Want to Lower the True Cost of Ownership on Your Business Equipment?

If you've been thinking about buying or leasing new equipment, 2010 IS THE YEAR TO DO IT, due to the extension in enhanced Section 179 limits made by the 'HIRE Act of 2010'.)

Businesses can now write-off up to $250,000 of qualified equipment and software during the 2010 tax year - subject to a phase-out if a business has capital expenditures exceeding $800,000.

Click here for more information:

Section 179 Information

We'll provide you with a free consultation and extend finance solutions so you can acquire the business equipment you need.  Toll Free: 888-236-6625 ext. 228

Allison Norton

Outsource Solutions Group, Inc.

Web: www.osgusa.com

Tech Support: support@osgusa.com

E-mail: anorton@osgusa.com

Phone: 630-236-6625 x228

Toll Free: 888-236-6625

Cell: 630-640-1512

Fax: 630-236-6683

Outsource IT Solutions Group, Inc. is a member of the Microsoft® US VAR Champions Club -recognized for exceptional performance in delivering Microsoft technology to the marketplace

According to Symantec’s 2009 security review, the biggest single threat to computer security is a user’s failure to apply new security patches when they become available. A “patch” is simply a software fix to a known security bug in a software program. Once a vulnerability is discovered, software vendors scramble to develop a patch to prevent hackers from using this to access PCs – but their release of a patch is also a “go” sign for hackers who then scramble to write viruses designed to exploit PC users who haven’t gotten around to patching or updating their system.  As you might expect, online criminal opportunism is at an all-time high. One well-written virus can spread and attack millions of PCs in minutes, giving these cyber criminals access and control over your PC - often without YOU ever realizing it until it’s too late. And since most of us are storing and using our PCs for banking, making purchases, and storing other sensitive information, it’s a fast-track break in that’s irresistible.

The Two Most Common Applications Attacked

   Surprisingly, PDF-based download exploits rose to account for 49 percent of online attacks. Internet Explorer was the second most attacked application, accounting for 18 percent of web-based attacks. Incredibly, the Internet Explorer vulnerability in question is the Microsoft Internet Explorer ADODB.Stream Object File Installation Weakness that first came to the world's attention in August 2003, and was patched the following July – and that means that a whole lot of people AREN’T patching their computer regularly.

 Your PC Isn’t A Toaster

    The main reason systems get attacked is because too many people treat their computer like an appliance: they turn it on and conduct ZERO maintenance. While it’s important for everyone to keep their network secure, it goes double for you as a business owner because the costs of restoring a compromised network escalate quickly when compounded with corrupt data, downtime and possibly the embarrassment of notifying your clients their information was compromised by a hacker under YOUR watch. If you are currently a Hassle Free Maintenance customer, you have nothing to worry about. But if you’re NOT on this plan and you don’t have someone updating your firewall and security settings DAILY, it’s only a matter of time before your system gets compromised.

Let Us Protect Your Business

For more information on how you can completely offload the worry of maintaining your network to a true team of professionals, call us today. We have various plans for all budgets and needs: 888-236-6625 ext 229

Allison Norton

Outsource Solutions Group, Inc.

Web: www.osgusa.com

Tech Support: support@osgusa.com

E-mail: anorton@osgusa.com

Phone: 630-236-6625 x228

Toll Free: 888-236-6625

Cell: 630-640-1512

Fax: 630-236-6683

Outsource IT Solutions Group, Inc. is a member of the Microsoft® US VAR Champions Club -recognized for exceptional performance in delivering Microsoft technology to the marketplace

    It’s everyone’s favorite application. Since its introduction, it has revolutionized the way we communicate, both personally and professionally. It has had a major impact on how companies market themselves, communicate with vendors, send out press releases, rally employees and alert clients to their latest and greatest promotion. The ease, low-cost and speed of e-mail in marketing is the biggest reason why our inboxes are overflowing with spam.

    In response to the ubiquitous outcry, “I hate spam,” governments have crafted new regulations surrounding the use of e-mail; and if you are one of the millions of companies using it for marketing, then it’s important that you familiarize yourself with these laws. But the danger doesn’t stop there...

    Even if you don’t get caught by the feds for violating the rules of e-mail usage, you can still end up on a blacklist with the major ISPs such as Yahoo!, AOL, and MSN.  Once you get blacklisted, you are considered guilty until proven innocent, and ALL the e-mail you send won’t get through, even to people who want to receive it—a consequence that could end up hurting your business more than a fine.

