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Prevent Ransomware: Update Java NOW

Whether you have a Mac or are running Windows or Linux on your PC, you should update java immediately. Read on to find out why…

Sure. We’ve all had spyware. Ads, popups. Annoying.

But what about having control of your computer taken from you by malicious hackers… and then being forced to pay a ransom to get it back?

Kinda makes a pop-up ad seem like a welcome annoyance by comparison, doesn’t it?

Prevent Ransomware: Images courtesy of redjar and MC4 Army via Flickr

This type of modern cybercrime attack is known as ransomware. And although it isn’t really new, it hasn’t been seen in the wild nearly as its annoying cousins. As it has evolved, ransomware has grown in its complexity, not to mention in the compelling nature of the demands being made by its creators. Some of the more sophisticated versions involve threats to report you to the police for your illegal downloads (you can use your imagination here) if you don’t pay, and even official-looking “fines” that appear to be messages from law enforcement.

Why This Is Urgent

Recently, a vulnerability in Java was identified. Java runs on virtually every PC (Windows, Mac and Linux) and a substantial number of mobile and other devices as well. There are many applications that rely on Java in order to function, and it’s hard to picture a world without it. Mashable estimated the number of computers affected at 850 million.

Java is owned by Oracle, which updates the software platform from time to time in order to provide feature enhancements and to fix security vulnerabilities. The most recent vulnerability to be discovered actually allows hackers to take control of your computer and download ransomware to it, not to mention the other exploits they develop.

Chances are really good that your computer is running some version of Java 7. Any version of Java 7 other than the just-released “Update 11” contains this vulnerability and should be patched right away. Without patching it, you run the risk of a “drive-by” download of ransomware (or some other bad-behaving software). Often this happens without your knowledge.

This vulnerability was discovered and publicized on January 10th by a blogger named Kafeine. Until it was patched, the only option available to prevent exploits was to uninstall Java from your computer and/or disable it in your web browser.

Thankfully, Oracle announced today that the vulnerability has been patched with the release of Java 7 Update 11. All users are advised to download and install this version right away. Most users only need the version labeled “JRE” as the “JDK” version is primarily only necessary for software developers.

The following tweet went out from Oracle’s official “Java” account at 4:43PM Eastern:

Once again, my recommendation is that you download and install Java 7 Update 11 (the JRE version) right now.

P.S. If you are reading this because you have a computer that is locked up with ransomware, don’t pay the ransom. Use one of the many available tools to remove it. Here’s a good place to start for free.

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Ziglar Philosophy Carried By New Generation

Tom Ziglar with his father, Zig Ziglar (Photo courtesy of Ziglar, Inc.)

Tom Ziglar is uniquely qualified to talk about success. For nearly all of his 47 years, Tom has absorbed first-hand the wit and wisdom of  the man who is arguably the world’s best-loved motivator and success speaker: Zig Ziglar. And for the last 16 years, Tom has carried the responsibility for the success of the family business as CEO of Ziglar, Inc—America’s leading motivational and personal development training company. Tom and two of his sisters, Cindy Oates & Julie Ziglar Norman, represent the next generation of Ziglar bringing “The Ziglar Way” to a new generation of business people.

With his father slowing down (the elder Ziglar last spoke publicly in December, 2010), Tom is now carrying the torch of articulating the world-famous Ziglar philosophy from the stage as well as from behind his desk.

“Tom is not his father,” says David G. Johnson, founder of Sarasota-based Nourish The Dream, which regularly schedules Tom to speak at its business events. “You aren’t likely to see Tom zipping back and forth, up and down and all over the stage like you did Zig. But his message is no less compelling, and the insight he brings as the person responsible for implementing his father’s concepts—with everyone watching, I might add—is in many ways even more valuable… especially for today’s small business owner. We are proud to have Tom on our stage.”

Nourish The Dream is serving as the local host for Ziglar’s “Born To Win” small business growth workshop, a one-day event jam-packed with training that will help any business owner improve operations. Florida events are coming up in Tampa on November 15th and in Sarasota on November 16th.

