Archive for July, 2010
Twitter: Follow Friday recommendations for July 30
Posted by Daniel Snyder in Twitter on July 29, 2010
Like some bloggers who I pay close attention to (Blazing Minds and DragonBlogger), I’ve decided to develop my own “FollowFriday” twitter list to encourage people to find new faces to follow and why. Follow Friday tends to get a little out of control at times, with dozens of user names flying through the twitter stream, and no way to know who to follow or why. I’ve decided to limit my Follow Friday to ten carefully selected people each week, and to include them here in a post. I have personally found that concise lists with descriptions and an endorsement really help me to pick people to follow.
These ten people come with my stamp of approval (That’s right endorsed by Daniel Snyder), so you can be certain they are tweeting regular and valuable content. Here we go, in no particular order.
For the week of July 30th, 2010:
1. @DragonBlogger : Twitter Bio : “I am a married father of 2 Children who works full time in Information Security and blogs about technology, software, blogging and some product reviews as well”
My thoughts : Dragon Blogger tweets valuable content, he is quick to engage, and regularly invites users to participate in a random word poetry game. He’s also a fantastic blogger who is genuine and open, and quick to share advice, tips and his experiences. If you are learning to blog, Dragon Blogger will be candid and helpful, pay attention to his blog and his tweets.
2. @Aluwir : Twitter Bio : “Writer, blogger, artist: in the heart of Darkest Minnesota. Catholic convert, husband, father of 4 surviving kids. Recovering English teacher.”
My thoughts : Aluwir (Brian Gill) is a great engager, and faithful retweeter, he’s also been good to me by giving feedback on my posts along with the retweets, which always sparks conversation.
3. @AimeeJMartin : Twitter Bio : “Tenacious, Ethereal, Enigmatic, Anti-Trend, Logical Dreamer, Dynamic Pioneer, Geek to the Core, Single Devoted Momx3, Passionate, Fate-Driven”
My thoughts: AimeeJMartin is a blogger, who tweets some really interesting stuff, she also engages in conversation which as you can tell always earns points with me.
4. @MarkBell10 : Twitter Bio : “26yr old blogger aiming for big things – I tweet and RT good content! I re-follow too.”
My thoughts : MarkBell10 is new to blogging and someone who is super friendly on twitter. I recommend we follow him, and encourage him on his way.
5. @SilvaKreuz : Twitter Bio : “Christ-follower. Maker. Healer. Fighter. Nobody’s girl.”
My thoughts : Jovi does an amazing job at tweeting valuable new content, especially in the realm of information security. She has an amazing knack for digging up the latest scoops and interesting stories and sharing them with all of us. Interested in info sec? She is a must follow. Jovi is also super friendly, and a friendly retweeter.
6. @Kakroo : Twitter Bio : “InfoSec Blogger, Amateur Photographer, GadgetFreak, GreatFriend & now a security research intern.”
My thoughts : Has breaking info sec scoops and valuable tweets on a regular basis. Absolutely a great follow, and will keep you in the loop.
7. @titan7585 : Twitter Bio : “A college student of Computer Applications and tech blogger.”
My thoughts : Titan is a blogger, and friendly twitter guy. He is an advocate for my posts, and promotes me (so hopefully you too…)
8. @BlazingMinds : Twitter Bio : “Owner of two poodles. Blogger at Blazing Minds, lover of tech, life & people who make me laugh. Especially those that don’t mean to do it. You know who you are”
My thoughts : Karen is an excellent blogger who is very social on the web, she is quick to engage on twitter, and interact on other social networks as well. Tweets valuable and interesting content.
9. @Teksquisite : Twitter Bio : “Southwest NH It consultant and Internet Safety Expert with strong interests in computer forensics, Internet Security [botnets, malware] & social media…”
My thoughts : Bev is a wealth of information and good tweets, she is educated and tweets valuable info sec. content, she also has a blog called Tek Blog for which she writes.
