News from Web

Bollywood actress Diya Mirza during a protest rally against politicians near Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai

2008-12-07T10:21:00.000-08:00

Bollywood actress Diya Mirza during a protest rally against politicians near Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai

Frenzied fans welcome Maradona to Kolkata - News In Pictures

2008-12-07T10:19:00.000-08:00

The Web Site Revenue Maximizer TOP 100 TIPS

2008-12-06T06:30:00.000-08:00

‘Niche sites with the right content and monetization strategy are extremely valuable assets’

This kit will show you how to:

Pick your niche
Build traffic
Monetize it
Then either sell it for profit, or enjoy the spoils forever

Overview

Pro Tip #14

High affiliate EPC rates can often mean a tougher approval process. That costs you money!

There’s REAL money to be made in this booming industry!

Countless ordinary people the world over have turned small sites into a significant income that have allowed them to quit their day jobs and enjoy lives of online entrepreneurship. Will you be one of them? We hope so...

This kit will walk you through the ins and outs of generating profit on the Web. You’ll learn from the pros just how easy it is to plan, build, and earn a steady income from your online portfolio. It doesn’t matter if you’re new to the Web, or you already own a couple of web sites. You’re sure to find some amazing nuggets of wisdom which will ensure this kit pays for itself many times over.

What’s covered in this kit?

Discover Online Revenue Streams
Profiling Your Audience
Business Planning
Understanding Copyright and Contracts
Finding a Domain Name
Planning and Procuring Content
Building Your Site
Finding a Web Host
Optimizing for Search Engines
Building Links to Your Site
Enabling Direct Navigation
Creating a Pay-per-click Campaign
Advertising with Affiliates
Promoting Your Web Site Offline
Strategizing for Repeat Traffic
Advertising Networks 101
Creating and Planning Ad Inventory
Publisher Pitfalls
Selling Ad Inventory
Optimizing Your Site for Ad Revenue
Affiliate Marketing 101
Monetizing a Site with Affiliate Marketing
Optimizing Your Site for Affiliate Sales
Ecommerce Essentials
Avoiding Fraud and Reducing Chargebacks
Fulfilling Online Orders
Building Credibility
Choosing a Metrics Package for Your Site
Using Your Statistics to Improve Your Site
Site Flipping Demystified
Buying, Adding Value, and Selling a Site
Advertising Networks
Advertising Solutions
Affiliate Networks
Blog Solutions and Content Management Tools
Domain Registrars
Forum Software
Pay-per-click Search Engine Tools
Traffic Analysis Tools
Understand Different Types of Web Sites
Conducting Competitive and Keyword Research

Meet your authors

Pro Tip #29

Location is everything. Use CPA and conversion rates to position offers for the highest return!

Peter T. Davis

Peter T. Davis is one of the world’s leading authorities on buying and selling web sites. When Peter’s not building his own portfolio of extremely profitable sites, he’s sharing his insight to thousands of people through articles and in the SitePoint forums.

Peter’s seen it all when it comes to buying, selling, and earning and income from web sites, and after learning from his experiences, you’ll be inspired and equipped to start building an income from the Web yourself.

Georgina Laidlaw

Georgina Laidlaw has viewed the Web from just about every conceivable angle since she entered the industry in 1998. Georgina’s been heavily involved in the development of the SitePoint Marketplace, right from day one, and her experience and unique perspective will change the way you think about online investing.

Pro Tip #5

Not chaining ad accounts? You're missing out on easy dollars!

What does your kit contain?

When you order The Web Site Revenue Maximizer, you will receive a rather large box delivered straight to your doorstep. The box will contain a folder and a CD-ROM. This folder is broken into ten chapters and three appendices and the CD-ROM contains essential tools, templates and additional content.

The CD-ROM

Worksheets
- Competitive Framework
- Site Valuation Worksheet
- Content Plan Worksheet
- Link Building Worksheet
- Promotion Plan Worksheet
Keyword Analysis
- Keyword Analysis Resources
Documents
- Sample Request for Proposal
- Sample Non-disclosure Agreement
- Sample Intellectual Property Transfer Agreement
Software
- Drupal
- phpBB
- punBB
- Textpattern
- Typo3
- Vanilla
- WordPress
Bonus Content
- Backordering Domain Names
- The Legalities of Email
Samples from Other SitePoint Products
- SitePoint Samples

Pro Tip #19

Ecommerce success is all about trust. Build it, or lose customers to your competitors!

