Say Goodbye to Time-Wasters

Hi Nichers,

The true measure of success may be how much time you spend
doing exactly what you want. Never mind the money, if you
already have enough. How much of your time is spent doing
that which either aggravates you or wastes your time? Even
the very rich can find themselves caught up in stressful
situations that cry out for a solution. Most of the time,
eliminating them altogether is the best strategy.

The problem is one of habits. If you've always done things
a certain way, you may be creating a problem that can be
solved by a change in thinking, followed by a change in
acting. Are you checking your email more than 5 times a
day? More than 50? Why? Consider checking email twice a
day, at the most. If you warn people that you only check
email twice a day, you may find that those who depend on
you to respond immediately change how they behave towards
you.

Another consideration is negative influences. You may have
a majority of customers that are a pleasure to deal with,
and a few that are nasty, negative and chew up most of your
time. Consider firing the troublemakers. That will make
room for more good customers and make sure your attitude
isn't negatively affected by dealing with people who
delight in making you miserable.

Cut yourself off from the "news". Television and newspapers
seldom serve up news that is actionable by you. When was
the last time a public official or government agency
contacted you regarding your take on the latest news
bulletin? For that matter, when was the last time you
missed something important in life that you didn't hear
about from a friend or neighbor? If the world is about to
blow up, I guarantee you'll find out about it without
resorting to the media. Eliminate daily news briefings. You
don't need the negative influence in your life.

Try outsourcing your chores. If you've automated your
business so you can spend more time on yard work,
housecleaning or maintenance, stop and think! How much will
it cost you to pay someone to mop your floors, mow your
lawn and clean your rain gutters? Unless you are a seasoned
professional at such labor, you'll probably get a better
result than if you keep doing it yourself. Even if you are
a seasoned professional at such labor, isn't the reason you
got into IM precisely to free yourself from daily drudgery?

Learn how to shut your mind tightly against negative
thinking and the negative influence of other people. You
can begin by practicing meditation, where you stop thinking
about your thoughts and simply remain quiet, in your mind.
With practice, you'll find it's easy and effortless to
break a train of thought you do not wish to encourage.
You'll also find it beneficial to cut out all the people
who want to dump their problems on you. You don't have to
be nasty or rude. Just stop allowing them to invade your
life with the things that they, themselves, are unwilling
to deal with. It is not your duty to hear other people
whine about their life.

There are troubles and duties we all must deal with. I'm
not suggesting you drop your responsibilities and slack off
on what you know you must do. Just take the time to
question all of your assumptions regarding duty and
responsibility. Figure out how much of your life is spent
doing things that you really don't have to be doing. Get
rid of all the old, bad habits that cause unnecessary
aggravation and eliminate them from your life.

See you again tomorrow with a whole new NicheADay.

Yours in profits,

Scot Standke - Founder
www.NicheAday.com

Guru or Ghost -- High vs. Low Visibility

Hi Nichers,

With all the buzz about self-branding, viral marketing and
social networking, it can seem like being highly visible is
the way to go, no matter what you may prefer. That's where
a hard look at your core competence and goals will help you
decide if you want to follow the pack or keep a low profile
in the IM marketplace. There are advantages and
disadvantages to both approaches, depending on your
personal style and preferred method of working.

Folks who are solitary by nature, don't need a great deal
of social interaction and prefer staying out of the
limelight can use "low visibility" to their advantage. By
being hard to get and booked in advance, you will create a
perception of your value that will keep you in as much work
as you desire. Getting started may take time and effort
beyond that of someone else who has a much higher profile.
As long as the quality and value of your work is high,
you'll get more loyal customers that won't stray. You'll be
the big fish in a small pond. Making the move into other
areas of the IM marketplace can be easier if you are not
highly identified with one, particular niche, too.

Social butterflies, who thrive on interacting with others,
will get more out of being "high profile" businesses. Aside
from the emotional satisfaction of connecting with a large
body of customers and contacts, the potential for large
returns is often easier to achieve with broad exposure.
Becoming widely known and highly visible will help
jumpstart a new business into profitability much sooner
than the quiet approach. The problem with such a method of
marketing is becoming "typecast" or pigeonholed into a
particular niche that may become less profitable in time.