10. @Security_faqs : Twitter Bio : “I write about internet security (and related subjects) in my own amateurish way because I love the subject. I’m a fan of Liverpool FC, Lost and 24.”
My thoughts : Lee is a friendly twitter guy, who retweets and comments on valuable content. He is also very intelligent and has a great blog worth reading.
Fresh opportunity: 3 Years Free Hosting
Posted by Daniel Snyder in Random tid-bits on July 29, 2010
Hey bloggers, a real quick opportunity here that I wanted to let you know of Robson Communications Inc. is partnering with Bloggers around the world to offer their readers 3 Free Years of Website and Email Hosting. This is a limited time offer that expires Sept 30, 2010. It sounds like an incredible deal to me, especially compared to what my current hosting is costing me. You will need the following promo code: WGT38864 in order to receive the full benefits of this offer. What’s really neat about this (to me) is that Robson Communications Inc. is a Canadian based hosting company, hey, my home country!
So if you’re interested in saving a little cash, go to Robson Communications Inc. today and signup, how could you regret it?
Not all your twitter followers are fans… yet!
Posted by Daniel Snyder in social media, Twitter on July 28, 2010
So, you’ve been working hard to build a following on twitter. By now you have at least ten followers right? Good job. Keep up the hard work. Eventually you’ll have many more, provided you keep your focus off your follow count and on to the more important things, like being a real engager on twitter. That’s right, in case you got sidetracked twitter is a social network, the keyword there being social. So if you get distracted by your follow count, obsessive blog promotion, selfish tweeting or any other number of things; get yourself back on track by engaging in some real conversation.
You’re end goal is not followers it is true fans
I realize my above paragraph carries a hint of sarcasm, but my purpose is to communicate the importance of focus. Twitter is a world full of distraction, and I know the lure of tracking your follow count (for aren’t we all tempted to boast about big numbers?). I’m hoping you have more than ten followers, (if not you certainly will soon) but that doesn’t mean all those followers are your fans. A lot of twitter users have huge follow counts (in the thousands or even tens of thousands), I really scratch my head and wonder how they can pay attention to that many tweets… knowing of course they can’t. For those that are following thousands the only way they can sift through that raging river of tweets is by organizing lists of those tweeps they are really interested in, in other words the people whom they are a true fan of. You may just be a random follow-back at this point, and though it’s another addition to your follow count – you’re end goal is not followers it is true fans. I would estimate (a pure guess, not based on any hard evidence) that your true fans may only be about 10% of your total follow count.
Convert followers into fans
So you have a mission before you. Your goal? Convert followers into fans. I don’t have any hard data on how to do this, but I do have some ideas and practices that I’ve established for myself and appear to be quite effective. It takes work, and time. Sorry, there are no apps to get this done. If you’re not committed to using twitter as a SOCIAL network, then this isn’t going to work for you. Twitter wasn’t designed as a chat room for you to just tell everyone about your latest blog post (you can read more about my opinions on that one: here), you’ve got to leverage your ability to interact with people if you want them to like you. Hey, they won’t be your fans if they don’t like you first, and they can’t like you if they don’t know you. Once they like you, they can start to trust you, and that’s when you earn a fan. Your twitter trustworthiness can be gauged by how often you are retweeted – basically how people say ‘I like what you’re saying, and I know it’s valuable and credible, so I’m going to tell others’. So, here are a few tips to help you convert your existing followers into true fans.
Tip #1 Engage in Conversation
You won’t win fans if you’re not communicating with people. Ask questions, reply to their tweets, say thank you, converse. Interest in you will start with you showing interest in others, so that means you become the initiator. You can’t sit around and depend on people to suddenly clue in to how brilliant you are and how they should pay closer attention to you, this will happen occasionally of course, but early on as your start to build your fan base you need to aggressively pursue those you’re after. My advice, pick a handful of people you’re hoping to ‘convert’ and focus on them for one to two weeks. Don’t focus on too many people at once, keep it small, build your conversations, and use the following tips to hook them as true fans.
Tip #2 Retweet quality posts
Now you’ve got your focus on a few individuals who you suspect could become true fans of you, your website or blog, or your product. Pay close attention to them and retweet some of their quality posts. That doesn’t mean to make yourself into a stalker who retweets everything they say, that would be very strange. No, you must focus on promoting their posts (by the way you should actually read their articles as well), and retweet them when appropriate. They will notice your activity and are likely to thank you with an @ mention. Use the thank you tweet as your opening to a conversation, throw out a question or a compliment, start talking.
Tip #3 Quote and reference them in your articles
Are you a blogger? If so than you can double your impact by both improving your posts and honoring a potential fan by quoting and referencing them in an article. Use a direct Message to ask a question and request a “quote”, perhaps they are (or maybe they aren’t) an expert in a specific field. Leverage their expertise to your advantage, by including their opinions in your blog. Not only will they really like it, they’ll also quickly become an advocate to promoting that post for you.
Tip #4 Promote their material
Visit their website or blog, and capture something that interests you, tweet about it. You can use the via @ reference in your tweet to make sure they notice you are promoting their stuff. Link to them in a creative way, not just through your blogroll but by citing them in an article, tweet about it.
Tip #5 Comment on their blogs
This is critical, you must show your interest in them, often that is the stepping stone to reciprocation. Take some time each day to visit the blog of people you are interested in, and put proper time into commenting on posts. Please not just comments like ‘nice article’ or ‘very interesting…”, you need to read the article and comment intelligently. When you demonstrate that you’ve actually read their article and have a worthwhile comment they will likely reciprocate by investigating you (and upon discovering how great you are, they will soon become a true fan!).
Tip #6 Friend them in other social networks
This will be effective as your web presence increases and people get to know you outside of twitter. There are a ton of social networks that allow you to become friends with or follow others. For bloggers my all time favorite is Blog Engage, there is also Bloggers, and sites like Sphinn or Digg. Utilize these social networks to seek out and befriend those that you hope will begin to show interest in you.
I’m no expert (yet…)
By the way, I’m no expert, herein there is a little experience, a little intuition and a little research combining to create this post. As I have begun to put these ideas into practice I’ve seen results in my little world. I’m certain there are blogging and social media professionals who have additional advice and far more experience than me. As you can see however earning true fans requires you to be genuinely interested in others, you can’t fabricate this by following the above ‘cookie cutter’ steps and expecting to get committed fans. Who are you a fan of? why? Ask yourself questions like that so you can target your followers and earn a true following.
Perhaps you have some advice or an opinion as well, I’d love to hear it. Your comments and objective feedback are encouraged here, please leave a comment with your thoughts.
Safe password Management, better than sticky notes.
Posted by Daniel Snyder in Computer Security, Password Advice on July 27, 2010
Password security is a favorite topic of mine, and one I’ve written numerous posts on. Today I thought I’d deal with the topic of password management. If you’re active on the web you’ll likely have a lot of accounts all over the place from things like facebook and twitter, to your bank and paypal, as well as memberships with other social networks and websites. Hopefully by now you’ve recognized the importance of using a different password for each of these sites. (If you haven’s and your banking password is the same as your facebook password than do yourself a favor, stop reading this article right now and go make some changes. Once you’ve done that come on back and finish off this article for some tips on managing your now myriad of different passwords.)
There’s a lot of different ways to manage passwords, and you’ve got to find something you are comfortable with and assured of its security. Perhaps you’re still the type that keeps scraps of paper and sticky notes by your computer, this may be okay for you since it’s unlikely you’ll have any hackers visiting you at home, and as long as you trust the people who are there, but it’s not the most organized, efficient and secure system available.
Browsers like Firefox, Internet Explorer etc, have stored password features which will store both your usernames and passwords and then fill in the appropriate fields for you when logging in to a site. Bev Robb from Tekblog suggests “not saving passwords in the browser due to the potential for cross-site scripting malware drive bys.” rather Bev advises “if you must save passwords (in your browser) than use third party [plugins] such as LastPass“
For myself I’ve struggled to find password management software that is secure, and easy to use. I’ve tried numerous password management programs over the years, and the one I’ve continued to come back to time and time again is KeePass Password Safe. KeePass is a free open source password manager, which helps you to manage your passwords in a secure way. You can put all your passwords in one database, which is locked with one master key or a key file. So you only have to remember one single master password or select the key file to unlock the whole database. The databases are encrypted using the best and most secure encryption algorithms currently known (AES and Twofish).
Now before you go gung-ho on managing all your passwords, it is important to make sure you are creating strong passwords. That is passwords that are not guessable or easily hackable by brute force. Microsoft offers some helpful advice on creating strong passwords here.
I asked Brian Krebs his opinion on browser-based password managers. “I think browser-based password managers are fine for some things. I use Firefox’s password manager to store passwords for things like Twitter, and random forums that I visit a lot. For laptops and physical security, one should always make sure the stored passwords are assigned a master password. [Firefox does include this feature, but you need to set it up manually]. But one should never store passwords to sensitive sites (bank, credit-related). Keyloggers, form-grabbers and password stealers are embedded in almost all malware these days, and the first thing malware does is rip out your stored passwords.”
Brian recommends, “A better solution is to use a password manager that encrypts the data on your hard drive and allows the browser to interact with it when needed. This sure beats having a lot of passwords written on random scraps of paper, which described my password system up until a few years ago. I use Roboform2go, but there are free alternatives (I think Bruce’s Schneier’s PasswordSafe is still available and is a great program).”
And with that our attention is drawn back to KeePass which does a masterful job at storing your password and is also able to interact with a third party plugin for your browser.
So how are you managing passwords?
Recommended Password Management Resources:
LastPass. award winning password manager.
KeePass, open-source password manager.
RoboForm2Go, portable automated password manager.
PasswordSafe, simple and secure password management.
You should also read these informative and interesting posts on passwords.
Passwords: Brute Force Attacks & You.
Passwords: Dictionary Attacks & You.
Hackers May Already Know Your Password
Passwords are a Pain: Top 7 Password Mistakes
No longer can Mac users claim they are safe
Posted by Daniel Snyder in Computer Security on July 24, 2010
I have always preferred PCs over MACs. The first computer I started on however was an Apple ][e followed of course by the Mac Classic. Shortly after that I discovered PC’s and MS-DOS and I was hooked. Over recent years I’ve had numerous debates and conversations with individuals over which system is safer, Mac’s or PC’s?
Mac’s less susceptible to malware?
I think the general perception is that Mac’s are safer, but I don’t believe that the general public sees the whole picture. Apple would love for us to believe that they are dominantly better when it comes to security, and most people think they are less susceptible to malware with a Mac. Is this an accurate picture? Looking at the most current operating systems for both machines (Windows 7 and Mac OS X) it seems that the majority of security experts agree; one or the other there isn’t a big difference. Paul Kocher, president and chief scientist at Cryptography Research is quoted as saying, “The fair answer is that with the latest versions of each operating system there isn’t a compelling security reason to pick one or the other. It used to be that Apple was doing a better job, but with Windows 7 Microsoft has caught up.”
The biggest concern for the average home user is the threat of being infected with a virus. With this in mind I can understand why the average user thinks Macs are safer. Simply put there is not the same number of malware threats for Macs as there are for PCs. Mac’s hold only about 10% of the market share (Some sources say as low as 5.8%), for that reason alone the hackers that are writing malware are investing their time in targeting PCs, it’s simply a bigger market. Charlie Miller, a principal analyst at consultancy Independent Security Evaluators, says “At some point the market share of Macs will reach a threshold to interest attackers, and then things will quickly turn bad for Mac users.”
Thinking of buying a mac?
If you’re thinking of buying a mac (and the reason I mention this, is because I have a few friends who are considering making a switch), then determine what’s motivating the switch and why. You must be aware that you are dealing with two platforms that will always have vulnerabilities. There is no impervious system. They both need to be updated and patched on a regular basis, they both have bugs, and they can both be exploited by hackers when zero-day’s are found.
My favorite quote on the topic comes from Joe Stewart, director of malware research at SecureWorks: “The answer is ‘for the average user, at this moment in time it is less risky to use Mac OS than Windows.’ The paradox is, by promoting that idea we’ve just made Macs a little less safe, since we are potentially increasing Apple’s market share by a tiny fraction, making it more of a viable target over time. Fundamentally Mac and Windows suffer from the same weakness–human programmers make mistakes and users are easily social-engineered. Whichever platform has the most users is ultimately the riskiest to use.”
I think Joe says succinctly what I’ve been attempting to communicate in numerous conversations with friends. Mac’s will not always be as safe as we currently think they are. And the tide is probably turning soon.
Threats will always exist for both systems
Malware will not go away, and it is only going to increase on the Mac side of things. Currently researchers are identifying over 50,000 new malware samples a day on windows systems, so it would be logical to gravitate towards a mac strictly based on current risk of threat. For me it’s just not as fun, tackling malware and cleaning up computers is a fantastic hobby for me. Still nothing beats good old fashioned common sense, if you have some that is. Social-engineering threats exist on both platforms, and if you don’t browse safe you’re liable to click on that threat and invite the malware right into your home, maybe giving away some critical personal information in the process. It happens every day.
An excellent article with more quotes can be found on CNET, PC vs. Mac in Security: Experts Share their opinions.
As well Paul Henry recently wrote an article titled Yes Virginia, Mac’s Can Get Viruses, read it on his blog.
So fill us in, what platform do you feel most secure on?
How to be an Engager on Twitter
Posted by Daniel Snyder in social media, Twitter on July 21, 2010
Twitter is a unique social network, it can serve so many purposes, from hobby to business, entertainment to education. There are no ‘formal’ rules of engagement on twitter, not that other social sites have them, but twitter is special, it’s an adventure waiting to be explored, wide open and yet full of cliques and niches, each one wanting to be discovered. The key to success with twitter is engagement.
That means YOU need to become someone who engages others.
A lot of people, especially new twitter users (tweeps) are primarily focused on their follow count. Obviously a major goal to success with twitter is a large following. But first decide to get your focus off your follow count. It’s not the bottom line right now. There are a whole lot of shortcuts to gaining followers and I don’t recommend any of these methods, they are sure-fire distractions. I would much rather have a true following, than ten thousand ‘bots’ and ‘follow-backs’. If people have just followed you back out of obligation, or one of those promoted “I’ll follow you back” accounts, they probably aren’t genuinely interested you, and likely aren’t paying attention to your tweets. Don’t focus your energies on building followers, but rather on engaging the followers you do have, and the people who you are interested in.
It’s time to be pro-active and start building some twitter relationships. Here are a few tips.
1. Don’t wait for others to engage you. Your twitter success starts with you. If you want people to follow you, you need to be the one who initiates some conversations. Just watch your twitter stream (assuming that by now you are following people you are interested in), someone is bound to ask a question, maybe you know the answer? Try to share valuable information with people, and not just your information.
2. Promote Others. Make it a rule of thumb; promote others three times more often than you promote yourself. Retweet, mention, and comment on others! Do not get consumed with self-promotion, or tweet only what concerns you and your blog. Others will realize you’re in it just for yourself quickly. If you’re not responding or engaging on twitter, people will start ignoring you pretty quickly.
3. Ask questions. You don’t know everything (yet), so ask some questions. Create conversation! It is likely people that follow you will be eager to answer. As you develop relationships you will find this can be a valuable resource when you need advice, tips or help. You can also gain followers by asking questions, if you use a popular hashtag in your question, it is likely you will be found in search and replied to by someone who is not yet following you. Engage them well and you may yet win another loyal follower.
