Lofty Matters

There has been a recent study that has found a concerning increase in the number of personalized spam.  Identity thieves create this kind of spam by using stolen lists of email addresses or data about their victims ( such as schools or banks used) that has been poached from online sources.

Traditional spam is typically blocked by email filters.  Personalized spam (known as “spear phishing”) often gets through filters.  This kind of email is also sent in smaller batches ad usually comes from accounts that thieves have set up with reputable Web-based email services.  These messages can also be very expertly crafted and often link to nicely designed web sites that are either bogus sites or contain malicious programs.

Approximately 200 billion spam messages are sent each day and this is roughly double the amount that was sent in 2007.

These targeted attacks are rising sharply as well.  Over 0.4 % of all spam sent in September were targeted attacks.  While this figure sounds low, consider this.  About 90% of all emails sent are spam.  This means that about 800 million messages are spear phishing messages.  One year ago less than 0.1% of spam messages were spear phishing messages.

In addition, the newest kind of attacks include text-message spam, emails directed to business owners trying to get them to provide credentials for advertising accounts, and personalized emails to executives telling them that their businesses are being investigated by the FBI or that there is a situation with a personal bank account.

Tags: email spam, personalized spam, spear phishing

If you are in the position of starting a small business, something that should be seriously considered is incorporating your new company. This is not the major expense that many people think it is. In fact, it costs much less than people expect. You don’t need a lawyer and this can provide many benefits for the small business owner like lowered personal liability and favorable tax benefits.

Why would a small business owner want to incorporate their new business? Incorporating is a good idea because it not only limits your potential loss to whatever you have invested in the business but it also presents a professional and credible image to potential customers and clients.

Another thing many small business owners wonder about is which is a better choice for them…LLC or S Corporation and what is the difference between these two entities. The answer is that this depends on your particular situation and the best course of action is to discuss your situation with a tax professional. LLC vs. SCorporation is an important decision and should be made carefully. LLCs require less paperwork and are more flexible in in the way that owners divide their profits. S Corporations allow owners to save on employment taxes, however. LLCs are more simple to operate because they are not subject to the same formalities that S Corporations must follow.

President George W. Bush recently made a remarkable admission. He stated, “I’ve abandoned free market principles to save the free market system.”

Might this be proof that socialism is the wave of the future? President Bush does not believe in the free market because if he did he would let the market function. He would have allowed the stock market catastrophe to unfold according to market principles and would have trusted that the outcome would be better than the outcome of government intervention.

Market principles teach that government planning cannot save an economy.

The president has shown that he believes that the government knows better than the market. He is saying that the government knows how to save the market by violating the market.

Bush has made this situation worse by throwing good money after bad and by making massive decisions for the market. What comes next is hyperinflation. The good faith and credit of the United States is over. Who is going to loan money to a government determined to inflate?

Tags: free market, hyperinflation, President Bush

If there’s one thing that makes me want to upgrade my current laptop for a new one more than anything else, its memory issues. I have continuous problems with RAM on this laptop (even though I bought more and installed it a few months ago) and my hard drive just isn’t big enough. I have an external drive that I keep transferring files to, but that isn’t exactly the best system, in my opinion.

So…every once in a while…I indulge myself and I do a little “window shopping” online for various components that would be a good replacement for my current laptop. I found some good prices for Apple memory tonight if anyone’s interested!

Have you thought recently back to what it used to be like before the internet?

Before the internet we:

• Watched more TV or played games together
• Actually wrote letters!
• Used a real dictionary or encyclopedias
• Used a phone book
• Went to rummage sales instead of Ebay or Craigslist
• Watched the news on TV
• Had to watch the weather on the news
• Used a travel agent to plan a trip
• Called an insurance agent for car insurance quotes
• Went to an actual music store to buy music on CDs (or cassettes…or…LPs!)

Any to add?  The internet has definitely changed the way we live!

…About 4 decades!

Recession worries have put a huge damper on holiday sales, raising the possibility of many retail bankruptcies in 2009.

The slump comes as the economy continues to eat away at consumer wealth and confidence.  Home sales hit a 17-year low in November and home prices are falling at the fastest rate in at least 40 years. The rapid decline of home values  is contributing to the sinking holiday sales.

After a particularly slow week before Christmas,  the International Council of Shopping Centers projected that Christmas sales will drop by as much as 2 percent from last year.  This is the worst performance since1969.  Last weekend, for example, six in 10 Americans stayed away from the stores instead of shopping for gifts.

