Recent Blog Posts
VoIP, either hosted locally or in the cloud, can bring any business a solid ROI because you use a resource that your company already has in place, your Internet connection to send and receive calls. Antiquated Strategies and Technologies If you?re still relying on the traditional telephone system of yesteryear, you could be making your job more difficult than it needs to be. Businesses that still use traditional telephone systems have limited ability to grow and expand. Adding new users can mean adding new telephone lines and extensions, a process that?s not necessarily easy. The most logical course of action is to figure out how your business can get away from traditional telephone providers. After all, these are the same organizations that are known to provide bundles filled with services you don?t need. Plus, running telephone wires and adding new users or phone numbers can be quite the hassle, one that you don?t have to worry about with a more dynamic solution. Get a Cutting-Edge Telephone System With great new features that put traditional telephony to shame, VoIP is a sustainable and investment-worthy technology for any business, small or large. VoIP uses your Internet connection rather than a traditional telephone line to function, giving any device with a VoIP application and an Internet connection the ability to work like a phone. Since VoIP only needs your Internet connection, you?re essentially eliminating mobile expenses from your budget. To learn more about how else your organization can benefit from VoIP, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.
Zoom?s 90-Day Security Plan On April 1, 2020, Zoom announced that it had a 90-day plan to address the numerous security concerns and criticisms that had plagued many users. The crux of the issue was that Zoom links were commonly being shared on social media? effectively opening these meetings to anyone who could find that link. As a result, the concept of ?Zoombombing??unauthorized users hijacking meetings and sharing offensive content?was born. After numerous attacks were waged against organizations of all kinds, Zoom saw that it needed to make some changes. Therefore, on April 1st, the company announced that it would be pausing any new features to focus specifically on those related to the platform?s security. These include: Passwords are now required to access all meetings Waiting Rooms (a space where a meeting?s guests had to wait to be approved by the host) are enabled by default The default settings only enable the host to share their screen Furthermore, Zoom?s acquisition of Keybase has enabled them to incorporate end-to-end encryption. Other internal changes are also now in place including a bug bounty program, deeper penetration testing, and other security improvements. Some Brief Controversy However, Zoom has not escaped all criticism as it has made these changes. In June, CEO Eric Yuan shared that the end-to-end encryption feature would be exclusive to paying users. Once users and security advocates alike spoke out about this policy, Zoom quickly walked this policy back. While it is still rolling out this capacity, and it may interfere with some other features, Zoom is also actively planning for the future with its next improvements already planned out. So, is Zoom Safe to Use? Compared to where it was? Absolutely. However, you may still want to take what you plan on communicating into account when deciding whether to use Zoom for certain conversations, just to be safe. Erring on the side of caution is always the better option when your business communications are involved. Whatever your business? technology needs may be, White Mountain IT Services can help you find and implement the solutions to fulfill them. To learn more about what we have to offer, give us a call at (603) 889-0800 today.
Security Steps Let?s face it, your business? cybersecurity starts and ends with your staff. They need simple, practical directions to follow or they simply won?t pay any mind to it. You don?t want to be the business that deals with significant turnover because security tasks are so demanding that their employees would rather work elsewhere. You will want to take the time to go through every part of your IT and brainstorm potential problems. You will address situations such as: What qualifies as confidential data, when and how this data is to be shared, best practices and requirements for storage and access credentials How devices used for work are to be maintained and handled, which devices may be approved for use, how to get a device approved How employees are required to go about transferring data, remote work policies, threat reporting processes Understanding the potential problems your business faces can go a long way toward dictating where you need to invest capital on the security side. Prioritize Training Many businesses are still not training their employees even though up to 94 percent of all cyberthreats that come in are due to employee error, negligence, or sabotage. As a result, it?s extremely important to have a comprehensive security training platform in place. You need to teach your employees about phishing, about social engineering tactics, and about data care. Use Innovative Tools There are a lot of businesses that have a lot of security measures that they use to mitigate problems such as data theft, intrusion, and especially malware deployment. These solutions can be had in a comprehensive security suite that includes firewall, antivirus, content filtering, spam blocker and more. To learn more about the powerful security tools your business can implement to keep malware and other threats off your network, call the IT security experts at White Mountain IT Services today at (603) 889-0800.
