How does ransomware get on your computer?

99 times out of 100, ransomware gets on your computer when you deliberately choose to put it there.

You don’t know that’s what you’re doing. You’re tricked into it. But you choose to put it there. You voluntarily, of your own free will, allow it to run on your computer.

Some of the ways this happens:

  • You receive an email that says it’s from the IRS. You are being investigated for tax fraud. If you do not pay the attached invoice, an arrest warrant will be issued for you. Oh no! You get a jolt of adrenaline. Fear inhibits the prefrontal cortex. You stupidly click the “invoice,” which has a name designed to fool you like “tax-invoice-11278484-official-government-document.pdf.cab”, and boom, you’re infected.
  • You receive an email that says “I paid you the money but I never received my product. I’ve attached my bank statement to prove I paid you.” Same thing. You click on the “bank statement.” It’s not a bank statement, of course, it’s ransomware.
  • You’re browsing the web. A popup appears: “Your copy of Adobe Flash is out of date. Click here to update. If you don’t update you will not be able to watch movies.” You click on the updated. Boom! You’ve just infected yourself. (Hint: there are never ever ever any real Adobe Flash player updates ever. Adobe discontinued Flash years ago. I do not understand why this trick still works.)
  • You’re browsing the web. A window appears: “WARNING!!!! CRITICAL SYSTEM ERROR!!!! Your computer is infected with 8 COMPUTER VIRUSES! Your files will be destroyed! Click here to download Norton® Mcaffee® Antivirus by Avast® to fix this problem!” It’s a lie, of course. You aren’t infected. But you’re scared, and scared people are stupid, and so you click to install the “antivirus,” which is of course ransomware. Congratulations! You have just been tricked into voluntarily infecting yourself by your own choice of your own free will.
  • You want to run Microsoft Office but you don’t want to pay for it. So you Google how to get it for free and find yourself on a site that advertises a cracked version of Office (or a game or Photoshop or whatever). The crack includes a bonus surprise: ransomware!

Basically, almost all ransomware infections are some sort of variation on this idea. Someone lies to you to trick you into infecting yourself.

How Images Help Overall SEO

Optimizing images for search rankings can be confusing. Website owners frequently tell me, “I’m not interested in ranking in Google Images.”

But the benefits extend beyond Google Images.

How Images Help SEO

1. Images in organic search results. Google has blended organic search results with image search for years, and the trend is growing. According to Mozcast, 44% of SERPs contain images.

Images appear in search results when a query implies an interest in visuals, even for commercial-intent searches.

An image on a product page with structured data markup will show in both image search results and general search. Here’s a screenshot of general search results that contains an image carousel. The photos would likely entice a consumer looking to buy red shoes.

Original Article Here

How Keyword Clustering Powers SEO

Keyword research has changed a lot in the past few years. Instead of targeting a single keyword string, we now create reader-centric content that answers search queries.

Yet understanding how people search remains important. Knowing what they type in the search box and how often can help understand their needs.

But it’s not easy.

Google has stated that 15% of daily searches are “new” —  i.e., queries it has never encountered. Hence people search in different and often unpredictable ways, using hundreds or thousands of word combinations for the same thing.

As a result, keyword lists are often cluttered and seemingly endless. Making sense of those lists — containing the same or slightly altered phrases — is very challenging.

“Keyword clustering” can help.

Keyword Clustering

Keyword clustering is not new. It’s a technique for grouping keywords by a common modifier, a word or phrase that extends the seed term.

For example, if “ecommerce platform” is the seed keyword, “best” could be a modifier, producing the following keyword cluster.

  • best ecommerce platform for wholesale
  • best ecommerce platform for customization
  • best ecommerce platform for handmade items
  • best ecommerce platform in us
  • best multi-store ecommerce platform
  • how to choose the best ecommerce platform
  • best multilingual ecommerce platform

Clustering remains useful because it helps discover low-volume keywords, which are easy to overlook but potentially important to your shoppers.

How to Cluster

There are several ways of clustering your keywords.

A free method is to use the conditioning formatting feature in a spreadsheet to color-code keywords sharing the same modifier. The most popular modifiers are easily located by spotting repeated colors. The process, while helpful, risks overlapping the colors when one keyword contains two or more common modifiers.

Original Article Here

How to Position Yourself as the Go-To Expert in Your Niche

Personal branding is something that every business owner and entrepreneur needs to focus on, as it may be the greatest investment you can make in your professional career.By Erica McMillan April 14, 2022Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

When you have a strong personal brand you are viewed as the expert and go-to personality in your field, whatever that is. If you exit your company or it’s acquired and you start another venture, guess what? Your personal brand follows you, and you are able to immediately leverage its power.

As a branding strategist, I often see entrepreneurs looking for a PR firm to help them create a strong personal brand, but it’s not something that a “package” can deliver. It’s something that takes time, effort and multiple platforms.SPONSORED CONTENT

Beauty Meets Capability: Discover the First-Ever Mazda CX-50

Humans intuitively feel a deep connection to the outdoors, a primordial sense of inspiration that comes from immersion in forests, deserts and beyond.By Mazda

Beauty Meets Capability: Discover the First-Ever Mazda CX-50

I want to review a very clear and direct personal branding approach that I often suggest to clients who contact my company looking for ways to better position themselves within their industry. It’s a simple, yet highly-effective strategy that you can use to your advantage, helping you be seen as the go-to expert in your field.

