Month: May 2015

Reading Financial Reports

My May community presentation is on reading company financials.

If you’re targeting large companies or non-profit organizations, a world of annual reporting and tax filing is waiting for research to prepare for the interview. You will learn to find and analyze the content of this often overlooked source of data.

What’s in Annual Reports?

  1. Financial Highlights
  2. Letter to the Shareholders
  3. Management’s Discussion and Analysis
  4. Financial Statements
  5. Summary Financial Data
  6. Corporate Information

Google Drive Tips

google_drive_logo_3963

I am a big fan of Dropbox. It is my primary cloud storage. Lately though, Google Drive is beginning to win me over. I thought I’d list the reasons why.

  1. GDrive has a bigger default storage limit. Dropbox gives you 2GB free; GDrive gives you 15GB.
  2. GDrive is much better for collaborating with fellow colleagues. You can share the document via the web, mobile devices, on the laptops. You just share the document and two or more people can edit it live. You can also chat real-time within GDrive to discuss the editing process.
  3. You can make the shared document public so that other people can view them. You can restrict the access rights so that the public can only view the document but not edit it.
  4. If you use Google Chrome, GDrive can act as an offline editor. You can also upload the documents via drag and drop.
  5. You can include GDrive in Gmail. When you are in Gmail, you can search the documents in GDrive.
  6. You can scan in the documents. Go to the gear icon, select Upload Settings, and check “Convert Text from Uploaded PDF and image files.” You will have a Google Doc with inserted images and editable text. Neat!
  7. Good news for students: You can access the Research Pane to do a search. Press Control-Alt-Shift to get it.

There are a few other reasons to learn GDrive, but these should prompt you to take a look.

Encrypting Your Dropbox

Sookasa

When I talk about the cloud storage solutions like Dropbox or Google Drive, people’s natural question is about its security. I do think for the most part, security implementations are mostly adequate for everyday use. However, I have seen news stories where the service may have been compromised and thus it required me to change the passwords.

I used SafeMonk to store our delicate files synced with Dropbox. The service is now ending and the company recommends Sookasa.

Basically, you install Dropbox, then install Sookasa. Sookasa creates a folder called “Sookasa” within your Dropbox folder. Put any files in there, and those files are automatically encrypted. This means that, even though these files are synced and visible within Dropbox on the web, the recipient either needs the access code or a Sookasa account to view the files decrypted.

Sookasa seems to be a better option for those who require compliance such as HIPAA and FERPA. I am using the Personal (free) account, but there are Team and Professional options (fee).

I noticed two annoyances which I hope get fixed soon. The software sometimes tells me that the internet connection is lost even though I am connected. Also, it requires a password every time my laptop is rebooted. The company says it is a security feature, but I hope it implements an option to have the password memorized.

If you require encryption in the cloud and you use Dropbox, I think Sookasa is worth a look.

Community Career Center: Cyber Security at Home

According to one security firm, 2014 was a record year for malware. The firm Panda Security says the number of new malware strains it detected doubled from 2013 to 2014, and it is not going down in 2015. The data breaches are happening more regularly. Are you doing everything you can at home to secure your privacy? This workshop will go over ways you can implement today to secure your home network and computers. Topics include:

Which operating system should I use?
Which browser should I use?
How do you set up strong passwords?
How do I secure my router?
How do I use antivirus software and a firewall?
And more!

Advanced Topics:
Two-factor authentication
Virtual Private Network
OpenDNS