The Internet is notorious for being a minefield of threats, many of which lurk hidden behind innocent-looking links. In order to go about business safely, you need to be able to identify which links you can click; and, which should be skipped. Unfortunately, spotting fraudulent links isn?t an exact science, but there are ways to become proficient at the art of it. Trust No One… …or at least, trust no one?s links. It is exceptionally common for malicious links to be shared through emails or social media messages. In your email client, an easy check is to select the option to view the full header of the message. This will allow you to view the sender?s full email address, as well as the reply-to address, enabling you to judge if the sender is legitimate. If it just so happens that one of your regular contacts has sent you a link without any context, it is better to reach out to them through some other means to confirm that they did, in fact, send you the mysterious link. Similar actions can take place over social media accounts. Less security-savvy contacts can easily have their accounts hijacked to spread a malicious link, and so you should always be careful of messages that come without warning — even if you know and trust the apparent source. Sometimes, an attacker will create a clone of someone?s social media account to try and trick their target into accepting friendship. While this may seem initially harmless, keep in mind that the person behind the account now has access to a running record of your activities. Further Defenses It is also important to remember that the attackers that use these messages are becoming much more convincing. Many of these phishing attempts will draw upon data stolen from other breaches or drawn from any online accounts to make their attempts more convincing. Your best defense against links like these is to hover your cursor over the questionable content to see if the link matches what it should. In addition to these practices, you should also keep an eye out for egregious misspellings in the surrounding message, as these are an excellent sign of a malicious attack. Google Makes Its Move Google has adopted a policy of flagging any website that doesn?t have a Secure Sockets Layer, or SSL, certificate. This means that, in order to avoid your website displaying with a prominent ?Not Secure? in the address bar, you need to obtain a certificate as quickly as possible. Not only will this encourage a sense of trust from your web visitors, it will encrypt their sensitive information and keep them safe from cybercriminals. Now that you know how to identify malicious links like these, you should call White Mountain IT Services so that we can stop as many as we can. Call (603) 889-0800 for more information.

Evaluating Your Application Needs The more time you spend understanding the Android platform before you switch, the better off you will be. The first thing you should do is review the apps you use most often or are required to use for work reasons. Are they available through Google Play or the Amazon App Store? If so, you will have to repurchase them on that platform, which will require some additional investment. This also provides you with the opportunity to consolidate the apps on your mobile device to only include those that you actually use – and of course, it isn?t as though you can?t stagger some of your non-essential downloads to minimize the financial fallout. Deactivating iMessage Once you have planned out which apps will be the first you install, you next need to be sure that your phone will be able to send and receive text messages. Because Apple?s iMessage utilizes a Wi-Fi signal, something an Android phone cannot do, you will not be able to receive any text messages from iPhone users until iMessage is deactivated. Apple has a page dedicated to this task that allows you to preemptively turn off iMessage, or to do so even after you no longer possess your iPhone. Take a Backup on Google Drive To make transferring your data from one platform to another much easier, Google Drive offers a simple solution in its native backup wizard. The first thing you have to do is install Google Drive and log in, assuming you haven?t done so already. Then, by accessing Menu > Settings > Backup, you can save whatever content is on your iPhone to your Google Drive. You have the option to backup everything by clicking Start Backup, or to pick and choose what to include and what to abandon. This process can take up to several hours, so it is advisable to use Wi-Fi and make sure your iPhone is plugged in as the backup is taken. Then, once you have your new Android device, all you have to do is sign in to Google Drive from there. It is also worth mentioning that some Android phones have apps that assist with this process, making the switch even easier. What has inspired you to make the switch? Share your reasons in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to our blog to be notified of our new posts!

What is Virtualization? Virtualization is the process of replicating some physical resource (like a server, desktop, operating system, or storage solution) in digital form to increase scalability, thereby helping a user manage a workload. Simply put, virtualization makes your equipment behave like more than one would. Using what is known as hypervisor software, one physical resource (the ?host?) can be divided into virtual environments called virtual machines (the ?guests?). These guests can draw on the resources of the host as needed from a shared pool, allowing more functionality from a single piece of hardware. In this way, virtualization can help you to maximize the return on investments you?ve made, as well as potentially decreasing the investments you will have to make down the line. Varieties of Virtualization There are various types of virtualization, each with its own applications toward a business? functionality. Data Virtualization – This kind of virtualization helps to gather disparate information and data and assemble it into one source. Operating System Virtualization – Multiple operating systems can be hosted and run on a single computer. Desktop Virtualization – Replicated desktops can be opened and utilized. Server virtualization – One server can be made to act as though there are multiple servers in use. Network Virtualization – One network can be used to create multiple isolated networks. How could your business improve operations by leveraging virtualization? Reach out to us at (603) 889-0800 to find out!

