Malware Removal

Malware Removal - Overview

In the recent years, we have heard of many people and big corporates losing their precious data or being in a situation where their systems are hacked. These unwanted activities are being caused, in most of the cases, using a piece of software inserted into a network system, server or a personal computer. This piece of software is known as a malware.

A malware can cause harm to a system or a network directly, or subvert them to be used by others, rather than as intended by their owners. It is a combination of two words: Mal meaning Bad and Ware meaning Software.

Based on www.av-test.org, the statistics are growing tremendously. Please look at the following graph to understand the growth of Malware.

As you can see, there were more than 600,000,000 malwares detected in 2016 alone. Based on securelist.com, the countries that have infected computers compared to the cleaner ones are −

Maximum risk (over 60%) 22 countries including
Kyrgyzstan (60.77%)	Afghanistan (60.54%).
High risk (41-60%): 98 countries including
India (59.7%)	Egypt (57.3%)	Belarus (56.7%)
Turkey (56.2%)	Brazil (53.9%)	China (53.4%)
UAE (52.7%)	Serbia (50.1%)	Bulgaria (47.7%)
Argentina (47.4%)	Israel (47.3%)	Latvia(45.9%)
Spain (44.6%)	Poland (44.3%)	Germany (44%)
Greece (42.8%)	France (42.6%)	Korea (41.7%),
Austria (41.7%)
Moderate local infection rate (21-40.99%): 45 countries including
Romania(40%)	Italy (39.3%)	Canada (39.2%)
Australia (38.5%)	Hungary (38.2%)	Switzerland (37.2%)
USA (36.7%)	UK (34.7%)	Ireland (32.7%)
Netherlands(32.1%),	Czech Republic (31.5%)	Singapore (31.4%)
Norway (30.5%)	Finland (27.4%)	Sweden (27.4%),
Denmark (25.8%),	Japan (25.6%).

Malware can be designed from the hackers for different purposes like destroying data, sending the data automatically to some other place, altering the data or can keep monitoring it until the specified time-period. Disable security measures, damage the information system, or otherwise affect the data and system integrity.

They also come in different types and forms, which we will discuss in detail in the upcoming chapters of this tutorial.

Malware Removal - How It Works

To understand how malware works, we should first see the anatomy of a malware attack, which is separated in five steps as shown below −

• Entry point
• Distribution
• Exploit
• Infection
• Execution

Let us understand the above-mentioned points in detail.

Entry Point

A malware can enter into the system in many ways −

• The user visits his favorite website that has been infected recently. This can be an entry point for a malware.
• If a user clicks on a URL that has come in an email, it will hijack that browser.
• Malware can also enter through any infected external media such as a USB or an external hard drive.

Distribution

The malware initiates a process that redirects the traffic to an exploit server which checks the OS and applications such as the browser, Java, Flash player, etc.

Exploit

In this phase, the exploit will try to execute based on the OS and will find a way to escalate the privilege.

Infection

Now, the exploit that was successfully installed will upload a payload to maintain access and to manage the victim like remote access, file upload/download, etc.

Execution

In this phase, the hacker who manages the Malware will start to steal your data, encrypt your files, etc.

Malware Removal - Types

Malwares are diverse; they come from different functions and behave differently under various situations. Some of the most infamous and dangerous types of malwares are given below:

• Virus
• Adware
• Spyware
• Trojan
• Rootkits
• Botnets
• Ransom Ware

Let us understand each of these in detail.

Virus

Virus is a malware program that acts in an interesting way. This program executes or replicates itself by putting-in some copies of itself in other computer programs, boot sector, data files, hard disk, etc. When the replication process is done, then the areas that are affected are said to be the infected ones.

Viruses are built to perform some of the most harmful activities on the hosts when they are infected. They can steal the CPU time or even the space in the hard disk. They can also corrupt the data and can put some funny messages on the screen of the system.

Adware

This software is mainly the advertising supporting software. A package that comes automatically with the advertisements inside. Hence, it can generate some good income for the owner.

Spyware

Spyware is a software that is mainly used for the gathering of information about some organization or a person. That information is gathered without anyone getting to know that the information is being fathered from his or her system.

