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Newsletter Number Seventeen - February 2007

In this Newsletter... On-line Storage, Passwords, Own your own Domain

You're getting this Newsletter because you are a client, friend, prospect or just because you enjoy the content and want to be kept in touch with some of the trends affecting Small Businesses and Information Technology.

Thank you for joining me again this month. I trust that you'll find this issue informative, interesting and of value.

Reminder - Vacation

I'll be leaving mid-afternoon on the 7th February and will be back home the late afternoon of the 17th February.

On-line Data (Backup) Storage

I have long promoted the strategy of looking at your computer data as your ability to continue business operations. What happens if you don't have it - will your business be able to continue? If you can truly answer "yes", skip the following paragraphs! If "no"... read on. Over the last few years I have moved most of my clients who view their data as "critical to business operations" to On-line Backup - specifically to Storage Guardian. The following article appears (edited) with permission from Brad Slavin, Skyriver Communcations, a colleague of mine in San Diego, CA, who heads up a professional services business in the area.

Do not underestimate the importance of backing up your data. Although figures vary, it has been estimated that around 90% of small businesses who suffer a catastrophic data loss fail to recover.

The loss can occur from a failure of the hard drive, fire or other damage to the premises or simply because the computer has been stolen. Fortunately, there is a simple way to avoid this disastrous situation from arising, or at least to reduce the consequences if it does occur – back up your data. The first thing to remember when backing up your data is that you do not need to backup program files. If your computer has been damaged or stolen, you can buy a new one and simply reinstall the operating system and programs.

If you are a small business then it is your customer records and other important files that you need to back up. The relatively inexpensive cost of of external drives makes this a perfectly viable option for backing up your data, although it is pointless to backup data onto an external drive and have it in the same premises as the computer. If the premises are destroyed by fire, for example, then the backup will be destroyed as well.

The same applies equally to data that may have been backed up by burning it onto CD or DVD. The best solution for total peace of mind when backing up your data is to use some method of off-site storage and one of the simplest ways of achieving this is by using one of the many online backup facilities. Unless you have an incredibly fast upload speed, then these methods may not really be suitable for backing up your entire system, but for secure, encrypted data storage they are ideal.

Ease of use is another important consideration. Ideally, you would want a service that you can schedule to backup your data when you are not present. This could perhaps be done when the office is closed for the night, allowing you to backup automatically without consuming the bandwidth of your internet connection while you or your staff is using the connection during working hours.

When was the last time you did a manual backup? When was the last time you restored your data? Ask me for more information!

Passwords (reproduced with permission from Brad Slavin)

Good Password Policies
Picking a good password is the first line of defence in keeping your private data safe. Logging out or locking your computer before leaving for the evening and when you leave the office is a good start in protecting your sensitive date. Another way is as simple as picking a good password. Everyday most of us use a password of some kind or another. Whether it is getting cash from an ATM and having to use our PIN number or using a keypad to gain access to our office, we are using passwords. Anyone who uses email will also have a password to log onto the server, whether it is a POP based email or a web-based email such as Hotmail.

If you can't pick your name, make sure you pick your password
Most companies will also issue usernames and passwords to their users to enable them to access the system, typically this is not controlled by the user but by the IT Department. Sometimes, especially with web-based applications such as our browser or email program, we can choose our own username and password. In commercial situations the IT department will issue their users with their username and password. Although normally the username cannot be changed, generally the user can change their password from the system generated one to something easier to remember. The first thing you need to do when you get a password assigned from the system is change it.

Why should I worry?
The whole idea behind passwords is to make it as difficult as possible for an outsider to break into the system and either steal or compromise important or confidential data. In speaking with some clients some of them say that they manage more than fifteen passwords to access their own applications at work, home and the bank. Only a small number can easily remember that many. Don't pick an easy password just because you can remember it, keep your data safe from prying eyes.

Just the Basics
The password must never be the same as the username, or even a variation of it. For example, if your username is John-Smith@xyz.com, then you must never use either johnsmith or smithjohn as your password.

Keep it Reasonable
The most secure password is one that is difficult to guess but NOT difficult to remember. There is no sense in creating a password that you need to write down to remember. Post-it notes under the keyboard are really not that safe. Try not to use the name of your children, the family pet, your favourite football team or 12345 or qwerty these are just too easy to guess. The ideal password is one made up of at least 8 characters. It should be alpha-numeric in nature with perhaps 6 letters and 2 numbers in it. You should try to use a mixture of lower- and upper-case characters; here are some examples... 5imp73 Ch4ng35 (Simple Changes)

If you really feel that you cannot remember a password without some sort of help, then one option might be to use one that substitutes letters for numbers in the same way that some car license plates appear to form words. For instance if your password was muscles1, you could change it to mu5c1e51. You can substitute a 5 for an S, a 3 for an E or even a 7 for an L. Change is not always easy Most organizations will require their users to change their passwords periodically. This interval may vary from 30 days to perhaps 180 days. The system must be set up in such a way as not to permit a user to change the password from, let's say, password1 to password2 to password3 for example. Neither should the user be allowed to use the same password more than once.

Domain Names and your Own Email Address

I am surprised that there are some businesses that continue to use the email address of their ISP. Examples would be yourname@sympatico.ca or yourname@rogers.com or yourname@interlog.com. For less than $100.00 per year (in some cases a lot less), you can register your own domain and with it, get your own email address. If you would like to learn more contact me and I'll be happy to give you the information required.

You can choose from various domains, subject to availability. Examples are .COM, .ORG, .NET, .CA. Ask me how.

Windows Vista - Your Choices and advantages compared.

In the upcoming issue... More on Vista, Remote Desktop Protocol and more....

Once again, I appreciate your perspective on the content of my newsletter, both good and bad. I look forward to hearing from you. Just click this feedback link and let me have your comments.

PS: Feel free to forward this issue to any peers, friends and associates you think would benefit from its contents. They will thank you, and so will I!