My 2¢ Worth

here's another new virus making the rounds. This worm, known as W32.Beagle.K@mm, was just discovered yesterday. Make sure to update your anti-virus definitions.

ou can find out more about W32.Beagle.K@mm here.

his Web page states that the systems affected are Windows 2000, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT, Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP. Do you notice a pattern here? Systems unaffected areDOS, Linux, Macintosh, Microsoft IIS, OS/2, UNIX, Windows 3.x. Seems like there's a pattern here as well.

'm not really surprised, but it just burns me, especially as my Windows operating system has been giving me lots of trouble lately.

Feature Article

MARKETING SMARTER TO EARN MORE

by: Charlie Cook charliecook.net

An accountant once told me that he never met anyone who didn't want to make 30% more money. Whether you want a better lifestyle or to take more vacations, buy a fancy car, spend more time with your family, send your children to college or to give it all away, you could always use more money.

If you sell services, your primary limitations on earnings are your costs and the number of hours in a week. Most independent professionals are already working well over 40 hours a week and can't work longer hours to increase earnings. Your goal should be to find ways to work less and increase your earnings. How can you market smarter and make more money?

DON'T DISCOUNT YOUR SERVICES

Have you ever heard of a lawyer or carpenter offering a 20% discount on their hourly or daily rate? Every time you offer a discount or reduce your regular rates, you are sending a message to prospects that your services really aren't worth what you're asking.

Once your clients know that your prices are discounted or negotiable, you will always be fighting a battle to be the paid full price for your work. Never offer discounts; your clients will assume that they are expected to pay the asking price for your services.

OVERCOME OBJECTIONS TO PRICE

Prospects invariably want to know your pricing before they understand the benefits your products and services provide. Quoting prices is meaningless until prospects can put the cost into the context of the results they can expect.

When prospects show concern about your pricing, it's a good sign. It indicates their interest in buying your services and a need to understand the value you provide. You could list all the benefits of your services but if you really want to make the sale, it's far more effective to let prospects sell themselves.

A client's perception of value isn't based on how much they pay, but on whether their expectations will be met and the benefit they will receive. Don't get stuck on the dollars you charge per hour. Instead help prospects define the dollar benefit of your services.

When prospects query you on price, respond by asking questions to help them identify for themselves the problem they want solved, the cost of the problem, the solution they need, and how you can help them. Prospects buy when they think their expectations will be met. Let them define their expectations and they'll be far more likely to sell themselves when you finally explain your pricing at the end of the conversation.

POSITION YOURSELF AS AN EXPERT

Differentiate yourself from your competition by using your articles to regularly provide insight and ideas to your prospects and clients so they come to view you as an expert in your field. Use expert positioning and consider raising your prices.

When Arnold Schwarzenegger first arrived in the U.S. he had trouble getting work as a stonemason with his funny accent, despite charging less than his competitors. A friend suggested he set his prices above the competition and bill himself and his partner as exclusive European masons. His business took off and look where he is now!

AVOID HOURLY FEES

Unless you sell hour-long massages, charging by the hour is the best way to limit your earning potential. When you charge by the hour you lose money if you work efficiently or if you get a great idea right away. Prospects can always negotiate with you on the number of hours they want, undermining your ability to put in the time needed to meet their expectations.

Prospects want results. Help them clarify the results they want and then set a project fee for accomplishing those results. Make sure your contract or letter of agreement allows you to adjust your price if the project changes mid-stream.

USE VALUE BASED PRICING

You can pay $30 or over $5,000 a night for a motel or hotel room. Both provide a roof over your head, a bed and your own bathroom, so why do some people pay over 150 times more for one than the other?

People buy based on their perception of the value provided. If they understand the value that your service or product provides, they may be willing to pay much, much more than you are currently charging. Look at the results you provide for clients and reassess your pricing.

LEVERAGE YOUR TIME AND MONEY

Like most service professionals you have limited time and money to spend on marketing. Much of your time is spent delivering services. Is your marketing helping you earn more? Do prospects understand the unique value you provide? If not, take a look at the way you are positioning your firm and adjust it to clarify your value to clients.

Are you making what you could be? If you apply even one or two of the above strategies, you'll be making more money than you are now without working any harder. You'll probably still wish you had 30% more.

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The author, Marketing Coach, Charlie Cook, helps independent professionals and small business owners attract more clients and increase their earnings with the 5 Principles of Highly Effective Marketing. Sign up for the Free Marketing Guide and the 'More Business' newsletter, full of practical marketing tips at www.charliecook.net

Pull-Down Menus

Pull-down, or drop-down, menus are great space savers when it comes to displaying a series of hyperlinks. The form and script below will enable you to easily place a drop-down selection of links, without the need for any server-side programming. All you have to do is re-code the form elements, including the option values, file selections and submit button value.

<form name="drop_down" method="post"> <select name="selections" size=1> <option value="file1.htm">first page</option> <option value="file2.htm">second page</option> <option value="file3.htm">third page</option></select> <input type=button onClick="location = ''+ document.drop_down .selections.options[document.drop_down.selections.selectedIndex ] .value;" value="Go!"> </form>

 

 

 

 

 

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Second Article

Are You Well Protected

by: Roxie Hickman The Virtual Connection

Fall is synonymous with the start of the cold and flu season. Though, technically speaking, things got started a little early. Close to a million computers, mostly home PC users, were infected by the Blaster Worm virus and SoBig.F. Microsoft expects more to come with the recent discovery of another flaw waiting to be exploited.