Wal-Mart seems to be one of the only retailers doing well this season.  A number of major names like Macy’s are in trouble and there will undoubtedly be troubles for many retailers  in the New Year.

Retailers generate about one-quarter of their annual sales and about one-third of their profits during the holidays.

Consumers have been spooked by the loss of over a million jobs in the past three months, the relentless announcements of new layoffs from corporations, the failures of major big-name businesses, plunging home prices and the sudden loss of available credit through home-equity loans and credit cards.

The only positive news appears to be the fall in gas prices.  This is providing households with much-needed purchasing power.  Most of the windfall is being saved, not spent, however.

Tags: consumer confidence, Economy, Recession worries, retail bankruptcies

As the mom of a high school senior, I was very eager to learn how CollegeZapps can help you apply to college. Not me though…my son.

Listen to how cool this is!

College-bound students are learning the importance of using web-based tools in order to gain a competitive edge. Are you wondering what these “web-based tools” might be? Well…I was and was I ever excited to read about how this works!

CollegeZapps has created an online platform made to streamline the college application process. Students compile their list of colleges CollegeZapps site and then are given a full and complete interview to fill out. By completing this interview, students are able to fill out multiple applications in the time it would take to complete one. The applications are in each school’s preferred format as well! Students simply print the applications and put them in the mail.

These applications give students a professional edge and applying to more schools will always improve the chances of being accepted in their school of choice.

This kind of web-based tool can’t save students time and stress. The best thing to do is to begin reviewing these different resources in the sophomore or junior years so that the senior year can be spent implementing a great plan!

Happy Weekend! The last weekend of 2008 is here! Hope this finds you all healthy, happy and warm.

Here are a few good news stories that I enjoyed finding. Hope you enjoy reading!

The largest Christmas tree ever to be placed in St Peter’s Square in Rome was lit on Saturday and Vatican officials said its wood will be recycled to make toys for needy children.

The 33-meter-high tree was lit at an afternoon ceremony. The Vatican said all the wood from the 120-year-old tree will be recycled to make toys for needy children and garden furniture such as benches for schools.

The decision to recycle the wood from the tree was the Vatican’s latest effort to go green.

Dwayne Wade, star of the NBA basketball team Miami Heat, has helped a family who lost their home to a fire move into a new home.

Wade presented Dawn Smith with the ultimate gift — the keys to a her new house, along with some furnishings, clothing and gifts.

This isn’t the only act of kindness and generosity that Wade has shown this year. He also threw a party for 350 children and gave free tickets to 100 kids to the Heat’s game against the Golden State Warriors. Also, he donated $10,000 to each of three children’s organizations.

“That’s what I try to teach my kids,” said Wade. “It’s not about what you’re going to receive—it’s what you can give to others from what you’ve received.”

Baby from Nepal Has Amazing Journey to Local Hospital

Operation Smile has performed facial surgery on a baby whose trip to Norfolk included a 30-day trek across the Himalaya Mountains.

A Buddhist monk has a ministry to girls in Nepal. He rescued this baby when he heard that her family was hiding her in a woodshed because of her facial deformity. Now she is healing from the surgery and will return to Nepal.

Watch a news report: www.wvec.com/video/topvideo-index.html?nvid=314590

Tags: Baby from Nepal, Big Vatican Christmas tree, Dwayne Wade, Miami Heat

If you have been wanting to purchase Dragon Naturally Speaking but have been putting it off, here may be what it takes to get you to move. I have several coupon codes that will get you between 10 and 25% off…but you are going to need to hurry because these codes expire on 12/31/08. Also…keep in mind that if you are buying the software for business purposes you can still write it off for your 2008 taxes if you make your purchase before the end of the year.

I have been using Dragon for a couple of months now, and love it. It is a great tool for a blogger. Really, it is a great tool for anyone who composes or writes at a computer. That probably includes just about all of us, right?

If I didn’t already own my own copy of Dragon, this would be enough to motivate me to buy. You know you want it…and now is the time to get your copy so that you can start improving on both the quantity and quality of your blogging.

The Colorado Board of Education says schools under its jurisdiction will no longer be allowed to sell sodas (including diet sodas) or other sugary drinks in vending machines and cafeterias. The board hopes this will help students change from unhealthy eating habits to healthy ones.

The new regulations will allow the sale of ‘low-fat milk, low-fat flavored milk, and milk substitutes in schools statewide. Elementary and middle schools will allow juices to be sold and high schools can offer sports drinks and other unspecified low-calorie beverages.

This decision was made even though money from soda companies help underwrite student activities.