Cell Phone Detector Security Devices

If you are a business manager, or otherwise responsible for safeguarding your company's assets, here are five important technologies you should consider as part of your security solution.

Entrance alarms
For any business location, however large or small, security starts at the perimeter. Any possible point of entry should be equipped with an alarm system. In many cases, this works in conjunction with electronic ID cards that are issued to employees, who can use them to operate electronic locks. Electronic locks can also be used to restrict access to sensitive areas within the building, such as computer server rooms or research labs, where only authorized personnel are allowed.

Closed-circuit television
Closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras are one of the most efficient and effective ways of monitoring the safety and security of business premises. Many public premises such as retail locations make a point of placing CCTV monitors prominently where would-be shoplifters will see them and, hopefully, be deterred from committing a crime. In offices and manufacturing facilities, cameras can help ensure employees are not indulging in inappropriate behavior of any kind. They can also help with employee safety in locations such as parking lots (monitoring for automobile break-ins, for example).

Motion detectors
Motion detectors can be deployed to detect the presence of unauthorized visitors in a wide variety of locations. Their advantage over security cameras is that they do not rely on the vigilance of an operator staring at a screen to spot an intrusion. Instead, any movement that triggers the detectors will set off an alarm that alerts security personnel. Motion detectors can be used to complement a building perimeter security system. Even if an intruder somehow manages to get into the building, he will set off an alarm as soon as he enters any area protected by a motion detector.

RF detectors
cell phone detector and RF detection devices identify emissions from various kinds of electronic equipment. These can be used to signal the presence of a variety of threats to security, including hidden microphones, cameras, and even GPS trackers. In some cases, it may be appropriate to use a cell phone detector, which is a type of RF detector that is specifically designed to detect cell phone transmissions in areas where these are prohibited.

Fire alarms and smoke detectors
Last, but by no means least, are precautions against fire. A fire is perhaps the most devastating disaster that can hit a business. It can completely destroy business premises, and all of the records, inventory, computer systems, and everything else that a business relies on to function. It is imperative that you install fire alarms and smoke detectors that, at minimum, meet the regulations that govern your commercial premises, and ensure that these are regularly maintained and tested.

By Mavis Black 

Why You Should Be Texting Your Call Center!

We recently had an opportunity to create an emergency notification text messaging system for a financial service application built on ShoreTel iPBX and ECC technology. The requirement was to push out text based alerts to individual or groups of ShoreTel phones based on external events. These were typically stock tick updates and very time sensitive! The requirements document also required the ability to send text messages on manually on demand. The text messages would either be created by the Receptionist entering the text into a webpage for transmittal to the select phones or group of phones; or based on the receipt of a SMS text message. The SMS message would be relayed to the ShoreTel Phone API and then passed off to a group of phones for follow up by brokers as required to satisfy the client requests.

We have long contended that SMS application will find their way into the Call Center as triggers to initiate a scheduled call back as alternative to "please hold for the next available agent". The opportunity to implement such an application was for us very exciting. Smartphones, undeniably ubiquitous, offer the possibility that customer service applications can be developed to enable customers to contact an inside "agent" without having to navigate a call tree! Why increase the number of telephone lines coming into your call center, just to put callers on hold until the next available agent can accept the call? People on hold, are people frustrated. If clients could just send a text message to the call center, targeted at the specific agent group responsible for problem or opportunity resolution, assured by return text message that they will be called at place and time certain, over all costs for all would be reduced and customer satisfaction increased. The concept of "abandoned" calls would be eliminated and real time reports, dramatically redefined!

We invision a Call Center in which there are actually very few incoming lines. The entire call center is based on Agents calling clients back based on agreed to call times defined in an incoming SMS Text message sent from a smart phone or smart phone application. The application, though functionally generic, could be made specific to a company product or service and also include the CRM links necessary for an Agent to service an account when they call the client back at the appointed time. This is a much more stream lined approach to Call Center operations in which telephone lines are optimized, Client service is customized and Agent time maximized.

