UserTesting.com: Test Your Company\'s App or Mobile Site

Many companies benefit from testing their website with users before it goes live so that they can make sure their user base isn't confused or frustrated by features of the site. But now, many American consumers use their mobile devices as much, if not more, than their traditional computers or laptops, and usability on the mobile web is completely different.

That's why UserTesting.com, a site that helps companies test the usability of their websites, has just released a new service that will allow companies to test the usability of mobile apps and websites.

Using the service, app launchers can actually watch UserTesting's panel of mobile users trying out the app on their iPhones, iPads, Android devices or Blackberry smartphones, so that companies or app developers can get a first-hand look at what parts of the app may be confusing, frustrating, or uninteresting.

Companies looking to launch an app, or even those who have already launched one, can create a set of tasks they want each tester to perform while using the app, so that they can get the full user experience. Testers then use webcams to record their experience and give real-time feedback about what works and what doesn't.

App creators can also receive written answers to questionnaires about their app or mobile site. Companies can start receiving feedback from testers in as little as one hour.

As apps and mobile browsers become more and more common for consumers and professionals, the importance of creating easy-to-use mobile apps and websites can't be understated. Whether companies decide to hire outside developers or create their sites or apps themselves, services like UserTesting provide companies with extra sets of eyes who can give honest feedback, insights, and suggestions for improvement.

UserTesting offers a number of different plans and pricing depending on the number of participants. Businesses can also select which devices they'd like people to use when testing their app or site. Companies can run tests for mobile apps currently available and those that have not been released to the public yet, as well as mobile websites.

Tim Berry: Don\'t Let That Business Plan Collect Dust on a Shelf

Small business owners rank creating a business plan right up there with writing the dreaded high school term paper, college thesis, and bar exam rolled into one, says Tim Berry.

Tim, who is founder and chairman of Palo Alto Software, founder of bplans.com, and a co-founder of Borland International, says:

“Small business owners put off writing a plan because of the stupid mythology of the big formal BUSINESS PLAN that supposedly represents you in front of some feared imaginary judge and jury, a morph of bankers, investors, and the Spanish inquisition.”

It's true though. Many small business owners (ahem, this writer included)  don't bother creating a business plan simply because it seems too daunting. Berry sees business plans a different way. To him, they're fundamental for small business, as they pull it all together:  long- and short-term goals; vision and execution; words and numbers; and past, present, and future.  He says:

“What I love most about business plans is the business planning: like walking, it's constant correction and review and revision. Planning, done right, is steering a business, managing growth, aiming the business towards the right future.”

Passionate About Creation

Despite his increasing visibility through media (he's worked with best-selling authors as a business plan expert, volunteers at SCORE, and is the official business planning coach for Entrepreneur.com), he stays loyal to his small business following. For him, small business is about creation:

“I love startups and small businesses because their scale allows a person to wrap arms around the whole thing, soup to nuts, plan to execution, numbers to concepts. And because we entrepreneurs create something out of nothing - a new business is a new option for customers, plus jobs, and the act of creation.”

Creation is something he's proud his own company, Palo Alto Software, has achieved by positively affecting his local economy. After forming the company in 1983, Berry took it from zero to 40 employees, multimillion dollar sales, no debt, and 70% market share without outside investment. The company is responsible for more than 150 homes purchased in the town where it resides.

Sharing His Passion With the Keyboard

Berry began his career as a journalist and has never managed to get very far from writing. He contributes around the web on Amex Open Forum, Small Business Trends, Huffington Post and Up and Running, among others, and has written a book, The Plan-as-You-Go Business Plan. Feel free to check out our book review of it.

The book is practical in nature, and helps small businesses and startups create a business plan using form over function, that helps drive the company in the right direction, says Berry.

A Living Breathing Business Plan

Berry stresses the importance of regularly reviewing and revising a business plan. It's not something to shove in a drawer once you create it. He says unless you have a “business plan event,” (pitching investors or shareholders who need to see that “big document”), don't sweat it.

“…Leave it on your computer, keep it simple and practical, and review it often.  It doesn't have to have some specific set of contents. It just has to help you run your business better.”

The company he founded, now run by his daughter, has made this even easier to accomplish by introducing LivePlan, a new cloud-based version of their famous business planning software.  With LivePlan a team can collaborate easily to create a plan, because everyone logs in online instead of having to email files back and forth.  Team members can access it from anywhere, through a Web browser. And the business plan can be easily updated so you can track your progress toward meeting your goals and objectives - making it a true living breathing tool to help run your business.

