Is Big Data a Big Danger?

By Carl Weiss

Big business calls it Data Mining.  Consumers think of it as an invasion of privacy.  Cybercriminals look at it as an opportunity to line their pockets.  What it boils down to is the fact that as you surf the web it leaves digital breadcrumbs that people can scoop up in an effort to make money.  If this bothers you, then you need to be aware of how your browsing habits can be used against you as well as what you need to do to minimize the electronic trail you leave every time you go online.

Drilling for Consumer Gold

While the term “Data mining” was coined in the 1990’s, the actual practice of digital data storage and manipulation has been around for more than 30 years.  An outgrowth of database management and machine learning systems that were developed in the 1980’s, data mining was traditionally used to find patterns and relationships in order to predict buying habits.  In the early days of the internet, this was accomplished by getting the consumer to fill out online surveys that were designed to get them to divulge key buying and income information that could be used to deliver targeted advertisements. (If you ever entered a contest to win a prize online, you are familiar with this kind of tactic.)

However, with the advent of social networks and with the rise of web browsers that were designed to report on every keystroke (such as Google Chrome), it is no longer necessary to offer an inducement to consumers to ascertain their buying and browsing habits.  This explains why you continue to see ads for products after you search for them on most search engines.  If that was where the trail ended, most people would just shrug it off as the cost of doing business online. 

Far from being the be-all or end-all of the equation, the gathering and initial use of this data is only the tip of a vast submerged iceberg.  Because once this data is accumulated it is then packaged and sold on a worldwide basis to anyone and everyone willing to pay for it. 

Who Buys My Data?

The NSA, FBI and other government entities pay for access to mountains of data.

An August 24, 2013 report by the Wall Street Journal stated that,

Microsoft, Google, Yahoo and Facebook all supply user data to the NSA based on secret ordered from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance court under a program known as Prism. Although U.S. law mandates compliance, the government usually helps pay for it.

While many of the companies that share data with the government, such as Microsoft, extol the fact that they only provide this information because they are legally ordered to, all of the major players not only accept compensation, they expect it.

A Yahoo spokeswoman referred questions to its Friday comment in the Guardian. “Federal law requires the US government to reimburse providers for costs incurred to respond to compulsory legal process imposed by the government,” the company told the newspaper. “We have requested reimbursement consistent with this law.”

We’re not talking chump change here either.  More importantly, who else do these internet edifices share or sell their data with?  Well, it all depends on who you ask.  Take Google, for instance.  While the world’s largest search engine is tight lipped when it comes to who they share or sell information to, in a 2008 article in the German magazine Stern, the magazine bought a list containing the names, addresses, dates of birth, occupations and phone numbers of hundreds of German citizens from the world’s most popular search engine. 

The writer of the article actually picked up the phone and called the phone numbers on the list, informing each person who picked up how and where he had obtained the information.  Since Germany has strict laws regarding the protection of personal data, those who were contacted were outraged as was the German government, who subsequently sued Google.

http://translationmusings.com/2008/09/07/does-google-sell-its-users-personal-data/

Google wasn’t the only internet company sued over privacy issues by Germany.  So was Facebook, which was dragged into a lawsuit by German authorities in 2011 over its use of face recognition software on its services.

Of course in the United States there are no such legal speed bumps in the data mining superhighway.  More to the point, not only is your personal information available, but what is amazing is the sheer volume that is being collected. And while search engines and social networks can be tight lipped when it comes who can use their data, there are other companies that are quite up front when it comes to selling the personal data of every man, woman and child in the US.

Two companies, Acxiom and Epsilon, are a couple of the largest data mining operations in the world.  To quote Wikipedia, “Acxiom has been described as "one of the biggest companies you've never heard of.  In addition to collecting information about people, the company helps marketers anticipate the needs of consumers. According to the documentary "The Persuaders." As the world's largest processor of consumer data, Acxiom has identified 70 types of consumers with its segmentation product PersonicX.”

Here’s some data on Acxiom: In the third quarter of 2012, Acxiom’s revenue was $281 million, which was down 2% from the same quarter a year before.  For the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2011, Acxiom’s revenue was up 5.5% to $1.16 billion.