There are any number of SMS gateways that can be integrated as an internal server or as a subscribed service and combined with the display functions of a ShoreTel phone to enable this scenario. Additionally, Waze can send real time location updates that can also be routed to ShoreTel phone displays. Imagine the application of location based services to SMS text messages out to the display of ShoreTel phones in a call center environment! ShoreTel does an excellent job of documenting the SDK and API interfaces necessary to support this application. In fact the standard API itself is more than useful and is demonstrated in the accompanying video.

By Peter S Buswell

Benefits of Reponsive Design

In today's world where mobile devices are fast gaining popularity and are infect replacing laptops and desktops, a large segment of users prefer to carry out most of the tasks using these. In fact so fast has been the growth rate in this segment that neither social networking platforms like Facebook nor the major e-commerce vendors can overlook this segment now. It is therefore important in these times to have the website mobile ready so as not to miss a major chunk of traffic coming visit the mobile devices. There are many ways in which a website may cater to the mobile devices but responsive design is the one
that has become most popular in recent time owing to the many benefits it accrues. In this article we will outline some of the major advantages of this approach:

1] One consolidated website that gives the same user experience as there is no need to have a separate URL with a different mobile copy of the website.

2] Since there is no need for a separate mobile copy of the website, this approach proves to be cheaper and less time taking where as to build a separate mobile site would mean investing more time and resources. This also proves to be quiet effective in terms of man hours since the administrator dos not need to manage two separate websites.

3] Maintaining the aesthetics. Responsive design allows the website to break the website vertically and fit it in according device screen size thus allowing all the images and styles to b kept intact. It also eliminates the need to cut down on images as well as using smaller sized images.

4] Major search engines like Google not only prefers but in fact recommends that the website be responsive since responsive sites use a single URL to cater to the mobile as well as computer traffic, this makes it easy for the search engines to keep track by crawling and indexing the sites. Such sites are often given preference when users search for local service specially, via mobile devices.

5] Increased conversion rate. As outlines earlier many a users nowadays prefer browsing the net using mobile devices. If such users land on a website that is not responsive, they would have a hard time browsing such a website with both vertical and horizontal scrolls. There is also a high probability that website may be rendered improperly on the device. Such users are most likely to leave the website quickly this increasing the bounce rate. Whereas for a responsive website the changes are much higher that the user will stay on and browse the website. This becomes very important in context of e-commerce websites where this may result in higher conversion rates and sales.

With this we have outlined the major benefits of responsive design as briefly as we could without beating around the bush. We hope that this will help you understand the importance of responsive design and would encourage you to adopt this yourself. So go in for responsive design and stay a step ahead of your competitors.

By A. Chaudhary

Features of a Good Tablet PC

Technology has continued to advance at a pace that is almost unimaginable. There is a new product on the market almost on a daily basis. Since the number of electronic products on the market is increasing at a very fast pace, it is becoming increasingly difficult to choose the right products to buy. This applies to all kinds of electronic products including tablet PCs. If you have prospects of buying a good tablet, you can use the following tips. First of all, find out whether the storage capacity of the item you wish to purchase is large enough. Tablets can be used to execute a good number of tasks including typing, playing music and viewing movies. A good tablet must have enough memory to store a good number of files. Before buying any electronic item, find out whether its storage capacity is exactly what you want.

Apart from memory, good tablets are supposed to have the ability to execute many tasks at a time. This is commonly referred to as multi-tasking. It is a very important to ensure that the product you are buying has the ability to execute as many tasks as possible simultaneously. This feature can enable you to do many tasks within a very short period of time. There is close relationship between this feature and the device memory. Therefore, make sure that the device you are about to buy has enough internal memory. In most cases, external memory has a little bearing on the multi-tasking abilities of most electronic devices. However, some devices can be set to manipulate the external memory when the need arises. For such devices, increasing the size of the external memory is enough to improve the multi-tasking abilities.