Special Bonus - 6 Months FREE Hosting with Hostgator

When you order The Web Site Revenue Maximizer you’ll also receive 6 months free hosting with Hostgator on any shared plan for a new site!

Tell me about the deal!

No-risk Money-back Guarantee

Of course we’re so confident that you’ll treasure this book for years to come that we’re happy, as always, for you to try it risk-free for 30 days. If you purchase a copy of The Web Site Revenue Maximizer and you don’t think it’s everything you wanted, we would like you to have your money back.

Simply contact us and we will see to it that you get a prompt and courteous refund of the full purchase price minus shipping and handling.

What could be fairer than this?

How to Order This Kit

For a small investment of just $197.00 USD, you can order The Web Site Revenue Maximizer from us, the publisher. It’s small price to pay to unleash your web site’s profit potential.

We’re currently offering FREE SHIPPING worldwide for a limited time.

FREE Web Design Business Kit 2.0

2008-12-06T06:27:00.000-08:00

Proven techniques for building a successful web design business.
Strategies to win more business and boost income.
Overcome the fear of selling yourself and your business.
Practical advice on organizing your business.
Simple techniques to maximize revenue from existing and new clients.
Template documents (including contracts) covering a wide range of business functions.
And so much more!

Hear From The Author

The author, Brendon Sinclair, talks about The Web Design Business Kit 2.0 and what it can do for you.

• View the Video

The Author:

Brendon doesn’t just write about web design businesses, he owns and manages one of the most successful web design firms in Australia, which he built from scratch.
His price is often the most expensive but he wins 90% of the jobs he pitches for.
His advice and techniques are proven, and have helped continually grow his business over many years.

The Web Design Business Kit 2.0:

Through case studies and personal studies, you’ll learn:

How to sell yourself
What should you charge?
How to keep clients for life
How to manage budgets
How to hire and fire employees

Plus you’ll receive a binder with 73 actual documents Brendon uses in his day-to-day business including:

Business plans
Proposals
Invoices
Surveys
Entire Direct Mail Campaigns

What’s new in the 2nd edition?

Brendon has taken onboard the feedback from thousands of readers, and expanded the kit with additional advice and ideas that you can apply to jumpstart your business. We’ve even expanded the supporting documents to include Brendon’s latest templates and the new legal documents have provided by IT legal specialists Berrigan Doube.

Review

This first month we had the kit our business income will be double what we have made at any time in the last 3 years of business.

webmagistrates.com

by Deborah Forrister, Sept 17, 2003

New Chapters:

Outsourcing For Great Profits
Delight Your Clients
Dealing With Those Pesky Clients
Business Legalities

New Documents:

Design Contract
Hosting Contract
Support Contract
Ongoing Marketing Contract
Confidentiality Contract

The Author’s Philosophy

Brendon’s business philosophy is based on solid (but not too common) business sense, combined with radical new approaches that has made Brendon’s web design business one of the most successful in Australia.

His philosophy is based on four fundamentals:

1. Your web design and development skills don't matter

Your average client can’t determine the difference between a good and a bad web site. They can’t really look at your portfolio and say: “This person makes profitable web sites.” Instead, they consider other factors when evaluating you for the job. For example: recommendations from other people, the quality of your brochure, the way you dress or simply your handshake. In the kit, Brendon shows how to make the client very confident that you are the best choice they can make.

Review

Since purchasing the web design business kit I have pitched and won my biggest job ever. The sample proposal and advice has changed my business goals and focuses for the better.

instyleit.com

by Eden Brenchley, Mar 30, 2005

2. You don’t have to be, and shouldn't be the cheapest bidder to win

Brendon's company is almost always several times more expensive than his competitors, but he still gets 90% of the jobs he pitches for. This is due to his customer service, his meeting approach, his proposals and, well, you’ll have to read the kit to find out.

3. When the project finishes, your income should not

Web development is very well adapted for selling extra services. Most of Brendon’s income is from services bought by existing clients. Brendon is a big believer in keeping clients for life, and in this kit, he explains in great detail exactly how he does it.

4. Your clients are everywhere

Brendon retells the story of how a 50 cent map of a conference floor with exhibitor names lead to over $100,000 in new business for his firm. The kit is chock-full of ideas for finding, and reaching new prospects for your services, including your competitor's clients.

