From mixed messages to one simple e-mail

Smart business owners check voicemail, receive faxes and read e-mail with a single mouse click.

A typical day for many workers in small businesses involves a round of tedious but essential actions, repeated over and over and over: Check for e-mail on computer and read messages. Check voicemail on phone and retrieve messages. Go to fax machine and check for incoming faxes.

But Rob Stauffert, a partner in Toronto-based Autobahn Media, a photographic, graphic arts and web design firm, has to do only one thing to keep on top of valuable messages: Check his e-mail.
Like a growing number of people in small business, Mr. Stauffert uses something called converged messaging. Voicemails and faxes are automatically forwarded as attachments to e-mails and show up in his e-mail box along with regular text messages.

To listen to a voicemail, he simply double clicks on the attachment in the message and it plays through his computer's speakers. If it's a fax, he double-clicks on the attachment and a graphics file displays on his computer screen.

"It's a great time saver," Mr. Stauffert says. "I always hated having to dial in for voicemail."
He also likes the fact that he can more easily skip unimportant messages. With traditional voicemail, for example, messages are presented in the order received and you have to listen to at least the beginning of each one to find out what it's about. By getting his voicemail in his e-mail, he can see the person's phone number and sometimes name in the subject line and tell at a glance which messages he really needs to open.

When Mr. Stauffert is out of the office, which is often, he receives e-mails, including voicemail, on his Palm Treo smart phone. With some converged messaging services, you can call in on a regular phone and a computer will read e-mails over the phone.

Converged or unified messaging (UM) has been available for several years but only relatively recently has it begun to gain converts in small business. Info-Tech Research Group, a consulting firm in London, Ont., estimates that in 2000 there were barely a million users of unified messaging worldwide, most of them in large enterprises. By early 2005, that number had jumped to 40 million.
Info-Tech senior research analyst Carmi Levy says UM may be particularly valuable for small businesses. Besides the benefits Mr. Stauffert mentions, converged messaging also helps ensure calls aren't missed and eliminates delays.

"What it does is increase the agility of your communications with buyers and vendors," Mr. Levy says. "It's easier for them to get hold of you, and you them. And better communication will translate into more business. How often does a small business lose out on a potential sale because they don't get back to a buyer fast enough?"

Info-Tech says unified messaging can also reduce hardware costs, increase security and provide better support for mobile staff.

The rise of converged messaging coincides with the transition from traditional voice technology to VoIP -- voice over Internet protocol. UM becomes really easy to do only when all the different kinds of messages are passing over the same IP data network, both in the office over the local area network and outside over a wide-area network.

Autobahn Media uses the Small Business Virtual Phone System service from GotVMail Communications LLC, a U.S. company. Besides the UM elements (some of which are optional extras), the service also provides a toll-free number for your company (or optionally, a local number) and an auto attendant that plays a greeting and lets callers route themselves to one of up to 99 different extensions or mailboxes. When a caller keys in an extension, GotVMail transfers the call to any telephone number the user designates, whether it's a home, office or mobile phone.
Pricing is complex but includes $9.95 (U.S.) a month for basic service, $17 to $192 a month for a package of incoming call minutes (250 to 4,000), plus 4.8 to 7.4 cents for each additional minute, and $10 a month for Web and e-mail delivery of voicemail messages.

Bell Canada offers both consumer and small business services with voicemail (though not faxes) delivered to an e-mail address. The small business service, for $59.95 a month, includes a voicemail box, a secondary number, call forwarding, 300 minutes of North American calling, and a find-me-follow-me feature -- when someone calls you, Bell will try you at multiple numbers before going to voicemail.

Mr. Levy advises that if a small business is entrusting all its messaging to an outside service bureau, it should be very sure there is adequate security, including encryption of stored messages.
When any small business implements a new IP-based phone system, converged messaging is an option that should be seriously considered, Mr. Levy says. However, because the computer storing the messages will now be on your premises, you need in-house information technology expertise, or you need to hire a consultant who can be on call to manage and maintain the system, he points out.

All the major telephone system vendors, including Nortel Networks, Cisco Systems Inc. and Alcatel-Lucent, offer small business solutions that include, or can include, converged messaging.
The cost can run "well into five or six figures" for a complete new VoIP system with unified messaging, Mr. Levy says, or the "low five figures" for UM alone if you already have a VoIP system in place.

Walmart Canada to Offer Vonage VOIP Service

Wal-Mart offers Vonage

More than 100 Wal-Mart stores across the country will now offer Vonage, the Internet-based phone service. A survey conducted by Angus Reid and commissioned by Vonage Canada, revealed that 28% of Canadians say they a - did not match any documents.

Working with Microsoft Office 2007 Files

In last months newsletter I wrote an article about Office 2007 that addressed some of my concerns regarding file conversions from older versions of Microsoft Office.

Microsoft has since released an update that will be needed by anyone running Microsoft Office 2003, XP or 2000 version in order to be able to open the files saved in MS Office 2007 Format, you can download it free here.

- Scott Kendall, The Technology Coach

Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 file formats Learn to exchange files between previous releases of Microsoft Office and the 2007 Microsoft Office release

Exchanging files between previous releases of Microsoft Office and the 2007 Microsoft Office release

Microsoft has added new file formats to Microsoft Office Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 to reduce file size, improve security and reliability, and enhance integration with external sources. To help ensure that you can exchange documents between Microsoft Office releases, Microsoft has developed a Compatibility Pack for the Office Word, Office Excel, and Office PowerPoint 2007 File Formats.

The Open XML Formats usher in a new era of openness and transparency for Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Solution developers can take advantage of a host of new integration opportunities to connect documents to important sources of information. Learn more about the Open XML Formats.

Installing the Compatibility Pack

By installing the Compatibility Pack along side of Microsoft Office XP, or Office 2003, you will be able open, edit, save, and create files using the Open XML Formats new to the 2007 Microsoft Office system. Office 2000 users, as well as users of Windows 2000 SP4 and later, can convert Open XML Formats to binary file formats from within Windows Explorer.

• Windows users, Office 2000, Office XP, and Office 2003 users: Download the Compatibility Pack.

