Let’s begin our post here with an update on Google PageRank. There is an update underway. Now, before any of you panic that your PR has just dropped, take a peek at your competitors.
During the last toolbar update I noticed a TON of sites making huge gains. While I’m always pleased to see my clients jump up a couple PR points, in the last update a lot of it didn’t make sense. I had clients I would have predicted to jump to a PR4 from the 3 they were at but when they jumped straight to PR5, well it didn’t make sense. At lost the current update hits and the client I’m thinking of dropped to a PR4 – right where they should be with my understanding of the way the world works. 🙂
If you noticed drops in your PageRank value it may well be due to the current corrections going on. Think back a few months, were you celebrating a little too hard with a huge jump? Now it’s time for sobriety. 🙂
And BotNets …
There’s a great article that appears to support my 2007 prediction on Webmaster Radio regarding Google developing a diskless computer (or at least working with manufacturers to do so). Well in an article on the BBC website titled, Criminals ‘may overwhelm the web’, the first signs of it are appearing though you need to read between the lines.
Vint Cerf, Google employee and one of the developers of the TCP/IP protocol (if you don’t know what TCP/IP is, it’s the “language” that the web and most networks function on) referred to the proliferation of botnets as a pandemic and noted the following:
“Of the 600 million computers currently on the Internet, between 100 and 150 million were already part of these botnets.”
That paints a pretty bleak picture. How can we combat this pandemic? Is there even a solution?
Fortunately Michael Dell (founder of Dell computers) offered the following:
“The future might bring “disposable virtual PCs”, accessed through the Internet, that would minimise the threat of a persistent virus infection.”
My prediction for 2007 (or perhaps 2008 but that we would at least hear confirmation this year) was that Google would develop a cheap home system that would connect to a network and network storage rather than a hard drive. Everything would happen online. It appears that’s the “solution”.
Am I the only one that finds it an odd coincidence that Google points out the significant threats that are present (and make no mistake, they are threats) and that Dell bring forth the solution of a dummy machine that is centrally administered and thus, more easily secured and managed? Oh, and need I remind you that in June of 2006 Dell and Google signed a distribution deal?
Hmmmmmmmmm. Methinks my predictions for 2007 might be in the makings. 🙂
With all this said, botnets are a HUGE security and web issue. While I like to point out that Google and Dell and likely positioning themselves for the launch of this new computer system that does not make the issue any less real. There is a quote, “Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you.” Just because major corporations may take advantage and seek gains from this issue doesn’t mean it’s not real and that it doesn’t threaten the very nature and function of the Internet. The article is worth reading and, if you have the time, researching. You can read the article on the BBC website here. You can also listen to Jim Hedger and I speak with Ryan Sherstobitoff from Panda Technology on just this subject on Webmaster Radio here (this is from December 21st). (Note: hyperlink to WMR removed as the page is no longer there)