Gone Google: Chris Hall Architectural Services

A Scarborough-based architect’s designs for a better way to handle on line business have paid off.

Chris Hall Architectural Services has “Gone Google” with assistance from AGUK Solutions Limited, thus solving frustrating communication problems and improving technical procedures.

As a domestic and commercial architect, business owner Chris Hall undertakes a wide variety of commissions from new build projects to extensions, conversions and renovations.  Project management services include drawing up designs, obtaining planning permissions and building warrants.

On a day-to-day basis Chris Hall Architectural Services liaises with different planning departments, deals with a range of clients and building contractors, and gets to grips with innovative design plans and complex planning applications.  Communicating via email is an important part of the business and losing email access, even for a few hours, causes significant headaches.  The unreliability of his email provider prompted Chris to take action.

The solution, devised and implemented by AGUK, was a complete migration and configuration set-up service to the Google Apps cloud.  Since then, all email difficulties have been resolved and not a single outage problem has been experienced.  Further benefits were derived from AGUK’s strategy.

While Google Apps scans all files sent by email, the work undertaken by Chris Hall Architectural Services involves handling complex documents and files via both download and physical storage options.  To deal with this, and as an added security measure, AGUK then installed PrevX, a leading cloud-based PC and Internet Security system which is fully managed and supported.

Thanks to these steps, Chris Hall Architectural Services can now concentrate on doing what it does best:  planning, designing and constructing buildings and infrastructures for form, function, utility and beauty.

To discover how Google Apps from AGUK can help your business be more productive and save money, please contact us or visit our website.

 

Protect Your Twitter Password

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Readers of my articles will know I am security conscious:  you have to be if you do business via the internet.  Increasingly you also have to be security conscious where social media networks are concerned.

According to one internet-based survey, Twitter is ranked as the second most popular social media network for interaction between friends, communities and business organisations.  If you use Twitter, this is a very important post.  However, I have seen a growing number of Twitter users getting hacked due to their account password being stolen through a scam.

A social media hacking scam is designed to encourage email recipients to click on an innocuous-looking link.  The “friendly” message is often along the lines of:  “I cannot believe this picture of you”, or “This picture of you is very embarrassing.”  Authenticity appears genuine as the message, with its picture/video link, purportedly comes via one of your friends/followers.  It is just that they, too, have been hacked.

If you receive such a message and click on the link you’ll see a Twitter log-in page.  Beware!  Despite its realistic appearance it is fake and designed to capture your password.  To spot the deception, check the url in your browser address bar as Twitter will only ever ask you to log-in at twitter.com

Some Twitter scam sites have used addresses such as:

  • tw1tter.com
  • twittter.com
  • twwiter.com
  • itwitter.com
  • twitter.com.somedomain.cm
Look again at the second example.  The letter “t” appears three times, not two.  Notice that the last example tries to fool you it is the real Twitter site by actually starting with “twitter.com ….”  The other fake urls are easier to identify.

Unfortunately, the official Twitter website does not make things easy.  Its official log-in page is at https://twitter.com  However, it can also use two others:

If you receive an email or message with a log-in link to Twitter my advice is to check it.  Open another window and key in https://twitter.com.  Sign in and, if you’re on your own computer, click the “remember me” box.  Go back to the link you got and click it again.  If you are not logged straight into Twitter, the link is fake.  Being cautious will keep you safe, and help you protect your Twitter password.