The new Collections Questions & Answers Board is the first of its kind in the Credit and Collections Industry. Specialists from all fields can use it to share information and get answers to questions.  Typical users will be medical collectors, third party collectors, debt buyers, debt sellers, asset recovery specialists, skip tracers, collection agencies, collections attorneys, collections firms, commercial collectors, collections software agents and the full range of professionals in the Industry.  However, consumers will be able to use the site also to get answers to questions and expert input from the specialist mentioned above.

The debt collections questions and answers site is a great way to let consumers and debtors have direct access to debt collection experts.  People in the collections industry can also get direct feed back from debtors and help explain some of the questions people with outstanding debts sometimes have.

From an Internet Technology perspective, the addition of the debt collections questions and answers is a great way to add value to the site, create good wholesome content, and help people all that the same time. In addition to adding content people can subscribe the the RSS feeds to keep current with new content being added to the website. 

ProCollectionJobs.com has now added several sections to their site including debt industry news, collection industry press releases, and most recently the Questions and Answers Board.  ProCollectionJobs.com is quickly surrounding the Collections, and Accounts Receivable Industry.  They are also planning the launch of a massive marketing campaign that will utilize traditional marketing avenues such as TV, news paper, and high level online advertising.  They average 15% to 20% growth per quarter in the network of companies utilizing there services. ProCollectionJobs.com is the leading online job board for the collections industry boasting over 700 companies that use there career services.

ProCollectionJobs.com is poised to close a transaction this month with a small network of companies. This network includes skip tracing companies, collection agencies and long standing debt buyers.  This venture will launch ProCollectionJobs.com into the debt market.  Within the next 4 months the venture will see over 100 million dollars of debt purchased, skip traced and placed creating hundreds of jobs for specialists in the Industry.  

For more information visit: ProCollectionJobs.com

Dates for your particular site may vary. The times listed above are just relative to our research for the sites we host and develope. Let us know if you have seen other dates that vary signifigantly from the dates posted above.

Our fire wall and security appliances provide our hosting clients  with secure connectivity for their sites. By implimenting the Check Point firewall, VPN, intrusion prevention, and antivirus technologies in a single solution, VPN-1 UTM Edge ensures sites hosted by DeveloWare LLC stay secure. To simplify security management for large remote site deployments, VPN-1 UTM Edge devices can be centrally managed alongside other security solutions at DeveloWare LLC.

The VPN-1 UTM Edge X16 provides complete remote access and site-to-site connectivity, broadband-level performance and high availability capabilities, and powerful central management.  The X16 features a 4-port LAN switch, 1 WAN port, 1 DMZ/WAN2 port, and 1 serial port. The X16 delivers Firewall/VPN throughput of 80/20 Mbps, allows up to 16 users, and supports up to 10 remote access VPN users, as well as allowing site-to-site VPN tunnels.

Sites hosted at DeveloWare LLC can be assured of the latest cutting edge technology to protect against DoS and DDoS attacks at a rate that is much cheaper than any competitor.

What is a DDoS attack?

DoS and DDoS attacks flood a Web server with false requests for information, overwhelming the system and ultimately crashing it. The following graphics explain how such attacks work and how companies can possibly prevent them. In effect the server can not handle all the requests, no matter how big and bad your server is. The nature of the attack is quite simple but has complex results on the machine being affected.

How a "denial of service" attack works

In a typical connection, the user sends a message asking the server to authenticate it. The server returns the authentication approval to the user. The user acknowledges this approval and then is allowed onto the server.

In a denial of service attack, the user sends several authentication requests to the server, filling it up. All requests have false return addresses, so the server can't find the user when it tries to send the authentication approval. The server waits, sometimes more than a minute, before closing the connection. When it does close the connection, the attacker sends a new batch of forged requests, and the process begins again–tying up the service indefinitely.

Typical connection

 
DoS & DDoS attacks

 

How to block a "denial of service" attack

One of the more common methods of blocking a "denial of service" attack is to set up a filter, or "sniffer," on a network upstream. This means before a stream of information even reaches a site's Web servers. The filter can look for attacks by noticing patterns or identifiers contained in the information. It requires hardware for filtering. If a pattern comes in frequently, the filter can be instructed to block messages containing that pattern, protecting the Web servers from having their lines tied up.

DDoS attacks can happen to anybody!

As a webmaster or admin for any site, never ever think you are exempt from being attacked.  It can happen to anybody. Last month alone there was over 50,000 reported attacks. The attacks were directed towards major sites and small ones without regard. Twitter was taken down from such attacks just a couple weeks ago. Then the same malicious group targeted Google and Facebook.  Less than two years ago the department of defense was attacked and completely taken down. If they can take down Google, Twitter, and the US Gov they can most likely take down your site also.

