₦airaland Forum

@ninapha

lets try  to make a head or  tail out of your argumet. I am  a muslim curently residing in  sokoto. the  guy that  made that statement is  capable  of doing  nothing,  the  non indigenes in  sokoto are  currently  sleeping peacifully. the  man is  just  been  a  politician just to  instill   fear in the judiciary  and the incumbent  governor. this  case is  not  even an issue  in sokoto.  but the  press  are used  to  blowing  threats  out of proportion. And as regards  to leaving in bondage ninapha,  I  bet  you  dont  go to the  church, just  go  to  the church  you will know what  I am saying . There are  more churches  in  lagos  than Danfo  buses.
BONDAGE = N100,000SEED + N50,000SEED +N10,000SEED + LEVY + TITHE + OFFERING + ILLUSIONARY MIRACLES

This is bondage.

The  poor couples  that will sell their car and give  the  money to  the  church,  the  poor  market women  that give  half  of  their  daily taking  to  the  church, the half clothed  ladies  that  give their  body  to  the  pastors  in return  for  salvation, if  this is  not bondage  then bondage has no  meaning.  OH LORD HASTEN  THE  COMING  OF JESUS  CHRIST ,  GRANT  HIM  GOOD HEALTH AND  STRENGTH  COS  HE HAS A LOT TO DO

I be like say this poster dey on drug. Av u taking your weed b4 typing? Why are u trying to justifying rubbish? So, if there is unrest or sort of in any place, the solution is to tell non indegens to leave? What about many electoral petitions in some western states like Ondo, Ogun and even in Edo? How many Hausas were sent back to their states? Why the exception this time aro ound?

I think the Hausas should come out plainly that non indigenes should go back to their various states and stop hiding under political unrest.

if they dont leave and one igbo man get wounded as a result of the political melee. guardian newspaper will report 500 hundred igbos killed. use your head

abeg go enter net scam if you no sabi wetin to talk

Can't you find saner means of settling issues without shedding human blood? Anambra and Edo state have had to unseat their governors and no one threatened the life of fellow citizens!

well   thank  God  non indegenes  can vote in  sokoto. unseat a governor ?  are you talking of chris UBA vs chris  part 2

agbero,  omo danfo

I went through all the replies and non seems  to  connect  with the message in the  initial post. well , I  am  not  surprise, cos that is what  happen  when you keep blocking and blocking and  blocking lecturers  with money throughout  your  undergraduate life. if your  want to insult the  northern muslim on this forum it  is  allowed, simply  initiate  a different  post for that. now ,  let  me  raise  the  intellectual  level of  this discusion. what is  happening in sokoto is politics, two  political  parties are at  each  others  neck  for the  governorship  position and  the case  currently  is  in  court. so  for  the  safety of  the non indigenes, they were advised  to take  a  vacation for a couple  of days. you  know  the  meaning  of  politics  is  the  protection of  your  interest  in a  wider scope of  interest and the opposition is bent on  having justice

I  hope  now you  get  the message, olodo

I can now fit  the  pieces, as  long as  the   guy  dey  MAP  the  babe well,  then  equation balance.  MAPPING  no  dey   easy  oh!

Let me  begin  like this, " when  the  desirable  is  not  available  then  the  available  becomes    the  desirable" . Do  you  know that  there are   many  graduates  earning  five thousand  Naira  a  month ? . take  the  job  go  into  the environment  persive  the  opportunities around and  utilize  them ,  then  the  world  before  you.

it was agberos and area boys that comfronted police when obj was about taking over lagos

bravo, people like olafinjana and kanu are the kind of athletes we need in nigeria who give from their heart not athletes that if their phone is missen the whole country we hear

thank you jare!!

i am a trained economist, but I am into IT now by inclination. I cant still remember what my professor told me that too much money in circulation cause inflation

take this scenerio
say a country produce ten bags of rice in a year, then money minted have correspond with rice production,if there is a fall in production the following year to eight bags of rice then money minted have to be cut by the shortage say 20 percent , else there will be inflation. this is based on the assumptions that rice produnction is sole produnction for that country and hence determines money production.

in the case of nigeria , we are faced with imported inflation as we 80 percent rely on imported good

I am happpy i can still remember some economic theories. I thought bits and bytes have overwritten them !!

no matter how intelligent you are if you see everyone cheated, make sure you are not left out
we are talking of a failed system here

people pay to get 250-260 jamb score in lagos you will be guarranteed that. when I wrote my jamb, if you get 220 every student in your school will hear about you. so the cheating escallated the cut off point. so if you want to use your head then you wont meet the cut off point in most cases. while cheating, just make sure you know the stuff becos when the chips are down you will still be on a safe side.

the root of the problem though is leaderships, a failed one. dont be so myopic by looking at a parent buying an exam script. but extending it to lack of law and order in the society. the society is cheating the people that is why the people inturn are cheating the society.

remember in a situation of anarchy , only anachist survive

muhbest

thanks for the compliment , the internet has made the world flat , flat in the sense that it doesnt matter where you are physically. you can compete with any one any where.

you have the potential of earning 80k per annum with your skills right now you are under paid

I come from  a  tribe where most of our women  are  not  romantic,  because  they   werent  taught  to be  romantic  by  there  parents.( Hausa)

At the    risk  of  sounding   philosophical  I will  say  that  mother  nature created  men   and women to  response to   romance  differently. the  creation  of   men  as  a  stronger  sex  is deliberate and  that explains  the polygamouse  nature of men. A  woman  is   created  to be submisive and  should  not  lead a   family  whatsoever. when  you lock  your  male  children  at home, they scale the fence  in search  of  liberty but when  you  lock  your  female children at   home, they remain a home till you come   back. few months after marriage,  initial  attraction vanishes then  acceptance and patience  takes over. so  your wife  can  reach  the peak of giving  you  80 % of the substance  in  marriage.  you  can  nver  get  the  remaining  20%.


sorry  feeling sleepy  will surely  complete  this post

sorry the table

ALIYU AHMED AHMED
NETWORK SECURITY ADVISOR
MERIDIAN TECHNOLOGIES
MARYLAND
ahmedu2020@gmail.com
08036241983


CHOOSING YOUR IT CAREER PATH

Newton's First Law of Motion states that an object at rest tends to stay at rest, and an object at motion tends to stay in motion until acted upon by an external force. This is true of careers as well, including yours. Where do you want your IT career to be in one year? Do you want to have earned several IT certifications in that time, therefore advancing your IT career, or do you want to be in the exact same place you are today? The only person who can make this decision is you. And I can speak from experience that when you begin putting your career into motion - the possibilities are unlimited. But you have to get started – today.

Before going around asking experts on what IT career path to take or what IT certification to pursue, first the only person you should ask that question of is yourself. Whether you want to start an IT career or jumpstart your current one, make the decision to move forward in your career - and then follow through on that decision. Because the goal of getting a job is less important than the goal of getting a job that you like. You have to have passion for what whatever you are doing if not you won’t do it very well, so try to get a job that you like, pay the whole of your attention on it and then allow nature to carry you along its path.

