Let Kessler put your cow chip tossing skills to the test at the INTA 135th Annual Meeting in Dallas, Texas.  We will be waiting for you at booths 601 and 603 where you will have your shot at cow chip tossing, with the added benefit of learning more about the full range of brand protection services Kessler offers.  The exhibit hall will be open from Sunday May 5th through Wednesday May 8th.

We would like to remind everyone that Kessler International will be exhibiting at the upcoming Association of Legal Administrators Annual Conference and Exposition April 15 – April 17, 2013 at BOOTH 622. We are excited to share information about the forensic accounting, computer forensics, investigative and brand protection services that we provide with ALA members, and encourage everyone to visit our booth to learn more. Exclusive show-only discounts will be available! Details about the show can be seen here: http://www.alanet.org/conf/2013/default.html.

Is Getty the mafia of the realm of digital images? It would appear that Getty has a penchant for sending cease and desist letters demanding exorbitant amounts of money for stock photography and images that they claim people are using without their consent. The letters, which Kessler has seen in the past, contain screen prints of the images in question and attempt to strong arm the recipients into paying thousands of dollars in retribution and damages. Word on the street is that these demands are being made of individuals who either are completely unfamiliar with the images or who paid for the images through the appropriate channels and are well within their rights to use them.

It would now seem that Getty is causing problems for those who choose to use Twitter aggregators. One individual we learned about uses twylah.com to aggregate their tweets into a newsletter type format. This redirects to a subdomain on their website but is actually hosted by Twylah. Getty Images spotted this. Twylah takes links in Tweets and shows the first bit of the tweeted link, along with any image. A number of other Twitter curation tools do the same such as Scoop.it and Paper.li. When Getty Images was informed that their images were not used but a tweet was made of an article that used the images they responded, “After further review of the circumstances in which the images were used, Getty Images is willing to dismiss the unauthorized use claim against (subject) at this time. Waiver of our unauthorized use claim, however, does not constitute permission for future use of the images. Further sharing of our copyrighted imagery will be considered intentional breach of copyright and we will not be so lenient in future.” Threatening, extortionist language that clearly seems unnecessary.

There is an endless string of websites which discuss the use of excessive force by Getty issue in further detail, a representative sample of which are included below:

http://www.extortionletterinfo.com/
http://www.facebook.com/extortionletterinfo
http://www.stopextortion.org/page/anti-extortion-case-2
http://www.webmasterworld.com/webmaster_business_issues/4353522.htm
http://www.seotrainingsw.com/2011/09/getty-images-demand-letter/

Kessler International will be exhibiting at the Association of Legal Administrators Annual Conference and Exposition April 15 – April 17, 2013 at BOOTH 622.  We are excited to share information about the forensic accounting, computer forensics, investigative and brand protection services that we provide with ALA members, and encourage everyone to visit our booth to learn more.  Details about the show can be seen here: http://www.alanet.org/conf/2013/default.html. 

A new year is typically a time to refresh and rethink. When it comes to passwords, it is all too easy to keep that old dusty standby you’ve been using for years. Your old phone number maybe, or the name of your favorite fluffy pet. But using BUDDY123 as your password for all of your banking, software and social media sites is probably not the brightest idea. Nor is it a great idea not to change your passwords regularly. If you use simplistic passwords and never change them, you are begging for trouble, identity theft and a poor credit rating. Experts have a few guidelines for enhancing the security of your valuable data and information:

Passwords of 10 characters or longer are safest.

Use special characters, numbers, and upper and lower case letters in your password. Try tricks such as using 3 instead of E or zero instead of O in words to make passwords easy to remember but more secure.

Avoid using actual words in their whole form. Do not EVER use words like PASSWORD or your name.

Consider a password management system. These systems remember passwords for you, allowing you to remember only one password and taking away some of the frustration involved in remembering dozens of difficult passwords.

Of course there are the obvious recommendations of not writing passwords on notepaper and leaving them under your keyboard or saving them in a file titled passwords in your computer. A little forethought can save you from tremendous heartache and stress later down the road.

Sex Offender registries are typically free and publicly accessible.  Www.nsopw.gov has a searchable database said to be comprised of 50 states, US Territories, DC, and participating tribes.  For those who are uninformed, www.offendex.com purports to offer a no cost searchable registry also although you have to register to use it.  The big difference is that they offer offenders on the list to request a review of their record for $79 and $499 for a “no questions asked removal” from the site.  Ethically awful and legally questionable, steer clear of these scammers.

