Email link – bad idea

The first thing that should be done is to toss out the idea of publicly placing your email address in any form that can be clicked as a link.  Using a linked email address publicly is an open invitation to spammers.  Nothing can be more unpleasant than having to start off your business day wading through hundreds upon hundreds of spam content in your email in-box.  If you must use this route, simply place your email in text only – this will make it harder for a potential spammer as they will have to physically copy and paste your address into any email.  Inconvenience is the bane of the spammer.

Contact form – can be attacked

If you’ve decided to place a contact form anywhere within your web site, you’ll want to enable some type of security to ensure that an actual human is utilizing the form.  This sounds simple enough because, after all, the purpose of the form is to gather human information.  However, most email forms have a standard “name”, “email”,  “subject”, “content” style to them that is easily recognized and exploited by spammers.  Using this standard information, spammers use automated systems to attack a contact form – computer to computer.  What can stump them is requiring something that only a human can input or answer and that isn’t part of the standard email form.  This is where Captcha comes in.

Contact form with Captcha – better idea

Captcha is a type of test that is used to ensure human interaction.  The premise behind Captcha is that computers should not be able to solve something that requires human input.  The very early implementations of Captcha were simple generations of a word or series of letters with some small amount of warping.  However, spammers quickly adjusted to this warping and this initial Captcha implementation had to be abandoned.  Modern Captcha uses two to three regular words that are segmented and have lines through the words making it much more difficult to automatically guess via a computer system.

This all culminates into a small bit of either PHP or Javascript that is placed within your form before the submit button coding.  After filling out the rest of the form, a user must then enter the correct words generated within the Captcha coding.  You can set the form to lock out a user after a certain number of errors thus staving off the possible attack of spammers for yet another day.

Conclusion

Of course, the simplest way to avoid spammers at all is by not allowing any sort of email contact within your site.  But this is not a feasible option – after all, you have your web site online for the purpose of contacting new and old customers or clients.  So, before putting your email form online, use a bit of quick security and incorporate Captcha.

How Twitter works for business

As social media outlets go, Twitter is quickly becoming one of the more popular micro-blogging sites around.  The list of businesses currently using Twitter in one fashion or another is constantly growing.  Comcast, JetBlue, and Dell are just a few companies that realized early on that Twitter has great potential to help them get in contact with and support their customers.  Comcast is a perfect example of how a business can use a micro-blogging service to give fast and courteous service to their existing customers as well as garner new business by word of mouth from happy and support customers.

How Twitter lists work for business

Once a business has set up their Twitter account, it is very easy to start racking up the number of users being followed.  At last count, the official support Twitter account for Comcast has over 32,000 users it’s following.  Trying to keep track of that many conversations at once is completely impossible.  So, what is the solution?

Simple – Twitter lists.  Creating a list is a very quick and easy process.  Log into Twitter and click on the “New list” link found on the right-hand side of the web site.  A new window will open up where a name can be typed in as well as the type of list it should be (private or public).  Once the list is created, it’s then a simple matter of going through the “following” list of the account and adding members to the newly created list.

One great example for a business use for a Twitter list is a company that has offices and customers across the states.  If this business wished to group its customers by area, lists such as “northwest_customers” or “Oregon_clients” could be created.  Then, support teams could have direct access to specific customers based on geographic location.

Taking it one step further

Twitter has made it convenient to include user lists within web sites.  By going to the Goodies – Widgets area, one can find the easy to customize Twitter list widget.  Once customized, the code then can be grabbed and integrated easily within a business web site.  This widget provides a quick way to keep tabs on customers and makes it very simple for new customers to join in on the conversation.  The list widget can be placed on a front page of a web site or even within a support section.  Either way, including this bit of coding is a perfect way to generate more business.

Conclusion

Including Twitter within a social media campaign is a smart move.  Twitter is continuously adding new features to make the experience of micro-blogging easier.  The latest addition of Twitter lists is a splendid way to monitor topics and people who matter most and a great way to keep in contact with and give support to customers and clients.

What is SaaS?

Software-as-a-Service or SaaS, is a revolutionary delivery model that is changing the way software providers market and sell their products.  While many vendors are familiar with the concept of hosting applications and serving them via the web, few truly understand the elements that are required to successfully implement and offer quality SaaS services.

