The Power of One

Posted on by ccsretail

Owners of a small to medium sized retail store often wear many hats: salesperson, buyer, bookkeeper, merchandiser, manager, financial planner and on and on.

Everything needs to get done, but how? It’s just like that old joke – How do you eat an elephant? ONE bite at a time.

Trying to focus on too many projects at the same time doesn’t work. Decide on the NUMBER ONE most important project that you can do to improve your business. What’s going to result in the maximum impact? Once you’ve decided on the project, focus your efforts and attention for a day or a week or however long it takes to finish that ONE thing.

If you decide it’s critical to start an email newsletter to increase sales, then work on that project until it’s done. Scattering your attention distracts from giving a quality effort to ANY of the various projects you’re juggling.  You’ll be amazed at what you can do if you focus on that ONE highest priority item before moving on.

Once you have this process working for you, you’ll find that it will work wonders with your staff as well. Have them focus on ONE thing they can do to increase customer satisfaction, which will most certainly result in an increased bottom line. When your staff’s ONE thing becomes a habit, have them move on to their next ONE thing. Before you know it, the "elephant" will be consumed.

Fortunately, if you’re using CounterPoint software, there are many features that will remove the burden of some of these "ONES". A good example is Customer Connect which will create targeted marketing – even a newsletter – and provides feedback to let you know if (and how much) your efforts resulted in increased sales. Let us help you with tools like Customer Connect, SmartAlerts and many others.

Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act of 2003 (FACTA)

Posted on by ccsretail

Becoming PCI compliant is a measured way to greatly improve the security posture of your store. However, data security is not a point in time activity, but an ongoing objective. And PCI standards will never take the place of federal or state laws.

Many merchants are aware of the FACTA law, but in case you are not, please read below for very relevant information on how you can protect yourself from a potential lawsuit or security breach:
The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) of 2003 added new sections to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) primarily to help consumers fight identity theft.  It focused on accuracy, privacy, and limits on sharing consumer information – including credit card information.  FACTA mandated all machine generated debit or credit card receipts printed after December 4, 2006 cannot contain more than the last 5 digits of the card, nor can they show the expiration date of the card.

Radiant’s CounterPoint POS software introduced standard receipts that only show the last 4 digits of the credit card number and do not show expiration dates beginning with versions 8.3.5 & 7.5.12. Please note that if a custom receipt was created prior to upgrading to either of these releases, that receipt was NOT updated in order to avoid overwriting the customization. 

It is imperative that all merchants specifically check their customer receipts to ensure they are showing only the last five digits or less of any card number and are not showing the expiration date at all. 

Merchants should review their customer receipts periodically to ensure changes made over time do not violate FACTA.  

For more information regarding this legislation, please visit: http://www.treasury.gov/offices/domestic-finance/financial-institution/cip/pdf/fact-act.pdf

Our CounterPoint software is now PCI compliant. Contact us for upgrade information if you have an older version.  If you use software other than CounterPoint, it is equally important that your software complies with the above standards.

OLTE – Offline Ticket Entry Preparation Tasks.

Posted on by ccsretail

OLTE – Offline Ticket Entry Preparation Tasks.

Waiting until the last possible moment to start preparing for a remote trade show sale or a sidewalk sale is not good idea, especially when it comes to computer hardware and software configurations.   Generally, you should have your registers, peripheral, software, and data updated (1) one week prior to it’s scheduled deployment.  Everything should be tested properly prior to be boxed-up or transported to the destination, and the data re-updated preferably the day before the system leaves your facilities.  Remember that OLTE ia also designed to keep you online if your server is down during busy seasons like the holiday rush coming up.

Some questions to consider…

Is the PC hardware and software properly configured for offline use?  – I had a recent experience with a customer where they planned to deploy a PC at a trade show that did not have enough  com ports for peripheral devices; there was no OLTE software configuration or data on the PC. They called in for assistance with less the 2 hours remaining in their current workday, the night before the equipment was supposed to be deployed.

