Machine-Solution Blog Archive

Medford Knives Rolling Out New Inventory

2019-04-22T15:48:00-05:00

We're rolling out new inventory on Medford Knife and Tool Infraction knives! When was the last time you broke the law? Maybe it is time for an Infraction of your own. For those of you that find a full-sized pocket knife a bit cumbersome, we developed this rocket ship just for you. As the smallest and lightest knife we have ever made, we think you will find this the ultimate in easy everyday carry. We've got the new Infraction models with gun grips. Available in several configurations!

We have the following Infraction Gun Grips styles:

Satin Blade Gray Tumbled handles

PVD Blade Gray Tumbled handles with PVD additions

Bronze Anodized Handles with PVD additions

Bronze to Violet Anodized Fade with PVD additions

Order your new Medford Infraction Gun Grip Knife today!

All Bases Covered with Houston Astros!

2018-03-16T16:38:00-05:00

The staff at Machine-Solution.com hit a home run today with a sale of a Destroyit 4002cc commercial paper shredder to the 2017 World Series Champions Houston Astros! The Houston Astros organization has done business with us for many, many years. Recently, they decided to add an additional shredder to their office. That's when we stepped up to the plate and helped them out.

Today both Gil and Rick of Machine-Solution.com covered all bases with a smooth delivery! Thank you Houston Astros organization for your continuing business!

Machine-Solution Authorized MBM Dealer for the Aerocut Products

2017-11-09T10:58:00-06:00

Back to school time! Machine-Solution sent Rick and Gil to receive factory training from MBM Corporation on the new Aerocut line of creasers including the MBM Aerocut Prime, MBM Aerocut Velocity, and MBM Aerocut Nano Plus. Machine-Solution is now an authorized MBM dealer for the AeroCut line.

In addition to receiving training on the Aerocut products, Rick and Gil received technical training on MBM's Triumph automatic paper cutters, guillotine style cutters, MBM GoCrease paper creasers

Schedule a call today to talk to Rick or Gil on these new MBM Aerocut products! They are eager to help you with your digital finishing needs. Call them today at Toll-Free (800) 203-0233

Machine-Solution Now Authorized Dealer COUNT Machinery

2017-06-27T10:18:00-05:00

Why COUNT Machinery?

COUNT print finishing equipment is built in the good ol' USA. Our new COUNT commercial products are built for professionals and the quality is supreme. The COUNT line machines are backed by the industry's best warranty: 3 years against mechanical failure AND 3 years against electrical failure.

Which COUNT Machine Is Right For Our Company?

We have 8 different models to choose from and each are unique. Let's start with the COUNT iCrease Pro. This machine is a low volume creasing solution combing simple hand-feed operation with robust features. The maximum creases per sheet is 12 creases; the acceptable paper weight range is 60-350 gsm.

Do you also want perforating capability along with digital creasing? Step up with the COUNT iCrease Pro +. This machine is exactly the same as the iCrease Pro except it includes the perforating wheel. This machine creases and perforates paper in one pass - no need to manually refeed the paper into the machine after creasing.

Ready to step up for a more automated approach? Go with our COUNT EZCreaser - an easy to use, affordable solution for low-to medium-volume creasing. This machine has has top friction-feed operation; automatic sheet set-up with a single touch; supports perfect-bind covers; comes standard with rotary perf wheel assembly. Another unique feature with the COUNT EZCreaser is the two-sided creasing die - one side has a narrow crease and the other a wide crease for heavier stock. When you need to change the side simply remove the die and flip it over to use. This automatic creaser includes micro-lateral adjustable feed rails and sheet counter (batch and total counting).

Our high volume creasing and perforating customers will be very pleased with our COUNT AccuCreaser Air which creases up to 5,500 sheets per hour. Just like the COUNT EZCreaser, this machine includes the two-sided creasing die. The Accucreaser Air also can automatically set-up for many folds such as half, tri-fold, z-fold, letter fold, roll fold, gate fold, double gate fold, double parallel fold, perfect bind-no hinge, perfect bind-single hinge, and perfect bind-double hinge. The rotary actuated impact creasing ensures maximum crease accuracy and delivers quality for your customers.

We also carry the COUNT FC114 (top friction feed) and COUNT FC114A (bottom air feed) machines which are an all-in-one solution for quality creasing, perforating, and numbering. Each machine includes 2 numbering heads with 7 digits, 4 drop zeros, and 4 repeats. This machine is so flexible you can program each numbering head individually for multiple numbering. You can choose from either black or red ink (no re-inking required because of the in patented self-inking disposable cartridges). Also, each cartridge lasts about 25,000 impressions.

After you crease you need to fold. What better way to automatically fold your paper after creasing than with our COUNT KF-200 knife folder! The KF-200 knife folder is an add-on to your existing creaser (FC114, FC114A, ACCUCreaser, or EZCreaser) providing a superior in-line, folding solution that avoids cracking of digital media. This machine is automatically set up for 6 common folds - bi-fold, tri-fold, z-fold, letter fold, gate fold, double parallel fold, and a custom option for almost any type of fold.

Now what if all you need to do is number and perforate paper? Take a look at our COUNT Number Pro which is great for low-to medium volume numbering, scoring, and perforating. This is a reliable TOP friction feed machine. One standard per wheel (33 teeth per inch) and one micro-perf wheel are included. You can number almost anywhere up to 12 times per sheet, and add a second head for an additional 12 times - or crash number carbonless forms (up to 6 parts).

Ok but what if you have a higher demand volume? Just turn to our COUNT AutoPro. This is a BOTTOM friction feed machine which means you can continuously run jobs by reloading the paper on the top. Our top friction-feed AutoPro handles low to high volume numbering and perforating. This machine requires a standard air compressor which powers the pneumatic heads. You can apply numbers virtually anywhere on a sheet - from lead edge, place numbers within 1 mm of previous number. Another cool feature is that the AutoPro's pneumatic numbering heads can vary the pressure of the head and control the striking process for the ultimate in consistency and long life. You can number single sheets or crash number carbonless forms up to 10 parts. The AutoPro also features COUNT patented self-inking disposable ink cartridges - no re-inking required.

All of the above models listed have an easy to use touch screen for easy setup and control of the machine.

Last, we are pleased to offer our COUNT PerfMaster Sprint which is ideal for low to medium volume scoring and perforating. This is a top feed friction system and produces thousands of sheets per hour. You get 6 different interchangeable perf options including microperf. The paper weight range is from 60-350 gsm and the maximum linear perf/score speed is about 12,000 sheet per hour - talk about fast! The Perfmaster Sprint handles up to 18" wide paper. You can feed single sheets, coated stock or multi-part open or glued edges. The magnetic paper stops on the receiving tray can be easily adjusted depending on the size of the paper.

Ready to buy or have questions? We'd love to hear from you! Call us Toll-Free at (800) 203-0233 and speak to any one of our friendly sales associates.

New MBM GoCrease Paper Creasers Just Introduced!

2016-08-26T10:02:00-05:00

We're really excited about the launch of MBM's new product line of paper creasing machines! There are five different models available each one with unique features. At Machine-Solution.com we have the MBM GoCrease 3000 manual creaser, GoCrease 4000 electric creaser, GoCrease SEMI semi-automatic creaser, GoCrease F-Speed friction feed creasing machine, and the GoCrease AutoAir automatic air suction feed creaser. All five machines can handle a range of paper weight from 80-400 gsm (creasing) and 80-250 gsm (perforating).

Let's talk about the MBM GoCrease 3000 model first. This machine manually creases AND perforates paper up to 12.6" x 17.7" in size. This has a simple hand operated lever with eccentric wheel that allow the operate to make creases with minimal effort. The GoCrease 3000 is perfect for low volume applications and for those on a low budget. This creasing machine also has an exchangeable creasing and perforating knife as well as 3 different creasing channel widths.

Next, we have the MBM GoCrease 4000 which has an electric foot pedal for creasing and perforating operation. This machine is designed for a higher output and can handle a larger sheet size than other models. It has a working width of 17.7" and is built with a high quality anvil perforation. There are 3 different creasing channel widths so you can customize your project accordingly. Adjustable paper stops allows the operator to easily adjust where you want the creases/perforations to occur.

Are you looking for a creaser with more features? Look no further than our MBM GoCrease SEMI programmable creaser which is a semi-automatic programmable machine operated with a touch screen display. This gives you a fast and accurate setting of distance and number of creases/perfs. There are 5 pre-set folds loaded into the machine. We have 1/2 fold, 1/3 fold, 1/4 fold, gate fold, and book cover fold. Since this machine is semi-automatic, you will have to manually load the paper into the machine. However, the paper movement is completely motor driven so you won't have to move the paper by hand! You can make up to 15 creases per sheet at a rate of 1500 sheets per hour.

For customers that want a little more bang for your buck, check out our new MBM GoCrease F-SPEED automatic friction feed creaser, perforator, and punching machine. That's right! This machine ALSO punches paper. With 6 different easy punching tools you can make any wire bind and calendar products as you wish. When you buy this machine you also get a mobile table for easier use. Here are some other cool features: batching, a telescopic feed table, adjustable feed pressure, and two widths of creasing channels. The waste drawer collects scraps. It is made of metal construction and can withstand everyday use without wear.

Finally we have our MBM GoCrease AutoAir automatic suction creaser with perforating and punching capabilities. This is our LARGEST creaser available. You can crease up to 3000 sheets per hour. With this machine you get more accuracy, feeding reliability, versatility of use, and rotary perforating and cutting tools. The GoCrease AutoAir has a 7" touch screen display and is very user friendly.

Ready to buy or have questions about our new MBM paper creasers? Give us a call at Toll-Free (800) 203-0233 and one our friendly sales associates will be more than happy to help!

Staying Organized Over the Summer

2016-06-16T15:01:00-05:00

Summer may mean endless months of vacation for your kids – but life is a bit different for us adults. Work doesn't just stop from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and you have to find a way to get your job done in between the trips and summer holiday celebrations. It's hard to stay on track, keep on top of your responsibilities, and meet your work deadlines – while at the same time fitting in vacations for you and your office staff. That extra time off can pose a real challenge to your organizational skills, but a little advance planning will go a long way toward making your summer both fun and productive.

Set Up a Three-Month Calendar

Part of what makes summer so challenging is the sense that you're sort of flying by the seat of your pants in terms of your schedule. Vacation days sneak up on you, you didn't realize that your assistant was going to be gone right before the big meeting, and it turns out you’ve accidentally scheduled a project deadline for the same day as the company picnic. No wonder you feel like you're always running behind! The solution is to sit down and plan out your summer months right from the start. Some time during May, take a minute to sketch out your plans for June, July, and August. Include any dates when you will be out of town or off work for personal reasons, as well as vacation days for your boss, employees, and key co-workers. Then take a look at the tasks that need to be completed during that time, breaking larger goals into small bite-sized steps. Working backward from the deadline, plug each project into your calendar, allowing adequate time for completing each step. It sounds like a lot of up-front work, but you'll thank yourself later when you avoid any major scheduling conflicts.

Stick To a Regular Routine

You may find that your summer schedule has a tendency to become erratic – folks are a lot more relaxed about office hours, and it's easy to get in a habit of strolling in late then working until past dinner. However, this isn't really the most productive way to get things done, and you're more likely to end up stressed and exhausted than if you stick to a consistent schedule. Routine is a cornerstone of efficiency, so try to maintain a regular daily and weekly routine. That means starting and ending your days at the same time. It also means being willing to set healthy boundaries when you are asked to put in extra hours to cover for a vacationing co-worker. Certainly, summer is a time of give and take, and you need to be willing to help others if you want folks to reciprocate when you're gone. However, those requests should not eat into your evenings and weekends – you have to be the one to draw the line when “overtime” becomes unreasonable or burdensome. And finally, don't forget to include regular admin time for completing routine tasks like filing, returning phone calls, and follow-ups. Don't let the relaxed summer atmosphere destroy all of your good habits!

The Key To Life Document Organization

2016-03-02T16:44:00-06:00

So many stories over the course of many years in the financial industry. There was the daughter that called from her father’s hospital bedside, desperate because she couldn’t access any of his accounts to pay his bills.

Another woman died in an accident while on vacation, and her sister had to go through a lengthy legal process because she couldn’t find the original copy of her sister’s will.

A family had to make the heartbreaking decision to take their loved one off of life support, unsure that is what he would have wanted, since they couldn’t locate his health care directive.

These situations all could have been avoided by simply having key life documents gathered in an accessible, organized fashion where loved ones could find them.

“I Don’t Want To Be A Burden…”

Universally people do not want to be a burden to their loved ones when they are incapacitated or pass away. Having key life documents organized and in a place they can be located and accessed is critical to achieving this goal. If the father in the hospital had a power of attorney appointing one of his children to take care of financial matters, his daughter would have easily been able to take care of his bills.

If the woman who died on vacation had a document that indicated where her original will was her sister could have avoided the time, expense and stress of going through an extended legal process.

If the loved one on life support had a health care directive, or living will, easily accessible the family could have made confident decisions on his behalf.

The Most Important Document

The most important key document to have available in an emergency is a health care directive or living will. These appoint someone to make medical decisions if you are incapacitated and outline what kind of medical interventions and care you desire.

Equally important is a power of attorney, which gives someone authority to sign for you and make decisions on financial and other matters if you are incapacitated. It is important to note where the copy with the original signature is kept, as some financial institutions require an original for certain transactions.

Another key document is the will, which appoints an executor, or personal representative to handle your affairs after you die, and indicates how your assets are distributed. These documents all outline who you want to be making decisions for you if you ever become incapacitated and after you die, but they are useless if nobody is able to find them.

Accessibility is Key

While there is value in having documents and information stored online, the biggest negative is accessibility. With passwords and security logins to go through, in an emergency this can be a big drawback. Particularly with a health care directive, where time can be important when making medical decisions, having a paper copy at your fingertips can be a lifesaver.

With the explosion of information and transactions that we do online, having something in paper form outlining accounts and passwords could be critical. The safest place for original documents that are expensive, or impossible, to replace is in a safe or bank safe deposit box. Many people also keep original legal documents with their attorney.

Having copies of those documents in an organizer, and indicating where the originals are located, would cover all of the bases.

Gather and Inventory

Going through the process of gathering important documents and information is valuable for many reasons. It helps to see what is missing and if further information is needed before an emergency. Having an inventory of all financial assets and accounts in the beginning stages of making an estate plan can save valuable time and legal fees.

The attorney can also see if there is a need to re-title assets in order to avoid probate. From a financial perspective one can see if it makes sense to consolidate or close accounts, or locate any original stock, bond or savings bond certificates.

It is a valuable exercise for anyone who owns a home to have a place to gather receipts and note dollar amounts of any home improvements, so they can be added to the cost basis of the home before it is sold.

A Common Misconception

Having these life documents organized and accessible is invaluable. It is a common misperception this is something only seniors need to think about, but it makes sense for people of every age to go through this exercise.

College graduates, newly married couples, new parents—all have started to accumulate documents that continue to build as we live our lives.

An organizing system can save a great deal on attorney fees, penalties from missing payments, expenses replacing original documents, and emotional stress.

After a death it eases the burden on loved ones already dealing with grief, and enables them to focus on each other. This truly is the best gift anyone can give to their family or people they care about.

Tax Advice: Making Tax Time Easier

2016-02-09T17:11:00-06:00

Tax advice is something that all of us are interested in. Who doesn’t want to make sure that they are getting everything they are owed? The problem is that most tax advice centers around how to make the most of your deductions without facing the problem that sabotages a large number of us each year: we don’t have the proof that we deserve these deductions.

Each year, shortly after the New Year has arrived, people start bemoaning the fact that “tax time is going to be here before you know it”. Most admit it wouldn’t be such a dreaded task if they had kept track of things like receipts and other documents throughout the year.

When you create a home for future reference items, you prevent that panicked feeling each spring as you try to remember the financial details of your year.

