The Toughest Franchise Business In The World

You’re already a customer of this type of franchise business. That means you know it…from a customer perspective. You’ve also probably heard that’s it’s a “tough business.” And, you’d be right.

It Always Wins The Popularity Contest

Almost 50% of the people that contact me are interested in buying one. Hands-down, it’s the most popular sector in my industry. It’s also very visible.

If you guessed that I’m referring to food service…mostly restaurants of the QSR (quick service restaurant) variety, you’re right.

Before I get into why the food-service business is the toughest around, I want to share some industry data and trends:

• Fast-food restaurants, categorized as limited service restaurants by the Census Bureau (which did an economic survey of the franchise industry in 2007), topped the list of all franchise operations with 125,898 establishments.
• If you’re thinking about opening up a food franchise, the location you choose is crucial…even the city in which you set-up shop. Here are some great places to start a business.
• Today’s consumers are on all sorts of schedules. It’s rare to see an entire family sitting down for a meal at the same time anymore. That’s why more and more food franchises are developing bite-sized meals for people on the go. It’s really a growing trend, and one that won’t be going away anytime soon.
• Did you know that there are 20 countries that make up the Mediterranean? According to Mary Chapman, director of product innovation for Technomic, Mediterranean food is a next-step type of cuisine. That’s why franchises like Zoës Kitchen and Roti Mediterranean Grill are gaining interest.
• Fast food franchises have been adding healthier items to their menus for years. But, consumers still order a significant amount of less-healthy food according to this New York Times article.

Owning A Food Franchise

If you’re seriously considering becoming the owner of a fast food franchise, you need to make sure that you know exactly what your role is going to be as the franchisee.

For example, if you wanted to own a McDonald’s franchise in your area, not only would you have to have deep pockets; you’d also have to be prepared to be an owner-operator. In other words, if you have visions of opening up a McDonald’s restaurant and managing it from afar, you had better adjust your lenses.

That’s because McDonald’s expects you to be there. They also have a serious (and ongoing) training program, and it’s not one of those 2-week ones.

Another thing that’s worth asking (yourself) is what type of lifestyle it is that you want to have as an owner.

For example, are you looking for a franchise opportunity that will allow you to have a lot of flexibility when it comes to the hours you’ll be working? If so, the food-service business may not be right for you. In most cases you’ll need to be working in the business. In other words, you’ll be there a lot.

And, while you’re there…working in your food service franchise, you’re going to have to be a Jack or Jill of all trades. You’ll need to be flexible. If an employee doesn’t show up for work, you may have to drop what you’re doing and fill-in yourself. I was in food-service and employee no-shows are very common.

Why It’s A Tough Business

In a nutshell, it’s the absolute lack of control that makes owning a QSR…or any food-service establishment, very challenging.

Now, I don’t want you to feel that I’m trying to deter you from going after your dream. If you’ve “always wanted to own a restaurant” by all means investigate the opportunities that exist today. Just know that:

You’ll be Spending a Lot of Time Recruiting, Hiring, and Firing Employees

Turnover rates in food service can be as much as 50% annually. So, be prepared to go through a lot of employees.

You’re Going to Have a Total Lack of Control When it Comes to Food Costs

They vary tremendously. A lot of things can affect your food costs. Things like fuel prices (which affect delivery costs), natural disasters (which can wipe out crops) and other assorted maladies can and do affect food costs - your food costs.

Translation: your profit margins can drop quickly.

Your Restaurant Equipment Can Go on the Fritz

In my experience, this tends to happen on your businesses busiest days and times.

For example, if you own a full service restaurant and the dishwasher breaks, plan on experiencing one of the grossest jobs imaginable in food service; washing dirty dishes by hand. If you don’t have clean dishes available, you can’t serve your food.

Websites like Yelp Can Sometimes Make or Break Things for Your Franchise

On a positive note, a series of lousy reviews can help you figure out what’s wrong quickly so you can address it. And, if you can’t your franchisor can. Of course great reviews are just that; great.

You’ll be Working Harder Than You Ever Have in Your Life

It was true for me during the many years that I was in the food business. Of course there’s nothing wrong with hard work, but talking about having to work really hard and doing it 15 hours a day, 7 days a week, are two vastly different things.

If you want to become the owner of a food franchise, start your search for the right one with your eyes wide-open. There are great opportunities in food service these days. You should be able to find one that suits you. Just talk to a lot of existing franchisees before you become one yourself.

That way, you’ll know what to expect as an owner.

Fast Food Collage Photo via Shutterstock

The Toughest Franchise Business In The World

You’re already a customer of this type of franchise business. That means you know it…from a customer perspective. You’ve also probably heard that’s it’s a “tough business.” And, you’d be right.

It Always Wins The Popularity Contest

Almost 50% of the people that contact me are interested in buying one. Hands-down, it’s the most popular sector in my industry. It’s also very visible.

If you guessed that I’m referring to food service…mostly restaurants of the QSR (quick service restaurant) variety, you’re right.

Before I get into why the food-service business is the toughest around, I want to share some industry data and trends:

• Fast-food restaurants, categorized as limited service restaurants by the Census Bureau (which did an economic survey of the franchise industry in 2007), topped the list of all franchise operations with 125,898 establishments.
• If you’re thinking about opening up a food franchise, the location you choose is crucial…even the city in which you set-up shop. Here are some great places to start a business.
• Today’s consumers are on all sorts of schedules. It’s rare to see an entire family sitting down for a meal at the same time anymore. That’s why more and more food franchises are developing bite-sized meals for people on the go. It’s really a growing trend, and one that won’t be going away anytime soon.
• Did you know that there are 20 countries that make up the Mediterranean? According to Mary Chapman, director of product innovation for Technomic, Mediterranean food is a next-step type of cuisine. That’s why franchises like Zoës Kitchen and Roti Mediterranean Grill are gaining interest.
• Fast food franchises have been adding healthier items to their menus for years. But, consumers still order a significant amount of less-healthy food according to this New York Times article.

Owning A Food Franchise

If you’re seriously considering becoming the owner of a fast food franchise, you need to make sure that you know exactly what your role is going to be as the franchisee.

For example, if you wanted to own a McDonald’s franchise in your area, not only would you have to have deep pockets; you’d also have to be prepared to be an owner-operator. In other words, if you have visions of opening up a McDonald’s restaurant and managing it from afar, you had better adjust your lenses.

That’s because McDonald’s expects you to be there. They also have a serious (and ongoing) training program, and it’s not one of those 2-week ones.

Another thing that’s worth asking (yourself) is what type of lifestyle it is that you want to have as an owner.

For example, are you looking for a franchise opportunity that will allow you to have a lot of flexibility when it comes to the hours you’ll be working? If so, the food-service business may not be right for you. In most cases you’ll need to be working in the business. In other words, you’ll be there a lot.

And, while you’re there…working in your food service franchise, you’re going to have to be a Jack or Jill of all trades. You’ll need to be flexible. If an employee doesn’t show up for work, you may have to drop what you’re doing and fill-in yourself. I was in food-service and employee no-shows are very common.

Why It’s A Tough Business

In a nutshell, it’s the absolute lack of control that makes owning a QSR…or any food-service establishment, very challenging.

Now, I don’t want you to feel that I’m trying to deter you from going after your dream. If you’ve “always wanted to own a restaurant” by all means investigate the opportunities that exist today. Just know that:

You’ll be Spending a Lot of Time Recruiting, Hiring, and Firing Employees

Turnover rates in food service can be as much as 50% annually. So, be prepared to go through a lot of employees.

You’re Going to Have a Total Lack of Control When it Comes to Food Costs

They vary tremendously. A lot of things can affect your food costs. Things like fuel prices (which affect delivery costs), natural disasters (which can wipe out crops) and other assorted maladies can and do affect food costs - your food costs.

