Password security – truth and myth

Posted on by March 4, 2014
Password security - OpenSure blog

Password security is important, but it’s not everything

This blog post on password security was prompted by this comment:

Ofcom recently revealed that one in four British people still use the same password for all their activities online, suggesting we still have some way to go to fully understand computer security.

…in this article: Exploding the urban myths about how to stay safe online, on the BBC website. It’s worth reading as it covers several commonly held beliefs about online security. Go and change your passwords to something strong, hard to remember and harder to crack, then come back and read this blog post and the BBC article.

me73)hRRs6_3*r)( is an example of a strong password: it’s alphanumeric, has mixed case and includes symbols. It’s not impossible to crack but it’s tricky. It will probably put off the opportunist hacker. If the password is changed every few weeks, and distinctly distinct from your other passwords, you’re doing what you can as an ordinary individual using an ordinary connection and standard server security to employ password security as one element of keeping your online accounts protected.

Pride and Prejudice

Don’t imagine for one moment that you’re not interesting or exciting enough to have your machine hacked, or that because you visit only reputable sites that you aren’t putting yourself or your computer at risk of compromise. As the article explains, your security is not down just to judgments you make about the credentials of the sites you visit. There are many points of vulnerability in websites of all sorts, from loopholes in comment set-ups to default permissions to download web page elements. Much of this is quite opaque to the average home user, who is therefore running risks of which they are blissfully unaware.

Consider this:

all computers, if connected to the internet, are vulnerable

Sadly this is the truth. Password security is just one element of protecting yourself online and it would be irresponsible of us to suggest that all you need to arm yourself against trouble is a string of gobbledegook instead of ‘pa55w0rd’, but it’s shocking to see that such a high proportion of UK internet users are so cavalier about this first line of defence.

Social media outsourcing – the great debate

Posted on by April 26, 2013

I read this article with interest – 30 Terrible Pieces of Social Media Advice You Should Ignore – and agreed with it. Mostly. There’s always room for interpretation, especially when it comes to social media outsourcing.

Social media outsourcing – the dos and don’ts

Our first minor quibble was with point 11) You can outsource your social media. Or in the context of this article, whatever you do, DON’T! I don’t think it’s that simple – in fact, I know it’s not. I agree that social media is about projecting your/company’s image as knowledgeable and as genuine, and on the whole we would encourage any company to look after its own social media. However, some companies, for their own reasons, aren’t keen or prepared to put the time into social media, don’t feel they do or would do it well, or simply can’t yet set aside the time to do it effectively. In this situation social media outsourcing makes a let of sense. What they shouldn’t do, however, is shove the whole lot onto someone and else and say “here, you do it and just send me the bill”. Social media outsourcing does not (or should not) equal social media offloading.

In this situation, the ghost-tweeter needs to have a very clear understanding of the company’s aims in using social media, a good feel for their sector and be absolutely in the groove of the image the company wants to project. Only in this situation can social media outsourcing achieve its desired outcomes. It should be clear about the sort of connections the client wants to make, the networks it would like to be within and the conversations it wants to be part of.  A company can’t abrogate responsibility for social media altogether since they’re the ones who will be dealing with the fallout, and they must be happy with the social media image that is being projected on their behalf. We all ask other professionals, more skilled than ourselves in areas that aren’t our core business, to step in and provide a service for us. I don’t see that social media outsourcing is a great deal different in this respect from outsourcing copywriting or cake decorating.

Planned social media content release

Another element of social media outsourcing is managing release of different types of content. A stately home should indeed be doing its own live updates and day to day announcements, dealing with enquiries, following up complaints and noticing mentions. However, if it has a big anniversary, an important collection or an ongoing project to cover via social media, social media outsourcing is ideal if handled by someone experienced in maximising exposure from this type of opportunity. There’s nothing wrong at all in asking for outside help with that sort of project – it’s just another form of marketing after all, and no-one tells you you shouldn’t outsource your marketing.

Social media help from OpenSure

If you’re not sure how to make the most from Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ etc but aren’t comfortable about outsourcing social media, you could ask for expert help in creating a strategy. Get advice on which social media networks are most effective for your sector and your aims, on how to go about creating attractive profiles and on how to use those social media profiles for best advantage. Armed with a well-thought-out strategy created just for your company, and with access to help when you’re confused, you can keep your social media in-house with confidence.

Megan Baker House – OpenSure’s new Charity of the Year

Posted on by April 26, 2013

OpenSure is delighted to announce that our 2013 charity is:

Megan Baker House logo

Megan Baker House

Megan Baker House secured 56% of the poll, so OpenSure will be making corporate donations, providing publicity and giving any IT help and advice that might be needed.

OpenSure was guided entirely by the poll results, but it was clear from the off that Megan Baker House inspires tremendous passion in the families it helps and was always going to be a strong conbtender. It was heart-warming to read all the comments in support of MBH.

We would gladly have supported any of the organisations in our poll, but it’s lovely to be able to promote a local charity. We very much look forward to visiting MBH soon and seeing for ourselves the work to which our corporate donations will make a modest contribution.

In its own words:

Megan Baker House is a charity providing FREE Conductive Education Services at its centre in Herefordshire for children, teenagers and adults with special educational needs and physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy, head injury, stroke, dyspraxia and early on-set Parkinson’s disease.

In addition we also provide Conductive Education reach-out services at various venues.

There are a number of ways for the public to support the work of this vital charity. MBH can recycle mobile phones, ink cartridges and foreign coins, as well as clothes and toys. It runs numerous events (see details here), runs a raffle and sells various items such as beautiful ruffle scarves and even free range eggs. MBH is entirely reliant on grants and donations so please do what you can to support it.