Skype In The Workspace: Use Skype\'s Community To Discuss Business With Other Professionals

We've all used Skype for a long time, now owned by Microsoft.

Many of use continue to use Skype, but there are many other competing platforms that are cropping up â€" including Zoom.us and of course tools from Google (Hangout) and Vidyo, Fuzebox and ooVoo.

Skype's recently launched Skype In The Workspace to connect business owners and other professionals.

What I find interesting about this new feature is that if you want to know about a variety of topics, Pinterest, branding, freelance teams and MORE â€" you can find these and more discussions waiting for your face to face, live input on Skype. Pretty neat.

You can create an opportunity and offer your time to discuss a topic, or you can just sign up and connect with another business owner who's already created and opportunity.

Here's Microsoft's press release on it:

Skype today launched a new online platform, Skype in the workspace (SITW) to the public, a place for small businesses to instantly connect with potential customers, partners and suppliers across the globe.

The free-to-use tool makes use of the huge network already offered by Skype, allowing millions of small businesses to promote their products and services to new networks and connections. Users can improve existing connections and establish new ones by instantly sending messages and talking to or meeting face-to-face with peers and business prospects over Skype.

The SITW community is already active as today's launch comes at the end of a six-month beta trial, which enabled 500 businesses, offering over 140 different services, to sign up, try out and test the platform.

“With more than 280 million connected users each month, Skype offers a huge range of contacts for the small business community,” said Ural Cebeci, Head of SMB Marketing at Skype. “We aim to connect millions of small businesses with Skype in the workspace and believe that by taking advantage of this shared network, businesses can develop the range of tools they need to grow, regardless of location or industry. From the designer in San Francisco looking to source textile suppliers in Thailand, to the London consultant connecting with clients in Milan, the possibilities are endless.”

Skype in the workspace will provide a central hub for entrepreneurs; startups and small businesses to connect with experts, coaches and consultants who can help them develop their business. Users join the community using their existing Skype accounts, then through a series of promotional tools can create public ‘offers' or ‘opportunities' inviting community members to live sessions on Skype to demonstrate services or products to a wider audience. Users can also book appointments with potential customers or suppliers, and keep track of these with a meeting notification service. When an opportunity is over, users can instantly give testimonials on the product or service offered.

“2011 figures from the US Small Business Administration suggest that last year in the US, the nation's 27 million small businesses created 57 million jobs â€" a core contribution to the economy,” said Cebeci. “In order for these businesses to survive and grow in what is still a tough economic climate, we understand that good communication and connections are key to their success. “

“This is why today we are opening the Skype in the workspace platform to the public. We feel we're helping connect businesses face-to-face with their customers and prospects, no matter where they are located. It opens up a world of opportunity for them.”

One avid user is Jorge Parra owner of Florida based Jorge Parra photography, who said: “There's a big difference between a professional network and a social network and Skype in the workspace seems to understand this distinction. It is the perfect companion to my existing online presence, and generates connections that will actually bring me business.”

Cindy Bidar, owner of All Quality Websites, a US startup providing expert advice on how to design, build and maintain online presence added; “ Skype in the workspace has offered something other online platforms couldn't â€" a community of business-focused individuals who can explore my services and interact with me in real time.”

 Skype today launched a new online platform, Skype in the workspace (SITW) to the public, a place for small businesses to instantly connect with potential customers, partners and suppliers across the globe.

The free-to-use tool makes use of the huge network already offered by Skype, allowing millions of small businesses to promote their products and services to new networks and connections. Users can improve existing connections and establish new ones by instantly sending messages and talking to or meeting face-to-face with peers and business prospects over Skype.

The SITW community is already active as today's launch comes at the end of a six-month beta trial, which enabled 500 businesses, offering over 140 different services, to sign up, try out and test the platform.

“With more than 280 million connected users each month, Skype offers a huge range of contacts for the small business community,” said Ural Cebeci, Head of SMB Marketing at Skype. “We aim to connect millions of small businesses with Skype in the workspace and believe that by taking advantage of this shared network, businesses can develop the range of tools they need to grow, regardless of location or industry. From the designer in San Francisco looking to source textile suppliers in Thailand, to the London consultant connecting with clients in Milan, the possibilities are endless.”

Skype in the workspace will provide a central hub for entrepreneurs; startups and small businesses to connect with experts, coaches and consultants who can help them develop their business. Users join the community using their existing Skype accounts, then through a series of promotional tools can create public ‘offers' or ‘opportunities' inviting community members to live sessions on Skype to demonstrate services or products to a wider audience. Users can also book appointments with potential customers or suppliers, and keep track of these with a meeting notification service. When an opportunity is over, users can instantly give testimonials on the product or service offered.

 

“2011 figures from the US Small Business Administration suggest that last year in the US, the nation's 27 million small businesses created 57 million jobs â€" a core contribution to the economy,” said Cebeci. “In order for these businesses to survive and grow in what is still a tough economic climate, we understand that good communication and connections are key to their success. “

“This is why today we are opening the Skype in the workspace platform to the public. We feel we're helping connect businesses face-to-face with their customers and prospects, no matter where they are located. It opens up a world of opportunity for them.”

