Spammers of the world can sometimes send email messages out on behalf of your domain unless you have a Sender Policy Framework (SPF) in place. The SPF has the function of ensuring a server is authorized to send out email on behalf of the domain to which it is assigned.

So let’s explore what happens when you send an email message to someone:

• You (the Sender) send an email to the receiver.
• Receiver’s inbound email server receives the email message and calls its own Sender ID Framework.
• The Sender ID Framework looks up the SPF record of the domain that the Sender is using to transmit the email message.
• The receiving Mail Transfer Agent (MTA) determines if the outbound Mail Server IP address matches IP addresses that are authorized to send mail for the user.

Now what about third party CRMs such as MailChimp, Constant Contact, etc.? Those IP addresses have to be put into the sender’s SPF record so the internet knows they are authorized to send emails out on your behalf.

As always, if you have any questions on this or any other subject, please feel free to contact me.

Warmest Regards,

David E. Wren

President

Computer M.D.

443-579-5760

For the last couple of weeks, we have been addressing the issue of going paperless.  Here are some ideas, technology and tools that will help you implement paperless procedures:

1. Paperless Billing Options

Electronic billing options are an extremely easy way to keep track of and provide much more value than their paper counterparts. The benefits include being able to receive automatic reminders, paying bills on time while avoiding penalties and saving on postage. We send invoices electronically at Computer M.D., thereby saving on envelopes, postage and printing costs.

2. Online Bill Pay Services and Electronic Payments

Banks now offer online payment options and there are online bill pay services that allow a secure account to pay all your bills in one place. There are a variety of different options but the best free one is My Check Free from FiServe.  For other options, check out this article: The Best Bill Pay Services.

3. Scan Old Documents

Using a scanner with an auto-feeder can remove paper clutter by digitizing paper files, eliminating file cabinets and folders, helping you find documents faster, and easily e-mailing documents. There are tons of options out there but here are some good choices to consider based on your needs –

For small businesses, an economical light duty scanner will do the trick. A couple reasonably priced options that get the job done nicely are the Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300 and the NeatDesk. If you are in a high-volume office environment, you will want to go with a professional high-volume scanner.

4. Online Storage and Document Apps

Once you have your documents scanned, it is best to put them into an online storage or document application such as Drop Box or Google Docs. Once uploaded, you will be able to access your documents from anywhere, anytime and easily share them with co-workers, family or friends. You also prevent the possibility of losing all your valuable data if your hard drive should fail.

5. E-signing Documents

You might be asking, “What about all my contracts and legal documents? I still need a way to get them signed.” There are E-signing solutions like DocuSign. This tool allows you to securely send documents and acquire signatures while eliminating or reducing travel and courier expenses.  Nice, right?

6. Document Management Systems

A document management system (also known as an ECM) may be your best option. These systems capture information from a variety of sources such as your scanner or even through many office products like MS Office, account systems, etc. and create a document database that can index a whole variety of information.  On top of that, many systems include distribution controls and workflows so processes that involve documents can be visualized and tracked. Usually when you get a high volume scanner, it will have a document management system included in the package.

For more details on how these suggested ideas, technology and tools can be instrumental in assisting you in your efforts to go paperless, please feel free to contact the Computer M.D.

Warmest Regards,

David E. Wren
President
Computer M.D.
443-579-5760

How much money and time can you save by going paperless?

Last week I gave an overview on the benefits of going paperless.  This week we are going more in-depth with some strategies and steps to take to begin the process.

Here are some statistics I researched regarding the business industry —

Paper not only costs the environment, but using paper over digital records can really hurt your wallet.  The associated cost of printing, copying, postage, storing, and recycling can be as much as 31 times the purchase price of paper.

The average office worker uses way too much paper – around 10,000 sheets in a year. To put that into context, 10,000 sheets of paper weighs about 100 pounds and stacked would stand just over 4 feet.  I have a client that is saving money because he found less expensive paper.  The next step will be to move him toward a paperless environment.  This is where the client will experience the real savings!

For instance, consider for a moment your filing cabinet.  After you read this blog post, you probably will determine why you should do away with the filing cabinet.  A 4-drawer filing cabinet costs about $25,000 to fill and $2,000 per year to maintain.

