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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 Would You Like To Have This Corporate Embarassment On Your Record?
Back in April, the largest known e-mail security breach took place when Epsilon, an online marketing corporation, had their clients' lists of e-mail addresses stolen by sophisticated cyber thieves.
Epsilon was in charge of maintaining the e-mail databases and campaigns of some of the largest corporations in the country, including 1-800 Flowers, Best Buy, Walgreens, JPMorgan Chase, Capital One, and more. In fact, there's a good chance that you've received multiple "apology" e-mails from these vendors.
While some said the breach didn't cause a whole lot of damage, we disagree. Essentially, these cyber criminals now have the ability to invent highly sophisticated phising attacks by creating e-mail offers that look like legitimate promotions coming from companies they (the people whose e-mail addresses were stolen) buy from and trust.
And though it's already common for cyber thieves to impersonate credible organizations with what appears to be legitimate e-mail messages that seek to verify account information, this recent breach of security allows cyber thieves to be smarter and even more targeted with their scams.
Two Key Lessons
First, you need to be a lot more wary of e-mail promotions and communications that ask you to provide your credit card information or to validate your account information (username, password, social security number, etc.). No valid company will ever ask you to send important, confidential information in that manner.
Second, this breach serves as a warning to all businesses that they must have the MOST up-to-date security systems in place for their computer network, especially if you handle credit cards, bank accounts, social security numbers, passwords, client lists and more. Epsilon has responded to the security breach, apologizing to all of those affected, but the damage is done to their organization, not to mention their clients.
That's why we urge all of our clients to enroll in our My NetWorks Plan. This service allows us to monitor your network's anti-virus, firewall and security settings to make sure your network us fully protected against these damaging events. |
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Who Wants to Win Two Hoffman's Car Washes? Take Our Monthly Trivia Challenge!
The Grand Prize Winner of last month's Trivia Challenge Quiz is (drum roll, please) Michael Singleton, Consulting Sales Engineer at NE Harris Associates in Albany. He was the first person to correctly answer our question below:
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 Dogs
The answer is "b": Coca-Cola
Congratulations, Michael!
He won a $15 Stewart's gift card.
Now, here's your chance to win our new monthly trivia prize -two exterior car washes at Hoffman's Car Wash!
This Month's Trivia:
What inventor averaged one patent for every three weeks of his life? a) Thomas Edison b) Benjamin Franklin
c) Alexander Graham Bell E-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
If you're a Mac device junkie and have a Mac at home, a PC at work, an iPhone in your pocket and an iPad in your car, check out MobileMe. This software allows you to store email, contacts and calendars - even shared ones - in the cloud and automatically keeps them in sync across all your devices.
Other cool features include the ability to remotely locate a lost iPhone or iPad. And if you're certain it fell into less-than-honest hands and you don't think you'll be getting it back any time soon, you can remotely wipe the device clean of all your data.
The Gallery enables you to create a beautifully displayed online gallery of your photos and share them with others in just a few clicks, allowing your friends and family to add photos of their own. And the iDisk app gives you the power to store and share large files online as well as access them remotely.
MobileMe costs only $99 for a year's subscription and $149 for a family pack that gives you one individual account with 20GB of storage and 4 family accounts with 5GB of storage. Not sure if it's right for you? Then sign up for a free 60-day trial at www.apple.com/mobileme |
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7 Simple Ways To Keep Your iPad Secure
- Don't leave it lying around. Although this is common sense, you've probably violated this rule more than once. iPads are easy targets for thieves, so don't let it out of your sight when in a public place - and don't leave it in plain view in your car or you might end up with a broken window in addition to a stolen iPad.
- Use a passcode. Although it's not 100% hacker-proof, it will block unauthorized users from accessing your information.
- Consider enabling automatic data erasing. You can configure your iPad to erase your data after 10 failed passcode attempts. Clearly this is not a good solution for anyone who constantly forgets a password or those who have kids who might try to endlessly log in to use your iPad.
- Sign up for MobileMe. As mentioned above, this software will allow you to locate a lost iPad and, if it's not recoverable, you can remotely wipe the device of your private information.
- Limit its capabilities. You can set your iPad to restrict certain functions such as access to Safari, YouTube, installing applications and explicit media content using a passcode. In the corporate world, an IT administrator could set these restrictions for company owned devices. At home, you can use this to restrict what your children can do with your iPad.
- Install software updates. As with all software, make sure you have the latest security updates and patches installed to protect against hackers and viruses.
- Only connect to trusted WiFi networks. Public WiFis are open territory for hackers and identity thieves. Whenever you connect make sure it's a legitimate, secure connection.
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The Lighter Side...
The World's Funniest Real Ads
Believe it or not, these ads actually found their way into newspapers all over the world:
- Braille dictionary for sale. Must see to appreciate.
- FOR SALE BY OWNER: Complete set of Encyclopedia Britannics. 45 volumes. Excellent condition. $1,000.00 or best offer. No longer needed. Got married last weekend. Wife knows everything.
- For sale, Hope Chest, brand new, half off, long story.
- Christmas sale. Handmade gifts for the hard-to-find person.
- Wanted: man to take care of cows that does not smoke or drink.
- Three-year-old teacher needed for preschool. Experience preferred.
- Tired of working for only $9.75 per hour? We offer profit sharing and flexible hours. Starting pay: $7 -- $9 per hour.
- Our sofa seats the whole mob and it's made of 100% Italian leather.
- Nordic Track $300 hardly used, call Chubby.
- Joining nudist colony! Must sell washer and dryer $300.
- Free puppies: 1/2 cocker spaniel, 1/2 sneaky neighbors dog.
- Snow Blower for sale...only used on snowy days.
- Bill's Septic Cleaning: "We Haul American-Made Products."
- Cows, calves never bred...also 1 gay bull for sale.
- Nice parachute - Never opened. Used once.
- Hummels - Largest selection ever. "If it's in stock, then we must have it!"
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Client Corner"Partnering with Groff NetWorks has been great. We no longer have to worry about anything." Virginia Marinello | Director of Finance YWCA of the Greater Capitol Region |
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Office Notes
Congratulations to Murray Massry of Tri City Rentals! He won a Blu-Ray player that we gave away last month at the Annual Dinner of the Rensselaer County Regional Chamber of Commerce, held at Franklin Plaza in Troy.
Welcome, Mohawk Honda! The Scotia-based car dealership is our newest client.
Guess who's getting married?! David Zuckerman, our business development associate, will wed his fiancee, Becka Adams, this September (see picture of the happy couple, below). Congratulations, Becka and Dave!
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Lauren's Corner
Happy Father's Day!
Here are some pictures of me and my kids, taken in Tricentennial Park near Albany Center Gallery during one of their 1st Friday events.
Lauren, with Liam
Sculpture, with Satya and Grace |
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