This article from Forbes gives you some great suggestions for how to improve your communications with your clients. It’s a new world so we need new methods as well improving the standard methods.
Back Up Your Files NOW!
Here’s the rule of thumb for when and where to back up data.
The more important the information
The more often you should back up and
The more distant those back up files should be.
I back up my QuickBooks data every 2 days and every time I do a lot of input. I don’t want to re-build or re-do a lot of entries. So the time it takes to do the back up is a savings compared to the frustration and time required to re-do the work.
If YCL does more than 1 hour of input on a website, we back up the site immediately. No need to risk losing that work!
Really important information like a password list, payroll records, client info, photos of grandchildren, etc. should be in 2 or 3 different places. Maybe a copy on a thumb drive in your office. A copy on Dropbox. A copy on iDrive.
If the thumb drive gets corrupted, you can pull from Dropbox or iDrive. If Dropbox crashes, you can pull from the thumb drive or iDrive.
Yes, even files stored on the cloud should have back ups!
Case in point, I store all of my passwords with LastPass. It’s a great software that I’ve recommended to many of you. A month ago CenturyLink had a nation-wide system disruption that affected the LastPass servers. I couldn’t log in!! The info was still there but I couldn’t get to it. Now I am exporting the passwords once a month and storing them in Dropbox.
I highly recommend that at least one of your back ups be automated. Sync everything with Dropbox. Use iDrive. Buy an external hard drive with back up software. Automating the process will save you time and give you protection even on those super busy days where little tasks get missed.
You can set up Dropbox to automatically sync files from your computer. You can use iDrive or Google Drive to schedule back ups.
Don’t wait for a disaster to happen. Plan and implement your system now for peace of mind.
Common Ways Attackers Are Stealing Your Password
Today passwords are a part of our everyday life. It is critical to protect our information from getting into the wrong hands. Unfortunately, a weak password is a weak defense against hackers. Here are a few ways hackers are trying to get a hold of your information and how you can help stop them.
1: Credential Stuffing
This happens when an attacker already has your login info – typically from a data breach at a large company like Target, Bank of America, etc. who store credit card and login info for their clients. They will log in as you and impersonate you to make changes on your account. If you have used the same password on different accounts, they now have access to all of them. Your best defense is to make sure you have strong passwords and different passwords for every site.
Read how to use a password pattern.
2: Password Cracking Techniques
These are techniques that attackers use to “guess” passwords to accounts. They have algorithms that can crack a weak password. The best way to prevent this is to make sure you have strong passwords that aren’t repeated for logins to other sites. Use a mixture of upper case letters, lower case letters, numbers and characters. Never use names or real words. Not even your favorite cat’s name!
3: Shoulder Surfing
Shoulder surfing is when someone around you watches to see the private information you type on your keyboard or on your screen from over your shoulder. It can happen at the grocery store or the ATM. We have to be aware of our surroundings whenever we are typing in sensitive information in a public place.
4: Social Engineering
This is when someone tries to get you to reveal sensitive information by pretending to have clearance for it. If a customer service agent is calling you and wanting to verify your credentials, make sure you verify them first! Never give passwords or private info to strangers no matter who they claim to be.
Microsoft, Google, the IRS, Dell will never call you. Never.
5: Phishing
Phishing is similar to social engineering but it’s more specific to email. Hackers will create an email looking like it’s from a legitimate source prompting you to type in information. If you are ever questioning the legitimacy of an email, call the person sending the email. If it’s a large corporation, open a new browser window and log in directly from their website. Never click the links in the email to log in.
6: Wireless Sniffing
This happens when a hacker collects data that is being sent between your computer and someone’s server. If a site isn’t using a TLS/SSL Certificate, the information being sent isn’t secure. You should see a closed padlock symbol on the left end of the site’s address telling you it is a secure site. If the padlock isn’t there, don’t give them any information! Not even your email.
7: Man-in-the-Middle Attack
This is similar to wireless sniffing but the information continues on to the server and back to your computer while the “man in the middle” is observing it. Once again, your best protection is to make sure the sites you visit have an updated TLS/SSL certificate. If you are using the Chrome browser, Google will alert you as to when a site’s certificate is bad and if it does you shouldn’t input any information.
Your Computer Lady recommends Last Pass as a storage vault for passwords and private data. Visit their website.
The information for this article was found here.
Productivity
I’ve been using ToDoIst for 2-3 years now to manage the many tasks I have for clients and big projects. They recently emailed a tool to help you decide which productivity method is the right one for you to use. It has to be something that you really will use over a long period of time.
