Summer vacations and travel are a great way to relax and unwind.  For many, work follows them no matter how far they try and get away.  Before setting out the beach chair or embarking on that white water rafting trip, here are a few ideas on keeping your technology in order while on the road.

Back-up
Make sure you have a good back up of all your devices.  If something were to happen to your technology while you are traveling it will be much easier to recover that data when you return.  Cloud-based back-up systems can also provide some limited access to files that you may have forgotten while traveling, too.

Stay protected
Some travelers are required get vaccinations before they go overseas.  Tech savvy travelers should get the latest virus updates installed for their systems, too.  Be sure to turn on the password protection options for your electronic devices.  This keeps the data on your devices much safer if they were to get lost or stolen.

Mark your stuff
Your name was written all over your gear back when you went to summer camp.  Well your mom had it right and be sure to label your equipment with your cell phone number.  That number on your electronic devices will be the easiest way for that good Samaritan to call you with your lost equipment. 

Stay connected
Before you roll on down the highway, scout out where the best Wi-Fi hot spots will be during your trip.  Many major chains are providing free access, knowing where they are before you take to the friendly skies can make a big difference when trying to stay connected.  Be careful to use only trusted Wi-Fi hot spots.  That "Free Wi-Fi" at the airport may not be as friendly as it seems.

Power-up
Bring the proper power cords and an extra extension cord for your smartphone, cameras and laptops. Being properly equipped for power during your vacation can make a big difference in getting that access you expect verses blowing a few hours of your precious time off looking for Dell power adapters near Old Faithful.

Founded in 1993, Ease Technologies is an IT Support and technology services firm providing Managed Services in Baltimore, Washington DC and Virginia.

On Saturday, March 31, Ease led a Cloud Computing Seminar for members of the Maryland Society of Accountants.  The event was held at the Linganore Winecellars in Mount Airy, Maryland.  Attendees got a chance to hear from Matt Schmidt and Jason Shirdon about topics, issues and solutions facing small businesses regarding cloud computing.  Other topics included a discussion of iPads, Android and other mobile devices.

The event included wine tasting, food and a tour of the Linganore Winecellars.  A special thanks to Sandy Steinwedel and Maryland Society of Accountants for partnering with Ease for this event.



Ease Technologies is an IT consulting and technology services firm that supports clients and markets seeking flexibility, creative talent and high reliability in a partner. Our expertise and current service offerings include IT Managed Services, Deployment Services, Software Development, Education Consulting, as well as  IT Staffing. We have two decades of experience serving clients across a variety of industries and varying sizes from small businesses to large global organizations. 

It seems like every tech company is now offer some form of cloud based service.  These companies are now beginning to battle for "The Cloud."

CNET recently reported, "Microsoft is targeting a host of improvements for SkyDrive, potentially giving iCloud and similar services some healthy competition."

For members of the Maryland Society of Accountants (MSA), Ease will be providing a seminar discussing the challenges and answering questions regarding cloud computing.

MSA Members can take the afternoon off from taxes and enjoy the beautiful scenery while sipping a glass of award winning Maryland wine.

The festivities will begin at 1:00 pm with an hour of wine tasting and cheese tasting.  At 2:00 pm, relax and enjoy a two hour CPE presentation on Cloud Computing by EASE Technologies.  We will conclude with a tour of the Linganore Winery in Frederick, MD. 

Join Ease Technologies and the MSA on Saturday, March 31st, while we discuss cloud computing at the Linganore Winery in Frederick, MD.

To register, call the MSA Office at 1-800-922-9672 or email: heather@msacct.org

Over the last year there have been several incidents of hackers gaining access to websites like Zappos, Sony's PlayStation Network and the CIA.  In some cases millions of id's, credit card numbers and passwords were potentially compromised. Even with all the news about hackers getting access to these systems, the #1 most commonly used password across the Internet is still “12345678.”

Take some time to follow a few simple steps and help prevent hackers from gaining access to your personal data.

