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If you are running your own business, this question must have crossed your mind: How can I make my business prosper and last? With the downturn of the economy, you can never be too slack or laidback in handling your company for too much is at stake.

The small business entrepreneurs are constantly facing new business problems and difficulties on a regular basis just like the thriving and established corporations that you see. There are only two paths for your business: it’s either headed on an uphill track, or a downward course. It is then never an understatement to say that finding ways to improve your business is a conscious effort and choice. If you want your business to generate money, then you must learn to look outside your business in order to get solutions, better ideas, and best practices. Of course, making use or borrowing ideas and best practices could pose disadvantages as well; however, if you know how to apply these strategies and practices effectively, the rewards could be enormous.

By incorporating best practices in your strategic plans, you are taking your business to a new level. I will be sharing with you some of the benefits gained by applying best practices, especially in small businesses.

First, let me define Best Practice, which is the process of searching for various strategies, tactics, and ideas from outside your company that you can use in order to improve the performance in any specific area of your business. A lot of big businesses that have used best practice benchmarking have gained billions, both in savings and revenues in all aspects of their sales and business operations.

There are four (4) distinct benefits gained by adopting best practices for small businesses.

(1)    Cost reduction. Small businesses cannot par the deep financial pockets that big corporations dispense in order to “reinvent the wheel.” Learn from their discoveries and what they have effectively done so you can apply them in your business. Not only will you be able to save a lot of time, but you will also be able to save a considerable amount of money.

(2)    Innovative Ideas. You need to innovate in order to keep your business going. Innovation is very important so that you can come up with new business concepts, better processes and services. Learn to apply the tested and trusted innovative ideas that big businesses use to make your business successful too.

(3)    Performance Improvement. By making use of best practices outside your business, you are raising the bar of performance and setting new levels of standard in order to propel your company to new heights.

(4)    Error Prevention. You are lucky if you can solve your business problems on your own without resulting in costly errors. However, it would be wise to learn from what other successful businesses have done to keep their companies intact.

Applying best practices in your business does not guarantee positive results unless you do your homework first. What I mean by that is you have to know the exact key ingredients that these successful businesses used to achieve those great results. Don’t rush into trying the new idea; first, probe the steps that they took before they achieved their desired outcome. It is only after a careful analysis of the reliability of an idea that you will be ready to effectively implement the concept in your own company.

So what are the basic steps for best practices? First, you have to identify one business process or area that you need to improve, take for instance, your product sales if you are in a retailing industry. Once you’ve pointed that out, start researching and collecting information on the best practices and hub systems used by your successful competitors or companies within your industry. Analyze the usefulness of the information gathered, and if applicable to your situation, modify the best practice for your business improvement.

Another tip is to survey and compare the best practices employed by relevant companies of all sizes. You won’t need a lot of time to do the researching. In fact, you can make a best practice study without having to complete it in months. A few weeks of thorough literature research and phone interviews are often sufficient for small businesses.

Remember that making use of the best practices from other successful businesses can dramatically bring improvement to your small business. What you need to do is to learn their basic ingredients of success and you are sure to excel in your business for a long time.

//cbtplanet.com

Did you know that computer hacking started as a byproduct of phone phreaking, which is an illegal practice of exploring the phone system? The phone phreaking communities are able to make long distance or international calls without charge from their telephone networks. As these networks evolved and became computerized over time, phreaking has also become closely associated with computer hacking.

There are various types of hackers, some of which are white hat hackers, black hat hackers, grey hackers, script kiddie, elite hackers, or hacktivists. These different groups of computer underground hackers, also sometimes referred to as crackers, are distinguished according to the legality of their activities. For instance, the white hat hackers are oftentimes called ethical hackers because they do not break security for malicious reasons unlike the black hat hackers, who intrude secured networks for malicious intent, personal gain or merely to destroy data. A grey hat hacker, on the other hand, is a combination of a white and a black hacker. This type of hacker usually hacks computer systems, notifies the administrator, and then offers to fix their system for a small charge. Therefore, as constant online users, you must practice caution at all times.

Hackers can strike at any time and destroy your computer. It is then important to protect yourself from these malicious perpetrators. Almost everything now can be done through online transactions, from banking to business proposals and the like; thus, it is imperative that we stay on guard to avoid being victimized by hackers.