Translation: your profit margins can drop quickly.

Your Restaurant Equipment Can Go on the Fritz

In my experience, this tends to happen on your businesses busiest days and times.

For example, if you own a full service restaurant and the dishwasher breaks, plan on experiencing one of the grossest jobs imaginable in food service; washing dirty dishes by hand. If you don’t have clean dishes available, you can’t serve your food.

Websites like Yelp Can Sometimes Make or Break Things for Your Franchise

On a positive note, a series of lousy reviews can help you figure out what’s wrong quickly so you can address it. And, if you can’t your franchisor can. Of course great reviews are just that; great.

You’ll be Working Harder Than You Ever Have in Your Life

It was true for me during the many years that I was in the food business. Of course there’s nothing wrong with hard work, but talking about having to work really hard and doing it 15 hours a day, 7 days a week, are two vastly different things.

If you want to become the owner of a food franchise, start your search for the right one with your eyes wide-open. There are great opportunities in food service these days. You should be able to find one that suits you. Just talk to a lot of existing franchisees before you become one yourself.

That way, you’ll know what to expect as an owner.

Fast Food Collage Photo via Shutterstock

6 Steps To Staying Safe In The Cloud and Steps Ahead of Hackers

Brought to you by AVG Technologies, the provider of Internet and mobile security, privacy and optimization to 150 million active users. There’s nothing small about small business in our eyes. Get more information how AVG can help your small business stay protected - go to http://www.avg.com/us-en/internet-security-business

6 Steps To Staying Safe In The Cloud and Steps Ahead of Hackers

The cloud has become a magnificent tool that small businesses have been leveraging for years. It has provided the small entrepreneur with the possibility of wielding the same amount of computing power and capabilities of a larger corporate entity. In short, the whole concept of cloud computing has become a great boom to all business owners, allowing them to do things they previously couldn’t fathom doing.

Even though the cloud has become a highly convenient tool for all sorts of things, it’s still an arena where you should exercise extreme caution. It’s not uncommon for a major cloud provider to get compromised, spilling tons of customer data into the hands of malicious people. Even worse, internal compromise could seriously damage your company.

To fight the war against internal and external threats, there are a couple of things you should keep in mind:

• Do a Google search with the term “hacked” after the name of the service you are considering (or currently) using. If you find an article relevant to the service being hacked (from a credible news source), then you should steer clear from it unless the article mentions they’ve made drastic adjustments to the way they conduct their security.
• Is everything they store encrypted? Where does the decryption take place? Ask your cloud service provider these questions! If encryption happens locally (on your computer), you’ll have less chances of compromise.
• Do not share one account between employees. It’s tempting, since many of these services may charge per-user fees. If possible, purchase two user accounts: one for you, and one for your employees. Every time you off-board an employee, then change the employee account password. This is a form of jerry-rigging, though, and doesn’t count as a best practice. The best way to stay safe on the cloud is to have one account for each person or use a single sign-on (SSO) solution. Each employee would have one SSO account, all of them would be using the same cloud account to log in, but they wouldn’t know the password since it’s managed on the SSO’s end.
• Run as many cloud solutions in-house (i.e. running your own private cloud) as you can, if possible. This is not only for regulatory reasons, but also for the security and integrity of your data. If a public cloud service is hacked, you’ll be immune, since all your data is in-house, not on their servers. Although in-house private cloud computing presents certain advantages, you still bear the full responsibility of keeping the server secure. That means installing anti-malware and putting it behind a decent firewall!

• Avoid using the same password for each service. SSO helps here. Using the same password for everything will guarantee that one day you’ll have all your data compromised.
• If you have regulations to comply to (PCI DSS, SOX, HIPAA, etc.), then you must make sure that the services you pick are compliant with those regulations. Otherwise, you could be hit with nasty fines!

Security in the cloud is a growing issue and hackers don’t make it any easier. They will always find a way around new technologies, so it’s important to stay one step ahead. Ignore anyone who tells you that the cloud is a 100% safe solution. Many prominent services have already experienced major compromises, making it important to tread carefully.

6 Steps To Staying Safe In The Cloud and Steps Ahead of Hackers

Brought to you by AVG Technologies, the provider of Internet and mobile security, privacy and optimization to 150 million active users. There’s nothing small about small business in our eyes. Get more information how AVG can help your small business stay protected - go to http://www.avg.com/us-en/internet-security-business

6 Steps To Staying Safe In The Cloud and Steps Ahead of Hackers

The cloud has become a magnificent tool that small businesses have been leveraging for years. It has provided the small entrepreneur with the possibility of wielding the same amount of computing power and capabilities of a larger corporate entity. In short, the whole concept of cloud computing has become a great boom to all business owners, allowing them to do things they previously couldn’t fathom doing.

Even though the cloud has become a highly convenient tool for all sorts of things, it’s still an arena where you should exercise extreme caution. It’s not uncommon for a major cloud provider to get compromised, spilling tons of customer data into the hands of malicious people. Even worse, internal compromise could seriously damage your company.

To fight the war against internal and external threats, there are a couple of things you should keep in mind:

• Do a Google search with the term “hacked” after the name of the service you are considering (or currently) using. If you find an article relevant to the service being hacked (from a credible news source), then you should steer clear from it unless the article mentions they’ve made drastic adjustments to the way they conduct their security.
• Is everything they store encrypted? Where does the decryption take place? Ask your cloud service provider these questions! If encryption happens locally (on your computer), you’ll have less chances of compromise.
• Do not share one account between employees. It’s tempting, since many of these services may charge per-user fees. If possible, purchase two user accounts: one for you, and one for your employees. Every time you off-board an employee, then change the employee account password. This is a form of jerry-rigging, though, and doesn’t count as a best practice. The best way to stay safe on the cloud is to have one account for each person or use a single sign-on (SSO) solution. Each employee would have one SSO account, all of them would be using the same cloud account to log in, but they wouldn’t know the password since it’s managed on the SSO’s end.
• Run as many cloud solutions in-house (i.e. running your own private cloud) as you can, if possible. This is not only for regulatory reasons, but also for the security and integrity of your data. If a public cloud service is hacked, you’ll be immune, since all your data is in-house, not on their servers. Although in-house private cloud computing presents certain advantages, you still bear the full responsibility of keeping the server secure. That means installing anti-malware and putting it behind a decent firewall!

• Avoid using the same password for each service. SSO helps here. Using the same password for everything will guarantee that one day you’ll have all your data compromised.
• If you have regulations to comply to (PCI DSS, SOX, HIPAA, etc.), then you must make sure that the services you pick are compliant with those regulations. Otherwise, you could be hit with nasty fines!

Security in the cloud is a growing issue and hackers don’t make it any easier. They will always find a way around new technologies, so it’s important to stay one step ahead. Ignore anyone who tells you that the cloud is a 100% safe solution. Many prominent services have already experienced major compromises, making it important to tread carefully.

5 Ways Your Small Business Can Beat the Summer Slump

It’s the dog days of summer, and your small business might be starting to feel like a ghost town. Everybody seems to be working shorter days, or on vacation, or just not ready to shift gears from browsing to buying. You may be thinking of throwing in the towel, but your business doesn’t have to suffer from a summer slowdown.

While you can’t expect people to stop taking summer vacations, there are plenty of things you can do to give your small business a summer boost in unexpected ways. At the least, these tips will help you build a stronger foundation for when business shifts back to normal after the nice weather ends.

Put a Shine on Your Social Media Accounts

Chances are good that when your business is rocking, you don’t put much time into Facebook or Twitter. Use your summer breather to work on the social media profiles you keep meaning to improve, but never get around to.

