It appears that a plug-in called ToolsPack which claims to “Supercharge your WordPress site with powerful features…”  is actually a back door that allows hackers to run any command they want on your site.

The plug-in has recently been appearing in sites that have been hacked in other ways, hiding in plain site as a plug-in, hoping users will ignore it as genuine and therefore allowing full access to your site data at any time.

It you see this plug-in installed in your site, un-install it and then do all the usual review of your site to find any weaknesses – further information can be found here or your nearest friendly developer!

Whether it be someone after your website or someone after your PC, it seems like everyone out there wants your data.

What can you do?

Whilst it may seem that determined professionals will stop at nothing , there are steps you can take to make it a more difficult process and also help to prevent the casual hacker from getting access to your information or site.

Prevention is better than cure !

On your PC, install Anti-virus and firewall software.  This needn’t cost a fortune and indeed there are some excellent free packages out there, including some built to the operating system for Windows users.  A lot of ISP and banks also offer Security software to their customers too!

Anti-Malware / Ad-ware software is also another line of defence that can help protect from those software packages that may have a legitimate use, but then installs more than you bargained for!

Keep your Website and PC’s  up-to date with the latest releases and patches.

Once you’ve installed security software – you need to keep it updated as hundreds of new virus outbreaks occur each month.

• Set your Anti-Virus program to automatically check and install updates to the Virus Definition files.  
• Make sure you turn on real-time scanning and also scheduled scans, overnight is a good time as scanning won’t slow you down.

A lot of software updates are to do with the the latest vulnerabilities discovered, so install them.  Let your PC do all the hard work;

• turn on the Windows Automatic Update functionality to take care of patches for your Windows operating system
• installed software can often check automatically for updates.  This is a good idea for browsers and other internet facing software, that is often attacked.

Updating software also applies to your website too, especially if you run any common third party software for blogs, shopping carts or forums which are often targets for attack due to the availability of open source code and all the potential targets that use them.    Good news is that this popularity mean that updates to the core product and plug-ins are frequent, and will patch up security problems as they are found.

Belt and Braces – backup your data

No matter what you do, sometimes a problem can happen.  If the worst should happen then the knowledge you back up all your data regularly, is a reassurance.  With the cost of Hard Drives coming down again after the flooding in Taiwan, it is very cheap to make sure that you have a backup plan in place.

I’ve been hacked – what now ?

Firstly – don’t panic!  Although that is not the first reaction for most people, I’ll admit.

If you suspect you PC has been compromised then you need to use your anti-virus scanner and do a full scan.  This will report any problems and normally remove problems automatically.  They will also provide links to sites that will provide more information.

If your virus scanner won’t work for any reason, search the internet for a list of the many free on-line scanners available that will run and report on any problems you have. They may not fix them, but you will at least know if there are any issues.

However – make sure to pick an on-line scanner from a reputable firm that you may have heard of and research first online. There are many bogus scanners out there that claim to scan your PC and then suggest you need to buy expensive software to fix the problems.

If you feel your Website has been compromised, then seek help from your Host if they offer such a service or your web designer if they do.  If you run your own site, again there is a lot of on-line services that can assist.

Finally, it may be that you will need to call on those back-ups, you did set them up didn’t you?

To apply or find out more email dave.haygarth@reversedelta.com and explain a little bit about why you are that person. Please attach a CV or link to your LinkedIn profile.

Job Vacancy:

Project support manager and account support manager,

This is a role for a project manager and account manager, reporting to the Director of Operations and working with Senior Project Managers, Development Team and Support staff.

This is a great role for a “people person” – one who is keen to progress into project and account management with a background in web development.

The role might also suit a freelancer who is used to “doing everything” but wishes to focus on project or account management.

This is a customer-facing role and is varied due to the small size of our business. You will need to frequently and persistently deal with clients and be a public face of the company.

You can expect to be keeping in close contact with customers, reading and contributing to proposals, specifications, QA testing and meeting / phoning existing clients.

You will see some projects through from inception to delivery, ensuring clear communication at all times between clients and designers, developers, copywriters and SEO consultants. You will be the ‘glue’ that keeps the projects together!

You will manage existing accounts when clients raise support or maintenance requests, and will actively contact clients who are already ‘quiet’ and ensure that they are happy and catered for.

