Your Brand Cannot Deliver Customer Service. Only Your Employees Can. US Airways Case Study

Ramon Ray on USAirways flight

I’m on flight 973 from Charlotte to Atlanta to attend Brent Leary’s Social Business Atlanta.

The passenger  in the seat next to me forget her sunglasses in the airport gate waiting area. She tells the flight attendant and here is what happens in the span of about 10 minutes as the plan is taxiing on the runway.

• He (the flight attendant) finds out where the passenger left the glasses.
• He calls the captain on the plane intercom to ask the captain to speak with the gate agent to find the glasses.
• The gate agent finds the glasses and radios back to the captain.
• The flight attendant gets the passengers information and tells the gate agent.
• He then tells the passenger that someone will be in touch with her.

This was not a “brand” that did this. US Airways has an employee who cares about his customers and knows their value.

If every company did this - every company would have legendary Zappos and Amazon.com like customer service.

Before I got on the flight I was waitlisted for the flight. I did get a seat and as I approached the gate agent to scan my boarding pass her colleague gave me an even better seat.

This is a perfect example of how companies must strive to serve their customers and exceed their expectations.

Your Brand Cannot Deliver Customer Service. Only Your Employees Can. US Airways Case Study

Ramon Ray on USAirways flight

I’m on flight 973 from Charlotte to Atlanta to attend Brent Leary’s Social Business Atlanta.

The passenger  in the seat next to me forget her sunglasses in the airport gate waiting area. She tells the flight attendant and here is what happens in the spam of about 10 minutes as the plan is taxiing on the run way.

• He (the flight attendant) finds out where the passenger left the glasses,
• He calls the captain on the plane intercom to ask the captain to speak with the gate agent to find the glasses
• The gate agent finds the glasses and radios back to the captain
• The flight attendant gets the passengers information and tells the gate agent
• He then tells the passenger that someone will be in touch with her

This was not a “brand” that did this. But US Airways has an employee who cares about his customers and knows their value.

If every company did this - every company would have legendary Zappos and Amazon.com like customer service.

Before I got on the flight I was waitlisted for the flight. I did get a seat and as I approached the gate agent to scan my boarding pass her colleague gave me an evente better seat.

This is a perfect example of how companies must strive to serve their customers and exceed their expectations.

Tech Thursday (2/21): News From BenQ, Verizon Wireless, SugarSync and YouMail

It’s Tech Thursday from Smallbiztechnology.com. Each week we take a quick look at business and technology news and updates for the small business community and shares them with you in a quick and simple round-up.

New BenQ Interactive Projectors Bring Handheld Tablet Connectivity to Classrooms and Boardroom 

Projectors Feature Third-Generation PointDraw™ Technology Offering iPad® and Android™ Tablet BYOD Integration

BenQ America Corp., an internationally renowned provider of digital lifestyle innovations, today announced the latest additions to its PointDraw™ line of short-throw
projectors: the MW821ST and MX822ST. Supporting BenQ’s third-generation PointDraw interactive projection technology, the projectors facilitate a more immersive experience in classrooms and boardrooms by enabling integration of iPad® and Android™ tablets, and greater interaction with new PointDraw Pen 3.0.

BenQ’s third-generation PointDraw technology includes the new PointDraw Pen 3.0 to create more engaging presentations. Now with improved pointer accuracy and decreased lag, the optional PointDraw pen enables teachers and presenters to write on any projection surface whenever enhanced interactivity is required. The QDraw3 app is available for download from the Apple® App StoreSM or the Google Play™ Store and can be used via wireless connection with iPad and Android devices. The interactive software is also compatible with Mac® and Linux® operating systems in addition to offering tile-friendly Windows® 8 compatibility, and can be downloaded from the benq.us website. A license key is included in the PointDraw pen package, which is available for purchase separately.

For more information on these new items from BenQ, click here.

Verizon Wireless Rounds Out Mobile Payments with Square

Accepting Mobile Payments Comes Full Circle for Small Businesses

Verizon Wireless, a go-to mobile technology resource for small businesses, and Square are making the Square Card Reader available in Verizon Wireless retail locations across the country. Powered by the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network, the Square Card Reader makes it easy for small businesses and on-the-go entrepreneurs in any industry to accept credit card payments. With the Square Card Reader, small businesses can enhance their company’s productivity and efficiency, while gaining a competitive advantage in their industry.

For more information, click here.

SugarSync Announces All-New Business Plans & Pricing

SugarSync recently announced some exciting news for business users, teams and organizations looking for the best way to unleash the power of the Cloud: all-new SugarSync for Business plans and pricing, featuring unlimited storage and unlimited users/seats! Now businesses or teams of all sizes can leverage the power & flexibility of SugarSync, while scaling up as big as your business requirements do.

But it’s not just about lower prices and more storage & seats: we’ve listened to our business customers (and users on personal accounts who have wanted to move to SugarSync for Business) as well as worked with companies of all sizes around the globe to better understand their needs, pricing and storage considerations â€" resulting in a dramatically simplified yet easily scalable new offering which we believe will delight business customers across the full range of sizes. Whether you need 3 seats or 3000, you now get unlimited storage for no extra charge. SugarSync for Business starts at $550/year and includes 3 users, and then businesses can add additional users anytime for $125/user. All with unlimited storage, regardless of the number of users!

For more information on the new plans, click here.

YouMail Opens For Business

Mobile Voicemail in the Cloud Hits New Growth Milestones and Launches New Business-Oriented Premium Service

YouMail, the leading provider of personalized cloud-based voicemail, today announced that it has cleared four million registered users. In addition, YouMail announced it now has registered users from over 150,000 different businesses and enterprises, working in over 15,000 different occupations, and with up to multiple thousands of YouMail users active within a single enterprise. YouMail also
announced the launch of its “YouMail - Business Edition” service geared toward its large and growing audience of business and professional users.

“We’ve added one million users in just the past six months, as YouMail is now spreading organically to our user’s family, friends and colleagues,” said YouMail CEO Alex Quilici. “And we’re now seeing a big chunk of our base using YouMail as a business productivity tool, whether it’s within a small business or a large enterprise.”

For more information on this story, click here.

Why You Absolutely Need A Mobile Landing Page

When selling your products, it’s important to make sure that customers are directed to a means to purchase them. On a 1920Ã-1080 resolution (a large screen), this is very easy to do. Everything that’s important can just appear “above the fold.” In other words, you can put your calls to action where the prospect actually sees them without scrolling down.