“Most people know that basically everything that we do on the Internet is tracked, but data mining goes far beyond that.  When you use a customer rewards card at the supermarket, the data miners know about it.  When you pay for a purchase with a credit card or a debit card, the data miners know about it.  Every time you buy a prescription drug, that information is sold to someone.  Every time you apply for a loan, a whole host of organizations is notified.  Information has become an extremely valuable commodity, and thanks to computers and the Internet it is easier to gather information than ever before.” 

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/data-mining-big-corporations-are-gathering-every-shred-of-information-about-you-that-they-can-and-selling-it-for-profit

Who Owns My Data?

The biggest problem for consumers is that for the most part, they do not own their data.  If you subscribe to any social network, blog or portal you need to read the find print in their user agreements.  Because if you do, you will find out that while you are free to post information about yourself and your friends, you do not in fact own it.  The operators of the social networks, blogs and portals do. 

The only way to be sure of who owns what is to actually read the user agreements that are part and parcel of every browser, search engine, portal and social network.  How many of us ever do that?  This is important since the terms of use change from year to year.  Google has made a number of sweeping changes to its privacy issues over the years. (No wonder, since they spend a great deal of time defending their data collection habits in court.) In the current iteration under the heading of “Information We Share” is the following:

We do not share personal information with companies, organizations and individuals outside of Google unless one of the following circumstances applies:

·         With your consent

We will share personal information with companies, organizations or individuals outside of Google when we have your consent to do so. We require opt-in consent for the sharing of any sensitive personal information.

·         With domain administrators

If your Google Account is managed for you by a domain administrator (for example, for Google Apps users) then your domain administrator and resellers who provide user support to your organization will have access to your Google Account information (including your email and other data).

Have a Cookie

The real elephant in the room is the fact that for the most part, companies and/or individuals who want to track your every movement online do not have to even ask your permission.  All they have to do is get you to accept their cookie.  These cookies are not as sweet as they sound.  All they are is a subroutine that is designed to collect information from your computer, tablet or smartphone.  The way they get onto your system is simplicity itself.  You open the door and let them in.

Have you ever downloaded a “Free App?”  Have you ever signed up to play a “Free Game?”  Have you ever entered a “Free Contest?”  If the answer is yes to any of the above then you may have accepted a cookie onto your system that is now free to roam and collect as you point and click.  Some people have so many cookies on the loose in their machine that it slows it to a crawl.  Sound familiar?

How Do You shake the Bugs Out of the Rug?

While the cleaning mechanism varies from browser to browser, there are ways to clean the digital carpet.  If you are using Chrome, click on the master control button on the far right of the browser.  (It’s the one that has three parallel black lines.)  By clicking on this button and then hitting history you will be able to clear out both your browsing history and any cookies that you have picked up along the way. (You can also hit Control H.)  While this won’t prevent other cookies from attaching themselves to your device, it will shake out those already onboard. (You can also buy third-party web scrubbers such as AdvancedSystem Care, that will not only shake the bugs out of the rug, but it will also add an additional layer of adware protection to help you keep these freeloaders out of your system.)   You can also switch to search engines such as duckduckgo.com that does not track your browsing/search habits.

Better still is to opt for a more proactive approach.  This entails being more careful about where you click and what you accept for free.  In terms of browsers, you can either find a browser (such as Komodo Dragon) http://www.comodo.com/home/browsers-toolbars/browser.phpthat does not collect user information.  Or, if you are a dyed-in-the-wool Chrome user, you can hit the same master control button and opt to open a “New Incognito Window.”  While using this option will eliminate some of your browsing traces such as search history and cookies, according to Google, it still doesn’t protect you from:

Going incognito doesn't affect the behavior of other people, servers, or software. Be wary of:

• Websites that collect or share information about you
• Internet service providers or employers that track the pages you visit
• Malicious software that tracks your keystrokes in exchange for free smileys
• Surveillance by secret agents
• People standing behind you

While changing your browsing habits may seem so much like work, when you realize all the many ways that your personal information can be compromised by others, the last thing you want to do is help them dig a hole from which you cannot hope to escape. 

Carl Weiss is president of Working the Web to Win, a digital marketing agency in Jacksonville, Florida.  He is also co-host of the weekly radio show of the same name which is broadcast live every Tuesday at 4 pm eastern on BlogTalkRadio.