    So what are the basic guidelines of e-mail marketing?

    First and foremost, make sure you are only sending e-mail campaigns to people who have solicited (requested) to be on your distribution list. This is called “opting-in” or subscribing, and e-mails sent to these folks are considered “solicited e-mail.” You are perfectly within your rights to send them messages; but if you got their e-mail address by any other means and they did NOT specifically request to be on your list, that’s considered “unsolicited e-mail” or spam. Sending promotional e-mails to people who have not requested it is not only illegal, but annoying...so don’t do it!

    Next, make sure you provide directions on how a person can remove themselves from your distribution list in EVERY e-mail. The best place to put this information is at the very bottom of your message. You should also include your full company name and contact information at the bottom so no one can blame you for cloaking your identity—another legal “no-no” of e-mail marketing.

    Finally, when sending e-mail, we recommend using a service such as ConstantContact. These web-based applications will help you manage your e-mail distribution list with automatic opt-out and opt-in tools and will keep your e-mail server off an ISP’s blacklist.

    Naturally, you want to make sure the information you are sending is interesting and relevant. No one wants more junk filling up their inbox so the better you are at marketing, the better your results will be. E-mail is not a magic marketing bullet that will solve all your marketing problems, but used correctly, it can certainly help you reach more customers and build stronger relationships with the people you already do business with.  

Allison Norton

Outsource Solutions Group, Inc.

Web: www.osgusa.com

Tech Support: support@osgusa.com

E-mail: anorton@osgusa.com

Phone: 630-236-6625 x228

Toll Free: 888-236-6625

Cell: 630-640-1512

Fax: 630-236-6683

    You hear it all the time from us—back up your data, keep your virus protection current, and install and maintain a firewall to protect yourself from hackers and other online threats.

    However, while these precautions will certainly help you avoid problems, they CAN’T do anything if you don’t have a good backup and disaster recovery plan in place.

Are You A Sitting Duck?

    We all know that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure; yet, disaster recovery planning often takes a distant second to the daily deadlines and pressures of running a business.

    That means that most businesses, including your own, may end up offline and without your data after a simple lightening storm.

    Don’t think that could ever happen to you? Consider this: “data-erasing disasters” can also take the form of office fires and broken water pipes, not just earthquakes, floods and tornadoes. If a fire started in your building, the parts that weren’t burned beyond recovery would probably be destroyed by the firemen’s efforts. But even more common is software corruption, hardware failures and human error!

Disaster Recovery Questions
You Need To Answer

    A disaster recovery plan doesn’t have to be complicated, time-consuming or expensive. Start by asking yourself the following questions...

1. Do you back up your company’s data daily to both an onsite and offsite location?

2. Are you absolutely certain that your backup copy is valid, complete and not corrupt? How do you know for sure?

3. If disaster strikes, HOW would you get your data back, and how long would it take? In many cases it takes days and often weeks; what would you do during that period of time?

4. Do you have copies of all the software licenses and discs in a safe location that could be accessed in the event of having to rebuild your server?

5. Would you and your employees have a way to access your network remotely if you couldn't get to the office?

6. Do you store important passwords in a secure place that company officers can access if you are unavailable?

7. Do you have a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) device in place to keep your network and other critical data operations running during a power outage?

This is NOT a complete list, but it is a good start to get you thinking in the right direction.

Call us today for a complete Back-Up and Disaster Recovery Plan

Toll Free:888-236-6625 ext 228

5 Simple Ways To Prevent Damage From

Viruses & Spyware

#1. Install Business Grade Anti-Virus Software

   The proliferation of free anti-virus applications has enticed many business owners to be penny wise and pound foolish.  These programs are lacking several areas of protection vital to keeping a business network secure, and licensing is usually restricted to non-commercial use.  We deploy only industrial strength protection products for our Hassle Free IT maintenance plan clients.  They keep you safe without slowing you down.

#2. Install Real Time Anti-Spyware Protection

   Over the last 12 months, spyware has grown from an annoyance to the #1 threat to your data.  It is critical that business computers have real time protection (sometimes referred to as active protection) against spyware in addition to virus protection.  Unfortunately most real time anti-spyware products conflict with anti-virus software.  Our Hassle Free IT clients receive the benefit of our extensive testing ensuring they receive maximum protection and compatibility.

