Security Infrastructure - Vital for Nations' Top Brass, Vital for Your Business

Without a solid network and security infrastructure in place, no business can run smoothly. Indeed, a lack thereof can cause a company to severely slow down, especially in the face of persistent problems. The resulting down time leads to lost revenue, which over time can break even the most financially sound business.

All of this explains why even industries like the military and healthcare, which are backed by governmental support and resources to get them out of a variety of other jams, don't take their chances when it comes to security infrastructure. In fact, they place profound emphasis on their network and security infrastructure.

One recent key example of this is the Indian Navy, a naval base of which, Yahoo! News recently reported, "was commissioned at Kavaratti"... "to augment the security infrastructure at the strategically important Lakshadweep Islands." This group of islands is situated 200 to 440 km off the coast of the South West Indian state of Kerala.

Yahoo! News explained the rationale behind this pumping up of the coastal security infrastructure in this way, "A firmer footing in the islands, which spreads out to some of the busiest shipping lanes of the world, would provide the necessary wherewithal to the Indian Navy to discharge its responsibilities suitably."

The U.S.'s pioneer Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) movement is also putting security infrastructure front and center. Part of the new health law, NPR defines Accountable Care Organizations as the "latest model for delivering services [that] offer doctors and hospitals financial incentives to provide good quality care to Medicare beneficiaries while keeping down costs."

As MedCityNews pointed out earlier this month, however, as more data for care coordination and population management is shared as result of ACOs, "IT departments will be asked to make clinical records available to increasing numbers of loosely affiliated clinicians and staff." This tendency will, in turn, result in a slippery slope in terms of managing distributed authentication and protecting privacy.

One of the ways the publication suggested dealing with this issue is the emplacement security infrastructure and agreements. Then, "any clinician can leverage the community trust fabric, using their existing [electronic health records, or] EHRs and organizational credentials, to send data to another clinician."

As a final example of security infrastructure's importance, "Security Week" recently highlighted a letter from General Keith Alexander, director of the NSA and current commander of the U.S. Cyber Command, to Senator John McCain. Therein, Alexander stressed "that legislation is needed for 'information sharing and core critical infrastructure hardening.'" He added "that if the Department of Defense is to defend the nation against cyber attack, it must be able to see those attacks in real time."

The same set of security infrastructure solutions government leaders and organizations rely on to keep their country safe can obviously solidly protect businesses as well. That solution set should include:

Technology that improve response times An amelioration in the stability of the network Seamless integration of hardware and software Improving the network's availability Offering reliable remote connectivity Adding flexibility Enhancing security Top 5 Reasons to Check Website Security   Why Ignoring IDS Could Lead to Substantial Damage for Businesses   

Benefits of Background Check Services

Background check services are available for everybody to use. A lot of people wonder what the benefits of using such a service are, and there are a lot of benefits of using a check service.

Businesses and people can use these types of services to find out if somebody has a criminal background. The best thing about getting a criminal check is that it will provide details on a national level. This means that a business or a person can see if the person has a criminal record nationwide and not just on a local level. This can be helpful to anybody who wants to find out if a person has warrants or any convictions against them on a national level.

Companies can also verify prior employment when they run a check on an employee or a potential employee. This means that a company can find out whether or not a person has actually worked for the employees they say they worked for. A company will be able to see if a potential employee has the necessary skills needed to perform the tasks for the job they are applying for.

Background check services can also provide people with address history. This means that a person can find out where a person has lived throughout the years. This information can be useful to an employer or even law enforcement.

People can also find out whether or not a person has been locked up. This is another good reason why people should use background check services. Companies will usually want to know whether or not they have convicted felons working for them or if they are about to hire a convicted felon.

A background service can also provide people with a driving record check. This is great for companies that are thinking about hiring a person to perform a driving job. A company will be able to see if the person they are considering hiring has a bad driving record or a clean record. This will allow the company to make a wise hiring decision.

Background check services can also provide people with education details. Sometimes a company will require a person to have a degree of some sort, and a background check will verify a person's education. This will allow a business to make sure that the person they are thinking of hiring meets the education requirements that the company has. People can also verify that a person holds specific professional licenses and a check can also verify references.

