I want to pass along a posting from Paul Myers (who I’m def. a big fan of).

He brings up some scary and creepy things that we don’t always think of in our day to day dealings with our electronics and on the internet. As much as I like the convenience and coolness of always being tapped in and keeping up to date with all of my friends, it’s easy to forget just how easy it is to be used against us.

Here’s what Paul has to say…

“There’s a thing called “IP geolocation,” which uses a database of IPs (numbers locating your computer on the network) and physical areas to show where a computer is located. There are a bunch of these, and the accuracy can be anything from very close to wildly off the mark. The good ones can narrow it down to a few blocks, in most cases. Sometimes to a specific building.

You can see this most often when you notice an ad on a site that’s used by people all over the world, but mentions your city by name. “[YourCity] mom discovers…” or “Man in [Hometown] loses 47 pounds using…” That’s IP geolocation in its mildest form.

Twitter has offered the option for a while to attach your IP address to a tweet, basically trying to tell people where you are. You have to opt into that, though. It’s turned off by default.

Facebook’s new “Places” settings options enable a more advanced function by default. The idea is to make it easy for your friends to know where you are. Unfortunately, it also makes it easy for people you might not want to share your location with to find you. Or know when you’re not home…

It’s easy to disable this option, if you know it’s there and what it’s called. John Williams sent me a link to the instructions. You can read those here:

http://lifehacker.com/5616395/how-to-disable-facebook-places

Why would this matter?

Well, maybe you don’t want your friends to know where you are every minute that you’re online. Or maybe you don’t want world+dog knowing when you’re not home. Or maybe you don’t want your employer knowing you’re logging onto Facebook from work.
Or from the park when you called in sick.

Just how much info should be distributed about you automatically?

But wait… There’s more!

….

There are applications on some portable devices and phones that can transmit the data from a GPS system to other sites. This can be used to pinpoint your exact address, and your location to within a few feet.

That’s how the “Places” function on Facebook works. And, with the default settings, your Facebook “friends” can “check you in” if they’re with you. Handy, if you’re careful about who your “friends” are, and who you allow to share the info. Given the default settings, though, it’s an announcement to the world every time you log in from a mobile device.

That can get into the realm of the dangerous. With it set to “Friends of friends” able to view the info, you could be broadcasting your location to burglars, stalkers, ex- employees, your employer, or even just that annoying person you’d rather not see right now.

Given recent comments from CEOs Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook – “Privacy is dead”) and Eric Schmidt (Google – “If you have something that you don´t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place”), there is every reason to believe these services will be used as aggressively as possible.

Both companies have said the comments were taken out of context. That could be easily believed of Zuckerberg’s remark.
Schmidt’s is a bit less dismissable. None of that matters, though, when you look at the way their firms actually treat their users’ private data. Facebook set this option to “On” by default. Google initially opted every Gmail user into their social networking platform, Buzz, and created significant and foreseeable problems for some users.

I’m pretty sure I don’t want those sorts of decisions made for me without my knowledge or consent. How about you?

And it gets (potentially) much, much worse.

….

Apple has applied for a patent that has some deeply disturbing
implications: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/08/24-0

The summary: They want a patent on software that, in mobile devices, would let them listen to your conversations and/or take pictures of you or your surroundings, without any way for you to know it’s happening. Just remotely activate those functions, at their own discretion.

It would also let them monitor biometric data and all of your online activities while using their devices.

Ostensibly, this would be developed for purposes of preventing theft, or catching thieves. It’s even been suggested to me that Apple may want the patent to keep the idea from being used by others.

I don’t buy it. But that doesn’t really matter.

First, it’s nearly certain that, if this technology is deployed and not made illegal for use by private citizens, it will be abused. The theft-prevention rationale was offered, for example, by the Lower Merion school district, in their program giving laptops to every high-school student. “Only to enable recovery in event of theft,” they said. That didn’t stop people at the school from using it to spy on students in their homes.

Yeah. Really.