“Tom and business associate Howard Partridge have created a revolutionary day of training,” says Johnson. “From phenomenal referral marketing systems to solving the number one problem facing business owners today, this one-day workshop is literally changing the lives of business owners. Many feel like their business depends completely upon them and that they can never truly get away from it. This day will change that.”

Howard Partridge is an eight-time small business owner from Houston, Texas, who started his first business out of the trunk of his car over 25 years ago. Today that business continues to produce millions of dollars a year in revenue and operates almost completely without his involvement.

“We got to know Howard and chose him to provide coaching to our small business owner clientele. He represents the highest levels of integrity and is a perfect match to the Ziglar philosophy, which is a very high standard. I’m proud to work alongside him to help small businesses become more profitable and more efficient,” says Tom Ziglar, who will be taking the “Born To Win” events to Australia with Partridge later this month.

When not in front of an audience or conducting local training workshops for business owners around the globe, Tom can be found spreading the Ziglar philosophy via next-generation media like Twitter, where he has amassed a following that numbers more than 71,000 people.

“I think Dad is a prophet and knew years ago that Twitter was coming,” says the younger Ziglar. “Almost all of his quotes are 140 characters or less!”

The full-day “Born To Win” workshop takes place on Thursday, November 15th at the Wyndham Westshore Hotel in Tampa, and on Friday, November 16th at the Homewood Suites by Hilton in Sarasota. Registration is $97, which includes a spouse or business partner, and is available by phone at 214-912-5795 or online at BornToWinFL.com.

 

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The Leetzow Group Joins the Sarasota Nepsis Advisors Office

UPDATE (May, 2015): The Sarasota office of Nepsis Advisors is now known as Wealth Planning & Design, LLC. 

We’ve gotten word that Len Leetzow and Joni Leetzow Rametta have left Morgan Stanley Smith Barney to join the brand-new Sarasota Nepsis Advisors office.

Leonard Leetzow is a 47-year veteran of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, which makes his departure quite significant. His daughter, Joni, joined the family business at Smith Barney in 1982.

According to a post on the Nepsis Advisor Services site, The Leetzow Group will be working out of the company’s Lakewood Ranch office effective today. They offices are temporarily located on the first floor of the Miles Media Group building on Professional Parkway, just south of University Parkway near I-75. The group is expected to move into their permanent offices in the Home Bank building once construction is completed approximately 120 days from now.

Nepsis Advisor Services is a RIA (“Registered Investment Advisory”) based in Minneapolis, Minnesota and is planning to open additional offices around the country as other advisors are attracted to its independent culture. Many advisors—especially those in the large wirehouses—have expressed growing frustration with the stifling environments and Wall Street investment banker-dominated permission-based cultures in traditional firms. Nepsis is offering a unique alternative to the risky, “go-it-alone” switch to pure independence.

The Sarasota office may be reached at (941) 361-1484.

 

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Sheraton Tampa East Hotel – This Place is Great – You Just Have to See It

I took the family to Tampa’s new Sheraton (Sheraton Tampa East Hotel) this past weekend and was immediately blown away by the beautiful design and decor of this hotel. My first impression was that an artist must have designed this space. The lobby feels huge, bright and inviting; there are unique nuances to the architecture that compel you to stop and just enjoy the view before checking in to your room. There were so many areas for guests to sit privately or in large groups within the lobby and multiple computer stations. This is a great feature for business-minded people staying at the hotel.

Although this particular trip was for pleasure; as an event planner, I never miss an opportunity to scout an entire property to establish which types of events would do well at the location. Most hotels are designed around a certain type of audience and event, so they can’t accommodate anything outside of that target audience – at least not well.  However, the Sheraton Tampa East has meeting space for every kind of event and the meeting spaces are separated in such a way that multiple events could be taking place simultaneously without interfering with one another. There were board rooms, a grand ballroom, smaller dining areas and a hallway of smaller meeting spaces that would be great for break-out sessions. It is difficult to find spacious pre-function areas for receptions or event registrations anymore because many hotels have chosen to condense those spaces into crowded hallways. I was delighted to see multiple pre-function options that would add class  and efficiency to any event. If you’re an event planner, contact Judy Hollister at (T- 813-246-7120  M - 813-957-3380). She took the time to give me a full tour after normal business hours on a Friday – very nice!