Our First Piece Of Tax Advice Is To Create A System To Sort Income, Expenses And Taxes.

Throughout the year you will come across paper documents supporting important information for your tax returns. Sort this information into three categories, using separate hanging files or binders. If you like uniformity, stick with one color for your files or binders. If you are more visual, you might prefer a separate color for each category:

Income: Here is where you’ll keep payroll stubs, 1099’s, Dividend Distribution statements, Gain & Loss statements and Annual statements from your financial institutions.
Expenses: Receipts of deductible items such as donations, loan interest statements, school/tuition expenses, business expenses such as mileage or uniforms. For real estate transactions, you’ll need the closing statement and any home improvement receipts in case those are deductible.
Taxes: If you pay any kind of taxes throughout the year (I.e. quarterly, estimated) keep these receipts in your Taxes File or Binder.

Valuable Tax Advice on Receipts

If you purchase items that you’ll need proof of when tax time comes, you’ll want to be sure to hang on to the receipt. Sometimes it may not be convenient to file the receipt immediately.

Keep an expandable wallet in your vehicle or kitchen. These are two locations where receipts are often found “floating”. Once a month, transfer the receipts into your Expense File or Binder.
If possible, make a note on each receipt what was purchased and circle/highlight the date. When you’re in the middle of preparing your taxes, you’ll appreciate this attention to detail.

Hopefully you will take this fundamental tax advice and put it to good use. You now have a place to put your tax information and it will be easy to access and use come the start of the New Year. In fact, this tax advice may help you be so organized that you’ll do your taxes early next year.

How to Set Up an Effective Filing System

2016-02-03T09:07:00-06:00

How’s your filing system? Frustrating? Do you find that it’s too hard to remember where things go? Do you ever have trouble finding a specific document again once you’ve stashed it away? You may even have three or four files that contain the same information but are labeled differently – what a mess!

Fixing The Problem

What causes the downfall of a filing system? Chances are it wasn’t much of a “system” to begin with. More likely, it was just a random assortment of individual files that really had no connection to each other.

To create a truly effective filing system, you need to start with a plan. Simply slapping a label on a folder won’t cut it. Don’t worry though; we’re going to set up a filing system that can accommodate any type of paper – home or office. For supplies all you really need are several colors of 2/5 cut tab colored folders, and some box bottom hanging folders

Creating File Categories

Look at your current filing system (or that pile of paper that you’ve been meaning to file for months) and start sorting your documents into broad categories. “Finances” might be one; “house stuff” could be another. At this point, we’re not focusing on the detail of your filing system. Quite frankly it doesn’t matter if it’s a credit card bill or a bank statement right now. We’ll worry about those distinctions later on.

Subcategorizing

Pick one of your “major category” piles and let’s sort through it again. This time, think about breaking your paper into smaller subcategories. For example, your “finances” pile could be divided into:

savings accounts
checking account
student loan
credit card account

Be specific; don’t just say that they are “bank statements”. Determine which account they belong to and break each out into a separate pile. We don’t want any files “bunking” with other files – everyone gets his or her own separate folder.

Color Coding

Each major category of paperwork should be assigned a different color (your choice) – and then we’re going to put each of its subcategories into an individual hanging file folder. In the example above, “finances” might be green, and each of your accounts gets a separate green file folder. It seems like a small thing, but color-coding your system will save you a huge amount of time in filing and retrieving papers.

Being able to look in your file drawer and see distinct bodies of information broken out by color just makes SENSE to your brain. When you know that your financial section is green, your house section is blue and your car papers are in red, you don’t even have to think because your hand just naturally goes to the right part of your file drawer.

Label Making

Now that everyone has their own colored folder, we need to label each file. When creating your labels, move from general to specific. Don’t tell me you are filing paperwork for your “Visa credit card” – call it “credit card: Visa”. When you arrange your folders alphabetically, all of the “credit card” files (no matter how many you have) – will be together in your “finances” section.

Our goal is to keep related files in close proximity to each other. Do this again and again for every grouping of files until you have labeled every file in each major category. I personally use the Viewables® labels because they are neat, easy to read and I can print them from my computer.

Filling Your Drawer

All you have to do now is put the files within each major category in alphabetical order, and then put the major categories themselves into the drawer in alphabetical order.

Place the colored folders in hanging box bottom folders to keep them upright in the drawer. The 2/5 cut tabs show above the hanging files, and the tabs are in a straight line for easy reading.

Whenever you need to find a document or put something in a folder, just look first for the correct major category (easily identified by both the labels and the color). With the right filing system it’s easy to put your hands on the correct file without a lot of searching.

Coping with Holiday Stress 2015

2015-11-19T16:41:00-06:00

Coping with holiday stress is a huge concern for many people. Many people try to pack months worth of activities into just 6 short weeks. Most individuals admit to having stress directly related to this time of year. For mental and physical health reasons, coping with holiday stress is very important. In fact, there are four holiday stress-inducers that you can try eliminating to make your holiday season actually feel like a holiday:

Doing too much in too little time. It’s easy to fall into the trap of trying to do more in the same amount of time. Unfortunately, the holiday season doesn’t grant us any more hours in our days. This year consider putting on hold some of your family’s activities during the holidays in order to accommodate the increases in your schedule. Things like your child’s piano lessons or your book club will easily resume after the holiday.
Having unrealistic expectations. Do you try to address greeting cards, do all your baking and finish up your shopping in just a few days? To quote Dr. Phil: “How’s that workin’ for you?” Instead, start your holiday preparations early. Things such as addressing greeting cards, stocking up on groceries for the holidays or doing the majority of your baking can be done in October or November.
Going into debt. Keep a close eye on those credit cards. Spending money you already have in your checking account will help you avoid additional debt and those January blues that come in the mail in the form of credit card statements.
Sticking to traditions. If truth be told, some traditions bring on stress and aren’t even enjoyable anymore. Maybe this is the year you choose an artificial tree versus cutting one down yourself or maybe you decide to decorate your home with only half the decorations you normally do.

Strategizing against the causes of stress will bring more order, calm and peace into your day. Just by coping with holiday stress you’ll have more enjoyable memories of the entire holiday season.

The Right-Brained Office vs. The Left-Brained Office

2015-10-26T11:13:00-05:00

The right brained office is actually going to look very different than the left brained office. If you have ever wondered what your office says about you, your right brain or left brain probably holds the answer. If you really think, it’s likely that your office shouts out whether you are a right-brain or left-brain dominant person. One of the quickest ways to improve your productivity is by setting up a workspace supportive of your dominant brain style.

Right-Brain Rationale

The right-brained person usually has a creative flair, a strong visual sensibility and a holistic approach to putting space together. The right-brain person benefits from a workspace that uses lots of color along with options for keeping work papers out in the open. Tools such as literature sorters, project file boxes and Smead Open Rolling Files give a right-brained person the visual cues they need while keeping papers contained and organized. These options avoid the out-of-sight, out-of-mind syndrome that pushes a right-brained person to create piles instead of files.

Another good method for the right brained office is the use of attractive and colorful file folders, magazine holders, binders and portfolios. This will inspire the right-brained person to organize with products that create a visually stimulating environment. The right-brained person will not only better remember where info is stored; they’ll actually enjoy using these artistic tools.

Left-Brain Logic

While the right-brain dominant person works better with everything out in the open, the left-brain dominant person does better in a well ordered workspace with everything behind closed doors except for the task at hand. Left-brain oriented persons do best when a logical home has been established for everything. They thrive on tools such as divided desk drawer trays, wire step files and labelers.

Since the left-brain identifies easily with either a numbered or lettered index system for filing information, a Smead Desk File Sorter with numbered days of the month is a good choice for sorting and storing categories of information in a file drawer. Suggested categories to contain include upcoming meeting materials or daily To-Do’s prioritized by day of action. Likewise the left-brained will appreciate that the lettered version of the sorter keeps everything from client invoices to vendor catalogs organized yet easily accessible while still out of sight in a file drawer.

Where Minds Meet

Even though there are differences in what works for a right-brain vs. left-brain office, there is one strategy that works in both – the color coded filing system. Using color in files to designate categories of information appeals to the right-brain design mind, while the left-brain benefits from the part-to-whole nature of color groupings. Both will love the sheer impossibility color brings for misfiling documents. Smead Viewables Labeling System makes fast work of setting up a color coded system. Fourteen color options provide enough selection for the discriminating right-brained and left-brained will embrace the easy to use, step by step process.

Whether you favor the right-brain or the left-brain, making changes to support your preferences and dominant style will keep your thinking focused, creative and productive.

Eight Golden Rules for Back to School

2015-08-12T17:07:00-05:00

Eight Golden Rules for Back to School

Back-to-School is right around the corner! It’s the perfect time to take stock and get your student organized for the new school year. Here are some sure fire tips for starting off the school year on track.

Use an academic planner to stay organized. Whether you use a paper planner or electronic calendar, make sure your planner is set up as a grid system so you can see your week at a glance. Record all your after school activities, weekend commitments, class assignments and projects so you can "visualize" your available time to get your homework and studying done. Include a row in the planner for "Organizing" so that you can plan your locker, knapsack and binder clean outs. Maintenance is key to getting AND staying organized.

Make a to-do list every day. Put the hardest or longest task at the top and do that one first. You will feel a sense of accomplishment when you have tackled the hardest "to-do" first. You will also tackle those difficult tasks with a "full tank of gas".

Set achievable goals. You are more likely to be complete your tasks if they are broken down into manageable parts. It is much easier to write one paragraph for your essay in an afternoon than it is to complete the entire term paper. Check your planner for available pockets of time and schedule accordingly. Setting unrealistic goals sets you up for failure.

Free Gifts. Free periods and study halls are gifts! Use them! Focus on your assignments and to-do list in your planner.

Keep your work with you. You can always get an assignment done whether you are on the bus after an away game or at a doctor’s appointment. Be mindful of your time robbers!

Organize your environment. It is just as important to have your bedroom, study area or back pack organized. Organizing these zones will help you stay on schedule and focused. By keeping your areas organized you will avoid the dreaded "I am looking for that science lab to hand in and I have no idea where it is!"

School holidays: Use your down time during school breaks or conference days to get a jump start on your long term assignments and projects. Better to work on these important assignments when you don’t have the extra pressure of homework, activities, etc.

Set up a special organizing system that works for you. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the amount of papers, homework sheets, handouts, etc. that take over your school life. Use a master binder, accordion file or individual notebooks or folders to corral papers. Make sure the system is easy to use and maintain.

How You Can Save Time With Our HSM Autofeed Shredders

2015-06-09T16:48:00-05:00

Lately there has been a rise in the popularity of our Autofeed paper shredders from every corner of the market. Yes folks new organizations in the healthcare, financial, and legal industries are catching on to the unique capabilities of our Autofeed shredding machines. Let’s face it – no one wants to stand in front of a shredder all day feeding in pages of sheets at a time. Workers are creating little stacks of papers that they need to shred on a daily basis and voilà – that is where our Autofeed cross cut shredders fit in!

One of our favorite shredder manufacturers, HSM of America, has rolled out with a series of three different Autofeed document shredders – the AF150, AF300, and AF500. Now all 3 shredders are available in 3 different security levels – Level 3 (P-4) which is for confidential document destruction; Level 4 (P-5) which is for secret level destruction; and Level 5 (P-6) which is commonly known for “espionage” safe destruction.

Here are a few similarities across the AF150, AF300, and AF500 shredders:

Made in Germany with high quality materials for security and durability (Sehr gut!)
Dust emission tested by independent institute has proven safe and harmless (no coughing from paper dust around these machines)
Automatic reverse eliminates paper jams (which is really cool since you don’t have to tug at the paper to remove a jam)
Quiet operation so you’re not bothering others (darn, you’ll have to bother your coworkers some other way – maybe use an automatic pencil sharpener if you really want to irritate them)
Removable waste container (the shredded material has to fall somewhere, right?)
Light barrier for auto start/stop (hurray!)
Nanogrip technology for reliable sheet intake (how many times have you tried to force feed paper into your old shredder?)
Reliable and time-saving paper shredding with simultaneous dual functions: auto-feed for paper stacks while manually feeding small amounts of paper, CDs/DVDS, credit cards (sorry folks this machine can’t make you coffee).

Let’s look at the HSM Securio AF150 shredder first. You can load up to 150 sheets of paper into the paper loader – regardless of the shredder security level. This series of shredder has a 9 gallon waste capacity; shreds 12.8 feet per minute; and has a 9.5” throat opening.

Now the HSM Securio AF300 shredder is exactly the same as the AF150 except the AF300 has a 300 sheet paper load capacity; this shredder is also wider and deeper than the AF150. The full hopper speed is faster at 22.46 feet per minute vs. 11.23 feet per minute. It also has a neat lock-and-go feature that protects inserted paper stacks against unauthorized access. Just what you need to keep out nosy people, right?

Finally the HSM Securio AF500 cross cut shredder is a real workhorse. It has a loading capacity of 500 sheets and shreds 37.43 feet per minute. It also has the same exceptional features as the AF300.

Why not take the challenge?

Buy one for your office today and you’ll be amazed with your productivity savings! You’ll love our friendly customer service and fast shipping. Give us a call today at Toll-Free (800) 203-0233. We can’t wait to hear from you!

New Dahle 472 S Large Format Rolling Trimmer - A Printing Professional's Dream

2015-06-03T12:39:00-05:00

We're excited to introduce the Dahle 472 S large format premium rolling paper trimmer with stand. This commercial rolling trimmer offers six feet of superior cutting performance. For customers that need to cut large banners, oversize signs, mat board, and more our Dahle 472 S paper cutter will do the job.

This heavy duty rolling cutter is the best choice for professional photographers, sign makers, and print and copy shops. Everyone in the industry trusts the Dahle brand because they make very fine paper cutting machines. Did we mention that this cutter has a lifetime warranty? It's true! Dahle offers a lifetime warranty against defects in manufacturing, materials and assembly (excludes cutting blades). Let me say that again - lifetime!

Here are a few cool features on this cutter:

Cuts up to 12 sheets of paper at once
Easily trims standard size matboard
The shelf sharpening blade cuts in both directions
German engineered for precision and accuracy
The automatic paper clamp holds paper securely so it won't move while you cut
Very, very smooth operation
Sturdy metal base with preprinted guides help you align paper easily!
Imprinted protactor for those tough angled cuts
The back and forth cutting capability maintains the blade's precision graduated edge which allows it to remove even the tiniest sliver of paper, and produces a clean burr free cut each and every time.

Let's talk about safety.

Safety is at the forefront of design. To keep hands in the safe zone, this trimmer's blade is almost entirely enclosed - which virtually eliminates the chance of injury. Holding your work security is no longer necessary. The integrated, automatic clamping system provides even pressure and prevents your work from shifting. This is a dream come true for every printing professional!

Ready to buy?

Try this Dahle 472 S paper cutter today. No one else can beat our friendly customer service and product know-how. We offer free ground shipping and orders typically ship in the same day! We'd love to have your business!

Another Reason to Own Your Own Shredder: Former Employee of Document Shredding Company Pleads Guilty

2015-03-10T15:16:00-05:00

Well folks it looks like there's another story out there about an employee from a mobile shredding collection service being arrested for stealing customer's documents instead of shredding them. This is just another reason why you and your company should seriously start shredding in house.

Here's a link to the article: http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Former-Employee-of-Document-Shredding-Company-Pleads-Guilty-292488201.html

"Former Employee of Document Shredding Company Pleads Guilty

A former Fort Worth employee of a document shredding company who was accused of sharing bank records with thieves has pleaded guilty to fraud charges.

Patrick Doucet, 44, drove a truck for Cintas Document Management, an Ohio company that shreds documents for businesses, including banks and insurance companies.

On Tuesday, he pleaded guilty to fraudulent possession of identification, a second-degree felony.

He faces up to a $10,000 fine and 20 years in prison.

His sentencing is set for May 8.

Police searched his home in North Fort Worth last year.

