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January News & Notes from PennyWise Consulting

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January News & Notes from PennyWise Consulting
Technology News and Notes of interest for your small business.
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PennyWise Consulting, LLC logo
January 2018

Welcome to News and Notes! January definitely started big and bold with the announcements of meltdown and spectre. Are you overwhelmed yet?

I'm focusing on deeper work this year. I'm best known for my work in helping clients create and maintain their WordPress websites.However, there is much more I can do to help your small business technology! Are you looking for technology that works together and with you? I can help you sort through and figure out what works for you and your specific business. Would you like a better understanding of the technology you use so that you can make changes or hire an assistant? Together we can work through your current systems and write up a guidebook. Are you still using technology you don't like because the thought of migrating is just too much? I can help you evaluate new systems and figure out a migration plan and process. Contact me to get started.

If you're overwhelmed and want to unsubscribe from this monthly newsletter simply follow this unsubscribe link.

Technology moves rapidly so without further ado, let's jump in! 

In this edition you'll find:



I hope you find this newsletter interesting and helpful for you and your small business. Please reply and let me know what you think. Thank you.

/penny
ps Once again: here are direct links to unsubscribe or update your profile. They also exist at the bottom of this newsletter. Thanks!

Links that interest me. 

This month's topic: Meltdown & Spectre
They exploit critical vulnerabilities in modern processors.
  1. meltdownattack.com - This site provides a very good overview of what's wrong, links to specific security advisories and other information, and some videos of the exploit in action.
  2. Keeping Spectre secret - How an industry-breaking bug stayed secret for seven months — and then leaked out.
  3. xkcd.com - Randall Munroe has a nice explanation of speculative execution.

Recent Blog Posts

 

When big exploits arrive

Everyone is talking about the security threats Meltdown and Spectre. Now I am too. What do these processor vulnerabilities mean for you as a small business owner?  

working deeper in 2018

After completing my 2018 review I realized I need to make some changes so I work deeper and clients are aware of the range of services I offer.  

why learning cybersecurity is important

I believe it’s important to try to understand the technology you use every day. I applaud the Girl Scouts on their recent cybersecurity and STEM advancements and their G.I.R.L Agenda.

New Project: pen at work! 

 
When your world is turned upside down, you often make unexpected discoveries of strength and resilience. This summer I discovered three things:

First, my most popular post How I work – Why I photograph my morning cup of coffee kept me going, and I don’t only mean all the caffeine I’ve consumed! (Though it helped.) Having the habit, the morning ritual, it helped me pause, focus, and reflect. Giving me the strength to make it through stressful days.

Second, having documentation is important for your business and your personal life. I had to build my mother’s medical history and attempt to get paperwork quickly from her former physicians. I built what I could as quickly as possible and worked with every doctor we met with to fill in as much of the puzzle as possible.

Third, I like creating order from this sort of chaos.

What does that mean?

I will teach and share the methodology I use to find order in that chaos known as life. There will be worksheets, tutorials, tools, and eventually workshops. Want personalized attention? Yes, I will continue to offer one-on-one consulting.

It’s a project of PennyWise Consulting, and I’m calling it pen at work: prioritize · evaluate · negotiate, a PEN is all you need. 

WordPress updates of interest

As always, there are updates! Is it important that you read the change logs? No. However, it is important to keep your WordPress system up-to-date. There are often new features that slip-in which can improve how you work. If you have questions or are worried about updating, please contact me!

  • Wordpress is at 4.9.1, this security release was released on November 29, 2017. It addresses four security issues which could potentially be exploited as part of a multi-vector attack.
  • WooCommerce is at 3.2.6 and was updated on December 13, 2017. Version 3.3 is due out for release on Tuesday, January 30th. While it's considered a minor release, there are some big plans for it including improved support for themes, image resizing, and inventory management.
  • Yoast SEO is at 6.1.1 and this new 6.1 version was released on January 9, 2018.
  • Jetpack is at 5.7 and was released on January 2, 2018. This update includes maintenance updates, bug fixes, and improvements.
Shadow, my assistant, is a very helpful cat.
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