One avid user is Jorge Parra owner of Florida based Jorge Parra photography, who said:  “There's a big difference between a professional network and a social network and Skype in the workspace seems to understand this distinction. It is the perfect companion to my existing online presence, and generates connections that will actually bring me business.”

Cindy Bidar, owner of  All Quality Websites, a US startup providing expert advice on how to design, build and maintain online presence added; “ Skype in the workspace has offered something other online platforms couldn't â€" a community of business-focused individuals who can explore my services and interact with me in real time.”

Huawei security chief says vendor supports U.S. cyberespionage defense

ORLANDO, Fla. -- In the face of a recent congressional report warning U.S. companies against using equipment provided by Chinese telecommunications vendors Huawei and ZTE, Huawei Technologies CSO Donald "Andy" Purdy said that his firm is committed to working with the United States to help solve the many complex cybersecurity issues facing its critical infrastructure and the private sector.

We are willing to work to help address the very difficult challenges of global supply chain risk.

Donald "Andy" Purdy, CSO, Huawei Technologies

In remarks Thursday during a wide-ranging panel discussion on critical infrastructure protection, cyberespionage and the theft of intellectual property at the 2012 Cloud Security Alliance Congress, Purdy reaffirmed his company's commitment to cybersecurity, in part by intimating that his company's fortunes are tied to U.S. interests. Purdy said 32% of all Huawei components come from the U.S. He said the vendor works with at least 400 U.S. companies that supply capabilities for its telecommunications equipment.

"Those are thousands of jobs," Purdy said. "We are willing to work to help address the very difficult challenges of global supply chain risk."

At times, when pressed by other panelists on China's role in addressing cybersecurity issues and putting an end to China-based attacks targeting U.S. firms and their intellectual property, Purdy appeared to fall back on prepared remarks. He applauded discussions between U.S. and Chinese governments that have focused on solving the issues and said "critical agreement can be reached in what can be appropriate forms of behavior" with respect to cracking down on organized cybercriminal operations.

"We agree with the administration that the risks in the supply chain are very significant," Purdy said. "We need to come up with solutions and models that work internationally and we are prepared to play a role in that with other countries and governments to do something about it."

An October congressional report warned that Huawei and ZTE pose a significant threat to the United States and their products should be barred from U.S. government networks. The report also recommended that enterprises avoid the vendors' equipment, citing the potential for "malicious Chinese hardware or software implants."

The panel discussion also included security industry heavyweights Paul Kurtz, Tom Kellermann and Marcus Sachs. Kurtz, managing director of the international practice at security engineering company CyberPoint International, warned that a massive amount of intellectual property is being stolen from both U.S. companies and firms abroad. The former White House advisor on national security issues, he said the private sector is going to play the biggest part in solving the problem.

"I don't think government is going to come save the day here," Kurtz said. "It's been so easily to get in and out of systems because of poor coding that it has created a tremendous amount of opportunity for wide range of players."

Internet service providers may need to play a bigger role in securing the Internet, said Kellerman, vice president of cybersecurity at Trend Micro Inc. Kellerman, who served on The Commission on Cyber Security for the 44th Presidency, called for a more fluid mechanism to facilitate the shutdown of blocks of IP addresses that are the source of denial of service attacks.

Sachs, vice president for national security policy at Verizon and a former White House cybersecurity official, called for more industry conversation, specifically regarding the security expectations that should be set for Internet service providers.

"An open debate is something we really need to get engaged on as to what is the appropriate role of the ISPs," Sachs said. "I don't want the balance to be where the ISP becomes the police department."

Purdy said the federal government and the private sector should work together to create a strategic plan on cybersecurity laying out milestones. He said resources need to be put in place to hold individuals accountable to the milestones.

"A piece of our strategy should be how to coordinate how to block malicious attacks as early as possible," Purdy said. "When folks see malicious conduct coming from a particular IP address, I'm suggesting the ISPs be the ones that shut down the malicious activity rather than having the government do it."

November 2012 Patch Tuesday to include Windows 8 patch

Six bulletins, four rated critical, will be released in Microsoft's November 2012 Patch Tuesday update package, according to an advanced notification by the software giant. Many of the issues addressed in the bulletins affect new software, including the first fixes for Windows 8, which is concerning to security researchers.

"Nothing is ever 100% secure and albeit mistakes are made in software. But it's still ugly to see," said Paul Henry, security and forensic analyst at Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Lumension Security Inc.

The four critical bulletins will address 13 vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows, Internet Explorer and the .NET Framework. All four bulletins involve remediation for remote code-execution vulnerabilities.

Bulletin 1 addresses issues in Internet Explorer 9 and will require a restart to apply the patch. Bulletins 2, 4 and 5 address issues in different iterations of Windows XP Service Pack, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista Service Pack, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012; issues in Windows RT are addressed in bulletins 4 and 5. Bulletins 2 and 5 require a restart, while bulletin 4 may require a restart.

"Most organizations will be affected by these critical bulletins as they relate to legacy codebase that is present even in Microsoft's most recent releases," said Marcus Carey, security researcher at Boston-based security vendor Rapid7 Inc. "This may come as a surprise to many who expected that Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 to be much more secure than legacy versions. The truth is that Microsoft and other vendors have significant technical debt in their code base which results in security issues."