According to the search warrant, the investigation started in Georgia when a woman was arrested and accused of writing fake checks in the name of a Bedford woman.

Investigators said the suspect implicated Doucet. It was unclear how the two knew each other.

Police said Doucet did not shred documents that were supposed to be destroyed and shared them with the Georgia woman and others.

Gordon, Scott "Former Employee of Document Shredding Company Pleads Guilty" NBCdfw.com 18 February 2015

Tough To Toss: Conquering the Hurdles to Clearing Clutter

2015-02-12T15:43:00-06:00

Well if you haven't gotten around to organizing your office, closet, or other work areas then it's not too late to start!

One of the biggest hurdles to getting organized is a looming anxiety about getting rid of belongings. We want to clear out our space, but struggle when it comes time to move the clutter out the door. Typically, one of four barriers impedes the process. Here is an overview of the most common hurdles, along with some thoughts on how to overcome them.

Barriers to De-Cluttering

#1 FEAR

This is when we think, “I can’t get rid of it because I might need it someday.”We often feel this way about financial paperwork or a specialized item, but this anxiety can nag at us over a variety of possessions.

Solution: Establish Criteria for What You Will Keep

While there are some items that should be kept, it is useful to remember that holding onto items costs space, time and energy. A vague, potential future need is not enough to justify its “rent.” Decide only to keep belongings that:

You might need to produce for legal reasons (such as tax filing paperwork, mortgage documents, car ownership paperwork, living will, etc.) If you aren’t sure what you need to hold onto, consult an accountant who can provide specifics for your situation. There are also some very helpful articles online, just be sure you are referring to a reputable source.
You use. Don’t keep a piece of furniture or set of dishes that you hope your children will someday want. Prioritize what you need for your life today.
Fits your current taste. Don’t keep an item you never really liked, even if it might fit a future need. For example, do not keep old/ill fitting/out of style professional clothes “in case you go back to work.”

#2: GUILT

Items we feel guilty getting rid of commonly include things such as gifts/inherited items, expensive items, bargains, greeting cards and kids artwork.

Solution: Keep What Brings You Joy

“Should” is a bad reason to keep something. As you look at these items, remind yourself:

No relative or friend intended for you to cringe every time you look at an item he/she gave you. It was intended to make you happy. If it doesn’t, get rid of it.
Just because an item has been in your family a long time doesn’t mean it needs to stay. If you love it, keep it. If not, pass it on.
The amount of money you spent on an item is irrelevant. The money is gone, and keeping the item won’t bring it back. Evaluate an item based on its current value in your life.
Greeting cards, unless they are filled with a beloved, handwritten note, can go. Cards are meant to convey a sentiment in the moment, not take up valuable storage space.
Throwing away children’s artwork doesn’t mean you don’t love them. Hang up current creations and then move your favorites either into digital form (try the Artkive app) or a memory box. Art that is made of food, painted on giant sheets of paper, or is simply scribbles on a pre-printed page isn’t worth keeping.

#3: DON’T KNOW HOW

This is where we run into items that are hard to dispose of, such as old paint, used electronics, air conditioners, old/unused medication, heavy mattresses, etc.

Solution: Identify Disposal Options

To move forward, you need to do a little research. If you lack the time/desire to do this on your own, contact a professional organizer in your area for assistance (you can search by zip code at www.napo.net/publicdirectory/). Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

Old Paint: add kitty litter and leave container open until the paint hardens. (latex only) Or, contact a paint store in your area. Many will now collect and recycle old paint.
Phones/Computers: first, see if any retailers have recycling programs in your area (Staples, Best Buy often do). Otherwise, remove/destroy private information and pitch the rest. Check with your town to see if they have an electronics collection site.
Unwanted Medication: do NOT put it in the trash, flush, or run down the drain as this can be harmful to the environment. Instead investigate if your county as a “drug give back” program. Many police departments now collect unused medicines, as well as some pharmacies.
Batteries/used motor oil/oil-based paint/chemicals: check for the nearest/soonest hazardous waste collection day and put it on your calendar so you don’t forget!

PROBLEM #4: HATE TO WASTE

Many of us have items that we have decided to get rid of, but hate to simply throw in the landfill. Sometimes they are in good shape, and we think we can sell them. Other times, we simply want to pass them on to someone who can use them.

Solution: Sell or Donate

If you have items in good shape, AND there is a market, you may be able to sell. Remember, selling always requires work. You can try selling online (via eBay, Craigslist, Facebook Group), have a garage sale, or consign items.
For belongings that are in good shape, but for which there is no longer a market, the best option is to donate. If you have a lot, consider scheduling a home pick-up from the Salvation Army, Big Brother/Big Sister, or Vietnam Veterans. If you have only a few items, drop them off yourself at Goodwill or another local charity.
If the items are stained, worn, or broken, they are trash. More and more, companies are offering recycling options to keep items out of landfills. If this is important to you, do a little research to identify alternatives. For example, Staples gives store credit for used ink cartridges.

Shedding unwanted possessions may not seem as fun as acquiring new ones, but the process is well worth the effort. Clearing space and restoring order brings freedom, control, and lightness... none of which you can buy in a store!

Organizing and Closing Out the 2014 Year

2014-12-31T09:35:00-06:00

The 2014 year is almost over and we're ready to ring in the New Year! It's a great time for families and friends to take a step back and reflect on all the events that have happened both good and bad. It's also a good time for businesses to close out the year, plan for exciting new promotions, and determine how to continue to improve. There is another side to closing out the year and that's organizing. Whether it's archiving files, creating new files, or making plans it is important to tackle these projects sooner rather than later. Here's a checklist to help you start on the right foot for 2015. Happy New Year!

Clean out the files

It’s important to take time once a year to purge the old paperwork in your active files and make room for the new. Ask yourself whether or not documents will be relevant to your work in the coming year. If you might need to refer back to those papers at some point in the future (for legal, tax, or other reasons), move those items to an archive file. And if you find papers with no logical home in your filing system, create a new folder with the appropriate category.

Have you finished cleaning out these times below?

Desktop Files
Client Files
Completed Projects
Financial Files
Receipts
Reference Files
Journal articles
Move items that need to be kept long-term to an archive file
Create new categories if needed

Take a Look at the Office

Office clutter can take over throughout the year – you get busy, create a few piles here, a stack over there, and suddenly you can’t see a single horizontal surface! Go around the room and collect up every homeless item you find, creating a set spot for each. Having an assigned storage space for everything makes it easier for you to maintain order after the first of the year. Just take a few minutes at the end of each day to put things away (not hard when you know where everything goes!)

Have you finished cleaning your office?

Supplies and equipment: only keep what you use on a regular basis at your desk - then store the "extras" in a cabinet or closet.
Books and periodicals: store journals in a magazine holder grouped by title or topic
Reference manuals: keep loose brochures and sets of papers in expanding files or 3 ring binders with Index Dividers between topics
Multimedia: to save space, remove CDs and DVDs from their jewel cases and store them in file folders with self-adhesive CD/DVD pockets
Black stationary items: neatly stored in either stacking trays or a document sorter
To-do's: set up a desk file sorter or hanging files with categories for each type of action - "to call", "to pay", "to file", "to read", etc.

Make some plans

If you’re ending this year wishing you had accomplished more, now is the time to take a look at what got in your way. Decide now what you would like to accomplish in the next year, then plan some uninterrupted time in your calendar to work toward these goals

You're Almost Done! Here's a few more items to check off:

Re-evaluate the previous year and what could be improved upon
Write down your new goals for the new year
Plan and dedicate time in your calendar to work toward new goals
Check-in at scheduled intervals to track your progress

Stress Less: Holiday Tips

2014-11-11T12:08:00-06:00

We all love celebrating the holidays with our family and friends. As we gather around the fireplace or have dinner with loved ones, it's a great time to keep some safety tips in mind.

Trees

When purchasing an artificial tree, look for the label "Fire Resistant."

When purchasing a live tree, check for freshness. A fresh tree is green, needles are hard to pull from branches, and needles do not break when bent between your fingers. The trunk butt of a fresh tree is sticky with resin, and when tapped on the ground, the tree should not lose many needles.

When setting up a tree at home, place it away from fireplaces, radiators or portable heaters. Place the tree out of the way of traffic and do not block doorways.

Cut a few inches off the trunk of your tree to expose the fresh wood. This allows for better water absorption and will help keep your tree from drying out and becoming a fire hazard.

Be sure to keep the stand filled with water, because heated rooms can dry live trees out rapidly.

Toy Safety

Select toys to suit the age, abilities, skills and interest level of the intended child. Toys too advanced may pose safety hazards for younger children.

Before buying a toy or allowing your child to play with a toy that he has received as a gift, read the instructions carefully.

To prevent both burns and electrical shocks, don’t give young children (under age 10) a toy that must be plugged into an electrical outlet. Instead, buy toys that are battery-operated.

Young children can choke on small parts contained in toys or games. Government regulations specify that toys for children under age three cannot have parts less than 1 1/4 inches in diameter and 2 1/4 inches long.

Children can have serious stomach and intestinal problems – including death -- after swallowing button batteries and magnets. In addition to toys, button batteries are often found in musical greeting cards, remote controls, hearing aids, and other small electronics. Keep them away from young children and call your health care provider immediately if your child swallows one.

Children can choke or suffocate on uninflated or broken balloons; do not allow children under age 8 to play with them.

Remove strings and ribbons from toys before giving them to young children.

Watch for pull toys with strings that are more than 12 inches in length. They could be a strangulation hazard for babies.

Parents should store toys in a designated location, such as on a shelf or in a toy chest, and keep older kids’ toys away from young children.

Don't Forget About the Pets

The holidays can be a stressful time for us all — including pets. Mouthwatering foods, unfamiliar guests and temptations in the form of tinsel, string lights and evergreen needles can excite, confuse, and in some situations, prove to be dangerous to pets. Here's list of helpful tips to remember around the holidays to keep your pets happy and safe throughout the holiday season.

Pet-Proof Your Christmas Tree

Whether live or artificial, a Christmas tree is potentially hazardous to your pets. Ensure your pets remain healthy and your tree stays upright with some simple precautions:

Keep the tree blocked off with a playpen or other barrier because tree needles are sharp and indigestible to pets. If necessary, use a pet / baby gate to block off an entire room.

Cover your tree stand with aluminum foil to prevent your pets from drinking out of it. Tree sap and water can be a lethal combination.

Secure your tree to the wall or ceiling so climbing cats or playful dogs can't knock it over.

Decorate With Your Pet's Safety in Mind

It's normal for pets to be curious about the new and unfamiliar. Ensure your decorations are pet-friendly:

Choose Christmas tree ornaments carefully, and avoid those made of glass, contain small detachable parts or are covered in toxic paint. If you aren't sure if an ornament is pet-safe, hang it out of your pet's reach, or leave it off the tree completely. Decorate the bottom of your tree with nonbreakable, nontoxic items.

Don't decorate with edible ornaments, such as candy canes, Christmas cookies, popcorn garlands or cranberry strands. They make pets sick, and your dog may knock over the tree while attempting to reach them.

Say no to tinsel. Even if you only decorate the upper branches of your tree with tinsel, it can fall to lower branches and the floor. When swallowed, it can block your pet's intestines.

Select nontoxic varieties of holiday plants to beautify your home. Amaryllis, holly, mistletoe and poinsettia are all beautiful to look at, but they're toxic to pets. Choose spider plants, American violets or Boston ferns instead.

Keep snow globes on the mantle or a high shelf so your dog can't break them with a wag of his tail. This classic decoration often contains antifreeze that, although sweet-tasting, is deadly to pets.

Don't Let Your Pet Get Burned

Nothing makes a home more festive than the warm glow of candles and twinkling lights. You don't have to do without, just choose options that safeguard your pet:

Make electrical cords less enticing. Cats, in particular, love to chew on dangling cords, which can result in shock or electrocution. Protect cords with cord covers, tinfoil tape or double-sided tape. You can also wipe down cords with something cats find distasteful, such as hot sauce, lavender oil or vinegar.

Choose flameless candles. Wagging tails and curious paws don't mix with traditional candles. Opt instead for LED (light-emitting diode) flameless candles.

String Christmas tree lights on high branches only. Lights can become hot and burn your pet's paws or mouth.

Keep Food and Drink Away From Your Pet

Holiday food is as tempting to pets as it is to us. Unlike humans, pets don't understand that certain foods can make them sick. Ensure your pet stays well by doing the following:

Don't feed your pets food scraps. Nothing puts pounds on a pet like table scraps, plus turkey and chicken bones can choke dogs.

Keep bowls of candy and chocolate well out of your pet's reach. Chocolate is toxic to pets, and even a small amount can make pets sick, while hard candy presents a choking hazard.

Secure the trash so curious pets can't forage for food scraps.

Keep wine, eggnog and other alcoholic beverages away from your pet.

Be Considerate of Your Pet

Remember to keep your pet's interest top of mind. While the holidays can be a busy time, it's easy to keep your pet happy and content:

Play with him, take him on long walks and provide him with healthy treats and stimulating toys. A bored pet is more likely to get into mischief so keep him active and entertained.

Vary your pet's routine as little as possible. Keep his walks, feed and play times, and naps on a regular schedule.

Confine your pet to an unused room or crate. Some of your guests may be uncomfortable or afraid around pets, while your pet may be nervous or frightened by a large group of unfamiliar people. Ensure a comfortable situation for both by keeping your pets safely confined.

National Security Agency Evaluated Product List Released Sepember 1, 2014

2014-09-01T11:39:00-05:00

The National Security Agency has published a new Evaluated Product List titled NSA/CSS 02-01 September 1, 2014.

The new NSA/CSS 02-01 EPL for high security crosscut shredders features a new format where combination optical media and paper shredders are listed first.

http://www.nsa.gov/ia/_files/government/mdg/nsa-css_epl_02-01.pdf

The latest iteration of the NSA/CSS 02-01 EPL features an alphabetical list by Distributor, a product list of discontinued products and a product list of non-approved products; the relevant dates are annotated in color in the Remarks Column.

This update to the NSA/CSS 02-01 EPL also features a complete listing of authorized Distributors with contact information, website listings and all GSA Contract related data.

It is a very complete update.

More NSA/CSS updates will follow upon the completion of the 02-01 EPL for high security cross cut paper shredders. ProSource Packaging, Inc. has multiple products on the NSA/CSS EPL.

You may find our high security paper and media shredders at www.machine-solution.com.

UPS to Charge By Package Size

2014-08-25T10:16:00-05:00

Well folks it looks like UPS shipping rates are going up. Here's an interesting article explaining when the rates are going up:

"United Parcel Service said on June 17, 2014 it will set rates for all U.S. ground shipments based on package size, following a similar move by rival shipper FedEx.

UPS plans to expand dimensional-weight pricing, which determines cost by measuring exterior package size, beginning Dec. 29. Shipping prices are based on dimensional weight if it exceeds the actual weight.

The Atlanta-based company already applies this method for domestic and international air services, as well as UPS Standard service to Mexico and larger packages sent to Canada. UPS said it will also start using dimensional-weight pricing for all packages shipped to Canada through UPS Standard.

“UPS has been researching the potential expansion of dimensional-weight pricing for a number of years because it enables us to more appropriately align rates with costs which are influenced by both the size and weight of packages,” UPS chief commercial officer Alan Gershenhorn said in a statement.

In May 2014, FedEx announced it will apply dimensional-weight pricing to all shipments starting Jan. 1, 2015. Like UPS, FedEx has used size-based pricing for express shipments and certain large packages.

The switch to dimensional-weight pricing comes in response to rising fuel costs and the increasing popularity of online shopping. With retailers like Amazon.com often putting small items in large boxes, lightweight packages can take up a lot of space on delivery trucks but are priced at lower rates.

UPS explained that recent shipping trends have resulted in declining package density, saying shipments are getting larger compared to the package weight. UPS hopes its rate changes will convince customers to match box sizes to the items inside.