What does the kit contain?

When you order The Web Design Business Kit 2.0, you will receive a rather large box delivered straight to your doorstep. The box will contain two folders and a CD-ROM.

Here's the full package:

Folder 1: The Manual

Folder 1 contains 509 8.5x11 letter-size pages divided into 5 major sections, each designed to walk you through Brendon's approach towards being successful in business.

First Steps In Freelancing
Establish Your Business
Run Your Business
Expand Your Business
Look To The Future

Folder 2: The Documents

Folder 2 contains 73 ready-to-use business documents, consisting of 182 8.5x11 letter-size pages, categorized into the following sections:

Business Planning and Financial Documents
Promotional Tools
Client Contact Documents
Surveys
Employment Documents
Office Documents

These are the same documents Brendon uses himself, and have been tweaked for maximum effectiveness over the years.

CD-ROM: Document Library

You'll also receive a CD-ROM containing all the electronic versions of all the business documents represented in Folder 2. These are ready to use — just add your own logo and company name.

Review

...recommend this product to anyone looking at running a website design company, that wants to work on the business, and be a business owner and not just self employed.

thomassinfield.com

by Thomas Sinfield, Aug 21, 2007

Who should invest in the kit?

This kit is ideal for:

Freelancers
Web Design Shops
Internet Consultants
Web Designers or Developers
Anyone else who sells professional services (especially web-related) to businesses.

This kit is not so good for:

People selling exclusively over the internet (Brendon's approach relies heavily on face-to-face, phone and written communication)
People selling directly to consumers, and not businesses.

If you’re a freelancer or you wish to become one, Brendon will show you how to get started, and how to increase your closing rate and leverage yourself to boost your income.

If you already own or work for a Web Design Business and you’re looking to take it to the next level, The Web Design Business Kit 2.0 will give you a new perspective on how to do business in this space.

How do I order the kit?

You can order it here. The kit is priced at $247.00 . If you successfully apply only one lesson that Brendon covers in the kit, you’ll recoup your investment from your very next client.

* We’re currently offering FREE SHIPPING worldwide for a limited time.

So you’ll get the kit (a huge package weighing 12 pounds or about 5Kg) delivered to your doorstep for no extra charge.

100% Money Back Guarantee

We completely and absolutely guarantee the value of The Web Design Business Kit 2.0. We have a very simple policy:

If you don't believe that The Web Design Business Kit 2.0 is great value for money, simply ship it back to us within 30 days and we'll refund you 100% of the purchase price.

Free Search Engine Marketing Kit, 2.0

2008-12-06T06:24:00.000-08:00

By Dan Thies & Dave Davies

If you’ve always considered Search Engine Marketing an unknowable black art, it’s time to think again.

Learn best-practice strategies to maximize traffic.
Discover keyword strategies you won’t find anywhere else.
Find out the best ways to optimize pages and build links.
Avoid getting banned from search engines.
Create, optimize, and manage advanced pay-per-click campaigns.
Learn how to sell professional search engine marketing services.
Work around obstacles such as Flash, content management systems, and server issues.

Who are the Authors?

Dan Thies

Dan Thies has been a search engine consultant since 2000.
He speaks at all US-based "Search Engine Strategies" conferences.
He is an executive member of SEOPros, the organization for search engine professionals.
Dan maintains SitePoint’s ‘Key Words’ blog.

Dave Davies

Dave Davies is the CEO of Beanstalk Search Engine Positioning, Inc.
He offers guaranteed search engine optimization services as well as consulting and training.
He has been working in the search engine optimization and internet marketing field since 2001.
Dave is a well-published author on the subject, and hosts a weekly radio show on WebmasterRadio.

Who is the Kit For?

Web Site Owners and Managers:

… if you’re serious about search marketing, and want a detailed, thorough guide that’s thoroughly lacking in bs, The Search Engine Marketing Kit is an excellent choice…

The Search Engine Marketing Kit is a complete and up-to-date guide on the world of search engines. You’ll learn optimization, keyword selection, and pay-per-click strategies that have been reviewed by today’s leading experts.

Included in the kit is information on optimization for large complex web sites, including optimizing content management systems and Flash animations, and working around duplicate content and various server issues.

Freelance Web Developers and Web Development Firms:

By offering search engine marketing services to your web design clients, you’ll not only be able to generate additional income, you’ll also become much more valuable to your clients and prospects. By not only delivering web sites but traffic, leads and sales, the potential value of all your web design projects will go through the roof.

