Learn About SMB Internet Security - Chat Recap

A recent report from Symantec shows that cyber criminals target small businesses more frequently.

To discuss specific findings from that report, Symantec recently sponsored a Twitter chat and made two experts available on Twitter to answer questions on the topic of SMB Internet security.

Kevin Haley, director, Symantec security response, Symantec - @kphaley, Jay Epton, Director SMB Sales for the EMEA Northern Region, Symantec - @Jay_Epton, and yours truly, Anita Campbell, Small Business Trends joined up with other members of the small business community for the discussion. Below are selected highlights of that chat.

And Web-based attacks increased by 30 percent in 2012, Haley added. Of course, attacks on websites and computers aren’t the only way cyber criminals gain access to your important business data. The mobile revolution has opened up a whole new frontier for cyber crime.

But Epton said businesses must also understand the risks. For example, Symantec has found that in 2012, mobile malware increased by 58 percent. Haley added that an important step is to train employees about privacy settings on mobile devices and about the dangers of downloading rogue applications.

 

One of the most common attacks small businesses should be watching for is the so-called “watering hole” attack, Haley explained:  

For protection, Epton recommended deploying firewalls, gateway AV, intrusion detection and intrusion systems and Web security gateway solutions on your network. But he also said nothing can replace giving your employees the knowledge they need to counter the threat.  

To this end, how can we help employees and become more aware ourselves of the threats out there?

 

Detecting compromised sites is not so easy, given that legitimate sites are often hijacked by hackers, Haley said. Security concerns give small businesses a lot to think about. Experts acknowledge protecting your business from cyber attack can be a bit overwhelming. But they say that’s exactly what makes small businesses such prime targets.

Thanks to Symantec for sponsoring this chat and for providing the subject matter experts as speakers.




Bitcoin Exchanges Represent Considerable Risk

bitcoin exchanges

Bitcoin exchanges convert the popular digital currency into national currencies based on fluctuating rates. But the exchanges pose potential risk to users, a study finds.

A recent paper by researchers at Southern Methodist and Carnegie Mellon universities (PDF) says that 45 percent of the exchanges fail. The paper also says most close their doors without refunding users’ money.

Bitcoins have captured the interest of entrepreneurs worldwide. They are popular with businesses operating online and across International borders. Part of this appeal is that they are not regulated by any bank or country.

Researcher Tyler Moore, of the Lyle School of Engineering, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, explains his team’s findings in this video.

Researchers studied 40 Bitcoin exchanges on the Internet offering to convert Bitcoins into other currencies or back again, according to a summary of the report in Wired.

Of those, 18 have closed, 13 of them without warning, and only six have made an effort to refund the money deposited by users. The study also found that cyber attacks were not the main cause of Bitcoin exchanges closing. Only five of the exchanges the report studied shut down due to an attack from cyber criminals.

Moore avoids specifics about the major cause for exchange failure in his video explanation. But he says that businesses fail for a variety of reasons, including lack of interest in their products or services.

The study determined that smaller exchanges were much more likely to fail than their busier rivals. Conversely, larger exchanges were more likely to be victims of cyber attacks, Moore explained.

For example, researchers found exchanges handling 275 Bitcoins worth of transactions daily have a 20 percent chance of being breached. Compare that to exchanges handling daily exchanges of 5,570 Bitcoins. These exchanges face a 70 percent chance of successful attack.

The projected lifespan of Bitcoin exchanges is also cause for worry. The study predicts the median lifespan of a Bitcoin exchange at 381 days with a 29.9 percent chance that a new exchange will close within the first year.

Bitcoin Photo via Shutterstock




NYU Offers Free App That Teaches Mobile Marketing Course On Your Phone

Mobile marketing is a fast growing area, with changes hitting the major advertising platforms like Google Adsense and Facebook. With the proliferation of smartphones and other mobile devices, knowing how to market toward these users will be increasingly critical as we march forward into our brave new multi-screen worlds.

To educate more business owners about how mobile marketing differs from the other forms of marketing we’re accustomed to, NYU’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies has developed a free app to teach users about mobile marketing. It is a light version of the intensive course the school will be running this summer between July 29th - August 2nd. Those who complete the mobile course will receive a 10% discount on the summer course.

This app features several lessons that mobile learners can complete at their own pace, and shares why mobile marketing is such a great opportunity, with statistics regarding global and US wireless subscriptions, financial opportunities, and customer behavior, among other things. Some of the topics that will be covered include: Mobile Marketing Landscape, Mobile Marketing Planning, Content Strategy, Discoverability & Promotion, and Monetization. You can download the app (available for iOS, Android, BlackBerry, and more) here.

There’s a lot of great information on mobile marketing in our archives. For more on why you should definitely be thinking about mobile marketing, check out this article. For a head-to-head comparison of Facebook and Adsense, check out this article.

Has mobile marketing helped your business? Let us know about your experience in the comments!



4 Common Small Business Budgeting Mistakes: How You Can Avoid Them

Budgeting can be a challenge for any small business owner. Knowing when to spend and when to save can be crucial to surviving those early years. Yet small businesses consistently make a few of the same mistakesâ€"mistakes that inevitably force them to either restructure or close for good.

Here are a few of the most common budgeting mistakes small businesses make…along with tips that can help you avoid them.

