After doing a scan for trojans on my dedicated server, through the security option on the WHM panel, I received several results.  I contacted the management team at ManageMyBox to make sure that these were not trojans and were in fact false positives.  Below are the supposed trojans found on my dedicated server:

Possible Trojan - /etc/cron.daily/logrotate
Possible Trojan - /usr/bin/cpan
Possible Trojan - /usr/bin/instmodsh
Possible Trojan - /usr/bin/prove
Possible Trojan - /usr/bin/psed
Possible Trojan - /usr/bin/pstruct
Possible Trojan - /usr/bin/s2p
Possible Trojan - /usr/bin/splain
Possible Trojan - /usr/bin/xsubpp
Possible Trojan - /usr/sbin/pureauth
Possible Trojan - /usr/sbin/antirelayd

This is the response I received back from the nice people at MMB.

Well you can ignore those, Those are not really trojans as they are system binary and perl files which are getting frequently modified by cpanel and other applications, so while doing a scan cpanel considers the most frequently modified system files as trojans. So there is nothing wrong with your server - Let me know if you still have any questions.

So, one idea down, on to more research to help make my server run a little bit more efficiently.  I think I have some scripts and MySql issues that are starting to clog my pipes, so anything I can do to make it more efficient I'm gonna try.  But for now, if you run into these being listed as trojans on your server, rest assured they are merely false positives.

The number one problem with CPC advertising of Affiliate Programs is that it can be very difficult to do tests(specifically split tests) on conversions.  I've began to see a growing trend amongst digital goods providers that allows an affiliate to add their tracking code to the vendors 'Thank You' page.  Let's look at why this is necessary and how this one simple action could seal the deal on choosing a product to affiliate for.

Out of the box digital product conversions on cost per click advertising cannot be tracked.  You can of course setup an affiliate landing page and track your own CTR's and even how many outgoing clicks your links generate.  However, often times visitors do not complete a purchase, click the link multiple times, etc.  To properly track a conversion a tracking code needs to be attached to a linking page and on a transaction completion page.  Since the affiliate doesn't own the product the tracking code can not be placed on the final transaction page.

Some companies are working closer with affiliates by allowing an affiliates tracking code to be placed upon their final thank you transaction page.  One digital product of note is the wildly popular MoviesCapital on Clickbank.  They openly accept tracking codes to be placed on their pages, which can help you fine tune your Adwords campaigns.

Tracking and testing to an affiliate is priceless.  Helping with tracking, to me, is the #1 thing an affiliate program manager can do to help their affiliates.  Although on certain scales this is not possible, coming up with a method to allow this interaction could pay off in spades to the right affiliate network.

Not only did Clickbank roll out an all new color scheme and layout, but they also launched a new tool that will help protect your affiliate links from prying eyes.  It's a free tool which masks the promotion name and your affiliate link within a Clickbank hop.

HopLink Shield is a free tool that encrypts the affiliate and vendor nicknames in HopLinks.

Setting up an encoded hoplink is as easy as entering the Vendor Nickname and your Affiliate Nickname.  Then press a button and BAM fresh encoded hoplink.  Also, if you confused yourself in the process and have some encoded links floating around and can't remember what they are for they also have a decoder.  Which brings up another question, why encode a link if there is an open way to decode them?

Seems like a small oversight and if they were this dedicated to privacy seems like they wouldn't publish the decoder as well.  Or as a recommendation, at least only be able to decode once logged in, allowing only your own hops to be decoded.  Oh well, it's a start.

Source: Clickbank Blog

Looks like the eBay Publisher Network is again issuing mass bannings for it's affiliates.  This, like their previous BAN happy endeavors are targeting those who claim innocense on a mass scale.  These bans are targeting those who were tied to another account that was previously banned.  But again, users are claiming no affiliation with pass accounts that were banned through CJ, PJN, or on EPN.

Here is the message received by a number of EPN affiliates:

"we found that your account is related to a previous banned account"

There is already a thread started at DP about the mass bannings.  Furthermore there is a thread on the official EPN boards where little to no information is being shared from EPN.  Will checks in with his copy'n paste response that basically helps nobody.  Sad state of affairs, looks like the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.

