Conflicting Software

 

 

We figured out what it was that was causing such a problem with my e-commerce website.

 

It had run fine for several years, then about 4 months ago it was hacked.

 

And no matter how many times I fixed it with a backup, it kept getting attacked.

 

Evidently, there was a conflict with the two pieces of software I had running on the site.

 

It left holes open to attacks when the two were run together.

 

Guess I had just been lucky all those years before.

 

The blogging software compromised the e-commerce software.

 

Since security is of most importance when running a business website, the two needed to be separated.

 

It is a good feeling to have it back up and running smoothly, both for the customers and myself.

 

A big thanks to the developer who spent hours dealing with all the code!

    

Broken Site

   I have been running an e-commerce site for over six years now. For the last five and a half, it has run smoothly - no problems at all.
In December, it was hacked.
And I have worked steadily since then to get it back in shape.
But these last three weeks have had me pulling my hair out.
And today has been the worse.
I run a small site of no interest of major hackers.
Security has been top-notch with the developers involved who worked on the software.
My host denies any server problems.
We will keep working on it and I will post our conclusions once we find them.
Perhaps it will help another user. 

No More Scales

 

 

I heard it on the radio today - the scale now has a new name.

 

It is called the Measurement of Health.

 

Evidently there is a new gadget in the scale department, and it does everything except feed and exercise you.

 

It measures weight, water content in the body, fat content in the body, bmi, along with several other measurements, and it can send it to your iphone.

 

And if you are really proud of those numbers - you can have it sent to Twitter and share it with the world.

 

I can't ever see that happening, but I am sure there are plenty who do.

 

This scale takes measurements from your feet and hands that go in handholds.

 

An electronic beam is sent from one foot and it travels through the body and comes out the other foot.

 

And supposedly it uses the info it gathers to calculate all these measurements.

 

And one other thing - they will not put out a new scale on the market that doesn't measure to at least 440 pounds.

 

We all need to get ourselves in shape - but I think the old fashioned way will work just fine in that area.

 

I really don't care to know the fat content of my right arm, and I certainly don't need it broadcast on Twitter!

     

The New Convertible

     Looking through the Sunday sale flyers in  the newspaper, I caught a glimpse of something that is just great. I posted a few months back about the new tablets, and how it would be a hard decision to decide on what one was the best for us. Well, I think I just found it. It is a laptop that is made by Dell, and it converts into a tablet just by flipping the screen around. It can also be a digital picture frame or a music player when put on it's audio stand. Things just keep getting better with these gadgets!

Ipod or Nano

I have never given the Ipod a second thought. My last couple of cell phones had the capabilities of storing and playing music, so I didn't need anything else. But I have been looking at them lately - mainly because we have a clock that has a base for one, and it would be nice to hear the music I like rather than the radio it has. So, I started checking them out online. My goodness, I could not believe there were so many choices - I had to get my son in on it to help me out. There are classic ones, touch ones, nano ones, and then there are many generations of each one of those. The very newest ones - the touch versions, won't work with the clock. One version of the nanos was too fat for the base. So, we made a list of the ones that would work. Now, I need to decide the size or gb of the memory or storage space. I don't mind the idea of a used unit either. And did I mention I was frugal - it has to be a good deal since it is something I really don't need. Guess I will have to spend some time combing the internet and auctions to see what I can find. At least I have a direction now - even though the choices are still way too many.

Website Visitor Interaction

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of GameTreat for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

 

We all love to have reader and visitor interaction on our websites and blogs.

Hearing what others think about what we have to say has it's ups and downs, but it means someone is actually reading it and taking the time to comment.

One thing about the internet, it is so vast that most websites, especially small or new ones, get lost among the millions out there.

And once you start to get visitors, it is most important to keep them coming back, especially if you use the website to earn money.

You have to have something that really interests them.

Or you can pay big advertising costs to get them there - that is the expensive option that can put one out of business really fast.

Now there is a new way to get repeat and new visitors to your site - there are Web Apps - just like the apps for our phones, that can be used on websites.

One of these apps is called Game Treat, and it encourages visitor interaction with high quality free games.

They make it really easy for a website owner to grab the needed code and embed it on their site.

Then the visitors can engage in the games with the ability to share their games scores on Facebook and Twitter.

This opens up more possible visitors to your website - more eyes to see what you have to offer.

Check out and Get GameTreat Now to see what they have to offer for your website.

Setting the Monitor Color

In my last post, I discussed color management for a computer monitor. Most of them have the buttons on the monitor itself to adjut the different color channels. Most of us set what looks best to us - what pleases our eyes. Some uses prefer a brighter screen, some want it a bit dimmer. Some like a "warmer" hue, while others prefer a "cooler" one. But fiddling with the monitor buttons fo the color does absolutely nothing for the color really. That is all contained in the computer itself, and there are all kinds of color profiles that the computer can be set to use. Most users don't have any need to be concerned with them - the preset one is just fine. But for those who need correct color for art, designing, graphics, photos, video, or a host of other reasons, they need to be right on key - so what they are seeing is what the viewer on the other end is seeing too. I used a device called a Spyder, to calibrate my monitor. It is attached right to the screen and it uses it's own software to figure out the settings with some interaction from me by adjusting the monitor settings. It worked well on one monitor - there wasn't much difference in the colors I had been viewing. The other monitor just wouldn't adjust right - according to my eyes. All the settings said it was correct - but my eyes couldn't deal with the "too blue" hue that was the final result. I set that computer color profile to the one I had been using previously, and when I viewed my work on the color corrected monitor it still looked good. So, not too sure where I stand with this device - I will continue to watch both monitors to see if there is any difference. At least I know one of them is correct.