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“As a business owner, you don’t

have time to waste on technical and

operational issues. That’s where we

shine! Call us and put an end to your

IT problems finally and forever!”

- Debi Bush, CMIT Solutions of Denver

Volume VI, Issue VII July, 2012

Denver, Colorado

Inside This Issue…

Facebook , LinkedIn, Twitter:

Can Employers Demand

Employees Give Up Their Login

Info?……................................Page 1

Don’t Assume That Your Apple

Devices Are Immune…..…….Page 2

5 Smart Tips To Know Before

Moving Your Data To A Cloud-

Based Application….…….….Page 3

How Hackers Can Now Set Fire To

Your Office Printer...………..Page 4

How To Deal With

Disappointment …….……….Page 5

Using Office Web Apps In

SkyDrive…. ………………...Page 6

When A Door Closes, Somewhere

There’s A Window That

Opens……….……….……....Page 7

Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter: Can Employers Demand Employees

Give Up Their Login Info?

Here’s a new question that’s being discussed in the courts: Do employers have the right to ask new hires for their username and password to various social media sites? According to the state of Maryland, the answer is “No.” Recently the Maryland General Assembly passed legislation that prevents employers in the state from asking prospective employees for their login information for various social media sites, including Facebook and Twitter. If Gov. Martin O'Malley signs the bill, it would make Maryland the first state in the nation to set such a restriction into law. Other states are considering similar legislation, including Illinois and California. Ironically, this practice was criticized by Facebook, one of the biggest users of personal information to sell advertising to its members. Erin Egan, Facebook’s chief privacy officer, wrote about the issue on Facebook, calling the practice of employers requesting potential hires’ Facebook passwords “alarming” and “not the right thing to do.” Maryland business groups, including the Maryland Chamber of Commerce, pointed out that there may be cases where an employer should be able to ask for the login information of potential new hires in order to weed out unwanted candidates. Of course, this bill is just one of many issues being raised between employees and employers using social media. While asking for login information may soon become illegal, employers are still free to “friend” potential hires or search online for information about potential employees. Supporters of the bill point out that it’s illegal for employers to discriminate based on age, sexual orientation, race or religion; since most social media sites contain this type of information, they feel employers might gain access to a candidate’s personal details and use them to disqualify candidates illegally. What are YOUR thoughts on this matter? Have you ever reviewed a potential new hire’s Facebook page, blog or LinkedIn account before hiring them? Do you think it’s fair for employers to request this information, or is it a violation of someone’s privacy? Go online to our blog at http://cmitdenver.wordpress.com/ and post your thoughts.

Page 2

Phil’s In The Corner

Just to cover myself and in

public, I want to wish my wife

and business partner, Debi, a

very happy 17th wedding

anniversary. I do my best to

make sure that we attend the

Glendale fireworks extrava-

ganza that occurs on our

anniversary (July 2nd) or on

July 3rd to celebrate.

Now, onto business and my

Phil’s In The Corner thoughts.

We have now officially hit the

mid-year mark for 2012 which

coincides with our fiscal year.

While on a call last week with

my CMIT Pacesetters group,

we discussed reviewing our

business plan and goals that

were set. How do our Actual

versus Projected Goals and

Metrics look? We shared how

often we review and analyze

these goals—daily, weekly,

quarterly, maybe twice a year

were the variety of responses.

Since we will be having our in-

person meeting at the end of

July in Chicagoland, we agreed

that it is important to review

these to determine what

metrics are yielding success

and which metrics need some

work.

It can be a humbling yet

inspirational exercise that will

help keep me and my business

in tip top shape.


Don’t Assume That Your Apple Devices

Are Immune

In a June 2012 article from CRN, an industry publication, Kevin McLaughlin offered up some key thoughts about the fact that Apple had “recently changed the wording in the ‘Why You’ll Love A Mac’ section of its Web site, removing longstanding claims about Macs being more secure than Windows PCs.”

On a regular basis I have read that platforms like Apple or browsers like Firefox are not as immune as people would like to think to having bad things happen to them. A prime contributing factor of this is that it’s a numbers game. Those ne’er-do-well characters who wish to wreak havoc on the innocent and well-intentioned technology users go after the largest population, the Windows-based users. The 800 pound gorilla always gets targeted from a technology attack or PR perspective. So, whether it’s Microsoft (the numbers are still dominant for Windows users worldwide) or in my old corporate days TCI Cablevision, companies like these have been an easy target.

