Tag Archives: Keeping

Joomla CMS Protection : Six Tricks for Keeping the Crooks Away

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2010 has been a boom year for web hackers. I hear that overall hacking was up around 600% during the last year reported by Joomla ! web safety specialist Tom Canavan. Tom wrote a book labeled “Joomla! Web security” released through Packt publishing. A number of our customers experienced hacker difficulties this year which is undoubtedly an issue that keeps all of us on our toes. A large majority of the hacks tend to be more embarrassing than anything however, many do damage intellectual assets, client trust along with corporate identity. Although hacking takes place in many public website systems and Content Management systems the Joomla! online community has become the fastest to reply as it is using one of the biggest worldwide systems of Joomla! developers along with skilled programmers. In our struggle of keeping the bad guys away we’ve drawn together a few suggestions as well as links that you can look at.

Tip One:

While developing and designing any Joomla! website be sure you keep on top of a high quality protection strategy as well as fit these expenses in your regular budget. A dynamic site demands frequent consideration which indicates a continuous investment of your time as well as resources to help keep this up. Hackers pound away at the central Content management system platform as well as third party plug-ins trying to find vulnerabilities. If you always make sure that your primary Joomla! Content management system as well as extensions are operating using the most recent security patches you will save yourself lots of complications simply by protecting against a large portion of vulnerabilities. The more time a component exists but not patched the greater probability a hacker has to crack into your infrastructure. Remember, that for just about any reasonable website, you place lots of time as well as treasure into making this your home online and unless you invest in guarding it the whole place could be blown up in a puff of smoke.

Tip Two:

Use professional components whenever feasible and be ready to help with some of those initiatives that aren’t. The reason is, supporting the code are serious individuals and financial aspects works into the achievements as well as durability of those components. It’s a significant investment in order to maintain the stability and advancement of those development initiatives. The healthier you are able to enable them to develop into the healthier your own code possibilities are going to be to be able to develop your personal website system over a period of time.

Tip Three:

“Keep a clean house” as they say. Be sure you clear away any unused components and modules. This will not simply reduce the ways for any hacker to get access it will even enhance the efficiency within your web site. Be sure file permissions are going to allow you the mobility you’ll want to build out articles however ,, button down anything else in order to additionally reduce dangers.

Tip Four:

Investigate the method of utilizing a security tracking program. Often these solutions will be offered via your current Web service provider. We’ve worked with the “Securelive” solution constructed especially for Joomla! and thus far it is doing a fantastic job. There were a few performance troubles while we were first having it set up but now it is very effective.

Tip Five:

Backup everything frequently and do not forget. This provides you with a far greater feeling of protection on several levels as well as defends you against more than hackers, and also protects against “human failures” too. You might want to take a look and for a couple Joomla! component alternatives we have used.

Tip Six:

Have a look at exactly what security vulnerabilities might have an effect on your site most. The more you know the better prepared you will be. Here are a few blogs and posts we located that could further support your own study ways for stopping hackers from wrecking your entire day as well as sending you and all of your group in “fire drills and rescue missions”

Keeping up With The Changing Pace in IT Advancement: A Challenge For IT Job Seekers.

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Information technology changes so fast said Sandra Thompson, a former employee of eLinks Software. “Since I lost my job one year ago, it has been difficult to get a new job. Employers are interested in candidates who have lots of IT skill set. They hire those who are current and abreast with emerging technologies she added. It is hard to keep up and I feel like I am being left behind.”

While a skill acquired 10 years ago is good enough to remain valuable and productive in some profession, it is not the same with information technology.

In the past, an IT job seeker could be hired as a software engineer just for having basic knowledge of how to write a computer program. In some cases having a technical IT certificate or professional certification was enough to get their career on gear.

The story is different in today’s pulsating and hyper-charged IT industry.

There are plenty of mission-critical IT projects which needs to be completed and only those with the right education, experience and right combination of skills are sort after. In addition to the underlying requirements, the candidate must be current and versed with the required technologies.

