Wire Head Security Consulting Services

WireHead Security Launches Consulting Services (Enterprise Security Today)
RALEIGH, NC - August 17, 2009 - Start-up professional services firm WireHead Security (www.wireheadsecurity.com) today introduced its suite of information security and consulting services aimed at helping the SMB , education and government organizations to address the growing problems of online theft, cyber fraud and the steady stream of new security vulnerabilities.

Mimiran and Mansa form joint business

Mimiran and Mansa Systems form a joint business development and consulting agreement (PitchEngine)
Mimiran and Mansa Systems have formed a joint business development and consulting agreement to provide pricing optimization solutions to salesforce.com customers.Mimiran helps companies sell faster and more profitably with SaaS price optimization solutions for salesforce.com and other systems. With a unique combination of pricing experience in strategy, business processes, and technology ...

How Tough Economic Times Tests Family Businesses

The Family Business Consulting Group Publishes Article on How Tough Economic Times Put Family Businesses to the Test (PRWeb)
Senior associate of The Family Business Consulting Group (http://www.efamilybusiness.com?campaign=Aug2309), Dr. Mark Green, highlights tips from his article, Tough Economic Times Put Family Businesses to the Test. (PRWeb Aug 23, 2009) Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/08/prweb2775184.htm

Consulting firm rejected for renwable energy project

Consulting firm rejected for Benicia renwable energy project (Contra Costa Times)
BENICIA - A local consulting firm with ties to a Nobel Peace Prize winner has lost an appeal to be involved in the city's renewable energy efforts.

President refused to pay bogus consulting fees

HOSP BOSS SUES OVER 'BRIBE' TRY (New York Post)
The president of a defunct Queens hospital who refused to pay bogus consulting fees to disgraced former Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio is suing him and a rival hospital president who did pay the lawmaker. Dr. Robert Aquino, who ran Parkway...

Scrap Gold And Silver Recycled Into Jewelry

Hawaiian Alchemy; Jewelry Manufacturer Launches New Process to Turn Old Items Into New

Designs 'N Gold, a Hawaiian jewelry manufacturer has devised a method of turning old, broken and unused jewelry into a new piece of jewelry to help save customers money while at the same time helping to save the planet.

Aiea, HI, August 08, 2009 -- Designs N Gold, a Hawaii based Hawaiian jewelry manufacturer, is pleased to announce the launch of their method for turning old, broken and unused jewelry into new Hawaiian heirlooms bracelets, rings, pendants or other types of jewelry.

Clients who wish to recycle old gold and silver can choose from 2000+ design molds or custom design an entirely new piece of jewelry for themselves or as a gift for a loved one. Clients are also able to keep cherished mementos in a new form of jewelry rather than selling it as scrap gold and silver where dealers may pay them pennies on the dollar.

Recycling also helps save the planet. For every ounce of scrap gold or silver that is recycled into new jewelry, the need for the mining companies to mine a ton of earth is reduced. It is estimated that for an average 18-karat gold ring leaves 20 tons of polluted mining waste behind. There are also pollution risks. For example in 1992 in Summitville, Colorado (USA), a containment dam that held mine waste from a gold mining operation burst. The escaped toxic waste killed all life along a 25 km stretch of a nearby river. Finally, recycling also reduces the consumption of resources and energy.

"Our jewelers/engravers enjoy taking scrap and turning it into a beautiful piece of jewelry which gives them them a great since of pride" said Hawaiian born and raised Colette Aoki, owner of Designs 'N Gold. "Recycling old, broken and unused jewelry into new Hawaiian jewelry not only saves our clients money but also allows them to be a part of helping to save our planet's precious resources for future generations."

Colette's customers who have had a chance to try this process are very enthusiastic. Susan of San Diego, CA writes "Thanks very much for the follow-up. I received the bracelet on Friday of last week- it is so beautiful! I am really happy with it". While April of Maui, Hawaii writes "I received the ring, yesterday and I was already so anxious to open the box. Opened it and oh my. Why, it's surely the ultimate beautiful ring I have ever seen. Most of all it's well made. Thank your designer from the bottom of my heart. I have been sharing with people about your business. I am spreading the word of the great job you all have done."

