ContaxCRM: Now with JSON
We’ve recently added some interesting functionality to
ContaxCRM (available in the next release) that gives some interesting possibilities and opportunities for integrating ContaxCRM into the workflow of your business. Below you can see the output from a standard report after the data has been pasted into a JSON Feed Validator.I’ve written a JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a lightweight data-interchange format. It is easy for humans to read and write. It is easy for machines to parse and generate. It is based on a subset of the JavaScript Programming Language, Standard ECMA-262 3rd Edition - December 1999. JSON is a text format that is completely language independent but uses conventions that are familiar to programmers of the C-family of languages, including C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Perl, Python, and many others. These properties make JSON an ideal data-interchange language.
For the uninitiated, JSON is described by the designers as follows:
Put simply - for using your ContaxCRM data on the web or inside a mobile device, JSON is a good thing 
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Twitter Community: #avYourSay
Keeping up with the Tweets from the fine Ladies and Gents during
#avyoursay, is not easy. Every Tuesday evening at 20.00 for an hour local businesses from Amber Valley and the surrounding areas get to meet and chat online. You need to see it to believe it, great fun
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Earth from the Space Station (ISS)
This is a Time-Lapse Video of Earth take from the
International Space Station. Stunning.RSS Feed: http://feeds2.feedburner.com/stevencholerton
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Google and Apple Sync. Easy.
I recently brought an Android device (
Kindle Fire HD) into my life and this required some changes in the way I work with my own data and information.Primarily I wanted my Contacts and Calendars to be synced and accessible from all of my iOS Devices, My Mac and my Kindle. This was way more straightforward to do that I expected, thanks to Google.
Google Contacts and Google Calendar are now my primary data stores, easily synced into my mainly Apple eco-system. I can continue to use them in the same way I always have, through my Apple and iOS software, but behind the scenes because it’s Google, I can also use my Contacts and Calendars easily from my Kindle Fire HD.
Best of all worlds I reckon High Five Steve
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101: Penetration Testing
Introduction
Penetration Testing is an attempt to break the security of a computer system or network, under instruction from the owners or maintainers of that facility. It is an attempt to simulate an attempted break in by a computer savvy criminal. A Penetration Test gives a snapshot of the security at a moment in time, and is not a full security audit.
If a criminal attempts to breach your computer network they will generally follow a sequence of five steps:
Reconnaissance
Scanning
Gain Access
Maintain Access
Cover Tracks
Planning and Preparation
This stage involves a meeting between the Penetration Tester and the Client. Key areas to be covered are: Scope, Objective, Timing and Duration. In addition documents must be signed to cover the Penetration Tester and the Client, generally in the form of a Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA).
Information Gathering and Analysis
This next stage involves the Penetration Tester finding as much information as possible about the company he will be asked to target. His first stop will probably be the companies own website, from there he may then consult additional online services and references. The information he is looking for is Domain Names, Server Names, ISP Information, Host Addresses and anything else that will help him build a picture of the target. The second part of this process involves Port Scanning and OS (Operating System) Fingerprinting.
Vulnerability Detection
If Stage 2 has been successful then the Penetration Tester now has all the information he needs to make the decision as to what hosts to target, and with what vulnerabilities. Some techniques he may use at this stage include Password Cracking, SQL Injection, Rootkit, Social Engineering and Physical Security.
Analysis and Reporting
This is where the Penetration Tester reports back to his Client. The information he is going to present to the client, includes the following:
An Overview of the work done
Detailed Analysis of all Vulnerabilities
Summary of Successful Penetration Attempts
Suggestions for the next step
This is where the Penetration Tester makes sure that anything he has done in the course of his work will have no effect when he has finished. For example he will remove any backdoors and additional user accounts that he has created, leaving the system how he found it.
The above is a quick overview only of the procedures that may be followed by a Penetration Tester while undertaking their assignment.
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Site Redesign: bestsmallcrm.com
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Software Opportunity For Sale
Basically I’m selling everything R10BatchMail related, ie: the following:
- The Product
- REALStudio Source Code
- Icons, Images, Text etc.
- Website
- Domain Name
- Documentation
- Telephone Support for One Month.
I’m looking for a quick sale so if interested, make me an offer
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Syncing Contacts Everywhere
The Kindle being an Android based device is heavily dependent on the world according to Google. The Kindle Contacts application syncs seamlessly and automatically with Google Contacts, which is great, except that I don’t use Google Contacts as for the last few years I have mostly been mostly living in the Apple ecosystem with my contacts being stored on iCloud.
Fortunately it is quite simple to get Google Contacts and Apple iCloud Contacts to two way synchronise and play well together. In OSX Mountain Lion (this procedure differs for earlier versions of Mac OSX) you need to open the Contacts application and access the Preferences from the Contacts Menu. You will see a window similar to the one shown below:
Tick the Checkbox as shown and after entering your Google account Logon Name and Password, you are ready to sync. Unfortunately this is a manual operation, although I’m sure it could be automated if someone was to hook up a macro or script, anyway to perform the actual synchronisation go to your Menu Bar and click the Sync Icon shown below, and select ‘Sync Now’. The Sync Icon will spin and soon your contacts will be identical in both places.
Because you have synced to iCloud, not the Mac itself, your iPhone, iPod and iPad will all also get the updated synchronised Contacts, assuming they have been configured for iCloud correctly.
I also have Windows computers … with Sync2 or similar your Google Contacts can be automatically synchronised to Outlook as well, meaning that your contacts are identical, and kept identical, on all your likely computers and devices.