My CMIT Denver firm is a Microsoft-centered firm. However, over the past two years we have had more clients and prospects inquiring about Apple support whether it’s for a Mac, an iPhone or iPad. The introduction and acceptance of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) into the business arena is contributing to the increased necessity for supporting Apple, Droid and Windows platforms. We are cognizant that we must be able to support a multi-platform environment and also dictate best practices for what must be in place at our client’s place of business (or multiple locations).

Kevin McLaughlin also wrote in his June article “As more iOS devices make their way into businesses through the bring-your-own-device phenomenon, Mac adoption in businesses is also rising, creating a more inviting target for attackers, according to Andrew Brust, CEO of Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) analyst firm Blue Badge Insights, based in New York City.”

Apple’s problem or challenge has not been that its platform is less secure than it used to be or any less cool and fun to use; its problem has been that it has failed to provide OS security fixes and patches in a timely manner with proper communication. Just as I tell my team, client care is all about communication!

So, what is the purpose of this article? It’s not to bash Apple as some might infer. My goal is to make you aware that bad things can happen, even to Apple products, and that you and your IT support team need to work together to manage and maintain your entire technology environment—Windows, Apple and Droid. Don’t go making decisions that have anything to do with technology before consulting with your trusted technology advisor.

May all your technology devices live in harmony and good health!

Page 3


Shiny New Gadget Of The Month

Big Blue Wireless

Bluetooth®

Speaker

Wouldn’t it be nice to listen

to music or watch a video from

your mobile device with the

same quality sound as a large

speaker system? Well, now

you can, but without the hassle

of the big, bulky speakers!

Introducing the Big Blue

Wireless Bluetooth Speaker...

This little speaker box

packs a big punch. Get

surround-sound quality with

this wireless, Bluetooth-

enabled device.

No cords, no apps and no

extra parts to buy. The Big

Blue conveniently connects to

your MP3 player, smartphone,

laptop or tablet providing

crystal-clear sound in just

seconds.

The small, compact design

makes it a great device to use

for travel or to transmit great

quality sound for events

indoors or outdoors.

This device can be found at

local retailers like Brookstone

or online at Amazon.com.

5 Smart Tips To Know Before Moving

Your Data To A Cloud-Based

Application

1. Back It Up! Migrating data to any new location is a mess and anything can (and

usually does) go wrong. Therefore, make sure you have good, recent

backup copies of everything before you make the move.

2. Maintain An On-Site Copy At first, moving to the cloud can be a bit scary. What can help mitigate

the risk (and the fear) is keeping a local, on-site copy of your data and

network image on a NAS (network-attached storage) device. That way

you have a local on-site copy in addition to the working cloud copy.

3. Have A “Plan B” To Access The Internet One of the biggest questions about moving IT to the cloud is, “What if

the Internet goes down?” To mitigate that fail point, have a business-

class connection as your initial and main way to connect, and then also

have a second Internet connection service as a backup. If a T-1 line is

your main connection, you might consider keeping a Comcast account

as a backup. What is your true risk tolerance for being down?!

4. Use It As An Opportunity To Do Some Housekeeping You could just copy and paste your files from your local machines into

the cloud, but why not take this as an opportunity to re-evaluate the

structure and organization of that data? Here are some ideas:

Re-evaluate and/or update your file naming conventions and

file organization. A good file naming policy will make it

much easier to find files and information. Also, consider

reorganizing all the folders into smarter, more efficient

categories.

Consider who will be using what and what levels of

permissions are required to access files. Revisiting your

permission levels will help keep sensitive data from falling

into the wrong hands.

Look at old files and consider deleting them or archiving

them so they aren’t cluttering up your server and costing

you money for storing and backing them up.

5. Phase The Move Don’t try to migrate everything all at once. Create a transition plan and

implement it. Make sure you move your files in bite-size pieces so that

the changes are easy to digest for your clients, employees, partners and

everyone else involved. This also gives you the opportunity to test the

water before taking the plunge, and it allows you to put out one fire at a

time instead of having all systems down or broken.

Page 4


AS SOON AS You Get Frustrated With a

Computer, Network Or Some Other Issue,

SAVE TIME, MONEY & MORE UPSET…..

Do you hesitate to call your IT support because you don’t want to bother them? Maybe you think it will cost your company more IF you were to call?

