I.T. By The Sea\'s Newsletter - October 2009

1. Caloosa Tech Times
Network Design • Network Maintenance • Data Backup/Recovery • Assets Inventories • Upgrades/Repairs • Website Design/Hosting
There’s A Good Chance HALF Of Your Employees Are
Wasting 3 Hours A Day On This
In Salary.com’s recent survey of over 2,500 employees, nearly ½ of the group admitted to
wasting 1-3 hours every day on the web surfing non-related activities. With all of the pressures
that you face as a business owner, especially in this economy, you simply cannot afford to have
this kind of non-productive activity going on in your company.
“As a business owner, I know you
don’t have time to waste on technical If even ONE employee in your company is spending ONE hour surfing the web instead of
and operational issues. That’s where doing what they should be doing, it is impacting your bottom line. Add to that the fact that
we shine! Call us and put an end to many employees reduce productivity for your whole staff when they peruse the web because
your IT problems finally and forever!”
their activity slows your company’s Internet speed way down… (If you’ve ever gotten frustrated
- Christine Roux, I.T. By The Sea
because your Internet all of a sudden slowed to a halt…a time-wasting employee may be the
Volume II, Issue 10 cause)… and you’ve got a recipe for losing money without even realizing it.
October, 2009
Fort Myers, Florida So, other than looking over each employee’s shoulder every hour of every day, how do you
even know if this is going on in your business? And if it is going on, how do you stop it? Check
out these tips for help:
Inside This Issue...
(1) Determine Your Rules – Figuring out what websites are actually productive for your
Are You Paying Your Employees
business will help to prevent or eliminate any wasted web time. For example, many companies
To Waste Time On The Web?...
Page 1 ban job searching sites for obvious reasons; they don’t want their employees finding another job
(continued on page 4)
Top 4 Threats Attacking Your
Network….Page 1
Did You Know These Crazy Facts Top 4 Threats Attacking Your Network
About Google?....Page 2
And What To Do About Them
How To Pick A Good Password...
Page 2 #1 Overconfidence
User overconfidence in security products is the top threat to your network. Failure to "prac-
Meet Our Client Of The Month: tice safe software" results in nuisance attacks like porn storms (unstoppable rapid fire porno-
Josh Smith, Owner of Go Mobile graphic pop-ups) and more subtle keyloggers that steal passwords. Surveys promising free stuff,
Signs….Page 3 result in theft of information like your mother's maiden name, high school, etc. used to answer
common security questions leading to theft of otherwise secure data. Think before you click!
Has Technology Gone Too
Far?….Page 3
#2 Social Networking Sites
Go Green Corner... Page 3 Social networking sites like Facebook are exploding in popularity. Threats range from mal-
ware (eg. viruses, worms, spyware) to scammers trying to steal your identity, information and
money. Many businesses and government agencies are using these sites to communicate with
clients and constituents , so simply blocking access is no longer reasonable. Defending your
(continued on page 2)
239-344-7574 I.T. By The Sea // Page 1

2. Did You Know Top 4 Threats Attacking Your Network
These Crazy Facts And What To Do About Them
About Continued from Page 1...
company while allowing employee
sible. Include mobile devices in your
acceptable use policy.
access requires social network edu-
cation for your employees and the #4 Cloud Computing
The Search Engine enforcement of strong acceptable use "The Cloud," in its most simple
Juggernaut? policies. We can help you develop a
policy, then monitor compliance using
form, involves using the Internet to
access and store your data. When you
a Unified Threat Management device access email using a web browser, you
• The founders of Google didn't that controls and reports on network are working in "the cloud." Using the
know HTML and just wanted a access. cloud for automated off site backup
quick interface. That’s one of the is rapidly gaining popularity and is
main reasons why the home page #3 Attacks On Mobile Devices just the beginning. Companies like
is so bare. Everyone is going mobile these Microsoft, IBM and Google envision
• The name "Google" comes from days not just the "road warriors." the day when we will use inexpensive
a spelling mistake, the founders Once limited to laptop computers, terminals instead of computers to
intended to write "Googol." mobile network devices now include run programs and access data located
• Google launched their search site PDAs, handheld computers and smart somewhere on the Internet. You need
in 1998. phones, with new appliances appear- to be sure that any data you store and
• The Google function "I feel ing in the stores every month. Mobile access across the Internet is secure not
lucky" is nearly never used; well, devices often contain sensitive data yet just where it is stored, but during the
compared to the high number of they are easily lost or stolen. Be sure trip to and from the Internet.
users. to password protect and encrypt data
• Google comes from the word
on all mobile devices whenever pos-
googol, which is 1 followed by a
hundred zeros.
How To Pick A Good Password
Get More Free Tips, Tools,
and Services At My Web Site:
What’s the most common password? You guessed it…”password.” Obviously
www.ITByTheSea.com this is not the best way to protect yourself against hackers and online thieves. But
even if you don’t use the word “password,” you might be using an equally easy
password to decipher.
We suggest you DON’T use the following passwords for really important web
sites, such as your online banking web site or other financially related sites.
• Your name or your spouse’s name.
• Your children’s names.
• Your pet’s name.
• Your birth date.
• The last four digits of your Social Security number.
• Your phone number.
• Your address.
• A series of consecutive numbers, such as “1, 2, 3, 4.”
• A single word that would appear in a dictionary.
Your best bet for creating a strong password: Use combinations of letters,
numbers and special characters.
2 // Caloosa Tech Times www.ITByTheSea.com