It is always advisable to pay particular attention to the operating system of the item you wish to buy. For tablets and many other electronic devices, the operating system has a huge bearing on their performances. Therefore, it is important to buy a tablet whose operating system is very powerful. If your knowledge on operating systems is scanty, find out from your friends or close relatives who have been exposed to a variety of operating systems. Unlike the features indicated above, the operating system affects many other functions. Some of the functions which are affected by the operating system are multi-tasking abilities, software compatibilities and software installations. The performance of any electronic device is closely related to the functions above.

The introduction of the touch sensitive feature has greatly revolutionised technology. A good tablet is one which is very sensitive and responsive to touch. Before buying any tablet PC, you have to find out from your close friends or relatives who have used the device before whether they found the touch screen of the device as sensitive and as responsive as required.

Another feature worth looking out for is the processor speed. This feature will determine the speed at which all your commands will be executed. The most vital user commands are copying, pasting, deleting and implementing new settings. It will also determine the speed at which the device will be switched on and off.

By Sharmistha Chanda

3 Simple Ways to Speed Up a Mac

Nothing beats the performance of a brand new Mac. It's quick to load up, and can tackle multiple tasks with ease. While you may do your best to keep your Mac clean, photos, documents and your iTunes library may actually be slowing things down. Here are 3 simple and proven ways to speed up your Mac.

How to Speed Up a Mac

Fine Tune Your Startup

If your Mac is slow to startup, you may have too many unnecessary apps trying to load up. Cleaning up your startup will fix the problem. Instead of waiting for your browser to load and a host of other apps, you can start using your Mac right away.

To fine tune your startup, head over to System Preferences > Users & Groups and select your username. Click on the "Login" items, and take a look at the list of apps that startup when you boot your Mac. Uncheck any apps that you don't need. This is the simplest way to speed up a Mac and one of the most effective.

Clean Up Your Hard Drive

Macs use any free hard drive space as virtual memory, so lack of hard drive space can really hinder performance. Freeing up some hard drive space can speed up Mac Pro by providing more virtual memory.

Start out by emptying your Trash and removing any unused apps on your Mac. There's a good chance that you have quite a few apps that were mistakenly installed or only used once. Deleting these from your hard drive will provide you with more space and more virtual memory.

Use the Activity Monitor

Your Mac's Activity Monitor can give you a little insight into which apps are "memory hogs." The Activity Monitor lists all of the running apps, CPU usage, RAM usage and virtual memory usage. If an app is using a considerable amount of virtual memory, you may want to get rid of it or minimize your usage of it. Make sure not to download anything from internet without seeing it properly. These can contain virus, trojan with it that can harm your mac and you might not able to recover it from this issue.

These are three simple ways to speed up your Mac, but you may also want to consider using cleaning utility tools as well. By keeping your hard drive clean and free from unnecessary apps, your Mac should run in tiptop shape at all times.

By Mansoors Shaikh 

Has Hacking Become a Matter of Life and Death?

Hackers have figured out how to break into your car's computer. After several months of research and testing, Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek will publish detailed blueprints of the techniques to attack critical systems in the Toyota Prius and Ford Escape. They will make this knowledge known through a 100-page white paper.

According to their report, a hacker can control your steering wheel or suddenly slam on the brakes at 80 miles per hour. Or they can disable your braking system at slow speeds. No matter how hard you step on the brake the car will not stop. In other cases, they can accelerate your car when driving at slow speeds.

In their demonstration, they used a laptop computer while sitting in the automobile. They did not research remote hacking because another group had already done so. However, that group is unwilling to publish their findings. It is rumored they used Bluetooth systems and wireless networks in 2011 to break into a vehicle's computer system.

Sounds like James Bond, doesn't it?

Already we are bombarded with notifications about purchasing antivirus software for our computers. Now we should be on the lookout for the same software to protect our automobiles.