Protect Your Website

To protect your site you must have hardware that can defend your servers. The problem is that it is expensive. If you find your site is being attacked and you host with one of those $5/month accounts at some cheap hosting company you will find that they will just shut down your site in the interest of protecting the other sites on there servers. You will be just flat out of luck. Make sure your hosting has the routers and firewalls in place to handle these vicious attacks.  Ask specifically about DDoS prevention before you purchase hosting if you want protection. Normal firewalls and routers WONT STOP THE ATTACKS.
Take if from me. We had a virtual server completely upgraded and screaming fast with the highest security you can imagine. But the nature of a DDoS attack does not even send up a red flag to most security prevention systems. You will most likely only notice when your site goes down or your hosting provider cuts you off. Not good at all because it is too late then!

The nature of an attack

What makes these kind of attacks almost impossible to handle without the proper hardware is that you can not just start blocking IP addresses. Because of a couple reasons. First, most of the time the IP doing the request is a real IP but most likely an IP that is not malicious. Usually the IP has been spoofed. Therefore, if you add an offending IP to your block list you may be blocking a true source of visitors. Second, the request is not what actually kills your http server. What kills the server is an incomplete "handshake". 

To explain the 3 way server handshake lets elaborate a little…

To establish a connection, TCP uses a three-way handshake. Before a client attempts to connect with a server, the server must first bind to a port to open it up for connections: this is called a passive open. Once the passive open is established, a client may initiate an active open. To establish a connection, the three-way (or 3-step) handshake occurs:

1. The active open is performed by sending a SYN to the server.
2. In response, the server replies with a SYN-ACK.
3. Finally the client sends an ACK (usually called SYN-ACK-ACK) back to the server.

In a DDoS attack its more like a 2 way handshake. This leaves your server hanging and waiting for the third response. What this does is flood your http server with incomplete requests. Most servers have a 30 second time out and a maxim number of connections around 300 or so. Hence, your server is doomed without protection.

DDoS attack symptoms and info

DDoS attacks generally WILL NOT eat up your bandwidth because the handshake never got completed. It just increases server load to the point of being rendered useless. Nothing ever gets sent to the requesting host so there is not usually a bandwidth issue.

DDoS attacks are basically impossible to track unless you have tons of resources. Like on a government level. One of the difficulties in tracking is because the offending IP's are usually spoofed and do not exist or are valid IP's that are non offending.

Blocking IP's wont help with a DDoS attack. You must have the proper hardware to defend against DDoS attacks. If somebody know software to hand attacks please let me and the world know about it.

Who is doing such malicious attacking?

To put it bluntly there are many groups of attackers out there. Some are religious based and some are politically based. But the most notorious ones are simply groups of hackers that get paid to take down sites. They get paid between $100 and $500 per 1000 http requests. There are actually bots for hire out there… SHeeesh! I think they should be hung upside down and have there toe nails pulled out.

Conclusions about DDoS attacks

Get a hosting company that has the hardware to handle these attacks. Firewalls and fast servers just wont help. As a result of the recent attacks on DeveloWare.com and the companies that host through us we have upgraded our equipment to handle this. We can now provide protection against DDoS attacks.

If you want to add the "verse of the day"in addition to or instead of  "Todays Prayer" to your facebook go here:
http://www.develoware.com/newsposts/how-to-add-verse-a-day-to-facebook/314.php

It truly adds value to your site and you will see how it truly touches people when they start commenting on them.

What we will be doing is adding an RSS app on facebook then setting it up to read the Prayer of the day from MyPrayerToday.com. After installation the Prayer of the Day will show up on your facebook everyday. Its quite nice and I personally love it.

So are you ready??? Lets do it!

Step #1 Log into FaceBook.
First, create a facebook page or open yours up. If you have a business and you don't have a facebook you are behind the times. Wether you like it or not they are approaching 400 million users, its just good business.

Step #2 Add the RSS App.
Next, after you log into facebook go to the top search box and search for this app: "RSS Graffiti" or you can just follow this link:
http://apps.facebook.com/rssgraffiti/
In the upper left hand corner click "Go to Application" this will take you to a page that will prompt you for access. Go ahead and click "Allow" for each step.  You have to give permissions about 4 times.  Don't worry the RSS app will walk you thruough it.  You must give permission if you want the Prayer of the Day to show up on your wall.

Step #3 Configure the RSS App to read MyPrayerToday Feeds
Once you click "Allow" you will be taken to a page to configure the feeds. For this example we will set up getting a Verse a Day and the Prayer of the Day. These are wonderful services and you never ever have to worry about content.

