work of Others

Article Checker has been around for a long time, as its classic look belies. However, the adage œold is gold certainly holds true, as this site has been time-tested to be reliable in what it claims to do. Simply copy and paste the text of the article you want to search for, and Article Checker will scour either Google, Yahoo, or both for signs of plagiarism online. This can be useful if you’re an editor trying to root out the œreal writers from the œcopy & paste-rs.

Alternatively you may also want to check out The Plagiarism Checker developed by the University of Maryland which processes documents and intelligently decides which phrases to searches on.

3. How to Remove the Possibility of being Falsely Accused of Plagiarism: College Students Alert!

Created with college students in mind, PlagiarismDetect is a relatively new site which requires registration for a free account. It promises detection for text and phrases to ensure assignments are 100% original, which means that students can now think ahead to prevent being wrongly accused of plagiarism. However, that’s not to say that others can’t benefit from its services as well.

It even supports document uploads so you can just send it your entire assignment for it to be processed.  The site has proven to be accurate and encourages users to use it on a regular basis as newer and more advanced features are being added to it by the day.

4. How to check for Plagiarism using Yahoo! Search

This site has received numerous recommendations all over the web, so it’s worth a shot. Plagium is a reliable site which has makes use of Yahoo’s Search API to search the Internet for plagiarism. As far as efficiency is concerned, ratings have shown that it does nearly as well as CopyScape Premium, so you can rest assured that it will deliver results.

It has a clean and simple interface which doesn’t support ads, so for all those ad-haters out there, this site is especially for you. Just make sure to donate a little to support their cause.

5. How to Root Out Plagiarism Offenders…and Get Your Fair Share of Money!

Fair Share is a free service site that helps detect plagiarism via RSS feeds. In a matter of seconds, you’ll get results in a personalized RSS feed encompassing billions of websites. Targeted at bloggers and Webmasters who want to keep track of how their content is being used, by whom and where, Fair Share works with Creative Commons licenses to sniff out where content reappears, how often it is used and whether the content is linked or not.

An excellent choice for bloggers and others who can’t afford or don’t have the time to use a more advanced system. Plus, as the above picture suggests, you can even demand payment from the ad networks who run the plagiarized content!

Bonus Links for Reference

• 13 Simple Tactics to Prevent, Detect Content Plagiarism – A great preventive guide on how to deal with content plagiarism
• WordPress Plugin: Digital Fingerprint ” detecting content theft – An awesome wordpress plugin which helps you track down content stolen from you
• Reduce Content Theft with WP-CopyRight Pro WordPress Plugin – A wordpress plugin which disables copying from your site (I’ll leave it to you to decide if it’s too extreme and whether it hurts you more in the long run)
• How to Report Abuse to WordPress.com – A guide to reporting spam and abuse to WordPress.com
• How to Deal with Online Plagiarism: When People Copy your Blog Articles Without Permission – An excellent step by step manual on how to deal with plagiarism when it happens to you.
• Plagiarism Today – An up to date resource on the topic

This article was written by Aaron Pek & James Yeang.  Contact me if you wish to become a writer for this blog.

As people try to get more things done using computers, the demand for better security has never been greater. In this day and age, antivirus programs alone may not be enough. Here are 15 essential tips to help you secure your PC.

1. How to password-protect folders for free

Have some private collections of files you want to keep from prying eyes? The most convenient way to do so is through password protection, and MyLockBox does its job well. Just select the folders you want to be passworded and voila! Even system administrators are not spared the lock.

2. How to get free anti-virus software

No matter how clich© installing antivirus software may seem, this method is undoubtedly still the easiest and most effective means of protecting your PC. A huge chunk of internet threats out there are viruses and Trojans, so having one will effectively shield you from this majority. AVG is a free antivirus that has won the accolades and hearts of computer users worldwide. It has real-time protection, daily updates, and email scans among other powerful features.

3. How to truly hide files on a computer

Those who use a sharing system may find the occasional snooping habit of your computer partner annoying or even harmful. Sofonesia Folder Protector hides selected files so that it remains hidden from all users as long as the software is installed.

