Expert warns new versions of ransomware software that crippled UK hospitals are already being written without a kill switch

• Hospitals braced for mayhem following the crippling WannaCry Ransomware cyber attack.
• Fears cars, energy networks and medical devices like heart monitors could be hit.
• NHS staff in some parts of the UK have even been told not to switch on their PCs.
• Patients warned not to go to their GP surgery unless it is absolutely necessary.
• 22-year-old Briton prevented more than 100,000 PCs being infected.
• NHS sent a ‘patch’ which could have protected them from hack two weeks ago.
• 225,000 victims in 150 countries have been in the biggest hack ever launched.
• Hackers paid around $54,000 (£41,795) in ransom money since launch day of the attack.

 

A second version of the devastating WannaCry ransomware – that does not contain the “kill switch” used by a 22-year-old security analyst to shut down many attacks – is set to be released by the hackers, putting more computers at risk.

Costin Raiu, of web security firm Kaspersky Lab, told Hacker News that they had already seen versions of the malware that did not contain the website domain name used to shut down the program, but he later backtracked saying “my bad” and this was not actually the case.

However, experts warned it was likely only a matter of time before this did happen and urged people to install a security patch released especially by Microsoft.

Hidden in the code was an unregistered web address, which the virus would always try to contact when first infecting a computer. If it received a reply, it would shut down, but if not it would carry out the attack.

A 22-year-old security analyst known as MalwareTech, who wishes to remain anonymous, registered the website, unknowingly activating the shutdown process.

However, he warned that it would be easy for the hackers to change the coding in a “worm” used to infect computers with WannaCry to remove the domain name.

MalwareTech also told Hacker News that they had only stopped one version of WannaCry, which is known by various versions of the name.

“WannaCry ransomware was spread normally long before this and will be long after, what we stopped was the SMB worm variant,” he said, referring to the program that affected nearly a fifth of NHS Trusts in England and scores of businesses and government departments around the world.

And in a message on Twitter, he wrote: “Version 1 of WannaCry was stoppable but version 2.0 will likely remove the flaw. You’re only safe if you patch ASAP.”

He also retweeted a message saying people who were unable to patch their computer could disable Server Message Block version 1 (SMBv1), linking to Microsoft’s instructions about how to do this.

Source 1 | Source 2

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What the development of visual search will mean for SEO

The arrival of the Pinterest Lens and Google Lens has ignited a battle for visual search engine supremacy. Beyond opening up a new revenue stream for e-commerce stores, the visual search could completely alter consumer habits and purchasing decisions.

In a world driven by instant gratification, visual search can open the door toward “snap and surf” purchasing, streamlining the search interface. This provides a promising outlook for e-commerce stores that develop their product listing ads (PLAs) and online catalogs for the visual web.

While still in its infancy, optimizing for visual search could greatly improve your website’s user experience, conversion rate, and online traffic. Yet images are often given very little attention by SEO experts, who generally focus more on optimizing for speed than for alternative attributes and appeal.

While visual search won’t displace the use of keywords and the importance of text-based search, it could completely disrupt the SEO and SEM industry. I’d like to discuss some of the fundamentals of visual search and how it will affect our digital marketing strategy moving forward.

What is visual search?

There are currently three different visual search processes being employed by major search companies:

• Traditional image search that relies on textual queries.
• Reverse image search that relies on structured data to determine similar characteristics.
• Pixel-by-pixel image searches that enable “snap and search” by image or by parts of the image.

In this article, I’m focusing mainly on the third type, which allows consumers to discover information or products online by simply uploading or snapping a picture and focusing their query on the part of the image they’d like to research. It’s essentially the same as text search, just with an image representing the query that’s being matched to it.

TinEye provided the first visual search application, which is still in use today. This form of image search matched the image to other images on the web-based on similar characteristics, such as shapes and colors. Unfortunately, TinEye provided a limited range of search applications by failing to map out the outlines of different objects in an image.

Today’s image recognition technology can actually recognize multiple shapes and outlines contained within a single image to allow users to match to different objects. For example, Microsoft’s image search technology allows users to search for specific items pictured within a larger image.

Microsoft is even working on detecting when the selected portion of the image has a shopping intent, showing “related products” in these instances. Unfortunately, Microsoft’s visual search is fairly limited to a few verticals, such as home appliances and travel.