Below is a picture of the page you should see now (you may have to scroll down a lil bit):

• In the "Feed URL" textbox type: http://www.myprayertoday.com/feeds/
• In the "Feed Name" textbox type: MyPrayerToday.com
• In the "Source URL" textbox type: http://www.MyPrayerToday.com
• Set the "Style" to: Standard

In the Fee : text 

To add Verse of the Day to your facebook also simply add it just like you did this one with the following information in the boxes: 

• In the "Feed URL" textbox type: http://www.myversetoday.com/feeds/
• In the "Feed Name" textbox type: MyVerseToday.com
• In the "Source URL" textbox type: http://www.MyVerseToday.com
• Set the "Style" to: Standard
• You will also want to set it so it gets the feeds every 3-6 hours or so.

Since I need SEO content on here and people may not want a verse a day, just a prayer a day, I will post another blog on just adding a prayer a day here:

http://www.develoware.com/newsposts/how-to-add-pra…ay-to-facebook/326.php

And…. WA – BAM!!! There you have it, a Verse a Day or Prayer of the Day on your facebook. Hope this helps somebody out there. let me know if this has helped you

Joe

If you want to add the "prayer of the day"in addition to or instead of  "Todays Scripture Verse" to your facebook go here:
http://www.develoware.com/newsposts/how-to-add-prayer-of-the-day-to-facebook/326.php

It truly adds value to your site and you will see how it truly touches people when they start commenting on them.

What we will be doing is adding an RSS app on facebook then setting it up to read the verse of the day from MyVerseToday.com. After installation the verse of the day will show up on your facebook everyday. Its quite nice and I personally love it.

So are you ready??? Lets do it!

Step #1 Log into FaceBook.
First, create a facebook page or open yours up. If you have a business and you don't have a facebook you are behind the times. Wether you like it or not they are approaching 400 million users, its just good business.

Step #2 Add the RSS App.
Next, after you log into facebook go to the top search box and search for this app: "RSS Graffiti" or you can just follow this link:
http://apps.facebook.com/rssgraffiti/
In the upper left hand corner click "Go to Application" this will take you to a page that will prompt you for access. Go ahead and click "Allow" for each step.  You have to give permissions about 4 times.  Don't worry the RSS app will walk you thruough it.  You must give permission if you want the verse a day to show up on your wall.

Step #3 Configure the RSS App to read MyVerseToday Feeds
Once you click "Allow" you will be taken to a page to configure the feeds. For this example we will set up getting a Verse a Day and the Prayer of the Day. These are wonderful services and you never ever have to worry about content.

Below is a picture of the page you should see now (you may have to scroll down a lil bit):

• In the "Feed URL" textbox type: http://www.myversetoday.com/feeds/
• In the "Feed Name" textbox type: MyVerseToday.com
• In the "Source URL" textbox type: http://www.MyVerseToday.com
• Set the "Style" to: Standard
• You will also want to set it so it gets the feeds every 3-6 hours or so.

In the Fee : text 

To add Prayer of the Day to your facebook also simply add it just like you did this one with the following information in the boxes: 

• In the "Feed URL" textbox type: http://www.myprayertoday.com/feeds/
• In the "Feed Name" textbox type: MyPrayerToday.com
• In the "Source URL" textbox type: http://www.MyPrayerToday.com
• Set the "Style" to: Standard

Since I need SEO content on here and people may not want a verse a day, just a prayer a day, I will post another blog on just adding a prayer a day here:

http://www.develoware.com/newsposts/how-to-add-pra…ay-to-facebook/326.php

And…. WA – BAM!!! There you have it, a Verse a Day on your facebook. Hope this helps somebody out there. let me know if this has helped you

Joe

What I wanted was to be able to get a notification when an applicant applies to a job. As an admin you must know what is going on with the site.  Any site for that matter, but especialy with job boards. It is critical so you can know how to modify SEO campaigns and a whole host of other things. Here is the specs I want when the job is done:

1) Email should have the job seekers info on it.
2) Email should have the employer info on it.
3) Email should have the job info on it.

To get started we first need to identify where in the source code we need to add the functionality. The first file we will need is /system/user-scripts/classifieds/apply_now.php. Inside that file search for "Notifications::sendApplyNow", it should be around line 92.. It will look like this before we start modifications:
———————————————————————-

if ( !Notifications::sendApplyNow($post,"files/files/".$file_name,$listing_info, $current_user_sid, $notRegisterUserData) )
      $errors['SEND_ERROR'] = true;;;

———————————————————————-

PS: programmers out there, you should always bracket your if statements… It bugs the hell out me when ppl dont bracket there if statements!!!

