TO BE A GREATER HUMAN BEING

GREATEST FOOTBALLER IN THE WORLD - PELE'

Born in 1940, as the son of a local club footballer.   Born into poverty, couldn’t afford own football.   Uses sock stuffed with paper or a grapefruit.   Receives first leather ball as a gift on 6th birthday.   At 11, spotted by Brazilian legend, Waldemar de Brito.   Predicts he would be “the greatest footballer in the world”.     At 15, goes professional with club Santos.   10 months later, called up to the national team.   In 1958, becomes the youngest World Cup winner at 17.   In 1970, 2 warring factions in Nigeria agree to a 48-hour ceasefire.   To watch him play an exhibition game in Lagos!     With 1281 goals in 1363 matches,   is the highest goal scorer in professional football.   International Olympic Committee’s Athlete of the Century.   FIFA’s Footballer of the Century.   Edson Arantes do Nascimento     Nicknamed O Rei – The King.   Better known to the world as     Pele’   And best known as the finest footballer to have walked the earth.   Twitter: MrGladPortBlair

 

THE MAN WHO GAVE INDIA HER WINGS OF FIRE

Born in a tiny hamlet in TamilNadu,   Is fascinated by the flight of seagulls.   Sells newspapers for his school fees.   Pawns sister’s jewellery for higher studies.   Heads a DRDO prototype project that never took off.   Joins the ISRO, launches ROHINI.   Makes India only the 6th country capable of launching satellites.   In 1981, honored with the Padma Bhushan.   Returns to DRDO as Director.   Launches PRITHVI ballistic missile. Puts India in elite company.   In 1990, awarded the Padma Vibhushan.   In 1997, honored with India’s highest civilian award, the   BHARAT RATNA.     On May 11th, 1998, orchestrates the Pokharan nuclear tests.   And as the ground beneath shook,   So did the rest of the world.   In 2002, takes over as the President of the world’s largest democracy.   Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam.   Vows to transform India into a developed nation by 2020.   Gave a country its Wings of Fire.   And taught an entire nation the Importance of Dreams.   Twitter: MrGladPortBlair

 

RIGHT TIME TO BE BORN AN INDIAN

“This is the country of tomorrow. Starting today.”

- cover page punch line on Special Report on India brought out by Khaleej Times, Aug 15, 2003.

 

For more than half a century after India gained independence, we tried to do things in a manner that failed to produce the desired results. But things have suddenly changed. There is a lot that needs to be done. But there is a lot that has started to happen.

 

 

The factors responsible for the upsurge in the Indian fortune have been:

1.   Exposing Indian industry to global competition and doing away with licensing provisions,

2.   Allowing industries like software to operate with minimum legal hassles,

3.   Easy availability of low-interest consumer credit coupled with stringent recovery procedure,

4.   Rising aspirations of the masses due to media explosion.

 

 Paradoxically, factors like consumerism, competition and ambition have done what talks on spirituality, Swadeshi and tradition could not. Yet ‘some people’ just don’t want to change. They continue to behave in a manner that serves their purpose. They take shelter of relative concepts like religion, morality and patriotism. They try to instill fear of the future in the minds of the younger generation.

 

We, my dear friends, can never achieve perfection. Anything pursued to an illogical proportion, turns negative. This does not mean we should not strive for perfection. This simply means that we must learn the art of balancing.

 

What is it that we are missing? What is it that needs to be corrected? There seems to be an attitude problem, as if we cannot shake ourselves out of a mindset of limited achievement.

– APJ Abdul Kalam.

 

Materialism has many negative aspects. But we have to use our judgment and choose between pursuing bread and pursuing ‘Mandir/Masjid’ – when about one-fourth of the population sleeps hungry. Youngsters today may not worship the goddess Lakshmi everyday, but they honestly and aggressively pursue money. They may not be interested in gifts and charities. They are more interested in earnings.

 

 

After having earned their fortune, they don’t mind attending an ‘Art of Living’ session to gain peace of mind. At least, now, they can afford to be free from the thought of money.

