Could You Become a Car Hacking Victim?

Experts warned about it as long ago as 2010 after researchers in California and Washington disabled the brakes, changed the speed readings, switched off the engine and locked the doors of several cars.

They even demonstrated how an infected CD could be inserted into a car's player to take control of its safety systems.

And while we could only imagine most of those actions being done for serious criminal purposes that don't touch most of us, the ability to steal or lock us in our cars (or out of them) and alter the speedometer has disturbing implications.

Click here to read the full article. 


©Copyright Audri and Jim Lanford. All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission.
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Find The Leprechaun Contest Through March 24th!

Find The Leprechaun and get a pot of gold!  Find the Leprechaun Contest will run through March 24th. 

Super simple… Pay attention while surfing Traffic-Splash, Tezak Traffic Power and Dragon Surf and look for the leprechaun. When you find him, he will award you a prize!

Go here for details.

Data Theft Fear for Mobile Charging Stations

They're convenient and cheap (or even free) but could mobile charging stations pose a threat to data security?

Experts have already shown how crooks could download data from your cell phone or other device when you plug it in to recharge and they believe it's only a matter of time until this happens.

Click here to read the full article.


©Copyright Audri and Jim Lanford. All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission.
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http://www.scambusters.org

Why the American Empire Was Destined to Collapse

 Alternet/ by Nomi Prins

Author and social critic Morris Berman says the fact that we're a nation of hustlers lies at the root of our decline.

 Several years after the Wall Street-ignited crisis began, the nation’s top bank CEOs (who far out-accumulated their European and other international counterparts) continue to hobnob with the president at campaign dinners where each plate costs more than one out of four US households make in a year. Financial bigwigs lead their affluent lives, unaffected, unremorseful, and unindicted for wreaking havoc on the nation. Why? Because they won. They hustled better. They are living the American Dream.

This is not the American Dream that says if you work hard you can be more comfortable than your parents; but rather, if you connive well, game the rules, and rule the game, your take from others is unlimited. In this paradigm, human empathy, caring, compassion, and connection have been devalued from the get-go. This is the flaw in the entire premise of the American Dream: if we can have it all, it must by definition be at someone else’s expense.

 In Why America Failed, noted historian and cultural critic Morris Berman’s brilliant, raw and unflinchingly accurate postmortem of America, he concludes that this hustling model, literally woven into the American DNA, doomed the country from the start, and led us inevitably to this dysfunctional point. It is not just the American Dream that has failed, but America itself, because the dream was a mistake in the first place. We are at our core a nation of hustlers; not recently, not sometimes, but always. Conventional wisdom has it that America was predicated on the republican desire to break free from monarchical tyranny, and that was certainly a factor in the War of Independence; but in practical terms, it came down to a drive for "more" -- for individual accumulation of wealth.

So where does that leave us as a country? I caught up with Berman to find out.

Click here to read the full article.


 Alternet/ by Nomi Prins

Missing Dot Leads to Domain Name Scams

These days, punctuation doesn't seem to be considered as important as it used to be, but forgetting to put a single dot in an email address could lead you into the realm of dastardly domain name scams.

It's the latest twist to a series of scams in which crooks set up websites with names that are very similar to genuine sites.

(For those who don't know what a domain name is, it's simply the name of a website, like "scambusters.org".)

Click here to read the full article. 



©Copyright Audri and Jim Lanford. All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission.
Subscribe free to Internet Scambusters at
http://www.scambusters.org

WATCH OUT FOR TIME-WASTING PROSPECTS

You've got a likely prospect taking your calls and asking you questions. It seems like you're home free, and a sale should be imminent. But hold the phone. The calls, emails, and questions continue. Maybe a meeting or two as well. Time passes, and the sale seems no closer than before. Welcome to the world of time-wasting prospects.

Here are four kinds of prospects to be on the lookout for, and some ideas about what to do when you find them.

1. Looky-Loos
   
   Looky-loo prospects are the ones who are "just looking," although they often don't reveal that important fact. They have no real intent to buy, at least not now. They will browse your website and call or email with a dozen questions, just out of curiosity. If you do business in a public office, hold open houses, or give free demonstrations, they will stop in and take up your time.
   
2. Price-Shoppers
   
   The price-shopper cares about nothing more than getting the cheapest deal. If he told you that in your first conversation, it wouldn't be so bad. You could spend a few minutes politely quoting a price, and move on to greener pastures. But often the price-shopper doesn't reveal his goal until you've spent time on a presentation, proposal, or multiple conversations.
   
3. Tire-Kickers
   
   Tire-kickers want to try before they buy; demand proof for every claim you make, then remain indecisive for weeks or even months. They may ask you for multiple quotes, proposals, or references, want to go over the details with you "one more time," or keep seeking your professional advice while never committing to hire you.
   
4. Foot-Draggers
   
   The foot-dragging prospect appears promising at first. She insists she wants to work with you, and may even seem eager. But then she wants all the i's dotted and t's crossed before signing on the bottom line. First she has to review your pricing, proposal, or contract. Then the folks she has to consult always seem to be unavailable. Hearing back from her takes three times as long as it should at every step. Meanwhile she asks you to keep time open for her project or schedule.

How to Cut the Time-Wasters Short

• Try to qualify your prospects in the first encounter. When they start asking questions, reply with, "I'd be happy to discuss that with you. Let me ask you a few questions first, so I can give you accurate information." Questions will vary depending on your business, but here are a few possibilities:
  
  • What is the nature of your project or problem?
  • How soon do you need to have something done about it?
  • Are you speaking with other professionals about helping you with this?
  • Do you have a budget in mind?
  • What information will you need to make a decision?
    
    
• Create a standard reply that answers the most common questions prospects ask and welcomes further contact to discuss the specifics. When you receive an email inquiry, send your standard reply rather than spending time writing answers to a list of questions. Offer instead to talk by phone to address the prospect's needs. Serious prospects will be happy to take your call, while many time-wasters prefer to email back and forth.
  
  To respond to voice mails, ask callers for their email address in your outgoing message, and send your standard reply before you call them back. That way they'll have answers to many questions already in their inbox. When they don't leave an email, ask again if you don't reach them when you return their call. If they won't give you an email address, they probably aren't sincere.
  
  
• If you get a lot of price-shoppers, consider posting your rates on your website to deflect prospects who can't afford you or want you to underbid someone else. Or include in your website copy a statement like: "I'm not the cheapest, but I deliver quality work on time." A clever version of this I've seen graphic and web designers use is: "You can have it cheap, or you can have it fast, or you can have it good. Choose any two."
  
  With corporate, nonprofit, or government prospects, be alert for signs that they are soliciting multiple proposals just so they can hire the lowest bidder. Ask for a meeting to discuss their needs before replying to a Request For Proposal. Prospects who are seeking quality work will typically agree to this; those who are price-shopping often won't.
  
  
• Set reasonable limits, communicate them, and then stick to them. It's sound business practice to do this with your clients, so why not start while they are still prospects? Let them know you'll be happy to revise your proposal once, but then you'll ask for a decision. Offer to meet with them once to determine their needs and once to present your solution, but request that further discussions be focused on the details of getting started. The most desirable prospects will respect your professionalism.
  
  
• Stop time-wasting prospects at the source. Pay attention to where the prospects who waste your time tend to come from, then try to stem the tide. A caterer I know cancelled all her paid ads when she discovered they only produced price-shoppers. After attending one of my classes, a chiropractor began to remove tire-kickers from her mailing list. She deleted anyone who attended more than one open house without making an initial appointment.
  
  
• Consider the "opportunity cost" of continuing to woo prospective clients who keep kicking your tires or dragging their feet. There are many other opportunities you could pursue with the time you have to spend trying to close a deal with reluctant prospects. Never promise to keep time open on your schedule to work with a prospect who is unwilling to make an equivalent commitment to you. And never agree to start work until you have a firm agreement about how much and when you'll be paid.
  
  

If it starts to feel like you are being jerked around or disrespected, you probably are. Be willing to walk away, even when the prospect tries to tempt you with the promise of future business. Once you've identified a time-waster, stop wasting your time on him.

Copyright © 2012, C.J. Hayden

Read more free articles by C.J. Hayden or subscribe to the GET CLIENTS NOW! E-Letter. 

The Fastest Way To Be A Success, Is To Go Slow by Jon Olson

 This is a blog post by my good friend Jon Olson.  And we really are good friends!  I have been talking with him since July 2011 every week in Traffic Exchange Live.  I met him through this awesome program called Click Track Profit.  Enjoy this wise and experienced based blog post by Jon.


By Jon Olson
Hit Exchange News

My partner and buddy Tim Linden said something a few months ago in a video we did and it really got me thinking about how people ‘get’ online business. You see, Tim said this “the quickest way to make money online is to take your time” and it’s so true. We see this happen time and time again, people try to rush through things, they look for the quick fix for their income situation and when things don’t ‘happen’ right away….People give up.

Here’s a few examples of the power of ‘taking your time’ and focusing on ever green products. First a huge ‘way to go’ has to go to Monika Tuttle. Monika came into TE Live this week and had some great news. She has hit a milestone and is now making about 30 bucks a day from her evergreen products. Wow! But here’s the key to this story…It took her between 2-3 years and she DIDN’T GIVE UP! Now she’s building her income and while this compounds, the numbers will grow. Awesome stuff Monika, congrats!!!

Next is someone who started with CTP in November and concentrated ONLY on the ever green products. She only has 12 referrals but check out the awesome increase (slow and steadily mind you)….This shows me how powerful sticking to things can be. Way to go Sharmila!

Sadly, people won’t see that this takes time and focus. And the worst thing, people will jump from program to programs without giving anything any time to mature. And guess what, every time someone starts again, it’s back at step one…
So like Tim says, the quickest way to see results is to take your time. And I’ll add this as well…Focus on the evergreen products and you will build a solid foundation for years to come.
Have a great weekend!
To your success.
Barb :)
news@dpbiznews.net

http://digitalnews.dpbiznews.net/

Caregiver Scams Target Most Vulnerable Victims

Targeting vulnerable people is a common source of crime, and caregiver scams are among the most despicable.

Those least able to protect themselves are at the mercy of people designated to take care of them but sometimes the caregivers are more concerned about looking after their own interests.

Tricksters also use the lure of caregiver employment to fool job hunters into parting with their money.

Click here to read the full article. 


©Copyright Audri and Jim Lanford. All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission.
Subscribe free to Internet Scambusters at
http://www.scambusters.org