Background check services can also provide other useful information. There are many other reasons why somebody would want to get a back ground check done. A person may want to hire a caregiver or a babysitter and a check would be useful. Companies can also get background checks for many different reasons, some of them were mentioned above. There are many ways to get a check done and getting a check done is very easy to do and all companies should get one done.

Top 5 Reasons to Check Website Security   Why Ignoring IDS Could Lead to Substantial Damage for Businesses   

Sentry Pigeon Review - Does Sentry Pigeon Really Offer A Proper Website Security Solution?

Sentry Pigeon Review - A candid look at Munchweb's latest product offering.

After having purchased this training course and having delved into it fully, I can give you a real overview of the pros and the cons of investing in this security training designed for the non-technical audience out there.

What Is Sentry Pigeon?

Although Sentry Pigeon has a rather curious and somewhat ambiguous name on the surface, it is actually the WordPress website security solution recently released by one Chris Much (aka Munchweb) and promises a combination of reports and videos that encompass everything you need to know about securing your WordPress blog from hackers attacks and other undesirables out there on the World Wide Web.

What Does Sentry Pigeon Consist Of?

Sentry Pigeon consists of a well written and easy to follow PDF guide that takes you through the individual steps required in securing your WordPress website.

This isn't just your typical digital download product that has been highly touted as a professional offering which eventually falls flat. Having fully reviewed and implemented the methods and techniques covered in the guide, I can safely say that I feel better protected from the hacker community lurking out there on the Internet looking to do harm to my websites.

As well as the guide there are a series of 25 videos presented in the "screen capture" family of videos (where you effectively watch "over the shoulder" of the trainer to see exactly how and what they are doing in the training demonstration).

What Do The Sentry Pigeon Videos Cover?

As well as being easy to follow, the Sentry Pigeon videos contain a variety of techniques on how to secure your WordPress website such as;

How to change the file and folder permissions to give you the best protection for your Web host files and folders Scripts and additional code that is a must to add to your The best WordPress plugins out there that are not only free but also offer the best automated protection for your websites Tactics for reducing the likelihood of a hacker gaining entry to your Web server through FTP or your WordPress blog itself Modifications that you can make to the WordPress login interface to lower the chances of your website being hacked by a method known as Brute Force Attack

This shapes up to be a comprehensive training course but unfortunately there are some downsides to the overall offering, the main points I will go through with you just now.

Now, I will go over what I see as the true pros and cons of the Sentry Pigeon WordPress security training package:

PROS:

Extremely well priced offering. You would be hard pushed to buy a similar mainstream or commercial WordPress security course for the price Munchweb have set. Sentry Pigeon covers all the major aspects of implementing a solid security "blueprint" on your WordPress based website or websites. The PDF report is well written, presented with easy to understand text and overall it is jargon free. Perfect for the intended target audience The videos are well narrated and cover a whole host of aspects within the WordPress security arena, some of which I must admit I had never heard of before Actually implementing the techniques and methods discussed in the videos and the PDF report are very straightforward. Nothing has been left to chance by the course designer.

CONS:

The narrator of the videos, although clear and concise may cause issues for some people that have difficulty in understanding certain dialects and accents These aren't the best "scaled" videos, you may find it irritating to not see the "whole picture" when watching the training videos At the time of writing, there is no option to maximize the videos on the screen. This is overcome by pressing CTRL & the + key to zoom in but it can still be a bit irritating for those of you used to viewing training videos in full screen The videos cant be downloaded to your computer so the content must be viewed online. The PDF report however be downloaded.

And My Overall Impression of Sentry Pigeon?

With various options available on the market, both from commercial companies and "Indie" companies, Sentry Pigeon had to not just be good, it had to be concise, to the point, accurate with the content and above all else provide real value to those that invest their hard earned in the training it provides.

Thankfully, aside from the negative points above, I feel that at the end of the day Sentry Pigeon delivers what it promises to the point that you will not only feel more comfortable with how secure your websites are, but also increase your overall knowledge of how and why we increase security levels on our WordPress blogs and websites in the first place.

I can recommend Sentry Pigeon as a solution that not only will tick the above two boxes, but will provide you with solid knowledge for the foreseeable future.

