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Friday 9 December 2005

Newsletter Issue 106, December 2005


Sam Young Newsletter

Issue 106, December 2005
Hi guys,
Are you doing all you can to make your PC safe? Check out Are You Safe Online below to find out.
Tourism is one of our largest GDP contributors, so see what the Tourism Growth to 2011 will be like for what the sector has in store for us. 
Don't forget, if you want to be taken off my mailing list, click here to send me a reply e-mail and I will remove your name.

Are You Safe Online?

New Zealand's internet safety group, NetSafe, has published the results of their 2005 Home Computer Security Survey on their website at http://www.netsafe.org.nz/research/netsafe_home_computer_security_survey_summary.aspx.
The results are - sadly - as dismal as you would expect:
  • 70% of respondents don't have the net basics in place (ie auto-updated - or manually updated each online day - operating system, firewall and antivirus software)
  • 36% don't have an updated antivirus program & 41% don't have an updated firewall
  • 71% don't backup important files at least once a month
  • 72% use credit cards online; 55% use them 'occasionally'. 49% of those who use credit cards online do not have the net basics in place
  • 93% who use credit cards to buy from online sites said they DON'T look for all three of the recommended secure transaction indicators (ie the padlock symbol, a valid security certificate, and a change in the website address from http:// to https://)
  • 42% reported that their computer had been attacked or infected resulting in a loss of files, data, and/or operating difficulties. 3% had lost money due to online fraud or email scams
So. If you think that you fall down on any of those issues above, what you need to do to be safe online is quite simple:
  1. Download & install a firewall. Zone Alarm is (a) free for personal use, and (b) easy to use and update. Get it at http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/catalog/products/ (you may need to click on the "Zone Alarm" link in the Navigation bar on the left). Set your firewall to update each time you are online
  2. Download & install antispyware. There are a lot of antispyware programmes, and you need at least two as none of them cover most of the range of spy-/mal-/adware in the wild. In my opinion, the best options - and I have all four - are:
  3. Auto-update your Antivirus software. Either set your AV to update automatically, or remember to do it FIRST each time you go online
  4. Update your Windows Operating System. It is probably easier for most of you to set this to happen automatically, each time you go online
  5. Don't open email attachments from unknown senders. If you think the email is legitimate, email the sender back and ask if they sent you an attachment
  6. BACKUP YOUR DATA REGULARLY! Set yourself up with two or three sets of rewriteable CDs, zip discs, removable hard drives or tape drive and back up at regular intervals. Write down what data you would need should your PC go pear-shaped and then plan how you will safeguard that information (and remember that your contact information is probably one of they key, critical data sets that you must protect)
  7. 'Think safe' when using Credit Cards. Use only trusted sites with your credit card details, or if you want to buy from anywhere else, use Paypal as the intermediary. Much safer. Only enter your credit card number when the web prefix is secure (ie reads "https://www." etc) and look out for the padlock on the bottom of the page. Your browser will let you know if the site's security certificate is up to date (if isn't, don't enter your details!)
Another thing you can do is to delete your cookies regularly. This will mean that you always have to enter your user name and password for website logins, but it is generally considered to be safer practice. I delete all my cookies other than my Google search preference cookie weekly. Find your cookies at c:/Documents & Settings/[Your Logon Name]/Cookies
In the immortal words of the Hill Street Blues; "Let's be careful out there".

