Mynt in Print @PRDaily - 23 Smartphone Apps Perfect for PR Pros

Honored to be published in PR Daily today for 23 smartphone apps perfect for PR pros… to view the article in its entirety, please visit http://bit.ly/ztTih7 

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There are more than 1 million applications available for smartphones and tablets. Among the first applications that everyone probably downloaded was Facebook, Angry Birds, or Pandora. 

With more business-oriented applications become available, I was curious to know which apps my fellow PR professionals use on a daily basis and can’t live without. So, I reached to colleagues and sent a query through Help A Reporter Out (HARO). 

The most common answers were apps that many of you are probably already using—Facebook, Twitter, TweetDeck, HootSuite, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, Mashable, Google, and Yelp—so I wanted to focus on the applications that fell outside of this group, some of which were new to me and I have since begun to use. Most of these applications are multi-platform with Android and iPhone, I have listed which are iPad only. 

Click here to view the list!!

San Diego’s NextLevel Internet Delivers 2011 Year in Review

NextLevel Internet, Inc., a leader in mission-critical Internet access and hosted voice services, is pleased to deliver a 2011 year in review and 2012 technology forecast.

“2011 was our most profitable and successful year to date. Not only did we see double digit growth in revenue and client base, but we also increased our number of employees by 26 percent,” said Jerry Morris, founder of NextLevel Internet, Inc. “We are continuously adapting and evolving our service offerings to make sure we are providing our B2B clients with the best privately managed voice, Internet, and cloud based data services available in the market. As we look forward into 2012, we see this trend to continue as we will be offering new services to remain ahead of the ever changing needs of our clients.”

Customer Satisfaction — In 2011, NextLevel Internet received the highest recognition for the company’s customer service and support. The company scored a Customer Excellence rating of 98 percent in a survey to the company’s existing client base. Conducted by Strategic Business Communications, Inc. (SBC) during a three month period from February through April 2011, the outside blind survey asked respondents to rate interactions, transactions and satisfaction levels between themselves and NextLevel Internet.

California Power Outage — Further expanding on NextLevel Internet’s mission-critical offerings; during the massive power outage on September 8, 2011, the company’s NextLevel Voice(TM) and Co-location services provided uninterrupted service to emergency organizations and first responders. The power outage, which was the largest recorded in the region’s history, lasting more than 10 hours left roughly eight million people and thousands of organizations in parts of Southern California, Arizona and New Mexico without power, Internet, and phone access. This disruption of power and the associated loss of connectivity could have resulted in the loss of life, money, or reputation for many of those affected.

NextLevel Voice Adoption Rate — Introduced as a new service in 2008, NextLevel Internet’s flexible hosted voice service, NextLevel Voice saw an increase in revenues of 65 percent during 2011. Clients have installed and retained NextLevel’s voice solutions because of the quality, reliability, affordability and disaster recovery (DR) attributes.

NextLevel Voice provides organizations with 10 to 500+ employees the advanced features and security of a sophisticated Private Branch Exchange (PBX) system for a fraction of the cost, with unsurpassed ease of use and zero system maintenance fees.

Data Center Expansion — In 2011, the company increased access to its new, secure, 88,000 square foot, SAS 70 Type II compliant data center in Rancho Bernardo, CA. The expansion to the new World Trade Drive Data Center followed the relocation of NextLevel Internet’s headquarters to North County San Diego in September 2010. SAS 70 Type II compliance certifies that NextLevel Internet’s data center has adequate controls and safeguards in place when hosting and processing data for the company’s clients.

Managed Internet Infrastructure — NextLevel Internet’s privately managed Clear Channel connectivity options allow businesses with 10 to 500+ employees the ability to control the quality of service (QoS) and class of service (CoS) to include its hosted voice service offerings. NextLevel’s mission critical Internet access and 24/7 NOC services are designed to give businesses everything they need to maximize company uptime and headquarter all remote sites.

