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Photo Organization with Ease - Part 1
Several years back, prior to the web 2.0 movement, many of us were responsible for concocting our own photo galleries. This effort built character and required some crafty coding to simplify and automate, but this was daunting and out of reach for the average user.
Welcome Picasa. Picasa is both a Windows application and a web based application developed by Google. The application simplifies - sharing, editing, searching, organizing, being creative, and host your own web album all for FREE.
Here’s how it works.
Step 2 - The application will then search your PC cataloging all images and display them in the main gallery by folder.
Step 3 - To import new photos moving forward it is as easy as plugging in your camera or inserting your media into the PC. Picasa walks you through the rest of the import process.
Step 4 – Once an online account is created for Picasa Web, adding photos to your custom web site is as simple as right clicking a photo and selecting an album it will go in. Follow this for all your photos creating albums for all special events and holidays.
Step 5 - Now share your web album with friends and family by sending them the link to your gallery.
We are interested in your experience with Picasa. At any time if you need assistance with advanced features contact us at CustomerCare@webgio.com.
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Harnessing the Power of Social Networking
Social networking has been a media buzz word over the last few years. Sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, and Twitter are connecting friends, businesses and information through the World Wide Web via any device, anytime and anywhere. I personally think social media is in its infancy and yet to be fully tapped. This is what makes it such an exciting topic to follow. In mid December I had the opportunity to experiment with this technology in a non-conventional way. The outcome was a viable model for harnessing the power of social networking within communities, businesses and organizations to achieve results. Here’s how we did it -
* The Challenge * A Central New York family of twelve lost everything in a fire in the middle of winter and needed the help of the community. Unfortunately every possession was lost, the children only had the clothes on their back and some evacuated without shoes into the snow covered streets. When hearing this tragic news, the number of children involved, and losing every possession including car keys, it was a moment in my life that I felt the need to step up. My next immediate thought was “What could I do to help?” And within seconds I was planning to use a social networking solution.
* Action Taken * I choose Facebook as the social medium because that network had the largest number of community members within my network who could provide local support for the victims. It all started as a simple note and making friends aware. The family needs were clothing, nonperishable foods, toys, financial gifts and a key ingredient of helping us spread the word.
Within minutes of our first post, a flood of questions came in from the network. Within hours we had over one hundred members participating. Until this event I never truly felt tapped into the sheer power of social networking on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.
The first thing we did was coordinate with volunteers and local businesses to identify drop zones for donations. Next we conducted a needs assessment with the family for ages, gender, shirts size, pants size, and shoes size. This information was then updated on a newly created group called the Angel Donations Network. The use of a group vs. a note gave us several advantages for administrative control and communication over the project.
Then something special happened as donations began to pour in on the first day. Traditional media outlets learned of our use of the social networking tools to help the family and this created a viral media buzz. For some reason traditional media loves writing about social networking. This resulted in people joining Facebook through traditional media awareness such as television and newspaper. It was very exciting being able to harness on a small scale the power of social networking, turning what started as a dripping faucet of data, into a full water main break of information flow by Facebook members. This presented one of our biggest challenges, controlling the information of the social network.
As donations came in volunteers kept inventories and relayed data from the donation drop zones to the Facebook inventory. We learned to control the information through the use of well crafted press releases posted to the Facebook group. The press releases served as what I call a “valve”. The press release valves gave us control over the flow of activity and information. After this discovery we now had the ability to turn a dripping faucet into a full water main break of information flow on command. This served as an effective tool in the project.
* The Results * As in any project, this didn’t go without logistical challenges but some amazing social networking lessons were learned while using social media. In the end social networking helped catalyze traditional media and successfully rallied an online community around donating all basic needs for the family within 4 days.
The first lesson learned from this experiment was the speed that we were able to enlist the help of community members. Within minutes we began helping this family. Very few phone calls and most communication happened by social media.
The second lesson was the level of awareness we could achieve by using social media. Each member of the Facebook group was able to stay up to date with posted statuses as the family was helped. This allowed for easy viewing of outstanding donation needs against current inventory levels. From a management standpoint this was vital to in achieving our objectives responsibly.
The third lesson was choosing the correct mediums, frequency, and timing around using each. I viewed this as situational. In this experiment we used Facebook notes then shifted gears to a group to allow more advanced features of control.
The forth lesson was balancing traditional media with social media at a low cost or no cost based on the “buzz” of what you are doing. Traditional media is always looking for a good story to fill a newspaper or evening news spot so exploit that gently.
