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Photo credit: I Am

Last week, I had a client call me while traveling.  Her laptop had suddenly gone to a black screen and she had to manually reboot the machine.  She was concerned this might be a symptom of a greater issue and I agreed.  I did a remote session, and while going through the event log I discovered the problem.  Her hard drive had unwriteable sectors and it was going bad.

The client was understandably worried.  She was currently on a business trip, and would be just back in Chicago for a day before heading out on another.  I verified that her backups were working properly and proposed a plan to replace her hard drive during that one day she was back in town.

Her hard drive was replaced all of her data was restored and disaster was averted because she thought to call me as soon as something went wrong.  With the information that a part was defective we were able to formulate a plan to solve the problem.

This is something that is rare in my IT Consulting business – being able to plan to solve a potentially disastrous problem.  Too often by the time I know of problem it has now become an emergency.  A computer that has been randomly shutting down for months – now won’t turn on at all.  A user clicked on an odd link on their Facebook wall three days ago – now they are so infected the computer is unusable.  A server has been making an odd beeping noise for the past week – now network drives and the internet are not available.

Let Your Expert Decide

At the first sign of something being wrong with your technology equipment, the best thing to do is tell your technology expert. We need to know that something is wrong to determine how severe the problem may be. You are not “bugging” us, this is our job.

We are a Team

Whether you have an IT person on-site at your company or have an outside consultant (like me) we need your participation. We rely on you to help us by giving us as much information as possible.  The more data we have the easier it is to find the quickest and most appropriate solution.

No one likes IT disasters – they cause user downtime, cost more money to resolve, and are stressful for everyone.  Working together we can prevent them.

Next time  you notice something wrong with a computer, network, server, etc please pick up your phone.

You need a password to log onto your computer, a password for your email, and more passwords for your favorite websites.  Thinking of new passwords for all of our accounts can become overwhelming.

The solution used by many is to use one password for everything.  Do not do this – it can lead to identity theft.  If you have an account on ebay that becomes hacked; your email, facebook, and banking account are now compromised.

A recent study by the internet security group, BitDefender found:

75 percent of social networking username and password samples collected online were identical to those used for email accounts.
Source: Security Week

Password Best Practices

• Create a new password for each website/computer/email
• Keep track of your passwords in a secure location
• Use at least 8 characters
• Use at least one upper case letter
• Use at least two lower case letters
• Use at least two numbers
• Use at least two special characters (example: #, @, %, “, !, /)
• Use a space if possible
• Avoid using personal information such as birth-date, address, etc

You can test your password complexity by using http://howsecureismypassword.net

Different Passwords

Coming up with new passwords can be a chore.  To simplify the process, use a system.

For example:

• Combine two words together -> windowbook
• Make two of the letters uppercase -> wiNdowBook
• Add two numbers -> wiNdowBook77
• Add special characters -> ‘wiNdowBook!77

If you get really stuck there are several online password generators:

• Punchcast: http://punchcast.com/
• Strong Password Generator: http://strongpasswordgenerator.com/
• Mnemonic Strong Password Generator: http://www.bad-neighborhood.com/password-generator.htm

This infographic from MakeUseOf does a good job of helping to demystify how the internet works.

[Via: Online Schools]

You may notice that there are a few errors in the image:
The IP addresses given of 123.456.789.012 is invalid. None of the four sets of numbers in an IP address can be above 255.
NAP actually stands for Network Access Point, and it has been replaced by the Internet Exchange Point

Interested in learning your IP address?
You can see the IP address given to you by your Internet Service Provider (ISP)

BarCamp Chicago 2010 is coming Saturday and Sunday, August 21st and 22nd.  BarCamp is an unconference unlike any other because  it brings hackers, entrepreneurs, tech students,  and business folk together to share ideas and industry developments.  It takes you out of your comfort zone to encourage learning and discussion in an open forum.

A BARcamp is an ad-hoc gathering born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. It is an intense event with discussions, demos, and interaction from participants. The name BARcamp was inspired as a complement to FOOcamp, a private tech gathering run by Tim OReilly.
- BARcamp.org

If you are still not convinced that you should attend: I am excited to be a part of the Drunken Panel Discussion on Saturday, August 21st at 8:00pm.  So come and learn and then listen to me rant about technology with a beer in my hand.

Hope to see you there!

When: Saturday and Sunday, August 21-22, 2010

Where: 215 W Ohio St, Chicago, IL 60654

I came across a post on SCORE Women’s Blog where they give results from a recent CitiBank survey on small business usage of online tools.  There was one statistic that shocked and appalled me:

40% of small businesses don’t have a web site

Every small business or non-profit needs to have a website.  Your website makes it easier for customers, vendors, potential employees, and the media find out about your business.  Not having a website today, is equal to the faux pas of not having your business listed in the yellow pages in the past.

Your website does not have to be robust and overwhelming to start.  A simple and professional website telling about what services you offer or products you sell, while giving contact information is enough to begin.  If you are one of the 40% get started today.

With each day we do more and more online, from banking to social networking.  When it comes to troubleshooting websites, web applications, or browser issues the more information available the easier it is to find a resolution.

The website Support Details (http://www.supportdetails.com/) will display important information about your browser, browser settings and internet connection.  Support Details doesn’t just make finding this information easy, they also make it easy to pass it on.  Your details can be exported as a csv or pdf file and also emailed directly from the website.

