Celebrate National Cyber Security Awareness Month with ReputationDefender

Source: ReputationDefender Blog

By Rob Frappier

October is the Sixth Annual National Cyber Security Awareness Month. Sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance, the theme of this year’s National Cyber Security Awareness Month is “Our Shared Responsibility.”

“Our Shared Responsibility” is about individuals taking a pro-active stance in protecting their privacy and security online. Rather than relying on the government or industry groups to regulate how you use the Internet, take it upon yourself to protect yourself online. You should also take some time to teach your children about the Internet and the things that they should and shouldn’t do online.

For some great advice on how to protect yourself and your family online, check out these “Top Tips” from the National Cyber Security Alliance. Of course, here at ReputationDefender, we think about cyber security 365 days a year, so we have lots of great resources you can check out as well. If you’d like to learn more about how ReputationDefender can help you stay safe online, contact one of our Online Reputation Management experts today.

Sue Scheff: Are you jeopardizing your job with social media?

Source: Baltimore Internet Examiner

By: Chip Dizard
Go to Chip's Home Page

You have heard the horror stories, last year, a North Carolina school district disciplined several faculty members for Facebook content such as personal photos and comments about students. Wired.com reported that an Associated Press staffer in Philadelphia was reprimanded for a Facebook posting that criticized his company.

According to Sharlyn Lauby, president of ITM Group, a human resources consulting firm says "If I can put up pictures of the kids, I can put up pictures from a meeting,". "If I can talk about a recipe I saw with my sister, I can put up an article about something I saw that's work-related. ... People are talking about you, whether you want them to or not. As a company, you need to think about how you want to be positioned."

Companies are now dealing with this dilemma because work and personal lives often collide. Many companies have resorted to blocking social networking sites due to lost productivity and network concerns.

The key for employees to know is that whatever you post online can be used against you. Employers are often checking your online profile as a condition of employment. I had a client recently come to me about a web site link , she consented to do an interview on a major cable network, but it was for a surgery she wanted to keep private. So when you googled her name her employees found out that she had cosmetic surgery. This was something she agreed to with the cable network and it couldn't be taken down. For those people who want to protect their reputation, there are a few companies that will do that for a fee. One that is very popular is Reputation Defender.

Whatever you do, just be wise and trust your gut, if it seems inappropriate it probably is, I always err on the side of caution, especially in the workplace.

ReputationDefender Blog and Face.com

If you thought that untagged photos of you on Facebook were not going to affect your online reputation, you’ve got another thing coming. According to the New York Times, a new application utilizes facial recognition software to find public, untagged photos online.

From the page:

This one is kinda scary because of how well it works. Face.com’s new Photo Finder application for Facebook helps you automatically discover public photos that you and your friends may have forgotten to tag — and it also lets you track untagged photos of your friends.
Face-recognition technology is itself not new, but Photo Finder’s twist is how it makes use of Facebook’s interface. The social network only shows you photos of yourself containing tags about you — your name and profiled, associated with you in a given photo. Up until now, untagging a photo is how you hide a photo from your Facebook friends — the other option is to use more advanced privacy settings that restrict photo viewing to specific friends, but I’m not sure how many people use that feature.

With Face.com, your friends can bypass such social engineering to directly stalk you, or visa versa as the case may be.
[SNIP]

Sue Scheff: ReputationDefender Blog

Source: ReputationDefender Blog

Taking it Offline: The Lingering Importance of Face-to-Face Networking in a Digital World

With the rise and blossoming of online networking sites like LinkedIn and ClaimID, many people, especially younger people, are doing the majority of their business networking online. This phenomenon is not anything new, and it has been covered in this blog and elsewhere.

But while it may be easier to sit in front of the computer screen and interact with your peers, it is hard to think that interpersonal relationships can ever be fully fleshed out (if you will) in the digital sphere. Face-to-face networking will never go away. The information on the Internet is not always accurate (although that doesn’t mean it isn’t relevant, according to Google’s algorithms), and there is a lot to be said for looking someone in the eyes.