One of the Small Business Influencer Awards Judges

Berry volunteered his time as a judge for the recent Small Business Influencer Awards, which he views through 1960s-colored glasses:

“I love the way we all get together - not just the organizers or judges, not just the nominees, but tens of thousands of people connected together - to celebrate the phenomenon of people connecting with people. It's the dream of the late '60s come true.”

Editor's Note: This article is one of a series of interviews of key players in the Small Business Influencer Awards.

File Sharing Security Worries Surface in Recent Survey

Online file sharing is a convenient and simple means to transfer documentation and other data from one person to another and it has become pretty common for people to use unmanaged, personal-use file sharing systems online. This makes them a pretty terrific way for information to get stolen from your business.

A recent survey conducted by Symantec revealed that “…small business employees are increasingly adopting unmanaged, personal-use online file sharing solutions without permission from IT.” This behavior was found to be driven mostly by the widespread adoption of online services, such as DropBox and YouSendIt, to mobile devices, which in turn has blurred the definitions of work and play into one mesh of usage.

Here are some more highlights from the survey:

• Employees influence file sharing adaptation. It's recognized that small business employees are more productive when allowed to share files; 74% stated it was adopted to do just that. Sixty-one percent stated that their employees are ‘somewhat-to-extremely influential' in determining internal file-sharing solutions.
• Employers are concerned about its usage. Despite that employers allow employees to use these systems in day-to-day operations, they (44% of respondents) stated that employee sharing of confidential info using unapproved solutions is a concern. Further concerns surrounded malware, loss of confidential/proprietary info, embarrassment, and regulation violations.
• Files are getting larger. The number of businesses today that share a gigabyte or more of data in their organization is more than twice what it was three years ago (14% as opposed to 6% back then).

Unmanaged file sharing solutions are bad news all around, not just with entrusting its usage to employees whom might not be educated as to the lack of security in these systems (or might not care), but also with product outages. If you use these systems to extensively share info with your customers and/or vendors, you're looking at a world of trouble if one should go down.

The best solutions to these issues are often the most simplest; Symantec compiled a few, and it doesn't get much easier than this:

• Centralization of file storage. Use a secure web-based system that is accessible from points that your SMB solely defines and controls. There are several companies, including Symantec of course, that offer these services.
• Limit file access. Password-protect or implement other access controls and permissions to keep files safe.  Adobe Acrobat offers simple document security to prevent opening, printing, copying, or otherwise sharing information in them, for example.
• Keep an eye out. Maintain an ongoing monitoring of what files are shared, at what time.

If anything, centralizing the control you have over your employees' ability to implement file sharing solutions is the best, biggest step you can take. Don't leave it in their hands; leave it to the professionals, because it's your business's future that depends on it.

Profitable future lies with business apps

Wall St may be disappointed with market appetite for tech firms but New Zealand commentators say there is life in Silicon Valley beyond them.

John Holt, a director at the Kiwi Landing Pad in San Francisco, said there was "incongruity" between the valuations of some companies and their earnings but this appeared to be focused around the social media space.

"I tend to disagree with the [idea] that if Facebook doesn't make it or isn't hugely successful everyone else falls over... investors are getting a feel of whether something has commercial legs," he said.

While a bubble may be emerging around consumer technology, analyst and commentator Ben Kepes said there were huge opportunities for start-ups targeting the business or enterprise market.

"We're seeing a real polarisation between consumer and enterprise tech. I'm really bullish about upcoming IPOs for companies like [online-software developer] Box, where there's absolutely a substance and they're making revenues," Kepes said.

"You take a look inside most enterprises and they're using tools which are essentially the same as 10 years ago and their workers at home are using Facebook and Google Docs and those sort of things.

"There's this massive divide, because 10 years ago enterprise had technology that was far, far more advanced than what consumers could have. That's absolutely reversed, so that's the big opportunity," Kepes said.

Xero's Rod Drury said the problem with a lot of the consumer-focused offerings, such as photo-sharing platform Instagram, was they were not "deep tech".

"They're not intellectually massive tech builds and they're not that complex. They're basically a great idea with great execution [that] get to scale quickly but then can be quite taken quickly taken out."

Facebook acquired Instagram for close to US$1 billion this year.

By Hamish Fletcher | Email Hamish

Tech stock love affair turns sour

Sometimes, when a love affair ends, you can't remember what it was you ever saw in someone in the first place. That is the feeling of once-amorous investors who breathlessly wooed Facebook at its flotation in May and paid US$38 for the privilege of a share in the social network.

