BSSi2 July 2014 newsletter · 2015-06-16 · July 2014 35 Aztec Court South Barrington, IL 60010 (847) 551-4626 “We make all of your computer problems go away without the cost of

Review twice, Implement once. Doing IT right the first time.

July 2014

Innovations

Do you have mountains of information stored on your server that you’ll

never use, but feel like you should keep? You are not alone. Given

expanding regulatory rules, some businesses save every bit of data they

have, just to be safe.

You may be thinking, “What’s the big deal in keeping everything?” While

it is true off-site data storage costs have gone down by about 25% every

year, the fact is that keeping your data forever can create big

management challenges and lead to retrieval headaches. Most often

companies that save everything don’t do so because they think it’s the

best way, but because they aren’t sure what needs to be saved.

Every organization needs to save data for its own purposes, such as

transactions, accounting records and so on. Not only that, but industry

regulations require companies to save certain kinds of content for a

prescribed period.

So what should you be doing? Here are 3 data-retention strategies you

must consider:

1. Start with the storage analysis, not the storage technology or

procedures.

Know what data has to be kept and for how long. Many times

requirements are dictated by industry or legal requirements.

2. Segment user populations.

Use categories such as executives, back-of4ice employees, sales and

people who deal with the company’s intellectual property and treat

their data differently.

3. Be precise and consistent with data-retention policies.

Don’t confuse backup with archiving.

Since backup systems don’t generally have the granular control

needed to save some types of information for a short time and others

for longer, using them as archival systems can be costly and risky.

Declare Freedom From High Costs & Risks

By Throwing Out Data Now

The Lighter Side… You are not so stupid

"Smoking kills. If you're

killed, you've lost a very

important part of your life,"

-- Brooke Shields, during an

interview to become

spokesperson for federal an

-smoking campaign.

———————————

"I've never had major knee

surgery on any other part of

my body,"

--Winston Benne#,

University of Kentucky

basketball forward.

———————————

"Half this game is ninety

percent mental."

--Philadelphia Phillies

manager, Danny Ozar

———————————

"It isn't pollu on that's

harming the environment.

It's the impuri es in our air

and water that are doing it.."

--Al Gore, Vice President

———————————

"I love California . I prac cal-

ly grew up in Phoenix "

-- Dan Quayle

———————————

"We've got to pause and ask

ourselves: How much clean

air do we need?"

BSSi2, www.bssi2.com, 847-551-4626, [email protected]

Page 2

Innovations

BSSi2, www.bssi2.com, 847-551-4626, [email protected]

3 Microsoft Excel Functions Certain To

Make Your Company More Productive

Microsoft Excel is such a powerful tool. We all

know it, but most of what we use the program

for are simple calculations and data collections

while we know there is so much more there. The

problem for most is that there are TOO MANY

functions and tools to use, so we get lost, don’t

know what we could or should use and don’t

even try.

To help you out, we’ve picked 3 of our favorites

to share with you. Using any one of these

functions is certain to improve your company

and make you more productive.

1. Conditional Formatting. Did you know that

you can apply this simple tool to a collection

of data and Excel will automatically format

your data via color coding so it will “pop out”

based on any criteria you choose? If you have

any size data set that you need to analyze,

this function greatly simpli0ies your job.

2. CountIF, SumIF and AverageIF. These rarely

used functions are amazing when you apply

them. If you have a spreadsheet full of data

with common classi0ications or labels, you

can easily count, sum or average each label

using these 3 formulas. And the supercool

part is that if you update any data, your

functions will automatically update based on

your changes. If you’ve never used any of

these 3 IF functions, give them a whirl on

your next spreadsheet.

3. Paste Special. I’m sure you may have used this

function before, but you probably never

realized the power it contains that we hardly

use. Use the paste special function to convert

your spreadsheet data from rows to columns

(and vice versa), divide (or multiply) a whole

series of numbers and more!

Identity Theft, like Cybercrime,

Will Not Go Away

Did you hear the story about the 0ive year old that was

arrested for not making payments on his yacht and

home in Florida? No, this is not the start of a joke. It is

a real-life example of what can happen to anyone who

has been a victim of Identity Theft. It is not uncommon

for identity thieves to steal the social security number

of an infant or deceased person.

If you become a victim, your life can be turned upside

down. It is more than just a loss of money. The time it

takes to resolve this can be astronomical. Hours and

days sitting on the phone with multiple companies,

agencies, collection agents. Think your boss will be

happy to see you so productive during the work day

taking care of your personal business?

