Free annual credit report web site

ANOTHER YEAR, ANOTHER EDITION OF ENTREPRENEUR'S TOP 100 WEB SITES. PUNDITS MAY BE PREACHING DOOM AND GLOOM FOR WEB BUSINESSES. BUT, AS THESE SITES PROVE, THE NET IS STILL ALIVE AND KICKING. THIS YEAR, MORE SITES OPERATED BY NON-US. COMPANIES ARE GRABBING SPOTS ON THE LIST (SUCH AS IRELAND'S YAC.COM AND HONG KONG'S ALIBABA.COM). WHEN YOU CHECK OUT THESE SITES, YOU'LL ALSO SEE THAT THE WEB KEEPS GETTING BETTER AND STRONGER. OUR PICKS WILL MAKE YOU MONEY, SAVE YOU TIME AND HELP YOU RUN YOUR BUSINESS SMARTER START BOOK. MARKING THESE SITES ... AND WATCH YOU BUSINESS GROW.

3RD ANNUAL 100 TOP WEB SITES

FINDIT

With so much stuff available on the Web, it takes a best-of-breed search tool to find what you need, now.

* Google (www.google.com): The absolute smartest search engine. It catalogs more than 1 billion Web pages and searches for what you seek in scant seconds.

* Northern Light (www.northernlight.com): Some materials is free; some will cost you; but this site promises fast, intelligent searching.

* GenieKnows.com: A meta-search tool, GenieKnows simultaneously submits you query to more than 20 search engines and directories. It's fast and comprehensive. Try here when other search tools don't deliver what you need.

* Electronic Library (www.elibrary.com): Still the best site for accessing magazine and newspaper archives. A 30-day trial is free; thereafter, it's $9.95 per month for all the articles you can download.

* WorldPages.com: Need a phone number? Go here. It even includes resources for finding numbers in dozens of foreign countries.

TRANSMIT IT

Sending a letter, transmitting a fax, shipping a package, getting voice mail--you can do it all smarter, and often faster, by stopping at one of these Web sites:

* j2 (www.j2.com): Want a free fax number? Go here. A voice-mail option is available for free. Upgrades let you pick your area code.

* SmartShip (www.smartship.com): Compare shipping costs from Air-borne Express, FodEx, UPS and the U.S. Postal Service. Smart tools for tracking packages and finding drop-off locations are also available.

* NowDocs (www.nowdocs.com): If you need a document delivered right now--cross town or around the globe--find solutions here.

* Getspeed.com: It's sometimes hard to know whether high-speed Net access is offered in your city. Log on here, enter your ZIP, address and part of your phone number, and Getspeed tells you whether DSL or cable access can be had locally. If it can, Getspeed offers information on providers and costs. You can also get information on satellite Internet technology, which is available pretty much everywhere.

DALE RUTTER

GO SHOPPING

If you never pay full price for anything, then you probably already know the best discounts can be had on the Web, on everything from office supplies to computers and cars. Try these sites on for size:

* mySimon (www.mysimon.com): A shopping bot worth a look, this intelligent agent prowls the Net for the best prices on gear.

* BizRate.com: Read customer-satisfaction verdicts on more than 1,400 online merchants, and you'll know who does e-commerce right (and who doesn't).

* Gomez (www.gomez.com): Provides ratings of e-tailers in numerous categories, from airlines to computers.

* AuctionWatch.com: Monitor current bids and what's for sale at key auction sites by clicking in here.

* InsWeb (www.insweb.com): Shop for insurance at this pioneering site. Find small-group health, life and even auto insurance.

* Autobytel.com: One of the Web's first sites still ranks among the best for researching and buying cars and trucks.

* Amazon.com: From bestselling books and auctions to wireless phones, nobody does e-commerce better. Shop here if only to see world-class e-tailing in action.

* LowerMyBills.com: The place to go when looking for better telephone, electricity and credit card deals.

COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE

Get the goods on competitors, check backgrounds of new hires and buy credit reports on customers using the Web. Some of this info is free, but much of it will cost you. Either way, this is where to find what you need to grow your business, hire the right people and make sure you get paid.