Although this is not a ‘hands-on’ technical role, it will be to your advantage if you have a background or hands-on understanding of developing websites using any of the following:

• HTML
• CSS
• PHP
• SQL
• Javascript
• mySQL
• WordPress

Other skills we are looking for experience in are:

• SEO
• PPC
• CMS platforms – e.g. Joomla, Drupal
• e-Commerce platforms – e.g. Magento, osCommerce, XCart, CubeCart

Experience of the following sectors is a bonus:

• Recruitment
• E-commerce / Retail

Qualifications and skills

Primarily, you need to be a good communicator who understands when it’s appropriate to use email / phone / face-to-face contact

A degree is an advantage but not a necessity – good experience is considered more relevant.

About Us

An established 10 year old web development business with clients in recruitment, online dating, e-commerce/retail sectors as well as a broad base of businesses in various other sectors.  Read more here

See our portfolio here to get an idea of our range of clients

We provide web design, web application development and search engine marketing services to small businesses.

We use open source technology where it fits, and also have our own recruitment CMS product FXRecruiter (see www.fxrecruiter.co.uk)

We pride ourselves on a friendly ‘can-do’ attitude, often going the extra mile to create and keep happy clients.

The culture is informal as would be expected of a small business, yet rewarding as you will be a key member of the team and share in the financial success of the company in the form of performance and profit-related bonuses and share option schemes.

Location

You will work from home, but ideally be based within an hour’s travel of Manchester.

Travel

The job will require some rare work on client sites or at our offices in London or Manchester.

Any travel expenses to clients will be paid for by us.  Any travel to our office will be paid for by you.

Equipment

You will need to provide the following at your own cost:

• Telephone
• Broadband Internet Connection
• PC with Windows XP, Vista or 7, or a reliable modern Mac
• Microsoft Office Professional
• Web Development Tools of your own choosing or the ability to install them

The following will be provided

• Mobile phone and basic contract

Package

• A competitive salary will be offered based on your experience and qualifications.  Salary is depending on who you are and what your best skills are and how they can help us grow sustainably.
• Commission is paid on new clients you can bring to the company.
• Performance and profit-related bonuses are also paid.
• Salary package will be reviewed annually

Terms of Employment

• Flexible Working.  No fixed hours, but core hours are 10am to 5pm. Expectation of 42 hours per week.
• 6 months probation period during which time 1 week notice is given by either party.
• After 6 months, 1 month’s notice by either party.
• After 1 year, 3 months’ notice by either party.
• 20 days holiday + 1 day for every year up to max of 26 days.
• No pension is provided – you will need to make your own arrangements.

Reverse Delta Terms & Privacy Policy

Reverse Delta is committed to protecting your privacy in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Privacy & Electronic communications regulations 2003. Reverse Delta collects, uses and disseminates the personal information you provide to us only in accordance with the policies and procedures outlined in this section.

If Reverse Delta transfers your personal information to authorised third parties, Reverse Delta will ensure that the recipient applies the same levels of protection, as Reverse Delta is required to apply to your personal information under United Kingdom data protection legislation.

By accessing the website and registering information or sending in your CV to Reverse Delta, you consent to Reverse Delta collecting and processing personal information in the manner set out in the Terms and the Privacy Policy.

Information Collection and Use

Reverse Delta is the sole owner of the information collected on this site. We will not sell, share, or rent this information to others in ways that differ from that disclosed in this statement.

Disclosure of your Information to Others

Reverse Delta uses your information internally, and does not disclose your personal information to third parties, except as set forth in the following points.

1. We may disclose such information to companies and individuals we employ to perform functions on our behalf. These individuals will have access to your personal information as necessary to perform their functions, but they may not share that information with any other third party.

2. We may disclose such information if legally required do so to: (a) conform to legal requirements or comply with legal process; (b) protect the rights or property of Reverse Delta.

Data Protection Act (1998)

Reverse Delta web site allows you to submit your CV to Reverse Delta either with your Registration details or directly by email. Your CV will be stored on Reverse Delta internal computer systems.

Once Reverse Delta has obtained your CV, Reverse Delta will enter information contained in your CV to create a record about you on our internal computer system. Reverse Delta may add to the information obtained from your CV with written or verbal information taken directly from you. The only information that will be added to the record about you on Reverse Delta internal computer system will be information that is considered necessary or helpful and is intended to assist in the recruitment process.

We will not send your CV to organisations with vacancies for which you may be appropriate, without your express consent.