Trojan

Trojan is a non-self-replicating type of malware. It contains some malicious code, which carries out some actions that are determined by the nature of that specific Trojan. This happens upon the execution only. The result of the action is normally the data loss and it can also harm the system in many ways.

Rootkits

Rootkits are the stealth type of malware. They are designed in some special way that they can actually hide themselves very well and it is quite difficult to detect them in a system. The normal methods of detection do not work on them.

Botnets

Botnet is a software installed on a computer that is connected through the internet and it can help one communicate with the other same type of programs, so that some actions can be performed. They can be same as keeping control of some IRC, which are Internet Related Charts. In addition, it can be utilized for sending out some spam emails or to participate in some distribution of denial of services attacks.

Ransom Ware

Ransom ware is a software that encrypts files, which are on the hard drives. Some of them can even end up with simply showing some message about payment of money to the person, who has implemented this program.

Malware Removal - Detection Techniques

Generally, if a computer is infected there are some symptoms, which even simpler users can notice.

Common Malware Detection Techniques

Some of the most commonly used Malware Detection Techniques are listed as follows.

• Your computer shows a pop-up and error message.

• Your computer freezes frequently and you are unable to work on it.
• The computer slows down when a program or process starts. This can be noticed in the task manager that the process of the software has started, but it has not opened yet for working.
• Third parties complain that they are receiving invitation in social media or via emails from you.
• File extensions changes appear or files are added to your system without your consent.

• Internet explorer freezes too often even though your internet speed is very good.
• Your hard disk is accessed most of the time, which you can see from the blinking LED light of your computer.

• OS files are corrupted or missing.

• If your computer is consuming too much bandwidth or network resources, it is the case of a computer worm.
• Hard disk space is occupied all the time, even if you are not taking any action. For example, a Mew Program installing.
• Files and program sizes change as compared to their original version.

Errors not related to Malware

The following errors are not related to Malware Activities −

• Error while the system is booting in the Bios stage, like Bios’ battery cell display, timer error display.
• Hardware errors like Beeps, RAM burn, HDD, etc.
• If a document fails to start normally like a corrupted file, but the other files can be opened accordingly.
• Keyboard or mouse does not answer your commands; you have to check the plug-ins.
• Monitor switching on and off too often, like blinking or vibrating, this is a hardware fault.

In the next chapter, we will understand how to prepare for Malware removal.

Malware Removal - Preparation for Removal

Malwares attach themselves to programs and transmit to other programs by making use of some events. They need these events to happen because they cannot start by themselves, transmit themselves by using non-executable files and infect other networks or a computer.

To prepare for the removal phase, we should first understand which all computer processes are being used by the malware in order to kill them. Which traffic ports are being used by them in order to block them? What are the files related to these malwares, so we can have the chance to repair them or delete. All this includes a bunch of tools that will help us to gather this information.

Investigation Process

From the above-mentioned conclusions, we should know that when some unusual processes or services run by themselves, we should investigate further their relations with a possible virus. The investigation process is as follows −

To investigate the processes, we should start by using the following tools −

• fport.exe
• pslist.exe
• handle.exe
• netstat.exe

The Listdll.exe shows all the dll files that are being used. The netstat.exewith its variables shows all the processes being run with their respective ports. The following example shows, how a process of Kaspersky Antivirus is mapped to a command netstat-ano to see the process numbers. To check which process number it belongs to, we will use the task manager.

For Listdll.exe, we have download it from the following link – https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896656.aspx and we can run it to check which processes are connected with the DLL that are being used.

We open CMD and go to the path of Listdll.exe as shown in the following screenshot, then run it.

We will get the result as shown in the following screenshot.

For example, PID 16320 is being used by the dllhost.exe, which has a description COM Surrogate and on the left. It has shown all the DLL being shown by this process, which we can google and check.

Now we will use the Fport, which can be downloaded from the following link – https://www.mcafee.com/hk/downloads/free-tools/fport.aspx# to map the services and PID with the ports.