Mistake #1: Lack of Strategy

The day a small business first opens its doors, a solid business plan should be in place. Many small business owners, eager to get started, jump in without having a good, detailed business plan. Several resources are available to help set both short- and long-term financial goals for your startup. Ask advice from an experienced entrepreneur or a seasoned business analyst who can possibly spot a few things you might have missed.

Once a business plan is in place, it’s important to continue to review that plan regularly. Another common small business mistake is losing sight of that overall mission over time, leading to costly mistakes.

Mistake #2: Underpricing

When a competitor comes to town, undercutting everyone’s prices to land a job, it’s tempting for other businesses to reduce prices to compete. The competitor likely has a lower operating cost, often at the cost of quality. If you shrink your prices to compete, you’ll either have to operate at a loss or reduce the value of the product or service you’re providing to avoid losing money. Either of these choices can spell death to a growing business.

Instead of slashing prices to compete, emphasize to your customers that your product has a value above and beyond that offered by competitors. Let customers know exactly what they’ll get when they choose your business over others. This enthusiasm for your own value will be contagious.

Mistake #3: Overspending

Part of growing a small business is increasing capital. It’s important to keep operating expenses as low as possible in those early days to survive the inevitable obstacles that will occasionally come your way. Some small business owners choose to accept very little salary in the first couple of years, knowing it’s important to put every dollar possible into the business. While this isn’t always an option, it’s important to avoid the high life until it’s clear the business is realizing a steady profit.

Mistake #4: Disorganization

Life gets busy for small business owners. It’s easy to let expense tracking and billing fall through the cracks. Whether your business is a one-man operation or you manage a team of five to ten workers, software solutions can do some of the work for you, ensuring you account for every dime that flows through your accounts. Visa Business offers many great resources and tools for small business owners, like giving you access to your financial information from any device with an Internet connection. Built-in reporting and analysis tools help Visa Business Card owners determine where every dime is going to make better financial decisions.

In addition to helping with organization, Visa Business also provides discounts on certain purchases made through the Visa SavingsEdge® program. To learn more about the many benefits that Visa Business offers including features like lost or stolen card reporting and multiple layers of security, visit http://visa.com/business/.

I am blogging on behalf of Visa Business and received compensation for my time from Visa for sharing my views in this post, but the views expressed here are solely mine, not Visa’s. Visit http://facebook.com/visasmallbiz to take a look at the reinvented Facebook Page: Well Sourced by Visa Business. The Page serves as a space where small business owners can access educational resources, read success stories from other business owners, engage with peers, and find tips to help businesses run more efficiently. Every month, the Page will introduce a new theme that will focus on a topic important to a small business owner’s success. For additional tips and advice, and information about Visa’s small business solutions, follow @VisaSmallBiz and visit http://visa.com/business.



Sightly Revolutionizes Local Business Search With Video

Sightly is a local marketing tool that allows small businesses to leverage the power of video to tell their story in the most engaging and effective way possible.

When you do any routine Google search these days, the most noticeable aspect of the page is the video thumbnails next to the typical search results. Video is quickly starting to dominate both global and local search and it’s growing thanks to the boom in mobile video viewing. With video essentially replacing basic websites as the main medium consumers will expect to see, it’s more important than ever to integrate video into your local marketing strategy and no one makes it easier than Sightly.

Sightly is all about local business search and discovery. Let’s say you’re a car dealership who turns to Sightly for a local marketing boost. When users search “car dealership” in your area, your Sightly video will allow your business to appear above YouTube videos and other search results while presenting the user with an engaging way to learn about your business.

Sightly is also a certified Google AdWords partner which can mean a huge advantage for your CPC campaign. Between video and certified AdWords experts, your small business will have a massive leg up on the competition.

Sightly provides a number of different packages and allows you to customize your campaign, get a mobile web site, get a 30-second spotlight video, customize your website and campaign with your own images and logo, and change or modify your campaign each month. There is no contract to sign, you simply decide if you want to continue using the service each month.

Sightly is all about video but there are other local marketing tools that allow you to leverage the power of the web for your local business. Yodle is a growing company that helps build your web presence and use SEO to drive calls and emails to your business, allowing you to track everything in the process.

OrangeSoda is another local marketing tool that provides you with a website, SEO, coupons, PPC, and marketing advice for your small business. Their services start at $475 for the basic package while the Pro package costs $1,125.

Another local marketing tool is ReachLocal which provides a full suite of features for your business. ReachLocal can produce videos as well but focus mostly on search engine advertising, marketing, and lead management. Their services start at $1,000 while a full comprehensive media mix package starts at $3,700.

Ultimately, you will want to choose the right tool for your budget and goals. All of these tools provide an edge in the search engine and local marketing game, Sightly just does it differently than the others.



30 Ways to Tell if You’re a Social Media Success

social media success

Social media is used by businesses to increase brand loyalty, share new products, and even gain new customers. Every company uses social media differently, some more successfully than others. Below are ways to tell if your company is a social media success.

1. Customers Seek You Out

In the early days of creating a social media account, you likely had to try very hard to find new connections and convince them that your brand was worth following. If customers begin finding you without you needing to go through all this extra work, you’re well on your way to social media success.

