Useful links

The presence of a links page on this site does not suggest that it needs filling up with "link exchanges". I add links here when I find information or products that will be of interest to my visitors - not because I owe a link to someone who has decided to list me on their site.

Istockphoto images - Microsoft Office photos and clipart library
Very important information about image use: You must make sure that you have the rights to publish all images you use on your web site whether it's a site you are creating yourself or one you are getting me to do. Don't grab images from other web sites either, as you may unwittingly be using an image that you should have paid for. Getty Images and other image suppliers regularly send out "picture search robots" to scour the web for invisible watermarks and find unlicensed images on web sites. They do not send out any warnings, the first you will know about it is a bill for £2000 or more with a demand for payment. Search on "getty images warning letter" in Google for more information. Avoid the threat of legal proceedings and make sure your images are properly licensed.

Popular "free listing" and "register your domain name" scam information
These companies prey on novice internet users to try and trick them into re-registering domain names at vastly inflated prices, sending official looking bills for listings in directories with extortionate pricing in the small print, seeking assistance in getting money out of African countries, or making "advance fee" bookings using invalid credit cards or rubber cheques. Steer clear!

• Tourist Directory (Lucerne) Hotel Guide, European City Guide
• Domain Registry of America (DROA) / Canada Europe etc. and "UK Internet Register"
• Nigerian "419", Lottery, phishing, Cheque and Credit card scam information
• Debunking of other urban myths, chain letters, hoax viruses and so on at snopes.com

Parental controls and site blocking
One of the best solutions to controlling web access by your kids (or employees) is the OpenDNS service. All you do is set up a free account there, change your router or computers to use their domain name servers rather than your ISP's ones, and within your OpenDNS account you can then filter out sites by name or category. You can customise the "bounce" page with a logo too - for our home setup I've uploaded the logo of our ISP so the blocking is seen as external to our control.