Glasscubes Collaboration and Project Management Software

Smart-minded creative groups, businesses, charities and other teams are all benefitting from the wave of cloud-based document sharing and project management tools that allow for remote working, team efficiency and major savings on costs.

In particular, there is a very special offering from Glasscubes, whose extremely intuitive and complete setup represents superb value to small and mid-sized businesses. 

So below you'll find a round up of why we at Geekanoids are so impressed with Glasscubes' solution for better collaboration.

• Cost The price structure for Glasscubes is the best in the industry. Even where alternative software packages offer a similar suite of high-quality tools for teamwork, there's no comparison when it comes to how the contracts are managed. Glasscubes provide huge flexibility to their customers (no fixed, long-term contracts), and huge storage at very low prices.

• Security Clearly this is an essential issue for any group that handles sensitive information. Glasscubes' infrastructure for storage and security is operated using 2048 bit encryptionand Interxion's data facility in the heart of London's financial centre.

• Workspaces The hub of a group's online interaction, the workspaces are customisable, and provide huge advantages over more traditional methods for exchanging information and files, messaging and project management. Conversations are threaded and avoid the problematic email experience of important pieces of information getting lost in a long chain of comments. Documents are version-controlled, which means individuals can always be sure that they are accessing or working on the correct amended version of a file. Meanwhile, tasks are reported and easily traced throughout a project's development.

• Customer services Glasscubes' UK-based technical support receives excellent feedback and reviews from customers. They provide email, online chat and telephone support to customers of all sizes (many companies will limit their support for customers that fall below a certain account-size threshold), with a super-quick 3-hour response time.

With such a powerful set of benefits to be gained from moving from a paper-led office culture to a smart online one, the opportunity to enhance a team's ability to interact, develop and close out projects with high-level collaboration software will be an exciting prospect for team leaders and business owners everywhere.

How to improve your company’s email system

The development of email has revolutionised the face of contemporary business, offering companies a fast, effective and borderless form of communication. The service has evolved in leaps and bounds since its early stages, with modern day users enjoying increased efficiency and flexibility that has never before been possible. Yet despite the cutting edge advancements, many companies still lag behind when it comes to making the most of email communication.

To help you improve your company’s email system, we’ve come up with this useful collection of suggestions that will ensure you, your employees and your business are taking full advantage of electronic mail.

Email security

While email offers unparalleled convenience and efficiency, the move to digital communications also presents a range of complex security threats. From malware, spam and phishing to DDoS attacks, data leakage and social engineering assaults, inbound and outbound email borne threats are a serious issue that every company should address.

A stringent security solution is particularly vital for companies dealing with sensitive dataand classified customer information such as credit card details or personal health records. The key is to enlist the services of a trusted email security provider with proven experience in managing risks without jeopardising productivity.

Large file sending

Despite the extensive benefits of email, many providers have not yet mastered the art of offering users large file sending capacity. It is an issue continually faced by email users who often struggle to share important content with email contacts due to pre-set file size sending limits. This forces users to resort to unofficial consumer applications, most of which lack adequate security, policy enforcement and archiving protection.

This not only endangers the security of company files but can also break serious compliance regulations. Mimecast offers an intelligent solution to the wide felt issue, its large file sending service providing a secure and reliable answer to bypassing corporate restrictions on file size limits. Compatible with Exchange and Office 365, the service allows IT departments to retain control while offering employees complete flexibility over email operations.  

Email archiving

With the rise of email has come the increased need to keep digital records in place of traditional paper documents. This is a critical part of modern day business, with some sectors legally required to uphold comprehensive email archiving records. Barclays Capital Inc is the latest company to fall victim to non-compliance offence, the enterprise was recently fined US$3.75 million by the The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for failing to preserve electronic records, emails and instant messages. As well as regulatory compliance, instant access to email history also plays an important role in maximising employee productivity and easing the burden on email servers. As such, it is critical for companies to have an effective email archiving strategy in place. An increasing number of businesses are turning to cloud archiving technology, won over by its efficiency, cost effectiveness and unmatched flexibility.  

By following these three simple tips, you can empower your company with a secure, efficient and compliant email system that will help your business reach its full potential.

