Major Updates to our Classified Websites
Current mood: chipper
Category: Web, HTML, Tech
We are pleased to announce a major update to our network of online classifieds websites.
As you may know, we own and operate a network of classified websites serving the United States. This week, we completed a major overhaul to all 52 existing websites, which we feel will make the websites easier to use as well as speed up load times for people with slower computers. We are very excited about these updates and encourage users to give us feedback about the new site layout!
A suspect in the 2003 disappearance of Becky Marzo, whose mother has waged a relentless campaign to convince authorities she was killed, has died of an apparent suicide at his home in the 4800 block of N. 70th St.
Carl A. Rodgers, 39, was found Friday around 3 p.m. inside a car in a garage, according to the Milwaukee County medical examiner's office. A preliminary autopsy report suggests the cause of death as carbon monoxide poisoning, but that cannot be confirmed until toxicology tests are completed Monday, the office said.
Rodgers was Marzo's boyfriend at the time of her disappearance.
He had been charged recently with second-degree sexual assault of a subsequent girlfriend and was facing likely jail time on a yet-to-be charged federal weapons offense. His attorney said Saturday that the prospect of prison on the gun charge pushed him to end his life.
"I firmly believe that put him over the edge," said Bridget Boyle. "He was under a tremendous amount of stress as a criminal defendant. It's just tragic."
In a suicide note and recording found at the scene, Rodgers told his family that he did not "rape or kill anyone," according to the medical examiner's report.
Karren Kraemer of Oconomowoc has spent the last four years trying to convince authorities that Rodgers killed her daughter. On Saturday, she expressed anger at his suicide.
"Now, I'll never find my daughter," she said.
Boyle said that the pending weapons charge stemmed from the discovery of a handgun at Rodgers' home during a search warrant issued in the sexual assault case. She said Rodgers was unaware that a prior misdemeanor conviction for domestic violence prohibited him from ever owning a firearm.
Marzo was 23 when she was last seen by friends as she entered the apartment she shared with Rodgers, who had been described by Kraemer and in court records as abusive.
Milwaukee police initially dismissed her as an adult runaway. But the Milwaukee County district attorney's office confirmed a year ago that it was investigating the case as a possible homicide.
The investigation, which included confidential John Doe proceedings, has centered around Rodgers, whom police had questioned along with several of his family members.
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Understanding How IP addresses are used to fight crime
Current mood: awake
Category: Web, HTML, Tech
Being one of the biggest computer geeks on the planet, I often find myself fielding questions on many topics. I thought it might be easier to just post a few here and refer people to my blog instead! I wrote this for anyone interested in learning more about IP addresses and how they can be used to catch criminals.
When a person connects to the internet, their Internet Service Provider (ISP) assigns them an IP address. Most people are given dynamic IP addresses - which means that each time you dial in, or connect, you are given a totally different random IP address from within your ISP's network. Some people pay a little extra to always have the same IP address no matter what. For example, to host my own website, I always want the same IP address, so that people can always find it.
So, when a computer is online (yours, mine, or anyone else's) their every move is recorded in a log file somewhere. Usually in multiple places! When you connect to the internet, your ISP's server makes a note in a log file that you connected to this IP address at that time on this date. If you have a website that is hosted through a 3rd party server (which is very common) then whenever you log into your website, your web hosting company's server logs your IP address and the date and time you logged in. Likewise, it records the same information for every single visitor to your website. In most cases a human never reviews these log files. They are usually automatically deleted after the legally required time period - 1-7 years depending on the state.
Any IP address, even if it's dynamic and changes often, can definitely be traced. Usually with the use of a subpoena and detective work. Here's a bit of the process:
There are only a finite number of IP addresses in the world because of the structure used to create them: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx - 12 digits or less - every single possible IP address is definitely assigned to the various companies who re-sell them, and there is no way to make more IP addresses because of the size limits, so it is easy to find out what company owns any IP address by doing a simple whois query on that IP address, and then contacting the company who owns it.