I use a mix of electronic and printed. I put the tasks in ToDoIst so they don’t get lost then print them each day so I can get that endorphin rush when I check off a task. I print a list before a client meeting to be sure I talk about all the projects we’re working on.
Clean Inbox
I cannot adequately express the pleasure, the amount of confidence, the self-esteem that comes from having an empty Inbox. Suddenly I feel more in charge of my life, more in control of my business and more open to face the day. I encourage each of you to try it. There are articles to help you on my blog. You can come to the Friday Free-For-All for assistance or I will do a Zoom meeting and help you get it cleaned up. You can do it!!
Working Securely While Working Remotely
“In today’s digital workplace, more organizations offer the option for remote work in an effort to cut overhead costs, reach talent in other geographical regions, and give employees a more flexible schedule. In fact, 74% of organizations believe that flexible working has become the “new normal”. Now, in light of the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), some organizations are even requiring remote work. “
Click here to read the full article.
Only One Gmail Inbox
Having an Inbox, Social and a Promotions tab is too much!! Sorting is supposed to help but it just mucks things up for me.
So turn the extras off.
In Gmail,
- Go to Settings
- Settings
- The Inbox tab
- In the Categories section,
- Un-check Social, Promotions, Updates, Forums
- At the bottom of the page, click the Save Changes button
Go back to your Inbox. There’s only 1!!!!
7 Mobile Apps for Editing and Enhancing Images
This article from Social Media Examiner not only has recommendations, it has instructions on how to use the apps for specific problems.
This is “must read” material for those of you who use candid shots for your social media posts and blogs. Professional photography skills aren’t required. Whew! But worthy subjects and legible photos are. So one little tweak like removing the ugly wall plug on your photo can make a huge difference.
Take your photography to a higher level!
Password Protection
Confession is good for the soul, they say. So here goes…
Last week I tried to log onto my 2 laptops and kept getting the “Invalid password” message. I type that password twice every morning. Pre-coffee! Of course, I knew what it was. I tried rebooting. I tried CAPS ON and caps off. Finally I called my IT support who was going to come with his reset software.
I finally quieted down enough to try the password on auto-pilot as I usually do. Oh… yeah… there are 2 more digits to it.
Later in the week, my sister wiped her iPhone because she got confused about her phone password. She never turns off the phone therefore she never uses that password.
I use a password protector software but I had left my Windows password out of it. My sister uses a password storage software but it doesn’t have online access, only phone access.
Confession over. Let’s talk about how you can prevent either of these scenarios happening to you.
You ABSOLUTELY can not use the same password for multiple accounts! This is a serious problem. Please! It’s worth the effort to make your data safer. A data breach at Dropbox was just to gather passwords, not for info in files. The hackers take the passwords, try them at banks, PayPal, Google, etc. to get access to your personal data.
Option 1 – I strongly recommend this!
Use LastPass.com to record and input passwords. LastPass will fill in the user name and password for you on website logins. You can see the list from your computer, your tablet, your phone. You can access it online. You can store other info like social security numbers, spouse’s auto license plate number. I will help you set it up if you need some assistance. Basic service is free. Premium is only $24 a year. Using LastPass on your tablet or phone does make it easier to access sites from those small screens. And if the phone is locked up, you can access the password list from your computer.
Option 2
Create a series you can remember but changes with each account. Should be at least 8 characters including a capital letter and a special character.
Example: Series is 125cHaracters34$% (3rd character is always capitalized)
Then for your Google account the password is 12goOgl34$%
for Southwest Airlines the password is 12soUth34$%
for Yelp the password is 12yeLp34$%
You can remember the series. Each password is different so that if a hacker gets the Google password they can’t access Yelp.
This is IMPORTANT! Call me if you have questions or need help getting set up.
Post update on 05/03/18.
Guest Appearance on Business RadioX with Chon Pugh
I had the great privilege of appearing on a Business RadioX segment as the guest of Chon Pugh, Spirit Led Life Coach. Karen Nowicki, Studio Partner, led the interview. Karen Camblin, Sr. Loan Officer with Guild Mortgage, also joined us. So two of my favorite women and WSRG (Womens Success Referral Group) members had a little chat about Chon’s work as a relationship counselor. Karen N, Karen C and I have all had the privilege of sharing with Chon and have benefited from her wisdom. The hour flew by with a couple of tears and lots of laughter.
Hope you enjoy the discussion! Listen here.
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