2. Your Message Gets Across

Even if you have a sizable network, your social media campaigns are worth nothing if your customers don’t hear what you have to say. If customers acknowledge your message, or if you use tools like Facebook analytics to see that many of your connections actually viewed your posts, you’re on the right track towards social media success.

3. You Gain Website Traffic

It’s likely that one of your main social media goals involves getting your followers to a separate website, whether that’s your online store, your company’s site or your blog. Social media can be a great tool to bring visitors to your other sites, if you’re using it effectively.

4. Followers Interact With You

A high follower count alone doesn’t necessarily make you a success if none of your followers respond to your posts. A more accurate sign of success is whether you gain responses, likes, retweets and engaging interactions from your followers.

5. People Talk About You

This is related to the point above. But instead of followers talking directly to you, they are talking to their other connections about you. This could mean they’re recommending that others follow you or try one of your products that they recently purchased.

6. People Share Your Links

Even more specifically, having others share your links to products, blog posts or other online pages can really mean they like what you have to offer.

7. You Gain Insights

Social media is so much more than just a way for you to broadcast your company’s message. You can learn a lot from following others and tracking your company’s mentions. Companies that do this successfully can gain a lot more than higher website traffic.

8. Your Target Audience is Clear

In order to use social media effectively, you have to know who you’re talking to. You should be able to scroll through your followers and see that most of them fit into the audience you’re trying to target.

9. You’ve Found a Good Balance

There are so many social networks and types of posts. You should be able to figure out which networks and which types of posts work best for you and your target audience, instead of just broadcasting new product listings or blog posts across every single social channel.

10. Your Content Has a Clear Focus

You should be able to scroll through your timeline or your twitter feed and see how each post fits together and works towards accomplishing your company’s overall social media goals.

11. You’ve Become an Authority

Your followers trust what you have to say and even others in your industry look to you as an industry authority.

12. People Ask You Questions

Along those same lines, if your followers come to you with their questions, whether it’s just a general question about your industry or more specific question about a particular product, you’re headed towards social media success.

13. Issues Are Brought to Your Attention

Not everything your company does, in social media or otherwise, is going to be perfect. But when there are problems or issues, if your customers on social media bring them to your attention so that you can correct the problem, you’re gaining social media success.

14. You Don’t Need to Advertise

Most social media outlets offer advertising options that can be very useful for companies just starting out. Although these ads can also be helpful for more established companies, you shouldn’t necessarily need them if you’re accomplishing all your social media goals.

15. You Keep It Simple

Social media shouldn’t be complicated. You should be able to quickly sum up your social media strategy and see that you are following through with it.

16. Customers Appreciate You

Not only should customers interact with you, but you should also be able to tell that they are happy with what you have to say. If they thank you for responses or recommend you to their own networks, you know they appreciate you and you’re heading towards social media success.

17. You Find Useful Trends

Aside from just using social media to gain insights about your own brand, you should use it to gain insights about your industry and/or network as a whole.

18. You’ve Tested Different Strategies

You can’t know if what you’re doing is right for you unless you’ve tried other things. You should have tested out different strategies at some point and know that your current one gets the best results.

19. You Keep Your Campaigns Organized

If you’re a seasoned social media vet, you should have a pretty good system for organizing your social media campaigns and initiatives.

20. You’ve Found a Way to Measure Impact

Whether it’s through services like Google Analytics or the built-in tools on many social media sites, you should have a way to quantify results so that you know you’re on the right track towards social media success.

21. You Don’t Spend All Day on Social Media

It might be tempting to use social media non-stop, especially if you’re constantly talking to customers. But you should be able to accomplish your goals without spending all day monitoring tweets or Facebook mentions.

22. You Maintain Relationships

More than just responding to individual messages, you should be using social media to actually keep in constant contact with your connections. And they should do the same with you.

23. You Create Brand Advocates

If you do successfully maintain relationships on social media, you have probably created some brand advocates - those who continually share your links and recommend your company to friends.  If this is the case, you’re inching closer towards social media success.

24. You Have a Plan

You shouldn’t go into social media without knowing what it is you want to accomplish, though many companies do. If, by now, you have a clear-cut plan, you’re that much closer to social media success.

25. You Accomplish Your Goals

Once you have a plan, you should see that you’re accomplishing what you set out to do, whether that’s increasing brand awareness, gaining website traffic or gaining valuable insights.

26. You Receive Suggestions

If your customers or others in your network come to you with ideas for new products or website features, it means they want to see you succeed and they think of you specifically when they have ideas related to your industry.

27. Your Network is Constantly Growing

Social media can turn into a numbers game for some companies. But there is no magic number of followers or interactions that means your brand has become a social media success. A better gauge is whether your network, both in terms of followers and interactions, grows steadily.

28. Customers Treat You Like a Real Person

Social media users don’t want to follow companies. They want to follow people. If your followers treat your company like a friend, you’re likely running your account like that of a person, rather than a brand.

29. You Gain Customers

Even if gaining new customers isn’t one of your main social media goals, at some point new people will come across your profiles and, hopefully, support your business.

30. You Listen

Social media is not a one-way communication street. The sooner your company stops treating it as one, the sooner you can realize social media success.

Of course, there are different levels of social media success, but if you’ve achieved at least some of the items mentioned above, you’re well on your way.