Top 5 Reasons to Check Website Security   Why Ignoring IDS Could Lead to Substantial Damage for Businesses   

Internet Anonymity: 5 VPN Providers That Are And Aren't Serious About Privacy

Not all VPN providers are the same. Among the differences that are the most common worried about by the customer, (besides cost and reliability,) are logging, and who the provider answers to when information requests are made. But often this information is difficult to distinguish when it is contained in the complicated legalese and documentation that is called the "Terms of Service."

Because of this, many are looking through the terms, and asking VPN providers a lot of questions, so here is a simplistic outline of how serious 5 highly popular takes the Anonymity issue. The most common questions to be addressed here are:

Are any logs kept that would enable a 3rd party to match time stamps and IP addresses a particular user, and if so, what information is actually logged? What jurisdictions does the provider answer to in the event a query for data is made, and what are the requirements in which they will release the information requested.

1) BTGuard

Maintains absolutely no logs of any kind. According to their Administration they would have to maintain at least 4TB of information daily to store the logs. The company is in a Canadian jurisdiction, but because they maintain no logs, no information can be shared, either with 3rd parties or governments.

2) Private Internet Access

They also keep no logs of any kind, and instead of using Static, or Dynamic IPs, they use shared IP addresses. This makes it impossible to connect any user to any IP address or time stamp. On their website they also encourage their customers to use anonymous payment forms, like bitcoin, and anonymous emails, to help maintain the anonymity. They are in the US jurisdiction, but have gateways in Canada, the UK, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. Their choice of the US jurisdiction was intentional though, as the US requires no data retention. Information is never shared with third parties, unless there is a warrant or court order. In these cases though, there are no logs to surrender.

3) Torrent Privacy

Maintains connection logs, but doesn't keep the IP addresses in them. They only keep these logs for 7 days, and maintain that it's still impossible to find out who has been using their service. Seychelles is their jurisdiction, so a special lawsuit is required to force them to relinquish the logs, though they do have servers in the Netherlands, US, and Sweden.

4) TorGuard

TorGuard maintains logs that are deleted on a daily basis., and say that they can't keep them any longer due to storage capacities that would be required. Since no IPs or timestamps are kept, determining who used the connection at any given time would be impossible. Based in Panama, they have servers in the Netherlands, Ukraine, Panama, and Romania. Information is never shared with any third parties, unless court orders compel them to do so. Even with this requirement satisfied, the lack of logs would comprise a lack of data to satisfy the request.

5) iPredator

They maintain that no IPs are stored, and that few issues have occurred, and that accidental divulgence has never happened. The main jurisdiction is in Sweden, but they intentionally keep the organizational data mixed, which makes it virtually impossible to legally gain access to any kind of data they do not want to divulge.

All of the providers listed above are high quality personal VPN services and seem to take their customers privacy and anonymity very seriously. If there are ever doubts as to the security of data that could possibly be shared with outside sources, the "Terms of Service" should be read slowly and carefully, then reread. Legalese is a language all unto itself, and if not taken in a bit at a time can serve to confuse more than clarify.

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Why Should I Only Trust A Website With SSL Encryption?

It seems that the world revolves around the internet these days, with about ninety five percent of daily life somehow relating to computers and internet use in some way. Bank transactions, shopping, family updates, and even wills and trusts can be done online. SSL encryption ensures that secure information is kept safe. The SSL certificate is free to obtain, which means that webmasters and website developers do not risk losing anything in order to have the certificate. If a webmaster or web developer does not have an SSL certificate, they risk losing business, web traffic, and their integrity.

SSL encryption protects sensitive information as it is transmitted on the internet. SSL certificates work by providing a mixing up the words, letters, and numbers entered over a secure connection. Thieves cannot do anything with this information, assuming that they are able to see it in the first place. That means that when a consumer makes an online purchase, an unscrupulous hacker cannot steal their credit card number. SSL certs also protect bank account numbers, addresses, national insurance numbers, and the like Consumers on an SSL protected site know that their information is safe, and that they can browse with confidence. SSL certificates contain two keys. One is private and one is public. A private key will unscramble all information that the public key has scrambled. This is only half of the story.

SSL certs also authenticate both the website and the client. Authentication is crucial. SSL certificates are created for verified businesses and specific domains. These certificates are like having a birth certificate and social security card when applying for an identification card. It ensures that the website is owned by the company that is represented on the website. It is the same as sharing your birth date and with your doctor versus sharing that same information with a complete stranger.

