Use a VPN to Increase Small Business Productivity!

Use a VPN to Increase Small Business Productivity

VPNsOur workforce has become  more decentralized and telecommuting has become commonplace. Businesses of all sizes now depend on VPN’s or “virtual private networks”. VPN’s are secure, private networks that run across the public networks (Internet). These VPN’s allow workers to remotely and securely access your computer network, as though they were working at their desks in your office.

If you or your employees are routinely away from your office and need access to your company’s network, a VPN is an inexpensive way to increase productivity — without sacrificing security.

The name “virtual private network” gives you a clue about how VPNs actually work. VPN software programs “carve out” a section of the Web, and allow only authorized users to access it. This virtual network works across the existing network and yet it’s private!

Your remote workers enter their secure login credentials and they are granted access to the VPN gateway at the office. Now they access the network just as if they were at their office desks. They can work with software programs, read and send e-mail, even open and store files.  They can do whatever their work requires them to do, but without requiring them to drive into the office, or occupy their desk.

Creating these secure links between the remote user and the network, requires only two parts.

First you need the “VPN client” which is  software that’s installed on the remote users computer. Second you need the “VPN gateway” which is on the network side. This screens out unauthorized access attempts and safely lets in your  authorized users.

Additional security is provided when the “VPN client” encrypts all data before  sending it out. On the other end the “VPN gateway” decodes the data once it arrives.

Even very small companies can reap the benefits of VPN technology. Windows Small Business Server and Windows 7 have built-in VPN capability. So if your network runs on Windows Small Business Server, it’s just a matter of enabling and configuring the VPN features. Crossroad Technologies can quickly and easily configure these options for you.

There are open source alternatives, too — some of them designed for the home PC user. Let me know if you want to explore these options. However my best recommendation is to use one of the Windows Small Business Server options.

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Think Mobile, Earn Global: How Mobile Technology Can Be Used in Marketing

Mobile phones are everywhere today. You see them on billboards, in flyers and ads, and millions of people carry them everywhere – including while they’re shopping in our urban and rural centers.

50% SmartphonesThere are over 101.3 million users of Smartphones in the United States, in fact Nielsen reported in March 2012 nearly 50% of all cell phones are now smartphones which makes mobile technology a lucrative marketing tool. So let’s look at some of the ways smart marketers and businessmen can use mobile technologies to help them drum up more business without burning huge holes in their pockets.

 

Mobile websites Businesses that have mobile versions of their websites are one step ahead  more…

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Amazing Secrets: 7 Secrets That Can Change Your (Computer) Life

Secret # 1: Backup. Your. Computer.

You can choose: daily – hourly – weekly.

You only have to ask yourself: how much am I willing to lose?

Learn how to set your backups correctly AND get the other 6 Secrets as our FREE GIFT!!

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BACKUP – Status Critical!

How good IS your current backup set? You have one – Right?  I’m sharing this section of how to create a good backup from a pro – You will well served to not just read – but implement!

Backups Part 1 – Defining Your Client Backup

Sometimes you have to cut through all the hundreds of things you do for clients and get to the absolute basics. The most time consuming “basic thing” we do is to maintain computers and networks. That maintenance is probably the second most important thing we do. The most important thing we do is to prepare for something that almost never happens: Building and testing backups.

Clients rarely understand the importance of backups. If they did, the number of new clients with working backups would be much higher. Until a client has experienced a truly catostrophic data loss, they just don’t put much emphasis on backups. And of course backups are completely useless without a good restore from backup!

As with most modern technology, backups have what I call the Paradox of Simplicity: It’s easy ENOUGH that anyone can create a bad backup system that appears to be good enough. When a client (or an incompetent technician) creates a half-baked, “good enough” network, it will be a slow network that has more equipment failures than a professional network. Maybe that’s good enough.

But a “good enough” backup is not good enough. If you can’t recover data, or can’t recover all data, the client is likely to go out of business! If you need scary stats on this, read the excellent report by (more…)

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