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Editor’s Note: Once again we bring you coverage from the Affiliate Management Days conference. This series of articles is on topics of interest to businesses that offer affiliate programs. More coverage of #AMDays.
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The goal Read More
The post How to Maximize Affiliate Relationships with Email: #AMDays Coverage appeared first on Small Business Trends.
Not every small business is having trouble getting funding. One kind of small business has experienced steady growth over the last five years. A recent report says franchises are receiving more funding than most in the years following the recession.
The “Small Business Lending Matrix and Analysis (PDF),” says franchise businesses will have about $23.9 billion in loan money available to them in 2013. That’s the highest amount of financing the industry has seen since 2009.
Available franchise loans Read More
The post Franchise Loans Are Up But Still Not Meeting Demand appeared first on Small Business Trends.
Editor’s Note: We bring you more live coverage from the Affiliate Management Days conference. This series of articles is on topics of interest to businesses that offer affiliate programs.  More coverage of #AMDays.
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Below are some of the key takeaways from this packed session.
Robert started the presentation defining the evolution of affiliate programs and how they are managed.  He differentiated between “first generation†and better “second generation†programs:
First generation affiliate programs:
Second generation affiliate programs:
Healthy programs attribute affiliate revenue appropriately. Looking at where your revenue is coming from and its source/tactics is the first step to becoming a Second Generation Affiliate Program.
Examples of low-value affiliate tactics:
What are signs to look for when approving or reviewing affiliates:
Think of your affiliate program as an extension of your brand. Look at each site and see if you want your brand there.
So now you have the information and suspects. What do you do next?
Ways to be Proactive:
Address within your program terms from the onset by outline restrictions on the following:
The affiliate program is a powerful marketing tool. There are many opportunities for incremental revenue. Ending this post on a positive note, let’s review what type of affiliates will bring you incremental program.
Who is a valued-added affiliate?
In a nutshell, remember, anything that seems too good to be true in affiliate marketing always is.
There was no way to have this session without speaking negatively about coupon and loyalty sites. I would love to hear your input into what value you these affiliates bring and what a fair solution would be.
Currently, I keep a backup of my entire hard drive on an external drive. Having my data in two places gives me a lot of peace of mine. I can’t trust anything important to just one location, so for those of you who want real peace of mind for your business data should take a look at Acronis Small Office: Server Cloud Backup.
Acronis combines local storage (your own external drive) with cloud storage, so your data is in three locations. It’s on your computer, it’s on a nearby external drive that you control, and it’s on a distant server, so that in the event someone spills a full carton of orange juice on your computer and external drive, your data is safe.
I have a Mac, so my backups are done by Time Machine, which replicates my hard drive and subsequently only backs up changes made since the last backup. Acronis has similar functionality, which is really fantastic. It makes backup time a lot shorter.
“Small business owners rely on their computers and mobile devices, and can’t afford downtime or data loss,†said Dmitri Joukovski, senior vice president, product management, Acronis. “We provide SOHO users with a secure hybrid cloud solution, a reliable alternative to new-to-market or public cloud solutions, helping to ensure business continuity and secure data protection. Our solution is enterprise-grade, yet extremely easy to use, and is based on proven technology that millions of customers trust.â€
Acronis Small Office: Server Cloud Backup subscription packages start at $499 for a one-year subscription, which includes 350 GB of Acronis cloud storage, and scale up to a three-year subscription plan with one TB of cloud storage. You can try out a free trial before you buy.
Let us know in the comments about your backup solutions and if you’ve had a nightmare situation with data loss!
For more on backing up your data, check out our archives!
We’re delighted to announce another Twitter chat this week.  The topic is “working smarter, especially with your mobile devices.† Scroll down below for details.
Some of the topics we will cover include:
Add to your calendar now, with the following details:
WHAT: Â Â Working Smarter With Your Mobile Devices
WHEN:  Thursday, April 18, 2013.  At 8 pm Eastern time (New York time zone).  That’s 5 pm Pacific time
WHERE:  It’s a one-hour chat that takes place on Twitter.
WHO:  Judi Hembrough (@JudiHembrough), small business marketing director of Plantronics, is our special guest expert.  Yours truly (Anita Campbell - @Smallbiztrends) will also be there.  All are welcome to join in!  Network with other members of the Small Business Trends community who I know also plan to be there -  @TJMcCue, @Lyceum, @eggmarketing and @Sannwood have all said they will be joining us, and possibly some other “regulars.† It’s a great way to make connections.
HOW:  Just search for the hashtag #SmarterWorking over at Twitter.com to see who is participating.  When you participate,  include that same hashtag  in your tweets. That way, other participants will see your tweets and know you are part of the chat.