Small Business Primer on Network Security Threats

Fascinating article passed along to me from a client, I found this one both informative and useful, it might be a little overly technical for some small business owners but most of the points hold true and are important to be aware of, please don't hesitate to call if I can help explain some of the folliwng issue,s I found them very interesting! - Scott Kendall, The Technology Coach

We introduce you to 10 of the biggest and most dangerous threats to a business's network security to make you aware of security problems facing networks today.

IT Security Editors on January 17, 2007

The Small Business Primer on Network Security Threats

Over the last ten years, our world has become interconnected in ways not previously imaginable. Today, for instance, people in Spain, the US, and Brazil can find out simultaneously that soccer-star David Beckham has switched teams. Small companies can now affordably be spread across the globe, and big companies can now have inter-office collaboration on a daily basis. But all of that interconnectedness relies in large part on our ability to protect the networks that create those connections.

Unfortunately, and despite the best efforts of network security managers, the last five years have seen hackers and criminals become increasingly effective at compromising these networks, as they have quickly developed new and ever more malicious threats to network security.

These newly created threats have been so successful in large part because most employees of companies, despite being regular internet users themselves, have no idea how these new network security attacks work, and have only a vague conception that these new threats even exist. This article will introduce you to ten of the biggest and most dangerous threats to network security, in an effort to make everyone more aware of the security problems facing networks today.

1. Viruses and Worms

The term virus has long been used generically to describe any computer threat, but in actuality it refers specifically to malware that inserts malicious code into existing documents or programs, and then spreads itself by various means.

The reason people often call every computer threat a "virus", is because viruses are the original type of malware, actually predating the public Internet. Today, viruses are still by far the most common type of network security threat, and over 90% of viruses are spread through attachments on emails. Often the attacker will combine a virus with a "zombie" attack (discussed below) so that you will receive an email with an attachment from a friend that actually contains a virus.

Prevention
The good news about viruses, is that they require a user action to insert themselves onto your computer. So, training your office staff to never open an email attachment that they weren't expecting, no matter who the sender is, will go a very long way to keeping your network free of viruses. Unfortunately, educating your staff about what attachments to open will do little to stop worms from infecting your network. That is because although worms are also often initially delivered in email, they don't need a host file (i.e., no attachment is needed for an email to be infected) and they can propagate themselves. Worms, unlike viruses, spread on their own. So once a computer is infected, the worm can often make quick copies of itself and infect an entire network within a few hours. Because of this unique opportunity to multiply themselves quickly across a network, worms are responsible for a good number of companies’ widespread network failures.

Both viruses and worms often work to open up new holes in your network security in order to allow even more dangerous security threats to infect your network. Consequently, it should be an essential priority of every company and individual to use virus protection software to limit the incoming malware, and then to educate employees to make sure those worms and viruses that slip through never get opened.

2. Trojan Horses

A trojan horse is a malware attack that disguises itself as something innocent, such as a computer game, or a YouTube search results page. A recent example of a devastating trojan horse used an email with a link that supposedly connected the reader to a video of the Saddam Hussein hanging, but instead just infected them with malware. Once installed on a computer, the 'Saddam' trojan horse then downloaded and installed a keylogger onto the infected computer. This keylogger was used to record every keystroke by a computer’s user, thus stealing financial account information and passwords.

The 'Saddam' trojan horse is noteworthy only because it was so successful, but the actual methods that it used to infect computer networks are not unique. In fact, trojans are particularly dangerous because they all appear so innocuous on the surface. Often trojans imbed themselves on a particular website (usually adult, gaming, or gambling), hide in downloaded free software, or, as in the "Saddam" trojan horse, a person might be infected by clicking on a link sent to them in an email.

Prevention
Because hackers are so creative in coming up with new and different types of trojan horses, training employees on what to look for will not prevent trojan horses from infecting your network. Instead, you may want to consider blocking users from downloading freeware, blocking links imbedded in emails, and using a whitelist to create a list of approved websites that employees may visit. Because trojans are much easier to prevent than they are to cure, with an infected computer sometimes requiring a complete reformatting of the hard drive, taking these drastic preventative measures may be warranted for some companies.

3. Spam

Depending on the source cited, spam makes up 70 to 84% of daily emails sent throughout the world. All that spam results in billions of dollars in lost productivity and creates an ever increasing need for IT resources to filter out this irritating and potentially malicious menace.

Spam email takes a variety of forms, ranging from unsolicited emails promoting products like Viagra, to coordinated spam attacks designed to take up so much bandwidth on a network so as to cause it to crash. A more recent trend is image spam, which eats up even more bandwidth than its textual cousin, and often circumvents contextual spam filters which analyze the message text to look for indications that the email is spam. Another brand new technique that spammers are using is called "news service" spam, which uses legitimate headlines such as "Howard Stern Earns $83M Bonus" to trick recipients into opening spam emails that are filled with spammy drug advertisements. These and other new spam trends constantly threaten the productivity of email and the security of IT networks.

Prevention
When it comes to fighting spam, fortunately, a great deal of spam can be filtered out by a good email filter. And much of what slips through can be avoided by staying current on the latest techniques that spammers use. In addition, however, you should protect your network from email spam by requiring your employees to use separate accounts for their personal internet use, and demand that company accounts not be used to signup for any online service or freebie. In addition, when creating company email accounts make sure to use a naming system which is not easily guessable (e.g., JSmith@domain.com), as spammers are increasingly going through common name lists in order to harvest emails to spam.

4. Phishing

Anyone who has ever used PayPal or does their banking online has probably recieved dozens of emails with titles such as, "URGENT: Update Account Status". These emails are all attempts by a spammer to "phish" your account information. Phishing refers to spam e-mails designed to trick recipients into clicking on a link to an insecure website. Typically, phishing attempts are executed to steal account information for e-commerce sites such as e-Bay, payments processors such as PayPal, or regular financial institutions' websites. A phishing email supplies you with a link to click on, which will take you to a page where you can re-enter all your account details, including credit card number(s) and/or passwords. Of course, these sites aren't the actual bank's site, even though they look like it.