“The company believes that as a result of the dimensional weight pricing method, more shippers will seek to optimize their packaging practices,” UPS said. “These efforts will reduce excess packaging materials and overall package sizes, leading to related reductions in fuel use, vehicle emissions and transportation costs.”

For some UPS Freight customers, the company recently began offering an optional density-based pricing program. The new pricing method uses a shipment’s weight and cubic volume rather than the National Motor Freight Classification system."

UPS Ground shipments in U.S.: If the cubic size of the package in inches is 5,184 or larger, divide the cubic size by 166 to determine dimensional weight in pounds. If the cubic size in inches is less than 5,184, use the actual weight of the package. Increase any fraction to the next whole pound.

Effective December 29, 2014, dimensional weight will be used to calculate the billable weight of all UPS Ground packages.

Shredder Art Created with a Destroyit 2604 by Artist Wolfgang Flad

2014-08-22T17:17:00-05:00

We thought this was really cool to share - enjoy!

Artist Wolfgang Flad lives and works in Berlin. The 38-year old was born and raised in Reutlingen, pretty close to the premises of Krug & Priester. After his studies at the University of Applied Sciences (textile design) in Reutlingen, and subsequent training at the Academy of Fine Arts (painting) in Stuttgart, Wolfgang Flad was attracted by Berlin, the metropolis of arts. Right from the beginning, he committed himself to abstraction, which is visible in his sculptures and mural reliefs.

Mr. Flad, what is the common ground between the document shredder and your pieces of art?

My sculptures are made of wood and papier mâché, which I generate from shredded art critiques, art magazines, art catalogues and exhibition invitations. I am excited by the idea of making pieces of art with simple material, in such a way that they are not associated with recycling but with classical sculpturing, and thus create their very own, seductive form language.

How did you run across IDEAL Document Shredders?

I had grappled for long enough with conventional shredding machines, which ran hot, required a long cooling down period, got jammed and gave up the ghost right after warranty expired. Since I need big amounts of shredded paper, I was sooner or later looking for information about professional machines, and this is how I found IDEAL.

Which IDEAL shredder do you work with in your artist´s workshop?

Thanks to your commitment to my art, I am recently in a position to work with the IDEAL 2604 Cross Cut model. This is an enormous improvement compared to the machines I had used before, and now I do not have any bottlenecks due to insufficient quantities of shredded paper.

What do you like most about this shredding machine?

It has exactly the right capacity and size to shred big amounts of paper within the shortest time, and to collect them in a big shred bin. Independent from its capacity, the machine is also looking good. Its design is plain and it integrates nicely and quietly into my working environment. I created a special corner, where I mix the shreds with a rotary stirrer in buckets for the production of papier mâché on a large scale, to model and cover later on the wooden matrix.

Which projects are imminent and how will our IDEAL shredder support you?

My biggest project so far was an installation in the Centraal Museum in Utrecht, Netherlands. It was at the same time the endurance test for the shredder, which it passed with flying colours. For this work I built a huge amount of biomorphic skeletal structures, and installed them in the showroom partially pending. The structures acted like a prehistoric skeleton, like the result of a science fiction invasion or like the snap shot of liquid, thrown inside the room. By experience, I succeeded in creating for every single contemplator his or her own range of interpretation. As of the middle of January, I will show a comparable installation in the Gallery for Contemporary Art, Grölle-Pass Project, in Wuppertal (www.groelle.de). Group exhibitions will follow, and I am waiting for the next opportunity, to realise a big installation in a room of art or in a public building.

Ten Strategies to Overcome Procrastination

2014-06-13T07:59:00-05:00

Do you ever feel like you're putting things off to the last minute? Or maybe do you keep telling yourself "I'll do this when I have time" or "I'll finish this project later on"? I found this is a great article written by Debbie Rosemont, CPO of Smead about how to overcome procrastination. It took me a while to find it but I found it! Enjoy.

"True confession: I procrastinated on writing this article on procrastination. The irony is funny, right? Actually, it is proof positive that we all procrastinate now and then; some more often than we’d like to admit. As a Productivity Consultant, I love to share my “human” moments with clients and workshop participants to show that I understand what they go through and have learned lessons along the way that I practice and teach to be more organized and productive.

We can define procrastination as the undesirable time gap between intention and action. I intended to write this article weeks ago, but didn’t get to it until last week because of competing priorities and, if I’m honest, because of my own perfectionist tendencies.

There are ten primary causes to procrastination:

Self-Control – someone who procrastinates because of self-control issues may be impulsive or be unable to prioritize.

Shiny Objects – email alerts, paper piles, interruptions, or other distractions can serve intentionally or unintentionally as avoidance factors, causing us to procrastinate on what we really ought to be doing.

False Beliefs – erroneously thinking, “I work better under pressure” makes some people put off tasks until the last minute. They may even pull it off and get the task done by the deadline, but it is often not the highest quality of work than if the task had been given more time.

Fear of Failure – If someone does not have the confidence that they can accomplish the task successfully, they may procrastinate, preferring to be seen as lacking in effort than in skills.

Thrill Seeking – some people enjoy the adrenaline rush that accompanies the last minute push to get something done “under the gun.”

Task Related Anxieties – avoiding the difficult, boring or undesired task. “I just don’t want to do it.”

Unclear Expectations – vague priorities or direction might lead to procrastination if you don’t know how to start or what steps to take to get the task done.

Depression – for someone who is experiencing clinical depression, it can be hard to get started on something new. It may feel overly difficult or pointless.

Punitive Parenting – an individual who was raised with highly critical parents may have messages running through their mind that they aren’t good enough and/or they fear additional criticism. Procrastination can be seen as a form of rebellion for these folks too.

Perfectionism – This is the #1 cause for procrastination. Perfectionism can be paralyzing to productivity. A perfectionist will put off starting something that they worry they can’t do perfectly and they will also put off finishing a task because it never seems “good enough.”

Employ these ten strategies to address each cause and combat procrastination:

Eliminate Distraction – clear clutter in your workspace, shut down email to get something done and remove shiny objects from your space.

Gain Clarity – ask questions (of yourself or someone assigning you a task or project) to better understand the objective of the task, as well as the recommended steps to get it done.

Eat an Elephant – Q: How do you eat an elephant? A: One bite at a time. If you feel overwhelmed by a project or task, break it down into bite size pieces. The end result may feel daunting, but each piece should feel very manageable by itself. If the bites still feel overwhelming continue to break them down until taking the first step, or the next step, by itself feels doable.

Stop Messing Around – Sometimes we just need some discipline to stop any avoidance strategies and buckle down to work. Know what you use as avoidance tasks (i.e.: Facebook, a trip to the water cooler, checking email again, etc.) and don’t let yourself indulge until you accomplish a task or reach a milestone in your work.

Establish Rewards – It can be motivating to have something to look forward to. Consider small ways you can reward yourself for staying on task for a period of time (this could be allowing yourself to participate in something that you previously used as an avoidance task – 15 minutes on Facebook, a call to a good friend, a walk around the block, cup of tea, etc.) and identify a bigger way to reward yourself for accomplishing the end result in a timely manner for larger projects. Consider the Pomodoro technique for working – stick to a task or project for 25 minutes and then take a 5 minute break. Alternately, work for 50 minutes in an hour and do something for yourself for 10 minutes. Rinse and repeat.

Block Time – Mark time on your calendar for priority tasks, and then honor it. Make appointments with yourself to work on something that you might otherwise put off. We are usually good at sticking to our appointments we make with others. We can do the same for important work we want to accomplish. When the appointment shows up on the calendar, no procrastinating; that is what you work on during that time block. Yes, some of this takes discipline, but you can do it.

Minimize Interruptions (or at least know how you’ll handle them) – If you have an office with a door, consider closing it when working on a priority task or project. Minimally, post something visible that tells others that you are “heads down” for a period of time. Eliminate the candy dish from your desk if it is the reason others constantly interrupt you to chat. If you are interrupted by a colleague, stand to greet them (so they don’t sit and make themselves comfortable for a while), ascertain what they need and then make a decision about whether or not their need is a higher priority than what you were working on. If it is, make a quick note on your work about the step you were about to do next (this reduces the time it takes you to recover from the interruption and reengage in the work) and give them your full attention. If what you are working on is a higher priority than what they need, let them know you are on a deadline and need to finish your work, and ask them to come back or meet up at a later time.

Adopt My Favorite “Recovering Perfectionist” Mantra; Done is Better than Perfect – Get started, even if you don’t think you can do something perfectly. Most of the time, perfect isn’t needed. Know when 90-95% is good enough. A perfectionist will spend 50% of their time on a task or project getting the last 5-10% perfect. That means if they spend an hour getting something 90% done, they will spend another hour perfecting the last 10%. Most of the time, there’s a better use for that time. Unless you’re a pilot or surgeon, then work to perfection. Otherwise, procrastinate less and get more done by understanding that done is indeed better than perfect.

Ask Someone to Hold you Accountable – We are less likely to procrastinate and put something off if we’ve told someone else about what we intend to do. Knowing that person may ask about our progress, we are more likely to act. Share your goal or priorities with someone you trust and ask them to help hold your feet to the fire. An accountability partner can be a powerful productivity strategy.

Go For It – Face the fear of failure (or fear of success) and do it anyway. Take a risk, ask for help if you need it, but make progress, move forward and decide that today is the day.

What are you waiting for? Use these strategies to fight procrastination, get stuff done and reach your goals. Here’s to your increased productivity and success!"

Breaking News: GSA Suspends OS2 Amid Protests

2014-06-04T15:57:00-05:00

Breaking News: GSA Suspends OS2 Amid Protests

Earlier today, June 4, 2014, Independent Office Products and Furniture Dealers Association (IOPFDA) received word that the General Services Administration (GSA) had immediately suspended Federal Strategic Sourcing OS2 for office supplies due to several protests filed claiming GSA violated the FAR in extending these contracts as well as the Jobs Act passed by Congress in 2013.

Click here to Download a Copy of the Notification Letter. GSA has not indicated when they will resolve this issue, but stay tuned as IOPFDA will keep on top of this issue.

***NEW UPDATE June 5, 2014***

Here's some more information on the GSA Suspension of Office Supplies 2 Program that was just released today.

Better stock up on Tape Cartridge Media!

2014-05-27T11:23:00-05:00

In the past several months, two Japanese companies have ended production on manufacturing tape cartridge media including LTO tapes. These two companies are Maxwell and TDK. TDK begin withdrawing LTO tape manufacturing in the first quarter or 2014. Here is a brief recap of TDK’s restructuring process:

“For the restructuring reform progress, in order to optimize the business portfolio we have to withdraw from the LTO business, ending production by October and withdrawing entirely by March 2014, as well as withdrawing from the Blu-ray business by the second half of this year. Second, in order to enhance our manufacturing capabilities we will implement the consolidation of domestic production bases. For restructuring reform costs, in Q1 we spent 700 million yen, and in Q2 we spent 200 million yen. 2.8 billion yen will be spent by the withdrawing date. 3 billion yen were spent in Q2 so in total we spent 3.7 billion yen in restructuring reform costs in the first half, which is out of the 10 billion yen structural reform budget of this fiscal year. The expected amount of benefits from this structural reform is still about 8 billion yen that we announced in April 2013 and this is the final phase of restructuring.”

http://www.global.tdk.com/ir/ir_events/conference...

LTO tapes or Linear Tape-open is a magnetic tape data storage technology. LTO is widely used with small and large computer systems especially for back up.

Move Away from Windows XP Fast!

2014-04-17T11:28:00-05:00

Are you still using Windows XP? If so, you should start consider using a new operating system because Windows XP is no longer supported by Microsoft. In fact, the next patch that Microsoft will release In May will only release patches and updates to fix flaws in supported versions of Windows. Don't count on Microsoft testing Windows XP to verify whether or not those same flaws exist in the legacy OS. Microsoft will not develop a patch to fix the unsupported platform. Did you know that attackers will have the ability to reverse engineer the updates Microsoft develops for later versions of Windows to identify the vulnerabilities patched? It's true. And the scary thing is that the attackers can figure out if those same holes exist in Windows XP, and craft exploits to compromise the vulnerable systems. So it's best that you stop using Windows XP altogether and use a more secure operating system.

Stay On Guard: Heartbleed Bug Breaks Worldwide Internet Security

2014-04-09T10:21:00-05:00

Every day you use encryption technology to protect your data, your applications and online services . Most of the time most people are blissfully unaware it is even happening. Whether you are a consumer accessing your Internet bank site, using a mobile application to log in and share data or trading online most of our use of modern technology involves this key capability and without it trust on the Internet is significant undermined. A new bug, again, puts trust on the Internet at risk on a significant scale. The bug, dubbed ‘heartbleed’ is based on a fault in functionality in the widely used OpenSSL library. It was originally discovered by Neel Mehta of Google Security. This library is extremely widely used from security vendors products to secure web browsing (when you log in to a site and see https://) and even mobile banking applications. The Apache web server which powers a substantial part of the Internet tends towards using OpenSSL. You may be using it at your business right now and many popular services like Yahoo have been shown to be vulnerable.

So what exactly does this bug do and why should you care? There are numerous technical write ups (with excellent detail, one of my favorites being this one) but for the rest of the Internet community the problem is as follows. When the bug is exploited the attacker can retrieve memory (up to 64kb) from the remote system. This memory may contain usernames, passwords, keys or other useful information that enables bigger attacks. An attacker may for example be able to retrieve the keys and secrets used to encrypt traffic and then intercept and read the communications of all other users of that service. There are all kinds of variations that might be possible based on the ability to read this memory. 64kb may not seem like a great deal of data, but of course the attacker can connect repeatedly and progressively collect more information. This is a serious problem indeed.

What should you do to protect your services?

1) Check whether your website, apps or any products use OpenSSL and whether they are vulnerable to the attack. There is a neat site at http://filippo.io/Heartbleed/ where you can quickly run the check.

2) Update OpenSSL to the latest version which fixes the defect – this is not an automatic process in many cases. You need version 1.0.1g or above.

3) Check the state of the your SSL configuration for your website and mail services. You can use this SSL checker and CheckTLS for mail servers. This bug is the least of your worries if you are using the technology badly in the first place.

4) Take a look at the more technical Q&A at http://heartbleed.com/ if you have further questions about the bug or how to remediate it.

“Bravo Zulu”: Machine-Solution.com Flies High with Tinker AFB

2014-03-06T16:25:00-06:00

Recently we sold a shredder to Tinker AFB near Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Tinker AFB is the headquarters of the Air Force Material Command’s Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, which is the worldwide manager for a wide range of aircraft, engines, missiles, software and avionics and accessories components.

Can you image just how large this base is compared a commercial building? Certainly they must receive truckloads deliveries on a daily basis right?

Well sure enough, due to the huge shipping volume, Tinker AFB assigns delivery dates with Estes Express (a freight truck lines company). In this case, Estes Express makes standing appointments at Tinker for deliveries on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

Our customer at the base contacted us inquiring about their shredder delivery because they had not received it by the promised time we had given them. After we did a little research and spoke with Fellowes, it turned out that the local Estes Freight terminal scheduled the first delivery appointment on 3/5. But due to bad weather, Estes Freight could not make the delivery and therefore rescheduled for the following date.

He admitted that in all the years he has worked at the base that there have been delivery issues before. However, he was willing to drive to the local Estes Freight terminal to pick up the shredder since it was more convenient (the base is within 20 miles of the Estes Freight terminal).

Anyway our customer was very grateful for our hard work and diligence in ensuring that the delivery went smoothly. He sent us this email:

“Thank you, You and Paul have been the greatest help. Yes, we did have some snow and ice, but I don’t think it was that bad, they had the roads clear really quick. Anyway, I will get over there after Noon and get this picked up. Thank you again for your help and I will not let this affect any future business. “

As they say in the Air Force, we received a “Bravo Zulo” or praise for a good job. We love helping our government customers and enjoy sharing these positive stories. We hope you will join our growing list of satisfied customers.