The decision to go with either approach begins with a
serious look at yourself. In some cases, it will be easy to
see which type you are by nature. For many, it will take
some reflection and a willingness to ask for help. Self
knowledge can be the toughest knowledge to acquire. If
you're stuck, ask friends or acquaintances to volunteer
their opinion about you. Don't be put off if what they tell
you doesn't fit in with your expectations. Planning to be
high profile, when you're really better suited to flying
under the radar, will lead to long term dissatisfaction and
stress. Trying to be a "best kept secret", when you are a
social animal, will stifle your growth and starve you,
emotionally.

A very few people are destined to be very high profile: the
biggest fish in the biggest pond. They have a constellation
of personal characteristics that make them ideally suited
to being leaders. Generally, they know it, too. These
natural born leaders balance the need to build a successful
business with being a part of the larger, social
environment of their marketplace. These so-called "gurus"
don't just make a name for themselves. They have a vision
or dream that they build every day, in a way that is meant
to turn a profit and make the world a better place.

No matter what your calling in life may be, make sure you
remain true to who you are, inside. Take the time to find
out what your real needs are and make your business an
extension of your inner self. There's nothing tougher than
playing a role you don't believe in. There's nothing better
than creating a business model that lets you be the best
you can be. Make sure your choice in marketing and
"branding" is the best fit for your future.

See you again tomorrow with a whole new NicheADay.

Yours in profits,

Scot Standke - Founder
www.NicheAday.com

Three Essentials Internet Business

Hi Isyaias,

Have you ever wondered what it takes to build a 5 and
even 6 figures Internet business?

You don't need to put in HUGE amounts of money!

You don't even need to put in too much time!

In fact, the secret to a 5 figures Internet business
is an easy formula!

This formula is all about having 3 essentials!

Here's the breakdown:

Essential #1: Websites
Essential #2: Traffic (The more visitors the better!)
Essential #3: Offer (Offers that pay you good money!)

That's it. Just three.

You can build a $10,000/month business, or in some markets,
a $100,000/month business, with just those three things.

Everything else is bells and whistles.

Here's the fastest and easiest way to do it:

http://simurl.com/wovnah

Yours Truly,
Alin & Mel

P.S Hundreds of people have used "IT"
to make their first $100, $1000 and then $10,000!

You need to check this out now:

 

http://simurl.com/wovnah

Leaving a legacy by creating real wealth (F'ree access)

Hey Isyaias,
   
Most people struggle to make m'oney online
because they do not have the proper mindset
when it comes to doing business.

My good friend Khai Ng has compiled a list
of business principles and methods that will
help you to understand the true nature of
your relationship with money and principles
of true wealth.

Get your f'ree access right here:

>> http://simurl.com/legy

You don't have to pay a cent to get in.

Check it out now.

Cheers,

Bill

The Risk-Reward Profile

In days gone by, being an entrepreneur often carried with it a negative connotation. The general public associated business owners with insanity. After all, who would invest everything they had into running a business that may or may not succeed?

Those days are gone. Business ownership is now a badge of courage-something to be admired. And yet, too many of the "new" generation of entrepreneurs want to play it safe. They start a part-time company while still holding a regular day job. Or, they invest a little bit of money into a company, and back out when things become too difficult.

If this describes you, I have a little bit of news. You are a risk taker. Whether you would consider yourself one or not, you're an entrepreneur...and therefore a risk taker. You took a risk in starting your company. But, is your conservative nature holding you back from taking more risks...and by extension, more rewards?

Now, there are a few things you can do to manage your risk and still see large returns:

• Invest in your education- the wisest entrepreneurs read about the success/failures of others, and plan accordingly.
  
• Invest in a system- if you do not understand the importance of having a system in your company, read Michael Gerber's books, or go back through this series of emails.
  