Other than the obvious passion for computers and technology, salary and job growth potential are excellent reasons to consider computer careers. Diversity of computer skills adds to marketability in the workforce. A lawyer that is a Microsoft Certified Professional is having an added value internationally than a lawyer without an MCP. Many employers do not have time to train workers on basic skills and expect employees to be more than familiar with computers. If you have an aptitude or interest in math, science or art, and have strong problem solving and analytical skills you are a perfect candidate for a computer related career. Computer careers can be solitary work, but often require good communication skills. Systems administrators must know how to relay information to clients and coworkers in order to maintain order and efficiency in the system.

Computer education is available in many varieties; from certifications, certificate programs, associate's degree programs, and bachelor’s and even master's degree programs. Many professionals in Nigeria receive degrees in computer science and related fields, but still cannot produce in the local and international IT markets therefore, they are required to have specific certifications (for example MCSE-Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, CCNA or MCSA-Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator) and some hands on experience to fit in. In fact, it is better to have a good hand on experience without having the certifications than having the certifications without knowing the equipments.  

The acceptance of computers into business has created a great demand for IT professionals. Almost every industry has a need for IT pros for marketing, client retention and daily operations. Industries such as banking, insurance, hospitals and utilities absolutely rely on them. The information age has created a wealth of career opportunities for computer specialists, elevating their status as knowledgeable professionals and compensating them well financially. If you're a computer specialist, or would like to become one, a career in the IT professions can be obtained in less than a year of study with the current spring of various IT certifications.

A lot   of  people these days are crazy about get IT certifications attached  to their  foundation degrees or   other basic  knowledge because certification credentials will definitely enhance their knowledge and also, the IT industry are now requiring those  certifications as  a proof   of  sound  understanding  of IT principles . There are over 400 certifications out there for you among which are:

A+ 2003, CCDA, CCNA voice, CCNA security, CCNP voice, CCNP security, CCIE, CEH, CSSP CISSP Linux+, LPIC2 Linux Junior Level, LCPI2 Linux Intermediate Level, Master CIW Administrator, Master CIW i-Accelerate, MCNE, MCSA 2000, MCSA 2003, MCSE 2000,MCSE 2003, NetWare 5 CNE, NetWare 6 CNE, Network+, RHCE, RHCT,SCE, SCM,SCP, Security+,  Server+, Solaris 8 SCNA, Solaris 9 SCNA, Solaris 9 Security TICSA and a host of others, but the   issue is  what certification do you start ? And after then what to do next? There are various schools of thoughts regarding how   to go about your IT certifications, and one can daisy-chain these schools to be able to bring out a suiting profile of certifications. Do want to be a programmer, a network engineer, a security advisor, an animator, a graphic artist, system engineer, a hardware engineer, a database administrator, a movie / picture editor or a statistical analyst?

Firstly, I would recommend that you first consider your foundation degree or any basic know-how you have acquired and see what IT skill can enhance it, then you certify on that IT course. If you are a  structural engineer, an architect, a builder, surveyor or a planner, before thinking of any IT certification you have  to think of obtaining a certification on AutoCAD, 3D Studio Max or some sort of  animation certifications. This will definitely add speed, color and effects to your designs because the era of paper and pencil design has been long forgotten. Unfortunate, even the educators teaching these courses in Nigerian universities don’t understand these technologies not to talk of the transferring it to the students. Come to think of this, an architect who is good in animations in 3D STUDIO MAX or similar packages can fit in the advertisement industry or the fast growing Nollywood. These sectors relies a lot on animations and pay good money them.  

Also, if you are an economist, or in the administrative discipline or any related discipline, obtaining a certification in the statistical packages or Econometric View will do you a lot of good as your will be involved in a lot of predictions from past or real-time data and running data a lot.

Despite the reality of the above school of thought, people now venture more and more into how the computer functions like networking and system support as computers have now flooded every nook and cranny of the world and they need support. Popular certifications in this section include MCSE, CCNA CCIE and a host of others. The idea is based on the fact that people make projections as regards to the sectors where investment are moving to, so they prepare themselves through certifications to exploit those sectors in future, and IT is the place to go. Also, if you are a trained anthropologist or archeologist and the society doesn’t need your service for now, you can retrain in less than a year in IT certifications to transform into a hot cake labor. I am a trained economist but I am working as a network support engineer in the organization  which I work, always carrying cables, crimpers and laptops to test routers and  switches – yeah, I feel happy even though it makes me the dirtiest personnel among  my colleagues.  

Now, to the certification semantics. Let’s start from networking because I am a Cisco trained network engineer. The CCNA is a very good entry level certification and if you study for it properly you will have a very solid understanding of lower level networking which is essential to do any admin job.  The nice part about doing the Cisco certification is that the information from there can be applied to so many other certifications. Even though it’s a vendor specific cert, the skills you gain will serve you well in thousands of situations.

CCNA training allows you the ability for installations and operation of LAN, WAN, and dialup access services for small networks with 100 nodes or less. The CCNA course includes, but not limited to use the different networking protocols such as Ethernet, Access Lists, Serial, IP, IGRP, Frame Relay, IP RIP, and VLANs. Cisco's CCNA Prep Center Pilot offers simulations and sample questions, besides the e-learning modules and laboratories. Computer training includes also valuable tips from CCNA professionals, in addition to expert advice, and encouragement through CCNA certification success stories. CCNA training does not require any prerequisite and makes available many other resources to help students with the preparation of their CCNA certification exams.

CCNA course, exams and recommended training include the Introduction to Cisco Networking Technologies (INTRO), the Interconnecting Cisco Networking Devices (ICND) or both. CCNA training and additional training, probably cover most of your career path expectations. However, Cisco's CCNA certifications are valid for 3 years, so it is necessary for additional computer training to re-certify. This is achieved by either passing the current CCNA exam at the moment of the original certification's expiration, passing the ICND exam, passing the 642 professional levels. Presently, Cisco has introduced CCNA  voice, CCNP voice, CCIE voice with also the security and wireless elements  to  the certification so  as  to encourage  specialization.

After CCNA training your can also re-certify by passing the Cisco Qualified Specialist exam, excluding the Sales Specialist exams, or passing a CCIE written exam, which is a re-certify form valid for individual who had a CCNA certification starting from October 1, 2004. Cisco CCNA online training certification program, offers the same value, knowledge and skill earned on a traditional CCNA course, and it is a nationally recognized certification. With computer training online, you will gain knowledge of switched LAN Emulation networks, which are made up of Cisco original equipment. CCNA training online focuses the coverage of Cisco router configuration procedures, mapped to exam objectives in order to prepare you for Cisco Exam 640-801, in partnership with major universities and colleges offering as well CCNA certification. I was privileged to under study in a Cisco academy in Zaria(Nigeria) together with some other medical doctors. These days as the voice technology is  gaining   ground , you can now obtain CCNA voice, CCNP voice or  CCIE voice specializing  in call centre set and stuffs like IP telephony.