Bulletin 6 is a remote code-execution vulnerability classed as important. It may require a restart to apply updates. The affected software includes different versions of the Microsoft Excel Service Pack, Microsoft Office for Mac, Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack Service Pack and Microsoft Excel Viewer.

Bulletin 3 is an information disclosure vulnerability rated as moderate.  It may require a restart to apply updates to different versions of Windows Vista Service Pack, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008.

The bulletin release is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2012.

The October 2012 Patch Tuesday release focused on two security advisories. The first implemented a change in the RSA key length to a minimum of 1024 bits. The second addressed a clerical error in the digital signing of several security updates. In addition, there was one critical and six important bulletins in October.

Formstack Gets Six Fresh Features

One thing that REALLY EXCITES ME is the world of light online applications that integrate well into other applications. Many of these are members of The Small Business Web. What's neat about these applications is that they do one (or a few things) VERY well and integrate with other applications for more functionality.

Freshbooks is one of those companies that are light and integrate well into other applications, they recently updated a few of their features.

Google Sign In â€" No need to remember another pesky login. You can now sign in to your Formstack account with your google account.

QR Codes are back â€" Create QR codes to easily direct your customers to your forms.

Enhanced form overview â€" Get more information right from the dashboard. The dashboard will now have heat maps of form views and submissions, as well as referrers. See where your customers are submitting data from without having to dig.

Autofill plugin â€" Save your customers time with this new form plugin. The form builder is now loaded with a plugin that will allow you to connect multiple fields, such as “same as shipping address”. No need for customers to enter the same information twice.

Improved Folder â€" Keep track of your forms quicker and easier. Folders will now appear on the top navigation. You can easily organize your forms by simply dragging and dropping them into a folder.

Mobile App updates

- The dashboard now contains an overview tab for today's activity.
- The app is now able to support both landscape and portrait orientation.
- Charts are now available in the mobile application.

The Real Toll Of Office Technology

In many ways, the technological revolution has helped us become more energy efficient. We can hold face-to-face meetings via video conferencing rather than traveling cross country. As devices get tinier, so does their energy consumption.  Yet overall, the technological revolution is actually causing a large tick in energy consumption. Business owners just may not see it as readily as before.

Consider the amount of time spent on computers and the energy used to keep servers running. Think about all the tasks we rely on electronic devices for today that used to be done manually.

The storage of all the electronic data we produce is also raising our energy use: According to Stanford researcher Jonathan Koomey, data centers accounted for 1.7% to 2.2% of all electricity consumed in the U.S. in 2010. And don't forget the energy used to manufacture all the gadgets we use.

Though few businesses want to turn back the clock and start using typewriters again, it's all a good reminder to business owners that you need to pay attention to your office technology energy use â€" and don't assume it's a zero-sum game.

Here are some steps that can help you reduce office technology energy use:

Check Sleep Modes On All Equipment

Even if you turn off all equipment â€" computers and copiers â€" at night, there's still likely excess use during daytime hours. What about when you run out for a meeting or grab lunch? For any idle times, your equipments' “sleep mode” or “power save” mode can reduce energy use by 75% or more when it's not in use. It also saves money: Setting sleep mode can save $10 to $50 a year per computer and much more for equipment such as large copiers. Many new technologies come with sleep mode already enabled, but you may need to check the user manual to find out how to check it and make sure.

Buy High-Efficiency Technologies

The federal government's Energy Star program makes it easy to find energy efficient equipment by looking for the blue-and-white sticker. Energy Star-qualified equipment use 10% to 50% less energy than regular models, which can add up to a lot in an office with a lot of equipment.

Move Applications To The “Cloud”

For most small businesses,  cloud computing â€" or running applications off the Internet â€" will save energy rather than buying software and running it on premise. That's because centralizing data storage often allows for greater efficiency than small data centers. A study by Accenture found that a business with 100 users could cut energy use and carbon emissions by up to 90% by moving applications to the cloud.

Given the large energy consumption of today's technology - and the cost of that energy to your business - it only makes sense to make sure you're being as efficient as possible.

Energy Saving Photo via Shutterstock

Twitter Chat: Get Your Business Prepared for the Holidays

If you just realized the holidays are around the corner and don’t know where to start in prepping your business,  join us for a one-hour Twitter chat on the subject on November 14, 2012 at 8 pm Eastern.

We’ll be addressing all the big concerns small businesses have this time of year, such as running holidays promotions and specials, buying employee and client gifts, ideas for greeting cards, store banners for the holidays, and shipping packages during the holiday rush.Read More

The post Twitter Chat: Get Your Business Prepared for the Holidays appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Tech Thursday (11/8): Survey Shows Small Businesses Investing More In Social Media * AT&T Introduces New Four-Line Small Business System * HP Unveils New Printing Innovations That Digitize The Office

Survey Shows Small Businesses Investing More in Social Media, But Juggling Resources

 

AT&T Introduces New Four-Line Small Business System

 

HP Unveils New Printing Innovations that Digitize the Office, Help Reduce Costs

 

 

Survey Shows Small Businesses Investing More in Social Media, But Juggling Resources

 

VerticalResponse survey finds 66% of small businesses spending more time, money

SAN FRANCISCO /PRNewswire/ â€" VerticalResponse, a leading provider of self-service marketing solutions for small businesses and non-profits including email marketing, social media marketing and event marketing, today announced the results of an exclusive survey on how much time and money small businesses spend on social media.