Your company's mobile phones may not be safe either, as SMS messaging is now frequently used as a new type of phishing called SMiShing. Once the SMiShing, is successful, other malware such as Trojans are sometimes released onto the mobile phone. These trojans then make silent high cost text messages which go onto the sender's bill [4].

Some criminals are also using VoIP or VoIM software to send vishing messages. These try to confuse people into calling the provided number - usually an automated VoIP Call-In number - and revealing credit card details, which are recorded in audio form.

Prevention
Phishing in all its varieties is a huge and growing problem for network security managers and business owners. As we all become more interconnected and access more and more personal information through networks, there become more and more opportunities for phishers to attack. To protect one's network, it is becoming increasingly vital that you educate your employees about the most common ways in which hackers try to phish your account information. Even though simplistic phishing attempts like the PayPal scam now seem obvious to regular internet users, a single phishing attack can compromise an entire network's security if the employee is tricked into giving his network account information. Even after educating your workforce, you should consider adding a header to your network browser that reminds users never to enter personal information solicited through an email, and you should certainly use a sophisticated email filter to limit the number of phishing attacks that your employees must navigate around.

5. Packet Sniffers

Packet sniffers capture data streams over a network, thus allowing for the capture of sensitive data like usernames, passwords, and credit card numbers. The result, unsurprisingly, is the loss of data, trade secrets, or online account balances. For network managers specifically, even bigger losses can come from lawsuits due to noncompliance of data protection regulations.

While Packet sniffers have been used in rather harmless ways, such as by law enforcement and by corporations for data protection compliance purposes (HIPAA, SOX/ Sarbox, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act), the real concern for network owners is packet sniffers more malicious forms.

Packet sniffers work by monitoring and recording all the information that comes from and goes to your computer over a compromised network. So in order to be effective, the packet sniffer must first have access to the network you are using. The most common way to do this, is through using something called honeypots. Honeypots are simply unsecured Wi-Fi access points that hackers setup and trap people into using them. Typically, these honeypots are setup in public places such as airports, and the Wi-Fi network is titled something like "Free Public Wi-Fi". Unsuspecting individuals then sign onto the corrupted network and the packet sniffer then grabs their personal information when they enter things like their credit card info into a site.

Prevention
Education is simply the best policy to deal with the threat of packet sniffers. Once your employees know to never access the internet through an unsecured connection, and are made aware of the fact that packet sniffers exist, they are much less likely to fall victim to this hacking technique. Because a single victim of packet sniffing among any employee can compromise sensitive network data, it is important that everyone learn how to identify honeypots and how to secure their own home Wi-Fi networks. In addition, make sure that your employees use a variety of different sign on names and passwords to access various levels of network security. That way, if login information is compromised, the damage can at least be limited in scope.

6. Maliciously-Code Websites

Maliciously-coded websites can take many different forms, from installing trojan horses to redirecting you to an unrequested site. But one of the most threatening forms of maliciously-coded websites, those that are designed to steal passwords, are on the rise [4]. A very common form of these websites takes advantage of human's charitable instincts by setting up traps in what appear to be sites that allow you to make donations to victims of natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina. Hackers set up a fake sign-in page, and then encourage unsuspecting victims to enter their credit card number and other personal information.

In addition to stealing personal information, maliciously-coded websites are also often designed for the following purposes:

• installation of keyloggers
• adware/ spyware/ reading cookies
• drive-by downloads
• XSS - cross--site scripting to utilize web browser flaws for other intentions.

Prevention
In order to protect your network, you should encourage your employees to purchase information only from security certified sites, and to use PayPal instead of a credit card whenever possible, since by doing so they will not have to reveal their credit card information to another site. In addition to limiting the number of times credit card information is typed into a website, paying by PayPal is also helpful because maliciously-coded sites are less likely to accept PayPal payments since the owners of that PayPal account are easier to trace to an address or bank account.

Further, you should instruct your employees to never sign up for new web2.0 applications without using a different username and password than they ordinarily use for sensitive data. Creating a regular browser patch and plugin update schedule will also ensure that your virus and email protections are up to date. Finally, you should systematically set the browser security settings of all your network computers to a higher than default setting. While this step will not eliminate the possibility that your employees will stumble upon maliciously-coded sites, it will reduce the incidence of that occurrence.

7. Password Attacks

A 'Password Attack' is a general term that describes a variety of techniques used to steal passwords to accounts.

• Brute-force. One of the most labor intensive and unsophisticated methods hackers use to steal passwords is to try to guess a password by repeatedly entering in new combinations of words and phrases compiled from a dictionary. This 'dictionary attack' can also be used to try to guess usernames as well, so developing difficult to guess usernames and passwords is increasingly vital to network security.
  
  
• Packet sniffers. As discussed above, Packet Sniffers glean data electronically from a compromised network.
  
  
• IP-spoofing. Similar to 'Honeypots', this attack involves the interception of data packets by a computer successfully pretending to be a trusted server/ resource.
  
  
• Trojans. Trojans are actually invasive, as discussed above, and of these methods, are the most likely to be successful, especially if they install keyloggers.

Prevention
Automated testing (e.g., dictionary scanning), human behavior (e.g., lack of diversity in usernames and passwords), and other security flaws make it easier for password attackers to succeed. Unfortunately, there is no one single method to prevent against password attacks, though combining network traffic analysis along with the old stalwarts of email scanning, virus protection, firewalls, and an educated workforce can all together form a strong defense for any network.

8. Hardware Loss and Residual Data Fragments

Over the past few months, a number of government laptops have been stolen and the story has made national news. The government is so concerned, not because of the cost of replacing a few laptops, but from the network vulnerabilities that the loss of this hardware threatens to cause. In fact, hardware loss is a large cause of the more than 10 million cases of identity theft suffered by Americans each year.

These types of problems are not what we commonly think of as network security threats, but stolen or sold laptops and computers pose one of the biggest threats for networks. Businesses often sell older computers without completely wiping the drives clean of data, including system passwords. Just as with stolen computers, this information can then be easily used to gain access to the network and compromise the security of the entire system.