• Invest in marketing automation- there are two benefits here. Marketing is the key to growing your business. And, automation is a way to run your company while you work on growing your company.

If you're not taking risks, you will certainly not see the rewards of your efforts. Take the time to analyze the level of the risks you might be taking. But realize, that without being willing to go out on a limb once in a while, you will never see the rewards you dream of.


Sincerely,

Clate Mask
CEO, Infusionsoft

Only Follow One Guru at A Time

Isyaias,

If you're one of those people who'd enjoy the independence of

running your own onlline business then the chances are that

you've signed up to a few mailing lists and that you're being

bombarded by a lot of information.

 

Well, you're not alone...

There are now tens-of-thousands of folks working part-time,
trying to generate enough income to leave their 9-5 and live off
their online income for good.

But sadly, for most of these people, the reality is that they
will probably scrape by month-by-month, earning the odd commission
check, but never really breaking thru' to the "Online Big Time"!

Now as someone who has been fortunate enough to produce a whole

series of successful online toolkits which market themselves and

sell online, I thought I'd share the single most important piece of

advice I've used... 

TOO MANY EXPERTS - TOO LITTLE TIME.

Something that I had long suspected and have even experienced
for myself, turns out to be absolutely true.

There is a lot of excellent help and advice available out there
for online marketers.

In fact you don't need to look very far and you'll soon be
stumbling across internet marketing experts that'll tell you
much about important subjects like:

> product creation

> autoresponders

> opt-in lists

> follow-up marketing

> choosing the right pricing

> running affiliate programs

> and so on...and so forth...

BUT, confusingly each and every one of these "experts" sets
themselves up to be an authoritative "guru".

And now suddenly (for the average Joe trying to make a good living
online) the marketplace in advice is overcrowded and *very*
confusing.

Sure, a lot of the available information seems to be very good,
but where should you start and who should you believe?

Worse still...one expert seems to be contradicting the next and
everyone is SHOUTING so loud that you just don't know what to
do for the best (or first).

And the result of all this?


COMPLETE PARALYSIS!

Your online work lacks direction. One minute you're following
guru "A", next you're dipping into guru "B's" advice, but then an
email pops through from guru "S" and what they have to say looks
simply irresistible. Suddenly you are being pulled in so many
directions that you just can't think where to start!


ONE "GURU" AT A TIME PLEASE!

So what should you be doing to build your own successful online
business?

For me (and for those who I have tutored), the answer has been to
select one 'all round expert' to follow. Find a marketing "guru"
who you feel comfortable with. Someone who you've read a little
about and believe can educate you in the rights and wrongs of
online product creation and marketing.

Most importantly, take a look at the writing style of the "guru"
you are thinking of learning from. And ask yourself?

> Is this a writing style that I can understand?

> Does this "guru" have a natural ability to put a lot of
information across to me in a clear and readable fashion?

And most importantly of all...

> Has this so called "guru" really done this for themselves?
Or to put it another way - do they know what they're talking
about?


NOW FOCUS ON THIS ONE PERSON UNTIL YOU'VE
ACHIEVED ONLINE SUCCESS

Having answered the above questions and chosen your expert -
*follow them* until you have become successful yourself.

If you've chosen wisely, then having purchased some of your gurus
information, they won't mind when you come back to ask the
occasional direct question.

For example, I frequently receive emails like:

"Michael, I read what you said about XYZ, but could you point
me in the right direction to achieve this other important
challenge?"

Follow a knowledgeable expert and they won't mind sharing a
little extra information with you.

But, best of all if you concentrate on one person's advice at a
time, you are far more likely to make a success of your own
online business - if only because you won't waste loads of your
time trying out a little bit from everyone, and being pulled in
so many directions that you end up achieving nothing.

To your online marketing success!

Michael Green
Developer of the "Create & Sell Products Online" toolkit.

 

Thanks Michael.