For many of us our computers are our business. We keep in contact with customers and clients via email, do extensive internet research, and transmit important files electronically. We know what to do to protect our bodies from viruses. There are some simple strategies, and even free precautions we can take to protect our businesses by keeping our PCs virus free.

Adopting the following six checkpoints will help keep your computer healthy and your business uninterrupted.

Use a Firewall

At its most basic level a firewall is a software security system that acts as a barrier between your computer and the outside world (the internet) by monitoring all incoming network traffic. A more advanced firewall will also monitor outgoing traffic. How you use your computer will determine whether basic or advanced firewall protection is needed. Windows XP has this software installed; however, it may need to be enabled. If you have XP and would like to enable the firewall, directions are on the Microsoft website.

For non XP users, firewall software can be purchased. McAfee and Zone Alarm are two very popular products. Zone Alarm has a free downloadable firewall, basic version, available on their website, www.zonealarm.com. Before installing a firewall, you may be interested in learning your computer’s vulnerability. This is something that can be checked for free and in just a few minutes. Visit the website of Gibson Research Corporation, www.grc.com, and under Hot Spots, click on Shields UP. It takes a little bit of scrolling to get to but is well worth the extra seconds. In minutes your PC is scanned and its vulnerability rated.

Antivirus Software

Antivirus software is the "shot" after the epidemic. This software protects your computer from known threats. Many PCs come with antivirus software already installed. Some of the more popular versions are Norton, PCCillin and McAfee.

If you have it pre installed or have purchased it, great. Please be sure to keep it constantly updated with the latest virus definitions. This is important because these definitions are formed in response to the latest viruses. If you don't have this protection, please consider getting it.

Once this software is installed on your computer, you will be automatically notified when new virus definitions are available. Then it is just a matter of a few clicks to download the new definitions.

Likewise you will be notified when your antivirus software is about to expire. The software needs to be updated annually. The initial purchase, renewal, updates and installation can all be done online.

Spyware Eliminator

Why am I getting all of these pop ups? Certain websites that you visit or free software (shareware) that you download, and, in some cases, hardware purchased from major manufacturers will also install tracking devices on your computer (spyware). Spyware is annoying but not illegal.

An internet search will reveal the many choices available for spyware elimination software. The important thing is to get one and use it consistently. Spybot and PestPatrol are popular choices.

I really like Spybot Search and Destroy. Besides the fact that it is free, once spyware is identified, the software will provide a detailed description of just what it is. This is helpful just in case it identifies something that you don't want to get rid of.

Backup, Backup, Backup

How often do you backup? What files/programs do you backup? What media do you backup to?

We all know the importance of backing up our information yet so many of us don’t do it. There may be a ton of reasons why it's not done but the one reason it should be done on a regular basis is that it can be a timesaver, possibly a business saver if your computer system is corrupted for any reason.

If you happen to be using Windows XP Professional, the backup procedure is quite simple. For users of XP Home Edition, it is a bit more involved. Complete instructions, however, are on the Microsoft website.

Typically, data files are what most people need to back up and having well organized files will certainly simplify the process.

Whether you backup to disk, zip disk, DVD, writeable CDs, external file drive or utilize one of the online services, it is important to get into the habit of backing up on a regular basis.

Weekly Updates of Windows

Windows users are automatically notified of current updates for the Windows operating system when your computer is turned on. With just a few clicks your operating system is updated. However, when certain patches become available for your particular applications software (XP, 2000, NT, etc), as was/is the case with the recent worm viruses, a visit to Microsoft's website is necessary. Once there, Microsoft will scan your computer, tell you what updates are available, and you then have the option of installing them on your system. In some cases, you will need your installation CDs to complete the download.

With the recent run of viruses and with more expected, it is imperative to check for these updates weekly on the Microsoft website as well as do the automatic updates.

Be Careful of Email Attachments

Email is such a widely accepted method of communication, and this has not gone unnoticed by hackers who use email as a means of mass virus spread. For this final checkpoint, your due diligence is the only software required.

Always delete any email from unknown senders and be very careful of any attachments you are not expecting from any known senders. As we have seen, hackers can quite easily access Outlook address books to spread viruses.

By the way, including a fake email address in your address book will not prevent your PC from spreading viruses. This is an urban legend. If you’re interested in the full story, check out this link: www.snopes.com/computer/virus/quickfix.htm

When it comes to the health of our computers, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Effective prevention software along with plain old common sense, used consistently, can keep you protected.

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Professional Virtual Assistant and experienced Admin professional, Roxie Hickman specializes in working with the 'sucstressed'. If you are a successful professional that's stressed because you've been doing it alone, Roxie can help.
The Virtual Connection

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Download of the Week

AnalogX CookieWall allows you to quickly and easily decide which cookies can stay on your system, and which cookies should go - once you let CookieWall know which ones are unwelcome, it does the rest. CookieWall can be configured to delete cookies as soon as they arrive, to notify you of any new ones, or just que them up for you to check out at a later date. CookieWall is currently only compatible with Microsoft Internet Explorer. Download CookieWall

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