WHY:  Because it’s informative and fun.  And it’s a terrific icebreaker to meet other entrepreneurs. Oh, and we have a giveaway, too!
GIVEAWAY GOODIES:  Thanks to @Plantronics, which is sponsoring this week’s chat, we’ll be giving away 3 of the awesome Plantronics Voyager Legend UC headsets. I will give them away to participants who share helpful tips during the one hour chat.  Headsets provided by Plantronics.  Details about the Voyager Legend UC Headset here.
Big thanks to Plantronics for sponsoring, to make this chat possible - and for providing promotional prizes.
According to research by Forrester, 56 percent of companies surveyed plan to attract new customers and retain existing ones by providing excellent customer service. This prioritization of customer service makes it more important than ever that small businesses attract the best call center workers to represent their business to the public. Once those good customer service representatives are chosen, small businesses must then find a way to keep them.
This isn’t as easy as it sounds. As Cloud-based call center software provider Five9 points out, call center turnover is a real problem for businesses today. Businesses are often limited to workers who live within a 20-mile radius, competing with all other businesses in the area for the friendliest, most reliable employees. Among those talented employees who live within 20 miles of a business are workers who cannot pass background or drug screenings, fail to grasp the concepts behind your particular business model, or generally emerge as unreliable or unable to interact properly with customers.
But Five9 has a solution for this challenge. According to the company, research has shown that allowing call center employees to take calls from home improves retention and increases employee productivity. Here are a few reasons you should consider making the switch to home-based call center employees.
Cloud-based call center software makes it easy for small businesses to hire call center workers without regard to location, offering them perks that competitors aren’t offering. For more information on how Five9 can help automate your call center, streamlining operations and automating staff scheduling, visit Five9′s website.
According to research by Forrester, 56 percent of companies surveyed plan to attract new customers and retain existing ones by providing excellent customer service. This prioritization of customer service makes it more important than ever that small businesses attract the best call center workers to represent their business to the public. Once those good customer service representatives are chosen, small businesses must then find a way to keep them.
This isn’t as easy as it sounds. As Cloud-based call center software provider Five9 points out, call center turnover is a real problem for businesses today. Businesses are often limited to workers who live within a 20-mile radius, competing with all other businesses in the area for the friendliest, most reliable employees. Among those talented employees who live within 20 miles of a business are workers who cannot pass background or drug screenings, fail to grasp the concepts behind your particular business model, or generally emerge as unreliable or unable to interact properly with customers.
But Five9 has a solution for this challenge. According to the company, research has shown that allowing call center employees to take calls from home improves retention and increases employee productivity. Here are a few reasons you should consider making the switch to home-based call center employees.
Cloud-based call center software makes it easy for small businesses to hire call center workers without regard to location, offering them perks that competitors aren’t offering. For more information on how Five9 can help automate your call center, streamlining operations and automating staff scheduling, visit Five9′s website.
As a small business owner, free time is probably not something you have a whole lot of. What you do have a lot of are tasks to accomplish and deadlines to meet. So how can you better accomplish these tasks in a shorter amount of time?
Below are 50 time saving tips to help you save time throughout your workday.
1. Set Goals
Each morning, write out a detailed to-do list of the things you want to accomplish that day.
2. Create a Plan
Figure out when and how you’ll accomplish each item on your daily list - will you need help, supplies, etc.?
3. Prioritize by Importance
It’s inevitable that sometimes you’ll have to cut items off your to-do list, so decide early what the most important items are and prioritize.
4. Prioritize by Urgency
You’ll need to get to those projects that have urgent deadlines so leave the ones that are due next week for later.
5. Break Down Large Tasks
If your list includes some overwhelming items, break them down into smaller, more manageable tasks.
6. Be Realistic
Don’t expect to accomplish everything in an hour. Know your limitations and your abilities.
7. Track Your Time
In order to better understand how you really spend your time, take a few days and write down everything you do and how long it takes. Include breaks, email, social media and everything else, so that you’ll find out what your biggest time wasters are.
8. Set Deadlines
Need some motivation to complete a project? Set a deadline for yourself and tell others about it so they can help hold you accountable.
9. Keep One Eye on the Clock
You don’t want to constantly obsess about time, but you also don’t want to let the day get away from you because you weren’t paying attention. Stay on track.
10. Set Reminders
If you have a deadline or meeting coming up, set a reminder on your phone that will go off shortly before.
11. Schedule Breaks
Everyone needs to take breaks throughout the day, so make sure to account for them when scheduling your tasks for the day.