Right now, this technology is limited. What companies like Pinterest, Microsoft, and Google are investing in is a visual search application powered by machine learning technology and deep neural networks.

The idea is to get machines to recognize different shapes, sizes, and colors in images the same way the human brain does. When we look at specific pictures, we do not see a sea of points and dotted lines. We immediately identify patterns and shapes based on past experiences. Unfortunately, we still barely understand how our minds interpret images, so programming this into a machine presents some obvious complications.

Visual search engines have come to rely on neural networks that utilize machine learning technology to improve its process. Companies like Google benefit from their wealth of information that allows its Lens application to constantly improve upon its search functionality. Google Lens is not only able to identify different objects within pictures but is also able to match them to locations near you, provide customer reviews and sort listings by the same principles that govern its own search algorithms.

Implications and future

So, what does this technology entail for users and businesses? Imagine being able to snap a picture of a restaurant and have a search engine tell you the name of the restaurant, the location, peak demand times and menu specials for the night. This technology could feasibly be used to snap a picture of a pair of shoes from a magazine or from a stranger and enable you to order them right there.

For e-commerce stores, visual search puts people very high in the funnel. With some unique images, product reviews and a good product description, you can entice buyers to make a purchasing decision on the spot.

This will also open up the field of competition a little bit. The Pinterest visual search engine is by far one of the most disruptive on the market. However, Pinterest’s search engine only redirects pinners to posts on Pinterest, meaning you’ll need to develop a presence on this platform to reach those audience members.

With the rise of voice search and natural language processing (NLP) accompanying this trend, this technology could help kick-start the trend of interface-free SEO. (Although I suspect that keywords and a text-based search will still retain its importance, even for shopping and purchase decisions.)

Potential Strategies

In terms of optimizing for visual search, some of the most fundamental SEO practices will still apply. Structured data remains incredibly important, especially for visual search algorithms like Microsoft’s that still rely on it to match characteristics.

It’s important that images are displayed clearly and free of clutter so that visual applications have an easier time processing them. Beyond this, you should stick to the basics of image-based search optimization:

• Add descriptive alt-text to images for indexation.
• Submit images to an image sitemap.
• Optimize image titles and alternative attributes with targeted keywords.
• Set up image badges and run them through a structured data test.
• Optimize for ideal image size and file type.
• Utilize appropriate schema markup for images and content pages.
• Optimize images to render on mobile and desktop displays.

Conclusion

Visual search will provide a new revenue stream for e-commerce stores and vastly improve the user’s shopping experience. This could have a major impact on SEO and paid media, bringing back a renewed focus on image optimization, which has long been ignored by SEO practitioners. This new frontier of search will only reinforce existing strategies for SEO and make the need to optimize for mobile search and your visual web presence more prescient.

First seen here.

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North Korean hackers plot to loot Britain’s finances with cyber attack on the City’s banks

North Korean hackers are trying to loot Britain’s banks as the secretive state turns to cyber-warfare amid financial losses from sanctions that threaten its nuclear capability. “They’re after our money,” warned Robert Hannigan, who ran Britain’s signals intelligence agency for three years until March, the former head of GCHQ says Pyongyang is targeting the British financial sector to fund its nuclear ambitions.

Mr. Hannigan said Pyongyang is set to become a “premier league” players in cyber-warfare as it targets Britain’s financial sector.

He told The Times that while its military weapons did not pose a direct threat to the UK, North Korea’s cyber-capabilities do.

The reclusive regime is improving its hacking through collaboration with Iran and criminal networks operating in southeast Asia and China, the expert said.

He said the cyber attack that crippled computers at NHS hospitals and GP surgeries was an attempt to make money.

“Their missiles are not going to reach the UK but their cyber-attacks did reach the NHS and other parts of Europe,” the 52-year-old said.

“As sanctions bite further and North Korea becomes more desperate for foreign currency, they will get more aggressive and continue to come after the finance sector. They’re after our money.”

Tensions between America and North Korea have been rising over its belligerent nuclear programme.

The hostility led to UN sanctions against the reclusive regime’s shipping and trade networks last month.

“Its attacks can be launched from outside the country by outsourcing to criminal groups,” Hannigan said.