On a phone, or other mobile device, the story is quite different. Smartphone screens measure anywhere from 3 to 5 inches, with certain exceptions. This can really defeat the purpose of your website unless you create a mobile-friendly environment. But you’re still missing the psychological dilemma. On most mobile pages, your visitors still have to scroll around to view everything, allowing them to easily be distracted by other material you may have. In a big-screen environment, this doesn’t present any trouble. But when the screen size is limited, it’s difficult to get your message across because your visitors will mostly focus on certain areas of the site. Since they generally have the tendency to view one small piece of your site at a time, it’s imperative to have a mobile landing page.

Sujay Maheshwari, CEO and co-founder of Mobinable, explains the reason why you would need a landing page more clearly: “Mobile landing pages present a particular call to action; they focus on a particular ‘goal’ and don’t allow the user to be distracted. They understand the mobile form factor, limitations, and the fact that the user might not be engaged for a very long time.” He adds that mobile landing pages “get the work done ASAP.” This means that your visitors will be directed towards more actionable pages rather than huge blocks of text.

With a mobile landing page, you end up with a more actionable web interface that gives visitors quick incentives to make purchases and informs them of the best offers you have. It’s a win-win, literally, since you also benefit by racking in a higher amount of conversions. Instead of testing the patience of your customers, you give them what they want quickly without any fuss.

Why You Absolutely Need A Mobile Landing Page

When selling your products, it’s important to make sure that customers are directed to a means to purchase them. On a 1920Ã-1080 resolution (a large screen), this is very easy to do. Everything that’s important can just appear “above the fold.” In other words, you can put your calls to action where the prospect actually sees them without scrolling down.

On a phone, or other mobile device, the story is quite different. Smartphone screens measure anywhere from 3 to 5 inches, with certain exceptions. This can really defeat the purpose of your website unless you create a mobile-friendly environment. But you’re still missing the psychological dilemma. On most mobile pages, your visitors still have to scroll around to view everything, allowing them to easily be distracted by other material you may have. In a big-screen environment, this doesn’t present any trouble. But when the screen size is limited, it’s difficult to get your message across because your visitors will mostly focus on certain areas of the site. Since they generally have the tendency to view one small piece of your site at a time, it’s imperative to have a mobile landing page.

Sujay Maheshwari, CEO and co-founder of Mobinable, explains the reason why you would need a landing page more clearly: “Mobile landing pages present a particular call to action; they focus on a particular ‘goal’ and don’t allow the user to be distracted. They understand the mobile form factor, limitations, and the fact that the user might not be engaged for a very long time.” He adds that mobile landing pages “get the work done ASAP.” This means that your visitors will be directed towards more actionable pages rather than huge blocks of text.

With a mobile landing page, you end up with a more actionable web interface that gives visitors quick incentives to make purchases and informs them of the best offers you have. It’s a win-win, literally, since you also benefit by racking in a higher amount of conversions. Instead of testing the patience of your customers, you give them what they want quickly without any fuss.

Tech Thursday (2/21): News From BenQ, Verizon Wireless, SugarSync and YouMail

It’s Tech Thursday from Smallbiztechnology.com. Each week we take a quick look at business and technology news and updates for the small business community and shares them with you in a quick and simple round-up.

New BenQ Interactive Projectors Bring Handheld Tablet Connectivity to Classrooms and Boardroom 

Projectors Feature Third-Generation PointDraw™ Technology Offering iPad® and Android™ Tablet BYOD Integration

BenQ America Corp., an internationally renowned provider of digital lifestyle innovations, today announced the latest additions to its PointDraw™ line of short-throw
projectors: the MW821ST and MX822ST. Supporting BenQ’s third-generation PointDraw interactive projection technology, the projectors facilitate a more immersive experience in classrooms and boardrooms by enabling integration of iPad® and Android™ tablets, and greater interaction with new PointDraw Pen 3.0.

BenQ’s third-generation PointDraw technology includes the new PointDraw Pen 3.0 to create more engaging presentations. Now with improved pointer accuracy and decreased lag, the optional PointDraw pen enables teachers and presenters to write on any projection surface whenever enhanced interactivity is required. The QDraw3 app is available for download from the Apple® App StoreSM or the Google Play™ Store and can be used via wireless connection with iPad and Android devices. The interactive software is also compatible with Mac® and Linux® operating systems in addition to offering tile-friendly Windows® 8 compatibility, and can be downloaded from the benq.us website. A license key is included in the PointDraw pen package, which is available for purchase separately.

For more information on these new items from BenQ, click here.

Verizon Wireless Rounds Out Mobile Payments with Square

Accepting Mobile Payments Comes Full Circle for Small Businesses

Verizon Wireless, a go-to mobile technology resource for small businesses, and Square are making the Square Card Reader available in Verizon Wireless retail locations across the country. Powered by the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network, the Square Card Reader makes it easy for small businesses and on-the-go entrepreneurs in any industry to accept credit card payments. With the Square Card Reader, small businesses can enhance their company’s productivity and efficiency, while gaining a competitive advantage in their industry.

For more information, click here.

SugarSync Announces All-New Business Plans & Pricing

SugarSync recently announced some exciting news for business users, teams and organizations looking for the best way to unleash the power of the Cloud: all-new SugarSync for Business plans and pricing, featuring unlimited storage and unlimited users/seats! Now businesses or teams of all sizes can leverage the power & flexibility of SugarSync, while scaling up as big as your business requirements do.

But it’s not just about lower prices and more storage & seats: we’ve listened to our business customers (and users on personal accounts who have wanted to move to SugarSync for Business) as well as worked with companies of all sizes around the globe to better understand their needs, pricing and storage considerations â€" resulting in a dramatically simplified yet easily scalable new offering which we believe will delight business customers across the full range of sizes. Whether you need 3 seats or 3000, you now get unlimited storage for no extra charge. SugarSync for Business starts at $550/year and includes 3 users, and then businesses can add additional users anytime for $125/user. All with unlimited storage, regardless of the number of users!

For more information on the new plans, click here.