It is the feeling right now of Pandora Media investors, who paid US$16 per share for a stake in the online radio business. It is the feeling, too, of investors in Zynga, who got shares in the online games maker at US$10.

Compare their share prices with trading yesterday: $21.01 for Facebook, a loss of 45 per cent; Pandora at $10.08, down 37 per cent; Zynga at $3.01, an 80 per cent wipe-out.

Wall St has fallen out of love with these internet stocks. They have poisoned the prospects for others, such as Twitter or Foursquare, waiting for their stock market debut. If excitement over these social media companies last year threatened to bring on a new dot com bubble, it shows serious signs of popping.

The thing all these disastrous debuts have in common is that investors were valuing the social media phenoms not on historic profits (there were none) or current revenues there were precious little) but on assumptions of the future growth of both.

Pandora had 90 million regular listeners, 240 million people played Zynga games, and Facebook was the mother of all social networks, with 900 million active profiles. These user figures were rising very fast; it was only a matter of time until, either through advertising sales or other means, these firms would be able to 'monetise' their users, in the jargon.

Just a few quarters of actual results - only one in the case of Facebook - and assumptions about these young, untested business models have had to be revised down, or pushed into the future, or called into question entirely.

The very thing that aroused investor passion is what has them running a mile now: when it comes to social media, things change very fast.

Take Facebook. Almost one in nine users is now accessing the site only on smartphones, up 23 per cent in three months, a much faster shift away from the personal computer than anyone expected. While Facebook has worked out a way to make money by selling ads on people's profiles down the side of the computer screen, there is much less room on a smartphone screen for such distractions. It is only now beginning to experiment with putting ads in users' main news feed, and promises to roll this out slowly, so as not to spam users with too many commercial messages that might turn them away.

"Facebook's challenge is in scaling up at a pace that is satisfactory to the market and satisfactory to its investors," says Clark Fredricksen, vice-president of communications at market research firm eMarketer, "but Facebook always sides with its users. Advertisers will have to go along for the ride. But it will be slower than some people will want."

According to eMarketer, mobile advertising accounted for less than 1 per cent of total ad spending worldwide last year, and it will be a long time before it challenges other mainstay channels such as TV, print and internet ads. Furthermore, more than half of all mobile ad spending is on ads next to search results, not the sorts of ads Facebook can sell.

Shelly Palmer, a technology consultant and the founder of Advanced Media Ventures, says investors ought to have been more sceptical, "With basically half the connected people in the world as users, they are making US$1bn a year profit. Even if everyone connected to the internet was on Facebook, they would be making US$2bn a year. It's simple maths. It's not a US$38-a-share, US$104bn-value company; it's a US$7.50, US$20bn company."

As for Zynga, the switch to mobile is proving even more painful. Its revenues come from the sale of virtual goods in its Facebook games but Facebook users do not play those games on their phones. Zynga is also struggling to come up with new hits. Its shares slumped 42 per cent in a single day last week, when it cut its revenue guidance for this year.

There have been other disasters in the social media space. Pandora recorded listener hours up 77 per cent in June compared with the same month last year, but its revenues have fallen shy of Wall St hopes because advertisers are not flocking to put their commercials on air. Groupon, which brought a social media sensibility to money-off coupons, has lost two thirds of its value since floating last November, amid investor fears that customers will drift off and merchants will find less expensive ways to publicise their offers.

It's not all been bad news, though. LinkedIn, the professional network, is well above its flotation share price, as is Yelp, an online Yellow Pages, that posted an 89 per cent jump in advertising revenues from local businesses in the second quarter.

The problem is that where there have been investor losses, there has also been bad feeling and accusations of bad behaviour.

The founders of several of these unproven companies have become very rich in stark contrast to newer shareholders.

When Richard Greenfield, the outspoken analyst at BTIG, wrote a note entitled Downgrading Zynga to Neutral: We Are Sorry and Embarrassed by Our Mistake, he didn't just apologise for his own disastrous buy recommendation. He professed to feeling misled by management and angrily attached a timeline that showed how, as recently as March, founder Mark Pincus had cashed in US$200m from selling Zynga shares at US$12 apiece. In Groupon's four years in existence, chief executive Andrew Mason has cashed out US$31m, while the chairman, Eric Lefkofsky, took out US$398m.

Founder Mark Zuckerberg may not have cashed in at the flotation of Facebook (though he did sell enough stock to take care of his tax bill), but plenty of early investors did, and as with all these internet start-ups, the handcuffs will soon come off these insiders and a drip-drip of extra selling can be expected to weigh further on the share price.

