Why “Bring It On!” is the Next Big Marketing Strategy

Siblings - football - business. No matter where you look, rivalry is everywhere. While mudslinging and attack ads have been largely confined to the political world, more and more businesses are taking advantage of competitive marketing.

From Bing to Powerade, brands are directly calling out their competitors and bringing their rivalries to the next level. While I can honestly say that I don’t loathe any of my competitors, brand rivalries have gotten so fierce that some company executives openly “hate” each other.

Brands that have directly challenged their competitors include:

1. Bing:  Bing’s “Don’t Get Scroogled!” campaign takes direct aim on Google by capitalizing on privacy fears and relative discontent in the SEM community. Bing specifically attacks Gmail, Google Shopping and Google Apps to convince users to switch over to Bing. While the campaign appears to be working to some extent, it’s a risky move that I personally wouldn’t recommend - there’s a fine line between negative and competitive advertising (let’s leave the negative ads to the politicians). 

The danger here is that Microsoft is attacking Android and iOS developers, the very same people who build Microsoft’s platforms. The biggest lesson to learn from Bing’s campaign is that you should try to avoid alienating the people you need in your advertising. Though this is a risk Bing is willing to take, it’s one that I think most companies are not.

2. Powerade:  Though Gatorade has approximately 75 percent of the market share in the United States, Powerade is competitively seeking more influence in the industry. In recent ads, Powerade has called out their competition by name - a maneuver that I found they handled gracefully and brilliantly.

You see, Gatorade has released a line of Prime, Perform and Recover drinks. Now, while I might not be a professional athlete, being required to drink 3 different drinks on game day is a bit excessive, don’t ya think? To capitalize on this, Powerade has embarked on a “Keep it simple” campaign that cuts down on the confusion. This friendly jab focusing on the competition’s perceived product inefficiency is what made this a successful move.

3. Volkswagen:  I have a bit of history for you.  Immediately after World War II, Volkswagen decided to enter the American market. Who would have ever thought that a German car commissioned by Adolf Hitler himself would have ever succeeded?

The Volkswagen strategy focused on being different. At the time, the entire US auto industry was focused on big cars. Big cars were the norm - big was beautiful. When Volkswagen entered the scene, they went against the entire US auto industry with the slogan, “Think Small.” These two words cut through the competition and established Volkswagen as the only unique option in the market.

Are You Inspired to Make Your Marketing More Competitive?

If you want to be the challenger brand, then you’ll want to create a strong content strategy that will ensure success and prevent a flop campaign. A truly successful competitive marketing strategy is one that can sustain itself over time. You don’t want to release a competitive ad only to have nothing else to say or be unable to respond to criticism.

Creating a roadmap gives you the ability to attack the market leader and increase your share of the pie.

Furthermore, avoid being overtly negative whenever possible. While you want to leverage challenging ads against your competitor, you also want to make consumers perceive your brand as different, similar to the Volkswagen campaign. When you establish yourself as a genuine alternative, then competitive ads can truly have a great effect.

The great news is that it’s much easier to be the challenger brand than to do the defending - even if the competitive ads fail. You see, your brand has much to gain but very little to lose.

And hey, people love rooting for the underdog.

Game Face Photo via Shutterstock

Foursquare Update: You Can Check In Friends, Too

A new feature on Foursquare allows one user to check-in several friends at your business. This week, a Foursquare update to the social media app introduces the “I’m with …” button. By tapping the button, a customer checking-in at a business can include the names of connected friends joining them there. After hitting the button, a drop-down menu appears. Each friend selected from the menu will get a notification requesting permission to allow the check-in.

Foursquare announced the new featureRead More

The post Foursquare Update: You Can Check In Friends, Too appeared first on Small Business Trends.

How A Proper Office Environment May Help You Hire Top Talent

The “mom and pop” attitude is, perhaps, one of the things that has made the small business what it is. Customers love a personal touch. But when it comes to hiring employees, you need to take other things into consideration, such as utility. Unless you’re the best in the world at what you do, high-caliber employees will not be attracted to working with you unless they smell something good, and I’m not talking about filling your office with air fresheners.

Most successful small businesses have little to no trouble getting their hands on the best employees they can hire. Their secret: the office environment.

Jon Eggleton, the CMO of Turnstone, a maker of furniture for small businesses and startups, kindly agreed to speak with us. Kevin Kuske, Turnstone’s chief anthropologist, considers that a certain office culture could breed a strong foundation for businesses to attract talented employees. We were curious. How does having a corporate/office culture help a small business recruit talent?

Eggleton answers: “A small company’s culture can be a great recruiting tool as it speaks to their values and gives a sense of the personalities that work there. It’s also a way for small businesses with a vibrant or distinctive culture to differentiate themselves in a highly competitive marketplace for talent. The best talent can work anywhere, so why would they choose someplace that isn’t a rewarding place to be?”

Indeed, you must make your business look like it’s got the environment (the spunk, in other words) to compete. The “attraction factor” is an important part of attracting talent, about as important, perhaps, as giving them a decent paycheck. Eggleton continues: “Small businesses should seek to create and promote an authentic culture that best represents the company and their employees. The best small businesses realize you have to consciously build a culture; if you don’t, one will be created for you, and in our experience it very likely won’t be as positive.”

But what is the ideal office “look?” Should everyone wear a suit, have leather couches, and polished tile floors?

“A corporate look does not necessarily mean a buttoned-up, white-walled workspace. Rather, it means a place where people have the tools needed to do their jobs and a space that supports them. A workplace should include a palette of places for different types of work as well as hospitable areas like a kitchen and lounge area. Believe it or not, employees who have the option to move between spaces throughout the day are often more productive and creative than those who are stationary for long hours,” he said.

Well, that makes sense! So, elbowroom is essential for productivity. Perhaps it isn’t a good idea to offer a few square feet of working space for your employees. But what about the “professional look?” How does that fit into the picture without sacrificing the small business’ own persona?

Listen closely to what Eggleton says here: “Creating a professional space does not mean a small business should sacrifice personality. Add color to the walls (the color blue is great for creative tasks, while red helps to boost focus and accuracy) and encourage employees to personalize the spaces they work in. You certainly don’t need a slide or ball pit to show personality, but you also don’t want to create an environment that feels sterile and unwelcoming - it won’t resonate well with employees or clients.”

When he spoke about “sterile and unwelcoming” spaces, I remember hospitals. I guess this is a good analogy: Don’t make your business look like a hospital room. But, of course, each business needs to design their spaces according to function, and that includes making use of every inch of space they have to ensure that services are delivered well and employees are content. How does a small enterprise make sure that they keep the appeal of a small company and make the most efficient use of space during the design phase?

