There’s no such thing as “the list” when it comes to webmasters and tools that they/we often use. Everyone has a program to rely on, a website to learn from or an ebook for guidance. We’re so addicted to our favorite programs that we could not imagine our work otherwise. Things started with notepad mostly and look where we are right now. It could take 100 pages such as this one to cover, maybe, 10% of what’s out there valued as a good resource for us. In this article, we’ve tried to identify the most used tools for programmers, designers and SEO guys/gals and put up a nice list that will surely bring you at least 10 new things to learn about. Things that make you more productive, saves you time or give you the opportunity to earn more money. It’s all here in the “Webmaster’s top list of resources”.

Source: Internet

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Statistics

Since many organizations do not monitor online activity at the web application level, hackers have free reign and even with the tiniest of loop holes in a company’s web application code, any experienced hacker can break in using only a web browser and a dose of creativity and determination. It seems that most hack attacks are discovered months after the initial breach simply because attackers do not want and will not leave an audit trial. In web application attacks physical evidence (e.g., a missing database) is inexistent – hackers are interested in stealing the data and leaving it intact.

Recent research by a leading research firm shows that 75% of cyber attacks are done at web application level. As yet unpublished research at Acunetix seems to corroborate this finding. Competing web application security organizations record similar data.

The Privacy Clearing House reports more interesting findings including the fact that over 100 million records have been compromised since February 2005. However this figure excludes the TJX episode of around 40 million records. Out of a total of around 140 million approximately 80 million were due to hacking attacks. Having said this it is not known whether the TJX episode was a network or a web application breach.

The Cost of Being Hacked

The costs of hack attacks to any organization are extensive with possible financial burdens that may result in closure:

* Loss of customer confidence, trust and reputation with the consequent harm to brand equity and consequent effects on revenue and profitability;
* Possible loss of the ability to accept certain payment instruments e.g. VISA, Mastercard
* Negative impact on revenues and profits arising from any falsified transactions and from employee downtime;
* Website downtime which is in effect the closure of one of the most important sales channels for an e-business;
* The expenditure involved in repairing the damage done and building contingency plans for securing compromised websites and web applications; and,
* Legal battles and related implications from Web application attacks and lax security measures including fines and damages to be paid to victims.

The figure above shows the total losses as reported by the 2005 CSI/FBI Annual Computer Crime and Security Survey.

The total losses per category of breach (valid only for the US) is reported to be over $130 m for the 639 respondents willing and able to estimate their losses. The Survey authors also state that while explicit costs (such as costs of reinstalling software and reconfiguring computer systems) is more accurately accounted for by respondents, implicit costs (such as lost future sales due to negative media coverage following a breach) is more difficult to account for and are largely not represented in the loss numbers reported here.

Now does it sound apocalyptic? I believe there is serious need for all to worry.

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SC Magazine reports that hackers used data from the breach to purchase goods in a number of states in the US, in Hong Kong and in Sweden.

A digest of the latest developments follows:

* According to 3WCAX-TV Website, the attack is expected to cost consumers one-point-five (M) million dollars. This article was published before law suits started sprouting.
* Brian Fraga, Standard-Times, reports that a class action lawsuit filed this week in U.S. District Court (Boston) against TJX. The amount of damages sought is undisclosed. According to SC Magazine, yesterday a West Virginia resident slapped another lawsuit and is suing TJX for $5 million.
* U.S. Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, has called for the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the hacking, according to a eport today in the Boston Globe.
* Today, the Government of Canada, stated that it is launching an investigation into TJX and the data breach.
* Of note is that the hacking may have started in May 2006 and the breach was discovered only in December 2006 (and publicized in January 2007).

Universities

University systems are usually highly decentralized which makes it hard to ensure tight security. To the extent that one department may have deployed a hardened security infrastructure while others loll in lax measures making the whole system weak.

The following are some of the recent university hacks due to web application vulnerabilities:

* Last month, a hacker infiltrated a massive database from the University of California, Los Angeles, containing personal information (including social security numbers, dates of birth, home addresses and contact information) on 800,000 people in one of the worst computer breaches ever at a US university.
* In January 2007, the University of Arizona reported a breach happening November and December last year that effected several services according to the Privacy Clearing House. The number of effected records is as yet undisclosed.
* In December 2006, University of Colorado – Boulder experienced a hack attack that resulted in the theft of thousands of names and social security numbers – a total of 17,500 records were compromised.
* University of Texas, Dallas, reported in December 2006 that the data of 35,000 individuals (current students and alumni) was compromised. Social security numbers were exposed, according to the Privacy Clearing House.