YouMail Opens For Business

Mobile Voicemail in the Cloud Hits New Growth Milestones and Launches New Business-Oriented Premium Service

YouMail, the leading provider of personalized cloud-based voicemail, today announced that it has cleared four million registered users. In addition, YouMail announced it now has registered users from over 150,000 different businesses and enterprises, working in over 15,000 different occupations, and with up to multiple thousands of YouMail users active within a single enterprise. YouMail also
announced the launch of its “YouMail - Business Edition” service geared toward its large and growing audience of business and professional users.

“We’ve added one million users in just the past six months, as YouMail is now spreading organically to our user’s family, friends and colleagues,” said YouMail CEO Alex Quilici. “And we’re now seeing a big chunk of our base using YouMail as a business productivity tool, whether it’s within a small business or a large enterprise.”

For more information on this story, click here.

3 Guest Blogging Mistakes to Avoid

As an editor for several blogs that accept guest posts I see a lot of the same mistakes made over and over.

If you are hoping to become a guest blogger for a particular site, I recommend you review the following mistakes and avoid them.

Failure to Research What the Blog is About

Blogs that are devoted to a specific industry often want guest bloggers that have experience with that industry so they can offer educational information to the readers.Read More

The post 3 Guest Blogging Mistakes to Avoid appeared first on Small Business Trends.

NYC Events: Upcoming NYC Business and Technology Events (2/22 - 2/28)

Here is a listing of NYC Business and Technology Events for the upcoming week (2/1 - 2/7) that we thought would be beneficial to our small business community in the Greater NYC area.

Have a business and/or technology event coming up in the New York City area that you’d like us to add to our weekly post  If so, email us at eve...@smallbiztechnology.com.

Goal Achieving 2013, Your Strategic Roadmap

February 26, 2013 - 12:00PM to 2:30PM: Axa Advisors LLC, 1633 Broadway, 3rd Floor, NY

Goal Achieving 2013, Your Strategic Roadmap, by speaker and coaching expert RJ Lennon, Great Networking and Lunch.  Let RJ really help you lay out, define and most importantly achieve your goals. This is in an intimate atmosphere so you really can get the personal attention from RJ that you need.

Developing Your Marketing Plan

February 26, 2013 -  6:00PM to 7:00PM: New York Public Library Science Industry and Business Library, 188 Madison Ave at 34th St, Lower Level -  Healy Hall, New York, NY 10016

This is the second training workshop for the New York StartUP! 2013 Business Plan Competition. Learn how to develop a marketing plan for your business. This session will be offered three times in February.

Working with Wix: Build and Develop Your Online Presence

February 26, 2013 - 6:00PM to 8:00PM: Wix Lounge 10 West 18th Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10011

The GVCCC and Wix are pleased to present “Working with Wix,” a 2-hour class designed to help small business owners build and develop their online presence. With Wix, no coding knowledge is necessary to create a beautiful, personalized, unique website. Come learn how to make your very own site and/or e-commerce store!

The Power of Email Marketing For Your Brand

February 27, 2013 - 5:00 PM: 143 Skillman Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11211

Are you looking to brand yourself, your business, or organization in 2013 If so, then join Fluent City and Sunny Day Marketing on February 27, 2013 from 5-7pm to find out how you can use a low-cost, effective marketing tool to build your brand.

The Future of Web Privacy with Cole Stryker and Friends

February 27, 2013 - 7 pm: Geraldo’s Cafe in Brooklyn Law’s Feil Hall (1st Floor), 205 State Street, Brooklyn, NY

Cole Stryker will lead a local panel of tech and art innovators exploring web privacy scenarios. Will it disappear Can we maintain any privacy, will we want to What are the implications of an all-knowing web

SMPS-NY Business Development Live! Building Business in Three Acts

February 28, 2013 - 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM: Steelcase Showroom, 4 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019

-A real-time, sneak peek event where business developers engage directly with target clients in various scenarios. This event will be a hands-on workshop designed to help participants develop effective business development skills that cover a wide range of situations. Attendees will work in teams to develop pitches based on pre-determined case studies.

Brand Yourself for Leadership and Business Success

February 28, 2013 - 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM: 1290 Avenue of the Americas, 6th Floor, Manhattan, NY 10104

Personal branding is a requirement for success in business.  You are competing every day whether you have a job or are looking for one, posit­­ioning for a career move or starting a business. You may already have a brand, but is it the right brand to take you where you want to go Learn how to stand out from the crowd and achieve your goals with a strong personal brand.

NYC Events: Upcoming NYC Business and Technology Events (2/22 - 2/28)

Here is a listing of NYC Business and Technology Events for the upcoming week (2/1 - 2/7) that we thought would be beneficial to our small business community in the Greater NYC area.

Have a business and/or technology event coming up in the New York City area that you’d like us to add to our weekly post  If so, email us at eve...@smallbiztechnology.com.

Goal Achieving 2013, Your Strategic Roadmap

February 26, 2013 - 12:00PM to 2:30PM: Axa Advisors LLC, 1633 Broadway, 3rd Floor, NY

Goal Achieving 2013, Your Strategic Roadmap, by speaker and coaching expert RJ Lennon, Great Networking and Lunch.  Let RJ really help you lay out, define and most importantly achieve your goals. This is in an intimate atmosphere so you really can get the personal attention from RJ that you need.

Developing Your Marketing Plan

February 26, 2013 -  6:00PM to 7:00PM: New York Public Library Science Industry and Business Library, 188 Madison Ave at 34th St, Lower Level -  Healy Hall, New York, NY 10016

This is the second training workshop for the New York StartUP! 2013 Business Plan Competition. Learn how to develop a marketing plan for your business. This session will be offered three times in February.

Working with Wix: Build and Develop Your Online Presence

February 26, 2013 - 6:00PM to 8:00PM: Wix Lounge 10 West 18th Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10011

The GVCCC and Wix are pleased to present “Working with Wix,” a 2-hour class designed to help small business owners build and develop their online presence. With Wix, no coding knowledge is necessary to create a beautiful, personalized, unique website. Come learn how to make your very own site and/or e-commerce store!

The Power of Email Marketing For Your Brand

February 27, 2013 - 5:00 PM: 143 Skillman Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11211

Are you looking to brand yourself, your business, or organization in 2013 If so, then join Fluent City and Sunny Day Marketing on February 27, 2013 from 5-7pm to find out how you can use a low-cost, effective marketing tool to build your brand.

