Secure

When you receive an e-mail from a software company telling you that an urgent update needs applying to your machine to prevent a virus or hacking attack how do you tell it's a legitimate e-mail? Well Microsoft have had so many problems with fake update e-mails they have a web page dedicated to finding out if the e-mail is from them or not.
Full details can be found at the Microsoft Security Site and other software vendors provide similar pages.

Protect

Laptop security is always a problem for business people. As well as the risk of damage there is also the risk of loss and of data theft. Leaving your laptop in a taxi might only make the front pages if you are a Government employee but it can still be embarrassing and costly. Corporate esponiage might seem the domain of spy movies but your data could be worth something to a competitor and what easier way of getting it than borrowing your laptop for 15 minutes.
Microsoft have a section of their website (Laptop Protection) dedicated to securing mobile computers. Although a lot of the content is biased towards the US a quick search on Google will show companies who offer insurance for laptops if your existing provider doesn't.

Automate

Traditionally the domain of the hobbyist at home, PC Automation devices are beginning to make their way into the Small Business. These units control electrical devices from a computer and range from turning lights on and off to remote security devices. This level of automation can provide time saving gains and better security for staff and customers.
A leading manufacturer of these devices is X10 and a popular site for more general information is Automated Home.

Deliver

It's all very well being a large company like Microsoft and having a webpage dedicate to letting people know if an e-mail is really from you, but how do smaller companies prove an e-mail they send is genuine?
The most common way is to use a digital certificate, this can be used just like a normal signature and it can be tracked back to the sender using independant third parties. Certificates can also be used to encrypt e-mails to prevent snooping.
There are two stages to using a digital certificate.
The first stage is to obtain one from a certificate provider such as Verisign, Thawte or Globalsign. They do cost money but the amount varies based on the level of protection, the provider and the duration of the certificate.
The second stage is to install the certificate into your e-mail software and configure it as a digital signature. Advice on doing this for Microsoft Outlook is available directly from Microsoft.
Once a certificate is installed individual e-mails can be signed using it.

Empower

The famous saying "A picture is worth more than a thousand words" still applies in the modern world of technology. Trying to discuss something on your computer with another person is always difficult, especially in the training or demostration arena.
There are two types of products that can help with this.
The first is screenshot capture software. This takes a snapshot of the screen and converts it into an image you can e-mail or put onto CD. Using just the print screen button and pasting the image into Word will give you the basic functionality. Dedicated screen capture software is one step on and will allow you to edit the picture, highlight words and even add pictures to it, they also allow you to only capture an area of the screen. Examples include the SPX suite from Moodysoft and PrintScreen from Gadwin Software.
If static images don't tell the story well enough then screen movie software is required. This software records what you do on the screen and creates a movie file to send to another person. Some even allow the recording of a voice over track so you can explain what is happening. Microsoft have a freely downloadable product called Encoder that has lots of editing features on top of the screen movies. A guide to using Encoder is also available from Microsoft.