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As a business owner,
I know you don't
have time to waste
on technical and
operational issues.
That's where we shine!
Call us, and put an
end to your IT
problems.
- Lauren Groff
Groff NetWorks, LLC
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How To Be Safe And Smart On Social Networking Sites
Did you know*...
- More than 90,000 registered sex offenders were removed from one popular social networking site... and those were only the ones who used their real names.
- According to the Al Qaeda Handbook, terrorists search social networking sites for "government personnel, officers, important personalities and all matters related to them (residence, workplace, times of leaving and returning, children and places visited)".
- Social networking sites have become a haven for identity thieves and con artists, and social networking viruses are on the rise.
Think about it: Facebook, Twitter and other social media web sites have become the world's largest database of personal information, all served up intentionally by the user. It's practically ever scammer's dream come true!
9 Smart Tips To Stay Safe
Protecting yourself requires some awareness of how cyber criminals use the system against you. Here are a few things you need to know:
1. Keep your firewall's security and anti-virus software up-to-date.
2. Never log in from public hotspots. Social networking sites generally do not have secure logins available (that's the https with the lock icon in the search bar). That means your username and password can be swiped at any time. Log in only from trusted wireless networks.
3. Use strong passwords that contain a mix of upper- and lower- case letters, symbols and numbers.
4. Remember the golden rule: If you wouldn't do it or say it on a public street, don't post it online.
5. Be wary of all links and files. Hackers often post links in comments to try and trick you into downloading an "update", "security patch" or "game".
6. Keep an eye on what your friends post about you. Many people have been fired or lost an important client because of online pictures and content.
7. Be careful who you "friend". Yeah it feels great to have hundreds (or thousands!) of friends, but the reality is, you really know only a fraction of those people.
8. Be wary of all add-ons. Many of the games and plug-ins are written by third-party companies not the social network itself.
9. Do a search on yourself. You might be surprised at just how much information comes up! If it's more than you feel comfortable with, restrict your profile online.
* Source: www.ioss.gov |
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Who Wants to Win a $15 Stewart's Gift Card? Take Our Monthly Trivia Challenge!
The Grand Prize Winner of last month's Trivia Challenge Quiz is (drum roll, please) Jeremiah Haley from Rensselaer Honda of Troy. He was the first person to correctly answer our question below:
In a 1980 April Fool's Day hoax, the BBC reported that the iconic Big Ben would undergo a drastic transformation. What was the transformation? a) Become a Swiss watch b) Double the size of the clock c) Go digital
The answer is "c": Go digital
Congratulations, Jeremiah!
He won a $15 Stewart's gift card.
Now, here's your chance to win a $15 Stewart's gift card!
This Month's Trivia:
What was put on sale for the first time in May of 1886? a) U.S. Savings Bond
b) Coca-Cola
c) Mother's Day Cards d) Hot DogsE-mail us right now with your answer!trivia@groffnetworks.com Please note: One prize per entrant per year. Entrants who have won a trivia contest in the last 12 months are ineligible to compete for prizes. |
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Shiny New Gadget of the Month
Camtasia Studio
With online video becoming a hot trend and an effective way of engaging visitors with your web site, you might be wondering how you can quickly and inexpensively create your own website videos. Or maybe you want to create a video tutorial to train employees how to perform a certain process or task without having to repeat the training over and over again. Or perhaps you want to create welcome videos and tutorials for new customers. All these are possible using Camtasia Studio.
Since the software comes in versions for Windows and Mac users, anyone can create professional-looking videos. The cost is $300; compared to hiring someone to do this for you, it's a steal. There is a bit of a learning curve, but TechSmith (the makers of Camtasia Studio) offer several web videos to assist you. TechSmith also offers a 30-day trial so you can see if you like it before you commit to buying. |
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What To Do When You Want The Advanced Features Of Microsoft Exchange But Don't Want The Costs
With the complexity, costs and problems associated with installing a mail server, many businesses are now opting for "Hosted Exchange" in the cloud rather than bringing the server in-house. What are "cloud"-based or "hosted" services? Think of them like a gym membership. Instead of purchasing your own home gym equipment, which can be expensive, require maintenance and take up a lot of space, you can pay a small monthly fee to go to the gym and use a multi-million-dollar facility that is kept and maintained by someone else.
Hosted Exchange works the same way. Instead of incurring the costs and hassle of building and maintaining your own mail server, you can pay a low monthly fee and get top-of-the-line services, storage and security for your e-mail. Plus, you get the following benefits:
- Being able to access your e-mail remotely from any device
- More uptime and fewer issues
- E-mail archiving (sorting of old e-mails)
- Spam filtering and anti-virus included
- 24/7/365 support
- Unlimited storage
- Easy synchronization with mobile devices
Want to find out how Hosted Exchange can save you a lot of money and solve your storage and archiving problems? Give us a call at: 518-320-8906 or e-mail us at: support@groffnetworks.com |
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Office Notes
We're six! To celebrate Groff NetWorks' six years of business, we look back on the beginnings and want to help others in the beginning stages of their businesses. Here we spotlight two new entrepreneurs:
Carol's Split-Second Cleaning. Founded by our friend, Carol Spratt is a single mom who is professional, courteous, and offers great rates to clean your home or office. Call her at 518-328-6868.
Co-Original Creations. Beverly Carrubba, 26, makes delicious confections from cheesecakes to stout cake (see picture, below). her philosophy is simple: substitute better ingredients whenever possible - which is always possible, she says - and cut down on the bad stuff like shortening and refined sugar.
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Client CornerXC Associates, Inc. in Stephentown is owned by Lynda Fiorini and Frank Burzesi. "With Groff NetWorks, it's not just the level of re-active services; it's pro-active service. I highly recommend working with them," Frank says. Lynda agrees: "Our [My NetWorks] plan with Groff NetWorks is priceless. What price tag can you put on peace of mind?"
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What Are QR Codes And How Can You Profit From Them In Your Business?
The last time you were flipping through your favorite magazine, you may have noticed a small, digital-looking image  on one or more of the advertisements. What is it? A "Quick Response" code or QR code for short.
A QR code is a specific matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code), readable by dedicated QR barcode readers and camera phones. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded can be text, URL or other data.
This concept was initially created by Toyota for tracking parts in vehicle manufacturing; however, QR codes have been largely adopted by advertisers that want to target mobile phone users (known as mobile tagging). QR codes can be used to display text to the user, to add a vCard contact to the user's device, to open a URL or to compose an e-mail or text message. Users can also generate and print their own QR codes for others to scan and use by visiting one of several free QR code-generating sites.
So how could you use this? Some companies are smartly using this technology to drive sales by allowing people flipping through a magazine or waiting at a bus stop to get more information on a product, connecting the dots to get people to buy much faster than these types of media originally offered. Others are putting QR codes on permanent coupons or on their business cards to allow would-be prospects an instant way to get more information about a business. You can get a free QR code by going to: http://qrcode.kaywa.com. |
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Lauren's Corner
Well, the big news is... we're expecting another Groffling! Erika is due 11/1/11. Grace wants a brother, and Satya wants a sister. Erika jokes that she want a girl, simply because it's hard to keep up with Liam - he eats so much!
In other family news, Grace recently performed the folk song, "Go Tell Aunt Rhody", for her violin recital. She also played several songs with groups of children, most of them older than her. She is really coming into her own as a violinist now. She turned six in April and has been taking lessons for a few years now. Here's a picture from the recital. Grace is in the foreground, lower right.
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