Here are four of the best smartphone accessories out there, including ways to get more battery life out of your device, ways to communicate more effectively, and other portable conveniences. Portable Battery PackWe?ve all been in the position where your battery only has a little bit of a charge left and you?re nowhere near an outlet to charge it up. This is why a portable battery pack is such a great asset for someone who?s always on the go. These battery packs work in conjunction with USB technology. All you have to do is plug in your phone and you?ll be getting a good, quality charge, regardless of where you are. If you?re not sure where to start looking, try this one made by Anker. A Longer USB CordThe default charger cable is going to be short, and it probably won?t be very durable either. To get a little more length, you can try this long USB cord, also made by Anker. It?s a great way to take advantage of your portable battery pack, and it can be used for pretty much anything your ordinary USB cord is used for. It?s made out of some pretty heavy duty stuff, too. If you have a pet that?s known to chew on wires, this cord is for you. A Wireless Bluetooth HeadsetHow do you attend meetings with your company?s home base? Do you listen in with a headset, or do you hold a phone to your face until your arm falls asleep? You can make long meetings much more bearable with a Bluetooth headset that can connect to your smartphone. Just pair the device with your handset, put in the ear piece, and you?re golden. Other Bluetooth TechnologiesIf you want a cool new technology for your smartphone, just about anything will do, so long as it helps you do your job better. You can wirelessly tether devices like a wireless keyboard or a set of headphones. What are some of the ways you take advantage of mobile technologies and smart phone accessories? Let us know in the comments.

For business owners looking to streamline operations and get the most out of their technology, a new survey by TSO Logic analyzed 10,000 customer physical servers and 25,000 virtual machines and concluded that 45 percent of existing VMs would run more efficiently in the cloud. A finding like this should be reason enough for companies to reevaluate their current IT setup. As one would imagine when taking tens of thousands of servers into consideration, the reason for such shortcomings varies. In the study, it was found that one of the main obstacles holding back efficiency of on-premise virtual machines was them being over-provisioned, by as much as 26 percent of the inspected machines. In plain English, this means the virtual machines were set up to use more hardware resources than the server they were on could provide. In an interview with InformationWeek, TSO Logic?s CEO Aaron Rallo concludes, ?Migrating them to the cloud and right-sizing them there would result in a 36 percent savings over their current operating cost.? A 36 percent cost savings is a pretty outstanding figure. For many companies, savings like this would cover the expense of migrating to the cloud, and then some. In addition to using these newly found funds to migrate to the cloud, you can invest in upgrading older server units to the latest models in order to experience even further cost savings. InformationWeek reports, ?A secondary finding was that merely upgrading systems to the latest generation of servers, whether on premises or in the cloud, would also result in considerable savings. Twenty-five percent of the physical servers surveyed were more than three years old, meaning they dated back into the Intel Nehalem chip era of 2013 and its predecessors.? Granted, migrating to the cloud and replacing inefficient server units with newer models are two aggressive actions for an IT administrator to take, especially when one?s current IT setup seems to be meeting a company?s needs just fine. However, what this study shows is that taking such an aggressive stance toward making sure that your systems and equipment are upgraded, along with hosting data in the cloud when it?s advantageous, is worth the effort, and then some. Would you like to squeeze out the most efficiency and savings from your IT infrastructure as possible? How do you go about this? The answer is easy, with help from White Mountain IT Services. To get started, you?ll need a thorough IT assessment of your current operations. White Mountain IT Services can perform this task and report back to you on what improvements you can make in order to improve efficiency and save money. It?s an easy way to bolster your bottom line, and at the end of the day, shouldn?t that be what your company?s technology is all about? To schedule your IT assessment, call us today at (603) 889-0800.

Fact: Millennials are entering the workforce en masse. Therefore, employers and workers from earlier generations shouldn?t be so quick to write off the generation that now makes up the largest segment of the workforce. In order to properly leverage this differently-thinking group, managers need to understand a few things about how Gen Y thinks, behaves, and what they value. First of all, Millennials generally hold a strong desire to balance their professional and personal lives–or, in simpler terms, they want a life outside of the office. As a result, they will possess a rabid work ethic during their office hours if it means that their time at home is really their time. At the same time, they also want a greater level of control in how that time is balanced. For instance, if given the choice between spending their time commuting to the office to do their work, or working from home, the majority of Millennials would rather work from home, devoting more time to company business. Recent estimates put the number of Americans working from home at around three million, with an anticipated growth rate of 63 percent in five year?s time. With recent figures from Pew Research Center stating that 64 percent of Millennials want the option to work from home on occasion, that growth seems feasible. Also serving their desire for work/life control, Pew found that 66 percent of Millennial workers wanted to see a shift in their work hours–something a self-managed, work-from-home approach would allow. Secondly, a goal shared by many Millennials is to experience career growth and improvement. They want to have a mentor-pupil relationship with their boss, rather than that of a superior and an underling. Their prime motivator is self-improvement, and so they will seek challenges in order to gain more education and experience. Upward mobility is very important to the Millennial employee as well, and they are more likely to actively seek opportunities to improve their professional and/or financial standing. Members of Gen Y want a situation in which their individual input to the big picture is valued and validated. Therefore, it?s recommended that new hires are given smaller responsibilities in the prospect of advancing to bigger and better things. They also crave feedback and evaluation following their accomplishments and their failures. By giving a young employee regular responses to their work, you can teach them to be a better employee while simultaneously allowing them to feel valued and work harder toward improving. An important thing to keep in mind is that Millennials will strive to grow one way or another, and so if they are unable to do so at your company, they will move on to other opportunities. Finally, Millennials were raised among more technology than any generation before them, and so can adapt more easily to unfamiliar systems. Again, the generation as a whole has a tendency to relish challenges, so giving them tasks where they can use your most cutting-edge solutions will give them an incentive to stay and excel on behalf of your business. Not sure if you have the solutions that Millennials would respond to? White Mountain IT Services can equip your business with the latest and greatest technologies that Millennial workers prefer. Call us at (603) 889-0800 to learn more.