Even the best intentions can go awry.  Kessler has learned that the owner of a medium sized business decided to distribute $20 grocery store gift cards to his staff for the Thanksgiving holiday.  Soon after they were handed out, one unscrupulous staff member decided to buy the cards back for $10 in cash from employees who did not live near the grocery store in question, and quite possibly did not understand the value of the gift they had received.  At a time when so many are busy thinking about what they do have, there are some who seem to be thinking about what they can get that belongs to others.

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, so many businesses, from large credit card companies and financial institutions to local public libraries have gone the extra mile to waive late fees, entire payments, issue credits or provide other assistance to those who may have been affected.  These types of deeds linger in the minds of consumers, and it is unlikely that their gestures of good faith in a time of crisis will ever be forgotten.  As always, there is a reverse side of the coin.  This region was subjected to price gouging gas stations, overpriced water bottles, and any number of dodgy entities engaging in questionable practices.  Surprisingly, we found that the company we use for hold music and scripts on the telephone, found it appropriate to refuse to update our on hold music to Christmas music due to a payment not received which might have been lost in a flood or delayed in light of the mail situation after the hurricane.  Needless to say, their lack of flexibility, understanding and most importantly their attitude lost them a customer.

The lack of disaster preparedness of the Long Island Power Authority has certainly surfaced in the wake of superstorm Sandy. Today, over two weeks after the storm, more than 76,000 of the homes and business that were affected and can have power restored are still without power.

Many of our staff were affected by the power outages, and our hearts go out to those without power. The weather is getting cooler, and several nights have been near freezing. The numbers are staggering and the incompetence of LIPA is unimaginable. They are naming any number of missteps attributable to the remaining power loss, including an outdated technology system which is failing to provide crucial information to residents.

Another loser – Cablevision. As of noon today, Cablevision’s www.optimum.net website is reporting 27,214 remaining outages in homes with power, and 183,111 in homes that do not yet have power. Cablevision does not appear to have the manpower, resources, or organization to appropriately address a situation of this magnitude.

One winner – Verizon. Our staff has reported pleasant and responsive dealings with Verizon staff and prompt service in regards to outages. In fact phone service was uninterrupted in many of our staff’s homes even though they did not have electric. This would be something to consider when Cablevision tries to sell you a “Triple Play” because not only do you lose your TV and internet during a power outage you lose access to your telephone, something which you do not want to lose in an emergency.

Please be advised that despite the devastation and havoc caused by Hurricane Sandy, Kessler International has an emergency command center established at our Long Island location that is fully operational. We are available and prepared to assist insurance companies, government agencies and businesses worldwide in their investigative needs, including insurance claims, trademark investigations, computer forensics and forensic accounting. We are available 7 days a week for prompt service; we stand ready to help, and we sincerely hope that all of our friends, colleagues and associates and their families are safe. Call us at 212-286-9100 or email us at mail@investigation.com.

Private Investigations have undergone a gradual metamorphosis from the noir days of old. With the advent of technology, the old gum shoes interrogations have necessitated a more subtle, tech-savvy shift in order to root out the increasingly insidious caste of digital criminals. Not to say that “classical” detective work is dead and buried—the foundational kernels remain: analytical thinking, keen observational prowess, unwavering dedication, and of course, that intangible “sixth sense” for suspect material. Investigations have not so much transformed, as acquired a greater depth of scope that has required investigators to be both mutable and receptive to the growing arsenal of tools available to them.

Humanity’s capacity for evil, exploitation, and subterfuge has not exponentially varied; rather, the ease and accessibility to commit said malfeasance (digitally) has exacerbated an already innate enigma of ethics—i.e. why do people do “bad” things?

Books, dissertations, and manifestos have endlessly expounded on such a topic, yet the role of the private investigator has remained steadily associated with analyzing and ameliorating the collateral damage inherently wrought by it. The question, in turn, has shifted away from the “why” and more on the “how”, in an effort to more clearly render the possibility of preventative solutions. The prominence of technology has dramatically altered the nature of that query by forcibly transforming the field of investigations into an arena of intangible connections and disconnections. The digital evolution of paper trails, conversations, and surveillance exemplifies this ongoing paradigm shift towards “remote investigations”, and reinforces the reality that being fluent in the latest technologies has become a requisite skill in the art of investigations. Without such ardent versatility, private investigators face becoming antiquated at an alarming rate.

Kessler International encapsulates progressivity with over a quarter century of professional service that continues to thrive amidst this digital generation. Kessler’s commitment towards innovation, global networking, and delivering quality solutions has affirmed its status as a leading authority in the fields of Forensic Accounting, Brand Protection, Digital Forensics, and Special Investigations.