Now you can get to things that take a lot of time, like changing the background and themes of your Facebook business page from the standard white and blue to something that matches your branding, or bulking up your LinkedIn profile with all the details you haven’t been able to add yet.

Working on social media over the summer will also help you get into the habit of spending a few minutes a day actively posting and responding to commentsâ€"something you can carry over when the slow season ends.

Get Creative with Your Campaigns

Have a wacky marketing idea that just might work, but you’ve been afraid to try it?

Summer is great for experimenting with new strategies for putting your small business out there. Start that blog you’ve been thinking about since the turn of the century, launch a new product or service that you’ve been on the fence with, or try your hand at viral videos or guerrilla marketing tactics.

If your business is already slow, it can’t hurtâ€"and the results might surprise you.

Meet New People (And Learn Stuff, Too)

When you’re running a small business, you don’t get much of an opportunity for face-to-face networking unless you make one. Summer is the perfect time for seeing new faces and forging new contacts, because it’s conference season.

Look for conferences, seminars, and summits in your industry that are nearby and affordable, and try signing up for a few of them. Head out prepared to network with business cardsâ€"printed, virtual, or bothâ€"and other material about your business, and remember to ask the people you meet for their contact information, too.

You never know who might become your best small business friend.

Reconnect With Your Customers Through a New (Or Improved) Newsletter

Subscriber lists are still the best form of digital marketing. If you don’t have one, it’s time to start putting it togetherâ€"and if you’ve got one that you’ve been neglecting, now is your chance to use it.

A regular newsletter is a great way to stay connected with your customers, even when they’re on vacation or running a laid-back summer schedule. It costs about five times as much to land new customers as it does to cultivate repeat business, and a newsletter is a low-cost strategy to let existing customers know that you’re still around and available for them.

Head for the Hills (Or the Beach, or the Park)

In between all the work you’re putting into your small business this summer, don’t forget that you deserve a break, too. Small business owners are less likely than their traditionally employed counterparts to take a vacationâ€"but it’s essential to give yourself a little downtime.

So take an afternoon to hit the beach, or give yourself an extended weekend away from it all. When you head back to work, you’ll do so refreshed, revived, and ready to beat that business summer slump.

5 Ways Your Small Business Can Beat the Summer Slump

It’s the dog days of summer, and your small business might be starting to feel like a ghost town. Everybody seems to be working shorter days, or on vacation, or just not ready to shift gears from browsing to buying. You may be thinking of throwing in the towel, but your business doesn’t have to suffer from a summer slowdown.

While you can’t expect people to stop taking summer vacations, there are plenty of things you can do to give your small business a summer boost in unexpected ways. At the least, these tips will help you build a stronger foundation for when business shifts back to normal after the nice weather ends.

Put a Shine on Your Social Media Accounts

Chances are good that when your business is rocking, you don’t put much time into Facebook or Twitter. Use your summer breather to work on the social media profiles you keep meaning to improve, but never get around to.

Now you can get to things that take a lot of time, like changing the background and themes of your Facebook business page from the standard white and blue to something that matches your branding, or bulking up your LinkedIn profile with all the details you haven’t been able to add yet.

Working on social media over the summer will also help you get into the habit of spending a few minutes a day actively posting and responding to commentsâ€"something you can carry over when the slow season ends.

Get Creative with Your Campaigns

Have a wacky marketing idea that just might work, but you’ve been afraid to try it?

Summer is great for experimenting with new strategies for putting your small business out there. Start that blog you’ve been thinking about since the turn of the century, launch a new product or service that you’ve been on the fence with, or try your hand at viral videos or guerrilla marketing tactics.

If your business is already slow, it can’t hurtâ€"and the results might surprise you.

Meet New People (And Learn Stuff, Too)

When you’re running a small business, you don’t get much of an opportunity for face-to-face networking unless you make one. Summer is the perfect time for seeing new faces and forging new contacts, because it’s conference season.

Look for conferences, seminars, and summits in your industry that are nearby and affordable, and try signing up for a few of them. Head out prepared to network with business cardsâ€"printed, virtual, or bothâ€"and other material about your business, and remember to ask the people you meet for their contact information, too.

You never know who might become your best small business friend.

Reconnect With Your Customers Through a New (Or Improved) Newsletter

Subscriber lists are still the best form of digital marketing. If you don’t have one, it’s time to start putting it togetherâ€"and if you’ve got one that you’ve been neglecting, now is your chance to use it.

A regular newsletter is a great way to stay connected with your customers, even when they’re on vacation or running a laid-back summer schedule. It costs about five times as much to land new customers as it does to cultivate repeat business, and a newsletter is a low-cost strategy to let existing customers know that you’re still around and available for them.

Head for the Hills (Or the Beach, or the Park)

In between all the work you’re putting into your small business this summer, don’t forget that you deserve a break, too. Small business owners are less likely than their traditionally employed counterparts to take a vacationâ€"but it’s essential to give yourself a little downtime.

So take an afternoon to hit the beach, or give yourself an extended weekend away from it all. When you head back to work, you’ll do so refreshed, revived, and ready to beat that business summer slump.

New Tips, Tools and Tech Guide Shows Businesses What They Need To Stay Connected and Organized

When running or working in a small business, very early on you’ll learn (occasionally the hard way!) that communication is tantamount to productivity. If you can’t communicate with clients, partners, or suppliers, your business is basically in a stasis that can’t produce much. I work at a business that often needs to make calls every day, to raise funds, set meetings and forward information. However, I also work in the historic district and my building was made in 1859, which has resulted in less than perfect conditions for maintaining solid communicate with our internet / cellular services. zBoost, a company that understands that communication is key, has created a small business “Tips, Tools, and Tech Guide for Staying Connected, Organized, and Entertained”.

zBoost praises the importance of a stable cellular network, and its Guide contains many important factors to keep in mind when creating and maintaining cellular communications:

• First and foremost, it’s important to do you research when deciding what devices and services you need. Do you need cellphones? Smartphones and tablets are rapidly becoming business necessities, allowing you to work on the go with all the versatility of a desktop PC. Which carriers offer reliable service in your area and are you in need of cell signal boosters?
• What apps are helpful for what you need to get done? zBoost recommends apps to scan documents from your device camera, social media like Facebook and Twitter to keep your business in the loop, and organizers like Evernote to keep things in order.
• 4G technology is still evolving and branching out, but one that should be kept in mind when thinking about cellular devices. 4G is several times faster than 3G, and is often comparable with broadband internet speeds, and it is also able to host multiple users, allowing for all of your phones, tablets, and netbooks to function at top speeds.

Businesses need to function flawlessly to maintain productivity and through the effective use of a cellular network this is possible. Owners, and IT departments, need to make sure that they invest the time and effort into choosing what’s right for them. A few hours of homework beforehand can end up paying dividends.

New Tips, Tools and Tech Guide Shows Businesses What They Need To Stay Connected and Organized

When running or working in a small business, very early on you’ll learn (occasionally the hard way!) that communication is tantamount to productivity. If you can’t communicate with clients, partners, or suppliers, your business is basically in a stasis that can’t produce much. I work at a business that often needs to make calls every day, to raise funds, set meetings and forward information. However, I also work in the historic district and my building was made in 1859, which has resulted in less than perfect conditions for maintaining solid communicate with our internet / cellular services. zBoost, a company that understands that communication is key, has created a small business “Tips, Tools, and Tech Guide for Staying Connected, Organized, and Entertained”.

zBoost praises the importance of a stable cellular network, and its Guide contains many important factors to keep in mind when creating and maintaining cellular communications:

• First and foremost, it’s important to do you research when deciding what devices and services you need. Do you need cellphones? Smartphones and tablets are rapidly becoming business necessities, allowing you to work on the go with all the versatility of a desktop PC. Which carriers offer reliable service in your area and are you in need of cell signal boosters?
• What apps are helpful for what you need to get done? zBoost recommends apps to scan documents from your device camera, social media like Facebook and Twitter to keep your business in the loop, and organizers like Evernote to keep things in order.
• 4G technology is still evolving and branching out, but one that should be kept in mind when thinking about cellular devices. 4G is several times faster than 3G, and is often comparable with broadband internet speeds, and it is also able to host multiple users, allowing for all of your phones, tablets, and netbooks to function at top speeds.