#3. Keep Anti-malware Software Updated & Running

   Anti-virus and anti-spyware software must be updated every few hours.  We monitor each system on our Hassle Free IT maintenance plan and push updates as soon as they are available from the software vendor.  We also monitor and immediately restart your protection should it be turned off by the user, system error or previously unknown threat.

#4. Don’t Click On Email Links Or Attachments

   We cannot say this often enough and this is the #1 reason given when we receive a call complaining about a possible infection.  Links in a malicious email don’t send you to the location promised.  Instead they redirect you to a malicious website.  If you aren’t expecting an email with an attachment, it is likely malicious even if sent from friend.

#5. Use A Hardware Based Firewall Or UTM

   Firewalls and Unified Threat Management (UTM) devices are a must for every business network.  They are the first line of defense against viruses, spyware, spam and hackers. UTMs can block access to known bad websites and more.

For more ideas on protecting your network call us at

888-236-6625 or send an email to anorton@osgusa.com

    It’s lunch time and you stop by your favorite café to check e-mail and grab a bite to eat.  You settle in at a table when your pickup number is called.  Returning to your table, you find your laptop and appetite—has disappeared! 

    Okay, maybe you’re not foolish enough to leave your laptop unattended in a public place, but one of your employees might think it’s okay to leave a laptop or PDA in their car, a hotel room, or in their gym bag and end up exposing your company’s data and network to thieves.

    If it hasn’t happened to you or someone you know, according to the FBI, it will.  Sure you have a backup of the data, but now detailed information about you, your family, your business and your clients is in the hands of a criminal intent on stealing your money, identity or worse.  There is a lot of software and hardware that protects your data from being stolen by online criminals, but how do you protect your data when someone steals your physical laptop or PDA?

    Until now, your only recourse was to change the passwords to your network, financial websites, etc., watch your credit report and cross your fingers hoping for the best. But thanks to new security software, you can instantly erase all of the data on your laptop or PDA preventing thieves from accessing the data.

    Here’s how it works: Special security software is installed on your laptop that checks for your “kill” command whenever it connects to the Internet. This happens even before Windows prompts for the user name and password. If it receives the “kill” message, the data on your computer is instantly destroyed. You may not get your laptop back, but you’ll prevent the thief from stealing the information it contains.

    If you’re a business, check out Absolute Software’s Computrace and Novell’s ZENworks. Both should be installed and configured by your system administrator or a computer consultant. If you want to protect your home computer or personal laptop, use zTrace’s zControl. Although designed for the general public, it can be confusing to install and configure so seek the help of a professional.  

    In the PDA world, there’s remoteProtect from sCPsOFT for Windows CE, Windows Mobile and Pocket PC devices or Bluefish’s Central for the Palm Treo.  If your PDA is stolen, you simply text a message to it that includes your password and the PDA is reset it to its blank factory default condition.  What could be easier?

    As with all theft and hacker deterrents, thieves can circumvent this software by downloading your data before connecting the device to the Internet.  Surprisingly, the typical thief isn’t smart enough to know this. So, for absolute security, data encryption remains the most reliable form of protection. Encrypted data is unreadable to thieves unless they have your encryption key. There are pros and cons to both approaches, but it’s important for you to have SOME protection. For help in determining the best solution for you, give us a call: 888-236-6625. 

A Survey of Over 400 IT Managers Reveals  What Employees Are REALLY Doing During Work Hours...And You Won’t Believe What They Discovered!

     According to a survey conducted by 8e6 Technologies (www.8e6.com), employees are using company computers, Internet access, e-mail, and other resources to conduct hours of non-work related activities.  Some of these activities simply waste time, like day trading and monitoring eBay bids. However, many of the activities are downright malicious and threaten their employers’ existence and security.

  Just look at some of these outrageous real-life stories collected from IT Managers polled:

• One employee was caught running a gambling website and acting as a bookie for his co-workers.
• To bypass the company’s web filter, one employee was caught using his desktop computer as an FTP server for the other employees. He had downloaded and saved over 300G of material.
• One employee was busted for giving away confidential information such as price lists, contracts, and software code for application development.
• Another employee was busted for having a side business stealing and selling company inventory on eBay.
• One woman was caught running an online outcall service from her desk.
• One employee was caught renting the corporate IP address to hacker friends to generate DOS attacks.

  While these scenarios seem outrageous, they are not uncommon. According to a survey outlined in the Seattle Times, of 294 U.S. firms with 1,000 or more employees, almost one-third of companies have fired an employee in the last 12 months for violating e-mail policies, and 52 percent of companies said they have disciplined an employee for violating e-mail rules in the past year.

