You're sick and tired of being sick and tired! Bills, loans, cards, friends, family. How about shut offs, tire goes flat, not enough for food, clothes, kids.
Anyone been there? Although it's not a part of our story below, going from a full time Teamster in the SF Bay Area to full time residual at Lake Tahoe, there were plenty leaps of Faith that created internal growth, God is the potter, we are the clay, Isaiah 64:8. But then, suddenly, something changes within you. You've had enough. You are ready to call people on their stuff. You gain total conviction about yourself, your program, your confidence, your leadership!
You've heard it before and it almost sounds cliche, but there it is, "You must have conviction..." Well, until you really, really take a moment and look at all the things you won't stand for anymore and tell it goodbye once and for all... conviction, real 100% total "I must rip this thing!" conviction... it will probably elude you. Welcome to the edge. Time to decide, "To cut off from..."
People buy what they hear in you, your true body language and posture. It's ALL talk until you decide that you are 100% committed to success. Until you reach the point where you absolutely must succeed. Zero doubt, zero failure, one option, to win. Then, then you will be someone who can go all the way because your able to sort and not be attached to the outcome at all. This is where the real "next!" term truly comes into play.
In the story where Cortez ordered his own ships destroyed for total commitment, it is not that you burn bridges, it is only for that sense of complete commitment as instruction. The posture, the absolute face that must win and will win offers no retreat mentally. The Aztecs saw faces of men who had zero doubt. It's not about the story, but the lesson in total passion. You're not in the ring to survive, you're in to win. It's not the victory, the outcome, it's the journey... you play, you play all out... expect to win, but never be attached to the outcome.
Now... you're ready to get on the phone and ask questions of leads from anywhere. They will sense your leadership, your courage, and total conviction. People all want leadership, direction. Your focus must be like a rock. This is where people say, "It's never crowded at the top." When you decide that you've had enough, dump it, focus only on the positive results, great connections you're making, you will be in the small percentage who go toward their goals with zero doubt, and people desire to be swept into that vortex of passion because they don't want to miss it!!
Monday, August 20, 2007
Friday, August 10, 2007
Network Marketing Strategy - How To Put Your MLM Recruitment On Steroids
What is your network marketing strategy? Do you even have one? If not, don't feel like you are unique.
Despite all the good intentions of MLM uplines, the simple truth is, not everyone joining a network marketing business is going to be receptive to the system.
Is this a good thing? Who knows but with building an MLM business built on the principles of following a system I guess perhaps it's not in the best interests of those involved if everyone else is following the same network marketing strategy.
On the other hand, someone new coming into a business with fresh ideas shows a certain amount of initiative and that's what you like to see in a new distributor. There is no network marketing strategy that is a magic formula to growing your business. But there is something pretty close to it.
Targeted Prospects
The bottom line is...find a group of prospects who are firstly interested in your business model and secondly, getting them to take a look at it. You're probably cringing at this minute and thinking "Duh! Isn't that what everone does?"
Sure, but how many distributors are actually successful at achieving just one of these principles let alone both. If you get these two things spot on consistently, you cannot help your recruitment efforts and build your downline with this network marketing strategy.
Granted, there is still plenty of work to do down the track with people but that's for another article. For the time being, you need to find prospects interested in your business and then getting them to look at what you have to offer. The simplicity is mind boggling but when these two factors are married into one exciting things will happen.
Duplicating Your Efforts
Once you have these two recruiting strategies down to a fine art and you teach your team to follow your system to a tee and effectively then the magic begins to happen. It's a network marketing strategy which has stood the test of time and will continue to do so.
Despite all the good intentions of MLM uplines, the simple truth is, not everyone joining a network marketing business is going to be receptive to the system.
Is this a good thing? Who knows but with building an MLM business built on the principles of following a system I guess perhaps it's not in the best interests of those involved if everyone else is following the same network marketing strategy.
On the other hand, someone new coming into a business with fresh ideas shows a certain amount of initiative and that's what you like to see in a new distributor. There is no network marketing strategy that is a magic formula to growing your business. But there is something pretty close to it.
Targeted Prospects
The bottom line is...find a group of prospects who are firstly interested in your business model and secondly, getting them to take a look at it. You're probably cringing at this minute and thinking "Duh! Isn't that what everone does?"
Sure, but how many distributors are actually successful at achieving just one of these principles let alone both. If you get these two things spot on consistently, you cannot help your recruitment efforts and build your downline with this network marketing strategy.
Granted, there is still plenty of work to do down the track with people but that's for another article. For the time being, you need to find prospects interested in your business and then getting them to look at what you have to offer. The simplicity is mind boggling but when these two factors are married into one exciting things will happen.
Duplicating Your Efforts
Once you have these two recruiting strategies down to a fine art and you teach your team to follow your system to a tee and effectively then the magic begins to happen. It's a network marketing strategy which has stood the test of time and will continue to do so.
The Hard Truth About Multi Level Marketing
You might as well know that many companies are using multi level marketing plans to market their products. Can you make money with their MLM plans? First, let’s examine what they will tell you about their MLM products :
1.The world is your market place.
2.Our products is the best in the world and everyone will need it.
3.Our members are making thousands of dollars per month.
4.Your income is unlimited.
5.Work in your spare time/part time.
Now, let’s go to the brutal truth about what they claim:
1.Their products will be too expensive to buy because they need to pay the uplines when someone joins under them.
2.Its just sales pitch to say that their products is the best because if its really the best then it should be available in all shops and stores in the world.
3.The person who join early will get more money than those who join later due to the matrix calculations. Not all members will get thousands of dollars per month , many will get nothing if they did not recruit anyone or their down lines are not active promoting the products. In fact it is a fact that about 97% failed in their MLM ventures & only 3% succeeded.
4. You will get nothing if you or your up line did not recruit your downline continuously.
5.In MLM, working in your spare time is a false statement because you need so much time to recruit your downline and you even need to work harder than your permanent job.
How did I know about all this?
I knew because I join 2 MLM companies and what they said is the opposite of what I need to do in order to be successful in MLM.
To know more about MLM scam, type “MLM scam” in the search engine and read all you can in thousands of websites about MLM marketing scams.
1.The world is your market place.
2.Our products is the best in the world and everyone will need it.
3.Our members are making thousands of dollars per month.
4.Your income is unlimited.
5.Work in your spare time/part time.
Now, let’s go to the brutal truth about what they claim:
1.Their products will be too expensive to buy because they need to pay the uplines when someone joins under them.
2.Its just sales pitch to say that their products is the best because if its really the best then it should be available in all shops and stores in the world.
3.The person who join early will get more money than those who join later due to the matrix calculations. Not all members will get thousands of dollars per month , many will get nothing if they did not recruit anyone or their down lines are not active promoting the products. In fact it is a fact that about 97% failed in their MLM ventures & only 3% succeeded.
4. You will get nothing if you or your up line did not recruit your downline continuously.
5.In MLM, working in your spare time is a false statement because you need so much time to recruit your downline and you even need to work harder than your permanent job.
How did I know about all this?
I knew because I join 2 MLM companies and what they said is the opposite of what I need to do in order to be successful in MLM.
To know more about MLM scam, type “MLM scam” in the search engine and read all you can in thousands of websites about MLM marketing scams.
Getting Comfortable with Prospecting In Your Network Marketing Business
Prospecting is the water of life of your network marketing business. Quite simply, it is impossible to survive, let alone prosper, in network marketing if there is not a steady supply of new people joining your team. Network marketers can be separated into three distinct prospector groups and it is worthwhile knowing which group you are in now and whether you need to change groups or not.
The first group are those that enjoy prospecting. It is so natural to them they probably don't even think about it. These people can easily succeed in network marketing.
The second group are uncomfortable with prospecting but they have a great enough reason to succeed at their network marketing business to continue prospecting anyway. Very often these people will, through sheer persistence, soon discover that practice makes perfect and begin to enjoy prospecting, often moving into the first group.
The third group is made up of people dislike prospecting completely. Unfortunately very few have a strong enough reason for being in the network marketing business to succeed. The result is generally failure, but not always if they are prepared to have a rethink.
When you distil the difference between the three groups it boils right down to how comfortable a person is with prospecting. How quickly we achieve something is directly related to how quickly we become comfortable with what we have to do.
I was monitoring some drainage work being done on some land adjacent to our house the other day, and I got talking to the overseer. His ambition was to open up a bookshop. He loved books. He had a library of over 500 books in his home. Each evening he shut himself off from the rest of the household and with a glass of wine in his hand he would settle down in a comfortable chair to read a book.
As we talked, it became obvious to me that this man wasn't ready to open his book store. He didn't have the money to fund a business and the idea of raising the funds through a bank loan was uncomfortable to him - frightening, in fact. He had never attempted this before. He didn't know if he could do it. He didn't have a big enough reason to make him take action. It wasn't that he wasn't capable of being where he wanted to be, he wasn't totally comfortable with the thoughts and feelings yet.
As you know, whatever we do - our actions - are governed by our thoughts and feelings, so if you are uncomfortable with having to do something today, you will tend to put off doing it till sometime in the future. That is what the overseer was doing - procrastinating
How do you get comfortable with the thought of something? By having enough knowledge on how to do something, so that you know that when you take enough action you will achieve the results you want. That knowledge on how to do something is often referred to as know-how, or competence. Competence precedes confidence.
If you are uncomfortable with prospecting, you must decide whether your reason for building a network marketing business is strong enough to sustain you for long enough to gain the knowledge and the practice necessary to change you into a competent, confident prospector.
The first group are those that enjoy prospecting. It is so natural to them they probably don't even think about it. These people can easily succeed in network marketing.
The second group are uncomfortable with prospecting but they have a great enough reason to succeed at their network marketing business to continue prospecting anyway. Very often these people will, through sheer persistence, soon discover that practice makes perfect and begin to enjoy prospecting, often moving into the first group.
The third group is made up of people dislike prospecting completely. Unfortunately very few have a strong enough reason for being in the network marketing business to succeed. The result is generally failure, but not always if they are prepared to have a rethink.
When you distil the difference between the three groups it boils right down to how comfortable a person is with prospecting. How quickly we achieve something is directly related to how quickly we become comfortable with what we have to do.
I was monitoring some drainage work being done on some land adjacent to our house the other day, and I got talking to the overseer. His ambition was to open up a bookshop. He loved books. He had a library of over 500 books in his home. Each evening he shut himself off from the rest of the household and with a glass of wine in his hand he would settle down in a comfortable chair to read a book.
As we talked, it became obvious to me that this man wasn't ready to open his book store. He didn't have the money to fund a business and the idea of raising the funds through a bank loan was uncomfortable to him - frightening, in fact. He had never attempted this before. He didn't know if he could do it. He didn't have a big enough reason to make him take action. It wasn't that he wasn't capable of being where he wanted to be, he wasn't totally comfortable with the thoughts and feelings yet.
As you know, whatever we do - our actions - are governed by our thoughts and feelings, so if you are uncomfortable with having to do something today, you will tend to put off doing it till sometime in the future. That is what the overseer was doing - procrastinating
How do you get comfortable with the thought of something? By having enough knowledge on how to do something, so that you know that when you take enough action you will achieve the results you want. That knowledge on how to do something is often referred to as know-how, or competence. Competence precedes confidence.
If you are uncomfortable with prospecting, you must decide whether your reason for building a network marketing business is strong enough to sustain you for long enough to gain the knowledge and the practice necessary to change you into a competent, confident prospector.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Work From Home Success
Many of us share the dream of working from home. Those who do work from the comfort of their homes and make real money think it is the best, but for many, making money working from home is not as easy as it may seem. Regardless, this popular way to make money is a goal for thousands of people around the world.
Starting a business from home is easier said than done. It can be very complicated and complex. To make a full-time income working from home, you will need to work full-time hours. You must be a self-starter, be very organized and be prepared for grueling challenges. To ease your workload in the beginning, choose a business that is fun and interesting to you. If you know a little bit about the business, or if it is a business that you have always wanted to learn more about, chances are you will have much more success.