It is easy to see how we could all benefit from less paper and more organization in our lives.  To help you better comprehend this approach and its benefits, I have put together a list of strategies that would allow you to quickly go paperless or at least limit the amount of paper you are currently using:

1. Paperless Billing Options

2. Online Bill Pay Services and Electronic Payments

3. Scan Old Documents

4. Online Storage and Document Apps

5. E-signing Documents

6. Document Management Systems

Next week I will have the current technology and tools that you can apply to each one of these areas.

What is your reaction to the recommendation of “going paperless” as a way to make you more productive?  Answer this question:  How many times have you spent hours trying to find that one super-important note?  If you had stored that note somewhere on your computer, it would have taken seconds to locate it.

In this week’s blog posting, we are going to explore an aspect of going paperless:  why you need to do it. People working at big corporations might not be able to go completely paperless because companies have their own policies on the use of resources. But, I suggest reading this tip nonetheless.

So…Why Paperless?

Digital is everywhere.

Digital technology has come a long way. For instance, we are now able to store an entire movie in small devices like cell phones and iPADs.  The good thing is that there are tools and apps that can sync your information and your data remains safe and secure.

It reduces clutter.

Clutter-free workspaces or zones not only look better, they portray a positive impact on the mind of the person who will work there. Without the clutter, your mind tends to be more focused and productive.

Better data protection and security.

It can be difficult to recover information from a piece of paper once it has been destroyed.  Data, on the other hand, can be recovered if your computer goes haywire. You could also store your data on the cloud and not ever worry about data loss.

It saves money.

Once you realize how much you will save, not only in the time to find things in paper files, but in terms of the amount of money savings you will recoup when you are able to stop purchasing file folders, paper, toner, etc.

It helps you go green.

There is so much talk about going green and being conscious of what we consume, it makes sense to contribute as much as you can towards preserving natural resources.

Next week, we will talk about other aspects of going paperless, and discuss in more detail some specific tools you can utilize in order to begin (or continue) the process of going paperless.

Warmest Regards,

David E. Wren
President
Computer M.D.
443-579-5760

An important issue a business needs to address when preparing its disaster preparedness plans is an alternate location if you are unable to conduct business at your primary location. A redundant location where you will be able to take your Server, PC, Laptop, any other equipment you may have and/or access to your backup will be critical to keeping your business running. Having such plans in place puts the business in what is known as Level 3 Disaster Preparedness.  Here are several examples of places where you can rent office space (or storage space) from which to work:

1)            Smartly Spaced, LLC -  www.smartlyspaced.com

2)            Ultimate Concierge – http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ultimate-Concierge-LLC/181605378578165?v=info

3)            CEO Business Café -  http://www.ceobusinesscafe.com

Find which will be supportive in getting your business back to ground zero as your office is being repaired, replaced or until you find a new permanent location. You may need to replace some equipment.  Do you have this all in you disaster plan? If you have questions about what you need regarding the creation of redundant systems to keep your business running, please contact Computer M.D.

Next week’s topic: Going Paperless

David E. Wren

President
Computer M.D.
443-579-5760

The third area that a business needs with a backup solution is system redundancy in its systems or network.  Doing so puts the business in what is known as Level 2 Disaster Preparedness.  Redundancy is sometimes needed merely to keep things running or to keep computer and network downtime to a minimum. In this blog post, we will explore the different things that can be put in place in order to achieve necessary redundancy in systems or equipment. Here are some examples of redundancy that you can think about implementing for your network:

1)      Mirror your disks so information is written first to the primary drive or server/pc and then replicates the information to the secondary drive automatically, redundant array of independent disks (RAID 1) or some other redundant array of independent disks (RAID 5);

2)     Have a secondary server with a program that copies data at certain intervals; or

3)     Having an alternate location for storing your recovered data falls under a redundant solution.

If you have questions about what you need regarding the creation of redundant systems to keep your business running, please contact Computer M.D.

Next week’s topic: Disaster Preparedness for small to medium businesses (Part 4) – Relocation.

David E. Wren
President
Computer M.D.
443-579-5760

 This is the second of 4 weeks on the topic of preparing for a disaster. 

The second area that a business needs with a backup solution is the recovery of data BEFORE you need to recover that data and, as we discussed last week, your Level 1 Disaster Preparedness.  We explored the importance of establishing your backup plan.  Once you have the backup running, it is important that your backup system be tested at certain intervals to ensure the data is being backed up correctly.  Check and test your systems before there is an emergency.  The more prepared you are for disaster, the better you will be situated to deal with any contingency when you are faced with adversity.

