Why Millionaire Shawn Thomas Gives Back on Periscope

After the multi-million dollar sale of his company, Shawn Thomas started the next chapter in his life — to share both business and life lessons in a multi-faceted way. As an angel investor, he engages as an active advisor and mentor to entrepreneurs in early-stage companies.

Shawn also creates content on social media to guide a broader population towards success through daily live broadcasts on Periscope as well as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. He’s a renaissance man who shares lessons in goal setting, business strategies, finance, customer service, business development, and more.

Why Millionaire Shawn Thomas Gives Back on Periscope

Watch What You Tweet!

What you share on social media won’t stay private forever. Increasingly, prosecution and defense attorneys are requesting copies of a plaintiff’s social media history in order to prove or disprove liability and damage claims.

While most of the lawsuits have been limited thus far to medical malpractice and personal injury lawsuits, could similar social media requests be made for business lawsuits like criminal negligence? Maybe. It all goes back to the right to privacy and whether content posted on social media is no longer private, regardless of a user’s privacy settings.

Watch What You Tweet!

5miles May Challenge Craigslist as the New Online Classified

5miles, the Dallas and Beijing-based challenger to Wallapop and Craiglist has secured $30 million in new investment as it celebrates its first year in business this month.

The 1-year-old 5miles mobile marketplace app has managed to attract more than 5 million users (averaging 30,000 downloads a day) and is continuously working towards becoming a major player in the local online classified advertising business that’s been long dominated by Craiglist.

5miles May Challenge Craigslist as the New Online Classified

"Small Data:" The Tiny Clues That Uncover Huge Trends

Businesses want to know what’s in their customer’s brain. They want to know why customers choose this product and not that product.Big Data has gone a long way in answering these questions, but it doesn’t provide context.

Providing that context is the goal of “Small Data: The Tiny Clues That Uncover Huge Trends.” In the book, Martin Lindstrom carries readers around the world to show how the tiniest clues from a consumer can lead to big insights for your business.

"Small Data:" The Tiny Clues That Uncover Huge Trends

10 Ideas for Improving Your Business Website

Your business website isn’t just a place for potential customers to learn about your business and potentially make purchases. It’s the face of your business, an arm of your online marketing plan, and so much more.

For some tips on making your business website as great a tool as it can be, check out these tips from members of our small business community.

10 Ideas for Improving Your Business Website

#ThisIsRetail Instagram Promotion Spotlights Small Businesses

Trying to promote a retail store on social media? The process can be tricky. But luckily, there are some promotions and contests that can make it a bit easier to get the word out about your retail business.

The National Retail Federation hosts one such contest. The organization hosted its 2016 “This is Retail” promotion at its Retail’s BIG Show 2016 in New York City earlier this month. During that time, attendees of the event had the opportunity to win a variety of prizes, along with an Instagram mention, just by posting photos to the photo sharing app.

#ThisIsRetail Instagram Promotion Spotlights Small Businesses

Links and Content Still King in Search Rankings, Study Finds

A recurring question about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) lately seems to be, “Are backlinks still important to achieve a high Google ranking?”

The answer, in a word, is yes, according to a new study. In its latest 1 MillionResults Search Engine Ranking Factors Study, SEO company Backlinko has found that, when it comes to search rankings, links and content are still as significant as ever.

Links and Content Still King in Search Rankings, Study Finds

HSBC’s online banking services hit with cyberattack

HSBC in the UK has revealed via Twitter that its internet banking services were targeted by cybercriminals this morning (January 29th), which it has “successfully defended”.

It has reassured customers that it is “working hard” to bring its systems online, meaning that, for now, many people will not be able to managing their finances online.

HSBC’s online banking services hit with cyberattack

Businesses ‘still naïve to the risks of cybercrime’

Close to half (44%) of all businesses in the UK are of the opinion that they are safe from cybercrime,according to new research.

Aviva’s SME Pulse survey found that two in every five businesses consider the risk to be very small.

Businesses ‘still naïve to the risks of cybercrime’

Drew Burns of Adobe: Mobile Raises the Stakes for Content Optimization and Personalization

Having the right piece of content at the right time, in the right format, delivered in the right channel goes a long way towards creating great customer experiences today.  Which is way it’s never been more important from both a lead generation and conversion perspective to optimize your content to create personalized, relevant opportunities to engage today’s customers.

Drew Burns, Principal Product Marketing Manager for Adobe Target, a tool for testing and targeting digital experiences, shares with us why mobile devices are driving the need to use location, device type, and profile data to connect content to customers and prospects at “the moment of truth.”

Drew Burns of Adobe: Mobile Raises the Stakes for Content Optimization and Personalization

Donald Trump's Social Media Buzz | Tech Bet | CNBC

Hacker exposes private data of America’s biggest police union

A hacker has breached the computer systems of the Fraternal Order of Police, the biggest police union in the US. Files containing private information of officers, private forum posts and contracts were included in the data dump.