The fact is that everyone has those devices that they use once in a great while, whether they?re for personal use or for professional purposes. Consider a video camera: for many individuals, it only comes out at birthdays or events, and oftentimes, the same can be said of those that businesses keep on hand. However, the batteries that power video cameras?and a great many other devices, for that matter?simply weren?t designed to sit idly by and go unused for long periods of time. The battery could see its life diminished, or even explode. With that in mind, consider how many rechargeable devices you have that you haven?t touched for some time, and the potential risk that?s just sitting there. How to Safely Store Rechargeable Devices Whenever these devices are to be stored for extended periods of time, the recommendation is to do so with them hovering at about 50 percent battery life. They should be taken out and refreshed once every three to six months and should always be kept someplace cool and dry. If the battery hasn?t been used in some time, make sure to double-check that it isn?t damaged before you try to use it. If it turns out to be time to dispose of it, you need to ensure that you are doing so properly. On the topic, devices like smartphones, laptops, and tablets follow a few different rules. These devices will only lose potential battery life after being completely expended and recharged around 500 times. Furthermore, they can be left plugged in without damaging the battery or contributing to the 500-recharge limit. Why Should a Business Care? We?ve already gone over the potential risk that all your personal devices could potentially pose. Now, take a moment to consider how many devices are stored in the office, and how much these devices could cost to replace. To avoid this expensive circumstance, you need to be sure that your technology is properly maintained so that you have it when you need it. It also doesn?t hurt to have somewhere to turn when it does need repairs or replacement. Turn to White Mountain IT Services and our team of experienced professionals. Find out what we can do to benefit your business? technology by calling (603) 889-0800.
Disadvantages of Mobile We all know the advantages of mobile devices, but what isn?t always discussed are the negatives of using mobile platforms for your business. Let?s start with security. Mobile devices are susceptible to many of the same problems that PCs can have. Users will visit scam websites and click on links and attachments that they shouldn?t be clicking on, jeopardizing the mobile device and any computer network it comes into contact with. Cybercriminals also work to intercept wireless communications and can steal data and gain access to secure accounts in this manner. These are not the only ways mobile can bring problems into your organization. Sometimes it can be a corrupted application that can be the culprit, and if mobile apps aren?t patched and updated, vulnerabilities in these platforms can give hackers the opportunity they need. There is no bigger problem with mobile devices than the fact that there are simply more endpoints to manage. An organization that once had 25 workstations, now has 25 workstations and 25 mobile devices to manage. Add in the consideration that most of the mobile devices that are being used for work belong to the user and not the company, with multiple operating systems to consider, and it creates a complex, often convoluted situation for IT admins. Bring Your Own Device Most businesses, especially SMBs, don?t have the available capital to outfit their whole workforce with company-owned mobile devices. Some will subsidize the purchase of one or pay the worker?s monthly bill, but by-in-large, the purchase of a mobile device is left to the user. As a result, most businesses today have had no choice but to make contingencies for their employees? smartphones. For a while, businesses tried to implement policies reducing smartphone use in the office, but over time it became clear that the more connected a worker is, the more likely they would be willing to do more work, more often. To support all these employee smartphones?and, to a lesser extent, wearable technology?businesses started implementing Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies. Instead of outlawing the use of mobile devices in the workplace, now users could bring their devices to work so long as they used them according to a set of rules created by the organization. Opting into the BYOD policy would allow employees to access certain company-hosted data and applications while granting the organization?s IT administrators access to the mobile device. Mobile Management Once the employee opts into the BYOD policy, mobile management begins. People tend to have bits of their entire lives on their phones, so opting into a platform that gives other people access to its contents is no small ask. Fortunately, there have been developments that provide some assurances to both the company and the mobile device?s owner, who likely forked over a couple of weeks? worth of pay to purchase that device. Today?s mobile management platforms are feature-rich, allowing administrators to manage the security of data and applications, manage access to company-hosted software and resources, track the device, remotely troubleshoot or wipe the device, and more. Additionally, for organizations that have to consider how their data moves to keep in line with any compliance regulations, a mobile device management platform provides assurances that employees aren?t playing fast and loose with sensitive information. Compliance standards like […]