The Future of Web Privacy with Cole Stryker and Friends

February 27, 2013 - 7 pm: Geraldo’s Cafe in Brooklyn Law’s Feil Hall (1st Floor), 205 State Street, Brooklyn, NY

Cole Stryker will lead a local panel of tech and art innovators exploring web privacy scenarios. Will it disappear Can we maintain any privacy, will we want to What are the implications of an all-knowing web

SMPS-NY Business Development Live! Building Business in Three Acts

February 28, 2013 - 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM: Steelcase Showroom, 4 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019

-A real-time, sneak peek event where business developers engage directly with target clients in various scenarios. This event will be a hands-on workshop designed to help participants develop effective business development skills that cover a wide range of situations. Attendees will work in teams to develop pitches based on pre-determined case studies.

Brand Yourself for Leadership and Business Success

February 28, 2013 - 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM: 1290 Avenue of the Americas, 6th Floor, Manhattan, NY 10104

Personal branding is a requirement for success in business.  You are competing every day whether you have a job or are looking for one, posit­­ioning for a career move or starting a business. You may already have a brand, but is it the right brand to take you where you want to go Learn how to stand out from the crowd and achieve your goals with a strong personal brand.

The Sunrise Calendar App Integrates With Google, Facebook and Linked

One new calendar app that was recently released in the App Store claims to actually help make life easier for users, with functions like recurring events, reminders, and all-day events. But the interesting part about Sunrise is its integrations with other services like Google, Facebook and LinkedIn.

When a user schedules a meeting with a particular person, the app doesn’t just remind you what time and who you’re meeting with, but it also includes information about the person you are meeting, such as their LinkedIn profile or Facebook photo.

This type of feature is meant to provide you with actual useful information within the app itself, so that you don’t have to simply use your calendar app as a place to write notes for yourself to see at a later date, and then launch another application to find the information you might need.

When you first open the app, which was built by designers who previously worked on Foursquare, you can see a feed of events based on your Facebook events and Google Calendar, which are automatically imported once you’ve linked your accounts to the app.

The first photo above shows an example of how you can RSVP to events directly within the Sunrise app and create new events. You can view each of the events by time, including the place and people you will be meeting with, but you can also view each event individually as shown in the second photo.

Like many calendar apps, Sunrise isn’t aimed specifically at business users, but could definitely be useful when scheduling meetings, conferences, presentations, and other events. The simple design and easy access of pertinent information directly within the app are also plusses for business users.

Before the launch of its mobile app, Sunrise functioned as an email newsletter that sent users daily reminders of events and other calendar information planned for the following day. The email service is still available, and both the app and newsletter are free.

The Sunrise Calendar App Integrates With Google, Facebook and Linked

One new calendar app that was recently released in the App Store claims to actually help make life easier for users, with functions like recurring events, reminders, and all-day events. But the interesting part about Sunrise is its integrations with other services like Google, Facebook and LinkedIn.

When a user schedules a meeting with a particular person, the app doesn’t just remind you what time and who you’re meeting with, but it also includes information about the person you are meeting, such as their LinkedIn profile or Facebook photo.

This type of feature is meant to provide you with actual useful information within the app itself, so that you don’t have to simply use your calendar app as a place to write notes for yourself to see at a later date, and then launch another application to find the information you might need.

When you first open the app, which was built by designers who previously worked on Foursquare, you can see a feed of events based on your Facebook events and Google Calendar, which are automatically imported once you’ve linked your accounts to the app.

The first photo above shows an example of how you can RSVP to events directly within the Sunrise app and create new events. You can view each of the events by time, including the place and people you will be meeting with, but you can also view each event individually as shown in the second photo.

Like many calendar apps, Sunrise isn’t aimed specifically at business users, but could definitely be useful when scheduling meetings, conferences, presentations, and other events. The simple design and easy access of pertinent information directly within the app are also plusses for business users.

Before the launch of its mobile app, Sunrise functioned as an email newsletter that sent users daily reminders of events and other calendar information planned for the following day. The email service is still available, and both the app and newsletter are free.

Adobe releases patches for zero-day flaws in Reader and Acrobat

Adobe has released patches for zero-day flaws in its Reader and Acrobat products.

After details of the vulnerabilities being exploited 'in the wild' were announced by FireEye, the Adobe team took just a week to release the patches that affect all platforms and led to remote code execution.

Adobe said in its advisory: “These updates address vulnerabilities that could cause a crash and potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system.”

The company last released an update for a critical flaw issue in its Flash Player, also saying it was aware of reports of the vulnerability being exploited in the wild.

The patch came in the same week as Oracle's release of Java 7 update 15, which fixes five vulnerabilities, three of which are rated as critical.

GFI LanGuard 2012

GFI LanGuard 2012 offers a full set of vulnerability scanning and management features. It brings together vulnerability scanning, remediation and patch management, as well as network and software auditing, all under one roof. LanGuard is software-based and can be installed on almost any Microsoft Windows machine in the enterprise environment and can scan Windows, Linux/Unix and Mac OS targets on the network.

We found installation and deployment to be easy. The initial setup was done by simply running the installation executable. When we launched the installer, we were presented with a short installation wizard that also preloaded all the necessary components, including the .Net Framework.

After this was complete, we were able to launch the application and get started. The first time we did this, it ran a scan of the local machine and gave a full vulnerability and inventory report. Once that was complete, we navigated around the interface and found it easy and intuitive to use. Also, LanGuard features many colourful charts and graphics, as well as many expandable scan results.

LanGuard can run in both agent-based and agentless modes. Agents can be easily deployed to provide scanning ability to remote machines or laptops that may need to leave the enterprise. This ensures that all inventory is monitored even when not connected directly to the network.

From a compliance standpoint, this tool comes preloaded with many regulatory compliance scanning templates, including PCI DSS, HIPAA, GLBA and PSN CoCo (Public Services Network Code of Connection), among many others. LanGuard allows for administrators to scan network assets for vulnerabilities on an ongoing basis, as well as monitor possible changes that could affect security and compliance, such as newly installed applications.

Documentation consisted of a few PDF guides, including installation, administrator and scripting manuals. The installation guide provided a detailed overview of implementation of the product, agent deployment and a basic feature overview. The administrator guide provided a much more in-depth look, including advanced installation instructions and full feature and function configurations. We found all guides to contain many screenshots and step-by-step instructions in a clear format.