PS: My new Free Offer can be read at http://isgrow.com/paidsurveys

 

[JV Partners] You Are Invited to This Launch That Pays 300% Commissions Per Sale

Hi Isyaias,

It's John here and this is a special and exclusive
JV invitation:

Please block your calendar for on the 28th of June
because my good friend - Khai Ng is organizing the
mother of all launches by offering 300% commissions
on his product!

YES, you read that right! Khai is so confident that his
launch will make you so much m'oney that he's willing
to put his profits on the line and pay 300% commissions
to you!

There's also thousands of cash prizes to be won and
I'm sending this email out exclusively to
just my top JV Partners (that's why you're getting
this).

I'm not even sending this to my general affiliates
list.

The full details are here, and I encourage you too to
also take part in this launch asap:

  http://eca.sh/4HkD

I don't think you should miss this out, because there
are marketers who have walked away with thousands
in cash prizes and it will only happen once in a lifetime.

Talk soon,

John

Hoe To Turn Dreams Into Goals

I wanted to follow up with last week's topic of analysis paralysis. You see, part of the reason analysis paralysis occurs, is because we become too hesitant to act upon our ideas or dreams. Once we look at the "realistic" side of things, our natural fears and hesitation take over. And, that's a good thing! It's stopped many people from acting stupidly.

Unfortunately, it also keeps us from taking ANY risks. Pulitzer Prize winning author, Annie Dillard, said, "If we listened to our intellect, we'd never have a love affair. We'd never have a friendship. We'd never go into business, because we'd be too cynical. Well, that's nonsense. You've got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down."

Most of the great achievements in life started out simply as a dream. When business owners are able to turn their dreams into goals, and their goals into actions, amazing things happen! Here are some ideas for doing exactly that.

• Write down the dream. (Then place it where you'll see it often.)
  
• Think of all the steps/people/objects needed to fulfill the dream.
  
• Jot down short term and long term goals to achieve all those needs.
  
• Take it a step at a time.
  
• Keep believing.

One of the most tragic things in life is to see an unrealized dream. As an entrepreneur, you already know that this doesn't have to be your fate. Be willing to dream a little more, and see what you can do with the world!


Sincerely,

Clate Mask
CEO, Infusionsoft

Article: $20,000 Per Month - Is It Possible?

Hi Isyaias,

I've just written a brand new article for you. Enjoy...

----------------------------------------------------------
"$20,000 Per Month Online - Is It Really Possible?"

by Fabian Tan
----------------------------------------------------------

It's hard to make $20,000 (let alone $10,000) in the first
few months marketing online isn't it? In fact, it's very
near impossible unless you create an excellent product and
market it like crazy, right?

Well, really, that's all it comes down to: having an excellent
product and sending tons of targeted traffic to it. The
more traffic you get, the better the conversion rates are,
the more money you'll make.

But I say, if anyone wants to set a target of making
$10,000 or $20,000 per month, then I say, go for it. But
you must be working at it full-time to have any chance of
achieving it. And the key thing is that it will take time.
Be patient and success will come.

Having an 'insane' goal is better than setting a mediocre
goal or having no goal at all. In fact, if you don't have
any goal now, you are almost certain to fail!

So go and set a goal a now. It can be anything, just start
setting a goal NOW.

Write it on a piece of paper and paste it near your
computer where you can see it. It will motivate and
energize you and spur you to take massive action towards
your goals.

Set benchmark goals and big picture 3-year plan or 5-year
plan goals.

Having a crazy goal forces you to think differently and on
another level. You think in terms of larger numbers (10,000
visitors instead of 100 visitors, 500 sales instead of 5
sales) and work differently. Instead of wasting time, you
suddenly become ultra productive. So no matter what
happens, invariably you will produce more results and you
will learn more.

So if anyone wants to make $10,000 or $20,000 a month, I
say go for it. You and your business will benefit and you
will go to places you never went before.

I hope this article spurs you to take action and start
achieving the success that you deserve!

"Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the
courage to continue that counts." -- Winston Churchill

To YOUR Online Success!