The Computer training program online consists of 2 sections; "Introduction to Network Engineering", allowing the student to understand the world of network engineering, learning fundamental facts of data network theory and current technologies making the Internet tick. The second section of the online CCNA course, "Practical Network Engineering", is an approach to some of the most powerful networking technologies, involving extensive work on switches, Cisco routers, and firewalls in a simulated network environment, preparing students to earn the CCNA certification.



The CCNA is a starting point to do the more advanced Cisco courses such as CCNP (more advanced networking), CCSP (security, i.e. firewalls, VPNs, IDS, etc.), and then you get things like VoIP. The CCNP exam is highly regarded and consists of 4 (if I remember correctly) exams, covering switching, routing, support and remote access, plus a few more topics. After getting your CCNA then you have to decide whether to major in design, implementation routing and switching which is the CCNP or major in security which is heavily theoretical and analytical like CCSP which I will discuss later.



At risk of sounding arrogant, I believe CCIE (Cisco Certified Network Executive) is the mother of all certifications (You know you can’t go wrong with Cisco in networking). And currently there are just barely over 13000 CCIE holders in the world. CCIE is very expensive and it is only given in selected locations. You pay $300 for the test and $1250 per lab for the lab test which is an 8 hours test .You also needs a certain amount of experience to take the test and the test is multiple choice and hands on. What they do with the hands on, apparently, is to put you in a room with a bunch of devices and give you a scenario. You are then supposed to create the network based on this scenario. When you are about half way through, they send you out of the room and then mess up what you have done and you are now supposed to troubleshoot the problem and fix it. Also, the certification is only valid for two years. When you are preparing for your CCIE, your neighbors will think you have gone crazy, just don’t let that bother you as you will be talking to yourself a lot. Even your wife may start suspecting something; just hold on- till you get there. But basically, before taking any certification adventures make sure you are equipped with your COMPTIA A+ and N+ they are very easy to pass, from there anything can happen. The CCNA tracks are very demanding and practical oriented. When the Cisco academy took off in ABU Zaria a lot of people fought for the forms including some few cute ladies in my batch studying drama. They were under the mistaken impression  that since Cisco is a hot cake IT certification, Cisco certified personnel we be working in well ironed presidential suites wearing garish looking neck ties. But to their surprise we were always carrying cables, pliers, LAN tester and dusty patch panels around, and after our first module, two third of the class ran away.  When you are working in an open standing switch or an open Linux box you use for routing, your neck tie could get trapped in a rolling fan. When I started working with my organization, I had the opportunity of designing and implementing a multi-floor LAN. At the site I was working parallel with welders, partitioners and some carpenters, you could hardly differentiate us, except if you look closely to figure out my original made washout Armani jeans or my Bruno Mali made shoes or probably if I am answering my black berry from time to time.



Now, to security - my favorite.  This is a dollar making profession in the advance world. An Information Security Specialist, also known as an information security engineer, or security administrator, is an IT professional who designs and manages an organization’s security infrastructure. This includes choosing the network hardware and network operating systems, locking down those systems, and staying focused on possible weaknesses in those systems and hardening them as appropriate.



Duties of an information security specialist include the analysis of an organization’s security risks and requirements, rating the importance of a company’s products and services, and the related design, implementation and maintenance of the security infrastructure to protect the business from security breaches. This role has overlap with that of a network engineer but is higher level in that it is a more specialized role. A very good understanding of networking, both hardware and operating systems, and the web is critical. As the old saying goes, bank tellers don’t spend as much time learning about counterfeits as they do with knowing the real thing, the same applies to security specialists: they must have an intimate knowledge of their systems in order to best know their weaknesses and how to overcome those weaknesses. As well, strong interpersonal skills are also important, as security specialist must be able to convey to management the security risks, as well as be able to keep close tabs of newly discovered holes in their systems. They likely work in a team with other more and less qualified security staff and so must be able to communicate both up and down the chain of command.



A person may consider entering this field after attaining a Computer Science or Computer Engineering university degree or a one or two year computer diploma from a local technical institute or a CCNA certifications. However, some information security specialists may also have a technically related MBA degree. Either way, a lot of dedicated training and related certification in one or more leading network operating systems is highly recommended as is training and certification on network equipment and protocols. Optimally, security specific certification should be pursued. As well, this person should be proactive when it comes to applying security patches and the like but should also be prudent by being in the habit of ensuring that patches are first tried out in a test environment and by ensuring that data backup and disaster recovery plans are in place and followed as required. Candidates for this job role should also be exceptional troubleshooters in order to help them discern between security breaches and more innocent technical bugs.



An information security specialist often starts out as a network engineer and may move on to more specialized roles within the security or educational realm, such as information security architect, or else move towards IT management. Whichever path they take, these professionals tend to be at the high end of the IT pay scale. Salary information is so dependent on an IT professional’s particular skill set, experience and geographic location. However, experienced information security specialists can attain salaries of $70,000 or $80,000 USD or higher in the international market. below is a salary survey in thousands of dollars per annum by techrepublic in 2009.



Table 2










Source: Global Knowledge/Techrepublic 2009



Computer security is a growing field. Many businesses have created networks, websites and become reliant on computer technology, without employing safeguards to protect their data. There are many malevolent computer geeks out there who attack systems, or software for fun, curiosity or profit. Data extortion is now a common organized crime method for the Russian mafia! Security violations have created new careers in network security and software development. Courses of study are mainly in Microsoft products and software development languages like Visual Basic, C++, .net, compiler and assembly languages. Career positions in this category include network security, software programming, web design, web development and website administration (server side).



Pursue a certification in security starts with compTIA’s Security +  which is meant more for admins who want to show they have some security knowledge. Sec+ seems to cover a lot of disaster recovery, such as hot\warm\cold sites, and remembering the different backup types. While it is security, and definitely good things to know, it's not the type of security exams most people think of. It does cover some of what most people think of when they think of security, like covering the differences between AH and ESP when using IPSec. Another thing that sets it apart, like most compTIA exams, wording seems a lot simpler than Cisco\Microsoft exams. Generally no need to scroll the page like you does those two exams. And Sec+ counts as a certification for MCSE + Security, at least on 2000 spec. Like many compTIA exams, it seems like the starting exam for that branch, like Net+ is the starting exam many people take for MCSE or CCNA, and A+ is a starting for people who also take MCSE. After that you move to CCNA, then Cisco Certified Security Professional CCSP. You can also couple that with your CISSP (certified information security system professional) which is vendor independent and all the GIAC individual certifications.



http://www.giac.org/  


GIAC Certified Firewall Analyst (GCFW)  
GIAC Certified Intrusion Analyst (GCIA)  
GIAC Certified Incident Handler (GCIH)  
GIAC Certified Forensic Analyst (GCFA)



A recent aspect of security consultation that is making headlines is penetration testing (pen test) and cyber forensic.  Basically a security consultant is someone who specializes in securing computer systems -- that’s a very basic description. Since more and more critical information is stored on computers, you need people who specialize in information security. The reason it’s a specialization is because security is constantly evolving and the approach you take to systems is different from that of a programmer, or a network designer.