“Their threshold for risk is sky-high and they don’t really care about collateral damage.

“They are not in the premier league yet – not in the top five nations – but they are getting there.”

He warned that collaboration between hostile states and criminal networks had become the “greatest threat” to Britain.

The former GCHQ head also said the West’s ability to deal with North Korea’s cyber-aggression was “limited” because the country was not “networked” so it was less vulnerable to western hacking.

“Cyber is just a new and very productive way of doing it. It’s bound to grow — they have found new tools of doing it through social media, through the tech companies,” Hannigan added.

“We’re going to see more of the same and more sophisticated attacks. More of the disinformation, more stealing of money, more disruption of systems.”

First seen here.

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Google Adds Functionality to their Search Console To Help Producers Increase SEO

Google has recently expanded and updated their Search Console to better inform their users on how to index and create proper SEO.

The problem that I have with this latest rollout is that the beta site does not properly read my verified site.

TechCrunch reported:

‘Google is rolling these updates out slowly, though, so you may not be able to see this new version just yet.’

After I submitted and verified my https site, as well as my regular site, I still experience difficulties when trying to access Google Search Console Beta online.

I sent feedback to Google, and once they respond with an update, I will update this article. It could be that they are working to get all sites ready for this update.

In addition:

To help other Web developers, I wanted to note that when I upgraded to an https site, my index statistics fell off dramatically. This is because I was not aware of getting my https site verified and properly listed with Google Webmaster.

At the beginning of the year, I started to focus on rebuilding traffic that I had obtained in 2017. I noticed that I was writing twice as much content, but not seeing the results in production.

This update to the Search Console helped inform me of the problems that I was facing, and I continue to work on getting these issues fixed as soon as possible.

If you upgrade a site to https, make sure to have it registered, and included to Google Webmaster for the best results.

Watch these YouTube videos to see how to properly get your site indexed, as well as how to improve your SEO.

The second video by Brian Dean is extremely informative and useful for Web producers looking to obtain a higher page ranking for their content.

One of the key lessons I learned from Brian Dean’s video was to find ways to improve my user experience, by providing quality content.

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7 SEO Trends That Will Dominate 2018

In online marketing, few strategies are as competitive or as quickly evolving as search engine optimization (SEO). Marked by a history of algorithm updates, new technologies, and new techniques to win real estate at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs), most SEO experts (like me) chomp at the bit to predict or learn the latest trends that will shape our businesses’ digital futures.

Though algorithm updates were few and far between, 2017 was still an exciting year for SEO, and I’m anticipating even bigger changes on the horizon for 2018. Based on my observations, some trends that unfolded through the end of 2017, and some speculation on some newly unfolding technologies, I’ve come up with a list of predictions for the trends I think will dominate the SEO field in 2018:

1. Video and image search will vastly improve. Gradually, our online interactions have evolved to become more visual. Over the past few years, faster internet speeds, more visual-friendly social media platforms, and a general public desire to engage with more images and videos has led to a surge in visual online interactions. Accordingly, I think we’ll see some changes to how Google and other search engines treat images and videos in an online environment. New startups like Moodstocks and Eyefluence (both of which were acquired by Google) have sought to recognize visual elements within images and videos more accurately, or have sought to improve user interactions with them. I’m not sure what changes these startups foretell, exactly, but I bet we’ll see a vast improvement in search sophistication for visual assets.

2. The Knowledge Graph will dominate. For a few years now, Google has been steadily increasing the frequency and specificity of featured snippets—the concise answers to questions users pose in their search queries. Yet, just last month, the frequency of featured snippets declined significantly, apparently replaced by equivalent answers found in Knowledge Graph boxes. I think this event could portend the rise and eventual dominance of Google’s Knowledge Graph, replacing a good chunk of the space currently occupied by featured snippets in an effort to provide users with even better, more consistent answers.

3. Voice search will sharply increase with the rise of smart speaker sales. Do you have a smart speaker? If you don’t, I bet you know at least a few people who do. Smart speaker sales, like those for Amazon Echo and Google Home, surged in 2017, and sales will probably grow further in 2018 as newer models start to roll out. Because these speakers are activated by voice and provide spoken search results, users are getting even more used to interacting with search engine results with only their voices and their ears. This could drastically change the types of queries we see and reshape the way businesses think about SERPs (since they may no longer be as visual).