 

We are almost there as global leaders in the export of spirituality. Since we have immense knowledge base in this field, some of it will go in taking care of our own youngsters. Teach them the values of integrity and honesty, train them in channelizing their youthful energy in the right direction and allow them to pursue their dreams vigorously.

 

Therein lays the hope for India – in the ambition, dreams and aspirations of the youngsters, who are not afraid of the competition. Rather, they are making the competition afraid of them, as umpteen numbers of glaring examples that our countrymen and women produce on a regular basis in multifarious fields, demonstrate.

 

Hardly anyone in the world would have imagined that the outstandingly worthy sons and daughters of Mother India, which was mercilessly plundered and exploited by the oppressive rule of the foreigners for centuries together, would be among the coveted list of the Top Ten Richest Persons on earth, over barely half a century after independence.

 

 

If there ever was a right time to be born an Indian, it is now! God willing, we shall live to see India as a global economic superpower by the year 2020.

 

But hope alone is not enough. Actions are necessary. There is no worse crime than letting an opportunity go by, unexploited.  If we do that, future generations will not forgive us.

 

A great nation cannot abandon its responsibilities. Responsibilities abandoned today return as more acute crises tomorrow.

– Gerald Ford.

 

Twitter: MrGladPortBlair

THE GREATEST LESSON IN LIFE

Be Prepared!

Dear friends, in India, parents are generally over-protective of their children. The worst damage that we can inflict on our children is to protect them from the experience of pain and suffering. Most people are thus under-prepared to face the hardships of life.

While mulling over this significant aspect of an individual’s grooming for his/her future, I am invariably reminded of a highly effective anecdote that was narrated to me by our Guru ji, Shri R B Giri, when I was a student of the Vivekananda Kendra Vidyalaya, Port Blair. I always love to share it with all my audience.

Once upon a time, a King sent his son to an ashram of a learned guru. The prince stayed in the ashram for 12 years. One day the king received a message from the guru that the education of the prince was over and he could come and collect the prince. The king went happily to the ashram and was pleased to note that the prince had grown physically, intellectually and spiritually the way he had wanted. After the graduation ceremony was over and the king had paid the guru handsomely, he started to leave with the prince.

Suddenly, the guru ran towards them and twice hit the prince ferociously with his cane. The prince had tears rolling down his cheeks. The king was shocked to see the brutish behavior of the guru. However, he controlled himself and said, “O learned one! A moment back, you were all praise for the prince. I don’t see any mistake that the prince has committed in the meanwhile to deserve such severe punishment. Will you please explain?”

The guru said, “The prince has not committed any mistake. I am confident that one day he will become as great a king as you are. However, through these last few days, I was having a feeling that I have missed out on something. Thank God I could gain the insight in time. I forgot to impart the experience of pain and suffering. Without this knowledge, he would have been ill-prepared for hardships that life may inflict upon him. He would also not have the ability to relate to the sufferings of others without experiencing pain himself. O great one, I am sorry to make you witness the unpleasant ordeal. But I am now satisfied that his education his complete in all respects.”

Hence, to a great extent I believe that Indian parents will do well to follow the message of the story and allow their children some exposure to a life of struggle and pain.

A healthy person, after all, is not one who is free of problems, but one who is in a position to deal with them. Am I right or wrong?

We don’t learn and grow through pleasure. Do we? We learn through failures, adversities and painful experiences. All those of you out there, who have tasted different degrees of success and accomplishment in multifarious ways in life, have been able to do so invariably and irrefutably through a series of failures, disappointments, sufferings and setbacks. But you didn’t ever give up and toiled, tirelessly, your way to success, no matter which walk of life you came from.

 “No one is immune to problems. Even the lion has to fight off flies.” – Anonymous.

"Healthy Business Life" - Views of Abraham Lincoln

Hey, friends! It's time to ponder over a bit about a healthy business life... Read the super views of a great man...

