Category: Uncategorized

At Spectruss website security isn’t just important, it’s paramount.

The problem with security on the internet is that it’s unlimited with how much money you can spend and of-course nothing is guaranteed to work.

However, we have found a very low-cost and reliable system (after a lot of work) and I want to share it.

The system is based on our favorite wordpress security plugin: CLEF

The Clef mobile app provides two-factor authentication without you having to keep track of a password.  You download the plugin-in from WordPress and you download the CLEF app onto your phone.  Sync your phone with the Clef Wave to log in.

Aside from not having to remember passwords and two-factor authentication, it’s also free!

Jessica Riley who is in-charge of CLEF’s marketing had this to say when I asked her about CLEF and website security:

Clef provides businesses with fraud protection right where they need it most but control the least; user accounts. As more of our lives move online, Clef has provided a solution that empowers regular folks to act in their own best interest regarding their online security, which in turn fills the security gap that user accounts, and bad passwords, have created for online businesses. Most hacks happen through access provided through user accounts, often due to poor passwords or duplicated passwords across the web. Clef’s mobile cryptography bypasses passwords, removes a frustration point for people, and seals a major vulnerability for online business.

This plugin and app combo allows you to replace usernames and passwords on your WordPress site with your smartphone.

This is how it works:

Download the app directly from the Apple iTunes or Google Play stores.

Then download, install and activate the CLEF plugin from the WordPress Plugin Repository.

When you set up the smartphone app for the first time you create a profile on your phone. Clef uses that profile to generate a new digital signature each time you want to login to your site. Rather than login with a password, your login screen will be replaced with the “Clef Wave,” which you will need to sync with another Clef Wave on your phone.

The smartphone app will then grant you an hour-long session to use your site unless you increase the session time on your phone.  You can increase the time to “infinite” which obviously makes it a little less secure.

After you download the plugin in the WordPress directory you will see this:

Once you set-up CLEF you will see this:

Once you download onto your smartphone you create a PIN:

Now that you have CLEF downloaded to your wordpress dashboard and your phone you hold your phone over your wordpress site:

After you log-in and are set-up your phone will display the time you have remaining.  A benefit I have found is that it forces you to stay focused on writing.  This is why I don’t have the infinite time marked on my CLEF app.

Here is a great CLEF Explainer Video:

Clef from Clef on Vimeo.

Summary

We highly recommend you use both WordPress and CLEF for extra security for your website.  If you have any security questions about your website or just want to talk about your website – call or email us at Spectruss.

If you live in the Chattanooga, Tennessee area I’m sure you’ve seen Hutton and Smith Brewery apparel around town, and you’ve probably had a beer or two of theirs. If not, then you should stop what you’re doing and go try one of their beers at their tap room on East MLK or at one of the dozen restaurants around town that have their beers on tap.

About a year and a half ago I met with Joel and Melanie Krautstrunk about helping them brand a business they were going to start in Chattanooga called Hutton and Smith Brewery. Joel and Melanie both come from a Geology background, so the name is to recognize the founders of Geology, Hutton and Smith. They told me during the meeting they were both planning to quit their jobs to pursue their dream of owning a brewery. This sounded like a pretty lofty goal to me because neither one had ever worked in the brewing industry. They must have seen the skepticism in my eyes and before the end of the meeting they offered to let me try one of their home brews, a Black IPA. I don’t believe in love at first sight, but love at first sip undeniably true.

Fast forward one year and Hutton and Smith Brewery is quickly kicking ass and taking names. They officially opened their tap room at 431 East Martin Luther King Blvd and are now featured at dozens of restaurants around Chattanooga, including The Flying Squirrel, Feed Co, Universal Joint, Heaven and Ale, Clydes, and many other top-knotch restaurants.

It’s a great feeling to walk into one of the many great restaurants in Chattanooga and instantly see your clients brand around the room, from a custom designed tap handle, to a sweet trucker hat and t-shirt. Spectruss had a great time working with Joel and Melanie and it’s been great to see them succeed.

If you haven’t already, check out http://huttonandsmithbrewing.com for current beers, tap locations, and directions to their tap room.

