5 PayPal Alternatives for eCommerce Stores, Plus Why Theyre Better

While PayPal is one of the most well-known payment gateways around, its not for everyone. Depending on your situation, the fees might be higher, or you might be able to get better service elsewhere. Thats probably why youre reading an article about PayPal alternatives for eCommerceIn this post, Im going  not just share 5 viable alternatives, but also explain the specific reasons why each alternative might make for a better option than PayPal.Most of these alternatives integrate with WordPress eCommerce plugins like WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads (for selling digital files). This way, you wont need to hire a developer or learn how to integrate it yourself. Five best PayPal alternatives for eCommerce storesBefore we begin, its important to note that there are two versions of PayPal for eCommerce stores:PayPal Payments Standard   what most people are familiar witha simple Buy Now button embedded on the site, where the customer is sent to a PayPal checkout page.PayPal Payment s Pro  Ã‚  you can customize your shopping cart and have the checkout on your own website for $30 per month plus a $79 WooCommerce extension.Youll see both those terms as I compare these 5 alternatives to PayPal.1.  StripeWhen comparing PayPal to Stripe, your decision usually depends on how you want your checkout to look and what type of payments youre accepting. Smaller companies cant go wrong with PayPal Standard, but for many eCommerce sites, Stripe starts to look appealing.To start, Stripe offers a free WooCommerce plugin  and a paid one for EDD (Easy Digital Downloads).What are the benefits of Stripe over PayPal?If you plan on accepting micropayments of under $10, Stripes fees are going to be far less than the PayPal Payments Pro fee structure of 5% + $0.05.Stripe doesnt have any monthly payments. PayPal Payments Pro has a $30 monthly fee.The Stripe merchant interface is far better than PayPal Standard. Many would argue its also better than PayPal Pro.Stripe is very custo mizable if you have a developer on your team.Stripe streamlines the process by eliminating the need for both a merchant account and gateway. Its all done by Stripe.Go to top2.  Authorize.netAuthorize.net is also one of the more recognized payment gateways in the world. The main downside that merchants see with Authorize.net is that it has several startup fees. For instance, theres a setup fee of $49. After that, a $25 monthly charge is required.As for integrations, theres a  paid WooCommerce plugin with an easy integration. EDD also has an Authorize.net extension.What are the benefits of Authorize.net over PayPal?The checkout process is all done on your website, so its at least better than PayPal Standard in that respect.You can still accept PayPal payments through Authorize.net, along with all major credit cards.The support team is one of the best in the business.You can sync with your QuickBooks account.The Advanced Fraud Detection beats PayPals.Go to top3.  SquareSquare was initially known as the handy little mobile payment device you would bring to trade shows. Thats changed quite a bit, since Square also accepts online payments for eCommerce.Theres an official Square plugin for WooCommerce, and a third-party plugin for EDD.What are the benefits of Square over PayPal?Square and PayPal are both competent for mobile and online payments. However, Squares combination of all tools and interfaces defeats PayPal by a long shot. For instance, the mobile reader has more features (such as offline mode,) and youre able to sync up beautifully with your online store, invoices, and POS.Square has impressive, and free, POS software.Recurring payments are far easier to set up with Square. Oh yeah, and its freecompared to $40 per month with PayPal.Go to top4.  SkrillInternational payments often cause trouble when using PayPal. With Skrill, however, you receive a prepaid debit card that accepts those international payments immediately. You can then use the card at A TMs and stores.Skrill is pretty similar to PayPal in terms of online gateway configuration and fees. Finally,  Skrill has an official  WooCommerce plugin.What are the benefits of Skrill over PayPal?Skrill offers some of the quickest international payments, making it ideal for those who might run into country-based problems with other alternatives.Cross-border transaction fees are free with Skrill, while PayPal charges from 0.5% to 7.4%.Skrill typically allows you to sell riskier online products with less red tape, e.g. gambling products.Go to top5.  2Checkout2Checkout is an incredible PayPal alternative for accepting payments globally. PayPal has been pretty good with accepting many currencies from different countries, but 2Checkout still stands out.The fees between the two are pretty much the same, and 2Checkout has a  WooCommerce  plugin and EDD extension.What are the benefits of 2Checkout over PayPal?As of this article, 2Checkout supports over 87 currencies, eight payme nt methods, 15 languages, and over 200 markets.2Checkout is a full payment gateway without any monthly fees (compared to PayPal Payments Pro).The checkout is customizable, with three templates to start with.The advanced fraud protection is quite impressive. Over 300 security rules are run on all transactions.Is it time you found something other than PayPal?From Square to 2Checkout, you have choices when it comes to PayPal alternatives for eCommerce. As you can see, sometimes you need a PayPal alternative because of your companys country. Sometimes the monthly fees are lowerWhatever the reason, use this article as a jumping off point and see if one of these alternatives offers a cheaper, more streamlined approach to payments.Have any questions about these PayPal alternatives for eCommerce? Leave a comment below! Check out these 5 quality PayPal alternatives that you can use at your #WordPress #eCommerce store