The anonymous hacker shared the data as a 2.5 GB torrent file on a blog called Cthulhu on Thursday, and it was subsequently circulated via social media. A total of 18 terabytes (TB) of data was stolen, the hacker claims, but only a small fraction has been released so far because of the “classified or sensitive” nature of much of the information.

https://www.rt.com/usa/330631-hacker-police-union-data/

NetSuite Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2015 Financial Results

NetSuite Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2015 Financial Results

KLA-Tencor Reports Fiscal 2016 Second Quarter Results (NASDAQ:KLAC)

KLA-Tencor Reports Fiscal 2016 Second Quarter Results (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Let's talk about Dedicated MongoDB from ObjectRocket

SEO Pro Gets Jail Time for "Negative Review" Extortion

A 53-year-old SEO pro will spend more than three years in prison for attempting to extort money from a Dallas firm.

William Stanley (a.k.a  William Laurence, Bill Stanley, William Davis, William Harris, and William L. Stanley) has been sentenced to 37 months in prison after threatening to write negative reviews and comments about the company unless paid.

SEO Pro Gets Jail Time for "Negative Review" Extortion

NetSuite OneWorld Supports Avant's Rapid Growth

NetSuite OneWorld Supports Avant's Rapid Growth

Wendy’s launches investigation into possible data breach

The fast food chain Wendy’s may have been the victim of a data breach, the security expert Brian Krebs has revealed.

Speaking exclusively to Mr. Krebs, Bob Bertini, a spokesperson for Wendy’s, admitted that the company had received notification that it might have been compromised earlier this month.

Wendy’s launches investigation into possible data breach

Data Privacy Day -- Sprint Reminds You to Protect your Privacy | Sprint Newsroom

Data Privacy Day -- Sprint Reminds You to Protect your Privacy | Sprint Newsroom

5 Ways Mobile POS Apps Will Supercharge Your Small Business

Cash registers have been around for the better part of 150 years and over time, the traditional electronic POS system has become as much of a hindrance as a help to retailers. That’s why more and more store owners have made the switch to working with mobile POS apps since the mid-2000s. On the whole, these apps are much more flexible and reliable than their electronic cousins.

But the retail industry has seen many technological changes. What is it precisely about what iPad POS apps can do for retail businesses that’s causing this surge in popularity? That’s what we’re going to talk about.

5 Ways Mobile POS Apps Will Supercharge Your Small Business

Belong to the 'selfie' generation? You are probably oversharing

Found a new girlfriend or boyfriend? Share. Had a blast on vacation? Share. Cooked a tasty dinner? Share. Got a new passport? Share. Share. Share. Is this routine familiar to you? If so, be very careful: you might well be oversharing.

This kind of behavior is typical of young people who have grown up with computers, proliferating technology and emerging social networks. Thanks to their urge to share every detail of their lives, they’ve been dubbed the ‘Selfie’ or ‘Me, Me, Me’ generation.

Belong to the 'selfie' generation? You are probably oversharing

AVT-PR-Avnet, Inc. Reports Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2016 Results

AVT-PR-Avnet, Inc. Reports Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2016 Results

Microsoft Recalls Surface Pro Power Cord

Microsoft has announced a voluntary product component recall to replace Surface Pro AC power cords following overheating concerns.

If you bought a Surface Pro, Surface Pro 2, or Surface Pro 3 in the U.S. or Canada before March 15, 2015, then you are eligible for free cord replacement. You can apply for a free cord replacement if you bought any of the aforementioned devices from outside the U.S. or Canada before July 15, 2015.

Microsoft Recalls Surface Pro Power Cord

m-hance Joins NetSuite Solution Provider Program

UK’s Largest Microsoft Dynamics VAR Offers NetSuite Under New HighCloud Solutions

Division to Meet Growing Demand for Cloud ERP Among Businesses in the UK

m-hance Joins NetSuite Solution Provider Program

'Application not compatible': Bayrob may be stealing your info

In recent months, we have analyzed several threats that have been detected in high volumes, higher than usual in many countries such as Germany and Spain. Perhaps the most interesting case analyzed recently concerns the Nemucod malware, which was spreading Teslacrypt ransomware variants, among other threats.

In this post we are going to analyze Bayrob, another trojan that has been intensely targeting several countries since the middle of December, trying to get as many victims as possible.

'Application not compatible': Bayrob may be stealing your info

SoftBank Picks Brocade Fabric-Based New IP Network to Help Increase Business Agility (NASDAQ:BRCD)

SMART NETWORK FABRIC INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORTS TELCO'S DRIVE TO GROW OTT SERVICES

SoftBank Picks Brocade Fabric-Based New IP Network to Help Increase Business Agility (NASDAQ:BRCD)

Building with Watson - Building a Conversational App Using Watson Langua...