Meanwhile, Groupon has had to restate its accounts on several occasions and admitted material weaknesses in its ability to properly calculate and publish its results.

Two California law firms filed lawsuits seeking class-action status on behalf of Zynga stockholders this week, alleging the company concealed threats to its business and sales growth.

Less than 15 months after LinkedIn kicked off investors' love-in with social media stocks, it looks like an expensive, regrettable affair.

It doesn't mean investors can never love technology again, says Shelly Palmer, but they will be looking for more stable partners in the future.

"But there's no space now for floating an internet service company that creates a large audience in advance on the premise that that large audience is highly monetisable. It's not obvious it will be highly monetisable."

- Independent

By Stephen Foley

\'Intelligent\' Google searches bring up extra info

A new type of Google search that aims to understand exactly what users are looking for has become available in New Zealand.

The Knowledge Graph feature displays useful information alongside the usual search results for more than 500 million search terms - including landmarks, well-known people, cities, sports teams, buildings, geographical features, art and more.

It aims to help users find exactly what they are looking for and help them make unexpected discoveries.

Google says internet searches usually work by matching up keywords to queries, but the new feature is an intelligent model that aims to understand real-world entities and their relationships to one another.

A Google search for "Sky Tower" now brings up extra information to the right of the search results - including a map of the Auckland landmark's location, pictures, and information including its height, opening date, hours of business and a contact telephone number.

It also suggests other places of interest including the Auckland Harbour Bridge, museum and zoo.

The feature isn't perfect yet, though - it lists the Sky Tower's address simply as "Auckland, 1010".

Google says that it works best with searches of people, bands, landmarks and sports teams.

Knowledge Graph was introduced to the United States in May and was installed in all English language searches overnight.

Google also issued new statistics, including that it serves more than three billion searches a day. On a typical day, Google's search bots crawl more than 20 billion pages, to add to its list of 30 trillion web pages.

- APNZ

Shares drop as new Yahoo boss reconsiders payout

Recently hired Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer may scrap the internet company's plan to reward its long-tormented shareholders with a multibillion-dollar payout this year, underscoring the uncertainty accompanying new leadership.

The unexpected twist disclosed in regulatory documents filed yesterday after the stock market closed caused Yahoo shares to drop more than 3 per cent in extended trading.

Mayer is mulling a shift in direction as part of a sweeping review she is conducting in an attempt to revive Yahoo's revenue growth, spur more product innovation and boost the company's stock price. Those goals eluded her recent predecessors.

Yahoo lured Mayer away from rival Google three weeks ago to become its fifth CEO in five years.

Given Yahoo's persistent headaches, shareholders presumably want her to shake things up.

Mayer will risk alienating Wall St if she decides to do something differently with a windfall that will pour into Yahoo after it completes an agreement to sell half its stake in thriving Chinese internet company Alibaba Group for US$7.1 billion ($8.76 billion).

Yahoo pledged to distribute most of the anticipated after-tax proceeds estimated at $4.2 billion to shareholders. The company reiterated that in a conference call after Mayer's hiring was announced.

Since then, Mayer has decided to reassess Yahoo's strategy "to enhance long-term shareholder value", according to the company's quarterly report. Her review would include potential acquisitions, a restructuring plan that eliminated 1500 jobs during the second quarter and the Alibaba proceeds, the documents said.

Mayer's analysis could culminate in a complete about-face from the previous plans or less dramatic changes, according to Yahoo.

If Mayer decides to chart a completely new direction, she will need the approval of Yahoo's board. The directors include New York hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb, who stands to be one of the biggest winners from an Alibaba payday. Loeb's fund, Third Point, owns a 5.8 per cent stake in Yahoo.

Yahoo shareholders have grown increasingly frustrated as the company's revenue and stock price have flagged, even as advertisers shifted more of their marketing budgets to the internet. Most of that money, though, has been flowing to Google and Facebook.

To compound investor exasperation, Yahoo squandered an opportunity to sell itself to Microsoft for US$33 a share in May 2008. Yahoo shares fell 55c, or 3.4 per cent, to US$15.46 yesterday, leaving them slightly below when Mayer was hired.

- AP

5 Easy Steps To Better Sales Presentations

It sounds counterintuitive, but many sales people do not plan or prepare for their sales presentations. Sales people spend so much time on lead generation calls, qualifying sales leads, and appointment setting that often, by the time they get around to meeting with a prospective client, their actual sales presentation is an afterthought.

This is a big mistake. Sales people can't assume that the sales presentation will take care of itself, or that they can “think on their feet” and talk off the top of their heads.

