The many features of Brosix instant messenger make it an easy program to use for interactions and troubleshooting sessions between IT or customer service employees and customers. Besides using text chat to communicate with customers, employees can also use the screen sharing or co-browse features to help customers.

Screen Sharing Feature of Brosix

These features allow the company employees to see the issue that the customer is having on their computer (via Screen Sharing) or on their website (via Co-Browse) so they can begin to troubleshoot and figure out how to solve the problem. Customers appreciate the instant service this type of “digital problem solving” provides, and employees (and companies) appreciate the convenience of being able to solve customers’ problems directly from their desks and offices.  This saves costs on sending employees out “into the field”– meaning, heading to customer’s homes or business offices to help them solve the problem in person.

Technical support via Brosix helps customers get the help they need instantly, and helps companies save the costs of in-person assistance. And because Brosix is a free download that is always secure and advertisement-free, most customers won’t mind having to install the program onto their computer in order to complete the technical support communication session.

Brosix makes it easy to keep files, conversations, and personal user & company data completely secure. This is because Brosix uses encrypted servers and private instant messaging networks (for Enterprise clients) that ensure that non-approved users will ever be able to access the network.

Recently, security concerns have popped up surrounding the new AIM program, which was re-designed and re-launched in the fall of 2011. An article on InfoWorld.com states:

“The new preview version of AOL Instant Messenger raised privacy concerns for us when it was first introduced, first because it started storing more logs of communications and second, because it apparently scanned all private IMs for URLs and pre-fetched any URLs found in them,” EFF said in a blog post on Tuesday.

The upcoming AIM client stores all chat logs on AOL’s servers by default so that they can be accessed from multiple devices. However, despite the obvious usability benefits, this behavior poses privacy risks to users.

These types of security concerns are never something to worry about with Brosix. To learn more about Brosix or to secure a free trial, visit the main Brosix website.

We all dread going outside when the weather isn’t friendly and is sometimes downright dangerous. However, even though Mother Nature may not want to cooperate, the fact remains that business meetings and project work still needs to get done.

Brosix can help employees continue to be productive, even when the weather is terrible outside. As long as there is still power or remote internet access and a laptop available, employees can use Brosix Instant Messenger to work and collaborate on projects just like they would have in the office.

Using the Video Chat feature can allow two employees to still have a face to face meeting, even if one or both of them can’t be in the office, if needed. Additionally, if the work server is down, causing email to be down as well, using Brosix File Transfer can make it easy to send files back and forth to other users on the secure network.

Additionally, brainstorming sessions don’t have to be put on hold, thanks to Brosix Whiteboard, which is a great way to visually brainstorm ideas with other users through drawing and writing tools.

And finally, training can still go through if it can be done on a computer. The Brosix Screen Sharing tool allows one employee to see anothers’ screen, which is great for program training or troubleshooting by the IT Team.

No matter what the weather is like outside, let Brosix continue to help your employees be safe and productive contributors to your company.

One of the benefits for network administrators for the Brosix Business Chat Private IM Networks is that administrators can view chat logs between all users. This is beneficial because it not only further ensures that messaging networks are secure, but it also ensures that employees are staying on work-related topics during working hours.

It has been proven that some communication between co-workers that isn’t all work-related can increase workplace morale and strengthen bonds between employees, but overall, most companies prefer that most work communication channels are used for work purposes.

For this reason, it’s important for employees to be aware that they may occasionally be monitored and they need to watch what they should say when using Brosix Instant Messenger, or any type of instant messenger, as they never know when their computer files are monitored and read by supervisors. In some companies, instant messaging chat logs can be used as evidence in a dismissal or may be shown as an example of poor work performance.

Even if a company doesn’t monitor their employee’s online activities while they are in the workplace, employees should strive to be mindful of their conversations and how they use their time in the office. Supervisors and co-workers notice productivity and appreciate it.

Many of our Brosix Instant Messaging users appreciate the File Transfer feature that is available on both the Public and Business versions. The File Transfer feature allows users to send files from their computer to another user that has been added to their chat network.