Facebook is making more money off you than ever before - Jan. 27, 2016

Facebook's startup days may be long gone, but no one can accuse the company of resting on its laurels.



Facebook impressed Wall Street with its latest earnings report on Wednesday, sending shares up more than 8% after hours.



Facebook is making more money off you than ever before - Jan. 27, 2016

Mark Zuckerberg says there's nothing to fear from artificial intelligence - Jan. 27, 2016

Fresh off his two-month paternity leave, Mark Zuckerberg is continuing his habit of posting long musings to Facebook.



On Wednesday, he gently explained artificial intelligence research and talked about what might be "the most important problem of this century": getting AI to learn on its own.



Mark Zuckerberg says there's nothing to fear from artificial intelligence - Jan. 27, 2016

Thermostats, Other Office Devices Could Leak Data

In January 2014, Proofpoint, a digital security firm, announced 750,000 malicious email communications from more than 100,000 everyday consumer gadgets.

Those devices included televisions and at least one refrigerator. They were compromised and used as a platform to launch attacks.

Thermostats, Other Office Devices Could Leak Data

Mellanox Achieves Record Quarterly and Annual Revenue (NASDAQ:MLNX)

Mellanox Achieves Record Quarterly and Annual Revenue (NASDAQ:MLNX)

Intel Compute Sticks Transform a TV into a Computer

Last year, Intel introduced its first Compute Stick.  Initial reviews called the Intel Compute Stick a great idea but underwhelming.

Now it seems that Intel has improved its compute stick with new entrants that solve some of the initial shortcomings.

Intel Compute Sticks Transform a TV into a Computer

Controversial Ad Blockers: Ask Customers to Just Say No to Them?

Ad blockers are every online publisher’s worst nightmare. While Web and mobile users may dislike seeing ads on their favorite sites, they should also remember the value they are receiving as a result.

After all, advertising is what pays for much of the free content online. And as the number of people using various ad blockers continues to increase, the challenges increase for publishers trying to provide that content.

Controversial Ad Blockers: Ask Customers to Just Say No to Them?

Businesses increasingly targeted with ransomware

Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting businesses with ransomware, according to a new report.

The Online Trust Alliance (OTA)’s 2016 Data Protection and Breach Readiness Guide found that there has been a surge in this type of attack.

Businesses increasingly targeted with ransomware

20 Secrets for the Best eCommerce Pricing

It’s no secret that your prices can have a huge impact on the success of your eCommerce store. But there are plenty of secrets and strategies you can employ for better pricing that will make your store a success.

Here are 20 secrets for best eCommerce pricing that will put you ahead of the competition.

20 Secrets for the Best eCommerce Pricing

Artsy Central Shows Trend Toward Etsy Alternatives

Katie De Valle’s passion is cookies. The owner of Yummy-Yummy Sugar Shop, De Valle has been selling cookies on Etsy for a few years now.

But a negative experience with the site recently inspired her to start a new venture.

Artsy Central Shows Trend Toward Etsy Alternatives

Local Small Business SEO: Why Your Business Needs It

Plain and simple, SEO isn’t dying; it’s only changing. This means that you still need SEO, local business or not, you just have to make sure your strategy is up to par with the latest best practices. When it comes to your local business, however, this is even more crucial. Remember that the way you create a plan for local SEO is slightly different than if you were focusing on a global audience because there are different factors at play. It should be easier to get rankings and see success, but it won’t come to you without a little bit of strategy on your part.

If you’re just getting into the local SEO game and are not sure how it differs from “regular,” or what many call global, SEO, check out some of the points below. Hopefully you’ll see a trend: Local SEO is something that your local business needs— it’s no longer optional.

Local Small Business SEO: Why Your Business Needs It

Will your Swiss email account stay private (or can the govt take a look)?

Governments have struggled for years to find a balance between security and privacy, especially with electronic communications. Parading the argument “if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear” in campaign variations worldwide, they argue that more open and seamless methods of finding bad guys’ communications would speed up rooting out those with nefarious intent.



Will your Swiss email account stay private (or can the govt take a look)?

Business Email Scam: How Much Does a Million Dollar Cost? | Fortinet Blog

Earlier this month, the Daily Mail published an article regarding foreign crime gangs stealing millions through hacking email accounts of house buyers and sellers. The con is simple - use malware to steal email credentials, study the content of compromised emails, and then use the collected information to social-engineer your way into siphoning out victims' money.

Business email scam, otherwise referred to as business email compromise (BEC) scam, has been around for a while now in different forms. Historically, we have seen the same tactic used against businesses, e-commerce users and company CEOs, among others. In this blog post, we will explore the cost of running business email scam attacks, from the perspective of fraudsters, in the hopes of understanding why such scams are so widespread today.

