At every level of life and small business, the details can slow us down. None of us have the time to dig into every aspect of our business to discover the advanced warning signals to prevent problems. What if there was a quick litmus test that would send off early warning signals of business problems? This recent article, by Dan and Chip Heath, tells the story of an unlikely character developing a litmus test for his business. Your small business success story will one day be filled with the details that didn't slow you down. Take time each day to figure out what the most important details are for your life and your business.
Over the past year, I've enjoyed the Heath Brothers various columns and their best selling book. If you would like to learn more about them, click here. In a world full of massive amounts of information, they are standing out... which is the premise of their first book.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Influence: The Best the Internet has to Offer
My recent conversations with friends have centered around the "best" items on the Internet. Stating the obvious... we are truly in the Information Age. Hey Mr. Huxley, it is a Brave New World, but not quite like the one you envisioned - not yet at least - not ever, I hope. We have so much to choose from. Who has time to sift through all of this information? Whether you acknowledge it or not, you have some influence among those close to you. My advice to you... Use your influence. Tell everyone about the best the Internet has to offer or the best customer service you have received in awhile. We are all dying to know about the best things in life. Why? So we can all find the good stuff quickly. Life's too short to be slowed down with the not-so-good stuff.
Technorati has a list of the best blogs on the Internet based upon various statistics, but nothing beats a good friend's recommendation. These mathematical rankings never quite work, just ask anyone that follows college football about the BCS standings. I think only one blog that I read is in the Technorati 100. For the record, I really appreciate the information received from the 10 or 20 less popular blogs that gain my regular attention.
Here's to happier more efficient browsing.
Technorati has a list of the best blogs on the Internet based upon various statistics, but nothing beats a good friend's recommendation. These mathematical rankings never quite work, just ask anyone that follows college football about the BCS standings. I think only one blog that I read is in the Technorati 100. For the record, I really appreciate the information received from the 10 or 20 less popular blogs that gain my regular attention.
Here's to happier more efficient browsing.
Friday, March 5, 2010
1 Quick & Easy Security Tip for Today
A brief discussion about "Two-Step Authentication" and your small business network.
Every additional layer of security reduces the risk of unauthorized access, and adding a second method of authenticating business network users may be a great way to deter inappropriate activities. For very secure enterprise environments, this would require a key fob or some external hardware attached to a laptop in addition to a user-id and password. While this method is very secure, it is costly to implement and few businesses choose to do so. However, nothing is stopping us from being creative and implementing two sets of authentication methods for various aspects of business. Let's look at a simple wireless network in a small retail environment. A consumer grade wireless router & access-point can easily implement a form of two step authentication. Consider enabling the wireless encryption protocol. When encryption is enabled, not only is it harder to gain access to the network, scrambling part of your transmission path is now an added benefit. Many small businesses take advantage of this simple encryption method, but few take the second step of authentication to significantly reduce the probability of a network intrusion. Media Access Control (MAC) Address filtering is another deterrent method available on consumer grade routers. This will help restrict wireless access to only those users or devices you authorize. These addresses are uniquely assigned to each network device manufactured. If a MAC address isn't on your router's list, access is denied. We certainly don't claim that this method is 100% secure. If you are in a industry where security policies are regulated, we don't recommend consumer grade wireless routers as a solution. Consult a professional! Review your industry's requirements or recommendations, and if you have any questions - feel free to call our local support team for help. 706-823-2115.
At Georgia Business Net, we want to be your LAST Telephone & Internet Solution Provider. The Client Relationship means everything to us! We feature Local & Long Distance Telephone Service, High Speed Internet, Next Generation Phone Systems, a local Data Center, and much more.
Every additional layer of security reduces the risk of unauthorized access, and adding a second method of authenticating business network users may be a great way to deter inappropriate activities. For very secure enterprise environments, this would require a key fob or some external hardware attached to a laptop in addition to a user-id and password. While this method is very secure, it is costly to implement and few businesses choose to do so. However, nothing is stopping us from being creative and implementing two sets of authentication methods for various aspects of business. Let's look at a simple wireless network in a small retail environment. A consumer grade wireless router & access-point can easily implement a form of two step authentication. Consider enabling the wireless encryption protocol. When encryption is enabled, not only is it harder to gain access to the network, scrambling part of your transmission path is now an added benefit. Many small businesses take advantage of this simple encryption method, but few take the second step of authentication to significantly reduce the probability of a network intrusion. Media Access Control (MAC) Address filtering is another deterrent method available on consumer grade routers. This will help restrict wireless access to only those users or devices you authorize. These addresses are uniquely assigned to each network device manufactured. If a MAC address isn't on your router's list, access is denied. We certainly don't claim that this method is 100% secure. If you are in a industry where security policies are regulated, we don't recommend consumer grade wireless routers as a solution. Consult a professional! Review your industry's requirements or recommendations, and if you have any questions - feel free to call our local support team for help. 706-823-2115.
At Georgia Business Net, we want to be your LAST Telephone & Internet Solution Provider. The Client Relationship means everything to us! We feature Local & Long Distance Telephone Service, High Speed Internet, Next Generation Phone Systems, a local Data Center, and much more.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Two Tips for Your Security Review
Spring is almost here! It is always a good time for a Network Security Review.
Here are a few questions to ask and some low cost tips that are quick to implement on the road to continuously improving your network's security.
1. Have you had any staffing changes in the last twelve months?
If you have had a staffing change recently, take a moment to change passwords, VPN or Wireless Keys, and the security system's code. We recommend this even if the staff left on good terms with you. Why? You never know when their password list was written on your letterhead which got thrown out with the garbage while cleaning their office.
2. Have you had problems with your wireless router recently?
When most small businesses buy a wireless router, they do a good job of making sure it is secure. Wireless Encryption, turning off the SSID Broadcast, and changing the default password are all on the agenda. And then one day recently, it stopped working. The quick fix was..? You hit the "reset" button to get it working again quickly. Now all those default passwords are back, and it is easier than ever to get access to your wireless network.
Changes in your office often result in potential gaps in your security policies.
Take a moment to review or give our Local Support Team a call if you have questions 706-823-2115.
Click here to receive more tips via email
Here are a few questions to ask and some low cost tips that are quick to implement on the road to continuously improving your network's security.
1. Have you had any staffing changes in the last twelve months?
If you have had a staffing change recently, take a moment to change passwords, VPN or Wireless Keys, and the security system's code. We recommend this even if the staff left on good terms with you. Why? You never know when their password list was written on your letterhead which got thrown out with the garbage while cleaning their office.
2. Have you had problems with your wireless router recently?
When most small businesses buy a wireless router, they do a good job of making sure it is secure. Wireless Encryption, turning off the SSID Broadcast, and changing the default password are all on the agenda. And then one day recently, it stopped working. The quick fix was..? You hit the "reset" button to get it working again quickly. Now all those default passwords are back, and it is easier than ever to get access to your wireless network.
Changes in your office often result in potential gaps in your security policies.
Take a moment to review or give our Local Support Team a call if you have questions 706-823-2115.
Click here to receive more tips via email
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