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Why should your website use HTTPS now?

If your site collects any kind of data through a form or an account login, then the short answer is “Yes”. Before I discuss why, it is important to know what HTTPS does for you.

keyboard with "Afraid" keyHTTPS is the secure version of HTTP, the protocol that is used to move data between your user’s browsers and your website server. HTTP is an open text protocol. In other words, when you fill out a form in your browser, that information is sent as readable text to the web server. Using HTTPS the browser will encrypt the form data and the web server will decrypt the data. This protects the data from being read anywhere between those 2 points.

For HTTPS to work properly, it relies on SSL Certificates. Like Domain Authorities that issue the domain names you use for your website, there is a known set of trusted Certificate Authorities that issue SSL certificates. The SSL Certificate can be authenticated by a Certificate Authority, this ensures that the browser is not connecting with a fake version of your website.

Because of the privacy that HTTPS offers, Google’s Chrome, Apple’s Safari and Mozilla’s Firefox browsers have been encouraging website owners to move to this encrypted protocol. However, Google has announced (https://security.googleblog.com/2016/09/moving-towards-more-secure-web.html) that, in January, Chrome will take this “HTTPS everywhere” concept to the next step by not just identifying sites with HTTPS as secure, but it will mark a site without HTTPS as “Not Secure” if the site has any input fields.

This means that visitors to your website may be told by their browser that your site is not a secure site. Many visitors may not feel comfortable providing information to a website that is labeled ”Not Secure”.  Your best choice is to switch to the secure protocol for your website.

To convert a website from HTTP to HTTPS you need to add an SSL certificate and tell the web server to use the new protocol. The seemingly straight forward task of switching your site to HTTPS with an SSL certificate can easily be mismanaged. Some of the challenges you will need to address are:

  • What kind of certificate do you get?
  • Is the certificate installed properly?
  • Does the content on your pages need adjusted?

There are a variety of validations used by Certificate Authorities and depending on the validation used and SSL certificates run in price from under ten dollars per year to hundreds of dollars per year. Choosing the right level of validation can save you money, or prevent you from having to redo the process.

Many servers don’t disable deprecated ciphers. Testing against known vulnerabilities will highlight any configuration deficiencies with the installation of the certificate.

Your website pages may reference internal content in a non-secure way. This is a typical problem found on sites that were converted from HTTP to HTTP after being deployed. Links to internal content may still be coded to use HTTP. While easily fixed, this will block the browser form displaying the secure page indicator.

Should your website use HTTPS? In the long view, all websites will have HTTPS, you just need to decide when you want to make the change.

News Release: Kovitz Shifrin Nesbit introduces new, free iOS and Android app

Kovitz Shifrin Nesbit is proud to announce the launch of the KSN app. Below is the press release with an explanation of the app, it’s features, and download links. Additionally:

There is a page on the KSN website dedicated to the app: http://www.ksnlaw.com/ksn-app
There are two promotional videos that showcase the KSN app:

KSN App promo video 1
KSN App promo video 2

Since 1983, Kovitz Shifrin Nesbit has stood front and center as an innovative leader in our industry. As we continue to seek resourceful, cost-effective solutions for our clients’ legal needs, our law firm is proud to introduce our latest innovation – the KSN app.

Features:

  • 24/7 real time access to KSN’s Collection Status Online (CSO) portal featuring updates on active collection, foreclosure, and landlord/tenant matters.
  • Articles authored by KSN’s experienced HOA, tax, landlord/tenant, business, and family attorneys.
  • Mobile-friendly access to KSN authored booklets and industry relevant laws/ordinances.
  • Access to a schedule of upcoming KSN educational events.
  • Snapshot profiles of all KSN attorneys with contact info and mobile accessibility.

The KSN app is now available for FREE download in the iTunes app store for your iPhone and iPad

The app is also available for FREE download in the Google Play store for your Android phone or Android tablet

We invite you to download the KSN app and learn what our law firm can do for you. We look forward to demonstrating how Kovitz Shifrin Nesbit has earned the trust of thousands of clients for over 30 years.

The Kovitz Shifrin Nesbit team

Bernardo Gonzalez | Kovitz Shifrin Nesbit
Marketing Manager
175 North Archer Avenue
Mundelein, IL 60060
Direct: 847.777.7212 | Fax: 847.537.0550
bgonzalez@ksnlaw.com
www.ksnlaw.com

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What do you think when you hear the question “Is Your Business Mobile”?

Mobile means different things depending on how you run look at your business. You may rephrase the question a few different ways depending on how you view your business:

  1. Can your clients access information about you with their mobile devices? This is Mobile Presence. The top question on the list is does your website supporting mobile browsing?
  2. Are you engaging with your customers through their mobile devices? This is Mobile Marketing. A simple approach might be email or text messaging (aka SMS) of promotions.
  3. Are you and your staff able to do work without being on-premise? This is Mobile Workforce. When you are not in the building:how do you access business data? How do you handle phone calls? Are there processes that you want to accessible remotely?

Some solutions you should consider are enabling your website for mobile devices, Mobile apps, a platform for mobile marketing or mobile communications, and cloud-hosted VoIP.

Mobile responsive website:

  • The text on the page is generally larger and easier to read.  Content is formatted optimally for the browsing device’s screen. Also, navigation is condensed to use less screen space.
  • Users will get the same content independent of device they used,  This provides users a centralized place to access information about your business.
  • Since the content must fit a varied of screens, this is not as personable as an app on your client’s device. Also, gaps in network coverage can impede access.

Native mobile application:

  • Apps are designed and optimized for a specific set of functions. Many apps can function independent of network connectivity.  You can do things with an app that you can’t do from a webpage.
  • Mobile apps tend to have better performance than web-based apps.  Also, users tend to fell more comfortable with apps on their own device.
  • Apps may need updated when there is a major device OS release. Adding new features to an app requires release cycle.
  • Having a set of apps over one large app will reduce app complexity, improve stability, and help prevent exceeding the limited memory capacity of older mobile devices.

Mobile mar-comm platform:

  • This will expand your marketing strategy with a mobile device centric coupon, loyalty or messaging capability.  You may also link this with your current social media platforms
  • This enables you to interact with your customers i ways they prefer.  Having a multi-channel content keeps you engaged with your customers.
  • Some staff training will be needed to handle new modes of customer interaction and content flow.

Cloud-hosted VoIP:

  • A primary feature is: no special on-premise hardware, i.e. there is no capital expense for PBX hardware.  Also, you can leverage your existing data connection verse dedicated lines. Another key feature is you can use your choice of device: dedicated phone, web-app, or app for smartphone, tablet or computer.
  • This means you are not tied to a physical location, you can have one contact number and work from multiple locations.  This makes your organization extensible, quickly adding or removing both staff and locations
  • You will need to test you network for suitability and be sure to test the service for quality and feature set before you commit to it.

There is a lot of talk now about the Internet of Things. Yes, that is the next wave, but many small business have yet to fully take advantage of the benefits that the current Mobile and Cloud Computing waves have to offer.