When news of the third major ransomware outbreak of the year broke, there was a lot of confusion. Now that the dust has settled, we can investigate what exactly “Bad Rabbit” is.

According to media reports, many computers have been encrypted with this cyberattack. Public sources have confirmed that the computer systems of the Kiev Metro together with the Odessa airport and numerous other organizations in Russia have been affected. The malware used for this cyberattack was “Disk Coder.D”, a new variant of ransomware popularly known as “Petya”. The previous Disk Coder cyberattack left damage on a global scale in June 2017.

ESET’s telemetry system has reported numerous occurrences of Disk Coder. D within Russia and Ukraine, however, there are detections of this cyberattack on computers from Turkey, Bulgaria, and some other countries as well.

ESET security researchers are currently working on a comprehensive analysis of this malware. According to its preliminary findings, Disk Coder. D uses the Mimikatz tool to extract the credentials of the affected systems. Their findings and analysis are ongoing, and we’ll keep you posted as soon as more details are revealed.

ESET’s telemetry system also reports that Ukraine accounts for only 12.2% of the total number of times they saw the Bad Rabbit infiltration. Below are the remaining statistics:

Russia: 65%

Ukraine: 12.2%

Bulgaria: 10.2%

Turkey: 6.4%

Japan: 3.8%

Other: 2.4%

Consequently, Bad Rabbit compromised the country distribution. Interestingly, all of these countries were affected at the same time. It is very likely that the group already had its foot within the network of affected organizations.

It’s definitely ransomware

The unfortunate victims of the attack quickly realized what had happened because the ransomware is not subtle: it presents victims with a ransom note telling them that their files are “no longer accessible” and “no one will be able to recover them without us. decryption service “. Victims are directed to a Tor payment page and presented with a countdown timer. Pay within the first 40 hours or so, they are told, and the payment for decrypting files is 0.05 bitcoin, about $ 285. Those who do not pay the ransom before the timer reaches zero are told that the fee will increase and they will have to pay more. The encryption uses DiskCryptor, which is legitimate open source software used for full drive encryption. Keys are generated by CryptGenRandom and then protected by an encrypted RSA 2048 public key.

It is based on Petya / Not Petya

If the ransom note looks familiar, it’s because it’s nearly identical to the one that victims of the Petya outbreak saw in June. The similarities aren’t just cosmetic either: Bad Rabbit also shares behind-the-scenes elements with Petya.

Analysis by Crowdstrike researchers has found that Bad Rabbit and the NotPetya DLL (dynamic link library) share 67 percent of the same code, indicating that the two ransomware variants are closely related, potentially even the work of the same threat actor.

The attack has affected high-profile organizations in Russia and Eastern Europe.

Researchers have found a long list of countries that have fallen victim to the outbreak, including Russia, Ukraine, Germany, Turkey, Poland, and South Korea. Three media organizations in Russia, as well as the Russian news agency Interfax, have declared “hacker attacks” or file encryption malware, which the campaign has taken offline. Other high-profile organizations in the affected regions include Odessa International Airport and the Kiev Metro. This has led Ukraine’s Computer Emergency Response to publish that there had been “the possible start of a new wave of cyberattacks on Ukraine’s information resources.”

May have had selected goals

When WannaCry broke, systems around the world were hit by an apparent indiscriminate attack. Bad Rabbit, on the other hand, could have targeted corporate networks.

ESET researchers have backed this idea, stating that the script injected into infected websites can determine if the visitor is of interest and then add the content page, if the target is deemed suitable for infection.

It is spread through a fake Flash update on compromised websites.

The main way Bad Rabbit spreads is unauthorized downloads on hacked websites. No exploits are used, instead visitors to compromised websites, some of whom have been compromised since June, are told that they need to install a Flash update. Of course, this is not a Flash update, but rather a dropper for malicious installation. The infected websites, mostly based in Russia, Bulgaria and Turkey, are compromised by having JavaScript injected into their HTML body or one of their .js files.

It can be spread laterally through nets.

Like Petya, the Bad Rabbit Ransomware attack contains an SMB component that allows it to move laterally through an infected network and spread without user interaction.

The spread of Bad Rabbit is facilitated by simple username and password combinations that it can exploit to make its way across networks. This list of weak passwords is the easy-to-guess passwords you often see, such as 12345 combinations or having a password set as “password.”

Does not use EternalBlue

When Bad Rabbit first appeared, some suggested that, like WannaCry, it exploited the EternalBlue exploit to spread. However, this does not seem to be the case now. “We currently have no evidence that the EternalBlue exploit is being used to spread the infection,” Martin Lee, Head of Security Research Technician at Talos, told ZDNet.

Contains Game of Thrones references.