The company surveyed 462 small businesses on how much time they spend on social media activities, including finding and sharing content on popular social networks and blogging, and what tasks take the most time. VerticalResponse also inquired about marketing budgets.

The data are compiled in an online social media marketing infographic and summarized below.

“Our survey confirms that small businesses are understanding the value of social media,” said Janine Popick, VerticalResponse CEO/founder. “They're spending more time doing it, and investing more money into it at a faster rate. But the extra work will likely lead to time management issues, especially for the small business owner who's handling social media on top of all the other responsibilities of running a company. This implies that small businesses are in need of tactics and tools now to help them save time.”

The survey results suggest the following four conclusions:

• Small businesses are spending more time on social media, but many are struggling with the added workload.
• Small businesses are focusing on Facebook and Twitter, while adoption of Pinterest and Google+ remains slow.
• Small businesses are realizing the value of content â€" but, again, time is an issue.
• Small businesses are finding value in paying for social media.

Methodology: Results are based on an online survey of 462 businesses (93 percent with less than 100 employees). The survey was conducted between Sept. 17, 2012, and Oct. 5, 2012. Approximately 43 percent of respondents were CEOs/owners/proprietors of their companies.

 

 

AT&T Introduces New Four-Line Small Business System

 

 

New Four-Line AT&T Small Business System Delivers Affordable, Professional-Quality Telecommunications to Small Offices

 

 

Beaverton, Oregon â€" Small offices with expanding needs can elevate their telecommunications with the new easy-to-use, four-line AT&T Small Business System from Advanced American Telephones, which manufactures AT&T-branded telephones under a license agreement with AT&T Intellectual Property. Auto attendant, music on hold and cordless accessory capability all come standard without the need for professional installation or a telecommunications provider to maintain the system.

Available at major office supply stores, the reliable four-line system's foundation is the MS2085 console which can be expanded to its maximum capacity of 4 lines by 16 stations by adding up to 15 MS2015 desksets through the existing office Ethernet. No additional wiring is needed beyond the standard phone lines that plug into the console. This capability differentiates the system from competitive offerings that require phone lines to be wired in at each desk. Each deskset can be further customized, based on individual preference, with the MS2025 cordless handset or TL7600
cordless headset for in-office mobility.

Businesses will save time and money with simple, out-of-the-box set up and user-friendly components. Robust functionality will improve productivity including:

• A 60-minute digital answering system with auto attendant on the console and dedicated mailboxes for each deskset, allowing employees to manage their own voicemail and out-of-office messages
• Full duplex speakerphone on corded sets for hands-free calling and up to five-party conference calls
• Large display screens to view contact lists, missed call logs and other information

The MS2085 console station ($149.95 MSRP), MS2015 deskset ($99.95 MSRP) and MS2025 handset ($79.99 MSRP) can deliver a five-station phone system for under $600, less than most competitive offerings while delivering more
features.

The AT&T Small Business System components are available in stores and online at Office Depot, Office Max and Staples as well as online at www.telephones.att.com. Each AT&T Small Business System component comes with a limited two-year warranty â€" and no added costs or activations are required to get started.

For more information on the new AT&T Small Business System and other AT&T small business and residential telephony products, please visit www.telephones.att.com.

 

 

HP Unveils New Printing Innovations that Digitize the Office, Help Reduce Costs

 

 

PALO ALTO, Calif. - HP announced new HP Officejet Pro and HP LaserJet printers and content management solutions designed to redefine business and government printing by enabling customers to reduce costs, increase efficiency and digitize the office.

The new offerings represent the largest upgrade to HP's commercial printers in almost a decade, signifying the integration of intellectual property (IP) and innovation from across the organization.

HP Officejet Pro: Outstanding speed, quality, reliability and cost efficiency for SMBs

HP Officejet Pro X Series desktop printers and multifunction printers (MFP) deliver up to twice the speed at up to half the printing cost compared with color laser printers in their class. This new class of devices is powered by HP PageWide Technology, the next-generation inkjet platform that sets a new standard for small work team printing. It offers small and medium-sized businesses, remote offices and branch offices high-quality documents at up to 70 pages per minute.

HP LaserJet and cloud-based solutions digitize the office, simplify data access

The creation of vast amounts of business and government data means customers need a way to streamline how information is managed and accessed. The HP LaserJet Enterprise flow MFP M525c and HP LaserJet Enterprise color flow MFP M575c offer higher-performance document processing and sharing. This provides an ideal on-ramp to the digitized world with premium scanning and data entry that speed the transition from a paper to digital office.

The HP flow MFPs can be integrated with content management solutions based on software from Autonomy, an HP Company, either on-site or via the cloud. By pairing HP printing technology with Autonomy solutions, customers can access, organize and leverage information in documents, audio, video, email and web pages.