Another tool to monitor the services and to see how many resources they are consuming is called as the “Process Explorer”, which can be downloaded from the following link – https://download.sysinternals.com/files/ProcessExplorer.zip and after downloading it, you have to run the exe file and you will see the following result −

Malware Removal Process

In this chapter, we will understand how to go through the cleaning process of a computer, which has been infected by any type of malware. Let us follow the steps given below.

Step 1 − To begin with, we need to disconnect the computer from the network, which can be a cable connection or a wireless connection. This is done so that the hacking process loses connection with the hacker, so no further data can continue to leak.

Step 2 − Start the computer in Safe Mode, only the minimum required programs and services are loaded. If any malware is set to load automatically when Windows starts, entering in this mode may prevent it from doing so. This is important because it allows the files to be removed easier, since they are not actually running or active.

Starting a Computer in Safe Mode

Starting a computer in a safe mode can vary from Windows 7 to Windows 10. For the Windows 10 OS, the steps are as follows −

Step 1 − Press the Windows logo key + I on your keyboard to open Settings. If that does not work, select the Start button in the lower-left corner of your screen and then select Settings. Select Update & security → Recovery.

Step 2 − Under the Advanced startup section, select Restart now.

Step 3 − After your PC restarts to the Choose an option screen, select Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Startup Settings → Restart.

Step 4 − After your PC restarts, you will see a list of options. Select 4 or F4 to start your PC in the Safe Mode. If you need to use the Internet, select 5 or F5 for Safe Mode with Networking.

Delete Temporary files

Delete your temporary files. Doing this will speed up the virus scanning, free up disk space and even get rid of some malware. To use the Disk Cleanup Utility, included with Windows 10 just type Disk Cleanup in the search bar or after pressing the Start button and select the tool that appears – Disk Cleanup.

Stop the Malware Process that might be related to it

We will attempt to terminate all the associated malicious processes. To do this, we will use Rkill, which can be easily downloaded from the following link – www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/rkill/

Download Malware Scanner and Start a Scan

If you already have an antivirus program active on your computer, you should use a different scanner for this malware check, since your current antivirus software may not have detected the malware. Most of the well-known antivirus software are given in the following screenshot.

Malware Removal - Protection

We should understand that viruses infect outside machines only with the assistance of a computer user, which can be like clicking a file that comes attached with an email from an unknown person, plugging a USB without scanning, opening unsafe URLs, etc. For such reasons, we as system administrators have to remove the administrator permissions of users in their computers.

Some of the most common don’ts for letting malware enter into a system are as follows −

• Do not open any email attachments coming from unknown people or even from known people that contain suspicious text.
• Do not accept any invitation from unknown people in social media.
• Do not open any URL sent by unknown people or known people that are in any weird form.

Read More

How to make your data safe using Cryptography

Cryptography Tutorial: Cryptanalysis, RC4, CrypTool

Information plays a vital role in the running of business, organizations, military operations, etc. Information in the wrong hands can lead to loss of business or catastrophic results. To secure communication, a business can use cryptology to cipher information. Cryptology involves transforming information into the Nonhuman readable format and vice versa.

In this article, we will introduce you to the world of cryptology and how you can secure information from falling into the wrong hands.

Topics covered in this tutorial

• What is cryptography?
• What is cryptanalysis?
• What is cryptology?
• Encryption Algorithms
• Hacking Activity: Hack Now!

What is Cryptography?

Cryptography is the study and application of techniques that hide the real meaning of information by transforming it into nonhuman readable formats and vice versa.

Let’s illustrate this with the aid of an example. Suppose you want to send the message “I LOVE APPLES”, you can replace every letter in the phrase with the third successive letter in the alphabet. The encrypted message will be “K NQYG CRRNGV”. To decrypt our message, we will have to go back three letters in the alphabet using the letter that we want to decrypt. The image below shows how the transformation is done.

The process of transforming information into nonhuman readable form is called encryption.

The process of reversing encryption is called decryption.

Decryption is done using a secret key which is only known to the legitimate recipients of the information. The key is used to decrypt the hidden messages. This makes the communication secure because even if the attacker manages to get the information, it will not make sense to them.