Free sample - Freedom of Speech in China. translation missing

Freedom of Speech in China. Freedom of Speech in ChinaAbstract The paper seeks to examine the freedom of speech for the people of Republic of China. The paper seeks to do this, by examining the way the government of China has treated the media. This is because the paper believes that the media is central to the freedom of expression in any country. The paper also briefly examines how the Chinese government responds to those who activate for political freedom in China. Introduction The recent tussles between the government of China and the search engine Google show that China has gagged the media. This is because the Internet is the most modern means of communication (Cohn, 2007). It is also the media that can make most people express themselves freely. For freedom of expression to exist, there must be a free media .This is because people can only be heard through the media. Only last year, Liu, a renowned journalist was sent to prison. This was because of an email he had written. The charges against him were that he called for peaceful political demonstrations. Many ordinary Chinese have been jailed for candid political expression. The People’s Republic of China continues to be a country that restricts the freedom of expression. This has seen many people leave the country. It has always managed to restrict freedom of expression by censoring the media. Since its formation in 1949, china has gagged the media. This has been due to the fact that the media is state run. Only a small number of media houses are not state run. They include CCTV, The People’s Daily and Xinhua. Where the media are not censored they encounter stiff government regulations. The media here is taken to mean television, Radio, newapapers, magazines and more recently the Internet. Some of the regulations that the media faces are as follows; for one, it is forbidden to report or question the legitimacy of the communist party. This, in Chinese media is a taboo subject that can get one jailed. The media cannot also report on the government of Tibet. Tibet is a secessionist state it has seceded from China although China maintains that it is part of China. The Chinese media cannot also report on the religious movement Falun Gong. The past few years have seen the loosening of some of the government rules that restrict the media. This has been through the commercialization of the media. Also, the emergency of independent media houses has seen to participate in the loosening of the media restrictions (Esarey, 2005). Historical background For purposes of integrity, let the paper state that the Chinese media reports on social issues. The freedom that has been curtailed is the political expression. Political expression constitutes freedom of expression. The curtailing of the freedom of expression began way back in 1949. This was the year that saw the birth of the People’s Republic of China. The government established regulations to make sure that the media does not report certain topics. These regulations have always been passed by the socialist party which is the governing party. The parliament of China has also been involved in the passing of laws that gag the media (Yuezhi, 1998). In 1993, the Chinese government moved to censor the newest form of communication.  Ã‚   This was the Internet and the World Wide Web. Thus, the Internet has been censored in China since its inception. Since then there have been continuous fights between the Chinese government and management of search engines such as Google and Yahoo. The fight between the Chinese government and management of the mentioned search engines is about the freedom of expression. This is because the Chinese government has realized the potential of the Internet to be used as a means of communication. The government does not want the citizens to have any avenue where they can express themselves freely (Yuezhi, 1998). Crack on Activists The Chinese government has established a system that ensures that those who speak against the government are arrested.   These are the people who dare question the government on the taboo subject of freedom of expression. The other category includes those who fight for the rights of the citizens. These are the people who protest against police brutality. The police have been active in ensuring that those who speak against the government do not escape. They get arrested and charged on charges of defamation. Others go missing for months until they appear in court under false charges. Activists, when arrested, face long prison charges to discourage others from following in their suit. The government has also established a well trained police force to track down anyone who disobeys its regulations on censorship. Every kind of media is closely watched to ensure that they comply with the rules and regulations set in place to silence the citizenry. The one media that have been heavily cen sored in the recent past is the Internet. Internet censorship As the paper earlier documented, the censorship of the Internet began in 1993. This was when the central government passed three regulations that curtail the freedom of speech through the Internet. The first of these regulations state that individuals and private organizations are not allowed to have direct internet, international connection. This regulation was formally announced by the government in 1996, and it was updated in 1997(Collins, 2002). This regulation requires all Internet connection to go through the official government machinery such as CERNET, ChinaNET and GBNET among other government regulatory agencies (Amnesty International, 2002). The second regulation gave the ministry of public security authority to monitor the Internet provision in the country. The ministry was to inspect, supervise and guide the work of maintaining security in the country. In regard to the Internet, it was to prosecute criminal cases brought through the Internet. Reading the fine