For organizations that would like to request more information on NextLevel Internet’s business-to-business co-location, Internet, hosted voice, and managed data services, please visit www.nextlevelinternet.com .

Devicelock Endpoint DLP enables businesses to control Google+ usage on corporate computers.

DeviceLock, Inc., an international leader in endpoint data leak prevention solutions, today announced that its DeviceLock® Endpoint DLP Suite software can now be used by corporate IT to control the use of the Google+ social network on endpoint computers including content filtering of their data exchanges via Google+ services. As Google+ has become one of the fastest growing social networks, its uncontrolled use in corporate environments presents the risk of data leakage for IT security departments in organizations of various sizes and industries.

DeviceLock 7 Endpoint DLP Suite gives IT security administrators the ability to control which users on protected computers are allowed to access, read or post information on the Google+ site, even the days and times access is allowed. If needed, filtering of file and message content flowing between the protected endpoint and Google+ can be enforced to block the posting of unauthorized information. DeviceLock provides a full log of user activities and optional shadow-copying of data transferred for use in compliance auditing and forensic investigations.

“Many of our customers are worried about potential data leakage when employees communicate through Google+ with the outside world from their corporate computers. Even prior to the release of Google+, our customers had access to a recent DeviceLock version that enables them to control which corporate users can access Google+ from protected endpoint computers,” said Vince Schiavo, CEO, DeviceLock, Inc. “DeviceLock controls when and how users can access Google+ and the software can monitor and filter information considered by the organization to be confidential or sensitive. The speed of implementing this unique DLP capability is a tangible confirmation of DeviceLock’s dedication to its mission of providing proactive endpoint data security.”

Prior to the release of Google+, DeviceLock could already control the use of other popular social networks like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and Live Journal along with common webmail solutions like Gmail, Live Mail (Hotmail) and Yahoo Mail. In the latest version, DeviceLock’s Endpoint DLP Suite also adds contextual and content-aware controls over several regionally popular social networks and webmail systems, including XING.com, Studivz.de, Meinvz.de, and Schuelervz.net, as well as AOL Mail and Yandex.Mail. User access to mobile versions of social networks and popular webmail applications from endpoint computers is now also controlled by DeviceLock.

DeviceLock Names Vincent Schiavo as Chief Executive Officer

DeviceLock, Inc., a leading developer of endpoint data leak prevention software, is pleased to announce the appointment of Vincent M. Schiavo as the company’s Chief Executive Officer. In this role, Mr. Schiavo will focus on the global expansion of DeviceLock endpoint data leak prevention software and the execution of the organization’s vision and strategic direction.

A veteran of the computer industry for more than 30 years, most recently Mr. Schiavo served as the Executive Vice President of Worldwide Sales for LogLogic, a San Jose-based security information and event management provider.

Prior to LogLogic, Mr. Schiavo was the Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Marketing for Secure Computing, a San Jose-based web information security company which was acquired by McAfee in 2008. During his six-and-a-half-year tenure at Secure Computing, Mr. Schiavo built a worldwide sales team that drove the company’s billings from under $36M to over $300M per year.

“Vince brings an impressive resume from both a business perspective and depth of technology expertise,” said Ashot Oganesyan, founder, DeviceLock, Inc. “We look forward to using Vince’s strong business background to continue to expand our global reach.”

“The introduction of employee-owned devices such as smart-phones, digital cameras, iPads and other USB-attached devices has dramatically increased the risk of data loss and information theft in the enterprise,” said Vince Schiavo, CEO, DeviceLock, Inc. “DeviceLock has positioned itself as a premier enforcer against data loss and as an integral part of a successful security strategy. As we continue to grow our company, we are committed to maintaining our technology innovation leadership in this important industry segment.”

