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You are here: Home / Archives for Something to Think About

January 18, 2021 By yclmanager5 Leave a Comment

Social Media and Customer Service

How To Use Social Media for customer service – Good explanation with examples of how you can offer customer service on social media platforms. Many people expect customer service at their finger tips so it can be worth your time to offer it.

Click here to read the article.

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Filed Under: Communication, Social Media- Instagram, Something to Think About, Technology

October 27, 2020 By yclmanager5 Leave a Comment

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.

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Filed Under: Organization & Productivity, Something to Think About, Technology

October 27, 2020 By yclmanager5 Leave a Comment

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Filed Under: Organization & Productivity, Something to Think About, Technology, WordPress

October 21, 2020 By yclmanager5 Leave a Comment

New Guidelines for Online Marketing

This is a GREAT article about our new world and how we can and should market our businesses. Practical suggestions and tips. Using reality to put our best foot forward.  Please read this!
 

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Filed Under: Email Marketing, Marketing, Social Media, Something to Think About

September 13, 2020 By yclmanager5 Leave a Comment

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.

Click here to take the quiz!

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Filed Under: Apps, Organization & Productivity, Something to Think About

August 26, 2020 By yclmanager5 Leave a Comment

Cashless Spending

Thank you, Deanna Bone, DPR Realty, for this excellent info graphic about Cashless Spending.

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Filed Under: Something to Think About

August 19, 2020 By yclmanager5 Leave a Comment

Request for Reviews

Testimonials have always been an important part of marketing. Today, in our digital world, online reviews are critical. Many prospects check for reviews on Google or Facebook before they even visit a company’s website.
 
Best Option
 
Ask your clients for reviews right after you finish a project. They are happy and the work is fresh on their minds. Give them the links they need to get to the site or sites you want to build up. Follow up once or twice. People are busy and they may get distracted on the way to
doing the review.
 
Continuing Efforts
  1. Put a request for reviews and the appropriate links in your
    email signature.
  2. Add a reviews block to your email template so that each email asks for reviews. Use logos and link directly to the sites.
  3. Add a section on your Home Page with logos and links to review sites. When clients visit your site they get a reminder request.

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Filed Under: Marketing, Something to Think About

July 27, 2020 By yclmanager5 Leave a Comment

Zoom Apnea

It’s a real thing! Zoom apnea. Read about it and STOP it!

 

Click here to read the article!

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Filed Under: Something to Think About, Technology

April 1, 2020 By yclmanager5 Leave a Comment

Adapting to More Digital and Social Ways of Being in a Time of Crisis

Great article to get your brainstorming going on how to keep your business moving forward even in the midst of a crisis. We can survive this as we have survived other disasters and crises.  We just have to think differently and be creative!  I’m seeing a large jump in my clients who want to do online meetings and to take their email marketing to the next level.  I’m also seeing website refreshes to get the message out loud and clear.

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Filed Under: Marketing, Something to Think About, Websites

March 25, 2020 By yclmanager5 Leave a Comment

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!!!!

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Filed Under: Email Marketing, Organization & Productivity, Something to Think About

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