3. Meet Our Client Of The Month!
Josh Smith, Owner of Go Mobile Signs
Q: Josh, what can you tell me about your business? A: We’ve done anything from something for people
A: We primarily specialize in vehicle wraps, full who just want their vehicle personalized, wanting
color graphics. But we really handle all types of sig- to have fun with it, to bigger companies like Miller
nage ranging from yard signs, real estate signs, boat Brewing Company. We do a lot of stuff for them when
lettering, boat decals to the full color graphics that you it is fishing tournament season. We’ve done stuff for
see on a lot of the commercial vehicles riding around Dave Moore ex Tampa Bay Buck for his fishing shows
that utilize images, pictures of jobs past. Whether it’s “All Jacked Up”, and “One More Catch.” Pretty much
an image or a graphic that we have to create from like I said, we cover the entire spectrum from start to
scratch – we can handle it all here at Go Mobile. finish whether it is just for pleasure or for business.
Q: So you do logos as well? Q: Is there anything else that we haven’t covered
A: Logo design as well – correct. that you would like to add?
Hailey ( Josh's daughter): Dad, the computer froze A: Yes. We are a fun shop so if your not planning on
up! having any fun we could send you to a shop down the
Josh: You’ve got to be kidding me! Well, I guess we road where they are pretty mundane and they don’t
better call Ro or Christine down at I.T. By The Sea. like to have any fun.
They take care of all of our servers and computers. So Ro: I don’t think that people want to do that.
lets go ahead and get on the phone and give Ro a call Go Mobile Signs is located at 14026 Palm
and see if we can get somebody down here to take care Beach Boulevard.
of it. Phone: (239)245-7803
Q: Tell me about some of the vehicles that you Listen to Josh's Interview at:
have wrapped. http://itbythesea.com/testimonials/hear.html
Has Technology Gone Too Far?
These days everything seems to be going digital…but are you
Go Green Corner
ready to turn your body into an LCD display? Turn Them Off!.
Although this idea seems straight out of a Sci-Fi movie, engineer Printers, scanners, speakers, monitors
and inventor Jim Mielke has created an LCD display that is designed may not use a lot of power but they still can
to be implanted into your skin. He's calling this device a "digital drain your electricity bill even when they
tattoo interface." The device uses Bluetooth technology to connect are idle. Turning off your peripherals when
wirelessly with other devices outside the body and only displays when you're not using them will help you save
accepting data from an outside source. power... and money.
To implant the display, an incision is made into your arm (or If some devices have hard-to-reach pow-
body part of your choice) and the device is rolled tightly and inserted er buttons, use special power strips, like the
into the opening. Once placed under the skin, it's unfurled between Smart Strip, that switch off devices plugged
the skin and the muscle. Grossed out enough yet? There's more… into specific outlets when the computer is
The device gets its power by attaching two small tubes to an artery switched off.
and a vein and converts your body's blood glucose and oxygen to Got any green tips you’d like
electricity. to share with our readers?
Is it safe? No one really knows yet although some say it could Email them to
actually offer health benefits since it continually monitors for many TechTimes@itbythesea.com
blood disorders, alerting the person of a health problem.
239-344-7574 I.T. By The Sea // Page 3

4. 13102 Palm Beach Blvd, Suite A
Fort Myers, FL 33905
Services We Offer
• Network Design
Phone: 239-344-7574 • Network Support
Fax: 239-236-0389 • Network Maintenance
Email: info@itbythesea.com • Local and Remote Data Backup
Office Hours: M-F 9am-6pm, Sat 10 am-6pm • Data Recovery
Be Sure To Visit Us At: • Upgrades and Repairs
ITByTheSea.com • Website Design and Hosting
FloridaInventoryServices.com • Home And Business Assets Inventories
There’s A Good Chance HALF Of Your Employees
Are Wasting 3 Hours A Day On This
Continued from Page 1... on the company’s dime. website) and which sites will only work if no other work-related
However, if your company places job postings online, functions are happening at the same time. (for example, iTunes
then you would WANT your admin to have access to those downloads)
sites so he/she could post the ads for you. Social media is
another example. If you do any marketing through sites FREE Internet Usage Audit (A $297 Value!)
like MySpace, FaceBook, or Twitter, then your employees
would need access to that, too. Would you like to find out if your employees are wasting time
on the web? As a way to introduce our services, we’re offering a
(2) Get An Internet Usage Audit – Any reputable IT FREE Internet Usage Audit until November 15th that will reveal:
company should have tools available to be able to report • How much time your employees are spending online
on your employee’s Internet activity, most times without doing non-work related activities
the employee even knowing. This can give you insight into • What impact the web browsing is having on your Inter-
who in your organization (if anyone) is the biggest culprit net speeds
and how much productivity loss you currently have in your • How to stop any bad web behaviors without being “Big
company. Brother”
This offer is only valid through November 15th, so call us at
(3) Have An Internet Filtering System Installed 239-344-7574 or visit http://itbythesea.com/Internet to schedule
– Sounds complicated…but it’s not. Typically, a piece of your FREE Audit NOW.
hardware is installed on your network and its job is to
block any specific websites or categories of websites (all
shopping sites, for example). There are literally dozens of
different models and pricing structures for these devices. We Want Your Input!
The most basic ones allow you to control the types of web-
sites your employees can visit by blocking them altogether. Do you have an idea to make this newsletter better? Would
There are other models, though, that for basically the same you like to submit a story, article, or green tip? We’d love to
price point allow you to control the things they can or can- hear from you!
not download, and the speed at which they are allowed to Call us at: (239) 344-7574
access certain sites. You can also control which activities Or
get the highest Internet speeds (for example, payroll Email us: TechTimes@itbythesea.com
4 // Caloosa Tech Times www.ITByTheSea.com