Businesses need to function flawlessly to maintain productivity and through the effective use of a cellular network this is possible. Owners, and IT departments, need to make sure that they invest the time and effort into choosing what’s right for them. A few hours of homework beforehand can end up paying dividends.

ActivEcho v2.7

Many security professionals appreciate the utility of collaborative workspace features they see in many of the free, online, cloud-based applications out there, but loathe the idea of entrusting the security of their corporate data to another company's cloud, no matter how sterling that company's reputation. That is why we love to see products such as activEcho from Acronis, which provide those document-sharing features, but host everything within one's own private network. 

The product was provided as an .exe installer, which when ran, installed the required PostgreSQL database server and the product itself. It also checked for the existence of Java, which was required. To make use of the mobile client, we installed the separate mobile management server and specified the network port on which to run it. We were given a choice between installing the mobile management server on the same server as the primary application or installing it separately. To keep things compact, we installed everything on the same server. However, it was pleasing to have the option of segregating the two services.

The tool makes use of the Java Cryptography Extensions, which we had to download from the Acronis website and copy into the Java directory. Acronis is quick to certify new versions of Java for use with its product, but administrators should be aware that there may be a delay of a day or two while that certification process is processing.

Functioning as a collaborative workspace and document-sharing environment - similar to products such as Dropbox - activEcho supports a wide variety of platforms, including Windows, Mac and Linux PCs, as well as iOS and Android phones through respective mobile apps. It supports internal users, but is highly Active Directory integrated, so file sharing permissions, disk quotas and other features can all be controlled by group membership. There does not appear to be any remote-provisioning features, so IT intervention may be required when setting up the mobile client if users are not comfortable inputting their own server, port and login information.

Once the product is set up it functions quite simply. Documents uploaded to a share will appear in the end-user's mobile application and can be viewed, modified and saved. All data is encrypted in motion and at rest with either AES-128 or AES-256, depending on the choice of the administrator. Full monitoring and audit trail features are in place, permitting administrators to track precisely who has viewed or modified what data and when.

The documentation for activEcho is thorough. Despite the complicated setup, the installation guide provided easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions on each task required to get the services up and running. 

Acronis offers generous support for this tool, albeit there is only one support level, which provides 24/7 phone, email and web-based assistance. Additionally, there is an online knowledgebase and FAQs list.

ActivEcho has a variable pricing model, which is based on the quantity of licences purchased. For 500 users, the cost would be £35 per user. Licences are offered in perpetual and subscription-based pricing models. One year of support is included, with one-year extensions available.

Bitzer Enterprise Application Mobility v2.4

Providing complete isolation of corporate data within an end-user-owned mobile device, Bitzer Enterprise Application Mobility (BEAM) allows IT departments to enforce data leakage protection policies while offering secure access to internal applications - without the use of VPN.

The tool was provided via access to a preconfigured server, so our experience with the nuances of actual server configuration is limited. It consists of a gateway server, administration control panel, mobile file manager, notification server and database, all of which can be deployed on separate servers or consolidated to reduce server footprint. At minimum, the product requires Windows Server 2008 and either MySQL 6.1 or Microsoft SQL 2003. Bitzer does recommend that the gateway server be installed separately from the other components in a production environment. The client application runs on iOS and Android mobile platforms. 

The feature set is impressive. Oriented around the concept of a container, BEAM sets up a secure sandbox on the end-user devices. In-house or other third-party applications can be trusted by the product, and are considered at that point to be 'containerised', and secured the same way, as are the native Bitzer apps. These apps can be added to the Bitzer home screen via the 'add vApp' option, which functions like a private app store, or can be force-installed via policy. Sites accessed through the included secure web browser are tunnelled through the BEAM gateway, providing access to internal-only sites.

There is a slick secure file manager that provides access to existing internal file shares, such as Windows CIFS shares. Policies can be configured, which provide data leakage protection, and the containers themselves can be configured to auto-lock or wipe themselves when jailbreaking or rooting is detected. Administrators can also manually issue a lock or wipe command in the event of device theft or employment termination. We did find that it is possible, in some cases, for a device that has been locked to still display whatever data was last being viewed before the container was locked. 

Documentation is thorough, providing enough detail to walk administrators through the setup. The construction of the installation and troubleshooting PDFs is a little basic however, providing screenshots where appropriate, but no bookmarking or internal document hyperlinking. 

Three different support levels are available. Basic is included in the licence fee, which provides eight-hours-a-day/five-days-a-week email and level two phone support. For an additional fee, administrators can upgrade to one of Bitzer's 24/7 support options, which provide email and phone access to level two or one help services. 

BEAM starts at a cost of £60 per user per year. Perpetual licences are available, starting at approximately two times the normal annual subscription price, plus a yearly maintenance fee that covers bug fixes and upgrades. Basic support is included in the licence fee, with the 24/7 support upgrades available at an additional cost.

Fixmo SafeZone v5.0

Mobile device management products shouldn't have to be complicated, and Fixmo SafeZone is proof of that. Incorporating 256-bit AES encryption, two-factor authentication support and a secure sandbox model into an easy-to-deploy application, it is a great choice for administrators who want robust, yet simple, data security on their users' mobile devices.

Product setup was incredibly simple. We were provided access to a cloud-based server hosted by Fixmo. However, the on-premises server installation requires only a Windows 2008 server and a Microsoft SQL database server. User and device administration was configured via a web browser. Once we created a user and specified an email address, the server, port and activation token details were sent to our test user. After downloading the SafeZone application to our test device, we input those credentials and the software automatically created our encryption keys and tied them back to the server. We were then presented with a configuration screen where we specified our email account information. Once that was done, the product was ready to use.

Fixmo SafeZone functions as a secure sandbox, completely isolating corporate data from the end-user device. All data is encrypted with FIPS 140-2-compliant, 256-bit AES encryption. Policies can be set governing minimum password requirements, idle time before requiring re-authentication, and length of time the device is permitted to be out of contact with the server before the secure sandbox is wiped. Administrators can configure one-time passwords to be used in certain events, such as reaching the configurable limit for failed authentication attempts, reaching the aforementioned time limit for the device to be out of contact with the server, or when a manual device lock is specified.

Applications are provided within the sandbox that offer secure access to a user's email, calendar and contacts. Document creation and editing is provided via the included Picsel SmartOffice 2, which offers support for Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, as well as support for viewing and annotating PDF files. The secure camera application allows users to take and email photographs - all within the encrypted sandbox.

The alternative, cloud-based server deployment requires VPN access to gain a connection with those same internal sites, but is a simple-to-use alternative that companies with small or no IT departments will find useful.

Documentation is provided on the company's website through a client portal, which offers a knowledgebase and a number of PDFs. Separate documentation is provided for the server portion, as well as for the iOS and Android clients. Each PDF is clear and definitive, with easy-to-follow instructions covering each feature.

Fixmo offers two levels of support: basic and premium. Basic provides email, phone and web-based assistance options eight hours a day, five days a week. The premium add-on can be purchased for an additional per-user cost, and extends the support hours to 24/7.

Fixmo SafeZone is available at a base price of £39 per user per year. The premium support package is an additional.

