20 Websites You Can’t Miss If You Want To Make Money As A Freelancer

Being a freelancer has a lot of benefits – you can work from anywhere you like, you make up your own rules, you don’t have to concern yourself with trivial office politics, there is less stress involved and you get to spend a lot more time with your friends and family. However, not having a stable job means that you will be living a nomad’s life, moving from project to project, constantly on the lookout for a new employer. Kind of like an online ronin, a masterless samurai roaming the virtual wastes. Well, there are places you can go to look for great freelance opportunities, so do not despair. Here are 20 great freelance websites you should definitely check out.

1. Elance

Elance is one of the best websites to look for freelance work of all types. Programmers, designers, writers, IT professionals, translators, attorneys, financial advisers – everyone is welcome and there is plenty of work to go around. You can set up a profile fairly quickly and charge an hourly rate or have a set price for each individual project and you get rated depending on how well you do.

2. Freelancer

It’s been around since 2004 and it has a large following. It’s a place where services are outsourced to freelancers in a number of fields including: web design, writing, marketing and data entry among other things.

3. Guru

Guru.com is a fairly large network that connects companies and freelancers. As stated on the website they are interested in work on “technical, creative or business projects”, so there is plenty of opportunity for all types of freelancers from programmers and game developers to translators, engineers and attorneys.

4. iFreelance

iFreelance is a very wide freelance network with categories that include photography, videography, marketing, traditional art, writing, translation, architecture, engineering, graphic design, accounting and administrative support. It’s easy to set up an account and start looking for a project you can contribute to.

5. People per Hour

Create an appealing profile, look for jobs, send proposals and make a short video promoting your services. It’s all very straightforward with PeoplePerHour.com – you find a client, provide a quality service and get rated.

6. Tuts Plus Jobs

This is a great job board for programmers, designers and developers, as well as copywriters and editors. It has a user friendly interface and allows you to quickly find and apply for jobs best suited to your particular skill set.

7. ProBlogger

An excellent job board for talented writers, ProBlogger makes finding the right writing opportunities incredibly simple. Just click on the job listings you want and follow the instructions.

8. Freelance Writing Gigs

This is another great website for all the writers out there. Posting an ad will cost you around $10, but it will give you a chance to showcase your writing skills and provide content to those willing to pay for your efforts. You can also contribute to their blog and get some additional exposure by linking to your blog/website and social media accounts.

9. SmashingJobs

This is a designer’s and programmer’s heaven, offering plenty of full-time and freelance job opportunities. The website has a very clean and crisp design which allows for quick browsing and some efficient job hunting.

10. Odesk

Set up an account and choose from 75 different job categories and plenty of offers within each category. The thing with oDesk is that there is no invoicing involved – your work is tracked automatically and you receive payments on a weekly basis depending on how much time you spent on various projects. Some of the main categories include writing and translation, software development, web development, marketing and design.

11. Fiverr

Sell your services starting at $5, that’s the tagline and it is quite accurate. You can offer basically anything you can think of – write and perform a poem, create DIY projects or promotional videos, etc. Some basic categories are writing and translation, online marketing, video and animation, music, programing and graphic design.

12. Freelanced

This is a freelance social network where a large number of people with different kinds of talents and skills can come together, share their portfolios and look for some online work. There are a huge number of job categories ranging from creative writers, sculptors and music composers to accountants and programmers.

13. Freelance-Writing-Jobs-Online

A variety of fields to write about, ranging from mathematics and physics to biology and medicine. To sign up you need to fill out a form and wait for a confirmation email. Upon receiving the email you may take a competency test and be on your way to earning some money.

14. Pitch me

A freelancer with some experience in journalism will feel right at home on this website. Ideas are pitched on various topics – fashion, science, culture, etc – and you can pitch as many ideas as you like. If someone likes what you have to offer, they can than pay you to write it, it’s as simple as that.

15. Text Broker

This website provides talented writers with a very effective way of getting paid for doing what they do best. You start by creating a free account and completing a competency test after which you will be rated. Then, if all goes well, you can complete your author profile and start looking for writing assignments that suit you.

16. Art Wanted

Artwanted is the perfect place for artists and photographers to create an online portfolio, get feedback and sell their artwork online. Registration is free, but there is a $5 per month premium membership option that grants you access to some good bonus features.

17. 99designs

This is a website where over 281,579 designers from 192 different countries can connect to potential clients and showcase their work. A client gives information about his business and a rough idea of the type of logo he wants. Then the designers send in their work and the client can pick out the one he likes best. You look for design contests, enter the ones you like and do your best to win. As you win more contests your status will improve and you will get more opportunities.

18. Simply Hired

This is a big and broad job hunting website with tons of options, but it is a great way to look for some freelance work, particularly if you are a writer, graphic designer or web designer. It’s very easy to navigate and you can quickly search through a large number of recent job offerings in your field.