The Search Engine Marketing Kit will show you not only how to create optimized web sites, but also take you step-by-step through how to market, present, and price your search engine services.

What Does the Kit Contain?

The Search Engine Marketing Kit is divided into nine chapters:

Understanding Search Engines

Find out how the search engine landscape is shaping up.
Discover how crawlers work and exactly what they do.
Learn how spiders deal with DNS, server problems and dynamic sites.
Get the basics on how search engines set priorities on what to index.
Learn how search engines store data about your web pages in a database.
Obtain behind-the-scenes information on how search queries are processed and ranked.

Search Engine Optimization

Learn advanced keyword research and selection strategies.
Improve crawlability to get more of your site indexed.
Solve page layout and HTML issues.
Optimize the top five key elements of all your web pages.
Discover the best submission and paid-inclusion tactics.
Avoid getting banned or labeled as a search engine spammer.

Advanced SEO & Search Engine Friendly Design

I emailed the Search Engine Proposal included with the kit out to a prospective client and was amazed to find a phone call message saying I was hired for their $11,000 SEM project within 3 hours from emailing my proposal!

Learn how tables, CSS layout, and frames affect indexing.
Deal with Flash, dynamic site, and server issues.
Create crawlable JavaScript menus.
Discover how dynamic web sites (CMS and shopping carts) affect SEO.
Avoid accidentally creating duplicate content for search engines and learn how to diagnose the problem if it happens.
Find and fix server and domain issues including dealing with multiple domains, redirects, affiliate program links, custom error pages, and domain name moves.
Understand advanced spider control and redirection strategies.

Pay-Per-Click Advertising

Go step-by-step through the pay-per-click advertising process on Overture and Google, including the crucial differences between the two.
Learn advanced "Dayparting," positioning, targeting, and distribution strategies.
Write ads that qualify and motivate visitors at the same time.
Get step-by-step advice on testing using quadrants, the A/B/C method, and benchmarking.
Gain advice on creating and testing landing pages for your campaigns.
Get tips on improving your conversion rate.
Get an overview of the PPC alternatives: paid inclusion, trusted feeds, and paid directory inclusion programs.

Link Building

Uncover how link analysis, hubs, and Google PageRank work.
Create a link strategy and manage your external profile.
Write press releases for maximum benefit
Understand how articles, blogs, RSS feeds influence site traffic
The do’s and don’ts of link baiting
How to effectively implement a paid link strategy

Running a Search Engine Marketing Business

Gain detailed advice on preparing to sell your services.
Uncover the essential services to offer, plus the processes and tools you’ll use.
Understand the services selling cycle, gaining experience and references.
Discover how to find prospects and write proposals that win the client.
Find the best ways to price your work.
Plan strategies for your clients, from keyword selection to content and links.
Discover how to conduct tracking and reporting for your clients.
Learn the advantages of outsourcing work to third parties.

Case Studies

To help put into perspective all the search engine optimization techniques you’ve learned, we’ll walk through three real-life case studies in order to show off the theories in a practical context. Three very different situations will be explored, from a brand new site and its optimization efforts, to the site and content optimizations of two existing sites, and their resultant rankings.

Interviews

Learn insider information from Andy Beal, the owner of the world’s largest SEM firm with over 150 employees (Keywordranking.com), as well as Jill Whalen of High Rankings, John Slade of Overture, Greg Jarboe of SEO-PR, and Scottie Claiborne of the Karcher Group.

Tools

Get over a dozen pages worth of reviewed resources and tools to help you with your search engine marketing efforts, including reviews of analysis tools, PPC tools, and various keyword research services.

CD-ROM

Those who purchase Dan’s kit and put it to good use will be much better prepared to run their SEM businesses, while also serving their clients in a highly professional manner.

When you order The Search Engine Marketing Kit, 2.0, you'll receive a binder with 341 letter-size pages of detailed how-to information, tips and strategies that you can put to use immediately.

You’ll also receive a CD-ROM packed with tools and documents, for use in your own search engine marketing efforts or as part of your search engine marketing business.

Sample SEM Proposal
Client Assessment Form
Keyword Analysis Worksheet
Directory Planning Worksheet
Sample SEO Presentation
Process Flowchart
Sample SEM Services Agreement
Site Review Checklist

... and more!

