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5 Tips for
Creating Strong Passwords
 With more and more business activity taking place
online, hackers and identify thieves are busy
attempting to gain access to your information. But don't be fooled into thinking
they're using sophisticated means to obtain it.
Often when they're successful it's because someone
simply selected a poor password that was easy to crack.
Here are five tips to assist you in creating a
strong password, your first line of defense in
protecting your information.
1) Your password
should contain a minimum of six characters
with a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers,
and symbols. A longer password offers greater
security.
2) Avoid using common terms such
as "password" or "administrator".
3) Never
use your username, real name, or company name as
your password.
4) Don't use the names of
people or things with a personal association that
could easily be learned from a simple Google search, such as the name of your
spouse and children or the high school you
attended.
5) It's best not to use a real
"word" at all. Instead, choose a phrase that's easy
for you to remember and use a number, letter or
symbol to represent the first letter of each word in
the phrase. For example, "I have two children:
Ashley and Brandon" could translate into the password
"Ih2c:A&B".
After creating a
hard-to-crack password, don't make the
mistake of leaving it displayed in an obvious place,
such as underneath your keyboard. If you must write
it down, don't label it as your password and store
it in a secure location. Refrain from using the same password
for all your accounts. If a hacker manages to figure
out a single password, you've provided an open door
to the rest of your information. To maintain the
highest level of password security, you should
change your passwords on a regular basis.
It's Time for a Battery Backup!
The rollback of
daylight saving time is approaching
on
Sunday,
November 6th. In addition to prompting us to
reset our clocks, it has come to serve as a
reminder to replace the batteries in the smoke
detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, clocks, and
emergency flashlights in our homes and businesses.
So while you're thinking about all those batteries,
why not give some thought to the other
battery in your home office or place of business?
Your computer's battery backup.
A battery
backup device, also known as an uninterruptible
power supply or UPS, provides several levels of
protection with the primary function being
sustaining power to your computer and network
equipment during a power outage. In the event of an
extended outage, battery backup units can implement
an orderly shutdown of your equipment. Most quality
battery backup units also provide some level of
power conditioning with the very best systems
providing protection from voltage sags and surges.
If your business isn't already utilizing battery
backups as an integral part of your network, now is
the time to start. At a
minimum,
battery backup systems should be provided
for all servers on a network, but it's recommended
that critical network devices (routers, firewalls,
switches, etc.) also be considered as well. For the
very highest level of protection, individual
workstations should be outfitted with battery backup
units.
Cool Tech Gadgets for the Holidays
 I know it's hard to believe, folks, but the holidays
are just around the corner! If you're looking for
the perfect gift for the techie in your family,
here are a few suggestions from my personal favorites that I'm hoping
to find stuffed in my stocking this holiday season.
iPhone 4S - With the introduction of
Siri, the new built-in digital assistant with voice
recognition technology, the iPhone 4S is an obvious
choice as the ultimate tech gadget this year. My
friends and I were entertained for hours
trying to come up with ridiculous questions to pose
to Siri
(How much is that doggy in the window? Do I look fat
in these jeans?) just to see how she might respond
(yes, the voice of Siri is undoubtedly female--at
least in the US). Siri's answers ranged from
funny to absurd, but they were always entertaining!
Silliness aside, most
of us can talk faster than we can type and Siri can
make light of the everyday tasks you
perform such as scheduling appointments, locating
restaurants or entertainment venues,
or reminding you that it's your mom's birthday and
you need to buy flowers!
Looxcie - As the primary
photographer/videographer in my family, I often feel
like an outsider recording all the fun stuff at birthday parties and holiday gatherings because
my hands are busy steadying the camera. But this
hands-free video camera could be the answer.
Instead of fumbling with the camera, I could be
recording
events as I'm experiencing them. How cool is that?
Kitschy USB Flash Drives - While their
quality may be questionable, the appeal of these
unusual USB flash drives is undeniable. Plus, my three
sons are less likely to "borrow" mine if it mimics a tube of
lipstick.
Kindle - Because I'm a book
lover and not just a book reader, I've been slow to
jump on the e-reader bandwagon because I still enjoy
sitting with my legs thrown over the side of chair,
snuggled up with a good book, flipping through the
dog-eared pages that remind me where I left off. But
I think I'm finally warming up to the idea. Especially since I recently learned
that I can
borrow Kindle books from my local public
library for free!
- Debbie @
Opti-Vise
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TECH TALK
What is Microsoft Office 365?
In a nutshell, Microsoft Office 365 delivers MS
Office and Microsoft Server
applications over the
cloud as a monthly subscription service with
multiple plans available to suit the size and needs
of your business.
You can receive the same trusted
Microsoft business applications (e.g., Word,
PowerPoint, Exchange, SharePoint) with more
flexibility and predictable costs, which can
translate into savings and increased productivity
for your business.
Here are just a few of the benefits of using
MS Office 365:
-
Access to applications from
anywhere from any computer; no more lost
productivity due to time spent away from the
office
-
The pay-as-you-go concept
saves money as you don't need to spend heavily
upfront on licensing
-
Access to email, calendar and
other important documents from the Microsoft
cloud server with the ability to edit, modify,
or delete from even a smartphone with HTML
browser
-
Ability to virtually share
documents and PowerPoint presentations making it
especially useful for corporate presentations or
training students/employees
-
Businesses with multiple
locations can collaborate easily with
video conferencing capabilities
Microsoft provides a
financially-backed 99.9% uptime guarantee with Office
365 and updates on a 90-day cycle.
If you
think your business can benefit from using Microsoft Office
365, Opti-Vise can help you assess your needs and
choose the right plan for your business.
Client
Spotlight
Founded in Eaton in 1906,
Barnes Funeral Homes, Inc.
is under its fourth generation of Barnes family
ownership and management with five locations in
Eaton, Lewisburg, New Paris, Eldorado, and Camden,
Ohio.
With a proven history of providing
trusted professional assistance to the families they
serve, their dedicated staff takes pride in being a source
of caring and comfort to grieving families during their
difficult time and offers personal attention and
distinctive service.
A
visit to their comprehensive
website offers virtual
tours of their facilities, information about the
company’s beginnings and rich history,
and helpful articles to assist those touched by
grief.
In addition to the family
business, Barnes Funeral Homes contributes to their
local
community with their involvement in various
veterans
organizations.
In
 case
you didn't catch the news in our email
announcement, Opti-Vise is pleased to
introduce Zachariah Diver to our staff as
a Desktop Support Technician.
Zach is a graduate of Indiana
Tech in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he earned his
Bachelor of Science in Information Systems. In
addition to his educational credentials, he gained
experience as an IT Technician with Fort
Financial Credit Union and office supply retailer,
Staples, both located in Fort Wayne.
In
addition to his interest in technology, Zach
enjoys riding motorcycles, sports, cars, and
camping and fishing.
Please join us in
welcoming Zach to the Opti-Vise support team!
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