19. Tutor

As the name suggests you can become an online tutor for families with home-schooled children, children in military families and even schools. There are a number of subjects and different grade levels to choose from, so if you have a deeper understanding of a subject such as math, English or science, than you can go through a few simple steps. You have to fill out an application form, pass a subject exam and deliver a writing sample, perform a mock session to test your teaching skills and go through a background check before you can start working.

20. Authentic Jobs

A well-designed and straightforward job board, AuthenticJobs.com allows you to filter out categories you are not interested in and apply for freelance jobs in different fields. The main focus is on web development, web design, application development, project management and UI design.

I hope you find this information useful and that you succeed in your freelance career. Just remember to be patient and to keep looking. It takes time to see some serious results, but freelancing can be a fulfilling career once you get pass the initial stages.

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The Top Torrent Sites of 2015

1.Demonoid.ph:  this private membership community has resurrected itself at new domain name Demonoid.ph and Demonoid.pw. Some of you will remember how Demonoid was a very popular and trusted place to get files and stay informed on which torrents to avoid.  Let's see if Demonoid can regain the same eminence at this new server site!
2.Kick Ass Torrents: this is a proven favorite amongst our readers. The interface is a distinctive earth color, and the search results display in a useful format of columns, including torrent health. The best part of Kick Ass Torrents is their comment and feedback system... the user community watches the quality of torrents, and offers their recommendations and warnings. The adult advertising can be annoying, but Kickass.to has an excellent library of torrents  
3.SeedPeer.me: SeedPeer is a very large database of over 3 million torrent files. The search interface is simple, and the keyword cloud map helps as a discovery means to find interesting movies, tv shows, and music artists. Fans speak very highly of SeedPeer, so do consider trying it out. 4.Isohunt.to: Isohunt is reborn!  After being shut down by the MPAA on October 17, 2013, Isohunt has been resurrected with a new domain name in a new country.  Please support this longtime champion of P2P file sharing!  
5.BitSnoop.com: is the largest known database of torrents today.  With over 18 million indexed files, one could argue that this is the only site you'd need to search at.  Try BitSnoop for yourself and see how it presents its results with its comments and ratings... you might like this site as much as other readers do. 
6.Bitport.io:  Bitpot is a newer 3rd party service in the Czech Republic.  They don't give you torrents, but instead will download torrents for you onto their own private servers. Once your large files are transferred to them, you then log on and download the completed file directly to your computer.  The free version allows 100MB per hour transfer.  You can subscribe to get faster transfer speeds.  Bitport is an excellent service, and considering the risks that they incur, the small $5/month fee is an excellent value for the customer. 
7.VCDQ.com: VCDQ.com isn't technically a torrent search site; rather, VCDQ specializes in verifying torrents. VCDQ employs a committee of serious users to confirm that torrents do indeed exist for thousands of titles, especially brand new movie releases. Use VCDQ to confirm that a title is available, then copy the torrent name to paste into a search engine like Isohunt.com. Definitely give VCDQ.com a try; this is a great resource for avoiding fake torrent files. 
8.Torlock: Torlock is special. These folks actually pay their users commission for uncovering fake torrents and reporting it to their community. In a world of phony files, this is a tremendous service. If you are a regular downloader, and are tired of wasted downloads and fraudulent files, give Torlock a try.
9. btscene.com: btscene is a longtime player in the file sharing game. This website does have annoying popups and adult advertising, but it does offer a solid library of torrents. It does a good job of featuring very recent torrents (good for people who follow television shows), and presenting many browsing choices at a glance.
10.ExtraTorrent.com: ExtraTorrent.com is very visual and very busy.  But the thumbnails and file information at this site are tremendous. This site is definitely worth trying, as it is very browsing-friendly for discovering movies and music artists.   
11.TorrentHound: at over 4.7 million torrents, TorrentHound is one of the largest players in the torrent P2P game. The site does enforce good use of 'white space' in the sidebars, so scanning the pages can be easier for most readers. Unfortunately, the comments counts are not included in the initial search results, so you'll have to click into the individual files to see reader comments.
12.Boxopus: Boxopus is like bitport.io, a 3rd party cloud downloader.  The service does charge $1.50 to use for a week, or $50 for a year.  If you want to integrate with Dropbox, then you'll need to look elsewhere, as Dropbox has blocked Boxopus torrents. But there are some very convenient features here that some readers really rave about.  The price is actually very reasonable if you plan your downloads so that you can use the week-long access to its maximum. 
13.Torrent Funk: Torrent Funk is a very popular torrent search site that now supports commenting. While Torrent Funk also supports 'verified status' tagging, which some people prefer to comments. The interface can be difficult to discern between sponsored ads and the actual torrent links. But the Torrent Funk site layout is pleasing, the cross- movie recommendations are very helpful, and several About.com readers highly recommended Torrent Funk. Give this site a try, and watch if it will grow over time.
 14.The Old (New) Pirate Bay: The Pirate Bay was shut down in 2009, was reborn, and then shut down again in December 2014 (when Swedish police recently raided the Swedish server farm) . But The Pirate Bay refuses to stay down. This new Pirate Bay is renamed 'Old Pirate Bay', and credit goes to Isohunt for resurrecting this iconic website. How long will this fan-favorite website last?  Anything could happen, so use this site while you can!
 15.Torrents.to: this site has a Tonga country domain name, but certainly offers plentiful metasearching of movies and music in English and Spanish. There are some popup advertisements that are annoying, but perhaps you might like the framed interface for searching other torrent sites.