One kid was disciplined for “improper behavior” that occurred at home, in his bedroom. The Vice-Principal used a photo taken using the webcam in the laptop as his evidence. According to a forensic analysis commissioned by the district, the school took
66,503 screenshots and photos using these systems. The school admits these include pictures of the kids in their bedrooms.

If teachers will do that, what would a corporation do?

….

So, if you have one of these portable devices, where do you use it? In what situations do you simply carry a cell phone, iPad or other portable computing device? Do you want people able to spy on you in all those places, at any time, without warning?

It’s been suggested to me that there is prior art that might cause the USPTO to reject such a patent application, or be used later to invalidate it if granted. That raises other challenges. Specifically, anyone at all could include it in their systems.

Google has a cell phone OS. Just how much do you want them to add to their collection of data on you?

Then there’s the “social networking” phone, which is designed specifically for use with Facebook and Twitter. Do you want your kids to have one of those broadcasting their location to the world at every moment the phone is on?

This isn’t science fiction, folks. We’re not getting into foil fedora territory here. This stuff is real.

….

And then there are the outright criminals.

There is already malware code in the wild that lets remote operators turn on the webcam on infected computers. That’s not a big deal if you use a desktop machine and don’t keep one connected, or disconnect it when you don’t intend to use it.

But what about the laptops and netbooks, and even some monitors, that are sold with a camera and microphone installed in the machine itself? The last two portables that I got have them. Where do you, or your kids or employees, use laptops?

This isn’t especially difficult stuff to do. And the market isn’t restricted to criminals. For instance, on the first related search I did, I found someone asking how to remotely activate the webcam on his wife’s laptop without her knowing.

Some of these devices come with GPS systems installed. Anyone who can access those will know exactly where you are, what you’re doing or discussing, and with whom.

Anyone want to market sound-proof phone carriers, with built- in Faraday cages? A month ago, I would have considered that a ridiculous idea. Now, I’m thinking it’s a niche.

….

Electronic security isn’t just about data protection any more, folks. It’s gotten very personal, and it’s about to get more so.

You can take steps to reduce your exposure to this kind of invasion of privacy. First, make sure you have proper security software on all your computers. That’s good policy anyway, so that’s not too extreme.

With the social networking sites, it’s a matter of watching your preferences. Also just common sense. And easy.

Don’t leave external webcams attached when they’re not in use, if you have any objection to what you do in the same room with them being seen by someone else. Using a USB hub makes disconnecting them easy, and it’s a reasonable precaution, with the amount of trojans running loose online.

With laptops and netbooks, just be aware that this stuff is possible, and take whatever precautions you may feel are appropriate. That might be nothing at all, for many of you. It could mean turning the thing off when it’s not in active use.
Or putting tape over the camera lens. Or, if you have the need or desire to be especially cautious, having a physical switch installed to prevent remote activation of the camera or microphone.

I can’t begin to guess what level of security will work for you. Some people won’t consider it an issue at all, and they may well be right. For them. For others, these are real concerns. It’s getting very easy to install this kind of monitoring code, and there are too many people with incentives to do it. Employers, co-workers, competition, family members, and various less savory types. Brings new meaning to the word “spyware,” yes?

Make sure your kids are aware of the potential issues, too.

….

I’m told that law enforcement agencies have had the ability to turn on cell phones remotely as listening devices for a while now, with a proper warrant. I consider that a very different thing than random strangers being able to access these kinds of info at will.

As of this moment, I am not aware of this being a problem for cell phones and similar portable devices. Just keep this in mind, and pay attention for it.

Whether Apple gets that patent or not, it’s coming.

….

If it’s installed or used by any corporation, I have a suggestion that seems appropriate: The top officers and all members of the board(s) of directors should be required to carry one of the devices with them at all times, with the audio and video enabled 24/7, and streaming to the web for the whole world to view.

Hey, if we don’t get to decide what we can keep private, why should they?

….

The idea here isn’t to scare you, or create some sort of conspiracy buzz. If that was the goal, I’d point you to an even more extreme, and equally current, example of invasive
observation: http://talkbiz.com/r/iris.php

As you can see, this stuff is real. The technology exists right now, and most of it is already in use. It may not pose much of a threat to many of us, but it’s something to be aware of and to watch out for.

