Tuesday Tips & Tricks - Online Security

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Tuesday Tips and Tricks

July 16, 2013

HOW SECURE ARE YOUR PASSWORDS?

Last year, we all scrambled to change our LinkedIn passwords after the company announced Russian hackers had compromised 6.5 million of its customers' passwords. This was not the first instance of companies getting hacked into and information being stolen, but clearly one that affected many business people. Even social media and email accounts have been hijacked. I had a conversation with one of my clients about this just last week.

How can you protect yourself and keep your information safe?

Almost all of us are guilty of using real words, our kids or pets names as passwords for our online accounts. How many of you use same password for multiple sites to make it easier to remember logging in? Even worse, how many do this and have never changed the password on a website since you set up the account?

The good news is you can easily and inexpensively make your online accounts more secure by using one of the many Password Management Software programs available today. There are many free ones out there, but you can find several really good ones for under $30. I tried a few demos of the top rated programs available today. My preference is Sticky Password. It is one of the best programs out there for the money.

Once you have a website or application set up in the program, you can sync your data with a USB drive for portability, or view information from your IPhone or IPad. You can launch websites and applications directly from the program, and you will be automatically logged in. There is no need to worry about keyloggers (malicious applications that log your keystrokes to steal your login information.) The program will also generate strong passwords, enter pre-fill personal and credit card information, and set reminders to change your password. It will even shut down after a period of inactivity in the event you forgot to logout.

Kim

Which Credit Card Is Best for Your Small Business?

If you're an entrepreneur and own a small business of your own, chances are that you've had to rely on a small-business credit card to either buy or finance the products and services you need most, at least at one time or another. But with so many business-branded credit cards available today, it's hard to know which one offers you the most benefits at the least risk.

Now the process has been made easier thanks to CardHub's annual Small Business Credit Card Study for 2013, the first year in which all major credit card issuers were transparent about their small-business credit card policies. Once again, CardHub has examined which credit card issuers offer the best deals for small business owners. However, this year it's through a new prism, one established by the CARD Act of 2009.

A landmark piece of legislation, the CARD Act was designed specifically to protect consumers from unfair credit card practices and policies and addresses such hot-button issues as interest rates, changes in terms, exorbitant and unnecessary fees and so much more. Since then, a number of issuers have chosen to use it as a guidepost in setting standards for their business-branded cards as well, wisely recognizing the intrinsic relationship between many small business owners' personal and professional finances.

"If a given issuer has not proactively adopted these protections for all of its customers or is not transparent about it policies, small business owners cannot use its business credit cards without worry," warns CardHub on its website. It's something any small business entrepreneur would do well to think about.

So before you apply for a new line of business credit, take a moment to review these key findings from CardHub's latest study. After all, knowledge is power...

Read More (from BusinessOpportunity.com)