Business Email Scam: How Much Does a Million Dollar Cost? | Fortinet Blog

25 worst passwords of 2015 | Technology - KMBC Home

25 worst passwords of 2015 | Technology - KMBC Home

Google bans over 780m ‘bad ads’ to protect online experience

Google has banned over 780 million so-called ‘bad ads’ in 2015 alone, explaining that these advertisements have breached the terms of their policies.

In an official blog post, titled How we fought bad ads in 2015, Sridhar Ramaswamy, senior vice president of ads & commerce, said that so-called bad ads are “a problem they take very seriously”.

Google bans over 780m ‘bad ads’ to protect online experience

Uncovering the Seven Pointed Dagger

Threat actors with strategic interest in the affairs of other governments and civil society organizations have been launching targeted exploitation campaigns for years. Typically, these campaigns leverage spear phishing as the delivery vector and often include malicious attachments designed to bypass typical detection controls. In other cases, spear phish directs users to websites that would otherwise be trusted but actually have been compromised by threat actors seeking greater access to fulfill their actions and objectives.



Uncovering the Seven Pointed Dagger

Amplifying Black Energy

The Black Energy malware family has a long and storied history dating back to 2007. Originally a monolithic DDoS platform, significant advancements were made in 2010 including support for an extensible plugin architecture that allowed Black Energy 2 to more easily expand beyond DDoS into other activities such as info-stealing, web-based banking attacks, spamming, etc.

This report examines, in-depth, a new Black Energy 2 plugin (ntp.dll) that allows “BE2” botnets to launch true distributed NTP reflection/amplification attacks. This is significant for a couple of reasons:

Amplifying Black Energy

Metamorphic Code In Ransomware | Fortinet Blog

Ransomware is a category of malware that scrambles your files or lock your computer while asking for ransom.  We have encountered different versions of ransomware, and seen their effects.  We also have seen a different kind of ransomware that not only holds your computer for ransom, but also infects your files for persistency.

Virlock is a ransomware that locks your screen for ransom, while infecting your files with its malicious code. Virlock is an interesting malware not only because it is a ransomware and file infector in one, but due to its code implementation. One of which is its use of metamorphic code in some of its obfuscation technique. This article will delve a little deeper on how Virlock implements its metamorphic algorithm.

Metamorphic Code In Ransomware | Fortinet Blog

AVT-PR-Avnet Expands its Cloud and Hybrid Data Center Capabilities wit

New solutions increase U.S. and Canadian partners’ ability to provide customers with secure hybrid cloud solutions

AVT-PR-Avnet Expands its Cloud and Hybrid Data Center Capabilities wit

NetSuite Customers Deliver Record Holiday Results with Omnichannel Commerce Cloud Platform

From Engagement to Purchase, NetSuite and Bronto Leapfrog Industry Performance Sevenfold

Holiday Sales Transacted On NetSuite’s Omnichannel Commerce Cloud Platform Climb 21%

Bronto Software Delivers 3.7 Billion Commerce Marketing Messages

NetSuite Customers Deliver Record Holiday Results with Omnichannel Commerce Cloud Platform

Amazon Prime now reaches nearly half of U.S. households - Jan. 26, 2016

If no one in your house has an Amazon Prime membership, chances are that your neighbor does.



Nearly half of U.S. households have an Amazon Prime membership, according to an report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners.



Amazon Prime now reaches nearly half of U.S. households - Jan. 26, 2016

Brocade Delivers Resilient, Agile Networks for Nutanix Invisible Infrastructure (NASDAQ:BRCD)

BROCADE VDX SWITCHES AND NUTANIX HYPERCONVERGED INFRASTRUCTURE PROVIDE SEAMLESS DATA CENTER EXPERIENCE

Brocade Delivers Resilient, Agile Networks for Nutanix Invisible Infrastructure (NASDAQ:BRCD)

Windows exploitation in 2015

Today we are happy to announce our annual report called Windows exploitation in 2015. Readers who tracked our previous reports Windows exploitation in 2013 and Windows exploitation in 2014may notice that in each new version of the report we try to highlight new security features introduced in Windows, web browsers and EMET. Along with this information, both previous reports contain information about vulnerabilities that have been fixed in various important Windows components, the .NET Framework and Microsoft Office. Our latest report is no exception.

Our main goal in writing these reports is to notify our customers, as well as other users, about the importance of installing updates to fix various unpatched (0day) vulnerabilities. We also provided information about ESET’s detections of in-the-wild exploits of these vulnerabilities. Such exploits are used by attackers to implement notorious drive-by download attacks.