Debi Bush, CMO, wants to make sure that our clients do not hesitate to call our support team. Our goal is to ensure that our CMIT clients are taken care of quickly and with focused attention. Debi is a 3rd generation native of St. Joseph, Missouri and has deep roots in Denver dating back to pre-1900. She has called Denver home for 22 years now and loves it, even though she doesn’t take advantage of what’s in her own “back yard.” Favorite TV Show to Watch: Sweet Genius on the Food Network with my daughter Favorite Type of Housework: Getting my 3 kids to pick up their own rooms! Favorite Restaurant: Still remains Parisi in the Berkeley neighborhood Favorite Sport To Watch: Anything that my kids are playing

How Hackers Can Set Fire

To Your Office Printer

In case your printer isn’t making you crazy enough with paper jams, ink

smears and general issues, here’s something new: Hackers are now

accessing printers through an overlooked flaw in many printer systems

connected to the Internet, particularly older models.

Why should you care? Because hackers can use your printer as a way

to infiltrate your network and then see and make copies of any

documents you are printing or scanning. The security flaw involves the

printer’s software used to run “embedded systems,” which enables both

advanced functions and connects the printer directly to the Internet.

In one case, researchers were able to hack into a printer and give it

instructions to continuously heat up the part of the device that dries the

ink after it’s applied to the paper, thereby causing the paper to heat up

to the point of turning brown and smoking.

The implications of this type of security flaw are concerning, but

this problem can be addressed properly and promptly with the right

planning. HP is looking into the study for their own line of printers, and

business owners should also take precautionary steps to protect already

installed devices on their networks.

Of course, all of the clients on our CMIT Marathon Flat Rate program

need not worry since we’re monitoring printers as well as all other

devices for these types of attacks. But if you’re NOT on our plan, call us

about how we can set up network monitoring, care and maintenance to

make sure these types of attacks don’t happen.

Extra Tip: When disposing of old printers, take care to erase the internal hard drive. Printers store copies of documents printed and scanned; if you don’t wipe it clean, the person who purchases or inherits your old printer can easily access all of those documents.

Page 5


Patriotic

Quotes for July

“A government of laws, and not

of men.”

“Old minds are like old horses;

you must exercise them if you

wish to keep them in working

order.”

“The Declaration of Indepen-

dence I always considered a

theatrical show. Jefferson ran

away with all the stage effect

of that...and all the glory of it.”

~ John Adams

“A house is not a home unless it

contains food and fire for the

mind as well as the body.”

“Anger is never without a reason,

but seldom with a good one.”

~ Benjamin Franklin

“Associate with men of good

quality if you esteem your own

reputation; for it is better to be

alone than in bad company.”

“Friendship is a plant of slow

growth and must undergo and

withstand the shocks of adversity

before it is entitled to the appella-

tion.”

~ George Washington

HOW TO DEAL WITH DISAPPOINTMENT Disappointment is inevitable; there are just too many things going on in our

lives to not have something or someone disappoint us. There are certainly

degrees of disappointments, they come in all sizes, but it’s the big ones I want

to address today.

People, associates, companies, teachers, bosses, teammates, classmates,

spiritual leaders, politicians, spouses, brothers, sisters, Moms and Dads are all

on the list of potential disappointers. I am writing this because I just had a big

disappointment occur. It’s not important what happened. What is important is

how I will deal with it. Disappointment can lead to frustration, anger, and even

bitterness; these are all emotions that will sap the excitement, energy and

vitality right out of you. Over the years, I have learned that dwelling on a

disappointment won’t make it any better, make it go away, or ease the fact that

it happened. But occasionally, I still catch myself dwelling on it.

I have no intention of letting anyone or anything keep me down long. That doesn’t mean I won’t feel the pain, anger, frustration, or hurt at the

moment it occurred. But, it does mean I won’t keep feeling it. If certain people

keep letting you down, then avoid them. The same is true for companies whose

product or service fails to meet your expectations; avoid them, too. Thomas

Jefferson once said, “If I am to meet with a disappointment, the sooner I know

it, the more of life I shall have to wear it off.” Disappointments don’t just

vanish, but as Jefferson noted, they will wear off, if you let it go.

Dwelling on disappointment takes time and energy away from you, time

which you could be using somewhere else. By dwelling on it, you are actually

making it worse. If someone did something on purpose, dwelling on it is

allowing them to win even more. I had a football coach once tell me that when

I got tackled really hard to get-up off the ground fast, like I was totally

unaffected. He said it will rattle your opponent. He said your opponent, who

just delivered the painful blow, is thinking they crushed you, hurt you, and beat

you. By getting up fast, as if nothing happened, they will start thinking

otherwise. If I can share anything with you today that will help you better

handle disappointment, it would be summed up in having the following

reaction: GET UP FAST! … MOVE ON! … GET OVER IT! … LET

IT GO!