This indeed makes it hard for most young and the older generations in this profession to keep up with the pace. Information technology keeps changing in terms of skill, infrastructure and delivery.

IT skills set acquired two years ago may be obsolete today.

Even though Information technology remains a firebrand, lucrative and after sort profession, one still wonders why there are many unemployed IT professional?

Some people argue that it is because of high job requirement, demand and the prerequisite, which seems to be somewhat over whelming especially to new graduates with little or no experience.

From the employer’s point of view, the IT project has to be completed and delivered on time. Therefore, they source for the best and brightest talents with hands on experience in all the above-mentioned skills. They also look for candidates with up to date IT skills. (Those who are in tune with cutting age and next generation technology applications.)

This leaves inexperienced and fresh IT graduates scratching their heads for answer since it seem almost impossible for them to showcase or demonstrate these mired of skills set.

In order for new IT graduates to gain the needed experience, they need to be given the chance and the opportunity to develop their skill. The government, IT employers, recruiters and other stake holders should develop a more flexible recruitment program with new and inexperienced graduates in mind. There should be incentives for companies to embark on constant retraining programs for staff and new intakes.

On the other hand, IT professionals and job seekers in this lucrative field should be aware of the challenges ahead before making their career plan. They must also stay focused, more creative and inventive.

To keep up with the pace, Long life learning is recommended at all levels in their career. (That is constantly learning and acquiring new IT knowledge as it evolves.

There are many long life learning program tailed to suit all levels of IT skills acquisitions needs. University part-time and distant learning programs are the best places to start. Provincial and some private technical colleges also offer IT training courses.

A more proactive and aggressive approach is required on the part of IT job seekers and IT professionals so as to keep up with the challenges and trend.

Keeping Your Work Computer Safe From Your Children

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How safe is your work computer…from your kids? A constant struggle we work at home moms face is keeping everyone else off your work computer to avoid the pitfalls of unnecessary pop ups and dreaded viruses.

Learn from my story. I allowed my children to play online games on my computer while I ran around the house doing chores. Two weeks later came the big crash. I had 500 Trojan viruses on my computer, it was finished.

Luckily my next door neighbor, an extremely nice and helpful soul, who is also the VP of IT for a national company, offered to fix my laptop. Hearing this, my husband said that we should get the virus protection program, Spy ware not only for my laptop but for my son’s computer as well. My neighbor was generous enough to fix my husband’s desktop computer a few months ago and installed Spy ware.

Little did I know that my 12 year old son Alex was listening to our conversation. I didn’t see the color drain from my son’s face because I was too busy wringing my hands over our computer having what we affectionately called “the H1N1 pandemic flu.”

While my husband and I are going back and forth about who brought those viruses into the house, Alex spills his guts to my mother about some unapproved sites he and his buddy checked out during a sleepover. He heard the word, “Spy ware” and the only thing he could surmise is that installing Spy ware meant that we are going to have the capability to not only spy on his Internet activity but actually spy on him while he is in his room.

If only this were true! My mom immediately pulled me aside to dish about what she learned, trying desperately not to pee in her pants from laughing so hard.

This information was too good not to act on. I figured I could use it as a lesson on Internet safety and to keep him and my daughter off of my computer. Of course there was that hilarious element involved too, that I simply couldn’t resist.

Thankfully, my IT neighbor’s sense of humor is just as twisted as mine so we developed a covert mission called “Operation Spy ware” to rid the children of using my work computer and make them too paranoid to anything naughty on any other computer at home.

The next day, the neighbor showed up at my house loaded with wires and other useless gear for show, ready to pick up my infected PC and start working on it. While he was standing in my doorway he checked his phone when my son entered the room and said, “Oh yeah…I see…hmmmm,” like a doctor making a terminal diagnosis, while flashing the Blackberry at me. “Alex what happened on the computer?”

Stuttering, Alex said, “Nothing, I didn’t do anything.” The neighbor replied, “According to this instant message I received you were in an illegal site. Your dad’s computer has the Spy ware software on it so I get regular text messages when security has been breached. To be extra careful, we’ll install it on your computer and your mom’s so there’s no more crashing.”

