Before we begin we should mention that many smartphone manufacturers are now creating devices that are at least water resistant. These devices are given an IP score. IP stands for International Protection as drawn up by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), which is a classification given to a device that rates the type of protection a consumer should expect. If your device is classified as IP67, it is resistant to dust and can be submerged in water no more than one meter deep for up to a half an hour. The only difference between IP67 and IP68, is that devices that are classified as IP68, guarantees protection in water up to one and a half meters deep for a half hour. Regardless of how your smartphone is classified, it is probably not a great idea to expose it to water for very long. If it does happen, following these steps will give you the best chance of saving the device. 1. Turn off your device. If it is off, do not turn it on. In fact, there are a bunch of things you will not want to do. Don?t plug it in. Don?t shake it. Don?t blow in it. Don?t try and use a blow dryer to save it. In fact, if this happens to you, don?t do anything to the device except the outlined suggestions in this list. 2. Remove your SIM and any expandable storage you have inside your device. 3. If your phone has a battery that can be removed, remove the battery If you don?t have a phone where you can easily access the battery, don?t just pry it open. Either take it to a professional to do so, or check out the many YouTube tutorials available to properly take your phone apart and remove the battery. 4. Use an absorbent rag to dab your phone dry. Do not wipe it around as it could spread the liquid to more, harder to reach parts of your phone. 5. Bury the phone in a ziplock bag filled with uncooked rice. The rice will absorb the liquid. 6. Let your phone dry for a day or two before trying to turn it on. 7. After that time, try turning it on. If it doesn?t turn on, try charging it. If it doesn?t charge, your battery was probably damaged. At this point you?ll want to take it to a professional if you haven?t done so already. 8. If it seems to work properly, makes sure it does. If all seems well, you?ll want to test the display for responsiveness, test your speakers and your microphone to makes sure they work properly. If you follow these eight tips, you may just have a chance to save your (likely expensive) smartphone from the eWaste pile at your local landfill. If you like this tip, return to our blog weekly for more tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your technology.

The Criteria When evaluating your messaging solution, ask yourself: Are my messages encrypted (and how encrypted are they)? How transparent is the application to scrutiny? How are messages deleted? How much metadata is kept? We?ll review why these questions are the important ones to ask. Are my messages encrypted (and how encrypted are they)? Encryption is a method of scrambling data so that it is incredibly difficult to interpret, accomplished through an algorithm known as an encryption key. Without going into too much detail, this makes any data that has been encrypted extremely secure. Most major messaging applications use encryption today, but not all of them follow the most secure practices. For instance, applications like Google Hangouts and Skype encrypt the messages that their users send? but also retain a copy of the encryption keys. This is so they can access the messages sent and collect data to power advertising. This also means that your data is left vulnerable if a cybercriminal makes their way into the application?s servers, or if the government waves a search warrant at them. More common, fortunately, are apps that utilize end-to-end encryption, where the application only holds the keys that encrypt the data, accessible by the users. The users, on the other hand, hold the keys that decrypt the data again. As a result, not even the company hosting the messaging application can access the contents of their users? messages, nevermind cybercriminals or law enforcement. WhatsApp and Signal are two apps that now leverage this approach. In fairness, Skype does offer this capability as well in its Private Conversation feature, but it isn?t enabled by default. How transparent is the application to scrutiny? Taking the developer at their word is one thing? it?s quite another for independent and impartial experts to be able to confirm the claims that are made about an application?s security. For this reason, applications based on open-source code are generally more trustworthy, as they are scrutinized by experts who discover and report any vulnerabilities. A few applications provide their source code openly, including Signal, Telegram, and Wickr, while WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger don?t quite qualify but are based on the open-source Signal protocol. If an application is closed-source, like iMessage is, a user is entrusting the developer completely to maintain the security of the messages sent. How are messages deleted? While sending a message securely is key, the security of the message once it reaches its destination should not be overlooked. After all, if someone without authorization gains access to the device later, encryption isn?t going to do squat to protect your data. However, if you are able to delete the message after it is delivered, security is suddenly much more likely. Skype, Telegram, and Signal all allow a user to do so. In fairness, so does WhatsApp, but it needs to be deleted within 13 hours. Some apps feature self-deleting messages, described under various names, that destroy themselves after so much time has elapsed. Signal has ?disappearing messages? with a customizable time. As we have established previously, not all apps offer the same functions, and this does nothing to delete any screenshots of your message that the recipient may have taken. How much metadata is kept? In addition to the contents of your messages, you want to know that […]