12. Schedule Time for Email and Social Media
Email and social media can be big time wasters. Don’t respond to every email as it comes in and don’t leave Facebook or Twitter open all day. Instead, schedule a short block or two throughout the day to accomplish these tasks.
13. Use a Central Social Media Management System
If you use social media for marketing purposes, you likely have more than one account. Using a central dashboard like HootSuite can help you avoid going back and forth between sites, and even allows you to schedule posts throughout the day so you don’t need to constantly sign back on.
14. Avoid Distractions
Aside from social media and email, there are a number of other distractions that can cause you to waste time throughout the day. If you work at home, turn off the TV. If you work in an office, take a different route to the water cooler to avoid chatty co-workers.
15. Stick to One Task at a Time
Multi-tasking can sound like a time saver, but it isn’t. Focus on one task, complete it and then move on.
16. Batch Tasks
It can be helpful to do similar tasks consecutively. For example, make all your phone calls for the day back-to-back.
17. Incentivize Tasks
When you have a really difficult task to complete, give yourself a reward for completing it. It can be as simple as taking a break.
18. Focus on Results
You should have an idea about why you are doing each task on your list. Ask yourself how each item will impact your company and focus on results.
19. Don’t Stress Over Unimportant Details
If something doesn’t have a big impact on your business, don’t stress about it. Perfectionism can be a big time waster.
20. Create Good Habits
Create a habit of sorting files regularly, responding to emails in a timely manner and quickly accomplishing any other tasks that show up on your to-do list so that it quickly becomes routine.
21. Eliminate the Non-Essential
Remove items that no longer serve a purpose to your mission, both physically and electronically.
22. Use Email Filters and Archives
Use email filters and archives so that you don’t spend hours looking for a particular message. Your email program most likely offers easy tools to keep all your communications organized, so make wise use of those features.
23. Limit Meetings
Meetings can be essential, but they can also turn into time wasters if they go on too long or happen too frequently. Accept and schedule only important meetings.
24. Hire a Virtual Assistant
Virtual assistants can help you with mundane daily tasks like email, bookkeeping, scheduling and research. Consider getting yourself some help if you need it.
25. Utilize a Project Management Platform
Services like Basecamp offer your team a way to communicate in groups, set deadlines and share and edit files without having to keep up with several different email threads.
26. Keep Projects in One Place
For both completed projects and those still in progress, have one folder or area where you know you can find them.
27. Avoid Rush Hour
If you commute or have to travel for meetings, take traffic and construction into account so as to not waste time en route.
28. Have Virtual Meetings
Avoid traveling when possible and instead consider the use of programs like Skype or GoToMeeting.
29. Automate Payroll
Rather than manually tracking hours and expenses, invest in a payroll system that will do all the work for you.
30. Take Notes
Keep a notebook with you at all times to jot down notes and ideas or use an app such as Evernote to store ideas, images and more so you don’t spend time trying to think of them later.
31. Take Advantage of Technology
There are so many time saving and organizational apps and services available such as Dropbox, which lets you bring your photos, docs and videos anywhere . Find the ones that work for you.
32. Don’t Get Carried Away
Attempting to master and utilize too many productivity applications and services at once can be a time waster. Don’t use so many of them that you spend more time on them than you save.
33. Delegate
Ask your team to take on tasks that you don’t have time for or those with which you know they’d do a good job.
34. Invest in Accounting Software
Keeping endless spreadsheets can lead to a lot of headaches and wasted time. Keep all your account information organized in one place.
35. Keep an Organized Workspace
Don’t spend hours rifling through your desk looking for a particular document when you could just implement a filing system and find it in seconds.
36. Back Up Your Files
Whether by external hard drive, hard copies or online backup, create backups of all your important files in case of a computer meltdown. Consider an online service like Carbonite or Mozy for this purpose.
37. Keep Templates for Commonly-Used Forms
Don’t spend time writing the same paragraphs over and over again when you could have a general template saved. Just go in and make a few updates each time you use it instead of starting from scratch.
38. Utilize Shortcuts
Use keyboard and browser shortcuts and keep all your commonly used programs in an easily accessible location on your desktop.
39. Automate Expenses
Make use of automatic bill pay services whenever possible to avoid late payments and time spent actually paying bills each month.
40. Use a Cloud-Based Calendar
Calendar apps can keep you updated on important meetings and deadlines and don’t take long to update. Consider using Google Calendar for this purpose.
41. Have a Collaboration System
Whether you use a platform like Basecamp or Google Docs or stick to more traditional methods, you should have a set system for collaboration so that your team doesn’t get confused and unorganized.
