Protect Your Data With a Secure Portable Drive

These days, there's no such thing as nonsensitive data. Whether it's your client list, your sales figures, your financial projections, or the latest designs for a new product, you can't risk letting your information fall into the wrong hands. That's why you need hardware-encrypted storage.

Unlike software-based encryption systems, bona fide secure hard drives lock out intruders at the hardware level, preventing anyone from seeing any part of the drive until they enter a secure password. That's a major security boost because it prevents hackers from using conventional software tools to circumvent your encryption scheme: They can't hack what they can't see.

Secure hard drives come in various shapes and sizes, but the two that are most relevant to small businesses are the notebook-friendly varieties. Internal notebook drives such as the Seagate Momentus 5400 FDE.3 prevent your mobile PC from even booting up without a secure password, making it nearly impossible for a thief to get to your data after stealing your laptop. External models such as the Maxtor BlackArmor Portable Hard Drive let you add security to your mobile arsenal without retrofitting your laptop.

If you put all of your critical business data on a Maxtor BlackArmor drive, you can be reasonably sure that it will never find its way into enemy hands in readable form. When you plug in a BlackArmor drive for the first time, you'll be prompted to create a secure password. From that point forward, the drive is protected. Unplug it from your USB port, and it will use its last trickle of power to relock itself instantly.

Though cracking any security scheme is at least theoretically possible, these hardware-based encryption systems are robust enough to stop even the most determined and nefarious script hackers in their tracks. On the other hand, a professional data-recovery service won't be able to get into the drive either--so whatever you do, don't forget your password.

Besides being great for small businesses, these drives are a good match for enterprise-level businesses. Companies with large mobile workforces can quickly redeploy a BlackArmor drive from one worker to another by securely erasing the current key on the drive and then assigning it a new key.

Under the Hood, Windows 7 Is Vista's Twin

At Microsoft's recent Professional Developers Conference (PDC) in Los Angeles, the air crackled with anticipation. On the heels of Vista, arguably the biggest disaster in Microsoft's history, Windows 7 was about to be revealed. A blast of fanfare, and Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie took the stage to pull the wraps off the new desktop operating system--which would deliver better performance, an improved user experience, and some nifty media-sharing features. The crowd salivated at the chance to play with Microsoft's latest and greatest.

Note: For a look at some of PC World's Windows 7 coverage to date, see:

• "A Tour of Windows 7 Beta" (video)
• "Windows 7 First Look: A Big Fix for Vista"
• "OS X Snow Leopard vs. Windows 7"
• "Microsoft Redefines the OS: Azure and Windows 7 Explained"
• "Microsoft Plans a Stripped-Down Windows 7"

As Windows desktop blogger for InfoWorld (a sister publication of PC World), I was drooling, too. When I got my hands on the Windows 7 "pre-beta," distributed right there at the show, I immediately installed it and began running tests. For PC World, I did an analysis of the changes (or lack of them) that consumers might see. For a deeper dive into my Windows 7 tests, check out Windows 7 unmasked on the InfoWorld site. The more I dug into Windows 7, the more I became convinced that I was dealing with an OS that was a slightly tweaked, nearly baked revision of Windows Vista.

If any pre-beta software ever called for a close look and benchmark testing, Windows 7 was it. I rolled up my sleeves and dove in. I started by examining Windows 7's innards--the kernel and other low-level structures--then slowly worked my way out to subsystem behavior and application runtime characteristics. Because one of the focal points of Microsoft's keynote presentation was improved performance, I looked for signs that Windows 7 would be faster, more responsive, and less resource-intensive than the bloated Windows Vista.

Bottom line: So far, Windows 7 looks, behaves, and performs almost exactly like Windows Vista. And it breaks all sorts of things that used to work just fine under Vista. In other words, Microsoft's follow-up to its most unpopular OS release since Windows Me threatens to deliver zero measurable performance benefits while introducing new and potentially crippling compatibility issues.

[Will your PC run Windows 7? Find out with InfoWorld's Windows 7 compatibility calculator.]

All the test tools I used for this article are freely available from the exo.performance.network Web site. You can also test your current PC for Windows 7 compatibility now, and then monitor Windows 7 performance on your own system when it enters public beta later this year, using InfoWorld's free Windows Sentinel tool.

The View From Inside

Here's what I found in the heart of the OS. Using a combination of the Windows Performance Monitor utility and some reference data I'd gathered from Windows Vista and XP, I began comparing the runtime structure and composition of various OS processes and services.

First up was the Windows 7 kernel--aka the System process. When comparing Windows versions, it's always good to start with the kernel because this is where the most fundamental changes take place. For example, when Microsoft went from Windows 2000 to Windows XP, the System process gained 21 execution threads in its default configuration. Likewise, when Microsoft introduced Windows Vista, the kernel gained 39 execution threads.

[What's so wrong with Vista, anyway? See "Death match: Windows Vista versus XP."]