script, one can see that there is ambiguity in the powers of the ministry. This is to ensure that the ministry can get along with the suppression of the freedom of expression (Amnesty International, 2002). The government in regard to Internet censorship has been enacting new regulations. People who break these regulations face jail terms or fines. In other instances, they face both. The charges that are brought against the people who violate these Internet regulations are various. For one, they are charged with performing acts that split the nation. Defamation is also another popular charge that is brought against these people. Leaking government secrets is another charge that those people who violate Internet censorship laws get. Sites that are found to violate the state laws get blocked. Several sites have been blocked like New York Times site was blocked in 2000 though it was later unblocked. The sites for the Washington Post, CBN and CBS have also been blocked, but they were unblocked in 2000 (Abbott, 2004). According to the ministry of public security, the following is what makes a site be closed. According to the said ministry, if an Internet site is provoking division and promoting sentiment that is harmful to the national security, then it is to be closed. Injuring the image of state organizations is another crime that can get a site closed. Working to overthrow the Chinese government or the socialist set up is also termed as sedition and can get a site closed.   All this is propaganda aimed at stifling the freedom of expression. This is because it is the state ministry that determines what sedition is and what isn’t. The state ministry of security thus uses propaganda to censor freedom of speech in China. Because it cannot be overly brutal, it has come up with laws and regulations that push its’ agenda to harm the freedom of expression. Other media have also been stifled in the drive to control the freedom of speech in China. One such media is television (Abbott, 200 4). Television The people’s republic of China (PRC) is technology savvy. It has invested widely in the television industry. 35% of the population has access to television. The television industry is heavily watched by the central government. TV stations are not independent in the country. That is they cannot air what they like. Like the Internet, they are censored by the government. This is because the government allows them to carry as much social material as they want. But when it comes to political communication they are curtailed. The television networks cannot report on police brutality. Also, they cannot report on unrests in the country (Benjamin, 2005). The leading television network is the CCTV. It is a state owned corporation and employs about 10,000 people. It cannot air foreign programs. The contents of the TV broadcasts are examined by state officials on a regular basis. The TV station is closely watched by the propaganda department. It is under the scrutiny from the state department of the administration of Radio, Film and television. The chairman of the TV station is a deputy minister in the ministry of the administration of Radio, film and television. Thus, the TV industry is closely watched so that it cannot air anything that can advance the freedom of expression in the country. The other media like newspapers cannot also be used to advance the freedom of speech and expression (Benjamin, 2005). Radio Radio talk shows are slowly and systematically transforming the freedom of expression and speech in China. Most Radio stations have become liberal and are reporting on subjects that are considered taboo by the other media. Radio talk shows have become the ground on which millions of people talk back to the government. This is because the country has seen the proliferation of Radio stations in the last one decade. The Radio stations have become an avenue through which the people can at least have a measure of political freedom of expression. The other media are used by the state machinery to talk to the people. Radio provides a platform on which people talk back to the government. This does not mean that radio has a free hand to air what it wants. Freedom of expression continues to be suppressed in China on a day to day basis. China is one country that has consistently refused to grant a platform for the expression of fair speech (Guan, 1995). Newspapers Newspapers in China have not been able to cut through government restrictions. They are still under gags that make it impossible for them to report on anything that is politically sensitive. The dominant newspapers are socialist party papers that report more on social issues than on political matters. This is because to report on political issues is suicidal to a newspaper in China. Today there are 2200 daily papers in China. State agencies have authority to edit and censor news from foreign newspapers (Guan, 1995). Western media The western media are heavily censored in mainland China. This is in an attempt to stifle the freedom of speech. This is because the Chinese government understands the power of the media in opening up countries formerly locked in suppression of the freedom of speech. For example, the western media have been instrumental in opening up Burma to the international community. In China western journalists are restricted from entering the country. If they manage to enter the country, they meet severe restrictions. China is determined to continue the suppression of the freedom of speech .One of the most effective ways of doing this is the restriction of the western media in the country (Collins, 2002). Conclusion China has the longest record on the suppression of the freedom of speech. The paper has gone into details about how the government of China has stifled the media. This is because people cannot have freedom of speech when what they say cannot be reported in the media. The Chinese government has also censored the Internet. The Internet