I heard it once stated, “Disappointment to a noble soul is what cold water is

to burning metal; it strengthens, tempers, intensifies, but never destroys it.”

What an incredible way to look at it. The key words there are Noble Soul. The

level of success in your life comes from the choices you make. When it comes

to dealing with disappointment, be the Noble Soul and MOVE ON!

Guest article provided by Robert Stevenson is a highly sought

after, internationally known speaker. He is the author of the best-

selling books “How to Soar Like An Eagle in a World Full of

Turkeys” and “52 Essential Habits For Success.” Robert is a

graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech)

and is a former All-American Athlete. He started his first business

at 24 and has owned several companies. Robert has international

sales experience dealing in over 20 countries. Learn more at:

Page 6


Are You STILL Using

Outdated Tape Backups? If your computer network and the data it holds got erased or corrupted because of a virus, hard drive crash, fire, flood or some other random, unforeseen disaster, how confident are you RIGHT NOW that your business could be back up and running again FAST?

If your answer to that is, “I don’t know,” or “I’m not sure,” you are taking a HUGE risk with your company’s most important asset—the data on your network. Just imagine what would happen to your business if you lost your entire client database…

…Lost all accounting documentation and history…Lost all the work files you’ve spent YEARS developing…Lost the work files and documentation you so desperately need to service your customers…

Can you even put a price tag on it? Probably not –yet so many business owners aren’t 100% certain that they could be back up and running after a disaster and are purely hoping that their current tape drive or backup is working and storing a usable copy of their data.

Tape Drives Are The MOST Unreliable, Unsecured Way To

Back Up Your Data All tape drives fail; it’s only a matter of “when,” not “if.” So, if being able to get back up and running again in the event of a data-erasing disaster is important, then you need to know about our CMIT Guardian backup and business continuity program. CMIT Guardian Plus is a fool-proof backup service that does more than just keep a copy of your files—it provides “continuous data protection” and enables near-instant disaster recovery because it takes a snapshot of your entire network throughout the day, giving you the confidence we could have you back up and running again within HOURS, not days or weeks. Want to know if your data is REALLY secure and being backed up properly? Call us for a FREE Data Backup and Disaster Recovery Assessment at 303-756-2648 or go online to www.CMITDenver.com/databackup

Using Office Web Apps In SkyDrive

A QuickTip On Using Microsoft Web Apps

For the past couple years I have taken advantage of Microsoft’s SkyDrive.

With the advent of Web Apps with Office 2010 and the growth of using the

“cloud”, I have actually edited some work and personal Excel files using

Excel Web App. It has come in quite handy for quick, on-the-fly editing.

All you need to start is a free Windows Live ID by going to http://

skydrive.live.com. If you have a Windows Live ID already, just sign in. If not,

go ahead and sign up. You will get up to 7 GB of free storage space.

Store your Office documents in SkyDrive, and Office Web Apps lets you view

and edit them in your web browser. That’s perfect for making quick updates

(no need to start up an Office program), on just about any computer or device

that’s connected to the Web.

You can avoid the hassle of sending documents to yourself and others as email

attachments (and it clogs up your Exchange server), and skip the extra step of

saving them as PDFs.

Instead, store documents on SkyDrive, where you can link to them in email, on

social networks, and in your blog. You can also share documents with others as

long as they have their own Windows Live ID. Not only can you share docu-

ments, you can also have a shared calendar that’s handy for family members

and you can have alerts or reminders for calendar tasks, events, birthdays and

anniversaries.

SkyDrive is not to be used as a backup solution. It’s merely for storage, ease

of use and sharing some files or calendars. If you are interested in backup

solutions, ask us about CMIT Guardian.

Take A Byte Out Of This!

Bytes in increasing numbers:

Kilobyte (kB)

Megabyte (MB)

Gigabyte (GB) = 1000 megabytes

Terabyte (TB)

Petabyte (PB)

Exabyte (EB)

Zettabyte (ZB) = 1 billion terabytes

Yottabyte (YB)

Page 7


The Lighter Side…

Summer Weather

Top 10 List

10. An honest weatherman says,

“Today's forecast is bright and

sunny with an 80% chance that

I'm wrong.”

9. First cave man says to second

cave man: “I don't care what you

say. We never had such unusual

weather before they started using

bows and arrows.”

