Archive for June, 2012


Two factor authentication and you

Posted on: June 28th, 2012

In recent months data breaches have again become a major issue to small business owners, and they’re finding it harder and harder to tell if their data is actually safe. Beyond that, there are so many different types of security out there, it’s difficult to pick a security measure that’s good for your company. One of the best ways to make your data more secure is through two factor authentication.

Two factor authentication is a method of accessing something through the use of two different “factors.” There are actually three different factors a user can use for authentication, but you only need to use two. The three factors are:

  1. Something the user knows. This is the most commonly used factor in all authentication, and can be something like a password or a PIN. This also includes the security question asked when you forget your password.
  2. Something the user has. This is the most common second factor of authentication and is typically a device or physical object the user has. Objects can include key fobs where you press a button to get a randomly generated code to enter, a credit/ATM card or an ID card.
  3. Something the user is. This is a less common form of authentication, especially for small businesses, as it relies on a physical attribute of the user like a fingerprint.
When a company uses two of these factors to authenticate users, they are using two factor authentication. Chances are high, you already use this with your bank or another organization.

Should small businesses implement two factor authentication? In a recent report published by Verizon Business, businesses with 11-100 employees were by far the most targeted groups with 57% of data breaches. Businesses with 101-1,000 employees were the next most targeted with slightly under 10% of data breaches. The report goes on to suggest that the main reason small businesses are being targeted is because of generally lax security.

Before you rush out and implement a two factor authentication system, you need to be aware that it will not prevent all attacks, two factor authentication can still be hacked. It just takes more time and effort than most hackers are willing to invest to hack into systems that use this form of security. Before you implement any new security measures be sure to talk with your IT support provider or an expert like us, we may have a solution that fits your business.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

BCP – an essential part of business

Posted on: June 27th, 2012

Most elevators/lifts in North America, Australia and the UK have a sign saying something along the lines of, “If there is a fire, don’t use the elevator/lift.” In Hong Kong, all elevators have signs that say, “When there is a fire, don’t use the lift.” The changing of one word, “if” to “when” presents a large difference of outlooks. In Hong Kong, people and businesses expect a disaster to happen. This is a viewpoint small business owners should adopt as well.

When a disaster strikes, 25% or more of small businesses affected will fail. Why do they fail? It’s not because of defects in the physical location, it’s mainly because they didn’t take the necessary steps to ensure that their business’s technology and related data is protected.

Because the modern business relies so heavily on technology, it’s essential that businesses have a business continuity plan (BCP) to minimize the loss of vital data, or in many cases, not lose any data at all. This is an important asset that will, one day, minimize losses felt due to any type of disaster. Small business owners know this, but many don’t know where to start. If you’re one of these owners, here are six tips on how you can prepare.

  1. Establish a backup regime. Data backup is one of the most important things you can do, be sure to regularly backup your corporate files, servers and user data files. A truly prepared company will have backups in a number of locations that can be easily accessed.
  2. Ensure solid communication platforms. One of the first things people do in a disaster is try to communicate with each other to ensure everything is ok. You can guarantee that some customers and employees will be calling to check in, so you need to have communication lines that work.
  3. Train employees. A BCP plan is useless if your employees don’t know their role in the implementation of the plan. It’s important that you train your employees on their roles, and that you communicate with them your expectations.
  4. Contingency plans. Like storing your data backups, you should set up contingency plans with the involved parties in your business. You should know where to go to do your banking, what your vendors’ or suppliers’ plans are and how they affect you, and most importantly: you should have a few locations where you can set up your business if the physical property is damaged.
  5. Review and practice all plans. Everything changes at one time or another, maybe an employee leaves or you adopt a new computer system. This makes it important to periodically practice your plans, review what worked and what didn’t, and update accordingly.
  6. Work with an expert. Planning for disaster is a tough thing to do well, considering all the elements to focus on and work with. To ensure a viable plan for your business, working with a recovery expert can help ensure that you get a plan that works for you while taking the stress off.
If you’re worried about your business’s disaster preparedness, please contact us. We can work with you to develop a solution, or provide you with the information and contacts to set you on the right path.
Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

Five reputation damaging tweets

Posted on: June 26th, 2012

It used to be that when a company spokesperson made a gaffe it was usually in person, and observed by a limited number of people. Now it seems that the majority of gaffes made have been on Twitter. These mistakes can spell disaster for any company, and can be even more deadly for small businesses, who may not recover.