Penetration-testing is activities where you pay security specialists to attempt to break into your systems so that you can discover what vulnerabilities exist, and fix them. It should not be confused with vulnerability test which is finding loopholes in a system(OS) using specialized tools. Pen–test is sometimes called 'ethical-hacking' a really annoying catchphrase. Penetration testing is great fun. It involves a lot of creative thinking and can be very challenging.



Intrusion analysis involves figuring out how an attack was orchestrated. Say for example your website was hacked, an intrusion analyst will try to recreate what happened from the available logs. Incident handling is slightly similar to intrusion analysis. When you have an incident. say you get hacked, etc an incident handler is a person who is trained to respond correctly to that incident, keeping the integrity of the evidence, and restoring the systems to a normal state as soon as possible.



Cyber-forensics is like normal police forensics, but on computers. It’s a highly specialized field. You work with law enforcement. The courts etc. and have to be able to find things in computer systems where there is seemingly nothing to find. Being a security consultant is fun -if you're passionate about technology and security. It can also be quite painful as people view you as someone who restricts access and just causes inconvenience. It’s a field that’s really coming up these days. Remember, if you want to get into security, you should first make sure your networking skills are in order. Then you need to learn a programming language, something that lets you talk right to the operating system like C. After that you have to learn all the different aspects of security, types of attacks, common vulnerabilities etc. Practical experience is the best teacher. Most people learn on other people’s networks (if you know what I mean). But it’s far better if you setup your own lab, since you don’t want to end up going to jail while trying to make a career.



Another important certification today is the MCSE (Microsoft Certified System Engineer). Microsoft certification is increasing day by day. It is the most widely recognized technical certification in the industry, which is on high demand. . The MCSE boot camp institutes make them earn their Microsoft certification and make them lead the organization in successful manner. The MCP personnel administer the most advanced Microsoft windows platform and Microsoft server products. The survey of MCP magazine states that the average base salary of MCP ranges from $60,000 to $70,000.The MCSA (Microsoft certified system administrator) is more for Administration. This would be if you are managing a Windows environment that had already been setup. It will give the skills on that aspect. (This also can count towards the MCSE so if you did this, you would be on your way to completing the MCSE). The MCSE consist of seven tracks including two electives.

The MCSE is for designing, implementing the systems. This is more of an Engineer role which you would also need experience in. Each of the above has further certifications that you can go further. The MCSE has specializations within them for MCSE: Security, MCSE: Messaging, etc.



And now to the ultimate IT skill programming, it’s a very old IT skill. In fact it makes everything happens, everything you see are some sort of codes I mean programs. It is like this, functions makes up commands, and commands makes up programs and programs finally makes up softwares. So if you have a degree in software engineering, you should be conversant with some programming skills like java, c/c++, html, Perl etc. as it is all part of the curriculum.

Programming can be very difficult, but also very rewarding it s highest paying and time consuming IT skill. I'll never forget how happy I was when I compiled and ran my first COBOL program in Zaria in 1996 program. I started programming in Dbase and now I am battling with C/C++ to enhance my security skills. Now, how do you go about your programming career is the big issue we have to deal with.



It is important to note that you can program in high level, middle level or lower level language. The high level language can accommodate different functions embedded in a bracket, but the lower level language is flat, while the middle level language which can only call functions and shares both attributes of the higher and the lower level language. In Nigerian institutes of higher learning, students of computer science begin with BASIC and FORTRAN. In  the UK student are introduce  to Pascal in their first year, all  this languages teach you the basics of programming which helps you understand how to think while programming in any language. But with line numbers, GOTO commands, etc, in these languages it did not encourage structured, modular programming like Perl, Python, and C. Nowadays there are so many different choices in programming and some are more suited to certain applications than others. If you're doing mainly web stuff: PHP, Perl, ASP are some good tools for you.




When venturing into programming I always recommend C It’s about the best language to learn how to PROGRAM, plus its incredibly powerful (the fact that almost all exploits and low level handling is written in C is a proof). Besides you need to learn the issues that come along with writing in a language like C. Perl and Python are great, but I think they are too high level, they take away a lot of the important decisions and you don't need to think about data-types too much therefore Python will provide a fairly quick learning curve with real results for less time invested (time efficient).  
Python also has a fairly ordered way of doing things so it will teach discipline.  
Python can be scaled for larger projects and has good community support so it means it will be a language that is versatile for some time. Despite that C is the choice because it appears fundamental to a lot of other languages and it’s a lot more "pure" i.e. handling memory etc better. But this is at the cost of the speed of development. Start with C and everything is easy then.



The argument of which programming language to start or stick to is a never ending one whether C, C++, java. Python. Python seems easy, powerful and well documented. Python, PERL and PHP are the kind of languages that you can stick with and play for ever, making all kinds of useful apps and interfaces. The great thing is you see fast results, basically just as soon as you read a couple of pages describing the basic syntax, rules and constructs, you are ready to go (by referring to the function list for whatever you need of course). Mistakes often do not bring punishment and you need not to be concerned with some of the behind-the-scenes stuff, like the memory allocations -of course let us not forget that some real developers bothered with these to allow us to work without them -. That's the difference between C and scripting languages, with C you get to see things the way they actually work on your computer -better even, make them work yourself, while in (example) Python you only mess with things that appear more directly functional and practical. Depending on one's interests and needs, he might find exciting the extra control of C, or find it instead an annoying distraction from his work. If you are mainly interested in automating or writing interfaces for standard procedures and applications here and there, mostly small things but useful and practical nonetheless. For these things you could shun with C, unless you like and want to-. Python, PERL, PHP and others such provide hundreds of ready functions about everything and it is amazing how easily you can do complex things. Imagine a huge LEGO collection, from which you could build mostly anything you can think of. If I had to describe how I see C in a similar way, I'd say it's more like plasticine or clay: and allows you to make more polished and perfect applications, except that this needs extra effort and skill and also you inevitably get your hands dirty in the process.




If someone gets seriously involved with a powerful high level language that provides the wanted results with small effort, and gets used to it, it feels somehow "right" to try to accommodate his needs coding in this language and "gross" to forget it and switch to a lower level one. But I still stick to my recommendation - start directly with C, because other languages may spoil you enough to stay away from C later on .And if you are a  very ambitious one then start with C/C++. As others have said, it don't just teach the basic concepts like what a loop is, you learn about data Types and all that other stuff as well. But if you're the mere play code type start with Perl. Perl is fun, and for someone just starting to get their feet in programming, you're less likely to get discouraged when some really odd error keeps your first few programs from working. Also, it's hard to not stay interested when you go on CPAN and see a module that easily lets you do fun stuff like connect and use IRC. Even a beginner can boast that "Hey, I can do that, ".Then you start learning because it's fun. Then, later you can move to C/C++.