Thirty Photo via Shutterstock




Where In The World Are Small Business Owners Trusted?

american entrepreneurs

Message to small business owners around the world: If you want to be loved, move to America.

In the United States, small business owners are held in high esteem. A 2010 Pew Foundation survey found that 71 percent of Americans see small business as a positive influence “on the way things are going in this country” - a larger fraction, in fact, than see religious organizations as a positive factor. In the United States, small businesses are viewed more favorably than most institutions.

However, the top ranking of small business isn’t true the world over. Consider the situation in China. For its 2013 Trust Barometer, public relations firm Edelman surveyed over 25,000 people in 26 nations in the fall of 2012.

The survey showed that 86 percent of U.S. respondents trust small business “a great deal,” while only 55 percent of them trust big business “a great deal.” In China, by contrast, only 65 percent of respondents trust small business “a great deal,” while 89 percent trust big business that much.

Edelman’s survey reveals an interesting contrast between industrialized and developing nations. In industrialized countries, respondents trusted small business more than big business: 76 percent to 53 percent. In developing countries, they trusted big business more than small business: 79 percent to 70 percent.

Of course, there’s another way to look at these data. People around the world generally trust businesses. In the United States, big business has squandered some of that trust, while small business has held on to it.

Editor’s Note:  We’ve embedded the Edelman Trust Barometer report below. Jump to slide 16 to see the variations between small businesses and larger businesses in selected areas.

American Entrepreneurs Photo via Shutterstock




3 Reasons SearchYourCloud Is A Solid Solution for Cloud Document Search And Retrieval

Storing documents is becoming easier with a variety of cloud options from Box.net to Dropbox to Rackspace and many others in between.  Most of them offer great storage for file documents and some are even free up to a certain size limit.  This makes storing files, which use to require an external drive of some type, a lot easier to use and manage.  The problem arises when trying to locate a specific document amongstall of those easily stored files.  Some cloud storage services offer search features, but it still takes time to go through many retrieved results to find that one desired document.  Thankfully, a relatively new service, SearchYourCloud, allows the user to conduct a full-text search using a mobile device and delivering accurate results by retrieving outcomes not just based on keywords, but on overall relevance to the query.

There are three key reasons to begin using SearchYourCloud.

First, the software allows the user to carry out a full-text search for all desktop files and encrypted Dropbox documents.  It also provides single search capability from any device, (e.g. mobile phones, tablets, PC, etc.), for information stored on Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft Exchange, SharePoint and many other clouds.  “Instead of going to multiple applications (like, Dropbox, Sharepoint, etc.) on their mobile device, a user can access all their files using a single app (SYC),” says Simon Bain, CTO of Simplexo, parent company of SearchYourCloud.

Second, SearchYourCloud is extremely secure.  “The software puts AES-256bit government grade encryption in the hands of the consumer,” says Bain.  “It offers privacy and security so that users can now search within their documents including emails, Word and PowerPoint without opening the index to their cloud.”  SearchYourCloud provides its privacy and security to their cloud by not storing users’ email address or PINs, and no direct URLs exposed.

Finally, files can be shared securely using SearchYourCloud by encrypting files into your Dropbox and making them accessible via SearhYourCloud’s iOS application.  These files are encrypted with separate credentials to the rest of the user’s files and the user can easily deny access by simply deleting the shared file from their Dropbox folder.  That alone is a good enough reason to at least take advantage of the 30-day free trial offered by SearchYourCloud.

These three key reasons are huge deciding factors when deciding how to securely retrieve information, as well as share files from whatever cloud you are using.



3 Reasons SearchYourCloud Is A Solid Solution for Cloud Document Search And Retrieval

Storing documents is becoming easier with a variety of cloud options from Box.net to Dropbox to Rackspace and many others in between.  Most of them offer great storage for file documents and some are even free up to a certain size limit.  This makes storing files, which use to require an external drive of some type, a lot easier to use and manage.  The problem arises when trying to locate a specific document amongstall of those easily stored files.  Some cloud storage services offer search features, but it still takes time to go through many retrieved results to find that one desired document.  Thankfully, a relatively new service, SearchYourCloud, allows the user to conduct a full-text search using a mobile device and delivering accurate results by retrieving outcomes not just based on keywords, but on overall relevance to the query.

There are three key reasons to begin using SearchYourCloud.

First, the software allows the user to carry out a full-text search for all desktop files and encrypted Dropbox documents.  It also provides single search capability from any device, (e.g. mobile phones, tablets, PC, etc.), for information stored on Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft Exchange, SharePoint and many other clouds.  “Instead of going to multiple applications (like, Dropbox, Sharepoint, etc.) on their mobile device, a user can access all their files using a single app (SYC),” says Simon Bain, CTO of Simplexo, parent company of SearchYourCloud.

Second, SearchYourCloud is extremely secure.  “The software puts AES-256bit government grade encryption in the hands of the consumer,” says Bain.  “It offers privacy and security so that users can now search within their documents including emails, Word and PowerPoint without opening the index to their cloud.”  SearchYourCloud provides its privacy and security to their cloud by not storing users’ email address or PINs, and no direct URLs exposed.