Whoever is behind Bad Rabbit appears to be a Game of Thrones fan – the code contains references to Viserion, Drogon, and Rhaegal, the dragons that appear in the television series and novels it is based on. Therefore, the authors of the code are not doing much to change the stereotypical image that hackers are geeks and nerds.

There are steps you can take to stay safe

At this time, no one knows if it is still possible to decrypt files that are locked by Bad Rabbit. Some might suggest paying the ransom and seeing what happens … Bad idea.

It is quite reasonable to think that paying almost $ 300 is worth paying for what could be very important and invaluable files, but paying the ransom almost never results in regaining access, nor does it aid in the fight against ransomware – an attacker will keep targeting as long as as they see the returns.

Several security vendors say their products protect against Bad Rabbit. But for those who want to be sure that they are not victims of the attack, Kaspersky Lab says that users can block the execution of the file ‘c: windows infpub.dat, C: Windows cscc.dat’. to prevent infection.

The Ayurvedic health system has been described in a previous article. How Ayurveda Can Help Diabetics, and this article assumes that you have read it and understand the meaning of the term dosha, that is, body type or constitution.

Your unique personal dosha is best and most accurately determined by a qualified practitioner of the Ayurvedic lifestyle system.

But if you want to try it yourself and determine your predominant dosha, this is what you can do … answer these questions as follows:

Select the answer (A, B, or C) in each category that most applies to you. If more than one answer applies, choose the one that best suits your needs. For personality and mental traits, answer according to how you have felt and acted for most of your life.