Here are some steps you should include and questions you should ask when creating a recovery test for your business:

1)      Figure out a time frame to test the backup by doing periodic recoveries.

2)      Calculate how long it takes to complete the recovery.

3)      Determine if you should establish an alternate location for storing your recovered data.

If you have questions about what you need regarding the creation of a backup solution for the data that is critical to your business, please contact Computer M.D.

Next week’s topic: Disaster Preparedness for small to medium businesses (Part 3) – Redundancy

Warmest Regards,

David E. Wren
President
Computer M.D.
4435795760

This topic is going to be covered over the next 4 weeks as it quite involved.

The first item that a business needs is a backup solution or what I call Level 1 Disaster Preparedness.  There are several solutions out there but it must be set so redundancy is built into the backup system. Computer M.D. backs up its data to an external drive and then the critical files that are determined to be vital to the business are then backed up to the cloud (internet), where we are able to retrieve or collaborate that data.

Here are some steps you should include and questions you should ask when creating a backup solution for your business:

1)      Figure out what data is critical and that your business cannot live or function without;

2)      Calculate how long can you be inoperable (computer down; work stoppage) … and you’ll need to determine this in both hours and days;

3)      Determine if you need to keep previous versions of your data so you can see various changes that were incorporated as updates were being made; and

4)      Is there an option for off-site storage of your back-up files?

If you have questions about what you need regarding the creation of a backup solution for the data that is critical to your business, please contact Computer M.D.

Next week’s topic: Disaster Preparedness for small to medium businesses (Part 2) – Recovery

Warmest Regards,

David E. Wren
President
Computer M.D.
4435795760

Is that enough or do you create account after account after account?!

Being a business owner, I have a business account (dwren@cmptrmd.com), two (2) domain email accounts: webmaster@ and info@.  I am contemplating adding another, support@cmptrmd.com.  In addition to these business email accounts, I have a personal email address.  That is three (and possibly the addition of a fourth) business addresses, all inside my business domain name … and the personal email account.

My suggestion to you is this:  Keep it simple. Complicating things by adding more email accounts makes for more passwords, perhaps more confusion and possibly increased frustration.  You will have to remember which bank or credit card account goes with which email address!  Also keep in mind that there is spamming that comes with each individual email address you have … all of which needs to be managed.  The bottom line is this:   think before opening new email addresses and keep it simple!

Please sign up for my free Technology Newsletter on the right..

Warmest Regards,

David E. Wren
President
Computer M.D.
4435795760

How many times have you launched an internet browser such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox or another browser, or installed a new update and then immediately received a POPUP for no apparent reason?  Or perhaps your Computer seems to be operating at a much slower speed than usual or worse, you get the Dreaded BSOD (Blue Screen of Death).  My advice to you — Don’t Panic!!  Write down the code or message that appears on the screen, do a screen capture — if you have a smart phone take a picture of what is on the screen — and if your computer seems extremely slow, keep reading.

Some web based installers, such as McAfee or Adobe, use a pop-up to install software. For the most part, those should be alright to click. Look at the link at the bottom of your browser to see if it is sending you to a correct website. Clicking (even accidentally) on one pop-up may lead to other pop-up ads opening and can sometimes result in Mal-ware being installed on your Computer. You may not know until something like the above happens.

Approximately two weeks ago, my client The Lighthouse Pizza and Subs said his Point of Sale system was moving much more slowly from screen to screen than it normally does and he requested my assistance. Sure enough, he had a process running in the background that was utilizing over 60% of the processor time which in turn slowed his Point of Sale system. I was able to stop the process and remove it, utilizing a program provided through Malwarebytes.org. Then I was able to take down the Point of Sale System, bringing it back up again and sure enough, it was the difference between night and day as screens were once again launching much more quickly.

So don’t panic and don’t click on any unrecognizable or questionable pop-up messages.  Instead, record the code and contact Computer M.D. to get the assistance you need to resolve your issue so that you can be up and running again as quickly as ever.

Please sign up for my Technology Newsletter on the right..

Warmest Regards,

David E. Wren
President
Computer M.D.
4435795760