Another eye opener to make sure all your eggs are not in one basket.  I fell victim to the EPN Bans awhile back and have since then been trying to develop other affiliate income streams.  It's difficult, because I've been using Build A Niche Store to help build sites, obviously targeting eBay.  It's a long process, costly one, but it will be worth it to diversify, because it doesn't look like anyone is safe with EPN.

In my 9-5 job I go through a ton of PDF's online, mainly for parts research and quoting purposes.  Adobe is obviously a bear to handle, requires far too many unnecessary updates and just generally pisses me off when using it.  Today I discovered a new piece of software called Foxit Reader, by Foxit Software.  It's free and so far has saved me a ton of heartache.

Foxit Reader promises to load faster, light weight, more intuitive, more uses, and again Foxit is free.  The latest version of Foxit Reader is 3.0 and offers a lot of increased functionality over previous versions.  Since is the first I've used the software, I can't vouche for the upgrade.  Let me just say, I love this software no matter the number!

• Incredibly small: The download size of Foxit Reader is just a fraction of Acrobat Reader 20 M size.
• Breezing-fast: When you run Foxit Reader, it launches instantly without any delay. You are not forced to view an annoying splash window displaying company logo, author names, etc.
• Annotation tool: Have you ever wished to annotate (or comment on) a PDF document when you are reading it? Foxit Reader allows you to draw graphics, highlight text, type text and make notes on a PDF document and then print out or save the annotated document.
• Text converter: You may convert the whole PDF document into a simple text file.
• High security and privacy: Foxit Reader highly respects the security and privacy of users and will never connect to the Internet without users' permission. While other PDF readers often silently connect to the Internet in the background. Foxit PDF Reader does not contain any spyware.

Once you start using Foxit Reader you will never go back to Adobe ever again.  The time I save on loading the application alone probably shaves an hour out of my day by itself.  I'll keep my eyes peeled for bugs, but for now I'm more than satisfied.

Recommended Professional PDF Creator Software

Bought this a few weeks ago by trading in my 02 Durango and then selling my 97 F150.  So far I'm thrilled with the purchase because it allows me enough room to pack a car seat and anything else my little girl needs.  Meh.

How young was I, how blind was I to the untold treasures that Word Press held.  Little did I know at the time that Word Press would handle all of the issues I had using Nucleus, hardly any templates, little to no support base, and not he most intuitive administrator interface.  Keep in mind this was about 3 years ago and it was simply known as Nucleus, not the now further developed Nucleus CMS.

But really, how much further has Nucleus came along?  To me, it doesn't appear that far, if you go by anything other than it's home page pitch.  Probably the saddest part about this possible Word Press competitor is that it's testimonials page is completely falling apart.  2 of the 3 sites I followed through their testimonials were either nonexistant or were no longer using Nucleus.  Further down the list, one testimonial even spelled Nucleus wrong...but there it was, for all to see.

The easiest CMS I have ever installed, on my quest to find the ultimate open source content system; Nucleas is topping the lot.

Such an unprofessional embarassment.  I'm sure the support and open community are great people, but it's got a long way to go.  Perhaps they should start with their image and figure out how they can make Nucleus fill a niche not already owned by Word Press.  Until then, they are just a first time bloggers mistake.

Not really a problem, just wanted to get as many P's in there as humanyly possible.  It's more of a frustration and inconvenience than anything and one that has me rethinking my payment option through the Pepperjam Affiliate Network.  It's the 3% that PayPal keeps off of the top, as a convenience charge, whatever.  According to PayPal it's the cost of doing business.

However, right now, interest rates have fell through the floor so these fees are eating into my PayPal money pile.  I don't need the money immediately and technically I'm not saving anytime by having a deposit via PayPal instead of an active check sent in the mail.  As soon as my bi weekly earnings are deposited into my Paypal account I immediately transfer them to my checking, which takes a nother 3 days anyways.