The Importance of the SaaS Hosting Provider

The SaaS hosting provider is the key to obtaining a hosted application structure that meets your specific needs.  A quality host is a firm that has the knowledge and technology to run a standard global infrastructure along with an extensive set of development capabilities and cloud platforms to ensure the fast, affordable and reliable deployment of your applications.  They will also provide top-notch consultative services to aid in the positive growth and success of your solution.  As with any type of hosted IT service, the provider you choose can either make or break your experience.

When and How to find a Reputable Provider?

So, how do you know if you require SaaS hosting?  Better yet, how do you go about finding a reliable service?  We will conclude this article by providing some information to help you decide when it is time to hand your application needs over to an outsourced company and also how to find the best SaaS hosting solution for your specific requirements.

Cloud computing has made it easier and more affordable than ever to develop, distribute and manage software applications.  However, vendors who want to implement this model need to make it a priority to build a delivery model capable of meeting the availability requirements of their customers while ensuring a highest level of security.  This is the only way customers can obtain a solution that provides the reliable, enterprise-class infrastructure needed to support their hosted application needs.  To meet this demand, many software vendors and individuals turn to SaaS hosting.

When looking for an SaaS hosting provider to distribute and maintain your applications, make sure the firm has a solid reputation in the industry for successfully running an SaaS hosted service.  You also need to ascertain that the company is able to satisfy your unique requirements.  This goes for planning, capacity, compliance and the seamless incorporation of any technologies your hosted applications may be require in the future.  To put it simple, SaaS should be something the hosting provider specializes in, not just an offering packaged beside their other products to capitalize on the cloud computing phenomenon.  Combine this with top-notch support, and you have yourself a winning solution.

What Blog Software Will You Use?

There are many blogging applications available to you, with WordPress, Blogger and b2evolution being among the most widely used.  This is all a matter of preference, but it should help to know that WordPress is the most popular of the bunch.  Supported by a large community of developers and users, WordPress is highly customizable through a vast selection themes, widgets and endless plugins.  Regardless of the platform, you may want to put an emphasis on ease of use as some blogging applications are more complex than others.

Free or Paid Blog Hosting?

When making the decision to set up a blog site, you also need to determine if you want a free or paid hosting service.  Free services are abundant and usually do not force you to litter your pages with third-party advertisements like free web hosting offerings.  However, there are some disadvantages you should know about.  Opting for free blog hosting restricts you in terms of features and control, factors that could possibly limit your potential.  If you want to make the most of your blogging experience, it would be best to purchase an affordable web hosting plan that comes with free blog support.  Being that blogging has become such a phenomenon, rest assured that these services are plentiful on today’s competitive market.

Finding a Host

If you decide that paid hosting is the best move for you, the next thing you need to consider is the company that will be hosting your blog site.  In the past, finding a good web host was a rather tedious process that often left prospective customers worn and frustrated.  Things have changed as more resources are now available to aid in your search.  There are numerous sites online that provide side-by-side comparisons of companies offering blog hosting services.  These sites generally tell you the price you will need to pay for the service and the type of blog supported along with other specifications such as the amount of disk space and bandwidth included in the package.  Review sites also make a good source of information, particularly the ones that offer both expert opinions and feedback from real users.

Technology just keeps moving along but it is hard to imagine an internet and World Wide Web without the blog.  This medium is here to stay and will likely evolve with improvements that make the experience even more worthwhile.  If you can find a web hosting solution that provides adequate support for your specific needs, a blog can give you a viable and near flawless connection to the rest of the world.

What is Cloud Hosting?

Also known as clustered hosting, cloud hosting is a solution that often uses virtualization technology to facilitate load balancing, security and system resources over multiple servers.  This basically means that instead of relying a single piece of hardware, your website and applications can benefit from the resources of multiple servers.   In the typical shared hosting environment, a website is limited to the bandwidth, disk space, RAM, processing power and others resources allocated to the physical machine.  Cloud hosting is a concept that frees you of these limitations, providing you with on-demand access to an infrastructure that is virtually inexhaustible.  The mere structure of the cloud makes it easy to scale up or down based on your individual requirements.