4. Individual customization will change the way many rankings are calculated. Google has been pushing the development of more personalized search results for the better part of a decade, relying on individual search histories, browser cookies, and other information to give better, more customized SERPs for individuals. With the advent of smart speakers, the increased convenience of search, and greater technological sophistication, the personalization factor will likely increase even further in 2018, making it more difficult to predict how your company will rank—or what you’ll rank for.

5. Machine learning will spell the end of traditional search algorithm updates. RankBrain remains Google’s deepest dive into machine learning—at least in how it pertains to its search algorithm. But Alphabet, Google’s parent company, has invested heavily in machine learning and AI over the past several years. Though Google hasn’t released any official news about when or if it plans to roll out more machine learning updates to its core algorithm, my guess is by the end of 2018, we’ll see a greater influence of machine learning over typical search results. Eventually, though it will probably be years from now, we may see algorithm updates fade away entirely, in favor of an automated, continuous and iterative algorithm updating process carried out by machine learning.

6. SEO will expand beyond Google and Bing. Over the past few years, I’ve seen an increased trend of companies competing for ranking space outside Google. Google still dominates the search engine sphere, remaining the most popular search platform by far, but third-parties like Yelp and Amazon, as well as digital assistants like Siri have stepped in to become relevant search engines in their own right. If you want to be found by a greater percentage of user searches, and introduce yourself to the widest audience possible, in 2018, you’ll need to begin to think beyond Google’s range of influence.

7. Hyperlocal results will finally take off. I anticipated 2017 to be the first major year for hyperlocal marketing (as did several other experts); I wasn’t wrong about the increased influence of local search and local SEO, but the world wasn’t ready for hyperlocal intent to become the new normal. By “hyperlocal,” I’m referring to the process of targeting customers (or presenting search results) based on physical proximity, down to less than a block radius. I imagine by the end of 2018, with more mobile use than ever before and the rising relevance of VR and AR, companies currently involved in local SEO will need to do more to target hyperlocal keywords and optimize for even more locally relevant appearances.

First seen here

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What are social signals and how to use them for SEO? Read this

What are social signals? I hear you ask!

Well, within the SEO fraternity we all are aware that we might some time go overboard with abbreviations and tech terms which are simply incomprehensible to the mass. (including this mortal in most occasions). So when I got asked this question earlier today while discussing a campaigns with a prospect, I did a little research to see if someone has described it better than me and found this lovely article from our good friends at Zadroweb.

 

 

Move over SEO. Social media is fast becoming the optimal way for businesses to rank at the top of search engine results through customer feedback known as social signals. This new process has become a major factor in the success (or failure) of a company in ways that can’t compare to traditional ranking methods.

Social Signals Defined.

Social signals are the likes, shares, votes, pins, or views people place on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or other social media sites that filter out to the various search engines.

Social signals indicate that your brand is being talked about by consumers, and this improves your SERP ranking because search engines view social signals as trusted “recommendations”.

“Traditional” SEO Vs. Social Signals.

For years, traditional SEO strategies were the definitive way to ensure a high search engine ranking for a site. The right anchor text links, backlinks and keywords were a vital part of a mathematical formula that determined SERP rankings. However, after Google’s many Panda and Penguin updates, the focus began to shift more toward the value of a site’s content, and today it has shifted again to add people’s feedback into the mix with social signals.

What Can Social Signals Do?

The right social signals reduce bounce rates and create more repeat site visits.
Social signals from one page can actually impact other pages within a domain to improve ranking criteria.
Voting for or liking web pages may potentially begin to replace backlinks, and the improved brand visibility that social signals creates can generate new inbound links and produce a “tag team” effect to move a site higher in the SERPs.
Why Have Social Signals Taken Hold?

The increasing use of social media sites to share information or just keep in touch has changed how we communicate, and social signals are the natural outcome of this communication shift.

Research shows that people now choose to visit particular websites not because of a high search engine rank, but because friends have recommended the site either directly or through social signals. In addition, socially linked websites have improved conversion rates along with better brand loyalty and brand awareness, leading to more positive reviews through social signals.

As social media continues to grow, consumers will look to social signals to help them make the best product and service choices.

What You Should Be Doing.