GFI includes full product and technical support for one year as part of the purchase price. After the first year, customers can buy additional assistance as part of an annual maintenance contract. Aid offered includes 24/7 phone- and email-based technical support, as well as access to updates and upgrades, web-based chat, online knowledgebase and user forum.

At a price starting at around £10 per seat for 100 to 249 seats, LanGuard may seem a little expensive at first glance, but we find it to be excellent value. With this product, customers get a vulnerability scanner, patch management system and compliance auditing platform all in one, and they are all well designed and easy to use, which we think is well worth the cost.

The Smallest Businesses Face the Biggest Cyber Risks

While many of us long for the days when people had real-life conversations rather than truncated text chats, the reality is that the Internet is here to stay. And in the Internet Age, data is king.

As a small business owner, you collect customer data every day. And if you’re using the Internet, that data - along with all of your company’s sensitive information - is vulnerable to attacks.

Without the proper safeguards in place, your business could suffer a data breach that exposes sensitive information, disrupts your operations and opens the door to an expensive lawsuit.

Why Cyber Security Matters to Small Business

The majority of data breaches happen to small and mid-sized business. Surprised Consider these chilling stats:

Even more troubling The average cost of a data breach for a small to mid-sized business is a staggering $5 million.

Why Cyber Security Matters to YOUR Small Business

When a small business suffers a data breach, the fallout can be tremendous. A single breach can trigger a variety of financial damages, including:

• Lawsuits (and the attendant legal costs) from clients whose data and security were compromised. These alone can reach into the tens of thousands of dollars and beyond.
• Site repair costs to address security issues that allowed the breach to happen.
• Public relations and / or advertising costs to restore the company’s image among current and potential clients.
• Lost confidence and lost future business from current and potential clients whose confidence is shaken by the data breach.

Unfortunately, most small business owners believe that a data breach won’t happen to them, either because they have adequate protection in place or because their information isn’t worth stealing. In reality, hackers often see small businesses as prime targets because the data they store is typically less diligently protected than the data held by large corporations.

How Data Breaches Happen

In small businesses, data breaches can happen in a number of ways. Common scenarios include:

• Your employee opens an email that contains a damaging virus, which spreads itself to everyone on the employee’s contact list, including clients. The virus hurts your business’s computer system, as well as your clients.
• A virus compromises your company website, forcing you to redo the site and institute new security policies - which, of course, requires that you hire someone familiar with the relevant technology.
• A hacker finds a way into your system and outright steals data from your files.
• An employee who works from his tablet loses the device, which isn’t password protected, putting sensitive data at large. You now have to handle the data crisis as well as the fact that your employee’s productivity will likely plummet.
• A former employee who left on bad terms accesses your system and wreaks havoc internally thanks to unchanged passwords.

Any of these scenarios could cause your clients financial loss, open your business to lawsuits, force you to shut down operations while you address the problem and damage your reputation with current and prospective clients. The associated costs could quickly spiral out of control.

Luckily, you’re not completely powerless against the data breach risks your business faces.

Tips to Manage Your Cyber Security Risks

The good news is that there are several strategies you can implement to keep your risk of data breaches low. These include:

1. Using strong passwords. More than half of data breaches are caused by weak (aka “guessable”) passwords. Make yours strong and change them regularly.
2. Implementing virus protection, firewalls and encryption techniques. These all make your network less vulnerable to attacks.
3. Limiting information disclosure. Only give access to sensitive data to team members who absolutely need it.
4. Investing in cyber liability insurance. Depending on your needs, you may be able to purchase this type of coverage as an add-on to your general liability policy. If your business has bigger data security needs, you can purchase a stand-alone cyber liability policy. Either way, the coverage will pay for the legal and recuperative costs associated with a data breach that affects your company.

The takeaway The Internet, data and all its accompanying risks are not going away any time soon. Do your business, your clients and your bottom line a favor by preparing for the risks you face before they cause serious damage.

Virus Photo via Shutterstock

The Smallest Businesses Face the Biggest Cyber Risks

While many of us long for the days when people had real-life conversations rather than truncated text chats, the reality is that the Internet is here to stay. And in the Internet Age, data is king.

As a small business owner, you collect customer data every day. And if you’re using the Internet, that data - along with all of your company’s sensitive information - is vulnerable to attacks.

Without the proper safeguards in place, your business could suffer a data breach that exposes sensitive information, disrupts your operations and opens the door to an expensive lawsuit.

Why Cyber Security Matters to Small Business

The majority of data breaches happen to small and mid-sized business. Surprised Consider these chilling stats:

Even more troubling The average cost of a data breach for a small to mid-sized business is a staggering $5 million.

Why Cyber Security Matters to YOUR Small Business

When a small business suffers a data breach, the fallout can be tremendous. A single breach can trigger a variety of financial damages, including:

• Lawsuits (and the attendant legal costs) from clients whose data and security were compromised. These alone can reach into the tens of thousands of dollars and beyond.
• Site repair costs to address security issues that allowed the breach to happen.
• Public relations and / or advertising costs to restore the company’s image among current and potential clients.
• Lost confidence and lost future business from current and potential clients whose confidence is shaken by the data breach.

Unfortunately, most small business owners believe that a data breach won’t happen to them, either because they have adequate protection in place or because their information isn’t worth stealing. In reality, hackers often see small businesses as prime targets because the data they store is typically less diligently protected than the data held by large corporations.

How Data Breaches Happen

In small businesses, data breaches can happen in a number of ways. Common scenarios include:

• Your employee opens an email that contains a damaging virus, which spreads itself to everyone on the employee’s contact list, including clients. The virus hurts your business’s computer system, as well as your clients.
• A virus compromises your company website, forcing you to redo the site and institute new security policies - which, of course, requires that you hire someone familiar with the relevant technology.
• A hacker finds a way into your system and outright steals data from your files.
• An employee who works from his tablet loses the device, which isn’t password protected, putting sensitive data at large. You now have to handle the data crisis as well as the fact that your employee’s productivity will likely plummet.
• A former employee who left on bad terms accesses your system and wreaks havoc internally thanks to unchanged passwords.

Any of these scenarios could cause your clients financial loss, open your business to lawsuits, force you to shut down operations while you address the problem and damage your reputation with current and prospective clients. The associated costs could quickly spiral out of control.