Who Needs Cloud Hosting?

Throughout the years, a countless number of websites have been the victims of their own success.  This is the website then ends up suffering because of its sudden boost in popularity and traffic.  The environment in which this situation occurs the most is shared web hosting.  Once your website exceeds the limitations of a single physical server, it is susceptible to choking.   Cloud hosting is the perfect alternative as it gives you access to a cluster of servers, allowing your website to benefit from additional bandwidth, RAM, processing power and other resources it might require.  The major selling point to this solution as that you can obtain this extra boost in computing power when you need it.  If the popularity of your website subsides a bit, you can easily place the resources back into the cloud and make them available to other users.

Are There Other Benefits?

Cloud hosting services offer benefits from numerous angles.  The most obvious advantages are its scalability and cost efficiency.  Being that cloud computing is a highly scalable technology, websites and applications can be expanded greatly thanks to the additional resources.  Dealing with slow responses and frequent crashes just because your site experienced a sudden surge in traffic is a common thing in the shared hosting environment.  The cloud’s scalability allows you to avoid this problem with ease.  Another major benefit of cloud hosting is the flexible pay-per-usage model.  When signing up with a provider, you are only charged for the amount of computing power you use, similar to how you pay for your gas and electrical bill.   No longer do you have to lease and maintain a costly and complex dedicated server just to improve performance.   These are a few of many benefits that have made the cloud the talk of the IT world.

Dot TK

Dot TK is a domain registrar that offers free domain names in the .TK extension.  Millions of users have being using this TLD since 2001, which makes it more recognizable and powerful than you might think.  There are some advantages to having a .TK domain name, especially if you plan to use it with a short secondary domain.  In addition, it can be used with any type of website you may have, whether it is a blog or e-commerce site.

.CO.NR Free Domain Name

This is another service that offers free domains with a variety of extra features to boot.  Your name comes with the .CO.NR extension, a project designed to help those who are strapped for cash obtain a unqiue domain that can establish a degree independence similar to premium domains.  Some of the features that come along with the service include domain forwarding, URL cloaking and meta tag support, all of which are free with your domain name.

Afraid.org

Afraid.org offers a host of free services.  On the menu are domain names with the .afraid.org extension and several more, sub-domains, URL cloaking, dynamic DNS support and full DNS management.  In order to reap the benefits of Afraid.org, you must first sign up as a member, which can be done for free.  There are also paid packages that provide a greater level of flexibility as more capacity is available to you.

UNI.CC Network

Here you have one of the most popular free domain name services available today. UNI.CC Network allows you to build your web presence with the unique .uni.cc extension.  The service provides a variety of domain registration tools along with a DNS Setup Wizard that makes managing your identity a breeze.  This service is provided at absolutely no cost.  All you are required to do is keep your contact information up to date and abide by the site’s terms and conditions.

Fadlan

Fadlan is another great site that offers a free URL redirection and DNS service.  Domain forwarding is free, so you get a domain such as mysite.fadlan.com as well as path forwarding and three types of directs.  Because it also specializes in free DNS services, if you have dedicated IP address, you have the ability to run your own web server on a sub-domain.  Fadlan isn’t the best looking site, but it has come become very popular and offers a few services you may find useful.

]]> http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2009/10/30/free-domain-name-resources/feed/ 0 http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2009/10/29/cashing-in-on-the-e-commerce-phenomenon/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2009/10/29/cashing-in-on-the-e-commerce-phenomenon/#comments Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:51:23 +0000 CommunicateBetter http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=595 A few years ago, credibility and fear were major roadblocks for companies and entrepreneurs looking to establish themselves online.  Times have changed for the best as more consumers feel comfortable conducting business over the internet and the e-commerce revolution is in full swing.  That does not give you any room to coast.  You must still take all the necessary steps to ensure that your website appeals to potential customers through professionalism and credibility.

The tips in this article will help you capitalize on this surging market and avoid the mistakes made by so may others.

