Just as one can fish with live bait, lures, or flies, there are different methods that a hacker can use in their phishing attack. Therefore, in order to truly protect your business against phishing attempts, you need to ensure that you and your employees can identify all of the different phishing methods they may encounter. These practices are good to take home with you too, as personal email accounts are also targets of phishing. Deactivation Threats Only too often, an organization will appear to send someone a notice that their account is going to be deactivated, and they have to follow a provided link to log back in – right now – in order to preserve their account. This ?helpful? email will also suggest that they update their credit card information, too. You know? just to be safe. These scams are easy to spot if the service that is being deactivated isn?t one that is actually used. However, some businesses have accounts with a very substantial number of companies, so it can be difficult to keep track without the proper systems in place. These scams are only more convincing if there is actually an account with the service that is apparently reaching out. Even worse, it isn?t uncommon for these scams to come with warnings against scams or claims of security, or one that actually links to the legitimate company website. To fight against these scams, it never hurts to try the URL test. Hover your mouse over any links without clicking, and check to see if the URL matches what you would type into your browser. An even safer course of action is to reach out to the company directly through another method, like sending a fresh email to their support or giving them a call instead to confirm that the email was sent from them. Nigerian Scams These classic scams are the ones that probably first pop into your mind when you hear the phrase ?email scam.? You know the ones – out of the blue, someone contacts you with a request that you assist them in moving a large share of money, with a considerable portion of it going to you for your troubles. These scams are known as such because the first wave of them originated in Nigeria, pertaining to a Nigerian prince. However, instead of riches as their reward, victims of these scams have their own finances stolen, and are even sometimes arrested if they are lured to Nigeria itself, as has happened in the past (after all, they are conspiring to remove Nigerian monies from the country). These scams, like many others, can be foiled by the old adage, ?If it?s too good to be true, it probably is.? However, many people from all walks of life and levels of presumed intelligence have been fooled by these scams. Government Threats Fortunately, most of Orwell?s 1984 can still be considered fiction, but these scams rely on the opinion that Big Brother is very real, and very much out to get us – especially if one is engaged in behavior that isn?t considered acceptable in public context, or is just plain illegal. These phishing scams are the ones that claim that the FBI is about to kick down a user?s door for illegally downloading content or […]
Restoring Closed Tabs Accidentally closing a tab can be annoying–especially if you can?t remember how you got there. Thankfully, there is a shortcut you can use to get back to where you were. This shortcut is Ctrl + Shift + T, which will reopen a recently closed tab. Close a Window or Tab If you are ready to close your window or tab, you can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + W to close it quickly. Spacebar Scroll If you don?t want to use your mouse wheel to scroll down a page, you can instead use the spacebar. If you hold down the Shift key and tap Space, your screen will jump down in full-screen increments rather than the slow crawl from just the arrow key. Mousewheel Functions You can use your mouse scroll wheel to perform various tasks. One of them involves quickly opening a link in a new tab. You can do this by clicking on it with the mouse scroll wheel (yes, there is a button under it). This saves you the trouble of going through multiple clicks with your mouse. What are your favorite computer tips and tricks? Now?s your chance to share them in the comments.
What is OLED? OLED stands for Organic Light Emitting Diodes, which is similar to normal LED technology. Light emitting diodes, or LED, are a semiconducting light source that produces light through moving electrons into defined spots with a screen?s emissive layer. It basically transforms electricity into light. OLED uses practically the same concept, but rather than involving individual LED bulbs lighting up, OLED uses light emitting films. This gives the OLED display the ability to produce higher contrast images. In other words, the lights are lighter and the darks are darker. This is due to the makeup of the OLED film (hydrocarbon chains rather than semiconductors), which also means that they consume less energy (electricity). How Does It Work An OLED panel contains several layers. The substrate layer acts as a structural framework; the anode, a film that draws electrons; the cathode, a film that provides the electrons; and the organic layer between them. The organic layer also contains two layers: the conducting layer that has holes, and the emissive layer where light is produced. Types of OLED The various types of OLED displays are used by different types of devices. Passive-matrix OLED has a slower refresh rate, which results in them being used on devices that have more static images. Active-matrix OLED devices have a faster refresh rate, making them ideal for devices like televisions, smartphones, and other displays that are always changing. What are the Benefits? OLEDs operate as both a light source and color simultaneously, which can create several benefits over your standard LED displays. Here are just a few of them: Reduced power consumption: An OLED display doesn?t need any of the electronics used to power the back light that were needed for traditional LED displays. Therefore, it uses less power. Improved picture quality: OLED uses color filters that can produce warmer colors and darker blacks. Additionally, OLED displays don?t have shutter arrays, meaning they can be produced with a higher refresh rate, as well as better viewing angles. Lightweight durability: Since OLED displays don?t have the backlight and shutter array technology found in ordinary LED displays, OLED devices are generally much lighter and flexible. A new innovation called inkjet-based printable OLED displays can reduce the nitrogen volume in a display and enhance the thermal uniformity of the display. This enables manufacturers to make more malleable displays, like wallpaper-like screens. Lower costs: Like any kind of technology, the more it?s used, the less costly it becomes to make. This drives down prices and makes them more affordable for everyone. OLED displays are showing up all over the place, and they are only going to grow in popularity. How can your business benefit from this new technology? Find out by giving us a call at (603) 889-0800.