Good for Enterprise

Combining full mobile device management (MDM) with end-to-end encryption, Good for Enterprise from Good Technology offers an expansive suite of products, which allow administrators to embrace BYOD policies while remaining confident in their ability to maintain a data security posture.

The product infrastructure was provided pre-installed, so we cannot speak to specifics of that setup process. To provide database services, it requires Windows Server 2003 or 2008, Active Directory, and either Microsoft SQL or Oracle. Virtualisation is explicitly supported, and the company offers specific advice on those types of deployments in the documentation.

On the mobile device side, the application is available on the App Store for iOS and Android devices, or as a download from Good Technology for older devices. Once a user account is added to the administration panel, administrators can generate a PIN, which can be emailed to the end-user. The end-user then inputs their corporate email address and the PIN, and the device is automatically provisioned and policies applied. 

Good for Enterprise is administered entirely via its web interface. Administrators are able to craft MDM policies that allow for full device control, including disabling/enabling the device camera and native device browser, pre-configuring WiFi credentials, mandating device PINs, or black/whitelisting of other applications. Jailbreak/rooting detection is included, allowing devices to be automatically locked or wiped if jailbreaking is detected. Administrators can also force-install applications they view as required. In fact, the built-in compliance manager allows administrators to set a list of applications that must be present on the device for the Good Mobile Messaging application to run.

With the secure browser plug-in, administrators can maintain lists of URLS that must be viewed via the secure browser, and those that should not be permitted to load. Those URLs can be blocked or redirected to the device's native browser if it is enabled. Devices can be remotely locked or wiped. 

Documentation is voluminous. In addition to a quick installation guide, more in-depth manuals for installation, administration and day-to-day use are all available on the company website, along with a device-compatibility matrix, guides on using the product on different mobile device operating systems, and even custom guides on some specific devices. Each document is extremely thorough, with bookmarks, hyperlinks and screenshots where appropriate.

Two tiers of support, basic and advanced, are offered. Basic provides eight-hours-a-day/five-days-a-week phone and email assistance, while the advanced tier expands that to 24/7. Web-based support, along with an online knowledgebase, FAQs and user support forums, are also available. 

Good for Enterprise offers a perpetual licensing model. Each server license is c£977, and each device licence is c£103. Both basic and advanced support options are available for extra costs based on per server and per device per year levels.

Kaspersky Security for Mobile 10

Targeted at small to mid-sized businesses, Kaspersky Security for Mobile 10 integrates mobile device management into the company's security suite. While the initial setup may be slightly more complicated than some other products, the end result offers superb security and flexibility.

Setup was a multi-stage process. We first installed the Kaspersky Security Center (KSC), making sure to enable support for mobile devices during installation. This proved to be critical, as users of KSC who installed it without enabling support for mobile devices, or users of older versions of the software, may be required to reinstall. Once we had KSC up and running, we configured the network port that the product would use to communicate with our mobile devices and made the appropriate firewall changes. Finally, we installed the Mobile Security administration plug-in on our administration workstation, which enabled access to the administration interface. Administrators wishing to integrate Apple products will also need to acquire an APN certificate from Apple and install the iOS MDM Mobile Device Server alongside KSC. 

Kaspersky Security for Mobile 10 offers a wide range of features. Supporting Android, iOS, Windows Mobile, BlackBerry and Symbian operating systems, it is a fully functional MDM platform. It supports over-the-air provisioning via SMS or email, application black and whitelisting and hardware control, such as disabling cameras and Bluetooth and WiFi radios. It can detect rooting or jailbreaking, and can automatically lock or wipe the affected device.

An anti-malware suite is included, providing virus and spam protection alongside a secure browser. Also configurable are a number of anti-theft features, including full or selective device wiping, SIM card removal or replacement detection and a GPS locator function. Supporting the BYOD model, a fully encrypted sandbox container can be configured, allowing for total isolation of corporate data from the rest of the device. 

Kaspersky documentation is top-notch. Provided as PDFs, the administration and user guides are highly detailed and easily navigable through bookmarks, hotlinks and indexing. These are available through an online portal, along with an extensive knowledgebase and user support forums.

Kaspersky Lab offers three levels of customer assistance. Included with the product is its basic level, which provides 12 phone support cases and unlimited email and web aid, along with a 24-hour service level agreement (SLA) for issues classed as severity four, down to two-hour SLA for severity one. The next step up, gold, increases the number of support cases permitted, while decreasing SLA times. Platinum removes the phone support limit and provides for 30-minute SLAs for all severity levels.

Kaspersky Security for Mobile 10 has a variable pricing model, starting at £17.83 per licence for 150 to 249 users. While basic-level support is included, the gold and platinum levels are priced based on a percentage of the total licence expenditure.

New HP Printer Breaks Records and Lands in Guinness Book of World Records

Brought to you by Staples, the world’s largest office products company and second largest internet retailer. Staples now carries the HP Officejet Pro X series, the world’s fastest desktop printers, with up to twice the speed and half the printing cost of color lasers, setting a new standard for business printing. You can visit them at http://www.staples.com/

New HP Printer Breaks World Records

It isn’t every day a piece of technology lands in the Guinness Book of World Records. So the recent announcement that HP’s new desktop printer is setting world records for speed got attention. Technology reviewers from PC Magazine to CNET came forward to try out the device’s various features and came back with rave reviews.

On the market since 1988, HP has cornered the market on small business printing, providing multi-function devices ideal for home offices and small business suites. The two HP OfficeJet Pro X Series devices that set records, and are sold exclusively at Staples, are single-function printers dedicated solely to print jobs. The HP OfficeJet Pro x451dn can print 55 pages per minute in general office mode, offering duplex and enterprise network capabilities. The HP OfficeJet Pro x551dw can print a jaw-dropping 70 pages per minute in office mode and, in addition to duplex and enterprise capabilities, adds wireless printing and a USB slot on the front of the device.

Revolutionizing Business Printing

The small business world is growing each year, as technology allows small businesses to compete with big businesses in ways never before seen. Recognizing this, HP has honed in on this segment, creating a line of desktop printers that are productive enough to meet the daily demands of a small business, while still keeping operating costs low.

Along with HP’s new lightning-fast models, Staples has added HP’s newest multi-function printers to its stores. Staples has seen a growing demand for deskjets, as HP technology has allowed for print quality that rivals laser printers at a fraction of the price. Laser printers not only command a higher price tag, toner cartridges can run in the hundreds of dollars. HP’s quick-drying ink allows a busy entrepreneur to rush documents from the printer to the conference room without worrying about smudges.

           HP OfficeJet Pro X       Sold Exclusively at Staples

Staples, America’s number one choice for ink and toner, has a full line of XL cartridges for HP’s deskjet line, each having a print yield of thousands of pages. Small business owners can also return empties to Staples stores for $2 in rewards toward future purchases. With additional rewards and rebates, business owners can shave money off office supply budgets while speeding up print time.

A Growing Market

Inkjet printing is a growing market, with the devices expected to replace laser printers in offices around the world. Technology consultant Zac Butcher says the market will grow 5.2 percent each year, with an expected 18.9 million inkjet printers in use worldwide by 2016.

Inkjet printers have come a long way since 1988, with prices dropping from around $1,000 to just a few hundred dollars. With added functionality for scanning, faxing, and copying, the HP multi-function printer can replace four separate devices in some offices. For the startup business, a trip to Staples can provide all of the functionality a business needs to start doing business right away.

To determine which HP inkjet printer is right for your small business, visit your local Staples store to look at each deskjet model in person. The Staples staff works one-on-one with small business owners to find the perfect device to fit each business’s individual needs.