Finally, files can be shared securely using SearchYourCloud by encrypting files into your Dropbox and making them accessible via SearhYourCloud’s iOS application.  These files are encrypted with separate credentials to the rest of the user’s files and the user can easily deny access by simply deleting the shared file from their Dropbox folder.  That alone is a good enough reason to at least take advantage of the 30-day free trial offered by SearchYourCloud.

These three key reasons are huge deciding factors when deciding how to securely retrieve information, as well as share files from whatever cloud you are using.



Small Biz Events & Contest Roundup: Techspeak for Entrepreneurs, SMB Nation, UPS Sweepstakes + More

Welcome to our latest curated list of events, contests and awards for small businesses.  Each item is carefully reviewed for relevancy and quality.  To see a full list or to submit your own event, contest or award listing, visit the Small Business Events Calendar.

Featured Events, Contests and Awards

2013 Content Marketing Strategies Conference2013 Content Marketing Strategies Conference
May 07, 2013, Berkeley, CA

Marketing and PR professionals from companies of all sizes will gather at the 3rd annual Content Marketing Strategies Conference, hosted by dlvr.it and Business Wire, to gain practical “how to” advice on content marketing SEO, content distribution optimization, content ROI, and learn from case studies by brands including Red Hat, New Belgium Brewing, FOX’s hit show Glee and much more.

Local University - New OrleansLocal University - New Orleans
May 07, 2013, New Orleans, LA

A half-day search marketing conference educating small businesses about local search. Local University is a training program that travels to cities around the country. The New Orleans event is provided by the local-search practitioner experts, under the support of Google, Search Influence, The New Orleans Chamber of Commerce, Greater New Orleans, Inc. and Nokia.
Discount Code
NOLAEARLY ($40 Off)

Access to Capital ChicagoAccess to Capital Chicago
May 22, 2013, Chicago, Illinois

Join us at the Navy Pier to learn how you can raise capital for your small business. Meet 1:1 with loan officers. Attend panels on traditional and alternative lending options, start-ups, crowd-funding, and more.
Discount Code
sbtrends (Get 30% off)

WBENC National Conference & Business FairWBENC National Conference & Business Fair
June 26, 2013, Minneapolis, MN

The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) will convene 3,500 decision makers from the nation’s leading corporations, government entities and women’s business enterprises (WBEs) to generate business together and stimulate economic growth at the 2013 WBENC National Conference & Business Fair in Minneapolis, MN, June 25-27, 2013.

More Events

More Contests and Awards

This weekly listing of small business events, contests and awards is provided as a community service by Small Business Trends and SmallBizTechnology.



Hackers hit LivingSocial and threaten 50 million users

Hackers have hit the daily deals site LivingSocial, gaining access to credentials and encrypted passwords of its 50 million registered users.

Although the passwords were hashed and salted, the company said in a memo to employees that data for its 50 million users might have been compromised and it was contacting customers.

The memo said: “We recently experienced a cyber attack on our computer systems that resulted in unauthorised access to some customer data from our servers. We are actively working with law enforcement to investigate this issue.

“The information accessed includes names, email addresses, date of birth for some users, and encrypted passwords â€" technically ‘hashed' and ‘salted' passwords. We never store passwords in plain text.”

It also confirmed that neither the database that stores customer credit card information or the database that stores merchants' financial and banking information were affected or accessed.

The memo, signed by CEO Tim O'Shaughnessy and featured by allthingsd, said that it was "redoubling efforts to prevent any issues in the future" and in anticipation of a high call volume, it was likely to temporarily suspend consumer phone-based servicing and devote all of its resources to web-based servicing.

O'Shaughnessy said: “I apologise for the formality of this note, which the circumstances demand. We need to do the right thing for our customers who place their trust in us, and that is why we're taking the steps described and going above and beyond what's required. We'll all need to work incredibly hard over the coming days and weeks to validate that faith and trust.”

Paul Ducklin, head of technology for Sophos Asia Pacific, said that rather than storing an actual password, consider storing a random string of characters instead; which combine the password and this random string and pass the salted password through a non-reversible cryptographic function to get a message digest code.

“A crook can check to see if your password is, say ‘s3cr3cy' by salting-and-hashing himself, but he has to start with a guess, because he can't go back from the hash to your password,” he said.

“That's why easy-to-guess passwords are bad: the crooks crack them first.”

Terry Greer-King, managing director of Check Point UK, said: “LivingSocial users should change their passwords quickly, even though the stolen passwords were encrypted: this protection can be cracked using easily-available programs.

“They should also be cautious about clicking on links in emails they receive purporting to be from LivingSocial. There's a real risk that the stolen email addresses will be used to send phishing emails to users, to try and harvest more data such as credit card details.

“In 2012, businesses globally were reporting an average of nearly 70 attempted security attacks on their networks every week. For the attackers, this is just a numbers game.”



What is Google Glass? Here’s the Answer

What is Google Glass?

We’re back with another one-page explainer, to answer the question, “What is Google Glass?”

Google Glass is the name given to a wearable computer created by Google. You put the device on like a pair of eyeglasses, although it does not have lenses.  It rests on the top of your ear and bridge of your nose, like an eyeglass frame.

It sounds futuristic, but it’s not.  Google Glass is being worn today by some Google employees and a select few who got the chance for an early look.

What do you use Google Glass for?

