Are you an avid Tweeter? Do you update your Facebook with your location on the go? Beware, your social networking efforts give hackers the optimal times for an attack.

Social networking sites are a great tool to use when building connections with family, friends, vendors, clients and even prospects. However, if you have joined the new wave of Twitter users who are using location-aware tweeting, you may be endangering yourself and your business! 

Be careful with geolocation features that may say more than you want!  Twitter recently integrated their geographic location program directly into their main Twitter Web site. While this is an interesting application, it can be very dangerous too. Turning on this geolocation feature, means broadcasting your location using the name of your town, neighborhood or even your exact position. Once this feature is turned on, other users can view a map with a marker of your location which, when hovered over, turns blue and shows a mini-Google map displaying the origin of your tweet.

Suggestions from vendors.  The “Tweet With Your Location” feature allows you to selectively share your location with others when you tweet. Another rising location sharing social networking site, Foursquare.com, leaves your privacy in your own hands. Their Terms of Use boldly state, “Foursquare makes no guaranty of confidentiality or privacy of any communication or information transmitted on the site or any Web site linked to the site”. Therefore, they eliminate all responsibility for user postings.   

So, what can you do to stay safe?  It’s as simple as saying “NO!” Don’t use location sharing programs on any social networking sites to reveal your home address or other personal information. If you want to share the location of a great business or venue, then type the address or give information about the venue like the date, time and name of the event. This will help you protect your privacy so unwanted visitors don’t crash on your couch while you are finishing dinner with your prized client or marching in a community parade.

Social networking safety is a must!  Here are a few quick tips to remember when you’re updating your blog, tweeting on the go or catching up with contacts on Facebook:

• Social networking posts should not reveal enough information that it could be used to case a business or a residence for a burglary.
• Remember, once you post information online, you cannot take it back and it may quickly spread to other Web sites.
• Use privacy settings to restrict who can see your posts online.

It’s a bit of common sense, but sometimes the best practice is honesty. To learn more about Internet browsing and social networking safety visit www.OnGuardOnline.gov.

Modern leadership guru, Warren Bennis, said, “Managers are the people who do things right and leaders are the people who do the right thing.” To run a business well, you need both. Employees, finances, sales, marketing, operations and, yes, I.T. all need BOTH a manager AND a leader. But that doesn’t mean you should be the one doing both.

Why Leadership Is Your #1 Job

Bennis’s idea is this: You need management. True.  Managers budget, organize, react to situations and solve problems. They ensure things get done, monitor the day-to-day, and enforce the rules. They are the tactical part of your business. You probably do a fair amount of managing things now. But just like everyone else, you only have 24-hours in a day. So some management tasks can and should be delegated, hired, or outsourced.

Bennis, who was cited by Global Gurus International as one of the top 30 leadership experts in the world, defines leadership differently. Leaders establish direction, align people, and motivate and inspire to prevent problems. Like it or not, everything in your business – good and bad – ties back to the leader. Unless and until you grow leaders inside your company, the leader is most likely you.

5 Ways To Differentiate A Leader From A Manager

 Are you more of a leader or manager? Here are 5 leadership traits adapted from two of Bennis’ books, On Becoming A Leader and Learning to Lead, to help you decide…

1. Managers set standards for performance; a leader sets a benchmark for excellence. Do you dictate a status quo or do you paint a picture of what the “ideal” is? Do you merely communicate what’s “acceptable” or do you encourage “exceptional”?
2. Managers want employee compliance; leaders seek employees’ commitment. Let’s say you decide to streamline a process. To do so, you purchase new software. Do you just provide training on how to use the software or do you work on communicating the reasons why you’re doing it so employees willingly and happily dive into training?
3. Managers have subordinates over whom they have formal authority; leaders have followers who are inspired to perform at their best.  Leaders recognize that continual improvement in ALL aspects of their business is critical to their success.
4. Managers try to avoid risks or minimize them; a leader looks for opportunities. Maybe it’s an investment in a new technology, or a decision to expand your business. Whatever the case, managers will tell you why it won’t work. Leaders will tell you why it can.

5. Managers enforce rules and policies; leaders challenge red tape and bureaucracy when necessary. Sure, you should have and enforce an acceptable use policy for your computers. But if any of your policies prevent someone from helping a customer or generating sales, put on your leadership hat and throw that rule away.

One Management Task You Can Take Off Your Plate

Your computer network, phone system, software and all things I.T. can suck up your time and resources and be a royal pain – IF all you do is manage it. Checking backups, maintaining critical patches on the computers, updating anti-virus software and firewall protection, and dealing with issues that arise; these are all management tasks that can be outsourced.

As a leader, you can deal with I.T. differently. You look for opportunities to improve your company with technology, you use it as a way to help propel the vision for your company, you deploy it to reach your goals.  Then you hire someone to handle the rest.

FREE Business Advisory Guide:

16 Critical Questions  Every Small Business Owner Must Ask Before Hiring Any IT Company

   Ready to offload the management of your computers and network? Do not hire ANY computer consulting company until you read this. You’ll discover:

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Interruptions come in many forms. Phone calls, emails, faxes, colleagues, vendors. And once a person is interrupted, it can take as much as 30 minutes to get back on track. According to a recent study from the University of California, employees have an average of only 11 minutes of uninterrupted time on any given project; and they typically have 12 projects going at once. All this interruption adds up to over 10 ½ hours of unproductive time per week, says the study. So what advice does the study give to resolve this productivity loss? Close your email, let your phone go to voicemail, and shut your door – at least until the next crisis strikes.