There are many services out there that claim to

protect you against Identity Theft. It is my opinion you

cannot be guaranteed against such a crime. You have

to always be vigilante. But I also recommend

subscribing to a service that will help you in the event

you are such a victim. They key to this service is in

helping you remediate the damage that has taken

place, one that will make those phone calls for you; let

them wait on hold on your behalf. An Identity Theft

subscription that does not offer this as part of their

service is not worth having. I use a service called

LegalShield and that is a key part of their offering. The

person I work with is Allen Katz,

[email protected],

847-612-4676. He is a rock star when it comes to

understanding and protection for Identity Theft. Don’t

leave home without it.

NOTE: BSSi2 is not selling LegalShield nor do we get

any commission or referral fees.

July 2014

1. Don’t leave it lying around

Although this is common sense, you’ve probably

violated this rule more than once. Tablets are easy

targets for thieves, so don’t let it out of your sight

when in a public place – and don’t leave it in plain

view in your car or you might end of up with a

broken window in addition to a stolen tablet.

2. Use a passcode

Although it’s not 100% hacker-proof, it will block

unauthorized users from accessing your information.

3. Consider enabling automatic data erasing

You can con)igure your iPad to erase your data after

10 failed pass-code attempts. Clearly this is not a

good solution for anyone who constantly forgets a

password or for those who have kids trying to log in

repeatedly. However, if you have a Microsoft

Exchange account connected to your mobile device,

your IT guy can remotely wipe your mobile device as

soon as you report that it has been lost.

4. Encrypt your hard drive

On your iPad, simply enabling the password will turn

on encryption. All iOS devices also come with a

second layer of encryption (called data protection)

that protects your e-mails and attachments. This

protection can’t be broken, even if the passcode is

stripped. On Android tablets, you need to enable

hard-drive encryption in the security settings.

5. Enable iCloud Find My Phone or

Android Device Manager

These are valuable tools to use when you misplace

your tablet. Both of these services allow you to log in

and )ind your tablet or even wipe it if you have

sensitive data on it.

6. Install software updates

As with all software, make sure you have the latest

security updates and patches installed to protect

against hackers and viruses.

7. Only connect to trusted WiFi networks

Public WiFis are open territory for hackers and

identity thieves. Whenever you connect, make sure

it’s a legitimate, secure connection.

7 Ways To Keep Your Tablet Secure

Have You Installed Microsoft Of)ice On Your iPad Yet?

Page 3

BSSi2, www.bssi2.com, 847-551-4626, [email protected]

After years of rumors, Microsoft )inally unveiled Of)ice for iPad in late March. This is a huge addition to the iPad, as demonstrated by the more than 12 million downloads of the product in the )irst week it was released.

The iPad Just Got More Business-Friendly One of the biggest business complaints about the iPad has been that it’s great as a personal device and for catching up on e-mail, but you really couldn’t do real work on it. You can now use the core 3 of Word, Excel and PowerPoint on your iPad fairly seamlessly. Microsoft has integrated Of)ice for iPad into their Of)ice 365 suite of products with an annual fee of only $100, which includes online )ile storage (or you can simply view )iles in Of)ice for iPad, but not work on them, for free).

A Familiar Interface And Functionality

Just about everything you’re used to within the Of)ice Suite is here on the iPad, optimized for touch screens. These three apps are feature-rich, powerful business tools. And while a menu item or two might be out of place, you’ll soon quickly adapt to the user interface. If you’ve used an iPad and you’ve used Of)ice on your desktop, you’ll be just )ine.

Advanced features such as change tracking, )ind and replace are all there, and while there still may be a few things you need to do on your desktop, we’re hard-pressed to )ind many of them.

July 2014

35 Aztec Court

South Barrington, IL 60010

(847) 551-4626

www.bssi2.com

“We make all of your

computer problems go

away without the cost of

a full-time I.T. staff”

Review twice, Implement once. Doing IT right the first time.

Inquiring Minds...

Shiny New Gadget

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Feel like your computer is out of gas? Having network issues

that are delaying your daily operations? Give our IT professionals

a call today for your FREE Network Assessment. We will

inventory your current technology, check network security,

review your back-up solution and deliver a report including

outstanding issues and possible solutions. It’s amazing how a

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Inflatable Movie Screen

Not only is BSSi2 growing in terms of employees, but also  within the family. I am proud to announce two of our star  consultants are getting married this year (but not to each  other), John DeVicaris and Nicole Wright. 

John and Amanda (8/17)                Nicole and Chad (9/20)