Prevention
Thankfully, the threat of hardware loss and residual data fragments can be minimized by taking a few rather straightforward steps:

• Encrypt sensitive company data, especially the laptops and files of executives who are most likely to be targeted. When traveling through foreign airports the problem can be especially acute, as laptops of prominent individuals are sometimes taken aside under the guise of "security", and their hard drives are quickly mirrored and used to blackmail the company. Despite the obvious benefits of securing data, however, a recent survey found that 64% of companies were more concerned about data loss than the cost of replacing hardware, however, only 12% were actually using encyrption.
  
  
• Wipe/shred files on old hard drives before they leave your organization. This is as much an issue of data compliance regulations as it is of network security. No matter what your motivation, however, failing to clean discarded hardware can leave your entire network vulnerable.
  
  
• Develop a policy for keeping track of employees use of Smartphones and USB memory cards around sensitive data. Simply letting employees know that you have such a policy and are monitoring the use of these devices will go a long way to preventing their misuse and protecting the network.
  
  
• Use an RFID-based Asset Management system for computers, laptops, and other sensitive hardware to keep tabs on their whereabouts in your premises.

9. Shared Computers

In the IT community, it is often said that shared computers are like public bathrooms, they may appear clean, but are usually chock full of viruses. Thankfully, the danger of shared computers is one network threat that you can largely render harmless by limiting the activities that you and your employees perform.

Prevention
If you or your employees use public computers, don't permit them to log into important online accounts, especially those containing financial details. You never know when a keylogger might be lying in wait, ready to steal your password and then your company’s money. Going beyond just avoiding accessing sensitive data through public computers, if you can avoid it, forbid your employees from logging into any network accounts at all on any public computers. While enforcement of this policy is difficult, simply educating your staff on the dangers of using public computers is often sufficient to eliminate most of these incidents.

10. Zombie Computers and Botnets

If you've ever wondered who is sitting around sending out all those spam emails, the answer may be you. A recent New York Times article estimates that as much as 80% of spam messages are sent out by the computers of ordinary individuals who have no idea their computers have been converted into 'Zombies'. A 'Zombie' computer is simply a computer infected with malware that causes it to act as a tool of a spammer by silently sending out thousands of emails from the owner's email address.

Infected 'Zombie' computers, are organized by spammers into small groups called 'botnets'. These 'botnets' then send out spam that may include phishing attempts, viruses, and worms. Unfortunately for network managers and business owners, the 'Zombie' malware threat is expected to continue to grow both in number and variety over the next few years. Currently, 'Zombies' are used to send out the following types of malware:

• Spamming and phishing attacks. This classic form of 'Zombie' computers is still the most common.
  
  
• Click fraud in advertising networks. Using a hidden program, zombie computers emulate human clicking on ads at a website or weblog. While Google said in Dec 2006 that click fraud for their AdSense contextual ad network is less than 2%, some advertisers have much higher estimates. Whatever the actual figure, creating click fraud zombies is currently a multi-million dollar industry, so do not expect it to stop soon.
  
  
• DoS attacks. Your company may have malicious competitors, or spiteful former employees who will stoop to any level to bring your company down. In this instance, your enemy might launch a Denial-of-Service attack (Dos) which is an attack designed to make the hosted pages of a website or network become unavailable to customers or employees. For instance, a spiteful former employee may launch a Dos attack on your biggest selling day of the year. Consequently, your company will lose all the business it might have had that day as customers are unable to access your website.
  
  
• Pump and dump stock schemes. In this scheme, spammers buy up a large block of a penny stock (especially sub-$1 per share), then use their 'Zombies' to spam millions of people with emails about the stock in the hopes that a few fools will take the bait and buy a few thousand shares, thus raising the price. After the price spike, the spammer then sells off his holdings and makes a quick buck.
  

Prevention
Because ‘botnets’ typically work silently on ‘zombie’ computers and are often enabled by the secret installation of trojan horses, it is very difficult to tell whether a computer has been infected. Preventing ‘botnets’ from turning your network computers into 'zombies' requires that you educate your employees to keep all forms of security software up to date, and to run a virus scan regularly, preferably nightly. In addition to nightly scanning, train your employees to look for sudden unusual behavior of your computer(s), such as persistent slowdowns, crashing, as a sign that they may be infected. If, despite your best efforts, a network computer becomes infected, treatment can vary wildly, from a simple scanning for and deleting the botnet, to a reformatting of the computer's hard drive.

Conclusion

As the volume of financial and other data transactions increase over the Internet, the potential for harm from network threats also increases. As a consequence, complex security measures that were once required by only Fortune 500 companies such as regular security audits are increasingly a necessity even for the smallest of companies.

As we continue to become an ever more networked society, the financial benefits attainable by hacking a network increase. As a result, it should come as no surprise that the number of attacks and the creativity spent in trying to breach a network continue to increase. Consequently, those that are tasked with defending networks must continue to educate themselves and their workforce on the newest types of attacks and make the necessary preparations to prevent against them.

Considering upgrading to Windows Vista?

Have you heard the BUZZ yet? Microsoft is launching their newest operating system called Windows Vista at the end of January 2007, you can see what all the hype is about by taking Vista for a Test Drive using just your internet browser (no software installation required!) and then if you like what you see let Microsoft help you decide if your computer will have the horsepower it needs to upgrade and what version will best suit your needs, all at no charge from Microsoft.

Try Windows Vista using just your browser The Windows Vista Business test-drive allows you to try (or "test-drive") this latest operating system from Microsoft without having to install it on your PC. Simply log on to our test-drive environment and experience Windows Vista firsthand. You can explore the product on your own, or follow along with guided exercises and videos. Click here to begin your test-drive experience! Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor 1.0 Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor is designed to help Windows XP users identify whether their PCs are ready for an upgrade to Windows Vista, which edition of Windows Vista meets their needs, and which features of Windows Vista will be able to run on their PCs.

The entire file cabinet on a keychain?

Able to store oodles of data, tiny drives are a precursor to truly portable computing

TERRENCE BELFORD

Special to The Globe and Mail

Douglas Smith and his three estimators regularly thank good fortune for the day, three years ago, when they first tried a thumb-sized marvel of technology -- the USB flash drive. Today you won't find any of them without three or four of the devices in their pockets.