SSL security provides as much piece of mind for the company as it does for the consumer. SSL certificates ensure that a company will not be responsible for contacting clients and informing them that their information has been stolen. It helps a company preserve its reputation and its integrity. It also makes it harder for hackers to steal information by going into company files. It ensures companies that the internet is not only safe for their clients, but that it is safe for the companies themselves. It costs nothing to get an SSL certificate, so there is no risk in adding one to a website. The bigger risk would be in operating, or doing business, on a website without security.

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How To Reduce The Chances Of Your Website Being Hacked

All types of websites are prone to hacking. Even your own email address is prone to hacking at any point in time. For as long as there is a site that could be hacked and information that could be exploited, your website is never a hundred percent safe. This could very much damage your account as well as your reputation if the hackers have managed to exploit your identity with negative intent. It can be worse if you are running a business and your hacked website starts getting in the way of your sales, operations and reputation management.

This is exactly why you have to at least reduce the risk of your website being hacked. While there is still no known definite way of eliminating hacking, it is just important that you stay on your guard so that chances of your website being affected by it will be lessened.

One way to reduce the risk of your website being hacked is to secure your account. Make sure that you nominate a password that cannot be easily tampered with. It would also be better if you refrain from broadcasting around what your password is. If you can, change your password periodically to avoid predictability. Also, use different passwords in your various online accounts.

Another way of keeping your website safe is to name only a few trusted people as administrators. It may be you and your assistant or your IT personnel. Having only a few people who know how to access your website can minimize the risk of a lot of the others accidentally forgetting safety precautions in terms of website security and eventually putting your account in danger of being hacked.

Finally, it would definitely help you keep your website safe from being hacked if you always monitor activities within it. Spending even a few minutes of your everyday logging in to your site gives you a brief update as to the happenings around it. You would then be able to distinguish if something wrong is happening or if some of your posts are deleted or if there are comments about your content that are unexpected.

All in all, it comes down to preparing your website for any possibility of intruders. Knowing what you are up against would also help so that you can enhance the basic guidelines above. Your online security may seem a minor concern but it is definitely not.

Top 5 Reasons to Check Website Security   Why Ignoring IDS Could Lead to Substantial Damage for Businesses   

Ways to Protect Your System From Online Threats

Virus threats can easily lead to more disastrous scenarios and possibly even unknown threats. If you are tired of the nuisance caused by virus attacks, then it's best to get the leading computer virus protection online.

Whenever user goes online, his PC is left vulnerable to threats as its already open to a world of potential dangers. It's the easiest way for hackers and crackers to get into your network or system-no matter where they are in the world. And while 90% of internet users are well intentioned, the 10% are there to create mayhem-and it's not just chaos that they intend to create. Some are intent on accessing your passwords, bank details and other pertinent details that may lead to more disastrous scenarios. Users seem to be ignorant of threats thus making malware protection a really big deal.

Read on to learn more ways to protect your system from real time dangers online:

- Install a dynamic antivirus program: Get the protection of the best antivirus free program and firewall software for your system. It helps you receive daily updates to stay ahead of hackers and be safe from online threats.

- Use Secure Web Browsers: Ensure your browser setting gives you optional privacy and security setting along with it. Update your operating system regularly and take all its advantages of security patches and updates.

- Protect personal information online: Before entering any personal information online. Whether it's your credit card information or credit details into your site firstly ensure it's secure and authentic.

- Imperative backup: Get proper backup of your system as it's always prone to numerous threats. It's necessary to keep it safe and formatted for any future loss. Re-format your hard drive and re-install all your softwares and files to computer.

- Phishing threat: Make sure never to click any website directly from link in an e-mail. Any site you land on is actually expected to be on by checking the actual URL. Phishing attacks dupe users into visiting a seemingly legitimate link and thus takes all your personal information and details in return. User can unknowingly update their banking details when in fact it is just a ruse to grab your details for their own devious ends.

In conclusion, defend your PC against any vulnerable threats in cyberspace. It may seem like a full time job, but luckily one can get complete information to protect your computer system from hackers, viruses, Trojans & other threats to your internet security.

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Comparing Internet Security Software Made Easy

The use of Internet and online business has continued to substantially enhance and is anticipated to do so for a significant period of time. Due to this, the threat of internet malware and virus attack is also increasing. Therefore, you need to opt for suitable internet security solutions in this regard. You got to employ an antivirus program that secures your system in the best probable way. Such internet security tools really help you to secure your internet security business in a significant way. In this article, we are going to learn about comparing online security software.