"You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred..
You cannot build character and courage by taking away people’s initiative and independence.
You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves.

...Abraham Lincoln"

MOTIVATION from the world of Music

Dear friends!

Here’s wishing you all a belated very “Happy Diwali”, the annual Hindu festival of lights celebrated throughout India with peerless religious fervor by the followers of all religions, alike, making a strong statement of matchless communal harmony & integration throughout the globe.

I’m back to Port Blair from Car Nicobar (Andaman & Nicobar Islands - India) where I’m currently coordinating the implementation of Child Led Disaster Risk Reduction (CLDRR) Project under the aegis of the NGO - West Bengal Voluntary Health Association (WBVHA). The project is supported by the world renowned NGO – Save the Children – BRB for the community of Car Nicobar that was the worst affected by the tsunami of 26^th December, 2004. I’d elaborate on the project later.

As of now – MOTIVATION from the world of Music…; something without which life becomes comatose…

Get recharged Free of cost…

Son of a court musician, Prodigious talent discovered early in life. At 8, stages first public performance as pianist. At 12, publishes first work. At 17, leaves for Vienna. Studies with Mozart. Returns to Bonn on mother’s death. Supports family as father resorts to alcoholism. First concert at 29. Launches first Symphony. A year later, in 1801, experiences first symptoms of deafness. Ends career as virtuoso pianist. Takes to composing. Composes Symphony No. 2. Loses brother in 1815. Fights over nephew’s custody. Almost stops composing. And returns to finish some of his finest work ever. In 1823, now completely deaf, completes 9th Symphony. Conducts the first performance to a standing ovation. Ludwig Van Beethoven The composer who couldn’t hear his own music. But made sure the rest of the world did.

Now, how was that, friends? Please, post your comments, now…

LIFE OF THE FOUNDER OF REUTERS

Born in 1816 in Germany, as the son of a rabbi. A bank clerk, flees to Paris in 1848. Works in a news agency. In 1849, uses pigeons to fly stock market prices between Aachen and Brussels. In 1851, opens telegraph office in London. Forms alliance with US Associated Press in 1862. A year later, builds a telegram line between Wales and Ireland. Company goes public in 1865. First office in Asia in Bombay. Opens in Shanghai in 1871. And across the Far East a year later. Expands to South America in 1874. And eventually, to whatever was left of the world. Represents over 1000 channels. Supplies 450 of the world’s largest news broadcasters. About 200 bureaus across 130 countries. Reaches more than a billion people each day. Israel Beer Josaphat. Later baptized – Paul Julius Reuter. Founder of Reuters, the world’s largest international news agency. The man who saw a future. In keeping the world in the present. And creating history as he did so.

IMPORTANCE OF DREAMS IN MLM

Hey friends!

Your “friendly neighborhood MLM fellow” is back with you all after a month-long break. In fact, I was on a comprehensive tour to the Tsunami affected Nicobar Group of Islands, here, in connection with the implementation of a Disaster Risk Reduction Awareness project assigned to me by an affiliate of the renowned NGO – “Save the Children”; and the internet connection is yet to be made available in those extensively restricted tribal areas. Hopefully, this scenario would stand altered in a couple of months’ time, as the agencies are working their guts out to ensure the availability of the net there.

(Those who are interested in learning more about the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, the wonderful location that I am talking about may visit my other blog – “ANDAMAN & NICOBAR - THE HISTORIC INDIAN CORAL ISLANDS” .)

Well, let’s get on with our subject of the day, now---

Define Your Dream

Buddies! Your most fundamental task as you begin your journey in the business of network marketing is to firmly establish what you desire to accomplish through your efforts.

Why are you going to do this?

What do you hope to achieve?

What is your purpose?

What is your “why”?

What would you desire to change about your lifestyle?

Where do you want to be in 2 years?

What is your vision of the future for yourself and for those you love?

What is your target?

What are you objectives?

What will you be running for?

There will be inconveniences. Why will you go through them?

