Corporate Workflow Solutions

Monitor what others are saying about Your Company Online

admin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:49:35 +0000

In today’s online world, it is imperative to monitor your company name online and be informed to what people are saying about your company. I want to know when my company is mentioned in the news or on someone’s blog. This is a how-to to do just that using Google Alerts.

Monitor Your Company Name
Google has a service called ‘Google Alerts’ that will send you an email when your search term is matched for an alert to be created. For example, I want to know when my company name is mentioned by someone. Go to Google Alerts and you will see this screen where you will setup the criteria for your alert.

Notice I have enclosed my company name in quotes so the entire name must be matched. I do not want to be receiving alerts unless it specifically matches the entire name.

Next select the result type, frequency, and how selective your want your alert. You can always tweak this later if you are unsure.

Finally enter the email address where the alerts should be sent.

Monitor your domain name
I also monitor when my domain name ‘corp-workflow.com’ was mentioned in someone’s blog. To do this, just create a second alert and select ‘blogs’ for the Result Type.

More useful Google Search Tricks can be found here

Use color to identify mail messages in Outlook

admin — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 15:59:30 +0000

Have you ever overlooked an important email from your boss or a family member? Here is an article that describes how to use color to identify mail messages to and from specific people in Outlook.

Read the article

What is a firewall and why do I need it?

admin — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:19:39 +0000

A firewall is a combination of hardware and software that prevents unauthorized use of the network it protects.The most common use is to stop your computer or network being abused by the less respectable denizens of the internet.

Hardware and software? Is a firewall a program or a separate box? It can be either. A separate box provides the best protection because it stops any intruders before they even reach your computer(s) and is what I recommend for all businesses. Many routers have a built in firewall, but I have had many tech support people for the internet service providers turn if off for troubleshooting with the computer owner and then forget to turn it back on . In my opinion a hardware based firewall is best.

I only have one computer, can I run the firewall on that? Yes, you can and quite effectively. Although a software firewall is not quite as secure as a separate box, it still does a very good job of keeping out intruders.

Do I really have anything worth stealing? More than you can imagine. For example, your browser cache could indicate which financial sites you visit. It will not have passwords, but it could give valuable clues to a thief. Your emails contain personal information. Then, there is the matter of your internet connection. A spammer could use your connection to send spam, which could result in your ISP blacklisting or closing your account. Neither of these require administrator access to your computer, just standard user rights.