The most important aspect of maintaining a website has to be security.
The second most important thing must be search visibility.

It makes no difference how great your site looks if no one can find you to admire it.

This post discusses why we do SEO and the problems when no SEO occurs.

What is Search Visibility

Search Visibility – a.k.a SEO – is simply a methodology. SEO Comprises strategies and techniques employed to obtain a higher ranking in Search Engines, therefore achieving higher search visibility.

Some website owners think SEO is some dark art practised by black hat practitioners and is outside the realm of understanding. This is the reason that many so called experts are peddling lines such as “page one in seven days” or “We guarantee you will be on page one of Google”.

The art of improving Search Visibility is a series of techniques and strategies to assist in search engine indexing for:

• Keyword recognition.
• Authoritative content.
• Relevance in relation to topic.

We achieve this by promoting specific words or phrases and improve the overall quality of the web page content.

There are many techniques that can be applied to  achieve SEO.   When you do not apply any methodology, it will  restrict output quality.

Modern SEO techniques

Focus mostly on the quality of the website copy.
Factors that are considered are:

Readability

Try to write in an easily understood style. Do not use jargon.

Illustrative

A picture really can be worth a thousand words. Add images sparingly to illustrate what you’re writing about.

Authoritative

Never plagiarise. Add quotes and hyperlinks to other sources to strengthen your position. Do not use links unnecessarily. Authoritative content is free of inaccuracies. It is meaningful and edifying for the reader.

When we apply a modern SEO methodology to our content writing, the quality and focus will improve and therefore the search visibility must improve.

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Self Analysis

• Do we know our target market
• Forms of advertising currently doing and costs
• Business Plan for next 30 days and next 12 months
• Time management – how, what do you do
• Critical analysis of your business – current deficiencies and challenges

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VPN stands for virtual private network and if you turn on this service before connection to a public WI-FI. It will stop the snoopy crooks from viewing your data while you’re using public WI-FI.

Some VPN services have other security benefits such as blocking malicious websites while your browsing.
I have emphasised Mobile devices above however, VPN’s are very useful for Desktop computers as well.

So, what is a VPN?

The simple answer is, a VPN is a  software program running on a PC, MAC, Mobile or a  internet router that disguises your connection to the Internet and encrypts your Internet traffic. It achieves this by setting up a connection from your computer or device server at another location. The location could be anywhere in the world. Your traffic becomes part of the outbound data stream from the connected server. OK so you may ask – How does this help me with security?  Most people use a commercial VPN provider but it is possible to create and maintain your own VPN server if you want total control.

The main uses for VPN’s are:

Encryption:

The connection between you and the VPN server is secure because its encrypted. That hacker trying to steal your data while you do your banking using the local coffee shop WI-FI may be able to see the data streaming through the connection. Your data – being encrypted looks like a meaningless stream of gibberish.

Privacy:

Many search engines harvest your data and log your online activity. Do you get annoyed if you do an internet search for a specific topic, only to magically start getting ads for related products and services? I know I do.

I feel uncomfortable that Search and Social media companies have so much data about me, seemingly collected without my knowledge and arguably without my consent.

Location:

A VPN makes it look like your connection is coming from somewhere else, This ensures greater privacy, because of the encrypted traffic your activity is hidden from your ISP mobile carrier or your government if that is a concern for you. It prevents Agencies from collection of Meta Data. In these days of more negative government interference, you may decide to use a VPN so your Meta Data is protected.

Frequency of Use.

I use a VPN as often as possible, to protect myself from malicious browser traffic and to cut down on the amount of data that search engines and social media has of mine.

Everyone who uses the Internet has a different set of reasons why a VPN may be of use to them. VPN Providers all have different features and pricing.

The main points to consider in order of importance when shopping for a VPN are:

Logging:

Does the VPN supplier keep records? The most trustworthy do not log your activity.

Points of Presence:

Do the VPN servers have lots of locations, especially nearby?

Will connecting to a VPN slow down your Internet connection? There must be a speed loss due to the connection and encryption but is it still nice and quick?

Features:

One of the main reasons that I use NordVPN, my current VPN provider is that it will give me protection from malicious websites, popup and embedded advertising. I use Mac, Windows, Android IOS and Linux and it will run right across all of my devices.
Unfortunately, some sites will block your VPN connection because they perceive that the cost of the content they supply gives them the right to feed you targeted ads.
A Kill Switch may be useful, especially for Journalists. A Kill Switch will instantly close the program (i.e. your browser) in the event the VPN connection is inadvertently lost.