Physical characteristics

1. Your height is:

1. Higher or lower than average

2. Average

3. Height and width

2. Your body structure is:

1. Slim and light, with lean muscles.

2. Moderate and symmetrical, with well developed muscles.

3. Large and broad, with strong muscles.

3. Your weight is:

1. Below average

2. Average

3. Above average

4. Regarding weight changes, you find it:

1. Difficult to gain weight

2. Easy to maintain weight.

3. Difficult to lose weight

5. The texture of your skin is:

1. Dry, rough and thin; prone to goose bumps

2. Hot and oily; easily irritated or inflamed

3. Cool, wet and thick

6. Your eyes are:

1. Small, dry and active

2. Drilling; sensitive to light

3. Big and soft

7. Your hair is:

1. Dry and brittle; easily knotted

2. Medium and oily texture; tendency to lose weight or turn gray

3. Thick and oily; abundant

8. Your teeth are:

1. Crooked or protruding; receding gums

2. Of moderate size, with a tendency to yellow; red or bleeding gums

3. White, strong and well formed; abundant gums

9. Your nails are:

1. Dry, rough and brittle; break easily

2. Soft, pink, flexible and shiny.

3. Thick, smooth, shiny and hard

10. Your stamps are:

1. Prominent; crack easily

2. Medium, loose and flexible

3. Large and well padded

11. Your hands are:

1. Slim; long fingers with prominent knuckles

2. Half; warm pink and soft

3. Big and thick; smooth knuckles

12. Your body temperature runs:

1. Cold, especially in the hands and feet; you have bad circulation

2. Higher than average; you tend to “run hot”

3. Cold; sticky

13. Your urine tends to be:

1. Scarce, of course

2. Abundant, yellow

3. Moderate amount, concentrated color

14. When you get sick, it’s usually in the form of:

1. Pain and swelling

2. Fever and skin irritations, such as cold sores.

3. Congestion

15. When it comes to the weather, you don’t like:

1. Cold, dryness, wind; you prefer warm weather

2. Heat, scorching sun, fire; you prefer cool, well-ventilated areas

3. Cool and humid climate; Although it can tolerate many different climates, it prefers it not to be cool and humid.

Personality traits

16. Your speech tends to be:

1. Fast and frequent

2. Sharp and cutting

3. Slow and melodious

17. In general, most people are:

1. Active, busy, hurried, moody, or nervous

2. Ambitious, motivated, competitive and resourceful

3. Calm, content, conservative, and rarely irritated

18. At your best, you are:

1. Adaptable, creative, spiritual and imaginative; an abstract thinker

2. Brave, intelligent, focused and efficient; a perfectionist

3. Loving, trustworthy, affectionate, calm and patient; a kind soul

19. At your worst, you are:

1. Fearful and nervous

2. Angry and critical

3. Too attached and lazy

Food and activity

20. When it comes to activity, you like:

1. Be active and on the go; it’s hard for you to stay still

2. Physical activities with a purpose; competitive activities

3. Recreational activities; sitting around

21. You walk:

1. Quickly, often looking at the ground

2. With purpose, with focus and attention

3. Slowly and quietly

22. Your appetite:

1. It varies daily; sometimes you forget to eat

2. It is regular; you never skip a meal

3. Is stable; likes to eat, but can easily skip meals

23. You tend to eat and digest:

1. Quickly

2. Moderately

3. Slowly

24. When your digestion is out of control, you get:

1. Gassy or constipated

2. Ulcers and heartburn

3. Lethargic and overweight

25. Your favorite foods are:

1. Salty, crisp or cold; carbonated or caffeinated drinks

2. Spicy, sour or bitter; BBQ sauce, meat, pickles, fried

3. Creamy, sweet, thick, or smooth

26. Your resistance is:

1. Out of stock quickly; you get exhausted easily

2. Quite strong; you can handle various physical activities

3. Well; you have a constant energy level

27. Your sleeping habits are:

1. Light; have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep

2. Consist; you sleep well for an average time

3. Deep; you sleep a lot and deeply and have difficulty waking up

28. Your moods:

1. Change fast

2. Change slowly

3. They are mostly stable

29. When you are under stress, you become:

1. Excited, anxious, worried and fearful

2. Angry, critical, demanding and aggressive

3. Withdrawn, depressed and lonely

30. When making a decision:

1. You have a lot of ideas and you change your mind easily

2. Collect facts before forming an opinion

3. You are stubborn; you make up your mind quickly and don’t change your mind often

31. Your attention span is:

1. Bermuda

2. Detailed and thoughtful

3. In the “big picture”; you can concentrate for long periods

32. Your memory is:

1. Bermuda; you learn fast and forget quickly

2. Generally good

3. Good in the long run, though you learn slowly

33. When it comes to projects, you are:

1. Good at getting things started, but have trouble finishing them

2. Organized and you will see a project from start to finish.

3. Slow to start, but good at getting things done

34. Your friends:

1. They change often and are easily done.

2. They are mostly related to work or in a team

3. They last a long time and are deeply meaningful.

35. When it comes to money, you:

1. They like to shop and often overspend

2. I don’t like to spend except on special items

3. I prefer not to spend and I prefer to save

36. Your dreams are:

1. Frequent and colorful

2. Romantic and casual

3. Uncommon and disturbed or intense

Determine your dosha

Your (A) answers correspond to Vata, (B) to Pitta and (C) to Kapha … add your answers to determine your predominant constitution.

The characteristic that receives the most responses is the most predominant force in your overall dosha.

Note that it is common to have a double dosha, such as Vata-Pitta, Pitta-Kapha or Vata-Kapha. It is also possible, although more rarely, to have the same balance between the three.

But your unique personal dosha will be a combination of all three in one proportion or another.

Once you’ve determined your unique personal dosha, you need to figure out what lifestyle and diet changes you should make to improve and maintain your health. Again, this is best determined by your Ayurvedic consultant.

The following article Can an Ayurvedic Diet Help Control Blood Glucose Levels? It is a general discussion of the Ayurvedic diet.

Eating more alkaline foods is a great way to balance your diet and reduce the effects of acid reflux disease. In fact, a very acidic diet can be the cause of many other health problems in addition to acid reflux disease.

A low alkaline diet makes the cells and fluids of the body too acidic. This is a major problem in many Western countries, especially North America, where normal diets high in fat and sugar can cause acidosis. Diets low in alkaline foods are also blamed as the cause of many diseases, especially rheumatic and arthritic diseases. And according to the author Michal Cogan in his book New Nutrition ‘Acidosis destroys bones, because the body has to steal alkalizing minerals from them to prevent the pH of the blood from falling into the acidic range’.

Symptoms of very acidic diets

Common symptoms of eating an unbalanced diet that is too acidic can include; diarrhea, water retention, migraines, fatigue, halitosis, insomnia and a burning sensation on the tongue and in the mouth. The most serious consequences of acid reflux disease include asthma, chest pains, and even coughing up blood in the case of erosive esophagitis.

Alkaline diets have been developed to combat a wide range of health problems, including diabetes and obesity, and can help you lose weight. These alkaline food diets should also be used in conjunction with a healthy eating plan that includes smaller meals throughout the day rather than just a couple of large meals.

The correct alkaline-acid balance varies slightly from person to person and also depends on their level of activity. Generally, the more active you are, the more alkaline foods you will need to eat. Generally, the ratio of acidic to alkaline foods should be between 2: 1 and 4: 1.

Alkaline foods include; almonds, coconut, buttermilk, yogurt, raisins, melons, figs, olives, bananas, chocolate, avocado, grapes, potatoes, pumpkin, spinach, lettuce, artichokes, broccoli, cucumber and mushrooms.

High acid foods include; beans, butter, cheese, vinegar, coffee, tapioca, eggs, meats, plums, prunes, blueberries, wine, and other alcoholic beverages. Tobacco and recipes that include ash are also considered acidic.

In addition to acidic and alkaline foods, there are also a large number of pH-neutral foods. These include; sugar, honey, syrup, margarine and cooking oils.