There are a lot of ways to prevent computer hacking. One of the common safety tips to protect yourself from being hacked is by constantly changing your password. Change your password on a monthly basis or when you suspect that someone else is trying to access your account. Use 3D passwords that contain characters, digits, and special symbols, such as dollar sign ($) or ampersand (&). Don’t create a password that can be easily guessed. Instead use a complicated password, one that is hard for anyone to figure out. Passwords containing upper and lower case letters, coupled with numbers and special characters will definitely make it hard for the hacker to comprehend.

You must never disclose your IP address (address of your computer) to anyone or else you will be vulnerable to hacking. Hackers can easily access your computer and can destroy or steal your information, files and passwords once they get hold of your IP address.

You must be extra careful when downloading attachments or installing a software from an unknown source as they may contain viruses that can damage your files and applications. According to computer scientists, computer hackers make use of the Internet to intrude or attack your computer every 40 seconds. Hackers try to look for cracks and keygens online to hack anybody’s computer. They will attach a virus or keylogger to the crack or the keygen. Once the file is downloaded and installed, your data is automatically sent to the hacker, who will have access to your files. This can be very disastrous, especially for online businessmen since hackers are able to track sensitive information, such as bank account information, Paypal account details, or e-mail account information. Never double click e-mail attachments that contain executable programs unless you know they are fully safe. These executable programs have extensions like .com, .exe or .vbs.

Make sure to install firewalls and virus protection software and keep them up-to-date. Choose a good firewall program and don’t depend on the Windows firewall alone to protect your computer from hackers. Select a good antivirus software that is reputed to be consistently reliable. If you are using a free antivirus software and firewall program, make sure you constantly update them.

Failure to properly log out, especially when you are using a shared computer is a common root cause for most information security breach cases. Social networking sites, such as Twitter and Facebook, are in the mainstream and millions of online users utilize them every day. Most online users tend to leave their accounts unclosed, thus making it easier for hackers to attack. Don’t just close the browser window without logging out your account once you’re finished. Regardless of whether the computer you are using is a shared computer or your personal computer, it is equally important to properly log out your account so that the next person using the computer won’t gain access to the sites and accounts that you opened.

You must watch out from phishing scams. Phishing scams are fraudulent e-mail messages that appear to come from legitimate entities, such as your bank or your ISP that lead you to a spoof site where you are asked to divulge your personal information (bank accounts, password, etc.). Once you fall prey to this modus operandi, the perpetrators will then make use of your private information to commit identity theft. Phishing scams are designed to induce panic towards the recipient of the e-mail message, thus, triggering the victim to respond immediately by clicking a link to verify his/her personal information.

There are ways to avoid phishing scams. Responsible companies will never use e-mail to ask for your private information such as your password or Social Security number. One way to avoid being victimized by such scam is to ignore the message, delete it from your inbox, and remove it from your deleted items folder. In that way, you remove any chances of ever accessing the links to the Web sites they point to. If you feel that the message might be legitimate, contact the company and verify if the action described in the e-mail message is true.

It is also advisable to create a back up of your files. Some viruses are made to destroy the data stored in your computer. You can benefit from a lot of good data back up programs on the Internet.

If you follow all the basic tips and advices that I’ve suggested, I’m sure you will reduce the chances of being hacked. Always remember, “Hackers prey on those who don’t protect themselves.”

http://www.kinkybluefairy.net/2010/10/how-to-choose-a-car/

Looking back, that was so much fun. But, now that I’m all grown up and drive my own car, I have come to realize that it’s no fun to be traveling on such rough roads. There’s nothing amusing about it at all. Driving through coarse terrains and merciless potholes not only leaves your body all worn out, but also lessens the life of your car, so to speak.

Just recently, I’ve witnessed new pavements and potholes being fixed. I am left wondering if the election is just around the corner or if these road projects are part of an early campaign for aspiring political candidates. This may sound funny, but sadly there’s some truth to my out-of-the-blue sentiments. Road repairs and developments are apparent once elections draw near. Not only that, you can see huge signs and big tarpaulins over such roads reminding everyone who paid for it and who did it.

I guess by now you’re getting what I mean. It’s just unfortunate that somehow this tactic still works in most cases. It’s almost like a defeated mindset. Of course, there are still honest ones who are doing their duties as public officials without hidden agendas at the back of their minds. I just wish there are more dedicated officials looking out for the betterment of the community and not for their own sakes. These thoughts often come to mind every time I see roads being fixed or developed.

