TECHNOLOGY TIMES...2015/06/02 · TECHNOLOGY TIMES Get More Free Tips, Tools, and Services At My Web Site: 3 “Gotchas” Most IT Pros Won’t Tell You When Selling You Their Cloud

TECHNOLOGY TIMES “

Get More Free Tips, Tools, and Services At My Web Site: www.aztechworks.com

3 “Gotchas” Most IT Pros Won’t Tell You When Selling You

Their Cloud Solution Are you using any cloud applications to store data? Then listen up! There are a

few “gotchas” you need to know about 3rd-party cloud apps that most sales reps will NEVER tell you.

1. They aren’t responsible for keeping a backup of your data. If you read the small print of your contract, you’ll see that in every way possible, your cloud provider is NOT responsible for data loss or backups – even if it’s their fault. In fact, Office 365 will only keep 3 days’ backup of your data; so if you delete or overwrite a file and don’t notice it until 4-5 days later, it’s GONE. If your data is important, you need to implement a backup solution that works with cloud applications.

2. What you see may NOT be what you get. There’s nothing more frustrating than an incredibly slow application when you’re trying to work; and the salesperson demo’ing the application or platform is going to make sure you only see the BEST-case scenarios for performance. But there are a lot of things that can determine how fast your cloud applications run, such as the file size you’re working on, CPUs and RAM and storage, time of day, day of the week, your Internet connection and the number of users accessing the application. Make sure you get some verification of the speed in YOUR specific environment before spending a lot of money, time and aggravation moving to a new cloud application.

3. What if they cancel you? Here’s a scary situation: what if your cloud provider decides to shut down your account because they go out of business or simply decide not to service you anymore? Or what if YOU want out? Make sure you have in writing what happens if YOU cancel your contract AND what your cloud provider can and cannot do if they go out of business, cancel your account or have any other issues that would cause service interruption. Moving a network from a cloud platform is NOT a simple task and you need to make sure you can get your data and that you’ll be given sufficient time to make the transition.

Need help interpreting any of these scenarios? Give us a call at 623-444-2395 or email us at [email protected] and we’ll help you put in place a solid “Plan B” for any of the above issues.

“As a business owner, 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 finally and forever!”

Dedicated To Your Success,

David Carattini President & CEO

June 2015 Inside This Issue…

3 “Gotchas” Most IT Pros Won’t Tell You When Selling You Their Cloud Solution ..........................................Page 1

Shiny New Gadget: InfiniteUSB.............Page 2

How To Make Yourself ‘Invisible’ To Hackers ...............................Page 2

6 Ways To Grow Your Email Marketing List .................................Page 3

App Of The Month: Dubsmash ..............Page 4

Avoid These 4 Summer Travel Scams ..Page 4

The Business Owners Guide To IT Support Services And Fees.................Page 4

Lost In Translation: Advertising Blunders ...............................Page 5

How To Know When An Employee Is About To Quit ....................Page 5

Your Chance To Win See’s Candies ........................................Page 5

4 Ways To Get More Performance, Productivity, And Profit From Your Team .......................................Page 6

IT Just Works

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Shiny New Gadget

Of The Month:

InfiniteUSB I really love my Microsoft Surface Pro 3. However, there is one very annoying thing that I discovered. Having only one USB port is just simply not enough. I’ve had to resort to ensuring that I have a portable USB hub. USB hubs are not new but it goes against my goal to simplify my travel ensemble and having a myriad of gadgets in my bag to compensate for lack of ports on my laptop makes me somewhat cranky.

My experience with my Surface is not unique, most new laptops and tablets have only one USB port to help keep them thin and light.

However Jiange has created a USB plug that is based on a daisy chain, allowing you to plug multiple devices into one USB port. Pretty cool and what a space saver!

The design won an IF Concept Award from one of the most prestigious design competitions in the world. Jiange has a lot more design inventions underway. InfiniteUSB cables start at $10, and will also come in varieties that support microUSB and Lightning connectors.

http://getinfiniteusb.com

Check it out and get your pre-order in right away.

How To Make Yourself ‘Invisible’ To Hackers

There’s an old joke about two men hiking in the woods when they come across a big, grumpy black bear. Scared silly, one of the guys starts to run but notices his buddy stopped, bent-over, changing his shoes. He shouts to him, “Dude! What are you doing?!?! Why aren’t you running?” to which his friend replies, “I’m changing my shoes because I don’t need to outrun the bear – I only need to outrun YOU.”