What is End-of-Life for Operating Systems? End-of-Life doesn?t necessarily mean that your computer’s will just stop working–rather, they will just stop receiving extended support from Microsoft. Although mainstream support for Windows 7 ended on January 15th, 2015, Microsoft will continue to provide extended support for the operating system until January 14th, 2020. Assuming you have Service Pack 1 installed, your operating system will cease to receive updates following the Windows 7 End-of-Life date. While you?re still receiving security updates, there are no new features being added to your operating system. Basically, End-of-Life means that the operating system no longer receives any important updates, meaning that it?s a security best practice to update away from Windows 7 before it becomes a liability. Why Does End-of-Life Exist? There is a constant war going on between software developers and malicious entities, like hackers. They are constantly trying to undermine the efforts of security professionals to keep businesses and their technology solutions safe from threats. Software developers put out patches frequently to prevent hackers from making headway in this war, but it?s hard to support all existing versions of operating systems at all times. When Microsoft ends support for an older version of an operating system, they are essentially giving ground to hackers, but let?s face it–if you?re using older software that is no longer supported, you could stand to take advantage of more recent, user-friendly solutions with all new features in the first place. What You Should Do The easiest way to get around the pitfall of using older software like Windows 7 is to just install Windows 10 as soon as you can. If you can?t do so immediately, it?s best to think about preparing your organization for a move to Windows 10 in the near future. Make sure that any workstations used by your business meet the following minimum requirements. Processor: 1GHz processor or faster Memory: 1GB RAM for 32-bit; 2GB for 64-bit Hard disk space: Up to 20GB available Required video card: 800 x 600 screen resolution or higher. DirectX 9 graphics processor with WDDM driver If your workstations don?t meet these requirements, perhaps it?s time to invest in some upgrades for them as well. If you?re looking to keep your technology in proper working order, even in the face of End-of-Life events, White Mountain IT Services can help. Our managed services will ensure your technology stays optimized and operational for the long haul. To learn more, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.
Switching Between Monitors Multi-monitor setups are becoming increasingly popular in many workspaces. While windows and applications can be dragged from one screen to another, there is an easy shortcut that allows you to quickly switch the application?s location back and forth. With the window you want transferred to your other display selected, press Windows Key + Shift + Left/Right (depending on which way the window needs to go). This shortcut also allows you to quickly dock an active window to either side of its current monitor, with one easy change: Windows Key + Left/Right. Screen Zoom In/Out Sometimes, you want your entire screen to zoom in and zoom out to better show what you are looking at. There are a few ways to accomplish this. You can either zoom in and out by pressing CTRL + (+) and CTRL + (-) respectively, or simply CTRL + Scroll Wheel to zoom in and out freely. When you want to return to the default screen view, you can do so quickly by pressing CTRL + 0. This will reset the screen magnification. Quick Settings Have you ever found that one setting is driving you nuts, and you want, no, need to change it? A quick way to pull up Windows settings is to press Windows Key + I. Switching Applications There are times when a person can hit a real groove as they work, and their productivity really hits a high point. The next time you feel this is happening to you, you can try out a shortcut for switching active applications without even needing to take your hands off the keyboard. Holding Alt + Tab will bring up miniaturized versions of all of your open windows, from where the directional keys can be used to select the window you want to work in next. Becoming a Windows power user is easier than it sounds, all it takes is practicing the use of these kinds of shortcuts until they?re second nature. Do you have a shortcut that you use all the time? Share it in the comments!