“There are many ways serious companies - those that are professional and passionate about the work that they do - promote their culture through their workplace. Serious companies understand what their employees need to get their jobs done well and efficiently and find ways to provide them with those necessities. For example, if daily employee duties include consulting clients, brainstorming with coworkers and working on individual tasks, these companies understand the need to provide private meeting areas, collaborative spaces as well as quiet areas for focused work,” he said. “When designing a workspace, SMEs should make sure they understand the types of tasks their employees do on a daily basis. They should also do their best to promote their culture through their space. Successful companies are confident in their values and aren’t shy about showcasing who they are through their space. A great example is Fracture, a startup based in Gainesville, Florida that provides customers with a unique and affordable way to print and frame personal digital photos.”

The lesson here is: The office environment you provide is essentially a message that you bring to potential employees. If you’re recruiting, make sure that you give candidates the best working space possible, especially using the advice from Jon Eggleton where it applies!

How A Proper Office Environment May Help You Hire Top Talent

The “mom and pop” attitude is, perhaps, one of the things that has made the small business what it is. Customers love a personal touch. But when it comes to hiring employees, you need to take other things into consideration, such as utility. Unless you’re the best in the world at what you do, high-caliber employees will not be attracted to working with you unless they smell something good, and I’m not talking about filling your office with air fresheners.

Most successful small businesses have little to no trouble getting their hands on the best employees they can hire. Their secret: the office environment.

Jon Eggleton, the CMO of Turnstone, a maker of furniture for small businesses and startups, kindly agreed to speak with us. Kevin Kuske, Turnstone’s chief anthropologist, considers that a certain office culture could breed a strong foundation for businesses to attract talented employees. We were curious. How does having a corporate/office culture help a small business recruit talent?

Eggleton answers: “A small company’s culture can be a great recruiting tool as it speaks to their values and gives a sense of the personalities that work there. It’s also a way for small businesses with a vibrant or distinctive culture to differentiate themselves in a highly competitive marketplace for talent. The best talent can work anywhere, so why would they choose someplace that isn’t a rewarding place to be?”

Indeed, you must make your business look like it’s got the environment (the spunk, in other words) to compete. The “attraction factor” is an important part of attracting talent, about as important, perhaps, as giving them a decent paycheck. Eggleton continues: “Small businesses should seek to create and promote an authentic culture that best represents the company and their employees. The best small businesses realize you have to consciously build a culture; if you don’t, one will be created for you, and in our experience it very likely won’t be as positive.”

But what is the ideal office “look?” Should everyone wear a suit, have leather couches, and polished tile floors?

“A corporate look does not necessarily mean a buttoned-up, white-walled workspace. Rather, it means a place where people have the tools needed to do their jobs and a space that supports them. A workplace should include a palette of places for different types of work as well as hospitable areas like a kitchen and lounge area. Believe it or not, employees who have the option to move between spaces throughout the day are often more productive and creative than those who are stationary for long hours,” he said.

Well, that makes sense! So, elbowroom is essential for productivity. Perhaps it isn’t a good idea to offer a few square feet of working space for your employees. But what about the “professional look?” How does that fit into the picture without sacrificing the small business’ own persona?

Listen closely to what Eggleton says here: “Creating a professional space does not mean a small business should sacrifice personality. Add color to the walls (the color blue is great for creative tasks, while red helps to boost focus and accuracy) and encourage employees to personalize the spaces they work in. You certainly don’t need a slide or ball pit to show personality, but you also don’t want to create an environment that feels sterile and unwelcoming - it won’t resonate well with employees or clients.”

When he spoke about “sterile and unwelcoming” spaces, I remember hospitals. I guess this is a good analogy: Don’t make your business look like a hospital room. But, of course, each business needs to design their spaces according to function, and that includes making use of every inch of space they have to ensure that services are delivered well and employees are content. How does a small enterprise make sure that they keep the appeal of a small company and make the most efficient use of space during the design phase?

“There are many ways serious companies - those that are professional and passionate about the work that they do - promote their culture through their workplace. Serious companies understand what their employees need to get their jobs done well and efficiently and find ways to provide them with those necessities. For example, if daily employee duties include consulting clients, brainstorming with coworkers and working on individual tasks, these companies understand the need to provide private meeting areas, collaborative spaces as well as quiet areas for focused work,” he said. “When designing a workspace, SMEs should make sure they understand the types of tasks their employees do on a daily basis. They should also do their best to promote their culture through their space. Successful companies are confident in their values and aren’t shy about showcasing who they are through their space. A great example is Fracture, a startup based in Gainesville, Florida that provides customers with a unique and affordable way to print and frame personal digital photos.”

The lesson here is: The office environment you provide is essentially a message that you bring to potential employees. If you’re recruiting, make sure that you give candidates the best working space possible, especially using the advice from Jon Eggleton where it applies!

Consumers Love Shopping in Stores - It’s Checkout They Hate

If you own a brick-and-mortar retail store and are worried about eCommerce sites or “showrooming” eating into your business, a recent study from Synqera reported in MediaPost might help you sleep better at night. Despite the growth of eCommerce, more than two-thirds of Americans still prefer to shop at traditional, brick-and-mortar stores rather than online.

However, there’s still one part of brick-and-mortar shopping customers dislike. Synqera found the checkout process is the number-one pain point for 73 percent of consumers, and could be what stops them from shopping in your store or makes them turn to online sites.

The majority of consumers say waiting in the checkout line is their least favorite part of in-store shopping. What could make it more enjoyable? While 18 percent think there’s no way to make the checkout process more enjoyable, I can think of several ways.

Speed it Up

With customers growing increasingly used to ordering online with just a few clicks, waiting in line behind other slow-moving shoppers is just too much. Make sure you have adequate staff on hand to deal with expected traffic volumes, and that your point-of-sale technology is up-to-date so it doesn’t slow things down.

Train retail clerks on efficiently prepping the cash registers before the store opens and on using downtime to do things like get change or change register tape (so they don’t have to handle these housekeeping tasks while a line forms).

Get Personal

Personal service is a big factor that drives customers to brick-and-mortar stores, Synqera found: 80 percent of shoppers say they’re more likely to shop in a store that provides a customized experience for them. Three-fourths say they’d enjoy checkout more if they received personalized coupons at checkout.

Consider adding a retailer loyalty program that lets you deliver personalized offers on customers’ smartphones or, for those who don’t want to get coupons that way, at the point of sale when you ring them up.