Windows exploitation in 2015

28 Webinar Services for Small Business Owners

Webinars are a great way to market your small business online because they build:

1. Trust while you demonstrate your subject matter expertise;
2. Goodwill because you’re giving away a piece of that expertise for free;
3. Your email marketing list because you capture a prospect’s customer details (name, e-mail address, etc.) when they register to attend; and
4. Your library of re-usable content if the session is recorded.

There are a number of solid webinar services available online for hosting webinars. The best offer a full suite of features, each of which will help you plan, create, schedule, promote, run, and follow-up on your webinars.

28 Webinar Services for Small Business Owners

BMC Continues to Expand Executive Leadership Team, Adding Industry Veteran Dan Streetman as Senior Vice President of Worldwide Strategic Sales and Operations

RSS Content - BMC Software

Does Mobile Marketing Produce Measurable ROI for Small Business?

Mobile is the future of marketing, period. According to an ongoing Cisco initiative that looks into global IP traffic, more than half of all online traffic will come from non-PC devices in 2019. In the same year, mobile and wireless device traffic will likely exceed wired traffic. Currently, 1.91 billion people on earth have smartphones.

Every small business can earn a profitable return using mobile marketing tactics, but they may not be able to use every mobile tactic at first. Companies need the right mobile foundation to launch a productive mobile marketing campaign.

Does Mobile Marketing Produce Measurable ROI for Small Business?

Office Hours Hangout: Live from Techstars Cloud

Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week in the US

Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week in the US begins January 25. This national awareness campaign encourages Americans to take action to prevent criminals defrauding the government and delaying legitimate tax refunds to honest taxpayers. The big shift towards electronic filing of income tax returns in America over the last 10 years has enabled tax identity theft to thrive, a relatively easy way for criminals to steal money from the government.

The most common type of tax identity fraud is possible because income tax is deducted from employee paychecks at an estimated rate. Although the percentage that is withheld can be adjusted by the wage earner, many Americans use a default rate which results in overpayment of taxes. Thus there is a need to claim a refund from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) at the end of the tax year (for most workers this the calendar year, with the filing of returns and refund requests beginning at some point in the following year, January 19 for 2016).

Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week in the US

How to Pick a Merchant Services Provider for Small Business

Whether you run a brick-and-mortar retail store or an eCommerce store online, you need to be able to accept credit cards easily. After all, most people pay with them, and you want to make it as painless as possible for people to buy from you. To that end, partnering with a merchant services account provider can provide a simple way for you to process credit card payments.



How to Pick a Merchant Services Provider for Small Business

NetSuite Announces New Partner Wins in Europe

Audaxis, Balkan Services, Extra SRL, Mepco and Solmate Join NetSuite Solution Provider Programme and Launch Cloud ERP Practices



NetSuite Announces New Partner Wins in Europe

Intraboom Challenges Slack as All-In-One Team Communication Platform

The collaborative environment in today’s workplace is changing how, when and with whom we work.

Key to this evolution is the development of technologies such as smart mobile devices, wireless broadband and applications and services designed to simplify the process of bringing everyone together seamlessly.

Intraboom Challenges Slack as All-In-One Team Communication Platform

No More Working Alone: Weleet Matches Co-work Partners

People opting to work as freelancers are on the rise.

As a freelancer, a person is working at his or her own pace and on his or her own terms, often from the comfort of home. Most people who chose freelancing prefer a work life far from the hassle, noise and stress of a traditional office.

No More Working Alone: Weleet Matches Co-work Partners

Etsy Dives Into Video with Shop Videos for Merchants

The eCommerce website Etsy has announced a new feature for its sellers. Called Shop Videos, the feature is an addition to Etsy’s mobile app where sellers can add videos to their shop pages.

Through the “Sell on Etsy” app, shop owners can now take videos of their products using their smartphones and share them directly to their Etsy page and social media accounts.

Etsy Dives Into Video with Shop Videos for Merchants

Hedge fund managers ‘need a cybersecurity response plan’

Having in place a ‘cybersecurity response plan’ is vital if hedge fund managers in London are to deal effectively with this growing threat.

This is one of the key findings of the Hedge Fund Standards Board’s (HFSB) first ever tabletop cyberattack simulation.

Hedge fund managers ‘need a cybersecurity response plan’

Sprint’s LTE Plus Network Delivers Faster Download Speeds than Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile and Costs 50% Less | Sprint Newsroom

LTE Plus now available in twice as many cities at half the price of most competitors’ rate plans



Sprint’s LTE Plus Network Delivers Faster Download Speeds than Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile and Costs 50% Less | Sprint Newsroom

Sprint’s New LTE Plus Network Delivers the Fastest LTE Download Speeds | Sprint Newsroom

Sprint’s New LTE Plus Network Delivers the Fastest LTE Download Speeds | Sprint Newsroom

Google News Doesn't Help Rank Your Site (But It Drives Traffic)

Have you ever thought about applying to have your site show up in Google News (the news search engine of Google)?