Creating a Credible Presence

There are many ways to establish credibility and trust within your audience.  You can start by making your contact information easily accessible as this lets customers know they can get in touch with you if need be.  Testimonials can be effective, but you should be careful when using them.  A testimonial could end up working to your disadvantage by prompting skepticism in the visitor, especially if these references appear too obscure with no contact info or other form of validation.  The overall look of your site will determine its credibility so do not hesitate to check out some of the major e-commerce players and even the competition to find a good working model.

E-commerce Tools

Before starting your e-commerce venture, you should know that in order to accept credit cards, which is the preferred method of payment among consumers, your site will require a few specific elements.  This includes a shopping cart program, payment gateway, and possiby a merchant account.  All-in-one solutions do exist on the market, but these systems are often far too complex and geared more towards businesses that do not generate a lot of monthly sales.  While there is nothing wrong starting out with a popular service such as Payal or AlertPay, you should not view them as long-term options.  If your site becomes a success fast, you will definitely need to upgrade your e-commerce system in a jiffy.

Stay on the Grind

Even if you have never seen the movie, you are probably familiar with Kevin Costner’s famous quote from the motion picture Field of Dreams: “If you build it, they will come.”  While very inspiring, this simply is not the case when it comes to obtaining success with an e-commerce site.  In fact, if you build it, your site will just sit there lonely unless you actively market it to the right audience.  Therefore, perhaps the correct saying for the online business world would be: “If you promote it, they will come.”  Evaluate all the available options to find out what methods are most effective for drawing potential customers to your site.

There is no guarantee that you will become a millionaire by selling items online.  You could actually end up losing money in the beginning and find yourself forced to ride a bumpy learning curve.  On the other hand, you will never know how much money you could make if you do not invest the effort in turning your e-commerce site into a success.

How Does it Work?

You can sign up as an affiliate for free with almost any web host these days.  As far as making money, it is important to know that there are many ways to approach your new business.  For example, you can set up a website or blog dedicated to promoting your affiliate companies, or just include links and banners for their services on your current website.  Some of the most successful affiliates recommend creating a well designed landing page before linking the visitor directly to the hosting company.  When used in conjunction with quality, honest reviews, this method can go a long way in helping you convert your referrals into customers.  Whatever route you take, just remember that the objective is to get as many interested people clicking your affiliate links as possible.

With most affiliate programs, commission payments are distributed on a monthly basis, generally giving you the option to receive your funds via check or an online payment service such as PayPal.  After being approved, the web host creates an account and provides you with access to your own administrative panel.  This is usually where you can find links, banners and other tools needed to promote your affiliate business.  You can also view detailed reports on your number of unique visitors as well as all the referrals you have signed up.  While the web hosting company provides you with the necessary tools, it is up to you to promote the affiliate program and make yourself some money.

Do You Have What it Takes?

Thick competition on the web hosting market has resulted in the mass explosion of affiliate programs.  Today’s firms are willing to do whatever it takes to gain an edge on their competitor, even if it means giving you a cut of the profit.  While almost anyone can sign up and be approved as an affiliate, you should know that making this a successful business requires loads of commitment and patience.  The affiliate market itself is expanding rapidly so you will need to put in the extra effort if you want to stand out from the crowd.  This is where a little creativity comes in handy as it can play a huge role in whether you profit as an affiliate.  The reputation of the host is also an important factor so make sure you sign up with an established company that has a desirable service that is easier to market.

