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How to Protect Yourself and Your Company Against a Hacker Attack (Like Twitter's) — at No Cost

7/20/2009 by
Image representing Twitter as depicted in Crun...

Twitter’s security meltdown has done a fantastic job of publicizing how vulnerable a modern, cloud-based startup can be to a determined hacker. 

I have been surprised that in the numerous articles about how to protect yourself against hacking, I have seen very little mention of the powerful technique that we discussed in The Virtual Handshake.  Here’s a slightly updated version of what we wrote in the book:

Use a different user ID and password for all of the important sites you visit. If a thief knows your password on one site, it’s too easy for him to then use that password on many other sites. (That homogeneity is what broke down Twitter’s security.)  A good way to keep unique passwords for every site is to develop a standard method for creating a password from the name of the site. For example, to create a unique password for Orkut.com:

1. Pick a standard word for use with all your sites.  We’ll use "jade."

2. Split it in half. In the middle, insert the number of letters in the domain name. "Orkut" has 5 letters, so we write "ja5de."

3. Add a letter at the beginning that is the first letter of the domain name. "Orkut" = "O," giving us "Oja5de."

Although this allows you to easily calculate the password, a hacker cannot readily deduce a pattern because each site has its own unique password. Of course, you need to create your own algorithm; do not use this one! To avoid confusion from an excessive number of passwords, it’s okay to use the same password on all Web sites for which security is not critical, e.g., newspaper sites.

One weakness in this approach is the use of a common word as a base.  Christopher Faulkner, CEO of C I Host, suggests pick a line from a song or popular phrase, and use the first letter of each word. For example, "Four Score and Seven Years Ago" becomes "4s&7YA" .

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Filed Under: Chapter 16: Privacy & Safety, Tips

Negotiating real estate deals via email

7/8/2009 by
SAN FRANCISCO - APRIL 18: BlackBerry user Dou...

(Image by Getty Images via Daylife)

The NY Times reports on negotiating real estate deals via email.  As we say in our book, email is just one tool of many in human communication, and overuse/inappropriate use is not going to help you be successful.I recently met a hedge fund manager who said ‘email is a glorified fax machine’.

From the article:

 

 

 

 

But others think that there are circumstances when online bargaining makes sense. Kathleen L. McGinn, a professor of business administration at the Harvard Business School who has written extensively about negotiation, says real estate is one area in which e-mail negotiation may actually be better than face-to-face negotiation.

 

E-mail can help buyers and sellers be more forthcoming about what they really want, Dr. McGinn said. ‘It might be uncomfortable for me to sit across from someone and say, ‘Could you leave the sofa?’ she said. ‘But if you put it online, you’re just getting it on a list and you don’t have to worry about seeming penny-pinching or petty.’

 

 

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Filed Under: Miscellaneous

Boosting Returns With Web 2.0 Technologies–Webinar, July 23, 12-1:30 ET (Buyouts Conferences)

7/2/2009 by

 

I hope you’ll join me for Boosting Returns With Web 2.0 Technologies, a special 90-minute interactive webinar, July 23, 2009, at 12-1:30 Eastern; 11-12:30 Central; 10-11:30 Mountain;  9-10:30 Pacific.  It is hosted by Buyouts Conferences’ Private Equity University.

 

Our panelists are

 


David Teten,
CEO,
Teten Advisors
Michael S. Pfeffer,
Managing Director,
Post Capital		  Seth Levine
Seth Levine, 
Managing Director,
Foundry Group

 

During this 90-minute online seminar you’ll learn the following:

  • The skinny on Gerson Lehrman, GuidePoint Global, Evalueserve Circle of Experts, DeMatteo Monness, Coleman Research Group and other expert networks–how to get the most out of them;
  • What it takes to join and take advantage of the most popular gated communities for investors and executives, including sites such as ACG Network, Angelsoft, INMobile, and Albourne Village;
  • How to use Web 2.0 services to perform background checks on managers, and to quickly identify and talk with customers, competitors and suppliers of target companies;
  • Which leading professional and social networking sites to join to land introductions, keep tabs on colleagues, recruit executives, find co-investors and unearth opportunities for new transactions;
  • How to use a blog to differentiate yourself and attract deal flow to you…instead of chasing after deals;
  • How to easily and cheaply keep your contact management system up to date and exhaustive.
  • How to optimize what people see when they Google your name

 

 

Register now and you’ll get two special benefits: a complimentary PDF copy of The Virtual Handshake: Opening Doors and Closing Deals Online, a book on how to find and close deals leveraging online technology; and a PDF copy of the exclusive slides from the Webinar.

 

Order a DVD.

 

 

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Filed Under: Miscellaneous