About Designs 'N Gold
The owner of Designs 'N Gold, Colette Aoki, has been in the jewelry business in Hawaii since 1976. Over that period she has designed jewelry for thousands of clients in Hawaii as well as worldwide. In 1985 she acquired the jewelry manufacturer, Designs 'N Gold, which gave her the ability to control the entire jewelry making process from design to finished product. Designs 'N Gold's expert jewelers and engravers create each piece of Hawaiian jewelry including pendants, earrings, bracelets, and wedding rings.

Contact Information
Designs 'N Gold
Colette Aoki
808-484-2699
caoki@aloha.com
www.designsngold.com
98-1277 Kaahumanu St. 106-339
Aiea, HI
96701

City manager gets OK to do outside consulting

Dover city manager gets OK to do outside consulting (Foster's Daily Democrat)
DOVER - City Manager Mike Joyal got the green light Wednesday to moonlight as a teacher or consultant when he isn't in City Hall. City councilors approved an amendment to Joyal's contract to allow him to "engage in occasional teaching and consulting work."

New Conversion Fraud Documented

Almost anyone that does search marketing and pay-per-click advertising or PPC is aware of the concept of click fraud. They may think it's a small problem or a huge one, but we all know it exists. While advertisers may blow it out of proportion due to poor conversions and sales, the truth is that a poorly run campaign could be partly or completely to blame.

On the other hand we have the search engines that tell advertisers almost nothing about the problem other than that they have "advanced detection methods" in place. Some even provide large refunds from time to time but in most cases refunds are small and seem inappropriate to the lack of ad campaign results. But it can be hard to impossible to tell where the true numbers are.

Most advertisers rely on conversion numbers to tell them if a campaign is working or not, or if it needs to be adjusted. Lack of conversions can also indicate click fraud. Higher conversion number means it is working and should be generating revenue that justifies continued spending.

This post is to inform advertisers, and search engines that care to listen, about what seems to be a growing trend for those committing fraud to cover their tracks: Conversion Fraud.

Here is an example from a contact form:
===========================================
Remote Address: 98.172.1.169

Form Sent From: http ://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/aclk
?sa=l&ai=B4IPZS8jy13AP_7qCtG64YiHYAADM_f___8Yn
uboAo7ACZbbAEdLdYYgq6OAUQABUEAA&num=2
&adurl=http ://www.thisistheurltomyclientswebsite.org/%3F
type%3Dcontent%26keyword%3Dmachines%26adid
%3D2164885665%26placement%3Dbugabo.cn&client=
ca-afdo-pub-1913393681262590

HTTP User Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; SV1)
===========================================

Here is what the info is and where it comes from:

- Remote Address:
The IP address of the user

- Form Sent From:
This URL is captured in the form script when executed. It should ALWAYS be the page the form was submitted from. I have edited the first part of the URL so it is not valid, but the placement and publisher info is correct.

- HTTP User Agent:
Browser type

==========================================================
The only possible conclusion one can reach when looking at the evidence is that
someone connected to the parked domain owner has taken the click URLs from
some or all of the ads, and loaded them into a script that submits our form with
the listed data, using the parking page ad URL as the referrer.

This is click fraud that shows as conversions to the advertiser.
==========================================================

Here is the PHP code that is used for this section of the form:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Remote Address: $_SERVER[REMOTE_ADDR]
Form Sent From: $_SERVER[HTTP_REFERER]
HTTP User Agent: $_SERVER[HTTP_USER_AGENT]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Adding this code, or code like it for other scripting languages, can provide advertisers with more information about who is clicking on their ads and why.

And you notice that we are capturing the IP address of the person submitting the form.While this can indicate fraud as well, for months now we have seen fraudulent clicks and conversions from IPs on Comcast and other ISPs. While I cannot provide proof, my feeling is that most of these are from infected or "botnet" computers, designed to steal small amounts of money on a vast scale. If I was in the fraud business, that's what I would do!

I suggest that anyone concerned about click fraud also be aware of conversion fraud. In this case, it is done with a program and is easy to spot. If cheap labor is used and your forms filled out by a person, you will have no way to know what is going on except from a lack of sales and perhaps invalid from information. At this time there is no way to update your PPC statistics and change the number of recorded conversions to be more accurate.