There will be sacrifices. Why will you make them?

There will be obstacles. Why will you fight to overcome them?

In a nutshell, WHAT IS YOUR DREAM?

As you begin to create a picture of your future through your imagination, let’s agree on this principle: money cannot make you happy. Material goods will not bring fulfillment into your life. If you have a poor self-image, a Mercedes is not the solution. If you are selfish and friendless, a new boat is not what is missing in your life. On the other hand, you are not necessarily a more caring individual just because you cannot pay your bills. Being time or money poor doesn’t, in and of itself, make you a better person.

At the outset, let us agree you must establish priorities in your life. If the acquisition of “things” is your most important activity, you will never be at peace. But, if you develop your God-given talents, live a productive life, perform a vital service, order your priorities, contribute to the physical and spiritual prosperity of those with whom you come in contact and those in need, you will be at peace while you enjoy the result of your effort.

Let’s understand this, friends!

People are moved to action by the prospect of results.

What are the desired results that will move you?

What do you want?

This business of network marketing really works, but how will it benefit you?

People would like to create an additional income, a more substantial income, a more secure income, an income which can be ongoing. What do you want?

People want more time to be with the people they love, to do the things they enjoy most, to experience new places. What do you want?

People enjoy being recognized for their efforts, being a part of someone else’s success. People want less pressure, less regimentation, more freedom, more appreciation, less time on the job, work for themselves, more time for recreation and hobbies. What do you want?

People want to get out of debt, pay off their credit cards, their cars, their home. They want to be able to send their children to any school they would like to attend. What do you want? People want to travel throughout the country and world with their family and friends. People want to be free. What do you want? And more importantly, what will you give up to get what you want?

It seems the older we get, the harder it is for us to create a positive vision for our future. When we were younger, it seemed much easier for us to THINK BIG, to expect the best. Nothing could stop us. Has there been a change? Have we listened too long to those who have given up on what they could become? Have we become accustomed to just getting by?

Has it been a while since we have been truly challenged? Are we just a little afraid to reach out for what may appear to be beyond our grasp? Do we argue more for our limitations than we do for our possibilities? Have we lost faith in our ability to be more productive? Has the fear of failure become something very real in our lives? Are we far too concerned about what others might think? Have we become more complacent?

Well, the best selling book in history says that a man or woman without vision will perish. To remain stationary is to lose ground. The minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years that are wasted in our lives are those spent with no purpose. The time we spend running in place in our lives bears no fruit. If success can be defined as the progressive realization of a worthwhile goal or dream, what is your dream?

Define “WHY” you are building your business of MLM. Be specific. Project yourself five years into the future.

How will your life be different because you decided to experience a few inconveniences in the present to build your future?

Where will you be living?

What will be the size of your house?

Will it be on the lake?

Will it have a pool?

Where will you be going on vacation?

What kind of car will you be driving?

How much will you be donating to your church or favorite charity?

Would you like to have a second home? Where will it be?

Would you like to learn how to fly?

What will you be doing with your time now that you don’t work for anyone else?

Would you enjoy shopping in your favorite mall or, may be, New York without having to worry about how much you spend?

Can you imagine having no bills that you can’t pay?

How would it feel to achieve your financial goals and dreams?

How would it feel to be free? How would it feel to know that you helped some friends gain their economic freedom?

How would it feel if you never had to worry about money again?

How would it feel to know that your life has really made a difference?

How would it feel to realize that there is no way you can repay all the love that you have received?

How would it feel to be free?

These, my friends, are only a few of the possibilities. What do you want? Take it rank seriously. If you take a dwarfish attitude towards your business, you can’t expect big returns. If the large rewards are beyond your imagination at this time, then focus on whatever you can believe in for you. As you attain some of your smaller objectives, your confidence in your own abilities to achieve will grow and you will begin to aim higher, gradually.

"BILL GATES' SON-IN-LAW" - DIRECT MARKETING & ADVERTISEMENT POLICY

“Bill Gates’ Son-in-Law”

Father: “I want you to marry a girl of my choice.”