The HP Flow CM Professional brings enterprise-class content management to growing businesses, with security features that also support leading banks, legal firms and stock exchanges. The cloud-based offering increases collaboration and productivity by easily capturing, indexing, storing, searching and retrieving documents through a unique user-friendly interface designed with the customer in mind.

The HP Flow CM Enterprise is composed of a set of enterprise content management (ECM) offerings for large organizations that give instant access to vital information and help to integrate, simplify and automate processes to help reduce operating costs, improve employee productivity and assist with compliance efforts.

Office printing to increase productivity

Organizations of all sizes can address the need to increase productivity while reducing the complexity of their printing environment.

For businesses looking to increase office efficiencies with fast, powerful prints, HP is offering two additional series of HP LaserJet Pro printers. HP also is introducing new and enhanced document workflow solutions along with HP LaserJet Enterprise series printers that simplify productivity in enterprise organizations. For workers on the go, HP now offers greater access to print from cloud-based applications, incorporating Google Apps mailbox support through itsHP ePrint Enterprise.

 

Skype in the Workspace Offers Communication Hub for Businesses

Skype has just announced the release of a new business-centric online platform called Skype in the Workspace, aimed at helping businesses not only communicate with clients, prospects, and peers, but also to find new contacts and build a network that can help further your business's interests.

Ural Cebeci, Head of Product Marketing for Skype in the Workspace, said:

“It's an extension of what many small business customers already do with Skype on a daily basis, but now we've provided them with a community environment that they can explore and use to find and make connections.”

Users of the service can sign in and create a profile similar to many other social sites. Then they can “create an opportunity” for other users to connect and discuss a particular topic.

For instance, if your company was testing out a new B2B service, you could create a 20-minute Skype presentation and then open it up to any users who might be in the industry where your service is aimed.

Users can browse different opportunities like this to find what might be most relevant to them. Then the creator of the opportunity can view those interested and even contact them or add them to their network on Skype.

What sets this platform apart from other social sites is the emphasis on communication, said Cebeci. And as far as online communication providers go, Skype currently has more than 280 million monthly active users, so the amount of people a company could potentially reach would be difficult to match with other providers.

Launched publicly today, Skype in the Workspace just went through a six-month beta testing period, during which Cebeci said it was simplified quite a bit, with an emphasis on quick and easy ways to get in touch with people:

“We found that our users wanted to bring the communication to Skype as soon as possible, because it's instant. Emailing back and forth and having different discussions with different people can get complicated. So we tried to make it as simple as possible.”

Skype was founded in 2003 and is a division of Microsoft. In addition to the new workspace features, the company offers voice calling, video chat, instant messaging, and various communication plans for businesses.

US gives BlackBerry 10 security thumbs up

BlackBerry 10 has been awarded security clearance for use by US and Canadian government agencies.

The BlackBerry 10 platform has been given FIPS 140-2 certification, a NIST standard, BlackBerry-maker RIM said in a statement on Thursday.

"Achieving FIPS 140-2 certification means that BlackBerry 10 is ready to meet the strict security requirements of government agencies and enterprises at launch," said RIM security product vice president Michael K. Brown.

FIPS 140 is a standard for certifying cryptographic modules, and certifies the BlackBerry 10 platform to be used to collect, store, transfer, share and disseminate sensitive information. The BlackBerry 10 platform consists of BlackBerry 10 smartphones and RIM's BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 product.

BlackBerry products use AES 256-bit encryption, and in the past have been certified to be used by UK authorities by GCHQ information assurance branch CESG.

RIM has steadily lost global mobile market share to competitors such as Apple and Samsung. In Q3 2010 RIM's market share for devices was 2.9 per cent, dropping to just 1.9 per cent in Q2 2012, according to analyst firm Gartner.

Despite Windows 8 zero-day, vendors laud security of new Microsoft OS

Though its usability has received mixed reviews in the early going, security vendors are heralding Windows 8, Microsoft's new endpoint platform, as the safest operating system to date.

The software giant debuted its new OS Oct. 26, designing Windows 8 as a one-size-fits-all client computing platform for not only desktop and notebook PCs, but also as a competitive salvo in the smartphone, tablet and hybrid mobile device markets against Apple Inc.'s iOS and Google Inc.'s Android platform.

The OS represents a dramatic departure for Windows, abandoning its traditional start menu in favor of a graphic-centric user interface based on tiles. Windows 8 is intended to be more intuitive and work especially well on Microsoft's new line of Surface tablets, but early adopters and test users have been only lukewarm on it, noting that it has a steep learning curve. Still, that isn't stopping security vendors from praising its security.

"Windows 8 is the most secure operating system on the market today," said Gunter Ollmann, vice president of research at Atlanta-based Damballa Inc.

Security analysts note operating systems tend to improve with each new iteration, and Windows 8 continues that forward momentum from a security perspective. Ollmann said that while the cost of deployment and compatibility with other important software will be different for each organization, enterprise IT teams considering an update from earlier Windows versions would benefit from the security enhancements in Windows 8.