The information here is gathered from a study performed by Cisco, which analyzed the findings of 3,600 data security professionals from organizations like Talos and other partners from all around the world. Malware Grows More Autonomous Early types of malware depended on the user clicking on a link to install it on the computer or workstation. Nowadays, malware is depending less and less on the user making a mistake and is instead becoming more network-based. A good example of this is ransomware, which could install on a single device and spread to the entire network. Cisco even imagines that this type of ransomware could take over the entire Internet. Ransomware is About More than Just Money The ransom involved with ransomware was the major reason why a lot of hackers would use it as their attack vector of choice, as it virtually guaranteed that they could make a profit off of an attack. People are too scared to lose their data, even on an individual level. Businesses would basically be forced to pay up or risk losing everything. However, the growing trend is that hackers aren?t as interested in money anymore–instead, they are interested only in the complete leverage they gain by stealing this data and holding it hostage. Threats are Getting Better at Avoiding Detection Ransomware has started to hide in encrypted traffic to avoid detection, which can make it much more difficult to identify and eliminate. Furthermore, through the use of cloud-based applications and services, any attacker can implement a command and control attack and hide it within normal traffic to obscure it. Internet of Things Devices are a Problem Devices that connect to the Internet have become a major problem for many businesses, especially considering how fast they have been implemented. IoT devices are often patched poorly, and they can create backdoors that allow for unauthorized access to your infrastructure. Furthermore, IoT endpoints are simply not secured properly, which makes them even more dangerous for your company network. While security is a topic that is constantly changing, White Mountain IT Services can help your organization adapt and change to the times. To learn more, call us today at (603) 889-0800.

Ransomware Ransomware, in many ways is the most honest of malware. Once it sets up shop on your network or device, you are given an option: pay or else. With the number of devices with Internet connectivity growing quickly; and, the amount every business seems to be relying on these devices, it presents plenty of opportunities for threat actors, like those that disseminate ransomware, to do so. Despite the nature of ransomware to infiltrate and take over your network, if you don?t let the ransomware bug in, you won?t ever have to deal with it. That is why proactive measures are vital to an organization?s anti-ransomware policies. Your staff will have to shoulder a lot of the responsibility of keeping malware out of your businesses network, which is why training them to look for suspicious variables in the emails they receive is key. In 2018, the best defense against ransomware is awareness. How to Promote Organizational Cybersecurity Awareness First you will want to ascertain if your business is in an industry that will be more apt to be targeted by hackers and their ransomware. If you hold a great deal of sensitive data, or are heavily reliant on your information systems, your business is a popular choice to be a victim of ransomware. Industries like healthcare, education, government, finance, and utilities (all known for having individual personal and financial information) get the most ransomware attacks, but other businesses have been known to fall victim as well. Even with the increase in ransomware attacks, and the new and different features each strain has, the main reason your organization would be hit with a ransomware attack is because it was directed at an organization that could provide a nice return for the hackers involved. From 2016-2017 there was nearly a 74 percent increase in the types of ransomware, but saw those strains used on many less businesses than in the past. Ransomware is also a competition. Since the advent of the ransomware malware, cybersecurity has changed. Today anyone who chooses to go down that route can purchase a ransomware-as-a-service model that provides developers financial gain and give less-than-expert hackers a tool in which to bring wholesale destruction to their enemy?s computing networks. For the IT administrator, there are a lot of potential problems. Doing what you can to ensure that your organization?s staff is trained on industry best practices, that your network is outfitted with a powerful security platform, and that it is constantly monitored and frequently maintained, is the only way that you can ward off a potential ransomware attack. For those companies who are looking for a comprehensive network and cybersecurity platform, or that is interested in backing up their data to ensure that any malware won?t take their business down with them, call the IT professionals at White Mountain IT Services today at (603) 889-0800.