| June 2004 Volume 10, Issue 6 10 years in service ABN 76 809 078 624 |
ACS News |  |
| June 2004 Volume 10, Issue 6 10 years in service ABN 76 809 078 624 |
ACS News | |
|
[Home] [Business Partners] [Case Studies] [Membership] [Newsletters] [Rates] [Services] [VA Directory] [Search]
If
you received this newsletter by regular mail, have an email address and
would like to receive this online, please either subscribe at our
website, or contact our office with your email address. Feel
free to pass this newsletter onto a friend! Why are you on this list? You could be any of the following:
How to get on or off this list: PO
Box 2918, Cheltenham, Victoria,
|
Infected or not? | ||
|
It’s
so easy to assume you’ve been infected when you receive messages that
say you sent someone an infected email, or the file you sent was
infected. A message like
this: Symantec
Email Proxy deleted the following email message: In
the instance above I never use the secretariat address to send emails
– it was picked up by someone or something off a website.
The .co.nz address I’ve never seen before and isn’t in my
address book. So,
are you infected? Probably
not, but you need to have your wits about you.
If you have a current anti-virus program that checks for updates
daily, regularly scans your system (at least weekly but more often would
be preferable) and scans your outgoing email, then you have a very high
chance that you’re not. If
you don’t know whether you’re protected then get someone in urgently
to check your system and make sure it is protected.
Some of the more popular and well-known anti-virus programs are
Norton’s (Symantec), Vet, Grisoft and PC-cillin.
But there are others. Yes, you can log into online virus checking
programs too, however, you need something installed on your computer
that is running in the background all the time.
Don’t forget though, that if you’re installing new software
programs on your computer, you may need to disable the anti-virus
program as it might think that something is accessing your computer that
shouldn’t be and interfere with the installation. An
associate of mine recently experienced a problem with continued emails
coming through that at first glance, seemed to indicate he had a virus.
Investigation proved that his domain had been either hijacked or
picked up by the virus somewhere else and because it was sending it all
over the place, he was getting lots of failed messages, or messages that
advised him the message couldn’t be delivered because it was infected.
I was able to assure him he wasn’t, and did a temporary fix by
setting up the Rules Wizard in his email program to automatically delete
those messages coming through. However, his email delivery had been slowed down considerably
because of these constant messages. The
next step would be to consider investigating use of a spam filter
program. Because many of
these messages coming to him were made up addresses, then he could use a
spam filter to hold up those messages and prevent them being downloaded
to his computer. I find I
am able to do this with the system I use – spamarrest.com, although
some still come through if they appear to have genuinely been sent out
by my mail server in the first place. It’s
all about keeping an eye on what’s happening with your computer and if
anything seems strange or different, then investigate it, or get someone
to look at it – even running slower than usual can be an indication
something is wrong. |
|||
| To have a website or not to have…. | |||
|
I
get phone calls now and then from people who are running a business but
do not have a website. They’re
not even sure if they should have one but have lots of people (including
clients) asking if they have one. Perhaps
you’re in the same boat? A
website should not be considered (for many) as the catalyst for suddenly
getting lots of business, but it should be considered an additional
advertising medium to enhance what you are already doing for your
business. the
Yellow Pages or White Pages, to search for services and products.
If you don’t have a web presence you miss out on attracting the
interest of this large number of people. The
Web provides another way for people to find you and, for most
businesses, should be costed into their advertising budget. Websites
don’t have to be expensive, but they do need to be effective. Just
being on the web isn’t sufficient.
The web address, if possible, needs to reflect your business.
It should also be printed on all your other advertising
literature. It needs to be submitted to search engines – many of these
take several weeks before the listing is actually registered after
submission. Keywords and
description needs to be in the meta tags of the website – if you plan
to do your own site, then make sure you learn about these or get someone
to help you. |
There are many websites available with free or inexpensive templates that can be used to help give your site a good look. And it’s good to develop a similar look to your current materials such as letterhead, business cards, etc, if possible.
Things
you need to be aware of:
|
||
| Must Read/Must See…. | |||
Website:
|
|
Book: How To Start a Business on Your Kitchen Table by Barbara Gabogrecan. Barbara is probably best known as the founder of Micro Business Network (MBN). She has just released the second edition. Learn how over 30 Micro business operators have run a successful business from the kitchen table. There are also over 50 ideas for businesses that can be run from home with marketing tips and approximate costs. Find out why the author is acknowledged as the guru for this sector. Retails for $29.95. Contact our office if interested in purchasing a copy and we’ll forward your request to Barbara. |
|
| About Our Organisation… | |||
What
is a Virtual Assistant? We are as close to you as your computer and can do almost anything traditional support staff do - except virtually. You don't need to provide office space, equipment, software or furniture - we have our own! |
Location no issue as the work is carried out 'virtually' no matter where you are! See our newest members listed at VA Directory
|
||