is the most efficient way of communicating globally. The Chinese government understands this, and that is why it cannot allow search engines like Google to operate freely in the country (Cohn, 2007). The freedom of speech is essential to the development of any country. Most countries that used to curtail the freedom of speech have changed and are now allowing the said freedom. The media have been liberalized in most parts of the country. One of the most conservative countries has given in to a free and independent media that are central to freedom of speech. This is none other than Russia. Other countries have followed suit. Thus, there is no reason why the world’s largest nation can continue to stifle the freedom of expression (Yuezhi, 1998). The governments of the world should rise and challenge China to give political space to its citizens. They should pressurize China to give freedom of speech to its citizens. This is because China is a signatory to international charter on freedom of speech. China also sits on the security council of the UN.Being a nation thus esteemed; it must also esteem its citizens by giving them the freedom of speech. Only in this way will it be able to prove to the world that it is worthy to sit on the security council of the UN.It will prove to all and sundry that it is serious when signing   international treaties. References Amnesty International (27 February 2002). People's Republic of China: State control of the Internet. New York: Amnesty International. Abbott, P.   (2004). The Political Economy of the Internet in Asia and the Pacific Digital Divides, Economic Competitiveness, and Security Challenges. New York: Praeger. Benjamin, L. (2005). "Watchdog or Demagogue? The Media in the Chinese Legal System." Columbia Law Review, 105(1). Cohn, W. (2007). "Yahoo's China Defense." New Presence: The Prague Journal of European Affairs, 10(2). Collins, D. (3 December 2002). China's Internet Censorship, CBS. Esarey, A. (2005), "Cornering the Market: State Strategies for Controlling China's Commercial Media." Asian Perspective, 29(2). Guan, S. (1995). Intercultural communication (in Chinese). Beijing: Beijing University Press. Yuezhi, Z. (1998), Media, Market, and Democracy in China. Chicago: University of Illinois Press.

Cyber Threats Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cyber Threats - Assignment Example ARP poisoning Address Resolution Protocol spoofing, also referred to as ARP flooding, or ARP poisoning/ARP poison routing is a mechanism that is employed when one wants to attack an Ethernet wireless or wired network. This technique may allow the attacker to undertake packet sniffing. In case of email, the attacker will sniff the traffic sent by one host to another host ion the network (Tan & Ruighaver 2005). In the normal operations of ARP, there will be broadcasting of host IP address and MAC addresses. When some host wants to send some information to a certain host, it will send a broadcast asking who has a certain IP address. The host with the respective IP address will reply to the request and will do so with the correct IP address and the MAC address. This communication happens with a lot of gullibility (Salomon &Cassat 2003). This is because, ARP does not have authentication. The reply and the host which replies that it has the said IP address and MAC address will not be authe nticated. In ARP communication, there is no authentication of the hosts. The host replying will be taken to be correct. ARP does not have a mechanism of correcting the information that it gets from the hosts which are communicating in the network (Salomon & Cassat 2003). Since there is no authentication of the ARP requests and replies, the attacker will insert a wrong IP address to a computer cache. The ARP request will then be fed with the wrong IP address. This is called ARP poisoning, that is the ARP table has been poisoned with wrong information. The attacker manages to lie to the machines and to the people in the network (Russell & Gangemi 2011). What these attacks do is that they will get what is taking place with the two parties. When the parties communicate, the attacker will get the packets and get the email password of either parties or even both parties. They can then use the passwords to undertake attacks (Peltier 2005). The possibility for an IP address to be associated with any given MAC address is another loophole for attacks. They are able to undertake many forms of attacks to the unsuspecting users and hosts in the network. In this state, other forms of network attack can be experienced. Other common forms of attacks that can be experienced include man-in-the-middle attacks, MAC flooding, and denial of service attacks (Orebaugh, Ramirez & Beale 2007). Man-in-the-middle attacks This is an attack which is common in local area networks. This attack is a form of active and aggressive eavesdropping where the attacker will create independent connections between the parties communicating so that the attacker will feign either parties communicating. In the end, the parties communicating will think that they are having a private communication and yet in the real sense, the communication is being controlled by eth attacker (Neumann 2006). A hacker can make use of ARP spoofing/poisoning to attack the communication between communicating parties. This can sim0ply be undertaken by having the attacker sending ARP reply to a router. The router could be communicating with computer A. The router will send information regarding its IP address and the MAC address thinking that the requesting agent is computer A. After getting this information, the attacker will also send an ARP replies to machine A. Machine A will respond to the reply thinking that the machine is a router. It will then send information to the attacker. After getting the IP and MAC address, the attacker will then use the operating system characteristic that is referred to as IT forwarding. This feature will