10 tips for more productive work

1. organize your tasks and your working day. Pay attention to your performance curve when planning your day: morning people, for example, are most productive early in the morning and should therefore complete important tasks then. They use the performance slump after midday for routine tasks.

2. use Slack to communicate with your colleagues to exchange text messages, files and links. This avoids internal emails with long CC distribution lists. The advantage: you save time and nerves.

3. work with web-based services from the cloud, such as Dropbox for documents or bexio for administration in small businesses. This means you can access your data anywhere and at any time: whether at home in front of the TV, on the move with your smartphone or in the office with your laptop.

4 For example, does your telephone provider send you separate bills for your cell phone, Internet and landline? Talk to the biller and ask for a collective bill. This will save you time as you only have to pay and file one bill.

5 For managers: Motivate your team. Give each individual personal responsibility, regular feedback and public recognition. Young entrepreneur and bexio co-founder Jeremias Meier also knows this: "Only motivated employees are efficient employees!"

6. plan your tasks and projects with the free online software from Trello. You can easily record work and goals and assign them to each other in the team. This allows you to work efficiently with your colleagues. And because you spend less time coordinating with your team, you have more time for a round of football together.

7. home office: Work from home too - if possible. This not only saves you the commute to work, but a different working environment ensures creativity, more productive work and a better work-life balance. Give it a try!

8. thanks to Slack (tip 2) you have fewer emails. For those that remain: Most of them do not need to be answered immediately. It's best to plan three fixed times when you read and answer emails. The rest of the time, you will be undisturbed, more focused and more productive.

9 Ideal for small businesses and the self-employed: Send invoices by e-mail. The recipient can pay directly online. This helps both sides: More convenience for your customers and you get paid faster.

10. don't reinvent the wheel for every letter or email, but use text modules for all documents. This will save you time every time and also avoid annoying typos.

Source: bexio.com

For the fourth time, First Security Technology AG (FST) publishes the Swiss Vulnerability Report (SVR). The annual report to learn more about the security of the Swiss Internet landscape. FST is the Swiss manufacturer of IT vulnerability analysis systems.
Reports of hacked companies are increasing dramatically and do not seem to have reached their peak yet. No industry is safe from this and supposedly well-protected companies are affected just as much as smaller companies, which think that nothing can be taken from them. Cyber criminals, as well as intelligence agencies, exploit vulnerabilities to successfully break into IT systems and misuse data. The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about vulnerabilities is that of the software manufacturer. Incorrect configuration of IT systems, for example by using no or standard passwords or offering services that one is not aware of, occurs more often than first suspected.

Passwords challenge

Offered services and data are mostly protected with usernames and passwords. If these services do not offer any vulnerabilities to bypass authorization, it is at most as secure as the chosen password. In the case of FTP, it was checked how many of them allow a login without a password. At over 2,600, equivalent to 4.2%, this is possible and most offer this unintentionally because they did not configure their systems properly. It is estimated that over 10% of these systems contain sensitive data such as backups, customer data, internal documents and even tax returns. Malware also spreads via such unprotected file repositories by storing itself there and waiting to be opened.

The usual suspects are web and email

Web services are by far the most frequently offered services. The number of HTTPS services has increased this year. The encrypted variant can be found over 225,000 times on the Swiss Internet. In contrast, the unencrypted variant has decreased to less than 180,000. This is a clear trend to make connections over the Internet more secure through encryption. Security awareness has also made its way into databases. Far fewer databases can now be accessed directly from the Internet

Not all encryption is created equal

The last two years have shown that there are a number of vulnerabilities in SSL and TLS encryption, some with serious consequences. There are still 78,000 servers vulnerable on Poodle and 25,000 on Freak. In over 26,000 services, the private key can be read using the Drown attack. By additionally measuring the multiple use of the same certificates on different services and servers, it quickly becomes clear that by exploiting Drown, the keys are available to decrypt encryption that is currently considered unbreakable.

Consumer electronics etc. also used by companies

The visibility of consumer electronics and NAS has increased by quite a bit. These systems were usually not developed with security in mind. Such devices as smart TVs are increasingly found in companies and provide a gateway if they can be accessed directly from the Internet. It's a similar story with home automation systems. Many of these are visible and not protected enough.

