Helion Automotive Technologies

Erik Nachbahr to Discuss Key Dealership Challenges at the 12th Digital Dealer Conference and Expo

heladminhemi — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:20:54 +0000

Join Erik Nachbahr, Founder of Helion Automotive Technologies, for a frank discussion on key challenges and risks of dealership technology systems. Helion is an Information Technology Strategies Consulting Company headquartered in Timonium, Maryland. Nachbahr’s presentation covers critical aspects of information technology, security, and networks at the dealership level that shouldn’t be missed.

The 12th Digital Dealer Conference & Exposition will take place in Orlando, Florida on April 3-5th, 2012
Contact us for more information on Helion or the 12th Digital Dealer Conference.

TECH TIP: Anti-Virus and SPAM Filters Can’t Do it All

@Helion — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:09:01 +0000

Please pay attention to suspicious looking emails and web links to avoid being scammed.
Here are some items to watch for.

How They Attack
Phishing is essentially an online con game and phishers are nothing more than tech-savvy con artists and identity thieves. They use SPAM, malicious Web sites, email messages and instant messages to trick people into divulging sensitive information, such as bank and credit card accounts.

How Do You Know:

Phishers, pretending to be legitimate companies, may use email to request personal information and direct recipients to respond through malicious web sites
Phishers tend to use emotional language using scare tactics or urgent requests to entice recipients to respond
The phish sites can look remarkably like legitimate sites because they tend to use the copyrighted images from legitimate sites
Requests for confidential information via email or Instant Message tend to not be legitimate
Fraudulent messages are often not personalized and may share similar properties like details in the header and footer

Catch us at the NADA 2012 Convention in Las Vegas

@Helion — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:55:36 +0000

February 3rd – February 6th, 2012

Helion will represent the IT interests of over 450 dealerships nationally at NADA. This year Erik Nachbahr, Scot McConnor and Amie Herr will attend the 2012 NADA conference in Las Vegas to evaluate new technologies and connect with vendors. Experience has shown that cultivating relationships with our clients’ technology vendors helps keep their systems running smoothly.

So, if you are thinking about investing in a new system to boost sales or service, then let us know. We would be delighted to speak with the prospective provider.

We look forward to seeing you in Vegas!

Helion Client Tech Tip #2: How to Squeeze More Juice Out Of Your Smart Phone’s Battery

@Helion — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:03:39 +0000

Tired of heading home from a long day at work with only seconds of battery left? Or anxiously waiting until your co-worker heads to the water cooler so you can swipe his charger?

So were we! So we compiled a list of things you can do to extend the life of the your smart phone battery.

To extend the life of your battery, try:

Dimming your screen
Turning off vibrate – it uses more power than a ring-tone
Turning off your Bluetooth when you get to work
Turning off your Wi-Fi when your not using it
Taking it easy on the GPS by getting directions before lunch on your PC
Ditching apps you don’t use – they drain a lot of power
Turning off nonessential notifications.
There are also battery-extending apps on most smart phones.

These tips will extend your phone’s battery life by reducing power requirements and leave you a little battery juice for the drive home.

Is Your Customer List Safe from Employee Theft?

@Helion — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 20:52:30 +0000

The notion of a dealership’s employees having ownership of the organizations customer lists or communications is a frightening one. The question of ownership of work product, email and even actual customer lists is being called into question by BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policies being adopted by many businesses, including auto dealerships.

A 2010 US Supreme Court 9-0 ruling declared that employees are not entitled to privacy if they use an employer’s issued device. The ruling did not, however, establish ownership or privacy rights of employee owned devices accessing corporate data or systems. The implication of this rulingcould mean that employers do not have rights or ownership to company data if it was accessed and stored locally on employee computers with the company’s permission.

“Data ownership and access to sensitive customer files should be a key concern for dealerships”, said Erik Nachbahr, President and Founder of the Baltimore-based Helion Technologies, a managed information technology provider for auto dealerships.

“Many auto dealers encourage employees to access their corporate computer systems with employee owned laptops to help control costs. While expense control is always important, this practice leaves dealerships vulnerable to unauthorized access or theft of customer lists or even financial data,” said Nachbahr.

Given the murky nature of data ownership issues, dealerships should evaluate and clarify their BOYD device policies, recommends Nachbahr.

Community Focus: The Family Tree

@Helion — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 16:13:35 +0000

Community Focus

The Family Tree is Maryland’s leading non-profit organization dedicated to improving the community by providing families with proven solutions to prevent child abuse and neglect.

Helion heard that the foundation’s technology was barely functioning. Servers crashed, computer problems were the norm and the finance/technology staff member spent most of her time putting Band-Aids on computer problems.

With some grants and Helion volunteer time the foundation replaced its IT system. Last year, the Family Tree provided parenting education and outreach services to more than 15,000 parents and children in Maryland. Helion thanks the Family Tree for their support to the community, families and Maryland’s children.

For information on how to get involved with the Family Tree please visit their website at www.familytreemd.org

Helion Client Tech Tip #1: Save all Your Work to the Server

@Helion — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 13:39:00 +0000

Helion provides back-up solutions for dealerships. To ensure that all data is being backed-up we remind our clients to save all their documents to their “U” drive/server that we monitor and protect. Documents saved to a desktop, my documents or any other place other than the server are at risk for being permanently lost. For more information about how you can become a Helion customer, please contact Scot McConnor by Clicking here or by calling him at
443-541-1500.

