But regardless. I lost battle. For THREE FULL DAYS I tried to remove virus, but without any luck..

The Spyware Doctor narrowed it down to one trouble file, which was a type of Trojan that existed in my System32 directory. The Trojan was renaming itself every few seconds by randomly selected names.

Norton Antivirus said that this type of Trojan gave no visual indication that my computer had been infected. It was dropping a copy of itself with a randomly named executable file.

Every time Spyware Doctor would find Trojan, it was unable to locate it and it couldn’t remove it. That’s because Trojan already had a different name.

Also, what I found out was that I was never looking at my Internet Explorer browser. I thought I was, but I wasn’t. I found a Java Script that was taking source code from any website that I would go to, reformat it by adding links to selected key words and then display new code in another window that was being generated by a remote server.

My original browser window was getting killed and I was looking at a cloned window with inserted links. That was happening with such speed that I didn’t even notice it because of my fast Internet connection (cable modem).

After I unplugged Internet connection, my computer was no longer functioning properly. I couldn’t access my “windows explorer” window any more, I couldn’t open my Internet Explorer window and I lost control over many other functions.

But each time I would turn Internet modem back on, my computer would start to work fine. Only, Spyware Doctor would give me a notification that over 40 dangerous files were immediately being downloaded into my hard drive.

The Trojan virus that I couldn’t remove because of its re-naming capability was probably staying in touch with hacker’s server. So I switched Internet connection off for last time and I shut down computer.

Right now as I’m writing this, I don’t have a computer at home because I gave it to a technician to reformat hard drive and try to save as many files as possible. I’m writing this from another computer and I'm really worried that none of my files will be saved... that will mean months of work down drain!

I have since learned that my antivirus and anti-spyware software would not protect me against Trojan threat. I needed a firewall to protect me, and make sure my computer was invisible online.

Please, don't let this happen to you! Install a firewall on your computer so you can make your IP address invisible to hackers.

As I'm finishing this article two weeks after virus attack, my Norton Firewall is working at full force. Every time a hacker tries to send Trojan files to my hard drive behind my back, a window in bottom right corner pops us notifying me of dangerous executable files being blocked from entering my hard drive.

I lost over 90% of my files but I've learned my lesson hard way.

© Steve Dimeck

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Courtesy of: http://www.thesuccessmaze.com

Four Tools To Help Market Your Business Plan to Investors

The lesson in all of this is that it's unlikely a business plan by itself will bring funding in door, unless it is part of an overall marketing strategy. Chances are you already have a book or two on how to write a business plan. If you do, I'm going to guess that, like Gumpert, you already have fixed in your mind certain beliefs.

For example, you might think, "If you're trying to attract investors, raise capital, or sell your business, then you should give your prospects a detailed business plan document." Not so fast. It may be more effective to get their business card, send them an executive summary, and then follow-up with them to check their interest level. Or perhaps you believe, "A business plan document is only way to get investors interested." Again, as Gumpert's experience proves, this is not so. Some businesses attract investors through personal contacts, press releases, or because of pure uniqueness of their market position.

So open your mind; take a thoughtful step or two back, and consider using these four tools to help you achieve your desired results.

First, develop a concise, well written twenty-five page business memorandum. This mini-business-plan should build a case that separates your venture from your competition. You don't need a two-inch thick business plan. Plans this long lack aim; instead of building a case that leads investors to decide whether business is right investment for them, they "fire away" in hopes that some of shots will take effect.

Second, craft an effective elevator pitch - a 60-second, to-the-point verbal pitch for your business - that communicates to your customers and investors what you do in an exciting and engaging way. The ability to separate your business from your competitors and get an investor's interest in short time it takes to ride up an elevator is critical.

Third, put together an investor relation Web page. Of all communications media available, Web is particularly important. It's fast and available 24/7. With it, you can capture leads and automatically keep in touch with those who are interested in your business.

Finally, use press releases to get your word out. A press release is basic tool for gaining attention of media. The public's desire for interesting, relevant news remains strong, as does importance of carefully selecting relevant target audiences. You are dealing with much more skepticism on part of public than there has been in past, which makes evidence and objectivity of your press release paramount.

The process of raising money and attracting investors isn't easy. If it were, every business venture would get funded. You have to use all tools that are available to you, and start looking at this process as a marketing process backed by hard, verifiable evidence. You just don't know when investors will be ready to invest; but you do know that if you do everything you can to optimize your funding process it will bear fruit, and ultimately raise money you need for your business.