42. Say “Noâ€
Don’t take on tasks just because someone asks you to. If you don’t have the time and it won’t help your business, don’t do it.
43. Make the Most of Down Time
Time spent in waiting rooms, on the subway or even on long elevator rides could be used to update your calendar, write notes or accomplish other simple tasks.
44. Clean Up Old Files
Ridding your computer of old files can not only keep you from having to wade through them while looking for more relevant files, but it can also speed up your computer and save you from a fate of endless loading pages.
45. Use Mobile Apps
There are mobile productivity apps, mobile calendar apps, mobile list apps - all of which can help you accomplish tasks and save time while not in front of a computer.
46. Know Your Habits
If you’re an early bird, get your most important tasks out of the way early. If you’re a night owl, don’t force yourself to turn in big projects in the morning. Play to your strengths.
47. Shorten Your Workday
In a blog post on Freelance Folder, Lexi Rodrigo explains that cutting time off your workday will force you to accomplish more within the time allotted.
48. Leave Room for the Unexpected
Things you didn’t plan for will come up throughout the day. Take this into account when making your to-do list.
49. Have Quiet Hours
If you work in an office, put a “do not disturb†sign on your door while you’re working on an important task. If you work from home, silence your phone for that time. If distractions come up when you’re in the zone, you can lose your concentration and end up spending way more time than necessary.
50. Don’t Over-Schedule
You might be overly optimistic in the morning about how much you can get done that day. But creating a too-full list is only going to overwhelm you later in the day.
If you implement even just a few of the time saving tips listed above, you will start to notice a difference in your workday and your productivity - and you may even notice that you have a little more free time.
Let’s take a look at their findings:
But there’s good news. If you’re looking to start a business in one of the following industries, you’ve got a good chance for success:
There are three more healthy, growing industries in the infographic. Check it out:
Staff.com - Connecting Great Companies with Global Talent
Are you starting a business? Tell us about it in the comments below!
According to a report released this week by Gartner Inc., cloud-based security services will account for 10% of the enterprise IT security product market by 2015.
A January 2013 survey by the Stamford, Conn.-based research giant indicates that IT security buyers from an array of industries in the United States and Europe expect to increase their use of cloud-based services in the next 12 months.
The shift toward cloud-based security services is driven by several factors, including a lack of skilled in-house IT security staff, the need to reduce costs and compliance regulations that must be met quickly, Eric Ahlm, research director at Gartner, commented in a press release.
In particular, compliance issues seem to be driving curiosity in
tokenization as a cloud service, with 27% of survey respondents showing an interest in the technology. Gartner noted that compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard could be a major factor boosting interest, as tokenization as a service could allow an organization to avoid storing users' confidential information, perhaps preventing some IT environments from falling under the scope of a PCI DSS assessment. Security information and event management (SIEM) is another security product area that could be interesting to organizations looking to reduce costs in the areas of log management and security event monitoring. Still, enterprises will remain hesitant to send sensitive log information -- key data outputs that feed SIEM systems -- to the cloud until SaaS providers can more fully address their compliance concerns, Gartner indicated.
Beyond compliance concerns, Gartner found that cloud customers are reducing security expenditures by buying less hardware and software, lowering technology maintenance costs and avoiding complex upgrades. "The value that cloud services bring to security buyers is measurable in terms of capital and operational cost reduction," Ahlm said.
The full report can be found on Gartner's website.
John Howie, chief operating officer at the Cloud Security Alliance, declined comment on Gartner's report.
A new malware sample has been detected that primarily targets users in the UK.
Detected by Seculert CTO Aviv Raff, he said that the sample was flagged due to its unusual behaviour when it communicated with its command and control (C&C) server and used a custom-made protocol, and always used ‘a magic code' at the beginning of the conversation.
Raff said that the ‘magic' malware is active, persistent and had remained undetected on targeted machines for the past 11 months, and the attackers have targeted several thousands of different entities, most of them located in the United Kingdom. Seculert research found that 78 per cent of targets were in the UK, while six per cent were in Italy and four per cent each in Germany and the United States.
Asked why the UK was being targeted specifically, Raff said he did not know why this was, but that this is a persistent attack that went under the radar for almost a year.
He said: “Furthermore, this malware is still under development. We have seen several indications of features that are not yet implemented, and functions that are not yet used by the malware.
“For instance, in case the attacker would like to open a browser on the victim's machine, the malware will pop up on the RDP session for the attacker via a box with the message ‘TODO:Start browser!' â€
Raff admitted that the real intention of the attackers behind this ‘magic' malware is unknown.
