Should a Non-Profit Embrace WordPress as a Content Management System? Five Considerations

• Content Management System (CMS): Templates can be customized (a task for an appropriately screened virtual volunteer) to modify the look and feel of WordPress. For example, WordPress can designed to have the look and feel of a traditional Web site, magazine or news site.
• Extensible: As a free, open source application, WordPress is widely-used, actively developed and extensible with a huge number of powerful plug-ins (for example, with the PowerPress plug-in, WordPress can be a powerful podcasting tool, with ready-made RSS feeds and media player.
• Security Concerns: Due to being widely adopted, WordPress is attacked, which means any non-profit must be committed to security (such as regularly backing up and updating for known WordPress vulnerabilities, including plug-ins). Updating WordPress may break modifications made (such as to CSS files). To address this issue, some developers have moved to adding child themes.
• Hosting: WordPress at minimum requires PHP and a MySQL database. If your site is critical to your operations, a host must be chosen with a demonstrated (WordPress) hosting track record, including remarkable uptimes. Thus, considering your current and future needs, research and ask colleagues/associates for recommended hosts (host review sites must be approached with caution). If a WordPress site has heavy traffic, CPU and memory usage will have to be considered and shared hosting (in essence, one computer serving many Web sites) may not be workable.
• Easy Install: For additional adjustments, I suggest downloading WordPress from wordpress.org and manually installing via FTP (or shell access) instead of a host's one-click install.

Sophos Security Released Free Software Tool to Block Windows Shortcut Exploit - Affects All Windows Versions

Windows Shortcut Exploit Protection Tool: Detects the Windows Shortcut Exploit, Blocks Exploit from Running and Works with Your Existing Anti-virus

What is the Windows Shortcut Exploit?
As articulated by Sophos, "The Windows Shortcut Exploit (also known as CPLink) is a zero-day vulnerability in all versions of Windows that allows a Windows shortcut link to run a malicious DLL file. Sophos has released a free easy-to-use tool that blocks this exploit from running on your computer." The Current release of this tool (Version 1.0) provides protection for .LNK files only.

System Requirements:
Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 (32- and 64-bit)

Direct download Link to Sophos Windows-Shortcut-Exploit-Protection-Tool:
http://downloads.sophos.com/custom-tools/Sophos%20Windows%20Shortcut%20Exploi...

MD5 Checksum:
51621ec89978080674b7897cef85c36e

For further information about Sophos Windows-Shortcut-Exploit-Protection-Tool:
http://www.sophos.com/products/free-tools/sophos-windows-shortcut-exploit-pro...

Microsoft Security Advisory: Vulnerability in Windows Shell could allow remote code execution:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2286198

For further information about how a non profit organization can develop a productive virtual volunteering program through the use of appropriate technology, please visit this Online Volunteering Resource.

Is YouTube the Best Place for Non-Profits to Post Videos?

With Mega Uploads, Short User Visits, Directed Viewing Initiatives and Grants to Top Video Creators, is YouTube the Place for Most Non-Profits to Efficiently and Effectively Engage a Significant Targeted Audience? Consider the following:

• On March 17, 2010, Y ouTube announced that 24 hours of video was being uploaded every minute.
• According to a July 8, 2010 CNN.com article, "... the average user spends just 15 minutes on YouTube but 5 hours watching TV in a given day ( Leanback is one attempt by YouTube to increase visitors viewing time).
• On July 9, 2010, YouTube announced a program to give away $5 million (Los Angeles Times) in grants to top independent YouTube video creators.

With a day's work of video being uploaded to YouTube very minute where the average user (currently) only spends 15 minutes viewing, YouTube directed viewing initiatives (such as "Leanback") along with YouTube's program to fund select video producers, most non-profit organizations will now be even more limited in their ability to attract a critical mass of engaged (YouTube) viewers.

For further information about how a non profit organization can develop a productive Internet-based volunteering program through the use of appropriate technology, please visit this Online Volunteering Resource.

Security Expert Recommends (Firefox Addon) NoScript TabNabbing Default be Changed

Prevent TabNabbing with Firefox's NoScript Addon

Since v1.9.9.81, the Firefox Addon "NoScript" has included the capability to block the refreshing of content on unfocused tabs (unfocused meaning not the current tab[s] in use) in order to prevent Tabnabbing (which is basically the hijacking of one of your browser's unfocused tabs for malicious purposes).