My proposed solution to end click fraud is a simple one, but one that is still dismissed by those that hear it: Flat rate advertising. Google actually has something like this with their site targeted option, but since you pay for impressions rather than clicks, you can have what I call "Impression fraud".

Only by having ads displayed for a set period of time at a set price can we ever hope to be free of these kinds of fraud.

Bilingual business consulting

Bilingual business consulting set for Friday (Daily Breeze)
Bilingual business advice Friday. The Small Business Development Center is offering free, by appointment, consulting with a bilingual (English and Spanish) expert in business plans and general business assistance from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Wilmington Municipal Building, 544 N. Avalon Blvd., Wilmington. For an appointment, call 310-973-3177.

Management Consulting Webinar on Launching a Business Blog

Prinz Law Management Consulting Hosting Webinar on Launching an Effective Business Blog (PRWeb via Yahoo! News)

Prinz Law Management Consulting is pleased to announce that it will be hosting a webinar titled "Secrets to Launching an Effective Blog to Promote Your Business" on Wednesday, August 26, 2009 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

Engineering Technician Joins Shumaker Consulting

Shumaker Consulting adds technician (Press & Sun-Bulletin)
BINGHAMTON patriarch Kuhlman has joined Shumaker Consulting Engineering & Land Surveying P.C., on Court Street, as an engineering technician.

Solar Industry Sustainability

AltaTerra Research Announces Solar Industry and Sustainability Series

Solar power is among the most environmentally-friendly energy technologies. Yet, opportunities remain to reduce environmental impacts of solar companies all along the supply chain. This series explores ways of expanding solar's environmental benefits.

Palo Alto, CA, August 07, 2009 -- AltaTerra Research is pleased to announce a new series of events on environmental issues in the solar industry. The "Solar Industry and Sustainability" series will examine the status and value of environmental sustainability in the solar industry, current efforts such as product lifecycle analysis and recycling, costs, and future scenarios for industry standards. These topics will be explored through a number of web-based and in-person conferences and research gatherings.

The first event in the series, "First Solar: Toward a Sustainable PV Industry", will be held on Tuesday, August 25th at 9 am Pacific Time. In this one-and-a-half hour web conference, First Solar's Vice President of Sustainable Development, Lisa Krueger, will present and take questions on her company's leading-edge efforts to implement a comprehensive environmental plan.

Ms. Krueger will explain First Solar's approach to environmental practice, product lifecycle assessment, carbon footprinting, and energy payback time. She will also describe the company's module collection and recycling program, management of toxics, plans for the future, and recommendations for the industry as a whole. AltaTerra's Managing Director Research, Dr. Jon Guice, will introduce and moderate the session. Ample time will be devoted to questions and discussion.

Further details about the web conference and registration are available on the event webpage: www.altaterra.net/event/firstsolar. A limited number of press passes are available.

About AltaTerra Research
Founded in 2007, AltaTerra Research is the first research consultancy dedicated to corporate environmental sustainability and commercial markets for clean technology solutions. With consulting services, industry research reports and executive events, AltaTerra helps business leaders make informed decisions on green business. Current topics include commercial solar and green power, the corporate carbon footprint, carbon credits and environmentally-friendly product strategy. More information is available at www.AltaTerra.net.

Contact:
Anneke Mueller
AltaTerra Research (New York Office)
Anneke.Mueller@AltaTerra.net
(212) 537-5044 ext. 683

Contact Information
AltaTerra Research
Anneke Mueller
212-537-5044 x683
anneke.mueller@altaterra.net
www.altaterra.net

Consumer Warning About Jeffery Flanders Consulting

FSA issues consumer warning about Jeffery Flanders Consulting Limited (Money Marketing Online)
The FSA has issued a warning to customers of Jeffery Flanders Consulting Limited based in Billingshurst, West Sussex to check their insurance cover.

Collaborative Agreement Signed With Pitagorsky Consulting

TenStep, Inc. Signs Collaborative Agreement with Pitagorsky Consulting (PRWeb)
TenStep, Inc. and Pitagorsky Consulting announced that they have signed a collaborative agreement to cross-promote each others products and services. This relationship will allow both companies to provide a broader set of solutions for their customers. TenStep will now offer a stronger lineup of process and people related services, while Pitagorsky Consulting will have access to the wide range of money.