There are several different kinds of files that can be sent using the File Transfer feature, here are some examples:

• Sending a PDF of a recent report to a colleague
• Sending a Word Document to a co-worker so they can proof-read it
• Sending photos of the company picnic to the social media marketing specialist, who can post them on the company’s Facebook page
• Sending an Excel Spreadsheet of data to the accountant so he or she can process payroll properly
• Sending a job description to the Human Resources department so they can advertise for a new position in the company
• Sending images to the marketing department head for use in a blog post

These are just some examples where the Brosix File Transfer feature would come in handy. And because all users on a business’ private isntant messaging network are using encrypted servers, there is a lesser chance of virus attacks. Users also directly and personally know each person who is sending them a file.

Photo From http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1339522/

As mentioned in our previous blog post, Brosix Enterprise allows administrators to create their private instant messaging network, which allows them to monitor conversations of users in the network, add/edit permissions for features, and to add more users. This is a great and unique feature that can ward off any concerns that come with the leaking of confidential information or documents by employees (whether knowingly or unknowingly). A private instant messaging network will not only keep all conversations within approved users and computers, but will also prevent any hackers from accessing the network since it is highly encrypted.

According to a report published in March 2010, malicious attacks can have real and serious costs to a company: “Malicious attacks increased 7 percentage points in 2010 from the previous year, the study found, with the costs of such attacks jumping 48 percent, to an average of $318 per compromised record. Hostile breaches on average cost more than incidents blamed on negligence, such as lost laptops or computer system breakdowns, the report said.” These costs don’t ene take into consideration the breaches that are knowingly taken by employees– that is, employees sending confidential information and reports to contacts outside of the company.

In order to protect your company, try a free 30-day trial of Brosix Enterprise today. A private instant messaging network is something that shouldn’t be taken for granted and instead should be put into place in all business communication policies.

One of the highlights of Brosix Instant Messenger, both public and enterprise versions, is the fact that all communications run through either type of program is highly encrypted. This strong encryption ensures that any time of messaging or use of features in the Brosix Instant Messaging program will be highly confidential and kept only to the people using Brosix as authorized users.

For whatever reason you need to use instant messaging to communicate online, using a regular “free” instant messaging program like Yahoo! Instant Messenger or Jabber can pose a security threat to both your personal computer and your network. This is why it is important to pick an IM service like Brosix.

While both versions of Brosix offer a high level of security, it’s important to consider what type of use. The Enterprise version is for businesses and professionals who need to communicate with co-workers and employees. The Public (free) version is for users who still want a secure connection, but are mostly using instant messaging for conversing with friends and family.

While it may seem like you don’t need a secure connection to talk to people you already know, you can’t guarantee they themselves haven’t been attacked by a hacker or other malicious program. Taking the steps to protct yourself will help prevent a trusted colleague from passing something along to you, even if they don’t mean to.

Great news! Brosix has been nominated for the 2009 IT Blog Awards from ComputerWeekly.com in the ‘IT Security’ and ‘Company / Corporate – SME’ categories. Nominations will be narrowed down into a shortlist and then public voting will take place.

This is what the website says about voting:

Your vote counts!

Once all the nominations are in, we will draw up a shortlist of the best in each category before putting it back to you to vote for your favourites.

The shortlists will be published in full online, with links straight to each blog (as we did last year) to make it easy for you to check out the top blogs and Twitter users before making your choice.

Once the votes are in and the count complete, the winners will be announced at a celebratory event on Wednesday 25 November at Shoreditch House, a private members’ club that is one of London’s hottest venues.

We will certainly let you know if and when Brosix makes it on the shortlist and where fans and customers of Brosix can vote. In the meantime, you can also nominate Brosix again in the IT Security blog category or for other categories you think are applicable. In the meantime, if you find any other awards you think Brosix should win, don’t hesitate to nominate us!

One of the features of your Brosix Instant Messaging Network is the Users Activity Log. If enabled, all communication of your users is stored on the servers. Once recorded, Users Activity Logs cannot be altered.

You can search and view all user communication from the web control panel (log in the web control panel and go to Users-Users Activity Log).

Users Activity Log is kept on the servers for online reports for a few months. A ZIP file with a log of all communication is generated each month. You are advised to download these files on your systems and keep them private for future reference. To download the archive files, login the web control panel and go to Users-Users Activity Log Archives.