The staff gave impeccable service from the registration desk to the extreme cleanliness of our room. They made us feel like welcomed guests. This hotel offers a complimentary shuttle service to many area restaurants and attractions. We took advantage of this service on our first night and the driver was very knowledgeable about the local area. He asked about the kind of evening we wanted and made recommendations accordingly. We chose dinner at The Cheesecake Factory at The Westfield Brandon Mall, which was only minutes away from the hotel.

We also enjoyed the lovely pool area, which was very clean and set in a relaxing atmosphere. Just off of the pool deck was the large fitness room, filled with many workout options. Admittedly, I did not work out; but keep in mind, this was a pleasure trip. A couple of other notable features are the well shaded complimentary parking lot, the computerized reader board for searches of the local area and things happening on-site, the excellent food served in their upscale Panfilio’s Bar and Grille restaurant and one of my favorites: a 100% non-smoking facility policy.

It may seem like I have gushed a bit too much here, but I am not usually impressed by a hotel and the Sheraton Tampa East Hotel was a first class experience. I would highly recommend that you book a room and check it out for yourself. Then feel free to let me know if I am way off base or, as usual, spot on with my assessment.

Yours Truly,

Cheryl

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Is It Legal to Carry Firearms at Florida Theaters?

Frequently, after publishing content online, I find myself learning something. Often this is from looking at what type of traffic our websites get.

This week is certainly no exception. After publishing some thoughts about the Aurora, Colorado theater shooting and contrasting it with a recent Florida shooting incident, I’ve learned that a lot of people have a similar question:

Is it legal to carry a firearm into a theater in the State of Florida?

This is of particular interest to me since AMC Theatres has a nationwide policy banning firearms from their locations. The ban therefore applies to the location we sometimes patronize in a nearby mall, and to at least one other Florida location in Clearwater (see a copy of the AMC “No Weapons Allowed” sign here).

First: Florida Law

Florida law does not specifically prohibit the legal (concealed) carry of firearms in theaters. Of course, legal concealed carry in Florida requires a Concealed Weapons Permit. (If you are already a permit holder, then you are well aware that a number of conditions apply to make your concealed carry of a firearm legal.)

Without a permit, in Florida you are not permitted to carry a concealed firearm on your person anywhere other than in your home or place of business.

There are many ins and outs to Florida law related to firearms and other weapons. I am not an attorney or expert in the law, nor would I pretend to be one. If you own (or plan to own) firearms in Florida, then I strongly recommend that you get a copy of the book widely considered to be the “Bible” of Florida firearms law by attorney Jon Gutmacher. Don’t just get a copy… devour it and keep it close by for reference.

Second: “No Guns Allowed” Signs

AMC Theatres: No Weapons Allowed, Courtesy of gruntzooki

Some businesses choose to place signage prohibiting firearms in their establishments. AMC Theatres is an example. Regal Cinemas may be another example if various internet chatter is to be believed.

Again, I am not an attorney or expert, but from my research a business that has invited you (by opening its doors to the public) onto its premises cannot prevent you from bringing a legal concealed weapon onto its premises.

That said, if they discover your firearm (which one has to really wonder how they would do if in fact it is properly concealed), they can ask you to leave. If any business asks you to leave and you refuse, you are likely to be guilty of trespass (regardless of whether you have a firearm).

If you are found guilty of trespass and you are carrying a firearm, then you are quite likely to be guilty of armed trespass, which is a third degree felony.

This is probably not something you want to risk. It is also quite possibly open to interpretation, which could go badly for you if you find yourself in this situation. Find more on this topic here.

The good news is that you are unlikely to be guilty of trespass (at least in a business which is open to the public—assuming you are there during its hours of operation) unless you refuse to leave after first being warned to leave.

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2 Shooting Incidents, One Day Apart

**UPDATE: The events described here happened almost one week apart, not one day apart as originally thought. The stark contrast between them is not weakened by the number of days separating them, however. See why below…

Last night’s deadly incident in Aurora, Colorado at the late-night showing of The Dark Knight Rises was a tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the victims as well as to those survivors who are wounded physically and traumatized.