If you have the IP address of a user who posted or viewed illegal materials, then you can check the log files that the hosting company or ISP keeps, which is usually where the subpoena comes in. They will know what user was connected to that IP address at the specific date and time... since it is fairly difficult to get internet service without in some way paying for it, there are records about the user whose account was connected to that IP address.
Of course there are always going to be people who use fake names and cash to get their internet access set up, and there are several other ways that people may purposely mask their IP address (for good or bad reasons) but that is becoming increasingly difficult as well. Like anything it will probably never be 100% foolproof either way, but with every passing year the technology gets more precise!
An IP address is a digital "fingerprint" that law enforcement can definitely follow. Posting child porn out in the open is the same as marking a giant red X on a map, if only these things are promptly reported to law enforcement officials! This is why it is SO important that everyone do their part to help out by informing law enforcement when they find child porn online. Law enforcement is eager to fight this problem, but since they can't be everywhere at once, they need the rest of us to keep our eyes and ears open, and to inform them immediately when we see child porn, animal cruelty, or evidence of any other types of crimes.
This is just the incredibly short version but as you can see, the Internet is allowing us to definitely trace people who post illegal materials online. However, with great power comes great responsibility. We as a society must also be vigilant to ensure that this ability is never, ever abused by evil people for evil purposes - and that includes non-technical, biased or corrupt lawmakers passing insane laws designed to benefit big business or any other special interest group for that matter. Our right to privacy should not be for sale to ANYONE, at ANY price, and this technology should ONLY be used to fight serious crimes like child porn, missing persons cases, murders, fraud, blackmail, etc. That, however, is a very long discussion, best left for another day when I have more time.
Arizona Residents: Do you recognize these men?
Current mood: anxious
Category: Life
This article is about my grandparents! Do you recognize the men in the composite sketch?
Sun City couple tied up, robbed in home invasion
Brent Whiting The Arizona Republic Jul. 16, 2007 02:37 PM
A Sun City couple was tied up and robbed last week by two armed bandits who forced their way into the home, authorities said Monday.
One of the robbers stood guard over the couple while the other ransacked the house demanding cash and jewelry, said Capt. Paul Chagolla, a spokesman for the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.
The bandit doing the search was rude and aggressive, Chagolla said. The other robber watching the couple was calm and polite, apologizing for his partner's behavior, he said.
It's believed to be an isolated incident, because no links have been found to any previous home invasions, Chagolla said.
Investigators released composite sketches they hope will result in information leading to the capture of the two bandits, he said.
"We do want to get this information out," Chagolla said.
The holdup took place about 4 p.m. July 11 at a home near Union Hills Drive and 99th Avenue in the retirement community, Chagolla said.
One of the victims, when contacted Monday, said that when the doorbell rang and her husband opened the door, the two men pushed him back into the house at gunpoint.
"We were ordered to lie on the floor and we were tied up," she said. "We are grateful we were not injured or harmed."
Chagolla said the rude robber was 6-foot-2 and about 150 pounds with a slender build and wearing a bandana.
The polite bandit was about 5-feet-10 and 170 pounds with a stocky build, Chagolla said.
To offer information, phone sheriff's investigators at (602) 876-8921 or (602) 876-8915.
Want to help charities? Help Save The World - One Click At A Time!
On each of these websites, you can click a button to support the cause -- each click creates funding, and costs you nothing! Bookmark these sites, and click once a day!
Copy and Paste the below text into your website, blog, myspace profile, etc, and these buttons will show on your space too!
"Adopt" a Missing Person from your state:
Choose a missing person whose story touches you, and post their case and pictures on your myspace profile, blog, website, etc. Put up flyers in your area for that person several times a year, tell people about their case, etc. My husband and I chose Becky Kraemer Marzo, because we knew her personally and miss her very much. You don't have to personally know a missing person to help though! Do whatever you can think of to try to make a difference for them!