 The encrypted information is known as a cipher.

What is Cryptanalysis?

Cryptanalysis is the art of trying to decrypt the encrypted messages without the use of the key that was used to encrypt the messages. Cryptanalysis uses mathematical analysis & algorithms to decipher the ciphers. The success of cryptanalysis attacks depends

• Amount of time available
• Computing power available
• Storage capacity available

The following is a list of the commonly used Cryptanalysis attacks;

• Brute force attack– this type of attack uses algorithms that try to guess all the possible logical combinations of the plaintext which are then ciphered and compared against the original cipher.
• Dictionary attack– this type of attack uses a wordlist in order to find a match of either the plaintext or key. It is mostly used when trying to crack encrypted passwords.
• Rainbow table attack– this type of attack compares the cipher text against pre-computed hashes to find matches.

What is cryptology?

Cryptology combines the techniques of cryptography and cryptanalysis.

Encryption Algorithms

MD5– this is the acronym for Message-Digest 5. It is used to create 128-bit hash values. Theoretically, hashes cannot be reversed into the original plain text. MD5 is used to encrypt passwords as well as check data integrity.  MD5 is not collision resistant. Collision resistance is the difficulties in finding two values that produce the same hash values.

• SHA– this is the acronym for Secure Hash Algorithm. SHA algorithms are used to generate condensed representations of a message (message digest). It has various versions such as;

• SHA-0:  produces 120-bit hash values. It was withdrawn from use due to significant flaws and replaced by SHA-1.
• SHA-1:  produces 160-bit hash values. It is similar to earlier versions of MD5. It has cryptographic weakness and is not recommended for use since the year 2010.
• SHA-2:  it has two hash functions namely SHA-256 and SHA-512. SHA-256 uses 32-bit words while SHA-512 uses 64-bit words.
• SHA-3: this algorithm was formally known as Keccak.

• RC4– this algorithm is used to create stream ciphers. It is mostly used in protocols such as Secure Socket Layer (SSL) to encrypt internet communication and Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) to secure wireless networks.
• BLOWFISH– this algorithm is used to create keyed, symmetrically blocked ciphers. It can be used to encrypt passwords and other data.

Hacking Activity: Use CrypTool

In this practical scenario, we will create a simple cipher using the RC4 algorithm. We will then attempt to decrypt it using brute-force attack. For this exercise, let us assume that we know the encryption secret key is 24 bits. We will use this information to break the cipher.

We will use CrypTool 1 as our cryptology tool. CrypTool 1 is an open source educational tool for crypto logical studies. You can download it from http://www.cryptool.org/en/ct1-download-en

Creating the RC4 stream cipher

We will encrypt the following phrase

Never underestimate the determination of a kid who is time-rich and cash-poor

We will use 00 00 00 as the encryption key.

• Open CrypTool 1

• Replace the text with Never underestimate the determination of a kid who is time-rich and cash-poor

• Click on Encrypt/Decrypt menu

 

• Point to Symmetric (modern) then select RC4 as shown above
• The following window will appear

• Select 24 bits as the encryption key
• Set the value to 00 00 00
• Click on Encrypt button
•  You will get the following stream cipher

Attacking the stream cipher

• Click on Analysis menu

• Point to Symmetric Encryption (modern) then select RC4 as shown above
• You will get the following window

• Remember the assumption made is the secret key is 24 bits. So make sure you select 24 bits as the key length.
• Click on the Start button. You will get the following window

• Note: the time taken to complete the Brute-Force Analysis attack depends on the processing capacity of the machine been used and the key length. The longer the key length, the longer it takes to complete the attack.

• When the analysis is complete, you will get the following results.

• Note: a lower Entropy number means it is the most likely correct result. It is possible a higher than the lowest found Entropy value could be the correct result.
• Select the line that makes the most sense then click on Accept selection button when done

Summary

• Cryptography is the science of ciphering and deciphering messages.
• A cipher is a message that has been transformed into a nonhuman readable format.
• Deciphering is reversing a cipher into the original text.
• Cryptanalysis is the art of deciphering ciphers without the knowledge of the key used to cipher them.
• Cryptology combines the techniques of both cryptography and cryptanalyst.