Being productive is probably the biggest challenge you will face when running your own business. Here are some helpful tips:
1. Make a list of what needs to be done in the order of importance. Make sure you do at least one item on this list each day.
2. Set up your workspace so that it is functional. Working from your kitchen table or the living room could be distracting so try to make your home office in a quiet space away from other family activity.
3. In order to be productive, you need to learn how to get the bulk of your work done via email and telephone.
4. Even though many work from home programs stress the fact that you can work when you want, you will be more productive if you set yourself up with a specific time schedule. The key is to not become too ridged otherwise; you are chaining yourself to your home office instead of your J.O.B. office. Working from home does allow you to be flexible.
Once you have yourself setup in a home office that is comfortable for you, learn to use the tools of the trade (i.e. email and telephone), your daily task list will be much more manageable and you can avoid many common pitfalls that happen to people who work from their homes.
Working from home is not as easy as you think. It may not be easier than your J.O.B.; in all honesty, it will probably be harder. Working from home is not for everyone. If you can find a suitable business, separate your work life from your home life and discipline yourself to be task oriented, you can be productive and have great success working from home.
Starting a business from home is easier said than done. It can be very complicated and complex. To make a full-time income working from home, you will need to work full-time hours. You must be a self-starter, be very organized and be prepared for grueling challenges. To ease your workload in the beginning, choose a business that is fun and interesting to you. If you know a little bit about the business, or if it is a business that you have always wanted to learn more about, chances are you will have much more success.
Being productive is probably the biggest challenge you will face when running your own business. Here are some helpful tips:
1. Make a list of what needs to be done in the order of importance. Make sure you do at least one item on this list each day.
2. Set up your workspace so that it is functional. Working from your kitchen table or the living room could be distracting so try to make your home office in a quiet space away from other family activity.
3. In order to be productive, you need to learn how to get the bulk of your work done via email and telephone.
4. Even though many work from home programs stress the fact that you can work when you want, you will be more productive if you set yourself up with a specific time schedule. The key is to not become too ridged otherwise; you are chaining yourself to your home office instead of your J.O.B. office. Working from home does allow you to be flexible.
Once you have yourself setup in a home office that is comfortable for you, learn to use the tools of the trade (i.e. email and telephone), your daily task list will be much more manageable and you can avoid many common pitfalls that happen to people who work from their homes.
Working from home is not as easy as you think. It may not be easier than your J.O.B.; in all honesty, it will probably be harder. Working from home is not for everyone. If you can find a suitable business, separate your work life from your home life and discipline yourself to be task oriented, you can be productive and have great success working from home.
Home Based MLM Business Opportunity - What These Opportunities Fail To Let You Know
Do you know the sad reality with any home based mlm business opportunity or network marketing business opportunity?
It’s the staggering failure rate!
It’s around 95% with only a dismal 5% achieving the ultimate success to quite their job, buy that dream home or go on that fabulous vacation. I personally know of a multi-level marketing company that pays out 80% of the commissions to only 20% of the people building their businesses for that company.
In theory, though, multi-level marketing business opportunities were never intended to have such a high dropout and failure rate. They were constructed for the average person, educated or not, that had a desire to change their current financial status, have a better quality of life or being able to spend more time doing the things they desire.
With the incredible power of the internet today, there has never been a better time to build an mlm business and I will explain more on this below.
Here’s some helpful POWER TIPS to help you in your quest to be successful in your own home based mlm business:
POWER TIP #1 - You need an automatic downline builder website.
BECAUSE IT IS ALL ABOUT DUPLICATION! DUPLICATION! DUPLICATION!
(sorry if it seems like I am shouting)
Why? If people that you sponsor or signup in your own organization can’t duplicate your efforts, how can you possibly build a successful mlm business?
This is where the true power of the internet can really help in the duplication process. First, the automatic downline builder should allow all your potential downline members to easily build their own businesses without much effort from you, being their sponsor. Second, a downline builder website should be made available for free to allow complete duplication for your members. In other words, the steps that you followed in building your business should be easily transferred to your members.
POWER TIP #2 - You need traffic to your automatic downline builder website.
Without traffic, building your mlm business is equally doomed.
There are many places on the Internet today (especially free places) to drive traffic to your website. You can begin with traffic exchanges, online classifieds, directories, and forums to name a few. Or if you have an advertising budget, you can do some pay per click ads, get listed in paid directories or pay a professional website submission service to help your downline builder website increase in the search engine rankings.
A good duplicatable downline builder system should have step by step information for you and your members on how to specifically drive traffic (especially targeted traffic) to your website.
In a nutshell, this can be a difference between sponsoring 10 people or sponsoring 5,000 people in your organization.
It’s the staggering failure rate!
It’s around 95% with only a dismal 5% achieving the ultimate success to quite their job, buy that dream home or go on that fabulous vacation. I personally know of a multi-level marketing company that pays out 80% of the commissions to only 20% of the people building their businesses for that company.
In theory, though, multi-level marketing business opportunities were never intended to have such a high dropout and failure rate. They were constructed for the average person, educated or not, that had a desire to change their current financial status, have a better quality of life or being able to spend more time doing the things they desire.
With the incredible power of the internet today, there has never been a better time to build an mlm business and I will explain more on this below.
Here’s some helpful POWER TIPS to help you in your quest to be successful in your own home based mlm business:
POWER TIP #1 - You need an automatic downline builder website.
BECAUSE IT IS ALL ABOUT DUPLICATION! DUPLICATION! DUPLICATION!
(sorry if it seems like I am shouting)
Why? If people that you sponsor or signup in your own organization can’t duplicate your efforts, how can you possibly build a successful mlm business?
This is where the true power of the internet can really help in the duplication process. First, the automatic downline builder should allow all your potential downline members to easily build their own businesses without much effort from you, being their sponsor. Second, a downline builder website should be made available for free to allow complete duplication for your members. In other words, the steps that you followed in building your business should be easily transferred to your members.
POWER TIP #2 - You need traffic to your automatic downline builder website.
Without traffic, building your mlm business is equally doomed.
There are many places on the Internet today (especially free places) to drive traffic to your website. You can begin with traffic exchanges, online classifieds, directories, and forums to name a few. Or if you have an advertising budget, you can do some pay per click ads, get listed in paid directories or pay a professional website submission service to help your downline builder website increase in the search engine rankings.
A good duplicatable downline builder system should have step by step information for you and your members on how to specifically drive traffic (especially targeted traffic) to your website.
In a nutshell, this can be a difference between sponsoring 10 people or sponsoring 5,000 people in your organization.
Don't Leave Money on the Table - How to Maximize Your Marketing Plan
Professionals in traditional business, medicine, law as well as network marketing, multilevel, mlm or, as I prefer to call it, “home based business” all have something in common. They’ve learned how to maximize and get the most out of their efforts by obtaining and applying specialized knowledge in their fields. They understand that to be called a “professional” they must be willing to continuously increase their skill set so that they stay at the top of their game. Professionals understand that the marketplace pays for value so whatever profit your business is generating right now indicates what value you currently bring to it.
If your business isn’t where you want it to be it is because you don’t know how. So how long can you continue to say you don’t know how before you decide to do something about what you don’t know how to do? How long are you willing to stay on the path of not knowing the shortcuts and strategies that will bring you a professional level of income? A few of you won’t stop until you find the answers to these important questions. You will rise up and do what it takes to get the results that increase your personal production of income as well as your residual income.
There are 2 types of people reading this right now. The first are the ones that think they know everything already. These people usually hit a brick wall with the end result being inactivity. The second are those of you who want more results and are willing to do whatever it takes to learn how to do the things you don’t know how to do. You are hungry to discover how somebody can go from nothing to 6 figures in a month, 3 months or 6 months. You want me to show you how I was able to make $250,000 my first year starting with nothing!
I’m going to teach you a few simple strategies that will help you activate your profit center so you too have a chance to go from nothing to six figures this year or even the next 6 months. I’m going to share simply what I’ve done over the past 17 years, not what I’ve read, not what I’ve heard somebody else do or what I thought was a good idea. You’ll discover how to find extra money in your compensation plan so that you’re not leaving any money on the table. These are the same strategies that I have personally used in business and trained thousands of others to help them advance into the 2% of the population that is financially independent.
First, you need to know the answers to your compensation plan questions. How much money do you make when you get someone started in your business opportunity? Go ahead and write this down. Do they need to start with some inventory or a certain level of service? What is the package you are focusing on? Too many options are not good because it breeds confusion which will lead your prospects to stop and “think it over”. I represented a company that had so many products that, when I looked at the order form I said, “oh my gosh, where do you start?” You don’t want new prospects to be overwhelmed with too many options.
To avoid confusion and help new prospects make a quick decision, I came up with a starter package that contained a specific amount of the company’s weight loss programs that contained about 5 of their products in each box. The beauty was in the simplicity in that new reps didn’t have to decide which out of hundreds of products to order. Top packages vary from company to company. Some top packages are $300 and some of my clients will offer up to $70,000 starter packages. The amount doesn’t matter. What matters is how your new reps can set themselves up to get the most out of your pay plan.
Ask your self the question, what is the best way for a new person to start inside of your business? Is the best at the bottom with nothing but a $40 dollar application? The answer is NO. Average, mediocre reps think it is ok to start people this way. I’m not here to help you be mediocre. Some of you are already really good at that. I apologize if that seems a bit harsh. I’m writing this to show you the way to make a LOT of money NOW not 10 years from now! It sickens me to see 98% of the population settle for a mediocre broke existence, that’s why I’m giving you this information.
Where there is no commitment, there is no gain. When people start at the bottom they don’t do anything. And if they do, they don’t make anything. Are they gonna stick around? If you don’t have them making money right away they will be gone within 90 days or less. You now have this new person in a poverty mindset that they can make a whole bunch of money with a tiny startup cost. That’s the lottery. Do you know anyone who’s won that lately?
Wherever you start your new prospects will duplicate throughout your business. Plain and simple, it is best for your new people to start at the top package. It will mean the difference between making $20 or $200 for the same time and effort … duh! What’s best for your newbie is for them to learn the skill of how to market your company’s top package. The fast track to 6 figures is duplicating people starting at the top package. Is it possible to bring in 10 people per day at the top package? You bet it is. I have clients doing it. They’re making more money in 3 days than when they were working 80 hours per week! If your $1,000 top package earns you $200, that’s $2,000 per day.
Some companies don’t offer a top package so create one, that’s what I did. Why did I direct people to start with a significant amount of product? So that they could go out and create a story right away. The most important thing for your brand new person is for them to make money. When a new person starts with $1,000 worth of product to market, the goal is for that product to be moved within 1-2 weeks. They have now turned a profit of $4-500. That would be their story. You have to set people up so that they can succeed.
How much money are you losing by not knowing how…
to get people to show up for a presentation?
to close 90% of the guests with an effective presentation?
to get somebody started at the top package?
to create momentum out of thin air?
You are losing 6 and 7 figures that are available to you NOW!
It’s your turn to become a professional in your home based business by knowing how to do it. A Professional will invest hundreds of thousands of dollars and up to 10 years of their lives to earn a 6 and 7 figure income. I guarantee you it won’t take that long when you invest in the specialized knowledge like many of my clients have done. I made more money than most doctors and lawyers in my twenties because I was willing to invest in the one thing that could never be taken away from me …my SKILL. Anything is possible when you know how!
Dani Johnson is an author, speaker, trainer and founder of Call to Freedom Int’l. She went from living out of her car with $2.03 to her name to earning her first million in two short years by the age of 23. Dani regularly consults, mentors, and coaches business owners, entrepreneurs, and career professionals on business, leadership development, personal achievement, marketing solutions, profit strategies, relationship marketing, and team development.