You can also personalize offers outside the in-store experience by sending targeted emails or direct mailings with offers based on how much the customer has spent in the past, the types of products they buy or how often they shop in your store, to name just a few ideas.

Make Suggestions

Two-thirds of consumers are more likely to shop in a store where they receive personal suggestions while shopping. Make sure your salespeople actively engage with customers, greeting them when they enter, suggesting add-on products to go with what they’re purchasing, or offering advice and insights. (This is a great way to combat showrooming - if customers know they can get the info they need from your sales staff, they won’t have to turn to their phones to look it up and possibly find the product somewhere else for less).

There are also ways to make suggestions without salespeople. For instance, you can display groups of products that complement each other together, such as a camera with accessory battery packs, straps and cases. You can use signage to suggest “Buy two, get a third free,” “Check out our sales items in the back of the store” or “Sign up for our email newsletter and save $5 off your next purchase.” You get the idea.

Suggestions help engage the customer with your store, and Synqera found that the more actively engaged the customer is inside your store, the better they feel about shopping. Which leads to my next point.

Make Checkout Fun

Three-fourths of consumers say they buy more if they’re in a good mood while shopping in-store. One of my favorite places to shop is Sephora. I always hope there will be a huge line at the checkout counterâ€"yes, you heard that rightâ€"because Sephora smartly merchandises the line with a display of tempting impulse buys. All are under $20, and they’re so irresistible I usually can’t help grabbing one (or two). I’ve seen more stores using this technique.

You can find more information about the full study on Synqera’s blog.

How do you make checkout more enjoyable for your customers?

Checkout Photo via Shutterstock

NYC Events: Upcoming NYC Business and Technology Events (6/28 - 7/4)

Here is a listing of NYC Business and Technology Events for the upcoming week (6/28 -7/4) that we thought would be beneficial to our small business community in the Greater NYC area. Have a business and/or technology event coming up in the New York City area that you’d like us to add to our weekly post? If so, email us at eve...@smallbiztechnology.com.

Business Development Workshop

June 28, 2013, - 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM, New York City Office Suites, 733 Third Avenue, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10017

A Business Development Workshop for Business Owners, Company Presidents & Professional Service Firms. In two short hours you’ll learn how to:

- Establish trust with your prospects
- Prospect more effectively
- Shorten the sales cycle
- Eliminate stalls and objections
- Take control of the sales process
- Differentiate your company

Small Talk Is Not Small At All Work Shop

June 29, 2013, - 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM, Ripley Grier Studios, 520 8th Ave, New York, New York

This workshop is for Business Professionals, Business Owners and Entrepreneurs that are looking to increase their productivity, profitability and success. With Isaak Gelbinovich international speaker, president of Speaking To Succeed, and Author of “Conversations Made E-ZEE” -How to speak to anyone for Profit and Pleasure. and Orly Amor, Personal and Business Coach/Mentor, international speaker, founder of the Global Mentoring Center and Author of “The Twelve Powers We Hold Within” -The Ultimate Paradigm Shift
By Attending this workshop you will learn:

• Your personality type and how it relates to others
• How to use the power of behavior analysis
• How to use small talk to Maximize Business Growth
• How to start a conversation? How to keep it going? and how to gracefully exit a conversation?

Do You Have What it Takes to Start a Business

June 29, 2013, - 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM, The Galaxy, 7000 JFK Boulevard E, Guttenberg, NJ

Feel intimidated by the prospect of starting your own business? You will learn if you have what it takes to be a business owner, review misconceptions of owning a business and learn valuable tools to start your own business. The presentation will cover the essential components of a business plan, how to develop a mission statement and the journey it takes to own a business.

How to Start: 30 Days from Idea to Decision

July 2, 2013, - 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM, General Assembly East, 902 Broadway, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10010

Great startups often come from founders who had their idea while working a separate job. In this class, you’ll develop a clear, 30-day roadmap to evaluate your potential startup idea without quitting your job. Along the way, you’ll learn how to drastically mitigate the risks involved in pursuing your idea and put yourself in the best possible position to succeed.

Getting Started with WordPress

July 2, 2013, - 8:30 PM to 10:00 PM, General Assembly East, 902 Broadway, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10010

WordPress is the premier content management system for those seeking an easy, user-friendly way to set up and maintain a website. In this class, you’ll walk through the basics of getting your site live quickly and discover various free templates as well as premium resources that require little to no coding skills and will have your site looking polished and professional. Once your site has gone live, you’ll learn how to update and maintain it using the WordPress dashboard, as well as common problems and pitfalls to avoid. Plus you’ll find out how to customize your site to get the exact look you’re going for.

Ouya Gets Lesson on How NOT to Use Kickstarter

If you’re thinking of getting financing for your new product idea through a crowdfunding site like Kickstarter, a lot could be learned from the problems currently facing the creators of Ouya.

The lesson: Make extra sure you can deliver on the promises you made to your backers. In this case, literally deliver.

Ouya is a new video game console that hit retailers this week. While it’s hardly a substitute for the more complex gaming systems like Xbox or Playstation, the $99 price tag and what could be a raft of games produced by independent developers in the future certainly make it an intriguing option. There are currently 179 games available on Android-based Ouya, according to its website, 40 of which are exclusive to the system.

The Ouya Kickstarter plan backfired this week, however, as a lot of the people who were promised their own systems before the game hit retailers have still not received their consoles. And it could take weeks before they get the system they helped to get off the ground. TheVerge.com cites a report that says as many as 7,500 systems are in a Hong Kong facility awaiting shipment to backers.

Meanwhile, Ouya has already sold out at its retail locations, further angering backers who are still waiting. The system first became available on June 25 at Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop, Target and GAME, as well as at the Ouya site.

The issue also got Ouya CEO Julie Uhrman upset because there were some backers who did receive their system before the retail launch. Uhrman is quoted by TheVerge.com as saying “I did not promise to ship to most of you before we hit store shelves. I promised to ship to all of you.”

Most of the backers who have yet to receive their Ouya are outside the U.S. Still, the company certainly has an uphill climb to restore its reputation and to somehow make good on its promises. The fiasco could also reflect negatively upon Kickstarter and the whole crowdfunding movement.

The Ouya campaign has been one of the most successful in the site’s history, raising $8.5 million from backers. But many of those backers are now waiting to see whether promises made to them will finally be kept.

Ouya Gets Lesson on How NOT to Use Kickstarter

If you’re thinking of getting financing for your new product idea through a crowdfunding site like Kickstarter, a lot could be learned from the problems currently facing the creators of Ouya.