Word of the incident spread rapidly—as with any situation involving guns and fatalities. By the time I awakened this morning, Facebook and other social media outlets were awash with news of the shooting. Many people expressed sympathies (quite appropriately) and remorse over the absolutely unnecessary loss of life.

No Weapons Allowed, Courtesy of Steve Snodgrass

One of my first reactions was to recall the signage I’ve seen at our local AMC Theatres location in Sarasota, Florida. The theater has exercised their rights under Florida law to prohibit weapons—including lawfully-carried firearms—on their premises.

This means that law-abiding citizens who wish to respect the wishes of the business will leave their weapons at home (or securely encased in their locked vehicle in the parking lot) or will choose to take their business elsewhere. Either way, this greatly reduces the chances that someone who possesses a legal firearm and is capable of using it will be there to take down a gunman on a shooting spree like the one that took place in Colorado.

Criminals will, of course, ignore the sign.

The Other Shooting Incident

Consider what took place in Marion County, Florida, just one day six days (turns out the date on the YouTube video didn’t match the date of the event) prior to the Colorado incident. In this case, there were two armed gunmen—this time with robbery as their intent. They entered an internet cafe pointing guns at the customers and making demands for valuables.

This situation did not make national news. It didn’t spread like wildfire through social media. In fact, were it not for the Colorado tragedy, I might not have ever known about it.

Why?

Because it ended quite differently. See for yourself:

Regardless of one’s opinions or politics, the law is clear. Florida has a “shall-issue” policy concerning Concealed Carry (CCW) permits, which are available to citizens who pass a background check (no felonies, etc.) and demonstrate basic proficiency with a firearm. This permit authorizes citizens to lawfully carry concealed firearms for their own protection throughout the State with certain notable exceptions (schools, certain government buildings, bars, etc.).

71-year-old Samuel Williams, though admittedly quite scared by the masked gunmen, legally drew his weapon and fired at both of the would-be robbers, who turned up later at hospitals being treated for their gunshot wounds after fleeing the scene empty-handed.

Whether or not the gunmen intended to shoot anyone, the crime was stopped and the man quite justifiably shot them to protect his wife, himself and the other customers at the cafe. More on this story here.

Liability for Deaths & Injuries

All of this begs the question…

Do businesses (like AMC Theatres) have any liability or responsibility for deaths and injuries that occur on their premises because they have prohibited citizens from legally carrying concealed weapons to protect themselves?

I’m not sure whether Samuel Williams would notice or comply with the “No Weapons Allowed” sign at AMC Theatres, but perhaps businesses—especially those that draw large crowds—will reconsider their policies in the aftermath of the Colorado tragedy. I, for one, would want proficient, legally armed citizens nearby if a moron like James Holmes showed up on the scene intending to do harm.

For the record, I’m not familiar with the policies of the Century 16 Theater, owned by Cinemark Theaters. Speculations abound. If the theater prohibits legal firearms like AMC Theatres does in their locations nationwide, then the Samuel Williams of the world won’t be there to return fire.

With 12 dead and as many as 59 injured, this incident is being reported as the largest mass shooting in U.S. history. Ultimately the responsibility for this tragedy lies with the shooter. However, I have to wonder what businesses are thinking when they attempt to prohibit legal firearms. And I’m sure that the families of the victims as well as the 59 injured will be considering this in the days ahead.

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HTC Evo Shift Running Out of Space

I’ve written previously about how to root the HTC Evo Shift. In that post, I identified the Android ROM I ended up using. For the last 9+ months, I’ve been incredibly happy with my EVO Shift without making any significant changes. I guess this is somewhat rare among people who tend to root their Android devices, but I don’t have a lot of time to waste playing with tweaks and mods. Consequently, once I find something nice and stable that performs well, I tend to stick with it.

Recently, however, my Evo Shift has been low on space quite a lot. For the last month or so, I’ve founded myself uninstalling some apps, double-checking some others to make sure they’d been moved to the SD card (another luxury that actually works on a rooted device), and frequently deleting the browser’s cache. These have all been band-aid attempts at freeing up space so that basic functions would work (such as GMail sync).