Son: “I will choose my own bride!”

Father: “But the girl is Bill Gates’ daughter.”

Son: “Well, in that case……… Ok.”

Next- Father approaches Bill Gates.

Father: “I have a husband for your daughter.”

Bill Gates: “But my daughter is too young to marry!”

Father: “But this young man is a Vice President of the World Bank.”

Bill Gates: “Ah, in that case……. Ok.”

Finally Father goes to see the President of the World Bank.

Father: “I have a young man to be recommended as a vice-president.”

President: “But I already have more vice-presidents than I need!”

Father: “But this young man is Bill Gates’ son-in-law.”

President: “Ah, in that case…….. Ok.”

This is how business is done!

Well, this is one of the most amusing jokes that I often use as an effective example of smartness in business while speaking in my Seminars/business meetings. A businessman, especially a Multi Level Marketing (MLM) Networker/Distributor has a very basic lesson to learn from this joke.

It’s very important for a businessman to understand the demand for various products in the market. What people want? What are their requirements? What’s in and what’s out? What’s the latest talk of the town? One has to keep abreast of the changing tastes and the changing lifestyles of the people, as well.

The next point to ponder over is how you can relate your product to these demands/requirements. In a nutshell, it’s all about dynamic, shrewd, innovative and smart way of marketing and advertising your product in the market. You would be able to sell your product like hot cakes without qualms, once you have mastered the art of innovative and aggressive marketing.

This joke also reminds me of a rather unorthodox doctrine often practiced and preached by one of my highly respected seniors in Direct Marketing – Mr. Satyajit Mukherji, who was the Senior Divisional Sales Manager at Eureka Forbes Ltd at Kolkata (then, Calcutta) in the year 1990, where I was selling ‘Euro Air’ Air Purifiers, door-to-door. And that is – THE THREE ‘C’s IN MARKETING – “CONVINCE, CONFUSE AND CORRUPT”, that can be used to one’s advantage while marketing a product to a customer, though not necessarily in that order always. And believe me; it works, like it worked fantastically for the Father in the joke.

LIVES & ACHIEVEMENTS OF GREAT PEOPLE - Indian, Bollywood Music, Queen of Playback - "LATA MANGESHKAR"

The lives and achievements of great people from various fields have been a very strong source of motivation the world over. Since the beginning of this blog, I’ve been writing about the various great people whose lives and achievements have left an indelible mark on the mindset of the success-seeker.

Today, I am writing a concise but potent piece of motivation appreciating and saluting the most inspiring life and peerless achievements of one such great icon of hard earned success, superior living and excellence. Hope you find it highly useful for yourself and your peers. Read on…

At 5, starts learning classical music from father. At 12, on the 8th day of her father’s death, acts and sings in a Marathi film to support the family. First film song at 13, which was never used. Records first Bollywood song at 18. Wins first Filmfare at 29. 11 years later, decides to stay away. To give others a chance! Wins the Padma Bhushan in 1969. In 1974, becomes first Indian to perform at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Who declare her voice the world’s “most perfect”. In the same year, enters Guinness Book of World Records. Wins the Dada Saheb Phalke Award in 1989. The Padma Vibhushan in 1999. And in 2001, the nation’s highest civilian honour, The Bharat Ratna. Latabai Mangeshkar. A voice that transcends genres. And generations. As she croons, a nation swoons. And when she weeps, so does a billion hearts.

If you haven’t read my earlier posts on Motivation about the lives and achievements of great people like Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, Henry Ford, Alexander- the Great, Dr. Varghese Kurien and others, and would like to read them, now, Click Here .

MOTIVATION ALONE IS NOT ENOUGH

When a person attends a motivational session or seminar, his performance, after the initial high, often falls back again to lower levels. Companies also wonder why many such efforts to motivate employees don’t work.

Some people confuse the effort itself with the goal and assume that motivation alone is enough.

