Protecting Yourself From Affiliate Link ThievesWritten by Stephani Richardson
So, you have worked really hard to build a fabulous affiliate site. You took time to add your keywords and relevant information about products. Your pages load quickly, and your site is even listed in search engines for specified terms. You look at your stats, and you see a regular flow of traffic coming into your site. You get really excited! You log in to your affiliate program manager, and.... WHAMO! You have very few commissions from sales, and your click-throughs are extremely low. Suddenly, you are asking yourself, "what heck happened here??" The answer... You might possibly be victim of affiliate link hijacking!In this revolving world of Internet, we are constantly being bombarded by spammers, spyware, viruses, and hackers. Now, we have to worry about link hijackers stealing commissions that are rightfully ours. So, what is link hijacking and how do you prevent it? In simplest terms, link hijacking occurs when someone replaces their affiliate ID with yours. The result? They get commission instead of you. You did all that work, but someone else is getting paid? Yes! You may be wondering how this happens. Let me explain. I first heard about this phenomenon while visiting various discussion boards on affiliate marketing. Many affiliates had experienced a decline in sales while their site's traffic stats remained high. Common discussions found in affiliate forums include various software programs which "steal" information. Many of these programs download themselves onto a person's computer, either knowingly or unknowingly. These programs can override your affiliate links each time customer visits your site, therefore giving credit to someone else. Many times, people download packaged programs that contain these types of software. The innocent surfer may not even realize they have a program running in background. Anyone who takes part in Internet community, whether it be a webmaster or a surfer, should stay informed about these programs by visiting parasiteware.com on a regular basis.
| | Putting Workplace Violence In Perspective Following September 11, 2001...Written by Felix P. Nater
The Security Consultant's Perspective...Putting threat of violence and security in workplace following September 11, 2001 in perspective has a broader meaning and greater appreciation. The price of Workplace Violence has a physical, emotional and financial toll on victims, witnesses and businesses. While worst-case scenarios are not norm, incidents of assaults, homicides, threats and acts of sabotage are real in typical workplace. However, simple but equally annoying and escalating hostile conduct creates emotional contagions and spontaneous responses. When thinking of workplace violence one should consider situations and events of any type that if left uncorrected could escalate into a violent response. Service employees being harassed on their routes, nurses fearful of conducting home visits, plant employees taunting another, use of increased resources to protect threatened employees and salesmen who resign rather than do business in certain neighborhoods are all realities at work. Even though reported incidents of violence are down for 2003 according to Bureau of Labor Statistics security awareness should continue to remain high on prevention category. Some Statistics About Workplace Violence... According to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 11% (631) of 5,559 fatal occupational injuries in 2003 resulted in homicide (mostly by shootings). A March 2004, FBI Report estimated that nearly 80% of these workplace homicides are committed by criminals with no other connection to workplace, who have committed robberies or other violent crimes. In areas of Non-fatal occupational injuries, BLS reported that 18,104 such incidents in 2002 resulted from assaults and violent acts by person, representing nearly 1.3% of 1.4 million reported occupational injuries and illnesses. According to Bureau of Justice Statistics, (BJS) US Department of Justice, in 2002 nearly 750,000 crimes of violence were committed each year against people at work or on duty and another 170,000 against people traveling to and from work. In January 2004, Society of Human Resource Managers reported results of their own internal survey on workplace violence. Roughly, almost two-thirds of HR Professionals who responded reported that at least one incident of 'violence" had occurred since 200o. Most common were incidents of inappropriate language, verbal abuse or verbal threats. In May 2004, American Society of Safety Engineers' (ASSE) survey on workplace violence reported that 44% of 750 respondents had indicated that their place of work had been victim to incidents of violence since 1998. While threats do not harm victims, mere utterance damages perceptions of management's ability to provide for a safe workplace if no corrective action is taken.
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