The Secret for Getting Ready for Tax Time

2014-02-12T15:52:00-06:00

Of the two constants in life, taxes have one big advantage over death; we know when they are coming! So why do we often find ourselves putting it off until the last minute? The answer to that question lies in two parts.

Reportedly, one of the chief reasons we delay filing for our taxes is related to being disorganized; we don't know where the papers we need are located, and sometimes we don't even know what they are. We anticipate the search ahead with dread, and putting it off is a common solution.

Additionally, people tend to have a lot of paper clutter related to taxes in the form of files, envelopes and banker's boxes full of statements and receipts. When the volume of this paper clutter gets out of control, it contributes to a feeling of chaos and we become overwhelmed.

Luckily, there is an antidote to the tax blues: you can lessen your burden tenfold when your tax documents are organized and de-cluttered. Not there yet? Set up this new system for 2014 so that next year, your taxes will be a breeze.

Step 1: Create a Rotating File

The first lesson in getting the files in your home or office organized is the recognition that each individual piece of paper relating to your taxes (and, in fact, relating to anything at all) is an object. When we are able to locate the objects we need in an instant, the action that we take on them becomes simplified. By eliminating wasted time searching for things like charitable donation receipts and dividend statements, you will be freeing yourself up for other things that are more fun than filing your tax return. Which, let's face it, is basically anything.

We love this foolproof system for filing and organizing your tax documents and receipts. It is based on the retention guideline of keeping old tax returns for seven years. Note: Be sure to check with your tax advisor to make sure this applies to you. The exception to this seven year rule is paperwork that relates to a potentially taxable investment or asset, such as your home or stocks bought outside a retirement account. In that instance, hold on to the paperwork for the duration of the investment or asset, plus seven years in addition.

Here's how it works: within your filing cabinet, drawer or even bankers box, set up 7 hanging folders, each with a file folder and a tab (we love the Smead Viewables program to create durable tabs that will last for years on end). Next, label each tab from one to seven, starting with the number one. The first folder will represent the most current year's tax return paperwork, with each previous year following. So, for example, folder number one will represent 2013, folder number two will represent 2012, folder three for 2011, and so on.

Using the system as a moving rotation, each year after you file your taxes, you should move the tax return and all related paper from each file back one, shredding file number seven and making room in file number one for the current year's return. Again, check with your tax advisor to be sure that the seven year retention guideline applies to you. If you have too much paper to fit into the file, keep only the tax return and move the rest to a banker's box. If you want to keep the 7+ year old returns themselves, that's ok; they don't take up much space and can easily be put into deep storage.

The benefit of this system is that it creates a visual record for you to track your tax paper. When you rotate the files back and shred that last tax return records, it acts as a visual cue to shred related documents like receipts and W-4s related to that tax year. That means dusting off that stash of banker's boxes in your garage, pulling out the oldest one and sending it to that giant shredder in the sky. Doesn't that feel good?

Step 2: Create a Checklist

Once you have your rotating folder set up, you will have the last seven year's tax returns at your fingertips. Find a time when you can be uninterrupted for at least 2 hours. Turn your phone to silent and sit down in a comfortable location, preferably somewhere with a large, flat surface to work. Grab a pad of paper, a pen, and your rotating file.

Next, review your previous tax returns and look for what documents, historically, you have needed in the previous years. In addition to the W2 from your employer, a typical list might include:

A tax statement from your lender showing what you paid for mortgage interest
Dividend statements from stocks you own
Transaction form if you sold stock
Student loan interest
Receipts from charitable contributions
Unreimbursed business expenses
1099's

Write down each of the documents you anticipate needing. Type it up, print it out, and slide it into a sheet protector. This checklist will go into your current year's tax tab in your rotating seven year file. Each year when you shred the oldest file and move them all back one year, the checklist will remain in file #1.

Step 3: File for Retrieval

This is one of our favorite pieces of advice for organizing paper files. If you don't ‘file it to find it' then that paper is worthless. Be purposeful in where you file your paper, and what you name that file. For example, rather than having a file named "Charitable Donations" and another named "W-4s" and so on, simply put all paper related to your current tax year together in file #1. Yes, the file will be fat, but it will allow you to access everything you need in one moment, rather than searching for it through multiple files in multiple locations. Plus, you will know exactly where to put those statements when they start appearing in the mail. Note: It is ok to have a couple of manila envelopes in that file to hold receipts.

After years of organizing offices and implementing the time-saving practices of lean 5s office systems, we can honestly say "These steps work!" Imagine how wonderful it would be to eliminate time spent worrying, dreading and searching for the paper you need.

Some other Tax Tips:

Looking for even more ways to increase your financial organization? Here are some additional tips:

If you like giving things to charities like Goodwill and the Salvation Army, get in the habit of not only getting a receipt each time, but itemizing it and adding the dollar value right there before you drive off. One slow cooker: $20, two women's jackets: $16 – this lets you easily add up your deductions at the end of the year.

If you found that you contributed to numerous charities throughout the year, you may want to consider giving more to just one or two; it will give you less paperwork to manage, and give them a more impactful donation.

Take the opportunity to review your financial goals for the upcoming year. By reviewing the previous year in detail, we are more likely to then set realistic goals for the future.

Consider taking the opportunity to start the fiscal year off right by increasing your 401K by 1% if you haven't already reached your max allowable. No one ever says "darn, I saved too much for retirement".

Yes, organizing and de-cluttering your personal and office tax-related papers will require an initial investment of a couple of hours. The upside? Completing your taxes on time with less stress. Who knows, you may feel so good about it that you decide to tackle the rest of your paper next!

Quartet Whiteboards Resource Selection Guide

2014-02-10T15:42:00-06:00

Not all whiteboards are created equal

##SOCIALBOOKMARKS##

When weighing initial cost vs. product performance and lifespan, which best describes you?

In a week, how often do you use a whiteboard?

Some whiteboards require more maintenance than others. How much time do you want to allocate?

1. If ink remains on the board 24/7, then that is HEAVY usage, even if only changed once a week, such as restaurants.

2. EVERY WHITEBOARD NEEDS CLEANING. The better the surface, the less cleaning required.

3. Porcelain surfaces are ALWAYS magnetic, but Magnetic surfaces are not always porcelain.

4. Board design and frame color aesthetics are often important to match the environment in which they are placed.

5. NOT ALL DRY ERASE MARKERS PERFORM EQUALLY. Some are more difficult to erase than others, which results in Stains and Ghosting. Low Odor, Quartet EnduraGlide® markers optimize performance by always providing a bold mark and excellent erase ability.

6. ERASERS SHOULD BE CLEAN! A “dirty eraser” will often spread ink residue all over the surface.

7. Industrial strength cleaning solutions can damage a board’s surface.

Premium Performance

A “must” for every classroom and high traffic conference room. Porcelain & Glass will not stain or ghost / Total Erase resists ghosting & staining. Porcelain surface will not scratch or dent

Ideal for conference rooms, common areas, factory floors and heavy-use personal boards

View Boards >>

Enhanced Performance

Excellent choice for popular conference rooms or shared environments. Total Erase resists staining & ghosting. Total Erase includes subtle grid pattern helps guide writing

Ideal for public spaces and personal heavy use

View Boards >>

Standard Performance

Popular for personal workspaces. Ideal for low-frequency, personal use or public areas

Ideal for public spaces and personal heavy use

View Boards >>

Mobile Security Awareness On Top of the List this Christmas

2013-12-23T10:32:00-06:00

We're more mobile than ever. But the cost of mobile convenience is that we're leaving basic security practices - that have become second nature on a desktop - behind.

According to the 2013 Norton Report, Australian mobile users had a general lack of security awareness when it comes to using their mobile devices. Some 32 per cent of surveyed respondents said they had experienced mobile cybercrime in the past 12 months and approximately one in five of survey respondents had lost their mobile device or had it stolen.

While adoption of mobile devices is high, awareness and willingness to take precautions against these threats is low. At the same time, criminals are seeing success with developing mobile-specific malware and scams, and by taking advantage of lost and stolen phones.

The report also found that the lines between work and play are becoming increasingly blurred. Nearly 46 per cent of survey respondents use their personal devices for work-related activities and 32 per cent say their company does not have policies in place around the use of personal devices for work. This puts both people and companies at risk and creates new security risks for businesses as cybercriminals have the potential to access sensitive business data.

As social media becomes part of our everyday life, Australians are also taking risks with their personal data online. The report revealed that over a quarter (30 per cent) of the surveyed participants connect with people they do not know on social media and one in four share their social media passwords with others. In addition, some 18 per cent of surveyed respondents save both their work and personal documents to the same online file storage account.

Like we have seen with mobile devices, the oversharing of information, whether it is on social media platforms or online file storage accounts, is creating a risk for businesses and consumers alike. The more places where work documents are saved and personal information is shared, the more avenues for a cybercriminal to gain access to valuable business and personal information. Every time you are online on any platform - mobile, social or cloud, you run the risk of becoming a victim of cybercrime if you do not take the necessary security precautions.

Tips for Staying Safe Online

Install and update a comprehensive security suite for all devices
Use strong passwords for all devices and change them regularly
Be careful with who can access your cloud-based account
Understand the policies around using your personal devices at work and vice versa
Avoid sharing personal information through the Internet, unless it is a secure connection. Always check for "https" in the web address
Check your privacy settings on all your social media accounts and install two factor authentication
Check your credit card and bank statements regularly for any suspicious transactions and report them to your service provider, your financial institution and the police

Multiple Security Alerts - Cash and Cargo

2013-10-24T16:23:00-05:00

Cash Register Skimmers

Six men may have been involved in the installation of cash register skimmers at a Nordstrom store in Florida according to a report from Brian Krebs.

According to a police alert on October 5, the store was first visited by three men whose actions were captured by CCTV cameras. Two of the men, it is said, distracted sales staff whilst the third took photos of the outside of a register before removing the back panel whereupon he took more pictures.

A few hours later another three-man team entered the store and, once again, two of them gained the attention of sales staff. During this time, the third man opened up the back of the register and installed a keylogging device.

The Aventura Police Department said that Nordstrom discovered a total of six devices attached to its registers. They were connected in series between the keyboard and the computer and likely had 4MB or more of on-board storage to record data.

Krebs highlights how cheap skimming devices are, with standard versions being widely available and costing from just $40. Such devices may be hard for untrained staff to spot too - they look like a standard PS/2 keyboard connector, even down to the fact that they are purple in colour, which is seen as a standard for this type of pre-USB keyboard connector.

Krebs quotes a memo from the Aventura Police Department:

The connector was made to match the connections on the back of the register to include color match. Therefore, no one would have detected it unless there was a problem with the register.

Nordstrom spokesperson Kara Darrow said:

We did find some unauthorized devices on some of our cash registers. It's not anything broader at this point.
As soon as we figured out this was happening, we had forensics experts looking at the situation, but it's still very early in our investigation.

At this time it is unknown if the men ever returned to the store in order to retrieve the keyloggers and Nordstrom are unaware of any arrests being made.

Krebs pointed out that, while the devices look like they are designed to log keystrokes from an attached keyboard, they could also be used to steal credit card information.

This is because many retailers employ cash registers that connect directly to the computer's keyboard or use readers that are themselves PS/2 based.

The Aventura Police Department memo did note this possible next step and motive:

The subjects then return at a later date to recover the devices and create fake credit cards for fraud.

That, of course, supposes they need to return to the store at all - the same search on Google that reports the $40 standard skimmer also shows that it is surprisingly easy to also source another model which comes with 2GB of storage, as well as the ability to connect to a wireless network.

For just $139, the alleged credit card thieves could have parked nearby and acquired all the data they wanted over the airwaves.

Cargo Theft

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — To steal huge shipments of valuable cargo, thieves are turning to a deceptively simple tactic: They pose as truckers, load the freight onto their own tractor-trailers and drive away with it.

It's an increasingly common form of commercial identity theft that has allowed con men to make off each year with millions of dollars in merchandise, often food and beverages. And experts say the practice is growing so rapidly that it will soon become the most common way to steal freight.

A generation ago, thieves simply stole loaded trucks out of parking lots. But the industry's widening use of GPS devices, high-tech locks and other advanced security measures have pushed criminals to adopt new hoaxes.

Helping to drive the scams, experts say, is the Internet, which offers thieves easy access to vast amounts of information about the trucking industry. Online databases allow con men to assume the identities of legitimate freight haulers and to trawl for specific commodities they want to steal.

Besides hurting the nation's trucking industry — which moves more than 68 percent of all domestic shipments — the thefts have real-world consequences for consumers, including raising prices and potentially allowing unsafe food and drugs to reach store shelves.

News reports from across the country recount just a few of the thefts: 80,000 pounds of walnuts worth $300,000 in California, $200,000 of Muenster cheese in Wisconsin, rib-eye steaks valued at $82,000 in Texas, $25,000 pounds of king crab worth $400,000 in California.

The Hughson Nut Co. fell victim twice last year, losing two loads valued at $189,000. Each time, the impostor truckers showed up at the Livingston, Calif., nut processor on a Friday with all the proper paperwork to pick up a load of almonds.

On the Monday following the second theft, a customer called to complain that the almonds had never arrived in Arizona. The company's quality assurance manager, Raquel Andrade, recalled getting a sinking feeling: "Uh-oh. I think it happened again."

The thefts are little-known and seldom discussed outside the world of commercial trucking. Companies that have been victimized are often reluctant to talk about their losses. But crime reports and Associated Press interviews with law enforcement and industry leaders reveal an alarming pattern that hurts commerce, pushes up consumer prices and potentially puts Americans' health and safety at risk.

"In the end, the consumer winds up paying the toll on this," said Keith Lewis, vice president of CargoNet, a theft-prevention network that provides information to the insurance industry.

The economic results go beyond adding a few nickels or dimes to retail prices. The "consequential damages" from stolen cargo easily run into the millions of dollars, far exceeding the value of the lost shipments. For example, a stolen load of pharmaceuticals might necessitate a worldwide recall of every drug with that lot number to ensure none of the product ends up back in the market in case it gets tampered with.

Stolen food shipments pose similar health concerns.

"It might be low value, but that load of poultry could be high-risk," Lewis said, explaining that if it spoils and gets back into the supply chain, hundreds or thousands of people could get sick.

The scheme works like this: Thieves assume the identity of a trucking company, often by reactivating a dormant Department of Transportation carrier number from a government website for as little as $300. That lets them pretend to be a long-established firm with a seemingly good safety record. The fraud often includes paperwork such as insurance policies, fake driver's licenses and other documents.

Then the con artists offer low bids to freight brokers who handle shipping for numerous companies. When the truckers show up at a company, everything seems legitimate. But once driven away, the goods are never seen again.

The thieves target mostly shipments of food and beverages, which are easy to sell on the black market and hard to trace. Some end up on the shelves of small grocery stores. Others go to huge distribution warehouses like the one authorities raided in August in North Hollywood, Calif. It was filled with stolen steaks, shrimp, energy drinks, ice cream and other frozen foods.

Last year, carriers reported nearly 1,200 cargo thefts of all kinds nationwide, about the same as the previous year, according to CargoNet, a division of Verisk Crime Analytics, which estimated losses that year at nearly $216 million. Since many thefts go unreported, the real figure is almost certainly far higher.

The most common crime is still the "straight theft" of trailers left unattended in parking lots or at truck stops. But CargoNet says the new trucking scams are growing at a rapid 6 percent each quarter. Of the average three to five truckloads stolen each day in the United States, at least one involves what are known in the industry as fraudulent or fictitious pickups.

The thefts emerged three or four years ago and are now "the latest, greatest thing" for organized groups seeking to steal freight, said J.J. Coughlin, vice president for law enforcement services at LoJack SCI, a supply chain protection company.

LoJack examined 947 cargo thefts last year and identified 45 of them as fictitious pickups. So far this year, the number of fictitious pickups has probably already doubled, Coughlin said. The average loss last year was more than $170,000 per incident.