Eye Spies - Who's Watching You in the age of Digital surveillance?

By Carl Weiss

 

You see them at intersections, on buildings and at the mall.  Casinos are chock full of them, as are banks, department stores and the corner 7-11.  At least one world-renown author has written a book about a society beset by them and the current President of the United States recently spoke about them when he said, "In the abstract, you can complain about Big Brother and how this is a potential program run amok, but when you actually look at the details, then I think we've struck the right balance."

The author I mentioned is George Orwell, who penned a novel about the very thing that President Obama was talking about.  Nineteen Eighty-Four was the novel that depicted a police state bent on tracking the movements and thoughts of its citizens. The novel’s rallying cry was one of, "Big Brother Is Watching You."  This is the very same Big Brother that the President called by name in one instance only to shrug it off at the next.  

Oh Brother!

While the Commander in Chief was talking specifically about the exploits of the NSA, what most people do not understand is that the spy agency is only the tip of a vast surveillance iceberg that operates with impunity on a worldwide basis.  Sometimes its product is being watched by various federal, state or local government agencies.  Sometimes it is perpetrated by big business.  At other times it can be under the control of everyone from snooping ex-husbands or wives, to nosy neighbors, prying teenagers or criminal elements that intend on doing you harm. 

The fact of the matter is that it’s almost too easy to spy on the public these days.   Not only are surveillance cameras cheap to own and operate, but they are now built into every laptop, tablet and Smartphone on the market.  Many automobiles come from the factory with them already installed.  There are even industries built around installing them in and around homes and offices.  Since most of these devices are Internet-enabled, this means that off-the-shelf software is all it takes to hack into and take control of these cameras.

Eyes See You

Think that sounds more than a little paranoid?  Tell that to Miss Teen USA Cassidy Wolf, who was blackmailed by a hacker who used her laptop’s webcam to take nude photos of her without her knowledge.  The hacker used what’s known in the industry as a remote administration tool (RAT) that is able to not only remotely operate a victim’s webcam , but it can also disable the little light that lets someone know that their webcam is on. (And to think that not too long ago celebrities had only to worry about pushy paparazzi trying to catch them in compromising situations.)

In September, the FBI arrested a 19-year-old man named Jared Abrahams from Temecula, California, on charges that he hacked into the social media accounts of several women, including Wolf, and took nude photographs of them by remotely controlling their webcams. He then allegedly contacted the victims and threatened to post the pictures on their social media profiles unless they sent him more nude photos and videos or did what he demanded for five minutes in Skype video chats. http://www.macworld.com/article/2081940/researchers-older-mac-webcams-can-spy-without-activating-warning-light.html

RATS

While ratting has gotten much of the notoriety when it comes to using a target’s own camera to spy on them, it is not the only way to break and enter digitally.  One of the easiest ways to break into a computer is via email.  Just before Christmas 2013, staffers from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (Dedicated to Defending Your Rights in the Digital World) received an email purportedly inviting them to a conference in Asia hosted by Oxfam International.  The email directed EFF’s staff to click on a pair of links that purportedly contained information regarding the conference.  When they realized that the links were not hosted on Oxfam’s domain, but resided instead on Google drive they smartly did not click on the link which in all likelihood contained malware.

EFF has written extensively about the worsening situation for bloggers in Vietnam, supporting campaigns to free high-profile bloggers such as Le Quoc Quan and Dieu Cay, and criticizing the Vietnam’s Internet censorship bill.  Vietnam’s Internet spying campaign dates back to at least March 2010, when engineers at Google discovered malware broadly targeting Vietnamese computer users. The infected machines were used to spy on their owners as well as participating in DDoS attacks against dissident websites. 

Of course the majority of the public are not on the blacklist of unfriendly governments.  So why should the average Joe or Jane worry about their privacy being invaded by hackers?  Because some hackers make a tidy living from this kind of activity, that’s why.  And I’m not talking about sextortion here.

As long as there have been homes and businesses there have been burglars.  In the past, thieves had to risk being detected while they cased a home or a neighborhood in search of targets of opportunity.  (This is why the neighborhood watch was invented.)  The problem in the digital age is that thieves no longer have to prowl the neighborhood to determine a victim’s patterns.  That’s because your home or business may become their unwitting accomplice.