"Adopt" a category on 50StatesClassifieds.com:
On my classifieds site, I try to add missing persons cases and remove solved cases regularly, but there are tens of thousands of missing persons in our country, and I am only one person (and I work 50+ hours a week and have dogs that need exercise and love too!)... needless to say, I can seriously use some help here! If you are willing to maintain the Missing Persons category for your state, I would be eternally grateful. It's not without it's rewards either, if that helps sweeten the pot for you!
Basically, you would be given an account that can post unlimited ads. You would be responsible for paying attention to missing persons cases in your state, and then creating new ads for missing persons and uploading their pictures to the ads. When you hear that a person is found, you will just edit the ad to just let people know the person is no longer missing (so that efforts can be redirected to a still missing person instead). You would be using a very easy to use WYSIWYG editor just like the one used in myspace blogs. I don't expect you to find or post every single case every single day - I know you have a life and a job too! But I am grateful for any help you can provide.
Your reward, if you have any use for it, is unlimited ads on our site for your own personal or business use. As long as the ads do not violate our terms of service (no surveys! no porn! no pyramid schemes! no 419 or related scams! etc.) you will be allowed to post unlimited personal or business ads in return for your kindness and generosity. This is a great offer for a businessperson, church group, nonprofit group, or other organization that has many members who could take turns pitching in for a good cause, and who could benefit from unlimited free advertising in return. There are other ways I could thank you as well, such as a discount on a professional website package, or a discount on a merchant account. etc.
Take inventory of your unique connections, resources, skills, talents, and ideas and then get creative:
In our case, we decided that the best way for us to help was to use our business websites to promote these cases. I own a web design and marketing company, as well as a popular network of classifieds websites. I have been the volunteer webmaster for 911BC K9 Search and Recovery for over 7 years now. I have also been the webmaster for WISARK9 for almost 3 years. I have been designing websites for over 12 years. My husband and Father each own their own related companies as well. Between the three of us, we own over 200 high traffic business websites (and maintain an additional 200+ websites on our clients' behalf). With all of this in mind, it just seemed natural to use our websites and our internet marketing skills to try and raise more awareness.
Figure out what your own unique resources, skills, connections, and talents are, and then use them to make a difference for somebody who needs help!
Post your Missing Persons Pictures for Free at 50StatesClassifieds.com - here's how
Current mood: contemplative
Category: Friends
It's easy! Just go to www.50statesclassifieds.com and sign up for a user account. Then, email me there, or message me here, and tell me the following information:
-The username you chose on my website -The name of the Missing Person you are going to post -A link to an official website with information about the case, pictures, etc.
After I have confirmed that this is a real case, and a current case, and that you are not just a spammer or a business trying to trick us (this happens constantly - sad but true!) then I will give you an account credit to post your case, and pictures, etc.
This is a great way to get your bulletins and pictures out there where hundreds of people will see them a day!
If you have a case you want put up on my website, don't hesitate to contact me! I have hidden the contact page from non-registered users on the classifieds site to foil the spammers, so you will either need to message me on myspace, or just register for an account to use the member feedback form on my website. Either way, I will do whatever I can to help. You are not alone. There are many people out there who care and want to help, we just need to bring these cases to their attention!!
Why you got a friend request from me, and who I am
Current mood: busy
Category: Friends
If you received an add request from this profile, it's because I (Jessica) personally visited your profile, read it, and decided to send you a friend request. Here's why:
I spend alot of time looking for charities, missing persons profiles, animal shelters, etc. that I think people should know about.
I spend some time each week looking for businesses that I hope might be interested in showing their support for these groups too.
I send requests to Law Enforcement Officers, Police Departments, Military, and other official agencies who work with these types of issues every single day.
I also try to add individual people all over the country, because the missing could be anywhere, and anyone at all might have seen them and not realized that the person they saw was missing or in danger.
Last but not least, you might know me in real life and just don't realize it (but this one applies mostly just to people in Southeastern Wisconsin).
Whichever category you fall into, you should add me. I promise I will never spam you. Ask my friends! They'll vouch for me! :)
When I first started this profile, I was using it to network with other business owners (I own an online classifieds website, as you may have guessed from reading my profile). However, after much consideration, I have decided to convert the focus of this profile over to promoting causes that I feel are important. I am trying to network with individuals and businesses who care about their fellow human beings and who want to make a difference.