Service Provider Country of Origin:

I am reluctant to purchase software, especially a program like a VPN from a company that is from a country I do not trust. I don’t need to get any more specific than that.

Ease of Use:

Many VPN applications are designed for the more technically savvy individual. Pick a VPN that is easy to use, and easy to connect and disconnect.

Price:

Goes without saying, you purchase what you can afford. If you are thinking about using a free VPN service, you might wish to investigate how they can support the connection without your subscription contribution.
Remember if the product is free you are usually the product.

The exception to the above comment about free VPN’s is Cloudflare’s 1.1.1.1 service which has an optional VPN.  It gives very good protection from data harvesting, malware, pornography and other nasty content.  It also encrypts traffic to the Cloudflare portal in the same way as a VPN.
This app is currently available as an app for IOS and Android. Mac and PC versions will be available in the future. If you want some protection from malware and pornography on your desktop PC or Mac while your waiting, check out this hack .
Cloudflare offers accelerated traffic via an upgrade to Warp +. I have been testing this now for a couple of months on Android and I am still debating if it truly speeds up my connection. 1.1.1.1 is very good security without installing a VPN.

In conclusion

I am not going to give any recommendations as we all have different requirements.

Most of the VPN services offer a free trial. I used quite a few either in a trial or 1-month subscription before I chose my current provider.

There are squillions of articles about various VPN’s. Some are not even biased.

Please be aware that I am not affiliated with any companies that provide VPN software. Any recommendations I make are based on my own research and personal use.

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Sydney Web + Tech are always working behind the scenes to make sure your site is secure and maintained correctly.
As you are probably aware, Sydney Web + Tech are very serious when it comes to security. and we are diligent and vigilant when it comes to new threats.

This latest WordPress update is a maintenance and security release (June 10 2020) and contains updates to new and very serious threats that have not been disclosed except to the WordPress development team.

Websites on WordPress version 5.4.1 – we will be upgrading to WordPress version 5.4.2.
The update to WordPress v 5.4.2 will be the last major update until the release until WordPress version 5.5 (hopefully) on 11 August 2020.

We have deemed that this update is critical to security and therefore is being rolled out over the next 48 hours to all websites we manage.

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At the end of the day, the end user, (you) need to take some responsibility.

The golden rule is always be wary. If you are sent suspicious messages, especially if they contain dodgy links or attachments. You need to assess and not trust the spam / malware filtering. If in doubt delete the message or mark it as spam (or both) Spam detection systems eventually catch up and these messages will go away.

Remember also , if someone is sending you an invoice There is a fair chance you would remember purchasing a product or service from them.

I hope this is useful to you If you nee more information on how to protect yourself, please contact me.

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There are several ways to make your internet safer. Virus and malware companies have overlays that examine the traffic coming into your computer to block potential threats. VPN companies protect your privacy, and if you are using a VPN solution such as NordVPN you can get an excellent cyber security layer that will block malware, pop-ups anddramatically increase your privacy.

If you are looking for protection and privacy but do not want to spend more money or run yet another load hogging application, you might wish to look at Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 for families. This is a replacement for your current DNS Servers and boasts greater response speed for DNS requests.

I have been testing the Warp+ product on my Android Phone for a while now and I really like the added security it gives me.

Cloudflare have comprehensive instructions for setting up your Windows or Mac OS computer here. to protect your PC or Mac.

The best part of this little hack is it is so non invasive and requires no additional software. As this is a change to your network settings It won’t interfere with anything else you may be running such as Anti Virus software.

I highly recommend you give this a try.

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His talk was quite informative. I gained new information from Tod and his talk was very enjoyable.

 
Check out more of our SWNG breakfast meetings in lockdown.

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David Bowen is from from Forté Equipment Finance. He provides finance services to many small to medium business enterprises in the Macarthur area, and all over the Sydney metropolitan area, Wollongong, Central Coast and Newcastle.

>South West Networking Group (Campbelltown Chapter) is a group of businesses that assist each other with referrals and business development. We meet weekly at 7:00am, usually for breakfast, however during the lockdown we are having a Zoom meeting instead.

 
Check out more of our SWNG breakfast meetings in lockdown.

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Check out more of our SWNG breakfast meetings in lockdown.

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