Some people have called it a second screen for your smartphone.  Instead of pulling out your phone and looking at it, you just look up at the tiny screen. You use your voice to give commands and remain hands free.

You can use it to check emails, get text messages, search for the weather report or get a map for directions.  It even translates spoken phrases for you, or looks things up on the Web.  For small businesses, you and your staff would use it to perform certain functions you use a smartphone or tablet to do today.

It has a computer, battery, microphone, speaker and camera embedded in it.  For example, to film a video you just say  ”OK Glass, record a video.”

You’re not actually looking at a computer screen in front of you all the time, so it doesn’t obstruct normal visibility.  The little screen is slightly above your eye and to the side so you have to look up to view it (see image above).

Positives of Google Glass

Tech early adopter Robert Scoble has been wearing the Google Glass for 2 weeks, and he’s completely sold.  He says he will never be without a wearable computer on his head again.  Really.

According to Scoble, “it’s that significant.”  He likens it to his first Apple II computer back in 1977, because he knew his life had changed, just like he says Google Glass has changed his life.

He says the Google Glass lets you be much more social than a smartphone. You’re looking at people rather than down at a phone or fumbling with the screen.

Google has announced it will allow no advertisements in apps for Google Glass.

Negatives with Google Glass

Technology reviewer David Pogue says its Achilles heel is invasion of privacy.  You see, there’s a built-in camera, and someone could be filming while looking at you. Pogue gives accolades to all the technology built into the compact ear/ eye device. But in a recent CBS News video he predicts Google faces a much bigger challenge of social acceptance:

“For the first time in history, you’ll never know if someone’s filming you. Even with phones you’ll know, because they’re [holding up the phone to snap a shot].  There’s a reason Google’s promotional videos usually show people doing extreme sports or filming people from the back.  You wouldn’t wear them face to face. You’ll creep people out on a date, at a party, on a subway, in a locker room. Can you imagine?  I’m guessing they’ll be banned in public places, too â€" theaters, museums, restaurants, courtrooms. If you wear Google Glass people will think you’re the world’s biggest jerk. “

Scoble, however, says privacy was not an issue with people he’s encountered. He predicts that price will make a difference in its commercial success.  In his opinion, a $200 price point (roughly the cost of materials) will be a success.  A price of $500 may not be.

Of course, if it’s that life changing, we doubt that an extra $300 will matter much.

For now, it’s still experimental.  You’ll be hearing more about it, but you can’t buy it yet. Google Glass is expected to be on the market in 2014.

Meanwhile, next time you hear about it you won’t have to wonder, “what is Google Glass?” - you’ll know.

Image credit: Google




Executive Spotlight: Peter Arvai, Prezi CEO and Co-Founder, Wants to Help You Share Your World-Changing Ideas

Peter Arvai, CEO and co-founder of the presentation software program Prezi, is of Hungarian descent; however, he was born and raised in Sweden, and has lived on three continents throughout his life. This multicultural upbringing really sets the stage for his life’s work and great accomplishments. “I was always interested in exploring cultures and building bridges where I could,” Peter told Smallbiztechnology. Today, with Prezi being used on three continents, he has certainly achieved that goal.

Before Prezi, Peter was involved in building two different companies. Long before the iPhone came along, he helped develop one of the world’s first mobile newsreaders, which enabled people to watch TED Talks on their mobile phone. Peter’s second venture was the website Omvard.se. This Swedish website allowed people to compare the quality of hospitals and find the right hospital for them. Among the many happy users of this website is Peter’s own mother.

Prezi Co-Founders

Prezi itself was co-founded by Peter and two others, who all met while working on different past projects. Peter met co-founder Peter Halascy (whom they call “HP”) while working on the mobile newsreader. HP joined the project and contributed natural language processing technology that was eventually added to the newsreader software. Years later HP met Adam Somlai-Fischer who was working on a zooming software. HP and Adam were interested in bringing it to the public but, not having built a product or company on their own, they came to Peter for advice. Peter flew to Hungary, intending on just having a small chat to share his expertise. He ended up becoming so inspired by the idea that he convinced HP and Adam to quit their full-time jobs and instead devote all their energy to developing the Prezi concept.

Turning Passion Into Power

Peter’s quick change in attitude - his sudden passionate belief in Prezi - is an interesting story in and of itself, because it was sparked by something more than HP and Adam’s great ideas. On the initial trip to Hungary, Peter’s uncle picked him up from the airport. During the car ride, Peter’s uncle talked discouragingly about the future of Hungary, saying that young people don’t have any hope in Hungary and that nothing good will come out of the country. Having lived in Hungary through socialism and a difficult transition to democracy that began in 1989, you can imagine his uncle’s jaded perspective. But one person’s hopelessness can become another person’s fire. As Peter told Small Biz Technology:

“By the time I got out of the car, I was fuming. I thought about how important it was to show positive role models of entrepreneurship who had their starts in Hungary. So when I sat down for dinner that night, I happily declared that I was starting a company in Hungary; I wanted to be a part of founding Prezi. The conversation with my uncle helped provide a deeper sense of purpose that’s still with me today.”