Lastly and probably the most important lesson was learning to control the flow of information by carefully crafting press releases in the Facebook group. This served as a valve for speeding up and slowing down the flow of efforts and activities based on needs. This allowed us to effectively communicate the message at specific frequencies and outline specific actions the group could help with. It gave everyone direction and turned what could be chaos into social harmony.
* Summary * Social networking has many uses and can be very powerful. I believe we’ve only seen the tip of the ice berg on harnessing its true value within communities, businesses and organizations. Since this event I’ve had the opportunity to use this model to help a small business build its clientele base and develop a means for effectively communicating messages outside the use of traditional mediums. While both projects are small in scope it has yielded the results we set out to achieve in both cases. The next time you have a community or business challenge try tapping into the power of social networking as a solution or compliment to the main plan.
We’d like to hear from you on how you’ve tapped into the power of social networking? How are you using social media?  |
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magicJack – Final Verdict
After using magicJack over the last month and testing various scenarios this product has proven to be well worth the investment of the initial $40 - $60 for the device and unlimited calls for $20 per year.
Four additional areas we tested over the last month were –
- RJ45 vs. Wifi – We sampled both RJ45 Cat5e Cable and Wifi situations and discovered it didn’t make a difference in the overall quality or performance using high speed internet. Most Wifi at G or higher is 11MB/s at a minimum and highspeed modems at its best is 2MB/s and Cat5e is 100MB/s. Unless the bandwidth was less than the highspeed we shouldn't have noticed a difference. Great performance overall.
- Diversified sample of calls – Here we tested multiple types of calls from conference calls to individual calls and worked nicely in all scenarios.
- PC headset vs. Phone – We identified a HUGE difference in the pureness of the call when switching to a PC usb headset by Plantronics. When using a normal phone the difference in quality may be due to the signal transitioning from digital to analog to digital. To obtain amazing pureness, even better than a normal phone or cell phone, use the PC headset for amazing quality.
- Router needs to be unplugged every month – We haven’t experienced this issue though the directions state.
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magicJack – Is It Really To Good To Be True?
We’ve all seen the commercials for magicJack and is it really to good to be true? Can we really get unlimited phone calls for $20 a year? So out of curiosity we’ve been testing this innovative gadget and after two days things are looking promising. While this device can be used as a main line we are using the second line of our phone system until we validate things. For the test we are using a simple yet dependable two line AT&T E2562 phone system which uses slave handsets to communicate with the base.
We opened the magicJack box and as promised it installed in three easy steps to a laptop connected to wifi. Here’s what we did - - Step 1 – Plug phone into magicJack using RJ11 (phone cable)
- Step 2 – Plug magicJack into any USB port
- Step 3 – Pick up your phone and talk
Within minutes our first call was placed locally on the AT&T phone. Some of our initial minor findings are the following:
- We are currently using wifi to the router so it isn’t a direct connection. The below items may change once we test using RJ45 Cat5 cable (computer network cable) to connect directly from the PC to the router at 100 MB/s.
- Local calls required the full 1 + area code.
- Speaker phone sounds like we are talking through a tin can.
- Calls to cell phone users get a little fuzz.
- Hanging up the phone doesn’t hang up magicJack on the PC immediately but hung up within 5 seconds after phone hung up.
Some additional items we are testing next are –
- Test calls using the speaker phone when laptop is connected directly to router using RJ45 cable vs. Wifi.
- Test calls using a more diversified sample of call types.
- Test calls using PC headset on laptop vs. phone.
- Test the claim that the router needs to be unplugged once a month. The commercial said nothing about this little gem but its not really a show stopper. We’ll investigate more on this and report out on the findings next month.
We are interested in your experience, questions or things you would like us to test with magicJack. Please contact us at CustomerCare@webgio.com.  |
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Top 10 Time Saving and Fun Applications of 2008
In reflecting on 2008 we've compiled a list of applications that we've found to be useful time saving applications in our day to day interactions with customers.
1. Instant Messaging and Social Networking - Digsby (Free)
10. Social Networking - Linkedin (Business) and Facebook (Friends and Business) (Free)
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Holiday Photos and Art - The Gift of Sharing Ideas
Some of the best gifts for the holidays are those made from the heart using creativity, a little bit of time and a little bit of technology. While we won't go into detail on " how to's ", we'd like to just share web sites where you can get started with some ideas.