If you spend hours making dozens of lead generation calls and building relationships with clients and narrowing down your sales funnel, then you need to invest at least that much time in preparing for your sales presentations.

Here are 5 easy steps to creating more effective sales presentations:

Write It Down

Put your entire sales presentation in writing. Write like you talk. Keep it short and simple, but make sure to include as much specific detail as necessary. Imagine that you're having a conversation with a client right across the table from you â€" what would you say? Which key points do you most want to emphasize? What are the biggest benefits to the customer of choosing your solution or product or service?

Create An Outline

In addition to the full scripted sales presentation, write a shorter outline to serve as a guide. This outline can be used to help you prepare and memorize the script, and it can also be used as a “leave-behind” document to give the prospect something to keep as a record of your conversation.

Think Of Questions And Objections

As part of writing your scripted presentation, give some thought to what the client might say in response at each stage of the script. Pretend you're writing a dialogue or a movie scene with you and the client each acting out your roles. What questions or objections have you heard from other clients in the past? What are the biggest sticking points or aspects of your solution that people struggle to understand? How can you help clarify any misunderstandings?

Practice, Practice, Practice

Prepare for your sales presentation by reciting the entire script, out loud. Deliver the presentation to at least two other colleagues on the sales team and ask them to tell you what they think. Practice by doing some role playing, where one person plays the part of the customer â€" this creates a more realistic sense of back-and-forth, asking questions and raising objections. Record yourself delivering the presentation â€" either in audio format or better yet, in video format so you can see your body language and delivery. One of the best ways to get better as a presenter is to watch yourself speak.

Get Ready For The Room

Make sure you're familiar with the environment that you'll be in, whether you're going to be delivering your sales presentation to a small audience, a conference room or an auditorium, and prepare your materials accordingly. Bring enough printed documents and business cards to hand out to everyone in the room. Make sure your slideshow works. Arrive early to set up. Be prepared to adjust the seating arrangement or layout of the room to suit your needs and “make the room your own.”

Many sales people wrongly have the notion that if they prepare a sales presentation, they will sound “too scripted.” The truth is, nothing is more natural-sounding than a well-prepared sales presentation.

If you have a clear idea of how you want the presentation to go, what you want to say, and how to respond to questions and objections along the way, you will sound more professional and credible than a sales person who stumbles along, improvising through an unstructured presentation.

You owe it to yourself and your customers to prepare a solid sales presentation. Once you have a standard sales presentation in writing, you can adjust it to suit the specific details and needs of each customer on your appointment list.

Sales Steps Photo via Shutterstock

Two Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Platforms Ideal For Small Businesses

Have you ever dreamed of a system that would let you know what your customers are talking about so you know exactly how to sell an idea to them? Have you ever come across difficulties using other customer relationship management (CRM) solutions and just thought it would be simpler to chase after leads yourself? Well, you're not alone. Lots of businesses don't really know where to start when using a new CRM interface and even more of them haven't tried out CRM for themselves either because it's too expensive or doesn't seem to fit their needs.

Well, there are tons of solutions out there, so where do you start? A lot of small businesses hopping onto the bandwagon ask themselves, “What's the best thing out there that does it all?” Unfortunately, there's no way to integrate something that “does it all,” but we can certainly get so close you won't really notice a difference.

Here are two CRM platforms that take home the medal for small enterprises:

• Microsoft Dynamics - Microsoft is known for the enormous price tag it puts on almost everything it touches. Just take a look at the historical prices of OEM copies of Windows. However, in the last few years, Microsoft has been feeling rather generous and calmed down with all the price hype especially as competitors started taking its market share. Microsoft CRM offers seamless integration into Outlook and gives you a series of metrics that help you match your sales to your customers. Its price is comparably lower than its competitors' offers, giving you more punch with less dollars. Starting at $44 a month, this CRM could be yours.
• MogoCRM - If you're a big Google Apps user, perhaps you might not find Microsoft's offer attractive. MogoCRM is a service completely integrated with Google Apps that gives you a seamless experience within a full CRM platform. You even get Twitter insights, which allow you to see who's tweeting about your product. You get the full package for $132 per year ($11 per month) and pay $60 for the first year ($5 per month). This is perhaps the most affordable CRM solution for small businesses!

While you're running your business, don't forget about your customers. They are the key to achieving the best sales and shooting way above your targets.

Google faces $22.5 million FTC fine over Safari cookies

Google is to face a $22.5 million (£14.4 million) fine over a charge from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that it placed cookies on user's computers via Safari.