I think I'll start keeping my 3% and have Pepper Jam start sending me a check in the snail mail.  $30 to $50 savings per month is still savings, right?

It seems like to me Piwik has been updating a lot more frequently, which admittedly only causes minor frustration.  The latest version is 0.2.34 and includes only one fix, but a pretty big one.  Apparently there was an error with the Piwik cache generating files that did not count all visitors.  That's kind of important to a stat tracking script.

Piwik Piwik 0.2.34 - April 14, 2009

- FIXED #648 Generating cache files fails resulting in no visits recorded for a few users, due to wrong order in includes in piwik.php

The new download is available on Piwik.org or if you are using at least version 0.2.31 you can upgrade automatically via your Piwik dashboard.  I've updated and upgraded my database using this method in the past, with no issues.

I know I promised my results of using Chikita 3 days after my first impression post, but I've been struggling on my approach.  See, there is one side of me that is extremely disappointed and some what frustrated, but another side that sees how Chitika can work and does fill the niche that Chitika is aiming for.  So, as a disclaimer, let me stress the following.

"Chitika is not a replacement for Google Adsense, nor is Chitika trying to compete with Google Adsense."

After listening to Chitika's sales pitch I would have thought that I would be receiving comparable CPC's on my automotive blog.  However, that was not the case and averaging out it looks to be less than half.  Taking it a step further, after the auditing process it potentially could be lowered again, which is where the frustration comes from.

In all of my sites I try to monetize in a way that does not affect readership.  I view my sites more often than anyone, so I attempt to make them as void of Ads and marketing as possible.  So, Chitika just doesn't seem to be fitting in with my own business model.  I have trouble justifying ad placement when it earns me less than half of the cost of a stamp per click.  Higher CPC's may be found in different niches, I'm only comparing Adsense CPC's in the automotive category to that from Chitika.

Chitika Shines

The CTR is of course much higher than Adsense, which is to be expected since they use the tried and true 'image-next-to-ad' technique.  Google banned this method over a year ago because it created less than optimal traffic for the advertisers.  Essentially, you are tricking visitors into clicking on a link, nothing more, nothing less.

A higher CTR would be super awesome, if only it paid out decent.  Where it stands right now, I would need 5-6 times the amount of clicks just to equal one click from my Adsense Ads.  So why even bother taking up valuable real estate on my site and just annoying my visitors?

I'm struggling with the answer to that last question.  Be damned if I'm going to sacrifice my Adsense earnings.  That's why Chitika focuses on alerting Publishers that Chitika can be used alongside Adsense ads.  It doesn't make sense for me, because I'm getting clicks, why would I want to sacrifice half my clicks for a lower paying ad?  I wouldn't.

Chitika Customer Service

I had the opportunity to talk with Ryan Travis, Director of Client Services at Chitika.  My initial phone call was a service issue, dealing with accurate impressions, but all was working well(I'll save info for another post).  Ryan and I ended up talking about optimization, where Chitika see's itself in the marketplace, and where they hope to go.  Ryan was quick to respond to emails, a pleasure to talk with, and part of the reason why I will continue to use Chitika at some level.

Who Should Use Chitika

The only people who should be using Chitika are those who receive a lot of traffic from search engines.  Of those people, the only ones who should be using Chitika are those who can't get Google Adsense to convert.  Chitika Premium ads are only shown to search engine traffic, so those of you getting traffic from other sites need not apply.  And as mentioned above, don't risk losing higher paying Adsense traffic to get a few more clicks on your Chitika ads.

Conclusion

I will continue to use Chitika in hopes they will increase their Automotive inventory of ads and eventually increase CPC's.  Ryan feels that the online marketing industry as a hole is trending toward higher search traffic CPC's, rather than content related marketing like Adsense for content.  I hope he's right and I wish Chitika luck in their niche.  We need options in the market place as both a publisher and advertiser.

In the not to distant future I will be publishing some more results from my Chitika ads.  The Chitika 'auditing' process could prove to be a deal breaker, but I will reserve judgement.