Picture Frame - Do it yourself tools -
Gimp - This tool is for photos and is a free alternative to adobe photoshop. Using this tool you can take a copy of your image and add a creative holiday flare to them for the perfect gift.
Inkscape - This tool allows you to create vector images and is a free alternative to adobe illustrator. Vectors are a format that is resizable to billboard size or baseball card size without distortion. Very crisp.
Themed Photo Book Gift Ideas -
Shutterfly - Great site for creating one-of-a-kind photo books from your collection. While the photo book is not free the wow factor and life time memories out weigh the cost.
MyPublisher - Great site for creating one-of-a-kind photo books from your collection.  |
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3 Tips to Blogging and Reading Blogs - Part 2
In part 1 we learned what a blog is, how readers can subscribe to a blog and the advantages that these tools give us in centralizing information and saving time in business. Let's dive into three foundational tips around starting a blog.
First decide the purpose of your blog and what you want it to do. Without a focus area your blog may wander and make it hard for users to follow. In this blog we focus on technology tips and tricks that we'd like to share with customers. Many of the tips compliment a service offering that we provide to customers.
Second develop simple yet catchy titles and use keywords related to the central topic not only in the title but throughout the body of your post. Embedding these keywords will help search engines pick up your site. Also it will attract and retain the attention of readers.
Third have fun and relax. Writing serves multiple purposes including but not limited to: establishes you as a authority figure on a topic, assists in educating customers and building customer confidence, keeps your writing skills fresh, builds an image, and creates a demand for your products / services.
Lastly we'd like to share a few of our favorite blogs -
Tip'd - A community for financial news, ideas and tips Google News - News available for Blog Readers (ONLY subscribe to topics important to you)
If you need assistance with creating a blog, embedding a blog in your web site or just want to share your favorite blog with our team, contact us at CustomerCare@webgio.com!
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Tips to Blogging and Reading Blogs - Part 1
Are you blogging? Do you read blogs?
Blogs are playing an important role in business today. A blog is a way for a business to express themselves, share an idea, or educate customers via an online diary. Your blog or diary can be read by viewers on the World Wide Web by directly going to the blog url or using a reader. Our favorite reader is a free online application called Google Reader.
A blog reader allows a viewer to subscribe to many different blogs. Rather than surfing the internet and going to all your favorite sites, the reader centralizes all the information in one location. A blog reader is like being able to have a multiple newspapers from around the country filtered only on content you want to subscribe to. So in essence you don't need to look at content not important to you. Very effective!
At WEBGIO we use blogging and blog reading to stay current on over 100 blogs a day on topics like technology, design, business and world news which allow us to deliver the best service to our customers by being on the pulse of information.
For more tips, tricks and assistance with subscribing to blogs, setting up a blog or blogging contact our team at CustomerCare@webgio.com.  |
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3 Steps to Free Shipping for Online Purchases
We recently found this great web site that allows you to search for free shipping codes for over 800 stores. At check out most web sites have the option to enter a shipping code to save. Here is our 3 step recommendation -
Step 2 - Search for the store you are shopping at
Step 3 - Copy and Paste the shipping code to save.
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Increase Productivity by using a Timer
Here at WEBGIO we've always been a fan of using timers. Currently we use Kitchen Aid timers for count downs on work activities and timed work sessions. This is a great way to help keep you focused and drive towards results effectively. Time is one of the most precious things we have and can never get back. By managing time we can ensure that the minutes we do spend are effective. If you are interested in time management, a free digital timer we recommend is Multi Timer. Multi Timer is a great tool with 10 built in timers and alarms. Check it out!  |
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Step by Step - How to Add Protection to Specific Sections only when using Form Locking in MS Word XP
This tip allows you to create a MS Word Form and lock a section housing form components and unlock a section where you require a user to type freely. Step 1 - Create Form Step 2 - Add Section Breaks Step 3 - Click Insert > Break Step 4 - Select Continuous > Click OK (Page Break is Visible) Step 5 - Click Tools > Protect Document Step 6 - Select “Allow only this type of editing in the document: Filling in Forms” Step 7 - Click “Select Sections” > Unselect “Section 2” > Click OK Step 8 - Click Yes, Start Enforcing Protection Step 9 - You can add a password or not depending on the level of security you need. (The Protect Form Lock will appear) Step 10 - Test both sections for success. Step 11 – Done
For more tips, tricks and help contact our team at customercare@webgio.com .