The lesson: Make extra sure you can deliver on the promises you made to your backers. In this case, literally deliver.

Ouya is a new video game console that hit retailers this week. While it’s hardly a substitute for the more complex gaming systems like Xbox or Playstation, the $99 price tag and what could be a raft of games produced by independent developers in the future certainly make it an intriguing option. There are currently 179 games available on Android-based Ouya, according to its website, 40 of which are exclusive to the system.

The Ouya Kickstarter plan backfired this week, however, as a lot of the people who were promised their own systems before the game hit retailers have still not received their consoles. And it could take weeks before they get the system they helped to get off the ground. TheVerge.com cites a report that says as many as 7,500 systems are in a Hong Kong facility awaiting shipment to backers.

Meanwhile, Ouya has already sold out at its retail locations, further angering backers who are still waiting. The system first became available on June 25 at Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop, Target and GAME, as well as at the Ouya site.

The issue also got Ouya CEO Julie Uhrman upset because there were some backers who did receive their system before the retail launch. Uhrman is quoted by TheVerge.com as saying “I did not promise to ship to most of you before we hit store shelves. I promised to ship to all of you.”

Most of the backers who have yet to receive their Ouya are outside the U.S. Still, the company certainly has an uphill climb to restore its reputation and to somehow make good on its promises. The fiasco could also reflect negatively upon Kickstarter and the whole crowdfunding movement.

The Ouya campaign has been one of the most successful in the site’s history, raising $8.5 million from backers. But many of those backers are now waiting to see whether promises made to them will finally be kept.

NYC Events: Upcoming NYC Business and Technology Events (6/28 - 7/4)

Here is a listing of NYC Business and Technology Events for the upcoming week (6/28 -7/4) that we thought would be beneficial to our small business community in the Greater NYC area. Have a business and/or technology event coming up in the New York City area that you’d like us to add to our weekly post? If so, email us at eve...@smallbiztechnology.com.

Business Development Workshop

June 28, 2013, - 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM, New York City Office Suites, 733 Third Avenue, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10017

A Business Development Workshop for Business Owners, Company Presidents & Professional Service Firms. In two short hours you’ll learn how to:

- Establish trust with your prospects
- Prospect more effectively
- Shorten the sales cycle
- Eliminate stalls and objections
- Take control of the sales process
- Differentiate your company

Small Talk Is Not Small At All Work Shop

June 29, 2013, - 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM, Ripley Grier Studios, 520 8th Ave, New York, New York

This workshop is for Business Professionals, Business Owners and Entrepreneurs that are looking to increase their productivity, profitability and success. With Isaak Gelbinovich international speaker, president of Speaking To Succeed, and Author of “Conversations Made E-ZEE” -How to speak to anyone for Profit and Pleasure. and Orly Amor, Personal and Business Coach/Mentor, international speaker, founder of the Global Mentoring Center and Author of “The Twelve Powers We Hold Within” -The Ultimate Paradigm Shift
By Attending this workshop you will learn:

• Your personality type and how it relates to others
• How to use the power of behavior analysis
• How to use small talk to Maximize Business Growth
• How to start a conversation? How to keep it going? and how to gracefully exit a conversation?

Do You Have What it Takes to Start a Business

June 29, 2013, - 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM, The Galaxy, 7000 JFK Boulevard E, Guttenberg, NJ

Feel intimidated by the prospect of starting your own business? You will learn if you have what it takes to be a business owner, review misconceptions of owning a business and learn valuable tools to start your own business. The presentation will cover the essential components of a business plan, how to develop a mission statement and the journey it takes to own a business.

How to Start: 30 Days from Idea to Decision

July 2, 2013, - 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM, General Assembly East, 902 Broadway, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10010

Great startups often come from founders who had their idea while working a separate job. In this class, you’ll develop a clear, 30-day roadmap to evaluate your potential startup idea without quitting your job. Along the way, you’ll learn how to drastically mitigate the risks involved in pursuing your idea and put yourself in the best possible position to succeed.

Getting Started with WordPress

July 2, 2013, - 8:30 PM to 10:00 PM, General Assembly East, 902 Broadway, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10010

WordPress is the premier content management system for those seeking an easy, user-friendly way to set up and maintain a website. In this class, you’ll walk through the basics of getting your site live quickly and discover various free templates as well as premium resources that require little to no coding skills and will have your site looking polished and professional. Once your site has gone live, you’ll learn how to update and maintain it using the WordPress dashboard, as well as common problems and pitfalls to avoid. Plus you’ll find out how to customize your site to get the exact look you’re going for.

Tired of Forgetting Your Passwords? Here Are 4 Password Managers Every Business Should Consider

If your business uses a lot of Internet services, and you don’t have a password manager, you’re probably entering your login credentials much more than you need to be. It slows things down a little, or if you forget a password, it can slow things down a lot.

Password managers are exactly what they sound like. They manage your passwords so you don’t have to. When it’s time to enter a password, they provide you just what you need. It’s like taking the locks off all the doors and having easy access to every room. But such a metaphor also brings to mind security issues. All your passwords in one place? That doesn’t sound secure.

One great password manager, Dashlane, keeps all your information encrypted with the world’s leading standard encryption, AES-256 encryption, and the key that encrypts your data is derived from your master password. No trace of your key stays on Dashlane’s servers, or is transmitted on the internet, or remains on your device. Only you can decrypt your data. Even Dashlane can’t touch it.

So the first password manager you should consider is definitely Dashlane. It’s free, has a form filler, and will automatically alert you if any of the websites you use have been breached.Their premium service allows you to back up your information to the cloud and sync passwords across several devices for $20 a year.

Zoho Vault is another great option. It shares a lot of Dashlane’s security features, but it’s built for teams. Businesses can use Zoho Vault to securely share passwords among trusted members of their organization, and different access privileges can be assigned to different users. Sharing can be enabled or revoked in real time just by a single click. Zoho Vault, unlike Dashlane, does not have a form filler. It’s $1 per user per month, or free for a single user.

LastPass pretty much has it all. The security features, the syncing, the cloud backups, and the form filler. It allows you to send passwords to friends and colleagues securely. And it’s free. Totally free. The premium version gives you the ability to access your passwords from your mobile devices, and removes ads. Our own Miguel Leiva-Gomez said of LastPass, “The only problem is that you don’t have control over the encryption process.”