All versions of Windows 8 will include the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) Secure Boot feature, which replaces the standard BIOS as the firmware interface for PCs. Secure Boot will make Windows 8 resistant to low-level malware like rootkits. Paul Henry, security and forensic analyst at Lumension Security Inc., in Scottsdale, Ariz., said Secure Boot is a good antimalware measure.

Ollmann praised the updated version of Internet Explorer that comes with Windows 8, saying, "IE10 is much more advanced from a security context."

Internet Explorer 10 (IE10) now has an enhanced protection mode that ensures the browser has read/write access only when essential. When this mode is turned on, each browser tab will run in Microsoft's App Container sandbox, limiting its privileges. IE's InPrivate browsing has been expanded to prevent storing a user's browser history per-tab rather than per-session. Its ForceASLR feature helps prevent code from being injected into a running application from executing by randomizing the location of all modules loaded into memory by the browser. IE10 will also limit the use of plug-ins like Java and Adobe Flash Player.

Wolfgang Kandek, CTO at Redwood City, Calif.-based Qualys Inc., agreed that IT teams must assess the effect a change would have on productivity before switching. He also recommended an upgrade for companies still using Windows XP.

"XP is losing support in July and will become an increasing liability in terms of security soon after. The options are to migrate to Windows 7, which is by now a very well-known quantity with plenty of support, or to opt for the newer Windows 8 that has a bit more uncertainty but promises a longer lifecycle," Kandek said in an email interview with SearchSecurity.com.

Windows 8 is not invulnerable to attack. Chaouki Bekrar, CEO and head of research at Vupen Security, announced Oct. 30 that researchers at his company had developed a zero-day exploit for Windows 8 and Internet Explorer 10, after saying earlier in October they would release the Windows 8 zero-day exploit on the same day the new OS debuted. Vupen, a French company, will sell the exploit kit to its customers, mostly government agencies and corporations in finance, technology and manufacturing.

Vupen has not reached out to Microsoft with details about the vulnerability, and some in the security industry believe that Vupen's dealings are unethical. Henry said that in the security community, researchers who find vulnerabilities typically give the details to the affected software company first.

"Most security researchers do it for the greater good," Henry said. "Vupen does it for profit."

Ollmann, however, believes there are different business models in the security world, and points out that Vupen is not the only company that profits from the sale of exploit kits.

According to Ollmann, Vupen had to chain multiple vulnerabilities together to create the exploit. In the long run, that's a good sign for Microsoft because it suggests it will be difficult for the average hacker to replicate the exploit.

The security vendors agreed that it is no surprise an exploit was ready so quickly, since Microsoft made the earliest version of Windows 8 available more than a year ago. In addition, coding remains a flawed art. When a programmer writes X number of lines of code, Henry said, there will be X number of mistakes.

"No one writes bulletproof code," Henry said.

10 Tips To Help Improve Productivity By Strategically Utilizing Time

Almost everyone has heard the phrase Time is Money! This was one of the first few phrases that I heard in my childhood. Like every other child, I didn't pay much attention to it back then, but now I think it holds true for any person, student, worker or business entity.

Today's big world of business is dynamic and things are changing with high velocity. In order to keep abreast with the changing trends, businesses should act in a timely manner, i.e. doing things at the right time and the right place! I personally concur with the fact that nowadays every organization wants their employees to be effective and efficient because with changing economies, where lay-offs and downsizing are on the rise, every business setup wants their employees to be productive. Being efficient calls for doing work or producing results in a short time or with fewer resources. So, if every employee gets efficient and accomplishes tasks in a timely manner, it  would become an ideal working setup. But nothing in this world is perfect; employees, myself included(at times), waste time at the workplace.

Adam Gurian,  President of  Timex, has shared his top 10 tips that can be used to save precious time at work. I have personally tried and to my surprise, they do work!  Here they are:

1. Minor tasks that arise every day at work should be tackled immediately. This practice can save you time in the long run.
2. Before you leave the office, do the prep work for tomorrow's tasks.
3. Short “mental breaks” during work can rejuvenate you and help you be more productivity.
4. Organizing your tasks can help you keep a track of what to do and when to do it.
5. Whenever you receive a call during work time, stand up and receive the call. This will shorten the time spent on the call and help you come to the point of the conversation quickly.
6. Always stick to a schedule.
7. If you know you can't accomplish a task that is being assigned to you, then muster up the courage to say no to that task. There is no shame if you're unable to do “everything”.
8. Avoid opening every other email (unless you know it is important!). Most of the time people waste time reading emails that are actually “not” important.
9. Limit social media sites in the workplace. Social media is undoubtedly a big problem and time waster for employees. The high amount of usage of sites like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest at work have become huge contributors to wasting time and decrease in efficiency.
10. The use of technology to make the most of your time is a good idea. I for one am a big user of Skype and I make sure I can do most of my meetings via Skype to save time and, of course, travel expenses.

Timex's ideas of saving time are indeed thoughtful. Creating schedules,  a to-do-list for everyday, organizing the important tasks and giving priority to those tasks are useful tips for any person who wants to be productive and efficient at work. I would say one of the imperative tricks of the trade, though, is to think smarter and act smarter from today, because if you're not concentrating on doing your job as efficiently as possible, there is most likely someone else who can!