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Make My PC Green
Last year on Earth Day we posted tips and tricks for around the office to be "green". We recently came across some excellent free software called Edison that helps your PC be green. The software allows you to customize several settings in a centralized window with the output being savings in money and energy. That's right, anything you configure in the software gives you an instant report out on money and energy savings prior to configuring.  |
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Want a Mac look on your PC? Look no further than Rocket Dock (FREE)
While reading blogs this morning we came across this little gem of software called RocketDock. The application is a free menu on your PC that performs just like the Mac menu. According to the developers, they consider this a peace offering to the PC world from the Mac world. No matter what kind of offering this little application is SWEEEET! Visit RocketDock for download. Have fun!
For more tips, tricks and help contact our team at CustomerCare@webgio.com.
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Reminders and Tasks Made Easy
We recently came across a cool online "to-do" list called "RememberTheMilk". The site has a friendly user interface that allows a user to enter tasks and due dates. The web site communicates with you using various combination of options that you select - such as instant messenger, e-mail, text message, and even synchronizes with outlook using iCalendar. Pretty cool.
Never miss a birthday, event, meeting or task again with this flexible reminder system. |
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Technology Top Picks
At WEBGIO headquarters we've been playing with a various types of technologies over the years. We'd like to share some of our favorites that have stood the test of time -
Mouse - Microsoft IntelliMouse Optical (USB) - $29.95 - Very easy to use laser mouse. Simple design and most importantly its USB. I don't like the wireless due to the battery usage and the lack of response from wireless mice.
Keyboard - Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 (USB) - $59.95 - Soft to the touch. Ergonomic design and most importantly its USB. I don't like the wireless due to the battery usage and the lack of response from wireless keyboards.
Headset - Plantronics M214C Headset for Cordless Phones - $34.95 - Great fitting headset for phones. Microphone bends very easy which is a nice feature. Headset can be worn right or left side and the ear piece is super soft. You can by this same model at Staples for $21.00.
Headset USB Adapter - Gigaware Stereo to Headphone to USB Adapter - $9.95 - This is an adapter that allows me to take my M214C headset and plug into my PC for VOIP. Just happened to go to Radio Shack and found this little gem.
For additional tips and tricks please visit our web site at www.webgio.com or contact us via email at CustomerCare@webgio.com for services.  |
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New Computers Shipping with Windows Vista - Don't Get Ripped Off!
Many of the cheaper low end machines from (DELL, HP, Toshiba, etc.) are shipping with the Home Edition of Windows Vista. The problem that many of the "Early Adopters" are experiencing is that the [manufacturers listed above] machines are shipping with only 512MB of RAM (or less) and video cards may not be 100% compatible. This can cripple any Windows machine running multiple applications. So where does all this leave you? Option 1 - Buying a New System w/ Windows Vista Loaded My recommendation is that if you are going to buy a cheaper system with Windows Vista loaded then ensure the RAM is 1 GB or higher. Second double check that the video card shipping with your machine is 100% compatible with Windows Vista. Option 2 - Buying a New System w/ Windows XP Loaded This is the safe option that has years of people using it and does the job just fine. When you order your system be sure to specifically ask for Windows XP or you will be shipped Vista by default. Lastly ask for additional RAM 1 GB or more. Bottom line if you are unsure www.WEBGIO.com offers a "Technology Purchasing Assistance" package to ensure the new system you are buying meets your current needs and will sustain you for years to come. Just contact us at CustomerCare@WEBGIO.com for assistance.  |
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1 Phone Number for Life - Grand Central
Do you have multiple offices? Do you have multiple phones? Do you have multiple phone numbers? Do you have to check multiple voice mails from various sources?
For any home user, small or medium sized business this is a must have.
Our friends at Google have recently acquired a great company called Grand Central. This service is free and delivers a new way for us to use our phones. The goal is to connect a single phone number to a person for life. We shouldn't have to change numbers every time we change phones or get a new type of phone. The site offers a free new phone number, one voice mailbox and an interface via the web to control all of our phones via a centralized interface so that when someone calls us at the new number we can have all our phones ring. Very cool.
There are other great features as well such as specialized rings, screen calling, listen in, call records, block callers, notifications via email, ring different phones, greetings, web calling for your website, call switch, and mobile access. Bottom line is that it gives us total control.