This is a perfect analogy for what’s going on in small businesses: the “slow,” easy targets are getting nailed by fast-growing cybercrime rings that are getting more sophisticated and aggressive in attacking small businesses. Last year, the average cyber-attack cost a small business $20,752, a substantial increase from 2013, when the average was $8,699. That’s because most small businesses don’t have the security protocols in place or the manpower and budget to implement sophisticated security systems. While there’s absolutely no way to completely protect yourself other than disconnecting entirely from the Internet, there are several things you can do to avoid being easy pickings. Here’s how:

1. Lock your network. While WIRED networks make you invisible to WiFi snoops because you have to access them by plugging into physical outlets or hacking modem ports, you can create a hidden or cloaked network on a wireless network. Simply disable the service set identifier (SSID) broadcasting function on the wireless router, and only users with the exact network name will have access. Small businesses like coffeehouses can also do this—just periodically change the network’s information and place a small sign near the register with the current network name and passcode.

2. Encrypt your data. On your desktops, turn on the full-disk encryption tools that come standard on the professional version of modern operating systems: BitLocker on Windows-based PCs and FileVault on Macs. There is no noticeable performance lag; however, the encryption only applies when users are logged out of the system. So setting computers to automatically log out after 15 minutes without use is a good idea. And for mobile devices, use a VPN (virtual private network) to encrypt data traveling to and from your mobile devices and limit your employees’ access to only the company data that they must have to do their jobs.

3. Install firewall and anti-malware applications on all of your equipment, including mobile devices (if you use Android devices).

4. Disable features that automatically connect your mobile devices to any available network.

5. Disable printer and file-sharing options on mobile devices before connecting to a hotspot.

6. Check before connecting to hotspots. If there is an unusual variation in the logo or name on the login page, beware…this could mean it’s a fake hotspot designed to steal your data.

Can you guarantee that the person across the hotel lobby isn’t looking at your data? Not really, but the chances of them being able to do that are greatly reduced if you take precautions to protect your business.

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6 Ways To Grow Your Email Marketing List To execute good, effective email marketing campaigns, the first thing you need is a list of contacts to send those campaigns to. Easy right? This might seem self-evident, but growing a decent list can be daunting. Great lists are built so please do not go out and purchase email lists as they are mostly garbage.

Building your Marketing List should be an ongoing process. While the incremental gains might feel small, there’s a huge long term benefit to it. Make it an everyday task, just like brushing your teeth!

Here are 6 foolproof ways to grow your email list (or just start one in general):

1) Host a promotion or giveaway Everyone likes getting something for free — or for providing an email address. You can promote your brand by offering a small discount for one of your services to everyone who signs up for your newsletter. Or you can host a more traditional giveaway in which people can enter to win by providing an email.

Either way, use social media to spread the word. Direct entrants to a landing page that they can quickly and easily fill out. It’s a good opportunity to track engagement as well.

2) Partner with other companies — Joint Ventures Another great way to reach an audience beyond your own is to partner with another non-competing company that markets or sells to your customers. Host a joint giveaway together, or feature guest posts about relevant topics on each other’s blogs. Another idea is to simply get them to send an endorsed mailing

3) Create a prominent call to action on your webpage What’s one of the easiest ways to get people to sign up to a list? Ask them if they want to. Often, sign up options are buried on random pages, or at the end of a blog post. No one will sign up to your list if they don’t even know it’s an option. You have to tell them. Make sure that the call to action is above the “fold” of the web page so its easily seen.

Put sign up calls-to-action in prominent places across your site (all above the “fold” remember), like at the top of your homepage, on your About Us page and in your blog header. Promote sign ups on your social media accounts too. Facebook, for example, makes it very easy to create a “sign up” button at the top of your page.

What makes these call-to-actions most effective is when you also quickly and succinctly communicate the value of signing up. Outline a few benefits of what subscribers will receive before prompting them to enter their email address. Or use a social proof factor: “Join over 20,000 of your peers. Sign up today.” In marketing terms that’s called the “heard mentality”.

Another tactic is to have your employees include a link in their email signatures that connects to a landing page where people can sign up for your list. This leverages the people your company is already in contact with regularly.

4) Offer something of value Downloadable resources like e-books, white papers, and recorded teleseminars are a good way to not only establish yourself as a credible source, but to grow your marketing list as well. By creating valuable content, and requiring only an email for access, you’re engaging with your audience and doing important branding work.

Another idea is to host a webinar. It doesn’t take too much time to set up, or require much besides a half an hour of time from one of your team members. You can have participants provide their email addresses when they register. Record the webinar and make that available as downloadable content as well.

5) Connect in person

Establish yourself as a presence offline, too. Attend conferences and capture emails at your company’s booth — swap a small branded item in exchange! Even better, speaking at a conference is a great way to connect with a larger audience in your industry.

You can also host in-person meetups and events like panels for industry people in your area. Simply collect emails when people register, and then send them a welcome email and opt-in follow up.