Helion Technologies Advises Auto Dealership To Protect Themselves from Hackers and Cyber-Thieves

@Helion — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 00:32:02 +0000

Erik Nachbahr from Helion Technologies, the Number 1 Provider of IT Security and Systems to Auto Dealer’s, Explains How

Helion Technologies warns auto dealerships not fall victim to sophisticated system hackers. Larger businesses have systems in place to protect themselves, so those hackers are going after smaller companies like dealerships

Timonium, MD November 11, 2011

Today’s sophisticated customers want and expect interactive technology when shopping for cars, says Erik Nachbahr, President and Founder of the Baltimore-based Helion Technologies. Helion is a 70 employee Managed Information Technology provider for auto dealerships. Helion supports more than 17, 000 computers for more than 450 dealerships nationwide, and has been supporting dealerships for the past 12 years.

“This means businesses need to have wireless access in customer lounges, be accessible by email, text, and have a strong web presence. The business model dictates that each employee desk and service-bay, have computers,” Nachbahr said. “But if those do not have secure systems in place, the dealership is vulnerable.”

Dealerships Must Invest
“Unfortunately many dealerships that don’t grasp technology, put themselves at severe risk. They view IT as a nuisance, expense, a waste of money and a distraction from the main goal—selling vehicles, says Nachbahr. “As a result their systems are lackluster, unsecure and costly to maintain.”

Security Risks
Dealerships have grown their computer systems haphazardly over the past ten years, with virtually no security systems in place making them a hacker’s bonanza. There appears to be little knowledge on how to create a stable and secure IT environment. Staff training is one of the areas that has to be addressed. Employees have to be well versed in operating credit card machines in a manner that does not put the customer at risk. Secure passwords are often left out in the open. Companies need to embrace the idea that security is important and stop being resistant to change. PC’s present another security concern: users have the ability to install software, modify the system at will, end users can choose to install or not install patches and remove antivirus applications, and virus or malware attacks are pervasive and difficult to control in environments where everyone has access.

Protection Missing
Too often dealerships are not mindful of the systems that can protect them. Helion’s found that antivirus or antimalware protection is not installed on all PC’s.

“They sometimes have let their subscriptions to these programs expire, don’t keep them updated or managed. This leaves them completely unprotected from malware threats that get increasingly more sophisticated every day,” Nachbahr says. “In addition, wireless technology goes unmonitored and companies are left vulnerable to encryption. Dealerships are using residential grade equipment. Often, customers are connected directly to the dealership corporate network for internet use.”

Solutions
First, dealerships and their employees must make security a priority, Nachbahr says. This means stressing the use of passwords and discouraging the practice of downloading files or games on work computers. Dealerships also need to have managed antivirus systems in place and audit PC’s to ensure compliance. It’s also important to separate customer internet, or guest wireless device and service from the business wireless systems. Dealers need to make sure that all wireless is Cisco and using WPA-2 Encryption, Nachbahr says. Also, it’s a good idea to employ a wireless firewall system to secure all wireless zones, he added.

Knowing vulnerabilities, changing corporate culture to think security and employing systems, will help dealerships avoid being taken to the bank. It happened to Green Ford of Abilene, Kansas, and it can happen to other dealerships if they are not proactive. A hacker tapped into the dealership’s business accounts and funneled money out using a fake employee created in THEIR system. As a result 63 thousand dollars was taken from the dealership’s bank accounts. Register online for Helion’s free technology assessment at http://www.heliontechnologies.com.

About Helion Automotive Technologies:

Helion Automotive Technologies was formed in 1997 with the goal of bringing strong Information Technology strategies and leadership to businesses of all sizes. At Helion we offer dealerships short term IT fixes for what you need now, and long-term IT solutions for what lies ahead. We’ve provided IT solutions for dealerships across the country for more than a decade and when it comes to dealer IT systems, we’ve been there done that-better than anyone else and are here to help.

We can make sure your IT systems are well managed and provide solutions for your IT headaches. We are not just any tech company; we are the tech company for auto dealers. It’s all we do.

Helion Automotive Technologies
1965 Greenspring Drive
Timonium, MD 21093
(443) 541-1500
http://www.heliontechnologies.com
info(at)heliontechnoligies(dot)com

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Helion President Erik Nachbahr Speaking at PAA Conference in Bermuda

@Helion — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 01:17:03 +0000

Erik Nachbahr has been invited to speak at the annual conference of the Pennsylvania Automotive Association in Bermuda on October 6th.

Helion is a longtime supporter and Associate Member of PAA and counts many PAA Member Dealerships among its clients. Nachbahr will cover current pain points and solutions in the realm of Dealership technology.

Helion Technologies Featured in Business Solutions Magazine

@Helion — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 01:20:02 +0000

4/19/11 Business Solutions Magazine

Gennifer Biggs of Business Solutions Magazine, recently wrote an article about Helion Technologies and President/Founder Erik Nachbahr’s beliefs on vertical business strategies. The article, titled, “Vertical Focus Drives Stellar Growth” centers on Mr. Nachbahr’s vision. In particular, his approach of taking Helion Technologies from a 5-person company in 2005 to more than 60 people in 2011. “Since then, we’ve had double-digit annualized growth each year…” Nachbahr added.

To read the full content of the article, please click here. All media inquiries should be addressed to sales@HelionTechnologies.com or call 443-541-1500.