With Hurricane Gustav and Tropical Storm Hanna threatening the gulf coast region, I wanted to share a few tips on being prepared for these storms.

Our email system is housed out of state and will continue to operate as normal in the event of power failure in our area.  There are several factors that may impact to receive your email on your computer or mobile device.

· If power or internet is down in your area, you will not be able to send or receive messages from your computer during this time.

· In addition, your calendar, address book, tasks, and memos from your computer will not synchronize with our server.

· Any incoming email messages will continue to be received by our server and will come to your computer as soon as power and internet is restored.

· You have Outlook access at http://mail.securembox.com from any internet connected computer.  Shared contacts and calendar are not available on the online version of Outlook.  Login with your full email address as the username and your current password.

If you use a mobile device, you will have the ability to send and receive messages and continue to synchronize with our server as long as your wireless carrier is operating as normal.

· If you are using an AT&T  BlackBerry, your carrier is operating correctly if you have “EDGE” or “GPRS” (all capital letters) next to your signal bars.

· For Verizon BlackBerry users, you should have “1XEV” by the signal bars.

· Windows Mobile users generally have an icon “E” or “3G” signifying that you have correct data service.

· Even when your cell phone is reading a normal data signal, an influx of usage could cause some delays in data being sent and received.

· Text messaging, PIN messaging (for BlackBerry users), and email are usually the best ways to communicate using your cell phone if voice calls are not working as normal.

You may want to back up any data from your computer to a USB flash drive or to a CD.

**Emails, contacts, calendar entries, and memos are backed up to our server and can be easily restored.

If there are any questions regarding any of your wireless or computer needs, do not hesitate to contact me at info@wirelessiqllc.com. In the event Baton Rouge is evacuated, I will forward the landline number to my cell phone or another landline phone.

Visit www.getagameplan.org for tips on hurricane preparedness.