6) Tend to your existing contacts The value of the contacts you currently have in your list degrades by about 22.5% every year, so make sure you’re doing regular upkeep. If you’re unsure about the status of old contacts, send a re-opt-in campaign. If you want to re-invigorate the interest of people on your list, send a campaign that thanks them for being loyal subscribers, and offers them access to exclusive content or a special promotion.

Page 4


Since school is letting out, I thought a purely fun app was in order. Check out Dubsmash! This silly time waster is available for iPhone and Android phones.

The idea is, you take your favorite quote from a movie, TV show, song or whatever and record yourself saying or lip-syncing to it using your phones video recorder. Its your face and lips moving to the sound. The app puts it all together and you can then send it out via a text message, Facebook or other social media. Dumbsmash takes communicating to whole new fun level.

I literally spent over an hour recording different quotes from some of my favorite movies and bombarding my wife with them while I was reviewing this app! Some of my favorites were Phoebe from Friends shouting “Chandler & Monica…my eyes, my eyes” or “There’s not crying in baseball” from A League of their Own or “Well the jerk store called and they are running out of you” from Seinfeld.

So, if you are looking for a fun way to send some messages to friends or family you can do as Dubsmash suggests and “Be a Dubber” and “Say it with Video”. It’s easy and addictive. Have some fun with it.

Avoid These 4 Summer Travel Scams

As the summer travel season starts to ramp up, so do the bad guys in scheming up ways to rip us off. Scammers use the confusion and expense of summer travel to their advantage. It is important to understand some of the common scams that target travelers or their families at home. Knowing what to avoid will help keep scammers from spoiling your summer fun.

Protect Your Home – Be careful mentioning that you will be away on social networks. Thieves sometimes use that information to target victims who are out-of-town. Ask the postal service to hold your mail while you are away. You may also notify local law enforcement that you will be away from home. Some Phoenix area police departments have programs that will have an officer drive by your home while you are away.

Front Desk Call – One long running travel scam is the phony front desk call. The scammer will call your hotel room pretending to be from the front desk. They will say there has been a mix up with your credit card and that they need to confirm your payment information. This is a scam to collect your credit card number and other personal information. If someone calls from the front desk do not give out your credit card information over the phone. Go to the front desk in person and speak with a hotel representative directly.

Stranded Traveler – If you are approached or contacted by a stranded traveler with a hard luck story, watch out; they may be part of a scam. Some scammers may even pose as grandchildren or distant relatives abroad and in need of assistance. These scams will come in the form of a telephone call or an email. Scammers will often have an elaborate backstory that involves an urgent need for money. These scams often target the elderly so it is important to discuss them with elderly friends and family.

Wi-Fi Hot Spot Hackers – Airports, hotel lobbies and other high traffic areas are potential locations for Wi-Fi scams. Some scammers may simply ask you to provide a credit card for network access, claiming to charge only a few dollars; they will actually steal your credit card information. Others may download malicious software onto your computer or monitor your activity and passwords. It is important to set your devices to only join trusted networks. If you need to access Wi-Fi ask someone working at the location if they offer Wi-Fi and the exact name of the network. Beware of similar names that may be attempting to spoof legitimate services. Never provide credit card information or access sensitive information via an untrusted or public network. Use a secure VPN connection when on the WiFi network to encrypt or scramble all of your communications.

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IT services; you’ll learn what it is and why you need to avoid agreeing to it. Exclusions, hidden fees and other “gotcha” clauses IT companies put in their contracts

that you DON’T want to agree to. How to make sure you know exactly what you’re getting to avoid disappointment,

frustration and added costs later on that you didn’t anticipate. Claim Your FREE Copy Today at www.aztechworks.com/ITbuyersguide

Page 5


Your Chance To Win 2 1-lb. Box Gift Certificates

The Grand Prize Winner of last month’s Trivia Challenge Quiz was:

Domenick Orlando of D.L. Sales Corp. The correct answer was: C) measure of a computer’s processing speed

This month’s question: June was named after the Roman goddess Juno. She was the goddess of what? a) marriage and childbirth b) fruit and trees

c) religion d) love and beauty

Call or email me right now with your answer: 623-444-2395 or [email protected]

How To Know When An Employee Is About To Quit

There’s nothing quite as devastating as losing a key employee, especially if they give you no warning or notice. Often they’ll give you subtle signs such as a lackadaisical approach to work, arriving and leaving on time, not a minute sooner or later, long lunches or suddenly having several appointments at the beginning or the end of the workday. But one of the biggest giveaways is their Internet behavior at work.

We already know that employees spend personal time at work on Facebook and other social media sites; but you know something’s going on if they’ve added monster.com, Craigslist, LinkedIn and other local job sites to the web pages they frequently visit.