Three More States Add Affiliate Nexus Tax

If your business depends on affiliate sales, watch out. Three more states have passed the so-called affiliate nexus tax which affiliate business advocates say are hurting thousands of small companies. They say an estimated 90,000 affiliate marketers have already been affected nationwide either having to shut down their businesses as a result or move across state lines.

Affiliate marketing advocates insist there is a better solution for the problem, but not all small business owners agree.

Affiliate sales happen when a visitor clicks through a special link on your site to reach another site with which you have an affiliate relationship. If, after passing through your link, visitors purchase a product or service on the other site, you receive a commission on that sale for the referral.

The Affiliate Nexus or Amazon Tax

The new affiliate nexus laws are an attempt to get around the 1992 Supreme Court Quill vs. North Dakota ruling. The decision essentially says states can only compel out of state retailers to collect sales tax from local buyers if they have a physical presence in the state.

But that decision doesn’t sit well with cash starved state governments in need of more revenue. And some brick and mortar businesses that must collect sales tax in the state in which they are located have also complained the current rules are unfair.

The response from state governments is the affiliate nexus laws. In most instances, the laws require out of state retailers to collect sales tax if a significant number of local sales are generated by affiliate marketers in the state. Lawmakers contend the affiliates give remote retailers a local presence.

As of the beginning of last month, a total of ten states had passed affiliate nexus laws, affiliate marketing advocate Geno Prussakov reported recently. Those states include Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, Pussakov said.

But in June, those states were joined by Maine, Missouri and Minnesota, all of which have added affiliate nexus laws of their own.

The Results

Advocates of affiliate marketing including Prussakov and the Performance Marketing Association say the results of the new laws have been devastating to the industry.

Online retailers like Amazon have decided to sever relations with affiliates in some states rather than collect sales tax under the new laws.

For example, Amazon recently terminated its agreements with affiliate marketers in Missouri.

Affiliates in these cases are faced with the choice of loosing their businesses or moving over state lines in an effort to maintain their affiliate relationships.

The Performance Marketoing Association estimates that with three states adding affiliate nexus laws approximately 90,000 affiliates have had their businesses in some way affected by the new laws. This could include anything from forcing them to close down their operations to causing them to cross state lines to stay in business.

One Possible Solution

One possible solution, and the one supported by both affiliate marketing advocates and Amazon, is the so-called “Internet Sales Tax” or Marketplace Fairness Act. The proposed bill, which has already passed the U.S. Senate, would level the playing field, supporters say.

If passed, it could require online retailers no matter where they are located to comply with local sales tax whether they have a presence in the state or other taxing jurisdiction or not.

Not Everyone Agrees

Not everyone likes the bill, however, and opponents have made efforts to kill it. With 9,600 taxing authorities in the U.S., complying with all those local sales tax regulations could be extremely complicated for some small business owners.

Ebay has voiced opposition to the plan on behalf of its members. Ebay sellers would be required to collect the tax if their sales rise above a certain threshold. Individual ecommerce sites could also be required to collect sales tax in states or other taxing districts where they have sufficient sales.

Tax Photo via Shutterstock

Three More States Add Affiliate Nexus Tax

If your business depends on affiliate sales, watch out. Three more states have passed the so-called affiliate nexus tax which affiliate business advocates say are hurting thousands of small companies. They say an estimated 90,000 affiliate marketers have already been affected nationwide either having to shut down their businesses as a result or move across state lines.

Affiliate marketing advocates insist there is a better solution for the problem, but not all small business owners agree.

Affiliate sales happen when a visitor clicks through a special link on your site to reach another site with which you have an affiliate relationship. If, after passing through your link, visitors purchase a product or service on the other site, you receive a commission on that sale for the referral.

The Affiliate Nexus or Amazon Tax

The new affiliate nexus laws are an attempt to get around the 1992 Supreme Court Quill vs. North Dakota ruling. The decision essentially says states can only compel out of state retailers to collect sales tax from local buyers if they have a physical presence in the state.

But that decision doesn’t sit well with cash starved state governments in need of more revenue. And some brick and mortar businesses that must collect sales tax in the state in which they are located have also complained the current rules are unfair.

The response from state governments is the affiliate nexus laws. In most instances, the laws require out of state retailers to collect sales tax if a significant number of local sales are generated by affiliate marketers in the state. Lawmakers contend the affiliates give remote retailers a local presence.

As of the beginning of last month, a total of ten states had passed affiliate nexus laws, affiliate marketing advocate Geno Prussakov reported recently. Those states include Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, Pussakov said.

But in June, those states were joined by Maine, Missouri and Minnesota, all of which have added affiliate nexus laws of their own.

The Results

Advocates of affiliate marketing including Prussakov and the Performance Marketing Association say the results of the new laws have been devastating to the industry.

Online retailers like Amazon have decided to sever relations with affiliates in some states rather than collect sales tax under the new laws.

For example, Amazon recently terminated its agreements with affiliate marketers in Missouri.

Affiliates in these cases are faced with the choice of loosing their businesses or moving over state lines in an effort to maintain their affiliate relationships.

The Performance Marketoing Association estimates that with three states adding affiliate nexus laws approximately 90,000 affiliates have had their businesses in some way affected by the new laws. This could include anything from forcing them to close down their operations to causing them to cross state lines to stay in business.

One Possible Solution

One possible solution, and the one supported by both affiliate marketing advocates and Amazon, is the so-called “Internet Sales Tax” or Marketplace Fairness Act. The proposed bill, which has already passed the U.S. Senate, would level the playing field, supporters say.

If passed, it could require online retailers no matter where they are located to comply with local sales tax whether they have a presence in the state or other taxing jurisdiction or not.

Not Everyone Agrees

Not everyone likes the bill, however, and opponents have made efforts to kill it. With 9,600 taxing authorities in the U.S., complying with all those local sales tax regulations could be extremely complicated for some small business owners.

Ebay has voiced opposition to the plan on behalf of its members. Ebay sellers would be required to collect the tax if their sales rise above a certain threshold. Individual ecommerce sites could also be required to collect sales tax in states or other taxing districts where they have sufficient sales.

Tax Photo via Shutterstock

New HP Printer Breaks Records and Lands in Guinness Book of World Records

Brought to you by Staples, the world’s largest office products company and second largest internet retailer. Staples now carries the HP Officejet Pro X series, the world’s fastest desktop printers, with up to twice the speed and half the printing cost of color lasers, setting a new standard for business printing. You can visit them at http://www.staples.com/

New HP Printer Breaks World Records

It isn’t every day a piece of technology lands in the Guinness Book of World Records. So the recent announcement that HP’s new desktop printer is setting world records for speed got attention. Technology reviewers from PC Magazine to CNET came forward to try out the device’s various features and came back with rave reviews.

On the market since 1988, HP has cornered the market on small business printing, providing multi-function devices ideal for home offices and small business suites. The two HP OfficeJet Pro X Series devices that set records, and are sold exclusively at Staples, are single-function printers dedicated solely to print jobs. The HP OfficeJet Pro x451dn can print 55 pages per minute in general office mode, offering duplex and enterprise network capabilities. The HP OfficeJet Pro x551dw can print a jaw-dropping 70 pages per minute in office mode and, in addition to duplex and enterprise capabilities, adds wireless printing and a USB slot on the front of the device.

Revolutionizing Business Printing

The small business world is growing each year, as technology allows small businesses to compete with big businesses in ways never before seen. Recognizing this, HP has honed in on this segment, creating a line of desktop printers that are productive enough to meet the daily demands of a small business, while still keeping operating costs low.