How recently has the POS application data been updated?  – Luckily, the customer referenced above,
did have one PC on-site that was properly configured, however, the data on the PC was over a year out
of date, and had to be updated.  Unfortunately, the particular software version the were using required all users to be out of the software in order do the data update.  This meant a further delay in the work, because it had to be done after normal working hours.  At one time, there was a scheduled task set-up to update the data on the PC nightly, however, this had been long ago deleted by a staff member.

Do I have spares for any of the peripherals, just in case something breaks?  – You may be miles
away from the nearest specialty computer store. Replacement parts and accessories may not be readily
available, and may have to be shipped in.  This could easily delay things by days.  Items required  could include things such as peripheral power and data cables, network cables, receipt paper, printer ribbons, etc.

Will the destination have Internet access for doing Credit Card authorizations?  If, not does the
location have phone access for doing Modem authorizations?  The answers to these questions should
be known well in advance of your scheduled event.

OLTE for both CounterPoint Version 7.5.X and CP SQL 8.3.X can be set-up to automatically scheduled data updates.

If you would like more information about the OLTE options or need help with the configuration, please contact the CCS Retail Systems Support Department.

Dying Technologies

Posted on by ccsretail

We’ve heard the expression many times that “The only thing that doesn’t change is change itself.”  That’s certainly true of technology.  Sometimes it seems that even before we master usage of a product it becomes obsolete!

In my lifetime I have seen the demise of a mind-boggling number of “modern conveniences.”  The wringer washing machine, analog telephones, coal furnaces, the typewriter, Super8/8mm cameras, slide projectors, Betamax, VHS format, the phonograph and vinyl records, both reel-to-reel and cassette tape recorders, transistor radios, and the Walkman – all either evolved or faded into history

What technologies are now considered to be “endangered?”  Here’s a partial list from Bloomberg Businessweek

  1. Combustion engines

  2. Consumer video cameras

  3. Credit Cards

  4. Desktop (tower) PC’s

  5. DVD’s

  6. Digital music players

  7. Fax machines

  8. Pagers

  9. Dash-mounted GPS Systems

  10. Landline telephones

  11. Point-and-shoot digital cameras

  12. Remote controls

  13. USB memory sticks

  14. Keys

  15. Game consoles

 These technologies may die, but there are others that may emerge. Examples are 3-D printing, mobile robots, and “human augmentation” technologies that help people function better.  These represent some of the products of the future.

 At CCS, we keep abreast of changes that could affect your CP POS System.  Whether it’s a needed update or a new feature that will help your software to function better, we’re here to help you get the most from your investment.  Direct your questions to us at 425-672-4806 or email us.

 

Its Practice Company Time.

Posted on by ccsretail

Are you going to be hiring temporary workers this holiday season?  Do you have current employees that don’t usually ring up customers work the cash registers?

If so, a practice company would be a great idea to help train your staff.  By having a practice company, users can make all the mistakes they want and not affect your live data.  The system will look and perform just as if you were in the live company.  You will be able ring up customers, take returns, simulate a credit or debit transaction, do receiving, Po’s, etc just as if you were working with live data and customers. 

There are other benefits of a practice company as well:

  • being able to use it through out the year to train new employees

  • see what a change in the setup or turning on an option does and how it affects other aspects of the software.

If you are interested in setting up a practice company in either CounterPoint V7 or in CPSQL, give the CCS Retail Systems Support Department a call at 800-672-4806 or email_us.  I recommend getting help with your practice company.  Improper setups can cause problems.  For example, if improperly setup, live Credit Card transaction could be run by accident.  They could be hard to reverse afterwards.

-Bryan alt

Fake Microsoft Security Essentials software on the loose. Don’t be fooled by it!

Posted on by ccsretail

Last week, we saw the re-emergence of another new trojan that is disguising itself as Microsoft’s no-cost antimalware program Microsoft Security Essentials. This imposter is known in the technical world of antimalware combat as “Win32/FakePAV”. FakePAV is a rogue that displays messages that imitate Microsoft Security Essentials threat reports in order to entice the user into downloading and paying for a rogue security scanner. The rogue persistently terminates numerous processes such as Windows Registry Editor, Internet Explorer, Windows Restore and other utilities and applications.

http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/b/windowssecurity/archive/2010/10/25/fake-microsoft-security-essentials-software-on-the-loose-don-t-be-fooled-by-it.aspx

Mobile device security

Posted on by ccsretail

With today’s smart phones, more and more people are accessing their work networks using their phone.  With the increased convenience of using mobile phones, comes increased risk.

