OneDrive comes preinstalled on Windows 10 devices and is integrated with the file explorer system that we all know and love, making file security and syncing a piece of cake. With drag-and-drop functionality, a user can sync files simply by moving a file or folder to the OneDrive folder of your PC. The same can be said in reverse, though it?s true that some people might not want their entire OneDrive folder available on their computer at any given time. Microsoft has developed OneDrive to respect these wishes, giving users the ability to designate the files synced with Windows 10. Here?s how: Select the white (or blue) OneDrive cloud icon in the Windows taskbar notification area: It will open a pop-up screen. In this screen select More > Settings. Select the Account tab, and select Choose folders You have to make sure the ?Make all files available? box is toggled off: You should now be able to select all the files you want to see. Press OK to start syncing your files with Windows 10. For more great tips and tricks, be sure to consult White Mountain IT Services?s expertise. You can reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.
What is Blockchain? Blockchain is a decentralized ledger system that records information for all transactions on specific and permanent blocks. Any block that exists on a blockchain represents a change to the overlying information on the chain, meaning that any change to a block?s data would break and corrupt the entire chain. Developers can take advantage of this to create opportunities for data security, smart contracts, and other purposes. It?s also notable that blockchain is the technology that makes cryptocurrency like Bitcoin work as intended, and it has produced a method for some of the largest venture capitalist firms in the world to spend billions of dollars in funding on these companies. This kind of involvement by major investors has provided with a clear path to being more than just a fringe alternative to digital currency, paving the way for more research and ambitious ideas. Innovative Uses for Blockchain There are a lot of new ways people are trying to utilize blockchain technology. They include: Payment systems Smart contracts (including real estate and vehicle title transfers) Supply-chain management Loyalty rewards programs Authentication Medical record keeping Data sharing Wills and inheritances Intellectual property management Online voting Tax regulation and compliance Weapons and prescription drug tracking Labor rights management Internet of Things network management And more With such a huge increase in the way blockchain is used, many organizations are trying to implement it to solve operational issues. Therefore, we want you to take a moment to think about how the blockchain could solve some of your problems. Of course, you should ask this question about any service or solution you implement, and you?ll want to discuss this with trusted IT experts. White Mountain IT Services can provide you with that pillar of support. To learn more, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.
After you have identified what you would like to include in the policy, you can use it as a foundation or framework for the document. Business owners should also take the time to consult with other IT professionals who can provide additional insight on how to write a thorough security policy. What to Include in Your Written Security Policy Outline Your Company’s IT Guidelines Your written security policy should clearly outline the company’s IT guidelines in a way that’s easy for both technical and non-technical users to read and understand. The guidelines should provide instructions on how employees can safely browse the internet, access their social media and log into their email accounts at work or while using devices provided by the company. We also recommend that you include a section with instructions on how workers can create more secure online passwords. Document Every IT Process and Procedure A written security policy should include an overview of the company’s entire IT processes and procedures. Write down how each department should safely handle sensitive information. Include a protocol sharing information on how workers can report lost or stolen mobile phones and laptops. Many written IT security policies contain detailed processes and procedures for how employees can report cybercriminals and data breaches. Make sure to have a section that reveals what workers can do to detect potential threats and prevent leaks. Remember to include real world or offline security protocols as well. Employees should know how to handle office visitors and other important security measures. Determine Your Company’s Overall Technology Standards The policy should include an overview of the company’s technology standards. Every employee must understand what categories of data are considered sensitive and how to keep it classified after they attend a Security Awareness Training. Workers should also know how to safely use third party services, including cloud and file sync services like Gmail and Dropbox. Outline Employee Roles and Responsibilities Finally, your written IT policy should outline which jobs and responsibilities are in charge of sensitive data or devices. For example, your Human Resources and marketing department will have access to confidential information involving your employees and clients. Your written security policy must have instructions on how they should handle the data. Strict rules can also reveal how much remote workers, freelance workers and other contributors can access restricted data. Contact White Mountain IT Today Please contact us today online or call (603) 889-0800 if your company needs a written security policy. We’d be happy to speak with you and learn more about your company’s IT needs. At White Mountain IT, we have extensive experience creating professional written security policies for companies. We specialize in providing professional computer consulting services and managed IT services to businesses in the surrounding New England area and across the country.