Change Passwords FrequentlyPasswords are one of the most common ways that accounts and data are protected, for both commercial and personal uses. As such, you?ll see a wide array of different passwords that could be used, which means that you?ll see easy-to-remember passwords like ?password? or ?123456.? To keep your business from falling victim to this vulnerability, consider the following best practices: Make your passwords long (at least 16 characters). The longer, the better, as this makes the passwords more difficult to guess. Make your passwords complex. Use a plethora of special characters, numbers, and both upper and lower-case letters. Never use the same password twice. When a hacker steals a password, they may try to use it on other related accounts. A password manager can make these tips much easier to follow, as you can create complex passwords and share them across your organization?s network. You can also assign users to groups so that they only have access to credentials that they need to perform their jobs correctly. These passwords can be synced to company devices in real time, and you can use complex passwords without the pain of remembering them all. Be Mindful of SpamHackers tend to use spam as a way to move malware to many users at once. Most hackers will attempt to spread malware in hopes of infecting as many computers as possible, while others will reach out to unwary users to steal credentials or sensitive information. Here are some of the most common spam messages that you?ll encounter, and how to respond to them. A big congratulation: These types of messages try to entice the user with the promise of a big win, like winning the lottery or a new car. It?s safe to say that messages like this are spam, and that messages that prompt you to click a link to claim a prize are dangerous and unpredictable. Just make sure that you think twice before responding to unsolicited messages. Fake law enforcement threats: Hackers know that people fear being threatened with legal action, so they take advantage of this fear by impersonating law enforcement agencies. The message claims that there will be action taken against the user unless they pay a fine. These messages appeal to the innate fear of authority, so be sure to keep an eye out for them. Spear phishing tactics: Spear phishing aims to take targeted attempts to steal specific data from a user, all through using personalized messages designed to look just like the real deal. This can include details such as your personal contact information, or customized emails that look like they are from an institution you attend, like a bank. Since these attacks tend to look more legitimate than normal spam, you need to stay vigilant. Whaling schemes: These types of attacks are at the top of the social engineering pyramid, as they impersonate the CEO or business owner. The scammer will use this disguise to get financial departments to wire transfer funds to offshore bank accounts. Be on the lookout for inconsistencies in contact information, and always cross-reference before assuming that the message is real. You?ll notice that many of these threats are based in email messages such as spam. Thankfully, you can block the majority of these threats simply by implementing an enterprise-level […]

What is a Rootkit Hack?A rootkit is a type of malware that?s intended to remain covert for an extended period of time. In a way, it acts like a trojan, remaining hidden from traditional security tools. It?s designed to snatch administrator privileges and access systems rather than delete data or mess with operations. Basically, you?re using a computer, but everything you?re doing is being intercepted and controlled by someone else.  Of course, not all rootkits are malicious by nature. Many organizations will equip their company-provided workstations with rootkits to allow for remote access and control. The problem stems from those that are used by malicious entities to steal credentials and sensitive information, and cause general chaos. How it WorksOnce a rootkit has administrator control, hackers can use it for pretty much anything that?s allowed by the system administrator. This could include tasks like installing new software, deleting or moving files, changing programs, installing spyware, recording keystrokes, and so much more. The possibilities are almost limitless. Hackers could steal sensitive credentials, log communications, transfer data, and modify your programs to suit their demands. Though rootkits are usually software-based, there are hardware-based rootkits that work in largely the same way. Preventing Rootkit InfectionsJust like most online threats, a rootkit will make its way into your system by way of an infected download, phishing scam, or other similar technology. This is why it?s so important to be mindful of what you?re downloading, and from where. Keep security best practices in mind whenever you use the Internet. Doing so may save you from the misfortune of dealing with dangerous and risky threats. Additionally, you should be using an enterprise-level firewall and antivirus solution, backed up by web content filtering and spam blocking. Plus, making sure that all of your operating systems and critical software solutions are up to date and secure can go a long way. What You Can DoAs per usual, you can know that something?s wrong with your computer if it?s behaving abnormally. If you suspect that a rootkit has been installed on your workstation, you should immediately cut it off from Internet access to prevent remote control and data leakage. Even under the best circumstances, though, rootkit software intentionally hides itself from your system?s software, making it difficult to locate and eliminate. From here, it?s best to contact a professional who is skilled at removing nasty malware and viruses from computers. If you?re having trouble identifying threats and protecting your business?s infrastructure from malicious online entities, you need to contact White Mountain IT Services. Our trusted IT professionals can help your team fully understand how hacks happen, and what you can do to stop them in the future. To learn more, give us a call at (603) 889-0800.