Although cargo thieves prey on companies across the nation, the hot spots are places with shipping ports or rail hubs. California leads the nation. Large numbers of thefts have also been reported in Texas, Florida, New Jersey, Michigan, Illinois, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.

Scott Cornell, national manager of a special investigation group focusing on supply chain security at the insurance company Travelers, said the thieves take advantage of the Internet, which allows them to do "so many things online where nobody sees you," including setting up a company and bidding on loads.

Within a few years, Lewis said, identity theft-related scams are expected to become the most prevalent method of cargo theft.

Experienced thieves know where the major manufacturers are located. And some are savvy enough to pick out which brand of electronics or appliances to steal by bidding on loads posted online. Someone wanting to steal a truckload of copper, for instance, would target shipments coming out of Carrollton, Ga., where a major copper-wire manufacturer is located.

Food and beverages were the most commonly stolen items, accounting for 23 percent of all thefts last year, followed by metals at 16 percent, and electronics and household goods at 12 percent each. Other products made up the remaining 37 percent, including pharmaceuticals at 3 percent, according to CargoNet's 2012 report.

One reason food shipments are popular targets is because they have a lower value than electronics or pharmaceuticals, which are often more heavily protected. Plus, food generally does not have any serial numbers to trace.

The loads are also difficult to recover. Companies often do not know they have been scammed until their shipments fail to show up, usually four to five days after they were stolen, Coughlin said.

By that time, the goods have probably already been sold on the black market.

The trucking and insurance industries are fighting back, urging freight brokers to take extra precautions, such as checking information before awarding shipping contracts to unfamiliar truckers.

The California Farm Bureau Federation warns about clues that could indicate a suspicious hauler: temporary name placards or identification numbers on the truck, abrupt changes in the time of the pickup and lack of a GPS tracking system on the truck.

Another suggestion is to get a thumbprint from the truck driver.

"This is growing at such a rapid, scary rate," said Sam Rizzitelli, national director for transportation at Travelers Inland Marine Division. "It warrants a lot of attention."

New DIN 66399 Shredder Security Levels

2013-08-21T19:48:00-05:00

Top-Level security in shredding all types of different data carriers

The new DIN 65399 replaces DIN 32757 and for the first time divides data destruction into three protection classes, six material classifications and seven security levels.

3 Protection Classes

To determine the security requirement, check which kind of data needs destroying. This gives you a classification in one of the three protection classes.

6 Material Classifications

For the first time, DIN 66399 defines different material classifications that indicate the type of data carrier you are destroying.

7 Security Levels

Instead of the previous 5, the new DIN 66399 now defines 7 security levels for each material classification. As hitherto, the higher the security level, the smaller the particle size the data carriers will be shredded into.

The protection classes in detail

The protection classes define the protection requirement for data and classification into the appropriate security level.

Protection class 1:
Normal security requirement for internal data intended for and accessible to
fairly large groups. Unauthorized disclosure would have a limited negative impact
on the company. Protection of personal data must be ensured. There would otherwise be a risk to the position and financial situation of the person affected.

Protection class 2:
High security requirement for confidential data restricted to a small group of persons. Unauthorized dissemination would have a considerable effect an the company and could violate contractual legal obligations or legislation. The protection of personal data must meet strict requirements. There would otherwise be a considerable risk to the social standing and financial situation of the individual affected.

Protection class 3:
Very high protection requirement for particularly confidential and secret data restricted to .a very small and named group of persons with access authorization. Unauthorized dissemination would have serious consequences for the company (threatening its livelihood) and may violate professional secrecy, contracts or legislation. The protection of personal data must be ensured at all cost. Otherwise the life and limb or personal freedom of the individual. affected may beat risk.

Classification Security levels / protection classes	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Protection Class 1	†	†	•
Protection Class 2			•	•	•
Protection Class 3				•	•	•	•

† This combination is not recommended for personal data

Material classifications at a glance

In addition to paper, DIN 66399 covers 5 other data carriers that are classified accordingly. Here’s a summary of them all:
P- Information shown in original size, e.g. paper, films, printed forms.
F – Information shown in reduced form, e.g. microfilms, transparencies.
0- Information on optical data carriers, e.g. CDs/ DVDs.
T – Information on magnetic data carriers, e.g. ID cards, floppy disks.
H -Information on hard drives with magnetic data carriers.
E -Information on electronic data carriers, e.g. USB sticks, chip cards.

The security levels for information shown in original size

The seven security levels in the new DIN 66399 provide effective protection in destroying all kinds of data carriers. As paper-based data carriers are still the ones most frequently destroyed, please find below the seven security levels for the “Information shown in original size” classification, e.g. paper:

	P-1 Recommended, for example, for data carriers holding general data to be rendered illegible Max. material particle size 2000 mm² (or 3 3/32”²) or max. strip width 12 mm, strip length not limited Shredded data can be reproduced without special equipment and special knowledge but not without involving a particularly time-consuming process
	P-2 Recommended, for example, for data carriers holding internal data to be rendered illegible Max. material particle size 800 mm² (or 1 15/64”²) or max. strip width 6 mm, strip length not limited Shredded data can be reproduced with equipment and only in a particularly time-consuming process
	P-3 Recommended, for example, for data carriers holding sensitive, confidential and personal data Max. material particle size 320 mm² (or 1/2”²) or max. strip width 2 mm, strip length not limited Shredded data can only be reproduced with considerable effort
	P-4 Recommended, for example, for data carriers holding particularly sensitive, confidential and personal data Max. material particle size 160 mm² (or 1/4”²) and for regular particles: max. strip length 6 mm Shredded data can only be reproduced using equipment not normally available commercially or special constructions
	P-5 Recommended, for example, for data carriers holding confidential information Max. material particle size 30 mm² (or 3/64”²) and for regular particles: max. strip length 2 mm Shredded data unlikely to be reproduced with the state of the art
	P-6 Recommended, for example, for data carriers holding confidential information demanding an exceptionally high level of security Max. material particle size 10 mm² (or 1/64”²) and for regular particles: 14 max strip length 1 mm Shredded data cannot be reproduced with the state of the art
	P-7 Recommended, for example, for data carriers holding strictly confidential information demanding the highest security precautions Max. material particle size 5 mm² (or 0.008”²) and for regular particles: max. strip length 1 mm Shredded data cannot be reproduced with the current state of science and art

Give the gift that really matters: Volunteer this Christmas season

2012-12-07T22:10:00-06:00

What gifts are you giving this holiday season? As you know many Americans have started holiday shopping. Many of us hunt for online bargains spending hours researching the perfect gift for a family member or close friend. Some of us wait in long lines and are in a rush to get home to start wrapping that perfect holiday gift. But have you thought about volunteering on Christmas for a local charity this holiday season?

Volunteering is a truly rewarding experience and is a gift that means so much to those that are less fortunate. There are many organizations that need help this Christmas season including churches, homeless shelters, hospitals, animal shelters, and much more.

This year I had an awesome opportunity to volunteer at a local church called Ecclesia. Our church was moving to another location in downtown Houston at 1100 Elder Street. The new location required a lot of volunteers to assist with sweeping, mopping, window cleaning, landscape maintenance, setting up furniture, and much more. I am proud to say that I joined over 400 volunteers with assisting the church and it was a rewarding experience to give back to the community.

This Christmas season why not help your community? Yes it takes time out of your day, but I guarantee you it will be a very rewarding experience. Check around your local area for charity organizations that need volunteers. Check out http://www.volunteermatch.org/ for a listing of organizations that need your help.

Top Official: America is Now More Vulnerable Than Ever

2012-07-25T22:20:00-05:00

The Pentagon official at the top of the US Defense Department’s cyber program says that an attack on the United States’ computer systems is not just on the way but that America is now more vulnerable than ever.

National Security Agency Director Army Gen. Keith Alexander, who also heads the Pentagon’s Cyber Command unit, tells reporters this week that the US is coming close to being hit with a computer attack that could devastate the country. Speaking before a crowd this week, Alexander warns, “The conflict is growing [and] the probability for crisis is mounting.”

“While we have the time, we should think about and enact those things that we need to ensure our security in this area. Do it now, before a crisis,” insists Alexander.

“What I’m concerned about is the transition from disruptive to destructive attacks,” he adds. “And I think that’s coming. We have to be ready for that.”

The US Congress is currently tasking itself with finding a way to fight cyberterrorism, but the inability to fully find a way to balance security with civil liberties has raised objections across the country. Alexander dismissed these concerns during this week’s address, however, insisting that the NSA does not “hold data on American citizens” and equated the US government’s association with major Internet entities as one that is relatively hands-off.

“Like the police force, like the fire department, they don’t see around buildings waiting for a fire to come on, you call them when it happens. In cyberspace, I see very much the same thing in our partnership with industry,” he alleges.

“We can protect civil liberties and privacy, and cybersecurity,” says Alexander, who insists his agency is “not talking about giving our personal e-mails to the government.”

Meanwhile, only last month the NSA sent a letter to two leading congressmen refusing to reveal the number of Americans that they have spied on through provisions made in 2008 to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a legislation that allows the government to go through correspondence that they believe is being sent overseas. In explaining themselves to the two lawmakers that asked for an answer, Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Mark Udall (D-CO), the NSA said that that informing Americans about any spying they may have been subjected to would be damaging to personal privacy.

RT has also reported that, under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) of 1986, the government is given practically an open invitation to access private information such as that contained in emails tens of thousands of times a year.

Elsewhere, recent reports have alleged that the United States has all the while been behind massive computer attacks waged not at its own citizens through spy programs but instead at Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. By way of both Stuxnet and Flame, a worm and malware, respectively, Obama administrations officials speaking with the New York Times have confirmed that the technology behind the cybercrimes was engineered on behalf of the American government and authorized by US President Barack Obama.

Speaking of attacks aimed at America, however, Alexander explains this week, “I do think that’s coming our way. You can see this statistically; the number of attacks is growing.”

Microsoft Will Reject Cryptographic Keys Less Than 1024 Bits

2012-06-25T22:15:00-05:00

This is your last chance to prepare for an August update from Microsoft that will reject cryptographic keys less than 1024 bits.

An important update from Microsoft is coming in August and for those who missed the announcement earlier this year, it could actually break a number of things for some businesses who haven’t already prepared for the change. The update will block anything using a cryptographic key that is less than 1024 bits. Here are some of the repercussions of the update for those who haven’t prepared in advance:

Error messages when browsing to web sites that have SSL certificates with keys that are less than 1024 bits
Problems enrolling for certificates when a certificate request attempts to utilize a key that is less than 1024 bits
Creating or consuming email (S/MIME) messages that utilize less than 1024 bit keys for signatures or encryption
Installing Active X controls that were signed with less than 1024 bit signatures
Installing applications that were signed with less than 1024 bit signatures (unless they were signed prior to January 1, 2010, which will not be blocked by default).

For a little background, with encryption, security is often measured in how long it would take to break that encryption, or more practically, in key lengths. The genius behind modern encryption is in the fact that some math functions are very fast in one direction, but extremely slow in the reverse. So by using a key to produce a cipher block from the data you wish to encrypt, you can get the result in a very fast time frame. But in order to figure out the key, or to break that encryption, it would take you a long time. Note that it’s still possible, — all encryption can be broken — but we still say it’s secure because of how long it would take to break it. However, this depends on two factors: how much processing power you have, and how long the key is. For example, if you were to implement an encryption system that used a 20-bit key, it would be horribly insecure, because breaking that encryption would take seconds for a modern computer. However, if the key length is 1024 bits, then those seconds would instead become several billion years.

Back a few years ago, most certificates were issued using 512-bit key lengths. With the computers we had then, brute forcing a private key was considered to be unfeasible, because it would take a ridiculously long amount of time. But now, most security experts consider that length to be too short, because of how fast processor power evolved, and with things like GPU arrays being used to crack passwords and so on. As the attack vectors evolve, so must security, and as such any modern certificate is now issued with a minimum of 1024 bits. But many businesses and corporations make their own certificates for a variety of purposes, from signing emails, to encrypting corporate websites, or even for their own internal login systems. Up until now, Microsoft products, such as Windows Server 2003 or 2008, allowed you to create certificates with a short key length, but after this update, this will no longer be possible.

Discovering usage of keys less than 1024 bits

So who will be affected? If your systems are kept up to date, and you’ve been following safe security practices, chances are this won’t change a thing for you. But many businesses have a large array of systems and server software, some dating from several years ago, and you may well have older certificates that no longer meet the new requirements. After the update, you may start seeing errors such as not being able to browse to a site that uses a certificate with a key of less than 1024 bits, problems enrolling older certificates to new client machines, failing to sign email, and so on. Again, most businesses won’t have any of these issues, but some networks that rely on older systems will be impacted. To find out if this is your case, the Microsoft TechNet post linked above has a series of commands you can issue using the Certutil tool which you already use to manage certificates.

To monitor an external website, a useful tool is the Qualys SSL Labs site, which not only tells you the key length used by the site, but other information on the certificate used to encrypt your connection. A bad case that could happen here is that your corporate website will start showing error messages to users, and that’s something you obviously want to avoid. A worse case however is if you rely on old hardware tokens. For example, some older DKIM and KVM switches use 512-bit keys, and the same is true for some cheap routers. While these things may or may not produce errors after this Microsoft update, it’s still worth looking into and replacing them with more secure alternatives.

So how much of a threat is there? In most cases, it’s not a huge deal. 512-bit keys have been broken, and while it’s not a trivial thing to do, as processing power keeps increasing, it will become more trivial. So you may ask, how much more secure is a 1024-bit key? Remember that it’s an exponential function, so doubling the key length much more than doubles the security. Of course, the holy grail in hacking would be to find a function that could factorize these keys as quickly as it takes to make them, and such a function may exist, which would render all modern encryption completely useless, but most security experts agree that this is an unlikely event. So for now, as long as all your corporate systems are already onboard with 1024-bit keys, you can sleep knowing that not only will this August update not break anything, but your data is truly secure.

Strategic sourcing: Pennywise but pound foolish?

2012-06-14T14:47:00-05:00

The General Services Administration says the strategic sourcing initiative for office supplies has saved $39 million over the last 18 months and is on track to save $208 million by 2013. And office supplies are just the beginning of the products that soon will be part of the government wide Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative (FSSI).

The Obama administration plans to use the power of the government's size to buy everything from print management to mobile devices and services to IT hardware. But some small businesses not on the contract are demanding the White House step back and analyze the broader, unintended costs of these efforts. A growing number say they are in grave danger of losing their businesses, and thousands more could be right behind them.

Bonnie Whittaker says Adams Marketing is one of those small businesses. Whittaker, the company's vice president for federal sales, said Adams Marketing's revenue from the sale of office supplies under Schedule 75 to federal agencies dropped by about 30 percent to $9 million in 2011, and things only are getting worse in 2012. She said her company has earned about $3 million through the first two quarters. "We've had to lay off five people because our sales have dropped so much," she said in an interview as part of Federal News Radio's week-long special report, Inside the World's Biggest Buyer. Adams Marketing is not alone.

According to StopFSSI.org, there are hundreds of other companies whose revenue has dropped from as much as $19 million to $20,000 between 2010 and 2011 because of the FSSI blanket purchase agreement (BPA) for office supplies. 15 vendors win BPA GSA awarded the BPA to 15 vendors, including 13 small businesses, in June 2010. The administration is strongly encouraging agencies to use the BPA to buy office supplies because of the potential lower costs. GSA, under direction from the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, recently awarded commodity contracts for IT hardware such as mobile devices and tablet computers, and other BPAs are coming for computers, monitors and video teleconferencing equipment. "It's important to understand price is only one of FSSI's key priorities. Socio- economic goals, including small businesses, understanding the government's spending patterns, ease of use and removing government cost drivers are other key goals," said Steve Kempf, commissioner of GSA's Federal Acquisition Service, Thursday before the House Small Business Subcommittee on Contracting and Workforce.

