Heal Your Church WebSite

Month: October 2007

  • 5 Simple Security Tips for the WiFi-ing Road Warrior

    As I travel to the Hashemite Kingdom next week, there are at least 5 simple things I can do to make my WiFi experiences a bit more secure. So can you, here’s how:

    During my upcoming journey to Jordan, I’ll have ample opportunities to consume the culture on a variety of levels – including the ever growing WIFI connections that now abound in the Hashemite Kingdom. This in turn will give any nere-do-wells an opportunity to consume my personal and private information; if not zombie-fry my laptop altogether. And while I believe there is no such thing as total mobile security – there are ast least 5 simple things I can do to inconvenience the lesser-determined bad-guys to the point they move onto the guy computing next to me waiting for the airplane to board.

    1. Connect Securely

    How do you know you’re securely connected to the wireless router at your favorite coffee shop? Simple, you have inconvenience the barista or the hotel staff for a WEP, or even more secure, WPA key to access the Internet.

    Yes, yes, yes, I know, WEP stinks in comparison to WPA, none-the-less, better a little hassle than to sign away one’s identity and security by confirming to use a ‘wide-open’ network.

    2. Tunnel Safely

    The problem with seeking out a WPA-PSK encryption is that many times, it just isn’t available. Merchants provide WiFi hot-spots as a competitive draw. It loses its return on investment if they find themselves busier teaching wireless laptop connectivity than selling biscotti.

    For those who don’t mind taking security matters into their own hands – or at least putting them into the hands of 3rd parties who provide VPN services; some for free. Here is a short list in alphabetical order:

    And for those on the road a lot, you might want to check to see if your hot-spot access service such as Boingo, iPass or TMobile/HS provides secure software.

    3. Surf Encrypted

    Many of us who buy stuff online already know to look for that little encryption lock in the status bar of our browser. However, have you considered looking for it when you login to an online email service?

    How about when you use the same password you use for everything when you login to a blogging service or bulletin board?

    Again, in cases where you are at the mercy of a service provider not offering secure logins and transactions, there are some not-so-stupid browser tricks you can employ – provided you have the right browser.

    For example, while gMail does provide a secure login, it does not provide encryption when I’m emailing you about my upcoming trip to Jordan. Same too when I blog this post using Google Docs.

    Fortunately, I use FireFox, which in turn allows me to plug-in the Customize Google extension, which in turn allows me to check an option to “Secure (switch to https).” Voila!

    Similarly, I Pidgin-Encrypt my instant messaging (not to be confused with the actual IM Pidgin Client, though the two are related).

    If I must to FTP, then I use SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) – and when possible – using an encrypted zip file. Yes, I’m aware the PKZip password protection is inherently weak, but it’s stronger than nothing.

    4. Password Strongly

    All the security in the world won’t help me if I use the same password for everything, and that password is something relatively easy to guess or crack. For example … a login of ‘dean’ and password of ‘peters’ I would think would take even the lames of script kiddie all of 5 seconds to figure out.

    If you can’t figure out how to create a memorable but strong password, fear not. There are plenty of online services. Here are 3 that didn’t ask me who I was before generating some solutions:

    5. Speak Nothing

    Having spent some time with a top-secret security clearance, I know what the phrase “need to know” means:

    • the best way to keep a secret is not to tell anyone;
    • failing that, only tell the secret to those who must know;
    • never write anything down;
    • shred everything; and
    • trust no one.

    So asides from keeping our ‘yaps shut’ – this also means

    • turning off any file, printer and/or other fun network sharing;
    • turning on any firewall, spyware and anti-virus detection; and
    • depending on your operating system and configuration, shutting down open ports.

    Yeah, that last one is not too easy, but I figure if you’re savvy enough to run a server, you’re savvy enough to know you’ve got some entry ways your firewall may not catch (for the rest of you, just make sure your firewall application is running).

    Conclusion

    I know this last bit sounds a bit blunt – especially for those of you working with churches, charities and missions – especially that last point.

    But the last thing we need is to have our personal lives, our ministries and/or our livelihoods imperiled by an ever constant swarm of sinners who would think nothing of emptying out your bank account, ruining your retirement fun, and tapping out your travel funds to fun places like Jordan.

    Better to remain a little bit paranoid about private information so you can keep you mind on publicly pronouncing the good news that is Christ crucified and Christ resurrected.

  • Messin’ with Petra or my Google Maps of Jordan

    For the two or three of you wondering why I haven’t been writing with as great a frequency as I should, it is because I’ve been busy preparing for my blog-tour of Jordan.

    This includes quite a bit of time preparing Google maps of some of the locations – and their associated history and Biblical citations – I’ll be blogging about. For example, below is an annotated map of Petra that includes links to my über-secretive wiki no one else is supposed to know about until the trip:

    Remember, blogJordan.com is supposed to be a secret, so if I catch you linking it … well let’s just say … I might have to return the volume with a hit generating reciprocal link.

    You’ve been warned. I mean it, I’ll put the car over right here!