Luckily, you’re not completely powerless against the data breach risks your business faces.

Tips to Manage Your Cyber Security Risks

The good news is that there are several strategies you can implement to keep your risk of data breaches low. These include:

1. Using strong passwords. More than half of data breaches are caused by weak (aka “guessable”) passwords. Make yours strong and change them regularly.
2. Implementing virus protection, firewalls and encryption techniques. These all make your network less vulnerable to attacks.
3. Limiting information disclosure. Only give access to sensitive data to team members who absolutely need it.
4. Investing in cyber liability insurance. Depending on your needs, you may be able to purchase this type of coverage as an add-on to your general liability policy. If your business has bigger data security needs, you can purchase a stand-alone cyber liability policy. Either way, the coverage will pay for the legal and recuperative costs associated with a data breach that affects your company.

The takeaway The Internet, data and all its accompanying risks are not going away any time soon. Do your business, your clients and your bottom line a favor by preparing for the risks you face before they cause serious damage.

Virus Photo via Shutterstock

Nexpose v 5.5

Rapid7's Nexpose assists clients through the entire vulnerability management lifecycle - spanning discovery, vulnerability detection, risk classification, impact analysis, reporting, vulnerability verification and risk mitigation. Organisations can use it to gain insight into their security posture and IT environment.

Nexpose's intuitive graphical user interface makes it easy for clients to run scans for known vulnerabilities on their network. Users can also configure the product to scan their websites and servers for web application vulnerabilities to determine their overall level of policy compliance.

Nexpose presently has more than 97,000 checks and 34,000 vulnerabilities. It includes metadata around each of the discovered vulnerabilities on the network. The solution data allows users to view standard metrics to see which common vulnerabilities and exposures, common configuration enumeration identifiers, common vulnerability scoring system risk scores, and others, such as information assurance vulnerability management, to use when researching a discovered vulnerability.

Rapid7 enhances the public metrics with information about any known malware and exploits associated with a vulnerability, as well as detailed remediation information that allows users to fully comprehend the tasks and time required to remediate the vulnerability, using the integration between Nexpose and Metasploit to verify it. Users can also focus remediation on the issues that actually provide real risk to their environment.

Deployment options include software, hardware and virtual appliances, as well as a managed service. The lab evaluation installation was done with a CD provided by Rapid7 that included two installers: Windows 64-bit and Linux 64-bit. There was also a Readme file that contained the activation code. Installation was simple, and once completed the application was accessed by a browser on the Windows Server Enterprise 64-bit and hosted on ESXi. Configuration of the application was easy and we were up and running in less than ten minutes.

We were impressed with the quality of the vulnerability scanner. The number of discovered vulnerabilities exceeded all other tests, and validation of the vulnerabilities was excellent. The remediation recommendations were clear, and by taking advantage of the long history of the product's vulnerability/exploit engine it went well beyond just reciting common vulnerabilities and exposures information. It then delivered clear remediation recommendations. Overall, the performance of the system was very strong.

Documentation included an intuitive help area. The company's website provides the typical assistance documentation, such as a searchable knowledgebase, FAQs and the Rapid7 community and self-help functions.

The company's support structure is fairly complicated. Telephone and email aid is offered to all customers as part of their licence fee and annual renewal. Support offers 24/7 incident response, 24-hour vulnerability service level agreements and reliable testing guarantees.

At a cost of £21,985 for 256 IPs, we find the cost of Nexpose v5.5 to be excellent value.

Nexpose v 5.5

Rapid7's Nexpose assists clients through the entire vulnerability management lifecycle - spanning discovery, vulnerability detection, risk classification, impact analysis, reporting, vulnerability verification and risk mitigation. Organisations can use it to gain insight into their security posture and IT environment.

Nexpose's intuitive graphical user interface makes it easy for clients to run scans for known vulnerabilities on their network. Users can also configure the product to scan their websites and servers for web application vulnerabilities to determine their overall level of policy compliance.

Nexpose presently has more than 97,000 checks and 34,000 vulnerabilities. It includes metadata around each of the discovered vulnerabilities on the network. The solution data allows users to view standard metrics to see which common vulnerabilities and exposures, common configuration enumeration identifiers, common vulnerability scoring system risk scores, and others, such as information assurance vulnerability management, to use when researching a discovered vulnerability.

Rapid7 enhances the public metrics with information about any known malware and exploits associated with a vulnerability, as well as detailed remediation information that allows users to fully comprehend the tasks and time required to remediate the vulnerability, using the integration between Nexpose and Metasploit to verify it. Users can also focus remediation on the issues that actually provide real risk to their environment.

Deployment options include software, hardware and virtual appliances, as well as a managed service. The lab evaluation installation was done with a CD provided by Rapid7 that included two installers: Windows 64-bit and Linux 64-bit. There was also a Readme file that contained the activation code. Installation was simple, and once completed the application was accessed by a browser on the Windows Server Enterprise 64-bit and hosted on ESXi. Configuration of the application was easy and we were up and running in less than ten minutes.

We were impressed with the quality of the vulnerability scanner. The number of discovered vulnerabilities exceeded all other tests, and validation of the vulnerabilities was excellent. The remediation recommendations were clear, and by taking advantage of the long history of the product's vulnerability/exploit engine it went well beyond just reciting common vulnerabilities and exposures information. It then delivered clear remediation recommendations. Overall, the performance of the system was very strong.

Documentation included an intuitive help area. The company's website provides the typical assistance documentation, such as a searchable knowledgebase, FAQs and the Rapid7 community and self-help functions.

The company's support structure is fairly complicated. Telephone and email aid is offered to all customers as part of their licence fee and annual renewal. Support offers 24/7 incident response, 24-hour vulnerability service level agreements and reliable testing guarantees.

At a cost of £21,985 for 256 IPs, we find the cost of Nexpose v5.5 to be excellent value.

10 Tips For Successful Text Marketing

Are you using text marketing or text codes as part of your marketing strategy

If you don’t know what text marketing or mobile marketing (I use these terms as one and the same) is, then this is something that you need to be looking into.

Text marketing is basically distributing your marketing through a wireless network. Usually how it works is, you text a certain keyword to a mobile short code and then you are either directed to a landing page or you receive a text message with a link that directs you to a specific landing page.  On that landing page, you complete the desired action, like fill out a form, redeem a coupon or something along those lines.