In episode 253 of the Security Now podcast, Security Expert Steve Gibson recommended changing NoScript's default (option 1), which only blocks refreshes on Untrusted (sites), Unfocused tabs to blocking Unfocused tab refreshing on both Trusted and Untrusted (sites), which is option 3. This change in the NoScript' Addon cannot be made through NoScript's GUI options but must be made through Firefox's address bar as follows:

1. In Firefox's Address bar, type "about:config" (without the quotes) and hit enter
2. In the filter text field, type "noscript.forbidBGRefresh", without quotes
3. Right Click on the "noscript.forbidBGRefresh" entry and select "modify"
4. Change the integer value from 1 to 3 (see the screen capture above) and click "ok"
5. Close your browser and re-start

Note: The line below the "noscript.forbidBGRefresh" entry entitled "noscript.forbidBGRefresh.exceptions' is to add any site where the blocking of unfocused tab refreshing affects a site's function.

For further details about TabNabbing and changing the NoScript Addon settings, please see the Security Now transcript (PDF) for podcast episode 253, which is available at the following URL:

http://www.grc.com/sn/sn-253.pdf

For further information about virtual volunteering, visit Online Volunteering Tips, Technology and Tools or Pioneering Online Volunteering Program Developer Randy Tyler.

Free PDF to Word Converter Easily Creates Editable MS Word Documents

Non-Profits - Save Time by Batch Converting Your PDF Files to Word Documents

Cross platform PDF (Portable Document Format) files have become a common method of exchanging files. In certain situations, you may want to re-purpose the content within a PDF file. AnyBizSoft's PDF to Word converter allows you to easily convert a PDF to an editable MS Word document.

PDF to Word Converter v3 Overview

• Standalone Program: does not require Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat to be installed
• Supports encrypted PDF file conversion
• Conversion preserves text, layouts, images, tables and hyperlinks in an editable MS Word document
• Supports converting specific pages of a PDF file
• Supports batch conversion of up to 200 PDF files
• Supports importing Adobe 1.0—1.7 formats

Software: Windows 2003/XP/Vista/7 (32 bit)
Hardware (Minimum): 500 MHz processor, 256 MB RAM, 15 MB HD

How to Use PDF to Word Converter v3

• Install
• Launch the application by clicking on the AnyBizSoft PDF to Word desktop shortcut
• Output Setting: Select where you want the converted Word file to be placed
• Drag and drop the PDF file you want converted (as shown in the above image)
• If you only want certain pages of your PDF converted to a Word document, move your cursor over the "Selected Pages" column wherein a drop down toggle will allow you to enter which specific pages (for example, 2,3,7-9) you want converted
• Click on the "Convert" button (a pop-up window will indicate your PDF file has been converted)
• Batch Conversion (up to 200 PDF files): If you want to convert a number of files, just drag and drop and then select which specific pages in each PDF you want converted to a Word file.

Obtain PDF to Word Converter v3.0.0 free just by becoming an "AnyBizSoft" (Software Vendor) Facebook Fan via the URL below (once you provide your name and a working e-mail address, the registration code should be e-mailed to you within a short time frame):

http://www.facebook.com/AnyBizSoft?v=app_6009294086

For further information about how a non profit organization can develop a productive virtual volunteering program through the use of appropriate technology, please visit this Online Volunteering Resource.

Free Software Program Easily Organizes All Your Software, Serial Numbers in One Place

Non-Profits Can Save Precious Resources (and Frustration) by Creating a Software Database

Free Application Create a Software Database for a Single Computer

Due to a virus, an aging system or operating system upgrade, you will be faced with reformatting your hard drive and re-installing your applications. Thus, serial numbers and other essential registration information will be required to re-install your programs. Will you spend hours trying to find all the serials numbers for your programs? You can avoid this frustrating and inefficient experience by creating (and maintaining) a software database now. AllMySoftware is a free, basic software database creation application that will allow you to easily organize and access all your software titles and serial numbers. AllMySoftware offers the following features:

• Auto Scan: Scans your registry for installed and un-installed software titles
• Manually Add: You can add individual software titles that were not added via a registry scan (such as portable applications that do not create registry entries)
• Uninstall: Ability to quickly uninstall a software application from within the application
• Backup: Flexible backup reminder
• Password-Protect: Ability to password protect your software database
• Views: Lists all your software titles or provides an optional tree-like database structure view
• Export: Can export your software database to an Excel formatted file
• Web Site Link: Hyperlink to each developer's web site
• E-mail: Single click to create an e-mail message to a particular developer's support team
• Search: Easy to use search features

Operating System Requirements

Windows XP (according to the developer, AllMySoftware "... works with Windows Vista and Windows 7, but you need to set 'Run as administrator' option for the program shortcut's preferences."

How to Use AllMySoftware

• Install AllMysoftware
• Launch AllMySoftware.exe
• Allow ALLMySoftware to scan your hard drive (your computer's registry) for installed applications
• From the resulting list, choose which software titles to include in your software database
• For any software record, complete the missing field information (as per your requirements)
• Add new software records (by clicking on the blank page button) for any applications not listed in your database now (that is, any of your applications that did not create registry entries, such any "portable" applications you may have installed, will have to be added manually)
• Ensure your backup your software database (to external media, such as a CD, USB thumb drive, hard drive or network drive)
• Once your software database has been updated, you can easily view all your records (and completed fields) at once using the "Export to MS Excel" feature.

How to Obtain a Free Registration Key

Complete the short form at the URL below and your free registration key will be e-mailed to you (Bolidesoft has frozen development of ALLMySoftware and are thus offering free registration keys).

http://www.bolidesoft.com/allmysoftware.html

Free Application Creates Hardware and Software Inventory for Your Windows Network

If you want to create a software database to inventory your Windows Network (as opposed to creating a database for one computer, as AllMysoftware allows), the free version of Lansweeper (version 4) provides this functionality (hardware and software scanning + 200 build-in reports, licensing reports, scriptable actions, asset tag and WOL).

Client Requirements:
Windows 2000+ with Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) 2.8

Server Requirements:
Windows 2003, 2008, XP, Vista, 7 (Windows server recommended)
.net 2.0 or higher
SQL server 2000 or higher or SQLexpress (free)

Lansweeper (v4) Freeware Version Download Link:
http://www.lansweeper.com/files/setup.exe

Lansweeper PDF Documentation Download Link:
http://c1330262.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/documentation.pdf

Lansweeper Web Site URL:
http://www.lansweeper.com

For further information about how a non profit organization can develop a productive virtual volunteering program through the use of appropriate technology, please visit this Online Volunteering Resource.

How to Easily Compare Fonts, Colors and Styles in Your Web Site Design Process

Non-Profits Should Reflect Their Brand with Carefully Chosen Fonts, Colors and Styles

Is your non-profit organization using specific fonts, colors and styles in your Web site to consistently reflect your brand (your DNA)? One tool that will help you avoid delaying this critical fingerprinting process is Font Tester. Font Tester is a free, easy-to-use online font comparison tool, similar to TypeTester (a free online tool I wrote about earlier). With Font Tester, the author has aimed to enable real-time previewing of just about every CSS (2.1) font property available (see the above screen capture which shows a single column of white text with a blue background with most CSS font properties applied). Font Tester also allows you to easily view and  compare up to three columns of text with different CSS font properties applied.

How to Use
The author has created detailed Font Tester (use) instructions as well as an explanation of the various CSS font properties at:
http://www.fonttester.com/help/quick_overview_of_comparing_fonts.html

Font Tester Online Tool URL
http://www.fonttester.com/about.html

At the bottom of the Font Tester tool, the author has also created a character map which you can use to quickly find the corresponding HTML Entity (an HTML entity enables certain characters, such as an ampersand, to be correctly displayed in your Web browser).

For further information about how a non profit organization can develop a productive virtual volunteering program through the use of appropriate technology, please visit this Online Volunteering Resource.

