FREE App - The Cost of Downtime Calculator

Cost of Downtime Calculator

It is often difficult to know the true economic impacts to a business from disruptions. Be it a large scale regional disaster. Or a small outage that can occur from applications errors, server downtime, or even a power outage.

Now, I have developed the ultimate Cost of Downtime Calculator. You can visit the Cost of Downtime Calculator page directly on Continuity Company to learn more about the capabilities. We also have an option if you want to add in customized and more accurate calculations directly attributed to your business.

The Cost of Downtime Calculator has options for recovery costs, fines and penalties, contractor costs, employee salaries, and several other options. The App includes an internal help page directing you on how to use it, if needed.

I am very proud of the results that the Cost of Downtime Calculator produces. I am sure you will find it quite accurate for your needs as well. You can also use the Cost of Downtime Calculator to calculate what your Recovery Time Objective (RTO) will cost. You could easily use the app to adjust your RTO and discover the Cost/Benefits of your RTO. Maybe it needs to be shorter, or maybe you can afford to slightly extend the RTO. You can now easily calculate your Maximum Allowable Downtime.

The Cost of Downtime Calculator is FREE to download and use. It is Ad supported and the ads can be turned off for $1.99. The initial app is capable of handling nearly all small businesses and most mid-sized organizations. If you need additional functionality you can purchase an upgrade for $9.99 that should cover all your needs.

My team is currently working on an enhanced functionality update that will be available in 2-3 months after we conduct some additional testing.

We are also working on an additional upgrade for enterprise systems that will allow for more detailed calculations. The future enterprise version will also include a minimum and maximum potential losses.

Below is a screen shot from the Cost of Downtime Calculator App. I hope that you like it and will try it out. Remember it is FREE to download.

Think Your Business Data Backup Is Adequate? Not So Fast, Read This First Before You Answer

I have had some interesting experiences in my time of either working for, or consulting with businesses, especially in the area concerning data backups and data recovery. Most businesses when asked can tell you that they have adequate backups in place, and a good portion of them do. However, when you really drill down into what their plans are, or how they are actually backing up their data things get interesting very quickly.

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What do you recommend I use for backing up critical files?

A very common question I get, especially from owners of small businesses looking for ways to protect their critical documents and files is… What do you recommend I use to back up my critical files?

Depending what your needs are, such as how many files you need to back up, the type of system you use, the costs of backing up your data this issue can get fairly complex to the point that I could not provide an answer without dealing with each of them on an individual basis.

With that said, I both use and recommend for most small businesses a service called Sugarsync. This is something I have been using this for the last few years, and started using it while it was still in the beta phase, and it has saved even me on more than one occasion.

The best part of using Sugarsync is its capability to sync your files across multiple computers and platforms. If you are someone like me with a multiple operating systems and computers the service is a godsend. Open the file on your Mac, edit it, hit save and it sync's the changes and you can open that same file on your PC or Smartphone and see the edited version.

My favorite part is the ability to access and view files on my Smartphone. If you know someone who forgets files, documents, or work on their home or office computer, this service is for them. Just access your account on your phone, and you have access to your file on your phone.

Coupled with the new service from Google called Google Cloud Print you may never have to worry about leaving that document you were going to give your client behind again.  

For my business I have multiple methods of backing up my critical files, including multiple backup drives that I keep offsite. But, my favorite tool and service by far is Sugarsync.

Recently I had a hard disk drive failure of my own on one of my primary desktop's for my business. This would be a big problem for anyone, but thanks to Sugarsync all of my critical files were accessible through my laptop. I just had to get a new disk drive, install the operating system, and Sync up with the Sugarsync web based access and ALL my files were back.

Sugarsync also offers a free 30 day trial, so you can see if it is right for you. Once you use it, you may never look back or have a need for anything else.  

Disaster Tip of the Week: Can't Get Through On Your Cell Phone After A Disaster, Try Sending A Text Message

In times of disaster and crisis it is often difficult to get through to other people over the phone whether it is a land line based system or a cellular phone.

However, the one thing that does work is sending SMS based texted messages. This is due to the way SMS messages work, the important thing to know is that they require less bandwidth to send the messages over the network, and once you hit send your mobile device will keep trying to send the message until it is sent if the network is busy. All this increases the chances that your message will be sent to its destination.

Though I wont get into the super techincal of how SMS messaages work or the different protocols and spectrums involved, the important part is that you know that your message will get through and you have other options if you can't place a call.

Here is a little more on how SMS works and here: How Short Messaging Service Works

Why SMS Is Limited to 160 Characters

If you have any doubt the use of SMS messaging goes back to September 11th when people used it to send messages to loved ones. I also personally used SMS messaging duing 9/11 when I could not get through on the phone.

Though other examples may exist before then, this was the first major event to show that SMS text messages are a reliable way of getting your communications through after a disaster.

Since then, other examples include Katrina, the Mumbai terror attacks, and the earthquake in Hatti as well as others.

Energizer Duo USB Battery Charger Trojan - Allows Remote Access

Downloadable software for use with the Energizer Duo USB Charger has been found to contain a Trojan that allows for remote control of the system US-CERT is reporting.

It is unknown at this time how long the Trojan has been in the software, but can be as long as its release three years ago.

According to Symantec "The Trojan still operates whether this device is found or not, so a USB charger doesn't need to be plugged in for the Trojan to be functioning."

US-CERT has issued a Vulnerability Note VU# 154421 with more details. Here is some information from that report:

The installer for the Energizer DUO software places the file UsbCharger.dll in the application's directory and Arucer.dll in the Windows system32 directory.

Arucer.dll is a backdoor that allows unauthorized remote system access via accepting connections on 7777/tcp.