Read More

Search Engine Optimization

SEO - What is SEO?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. SEO is all about optimizing a website for search engines. SEO is a technique for:

• designing and developing a website to rank well in search engine results.
• improving the volume and quality of traffic to a website from search engines.
• marketing by understanding how search algorithms work, and what human visitors might search.

SEO is a subset of search engine marketing. SEO is also referred as SEO copyrighting, because most of the techniques that are used to promote sites in search engines, deal with text.

If you plan to do some basic SEO, it is essential that you understand how search engines work.

How Search Engine Works?

Search engines perform several activities in order to deliver search results.

• Crawling - Process of fetching all the web pages linked to a website. This task is performed by a software, called a crawler or a spider (or Googlebot, in case of Google).
• Indexing - Process of creating index for all the fetched web pages and keeping them into a giant database from where it can later be retrieved. Essentially, the process of indexing is identifying the words and expressions that best describe the page and assigning the page to particular keywords.
• Processing - When a search request comes, the search engine processes it, i.e. it compares the search string in the search request with the indexed pages in the database.
• Calculating Relevancy - It is likely that more than one page contains the search string, so the search engine starts calculating the relevancy of each of the pages in its index to the search string.
• Retrieving Results - The last step in search engine activities is retrieving the best matched results. Basically, it is nothing more than simply displaying them in the browser.

Search engines such as Google and Yahoo! often update their relevancy algorithm dozens of times per month. When you see changes in your rankings it is due to an algorithmic shift or something else outside of your control.

Although the basic principle of operation of all search engines is the same, the minor differences between their relevancy algorithms lead to major changes in results relevancy.

What is SEO Copywriting?

SEO Copywriting is the technique of writing viewable text on a web page in such a way that it reads well for the surfer, and also targets specific search terms. Its purpose is to rank highly in the search engines for the targeted search terms.

Along with viewable text, SEO copywriting usually optimizes other on-page elements for the targeted search terms. These include the Title, Description, Keywords tags, headings, and alternative text.

The idea behind SEO copywriting is that search engines want genuine content pages and not additional pages often called "doorway pages" that are created for the sole purpose of achieving high rankings.

What is Search Engine Rank?

When you search any keyword using a search engine, it displays thousands of results found in its database. A page ranking is measured by the position of web pages displayed in the search engine results. If a search engine is putting your web page on the first position, then your web page rank will be number 1 and it will be assumed as the page with the highest rank.

SEO is the process of designing and developing a website to attain a high rank in search engine results.

What is On-Page and Off-page SEO?

Conceptually, there are two ways of optimization:

• On-Page SEO - It includes providing good content, good keywords selection, putting keywords on correct places, giving appropriate title to every page, etc.
• Off-Page SEO - It includes link building, increasing link popularity by submitting open directories, search engines, link exchange, etc.

SEO - Tactics & Methods

SEO techniques are classified into two broad categories:

• White Hat SEO - Techniques that search engines recommend as part of a good design.
• Black Hat SEO - Techniques that search engines do not approve and attempt to minimize the effect of. These techniques are also known as spamdexing.

White Hat SEO

An SEO tactic is considered as White Hat if it has the following features:

• It conforms to the search engine's guidelines.
• It does not involve in any deception.
• It ensures that the content a search engine indexes, and subsequently ranks, is the same content a user will see.
• It ensures that a web page content should have been created for the users and not just for the search engines.
• It ensures good quality of the web pages.
• It ensures availability of useful content on the web pages.

Always follow a White Hat SEO tactic and do not try to fool your site visitors. Be honest and you will definitely get something more.