Instead of a Midnight Snack, Could Your Fridge Abet a Midnight Attack?

The latest things to hit the market are smart appliances.  Everything from smart lighting and entertainment centers, to wireless security devices and the networks upon which they operate are subject to being hacked.  As a rule, if you can use your Smartphone to set your home’s thermostat, open your garage door or let you view your home when you are away, then so can a thief.  While “Smart Homes” are all the rage, a number of people in the know consider them to be a major chink in your home’s security armor. 

Could hackers gather information from smart lighting, entertainment, or security devices – or the networks on which they communicate – to determine patterns of when you are home, when you are likely to have company over, and when your house is empty?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/josephsteinberg/2014/01/27/these-devices-may-be-spying-on-you-even-in-your-own-home/

Internet enabled appliances, which run operating systems like Windows or Android, can be co-opted by hackers’ malicious code in the same way your computer or phone can be hijacked. Once taken over by the hacker software, the appliance is used to send spam (containing virus links, for example) or to mount denial-of-service attacks. A hacker who had co-opted multiple Internet-equipped refrigerators and garage door openers could use their combined power to inundate an Internet target with email or other malicious activity.
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2014/01/is-your-fridge-sending-malicious-emails/#1fRkHMH7DX8YpXIC.99

So does the prospect of your fridge spying on you weird you out?  Then just wait until you hear what the government has in store for your car.  Called Vehicle-to-Vehicle Technology, or V2V, it is being touted as a way of making driving safer by enabling vehicles to communicate with one another in real time.  This means the addition of such things as motion detectors, radio beacons and, you guessed it, cameras that are designed to help drivers avoid collisions by either warning them audibly or forcibly taking control of the vehicle to avoid a crash.  Anyone who has seen Minority Report knows what else this technology could be used to accomplish.)

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said the Obama administration decided to announce its intention to require the technology in new vehicles in order to "send a strong signal to the (automotive industry) that we believe the wave of the future is vehicle-to-vehicle technology."

Read more: http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/national/v2v-technology-us-unveils-plan-for-cars-of-the-future#ixzz2sJcamcLp

Shop Til You Drop?

This is on top of all the automated surveillance systems already being used in shopping malls and big box stores. Not only do shopping center eyes in the sky watch for shoplifters and observe employees, but they can also be equipped with face recognition software, or be programmed to observe and track shoppers as they window shop and make purchases.  More disturbing still is the fact that coming to a mall near you is a new technology that will allow store owners to tailor ads displayed in strategically placed kiosks that match a shoppers demographics.

Shoppers at the new International Finance Center Mall in Seoul can find their way around the four-story complex by approaching one of 26 information kiosks. When they do, they also are being watched. Just above each kiosk's LCD touch screen sit two cameras and a motion detector. As a visitor is recorded, facial-identity software estimates the person's gender and age.  The system's makers, two companies from South Korea's SK Holdings Co. conglomerate, plan to allow advertisers to tailor interactive ads on the kiosk by those attributes.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10000872396390444897304578044322254166986

So to sum it up, when it comes to who’s watching you in the digital age, a better question is, "Who isn't watching?"  I mean, you can’t take a walk, you can’t go shopping, you can’t take a drive and you can’t stay home without being observed, categorized and computed.  Or, to put it bluntly, when it comes to eye spies, it turns out that George Orwell was an optimist.

When he isn’t hiding under his desk, Carl Weiss is cohost of the BlogTalk Radio and YouTube video series Working the Web to Win.  

Taking Your Medicine Online

By Carl Weiss

When it comes to technology, the medical profession is no slouch.  During the course of the past few decades all manners of high-tech diagnostic tools, surgical suites and bionic limbs have become commonplace in doctor’s offices and hospitals.  But what most people are unaware of is the fact that there are a number of revolutionary new technologies that are going to forever change the very way that a visit to the doctor or ER takes place.

Is There a Doctor in the Mouse?

The age of the virtual doctor has already arrived across the US.  Invented by NASA for use on the International Space Station, telemedicine has found its way into a number of hospitals, as well as online.  Telemedicine connects patients with physicians via the Internet, allowing them to skip a trip to the doctor’s office while saving money at the same time.  Several online businesses have created models where patients can teleconsult with a physician, including MDLive, while others such as iRobot have created telepresence robots that allow physicians to interface with patients around the world. Some of the more sophisticated models even allow a surgeon to perform surgery by remote control. 