If you wish to request the removal of personal information from Reverse Delta database, please contact the Database Administrator at support@reversedelta.com

Accessing the Information that Reverse Delta collects

You have the right to request a copy of the information held by Reverse Delta about you in its records in return for the payment of a small fee (up to £10). If the data Reverse Delta has is inaccurate, you may have such data corrected or erased. All requests for copies of information should be sent to Database Manager at support@reversedelta.com

Security

Reverse Delta takes every precaution to protect your information. Access to your personal information, is restricted within Reverse Delta. Only employees who require information to perform a specific job may be granted access to this information. The servers on which Reverse Delta store personally identifiable information are kept in a secure environment.

Changes to Privacy Statement

If Reverse Delta decides to change its Privacy Statement, we will post those changes on our web site so that you will always know what information we gather, how we might use that information, and to whom we will disclose it.

We welcome your comments concerning this Privacy Statement. If at any time you have questions or concerns about Reverse Delta Privacy Statement, or you believe that we have not adhered to this Policy, please contact us by e-mail at support@reversedelta.com or call us on +44 (0) 8000 199 737 and speak to one of our staff.

Luckily, Microsoft agree:

“Time to pop open the champagne because based on the latest data from Net Applications, IE6 usages in the US has now officially dropped below 1%,” blogged Roger Capriotti, Microsoft’s director of Internet Explorer marketing.”

Read more here and here

We so often say that content is king and that the job of your website is to deliver and present that content in the kind of way the Google can understand. If you’re obsessed about how Google  ranks you because of your URL content, your page load speed, your meta values, then … okay – good luck to you.  But wouldn’t this all be time better spent on focusing on creating better, more interesting, more valuable content for your website??  I really think so.

Matt Cutts does, too.

450 of the best quality PhD students employed by Google are persistently trying to make Googlebot smarter. Are you more clever than them?

This year we are again refraining from ‘hard copy’ cards and are instead supporting Macmillan Cancer Care through a donation.  We strongly encourage you to review why.   One in three of us will get cancer and it’s the toughest fight most of us will ever face.   You can donate to Macmillan here.

One of the greatest things about Twitter and Facebook is that you can get to places (and people) you couldn’t get to before. Fancy getting to know your competitors’ candidates and clients? Well… you’re one step nearer now.

Harnessing the incredible power that social media runs on can take some time to get used to. People talk about good content, interesting angles, good stories… they’re all fundamental – yes – but recruiters can leverage social media channels to engage in a little more underhand a way than you might think. I don’t even think this is ‘naughty’ either… just being creative with ‘out there’ information.

It’s all based around the follow  or like concepts.  (I’ll illustrate with Twitter but there’s a similar approach on Facebook)

Let’s say you work in a certain niche or geographic area. You will have some direct competitors. Have you seen who they are following?  Some of those people will be their candidates and clients.   Follow them.  It’s one click. Done.   The nature of us humans and our curiosity means that when we see someone following us on social media, we tend to be flattered. We follow them back. Job done.. in that case.   From that point onwards, you just need to be interesting (I can’t really help you do that too much but can provide the tools).  Once you have those prospects on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, you just need to inspire, flatter, draw them in with the kind of content that they want.

It’s so important that recruiters provide unique, easy to share content – adding value to your target group, as well as promoting you as outstanding people.

Good content includes writing good job descriptions and titles too – don’t assume you need to be sitting down blogging every hour God sends.

Write good content, get good followers, and you will reap the rewards.

It’s testament to the previous website that it survived so long ! We know it was starting to look a bit dated and also very small on our nice widescreen monitors, but it served it’s purpose and has worked very hard for us over the years. We wish it well in it’s retirement.

The new website is built on a WordPress foundation, and brings our portfolio centre stage. We think this is what most people are looking for initially, before digging a little deeper to see our fantastic testimonials and case studies, before contacting us or requesting a quote using our online quote form.

Our design and development teams have put a lot of thought into making the site easy to use and also able to grow with our business, and also integrates with all our social networks. We hope it is refreshing, a little different, yet easy to use and shows a bit of our personality.

We’d be delighted to hear your comments.

It seems daft to even suggest it, but getting your architecture and navigation right is one of the first steps in defining a website design (or even selecting a bought or free template).  There are many good examples of working navigation out there – and everyone has their favourite, but this article on the Web Designer Depot site shows the subtle art of getting the navigation right.

Twinned with that, heat maps and analytics can show (indeed can prove) navigation and layout tweaks work (or don’t work) well

Does your site work well?

Whilst the full 300Mbps speed will only be available to ‘a minority’ of the people who can get FTTP, the technology will mean that other customers will be able to receive an 80 Mbps service; still twice as fast as the current offering.