If your business isn’t where you want it to be it is because you don’t know how. So how long can you continue to say you don’t know how before you decide to do something about what you don’t know how to do? How long are you willing to stay on the path of not knowing the shortcuts and strategies that will bring you a professional level of income? A few of you won’t stop until you find the answers to these important questions. You will rise up and do what it takes to get the results that increase your personal production of income as well as your residual income.
There are 2 types of people reading this right now. The first are the ones that think they know everything already. These people usually hit a brick wall with the end result being inactivity. The second are those of you who want more results and are willing to do whatever it takes to learn how to do the things you don’t know how to do. You are hungry to discover how somebody can go from nothing to 6 figures in a month, 3 months or 6 months. You want me to show you how I was able to make $250,000 my first year starting with nothing!
I’m going to teach you a few simple strategies that will help you activate your profit center so you too have a chance to go from nothing to six figures this year or even the next 6 months. I’m going to share simply what I’ve done over the past 17 years, not what I’ve read, not what I’ve heard somebody else do or what I thought was a good idea. You’ll discover how to find extra money in your compensation plan so that you’re not leaving any money on the table. These are the same strategies that I have personally used in business and trained thousands of others to help them advance into the 2% of the population that is financially independent.
First, you need to know the answers to your compensation plan questions. How much money do you make when you get someone started in your business opportunity? Go ahead and write this down. Do they need to start with some inventory or a certain level of service? What is the package you are focusing on? Too many options are not good because it breeds confusion which will lead your prospects to stop and “think it over”. I represented a company that had so many products that, when I looked at the order form I said, “oh my gosh, where do you start?” You don’t want new prospects to be overwhelmed with too many options.
To avoid confusion and help new prospects make a quick decision, I came up with a starter package that contained a specific amount of the company’s weight loss programs that contained about 5 of their products in each box. The beauty was in the simplicity in that new reps didn’t have to decide which out of hundreds of products to order. Top packages vary from company to company. Some top packages are $300 and some of my clients will offer up to $70,000 starter packages. The amount doesn’t matter. What matters is how your new reps can set themselves up to get the most out of your pay plan.
Ask your self the question, what is the best way for a new person to start inside of your business? Is the best at the bottom with nothing but a $40 dollar application? The answer is NO. Average, mediocre reps think it is ok to start people this way. I’m not here to help you be mediocre. Some of you are already really good at that. I apologize if that seems a bit harsh. I’m writing this to show you the way to make a LOT of money NOW not 10 years from now! It sickens me to see 98% of the population settle for a mediocre broke existence, that’s why I’m giving you this information.
Where there is no commitment, there is no gain. When people start at the bottom they don’t do anything. And if they do, they don’t make anything. Are they gonna stick around? If you don’t have them making money right away they will be gone within 90 days or less. You now have this new person in a poverty mindset that they can make a whole bunch of money with a tiny startup cost. That’s the lottery. Do you know anyone who’s won that lately?
Wherever you start your new prospects will duplicate throughout your business. Plain and simple, it is best for your new people to start at the top package. It will mean the difference between making $20 or $200 for the same time and effort … duh! What’s best for your newbie is for them to learn the skill of how to market your company’s top package. The fast track to 6 figures is duplicating people starting at the top package. Is it possible to bring in 10 people per day at the top package? You bet it is. I have clients doing it. They’re making more money in 3 days than when they were working 80 hours per week! If your $1,000 top package earns you $200, that’s $2,000 per day.
Some companies don’t offer a top package so create one, that’s what I did. Why did I direct people to start with a significant amount of product? So that they could go out and create a story right away. The most important thing for your brand new person is for them to make money. When a new person starts with $1,000 worth of product to market, the goal is for that product to be moved within 1-2 weeks. They have now turned a profit of $4-500. That would be their story. You have to set people up so that they can succeed.
How much money are you losing by not knowing how…
to get people to show up for a presentation?
to close 90% of the guests with an effective presentation?
to get somebody started at the top package?
to create momentum out of thin air?
You are losing 6 and 7 figures that are available to you NOW!
It’s your turn to become a professional in your home based business by knowing how to do it. A Professional will invest hundreds of thousands of dollars and up to 10 years of their lives to earn a 6 and 7 figure income. I guarantee you it won’t take that long when you invest in the specialized knowledge like many of my clients have done. I made more money than most doctors and lawyers in my twenties because I was willing to invest in the one thing that could never be taken away from me …my SKILL. Anything is possible when you know how!
Dani Johnson is an author, speaker, trainer and founder of Call to Freedom Int’l. She went from living out of her car with $2.03 to her name to earning her first million in two short years by the age of 23. Dani regularly consults, mentors, and coaches business owners, entrepreneurs, and career professionals on business, leadership development, personal achievement, marketing solutions, profit strategies, relationship marketing, and team development.
MLM Training and MLM Lead Generation - How Much Has This Mistake Cost You?
MLM leaders usually use systematised MLM training to create pyramid recruiters.
I know it's a bold statement that strikes at the heart of distributors and upsets them. But this is an important lesson you should learn, and I'm not trying to make friends by teaching it.
MLM network marketing companies such as USANA, Herbalife, and ACN are all legal businesses because they carry quality products/services. They make money by distributors selling more product. Notice though, the emphasis is on product, not recruiting.
Yet MLM is often marketed as a pyramid.
Why? Leaders find it easier to recruit new people than to try to teach someone with zero sales or marketing experience how to market right. They just keep looking for better people. It's that simple.
As a result, the newbie distributor is trained on the same emphasis. They try selling the product at first, but their leads don't buy because the distributor has to educate the prospect in order to justify the (usually) high price.
Because of their lack of experience, they don't know how to justify the price. They say things like, "It's not about the product, I don't care about the product, you can make a lot of money with this."
Recruiting people on the hype of money talks to the natural greed of humans--getting something great for nothing. This receives a lot more interest as well as scepticism.
In addition, there is a cash incentive for the MLM distributor. Recruiting new distributors earns bonus commissions from the high-priced starter kits. And let's not forget that there is the recurring "autoship" order which new distributors are now forced to purchase monthly to remain eligible to make that "$10,000/week".
Essentially, new MLM distributors who have never owned a business before are not use to doing work without pay for longer than 2 weeks. When they don't get the "now" cash they quit anyway. It's no way to build a long-term business.
On the other hand, if distributors were to begin by learning to market an inexpensive retail product that educates their prospect instead, they would see "now" cash in their first few days.
Remember that MLM is about selling products. You should be learning to get 5 new product customers for every one distributor you recruit.
You then train the one new distributor to get 5 new product customers and one new distributor.
In this way, you stop operating your MLM business like a pyramid and you run a business with integrity. Make sure when you receive your MLM training that you first master selling a retail product, followed by learning to enrol repeat customers, before you finally learn to recruit new MLM distributors.
I know it's a bold statement that strikes at the heart of distributors and upsets them. But this is an important lesson you should learn, and I'm not trying to make friends by teaching it.
MLM network marketing companies such as USANA, Herbalife, and ACN are all legal businesses because they carry quality products/services. They make money by distributors selling more product. Notice though, the emphasis is on product, not recruiting.
Yet MLM is often marketed as a pyramid.
Why? Leaders find it easier to recruit new people than to try to teach someone with zero sales or marketing experience how to market right. They just keep looking for better people. It's that simple.
As a result, the newbie distributor is trained on the same emphasis. They try selling the product at first, but their leads don't buy because the distributor has to educate the prospect in order to justify the (usually) high price.
Because of their lack of experience, they don't know how to justify the price. They say things like, "It's not about the product, I don't care about the product, you can make a lot of money with this."
Recruiting people on the hype of money talks to the natural greed of humans--getting something great for nothing. This receives a lot more interest as well as scepticism.
In addition, there is a cash incentive for the MLM distributor. Recruiting new distributors earns bonus commissions from the high-priced starter kits. And let's not forget that there is the recurring "autoship" order which new distributors are now forced to purchase monthly to remain eligible to make that "$10,000/week".
Essentially, new MLM distributors who have never owned a business before are not use to doing work without pay for longer than 2 weeks. When they don't get the "now" cash they quit anyway. It's no way to build a long-term business.
On the other hand, if distributors were to begin by learning to market an inexpensive retail product that educates their prospect instead, they would see "now" cash in their first few days.
Remember that MLM is about selling products. You should be learning to get 5 new product customers for every one distributor you recruit.
You then train the one new distributor to get 5 new product customers and one new distributor.
In this way, you stop operating your MLM business like a pyramid and you run a business with integrity. Make sure when you receive your MLM training that you first master selling a retail product, followed by learning to enrol repeat customers, before you finally learn to recruit new MLM distributors.
MLM Training and Quality MLM Lead Generation - 4 Tips For A Product With Magnetic Lead Pulling Power
So you're looking for a quality MLM lead source or you're attempting to use your own MLM lead generation efforts to get targeted leads. Ponder, for a moment, the following question:
Who's more likely to join your business and soak up everything in your MLM training program - Your couch potato mate or someone who attends seminars on wealth creation and who bought The One Minute Millionaire, Think and Grow Rich, and Rich Dad Poor Dad?
Exactly. Anyone actively looking for and buying information on success wants a solution you have. As a result, the quality of leads or prospects you get is going to be tied to the type of information you promote.
That's why I NEVER cater to weakness when recruiting. Neither should you.
What were you searching for when you came across this article? I bet you were looking for solutions to help you grow your downline. Were you looking for MLM training, prospecting tips, or leads?
I don't know how you got here, but whatever it was, you're reading this right now because you are a leader.
Those are the kind of people you should be targeting.
So let's get specific and talk about 4 criteria you MUST have in your front-end product if you want to A. attract high quality MLM leads, and B. make "now" income off even the prospects who don't join right away.
1. HIGH DEMAND:
* You're statistically more likely to sell information on how to solve a problem than to actually sell the solution (eg, more people will read a book on how good nutrition helps control joint pain than are prepared to buy and use an advanced nutrition product).
* Attracts a lot of qualified leads giving you a large audience for your product or business pitch = more income.
* Higher conversion ratio of MLM leads into buyers (big problem => bigger need for an immediate solution) = faster income.
2. INEXPENSIVE:
* Higher conversion ratio - people find it easier to part with $20-$50 than $200 or $2,000, especially their first time buying from you = front-end income
* You want more people to buy the "sampler" front-end product because it creates trust and repeat sales = front-end + back-end income
3. SOLD AUTOMATICALLY:
* This keeps it simple for new distributors who have no sales experience. The system sells for them, they only need to master advertising to begin with.
* Leverages your time because the front-end product is sold around the clock, qualifying prospects for you. That way you're only spending time talking to the ones willing to take action -- not the tyre-kickers.
4. RELATED TO PRIMARY BUSINESS:
* Every lead, whether they join your biz or not is a lead that raised their hand to say they are interested in your expertise. So you make sales off related products and services too = more front-end income.
* Build your business by enrolling whoever qualifies for your time = front-end + passive + leveraged + fast-start income.
If you create an informational product that satisfies all the above 4 criteria, you will collect a lot of income you've been missing out on. At the same time, you've built a quality MLM lead source that attracts the right prospects to you.
Who's more likely to join your business and soak up everything in your MLM training program - Your couch potato mate or someone who attends seminars on wealth creation and who bought The One Minute Millionaire, Think and Grow Rich, and Rich Dad Poor Dad?
Exactly. Anyone actively looking for and buying information on success wants a solution you have. As a result, the quality of leads or prospects you get is going to be tied to the type of information you promote.
That's why I NEVER cater to weakness when recruiting. Neither should you.
What were you searching for when you came across this article? I bet you were looking for solutions to help you grow your downline. Were you looking for MLM training, prospecting tips, or leads?
I don't know how you got here, but whatever it was, you're reading this right now because you are a leader.
Those are the kind of people you should be targeting.
So let's get specific and talk about 4 criteria you MUST have in your front-end product if you want to A. attract high quality MLM leads, and B. make "now" income off even the prospects who don't join right away.
