Protect your website from Google Code Search

It has come to our attention that Google has released a new product, Google Code Search, that is capable of indexing and crawling through archive files stored in the public directories of web servers. This is security advisory because� I have discovered that some site administrators are storing archives / backups of their website in the web root. Because of this, Google Code Search is able to crawl the archives and read unparsed PHP files as if they were plain text. This has resulted in the disclosure of some sensitive information including MySQL passwords and SMTP credentials.

Ecommerce Blog

I launched new ecommerce blog to regulary post there knowledgable articles about e-commerce, for those who are going to start their business online, not only newbies, even advanced techs may find there interesting information, and post there their expiriences all about ecommerce.

cPanel’s new Vulnerability

Several bugs and vulnavulnerabilities were found on last cPanel update. Hostgator’s customers were complaning stating that their sites� were not� loaded or some of their pages loaded trojans if they� browsed pages by IE. The issue was solved within� 48 days. As they refered the problems were related with the last cPanel update and� caused by some php mis configurations.

I found many other broken sites within last days, seems there� were “big blust”.
God bless, it pass trhu us.

cPanel is found on about� 2.5 million hosts worldwide. The� application is widely used by many large hostings,� mostly those offering dedicated servers. Its userfriendly interface automates many elements of web site management for resellers and customers.

cPanel� email� their cusomers patch instuction stating as below:

Due to a recently discovered bug, it will be necessary for users who are running the CURRENT, RELEASE and STABLE branches to run a cPanel software update.

Description: An uncompilied mysqladmin script allowed an exploited copy of MySQL.pm to be places within the directory location of mysqladmin. This copy of MySQL.pm would be given preference by mysqladmin due to the precedence order of perl module searches. A malicious user could then use an exploited copy of MySQL.pm to elevate their system access (including root access). A patch for this issue has been released. Please note that this is a local issue and a system cannot be compromised remotely. The malicious user must have access to an account on the system to take advantage of this script. All cPanel and WHM server will automatically receive a patch for this update. This patch has been applied to most servers and will be applied to the remaining number of servers during the scheduled update on Sunday night, September 25th, 2006. It can be applied manually as per the instructions below. Affected

Systems: All builds on all platforms are vulnerable up to and including (11.0.0 build 492), all builds after that have been fixed. All previous builds after 9.0.0 will be automatically patched by the updater if automatic updates are set.

Fix Details: We recommend updating (if you do not wish to update see the manual patch instructions below) to the latest EDGE or CURRENT build as these builds include the latest security patch as well as additional protection (the underlying wrapper now contains vastly improved input sanitization). To do this, you will need to modify your upgrade settings thorugh the Update Config function in the Server Configuration menu of WebHost Manager. Login to WebHost Manager Naviagte to the the Update Config function in the Server Configuration menu. Change your cPanel/WHM Updates option to CURRENT or bleeding EDGE (Automatic updates recommended). Click on Save Use the Upgrade to Latest Version option within the cPanel menu. You can also apply the patch without updating: You can either run /scripts/upcp from the command line as root, or you can also upgrade from inside WebHostManager by using the Upgrade to Latest Version option within the cPanel menu.

How to be a good web designer

Come with me, won’t you? We’re going to take a step outside the world of the designer-vs-client battle and look at another issue. I’ve read numerous articles on “how to handle” clients regarding everything from getting them to coaching them to how and when you should fire them. Most of these talk about taking charge and doing what you’re trained to do—design. Not a lot of them talk about taking off your designer hat and doing what is essential to please your clients (especially if you’re freelance)-that is, serving.

Let’s be real: Most clients are not egotistic know-it-alls that just want to belittle you. If they didn’t need help, you wouldn’t be working for them in the first place. And while you’ll always have clients who micro-manage things and really see you as more as a temperamental tool to their vision, that’s no reason to ignore their suggestions or chalk up their criticism to nothing more than a casual observer. In the world of design, we are about bringing other’s ideas to a visual and tangible result. We are the solution, not the problem.

Actually, if your client’s have a rough time about the project, it’s probably your fault. But that doesn’t mean that these things don’t happen often, it just means that we should know how to get around them. I’m going to give you some tips on getting to know how to serve your client better.

Take a great deal of time to understand your client’s concerns. It may very well be the thing you do more than actual designing, but what good is 40 hours of working on something that they hate? You might still get paid, but you won’t get referred, and you certainly won’t get re-hired. Take lots and lots of notes. Pay careful attention to the sites your client likes/dislikes and why. And finally, once you have a clear idea of your clients goals, execute well.

