Reid Business Services

Shell Shock Vulnerability

2014-09-30T16:17:52Z

As you may have seen announced on mainstream media, a vulnerability that affects the majority of the world’s internet servers was disclosed on Wednesday.

“Shell Shock” is a vulnerability in a command interpreter found on the majority of Linux and UNIX systems. The vulnerability could allow an attacker to execute commands remotely which could result in data loss or system modification.

Clients of Reid Business Services enjoy regular backups and 24×7 monitoring that protects against such vulnerabilities and mitigates any potential damage. We take the security of your data very seriously.

We have verified that our servers have been properly patched where necessary and are not vulnerable to this attack and confirmed that no accounts were compromised. We will keep you posted if there are any further developments on this issue.

Update: Apple has released a patch for OS X: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT6495

Additional information:

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Server Updates

2014-06-27T17:18:10Z

On July 1^st 2014 our server will be undergoing some updates to ensure continued performance, security and compatibility with web applications. There may be some short periods of downtime during the updates and during compatibility testing. We will be testing all our clients’ sites to ensure everything is working properly. If you happen to notice any new issues on your site, just let us know and we will get it fixed up right away!

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Heartbleed Bug

2014-06-27T17:05:08Z

At Reid Business Services we take security seriously and have thoroughly investigated the implications of the Heartbleed Bug for our clients and services and have verified that we are minimally affected:

Websites: Our web hosting servers were not vulnerable at any time.
Domains: Our domain registrar’s system is not vulnerable.
SSL Certificates: None of the secure servers used by our clients that we currently maintain were vulnerable and so the secret keys remain uncompromised.
Internal Tools: None of the internal tools and services that we currently utilize are vulnerable.
Email: Only one outbound mail server with one host was vulnerable and was patched on Tuesday night and new SSL certificates issued. Our primary email server was not vulnerable, but new SSL certificates have been issued as part of a blanket implementation.

So what does this mean for our clients?

Some users may be prompted to accept a new SSL certificate in their email clients. This is expected and not a cause for concern and is a reassurance that our service providers are on top of the situation.
Our clients that are using the mail service that did have one vulnerable outbound server will be contacted individually with additional details and procedures to change their email passwords.

In summary, we do not have reason to believe that any of our systems were compromised but due diligence and “an abundance of caution” dictate that we recommend that users of the one system that could theoretically have been compromised change their email passwords.

We feel it is important to keep you informed on these issues and welcome any additional questions or concerns you may have regarding the services we provide.

References:
http://www.openssl.org/news/secadv_20140407.txt
https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2014-0160
http://heartbleed.com

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Bone up on your “Soft Skills” in only 15 minutes per week

2018-04-12T06:41:25Z

If you are like many business owners, you have trouble keeping up with the “soft” skills required to operate your business. You may have the all the technical or practical knowledge but when it comes to time management, conflict resolution, marketing trends and other soft skills you may be falling short.

It is with the greatest intentions that we purchase the hottest business book, set it on the night stand, load it into our kindle or even download the audio version, but when it comes right down to it who has 10 or even 5 hours to read through a 300-500 page book these days?

Many top CEO’s have their assistants read these books and prepare short summaries for them, saving them hours. Sounds great! If you can afford to pay someone 5, 10 or even 15 hours to read through the 300-500 page book and then prepare a summary for you.

Business Book Summaries is a service I found that does exactly that (but for a lot less than a personal assistant.) Every week for year a new book summary is delivered to your inbox. Also included with the subscription is access to their archive of over 800 book summaries. Each summary is about 8-14 pages long and covers all of the main points. People will have no idea you never read the whole book.

So now you can keep up-to-date, join all the cooler and boardroom conversations with confidence, learn some invaluable business knowledge, and brush up on your “soft skills” in only 15 minutes per week. If you are still having trouble finding 15 minutes a week you can download the audio versions to listen on your way to the office!

Buy your self some valuable time at www.bizsum.com.

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Business Analysis in Web Design

2018-04-12T06:39:53Z

The term business analysis refers to the discipline of identifying needs within a business, and determining the best solution.

In a any web design project the goal should always be to meet a business need. The need for more customers, the need for more sales, the need to distribute information, store information, collect information etc. The different needs of a business that can be satisfied with a website or web based application are endless.

Working with business owners and stakeholders, a business analyst determines what these needs are, and helps to determine the best solution for these needs. Acting as the liaison between the business and the technical team, the business analyst can speak to both and ensure that requirements and specifications are communicated accurately, and any technical constraints or challenges are transmitted back to the business in business terms.

A web design project has many elements aside from the actual design of the site. Things such as integration with social media, integration with email marketing software, optimizing your site for search engines, merchant accounts for e-commerce solutions, privacy requirements for collecting data etc. are not the expertise of the graphic designer or web programmer, and are often overlooked when working with just a graphic designer.

The Business Analyst knows what is needed to ensure the success of your web project, understands your business goals as a whole, and can coordinate with the experts in each of these fields to bring all of the required elements together. By acting as the liaison between the client and the technical team the client is kept up to date on the progress of all teams and can identify any potential integration issues by keeping an eye on the big picture.

Depending on the size of project a separate project manager may be assigned to develop and maintain the project plan. In the case of smaller projects the business analyst is trained and will act as the project manager as well.

An astonishing number of web projects are a failure as the clients’ overall business needs and goals are not properly understood or delivered by the design firm. By simply asking around you will find all too many dissatisfied business owners with a new website that is not meeting their needs. There are hundreds of designers out there – great at design – not so great as business. Make your business needs the first priority in your next web project and hire a business analyst specializing in web solutions.

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Agile Web Design

2018-04-12T06:41:36Z

Agile web development is more efficient and powerful than other models. We incorporate face-to-face communication, which includes the client as part of the team. Agile web development uses project managers, and business analysts, to place emphases on clear goals, planning, and iterative delivery. Agile web development ensures successful completion at the end of each iteration.

Due to the regular involvement and feedback of our clients, tasks such as planning, development, design, coding, testing, etc. are done simultaneously, and are driven by the client’s demands producing greater results and client satisfaction. This also reduces the development cycle time.

Through the use of online collaboration tools, constant communication is maintained, reducing the all too common “surprises”.

Agile web design puts the client and the business first, creating lasting effective results with greater return on investment.

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Just Right Renovations

2015-03-30T13:53:01Z

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Antigonish Women Entrepreneurs

2015-03-30T13:52:30Z

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Summa Yacht Charters

2015-03-30T13:53:32Z

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Passionate Nights

2015-03-30T13:51:59Z

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