   If you are an employer, educating your employees as to what they can and cannot do through an acceptable use policy is simply not enough. If the requirements are not enforced, employees will accidentally (or intentionally) violate your rules. That’s why every company needs to invest in  good e-mail and web filtering software. Just having it in place will act as a deterrent for such activities, and if something really is going on — like an employee leaking confidential information to a competitor or sending racial or sexist jokes through  your company’s e-mail —you’ll be able to nip it in the bud before it comes back and bites you in the form of a lawsuit.

  Additionally, a good web filter will prevent employees from accessing inappropriate material online, wasting time on non-work related activities, downloading viruses and spyware, and using up company bandwidth to download photos and music.

Faced with a postal rate increase nearly every year, we’re all looking for cost effective ways to reach new customers or keep in touch with current ones. 

In the 80’s fax blasts were the alternative to costly snail mail.  Unfortunately, many firms abused customers’ fax machines and Congress enacted severe restrictions and stiff fines virtually shutting down the fax as a marketing tool overnight.

Today the alternative to snail mail is email.  True to form, spammers sending out those unwanted “Male Enhancement”, “Lose 20 Pounds in 5 Days”, or “How to Make Millions at Home Stuffing Envelopes” junk ads caused Congress to jump back into action.  In 2003, Congress enacted the CAN-SPAM Act.  

Although the Act specifies rules for message presentation, opt out guidelines, labeling for sexually explicit materials, and penalties of up to $11,000 per violation, the law was clearly not intended to exclude legitimate marketers from using email.   

In fact, a solid, well-targeted marketing campaign with a strong message can yield extremely high returns while remaining well within the federal guidelines.   The difference between running a marketing program and generating spam ads is the difference between being an “invited guest versus an unwanted pest.”  Too many businesses fall into the latter category.

To avoid the limitations and ensure compliance with the law, businesses are turning to inexpensive bulk emailing services like Constant Contact or iContact.  These services provide:

·         Email addressed to the recipient from you – 90% of these messages are  opened and read.

·         Opt out services – Avoid contacting people that don’t appreciate your offering.

·         Return services - Escape “dead” addresses clogging your email box .

·         Database updates – Send messages to current and prospective “Live” clients.

·         Up-to-date email procedures – Limit your legal risk .

Whether you strike out on your own with email or use a bulk mailing service, it would be wise to check out the law on the web, craft a solid marketing plan with an attractive offer, and always include a link back to your web site or electronic marketing materials to maximize your ROI.

When making online purchases, you must know how to quickly determine if the web site you are about to buy from is secure.

   A secure connection is an encrypted exchange of information between the web site you are visiting and the browser you are using. Encryption of data is simply a process of converting the information you type in (your name, address, and credit card number) into an unreadable format that only the receiving web site can decipher.

   Encryption is done through a document the web site provides called a web site certificate. When you send information to the web site, it is encrypted at your computer and decrypted at the web site to prevent hackers from intervening and stealing your credit card information. So how do you know if a site has a certificate and a secure connection? There are two things to look for. Just note that these two checks only apply to the web page where you actually enter your credit card information, NOT the entire site itself.

  Once you are on the actual order page, look for a tiny yellow padlock in the bottom right corner of your web browser. Depending on your browser version, the Security Status bar may be located on the top of the browser and to the right of the Address bar. The padlock should be closed (locked). Next, look at the actual URL. It should begin with “https” rather than the standard “http.” If you are on a web site and you see these two things, the site will have a certificate. You can view the certificate by double clicking the yellow padlock. Upon clicking, a certificate dialogue box will pop up that contains information about who the certificate is issued to, who it was issued by, and when it expires.

    Another way you can view a site's certificate is through your browser's menu options. In Internet Explorer, go to File, Properties and then click on the Certificates button. The same dialogue box will then come up for you. In Firefox, go to Tools, Page Info and then click on the Security tab. You can then click on the View button to see that site's certificate.

  If you ever get a warning that there is a problem with the web site’s certificate, it could be due to a number of problems such as the names on the certificates don’t match up with the web site or the certificate has expired. If this happens, you may want to call the company and place your order by phone rather than going through their web site. Finally, make sure you check out every company’s Privacy Policy. Even if they have a secure checkout process, they could give or sell your information to third party companies.