You can’t do it all, but do as much as you can. I have a client that doesn’t know a whole lot about computers, the internet or web design. He just knows that a website is a window of potential gain in his business and he wants to grab the opportunity. So when I created his site, I didn’t just put it all on a CD and leave it at his office. I took the time to get his domain name, make sure his site was hosted, and I was the go-between for him and the hosting team. In fact, I’m still paying his hosting and doing site maintenance for a monthly fee. By the law of reaping and sewing, I guarantee you that I’ll be the first guy he thinks of when someone else asks him about design. And as any designer will tell you, referrals matter greatly.

Stick with what you know. While I am primarily a web designer, I’m pretty handy at print design when I need to be. But recently I got a phone call for a position that was way over my head programming-wise. I know enough code to be quite dangerous, but I haven’t taken the time to seriously learn ASP or other stuff involved in the backend. How much of a help would I have been to go ahead and say “Yeah, I can do all that,” and then try to make it by on trial and error? In respect for the client and your own reputation, politely decline work that you can’t handle, be it because you don’t have the know-how or don’t have the time. If you can’t commit to a project because you’re busting at the seams with deadlines, then don’t. It’ll be better for you in the long run.

Execute with excellence. In addition to being a good designer and making your client happy with the project, be sure to follow up on it and ask about the success. Was it seen/noticed? When the projects over and done with, send some cookies or chocolates with a thank-you for being part of your paycheck. Touch base with them often to make sure things are still going well for them. If you start to actually care about them and their business, then they will actually care about you and yours. Not to say that they’ll give you a “pity project” just because you’re running dry, but you’ll keep yourself in the forefront of their mind and it’ll make you look really really nice. And everyone likes a nice designer. Don’t make yourself a nuisance, though. I wouldn’t call them more than once or twice a month unless they were in need of my help.

You’ve heard it before, I’ll say it again: going the extra mile can’t hurt. The least it will do is teach you character and show someone that you care. After learning these principles, it was not hard for me to see myself as what a designer really is: someone who sells a service. And the best way to sell a service is to become a servant.

Web Design School

Most of current web designers have different proffesions and graduations, because there was not such profession as “web desingner” 10-15 years ago, before internet was born. Other parts of web desingers graduated as graphic designers, programmer, animator or so on. The last ones are more successful due to their bakground is relevant to web design field.

How people become a web desinger - I heard various stories, as for me, I wanted to create own home page, I used to be amateur web designer, but time and effort made me a professional web designer, and the work which I liked to do started bringing me money and customers. Of cource I wished to be graduated as graphic designer or to study at computer university, but no time now to spend few years on that.

I searched in google “web designer school” and found few web sites about it. The first result was http://www.webdesignschoolreview.com/ this site lists web design schools, I think it might be useful guide to you.

Logo Designers

Web designers Mission & Vision

Some advices how you should set up your youb design business

Mission:

Quality: You have to have dedicated your time and energy to ensure that yours world wide clients receive only the very best in quality and service in all spheres of your field of work. you provide your customers with unprecedented standards of quality and support which leaves every client completely satisfied and pleased with your results. you take it upon yourselves to make absolutely no compromises when it comes to punctuality and customer satisfaction. You have to supplies only the best and you strive to uphold your reputation, no matter what.
Technology: You have to use the latest and most advanced technology to complete every project which you undertake. In order to provide customers with the best one is required to utilize the best resources available in the market. You have to do just that. By using the highest and most efficient in designing and developing software, you are able to supply to your customers much more than what they had bargained for. This attribute of yours allows us to ensure that your customers are 100% satisfied with your products.
Reliability: You have to clearly understands that customers build the reputation of any organization. To successfully preserve your reputation, you need to ensure that your clients do not get the opportunity to complain. You have to manage to do so by instilling a level of trust in you customers, which now days, is not very commonly witnessed in dual shore operations. You must keep to your promises and commitments and in the process build a reputation of a reliable and trust worthy company. Your reliability encompasses other fundamental features such as problem management and after sales support and services.
Transparency: You have to provide your customers with what they had bargained for and agreed upon at the inception and acceptation of a project. You have to provide your customers with the products they have paid for right till the last cent. You musn’t levy any hidden costs or expenditures while a project is underway, neither do you make any alterations in the agreed budget. You have to adhere to a policy of complete transparency in costs as youll as products and services. Rest assured your world wide customer base will stand guarantee that you have to have delivered to them what they have paid for and even more in a number of cases.
Value For Money: You have to provide your customers with the best value and services which money can buy. Working towards becoming the best in-class service provider, you are presently a juggernaut in the software market and you deliver the highest standards in service and quality at the most competitive yet nominal rates. All of your customersshoud be completely satisfied with your products and completely comfortable with the prices you will have charged for the same. Basing your business on the fundamental principle of supplying customers with value added services.
Customer Delight: You have to have amalgamated all the above attributes in your business to ensure that your customers are thoroughly satisfied with your efforts and solutions. you have helped your customers to excel in their respective fields of work by constructing solutions which have best suited their industrial and business requirements. All your customers should have experienced total customer delight and their smiles reflect your motto, EXCELLENT SERVICE, EXCELLENT RESPONSE.