If your company has not yet created a social media presence, it’s time to act. Set up accounts and publish content about your business on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, and YouTube. If you’re confused or unsure on how to proceed, there are professional social media management companies that can help get you started.

Once you’ve created your sites, don’t let them stagnate. Regularly update your social sites with diverse content like posts, bookmarks, votes, re-shares and comments — these are just a few actions that Google uses to help determine a site’s ranking.

Remember that although social media now plays a significant role in SERP rankings, your focus should still be on your customer first and foremost. Don’t just publish content for the sake of publishing content; share content that your customers will find truly valuable. Engage with your customers through lively discussions and commenting, videos, images, contests, polls, and anything else that elicits positive feedback. The more value a customer perceives from your brand’s social sites, the more likely they are to like, share and recommend your brand to others.

Social media is now the strategy of choice to keep your brand in front of your customers, and to keep your customers engaged in your brand in ways that traditional SEO only can not accomplish.

The post What are social signals and how to use them for SEO? Read this appeared first on mojo media.

source https://www.mojomedia.pro/what-are-social-signals/

What are social signals and how to use them for SEO? Read this

What are social signals? I hear you ask!

Well, within the SEO fraternity we all are aware that we might some time go overboard with abbreviations and tech terms which are simply incomprehensible to the mass. (including this mortal in most occasions). So when I got asked this question earlier today while discussing a campaigns with a prospect, I did a little research to see if someone has described it better than me and found this lovely article from our good friends at Zadroweb.

 

 

Move over SEO. Social media is fast becoming the optimal way for businesses to rank at the top of search engine results through customer feedback known as social signals. This new process has become a major factor in the success (or failure) of a company in ways that can’t compare to traditional ranking methods.

Social Signals Defined.

Social signals are the likes, shares, votes, pins, or views people place on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or other social media sites that filter out to the various search engines.

Social signals indicate that your brand is being talked about by consumers, and this improves your SERP ranking because search engines view social signals as trusted “recommendations”.

“Traditional” SEO Vs. Social Signals.

For years, traditional SEO strategies were the definitive way to ensure a high search engine ranking for a site. The right anchor text links, backlinks and keywords were a vital part of a mathematical formula that determined SERP rankings. However, after Google’s many Panda and Penguin updates, the focus began to shift more toward the value of a site’s content, and today it has shifted again to add people’s feedback into the mix with social signals.

What Can Social Signals Do?

The right social signals reduce bounce rates and create more repeat site visits.
Social signals from one page can actually impact other pages within a domain to improve ranking criteria.
Voting for or liking web pages may potentially begin to replace backlinks, and the improved brand visibility that social signals creates can generate new inbound links and produce a “tag team” effect to move a site higher in the SERPs.
Why Have Social Signals Taken Hold?

The increasing use of social media sites to share information or just keep in touch has changed how we communicate, and social signals are the natural outcome of this communication shift.

Research shows that people now choose to visit particular websites not because of a high search engine rank, but because friends have recommended the site either directly or through social signals. In addition, socially linked websites have improved conversion rates along with better brand loyalty and brand awareness, leading to more positive reviews through social signals.

As social media continues to grow, consumers will look to social signals to help them make the best product and service choices.

What You Should Be Doing.

If your company has not yet created a social media presence, it’s time to act. Set up accounts and publish content about your business on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, and YouTube. If you’re confused or unsure on how to proceed, there are professional social media management companies that can help get you started.

Once you’ve created your sites, don’t let them stagnate. Regularly update your social sites with diverse content like posts, bookmarks, votes, re-shares and comments — these are just a few actions that Google uses to help determine a site’s ranking.

Remember that although social media now plays a significant role in SERP rankings, your focus should still be on your customer first and foremost. Don’t just publish content for the sake of publishing content; share content that your customers will find truly valuable. Engage with your customers through lively discussions and commenting, videos, images, contests, polls, and anything else that elicits positive feedback. The more value a customer perceives from your brand’s social sites, the more likely they are to like, share and recommend your brand to others.

Social media is now the strategy of choice to keep your brand in front of your customers, and to keep your customers engaged in your brand in ways that traditional SEO only can not accomplish.

The post What are social signals and how to use them for SEO? Read this appeared first on mojo media.

source http://www.mojomedia.pro/what-are-social-signals/