To preface this scam, we need to first appreciate the scope of another Internet vice: pornography. Explicit adult material makes up a full 30 percent of the content on the Internet, and pornographic websites see more traffic than the combined totals for Amazon, Twitter, and Netflix. In short, there?s a lot of porn out there, which may be why this particular scam has been somewhat successful. How this Scam Plays Out The majority of scams are run in order to steal money from a victim, and this one is no exception. Also like many others, this scam features some extortion–give us what we want, or we?ll share your dirty little secret with the world. This time, the secret is particularly dirty, according to the email that kicks off the scam (which starts, by the way, by identifying one of the target?s passwords in the subject line): ?You don?t know me and you?re thinking why you received this email, right? Well, I actually placed a malware on the porn website and guess what, you visited this web site to have fun (you know what I mean). While you were watching the video, your web browser acted as a RDP (Remote Desktop) and a keylogger which provided me access to your display screen and webcam. Right after that, my software gathered all your contacts from your Messenger, Facebook account, and email account. What exactly did I do? I made a split-screen video. First part recorded the video you were viewing (you?ve got a fine taste haha), and next part recorded your webcam (Yep! It?s you doing nasty things!). What should you do? Well, I believe, $1400 is a fair price for our little secret. You?ll make the payment via Bitcoin to the below address (if you don?t know this, search ?how to buy bitcoin? in Google).? At this point, the email provides the user with the means to deposit a ransom of $1400 worth of Bitcoin. The email even advises them to copy and paste the required alphanumeric code so there are no mistakes made. The email then ends with a blood-chilling ultimatum: ?Important: You have 24 hours in order to make the payment. (I have an unique pixel within this email message, and right now I know that you have read this email). If I don?t get the payment, I will send your video to all of your contacts including relatives, coworkers, and so forth. Nonetheless, if I do get paid, I will erase the video immidiately [sic]. If you want evidence, reply with ?Yes!? and I will send your video recording to your 5 friends. This is a non-negotiable offer, so don?t waste my time and yours by replying to this email.? Clearly, this is not the kind of news that anyone wants to hear. A few versions of this threat have been circulating, but all share the same essential message: cough up the dough, or your private activities will be made very public. No Need to Panic? Yet First, you need to know that this threat is an empty one, as gut-wrenching as it is. The biggest clue? The fact that the passwords this threat shared come from a decade-or-so-old hack of some database. Ideally, you would be able to see the password and think, ?Wow, it?s been a […]

Today the facility operates as a subsidiary to Google?s parent company, Alphabet. Project Loon, however, has broken out of X and is now its own subsidiary of Alphabet. Its goal is to provide Internet to places that don?t have it with the use of high-altitude balloons. Some of the speeds are said to be up to 4G-LTE. Here?s how it works: The high-altitude balloons are launched and are remotely moved into place about 18 km (11 miles) above the ground. Experts have determined that, at this height in the atmosphere, relatively low wind speeds create minimal turbulence; and, since the company can model approximate wind speeds for all seasons, they can keep the balloons between 18-to-25 km above the ground over a specific area. They do this by adjusting the volume of gas inside the balloon. Reasons for Development The main reason this technology was to be developed was simply that people in certain areas either don?t have access to Internet service or the service that is available is so expensive that it was basically unaffordable. For example, the first person to ever connect to Project Loon was a farmer from New Zealand who did have Internet available to him, but the cost (over $1,000 per month) was untenable for that farmer. Project Loon would give people like this–and there are billions of them–the affordable Internet they don?t have access to today. The Benefits of Internet Access Most of us take this for granted since most of us have access to some pretty incredible Internet speeds, but for the people who don?t, it can really put them behind. Think about how you use the Internet daily for work, for your personal life, your home life, and for something as simple as driving directions. Then realize that half of the world?s population doesn?t have access to any of that. The Internet brings access to information, enhanced communications, financial flexibility, productivity options that simply aren?t possible without it, and much, much more. Delivering Internet today is like delivering electricity and clean water. Today?s society requires a degree of Internet accessibility. As a result, Project Loon could really be viewed as a humanitarian effort; and could be just the thing these developing regions need to get the opportunity to join the world community. If you would like more information about Project Loon, you can check out their website at http://loon.co, and be sure to check back to White Mountain IT Services?s blog for more great technology information.