Today people should try to balance their “new school” digital networking with the “old school” tried and true methods. The approach will literally double the amount of chances a person has to make an impact with a potential employer, and the effort required to do so is not unreasonable (point of fact, until a few years the “old school” method was the only game in town).LinkedIn and other popular business networking sites thrive because they offer an alternative to actually speaking with a fellow networker. The information you put in the profile becomes the equivalent of a hand shake and a greeting. Thus, a user profile, for business purposes, should be looked at as an opportunity to distinguish yourself as someone others want to know and be connected to.There are small and effective steps one can take to achieve this. Focus on brevity. 100 words is enough to grab someone’s attention and establish a positive image. If done correctly, a LinkedIn profile can, for practical purposes, be the difference between just another interview and a job offer. Conversely, a poorly written profile can have you knocked out of the running before you even get started.

Many employers look at LinkedIn as a sort of research tool. A resume can only say so much about a person, and employers are always looking to find out the little bits about a potential employee that are not immediately apparent. This fact has had disastrous consequences for some people whose Facebook and MySpace profiles contain otherwise unflattering images/language/etc. We’ve blogged that story here more than once.

Online business networking profiles are still just a piece of the puzzle, though. A successful blend of the old and the new networking techniques will counteract the deficiencies inherent in both approaches. A human touch in the new digital landscape goes a long way towards maintaining awareness and crafting image, while drawing in more localized business and opening channels previously untapped.

French Press Writes Up Michael Fertik, ReputationDefender

Courrier International has a nice piece about Reputation Management, Michael Fertik and ReputationDefender.

The article is in French, but speaks to the emerging industry that ReputationDefender pioneered, Online Identity Management.

Interested readers who do not parlez francais, can check out Babelfish to get the international buzz on ReputationDefender.

Sue Scheff: What is Google Saying About You?

Source: Portfolio.com

Forget your references, your ­résumé, and the degree on your wall. “Whatever’s in the top 10 ­results of a search for your name on Google—that’s your [professional] image,” says Chris Martin, founder of the small internet company Reputation Hawk, which is one of several outfits that focus on keeping that top 10 clean for their clients.

For victims of cyber-slurs, cleanup doesn’t necessarily mean removing bad press. Companies like eVisibility, Converseon, and 360i concentrate on generating ­positive content—but not too much at one time. If Google detects a ­sudden flood of suspicious Web postings, it will assign them low trust scores, preventing them from rising to the top of search results.

Nino Kader, CEO of International Reputation Management, uses a positive-content approach, calling its strategy a mix of “old-school PR and high tech.” The firm builds social profiles (on MySpace or Facebook) for clients and promotes them to blogs; it also drafts news releases and solicits coverage from traditional press outlets. Scrubbers generally work on retainer and charge anywhere from $500 to $10,000 a month.

A handful of scrubbers do try to actually remove negative content, using coercion, compromise, and occasionally cash. A first step is to contact the website and ask that the harmful post be removed. “For us to pay the site for removal is very uncommon, but less than 1 percent of the time, we have to do it,” says ReputationDefender CEO Michael Fertik, whose company charges a monthly fee and $30 for each item they persuade a website to remove. If a site refuses to erase an offending post, the next step is to negotiate a compromise. Ask the site administrator to substitute a screenshot for the actual text of the harmful post (a screenshot is an image, so the words no longer register as text to Google and won’t come up in a search).

When it comes to your online image, these companies argue that no one can afford to shrug off a slight. As Fertik says, “The people who are reading stuff about you on the internet don’t have to believe what they read about you beyond a reasonable doubt.” They just have to believe it enough to not hire you

Sue Scheff: Prevent Cyberbullying

Vanessa Van Petten continues to bring valuable information for parents with today’s teens. This week she has dedicated to helping prevent cyberbullying.