Acid reflux occurs when the sphincter between the stomach and the esophagus relaxes when it shouldn’t. This allows acid from the stomach to flow into the esophagus. When this acid reflux occurs frequently, it is called acid reflux disease or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). This can eventually cause erosion or the development of sores in the lining of the esophagus.

There are several different types of medications and medications that are commonly used to combat heartburn and other symptoms of acid reflux disease, but certainly eating well and ensuring that you consume a diet high enough in alkaline foods is essential not only for these health problems, but for the whole body.

Many people feel that the Yamaha YPT-220 is an excellent musical keyboard for beginners. Here is a review of the YPT 220 that will offer the pros and cons and an idea of ​​why it is so favored.

One thing to look for when shopping for a musical keyboard for a beginner is to get one that the student won’t quickly outgrow. The other thing you want to do is get one that has a lot to offer, without being too expensive. It is important that the instrument is reasonably priced in case the new student decides too early that he does not like playing the keyboard.

The Yamaha YPT-220 wins on both counts. It offers many additional features that are not often found in this lower price range. Plus, it has surprisingly realistic sound quality. It is also lightweight and portable, so it can be carried and played anywhere.

Here you will find pros and cons to help you make a purchasing decision.

Pros

1. It is a well designed learning instrument. With Yamaha’s built-in educational pack of learning tools and 102 pre-programmed songs, practicing the piano and learning on this instrument is fun. The keys even light up when you learn to play.
2. It has 61 keys, more than enough for the beginner to play hundreds of songs and 375 high-quality instrument voices and 100 accompaniment styles.
3. To simulate the actual sound of a grand piano, there is a button that instantly creates this sound as the keys are played.
4. It can be included in a package that includes a stand, closed-cup headphones, and an AC power supply.
5. There’s even a special effects feature that simulates sounds like a dog barking, a creaking door, running water, and more.

Cons

1. Some users feel that the music book that comes with this keyboard could be more comprehensive.
2. Initially, there was a concern that the media was not very stable (which comes as part of the bundle package). But Yamaha says they have fixed it and it no longer appears to be a problem.
3. A music student who is learning can be noisy while practicing and make mistakes. Actually, that’s the case not just for this instrument, but for all keyboards. That is why it is recommended to always buy with headphones.

Many users of the Yamaha YPT-220 claim that if you are looking for a fun, entertaining, durable, amazing, familiar and piano-like keyboard, this is the right choice.

If you’ve watched television in the last thirty years, you probably know something about Oprah Winfrey. After all, she is one of the easiest faces in the world to recognize, thanks to her long-running daytime talk show, “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” At one point, his show was watched by 40 million Americans every week. Though she kept us posted, brought us to tears, and gave us some laughs during the two and a half decades of her tenure as a talk show host, Oprah is more than a sounding board for the troubles of our time. She is also a talented actress whose acting career began almost simultaneously with her career as America’s most beloved queen of daytime television.

It was at the same time that Oprah gained a national audience with her talk show that she also attracted the nation’s attention by playing the role of Sofia in 1985’s “The Color Purple,” a film that was adapted from an Alice Walker novel. . Her fledgling performance in this Steven Spielberg film earned her Golden Globe and Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actress. Oprah’s performance as a freshman in this film alongside greats like Whoopi Goldberg and Danny Glover is considered by many to be one of the best.

The following year, Oprah starred in her second movie role, appearing alongside Elizabeth McGovern and Matt Dillon in “Native Son,” a film that received some critical acclaim. The story takes place in 1940s Chicago and follows a series of events centering on an African-American chauffeur who accidentally kills his employer’s daughter and then tries to cover it up to avoid an unfair trial.

Oprah’s love for the big screen and acting itself led her to form her own production company, Harpo Productions, in 1986. The production company would eventually buy “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and it remains formidable even today. Harpo would produce a well-received 1987 television miniseries, “The Women of Brewster Place,” starring and produced by Oprah. Oprah would also star in and produce two Harpo television films, including 1993’s “There Are No Children Here” and 1997’s “Before Women Had Wings.”

Harpo Productions would be behind Oprah’s next role in 1998’s “Beloved,” a film based on one of Oprah’s favorite Toni Morrison novels. In “Beloved,” Oprah would reunite with her “The Color Purple” co-star Danny Glover. The film was a flop at the box office, opening the same weekend as “Bride of Chucky,” an anticipated addition to the “Child’s Play” horror film series. Oprah would go on to say that the failure of “Beloved” was one of the worst moments of her career and she has stated that it caused her great depression. Nonetheless, Oprah was nominated for Best Actress in a Movie by the NAACP Image Awards for her performance in the movie.

Oprah has also had some success in voiceover performances of some of the most beloved children’s films of our time, including her voice acting as Gussie the Goose in the 2006 animated adaptation of “Charlotte’s Web.” She would go on to voice the judge in Benson vs. the world case in 2007’s “Bee Movie.” Her third voiceover contract came as Eudora, Princess Tiana’s mother in 2009’s “The Princess and the Frog.”