1.) Create and Maintain a Secure Network

1. Protect cardholder data by implementing and maintaining a reliable firewall configuration.

2. Never use manufacturer-supplied default passwords as means for security mechanisms.

2.) Protect Cardholder Data

3. Protect cardholder data on servers and other storage mediums.

4. Encrypt cardholder data traveling over public and other open networks.

3.) Maintain a Vulnerability Management System

5. Install, use and regularly update malware protective software on all systems commonly affected by malicious programs.

6. Create, deploy and maintain secure systems and applications.

4.) Implement Strong Access Control Polices

7. Restrict access to cardholder data to authorized personnel on a need-to-know basis.

8. Assign each individual with access to cardholder data a unique set of login credentials.

9. Restrict physical access to cardholder data.

5. Test and Monitor Networks Regularly

10. Track and monitor user access to cardholder data and all network resources.

11. Perform regular tests of policies and security systems.

6. Maintain a Policy for Information Security Purposes

12. Implement and upkeep a policy that addresses information security issues.

How PCI Scanning Works

PCI scanning is performed by approved vendors that help online merchants become PCI compliant by providing services that enable them to meet the standards set forth by the Council.  The actual scan itself refers to the process of the vendor going through firewalls and other security elements a business has in place to determine if vulnerabilities exist.  In the end, PCI compliance benefits all parties involved, including the consumer, retailer and credit card company.  After the scanning has been performed, its ensures that your website is free of infection and less vulnerable to threats.  When shoppers see that your site is PCI compliant, they will be more comfortable that their personal and financial information is protected from web criminals.  Not only is this good from a regulatory standpoint, but from a public perspective as it can help lead to more conversions and sales for the retailer.  For the credit card company, it means less reports of fraud and identity theft, thus resulting in fewer headaches.

The market for PCI scanning is growing rapidly, with McAfee and Trust Guard being among the leading service providers.  There are also a number of web hosting firms that offer services with security features to help organizations become PCI compliant.  A wider variety enables small scale retailers to leverage the best of both worlds in regard to PCI scanning and traditional website security.

]]> http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2009/10/27/the-importance-of-pci-scanning/feed/ 0 http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2009/10/26/recent-happenings-on-the-open-source-cms-market/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2009/10/26/recent-happenings-on-the-open-source-cms-market/#comments Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:51:48 +0000 CommunicateBetter http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=589 The open-source community always seems to be quite busy so it should be no surprise that many new CMS projects are in the works.  Here are a few platforms and vendors that have recently been making noise in this vibrant segment of the software industry.

DotNetNuke

September was a very busy month for the DotNetNuke project.  Shaun Walker, co-founder and Chief Architect of the project, was appointed on the Board of Directors for the Microsoft CodePlex Foundation, where he will lend the expert perspective that helped DotNetNuke become one of the most successful open-source CMS platforms built on the Microsoft technology stack.  Last month also saw the launch of the DotNetNuke Fusion Partner Program, a partner program that offers Registered, Certified and Gold memberships to web hosting providers, system integrators, web designers and training partners.  The most noteworthy news was DotNetNuke’s anointment as a Network Partner in the Microsoft Website Spark program.

eZ Systems

In September 2009, software vendor eZ Systems released version 4.2 of its eZ Publish CMS.  This version release emphasizes usability, better performance and more advanced capabilities for built-in search.  There are also many new extensions as well as a new version of the eZ Find tool, the company’s innovative search engine.  eZ Systems plans to keep itself occupied in the month of October by attending the IFRA Expo in Vienna, Austria on from the 12 to 15^th and hosting its own seminar in Paris for its French base of users and customers on the 16^th.

Hippo CMS

In October, the Hippo team will be organizing an International Forge Friday dedicated to the communities of Hippo and Jetspeed Portal.  The purpose of these gatherings is to bring, developers, system administrators, technical support staff and others together to discuss plugins, add-ons, components and other items that could become Hippo Forge projects.  The event is taking place on October 30 at 9 am to 2 pm PDT from the Hippo San Francisco office and 14:00 to 21:00 CET from the Hippo Amsterdam office.  Interested parties can also attend the event online.

Movable Type

The latest version of Movable Type, 4.32 was just released last week.  This version is mainly a bug release fix as it addresses a number of small bugs.  Version 4.32 also includes the Zemanta plugin, which acts as an editorial management tool that recommends content relative to your blog entries.  The latest version of Movable Type is available free at the official website.

Nuxeo

This October, software vendor Nuxeo will launch a new release of its Nuxeo EP CMS.  Some of the most notable features of the release include a new tag service, an enhanced import/export function, support for Microsoft SharePoint, OpenSocial widgets and a CMIS implementation based on the Apache Chemistry platform.

Xoops

This past September, the Xoops CMS project launched the RC (release candidate) of version 2.4.0.  The enhancements targeted for this particular version emphasize productivity and better usability, focusing on areas such as a new graphical user interface for administrators, the ability to modularize and extend the core via preloads, a much improved installer and centralized support for jQuery among others.  The final release for Xoops 2.4.0 is expected very soon.

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