Let us now talk about a few key instructions regarding comparing internet security freeware in the easiest possible way. Go through the below mentioned points carefully.

• First of all, you got to visit and review the antivirus freeware package grades and summaries listed at PC magazine and the Malware Dictionary. These kinds of internet security tools could really help you in choosing the best possible option for your business.

• Now, you need to decide if you are going to buy a complete security package that comprises in anti - malware, anti - spam and firewall protection, or you are just going to choose an antivirus program. Once you plan to purchase an all inclusive package you need to make sure that it consists of all the necessary things that you are looking for.

• Another important thing for you to do is to select the top 2 products that include the computer safety alternatives you wish for your safety program.

• The next thing that you need to do is to compare the evaluated speed of the program reviewers. Proper comparisons should be made in this regard so that no inconvenience is caused. Antivirus software should encompass all the necessary things.

• At last, you got to decide if the cost of the program is more essential to you than its speed. A faster program will always be expensive and you should plan your monetary resources accordingly. You got to look for a program that suits you in the best probable way.

These are some of the most important points to remember regarding the comparison of internet security programs. You must secure your company and computer system so that no hacker gets in to it. Always look out for some cool options in this regard. Nowadays, a lot of companies are offering internet security services and you should get in touch with such firms in order to generate the best possible results.

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How to Improve Validity of Online Orders

It is a given that you should validate each and every customer order that comes into your site, perhaps even employing tools such as address and phone verification. But near-perfect levels of order fulfillment remains a bigger concern, requiring you to pay attention to the smallest detail. Here are some ways to boost customer loyalty, avoid costly errors, and have that selling edge through a good delivery of online orders.

Since accuracy begins once you start receiving orders, it will be best to work with your vendors to provide you with clear, helpful product labeling, ideally with bar code identification. It is also very important that you validate receipts against purchase orders - this will enable you to validate received items against the originating purchase order. Another measure of item and quantity verification is comparing shipments against purchase orders at the time of receipt. Automatic quantity checks - much like customer address and phone verification during the marketing phase - will make the process a breeze even if you are dealing with complex orders.

It is also a must to have clear, simple, and efficient bin location identifiers, just like in the receiving process.

Picking errors should be avoided as well, since a majority of order accuracy errors results from them. Pay special attention to simplifying the picking process. Again, to make an allowance for human error, apply some form of automatic technology, like a warehouse management system (WMS). You may also employ so-called checkers to validate the quality of order picks, which will be done through inspection and redundant effort. This will help your business achieve high levels of accuracy in the picking phase.

While counting may be all right for small quantities, they are counterproductive and are a nightmare for large quantities of orders. Solve the counting issue by measuring instead - use electronic weight scales, since weight verification also validates quantities. Finally, seek adaptability and make sure that your processes support change at a moment's notice. Observe changes in customer orders through good and systematic communication.

To validate phone, address, and other pertinent data of your target or potential customers will put you on the road to e-commerce success, but you will only have good customer relationship (and multiple or repeat purchases) if you always work toward improving the fulfillment of each online order you receive on your site, no matter how small or big it is.

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Internet Security - Cyber Insurance As A Protection Against Cyber Threats

The advent of internet has helped the business world in a great manner. Internet has made several tasks and activities a lot easier in comparison to the early ages. Apart from multitude of benefits, internet has also exposed the business world to a whole lot of risks. Loss of valuable information and data is one of the greatest losses to almost any business in the present day age. According to a recent survey, more than 85% of business houses have suffered great losses mainly due to the breach in company's data security. In the year 2005, according to the percentage count of Federal Bureau of Investigation, more than 60% companies suffered a good amount of monetary loss due to the illicit activities of computer hackers.

As a result, the need for complete internet security gave rise to the cyber insurance products. Just like any other insurance product, cyber insurance provides cover for the losses occurring due to hacking, loss of data, defiance of service attacks and the like. The role of cyber insurance comes into play when the internet security products like virus protection software's or anti spam systems fail in providing foolproof cover. This coverage takes care of all the monetary expenses spent in getting the organization back on track.

