The Lowdown on Laptops

This is a great article, published by the Federal Trade Commission. Laptops have become a must-have for the road warrior, and so many times we've heard horror stories about these portable PCs being left in taxis, lost in airports, or stolen at conferences. Ms. Fair in her article lays out a few basic guidelines for securing your laptop information:

The Lowdown on Laptops: Data Security for the Road Warrior

by Lesley Fair

Scan the lobby at any office building and you’ll see them: Busy executives scrolling through messages on their PDAs, flipping through stacks of client files, and carrying on animated conversations with colleagues via cell phone. No one appreciates the convenience of today’s virtual office more than the globetrotting Road Warrior. But are you maintaining the same high standards for data security when you’re on the go? Here are some tips for reducing the risk of a glitch when you’re away from the office:

Protect your passwords.

Many companies have special passwords and access numbers for employees to use when they’re off-site. Avoid the temptation to jot them down on a scrap of paper you keep with your laptop. Don’t use shortcut keys to program passwords, access codes, or credit card numbers.

Lock it and stock it.

Before leaving on business travel, check your briefcase, PDA, and laptop for data that shouldn’t go on the road with you. Sensitive information is best left locked in a file cabinet or burned to a CD or flash drive stored securely in your office.

Keep things in sight pre-flight.

According to a company that insures personal computers, 10% of laptop thefts occur in airports. Keep your eye on your electronic devices when going through airport screening. Don’t put your cell phone, PDA, or computer on the conveyor belt until the person directly ahead of you has made it through the metal detector.

Too close for comfort.

A survey of business travelers found that a third of them ‘fessed up to sneaking a peek at an airplane seatmate’s computer screen. Defer work on confidential client files until you’re away from prying eyes. Or consider buying a filter for your laptop screen.

Mum’s the word.

Ever taken a look at the documents some travelers leave on the computer at the hotel business center? And just think of the sensitive information blurted out during loud cell phone conversations. Remind your employees to keep their guard up in public. You never know who might be listening.

Tutor the telecommuter.

Information on home computers can be just as vulnerable to compromise. Require up-to-date firewall, anti-virus, and anti-spyware protection and the latest security patches on home computers used even occasionally for business. Establish company policies about off-site access to sensitive data.

Wipe the slate clean.

Business travelers often are the first in line for the latest electronic device, but need to take care before disposing of the old one. When getting rid of computers, cell phones, or PDAs, deleting files using keyboard commands may not be sufficient because data can remain on a device’s memory. Check with your IT staff to see if there is a “wipe” utility program that can overwrite the memory so data is no longer recoverable.

Lesley Fair is an attorney in the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection who specializes in business compliance.

Six Risks of Employee Internet Use

If you own a business today, there is absolutely no way that you can underestimate the potential damage that employee internet usage can bring to your company. The internet, while being a great fount of knowledge and learning, is also a haven for inappropriate behavior and system attacks. Furthermore, it also poses a liability for any company that does not manage internet use by employees. Here are six basic types of internet-based threats and the risks associated with each:

1. Inappropriate Surfing: While there is much subjectivity inherent in determining what is or isn't offensive, many companies are restricting internet usage to "business purpose" only, simply to limit the liability of the company. Many companies publish "Authorized Usage Policies" in order to formally document accepted usage, however, many companies struggle with policy enforcement. Furthermore, with the huge onset of file-sharing and Peer-to-Peer websites, companies have also been faced with the issue of copyrighted content being downloaded to the business network.

2. Spyware: Spyware, by definition, is a very specific subset of Malicious Software that is coded to monitor and report on activity on an infected system. Spyware comes in a variety of forms. One type, known as "Key Loggers", are used to steal personal or proprietary information by monitoring user key strokes and uploading, via a background process, such items as passwords and/or credit card numbers. Other types, such as Adware, are used to monitor surfing habits in order to better market other similar websites via "pop-up" advertisements. These infections may not necessarily compromise data, but can slow down a network tremendously and reduce worker productivity.