Bonus - Advertising Credits for three major Pay-Per-Click providers

For a very limited time, buyers of The Search Engine Marketing Kit will receive three coupons with each purchase:

$50 worth of Google AdWords™ advertising
$50 worth of clickthroughs on Yahoo! Search Marketing
$50 worth of clickthroughs on Miva

These coupons each entitle you to $50 worth of credits on new account sign-ups. See more information about this offer.

What’s new in the 2nd Edition?

Dan and Dave have updated all existing content to include the very latest SEO techniques and included a great new chapter on link building. They’ve also included three fantastic case studies to give you a real world view on the difference effective search engine optimisation can make to your web site traffic.

No-Risk Money-Back Guarantee

As always, we’re so confident that you’ll treasure this book for years to come that we’re happy for you to try it risk-free for 30 days. So, if you purchase a copy of The Search Engine Marketing Kit and you don’t think it provides everything you wanted and expected, we would like you to have your money back.

Simply contact us and we will see to it that you receive a prompt and courteous refund of the full purchase price, minus shipping and han nhdling.

How to Order this Kit

For a small investment of just $197.00 USD, you can buy the book from us, the publisher. It’s small price to pay to fast track search engine traffic to your site.

We’re currently offering FREE SHIPPING worldwide for a limited time.

The CSS Anthology: 101 Essential Tips, Tricks & Hacks

2008-12-06T06:22:00.000-08:00

nd Edition" class="imgleft" id="bookshot" width="198" height="289">

“The most complete question-and-answer book on CSS”

Learn practical solutions to complex CSS problems.
Design flexible two and three column layouts.
Combine CSS with images to create impressive visual effects.
Build navigation, rollovers, and menus without JavaScript.
Discover solutions to cross-browser compatibility problems.

Overview

The CSS Anthology: 101 Essential Tips, Tricks & Hacks is a compilation of best practice solutions to the most challenging CSS problems. The second edition of this best-selling book, now in full color, has been completely revised and updated to cover the latest techniques and newer browsers, including Firefox 2 and Internet Explorer 7.

It’s the most complete question-and-answer book on CSS, with over 100 tutorials that’ll show you how to gain more control over the appearance of your web page, create sophisticated Web page navigation controls, design for today’s alternative browsing devices including phones and screen readers, and much more.

The CSS code used to create each of the components is available for download and guaranteed to be simple, efficient and cross-browser compatible.

Media may be restricted from live coverage in emergency

2008-12-03T21:08:00.000-08:00

Amid concerns that the media coverage of the Mumbai terror attack may have hampered the operation against terrorists, Maharashtra government is considering restricting the news channels from showing live such incidents.

"The government is mulling the issue of putting some restrictions on live coverage during an emergency situation," a senior official from Home Department told PTI.

The channels were, in fact, banned for some time on the second day of the siege by police as they said it helped terrorists, who were in touch with their masters through phone, to keep a tab on the movement of the commandos who were not only fighting the ultras but also rescuing people.

But the coverage was resumed after some time and continued till the end of the operation.

Later, it was confirmed from phone intercepts between the terrorists and their "masters across the border" that the incessant live coverage of the operation aided masterminds of the audacious terror strikes to coordinate their movements.

The matter came for discussion at a high level meeting of the state Government held after the terror attacks in the city. The suggestion has taken for consideration in order to strengthen the security norms, he said.

"In fact, the suggestion to either ban or restrict channels from displaying live images came from many politicians," he said.

Happy Birthday : The Computer Mouse is 40

2008-12-02T21:00:00.000-08:00

Invented by a team of researchers led by Doug Engelbart at the Stanford Research Institute in California in 1968, computer’s most dynamic input device, the “mouse”, has entered into its 40s on Monday.

The first-ever mouse was made from a wooden block with wheels mounted on its base, and featured a red button on top of its case, and a cable at its back, which probably made one of the researchers to nickname it as “mouse”.

Recollecting his memories on its name, Engelbart said, “We thought that when it had escaped out to the world it would have a more dignified name. But it didn’t.”

Though Engelbart proposed the idea in early 1960s, while studying the correlation between computers and humans, the first prototype of the device was developed in 1964, and a full-fledged working mouse was demonstrated in Fall Joint Computer Conference in San Francisco in 1968.

The first commercial version of the mouse was launched by Xerox in 1981, but the device gained recognition after Apple launched it with its Macintosh computer systems in 1984.