4. How to get free anti-spyware software

Viruses may be the age old nemesis of computer users, but a new villain has emerged in the scene – spyware. Spywares hogs major system resources while performing its malicious acts. This is where Spybot Search & Destroy comes in, a free Windows tool designed to ward off these invaders. True to its name, all spyware on Windows systems dating back to 95 will be searched and destroyed.

5. How to do a registry backed up spyware scan

Combofix is a free spyware removal tool that works on a much lower level. It backs up the registry before scanning away, and a technical log file will be created which can be used to identify system problems. Alternatively, it can also be used by more technical users to manually remove spywares.

6. How to encrypt files and folders

For those perilous and treacherous times when even hiding and locking does not do, TrueCrypt steps in to save the day. Offering advanced data encryption using 256-bit AES algorithms, users can choose to hide files inside virtual encrypted disk volumes. All this military-sounding features should be useful for power users.

7. How take advantage of cloud computing in virus detection

Panda Cloud Antivirus is an antivirus software utilizing the concept of cloud computing. Lightweight is the word to use here, as Panda does not take up heavy CPU resources while scanning. There is no need to update virus definitions frequently either, as data are stored on the Panda servers.

8. How to seek free professional help to combat spyware

Hijackthis is a comprehensive scanner which scans the software-state of your system. While the huge log file created does not remove spywares or change your system, it does offer precious technical info to those in the know. If you’re not a advanced user, you can show the log file to expert spyware veterans over at the BleepingComputer or SpywareInfoForum and get some personalized anti-spyware instructions. Alternatively there is an automated online scanner at Hijackthis.de to run through the log file.

9. How to get free firewall software

Comodo Firewall is a free firewall software that will help shield your computer from unwanted intruder and hacker access. Comodo is one of the lightest firewall software in terms of resource usage and it stops intrusive applets and software from the internet before they can do any harm to your system.

10. How to secure your wireless network

If you are running on a home wireless network, have you made sure that it is secure? If left unsecured, sneaky neighbors may be in for the free internet access, or worse, phishers may be out there waiting for you to take the bait. Always make sure that your wireless connection is password-protected using WEP or WPA encryption. To do this, enter your router’s settings page  (by typing the router address in your browser’s address bar, usually 192.168.0.1) and proceed to work out necessary security settings.

11. How to NOT run scripts in Firefox, so you can be even safer

NoScript is a Firefox plugin that blocks any script from running on your browser – be it JavaScript, flash or other script-based content. The catch here is you would have to add your favorite sites on the trusted list one-by-one, so initial discomfort may be present.

12. How to surf only websites which are deemed safe

Yet another Firefox add-on, Web of Trust warns users about a website’s safety-level through color-coded icons. With over 21 million sites on the rating list, you can now be sure of treading on unfamiliar territories.

13. How not to fall for fake anti-virus software

There are some malicious software out there which poses as genuine versions. Among them are the infamous Antivirus 2009, Spyware Protect 2009, PC AntiSpy. The Web of Trust is a good way to detect these bogus websites, apart from your own intuition.

14. How to remember your Internet passwords AND keep them safe

LastPass is a IE/Firefox add-on/online password manager for all your passwords so that you wouldn’t need to worry about losing your password along with your local data. All passwords will be encrypted locally before being uploaded to their servers, so that even folks from LastPass won’t be able to get to your precious.

15. How to create disposable e-mail addresses

Have you ever registered in a forum just to post a single question? Or fill up forms to download a trial application? Maybe giving away your email address for a newsletter? In many of these cases, you give out your real e-mail and all you get in return are junk mails. Meet Melt-mail, a website where you can create temporary e-mail accounts just for those quickies. E-mails can be set to expire in 3, 6, 12 or 24 hours.

This article was written by Chan Huey Hoong who also dabbles in art which is viewable on his blog at Fig.Ech.

What other measures do you take to protect your PC?  Tell us in the comments!