Speechless, my son leaves to retreat to his room and, I can imagine, start deleting history on his laptop. Of course the adults had a good laugh but I’m happy to report that my computer is fixed, we have some decent virus protection on all computers and my son hasn’t left Club Penguin in weeks.

7 Tips to Clean That Barbecue Grill And Keeping It Clean

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One task I used to hate after having a great barbecue meal was having to face the cleaning up afterwards. There is no getting around the fact that it has to be done. But the way it is done is the key. It was only when I found out that there were better methods than ruining endless washing up sponges and permanently blackening everything the barbecue touched that my cleaning materials could be reused and the barbecue became properly clean.

The Knack

When you have the knack then keeping a charcoal grill ready for grilling action is easy. Allow the coals to die out completely, then you need to set about brushing the grill’s grate with a stiff wire brush. Scrape any loose material from both the grill and the grates, then remove them. The next time you are ready to fire up your grill, first brush the grate once again and then you should coat it lightly using a thin film of oil. If you use this technique regularly you will find that the grate is always clean and ready to cook.

To prevent your grill from rusting you should not allow the ashes to collect in the bottom for days on end. They will impede the air flow and will be likely to collect moisture, hence the rusting. So make sure that you remove the ashes from the collector pan below the grill once they are cold. If you aren’t lucky enough to have a grill with an ash catcher, such as a Weber One-Touch for example, it should be easy to scoop any ash from the bottom of the grill using a cup or a large spoon.

A Useful Tip

For a gas bbq the most useful tip I can give is to first remove the cooked food from the grill, then cover it and carry on heating the grill for a further 15 or 20 minutes. You will find that this method burns much of the residual grease from the grill and keep it much cleaner for next time. This won’t do the trick indefinitely though, and once or twice a year a bigger effort at cleaning will have to take place.

This will be a lot worse if you have let your equipment deteriorate all through the summer – or worse still, you have a winter-long dirty grill that you need to get ready for summer. All is not lost, though. Just be prepared for one of the longest chores you will face, then vow not to let it happen next time.

If you have a gas grill then the first thing you need to to is to disconnect the gas lines. Take the grill apart to inspect it thoroughly, from the interior fittings right through to the heating elements. If there is any rust eliminate that right away. Next you can wipe all the interior fittings with some soapy water, and for stubborn marks use some scouring powder with a scrunched up piece of aluminum foil. Rinse it all with clean water and dry off thoroughly before reassembling your grill. So now the grill is sparkling clean and ready for your summer cook-outs. Just make sure to keep it that way.

A Grimy Grill?

For really grimed up grills, especially the charcoal kind, you may need more than the soapy water or simple scouring powder method.Try mixing up the baking soda with water to make a smooth paste and apply this to your grill with your wire brush. Then some aluminum foil for the final rub down, wipe clean and see the result.

An easier but less effective alternative to this is to use some oven cleaner. First spray your bbq’s grill with the oven cleaner, put the racks inside a garbage bag, then tie up. Let the bag sit for a few hours outside on a sunny days, then remove the grill and rinse it down. Instead of putting it in a garbage bag you could just place the grill in the oven of course and clean your oven at the same time!

For a really dirty grill, why not try this?
The least pleasant method is to try using ammonia, which I prefer to avoid. If necessary though, wear some gloves and put a face mask on, use some paper towels soaked in the ammonia and place them on each side of the racks, then place them inside a garbage bag and tie it shut. Leave them overnight, outside your living area of course, then re-equip yourself with the gloves and facemask and open up the garbage bag. Stay well away from the fumes as you wipe the racks down using more paper towels. When they look as clean as you can get them, give a final wash with some soapy water then rinse.

Little Known Tips For Keeping Your Hotel Business on Top

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If your hotel business could use a healthy injection of business, a merchant account could be the solution that keeps you well ahead of the competition. Merchant accounts, in simple terms, allow businesses to accept and process credit cards as payment for goods or services.