Since then the device has been a prominent input device for computers, but today, it is facing stringent competition from touch screen interfaces and gesture control, as offered by devices like Apple’s iPhone and Nintendo Wii.

Operation Cyclone Successful | NSG Commandos take Taj under control - In Pictures

2008-11-29T09:12:00.000-08:00

Operation Cyclone Successful | NSG Commandos take Taj under control - In Pictures

The scenes of hostages being rescued from the city’s historic and landmark Taj Hotel

2008-11-29T09:11:00.003-08:00

The scenes of hostages being rescued from the city’s historic and landmark Taj Hotel

OPERATION NARIMAN HOUSE -In Pictures

2008-11-29T09:11:00.001-08:00

OPERATION NARIMAN HOUSE pictures,mumbai terrorist attack photo gallery,Mumbai Terrorist Attack pictures,Mumbai Terrorist Attack photos,Mumbai Terrorist Attackpics,Mumbai Terrorist Attack images,Mumbai Terrorist Attackstills

'We were locked in toilets'

2008-11-27T09:23:00.000-08:00

Australian actress Brooke Satchwell, who was in a bathroom at the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel when terrorists struck, says terrified guests locked themselves in toilet cubicles while people were "being shot in the hallways".

The former star of popular Australian soap opera Neighbours is in India on a three-week film shoot. She was in the Taj hotel's ground floor bathroom when she heard gunfire in the lobby outside Wednesday, reports 3aw.com, Australia's most listened-to radio station website.

"The staff let us hide in a service cupboard between the two bathrooms. We sat in there listening to matching gun fire," Satchwell said. The hostage situation at the hotel cleared up only by Thursday afternoon.

"Two of the male staff were sticking their heads out to see what was going on, which was absolutely terrifying. They were coming back and reporting that there was a dead body outside the bathroom and that they were seeing people being shot in the hallways," she added.

"There was a lot of confusion, no one really knew what was going on and we all felt a bit like sitting ducks," Satchwell was quoted as saying.

The most audacious terror attack targeted high profile landmarks, including the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel, Oberoi Trident hotel, Metro theatre and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus) railway station killing at least 101 people and injuring over 250. The terror siege continues well into Thursday.

Full Story: Here

Tips for safe Net transactions

2008-11-21T22:32:00.000-08:00

The whole process that normally takes less than 10 minutes could go on for 20 minutes. It becomes almost a memory test, you have to remember the password, and things like your mother’s maiden name, your birth date, address Pincode.

It could be irritating, but all of this is being done today to ensure that your funds are safe, and you have nothing to worry about when you conduct transactions online.

It’s part of a move to make online security more dynamic. Apart from the customer Id and one time password, companies are trying to bring in more levels of complexity so that hackers cannot get into the system.

Security service providers today offer a variety of such solutions.

Smart cards and tokens

One of these involves issuing a smart card or token which has changing numbers in them. When a user logs into his bank or brokerage website, he will be asked to fill in not just his password but also the additional number given in the token.

The token number is a set of 7 to 8 digits that changes every 30 or 60 seconds.

It’s based on an algorithm that does not repeat a number for almost eighteen years, and the algorithm in the token is coordinated with an exact same one linked to your online bank account.

As soon as the user fills in the token number, the server will cross check that with the one linked to the account and authenticate the user only if the two are identical.

Dynamic passwords

“A manual or static system is easy to hack into. But when the system gives a dynamic password each time and is a time controlled device, then it is tough to hack,” says Arthur Coviello, CEO of RSA (the security division of EMC).

The use of tokens for high net worth clients is on the rise. But it’s also getting into mass usage. RSA is shipping 400,000 of such tokens to the Bank of China every month.

“One of our customers, Bajaj Capital in Delhi, has about 150,000 customers. They are issuing tokens for users who do internet trading and even have an additional code requirement for doing any transaction,” says Amuleek Bijral, country manager (India) for RSA.

Authentication process

Rajiv Chadha, VP for sales in VeriSign, says banks, and many others, are increasingly becoming aware of the need for a second factor authentication.

So much so that in some countries like Brazil, it’s creating a problem of excess.

“A customer in Brazil wears about 5 tokens around his neck - two for bank access (different accounts), one for his office authorisation, and two for access to other niche applications. Now the banking authority is looking at creating one common token standard to make life simpler for consumers,” says Chadha.

