Home Business Safety

> This is the most horrific story. Online chartrooms must be the worst
> cesspools of America, filled with deranged maniacs. No matter how you
> slice it.

Yes, it is a terrible story, and with a 20 month old boy in the house and constant discussions of another child, it hit home. I also live just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, so it didn't happen too far from where I live. It got my attention.

However, the media did not report about the other +/- 300 million Americans that safely and normally went about their daily lives this past week. And it's not always strangers that do such things; far too often, it's a colleague, friend, or even a family member (such as Scott Peterson).

Nevertheless, it would be prudent to establish some guidelines if you run a home business, perhaps by not allowing clients to visit your home without another adult present, installing a alarm system with professional monitoring, not keeping cash around the house, always keeping a cell phone in your pocket when face-to-face with clients / strangers, etc. You need to take a look at your own threats and develop steps to minimize them.

And we cannot allow events like this to keep us from building our businesses, living our lives, and pursuing our dreams. Focus on what you need to focus on (remember -- the only thing you really control is what you choose to think about, and your thoughts control your focus) while applying lessons from the misfortunes of others.

And chat / IRC has too many security vulnerabilities to mention, so it's not a good idea to go there anyway. Instead, you need to stick to forums like this one where nice, clean-cut people meet to discuss items of interest! :-p

> With SPAM, spyware and online malaise this is not a good omen for anyone
> selling online ONLY. Yes of course you can make money and people do shop
> online but most who make money have a brick and mortar, real business and
> network using that real business effectively.

Most, like me, are simply trying to make a few extra dollars every month. I love my day job, but want to have something to fall back on should I find myself once again unemployed. I'll also agree that it's not good to simply have your business online -- you need to be "out there" with people in some form so that they get to know and trust you. "Network" is the key word, and we're not talking about the cable coming out of the back of your computer, either...

And approximately 9 out of 10 brick and mortar businesses fail within 5 years. It's just that we can physically see all of the ones that are still in business -- not an easy thing to do for Internet businesses.

Finally, as a computer security professional, you need to take the threat of viruses, hackers, and etc. seriously. The link below is for an excellent computer security book that's "not too technical" but will allow you to protect your computers and networks quite well. I normally only "suggest" products, but this is one that I "recommend". I am an affiliate for the product (full disclosure), but I signed up only after I purchased the book myself and went through it. The author has been a consultant for over 20 years, answers his e-mail promptly, and is a very nice guy. Please check it out. It includes links to free computer security software which, if you had to purchase, would far exceed the cost of the book.