A survey from ObserveIT asked several questions about the real threats that face businesses when it comes to remote workers and mobile devices, and the results they found were quite disturbing. Just about anyone–even the best employee–could pose a potential risk to your business if they are unaware of the dangers their mobile device usage presents. We?ll dig into the details and share some of the important takeaways of the survey, as well as what you can do to make sure your organization doesn?t fall victim to these threats. Using Unsecured Networks is Dangerous While it might be convenient to use any unlocked Wi-Fi network while out of the office, it?s not the most secure way of accessing the Internet. This is because anyone on the network with the right tools can see what you are doing, as well as steal or intercept data while it?s in transit to and from it. 77 percent of employees use these networks to access the Internet on their devices. Furthermore, the number of employees using these networks to access their email and other company data while unsecured is somewhat surprising. About 63 percent of employees do this, and it puts your business? sensitive information at risk. Employees Use Unapproved Devices to Access Data Sometimes devices used by your employees aren?t as secure as they can be. For example, someone might bring a tablet that doesn?t adhere to a Bring Your Own Device policy to the workplace. Any unsecured devices that aren?t company-approved could expose your network and data to danger. It?s estimated that just over half–54 percent–of employees use these devices to access company data, whether it?s email or other important files. A Virtual Private Network Helps Tremendously Of course, the best way to make sure your business doesn?t expose data while you?re using devices outside the safety of the office is to use a virtual private network, or VPN. A VPN works by masking the data while it?s traveling to and from your device, encrypting it so that it remains as safe as possible from any and all threats. While the data is encrypted, if it is stolen or spied on, the interloper will only be able to see a jumbled mess of data rather than anything concrete, protecting the integrity of it. While businesses are starting to see the sense in using a VPN, only about 55 percent of users are currently doing so. This is a number that can be improved on if you can emphasize the importance of cybersecurity awareness with your staff. White Mountain IT Services can help your organization stay as secure as possible while out of the office, no matter where your business takes you. To learn more, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.
Easy Camera Let?s face it – the integrated camera is one of the most-often used features on many phones. There are dozens of articles online explaining how to make the most of using a mobile device?s camera. However, the advice that these articles offer will only be effective if you can get the camera ready in time. Instead of navigating through menus or even unlocking the phone, there are much easier methods to accessing the camera app. These vary based on the manufacturer of the phone you happen to use, but are generally based on double-pressing a button. On LG?s devices, that button is the volume-down button, while most others use the power button. Phones manufactured by Motorola switch things up a bit? their camera can be activated through a double-twist gesture. Easy Access to the Google Assistant The Google Assistant, widely regarded as the best option as far as the numerous ?assistant? apps go, is fairly easy to access, even without saying ?Okay, Google.? Most of the newer Android phones come equipped with a Google Assistant shortcut in the Home key. All you have to do is long-press it, and the Google Assistant will pop up. Easy Menus While this trick doesn?t work in all apps, it does in some. Many apps have a menu that can be accessed by pushing the three dots, before again pushing the selection. However, some apps combine both gestures into one fluid motion, much like a drop-down menu does on a computer. By long-pressing the three-dot Menu button and dragging down, you can make your selection without the need to poke twice. Easy Hang-up Since their earliest incarnation, telephones have always been for making calls (and, less directly, ending them). While there is an on-screen button for ending calls, there is another, potentially more convenient way to hang up. Assuming that you?re holding your device to your ear, as one traditionally does with phones, you probably have simple access to the Power button. In your Settings, you can access your Accessibility settings and turn on the Power button ends call capability. As you might have gathered, this turns the Power button into a secondary end call button, making it easier to hang up and turn your attention to your next steps. There are far more features hidden away in your smartphone. Which ones are your favorites? Let us know in the comments!
This alternative is the relatively new ?as a service? model, which takes the traditional way of acquiring software (or other services) and flips it on its head. Thanks to the cloud, you can pay an affordable monthly rate for access to an application rather than the large up-front costs of purchasing licenses. The benefits are considerable, to say the least. Not only are monthly charges easy to budget for, but they are easily changed when they are no longer needed. You will have the luxury of more flexibility in terms of how many users and how many accounts you can have set up at any given time, making the ?as a service? model quite scalable to suit your organization?s needs. The other key advantage is flexibility, as you can access these services on any compatible device, not limiting your organization?s productivity to simply one desktop or laptop. The ?as a service? model is known to work quite well not just with software, but other assets that you might be using as well. Here are just a few of them: Hardware as a Service (HaaS): Since computing hardware is extraordinarily expensive, having access to affordable, reliable, and easy-to-budget hardware is important for the growing business. Hardware as a Service provides much-needed technology by allowing for a monthly payment, rather than a huge capital investment. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): This kind of service is helpful for businesses that don?t want to manage their own cloud or hardware infrastructure. Basically, components can be managed in the cloud by a third party. Platform as a Service (PaaS): This service allows organizations to develop, run, and maintain their own platforms for various purposes. The reality of the ?as a service? model is that it can be applied to anything, if you look hard enough. By properly managing your ?as a service? offerings, you can turn what used to be capital expenses into operational expenses, allowing you to save even more revenue to invest in other opportunities. To get started with ?as a service? offerings, reach out to White Mountain IT Services at (603) 889-0800.