Monitor user behaviour

Another dynamic security solution involves keeping an active account of user behaviour and taking action accordingly.

Thus, the system will note the IP address from which you normally log in to the account, the nature of activities you normally conduct with the bank, the browser you use and the version of it, and even may be the resolution of your monitor.

If there is a significant deviation from any of these, the software could be programmed to take action in some form. “When I was traveling to Italy and wanted to transfer money to my daughter in the UK, the system did not allow my request to be processed,” says Coviello.

“So then I had to call up the bank, answer some questions and only after that was I allowed to transfer the money.”

Tracking user behaviour

But it needn’t be a complete stoppage of a transaction.

If the transfer amount involved is small, the system could ask you to answer a set of questions that only you can be reasonably expected to know. And if you get that right, the transaction can be completed.

“Inspite of being expensive and time consuming, banks are now monitoring user behaviour. Any deviation is noticed and is questioned. These additional mechanisms for fraud detection instill more confidence in customers,” says Chadha.

Rise in malicious attacks

Companies also face the issue of malicious codes created by hackers looking to access user accounts and get financial information.

Malicious attacks are growing in volume, are getting sophisticated and newer forms are emerging all the time.

So banks spend a lot of effort trying to protect themselves from such activities.

“To tackle that, along with a black list, we are also creating a white list and a reputation-based security system,” says Vishal Dhupar, MD of Symantec India.

The white list database

The white list is a huge database identifying popular, legitimate programmes and allowing them to run unhindered.

The reputation-based software rating system is said to be able to accurately categorise less popular legitimate and malicious files.

The approach assumes three distinct populations in Symantec’s user base - one that’s ultra-safe (downloading applications only from reputable software companies), another that’s adventurous (generally safe, but occasionally try out new programs or unsafe websites) and the third that’s completely unsafe (frequently accessing websites that can easily infect them).

Tackling malicious files

And the classification is done by looking at the history of infections on the users’ machines. When a new program is detected, Symantec’s new approach entails looking at where the program is found.

If a large number of the ‘safe’ machines have it, then it would be classified as a safe program. But if it’s found only in the ‘unsafe’ machines and a few of the adventurous ones, it would be classified as ‘unsafe’ and you would be warned.

Symantec also has its DeepSight information services, a global intelligence network that provides upto-the-minute view of security threats, by capturing and processing security data for organisations.

These information services deliver trend analyses and security incidents data to organisations, which enables them to take proper measures and defend themselves against threats.

Cyber crime on the rise

The need for more sophisticated security measures are arising from the fact that cyber crime is on the rise. There was a time when hackers hacked for fun. Increasingly, they are doing it for financial gains.

“A week ago a friend of mine saw an entry in her bank statement that indicated she had bought an air ticket for Rs 10,000 which she had not,” says Vijay Mukhi, a member of the advisory board on cyber security of the Indian government.

“When she contacted the bank, they told her to register an FIR. At the police station, citing jurisdiction issues, they did not register the FIR. She still has no idea what to do.” The onus here lies with the banks, he says.

“The police and the banks have to work together and also frame appropriate polices. Also banks need to come out, file cases of theft and get a few people jailed to set an example and get back customer confidence,” adds Mukhi.

The need for security

Capt Raghu Raman, CEO of Mahindra Special Services Group, says financial institutions in India are recognising the need for greater security.

“They have tokens or might ask you to give in some digits of your debit card or the card will have its own number grid at the back which they might ask for. Some stock brokers are registering the machine that you access the account from. Without the same machine number, no person will be able to log onto the system,” he says.

But won’t hackers find ways to crack these newer systems? Maybe. But, as Coviello says, if somebody deploys these systems, hackers are likely to first look elsewhere (to those who haven’t deployed them).

The best health tips EVER

2008-11-21T03:42:00.001-08:00

Eat regularly and get moving!

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!

Best Non Profit sites 2008 (TOP 10)

2008-11-16T04:50:00.000-08:00

Hello www.webnsn.com presenting 2008's best Non Profit sites, Here the TOP TEN best Non Profit sites.

1. Greenpeace.org.india
2. Unicef.org.india
3. Wwfindia.org
4. Helpageindia.org
5. Amnesty.org.in
6. Apd-india.org
7. Msfindia.in
8. Nabindia.org
9. Planindia.org
10. Indianredcross.org

11. Aryagan.org
12. Oxfamindia.org