PSPINC Official Company Blog

AES-256 Encryption: The Strongest Encryption Standard

12月

14日

With cybercrime continually increasing, security measures tighten for products that store and manage sensitive customer information. When looking closer, you’ll see many of them boast the term “AES-256 encryption” in the description. AES-256 encryption, simply put, is a symmetrical encryption standard that secures sensitive information by scrambling it completely. It’s now become standard practice to use AES-256 encryption to secure personal data because of how secure it is.

To scramble data, it divides the data into blocks, replaces different bytes, shifts rows, and mixes columns. AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) refers to the encryption algorithm, while 256 refers to the key length size. It’s considered the gold standard in encryption because of how hard it is to crack. Even federal government entities like the National Security Agency (NSA) use AES-256 to encrypt sensitive government information.

How It’s Safer Than Alternatives

Unrecognizable Person in a Black Hoodie Typing

AES-256 encryption has a longer key length than other options, which makes it harder to crack. And possible key combinations only increase along with key size. To put this in perspective, a hacker would need to try out 2,256 different combinations of 78 digits to break through the encryption. So, with that in mind, it’s no surprise that it’s nearly impossible for successful brute attack attempts.

Examples of AES-256 in Use

With AES-256 being the strongest encryption standard, many devices, applications, and networks use it to encrypt data. In fact, many modern computers already have AES instructions built into them, specifically those that use Intel or AMD processors. Because the purpose of applications like password managers and VPNs is to store and manage sensitive data, most of them today use AES-256 encryption. Our password manager, Pass Wizard, included.

With cybersecurity becoming increasingly important, we can only expect that security standards will improve in the coming years. But, for now, AES-256 encryption is the strongest encryption standard out there. And it’s why so many devices, apps, and networks continue to use it to encrypt data.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#aes256 #b2b #blog #business #businesstips #businesstools #cybersecurity #encryption #passwizard #passwordmanagement #passwordmanager #security #smallbusiness #softwaredevelopment #tech #technology #web #webdevelopment #webtools #whatsapp

Announcement: Pass Wizard Server Security Update

12月

10日

To increase Pass Wizard’s overall security, we’ll be updating the Pass Wizard server next week. Unfortunately, we expect there will be a downtime of around 15 minutes while we make this update. The schedule is as follows:

*USA Pacific Daylight Time
December 16th (Friday) 5:00 – 5:15am

*Japan Time
December 16th (Friday) 10:00 – 10:15pm

PSPINC provides services with uptimes of 99.9%.

If you have any questions, please contact us at 1-800-232-3989 or email us at support@pspinc.com.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#b2b #blog #business #customerservice #cybersecurity #marketing #pacificsoftwarepublishing #passwizard #passwordmanager #pspinc #security #servermaintenance #smallbusiness #softwaredevelopment #tech #technology #update #web #webdevelopment #website

What’s New Newsletter Vol. 145 “Holiday Sales”

12月

9日

It’s officially holiday season, which means it’s also the sale season for small businesses. Generally, it’s best to prepare in advance so that your team has plenty of time to get everything ready. Especially since holiday sales seem to start earlier and earlier as the years go by. While big companies have a large budget to spend on marketing and promotions, a small business has the benefit of being a small business. With there being so much content and product out there today, many customers like knowing their money will support a small and independent business. And it’s largely why Small Business Saturday (the day after Black Friday) is so successful.

While we’re on the topic of holiday sales, you should know that our company’s currently running some. For starters, our password manager, Pass Wizard, is currently 50% off your first year when using the code PRO50! Plus, we’re now offering our web hosting service, Parcom Neo, for free! And our Parcom Plus and Parcom Deluxe plans are currently on sale for 25% off for your first two years to celebrate Parcom's 25th anniversary! So, if you want to support your fellow small business, we hope you’ll consider supporting ours.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#b2b #blog #business #businesstips #businesstools #hosting #marketing #marketingdigital #marketingtips #newsletter #passwizard #passwordmanager #pspinc #pspincwhatsnewnewsletter #smallbusiness #technology #webdevelopment #webhosting #websites

The Difference Between B2B and B2C Marketing

12月

7日

When marketing a business successfully, a lot of research, strategy, and execution goes into it. But what works for one company won’t necessarily work for another. Even if both companies are relatively the same size and sell similar products. This is because their audiences and end goals can be completely different. One company could be selling computer software to everyday customers to use at home, while another could be selling something similar for other small businesses to use on a wide scale. Think of it this way: a customer buying a computer to use at home is very different from a customer buying computers for their entire office to use.

Therefore, a company’s marketing strategy towards one customer buying a computer is going to be completely different from one trying to sell to a business. And that’s why B2B (business-to-business) and B2C (business-to-consumer) marketing exist. B2B marketing refers to marketing to professional buyers, who are looking to purchase products or services that will benefit the company they work for. B2C marketing, however, refers to marketing toward individual customers.