1. HIGH DEMAND:
* You're statistically more likely to sell information on how to solve a problem than to actually sell the solution (eg, more people will read a book on how good nutrition helps control joint pain than are prepared to buy and use an advanced nutrition product).
* Attracts a lot of qualified leads giving you a large audience for your product or business pitch = more income.
* Higher conversion ratio of MLM leads into buyers (big problem => bigger need for an immediate solution) = faster income.
2. INEXPENSIVE:
* Higher conversion ratio - people find it easier to part with $20-$50 than $200 or $2,000, especially their first time buying from you = front-end income
* You want more people to buy the "sampler" front-end product because it creates trust and repeat sales = front-end + back-end income
3. SOLD AUTOMATICALLY:
* This keeps it simple for new distributors who have no sales experience. The system sells for them, they only need to master advertising to begin with.
* Leverages your time because the front-end product is sold around the clock, qualifying prospects for you. That way you're only spending time talking to the ones willing to take action -- not the tyre-kickers.
4. RELATED TO PRIMARY BUSINESS:
* Every lead, whether they join your biz or not is a lead that raised their hand to say they are interested in your expertise. So you make sales off related products and services too = more front-end income.
* Build your business by enrolling whoever qualifies for your time = front-end + passive + leveraged + fast-start income.
If you create an informational product that satisfies all the above 4 criteria, you will collect a lot of income you've been missing out on. At the same time, you've built a quality MLM lead source that attracts the right prospects to you.
Network Marketing Tip - How To Create Your Own Sizzle Call From Scratch
You can make your own sizzle call for any business. The easiest way to do that is by recording exactly how you want the call to sound on your PC and then playing that recording into your telephone as the outgoing message for your sizzle call.
You could spend a lot on high-end audio recording software to create your sizzle call but there are two great programs that can accomplish the same thing and they're both free.
The first one is called AudioGrabber. Do a Google search for AudioGrabber and you should have no problem finding it.
AudioGrabber is nice because you can use it to capture any audio that goes through your computer speakers. To do that, just go to File | Line in Sampling. You can save these audio files as WAV files.
If you want to save them as MP3s you have to install a special DLL (called the LAME DLL) on your computer. To find out how to do that, go to the Links page on the AudioGrabber site.
I've used AudioGrabber to turn phone teleconferences into MP3s that I can listen to on my iPod. To do that, I hook up a microphone to my computer's audio input, place it next to my phone headset, turn on Line In Sampling in AudioGrabber and start recording. Then I save it as an MP3 (because I have the LAME DLL installed) and transfer it to my iPod.
The other free audio program you should get is an audio editing program called Audacity. You can download Audacity for free from the Sourceforge site.
Now you can open one of the audio files you created with AudioGrabber and edit it with Audacity. You can do pretty much anything you can imagine: you can delete dead spaces or unwanted sounds, add noise effects, copy and paste sounds together, work with multiple tracks, etc.
Give yourself some time to become familiar with how Audacity works. If you can cut and paste and delete in Microsoft Word you can start working with Audacity. But it has a ton of features so don't get intimidated.
I've used AudioGrabber and Audacity to put together lots of sizzle calls. Basically, I find testimonials of people talking about my products or business and I record them with AudioGrabber. Then I pull those recordings into Audacity and clean them up (get rid of dead silence and "ums" and "ahs").
I record myself giving a quick intro and quick outro for the testimonials. I record myself directly into Audacity but I could go through AudioGrabber, too.
Then I use Audacity to stitch all the tracks together.
To hear an example of one of my calls, listen to this one:
1-866-598-4028
Once you have the audio for your sizzle call you need to have a good voicemail service to use it with.
The voicemail service I use is with VoiceNation. I like VoiceNation because they have toll free voicemail for about $5 a month. The features of their service include unlimited length greeting, Caller ID, monthly call detail reports and you receive an e-mail every time someone leaves you a message.
Once my sizzle call is ready, I record it as my outgoing greeting with my VoiceNation service and I'm ready to start taking calls.
Follow these steps and soon you'll be creating your own sizzle calls, too!
You could spend a lot on high-end audio recording software to create your sizzle call but there are two great programs that can accomplish the same thing and they're both free.
The first one is called AudioGrabber. Do a Google search for AudioGrabber and you should have no problem finding it.
AudioGrabber is nice because you can use it to capture any audio that goes through your computer speakers. To do that, just go to File | Line in Sampling. You can save these audio files as WAV files.
If you want to save them as MP3s you have to install a special DLL (called the LAME DLL) on your computer. To find out how to do that, go to the Links page on the AudioGrabber site.
I've used AudioGrabber to turn phone teleconferences into MP3s that I can listen to on my iPod. To do that, I hook up a microphone to my computer's audio input, place it next to my phone headset, turn on Line In Sampling in AudioGrabber and start recording. Then I save it as an MP3 (because I have the LAME DLL installed) and transfer it to my iPod.
The other free audio program you should get is an audio editing program called Audacity. You can download Audacity for free from the Sourceforge site.
Now you can open one of the audio files you created with AudioGrabber and edit it with Audacity. You can do pretty much anything you can imagine: you can delete dead spaces or unwanted sounds, add noise effects, copy and paste sounds together, work with multiple tracks, etc.
Give yourself some time to become familiar with how Audacity works. If you can cut and paste and delete in Microsoft Word you can start working with Audacity. But it has a ton of features so don't get intimidated.
I've used AudioGrabber and Audacity to put together lots of sizzle calls. Basically, I find testimonials of people talking about my products or business and I record them with AudioGrabber. Then I pull those recordings into Audacity and clean them up (get rid of dead silence and "ums" and "ahs").
I record myself giving a quick intro and quick outro for the testimonials. I record myself directly into Audacity but I could go through AudioGrabber, too.
Then I use Audacity to stitch all the tracks together.
To hear an example of one of my calls, listen to this one:
1-866-598-4028
Once you have the audio for your sizzle call you need to have a good voicemail service to use it with.
The voicemail service I use is with VoiceNation. I like VoiceNation because they have toll free voicemail for about $5 a month. The features of their service include unlimited length greeting, Caller ID, monthly call detail reports and you receive an e-mail every time someone leaves you a message.
Once my sizzle call is ready, I record it as my outgoing greeting with my VoiceNation service and I'm ready to start taking calls.
Follow these steps and soon you'll be creating your own sizzle calls, too!
Friday, February 09, 2007
Computer & Network Security: Two Anti Virus Strategies
Rootkits and advanced spyware have fundamentally changed the playing field says Mike Danseglio, Program Manager in the Security Solutions group at Microsoft, according to Fox News’ “Microsoft Official: Malware Recovery Not Always Possible” by Ryan Naraine, reporting from InfoSec World on April 5th, 2006. “When you are dealing with rootkits and some advanced spyware programs, the only solution is to rebuild from scratch. In some cases, there really is no way to recover without nuking the systems from orbit," states Mr. Danseglio.
He cites a recent instance where an unnamed branch of the U.S. government struggled to design an automated process to wipe and rebuild 2,000 infected client machines. "In that case, it was so severe that trying to recover was meaningless.” While training costs can be high, they pale in comparison to the mounting expenses incurred by detecting damage, recovering lost work and rebuilding compromised systems--let alone “nuking” and starting all over again from scratch.
Rootkits, for example, use kernel hooks which often make them undetectable. Because of this, they are able to hide malware programs, making them the weapon of choice to compromise computer systems. Mr. Danseglio adds that IT administrators may never even know if the entire rootkit has been successfully removed. The cleanup process is "just way too hard."
"We've seen the self-healing malware that actually detects that you're trying to get rid of it. You remove it, and the next time you look in that directory, it's sitting there. It can simply reinstall itself," he said. "Detection is difficult, and remediation is often impossible," Danseglio declared. "If it doesn't crash your system or cause your system to freeze, how do you know it's there? The answer is you just don't know," he explained. "Lots of times, you never see the infection occur in real time, and you don't see the malware lingering or running in the background.
Fortunately, however, the alternative, training, is easier than it ever was, thanks to new online technologies such distance learning. The important point to remember is that, with today’s viruses. all employees--not just IT people--must be trained.
He cites a recent instance where an unnamed branch of the U.S. government struggled to design an automated process to wipe and rebuild 2,000 infected client machines. "In that case, it was so severe that trying to recover was meaningless.” While training costs can be high, they pale in comparison to the mounting expenses incurred by detecting damage, recovering lost work and rebuilding compromised systems--let alone “nuking” and starting all over again from scratch.
Rootkits, for example, use kernel hooks which often make them undetectable. Because of this, they are able to hide malware programs, making them the weapon of choice to compromise computer systems. Mr. Danseglio adds that IT administrators may never even know if the entire rootkit has been successfully removed. The cleanup process is "just way too hard."
"We've seen the self-healing malware that actually detects that you're trying to get rid of it. You remove it, and the next time you look in that directory, it's sitting there. It can simply reinstall itself," he said. "Detection is difficult, and remediation is often impossible," Danseglio declared. "If it doesn't crash your system or cause your system to freeze, how do you know it's there? The answer is you just don't know," he explained. "Lots of times, you never see the infection occur in real time, and you don't see the malware lingering or running in the background.
Fortunately, however, the alternative, training, is easier than it ever was, thanks to new online technologies such distance learning. The important point to remember is that, with today’s viruses. all employees--not just IT people--must be trained.
Wireless Network Security
Why Use Security?
If someone is able to wireless connect to your network from the road, near by parking lot, or adjacent house here are some things to consider. If they use your Internet connection for illegal activity, YOU are liable, not them. Also, once they are on your network, they may be able to open, delete, or change every file on your computers. There is also the possibility that the unauthorized user could spread viruses without them even realizing it.
So What Should I Do?
There are many ways to secure your connection. We are focusing on wireless security, so we will make a simple adjustment to your router. The simplest way to secure your connection is by using WEP (Wireless Encryption Protocol). Before I go any further, many hackers can find ways around this protection. It is not the best choice for large businesses (over 100 employees), but for home and small business users, this will work just fine.
Step 1 (Configure router):
Depending on your router, the specifics of this step will differ. You need to log into your router. This is done by opening your Internet Browser (Internet Explorer, FireFox, Safari, etc.) and putting the IP Address of the router in the address bar (the address bar is where you type web sites such as google.com). This IP address will either be 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1; if you are unsure try both. Once you type the correct one in (and press 'Enter'), a pop-up will ask you for your user name and password. If you have never changed your password, then a default was set for you by the manufacturer. This is not the same user name and password as your computer or Internet Service Provider. If you do not know your default password, find it by clicking here.
Once logged in, look for the wireless section. This is often a button or tab found on the main page. For DLink routers there will be a button on the left menu. Now look for wireless security. For DLink routers it will be on this page. You should see a drop-down-menu. Select WEP (you may also see other choices such as WAP). Depending on your router, you will see some or all of these options. Set them as follows:
Authentication: Open
WEP Encryption: 64bit
Key Type: Hex
Key1: PICK A 10 DIGIT NUMBER
The above 'Key' is your wireless network password. Anyone that uses your wireless connection will need to know it. Normally, you are only required to put it in your computer once and then it will remember it.
Step 2 (Computer Setup):
Now go to your wireless computer and try to connect to the network, it will ask you for the key. Enter it just as you did in the router.
Step 3 (Advanced Security):
If you would like more security then you can change some of the other options in the router. For example, instead of 64bit choose 128bit. Or instead of HEX choose ASCII. All routers are different and offer different levels of security. Basically, going to 128bit requires a longer password so it is harder for others to guess and going to ASCII requires a password with letters, not just numbers, so there are more possible passwords. You can change this around as much as you like and I do suggest changing to either 128bit or ASCII.
If someone is able to wireless connect to your network from the road, near by parking lot, or adjacent house here are some things to consider. If they use your Internet connection for illegal activity, YOU are liable, not them. Also, once they are on your network, they may be able to open, delete, or change every file on your computers. There is also the possibility that the unauthorized user could spread viruses without them even realizing it.
