Recent Blog Posts

It Can Be Unsettling to Think What Headphones Go Through Apologies in advance, but headphones can get pretty gross. First of all, ears can sweat, and likely will if your headphones are on all day (as they probably will be). Second, ears generate wax, and that wax often winds up in or on a person?s headphones. Third, it has been shown that headphones and earbuds help promote the growth of bacteria in the ear and can even carry strains in and out. Again, gross. So, you want to be sure that the headphones you?re wearing are clean. How to do so properly depends on the kind of headphone you are wearing. Here?s how to safely clean the two types of headphones you?ll see in the office. Cleaning Over-Ear Headphones Gather your cleaning supplies: Isopropyl alcohol (70 percent alcohol or higher) A clean, soft, dampened cloth A clean, dry cloth Cotton balls Optionally, electronic dust-cleaning gel When cleaning your over-ear headphones, your first step should be to check if the earpieces can be removed. Some brands incorporate this feature specifically to simplify the cleaning process. It?s okay if they don?t, but you?ll need to be extra careful. Once you have your supplies, follow this process: Remove the earpieces from the headphones, if possible Using the damp cloth, wipe away as much grime as you can from the earpieces and rest of the headphones in general Using the clean cloth and alcohol, wipe down the earpieces and rest of the headphones Dampen a cotton ball with alcohol and clean any small areas the cloth couldn?t reach Fully extend the headphones and use your cloth and alcohol to clean the frame, focusing on where you grab the headphone and any buttons or dials Dampen a cotton ball with alcohol and gently wipe the speaker mesh. Clean the microphone, too, if there is one Wipe down all cables with rubbing alcohol Once the headphones dry fully, it will be safe to reassemble and use them. Cleaning In-Ear Headphones and Earbuds Gather your supplies: Isopropyl alcohol (70 percent alcohol or higher) A clean, soft, dampened cloth A clean dry cloth Cotton balls A toothpick Optionally, electronic dust-cleaning gel Considering how in-ear headphones reach deeper into the ear, hygiene becomes even more important. The first step to cleaning this variety is to check if there are removable silicone tips on them. If so, remove them and clean them with soap and water. Let them air-dry as you clean the headphones themselves. Foam covers can also be removed and cleaned with the alcohol, or with some soap and water. After this is done, follow this process: Wipe down the whole unit with the damp cloth Carefully remove any gunk from the speaker mesh with the toothpick If using, heat up the electronic dust-cleaning gel in your hands and dab the speaker mesh to clean it Using the clean cloth and isopropyl alcohol, wipe down the whole unit Dampen a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol and wipe the speaker mesh Wipe down any cables with the cloth and alcohol and let air dry. Hopefully, this will help you keep your necessary equipment clean. We can help keep your equipment operational. Find out more by calling (603) 889-0800.

Expel published a report revealing the most common subject lines used in phishing emails, all of which encourage the reader to take some sort of action. This is problematic, especially for employees who don?t typically tend to think twice before downloading an attachment or clicking on a link. Expel looked at 10,000 known malicious emails and put together a list of keywords used in phishing emails. The fact that most of them have a sense of urgency should come as no surprise, as this tactic has been used in phishing attacks since their inception. Plus, this is a tactic also utilized in marketing emails, so hackers can blur the lines a bit and create uncertainty in this way. Ben Brigida, Director and SOC of Operations at Expel, had this to say regarding the matter: “Attackers are trying to trick people into giving them their credentials. The best way to do this is to make the email look legitimate, prompt one clear action and lace it with emotion – urgency or fear of loss are the most common? The actions are as simple as ‘go to this site’ or ‘open this file,’ but the attacker wants you to be moving too fast to stop and question if it’s legitimate.? Basically, the simpler and more direct the phishing email is, the easier time a hacker has in pulling it off. This idea is reflected in the keywords. You might notice that not only are they simple, but they also mimic emails sent from legitimate businesses. Here are three of the most common ones: RE: INVOICE Missing Inv ####; From [Legitimate Business Name] INV#### These subject lines tap into the fear that one might have of missing a payment, something which can be problematic for a small business that relies on goods or services to stay operational. Rather than take a step back and question these messages, users will simply make the payment. Plus, when you consider the sheer amount of invoices or messages sent out by automatic systems, this type of language is not necessarily a red flag. Some other common phishing subject lines might include the words ?required,? ?verification required,? file sharing, action requirements, or service requests. The tags that sometimes get assigned to emails in inboxes also don?t help, as employees might see the word ?new? next to a message and impulsively click on it. If you want to take your network security seriously and stop phishing emails in their tracks, White Mountain IT Services can help. To learn more, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.