Support Details will reveal:

• Your Operating System version
• Screen Resolution
• Web Browser
• IP Address
• Color Depth
• Javascript (enabled or disabled)
• Flash Version
• Cookies (enabled or disabled)

Fluctuations in electricity will harm any piece of powered equipment.  While you cannot predict when power outages will occur, once the blackout has started there is one step you should take:

Unplug all of your electronics, if you have your computer equipment connected to an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) then shut down the computer before unplugging the device. Once the power has been restored, plug your devices back in and test for any issues. This simple routine will keep your electronics safe from surge damage when the power is restored.

Remember to do this for any:
• computer
• server
• monitor
• printer
• television
• speakers
• modem
• phone system
• networking equipment
  Photo Credit: Merrick Brown

I recommended a light and powerful laptop for purchase by a non-profit organization last week. The quote was well within their budget and was similar to other machines already deployed. The office manager looked over the quote and said she would purchase it. One of the employees asked why I didn’t recommend the $400 laptop she saw at Best Buy. This happens to me often, and it makes me want to scream out NOOOOOO.

People see the ads for cheap consumer PCs and they think that is how much a business PC should cost. That is not true. Quality laptop computers still cost around $1,000 and desktops around $800.

Businesses should never purchase a Windows PC computer from Best Buy, Fry’s or any other consumer computer store

Here are some things to look for when buying a computer for a business:

1. Computers that come with a 2-3 year warranty. Preferably a warranty that comes with next business day onsite service.
2. Computers that can handle multi-tasking when employees switch between email, word processing, and other applications.
3. Computers that are reliable. Replacing computers is time-consuming and expensive for businesses.  Do it as least often as possible.
4. Computers that can last up to 3 years under everyday use. You don’t need to buy  bleeding edge, but don’t skimp on specifications that matter like processor speed, memory capacity, and disk speed.
5. Windows PCs are purchased with Professional level operating systems so they can join the local domain which administers users permissions.

I like wearing collared shirts. I wear them pretty much everyday. On the warmer Chicago days I like to wear polo shirts.  While the experience below occurred over 6 months ago, but it still bothers me and taught me some valuable customer service lessons.

Trying to Exchange a Shirt

Last year for my birthday, my sister bought in California a dark grey Lacoste polo shirt as my gift and shipped it to me.  When it arrived, I saw that it was just a little large for me.  No problem, the shirt had all the tags on it so after the Christmas holiday I drove to the Lacoste store in Skokie, IL and attempted to just exchange the shirt for another one size down.  This should be easy, right?

I walked up to the counter of the very small store with the shirt in a bag and told the gentlemen behind the counter of my exchange request.  He said that without a receipt he would have to look the purchase up in their computer system.  The computer system that consists of the “accurate” data given to the store by purchasers.  Information they ask for at checkout like “name”, “zipcode”, etc.

I called my sister from the store to find out which Lacoste store she purchased the shirt from, but since she paid cash she had declined to give her personal information.  Without the purchase being in the system the retail worker declined to do the exchange due to store policy.  I asked to see the store manager, but I was told that they were currently on lunch.  Frustrated and seeing that I was getting nowhere I left the store and drove home.

The next day, I wrote to Lacoste via the “contact” form on their website explaining why I thought their policy was terrible.  I was trying to exchange a gift for a different size, right after the holiday season.   THIRTY DAYS LATER I received a response that basically said that they were sorry that I didn’t agree with their policy.

Customer Service Lessons Learned

1. Don’t upset loyal customers – If you have people that are willing to be your “brand ambassadors” don’t have policies that can cause them to abandon your brand.
2. If someone takes the time to write to you, respond as soon as possible – Having to wait 30 days for a response from Lacoste just aggravated me more.
3. While the customer isn’t always right, they are not always wrong either – Not all customers are right, and while some are quite unreasonable – don’t have strict policies that aren’t flexible.
4. Don’t try to collect too much personal information from customers – While all businesses want to collect customer information for marketing purposes, trying to get too personal or trying to get too much information will get you no data at all.

Question: How does the business owner stay up to date on all of the technology changes in their sector?

Answer: they don’t – they have one trusted IT Advisor whose responsibility it is to keep the business proactive and efficient through technology. This idea works no matter how large or small your company is, because the job responsibility scales with the company.

Why do I need this Advisor?

Your IT Advisor is there for one reason: to advocate for your business technology. They think of things before you do, have problems fixed before they are noticed, research or delegate upcoming projects, contact your vendors with issues, and ensure that the business is operating as productively as possible.

As a business owner your attention is pulled in a million different directions.  There needs to be one person tapped to keep tabs on your technology.  Your business won’t run without it.

Who is this IT Advisor?

They can either be an employee or a consultant.  However, they have to be someone that you trust, knows your business, is tech-savvy, is flexible, and is honest. This does not have to be someone that has all of the answers, they must be willing to seek outside advice/opinions when needed to translate into plans for your business.

I have my Advisor, now what?

• Complete systems audit – your advisor goes through the entire company and cumulates data on all the technology used. How old is every piece of technology – hardware, software, or company website, and how current is the support/maintenance agreement.
• List future technology projects – both the business owner and IT advisor creates their own lists of needed projects.  Meet to discuss these lists to merge them together into one prioritized list with timelines agreed upon.
• Quarterly project and budgeting meetings – have quarterly meetings to update each other on the projects progresses, budgetary allowances, and any changes that have arisen.
• Use them as a sounding board – Should you upgrade your iPhone?  Do you need a new email server?  Why aren’t customers finding your website?  These are all questions you should now be asking your advisor.  If they do not know the answer, it is their job to research it and get back to you.

Too often technology is an afterthought in small businesses, with an IT Advisor your company will be agile and better serve your customers.  Does your company have an IT Advisor?

Photo Credit: thinkgeek