Oprah’s love of acting extends to producing great plays as well. Two decades after settling nationally, Oprah still devoted much of her time to film and television production, producing a 2005 film adaptation of “Her Eyes Were Looking at God” based on Zora Neale Hurston’s book. Also in 2005, he produced a Broadway musical production of “The Color Purple.” It was her love of production that led her to launch her own television network, OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network), in 2011.

Oprah was once referred to as the most powerful woman in the world and is the richest self-made woman in the US, as well as the richest African American of the 20th century, male or female. In 1995, she became the first and only woman and only African American to appear on the Forbes 400 list, and was also listed as the world’s only black billionaire. She owes all of this success to her diverse skill set that has made her a force to be reckoned with in the entertainment industry. Oprah Winfrey is a woman of many talents. From an extraordinary talk show host with multiple daytime Emmys under her belt to actress, television and film producer, and television network owner, Oprah’s remarkable career is incredibly diverse, and we can only hope for more good things from her in the future.

I sometimes hear of wives seeing their husband in a new and completely unflattering way after discovering that he cheated on her or that he had an affair. Some adjectives I hear wives use to describe their husbands are words like creepy, disgusting, repulsive, perverted, or deviant. I heard a wife say, “I learned that my husband had an affair with a bad life that he met in a bar. His behavior disgusts me. My husband is well regarded in our community and now I found out that he was hanging out in bars and that he met this woman in a disgusting hotel to have sex. That mental image is one that I will never get out of my head. To be honest, I find my husband completely disgusting and disgusting right now. The thought of sleeping with him stirs me up. stomach. I see him as a more laid-back pervert. Will my feelings ever change? Because I have two kids to consider. I’ll try to address these questions in the next article.

It is normal to feel upset or repulsed by your husband’s behavior: Some wives who say they find their husbands disgusting or creepy after their affair are actually disgusted by the behavior more than the person. It is very understandable to project that dislike of actions onto the person. But sometimes, this happens and the wives can finally see the difference between the two. That said, some wives simply cannot reconcile this conflict. And frankly, sometimes the only way to see which category you’re going to fall into is to just give it a little time.

What can you do when your husband disgusts you after his infidelity? The wife in this situation was so heartbroken for her children. She didn’t want to banish the father of her children from their lives. And frankly, the pain was still fresh, so he was right not to make hasty or hasty decisions. In situations like these, when you can’t even bear to see this man, it may be wise to take a break from the situation. Sometimes this means that one of you stays with friends and family for a while until you have a bigger perspective. In this case, the wife did not want to interrupt the home life of her children, so another alternative could be to sleep in separate rooms and stay away from each other for a while. The wife could make it very clear that she needed some distance and some time to herself, and if this request was not honored, she would have no choice but to get away from the situation for a while.

Sometimes distance can help feelings of upset fade and other times they don’t diminish, but giving yourself this space is a way of knowing if your feelings are going to change over time.

Will I ever look at it the same way again? Will my dislike go away ?: I cannot answer this question with certainty because everyone is different. Often this depends on how egregious the husband’s actions really were. I can tell you from experience that in my own situation, over a very gradual period of time, I was eventually able to remember my husband’s good attributes in the past and this counted for something. Over time, when I thought about my husband, I didn’t just think about the recent bad experience. And I think a lot of times this happens once a true healing has occurred. Once you start to heal, you no longer want or need to focus solely on the negative.

Over time, I remembered how my husband supported me for many years while raising our children. I remembered staying with my sick grandfather twenty-four hours a day during cancer treatment. I remembered how he worked tirelessly to craft furniture for our children’s bedrooms. And this mattered to me in the end and helped me balance some of the negative memories that I had developed. So while you couldn’t tell this wife if her own feelings would change in the future, I could suggest that she simply observe and respect her feelings, take a break if needed, and focus on healing. Because no matter what ultimately happens to your husband, healing is the first step in making positive feelings and memories possible. And whether you are continuing your marriage or not, you deserve to stay positive.

Definitions

Marketing is generally considered the process of promoting goods and services to the end user. We can think of this as McDonald’s advertising its Big Mac in such a way that we feel like we really need one for lunch. This demonstrates the advertising piece of the marketing mix and is the element that most people identify with marketing.

Society is generally defined as the condition in which the members of a community live together for their mutual benefit. Societies are more than the individual members that make up the group, but the sum of the collective. We are all members of a society and we interact with the other members of that community. So what is the impact of marketing on society?