Black Hat or Spamdexing

An SEO tactic, is considered as Black Hat or Spamdexing if it has the following features:

• Attempting ranking improvements that are disapproved by the search engines and/or involve deception.
• Redirecting users from a page that is built for search engines to one that is more human friendly.
• Redirecting users to a page that was different from the page the search engine ranked.
• Serving one version of a page to search engine spiders/bots and another version to human visitors. This is called Cloaking SEO tactic.
• Using hidden or invisible text or with the page background color, using a tiny font size or hiding them within the HTML code such as "no frame" sections.
• Repeating keywords in the metatags, and using keywords that are unrelated to the website content. This is called metatag stuffing.
• Calculated placement of keywords within a page to raise the keyword count, variety, and density of the page. This is called keyword stuffing.
• Creating low-quality web pages that contain very little content but are instead stuffed with very similar keywords and phrases. These pages are called Doorway or Gateway Pages.
• Mirror websites by hosting multiple websites - all with conceptually similar content but using different URLs.
• Creating a rogue copy of a popular website which shows contents similar to the original to a web crawler, but redirects web surfers to unrelated or malicious websites. This is called page hijacking.

Always stay away from any of the above Black Hat tactics to improve the rank of your site. Search engines are smart enough to identify all the above properties of your site and ultimately you are not going to get anything.

SEO - Web Site Domain

When you start thinking of doing a business through internet, the first thing that you think about is your website domain name. Before you choose a domain name, you should consider the following:

• Who would be your target audience?
• What you intend to sell to them. Is it a tangible item or just text content?
• What will make your business idea unique or different from everything else that is already avilable in the market?

Many people think it is important to have keywords in a domain. Keywords in the domain name are usually important, but it usually can be done while keeping the domain name short, memorable, and free of hyphens.

Using keywords in your domain name gives you a strong competitive advantage over your competitors. Having your keywords in your domain name can increase click-through-rates on search engine listings and paid ads as well as make it easier to use your keywords in get keyword rich descriptive inbound links.

Avoid buying long and confusing domain names. Many people separate the words in their domain names using either dashes or hyphens. In the past, the domain name itself was a significant ranking factor but now search engines have advanced features and it is not a very significant factor anymore.

Keep two to three words in your domain name that will be easy to memorize. Some of the most notable websites do a great job of branding by creating their own word. Few examples are eBay, Yahoo!, Expedia, Slashdot, Fark, Wikipedia, Google, etc.

You should be able to say it over the telephone once, and the other person should know how to spell it, and they should be able to guess what you sell.

Guru Mantra

Finally, you should be able to answer the following questions:

• Why do you want to build your website?
• Why should people buy off your site and not from other site?
• What makes you different from others?
• Who are your target audience and what do you intend to sell?
• List 5 to 10 websites that you think are amazing. Now think why they are amazing.
• Create 5 different domain names. Make at least 1 of them funny. Tell them to half a dozen people and see which ones are the most memorable. You will get more honest feedback if the people do not know you well.
• Buy your domain name that is catchy, memorable, and relevant to your business.

SEO - Relevant Filenames

One of the simplest methods to improve your search engine optimization is to look at the way you name your files. Before writing this tutorial, we did a lot of research on file-names and found that search engines like Google give too much importance to file names. You should think what you want put in your web page and then give a relevant file name to this page.

Just try giving any keyword in Google search engine and you will find file names highlighted with the keyword you have given. It proves that your file name should have appropriate keywords.

File Naming Style

• The filename should preferably be short and descriptive.
• It is always good to use same keywords in a filename as well as in page title.
• Do not use filenames such as service.htm or job.htm as they are generic. Use actual service name in your file name such as computer-repairing.htm.
• Do not use more than 3-4 words in file names.
• Separate the keywords with hyphens rather than underscores.
• Try to use 2 keywords if possible.

File Name Example

Listed below are some filenames which would be ideal from the users' point of view as well as SEO.

slazenger-brand-balls.html
wimbledon-brand-balls.html
wilson-brand-balls.html

Notice that the keywords are separated by hyphens rather than underscores. Google sees good filenames as follows:

seo-relevant-filename as seo relevant filename(good)

Filenames with underscores are not a good option.

seo_relevant_filename as seorelevantfilename (not good)

File Extension

You should notice that .html, .htm, .php and any other extension do NOTHING for your visitors, and they are simply a means of offloading some of the work of configuring your webserver properly onto your visitor's. In effect, you are asking your site visitors to tell your webserver HOW to produce the page, not which one?