My main goal is to use my business expertise and online marketing skills to do some good for those who need help. I have hundreds of websites at my disposal for promoting causes (and more importantly, I have wonderful, caring clients who support me in this and let me add these things to their profiles and websites).
Some of my clients favor animal shelters because they are animal lovers (some of them volunteer at animal shelters and related organizations themselves). Other clients favor missing persons cases because they know someone who is missing a loved one or because they just want to help. Others favor organizations fighting cancer or other diseases that have affected their lives in some way.
My ultimate goal is to give organizations a place to tell people about what is important to them, and to give my family, friends, clients, and total strangers a place to come to find things they can support, already neatly collected in one place, where they can find whatever it is that makes them want to reach out to others in need and act on it.
For that reason, you will find a very diverse group of people on my friends list, and my top friends list will change each month. Some spammers do occasionally trick me with well made profiles, but they never make it to my top 40. I have been trying to go through my friends and look at each and every one (it's slow going!) so if you see a fake or spam profile in the back pages of my friends that I missed, please let me know so I can get rid of them!
I also promise you that if you add me, I will never, ever leave spammy "thanks for the add, here's a huge impersonal advertising graphic that will disfigure your profile and make you hate me" comments. All of my personal time is spent finding people who need help, or who want to help, and I generally won't comment you unless you comment me first.
I do occasionally send out bulletins about missing persons. However, this is not frequent. I am self employed, I work 60-80 hours a week, I answer my own phones, and do my own taxes, and spend time with my family, volunteer for several nonprofit groups, and even fit in a few hours for my social life every few months. I wouldn't have time to spam you even if I wanted to!
For those who may want to know a little more about who I am and why I am doing what I am doing:
There are many events in our lives which shape who we become and what we are passionate about. Here are some of the things that have shaped my life.
In 2000, My uncle was brutally murdered because a violent, lowlife gangbanger was released early from jail... (the guy shot my uncle in the back after being invited into his home under false pretenses, and then let my uncle bleed to death on the floor while he ransacked the place looking for money or anything of value that he could sell to get drugs, and then spent the next 5 years OPENLY MOCKING my family and our pain while we waited for the trial to be over)...
In 2001, my beloved cousin, a staff sargent in the United States Air Force, was slipped a date rape drug. Whether it was on purpose or accident no one knows. Either way, it kicked in as he was driving home, causing his car to crash into the median. His brain was severely damaged, and he died at the hospital. He was an organ donor, and saved many lives with the gifts he made after his death.
In 2003, a good friend of ours went missing, and is presumed murdered. We run a website and myspace profile for her. Her name is Becky Kraemer Marzo. You can visit her website at www.findbeckykraemer.com or visit her myspace profile at www.myspace.com/findbeckykraemer.
In July, my nearly 80 year old grandparents were the victims of a terrifying home invasion (thankfully they were not injured)... see my blog for sketches of the home invaders and see if you recognize them!
I also read alot of news and true crime, and cry my eyes out for each and every one of the victims...
There have been many other things in my life which have shaped who I am and why I am passionate about the causes that I support here. For example, I lost my grandmother to cancer in 1999. I lost a friend to drunk driving in 2000. I have an uncle who is waiting to find out if he qualifies for a liver transplant. I volunteer for 2 different K9 search and recovery groups, which do forensic evidence and missing persons searches. All of these things and more have influenced who I am and why I am promoting awareness for all of these different causes.
There are many tragedies in life, so many people whose lives are needlessly cut short, it just breaks my heart. But at the same time, there are still so many people who need our help, who it is not too late for - many people in the world need help but don't know where to turn.
On the other hand, many people in the world truly want to help, but don't exactly know how. I want to help not only the people who need help, but also the people who want to help but don't quite know where to direct their efforts.
I hope you haven't fallen asleep because I talked way too much! :)
chipper
busy
anxious
awake
tired
contemplative