Negative connotations of marketing: they made me do it

Since the society went from a subsistence economy (I grow my own food, make my own clothes and don’t need anyone else to help me) to a commercial economy (I’ll grow some food to sell it to you, if you want to make some clothes to sell me) we’ve been challenged to market our products and services to others (Uh-oh, now that there are two people making clothes in my town, I better tell people why they should buy mine). And since that first sales pitch there has been criticism of marketing; like deceptive practices, high prices, unsafe products and high pressure sales, to name a few.

But many critics go further and claim that marketing has created false desires, promoted materialism, produced cultural contamination, and allowed big business to gain significant political power. And there is an element of truth in all these statements. Companies that have not performed ethically have had a damaging effect on society that ethical companies must now operate.

And the good?

But it is hard to deny the positive aspects that marketing has also brought to society. The wealth of technology at our fingertips today is directly related to the sales of these items and the continually falling prices caused by the promotion of computers, cell phones, GPS navigation systems, digital cameras, MP3 players, etc. Dozens and dozens of these types of products are common today, but they seemed like luxuries to the wealthy only a few years ago. In fact, most of the people living below the poverty line in the U.S. live better than royalty 200 years ago, with cars, heating and air conditioning, microwave ovens, cell phones, televisions, and more. amenities that are now considered necessities.

More importantly, most medium and large businesses now have significant giving and charitable services programs that donate large sums of money and time to organizations in need that make a difference in the lives of millions of people each year. Whether companies do this with a pure heart or with a need for positive publicity, the result is the same, and many of society’s most needy do better.

Doing the right thing

As the public becomes more informed and educated, they hold businesses to a higher standard than before. Worker abuses that were common a century ago are not tolerated in today’s society. Now, business ethics policies drive decisions in the boardroom and marketing department so that the end user (which is us) benefits in many ways. Doing the right thing is good policy because people want to do business with someone they trust and respect. And companies that are exposed as cheats, liars, or abusive are generally shunned in the marketplace (Enron, anyone?).

The bottom line is that, although there is a negative impact of marketing on society, there is a positive impact to balance it; And it’s our job as a society to reward the good guys with our purchases and to punish unethical companies by neglecting them in the marketplace. As we continue to do this over and over again, we make large companies aware that they will make money only if they adhere to their ethics policies and consistently do the right thing. In this way, we can make a difference in the marketing tactics used to influence our decisions. And that’s a positive thing that we, as a society, can live with.

You have an amazing game in mind, a group of anxious children, and a chosen place to play. What could go wrong? Hopefully nothing … however, to ensure your success in running youth group games, here are my top 10 tips.

Shoot everyone!

It is imperative that you come with a lot of energy! Before facing the kids, take a deep breath, jump up and down, and get excited! If you are flat, children will be too.

Next, turn the kids on! Get them excited. Your energy will ignite those around you. You can do this by asking choral questions, “Who is ready for an amazing game of …?” “Blue Team, are you ready? Red Team, are you ready?” Have them repeat their answers until their energy level matches yours. Maybe they can make up their own team names and team chants.

Love the game

You must believe in the game yourself. Any hint that you are not one hundred percent sure this is a great game, the kids will understand. So get to know the game well, making sure it is perfectly suited to the group of youth you are working with. Read the rules, watch a video of other children playing, and ask questions of other teachers or youth leaders who have led the game before. Keep it simple, especially if this is your first time playing youth group games for kids.

Preparation is king

You can never be too prepared. Once you have studied the rules of the game, write the rules on a card in the palm of your hand to keep with you when you instruct the children. Select a suitable place to play. If you are outdoors, consider the weather, safety, and limits for children. Make sure you have the equipment you need to play with and set up everything you can before the kids arrive to play. Think about where the children will be when giving directions. For example, don’t make them squint in the sun and make sure their eyes are not directed toward distractions.

Consider drink stops and catering for children with special needs. Consider how you will shoot the children and how you will deliver the rules of the game. Identify the limits of the game and have a plan to manage the behaviors. Will you use a whistle to get children’s attention or will you use another signal?

Keep the goal in mind

Before starting with all the rules of the game, make sure the children know the aim or aim of the game. If you have the goal in mind, you will understand the rules better. If you have the goal in mind, it will be easier for you to explain the rules of the game.

Tips for complying with the rules of the game

Make sure children are seated and focused on you. They should not chat or look around for distractions. Make sure all the children who are going to play are present. You don’t want latecomers to be halfway through your instructions.

Children have short attention spans, so be precise with your rules and keep them simple. Tell the children that they can ask questions after you have given them your directions.

Once the rules have been given, I like to have the players review them. Do this by asking them to find a friend and repeat the rules.

If necessary, do a short demonstration of the game, or an aspect of the game, with children who know you (you may need to prepare for this in advance with selected players or helpers).

Always allow children to ask questions to further clarify their understanding.