Coverage Offered The cyber cover provides full coverage for the liabilities arising out of web media, web content, private customer data, computer system and website based threats, server security breach and much more. Any kind of loss occurring because of such events is duly covered under this type of indemnity cover. Even the money expended in getting the business working back to normal is covered in such type of protective covers.

Allied Benefits The first and the foremost benefit of this type of cover is that in the event of security breach, it will act as a complete source of funding against any kind of losses and getting the business back to normal working. The second probable benefit of such indemnity cover is that the risk is equally dispersed among several business houses by the way of charging premiums. The amount of premium charged from the companies mainly depends upon the risk faced by them. Lastly, the insurance companies indirectly encourage the adoption of superior internet security measures for the safety of various company assets including the customer information and other data.

So, this was in-detail analysis of the cyber insurance, available to the business houses as an active internet security measure.

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Is the Use of WordPress Security Plugin Enough to Protect Your Website?

How do WP Security Plug-ins Work?

In general, a WordPress security plugin works by reducing and hiding the vulnerabilities of your site. Aside from scanning and reporting your WP security problems, this plugin provides different automated security measures that make it difficult for cyber criminals to insert malicious scripts or perhaps steal sensitive information from your site.

But like I said earlier, it is not enough to simply use these add-ons. You must keep in mind that hackers work day and night just to steal all the websites they can amass quite easily. In fact, they are not doing it manually. They use special computer programs or bots that could creep into your system and attack your site's weak points. Once they find a hole, it would be easier for them to attack and steal all the information you have been working on for so many years.

How to increase the security of your website?

There are several ways on how you can increase the security of your website in addition to WordPress security plugin's and these are some of them:

1. Delete unused plugins. First thing you can do is to delete all of your unused plugins as these can provide loopholes that hackers can use to easily gain entry into your site. Take note that old and unused plugins are the primary factors that can attract malware attacks and many other website hosting problems.

2. Use .htaccess file. According to Matt Cutts of Google, using a .htaccess file is another way to secure your WP Admin site for it only allows access from specific IP address. You can do it by replacing the IPs with the ones you like to add in your white list.

3. Change your admin username to something other than "Admin" and use stronger passwords if you want to make it harder for Internet evildoers to infiltrate your site. When it comes to changing passwords, it is highly recommended to use stronger passwords consisting of at least fourteen characters such as lower case letters, capital letters, numbers and special characters.

4. Upgrade your WordPress version on a regular basis. This step is very important in keeping your site more secured since latest WP versions contain up-to-date bug fixes for any security vulnerabilities. The latest version of WordPress is version 3.4.1.

5. Hire a WP security service. Perhaps the most ideal thing to do when it comes to maintaining a website is hiring a WP security service that will do all the security measures you need for your site. This professional will ensure that no malicious script, hacker codes, malware attacks or any other website hosting issues could ever take your WP site away from you.

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Should We Be Hacked Off With Hackers?

These stories tap into the very real and personal fear that we are being watched. None of us are safe. Everyone on the internet is out to get us in one way or another.

The media is very good at feeding this fear, reporting incidents that will shock and choosing to ignore others that don't have the intimidation factor. Did you know, for example, that your details are far more likely to be compromised by someone leaving a USB memory stick on a train than by a website being hacked?

The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse claims that 180,000,000 individual records (including names, addresses and credit card information relating to members of the public) were compromised in 2005, in breaches caused by the loss or improper disposal of paper records, portable devices and desktop PCs. In comparison, 631 records were compromised through hacking activity or malware during this same period.

In the past 2 months, we have heard how hackers have targeted LinkedIn, Yahoo Voices and Formspring, obtaining and posting millions of user passwords online. What seems to be glossed over, though, is the fact that many of the hackers have targeted these sites to show their owners how easy they are to breach. Several groups have claimed that their actions are meant as a 'wake up call' rather than a threat. Obviously, there are hackers who sell the details they obtain or use them for malicious reasons, such as emptying PayPal or online bank accounts, but many of them don't.

In reality, we are the biggest threat to our online security, because we don't choose strong enough passwords when we sign up for things. The ideal password should be 8 or more characters long, and should contain at least one number and one capital letter. Nearly every website that uses a password system tells us this or similar information, yet the 3 most popular passwords that were stolen from LinkedIn were "link," "1234" and "work." Hardly difficult to guess given the context of the site ("sex" and "dragon" were also popular, but we'll avoid those).