Programming is like a chameleon which changes color in different environment in this case platform. Structured programming like C doesn’t allow any bad habits and you had to learn how to structure your programming properly. When you use a language that forces you to structure your programs properly, once you have mastered it, it really doesn't matter what language you wish to use after that, your programs will always be structured correctly and thus much easier to write and design even large complex applications. You also have to bear in mind what you are going to be creating applications for we are in the .net arena and Object Oriented so take your c# (C sharp), C++, j# etc very serious. I like the flexibility of VB and C sharp as they all run on .net platform. EJB (Java) is also one good object oriented programming that is platform independent. We can’t just pick which is good or best programming language. Every programming language got its own importance and benefits, so it depends upon the requirement and its usability, functionality and robustness. You can stick to one or two for dynamism and you are in business. These days in Nigeria, you can get as high as =N=10 million for a custom built software for a financial institution excluding training and cost of maintenance which is usually charged per man hour.



Administering database is another cash line these days. Almost every industry has a need for databases and, developing countries are now fast collecting database so as to centralize data in the country for important decision making. Creation of these databases relies on software, mainly developed by Oracle for large scale databases, Microsoft SQL for web based applications and Microsoft Access for smaller scale and custom applications. Jobs in the database category include data architects, database administrators and information systems managers. Certifications in this category include

Oracle Certified Associate (OCA), advancing to Oracle Certified Professional (OCP) to the ultimate Oracle Certified Master (OCM)



It is one thing getting the certifications and another thing getting the experience. The idea here is that we don t want people to be too crazy about getting certifications at the expense of getting experience. Experience is something you cannot buy you can study brain dumps to get some certifications in a couple of weeks but the same is not applied to experience. Usually, Knowledge + know how = skill, and skill repeated over and over again will result to expertise and now we are talking of experience. Give yourself ample practical experience where possible. Volunteer for an organization that needs someone with computer skills but can't afford to pay them like some NGOs. I'm sure there will be lots of small organizations who need some kind of IT person to help out in some capacity or volunteer as an IT student in a cyber café where you will help them with a lot of cleaning and running some errands just to get the experience. You are going to find that experience and college education will get you the furthest in your career, generally. The certifications displays you have a base knowledge, with say CCNA, they will expect you to know how to configure and administer some fairly basic Cisco networks. Certifications can get your foot in the door these days, a friend of mine got his A+, then was hired in a helpdesk type of position, promoted into network admin, got a few more certifications and a university degree, and now has the experience and paper that can get him a network admin job anywhere.



Conclusively, I will advise IT students to take it easy because the IT jobs will still be there by the time they are through with their studies. Don’t rush to get certified and then start tampering with some company’s equipments like routers and switches, under study someone first because if you spoil any Cisco router in any organization you will pay; Cisco router cost hell.



Also, be careful when selecting IT training institute, some don’t give you value for your money. As with any field, there are good technical training schools, and bad ones. When you sign up with one of these schools, you've made a significant investment in time and money. You deserve to know everything about the school and your job prospects after leaving that school before you put down your hard-earned money. The problem is, sometimes it's hard to know the right questions to ask like:



How up-to-date are the courses they are offering?

Make sure the school you're going to attend has made efforts to keep their courses relevant. Ask what changes have been made to their curriculum in the last three years. No field changes faster than IT. If the answer to that question is "none", look somewhere else.

What are your true job prospects and legitimate salary levels after you graduate from their school?

What textbooks does their school use?

Some technical school chains use only books that someone in their organization wrote. I've heard some of the own teachers complain about the quality of these books. If you're looking into entering the IT field, you probably know someone who's already in it. Use that resource for everything its worth. Ask that person what they think about the books, or for that matter, what the local reputation of the school is. IT is a small world, if the school has a good or bad reputation, most of the IT personnel in your city or town probably know about it.

One of the most beneficial things for me has been talking with friends and co-workers about the things you are learning fora online. If you can find these two types of people, it will help you; first, a friend who has the same interests as you that you can study with and bounce ideas off, and second, a mentor who can validate your thoughts and teach you things you can't get from a book.

women are dangerous mammals, dont mind them, they are after our money and we are after their body and equation balance

you are the best person that can answer this question. I mean eat the food you like it will make u happy and u will perform better becos u are happy.

jakigaga said

Assalamu Alaikum.
pardon my interruption but the prophet (p.b.u.h) also died on the same day so wat are you celebrating?




hayati kairilakum wamamatikairilakum

the prohpet peace be upon him said : my birth is a blessing to you as well as my death


happy edil moulid !!

The real meaning of knowledge is using your real life experience in interpreting abstract concept, so to learn is to change the path to enlightenment is at the middle way it is the path between two opposite exptremes.

In nigerian universities today if you block well you will never graduate with a bad grade. all you need to do is to split your pockect money into three and use 2/3 to block and you are in businesss.

when all grades of graduates are gathered and tested, in most time the university grading system becomes invalid.

after graduation, all you need to do is to position your self and try to project where the society is heading and spending in the near future then your can prepare yourself towards that area. then the world before you.

at the end a third class graduate if well positioned will end up employing the 1st class and 2nd class

thanks guy

there is a yoruba proverb that says - if you are not speaking yoruba then you are not making any sense, and you have to speak it as loud as you can.

Ribadu has recovered a lot of money from people. we know that certain amount of corruption is inevitable so he has to has to listen to thw C in C to some extend. but generally I will give hime a pass mark

if I were okocha I will just claim I personally misplaced my phone and people should please keep an eye.
he can afford a thousand iphones

MISS LAST FRIDAY BUT CANT AFFORD TO MISS THIS ONE

I havent actually memorised the guidelines regarding postings in this forum.

but I dont see anything thing wrong with displaying tutorial cds for sale. there are stuffs you can learn hear, but dont expect to learn ccna hear. you have to spend money on tutorials or register in an academy.

but what bothers me about this guy is that he has no physical address as in office or home
so I cant deal with him

I was born and bred in kaduna but currently working as an internet engineer in victoria island. I Left for lagos after my graduation, on camp I found out that I was more exposed than most lagosians on NYSC camp. May it is because I spend most of my time on the Internet- I dont know. But I believe you can llive in kaduna, kano or Jos and be more exposed than a lagosian, it all depends on you.

I have come to understand that everyone staying in the west stays in lagos. IN ABU zaria most of my friends that claim they stay in lagos were no where to be found.

note
the nternet has made the world flat, flat in the sense that it doesnt matter where you are now physically, you can be more exposed than an American. Whether you are a Russian astronaut aloft in a spacecraft, a Bedouin tribesman in the desert with PDA/cell phone, or a Canadian work –at-home mother with her office in a spear bedroom, you will be able to connect with nearly anything or anybody anywhere. You will be able to participate in telephony, teleconferencing, telecommuting, teleshoping, telemedicine, tele-education, televoting and even telepsychotherapy not to mention a few

this is an inte resting thread

and here is my contribution

Aliyu Ahmed Ahmed
network Security Advisor
ahmedu2020@gmail.com
08036241983






THE BEST SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR

System Administrators are the people responsible for making computers work in the field. They are also responsible for the uninterrupted operation of the computers to take care of the business needs. System Administrator's knowledge on System security loopholes and their implications on business they are managing is a good asset to any Enterprise/Company. By following simple practices during their administrative functions, they can build secure and productive systems. These also help in reporting security incidents at an early stage and taking corrective measures.

