South Shore Computer Repair

According to statistics from a recently released report by the U.S. Census Bureau and private studies on the subject, a growing number of people are telecommuting, working from home one or several days a week. The Census Bureau reports that the number of people who work from home increased from 9.5 million to 11.3 million between 1999 and 2005.

Tips for working at home

• Create a dedicated space to work free from interruption. If there is a day where that’s impossible, spend the work hours at your local library.

• Establish trust with your supervisor by creating goals you plan to achieve for that day and communicate those goals with him or her.

• Limit the attention given to your pets by offering them their own spot around your work area instead of on your lap.

• Take care of time-consuming chores outside the home (grocery shopping, etc.) in the middle of the day. That may seem like a waste of “work” time, but it’s actually a time saver, as fewer people are out and the task gets completed quicker.

• Give yourself permission to let your mind wander. Some of your best ideas can come when you’re more relaxed. (Source: InsideBayArea.com, May 25, 2010)

More reading about telecommuting and working from home

• 7 Discipline-Builders for Remote Workers
• Does Working From Home Make You More Productive?
• Telecommuting + Flextime = More Productive Corporate Workforce
• Congress May Soon Require Telecommuting For Federal Employees
• Telecommuting Could Save Small- to Mid-Sized U.S. Businesses $124 Billion
• Companies Save $10,000 Per Employee Per Year From Telecommuting

Another aspect of working at home is the technology that you are using. This is where South Shore Computer Repair can help you. From determining what type of hardware and software you should be using, to setting up your home network, to giving you advice on communication options and office setups, we can help you get up and running in your new working environment.

Give us a call at 508.947.1966 or drop an email to help@ssc-repair.com.

Every day there is a new story out there about new and unique ways criminals are gaining access to your personal information and then using that for their own purposes. Identity theft  is an issue that continues to plague consumers, businesses, and law enforcement. To provide greater insight into the prevalence and cost of ID theft, in 2006 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sponsored its second ID theft survey of US adults.

There are things you can do, however, to raise your level of security and protect your personal and professional information.

1. Don’t throw away anything that contains personal information unless it has been shredded or ripped up to make the document illegible.
2. If someone asks you to give away personal information over the phone, check their details and get a phone number to call the organization back to check they are legitimate.
3. Be careful when using social networking sites, as these can be an easy route to snatching your data.
4. Always go directly to web sites asking for personal information rather than clicking on links in an email or web site page.
5. Only conduct an internet transaction if you are sure the web site is valid and secure.
6. Remember to set strong passwords.
7. Monitor your credit card and/or bank statements and look for suspicious transactions.

These are just a few simple steps that you can take to keep your personal information to yourself. The best advice we can offer, besides the tips above, is to trust your gut. If something seems too good to be true, or there’s something not quite right about that link you just clicked on, stop what you’re doing. Follow your instincts.

Do you have any tips or tricks that you use to protect yourself, your family and your business from opportunistic predators? We would love to hear what you’re doing to stay safe online.

If you aren’t using Twitter because you think you don’t have anything to say and don’t think it’s relevant or useful to you, think again.

Read all about the varying uses of Twitter – without saying a word – on our Marketing Chick’s blog.