SonicWall, along with Mandiant and other trusted third parties, worked to determine the nature of the threat. This threat uses stolen credentials to install ransomware on vulnerable devices, and since it is described as ?imminent,? you know it?s bad. If you don?t take immediate action, ransomware threats could become extremely problematic for your organization. SonicWall has been in communication with its affected customers to inform them of the vulnerability. There is a spot of good news here, though. The vulnerability that allows these vulnerabilities to be taken advantage of is in an older version of the firmware, so those who are using more recent versions of the firmware should have had it already patched. SonicWall details this in its notice:  ?SonicWall PSIRT strongly suggests that organizations still using 8.x firmware review the information below and take immediate action.? In this case, SonicWall is detailing the devices that are affected by the vulnerability, how they are affected, and their recommended course of action. If the device has reached its end of life, SonicWall urges companies to take the device offline and reset all of its associated credentials, but if devices are still supported, then updating the firmware should be enough to shore up the vulnerability. In addition, SonicWall also urges users to change passwords and enable multi-factor authentication. Anyone using legacy technology knows the struggle of upgrading away from it to more recent hardware, and SonicWall is prepared for this. SonicWall issued this statement for customers who just can?t seem to let go of their older technology: ?To provide a transition path for customers with end-of-life devices that cannot upgrade to 9.x or 10.x firmware, we?re providing a complimentary virtual SMA 500v until October 31, 2021. This should provide sufficient time to transition to a product that is actively maintained.? This is, of course, a short-term fix; the long-term fix is to equip yourself with new hardware. These threats that take advantage of unsupported firmware and software that have reached their end of life are not particularly uncommon, so it?s important that your organization makes plans to upgrade away from technology that is creeping up on its end of life. If you don?t do this, you?ll get situations like the above where hackers start taking advantage of unsupported technology, thereby putting your company at risk. **Keep in mind, if we?re managing your IT and cybersecurity infrastructure, we?re handling all of your security updates. If you aren?t sure, reach out to us to ensure your agreement covers this type of support.** If you have any questions or concerns about unsupported software or maintaining your technology infrastructure as a whole, White Mountain IT Services is happy to help. To learn more about how we can make managing your technology easier, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.

Lack of Business Alignment While those in charge specialize in managing people and resources, many managers lack the technical expertise to know when a new technology solution will be a viable way to resolve operational issues within the company. That said, without the backing of management or the c-suite, new technology deployment initiatives are doomed to fail, or at least be implemented at a loss?the exact situation that we are trying to avoid here. Therefore, it becomes critical that you set up a policy that all new and important IT decisions have the full clearance and support of management before they can get off the ground. Furthermore, these projects should have periodic reviews and status updates to ensure that the solution and workflows themselves align with the business? goals and objectives. Cost Control Many IT projects fall behind or fail completely due to a lack of funding or financial commitment throughout the deployment process. Maybe there is a shift that occurs which forces you to reconsider the project itself, or maybe your short-term priorities change which pulls your attention away from implementing a new technology project. Sometimes the cost simply exceeds the perceived budget. Whatever the reason, IT projects are frequently one of the first expenses to get cut when a cut is deemed necessary?especially if there is not a specific operational issue that is holding back business as usual. To keep the price tag from being a sticking point for your IT project deployment, it helps to expect the worst when planning out an implementation. Once you have an estimate, then proceed as planned. With this worst-case scenario in mind, you have nowhere to go but to save money. And remember, don?t start a project until you are sure you have the funds to follow through with it. Bad Communication If communication is lacking during the deployment process, your IT project will not succeed. Period. You will need to communicate both effectively and efficiently with stakeholders, management, and the project team to ensure that your deployment is successful. It only takes one person being off base to throw off a deployment process. To prevent this, you should have the groundwork for proper communication in place before the project begins. There are so many communication platforms to choose from that one will surely suit the needs of your organization. Some of the most effective tools for project management include video conferencing or instant messaging. Poor Project Management The most important part of ensuring your IT project makes it off the ground is by assigning the appropriate project manager or management team. This involves not only the management of the tools and management of the project, but also managing the expectations and duties of everyone on the project team. It is important that project managers and anyone else involved in the higher-level decision-making process have grounded expectations for the project. If the project manager?s goals are too optimistic, there is a very real chance that the project will fail to achieve expectations, leading to the disappointment of all involved. If you are unable to get an experienced project manager in-house, White Mountain IT Services can help. Our trusted technicians can help your business with comprehensive IT project management from start to finish, whether you need help procuring technology or deploying it to your infrastructure. […]

