When’s the last time you reviewed your own list of passwords?

Best Practices

Strong passwords are at least 12 characters in length and utilize letters, numbers, AND special characters (#, $, %, &, etc.). Also, set up a different password for each account and service you use.

How many of your passwords would be considered a “strong” password?

According to cybersecurity experts, so long as you use a strong password and keep passwords different for each account/service, you should not need to regularly update your passwords – unless you are notified of a data breach by your provider.

How many times do you currently use the same password over and over?

We recommend using a random password generator to ensure you have a secure password for your account. Many free generators are available, such as the one found here.

myStratus

For systems like myStratus, where you must login manually in order to access the system, use a strong password that’s easy to remember BUT difficult enough that your employees or coworkers will not be able to guess or figure it out on their own.

StudioPlus Mail

Aside from myStratus, there’s another service of ours you may be using that needs a strong password in place. This would be the password you set up when you originally signed up for the service.

For each of you who utilize our StudioPlus Mail service, provided by SendGrid, now would be a great time to review your password and update to a more secure one if you do not already use a strong password.

To update your StudioPlus Mail password, go to Maintenance > Preferences > Company Preferences > Email tab. There should be an option to “Change Password“.

Please allow at least 24 hours for the modifications to take effect on the servers.

We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused and thank you for your patience!

This is your final notice that as of 1/1/2020, PhotoOne will no longer be a supported software.

As of 1/1/2020, your PhotoOne software will no longer be supported by StudioPlus. This means any recurring Maintenance Plan or DataSafe you currently have will cease to run, and you will not be able to obtain any support – including emergency and system down support. If PhotoOne becomes unavailable (e.g. Fm2 File Corrupt, Halt Disk Error, or trying to move the data), our staff will not be able to provide any assistance.

We’re notifying all PhotoOne clients now to ensure you have enough time to switch to a new software if you choose.

What does this mean for you?

We don’t have a magic switch that will turn off your use of PhotoOne. If you have not changed your software by 1/1/2020, your database will still be accessible and continue to operate. However, all Maintenance Plans, DataSafe, and Technical Support from StudioPlus will cease to be available after this date. Our staff will no longer be able to provide any PhotoOne support – paid or unpaid.

If you’d like to switch to one of our other products (myStratus or Spectra) after the 1/1/2020 date, please be advised that the ability to convert your current database will no longer be available as well.

How can you prepare for the end?

With the time you have left, consider how you want your business to move forward.

If you’d like to stay with StudioPlus, we offer two great business management solutions called Spectra and myStratus. Click here to learn more about each software. To help make the switch as easy as possible, we’d like to offer you a free conversion* to either solution, so all your client information will carry over to the new system. Both Spectra and myStratus are similar to PhotoOne, so the transition should be a comfortable one.

If you have questions about which solution will be the best move for your business or want to discuss how your database will be converted, contact us at Support@StudioPlusSoftware.com.

Unfortunately, all software programs eventually reach the end of their life expectancy. Operating systems require updates, security gets tighter and tighter, and other general updates occur. That means more and more parts of the PhotoOne software will stop working as time progresses. Even worse, you may come in one day after a Windows Update and PhotoOne doesn’t work at all!

Take some time prior to 1/1/2020 to consider your best business management option moving forward. And please feel free to reach out to our Support and Sales teams while you make this decision. We value you as a longstanding customer and want you to know we’re here to help!

We’ve been proud to support the product for the last 10 years and we sincerely hope each of you will stay as StudioPlus customers so we may continue to serve you!

*Free Conversion Terms: Conversion must take place before 1/1/2020. Free Conversion applies to Standard and Professional versions of myStratus & Spectra only. myStratus Express and Spectra Express do not count for this promotion. If you wish to convert to the Express version, the cost to convert is $245.

Original Message:

We’ve received reports that our U.S. shared numbers are not able to send outgoing SMS text messages at this time. If you are located in the U.S. and do NOT utilize the Platinum Plan, please refrain from sending out SMS messages until further notice is given.

We are in active communication with our SMS provider to get a solution in place. Any updates will be sent via the Support Blog.

We are in active communication with our SMS provider to get a solution in place. Any updates will be sent via the Support Blog.

During the 2019 release, we informed you on our blogs and release notes that the Do Not Market checkbox on Client records was being split and renamed to three Allow Marketing checkboxes. This change was added in response to Privacy Laws changing around the world (e.g. the GDPR in the EU).

Click here to read the 2019 Release Notes – Scroll to the “Client Marketing Checkboxes” section.

If Privacy Laws in your region allow it, please go to Maintenance > Preferences > Company Preferences > Clients tab. Set the Allow Marketing checkboxes to automatically check on any new client records. Make sure to verify with the laws in your region that this will keep your business in compliance.

For any clients that were created after the 2019 release and were not checked to Allow Email Marketing, here’s how to mass-update the new checkboxes for them:

1. In the Clients hub, pull up the Clients, and make sure the Client Number column is added.
2. Click Export to Excel in the ribbon – Save it as a .XLS.
3. In the Excel file created, add a new Column for Allow Email Marketing, Allow SMS Marketing, and Allow Phone Call Marketing – set any you want checked to TRUE
4. Save the file.
5. In Stratus/Spectra, go to Utilities > Import Clients.
6. Select the Excel file you modified.
7. On the screen to drag and drop headers, ONLY use the Client Number, Allow Email Marketing, Allow SMS Marketing, and Allow Phone Call Marketing columns.
8. On the following page, do not check for duplicates.
9. On the following page, check the box to Update Existing Client Records based on Client Number.
10. Finish the Wizard and it will update those boxes for all Clients in the Excel file.

At this point, they should now appear in the Communication Wizard again.

1. Uninstall the myStratus mobile app
2. Reboot your device
3. Reinstall the myStratus Mobile app
4. Login to the app – you may need to re-authorize your user at Maintenance > General > Mobile Devices.
5. Leave the mobile app open for a few minutes to give it a chance to re-sync with your database.

After this, you should be able to schedule again.

Please contact Technical Support if you continue to experience the problem described in this post.

Some customers are reporting the myStratus Mobile App calendar is not displaying new sessions or appointments. We have the problem reported to our engineers and are waiting on more information and a fix.

We apologize for any inconvenience!

Please keep in mind this is the Preview release of the software, so our team is still finishing development and documentation of some new features.

Contact us at Support@StudioPlusSoftware.com if interested!

We’re currently hiring here at StudioPlus for our Support team and are looking for applicants who have great communication skills and are familiar with our software.

Click here for more details and to apply. Note: U.S. Applicants Only.

With this version, we’re introducing a new integration between the myStratus Mobile App and TSYS (Cayan)’s Genius Mini Device – allowing you to process credit card payments on-the-go directly from your mobile device. This new feature can even work over your cellular data connection (no Wi-Fi necessary)!

Please contact our Support Team at Support@StudioPlusSoftware.com if you’re interested so we can get you set up – make sure to specify in your email if you’re an Apple or Android User.

Note: The ability to process Credit Cards through the myStratus Mobile App requires an account with TSYS (Cayan) Credit Card Processing and the Genius Mini Device. If you’re interested in Beta testing and getting access to this feature early, you must have a Genius Mini Device for the integration to work. If you don’t already have this device, you can purchase one here.