Social Media 

Ever wonder how YouTube works? Or how it can improve your business? The first step is creating an account on YouTube.com, next you will want to take a look around using the "browse" button. You can even use filters on the site to narrow down your categories of interest. Once you are more familiar with the type of videos that are currently gaining the most "views", you can go to your account and upload a video of your own. After uploading your video you can use the resources provided on YouTube to track the number of times it is viewed. It is also a great marketing approach to post the YouTube video on your website's homepage. This will guarantee immediate viewing by your clients and will hopefully branch out as your clients "tweet" about it or "like" it using their arsenal of social media sites. 

For more how-to's or in-depth YouTube questions, visit the website's "About" page by clicking on this link: 

Locked Out of Your Account... Again??

One of the most frequent calls we receive is regarding user account lockout. This happens when a user incorrectly enters their password 3 or more times. Users often make their passwords harder to remember than they need to. Complexity requirements for most networks require a password to contain at least three of the four character types and be at least 8 characters long. The four types of characters are UPPERCASE, lowercase, numbers (1, 2, 3...), and symbols (~, !, @, #, $...). This may look to a user that they need to use an overly complex password due to the requirements. Example: "@47!!lascoN".

One of my network professors told a story about his youngest daughter's password for a Disney website. He watched her type in the password and it was thirty-seven characters long. When he asked her why her password was so long she said that the site required the password to be at least six characters long. So she used: mickeyminniegoofyplutoaladinsnowwhite which was seven "characters" long.

Some of the easiest passwords to remember are often friends, family, birthdates, seasons. To make the password easy to remember but still complex consider making a sentence or phrase. Example: Ilikewinter. The passphrase in the example is twelve characters long and meets the complexity requirements by having uppercase and lowercase letters and a period for the symbol. Other examples could be: 1stQuarter2011, !!Iamexcited!!, 123SHIFT!@#.

One of the biggest problems when it comes to having a secure password is not so much the complexity but having a password that is too hard to remember. When a user has trouble remembering a password they will almost always write it down in an easily accessible location. Having an easily accessible password can lead to ID theft. Another problem with having hard to remember passwords is that often times a user will use that same password in multiple locations so that they remember it. The problem can then expand from having one exposed account to any other common account. An identity thief could easily setup a social networking site, smart phone app, or web-game that requires a simple username and password. The thief would then use those credentials on other common sites to attempt to gain access.

Having a long list in your mind of all of your passwords may seem like a daunting task. Try to make it easier on yourself by adding a few words to the password. If you have trouble remembering lots of very different passwords try to use the same password but add the name of the application, website, or game that is requiring the password. Example: Ilikewinter!YouTube.

There are a lot of different variations out there to make your password secure . Find one that works for you and make a scheme that you are able to change once every 90 days.

Article submitted by Ryan Wellman, Infrastructure Technician you can reach Ryan by calling 906-228-1033 or emailing him at rwellman@lascoinc.com

• Purchase recycled or environmentally-friendly office supplies/equipment/vehicles, etc. (recycled paper, pens made from recycled plastic, etc.)
• Purchase from "Green" companies (HP recycles all of their toners free)
• Only print when necessary - or print only the 1 page you need out of a document
• Utilize e-billing/e-statements both for your company's billing purposes as well as your payments to other companies
• Try using a Hallmark e-card account or Constant Contact to send your company Christmas cards
• Set computers to hibernate or sleep when inactive - do not use screensavers
• Turn off lights when rooms aren't in use
• Turn off all: Lights, Computers, Monitors, Printers, Copiers (Office Machines) at the end of every work day
• Change to energy-efficient lighting
• Place recycle bins in break room
• Teleconference or walk (when appropriate) instead of driving to a meeting
• Employees can carpool, walk or bike to work
• Program your heating to a cooler temperature when the office is not in use