Here are five types of tweets that can seriously damage your reputation.

  1. The making things up tweet. Beyond the obvious moral reasons, it’s never good for a business to tweet something that’s made up. Be it false sales, achievements or facts, you can guarantee that someone will know and call you on it which could create a PR nightmare. Always be sure that what you tweet is true and can be backed up.
  2. The denying allegations tweet. There’s a pretty high chance that users will take to Twitter when they have something negative to say about your company. When this happens, one of the worst things you could do is deny the allegations, even if you’re right. Doing so will only result in more negative tweets, all of which are very public. If you do get a negative tweet, the best thing to do is encourage the tweeter to contact you privately.
  3. The mad as heck tweet. Doing anything when you’re angry is never a good idea, especially when using a medium as public as Twitter. If your first reaction is to be angry at a tweet, it’s best to step back for a bit and think about what made you angry. If you’re still angry, get an employee or friend to read the tweet and talk about what actions you should take.
  4. The inflammatory tweet. It’s best to not tweet anything that could make your followers angry or upset. Remember your Twitter account represents another way for your customers to interact with you. If they’re upset about something, the chances of you getting their business again are slim. If you’re not sure if something is inflammatory or not, try asking your employees or a friend, or just don’t tweet it.
  5. The negativity tweet. Negativity in the workplace is something that could cause a business to go under quickly. The same goes for a negative tweet, it is a sure fire way to tarnish your reputation. As a rule, don’t publish anything negative.
Twitter, when used correctly, is an extremely useful communication tool for small businesses. When businesses mishandle their tweets, they could create publicity issues that could irreparably harm a business. If you would like some more tips on, or need help managing, your tweets, please contact us.
Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

Use your Android to read RSS

Posted on: June 20th, 2012

The Android OS is one of the two most popular operating systems used on mobile devices. As these devices are considered to be smart, they have many uses beyond simple calling and texting. One of the more popular uses for the devices is to read the news or catch up on blogs you follow. One way to do this is through the use of RSS Readers on your Android device.

You’ve probably seen a dark orange icon with a white dot and three semi circles around it on many websites before. This is an RSS icon, it tells the viewer that they can use a RSS Reader to view updates made to the website.

RSS, RSS Feed or RSS Reader? RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and is a Web format that’s used to deliver standardized content. The RSS format is typically used for content that’s updated frequently and includes blogs, news and videos.

An RSS Feed is the term that’s applied to documents that use the RSS format. Information typically includes partial or full text, author’s details, published location and date published. From the content producer’s side, it’s an easy way for them to publish their information, say an article, once and have it reach a wide number of users without subsequent re-publishing. For users, articles are all in the same format which makes it easier to read and view large amounts of info at once.

If you were to look at an RSS Feed of a website, all you’d see is a bunch of code. To make the RSS Feed useful, you need an RSS Reader, a piece of software that turns RSS Feeds into something you can read. The cool thing about RSS Readers is you can subscribe to a near limitless number of feeds. This means you can quickly read news and posts without having to visit separate sites. Reading RSS Feeds is simple on Android, and can be done with these apps:

  • Google Reader. Google Reader is a cross platform RSS Reader that allows you to quickly subscribe to RSS Feeds and read them on your phone. As this is a Google app, it’s integrated with your Google account, and many Android users probably have this app already installed. The best thing about this app is you can subscribe via the Web app, and access it on your phone. Free from the Google Play store.
  • Google Currents. While not a full-on RSS Reader, this app works in conjunction with Google Reader to present your RSS Feeds in a magazine style. Beyond that, there’s also a growing collection of popular blogs that you can sign up to. You can also sign up to other websites with RSS Feeds to read them in a magazine style. Free from the Google Play store.
  • RSSDemon. RSSDemon is a great RSS Reader as it comes preloaded with popular feeds. The best feature of this app is that it will notify you when a RSS Feed has been updated. If you have a Google Reader account, it can pull the feeds from there and will notify you when a new one is posted. Free from the Google Play store.
  • Flipboard. Billed as a social-network aggregator, Flipboard collects social media and website content and displays it in magazine format. Users “flip” through it like they would a magazine. The best thing about this app is that it comes with widgets that display new stories. It can also combine with Google Reader to provide another way to view RSS Feeds. It’s currently in Beta, but can be downloaded for free from here.
Which RSS Reader should you go with? We recommend using Google Reader as your base app, subscribe to all your feeds there and view them with Google Currents or Flipboard. To subscribe go to the Google Reader website, and click Subscribe. Enter the name of the website you want to subscribe to and select the website that comes up. You can also subscribe by entering the full url with a “/feed” after i.e., http://www.oursite.com/feed. This will work for all blog sites, including ours.

RSS Feeds and Readers are a great way for business owners to quickly catch up on topics they are interested in. If you’d like to learn more about how to use RSS Feeds on your Android, please contact us.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

Metro + Windows 8 = Big changes

Posted on: June 20th, 2012

Microsoft’s operating system, Windows, is arguably the most popular OS used by businesses. In recent months there’s been a large amount of press coverage in relation to the new version of Windows, Windows 8, which is scheduled to be released sometime in Q4 2012. Windows 8 will bring some sweeping changes with it, including a completely new interface called Metro.

Here’s an overview of Metro and what changes the new interface - the visual representation of the computer that allows you to interact with it - will bring. Please note that these changes reflect the release preview of Windows 8. These features will be in the retail version along with more features that have not yet been announced.

A tablet first interface When you first log in to Windows 8 you’ll notice that literally everything has changed, and yet it will seem instantly familiar to smartphone users. Gone are the old icons and folders, replaced by rectangular boxes, or tiles, which are similar to the icons on smartphones. In fact, these tiles are actually apps. If you have Microsoft Office installed, you will see a tile on the main screen with the Office logo. Click on it, and the “app” will start. These tiles are live, which means they will show new information i.e., the number of new emails will be shown in the email tile.

The biggest thing to note about Metro is that it was designed to be used on tablets, touch screens and PCs, thus making the overall interface touch friendly. If you’re not using a tablet or touch screen, you’ll be navigating the old fashioned way, by using a mouse or trackpad.

Navigation From the main screen of Metro, you’ll notice two things are missing. The first is the integral Start button, that you’d normally use to find and launch your programs, will be gone. In truth, it’s still there, just hidden. To access it you move your mouse to the bottom-left corner of your screen and it should pop up.

The second major thing missing is the traditional desktop every Windows OS user has gotten used to. Again, this isn’t actually gone, it's actually been turned into an app tile and will be found on the main Metro screen. Clicking on the tile will open a more traditional desktop that we’re used to.

Taking a page from Apple’s OS, moving your mouse to the corner of the screens represent a action. For example, moving to the top-left corner of the screen brings up a list of recently used apps that you can click on to open. The right corners of your screen allow you to launch features like Settings, Search and Devices - Microsoft now calls these “Charms.”

Will Windows 8 fit in with my business? While there are many other changes and new features that will be introduced when Windows 8 launches later this year, small businesses that do adopt Windows 8 will have a few hurdles to overcome. The biggest is the new OS is a large departure from other versions of Windows, and many employees don’t have the time to learn how to use a new OS, while also doing their work. This means that small business owners should work with their IT department, or provider, to provide training for their employees on how to use the new OS.

The second biggest hurdle is software compatibility. The current software you’re using may not work on Windows 8 when it’s first launched. While the vast majority of new versions of popular software is already compatible, older versions and less popular software aren’t compatible at this time.

If you’re thinking of migrating over to Windows 8 when it’s released but are unsure if the software you use will be compatible, you can visit Microsoft’s Windows 8 compatibility page. If you have any more questions regarding training for Windows 8, or implementing Windows 8 in your business, please contact us.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.