New mobile app for enterprise introduced by MobileIron

MobileIron has launched a mobile app persona for the enterprise, enabling its customers to protect data at rest and in motion for buisness applications using a mobile device.

According to the California-based company, the app is associated with a specific user and based on their identity and is managed through policy. It supports major operating systems, including iOS and Android and can secure both internal and third-party applications.

Two products have been developed within the app persona for enterprise: MobileIron AppConnect that containerises apps to protect app data-at-rest without touching personal data and MobileIron AppTunnel that provides tunnelling and access control to protect app data-in-motion without requiring VPN, the company said.

“Mobile apps are exploding across our customer base. App developers must move fast and innovate but still secure business app data and app traffic,” said Bob Tinker, CEO of MobileIron. “MobileIron AppConnect and AppTunnel make security painless for the developer, simple for Mobile IT and invisible to the user.”

Experts warn of Adobe Reader X zero-day

A zero-day flaw that can be used as a vector to bypass sandboxing in Adobe Reader X and XI has been circulating on cyber crime forums, according to Russian forensics company Group-IB.

The flaw is advertised for sale for between $30,000 and $50,000, and is being included in versions of the Blackhole exploit kit, Group-IB said in a statement on Wednesday.

"As more and more of these unpatchable zero-day threats pop up in application software and operating systems, it provides bot authors more opportunities to design more creative methods to get their malware loaded into a victims computer," said Group-IB managing partner Dan Clements.

The Blackhole exploit kit is often used to distribute banking Trojans such as Zeus, Spy Eye, Carberp and Citadel, said the company.

Adobe introduced 'Adobe Protected Mode' sandboxing in October as part of an effort to improve Adobe Reader security.

The Fantasy Football Approach To Understanding Your Financial Results

Imagine walking into a football stadium just after all the fans have left and the players have gone to the locker room.  You see streamers, signs, and various discarded items lying around.  You look up at the scoreboard and see that your favorite team lost.  The score was 28 â€" 24.

You Are Now a Football Coach!

As you stand there in disappointment, someone with a clipboard walks up:

“Here, I'm putting you in charge of the team â€" I quit.  Maybe you can improve them enough so they win next game and make the playoffs.”

How would you start working with your team to help them improve their performance?

I've asked lots of small business owners this question.  They almost always answer the same way.  The first thing would be to review game stats and the game tapes to get an idea of how the various parts of the game were played.

It is clear that you wouldn't be able to effectively help your team improve without knowing the details of where they were successful and where they fell short of expectations.  No matter what specific approach you might take, it absolutely would NOT be to simply look at the score, and then start making changes.

Would it?

Obvious, But Not Obvious

Trying to improve and making changes by only looking at the scoreboard is exactly how most small business owners approach their business.  It is ironic that you clearly wouldn't act that way in our imaginary situation, yet when it comes to your business, where real dollars are made or lost, you most likely do just that very thing.

Most small business owners get trapped trying to figure how to improve their financial results by looking at their profit and loss statement.  They take a look at revenue and expenses and draw conclusions such as:

• “My revenue wasn't high enough, so  I need more marketing to produce more sales”
• “My direct costs were too high, so I need to trim some costs where possible”
• “I'm spending too much on overhead,  so I need to find cheaper ways to operate.”

How You Measure Isn't How It's Created

The problem with that approach is that revenue and expenses are merely mathematical concepts that are measured on your profit and loss statement.  The reality is that revenue and expenses don't tell you ANYTHING about how your financial results are created.  Revenue is created by the combination of how many customers buy from you, how much they purchase each time they buy from you, and how often they buy from you.

This is dis-aggregation.  Drilling into the mathematical creations that you find on your profit and loss statement and breaking them down into the actual components that combine to produce those mathematical creations.

The same approach can be taken toward your expenses.  As they appear on your profit and loss they are really nothing more than mathematical creations.  Your expenses (whether direct or overhead) are created by your customers, your products, or the activities that go on inside your business to connect them.

Taking this dis-aggregated view of your business allows you to really understand HOW your business has created the financial results you have been getting from it.

By dis-aggregating you get an up close picture of how your current financial results have been created.  And once you have that level of clarity you can take the next step toward creating the financial results you want.

And that next step will be the topic of my next post.

In the meantime, get dis-aggregating!

Football Photo via Shutterstock

Big Data (aka Business Intelligence) Part 1: Big Data Can Mean Big Bucks for Small Business

Trends and numbers are always around us, but for many business owners vital information often goes unnoticed because most professionals simply don't know how to fully use the data they have. Business intelligence is a relatively new field which allows businesses to collect, maintain, and organize knowledge pertaining to virtually any field imaginable. Samples of data commonly collected by businesses are:  browsing history, purchasing history of customers, statistics on website visitor activity on websites, and pretty much anything where data can be logged and tallied. Although some types of tracking raise ethical concerns, there are many cases where business intelligence is legitimately applied.

