March 22, 2003
Table of Contents
Welcome
Quote of the Week
Administration
Featured Resource - MY FAVE WAVS
Editorial
Staff Article - TIME
TO TIGHTEN UP SECURITY!
Guest Article -
FACTORING AS A SOURCE OF BUSINESS FUNDING
Parting Comments
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Quote of the Week
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- Thomas Fuller
Administration
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Featured
Resource MY
FAVE WAVS
Need some new sounds? You'll find almost anything you could ever wish for on
this site. This is a very cool site!
http://www.favewavs.com/
Staff Article
TIME
TO TIGHTEN UP SECURITY!
by: Cary Christian
After devastating distributed
denial of service attacks almost brought the Internet to its knees several
weeks ago, you would think people would get the idea and make an effort to
close some of the security holes that make such an event possible.
Apparently, that is not the case.
The CERT Coordination Center is monitoring a group of large networks of
compromised machines that are linked together through programs left behind
by worms and viruses. Just one of these networks contains more than 140,000
machines.
These networks are used to launch distributed denial of service attacks and
the owners and users of the machines have no clue that their assets are
being used in the attacks. Making matters worse, these compromised machines
make it easy for even a novice hacker to launch a devastating attack. CERT
has warned that there is potential for serious long-term damage.
The really sad fact about all of this is that the worms and their
"droppings" that can be used to create all this havoc have been around for
awhile. There are patches available to render them useless and current
anti-virus programs can all handle them. The fact that there is such
immediate danger means that people are not patching their machines and they
are not using current anti-virus programs, if they are using them at all!
In addition to setting the stage for distributed denial of service attacks,
the existence of these worms and viruses make it much more difficult to
trace the attacks once they occur. These compromised machines can also be
used to hide the identity of people committing even more heinous crimes. The
unprotected and unpatched PC becomes a pawn in the commission of such
crimes.
Here are some things you should do right away.
1. When was the last time you downloaded a patch for your operating
system? They are issued frequently. When they are issued, it is usually
because the patch is needed to plug a hole in the security of your machine.
If you are using a Windows operating system, take a little time to visit
Windows Update at
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ Select "Product Updates" and
follow the prompts. You'll be told what patches you need and they can be
installed automatically. It's super easy and there is no excuse not to do
this.
2. Check your passwords, shares and protocols. Make sure passwords
are difficult to break. Do not use your mother's maiden name, your birth
date, your social security number or a variation of your name. Mix it up
with letters, numbers and make sure it's at least 8 characters long. Make
sure your machine does not have any shared resources using Windows
networking that are not protected by a password. Unless you really need it
for something, don't use the NetBEUI protocol for networking. Use IP
instead.
3. Scan your hard drive for viruses and worms. You can use Trend
Micro's Housecall scanner at
http://housecall.antivirus.com/housecall/start_corp.asp to perform a
free scan and cleaning of your machine. All it will cost you is a little
time and will at least provide you with the peace of mind that your machine
has not been compromised.
4. Install a firewall. You can get a free version for home use from
Zone Labs at
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/home.jsp
Don't think your home machine is unimportant. Probably most of the
compromised machines on the Internet are home PCs.
On your business network, you'll most likely have to purchase a firewall if
your ISP does not provide one for you. Zone Labs has a pro version for under
$50.
5. Use an anti-virus program and keep it updated. You can download
AVG Anti-Virus at http://www.grisoft.com
It's fr^e and it works very, very well. Just remember to have your
anti-virus program load every time your computer boots up and set it to
update automatically so you always have the most up to date virus database
in use.
6. Test how stealthy your computer is. Hackers and worms scour the
Internet looking for open ports on computers that are broadcasting their
location. Without a firewall, this broadcasting, which is normal behavior,
acts like a beacon to the hacker, leading them to your machine through
unprotected ports. The firewall is supposed to make your machine invisible,
or "stealthed." It's a good practice to check just how stealthed your
machine is from time to time. Take the "Shields Up!" test at Gibson Research
to find out. The URL is
http://grc.com/intro.htm There is lots of great information on
security at this site in addition to computer tests.
None of the above tasks are difficult or expensive. They will require a
little time but will keep you safe and help insure that your PC doesn't
become a pawn in someone's evil plans. The world and the Internet are
becoming a more dangerous place every day. You owe it to yourself and to
everyone else who enjoys the Internet to make your machine off-limits to
unauthorized use.
Copyright (c) 2003
Guest
Article
FACTORING AS A SOURCE OF
BUSINESS FUNDING
By: Berwyn J. Kemp
Do you supply products and services to commercial customers and are unable
to secure traditional bank financing? If so, do you very often have to wait
30 to 90 days or longer for your customers to pay your invoices? Which often
leaves you short of the capital you need to effectively operate and build
your business.
If you answered yes to both of these questions. Then there could be a source
of business funding that could work for your business. That source of
funding is the factoring of your accounts receivable invoices. Which could
very well give you the capital you need to more effectively operate, expand,
and grow. Because you'll no longer have to wait for your customers to pay
your invoices.
What's more, the factoring of your accounts receivable invoices is much
easier source of financing to access that traditional commercial bank
financing. Because the factor doesn't look at the credit rating of your
business, nor do they look at your personal credit rating. Both of which can
be a problem particularly for new businesses. And other kinds of Businesses
that don't meet the very conservative standards of most commercial banks.
Instead factors base their decision to factor or not to factor your invoices
on the credit of your customers.
Therefore, if you supply products and services to commercial customers who
have good credit ratings, such as, government agencies, well established
commercial firms, hospitals, universities, insurance companies, etc.. Then
you can more than likely qualify for accounts receivable factoring.
In addition, as a rule, factors don't require long term contracts as in more
traditional kinds of lending, nor do they ever audit your books. For these
reasons and more, this makes obtaining an accounts receivable factoring loan
a relatively quick, simple, and easy process, to give you the business funds
that you need.
What the factor basically does is advance you between 70% to 80% of the
value of your commercial invoices. The factor then collects the invoices
directly from your customer. Once the factor collects on the invoices they
subtract their fee, and then sends you the balance of the invoice amount.
What will factoring cost you? Well, factoring fees start at about 4% for
invoices collected within 30 days goes up to about 15% for invoices
collected in 120 days or so. Thus, the fee depends on when the factor
actually collects the invoice.
There are some business people who wrongly believe that factoring makes them
appear financially unsound to their customers. If this is what you believe
it is simply not true. Today many modern firms are factoring their accounts
receivables. As a way to get the capital they need to effectively operate
and build their profits faster. In fact, many commercial banks are actively
referring they can't finance to factors. In addition, a number of major
commercial banks
have actually opened factoring divisions.
While factoring is not right for every business, it could be right for your
business as a source of business funds that works for you. Particularly if
your business is new, or you are unable to tap traditional commercial bank
financing. Then factoring could very well be the answer to your business
funding needs.
--------------------------
Berwyn J. Kemp is a financial consultant who helps businesses get funding to
start up, more effectively operate, or expand. For full information on his
funding products and services visit him at:
http://www.bkempassoc.CityMax.com , NOW!
Parting
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