Miguel’s preference was for SmartSignin. In a comparison of LastPass and SmartSignin, Miguel said, “In the user-friendliness department, SmartSignin wins… LastPass has some really cool features, but they’re very confusing and lead to a load of trouble for someone who’s just looking for something with a smaller learning curve. If you want all the bells and whistles, though, LastPass is your best bet. If you want something you can just use right out of the box, go for SmartSignin … I highly suggest using SmartSignin for a full enterprise environment, as it has a more secure platform that’s easier for your employees to learn.” SmartSignin has a free option, and paid plans between $2 for a single user per month, and $6 per user per month.

When it comes to the security of your passwords, the best practices have been summed up pretty well by this XKCD comic. Four random common words are harder to crack than the uppercase, lowercase, symbol, number password. Add a few extra kickers, like a number here and there, and you’ve got a pretty great password.

Do you use a password manager? Let us know which one in the comments below!

Tired of Forgetting Your Passwords? Here Are 4 Password Managers Every Business Should Consider

If your business uses a lot of Internet services, and you don’t have a password manager, you’re probably entering your login credentials much more than you need to be. It slows things down a little, or if you forget a password, it can slow things down a lot.

Password managers are exactly what they sound like. They manage your passwords so you don’t have to. When it’s time to enter a password, they provide you just what you need. It’s like taking the locks off all the doors and having easy access to every room. But such a metaphor also brings to mind security issues. All your passwords in one place? That doesn’t sound secure.

One great password manager, Dashlane, keeps all your information encrypted with the world’s leading standard encryption, AES-256 encryption, and the key that encrypts your data is derived from your master password. No trace of your key stays on Dashlane’s servers, or is transmitted on the internet, or remains on your device. Only you can decrypt your data. Even Dashlane can’t touch it.

So the first password manager you should consider is definitely Dashlane. It’s free, has a form filler, and will automatically alert you if any of the websites you use have been breached.Their premium service allows you to back up your information to the cloud and sync passwords across several devices for $20 a year.

Zoho Vault is another great option. It shares a lot of Dashlane’s security features, but it’s built for teams. Businesses can use Zoho Vault to securely share passwords among trusted members of their organization, and different access privileges can be assigned to different users. Sharing can be enabled or revoked in real time just by a single click. Zoho Vault, unlike Dashlane, does not have a form filler. It’s $1 per user per month, or free for a single user.

LastPass pretty much has it all. The security features, the syncing, the cloud backups, and the form filler. It allows you to send passwords to friends and colleagues securely. And it’s free. Totally free. The premium version gives you the ability to access your passwords from your mobile devices, and removes ads. Our own Miguel Leiva-Gomez said of LastPass, “The only problem is that you don’t have control over the encryption process.”

Miguel’s preference was for SmartSignin. In a comparison of LastPass and SmartSignin, Miguel said, “In the user-friendliness department, SmartSignin wins… LastPass has some really cool features, but they’re very confusing and lead to a load of trouble for someone who’s just looking for something with a smaller learning curve. If you want all the bells and whistles, though, LastPass is your best bet. If you want something you can just use right out of the box, go for SmartSignin … I highly suggest using SmartSignin for a full enterprise environment, as it has a more secure platform that’s easier for your employees to learn.” SmartSignin has a free option, and paid plans between $2 for a single user per month, and $6 per user per month.

When it comes to the security of your passwords, the best practices have been summed up pretty well by this XKCD comic. Four random common words are harder to crack than the uppercase, lowercase, symbol, number password. Add a few extra kickers, like a number here and there, and you’ve got a pretty great password.

Do you use a password manager? Let us know which one in the comments below!

20 Plus Ways to Build a Website or Web Presence

How do I start and build a website? This is one of the more commonly searched questions by small business owners. Thanks to Google and various government statistics we know that about 50 percent of businesses do not have a website. I find this astounding. When it is such an easy thing to do, why isn’t that number closer to 100 percent? If you have been looking for how to build a free or low-cost website, this post is for you.

Some of the more popular ones I profiled here in 2010: DoodleKit, ezWeb123, Google Sites, Jimdo, Wix, and Weebly, to name just a few. Since that time, I have been studying the topic, partly because I used to build websites for new businesses and also because I review technology tools to help you stay productive and profitable. Earlierthis year I finished my first book (which I will email you for free): Website Design You Can Do Yourself: 30+ Free and Affordable Tools To Build and Market Your Own Website. This post is drawn from this new book.

About.me is a very simple Web page option for small business owners. You can look at it as a “landing page” about you. I would almost venture to say that it is the resume of the future. It allows you to pull in all of your social network streams, your blog, and whatever contact information you want to share. Free.

Doomby is a solid choice for a new business owner building a website. After filling in a form, you can save and activate your website immediately. Once you land in the dashboard, they wisely ask you where you want to go next, which is quite helpful for newcomers. Free service with option to upgrade to paid plan.

Edicy is quite possibly the fastest and most elegant website builder I’ve used. It is mind-boggling, frankly. Easy sign up process, then you jump right into the site building dashboard. The site I built in a matter of moments is in the screenshot above. While it is nothing fancy, I base part of my review on can it be done without much effort. This service can work for just about anyone, but it looks terrific small businesses that desire an international presence because it offers multilingual capabilities.  They offer a light free plan, then standard service is approximately USD $8/month and the “Plus” level is USD $13/month.

IM-Creator has a short learning curve among website builders. The drag-and-drop interface is refreshing, and with one click, you add a photo gallery and with another click, delete it. The same is done for adding a new text element or an entire page or a YouTube video. You overcome the short learning curve by simply testing how the different elements work. You can create a free site or upgrade for $7.95/month on a 12-month contract.

Jimdo has a unique option that allows you to build an actual online store, not just a website.  You can list up to five items for free.  It comes with free search engine optimization and other great features like RSS feed, but not free e-mail.  Pick a subdomain name for your free site and enter your email and you’re ready to start customizing your free Jimdo site.

Lifeyo is a website builder that uses the powerful Amazon.com backend to host your website.  Their drag-and-drop options really work well. They do not require a credit card to sign up, but the trial period is less than a month long. The plans vary in price from $8 - $25 per month but offer annual and biannual discounts.

OnePager

OnePager is built on the premise that you might only need a one-page website. More than that, they believe that fast signup means you don’t even sign up. You do not have to enter any info to start building (see screenshot above). You simply click “Start building” and you are customizing your site. They certainly allow you to add more pages, but they recognize that many, if not most, small businesses can succeed with a very simple website. In addition, they have loads of options to make your site more powerful for only $8/month.