Of course, the more difficult your password is to guess, the more difficult it will be for someone to hack your account personally, but what happens when an entire website gets hacked, and not just your part of it? It's frustrating because, realistically, there's nothing you can do about it. If the owners of the website don't have a tight enough security system in place, chances are your details are going to be compromised.

Because of this, it could be argued that one benefit of hacking is that it makes websites tighten up their security. LinkedIn have now introduced further levels of password encryption to protect their users' data. Formspring disabled all accounts until the issue had been dealt with, and asked all members to change their passwords. Small changes, but they act as a major deterrent.

It is important not to over or underestimate the threat hackers pose. Yes, be as sensible online as possible, but don't live in fear. Choose complex passwords and be careful what you sign up for. If you're unsure, research. Knowledge is power, after all.

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Tips For Setting Up a Basic Online Store

Setting up a basic online store can help you build a new business, or it can help increase the reach of an existing one. Although setting up a web store may sound daunting, there are a variety of store and e-commerce solution providers that can make this task easy, even for a novice.

Use A Website Store Vendor

Some websites, such as payment processors and auction sites, offer hosted store builders so that you can easily create your own shop. These are usually full-featured in that they simplify payment and fulfilment processes. Depending on your branding needs, you may find the selection of branding options limited.

E-Commerce and Shopping Cart Software

With e-commerce and shopping cart software, you can have your e-commerce site hosted on your own web server. If you choose this option, evaluate shopping cart solutions carefully to find the one that best suits your business. Different types of carts tend to work better for different types of operations. For example, some are ideal for selling tangible goods, and others are geared towards distributing electronic media.

As far as appearance, e-commerce software themes and templates are usually easy to customise, so your site can retain your brand's identity.

Establishing Trust

Regardless of the type of store you choose, it's important to establish trust in the minds of your customers.

A few ways you can establish trust when you set up a basic online store is to adhere to your brand standards. Your site should look professional, with polished graphics and well-written content. The user experience should be smooth and streamlined.

Beyond having an attractive and well-designed store, you'll also want to consider your web store's security. If you choose to host with a web store provider, the provider should have security measures in place.

If you choose a self-hosted store, however, you'll want to consider your customers' financial and identity safety by ensuring you have secure socket layers (SSL) installed on the store's web server. If cost is a concern, look for a Free SSL certificate provider.

Along with using a free SSL certificate, you can also seek third-party seals of approval to help customers feel comfortable shopping at your site.

Promoting Your Store

Once your store is in place, you'll want to promote it. This can be done easily and inexpensively using social media. Establishing your business on one or two well-chosen social media platforms helps you reach people who might otherwise be unaware of your offerings.

Monitoring Traffic

When setting up your store, don't overlook setting up traffic monitoring. Tracking visitors, and their movements, will help you understand which of your promotions are most effective, as well as which parts of your store best convert viewers to buyers.

Top 5 Reasons to Check Website Security   Why Ignoring IDS Could Lead to Substantial Damage for Businesses   

Wildcard, MDC And SAN/UCC SSL Certificates - What Are They And How Can They Help You?

Most e-commerce Website owners, CFOs, CTOs and IT Administrators know exactly what DV, OV and EV SSL Certificates are. But do you know what a Wildcard, an MDC or an SAN/UCC SSL is? Or the advantage each one affords you, and why? Let's find out.

A Wildcard SSL can be of great use to a company or organization that wishes to display its umbrella entity and more specific subdivisions on separate Websites. This is especially true when this company or organization wants to economize on the cost of the SSL Certificates they purchase to secure them all. Take, for instance, the John Doe Fashion Empire. This hypothetical corporation requires both a corporate primary domain Website and numerous sub-domain Websites to cover its various fashion divisions. By purchasing a Wildcard SSL Certificate, for only about twice the cost of one typical DV SSL Cert, John Doe's CTO can secure not only JohnDoeFashions.com, but also Ladieswear.JohnDoeFashions.com, Menswear.JohnDoeFashions.com, Childrenswear.JohnDoeFashions.com, Rainwear.JohnDoeFashions.com and Formalwear.JohnDoeFashions.com. It's the perfect merger of security and economy.