For organizations of any size and industry, DeviceLock software proactively protects endpoint computers against local data leaks and malware infiltration resulting from insider negligence, accidental mistakes or malicious actions. It enables IT security personnel to precisely control, log, shadow-copy and audit end-user access to all types of local ports and peripheral devices, including personal mobile devices such as smart-phones, iPads, iPods, digital cameras and other dockable devices.

(Source: Yahoo!)

23 Smartphone Apps that PR Professionals Can’t Live Without

by Ronnie Manning

At last count, I think there are around 45 billion applications available for our smartphones and tablets.  The first application that everyone probably downloaded was either Facebook, Angry Birds or Pandora (Facebook was mine and I even downloaded a virtual pet, which I forgot about, and sadly, the poor guy went to virtual pet heaven).  But as more business oriented applications are developed and become available, I was curious to know which apps my fellow PR professionals use on a daily basis and can’t live without.  (I should state that I have no affiliation with any of the apps listed, just looking to share some good info)

I received great responses with the most common answers being the most common apps that many of you are probably already using – Facebook, Twitter (TweetDeck, HootSuite), LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, Mashable, Google, and Yelp – so I wanted to focus on the applications that fell outside of this common group, some of which were new to me and I have since begun to use.  Most of these applications are multi-platform with Android and iPhone, I have listed which are iPad only. Enjoy!

Location Based Services / Social Productivity Applications

• Around Me - AroundMe allows you to quickly find out information about your surroundings - find ATMs, drug stores, restaurants, coffee shops, etc.

• Ban.jo – Ban.jo is a social discovery service that harnesses social updates happening across multiple networks and delivers them into one integrated view.  

“I work a lot with local venues and restaurants and use the app to see who is physically near; as the app aggregates all of my social media profiles - collecting my friends geotags - and allowing me to see their proximity to mine. When needing to recruit bodies in the door - in real time - you can open up the app to see what friends are near you and invite them to the venue or event within the app by tweeting them, etc.” – Kinsey Shoefield

•  Foursquare – Foursquare is a location-based mobile platform that makes cities easier to use and more interesting to explore.  Clients and brands leverage the foursquare platform by utilizing a wide set of tools to obtain, engage, and retain customers and audiences.

• myBantu – myBantu provides highly personalized assistance in matching desirable travel, entertainment and lifestyle queries based on individual preferences and social network. 

• Plancast – Plancast lets you know about the events your friends and colleagues plan to attend as well as other events in your area.

News and Media Applications

• Flipboard (iPad) – The application turns your Facebook, Twitter and other social content into a digital magazine inspired by the beauty and ease of print media. 

• Pulse – Pulse News that takes your favorite websites and transforms them into a colorful and interactive mosaic.

• Taptu – Taptu lets you add your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and the content from your favorite web sites and blogs via RSS and transforms them into visual streams. 

“Since discovering Taptu, I check it even before my emails each day.  I can create custom news streams for any topic and add any feeds or sites that I want to check daily.” Angela Neal

•  Zite (iPad) – Zite scans over half a million web domains to find specific reading material that would be of interest, according to your social network and online reading behavior.

Business and Productivity Applications

• Dropbox – Dropbox is a free service that lets you bring your photos, docs, and videos anywhere and share them easily via mobile/desktop. 

“The ability to instantly access, update, save and share files at the touch of a button is a godsend, especially at times when multiple collaborators are working on a single project or presentation.” Mike Lesczinski 

• Evernote - Evernote makes it easy to remember things big and small from your notable life using your computer, phone, and the web. 

“I use Evernote for dictating notes to myself (e.g., if hit with a brainstorm while walking the dog) as well as keeping permanent track of handwritten notes I take in Noteshelf and keyboard entry. Love that it syncs automatically and is available from every device.” Roger Friedensen  

• Harvest - Harvest lets PR professionals track time and send invoices from one integrated application.

• Instagram – Fast, photo sharing and editing.

• JotNot Pro -JotNot uses your smartphones camera to be a multi-page document scanner.  