Puzl is a relatively new free website design tool that is advertising-supported. I found it to be quite elegant and user-friendly. Even after I published the test site, I didn’t find any advertising in the traditional sense. There was a footer link that said the site is built by Puzl.com, but that was all. I think that’s a fair trade-off for a free website, especially one that looks good and is simple to set up. They do charge if you have an existing domain and choose to map your domain to your free site.

Squarespace looks like the Apple of website builders. The templates offer interesting alternatives that have specific types of businesses in mind. I should restate this: Their templates explode off the page. Take a look at this sample I created in less than 5 minutes: Squarespace Sample by TJ. Their lowest cost plan runs $10 per month (or $8/mo if you prepay annually) and has healthy space and bandwidth.

vFlyer is a combination of website builder, Craigslist ad service, and single page web builder. The flyers you create can be posted, added to your website as pages, or even emailed to a mailing list. You can even turn the flyers into a printable PDF. If you manage online classified type ads to grow your business, you will like this service. Plans start at $12/month with a discount on annual subscription. 14-day free trial.

Yola offers a very easy process with just four fields to get started. The service then walks you through various options and templates to get your free site going. There were many professional templates to choose from and Yola made it easy to change templates before clicking the “Publish” button. They have a free plan, then paid plans start at $4.95/month.

What If You Just Do Not Have Time to Build a Website?

Even with the ease of these tools, there is still a learning curve. For some business owners, these tools just do not cut it. While I firmly believe that having a website is essential for business, it is not my job to persuade you but to give ideas to help you keep moving forward. With that in mind, I offer you these well-known and lesser-known options for maintaining a web presence.

Email Marketing Packages with Add-on Archive: Many small businesses use email newsletters to keep in touch with customers, but don’t have a website yet (surprising I know). Depending on your business, as noted in the introduction, you might be able to stay thrifty and leverage the “Email Archive” service that many email providers offer. For example, for an additional $5/month, Constant Contact will allow you to turn your emails into a Web page and archive them, with a link, for customers and prospects to access. The archives are often found by search engines if you make them publicly available.

Biznik: This is a social network focusing on small business owners. Member profiles are frequently found at the top of a Google search for keywords related to your profession (presuming you’ve built your profile correctly, and the service team will help you).

Facebook Business Page: Many use a Facebook Business page in combination with some other marketing campaign, but interacting with your friends, family, and potential customers is valuable if your service is consumer-oriented. There are business-to-business companies there, too, but the results I hear about are mixed. The Business Page options allow you to add a lot of information about your company and maintain a blog, of sorts, right within Facebook. Again, it is well worth it to have your own website. Otherwise, as Anita Campbell, CEO of Small Business Trends, puts it - you are just a digital sharecropper camping out on someone else’s site, beholden to their rules and regulations.

LinkedIn used to be mainly for job seekers and people networking for that next big job, but they’ve added robust options for companies to showcase their work. The LinkedIn Company Page is a terrific way to keep in touch with prospects and customers and network for more.

Google Places - This is tied to your Google account and your location. You don’t have to have a business storefront, but you need a real address. It allows you to post details about your services, offer coupons, post photos, your important contact information, all for free. There are still reasons to use this even if you have a Google Site.

Flickr - Many photographers and creative types use Flickr more than a website in many cases. It provides a way to store tons of photographs and display your work. Your profile information is easily accessible by those viewing your photos. With the latest Yahoo! announcement, you get one terabyte of free storage. That is a lot of storage.

SlideShare.net - This service is ideal if you are a solo sales-oriented businesses (say a self-employed trade rep or a buyer for a range of companies) and you survive making presentations. For $19/month, SlideShare gives you custom branding and a profile area as well as storage for your presentations. You can track customer visits. They have a free account, but you can’t customize it. If you simply need a web location and don’t want a lot of the stuff that goes along with keeping up a website, this option might work for you. It is quite robust and can work as a powerful lead management system.

Yelp and Angie’s List - these customer review sites are a huge opportunity. There is a fair amount of contention around whether these services are good for business or not, but they are not going away. With the right attitude and approach, you can grow your business with Yelp and others. Each of these services allows you to have a detailed profile and gives you tools to track visits and reviews. You could survive without a website if you used one or both of these services wisely.

Evernote - Millions of people are rabid about this wonderful online notebook, but did you know you can make your notebook public to non-Evernote users, too? You can by simply right-clicking on a notebook and selecting “share” and you’ll get a link like to share. It won’t be a beautiful custom-domain type link, but you could shorten it at Bit.ly and provide samples to your writing or other work this way. The free account is loaded with storage space.

There you have it: 20+ ideas to build a website or web presence.

Again, these are not the be-all, end-all of website options. As I have said many times, there are no rules here. You can do any or many of these and still succeed. There are tons of great website designers and programmers who can build something custom for you, if that’s what you prefer. The goal of this post is to help you get a presence started: Something fast and affordable.

Let us know in the comments what’s working for you and your small business.

If you want a free copy of the book, just drop by this Website Builder ebook page and I’ll gladly send you a digital PDF copy.

20 Plus Ways to Build a Website or Web Presence

How do I start and build a website? This is one of the more commonly searched questions by small business owners. Thanks to Google and various government statistics we know that about 50 percent of businesses do not have a website. I find this astounding. When it is such an easy thing to do, why isn’t that number closer to 100 percent? If you have been looking for how to build a free or low-cost website, this post is for you.

Some of the more popular ones I profiled here in 2010: DoodleKit, ezWeb123, Google Sites, Jimdo, Wix, and Weebly, to name just a few. Since that time, I have been studying the topic, partly because I used to build websites for new businesses and also because I review technology tools to help you stay productive and profitable. Earlierthis year I finished my first book (which I will email you for free): Website Design You Can Do Yourself: 30+ Free and Affordable Tools To Build and Market Your Own Website. This post is drawn from this new book.

About.me is a very simple Web page option for small business owners. You can look at it as a “landing page” about you. I would almost venture to say that it is the resume of the future. It allows you to pull in all of your social network streams, your blog, and whatever contact information you want to share. Free.

Doomby is a solid choice for a new business owner building a website. After filling in a form, you can save and activate your website immediately. Once you land in the dashboard, they wisely ask you where you want to go next, which is quite helpful for newcomers. Free service with option to upgrade to paid plan.

Edicy is quite possibly the fastest and most elegant website builder I’ve used. It is mind-boggling, frankly. Easy sign up process, then you jump right into the site building dashboard. The site I built in a matter of moments is in the screenshot above. While it is nothing fancy, I base part of my review on can it be done without much effort. This service can work for just about anyone, but it looks terrific small businesses that desire an international presence because it offers multilingual capabilities.  They offer a light free plan, then standard service is approximately USD $8/month and the “Plus” level is USD $13/month.