3. Instant Messaging: Also known as "IM" or "IRC", this potentially useful tool is quite detrimental when used for personal reasons. Employees with unsupervised instant-messaging tools can spend large amounts of times conversing with friends and family during business hours, taking away their ability to be productive. Additionally, the protocols that server Internet-based IM can be a vector for attacks known as "Zombie Attacks". Zombie Attacks infect multiple computers using the IM service, causing them to send Denial of Service attacks to a specific site. If a business is identified to be the source of one of the Zombie Attacks, you can be liable for the loss of service for the site being attacked.

4. Phishing: A relatively new problem, phishing attacks are designed to drive unsuspecting email users to fake websites for the purpose of retrieving personal information. Mimicking such websites as Amazon and Ebay, these attacks convincingly request personal information from users, including user names, passwords, and credit card information.

5. Malware: Short for Malicious Software, this describes any piece of software designed to damage a computer system, delete data, or interrupt the normal processing of an internal computer. There are many classifications, including viruses, worms, and trojans. All of these can be inadvertently downloaded onto a computer by clicking on a link on a website. Malware can also be automatically installed should sufficient security measures be not in place. Once infected, many of these softwares are designed to replicate, meaning they are extremely difficult to get rid of.

6. Peer to Peer Applications: Once again referring to copyrighted data, peer-to-peer sites such as Kazaa or Limewire promote illegal distribution of music or video via a series of meshed networks. This causes significant liability problems for both the company and the individual responsible for the downloads. Furthermore, many P2P applications are configured to share a computer's hard drive, leaving sensitive information open to download by other users of the same P2P network.

Jackson Thornton Technologies has worked with several businesses to establish Authorized Usage Policies while also helping to configure solutions that help monitor and enforce internet usage.

Did You Know #2?

Did you know that Orange County Choppers is a Microsoft Dynamics GP user? Watch the great video below to see how OCC is taking advantage of the complete Microsoft stack, including Microsoft Small Business Server 2003 and Microsoft SQL Server 2005:

Message Archiving

Ask any IT expert and they'll tell you - tradition store-and-ignore systems are not valuable archiving solutions. When e-mails need to be retrieved via E-Discovery, these systems are extremely ineffective (not to mention costly) because they lack content-based search and restore functions.

The ability to safely recover massive volumes of messages, both from a legal as well as a business perspective, is critical. Jackson Thornton Technologies has recently started offering message archiving solutions to our clients to assist them in meeting industry mandates with regards to email archiving.

If you are affiliated with a business that is governed by such mandates as HIPAA or Sarbanes-Oxley, it is imperative that e-mail archiving go beyond traditional backup. Recently, studies have shown that up to 70% of business-critical information may be in an organization's corporate messaging system. If you'd like to learn more about message archiving and the possible risk you're taking without an archiving solution, please contact us today at 334-261-6475.

Retailers - Great Promotion on QuickBooks POS

Intuit announced a great promotion to help retailers who need a new point-of-sale solution but who need assistance with cash flow until after the Holiday Season. Intuit has partnered with National Commercial Capital to offer two great leasing options:

• Purchase QuickBooks Point of Sale get no payments for 90 days when leased through National Commercial Capital.
• Purcahse QuickBooks Point of Sale and pay $90 per month for the first three months when leased through National Commercial Capital.

QuickBooks Point of Sale is a great tool for retailers, and it provides both transactional functionality and integration with QuickBooks financial software as well as the ability to process credit cards and gift cards. If you're interested in a demo of the QuickBooks Point of Sale application contact our office today 334-261-6475.

Overview - Cisco SBCS

Cisco Smart Business Communications System

View more presentations from pilihpk.

Did You Know #1

Did you know that Jackson Thornton Technologies offers offsite backup to businesses who want to have a strong disaster recovery plan? Even better, did you know that the information is stored in our own secure data center located in central Alabama? This gives us (and our clients) peace of mind that their information is secure and accessible in the event of a natural disaster or other risk to business continuity.

Merchant Services - Intuit Software

Intuit Software has started to market their Merchant Services program very aggressively the past few months. For those who use QuickBooks for their accounting applications or point-of-sale solutions, I would encourage you to take a look and compare the Intuit program to what you are currently using. There are a few advantages to using this program, one of which is that it allows you to take and accept credit and debit cards within your QuickBooks application, without the need for an external terminal. Additionally, for retail operations, you can lease signature pads and pin pads directly from Intuit. You can even accept credit cards on your Mobile Phone via GoPayment.