If you’re new to merchant accounts and the helpful services they’ve got to offer, take a moment to learn about types of accounts, providers and ways they can help your hotel gain new customers while making payments a lot simple for the ones you’ve already got.

Merchant Account Providers

One of the first considerations you’ll have to make when finding the merchant account for you concerns the provider. Merchant accounts can be supplied by two sources. They each have their potential advantages and drawbacks.

Merchant Banks

A special kind of bank that deals with businesses, merchant banks earn income by investing capital and receiving part of the dividends. They usually have a more rigorous application process for merchant accounts than third party competitors and offer fewer convenient services, but their status as certified financial institutions translate into fewer risks and hidden charges for “extras.”

Independent Sales Organizations

The “independent” in independent sales organizations, or ISOs, sums up their place in the world of merchant accounts. An ISO is a third party that acts as a go-between among businesses and merchant banks. A reputable ISO must be certified and sponsored by a reputable bank, preferably with FDIC protection. Before signing any agreements with an ISO, make sure you receive written proof of this relationship.

Although opting for a middle man may seem counterproductive, ISOs exist specifically to provide merchant accounts and offer a range of extra services that you won’t receive from a bank. These range from customer service to equipment sales and even office duties like printer paper supply.

Types of Merchant Accounts

Merchant accounts are available to businesses in three basic varieties: internet, retail and mail order-telephone order. The latter involves remote payment processing that is rarely an issue when it comes to the hotel business. These brief descriptions can help you learn about the ins and outs of the two types that can help your business.

Internet Merchant Accounts

A well maintained and easy to use website can be a boon to nearly any business, but is an especially practical tool for hotels. Besides increasing your exposure to new potential customers and providing a way to showcase what you’ve got to offer, your website can be coupled with an internet merchant account to let you accept payments, reservations and deposits online.

Although larger businesses often have the capital and expertise to create their own personalized virtual payment terminals and shopping cart systems, most small businesses take advantage of their internet merchant accounts’ service to the same end.

An internet merchant account can allow customers to choose products or services online and instantly directs them to a secure third party payment gateway. Once your future guests have entered billing information, the transactions are completed and funds are directed to your account in 2 to 3 business days.

Charging credit cards via the Internet is considered a very secure process, since card holders must enter a range of information including billing address and the card’s security code, which can then be verified instantly. This security has helped Internet merchant accounts to demand relatively low per-transaction rates that are only slightly higher than fees for retail merchant account payments.

Retail Merchant Accounts

Many hotels opt for a blend of web based and in-person sales. If you plan on taking most of your payments in person, like at the front desk, a retail merchant account might be a better option for your business. Retail merchant accounts are the oldest and most familiar method of processing credit cards. They work by swiping credit or debit cards through a credit card terminal to accept or decline payment instantly.

Since this type of credit card processing is considered to be the most secure, the per-transaction fee is the lowest available, generally hovering around 1.8% of each sale. However, this rate is contingent on certain rules set by the account provider. If a retail merchant account is your primary method of accepting payments, no less than 80% of credit card transactions must be processed with the card holder present.

Regardless of what kind of business you run, merchant accounts attract more customers while retaining the ones you already have because they make it easier to pay. In this modern era of maximum efficiency and instant gratification, consumers are used to simply pulling out the plastic at the register. With a bit of careful research and planning, you can find the ideal service provider and merchant account type that will super power your hotel business.

Keeping Your Laptop in Power

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With smaller laptops such as netbooks really beginning to live up to their monica as truly “portable” devices, it is possible now that laptops can have battery lives that even exceed seven hours – however, even with several hours of battery life, a laptop can still be considered relatively power hungry. Luckily, considering that laptops are often working on a variety of different levels when they operate, it is possible to optimize your laptop usage, to get the most in terms of battery life.

There are obviously certain functions of a laptop that will have a greater hunger for power than others, and with this in mind, by ensuring that your laptop is not operating extraneously to your needs you will greatly enhance its battery life; for example, if you turn off your Wi-FI when it is not in use, you will considerably easy the strain on your laptop power supplies.