Tips to Reduce Email Spam

Spam has now become synonymous with e-mail, as it once was with the tinned foodstuff. If you have an email account, chances are that you’ve got a spam problem. These days, spam filters in email inboxes are far more sophisticated than they used to be. For instance, if you already had an email address back in say, 2001, you’ll have noticed the change in the amount of unwanted emails in your inbox.

However, as you also may have noticed, there are more and more ways spammers have found to bypass your email security, getting their junk into your inbox. With the swift evolution of the internet over the last five years, it’s important to know how you can keep your inbox safe from the pernicious ways of spammers.

Don’t post your email address on your website

This is a critical error that, surprisingly, a lot of web users still make. You should never post your email address or give it out freely online unless you’re sure that the site you are submitting it to is totally secure. Spammers utilise software that scans the internet for wayward email addresses that are hovering around freely.

If you own a website and you want to have your e-mail address on it, it’s best to use a form that visitors can fill out and email you instead. Never reveal your email address to the sender. Alternatively, you could post a graphic of your email address, so it cannot be scanned and ‘read’ by spam software.

Don’t reply to suspicious emails from Gumtree or Craigslist 

Public online classifieds sites like Gumtree and Craigslist are rife with spammers wanting to infiltrate your inbox. These websites try to get around spammers by creating a temporary email address for you when you post an ad, which then forwards any replies you get to your actual email address.

Unfortunately, spammers collect these temporary email addresses that are created for you and mail them, hoping to get a reply. The idea is that you’ll open the email, thinking it’s from someone answering your ad. The moment you reply to them, they’ll have your real email address.

Be safe when you use the internet

Being wary of spammers getting hold of your email address is one thing, but unfortunately, their methods evolve with extreme frequency. They design viruses that infect your computer with the sole purpose of collecting your email address, or even use your email address to send out spam without your knowledge. They can even collect the email addresses that are stored in your contact list.

To protect yourself, you should run virus checks regularly - every day if necessary. Make sure you have a firewall set up, too. Alternatively you can look to an email cloud security provider  that can accomplish all security tasks for you, like Mimecast.

Fighting spam successfully often requires a degree of instinct which you will build up over time once you start becoming accustomed to the various schemes employed by spammers. Armed with instinct as well as anti-virus software and sophisticated spam filters, you won’t have to worry about falling victim to their plans.

Intel to buy security software startup for $20M

Intel has agreed to buy a security software startup for $20 million, boosting its capabilities outside of its core processor business. 

The Santa Clara, Calif., chip giant has reached a deal to acquire Sensory Networks, spokesmen from the two companies confirmed to CNET on Tuesday. Both declined to provide deal terms, but Intel said revenue contributions from the acquisition are not material to the company. The Sydney Morning Herald, which earlier reported the news, said Intel will pay about $20 million for the startup...

Read the full story here... Source: CNET

Is Apples Touch ID Secure

Earlier today I posted a video on the Geekanoids Channel, which essentially was meant to be a bit of fun. However, on looking over the claims Apple made during their Keynote announcement of this technology, their video highlighting it and their website, it has made me question just how secure Touch ID is.

Essentially, this new technology is meant to provide iPhone 5s users a way of securing their device, which can then only be unlocked by their fingerprint(s). Supposedly much more secure than a password.
During the keynote presentation, Phil Schiller said that the sensor scans through the the LIVE layers of your skin. This was also highlighted during their video presentation on the feature, which adds that the sensor essentially takes a "high resolution image of your fingerprint from the sub-epidermal layers of your skin".

From the various claims, I would imagine many people, like myself, were convinced this offers a very high level of security. The words "Live Layers" surely mean that the finger unlocking the iPhone 5s has to be on a living person and not an inanimate object. Surely Apple had thought of this. According to Apple, Touch ID only works by taking a high resolution images of the "sub-epidermal layers of your skin". If this is the case, why does the technology get fooled by a hotdog (aka wiener, sausage, frankfurter)? Surely, the hotdogs that I purchased from the supermarket to make my video were not alive! They certainly were not barking, mooing, or clucking. If such manufactured objects can be used to fool the system, then surely identical objects could be used to unlock multiple devices. I can see it not being long before Touch ID is truly hacked and cracked.

I have brought this to Apples attention, giving them the right to reply, in the hope they will further explain the technology. If we get a reponse, the update will be published here.