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What Makes a Routine So Beneficial? Assuming that a routine is set up properly, it can bring many advantages to the workplace. Here are some variables to consider: Consistency It stands to reason that, by approaching a task, in the same way, each time you do it, you can expect to get the same results. This means that, if you find a means of completing a task that brings the most benefit, you can adopt that means as your set process to repeat that result in the future. Time Savings While any process will have a bit of a learning curve, its gradual familiarity will ultimately boost its inherent efficiency. Therefore, if this routine process is developed into standard business practice, the speed at which this practice can be completed will increase, and productivity will rise. Simplification We?ve all found ourselves doing a repetitive task before. Chances are, you found yourself being able to produce the same results in less time and with less difficulty. As a result, your employees can use a routine to improve their productivity without added stress. Therefore, a process is beneficial to both the employee and the employer, so it only makes sense that you would want to increase your use of them in your own operations. To assist you in doing so, we?ve put together a few best practices. Developing Your Own Routines Good workplace habits aren?t terribly difficult to put into place. Start before the work day does. Waking up correctly and preparing yourself properly has a predictably positive impact on how the rest of your day will go. Make sure you get enough rest before the workday by going to bed and waking up at a consistent time. Start your day by making your bed. The small accomplishment can help to frame your day for success. Take a few moments to arrange the day?s priorities in your mind before you leave. Building habits like these can ensure that your days are primed to be productive and worthwhile. Take control of your workday. Once in ?the office,? your efforts need to be focused on how to best accomplish your goals. Look at your schedule as a tool to help you accomplish your goals, rather than a list of obligations. Resist postponing tasks that are arduous or frustrating. Like making the bed, completing them early on can make you feel better about your day. Group similar tasks together to prevent having to shift your train of thought repeatedly. Limit the amount of times you do semi-productive tasks, like checking your emails. These behaviors can help you make the most of your available time. Disconnect and reset yourself when work is over. As they say, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Take some time to refresh after the long day and invest in yourself. Look over the day?s accomplishments and separate yourself from any issues that you can. Instead of zoning out in front of the television, take some time on a personal hobby or activity. Establish a regular bedtime routine to end the day on a pleasant note and prime yourself for the next. With a bit of tweaking, you?ll soon find yourself in the best mindset to work each day. What routines have you found helpful in your life? […]

Tips For Working From Home Here are some tips to promote safe remote working, All of these are equally important.    1.  Make sure you understand best practices. Now more than ever it?s important for you to stay up to date on cybersecurity. If your organization has an ongoing training program, make sure you?re actively participating. Scams like phishing only INCREASE when employees are working remotely ? you must stay in the know on current threats and best practices. 2.  Make sure you understand your organization?s policies and procedures. If you?re working remotely, your organization should have a Remote Work Policy. Make sure you have read and understood that policy and what is expected of you. You should also continue following ALL company policies and procedures as if you were in the office. 3.  Don?t use public Wi-Fi for work. Work should be done from a secured network, preferably in a home environment and with company equipment. It is also highly recommended that you connect to your company?s network with a Virtual Private Network (VPN). If you are unsure of how to do that, contact your supervisor or IT for more information. 4.  Keep all software up to date. Updates/patches are often released to address security flaws and other loopholes or risk factors. Keeping all devices updated is critical in preventing unauthorized access. 5.  If possible, use only company-issued devices for work. Do not let friends or family members use your company-issued device. 6.  Do not use your company-issued device for personal use. It is advised to stay off social media, shopping sites, or any other websites you may visit in your free time when using a company-issued device. Only do secure, company work on company devices and time. 7.  Be mindful of where you save files and data. Do not save files on your local or personal hard drives that may be more likely to be breached. 8.  Back up your files. If you?re unsure of your company?s backup procedure, contact your supervisor or IT. It is very important to back up your work that way if a local loss occurs, data can be more easily recovered. 9. Use strong, unique passwords. Make sure your passwords for your device and all of your accounts are strong and unique. Never reuse the same password across multiple accounts, and do not share your passwords with others. 10.  Lock screens when not in use. This helps limit any unauthorized access to the information you may still have open on your system.    

