Employees use two types of social networking sites. They bring their Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and other identities to the office. At the same time, they use professional social networking – LinkedIn and others – for more “official” duties.
It has the potential to be a major problem. This Newsfactor piece based on Forrester research identifies social networking as a key element of the ongoing corporate Web 2.0 wave. By 2013, the firm says, social networks will constitute a $2 billion chunk of what will be a $4.6 billion sector.
Hopefully, organizations will catch up on the security front. The piece says that only half of Web filters deployed by Barracuda Networks are blocking MySpace or Facebook. Those who are doing so are trying to guard against virus and spyware and to maintain employee productivity. It would be interesting to understand how many of these organizations understand that social networking sites are great avenues for phishing and other social engineer exploits, and for dishonest or ignorant employees to send vital information beyond the firewall.
This is a nice CNN overview of the flow of social networking into the corporate space. What the author doesn’t say is that the evolution of social networking from consumer to business use is precisely what happened with cell phones, Wi-Fi and other tools: People used them in their private lives, liked them, and brought them to work. In this case, the writer says, more secure, corporate-aimed offerings are available. Yammer, for instance, is a business version of Twitter. Other corporate social networking newbies, according to Forrester, include Awareness, Communispace and Jive.
One of the advantages of the fact that new technology has moved from the consumer to business world so many times in the recent past is that experts consider the security issues more quickly. There seems to be a bit less denial. This Legal Technology piece offers a good description of social networks, and references a Black Hat presentation that looked at insecure features of social networks and identified the biggest vulnerabilities. They include cross-site request forgery (CSRF), cross-site scripting (XSS) and the lack of a mechanism to validate the security of customer applications. The writer offers seven tips for safely using and administering social networks.
This is not all theoretic: Business people are using social networks – and the bad guys are going after them. For instance, SPAMfighter cites reports from The Washington Post’s Brian Krebs about spear phishing attacks against about 10,000 LinkedIn members. The story says social networking sites often are the target of spear phishers because users are used to getting e-mail from other members. This e-mail purported to come from support@linkedin.com and carried the subject line “Re: business contacts.” Recipients following the instructions in the e-mail installed a malicious program aimed at stealing sensitive information from the computer.
There is a lot to worry about. Dark Reading offers a scary vignette on how dangerous a social networking site can be. The big problem is that there is no way to simultaneously optimize security and interactivity. To a great extent, emphasizing one comes at the expense of the other. Dark Reading runs through some of the problems, and links to pages that describe in more detail seven of the most dangerous activities: impersonation and targeted hacks; spam and bots; “weaponized” applications; XSS and CSRF; identity theft and corporate espionage.
By: Carl Weinschenk
Archive for September, 2009
Network Marketing – What is It?
September 24th, 2009What is it?
We do word of mouth advertising without even realizing it.
Brian Tracy said, “Fully 84 percent of sales in America take place as the result of word-of-mouth advertising. Some of the most important sales promotion sales activities are those that take place between customers and prospects, between friends and colleagues, in the form of advice and recommendations on what to buy, or not buy, and who to buy from.”
Network Marketing is simply word of mouth advertising that you get paid for. Have you ever told someone else about a great dining experience or movie? Did the restaurant or movie theater pay you to share your positive experience? NO! Have you had any services performed on your vehicle or home that you we’re satisfied with? Did you tell someone else about it? How much did that business pay you for referring a friend or family member? Nothing!
What it is not!
“People who do not understand Network Marketing point at it as a pyramid, when the truth is that they are probably involved in something that truly is a pyramid!” Bob Proctor
Some people are confused by mixing the terms Network Marketing and Multi-Level Marketing together. They are not the same. Actually they have nothing to do with each other. Multi-Level Marketing refers to a pay structure. If you work for a Company, Government or Educational System you are in a Multi-Level Pay Plan – meaning the person at the top position makes the highest income and the person at the bottom position makes the lowest income – and there is very little to no option of moving from the bottom to the top.
In Network Marketing anyone can move from the bottom to the top. The top is open to anyone who is willing to work for their success.
How does it work?
Find a product or service you can relate to and believe in from the DSA, Direct Sellers Association or totalimageint.com/healthy4u. Once you have personally EXPERIENCED your product or service of choice start ‘sharing with others the results you have received and invite them to experience the product or service too!’
If you hate selling, but enjoy talking with others you will love Network Marketing. Statistically for some reason Teachers have the highest success rate in Network Marketing.
Why is it growing fast?
Bob Proctor said this about Network Marketing, “It’s the most moral form of compensation I have ever seen.”
Network Marketing is growing so fast for three primary reasons. It offers hope, relationships and money. Hope makes current circumstances bearable. Developing relationships is the driving force that carries the message. For the masses Money is the reason why people work. But what if you could work your job for the skills you will learn and you work your business for the money. That is exactly what I do.
What are the benefits?
Speeding up the ability to semi-retire or retire sooner, after all most of us work for 40 + years for what reason? Make a living and save enough money via IRA, Keogh, 401k, Social Security so we can have an income during our retirement years.
Do you like people, then how about more friends? Travel! A greater sense of purpose! Career goals or improved personal skills, what about college educations, money for retirement?