So What Should I Do?
There are many ways to secure your connection. We are focusing on wireless security, so we will make a simple adjustment to your router. The simplest way to secure your connection is by using WEP (Wireless Encryption Protocol). Before I go any further, many hackers can find ways around this protection. It is not the best choice for large businesses (over 100 employees), but for home and small business users, this will work just fine.
Step 1 (Configure router):
Depending on your router, the specifics of this step will differ. You need to log into your router. This is done by opening your Internet Browser (Internet Explorer, FireFox, Safari, etc.) and putting the IP Address of the router in the address bar (the address bar is where you type web sites such as google.com). This IP address will either be 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1; if you are unsure try both. Once you type the correct one in (and press 'Enter'), a pop-up will ask you for your user name and password. If you have never changed your password, then a default was set for you by the manufacturer. This is not the same user name and password as your computer or Internet Service Provider. If you do not know your default password, find it by clicking here.
Once logged in, look for the wireless section. This is often a button or tab found on the main page. For DLink routers there will be a button on the left menu. Now look for wireless security. For DLink routers it will be on this page. You should see a drop-down-menu. Select WEP (you may also see other choices such as WAP). Depending on your router, you will see some or all of these options. Set them as follows:
Authentication: Open
WEP Encryption: 64bit
Key Type: Hex
Key1: PICK A 10 DIGIT NUMBER
The above 'Key' is your wireless network password. Anyone that uses your wireless connection will need to know it. Normally, you are only required to put it in your computer once and then it will remember it.
Step 2 (Computer Setup):
Now go to your wireless computer and try to connect to the network, it will ask you for the key. Enter it just as you did in the router.
Step 3 (Advanced Security):
If you would like more security then you can change some of the other options in the router. For example, instead of 64bit choose 128bit. Or instead of HEX choose ASCII. All routers are different and offer different levels of security. Basically, going to 128bit requires a longer password so it is harder for others to guess and going to ASCII requires a password with letters, not just numbers, so there are more possible passwords. You can change this around as much as you like and I do suggest changing to either 128bit or ASCII.
Home Network Security Revealed
Some home computer users have become experts without knowing it. Just a short time ago terms such as "wireless" and "router" were only known by computer professionals and experts. Not so any more. These days switches, hubs, Ethernet cards, firewalls, routers, and other buzzwords related to networking have become common in many homes.
Vendors have created new sources of income for themselves by making the installation of network devices cost efficient and easy. This is great value to home PC users by allowing more than one home computer to share resources with others without having to move the files physically or having to move the connections on printers. The entire family can now use one network to connect to the Internet, many times without having to drag wires all around the house.
The one thing that home users are lacking is education is how to secure themselves from hackers.
However, there is no need to panic. Settings that come from the vendor are very good. Now, here's a bit of guidance...
A common acronym for computer experts is "RTFM". You can just ignore the middle letter for now. The first letter stands for "read", the T for "the" and the last letter stands for "Manual". Doing this will give you information about standard settings that are useful about configuration. Don't forget to reread it.
PORTS FOR ROUTERS
The first thing that you should do is change your password. You should also rename the account for the administrator. This is because the next person who bought the same computer model as you did has the same information and might not be as trustworthy as you would like to think.
A standard port of HTTP is Port 80. This port is needed if you plan on browsing the Internet. A port is number for the network that is used by software to keep track of Internet traffic. You'll need to have this port open for IP addresses and any ranges that are going out of your computer. By doing this only those computers you know can generate any Internet traffic on your home network.
If you get your IP address in an automatic fashion the above tip will won't be useful for you. For example, most use DHCP. However, there are other service providers who will let you buy one static IP address for the router. It's this address that should have access going out to the Internet.
But just why should you care about traffic that is going out? For the simple reason that you might infect other computers. This is why you need to practice networking that is safe so that you don't spread any viruses. If you have Internet access that is wireless you won't always know who is on your same network. And even if you're not at home anyone can sneak in through your network.
You'll need to have Port 80 open for all traffic coming in from the Internet. Or you might want to track only those websites that have an IP address. This might be impossible though.
You need to open up Port 25 for outgoing mail if you're going to be using an email client that is a desktop application rather then being browser based. As well, you'll have to open up port 110 for incoming mail.
And most of the time, that will be all....
If you're using a client that is a desktop FTP or manual (both of which should be avoided if you can due to poor security) you'll need other ports. Most of the time these port numbers are easy to find. Try to limit their use. The general rule for network security is that you should keep as many ports as you can closed and only use those that you really need to use.
The above may sound a bit like the settings in a firewall. This is because firewalls and routers have some of the same functions. A firewall will allow or prevent Internet traffic while a router will direct it.
WIRELESS NETWORKS
There's a bit more that you have to do if you have a wireless network. Default settings will sometimes let anyone in range of the network have access. This means that not only someone in your household will be on the Internet, the neighbour across the street will as well. And this includes the hacker.
Vendors have created new sources of income for themselves by making the installation of network devices cost efficient and easy. This is great value to home PC users by allowing more than one home computer to share resources with others without having to move the files physically or having to move the connections on printers. The entire family can now use one network to connect to the Internet, many times without having to drag wires all around the house.
The one thing that home users are lacking is education is how to secure themselves from hackers.
However, there is no need to panic. Settings that come from the vendor are very good. Now, here's a bit of guidance...
A common acronym for computer experts is "RTFM". You can just ignore the middle letter for now. The first letter stands for "read", the T for "the" and the last letter stands for "Manual". Doing this will give you information about standard settings that are useful about configuration. Don't forget to reread it.
PORTS FOR ROUTERS
The first thing that you should do is change your password. You should also rename the account for the administrator. This is because the next person who bought the same computer model as you did has the same information and might not be as trustworthy as you would like to think.
A standard port of HTTP is Port 80. This port is needed if you plan on browsing the Internet. A port is number for the network that is used by software to keep track of Internet traffic. You'll need to have this port open for IP addresses and any ranges that are going out of your computer. By doing this only those computers you know can generate any Internet traffic on your home network.
If you get your IP address in an automatic fashion the above tip will won't be useful for you. For example, most use DHCP. However, there are other service providers who will let you buy one static IP address for the router. It's this address that should have access going out to the Internet.
But just why should you care about traffic that is going out? For the simple reason that you might infect other computers. This is why you need to practice networking that is safe so that you don't spread any viruses. If you have Internet access that is wireless you won't always know who is on your same network. And even if you're not at home anyone can sneak in through your network.
You'll need to have Port 80 open for all traffic coming in from the Internet. Or you might want to track only those websites that have an IP address. This might be impossible though.
You need to open up Port 25 for outgoing mail if you're going to be using an email client that is a desktop application rather then being browser based. As well, you'll have to open up port 110 for incoming mail.
And most of the time, that will be all....
If you're using a client that is a desktop FTP or manual (both of which should be avoided if you can due to poor security) you'll need other ports. Most of the time these port numbers are easy to find. Try to limit their use. The general rule for network security is that you should keep as many ports as you can closed and only use those that you really need to use.
The above may sound a bit like the settings in a firewall. This is because firewalls and routers have some of the same functions. A firewall will allow or prevent Internet traffic while a router will direct it.
WIRELESS NETWORKS
There's a bit more that you have to do if you have a wireless network. Default settings will sometimes let anyone in range of the network have access. This means that not only someone in your household will be on the Internet, the neighbour across the street will as well. And this includes the hacker.
Network Security Software
Networking is all about sharing programs and is highly important in a company's computer system. Before, networks were secure because they were closed-in systems. But nowadays, hackers can easily access these networks due to broader availability and inexpensive broadband connections, such as DSL and cable. That is why companies should have network security software.
Network security software is used to protect sensitive data and information on your company's system. It also works wonders in securing your system, and ensures that it functions effectively and at maximum capacity. Some types of network security software are network security software scanners, network monitoring software and network-wide software used for monitoring an event log.
The network security software scanner is used to check your computer system for possible security vulnerabilities by scanning the entire network for missing security areas, service packs, open shares, open ports and user accounts that are unused. When this software detects all this information, you can lock down your computer system against intruders and hackers.
Another type of network security software is network-monitoring software. This is used to monitor your server and the entire computer system for failures, and to allow administrators to fix and identify these failures before the computer users report them. If there is a failure, the user can be alerted via email, SMS or pager. After this, the software reboots the machine, restarts a service or automatically runs a script.
Lastly, the software used for monitoring an event log is used to detect intrusion on the event log and management. What this software does is analyzes and archives the event logs of all machines in the computer system, at the same time sending alerts of attacks, critical events and other issues on security.
All these are necessary to secure your company's computer system. But keep in mind that one of the most important features that your network security software should have is ease of use. So, you must take time and carefully select the software that you will use in managing your network and keeping it secured.
Network security software is used to protect sensitive data and information on your company's system. It also works wonders in securing your system, and ensures that it functions effectively and at maximum capacity. Some types of network security software are network security software scanners, network monitoring software and network-wide software used for monitoring an event log.
The network security software scanner is used to check your computer system for possible security vulnerabilities by scanning the entire network for missing security areas, service packs, open shares, open ports and user accounts that are unused. When this software detects all this information, you can lock down your computer system against intruders and hackers.
Another type of network security software is network-monitoring software. This is used to monitor your server and the entire computer system for failures, and to allow administrators to fix and identify these failures before the computer users report them. If there is a failure, the user can be alerted via email, SMS or pager. After this, the software reboots the machine, restarts a service or automatically runs a script.
Lastly, the software used for monitoring an event log is used to detect intrusion on the event log and management. What this software does is analyzes and archives the event logs of all machines in the computer system, at the same time sending alerts of attacks, critical events and other issues on security.
All these are necessary to secure your company's computer system. But keep in mind that one of the most important features that your network security software should have is ease of use. So, you must take time and carefully select the software that you will use in managing your network and keeping it secured.
Wireless Network Security
Although it is relatively easy for SOHO (Small Office/Home Office) and home users to set up their own Wireless networks, the default settings on a WAP (Wireless Access Point) usually come with no security configured.
As a result, if you leave these settings as they are, then this WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) you are creating can leave you open to hackers who want to compromise your computer and/or steal information from it.
As a result it is essential that you take the necessary steps to secure your Wireless network.
Why do you need wireless security?
In a traditional wired network you need to have physical access to the network. You either need access to a cable that is already connected to the LAN, or be able to attach a cable to say a patch panel or switch port that will create a new physical connection for you.
With a wireless network, however, you have a radio signal that permeates the very air around us. Because of the broadcast nature of WLANs, it is far easier to access this sort of network, especially when the signal is usually powerful enough to emanate outside of a building and so potentially provide network access to those outside.
Another benefit of a cabled network is that the transfer of data between computers remains within the wires themselves. Contrast this with a Wireless network, in which the data is now easier to intercept and/or corrupt.
As a result you need to secure your wireless network in the following ways:
* Request user authentication to prevent unauthorized access to your network.
* Use data privacy to protect the integrity and privacy of the data being transmitted.
How do you secure your Wireless network?
1. Change the SSID When you configure your WAP change the default SSID (Service Set IDentifier). Don’t pick something that easily identifies you, like your name, street address, etc. Instead pick something complicated that is difficult to guess and is made up of a mixture of letters and numbers e.g. m6jvUm9mHuQfA4h5tgCH
2. Disable SSID broadcasting In addition, make sure your WAP isn’t configured to broadcast your SSID. Although this is not a secure method of protecting your network, it does mean your WLAN is not so openly available to intrusion.
3. Configure WPA or WPA2 To authorize access to your Wireless network you should choose a security setting of WPA-PSK (Wi-Fi Protected Access Pre-Shared Key) or better yet WPA2-PSK if available.
Although Windows XP supports both of these security methods, you still need a wireless adapter that supports WPA as well.