Cloud Computing and the Modern Business When I think about cloud computing, the first thing that comes to mind is the scalable nature of it. Say you have 25 employees…14 of them need productivity suites, five need graphics programs, and six need them both. Well not only can you gain access to all those types of software titles through the cloud, you can pay per license needed. In this case the company would purchase 20 versions of productivity software, billed per user. This would give each of them access to all the productivity applications as well as cloud storage associated with the suite. In this way it makes it much easier for businesses to control their computing costs. Breaking down cloud computing options for business, it becomes important to understand the difference between public and private cloud platforms. The public cloud resources are like the options listed above. They include Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS) options. Essentially if it is hosted in another company?s data center and you don?t have access to the actual hardware, you are dealing with a public cloud solution. A private cloud solution is typically hosted onsite or in a colocated data center. Since the company itself is responsible for the management and maintenance of the private cloud, and tends to be much more expensive in both hardware and management costs, there needs to be a good reason to want to invest in a private cloud platform when there are cost effective options on the public cloud market. One is that the company has physical control over the computing infrastructure and the way the server and endpoints access data. The most popular reason businesses roll out private cloud environments is that it keeps sensitive information under direct control – a major point of emphasis for IT administrators that head up regulatory compliance and other security-minded campaigns. The Hybrid Cloud For a while, the hybrid cloud was simply the use of some public cloud resources and some locally hosted cloud resources, but today?s hybrid strategies go far beyond that. The modern business needs its data and infrastructure to perform in an agile manner. Since businesses need to adapt to certain realities quicker than businesses of the past, combining the access to both locally-hosted and public cloud-hosted resources, and having them be able to integrate with each other becomes essential to the business? ability to achieve its goals. Being able to tie together all of your organization?s computing resources under a single data management platform is advantageous for any company. Hybrid cloud strategies allow businesses to not only utilize cost-effective public cloud platforms, but also provide security and control over their more sensitive data. It also provides value for the organization that isn?t so sure about moving their most important resources over to the cloud. Cloud computing provides enhanced accessibility, but it may not be for everyone. Ultimately the hybrid cloud provides companies with financial and workload flexibility that no other IT strategy provides. If you would like to learn more about the hybrid cloud, or talk to one of our knowledgeable professionals about integrating cloud computing into your business? IT call White Mountain IT Services today at (603) 889-0800.

Have Better Agendas How does your business currently conduct meetings? Perhaps you go in with a specific topic in mind, or maybe they are weekly meetings that are held whether you have something of substance to say or not. Either way, it?s best to go in with an agenda (and stick to it) if you want the most productive meetings. Use Better Technology Technology can give your meetings a kickstart when they are otherwise simply people sitting around a table and having a chat. You can use media, including slideshows and infographics, to provide context for the conversation. Furthermore, if meeting in the office isn?t an option, you can implement mobile technology and web conferencing software to keep your team connected regardless of where they are located. Hold an Open Forum People like to feel involved in meetings, and they will enjoy them more when their involvement means something. You can open up your meetings at the end for people to voice concerns or make statements. This can, in turn, open up a dialogue that may not otherwise have been created. Does your business need a hand elevating its meeting game? White Mountain IT Services can help. To learn more, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.

Malware Malware, or malicious software, can be particularly troublesome for organizations. The types vary from both extremely passive to extremely dangerous, with the most notable of which being ransomware. Ransomware can potentially lock down your organization?s network or files located on it using encryption, providing the decryption key only when a ransom is paid. We urge you not to pay the ransom, as it?s only furthering the agenda of hackers by you paying up. Instead, we recommend adequate preventative measures that keep ransomware at bay in the first place. Ransomware tends to spread via email and spam, so be sure to warn your users about clicking on links or attachments that are unwarranted and suspicious. Data backup can certainly help, as well. Phishing Attempts Malware isn?t the only threat to be spread through spam and email. Phishing attacks are often spread in this fashion as well, in which a user accidentally hands over credentials or sensitive information that can be used to access accounts or other data. These phishing attacks can often be elaborate and difficult to detect. Sometimes they can take the identity of your IT department or your business? senior figures. Never hand over credentials for any purpose unless the inquirer can legitimately be identified. Password Hacks By password hacks, we mean any of the high-profile hacks that have been known to spread like wildfire in the media. You may recall some of the major data breaches that have leaked sensitive information, including passwords, to the public. These passwords often wind up on the black market, where they are bought by hackers. If you ever suspect that your users have had their data stolen during these breaches, it?s important that they change their passwords as soon as possible. Denial of Service Attacks Denial of Service attacks are when a server is overloaded with traffic to the point where they are no longer able to function as intended. Distributed denial of service, or DDoS attacks, are often used as weapons to cripple infrastructures and bring services to a halt. Botnets–large groups of infected computers–are used to constantly ping servers with traffic to bring them down. Man in the Middle Man in the Middle attacks can happen when an attacker directly influences or interacts with the communications between two parties. This can happen over an unencrypted wireless network, and it?s particularly dangerous because both parties believe they are interacting with each other rather than the hacker in the middle. Drive-By Downloads Not all downloads that happen on a device are made with the device owner?s consent. Sometimes a piece of malware can trigger a download without asking for the user?s permission, as well as without the user understanding the consequences of downloading said file. Sometimes all it takes is clicking on the wrong tab, download link, or dialog box. Drive-by downloads are so dangerous that steps are being taken to thwart them when possible. Don?t let your business fall victim to these threats. To find out how your business can protect itself in times of danger, reach out to White Mountain IT Services at (603) 889-0800.