“We like JotNot Pro for scanning and e-mailing items when we’re on the go. It’s fast and convenient and the resolution is good.” Marisa Vallbona 

• Noteshelf (iPad) - A handwriting app for the iPad that allows you to take notes and export.

• OfficeTime – For Billing on the Go - Office Time is an intuitive and full-featured time tracking application. 

“OfficeTime is great for PR folks who primarily bill by the hour, keeping good track of time and tying that work to specific projects and clients is essential.” Kevin Doel

• Springpad - Springpad makes it easy to save notes, products and places you want to remember – it automatically organizes and enhances what you’ve saved to help you be more productive.

• Square – Square gives businesses the ability to accept credit and debit card purchases anywhere, anytime. 

“Get the free tiny accessory that attaches to the microphone port on your phone and take charge cards with your phone. Nice for events and it’s free—-transaction fee applies but no monthly merchant fees.” Toni Antonetti 

• Teuxdeux – TeuxDeux is a simple and nicely designed to-do list.  

“Teuxdeux is my favorite to-do list app ever, which says a lot because Ive tried out a number of them. . Teuxdeux is by far the cleanest and most simple task management app I’ve used.” Stephanie Stadler 

• Toodledo - a task and note manager that helps organize your to-do list and notes, and make you more productive.

• WorldCard - WorldCard Mobile uses OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology to instantly transfer information from business cards to the your contact list.

• Wunderlist – an integrated task manager, your to-do lists sync automatically over the internet and you can even share your lists with friends and colleagues

Personal Applications

• White Noise - While traveling, use this app in hotel rooms that sometimes can be less soundproof than one would like.

It’s exciting to see the variety of available applications and how they help PR professionals on a daily basis, I look forward what the future brings.  If there are any applications that you use regularly and you would like to add, please feel free to leave in the comment section!

Thank you to all who provided input!

DeviceLock Receives Two U.S. Patents for Local Sync Control Technology

DeviceLock today announced that it has been granted two patents by the United States Patent and Trademark Office for its local synchronization filtering technology. The patented technology allows businesses to control the transfer of data between endpoint computers and locally connected mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets and PDAs, including Windows Mobile, Palm, iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad devices.

 An integral part of the DeviceLock software suite since 2007, this patented technology allows security administrators to centrally manage which types of data users can synchronize between corporate PCs and their mobile devices. Protected by US patents US7,899,779 and US7,899,782, DeviceLock’s local sync control technology significantly increases the level of corporate endpoint protection against data leaks. These can be caused by employees connecting personal smartphones or tablets to their office computers through a local interface and by mistake or negligence copying sensitive corporate information to their mobile device.

DeviceLock can recognize and filter numerous data object types for iTunes, ActiveSync, WMDC and HotSync protocols, letting administrators selectively allow or block synchronization of files, emails, email attachments, accounts, contacts, tasks, notes, calendar items, bookmarks, and various media types.

To view the release in its entirety, please visit http://mwne.ws/iIeg6w

ANX Named Winner of 2011 Hot Companies and Hot Technologies Awards by Network Products Guide

ANX announced today that Network Products Guide, the industry’s leading technology research and advisory guide, has named ANX a winner in both the Hot Companies and Hot Technologies categories at the Annual 2011 Hot Companies and Best Products Awards. This coveted program recognizes the world’s best in organizational performance, products and services, executives and management teams, successful deployments, product management, product engineering, and customer satisfaction in every area of information technology. ANX joins an elite group of companies that has won the Hot Company Award multiple times.

