To recap, under the Red Flag Rule, the FTC had been interpreting “creditor” broadly by including
organizations that defer payment for goods or services and bill clients later. This led to
widespread concern that the Red Flag Rule would be applicable to entities not typically thought
of as creditors, including law firms and health care providers.

The Red Flag Clarification Act exempts such entities by revising the definition of creditor to
exclude creditors “that advance funds on behalf of a person for expenses incidental to a service
provided by the creditor to that person.”

Essentially, the Red Flag Clarification Act limits the scope of the Red Flag Rule to creditors that
regularly and in the ordinary course of business obtain or use consumer reports in connection
with a credit transaction; furnish information to consumer reporting agencies in connection with
a credit transaction; or advance funds to a person based on the person’s obligation to repay
the funds.

The legislation does include a provision that would allow other types of creditors to be subject
to the Red Flag Rule if the agency with authority over the creditor (such as federal banking
agencies) determines that the creditor has accounts that are subject to a reasonably
foreseeable risk of identity theft.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

Learn how setting up your own private network can radically improve, if not transform, the way you do business. The world is flat. That is if you ask New York Times columnist and Pulitzer Prize winning author Thomas Friedman, who wrote a book of the same name describing just how the world got flatter and flatter thanks to a whole host of factors, one of which is technology. Technology—most notably computers, telecommunication devices, and the Internet—has allowed individuals and organizations to create, communicate, and collaborate like never before.

One question that always pops up, however, is how to maintain privacy and security in this
brave new world of greater transparency and connectedness. Until recently, the only way was
through cumbersome and expensive means. Companies, especially large corporations,
previously resorted to setting up their own infrastructure (think miles and miles of cable,
satellite uplinks, or large line-of-sight communication links) or leasing infrastructure from
telecommunication companies, just to be able to set up and maintain their own private and
secure telecommunication networks that can span large distances.

With the advent of the Internet, however, setting up private networks has become much
cheaper and easier. Virtual Private Networks, or VPNs, allow companies to create their own
secure, private networks within the public network using technologies such as encryption and
other security mechanisms to ensure that only authorized users can access the network and the
data within. The Internet is used only as the transport layer, radically reducing cost and time to
set up because of its ubiquity, simplicity, and scalability.

Examples of how a VPN can benefit your organization include the ability to:

• Allow your people to work anywhere at any time—as long as they have Internet access and
  VPN support.
• Link together your offices and employees anywhere in the world, securely and cost
  effectively.
• Extend your operations around the world—sell online, move goods across borders, recruit
  talent from anywhere

Can you think of other ways a VPN can help you and your organization? Let us know. Thinking of
setting one up right away? Call us and find out how we can help.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

As smartphone technology continues to improve in terms of providing connectivity, it follows that your internet marketing strategies must be able to accommodate these advances. One strategy you can employ is using QR codes, a simple and effective way to market yourself. Smartphones are becoming more and more popular these days, as both hardware and software developers add features to phones and operating systems that make them much more appealing to potential buyers. And as smartphone technology continues to improve in terms of providing more connectivity to the user – not only through the mobile network but to the internet as well – it follows that your internet marketing strategies will need to incorporate the smartphone factor.

One simple strategy that you can employ is using QR Codes, or Quick Response Codes, which
are simple 2D barcodes that can be scanned using a smartphone. Numerous scanning
applications are available to read these barcodes, and once read the code will redirect the user
to any link you set up. QR Codes are also fairly easy to create, making them a great on-the-fly
strategy if you want to market something quickly and easily. An additional strength of QR
Code-driven marketing lies in the volume of people who use smartphones today – which gives
you a large audience from the get go.

For such a small piece of code, there are countless options for how you can use them to your
advantage. If you are interested in learning more about using QR Codes, give us a call and we
can come up with several strategies that can cater to your specific needs.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

Security firms and experts are finding out that since people tend to be more complacent security-wise when using a Mac, they make for pretty ripe pickings for unscrupulous online scammers, fraudsters, and thieves. Macs are famous for a lot of things – some true, some false. For instance, many people believe that Macs are virus- and malware-proof – but unfortunately that’s not true. Just because many of the malware and viruses out there are targeted toward the Windows OS, Macs are not impervious to attack as well.

And the operative word is “targeted”. Security firms and experts are learning that since people
tend to be more complacent security-wise when using a Mac, they make for pretty ripe pickings
for unscrupulous online scammers, fraudsters, and thieves. Not only are more security flaws
being discovered on the Mac OS and programs, but also more viruses are being created that
specifically target those vulnerabilities.

Of course, the scale of the threat can be debated – but while it is true that more viruses and
malware are designed for Windows, it’s also true that some of these viruses can be applicable
to Macs as well, in addition to those specifically designed to attack the Mac OS platforms.

If you aren’t convinced, then this video might just turn you into a believer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTeSYmQS820&feature=player_embedded. Here, a Mac
anti-virus program catches a would-be Trojan. And that’s just one of the many hundreds of
thousands of Mac viruses and malware out there.

Is it sound business practice to take risks with your system security? Whether you use Windows
or Mac, you need malware protection – because too often all it takes is a single incident to bring
your whole system on its knees. Give us a call and we’ll be happy to discuss your options with
you and offer a tailor-made security solution that is guaranteed to keep you safe, regardless of
which OS you’re using.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.