TechPoint Newsletter - December 2007

In this Issue ...

Finally: a resolution you can keep
The risk to universality
Don't take the bait on Internet fraud
Case study: Flannery Inc.
Featured web management tool: Web Page Editor
Get an expert analysis of your website

Finally: a resolution you can keep

Statistics say 70 percent of New Year's resolutions are broken by February 1st. But let's be serious: from the most solemn, heart-felt vows to those made wobbling from a table top at midnight, people generally drum up some pretty formidable quests. Losing 300 pounds, giving up 17 years coffee addiction and climbing six mountains in one year require some pretty intense commitment – it isn't hard to see why people buckle under the pressure. But don't worry: there's hope.

This time, as you enter bravely into a new year looking for a fresh start, why not resolve to make a more concerted and consistent effort to improve your business using the tools already laid out before you? Creating, implementing and sticking to a plan to boost your business using the Internet, email and e-commerce solutions to their fullest potential means a pressure-free resolution that integrates nicely into your routine and doesn't require military-style effort. Let's get started.

Get fresh
Business owners should update the look and feel of their websites every 18 to 24 months to keep their online presence fresh and enticing. A strong underlying site architecture will make these changes a piece of cake, with no disruption to content or web based services. Replacing old graphics, reworking the text to reflect changes or new items for the business, adding elements that facilitate the user experience and redesigning the “skin” of the site shows site visitors that you care about your site and pay attention to how it represents your business online.

Stay regular
Adding content management tools to your website will allow you to add, modify and archive regular updates to the site's content and give people a reason to check back to see what's new. This can be as simple as adding new product announcements, short news items relevant to your industry, topic-specific articles or updates on in-progress or recently completed projects. A weekly commitment means securing your place as a valuable, dynamic source for existing and potential customers.

Reach out
The revolution of email has changed the way we communicate on all levels, but few of us take full advantage of its far reaching capabilities. Creating a carefully selected, highly-focused email list to which to sent press releases and announcements about your business can go a long way. Consider creating and archiving e-newsletters and sending them out on a monthly or bi-monthly basis. Content management software is available that allows you to drop information into a form, upload it and send it off in no time, leaving you free to focus on your daily operations.

Gift the gab
If you're not promoting your website address on every piece of paper or electronic notice that leaves your office, you're missing out. The web is responsible for exponential growth in businesses around the world, but it's not going to do anything for you if no one knows about your presence on it. Add your web address and notices about any regular updates to your marketing and communications strategies and facilitate the sales process by adding an online catalogue or product inventory, a “request a quote” function, an order form and/or online sales tools to your site ... then tell everyone you know about it and bask in  the results.

Say “I do”
Maximizing your impact on the Internet is easier than ever with innovations in content management, electronic communications and the free flow of information. The key to making it all work for you is to create a consistent plan and stick to it. A solid commitment to keeping your online presence fresh, dynamic and powerful means delegating tasks and making sure they are implemented on a regular basis so your customers keep coming back to see what's new.

In no time at all you'll see that the time you dedicate to securing your online presence seems minimal compared to the sizable return. And the best part of all is on February 1st when all your friends are eating donuts, drinking coffee and selling their hiking boots on eBay, you'll be laughing all the way to the bank.

The universal threat

So, what web browser do you use? Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Opera, Mozilla?  And which version of that browser are you running? Is it 2.1, 6.2.1, 7.2, 3.2.b or some other version? And what about your clients, co-workers and friends ... what are they using?  And what about your email? Do you use Outlook, Outlook Express, Imail, Eudora, Thunderbird, Mozilla Mail? And exactly which version was that again?  What about your email address book and calender? Do they work with your mobile phone or do you have to duplicate everything to try to keep it all straight?  And again what are your customers, co-workers and friends using and can they receive and see what you sent them?  Okay, I'll stop. This is just getting too confusing and the combinations are simply endless.

The point I'm trying to make is about something we all have to deal with every day as communication technologies continue to evolve and challenge the universality of the Internet.  It wasn't too long ago there simply weren't a lot of choices when it came to web browsers and email, and there certainly was no such thing as synchronizing them with a cellular phone.  With innovations and upgrades flying around at light speed, wading through a vast number of format options to deliver information so the most people possible can receive it and see it is getting trickier every day.  What was once a simple and universal process of sending and receiving email and browsing the Internet is a now multi-dimensional challenge.  