B2C Marketing Strategies

A Woman in White Long Sleeves Tapping Her Phone on a Payment Terminal at the Counter

When marketing to individual customers, messaging is the most important aspect of your advertising efforts. With the right message, you can create loyal customers, confirm your credibility, and emotionally connect with your customers. And it will help in achieving the ultimate goal: motivating them to purchase from you. An effective way of delivering the right message is to evoke emotion in your ad copy.

The relationship between the brand and customer in B2B marketing is transactional in the sense that it’s quick and easy when done right. And the audience is much larger and broader compared to B2B businesses. So, it only makes it that much more important that your ad copy is effective. Because of how short the experience is between the customer and company, making sure it’s memorable will better ensure they’ll not only remember you but come back to purchase from you again.

B2B Marketing Strategies

Man in a Suit Talking with a Couple in an Office

Unlike B2C marketing, B2B focuses more on establishing a long-term relationship with customers. And your audience is much smaller compared to B2C. While there is some overlap between B2C and B2B marketing, B2B ad copy will usually consist more of establishing your positioning in the market and showcasing your expertise.

The best way to do that is by constantly creating educational content and keeping a line of communication open. B2B customers take much longer to make purchasing decisions compared to B2C. It’s because it’s not just a personal purchase, it’s one that they’re hoping will benefit their business, employees, and colleagues. So, it’s important to B2B customers that the products or services come from a reputable company. If the company provides plenty of content that shows off their expert knowledge, it makes B2B customers much more likely to purchase from them.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#b2b #b2bmarketing #b2c #b2cmarketing #blog #branding #business #businesstips #businesstools #customerjourney #digitalmarketing #ecommerce #marketing #marketingdigital #marketingtips #officetips #onlinemarketing #smallbusiness #web

Announcement: PSPINC Products SMS Service Outage

12月

2日

Dear Valued Customer,

Thank you for choosing Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

From 3pm PST this afternoon (8AM JST on 12/02), we began experiencing issues caused by a third-party SMS service outage. Currently, processes involving SMS text messages for some PSPINC products has become unavailable. You can still sign up or log in to our services as normal.

We will keep you posted once the outage is resolved.

Thank you for your understanding and continued support!

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#PSPINC #SMS

What’s New Newsletter Vol. 144 “Advertising on Google”

12月

2日

For a small company, it can be hard to justify spending money on marketing. Especially when there are ways to promote your business for free through social media, email, and your own website. But there’s a reason why most small businesses use Google Ads. Organic posts will only get you so far. The biggest benefit that Google has to offer is brand awareness and reach. Sure, you can tell your family and friends all about your business. And share your website on social media. But it’s not enough.

There are billions of internet users out there, millions of which could be potential customers looking for what you have to offer. But they can’t purchase from you if you don’t know you exist. The best way to make sure that doesn’t happen is by advertising on Google. And it’s great for small businesses because it’s not super expensive like some other advertising avenues. So, even though you can market your business for free, it doesn’t mean you should.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#advertising #blog #businesstips #businesstools #digitalmarketing #facebook #google #marketing #marketingdigital #marketingtips #newsletter #pacificsoftwarepublishing #pspinc #pspincwhatsnewnewsletter #socialmedia #tech #technology #web #websites

PSPINC is #17 on Puget Sound Business Journal’s Asian-Owned Business List of 2022

12月

1日

We’re so excited to announce that we’ve made it onto the Puget Sound Business Journal’s list of Asian-Owned Businesses of 2022 at #17! For 35 years, Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. (PSPINC) has been helping small businesses everywhere grow their business online with digital products and services. And we couldn’t be prouder of the work we’ve done so far.

To see how we can help your business with your online needs, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#asianownedbusiness #award #b2b #blog #branding #business #businesstools #digitalmarketing #diversity #ecommerce #marketing #marketingdigital #pacificsoftwarepublishing #psbj #pspinc #pugetsoundbusinessjournal #smallbusiness #tech #technology #web

The Benefits of Authenticator Apps

11月

30日

For many online accounts, users can add an extra layer of security with two-factor authentication via authenticator apps. To do this, authenticator apps generate a six to eight-digit code every 30 seconds, which users will enter whenever they log into their accounts. According to Embroker, the pandemic has only accelerated cybercrime, as it’s increased by 600%. And it hasn’t only affected individuals, but small businesses as well. Therefore, multiple-factor authentication (MFA) methods have become more popular over the past few years. And some may argue they may become a norm in the next few years.

To use an authenticator app:

Sign up and install an authenticator app on your mobile device.

Go to any of your online accounts that support two-factor authentication (2FA).

Choose the option to use an authenticator app.

Tap on Add Account in your authenticator app.

Tap on Scan QR Code in your authenticator app and scan the code the website shows you.

Your authenticator app will add your account, giving your account a name and icon.

The next time you sign into your account, you will need to open your authenticator app to enter an access code, which will only last for about 60 seconds before a new code generates.

How Authenticator Apps Work

Authenticator apps use a time-based one-time password (TOTP), a standardized method that generates a routinely changing code based on a shared secret. When setting up 2FA with an authentication app, the server of whatever online account you’re using creates a secret key made up of random numbers and letters. Then, users can save this key by either scanning a QR code or manually entering the longer code into their authenticator app. Doing this then shares the secret key between the server and the user’s phone.