This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to maintaining one’s health via technology.  An entire industry has been spawned for health monitoring devices. Everything from bracelets to watches are currently available that are designed to monitor a wearer’s vital signs and vital statistics as they go about their everyday activities.  One company, AiQ has introduced an entire line of “smart clothing” that does everything from measuring the user’s heart rate, respiration rage and skin temperature.  Their SolarMan vest not only offers the wearer the ability to monitor their vital signs, but it even recharges itself and other electronic devices via built-in solar panels.

While some of these devices are designed to be monitored by the user, others such as products made by BodyTel offer those with chronic illnesses Bluetooth enabled devices that automatically send readings to the user’s doctor. Capable of monitoring and reporting on everything from blood glucose levels to blood pressure, this technology represents a whole new level of health care.

Staying Ahead of the Crowd

While many of the new medical technologies are designed to be worn on the lower extremities, there are several that are meant to be deployed above the neck.  One such device being developed by Imec looks like a prop from Star Trek.  A wearable EEG with built-in EKG patch, the device keeps tabs on your brain and heart activity.  The data collected is then transmitted in real time to a receiver located up to 10 miles from the headset. (If you choose to wear it outdoors I suggest you don a hat.)

That doesn’t mean that this technology won’t eventually be miniaturized to the point that it will fit unobtrusively into a hairband or ball cap.  In fact, at least other medical device pioneer has created the prototype for a blood glucose monitor that resides in a contact lens.  Google recently announces that the contact lens it is designing will measure glucose in tears on a continuous basis using a wireless chip and miniature glucose sensor.  Once available, the device will make a lot of diabetics happy, since the predominant method of testing blood glucose levels involves pricking the finger.

These Boots Were Made for Walking

At the other end of the spectrum, Moticon has introduced the world’s first computerized insole that can be used in any shoe to measure motion for patients and athletes.  The bionic insole comes complete with firmwear that communicates with a user’s computer via a USB radio stick.  In 2010, Moticon was awarded the International Innovation Award for this product.  (Move overDr. Scholl’s !)

Speaking of bionics, just before Thanksgiving 2013, Mick Ebeling returned home from Sudan's Nuba Mountains where he set up what is probably the world's first 3D-printing prosthetic lab and training facility. Called Project Daniel, the effort was begun by one man who learned about a 14-year old double amputee named Daniel.  Flying to Sudan with a 3D printer, Mick not only created prosthetic arms and hands for Daniel, but he vowed to teach the locals how to help many of the 50,000 Sudanese who have lost limbs from the ongoing conflict in the area.  (See the video at http://www.notimpossiblelabs.com/)

Docs in the Box

Of course the internet isn’t only used today by patients.  It is also being increasingly employed by doctors as well.  In fact there is a prominent new social network for the medical industry called MedMasters.com.  This network connects members of the medical community by providing a searchable database of doctors, nurses, medical IT providers, medical recruiters and pharmaceutical sales conduits that is as easy as point and click.  Useful for everyone from healthcare providers to people seeking to enter the industry, this is the interactive go to network for the medical industry.  Best of all, joining the network is free and easy. 

Take Two Diodes and Call Me in the Morning

While many of these cutting edge technologies concern themselves with big ticket issues, there are some that aim to alleviate the small problems that the public faces every day. 

For migraine sufferers help is on the way. For many years, doctors have associated the most chronic forms of headache with the sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG), a facial nerve bundle.  Until recently there were treatments that provided long term SPG relief. A new technology under clinical testing at Autonomic Technologies, Inc. is an implantable tool for blocking SPG signals at the first sign of a headache. The system consists of a small nerve stimulating device that can be operated by remote control whenever a patient senses the onset of a headache. The resulting signals stimulate the SPG nerves and block the pain-causing neurotransmitters.

Bear in mind that these are but a few of the latest medical technologies that are being developed to help people live longer, healthier lives.  If you want to learn even more, tune into our “Working the Web to Win” radio show on Blog Talk Radio.  Because the one thing you can say about taking your medicine online is that it doesn’t leave a bad taste in your mouth.