Violating an earlier privacy settlement between Google and the FTC, the FTC said that Google misrepresented to Safari users that it would not place cookies or serve targeted ads to those users.

The FTC complaint said that for several months in 2011 and 2012, Google placed a certain advertising tracking cookie on the computers of Safari users who visited sites within Google's DoubleClick advertising network. This was despite Google previously telling these users that they would automatically be opted out of such tracking as a result of the default settings of the Safari browser used in Macs, iPhones and iPads.

Despite these promises, the FTC charged that Google placed advertising tracking cookies on consumers' computers, in many cases by circumventing the Safari browser's default cookie-blocking setting.

It said that Google exploited an exception to the browser's default setting to place a temporary cookie from the DoubleClick domain and because of the particular operation of the Safari browser, that initial temporary cookie opened the door to all cookies from the DoubleClick domain, including the Google advertising tracking cookie that Google had represented would be blocked from Safari browsers.

The FTC deemed that the fine is an appropriate remedy for the charge that Google misrepresented to Safari browser users how to avoid targeted advertising by Google, and the order also requires Google to disable all the racking cookies it had said it would not place on consumers' computers.

Jon Leibowitz, chairman of the FTC, said: “The record setting penalty in this matter sends a clear message to all companies under an FTC privacy order. No matter how big or small, all companies must abide by FTC orders against them and keep their privacy promises to consumers, or they will end up paying many times what it would have cost to comply in the first place.”

A Google spokesperson told BBC News that the workaround had been employed to help it deploy its +1 button and said that the FTC was focused on something deployed two years before its consent decree and a year before Apple changed its cookie-handling policy.

A spokesperson said: “We set the highest standards of privacy and security for our users. We have now changed that page and taken steps to remove the ad cookies, which collected no personal information, from Apple's browsers.”

Microsoft to release five critical bulletins among nine patches next week

Microsoft has announced that it is to release nine patches on its August Patch Tuesday to address five critical vulnerabilities.

All five bulletins fix remote code execution flaws in Windows, Internet Explorer and Exchange, while one patch fixes flaws in Microsoft Office, SQL Server, Server Software and Microsoft Developer Tools.

The remaining four patches are rated as ‘important' and fix flaws in Windows and Office, three of these fix remote code execution flaws, while one covers an elevation of privilege.

Paul Henry, security and forensic analyst at Lumension, said: “It's a busy Patch Tuesday this month, with lots of reboots, affecting all versions of Windows. Some of the updates this month will have far reaching impact and they include patches to new problems, updates to old problems and something that might cause you a little more work than you might have been anticipating this month.”

He identified bulletin four as the most important, as this affects all platforms of Windows and addresses an ActiveX component that's redistributed in many places in Windows.

“It's an issue that was previously patched and this patch cleans up the previous patch. It's a very high priority update because it is native in Windows and impacts all Windows platforms,” he said.

Henry also said that the second priority should be bulletin one, which is a cumulative update for Internet Explorer fixing four separate critical issues involving remote code execution.

“If you're running a remote desktop protocol in Windows XP, then bulletin two should be another very important update. There have been a few recent updates for RDP from Microsoft lately. This is a remote code execution issue and it is able to do it pre-off, so no authentication is needed. RDP is not on by default, but if you are using it, you should install it. This only affects Windows XP, but it is a high priority update,” he said.

Wolfgang Kandek, CTO of Qualys, identified bulletins one and five as being of particular interest. He said that bulletin one is the third consecutive update for Internet Explorer in as many months.

He said: “This new faster update frequency for IE is fruit of the streamlining that Microsoft has done in their QA process, but it also illustrates that there continues to be no shortage of browser vulnerabilities. All versions of IE are affected.”

Kandek said that bulletin five, an update for Exchange Server, will address the vulnerability caused by the Oracle component ‘Outside in', which was first reported and addressed by Oracle in their July Critical Patch Update (CPU).

Working group established to encourage cyber insurance

Developing awareness of cyber insurance and providing practical guidance on mitigating cyber risk are to be the two lines of focus for a new working group.

At the inaugural meeting of the Cyber Risk Insurance Forum (CRIF), the aim was to develop a framework of recommended information security practices and policies to support the uptake of cyber insurance, protecting insurers and businesses alike.

Established by NCC Group and formerly known as the Cyber Insurance Working Group, the CRIF has been established to develop a security framework for companies taking out cyber insurance, and it has now grown to include Liberty International Underwriters (LIU), Zurich Insurance, CNA Europe and Oval, as well Thales, Continuity Forum, ACE Insurance and Hill & Knowlton.