“As the malware is capable of setting up a backdoor, stealing information and injecting HTML into the browser, we believe that the current phase of the attack is to monitor the activities of their targeted entities,†he said.
“But, because this malware is also capable of downloading and executing additional malicious files, this might be only the first phase of a much broader attack.â€
Asked what he felt made this different from other advanced persistent threats (APTs), which also included a backdoor and data stealing capabilities, Raff said: “We suspect that this is only the first phase of the attack, and like previous ones, the next phase will include a wiper module to cover the attacker's tracks.â€
A new malware sample has been detected that primarily targets users in the UK.
Detected by Seculert CTO Aviv Raff, he said that the sample was flagged due to its unusual behaviour when it communicated with its command and control (C&C) server and used a custom-made protocol, and always used ‘a magic code' at the beginning of the conversation.
Raff said that the ‘magic' malware is active, persistent and had remained undetected on targeted machines for the past 11 months, and the attackers have targeted several thousands of different entities, most of them located in the United Kingdom. Seculert research found that 78 per cent of targets were in the UK, while six per cent were in Italy and four per cent each in Germany and the United States.
Asked why the UK was being targeted specifically, Raff said he did not know why this was, but that this is a persistent attack that went under the radar for almost a year.
He said: “Furthermore, this malware is still under development. We have seen several indications of features that are not yet implemented, and functions that are not yet used by the malware.
“For instance, in case the attacker would like to open a browser on the victim's machine, the malware will pop up on the RDP session for the attacker via a box with the message ‘TODO:Start browser!' â€
Raff admitted that the real intention of the attackers behind this ‘magic' malware is unknown.
“As the malware is capable of setting up a backdoor, stealing information and injecting HTML into the browser, we believe that the current phase of the attack is to monitor the activities of their targeted entities,†he said.
“But, because this malware is also capable of downloading and executing additional malicious files, this might be only the first phase of a much broader attack.â€
Asked what he felt made this different from other advanced persistent threats (APTs), which also included a backdoor and data stealing capabilities, Raff said: “We suspect that this is only the first phase of the attack, and like previous ones, the next phase will include a wiper module to cover the attacker's tracks.â€
SSH Communications Security has announced a free tool to scan and assess networks to provide a report on risk and compliance exposures in secure shell (SSH) environments.
Named the SSH Risk Assessor (SRA), the company claimed that it identifies an organisation's compliance status with relevant standards, assesses actions needed to achieve compliance and provides an understanding of the current state of the SSH environment.
According to the company, the free tool enables internal and external audit and security teams to collect SSH key information across the environment and provide an assessment of risk exposure. The tool highlights known vulnerabilities in the environment, basic statistics on SSH keys deployed and specific violations of current best practices.
Tatu Ylönen, CEO and founder of SSH Communications Security, told SC Magazine that the current state of SSH key management is so bad that it is currently welcoming comment on its draft document around best practice for this technology.
He said: “SRA provides an easy way for enterprises and government agencies to determine if there are risk and compliance issues with respect to who has access to what information in their SSH environment.â€
He said that this will create a script to run on each server to analyse it and build a picture of the servers to let users know how many keys they have and help them build a remediation project.
“It is a free tool to show what your situation is without having to make any modifications to your systems,†he said. “It is free now to auditors and eventually we will make it free to everyone.â€Â
Management of secure shell (SSH) keys has become such a problem for businesses, that some spend ten per cent of their working time on remediation of them.
Speaking to SC Magazine, Tatu Ylönen, CEO and founder of SSH Communications Security, said that within some customer cases, he had found up to two million keys unaccounted for where there is 20 times as many keys as passwords, where they are granted as freely as passwords.
He said: “Nobody has worked out a deployment of keys that grant access to servers as they are often distributed to privileged users. If you are adding keys for ten years, then often there is no control and you grant access on a ‘need' basis and terminate on a need basis also, and often don't realise the problem.
“You cannot keep pretending that 80 per cent of your credentials do not exist. Some are more convenient ways of doing things or sometimes the keys are installed by hackers to form a permanent backdoor to a server.â€
SSH keys, which Ylönen said are used wherever there is a Linux/Unix deployment, are used in machine-to-machine secure communications, for remote access and for logging into hypervisors remotely.
The problem has led to Ylönen, along with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), to launch a draft document on deployment and management of SSH keys, to offer best practice and guidelines for this.
Ylönen said: “Companies cannot change or remove keys as they do not know what they are used for, yet one customer spends ten per cent of their time on SSH key management.
“No one has full visibility into this as it is too fragmented. Instead of spending ten per cent of time, a company can better control it and more thoroughly audit it.
