Posts tagged Internet
Cyber criminals get more aggressive with social engineering tactics
Oct 12th
by Matt Sergeant
Cyber criminals are more aggressive with their social engineering tactics as evidenced in the September 2011 Symantec Intelligence Report. This month, roughly 72 per cent of all e-mail-borne malware contained aggressive variants of generic polymorphic malware, compared with 23.7 per cent in July and 18.5 per cent in August.
Attackers are exploiting the weaknesses of traditional security preventions by using a variety of strategies to trick users. Read the rest of this entry »
Marketing lessons from my shoes
Sep 27th
By Andrew Berthoff
I recently purchased new shoes online. I like to support local companies, and I always look for things distinct, so I returned to shop at John Fluevog. I don’t often buy shoes, but always enjoy checking out the unique styles – flamboyant or relatively conservative – that this Canadian shoemaker offers.
Shopping online is generally an anonymous experience – call it soulless (as my late fatherused to say, “No pun intended”? Why not?!). With most online shopping sites, the transaction comprises a pre-formatted e-mail confirmation of the purchase and, then, maybe a week later, the arrival of the goods in a plain box with no personalization, no comment, and no thanks for your business.
Andrew Berthoff
Not so with the Fluevians. Even online, they understand that their customer service needs to fit with the style and spirit of the brand – personalized, appreciative and just a shade irreverent. After choosing and purchasing my shoes, I received an e-mail confirmation:
Thank you for placing your web order with John Fluevog Shoes!
We will contact you again within 5 business days to confirm which of our fine locations will be fulfilling your order, and then again when it is shipped. Read the rest of this entry »
Five SEO facts hidden in your domain name
Sep 21st
by Krista LaRiviere
When Google crawls your web site to index and rank your content it has to start somewhere. That somewhere is the front door to your site – your domain name. It’s time to take inventory of your domain name and make sure the welcome mat is out for those Google robots.
Krista LaRiviere
Don’t overlook these five important SEO signals that could make a difference between a Page One and a Page Two ranking.
1. Expiration Date – Do you know when your domain name will expire? If your domain expires two weeks from now and you haven’t renewed it yet Google, might get the sense that you’re not committed to the domain and therefore the web site.
Domain names are relatively inexpensive compared to a decade ago. A dot com domain costs a couple hundred dollars for a 10-year term. If you want to signal to Google that you’re serious about your business and domain, it is a good idea to register it for a longer period of time. Read the rest of this entry »
Privacy concerns with Google +
Sep 1st
By Tony Bradley
Back on Day 15 I examined Google+ privacy and found a couple things that seemed to be suspicious or give me some reason for concern.
I spoke with someone at Google, though, to clear up a few things about Google+ privacy, so for today’s 30 Days With Google+ post I want to clarify my understanding of Google+ privacy.
There are two main concerns I had regarding Google+ privacy–granting permissions in Google+ Games, and the broad scope of the terms of service (ToS) required just to use Google+. Read the rest of this entry »
5 tips for secure cloud computing
Aug 30th
By David Ridout
Risks of the cloud have recently become an issue with well-publicized failures in popular public cloud services. 
Organizations are thus under more pressure than ever to evaluate their management solutions, including those focused on security and how they are deployed as they get onto the cloud. Here are five general tips for companies getting on the cloud: Read the rest of this entry »
Two online legal services that are changing the game
Aug 25th
By Monica Goyal
Two startups recently came to my attention that offers creative solutions to help people resolve legal disputes.
Their methods include online reputation shaming, game theory tactics, and settlement negotiation, all in the hope of achieving better, faster settlements for far less expense than more traditional ‘in-person’ methods. The two online dispute resolution services I’m referring to are PeopleClaim and Fair Outcomes.