The reason? The now ubiquitous thumb drives, also called memory keys, have relieved Mr. Smith and his co-workers of the burden of data storage, data transfer and especially the hassles involved in handling paper -- in this instance wallpaper-like rolls of blueprints.

In those dark, pre-USB drive days, the estimators would visit architects and clients to pick up blueprints for work that Smith Brothers Contracting Corp. wanted to bid on. For three generations, the Ancaster, Ont.-based company has specialized in installing drywall in industrial, commercial and institutional projects. Using blueprints to estimate job costs is essential to successful contracting. But the size of the blueprint packages -- often 40 or 50 pages, as big as 60 centimetres high and a metre wide -- was daunting.

The estimators would have to copy the blueprints, lug them back to the office and make even more copies. The blueprints would have to be catalogued and stored well beyond the completion of the work.

"It was a real pain," Douglas Smith says. "You had to do it all by hand because the files are just too big to e-mail."

Today, however, handling blueprints is a snap. The estimators still go the client's or architect's office to see the documents, but then they plug a flash drive into a Universal Serial Bus port on a computer and download the blueprints in a matter of seconds. Then, back at their office, they repeat the process -- uploading the drawings to their own computers, where estimating software helps them work out costs.

Those flash drives not only transport the large blueprint files but serve as backup storage as well.

"I have one in my pocket right now," Mr. Smith said in an interview. "It is a 2-gigabyte drive that cost $120, and it holds four or five complete sets of blueprints. Those darn things are amazing."

Amazing indeed, said Barry Dowd, president of Integrated Business Intelligence Corp. of Hamilton, which specializes in solving small-business IT challenges. He can't do without them.

"I carry presentations on them," he said. "If anything happens to my laptop I can always pull out the USB drive, plug it into a client's computer and go right ahead as if nothing has happened."

Rick Atkinson, director of merchandising at Staples/Business Depot Ltd. of Richmond Hill, Ont., which has 270 Staples Business Depot stores across Canada, said USB flash drives are de rigueur among his suppliers.

"They come in and hand you a USB flash drive and say keep it," he said. "Everything is on it -- product information, price lists, everything. It greatly speeds the pace of doing business and saves enormous space and costs in storage."

Thumbnail USB flash drives are only about four years old. But they have seized the imagination of those who are the least bit computer savvy, said Eddie Chan, a research analyst at IDC Canada.

"It is their enormous storage capacity . . . combined with affordable prices and portability," he said. A 64-megabyte drive can be purchased for as little as $7.99. "There are even some top-end models that offer limited applications such as e-mail and file management."

Granted, there are still downsides, Mr. Chan added. Most of the drives have a limited reusable life. They have a slow data-transfer rate and as a result cannot handle sophisticated programs. They also can pose a security threat to corporate systems.

"What I think they represent, though, is a major step toward easily portable computing," he said. "New generations of USB drives will be able to replicate your home or office computer on any other computer with a compatible drive."

While no organization tracks USB flash drives, Tech Data Canada Corp., the domestic arm of the global IT products distributor, offers some insight. Ray Gonsalves, director of product marketing, said his company's sales of USB drives rose by 15 per cent in 2006 and 56 per cent in 2005. At the same time, prices dropped by 20 per cent in 2006 and 31 per cent in 2005.

They are still in the early stages of development, said Mr. Gonsalves, who agrees with Mr. Chan that they may hold the key to computing portability in the future.

What USB drives have going for them is tremendous storage capability. The downside is that today's USB ports in computers cannot handle the data-transfer speeds that flash drives are capable of.

"USB ports are just in version 2.0 now," Mr. Gonsalves noted. The trick is not to create a small USB drive holding all standard office applications, which he said can be done; instead, the trick is to come up with a better USB port that can handle the speeds at which data needs to be transferred from portable drive to computer.

"We can easily see that coming," said Mark McCallum, division manager of Best Buy for Business at Best Buy Canada Inc., based in Mississauga, Ont.

"Right now top-end U3 USB flash drives have a number of basic applications on them like e-mail so you can take a drive to an Internet café and send e-mails and do basic work," he said.

"It does not take much imagination to see the natural extension of this trend," he added.

The USB drive is just one route toward truly portable computing, however.

Route1 Inc. is betting on its MobiKEY, a form of flash drive aimed at corporate network users that allows anyone on a network protected by Route1 to access any other computer on the network, using a flash memory card similar to the SIM cards used in cell phones.

MobiKEY has the added advantage of complete security protection, said Jerry Iwanski, Route1's chief technical officer. "What it does is offer secure access to your home computer from your office computer and vice versa," he said.

Secure is the key word. USB drives are so small they can be carried into secure facilities undetected and used to pirate corporate data or to introduce viruses or other forms of malware.

"That is a problem some software companies like Microsoft are addressing now," Mr. Dowd said. "New Vista versions offer protection for USB ports. I have even heard anecdotally of corporations using silicone to seal up USB ports."

None of this, however, detracts from the pleasure Mr. Smith and his estimators derive from their USB flash drives.

"My only worry is that they are so small I might lose one," he said. "Happily that has yet to happen."

USB flash drive

What it is: A memory storage device shaped like half a popsicle stick

and named for the Universal Serial Bus port it plugs into. Commonly known as a thumb drive or memory key.

How it works: Computers create

data as electrons; the flash drive stores those electrons and

allows other computers to retrieve them.

Capacity: Up to 4 gigabytes, with the most popular versions available in 256 MB, 512 MB, I GB, 2 GB and 4 GB.

Cost: $7.99 to $199

Versatility: While most drives store data, new U3 multi-gigabyte versions also contain applications that allow for e-mailing, file creation and file management.

Small Business and the TODO List

King To-do
January 30, 2007

Think small-business tools, and tech goodies such as Wi-Fi laptops, thumb drives and cellphones come to mind, but for time management and productivity, 58 per cent of small business owners rely on simple to-do lists, according to findings from RBC Royal Bank’s 2006 Small Business Survey, conducted by Ipsos Reid.