NOTE: WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) is the earlier attempt to secure wireless connections and it is not secure enough. If this is all your WPA has to offer then you should either upgrade the firmware on it, if this will then give you WPA, or purchase a newer device.
You also need to choose a password for WPA-PSK. Like your SSID, this too needs to be complicated and so not easy to guess.
4. Restrict access based on MAC authentication Your wireless network adapter has a physical address called a MAC (Media Access Control) address. You can take advantage of this by configuring your WAP to only allow access to those MAC addresses you want to give access to your network and so restrict which computers can get connected. Although a MAC address can still be spoofed, this is yet another obstacle to deter the casual hacker.
5. Change the administrator account/password Your WAP will come with a standard administrator account and password. So anyone who has bought the same device will know what these are. Change the password to one that isn’t easy to guess and if possible change the name of the administrator account as well.
Summary
A Wireless network is a great way to get Internet access without having to lay down cabling, but out of the box these are completely insecure.
With the threat of hackers, viruses and spyware unlikely to go away you must secure your Wireless network if you want to keep your computer and the data on it safe.
As a result, if you leave these settings as they are, then this WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) you are creating can leave you open to hackers who want to compromise your computer and/or steal information from it.
As a result it is essential that you take the necessary steps to secure your Wireless network.
Why do you need wireless security?
In a traditional wired network you need to have physical access to the network. You either need access to a cable that is already connected to the LAN, or be able to attach a cable to say a patch panel or switch port that will create a new physical connection for you.
With a wireless network, however, you have a radio signal that permeates the very air around us. Because of the broadcast nature of WLANs, it is far easier to access this sort of network, especially when the signal is usually powerful enough to emanate outside of a building and so potentially provide network access to those outside.
Another benefit of a cabled network is that the transfer of data between computers remains within the wires themselves. Contrast this with a Wireless network, in which the data is now easier to intercept and/or corrupt.
As a result you need to secure your wireless network in the following ways:
* Request user authentication to prevent unauthorized access to your network.
* Use data privacy to protect the integrity and privacy of the data being transmitted.
How do you secure your Wireless network?
1. Change the SSID When you configure your WAP change the default SSID (Service Set IDentifier). Don’t pick something that easily identifies you, like your name, street address, etc. Instead pick something complicated that is difficult to guess and is made up of a mixture of letters and numbers e.g. m6jvUm9mHuQfA4h5tgCH
2. Disable SSID broadcasting In addition, make sure your WAP isn’t configured to broadcast your SSID. Although this is not a secure method of protecting your network, it does mean your WLAN is not so openly available to intrusion.
3. Configure WPA or WPA2 To authorize access to your Wireless network you should choose a security setting of WPA-PSK (Wi-Fi Protected Access Pre-Shared Key) or better yet WPA2-PSK if available.
Although Windows XP supports both of these security methods, you still need a wireless adapter that supports WPA as well.
NOTE: WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) is the earlier attempt to secure wireless connections and it is not secure enough. If this is all your WPA has to offer then you should either upgrade the firmware on it, if this will then give you WPA, or purchase a newer device.
You also need to choose a password for WPA-PSK. Like your SSID, this too needs to be complicated and so not easy to guess.
4. Restrict access based on MAC authentication Your wireless network adapter has a physical address called a MAC (Media Access Control) address. You can take advantage of this by configuring your WAP to only allow access to those MAC addresses you want to give access to your network and so restrict which computers can get connected. Although a MAC address can still be spoofed, this is yet another obstacle to deter the casual hacker.
5. Change the administrator account/password Your WAP will come with a standard administrator account and password. So anyone who has bought the same device will know what these are. Change the password to one that isn’t easy to guess and if possible change the name of the administrator account as well.
Summary
A Wireless network is a great way to get Internet access without having to lay down cabling, but out of the box these are completely insecure.
With the threat of hackers, viruses and spyware unlikely to go away you must secure your Wireless network if you want to keep your computer and the data on it safe.
CCNA Certification Exam Training: Passwords, Cisco Routers, And Network Security
CCNA certification is important, and so is securing our network's Cisco routers! To reflect the importance of network security, your CCNA certification exam is likely going to contain quite a few questions about the various passwords you can set on a Cisco router. Let's take a look at some of those passwords and when to apply them.
If the previous user has logged out of the router properly, you will see a prompt like this when you sit down at the router console:
R1 con0 is now available
Press RETURN to get started.
R1>
To get into enable mode, by default all I have to do is type "enable".
R1>enable
R1#
See how the prompt changed? By default, I can now run all the show and debug commands I want, not to mention entering global configuration mode and doing pretty much what I want. It just might be a good idea to password protect this mode! We do so with either the enable password command or the enable secret command. Let's use the enable password command first.
R1(config)#enable password dolphins
Now when I log out and then go back to enable mode - or try to - I should be prompted for the password "dolphins". Let's see what happens.
R1>enable
Password:
R1#
I was indeed prompted for a password. Cisco routers will not show asterisks or any other character when you enter a password; in fact, the cursor doesn't even move.
The problem with the enable password command is that the password will show in the configuration in clear text, making it easy for someone to look over your shoulder and note the password for future use, as shown below:
hostname R1
!
enable password dolphins
We could use the "service password-encryption" command to encrypt the enable password, but that will also encrypt all the other passwords in the Cisco router config. That's not necessarily a bad thing! Here's the effect of this command on the enable password we set earlier.
enable password 7 110D1609071A020217
Pretty effective encryption! However, if we want to have the enable password automatically encrypted, we can use the enable secret command. I'll use that command here to set this password to "saints", and note that I'm not removing the previous enable password.
R1(config)#enable secret saints
After removing the "service password-encryption" command, we're left with two enable mode passwords, and they appear in the Cisco router config like this:
enable password dolphins
enable secret 5 $1$kJB6$fPuVebg7uMnoj5KV4GUKI/
If we have two enable passwords, which one should we use to log into the router? Let's try the first password, "dolphins", first:
R1>enable
Password:
Password:
When you're prompted for the password a second time, you know you got it wrong the first time! Let's try "saints":
R1>enable
Password:
Password:
R1#
When both the enable secret and enable password commands are in use on a Cisco router, the enable secret password always takes precedence. "dolphins" didn't get us in, but "saints" did. That's valuable information for both the CCNA certification exam and real-world networks, because there's no worse feeling than typing a password at a Cisco router prompt and then getting another password prompt!
If the previous user has logged out of the router properly, you will see a prompt like this when you sit down at the router console:
R1 con0 is now available
Press RETURN to get started.
R1>
To get into enable mode, by default all I have to do is type "enable".
R1>enable
R1#
See how the prompt changed? By default, I can now run all the show and debug commands I want, not to mention entering global configuration mode and doing pretty much what I want. It just might be a good idea to password protect this mode! We do so with either the enable password command or the enable secret command. Let's use the enable password command first.
R1(config)#enable password dolphins
Now when I log out and then go back to enable mode - or try to - I should be prompted for the password "dolphins". Let's see what happens.
R1>enable
Password:
R1#
I was indeed prompted for a password. Cisco routers will not show asterisks or any other character when you enter a password; in fact, the cursor doesn't even move.
The problem with the enable password command is that the password will show in the configuration in clear text, making it easy for someone to look over your shoulder and note the password for future use, as shown below:
hostname R1
!
enable password dolphins
We could use the "service password-encryption" command to encrypt the enable password, but that will also encrypt all the other passwords in the Cisco router config. That's not necessarily a bad thing! Here's the effect of this command on the enable password we set earlier.
enable password 7 110D1609071A020217
Pretty effective encryption! However, if we want to have the enable password automatically encrypted, we can use the enable secret command. I'll use that command here to set this password to "saints", and note that I'm not removing the previous enable password.
R1(config)#enable secret saints
After removing the "service password-encryption" command, we're left with two enable mode passwords, and they appear in the Cisco router config like this:
enable password dolphins
enable secret 5 $1$kJB6$fPuVebg7uMnoj5KV4GUKI/
If we have two enable passwords, which one should we use to log into the router? Let's try the first password, "dolphins", first:
R1>enable
Password:
Password:
When you're prompted for the password a second time, you know you got it wrong the first time! Let's try "saints":
R1>enable
Password:
Password:
R1#
When both the enable secret and enable password commands are in use on a Cisco router, the enable secret password always takes precedence. "dolphins" didn't get us in, but "saints" did. That's valuable information for both the CCNA certification exam and real-world networks, because there's no worse feeling than typing a password at a Cisco router prompt and then getting another password prompt!
Network Security
Security is an essential part of maintaining any network and is the primary focus for a network administrator. While most people think that the main focus of a network administrator is to ensure that users can access data and other resources needed to perform their job functions, they don’t realize the work and attention needed to make certain all data is secure.
End users are happy as long as they get the data they need and don’t have to jump through hoops to get to it. Account names and requiring passwords only serve to keep honest people honest. There are many ways to compromise an account’s security and any decent hacker usually knows more tricks of the trade than the network administrator. The use of authentication services and/or Biometrics can improve security, but only to a certain degree.
If you’re responsible for a small operation, network security cannot be compromised. Hackers don’t discriminate; they’re looking for sensitive corporate or financial data that they can exploit. Customer and clients don’t discriminate; they’re entitled to the same service and reliability that they would get from a large corporation.
When it comes to protecting your network, there is no room for compromise. You must block any and all threats flowing around the Internet. Especially look for viruses and other forms of malware that can compromise your network and end-user systems, which could lead to data loss and expensive downtime. Spam clogs up inboxes and e-mail servers that cost businesses billions of dollars each year. Spyware and network intrusions are designed and targeted to steal valuable information from specific companies which can impact revenue and a company’s reputation. Plishing attacks exploit user habits to steal personal information.
Everyday security threats are being modified and refined, as hackers new conduits such as instant messaging, peer-to-peer connections, and wireless networks to deliver their attacks. In my opinion, the biggest headache for small businesses is the misuse of the Internet by employees. If a user visits an inappropriate site, sends or receives inappropriate content, or worse, violates confidentiality and leaks client information or company secrets, legal liability action is sure to follow. End user education needs to be top priority for all network administrators.
Insiders aren’t the most common security problem, but they can be among the most damaging to a company’s reputation. Insider attacks against IT infrastructure are among the security breaches most feared by both government and corporate security professionals. If an employee is terminated, it’s crucial that all system access be revoked immediately. About half of all insider attacks take place between the time an IT employee is dismissed and their user privileges are taken away. I was in a situation where a co-worker was dismissed because of poor work performance. The IT manager arranged for all user privileges to be terminated immediately after the employee was informed of his termination. He was allowed to remove personal items from his office and computer, but was supervised the entire time. There was a tremendous amount of planning involved to coordinate this, but it work effectively.
When it comes to current employees, IT managers must keep an eye out for insubordination, anger over perceived mistreatment, or resistance to sharing responsibility or training colleagues, which are all signs someone may be capable of system sabotage or data theft. IT managers must be watchful any time someone with access to sensitive systems has a falling out with his or her bosses.
Defending against insiders isn’t easy, but knowing what to look for and understanding who you’re up against certainly helps. Managers must not only monitor system access, but also let employees know their system changes can be tracked. Employers should be wary of people unwilling to share their knowledge about systems or uncomfortable with the fact that their activities accessing systems or data can be tracked.
There are six basic security rules for Windows systems that can apply for all systems. If a network administrator follows the basic principles that will be discussed here, they can feel confident that their systems are protected.
First, the manager should be segment the network into areas of trust and provide specific controls at border areas. A basic firewall can filter access to services, and a more advanced system can inspect traffic and can detect that it is harmful. Things as simple as blocking access to TCP port 1433 and TCP port 1434 at the border firewall, allowing Internet access only to those SQL systems that must be accessed from the Internet, and patching the SQL systems could prevent viruses or worms from infecting a network.
