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Simulated phishing attacks can protect your business before a real phishing attack strikes

Posted on May 10, 2013 by in Software

Simulated Phishing

Phishing attacks are more sophisticated than ever. Don’t fall for them by simulating your own attacks to increase awareness of the latest phishing techniques.

Financial advisers underestimate today’s sophisticated phishing attacks, but simulating attacks helps avoid becoming the next victim.

Phishing attacks used to be very simple to identify: random email messages appeared in your inbox, littered with poor grammar and spelling, and urged you to click a link that was obviously fake.

But today, hackers and attackers are using much more sophisticated techniques to get you to lower your guard and volunteer your personal information online, including account logins and passwords.

So how do you reduce the odds of falling victim to these sophisticated attacks?

Simulate your own sophisticated phishing attack.

In a classic example of Benjamin Franklin’s “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” idiom, you can deploy your own phishing attack across your business to determine what might happen should a real attack be encountered.

And in the spirit of operational efficiency, avoid spending your time creating your own simulated phishing campaign.

Outsource your simulated phishing attacks to one of the several providers that will test how well your business evades such schemes.

Learn more about who simulates phishing attacks and how much these services cost, covered in this month’s Morningstar Advisor column.

Read Protect Against Phishing Attacks at Morningstar Advisor.

While the services mentioned may seem expensive at first, consider how expensive correcting a real attack might be.

Not only can you potentially lose tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, but you can also significantly tarnish the trust clients have in your organization.

How to secure mobile devices against “WiFi honeypots”

Posted on May 1, 2013 by in Practice Management, Software, Technology

WiFi "honeypots" impersonate trusted WiFi networks remembered by your mobile devices

“WiFi honeypots” impersonate WiFi networks remembered and trusted by your mobile devices

Financial advisers should use a VPN to protect mobile devices from “WiFi honeypots.”

WiFi is almost everywhere today. But when you connect to WiFi in your local coffeeshop or hotel for the evening, do you really know who is managing the connection?

Eavesdropping on Public WiFi

You place a lot of trust in unknown providers when you connect your mobile devices to public WiFi.

Most of the time, you’re likely not at risk of having data you send over WiFi intercepted by someone else. But a number of software programs and hardware devices for sale on the Internet allow users to do just that; sit on public WiFi and eavesdrop on unencrypted data being passed back and forth.

WiFi Honeypot

According to one hardware manufacturer, launching man-in-the-middle attacks is "as simple as setting up your typical home wireless router."

According to one hardware manufacturer, launching man-in-the-middle attacks is “as simple as setting up your typical home wireless router.”

Other devices are even more nefarious. Did you know that most of your mobile devices passively seek trusted WiFi networks to which they have connected in the past?

Your mobile devices remember trusted WiFi networks so you don’t have to repeatedly enter your password and/or approve the connection over and over again. Convenient, right?

Well, these nefarious devices called “honeypots” are built to respond to your mobile devices’ inquiry for a trusted WiFi network.

For example, when your phone broadcasts “is the ‘ApexWealthSecureWiFi’ SSID available?” the WiFi honeypot responds, “Yes, I’m the ApexWealthSecureWiFi access point, you can connect with me!”

And that connection now exposes your phone, tablet, or laptop to a potential man-in-the-middle attack (MitM).

Elude WiFi Honeypots

How do you protect yourself against WiFi honeypots?

First, ensure that you use https:// and SSL connections online as much as possible. Download and install browser plugins like HTTPS Anywhere for Firefox and Chrome (sorry Internet Explorer users, consider this one more reason to stop using that browser).

Implement VPN

Second, set up your own VPN, or virtual private network, connection that provides a secure, encrypted “tunnel” through which your Internet traffic is routed.

If you don’t have your own VPN connection available from your IT department, you can subscribe to one of several private VPN services, most of which cost roughly $50 per year.

For a more detailed review of VPN, read my latest column for Morningstar Advisor titled Secure Your Mobile Connections and increase your safety and security when using WiFi away from your authentic networks.

Avoid WiFi Altogether

When in doubt, avoid using WiFi altogether when you’re away from your trusted networks.

Instead, use your mobile device’s cellular connection (3G or 4G LTE), and if your device doesn’t have its own cellular modem, buy a mobile 4G LTE hotspot for $100 and use that (may I recommend an Overdrive Pro 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot from Virgin Mobile?)

Remember that there are people out there who will exploit vulnerabilities for a variety of reasons. Follow the recommendations above to reduce your odds of becoming a victim of a man-in-the-middle attack when using WiFi networks.