Carl Weiss is president of W Squared Media Group, a cutting-edge digital marketing agency located in Jacksonville, Florida.  You can also see the Web TV version of Working the Web to Win on YouTube.

The Scariest Sites Online

By Carl Weiss

Want to see something really scary? Well you don't have to prowl the streets on Halloween in order to see the kind of things that give you goose bumps.  All you have to do is trawl the Internet's backchannels for an hour.  Once there you will discover creepy crawlies galore, including a search engine designed for and by hackers, a black hat (not cat) convention in Las Vegas and ghost sites that will creep you out. Below is our list of the top 10 scariest sites on line.

10.  What Happens in Vegas

Around since 1997, the Black Hat Convention held yearly at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas is the place where hackers hang their hat.  Interested in learning how to carry out cyber-spying on cellphones?  No problem.  Want to know what it takes to bypass traditional malware detection measures.  Piece of cake.  This convention is a veritable candy store where everyone from security experts to nerds looking to take down a small government come to hone their skills.  After the now defunct Silk Road website the black hat convention is one of the scariest in-your-face threats to cyber security that is not only officially sanctioned but wildly popular.  To quote the BlackHat.com site,

“Black Hat USA is the show that sets the benchmark for all other security conferences. As Black Hat returns for its 16th year to Las Vegas, we bring together the brightest in the world for six days of learning, networking, and skill building. Join us for four intense days of Training and two jam-packed filled days of Briefings.”

9. Don’t Want to Wait for the Movie?

Then read the book, Hacking for Dummies, now in its 4^th edition.  Why travel to Vegas when everything you need to start hacking can be found online?  This book is designed to show you the ins and outs of what it takes to get started as a hacker. 

As an information security professional, your toolkit is the most critical item you can possess — other than hands-on experience and common sense. Your hacking tools should consist of the following (and make sure you're never on the job without them):

·         Password cracking software, such as ophcrack and Proactive Password Auditor

·         Network scanning software, such as Nmap and NetScanTools Pro

·         Network vulnerability scanning software, such as GFI LanGuard and QualysGuard

·         Network analyzer software, such as Cain & Abel and OmniPeek

·         Wireless network analyzer and software, such as Aircrack-ng and CommView for WiFi

·         File search software, such as FileLocator Pro and Identity Finder

·         Web application vulnerability scanning software, such as Acunetix Web Vulnerability Scanner and WebInspect

·         Database security scanning software, such as SQLPing3 and AppDetectivePro

·         Exploit software, such as Metasploit

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/hacking-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html

8. Want to Know How the World Will End?

Just in case the specter of cyberterrorism doesn’t put the fear of God into you there’s a website called Exit Mundi, that catalogs dozens of ways in which the world as we know it could meet its end.  Everything from asteroid strikes to gamma ray bursts, to nuclear terrorism, to a drug that would render the human population certifiably insane (too late) is described in detail on this site.  So if there isn’t enough stress in your daily grind, here’s the place to help you ring the bell the next time you get your blood pressure tested.

http://www.exitmundi.nl/exitmundi.htm

7. Alien Abduction Sites

UFOs: Seeing Is Believing (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As if we don’t have enough problems on Earth, there are sites that show you how to deal with threats from
 beyond the solar system.  We’re talking alien abduction here and there are a number of websites devoted to this phenomenon.  Googling “Alien Abduction Sites,” returned 7,580,000 results.  So despite government denials, this is a hot topic.  Scanning the first few pages of the results I noted everything from a wiki where you could share your abduction recollections(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_abduction) to the International Center for Abduction Research, http://www.ufoabduction.com/ which offers information that offers "Straight Talk About UFO Abductions" 

If the threat of being abducted by aliens causes you to lose sleep at night, fear not, because there is a website called http://www.stopabductions.com/ that shows you how to make a “Thought Screen Helmet,” designed to foil those insidious intergalactic interlopers.