If you are thinking of setting up something similar I find it helps to consider Google Contacts to be the ‘Master Data’ and all the others to be synchronised from it. See the image below:
I hope this article helps someone
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New Arten Science Website
Following the redesign of this site, simple, basic - almost retro, I have just completed a redesign of the
Arten Science website. It’s a little bit different … Will anyone like it? Here’s the homepage below:
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ContaxCRM New Press Release
Arten Science Offers Enhanced CRM Solution at Reduced Price
[Ripley, Derbyshire] Arten Science is pleased to announce permanently reduced prices for ContaxCRM Version 3. This version of their popular software, first launched in January 2012, allows individuals and companies to optimise the management of their relationships by building a detailed contact history of customers, suppliers, prospects, members, and other contacts. Written and designed in the United Kingdom by Steven Cholerton and published by Arten Science Limited, ContaxCRM Standard is now available for only £29 whereas ContaxCRM Premium is now £49.
It’s a small price to pay for an ingenious program that lets customers capture, store, interact, communicate, and manage all of their interactions, be they with customers, prospects, suppliers, members, personal, network, or even competitors. So, as a single user program it’s ideal for graphic designers, web developers, consultants, electricians - any small business or charity managing multiple contacts. The multi-user edition can grow with businesses to support hundreds of users. What’s more, ContaxCRM works with Windows computers and Apple Macs or even a mixture of both.
Arten Science prides itself on offering a CRM solution that stands out from the crowd. Users get a choice of where data is kept, on the computer, on the network, or in the cloud. Customers pay only once, rather than monthly, and the solution runs natively on the computer, rather than in a browser. ContaxCRM Version 3 requires an Intel Mac running OSX 10.5+ or a PC running Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8.
ContaxCRM is simple and efficient to use and secure. It works with Apple Mail, iCal, and Outlook to provide a seamless link between users’ contacts, email, and related calendar entries. The solution can automatically or selectively save both sent and received emails to an individual contact record. The interface retains a clean, simple, and functional design that appeals to users at all levels. On top of all this, it uses up to 384 bit Blowfish encryption as standard.
The power and ease of use of R10BatchMail and R10Cipher are built into ContaxCRM Version 3 giving powerful bulk email and encryption/security. ContaxCRM features powerful document management features as standard, to enable users to lock documents away securely. When used in conjunction with SMSRelay also from Arten Science, ContaxCRM becomes a powerful and flexible text messaging solution.
The success of ContaxCRM is demonstrated through excellent customer feedback. Matt Kavanagh, Technical Support Manager, of Perfect Colours, a printing company said, ‘[We have] been using ContaxCRM to keep track of technical support contact with customers for repairs, warranties, and call-outs for the past six months and it has transformed our engineers’ access to information. I would recommend it to any small business wanting to share information across their company, particularly given the low entry-level cost and the cross-platform nature of the software.’
Kaye Booth of Social Myna Ltd, social media consultants, said of ContaxCRM and the owner of Arten Science, Steve Cholerton, ‘I…purchased the fabulous ContaxCRM which has proved invaluable for my business. Steve helped me from installation through to using the CRM effectively as a tailored business tool. Always keen to offer support and further advice I would highly recommend Steve and his Mac/Windows products.’
Features:
* Mac OSX including Mountain Lion
* Tested on OSX 10.5+
* Windows Version works on XP, Vista, 2003, 7 and 8
* Requires no installation
* Requires no additional runtime
* Custom help system
* Single user with inbuilt SQLite, or multi-user with MySQL
* Sync the database with iDisk, DropBox or similar
* Quotations convert to Orders
* Orders convert to Invoices
* Auto backup functionality
* Contact template facility
* Separate import program
* User defined contact categories and classifications
* Specify the allowed methods of communication
* Unlimited custom fields
* User-defined contact status
* Visit a contacts’ website by clicking
* Mark a contact as inactive, effectively hidden, but not deleted
* Visit a contacts’ blog by clicking
* Traffic Light Rating System (TLRS) - Red, Amber, Green
* Contact information and notes - output as an audio file
* Batch/bulk emailing functionality
* Drag and drop document management
* Email a contact by clicking
* Outgoing and incoming email is written to contact history
* Automatically capture incoming email
* Dial your IP phone
* Update your Twitter status
* Send Twitter @reply messages to contacts
* Insert iCal Entries
* Insert Outlook entries
* Fast searching, sorting, and filtering of contact information
* Drag and drop text documents into contact notes
* Geographical mapping information
* Real-time charting
* User-defined connections/relationships
* Full screen toggle
* Extensive use of keyboard shortcuts
* Inbuilt report generator with export
* Use any generally available query tool to create reports
* Each contact can be individually encrypted
* Incoming email can be encrypted
* Contact notes/history can be encrypted
* In-built project management
Support:
* Offline manual
* Tutorial movies
* Forum
* Email the developer
* Telephone support can be quoted for separately
Notes:
Arten Science was set up in 2007 to design, develop, and market quality commercial software for Mac OSX and Windows. The company also provides bespoke software development, technology, database, and security consultancy services. What’s more, all of their commercial products can also be tailored, modified, and enhanced to suit customers’ specific requirements.
A single user trial version of ContaxCRM can be downloaded and used for 14 days. It features a nag screen which can be removed with a single keypress. The 14 day restriction can be removed by purchasing a license from Arten Science. Data entered into the trial version is kept when purchasing a full version. Data entered into the single-user version can be transferred to the multi-user version at the click of a single button using the utility module supplied for free with the multi-user licence.
To find out more, go to the Arten Science website or contact the Managing Director, Steven Cholerton, directly on +44 7977 752329.
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