Shared ownership

Players will be more motivated if they are invited to suggest improvements to the game. This works fine once you’ve played a round of the game. What I do is bring everyone together and then invite the players to suggest an improvement in the group game. A raising of the hand will indicate if the idea is accepted by all. Tell everyone that we will test this idea and if it works well, keep it in the game. This gives everyone ownership. Great ideas are always suggested that you never would have thought of.

Stop the game before it crashes

Now that all the kids are having a great time playing the youth group game you presented, it’s time to end the game before the kids get tired. By finishing on a high note, the kids will be eager to come back and play it again another day.

Never spank a dead horse. If your youth group game is not going to plan, or if you see the children lose interest, finish it and take a break, then play the next game you have prepared.

Create the experience

Weave a story or theme into your group game. Maybe it has characters, accessories, or even a special costume. This improves the experience for your players. Games like Narnia, Star Wars and Treasure weave a story with characters for which different players can be chosen.

No spectators

Get the spectators involved in the game. These can be siblings or parents. Put them on a team or have them referee the game. Make sure you are playing too. The children will be excited that you are enjoying the experience with them.

Pit stops

Lastly, make sure there are regular breaks between games or during longer games. This allows children to catch their breath and rehydrate. Make sure breaks are short. You don’t want the kids to turn off. With team games, give players time to have brief team meetings to strategize.

There you have it, my top tips for organizing youth group games for kids, accumulated over many years working as a school teacher specializing in games.

Epic fun for everyone!

Recently, while we were waiting for lunch to be served at a nearby restaurant, my husband Michael and I were discussing our son’s next science fair project. Michael was outlining the steps my son would take to complete homework. As Michael went through this elaborate process, I tried diligently to follow what he was saying, but sat there without having a clue. As I struggled to better understand what he was talking about, my normally personable husband began to show various signs of irritation. His unspoken message was “what’s wrong with you, why don’t you understand me?” He then proceeded to draw his plan on a napkin in an effort to get his brilliant idea into my thick head. It worked. When Michael started showing me what he was describing, I could easily understand his ideas.

People often have problems when they communicate with each other. The communication process is very complex and there are many opportunities for breakdowns. As a result, people can become frustrated, instructions are not carried out correctly, people become offended, and conflicts can arise. You can minimize these problems and increase the chances that others will understand you by following these simple steps:

• Take responsibility for communication: When we communicate with others, it is very tempting to blame them for not understanding us. Surely we, with our exceptional public speaking skills, cannot be blamed. The problem with this attitude is that it does not achieve our result of getting the other person to understand what we are trying to say. When we take responsibility for conveying a message to others, we free ourselves to do whatever it takes to achieve that result.
• Check Non-Verbal Feedback: When talking to someone, don’t assume that you are expressing yourself clearly to the other person. Check non-verbal feedback. People give us many clues as to whether they understand us or not. Do they look confused? Are they unusually calm? When asked if they have any questions, do they answer with a hesitant no? These are all subtle signs that the person is unsure of what they just said. Keep communicating until you see signs that your message has arrived.
• Be flexible: When you communicate with others, the one with the most flexibility wins. If you talk to someone and you can tell by non-verbal cues that they have no idea what you are talking about, change the way you are communicating. That’s what my husband did. When he realized that he did not understand her words, he began to draw pictures. Keep changing your communication style until you find one that works for that particular person.
• Recognize that people understand information in different ways – people don’t understand things in the same way. Some people understand things better when they see them, others when they hear them, and others when they see or feel something about them. Several years ago, a life insurance salesperson came to meet with Tammi, one of my employees, to discuss insurance needs. He began to describe different insurance options and as he did so, Tammi’s eyes began to glaze over. I realized that I had no idea what the seller was saying. (Obviously, he wasn’t very good with non-verbal cues.) I told her that Tammi understands things better when they are written. He replied that he would write things down later in his presentation. (I guess flexibility wasn’t her strong point either.) When she finally started writing things down, it was as if a lightbulb had been lit in Tammi’s brain. His eyes cleared, he shook his head up and down at a key point, and it was obvious from his non-verbal comments that he was beginning to understand the salesperson presentation. Use non-verbal cues to determine if the person understands you. Otherwise, try to show him what you want to say or get him emotionally involved in what you are saying.
• Don’t Make People Wrong: When we communicate with others, we will most likely have to change strategies along the way. Don’t make people wrong because their communication style is different from yours (no, what’s wrong with your attitude). If you do, you will not only have to deal with communication problems, but also conflict and negative feelings. Instead, recognize that the uniqueness of each person adds color to the mosaic of life, and do whatever it takes to get your message across.

While communication problems cannot be completely eliminated, following these steps can minimize misunderstandings, reduce frustrations, and achieve better results. As for Michael, he has learned to draw pictures for me when we speak and now I understand him very well.

In 1980, when young Stacy Lattisaw sang the hit song “Let Me Be Your Angel,” she had no idea that the lyrics would be prophetic.