When logging into their account next time, the server asks for proof of this key by prompting users with an access code. Users will then have to open their authenticator app (be it Google, Microsoft, etc.) and enter a six to eight-digit access code to log in. This code, however, isn’t the secret key. Instead, the authenticator app uses a secure-hash function to mix the secret key with the current time to produce a temporary access code. To make it even more secure, the access code is only valid for about 60 seconds, making the code that much more unique.

Why Authenticator Apps Are More Secure Than Text-Based Verification

Another way to protect your online accounts can be through a text message or SMS verification. But SMS verification ties directly to a user’s phone number and SIM card. Ultimately, this means that anyone with access to a user’s phone and/or SIM card can log in with SMS verification. A cybercriminal can attain a user’s SIM card by convincing a mobile provider to send them a SIM card with your number. Or they can intercept your text messages, also known as a “man-in-the-middle” attack.

An authenticator app makes it harder for cybercrime to occur by constantly changing access codes after about 60 seconds. So, if thieves do manage to intercept both the access code and a user’s password, they have a very limited time to use it. And while there are still ways for criminals to hack your account, having 2FA in place for online accounts is still better than not having one at all. And it’s why our password manager, Pass Wizard, gives users the option to add 2FA to their account, either through SMS or one-time password (OTP) via an authenticator app.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

The term "QR Code" is a registered trademark of DENSO WAVE INCORPORATED.

#app #authenticatorapps #blog #business #businesstips #businesstools #cybersecurity #digitalmarketing #marketing #marketingdigital #marketingtips #mobile #security #smallbusiness #softwaredevelopment #tech #technology #web #webdevelopment #webtools

What’s New Newsletter Vol. 143 “Press Releases”

11月

25日

In business, we still consider press releases as a fundamental part of the communication cycle when marketing new product launches and events. It is, after all, a direct link to local media publications. But it’s hard to know how much it helps and if it’s worth the effort. After all, people’s attention spans have gotten smaller and press releases generally aren’t very short. Additionally, there’s so much media for people to consume, it’s hard to get through all the noise. From a journalist’s point of view, it’s a necessity. For a company, it can feel more like a throwaway tactic if it doesn’t result in increased sales, user engagement, or even web traffic.

But it’s a business standard for a reason. At the very least, it helps to establish credibility and gives companies the chance to control the narrative. For a smaller company, credibility is vital to success. If customers decide they don’t want to purchase from a larger company, they need to know they won’t regret buying from a smaller company. Seeing educational content on the company blog is a great start, but seeing press releases about the company from other sources is better. Companies are still able to control the messaging, but the fact that it comes from a different source adds to its overall credibility. So, while press releases are no longer useful in the same way they used to be, there is still a benefit to using them.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.

#blog #business #businesstips #businesstools #digitalmarketing #journalism #marketing #marketingdigital #marketingtips #presserelease #pressreleases #pspinc #pspincwhatsnewnewsletter #sales #smallbusiness

How Personalized Marketing Can Benefit Your Business

11月

23日

With so many small businesses out there, it’s hard to convince customers to choose yours. Not only that, but you want those customers to stay with you long term. Customers want to feel special rather than just another customer. One way to do that is to personalize marketing messages to customers. Personalized marketing is when a business tailors marketing efforts based on collected customer data such as purchase history, interests, and demographic data.

According to Slideshare, 90% of customers find personalization very or somewhat appealing. And 80% of customers are more inclined to buy from companies that offer personalized experiences. Personalized marketing is, however, more than simply addressing customers by name in marketing emails. It can also include product recommendations based on purchase history, cart abandonment emails, birthday emails, and even personalized web pages or pop-ups for first-time or returning customers.

Benefits of Personalized Marketing

With so much content and advertisements out there, businesses won’t attract customers with irrelevant marketing messages. Personalized messages, however, will help retain customers and bring them back repeatedly. With personalized marketing messages, potential customers are more likely to convert into actual customers and purchase from you. It results in a better customer experience, one that may even be good enough to share online or with close friends. In turn, it simplifies the lead nurturing process, as personalizing improves the overall experience, increasing the likelihood that users will convert. And it’ll result in more customer engagement and feedback in the end.

As a business, you can also get valuable insight into your customers. By personalizing marketing efforts, you can see how customers shop, what they like, and what they don’t like. You can then use all this additional knowledge to see how effective your efforts are. More importantly, you can also improve in areas that could use an upgrade. With all this combined, it will ultimately lead to increased revenue.

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.

1404 140th Place N.E., Bellevue, WA 98007

PSPINC Creates Tools For Your Business

Pacific Software Publishing, Inc. is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and provides domain, web, and email hosting to more than 40,000 companies of all sizes around the world. We design and develop our own software and are committed to helping businesses of all sizes grow and thrive online. For more information you can contact us at 800-232-3989, by email at info@pspinc.com or visit us online at https://www.pspinc.com.