Press release First Security Technology, Chur

The houses are now over 60 years old, and the apartments no longer meet today's standards, writes Helvetia Insurance. However, the character of the development, which was built as a garden estate, is to be preserved despite the densification. "The defining feature of the area should also be a generous, green outdoor space in the future."

The development concept envisages the construction of six- to seven-story new buildings along Murwiesenstrasse. The street will also serve as a central settlement area and lead into a neighborhood square where a neighborhood store, a café, a multipurpose hall and a municipal kindergarten are planned.

The publicly advertised prequalification for the study contract, which will start in August 2016, is currently underway. Eight to ten planning teams, consisting of at least two architectural firms and one landscape architect, will be selected from all applications. These are to develop proposals for a new "Frohburg Garden Settlement" by the end of January 2017. The winning project is expected to be selected at the beginning of 2017 and then worked out in detail. Construction will start in spring 2019 at the earliest, with the new buildings to be constructed in several stages. (ah)

On May 13, 2016, at around 10:30 a.m., a UBS branch was robbed on Elässerstrasse in Basel. The perpetrator threatened an employee with a knife and demanded money. According to police, he managed to rob a larger amount. Despite an intensive search, the man has not yet been identified or arrested. The public prosecutor's office of Basel-Stadt is therefore publishing a photo of the suspected perpetrator.

Persons who can provide relevant information are asked to contact the criminal investigation department of the Basel-Stadt public prosecutor's office, Tel. 061 267 71 11, or the nearest police station.

More than 100 countries recently took action against the trade in illegal medicines on the Internet in a week of action. In Germany, the Customs Criminal Investigation Office (ZKA) and the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) coordinated the participation of law enforcement agencies.

Pangea is the name of the operation, which took place for the ninth time this year. Police authorities in Germany have been investigating 89 cases since the operation was completed against the mostly internationally organized operators of 60 Internet sites that distribute medicines that are not authorized in Germany, the criminal investigation departments write.

The aim of the action week is to restrict the supply of illegal products and, above all, to sensitize the population to the health risks associated with buying medicines on the Internet (cf. Flyer Buying medicines on the web). The authorities in Germany reportedly withdrew a total of 564 foreign letters and parcels containing 50,915 tablets, capsules and ampoules from circulation in just one week. Also this year, many potency drugs were among them.

Computer is spied out

Illegal medicines pose an incalculable health risk to consumers. Purchasing via the Internet is more popular than ever before. But medicines with the wrong active ingredient content or without any active ingredient, as well as preparations with components that are hazardous to health, are no longer a rarity in the illegal drug trade, according to the BKA. And it is not only the drugs that cause undesirable side effects: Spam mails advertising medicines often contain malware that spies on the victims' computers.

"In some cases, we no longer knew who had which keys," says Andreas Affolter, head of construction in the municipality of Oensingen. The chaos in the key management of the properties was great. Whether it was the fire station or the school building - almost every one of these properties had its own locking system. Whoever had to enter different buildings carried around a heavy bunch of keys. But that's history, because the municipal officials have gradually switched to a uniform electronic locking system. A small badge has replaced the mechanical keys. For the system supplier Siaxma from Oensingen began work with a precise inventory in March 2013, and just a short time later it delivered the concept, cost estimate and detailed documentation to those responsible, as Managing Director Max Keller explained in his presentation at the 10th in-house exhibition for time and security, the three-day SiMu'16. Keller emphasizes that it is extremely important to talk to all users of the properties in advance in order to know their needs and requirements for the future access control (Zuko).

Access rights are managed centrally

With the new solution, the access rights of all buildings in the municipality of Oensingen are managed centrally. The programming of the data carriers, i.e. who has access where and when with the badge, is also solved within the municipality. "This is the only way for the operator to be independent," Keller emphasizes. Access rights can be assigned individually per building, day and time. In his presentation, Zuko specialist Keller goes into detail about Oensing's showcase project, which also includes a fire station. It was no easy task to convince the blue-light organization of the advantages of the new application,Affolter smiles. That's not surprising, because everything has to work perfectly here so that no time is lost in an emergency. When an alarm is received, the main entrance to the fire station is automatically unlocked and the necessary lights go on. This is just one small example of the new Zuko system, which is now receiving a lot of praise from the fire department, as Affolter says.