The mother of a rather dull youngster was somewhat disturbed at his below par performance. She wanted to see him succeed, but wasn’t quite sure what could keep him interested and motivated. Finally, she decided to enroll him for a series of motivational sessions. As the sessions progressed, the fond mother explained, “Soon we’ll know what you will be happiest doing when you grow up.” “Oh Mother, I already know that,” the boy replied. “I want to keep attending these motivational sessions. I just love them.”

The means becomes an end in itself. We keep moving in circles. We travel to reach nowhere.

People do need motivation, but they need something more than that, something that can ensure tangible results.

When we are under the spell of motivation, we feel all fired up to perform. At that moment nothing seems impossible. But as reality sinks in, we become gloomy and start doubting our competence.

Motivation has effects similar to the energy boost one feels after consuming sugar. After sometime, the energy level dips back again. The problem lies with the undue expectations that we build without grasping reality.

We all build our dream castles in the air, but we forget to put foundations under them. Like gas balloons, we let our imaginations fly high. After a while, when the gas is exhausted, the balloon of our aspirations falls back to the hard ground of reality.

Our life is highly stressed due to increased pace and complexity. Illusive goals set under an external superfluous influence put us on a roller-coaster ride with sharp highs and lows.

Suppose a person has reached a considerably appreciable level in performance at a given point of time. He gets a shot of motivation and immediately starts feeling euphoric. He perceives that his performance has risen to a much higher level of a superlative degree.

However, he often realizes that no matter how hard he tries, there is no material change in his actual performance, because his success depends on the environment too, which may not always react favorably.

After sometime, this person starts feeling like a dwarf and his self-esteem falls. He becomes depressed and assumes that his performance has deteriorated to a level much lower than the actual one. Just as the system didn’t allow much increase in his performance level while he was in a euphoric state of mind, in the same manner, the system didn’t allow his performance level to go much below his average performance level. Gradually, he gets back to normalcy.

External motivation and force may not generate a performance level that is required for excellent results. For these reasons, people, who are forced into careers by parents or by circumstances, often turn out to be failures.

External motivation can work if the performance level needs to be raised for a short span of time. However, during this phase, if you set some goals that require a consistently high performance level over a long time horizon, you might face disappointment unless motivation gets transformed into inspiration.

Feelings and emotions can exist in the unrealistic world of imagination. Action happens only in reality.

People often confuse intent with action. They judge themselves with what they intend to do and others with what others do or achieve.

Motivation can be called effective not on the basis of what gets started, but on what gets finished.

The need for motivation arises only if a person doesn’t love what he is doing. This happens when a person is forced to achieve a goal he doesn’t identify with. A SELF-MOTIVATED person loves what he does. For this reason, excellent leaders and good marketers focus on fuelling the passions and desires of people instead of preaching them.

Motivation cannot work if people don’t feel a SENSE OF OWNERSHIP towards the goal.

There once lived two tribes whose enmity was legendary. While one tribe lived in the mountains, the other lived below in the valley. One day, the people from the mountains invaded the valley people and kidnapped one of their babies. The valley people sent some of their strongest men to track down the baby and to bring it home. These men didn’t know how to climb the steep slope of the mountain and had no knowledge exactly where the mountain people lived. Still, they kept trying for some days, but could not climb more than a few hundred feet. Disappointed and exhausted, one day they decided to return to their village. While they were packing for the return journey, suddenly they saw the mother of the baby coming down from the very mountain they had failed to climb. As the woman came closer, they could see the baby safely strapped to her back. They greeted the woman and one of them said, “We are very happy to see your baby. But we fail to understand how was it possible for you to climb this mountain which we, the strongest of men from the village, could not. Will you please, explain? The mother looked fondly at her baby and said in a low voice, “It wasn’t your baby.”

What we see here is the difference between internalized goals and superimposed goals. Most efforts by an organization to motivate its employees fail because they are not aligned to the dreams and aspirations of the employees.