CRIF is also highlighting that it is often smaller businesses that are the most vulnerable. It said that without access to the vast security budgets or the dedicated personnel available to global enterprises, they may be an easier target for the emerging sophisticated cyber criminals.

Janet Williams, the lead on cyber crime for the Association of Chief Police Officers, has proposed the introduction of a ‘kitemark' security standard that companies seeking cover against cyber attacks may be encouraged to meet. ENISA has also called on the cyber insurance market to help improve the standards of information security being adopted, while RBS/NatWest hit the headlines when it announced that it would set aside £125 million to cover the costs of the IT failure it recently suffered.

CRIF chairman Daljitt Barn said: “Cyber insurance doesn't mitigate the risk of suffering a cyber attack in itself, but if combined with cyber risk best practice, it will. Driving development of those guidelines depends on making organisations aware of the risks that they face.”

Matthew Hogg of LIU said: “We realise from our discussions with industry that a two-pronged attack is necessary to drive our campaign forward. The Cabinet Office reckons that cyber crime costs the UK economy £27 billion a year, so it's clearly a major threat, but too many businesses still don't appreciate fully how this affects them, or what steps they can take to help make themselves safer.

“They need guidelines commensurate with the size of the organisations and their risk exposure in their given vertical, along with awareness-raising of cyber risk and insurance.”

Websense extends Triton to enable management by mobile users

Websense has announced a mobile version of its Triton solution to combine content-aware data security, web security, malicious app protection and mobile device management (MDM).

Websense Triton Mobile Security is a cloud-based security service for Apple iOS devices on wireless mobile networks. According to the company, it allows users to be protected wherever they use their devices, while its data-aware defences protect against data loss and the theft of intellectual property.

It said that administrators can roll out the solution by installing a profile to an iOS device and choose the appropriate policy for company-owned or personal mobile devices to keep them secure. This extends existing web security policies to mobile devices, as well as analysing inbound and outbound data communications.

John McCormack, president of Websense, said: “Websense is focused squarely on securing confidential data as it's accessed by corporate and bring your own device (BYOD) mobile devices.

“With the general availability of Websense Triton Mobile Security, organisations can now have the mobile security they haven't seen with MDM solutions.”

Taking Business Baby Steps

This cartoon was a freebie from a meeting I was actually in.

The manager was rolling out some new strategy and it was a fairly big change. “…so we're going to be taking baby steps for a while,” she said. Immediately my brain kicks out “then we should order some booties” and I raised my hand feigning something to add.

Sadly this manager had been around for a while and called on everyone but me despite some fairly good acting on my part that I had an important â€" nay, burning â€" insight, and the meeting ended sans joke.

So I reworked the idea and did this instead, which is fine but that lost opportunity still bugs me when I come across this cartoon.

11 Online Tools to Easily Streamline eCommerce Processes

What's your favorite software or tool for bringing all the moving parts of an eCommerce site (processing, etc.) together?

The following answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only nonprofit organization comprised of the world's most promising young entrepreneurs. The YEC recently published #FixYoungAmerica: How to Rebuild Our Economy and Put Young Americans Back to Work (for Good), a book of 30+ proven solutions to help end youth unemployment.

1. Stick With Shopify

Shopify provides a wonderful customer experience with a robust, easy-to-use, and scalable back-end solution for your eCommerce needs. It offers a free trial to make sure you feel confident in the software, and provides all the bells and whistles you need to incorporate payment processing, email marketing, customer management and more.
- Benjamin Leis, Sweat EquiTees

2. HubSpot for Marketing

HubSpot is a great all-in-one marketing solution geared towards small-to-midsize companies. It provides everything that you need to market your company in a seamless fashion and they do a great job of tracking how marketing activities affect the bottom line. They are missing a solid eCommerce store, so the Shopify integration would be essential.
- Lawrence Watkins, Great Black Speakers

3. In Love With 1ShoppingCart

We love 1ShoppingCart because it has the ability to process orders, create custom products and flow purchasers into email autoresponders. It has a built-in affiliate program. The features are endless, and the price tag is affordable and reasonable for most entrepreneurs.
- Erin Blaskie, BSETC

4. Start With Stripe

Stripe offers painless credit card processing done through a simple API interface. There are no hidden or extraneous fees - you're charged a small fee per transaction and that's it. They deposit directly to your account, with no middleman to add on fees and charges. I favor simple solutions, and Stripe is the best for payment processing.
- Nick Reese, Microbrand Media