6. Ghost Sites

Wikipedia defines a ghost site as “A Web site that remains live but is no longer updated or maintained or only done so very infrequently.”  However, if you Google the term you will find tons of sites more inclined to Ghost Busters than webmasters.  Included is everything from http://topparanormalsites.com/ that lists everything from ghost hunter sites to occult and paranormal investigation sites.  There was also listed on the first page of the search a spooky website that hit close to home, literally.  JAXHistory.com listed a number of spooky things such as UFOs over Jacksonville to something called the Florida Skunk Ape, which is purportedly “The Southernmost Bigfoot in the USA.”

http://www.jaxhistory.com/Jacksonville%20Story/Ghosts,%20Monsters,%20and%20UFOs.htm

5. The 20 Scariest Street View Sightings

Mashable collected the 20 scariest sightings posted on Google’s Street View that includes everything from what looks to be the climactic scene from the Alfred Hitchcock blockbuster “The Birds,” to a bizarre group of Japanese citizens who were spotted as they walked down the street sporting pigeon heads. (Don’t ask.) https://www.google.com/#q=scary+sites+on+google+maps

4. Seeing is Believing

If you think that Google Street View has cornered the market on weird things that happen every day you’re wrong.  There are literally millions of websites and videos that show everyone just how weird the world really is.  One site called http://www.abovetopsecret.com is a collection point for bizarre-but-true stories that get little attention from the media.  A recent headline includes, “Melting Starfish and Odd Orca Behavior in the Pacific Ocean,” that quotes a Seattle biologist that describes some of the bizarre changes in the sea life in the area that alludes to the fact that since the Fukushima Reactor meltdown in 2012 that the environmental impact to the Pacific Ocean has been nothing short of catastrophic.  The blog also states that, “There are other reports of seals with what appears to be radiation burns on their skin and Polar Bears showing signs of large hair loss.”

3. Conspiracy Theory Sites

Of course, conspiracy theory sites thrive online.  This can make it tough to weed out the chaff from the wheat.  For every site that purportedly sheds light on some facet of society that could turn around and bite us, such as the recent revelation that the NSA has been spying on the phone calls, internet searches and financial transactions of millions of American citizens, there are also sites that purport that the top 3 conspiracy websites crashed at the same time that the government shutdown took place, thus proving that they are owned and operated by either the CIA or the NSA.  Love them or laugh at them, there are conspiracy theory sites that claim to prove or disprove everything from government mind control to the New World Order.  So if you want to go there, here are a few hot tips.  But I’ll deny I sent you there if questioned by the authorities.

16 Conspiracy Theories That Turned out to be True http://www.trueactivist.com/16-conspiracy-theories-that-turned-out-to-be-true/

I Want to Know http://www.wanttoknow.info/conspiracytheories

Disclose TV’s Camp FEMA American Lockdown which details the recent legislation that attempts to legitimize the use of internment camps to detain citizens in the event of an uprising or civil unrest.

http://www.disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/155614/Camp_FEMA_American_Lockdown__FULL_MOVIE__86_min/#ixzz2j80svCye

2.  Cooking Show Gone Bad

The Halloween episode of Man Cave Munchies purports to show viewers how to prepare “a dish that’s so easy it’s scary.”  However the intro to the show depicts the host as a meat cleaver wielding ghoul that could put you right off your diet. Check it out if you dare. http://youtu.be/n1bLP1VffBM

1.      The Scariest Site of Them All - https://www.healthcare.gov/
You think that a meat cleaver wielding zombie chef is scary?  This is nothing when compared to a site that has put the fear of God into hundreds of millions of citizens of the USA.  This government owned and operated site starts off with the innocuous motto, “Find Health Care Coverage that Works for You.”  Then it stubbornly refuses to let the majority of people sign up, much less find coverage of any kind.  Worse yet, for those who either refuse to sign up or just plain can’t sing up, there is the threat of a stiff monetary penalty.  While the press refers to this system as Obamacare, I think a more appropriate term would be ObamaScare.

When he isn't scaring people, Carl Weiss is the president of W Squared Media Group, a digital marketing agency based in Jacksonville, Florida.  He is also co-host of Working the Web to Win, an online radio show that airs every Tuesday at 4 pm Eastern.