ANX provides solutions to thousands of companies in industries such as healthcare, retail, acquiring banks, and automotive, including:

• Integrated security and compliance solutions for large and medium enterprises
• Risk management and compliance consulting services
• Secure connectivity and transaction delivery services supporting collaboration in communities of interest

In addition to winning the Hot Company Award, ANX was recognized with a Hot Technology award for TruComply, ANX’ flagship solution for governance, risk and compliance (GRC). Given growing regulatory burdens and more complex business and IT environments, organizations need a common technology platform for managing these activities to eliminate duplication of effort. TruComply is an easy-to-use software-as-a-service solution that provides enterprise-wide visibility into risks, and ensures optimal resource allocation based on strategic business priorities. Unlike other GRC solutions, TruComply delivers benefits very quickly and does not require capital investment or complex implementation.

(Source: anx.com)

San Diego’s NewBlue Inc. joins EvoNexus to launch Vibop mobile video sharing platform

NewBlue, Inc., a growing provider of integrated video effects technologies, and CommNexus, a nonprofit technology industry association that works to accelerate the success of the technology industry in the region, today announces that NewBlue has been accepted into EvoNexus™, San Diego’s only community-supported, fully pro-bono technology incubator.

Founded by proven, experienced entrepreneurs in digital media, NewBlue was created on the premise that video would become an integral part of popular culture and a critical player in the consumer marketplace. EvoNexus will support NewBlue on expanding market availability of Vibop, its upcoming patent pending, cloud-based technology that enables social networking with video across mobile devices and smartphones. Vibop is based on NewBlue’s extensive and proprietary library of NewBlueFX video filters.

“EvoNexus is the perfect place to take NewBlue to the next level. San Diego boasts some of the finest cellular and mobile back-end technologies in the country,” said Melissa Jordan Grey, co-founder and chief creative officer for NewBlue, Inc.  “With the introduction of Vibop, we leverage this city’s strong mobile foundations with a powerful front-end.”  

EvoNexus and its sponsors will be providing NewBlue with project mentoring and consulting, access to senior executives, help with fundraising, graphic design and printing services and other forms of cost reduction.  Previously operating as a virtual enterprise, NewBlue will now be centralizing its staff and developing in San Diego, having moved into office space provided by EvoNexus at beginning of April 2011.  

“NewBlue has established itself as a premier provider of video special effects and editing software with the success of NewBlueFX,” said Kevin Hell, chairman of EvoNexus. “This excellent foundation serves as a great springboard for its upcoming expansion into the consumer video sharing marketplace via Vibop. At EvoNexus, our goal is to support NewBlue in any way possible, ranging from the use of our sponsor’s facilities and services to mentoring, oversight and events.”  

“Our association with EvoNexus elevates NewBlue’s access to industry leaders. And with their support and infrastructure, we enter an exciting growth stage. This includes the process of finding outstanding local talent in San Diego, which we are proud to say, has already begun,” added Todor Fay, co-founder and chief technology officer for NewBlue, Inc.

Vibop mobile video editing and social sharing technology will be available for mobile devices and smartphones in the second quarter, 2011.  For more information, please visit www.newblueinc.com or shoot me an email - rmanning@myntpr.com 

NextLevel Internet Offers SAS 70 Type II Compliant Data Center in North San Diego

NextLevel Internet, Inc. today announced that the company has opened access to a new, secure, SAS 70 Type II compliant data center in Rancho Bernardo, CA. The expansion to the new World Trade Drive Data Center follows the relocation of NextLevel Internet’s headquarters to North County San Diego in September 2010. NextLevel Internet provides business-to-business co-location, Internet, hosted voice, and managed data services for organizations of all sizes.

The Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) 70 is an internationally recognized auditing standard developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).  SAS 70 Type II compliance certifies that NextLevel Internet’s data center has adequate controls and safeguards in place when hosting and processing data for the company’s clients.

The new facility delivers greater power density, advanced cooling technology and increased scalability versus previous data centers. The 88,000 square foot data center is built with an environmentally friendly air filtration system that can use external air to cool the facility when air quality matches certain optimal humidity and temperature parameters.

Upon opening, NextLevel Internet had moved approximately 60 clients to the new physically secure site that features biometric scanning, video surveillance, appropriate seismic controls and very early smoke detection apparatus (VESDA).

