This could be a huge threat for your business, as systems running Windows XP will be out of support, so no more updates and patches will be available for your computers.
Say goodbye to security and say hello to vulnerability!
You are entitled to receive security updates until April 9 2014, after this date you will be left with an operating system that is completely obsolete from a security perspective, thus exposing your business to cyber-attacks, data theft, malware, phishing and fraudulent activities perpetrated by external attackers using your own systems.
What’s on the mind of the cybercriminal?
Did you know that cyber-criminals are purposely delaying new attacks on Windows XP? This way they can be more effective in attacking your computers once Microsoft shuts down support, so your systems will be left permanently insecure and open to exploitation. In fact you won’t even notice you have been hacked, until your network goes down, your data is leaked and you receive a call from a customer, partner or supplier inquiring as to the source of confidential information. Your competition will probably hear your name too.

Why should you care?

Unfortunately, you may be held accountable for any consequences, in addition to financial losses and a blow to your reputation as a business. Considering Microsoft operating systems (windows xp) are used by most businesses worldwide, ignoring a fundamental warning about this system becoming totally insecure in the near future cannot do much good.

Think of it as if you were doing 50,000 miles per year with your old car, running on bald tyres in mid-winter, on a road full of potholes. Would you ignore warnings from the DVLA, the car and tyre manufacturer? Your insurance would probably fail you as well. Why risk it?

Act now – you are already late!

You should consider upgrading to Windows 7 or even Windows 8 today, save time and money and most importantly, prevent your computers from being hacked into and your data leaked. If you have not yet done so, you are late, according to Microsoft: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/windows/products/lifecycle

Filtering requests that contain a Java User-Agent header may also be effective. For example, this technique can be used in environments where Java is required on the local intranet.

The proxy can be configured to allow Java requests locally, but block them when the destination is a site on the internet.

The only way to completely disable Java in Internet Explorer (IE) is to disable Java through the Java Control Panel or uninstall Java

Firefox

• Click on the Firefox tab and then select Add-ons
• In the Add-ons Manager window, select Plugins
• Click Java (TM) Platform plugin to select it
• Click Disable (if the button displays Enable then Java is already disabled)

Chrome

• Click on the Chrome menu, and then select Settings.
• At the bottom of Settings window, click Show advanced settings
• Scroll down to the Privacy section and click on Content Settings.
• In the Content Settings panel, scroll down to the Plug-ins section.
• Under the Plug-ins section, click Disable individual plug-ins.
• In the Plugins panel, scroll to the Java section. Click Disable to disable the Java Plug-in.
• Close and restart the browser to enable the changes.

Note: Alternatively, you can access the Plug-ins settings by typing about:plugins in the browser address bar.

Safari

• Choose Safari Preferences
• Choose the Security option
• Deselect Enable Java
• Close Safari Preferences window

As a client it is always important to plan your website and your marketing strategies accordingly. Web Design is not just creating a website with a few pages and a contact us form.

Even if you are looking for a basic website you will need to think clearly about your target market, keywords (what do you want people to look for to get to your site?), content, usability, optimised design and search engine submission.

Keep it simple! Keep your web design simple..

If you are a small business offering services in your local area, there is no point in paying for the best and most sophisticated website which will cost you an arm and a leg…and perhaps more importantly cost you a huge amount of money to update, maintain, upgrade and secure.

Don’t be convinced by Design Agencies that “Basic” means not good! If what you need is a web presence at an affordable price then choose a basic website. This will give you the web presence you need for clients to find you on the web.

Make sure your business is added to Google places which will help users find your business easier.

So now you have a website that is technically optimised by using the correct coding to make it easy for search engines to find a search your site. You’ve used the correct keywords in your content, now let the search engines find your site and let Google naturally decide where you occur organically.

Now you can start thinking of search engine optimisation and you will be able to see the results.

We don’t want to down sell you high end websites, but get the right website that is right for you at the budget you can afford. Make sure the website is built in such a way that you can add more features and functionality later on as your needs change.

We would rather have clients for life than a one of project at an inflated price.

Contact I-Tech Web Design

Please contact I-Tech Web Design North Wales for a free consulation. Call us or complete our Request A Quote Web Design form to do your web design planning and create the best website for your needs.

]]> http://www.itechwebdesign.co.uk/web-design-north-wales-basic-web-design-principals/feed/ 0 http://www.itechwebdesign.co.uk/facebook-marketing-tips-for-businesses/ http://www.itechwebdesign.co.uk/facebook-marketing-tips-for-businesses/#comments Fri, 01 Jun 2012 11:36:56 +0000 http://www.itechwebdesign.co.uk/?p=1181 Add relevant information and engage your audience with Facebook

A few simple tips will help you formulate the correct approach…

People who Like your business or brand on Facebook expect your posts to be at related to your business or industry.

It is just as easy for users to “Unlike” you than what it is to “Like” you on Facebook.

If a user “Likes” you on Facebook and he receives non-relevant information the user is very likely to unlike you or ignore your posts.

You priority should not be to have as many “likes” as possible. Your priority should be to build and engage with an audience that will add value to your business.