Even the building services are integrated into the Zuko system

The fact that a cross-building access control system can be used in a variety of ways was demonstrated during an inspection at SiMu'16. In Oensingen, part of the building services, for example the ventilation system, is also integrated into the access control system. But how sophisticated such a system can be was demonstrated by the municipal staff using the example of the new multifunctional hall. Here, it can even be regulated that sports club X may only use checkroom Y at a certain time; incidentally, it can be locked to protect the athletes' personal valuables.

In conclusion, Andreas Affolter says, "Thanks to the service contract, we know that the system is well maintained and ultimately saves costs."

A large part of the Swiss population does not have sufficient health literacy. This is shown by a new study.

Health literacy is the ability of individuals to make decisions in their daily lives that have a positive impact on their health. The health literacy of the population was analyzed in the three areas of "disease management", "disease prevention" and "health promotion". The results show that the Swiss resident population has difficulties understanding and assessing information, especially in the area of disease prevention. For example, questions about why vaccinations are necessary or which vaccinations a person needs are difficult for respondents to answer. Uncertainties also exist when it comes to questions about preventive medical examinations.

Similar to respondents in selected EU countries (Bulgaria, Spain, Austria, Germany, Greece, Poland, Ireland, the Netherlands), the Swiss resident population finds it rather difficult to judge what the advantages and disadvantages of a treatment are and when a second opinion from another doctor should be sought.

The resident population has less difficulty following instructions from physicians and pharmacists or understanding their instructions for taking medication. They find it easy to understand warnings against unhealthy behavior or to find information about behavioral measures that promote health.

Education and income as a factor

Well-educated and financially better-off individuals exhibit higher health literacy. As a rule, the lower the income, the lower the health literacy. Women have slightly higher health literacy than men. The additional survey of people with a migration background from Turkey and Portugal shows that health literacy is only partially influenced by migration background.

The study also provides information on the extent to which health literacy affects health status and whether it has an influence on how many medical services are used. As with respondents in EU countries, those living in Switzerland with low health literacy tend to feel less healthy and are more likely to have a medical problem that lasts longer. Hospital stays decrease with increasing health literacy.

The study was conducted by the Federal Office of Public Health together with the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office and the Swiss Health Promotion Foundation in the fall of 2015. A representative sample of the entire Swiss resident population and additionally two migration groups from Turkey and Portugal were surveyed. A questionnaire developed as part of an EU project was used for the survey so that the results can be compared with those of EU countries.

The results of the study will now be evaluated in detail to assess which measures can be used to improve the health literacy of the Swiss population.

The Swiss Association for Technical Inspections (SVTI) and the German company TÜV SÜD are linked by a long-standing partnership. Since 2001, the two organizations have owned Swiss TS Technical Services AG (Swiss TS), which was founded jointly at that time. In order to consolidate their shareholdings and areas of activity, SVTI and TÜV SÜD have now agreed that 100% of the shares in Swiss TS will go to SVTI, the company announced yesterday.

The SVTI Group is an independent competence center for technical safety and risk management.

The enterprise 2N headquartered in Prague, is active not only in IP-Intercom but also in IP-Audio and IP-Intercom for elevators. The company with about 200 employees relies on established sales channels which include electricians, installers for the telecommunication sector as well as manufacturers of elevators, such as Axis writes. This is a useful addition to Axis' existing global sales channels. "Together with 2N, we can now serve the increased customer demand for integrated solutions with open standards and further strengthen our goal to make the world safer and smarter," says Peter Lindström, Vice President New Business at Axis Communications.

The 2N brand will be retained and the company will be managed as a subsidiary within the Axis Group. The cooperation covers the following areas: Exchange of know-how, mutual support in research and development, and joint efforts to expand market access. An important point for both companies is to accelerate the convergence of analog systems to IP intercom and to generate new opportunities in this area.