“This is a big project that organisations need to go through and there needs to be continuous monitoring to find the backdoors and hackers' keys, to enforce key rotation and if they are not being used, revoke them and deploy new keys.â€
Ylönen also said that there needs to be best practice guidelines as none have been delivered in the past, particularly on how the keys should be managed, primarily on who has access to keys and who controls them. This is currently open for comment, with a second draft of guidelines published in the summer and a final publication set for October.
“There is no good guidance on this; we have contacted people we know about this and are helping bring attention to the topic,†he said.
“We have worked with the banks and auditors as there is no public guidance on how to manage it, as there is nothing to say ‘this is the scope of the problem', as there needs to be education to do the project and deal with it.â€Â
Following the tragic attack on the Boston Marathon on Monday, cyber criminals have begun spreading scams related to the bombings.
Detections by security labs have shown malicious emails with attachments and fake domains. According to TheDomains, there were 125 potentially fake domains registered just hours after the attack in Boston and John Bambenek from Bambenek Consulting claimed he had seen 234.
Writing at the ISC diary, he said: “Some of these are just parked domains, some are squatters who are keeping the domains from bad people. A couple are soliciting donations (one is soliciting bitcoins, oddly enough). So far, there have been no reports of any spam related to this but there have been a few fake Twitter accounts that are fairly quickly getting squashed.â€
Detections by Kaspersky Lab and AVG highlighted spam messages using the explosion to lure potential victims to malware and exploits. According to the AVG web threats research team: “These spam messages are very simple with a subject of ‘Explosion at Boston Marathon', and the message consists of just a numeric URL ending in ‘/boston.html' or ‘/news.html'.
Kaspersky Lab found that once downloaded, the malware tries to connect to several IP addresses in Ukraine, Argentina and Taiwan.
According to Trend Micro's TrendLabs, there was a spam outbreak of more than 9,000 Blackhole Exploit Kit messages, all related to the tragedy. It said that some of the spammed messages used the subject line ‘2 Explosions at Boston Marathon' and ‘Aftermath to explosion at Boston Marathon'.
According to Aisa Escober, threat response engineer at TrendLabs, the IP of the download link varies every time it is accessed and correlated with Kaspersky Lab's findings. “The downloaded samples have the same behaviour and same file size, except that it changes the icons used and the file names,†Escober said.
“Our analysis also shows that WORM_KELIHOS.NB hides all the directories on the removable drive and replaces them with a .LNK file that uses a folder icon. This executes the malware before it opens that original folder. In addition, it creates .LNK files on infected removable drives with the command C:\WINDOWS\system32\cmd.exe F/c “start %cd%\game.exe.
“This worm has the capability to steal credentials from the different File Transfer Protocol (FTP) such as LeapFTP, P32bit FTP, FTP Control, SecureFX, BitKinex, FileZilla, and many more. One noteworthy routine about it is that it harvests email addresses from the affected computer's local drive.â€
Christopher Boyd, senior threat researcher at ThreatTrack Security, said: “Historically, every time there's a high profile disaster or incident, we see a variety of social media scams in the days following that try to take advantage of the general public.
“On this occasion, we've seen a few Twitter profiles claiming they'll donate $1 per retweet, turning the tables on those venting frustration at the scams in circulation on social media. They did this by posting up ‘visit my personal account' messages with links to those attacking the scam accounts, then deleting them shortly after.
“The end result is that potentially innocent people were quickly deluged with very angry comments. Users of social media would probably be better off simply reporting fakes than tackling them directly.â€
Just as the momentum of smartphone apps looked more like an avalanche than a rolling snowball, social media management tools are also springing to life. Rankur, touted as an online reputation management and brand protection tool, offers online media monitoring and reporting using a web crawler to sniff out conversations about your business. The price ranges from a free basic package to $98 per month to provide coverage of business mentions, reputation alerts, and monitoring of online reviews.  Another good social media management tool is HootSuite, which can manage multiple social networks, track business mentions, analyze traffic, and schedule messages. Plans start at free and go up to $9.99 per month, and then to the pricier Enterprise system that supports 25 global languages.
Some social media management tools make it easy to send out messages by scheduling and managing your business Tweets, Instagrams, and LinkedIn notices, and Facebook postings while tracking follower responses. Sprout Social is one of those providing publishing and engagement tools while keeping track of what customers are saying as well as social media stats. One of the newly launched social media management tools is Local Measure, a business counterpart to consumer startup Roamz, a mobile app that searches through social sites for interesting things. Local Measure is being touted as the first geo-based social media management tool for small businesses, helping small businesses effectively understad the real-time conversations customers are having across social platforms. This tool merges local content, social media and mobile technology, to provide an aggregate view of conversations taking place in real time, at an individual store or on a store-by-store basis for chains.