A major reason you would want to look at using text marketing or mobile marketing is that most people carry a cell phone and text is used by most cellphone owners. In addition to this, in an interview I recently conducted with Jed Alpert, author of The Mobile Marketing Revolution. Alpert stated that the uptake by adding a text code to marketing is up to 10 times higher than if you don’t use a text code.

The Short Code

When you decide to use text marketing, look for a company that has an easy-to-remember short code. The short code is the number that you text your keyword too. If the numbers are not easy to remember, then your uptake will be lower.

For example, the company that I use in Canada has a short code of 313131, which is easy to remember.

The Keyword

As with the short code, keep the keyword short and easy-to-remember. Don’t force someone to type an alphanumeric code that isn’t easy to remember or a long keyword that people will get carpal tunnel syndrome from typing.

The combination of a short keyword to an easy-to-remember short code will allow you to have a higher uptake.

A Mobile Ready Landing Page

Since you are using a mobile device to view a landing page, make sure that the page that you are directing people to is mobile friendly.  Otherwise, it might be too hard to read.

Capture an Email Address

By pairing mobile marketing with email marketing, you will have another way to market to people. The nice thing is, you will be able to send emails to people time and time again.

Use Mobile Marketing Only When Appropriate

If you choose to send out information to someones cell phone, make sure that you are not spamming them. It’s one thing to send emails to people, but it is entirely different when you start sending messages to someones cell phone.

Mobile messages can be read up to 100% of the time and unless you are providing something of significant value to the recipient, then think twice about how many times you send messages.

Have a Call To Action

This is basic common sense, but so many people fail to add a call to action to their marketing messages. If you are using a sign to get someone to text, then tell them what you want them to do. Such as, “Text X to Short Code to get a 10% off coupon today.”

Give Something Away of Value

Once you have gotten someone to follow your call to action, make sure that you give something away of value. It’s doesn’t have to be monetary value, but instead, it can informational in nature.

Measure Results

The nice thing about text marketing is that you can measure results. You can measure how many people used a text code and then if you use a link to a webpage, you can track that conversion.  Finally, you can measure the uptake on your offer.

Few forms of marketing can give you that level of granularity.

Put Text Marketing on Any Visible Place

I place text codes in a lot of different places such as signs, business cards, products and company trucks among others.  There are lots of places that you can place text codes.

Use Text Marketing To Act As Your Business Card

How many times have you been without a card and you really want to give someone your contact information

Use your name and have it hooked up to a virtual card that someone can download. This way you will never be without a business card.

Mobile Marketing Photo via Shutterstock

10 Tips For Successful Text Marketing

Are you using text marketing or text codes as part of your marketing strategy

If you don’t know what text marketing or mobile marketing (I use these terms as one and the same) is, then this is something that you need to be looking into.

Text marketing is basically distributing your marketing through a wireless network. Usually how it works is, you text a certain keyword to a mobile short code and then you are either directed to a landing page or you receive a text message with a link that directs you to a specific landing page.  On that landing page, you complete the desired action, like fill out a form, redeem a coupon or something along those lines.

A major reason you would want to look at using text marketing or mobile marketing is that most people carry a cell phone and text is used by most cellphone owners. In addition to this, in an interview I recently conducted with Jed Alpert, author of The Mobile Marketing Revolution. Alpert stated that the uptake by adding a text code to marketing is up to 10 times higher than if you don’t use a text code.

The Short Code

When you decide to use text marketing, look for a company that has an easy-to-remember short code. The short code is the number that you text your keyword too. If the numbers are not easy to remember, then your uptake will be lower.

For example, the company that I use in Canada has a short code of 313131, which is easy to remember.

The Keyword

As with the short code, keep the keyword short and easy-to-remember. Don’t force someone to type an alphanumeric code that isn’t easy to remember or a long keyword that people will get carpal tunnel syndrome from typing.

The combination of a short keyword to an easy-to-remember short code will allow you to have a higher uptake.

A Mobile Ready Landing Page

Since you are using a mobile device to view a landing page, make sure that the page that you are directing people to is mobile friendly.  Otherwise, it might be too hard to read.

Capture an Email Address

By pairing mobile marketing with email marketing, you will have another way to market to people. The nice thing is, you will be able to send emails to people time and time again.

Use Mobile Marketing Only When Appropriate

If you choose to send out information to someones cell phone, make sure that you are not spamming them. It’s one thing to send emails to people, but it is entirely different when you start sending messages to someones cell phone.

Mobile messages can be read up to 100% of the time and unless you are providing something of significant value to the recipient, then think twice about how many times you send messages.

Have a Call To Action

This is basic common sense, but so many people fail to add a call to action to their marketing messages. If you are using a sign to get someone to text, then tell them what you want them to do. Such as, “Text X to Short Code to get a 10% off coupon today.”

Give Something Away of Value

Once you have gotten someone to follow your call to action, make sure that you give something away of value. It’s doesn’t have to be monetary value, but instead, it can informational in nature.

Measure Results

The nice thing about text marketing is that you can measure results. You can measure how many people used a text code and then if you use a link to a webpage, you can track that conversion.  Finally, you can measure the uptake on your offer.

Few forms of marketing can give you that level of granularity.

Put Text Marketing on Any Visible Place

I place text codes in a lot of different places such as signs, business cards, products and company trucks among others.  There are lots of places that you can place text codes.

Use Text Marketing To Act As Your Business Card

How many times have you been without a card and you really want to give someone your contact information

Use your name and have it hooked up to a virtual card that someone can download. This way you will never be without a business card.

Mobile Marketing Photo via Shutterstock

Site behind Facebook Java hack apologises for inconvenience

The web development company behind the compromise of Facebook employees' laptops has apologised for the inconvenience and said that security is a top priority.

In a blog post, iPhoneDevSDK administrator Ian Sefferman said that it was alerted to the fact that its site was "part of an elaborate and sophisticated attack whose victims included large internet companies" and prior to media attention, it had no knowledge of the breach and hadn't been contacted by Facebook, any other company, or any law enforcement about the potential breach.

SC Magazine Australia reported that AllThingsD had named the responsible site as iPhoneDevSDK and while Facebook had not confirmed it was to blame, the website was previously down for maintenance. For a time, it displayed a malware warning message within the Chrome browser that said the page contains content from min.liveanalytics.org, a known malware distributor. “Visiting this page now is very likely to infect your computer with malware,” it said.