The Beginning Of Prezi

And so Prezi began to take shape, with each cofounder making unique contributions that eventually made it the success it is today. Adam designed the original prototype, which was used initially by HP (a professor at Budapest University), whose presentations created an initial buzz about the product, requiring Peter’s business/product development expertise to make it a reality. They quit their jobs and came together to work on Prezi full time.  After plenty of hard work, in 2009 the free online Prezi website was launched with extra paid upgrades, inspiring users around the world to look at presentations in a whole new way.

But no business startup is really THAT easy, and there were definitely bumps in the road. One initial difficulty was the fact that Prezi upgrades were paid in Euros, which discouraged U.S. clients and required them to revamp the system so they could switch to dollars. And as the company continues to expand globally, there are increasing complexities of running the business. Since Prezi is used on three continents, their team of just over 130 employees has to collaborate from offices in San Francisco, Budapest and Korea.

Taking Pride in the Success of Others

Prezi’s success has quickly brought forth success for many other people and businesses - and when asked about his proudest moment, Peter said that it is the success of others that brings him the most pride. Just a few weeks after its launch, Peter and his cofounders began to receive rave reviews via email. One email came from a history teacher who told them that with Prezi she could finally explain industrialization in a way that made sense to her students. Other emails came from job seekers who landed jobs with the help of Prezi. Also, recently Prezi was used by Korean presidential candidates, and in February, 2013 U2 front man Bono used Prezi to promote his non-profit, the One Campaign. As Peter told Small Biz Technology, “These moments are hard to rank, but it makes our everyday work meaningful and I am very proud every time it happens.”

Prezi for Small Businesses

Businesses in the U.S. have already seen great success with Prezi. Recently we featured the company Geared for Imagination who convinced Whole Foods and the Smithsonian to sell their products using Prezi. The chemical company Chemtura equips its sales team with iPads and the Prezi iPad app so they can pitch to clients on the spot and demonstrate how the company differs from its competitors. Finally, Artiphon, an upcoming company that is developing an iPhone-powered musical instrument, uses Prezi to map ideas with team members from different states.

Peter’s Advice To Business Owners

When asked if he had any advice for other business owners, Peter talked about the importance of having a sense of purpose and being creative. “The idea of being involved with a start-up is the latest rage. But, you have to be rooted in something deeper in order to build a long term culture,” he said. He also talked about the need to keep adapting your product to the ever-changing world. “The world is going to keep changing and Prezi will keep innovating according to the world’s needs and new technology requirements. [We] feel strongly about helping people share their world-changing ideas, and we’ll always keep improving to this end.”



3 Tools That Easily Make Your Small Business Website Mobile

You’ve probably got a smartphone in your pocket right now. That smartphone is probably a model that thousands of people, or maybe even millions, are using right now  to view pages on the Internet. It’s no secret that the mobile scene is expanding, meaning that more and more people will be using the Internet on their phones and tablets to view web pages that have long since been viewed on a traditional desktop.

What happens when people visit your site on a mobile phone? Is it conveniently displaying items within the confines of a 4-to-5-inch screen? Or do your visitors have to pinch their phones to zoom in on the microscopic text you present? Check your website. Ask yourself if that is convenient to visit. If not, we have work to do!

You can accommodate for mobile devices using a cunning technique: making two websites for two different devices. Hence, the mobile website will only show itself to mobile devices. The desktop website will do the same for devices that don’t identify as “mobile.” So, how do we do that?

Here are some things you can do to make the transition super simple:

  • Use Shopify. The simplest way to showcase your products, sell them, and make magic with mobile devices is to use a store management system, like Shopify. Do this only if you’re willing to just scrap the site you have and start from scratch. Obviously, this isn’t an option for many people. It would be an ideal option if you didn’t have a site yet and wanted to make your first. Shopify will cost you a minimum of $14 a month. That price gives you a website with up to 25 products, 1 GB of storage, and a 2% transaction fee. Bandwidth on all plans is unlimited. Good alternatives to this are Storenvy (I’m not sure if they have mobile compatibility) and Vendio. Both of them compete well with Shopify and have very tasty pricing plans.
  • Don’t want to give up your current site? Work with Zuznow. For a starting price of $35 a month, they’ll manage your site, optimize its pages, show you reports on mobile traffic, and make sure your visitors are happy! They use an “automatic smartphone website creator” which does all the work. After that, they work with you to settle in the new mobile platform. This elegant solution will automatically convert your site to mobile once a mobile user visits it. All you have to do is add a few lines of code to your site and you get a mobile platform!
  • Got WordPress? Get a mobile theme plugin. If your business website is a blog, you can easily add mobile themes. There are a few plugins that will switch your site to its mobile theme when it detects a mobile device. WPTouch is a very popular one. Alternatives include Duda Mobile and MobilePress.

Now you have all the information you need to get yourself beamed up into the mobile web! Don’t forget to test your sites, after you’ve implemented everything, just to make sure that others are enjoying the viewing experience you’d expect.



Dutchman arrested in Barcelona in relation to Spamhaus DDoS attack

A Dutchman has been arrested and charged with launching the distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on Spamhaus that caused a global internet slowdown last month.

Named by media sources as Sven Olof Kamphuis, the Sydney Morning Herald said that he operated from a bunker and had a van capable of hacking into networks anywhere in the country.