In my years of living in Cebu, which I proudly call my home, I’ve realized that driving here is also quite different. Allow me to share some of the insights I’ve learned about the “rules of the road” that other expats might find useful in adapting with the driving styles in the Philippines.

• Speed Limit. If you are driving in the Philippines, there’s actually no need to worry about speed limits. In fact, speed limits are slightly enforced, if at all, so are other rules of the road. It’s like the traffic and road conditions dictate the rate of your speed, more than any speed limit sign or law. Here, the general speed limits are 60 km/hr as the minimum speed and 100 km/hr as the maximum rate. However, you’ll notice that most cars are actually driving over speed limit.
• Road Quality. Urban areas mostly have well-paved roads. However, some rural areas could have problems with potholes, lack of visible road signs and poor lighting. Road block signage or warning signs during road repairs are sometimes vaguely indicated by putting big rocks on the road. Mountain roads often don’t have guardrails and extra caution must be observed, especially when driving at night.
• Checkpoints. Various checkpoints can be set up during police operations. In such cases, you just need to slow down unless you are asked to pull over. Numerous government agencies, such as PNP, AFP or DENR, conduct checkpoints when looking for illegal loggers, poachers or guerilla members of NPA, Abu Sayyaf or MILF.
• Driving Style. Driving here could be nerve-racking for first-time drivers. You will experience being cut off frequently. Some drivers routinely pull into traffic without so much care at other oncoming vehicles. Driving precautions are regarded lightly and not strictly enforced. In fact, most drivers don’t have their seatbelts or helmets on. Drivers of passenger buses, taxis, or trucks can drive for 24 hours straight, as long as their body can tolerate. If DUI is strictly observed in the States, here it’s almost unenforced. Driving in the Philippines can be stressful, especially for foreigners, who are not used to the traffic flow and unpredictable driving situations. You have to pay close attention to your driving, and nothing else.
• Driver Liability. The driver is nearly always 100% accountable during collisions or road accidents, regardless of fault. You can be in deep trouble if you hit a pedestrian, more so if it’s a child, who perhaps crossed the street out of the blue. You can face a long strenuous court case and even a possible deportation.
• Pedestrians. You’ll see a lot of jaywalking here. Some people are way too undisciplined to wait for their turn to cross the street. People also have a curious habit of sitting idly on the side of the road, or worse, putting up stalls or “pongko-pongko” tables for their mini eatery business. During happy occasions like fiesta or holidays, you can expect jolly people walking at the streets. You must SOUND your horn should you see anyone not paying attention, lest you hit them, and it’s still going to be your fault.
• Vehicles. You are lucky if you are not caught by traffic enforcers while driving a car without headlights or taillights during the night. If you are driving at night, you can also expect some drivers not dimming their bright lights for incoming traffic. I have also witnessed some taxi drivers using the handbrakes to stop their car. Overloading is common, especially on commercial vehicles like public utility jeepneys. In very remote areas, you’ll be amazed to see commuters sitting on top of the bus or jeepney.
• Driving Attitude. Show aggressiveness when driving, but don’t be a jerk. If you’re driving in the Philippines, you are expected to follow closely, enter traffic and be fairly aggressive. There’s no time for hesitation as it might only cause accidents. You need to learn to decide quickly and commit.

Driving in the Philippines can be daunting at first, but you’ll get used to it. There are definitely many interesting things you’ll learn and discover while traversing the roads and highways of my motherland. With all the not-so-pleasant road encounters I’ve shared, I hope my fellow expats would still learn to love the country I consider my home. After all, Philippines is not just filled with warm and exuberant people, it is also endowed with numerous must-see tourist attractions.

If you are looking for a safe online dating site, you might want to try CebuHeart.com, where satisfaction and safety are at the top of their priorities. This dating service and many others do exist in reality. If you are keen enough, you will be able to distinguish a genuine dating site from a bogus one. It is first important to know what you are looking for in a dating service as there are currently numerous dating sites that cater to the singles market. The challenge is to find one that will allow you to explore and meet new people without compromising your safety.

CebuHeart.com is a trusted online dating service that has an extensive database of single Filipina women. It provides you an online dating experience that you’ll never forget. Prospective users of the service are prequalified by checking out their references to ensure accuracy in their profiles and to make certain that interested parties are interacting with genuine persons. CebuHeart.com is one of the few dating services in the Philippines that does this kind of verification process.