Facebook wrote in a blog last week that the compromised website hosted an exploit that then allowed malware to be installed on the employee laptops. "The laptops were fully patched and running up-to-date anti-virus software,” it said.

Sefferman said that the issue has nothing to do with Vanilla software, which it uses for its forums, and instead blamed a single administrator account that was compromised. “The hackers used this account to modify our theme and inject JavaScript into our site. That JavaScript appears to have used a sophisticated, previously unknown exploit to hack into certain user's computers,” he said.

“We're still trying to determine the exploit's exact timeline and details, but it appears as though it was ended (by the hacker) on 30thJanuary 2013.”

He concluded by saying that he was very sorry for the inconvenience, and thanked Vanilla Forums for its help in the matter and Facebook after it reached out to them.

Google says account takeovers are down more than 99 per cent

Google is crediting enhanced risk analysis efforts with lowering the number of compromised user accounts by nearly 100 per cent over two years.

Mike Hearn, a Google security engineer, said in a blog post that new security measures, in which login attempts to accounts such as Gmail are tested against 120 variables to ensure a person is who they say they are, have reduced hijackings by 99.7 per cent since a peak in 2011.

"If a sign-in is deemed suspicious or risky for some reason - maybe it's coming from a country oceans away from your last sign-in - we ask some simple questions about your account," Hearn wrote.

"For example, we may ask for the phone number associated with your account, or for the answer to your security question. These questions are normally hard for a hijacker to solve, but are easy for the real owner." 

Spammers and others who seek access to accounts that aren't theirs use varying ways to do it. But Hearn pinned most of the blame on hackers who have compromised websites to steal usernames and passwords. Often, web users employ the same credentials across their online accounts. So if a miscreant steals someone's login information from, for example, LinkedIn, those same credentials might work to access Gmail. Once in their possession, attackers use automated methods to try and crack victims' accounts.

"We've seen a single attacker using stolen passwords to attempt to break into a million different Google accounts every single day, for weeks at a time," wrote Hearn, who added that users should also consider using two-factor authentication as an additional protection method.

The news from Google wasn't met with complete praise, with some questioning the privacy ramifications of a single company knowing so much about its users.

"The flip side of Google account hijackings being down 99 per cent is that Google's ability to correlate and pinpoint you is up 99 per cent," Melissa Elliott, a computer security researcher, tweeted on Wednesday.

"I'm not saying that's good or bad. Just that the reality is that you have to take extreme steps to be truly anonymous online."

Bit9 attack took place five months before detection, company suspects larger campaign

It was five months before the intrusion at Bit9 was detected.

According to research by security blogger Brian Krebs, hackers breached Bit9 in July 2012, yet this was not discovered until January 2013.

After sharing the hashes of the 33 files that hackers had signed with the stolen certificate and searching for them on VirusTotal, the first match turned up a file called ‘media.exe', which was compiled and then signed using Bit9′s certificate on 13 July 2012. The other result was a Microsoft driver file for an SQL database server, which was compiled and signed by Bit9′s certificate on 25th July 2012.

Bit9 revealed the attack in January, saying that hackers accessed its code-signing certificates and enabled them to digitally sign malware to appear as legitimate files. Asked about the findings, Bit9 confirmed that the breach appears to have started last summer with the compromise of an internet-facing web server, via an SQL injection attack.

Harry Sverdlove, Bit9′s chief technology officer, told Krebs that while the company doesn't take any solace in the research, he said that the good news "is they came after us because they weren't able to come after our customers directly".

Krebs said: “It's not clear why the attackers waited so long to use the stolen certificates, but in any case Bit9 says the unauthorised virtual machine remained offline from August through December, and was only turned on again in early January 2013.

In a blog post, Sverdlove said that it will share more intelligence at the right time, as the investigation is on-going, and that it would not "share details that will compromise our customers or violate confidentiality, nor are we going to share details that will compromise our own security".

He said: “As members of the broader security community, we consider it our responsibility to provide information that can help others protect themselves, raise awareness and aid in any investigations.

“We can only speculate, but we believe the attack on us was part of a larger campaign against a particular and narrow set of companies. I hope we will be able to provide more insight into that so we can all better understand the nature of our cyber enemies.

“There is no easy answer to a world where there are sophisticated actors continuously targeting every company and individual and whose primary goal is to steal information, whether for profit, power or glory. This is not fear-mongering or hypeâ€"everyone in the security business knows this fact. This is the state of cyber security today, and we are all frustrated and angered by it.”

The company also announced that a product patch is available, which will automatically protect Bit9 customers from any malware illegitimately signed with the affected Bit9 certificate. This is available from the Bit9 Customer Portal.

Citrix folds Zenprise technology into mobile device management portfolio

Citrix has combined technology from its acquisition of Zenprise to launch its mobile device management solution XenMobile MDM.

Citrix said the new solution will: allow users to register their devices; give IT the ability to provision policies and apps to a large number of devices automatically; and provide IT with the capacity to blacklist or whitelist apps, protect against jailbroken devices and wipe or selectively wipe a device that is lost or out of compliance.

According to the company, XenMobile MDM provides the foundation to address needs of employees and IT through role-based management, configuration and security of corporate and employee-owned devices. It integrates directly with Microsoft Active Directory and public key infrastructure systems, as well as security information and event management tools.

Amit Pandey, group vice president and general manager of mobile platforms at Citrix, said: “The promise of mobility hinges on the ability for IT to deliver secure apps and data to users on any device. When customers bring their own devices to work, as is increasingly the norm, IT doesn't have the tools to manage or secure the content on them.

“With its comprehensive portfolio of mobile solutions, Citrix offers customers the ability to say ‘yes'. Yes to total mobile freedom by providing a complete solution that can manage and secure all devices, apps and data while giving users the ability to experience work and life their way.”

The solution is part of the Citrix Mobile Solutions Bundle, which also comprises the CloudGateway, and Citrix said that together these offer secure email, browser and data sharing within applications, mobile app containers and identity management.

Stephen Drake, program vice president of mobile enterprise at IDC, said: “The addition of an MDM solution to the Citrix mobile application and data management capabilities create a complete solution. By offering a platform for mobile enterprise management that gives options, Citrix can help give customers the peace of mind that, if their needs change, the platform can adjust.”