Along with HP’s new lightning-fast models, Staples has added HP’s newest multi-function printers to its stores. Staples has seen a growing demand for deskjets, as HP technology has allowed for print quality that rivals laser printers at a fraction of the price. Laser printers not only command a higher price tag, toner cartridges can run in the hundreds of dollars. HP’s quick-drying ink allows a busy entrepreneur to rush documents from the printer to the conference room without worrying about smudges.

           HP OfficeJet Pro X       Sold Exclusively at Staples

Staples, America’s number one choice for ink and toner, has a full line of XL cartridges for HP’s deskjet line, each having a print yield of thousands of pages. Small business owners can also return empties to Staples stores for $2 in rewards toward future purchases. With additional rewards and rebates, business owners can shave money off office supply budgets while speeding up print time.

A Growing Market

Inkjet printing is a growing market, with the devices expected to replace laser printers in offices around the world. Technology consultant Zac Butcher says the market will grow 5.2 percent each year, with an expected 18.9 million inkjet printers in use worldwide by 2016.

Inkjet printers have come a long way since 1988, with prices dropping from around $1,000 to just a few hundred dollars. With added functionality for scanning, faxing, and copying, the HP multi-function printer can replace four separate devices in some offices. For the startup business, a trip to Staples can provide all of the functionality a business needs to start doing business right away.

To determine which HP inkjet printer is right for your small business, visit your local Staples store to look at each deskjet model in person. The Staples staff works one-on-one with small business owners to find the perfect device to fit each business’s individual needs.

Sourcefire set to be acquired by Cisco

Cisco is set to acquire Sourcefire for $2.7 billion (£1.7 billion).

Cisco has announced a definitive agreement to purchase the intrusion prevention vendor that was named as SC Magazine's Global Security Company of the Year at the 2013 SC Awards. The two companies will combine their products, technologies and research teams to provide continuous and pervasive advanced threat protection across the entire attack continuum, according to Cisco.

Cisco said that the acquisition of Sourcefire will add deep security DNA to its offering and accelerate delivery of its security strategy of defending, discovering and remediating advanced threats. The deal is expected to close during the second half of 2013, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory reviews.

The acquisition has been approved by the board of directors of each company and under the terms of the agreement, Cisco will pay $76 per share in cash in exchange for each share of Sourcefire and assume outstanding equity awards for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $2.7 billion, including retention-based incentives.

Christopher Young, senior vice president of the Cisco Security Group, said: “The notion of the 'perimeter' no longer exists and today's sophisticated threats are able to circumvent traditional, disparate security products. Organisations require continuous and pervasive advanced threat protection that addresses each phase of the attack continuum.

“With the acquisition of Sourcefire, we believe our customers will benefit from one of the industry's most comprehensive, integrated security solutions - one that is simpler to deploy, and offers better security intelligence.”

Martin Roesch, founder and chief technology officer of Sourcefire, said: “Cisco's acquisition of Sourcefire will help accelerate the realisation of our vision for a new model of security across the extended network.

“We're excited about the opportunities ahead to expand our footprint via Cisco's global reach, as well as Cisco's commitment to support our pace of innovation in both commercial markets and the open source community.”

Webroot adds anti-phishing capabilities to RSA solution

Webroot and RSA have partnered to offer real-time phishing detection capabilities.

Combining Webroot's real-time anti-phishing service with RSA's FraudAction anti-phishing solution, the two companies said that this technology partnership is engineered to allow enhanced analysis of suspected phishing sites and faster detection of attacks.

Avi Rosen, director of anti-fraud solutions at RSA, said: “Having additional real-time capabilities helps us to reduce the lifecycle of phishing attacks, while helping to ensure our customers are receiving the most efficient and effective anti-phishing service available.”

He said that combining Webroot's capabilities with RSA's automated phishing detection will help it qualify suspected phishing sites and determine which URL requires further investigation.

Webroot's cloud-based service collects and processes hundreds of attributes of a website in real-time in order to determine its threat profile.

Jeff Santelices, senior vice president of worldwide field operations at Webroot, said: “Teaming up with an industry leader like RSA demonstrates the value of our URL classification and reputation solutions to helping solve today's challenging phishing attacks.

“We provide an innovative cloud-based machine learning solution that automates what has traditionally been a manual process, ensuring that it takes mere seconds, instead of hours or days, to detect phishing attacks.”

Mac visibility and protection security platform launched by Bit9

Bit9 has launched a Mac security platform that helps protect and offer visibility on threats and attacks.

Named the Bit9 Security Platform for Mac OS X, the company said that this offers: visibility into what is running on every Mac OS X endpoint and server; detection of attacks; and a complete recorded history and full audit trail of all threat-related activity on every Mac for immediate incident analysis and response.

Integration is also offered with FireEye and Palo Alto Networks technologies, after connectors were announced in May. According to the company, enterprises that deploy Bit9 for Windows and Bit9 for Mac are able to manage all of their endpoints and servers from a single console.

Fran Howarth, security practice leader of Bloor Research, said: “Macs are a reality in the enterprise IT ecosystem, and as they proliferate, they are increasingly vulnerable to advanced threats and targeted attacks. It's a big mistake for enterprise security teams to underestimate the potential risks their Mac deployments represent.”

Brian Hazzard, vice president of product management at Bit9, said: “The proliferation of Macs in the enterprise has exposed organisations to a fast-growing security challenge. For the past 20 years, Windows endpoints and servers have been the target of most malware but with Macs being deployed in record numbers, enterprises urgently need new solutions to stop threats targeted specifically at Macs.

“We built Bit9 for Mac from the ground up to provide the same unmatched security for Macs in the enterprise that we do for Windows endpoints and servers.

“Now, enterprises can manage Mac and Windows security from a single Bit9 console. The bar for Mac security has been raised sky high.”

10 Surprisingly Useful Pearls of Wisdom for Startup Founders

When starting your own company, no one is short on advice. Sometimes it’s difficult to sort through all those opinions to focus on what really matters â€" and your success occasionally depends on knowing which advice to tune out, too.

We asked members of the Young Entrepreneur Council, an invite-only organization comprised of successful young startup founders, what piece of advice they found to be most helpful (even if they didn’t know it at the time).

“What is one unexpected piece of advice you received that ended up being extremely helpful when starting your business?”

Here’s what YEC community members had to say:

1. Proliferate Positives, Don’t Fix Negatives

“When starting to work with other people, I figured we would find out what people did not do well, fix it and make people well-rounded and good at everything. I was wrong. It is important, almost necessary, that you find what people excel at and have them do that day in and day out. If everyone is “good” at everything, you will never be an industry leader and disrupt the status quo.”~ Bryan Silverman, Star Toilet Paper

2. Be Conservative in Financial Modeling

“One of our early mentors was my business partner’s dad. An entrepreneur himself, he always used to say “growth eats cash” to us. Working in his basement, it felt irrelevant.
Now, with 20 employees, I see his warning was about cash flow and the need to be extremely conservative in your financial modeling. Our conservative financial approach has lead to six years of secure, stable growth.” ~ Brennan White, Watchtower

3. Know Your Vices and How to Use Them

“Entrepreneurship is hard, and it’s not for the faint-hearted. Rudy Karsan, the CEO of Kenexa, recently said entrepreneurship is often about ego because you can’t take an idea no one believes in and make it successful. Having an ego is a vice, but if you can accept that you have an ego, you can harness it and make it work for you.” ~ Benish Shah, Vicaire NY

4. Work Smarter, Not Harder

“So many entrepreneurs think they’ll become successful by working 100 hours per week. Instead, business owners should focus on time management and eliminating what is unnecessary, as well as keeping a keen eye out for burnout. If any signs of burning out start to present themselves, take a break or step away for a half day or so.” ~ Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers Personal Finance

