When you connect your computer (or your office network) to the Internet, there is very often a device that stands as the single greatest protection between you and malicious users: a firewall. A firewall prevents Internet traffic from the outside getting to you, while allowing your outbound traffic (web surfing, email checking) to communicate with the Internet at large.

Firewalls severely limit inbound communication to your computer, allowing only standard/approved communication and communications you initiated. While these devices aren’t necessary for you to connect to the Internet, without them, your computer and entire network can be vulnerable to attacks from users trying to get info from, or even take control of, your computer. A firewall does not always protect you from viruses you may get through downloading files from websites or opening suspect email, but it serves as the first line of defense against active attacks.

The complexity of firewalls goes well beyond what’s described here, and firewalls are only one component of a truly safe and secure networking environment. We recommend that all of our customers and users take the necessary precautions to keep themselves and their information safe at all times, starting with a firewall.

Recently I wrote about the animated e-card that we created for the Widmer Brothers, to help them celebrate Brother’s Day with a pint and a smile. The feedback and response from their dedicated fans was so enthusiastic, we just knew we couldn’t stop there.

In honor of the release of their fall seasonal flavor, Okto, we launched a NEW custom e-card to celebrate all things German!  Upload your photo to see yourself squaring off in a dueling accordion battle and dancing a German jig. Send the e-card to all your friends to share the joy, and help raise money for Big Brothers Big Sisters Columbia Northwest.

We are continually looking to improve our own practices in building successful email campaigns, especially from a design standpoint. Since no email client (Outlook, Gmail, Yahoo!, etc.) uses the same rules to render the basic code structure of emails, we are reaching a tipping point that suggests the old mantra “Keep it simple, stupid!” really does apply to the design of emails we send out.

To ensure that all recipients receive readable, well-designed emails in their different email clients, we’re sticking to the following design principles:

• Create cohesion between the email and the website by using the same header and footer elements. Headers and footers can also be used to frame the creative content of the email in a rich way.
• Use a simple, clean white background; don’t rely on dark background colors or images that render improperly in some email clients.
• Add visual interest with the use of clever image treatments and text styles.
• Use clear links and calls-to-action that will be readable even if the recipient’s images are turned off.

For those who haven’t heard, Google released a new web browser for public beta testing this week. This browser is built around the webkit open source rendering engine, and it incorporates Google’s new JavaScript engine, V8, a new memory management model and a sleek, simple UI.

Chrome’s new JavaScript engine has showcased large performance improvements in early benchmarks, easily topping both Firefox’s and Internet Explorer’s JavaScript performance numbers. The JavaScript engine was built from scratch and actually compiles the JavaScript instead of interpreting the code on the fly, which is the current model used by all browsers. This difference has allowed Google to see large performance improvements.

The new memory management model is also very innovative: instead of treating the entire web browser as one application, Chrome actually views each tab within the browser as a new process. This allows the user to view multiple websites at once, without each website affecting the performance of the other. No longer will your entire browser crash when one website is behaving incorrectly.

Click here to learn more about Google Chrome.