Top 10 Things to Know about Managing Passwords

10.

Aside from the security risks of poor password management, there are also many practical implications. The first, of course, is that you can’t function if you forget passwords. Some people get locked out of their own computers, or can’t install software because they can’t remember the password.

9.

To make matters worse, some banks now issue keychain-sized code generators that issue a new access number each time you press the button. On some business accounts, this new code must be entered in conjunction with an established user name and password. And it’s only going to get worse as ever more sites require users to pass security checks in order to enter.

8.

Password management software can make your life a little easier. These inexpensive programs, ranging from $15 to $30, will store and organize all of your user names and passwords. And some will automatically insert the information for you. Usually, such software will encrypt your information, requiring one “master password” to access all the others. So you only need to remember one. The software logs you in automatically, and can generate strong passwords for greater security. Some password programs will store and encrypt other sensitive information that often accompanies passwords, such as credit card and bank account numbers.

7.

There’s a movement underway at major internet firms to create a system that lets users consolidate their internet identity, eliminating the need to create separate IDs and logins at each website. It’s called OpenID, and Yahoo is one of the firms that’s supporting it. Yahoo’s OpenID service became available in public beta in 2008. Somewhat miraculously, the OpenID technology will allow you to use your Yahoo account to sign into hundreds of other websites, with the list growing daily. For details and to sign up, visit opened.yahoo.com.

6.

RoboForm ($29.95) memorizes your passwords and logs you into websites automatically. It can fill out registrations and checkout forms with one click; encrypts your passwords for maximum security and generates random, hack-proof passwords. It will also backup your passwords and synchronize passwords between different computers, such as your home, office, laptop and handheld devices. www.roboform.com.

5.

TurboPasswords ($29.95) protects your private information with a single master password and uses data encryption for extra security. Synchronize the software with your handheld or smartphone for easy access anywhere you go. www.chapura.com.

4.

Password Locker ($14.95 as download) lets you save, retrieve, print and manage passwords, and will automatically log you onto websites. www.ezpasswordmanager.com.

3.

Password Agent ($24.95) will store any textual information you need to keep track of and find quickly, from passwords and web logins, to credit card and passport and serial numbers. Create your own custom groups and subgroups to organize your entries. www.moonsoftware.com.

2.

Password Safe Pro ($29.95) bills itself as an easy-to-use password protection package with a feature others don’t have: an internal timer that terminates the program after three minutes of inactivity, for an added level of protection.  www.passwordsafepro.com.

1.

With any of these programs, you MUST be able to remember your master user name and password. The software is built to protect your information even from the engineers and programmers who design, develop and market the software.

21 Money-Saving IT Tips

1. Purchase & Support: If you plan to replace PCs, consider doing as many as possible in the same year. Computer sellers are much more flexible on prices right now, and you’ll be able to negotiate deeper discounts.
2. Look for bundles of hardware, software and support services that can save you substantial sums.
3. Energy Efficiency: New versions of Uninterrupible Power Supply (UPS) units are much more energy efficient than the old ones. Upgrading can cut energy use and save money.
4. Place in-house servers in a “cooling closet” or other enclosed area where they can be “spot cooled” rather than relying on general office air conditioning to cool this hot-running equipment.
5. Systems Management: Have your IT vendor pre-configure and asset-tag products before they are delivered. Use free tools such as Microsoft’s Software Update Services (SUS) patch management to keep systems up to date.
6. Security: Use a Unified Threat Management (UTM) appliance instead of purchasing a bunch of separate security solutions such as firewalls, antivirus software, email filters and others.
7. Desktop PCs & Notebooks: Use desktops, rather than notebooks, for office-based employees. They’ll deliver more power and value for your IT dollar. Plus, at today’s prices, you canprobably buy three desktop PCs for what it would cost to purchase two laptops.
8. In speed vs. RAM debate, RAM usually wins. Sacrificing some CPU speed while adding RAM can increase the value.
9. Consider low-cost smartphones and portable digital assistants (PDAs) for people who don’t need all the power of a notebook.
10. Monitors: Replace old CRT monitors with LCD models that use way less power (as much as 60%), and generate less heat.
11. Buy the largest LCD monitor you can. Studies show that more screen space translates into greater productivity.
12. Got multi-taskers? Consider getting them dual monitors to save time closing and reopening applications or switching between windows.
13. Always set power-management and screesaver features so your PCs and monitors power down when not used for a specified amount of time.
14. Software: Many small businesses waste money buying software for separate PCs when lower-cost liicenses are available for as few as 5 desktops.
15. Consider using more “open source” software to cut costs.
16. Networking: Stringing cables is expensive; and they get in the way. Instead, equip your business with a wireless network.
17. Install anti-spam email software to save everyone the time and trouble of having to delete unwanted emails.
18. Phone Systems: Switch to Voice over Internet Protocal (VoIP) save 40% on domestic calls; maybe 90% international.
19. Use audio, video and web conferencing as an alternative to expensive travel. When appropriate, use Skype for conference calling, especially for international calls.
20. Data Storage: Instead of file servers, use low-power, lower-cost Networked Attached Storage (NAS) appliances.
21. If you have lots of files, consider using de-duplication software to reduce space demands.

