The VPN, a tool used to encrypt data as it is transmitted between networks has long been used to secure data-in-transit for businesses and other organizations. With remote work more prevalent nowadays, threats targeting the VPN are growing. The National Security Agency recently released information suggesting that state-sponsored hackers have managed to take advantage of exploits and common security vulnerabilities to intercept data, remotely execute code, and steal authentication credentials. Of course, this news is troubling. Exploiting vulnerabilities that aren?t supposed to be there has the cybersecurity community concerned. In fact, stats show that attacks targeting VPNs have increased substantially since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Security professionals are responding by implementing more secure cryptography, but the whole situation is an ebb and flow that doesn?t always work out in the good guys? favor. The NSA and CISA have begun to issue recommendations for how organizations should implement VPNs to ensure that they give them sufficient protection for their transmitted data, and data security professionals are listening. Unfortunately, with so much being made about the tools being used to exploit vulnerabilities and protect data, the focus on the human element?a crucial part of any cybersecurity strategy?has been muted. With that considered, most cybersecurity professionals agree that for comprehensive security while using VPNs, businesses should ensure that the people using the encryption tool understand their place in organizational cybersecurity. Unfortunately, for many businesses, the information relayed from these cybersecurity organizations tend to be extraordinarily technical in nature, making it hard for even adept technology users to completely understand. This could create a problem for any business.  At White Mountain IT Services, our technicians can help you make sense of both the tools you use and the information that is being relayed from security organizations. Our team of IT professionals can not only get you the technology you need to protect your data while in transit, we can help you support your whole remote team with technology and advice that make sense to you.  If you want to ensure that your data is safe while in transit, we can have a conversation about how to get the tools that you need in place and how to get your staff trained with the industry best practices. Don?t be confused by technology advice that goes over your head, reach out to us today at (603) 889-0800.

Black Friday The day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday, is often touted as the busiest shopping day in the United States?a title it has held for the past 15 years. Because of this phenomenon, many retail stores announce their Black Friday deals ahead of time and expand them into the day afterward. Cyber Monday Cyber Monday does not have as long or as storied a reputation as Black Friday; rather, it?s an extension of Black Friday that takes place on the following Monday. Cyber Monday started at shop.com in 2005, but has expanded in scale and scope every year since. In 2020, Cyber Monday was the largest retail day in history, bringing in close to $11 billion, due in large part to the COVID-19 pandemic. 2021 Extends Holiday Shopping Many retailers have responded to the lingering supply chain issues caused by the pandemic to expand their holiday shopping into the online space, offering more deals online than ever before. Most retailers are doing what they can to make sure that their consumers have chances to get the deals they want just in time for the holidays. Technology is Front and Center You can never go wrong with technology as a gift, especially in 2021 when there is so much to choose from. Here are some of the more popular gifts that you might see during your post-Thanksgiving holiday shopping shenanigans. Amazon Fire Stick 4K with Alexa Voice Remote The newest iteration of the popular HDMI streaming media dongle features voice controls through Alexa and is 4K-capable. Starting at $25. Apple AirPods (Gen 2) Apple?s popular wireless earbuds. Starting at $89. Samsung Chromebook 4 With an 11.6-inch screen, this laptop is a good value for people looking for a reliable laptop for everyday tasks. Starting at $129. Facebook Portal Go and Portal+ The Portal Go and Portal+ are video chat interfaces that integrate with Facebook Messenger. Starting at $199.99.  We can?t cover everything here, but if you are looking to pick up some computer hardware or other electronics, late November will be a prime time to do so. What?s on your holiday wish list? Let us know in the comments.

The Alternatives Don?t Work In short, the biggest reason why managed services work is because the alternatives simply do not work for small businesses. Consider the fact that many small businesses simply do not have access to the same resources as major enterprises. This involves both human resources and financial resources, both of which can have a considerable impact on a business? ability to get the technology talent necessary to keep operations going and acquire solutions that facilitate them. This combination of a limited budget and limited access to talent often means that companies forego maintenance on their technology until it is absolutely necessary. By that point, it might be too late to apply maintenance, as technology that is not working as intended starts to cause problems; and, when your technology starts to create problems, the last thing you want is to rely on untrained users performing maintenance. Thankfully, all of this and more can be remedied through the use of managed services. Let?s see how you can save time and frustration by working with a managed service provider like White Mountain IT Services. Capital Expenses Can Add Up When you dump a bunch of money into new solutions up-front, this is what is called a capital cost. These types of oft-unexpected costs can create problems for your budget, especially when you have many of them pile up at once, like with a server unit or networking component breaking down and you having to replace them both at the same time. Managed IT services are operational expenses that fit neatly into budgets through the use of smaller, more manageable monthly payments, making them ideal for small businesses with limited budgets. Minimal Downtime While there is certainly a sense of financial loss from having to replace technology, the real kick in the teeth comes from what comes after the technology breaks down. You?re not just paying to replace the technology itself; you?re also paying the employees who are left without work to do and the lost productivity during this downtime. When you properly maintain your technology through the use of managed IT services, you are effectively staving off downtime and preparing yourself for when it will occur, all while having a contingency plan in place. Hands-Off Maintenance More than anything else, managed IT services allow your business to take a step back to focus on operations rather than keeping your technology going. You can then use these opportunities to implement new solutions and focus on what matters most to your company. Without the stress of managing technology, you might be surprised to see what you can accomplish. Don?t waste any more time and energy on your IT infrastructure than you need to. Give White Mountain IT Services a call today at (603) 889-0800.