Ten Tips For Protecting Your Computer From Hackers And Viruses

1.   Use protection software "anti-virus software" and keep it up to date.

Make sure you have anti-virus software on your computer! Anti-virus software is designed to protect you and your computer against known viruses so you do not have to worry. But with new viruses emerging daily, anti-virus programs need regular updates, like annual flu shots, to recognize these new viruses. Be sure to update your anti-virus software regularly! The more often you keep it updated, say once a week, the better. Check with the web site of your anti-virus software company to see some sample descriptions of viruses and to get regular updates for your software. Stop viruses in their tracks!

2.   Do not open e-mail from unknown sources.

A simple rule of thumb is that if you do not know the person who is sending you an e-mail, be very careful about opening the e-mail and any file attached to it. Should you receive a suspicious e-mail, the best thing to do is to delete the entire message, including any attachment. Even if you do know the person sending you the e-mail, you should exercise caution if the message is strange and unexpected, particularly if it contains unusual hyperlinks. Your friend may have accidentally sent you a virus. When in doubt, delete!

3.   Use hard-to-guess passwords.

Passwords will only keep outsiders out if they are difficult to guess! Do not share your password, and do not use the same password in more than one place. If someone should happen to guess one of your passwords, you do not want them to be able to use it in other places. The golden rules of passwords are:

• A password should have a minimum of 8 characters, be as meaningless as possible, and use uppercase letters, lowercase letters and numbers, e.g., xk28LP97.
• Change passwords regularly, at least every 90 days.
• Do not give out your password to anyone!

4.   Protect your computer from Internet intruders -- use "firewalls."

Equip your computer with a firewall! Firewalls create a protective wall between your computer and the outside world. They come in two forms, software firewalls that run on your personal computer and hardware firewalls that protect a number of computers at the same time. They work by filtering out unauthorized or potentially dangerous types of data from the Internet, while still allowing other (good) data to reach your computer. Firewalls also ensure that unauthorized persons can't gain access to your computer while you are connected to the Internet. You can find firewall hardware and software at most computer stores nationwide. Do not let intruders in!

5.   Do not share access to your computers with strangers. Learn about file sharing risks.

Your computer operating system may allow other computers on a network, including the Internet, to access the hard-drive of your computer in order to "share files". This ability to share files can be used to infect your computer with a virus or look at the files on your computer if you do not pay close attention. So, unless you really need this ability, make sure you turn off file-sharing. Check your operating system and your other program help files to learn how to disable file sharing. Do not share access to your computer with strangers!

6.   Disconnect from the Internet when not in use.

Remember that the Digital Highway is a two-way road. You send and receive information on it. Disconnecting your computer from the Internet when you are not online lessens the chance that someone will be able to access your computer. And if you have not kept your anti-virus software up-to-date, or don't have a firewall in place, someone could infect your computer or use it to harm someone else on the Internet. Be safe and disconnect!

7.   Back up your computer data.

Experienced computer users know that there are two types of people: those who have already lost data and those who are going to experience the pain of losing data in the future. Back up small amounts of data on floppy disks and larger amounts on CDs. If you have access to a network, save copies of your data on another computer in the network. Most people make weekly backups of all their important data. And make sure you have your original software start-up disks handy and available in the event your computer system files get damaged. Be prepared!

8.   Regularly download security protection update "patches."

Most major software companies today have to release updates and patches to their software every so often. Sometimes bugs are discovered in a program that may allow a malicious person to attack your computer. When these bugs are discovered, the software companies, or vendors, create patches that they post on their web sites. You need to be sure you download and install the patches! Check your software vendors' web sites on a regular basis for new security patches or use the new automated patching features that some companies offer. If you don't have the time to do the work yourself, download and install a utility program to do it for you. There are available software programs that can perform this task for you. Stay informed!

9.   Check your security on a regular basis. When you change your clocks for daylight-savings time, reevaluate your computer security.

The programs and operating system on your computer have many valuable features that make your life easier, but can also leave you vulnerable to hackers and viruses. You should evaluate your computer security at least twice a year -- do it when you change the clocks for daylight-savings! Look at the settings on applications that you have on your computer. Your browser software, for example, typically has a security setting in its preferences area. Check what settings you have and make sure you have the security level appropriate for you. Set a high bar for yourself!

10. Make sure that anyone who shares your computer knows what to do if your computer becomes infected.

It is important that everyone who uses a computer be aware of proper security practices. People should know how to update virus protection software, how to download security patches from software vendors and how to create a proper password. Make sure they know these tips too!