For organizations that would like to request more information on NextLevel Internet’s business-to-business co-location, Internet, hosted voice, and managed data services, please visit www.nextlevelinternet.com.

ANX Introduces Cashier Security Awareness Training for Merchant PCI Compliance

ANXeBusiness Corp. (ANX), a provider of networking and security managed services, today announced the new Cashier Security Awareness Training component of its TruPCI Compliance Management Solution. Created to help Level 4 Merchants meet PCI DSS Requirement 12.6.1, “Educate personnel upon hire and at least annually,” ANX Cashier Security Awareness Training differs from traditional courses by focusing on the unique needs of cashiers.

This brief, online course covers critical merchant security issues, teaching cashiers how to:

• Identify fraudulent credit/debit cards
• Protect sensitive areas and equipment
• Ensure that receipts do not reveal sensitive data
• Help prevent insider theft
• Spot and report suspicious behavior

This course is the latest addition to ANX’s PCI eLearning curriculum.  For more details, visit – http://bit.ly/gmto0J

Athena Security Announces Firewall Rule Tracker

Athena Security, the developers of Athena FirePAC, a comprehensive enterprise firewall audit and operations tool, today announced the release of Firewall Rule Tracker, the industry’s only asynchronous documentation solution for recording the reason why specific firewall rules exist in enterprise networks.

While firewalls are widely deployed in more than 97 percent of enterprises today, firewall rulebases have grown at an alarming rate. The knowledge surrounding legacy rules dissipates over time, leaving enterprises with too many risky rules that remain unjustified. At heart, the system tracks rules based on what the rule is doing, rather than its line number in the configuration (which changes every time new rules are added or deleted). This is perhaps the biggest reason why documentation is oftentimes inconsistent and incomplete.  Performing a textual comparison of the rule before and after it has been modified does not capture the full story, but that is the extent to what is available from most change management systems.

“Our consulting partners tell us that less than 20 percent of the clients they audit can demonstrate up-to date and complete documentation,” says Anjali Gurnani, vice president of business development, Athena Security. “It is scary to think that the original reason why certain rules are providing access to critical network systems and confidential data may no longer be known.”

For auditors, especially PCI QSAs, reviewing the documentation for each firewall rule is an ideal place to identify lax security controls, general rulebase neglect and other red flags that trigger the need for further investigation. For companies that wish to correct this deficiency in their security program, Athena’s Rule Tracker offers an easy way to set things right. Unlike elaborate systems that involve months of process re-alignment, Athena’s Rule Tracker recognizes that teams collaborate far more easily with spreadsheets. By using a spreadsheet approach and built-in intelligence to make the system highly user-friendly, Athena’s Rule Tracker is flexible enough to be used in any change process.

Rule Tracker compares two versions of a configuration and immediately identifies what changed so users can add missing documentation which is then automatically retained and available for reporting.

What Athena accomplishes for organizations is a convenient and simple way to certify what access is acceptable throughout the rule’s lifecycle. The benefits of using the Rule Tracker to facilitate documentation are:

— Device connections are not required to identify rule changes
— Business justification history is retained in-system, so users can isolate missing information and add it incrementally
— Users can generate spreadsheet reports, share with other stakeholders, and re-import documentation changes to the database
— Support for mixed vendor network environments including Cisco, Check Point and Netscreen firewalls

Athena is offering the Rule Tracker to end users looking to comply with PCI DSS 1.1.5 and NERC R2.2, or for internal documentation and security reporting purposes. While the system is designed to keep documentation current on a perpetual basis, consultants will also find the tool a handy way to bring clients up-to-date on regularly scheduled intervals.

The Athena Firewall Rule Tracker is available immediately as a standalone tool and also as an add-on solution to its FirePAC product. Pricing starts at $250/firewall. For more information, please see http://www.athenasecurity.net/index.html.