Set Up and Utilize Private VLANsA Private VLAN (virtual LAN) gives your organization?s IT administrator more control over your hosted VoIP solution. It acts as a single access and uplink point to connect a device to a network or server. By partitioning your network, you present your administrators with the ability to secure specific devices, essentially creating separate networks. By being able to single out devices, it makes it easier to group devices together, even if they don?t share the same network switch. A private VLAN gives your organization’s another layer of security while allowing access to the same feature-rich phone system; and, it helps mitigate risk, something every business is looking for in their security solutions. Track Your UsageNo matter what platform VoIP solution you use, there is a chance it may get hacked. Most of the hacks that businesses see are ATO attacks, or traffic pumps, which aim to utilize the target organization’s phone system for calls that will cost them capital. To be sure to avoid this type of interference, tracking your organization?s call usage is a solid practice. Having an up-front conversation with your VoIP vendor about what they are doing to protect your business can be a good strategy to secure it from taking on parasitic users that drain your company?s resources. Enable Strong Authentication ProceduresYou can?t talk about security today without mentioning access control. To ensure that only your users are able to access your hosted VoIP solution, there are several practices you can implement. You can go ahead and implement a two-factor authentication strategy, or go for the gusto and deploy a powerful identity management solution. Whatever you decide, securing your solution through all applicable manners of entry is important. This includes the physical phones on your desk, mobile applications, and anywhere access can be granted. A hosted VoIP solution is a great service to implement for the growing business. It allows you to save money while receiving all the dynamic features you are looking for in a business communications solution. For more information about hosted VoIP, communications, or how to better secure your company from threats, call White Mountain IT Services today at (603) 889-0800.

Set Up and Utilize Private VLANsA Private VLAN (virtual LAN) gives your organization?s IT administrator more control over your hosted VoIP solution. It acts as a single access and uplink point to connect a device to a network or server. By partitioning your network, you present your administrators with the ability to secure specific devices, essentially creating separate networks. By being able to single out devices, it makes it easier to group devices together, even if they don?t share the same network switch. A private VLAN gives your organization’s another layer of security while allowing access to the same feature-rich phone system; and, it helps mitigate risk, something every business is looking for in their security solutions. Track Your UsageNo matter what platform VoIP solution you use, there is a chance it may get hacked. Most of the hacks that businesses see are ATO attacks, or traffic pumps, which aim to utilize the target organization’s phone system for calls that will cost them capital. To be sure to avoid this type of interference, tracking your organization?s call usage is a solid practice. Having an up-front conversation with your VoIP vendor about what they are doing to protect your business can be a good strategy to secure it from taking on parasitic users that drain your company?s resources. Enable Strong Authentication ProceduresYou can?t talk about security today without mentioning access control. To ensure that only your users are able to access your hosted VoIP solution, there are several practices you can implement. You can go ahead and implement a two-factor authentication strategy, or go for the gusto and deploy a powerful identity management solution. Whatever you decide, securing your solution through all applicable manners of entry is important. This includes the physical phones on your desk, mobile applications, and anywhere access can be granted. A hosted VoIP solution is a great service to implement for the growing business. It allows you to save money while receiving all the dynamic features you are looking for in a business communications solution. For more information about hosted VoIP, communications, or how to better secure your company from threats, call White Mountain IT Services today at (603) 889-0800.