8. Nate: “Hey, what's the weather

like out there?” Kate: “I don't

know. I'll tell you when it clears.”

7. Why did the lady go outdoors

with her purse open? Because she

expected some change in the

weather.

6. It's a bit "muggy" in New York

today.

5. There’s a technical term for a

sunny, warm day which follows

two rainy days. It’s called

Monday.

4. A postcard home: The weather

is here. Wish you were beautiful.

3. Two Viking invaders are

trudging up the beach in the

pouring rain. One looks skywards

and says, “So this is England.

What’s it like?” The other snarls,

“Well, if you like the weather,

you’ll love the food.”

2. There was a communist named

Rudolph. One day he looked out

the window and said, “It looks

like a storm is coming.” “ No it

isn’t," said his wife. “Besides,

how would you know?”

“Because,” he responded,

"Rudolph the Red knows rain,

dear.”

1. A weather forecaster took a job

in another part of the country.

When asked why he transferred

he replied, “The weather didn't

agree with me.”

When A Door Closes, Somewhere There’s A Window That Opens

The headline to this month’s article is not an exact quote from the source; however, it’s pretty close. It was used a couple times in my favorite film, The Sound Of Music, when Julie Andrews (aka Maria) was being counseled by the Reverend Mother before she was sent off to be a governess

for seven (yes, 7) children. This was the beginning of a new ad-venture for Maria and unbeknownst to her at the time would be a life changer. I also think that it’s in the Bible somewhere.

The month of June was a whirlwind in different parts of my life and I shared some of it in last month’s electronic and print newsletters. My mother and our family are working through an illness which kept me away from the office for what felt like a really long time and not just two weeks. The great part about those two weeks away was that I truly focused on my most valuable activity (MVA) - my mother—and let everything else go on without me. The observation from all of this was that it was OK and I was good with my decision. It was exhausting enough to focus on the task at hand (which included spending nights in my mother’s hospital room). Thank God for the nurs-ing staff at Rose Medical Center for they kept us all in good spirits even during challenging moments. I can’t imagine what kind of shape (mentally and physically) I would have been in had I forced myself to keep up with everything at work.

A door closed for my mother and her life as she knew it. But, and this is a big one, a window opened that brought new light and closeness into our lives as my two siblings and I rallied together with our mother and her life partner to charge ahead. Things do happen for a reason whether we like it at the time of the occurrence or not.

In our CMIT business, we have weathered challenges that include growing pains, employees, clients, getting new clients and just getting worn out from owning our own business while raising three kids. But, no complaining from me about this. One of my current favorite authors is Jon Gordon and in his book, The No Complaining Rule, he mentions 5 things to do

instead of complain:

1. Practice Gratitude.

2. Praise Others.

3. Focus On Success.

4. Let Go.

5. Pray and Meditate.


June was also a month of inspiration and enhancement in my Rotary life. I was able to lead my District Membership Team (DMT) in conducting a very successful seminar that had over 40 in attendance and great feedback that keeps coming our way. My Team and I are opening up new win-dows and doors to educate and strengthen the 68 clubs in our District with respect to membership. Membership is an organization and just like clients in my own business, must be tended to and nurtured in order for growth to happen and to ensure sustainability.

As much as I get a “high” for receiving praise for my efforts at the District and Club levels, it is and will always remain a group effort. The personal and intangible benefits I have gained from my increasing involvement in Rotary have car-ried over into my CMIT and personal life and I am thankful

and grateful for that.

I have two business trips coming up later this month so it would be a safe bet that you will read about my insights from my trips to Nashville and Chicago. Have a great 4th of July celebration and stay safe and cool! “The illiterate of the future are not those who can’t read or write but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.” ~ Alvin Toffler, American writer and futurist

925 S. Niagara St., Suite 220

Denver, CO 80224

Phone: 303-756-2648

Fax: 303-484-7314

www.CMITDenver.com

cmitdenver.wordpress.com

[email protected]

cmitdenvernews.wordpress.com

Call us now at

303-756-2648

to request your copy

of our book!

Debi’s Reading List

The Positive Dog by Jon Gordon Paul Harris and the Birth of Rotary by Fred A. Carvin

Page 8

Warm Regards,

P.S. If you’re not receiving my monthly e-newsletter or CMIT QuickTip, please email me at [email protected] to request that your name be added.

mailto:[email protected]

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Can Employers Demand Employees Give Up Their Login · PDF fileCall us and put an end to your ... When A Door Closes, Somewhere ... Can Employers Demand Employees Give Up Their Login