5. Stick With Infusionsoft

I think Infusionsoft is great at integrating email marketing, followup, leads, sales, processing, subscriptions - all in a neat package. It's also easy to create an affiliate program, take credit cards directly, and it has a great API if you like to do custom coding.
- Nathalie Lussier, Nathalie Lussier Media

6. Go With Small Business Web

I've yet to find an all in one eCommerce tool that I like, but the Small Business Web includes several tools that all automatically work together - as if they were one package. Wufoo, Zferral and MailChimp handle most of what I need right out of the box.
- Thursday Bram, Hyper Modern Consulting

7. WordPress Works Well

WordPress is typically my go to answer for all things website-related. It is just to simple to set up your own website, use a few plugins and be up and running with a shopping cart in no time. I am convinced WordPress is the easiest way for an entrepreneur to achieve any web goal.
- Lucas Sommer, Audimated

8. Chargify for Subscriptions

If you're selling any type of recurring subscription online, you have to check out Chargify. This service has saved our development team hundreds of hours and allows our support team to quickly update, edit and resolve billing issues without a developer. If you're thinking about selling an online recurring subscription, integrating Chargify should be a top priority.
- Derek Johnson, Tatango

9. Integrate Braintree and Interspire

Interspire is a phenomenal flat-fee shopping cart system that's infinitely malleable - it's the backend of our product “configurator” in which customers can mix-and-match their products (a la NikeID.com). By integrating with Braintree, the favorite payments processor of many companies, we've been able to create a unique and seamless experience for our users while keeping costs incredibly low.
- Aaron Schwartz, Modify Watches

10. Work In WooCommerce

Depending on the type of products/services sold (physical or digital), the answer may vary. Having said that, WooCommerce is definitely my current favorite, no matter what product I'm selling. By integrating over 60 different payment gateways, baked in inventory and product management, marketing and promoting tools and more, it's an easy choice to make. Add WordPress to the mix and you're set!
- Juha Liikala, WebVehicle Oy

11. Make Use of Magento

We recently switched over to Magento for our eCommerce site and we couldn't be happier. Magento is a feature-rich, open source platform that offers merchants a high degree of flexibility and control over the user experience, product catalog, and functionality of their online store. Additionally, there are countless Magento extensions available to create a custom shopping experience.
- Anthony Saladino, Kitchen Cabinet Kings

Data Collective Introduces Funding for Big Data Startups

Big data is no longer for big business only. And neither is a lot of other technology now available to the average entrepreneur. The key is to leverage this technology in a unique way to build a fantastic business. Today's roundup starts with how that technology is putting massive amounts of data at your company's disposal and then looks at other ways technology can transform your company forever.

Bigger is Better

How low can you go? Turns out the more important big data becomes to business on a daily basis and the more powerful the technology created to collect it, the lower the barriers for entry into this field have become. Two investing experts are taking advantage of this, creating the first ever fund for Big Data startups only. TechCrunch

Let your money do the talking. Big data is already giving small businesses a boost in the area of lending. Here small business financing expert Rohit Arora looks at how new technology allows lenders to gather more robust data about borrowers, going much deeper than a credit score to offer startups and other small businesses financial products specifically designed to meet their needs. Small Business Trends

Other Tech for Small Biz

Web tech for brick and mortar. You don't need to be a big Internet company like Google or Amazon to benefit from the many online tools available. Brick and mortar companies like Minneappolis-based Wixon Jewelers can use internet technology just as effectively as Web-based businesses, says the company's Online Marketing Director Jayme Pretzloff. UPrinting

Digital art for marketers. You don't need to be a master at graphic design or a brilliant videographer to create great visual elements for your next marketing campaign. Listen to these insights from Leah Singer as she gives us a guided tour of two products; Over, a tool allowing you to easily add text to photos, and Extranormal, a text-to-video site, both guaranteed to add flare to your next effort. Merchantos

Always test your tech. An important step in introducing new technology for your business is to test that tech to be sure it performs as expected. In particular, its best to be sure you will have some idea of the new tool's user experience. Whether your users will be customers, employees, or both, it is important to anticipate any problems with a basic checklist. Fusion Alliance

Managing your customers. If customer service is one of the most important aspects of any business, then certainly any technology that helps you manage those customers more effectively is a step in the right direction. Here's a review of one such Customer Relationship Management application or CRM. Many of these tools are now available, so pick the one right for your business model. GetApp Learning Center

Mobile conference calling arrives. One of the big accomplishments of technology in recent years is to free us from the confines of our offices, giving us greater mobility, flexibility, and in the process, creating more productivity. If this is important to your business, you may just love this app. Smallbiz Technology