January is here, and we’re two weeks into the New Year. As we resolve to visit the gym, eat healthy and improve our finances, it’s also an ideal time to consider our digital life and ensure that we are taking all the necessary precautions to make sure that our data is safe and protected from unauthorized access, fraud, and identify theft. Network security must be addressed at every level of an organization. Personal and employee passwords are a vital component of your company’s security policy, both easy to implement and effective at keeping unwanted intruders at bay.

Take a look at the list below of the top 25 most common passwords from 2011. SplashData, a popular password management application company complied these passwords and ranked them according to how common they are. While these passwords are easy to remember, they are also easy to guess. If your password is on this list, you may be leaving yourself open to one of computer hackers most simple but effective tools, guesswork. While many sophisticated methods of stealing passwords do exist, attackers often try the most common passwords first before moving onto more advanced methods.

For 2012, consider encouraging the members of your organization to select secure and strong passwords. Such passwords typically have the following characteristics:

• Minimum of 8 characters
• Different types of characters
- Letters (upper and lower case), numbers and special characters (!, #, @, _, &)
• Different passwords and user names for multiple sites or programs
- Could be a different password or a variation of an existing one

Using different passwords and user names may seem too difficult to remember and unnecessary to some. However, a recent security incident at online shoe retailer Zappos underscores the importance of password security. Just this week, hackers gained access to Zappos customer database and managed to steal data belonging to 24 million customers. “The hackers will be crunching the password data to identify where weak passwords have been used — as those users often reuse passwords,” says Stina Ehrensvard, CEO of authentication hardware maker Yubico. “We’re highly likely to see the data being used elsewhere on the Internet in the coming days.”

Users that have trouble remembering many different passwords might consider using a password management application such as SplashID from SplashData or LastPass. These applications can run on computers, smartphones or even web browsers to securely store multiple passwords. Additionally, random password generators such as StrongPasswordGenerator are helpful tools for producing strong passwords. There are some additional guidelines for strong passwords on this site as well.

Many server-based computer networks can be configured to require users to select passwords based on you company’s security policy, including the strong password criteria above. If you are not sure if your network supports strong password configuration or if you would like some assistance in setting it up, please contact Rocket IT. We are happy to help!

This shortcut assumes that both users have access to the network where file is located. Typically this would be someone within your office, or remotely connected to your network. There are two ways to insert the file shortcut or “hyperlink” within your email message.

When using either method, typically you will want to create a hyperlink for files that are located on a shared network drive, or on your “server.” If you select a file which is stored on your local computer, the recipient of the email message may have trouble accessing the file on your computer across the network.

Method 1 - Use the keyboard shortcut “Control + K”.

Method 2 - Right-click on the file and drag it into Outlook.

This happened to me with my iPhone. After carefully applying a new Lenntek screen protector, I noticed a couple dust particles lodged between the screen and the protector, causing the protector to bubble up. How unsightly! After trying unsuccessfully to resolve the problem on my own (and making the problem much worse in the process), I emailed Lenntek’s support department to see if they had any suggestions. Here’s what they said:

1. Thoroughly clean the surface of the iPhone before applying the screen in a non-dusty environment (don’t apply it onto the phone outdoors). There are usually a few bubbles caused by airborne dust particles no matter how careful you are.
2. Use scotch tape to remove the dust particles by slowly peeling back the corner of the screen that is closest to the air bubble.
3. Dab the area of the phone where the air bubble is with the sticky side of the scotch tape.
4. Do the same with the scotch tape to the phone side of the screen protector in case the dust particle is stuck to the bottom of the protector and not to the phone itself.
5. If you need to start over, you may remove the screen from the phone, clean it with soapy water, then dry it thoroughly. Be careful not to leave lint on the bottom (phone side) of the screen protector as you dry it off.

Luckily for me, the scotch tape trick worked like a charm! I’m not sure how I could have dried the screen protector without collecting even more dust. The scotch tape idea is gold, though, so I’m posting here in the hopes that others can enjoy a dust-free screen!

For years I’ve waited for someone to come out with a great tablet computer. One that can do all the things my notebook computer can do, but in a smaller, lighter package and with a really great touchscreen. Presumably, it would come with a stylus and would recognize my handwriting. It would definitely run Windows and my favorite apps, like Excel, Word, and QuickBooks. It would connect to a real keyboard and mouse, it would work with a real monitor, and it wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg. Yes, for all these things, I’ve been waiting a very long time.

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Windows PCs and business apps, but when rumors revealed that Apple had a tablet in the works, I knew I’d have to have one. It might not run Word or Excel, I figured, but it would surely have a beautiful screen and a great design. Besides, I could use a high-tech device for managing my email and calendar, browsing the web, and reading books. Apple’s new tablet gadget would be great for all those things, I imagined. And thus began my months-long wait for the Apple iPad.

Last Saturday morning, with my long wait finally behind me, I took the plunge and bought my iPad. Specifically, I bought the 64 GB model with the 3G wireless option (all iPads come with Wi-Fi - the kind of wireless Internet access most of us have in our homes and offices, but some models also support AT&T’s 3G wireless network). Basic setup was a cinch. The iPad was up and running within a few minutes of taking it out of the box. From there, things got much more interesting. The following are some of my initial thoughts on the device.