Tourism Growth to 2011

Tourism plays a very important part in the New Zealand economy; it is an important industry sector as it contributes 18.3% of NZ's export earnings, 9.9% of employment and 9.4% of GDP. 
In September the Tourism Research Council New Zealand (TRCNZ) released new forecasts, showing ongoing growth over the entire tourism industry until 2011.
Some key points about tourism flows in and out of New Zealand over the next six years are:
  • International tourism numbers into New Zealand will grow by 37.5% to reach NZD$3.21 million by 2011
  • By 2011 international tourism expenditure will be worth NZD$9.6 billion to our country
  • International visitor nights will grow by 33.4% to reach NZD$59.5 million
  • Domestic visitor nights will grow by 7% to reach NZD$62.3 million
However, TRCNZ predict that domestic tourism will decline until 2007, then slowly grow again after New Zealand employees' annual leave increases from three to four weeks; so the growth in domestic visitor nights will actually be greater than 7% between 2008 and 2011.
Additionally, the value of tourism spend to Nelson Tasman is pitched to increase over the next six years from NZD$404 million to NZD$568 million; an increase of 40.5% by 2011.
To view the entire forecast data, go to TRCNZ's website at http://www.trcnz.govt.nz/Topics/Forecasts+and+Trends/2005+-+2011+Forecasts+Summary/

What Is Your 'Credibility Quotient'?

On the American Management Association's website this month, they ran a short self-test for people to take to find out how credible those around them, find them.
To find out how the people who work with you would rate your credibility, answer each question using the following scale of 1-5 (5=Always 4=Often 3=Sometimes 2=Not often enough 1=Never)
People in my organisation would say:
 1. I am transparent. I am clear, open and honest.
_____
 2. I am clear and understandable in the directions and feedback I give.
_____
 3. When I make a promise, I keep it.
_____
 4. If I fail to do it, I own up to it and apologise.
_____
 5. I “walk the talk”—I embody the values I ask others to live up to.
_____
 6. I never ask people to do something I wouldn’t be willing to do myself.
_____
 7. If I set a policy or make a decision, everyone knows I’m behind it 100%.
_____
 8. When I set a policy or make a decision, it’s for the right reasons.
_____
 9. If someone tells me something in confidence, it stays in confidence.
_____
10. I freely trust others around me, particularly those whom I need to trust me.
_____
 
Total score: _____
 
How to interpret your score:
  • 41-50—You are probably an incredible leader!
  • 35-40—You probably have high credibility.
  • 30-34—You probably have moderate credibility.
  • 20-29—You exhibit signs of low credibility.
  • Below 19—“Ouch!”
Have fun with it :-)

TLAs for SMEs

Here are this newsletter's TLAs for you;
  • OEM, Original Equipment Manufacturer. A company that supplies equipment to other companies to resell or incorporate into another product using the reseller's brand name. This term is also used to describe cheaper versions of software that come preinstalled on a PC (usually Microsoft products)

Please feel free to email me with any TLAs that you want to get the bottom (meaning!) of.

Tips, Short+Hot Keys
And the last of our Outlook hot key list, this time we look at all you can do with the plain old alphabet keys with Alt, Shift, Ctrl. In this newsletter we take letters U to Z;
  • Outlook "Apply or remove an underline" Ctrl & U
  • Outlook "Create a new Task request or open an existing Task report in Outlook" Ctrl & Shift & U
  • Outlook "Paste" Ctrl & V
  • Outlook "Move item" Ctrl & Shift & V
  • Outlook "Cut" Ctrl & X
  • Outlook "Show Go to Folder dialog box" Ctrl & Y
  • Outlook "Copy item" Ctrl & Shift & Y
  • Outlook "Undo last action (NB: some actions, like Shutdown, cannot be undone)" Ctrl & Z
  • Outlook "Clear formatting" Ctrl & Shift & Z

Hot Linx
Do cold, wet feet make you more likely to catch a cold? The answer is yes, and you can read about it at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/4433496.stm
If you need a biography of a world leader, artist, writer, actor or musician, then this is the - admittedly mostly American - site for you at http://www.brain-juice.com/cgi-bin/browse.cgi
If you are having trouble with long URLs 'breaking' when you email links to others, then this site for trimming URLs down to a manageable length will be very handy at http://snipurl.com/
Want online storage for your photos? Then check out Yahoo's photo archival & e-album site at http://www.flickr.com/
                                Catch you again soon!! E-mail your suggestions to me here

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