   According to Symantec’s 2009 security review, the biggest single threat to computer security is a user’s failure to apply new security patches when they become available. A “patch” is simply a software fix to a known security bug in a software program. Once a vulnerability is discovered, software vendors scramble to develop a patch to prevent hackers from using this to access PCs – but their release of a patch is also a “go” sign for hackers who them scramble to write viruses designed to exploit PC users who haven’t gotten around to patching or updating their system.

   As you might expect, online criminal opportunism is at an all-time high. One well-written virus can spread and attack millions of PCs in minutes, giving these cyber criminals access and control over your PC – often without YOU ever realizing it until it’s too late. And since most of us are storing and using our PCs for banking, making purchases, and storing other sensitive information, it’s a fast-track break in that’s irresistible.

The Two Most Common Applications Attacked

   Surprisingly, PDF-based download exploits rose to account for 49 percent of online attacks. Internet Explorer was the second most attacked application, accounting for 18 percent of web-based attacks. Incredibly, the Internet Explorer vulnerability in question is the Microsoft Internet Explorer ADODB. Stream Object File Installation Weakness that first came to the world’s attention in August 2003, and was patched the following July – and that means that a whole lot of people AREN’T patching their computer regularly.

Your PC Isn’t A Toaster

   The main reason systems get attacked is because too many people treat their computer like an appliance: they turn it on and conduct ZERO maintenance. While it’s important for everyone to keep their network secure, it goes double for you as a business owner because the costs of restoring a compromised network escalate quickly when compounded with corrupt data, downtime and possibly the embarrassment of notifying your clients their information was compromised by a hacker under YOUR watch. If you are currently a ConnectCare customer, you have nothing to worry about. But if you’re NOT on this plan and you don’t have someone updating your firewall and security settings DAILY, it’s only a matter of time before your system gets compromised.

Let Us Protect Your Business

   For more information on how you can completely offload the worry of maintaining your network to a true team of professionals, call us today. We have various plans for all budgets and needs: 954-920-9604

Depending on the size of your company, cloud computing may dramatically reduce administrative costs. However, do the benefits outweigh the pitfalls?

Cloud computing is Internet-based computing. This means, all of the shared resources like software and information your company uses every day, would be provided to office computers and other devices as it is needed. By renting usage from a third-party provider, your business can cut costs by eliminating the need for a full physical infrastructure.

Cloud computing terms to remember…  Cloud computing has two bases, Software as a Service (SaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS). Think of SaaS as a software rental car company: In business, you use software as a vehicle to travel through transactions and communicate with others. Whether you are creating a contract for a new client, or processing a regular monthly payment, the software you use costs money. SaaS offers the software you need for a fixed monthly fee.

Meanwhile, PaaS is similar to a package deal you purchase from your travel agent that includes all of your travel arrangements. Instead of just renting the vehicle (software), you rent the hotel room (desktop computer) and your agent throws in coffee and breakfast at the buffet, too (a support contract.) 

Blah, blah…cloud computing…blah blah…platform, what?  If the last few paragraphs didn’t make much sense, it’s my fault. This might help: Cloud computing can be described as a public utility. Your business pays for the specific software or other amenities, such as equipment or storage, on a monthly basis just as you would pay for the exact amount of electricity that’s used.   

The benefits of cloud computing.  There are four major benefits of cloud computing for businesses: easy scalability, increased reliability, high performance and specific configurability. Comparatively, these benefits surpass the standard dedicated infrastructure method of networking.

New businesses looking for a computing solution, or companies looking to make a change in their infrastructure, may elect to use cloud computing instead of forking over a huge capital investment to setup a network, purchase software packages, and pay someone to manage it all. Cloud computing can be a fantastic way to get a jump-start with little initial investment and fixed, or at least, predictable monthly costs.

The limitations of cloud computing. 
As with everything, cloud computing has its downfalls. Cloud computing isn’t suitable for all business types, especially those that are reliant on decade old software. As a matter of fact, security and compliance are huge factors for decision makers because, cloud computing takes your data out of your office (and sometimes out of your control). As a result, it is imperative to select a vendor that offers the security and privacy controls you need.   

Software compatibility woes…  That’s right; Vista isn’t the only animal with compatibility issues. While it seems that any program you can think of should be available in the cloud, it isn’t a software heaven. Cloud computing vendors are still working to offer industry specific or specialty programs. You may need to shop around to find a vendor that has what you need.

However, be aware that transitioning from an older version of software to a newer version may not be a walk in the park. Older software may cause limitation with a newer operating system; it’s like trying to change a tire on a car while driving. Be sure to look at the features and advantages to keeping your current software and explore new opportunities for your business if necessary.

Don’t be afraid of change.  Cloud computing is coming in fast. You want to consider it before your competitors do! Frankly you probably aren’t in a position to figure this out yourself, so give us a call today at 954-920-9604 and we are happy to help you explore cloud computing options for your business.