How to Score Points Online Without Working Up a Sweat

by Carl Weiss

Working the web is no game for wimps.  It takes guts, determination and staying power to play the game to win.  More importantly it takes organization.  As I pointed out in my blog two weeks back, Google has become the 800-lb gorilla in the room, having amassed more than 80% of search.  With that kind of clout Google not only rules the roost, it pretty much calls the shots.  In order to have any kind of chance of generating page one results on Google, you need to feed the monkey.  Google's ranking system takes everything from on-page SEO, to backlinks, blogs, social posts and videos into the equation.  Their spiders have become sophisticated enough to read/ rank blogs and social posts not only for completion, but for depth as well.  The spiders can tell how often you post, how well-crafted the post is and how relevant it is to the keywords you desire.  If you post a blog once a week or once in a blue moon, the spiders know and react accordingly.  If you don't link your social sites to your website, they know that too.  If you link your social nets to your site but rarely feed them, the spiders will penalize your ranking appropriately.

Who's on First?

For most business owners this means either hiring a full-time employee or outsourcing the task.  They simply 

Image via CrunchBase

don't have the time to write a blog a week and feed the social nets daily.  The bad news is that even this is only the tip of the SEO iceberg.  Google says it analyzes 182 different ranking criteria in order to determine ranking. While they won't actually come out and tell you what they are, the good news is that with a bit of deductive reasoning you can infer many of the most important. 

Generating ranking today comes down to an online popularity contest.  While backlinks are still one indicator of popularity that are ranked by most every search engine, there are a number of recent developments of which you may not be aware.  For instance, online reputation is currently all the rage.  In fact there are hundreds of online portals that are designed to monitor and publicize both good and bad corporate behavior.  Even more important is the fact that Google Local encourages business owners and their customers to post reviews and ratings.  If you aren't cognizant of your online reputation, you run the risk of being relegated to the backwaters of the web.

This is not a game most businesses can afford to lose.  Consider if you will the facts as of 2012:

·         More than ¾ of the world population was online.

·         The US audience alone topped 239 million users.

·         Mobile users in the US topped 139 million.

·         There were 106.7 million smartphone users in the US.

·         Some 72.8 million shoppers made purchases using mobile phones and tablets.

·         83.9% of those made at least 1 online purchase.

·         Holiday ecommerce sales were 42.3 billion

Who's Listening

Even if you do take the time to post blogs, social posts, videos, reviews and ratings this means little if you are preaching to the choir.  To give you an idea of where I am coming from, go to your blog and look at your stats.  On average, how many people are reading your posts?  More importantly, how many people are commenting and/or reposting your posts?  Even the best prose will not get Google's attention if nobody is listening.  Unless your posts generate interest the search engine spiders regard them as billboards in the desert.  That doesn't mean that there aren't ways to correct this problem.  It simply takes a team.

Nearly a year and a half ago my partner and I realized that the search engines were putting a premium on such thing as +1's, comments and reposts.  After scouring the web for companies that offered this kind of service (without any success), we realized that there was a simple way to achieve the desired effect.  Thus was born the concept of Team Tech along with a service designed to organize and manage this service called ClubWCubed.com.  The way that team tech works is that everyone in the team is required to write a blog a week.  (For those who can not do this, we offer to outsource this service.)  Once the blog has been written, it is passed along to five members of the club who read it, comment on it and repost it to Twitter, Facebook and Google+.  In exchange, the blog writer does the same for the other members.  (It's kind of an I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine system.)  

What this does for members is several things:
1. It generates distribution, since your blog will be passed along to thousands of people via social                       networking.
2. It helps members satisfy their daily social networking duty, since by reposting a blog a day you will have         six days worth of content to broadcast.
3. The search engine spiders will notice that your blogs and social sites are generating more activity.  This will     increase your SEO score.

It Takes a Team

Like it or not, search engine marketing is a full contact sport.  The companies who can either afford to outsource these tasks or who put a high priority on accomplishing them will continue to dominate the 

search engines.  If you want to get off the bench and get into the game you are going to have to create a team that can help you score on the field.  Especially in the beginning when it is tough to sustain the fight, you are going to have to coach and motivate your team to continue to fight for every yard.  Think of it this way, if you were going to play a game of football, would you want to hike the ball only to find out you are the only member of your team standing on the field, or would you like to have some blockers keeping the other team at bay?  If you're really looking to score points online without working up a sweat, it takes a team.

Carl Weiss is president of W Squared Media Group, a Jacksonville, Florida company that is all about working the web to win.  You can hear Carl every Tuesday at 4 pm when he co-hosts Working the Web to Win on Blog Talk Radio.