  • How to use gmail aliases to send yourself text notifications

    Sending custom SMS text notifications to your cell phone has never been easier – thanks to 2 nifty gmail features. By combining filtering with gmail’s ability to add aliases to your existing gmail account, you can now have notifications of events, reservations, auctions, school closings and anything other text message you can send to your cell phone via email. It’s simple, here’s how:

    1. login to your gmail account (like say, gmailaccountname)
    2. click on the ‘settings’ menu on the upper right hand corner of your browser’s screen.
    3. click on the filters tab
      image identifying screen elements mentioned in steps 2 through 4
    4. click on the hyperlink that reads “create new filter”
    5. in the text box labeled “TO ” enter your gmail address + an alias, like so:
      gmailaccountname+alias@gmail.com
      image identifying screen elements mentioned in steps 5 through 6
    6. click on the “next step” hyperlink
    7. click on the check box labeled “Forward it to”
    8. enter your SMS phone number in the text box labeled “Forward it to” for example:
      9195551212@messaging.sprintpcs.com
      image identifying screen elements mentioned in steps 7 through 9
    9. click on the button entitled “create filter”
    10. use your newly created gmailaccountname + alias address as needed (e.g. gmailaccountname+ebay@gmail.com).

    Example

    This coming November I’ll be on a Biblical press tour of Jordan (see blogJordan.com for more details). I won’t have a phone, but I will have a wireless air card courtesy of the good folks at Ziad (formerly Fastlink). And since my schedule is not my own, I will be using email to send my wife a text message to let her know both of my whereabouts; and when to let my daughter know when to get to mommy’s PC for some kissy-huggy Skype sessions. Imagine doing the same on while you’re on a 2 week mission trip to Indonesia or Mexico (only contacting your wife, not mine).

    It’s simple, let’s say my daughter’s email address is PrincessPepperDoodle@gmail.com. Using the steps above, I establish a filter that forwards any email addressed to PrincessPepperDoodle+BlossomVonYumYum@gmail.com to mom’s Verizon-served cell phone at 9195551212@vtext.com

    Now some of you are saying “hey, but can’t you do the same thing filtering on the subject line?” Yes you’re right, but what about notifications from services that send you email whose subject lines you can’t control – or from friends who can’t remember to type in the super-special subject line you seek as easily as they can add your aliased email to their address book? Here’s are three examples that speaks for themselves:

    • PrincessPepperDoodle+ebay@gmail.com
    • PrincessPepperDoodle+calendar@gmail.com
    • PrincessPepperDoodle+basecamp@gmail.com

    Caveats

    As with any such solution, there’s always the downside. No exception here as I see four:

    1. Message Size – Most mobile services have significant limitations on the size of the message sent. What I’ve discovered that, at least for my carrier, that’s okay as the merely truncate the message down to the first 128 characters. I can live with that. Your mileage may vary.
    2. Cost of promiscuous text – Please, please, please don’t run off trying this solution until you’ve first checked the cost of text messaging for your mobile phone service. If you’re looking at $0.20 a message, then you may want to either pass on this solution, or reserve it for only the most dire of occasions.
    3. Lack of Throttling – This is somewhat based on my concerns over cost – what happens if either a vendor or an auction goes crazy? What mechanisms do I have to put limits on inbound messages from a sender gone wild?
    4. Overzealous spam filtering – Some subject lines and or domains may cause an important message to get caught in gmails awesome spam filter.

    All of these concerns aside, I still use the ‘wifey+daughter daddy is out of the country communications solution‘ described above.

    Conclusion

    The point is, by combining gmail filtering with + aliasing with your mobile carrier’s SMS services email address, you can begin to receive text message notifications of the emails important to you. I’ve provided an abbreviated list of some of the more popular SMS email address of your carriers below:

    AT&T
    phonenumber@txt.att.net
    Alltel
    phonenumber@message.alltel.com
    Nextel
    phonenumber@messaging.nextel.com
    QWest
    phonenumber@qwestmp.com
    Sprint
    phonenumber@messaging.sprintpcs.com
    T-Mobile
    phonenumber@tmomail.net
    Verizon
    phonenumber@vtext.com
    Virgin Mobile UK
    phonenumber@vxtras.com
    Virgin Mobile USA
    phonenumber@vmobl.com

    If your carrier wasn’t listed above – or even if it was – please, again, I implore you to FIRST CHECK with your mobile service as to the cost of receiving SMS messages. It could be that a run-away e-bay bid could cost you more in text messaging than you save on the auction.

    Then again, it could all be worth it when it comes to keeping one’s family and/or congregation aware of what you’re up to while feeding the hungry, healing the sick and tending to the in needy in far away places – like Jordan.

  • Bad church web design poster 0004 – Mission Statements (suck)

    Programmer guru Joel Spolsky reminds us that usability tests often demonstrate that very few users read the words you put on screen. Couple this the fact that 1-in-3 users are un-churched, and I’d venture to say that Nielsen is right – just about nobody reads nuthin’. Instead like wild animals, they just hunt it, scan it, and categorize it in their pretty little pumpkin heads and move on.

    Or as the good Dr. writes in his latest alert box entitled “Blah-Blah Text: Keep, Cut, or Kill?“:

    Introductory text on Web pages is usually too long, so users skip it. But short intros can increase usability by explaining the remaining content’s purpose.