Before you start to panic over a new type of ransomware, you should know that Osiris is a particular strain of the Locky ransomware. The only difference seems to be the file extension for the encrypted files, which is ?.osiris.? The main takeaway from this event is that sometimes even the good guys don?t have what it takes to protect themselves from unfortunate events–a truth all-too-painfully real for a business owner. This type of ransomware attack started off just like any other. Out of nowhere, the police were shown a message that claimed their files had been locked down, with paying a fee of $4,000 being the only way of recovering them. The cause for this ransomware was a spoofed email that claimed to be from another part of the police department. In an attempt to get rid of the ransomware, the police followed what?s commonly called a best practice for this type of situation: restore a backed-up copy of the server?s data. Unfortunately for them, the backup that they tried to restore from had also been infected, as it was taken after the systems were infected with the ransomware. As you can imagine, this caused quite a bit of trouble for the Cockrell Police Department. Included in the encrypted files were photographic and video evidence that could have been used in the prosecution of criminals. Whether or not this particular instance will mean anything for legal battles in the future is yet to be determined, but it sure is convenient for those who are involved with them. What this shows us is that ransomware is a threat for anyone who relies on data to perform their daily duties, businesses notwithstanding. A ransomware attack at the wrong time could be enough to completely upend operations, and it forces you to reconsider your approach to cybersecurity. You need to consider every single user of your email solution is a potential outlet of a ransomware attack. It also emphasizes the importance of keeping current backups archived in an off-site location so that you can guarantee you won?t be put in the same situation as these police officers. If your business wants to take a stand against ransomware, White Mountain IT Services can serve and protect you. We can help you implement spam-blocking solutions and security measures to keep ransomware from installing on your devices in the first place. Furthermore, we can help your employees know what to look for so that they don?t make the same mistakes as the Cockrell P.D. To learn more about network security, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.

The aforementioned scenario is created when you expect your employees to contact tech support when they are experiencing an issue, rather than contacting someone within your organization. If your company doesn?t have someone dedicated to IT support, they might be left with no choice but to reach out to someone who can help them, whether it?s in your budget or not; especially if it means completing a project on time. How can you keep your organization from being surprised by hefty IT support invoices? It?s clear that working with a managed service provider who offers help desk support is better for your business. Managed IT providers like White Mountain IT Services charge only a flat monthly rate based on your service level agreement, rather than unexpected bills for unexpected support. You don?t have to worry about a stray call from an employee accruing extra charges since, as the call is covered under your service level agreement. Consider how much can change simply by looking at your help desk solution in a different way. If your organization is billed per call for IT help, your employees might hesitate to reach out when something goes wrong. While these intentions are noble, IT issues that go ignored can escalate into full-fledged problems that can eventually cause downtime. Workers using machines that suffer from performance issues will be less productive, causing long-term problems and creating stress for your workforce. Give Your Staff ?All You Can Eat? IT SupportA good solution to the IT support conundrum is to give your staff access to unlimited IT support so that they can get the most out of their technology and perform their tasks with minimal issue. You want an IT provider that isn?t billed per call, but one that costs a set rate every month. This means that you can effectively get as much support as you want and/or need for no extra cost. This is extraordinarily important if you want a predictable IT budget. But How Can You Get this Kind of IT Assistance? We know a reliable way to make sure that your business never has trouble accessing trained IT professionals. White Mountain IT Services wants to help your organization get past the problem of a limited IT budget through affordable monthly payments for all-you-can-eat IT support. With a help desk solution from White Mountain IT Services, you?ll never be left wanting more with your IT support. Gorge yourself on our expertise and use it to further your business?s operations. To learn more, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.

According to a recent study, predictions say that SaaS offerings will make up 59 percent of the cloud computing workload by 2018–and with more and more businesses utilizing cloud hosting, those predictions seem well founded. If you?re looking to move your assets into a cloud environment, they must first be virtualized with other variables taken into consideration. What follows are two crucial considerations to implementing the cloud for your business. Are You Ready to Integrate?Unfortunately, many mission-critical applications and cloud services don?t play very nicely with each other, which can lead to issues with integration. If you plan to connect all of your most-used services to a new cloud service, you must be sure to test that they comply with integration requirements. In short, you have to do your homework and learn what the cloud service requires. Otherwise, you run the risk of losing resources and experiencing downtime due to incompatibility. Is Your Connection Reliable Enough?In order for a business to use the cloud, a reliable connection is needed. Can your in-house network provide enough bandwidth to access the cloud, even during peak hours? Does your ISP provide you with consistent Internet service? It is common for companies to upgrade their Internet service before making the switch to a cloud solution, to ensure that they have what it takes to support that type of data-intensive activity. Finally, you should look into the cloud service provider you are considering. Can they guarantee your connectivity and uptime? These considerations must both be fulfilled if your cloud service is to truly be of benefit to your business operations. We can help you optimize your network, and help you make a seamless transition to cloud-based services. For more assistance, call White Mountain IT Services at (603) 889-0800.