Company To Be Recognized for Design Company of the Year by Central Penn Business Journal 2010
Harrisburg, PA ( June 15, 2010) - The Polaris Group has been named a finalist for a 2010 Best of the Web Award. It was selected for recognition by an independent panel of judges for the design creativity, innovation and overall user experience of websites they have built for clients. The company has been providing creative solutions for small and medium sized businesses throughout Central PA since 2002 and specializes in web site development, graphic design and printing. The growing firm was part of the team effort that helped Pierson Computing Connection receive last year's Central Penn Business Journal's "Best of the Web" for the technology category.

The Polaris Group will be recognized as one of five finalists in the "Web Design Company of the Year" category during an awards program as part the Central Penn Business Journal’s 2010 Internet Summit. In addition to their company's nomination, they will be joined by two of their own clients this year for their nomination as finalists in their respective category: Event Central and Gifts that Give Hope.

Winners in all twelve awards categories will be announced at the Best of the Web Awards luncheon during the Internet Summit on Monday, July 26, 2010, from 7:30 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. at the Radisson Penn Harris Hotel & Convention Center in Camp Hill, PA.

Admission to the Internet Summit costs $55 a ticket and includes admission to the expert presentations, exhibit hall and awards lunch. Visit www.centralpennbusiness.com/events to purchase tickets or for more information, including lists of 2010 Best of the Web Awards finalists and exhibitors, the event agenda and more.

The 2010 Internet Summit and Best of the Web Awards are programs of the Central Penn Business Journal and are sponsored by NetComm Solutions, Inc.; Netrepid, and Broadview Networks.

For more information or questions about either program, contact Colleen Jones from the Central Penn Business Journal at (717) 236-4300 or ColleenJ@journalpub.com. ###

CONTACT:
Scott Keyser, Vice President
(717) 763-4020
scott@polarisweb.com

Recently, a few of our clients have received invoices in the form of an email letting them know that their domain name is about to expire, and that to save their web identity, they must act now and renew their domain. The problem? These invoices are sent out by a company called Domain Registry of America (also known as DROA), and, to put it simply, is a scam.

Instead of 'renewing' your domain name, DROA transfers your domain to their registrar, charging you ridiculously expensive fees for having your domain hosted by them. Furthermore, the fine print in these emails states that if you mistakenly transfer your domain to DROA, you must wait 60 days before you are allowed to transfer your domain back to your original hosting company. You must then pay transfer fees and possibly other service fees that you did not agree to.

As you may have guessed, DROA is not the only domain name scam out there. These scams may come in the form of emails or letters in the mail. Although our TPG Domain Protect service (which comes free with any domain name registered with us) does a good job of blocking most scammers, it does not and cannot protect you from all of them.

The bottom line? If you receive any emails or letters regarding your domain name that are not sent by The Polaris Group, PLEASE ignore them, and feel free to contact us with your concerns of being scammed. If you ever are not sure whether or not you have received a legitimate invoice, do not hesitate to call or email us. It is much better to be safe and raise a false alarm than to fall for one of these scams.

References
http://www.searchenginecollege.com/2005/11/domain-registry-of-america-scam-alive.html

http://www.ucan.org/blog/blog/scam_alert/domain_registry_of_america_scam

http://forums.alwayswebhosting.com/showthread.php?p=8288

Recently we have felt the need to implement a service that will protect our clients' identity and domain ownership from potential spammers scanning the international WHOIS database. This service is completely free of charge and has been automatically given to all of our clients. Also, any new client who registers or transfers a domain through us will automatically receive this service for free. We want to do everything we can to make sure our clients' identities and domains remain safe.

