Three Technology-Specific New Year's Resolutions You Need To Make

Ahhhh! A brand new year, full of promise, hope and a fresh start. If you're like most people, you're making the usual resolutions to exercise more, lose weight, pay off debt, etc. Essentially, it's the time of year when we momentarily take stock in our lives and think about all the things we "should" be doing more of...but don't. So while you're in the goal-setting mode, we thought we would tack on three things that probably aren't on your list but should be.

1.Offsite backups. Can we beat this horse to death anymore? I know MOST of the clients reading this newsletter are smart enough to have this done already, but many still don't and are relying on undependable (and outdated, I might add) tape drives, Carbonite or other volatile back-up solutions. If that's you, don't let this be another year where you gamble with everything you've worked so hard to achieve. Get a better back-up!!!!

2. Write A Disaster Recovery Plan. Pop quiz: If you woke up tomorrow and discovered that you couldn't access your office building due to a Hurricane Sandy, what would you do? Or, what would happen if a key executive-one who holds the "keys" to critical processes or applications-fell sick or (God forbid) died? Or, what would happen if a disgruntled employee or hacker gained access to your web server, line of business application or file server and deleted everything? These are all very real scenarios, and, without a plan in place, you could be facing serious down-time and financial losses.

3.Develop A Stronger Cyber Security System That Goes Beyond A Firewall And Anti-Virus. With more information about us being stored electronically, and with state and federal laws becoming more strict, you MUST take cyber security seriously. Simply having a good firewall and anti-virus isn't enough to keep the highly motivated and technically sophisticated criminals out of your network.

Employees are also using social media sites more frequently, and they can intentionally or accidentally post something that could harm your company's reputation or leak confidential information. Therefore, your security plan must also include employee training and policies so they know what is and is not acceptable when handling data and using company resources (Internet, computers, etc.).

If you don't know where to start in creating any of the above, we're here to help! Call us at 518-320-8906 to discuss how we can do all of this for you and take the work and worry out of these New Year's resolutions!

Congratulations to April L. Schmick, Legal Assistant at Tabner, Ryan and Keniry in Albany. She was the first to correctly answer last month's trivia quiz, below:

a) Jimmy Buffet

b) Jim Morrison

c) Ozzy Osbourne

d) Mick Jagger

The correct answer is D: Mick Jagger.

Would you like to win a pair of movie tickets? Be the first to answer this month's trivia question:

According to a recent study, 40-45% of Americans do this each new year:

a) Buy a new car

b) Make a resolution

c) Go on a diet

d) Party in New York City

E-mail us right now with your answer at: 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.

The 4 Best Gadgets To Help You Lose Weight And Get Fit This Year

   Getting fit is going high-tech these days, with new gadgets that are actually cool to wear instead of looking like the beeping hunks of junk your grandma wears when mall-walking. Plus, they're going very social with online workouts and apps that track your progress and allow you to compete against your friends. Here are four new high-tech gadgets that may help you get in beach-body shape by spring:

Nike+ FuelBand. This new wristband tracks your activity throughout the day and converts it to a metric of activity. Using their mobile or online app, you can set a goal for each day and then work to beat it. At $149, it's cheaper than a personal trainer. We think this is Nike's answer to the Fitbit, which comes next on our list. www.nikestore.com 

Fitbit Ultra. The Fitbit is an altimeter, which can track how many hills or stairs you've climbed, and a motion sensor to track calories and activity levels throughout the day. If you love charts and graphs, you'll love the Fitbit. www.fitbit.com 

GymBoss. This tiny clip-on interval trainer is the lowest-tech item in this list, but may be the best at getting you to lose those last stubborn pounds by doing short, high-intensity intervals. If you want a free workout to follow that uses the GymBoss, check out www.bodyrock.tv. Warning! These workouts are not for the faint of heart! www.gymboss.com

Endomondo Sports Tracker. This is a great option for those of you who are all tapped out from holiday shopping. Endomondo is an app that you can download for free to your phone to track miles running, cycling or in other sports, using your phone's GPS. You can make any workout a race against your friends or against your own personal best.  www.endomondo.com 

Shiny New Gadget of the Month

Have you ever wondered how much money you need in order to quit work forever? Well, wonder no more!

   Thanks to a new online tool developed by a veteran financial advisor to multi-millionaires, Stefan Wissenback, this site will help you determine what your "magic number" is, or more specifically, the exact amount of money you need to have so you can quit working forever.

     Unlike many retirement planning calculators, this tool will factor in a number of factors such as the type of vacations you want to take every year, what type of legacy you want to leave your children and even the monthly cost of your favorite hobbies. Then, based on WHEN you want to "retire" so work is optional, it will tell you how much money you need to invest or save in order to attain your goal.

     Unlike other sites, it won't try and sell you anything-and you can try the tool out for 21 days at no cost. We definitely recommend giving it a try; you might be surprised to find out the amount of money you thought you needed is actually a lot lower and very attainable!

It's National Clean Up Your Computer Month

The Vinegar Institute declared January as a national holiday to clean up your computer. So, how do you get smudges, dust, and fingerprints safely off your monitor?

     Although each monitor manufacturer has its own special instructions for cleaning, here are some common guidelines you can use:

Turn off the monitor. It's not required, but it makes smudges and smears easier to see.

Use a cotton cloth or compressed air to get rid of light dust buildup. Never use a rag or paper towel to clean since they can scratch the screen.

Don't use products with ethyl alcohol or ammonia-based products. Products like Windex can yellow flat-screen or laptop monitors.

Use water or a homemade mix to clean grungy surfaces. If water is not enough, concoct a cleaning solution of 1 part water, 1 part isopropyl alcohol, and 1/2 part vinegar.

Lightly moisten your cloth with the cleaning solution. Never apply the liquid directly to the screen.

Wipe the cloth in one direction - from top to bottom. This method will ensure grime and dust move to the bottom of the screen surface where it can be wiped away.

     One final guideline: never touch or press on your LCD screen with your fingers as this can cause the pixels to burn out. Happy cleaning!

Office Notes

Welcome to our newest client:

The LA Group

Welcome to our newest team member, Jerry Ryan. Jerry joins Groff NetWorks this month as our Support Desk Engineer-Level II.