All around just an A+ product if you are on the go and have multiple phones. Check it out at - Grand Central. |
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Is Searching for Files Painful? Look No Further
We have been dabbling with a few cool tools lately for desktop search capabilities. One from our friends at Google and the other from our friends at Microsoft. Both FREE. Noticing a trend here ... Microsoft Desktop Search - Hands down this Desktop Search is my favorite. It is one of the core features built into the Vista operating system that microsoft released in quarter 1 this year. Though the Microsoft web site doesn't do this application justice on its features it is an A+ in my book. The ability to search and filter based on document types based on icons we are used to seeing saves hours of fiddling. Bottom line is that in todays fast paced world we need information at our finger tips and these 2 applications deliver. Look for more things to come from the Microsoft vs. Google competition.  |
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Strong Password Tips
I wanted to share some tips on passwords and have you take a look at a new way of creating "pass phrases" to help keep you and your data safer. The real variable that prevents any password from being hacked is timing. Using a passphrase buys you that time and safety. My short and sweet recommendation is to think of a sentence "the red dog",capitalize the first letter, remove the spaces, add in a number or significant date, even add a symbol and presto you are set "Theredd*g2007". It's that easy to bring your passwords up to a passphrase. For more information on this topic from our friends a Microsoft - Click Here.  |
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FBI Warns of Cyber Crime Affecting over 1 Million Computers
Please read below for understanding a little bit more on the steps required to help ensure you, your family and your staff are following safe computing practices and that any risk of being / becoming a victim are mitigated ASAP.
What is a BOT and how is my PC involved?
BOT is short for robot. BOTS are being used to control a victim’s computer and serve as a launching pad for damaging and illegal activities. BOTs are harmlessly downloaded to your PC. This BOT then grants access to the cyber thieves who use your PC as a vehicle for large scale attacks on companies or steal your personal information from your PC.
What can I do?
FBI officials advise - "Practicing strong computer-security habits, such as updating antivirus software, installing a firewall, using strong passwords, and employing good e-mail and Web-security practices, are as basic as putting locks on your doors and windows," according to James Finch, FBI Cyber Division. At WEBGIO we host a Tips and Tricks article section where we recommend the following suggestions in alignment with the FBI – Antivirus Software – Step 1 - Ensure you have Anti Virus Software Step 2 - Never Go Without. Never let your subscription run out. Antivirus software is like having a paid employee watch your PC activity 24/7 for viruses. Without it you are opening your PC and company up for costly damages.
Companies offering decent products that we have used are Symantec, McAfee, Norton, Microsoft Live Care or Grisoft AVG (Free). Step 3 – Validate you have the latest updated Virus Definition File. This is the file from the Antivirus Company that keeps your computer aware and on alert for the latest threats. Usually this is done via an Update Button in the software.
Firewall – Microsoft XP and Vista have this built in. Make sure it is turned on. Step 1 - Click Start
Step 2 - Click Settings and then Network Connections
Step 3 - Right Click Network Connection of Choice and Select Properties
Step 4 - Click Advanced Tab
Step 5 - Set Firewall Setting Strong Passwords –
Tip 1 - Try a pass phrase rather than a password. Using a pass phrase buys you that time and safety. My short and sweet recommendation is to think of a sentence "I love Christmas”, capitalize a letter, remove the spaces, add in a number or significant date, even add a symbol and presto you are set "iLovexmas2007". It's that easy to bring your passwords up to a pass phrase for stronger security. Good Email Habits –
Rule 1 - If you don’t know who it is from and it has an attachment that is unfamiliar. DELETE IT.
Rule 2 – If you get an email from someone you know and it has an EXE attachment. DELETE IT. Rule 3 – If you get an email from a company and it requesting you to login and validate your username and password. DON’T use the link in the email. Go directly to the company website by opening a new browser and typing in the company url. Most companies will never contact you directly for this. This type of scam is known as phishing. Web Security Practices - Rule 1 – If it’s not work related then you should be going to the site on a company computer. Work is work and home is home. This keeps you from wandering to places you shouldn’t be. Rule 2 - If you are at home do not download software to your PC you don’t need. Do a little research via Google about the software and ensure it is safe. Many folks get caught up in scams that a web site has an image that says your PC is infected or your memory is low and to download this software to free up memory or fix your PC. Don’t do it … your only downloading bad software that does exactly the opposite. This opens your PC up for a world of hurt and costly repairs. Rule 3 – If you are shopping online and using a credit card make sure the website has a yellow lock in the bottom right corner of your browser when you are entering credit card information at check out. The yellow lock means that you have a 128 bit encrypted session between your PC and the Shopping website. Yellow Lock = Good. No Lock = Bad. The information being sent back and forth can’t be seen by anyone else in the world except you and shopping pc. Without the lock it is like you opening your front door to your home and yelling to your neighbors your credit card number. The only real difference is that on a PC you are yelling across the world vs. in your neighborhood.