“We have a small boutique hotel using our product,†says Jonathan Barouch. Local Measure CEO. “It showed them that a famous surfer was staying in their hotel and had used Instagram and Twitter to share a photo of his son in their hotel without mentioning the hotel name. This particular surfer had over 150,000 followers so it was a great way to fuel word of mouth advertising by engaging with him since management had no idea he was staying there.â€
Social media management tools continue to develop key features to help small businesses not only connect to prospects and customers, but also interact with them in real time. As Barouch summarizes, “We are really interested in giving small businesses access to the same types of insights that were previously only available to large corporations or online merchants. We see ourselves as leveling the playing field for small businesses by arming them with the insight to understand their customers, engage with their customers, and ultimately find new customers.â€
Google has announced the addition of a Live Streaming feature to the latest edition of its iPhone YouTube app.
Before that, iPhone users were unable to connect to live streaming events broadcast on YouTube. The lack of that feature has rankled those who tune into the site for live events using the iPhone. The addition should further boost the site’s impressive one billion unique visitors per month.
YouTube announced its new traffic milestone in March.
The new streaming feature Read More
The post iPhone YouTube App Introduces Live Streaming Feature appeared first on Small Business Trends.
[Chairman Mike Rogers]
A new cyber security bill known as CISPA, Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, is expected to reach the U.S. Senate floor soon. It pits high-tech startups against the giants in the industry in a privacy debate.
The Los Angeles Times reports the Senate is likely to vote on CISPA next week. The bill would allow the high-tech industry to share information on a real-time basis with the federal government in the event of a cyber attack.Read More
The post Lines Drawn on Debate Over Cyber Security Bill (CISPA) appeared first on Small Business Trends.
“I work on all makes and models of cars and trucks,†says Hilty. “I strive to do better quality work than the big shops for half the cost.â€
Hilty joined the PlanetSoHo network in August 2012 to try to grow his business by using their tools and services. PlanetSoHo offers automated invoicing, organizational tools, a custom online storefront and entry into their directory of services and businesses.
Hilty did not anticipate the impact that joining PlanetSoho would have on his business. Within five months of integrating PlanetSoHo, HBH MotorWerks’ saw huge results.  Their customer base grew from 150 to 1,300 clients. That’s almost 900% growth! Now Hilty is considering making his part-time business his full-time life. Beyond just the increased exposure to possible new customers, the software helps Hilty better manage and run his operation.
Hilty uses a paid account and says “it helps me to stay organized, make invoices with ease and I can even do purchase orders without having to figure out what the number is supposed to be or having to hand write it.â€
The “SoHo†in PlanetSoHo refers to “small office / home office†businesses and their clients include photographers, writers, architects, bakers, handymen and a whole lot more.
The goal is to allow people to turn their passions into revenue streams. For those less business savvy, PlanetSoHo could be a good option. For those who already have businesses, however, won’t find PlanetSoHo useless. “We’re changing the way business is done by leveling the playing field so you can compete with the big guys. We give you the tools you need to manage your business effectively, and we bring you the kinds of perks previously only available to corporations. “
What online tools do you use to boost your sales? Let us know in the comments!
“Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.†~ Zig Ziglar
One of my all time favorite quotes that changes me every time I read it. This quote resonates with me because I’ve gone through my own cycles over the past few years.  I work daily with professionals who are stuck and stalled. The mindset makeover and attitude adjustment always begins between the ears.
Sustaining a positive outlook and energy is not the easiest thing to do when “stuff happens,†and we are usually our own worst enemy.
The benefits though of a PMA (positive mental attitude) and the liabilities of pessimism are well documented in various books and studies. Napoleon Hill’s famous work, “Think and Grow Rich†(1937), is one of the best-selling books of all time (at the time of Hill’s death in 1970, “Think and Grow Rich†had sold 20 million copies.) Hill’s works examined the power of personal beliefs and the role they play in personal success.
We move through cycles of motivation, commitment and interest that affect our disposition simply because we are human and it’s human nature. The National Institute on Aging reported “given the right disposition, in the face of difficulty, people can still find renewed happiness.â€
Do you:
Below are 10 steps that can help you makeover your mindset and adjust your attitude, if you commit to them.
Review all your systems and make sure they are really working for you now.
Review your daily time management and priorities and watch out for those “bright, shiny object†distractions.
Set aside quiet time for yourself to get centered, focused and take a break.