Anywhere there is some sort of human activities, computers are needed and then system administrators to administer them. A system administrator is almost the most sensitive personnel in any organisation and I am saying this from experience. they have access to a lot of information from all departments in the course of troubleshooting systems. Some they see intentionally( probing) and some unintentionally(accident).I use to work as a system administrator in some big organisation and when troubleshooting systems I accidentally see stuffs like my GM's salary, the accountant's salary, the HR's CV or some love email letter written by my GM for his mistress on his laptop. In this regard the activities of the system administrators need to be watched closely by business managers. Business managers are scared of confronting the system administrator for the fear of the technicality of his job, most especially when the system administrators use technical terms to scare them. As a business manager , you need not turn the other side to the activities of your system administrator; give him room to exert all his technicalities but you need to know that you are his supervisor. Let me give you a lead, tomorrow when you resume work call your system administrator and ask him the following questions:

1. Do you have a diagram that shows what connects to where and how, with device IP addresses, names, locations etc listed on it?
2. Do you have an IT asset inventory?
3. Do you have a list of hosts, MAC addresses etc and their locations?
4. Do you have copies of the current configurations copied from all your network devices and burned to a CD in a fire safe?
5. Do you have network traces, traffic graphs etc taken during normal operation as a baseline?
6. Do you have a proper listing of all your WAN circuits/ISPs along with the contact details of the provider and the information you'll need to give them when reporting a fault?
7. Show me a script detailing your backup and disaster recovery plan.
8. Are all cable terminations labeled?


If he cant provide answers to these questions then you know someone somewhere is not doing his job. These issues are lifesavers in any computer network, because during all those slack days when things are running smoothly, your system administrator is not suppose to play doom or surf the internet but spend the time documenting his network:
Also, gone are the days where the IT department is just one flat department . These days the IT department is suppose to be sub divided into: Help Desk, Database, Networking and software/web application development department. Every IT complaint will first go to the helpdesk which will be routed to the appropriate IT sub department. Below I present a reminder as regards to best practice by system administrators:
Learn about your system
• Read appropriate security bulletins available from the vendors
• Subscribe for security bulletins from vendors and security advisories
• Understand each security issue with relevance to your configuration and environment
• Routinely monitor the IT website for updates and announcements
Define critical hosts
A critical host is a machine which, if compromised, could significantly harm the organisation including, but not limited to: reputation damage, interruption of a critical task, disclosure of confidential information, and legal liability. For example, any machine that may contain confidential data, medical records, payroll information, students transcripts, social security numbers, etc. "What are you trying to protect?" is a good question to ask before defining critical hosts.
Isolate domain controllers.
Update anti-virus software
Anti-virus software is available to staff at no cost. It is important to develop appropriate virus detection and eliminate the threat for servers.
Automatic updates to anti-virus software is essential to ensure new viruses are caught in a timely systematic fashion. It is a systems administrator's responsibility to ensure anti-virus definitions are up to date.
Protect passwords
• Use lengthy smart passwords (minimum length enforced)
• Make it for you to remember and hard for others to guess
• Use non-dictionary words
• Never store password as plain text or write it down on a paper
• Configure password-aging feature
• Use shadow password feature
Configure only essential services
• Maintain your servers with the minimum necessary services and packages
• Install only essential components, which are required for running the services and applications
• Remove any extra service running on your server
• Offer only essential network services and operating system services on the server machine
• Close unused TCP/UDP ports
• "Deny first, then allow"
• Remove old accounts
• Do not provide more access to system resources than the user needs
• Do not ignore warning signs- batteries, server restarting etc
Update your systems
• Patch, patch and re-patch
• Learn about the patches before applying them
• Remember to patch after a rebuild
• Apply the latest service packs
• Install latest updates and vulnerability hot fixes
• Make sure to update applications, not only operating systems
• Configure account lockout policy
• Isolate domain controllers
• Rename administrator’s account
Protect your systems from spyware
Spyware and adware pose security, privacy and productivity risks. It is important to keep your system protected from such malicious programs and protect your servers (where possible) with appropriate anti-spyware tools.
Use a firewall
A firewall is considered a high-risk network device. It helps you govern the network traffic to and from your network, needs monitoring in real time, and serves as a primary line of defense against external threats. Make sure to document any change made to the firewall configuration.
Define secure access policy
• Configure computers for user authentication
• Configure servers with appropriate object, device and file access controls
• Configure server for secure remote administration (VPN providing encryption and secure authentication)
Physically protect your servers
• Allow only appropriate physical access to computers
• Do not leave console logged in at any point of time
• Configure "time out" feature on your console system
• When you are away, system administrator console should be locked
Ensure data security and integrity
• Encrypt sensitive data where possible and needed
• Replace insecure programs with secure ones
• Avoid storing clear text passwords and private keys
• Securely remove data from storage media
Monitor your system
• Read your log files (hackers read them too)
• Use Log Analyzer
• Scan your systems periodically using appropriate tools (scan, evaluate, update, correct, and re-scan)
• Enforce access control rules for users / user restrictions
• Remove old accounts from machines
• Run MBSA regularly
• Check logon auditing
• Don’t make yourself indispensable by hiding knowledge from your helpdesk personnels
Document configurations and disaster recovery
• Document any changes in the system configuration
• Document (in steps) a disaster recovery plan and share it with your IT staff
Have a backup plan
• Make sure you have a tested backup strategy
• Keep your plan up to date by at least annual evaluation
• Train operators that work with you (if any)
• Plan for the worst, this should be part of disaster recovery plan
• Test the backup media, replace it if it needs replacement and don't take risks
• Identify what data needs to be backed-up (prioritize the data)
• Data should be backed up at least once a day, other data might need more frequent back-ups per day
• Backup media should be kept in a secure locked storage to prevent theft or tampering with stored data
• Password backups

Also, understanding the core of the OS is a necessity to understanding how attacks are structured. Most system administrators don’t know what goes on inside their operating systems. As system admins we have to go beyond just knowing how to administer our operating systems, we should posses the ability to see the bits off the wire, know the kernel architecture and how it keeps track of background processes, so as to help improve overall performance, and help the kernel whenever possible.