Quickly Generate CSS Syntax for a Heading or Paragraph Using the Free Online Tool CSS Type Set

If you are new to Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) formatting or just want to quickly try styling a paragraph or heading in real time, then you may want to explore CSS Type Set, a free online tool. As shown in the above screen capture, first enter your desired text (whether a heading or paragraph) and add some attributes (e.g., add bold or change your font size) to your text and the CSS syntax for your styled text will be automatically generated in real time on the right. With this tool you can apply changes to font-family, color, font-size, font-weight, font-style, text-alignment, letter-spacing, word-spacing and line-height.

http://csstypeset.com/

For further information about virtual volunteering, visit Pioneering Online Volunteering Program Developer Randy Tyler.

More Online Tools Provide Options to Flash to Accommodate Apple's New iPad

Non-Profits Must Consider Flash Options to Accommodate Huge Mobile Market, Including Apple's iPad

More online tools (for example, AuthorStream and SlideShare) are moving to provide options to Flash in order to be compatible with Apple's new iPad (which does not support Flash) and other similar mobile technologies. Non-profit organizations that make use of Flash (for example, Flash-based Web video) will now also have to consider such non-Flash based options if they want to communicate with an ever growing market share of devices such as Apple's iPhone and iPad.

For further information about how a non profit organization can develop a productive virtual volunteering program through the use of appropriate technology, please visit this Online Volunteering Resource.

How to Use Bloom, a Free Facebook Photo Uploading Program

Select Photos Can Help a Non-Profit Organization Develop a Productive Facebook Presence

With an articulated purpose, formulated objectives and action plan in place, a non-profit organization can develop a productive Facebook presence (Facebook is a social networking site with about 400 million users). Photography is one powerful medium to help you develop your organization's Facebook presence. Whether your chosen images tell client stories, illustrate community impact, recognize your donors or reflect your online volunteers' contributions, you will require an easy and efficient tool to upload your photos to Facebook. Bloom is one such free, photo uploading application.

Bloom is an easy-to-use multi-platform Java-based desktop program that allows you to upload (which also supports uploads behind a Proxy server) more than 200 photos (to a new album or existing album), select your desired level of privacy, tag people within your photos, import a photo's IPTC metadata (if available) into the photo caption, download albums, view your friends' photos as well as upload videos. Before explaining how to use Bloom, I will highlight the application's requirements.

Requirements

Minimum hardware requirements:
Pentium 3
384 MB of RAM, some images require 512MB or more
1024x768 display

Recommended hardware requirements:
Dual or quad core Intel or AMD processor
1GB of RAM
1280x1024 display

Operating Systems Supported:
Windows 2000, XP, Vista, or Windows 7 with Java 5 or Java 6 installed
Mac OS 10.4, 10.5 & 10.6 (Java 5 or Java 6 are pre-installed on Mac OS 10.5 and 10.6
A Linux distribution with Java 5 or Java 6 JRE installed such as Ubuntu, Fedora, Suse
Solaris 10 with Java 5 or Java 6

How to Use (Bloom v2.8.0):

• Install Bloom
• Launch Bloom
• Drag your photos into the window (white area) as shown in the screen capture above
• Provide an album name, location and album description
• Select Who Can View your Album (Privacy Level): everyone, friends, friends of friends or network
• Add photo captions (if your photos have embedded IPTC metadata, Bloom will automatically generate the photo caption from the IPTC Caption field). If your photos do not embedded IPTC metadata, you can select each photo one-at-a-time and add different photo captions. If you want to add the same caption to each photo in your album, select all photos (using CTRL A on Windows) and add your desired generic caption in Bloom's  photo caption box.
• Now press the Login button on the top left toolbar
• At the "Welcome to Bloom" window that opens, check "enhanced security" (which will provide you with an https connection), then press "Login"
• Your browser will launch so you can log in to Facebook
• After you have logged-in for the first time a window stating "Allow Bloom to access my information" will be displayed
• Click the "Login to Bloom" button (for security purposes, I recommend that you not allow Bloom continuous access privileges to Facebook. Instead, require authorization each time you upload photos to Facebook).
• If successful, you should then see a message stating "You may now close this window and return to the application (on your desktop)"
• Return to Bloom and click "I Have Successfully Logged In".
• The new album window will be displayed
• Click the "Upload Photos" buttom on the bottom right of the application
• When you finished uploading your photos, click Bloom's "Sign Out" button
• Ensure you have logged out of Facebook

For further information about how a non profit organization can develop a productive virtual volunteering program through the use of appropriate technology, please visit this Online Volunteering Resource.