The Latest Is the Greatest Some folks have a mindset that the latest version of a particular piece of technology will be the greatest thing since sliced bread, and while it?s true that software and hardware have come a long way in the past decade or so, the idea of ?new = better? is not necessarily the most accurate. There are many businesses that cling to old technology simply due to the fact that the new technology is not as compatible with their legacy applications to the extent they need it to. This is not really an excuse, but just one example of why the latest might not be ideal for some companies. This does not mean they are out of options, though. Modern technology does offer certain outs, but you will need to ask yourself whether or not the technology addresses your organization?s specific needs and if the implementation is worth it. My Staff Know How to Use Technology Employers often believe that the people they hire to fulfill a certain task will be able to adapt to the use of technology in the blink of an eye. All it takes is a short tutorial and they?re on their way to making you money, right? Wrong. Some people have enough intuition to pick up technology like this, but it?s dangerous to assume too much, especially for productivity. Many employers are under the impression that young people, too, have greater technology skills than their older contemporaries, but again, this is not the reality. You should provide adequate training to all employees who are using technology for your business so that everyone has minimum baseline knowledge of what they are doing. It Can?t Happen to Me This is perhaps one of the most fatal unrealistic expectations to have. You see the stories in the news all the time with headlines detailing hacking attacks and other issues that threaten operational continuity. SMBs often have a mindset that these types of problems are so large-scale that they can?t possibly be targets, but they are wrong. All businesses must be prepared to handle a hacking attack, no matter their number of employees or clients serviced. Don?t let your unrealistic expectations for your technology sink your chances of being productive with it. To learn more about how you can achieve great things through the use of business technology, subscribe to White Mountain IT Services?s blog.

What Leads to Burnout? There are a lot of different factors that can contribute to your team members experiencing burnout: Too Much Work It shouldn?t be any surprise that having too much on their plate will wear your team members down? especially if this situation is the standard in the office. Overwork not only diminishes how effective your team can be, it can have significant impacts on their health and wellness. How significant? Well, according to the World Health Organization, long working hours contributed to 745,000 deaths in 2016 through a variety of factors. Clearly, overwork is a significant issue, so if you can identify that it is affecting your team, you need to do what you can to rectify that. Lack of Workplace Recognition In addition to paying employees what they are worth to your company through their contributions as a form of recognition, they will also want to see that recognition come more directly from both management and their peers. Otherwise, there?s little to motivate them to accomplish all they can. Lack of Control People like to have some level of self-determination at work, so if that?s missing in the work environment they can quickly lose their motivation. Micromanaging and overly restrictive scheduling for the sake of oversight can help to fan the flames of burnout. How would you feel if someone was constantly hovering over your shoulder and judging every move you make? Put your employees in the same shoes, and it isn?t hard to imagine that they may not be all that motivated as a result, Unfair Treatment At this point, it should be clear that the workplace environment itself is a major contributor to burnout, more than the work itself usually is. If there are inherent discrepancies in how different employees are treated?even if they are only perceived?problems will come about. Of course, other forms of bias and discrimination is even worse, and needs to be rooted out as well. Poor Workplace Relationships Let?s look at things from your perspective again: how motivated would you be to spend hours of your day with people you hardly know (or worse, don?t particularly care for), having to work with them to accomplish a common goal? Your employees will feel the same way. After a while, this kind of environment will sap their motivation to do anything over the bare minimum. What Can You Do to Minimize the Frequency of Burnout? Now that we?ve identified some of the causes of burnout in your employees, let?s go over a few ways you can help them bounce back. Know the Signs The first thing you need to know to help minimize the burnout your team experiences is that your team members are burnt out in the first place. Are your employees having issues concentrating? Acting irritable with their coworkers? Complaining about aches and pains, or not sleeping well? Are they less likely to feel proud of what they?ve accomplished? If so, they?re likely suffering from some level of burnout, making your ability to spot these signs as they persist absolutely crucial. Identify Where It Comes From So, let?s assume you?ve spotted some of the warning signs in one of your team members. The next step to resolving burnout is to figure out where the stress that is contributing to their […]

TangleBot is a malware that allows hackers to gain full control over the infected device, allowing them to steal personal information and other important credentials. Once the malware is installed on the infected device, attackers gain several permissions, including the ability to spy on communications with the device as well as use of applications like the camera, the device?s location, listening in through the microphone, and more. Suffice to say that this malware is capable of doing a lot of harm, especially since it has permissions to do so much. It can essentially monitor and record just about all user activity, from websites visited to credentials entered to recording video and listening to audio.  This particular brand of malware spreads through text messages and infected links sent to the device. The user is encouraged to click on a link referencing the subject of the SMS message, usually something related to the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination appointments or local power outages. After the user follows the link, they go through a series of messages allowing the attacker privileges that no applications on your phone should allow. As you might suspect, many of the best practices that keep your users safe can also be used to secure your company from mobile malware. Using a bit of scrutiny when handling suspicious links can go a long way toward keeping your organization as secure as possible, but only if you encourage your staff to always be wary of what they are clicking on, both on the desktop and on the mobile device. These practices are especially important in today?s workplace environment where many organizations have employees who are working remotely either part of the time or full-time, and especially important if the devices are company-owned and used to access sensitive workplace data. There are ways to secure devices that involve whitelisting and blacklisting various apps, including the ability to disable installing applications via links. In general, employees should be advised not to download applications that are not approved? particularly those that allow for insane amounts of permissions. White Mountain IT Services can help train your employees to identify and avoid threats of all kinds. Furthermore, we can equip your company with the tools needed to prevent infections and keep threats to a minimum. To learn more, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.