Mountain Views News          Saturday, December 8, 2012

15

BUSINESS NEWS & TRENDS

 Mountain Views News Saturday, December 8, 2012 


THE 3 AMIGOS


Oftentimes we are easily distracted by the latest headline-grabbing cyber threat making the 
rounds and as a consequence we sometimes overlook the threats that we are most likely to face 
in our online travels. This is a problem of perception where the threats we think we face turn out 
to be different from the threats we actually face. For a statistical taste of the real world, here are 
the three cyberthreats we are most likely to encounter as home users:

1. Socially-Engineered Trojans - Socially-engineered Trojans are the primary method of attack 
faced by home users. In this instance the home user browses to a trusted website and is prompted 
to run a program that contains a trojan. Usually the website has also become a victim of foul play 
and has been temporarily compromised by hackers. The website then tells users they are infected 
by viruses and need to run fake antivirus software. Also, they’re nearly out of free disk space 
and need a fake disk defragger. Finally, they must install an otherwise unnecessary program, 
often a fake Adobe Reader or an equally well-known program. The user executes the malware, 
clicking past browser warnings that the program could possibly be harmful, and the evil deed 
has been completed. Socially engineered Trojans are responsible for hundreds of millions of 
successful hacks on home users each year. Against those numbers, all other hacking types are 
just background noise.

2. Unpatched Software - Coming in a distant second is software with known, but unpatched 
exploits. The most common unpatched and exploited programs are Java, Adobe Reader, and 
Adobe Flash. It’s been this way for a few years now but programs with auto-load and auto-
update features such as these employ are routinely overlooked for updating and as such they’ve 
become attractive targets for the bad guys on the internet. 

3. Phishing Attacks - Security vendors estimate that upwards of 70% of all email circulating the 
internet is spam of some form. Anti-spam programs and security measures have made great 
strides in keeping the worst of it at bay but during that same time frame the bad guys have made 
tremendous strides in crafting their product. It’s often helpful to think of an effective phishing 
email as a corrupted work of art. On the outside everything looks great. Sometimes the fake 
email even warns users not to fall for other fraudulent emails. The only thing that gives them 
away is the rogue link asking for confidential information. 

While this short list is by no means exhaustive (or complete) these are the big three that 
compose the major portion of the serious threats we face as home internet users. Fortunately 
for us, serious damage from these and other threats online can be avoided by ensuring that 
your computer is outfitted with the most recent service packs and updates for your operating 
system and applications. Also ensure that your computers’ firewall and anti-virus\anti-malware 
protection is fully operational and up-to-date. These simple steps will go a long way in keeping 
the 3 amigos far away from your computer. 

BUILDING YOUR CONNECTIONS ON LINKEDIN

LinkedIn is a great place to showcase your professional knowledge and 
skills. 

Some people like to keep their LinkedIn connections to a select few while others want to 
grow a large network of new people. Sometimes you will see [LION] next to a persons name 
on LinkedIn. That means they are open to accept networking invites from anyone. LION 
stands for LinkedIn Open Networker.

I recently read about a tool called TopLinked.com. It helps you build a larger network on 
LinkedIn and other social media platforms. This could be a good tool for the LIONs who 
want to give their list a boost. I’ve heard reports that people get hundreds of invites a day 
with this tool. 

Some of the best networking opportunities on LinkedIn are in the “Groups.” There are tons 
of open groups that you can join. Search for groups in the upper right search tool, just select 
“groups” from the pull down menu and type in a topic. You can also start private groups. 
Groups are a great place to find people you want to add as a connection in your LinkedIn 
network.

The other area I like on Linked in is the “Answers.” You can ask a question or answer 
questions about lots of different topics. This is a great way to build your credibility and 
establish your expertise.

Participation is the key on LinkedIn. Take a little time to join a group, add your voice to a 
conversation or answer a question and see what happens.

About MJ: MJ and her brother David own HUTdogs, a creative services business that 
specializes in Social Media Education for business owners. Join their conversation on 
Facebook and get good tips and tricks about social media, www.facebook.com/hutdogs.

Sign up for their upcoming classes and presentations at: www.hutdogs.com/workshops/
schedule 

BUSINESS TODAY

The latest on Business News, Trends and Techniques


By La Quetta M. Shamblee, MBA

IMPROVING YOUR ROI

With less than two weeks left until the calendar rolls over to a new year, it is a good time to check the 
status of your business’s ROI. This performance measurement provides feedback that can help you 
make the adjustments to get off to a great start in 2013.