If you think being in Google News is a backdoor way to help your site rank better in the regular Google search engine, think again. A Google official recently stated that being on Google News doesn’t help with rankings in Google.

Google News Doesn't Help Rank Your Site (But It Drives Traffic)

The security review: ESET’s trends for 2016, more attacks in Ukraine and virtualized security

From expert insight into cybersecurity-related trends in 2016 to the ongoing attacks against Ukraine’s electric power industry and the persistent problem that is poor password behavior, we’ve got you covered for all the important security stories from the past seven days.



The security review: ESET’s trends for 2016, more attacks in Ukraine and virtualized security

Skype finally hides your IP address, to protect against vengeful gamers

Over five years ago, in November 2010, security researchers found a serious privacy vulnerability in Skype that could allow hackers to surreptitiously scoop up sensitive information about users, including victims’ IP addresses and revealing their city-level location.

The researchers who found the flaw were part of the French research institute Inria and the Polytechnic Institute of New York University, and chose to keep their findings out of the public eye, only sharing them with Microsoft-owned Skype.

Skype finally hides your IP address, to protect against vengeful gamers

Entrepreneur Invents Virtual Mirror: See How Makeup Looks Before You Buy

If you own a small business in the beauty industry, you may want to take a look at getting in on this as soon as you can.

Called ModiFace Mirror, it’s a photo-realistic skin/makeup simulator that gives customers a look at how cosmetics they are thinking of buying will look when applied.

Entrepreneur Invents Virtual Mirror: See How Makeup Looks Before You Buy

4 Simple Small Business Productivity Solutions

We all have those tough days at work where try as we might, we can’t seem to check one item off our to-do list. All too often, it’s the seemingly straightforward work tasks that end up being the most time consuming. Endless email chains, file sharing or project collaboration snafus, a company or client website that fails to load … before we know it, one small task has eaten up our entire afternoon.

Productivity is the result of intelligent planning. It’s part organization, part prioritization, and — most importantly — the elimination of repetitive or time-consuming tasks through fast, simple and affordable solutions. This year, resolve to eliminate unnecessary friction from daily tasks to boost productivity. Here are four common productivity fails and four simple, affordable (or free!) solutions.

4 Simple Small Business Productivity Solutions

Dell and Adrian Grenier Announce Legacy of Good Short Film Contest | Dell

Dell and Adrian Grenier Announce Legacy of Good Short Film Contest | Dell

Sprint Prepares for Winter Storm Jonas | Sprint Newsroom

Sprint Prepares for Winter Storm Jonas | Sprint Newsroom

Lessons Learned: Deploying Microsoft Private Cloud at Scale

Use "Gift" as Keyword For Valentine's Day Marketing

Valentine’s Day, one of the most eagerly awaited holidays of the year, is just around the corner. For many businesses, it’s also the busiest time of the year as the day of love is also the fourth-largest spending holiday.

If your business offers Valentine’s Day goodies such as chocolates, cards and flowers, make sure you use “gift” as a keyword to market your products online. That’s because 40 percent of Valentine’s searches in 2015 used “gift” as a keyword, according to data put together by the Bing Ads Insights Team in the Valentine’s Day: Insights to woo digital marketers report (PDF download).

Use "Gift" as Keyword For Valentine's Day Marketing

Apple & Google Make A Deal On iOS Default | Tech Bet | CNBC

CVE-2015-4400 : Backdoorbot, Network Configuration Leak on a Connected Doorbell | Fortinet Blog

In March 2015, a Network Configuration Leak vulnerability was disclosed to Ring as part of FortiGuard's Responsible Disclosure process.

The vulnerability existed on their first internet-connected doorbell, Doorbot v1.0 but other posts on the subject show that the vulnerability was ported on newer versions of the connected doorbell as well.

CVE-2015-4400 : Backdoorbot, Network Configuration Leak on a Connected Doorbell | Fortinet Blog

Retailers ‘capable of tracking shoppers through smartphones’

More and more retailers are investing in technology that allows them to track the movements of shoppers through their smartphone, an expert has revealed.

Simon Rice, group manager for technology at the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in the UK, explained that this technology helps retailers “use the customer journey to build up a picture as to how people typically use the store”.

Retailers ‘capable of tracking shoppers through smartphones’

Jim Fowler of Owler: Even as Tech and Data Grows in Importance, Crowdsourcing Is Still About People

Jim Fowler has been at the forefront of crowd sourcing for over a decade.  First, he was co-founder of the cloud-based contact management service Jigsaw, before selling it to Salesforce.com for $175 million.  Then, he was with InfoArmy, and finally today with Owler — a free, competitive intelligence service.

Fowler discusses how changing technology has impacted how crowd sourcing business models over the years, and how these models will only succeed if humans and the way they communicate are not automated out of the equation, but freed up to think and share more efficiently, improving their abilities to create even more value.