There is no point having a 1000 likes if users don’t read what you have to offer.

A few pointers on using Faceboook to engage your audience are:

Share milestones you’ve reached with your audience. Whether you’ve finished a project as a company or reached 100,000 fans on Facebook, tell your fans, so they can help celebrate and spread the word.

Write about a current event and tie it to your brand or industry.

Share testimonials, positive feedback and recommendations about your business. If your facebook fans love what you do and are vocal about it, share this with the rest of your audience, making sure to mention the original feedback.

Ask your audience to post questions, pictures or stories about your brand to your wall.

Repost the most interesting content back out as an update. Utilize this technique over a short period of time to keep your content towards the top of your wall and your user’s feeds.

I prefer this option as you are not relying on a 3rd party plugin.

1.1. Log into your admin panel
1.2. Go to > Appearance > Editor > Look for footer.php (on the right)
1.3. Copy and paste the Google Analytics code before the </body> tag.
1.4. Click “Update”
1.5. Go to the front end and look in the source code to make sure the Google Analytics code was added succesfully

2. Google Analytics plugins for WordPress.

You can find some here:

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/search.php?q=+Google+Analytics

They should come with instructions.

Hope this helps

Generate QR Code Read Instructions

In most cases you will only need to select the size, and enter the text, URL or message.

You can create as many as you wish, but please note that the more text you enter in “Content” the longer it will take for the QR code to generate.

Size: Choose the preferred size of the QR Code

Encoding: You can choose the following encoding:

• UTF-8 (Default) – For most instances
• Shift_JIS -
• ISO-8859-1

Content: You can add the text, URL or message here.

Error correction: QR codes support four levels of error correction to enable recovery of missing, misread, or obscured data. Greater redundancy is achieved at the cost of being able to store less data. Here are the supported values:

• L – [Default] Allows recovery of up to 7% data loss
• M – Allows recovery of up to 15% data loss
• Q – Allows recovery of up to 25% data loss
• H – Allows recovery of up to 30% data loss

Generate the QR Code: Once you completed the relevant fields…Press “Generate”.

The image will be generated and show.

Copy / Save As: Right click on the images and select “Copy” or “Save As“.

Disclaimer: The QR code generator was developed using the Google API and are therefore bound by Googles policies and support. I-Tech Web Design does not take any responsibility for any QR Codes that do not work for any reason.

Generate QR Code Watch Video

Version 2.5.0 is the second release made within the new six-month release cycle that started with the delivery of Joomla 1.6 in January 2011. Version 2.5 is a long-term-support (LTS) release that will be supported for at least 18 months.

Joomla’s Production Leadership Team’s goal is to continue to provide regular, frequent updates to the Joomla community.

Version 1.7 will reach end of life on 24 February 2012. All users of version 1.7 should update to version 2.5.0 before that time.

At I-Tech Web Design North Wales we make sure we do security updates as and when they are released, but with major releases like Joomla 1.5 to Joomla 1.7 and also Joomla 1.7 to Joomla 2.5.0 we tend not to jump onto the bandwagon until all our software and features have been tested fully before we would recommend our clients to upgrade.

We have now tested 2.5.0 and are now developing Joomla 2.5.0 sites amongst others.

There are many new Joomla 2.5.0 features.

Below is the low down of what Google’s change in privacy entails.

Google is getting rid of over 60 different privacy policies across Google and replacing them with one that’s a lot shorter and easier to read.

The new policy covers multiple products and features, reflecting their desire to create a simple and intuitive experience across Google.

Google says they believe this stuff matters, so please take a few minutes to read their updated Privacy Policy and Terms of Service at http://www.google.com/policies. These changes will take effect on March 1, 2012.

One policy, one Google experience
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Easy to work across Google

Google’s new policy reflects a single product experience that does what you need, when you want it to. Whether you’re reading an email that reminds you to schedule a family get-together or finding a favorite video that you want to share, they want to ensure you can move across Gmail, Calendar, Search, YouTube, or whatever your life calls for with
ease.

Tailored for you

If you’re signed into Google, they can do things like suggest search queries – or tailor your search results – based on the interests you’ve expressed in Google+, Gmail, and YouTube. We’ll better understand which version of Pink or Jaguar you’re searching for and get you those results faster.

Easy to share and collaborate

When you post or create a document online, you often want others to see and contribute. By remembering the contact information of the people you want to share with, Google makes it easy for you to share in any Google product or service with minimal clicks and errors.
__________________________________________________________________

Protecting your privacy hasn’t changed

Google says it’s goal is to provide you with as much transparency and choice as possible, through products like Google Dashboard and Ads Preferences Manager, alongside other tools. Our privacy principles remain unchanged. Google will never sell your personal information or share it without your permission (other than rare circumstances like valid legal requests).

Got questions? We’ve got answers.

Visit Google’s FAQ at http://www.google.com/policies/faq to read more about the changes.
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Notice of Change

March 1, 2012 is when the new Privacy Policy and Terms will come into effect. If you choose to keep using Google once the change occurs, you will be doing so under the new Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.