Changing Trends in What Motivates Hackers

According to Zone-H, the top 50 attackers defaced a total of approximately 2.5 million websites all over the globe. According to the CSI/FBI Computer Crime and Security Survey 2005, one of the most dramatic findings was the exponential increase in website defacement experienced by their respondents: in 2004, 5% of the respondents experienced defacement while in 2005 that figure went up to 95%. Recent trends over the past 12 months show that there is a shift from such disruptive vandalism that gains notoriety towards theft of data that translates into profit. The report on 2006 is still to be published.

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Just because you think your data is safe does not mean your database of sensitive organization information has not already been cloned and is resident elsewhere ready to be sold to the highest bidder. To make matters worse, only recently, it has been discovered that hackers are not simply selling your; they’re also selling the fact that you have vulnerabilities to others be they hackers, industrial spies or terrorists.

It all sounds apocalyptic, doesn’t it? Well, rather than being an angel of doom, I’ll let the stats speak for themselves.

TJX Companies Inc.,

TJX Companies, owners of T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, Winners, HomeGoods, A.J. Wright, and Bob’s stores, on the 17th January this year, disclosed that 40 million of their customers’ credit and debit card details were stolen. In parallel, federal credit union SEFCU published a similar warning that the personal details of 10,000 of its customers were compromised in the hack attack.

Another 60 banks including Citizen Union Savings Bank and Bank of America seem to have customers whose credit and debit cards have been breached in this attack.

Ben Cammarata, Chairman and Acting Chief Executive Officer of TJX Companies, stated that the nature of the hack is not known and two computer security experts are at hand examining the problem. The warning issued by SEFCU sheds greater light and states “A fraudster may have gained access to … card information through one of those entities in the payment network, including the merchant.”

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Use these strategies to lead your organization to success:

1. Make your expectations clearly known. Never assume that people know what behavior and results you expect of them.
2. Put people into jobs where they are most likely to meet their own needs as well as those of the organization.
3. Use meetings to strengthen the team. Encourage participation and idea sharing. Keep the group focused on its goals.
4. Don’t promise — deliver.
5. Reward cooperation and hard work. Don’t take good performance for granted. Reward it and you can expect to see a lot more of it.
6. Do the little things that show others you value them as individuals. People want to feel important.

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Auckland: Sailors paradise On the North Island of New Zealand you’ll find Auckland, a large city set around stunning inlets and bays. Not surprisingly, most of the Auckland’s most celebrated activities are to do with water. These include dinner cruises in the harbor and swimming with dolphins.

Transport: how to get there and around: New Zealand’s main international airport is situated in Auckland. This makes it accessible to direct flights from the US, Australia, Asia and Europe. Flights also run domestically from the South Island to Auckland.

Auckland city covers a wide area so it is recommended to get around using a bicycle or taxi. To reach other towns and attractions, there are bus and rail services.

Weather Owing to its location in the southern hemisphere, summer in New Zealand is from November to April. In summer temperatures are around 20 C and the winter is fairly mild as it doesn’t usually freeze.

Accommodation: Luxury to budget stays The internet can offer some of the best information on the cost, range and location of hotels in Auckland.

Attractions & Events There are events held all year in Auckland, although the city really comes to life in the summer time.

*Sports fans can enjoy January with the Open Tennis Championships and the Captain Hobson Anniversary Day Regatta.

*In March, Western Springs holds the Pasifika Festival with Polynesian music and performances.

*Auckland Botanical Gardens have a show in November called the Ellerslie Flower Show.

Wellington: Attractive city of views The capital city, Wellington is surrounded by hills and offers some splendid views of the Harbor. Home to the main government buildings, Wellington also has a bustling cafe and entertainment culture.

Transport: how to get there and around: Domestic flights from Auckland and Christchurch as well as other destinations connect with Wellington airport. A ferry also makes it possible to reach the south island town of Picton.

A major bus route runs from Auckland to Wellington. To get around in and around the city itself there are local train and bus services, as well as taxi’s. Weather Situated on the coast, Wellington can suffer from windy weather.

Accommodation: Luxury to budget stays The internet can offer some of the best information on the cost, range and location of hotels in Wellington.

