Tag Archives: Internet

Internet scam revisited – Registration and IP Address frauds

Posted on by Helen
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I noticed quite a few new comments to my blog dated 29.11.06, so obviously these criminals are still flourishing.

 An article in ErhvervsBladet (07.07.09) mentions a new variation of the scam that caught many of us small Danish businesses a few years ago.

Whereas the last wave of fraudulent invoices involved registration of one’s firm, this lot concentrates on the registration (and transfer to a different, expensive host) of IP addresses.
Intrigued as to why Denmark apparently should be targeted I did a quick Google search and found that Ireland, Belgium and Canada (to mention just a few) have all been targeted in the past. Various blogs warn about outbreaks – I have listed a few of the sites I found.
http://braz.blogspot.com/2006/11/internet-register-ireland-scam-warning.html 
http://lofi-gaming.org.uk/blog/2007/05/21/uk-internet-register-scam/
This one, from Canada is one of the earliest I found:

 http://www.cb-bc.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/eng/00262.html  (June 30, 2004)
http://www.healthbusinessblog.com/?p=1669 (February 29th, 2008)
http://www.targetintegration.com/businesses-warned-of-internet-registry-scam.html mentions a similar scam targeting Belgium (9th September 2008)
Surely some international effort to stop this piracy can be organised?

Helen

Innovation Check – report

Posted on by Helen
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I attended an ‘Innovation Check’ meeting with Per F. Gøse  on the 8th December and found it most useful.

We discussed the present state of my business, the profile of which has changed considerably over the last year, and various new initiatives that are planned or just initiated, and I received some useful advice. Most somewhat general, as I didn’t have all that much concrete material to work through.
He also gave some comments on my home pages which may be useful to other Mikros:
The site should begin with “What’s in it for me?” The equivalent of my ‘elevator speech’.  Once I have sold the many benefits of using my firm, list my competences and preferably some testimonials from satisfied clients.
I have opted to give a price for my translation service, but he suggested that this may be counter-productive, much better to leave it open and negotiate the price according the project.
Marketing –  one method would be to use recommendations from satisfied clients and send to potential clients with the comment that I’ll ring on  such and such a date…. and  then make sure to follow up on it.

It seems to make sense.  Per also promised to send a report of the meeting and offered some additional help for one of the potential projects I am working on, so all in all, it was a few hours well spent.

Gratis CMS og weblog-systemer – Hvilket er det bedste … ?

Posted on by Dann Sommer
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Spørgsmålet er stillet adskillige gange på mikronet …
      

- hvad skal jeg vælge … ?
      

- … hvis jeg vil bruge et af de gratis Content Management Systemer (CMS) / weblog-systemer – hvilket er så det bedste ?
      

- i juli 2008udgaven af .net tidsskriftet finder du seneste forsøg på at kåre de pt. bedste systemer
      

- det skal bemærkes at kriterierne i kåringen ikke er helt gennemskuelige og er baseret på forfatterens egen erfaring og subjektive bedømmelser, ligesom det kun er et udpluk af parametre der er taget stilling til i kåringen
- nogle af de parametre der er lagt vægt på i bedømmelsen er : skalérbarhed, løbende udvikling af nye faciliteter, up-to-date med aktuelle browser-standarder
- imidlertid, så er det en rigtig god oversigt over de systemer der er tidssvarende og aktuelle, lige nu – og dermed et udemærket grundlag for at man selv kan gå igang med en mere indgående vurdering
      

Gratis CMS og weblog-systemer – Oversigt :
  

System : WordPress 
      

System : Movable Type
      

System : Expression Engine
      

System : Blogger
      

System : Drupal
      

System : Radiant
      

System : Textpattern
      

System : DotNetNuke
      

System : Typo
      

System : Joomla!
      

      

Gratis CMS og weblog-systemer – Kåring af de 5 bedste :
      

     

   

Rating : * * * * *
System : WordPress
  

   

Rating : * * * *

 

System : Expressionengine
  

   

Rating : * * * *

 

System : Movable Type
  

   

Rating : * * *

 

System : Blogger
  

   

Rating : * *

 

System : Drupal

 

- mere information i artikel i .net tidsskriftet, juli 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Guilty until proven otherwise – Skat (Taxation) & home office

Posted on by Helen
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I rarely get angry about things I cannot do anything about, but I am seething at the injustice inflicted on us Mikros here in Denmark.

To take just one point – internet and telephone. I estimate that 95% of my work is done by means of these. But because I have an office at my home address, according to my accountant, I cannot deduct these as legitimate business expenses. It is iniquitous, and I think reflects very badly on a nation whose stated aim is to promote SMEs.  So much for a democratic society – the way the tax department rides roughshod over Mikros – working from home, not commuting to an office and thus contributing to a cleaner environment -  and being punished for it is, in my opinion, unfair. For a struggling mikro it could constitute the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

I would really appreciate our  politicians doing something to sort out this nonsensical ruling.

One of the few good things about Skat (ironically, Danish for both taxation and treasure) is that their homepage is beautifully clear and easy to navigate.

Have any readers come across any other ridiculous examples of being taxed unjustly on a genuine business tool?

Homepages and content

Posted on by Helen
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I have recently had two contacts as a result of my homepage. One resulted in some proof-reading work which came to an abrupt end when the client discovered that, due to faulty construction of the Danish version of the site, I am NOT an university-educated translator and proof-reader. (Even though my secondary education, University degrees and PhD thesis were done at English educational establishments).  The client needed a certificate or other evidence that I know what I am doing. I am really upset that:-1. I had inadvertently misled a client who was working on really interesting material, and

2. That I have lost a valued client.

The other approach was from someone working with Regulatory matters and may turn out to become a sound collaboration venture. They had read the English version….

The point I am trying to make is that the text on home-pages is really important – double check every word, and if you have a section written in German or English – get it checked by an expert in that language.

The other point that was brought home to me is – as everyone is always telling me – that the contents should be regularly updated. If I had done that, now that my Danish is so much improved, I would have read what the text said, rather than what I thought it said – and corrected it long since.

So – I will be giving my site a major overhaul!