Fabian

P.S. If you want a 'short-cut' that will turbo-charge your
Internet profits, sign up for this premium membership:

=> http://www.DayJobAnnihilation.com

Get 3 FREE Copies of Mike Filsaime's MDC Monthly

Hey guys,

It's true!

You can get 3 FREE copies of Mike Filsaime's MDC Monthly.

Best Internet Marketing Newsletter Click Here

Mike Filsaime is using a new way to spread the word.

He is not asking for any tell a friend of even an OPT-IN

He is experimenting with a new type of Social Viral Marketing that appears to get him backlinks to his site just for sharing the word.

Best Internet Marketing Newsletter Click Here

This seems to be the truest form of Viral marketing I have seen yet. It uses social media and blogs to get the "news" out about something rather than Tell-A-Friends etc.

But the main thing I want to share with you is that you can get 3 Kick-Butt copies of his latest newsletter and you don't have to pay $89.00 to get it.

Just click the link below and it is yours Free!

Best Internet Marketing Newsletter Click Here

P.S. - Even if you THINK you are not interested in his newsletters (Which are pretty good from what I see) I suggest you give it a shot for 2 reasons. 1- You may be surprised at the quality. And 2- Wait until you see how he is trying this new viral marketing.

Avoid Analysis Paralysis

How many times have you been in a planning meeting that seemed to be going very well...but in the end, never amounted to anything?

Chances are you've been caught up in analysis paralysis. In other words, good ideas have been presented, but by the time enough people consider and reconsider the situation, it seems more complex, or not as great an idea as you originally thought. Or, in most cases, a conclusion about how to act is never reached.

But, guess what? There is such as thing as "over-thinking." In sports, analysis paralysis might keep an athlete from reacting quickly enough. In politics, analysis paralysis might cause a simple issue to be debated for years. And, in business, analysis paralysis can keep business owners from moving forward in some pretty amazing opportunities! To avoid analysis paralysis:

• Quickly jot down the pros and cons of an idea.
  
• Make a decision (If an entire group is deciding-take a vote.)
  
• Write out the steps required to follow through.
  
• Assign the steps.
  
• Follow through.

You didn't become an entrepreneur to become a hesitant decision maker. By following these steps, you will make good, well informed decisions. Some will work out and some won't. But, at least you won't miss out on BIG opportunities!

If you find it difficult to be a decisive person, remember this, "The success is not in the decision you make; the success is in HOW you deal with the decision you make." Make your decision and then go to work to make it the right decision.


Sincerely,

Clate Mask
CEO, Infusionsoft

Amazing Money Making Opportunity

Hey Isyaias

I just found a cool affiliate program that can pay you up to
$190/sale.

=> http://eca.sh/Zovg

The product will be launched on 22nd June. You can find out all the
details about the launch and the commission by reading the JV page
if you are interested.

Talk soon,
Paul W.

The Ultimate Guide To Windows 7 Security

Windows 7 has been warmly received and swiftly adopted by businesses.

However, many IT admins are now struggling with the platform's new security features. In addition to changes to User Account Control, BitLocker, and other features inherited from Windows Vista, Windows 7 introduces a slew of security capabilities that businesses will want to take advantage of.

Windows 7 improves on Vista with a friendlier UAC mechanism, the ability to encrypt removable media and hard drive volumes, broader support for strong cryptographic ciphers, hassle-free secure remote access, and sophisticated protection against Trojan malware in the form of AppLocker, to name just a few.

In this guide, I'll run through these and other significant security enhancements in Windows 7, and provide my recommendations for configuring and using them. I'll pay especially close attention to the new AppLocker application-control feature, which may be a Windows shop's most practical and affordable way to combat socially engineered Trojan malware.

New-and-improved Windows 7 has literally hundreds of security changes and additions, far too many to cover in one fell swoop. While this guide focuses on the ones that most organizations will be interested in, keep in mind that plenty of others may deserve your attention. A few of the biggies not discussed here are built-in support for smart cards and biometrics, the ability to force the use of Kerberos in a feature called Restrict NTLM, and support for the new DNSSec standards, which are becoming essential to prevent DNS exploitation attacks. Also noteworthy is a new feature called Extended Protection for Authentication, which prevents many sophisticated man-in-the-middle attacks that can strike at some of our most trusted security protocols (such as SSL and TLS).

