According to PC World and I’ll quote:

According to FireEye chief scientist Stuart Staniford, detection rates are so poor that, on average, only around 40 percent of security software can detect binaries during the period of greatest infectivity and danger, namely the first few days after a particular variant starts being used by botnet builders.

[via PC World]

In a recent virus storm, We have people finding my site because of a Good Firewall.   No if he didn’t have anything but Windows firewall then it would of gotten through and you would not of known about it.  So let’s talk about how to prevent botnet attacks.   This is relatively easy and if you follow some common rules.   You to could be less likely to be infected.  I will say this most people don’t do these common tips and they should do them.

Make sure you update Windows regularly.  Having seen this time and time again, if you don’t keep windows updated then you lose the battle.  If you have a system that needs updating, I suggest downloading the Clone to Autopatcher.  This little program will download the files needed to update your system without having to be online.  Although, you can have windows update automatically every month but that might not update the recommended updates only the ones that are hot.  It doesn’t matter which way you prefer to update, as long as you do to update regularly, Like every 2nd Tuesday of the Month.

One last tip you should also keep your Firewall and Anti-virus updated.  There is a little program that will do that, it’s call AppSnap.  If you follow all these recommendations you will greatly reduce your chances of getting a virus on your system.

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I’ve been doing some research on what might be good to use in case, I was away from my home network.  I was thinking how safe am I at Starbucks or other places that I might doing my web.  So I did a little looking around to see which one I liked and I came to the conclusions that only one I need right now is:

The nice thing about this was the simple installation of the software and how easy it was to set it up. This service is in beta but seems to be really well done with regards to the end users. When you install this software and want to connect it uses the OpenVPN software with there configurations. OpenVPN, is a open sourced SSL VPN solution and is free to use. The way this this free is of Ad Supported banners. Now it is cheaper than paying monthly for a VPN service. The ones I’ve found so far are these few:

• OpenVPN (FREE)(*advertisement)(Linux, and Windows)
• Always VPN (Prepay) (5 GB to 80 GB limit) (Linux, Mac and Windows)*Out of Beta
  
• Hotspot Shield (FREE) (*advertisement) (Windows) (3 gig Cap)
  
• WiTopia (40$/ Year) (Mac, Linux, and Windows)

There is of course others out that but these are just a few that I saw that looks like the cheapest there is.  Others I’ve seen cost 40 to 50 dollars a month.   If you have any other ones that are free or cheap let me know.  I don’t think we need to pay a lot just to have security on an open network. I’m certain that they’re more out there but will keep looking for more later on. I did my initial research and will come back and find more.

*Update Feb 8, 2009*

As of recent a friend emailed me saying telling me to check the site out again and I did.  Not sure when they went out of Beta because I’ve not been using Always VPN lately due to my Broadband Cricket Prepay Internet.  I just checked and yes they are charging here’s the break down:

• 5GB – USD 8.50
• 10GB – USD 15.00
• 20GB – USD 26.00
• 40GB – USD 33.00
• 80GB – USD 47.00

So I must ask why they didn’t just keep the 5 GB limit with the Advertising, I do not know but  I did want to let people know that it is no longer free and no longer in Beta.  I went from Always to OpenVPN which still works despite the fact they are using Always VPN back client.   It’s open source so it will probably change to something else sooner or later.   If you see it changes let me know, I will update more when I find out more!!

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According to Time Inc. Editor in Chief John Huey is planning on Laying off over 600 jobs:

Time Inc., the world’s largest magazine publisher, plans to cut 6 percent of its work force — more than 600 positions — and will revamp the organization in a way that could radically alter the culture at the company.

[via Nytimes.com]

With the way the economy is, we have more and more people who are having trouble with Layoffs.   I got a list of companies right now who is laying people off.  If you want to check it out just CLICK HERE.

Now let’s talk about the bigger picture, people are worried and want to get through this with out getting hit hard.   So what is true hardship, that comes when you least expect it and want it.  I’ve come to the conclusion that it will happen in the best of times.  You see most people don’t know what hardship is until it hits them in the square on the head.

Having seen this coming a mile a way, I thought I would come up with ways to be prepared and I’ve done a lot of hard work to be prepared, you two could be prepared.  If your interested just click this link and check out all my article on getting prepared.  If that doesn’t help you just go out and use google to the fullest.  You see if your not ready for the end how can you be ready for the beginning.  You will sooner or later be dealt a deck of cards and not know where to go next.