How does this service work? Essentially, we register (or transfer) your domain through a website known as Dotster. This website also keeps track of your contact information since you are the owner of this domain. The problem is, as soon as a domain is registered, it (as well as your contact information) gets entered into an international database known as WHOIS. This database is helpful for hosting companies like us to find out who owned your domain previously (in the case of a transfer). But, WHOIS is also house to spammers, identity thieves, and people who wish to steal your domain. Our service, TPG Domain Protect, replaces your contact information with that of ours so that people who stumble across it on WHOIS won't know that you are the actual owner. Therefore, you won't get contacted by anyone but us in regards to your domain. You can rest easy knowing that your domain is permanently safe from spammers or thieves.

For more information on the benefits of our new services, please see our help section.

Listening to an audio tape this week, I was once again reminded of the “KISS” principle.  This principle, Keep It Simple Stupid (sometimes used without the "stupid"), quickly and effectively stresses the importance of not overdoing your marketing pieces.  Whether simplicity is destroyed due to an abstract tagline on the front of your brochure, 17 different phone numbers on your business card, or web site navigation that is a far cry from being user-friendly, realize that poor design and layout affects your image and could be turning away customers.
Keeping it simple doesn’t mean ‘dumbing-down your marketing materials’.  Your customers are not stupid and in fact, the Stupid part of the KISS acronym refers to YOU!  Take some time and analyze a few of your current marketing pieces in circulation.  Are they convoluted with unnecessary details?  Do they have graphics that do little or nothing to stress your points or ideas?  Is the copy full of great ideas or does it drag on with no real point?  If you find it difficult to look objectively at your materials, recruit your colleagues, employees, friends and family.  In many cases if you are willing to ask, they are more than willing to offer advice.

When designing your next marketing piece, first ask yourself, "What am I trying to achieve with this piece?”  “Is this simple?” But, keep in mind that your interpretation of what is "simple" may not be to your customers or target clients.  Be direct and to the point while at the same time speaking in clear terms that virtually everyone will understand.  When you are confronted with the question of “Should we include this too?”, keep the “KISS” principle in mind.  To what extent does it enhance your piece?  If it doesn’t help your piece somehow, get rid of it. 

Obviously, for the best results, consult a professional and ask their opinion of your marketing pieces.  Don’t overcomplicate the process of keeping things simple, there are plenty of resources out there to help you get the most from your marketing pieces—our company being one of them.  :-)

We recently had a client who was informed that the ".com" version of their domain was available.  Great news, right?  Well, considering that our company charges $34.95/year for domain registration and the company that informed our client of the "great news" wanted $895 for the domain, may have you thinking otherwise.  The same scenario holds true for expired domains.

Here's how it happens. 
Imagine your company's domain name (www.mycompany.com) expired because you didn't know who managed it and were never notified of the upcoming expiration date (that's another story).  Anyhow, your website goes down, your company's e-mail no longer works, and then someone contacts you saying that they want to sell you back your domain name.   Great!  But, there's a $1,500 price tag attached.   

How did they get your domain? 
When your domain expires it essentially becomes available to anyone in the world to buy.  Someone buys it legitimately, then they either contact you to sell it back, or just sit on the domain name waiting for an offer.  Another company (squatters) contacted us saying that a domain was going to expire and if we wanted it they could try to register it when it expires at a rate of 1,000 times per second.  Hmmm...how much of a chance do you think you would have of trying to obtain that same domain?

Isn't there something you can do? 
Of course, if the conditions permit, you could take legal action, but the people who are buying up domains know approximate legal fees and in the end, you are better off paying the squatters their asking price.  

But, wait, all is not lost!
The client that we began this article with fortunately was able to buy the ".com" version of their domain for a mere $50 after bargaining with the squatters.  So, if they are willing to bargain with you, take it as far as you can!  Them owning the domain is of no use to them, they might as well sell it-even at a lower than initial asking price.

There's much more information out there about cyber squatters (Wikipedia) but the old adage, "An ounce of prevention..." holds true.  Know WHO is the point of contact for your domains, WHEN they expire, and the contact information associated with your account.  If you have questions or would like us to manage your domain and prevent it from expiring, please contact us.