"The Banter" A Quarterly Newsletter: Vol. 5, 3rd Quarter :: July 2009

New this Quarter! Social Networking and You Introducing RemitIt Online Tech Tips: Protecting Yourself From Vishing Attacks Our Clients in the Spotlight: Electric Cord Set Make Me Laugh NEW: Quote of the Quarter Intersoft Jobs New this Quarter! We have some exciting new announcements this quarter! A New Employee We would like to welcome Brandon Diamond to our "Group"! Brandon is a Support Technician as well as an HTML Coder. Some of you may have already had the pleasure to talk with Brandon who is available to answer any of your technical questions. Jobs: Freelance Designers Check out our Jobs section as we are looking for freelance website designers! Please submit your resume along with your portfolio by email to jobs@intersoftgroup.com. New Software Developments Scheduled This quarter we have some exciting new software development scheduled for Cobalt Email Marketing System. xSellit's July Freedom Special Sell online by the holidays! Take $250 off the Startup, $750 off the Professional & $1250 off the Enterprise! Again, wishing all of you a great third quarter! Jessica Sudo Business Operations Manager Back to Top Social Networking and You By: Jessica Sudo What is Social Networking? Social networking builds online communities of people who share common interests. Most social networking services are web based and provide a way for people to communicate via email, chat, forums, etc. Social networking allows people to develop friendships or professional relationships, gather knowledge on certain areas of interest like medical conditions, vacation spots, etc. Some social networking websites focus on specific interests and tend to have membership fees while others do not. These are referred to as traditional social websites. They have open memberships which means anyone can join free. The Dangers of Social Networking Just as there are dangers in socializing in real life there are online dangers of social networking. These dangers can range in risk from online identity theft to downloadable computer viruses. However, the biggest danger comes from online predators. With the Internet it is very easy for predators to claim they are someone they are not. Most social networking websites allow you to post phone numbers, addresses, class schedules, social plans, etc. which makes it easy for predators to get in touch with or stalk their victims. Recently a couple twittered on their twitter account that they would be leaving on vacation during a certain time frame. While they were gone their house was broken into and their items stolen. Other dangers would involve the content you post to your profile page. Employers & schools are now searching these social networking sites for use in background checks. Any inappropriate photos or remarks on your profile page can lead to a loss of a job, a job interview, and can violate school policy and codes of conduct. Another item to keep in mind is the legality issue of copyrights to work that is uploaded to these various social networking websites. There is currently a gray area of who owns the rights to the items that are uploaded. These items include photographs, videos, graphics, music, etc. Also, most social networking websites retain the right to share your information to third party companies. This includes email addresses, phone numbers, addresses, etc. Keeping you Safe While Socializing Use common sense. Do not post sensitive information on your profile page such as phone numbers, addresses, schedules, social plans, etc. You can be more easily stalked by strangers. Check your profile page and evaluate it as an employer, school administrator, or parent would. Are the comments or pictures inappropriate? Make sure you have installed virus software and have it updated. Make sure you run your Windows updates. Read the terms & conditions and the privacy policy of the social networking website you are signing up with. If you do not agree with their terms or privacy policy then do not sign up. Back to Top Introducing RemitIt Online RemitIt Online allows you to easily create any type of online payment form and accept online payments in minutes. RemitIt Online is a web based payment processing system that can process credit cards and ACH (checks) automatically online. You can create your own custom payment forms easily and securely using the Form Generator without any HTML or programming knowledge. You can even create custom fields. Your payment forms can have your current website's "look and feel" so your customers think they never left your website. RemitIt Online allows you to accept bill payments, telephone orders/payments, course registration deposits/payments, ticket sales, and reservation deposits/payments. RemitIt Online gives you the ability to accept any other payments by phone, fax or mail through the Virtual Terminal. The Online Virtual Terminal can capture and authorize credit card & ACH transactions in real time using any computer connected to the Internet, anywhere! RemitIt Online payment forms provide your customers with a printable and emailed receipt. RemitIt Online emails you instantly when a payment is received online and your funds are then automatically deposited into your organization's checking account. With RemitIt Online you can let your customers know that they can pay their bill online, ANYTIME. Simply add the web address to your invoices and statements, mention it on your voice mail, walk a customer to it live over the phone to ensure prompt payment! RemitIt Online is always available 24/7/365! This product can reduce customer call hold time as well as reduce internal costs including printing costs, postage, terminal fees, phone lines and customer call-backs. You can process payments in real-time which will improve customer service by allowing instant feedback on the customer's payment status. RemitIt Online is perfect for any business that accepts credit card or check payments. This includes Law Offices, Colleges & Universities, Non-Profits & Charities, Billing companies, Mail Order/Telephone Order businesses and call centers. There is no software to install or maintain and no training downtime. RemitIt Online is continually upgraded to meet the latest security and technology advancements. All transactions are secured using the highest level of SSL encryption available. RemitIt Online also supports recurring payments, Address Verification Service (AVS), CVV2 support, additional fraud protection services, and detailed online reporting. If you would like more information on RemitIt Online please visit us at http://www.remititonline.com or contact us at 1.888.WEB.7228 Option 2. Back to Top Tech Tips: Protecting Yourself From Vishing Attacks Recently a new technique for stealing information and/or money has been on the rise. This new technique is called "Vishing". The term vishing derives from the term phishing. Phishing is a technique used by scammers to steal information and/or money by ways of email. Vishing is the term used to steal such information using the phone or Voice by Voice Over IP (VoIP) Phones to hide or spoof the original calling phone number. A robot dialer is used to dial regional phone numbers and when the phone call is answered a recording explains that your credit card has been compromised and to call another phone number immediately. Since the caller ID has been spoofed the call looks like it is originating from a trusted financial institution. When the victim calls the second phone number another recording prompts them to enter in their 16 digit account number, then their expiration date and next their pin. At this point the scammer now has all the information they need to start charging items to that card. Other information that Vishers try to gain are date of births, social security numbers, pins, bank account numbers, etc. The Federal Trade Commission and other financial institutions have been working to shut down these types of vishing scams. Here are a few tips to keep you safe from these vishing attacks: If you are given a phone number to call by email or mail, DON'T! Always call the number on the back of your credit card or on your statement. If someone calls you requesting your account information over the phone, hang up and call the company back by using the phone number on the back of your credit card or on your statement. If you believe you have fallen victim to one of these scams you should contact your financial institution immediately and let them know. If you have a tech question that you would like us to write about email us at techtips@intersoftgroup.com. Back to Top Our Clients in the Spotlight: Electric Cord Sets Website: http://www.elecordset.com Electric Cord Sets, Inc. is a world-class manufacturer and distributor of AC power cords, as well as other cordset types. They have serviced the OEM manufacturing industry since 1947 and continue fulfill any AC power cord or cordset requirement. Back to Top Make Me Laugh We will feature a new comic every quarter that'll be sure to make you laugh! Back to Top Quote of the Quarter "When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it." ~ Henry Ford Back to Top Intersoft Jobs: Sales Positions Wanted Intersoft is looking for qualified Sales Applicants to join our Group! If you know of anyone looking for a Sales position that you feel would be a good fit with our company please have them check out our job description at: http://www.intersoftgroup.com/jobs/jobs.aspx All qualified sales applicants can email their resume to: jobs@intersoftgroup.com Freelance Website Design Position Wanted Intersoft is looking for qualified freelance website designers to join our Group! If you know of anyone looking for a part-time position that you feel would be a good fit with our company please have them contact us. All qualified applicants can email their resume and link to their online portfolio to: jobs@intersoftgroup.com Back to Top