Author Archive for Todd Costigan

Complete site spidering now a part of PolicyPage

Published
by
Todd Costigan
on August 21, 2006
in Announcements and MLS
. 0 Comments

Update  - PolicyPage v1.1.0 is now available.
********************************** 

PolicyPage v1.1.0 beta announced.

PolicyPage now contains site ‘spidering ‘as a part of the application.

CRT is looking for PolicyPage users interested in installing the PolicyPage v 1.1.0 (beta).

CRT has expanded PolicyPage’s utility by adding a spidering application to the program. This spidering feature uses a Web crawler to browse the entire member Web site selected by PolicyPage. It then follows links on the site and applies PolicyPage rules to the pages it encounters. The new spider feature also allows users to omit certain pages (such as the "contact me" and "about" pages) from a compliance check.  

CRT developed PolicyPage as a tool for MLSs to review member Web sites for compliance with listing display policies. PolicyPage simplifies and speeds up site review by scanning for required terminology and graphics on participants’ Web sites. The software provides objective standards for evaluating Web sites and can be tailored to local needs.

The spider feature is available in PolicyPage release 1.1.0 (beta) starting August 25, 2006.  This release is recommended for new users who want to use the spidering feature. The production release will be available in early September. If you are interested in working with the beta release please contact CRT.

Mark wins Innovator Award

Published
by
Todd Costigan
on July 27, 2006
in Announcements, General and Press Releases
. 2 Comments

Inman_Innovator_Award_2006.jpgLast night Mark received a special Inman Innovator Award for "Individual Innovator " at the Inman Connect real estate conference in San Francisco. The award honors forward-thinking technology pioneers in online real estate, brokerage and mortgage companies

Congratulations Mark! 

NAR’s new CTO

Published
by
Todd Costigan
on July 25, 2006
in Announcements and Press Releases
. 0 Comments

We had the NAR CTO job posted here a few months ago. Well - those of us on the staff of CRT are pleased to see Mark get the position. Here’s more about it .

Congratulations Mark!

CRT @ the REALTORS® Conference & Expo - New Orleans Nov 10 - 13

Published
by
Todd Costigan
on July 18, 2006
in Announcements and Conferences
. 3 Comments

In addition to sponsoring the wireless hot spot for attendees and the new blog room CRT sponsors several IT related sessions at the REALTORS Conference & Expo. Here are the sessions CRT is sponsoring at the upcoming  conference in New Orleans, November 10 -13. 

Digital Identity in Real Estate - Beyond Tokens
We will look at the role digital certificates might play in the real estate transaction. How can digital certificates be used in real estate? What are their advantages and how can a real estate practitioner use them to capture the consumer? Digital credentials allow for single sign-ons, e-signatures, encrypted messages, more secure access and content management. They are a key success factor in transaction management. Be better prepared to make decisions and answer questions about this important component of secure transactions.

Accelerating Technology to Engage the Consumer
Today’s market is all about getting in front of the consumer. What new technologies are there today to help you do that? We’ll review leading edge products and how they can assist you create the business buzz you need to be successful. The panel of experts will share their knowledge and product insight about the latest technologies for real estate professionals.

The ABCs of ISPs
Do you know what to look for when you need managed hosting solutions. How do you get the best deal? What do you need to include? What responsibilities belong to whom? How do you determine which responsibilities belong to the ISP and which you should retain control over. Are you aware of the impact Net Neutrality laws may have on Internet Services? Take home answers to these and other related questions!

White Powder, Bird Flu, Hurricanes and Hackers
We will focus on business continuity and disaster recovery; what to do when you can’t access your office, can’t work out of a central location; the office no longer exists or is severely damaged. We will also discuss how to protect your organization from the ever growing threat of cyber attacks. Take home processes, procedures and management action items to ensure your business survives the new threats of the 21st century.  

Web 2.0 and Mashups Web 2.0 and mashups are the next generation of website usage. A mashup is a website or web application that uses content from more than one source to create a completely new service. Much the way blogs are revolutionizing online publishing, mashups are revolutionizing web development . In real estate this might contain: listings served from an MLS; maps of the listing; an AVM model to demonstrate the value of a particular property; public records data for additional info on a property; news services; or market statistics and data. The real value will be in the simplicity of its use.  Learn how, through creativity and a combination of web services, you can use your web site to attract and engage the real estate consumer.

In addition, we will likely have a session on blogs in real estate as well. If you are interested in participating in the sessions please contact Todd Costigan.  

You will also have an opportunity to help rebuild New Orleans. We urge you to participate. CRT will be. 

CRT sponsors Developer Day conference

Published
by
Todd Costigan
on July 12, 2006
in Announcements, Conferences and General
. 4 Comments

CRT will be at this years Inman’s Real Estate Connect conference. It is an great mix of technology and real estate. In other words a good place for CRT to discover and network.

This year another day specifically for developers has been added to the conference on Wednesday July 26. And CRT is sponsoring it - Developer Day will focus where developers’ needs are greatest.  It is a great place for CRT to be. Mark will be speaking. Some of the topics include mapping, search, document management, standards, video integration, transaction management and analytics.

Besides CRT, there are other great sponsors like Microsoft, Google, Redfin, Mapquest and Inman. 

The conference is in San Francisco from July 26 to 28. Hope to see you there.

