The reason for my tone in this article is that I would like these people, mainly young, bored and misdirected, to realise that what they are doing is not "cool". We do not consider them to be "hackers"....just annoying, immature criminals. If entire Internet community took on same attitude towards this behaviour, it may encourage them to cease it. There is no glory in what they are doing, and very little skill involved.......

Even using term "Script Kiddie" in reference to them relays derision that they deserve. Calling them hackers is a boost to their rather sad egos.

If this article has stirred your interest in subject of Internet security, and security of your own computer, I strongly recommend a visit to http://www.grc.com and testing your computer out on their online diagnostic - "Shields Up". I ran this test last year and was horrified at what information I was unknowingly giving away. The owners of grc.com, Gibson Corporation, are well respected in Internet Security Community and tests are carried out under secure conditions. And yes, it's free................

Even if you do use latest virus scanner that can detect these types of Trojans (they aren't actually virii), it's still worth a trip out there. The method of attack stated above is only just one of many invasion strategies currently in use.

As for personal firewall security, check out http://www.zonealarm.com. Zone Alarm is one of best products on market - and there are free versions for home users.

Your ports have most likely been probed while you have been online today....and you probably wouldn't even know it......

Michael Bloch  michael@tamingthebeast.net  www.tamingthebeast.net Tutorials, web content and tools, software and community Marketing, eCommerce and General Training Services _____________________________________________ 

Copyright information....If you wish to reproduce this article, please acknowledge "Taming Beast" by including a hyperlink or reference to website (www.tamingthebeast.net) and send me an email letting me know. The article must be reproduced in it's entirety and this copyright statement must be included. Thanks.

But web has at least 40 bazillion channels, each uploading its own show every five nanosecond - each viewable at any time of day. Which means that even members of a well-defined demographic group pursue their own individual interests, whenever and wherever they choose. What it means is that real strategy for marketing on web is psychographics.

Psychographics are way cooler than demos, because psychos toss out all that fake number stuff that's really only meant to justify people's jobs. When you go psycho, you don't worry about how many girls in Wisconsin are between ages of 18 and 24. You get much, much more closer to your audience's brains, by murmuring to yourself, for example, "Hmmm, if I want to reach people who enjoy eating chocolate in bed, where would I find them?"

Then you start sponsoring and crosspromoting on chocolate sites. Bed sites. Maybe even toffee and pillow sites. The point is that because web is so niched, its users flock to their own interests, making them much easier to target and sell.

Don't forget, too, that being interactive, psychographically matched people are far more likely to exchange referrals and interact with each other. That's reason why I almost always recommend choosing psychographics over demographics on web. Oh, Number Nuts will still try to dazzle you with all sorts of data. But believe me, only one number that really counts: your ad-to-sales ratio. My advice is to go psycho. It's one sure way to preserve your sanity.