Small business owners also employ online banking services (60 per cent), accounting software (38 per cent) and communication technology (35 per cent) to save time, but the to-do list is still king. “Small business owners may well be creating and storing their to-do lists on computers or cellphones, but it’s interesting to see something as straightforward as the to-do list rising to the top,” said Kristina Depencier, national manager for small business at RBC Royal Bank.

Who Has The Messiest Office in Canada? You? Your Boss?

Who Has The Messiest Office in Canada?

Grand & Toy is starting 2007 with the underdog of makeovers:
the dream office with the launch of The "Your Amazing New Office" Contest

TORONTO, Jan. 30 /CNW/ -

The new year is prime time to be thinking of
makeovers: new eating habits, a new hairstyle, or maybe even a new kitchen.
New office space might not top the list for most people, but for small
businesses, experts advise that an office makeover can do wonders for their
productivity. That is why Grand & Toy is offering Canadian small business
owners the "Your Amazing New Office" contest for a chance to win a $20,000
dream office makeover.

"So many of us don't realize that a cluttered work environment may hamper
efficiency and can contribute to awkward working postures," says ergonomics
expert, Kathy Kawaja, Human Factors North Inc. "Having the right tools and the
right work space can really impact the bottom line, and Grand & Toy can help."
Seventy-three per cent of small businesses feel that increased
productivity is a major priority for their business(1).

Having the right
office design and supplies can provide a healthier, more inviting environment,
leading to less stress and greater efficiency during the hectic work week.
"With small business representing over 97 per cent of all Canadian
businesses(2), Grand & Toy knows how important it is to support the multitude
of office needs that the small business owner has," says Lisa Xavier, Senior
Director, Marketing Small Business Programs, Grand & Toy. "We also know that
investing in these resources can be difficult. By providing the opportunity to
win an office makeover, we are helping small businesses to get a 'leg up' on
2007."

To enter the contest, entrants must visit www.grandandtoy.com and click
on the "Your Amazing New Office" contest button. From there, they need to fill
out the entry form and submit a photo of their office space. The contest runs
from January 29th through March 11th, with winners being contacted by
telephone.

The grand prize winner will receive $20,000 in office related goods and
services that will provide the perfect setting for productivity and success.
These will include items such as:

- Office Supplies
- Technology
- Business Imaging
- Business Interiors
- Web Site Design Services

Three secondary makeover prizes of $7,500 will be awarded in Western
Canada, Atlantic Canada and Ontario.
In addition to the larger prizes, Grand & Toy will provide 30 random
instant-win prize packs worth over $770 each. Prize packs include a variety of
different items such as digital cameras, wireless headsets, CD storage discs,
DVDs, and more. No two prize packs will be the same.
For more information and contest details, go to www.grandandtoy.com or
www.grandandtoy.ctv.ca for contest rules and prizing.

Microsoft Vista, Office 2007 consumer launch focuses on 'integrated' user experience

Microsoft Vista, Office 2007 consumer launch focuses on 'integrated' user experience
Connecting work and home through the PC
By: Kathleen LauITWorldCanada.com (30 Jan 2007)

Microsoft Canada Co. unveiled the consumer versions of Windows Vista and Office 2007 with much fanfare yesterday focusing on the products' new user-interface, enhanced search capabilities, and improved security.

The launch event – held in Toronto – was conducted in a "uniquely Canadian" style.
The setting was a house carved entirely from ice, within which displays showcased how Microsoft's latest offerings integrated into the domestic lives of users.

Scenarios depicted included: doing banking over the Internet while preparing a meal in the kitchen, watching television from a wide-screen monitor in the living room, and conducting business from a home office.

Microsoft Canada execs focused on aspects of Vista and Office 2007 that they believe are likely to appeal to consumers.

These include features that provide for a more enjoyable, as well as more secure computing experience, according to Jill Schoolenberg, general manager for Windows client at Mississauga-based Microsoft Canada.

"It’s more fun, more entertaining, more connected, and makes your computing experience a lot safer," Schoolenberg told IT World Canada.

Vista consumer editions include Home Basic, Home Premium and Ultimate.

Vista Home Basic supports the most common computing capabilities such as e-mail, Internet access, as well as photo archiving.

Vista Home Premium provides the added functionality of mobile computing and digital entertainment.
Vista Ultimate merges capabilities of the Home Premium and Business editions, offering automatic file backup, business networking connectivity, BitLocker drive encryption (encodes the hard drive in the event of theft), and Windows Movie Maker.

The notion that work and personal life has, to some degree, become intertwined is reflected in the Vista Ultimate edition, says Schoolenberg.

"Business and work life is not as divided as it used to be. We’ve got one integrated life and the Ultimate edition gives us one integrated experience."

According to the Microsoft Canada executive, Vista Ultimate is geared towards users who want the look and feel of their business environment at home; small business owners; and people who regularly work from home.

But for consumers looking for rudimentary functionality in an operating system, Vista Home Basic is still worth the upgrade from Windows XP, Schoolenberg says.

She noted that the "instant search" capability (across file names, metadata, and file content), and enhanced security features (including phishing Web site detection) would cost the user just over $100 more. "I don’t think that’s a lot to invest, to get those two benefits."

Moreover, she says, the visual appeal of Windows Aero is a definite bonus.

The new hardware-based graphical user interface in Windows Vista, Windows Aero is an acronym for Authentic, Energetic, Reflective and Open. It was intended to be a cleaner, more powerful, more efficient and more aesthetically pleasing user interface.

The Office 2007 suites, have "virtually the same" hardware requirements as Windows XP and can be installed with or without Vista, says Mike Bulmer, senior product manager, Microsoft Office system at Microsoft Canada Co.

The only challenge that new users might face with Office 2007 is getting used to the new layout. But even then, he says, it only takes between two days to a week to get comfortable.

Among the consumer-geared editions of Office 2007 are Office Home and Student 2007, and Office Ultimate 2007.

Bulmer says Office Home and Student 2007 are slated to be most popular among consumers looking for the basic functionality of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote.

