Local business owner Andy Kemp, Barking Mad, Tunbridge Wells, scooped the prize for Best Newcomer at the event for his outstanding financial achievement and business growth. Andy has been a franchise business owner for just over a year.

Lee Dancy, Founder and Managing Director, Barking Mad Ltd says:

“Andy joined Barking Mad with the idea that it would be a really nice way to make a living, little did he know his enthusiasm and focus for running the business would lead to exceptional financial success. Andy has increased his turnover far beyond expectation and his business continues to grow by referral with help from his partner Wayne and an equally enthusiastic team. His recent move to bigger business premises will allow him to continue his expansion and we look forward to supporting him over the coming months. ”

If you would like your dog looked after by one of Barking Mads’ loving and local host families or you fancy becoming a host family yourself for Barking Mad please don’t hesitate to contact one of his team on 01622 817518, or alternatively email andy.kemp@barkingmad.uk.com

Barking Mad – because your dog deserves a holiday too!
www.barkingmad.uk.com

If you would like to discuss my thoughts on the rental or sales, feel free to pop into our offices on Vale Road or email me on david.rogers@martinco.com

Immortalised by the chronicler Froissart as the most beautiful woman in England and the most loved, Joan was the wife of the Black Prince and the mother of Richard II, the first Princess of Wales and the only woman ever to be Princess of Aquitaine. The contemporary consensus was that she admirably fulfilled their expectations for a royal consort and king’s mother. Who was this ‘perfect princess’?

In this first major biography, Joan’s background and career are examined to reveal a remarkable story. Brought up at court following her father’s shocking execution, Joan defied convention by marrying secretly aged just twelve, and refused to deny her first love despite coercion, imprisonment and a forced bigamous marriage. Wooed by the Black Prince when she was widowed, theirs was a love match, yet the questionable legality of their marriage threatened their son’s succession to the throne.

Intelligent and independent, Joan constructed her role as Princess of Wales. Deliberately self-effacing, she created and managed her reputation, using her considerable intercessory skills to protect and support Richard. A loyal wife and devoted mother, Joan was much more than just a famous beauty.

The book is available at Waterstones Tunbridge Wells

THE AUTHOR
Penny Lawne has studied History at Sheffield, the Open University and Royal Holloway. She qualified as a solicitor in 1983, working in private practice, teaching and tutoring until retirement in 2002. She gained her doctorate in History in 2007. She is married with two sons and lives in Tunbridge Wells in Kent.

Phishing attacks have fallen off markedly in the last couple of years, for several reasons. Firstly, internet security for bank accounts has greatly improved; most banks now offer a security device that generates a unique number every time you log on. Without the device it is virtually impossible to access the account. At the same time, large scale financial criminals have found it easier to steal financial data from overseas call centres. There is now a virtual market in stolen financial information. Internet users have also become much more savvy when it comes to unsolicited emails; there are very few people naïve enough to hand over their bank details in response to a badly worded email supposedly from Nat West Bank these days. Finally, spam filters are certainly not perfect, but they are a lot more effective than they used to be. Only a small proportion of the spam sent out makes it through to people’s inboxes.

Ever adaptable, the spammers have changed their line of attack. The aim of most malicious spam these days is not to sell dodgy meds or stocks, or even to con people into giving up sensitive financial data. Instead it is to lodge malicious spyware onto the recipient’s computer. This malware can perform a variety of unpleasant tasks but one of the most common is to take control of the computer so that it becomes part of a botnet. A botnet, short for robot network, is a network of computers that is controlled by a master server via the malware. The botnet can be used to launch Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks against the IT servers of large organisations. In such a situation, numerous computers connect to a server simultaneously and use up all the bandwidth, meaning legitimate users cannot access the system. DDoS attacks have been launched by national governments against intelligence or commercial targets, by hacker groups such as Anonymous to promote their own agendas and by cyber criminals as straightforward blackmail. This type of malware usually takes control of the host computer’s email server in order to recruit more computers for the botnet. The malware may also “spy” on the host computer and use keystroke logging software to extract sensitive financial information.

To download the malware onto their computer, the email recipient must usually click on a link within the email. As I said, internet users are a lot less naïve than they used to be and the spammers have had to be much more inventive in making the emails appear genuine. Nobody is going to be fooled by an email from a financial services organisation they don’t even have an account with anymore, so now the emails come from courier companies who couldn’t deliver a parcel, or from HMRC querying your last tax return, or from Companies House regarding a complaint lodged against your business… the list goes on. A recent example that has attracted widespread outrage purported to be from the NHS. It said that following a recent blood test, the count of white blood cells suggested a high risk of cancer in the recipient and that they should contact their GP via the attached form!! Spammers, they must be among the top ten most despicable groups of people on the planet.

Graham Iek