MoRePas$WoRdsN@w

What if you have one password you just love to use, because it's easy to remember and fast to enter? Well, you're opening yourself up to a world of trouble. We're of course not suggesting that you live in fear of identity theft or abandon internet shopping sprees. Here are some sensible steps we recommend to keep your email addresses, and especially passwords, private.

Keep it "One per Customer," Please...

We know it's a pain in the neck having multiple passwords. But…it's truly important. Ideally, you should have a separate password for every site you log in to. If key you're thinking, "Yeah, right, what a pain," just think about how painful it would be if someone hacked into your favorite online shoe store, deciphered your password, and bought a dozen pumps or loafers of their own - just before withdrawing every cent from your bank account! Suddenly keeping track of multiple passwords feels less painful! We especially recommend that you use a unique password for important sites like those housing your finances. Never use the same password you use for those accounts on other, potentially less secure sites - like online shopping websites.

Be Supercalafragilistically Cry^pt&ic

What's the best way to create a safe password? Make it long and hard for hackers to guess. That means using a mix of upper and lower case letters, as well as including numbers and symbols. As for length, 20 characters are a pain to remember but not a bad idea to use. Some sites will tell you how strong or weak your password is as you create it. If you have a favorite password you want to use and wonder if it's strong enough to guard against hackers, check out this site which will let you know how tough yours is: www.howsecureismypassword.net .

Think Sybil - Have Multiple Personalities

Use disposable email addresses. This is a good idea for things like website logins and public commentary you may want to add to blogs, reviews, etc. You can use one email address for corresponding with those you trust (i.e. employers, coworkers, friends, family) and a more generic one you wouldn't mind losing should it ever become compromised. It's obvious but still worth stating: don't use private information like your age, name, or home town in any disposable email address you create.[Top]

IT's "Low Hanging Fruit": Pick it Now!

Quick Picks for Savings

You're so busy running your business that it can be hard to take the time to make some of the smaller changes that would actually make life easier, more productive and potentially less costly. Here are a few small but sweet things worth putting to work for your business, like moving some services "to the cloud" for efficiencies.

apple Get Microsoft's Software Assurance

Simply put it's the best and most cost effective way to keep your Microsoft products current and up to date. Buying and maintaining this assurance will save you from limping along with outdated software that's dragging down your productivity. Speaking of new releases, we've had good reports from those who've upgraded to Office 2010, which gives users more collaboration tools and online capabilities. Maybe this is a good time to evaluate whether the current version your business uses is still smelling like a rose?

Leverage Cloud Computing

It's new and cool and Jetson-like…isn't it? Surely it's all the buzz. But really, "cloud computing" is not as new as you might think. Professionally run data centers have been offering off-site, or "cloud" storage and application delivery, for years. "Cloud" delivered applications shift the burden of responsibility for availability and uptime to the professionals who are trained to do just this. Businesses leveraging cloud services are those who want to focus only on the business of their business - not on IT. CONNECT has been offering "Cloud" solutions from dedicated servers to published applications since 1999. Give us a call and we'll help you clear away the "clouds" from Cloud Computing and understand if this business model is for you.

Be More Secure

If you don't have an established set of security strategies in place for your business, it's probably only because you've been lucky: nothing has tested your security yet! But think about all the bad storms we've had, or all the increases in hacking we've seen, and it's easy to imagine why you shouldn't take that luck for granted. Upgrade your firewall, install business-grade antivirus software, and of course put a reliable, functioning backup system to use. You'll sleep better. And so will we, knowing your all-important data is tucked in safe.

Wrassle those SmartPhones with a Mobile Policy

Everyone is all sweet on the new Verizon iPhone now that it has finally arrived! Think of all the apps it can run….Its introduction makes it all the more important that you incorporate smartphone usage into your technology control policies. You can keep employees connected and productive everywhere, while still keeping your company IT security safeguarded. Write up and distribute an "acceptable use and security policy" for employees before anyone gets in over their heads with smartphone mania! [Top]

Cool Tips for Hotspot Connections

Safer Wireless Computing

wifi symbol If you use your laptop at coffee shops, hotels, airports or at other "wireless hotspots" (locations with free Internet, or even paid Internet services) you may be exposing your personal information without realizing it. There are several steps you can take to ensure that the data on your computer remains safe and secure.

1. Disable ad-hoc mode to prevent automatic connections to networks.

2. Make sure the firewall is turned on that's included with your anti-virus software, or your Windows Firewall is on. If you use a physical firewall at home or in the office, this will usually be disabled. You can disable the software firewall when connected at your secure locations.

3. Disable document and printer sharing when not at secure locations behind a firewall.

4. Password-protect your files - or better yet - invest in file or hard drive encryption if you frequent Internet hot spots.

5. Keep your anti-virus software up to date and use a full security suite including anti-spyware and intrusion detection/prevention software.

6. Don't visit web sites that may expose personal information. Save banking or bill paying until you are at home or at another secure location.

7. If you have a corporate VPN, use a wireless card that works through your cellular network. For corporate connections through public Internet connections, ask your IT group for assistance in setting up secure connections. 2_2011 news wifi

8. Be cautious of generic WiFi names like "Linksys" or "Belkin." A legitimate hotspot host will likely have a name that identifies the establishment and often times, a password as well. The establishment will confirm the correct access name as Internet "phishers" can easily implement similarly named networks in the hopes of capturing your personal information.

9. Never install software from a wireless hotspot. Software is not needed. If the hotspot prompts for a file installation, it may contain malware or spyware, or worst of all, a key logger. A key logger is a piece of software that records every keystroke made on a computer enabling a hacker to see everything you type on your computer - passwords, credit card or bank account numbers included. [Top]

Recycling Reminder

Be Green and Protect Data

Old computers and monitors cannot be thrown away. They contain hazardous materials that are harmful to the environment and there are serious fines for the improper disposal. Equally as bad: what about all that data and personal or corporate financial information on the hard drives?

We all have paper shredders (or should) for destroying paper based confidential information. But how do your "shred" a hard drive? CONNECT can handle all your IT disposal needs: servers, workstations, laptops, UPS's (battery backups), monitors and most importantly, we can handle the shredding of your hard drives. Call CONNECT for a quote to properly dispose of all your obsolete and unused technology devices - you'll be very surprised just how affordable it is to be GREEN (and legal) while protecting your most valuable asset: your data. [Top]

Go back to Newsletter Archive.