"To accomplish these goals, on each specific initiative, we work closely with other agencies to develop features and requirements as well as obtain industry feedback and expertise. This thoughtful process has resulted in significant savings and smarter acquisitions in all of the initiatives we have undertaken." But not everyone agrees with Kempf's assessment. With office supplies being the first out of the gate, the 500 or so firms on Schedule 75 but not on the BPA, say FSSI is cutting them out of the $1.4 billion market and forcing them to lay off employees.

In 2009, vendors under Schedule 75 accounted for about $690 million in sales for office supplies, with small firms receiving more than $472 million (68 percent), according to GSA's sales query tool. But in 2010 with the award of FSSI, small firms not under the BPA saw their market share begin to drop, and by 2011, agencies spent $121 million under the BPA and $465 million under Schedule 75. GSA and the firms expect those numbers to continue to come together. Rick Vogel, a federal government sales manager for Coast to Coast Computer Products in Simi Valley, Calif., and one of the commodity IT winners to provide tablet computers, said the impact of the office supplies BPA on small firms is a microcosm of things to come from the administration's aggressive expansion of strategic sourcing across the other areas. He and Whittaker are part of the StopFSSI.org effort.

Long term consequences of strategic sourcing?
"The fact of the matter is that there are about 15,000 to 20,000 federal contractors out there and if they source each schedule down to even 40 contractors, you're talking about limiting that original pool of 17,000 contractors, the gross majority of which are small businesses and socio-economic disadvantaged businesses," Vogel said. "They will be closing their doors and laying people off in significant fashion. Our concern is not just the detrimental effect on small businesses, but it's the effect of that loss of the jobs in the U.S. economy as it is. We believe the programs are somewhat penny-wise and a pound foolish in the fact that for every dollar or two they save upfront, they will be losing that same dollar or two, or even a greater amount, through the social programs being supported by the American taxpayer."

Vogel, Whittaker and a growing number of others believe the administration failed to take into account the societal costs of the program. Sam Bornstein, a professor of accounting and taxation at Kean University in Union, N.J., and a partner with the firm Bornstein and Song CPAs and Consultants, has been studying the impact of strategic sourcing on small businesses. Bornstein said his initial study of the federal initiative is showing the savings by agencies don't present the entire picture. "In our preliminary work, we discovered among the nine contractors that we had personally interviewed, we found 171 jobs lost to FSSI. That is shocking," Bornstein said. "Based upon our preliminary research, we discovered that all we have to prove is a net job loss of 900 jobs, this will far exceed the $16 million of GSA claimed FSSI savings in [2011]." He added the costs go beyond just job losses at the effected companies. "GSA seems to be convinced, and adamantly convinced, that the FSSI is working well, but are not apparently aware or concerned about the off-setting factor, that these displaced small businesses — the financial distress, the failures, the mortgage defaults and foreclosures — and by the way, I should add, these will impact not only the U.S. economic recovery and part of that is the housing market because they are all interrelated," Bornstein said. He said the administration should have had GSA do a cost-benefit analysis to better understand the impact of FSSI.

Agencies mandating use of BPA
But Dan Gordon, the former administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP), said such an analysis wasn't done and may not be possible. "The idea that if you pay lower prices that some companies are going to say, ‘For that amount of money we will have to lay off staff' and therefore you shouldn't pay lower prices," said Gordon, who now is the associate dean at The George Washington University law school. "I don't think you and I would do that when we were making purchases. We wouldn't walk into CVS and say ‘I know you are selling this product for $11, but I want to give you $15 because I want to be sure the manufacturers' employees are well taken care of.' I don't think anybody would view the fact that vendors who charge higher prices will be losers in a real competition and therefore they may have economic problems. Golly, if that is taken into cost-benefit analysis, everybody's actions would be very different and I don't think in a good way." Kempf said GSA did a business case around whether this makes sense for the agency and then an acquisition strategy, but it's up to the vendor to do the cost-benefit analysis on whether to bid or not. "There have been some businesses that have been hurt by this and some who have been helped by this," he said. "In procurement, there are winners and losers, and although it's very tough for those who do not win and can't go forward with us into Office Supplies 2 (OS2), there are consequences to procurements, good and bad."

Vogel, Whittaker and others say they understand the consequences of procurements, but they believe FSSI for office supplies goes beyond simple wins and losses. Vogel said many agencies are mandating the use of the BPA, which is taking away business that Coast-to-Coast, Adams Marketing and others have won on the open market. He said the departments of Commerce, Homeland Security, Interior, Agriculture and the Air Force all issued memos to staff either requiring the BPAs use or strongly encouraging contracting officers go to FSSI first.

Adams and Coast-to-Coast both won spots on an Army BPA for toner cartridges. Whittaker said the Army told them recently it would cancel the BPA as of July 31 to only use the FSSI contract. Whittaker said it doesn't matter if her prices or someone else's is lower, the word has been sent down from above. Even agencies, such as the Census Bureau, who have continued to use non-BPA holders, are feeling the pressure. "They have to go through a waiver to save $300 and it took [Whittaker's customer] two weeks to get the waiver signed off to use my company," Whittaker said. "She was told, ‘Don't always expect this again. We are not always going to give a waiver because it's cheaper.' What kind of philosophy is that? Why in the world don't they say, 'If you can find it cheaper somewhere else, go'? This is taxpayer's money, this is your money and mine. They are saying, ‘I don't care what the price is.'" Vogel, Whittaker and others say actions by OFPP and the promotion of the BPA by GSA created a de facto mandate.

BPA accounts for less than half of market
But Kempf said if there is a mandate or even a de facto one, more sales would go to FSSI, but that isn't the case. GSA estimated agencies spend about $1.4 billion on office supplies every year, but in 2011, the strategic sourcing initiative brought in $257 million in sales. "I would feel a lot more circumstance around this if we were seeing 90 percent of the market going to OS2 and 90 percent going to Schedule 75," he said. "We are not seeing that from the agencies. There still are plenty of people out there that are not using OS2 and that aren't using schedules. There are opportunities for both people in OS2 and on Schedule 75 for business." Gordon said OFPP never mandated the BPA's use because they wanted agencies to make the decision on what works best for them. "There were agencies — I don't want to name them on the record — but at least two agencies where there were real disagreements," he said. "One agency did analysis and said, 'In terms of our needs, these do not offer lower prices.' I said that was their decision to make. We didn't try to escalate or overrule them. Another agency had various hesitations and we eventually discussed with them and they came up with a plan to gradually shift over." Kempf also said the amount of money going to the small businesses under FSSI — 74 percent of all awards — is larger than the sales to small firms under Schedule 75 — 67 percent. He added GSA shut off Schedule 75 to new offerors in an attempt to protect those with schedule contracts already. In fact, GSA just last week extended the moratorium on new offers for Schedule 75 for another year. Vogel said while a higher percentage is going to small firms, the number of them eligible to compete is much lower and that is the bigger problem. "The federal government does not have the responsibility to support everyone, but when they were supporting 500 small firms and they take it away and send the business to just 13, they are not being representative of supporting small businesses," he said.

Sour grapes by unsuccessful vendors
Gordon added many of the complaints could easily be seen as sour grapes by those unsuccessful vendors. He said OFPP and GSA were following instructions from industry to make sure agencies used this second generation BPA. "We went to the agencies and said, ‘If these offer you good prices, will you really use them?' We got a whole series of agencies that said ‘Yes, we will really use them,'" Gordon said. "Industry wanted us to say these will really be used and we did what industry wanted, and now the losers are coming and saying, 'But, why are you telling agencies to use these?' We did it because industry wanted us to do it. I think we did the right thing. In retrospect, I haven't heard any criticism that would make me say we didn't take the right approach." The issue of strategic sourcing and its impact on small businesses has drawn the attention of Congress. During the House Small Business Committee hearing held last week, quite a bit of time was spent on the impact of strategic sourcing. Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), chairman of the subcommittee on contracting and workforce, said GSA seemed to have made a good faith effort in the process. "Whether or not there were folks who fell by the wayside or fell between the cracks, that remains to be seen," he said. "If there are folks who feel like that happened to them, we need to know about it. We would be more than happy to have a follow-up hearing and figure out if that's the case or not. We are just trying to get the facts to make sure the process is as fair as possible." Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), ranking member of the subcommittee, said the hearing left her needing more information about whether the process was fair. "It's actually hard to determine because it seemed as though the testimony was night and day," she said. "The small business owner had a very different perspective than the commissioner from GSA. I would like to hear from other small businesses to hear what really is the truth. Just the question of whether this is mandatory or not was in dispute."

On-ramps possible
Kempf said during the hearing GSA is considering how to add more small firms to the office supplies BPA. "We are looking at some of these vendor networks where they could come in with some of the vendors who were awarded contracts with OS2," he said. "We have been working with them and they have been under discussion with us about whether they could partner with them and become part of the team with some of the folks on OS2. We're still considering that and working with them." Kempf said he didn't have a time table for when a decision would be made about how to address possible on-ramps. For Vogel, Whittaker and others, time is of the essence. Whittaker said GSA could have easily kept a large number of small businesses engaged and still gotten better prices. "This could have all been handled by fixing GSA Advantage and the schedule program," she said. "It didn't have to be done by narrowing the competition down to 15, which is not going to be good. Eventually, these prices will start rising up again, and there will be no more companies left to compete."

Nydia Velazquez and Sam Graves: Most Anti-Small Business U.S. Representatives According to ASBL

2012-06-01T12:40:00-05:00

Petaluma, Calif. – The following is a statement by the American Small Business League: Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez and Congressman Sam Graves have been named by the American Small Business League as the most anti-small business members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

The ASBL points to the that fact that Rep. Velazquez and Rep. Graves have worked for years to dismantle federal small business programs and divert billions in federal contract dollars earmarked for small businesses to billionaire venture capitalists and their syndicates.

Both representatives have also given tacit approval for the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants by refusing to back legislation that would prevent Fortune 500 companies from hijacking federal small business contracts. The American Small Business League (ASBL) has estimated that every year tens of billions of dollars worth of federal small business contracts are diverted to firms such as Lockheed Martin, Home Depot, John Deere, Apple Inc., Rolls-Royce and Italian defense firm Finmeccanica, which has 75,000 employees and over $30 billion annual revenue. In 2005, report 5-15 from the Small Business Administration’s Office of Inspector General referred to the diversion of federal small business contracts as “one of the most important challenges facing the Small Business Administration and the entire Federal government today.”

For the last seven consecutive years the SBA Inspector General has named the diversion of federal small business contracts as the agency’s “top management challenge” yet both Rep.Graves and Rep.Velazquez have blocked legislation (H.R. 3184, “The Fairness and Transparency in Contracting Act”) that would prevent corporate giants from hijacking billions of dollars worth of federal contracts reserved for small businesses.

“Let’s look at the facts,” ASBL President Lloyd Chapman said. “America is in the middle of the worst economic downturn in 80 years; we know from the U.S. Census Bureau that small businesses create 90 percent of net new jobs; and that directing federal infrastructure dollars to America’s 28 million small businesses is one of the best ways to stimulate the economy and create jobs – but Reps. Graves and Velazquez are instead trying to dismantle all federal small business programs. These two representatives are prime examples of why Congress has such record low approval."

This tells the story, why Bush was so bad at the end of his term.

2012-05-24T12:15:00-05:00

This tells the story, why Bush was so bad at the end of his term. The day the democrats took over was not January 22nd 2009, it was actually January 3rd 2007 the day the Democrats took over the House of Representatives and the Senate, at the very start of the 110th Congress.

The Democrat Party controlled a majority in both chambers for the first time since the end of the 103rd Congress in 1995. For those who are listening to the liberals propagating the fallacy that everything is "Bush's Fault", think about this: January 3rd, 2007 was the day the Democrats took over the Senate and the Congress. At the time: The DOW Jones closed at 12,621.77 The GDP for the previous quarter was 3.5%, the Unemployment rate was 4.6%, George Bush's Economic policies SET A RECORD of 52 STRAIGHT MONTHS of JOB GROWTH!

Remember the day... January 3rd, 2007 was the day that Barney Frank took over the House Financial Services Committee and Chris Dodd took over the Senate Banking Committee. The economic meltdown that happened 15 months later was in what part of the economy? BANKING AND FINANCIAL SERVICES! Dumping 5-6 TRILLION Dollars of toxic loans on the economy from YOUR Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac FIASCOES! Bush asked Congress 17 TIMES to stop Fannie & Freddie - starting in 2001 because it was financially risky for the US economy. And who took the THIRD highest pay-off from Fannie Mae AND Freddie Mac? OBAMA. And who fought against reform of Fannie and Freddie? OBAMA and the Democrat Congress. So when someone tries to blame Bush... REMEMBER JANUARY 3rd, 2007.... THE DAY THE DEMOCRATS TOOK OVER!"

Budgets do not come from the White House. They come from Congress and the party that controlled Congress since January 2007 is the Democrat Party. Furthermore, the Democrats controlled the budget process for 2008 & 2009 as well as 2010 & 2011. In that first year, they had to contend with George Bush, which caused them to compromise on spending, when Bush somewhat belatedly got tough on spending increases.

For 2009 though, Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid bypassed George Bush entirely, passing continuing resolutions to keep government running until Barack Obama could take office. At that time, they passed a massive omnibus spending bill to complete the 2009 budgets. And where was Barack Obama during this time? He was a member of that very Congress that passed all of these massive spending bills, and he signed the omnibus bill as President to complete 2009. If the Democrats inherited any deficit, it was the 2007 deficit, the last of the Republican budgets. That deficit was the lowest in five years, and the fourth straight decline in deficit spending.

After that, Democrats in Congress took control of spending, and that includes Barack Obama, who voted for the budgets.

If Obama inherited anything, he inherited it from himself. In a nutshell, what Obama is saying is I inherited a deficit that I voted for and then I voted to expand that deficit four-fold since January 20th. There is no way this will be widely publicized,unless each of us sends it on!

How secure is your smartphone?

2012-04-12T12:37:00-05:00

Two recent studies of mobile devices highlight how designers of smartphones and tablet computers neglect to fully comprehend the security and privacy risks of these devices. Cryptography Research found in its study that it is possible to eavesdrop on any smartphone or tablet PC as it is being used to buy something, bank online, or access a company's virtual private network.

A Cryptography Research executive says a criminal can decipher the process used to encrypt data and can then gain access to a financial account or company network, a type of attack that does not require the device to be modified in any way.

The research company says it is working with a major smartphone and tablet manufacturer to put cyber defenses in its devices. McAfee showed in a separate demonstration that there are several ways to remotely hack into Apple iOS, the iPad and iPhone operating system, by remotely activating microphones on a variety of test devices and recording nearby conversations. McAfee also demonstrated that it is possible to swipe keys and passwords and steal sensitive data such as emails and text messages. Researchers in both studies say these attacks can be carried out without the user's knowledge.

New GSA Video Puts GSA in Issa's Crosshairs

2012-04-10T11:30:00-05:00

The House committee on Oversight and Government Reform released yet another new video clip today from the U.S. General Services Administration's big-spending conference in Las Vegas, extending the embarrassing episode for the agency and the Obama administration. In the newly surfaced clip, which is titled "POTUS [President of the United States] Wants a Press Event," employees sing a fast-tempo melody, "Are you ready for a miracle? GSA's going green." The video clip is another black eye for the government agency, after multiple videos were uncovered in an inspector general's investigation, drawing sharp criticism from the House's top cop, Rep. Darrell Issa, the chairman of the committee, for wasting taxpayer money.

"This is not just about a single convention, but a festering culture of entitlement and wasting taxpayer money within the federal bureaucracy," Issa, R-Calif., wrote in a statement. "Taxpayer's time should be used for real work and not a high school musical like production on the Obama administration's stimulus spending spree.