Office Ultimate 2007 adds the networking connectivity – useful in business – with other functionalities, such as Microsoft Publisher 2007 that can create marketing collateral and business cards.

As with Vista Ultimate edition, Office Ultimate 2007 reflects the fact that the home is becoming an extension to the workplace, says Bulmer.

"We see lots of people running small businesses at home, or maybe seeking a work-life balance by returning home early to spend time with their kids, then resuming work on their PCs after the kids have gone to bed."

He said Office Ultimate 2007 responds to this trend offering users the familiar look and feel of the office productivity environment at home.

Key enhancements to Office 2007 include Live Preview and Smart Art.

Live Preview allows a user to see in real time what a formatting change, for example, would look like before it’s applied. Smart Art makes designing organization charts and PowerPoint presentations, for example, easier with graphic options.

Posted By:

Scott Kendall
Small Business Technology Specialist

The Technology Coach
____________________________
Small Business Technology Service, Training, Coaching and Support!
http://www.thetechnologycoach.ca
scottk@thetechnologycoach.ca
Office 905-366-8234
Mobile 416-802-4424

Prevent Small Business Technology Failures. (Before they happen)

Are You?

	Tired of unplanned technology downtime?
	Tired of technology failures and expensive repair bills?
	How much business do you lose if you don't have your computer for a whole day? What about 2?
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The Technology Coach is proud to Introduce
The Small Business Technology Support Plan ^TM

The Small Business Technology Support Plan was created in response to specific client requests for the type of on-going preventative maintenance that's necessary to keep small business technology up and running while reducing overall costs!

Support Plans starting at just 3 hours per month that cost as little as $195 provide the Technology service and support you need to keep your business technology running smoothly so it's there when you need it!

Our Technology Support Plan is designed to offer you a step above the standard service and repair call by using preventative maintenance and technology planning to provide the peace of mind that your technology won't let you down!

Current Small Business Technology clients have reported that monthly preventative maintenance and system optimization visits have improved the reliability of their business technology by as much as 87% and reduced system down time from an average of 47 hours per year to just 6!

Wouldn’t you rather have us there once a month for a few hours system checkup and optimization to keep you running at full speed than to call at 4:30 p.m. to repair the only computer in the office that has a copy of the proposal due in the morning to your biggest client? We think so, too!

Small Business Technology Support Plans provide the piece of mind of a regularly scheduled preventative maintenance and system optimization while things are running smoothly so we can keep them that way!

During our regular monthly visit we provide service and support to your equipment for any identified problems and we ensure your system is running in optimal health before things ever need fixing.

Bring your Small business IT Costs back under your control! Call today for a free no-obligation on-site technology evaluation and to find out how The Technology Coach’s Monthly Small Business Technology Support Plan can benefit your organization!

The Small Business Technology Support Plan Includes:

	3 Hours of on-site support, service & training per month (at a 30% Discount!)
	One hour per month remote help support at no charge
	Unlimited no charge 24 / 7 telephone support *
	2 hour callback for all voice mail messages
	Free Technology Tools and Remote Support CD-ROM
	Dedicated project management
	Single point of contact for all your technology needs
	Priority response time for emergency on-site visits
	No emergency call premium or after hours fees
	Access to our Network of Local IT Partners and Contractors
	No Cost Quarterly planning and review sessions ( a $340 Value )
	No Cost Annual Small Business IT audit ( a $500 Value )
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Call or Email Today!
call (905) 366-8234

_________________________________________

Small Business Technology Service, Training, Coaching and Support
http://www.thetechnologycoach.ca
info@thetechnologycoach.ca
Office 905-366-8234
Mobile 416-802-4424

Your "Virtual IT Department" On Call!

Small to Medium Businesses are Adopting New Technologies

They might be small fry in the business world but when it comes to technology, small businesses are increasingly taking after their larger sized counterparts, a study released this month says.

Seventy-five per cent of small and mid-sized businesses are using network hardware, software and network solutions and 65 per cent have adopted advanced applications to remain competitive and attract customers, the fifth annual Cisco Net Impact Study reported.

"In 2002, they looked at technology as strictly cost—reduction," said Dave De Abreu, vice-president of commercial operations for Cisco Canada. "Today, they are looking at how they can maintain and increase their customer holdings and their business status within the customer environment."

For small business owners, things have changed a lot in 4 years!

"When we go and see a small business, whether it is a one-person shop or a 20-person, there is always basic technology," he said. "It's now become a norm in order to do business, otherwise you are really not going to be running a business."

The study conducted in June and July, consulted 200 Canadian organizations with fewer than 500 workers. To qualify for the study, businesses had to be using information and communications technology.

Part of the increased technological savvy means businesses are looking at more technologies, the study reported.

"So you are talking about businesses who are now looking at things like GPS, like wireless technology, like video capabilities to enhance their businesses. Anything and everything available in the marketplace, they are taking a look at it and asking the questions about how it can help their business."

But barriers still exist to investing in technology, including cost, time to implement and skills, the survey reported.

Adopting new small business technology can be both a intimidating and rewarding process, whether it's a new email application or an entirely new network environment the real focus should always be on the true return on investment. For help in planning and implementing new technology solutions for your business pick up the phone or email The Technology Coach today, we're here for your success!

info@thetechnologycoach.ca

Office: 905-366-8234

_________________________________________

Small Business Technology Service, Training, Coaching and Support
http://www.thetechnologycoach.ca
info@thetechnologycoach.ca
Office 905-366-8234
Mobile 416-802-4424
Your "Virtual IT Department" On Call!

Email Etiquette and Productivity Tips

As e-mail becomes more and more prevalent in our day to day work I'm reminded more and more that everyone treats this tool differently, I've compiled a short list below of some of what I feel are the best tips or concepts to keep in mind when sending email, most are common sense but just writing this list helped remind me of some of the more important ones, enjoy the list, more to come next month.

1. Don't send private messages with the company account. If you want to send personal messages from work (and you should probably try to minimize this), use a freebie account like Hotmail, Gmail or Yahoo! if your office permits it. The content of your emails is less visible to employers through these accounts, so the private messages you send will stay private.