What is SaaS? SaaS is a software that is accessed through the Internet. This is often provided through a service provider, a developer of the software or a third party authorized to sell or distribute it under certain conditions. The user can use the software as indicated in the service level agreement for a monthly fee. The cloud provider is responsible for hosting, management, maintenance, development, and security of the application, making it both an attractive and hands-off approach for businesses. The Benefits of SaaS A change from on-premise software hosting delivers three distinct benefits for your business. They are the following: Eliminating hardware costs: Since you pay the developer per month for the use of their software, you don?t have to host the hardware on your infrastructure at all. This frees up a lot of extra capital that could be better spent elsewhere. Eliminating management costs: Businesses don?t have to manage or maintain the system, making for a significant cost reduction. Enabling remote accessibility: Any device can access a SaaS application through the Internet, allowing for access anywhere with available bandwidth. Issues with SaaS Nothing is perfect, even though it seems SaaS provides perhaps the biggest edge you can think of for a software solution. Some organizations must adhere to compliance regulations, which can in-turn affect cloud-based deployment of specific data or functionality. Since most cloud-based SaaS offerings are deployed through the public cloud, users? applications are accessed using shared resources, which might rub some organizations the wrong way. Here are some of the major problems created by SaaS: Potential downtime: Any solution hosted in an online environment runs the risk of downtime. Since downtime is so expensive, you need to monitor how much downtime your organization actually suffers from when using SaaS to make sure it?s actually turning a profit for you rather than becoming a cost. Cost: If you?re paying a developer for monthly access to a web-based service, there?s a good chance that it will ultimately cost your business more in the long run than buying it outright. While there is a big benefit to smaller monthly payments compared to purchasing the license, when you?re considering multiple subscriptions to services, it can quickly grow overwhelming. Data security: Since your organization doesn?t play a role in hosting cloud services, you?ll never know just how secure your data actually is. This might make you question how reliable these services actually are. Overall, software as a service can be a great value for your organization? if it?s managed properly. If the public cloud scares you, there is always the option to work with a third-party MSP who can host your services privately on their own server. White Mountain IT Services can help you with this. To learn more, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.

This new type of connection is similar to WPA2 in most ways, including the fact that it offers both Personal and Enterprise configurations. Both of these configurations offer enhanced security for networks on the off chance that they aren?t using a complex password. However, only the Enterprise offering can claim to have a 192-bit encrypted connection. WPA3 also offers a measure called Simultaneous Authentication of Equals. This type of measure protects the connection against the brute force attacks that made the KRACK vulnerability such a huge issue. Password-guessing algorithms will have much more trouble cracking a WPA3 connection encryption than they would with a WPA2 encryption. While WPA3 exists, it?s not being implemented on a large scale, yet. The process for initial certification has started, but devices aren?t required to implement WPA3 standards quite yet. Your business will eventually have devices that are WPA3-compatible, so you?ll have to think about how and when you?ll be able to take advantage of these devices for the betterment of your business. Your organization can expect one of two things from device manufacturers as WPA3 enters the mainstream market. One of these options concerns the question of whether or not developers will actually administer patches to all of their devices to allow for a WPA3 connection on older devices. The other option is to just create new devices entirely with built-in WPA3 capabilities, which fuels profits for device manufacturers. Ultimately, it?s this choice that will change how your organization approaches WPA3 capabilities. The good news in this case is that devices with WPA2 capabilities will still be able to connect with a WPA3 device, so it?s not a question of whether or not your organization will lose connectivity overnight. It?s crucial that your business use only the most secure network connections. New threats can take the world by storm at any given day–just like KRACK took down WPA2. If the jump to WPA3 is any indication, it?s that even something as simple as a single threat could become enough of a problem to create innovation for network connection technology. This highlights the importance of always maintaining a solid hardware and software refresh schedule, as your problems can be prevented for the most part just by keeping your infrastructure up-to-date. Hardware refreshes can be costly for some small businesses with limited budgets, but it?s made more effective and affordable through the likes of hardware management and maintenance services. You can keep your business? technology updated as new solutions are developed and released, always staying ahead of the game. We work with only the most reputable vendors as well, so you?ll always know you?re getting the best deal. To learn more about how we can help your business, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.

Today?s A.R. As was stated above, most people who use a smartphone today have used some sort of augmented reality technology. In an A.R. application, a virtual (and often controllable) image is layered over real-world objects caught through the camera on the device. The overlay is simulated simultaneously with the input received over the Internet and through the camera. A.R. increases user engagement as they need to interact directly with the superimposed images. Developers are trying to harness the potential power of the technology by developing applications that are intuitive and useful. There have already been some pretty successful A.R. rollouts, like the furniture app, Augment, and the ever-popular A.R. game Pokemon Go. Even A.R. browsers have been developed. Argon4 with its Javascript framework makes it easier to add augmented content to web applications. Tomorrow’s A.R. While there haven?t been a lot of applications developed to completion so far, the future of augmented reality looks extremely bright. A.R. technology could be most useful in creating tutorials on how to do certain tasks. Anything that you need a step-by-step guide for could be made simpler through the use of A.R. For example, if you need to troubleshoot relatively simple maintenance to your car, an A.R. app can be developed to map everything under your car?s hood, and give you a tutorial on how to replace spark plugs, fluids, and other simple tasks that often cost car-owners thousands of dollars every year. Similar applications could be rolled out in schools in the near future, providing massive benefits for educators and students, alike. Other apps that are currently in development include: eCommerce: Enhance consumer satisfaction with real-time and life-like shopping experiences using digital overlays. Marketing: In-store applications can provide shoppers with all the information that has typically been done through printed literature. The use of A.R can really kick your marketing initiatives up a notch. Gaming: A.R. games are all the rage. By gamifying the world around us, more people are out doing things, improving society. Augmented reality hasn?t hit it big just yet, but don?t be surprised if the technology is omnipresent in the very near future. At White Mountain IT Services we keep up on tomorrow?s top technologies so that we can provide the best technology services for our clients. If you would like more information about augmented reality, or any other new and emerging technology, reach out to us today at (603) 889-0800.