Recently, research has been conducted into the security of mobile phones.  Among the alarming things found:

  • A Fortune 15 company found that 5 percent or 25,000 of its mobile devices were infected with malware.
  • More than 76% of consumers surveyed use their smart phones or tablets to access sensitive personal or business information, including:
    • 51% to enter or modify passwords;
    • 43% to access banking or credit card statements;
    • 30% to access utility bills;
    • 20% to share financial information such as credit card numbers;
    • 18% to access employer’s proprietary information;
    • 17% to access medical records;
    • and 16% to share social security numbers.

These findings have critical implications, for your network security.  If your employees are connecting to your network from an infected phone, then there is the possibility that malware could be installed on your network. You user names and passwords could be captured.  In either case, the security of your network has been compromised.  Your data and your computers themselves are at risk.

There are now companies with security software for mobile phones.  Just like your server, and desktop computer, your mobile phone should have security software on it, and it should be kept up-to-date.

More information on the findings of the security research can be found here. http://www.zdnet.com/blog/foremski/juniper-extends-beyond-the-router-and-into-mobile-security/1559?tag=content;search-results-river

 

Botnets on the rise

Posted on by ccsretail

In the second quarter of 2010, more than 2 million PCs in the U.S. were recruited by botnets.  The sheer number of computers recruited into botnets was lower in other countries, but in some cases the percentage of computers was higher.

Botnet criminals traditionally blitz in anticipation of higher transaction volumes in businesses.   The holiday season usually brings increased levels of attacks.  Your protection needs to be as strong as possible this time of the year.

Once again, this points out the need to use anti-virus, anti-malware, and anti-spyware.  These need to be kept up to date.  Many of the infections that I have seen, have been caused by outdated signature and definition files used by the software to identify malicious programs.

Keeping up to date on Operating System Security Patches is just as critical for your Desktops and Servers.  Keep these current with the latest patches.  Watch for your Microsoft Tuesday Updates and install the critical ones.  If you are concerned about the impact of patches on critical systems like your Office Automation, SQL Server, and other Applications, check with your CCS Retail Tech first.  

With new attacks coming out every day, the importance of everything being current can not be stressed enough.

Some signs that your computer may be infected include:

  • running slow,
  • locking up or crashing,
  • unusual error messages,
  • and not printing correctly. 

Any of these signs, or anything else that just does not seem normal, should be a red flag that you may be infected.

More complete information on the number of computers recruited into botnets can be found at http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-20019602-83.html?tag=mncol;title

Visit the CCS Retail Malware Resources and Alert Blog for the monitoring systems we provide for our customers   Contact CCS Retail Support to help you check your systems and develop your protection plan.
 

GFI Labs Issues Halloween Malware Alert

Posted on by ccsretail

GFI Software’s security research lab today issued a warning regarding Halloween-themed malware attacks as the holiday approaches. GFI Labs, the dedicated malware research center of GFI Software, warns that cyber criminals are using the Halloween season to lure unsuspecting adults and children into allowing malware onto their PCs.
 

http://microsoft-news.tmcnet.com/news/2010/10/27/5095817.htm

Wireless security

Posted on by ccsretail

With the popularity of wireless, and wi-fi hotspots, a word of caution is needed.  There are many readily available wi-fi "sniffers" available, and in use.

A "sniffer" monitors a network, and grabs packets that are being sent.  Since wi-fi is broadcast over the air, anyone with a wireless adapter, and sniffer software, can be listening to your laptop communicating to your server, or anywhere else for that matter.

You should always use a secured connection for such communications, for example SSH, or HTTPS.  These will encrypt the packets being sent, and received, so even if they are sniffed, the information in them is not accessible.  Using unencrypted connections, such as telnet, or http, allows any intercepted packets to be examined and the information in them is readily accessible.  If your telnet session is intercepted, for example, the user name and password that you used is sent in plain text, and easily found in the intercepted packets.

For help checking and improving your security contact CCS Retail Support.