I am going to look into the operating system’s kernel but in a capsule. The kernel is the core of every operating system and it’s a process itself that controls other processes in the OS. A process is the execution of a program even though a program can initiate several processes: meaning several processes may be instances of one program. When you are browsing and you open various tabs on the taskbar, each tab represents a process. The Kernel has a process table that keeps track of all active processes and it communicates with other processes and the rest of the world via what we call the system calls

A process runs in two modes:

1. User mode: Can access its own instructions and data, but not kernel instruction and data
2. Kernel mode: Can access kernel and user instructions and data. When a process executes a system call, the execution mode of the process changes from user mode to kernel mode





I did mention that the kernel is a thread of execution—just like any other process. However, the kernel runs in a privileged mode. It can see the physical memory of the machine, and it can see all of the physical devices and ports. In addition to ruling over system memory, the kernel rules over all of the peripherals. These resources are too precious for you to allow a user process to touch them directly. Thus, the kernel provides various services that grant user processes access to these devices. The file system is a perfect example of a resource that user processes access frequently. The kernel enforces security restrictions so that users can’t gain unauthorized access to another user's files.


In the figure above you can see the kernel as being divided into two separate functional blocks. The lower functional block would consist of the device drivers, the virtual memory manager, and the scheduler. The upper functional block would consist of the system call processing functions. User processes view this part of the kernel as a library of service calls.

Service calls must communicate asynchronously with the lower level, but user processes don’t need to worry about how this communication occurs. A user process assumes that the system call is synchronous. For example, if a user process wants to write a large block of data to a file, the system call returns immediately, believing that the data have been written. The operating system may cache these transactions for several minutes before actually writing the data to disk. This caching allows the system to operate more efficiently as a whole. If it didn't work this way, the user process would have to wait for the write operation to complete or it would have to poll the operating system in order to make sure that the action actually happened.






The above is a UNIX platform, in Windows platform; let’s look at a program like Microsoft Word which when executed as a process could give birth to other instance of the same process(documents).





The question now is how comes about process 1, 2 and 3 in Microsoft word, and how does process 1 know what set of resources are been allotted to the program Microsoft Word while executing the program. Actually, it is the Window API functions such as createprocess, ntcreateprocess, createprocessasuser that are responsible for creating process 1, 2 and 3 within the Microsoft Word program. Each Windows process is represented by what we call the Executive Process Block (a.k.a Eprocess). Eprocess block has the ‘attributes’ of the process and other related data structure like Kernel Process Block (KProcess) and Process Environment Block (PEB).

In order to understand all these terms, we need to download a debugging tool for Windows and start windbg.exe in the kernel debugging mode. Some of these commands will give you a clear view of the data structure.

1. dt_Eprocess command gives the Eprocess data structure
2. dt_Kprocess gives the Kernel Process Block
3. !process give the address of PEB



When you use a debugging tool to view the kernel process block, you will see fields like: dispatcher
Resident kernel stack count
Default thread quantum
Thread seed

Attribute field like the image filename and image base address are two field in the Process block that will let process 1, 2 and 3 know the resources used by the Microsoft Word program. Since the createprocess function creates the instances of process 1, 2 and 3 lets now see the stages of the process creation



Stage 1: open EXE and create section object

Stage 2: create Windows Process Object

Stag 3: create Window Thread Object

Stage 4: notify Windows subsystem

Stage 5: start execution of the internal thread


In our example above since Microsoft Word is an executable file in Windows (winword.exe), it is used directly in the createprocess. However if the image is a non windows program createprocess goes through a series of steps to find a Windows support image to run it, then the createprocess calls a second function call ntcreateprocess to create a Windows Process Object which will run the image

Understanding and maneuvering the operating system kernel makes you an extraordinary user. You can play around with the virtual address space for any process and can even make a virtual address translation to the physical memory. The above explanation of the operating system kernel is by no means comprehensive because there is a lot of misery attached to the working of the operating system kernel.

Lastly but most importantly, business managers need to know how to terminate the job of their system administrator. At the friendly or unfriendly termination of the job of a system administrators, he or she should be escorted by security personnel to his office to pick up his belongings and leave. It sounds some how but honestly speaking it is best practice. At the same time, an account administrator should be disabling appropriate resource accounts and all passwords should be changed. Under no circumstances should the now former employee be allowed access to any information resources from the time he or she is terminated to the time he or she is escorted to the door.

Aliyu Ahmed Ahmed
network security advisor
ahmedu2020@gmail.com
08036241983


CYBERCAFE VENTURES: Why they fail

In the late nineties, cybercafé business used to be a very lucrative business with lots of abnormal profits. The market became contestable and lots of entrepreneurs entered and exploited the abnormal profit and then it became a normal profit venture. Put together 10-20 systems in a strategic location like a campus environment, with a dependable ISP then you are in business.

In recent times, more than 70% of entrepreneurs that had cybercafés in the late nineties have either shutdown or sold their cafes, so why do cyber café businesses fail? I ran an internet café for five years and as a networking instructor in Aptech training institute I have provided consultancy services on how to effectively run a cybercafé

There are three major factors that contribute to the failure of cybercafé ventures among which are: Power, inconsistent ISPs and then mismanagement. Most cafes generate their electricity with power plants. Instead of the power plants supporting PHCN, the opposite is the case. Some even run on power plants for days. Apart from daily expenditures on gas, within a short time the cafes have to replace the power plants due to over utilization.

Also, the ISPs are not helping matters. Cafes cannot easily know what ISPs are selling to them. Some of the cafes pay for dedicated bandwidth, and they are unknowing placed on shared connection. The truth of the matter is that you can know exactly what the ISPs are giving you because most of the speed meters online don’t give realistic readings. If you are on a shared connection, your contention ratio determines the speed of your connection. If other contenders are not browsing then you experience full bandwidth. For instance, if you are on 256kps connection with a contention ratio of 1:3 that means three other clients are sharing the connection. When everyone is browsing, you can only be guaranteed of about 85kps but when others are sleeping, you can have the full 256kps

To start a cafe you need to calculate the amount of bandwidth you need for the number of systems you are going to run and the type of traffic that needs to be transported like VOIP(Internet calls). If you hear of ISPs selling bandwidth like a 128/64kps link then you should know that you are getting a 128kps download throughput and a 64kps upload throughput. People download more than they upload so you can afford to get lower upload throughput in your link budget. But in a cafe that you will need a VOIP and just normal browsers here is how you will calculate your bandwidth:

If you are going to be having simultaneous phone calls you will likely be using a G.729a technology it is an audio data compression algorithm voice that compresses voice audio in chunks of 10 milliseconds(8kb/s codec). The 8kbs will sample the 10 milliseconds of voice per frame. In the voice packet, there will be three headers involve
IP (20 bytes) UDP (8byte) , RTP (12 bytes), or 320 bits per packet. The packet can contain a simple voice sample or a multiple voice samples. Now, lets figure out the bandwidth needed in say 10 system cafe with a maximum of 5 simultaneous calls.