2. Use BCC if necessary. If you must send a group email to people who do not know each other, don't add their addresses to the form's CC field; this is one method spammers use to harvest email addresses. Instead, use BCC (Blind Carbon Copy) for their addresses, and put your own email in the form's "to" field.

3. Don't forward chain letters. Please don't do it. That includes the email that says that if you forward it to 10 people you'll win something, it's lying, please don't forward it to anyone else.

4. Be professional. Ensure your work emails don't contain 'u', 'lol', 'ty', 'jk' and/or several million other texting / internet chat acronyms. These developed because cell phones' keypads aren't well-suited to writing fully-formed words, sentences and paragraphs. In business communications, however, they may give the impression of childishness and illiteracy.

5. Be professional, part 2: Check tone. Be aware of the professional (or not) relationship between yourself and the recipient before starting an email. Use that to gauge what topics are appropriate to write or not, as well as the tone of your writing. This may be common sense to most, but you’d be surprised at how often the rule is ignored.

6. Be careful. Email is not private; it can be intercepted anywhere en route to its recipient. In addition, it can live on for years in recipient email boxes, later to return to its sender in choice quotations. Think before sending email you will later regret.

7. Cut down on signatures. Signature files, especially in business, should contain as few lines as possible. Four lines is a figure generally agreed-upon. Email that consists of a two-line statement and a ten-line signature will have its recipients rolling their eyes.

8. May I quote you? When you respond to an email, the original email is quoted. Cut the most relevant sentence from the message to which you are responding, preface it with a '>' (if it's not already there) and paste the quote above your response. Delete the rest of the original email from your response, unless you are responding to other points in the original.

9. Don't use email when you are angry. While most of the time email does not convey your emotions, particularly humour, it somehow seems to transmit anger - even when you don’t intend it to come through.

10. Get clarification. If someone sends you an email that upsets you, make sure you haven't misunderstood. As mentioned previously, emotion and tone do not always carry over well in email. Instead of responding angrily, in your response, quote the portion of text that you are unsure of and ask the sender to clarify. Indicate what you think it means, if you like, then ask if you've misunderstood.

11. Don't Spam friends. Occasionally, mail servers go on the fritz and send forty-five copies of the same email to the recipient. Even if it's not your fault, it is polite to apologize profusely to your friend, family, or business colleagues.

12. Consider the quirks of other email systems. For example, say that you have a friend with a Hotmail account and want to send a list of hyperlinks. Hotmail doesn't handle hyperlinks inside of an email very well. For example, you cannot easily copy the actual URL, without a bit of effort. It's hard to know about all types of email systems, but some awareness reduces frustrating situations for recipients.

13. Respond to group email appropriately. If someone has sent a group email that requires a response, but only to the sender or a couple of parties, don't copy everyone on your reply.

14. Don't respond to every group email. More specifically, it is alright to sit out a thread of group conversation if you are not being addressed directly. However, read the emails carefully to make sure that you are not being expected to respond.

15. Respect email laws and regulations. Some countries have very specific rules about bulk emailing. If you use email to promote your business, you need to know the laws for not only your country but probably wherever you are emailing to. It's a tall order, given the global village of the Internet, but its importance cannot be overstated.

16. Use meaningful subject lines. Write something "meaningful" in the subject line, to give recipients a clue as to what your email is about. This is increasingly necessary to distinguish legit emails from spam. The latter's subject lines are often deceptive.

17. Be brief. Do not send excessively long emails if at all possible. Try to summarize your information so that your recipients are more likely to read the email and actually respond. When possible, break long emails into numbered point form so that recipients can respond by reference number.

18. Summarize. Precede a long email with a short summary.

19. Use 'Reply All' only when necessary. Usually, the common advice is to not use "reply all" if other recipients of a group email do not need your response. But forgetting to use "reply all" when appropriate is simply inefficient. If the vast majority of a group needs to hear a message, writing in individual emails addresses will waste your time and increase the chances that you’re going to leave someone important out of the email.

20. If it's urgent, say so. Writing 'URGENT' in front of your email's subject will make it stand out from the crowd, and most likely get timely attention from the recipient. Make certain it is urgent, however; remember how much attention was paid to the boy who cried wolf when his cries really mattered.

21. Use smileys. If you think that something you've written might be misunderstood in tone or emotion, use the appropriate smiley. It should be obvious, but this tip does not apply to work or other professional emails, or if the person doesn't know you already.

22. Proofread. There is a difference between typos and poor writing. Poor writing improves with practice. Typos stay typos unless you take the time to eliminate them. If you are applying for a job or freelance gig, it's especially important to prufreed before you send that email. And as if you needed another reason to be concise, remember that the chance of typos is directly proportional to the length of your email.

23. Remember the telephone. Unless you need a written record of a given communication (or if the person you're communicating with is long distance), consider calling (or sending a letter to) your intended recipient instead of an email. People often default to writing an email because it is quick and easy; but sometimes a handwritten letter or phone call can provide the personal touch your communication really needs.

24. On Holidays? Taking some person time for the Holiday Season? If you will be out of your office or just not checking your email for a lengthy period of time, set up an auto responder to inform whomever emails you of your absence, your expected return and who they can contact while you are away. This is polite (the message is only sent to a given email once), and it prevents a lot of "I'm waiting for your response" emails. A quick warning, however, to not use an auto responder for your home email; you shouldn't advertise an empty house.

Above all else remember that email is just one option in the various forms of communication we use in our small business every day, it's easy to get caught up in the "I'll just email them" trap, communication is key so pick up the phone or sit down and have coffee to talk about business with friends and colleagues!

As always Your small business technology is our specialty and we're here to help so email or better yet, pickup the phone today with any questions you have about email security, etiquette or privacy, we'd be glad to help!

info@thetechnologycoach.ca

Office: 905-366-8234

_________________________________________

Small Business Technology Service, Training, Coaching and Support
http://www.thetechnologycoach.ca
info@thetechnologycoach.ca
Office 905-366-8234
Mobile 416-802-4424

Your "Virtual IT Department" On Call!