User Account Control
A Windows Vista feature that users loved to hate, User Account Control has been significantly improved to be both less intrusive and smarter at distinguishing between legitimate and potentially malicious activities in Windows 7. However, depending on whether you are logged on as administrator or a standard user, some installs of Windows 7 may have a default UAC security setting that's one level lower than some experts (including yours truly) recommend. Standard users have UAC security default to the most secure setting, while administrator accounts reside a notch below the highest setting, which is potentially riskier.

Note too that, although UAC provides a much-needed mechanism to prevent the misuse of administrator privileges, it can be bypassed. If you need high security, users should not log on with an elevated user account until they need it.

Your domain environment should already be at the highest and most secure level ("Always notify"). If it isn't, make it so. That way, users will be prompted to input their passwords to perform high-risk administrative actions. No matter what else, UAC should be enabled.

BitLocker Drive Encryption
In Windows 7, BitLocker Drive Encryption technology is extended from OS drives and fixed data drives to include removable storage devices such as portable hard drives and USB flash drives. This new capability is called BitLocker to Go.

In Windows Vista SP1, Microsoft added official support for encrypting fixed data drives, but it could only be done using command-line tools. Now you can encrypt operating system volumes, fixed data drives, and USB flash drives with a simple right-click, via the Windows Explorer GUI. Moreover, you can use smart cards to protect data volumes, and you can set up data recovery agents to automatically back up BitLocker keys. If you're using a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chip, you can enforce a minimum PIN length; five characters should suffice for most environments.

In Windows 7, there is no need to create separate partitions before turning on BitLocker. The system partition is automatically created and does not have a drive letter, so it is not visible in Windows Explorer and data files will not be written to it inadvertently. The system partition is smaller in Windows 7 than in Windows Vista, requiring only 100MB of space.

With BitLocker to go, you can encrypt removable drives one at a time or require that all removable media be encrypted by default. Further, encrypted removable media can be decrypted and reencrypted on any Windows 7 computers -- not just the one it was originally encrypted on.

BitLocker to Go Reader (bitlockertogo.exe) is a program that works on computers running Windows Vista or Windows XP, allowing you to open and view the content of removable drives that have been encrypted with BitLocker in Windows 7.

You should enable BitLocker (preferably with TPM and another factor) on portable computers if you do not use another data encryption product. Store the BitLocker PINs and recovery information in Active Directory or configure a domain-wide public key called a data recovery agent that will permit an administrator to unlock any drive encrypted with BitLocker. Require BitLocker to Go on all possible removable media drives.

Easily encrypted page file
Users who cannot utilize BitLocker but still want to prevent the memory swap page file from being analyzed in an offline sector editing attack no longer need to erase the page file on shutdown. Windows XP and earlier versions had a setting that allowed the page file to be erased on shutdown and rebuilt on each startup. It's a great security feature, but it often caused delayed shutdowns and startups -- sometimes adding as much as 10 minutes to the process.

In Windows 7 (and Vista), you can enable page file encryption. Even better: There is no key management. Windows creates and deletes the encryption keys as needed, so there is no chance the user can "lose" the key or require a recovery. It's crypto security at its best.

Better cryptography
Windows 7 includes all the latest industry-accepted ciphers, such as AES (Advanced Encryption Standard), ECC (Elliptical Curve Cryptography), and the SHA-2 hash family. In fact, Windows 7 implements all of the ciphers in Suite B, a group of cryptographic algorithms approved by the National Security Agency and National Institute of Standards and Technology for use in general-purpose encryption software.