On a similar note, many laptops offer a range of performance options, and therefore when your just engaged in some word processing, for example, then it is a good idea to ensure that your laptop is running at the lowest performance setting, which will of course require less power.

Also, certain activities such as watching flash movies will be disproportionately power hungry, which means that if you are on the move and don’t have your laptop ac adapter to hand then you might want to keep those sorts of activities to a minimum.

There are also some less obvious measures you can take to get the most out of your laptop power supplies, such as turning down the screen brightness and putting your laptop in hibernation mode when it is not in use.

Of course you laptop will eventually run out of power, and therefore it is a good idea to keep a laptop ac adapter to hand at all times – just in case you run out of juice!

Keeping Your Head Still When Putting

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As we all know, putting is very important when playing golf and the aim of all golfers is to hit as few putts as possible. Here is a simple tip that will drastically improve your putting.

One of the most common mistakes amateur golfers make when putting is moving their heads during the putting stroke. This occurs because most golfers want to see the result of the putt and the path the ball is taking before completing the putting stroke. This occurs especially on short putts, where there is a tendency of golfers to take an anxious peek and establish whether the ball is going into the hole.

There are a couple of things that happen when you move your head during the putting stroke.

1) You don’t complete the follow through, giving you a putting stroke that is short and stabs at the ball resulting in inconsistencies in length. It also reduces the purity of the stroke.

2) When you move your head before the ball is struck your shoulders move out of position, causing the putter to leave the intended path of the stroke, leading to a crooked stroke and a missed putt.

The above results are results that none of us want and can do serious damage to our confidence which is especially important when putting.

To cure this problem you have to do the following.

For long putts, look at the ball during the entire backswing until contact while the ball is stationary and keep your eyes on that stationary position even after the ball has been struck. Count to at least two after striking the ball before lifting your eyes to ensure that you complete your follow through.

For short putts, keep your eye on the stationary position of the ball until you can hear the ball drop in the cup after impact.

This should ensure that you keep your head still during the putting stroke, will greatly increase your confidence and the consistency of your putts.

Hope this helps.

Keeping Fun Warm in the Winter

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As the winter draws near and the days get shorter, get your home ready for some indoor fun. Your children are going to be playing a lot more indoors in the coming months. Instead of having them glued to the TV or the video games create an activity center where your child can learn to be constructive and creative.

Activity centers do not all need to be the same because every childs interests are different. Some children like to draw and paint, some like to build and some like to use their imagination by acting out dinosaurs, cars or dolls. Whatever the case may be, the important thing is that they have a place in the house that they are excited about, a place to call their own. And yes a place to be responsible for.

You should start your creation stations off a kids table and chairs set. This is important in creating a world for them which belongs to them, one that they can only share with their buddies or siblings. In other words mom and dad cant fit at their table. Keep your dinning table for dinning and their activity table for fun crafts with all the glues and glitter and paint.

Another thing that is good to have in your childs activity center is a childrens easel. While a kids table is perfect for glue an glitter projects, building blocks, puzzle making a childrens easel is ideal for drawing, coloring and painting. Standing up is the best way for a young artist to express themselves. There drawings are more loose and free and they will tend to use more of the paper as they are able to paint using their entire body. The easel also frees up the table for such things as paper towels, cups of water and their little pallets of paint. It makes for a much neater work place when junior isn’t reaching over his painting to get a different color.

A final thing to get that sort of completes the list of very childs creation station is a child fun carpet. A small 6 X 6 carpet goes a long way in making their space feel like their space. It is almost like putting walls up, not to mention it will save the flooring you have below it. These carpets come in all sorts of patterns loaded with characters numbers letters. Some are even activities themselves, made to look like train tracks or race car tracks.

A kids activity center is perfect for those rainy or freezing days. Remember to keep you childs mind active and their imaginations growing.