Let?s discuss the situation that we all witnessed, and the lessons that all businesses can take away from it. The True Scope of the Outage Went Far Beyond Facebook Well, sort of. The reality is that ?Facebook? is/was far more than just the social network that goes by that name. Throughout its history, Facebook has also spent over $23 billion in acquiring other companies and assets, from the unlaunched web operating system Parakey back in 2007 to the CRM (customer relationship management) platform Kustomer in November of 2020. In no uncertain terms: Meta, the company that owns Facebook, also owns many other things? many of which also went down along with Facebook. The problem is that a lot of businesses rely on Facebook and its associated applications and services for a lot. It?s a known fact that WhatsApp, a VoIP and messaging application, is used by a lot of businesses. However, those businesses were without this tool for the entire time Facebook was experiencing their outage. The same went for any website that allowed its users to log in using Facebook Login? their users were locked out for the duration of the outage, and therefore couldn?t make any purchases. If there?s any takeaway that businesses should receive from this whole situation, it?s clearly not to put all of their eggs in one basket?Facebook?s or otherwise. However, this is sometimes unavoidable, particularly if they?re utilizing a unified workplace platform. So, what can be done? Your Company Needs a Backup Plan Let?s face facts for a moment: for all the businesses that were suddenly restricted when Facebook went down, the impact if Microsoft or Google went down would be far greater. Alternatively, you could very well be using a line of business application that is completely unaffiliated with either that could go down. Either way, the impact would be the same: your business would be stuck. We frequently talk about business continuity planning, and for good reason. However, we typically talk about it in terms of a disaster taking a direct impact on your place of business: power loss, fire, or equipment damage preventing you from accessing your business? resources and causing data loss. However, your business continuity could just as easily be affected by one of your providers suffering downtime as well. Is it incredibly likely? No? but that doesn?t mean you should ignore the risk. You need to have a strategy at the ready that addresses these kinds of complications and the means your team members have to adapt to them, regardless of whether they?re working in-house or remotely. There?s really no telling when these kinds of issues will rear up, and when your company will be amongst those impacted by them. We Can Help Your Company Prepare for Any Kind of Disaster There are just too many potential issues that could strike to risk your business and its data? or for that matter, its productivity. Our experienced team can put you in the position to avoid most of these issues or at least greatly reduce the influence they have on your operations. To find out more about what we can do, give White Mountain IT Services a call at (603) 889-0800.

Fewer Capital Expenses in the Long Term In business, you have two different kinds of expenses: capital expenses and operational expenses. The capital expenses are large, up-front costs that are generally not prepared for. They might include something like purchasing a new server unit when your previous one experiences hardware failure. This large cost might be just enough to break the bank of your business for several months, depending on the severity and size of the expenditure. What if you could transform that into an operational expense, where you proactively maintain your IT to minimize failures? That?s where managed services come in. Rather than spending a ton of money on things up-front, managed services give your business the ability to essentially pay an affordable monthly rate for services or goods rendered. Think of it like the Netflix of IT; you pay the managed service provider per your service agreement and you get the goods, so to speak. It?s a great way to make the large, up-front costs associated with doing business that much more affordable. And we all know that small businesses don?t have the same budget as a large enterprise, but you shouldn?t let that stop you from trying to leverage the same powerful tools and services they use. Scalable to Fit Your Business? Needs One of the best parts of working with a managed service provider is that the services rendered are all scalable to suit the needs of your business. We understand that one size does not necessarily fit all, especially where your budget and its needs are concerned. Furthermore, not all businesses need enterprise-grade email management or web hosting, and so on. We always strive to help your organization make the best technology decisions possible. White Mountain IT Services can provide your organization with top-notch managed services to help you make technology management as easy and stress-free as possible. To learn more about what we can do for your business, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.