Firstly we need the number of voice sample per second:
Second / voice sample = no of samples
1000ms / 10ms = 100 samples

Now figure out the overhead:
Number of samples x 320 bits = overhead
100 x 320 = 32 000 bits = 32kb/s

Total bandwidth per sample:
Overhead + codec = total BW
32 Kb/s + 8 Kb/s = 40 Kb/s

The busiest traffic is having 5 simultaneous calls that is

5 simultaneous calls x 40Kb/s = 200Kb/s

so a client will need a minimum of 200kbs for Voice plus 10kbs averagely for each system in HTTP connection( 10 x10= 100kbs)

200kbs+100kbs= 300kbs minimum for smooth operation

This sounds a bit technical, but determining the appropriate bandwidth is important to avoid wasting bandwidth. And sorry for the technical diversion.





Also, there is a misconception over two networking terminologies: bandwidth and throughput. Bandwidth is the connection capacity like having a 128kps, but most times you don’t always get the 128kps so what you are getting at a particular time is called the throughput. Consider this analogy take the bandwidth as a big pipe of water going into a neighborhood and smaller pipes tapping from the big pipe into homes. The big pipe has big bandwidth and the small pipe have small bandwidth. The more pipes tapping from the big the smaller the quantity of water each household will get. Most ISPs lure clients into paying for bandwidth, after paying, you are on your own. You will call for support twenty times. If you are lucky they pick your call, the lady will tell you its your local area network check with your system admin.

Another catastrophic factor responsible for the failure of cyber cafés is mismanagement . Because government officials get rich overnight, people in the private sector tends to emulate them. Once you employ a person to manage a café for you, immediately he or she will start strategizing on how to get rich overnight. So next time you are doing a cost benefit analysis on opening a café you have to assign a figure to mismanagement and build it into the cost.

Internet service is still expensive in Nigeria , as a result the outreach is small. The more cafe s we have the better for the market and the browsers but the fear is that technology is fast changing. Cafes mostly use Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSAT) or point to point antennae. These days people browse on their smart phones and laptops wirelessly and this is a threat against café business. Cafes located in academic environments do well because it is a necessity for the inhabitants there to browse. But outside the academic environment most cafes rely on scammers to survive . They are the only ones that can buy bulk time of 10-20hrs daily, so indirectly it is scam money that is sustaining café out there .

When making a feasibility study on opening a café, the first thing to consider is location. You need a strategic location to survive in the market, say an academic environment or busy junction in an elite dominated environment . And you need to be very careful when selecting an ISP. Any day anywhere I will recommend SimbaNet, Mweb or Cobranet, they have never failed me. The first time you visit an ISP tell them you need to meet some of their clients, from their clients you can know a lot about them. You can ask of how good their support is and things like their migration policy.

And finally, these days you cant afford to sell only internet service in your café, you have to sell a lot of other things because the internet will create traffic for the things you sell in the café . You can include these in your growth strategy:

SHORT TERM GROWTH STRATEGY


(I) Introduce more products for sale such as:

DVD rewritable
DVD recordable
CD recordable
Flash drives (128MB, 512MB)
IPODS
CARDS ( NECO , WAEC, JAMB etc ) ; charge WAEC and NECO registration, apply to secondary schools to register their students online
Recharge cards (MTN , GLO etc )

Digital camera & picture printer for passport , picture printing and American visa lottery
DVD writer for DVD burning
2 or 3 webcams


(II) Credit Card transactions
Options: Master card
Global merchant account
Third party credit card processor (clickbank, ibill etc)
E-gold account

Charge 10% of every transaction at =N=140-150 per $

Expected client uses: Visa process payment
Hotel reservation payment
Admission process payment (tuition fee) etc

(III) Organise short term internet training or weekend computer training on selected systems.
(IV) Sell Bulk time at discounted rates.
(V) Expand to wireless network so that clients can buy time and stay outside your café or in their cars to browse. There are facilities in your access point to monitor them.

LONG TERM GROWTH STRATEGY

(1.) In future you have to develop a website for your cafe. Development and hosting for a year is as cheap as =N=30,000. You can sell your products and services through your website and also sell for others with commission charges.


(2) In future you have to use part of your internet bandwidth for IT outsourcing jobs(transporting IT jobs through the internet), I visit sites like www.yahoosmallbusiness.com , www.directfreelance.com for IT outsourcing jobs


The use of inverters to support generators. The inverter can give 10-12 hours support daily.


RECORD KEEPING: An employee should be dedicated to the sales of storage media. When you buy say 2000 copies of DVDs just give him 500 copies ,and only restock him if he can account for the first 500 copies

PRINTING

An account book should be dedicated to printing services and every printing incident should be recorded( pages and amount ) and summed up at the end of the day , therefore when a rim is finishes you can calculate the lost with the aid of a print manager installed on your server. You can also refill your ink or toner cartridges.



Customer satisfaction

Open a suggestion box
Arrange for a television
Frequent use of air freshener
More sits at the balcony for waiting browsers
Watch the way your employees treat browsers


Remember: a café is not just a place meant only for browsing it is also a joint.
Keeping a client is 10 times harder than getting one.
Success in business is 80% attitude and 20% aptitude. And please don’t forget to pray after all the planning.

I am  a  complete northerner, when I  was serving in delta  state it was like  this   is  hell. after  a  while I  got  used  to  the village setting in delta  ibo and  then became  part  of them  . it   is  a  one  in  a  life time  experience

I a  lot of schools in nigeria that completely rely on corper labor. those that complained in   this tread  were tho se  that tried  to bribe  their   posting and failed.

seminar!!!! seminar!!! seminar!!!!

Discover the internet money making strategies
Attend our e-commerce seminar and get

1. complete forex trading cd simulators
2. forex ebook
3. 8 voluminous ebooks on e-commerce
4. useful and tested e-commerce sites
5. post seminar support an councelling

FOR JUST =N=2500 ONLY

DATE : SATURDAY 17TH NOVEMBER 2007
TIME : 10.00AM PROMPT
VENUE: RAILWAY INSTITUTE, RAILWAY COMPOUND/EBUTE META

TESTIMONY

I started working as a server admin in an internet cafe. I made extra money from LEGAL e-commerce activities monthly,
and that extra money is seven times my monthly salary.


YOU CANT AFFORD TO MISS THIS LIFE CHANGING PACKAGE

FOR FURTHER INFO.
EMAIL: ahmedu2020@gmail.com
mobile: 08036241983

seminar!!!! seminar!!! seminar!!!!

Discover the internet money making strategies
Attend our e-commerce seminar and get

1. complete forex trading cd simulators
2. forex ebook
3. 8 voluminous ebooks on e-commerce
4. useful and tested e-commerce sites
5. post seminar support an councelling

FOR JUST =N=2500 ONLY

DATE : SATURDAY 17TH NOVEMBER 2007
TIME : 10.00AM PROMPT
VENUE: RAILWAY INSTITUTE, RAILWAY COMPOUND/EBUTE META

TESTIMONY

I started working as a server admin in an internet cafe. I made extra money from LEGAL e-commerce activities monthly,
and that extra money is seven times my monthly salary.


YOU CANT AFFORD TO MISS THIS LIFE CHANGING PACKAGE

FOR FURTHER INFO.
EMAIL: ahmedu2020@gmail.com
mobile: 08036241983