Original Article Here

Struggling in Local Search? Here’s What Your Local SEO Strategy Needs to Compete in 2022.

A few small strategy changes can make a big difference for your local SEO presence and your bottom line. By Adam Petrilli March 18, 2022Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

A good SEO strategy is a must-have for any business striving to stand out in search engines. But for the brick-and-mortar outlet that relies on local customers to survive, it’s local SEO that makes all the difference.

Why? Because effective local SEO efforts are critical for dominating local search rankings and outshining competitors in your area. They provide the visibility lift your small business needs to reach a motivated local audience, potential buyers who are eager and ready to spend their money now.

Original Article Here

How I Grew My Business 100x During the Pandemic

This Florida-based entrepreneur explains how she managed to find new clients, generate revenue, and help ensure her long-term success during a very difficult time.Brought to you by Entrepreneur Partner Studio Staff

The height of the Covid-19 health crisis was an incredibly tough time for businesses. With states across the U.S. mandating lockdowns, many small-business owners were forced to close their doors. Some managed to hold on during those difficult months while many shuttered altogether.

Original Article Here

6 Best WordPress Security Plugins to Protect Your Website

WordPress.org is one of the most popular content management systems on the Internet today. It powers millions of websites. WordPress.org CMS is free and open-source which makes it very popular. Unfortunately, for the same reason, WordPress is a juicy target for hackers. They are constantly looking for vulnerabilities they can exploit to break into websites. Therefore it’s vital to consider the various WordPress security plugins available today and how they can be one of the best investments for protecting your website this year.

What Are WordPress Security Vulnerabilities?

Keeping on top of updates is also vital, especially when WP has an update. Make sure you always have the latest version. Additionally, the following items are vulnerable to escalating security issues:

  • WordPress Plugins
  • WordPress Themes
  • Misconfigured File Permission Settings
  • Easy To Guess Passwords are usually the reasons most WordPress websites get compromised.

To compound the problem, web developers and those who own multiple websites can simply get overwhelmed with managing so many passwords and can easily forget to update them. It’s difficult enough with all our personal passwords.

Using various stings of characters and alphanumeric phrases that consist of both letters and numbers is one best practice. Probably the best way to manage all your passwords today is to use the highly recommended password manager application for both families and businesses which is without a doubt – Keeper Security by Rakuten.

Original Article Here

The Best Ecommerce Content for LinkedIn

Social media drives ecommerce sales. But each social channel is different, requiring unique content for that audience. I’ve addressed the best ecommerce content for InstagramFacebook, and Pinterest.

I’ll discuss LinkedIn in this post.

LinkedIn Content for Ecommerce

LinkedIn has transformed from an employment site, mainly, to a primary networking destination for professionals. The users are active. Many hold significant purchasing power within their companies, making it a B2B lead-generation magnet.

It’s the B2B audience that makes LinkedIn unique and different from Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, which are consumer-focused. Hence, the platform is best for merchants with business customers, and the content should follow.

Articles on your company’s LinkedIn page should raise awareness about your business and spark engagement. Focus on industry and company developments, product releases, specification details, management tactics, revenue and expense tips, and similar.

Google’s page, for example, includes profiles of employees and team-building articles. One of the best came from Robert Enslin, president of cloud sales, when he shared his collaboration approach.

Original Article Here

14 Free WordPress Plugins to Build an Email List

Engaged email subscribers are a key revenue driver for many ecommerce companies. But building that list is not easy, with much inbox competition. Fortunately, WooCommerce and other WordPress users can select free plugins to help.

Here is a rundown of WordPress plugins to build an email list. There are tools for creating and automating pop-ups and opt-in forms, driving and managing newsletters subscriptions, capturing leads, and more. All of these plugins are free. Most offer premium plans as well.

Plugins to Build Email Lists

Sumo offers several tools to build an email list. Use the List Builder app to generate an email collection field after page load, after a mouse hovers, embedded within an article, as a call-to-action button, upon user scroll, and more. Sumo also offers a Welcome Mat, Smart Bar, and Share buttons for social. Sumo integrates with WooCommerce to create unique offers and discount forms. Price: Free up to 10,000 emails per month. Premium plans start at $39 per month.

Original Article Here

Bring Your Web 3.0 Ideas to Life With Domain Names From GoDaddy

From the blockchain to NFTs to VR, and AR, GoDaddy makes it easy to secure domains for your next big idea.By Entrepreneur Deals January 29, 2022Disclosure: Our goal is to feature products and services that we think you’ll find interesting and useful. If you purchase them, Entrepreneur may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners.

The Internet is on the verge of a major technological leap forward. Experts are still debating exactly what the next iteration of the web will look like, and there’s still no consensus on whether it should be called “web 3.0,” the more modern “web3,” or the ultra minimalist “W3.” But we know for sure that the future will be built on blockchain and AI, which will bust the monopoly “big tech” currently has on data. And things like crypto, NFTs, virtual reality, augmented reality, the metaverse? They’re all going to have a role to play. 

Original Article Here