TechTown, the technology and entrepreneurial learning center, signs with Spectruss!

TechTown offers kids from 7 to 17 various opportunities to learn, explore, and discover in the world of video production, technology, graphic design, and entrepreneurship. Located in the heart of downtown Chattanooga, this business is eager and ready to open the imaginations of kids across the local area.

Their founder, Paul Cummings, recently returned from Louisville, where he was a keynote speaker at the TechFest Lou and where he spoke about his vision for TechTown. Along with that, TechTown prepares for its grand opening with the “TechTown Mardi Gras Party” this coming Saturday, August 29th. They offer two types of New Orleans-style fun, with all proceeds going to scholarships for children. There’s the “TechTown Party on the Patio” and the “TechTown Party on Broad.” The Party on Broad offers attendees a casual, fun New Orleans Broad Street theme. Party on the Patio, happening simultaneously, will hold a silent auction, live music, cocktail hour, and other festivities. Both events are sure to be a hit in the Chattanooga scene, with locals always eager and excited to jump in on such eventful street festivals and parties.

TechTown seems to be ready and prepared to take Chattanooga by storm by offering the next generation a new and fun way to learn exciting, imaginative skills, and Spectruss is glad to be a part of it all.

Minimalism

It’s TED Talk Tuesday!

Today we’re looking at a talk by Graham Hill, writer and designer, about how decluttering your life can lead to increased happiness?

A lot can be taken away from that, but let’s apply it in some aspects to web design. There is a misconception that you always need more, that your message is not obvious, your branding may not be clear, you need more content – more pages, more words. It is a trap that many can easily fall into if they are not careful.

The idea that less is more is potent in the online world where attention spans are notoriously short, and it is far too easy to click onto a new topic quickly. So the truth is, in many instances, less is the way to go on the web. It is all about converting people to customers, or fans, or interested readers – whatever the need is. Minimalism in your web presence can help you with this.

You need social media, you need content, you need a website, you need it all, but not everything has to be a book. Keeping messages short,c lear and concise across a vast online spectrum can be the key to a successful web presence – fight the urge to add more. Just make sure what you have is great.

A few months back I started looking to buy a new platform bed for my house. I was looking for a Japanese inspired platform bed that used raw elements that matched more of a craftsmen style. After weeks of searching and seeing many prices well over $3,000 for a bed that wasn’t exactly what I wanted, I decided to build my own.

Starting with 40 feet of 2″ stainless steel tubing, 24 feet of rough cut 2″ x 8″ cedar, and 32 feet of rough cut 1″ x 10″ cedar, I began the over whelming task of making a bed from scratch. A few beers and many pages of drawings later, I had my future bed completely diagramed with correct measurements to make the magic happen… or so I thought.

Some people like to learn from experience. In this case, I am definitely one of those people. The old saying measure twice, cut once really would have saved me some time. The very first measurement I took for my bed was off. This meant I spent two weeks building a stainless steel bed frame wrapped in cedar that was 12 inches too wide. Lucky for me, it was too wide, not too short. However, I had to cut the entire frame apart twice to fix the problem. By the end of the night, I was out of beer.

After three weeks of wood splinters, burned shirts from welding sparks, and lots of cussing, my bed was finished. The last thing I had to do was move it from the shop downtown to the house. How is it every time I start to move some heavy object, whether it be furniture, rocks or depleted uranium, my friends happen to have prior arrangements made by their significant other. Being that I’m stubborn as a mule I did what any good Egyptian would do and pulled out the PVC pipes. Using five PVC pipes, I rolled my bed headboard, weighing around 275 lbs, through my house and into the master bed room. Getting the headboard from the back of the truck, over the rock stairs ,and to the front door took a little more than Egyptian engineering. Using the finesse of an Eastern Sasquatch bred with a Norwegian Oger, I managed to take many years off my ever dissolving spine carrying the monstrous head board to the front door.

In the end, the custom built stainless steel and cedar platform bed was worth all the wood splinters, 2nd degree burns, back pain, and the endless amount of bad words that I am still doing hail Mary’s for.