Aside from the vast opportunities of meeting your lifetime partner at CebuHeart.com, this dating site was primarily designed to match two similar personalities while reducing the chances of people, mostly men, from being scammed.

So how can you avoid falling prey to an online dating scam? CebuHeart.com offers you valuable insights to stay away from such situation. Certainly, precautions must be observed when using online matchmaking services. CebuHeart.com suggests paying close attention to the following red flags in order to avoid being victimized by online dating scams.

• Asking for Money. If you are bluntly asked for money, or being asked to cash someone else’s check or money order for them, don’t fall for that trap. Many scammers will try to get your sympathy or work with your emotions to draw out money from you. Stories about Internet dating scams vary each time, but there is only one apparent intention and that is to rob you of your hard-earned money.

Of course, there may be exceptions. There’s absolutely no harm in wiring money to someone you have already probably met in person and have learned to trust. But you must remember the golden rule: NEVER SEND MONEY TO ANYONE YOU HAVE JUST MET ONLINE.

• Inconsistencies in E-mail Correspondence. You should be extra careful when exchanging e-mails with someone you haven’t met in person. An evident question is to ask yourself if you feel strongly that it’s the same person who’s replying to your messages every time. Always remember to be keen enough to point out e-mail discrepancies from the person you’re exchanging e-mails with.

If more than one of the following e-mail inconsistencies appears during the course of your e-mail exchanges, they may be indications that you are a victim of an Internet dating scam:

(1)    A change in the tone, writing style, language, or grammar of the e-mail message is evident;

(2)    Communication is unclear and hard to understand; or worse, repeated. Scammers usually have pre-outlined messages;

(3)    A sad story is shared that shifts quickly into an emergency that only you can help;

(4)    Quick responses (within 15 minutes) are received when you send an e-mail, without an agreement beforehand as to when you will be online;

(5)    Different e-mail accounts are used during correspondence;

(6)    You are addressed by the wrong name; and

(7)    Direct questions about their personal information are evaded.

• Appropriate Responses. It is very important to determine whether or not the relationship you are building with someone over the Internet is based on reality or if it is a potential dating fraud. Is the person you’re corresponding with giving you personalized messages, or do their e-mails sound like they are generated or pre-determined scripts?

Having a constant e-mail conversation with someone, who seems genuinely interested and entirely focused on you, can be very exciting. As a matter of fact, it is a good sign that the person you’re exchanging dialogues with is truly curious about who you are as he/she is investing time to learn more about you. The danger lies, however, when they don’t offer you any detailed personal information about them in return.  When they don’t answer your e-mails in a personal way, or tend to change topics with every contact, then that should be reason enough for you to observe caution.

• Unrealistic/Bogus Photos. Cliché as it seems, this saying stays true for online dating scams: “If the person’s photograph looks too good to be true, that is because it probably is.”

Of course models, actors and other gorgeous people may be looking for love too over the Internet, and you may have hit the jackpot in the attractiveness category with the person you are having a conversation with online. However, if your online date also shows some of the warning signs already mentioned above, then you may want to consider a bit more investigating first.

Having said all that, you are now ready to jump into the bandwagon while taking all the precautions seriously. Love comes in the most unexpected time, and sometimes in the most unconventional way. If you strongly feel that you can meet your ideal partner or true love over the Internet, then do so but with extra caution.

Remember, at CebuHeart.com, “True love can be a click away.”

If you are planning to send special gifts to your loved one in Cebu, visit www.cebuconnections.com. Cebuconnections will deliver your presents right at your loved one’s doorstep, be it flowers, chocolates, candies, cakes, and other gift items. It does not matter if you are living miles away! This site also offers various services, such as verifying and providing copies of bills/payments and booking hotel rooms.

However, the use of such social networking sites poses certain pros and cons as well. Let’s start with the advantages.

Connections. Social networks help you locate and get in touch with your long lost friends and relatives. This can be used as an avenue to meet new people and get connected with different social groups. Not only that, you can form a web of connections and use it to your advantage so you can create leverage. These connections can be significant and valuable for you in the long run.

Economical. The use of online social networking is definitely cheaper since its features mostly come for free. While the usage of these sites was originally intended for personal use and updates, several people have improvised its potential. A lot of marketers use these sites for marketing a product or service. In fact, promoting your business and scouting potential customers is just a click away. It’s a great way to fine tune your business, whether you are on a tight budget or not.