Fixing Pooped-Out PCs takes Priority for Small Business

02/05/2009

With budgets busted, small businesses are keeping computers longer, making PC tuneups more critical than ever. According to OnForce, a giant network of IT service pros, service calls to fix pooped-out PCs have skyrocketed 65% over 12 months as more companies opt to fix rather than buy. And OnForce projects a continuation of that trend.
Don’t wait until your PCs break or get clogged with digital goop — that’s both dangerous and expensive for your business.  WhatWorks:  Run PC tune-up software to clean out clutter, fix faulty settings and speed up systems.  To do that, go with the leader. System Mechanic 8.5, from Iolo, is the best selling PC tune-up software and has garnered great reviews from computer magazines and websites. It can boost your PC speed and help eliminate slowdowns, crashes and freezes.  Right now, What Works readers can get 50% off the regular $49.99 cost of System Mechanic with a special PC cleanout offer.  (If you order elsewhere, enter “CLEANOUT” as the discount code at checkout.)  The software is valid for three PCs. And while most features work forever, you can also sign up for yearly updates.
Here are five top System Mechanic PC cleanup tips:
1. Delete old or duplicate files, emails, email addresses, bookmarks and favorites. With System Mechanic’s “Remove Junk Files”, “Remove Internet Debris” or “Find Duplicate Files” tools, you can recover a lot of lost space .
2. Defragment your hard drive. This will speed up your access to files, again saving you time. A “Defragment Hard Drive” tool also defragments Windows system files, with further speed improvements.
3. Uninstall programs you no longer need or use. To make sure they are completely uninstalled and do not leave any residual clutter, use System Mechanic’s “Remove Installed Programs” to uninstall even the most stubborn components.
4. Once you’ve uninstalled unused programs, be sure to clean out your registry as well. Invalid or out-of-date registry settings can slow down your PC boot time. Use “Repair Registry Problems” and “Defragment and Compact Registry” featurs to lower your boot time.
5. You can improve start time further by removing unnecessary startup items. Many programs lodge themselves in startup without you knowing it. Remove them using System Mechanic’s “Optimize Windows Startup” tool.

Demand Drives Dell to Deepen Discount Deal

There’s something about 0% financing and one-dollar lease buyouts that small business owners seem to like. Dell recently offered just that on its EqualLogic storage devices. And strong demand has spurred Dell to expand the offer to include some of its Latitude laptops (E5500, E6400 and E6500) and PowerEdge 1950 and 2950 servers for tech totaling $25,000 or more. The deal is basically this: Lease for 36 months at 0% financing, and buy the equipment for $1 when the lease ends.

Dell is offering 0% lease financing on the Latitude E6500 laptop

Brightclaim, an Atlanta-based biz that provides claims services to insurance companies, needed more computer storage, but wanted to conserve capital. It used the 0% deal to land the storage solutions it needed to keep growing.
The 0%, 1 buck-buyout deal can be a good choice for small and mid-size businesses looking to “refresh” their tech to improve performance and lower maintenance costs.  The 36-month lease terms make for low monthly payments, and Dell will also do quarterly billing, rather than monthly, so you’ll have less paperwork.
And btw, if your biz needs a credit line, Dell Business Credit might oblige, with rates around 10% for qualified businesses.