Every business should have an acceptable use policy so that employees know what the permitted uses of company computers and networks are. Without a clear policy, they don’t know what’s allowed or not. The results can include overuse of resources, bad security practices, and friction between managers and employees. Everyone should understand where the boundaries are. General restrictions Certain activities should always be prohibited. They include: Illegal activities, including fraud, threats, and harassment. Spamming by email or any other channel. Making unauthorized representations on behalf of the employer. Circumventing device and network security. Introducing malicious software, such as spyware, worms, and ransomware. Disclosing confidential information, except as permitted in one’s job. Revealing account passwords to anyone else. Actions prohibited by company policies. Software policies A company should carefully consider whether and to what extent employees will be allowed to install software. Giving them blanket permission to install software on their assigned machines opens up security risks. A common approach is to allow only authorized IT people to install software on employees’ machines. BYOD and telecommuting policies The policy should specify whether employees may use their own devices on the company network. This includes telecommuting as well as smartphones and tablets. If employees can use personal mobile devices on the network, the AUP needs to specify what security measures are required. This may include installing company-mandated software to separate business and personal use. The policy needs to make it clear that any monitoring applies only to the business side of employee-owned devices and personal use is private. If the policy allows telecommuting, it should require the use of a VPN and protection of the account associated with it. Social media and time sinks The company’s policy on using social media, watching videos, and other potentially time-wasting activities will depend on the business culture and the network’s ability to absorb the bandwidth. Some companies need to be very strict, prohibiting nearly all non-business use. Others will trust their employees not to abuse their privileges. A policy shouldn’t be so strict that it interferes with necessary work activities. A blanket prohibition on watching video could interfere with work-related education and research. A strict policy should allow usage for purposes that are part of doing one’s job. A few companies have such stringent security requirements that they have to prohibit all nonessential activity; they’re a special case which is beyond the scope of this article. At the other end, there should always be rules to limit clearly excessive usage. Even a lenient policy should state that social media use is acceptable only if it doesn’t interfere with the employee’s work duties, isn’t detrimental to the employer, and doesn’t involve unauthorized claims to speak for the employer. The company’s policies on trademarks, harassment, discrimination, and so on should be incorporated by reference. Enforcement The policy needs to explain how it will be enforced. There are several points it needs to cover. If user activity is monitored, even just occasionally, the AUP needs to say so. If some areas, such as the content of email, are protected from monitoring, it should say that also. Making this point clear protects the employer from ill will and possibly from legal action. The consequences should be made clear with a phrase such as “up to and including termination.” The […]
That really depends on how the interfaces under development are adopted. Here, we?ll list the anticipated development of new interfaces and when we might expect to see these technologies emerge. Where We Stand Today Today, the keyboard and mouse are still alive and well, yet to be phased out by the touch gestures that are incorporated into more and more devices today, or the voice responsiveness that many technologies leverage via virtual assistants. Augmented and virtual reality are also becoming more mainstream, which makes it increasingly likely that they will someday soon make a practical appearance in the office space. Digital assistants have also been making a splash in the professional environment, making many rote operations more streamlined and efficient. What We Might See Soon The key to an effective user interface is how intuitive it is for the user to pick up a device and start using it successfully. This is what was largely responsible for the smartphone to experience explosive growth. However, there is a good chance that this growth will ultimately enable us to no longer need to touch our devices at all. Project Soli, one of Google?s many, many ventures, shows promise toward creating a touch-free manual interface, gestures being used to manipulate our devices via radar. This can also be seen as a precursor to the three-dimensional interface, as seen in films like Minority Report. There has actually been progress made toward this kind of interface by researcher John Underkoffer, who assisted with the creation of the movie. We can also look to the Iron Man film franchise for another glimpse into the potential future of haptic holograms. While the holograms that we see in most movies are simply projections of light, the ones leveraged by Tony Stark in his films can be interacted with – edited, reorganized, and fundamentally altered by the viewer in the room. These holograms can even mimic a physical keyboard for the user, suggesting that the need for bulky physical components may not be so long-lived. If we sound excited for this kind of technology to someday exist, it?s because we are. UI So Advanced, It?s Almost Unbelievable What if you could control devices and information using only your brain? Bioelectronics and Brain-Computer Interface technology could make this a possibility in the not-so-distant future. Basically, by scanning a user?s brain waves, a computer can translate these waves into actionable commands. This technology is already being tested in things like motorized wheelchairs and robotic limbs to aid those who rely on these tools. However, this is just the start? further research is being made into how BCI can be used to control devices and household utilities. Communication is another function that BCI can be used to restore or augment. Implants have been developed that allow typing to be done with only the mind, while others are in development that would directly translate brain waves into text. Perhaps most incredibly, an experiment was conducted that functionally replicated the effect of telepathy. By having a subject in India think the word ?hello,? converting that thought to binary code and emailing it to France, a subject in France was able to receive the message after it was reformatted into brainwaves. On a related note, BCI has also allowed us to take (admittedly low-quality) recordings […]
