Are You Paying Attention to Your Needs When You Add Technology?

Technology is becoming a standard tool used by nearly every organization. Learning how to adjust and do things better allows any organization to maximize productivity. In doing so, it creates the environment needed to become a more successful business. But, can innovation actually be a productivity killer? This month, we look at how innovating may not always be the best way to get your business to go where you want it to go.

How to Transition to or Establish a New Office Location

It’s always exciting when you can expand your business’ influence with a new location, but this excitement brings with it all kinds of complications. There’s always something, whether it’s the technology for the new location or the logistics surrounding the opening. Let’s look at how you can make sure that technology is not the thing that holds your business back from opening a new location.

Strategies to Control Your Passwords

Passwords are the keys to digital access, but they’re often not treated as keys; meaning they aren’t always protected by their users. Unfortunately, people don’t always do everything they can to protect their passwords and there are a lot more scammers out there than pickpockets. Effective password management is crucial for any business. It works to maintain the security of online accounts and sensitive information. Here are five ways to control and enhance your password management. Use Strong and Unique Passwords Create strong passwords that include a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. You’ll want to avoid using easily guessable information such as birthdays, names, or common words while also making sure that each of your passwords is unique for different accounts to prevent a security breach in one account from affecting others. Implement a Password Manager The password manager is a great tool to let users generate, store, and organize complex passwords for each of their accounts. The best thing about them is that they promote the use of complex and unique passwords for each site, reducing the temptation to reuse passwords across multiple platforms, and improving data security. Additionally, many password managers also offer features like secure password sharing and auditing tools to ensure passwords meet certain security criteria. Enable Multi-Factor Authentication IT administrators and users will want to enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) whenever possible. This option adds an extra layer of security by requiring a second form of verification, such as a code sent to your mobile device or generated by an app. MFA ensures that even if a password is thought to be compromised, the unauthorized party wouldn’t be able to access the digital resources beyond the MFA-protected account Regularly Update and Change Passwords Passwords are the major tool used to protect organizational and personal data. In order to do that, you have to make sure they don’t get stale. Set a schedule to update your passwords regularly, especially for critical accounts. If you find out a service you use has been compromised, you need to make sure to change the password immediately.  Educate Yourself and Stay Informed It’s a good practice to stay informed about the latest cybersecurity threats such as advancements to phishing attacks or other scams that are going around. Everyone should be cautious of malicious websites and questionable correspondence that may try to trick you into revealing your login credentials or getting you to interact with files that deploy malicious code.  Remember, the goal is to create a robust defense against unauthorized access. By working toward more secure strategies, your organization can be much more secure. If you would like to learn more about how White Mountain IT Services can augment your organization’s data security efforts, contact us today at (603) 889-0800.

Is Free Antivirus Good Enough?

If you are old enough to remember when antivirus (like most computer software) came in a great big textbook-sized box at the store, then you probably remember a time when that was the only protection you really needed. Today, there are countless free versions of antivirus out there. Let’s talk about how much protection these actually bring, and when and where they might be a good fit.

Four Ways Your Business Can Benefit from the Cloud This Year

Through cloud-based technology, your business can change the way it operates in countless different ways, all of which can benefit you in the long run. If you haven’t yet considered cloud-based solutions for infrastructure, then you could be missing out on some of the greatest innovations of the past decade. Here are some ways your business can start to leverage the cloud to its advantage.