Monthly Archives: March 2014

Password Importance and Ones to Avoid

password securityCyber-crime is a common occurrence in the world today. There are countless stories involving passwords that have been cracked or hackers that have broken down security walls.

For example, Zappos.com, a shoe store, was hacked and 24 million customers had their personal details exposed. If we look at the PlayStation Network back in 2011, 77 million passwords were stolen.

The most common type of attack by far is discovering someone’s password and using it to access a computer system or database. We will discuss the importance of a password and the ones to stay away from.

Why is a Password so Important?

To put it simply, it’s the one area where an anti-virus can’t reach. If you know someone’s password, their level of security doesn’t matter. All you have to do is type the password in and you’re through every single security wall in place. It’s the master key, and if someone gains access to it, you’re in trouble.

What Type of Password is the Best?

Deloitte released a report from its Canadian branch that revealed 90% of passwords today are vulnerable in some way to hackers. Now, most hackers aren’t interested in finding out about your latest blog. They want to turn their hacking into a profit, which is why most computers are safe by virtue of being irrelevant to the people behind these major attacks.

A standard eight-character password with numbers and uppercase letters isn’t safe and it will leave you vulnerable. Let’s take a look at some of the passwords you should avoid.

Passwords to Avoid

The problem with secure passwords is they’re often so secure we can’t remember them. This is where hackers start to use psychology. In a bid to remember these passwords, users will choose common subsets of characters, such as the ‘@’ and ‘%’ signs. These can be guessed and narrowed down.

With 6.1 quadrillion combinations on a standard 94-character keyboard, hackers have to spend a year on a fast computer attempting to guess it. If they narrow it down into a subset, this time is cut dramatically.

Passwords to avoid include:

  • Any relation to personal information.
  • Common strings like 12345.
  • Actual English words.

Change Regularly

The real way to get an advantage over the hackers is to change your password once every few months. Most hackers will attempt to break the lock to your computer by using software to guess your password over and over again. It isn’t particularly sophisticated, but it works.

Eventually, they’re going to find your password, but if you change it regularly, the job becomes impossible. Each time you change your password, the potential hackers has to start over again.

Now, they might get unbelievably unlucky and their software does guess your password randomly. There’s little you can do about this, but the odds are so low that it’s not something you should concern yourself over. No password is 100% fool proof, but if you use a strong password and change it regularly there’s no reason why you should ever become the victim of a Cyber-crime password attack.

Contact Us for more information on how we can help your business.

 

 

 

Importance of Integrated Software Technologies and the Efficiencies Gained

softwareThe goal of Integrated software is to combine many different software features into one program. There has been an increasing emphasis on doing this in recent years and it’s not always the same launch pad. It can be a suite of programs sold together in the same package.

According to Forbes.com, employers in the U.S. believe that integrated software has increased efficiency amongst their employees by at least 20-40%.

Common examples of integrated software that have changed our lives include Microsoft Office, Apple Works, and the Adobe design packages. Integrated software offers a range of different benefits to businesses.

We explore some of these benefits in this article.

1. Cutting Business Costs and Raising Revenue

The main advantage to integrated software is the reduction of business costs. For a few hundred dollars, you can get the same number of features as many single software packages. A business of any size that has to purchase multiple software types will see that a significant investment will need to be made.

As well as cutting business costs, there’s the potential for raising the amount of revenue brought in. In many cases, there are more features with integrated software packages allowing the business to do more, plus many companies see a large increase in productivity.

2. The Impression You Give

We already know having multiple software types in one place will increase productivity, but this has an impact on the impression you give off. The increase in efficiency could give you an advantage over a competitor.

If a potential client is busy weighing up the pros and cons of each business they want to work with, the increase in efficiency that integrated software provides could be the telling factor. It could mean the difference between winning that next contract and losing out to another firm.

3. Reduce Tech Infrastructure

The advantage of combining two or three pieces of software into one also reduces the need for tech infrastructure. This is beneficial for a number of reasons.

First, you’re guaranteed to experience less downtime. Let’s say you need four pieces of software to carry out your job. All it takes is one of them to experience problems and your business is instantly paralyzed.

And the chances of failure are higher because there are additional pieces of software. It’s basic mathematics.

Not only can paralysis of your business impact your ability to carry out your job, it will cost you more. You’ll need to have a support infrastructure to manage software problems as and when they occur.

Are the Efficiency Benefits Alone Worth It?

We’ve spoken many times of the efficiency differences between integrated and non-integrated software technologies, but are they worth it?

The answer is unequivocally yes. By investing in integrated software, you’re keeping your business safer. The risk of downtime is largely reduced and there’s a high chance that you’ll win additional business by demonstrating you use integrated software.

Overall, integrated software should be the main priority of any business. Increase efficiency and you’ll enhance your company’s future.