5. Don’t Try to Please Everyone

“Some people, by nature, will never be happy. They complain about everything and demand endless attention. These types of clients are poisonous to your business because they zap time, resources and employee morale. No amount of money is worth dealing with a problem client who makes your life, and the lives of your staff, miserable. Cut these clients loose to preserve your sanity and happiness.” ~ Brittany Hodak, ‘ZinePak

6. Exit Your Comfort Zone

“I was told that if I only did the things I was comfortable doing, I’d never grow. And while there are still certain situations that “scare” me, I’ve learned that it’s only by doing that I can develop key entrepreneurial skills. Best of all, the more of these situations I confront, the fewer “scary” ones materialize. ” ~ Nicolas Gremion, Free-eBooks.com

7. Ignore the “Right” Way to Do Things

“During business school, one professor harped on the fact that as a startup, you should do “risky” things. He advised us not to incorporate immediately, but rather, use that time to work on the business until we knew the form it should take. He also advised selling from day one while we worried about gaining permission. Figure out if you have a good business and “standardize” it later.” ~ Aaron Schwartz, Modify Watches

8. Fail and Adapt Fast

“Fail fast. Accept failure â€" whether it is as small as a product feature or as large as a pricing model. Turn those failures into success by truly responding to what the market wants and not what you think it needs.” ~ Ryan Frankel, VerbalizeIt

9. Say “No”

“I thought it was crazy, but turns out, saying “no” is great advice. When I started my business, I got a ton of offers â€" partnerships, prizes, ideas, the list goes on. Accepting any of the offers would have been a distraction to my main goal of running a company. It was best to focus on the company and what it needed to accomplish rather than jumping on ideas. Companies can thrive on a simple “no.”” ~ Manpreet Singh, Seva Call

10. Schedule Your Personal Time

“I wish this advice wasn’t necessary, but it most certainly is. As your company grows, your time becomes increasingly precious. If you don’t schedule time to work out and see friends and family, it won’t happen. Along with your meetings and project goals, you need to put personal time in your calendar. Stick to the schedule no matter what. Personal time needs to be sacrosanct!” ~ Mitch Gordon, Go Overseas

Pearl of Wisdom Photo via Shutterstock

10 Surprisingly Useful Pearls of Wisdom for Startup Founders

When starting your own company, no one is short on advice. Sometimes it’s difficult to sort through all those opinions to focus on what really matters â€" and your success occasionally depends on knowing which advice to tune out, too.

We asked members of the Young Entrepreneur Council, an invite-only organization comprised of successful young startup founders, what piece of advice they found to be most helpful (even if they didn’t know it at the time).

“What is one unexpected piece of advice you received that ended up being extremely helpful when starting your business?”

Here’s what YEC community members had to say:

1. Proliferate Positives, Don’t Fix Negatives

“When starting to work with other people, I figured we would find out what people did not do well, fix it and make people well-rounded and good at everything. I was wrong. It is important, almost necessary, that you find what people excel at and have them do that day in and day out. If everyone is “good” at everything, you will never be an industry leader and disrupt the status quo.”~ Bryan Silverman, Star Toilet Paper

2. Be Conservative in Financial Modeling

“One of our early mentors was my business partner’s dad. An entrepreneur himself, he always used to say “growth eats cash” to us. Working in his basement, it felt irrelevant.
Now, with 20 employees, I see his warning was about cash flow and the need to be extremely conservative in your financial modeling. Our conservative financial approach has lead to six years of secure, stable growth.” ~ Brennan White, Watchtower

3. Know Your Vices and How to Use Them

“Entrepreneurship is hard, and it’s not for the faint-hearted. Rudy Karsan, the CEO of Kenexa, recently said entrepreneurship is often about ego because you can’t take an idea no one believes in and make it successful. Having an ego is a vice, but if you can accept that you have an ego, you can harness it and make it work for you.” ~ Benish Shah, Vicaire NY

4. Work Smarter, Not Harder

“So many entrepreneurs think they’ll become successful by working 100 hours per week. Instead, business owners should focus on time management and eliminating what is unnecessary, as well as keeping a keen eye out for burnout. If any signs of burning out start to present themselves, take a break or step away for a half day or so.” ~ Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers Personal Finance

5. Don’t Try to Please Everyone

“Some people, by nature, will never be happy. They complain about everything and demand endless attention. These types of clients are poisonous to your business because they zap time, resources and employee morale. No amount of money is worth dealing with a problem client who makes your life, and the lives of your staff, miserable. Cut these clients loose to preserve your sanity and happiness.” ~ Brittany Hodak, ‘ZinePak

6. Exit Your Comfort Zone

“I was told that if I only did the things I was comfortable doing, I’d never grow. And while there are still certain situations that “scare” me, I’ve learned that it’s only by doing that I can develop key entrepreneurial skills. Best of all, the more of these situations I confront, the fewer “scary” ones materialize. ” ~ Nicolas Gremion, Free-eBooks.com

7. Ignore the “Right” Way to Do Things

“During business school, one professor harped on the fact that as a startup, you should do “risky” things. He advised us not to incorporate immediately, but rather, use that time to work on the business until we knew the form it should take. He also advised selling from day one while we worried about gaining permission. Figure out if you have a good business and “standardize” it later.” ~ Aaron Schwartz, Modify Watches

8. Fail and Adapt Fast

“Fail fast. Accept failure â€" whether it is as small as a product feature or as large as a pricing model. Turn those failures into success by truly responding to what the market wants and not what you think it needs.” ~ Ryan Frankel, VerbalizeIt

9. Say “No”

“I thought it was crazy, but turns out, saying “no” is great advice. When I started my business, I got a ton of offers â€" partnerships, prizes, ideas, the list goes on. Accepting any of the offers would have been a distraction to my main goal of running a company. It was best to focus on the company and what it needed to accomplish rather than jumping on ideas. Companies can thrive on a simple “no.”” ~ Manpreet Singh, Seva Call

10. Schedule Your Personal Time

“I wish this advice wasn’t necessary, but it most certainly is. As your company grows, your time becomes increasingly precious. If you don’t schedule time to work out and see friends and family, it won’t happen. Along with your meetings and project goals, you need to put personal time in your calendar. Stick to the schedule no matter what. Personal time needs to be sacrosanct!” ~ Mitch Gordon, Go Overseas

Pearl of Wisdom Photo via Shutterstock

Retailers feel the pain as web apps face constant attacks

Retailers experience more than twice the number of SQL injection attacks than other industries.

According to the Imperva web application attack report, these attacks were more intense, both in terms of the number of attacks per incident and the duration of each incident. It found that retail applications received an average of 749 individual attack requests per attack campaign.

Speaking to SC Magazine, Tal Be'ery, web research team leader at Imperva, said that often these attacks are achieved due to financial services companies having better security technology.

He said: “Attacks are driven by economically-motivated attackers and the victim tries to detect and block them. I think if you have an online presence you will be attacked and an attacker will focus on whatever they can.”

The report also found that a single website received 94,057 SQL injection attack requests in one day, while most web applications that it monitored receive four or more attacks per month, and a typical application experienced attacks on 12 days of every month.

Be'ery said that on average what is seen will not be spread across a time frame, but more part of a sustained campaign. “One of the actions learned from the report for the CISO is that if you want to create a simulation of the attack, you need to know the right decision for security and test against it,” he said.

The worst attack scenario saw 176 days under attack in six months - meaning the application suffered attacks almost every day within this time period, with one attacked on average as many as 26 times per minute. Additionally, while a typical attack incident lasted around five minutes, the worst-case incident was about 100 times longer, lasting more than 15 hours.

Amichai Shulman, CTO, Imperva, said: “While these findings undeniably demonstrate that web application attacks are far from consistently distributed, the takeaway is that organisations should base security measures on the worst case scenario, not on the average case.”