Attractions & Events Many sporting and cultural events take place in the capital city, here are just a few.

*During January, the city hosts Wellington Cup Week with fashion, live music and of course horse racing.

*The Arts Festival is held in January with International artists taking part.

*The Jazz festival and Fashion Festival are both during October.

Christchurch: Have fun with nature From Christchurch you can access nature and have fun on New Zealand’s plains, lakes, mountains and beaches. Being the largest city in the Southern Island, there are always attractions for visitors such as the Antarctic Centre, wildlife showcases, gondola trips and more.

Transport: how to get there and around: The international airport of the South Island is in Christchurch, connecting with Australia and several other destinations. Air New Zealand serves other domestic locations. Getting around is simple with the city’s cost effective bus service and reliable rail network.

Accommodation: Luxury to budget stays The internet can offer some of the best information on the cost, range and location of hotels in Christchurch.

Attractions & Events: *An international festival of flowers is held in Christchurch during the month os February.

*Fine music, food and wine can be enjoyed during Augusts International Jazz Festival.

Source: ArticleBiz

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Beginning on April 14th, 2007, a firestorm blew through the Internet community with the search engine optimization (SEO) community burning the hottest. The embers were warm and waiting for a strong wind to blow and kick up the flames, but it took Matt Cutts, the Google engineer extraordinaire to fire the flames with an off-the-cuff comment about “paid links.”

The flames raged and in most forums, the wind quickly shifted moving the firestorm back towards Cutts and Google. Thread Watch offered the most biting rebuttal to Cutts’ comments: http://www.threadwatch.org/node/13925 and http://www.threadwatch.org/node/13941

Aaron Wall at Thread Watch is a respectable fellow, and he tore into Google with a ferociousness that I had not anticipated. Matt Cutts tried to answer some of Aaron’s questions, but it seemed that Cutts’ rebuttals only added more fuel to the fire.

I would not have wanted to be in Matt Cutts’ shoes that week. Oh my, it was brutal!

Even on Cutts’ own blog where the “paid link” comment originally surfaced (http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/hidden-links/), Danny Sullivan posted a question that went unanswered, so Sullivan commented about it on his site: http://searchengineland.com/070420-111550.php

Search Engine Watch even mentioned this issue and linked to additional forums where the debate was raging: http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/070416-020746

What Most Readers Took From Cutts’ Comments

There were only a few readers who took Matt Cutts’ comments to be brotherly-advice.

The vast majority of people were screaming that Google intended to exercise their “monopoly control” over the Internet to run all of their competitors out of business.

Generally, I am not a “reactionary” type person. But for about an hour, even I had a ball in the pit of my stomach.

The ball passed from the pit of my stomach when I read a post that mirrored an opinion I have openly written about numerous times before: How does Google determine the “intent” of a person making a link? They can’t!

Understanding The Nuances Of Similar Items

Some people suggest that I should be ashamed of myself for speculating about the future of Google’s algorithms. There is even one clown, who has suggested that I should fear mentioning Matt Cutts’ name in an article, because I am bound to draw Cutts’ ire against me and my businesses. But, I am not worried.

I am simply laying out my “speculative” opinion about what Cutts’ comments might mean to my business and yours. You are free to use your own brain to judge the value of my words.

Am I playing a double standard when I say that Google cannot determine the intent of the person placing a link, and then I comment on how I interpret the future of the Google search algorithms? I don’t think so, and let me tell you why.

Google uses algorithms (software programs) to make distinctions about what a web page is about, how they value that page, and to judge the nature of a link.

I use my intellect (or as some would suggest, my lack thereof) to make a judgment about what Google has told us we should expect from them in the future.

I trust software to a certain extent, but software cannot always read the nuance that separates two very similar items. So, how can the Google algorithm be expected to determine the intent of a person who placed a link?

It has always been my contention that humans are “required” in any process that must make an interpretation of nuance. In my businesses, we refuse to trust computers to make judgments of nuance, because they can’t. That is the reason we employ human beings to process orders.

What Is Google’s Intent Behind The Paid Links Issue?

The whole of Cutts’ argument seems to hinge on nixing “paid links” that are designed to manipulate or “game Google’s PageRank” and to a lesser extent, their organic search results. Google seems to be really agitated that webmasters are “selling links based on the PageRank value of a page.”