Jim Fowler of Owler: Even as Tech and Data Grows in Importance, Crowdsourcing Is Still About People

Irish lottery and ticket terminals knocked offline by DDoS attack

It should have been a great week for the Irish Lottery, with the largest jackpot (12 million euros) for 18 months up for grabs.

However, things didn’t run entirely smoothly in the run-up to the Wednesday night draw.

Irish lottery and ticket terminals knocked offline by DDoS attack

Are You Boring LinkedIn Contacts with this Dull Request?

What are the 11 most boring words in the English language?

“I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.”

Are You Boring LinkedIn Contacts with this Dull Request?

Doubling our Network Speed and Capacity in San Juan, Puerto Rico | Sprint Newsroom

Doubling our Network Speed and Capacity in San Juan, Puerto Rico | Sprint Newsroom

First Data Introduces Clover Go Card Reader to Compete with Square

Do you happen to be in the market for a mobile card reader? There is a new player hitting the scene that’s been recently announced by First Data. Called Clover Go, this EMV-enabled card reader is being touted as an affordable option.

Clover Go appears to be a card reader similar to those offered by Square and PayPal. It works with the Clover Go app for iOS and Android, which a user will first have to download on either their smartphone or tablet.

First Data Introduces Clover Go Card Reader to Compete with Square

How Does the Latest E-Signature Tool Concord Differ from the Pack?

Ever need to pull up a contract with its legal signatures quickly and wish it could be accessed by computer?

According to Matt Lhoumeau, CEO of Concord, an e-signature tool and contract platform company, 96 percent of all contracts are still written and signed on paper. He is passionate about changing this paradigm and feels that e-signing should be free, since signing a paper contract is free.

How Does the Latest E-Signature Tool Concord Differ from the Pack?

Android Spywaller: Firewall-Style Antivirus Blocking | Fortinet Blog

Malware has been known to use new and innovative ways to evade detection by Antivirus software, a phenomenon AV analysts have often seen with PC malware. Not a lot of examples of the same have been seen employed by mobile malware.

A recently discovered Android malware has brought to light one such Antivirus evasion technique with its use of"a legitimate firewall to thwart security software".

Android Spywaller: Firewall-Style Antivirus Blocking | Fortinet Blog

Countries remain unprepared for cyberattacks on nuclear facilities

Nuclear facilities across the world have little or no real security to help protect themselves against cyberattacks, according to new analysis.

The third edition of the Nuclear Threat Initiative’s (NIT) Nuclear Security Index found that close to half the countries assessed by the organization do not have a single requirement in place to protect their nuclear facilities from such attacks.

Countries remain unprepared for cyberattacks on nuclear facilities

Slack Users Can Now Use Skype to Collaborate

Microsoft revealed in a post last week that Skype will now integrate with Slack, the popular instant messaging and collaboration platform for teams. The integration, still in preview, allows Slack teams to complete Skype voice and video calls from within Slack threads, speeding up communication.



Slack Users Can Now Use Skype to Collaborate

Overlooked Channels that Improve B2C Customer Acquisition

Sometimes, the most helpful business platforms can be found in the unlikeliest of places. That’s why we asked 11 members from Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) the following question:

“What’s one often overlooked channel that works well for B2C customer acquisition?”

Here’s what YEC community members had to say:

Overlooked Channels that Improve B2C Customer Acquisition

Watson Explorer Overview

6 Tips for Producing Small Business Content Regularly

Small businesses need content marketing to connect with customers. Content can improve search engine visibility, build credibility in the business community, and help you earn reviews from customers. Many small businesses understand the importance of content marketing, but fail to realize its potential as a business growth strategy.

Unless you produce small business content at a consistent rate, your website willfeel stale, your brand will seem less credible, and some people may wonder if the company is still in business. Consider these tips for producing regular small business content that gets your brand noticed.

6 Tips for Producing Small Business Content Regularly

Deep Analysis of CVE-2016-0010 - Microsoft Office RTF File Handling Heap Overflow Vulnerability | Fortinet Blog

On the patch Tuesday of this month, Microsoft patched 3 Office vulnerabilities in MS16-004. The vulnerabilityCVE-2016-0010 was discovered by myself and Fortinet's threat research team at the FortiGuard Labs. It is a heap overflow vulnerability in Microsoft Office because it fails to parse RTF documents correctly. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow malicious users to create remote code execution scenarios. The underlying problem involves a typical heap overflow caused by a user-supplied value which is copied into a buffer allocated based on a user-supplied length. In this blog, I want to analyze the root cause of this vulnerability.