Be Complex 
A combination of upper case, lower case, symbols and numbers.  Most cyber experts suggest a minimum of eight characters passwords, but using fourteen characters or more is something they encourage.  Lean towards random multi-words like bright rose if you must and turn them into something like bR!6hTR0$e.  Better yet, think of even more random sequence of non-sensible characters.

Think Different
Don't use the same password across all the sites you access.  It would be very troubling to have your Facebook account compromised, but foolish to give those same thugs access to you bank, email, and credit cards, too. 

Get Help
Plenty of people still write down their passwords and hide them under a mouse pad, keyboard or worse post them on a monitor. Don't write them on a piece of paper! Use a program to keep track of all you passwords. AgileBits offers an application called 1Password that provides round-trip access to all your password data between your laptops, iPad’s, smartphones and other systems. It is a quick and easy way to securely store all your passwords while at the office, home or on the road.  

Think Frequency
Just like you hear about you about testing your smoke alarms at regular intervals, take the time to schedule and change you passwords.  Most security groups encourage that you change your passwords every 90 days.

Local Lockdown
Require login access on all your computers and mobile devices.  There are plenty of stored passwords that are automatically held in your Internet browsers.  Eliminate those compromises by enabling the auto-locking features that protect those devices after several minutes of inactivity.

While these steps don’t stop hackers from gaining access to companies holding your information, it does help protect a variety of security points that you control.

Ease Technologies is an IT consulting and technology services firm that supports clients and markets seeking flexibility, creative talent and high reliability in a partner. Our expertise and current service offerings include IT Managed Services, Deployment Services, Software Development, Education Consulting, as well as  IT Staffing. We have two decades of experience serving clients across a variety of industries and varying sizes from small businesses to large global organizations.  

A majority of employees are now connecting personal mobile devices to corporate networks. A significant number of departments are striking forward with their own initiatives that include these devices, as well.  Trends show that organizations are rapidly adapting projects for iPad’s and other tablets.  Findings from the recent CIO Insight survey 2011 Emerging Technology Adoption Trends Study, suggest 9 out of 10 in organizations are in some stage of adopting tablets for employee use. The Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and new internal projects suggest there is host of new challenges that should be dealt with proactively.

The best mobile support starts with an updated IT policy that recognizes the position for corporate and personal mobile devices.  Keep in mind that a policy needs to include consideration for what is acceptable and what is unacceptable with tablets and smartphones.  This may mean simply revisiting and updating your current IT use policy or establishing a separate policy for mobile workers.  

Communicate with other departments to find out what issues already may being problematic for the organization.   For example, reach out to Human Resources and your General Counsel to find out what new challenges have arisen recently with disciplinary and termination issues. Check in with Finance to understand the current expense policies, as they may vary by department.  Many organizations need to follow very specific laws such as HIPAA, SOX and others.

Create a mobile policy that directs employees to protect confidential company assets including intellectual, data, and communications.  Better define that information with examples that are pertinent to your business: social security numbers, healthcare records, payroll, bank documents, or customer data.

Explain not only what kind of information is relevant, but share what types of issues end users need to be wary of including: virus, theft, electronic invasion and loss.

It also needs to be clear if the organization will or will not be backing up or managing the data on these devices.  Some organizations may need to be transparent about GPS tracking and access to that data that resides on these devices.  Specific text may need to cover camera phone use, texting will drive, and even harassment. 

Ultimately there must be clear responsibility established by the organization for the end user in:
• Following all local, state and federal laws
• Securing devices with passwords
• Communication steps in case of loss or data compromise
• Be clear with personally devices that the individually is responsible for their use of the phone, SMS and data plans.  

Provide a list of guidelines for use with wireless access points, mail, white-listed apps and cloud storage for all employees to follow.  This may include an explanation of steps that would be taken if an employee is terminated.    Each organization is different and the constraints of each policy will reflect that as well.