Partners for CyberBully Awareness Campaign:

Thank you to everyone who is already offered to join and spread the word about our anti-cyberbullying campaign here at On Teens Today:Angeline of MomStyleNews

Vivien Bruss of Cool Moms Rule

Brenda Preston of Safewave
Sue Scheff of Help Your TeensMyrna of TangerineTimes.com
Tara Paterson of the Mom’s Choice Awards and Just for Mom

Karen Pease

ReputationDefender/MyChild

Sue Scheff: Video Reputation Management - ReputationDefender

Do you feel the need to trust a professional service to monitor your online reputation protect your privacy, and maybe even use for civil and criminal lawsuits? ReelSEO’s Grant Crowell interviews Michael Fertik, CEO of ReputationDefender, about where automated tools are today with monitoring video online, what’s expected to improve with advances in technology, and what are some of the best ways people can go about monitoring and managing their ‘video reputation’ today.

Michael’s Bio

For some background, Michael Fertik’s company profile reads: “a repeat Internet entrepreneur and CEO with experience in technology and law. After law school, he clerked for Chief Judge Danny J. Boggs of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals of the United States. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. In his capacity as CEO of ReputationDefender, Michael serves on the advisory board of The Internet Keep Safe Coalition (iKeepSafe), a non-profit that works for the health and safety of youth online.”
The following video clip features an roundtable panel discussion about online reputation management with Michael Fertik on “Digital Age” - WNYE/Ch 25 (NYC TV):
http://www.reelseo.com/video-reputationdefender-fertik/

How To Protect, Fix Your Online Reputation

January 10, 2009
New York

(CBS) Did you ever "google" yourself and find something negative?

It should worry you. Just one negative posting can cost you a job

It's estimated that more than 70 percent of employers do a Web search on job applicants as part of their hiring procedures. More than half of them admit to not bringing someone on board because of negative information they found online.

It could be something you posted years ago, or something put into cyberspace by someone you know - or even a perfect stranger.

What can you do about it?

Michael Fertik, founder of ReputationDefender.com, had some advice on The Early Show Saturday Edition.

Fertik says he started the business two years ago with one person. He now has 60 employees. His service costs about $10 a month.

Fertik told substitute co-anchor Seth Doane that safeguarding your online reputation is “as important as your credit score nowadays. Every life transaction that you have, whether you’re looking for a job, you’re looking for romance, you’re looking for a friend - people are gonna look you up on the Web and make conclusions based on what they find.

"One random, idiosyncratic piece of content about you on the Web could dominate your Google results forever," he said. "It's such an issue: It affects people who are undeserving, people who are sort of using bad judgment, all kinds of different people."

What's worse, legal recourse is murky at best, Fertik observed, saying, "The law hasn't caught up yet with privacy. The Internet has really changed the privacy landscape in a big way and the law hasn't yet caught up with it. It's lagging behind, so far."

Fertik stressed that, "You have to be on top of your (online) reputation. It's not about narcissism. It’s about your personal brand. Especially in a down economy, people are looking you up, they’re making decisions. They're denying you a job unless they find something really good about you on the Web."

He had three key pieces of advice:

First, never let anyone set up your reputation online. Establish yourself online to create a clear and positive image of you. Don't wait for someone else to destroy it. Use what he calls "Google insurance": Create a profile on something like Facebook that's positive and tasteful. Claim the real estate on your name. What is said about you on the Web isn't a function of you living a righteous life: Anyone can say something bad about you. "Write your own history," he recommended.

Second, if there's a problem with your online reputation, you have to find it. Constantly monitor the Web. Search for full names, usernames, etc. Be on top of the game. Go deep into the Internet to Web sites that aren't indexed by Google: "The deep Web - Facebook, MySpace, the pages where the content really starts to generate and become problematic."

"Monitor yourself assiduously," Fertik told Doane.

Third: The longer it's there, the more it spreads and can be archived. If you see a problem, deal with it quickly. Get in touch with people and tell them to stop, in a kind and thoughtful way, without getting a lawyer involved right away. Reach them on a human level. If you want professional help, companies such as ReputationDefender are available. As Fertik told Doane, "Nip it in the bud before it spreads and gets mirrored and replicated. If you can't do it, you want to hire the pros."

If you do find something bad about yourself, how do you get it offline?
"Sometimes," Fertik responded to Doane, "what we do is, we overwhelm the 'bad' with good to make sure that when people look you up, they see what you want them to see, they see your good videos, not necessarily the (bad ones)."