Finally, I’d had enough. I decided that it would be worth it to revisit the forums around rooting, tweaking, modding and hacking Android devices. Since I’d had such a great experience with the ROM I download last October, I decided to try out TheMikMik.com and see if they’d done anything new. Thankfully, they had!

Checking out this thread, I downloaded the MikShifted-G v2.1 ROM. This ROM features Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread), HTC Sense, and lots and lots of tweaks and mods.

Something New: Titanium Backup

One thing I did differently this time was that I downloaded Titanium Backup from the Google Play store. After testing it out a little bit, I opted for the paid version because it added some great, worthwhile enhancements. I had already fulled backed up my Evo Shift via Nandroid, which comes with Clockwork Recovery, but I wanted to be able to restore certain data. In particular, my daughter has made lots of progress on the 3 versions of Angry Birds that I keep on my device for her amusement (OK… for mine too), and some other games & apps had data that wouldn’t have otherwise survived the upgrade. Titanium Backup permits the backup and restoration of this kind of data. I specifically used it to back up the data before proceeding with installing my shiny new ROM.

So… here’s what the steps looked like for me this time:

  1. Download the ROM (.zip file) and copy it to the device’s SD card. I did this from my laptop and transferred it via a USB cable. You could theoretically just downloaded the .zip using the phone, but I was doing all my reading and research from my laptop.
  2. Perform a full Nandroid backup
  3. Reboot the device
  4. Install Titanium Backup, then backup data from specific games/apps
  5. Reboot to Clockwork Recovery
  6. Wipe everything several times
  7. Install the new ROM from the .zip file on the SD card
  8. Step through the device’s configuration process
  9. Reinstall apps and selectively restore data using Titanium Backup

I made a list of all the apps that I wanted to be sure to re-install. This turned out to be unnecessary because Google has greatly improved the user experience in the Play store. They’ve always permitted users to re-download purchased apps, but I found this time that even the free apps (some of my favorites are free ones) were readily accessible.

Another luxury for me this time around involved easily restoring my SMS messages. Unfortunately it didn’t occur to me to back these up separately before wiping my device, so after re-installing all my apps, I decided to see if there was an easy way to pull these out of my Nandroid backup. It turns out that Titanium Backup has a very simple procedure for restoring this data too. It’s just like restoring data from apps… the only trick is knowing which data to restore. It turns out that SMS messages are stored with the “Dialer History” (at least that’s the case with these HTC ROMs). After the restore and a simple reboot, all my SMS messages came right back. Thank you, Titanium Backup!

This whole process took a couple of hours of my time, some of which was spent on the minutiae of sorting out what data from which apps I wanted to backup. I also am a bit meticulous about configuration. Now that it’s all finished, I’m back to virtually the identical set of apps as before, but I have tons of free space and my device is running faster and more smoothly than ever!

I’m a very happy camper. Thanks very much to aamikam and all the others at TheMikMik and XDA Developers who work so hard at making such fantastic tools available to us!

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Fixing the Money Thing Goes Daily!

Gary and Drenda Keesee

Congratulations to Gary Keesee and the team from Faith Life Now as their popular Fixing the Money Thing television program moves to a daily broadcast schedule this week!

Fixing the Money Thing has introduced thousands upon thousands of people to Biblical financial and business principles over the last several seasons, and remains a rock-solid source of great teaching. The show, hosted by Gary and his wonderful wife, Drenda, airs on the Daystar television network Monday through Thursday at 5:30pm Eastern (4:30pm Central).

On Fridays, that time slot will be filled by the powerful Drenda show, which has aired for just over a year on the ABC Family Network. Drenda is focused on issues facing today’s women, and has steadily grown in popularity thanks to a wide variety of great content and a burgeoning online community facilitated by the show’s website and Facebook page.

We were privileged to have Gary Keesee as part of the powerful lineup of speakers at our recent Nourish The Dream event in Tampa, Florida and look forward to having him back with us for future events.

