If that headline above doesn’t scare you then you need to be worried. When I first received the statistic that 73% of all Trust Guard client scans were failing with one or more Medium, High, or Severe vulnerabilities, I was shocked! Obviously, our clients that use our scanning services are able to discover these vulnerabilities and resolve them, but it left a huge question in my mind… What about the rest of the Internet? Nearly 3 out of every 4 websites online have significant vulnerabilities and they probably don’t even know it!

In my mind this was just unacceptable. So, I met with my staff and we started to brainstorm ways that we could both educate website owners and also give them a service where they could check their website for the 30,000+ known vulnerabilities out there. As a result of those meetings and a lot of hard work, we are excited to announce the launch of our brand new, full-featured scanning site, FreePCIScanning.com!

FreePCIScanning.com is a FREE service where any website owner can get their websites scanned and receive a full report showing all the vulnerabilities found and instructions on how to fix them. Pretty cool right?

To get your Free PCI Scan simply visit FreePCIScanning.com today.

For those of you that aren’t sure what PCI Vulnerability Scanning is and why it is so important to your business, then visit the Trust Guard page, “What is PCI Scanning?” for a consise, easy to read explaination.

With the holiday season approaching, now is the time to make sure your website servers are safe for yourself and your customers. It will literally only take you about 2 minutes to visit FreePCIScanning.com and enter your information to get your scan underway. These 2 minutes could save you a lot of money and time in the long run.

The great thing about PCI Scanning, is that when it’s combined with our exclusive Trust Guard Security Scanned seal, it can help you increase your sales! Why? Because a customer that feels secure is a ready buyer. So while the name “PCI Scanning” might be a little boring, the way it puts more sales in your shopping cart is anything but!

Now is the time to take action. All you need to do to get your FREE Scan ($47 Value) is to visit FreePCIScanning.com and enter your name, email, telephone, domain name and our system will do the rest!

We sincerely hope you enjoy this great new service, and from all of us here at Trust Guard, we hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Best Regards,

Scott Brandley, CEO
Trust Guard

This may sound funny, but every time I sit down to write a blog post I have this overwhelming urge to start it out with “we’ve done it again!” Why? Because almost every time, it seems like we’re either launching an amazing new product, or upgrading our existing products to make them better. These new products and upgrades are always focused toward helping you to improve your online trust and credibility, which in turn helps you make more sales.

This week, we definitely don’t disappoint. We’re happy to announce the launch of our brand new PCI Scanning Security Video seals! As you know, for nearly a year now, we’ve been providing our clients with state-of-the-art streaming security video seals. So, it just made sense for us to create a new, advanced PCI Scanning video seal to go along with the advanced security and peace of mind that PCI Scanning brings.

Take a look at the video by pressing the play button:

If you currently have one of our daily or quarterly PCI Scanning multi-seal packages, or if you have PCI Scanning in conjunction with the security video option in your control panel, then you automatically get the new PCI Security video seal for free! (That’s just the way we roll.)

You can easily find out if you have the new PCI Scanning video seal option. Simply log into your member control panel at secure.trust-guard.com, and click on ‘Get Code’. If you have PCI Scanning, and the video seal shows up on the page, you have it. It you don’t see a video seal, then it’s easy to upgrade. Simply call (877) 848-2731 ext. 2 or email us at support@trust-guard.com and one of our friendly staff can assist you.

How do I update the video on my site?

If you currently have PCI Scanning and have the original security video on your site, then you don’t have to do anything. It has automatically been updated for you.

If you have the video seal option in your control panel, but haven’t added the video seal to your website, then the copy and paste instructions are found in your control panel.

We recommend placing the video seal one-time on the final checkout page of your website for maximum results.

What else do we have up our sleeves?

We’ve working behind the scenes on something BIG! Very big! It’s called Shopper Verified and it’s just about ready to launch. This new service is going to take your trust, credibility, and conversion to incredible new heights, so stay tuned!

Till next time,

Scott Brandley, CEO
Trust Guard

We’ll, in this edition of the Trust Guard Insider, we talk about both of these things in detail. (Unfortunately they’re unrelated, but they are still both great reads!)

Here we go…

Think Your Website is Safe from Hackers? Think Again…

So, for those of you that don’t know, we officially launched our PCI Scanning services back on January 7th, 2009. It’s been a great success so far, quickly becoming one of our flagship services. A couple weeks ago, out of curiosity, I asked Zach, one of our programmers what percentage of new clients failed their initial scan with at least one or more medium, high, or severe vulnerabilities. He ran some numbers and my jaw dropped.

“73% of all our new PCI clients failed their initial scans! That’s nearly 3 in every 4 websites!”

If this number is any indication of the Internet as a whole, that means that most websites have vulnerabilities that are open to hackers, viruses, and more – and most website owners don’t have any idea that they’re at risk. What’s worse is that these vulnerabilities can put their customers information at risk, including names, addresses, phone numbers, emails, and credit cards.