New Screen Recording Service is a Game-Changer

Here’s a new “screen casting” service I already love, and I’ve only had a brief test drive. It could change how you think about presentations. On the What Works for Business usefulness scale, it’s a winner.
It’s called GoView and it’s a super-cool new all-in-one screen recording, editing and sharing service just launched by the same innovative folks at Citrix Online who brought us the popular GoToMeeting, GoToMyPC and other services. GoView’s simplicity is stunning, surpassed only by its versatility and potential as a tool for business owners and entrepreneurs.  And (for now at least) it’s free.
GoView will record whatever is happening on your PC screen, along with sound (you talking, for example).  Show files, maps, images, product specs — you name it.  Pause or stop recording at will. You can edit the recording with incredibly easy-to-use click-and-drag editing and formatting tools that also let you insert titles and a variety of formatting. GoView’s simple sophistication makes it a pleasure to use…and this is just the beta version.
Your recording is given its very own URL and stored at the GoView site. To share it, just give out the URL. You can password protect it if you want, although GoView does not publish the material or URLs, and does not offer a way to search for content created by others. Recordings are saved until you delete them. You can also download them if you like for viewing on a VLC Media Player or Apple’s Quicktime Player.
The business possibilities for sales, marketing, how-to tutorials, training and other purposes are mind-boggling.  When it comes to content sharing and on-the-fly presentations, this is next generation stuff that you can access anywhere.

Avoid Awkward Phone Calls with Slydial Voicemail

Ever called someone’s cell but hoped you’d get voicemail…got finger cramps tapping out a terribly long text message…or disturbed a client or prospect too early in a different time zone? Slydial is a hot new service that entrepreneurs and small business owners are using to avoid sticky phone situations like these and go directly to someone’s mobile voicemail without them knowing.
The Slydial service connects you directly to  the voicemail of any U.S. mobile user, regardless of their carrier or location.  And it works from any phone, land line or mobile (but it doesn’t connect to land line voicemail).  It’s free if you don’t mind listening to a brief (but annoying) ad each time you use it.  Or buy the service for $29.95 per year and skip the advertising aggravation.
But Slydial isn’t foolproof. When I tried it, the system said it was unable to connect me to voicemail.  But moments later I received a return call from the person I was trying to leave a message for, saying his phone rang once and my number showed up. So be aware this might happen.
Here’s how it works, plus some user tips and “Slydial Situations” where you might find it handy for your business: 
In most cases the person you’re slydialing simply receives a new voicemail alert a minute or so after you leave a message. However, with some mobile phones, the recipient may hear a brief “half ring” before it goes to voicemail. And with some mobile carriers, you may hear a ring while you are waiting to be connected to the recipient’s voicemail. Slydial says this is not the recipient’s phone ringing. Rather it’s the mobile carrier playing a ring tone while it tries to locate the recipient.
No signup is required to use Slydial Just dial 267-SLY-DIAL (267-759-3425) and you are ready to go. However, you need the MYslydial paid service to get advanced features including Slydial Apps for iPhone, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile smart phones, as well as fast connection to voicemail with no ads.  Voices are limited to 90 seconds with the free service; but there’s no time limit if you pay.
You can download the Sydial application of your choice on your smart phone by visiting the Sydial applications page.
Slydial business scenarios:

1. Your business partner is on vacation. You need to give her an update on what is going on in the office but you don’t want to disrupt her R&R. Too much info to text? Instead leave a voicemail with all she needs to know.
2. You are working on a dozen different projects and have as many calls to return. Instead of being stuck on the phone with just one, leave each a voicemail with an update.
3. You need to call a client but he’s a notorious talker and you don’t want to spend an hour on the phone because you have an entire business to run.
4. Your client or colleague is in a different time zone and you need to leave a message but don’t want to bother them too early, or too late by having the phone ring. Now you can just leave a voicemail
5. You have several meetings scheduled for the afternoon. You want to call to confirm but you don’t want to disturb them or give them the opportunity to reschedule. Being able to just leave them a voicemail is not only polite, but advantageous.
6. You just gave an awesome pitch to a potential client. You want to call him and thank him for the opportunity, but you know he is in another meeting and don’t want to disturb him. Leave him a voicemail and this personal touch may just tip the scales in your favor.

Quick and Easy Support for Windows 7 Migration

The new Microsoft Windows 7 operating system will be out shortly and many small and home-based businesses are already planning to switch from older systems as a way to breathe new life into their systems without having to buy new hardware.
But most business owners find the prospect of migrating to a new operating system daunting. If you are considering an upgrade to Windows 7, but want to avoid turning a migration into a migraine, the PC techies at Support.com have a new hand-holding service that might help.

Support.com’s Windows 7 Online Migration Service offers real-time, one-on-one tech guidance for people who need help switching from Windows XP or Vista.  Experienced tech gurus will use remote connections to help you make the transition without having to copy all of your data to another computer during the process. The cost is $49 if purchased with one of the Support.com monthly subscription plans (starting at $20/month), or $149 separately.
Support.com also offers a variety of premium support for small business that let you speak to a live agent and get immediate help with your computer problems. Services are delivered over the Internet while you watch the agent do the work for you. No need to bring your computer in to a store or wait for a technician to show up.