Microsoft has even released patches for some older, unsupported versions of Windows to combat the threat that infected PCs all over the world over the weekend. What’s Going On?A ransomware worm variant dubbed ‘WannaCry’ struck critical systems all around the world. While the attack has been addressed by Microsoft and halted for the time being, the threat is far from over, especially for users who don’t keep their computers updated. Discovered early in the morning hours of Friday, May 12, WannaCry spread at a startling rate, reaching victims in 11 countries within its first few hours, and over 45,000 attacks (spread through 99 countries) after a few more hours. By Monday, over 150 countries had been hit by this global cyberattack. There’s No Specific TargetThe victims included many companies that provide utilities, like telecommunications, electrical, and gas companies. Even more frightening, WannaCry caused serious trouble in England’s healthcare systems, leading to massive numbers of non-critical patients being sent home or turned away at hospital doors. Russia found that thousands of its interior ministry computers had been infected. In the United States, the ransomware managed to infect FedEx’s systems, and these are just the big highlights. Businesses everywhere went dark as a result of this attack. However, WannaCry did not target businesses of any specific industry. This particular ransomware worm is a threat to essentially any PC, old and new. WannaCry was first discovered by security company Malwarebytes, whose director of malware intelligence, Adam Kujawa, had a few choice words to describe the malware, “The spread is immense. I’ve never seen anything before like this. This is nuts.” This opinion was repeated by many others in the industry. How Do I Prevent WannaCry?WannaCry relies on a security vulnerability in Windows. Microsoft deployed a security patch on March 14, so it is critical that users run the update, especially before putting themselves at risk and opening unsolicited emails. Computers that are patched face a significantly smaller risk of getting the ransomware. Key words here; significantly smaller, as in not totally in the clear. To run your Windows Updates in Windows 10, open up your Start Menu and type “updates” in the search box and choose Check for Updates – system settings from the results. A window titled Windows Update should appear. From there, click the Check for updates button. If it says your device is up to date, you have the latest update. If not, you’ll need to allow your PC to install them. Evaluating your computer and network security would be a good step in the right direction, as well as educating employees on some basic best practices like not downloading and opening unsolicited attachments. It’s also critical that your files are backed up securely. If ransomware infects your network, it makes your files inaccessible unless you pay the ransom which only feeds into the problem. Utilizing an offsite backup solution that can easily be restored is the only way to go. I’m Updated, am I Still at Risk?There is also the risk that WannaCry is still waiting on some systems that have not been used since the attack began, so this initial attack is still far from over. Any PC on your network that gets infected could infect the rest. Plus, even with the patch, a user could still accidentally […]

Windows 10 S is designed to be much more lightweight than the current version of the operating system, boasting faster loading times than laptops running Windows 10 Pro. A laptop running Windows 10 S can load a user profile up to 15 seconds faster than a laptop running an ordinary version of Windows 10. This is due to fewer processes and applications running in the background, allowing for much faster times as a whole. To get this operating system off the ground, Microsoft is first targeting educational institutions like schools and college campuses. However, if you’re not in the business of education, Windows 10 S might not be a great fit for your organization. Sure, it might be useful in a pinch, but considering the limitations of Chrome OS, Windows 10 S will likely be something similar, allowing for a slightly passable experience when nothing better is available. That being said, it’s expected that Windows 10 S will be available on laptops that are already inexpensive to begin with, so it might be a good way to cut costs if the added power isn’t necessarily needed. Well-known manufacturers like Dell, HP, and Acer have all committed to producing laptops pre-packaged with Windows 10 S. This might be a good opportunity for those who already have a main workstation but need a low-cost travel laptop for meetings. What’s most interesting, however, is that Microsoft is using this upgrade as an opportunity to broaden its sales of its coveted Windows 10 Pro operating system. While Windows 10 S will be free (mostly because it’s already installed on devices), users can easily upgrade to Windows 10 Pro. Students can receive a full-fledged version of Windows 10 Pro for free, while non-students will be able to upgrade for a relatively small fee of $49. With this endeavor, it seems that Microsoft is making it easy for users to get a small taste of what Windows 10 has to offer, while allowing them the option to get a more comprehensive version of it easily enough. Windows 10 S will be available starting this summer. Therefore, you have to ask yourself how far you’re willing to go to save cash on your technology acquisitions. Having an in-house IT technician to consult for these matters is helpful, but not always possible for small businesses. After all, you don’t want to commit to a device–perhaps one containing this slim version of Windows 10–and have it not accomplish what you need it to. This is why White Mountain IT Services provides managed IT services for small businesses. We want to help your business choose the right technology for the right situation, in a way which lets you get the most return on your technology investments. For more information about our managed IT and hardware procurement services, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.

As a business owner, you?ve surely thought about what the future holds for your organization. However, one of the things that you need to think about that?s not often considered is the event of a data disaster. How can your business bounce back from such a catastrophic event? One of the first steps is understanding your data backup and disaster recovery process, as well as how you can improve your current setup. Most organizations that don?t take advantage of a cloud-based BDR system still utilize tape backup. This is the act of storing data on magnetic tape–certainly better than nothing, but not without its disadvantages. We?ll also discuss some of the differences between the two as we take a look at what you should (and shouldn?t) ask of your data recovery solution. DO Take Multiple BackupsIt?s a common practice to take multiple backups, but the unfortunate truth of this is that it?s practically impossible to do so with tape. Or, rather, it?s difficult to get more than one backup out of the workday due to how resource-intensive and time-consuming they are. BDR allows you to take backups as often as every fifteen minutes so that your data backups will be as up-to-date as possible. DON?T Store Your Backups in the Same LocationYou could have all of the backups in the world, but if you store them in the same place, you could be left with nothing in the event of a disaster. It?s a best practice to store all of your backups in three locations at all times: in-house (in case your disaster isn?t centralized or too threatening), a secure off-site data center from which your data can be shipped overnight, and in the cloud where it can be accessed in a pinch. DO Aim for a Quick Recovery Time ObjectiveIt?s important that your business not remain inactive for long following a disaster. This results in crippling downtime that can create problems for your business. Most notably, you?ll be paying employees for not being able to work, and you?ll have to purchase new hardware. These expenses at the same time aren?t ideal, so it?s best to get back in business ASAP. DON?T Wait Longer Than NecessaryThe more time you spend recovering your data, the more time that?s being spent not being productive. This type of downtime can cost your business in the long run, and you may not be able to recover from such a blow. BDR can allow for practically instantaneous data recovery. Since your backups are stored in the cloud, they can be deployed to any device–including the BDR component itself–in a moment?s notice. This gives you time to find an adequate replacement for the hardware that has failed. DO Shoot for a Maximum Recovery Point ObjectiveIt?s a best practice to recover as much data as possible, so set your sights high and aim to lose as little as possible. This is called the recovery point objective. Having a set goal of how much data you will need to backup (and ultimately recover) in order to get your business back working productively is crucial to the continuity of your business. DON?T Accept Data LossNo amount of data loss is acceptable. This is a standard that you should strive for. BDR does this through taking backups every fifteen minutes […]

The results these firms found differ slightly, but also share common trends that can tell us a few important things about how many small and medium-sized businesses will prioritize their growth in the next few months. While placing in different orders within each of these studies, both firms found their top three challenges to relate to budgetary and cost restrictions, maintaining the operations of their existing solutions, and securing their workforce against threats (although one of the data sets indicated that this concern was more focused on mobile security measures). If we take the liberty of drawing a few inferences from this apparent focus on these concerns, we can see that SMBs have a pretty universal set of priorities that will require somewhat similar solutions. First, many business owners who have had to review their company finances and prioritize their expenses to reflect their goals will probably be able to confirm that it can be a considerable task. The challenges that an SMB faces are therefore largely focused on getting the most return for their investments while attempting to reduce the total amount of capital spent. These financial challenges, however, can be faced much more easily with the help of a managed service provider. Without an MSP in their corner, companies had a tendency to provide a minimum budget for their IT solutions in the hopes that nothing unexpected would pop up, only to have to sacrifice what little budget they had when some issue did pop up. Alternatively, an MSP offers its services as a consistent, budgetable expense. This allows a company to predict their probable IT spending and plan a budget around a more consistent balance. An MSP’s services can also apply quite easily to the other major concerns that the aforementioned studies identified as considerable. Through their proactive services, managed service providers can more effectively ensure that the solutions that a company has in place remain operational and enhance their productivity. This is accomplished by monitoring their solutions in order to catch looming issues as quickly as possible, often before they have an effect on the company’s systems. The same can be said of the security a company has put in place, part of the MSP’s responsibilities are to ensure that security solutions are maintained to be as effective as possible. Remember, these are just the three top anticipated challenges. Many of the other technology challenges that are anticipated to influence companies during 2017 can also be mitigated through an MSP’s services. To learn a few more ways that an MSP can ensure that your IT is more of a benefit to your business than it is a challenge, give us a call at (603) 889-0800.

Managed IT services allow your business to function without worrying about the status of your IT. This includes email and any services related to it. We’ll discuss three ways that our managed email solution is the best fit for your organization. Reinforce Security with Spam BlockingSome of the Internet’s most dangerous threats find their way into infrastructures through spam and targeted phishing attacks. While you might know enough not to click on random links or download attachments that you receive via email, your users might not. All it takes is one mistake to bring down a network, so it’s best to keep threats out of your infrastructure in the first place. This is where enterprise-level spam blocking comes into play. With a powerful enough solution, your organization can keep dangerous messages out of your inbox in the first place. Hosting and Management for Hands-Off EmailWhen you’re the one responsible for adding new users and ensuring that your email servers are working as intended, you might find it distracts you from your real objective–running your business. In reality, nothing is more important than ensuring operations are going off without a hitch. With White Mountain IT Services managing your email solution to ensure uptime and optimal mail flow, your organization can focus on what it does best without being distracted by the troubles of technology management. Archive Your Emails for Later ViewingEmail archiving can be valuable for a number of purposes. For one, it helps to have a record of any incoming and outgoing messages sent by your organization for the purposes of preserving important information. Furthermore, it helps to know who sends messages to others within your organization. For example, if you have a former employee who has recently left your organization, the emails could become an opportunity to check what their reasons were. This helps you prevent turnover in the future. Email management is not something to be ignored, but it’s also something best left to professionals. You won’t regret leaving your email hosting and management in the hands of White Mountain IT Services. We assure you that we’ll do everything in our power to ensure your email solution is taken care of. To learn more, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.