IM-Creator has a short learning curve among website builders. The drag-and-drop interface is refreshing, and with one click, you add a photo gallery and with another click, delete it. The same is done for adding a new text element or an entire page or a YouTube video. You overcome the short learning curve by simply testing how the different elements work. You can create a free site or upgrade for $7.95/month on a 12-month contract.

Jimdo has a unique option that allows you to build an actual online store, not just a website.  You can list up to five items for free.  It comes with free search engine optimization and other great features like RSS feed, but not free e-mail.  Pick a subdomain name for your free site and enter your email and you’re ready to start customizing your free Jimdo site.

Lifeyo is a website builder that uses the powerful Amazon.com backend to host your website.  Their drag-and-drop options really work well. They do not require a credit card to sign up, but the trial period is less than a month long. The plans vary in price from $8 - $25 per month but offer annual and biannual discounts.

OnePager

OnePager is built on the premise that you might only need a one-page website. More than that, they believe that fast signup means you don’t even sign up. You do not have to enter any info to start building (see screenshot above). You simply click “Start building” and you are customizing your site. They certainly allow you to add more pages, but they recognize that many, if not most, small businesses can succeed with a very simple website. In addition, they have loads of options to make your site more powerful for only $8/month.

Puzl is a relatively new free website design tool that is advertising-supported. I found it to be quite elegant and user-friendly. Even after I published the test site, I didn’t find any advertising in the traditional sense. There was a footer link that said the site is built by Puzl.com, but that was all. I think that’s a fair trade-off for a free website, especially one that looks good and is simple to set up. They do charge if you have an existing domain and choose to map your domain to your free site.

Squarespace looks like the Apple of website builders. The templates offer interesting alternatives that have specific types of businesses in mind. I should restate this: Their templates explode off the page. Take a look at this sample I created in less than 5 minutes: Squarespace Sample by TJ. Their lowest cost plan runs $10 per month (or $8/mo if you prepay annually) and has healthy space and bandwidth.

vFlyer is a combination of website builder, Craigslist ad service, and single page web builder. The flyers you create can be posted, added to your website as pages, or even emailed to a mailing list. You can even turn the flyers into a printable PDF. If you manage online classified type ads to grow your business, you will like this service. Plans start at $12/month with a discount on annual subscription. 14-day free trial.

Yola offers a very easy process with just four fields to get started. The service then walks you through various options and templates to get your free site going. There were many professional templates to choose from and Yola made it easy to change templates before clicking the “Publish” button. They have a free plan, then paid plans start at $4.95/month.

What If You Just Do Not Have Time to Build a Website?

Even with the ease of these tools, there is still a learning curve. For some business owners, these tools just do not cut it. While I firmly believe that having a website is essential for business, it is not my job to persuade you but to give ideas to help you keep moving forward. With that in mind, I offer you these well-known and lesser-known options for maintaining a web presence.

Email Marketing Packages with Add-on Archive: Many small businesses use email newsletters to keep in touch with customers, but don’t have a website yet (surprising I know). Depending on your business, as noted in the introduction, you might be able to stay thrifty and leverage the “Email Archive” service that many email providers offer. For example, for an additional $5/month, Constant Contact will allow you to turn your emails into a Web page and archive them, with a link, for customers and prospects to access. The archives are often found by search engines if you make them publicly available.

Biznik: This is a social network focusing on small business owners. Member profiles are frequently found at the top of a Google search for keywords related to your profession (presuming you’ve built your profile correctly, and the service team will help you).

Facebook Business Page: Many use a Facebook Business page in combination with some other marketing campaign, but interacting with your friends, family, and potential customers is valuable if your service is consumer-oriented. There are business-to-business companies there, too, but the results I hear about are mixed. The Business Page options allow you to add a lot of information about your company and maintain a blog, of sorts, right within Facebook. Again, it is well worth it to have your own website. Otherwise, as Anita Campbell, CEO of Small Business Trends, puts it - you are just a digital sharecropper camping out on someone else’s site, beholden to their rules and regulations.

LinkedIn used to be mainly for job seekers and people networking for that next big job, but they’ve added robust options for companies to showcase their work. The LinkedIn Company Page is a terrific way to keep in touch with prospects and customers and network for more.

Google Places - This is tied to your Google account and your location. You don’t have to have a business storefront, but you need a real address. It allows you to post details about your services, offer coupons, post photos, your important contact information, all for free. There are still reasons to use this even if you have a Google Site.

Flickr - Many photographers and creative types use Flickr more than a website in many cases. It provides a way to store tons of photographs and display your work. Your profile information is easily accessible by those viewing your photos. With the latest Yahoo! announcement, you get one terabyte of free storage. That is a lot of storage.

SlideShare.net - This service is ideal if you are a solo sales-oriented businesses (say a self-employed trade rep or a buyer for a range of companies) and you survive making presentations. For $19/month, SlideShare gives you custom branding and a profile area as well as storage for your presentations. You can track customer visits. They have a free account, but you can’t customize it. If you simply need a web location and don’t want a lot of the stuff that goes along with keeping up a website, this option might work for you. It is quite robust and can work as a powerful lead management system.

Yelp and Angie’s List - these customer review sites are a huge opportunity. There is a fair amount of contention around whether these services are good for business or not, but they are not going away. With the right attitude and approach, you can grow your business with Yelp and others. Each of these services allows you to have a detailed profile and gives you tools to track visits and reviews. You could survive without a website if you used one or both of these services wisely.

Evernote - Millions of people are rabid about this wonderful online notebook, but did you know you can make your notebook public to non-Evernote users, too? You can by simply right-clicking on a notebook and selecting “share” and you’ll get a link like to share. It won’t be a beautiful custom-domain type link, but you could shorten it at Bit.ly and provide samples to your writing or other work this way. The free account is loaded with storage space.

There you have it: 20+ ideas to build a website or web presence.

Again, these are not the be-all, end-all of website options. As I have said many times, there are no rules here. You can do any or many of these and still succeed. There are tons of great website designers and programmers who can build something custom for you, if that’s what you prefer. The goal of this post is to help you get a presence started: Something fast and affordable.

Let us know in the comments what’s working for you and your small business.

If you want a free copy of the book, just drop by this Website Builder ebook page and I’ll gladly send you a digital PDF copy.

Google aims for greater transparency over malware

Google has launched a transparency report to shed light on malware and phishing attacks.