Many Web masters think that it is a good idea to use filename without using extension. It may help you, but not a whole lot.

URL Sub-Directory Name

From Search Engine Optimization point of view, URL sub-directory name hardly matters. You can try giving any keyword in any search, and you will not find any sub-directory name matching with your keywords. But from the user's point of view, you should keep an abbreviated sub-directory name.

Guru Mantra

Keep the following points in mind before naming your files:

• Keep the web page filename short, simple, descriptive, and relevant to the page content.
• Try to use a maximum of 3-4 keywords in your filename, and these keywords should appear on your web page title as well.
• Separate all keywords with hyphen rather than with underscore.
• Keep your sub-directories name as short as possible.
• Restrict the file size to less than 101K because Google chops almost everything above that.

SEO - Design & Layout

The website design and layout gives the first impression about your site. There are sites which are too fancy and regular net surfers just reach those sites and come out even without creating a single click.

Search engines are very smart but after all, they are software and not human being, who can read the content of their interest. If you make your site too complicated, then the search engine would not be able to parse the content of your site properly, and finally indexing would not be efficient, which results in a low rank.

The actual page content should have a keyword density of about 10% and should weigh in at about 200 words - but there are as many opinions about this as there are SEO experts. Some say, keyword density should be 5% and some say it should be 20%. You can go with 10% which is good enough.

Here are a few guidelines that you should keep in mind while designing a web page.

• You should have more text content than HTML elements.
• No frames. They are the enemies of search engines, and search engines are enemies of frames.
• No ads if possible. Because most of the ads use Java-Script which is not advised to be used.
• No JavaScript. If you need JavaScript, call it from an external file rather than dumping the code in the HTML file. JavaScript drop-down menus prevent spiders from crawling beyond your homepage. If you use them, be sure to include text links at the bottom of the page.
• Do not put anything in the page topic that does not fit perfectly.
• No unnecessary directories. Keep your files as close to the root as possible.
• No fancy stuff (Flash, Splash, Animated Gifs, Rollovers, etc.) unless absolutely necessary.

SEO - Optimized Keywords

A keyword is a term that is used to match with the query a person enters into a search engine to find specific information. Most people enter search phrases that consist of two to five words. Such phrases may be called search phrases, keyword phrases, query phrases, or just keywords. Good keyword phrases are specific and descriptive.

The following concepts related to keywords, help in optimizing the keywords on a web page.

Keyword Frequency

This is calculated as how often does a keyword appear in a website title or description. You do not want to go overboard with frequency, however, since on some engines if you repeat a word too many times, you are be penalized for "spamming" or keyword stuffing.

In general though, repeat your keyword in the document as many times as you can get away with, and up to 3-7 times in your list of metatags.

Keyword Weight

It refers to the number of keywords appearing on your web page compared to the total number of words appearing on that same page. Some search engines consider this while determining the rank of your website for a particular keyword search.

One technique that often works well is to create some smaller pages, generally just a paragraph long that emphasizes a particular keyword. By keeping the overall number of words to a minimum, you can increase the "weight" of the keyword you are emphasizing.

Keyword Proximity

It refers to the placement of keywords on a web page in relation to each other or, in some cases, in relation to other words with a similar meaning as the queried keyword.

For search engines, that grade a keyword match by keyword proximity, the connected phrase home loans will outrank a citation that mentions home mortgage loans assuming that you are searching only for the phrase "home loans".

Keyword Prominence

It is a measure of how early or high up on a page, the keywords are found. Having keywords in the first heading and in the first paragraph (first 20 words or so) on a page are best.

Keyword Placement

Where your keywords are placed on a page is very important. For example, in most engines, placing the keywords in the Title of the page, or in the Heading tags will give it more relevancy. On some engines, placing keywords in the link text, the part that is underlined on the screen in a browser, can add more relevancy to those words.

Best Places to Put Keywords

Here is a list of places where you should try to use your main keywords.

• Keywords in the <title> tag(s).
• Keywords in the <meta name="description">.
• Keywords in the <meta name="keyword">.
• Keywords in <h1> or other headline tags.
• Keywords in the <a href=&quo

Read More