How profitable is your business? What is your bottomline for 2012 (revenue minus expenses, minus 
taxes)? What are your total sales for the year? Total expenses? Most importantly, what is the return 
on your investment (ROI) for the amount of money, time, energy and talent that you have put into 
your business - in other words how much profit are you making for each dollar of resources that you 
spend? The ROI is one of the common performance measurements used in business. The formula to 
calculate ROI is illustrated below:

= ROITotal Sales – Total ExpensesTotal Expenses

Where is your ROI in comparison to industry standards? Does the return meet your standards? It 
should be sufficient to covers all expenses and leave enough profit for you to pay yourself, with money 
left over for savings and investments into your personal coffers.

If you are not able to answer these questions related to your profitability, it is imperative that you 
take time to put a proper recordkeeping and accounting system in place. A good system will put you 
in the driver’s seat to observe what is happening in your business in real time. The tools needed to 
establish a good system include a computer, accounting software (i.e. Quickbooks) and a printer. If 
you don’t have the aptitude or the time to master this set of tools, it’s a matter of hiring someone with 
those skills. Minimally, you should learn how to review or generate information on sales and expense 
activities on a daily or weekly basis. Without the ability to monitor the realtime activities of sales and 
expenses, it is possible to find that your business has been operating at a loss in the face of having had 
a steady flow of cash over a period of time. If you are aware of the total number of customers or sales 
needed to “break even” or that certain services have to be limited due to how they impact your ROI, 
you can make adjustments or establish policies for your staff to follow. 

By developing an understanding of what drives ROI, business owners are better equipped to make 
decisions about the mix of products, services and business activities that warrant time and energy. 
You’ll be able to determine how to balance the two simultaneous methods of improving your bottom 
line: 1) By growing revenues, increasing sales by focusing on certain products, seasonal promotions, 
etc. or 2) By increasing efficiency through cost-cutting measures. Business owners who take time 
to master business basics like understanding and paying attention to ROI measurements are better 
positioned to generate impressive bottomlines that reflect healthy profit margins and business 
operations. 


Stop by any of the following 
locations (partial listing) for 
your copy every Saturday or call 
626-355-2737 to sign up for home 
delivery!

Sierra Public Library 

Sierra Madre Post Office 

Sierra Madre City Hall 

Bean Town Sierra Madre 

Starbucks Sierra Madre 

Bottle Shop Sierra Madre 

Happy’s Liquors Sierra Madre

Sierra Madre Senior Center 
Arcadia Public Library

Arcadia Post Office

Arcadia City Hall

Starbucks Arcadia

Denny’s Arcadia

Monrovia Public Library

Monrovia Post Office 

Monrovia City Hall 

Coffee Bean Monrovia (Foothill/
Myrtle)

The Monrovian

Rudy’s Monrovia

Monrovia Senior Center

Duarte Public Library

Duarte City Hall 

Denny’s Duarte

Starbuck’s Duarte

Coffee Bean Duarte

I HOP Duarte

Duarte Senior Center

Pasadena City Hall

Pasadena Senior Center 
Faschings Car Wash

Robin’s Bar B Que 

Pasadena 

Walkway at Vromans 

Pasadena Gold Line Station - 

Sierra Madre Villa 

Altadena Websters Pharmacy

 Websters Fine Stationers 

LOOKING FOR 
THE MOUNTAIN 
VIEWS NEWS?

PUSD LAUNCHES NEW JOB 
NOTIFICATION SERVICE 

TEXT PUSDJOBS TO 888777 
TO BE INFORMED OF DISTRICT 
JOB OPENINGS 

Pasadena, CA --- The Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) 
has launched “PUSDJOBS,” a texting service that alerts the 
public of new employment opportunities with PUSD. Prospective 
employees can text PUSDJOBS to 888777 from their mobile 
phones to receive a text message alert whenever a position 
within the district becomes available. 

“This new service allows us to instantly reach people who are 
interested in working for the public schools of Altadena, Pasadena 
and Sierra Madre,” said PUSD Human Resources Chief 
Yolanda Mendoza. “It brings our employee recruitment into 
the 21st century and broadens our reach.” 

Text alerts will include the job description, salary range and a 
link to an online application with instructions on how to apply. 

“In this era of funding cuts, we want to quickly and efficiently 
reach the maximum number of qualified applicants to work 
for the success of our students,” said Cy Chukwumezie, the director 
of the PUSD Personnel Commission, which is responsible 
for the recruitment, selection and placement of classified 
employees. 

PUSDJOBS complements the other text message offerings 
from PUSD. Residents can opt-in to receive emergency notifications 
from the district by simply texting the word PUSD 
to 888777; or, for Spanish language messages, text PUSDESPANOL 
to 888777. One can also receive news and information 
from the district by texting PUSDNEWS to 888777; or, 
for news and information in Spanish, text PUSDNOTICIAS 
to 888777. 

Standard text messaging rates associated with mobile phone 
service plans may apply. It is also possible to sign up for the 
notification service at the PUSD website, www.pusd.us.