Smartphone Security

With the rising popularity of smartphones, it’s important to make sure you are keeping yours safe, just as you would with your computer. Here are some tips to keep your smartphone secure.

• Keep It Safe: Remember that smartphones are easily misplaced or stolen. Keep in mind that any data on your phone could be lost this way.

• Password Protection: Put a lock on your phone after a set time of inactivity that requires you to enter a password. This is a simple setting that definitely helps keep your phone safe.

• Remote Wiping: If you happen to lose your phone, you can remotely clear all the data and stored information off the phone.

• Protect Yourself From Malware: Consider using an app that help block malware and spyware. Also just like on your computer, don’t open attachments from people you don’t know or seem suspicious.

• Be Careful With Apps: You may not want to grant permission to every app that requests it. This includes your contact info and location. Also pay attention to app ratings to see if it is reliable.

Feel free to contact us if you have any questions regarding your smartphone!

CMIT's Favorite Things

Our team at CMIT South Nassau would like to share a few of our favorite things with you! We value our clients/friends and are pleased to announce our favorite things for the month of January. Click the images to learn more!

Mommy Pros is one of our newest clients and web projects. We are very impressed and intrigued with both Cindy and the Mommy Pros business model. As I said to my wife when we came home with our first child: they should really give you a manual for this! Mommy Pros can fill that gap and be a great resource for new parents.

Author Bill Stevenson is both a friend and client of CMIT South Nassau. Ricky's Dream Trip Through The Solar System opens the minds of school children about the eight planets and our dwarf planet. This book will expand children's ability to learn more about astronomy and our relationship to the universe.

Donna Rosenblum is a friend and client of ours. She is currently the Library Chairperson at Floral Park Memorial HS and the Vice President of the Long Island School Media Association. Her website, Rosenblum's Round Table is dedicated book reviews and the love of reading.

Check back next month for a new round of our favorite things--or our weekly spotlight on the sidebar!

Gawker Security Breach

In news last month, hackers broke into the Gawker website and stole the source code for the site, logs of private chats between the editors, and the e-mail addresses and passwords of 1.5 million registered commenters. Gawker is a widely known gossip website and it took a big hit from this hacker attack. Read how an attack like this can create serious problems for you:

1. Create an email address you can abandon if the address is released publicly. It is not a good idea to use a single email address for all your communications. Use your primary address for correspondence and trusted communications. For website logins, use a dummy address seperate from your primary one that preferably has no name, age, or location contained within it.

2. Use a different password account for every single account on the web. That's right, every single one. Gawkers commenters who used the same password for many accounts risked having them all compromised if their passwords were cracked. When the passwords were stolen by the hackers, they were in encrypted form but can be deciphered with time. Having different passwords for different sites minimizes the damage to you and your identity. If you insist on using just a few passwords, make sure you dont use the same one for a secure bank site as the site with less protective password policies.

3. Use long, difficult to crack passwords. Its challenging to create and remember long, unique passwords for every website. Fortunately, a number of password protection programs can autogenerate and store secure passwords for you.

If your curious about how long it would take to crack a particular password, you can go to HowSecureIsMyPassword.net and they'll tell you.

Facebook Apps Ask For Your Info

Now on Facebook, when a user wants to get a new application, they will be prompted to hand over data about themselves. This includes basic information (name, gender, pictures) as well as contact information (address and phone number). This request for permission is entirely controllable by the user and will only be used for legitimate reasons. The photo below, from Mashable, is an example of what would appear.

The problem and potential security issue is that there are a lot of scam applications running around Facebook that could easily obtain your data if you let them. Many people are therefore against this new request and believe that users should be able to control if all data is sent over or only some. So remember to be careful which applications you grant your permission to.

Is Your Business On The Map?

Last month we talked about how Google created an algorithm so that poorly rated businesses didn’t rank high in Google search listings. Businesses are constantly striving to rank high in online searches, but unlike an eyewear retailer, being rude to your customers is not the way. Instead, try these inexpensive and simple techniques to generate higher results when searched.

• Keep your customers happy. This will elicit positive reviews and they may even be inspired to write about you on various social networks. Having your company discussed on these media sites will increase traffic and also enhance the exposure of your business.

• Your website should be simple to navigate so that anyone on your page can quickly find what they are looking for. Be sure to use common terminology that all can understand.

• Fill out your Place Page in the Google Local Business Center.This will increase search visibility for free and place your location on a map when searched.If you want to do this, head over to www.cmitsolutions.com/googleguide.

The screenshots above show the results when “technology 11566” is typed into Google. To test your placing, type your industry and zip code into the search engine to make sure that your company is on the map. Any reviews that are given are pulled from various sites and can’t be edited, which is why we remind to keep your customers happy.

Latest Phishing Scam Targets AOL Users

If you are a user of AOL, you may be subject to one of the latest phishing scams. The message appears to be coming from AOL Member Billing. In fact, the sender address is . The message includes a reputable-looking banner and logo, but remember that appearances can be deceiving. The context of the email is reminding users to update their bank account to enhance the security of your banking services. It claims that AOL issues these reminders on a regular basis. However, if you click the “Update your information” link, all data entered (including highly sensitive information such as social security number) is captured. See a screenshot of the email below.

With this attack and others, it is important to never give private information over email and also to never click on links that seem suspicious.

2011 Webinar Calendar

CMIT offers free monthly webinars for our clients and friends. These sessions are meant to be informative and not to sell our services. We are pleased to announce our webinar calendar for the upcoming year. We hope you find these webinars useful!

2011 Webinar Schedule
Mark Your Calendar Today!

1/27 Ever Feel Like Borrowing a Brain?

How to effectively manage your time and money.

2/24 Selling For Small Business Owners

Learn everything from sales calls to sales management.

3/31 Going Green

How to make your business environmentally friendly.

4/28 Five Mindsets of Super Successful People

Learn what the top 2% of people do differently.

5/26 The Hype Around The Cloud

The top 3 things you need to know about cloud computing.

6/30 Delegation With(out) Frustration

How to delegate tasks efficiently.

7/28 Social Media For B2B

How can sites like Facebook and Twitter help your company

8/25 Secrets of Successful Leaders

How to create success & happiness for you and those around you

9/29 The NEW Small Business Website

Creating the best website to maximize business

10/27 Ten Reasons Why Your Business Should Use Video

Using video as a powerful multimedia tool

12/8 Gratitude at Work

How important saying "thank you" is at work.

Click the link below to register!
http://www.cmitsolutions.com/webinars

Verizon and the iPhone

It’s official: early next month, Verizon will now carry Apple’s iPhone. Certainly there are both pros and cons to consider.

Advantages

• The carrier will offer users unlimited data plans on the 3G network, whereas AT&T have data caps for their plans. Users don’t want to be mindful of how much data they are using.
• Verizon offers its services in more areas than AT&T, leading to more consistent service.

Disadvantages

• Verizon’s iPhone users will not be able to use their device overseas.
• Verizon’s 3G network is slower than that of AT&T.

The main question however, is can Verizon keep up with the data traffic that is going to significantly increase with the iPhone’s popularity? AT&T surely encountered a range of issues, but it is believed that due to Verizon planning ahead before releasing the iPhone, they will be well-prepared for what is to come.

To read the complete article, visit Network World.