Salentica feeds Schwab OpenView Gateway™ data to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011. Or does it? I’m confused.

Posted on April 10, 2013 by in Software

Not all versions of Microsoft Dynamics CRM are the same

04/11/2013: Updated to clarify a LOT of my own confusion surrounding Salentica and Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM comes in so many variants with and without third-party providers, I find myself scratching my head when trying to figure out the maze of buying the product, let alone use it.

I was saving this for Friday’s Bits and Bytes update, but as I started digging into the story, I found myself navigating a rabbit’s hole of strange logic.

If I’m confused about Microsoft Dynamics CRM, then I think you don’t stand much chance keeping this all straight on your own!

This story all started with the following press release:

Salentica Releases Schwab OpenView Gateway™ Solution for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Users from PRWeb.com

Ok, stay with me on this one.

Who is Salentica?

Salentica is a reseller Microsoft independent software vendor (ISV)/ Microsoft Certified Partner, and they provide a custom overlay to Microsoft Dynamics® CRM specific to financial advisers called Salentica CRM. If you use Salentica CRM and custody with Schwab Advisor Services, you’ve been able to use  Schwab OpenView Gateway™ to get real-time data from Schwab populated in Salentica CRM for about six months.

Great!

Wait. ISV vs. Reseller?

I was mistaken about Salentica’s role as a reseller. They’re an ISV. What’s the difference?

An ISV sells software they created that runs on a particular platform. In this case, Salentica CRM runs on Microsoft Dynamics CRM, but you don’t buy Dynamics from Salentica. You have to buy your Dynamics licenses from either Microsoft (for Dynamics in the cloud) or a reseller (for Dynamics on-premises or in a partner-hosted environment).

A reseller adds custom features and (very commonly) services to a particular product, then resells it as an all-in-one solution. This is how the Laserfiche document management product is sold. Advisers (excluding the very large multi-office multi-billion RIAs) typically buy Laserfiche from a value-added reseller (VAR), not from Laserfiche itself. Licensing, billing, customization, support, and more is entirely administered by the VAR.

Standalone Microsoft Dynamics CRM

But maybe you don’t use Salentica CRM, and instead have your own license of Dynamics CRM. You don’t get Schwab data. Well, Salentica just announced the general release of Schwab OpenView Gateway™ for Microsoft Dynamics® CRM, so now users of plain-vanilla Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 can also get real-time data from Schwab via Schwab OpenView Gateway!

Clear?

Not so Clear

Wait.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM comes in lots of versions, two of which primarily apply for advisers. Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 is the on-premises version installed locally on a computer, OR it can be in the cloud using a partner-hosted environment.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online is the cloud version that retails for $44/user/month. It can be combined with Office 365 (which alone typically runs $150/year/user if you want the Small Business Premium version that supports desktop Word, PowerPoint, Excel and more). So you’re looking at just under $200/month/user for retail pricing for Office 365 and Dynamics CRM. Microsoft Partners may offer lower pricing, but you get the general idea of cost.

So, if you’re using Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online (with or without Office 365), then you’re out of luck with respect to real-time data via Schwab OpenView Gateway.

If you want Dynamics in the cloud with Schwab OpenView Gateway integration, you first have to use Dynamics in a partner-hosted environment, THEN you have to use the new solution from Salentica mentioned in the above press release.

But wait. If your partner-hosted environment comes from Tamarac, you can’t integrate with Schwab OpenView Gateway today. Not yet, at least. A solution is coming soon.

The Salentica solution mentioned in the press release only works with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, whether it be an on-premises version or in a partner-hosted environment (minus Tamarac for the time being).

How to Buy? See a Reseller

I can’t even figure out how to buy the on-premises CRM version from Microsoft. It turns out you can’t. You have to work exclusively with a third-party reseller to get it.

So, say you happen to ask Salentica about buying Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 for an on-premises CRM. Won’t you just get “upgraded” to Salentica CRM that already features the OpenView Gateway integration? No separate solution required.

So why bother releasing this new solution for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 users?

It turns out that there are customers who purchased Dynamics CRM from a reseller/Certified Partner and also want to connect it with Schwab OpenView Gateway. Pareto Platform CRM customers are a great example. How many potential customers fit this criteria, I don’t know. It can’t be more than a few hundred. Can it? But evidently there are enough for Salentica to build a solution for them.