1. The brilliant screen and the device itself are both gorgeous, as expected. With a long history of developing well-designed products, Apple continues to impress with the physical design of the iPad.
2. Holding the device in a chair or in bed is not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I figured it would be uncomfortable to hold the tablet upright for long periods, but in reality, it’s no worse than holding a magazine or a small book.
3. Typing is a bit of a chore. The touch screen is sensitive enough, but one must switch between as many as three different screens to find buttons for all the letters, numbers, and special characters needed for day-to-day computing and password-entering. An optional keyboard is available, but who wants to carry one of those around?
4. While it will do in a pinch, I don’t find the iPad ideal for surfing the web. The iPad’s default Safari browser feels clunky compared to Chrome or Firefox, and as somebody who uses a lot of shortcut keys for web browsing, I miss having a real keyboard. Scrolling and zooming with the iPad’s gestures (finger movements on the touchscreen) come naturally and work well, however.
5. Surprisingly, app shopping on iTunes (which is the only way possible to buy iPad apps) is not a great experience on the iPad or on a PC. While it’s possible to search for apps by category or keywords, there’s no way to sort the results, making it unnecessarily difficult to sort through pages of apps to find the few with the highest ratings, for example. Other options list “featured” and “chart-topping” apps, but those results can’t be sorted by category or keyword. The whole process is clunky and I’m very surprised it wasn’t perfected with iPhone apps a long time ago.
6. Some things you might do in a web browser on a regular PC are done differently with specialized apps on the iPad. Favorite sites like YouTube, Flickr, Netflix, and Craigslist seem to work better on the iPad as dedicated apps. My favorite, so far, is FlickrStackr - an app for exploring Flickr photos that seems better than browsing Flickr’s website on a regular PC in almost every way.
7. My particular iPad seems to have trouble keeping track of time. At various points over the past couple days, the iPad’s clock has deviated from the real time by as much as 4 or 5 hours. There are numerous accounts of this troublesome behavior on the Internet, but I’ve yet to find a clear fix. As I write this, however, my iPad is showing the correct time for the first time in 2 days.
8. The battery life is fantastic, easily powering the iPad all day long through music, movies, and, er, other important testing as it shuffled between my eager kids and me.
9. I haven’t been able to get the iPad to recognize my office Exchange Server, yet. Perhaps it’s looking for something special on the server side, but we have other Apple devices in the house that have no problem connecting. As a consumer of the services we offer at Rocket IT, I will be “drinking our own Tang” when I report this issue to our team tomorrow. It will be interesting to get to the bottom of this one!
10. Photography is a favorite hobby of mine, so I’ve been very curious about the potential uses of the iPad for photographers. Happily, after two days with the Apple tablet, I can honestly say that I love the potential for photographers. While there aren’t many serious photography apps yet, the iPad is a stunningly beautiful vehicle for photographic portfolios. I can imagine professionals reviewing their work with clients, managing cloud-based photo stores, and perhaps even doing some basic editing in the field. For photographers, the iPad may be the next “killer app”!

Ultimately, the iPad is not the tablet computer I’ve been dreaming about for years. It doesn’t include a stylus and it doesn’t run Windows, Word, Excel, or QuickBooks - at least not directly. Rather, it’s the first very successful launch of a whole new class of mobile devices. While it’s clear that the iPad is still new technology with lots of little wrinkles to work out, the portable design, great screen, and novel interface - all backed by a progressive company with loads of money in the bank and legions of loyal fans - will ensure its success at home and with many self-directed professionals. However, only time (and some really good apps) will tell whether larger businesses will embrace the Apple iPad.

Want to have a presence on social media, but do not know where to begin? Social media seems like a tight rope walk with many uncertain questions looming for most people. Do not worry; it is not as scary as it appears. Practice these six guidelines and you will be on your way to having an effective social media existence.

1) Be Yourself. Always use real pictures of yourself and other company members. People want to be able to see the human side of the business. Social media allows prospects to get a closer look at the type of people they might do business with. Do not do anything that makes you uncomfortable. Your uneasiness will come through.

2) Be Specific. Create a detailed plan consisting of the kind of information you want to post. Then follow what you developed. Share items that will have interest to your followers and fans. Never post anything just to post something. Make sure all posts have a specific reason.

3) Be Trustworthy. Fans of social media want to follow someone they can trust and relate to. Your sites should be personable, upfront and honest. Social media is not the place to be overtly trying to sell your products and/or services.

4) Be Talkative. Who you follow is almost as important as who follows you. Put yourself out there; social media is about having a two way conversation with other real life people. Think of it as a networking event. Feel free to comment on other people’s posts and updates.

5) Be Consistent. Your company should have one overarching theme to your message that covers all your marketing and branding. The website, social media, advertisements, etc. should all flow with each other. Post a link to your website on all your social media venues.

6) Be Disciplined. Social media takes work. Set aside a few minutes every day to update and maintain your sites. It is like most things; the harder you work at it, the greater the rewards.

Yes, social media takes a certain amount of effort. However, it provides a compelling way to communicate with community of people might be hard to reach through traditional methods. Go ahead and take your message directly to the right prospects.

Do you subscribe to the idea that specific actions produce specific results? If so, where do you look when you’re not getting the results you want? Are you quick to point the finger at someone else?

After attending a training session about the effective use of KPIs and dashboards, a member of our sales team suggested that there were only four possible reasons for falling short of a desired result:

1. The desired actions weren’t communicated clearly.
2. The actions weren’t completed effectively.
3. The prescribed actions were wrong for the desired results.
4. The actions weren’t completed at all.

Genius, if you ask me (thanks Eric). I couldn’t think of any others. Can you?

The interesting point here is that most of the possible reasons for falling short of expectations are leadership issues. As the leader of my team, it’s my job to create and manage a simple process for getting results. I must (#1) clearly communicate how we do things and (#2) make sure the right people are trained to do them. If (#3) the things we do aren’t effective for getting the results we want, it’s my responsibility to help find a better way.

The only time I should start by looking anywhere other than the mirror is (#4) when things aren’t getting done at all, but only after careful reflection about how well I’ve held up my end of the bargain.