Let?s review some of these factors. Personally-Owned Technology Just as in the workplace itself, personal devices are a major risk factor when an employee is working from home. Consider the activities that are typically done on a workstation, as compared to those that are typically done on the personal computer. They are very different. While a workstation generally requires access to a relatively limited number of resources, websites, and programs, a lot more is comparatively done on a personal device. Online shopping, casual browsing, and social networking are far more common, which can all open up a system to more threats. You also have to consider that the average employee isn?t going to be prone to securing their own devices? at least, not in comparison to how their workplace devices should be secured. Furthermore, because many employees are likely to use a personal device, they will need to have some means of accessing your company?s resources. This is commonly accomplished through the use of remote access software. However, this software is frequently targeted by cybercriminals, putting the company at risk. Insecure Connections On a related note, your employees are going to need access to your network in order to work remotely (or access to the Internet, at the very least). Yet, the same issue with personally-owned technology bleeds over into the connections that your employees use. Network connections in the home, as we?ve already established, simply aren?t going to be nearly as secure as the ones that are accessible in the office as the same standards aren?t being enforced. Budget routers and modems will typically feature a lack of integrated security and support from the manufacturer, as do the connected devices that are found everywhere nowadays.  If this inherent insecurity isn?t resolved by additional measures and best practices, attackers can take advantage of it. Publicly-accessible hotspots and some home networks feature minimal protections and are therefore insufficient for professional use as well. Fake Wi-Fi networks are common amongst attackers as a means of fooling their targets into leaving themselves vulnerable. User Behaviors Finally, you also need to consider how your employees are treating their security. The concept of phishing attacks and spoofing isn?t exactly top-of-mind when someone is at home, but the threats are still there. You need to be sure that your team understands that all the same security policies and procedures are going to be in place while they work remotely, and actually become even more important. Unfortunately, while it is less common than one might initially assume, employee misconduct is something that needs to be considered whenever remote work is implemented. Whether an employee is slacking off throughout the day, or even going rogue, you need to be sure that your employees are sufficiently monitored to catch (and ideally mitigate) these threats. As a managed service provider, White Mountain IT Services is here to assist your business. That doesn?t change just because your team may not be in the office. For help in putting the solutions in place that can minimize these risks, reach out to our team at (603) 889-0800.

What follows are the measures that the major providers are now enacting via their offers to their customers. AT&T Late payments no longer incur fees or termination of service AT&T hotspots are now publicly accessible Eliminated data caps and overage fees Comcast Late payments no longer incur fees or termination of service Comcast hotspots are now publicly accessible Comcast?s 1TB data cap is paused Data speeds are boosted to 25/3 megabits per second All new and existing Internet Essentials customers get two months of complimentary service Spectrum Two months of 100Mbps broadband and Wi-Fi is free to households with kids still in school or college Spectrum hotspots are now publicly accessible T-Mobile (Including Sprint, Post-Merger) Late payments no longer incur fees or termination of service Unlimited data and 20GB of hotspot data Free calls to select countries impacted by COVID-19 Verizon Late payments no longer incur fees or termination of service for residences or small businesses Verizon hotspots are now publicly accessible The shift to 5G service has been accelerated Of course, there is no guarantee that these changes will continue once the coronavirus situation has been reduced or resolved. However, there is no telling how consumers will react to returning to how things once were–so there may be some prospect of these changes becoming a little more permanent. How has your business coped with the effects of the coronavirus outbreak? Tell us in the comments!

Crypto Ransomware Crypto ransomware works via a particularly insidious approach: it encrypts each of your files individually, ensuring that your access is completely blocked. Then, as any ransomware would, it starts a timer that counts down to when all of these files are set to be deleted. When someone is targeted by crypto ransomware, the only real option is to completely wipe the system and restore from a backup. We will never recommend that someone pays a ransomware demand, as there is no guarantee that even paying it will result in the return of your files. This is part of the reason that we always encourage businesses to keep a backup in the cloud. Extortionware AKA ?doxware,? extortionware operates similarly to how crypto ransomware does. Files are encrypted and payment is demanded, and the same general concepts bleed over. The big difference is that extortionware threatens to leak the encrypted data, rather than delete it. While the leverage this gives the attacker is pretty much the opposite kind than that of crypto ransomware, it has proven to be just as effective in convincing the target to pay up. Locker Ransomware This ransomware seals off access to the user?s entire system, doing nothing to the files themselves but rendering a device essentially useless, save for the capability to pay said ransomware?s demands. This makes it very similar to crypto ransomware, just without the threat of deletion. Scareware Scareware is named primarily due to the tactics it uses to infiltrate its victims? systems. Disguised as some kind of antivirus or other security program, scareware falsely alerts the target to issues present on the device and offers to resolve it for a fee. While not everyone feels that this technically classifies as ransomware, the undeniable similarity in their methods certainly links the two terms together. What You Can Do About It: Protecting your business from ransomware really boils down to a few key best practices: Educate your entire staff: Your team needs to know what to keep an eye out for to spot ransomware preemptively, and how to approach it in order to keep it from successfully taking root.  Keep a backup: If ransomware does manage to encrypt your documents, you will want a backup ready to restore from. Update your software: Ransomware takes advantage of unpatched exploits in order to successfully infiltrate a system. Applying patches and otherwise updating your system can eliminate a lot of these weak points. An exploitative issue like ransomware will stoop to really low levels to carry out its mission. For instance, one in particular has been spotted and coined as CovidLock, as it capitalizes upon a malicious coronavirus tracking application installed on Android devices. However, you can have a reliable resource in your corner to help your business defend itself. White Mountain IT Services is ready to be that resource and reinforce your cybersecurity and attend to your other IT needs. Learn more by reading some of our other blogs and the other content on our website, or by talking to us at (603) 889-0800.