We’ll, these numbers were a wake up call to us that we needed to help our customers improve their security. So, we’ve decided to offer all of our clients a full 25,000+ point, PCI Security Scan (a $47 value) for free!

To run the scan, you simply log into your Trust Guard Member Control Panel, click on the PCI Scanning tab, and then click on the ‘Start Scan’ button. In about 10-15 minutes, the scan will end and you will be able to view both the Executive and Detailed Scan Reports to find out exactly where your website stands. The Detailed report will even give you instructions on how to fix any vulnerabilities that you might find that you can easily send to your server administrator (usually your hosting company).

If you are not a Trust Guard member yet and would like to find out more about how you can start providing trust and security to your customers then sign up today at http://www.trust-guard.com/compare-Trust-Seals-s/1.htm. (Note: If you signed up for Trust Guard before Feb. 2008 and you haven’t migrated to the new system, simply email support (at) trust-guard.com and we will be happy to help you move over so you can start enjoying all the features of the new system.)

From Total Internet Newbies to Winners of The $100 Million Dollar Challenge! Meet Xan and Jenn Spencer…

So your standing in your robe one morning making some toast, when there’s a knock on the door. You go and answer it and Russell Brunson – one of the biggest internet marketers online is standing there, with the keys to a brand new 2009 Corvette parked out front with a big red bow on it.

Think that’s far fetched? Meet Xan and Jenn Spencer.

A few months ago they were completely new to the Internet, but they worked hard, followed some great advice, and we’re not only able to build a booming internet business, but they also won Russell’s challenge and he indeed came to their house and presented them with a Corvette!

In a stroke of fate or luck or what have you, Garrett and I were able to interview Xan and Jenn to find out how they did it, and learn some of their insider strategies and information that they used to go from zero to booming in just a few short months.

To watch this insider interview, click on the video below…

In the Next Edition of the Trust Guard Insider…

Our next edition of the Trust Guard Insider coming out on June 16th will really take your business to the next level!

I am going to be personally interviewing Michel Fortin – one of the best online copywriters in the world. He’s written sales copy for practically every big name in marketing, both on and offline. His copy has generated over 1 Million dollars in a single day!

In my interview I am going to be asking him his #1 copywriting secret to instantly improving your website conversion – you won’t want to miss it!

So be sure to mark June 16th on your calendars for all the juicy details!

Sincerely,

Scott Brandley, CEO
Dave Brandley, President
Garrett Pierson, Operations Manager
and all the Trust Guard staff!

P.S. If you didn’t get a chance to read last weeks Trust Guard Insider about the ‘Two New Trust Guard Services Launched‘, then take a look at some great features we have added to your Trust Guard member area! Click Here to Read the Article!

Survey Finds 81% of Consumers Don’t Trust Small Online Businesses

“Alessandro Hatami, managing director of PayPoint.net, says: “Small online businesses lack the resources of their larger competitors but have an even greater interest in ensuring their customers have the safest possible experience on their site.

“This situation has led to a haphazard approach to managing fraud – which is in stark contrast to what larger businesses are able to do.”

In addition, PayPoint found that among 1000 consumers, just 3 percent of online shoppers are likely to trust a small online business with their money, preferring to shop with larger online brands. A further 81 percent say they have doubt about the security credentials of small, unknown companies.”

I am sure most of this sounds familiar in these days of technology and the internet. If you own a business whether online or offline, we are sure you have asked yourself this question before, “Do my customers trust my business?” And if you haven’t asked yourself this question, then now is the time.

Two National Consumer Reports Surveys show that…

The #1 concern visitors have: Is my personal information Safe and Secure? (88% of Internet users surveyed, viewed this as “Very Important”)

The #2 concern visitors have: Can I Trust the site and the information on it? (81% of Internet users surveyed, viewed this as “Very Important”)

The #3 concern visitors have: Does the site have a good Privacy Policy? (76% of Internet users surveyed, viewed this as “Very Important”)

95% of those surveyed want access to a websites email address, street address, and phone number.

You can find these surveys at Consumerwebwatch.org

The Trust Guard Mission:

Here at Trust Guard it is our mission to not only help you answer this question but to take action on the question itself. It is not enough to simply think or worry about your websites security, it is time to do something about it.

If 81% of consumers do not trust online businesses then it is time we as business owners do something about it. It is time to give the consumer what they want, which is Trust and Confidence when ordering online.

Consumers around the world are tightening up these days with the global economic downturn. They also are smarter than ever when it comes to shopping online. Consumers are also becoming more aware and more familiar with third party trust seals and companies such as Truste, Control Scan, BBBOnline, McAfee Secure (formerly HackerSafe), and of course Trust Guard. With this being the case you need to ask yourself, “Do I provide a third party trust seal to show my visitors they can trust me?” If the answer is YES, then you are on the right track. If the answer is NO, then you need to reevaluate your business strategies.

Where’s the Value…

The next question you want to ask yourself is, “Where is the best value of security and third party verification seals?”

