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 […]

Mobile Device Management MDM, or, mobile device management is a term used in the computing industry that tailors to the general manager of mobile devices. Some of the common policies put into place within the MDM infrastructure are balancing security with usability. Generally, MDM is a concept that unifies the management of mobile devices used for the transmission, storage, and processing of data ? below, some of the fine points of security and usability are discussed. Security Whether using desktop computers, mobile devices, or any other type of digital device, a reliable security policy needs to be put in place. Security encompasses physical security, security against malware and hackers, and data preservation. Physical security in its most basic sense is making sure there’s a policy in place to safeguard against burglars and anyone attempting to physically access computers ? or rooms or desks where computers are stored. Locks put on appropriate doors and desks, and various other types of physical security devices such as security cameras are all relatively inexpensive and generally feasible options ? much of which don’t require hired help to install. Several tutorials exist on the internet that can provide direction for initiating the installation of physical security systems. Malicious software and computers hackers can be a tricky vector to guard against. Computer hackers can take advantage of both physical security weaknesses and security “holes” in computers themselves. Computers are designed to be an extension of the way people think, therefore a little common sense can go a long way in protecting against this vector ? if something doesn’t seem safe or foul play is suspected, it’s better to steer clear of whatever is going on ? one wrong click on a website or E-mail attachment can cause inadvertent installation of malicious software which computer hackers use indirectly to hack into computers. This is only scratching the surface of the varieties in which computer hackers can attack. Data Preservation is a concept that encompasses computer data being backed up on a regular schedule ? and the ability to restore it in case of deletion. It should be kept in mind that data loss can occur through a variety of ways, so it’s important to make sure a sound policy is in place to both backup and restore data ? natural disasters, theft, vandalism, and computer hackers can all lead to data loss.  Usability Security should be balanced with usability. In other words, mobile devices should be reasonably secured ? not so much that one has to bend over backward in order to log into their device and make general use of it ? excessively securing devices can be counterproductive. There are some trends that could make mobile device usability a little easier, one of which is the concept of BYOD ? bring your own device ? a BYOD policy would allow employees to bring privately owned mobile devices into the workplace providing that the devices are capable of complying with the security policies of the business allowing them. Allowing privately owned devices could lower the learning curve for using the devices on the job. Managing mobile devices in any business infrastructure does not have to be a painstaking task, but great caution should be taken and it’s generally recommended to seek professional advice in both rolling them out and managing them. White Mountain IT provides a wide range of services pertaining to mobile devices. Please contact us.

#1. They don’t respond promptly to your calls anymore Have you noticed that they are slow to respond when you try to contact them via phone or email? Although their sales team may have doted on you in the beginning when they were trying to sign you as a client, that level of personal attention gradually faded over time. You deserve a responsive managed IT provider with an excellent customer service team. You should always be confident that they will respond immediately when you have a technical issue. #2. You’ve started to notice the company has a high employee turnover If your main point of contact at your managed IT company changes every couple of months, there may be a serious underlying issue. High employee turnover could be a sign that the company is in distress. It is common for some employees to occasionally leave their job for better opportunities elsewhere at other companies or to move up within the organization. However, if you believe it’s happening at an alarming rate it could mean the company is unstable. #3. They are not helping your business reach its IT goals One of the main reasons companies decide to partner with a managed IT company is because they can help create an IT roadmap that is aligned with their overall strategic business goals. A reputable managed IT company should have several subject matter experts on board who can provide excellent counsel when your company’s decision makers have to make important decisions. If your vendor isn’t proactively helping your company reach its goals or providing any real value – it may be time to search for another IT company. #4. Your company’s IT has started to experience more downtime Another red flag is if your company’s IT system is starting to experience continual downtime. Although it’s common for the IT infrastructure to be interrupted occasionally so It can upgrade the system or fix minor glitches, your website should still have a high uptime percentage. Looking for a new managed IT provider? Please contact us today to learn more about our services. White Mountain Managed IT has been a reliable business partner to small and medium-sized businesses across the United States since 1985. Our team of highly skilled IT professionals can serve as your own outsourced IT Department. We also provide  IT consulting and other advanced technical services.

Wish One: Security Consciousness While it isn?t a holiday-themed story, the tale of Sisyphus would likely be quite relatable to most IT professionals. In the story, Sisyphus is doomed to an eternity in the afterlife spent pushing a massive boulder up a hill, only to have it roll back down when he nears the summit, over and over and over. Many IT professionals might relate as they run between security issues that your other employees cause through their actions. Reflecting on this, it only makes sense that an increased awareness of security concerns and procedures would make a great gift for your IT resources. After all, if the rest of your team knew how to avoid issues, the result would be fewer issues for IT to juggle, thereby freeing them up to tend to their other responsibilities. Wish Two: More Cloud The cloud is a very valuable solution, and few in any organization see that better than the IT department. Not only do cloud technologies and services eliminate many of the time-consuming and outdated tasks that IT has to handle, it enables them to improve the business in other ways. If given the ability to utilize the cloud more, your IT resources could deliver benefits to your business in many more areas than before, giving you more bang for your buck, and them much less stress. Wish Three: Improved Working Relationships The IT team can get a rough deal sometimes. Not only do they have to effectively keep the business running, they also have to deal with the other people involved with the business. Putting it frankly, they often have to shoulder the frustrations that the rest of the team has when they can?t deliver as quickly as the rest of the team wants and thinks they need. One of the best gifts that you can give them is a policy of hearing IT out. They have greater insight into the workings of the business and the impact that one initiative will have over another on a business? workflow. There needs to be trust that the decisions they have made at a given time are not without reason, and that those reasons may not be apparent to an outside perspective at first. Encouraging the rest of your team to keep this in mind year-round will help to make IT?s job a lot less stressful. If you want a gift that the overworked IT resource would especially appreciate, try a managed service agreement with White Mountain IT Services! We can lend a hand, allowing your IT resource time to take a breath between their many responsibilities and to focus on the quality of the job they do. Give us a call at (603) 889-0800 to learn more.