An evolution of its Safe Browsing program that was launched in 2006, Google software engineer Lucas Ballard said that it is currently flagging up to 10,000 sites a day that is helping protect around one billion users. This addition will help users see Safe Browsing warnings each week, determine where malicious sites are hosted around the world and understand how quickly websites become reinfected after their owners clean malware from their sites.

He said: “Sharing this information also aligns well with our Transparency Report, which already gives information about government requests for user data, government requests to remove content, and current disruptions to our services.”

Mark James, technical director of ESET UK, said: “Education is key to protection, and the more the industry can do to promote safe practises and visualise the dangers online the better for all. As a next step, internet users need to reflect on their own actions rather than resting on their laurels in the belief that the exposure of threats alone will keep them safe.

“User common sense is always needed, and running anti-virus software alone doesn't necessarily mean it's possible to visit websites indiscriminately believing all malicious code will be detected. New attack methods are constantly in development. Furthermore, unsolicited files or embedded links, even from friends, should be treated with suspicion. Users should think about the post or message's context before opening a link.”

Maker of Opera browser said its network was hacked to steal code-signing certificate

Opera Software, maker of the Opera browser, disclosed on Wednesday that its internal network was targeted in a heist in which the attackers made off with at least one certificate that they used to sign malware.

Sigbjorn Vik, who works in quality assurance at Opera Software, said that the hackers did not compromise any data belonging to users, and that the infection has been neutralised. However the culprits did 'obtain at least one old and expired Opera code-signing certificate...which allowed them to distribute malicious software which incorrectly appears to have been published by Opera Software, or appears to be the Opera browser', accoridng to his blog.

Vik said that for a 36-minute period on 19th June, 'a few thousand' Windows users which were running the browser, may have automatically received and installed the malware.

Opera is scheduled to soon release a new version of the browser, which will rely on a new code-signing cert, and recommends that all users upgrade.

Microsoft defends Citadel action after criticism over sinkholing

Microsoft has defended itself after criticism was leveraged following its takedown of the Citadel botnet.

In early June, Microsoft, the FBI and other companies cut off communication between 1,462 Citadel servers and seized data and evidence from the botnet servers. However the technology giant was criticised for this action by a Switzerland-based researcher, who said that the disruption also ended research being done on the botnet by independent researchers.

They said that 'the problem with cyber crime is that it can't be solved with doing takedowns', and said that it is only possible to solve this issue by implementing legislation related to cyber crime, enforce them by getting bad actors arrested and implementing security by design on different layers,

“As outlined before, Shadowserver will no longer be able to inform network owners about several thousand Citadel infected computers because the Citadel domain names sinkholed by abuse.ch has been seized by Microsoft,” they said.

“According to Microsoft, their goal was to disturb Citadel botnet operations. In my opinion their operation didn't have any big noteworthy impact on Citadel, rather than disturbing research projects of several security researchers and non-profit organisations, including abuse.ch. In my opinion, operation b54 was nothing more than a PR campaign by Microsoft.”

The researcher said that talking to other sinkhole operators saw them confirm that several dozen, and for some operators even hundreds of Citadel domain names they had sinkholed, have been seized by Microsoft.

“Calculating the numbers together, I can say that nearly 1,000 domain names out of the 4,000 domain names seized by Microsoft had already been sinkholed by security researchers,” they said.

“In fact these 1,000 domain names did no longer present a threat to internet users, but were actually used to help to make the internet a better place.”

In a statement sent to SC Magazine, Richard Boscovich, assistant general counsel of the Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit, said that the first priority for Microsoft and its partners, including our research partners, in this operation was to help ensure swift victim recovery from this malware.

“However, we are committed to providing essential information from our sinkholes to additional key researchers working to support victim remediation as quickly as possible, and to taking steps to evolve the coordination of such efforts in future operations,” he said.

Asked if he felt that this was a successful effort in disrupting a botnet in view of this criticism, Boscovich said: “We believe this was a very successful disruptive action, and are confident that we were able to sever most of the Citadel botnets we set out to target. This was also an extremely challenging operation, technologically and logistically, and we're extremely pleased with what we're seeing.

“As stated from the outset, the goal of this operation was to protect the public by strategically disrupting Citadel's operation, helping to quickly release victims from the threat, and making it riskier and more costly for the cyber criminals to continue doing business.

“As we have done in prior botnet operations, Microsoft is now able to use the intelligence gained from this operation to partner with organisations around the world to help rescue people's computers from the control of Citadel, helping to reduce the size of the ongoing threat that these botnets pose, and make the Internet safer for consumers and businesses worldwide.”

He went on to say that Microsoft was working closely with key researchers to further protect the public from Citadel, and the security research community is doing important work on monitoring this threat and other malware variants in the wild.

“Microsoft is working to get essential information from our system as quickly as possible to researchers such as Shadowserver to support victim notification, and most importantly, remediation,” he said.

“Microsoft's commitment to trustworthy partnership with the research and enforcement community to help protect the public from cyber threats remains unchanged. We will continue to partner with the security community around the world in our disruptive actions as we strive to help protect our customers and increase the risk and costs for cyber crime to both deter crime and put cyber criminals out of business.”

Three out of five Android app stores serve up malware

With more than 500 Android application stores identified, three out of five served up malware.

Analysis by Juniper Networks of 1.85 million mobile applications between March 2012 and March 2013, found that the first two months of 2013 saw the greatest increase of malicious apps while Android malware accounted for 90 per cent of all mobile malware.

Speaking to SC Magazine, Michael Callahan, vice president of security product marketing at Juniper Networks, said that 73 per cent of the malware were 'fake installers', designed to send premium rate SMS messages. “They target a system and appear as a download, this tactic means that there is more opportunity to make money,” he said.

He said that of the three out of five malicious app stores, they were based in either China or Russia and he said that this shows that while users are keen to use other stories, they are not always genuine. “There are also hundreds of new versions replacing the ones that are taken down, they are run like a business,” he said.

“At some point in the future, the experience will be bad enough that we will see incremental patches foe mobile operating systems. We saw this with Microsoft and with Adobe and I think that Android will be up next. Google knows enough to change this as we saw that only four per cent of users are running the current operating system.”

Callahan also claimed that research by its mobile threat centre showed that mobile malware was increasing, yes PC malware had plateaued. Juniper found that the total amount of mobile malware in existence increased by 614 per cent to 276,259 total malicious apps, he said that there are only so many vulnerabilities that attackers can exploit, yet in mobile apps they were more prevalent.

“Now everyone has got a mobile, a laptop and possibly a tablet, and that is where the growth is and the opportunity for attack increases,” he said.