By: Bryan Long
Hacker-proofing your network with an antispam appliance and WIFI security
September 24th, 2009When you’re managing several computers at the same time, the first thing you need to think about is that communication is a two-way process. You can’t protect your computers simply by filtering who can come into your network. You also need to make sure that you’re protected from every outgoing online activity you make. This is only possible if you install the right kinds of protection for your WIFI linked network of computers. An antispam appliance should be able to take care of weeding out which URL addresses are safe for your network to explore, and which websites to stay out of. You can also make sure that no intruder is able to access your personal files and steal your bandwidth by installing a device which makes WIFI security possible.
Understanding WIFI security
You need to protect your WIFI network from two things: harmful elements like worms and viruses which you can get online or through unprotected computers, and hackers who are trying to use your “free” wireless internet connection. WIFI security allows you to take care of your properties, including documents and files which may contain vital information about you and the company, and of course, your bandwidth.
A lot of networks suffer from insufficient bandwidth simply because they’re not protected from other computers and networks. Once your neighbor detects your WIFI signal, and you failed to install ample WIFI security, s/he can download and surf all s/he wants without having to pay a single cent.
WIFI security has two key phases: detection and blocking. You can scan the IP addresses of computers who are trying to access your network. If the IP address does not belong to your group of computers, you can opt to boot it out of your system. Better yet, your network should be protected with password queries so you can make sure that your internet connection is only serving people who are within your network of computers.
Make sure that when you choose a device for WIFI security, it doesn’t ask for tedious installation anymore. You would want a portable scanning system which allows you to monitor your network from any computer within the vicinity.
Install an antispam appliance
Of course, your internet protection isn’t complete unless you’re minding the external communications of your network as well. A lot of networks get infected by viruses and worms online because they don’t have an antispam appliance installed. An antispam appliance monitors all the outgoing communications made by every computer in your system. With this web content filtering device, you can also block website addresses that have potentially harmful content.
By harmful content, we mean viral infections, worms, spam ads, and even indecent adult content. An antispam appliance is especially useful for networks that have kids using the internet. All schools and homes should make sure that they have this internet filtering device installed. As parents and teachers, you’re morally responsible for the children’s safety online when they’re using your computers.
If you’re running a network of computers for your business, you can also control the online activities of your employees with an antispam appliance. By installing this device, you can make sure that they’re using the company bandwidth for office purposes only, and not for downloading movies, music, or other non-work-related articles.
By: Jhoana Cooper
Network Information Security Training
September 24th, 2009The proliferation of call centers and their growing popularity has led to a huge demand for call center software. These call center software are essential for every call center who want to increase and maintain their proficiency and productiveness.
They allow one to manage interactions, reduce hold time, route calls immediately to ideal agents, provide detailed call reports and assist in customer communication. But, remember, all call center software is not up to the mark. Here are some features which are must in any outbound or inbound call center software.
Easy to understand navigable lay-out
Keeping in mind the requirements of call centers, various General User Interface (GUI) based software units are being developed to provide a unique platform for the user to carry on interactions with their callers without any interference. Moreover, GUI can also be used for the task of gathering and producing information.
Remember, whichever GUI software you prefer for your call center must be clear and easy to read. It will help the users to easily understand its functionality. The GUI software should be such that a user must be able to navigate his way out in the numerous processes without getting lost.
Callback function to keep the caller happy
In call center software it is important to have call back function as it allows the caller whose call is not processed at the time of call to instruct the system to establish the connection whenever the line is available. This is done by the system by retaining both the called and calling numbers, redialing the called number periodically and alerting the caller when the connection has been made. This way, the caller will not be disappointed.
Built in real time statistics
In any contact centers, there are numerous data that need to be kept track off. And the most challenging part is to use the data effectively. Call center software have built-in real time statistics that make it easy to establish communication with agents and executives instantly. Real time statistics built right into the software, helps the users to see and process the displayed data and make correct decisions in real time.
Manage time with built-in IVR
A built-in Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system greets caller and prompts to enter enquiries over telephone keypad. It helps in providing the caller with a lot of information without burdening the call center agent by reducing the time spent by him in providing unnecessary details. It helps in increasing the efficiency call agents. IVR is a must have software for any call center as it helps a call center agent to spend time in a more productive way.
Improve communication with pop-up screen
For incoming call software, a pop-up window is a must. With a pop-up window, the call center agent will be able to see the caller’s name, address, time of call, and other pertinent information on his/her screen. This feature helps in maintaining a database with various details about a caller. With pop-up screen it becomes easy to establish good call agent and caller relationship.
Handling computer calls
In various call center software, there are call routing solutions to help call agents handle calls more effectively. In the long run, efficiently routing and handling customer phone calls, chats, e-mail, and other media boost the call center’s productivity. With a call routing software, one gets valuable information related to a caller, like the time of call, duration of call, geographical location and etc. This information helps to direct the caller to the agent who can help the caller best.
Quality monitoring capability
As quality assurance is important for the success of any call center software, it is important for the call center software to be equipped with real time monitoring capacity. It will allow the supervisor to keep track of past records of the interactions between call center agents and the callers to check on the performance quality of the agents.
Customizable elements
The best way to judge the quality of any call center software is to check out its customizable, flexible and scalable features. The more flexible is the software, the more it will suit the changing requirements of the call center company. With a feature enriched and easy-to-use call center software; there will be an increasing percentage of callers which will ultimately lead towards the productivity of a call center.
By: Carolina Mosbah
SECURITY+ CERTIFICATION:sy0-101 Exam
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