That’s ONE of the reasons we recommend our clients install an Internet monitoring software for their network. Not only will it reveal when employees are looking for work somewhere else, it will also alert you to employees who are wasting HOURS on social media, gambling, shopping and other non-work-related web sites. It will also prevent employees from accessing porn and file-sharing sites that could bring on a BIG lawsuit or nasty hacker attack.

While some people fear this is too invasive, keep in mind that you are paying those employees to perform a job with company-owned devices and company-paid Internet. We’re not suggesting you monitor their personal devices or what they do after hours on their own time. But it’s perfectly reasonable to expect an employee to put in a full 8 hours if you’re paying them for their time.

Of course, you should provide notice that their computers are being monitored and set the expectation that you want them working during company hours; you should also detail what employees can and cannot do with company-owned devices in your Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). If you want to give them the ability to check personal e-mail and social media sites during work hours, you can limit it to 30 minutes a day during their lunch hour or break. Again, we don’t recommend this since this can be an easy gateway for viruses and hackers—but these options are available.

Need help designing an employee monitoring system on your network? Give us a call. We can help you put together an Acceptable Use Policy and put the right software in place to enforce your policy.

The Lighter Side…

Lost In Translation: Advertising Blunders Clairol introduced a new curling

iron they called the “Mist Stick” to the German market, only to find out that “mist” is slang for manure in German. Not too many people had use for the “manure stick.”

When Gerber started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as in the US that featured the “Gerber baby” on the front. Later they learned that in Africa, companies put pictures of what’s inside the package on the label since most people can’t read, thereby causing African consumers to think there was pureed baby inside.

Colgate introduced a toothpaste in France called “Cue,” the name of a notorious porno magazine.

Pepsi’s “Come alive with the Pepsi Generation” translated into “Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave,” in Chinese.

The Coca-Cola name in China was first read as “Ke-kou-ke-la,” meaning “Bite the wax tadpole” or “female horse stuffed with wax,” depending on the dialect. Coke then researched 40,000 characters to find the phonetic equivalent “ko-kou-ko-le,” translating into “happiness in the mouth.” .

4 Ways To Get More Performance, Productivity, And Profit

From Your Team 1. Your Team Needs To Learn Together Rarely do teams learn together. Too often, increases in skill are confined to individuals. Sometimes that can become a barrier to teamwork: because there are dramatically different knowledge and skill levels, some team members aren’t able to keep up. When an individual attends a course or discovers a useful practice, he or she should be encouraged to share it with the team. And periodically putting the entire team into a learning environment is critical. 2. Peer Recognition Is Powerful If you’re a team leader, understand that despite your best efforts, you will be incapable of adequately recognizing every team member’s efforts and contributions. Good work will slip by and go unrecognized. If this happens often, the team member may well become disillusioned. Relieve yourself of the burden to be the sole dispenser of recognition: ask team members to recognize each other. Make it a team expectation to thank other team members for their assistance and to look for opportunities to catch each other doing something praiseworthy. 3. To Win More Together, Think Together More Have you ever held a team retreat? When was the last time your team came together for the express purpose of thinking about the work you do? Do you periodically pause as a group to reflect on what you’ve learned and internalize the lessons? Do you meet to consider opportunities, and not just to solve problems? The team that thinks more wins more. 4. You’ve Got To Expect It And Not Tolerate It If You Don’t Get It Some managers, knowing how difficult it can be to create great teamwork, undermine their efforts by making teamwork “optional.” That is, they appreciate the people who are good team players but they tolerate those who aren’t. As the old adage goes, what you allow, you condone. Those on the same team should know that figuring out how to get along and work with other teammates is their responsibility. Those who refuse to be team players should at the very least not enjoy the same benefits, and at worst, should be removed. It might sound harsh, but it is necessary if you want teamwork to work.

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Contact us anytime for all of your IT needs!

3060 N. Litchfield Rd., Suite 120 Goodyear, AZ 85395

Phone: 623-444-2395

Web: www.aztechworks.com Email: [email protected]

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Mark Sanborn, CSP, CPAE, is president of Sanborn & Associates, Inc., an idea studio dedicated to developing leaders in business and in life. Mark is an international best-selling author and noted authority on leadership, team-building, customer service and change. Mark is the author of 8 books, including the best seller The Fred Factor: How Passion in Your Work and Life Can Turn the Ordinary into the Extraordinary, which has sold more than 1.6 million copies internationally. Learn more about Mark at www.marksanborn.com

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TECHNOLOGY TIMES...2015/06/02 · TECHNOLOGY TIMES Get More Free Tips, Tools, and Services At My Web Site: 3 “Gotchas” Most IT Pros Won’t Tell You When Selling You Their Cloud