Systems are sometimes left unpatched because there are so many to patch. Focusing efforts on the most vulnerable points will most likely achieve adequate coverage. You can find a list of the most frequently probed ports used by Windows systems at www.sans.org/y2k/ports.htm. Not all of the ports listed are used by Windows but you can make sure they are filtered at the firewall. You can also set a standard to block all ports and then unblock only the ports needed. Another good practice is to determine the open ports to ensure that they are legitimately needed.
Second, moderate the effect of spoofed ports and increasing use of port 80 by new services. The most common open port is of course port 80, so attacks directed at a web server will not be stopped by a common firewall. If a needed port is blocked, applications such as instant messaging, and streaming media will automatically use the open port. Trojans can be designed to listen on any port and can be specially designed to look like web traffic. Preventing overuse and misuse can be accomplished by using an application-layer firewall, ensure that a port is open only for specific servers, and configure systems at the host level with port filtering or IPSec blocking policies that can be set to block known troublesome ports.
Third, everyone agrees that the number one thing that you can do to improve security on a network is to keep patches current. Over ninety percent of systems that have been attacked could have been prevented if known vulnerabilities had been diminished via patches and configuration. Patching plans can be developed and used with enormous benefits. Some ways to mitigate patches are: manually, by downloading the patch, testing and applying it to a system, visiting the Windows Update Site to review the available patches, then deciding to accept or reject any proffered changes. Automatic updates can be configured to periodically connect to Microsoft for inspection and downloading of updates. Software Update Service is a free server application that when configured the system will periodically download patches from Microsoft. Microsoft Systems Management Server with update is purchased separately from Windows operating system and provides multiple management services. And, third-party patching products are available that can provide similar services.
Strengthening authentication processes can also help to secure your network. Authentication can be increased by enforcing a strong password policy. Use some other form of authentication along with this. Use technology and physical security to protect password databases and authentication material. Also you must understand that Windows authentication systems vary, and backward compatibility means less secure authentication may be used even by the most recent version of the operating system. One very important issue is to recognize that your network is only as secure as the least secure part.
Fourth, limit the number of administrators and limiting their privileges can help to secure a network. Don’t automatically give admin rights to the local PC unless there are applications that require it to run needed processes. In most cases administrative rights can be substituted with just elevated or privileged rights. Users with admin rights should be educated about not using that account to read email or surf the Internet. Instead, they should be given an ordinary account for those purposes.
Fifth, protecting systems against known attacks by means of system configurations is not a simple process. It requires knowing about past attacks and current vulnerabilities, and having an extensive knowledge of operating systems. To benefit from your configuration settings, you should not install IIS except to create an intranet or Internet web server. Don’t configure non-file servers to use File and Printer Sharing. Set strong permissions on Windows shares. (Use shares sparingly) Don’t allow anonymous access into your systems. You should also disable any Windows services, such as Telnet, Alerter, and Clipbook, (doe’s anyone use these?) Indexing services, Messenger, and Remote registry, that is not necessary.
Last, but not least I can’t stress enough the importance of developing and enforcing security policies by ways of accountability, technology and user training. The best knowledge anyone can have on security can not protect your systems if it not used. Security policies should be enforced by more than technology and fully supported by management People make security work. People support the development of culture of security, and people follow the rules because they understand them and because they are aware of the consequences. Train your users, let them know the rules, and hold them accountable.
The best laid plans will not stand if you can’t afford the resources or the support of implementing them. A crucial problem a network administrator faces is the cost of security. Security control mechanisms have expenses associated with their purchases. Deployment, maintenance, and implementing these systems in a redundant manner can increase costs significantly. When deciding on redundancy and security controls, it is helpful to create a number of scenarios in which a security breach or and outage occurs to determine the corporation’s cost for each occurrence. This should help management determine the value to the corporation of an assortment of security control mechanisms. (3) End users are that part, so anything done to strengthen it can have a huge effect on the baseline security of your systems.
End users are happy as long as they get the data they need and don’t have to jump through hoops to get to it. Account names and requiring passwords only serve to keep honest people honest. There are many ways to compromise an account’s security and any decent hacker usually knows more tricks of the trade than the network administrator. The use of authentication services and/or Biometrics can improve security, but only to a certain degree.
If you’re responsible for a small operation, network security cannot be compromised. Hackers don’t discriminate; they’re looking for sensitive corporate or financial data that they can exploit. Customer and clients don’t discriminate; they’re entitled to the same service and reliability that they would get from a large corporation.
When it comes to protecting your network, there is no room for compromise. You must block any and all threats flowing around the Internet. Especially look for viruses and other forms of malware that can compromise your network and end-user systems, which could lead to data loss and expensive downtime. Spam clogs up inboxes and e-mail servers that cost businesses billions of dollars each year. Spyware and network intrusions are designed and targeted to steal valuable information from specific companies which can impact revenue and a company’s reputation. Plishing attacks exploit user habits to steal personal information.
Everyday security threats are being modified and refined, as hackers new conduits such as instant messaging, peer-to-peer connections, and wireless networks to deliver their attacks. In my opinion, the biggest headache for small businesses is the misuse of the Internet by employees. If a user visits an inappropriate site, sends or receives inappropriate content, or worse, violates confidentiality and leaks client information or company secrets, legal liability action is sure to follow. End user education needs to be top priority for all network administrators.
Insiders aren’t the most common security problem, but they can be among the most damaging to a company’s reputation. Insider attacks against IT infrastructure are among the security breaches most feared by both government and corporate security professionals. If an employee is terminated, it’s crucial that all system access be revoked immediately. About half of all insider attacks take place between the time an IT employee is dismissed and their user privileges are taken away. I was in a situation where a co-worker was dismissed because of poor work performance. The IT manager arranged for all user privileges to be terminated immediately after the employee was informed of his termination. He was allowed to remove personal items from his office and computer, but was supervised the entire time. There was a tremendous amount of planning involved to coordinate this, but it work effectively.
When it comes to current employees, IT managers must keep an eye out for insubordination, anger over perceived mistreatment, or resistance to sharing responsibility or training colleagues, which are all signs someone may be capable of system sabotage or data theft. IT managers must be watchful any time someone with access to sensitive systems has a falling out with his or her bosses.
Defending against insiders isn’t easy, but knowing what to look for and understanding who you’re up against certainly helps. Managers must not only monitor system access, but also let employees know their system changes can be tracked. Employers should be wary of people unwilling to share their knowledge about systems or uncomfortable with the fact that their activities accessing systems or data can be tracked.
There are six basic security rules for Windows systems that can apply for all systems. If a network administrator follows the basic principles that will be discussed here, they can feel confident that their systems are protected.
First, the manager should be segment the network into areas of trust and provide specific controls at border areas. A basic firewall can filter access to services, and a more advanced system can inspect traffic and can detect that it is harmful. Things as simple as blocking access to TCP port 1433 and TCP port 1434 at the border firewall, allowing Internet access only to those SQL systems that must be accessed from the Internet, and patching the SQL systems could prevent viruses or worms from infecting a network.
Systems are sometimes left unpatched because there are so many to patch. Focusing efforts on the most vulnerable points will most likely achieve adequate coverage. You can find a list of the most frequently probed ports used by Windows systems at www.sans.org/y2k/ports.htm. Not all of the ports listed are used by Windows but you can make sure they are filtered at the firewall. You can also set a standard to block all ports and then unblock only the ports needed. Another good practice is to determine the open ports to ensure that they are legitimately needed.
Second, moderate the effect of spoofed ports and increasing use of port 80 by new services. The most common open port is of course port 80, so attacks directed at a web server will not be stopped by a common firewall. If a needed port is blocked, applications such as instant messaging, and streaming media will automatically use the open port. Trojans can be designed to listen on any port and can be specially designed to look like web traffic. Preventing overuse and misuse can be accomplished by using an application-layer firewall, ensure that a port is open only for specific servers, and configure systems at the host level with port filtering or IPSec blocking policies that can be set to block known troublesome ports.
Third, everyone agrees that the number one thing that you can do to improve security on a network is to keep patches current. Over ninety percent of systems that have been attacked could have been prevented if known vulnerabilities had been diminished via patches and configuration. Patching plans can be developed and used with enormous benefits. Some ways to mitigate patches are: manually, by downloading the patch, testing and applying it to a system, visiting the Windows Update Site to review the available patches, then deciding to accept or reject any proffered changes. Automatic updates can be configured to periodically connect to Microsoft for inspection and downloading of updates. Software Update Service is a free server application that when configured the system will periodically download patches from Microsoft. Microsoft Systems Management Server with update is purchased separately from Windows operating system and provides multiple management services. And, third-party patching products are available that can provide similar services.
Strengthening authentication processes can also help to secure your network. Authentication can be increased by enforcing a strong password policy. Use some other form of authentication along with this. Use technology and physical security to protect password databases and authentication material. Also you must understand that Windows authentication systems vary, and backward compatibility means less secure authentication may be used even by the most recent version of the operating system. One very important issue is to recognize that your network is only as secure as the least secure part.
Fourth, limit the number of administrators and limiting their privileges can help to secure a network. Don’t automatically give admin rights to the local PC unless there are applications that require it to run needed processes. In most cases administrative rights can be substituted with just elevated or privileged rights. Users with admin rights should be educated about not using that account to read email or surf the Internet. Instead, they should be given an ordinary account for those purposes.
Fifth, protecting systems against known attacks by means of system configurations is not a simple process. It requires knowing about past attacks and current vulnerabilities, and having an extensive knowledge of operating systems. To benefit from your configuration settings, you should not install IIS except to create an intranet or Internet web server. Don’t configure non-file servers to use File and Printer Sharing. Set strong permissions on Windows shares. (Use shares sparingly) Don’t allow anonymous access into your systems. You should also disable any Windows services, such as Telnet, Alerter, and Clipbook, (doe’s anyone use these?) Indexing services, Messenger, and Remote registry, that is not necessary.
Last, but not least I can’t stress enough the importance of developing and enforcing security policies by ways of accountability, technology and user training. The best knowledge anyone can have on security can not protect your systems if it not used. Security policies should be enforced by more than technology and fully supported by management People make security work. People support the development of culture of security, and people follow the rules because they understand them and because they are aware of the consequences. Train your users, let them know the rules, and hold them accountable.
The best laid plans will not stand if you can’t afford the resources or the support of implementing them. A crucial problem a network administrator faces is the cost of security. Security control mechanisms have expenses associated with their purchases. Deployment, maintenance, and implementing these systems in a redundant manner can increase costs significantly. When deciding on redundancy and security controls, it is helpful to create a number of scenarios in which a security breach or and outage occurs to determine the corporation’s cost for each occurrence. This should help management determine the value to the corporation of an assortment of security control mechanisms. (3) End users are that part, so anything done to strengthen it can have a huge effect on the baseline security of your systems.
IT Network Security - The New World's Lock & Key
It's another Monday morning at the office, you've just turned on your computer and logged in - all of a sudden you start to notice that your "Home Page" is changed, your computer is very slow and finally the internet connection is extremely slow.... Your IT Network has just been Hacked!
Security in the workplace has been an issue for years yet something commonly thought of as "internal security" such as cameras and locked doors. Today the world has grown and evolved into a computer driven technology, providing innovative e-criminals the opportunity to take advantage of this situation and they are benefiting by your lack of network security knowledge and use of older technology. Now more than ever, there are important types of security needs such as Firewalls, Network Lockdowns, Key Fobs, Passwords and so on, that are needed to secure a companies sensitive records, financial information and their basic lifeline to keep them in business.
Some businesses don't know what they're exposing themselves to, but with an "opened port" on a firewall or router leading to their database or "hole" in the network, the world is able to look at your sensitive material without you even knowing until it's too late.
Last month a new company signed on with Libra IT for simple "network support" because they felt their old IT provider was not giving them the patience they feel they deserved. When our engineer did a network audit we noticed that the tape backup's have not been successful in over 2 months! With that alone a red flag should have gone up. More problems were found... much more! Every port on the firewall was open allowing anyone into the server which nullified the purpose of the firewall entirely.