SBB's railroad lines not only transport people and goods, but also huge amounts of data thanks to the railroad's own fiber optic network. As of today DataHub Networks AG offers a wide range of data services for carriers, local operators and companies with high data transmission requirements on the fiber optic network of SBB and other partners, as it writes in its press release.
"We are delighted that we have been able to win DataHub Networks, a customer that has built its Switzerland-wide data network, consisting of data centers and direct data links, on the SBB fiber optic network," says Yves Zischek, Head of SBB Telecom. "SBB will do everything in its power to ensure that the data network technically operated for DataHub Networks is in no way inferior to our own high requirements in terms of availability."

"Real alternative for fast data connections"
"With coverage from Arbon to Geneva and from Basel to Lugano, the provider is a real alternative for fast data connections on the market," says CEO Adrian Roth. Thanks to the high availability guaranteed by SBB, it is possible to offer exclusive services on the Swiss big data highway. The new data network is ideal for customers who need true geo-redundancy, says Roth. The SBB infrastructure is completely independent of the usual fiber optic lines in highways and along power lines. For the last mile to the customer, DataHub Networks works with local partners.
Thanks to proactive monitoring and automated rerouting on all 96 colors, availability is ensured even in exceptional situations, according to DataHub Networks. In addition, the ring architecture, which connects all access points, offers maximum security.

The online police station Suisse ePolice is being continuously expanded: since the beginning of 2016, the inhabitants of the canton of Thurgau, and thus almost 60% of the population of Switzerland, have been able to use the services of the online police post, as the Association for Harmonization of Police Informatics (HPI) writes. In addition to the previous options (e.g. reporting a bicycle or motorcycle theft, etc.), the stolen cell phone or other electronic devices can now also be reported via the virtual police post. This now also applies to stolen skis or snowboards.

Also for institutional users

Recently, institutional users have also been able to enter property damage via Suisse ePolice. This service offers municipalities, schools, property management companies, transport companies, etc. the possibility to generate reports directly from their case processing tool and to send this data automatically to the police. According to HPI, the form and law of a report filed via this service is equivalent to a report filed in person at the police station.

More time for investigative tasks

In October 2013, Suisse ePolice, the launch project of the Switzerland-wide harmonization of police IT, was implemented. To date, 12 cantons (including 2 half cantons) are participating. In June 2016, the canton of Basel-Stadt will also be connected.

The platform is well used - the example of bicycle theft proves it. Overall, the experience of the police and the public has been positive, HPI writes. Thanks to the online solution, the police have more time available for investigative tasks.

Strong emotions can trigger a functional disorder of the heart, which manifests itself in a similar way to a heart attack. This rare disorder is called Takotsubo syndrome or "broken heart syndrome," and it affects mainly post-menopausal women. The fact that terrible experiences, such as the loss of a beloved partner, can lead to acute and dangerous heart failure has been known for some time.

An analysis of the world's largest Takotsubo Registry at the University of Zurich has now revealed that about four percent of emotional triggers are not due to negative events, but to great moments of happiness. These include: The reunion of family members, a big money win, the wedding celebration of one's own children.

The Swiss Heart Foundation honors the two researchers Dr. Jelena R. Ghadri and PD Dr. Dr. Christian Templin of the University Heart Center Zurich for their work in the field with the annual research award. The award ceremony will take place at Chaplin's World Museum in Corsier-sur-Vevey.

Close connection between heart and brain

Takotsubo syndrome is not a purely cardiological problem. About half of those affected, in whom emotional triggers play a role, have a neurological or psychiatric concomitant disease. Apparently, a disturbance in stress processing in the brain leads to overstimulation of the sympathetic nervous system. The mechanisms are still largely unknown. "The importance of the heart-brain axis is becoming clearer," Ghadri says. "What role strong emotions play in the development of heart disease now needs further investigation."

Threatening and still little explored

It is also not yet clear how emotional stress affects heart function. A microcirculatory disorder is suspected, i.e. spasms in the smallest vessels of the heart. In contrast to myocardial infarction, no narrowing of the large coronary vessels is found in patients with Takotsubo syndrome. In contrast, the left ventricle becomes balloon-shaped, causing the heart's pumping function to fail. "Takotsubo syndrome is still underdiagnosed," Templin says, "yet it's almost as life-threatening as an acute myocardial infarction." Now the researchers are looking for a suitable therapy so that the heart function recovers as quickly as possible and no complications occur.

The original publications appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine and the European Heart Journal, and available online.

(Swiss Heart Foundation)