For additional tips and tricks please visit our web site at www.webgio.com or contact us via email at CustomerCare@webgio.com for services.
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Google 411
This tip comes to us from our friends at Google.
Just hot off the press is a new FREE service from any phone called GOOG-411. This service works just like the paid 411 service but connects you to the business for free.
It works like this –
1. Dial 1.800.GOOG-411
2. State the location and the business type (example Syracuse, NY and ice cream
3. You will be connected to the business for free
4. Done It's that simple ... so on your next outing or business trip and you are looking for that location you now have a free service at your fingertips.
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Phishing Scam and Identify Theft at Airports
Recently a customer of mine became a victim to credit card fraud and identity theft by a new online threat called phishing. Phishing as the name states is a scam to coerce victims into handing over personal information via the computer. We thought this would be a great opportunity to share the story to help educate you and your staff.
The scam took place 2 weeks ago when connecting to a paid wireless internet at the airport. We all have enjoyed the benefits of wireless internet at one point or another and its freedom to work anywhere, any place, and at anytime. This very freedom of wireless internet has become the launch pad for a scam called phishing.
The story we are about to tell may sound far fetched, but let me be clear the threat is real. By being educated you can safely surf the internet using wireless connections without fear of falling victim to this scam.
In airports, stores or coffee shops wireless internet has become main stream for allowing people to gain access to the internet. Major brand name company’s we all are familiar with are battling over this market and the paying customers. This creates the perfect playground for con artists and in enters the bad guys (phishers) who can quickly setup shop to get your personal information quickly and easily. Let me explain.
Anyone can mimic an Airport Wifi website by doing a File > Save As of the company web page, change a few pieces of html code and presto … the phisher has built a fake site (the bait) that looks like the real site.
The next step is for the phishers to go “phishing”, they use a $100 Linksys Wireless Router purchased at any technology store or another option is configure their laptop, both which aim to look like a hotspot (the bait) to broadcast a signal (cast a line) for users to connect to the fake “hot spot” (the bait). The hotspot may say “[Airport Name Here] West Terminal Wireless Internet Access” or “[Airport Name Here] East Terminal Internet Access” and people go to the “hot spot” because guess what, the signal is stronger than the valid wireless offered by the real company (the bait looks really good to the customer).
So now that the bait is in on the hook and their line is cast, the scam begins. When you (the customer) connect to the wireless access point (the bait), it requests your information for a 1 day paid subscription for access. The web page looks just like the real company site “Internet Access” for the airport or another hosting company. We won’t use a specific name of a provider but you get the point.
To gain access for a small fee you enter your credit card information just like you would order products online and add other personal information requested to complete the transaction. What you don’t realize is that part of the trick is that the page you enter the information on isn’t really validating your credit card information. As we stated earlier, it is fake and it is only capturing information as you type; which allows the identity thieves to use as they please to make purchases of their choice.
You hit submit on the page to complete your transaction. The page pretends to process your information and then grants you access to the internet. Sometimes the fake page may even pretend to validate your information by using built in error handling on the text boxes, asking you to validate that your information is correct, just like on the real sites. This is another trick to have you validate your information twice. So now you have just tugged on the phishing line twice by validating your information and they know they have a real catch on the line.
Now the scam is completed, they have your information and presto the fake page redirects you to an “Access Granted Page” and you begin to surf the internet. In summary, you think you have gained access to a valid wireless hotspot except you have really only been fooled into signing up for a fake site while a thief coerces you into gaining your personal information.
This scam is a growing concern for many “paid” wireless hot spots, because the ability to fool customers is pretty easy. More and more locations are offering FREE wireless to prevent customers from being scammed and as businesses do this the threat will lesson.
We are happy to announce through investigative work with their bank, who trends spending habits of its customers, anomalies are flagged in the financial records and customers are notified quickly. Today this customer is 100% free from responsibility of the damages and free from implications that if not caught earlier could have destroyed credit scores and the ability to absorb the damages.
So how can you prevent this?