My Digression on Press

So in the strikeout section below, I went off on a tangent about the Salentica press release potentially not being news. Clearly I didn’t understand the fact that there are users out there with Dynamics they bought from a reseller (Tamarac keeps coming to mind) but can’t integrate it with Schwab OpenView Gateway.

Salentica’s solution is new, and now those users do have an option to integrate  Schwab OpenView Gateway data into their CRM.

Subscribing to Salentica’s new solution costs $120/user/year.

So a thought just occurred to me: maybe this is just press for press’ sake, and there’s really nothing new here.

I found it odd that news of a new custodial integration came from the third-party provider rather than the custodian. Why would that happen? Wouldn’t the custodian also want to take some credit and boost their marketing profile with some news as well?

Perhaps if the “news” really isn’t news, then I can begin to understand why the custodian didn’t also jointly release their own marketing material. There’s no story.

But, take note, Schwab Intelligent Integration’s last press release is dated November 2012. Not exactly breaking news. But I digress.

 

(Salentica president Bill Rourke called me out for writing “tiny fraction” below. His response was that Salentica is the largest provider of Microsoft CRM for independent advisers. I get that. Only Microsoft CRM continues to fair poorly in financial adviser technology surveys, including Financial Planning’s 2012 survey (3%) and InvestmentNews’ 2012 survey (4.4%).)

If you’re one of the tiny fraction single-digit percentage of all advisers using Microsoft Dynamics CRM powered by Salentica feeding in data over Schwab OpenView Gateway, can you care to leave a comment on how well its working and how it’s helped your business?

Because I feel a little in the dark.

eMoney Advisor wants to wow advisers with features bundled into one financial planning package

Posted on February 21, 2013 by in Software, Video Spotlight

While attending the TD Ameritrade Institutional 2013 National Conference last month, I connected with Dan Cox, regional sales director for eMoney Advisor.

eMoney Advisor has been rather quiet in recent years, crossing my radar only once or twice with news of new product features and functionality.

For 2013, eMoney Advisor is ready to jump out of the gate and get in front of advisers to demonstrate how the platform can complement an efficient workplace.

So what is eMoney Advisor?

Cox replied, “It’s a fully integrated financial planning software package, bundled with account aggregation and a client portal.”

“Part of the bundled package is a secure client vault where [advisers] can upload and download any document and collaborate with other financial professionals,” added Cox.

For more information, visit them online at http://www.emoneyadvisor.com/

(click to view on YouTube)

TD Ameritrade adds iRebal to the cloud and offers it for free to affiliated advisers

Posted on January 31, 2013 by in Software, Technology

TD Ameritrade’s rebalancing software will soon be available online via the cloud and at no additional cost to affiliated advisers.

In a press release today, TD Ameritrade Institutional announced that it will soon offer its proprietary iRebal® portfolio rebalancing software directly through the cloud. Also, advisers who custody assets with the custodian can access the web-based version of iRebal for free.

The new version of iRebal will be integrated with TD Ameritrade Institutional’s Veo® adviser platform (see: TD Ameritrade Institutional’s Veo® Open Access to enhance trading, fee billing, and client on-boarding processes), giving advisers access to powerful rebalancing software once reserved for desktop or server installations.

“With iRebal in Veo, advisers can reduce weeks-long processes down to minutes, putting them in a better position to pursue potential opportunities, react to changing market conditions and ultimately provide more valuable service to their clients,” said Tom Nally, president, TD Ameritrade Institutional, in the press release.

Although I have no official metrics, iRebal seemed to have leveled off in its growth of new users, so this move will no doubt put the software package back on the growth track.

Not only that, but eliminating the cost of the software for advisers who custody with TD Ameritrade Institutional should attract a significant number of the company’s 4,500 RIA custody clients.

Because of its high cost of ownership, rebalancing software has historically been within reach of only the largest RIAs.

Now with no fee, iRebal in the cloud puts significant pressure on vendors such as Tamarac, RedBlack, TRX, BlazePortfolio, and more.

The desktop version of iRebal will still be sold to “well-established” advisers, according to the press release, with pricing of a one-time $10,000 implementation fee and AUM-based pricing starting at $20,000.

TRX receives US Patent for Analysis Expert functionality

Posted on January 8, 2013 by in Software

TRX dashboardInnovative dashboard for portfolio rebalancing is now a patented method

Last year I connected with Total Rebalance Expert (TRX) CEO Sheryl Rowling to learn about the rebalancing software for advisers. In our discussion, Rowling highlighted the innovative Analysis Expert dashboard for which TRX filed a patent.