The problem is that webmasters are selling an intangible asset that is wholly owned by Google and maintained for “Google’s benefit.” Webmasters are selling this Google asset, but Google will not receive any of the proceeds from that sale.

As a result, Cutts suggested that webmasters should use some method that Google’s spider can use to recognize and distinguish “paid links” from “given links.” Since Google’s algorithm is based on the theory that links are given to websites that deserve those links, the paid links on high PageRank pages can really skew Google’s PageRank values and its organic search results.

Here Is Where It Gets Ugly

Both honest and dishonest people inhabit this Internet.

Google wants webmasters who are selling links to distinguish paid links from given links, so that Google can ignore “links purchased to influence PageRank.”

If honest people distinguish paid links in a way that Google can recognize, then the market demand for those links will dry up. Once the PageRank value of a link is taken away from the buyer, the buyer will be forced to purchase links based only on the traffic that the specific web page receives. If all paid link decisions were based only on a web page’s traffic, then the market value of a link would be decimated.

Once a webmaster tells his link-buying customers that his or her links will no longer carry PageRank value to the buyer’s website, then the value of that link will drop in most cases by 80% or more. Why would a webmaster want to reduce the market value of his links by 80%?

Although Google’s links do not pass PageRank to the websites that are in their index or paid listings, we have to ask ourselves one thing. Would Google be willing to take a step that would reduce the market value of their own links by 80%? They certainly would not do anything that would cut their own bottom line that deeply, yet they are asking webmasters to do just that.

This is the reason people are teed off at Google. At least 80% of the market value of a link is driven by the PageRank value of the web page where the link will be placed.

Dishonest people don’t care to play by the rules; they will continue to sell their PageRank value, as long as they continue to have buyers. Only the honest will suffer.

Link Buyers Are Green With Envy

Link Buyers are envious of the PageRank value given to other web pages, and they want a bit of that value passed over to their own websites.

Link buyers are green with envy, because they can see that little green bar in the top of their browser that tells them how much value Google gives a web page in its algorithms.

If Google were to keep PageRank as a private value, known only to them, then “paid links” would not be an issue for them to manage.

If the public cannot see what a page’s PageRank value is, then link buyers would not be able to use PageRank to influence their link buying decisions, and webmasters would not be able to market their PageRank value to other websites.

How Simple Is That?

All Google has to do to solve this problem of theirs, is to take away the indicator people use to buy and sell PageRank.

Someone suggested to me that Google would never do away with the PageRank indicator in their toolbar, because Google feels that it is the only thing that ensures that people will keep the Google toolbar in their browser. Personally, I will continue to use the Google toolbar for my searches, even if the PageRank indicator was not there, because I like the search results Google gives to me. But that is just my opinion, and I am only one person out of millions of Google toolbar users.

What it boils down to is this. If Google is serious about nixing schemes to buy and sell PageRank, then they would simply take their PageRank indicator away from us. But will they take it away? Only time will tell.

Originnaly written By: Bill Platt

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The key ingredient for success in sales is the right attitude. With the right attitude and enthusiasm for sales, there is nothing that cannot be achieved. Sales professionals also need to be constantly motivated if they are to consistently produce best performances. Furthermore, in order to develop their core sales skills, sales professionals need to practice sales techniques via comprehensive business sales simulations. The most effective business sales simulations are those which have a high degree of realism and objectivity. Such business sales simulations will no doubt help sales professionals reproduce good sales simulation performances in the real world. Business sales simulations need to cover every aspect of the sales process from lead generation to the closing of the sale. At this junction, it should be mentioned that very few graduate selection and sales training companies provide comprehensive business sales simulations. The majority of sales consultancies do not pay attention to detail and objectivity when it comes to business sales simulations.

Adequate business sales simulations form a vital aspect of effective sales training. It also increases the chances of graduates and graduate calibre people in terms of finding suitable sales job placements. There are many examples of successful sales consultancy that are completely dedicated to keeping their sales professionals motivated through the use of innovative business sales simulations. Sales graduates and experienced professionals alike can benefit from sales simulations offered by experienced recruiters. Graduates get one-on-one help by acting out various scenarios, utilizing newfound sales techniques, and receiving feedback from trainers. Experienced professionals can talk about problems they have in field sales while learning cutting edge techniques from agency trainers. In the end, recruiting agencies allow companies to focus more on their bottom line than training their personnel.

Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that very few