4. Be human! Share some emotions, humor, or personal experiences. Be aware of what your followers are interested in, and share real tweets. Don’t become dependent on automation. Automated tweets are useful, but if you start coming off like a robot people will figure it out. Remember, twitter is not facebook. Some of your ‘personal’ tweets may not fit well here, I guess that depends on who your followers are. You can’t automate a real conversation, so you have to be present to really engage on twitter.
5. Say thank you! If someone retweets you, or promotes your material. Then say thank you! Mention them publicly, and tell them why too. Be creative with your thanks, people will really appreciate this and it will of course encouraging them to mention you again!
6. Leave some room. A lot of people are still faithful to twitter’s native retweet method (with the letters RT and a @ mention), so if you want to get retweeted, make it easy on your followers and leave some space. 140 characters isn’t much, but even still try not to use it all.
7. Mention your top engagers! If you really grasp the concept of being an engager on twitter, than you’ll probably like the idea of rewarding those that engage you with a friendly mention. Well there is a fantastic application you can use called Follow Friday Helper. Use this tool to identify the followers that have engaged with you the most recently, perhaps those that have mentioned you or retweeted you. These are the people you want to pay special attention to, and continue to invest in developing these relationships. Use Follow Friday Helper to give them a special hello, and thank you.
Why do people Pay for Antivirus protection?
Posted by Daniel Snyder in Computer Security, My Thoughts on July 19, 2010
A question has continually been running through my mind. Why do people pay for Antivirus protection? I firmly believe that the average home user has no need to fork out cash for antivirus software. There are reliable and effective antivirus programs out there that when combined with some common sense and some knowledge of safe surfing will be absolutely sufficient at keeping you free of malware. I take myself as a perfect example as I’ve been using AVG Free on my home system for over six years with not a single serious problem. The biggest ‘minor’ issues I’ve had to deal with include tracking cookies.
Best Selling Antivirus in the World
I stumbled across a Norton advertisement the other day in which they describe themselves as the “Best selling antivirus software in the world”. Why is that do you think? I would suspect that because they have successfully marketed their product so well, and pre-loaded ‘free-trial’ versions onto virtually every machine on the planet, that many computer users assume this is their only option for protection. In fact I asked a few people why they are paying for antivirus protection. One individual told me directly “I didn’t know there were other options out there”. Another person let me know that it seemed easier to pay for a product they already had on their computer than to take the time to look for an alternative. WOW! Not just picking on Norton here but running with my primary example, it is an expensive product. That’s a lot of extra cash to just fork out, when a free product such as AVG, Avast or Avira will be relatively just as effective (Read my post on top free antivirus picks for 2010)
Is a Free product an Inferior Product?
I wonder if people feel naturally safer by paying for something? Perhaps there is the subconscious assumption that a free product is an inferior product. This is something I can understand, and it certainly wouldn’t surprise me. But in the case of Antivirus products it just isn’t true. Sure some pay products offer you features you simple won’t find in a free product (they have to give some incentive), but ultimately as I mention above safe browsing and common sense will protect you from the majority of threats anyway.
Clearly effective marketing is driving the economy for antivirus vendors. And those that offer free products obviously don’t have the resources to market their product in the same way. It is therefore up to us, to promote and assist individuals by helping them find and install free, effective, solid antivirus solutions.
So the question provokes thought. How can I motivate my friends and others to stop wasting valuable dollars on software they don’t need. Now I’m not advocating to say paid antivirus protection is wrong, simply promoting my own opinion which states that it is unnecessary. Corporations and other businesses would be unwise to stick with a free antivirus solution. But you at home, if you’re paying for antivirus software there are free alternatives which can save you money.
Maybe you have some of your own thoughts regarding why people are paying for antivirus software. Please let me know with a comment here, I’d be interested in what you have to say.
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