I am not trying to say everyone will loose there jobs but that doesn’t mean your safe where you are.  You must strive to be better than are RIGHT now!! For if you don’t you will never have the chance to survice this Recession.  I am so sure we are heading into the mouth of t he tiger right now, there is no turning back.  Are you prepared?

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As we go further into the economic death, we are faced with the most undesirable aspect of the human culture.  That is to say, scammers are going to use the chance to find people to scam.  I don’t say this lightly because scammers have become more cunning and dubious through the years.  They are actually using the internet as well as most companies.  They are going to sites like Monster.com, Careerbuilder.com, and other hiring sites to get people to apply for jobs.

<<See Previous Post – Nationwide Marketing Scam

Having said that, I recently had a problem with being tried to be scammed.  I applied to a job posted on Careerbuilder and that is how they got a hold of my home address.  I did not think about the security problems associated with applying for jobs on line, until recently.

As you can see that is how they got a hold of my information and have made myself vulnerable to scams and also, other potential problems.  I am talking about Theft ID and also spam.  Although spam is to be expected with anything we do online.  I’ve come to the conclusion that we will always have to deal with spam.   I wanted to talk about how to be careful when you apply for online jobs and  put your information out on the internet.  I’ve started taking some steps to prevent this from happening again.

• No Longer am I going to apply for any more private companies – if I can’t see who they are then they have something to hide.
  
• To prevent spam – I am going to make an email address just for my resume.  That way I don’t have to worry about spam on my main account.
• If it’s too good to be true, it is probably not –  I am going to start using that philosophy when I’m about to apply for a job.  See picture above, advertising way to much money for a Customer Service rep.
• Don’t ever put your Social on your Resume –  That is the most crucial part, if you want your identity stolen that is one sure way to get it stolen.  Even though that should be painfully obvious it is sometimes overlooked.
  

I am sure there are more but that is the basic idea of the whole thing.  I will probably come up with even more ideas later on but this was one thing that I have been thinking about all day.    I also think we have to starting asking the questions before the seriousness of the scammers come to bear.   They will never go away but until we get serious, they will always be there to taunt us and laugh us.   I am not sure how to do it,  Do you?   Are we  just supposed to sit here and take it or do we fight back and how?   These are importantquestions  for anyone to consider when you are faced with the possiblity of fraud or being scammed?  How do we deal with it in the future? Should scammers be punished serverely or moderately?

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Having seen the economy this week, I’ve come to the conclusion that it is time to redo all the important essentials and get all my ducks in the order as they say.   I’ve been thinking of how best to be ready in case the dreaded day comes when my employer no longer needs my assistance and what could I do to be prepared.

• Get Someone to Critique your Resume — This is the most important step because this is the first place employers look when they want to hire someone.  So how do you get it critiqued?   Here are some good links to help you start off with:  Careerbuilder Critique, Mind of Root Peer Critique(Last until Oct 30, 2008).
• Have your Resume Ready to upload to Resume sites –  You should always register at all the important resume sites just in case.  The Sites that I recommend are : Monster, Career Builder,  Hot jobs, Dice, US jobs, Best Jobs USA, Computer Jobs, and Nation Job.
• Use your website as a place to put your Resume – Have your resume available in case some contacts you and tells you they know someone who is looking to hire people.  Have this resume hidden and only give it out to people you know.   This is also known as networking.
  
• Network as much as possible –  There are sites out there that have made it easier to network.  Sites like linkedin.com, this site is great because of the 6 degrees of possibility as I call it.  You know someone, they know someone, and then you will both know the same one!!   This also will greatly increase your chance of an employer finding you.
• For those who want to be Self employed –  I wanted to say that most people who want to be self employed know just how hard it is to begin with.  So I’ve got some interesting links to help start you on your way.   First link is Technibble.com Computer Business Kit,  This has Maintenance Sales Letter, Work Order, Marketing Analysis and Payment Overdue Letter. It is also a good idea to have an MP3 Advertisement that you can give to podcast and throw them the link to it.  You will need to market yourself to the public in ways that no one has thought of.   You will on an occasion have to spend money in order to get money, it’s always been that way but it seems to work.

These are some great tips that will greatly improve your chances of landing that job or becoming even more chance of you making money.   If you have any tips or want to suggest ways to improve upon these tips please email me.   If you like what you see discuss it on the blog or click on my ads to help offset the cost of this blog.

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