This article will focus on the Spedia Surf for Cash Program.
I first came across spedia.net from my Alexa Toolbar as a result of visiting another non related site. I was looking for programs to promote and spedia sounded good on the outside and I almost signed up in order to refer others into the program.
It all sounded too good to be true. The 5 level deep payout structure would ensure a decent income after some heavy promoting but my intuition told me to do a quick search for the term "spedia scam" and see if there was any negative spedia information around. The results speak for themselves.
An abundance of warnings and people's negative experiences with spedia. The most common complaints seem to be that they don't pay. Other complains include system crashes and spam if you cancel your account.
The Spedia Terms of Service
The Spedia Terms of Service can be found at http://www.spedia.net/sp_h_p_terms_of_service.htm. You must agree to these terms in order to participate in the Spedia Surf for Cash Program. It is a very interesting page. Especially clause #16 whereby you agree not to participate in a Class Action Law Suit against Spedia but you are "allowed" to make a claim as an individual.
Personally, I cannot see any one person taking Spedia to court for 30 bucks which they did not pay. If you cannot participate in a Class Action whereby thousands of individuals can make a claim with one court case and with one attorney, what chance have you got to get your money?
Spedia and Surf+ Scumware
It seems that by downloading and installing the spediabar, you are also installing a Scumware program called Surf+. This is not a good thing. The Surf+ Scumware has the ability to change plain
text words on any web page into hyperlinks. These hyperlinks are inserted without the permission of the webmaster in order to hijack you onto another site. More about how Surf+ works here: http://www.scumware.com/wm2a.html.
Certain Spyware and Scumware programs will require special attention to be removed from your system because they cannot be removed by the regular add/remove programs method. If your computer has been infected with the Surf+ virus, you will need instructions to remove all invisible components from your system.
Instructions for removing Surf+ here:
http://www.whirlywiryweb.com/removesurfplus.htm
A Better Way to Make Money Online
It seems that even IF you find a legitimate Surf for Cash program, it will take ages to get even a $30 payout. I still think it is much easier to sell either your own products or other people's products and services via an affiliate program. To do this you will need your own website, register your own domain name, select a web hosting company and learn how to get traffic to your site.
Are You Wasting Time
It's time to ask yourself, "Am I wasting time on the Internet?" and "Does it really serve me to do what I am doing?".
If we are doing the same old things and not getting the desired results, it may be time to shift our thinking and open up to new ideas, or do some of the stuff we know we "should" do but have been to lazy to do it.
Copyright 2004 Ed Zivkovic
The author, Ed Zivkovic is a self-taught webmaster. His website contains articles with all sorts of tips for work at home webmasters. Here is the site: http://www.ezau.com
Written By: Ed Zivkovic