While Microsoft added support for Suite B cryptographic algorithms (AES, ECDSA, ECDH, SHA2) to Windows Vista, Windows 7 allows Suite B ciphers to be used with Transport Layer Security (referred to as TLS v.1.2) and Encrypting File System (EFS). Suite B ciphers should be used whenever possible. However, it's important to note that Suite B ciphers are not usually compatible with versions of Windows prior to Windows Vista.

By default, all current technologies in Windows will use industry standard ciphers. No more legacy, proprietary ciphers are used. Those legacy ciphers that still exist are included only for backward-compatibility purposes. Microsoft has shared the new ciphers in detail with the crypto world for analysis and evaluation. Key and hash sizes are increased by default.

EFS (Encrypting File System) has been improved in many ways beyond using more modern ciphers. For one, you can use a smart card to protect your EFS keys. This not only makes EFS keys more secure, but allows them to be portable between computers.

Administrators will be happy to know that they can prevent users from creating self-signed EFS keys. Previously, users could easily turn on EFS, which generated a self-signed EFS digital certificate if a compatible PKI server could not be found. Too often, these users encrypted files but did not back up their self-signed digital certificates, which frequently led to unrecoverable data loss.

With Windows 7, administrators can still allow self-signed EFS keys, while mandating ciphers and minimum key lengths. Windows 7 will prod users to back up their EFS digital certificates to some other removable media or network drive share -- and keep prodding them until they do it. A Microsoft Web page details the EFS changes.

Safer browsing with IE 8
Users don't need Windows 7 to run IE 8, and if they're running an older version of IE on an older operating system, they should upgrade to IE 8 as soon as possible. Even better, from a security standpoint, is running IE 8 on Windows 7.

Not only is IE 8 more secure by default than previous versions of the browser, but IE 8 is more secure on Windows 7 than on Windows XP. The recent Chinese Google zero-day hacking attack demonstrates this more effectively than anything I could come up with. The Chinese attacks work most effectively on IE 6 and not very well on IE 8 (see the relative risk ratings). Microsoft tested a number of related exploits and found that they were significantly harder to accomplish in IE 8, and harder still in IE 8 on Windows 7.

Naturally, application and Website compatibility issues will guide how quickly Windows shops can move to the new browser -- but run some tests. I have no shortage of clients who are still clinging to IE 6 and haven't conducted any compatibility testing in over a year. Often when I goad them into retesting their troublesome application with IE 8, it works.

Multiple active firewall policies
Prior to Windows 7, when a user had multiple network interfaces active, only one Windows Firewall profile (i.e. Home, Domain, Work, or Public) could be used. This created potential security vulnerabilities, such as when a computer was both wired to the local network domain and connected to a less restricted wireless network. Windows 7 can now detect multiple networks and apply the appropriate firewall profile to the right interface.

Improved System Restore
System Restore now includes the user's personal content files. Older versions backed up and protected only the Windows system files. System Restore also allows you to see what files would be restored in each version of the System Restore files. It's not perfect, but it's nice to see what will occur if you were to choose a particular restoration point.

Smooth remote access
DirectAccess allows remote users to securely access enterprise resources (such as shares, Websites, applications, and so on) without connecting to traditional types of VPNs. DirectAccess establishes bidirectional connectivity with a user's enterprise network every time a user's DirectAccess-enabled portable computer connects to the Internet, even before the user logs on. The advantage here is that users never have to think about connecting to the enterprise network, and IT administrators can manage remote computers even when the computers are not connected to the VPN.

Once DirectAccess is enabled, when a user's computer connects to the Internet, it's as though he or she is on the organization's local network. Group policies work, remote management tools work, and automatic push patching works.

Unfortunately, DirectAccess has fairly involved requirements, including Windows Server 2008 R2 (to act as the RAS server), Windows 7 Enterprise or Ultimate clients, PKI, IPv6, and IPSec. But as companies put the necessary pieces into place, they should look into using DirectAccess as their default VPN technology for Windows 7 and later clients.

Next week, we'll take a look at service accounts, virtual service accounts, AppLocker application controls and how to figure AppLocker for maximum benefit.

By Roger A. Grimes at InfoWorld.