Info security: U - R - IT

Published
by
Todd Costigan
on June 22, 2006
in Announcements, Internet, MLS, Security and Tools
. 0 Comments

realtor secure logo small.jpgThe key to security is embedded in the word itself:

U R IT

If not you, then who?
If not now, then when?

During your typical day, you may be exposed to situations where you are vulnerable to a security breach. (e.g. PDA or laptop left in a car, unmonitored office doors open to public, contracts in plain view). And then there are the risks to your computers themselves - viruses, hacks and phishers.

You need to be prepared to:
Access - Remediate - Monitor

Infosec wheelBuilding and sustaining an effective information security rogram requires resolve, commitment and know-how. This is why educating agents, staff and executive management on security fundamentals has become essential. As a result, NAR’s Center for REALTOR(R) Technology is launching the ‘Summer of Security’ educational initiative. We want to continue to offer you the "know-how." Together with your resolve and commitment, sound information security is achievable!

The Summer of Security initiative is a part of the REALTOR Secure program and consists of a weekly e-mail containing helpful and relevant information on security issues. Our goal is to create a culture through which you become more conscious of the need for security and better understand why security measures are relevant to you and your business. Our purpose is not just to convey information, but also to compel you to evaluate what you do and how you do it, and make changes as appropriate. This topic is important for you and for our industry.

The Summer of Security effort represents NAR’s commitment to bring you practical information and guidance . Ideas that you can put into action immediately to improve your security and enhance
your business position.

We look forward to presenting this educational initiative to you throughout this summer. We encourage you to share these mail messages with others in your organizations, post them to your web site and publish them in your newsletters, etc. If you would like to recieve the summer of security series on newsletterplease drop me a note andyou’ll be added to the list.

Thanks for tuning in.

PolicyPage 1.0.3 released

Published
by
Todd Costigan
on June 22, 2006
in Announcements, MLS and Tools
. 0 Comments

policyPage-logo120_35.jpgPolicyPage release 1.0.3 is now available. In release 1.0.3 only the documentation and FAQs changed. The changes make the app easier to understand, install and use.

The changes for v 1.0.3 include:
- Updated email configuration documentation.
- Enhanced the Frequently Asked Questions for those questions received over the past several months.

There is no need for 1.0.2 PolicyPage users to upgrade. The revised documentation is available online. With the release of 1.0.3 the development effort now focuses on spidering to test  all pages on a web site.

PolicyPage comments (and bugs) can be posted to the project mail list.
You can download PolicyPage application by visiting the project site.

We continue to look to the community to guide future development priorities. We invite and welcome your input.

PolicyPage 1.0.2

Published
by
Todd Costigan
on June 9, 2006
in Announcements, MLS and Tools
. 0 Comments

PolicyPage release 1.0.2 is now available.The changes are aimed at making the app easier to understand, install and use.

The changes for v 1.0.2 include:
- The PolicyPage demo site was revised to make use simpler.
- To improve security the users are now required to change the administrator’s password  upon initial use of PolicyPage
- To support a wider variety of email configurations, all email PolicyPage sends now uses PHPMailer.
           This includes support for SMTP authorization and SMTP secure sockets.
- All email configuration changes can now be accomplished through PolicyPage. There is no need to updated ini files.

PolicyPage comments (and bugs) can be posted to the project mail list.

You can download PolicyPage application by visiting the project site.

We continue to look to the community to guide future development priorities. We invite and welcome your input. 

Security policies and procedures

Published
by
Todd Costigan
on May 23, 2006
in Security
. 0 Comments

I had a post yesterday that focuesed on the security events at Midyear. However, given the attention that the recent breach of personal information at the Department of Veterans Affairs has been receiving, it might be a good time for you to consider your organiztion’s policies and procedures surrounding protection of personal identity information. It appears that the incident could have been prevented if policies, already in place, were followed.

NAR has two programs that directly focus on protecting consumer and employee information.

The recently announced "Deter, Detect and Defend” initative aims to educate consumers, particularly home buyers, about the devastating effects of identity theft and help them protect themselves against it. 

NAR’s REALTOR Secure program is an information security best pratices program that allows industry firms to confirm that they have the right policies, procedures and technologies in place to prevent these types of incidents.  

And we at CRT are available to help on the security education front. Over a hundred industry firms have benefited from CRT’s outreach program with information security being one of the prime topics.

So to ‘take advantage’of this event you could:
- Review your policies and ensure that you have the appropriate use procedures in place.
- Send a reminder about your policies and the need for following them.
- Use it  to educate senior management about the need for protecting information.
- Ask executive management that they reinforce the need to follow security policies to avoid these situations.

PolicyPage 1.0.1 released

Published
by
Todd Costigan
on May 22, 2006
in General
. 0 Comments

PolicyPage release 1.0.1 is now available.The changes are aimed at making the app easier to understand, install and use.

Here are the changes for v 1.0.1
- All production data is now in a single directory structure (ppage/productiondata) for ease of backup. 
- New installation messages added and upgraded the installation documentation.
- Additional documentation for creating PolicyPage users.
- Eliminated the need to change the php.ini file for email configuration.
- Added message at logon time if email has not been configured.
- Provide a method to add new PolicyPage users without using email.
- Allow multiple attempts to register the same user (in case prior attempts fail due to an email problem).

PolicyPage comments (and bugs) can be posted to the project mail list.
You can download PolicyPage application by visiting the project site.

We continue to look to the community to guide future development priorities. We invite and welcome your input. 

« Older Entries