Reputation Defender: Delete your Bad Web Rep

The mistakes you make on the internet can live forever -- unless you hire somebody to clean up after you.

A new startup, ReputationDefender, will act on your behalf by contacting data hosting services and requesting the removal of any materials that threaten your good social standing. Any web citizen willing to pay ReputationDefender's modest service fees can ask the company to seek and destroy embarrassing office party photos, blog posts detailing casual drug use or saucy comments on social networking profiles.

The company produces monthly reports on its clients' online identities for a cost of $10 to $16 per month, depending on the length of the contract. The client can request the removal of any material on the report for a charge of $30 per instance.

Michael Fertik and his partners originally conceived of ReputationDefender as a way for parents to protect their children from potentially damaging postings to social networking sites like MySpace or Facebook.

"I don't like the idea that kids and teenagers might suffer lifelong harm because of momentary mistakes," says Fertik.

Using both site-scraping robots and good old-fashioned human detective skills, ReputationDefender promises to scour the internet -- particularly social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, Xanga and Flickr -- for materials that could threaten the author's employability once he reaches the professional world and its army of Google-savvy hiring managers.

Read entire article here.

Will Your Online Profile Get You Hired or Fired?

After reading this recent article on MSN - I can personally relate and can attest to the many emails of victims of Cyber Slander - it is a growing problem and a major concern for anyone that is applying for jobs, college applicants, simply try to run a business - as well as maintaining your virtual reputation.
http://msn.careerbuilder.com/custom/msn/careeradvice/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=1598

With stories like this, is also convinces me without a doubt that services like ReputationDefender are priceless!

Are you concerned about your online profile? Learn how to maintain it!

E-Venge

It seems Internet Harassment, Online Slander, Cyberbullying and other abuses in the World Wide Web is growing! I am contacted on a daily basis from victims of today's newest lethal & legal weapon to harm others - keystrokes!

You have to wonder what possesses people to feel the need to hurt others so malicously. With all of today's critical issues such as hunger, the war, homeless people etc.... We have a new group of people that simply have too much time on their hands - and take pleasure in hurting others. E-Venge seems like a good name for it. If you think about it - it is a cowardly act. They hide out behind their computers and just strike their keypads - usually anonymously.

Read through this Blog and you will see that free speech is still in place but it will not condone defamation.

Blogging is fun, the Internet can be educational - but remember, what you post today can come back to haunt you tomorrow. And could be costly to you!

Visit my new updated Podcast website on E-Venge at http://www.suescheffpodcasts.com/

Sue Scheff: Keeping Your Kids Safe Online

On Tuesday, June 17th Dr. Paul featured Michael Fertik, CEO of Reputation Defender. If you are a parent of a child that surfs online - this is an important Podcast for your to listen to.

From http://parentalpower.wordpress.com/:

Michael Fertik is a repeat Internet entrepreneur and CEO with experience in technology and law. After law school, he clerked for Chief Judge Danny J. Boggs of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals of the United States. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. His company, Reputation Defender, helps parents to know what is online about their children, and provides services to find and eliminate potentially dangerous or damaging content.

June17th Call

On this call, Michael discusses some important information and resources to help parents become more proactive about knowing what is out there about their family, and doing something about it.

Click here to listen: http://parentalpower.wordpress.com/

Sue Scheff: E-Venge is a Growing Concern

It seems Internet Harassment, Online Slander, Cyberbullying and other abuses in the World Wide Web is growing! I am contacted on a daily basis from victims of today's newest lethal & legal weapon to harm others - keystrokes!

You have to wonder what possesses people to feel the need to hurt others so malicously. With all of today's critical issues such as hunger, the war, homeless people etc.... We have a new group of people that simply have too much time on their hands - and take pleasure in hurting others. E-Venge seems like a good name for it. If you think about it - it is a cowardly act. They hide out behind their computers and just strike their keypads - usually anonymously.

Read through this Blog and you will see that free speech is still in place but it will not condone defamation.

Blogging is fun, the Internet can be educational - but remember, what you post today can come back to haunt you tomorrow. And could be costly to you!

