Mountain Views News     Logo: MVNews     Saturday, January 12, 2013

MVNews this week:  Page 14

14

BUSINESS NEWS & TRENDS

 Mountain Views News Saturday, January 12, 2013 


BUSINESS TODAY

The latest on Business News, Trends and Techniques

JAVA ALERT


By La Quetta M. Shamblee, MBA

Security researchers are advising Internet users to disable Java components in their browsers because 
of an exploit that can allow remote attackers to execute malicious code on compromised systems. 

Java is used by hundreds of millions of Windows, Mac and Linux machines along with mobile 
devices and embedded systems around the world to access interactive content or Web applications 
and services. 

It’s being reported that cybercriminals are using a “zero-day” vulnerability in Java to attack computer 
systems and this exploit has the ability to allow attackers to stealthily install malware on the computers 
of users who visit compromised websites. A zero-day exploit is one that takes advantage of security 
vulnerability on the same day that the vulnerability becomes generally known. 

There are “zero days” between the time the vulnerability is discovered and the first attack. Fortunately 
for most users with the latest versions of Java, users who need to keep it active can change a couple of 
settings to help secure their systems. 

Go to the Java Control Panel that is installed along with the runtime, and in the Security section 
uncheck the option to “Enable Java content in the browser,” which will disable the browser plug-in. 
This will prevent the inadvertent execution of exploits that may be stumbled upon when browsing 
the Web, and is a recommended setting for most people to do. If you need to see a Java applet on the 
Web, then you can always temporarily re-enable the plug-in. 

The second setting is to increase the security level of the Java runtime, which can also be done in 
the same Security section of the Java Control Panel. The default security level is Medium, but you 
can increase this to High or Very High. At the High level, Java will prompt you for approval before 
running any unsigned Java code, and at the Very High level all Java code will require such approval, 
regardless of whether or not it is signed. 

Since this threat is Java-based, it will only affect systems that have Java installed. Most platforms do 
not come with Java, but if you have installed it and do not need or regularly use it, you might consider 
removing it from your system. While Java is convenient for legitimate developers, its conveniences 
also help malware developers spread their harmful practices to multiple platforms.

THE INSANITY OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Most people think it would be insane to think 
of starting a business, but then, it takes a certain 
level of insanity to forgo the “security” of a regular 
paycheck from an employer. Which is why most 
people will never take the plunge into full-time 
self-employment of owning a business. All 
entrepreneurs are risk takers, however, there are 
varying levels ranging from cautious, calculated 
risks, to those who seem crazy enough to leap 
from a cliff with the belief they have wings to fly. 
You will find examples of extreme success at all 
levels of risk, but the entrepreneurs who seem to 
be wired to tolerate risks that appear illogical to 
most of us, see life through a different lens.

To observers it may appear that an entrepreneur 
willing to take risks has no fear, but that isn’t the 
case. They have simply decided that the risk is 
worth the anticipated reward. Most people can’t 
relate to this because of the fear that prevents 
them from ever moving beyond a pre-defined 
comfort zone. The comfort zone of a 9-to-5 
for the majority can feel like a prison to a free-
thinking entrepreneur. They think “outside the 
box” and are therefore driven to venture, seek 
and experiment outside of the boundaries of 
what is normal to everyone else.

They would rather work 20 hours a day to build 
their own enterprise, than to work 8 hours a day 
to build for someone else. Seems odd, but one 
of the trade-offs is a sense of relief, pride and 
satisfaction knowing that they are doing what 
they really want to do. Some of them find their 
niche, build a business and operate it for decades 
until they decide to sell it, pass it on to family or 
close it after enjoying years as the creator of their 
own livelihood.

Others are serial entrepreneurs, leaving a trail 
of multiple business ventures. Some of the 
ventures are successful, but some are relegated 
to the collective heap of business failures. 
But again, a difference in perspective – the 
entrepreneur interprets each failure as a lesson 
learned, information to help them make better 
decisions the next time. Like the inventor and 
entrepreneur, Thomas Edison, 10,000 “failed” 
experiments to create the light bulb are simply 
viewed as discovering all of the ways it didn’t 
work.

The correlation of failure to success is evident 
across the landscape of all accomplishments, 
large and small. It is something we all understood 
as children, but as we get older we forgot this 
fact. How many times did you fall before you 
learned to skate or ride a bicycle? Remember the 
frustration you felt as the older kids whizzed past 
you, and perhaps your mom, dad, or another kid 
encouraged you to keep trying. Or, you simply 
convinced yourself to try until finally, you were 
skating and riding along with everyone else.

So too, is the plight of risk-taking entrepreneurs 
who may find themselves, low on funds with 
bruised credit ratings, watching other whiz past 
them with the comfort and security of a steady 
paycheck. Those destined for success will get up 
and try again, knowing that they need to move 
beyond this latest lesson of what didn’t work to 
keep searching until they discover what does.