Knowing it’s possible is 90% of the battle.

Be careful out there.

I know we’re all a bit sick and tired of promises of “automated software” that will make us rich before dinner.

And I’m always the first to be skeptical of these kinds of outrageous claims.

But today I may have to actually eat my words.

Because I just picked up a listbuildilng system that really is incredibly fast…,

And the traffic actually does keeps flow in on auto-pilot.

It’s a pretty new tactic on the scene that I’ve heard of.

But I never really knew how to implement it.

Then I found this:

Free Plug N Play Listbuilding System

At that link 7 figure marketer Bill McRea is GIVING AWAY this listbuilding system totally free…

It’s his way of getting some buzz going for his upcoming product launch (apparently he’s go another system up his sleeve that’s even better than this)

In any case..

I went and got this myself and it’s totally legit.

There’s nothing scammy about it all.
It’s just a way to instantly create a win-win offer that potential JV partners can’t refuse.

Bill hand you EVERYTHING you need to make it work. And I mean EVERYTHING.

So if you know the power of having a mailing list..

Do yourself a favor and go get this.

Do it now: Free Plug N Play Listbuilding System

I mean…you can’t beat the price, right?

P.S. There is one catch to this…you’ll have to help spread the word. But that’s easy for me because I’ve seen this strategy in action and know that it works.
You should get Free Plug N Play Listbuilding System now!

Today I have a tip that I’m forwarding on from a fellow marketer, Frank Hayword.

Here we go.

It’s a tip to get lots of backlinks easily via forums.

You register on a forum, go to your user control panel, and then
enter just two backlinks in your sig (signature) section.  You
DON’T need to make a post, just register and add your backlinks in
your sig using either HTML or bbcode depending on the forum.

The next time that search engines hit the site and crawl it, your
backlinks will be found via the members directory.

Easy huh?  And you can leave it at that if you want to.

You may be thinking that this is spam, but well… it’s borderline
and I think it’s okay as nobody ever has to see the links, just
the search engines.

***

However…

If you want to go a little further, and leave a couple of USEFUL
comments too (I can’t stress this enough) on an existing post,
then that’s fine.

But for goodness sake, don’t make it a “me too” post.  Make sure
your comment actually adds to the thread and is helpful in some way,
and is at least a couple of paragraphs.

(The same goes for blog commenting.)

It won’t get deleted, and you help someone.  The universe is happy
with the trade and so is the forum owner.

The benefit is that there are some threads on posts that can end up
getting decent PR (if you’re worried about such things), and the
idea is your backlinks will carry more weight.

But if you *do* decide to this, you do have to take a little bit
more care.

It’s usually a good idea to register, make your comments, wait a
week, and then log back in and add your sig in the control panel.
Most forum software will then auto-add the sig to all your posts.

It’s a good way of getting backlinks and is used by all marketers
in the know.

***

But registering with forums can take a little time to fill in all
the fields.  Even if it only takes you a minute or two, wouldn’t
it be better if you could shave that down to seconds?

That’s where Roboform comes in.

Roboform will remember all your passwords and details against
different identities you create, and then auto-fill fields in
forms for you.

Click-click-done.

It takes seconds instead of minutes.

You can also get a Roboform2Go licence
which will work with a USB drive so you can carry it around with
you.  VERY useful.

It’s something I’ve been meaning to buy myself for ages, but never
got around to.  I’ve instead been relying on my browser to remember
my passwords where security isn’t an issue, and keeping the rest in
my head or in an encrypted text document for reference when I need
it.

Yeah daft in a way I know, but you get into these habits and they
tend to stick.

Now at last with Roboform I won’t have to worry again about
passwords, registering on web sites, etc as all the fields will be
retained and filled in for me.

I hope this has all been useful for you, and you can get Roboform
from here:-

www.roboform.com

-Frank Haywood

Here’s another great report by Stephen Pierce.  In it he talks about the 3 positions.

Do you know what they are? (If you don’t, you better get the report quick!)