MDC stands for Multi-Domain Certificate. And an MDC SSL can be of even greater use to a company or organization than a Wildcard SSL. If a multi-national corporation had a corporate umbrella Website, numerous separate division Websites and even a number of separate geographic Websites to secure, an MDC SSL Certificate would be ideal. This is true especially if the total number of Websites to secure is up to over the maximum of 100. Let's use the John Doe Fashion Empire as our example once again. By purchasing one MDC SSL Certificate, for only 23% to 93% of what it would cost to buy individual DV, OV or EV SSL Certs for each of John Doe's Websites, the corporation's CTO can secure up to 100 Websites with one MDC SSL. These 100 can include the same Primary Domain Website named above, plus scores of Sub-Domain Websites like the ones named above, as well as scores of Top Level Domains such as JohnDoeFashions.co.uk (the corporation's British Division), JohnDoeFashions.co.jp (the corporation's Japanese Division), JohnDoeFashions.co.in (the corporation's Indian Division), etc. Making an MDC SSL ideal for an international corporation.

SAN/UCC stands for Subject Alternative Name / United Communications Certificate. And an SAN/UCC SSL is another certificate that can come in very handy if you're the CTO of a large company. An SAN/UCC is a special OV SSL Certificate that has been designed specifically for the Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 & 2010, the Office Communications Server 2007 and the Lync Server 2010. It can secure three to one hundred Websites that can be described as a Primary Domain plus either or both Sub-Domains and Top Level Domains. Yet, outstanding Certificate Authorities offer you the SAN/UCC SSL at a price that is merely 20% to 95% of the cost you'd incur if you purchased a separate OV SSL for each domain you wished to secure. Any company using one of the servers mentioned above, that must secure a Primary Doman, plus scores of Sub-Domains, plus many Top Level Domains, should look into a SAN/UCC SSL.

The world of e-commerce is maturing, and the hackers, phishers and cyber-crooks that skulk around the Internet are proliferating. Both these realities make your use of one or more DV, OV, EV, Wildcard, MDC or SAN/UCC SSL Certificates more necessary with each passing day. So here's a tip: Look into the one that's right for you soon.

Top 5 Reasons to Check Website Security   Why Ignoring IDS Could Lead to Substantial Damage for Businesses   

Protect Your Privacy With Reputation Management

Online privacy has been a major issue lately with recent news of high-profile websites losing sensitive information to hackers. At the beginning of June, a Russian hacker allegedly stole more than 6.5 million encrypted passwords from professional networking site LinkedIn, and another 1.5 million passwords from online dating site eHarmony. This news undermines the point that even if individuals are taking proper steps to protect their privacy by only giving private details to sites with an "https" at the beginning of their address, there is no guarantee that these websites are taking sufficient steps to protect an individual's privacy. Therefore, individuals are advised to stay vigilant online and to continually monitor their online reputation to prevent sensitive details from making their way online.

How to Monitor

The first thing to do is to search for your name in Google. Most people do not look beyond the first page of Google search results but one should do exactly that when monitoring their own reputations. Even if a detail like your address, phone number, or a picture of you that was supposed to be private finds its way to the 5th page of search results, all it can take is one update to Google's search algorithm to bring it to the front page.

If an individual has social media accounts on sites like Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, they can set their account up to send them e-mail updates whenever someone posts new content onto their page (Facebook), mentions them in a Tweet (Twitter), or sends a message (LinkedIn). Setting up e-mail updates will allow one to be made aware of all content that is tied back to him as soon as it is posted. This way they will have time to take down the content or un-tag themselves before Google has a chance to index it.

What to do if Information is Compromised

Often in spite of one's best efforts, private details become compromised and make their way across the web. If extreme details like credit card numbers make their way online, it is best to cancel the cards immediately. Yet when other details like phone numbers or e-mail addresses show up on the Internet, people are often more reluctant to take action thinking that there is nothing they can do. Reputable reputation management companies, however, are adept at suppressing or removing compromising information. They are able to draw upon the assistance of on-hand legal professionals to get sites to remove private details. While this is taking place, they use social media, SEO, and other techniques to push this information down the search results. Any individual wondering what private details have already been leaked online should contact a reputation management firm.

Top 5 Reasons to Check Website Security   Why Ignoring IDS Could Lead to Substantial Damage for Businesses