Security Camera Keeping Protective Eyes on Your Property

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Security camera is now being installed and used in every house for safety purpose. As time passes by, the use of this camera is continuously increasing. In fact, with this security tool people are getting peace of mind. Today no such business house is there where this camera is not being used. This camera is now used in all business houses for security purposes. In corporate sector also this CCTV system is used. This camera has find a vast use in prime locations where large number of people assemble like railway station, air port, ATM counter, bank etc are some of the prime locations on which these security camera is used. In present times we very often hear about many crime cases and bombardment cases in which large numbers of innocent people become victim. Thus to increase the safety and security of these innocent people this camera is used. The use of this device is increasing day by day. In business houses, shopping malls this surveillance tool is of high use to detect crime.

Some people have questions in their mind why people use security camera. Well the answer is that this device provides peace of mind. A person who is staying outside of home can see everything in his or her house with the help of this camera. With the growing popularity of this security camera, various types of cameras having varied features are available in market. People select the camera very carefully. While selecting this device people should keep in mind the size of their room. Among all models of camera wireless security camera is very popular. This CCTV tool provides many advantages to people. People are using this camera for their homes and business centres. It has many useful features like ease of portability. This device can be taken from one place to another without any hassles as it is a wireless camera.

Moreover it provides a high picture quality. With the advancement in technology, digital cameras have taken the market providing much improved picture quality over the older ones.Generally the selection of the camera is quite tricky than its installation. The installation of this device is mainly done by professionals. The professionals install this tool in such a manner so that the whole view of the room can be captured and covered by it.

You can get more information about security camera from various internet sites. There are many web sites covering the details of the latest CCTV cameras available in the market with their features.

Losing Weight and Keeping It Off: A Comprehensive Approach

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Everyone is trying to get stay in shape, but most people go about losing weight in a piecemeal fashion. Keeping a balanced approach is the best way to lose weight, and to stay balanced you need to engage your health comprehensively. Here is an important set of steps to help comprehensively lose weight and keep it off.

You need to get proper exercise and physical activity. Contrary to popular opinion, the best way to do this isn’t to join a gym. Instead, find a physical activity, sport or game that you enjoy, and jump head first into it. Having a physical hobby or activity can burn as many calories as ab-busting at the gym, while still being something that you want to do. When is the right time to finally take up tennis or softball? The right time is the moment you decide you want to START losing weight. Don’t fall into the trap of saying that you’ll start tennis or golf after you’ve lost a few pounds; the best time is at the beginning so that it helps you lose those pounds.

Diet is the second step behind exercise that most people think about when it comes to weight loss, and is clearly a part of a comprehensive approach. It’s essential to cut out empty calories. Avoid high calorie drinks like beer and soda, and pick healthy snacks rather than empty calorie snacks. One can of soda can have as many as 200 calories…200 calories with almost no healthful nutrition. Eliminating empty calories is an essential step for having a balanced comprehensive approach to weight loss. However, simply avoiding empty calories isn’t the proper way to balance a comprehensive approach to healthful eating. You need to maintain a balanced level of nutrition while cutting calories; and this is a mistake many people make. It’s difficult to get the right amount of nutrition while avoiding high calorie foods and the biggest problem most people have is creating a stale and stagnant diet. The last two steps will address this issue and help you find the room needed to have a varied and interesting diet; the sort of diet that people can continue and live with.

Step there, take a multivitamin – Seriously. A multivitamin will give you a calorie free way of getting all the vitamins and nutrients your body needs on a daily basis. By getting all the nutrients and vitamins you need each day in one dose, you have freedom to eat those foods that you want to eat. Instead of being stuck to a diet that is nutritionally sound but boring and stagnant, multivitamins can give your diet the wiggle room that allows for variety.

Finally, make sure to eat your fruits and veggies. Fruits and vegetables are naturally low calorie and high nutrient foods. Adding new and different fruits and vegetables to your diet creates a diversity ways to get the nutrition you need. Instead of tomatoes on your salad try avocado. Instead of mashed potatoes try some mashed parsnips. The different flavors will help keep you eating. And because you’ve taken the multivitamin of step three, you know that you are covered on your nutritional needs.