Monica Goyal
Shame on You
PeopleClaim’s service speeds resolutions along by putting the reputations of complaint targets on the line. For a small fee of $7.96, PeopleClaim will send a complainant’s (sender) complaint to its target (receiver), allowing the receiver an opportunity to negotiate a settlement directly with the sender or to send PeopleClaim a rebuttal. Read the rest of this entry »
Look who’s leading the way in low-cost broadband access
Aug 15th
Here’s something that might be worth emulating by Canadian ISPs.
U.S. cable company and ISP Comcast recently launched Internet Essentials, a program that provides Internet access to low-income households for $9.95 (USD), plus taxes, per month. Upon joining the program, a family will be able to purchase a computer for $149.99. Low-income families that qualify will surely benefit from this service – but the facts behind the program raise questions about the digital divide and the right to digital literacy.
Monica Goyal
Private companies are not normally expected to be altruistic, and in this particular situation altruism has been thrust upon Comcast. When Comcast acquired media company NBC-Universal, one condition of the deal was that Comcast provide broadband access to low-income households without forcing them to subscribe to a cable package.
As I was reading Comcast’s eligibility criteria for Internet Essentials, I was particularly struck by the following criterion: No household owing monies or equipment to Comcast is eligible. Comcast is leveraging this great program to collect monies on the delinquent accounts of some low-income families. Low-income families’ indebtedness might be due in part to the high cable and broadband prices they previously faced. Read the rest of this entry »
Online dispute resolution saves firms time and money
Jul 28th
By Monica Goyal
Those among us who have been in business disputes know that business disputes are inconvenient and stressful, and drain precious resources. We want them to be resolved as quickly and fairly as possible, so that we can focus on our customers and products. For some online services, having a way to mediate disputes online can be critical to its success – Elance comes to mind.
Monica Goyal
Online dispute resolution (ODR), emerged over the past decade, is dispute resolution facilitated by online information and communication technology. Computers are not making legally-binding settlements (yet). But ODR does change the way in which concerned parties access and participate in the resolution process, by giving technology an essential role in that process. This means that parts of that process can be done online, saving companies and people time and money. Read the rest of this entry »
Competition, not congestion behind Bell’s UBB push
Jul 15th
By Nestor E. Arellano
Bell Canada might claiming that its proposal to implement Internet usage based billing on its wholesale customers is meant to alleviate network congestion but the early stages of the ongoing Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) hearing on the matter is proving otherwise.
Nestor Arellano
Incumbent telecom companies are required to rent access to their networks to independent Internet service providers (ISP). The smaller ISPs sell Internet packages to their retail customers thereby boosting CRTC’s goal to foster Internet competition.
Bell claims the increasing traffic from smaller ISP is causing network congestion.
However, the lack of a connection between the proposed UBB and traffic congestion was highlighted last week when Konrad von Finckenstein, CRTC chair, raised the point that Bell Aliant, Bell’s sister company, has not been using UBB. Read the rest of this entry »
lawTechcamp geared to bring the law and technology together
Jun 17th
By Monica Goyal
Lawyers are increasingly relying on technology to help them get their work done and improve the level of service they offer to their clients. Failure to adapt to new technologies and processes could spell the difference between success and failure for some in the legal profession.
Lawyers seeking a better understanding of how technology is changing their profession can check out the latest additon to the Toronto “unconference” scene: lawTechCamp. The morning of June 18th, 2011, legal and tech professionals are welcome to attend a first of its kind legal tech unconference.
Monica Goyal
“These are exciting times for a profession at a cross-road. The legal profession has only two choices: accept that the economic landscape has irreversibly shifted and adapt to new technology and processes, or keep its head fixed firmly in the sand where it will eventually die off as more nimble and efficient players enter the marketplace. How legal services are delivered in 2020 will be vastly different from how they are delivered today. ”, says Mitch Kowalski, lawyer, writer and entrepreneur, co-organizer of the event.
lawTechcamp is a BarCamp-style community for new media and technology enthusiasts, technology lawyers, technology developers in the legal space, legal information professionals, bloggers, tweeters, social networkers, and everyone else who is curious about new media technology and its intersection with the legal profession. Read the rest of this entry »