Amazon Echo Spot Smart Hub Like the Echo and the Echo Plus, the Amazon Echo Spot Smart Hub features the useful Amazon personal assistant, Alexa. The difference is, however, that the Echo Spot is designed to be an alarm clock. Instead of just being a speaker like the Echo Dot, Echo, and Echo Plus the Echo Spot has a small screen that shows the user what time it is and what the weather is like by default. It is a more compact version of the Echo Show, and looks great on a nightstand. Some of the features the Echo Spot offers include: Amazon?s Alexa personal assistant A customizable clock (analog & digital with many customizable options) Amazon Prime streaming Video chat with other Echo Spot/Show users Smart speaker and microphone The Amazon Echo Spot is available for a reasonable $129.99 and can be found anywhere where major electronics are sold. Roku Premiere By now, most people have heard of the Roku, the device that allows people to stream video to their televisions with the use of an HDMI-connected interface. The Roku Premiere has a very attractive price point ($39.99) and allows the user to stream 4K video. Other popular streaming media players like the Amazon Fire Stick 4K and Apple TV 4K now allow for 4K streaming, but they typically come at a higher price point. The gift is perfect for the cord-cutter in your life who still wants to experience the premium content offered by today?s major media services. iRobot Roomba 690 It is the rare individual that enjoys vacuuming the floor. Like raking leaves and shoveling snow, it is a repetitive, and relatively not-fun way to spend time. The people at iRobot understand our disdain for it and have created the Roomba line of robot vacuums to help make people?s houses cleaner. While Roomba is the most popular robot vacuum on the market, and offers several models to choose from, many people veer away from purchasing one because they are skeptical about the machine?s cleaning effectiveness. The 690 model is firmly in the center of their offerings. The company advertises its ?Dirt Detect? technology that senses how dirty an area is as it goes about its regular cleaning, and focuses more time and attention on the dirtiest spots on the floor. The Roomba 690 is currently available for $374.99. TP-Link Wi-Fi Range Extender Wi-Fi is extremely important for almost everyone these days, and sometimes it just isn?t possible to get a strong signal throughout a house. If someone is constantly complaining about their Wi-Fi problems, TP-Link has introduced a range extender that is super simple to use. The TP-Link Wi-Fi Range Extender plugs into a wall outlet and does what its name suggests, giving you more range on your router?s wireless Internet. The AC1750 model can be had for $90, with several more affordable options available. Tile Mate Designed for the person that can?t help but misplace things, the Tile Mate is a great solution. The Tile Mate is a small disk that fits on a keychain or any other small object. When the item is out of view, simply use the app associated with the device and it will make a ringing noise. Even neater, if you have something with a Tile Mate attached to it, you […]
No doubt you, your employees, and every member of your company with a heartbeat and thumbs has noticed how tedious it is to enter passwords into a mobile device. And yet, we require regular authentication in order to keep strangers from accessing personal files and proprietary business data. Fortunately, modern mobile devices are making it possible to authenticate employees in new, creative, and far less tedious ways. Here are the top six mobile password alternatives. 1) Retinal Scanning Mobile phone cameras have become an incredibly high quality in recent years, high enough quality to recognize the eyes of a single user. Some phones already come with a built-in retinal scanning feature that locks the phone except for the one official owner. And scanning the eyes for authentication only takes a second and zero taps on the screen. 2) Fingerprint Scanning Fingerprint scanning is a technology that has been slowly adopted by industries at all levels for the last decade, and more exclusively long before that. Now, mobile phones can scan, remember, and verify fingerprints as well. While some people’s fingers are harder to scan than others, fingerprint scanning can also be guaranteed that no one else will have the same fingerprint as an authorized employee. Not even an identical twin. 3) Photo Sequence Selection One interesting alternative to passwords that has been tried is photo sequence selection. Start with a ‘deck of cards’ containing detailed and distinct, but not personally significant images. The employee then pulls out and arranges a few images in a specific order. To authenticate, they are shown the original set of images and must choose ‘their images’ in the correct order. It’s sort of like the game ‘memory’ as a password mini-game. 4) Diagram Drawings Another form of image-password is presented as a grid of dots. At first, the user is asked to draw a picture or diagram by connecting the dots in sequence. They can theoretically make anything from a star to a letter, but the exact dots in the grid used will matter. They must then replicate this drawing precisely to authenticate. With a larger grid (5×5 or bigger), it becomes remarkably difficult for someone else to recall the precise placement of each line. 5) Eye-Spy Selection For teams that like puzzles, you might consider using an eye-spy form of password, which is an interesting variation of the photo sequence. Rather than several pictures, use one large picture with many small distinct details, like an Eye-Spy or Where’s Waldo puzzle. The user then taps a number of specific number of details in order. This adds an additional layer of security because anyone watching the employee use this authentication method would first have to be able to visually distinguish which details are being tapped. 6) Voice Passphrase Finally, you might consider using currently advancing voice technology as a password solution. Challenge Employees to come up with a distinct passphrase said in a unique way that also won’t seem too out of place when performed in public. Using silly voices or even song should be particularly encouraged, these vocal exercises will be harder for anyone else to duplicate. After all, our voices are different due to physical differences between us. — There is a dilemma in the world of business mobility, between accessibility and security. And the […]