Fast forward to today, we have Stacy Lattisaw-Jackson, the minister and motivational speaker, executive director, wife of 19 years, and mother of two teenagers. Talking to Stacy was rewarding because she knows where she’s been, what she’s got, and where she’s going. Her purpose and passion were clear when she told me “I’m not the same girl”, which is the name of her book. “The closer I get to God, the more I know what his plan is for me.” Stacy is the executive director of Believer’s Building Bridges; his company published his book and is also home to his Youth Empowerment Program. Stacy is on a mission to reach children. Hold youth conferences and events, encouraging kids to finish school, convincing them that they don’t have to follow the crowd. She challenges them to stand up and be leaders. It also teaches about the principle of integrity and not being afraid to support abstinence. “There are not many role models for our children today, so I do my best to stay in the gap for many of them.” Her heart goes out to those who are being bullied “I had a hard time at school. As I was very light, they called me a white girl and a yellow girl. I was quiet, shy and somewhat shy, so people took it as stagnant until . “Unfortunately, after she became a child star, things took a turn for the worse. “You know that when you reach a certain level of success not everyone is happy for you. And many times the opposition comes from our own people.” Not only did she have to worry about the students, but now she had teachers join in: “I was 15 years old and adult women would look me up and down and talk about what I had.

“I’d turn in my test papers and they would tell me they couldn’t find it; anything that could harass me.” Finally, Stacy’s parents had enough and decided to homeschool her. She happened to be a star.

After her crossover, mainstream status with “Love on a Two Way Street”, “Miracles” and “Let Me be your Angel”, Stacy was taken under the wings of Narada Michael Walden producing five successful albums that led to her signing. with Motown in 1986.

It was at this point that Stacy began to see things that put her off. “I realized that I was deeply involved in an industry where there were a lot of corrupt people.” “My daughter Kayla wants to enter the industry, she sings and writes songs. But I will not pressure her, in fact, I encourage her to wait until she is a little older. I want her to enjoy her childhood and prepare for the life of the industry “. Stacy said, “I had a nice experience being a child star, but it’s a lot if you’re not ready.”

I understand a lot about what Michael Jackson went through when he was a child star. “I was fortunate to open up for the Jackson family tour, which was a great opportunity for me. In fact, I had the opportunity to speak with Michael, a moment that I will cherish as long as I live.” He reflected on the childhood he never had. “I didn’t know how much I missed growing up until one day I took my son Kevin to one of their games. I was sitting in the car watching them have fun as a teenager and my mind reminded me. school, or proms, and I never went to school games. I was crushed and I cried right there in the car. “

Traveling on the road can be a lot and when you are 15 years old it can be scary. There were sad moments when, “I was forced to leave my family and fly 20 hours to an event in Africa. I was tired and didn’t want to go. I sat down and cried because I was exhausted but still had to.” to go. “And then there were funny memories” like the time I was on stage, and I forgot the words of the second verse. I had to interpret it and make up words. “” Now this was one of my hit songs, so everyone in the audience was singing the right words and I was singing the wrong ones. “

“I guess everyone was saying what she sings,” while laughing. At this point, they had Stacy on the road at least 4 nights a week. “We had fun but we were very tired.”

It wasn’t until she recorded, “Where Do We Go From Here” with Johnny Gill that she realized she wasn’t ready to be in the music business. Although her mother was traveling with her on the road, they all had very limited knowledge of the industry. “They were stealing from us. This was a chart-topping hit record for several weeks at # 1, and they told us we only sold 30 or 40,000 records. We both knew that couldn’t be true. Johnny was going to have the company audited. But I knew it was time to leave the industry. I told them to go ahead and take my share of the money. “

Stacy finally left the industry after marrying a consistent sound engineer named Kevin Jackson, who was determined to be in her life forever. “My husband was my sound technician at the time, and our first date was at Pizza Hut,” he laughs. “He went out of business and we dated for 11 days straight. Six months later we got engaged, six months after that.” we were married. “She talks about their relationship,” divorcing us is not an option. There is no perfect marriage, and we have had our arguments, but we fear God and we are respectful to each other. The secret to a successful marriage is two forgiving people. “” Seventeen years later they have a thriving business and he is particularly supportive of their ministry. He is currently in the studio working on his Gospel Project and will announce the release of new music in the future. “This time I’m ready.” Stacy encourages everyone to “learn the business they want to be in, take advantage of their gifts and talents, find out what they are good at and don’t give up. Some people give up just before the break comes. Know who God is and you will know your purpose. “.

“Stacy, what do you want people to stop hearing about you?”

“I want them to know the real me. I didn’t get a chance to show that on some shows, like the article about ‘Unsung Hero’. And that’s one of the reasons I wrote my book. I want people to know that I didn’t. I am the same girl, I have renewed! “