    Which all leads me to yet another addition to our growing gallery of bad church website design posters, this one entitled “Mission Statements:”

    For those of you who didn’t figure out that clicking on the thumbnail above gets you to ‘the big picture,’ – this poster basically preaches a lesson shouted from the mountain tops by Father Flanders that asserts:

    “[Mission statements] should be abolished because every Mission Statement ever written can be summarized in four words — ‘All babies must eat.’”— Vincent Flanders, author of Son of Web Pages that Suck

    Or to paraphrase Coding Horrors’ Jeff Atwood – replacing the term user and software to our advantage:

    My intent is not to make fun of [church goers and/or seekers], but to illustrate that there are far more effective ways to communicate with your dog. Essentially, any time you’re asking [a visitor of your church website] to make a choice they don’t care about, you have failed the [visitor]. Well designed [church websites] takes care of “[Christianese or church-speak ]” all by itself, and leaves the [seeker] free to worry about things relevant to the [information they seek].

    And for you fans of Gary Larson’s Far Side who recognize the inspiration for my poster, Mr. Atwood also has in the same article I just mis-quoted, an example of “what we say to dogs … vs … what they hear.”

    Once again, as a living reminder of not-so-intuitive design, you click on the small poster to see the full-sized version, but please, no hot-linking without providing a link back here to the article – not just the pix.

  • 10 Things an Effective Church Website can do for You

    As I peruse the great cloud of witlessness that is the Body online, I find one of the primary problems afflicting many sites is vision. That is I often find those responsible for delivering the goods don’t really see their site as much more than an online color brochure. As a result, more often than not, very little staff and/or funds are allocated to the church’s web presence past the server, the domain name and perhaps a content management service.

    In no particular order, I’d like to offer 10 real-world examples you can expand your church and/or charity’s impact by expanding your vision past mere ‘brochureware.’ A list that perhaps will come in useful the next time individuals in the ways and means committee seek to slash your web site’s funding.

    1. Reach New Residents

      I actually like new resident door hanger campaigns, especially those that offer a slice of pie and/or a free Wednesday night dinner. An ideas I got from my last church who had such a program entitled ‘People Involved in Evangelism’ or P.I.E. … hmmmm … pie …. but I digress.

      Having a well-indexed, search-engine friendly website goes one step further in bringing those new residents to your doorstep … in some cases, even before they move to town.

    2. Convert Seekers

      Perhaps one the strongest arguments I can make for providing the text of your sermons online is how such materials can draw-in those seeking God’s answers to life’s questions.

      Even in cases where said individual came in casually and unintentionally through something of relevance that caught their eye while primarily searching for something else.

    3. Build the Body Online

      By adopting a blog-centric approach to sermons and events you can easily and electronically inform the right hand of what the left hand is doing; and visa-versa.

    4. Maximize Press and Ad Campaigns

      Sometimes you only have a six second soundbite to get your church’s name, slogan and/or domain out into a newspaper, magazine or radio station.

      In those cases, leverage your website to provide all the additional fun, times, maps & directions, costs and pictures that can’t be printed in a single line of newsprint.

    5. Save on Printing and Postage

      By utilizing email lists, RSS deeds and other online tools, your church and/or charity can become better stewards of congregational contributions by dispensing such information online.

    6. Minimize Dead Ends

      By having an informative and complete church website that clearly represents your organization’s purpose and personality – you can reduce and/or eliminate time spent on leads whose interests are better served within the arms of some other congregation.

    7. Communicate Across Boundaries

      By taking advantage of both an effective website and a variety of web-based office and/or presentation applications – boundaries such as differing operating systems and/or geography are easily overcome.

      Similarly, there are mind-mapping and crowdsourcing tools that can be leveraged to encourage thinking that’s not only outside-the-box, but also doesn’t all have to happen within the 4 walls of your brick-n-mortar buildings.

    8. Reduce Staff Support Loads

      While I believe that every church website should make it easy and inviting to call anytime – having an up-to-date calendar of events can help minimize the number of ‘just calling to are what time it starts’ calls that can nickle and dime away your church staff’s effective work hours.

    9. Support Lay Ministries

      Consider utilizing class curriculum tools such as Moodle to support Bible studies. Along with that, give that hard-working 20% a break from having to physically attend each and every meeting by using cool communication tools such as WiPeer to hold web-based meetings and/or webinars.

    10. Gauge Relevant Interests

      By implementing and monitoring statistical tools such as google analytics and the now free FeedBurner you can track which aspects of your church website are effective and which require a but more healing.

      I’d also suggest adding a separate site tracking mechanism to content-rich areas of your website so you can easily which sermons and/or Bible studies are hot versus those that are not.

    Point isn’t to freak-out already overwhelmed church webmasters, pastors and laypersons by enumerating all the things your church website doesn’t have …

    … but rather to get churches and ministries of all sizes to realize that our ministries have been provided several new tools over the past couple of years that properly leveraged can enhance our efforts and enable our volunteers to better fulfill the Great Commission to which we are all called.

    Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment in love.