For example, Google makes significant amounts of money by tailoring ads to the content on websites â€" so users on a travel website will see ads for: flights, hotels, rental cars, and even prices for flights from their nearest airport to the destination they are researching. While this might be spooky, having relevant ads on a travel site is much better than getting ads for a toy store when you're planning a vacation. Other cases include online retailers tailoring sales to times which best fit visitors from specific regions. Another practical use for analysis is benchmarking various aspects of your business against the industry average so you know how efficient your company is operating. Although business intelligence used to be reserved for larger companies due to cost, today virtually any business can implement business intelligence systems to fit virtually any need they have.

The first step to better analysis is to ensure that your company is properly tracking data on your website. Google Analytics is a great way to get started with ramping up your analysis capabilities. Key features of the software include:

• Number of visitors to your website
• Seeing which pages have the longest visits
• Tracking the paths visitors take across your website
• Page load speeds of various parts of your website

Even if you are not a techie, Google Analytics is supported by many website platforms so, when it comes to integrating the system into your website, it is a fairly simple process. Additionally, the interface is straightforward making it usable by even the least technically inclined. Aside from tracking your website, Google Analytics also supports AdWords integration.  This means that if you use Google for your paid search marketing, you get very fine grained analytics integrated with your website data, which can then be used to optimize your campaigns in real time.

Business Intelligence and the gathering of data can also be applied to your financial system as well.  QuickBooks and other financial software provide you basic reports such as profit & loss, tax summaries, and income and expense category summaries.  By adding services, such as BodeTree, you can enhance the findings of such programs by allowing for extensive reporting and professional report design (a major improvement over just showing your team pages of numbers). By providing users with the ability to compare their financials against the competition, value their businesses without retaining expensive consultants, and also providing a wealth of information to help your business succeed in a competitive marketplace, BodeTree helps to add a whole new dimension of insights behind traditional financial figures.

Overall it is important to keep in mind that even the greatest analytics programs are useless if you aren't actually interpreting the data and putting the information to good use. Although setting up analytics tools is a step in the right direction, it is crucial for you to ensure that staff are trained in the programs and able to make sense of the data, rather than just letting it fly by.

These two tools are just a sample of the power of big data in small settings.  Keep an eye out for our second part of this series where we will be profiling even more technologies to give your company an edge against the competition.

Retailers Fight Amazon with Ferriss Boycott

Some traditional retailers are taking an interesting path to competing with online retailer Amazon. Barnes & Noble and other traditional book retailers have vowed not to carry Amazon's latest venture into publishing, popular author Tim Ferriss's latest book 4-Hour Chef. Small business owners take many approaches to dealing with competition. In fact, entrepreneurs can probably see this from a couple of points of view: from both the perspective of a new business trying to enter an established market and from the angle of an established business trying to fight off newcomers.

Ready to Compete

Just say no. Read this article about the spreading boycott by traditional retailers against online competitor Amazon's latest title by author Tim Ferriss. As Amazon begins getting into the publishing business, the question is whether refusing to carry its titles will really help retailers. Our thought: not carrying Amazon titles may also send more customers to Amazon's site looking for the book when they can't find it at traditional book stores. What do you think? The Christian Science Monitor

Outside looking in. As we mentioned earlier, the battle between Amazon and traditional book retailers can be seen from at least two perspectives. Amazon, which is taking a major bight out of traditional book selling, is having a bit more trouble breaking into publishing since many other retailers are refusing to take its books, decreasing their availability. Breaking into a new market can be tough. Businesses must be persistent. The Wall Street Journal

Prepared for Action

Two heads are better than one. Competition may be coming at Amazon from another direction, too. Two publishing giants, Penguin and Random House, have announced intentions to join forces, with one of their focuses being emerging markets like digital publishing. It's possible the new approach will create more opportunities for small business content producers, but more importantly, the merger shows how teaming up in business can sometimes be a good way to deal with competition. Small Business Trends

Show up the competition. When working to compete against entrenched competitors, one great approach is to tell customers what you provide that your competitors don't. Entrepreneur Anthony Karibian started two companies that faced established global competitors but decided to take the approach of explaining to his prospects about the hidden costs his competition was charging them. Explaining how his company was superior was the secret to competing. bOnline Blog

Building a Strategy

Spy on the other guy. This isn't as bad as it sounds. In fact, researching your market is an important step for all entrepreneurs. There are plenty of easy (and perfectly valid and legal) ways to study your competition to figure out what they are doing right and wrong. Considerable information about your competition is available in media and on the Internet. There are plenty of great ways to figure out what other businesses are doing and how you can do it better. Small Biz Diamonds

Celebritize your brand. Publishing may be the latest front in the battle between Amazon and traditional book sellers, but it also may be the best way for your brand to leave the competition behind in the dust. Public relations expert Marsha Friedman calls this the “Celebritize Yourself” method, and says it's the best way to increase the credibility and visibility of any business. EMSI

Fear no more. Perhaps the best way of all to compete in any market, however, is not to compete at all. Management expert Bernd Geropp recommends abandoning the strategy of competing on price, quality, and service. Instead, he suggests, become the expert in solving your customers' problems and fulfilling their greatest desires. In this way, Geropp explains, you will always be number one in your customers' eyes and as a result, never need to fear competition again. More Leadership, Less Management