A New Resolution

By Katherine Bonfante, Senior Digital Editor

With the year at an end, you might be thinking about resolutions you want to set for 2012. For many, those goals not met in the current year make it back on the list—losing 10 lb plus a few more gained this year, really using that gym membership, and putting away money for a nice nest egg.

This year, however, I resolve that I will improve my cybersecurity, sustainability and efficiency knowledge.

Some might think these goals fit the industrial world better than a web editor like me, but we can all learn valuable lessons from the topics we cover here at Control Design. These topics apply not only to the machine builder world, but to our everyday world as well.

For example, when it comes to cybersecurity, we should all be very careful with the information we put out in the cyberspace. It is easy to have your identity stolen, your bank accounts wiped or your industrial software hacked wirelessly and remotely. Learn how to secure your network and industrial systems, and how to protect your data from malware.

Visit our website and read the following articles to learn more: "How Much Network Access Should You Allow?" (www.ControlDesign.com/networkaccess), "CyberDisaster: We're Doomed. Again" (www.ControlDesign.com/doomed), "Do Not Slip Up On Security" (www.ControlDesign.com/donotslip), and "Stuxnet: Too Much Hype or Not Enough?" (www.ControlDesign.com/hype).

If you need some help when it comes to secure passwords, read "‘Password' Tops the List of Common Passwords" (www.ControlDesign.com/password) to learn what not to use.

Living sustainable lives has become a hot topic in recent years. We are now conscious of living green by recycling, reusing materials and reducing waste. What changes have you made in your life, at the personal and professional level, to become more sustainable?

Read  our articles "Pragmatic Beliefs" (www.ControlDesign.com/pragmatic), "Green Identity" (www.ControlDesign.com/gogreen) and "Sustainable Sanity" (www.ControlDesign.com/sanity) to see how your peers in Machine Builder Nation have approached sustainability.

Finally, becoming more efficient helps you achieve your sustainability goal. You can set goals to be more efficient at home, at the gym or at work, but how can you be more efficient in the machine builder domain?

Read "The Efficiency Mandate" (www.ControlDesign.com/efficiency), "Efficiency, Speed Push Motors/Drives" (www.ControlDesign.com/motorsdrives) and "A Change of Power" (www.ControlDesign.com/power) to see how you can reach industry efficiency standards.