At Trust Guard we know from 100′s of tests that More Trust = More Conversions. With this in mind, you want to establish the highest level of trust that you can, by addressing the 3 major concerns your visitors have:

• SECURITY – Is your customers information safe?
  Do you use security technology like SSL to protect their financial and private information?
  Do you have PCI Scanning to protect your website from hackers and vulnerabilities?
• PRIVACY - Do you protect your customers privacy?
  Do you respect their information and will you keep it confidential?
  Is your Privacy Policy accurate and up to date?
• IDENTITY – Who is behind your website?
  Is your company address, phone number, and email displayed on your site?
  Has this information been verified by a 3rd party?

All of this can be accomplished by applying the Trust Guard Multi-Seal package that includes PCI Scanning which is our best value. You can find out more about all the packages at

>> http://www.trust-guard.com/trust-guard-seals-s/1.htm

Here is an example of what you get with this package:

These Trust Guard clients increased their conversion using our Multi-Seal packages:

• SummitCampingGear.com – 33.33% increase
• FaithfulTrends.com – 19.51% increase
• SmartLifeLabs.com – 11.11% increase
• ChargedAudio.com – 13.24% increase
• CookForYourHealth.com – 48.28% increase (Anyone want to add almost 50% to their bottom line? Anyone?)
• SuperSizedCycles.com – 216.67% increase (Yes, this is real and it’s backed with a 95% confidence interval – this customer sells higher priced custom bicycles, and adding our seals made a huge impact to her sales!)

Want more results??? Our first batch of daily and quarterly PCI Security seals are just about to finish their split tests. (We just launched PCI Scanning in January. For more information or to watch our PCI launch video read our previous blog posts.) The preliminary numbers for PCI seals are looking great! So far, the combined increase for all of our clients split testing PCI seals is over 26%! As soon as we have more solid data we’ll add it here to the blog, so be sure to keep an eye out.

Till then, we will keep testing. And if you are on the fence, wondering what to do, why not take our 60 day, risk free Trust Guard Challenge. Go ahead and try our seals completely risk free for 60 days. You have nothing to lose and sales to gain!

We look forward to helping you with your security, privacy, and business verification needs.

Sincerely,

Scott Brandley, CEO
Trust Guard

Trust Guard is pleased to announce PCI Scanning Services for online business owners around the globe. We are proud to be the first company ever to offer both Daily and Quarterly PCI Scanning services, along with the famous website verification seals. The best part about Trust Guard’s PCI scanning services is that the prices will be half of its competitors such as McAfee Secure and Control Scan.

PCI Scanning Pricing

Daily PCI Scanning plus seals – $47/month or $497/year

Quarterly PCI Scanning plus seals – $297/year

(Note: You can also get PCI Scanning services and seals with the website verification seals for a massive discount Click Here to find out more!)

Trust Guard PCI Scanning Main Features and Benefits

• Daily or Quarterly scans protect your server against 30,000 vulnerabilities
• ASV certified PCI Scanning combined with Trust Guard’s Website Verification adds more credibility
• No software or programs to download or install
• Automated scanning with email notifications so you’re always up-to-date
• Professional PCI support available to help you with your compliance needs
• Daily or Quarterly trust seals to provide trust and confidence to your visitors

With the Trust Guard PCI Scanning services, everything is configured in your control panel. There is nothing for you to install or download. You simply enter the domain name(s) that you need scanned and our system will run automatically, scanning either daily or quarterly depending on the option you choose. You also have the ability to run manual scans whenever you like with just the click of a button. And, if you ever need help, we have seasoned PCI experts standing by to assist you. Whenever a vulnerability is detected, you will receive an email with an explanation of the issue and detailed instructions on how to resolve it.

Protect your server and your systems

• Scan your server, shopping cart, firewalls, routers, and applications for known exploits and vulnerabilities daily or quarterly, depending on your needs.
• Receive additional security validation with integrated 3rd party website verification.

Safe and easy-to-use

• Simply enter your domain name in your control panel, then press start and we do the rest. Your systems will be scanned regularly as needed.
• There are no programs or software to download.
• Your server is scanned during off-hours for minimum impact.

Advanced Member Control Panel

• Your member control panel includes a number of innovative tools and features to give you the best chance for increased conversion, including integrated split testing, multiple seal size and color options, additional seal types (ie. Privacy and Business Verification – depending on the plan you choose), access to our Professional Privacy Policy Creator (a $97 value), and multi-account management options.

Informative reports

• Receive an email report every time a scan is run so you’re always up to date on what is happening.
• Log into your member control panel for instant access to both detailed and executive reports on every scan ever performed on your server.

Up-to-date security

• We continually add new vulnerabilities to our system to ensure that your server is protected.
• Your server is tested against 30,000 known vulnerabilities.

PCI Scanning can be a very difficult service to understand and that is why Trust Guard has put together some user friendly and simple ways to understand what, why, how, and when. A great article by our CEO, Scott Brandley about these very questions you might have can be found at http://www.trust-guard.com/PCI-Scanning-s/65.htm.

Now is the time to start building trust and confidence with your online customers by becoming secure on a daily basis with Trust Guard PCI Scanning services!