Understanding the challenges of the growing variety of Internet related services is critical for every business.  The reality is when you build a website or send an email there is a certain percentage of people who simply will not receive or see the information due to compatibility and version issues.  The object of the game today is to minimize these problems by choosing services and technologies that appeal to the widest audience possible.  Although Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) still dominates the browser market Firefox, Safari , and other web browsers now make up over 20 percent of the market.  (Did I mention Microsoft's IE version 6 can't even view websites the same way as IE 7?)

Getting your website, digital content and emails into simple and effective formats is mission critical to ensure your clients, friends and co-workers can receive and see what you intend.  Old websites and email clients can cause myriads of problems when it comes to viewing the content.  If your company website is not built to  run correctly in the most popular browsers, 20 percent or more of your clients will have a bad experience when they visit your site.  Website development is moving to a cleaner and more universal format with a minimalistic approach in order to adapt to the changing web browser market. If your site is old and dated it's probably time to upgrade it so customers have a chance to use it.  

Getting your email delivered and read is best served by keeping your email client up-to-date and keeping messages simple and brief.  Combining the use of email with the ability to deliver larger amounts of information on the website will help to improve a the success of sending email.  Spam filters, viruses and the sheer volume of email people receive mean the chances of successful delivery and/or whether the person will actually read it are reduced.  

As the Internet, email and mobile phones continue to advance, businesses must strive to keep their content in flexible, simple formats.  This way they can be successfully delivered and viewed by the largest possible group of people, no matter what flavours of email, web browser or mobile devices they choose to use.  

Phishing and pharming: don't take the bait on Internet fraud

Gone are the days of line-ups and traffic jams – a person can now settle in with a nice cup of tea and complete online banking, shop for Christmas gifts, make a hair appointment, get pre-approved for auto financing and order pizza, all without ever leaving the computer chair. Though some wouldn't dare enter one digit of personal information online,  e-commerce, online banking and other similar Internet activities can be relatively safe – if conducted with a reputable site that is what it appears to be.

Unfortunately, the obliquitous truth in the advancement of technology is this: the more programs, services and tools that exist for the purpose of adding ease and convenience to our lives, the more cybercriminals are drumming up schemes that are anything but convenient for those who fall victim. As consumers of convenience soak in the sun of completing everyday tasks from the comforts of home, “phishers” and “pharmers,” among others, are developing tactics that can lead to identity theft, financial loss and overall compromised security for anyone using the Internet to do business.

Gone phishin'
Phishing is a way of using fake websites, spam, crimeware and other tactics to trick people into divulging sensitive information such as credit card or bank account numbers, passwords or personal details like name, address and mother's maiden name. Essentially, a phishing email appears in your inbox as a legitimate-looking, generally urgent request from, say, the bank asking that your account information be updated and providing a link to do so. These emails look like the real thing because they often contain “official” letterhead or logos, use convincing,  business-like language and the link might be masked to look authentic. When the victim actually clicks through, he is taken to a site that, again, looks official and he enters his information as requested. Unfortunately the victim won't find out until much later that the site he went to was fake, and that he just provided his life in type for someone who will either use it to commit identity theft, or sell it on the cybercrime black market to someone else who will.  And as if that isn't enough, phishers are stepping up their games, using a combination of invasive and tracking tools so that even if all a victim does is click through the link, an inconspicuous program will secretly load, capturing all the relevant information the next time the user logs on to the legitimate website of his bank or other password-protected online service.

Stealing the pharm
Like their cousins the phishers, pharmers use phony websites to capture private information, but instead of relying on the victim to “take the bait” and click through, they redirect the victim to a fake site even if the correct URL is typed in to the browser. This process is a little more complex, but essentially involves rerouting an entire segment of the Internet through the falsification of the naming system the Internet uses to assign webpage addresses. In the past this has been done by tricking Internet Service Providers into rerouting portions of their systems so a legitimate website address will lead to a phony site.

Taking back the 'Net
What does all of this mean for businesses and individuals looking to make use of online services without succumbing to the endless tactics of cybercriminals? Well, as online fraud evolves to meet innovations in online services, so too does the evolution of preventative measures rise to the occasion.

To avoid being “phished” never respond to emails requesting personal information, even if they seem to originate from a legitimate professional source such as the bank, eBay or PayPal. Not a single one of these businesses will ever send out requests for such information in an email, and if you aren't sure, call them.

Online scam messages will usually contain spelling errors, poor grammar, web addresses with weird extensions or those that are entirely numbers instead of words. If anything looks at all “phishy” delete it. When you want to log in to the bank or another online service type the address directly into the browser; never follow a link to get there. Protect your email address by never responding to spam, even if you think you're “unsubscribing” by doing so. Spammers send messages to thousands of addresses just testing to see which ones are live and your response gives them the confirmation they're looking for. Be cautious listing your email or other personal information anywhere online. Online shoppers should check their bank statements regularly and if there's any suspicion of pharming, contacting the Internet Service Provider is a good first step.