* KnowX.com: This savvy engine ferrets through public records and, for $1 to $5 inmost cases, reports on bankruptcies, liens, judgments and the like against both individuals and businesses.

* Hoover's Online (www.hoovers.com): The best content is available for a fee, but there's ample free stuff to be found by anyone who surfs in. Research competitors, track stock market performance and keep tabs on IPOs.

* CreditFYI (www.creditfyi.com): At this site, $14.95 buys you a credit report on a small business, and much of the information comes from Experian.

* TrueCredit (www.truecredit.com): Buy a look at your own credit report here for $7.95.

* Thomas Register of American Manufacturers (www.thomasregister.com): The sourcebook on U.S. and Canadian companies. The print edition costs $129, but pretty much all the content here can be read for free.

* Spyonit.com: How do you keep track of everything on the Web when so many new pages are added every day? Put Spyonit to work, and that job gets simple. Tell it what to look for, and consider your work done, automatically and in an instant.

GO GLOBAL

This is the World Wide Web, after all, and plenty of tools for going global are yours for the finding.

* Ecountries (www.ecountries.com): Looking for professional services, such as a realtor in Athens or a translator in Helsinki? Go here to find professionals abroad who want to work with international partners.

* Alibaba.com: This site is like a sprawling cyber flea market, where businesses can put their merchandise up for sale and maybe find buyers anywhere from Afghanistan to Zaire. You can also hunt for stuff to buy.

* CountryWatch.com: Go to CountryWatch.com, and you'll find information on dozens of countries. A big plus: The site features a search engine that ferrets out country-specific news coverage so you can skim the headlines in the nations of your choice.

BUSINESS TOOLS

If you need to get organized--and if you lack space for offline storage of critical files--log on to these sites. The Web is jampacked with servants ready to do your bidding, and the price is certainly right: Everything in this section is free.

* MyPalm (www.mypalm.net): Put your calendar online, and you can check it wherever you are. Betteryet, MyPalm readily syncs with both Palm OS PDAS and PIMs. Manage contacts here, too.

*OpenAir.com: Track projects, keep time sheets, perform expense reports--all online. A 30-day trial for unlimited users is free; fees afterward vary from $9.95 to $29.95 per user.

*HushMail (www.hushmail.com): Want really private e-mail that's encrypted against prying eyes? HushMail delivers your secrets for free.

*i-drive.com: You need offsite data storage--for accounts receivable, critical works in progress, customer records and other key info you need on hand no matter what happens. (You never know when a fire, flood, quake or other disaster might wipe out your business.) Get unlimited space for saved Web content and 50MB of space for your own files at i-drive.

*Backflip (www.backflip.com): Save favorite Web pages to Backflip's free online storage files for later retrieval.

*YAC.com: Interested in getting a market foothold in the United Kingdom? YAC gives you a free UK phone number that can be forwarded to your company's base of operations.

PRO POWER

If you need a lawyer, an accountant or maybe just some information on law or taxes, get on the Web to find what you want pronto.

*lawyers.com: There are more than 400,000 lawyers profiled at this site, based on listings from the MartindaleHubbell Law Directory. Searches can be done by name, practice area, location and more.

*Accountants World (www.accountantsworld.com): If it involves accounting questions--from tax issues to where to find an accountant--this comprehensive site has all the answers.

*Nolo.com: A do-it-yourselfer when it comes to the law? Good luck. And don't forget to check the resources at Nolo's "Self-Help Law Centers" before making a rash decision.

*Quicken.com Taxes: For answers to common tax questions, dig here. Information on IRA deductions is especially rich.

*Exp.com: Get quick answers to your questions on taxes, law, you name it. Exp.com offers thousands of experts with answers. Some cost, but many are free.

NEWS YOU CAN USE

When news happens, the Web is there, with online reports surfacing mere minutes after most notable events. Better still, the Web lets you customize the news so you see only what interests you.

*My Yahoo! (http://my.yahoo.com): Customize a personal start page built around feeds from Reuters. Personalization options are plentiful, and the resulting page is yours and yours alone.

*World News (www.wn.com): This portal is the place to be when world news breaks. It aggregates information from newspapers, from Australia to Taiwan.