In fact, the kernel in each major new version of the Windows OS has spawned a different, typically higher number of threads. So when I examined Windows 7 and found a nearly identical thread count (97 to 100) for the System process, I knew right away that I was dealing with a minor point-type of release, as opposed to a major update or rewrite.

Operational Environment

The company must make changes to adjust to the competitive environment. Changes related to the subject to create something with the other. The company's operational environment includes competitors, the credit, customers, suppliers and employees.
To identify the competitors, companies can use the matrix profile competition (Competitive Profile Matrix / CPM). In the matrix using the critical success factors that consist of advertising, product quality, price competitiveness, management, financial position, customer loyalty, global expansion and market share.
Analysis of the most important in the operational environment is to understand the customers of company. Customers can be grouped into consumer and industry. Customer profile consumer information can be arranged according to geographical, demographic, psikografis, behavior and benefits. While the information industry includes variable operational approach to purchasing, situasional factors and personal characteristics. Customer profile Internet can be categorized based on community interest, community relations, community transaction, the fantasy community and community professionals.
The company must maintain good relationships with suppliers to maintain the sustainability and growth of the company in the long term. Suppliers can provide support in form of raw materials, equipment, services, and even financial support. Often suppliers can also help with reasonable prices, improved quality, timely delivery of the goods and reduce the cost of supplies, so that they can increase profits in the long term for the company.
In addition to suppliers, the credit is an important partner in the company, because it can provide evaluation of the company's operational environment. Besides the credit can also support the company in the field of financial or other resources to maintain and mengimplentasikan strategy to compete with the company.
Officers or employees or human resource assets, the company's most important. Former CEO of Unilever, Floris A. Maljers says "the biggest obstacle faced by the company in the face of globalization is the limited human resources, not limited capital." Most companies die, because subordinates should always follow their leaders that never changed. Historian, Alfred D. Chandler, Jr., in a book titled Strategy and the progress of the company's structure-American company, because it would make changes, especially in the management system. Chandler examines the four major American companies, namely General Electric, Du-Pont, Standard Oil company and Exxon. Availability changed from the fourth CEO of the company that makes the company has up to now still survive.
Employees are rice, while the style of management is a side dish. Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric when it says "We are the things to pawn our people, then we need to empower them, give them resources and out of trouble with how to use them." Jack Welch invest half time with employees, so he knows them, talk with them about the problems the company, if they praised the good performance, but berate them if their performance down. He knows about 1000 employees who have good ideas and have responsibility over their work. Personal approach that made Jack Welch to the employees who produce extraordinary results in increased performance. "If you win, we all win" Thus said Welch. That 27,000 employees of General Electric have shares. In 2001 to 2007, General Electric was selected as "The Most Admired Company in the World" ranked first version of Fortune.(m3ynanda)

success in the environmental industry

In any industry, whether in the industrial countries or international, whether produced goods or services, competition rules included in the competition five factors, namely the influx of new immigrants, the threat of product substitution, the bargaining power of buyers, the bargaining power of suppliers and competition among the competitors there (Porter, 1985).
Entry includes obstacle-economic scale, product differentiation, brand identity, switching costs suppliers, capital needs, access to distribution networks, absolute cost advantages, government policies and resistance from the company. The power supplier differentiation is determined by the entries, the cost to switch suppliers from suppliers and companies in the industry, the input substitution, the concentration of suppliers, the importance of the volume of sales for suppliers, the cost relative to the total purchase in the industry, the impact of input cost or differentiation and integration threat to the future relative against the threat of integration to the back by the company in the industry. Determinants of the threat of product substitution of price and performance product substitution, the cost to switch suppliers and buyers to the trend of substitute products. Determinants of the strength of buyers includes purchaser concentration compared with the concentration of the company, the volume of purchase, the cost to switch suppliers from the buyers relative to the cost to switch suppliers from the company, information, buyers, and the ability to perform reverse integration, product substitution, the purchase price, product differentiation, brand identity, the impact of quality, the profit incentive buyers and decision makers. While the determinants of competition among companies that there is a growth industry, fixed costs, excess capacity, product differentiation, brand identity, switching costs suppliers, concentration and balance, motley competitors, betting corporation and exit barriers.
If the five factors determine the strength and they merely a function only of the characteristics instrinsik industry, competitive strategy will be dependent on the selection of appropriate indistri and understanding of the fifth factor is better than its competitors. Thus, the benefits can not compete understood if we do not see a company as a whole. Excellence comes from a competitive range of activities undertaken in the company to design, create, distribute, promote and market the products. In each of these activities can affect the relative cost position of the company and create the basis for differentiation. Strategy costs and benefits of differentiation strategies seek competitive advantages in a wide variety of industries, while pursuing strategies focus on the benefits of cost (the cost of focus) or differentiation (focus on differentiation) in a narrow segment.