Watch the video interview from T3 2012 about the patented technology (starts at 3:05): http://youtu.be/JrpKkRuxok8?t=3m5s

Now, TRX just announced that it attained US Patent 8,321,320, granted November 27, 2012 for “Portfolio Management Analysis System and Method.”

“Advisors have been telling us all along that our approach to providing the needed technology to automate the portfolio rebalancing process was unique and innovative,” said Cheryll Lurtz, TRX co-founder and CIO, in a press release.

“Now with this patent, advisors using TRX can uniquely benefit from that intellectual capital that was generated from the experiences in tax-efficient rebalancing developed in advisory practices,” added Lurtz.

Click here to view the TRX press release (43 Kb PDF)

Financial adviser marketing tools for the Digital Age

Posted on January 8, 2013 by in Practice Management, Software

inbound marketing

Get onboard with these top tools for marketing in the Digital Age

As a financial adviser, you have the potential to benefit tremendously from the proliferation of new online marketing tools.

Now that we’re fully enveloped in the Digital Age, you have many new techniques and resources at your disposal to market your business and services to those who can benefit the most.

What’s so different about marketing in the Digital Age?

Digital Age marketing is characterized by “inbound marketing,” as opposed to “outbound marketing.”

Inbound marketing is the free, value-add content you create and post online for others to find, based on their needs (and, more importantly, search engine queries). It’s what the person on the left in the image above is doing.

Outbound marketing is more traditional, where you advertise using billboards, email blasts, and prospect seminars in the hopes of exposing your company/brand/profile to as many people as possible. It’s what the bullhorn guy on the right of the image is doing.

So which Digital Age marketing tools should you start using?

I wrote a succinct guide to marketing in the Digital Age for the January 2013 issue of the Journal of Financial Planning.

Click here to read Tools for Digital Age Marketing from the Journal of Financial Planning.

How screencasts can promote business growth this year

Posted on January 3, 2013 by in Software

Camtasia
Screencasts can educate, inform, and promote your business for a more prosperous New Year.

How many times have you walked clients through filling out one of your account forms, or shown them how to create an account for your client portal?

If the answer is more than once, then screencasts might be your answer to address these situations more efficiently.

What’s a screencast?

It’s essentially a recording of both your voice and your computer screen that you can turn around and publish for others to view. There are a number tools you can use to make screencasts of your own, several of which I covered in my latest Quickview update for Morningstar Advisor.

Click here to read Show off With Screencasts at Morningstar Advisor and see which tool you’ll start using to experiment with screencasts.

Contactually’s Email Report Card: Everything you didn’t want to know about your bad email habits

Posted on December 20, 2012 by in Software, Technology

Contactually Report CardFrequent readers know I’m an advocate of Contactually, a professional relationship manager application developed by the eponymous startup (see: Podcast: Daily follow-up reminders help financial advisers maintain strong client relationships).

One pretty cool “holiday gift” in terms of new functionality from Contactually is their Email Report Card.

Contactually now delivers an interactive infographic, for lack of a better word, that grades a variety of parameters with respect to your email habits.

Now all of your bad (and good, if there is such a thing) email habits don’t need to remain a mystery anymore. You can see statistics on new contacts made (I got an A+!), subject line length (B+ here), and your average email response time by month (oops, I failed!).

Click to view my custom Email Report Card from Contactually.

To get one of your own, sign up using the link at the top of my report (not an affiliate link, I get no benefit if you sign up).

 

PODCAST: How PreciseFP streamlines routine data gathering and client collaboration

Posted on December 18, 2012 by in Efficiency, Podcast, Software

Don Whalen, co-founder of PreciseFP

Client data gathering and form filling are the least glamorous tasks that make up your workday, but the activities are essential to create financial plans with correct information.

Fortunately, there are a few solutions that can significantly streamline the arduous data-gathering process.

One product is PreciseFP, co-founded by Don Whalen and Sebastian Skwarek in 2008.

In what probably sets the record as the longest time between my initial discovery (see: Has Laborious Client Data Entry Met Its Match? from September 2008) and follow up, I connected with Don Whalen to learn about PreciseFP’s growth over the last four years and how PreciseFP has matured to be a reliable, cost-effective tool advisers can use to facilitate the data gathering.

Listen to the podcast below, and note that Whalen provides a discount code all listeners can use to receive 15% off their subscription to PreciseFP (not an affiliate code, I receive no referral fees if you sign up).

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed