We say that wireless charging is an innovation, but in reality, it?s been around for quite some time. There just wasn?t much practical use for it up until recently. Wireless charging has existed since the late 19th century. Nikola Tesla used magnetic resonance coupling to transmit electricity across air currents via a magnetic field. While the concept was interesting, it simply wasn?t used for much of anything. Nowadays, however, wireless charging is trying to redefine mobility. But how does it work, exactly? Let’s find out. Modern Wireless ChargingThe specifics behind wireless charging have shifted primarily to a magnetic field that?s created between two copper coils. This limits the distance between the device and the charging pad, but makes way for many advantages as well. Here are some of the different types of wireless charging that can be seen in modern electronics: Charging pads: You place your device on these and it is charged. Charging bowls: You place your device within the vicinity of these chargers and it gets a charge. Uncoupled radio frequency: You can charge your device up to a few feet away from the charger. These devices all work in largely the same way, using similar technology to create a wireless charging field around it. What determines the charge radius is the size of the copper coils. Due to the charge pads having smaller coils, they have a more limited scope of charging. Large coils, on the other hand, allow for charging at a distance. However, a technology like this comes with a loss in power, depending on the tactic used. An MIT physics professor Marin Soljacic found that electricity could be transferred over the distance of two meters, but at the cost of losing 60% of the power during the transition. He went on to form a company called WiTricity, which creates wireless charging technology for use in cars and other devices. After working tirelessly, the company managed to create technology that could supply power anywhere within 25 centimeters at 92% efficiency. Clearly, the sky is the limit for this technology, but how will your business use wireless charging? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to subscribe for more informative blog articles about technology trends and ideas.
We?ll go over some of the most important parts of business communications management, as well as what you can do to ensure that they are adhered to. Mobile DevicesMobile devices like tablets and smartphones have brought about a new level of complexity for businesses that want to stay productive at all times. While they allow for an ?always on? mindset that keeps executives connected to clients and internal employees, they also make for a much more complex networking situation. The more devices that access a network, the less secure it will be–particularly if these devices are employee-owned. To take these matters into your own hands, you need to implement a Bring Your Own Device policy that secures your organization while allowing for productivity on your employees? part. This policy should take blacklisting and whitelisting of apps, user-based access to critical data, and the ability to remotely wipe any infected or compromised devices. It?s up to you to enforce this policy. Telephone SolutionsHaving a uniform telephony solution is another critical component of a business communications plan. Basically, you don?t want your employees using their personal telephone numbers for reaching out to both prospective clients or current customers. The reason for this is that they may accidentally lose contacts or give the company a false number of contact for your organization when they need it most. A hosted VoIP system can shore up this issue easily enough by providing access to a centralized telephone system in the form of a cloud-based application, easily accessible through an Internet connection on a desktop or mobile device. These solutions are often more affordable than traditional telephone service and the bells and whistles associated with it. Since all you need is an Internet connection, it?s more flexible and dynamic as well. EmailAgain, centralized email is the key to any organized email correspondence for your business. It?s the same conundrum that comes from using your personal email to conduct business communications. Miscommunication happens, which can disrupt operations and make things more difficult for everyone involved. It all comes down to emphasizing best practices when working with email. Make sure that your team knows how to best use the resources at their disposal. You should regularly check with your employees to make sure they keep best practices in mind when using your email. For information on how to improve your business communications, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.
The two-factor authentication platform, adds a valuable layer of security to your existing solutions by requiring an additional credential beyond just your typical username and password. This can be a PIN that is generated by an application or even a physical token like a key fob that provides access. To make a long story short, your employees may not feel entirely comfortable with your organization requiring them to keep an application on their phone as they may value the autonomy they have over what they do and don?t keep on their personal device. As a result, they are bound to have questions that you will need to answer. To assist you with this, we?ve compiled a few questions you may have to field, and how to answer them truthfully and diplomatically if you choose to implement two-factor authentication for your business. What is it?Two-factor authentication is another way to improve data security and prevent threats from infiltrating business network?s access points. Picture your network as a house that your data lives in, with the front door being the access point. The lock that you find in the doorknob is your usual access credentials, username and password. 2FA adds a deadbolt to that door. In other words, 2FA is the added security that can keep many threats out, at the cost of a tiny bit of convenience. Why do I have to do this?This line of questioning is indicative that an employee is resistant to change–unfortunately, information technology is built on change. Threats to a business? security are always improving so they have the best chance of creating the most impact. To counter this, a business must acknowledge the risks inherent in powerful technology platforms and do everything they can to control access to their network. 2FA is just one of many ways to do that. It is also important to remember that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, so the entire business could be made vulnerable if one person doesn?t have the same dedication to organizational network security as the rest of the team. By implementing 2FA as a team, the business is better protected by the team. Why do I have to do it on my personal phone?This answer has two parts to it, one being of best interest to the business, the other being for the employee?s benefit. First off, economics. Does your business have the capital to spare to distribute mobile devices for the singular purpose of enacting 2FA? Typically, this isn?t the case. Furthermore, which device is an employee more likely to favor? Their personal device that they have conditioned themselves into bringing everywhere, or the new, unfamiliar device they were just given for work? What happens if I lose or forget my phone?There are ways to get around a forgotten or misplaced device. In many cases, an organization can adjust an employee?s 2FA settings to allow them access via a new 2FA code, but this will require the employee to change their credentials. If the phone is lost, the company is still safe, as the Mobile Device Management platform that the 2FA implementation was likely part of will allow network administrators the requisite authority to handle the situation. Can you see my personal stuff?This question will likely come up. You should […]
The first protocol is called POP, or Post Office Protocol. Your imagination might immediately jump to ?snail mail,? a common term for sending messages through the traditional postal service. POP works by downloading messages to your device through your installed email client. These messages are then deleted from the email server. This keeps you from downloading the same messages to your other devices. This means that if you wanted to check your email on a desktop, you would then be unable to see the same message on your smartphone. This is why the preferred method of handling multi-device email is IMAP, or Internet Message Access Protocol. Compared to the way POP handles your email messages, IMAP actually keeps the messages stored live on the email server rather than downloading them directly to the device. Basically, whenever you perform any action with a message in your inbox, you?re performing that message directly on the mail server. Any email clients that you use will see the changes as they happen. Naturally, this is the best way to experience email, as your messages will always be in sync. Most modern email solutions allow for IMAP, with some going so far as to default to it. Some of the solutions that support IMAP include Google?s Gmail, Microsoft Outlook, Mozilla?s Thunderbird, with Apple?s iCloud mail defaulting to it. Depending on your business? communication solutions, you?ll want to work with your service provider to ensure that your email access protocol is right for you. This is especially important if your business requires the use of multiple devices. For example, most employees have at least a smartphone, but they also might have a laptop or tablet that they use for work purposes. If these devices don?t have unified access to company information, you might encounter miscommunications which result in loss of productivity. Therefore, you should take the time to ensure that your business is using email as effectively as possible. Does your business need assistance with email or integrating it on your staff?s mobile devices? White Mountain IT Services can help. To learn more, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.
Network security is a crucial consideration for every single business, especially ones that utilize the Internet. There were a lot of negatives and some positives that came out of 2017 in regards to cybersecurity. Below we have listed some of the most troubling cybersecurity statistics collected in 2017, and we?ve followed it up with suggestions on how to keep your business safe in 2018. Statistic for 2017: In the United States, 61% of small businesses experienced a cyberattack and 54% experienced a data breach that had severe financial consequences in 2017. This year saw phishing/social engineering scams out number web-based attacks for the first time. Phishing (or the attempt to use fraudulent emails that look legitimate to obtain sensitive information to exploit for financial gain), and social engineering (or the psychological manipulation that persuades others into offering personal information), make up about 48% of all cyberattacks. SMB Action for 2018: One way to reduce the risk that your company will fall victim to phishing and social engineering to make sure that your employees are aware of up-to-date cybersecurity best practices and follow them at all times. Even something as simple as opening an email attachment can have a catastrophic impact on your business. Creating an Acceptable Use of Technology policy is a great way to make sure that your employees know what is expected of them when it comes to technology and your business. Statistic for 2017: Despite that fact that many business owners feel like their employees and/or contractors would never do anything to cause data loss or put their network at risk, more than half (54%) of the data breaches for small business in 2017 came from employee/contractor negligence, up from just 48% the previous year. While negligence was at the top of the list of was followed closely by third party mistakes (43%) and errors in system or operating processes (34%). Surprisingly, however, nearly ? of those companies who experienced a breach stated that their company could not determine what caused the incident. SMB Action for 2018: Short of having a computer forensics unit on standby, businesses will need to improve their resilience by properly training their staff in, at the very least, the industry standard of protecting an organization?s network. Enforcing strict guidelines on how people access and interact with data will go a long way toward mitigating organizational risk. Employing the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) to encrypt remote access data flow provides a strong defense against the interception of data. Organizations will also need to follow strict procedure to close any vulnerabilities they may have with software systems, or former employee, contractor, or vendor access to their network infrastructure. The more diligent organizations are in training staff, and enacting a fast-acting strategy against closing vulnerabilities, the better chance they have of coming through 2018 unscathed. Statistic for 2017: One question that is frequently overlooked during most run-of-the-mill security surveys is what it is that small businesses believe to be the most likely target of cybercrime attacks on their business – and are therefore most likely to be protected by SMBs. According to the results of this survey, about 63% of small business owners felt that the theft of their customer records was of primary concern. Followed by the theft of their intellectual property […]
