5 Tips for Keeping Your Inbox Empty
Does your Inbox always seem to be overflowing with messages? Here are 5 tips for managing your Inbox to keep it empty.
1. DELETE any message after scanning the from and subject line that is not needed or obvious SPAM.
2. DELEGATE any message or task that requires delegation by forwarding the message to the appropriate person.
3. DEFER messages that are not immediately actionable.
5 Smart Tips For Mobile Devices
If you’re planning on heading out of town – or simply to the coffee shop to work – here are a few tips to keep in mind.
1. Protect your devices from thieves. All mobile devices should be passcode-protected and loaded with apps that will help you track and find them in case they get lost or stolen. For iPads and iPhones, there’s the free Find My iPhone. Android users can try Lookout Mobile Security. These apps allow you to remotely wipe the device in case they fall into the wrong hands; you definitely don’t want to expose yourself to identity theft or allow someone access to your company’s network and client data. Also, never leave your device anywhere you wouldn’t leave your wallet.
5 Steps To Moving From Your iPhone To An Android Phone
Android phones have come a long way in the last few years, and the Apple iPhone may have lost a bit of the pizazz that it had just a few years back as the new phone on the block.
If you’re thinking of making the jump from iPhone to Android, here are 5 critical areas of your phone you need to consider before you move:
Would You Rather Text Than Talk?
Essential Tips For Business Texting
You use your iPhone or Android for everything else. Your spouse even texts you to grab some milk at the store or to tell you they’ll be gone when you get home. It’s quick, easy and gets the job done. Why not in business too?
If you’re going to text for business purposes, follow these 7 texting tips to keep it professional:
What You Need To Know About The New Security Breach Notification Laws
It’s Monday morning and one of your employees notifies you that they lost their laptop at a Starbucks over the weekend, apologizing profusely. Aside from the cost and inconvenience of buying a new laptop, could you be on the hook for bigger costs, and should you notify all your clients? Maybe, depending on where you live and what type of data you had stored on that laptop.
Top 4 Threats Attacking Your Network
And What To Do About Them
#1 Overconfidence
User overconfidence in security products is the top threat to your network. Failure to “practice safe software” results in nuisance attacks like porn storms (unstoppable rapid fire pornographic pop-ups) and more subtle key loggers that steal passwords. Surveys promising free stuff, result in theft of information like your mother’s maiden name, high school, etc. used to answer common security questions leading to theft of otherwise secure data. Think before you click!
5 Steps to Protect Your Business from Cyber Crime
A Seattle company was recently broken into and a stash of old laptops was stolen. Just a typical everyday crime by typical everyday thieves. These laptops weren’t even being used by anyone in the company. The crime turned out to be anything but ordinary when those same thieves (cyber-criminals) used data from the laptops to obtain information and siphon money out of the company via fraudulent payroll transactions. On top of stealing money, they also managed to steal employee identities.
Apple Picking?
Apples are picked on crowded subways, in quiet parks, on busy street corners, in loud bars. Apples are picked while people are talking on the phone, the picker dashing past and doing the deed in midstride.
I’m not talking about Red Delicious apples. I’m referring to the Apple iPhone. Many major cities have seen an increase in the crime rate because of the Apple iPhone. In New York City alone in 2012 there were 16,000 Apple “pickings”, or 14% of all crimes.
Tips For Handling, Storing, and Disposing Of Confidential Documents
In the past 10 years, over 10,000 new regulations have been placed on the books by local, state and federal agencies pertaining to the handling, storage, and disposal of confidential client, patient, and employee documents.
A few examples are:
• SEC Rule 17a-4 Electronic Storage of Broker Dealer Records Graham-Leach-Bliley Act
• Financial Services Modernization Act
• Sarbanes-Oxley Act
• DOD 5015.2 Department of Defense
• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
• Fair Labor Standards Act
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Act
• Payment Card Industry Data Security (PCI DSS)
Why Your Laptop Needs An “Instant Kill” Switch
It’s lunch time and you stop by your favorite café to check e-mail and grab a bite to eat. You settle in at a table when your pickup number is called. Returning to your table, you find your laptop and appetite—has disappeared!
Okay, maybe you’re not foolish enough to leave your laptop unattended in a public place, but one of your employees might think it’s okay to leave a laptop or PDA in their car, a hotel room, or in their gym bag and end up exposing your company’s data and network to thieves.
If it hasn’t happened to you or someone you know, according to the FBI, it will. Maybe you have a backup of the data, but now detailed information about you, your family, your business and your clients is in the hands of a criminal intent on stealing your money, identity or worse. There is a lot of software and hardware that protects your data from being stolen by online criminals, but how do you protect your data when someone steals your physical laptop or PDA?
Until now, your only recourse was to change the passwords to your network, financial websites, etc., watch your credit report and cross your fingers hoping for the best. But thanks to new security software, you can instantly erase all of the data on your laptop or PDA preventing thieves from accessing the data.
Here’s how it works: Special security software is installed on your laptop that checks for your “kill” command whenever it connects to the Internet. This happens even before Windows prompts for the user name and password. If it receives the “kill” message, the data on your computer is instantly destroyed. You may not get your laptop back, but you’ll prevent the thief from stealing the information it contains.
If you’re a business, check out Absolute Software’s Computrace and Novell’s ZENworks. Both should be installed and configured by your system administrator or a computer consultant. If you want to protect your home computer or personal laptop, use zTrace’s zControl. Although designed for the general public, it can be confusing to install and configure so seek the help of a professional.
In the PDA world, there’s remoteProtect from sCPsOFT for Windows CE, Windows Mobile and Pocket PC devices or Bluefish’s Central for the Palm Treo. If your PDA is stolen, you simply text a message to it that includes your password and the PDA is reset it to its blank factory default condition. What could be easier?
As with all theft and hacker deterrents, thieves can circumvent this software by downloading your data before connecting the device to the Internet. Surprisingly, the typical thief isn’t smart enough to know this. So, for absolute security, data encryption remains the most reliable form of protection. Encrypted data is unreadable to thieves unless they have your encryption key. There are pros and cons to both approaches, but it’s important for you to have SOME protection. For help in determining the best solution for you, give us a call: 985-871-0333.