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newsletternewsletter 297
Retail Quiz (Revisited) Retail Quiz (Revisited) Which one is the oldest retailer? Sears, Brooks Brothers, Lord & Taylor or Barnes & Noble? I am sure that most of you are going to say Sears. Here are the dates these stores and others were established (according to the December, 2008 issue of RIS, Retail Info Systems News). Brooks Brothers is the oldest retailer on the list. Some of you received an incorrect date in last week’s newsletter. Brooks Brothers, 1818 Lord & Taylor, 1826 Macy’s, 1858 A & P, 1859 Bloomingdales, 1861 Saks Fifth Avenue, 1867 Barnes & Noble, 1873 Sear, 1886 Belk, 1888 Abercrombie & Fitch, 1892 Don’t Lose That Flash Drive
A newsletter reader correctly pointed out that losing a flash drive could be catastrophic. Imagine working for the C.I.A and losing a flash drive containing a list of all agents along with their addresses. Or, imagine losing all of your retail data including customer names, addresses, phone numbers, buying habits, and confidential sales information. Imagine losing confidential photos, documents and spreadsheets. Backing up your data could be dangerous if you lose your flash drive. Luckily, there are several good solutions. Most of the information stored on my flash drive is not confidential. However, I do encrypt some of my confidential spreadsheets and documents. These confidential spreadsheets and documents cannot be opend on my personal computer or flash drive without a password. Microsoft Office contains a function that allows you to encrypt spreadsheets and documents that you do not want others to be able to open, read or modify. You can purchase a flash drive that automatically encrypts your data. Should you lose your flash drive, no one could ever see your data. The SanDisk 4GB Cruzer Titanium pictured above uses AES security (approved by the NSA, National Security Agency). You simply give your flash drive a password and no one can access your files without that password. The SanDisk 4GB Cruzer Titanium flash drive pictured above sells for $24.99 at Staples. For more information, go to: http://www.staples.com/office/supplies/p1_USB-Flash-Drives_218447_Business_Supplies_10051_SEARCH This is only one example of an encrypted flash drive. There are lots of others available. Do a search for “encrypted flash drive” on your favorite buying site. If you are interested in how safe your password will be and more about AES encryption, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Encryption_Standard There is also a variety of low cost and free encryption software available. One example of a free encryption program highly recommended by Computer Shopper is TrueCrypt. You can download it for free at: http://computershopper.download.com/TrueCrypt/3000-2092_4-10958364.html Have You Been Caught For Speeding By A Speed Camera? Many municipalities catch speeders by camera. A car caught speeding gets a ticket through the mail. Although points do not go on the speeder’s drivers license (because the cameras identify the license plate on the car, not the driver), the owner of the car must pay for the fine. Now, some high school pranksters are using this to get revenge. They copy down the license plate number of someone that they don’t like (perhaps a teacher). They print out a copy of the license plate onto an inkjet printer and place the copy over the license plate on another car. They use this car to speed through the camera. The camera picks up the prankster’s phony license plate number and sends a ticket to the teacher (or other non-suspecting victim). I wonder why I didn’t think of this when I went to high school? Ah. We didn’t do pranks on our teachers at that time. We didn’t have speed cameras, and most high school students didn’t have a car! To read the entire story, go to: http://www.wtop.com/?nid=598&sid=1556689 Best Web Site For Retailers (10 Ways To Better Your Business) As a retailer (manager or owner), you need to constantly keep your mind fresh, reinvent yourself, educate yourself, and educate your employees. My favorite web site for retailers is the Shari Waters site on About.com. Shari Waters is a self-proclaimed retail expert with experience ranging from clerk, to store manager, to store owner. Her advice is fairly basic, but a great resource for all retailers. This week she published 10 Ways to Better Your Business. Follow all 10 and your business will go up by 25% even in a bad economy. Be sure to sign up for her weekly emails. It’s FREE. For more information and to read 10 Ways to Better Your Business, go to: http://retail.about.com/b/2008/12/15/retail-resolutions.htm?nl=1 Help pcAmerica Pilot New Credit Card Technology pcAmerica is working with leading-edge technology to ensure your credit card transactions are safer than ever. CRE and RPE are safe and secure, but we always recommend pursuing the highest level of security possible. We have recently completed a new interface that will further increase the security of your swiped credit and debit card transactions. We're seeking a few retail stores or fast-food\quick-service restaurants (located in the United States) to pilot this new technology over the next few weeks before public release. This may require a change in merchant account and a slight hardware investment (approximately $ 50 per POS terminal, and the hardware is yours to keep for permanent use in your business.) Businesses participating in this pilot program may be featured in nationwide or local newspaper or magazine publications as one of the first businesses to adopt this technology. E-mail beta@pcamerica.com with your name, phone number and a brief description of your business if you'd like to participate.
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In
Newsletter #295, I stated that flash drives are so inexpensive now
that “who cares” if you lose one.
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