We’re excited for all the new developments for Gary and Drenda Keesee, and wish them and their entire team a very impactful run of new television programming!

 

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Why I’m a Big Fan of Macy’s in Sarasota

Dean Burnside, Owner of Macy’s Pest Control Sarasota

Recently, I sat down for lunch at the newly reopened Don Pablo’s in Sarasota (a habit of mine lately) with Dean Burnside, Owner of Macy’s Termite & Pest Control. Dean and I have become acquainted lately thanks to an introduction from a good friend of mine who thought that the two of us would be like-minded.

It turns out we are. Dean operates his company with a very unique approach—one rooted in principles of business that are entirely Scriptural in nature. In fact, the first time we met, he described their operation as a, “for-profit ministry disguised as a pest control company.”

A quick aside: if you thought I was referring to Macy’s Department Store, my deepest apologies. Actually, I’m a big fan of that Macy’s in Sarasota as well. (Well… both, actually, since they have 2 locations.) I always get great service, and I was thrilled when they brought the famous Macy’s brand to town a few years ago, replacing the native-Floridian Burdines brand.

When it comes to pest control, Sarasota residents have quite a few options. Dean is well aware of this, of course. And in a competitive environment like this one, you might wonder why someone would bother trying to present their company publicly as one that upholds the highest standards of ethics, integrity, honesty and excellence. Businesses are being scrutinized quite enough without the added pressure.

But for Dean, the answer is simple. If his business doesn’t operate with excellence—whether it’s a salesperson who tells the truth or a service technician who delivers on the company’s promises—Dean’s company not only won’t grow and be profitable, but they also won’t have a valid platform to share what Dean calls, the “Good News.”

How Macy’s Termite & Pest Control Got Their Name

You might be wondering how a Sarasota pest control company owned by someone whose name is Burnside got the name Macy’s. Actually it’s a great story. The founder of the company is John Macy, who brought Dean on in the mid-1990s. John naturally lent his surname to the company—long before the other Macy’s came to town—and ultimately sold the company to Dean in about 1998.

Since the business already had a great reputation, Dean saw no need to change the company’s name, and has grown it considerably since then. Several years ago, John Macy showed up at Dean’s doorstep wondering if there was a role for him to play. Sure enough! Macy is now the company’s ambassador, and does lots of networking and assorted goodwill-generating stuff for the business. All these years later, the two make quite a team.

The Macy’s Termite & Pest Control name isn’t without its quirks, however. Dean says he routinely gets calls in November from people looking for tickets to the parade. His staff has the telephone numbers of the local stores handy to give out to people who call the wrong place. There’s even the occasional billing question that lands in their accounting department when people think they’ve already paid their Macy’s bill.

Dean’s a good sport about it, though. It isn’t unusual for the company to give out Macy’s gift cards to employees or as prizes in company promotions.

Under the Hood

Since my team and I are known for Nourish The Dream and the events we conduct around the country related to doing business according to Kingdom principles, Dean opened up his operations to me and allowed me to get a first-hand look at how they run things. As Zig Ziglar says, “What’s in the warehouse needs to match what’s in the showroom.” This is the case with Macy’s Pest Control.

I’m sure they disappoint a customer once in a while, and I have no doubt there are conflicts that arise in their business as in any other. But when you see a commitment to make things right and to really live up to the high standards someone sets, then you know you’re dealing with people of integrity.

An example that comes to mind deals with being a leader in green pest control. Sure… a lot of people are jumping on the environmentally friendly bandwagon, but Dean and his team see this as a lot more than a marketing gimmick.

Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:28 NKJV)

Referencing the above Scripture, Dean will tell you that he sees this commandment and others like it as a mandate from God to take care of the planet. In an industry that makes wide use of chemicals, he sees it as his responsibility to operate with policies and procedures that do as little harm to the environment as possible. And plenty of others have taken notice, including Natural Awakenings, which has awarded Macy’s Pest Control their “Green Business of the Year” award several years running.

Next time you’re in need of a pest control solution in Sarasota, Bradenton, Venice and the surrounding communities, I urge you to give Macy’s a shout. Make sure you let ’em know we sent ya!