Credibility. Being able to communicate with your friends and customers can help you gain credibility, both on the professional and personal level. You will have more opportunities of being tapped for an offer if someone comes across your featured products or services. A tip though is not to pursue your prospective buyers too aggressively to prevent them from getting irritated or intimidated.

Now that sounds practical and appealing, right? But, what are the disadvantages? Let’s take a look.

Privacy. The lack of anonymity is inevitable. You have to risk putting some of your personal information like your name, location, gender, and other types of information that your potential customers may be asking for. No matter how cautious you are in divulging your personal information, you don’t have control on other people’s real intentions, whether they’re malicious or not.

Internet Crimes. All social networking sites have security measures. However, there is a possibility for security failure in both personal and business context. Online scam, identity theft, cyber stalking are some of the common harassment cases proliferating in the cyberspace.

Time Consuming. Social networking can be very time consuming if this is not your favorite past time. The key to social networking is that it’s supposed to be fun, whether it’s just to maintain connections with friends or for business purposes. That should be reason enough for anyone, yet there are those who just don’t have that same viewpoint. For them, that can be a disadvantage.

Now that you understand the pros and cons of social networking, it’s time to reassess the importance of utilizing it.

I’ve been having issues while taking videos and having dust particles on my Canon EOS Rebel T2i. Stupid me, didn’t realize what people meant when they said clean the sensor. I thought that mirror/flap was the sensor. this video explains how to reveal the sensor so you can clear out dust particles.

I’ve been looking online for a while, oddly enough, when I post the video I see a bunch of videos on youtube as recommendations on how to clean the lens. Go figure.

Experts have been trying to come up with solutions to prevent and treat depression. A new study suggests that information technology and data mining techniques can be used to improve the diagnosis and treatment of depression. How?

According to the report by Asian News International, information technology could bring into effect the power of computing in early diagnosis and the development of treatments.

Maja Hadzic, Fedja Hadzic and Tharam Dillon, a team from the Curtin University of Technology in Perth, Australia, have developed a system integrating three different kinds of patient data and the data that describes the mental health of therapists and their patient interactions. Using standard and modern tree-mining techniques, this system can be data-mined so patterns can be seen in the onset, treatment and management of depression.

“The data describing patients’ activities, bodily functions and feelings as well as the data describing mental health of therapists will be collected and collectively mined to reveal interesting patterns,” explained the team to ANI.

When this information is data-mined, the patterns that surface will improve the understanding of depression. In addition, the practitioners can gain new insights about its prevention and treatment. This kind of approach balances the fact that even though practitioners observe similarities in patients’ behavior and how they respond to treatments, all depression cases are unique, as all patients are different.

“Patients will be able to receive highly personalized treatments, the therapists will be assisted in making evidence-based decisions, and the scientist will be able to pursue new knowledge revealing true causes of depression whilst developing more effective treatment approaches,” the team concluded.

The release highlighted the part of the terms of service that the website violated: “The content supplied by users must be owned by the user, or the user must have the right to publish it. The terms further state that published content should not cause injury to any person.”

The release also states that it is quite clear that WikiLeaks doesn’t own or control all the rights to their site’s contents. In addition, it is hard to believe the website can possibly go through the large volume of 250,000 classified documents and ensure that they weren’t putting innocent people in danger.

In the past, human rights organizations even wrote to WikiLeaks, asking them to take caution in publishing their contents and stop releasing the identities of human rights defenders who might be persecuted by their governments.

U.S. senator and chairman of the House Security Committee Joe Lieberman praised Amazon’s action. He states that it was the right decision and other companies used by WikiLeaks to distribute illegally released materials should also do the same.

The controversial site answered to Amazon’s statement through its official Twitter account. The spokesperson stated that Amazon was acting in violation of the U.S. Constitution First Amendment, which in part restricts the government’s ability to restrict speech.

WikiLeaks is an international nonprofit media organization that publishes unavailable submitted documents from anonymous sources. The website, run by The Sunshine Press, was launched in 2006. In just a year after its debut, the site claimed a growing database of more than 1.2 million documents.

The site describes itself as “an uncensorable system for untraceable mass document leaking.” Most of the documents released target governments and corporations. WikiLeaks claims that it has never released a misattributed document.

Most governments and organizations whose documents have been leaked by WikiLeaks have been critical of the organization. Some countries like China, Thailand and Australia even push for the censorship of the whistleblower site.