If you think you've already been compromised, disconnect from the Internet immediately or disable the network connection on the computer. Businesses with IT departments need to let them know quickly so they can implement a recovery program, and make sure to back up all important information regularly in case it is lost or corrupted during the recovery process. An up-to-date virus protection program is never a bad idea and when all else fails, reformatting the computer is a sure bet.

Visit AGV, McAfee or Symantec for complete, up-to-date information on phishing, pharming and other types of cybercrime, case studies, additional tips and for comprehensive virus protection and computer safety programs.

Case study: Flannery Inc.

Flannery Inc., leading manufacturer of aluminium, steel and vinyl trims for the drywall and stucco industries, is a long time client of the The Trowel magazine (published by Point One Media). The company had a static, brochure-ware website that was in need of a new design concept and improved functionality. After an initial site evaluation and consultations with the staff at Flannery Inc., Point One Media was able to design, build and deploy a new, highly functional website for the company. 

Situation
When Flannery Inc. decided it was time to upgrade the company website, the first step was to have Point One Media complete an evaluation of their existing site.  The company knew they needed to make some design changes, but also wanted to improve the customer experience and have a site that is easier to maintain.

Problem
Flannery Inc.'s printed product catalogue consists of a wide array of products and supporting files, and the electronic version – from which Point One Media was to extract text for the site – contains documentation for each product formatted in a separate MS Publisher file.  The existing website was built in simple HTML web pages making it difficult for clients to use and difficult for the company to maintain.  Not only did the company need the graphic design updated, it needed its information in a better format to allow for easier updates and future site development.  The chief issue was finding a way to accommodate and implement the business-critical “shapefinder”  service customers use to locate the exact products they need.

Solution
After a detailed review of the company's situation, the staff at Point One Media proposed a new design concept along with an Inventory Manager and and some easy-to-use Web Page Editors.  The Inventory Manager, one of the most flexible tools of Point One Media's Business Online Service Solutions (BOSS), was used to power the “shapefinder” service on the Flannery Inc. website.  In addition to getting the “shapefinder” issue solved there was also a need for the company to be able to easily update a few of the web pages from time to time.  The BOSS Web Page Editors used on select pages provided a flexible, simple to learn solution that allows the Flannery  Inc. site administrator to easily maintain and update the site.

With a solid development plan in place, the Point One Media staff went to work on site design and on stripping the data and pictures from the MS Publisher  files.  After Flannery Inc. chose a site design from the design concepts provided, the next step was to integrate the design concepts and data into the new website and “shapefinder” tool.  Once the site design and development were complete, the site went through quality control, on to customer training and then to final roll-out.  

Results
The new Flannery Inc. website presents a stronger company image in a more modern looking and functional design.  The site is easier for customers and site visitors to use and is easier for the company to maintain and build upon.   The new technical architecture will also make future updating of the graphic design elements a much easier and less costly process.  The Flannery Inc. website is now well-positioned to provide years of service to the company and its clients and can easily accommodate any future site requirements. Click here to see Flannery Inc.'s new website.

Featured web management tool: Web Page Editor

The Point One Media Business Online Service Solutions (BOSS) modular system and its components are easy to use and enable you to interact hassle-free with your customers, dealers, staff and suppliers. The BOSS will empower your website giving your company more than an online brochure. BOSS modules allow you to quickly and easily manage your website and share important data through any web browser connected to the Internet.

Web Page Editor module - Use this module to keep your site current and fresh by adding pictures and text at your leisure and with no hassles. The best part is the Web Page Editor requires no additional software; simply log in with a user ID and password and you're well on your way to making your website a valuable resource that will keep customers coming back time and again. Call 877.755.2762 or email Point One Media to request an online demonstration

Get an expert analysis of your website

This month we are offering industry businesses the opportunity to have a no-cost, no-obligation website analysis done by our senior technical and marketing experts. This comprehensive report will examine and rate your website in key areas including design and navigation, usability, content, layout, functionality, technology and much more. The report will also include a set of recommendations to address any shortcomings or improvements that should be made to your site.

Again, this is a FREE two-page report designed help you evaluate the success of your company website and to advise you about what can be done to improve your return on investment (ROI).

If you'd like a FREE analysis by our expert staff simply complete the questionnaire below or call us toll-free at 877.755.2762.  All information will be strictly confidential. Once we receive this information we will analyze your site and contact you with further questions.  Once completed we will email you a full report on your site and call you to review our findings. 

Click here to find out more!