Before we jump in, we just want to say that a lot of the problems associated with a dying battery can be contributed by the age of the battery itself. Older smartphones might have the ability to swap out batteries, but you may have noticed that recent models do not have the removable battery, forcing you to upgrade to a new device rather than just purchasing a new battery. If you do wind up upgrading to a new device, White Mountain IT Services can help make this process easy and painless. But first, try out these tips to get maximum life from your battery. Turn Down Your Screen?s Brightness While modern smartphones have pretty great-looking screens and high resolutions, this directly correlates to more battery consumption throughout the day?at least while the screen is on. You can reduce this somewhat by simply lowering the brightness of your screen or reducing the amount of time that it?s lit up. Try to Avoid Using Media Excessive use of applications and media can drain your battery, especially games and high-quality video streaming. To minimize battery usage for these, consider limiting your use of these applications unless you really need them. Turn Off Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, and Location Services Services like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, and Location Services are all great to have enabled? when you need to use them, at least. When you?re not actively using them, they can put an unnecessary burden on your battery?s life. Plus, depending on your location, you could potentially put your device at risk of security issues as a result of using them. Better to just disable them when they are not in use. Turn Off Mobile Data Similar to Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and location services, your phone is always looking to stay connected, and when it?s looking for service, it?s draining your battery. Turn off your mobile data to save a little bit of battery life. Plus, this benefit can compound, as when you have your mobile data turned off, you likely won?t be consuming any high-quality media or wasting battery power on apps. Just Put Your Phone Down We get it?as a business owner, it?s hard to put down the phone and not worry about who?s trying to get ahold of you or how many emails are in your inbox. But we promise that those messages and missed calls can wait until you are in the office and on the clock. Sometimes it?s good to slow down and set your phone down. The less you use your phone, the less battery you will consume, contributing to its longevity in both the short and long term. Did you find this blog helpful? Let us know in the comments below and share it out to people who might get some value out of it.

There are two big issues that you really need to focus your training around in order to fully prepare your team for success: employee noncompliance and process issues. Let?s examine each of these factors in greater detail. Employee Noncompliance There are various ways that your employees can show themselves to be noncompliant. For instance: A lack of regulatory knowledge amongst your team members concerning things like IT security, workplace safety, and other considerations is indicative that there is likely some level of noncompliance present. After all, it helps to know how to remain compliant if you?re going to. If new regulations and other requirements are met with surprise?and likely resistance?your team likely hasn?t been keeping up with the requirements that currently apply to them. If your established processes aren?t going smoothly, your team likely isn?t organized enough to meet the compliance requirements that laws and regulations will require of your business. If errors abound in your business, it?s a sign that your team lacks the training to avoid these issues. Process Issues Likewise, various issues occurring in your business? processes and procedures should serve as a sign that more training is required. There is no outlined process for your business? goals or procedures for your team to follow, leading to scattered and disorganized progress. Mismanagement and ineffective scheduling results in postponed work and missed deadlines. Those team members involved in business projects aren?t communicating effectively, leading to miscommunications and frustration. Of course, on top of all these issues and the training needed to resolve them, there are also the somewhat-expected technology issues to take care of. Whether you need assistance with your processes, your compliance, or your IT maintenance, White Mountain IT Services can help advise you. Give us a call at (603) 889-0800 to learn more.

Where Did the Konami Code Come From? Back in 1986, the video game company Konami released a home version of the arcade game Gradius playable on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). However, in order to test the game out throughout its development for the NES, the entire game needed to be played through, each time. The developer responsible for the game, Kazuhisa Hashimoto, found this far more frustrating than it should have been. To fix this, Hashimoto created a cheat code to simplify his process that?by unlocking every power-up that would otherwise be granted throughout the game?made it much easier to move along to the point that needed to be tested. The thing is, the code was never removed as it should have been before its release, as its inclusion wasn?t caught until it was too far into production to remove it without creating additional glitches to deal with. Fortunately, the Up-Up-Down-Down-Left-Right-Left-Right-B-A-Select-Start combination wasn?t one that a user would be apt to put in unless they intended to. However, the code was quickly discovered, and since then has been purposefully included in numerous games. More to our point, it has also appeared elsewhere, firmly cementing itself into pop culture. Other Places the Konami Code Has Since Emerged In addition to Gradius, the Konami Code has appeared in dozens of other games. One particularly famous example is the use of the Konami Code in the game Contra, where the player would receive 30 extra lives. This is just one example of the many, many games that have incorporated the Konami Code into their gameplay in one way or another. In addition to these appearances, the Konami Code has been referenced in many pieces of popular culture outside of the video game world. Somewhat recently, it served as a major plot point in the movie Wreck-It Ralph, was encoded in the background of an episode of the animated spy series Archer, and has been recited in an episode of Family Guy. Of course, it has also been heavily utilized by various websites and services as an Easter egg of sorts. Reciting it to the Google Assistant or Amazon?s Alexa will trigger one of a few responses from the assistants, and entering it into an Error 404 page on Discord will start a game of snake. So, if you ever come across the combination Up-Up-Down-Down-Left-Right-Left-Right-B-A-Select-Start, now you know what it is and where it came from. Have you ever stumbled across the Konami Code before? Share it with us in the comments, and make sure you subscribe to our blog.