A press release issued by the Dutch Public Prosecutor Service named the suspect only by the initials SK and said he was living in Barcelona. It said: “SK is suspected of unprecedented heavy attacks on the non-profit organisation Spamhaus, where anti-spam databases are managed. This so-called DDoS attacks last month were also partners of the United States, Spamhaus in the Netherlands and Great Britain. The attackers were using forged IP addresses.”

It also said that computers, data carriers and mobile phones were seized and that Kamphuis would be transferred to the Dutch public prosecutor.

A pastebin statement, apparently from hacktivist Anonymous, said that Kamphuis, also known as cb3rob, has had his freedom taken away by governments more than once "and enough is enough".

It said: “These 'governments' of simple human beings believe Kamphuis has been involved with the latest digital attacks (DDoS) against Spamhaus, and such. This is based on false information.

“We demand you to release Kamphuis or we will indeed start the biggest attack you humans have ever experienced towards the internet, and yourself. Anything and all connected will suffer and do you silly governments really think you can stop millions of human beings? You have no chance, at all.

“We have seen and tested how weak the current security in the Netherlands is. Banks, airports, even your precious 'DigiD' was taken out within minutes. You have been warned.”



Adobe appoints Brad Arkin to position of chief security officer

Adobe has created a new position of chief security officer and appointed Brad Arkin to the position.

Formerly Adobe's senior director of product security and privacy, Arkin will continue to lead the company's secure software engineering team (ASSET) and its product security incident response team (PSIRT), which responds to vulnerabilities and exploits.

In a statement, Arkin said the new position will allow him to further grow Adobe's commitment to building security into its products, as well as collaborating with researchers.

"In my new role, I have the opportunity to lead engineering infrastructure security, a team that builds and maintains security-critical internal services relied on by our product and engineering teams, such as code signing and build environments," he said.

"I will also continue to manage and foster two-way communication with the broader security community, a vital part of the central security function."

Adobe has experienced its share of security incidents in recent months and years. In September, advanced hackers broke into an internal server to compromise a digital certificate that allowed them to create at least two files that appeared to be legitimately signed by the software maker. The company has worked to bolster the resiliency of its popular software, Reader/Acrobat and Flash, the frequent source of vulnerabilities.



Microsoft re-issues patch after blue screen problems

Microsoft has issued a re-release of the patch that was reportedly causing 'blue screens of death' for some users.

Following the last Patch Tuesday on April 11th, where Microsoft released nine bulletins to fix 14 vulnerabilities, it was forced to recall the patch after some users experienced difficulties with the patch.

Dustin Childs, group manager of response communications at Microsoft Trustworthy Computing, said that as a precaution, it stopped pushing KB2823324 as an update when it began investigating the error reports, and removed it from the download centre.

Childs said that it released a new update to replace KB2823324, which was originally made available through MS13-036.

“As we previously discussed, we stopped distributing this update when we learned some customers were having issues,” he said.

“The new update, KB2840149, still addresses the moderate security issue described in MS13-036, and should not cause these issues. If you have automatic updates enabled, you won't need to take any actions. For those manually updating, we encourage you to apply this update at your earliest convenience.”



New LinkedIn Contacts: Aims to Be Your Personal Assistant

New LinkedIn Contacts

LinkedIn has announced it is launching a new Linkedin Contacts that aims to create a “personal assistant” for users.

You might be thinking you already have a Contacts section in your LinkedIn account - and you’d be right.  However, this goes well beyond what LinkedIn offers today under the “Contacts” tab.  The new LinkedIn Contacts will reside within LinkedIn and also as a standalone app for iPhone.

What’s new about it?  With the new LinkedIn Contacts you will be able to see information not only about your LinkedIn connections, but also everybody in your address book, calendars and emails. You can have all your professional contacts in one place, instead of scattered around among LinkedIn, email, and other places.

On the official LinkedIn blog, Engineer and Product Specialist Sachin Rekhi writes:

“LinkedIn Contacts brings together all your address books, emails, and calendars, and keeps them up to date in one place. From these sources, we’ll automatically pull in the details of your past conversations and meetings, and bring these details directly onto your contact’s profile.”

You also will be able to add notes (such as how you first met the person),  set  reminders about your contacts, and be notified of birthdays, Rekhi writes.

You can also see your last communication with the person. You’ll be able to sort your contacts based on your most recent interactions with them, upcoming meetings or other criteria.

A TechCrunch.com report  on the new feature looks at compatibility with other websites and services. Users can collect and organize contact data from the following:  Gmail, Google Contacts, Google Calendar; Google Apps Mail, Contacts and Calendar; Yahoo! Mail, Contacts and Calendar; Outlook Mail, Contacts and Calendar; iPhone Address Book (via the LinkedIn Contacts app); LinkedIn’s CardMunch service; Evernote and TripIt.

Not only will LinkedIn Contacts collect information from all of these sources, but the information automatically updates when it changes on the underlying platform.

You will not be able to import your Twitter or Facebook contacts. LinkedIn currently plans to focus on professional contacts (not social ones).

TechCrunch also reports that LinkedIn Contacts is the first major development out of its acquisition of  the contact management platform Connected in October 2011.   The new LinkedIn Contacts has a waiting list that you can ask to be added to.  It will roll out in stages over the next several months to LinkedIn’s 155 million monthly users.