Address your fears and put them into a realistic perspective.
Get up 30 minutes earlier, especially on Monday and Tuesday, and add days as you get comfortable.
Eat a good breakfast so that you fuel yourself to start the day.
Connect with your “A†people who nurture you and call you out.
Make Monday and Friday full, fun days that start and end your week strong and set the tone.
Read positive news and information and listen to your favorite music daily.
Dress up, perk up and show up ready to make the most out of the day and make a personal statement about yourself.
Oftentimes we need to shake up our habits, let go of a few bad ones and start building new ones. Personal and professional development is key to professional advancement. Seek out a coach, consultant or other professional to help you, or get an “accountability partner†or start an “accountability group†of dedicated people and do it together.
Don’t accept being stuck or let fear hold you back. Your success and happiness is an inside-out job that you control. Start with your mindset and attitude and your heart will follow. Here are some additional ideas and suggestions for your mindset makeover.
How do you sustain your positive mental attitude?
“Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.†~ Zig Ziglar
One of my all time favorite quotes that changes me every time I read it. This quote resonates with me because I’ve gone through my own cycles over the past few years.  I work daily with professionals who are stuck and stalled. The mindset makeover and attitude adjustment always begins between the ears.
Sustaining a positive outlook and energy is not the easiest thing to do when “stuff happens,†and we are usually our own worst enemy.
The benefits though of a PMA (positive mental attitude) and the liabilities of pessimism are well documented in various books and studies. Napoleon Hill’s famous work, “Think and Grow Rich†(1937), is one of the best-selling books of all time (at the time of Hill’s death in 1970, “Think and Grow Rich†had sold 20 million copies.) Hill’s works examined the power of personal beliefs and the role they play in personal success.
We move through cycles of motivation, commitment and interest that affect our disposition simply because we are human and it’s human nature. The National Institute on Aging reported “given the right disposition, in the face of difficulty, people can still find renewed happiness.â€
Do you:
Below are 10 steps that can help you makeover your mindset and adjust your attitude, if you commit to them.
Review all your systems and make sure they are really working for you now.
Review your daily time management and priorities and watch out for those “bright, shiny object†distractions.
Set aside quiet time for yourself to get centered, focused and take a break.
Address your fears and put them into a realistic perspective.
Get up 30 minutes earlier, especially on Monday and Tuesday, and add days as you get comfortable.
Eat a good breakfast so that you fuel yourself to start the day.
Connect with your “A†people who nurture you and call you out.
Make Monday and Friday full, fun days that start and end your week strong and set the tone.
Read positive news and information and listen to your favorite music daily.
Dress up, perk up and show up ready to make the most out of the day and make a personal statement about yourself.
Oftentimes we need to shake up our habits, let go of a few bad ones and start building new ones. Personal and professional development is key to professional advancement. Seek out a coach, consultant or other professional to help you, or get an “accountability partner†or start an “accountability group†of dedicated people and do it together.
Don’t accept being stuck or let fear hold you back. Your success and happiness is an inside-out job that you control. Start with your mindset and attitude and your heart will follow. Here are some additional ideas and suggestions for your mindset makeover.
How do you sustain your positive mental attitude?
The UK has been described as being closer to the US model of collaborative regulation than the European Union's one of coercion.
Speaking in a session at the SC Magazine Cyber Security Day, Stewart Room, partner at Field Fisher Waterhouse, said that there is a unity of data and security protection zones, and that he was seeing a ‘coalescence' of legal standards but a difference in tact.
He said: “The EU is saying that you should disclose and should have strong reporting standards. The US seems to have a cooperative approach while the EU is more coercive, and we see that the UK is more aligned with the US.
“The UK doesn't want a regulator with a big stick where the EU does and we are closer to the US, in any event we are going to the same place even from across the Atlantic.â€
Room said that as the EU focuses on cyber security strategies, a cooperation plan needs to be built and member states need to work across utilities, while an ‘intelligent regulator' is needed to regulate cyber space and a computer emergency readiness team (CERT) is needed to flow information from country to country.
“The EU environment for regulation is not a cooperative environment, it is a coercive one. The US likes to look at incentives or how things can be adopted in a voluntary way,†he said.
Asked why the UK was closer to the American model than the European one, Room said that this was the way that the EU works, with tough regulations and sanctions.
A poll of the audience, asking whether they agreed whether a breach should be reported to the regulator, found that 79 per cent agreed that you should report if you suffer a breach.
Listen to the sessions from the SC Magazine Cyber Security Day at http://www.informationsecurity2013.com/ and follow the conversation on Twitter at #sccybersec.