Deep Analysis of CVE-2016-0010 - Microsoft Office RTF File Handling Heap Overflow Vulnerability | Fortinet Blog

New Study Reveals Hybrid Cloud Is The ‘Great Enabler’ of Digital Transformation

New Study Reveals Hybrid Cloud Is The ‘Great Enabler’ of Digital Transformation

EMC To Announce Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2015 Financial Results On January 27

EMC To Announce Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2015 Financial Results On January 27

Dell Raises the Bar for Open Networking with New Disaggregated Software to Maximize Customer Choice and Capability

Dell today extended its reach in Open Networking with the announcement of Operating System 10 (OS10) from Dell Networking. This next-generation networking software is designed to introduce new levels of software flexibility and programmability in large-scale data center environments. The OS10 software environment advances the functionality of modern data centers by disaggregating network software, so customers have more choice in how software is used throughout IT operations.



Dell OS10 | Dell

Dell launches its first Asia Pacific Internet of Things (IoT) Lab | Dell

Dell today opened its first dedicated Internet of Things (IoT) lab in the Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ) region. Based within the Dell Solution Centre in Singapore, the new facility, launched in collaboration with Intel, was unveiled by Glen Burrows, Area Vice President, Dell OEM, Asia Pacific and Japan and Prakash Mallya, Managing Director, South East Asia, Intel. The lab features Dell and Intel IoT solutions with end-to-end platform facilities allowing customers to test the products and consult with Dell technical experts. This is Dell’s third IoT lab globally, following the successful launch of its labs in Silicon Valley, U.S. and Limerick, Ireland. 



Dell launches its first Asia Pacific Internet of Things (IoT) Lab | Dell

Social Media Marketing Copyright Rules for Businesses

If you use Facebook, Twitter, and other social media marketing tools to promote your business (and who doesn’t these days?), then you know there are social media etiquette rules that your business should follow.

Break the rules, and your marketing results will plummet.

Social Media Marketing Copyright Rules for Businesses

Rackspace Deep Dive: How Security Impacts Managed Virtualization

A Google Ranking & Traffic Myth (SEO)

New Fiserv Study Quantifies the ROI of Mobile Banking (NASDAQ:FISV)

BROOKFIELD, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISV), a leading global provider of financial services technology solutions, has published a new white paper on the results of a year-long study measuring the return on investment (ROI) of mobile banking services for financial institutions. The analysis shows mobile banking adoption is associated with lower attrition, use of more products, and an increase in transactions, resulting in increased revenue for financial institutions that offer the service.

The white paper is available for download at fiserv.com/mobile-roi-study.

New Fiserv Study Quantifies the ROI of Mobile Banking (NASDAQ:FISV)

CSC Embraces IBM Cloud to Accelerate Hybrid Cloud Adoption

ARMONK, NY and FALLS CHURCH, VA - 15 Jan 2016: IBM (NYSE: IBM) and CSC (NYSE: CSC) today announced an expanded partnership to help global enterprise clients accelerate their transition to the cloud.  This includes the modernization and development of key applications that support mobile, analytics and cognitive intelligence across hybrid cloud deployments.

Global organizations have embraced the cloud due to the increased flexibility, productivity and cost-efficiency of cloud services. Enterprise clients are now increasingly adopting cloud computing to speed development of cloud-based applications to fuel data-driven applications.

CSC Embraces IBM Cloud to Accelerate Hybrid Cloud Adoption

New wave of attacks against Ukrainian power industry

The cyberattacks against the Ukrainian electric power industry continue. Background information on this story can be found in our recent publications:

• BlackEnergy trojan strikes again: Attacks Ukrainian electric power industry
• BlackEnergy by the SSHBearDoor: attacks against Ukrainian news media and electric industry
• BlackEnergy and the Ukrainian power outage: What we really know

New wave of attacks against Ukrainian power industry

SSH Issue Update | Fortinet Blog

Fortinet was founded with the goals of providing the best performing security devices on the planet in combination with unmatched value and features.  We take our technology and product quality seriously, and, with that in mind, we want to make customers aware of software updates to address vulnerabilities in relation to the Full Disclosure SSH issue posted last week here on the Fortinet blog.



SSH Issue Update | Fortinet Blog

10 Cool Things to Do on Pinterest for Business

While social networks such as Twitter and Facebook are great for sharing content, some businesses can benefit more by showing their visual sides on Pinterest.

The visual bookmarking site first began as a tool used mainly by women, but all that has changed. Now, both young and old, suburbanites and city-dwellers, males and females can all be found browsing boards and adding pins.

10 Cool Things to Do on Pinterest for Business

Phony web traffic to cost advertisers $7.2 billion in 2016

Fraudsters are set to hit online advertisers hard this year, costing them $7.2 billion globally as a result of phony web traffic generated by bots, new research has found.

The report, by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and White Ops, found that the industry is still struggling to get to grips with this costly type of scam.

Phony web traffic to cost advertisers $7.2 billion in 2016