Organizations view motivation like a sprinkling of holy water that is expected to cure the employees. Since many leaders and motivators fail to appeal to the emotions of employees, the employees don’t develop a belief in the organizational goals. The entire exercise goes waste.

Through this blog of mine, we are going to discuss various aspects of human behavior and psychology that affect the performance of the people not only in the field of Multi Level Marketing, but also in almost all the activities and situations in life, thus creating a platform for development of strategies based on a proper understanding of the human nature, including the negative side.

THE WHEELS OF THE WORLD

At 16, leaves family to work in machine shops. At 28, becomes an engineer. 5 years later, completes his first automobile, the Quadricycle. At 40, incorporates the Ford Motor Company. In 1908, introduces the legendary Model T. In 1913, introduces first moving assembly line. To meet increasing worldwide demand. By 1918, half of all cars in America are Model Ts. Makes Ford the world’s largest automobile manufacturer. In 1926, focuses on air transportation. Develops the Tri-Motor Airplane. In 1932, builds first V8 Ford car. And brings luxury to the common man. ●●● Henry Ford ●●● Innovator. Visionary. Philanthropist. Gives a generation its freedom. A nation, its economy. And the world, its wheels.

HACKER ATTACKS VIA ORKUT- BEWARE

Beware of hacker attacks via Orkut

If you belong to the generation of net savvy Indians, beware of browsing social networking sites for long as your PC or laptop could easily fall prey to cyber attacks from hackers. As per the 2007 Internet Security Threat Report (ISTR) compiled by anti-virus and security solutions major Symantec, social networking sites have become the latest target of hackers to attack home and enterprise computers.

“With the web emerging as the seamless medium of communication, information and interaction, online users are prone to get infected by engaging in social networking and browsing frequented websites due to malicious online activity in the form of worms, bots, viruses and Trojans,” Symantec India managing director Vishal Dhupar said.

Some of the popular social networking sites on the worldwide web are Bebo, Facebook (70 million registered users worldwide), Flickr (9.6 million users), MySpace (1.1 billion users) and Orkut. About six million Indians are actively involved in social networking and spend nearly an hour of their online accessing websites providing such networking activity.

“The use of social networking websites in phishing attacks is symptomatic of the trend towards targeting people rather than their computers or laptops because users are the weakest link in internet security. As a result, personal information, confidential data or corporate dossiers stored insecurely face the risk of being corrupted or stolen,” Dhupar noted, citing the report.

Phishing is an e-mail fraud method by which a hacker sends out legitimate-looking e-mail in an attempt to gather personal and financial information from recipients. Typically, the messages appear to come from well-known and trustworthy websites.

The report found that 65 percent of malicious attacks in India were through computer worms as against 22 percent globally due to lack of a fool-proof security patch or failure to install updates of anti-virus software in time.

High proliferation of viruses in India due to malicious code propagation vectors such as file sharing or executables has made net surfers or browsers vulnerable to cyber attacks.

“Unlike in the past, when netizens became victims by visiting malicious sites or clicking on deceptive e-mail attachments, hackers operating underground economy are targeting popular websites, accessed for a host of interactive services ranging from chat, messaging, e-mail, video, voice chat, file sharing, blogging to discussions,” Dhupar pointed out.

“Of late, Indian consumers and enterprises are subject to savage attacks in the form of phishing and botnets that choke the mailboxes. The study, conducted from July-December 2007, revealed India had a whopping 32,502 bot-infected computers and over 60 command and control servers, which is an increase of 50 percent over the previous study in 2006,” Dhupar recalled.

According to the report, there were 345 phishing URL (universal resource locator) links with IP (Internet Protocol) addresses hosted in India. Even reputable Indian banks were not spared, as about 400 phishing attacks were detected in the second half of last year.

Among Indian cities, Mumbai had the majority of bot-infected computers (56 percent), followed by Chennai (16 percent) and Delhi (14 percent).

News Source: The Daily Telegrams, Port Blair.