Visit my new updated Podcast website on E-Venge at http://www.suescheffpodcasts.com/

Sue Scheff - Podcast Website Updated on E-Venge

Visit http://www.suescheffpodcasts.com/ for the newly added Rachael Ray Show! The hot topic of Cyber Slander and Online Harassment was discussed. My victory of over $11.M jury verdict for damages proves that free speech will not condone Internet Defamation.

(Sue Scheff) Reputation Defender Expands with MyPrivacy

There are hundreds of websites that give away your personal information. Isn't it time you took back control? With MyPrivacy, we watch out to make sure most personal data isn't anywhere that identity thieves, annoying marketers or nosy people can find it. ReputationDefender will scour the web tirelessly to ensure your privacy is protected.

As a satisfied client of ReputationDefender, their new services are keeping up with today' ever expanding Cyber concerns. For parents, ReputationDefender MyChild is a priceless service to protect your child's identity and privacy online.

Sue Scheff: ReputationDefender, MyEdge Helping People Online

Michael Fertik, founder of ReputationDefender was on The Cyber Savvy Show with Erika-Marie Geiss last evening. Listen here: You will learn more about protecting yourself and your kids online.

As a client of ReputationDefender, I am extremely pleased with their services and their expanding realm of services such as MyChild, MyPrivacy, MyEdge and more. In today's ever expanding Cyberworld - a few keystrokes can literally destroy a reputation, a college application or even a getting a potential job.

Since I was nearly destroyed on the Internet - and even with an $11.3M jury verdict for damages that was done to me online, I know the value of a service such as ReputationDefender.

Sue Scheff: Keeping Your Profile Clean

Keeping Your Profile Clean By Elizabeth Ody

Since winning an unprecedented jury verdict of over $11M for Internet Defamation and Invasion of Privacy, more and more people are learning about the valuable services of companies like ReputationDefender.

In today's CyberWorld - it only takes a few keystrokes to potentially ruin lives and businesses. I will continue to be a voice to help others and help promote Internet Safety.

Sue Scheff: ReputationDefenders Launches New Service: MyEdge

Since signing up with ReputationDefender after winning my $11.3M jury verdict for damages done to me on the Internet, I have proudly spoken out about this priceless service. Even winning my unprecedented case, it didn't eliminate the horrific, malicious defamatory statements online about me.

I retained ReputationDefender and was amazed at how they were able to have my Online image match up with my in person reputation. In a matter of months, my Online Profile was back to normal and I felt like a new person.

Now they have launched their latest service ReputationDefender MyEdge which is a personal PR for the web for you! Now everyone is able to maintain their reputations and most importantly promote themselves and regain their reputation online.

Lastly, I continue to encourage parents to review/sign up for ReputationDefender/MyChild to help maintain their child's privacy online especially in the growing social networks.

I am not a spokesperson for ReputationDefender and I am not in anyway reciprocated for my endorsement of them - I am simply a person that has used this service and believe they are priceless and truly believe everyone needs to protect themselves online today.

Sue Scheff: Reputation Defender and MyEdge - A Priceless Service

In today's crazy world of Cyberspace - it can be a free-for-all to literally destroy longstanding reputable people and organizations with a stroke of a keypad. With this, priceless services like Reputation Defender have become in demand.As a client of Reputation Defender, I can personally attest to their remarkable services as well as their compassion to help people that are being harmed via the Internet.

I was a victim of Internet Defamation and now a survivor of it - not only because I won an unprecedented $11.3 Million jury verdict for damages, but because I fought back!I am not a spokesperson for Reputation Defender, but I am certainly a very satisfied client and completely amazed at their dedication to keep the Internet a safe place for everyone.

For those that believe that it is about hiding the ugly, think again - Reputation Defender is selective and does their due diligent. I am proud to be their client. When I went public about retaining this service, it was a difficult decision - but in the end, I realized my voice has helped so many others as well as received the attention of Congress to hopefully make some leglislative changes to promote Internet Safety.

As a Parent Advocate, I am impressed with their latest service - MyChild which can help protect your kids identity and more. With today's tragedies online - as parents we need to take any and all pre-cautions to keep our children safe.

Read more about Reputation Defender. Click Here.