More details on GSA employee awards store

2012-04-09T13:25:00-05:00

An investigation by the inspector general of the General Services Administration found rampant abuse of an employee awards program of the agency's Pacific Rim region, the same region that has come under fire for spending more than $800,000 on a Las Vegas training conference for 300 employees. The report on the "Hats Off" employee recognition program, obtained by The Washington Post, found numerous violations of agency directives, theft and misuse of government purchasing cards in the maintenance of the awards program.

The inspector general found "significant control weaknesses in the Hats Off Program." The report found that in fiscal year 2009, Pacific Rim employees received $256 in awards and Public Buildings Service employees in the region averaged $328. The budget for the program rose dramatically in recent years. In 2008, employees at the Pacific Rim region, which oversees federal property in California, Arizona, Nevada and the Pacific Islands, received $47,012 in gifts. The next year it increased to $211,842, then dropped to $134,596 by 2010. In 2011, the program issued $844 worth of awards.

Jeffrey E. Neely became acting commissioner of the region in January 2009, having been public buildings commissioner. Neely was placed on administrative leave for planning the Vegas training conference. Expenditures for the awards program dropped dramatically after the inspector general began his investigation. The findings in the report include: Employees associated with administering the Hats Off Program were in the top 10 of recipients. Instances of employees swapping awards with each other and supervisors accepting items from employees. One employee, whose name was redacted from the report, gave "out 635 awards to 113 individuals, totaling $3,175."

The Pacific Rim region maintained an inadequate inventory system and meager security on the storage room that held the gift items. Total employee awards exceeded GSA’s 4 percent cap on employee annual salaries. Awards for Region 9 employees also exceeded GSA's limit of $99-per-item limit on gifts. To read more about these findings, please visit: GSA Employee Awards Program: More Violations

Beware of Payment Card Fraudsters

2012-03-20T08:54:00-05:00

Canadian payment card fraudsters are expected to turn to the United States to steal card data, because magnetic stripe cards are still prevalent there while almost all Canadian cards are embedded with secure chip technology. "Once 100 percent of Canadian cards and devices are chip-enabled the only opportunity for a criminal is perhaps to get that magnetic stripe and go south of the border to Buffalo [New York] or whatever and perpetrate some fraud there," says MasterCard Worldwide's Oliver Manahan.

Still, he maintains that bringing a Canadian card to a magnetic stripe-only terminal in the United States would arouse suspicion. Manahan also sees promise in MasterCard's recent endorsement of chip technology in the United States, but Gartner analyst Avivah Litan points out that "it's too much of a wild west in the U.S. There's like 8,000 banks and millions of merchants." Litan also notes that card payment infrastructure upgrade costs are enormous, but she acknowledges that the United States lags the rest of the world in terms of chip technology implementation.

Manahan cites the tremendous security offered by chip technology compared to magstripe, noting that a criminal needs "to steal that card or find a lost card somewhere" to perpetrate fraud. He also notes that although cracking the chip technology is possible, the impracticality of it is likely to deter criminals from attempting to do so.

Stop the FSSI: Voice your opposition to Senate Bill S.1736

2012-03-05T11:45:00-06:00

There is a bill that has been introduced in the Senate that is designed to expand the use of Strategic Sourcing and make it mandatory and permanent throughout all agencies and all GSA multiple award schedules. GSA is responsible for management of the majority of federal supply purchases, and their Strategic Sourcing program is responsible for the funneling of awards from a pool of 500+ contractors into the hands of only 15 contractors.

The result has been a decrease in revenue of more than 70 million dollars to the majority GSA Multiple Award Schedule 75 office supplies contractors, both large and small. OVER 400 SMALL BUSINESSES HAVE ALREADY BEEN NEGATIVELY IMPACTED… and this was the pilot project for GSA Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative (FSSI) programs. If GSA succeeds in the expansion of FSSI to all Schedules, 70, 36, 67 etc., it will essentially be the Death of Small Business Federal Contracting in America! PLEASE VOICE YOUR OPPOSITION TO SENATE BILL S.1736 “Acquisition Savings Reform Act of 2011” TODAY!

We all want the government to save money, but this bill (as currently written) has serious unintended consequences that will devastate small businesses nationally, and in the end is unlikely to result in real savings. This is not just speculation: this bill effectively expands the GSA’s Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative that awarded blanket purchase agreements to just 15 of the 500+ “Schedule 75” contractors. The great majority of Schedule 75 contract holders are now struggling to survive, and the intent of Senate Bill S.1736 is to mandate the expanded use of the FSSI program to all GSA multiple award schedules, affecting dozens of industries, and thousands of businesses nationally.

The wording in the bill to protect small businesses protects only the dollar volume to businesses that were small when awarded, not the number of businesses or dollar volume under the full term of the resulting contracts. This effectively concentrates spending to a few lucky winners that will, by dint of this maneuver, no longer be small businesses as spending is funneled to them. This bill is the equivalent of saying were going to save money by picking a dozen restaurants that all Americans will eat at for the next four years, which will be either a current big chain or the next big chain fast food restaurant, driving every independent restaurant that provides quality, affordable, and local service out of business.

The trend of concentrating more and more spending through giant blanket purchase agreements (BPAs) is anti-small-business, ultimately anti-competitive and not cost effective. That trend, and this bill, must be stopped and fixed. Instead, let’s utilize existing technology that allows agencies to efficiently and competitively solicit products and services from all qualified businesses, not just the lucky anointed few. Please, please, ensure that this bill is stopped or amended to prevent the annihilation of 95% of the small businesses in your jurisdiction that provide quality and affordable products and services to the federal government.

Since FSSI is not yet law, NOW IS THE TIME TO TAKE ACTION! Here is what you need to do TODAY: Write, call and/or email your senator. Let them know that Senate Bill S.1736 is coming up for a vote, and urge them to vote NO on the bill. PLEASE DO IT TODAY! YOUR FUTURE FEDERAL SALES DEPEND ON IT!

Further, the study we are conducting, and the preparation of documentation for submission to the various federal entities we are engaging, is neither free, or simple to accomplish. This page is run by a group of 30+ contractors, various industry professionals, and academic professionals who are dedicating a great deal of time and capital to getting the word out about the negative effects of FSSI on our economy, and making some waves on capitol hill. PLEASE DONATE TO OUR CAUSE. We have a PayPal account that has been set up by Professor Bornstein to fund our efforts, and any amount given in support of our efforts is greatly appreciated. If you have been, or stand to be affected by Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiatives, or by Senate Bill S.1736, please contribute something today, as we are working for you, just as much as we are for ourselves and the everyday taxpayer. To find out more, please visit: http://www.stopfssi.org/

Military computers soon will be programmed to carry out only administrator-approved software applications in certain parts of a computer

2012-02-22T09:14:00-06:00

Military computers soon will be programmed to carry out only administrator-approved software applications in certain parts of a computer, part of the Defense Department's approach to the application whitelisting strategy that focuses on where downloads are permitted to launch in a system, according to Pentagon officials.

It is meant to be a relatively cost-efficient protection against downloads that antivirus programs fail to catch as threats. The approach developed by the National Security Agency (NSA) essentially blocks every application from running until a network administrator has approved, or whitelisted, it.

NSA's approach lets administrators focus their efforts on fewer possible entry points for viruses, thus lowering the time involved in installing new applications. NSA is currently arranging for the baseline configurations of all new Defense computers to use the tactic, an official says.

This strategy already has blocked one kind of worm that antivirus programs failed to catch. An email attempted to install malware, and on the newer baseline computers, the administrators could view this malware, whereas on the older models, the antivirus was unable to protect against it initially.

Consultant Kristin Paget demonstrates ease of stealing data off radio frequency identification-enabled payment card without the victim realizing it

2012-02-10T09:17:00-06:00

Consultant Kristin Paget demonstrated at a security conference that it is possible to easily and inexpensively read and steal the data off a radio frequency identification-enabled payment card without the victim realizing it.

Paget's method employs a $50 RFID card reader to wirelessly read credit cards and capture their numbers, expiration dates, and one-time CCV numbers used by contactless cards for payment authentication. The stolen data can then be encoded onto a blank card with a $300 card-magnetizing device, while the victim's money can be taken using a Square attachment for the iPhone that lets anyone swipe a card and receive payments.

Paget illustrated a practical application of the scam in which the fraudster can simply bump against his target with the card reader in his pocket, and invisibly scan the RFID signal through material such as a leather wallet or cloth pants. The Smart Card Association estimates that some 100 million RFID-enabled cards are in circulation, and although the security industry has long known that contactless credit cards can be read wirelessly, it argues that such attacks are impractical because current versions of the cards do not include the user's name, PIN, and CCV in the wirelessly-read data.

Advocates say the one-time CCV code the cards present with each scan means that a fraudster can only use each stolen number for a single transaction—but Paget says a crook can target multiple victims rather than defraud one victim over and over.

Former CIA Officer Charged with Revealing Identity of Undercover Officer

2012-01-24T13:45:00-06:00

A former CIA officer who worked for the agency for 14 years has been charged with revealing the identity of an undercover officer and providing classified information to unauthorized individuals.

According to federal prosecutors, John Kiriakou served as a source for a variety of news organizations whose reporters were writing stories in 2008 and 2009 about CIA operations following the September 11 attacks. Among the stories that Kiriakou is accused of being a source for is a 2008 New York Times piece in which the name of the CIA's interrogator of September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed was revealed.

In addition, Kiriakou is believed to have supplied information to reporters that contributed to a security breach at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility that allowed defense attorneys to obtain pictures of CIA operatives who were thought to have been involved in the interrogations of terrorist suspects. Those interrogations involved the use of controversial techniques that some have described as being torture. The pictures were later found in the cells of some high-value terrorist suspects.

Kiriakou has also been charged with lying to the CIA about where other sensitive material that he published in a book came from. He faces as much as 30 years in prison if he is convicted on the charges against him.

Recommendations for improving secure conference calls

2012-01-23T14:47:00-06:00

Advanced digital videoconferencing equipment has vastly improved meeting opportunities for coworkers and clients across the globe, but the new systems can also be hacked to spy on those meetings, potentially jeopardizing confidential client data or corporate secrets.

In a recent demonstration, HD Moore, a chief security officer at Boston-based IT security company Rapid7, showed that he could remotely manipulate videoconferencing equipment to hear or see anything in a board room. “These are literally some of the world's most important boardrooms — this is where their most critical meetings take place — and there could be silent attendees in all of them,” warned Mike Tuchen, chief executive of Rapid7.

According to Tuchen, these vulnerabilities are caused by IT administrators setting up videoconferencing links outside of company firewalls and configuring them in ways that create easy targets for hackers. No company has yet announced that they have been compromised using videoconferencing, but it is also entirely possible that companies have been victimized and may not be aware.

Some new systems are outfitted with a feature that does not require users to accept every person that dials into their conference. These features can help a meeting run more smoothly, but could also make uninvited guests much harder to detect. Moore recently wrote a computer program that would allow him to detect any videoconferencing links located outside their company firewalls and configured to automatically answer calls. In less than two hours, he scanned about 3 percent of the Internet, discovering 5,000 open conference links at law firms, pharmaceutical companies, oil refineries, universities and medical centers.

In order to prevent hackers from being able to do the same, Rapid7 recommends companies set up a "gatekeeper" that securely connects calls from outside the company firewall.

New permutation of the Sykipot Trojan access DOD and Windows smart cards

2012-01-18T16:35:00-06:00

A newly discovered permutation of the Sykipot Trojan, which has been used for years in attacks stemming from servers in China, can be used to compromise the U.S. Defense Department's Common Access Cards, according to Alienvault Labs. The variant comes rolled into phishing attacks and uses a keylogger to "effectively hijack DOD and Windows smart cards," says Alienvault's Jaime Blasco.

The variant has appeared in dozens of attack samples over the past 12 months. The spear-phishing attacks are built to get their targets to open an Adobe PDF attachment, which takes advantage of an Adobe zero-day vulnerability to load Sykipot onto their computers, according to Alienvault's research. Using a keylogger, the Sykipot variant can then swipe PINs from cardholders signing in, and subsequently pose as the legitimate user to steal information for as long as the card remains in the smart-card reader, Alienvault says.

The malware also displays the public-key encryption certificates kept on the system, and Blasco says Alienvault has tested the malware and it is, in fact, working. "It's likely they got inside protected systems and gained access using this malware," he notes.

Feds Bust $1.5 Million ATM Skimming Scheme

2012-01-11T14:29:00-06:00

A Romanian man failed to disguise his identity as he allegedly installed card skimmers to steal data at 40 ATMs around New York. Federal officials Friday announced the arrest of Laurentiu Iulian Bulat, a Romanian citizen. Prosecutors have accused Bulat, who overstayed his U.S. visa, of participating in a fraud ring that netted at least $1.5 million via the card skimmers between May 2011 and January 5, 2012. Bulat alone was charged Thursday with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, as well as bank fraud. If convicted of both charges, he could serve up to 60 years in prison.

"ATM skimmers are high-tech bank robbers. Instead of using a gun and a note, skimmers use fake card readers and hidden cameras to steal a customer's information to get to that customer's money and take it," said Manhattan U.S. attorney Preet Bharara, in a statement. "Often it happens completely undetected." According to court documents, however, Bulat was spotted after failing to disguise himself when installing card skimmers at ATM locations across Manhattan, Long Island, and Westchester, N.Y. As a result, after reviewing video footage provided by HSBC Bank, investigators had tied Bulat--dubbed "the installer" before his true identity was determined--to at least 40 ATM card-skimmer installations.

According to court documents, on January 5, 2012, "Bulat placed ATM skimming devices at two ATM machines at an HSBC Bank at 68th Street and 3rd Avenue in New York." HSBC apparently spotted him installing the skimmers on ATM video-surveillance feeds, and at 7:15 a.m. that day, contacted the Secret Service to report the apparent crime, as well as the fact that the person involved appeared to match "the installer's" appearance. According to a statement made to the court by Secret Service special agent Eric Friedman, he went to the ATMs that morning and confirmed that skimmers had been installed on them. Then he and other agents began conducting surveillance of the ATMs.

At 7:45 a.m., they saw someone matching the installer's description enter the ATM vestibule. "He was the only person in the ATM vestibule area. (I observed him through the glass window right outside the vestibule, and had an unobstructed view)," said Friedman. "Bulat spent a few minutes at that machine, and his body was up close against the machine with his back to me. From my observation of him, he did not appear to be engaged in an ordinary ATM transaction." Friedman said Bulat then seemed to repeat the same activity at the second ATM. Shortly afterwards, Friedman entered the ATM vestibule and arrested Bulat, who was carrying his Romanian passport, as well as a flat-head screwdriver, which Friedman told the court was often used to install or remove skimmers. Friedman said he also found a discarded gift card on the floor where Bulat had been standing, which was significant because card-skimmer installers typically test whether or not cards can easily pass through their skimmers and reach the ATM.

Card-skimming devices come in many forms, including skimmers with wireless data-transmission capabilities. But the two skimmers recovered by Secret Service agents from the HSBC ATM vestibule where Bulat was arrested employed a simpler approach: a pinhole camera, which would record customers' finger strokes as they input their PIN codes into the ATM then save the video to an internal SD card. According to Friedman, fraud rings that install skimmers typically retrieve them within 24 to 48 hours, then process the data and tie intercepted card numbers together with PIN codes.

A gang will then typically use the stolen information to make fake credit or debit cards, and then employ mules to use the cards to make purchases--frequently, high-end electronics and luxury items that can be easily resold. The Department of Justice said that it launched an investigation in May 2011 into the fraud ring in which Bharara is alleged to have participated. That investigation remains ongoing.

Clara Arias Baumgarten Completes Ahima Certification for 2012

2012-01-09T11:01:00-06:00

Clara Baumgarten, CEO of ProSource Packaging, Inc. recently received a certificate from AHIMA verifying completion of the continuing education units required by AHIMA's Commission on Certification for Health Informatics and Information Management (CCHIIM) recertification program.

Congrats Clara!