And to add misery to suffering... Half the staff knew the Administrator Password!!! (Simple passwords are not enough... did you know that the most common password used today is "password" and the second most common is "admin"? Many users have half a dozen passwords to remember which is why the most common password is ‘password.' The usual solution is to write it down. But how secure is that?) This oversight allowed anyone into the system to change, delete or add anything they wanted... what if one of these people became a "disgruntled employee" later down the line? Finally we stumbled upon another serious issue that could have been disastrous... After the previous IT person was "dismissed" they were trying to hack into the system using "old employees passwords" (which worked) and decided to try and delete files as well as "hide" mistakes he made. Luckily we tracked everything they did by backing the system up successfully in case anything like this happened!
Makes you wish we could go back to the old days when we had a safe with paperwork in it or a filing cabinet with a lock on it that held our businesses most prized possessions. Today, this information is resting in your servers, networked to the staff and then to the internet for fast and easy day to day operations bringing business to what we once called "The future of doing business". With this new system that has treated us well in the past decade or so, we have neglected to see what other possibilities are growing out there such as network hacking, malicious script sent through email in the form of humour from a trusted source, which destroys our data or even worse, a complete breakdown of our network and loss of all information.
Another item I wanted to touch upon was something I stumbled upon last month when a new client came on board and asked simply if we could upgrade their server. The company in this situation changed their IT Firm service to us because they felt like they were not getting the service they needed and wanted more experienced engineering in their technical arena.
When this high security Financial company signed on we had no idea what we were about to stumble on! If you look at some URL's you will notice most of them start with an http:. But then you come across the "secure connections" used by companies like financial or legal institutions which look like this http: where the "S" is to signify that it's a secure site and no one can get in unless authorized with log in and password. What this financial company didn't know was that their "secure site" was in no way shape or form secure! Here's how the previous IT firm did it... To cut corners, their previous IT Firm decided to send all "secure traffic URL" to one web-server housing the main page under the URL https: but then translated this to simple http: to retrieve the requested "financial data" for the client from another server (being the data storage server). The traffic is then sent back to the first server which once again translated the http: to https: to again make it look secure! The information was finally sent to the client unbeknownst to them that their personal financial data has no security whatsoever. This was immediately rectified and security was finally restored but with a lesson... when you have security implemented into your network, get certificates of authentication for your records or you may find that you too are exposed to the world of hackers and prying eyes.
Security in the workplace has been an issue for years yet something commonly thought of as "internal security" such as cameras and locked doors. Today the world has grown and evolved into a computer driven technology, providing innovative e-criminals the opportunity to take advantage of this situation and they are benefiting by your lack of network security knowledge and use of older technology. Now more than ever, there are important types of security needs such as Firewalls, Network Lockdowns, Key Fobs, Passwords and so on, that are needed to secure a companies sensitive records, financial information and their basic lifeline to keep them in business.
Some businesses don't know what they're exposing themselves to, but with an "opened port" on a firewall or router leading to their database or "hole" in the network, the world is able to look at your sensitive material without you even knowing until it's too late.
Last month a new company signed on with Libra IT for simple "network support" because they felt their old IT provider was not giving them the patience they feel they deserved. When our engineer did a network audit we noticed that the tape backup's have not been successful in over 2 months! With that alone a red flag should have gone up. More problems were found... much more! Every port on the firewall was open allowing anyone into the server which nullified the purpose of the firewall entirely.
And to add misery to suffering... Half the staff knew the Administrator Password!!! (Simple passwords are not enough... did you know that the most common password used today is "password" and the second most common is "admin"? Many users have half a dozen passwords to remember which is why the most common password is ‘password.' The usual solution is to write it down. But how secure is that?) This oversight allowed anyone into the system to change, delete or add anything they wanted... what if one of these people became a "disgruntled employee" later down the line? Finally we stumbled upon another serious issue that could have been disastrous... After the previous IT person was "dismissed" they were trying to hack into the system using "old employees passwords" (which worked) and decided to try and delete files as well as "hide" mistakes he made. Luckily we tracked everything they did by backing the system up successfully in case anything like this happened!
Makes you wish we could go back to the old days when we had a safe with paperwork in it or a filing cabinet with a lock on it that held our businesses most prized possessions. Today, this information is resting in your servers, networked to the staff and then to the internet for fast and easy day to day operations bringing business to what we once called "The future of doing business". With this new system that has treated us well in the past decade or so, we have neglected to see what other possibilities are growing out there such as network hacking, malicious script sent through email in the form of humour from a trusted source, which destroys our data or even worse, a complete breakdown of our network and loss of all information.
Another item I wanted to touch upon was something I stumbled upon last month when a new client came on board and asked simply if we could upgrade their server. The company in this situation changed their IT Firm service to us because they felt like they were not getting the service they needed and wanted more experienced engineering in their technical arena.
When this high security Financial company signed on we had no idea what we were about to stumble on! If you look at some URL's you will notice most of them start with an http:. But then you come across the "secure connections" used by companies like financial or legal institutions which look like this http: where the "S" is to signify that it's a secure site and no one can get in unless authorized with log in and password. What this financial company didn't know was that their "secure site" was in no way shape or form secure! Here's how the previous IT firm did it... To cut corners, their previous IT Firm decided to send all "secure traffic URL" to one web-server housing the main page under the URL https: but then translated this to simple http: to retrieve the requested "financial data" for the client from another server (being the data storage server). The traffic is then sent back to the first server which once again translated the http: to https: to again make it look secure! The information was finally sent to the client unbeknownst to them that their personal financial data has no security whatsoever. This was immediately rectified and security was finally restored but with a lesson... when you have security implemented into your network, get certificates of authentication for your records or you may find that you too are exposed to the world of hackers and prying eyes.
Why Most Wireless Network Security Advice Doesn't Really Work
Just about every day I read articles about wireless networks and what should be done to make them safer. Mostly I get a couple of lines in and then read no further. This is because the advice in a lot of these articles is a waste of time. Don't worry though because there's stuff you can do that's a lot less hassle and will work a whole lot better.
I'll get onto what you should do, but first of all I'm going to repeat what you'll probably read elsewhere and tell you why it doesn't help:
THINGS THAT DON'T REALLY WORK
Turning off SSID broadcast: This is often misleadingly referred to as "SSID hiding", but there's no such thing. It turns off SSID beaconing on your Wireless Access Point or wireless router, but there are other mechanisms that also broadcast the SSID over the wireless network and so you're disabling only 1 of many. Turning off SSID broadcast makes your network a lot less user friendly and won't do anything meaningful for network security.
MAC filtering: Frequently mentioned as a security mechanism and it can be used to keep leaching neighbours from using your broadband, but then encryption is a better way to achieve that and more. The problem with MAC filtering is that it can be hard to set up and maintain and the MAC address of your wireless card can be seen in the header of all wireless packets to and from your PC by anyone with a "sniffer" (a bit of traffic capturing software you can get for free on the Internet). It's then pretty easy to spoof the MAC address and gain access. It's really not worth the trouble to configure it.
Disable DHCP: Another big waste of time. DHCP allows the automatic assignment of IP addresses and other configurations. Many articles advise disabling DHCP and configuring static IP addresses to "increase security". It'll take a hacker about 10 seconds to figure out the IP scheme of any network and simply assign their own IP address. Just as with turning off SSID broadcast you're making your life harder for no gain. Anyone who tells you that this is a way to secure your wireless network doesn't know what they're talking about.
SO WHAT DOES WORK?
The good news is there are some simple things you can do that will improve the security of your wireless network. Here are three simple steps to improved wireless security:
Step 1 - Password protect your router
If you have a wireless or broadband router then it should allow you to access its config via a Web browser. To access your router’s setup, open a browser and enter the routers setup URL. The URL will be specified in the manual that came with the router.
The manual will also specify the default login details for your router. The problem here is that this means everyone knows what the default is so you need to change it. Once logged in it's usually pretty easy to find the link in the config to change the password.
If for any reason you don't have the manual for your router then you can search on the Internet using the term “default login for x”. Don’t be surprised to find quite a number of pages listing default login parameters for many different routers, even uncommon ones.
Step 2 - Disable router access from the Internet
If your router has the option then disable access to the router's configuration from the Internet. This will mean that you can still log in to the router to change the configuration from your internal network, but nobody from the Internet will be able to log in.
Step 3 - Add strong encryption
You need to encrypt your wireless network...really. Read that sentence again if you like, it's really important. Beyond that it's pretty important to use WPA encryption rather than WEP. WEP is better than no encryption at all, but it can be cracked in only a few minutes and the tools to do this are readily available.
I'll get onto what you should do, but first of all I'm going to repeat what you'll probably read elsewhere and tell you why it doesn't help:
THINGS THAT DON'T REALLY WORK
Turning off SSID broadcast: This is often misleadingly referred to as "SSID hiding", but there's no such thing. It turns off SSID beaconing on your Wireless Access Point or wireless router, but there are other mechanisms that also broadcast the SSID over the wireless network and so you're disabling only 1 of many. Turning off SSID broadcast makes your network a lot less user friendly and won't do anything meaningful for network security.
MAC filtering: Frequently mentioned as a security mechanism and it can be used to keep leaching neighbours from using your broadband, but then encryption is a better way to achieve that and more. The problem with MAC filtering is that it can be hard to set up and maintain and the MAC address of your wireless card can be seen in the header of all wireless packets to and from your PC by anyone with a "sniffer" (a bit of traffic capturing software you can get for free on the Internet). It's then pretty easy to spoof the MAC address and gain access. It's really not worth the trouble to configure it.
Disable DHCP: Another big waste of time. DHCP allows the automatic assignment of IP addresses and other configurations. Many articles advise disabling DHCP and configuring static IP addresses to "increase security". It'll take a hacker about 10 seconds to figure out the IP scheme of any network and simply assign their own IP address. Just as with turning off SSID broadcast you're making your life harder for no gain. Anyone who tells you that this is a way to secure your wireless network doesn't know what they're talking about.
SO WHAT DOES WORK?
The good news is there are some simple things you can do that will improve the security of your wireless network. Here are three simple steps to improved wireless security:
Step 1 - Password protect your router
If you have a wireless or broadband router then it should allow you to access its config via a Web browser. To access your router’s setup, open a browser and enter the routers setup URL. The URL will be specified in the manual that came with the router.
The manual will also specify the default login details for your router. The problem here is that this means everyone knows what the default is so you need to change it. Once logged in it's usually pretty easy to find the link in the config to change the password.
If for any reason you don't have the manual for your router then you can search on the Internet using the term “default login for x”. Don’t be surprised to find quite a number of pages listing default login parameters for many different routers, even uncommon ones.
Step 2 - Disable router access from the Internet
If your router has the option then disable access to the router's configuration from the Internet. This will mean that you can still log in to the router to change the configuration from your internal network, but nobody from the Internet will be able to log in.
Step 3 - Add strong encryption
You need to encrypt your wireless network...really. Read that sentence again if you like, it's really important. Beyond that it's pretty important to use WPA encryption rather than WEP. WEP is better than no encryption at all, but it can be cracked in only a few minutes and the tools to do this are readily available.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
New online security solution ships from Clarity
Clarity Technology has released Internet Sheriff, a secure content management solution that is designed to protect an organisation from viruses and spam.
The new product lets IT administrators manage a company's Internet access, protect all of the users on the network from online attacks and reduce the impact of spam.
A spokesperson for the company said that the Internet sheriff product helps to reduce the chance of infection and minimises the amount of time that needs to be spent on dealing with unwanted marketing messages.
The new product lets IT administrators manage a company's Internet access, protect all of the users on the network from online attacks and reduce the impact of spam.
A spokesperson for the company said that the Internet sheriff product helps to reduce the chance of infection and minimises the amount of time that needs to be spent on dealing with unwanted marketing messages.
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