How you position yourself and your business can have a significant impact on your bottom line.  Perception is everything and if people don’t perceive you as offering something of value, you’ll be tossed to the wayside.

You don’t want that, do you?

It’s important to have a strategy with your business and your marketing.  You need to know where you stand and where you are going.  What are you trying to project?  And how will you accomplish that goal?

Read the report here!

Inside you will be given not only good information, but a worksheet as well, so that you can immediately clarify your own business marketing goals.

Be sure to leave a comment before you leave!  I want to know what you think and how I can continue to help your business grow.

Keep it real.

Matt

Before I started my first list, I wasn’t making anything online. It took me 2 long years to really start figuring out how to build a list – it has so many parts, and can be confusing…

REALLY CONFUSING

when you are just starting out. I mean, you have to figure out:

1) what an autoresponder is

2) what a list really is

3) why a list is so important

4) how to get subscribers on your list

5) how to get traffic to your website

6) how to get a website

7) how to actually process orders online

how to do a legal “unsubscribe link”

9) how many messages to send to people

10) what to write to people

11) how affiliate programs work… just to name a few!

http://bsrei4995.tellmank.hop.clickbank.net/?rd=mfl

Internet Millionaire Tellman Knudson has “freeleased” his groundbreaking

“ListBuilding Quickstart” series… that gets you set up with a website

and list in 24 hours or less!

http://bsrei4995.tellmank.hop.clickbank.net/?rd=mfl

The best part is, you get it for free!

After you sign in to get the series, check out the “Video” on the next page… It’s intense, and it’s an important thing for anyone (with OR without a website) to see.

If you haven’t built your first list, or if you have tried and failed – then this was built for you… go and check it out …..i think you’ll be happy that you did….

==> http://bsrei4995.tellmank.hop.clickbank.net/?rd=mfl

-Matt

Hey there.  I just uploaded this great ebook on niche discovery.  If you’ve attempted this before, maybe you’ve had some trouble or have become overwhelmed.  It’s easy to have happened – even to the best of us!

This ebook “Stupid Simple (and Free) Niche Discovery” walks you through the steps and shows you the path.

Finding your first “ONE” product can be the difference between giving up and long term financial freedom. This is the biggest stumbling block people find when trying to make it online. Just getting that first Product to sell online that:

(A) Has REAL Traffic.

(B) Converts to sales.

This is a very simple system that Peter Drew has come up with and will share with you right now. You do not need to order or buy anything from me or him to accomplish this strategy.

This is using free resources. You can download the book here:

Jeff Johnson’s newest training program is now available.

He’s calling it “Operation: Quick Start”.

You can literally create traffic and money on demand when you follow his simple system…

It’s really much easier than you think.

Jeff has been running a very successful online coaching program now for 4 continuous years so he must be doing something right.

He’s helped thousands of people just like you grab more traffic, more leads and more money.

I’m absolutely positive he can help you, too.

Highly Recommended!

Check it out:

http://www.undergroundtraininglabs.com/live.php?1054284

Enjoy!

P.S.

This stuff is Not rocket science, anyone can do it.

And his system is truly step-by-step.

It’s So Simple, It’s Embarrassing!

Highly Recommended:

http://www.undergroundtraininglabs.com/live.php?1054284

Find out how 1 man overcame his struggles and made $1,107,845 in just 1 year.

Check out his story:

http://www.aceducates.com/go.php?a=29901&l=32&sy=2

Anik Singal & Amit Mehta have made it

possible for many people to have incredible success stories with their PPC Classroom courses. And the latest version, PPC Classroom 3.0, is no different.

http://www.aceducates.com/go.php?a=29901&l=32&sy=2

There are people just like you who had

heard the hoopla and were on the verge of giving up on making money online.

See how they overcame the dead ends and

succeeded in making the internet work

for them:

http://www.aceducates.com/go.php?a=29901&l=32&sy=2

Are You their next success story?

http://www.aceducates.com/go.php?a=29901&l=32&sy=2

Wishing You The Best,

- Matthew Silver