Our friends at www.computerworld.com recommended the following tips -
1. When accessing your accounts at hot spots, enter passwords only into Web sites that include a Secure Sockets Layer key (SSL) at the bottom right of the Web browser. This will look like a yellow lock and creates an encrypted session between your computer and the real hot spot. This prevents people near by from “sniffing” your data through the air in the radio signals. In computer terms this would be like you sitting in a crowded room and yelling out your personal information without it being encrypted. Not good.
2. Avoid hot spots where it's difficult to tell who is connected, such as at hotels and airport clubs. Hot spots should only be used for Web surfing and not for making online purchases or any other transactions where account numbers or passwords are needed.
3. Turn off or remove their wireless cards from their computers when they aren't accessing a hot spot to prevent others from accessing their machines.
4. Don’t use unsecured applications such as e-mail or instant messaging while at hot spots.
5. Personal firewall and security software should also be continuously updated with patches.
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7 Steps to Avoid Computer Viruses
Use these 7 steps to minimize the risk and protect your computer for a safer online experience.
1. Email Attachments - Be careful to only open attachments from those you know.
2. Email Attachments - Be careful to only open attachment types that you know and that they are from the people you know in step one.
3. Antivirus Software - Never go without. Never let your subscription run out. Companies offering decent products that we have used are Symantec, McAfee, Norton, Microsoft Live Care or Grisoft AVG (Free).
4. Microsoft Update and Office Update - Use it. Use it often. Note that you can set your computer to run this on a frequency of your choice automatically.
Step 1 - Right Click MyComputer and Select Properties
Step 2 - Click Automatic Udates Tab
5. Firewall - Microsoft XP and Vista have this built in. Make sure it is turned on.
Step 1 - Click Start
Step 2 - Click Settings and then Network Connections
Step 3 - Right Click Network Connection of Choice and Select Properties
Step 4 - Click Advanced Tab
Step 5 - Set Firewall Setting
6. Router - If you have multiple computers or just one ... routers serve as a great barrier between your computer and the internet. We recommend Linksys routers based on experience but we are not limited and will work with many of the competitors.
7. Email Address - Get two accounts if you find yourself signing up for crazy things online - One for sign ups and one for communicating with friends and business. This helps cut down on spam by consciously knowing which companies you are giving your email address out to and makes it easy to change out / close your email account. Good free email accounts are GMAIL (2GB), HOTMAIL (2GB) , YAHOO (1GB) and AOL (2GB).
For assistance with configuring or setting up any of the above steps please contact us at CustomerCare@webgio.com. |
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Technology Purchase Assistance - Why We Offer the Service
Recently we configured a desktop system for a customer. Out of curiosity, we started an online chat with the sales rep and they offered to spec the machine for me (Doing this all the time via the web without a rep we wanted to see what they would suggest). While they were busy customizing the system (from input we gave them) we started specking out what we deemed the best machine based on the customer needs. The race was on. We started down the list of components and peripherals adding, upgrading or removing options on the web as we arrived at the ideal customized system.
We completed the new system first and patiently waited for the rep to finish as we read over the list of items defining the custom machine. Surprisingly we get the quote from the rep, $300 more than what we put together. Ok, let's see where the price difference is. We pulled up the reps list for a comparison. We have a better/faster processor that they chose, have a 17 inch monitor, the rep choose a 15 inch, we continued on and realized we choose a better system than the company rep, and did it for significantly less money.
What came next really shocked me and turned me off at the same time. The rep aggressively pushed me into a sale to finalize the order right then and there. We repeatedly declined.
This is one great example of why we at WEBGIO offer Technology Purchase Assistance to our valued customers. We serve as the technology liaison between our customers and sales reps to ensure when it comes to customizing a new computer system for you and your specific needs we will get only what you need, we'll be sure it is the lowest price, and we will never push the sale.
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Earth Day - Looking To Do Something For The Environment And Save Your Company Money
In business we are always looking for ways to cut costs, but often we don't have the opportunity to shave the bottom line and help the environment. Here are a few tips to help your business get green in more ways than one.
1. Turn off Computers at Night Savings - 1 PC = $80 / year 2. Printing on both sides of Paper
Savings - 1 Ream = $5 / year 3. Turn off copiers at Night Savings - 1 Copier = $891 / year 4. Replace lighting fixture bulbs
Savings - 1 Fixture = $15 / year For more information on how you can recieve tax credits and other great incentives for your business visit Energy Star.  |
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