We’d like to hear from you! 

What’s on YOUR Mind?

Contact us at: editor@mtnviewsnews.com or www.
facebook.com/mountainviewsnews AND Twitter: @mtnviewsnews


FACEBOOK PREDICTIONS FOR 2013

When we teach a Facebook class, we let the room know two things; we don’t work 
for Facebook and we are not Facebook experts. The reason? I believe there is no 
way anyone can claim to be an expert on a tool with 900 million users because 
everyone has their own way of using it! However, there are some of us who study it more than most. 

With that in mind, here are four things I predict that “might” happen on Facebook this year. 

1. Facebook will make another change to the timeline layout. It’s actually already being tested 
in New Zealand. It looks like they are bringing back tabs and converting the two-column timeline 
layout to one.
2. People will complain about this change. Some will threaten to leave Facebook and try to 
convince all their friends to join them on Google+. They’ll leave for two weeks and realize their 
friends won’t move. They will come back.
3. I think more businesses will explore social ads especially on Facebook. Just like newspapers, 
magazines and television, Facebook is a content provider. If a business is trying to reach a certain 
audience, chances are they might find them on Facebook. 
4. Facebook will continue to beef up their private messaging feature. They recently added a 
voice-message feature to their Mobile Messenger app. With this addition, Facebook’s messaging 
center is now voicemail, video chat, live chat, texting, document and photo sharing all in one tool. 
Brilliant! Did you know we all have our very own Facebook email address that works with this? 
(yourname@facebook.com)


I recently read a statistic that said “one out of every seven minutes spent online is on Facebook.” It’s 
where the people are. It has become a mainstream communication tool we simply cannot ignore.

About MJ: MJ and her brother David own HUTdogs, a creative services business that specializes 
in Internet Marketing strategies and Social Media Education for businesses and non-profits. “Like” 
them on Facebook for trending news in social media, internet marketing and other helpful tips, www.
facebook.com/hutdogs. Sign up for their upcoming classes and presentations at: www.hutdogs.com/
workshops/schedule 

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PRESIDENT SIGNS REP. SCHIFF DNA 
BILL INTO LAW

Legislation Would Award Grants to States to Implement DNA 

Collection for Felony Arrestees

Washington, DC – Today, President Barack Obama signed Rep. Adam Schiff’s (D-Burbank) legislation, 
the Katie Sepich Enhanced DNA Collection Act of 2012 (H.R. 6014), into law. Originally introduced 
in 2010 by Schiff, Katie’s Law bears the name of Katie Sepich, a college student who was raped 
and murdered in 2003 in New Mexico. Her attacker was arrested several times over subsequent years 
but was never linked to Katie’s murder, as his DNA was not collected until 2006.

“I’m so pleased that President Obama today signed this important legislation – Katie’s Law is a vital 
tool for law enforcement to help save lives and prevent future crimes,” said Schiff. “By improving our 
DNA system, we will make sure that more violent and serious crimes are solved, and we take more 
felons off the street every year. This legislation – now law – is another tool in law enforcement’s toolkit. 
Just as we fingerprint arrestees and those convicted of crimes, it makes absolute sense to collect a 
DNA profile when someone is arrested for a violent felony, and this bill will encourage states around 
the nation to join California and other states that have adopted arrestee testing.”

“We are so grateful for the support of our primary sponsors, Rep. Adam Schiff, Rep. David Reichert 
and Senator Charles Schumer who worked so tirelessly to support this bill and see it enacted,” said 
Mrs. Sepich. 

The Katie Sepich Enhanced DNA Collection Act of 2012, also known as Katie’s Law, establishes a 
program to provide grants to states which implement DNA collection programs for arrestees of 
murder, sexual assault, kidnapping, burglary, and aggravated assault. States are authorized to collect 
DNA for a larger subset of crimes but must do so for those felony crimes. The bill uses funding 
sources within the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Reduction Act and specifies that up to $10 million in 
each fiscal year from 2013 to 2015 may go to grants to states under Katie’s law.

An example of the power of arrestee testing comes from a case in Los Angeles. In 1987, Chester 
Turner was arrested for assault in California, but freed due to a lack of evidence. DNA technology 
was in its infancy at the time and Turner’s DNA was not taken upon arrest. Turner continued to terrorize 
a Los Angeles community and was arrested nineteen more times before being convicted of 
rape in 2002. Only then was his DNA profile taken, and it matched evidence found on twelve rape 
and murder victims, the first murdered only two months after his 1987 arrest. Had California taken 
his DNA when he was first arrested, as is now required under state law, his decades long crime spree 
could have been prevented or cut short.