Jackson Thornton Technologies can provide you with a free comparative quote to see if you could benefit from using Intuit Merchant Services. You can also visit http://payments.intuit.com/ for more information.

Great Times - MGMA Summer Conference

JTT just got back from the Summer MGMA Conference at the lovely Sandestin Beach Resort. As always, kudos to Lisa and her team for a great show. This is the 6th year for us at Sandestin, and we've come to look at this conference as a get together of good friends and a great way to catch up with our partners and clients.

Of course the hot topic this year was the HITECH Act and its effect on healthcare providers. We continued to hear differing opinions on what the government will define as "meaningful use" with regards to EMR, and it was clear that there is much anxiety from practice managers of clinics who are still waiting to purchase as well as those who were using a previously purchased system. JTT is continually working to advise clients on a constant basis, and with the help of Jackson Thornton Healthcare, we are preparing some great educational sessions which will help keep local medical providers informed and aware.

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server Materials Available

In case you missed our webinar on June 25th, we have the materials from the presentation available by request. Copies of the presentation can be obtained by calling us at 334-240-3648. We will also be happy to answer any questions you have about MOSS and how it can be used within your company.

WSFA Business Break

Incredible Promotion from Microsoft

Microsoft has announced an incredible set of promotions for the Dynamics GP application. Current MAS 90/MAS 200 users and current Oracle JDE users can receive 50% off the SLP of GP user licenses for migrating. Additionally, Microsoft will provide a rebate up to $25,000 to help offset the cost of the implemenation services. This promotion will run through December 23, 2009.

Great Dynamics GP Video

Topics for a Monday

Just a few items to share as we get this week started:

• Microsoft has posted on CustomerSource some great SmartList templates. If you're using Dynamics GP and have purchased SmartList Builder, this is a great way to get starting making your own SmartLists.
• Intuit just released a great, quick demo video online for their Field Service Management application, which works with QuickBooks Enterprise.
• Speaking of Intuit, if you haven't looked at their Point of Sale application, do yourself a favor and check it out. For small retail shops that are using QuickBooks, this can be a life saver for tracking sales, inventory, etc.
• Don't forget - our Microsoft Office SharePoint briefing is coming up on June 25th. If you haven't registered for our online session email us and we'll make sure you have the log-in information.

Technology - Friend or Foe?

One of the things I always look for when we meet a potential client is how they are utilizing their existing technology investments.  It always saddens me to see an organization that has obviously spent a significant amount of money, only to find that that the promised return on their investment never materialized.  Some examples that we see all the time:

• ERP user licenses going unused
• Software modules not activated
• Mobile devices cradled and never distributed

The truth is technology can be great, and when we see the latest and greatest we always see so much potential.  The reality is that its often a challenge to take technology and actually allow it to help with your business process.  The key is to perform your due diligence, understand what it is going to take to reach your goals, and educate your staff on what to expect during the implementation period.   With everybody on the same page and pointing in the same direction, your company can truly start to see technology as an asset to your company.

Extending the Reach

A few weeks ago Emily and I were able to attend a one day seminar in Atlanta, hosted by the Microsoft Dynamics GP team. The purpose of the seminar was to inform GP partners of the initiatives Microsoft will be taking over the next year to promote GP, and one of the key drivers they focused on was the idea that ERP must "extend the reach".

In the Microsoft context, the idea of "extending the reach" means utilizing ERP software, in this case Dynamics GP, in conjunction with other applications such as Microsoft Office and Microsoft Office Sharepoint Server, to push information out through an organization to those who need it. The fact is many companies don't utilize the software they've purchased - licenses go unused, modules lay dormant, and ROI is never achieved. Microsoft hopes that by promoting an "extended reach" that companies can engage all of its most valuable assets, i.e. employees, to better serve the company.

Here at Jackson Thornton Technologies, we also want to extend our reach, and we're hoping that by using social networking tools like this blog and our twitter account, that we can provide you with information that is helpful and useful to your business.

First Post

This is the first of hopefully many posts to the Jackson Thornton Technologies blog. Our goal and hope through this is to communicate to you some of the information that we see pass through our office on a daily basis. We welcome your comments and suggestions.