Vision :

Global reach that would ensure the best services provided to clients by a highly motivated and dedicated team.
You should are committed to quality continuous improvement and total customer satisfaction.
You should add values to the communities where you work and operate.
You should are guided by the highest standards of business ethics.
You should should have the ability to innovate, adapt and work together and put the world on fire with your solutions

Send Money Online International - Ikobo

What’s pity that such popular and great merchant like paypal not works for my country, and for� most� other countries, there are just few countries in paypal list which citizens can receive and send money online. There about 30 of them, but what to do if I’m not citizen of those countries, and somebody need to send me some money. I tried to find answer to this question, my first answer was Ikobo.

The Ikobo and how it works, how good it is, is it easy to work….?
I found ikobo as an alternative to paypal. I asked my friend Dan to send me some money in order to start up with Ikobo, he wired 50usd, afterwards ikobo sent me its visa card on my name, with 50$ balance in it. I was so happy, cause I could get rid of Western Unions costly services. In that time, Ikobo used to charge 5$ + 3% for the amount higher than 60usd (they do the same now). I was so pleased with their services they even accepted my inquiry to raise receiving limit from default 500usd up to 2000usd a month. The only one inconvenience with Ikobo was to receive money from non USA countries, they required senders to confirm transfer by specifying visa card symbolic charge, this took 3-4 days while senders bank processed the deal, however this procedure happened only at first time, at next transfers sender could send money without any delay. Ikobo was even better than paypal for me, I could withdraw the funds instantly from any ATM machines supporting Visa cart.

All good things ends some early days, and this happended with Ikobo as well, they issued new rule what allowed users to receive funds only from 3 persons who are defined by the user. It was not OK for me, I had various kind of customers, most of them were just one time.

I’m very in need of Ikobo, I can’t deliver small works anymore to customers due to pointless fee of WU. With Ikobo I could deal with little works too. Customer don’t feel comfortable to pay lets say 20$ by Western Union, he/her prefer fast way to send little amount abroad, with low transfer fee.

I pray that Ikobo get back to theirs old system, and leave this stupid rule, “only 3 senders”. Otherwise they will lose all their customers.

Outsourcing sites

Have you ever tried any outsourcing sites a kind of elance.com, scriptlance.com, getfreelancer.com, elance.com?

In my opinion, they come in help more to employers rather than of programmers. The one who look for a cheap outsourcing, these sites are the first stop where they can post their project for bid. (appologize me those who are familar with these systems, my indtoduction concerns people who don’t know.). So after the project submitted, programmers come to bid on for the project, specifing their asking price, working expirience, skills, and delivery time…

Next step is up to employer to select one of bidder, to develop his project. He/She credits some money on balance, what is called “escrow”, and the money get frozen, until the work done.

These “auction” sites become as guarantee key between employer and programmers, in case there is any dispute on project satisfaction.

Imagine, per example the softwares which are coded for about 5.000-10.000USD  might be outsourced for 10 times less, by Indians, Pakistanians, Romanians, and other 3rd world countries. Great deal to both sides, but mostly for webmasters who save a lot of money having their projects outsourced by other cheaper programmers.

Why I told it is bloody place to patricapate for new coming, because competition is too high, you will have to survive among other coders who have a lot of reviews and expirience behind their shoulders. The only one chance for beginners to play with  bidding, asking less money than others do, and get an attention of stingy employers, who pay more attention on prices than reputation. In this way beginner would win over and over, and become “trusted” coder on one of those websites.