Replace the lines above with the code below:

———————————————————————-

   if ( !Notifications::sendApplyNow($post,"files/files/".$file_name,$listing_info, $current_user_sid, $notRegisterUserData) )
     {
       $errors['SEND_ERROR'] = true;
     }
     else
     {
       //send admin notification with info about who applied and to what job for what company
       //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
            AdminNotifications::sendAdminApplyNow($post,"files/files/".$file_name,$listing_info, $current_user_sid, $notRegisterUserData);
     }

———————————————————————-

Next open /system/lib/miscelanious/AdminNotifications.php and add this line at the top of the page:
 require_once("users/User/UserManager.php");  

Then add this function in the class with the other functions. I added it at the bottom of the file… (inside the brackets like the rest of the functions)

———————————————————————-

  function sendAdminApplyNow($info, $file = '', $data_resume = array(), $current_user_sid = false, $notRegisterUserData = false, $companyData = array()) {
    //get the job seekers email address
    if($current_user_sid) {
      $user_info = UserManager::getUserInfoBySID($current_user_sid);
      $sender_email_address = $user_info['email'];
    } else {
      $sender_email_address = $notRegisterUserData['email'];
    }
    //get the admin email address
    $admin_email = Settings::getSettingByName('notification_email');

    //get the company info
    $info['listing']['empEmail'] = $info['listing']['user']['email'];
    $info['listing']['empName'] = $info['listing']['user']['CompanyName'];

    //get the template for the email
    $email = new Email( $admin_email, '../email_templates/admin_apply_now.tpl',
    array('listing' => $info['listing'], 'seller_request'=>$info['submitted_data'], 'data_resume' => $data_resume) );
    $email->setReplyTo($admin_email);
    if ($file != '')
    $email->setFile($file);

    //send it out
    return $email->send();
  }

———————————————————————-

Finaly the last step besides testing…

We need to create a template for the email to be sent with so we need to add a new template for it. Create a file in /templates/_system/email_templates/ named admin_apply_now.tpl.
All together the file and path should be like this:

/templates/_system/email_templates/admin_apply_now.tpl

Open your new empty file and paste the following code into it:

———————————————————————-

{subject}New Applicant for {$listing.empName}{/subject}

{message}
 An application to job posting '{$listing.Title}' was just submitted:<br />
  <hr>
 Employer Information<br />
 Employer Name: {$listing.empName}<br />
 Employer Email: {$listing.empEmail}<br />
 Employer Link:<br />
 <a href="http://www.yourdomain.com/search_results_jobs/?action=search&username[equal]={$listing.empEmail}">http://www.yourdomain.com/search_results_jobs/?action=search&username[equal]={$listing.empEmail}</a>

 <hr>
 Job Information<br />
 Job ID: {$listing.id}<br />
 Job Link:<br />
 <a href="http://www.yourdomain.com/display_job/{$listing.id}/">http://www.yourdomain.com/display_job/{$listing.id}/</a>

  <hr>
 Job Seeker Information<br />
 Name: {$seller_request.name}<br />
 Username: {$seller_request.username}<br />
 Email: {$seller_request.email}<br />
 Cover Letter (optional): {$seller_request.comments}<br/>
 User resume: <a href="{$GLOBALS.site_url}/display_resume/{$data_resume.sid}">{$data_resume.Title}</a><br/>
 <br />
{/message}

———————————————————————-

In the code above you must replace yourdomain.com with whatever your domain is.  Save your file now.

AND….. ….. …. WA BAM! Your done. There you have it a customized admin notification for when applicants apply for a job.

Let me know if this helps anybody out there! I would love to hear from you.

Joe Mas

PSPPPPPppooblkjbljPS 

Positive changes that have taken affect since my last post. As you probably know I was one of the co-founders of Virtual Automation the parent company of MyCollectionJobs.com, I took great pride in the service MCJ offered and spent hundreds of unpaid hours building the company along side of a couple dedicated others that truly had the vision. MyCollectionJobs.com was started with a great business model and became very successful in a short period of time.

After we had established the company it seemed some of the other co-owners had lost vision of the true purpose of the company. They have a great business model if you like everything automated and no service. I firmly believe in personal service to clients on a solid foundation of experience. As a result of these differences I have some great news for NCO Group, CIBC, and all of the debt and collections companies out there!

I have since resigned from Virtual Automation and MyCollectionJobs to continue building my vision of a true service for the debt and collections industry. Some other highly experienced professionals also left and came on board with my company to put together http://www.ProCollectionJobs.com. The product is better, the network of partner sites is bigger, the distribution of jobs is greater, and the tools we provide are more extensive. The service is truly personal and the prices are much more competitive, as our main goal is to provide a service, not quick monetary gains. But best of all, we are set up to be the largest debt and collections job board in Canada.

Check out our site today!

http://www.ProCollectionJobs.com

Check out the RSS feeds for TheVetteNet.com here: http://www.TheVetteNet.com/feeds/

With just a little more than $400 dollars invested in marketing the site has seen an increase in revenue/profit of more than $15,000/month. We have adwords and a couple other banner ads running for it now. In less than 3 months traffic has increased from less than 100 unique visitors a day to around 200 – 500 currently.

Targeted Visitors=Revenue