This news sets up a theme for World War III. The new mercenary will be the hacker, who is frequently teased and called a nerd, living at home with his parents and sitting in his bedroom orchestrating an attack. They will be able to immobilize an entire nation by controlling vehicles. At worst, they could take the lives of many by causing accidents on highways and city streets.

While this possibility seems far-fetched or too distant in the future, technology and software vulnerabilities make it a reality. If you have On Star, it may be wise to check with them to see if they are taking measures to ensure their system can protect you. They are already set up to control your vehicle through a wireless system.

On another front, there are hackers who have figured out how to override the door locks on luxury cars like Bentleys, Porsches, Audis and Lamborghinis. The researchers were planning to present their findings at a technology trade show. Except, Volkswagen obtained a restraining order from the British high court to prohibit the researchers from presenting their findings.

For now, we may safely ride and park our automobiles. Moving forward, we will have to take precautions that have never been considered. On the other hand, it would seem those who drive the old classic cars from the days when computers were not used could be immune to this threat.

If you are not driving an old classic, you should be nice to the nerds. If the hacker/nerd becomes the vicious soldier of war, you may be first on his or her list.

By Ted Santos

Spyware - Useful Or An Intrusion Of Privacy

 Earlier, if you wanted to keep an eye on your spouse, you would have to rummage through his or her drawer and cupboard to find secret letters and keepsakes. The later decades introduced security locks and codes to help secure personal information from prying eyes. People have now started storing information on their smartphones and, more recently, tablets, in password-protected files and folders. Similar security measures can be adopted for calls and text messages.

The field of science and technology is a queer one. For every new item or facility it creates, it also offers an antidote. This explains the creation and launch of cell phone spyware.

Spyware - An Introduction

Spyware are software applications that enable users to gather confidential information about a person or organization without their knowledge. Such kinds of tracking software applications are typically used to monitor cell phone activity, but they can be used on tablet and computers as well.

The phone spyware applications are installed on a device, secretly. Once installed on the phone or computer, the spyware exports varied details including call logs, text messages sent and received, mobile internet connections, web pages browsed and the phone's physical location.

Normally the data is exported to a cloud server where the person spying can access the date for viewing.

A few highly advanced applications for telephones also allow users to listen to phone conversations, and use the phone as a microphone - someone spying can listen to a conversation in a room where the telephone is. The owner of the phone, tablet or computer does not have the slightest hint that private information is being transferred to a third-party via the tracking software application.

Types of Spyware

1) Most are in the form of concealed malware that generally tags along with free downloads or gains access to your system when you visit pornographic sites. As soon as they gain entry, they set up automatically and start leaking out private and confidential information.

2) The other type includes software applications that are purchased and installed on the device one intends to track. After the application has been successfully installed, the user only has to log in to the app website to track movements and access your information.

Who can use Cell Phone Spyware?

Spyware has earned a bad name because it is largely used by criminals and stalkers. Gathering information covertly might also not sound like a very good idea to you. However, it isn't bad if it is for the opposite person's good or the good of the people at large.

Computer and cell phone spyware were used to launch successful business marketing campaigns. By monitoring a person's use of the internet including the websites visited and the pages viewed, business owners attempted to tweak their marketing strategies and thereby reach their target audience.

Parents and spouses make up a large percent of commercial spyware users. As far as parents are concerned, the use is for a good reason. Given the amount of time children spend online, parents should keep a check on the websites their children visit, the people they contact and their whereabouts; whether they attend school regularly or spend their time elsewhere. Spouses also have the right to know to if their partner is cheating on them.

Answering the question posed in the title - useful or intrusion of privacy, it's a matter of how you use the phone spyware application! For sure though it is important to note that phone spyware available online is illegal in most countries without the consent of the user (or a warrant).

So whilst parents could potentially put the spyware on their children's telephones to protect them, if a husband puts it on his wife's phone without her knowledge this is an illegal invasion of privacy.

By Meini Listanti